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Full text of "History of Milwaukee, city and county"

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WILLIAM (iKDltCI m:i < I 



HISTORY 

OF 

MILWAUKEE 

CITY AND COUNTY 



EDITED BY 

WILLIAM GEORGE BRUCE 



VOLUME I 



ILLUSTRATED 



CHICAGO— MILWAUKEE 

THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 

1922 



£ 



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PREFACE 



Mon- than forty years have elapsed since the story of the City and County 
of Milwaukee was presented in anything like a compact, comprehensive and 
accessible form. Since then the newspapers, the local governmental depart- 
ments and various agencies have hourly and daily recorded the several activi- 
ties of the community. These activities have grown in number, variety and 
importance, and have amplified themselves in so many diversified directions 
that only an assembling of certain leading farts will afford a true picture of 
the whole. 

The current records have served their purpose and the needs of their 
period. These records, however, soon become obscured in the mass of things, 
and the important and more outstanding facts and events become imbedded 
in the mesh of routine and in matters of temporary concern only. Thus, the 
essential facts and data must periodically be rescued from their submerged 
state and brought to the light again, collected and arranged with order and 
sequence, and with a due regard for their meaning and import. 

And since history is a continuous record of activities, tendencies and move- 
ments it demands not only their adequate treatment but successive presenta- 
tion as well. The story which has been halted must be resumed and told to its 
finish, which means that it must be brought up to the present time, and left to 
the future to be resumed and told again. 

With this thought in mind the History of Milwaukee, city and county, is 
approached, presenting in compact form not only the struggles and trials of 
a pioneer day and the story of humble beginnings but emphasizing the crown- 
ing achievements of a later period as well. In his treatment of the work as a 
whole the editor has aimed to deal more generously with the history of the 
past forty years and to reveal with reasonable clearness the forces and in- 
fluences that have made for the growth and development of a great urban 
center of population. While the early pioneer and settlement period is by no 
means minimized it has been sought to accord the fullest measure of attention 
to the later period. It will here be recognized that the city secured in this 
period that economic, civic and social momentum which has reared it to its 
present splendor and importance as an American city. 

A Large part of the manuscript was prepared by J. Seymour Currey who 
wrote an acceptable history of Chicago several years ago and whose services 
as a writer on historic subjects have been recognized. The chapters on the 
Industrial Beginning and Achievements, the Commercial Rise and Expansion, 
the Milwaukee Harbor, the Auditorium and the Milwaukee Association of 
Commerce, Alt-Milwaukee to an American City were written by the editor in 

v 



vi IIIstoKY OF MILWAUKEE 

the belief thai his immediate identification with these interests and institutions 
qualified him to treal them more intimately and adequately. The entire his- 
tory, however, has been written under the supervision of the editor who has 
spared 00 ei'i'urt in verifying the facts presented. 

In the treatment of these several subjects some of which are primary and 
basic in the city's growth and development, the authors have aimed to go 
beyond the mere recital of facts and events by bringing cause and effeel into 
play and in drawing from them permissible and warrantable deductions and 
conclusions. 

The Editor. 



Aii American city! What splendid forces — latent and active — arc implied 
in that name! Let us miss no opportunity to bring to our service the best 
thought and experience of the world in city planning, city building and city 
living. Let us not only proclaim a place among our sister cities of the Great 
Republic, but deserve to be arrayed with the most progressive among them. 
Only by exemplifying the truest and best in American urban life shall we 
render ourselves worthy of being an integral part of the greatest nation on 
earth. 

WILLIAM GEORGE BRICK. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Preface v 

Introduction 17 

CHAPTER 

I Discovery of the Great West 21 

1 1 Ordinance of 1787 37 

III Discovery of the Great Lakes 43 

IV Hail Carriers and Routes . 53 

V Indian Villages '. 61 

VI Days of the Fur Trader 67 

VII The Lead Mining Industry 77 

VIII Solomon Juneau and His Family 83 

IX Byron Kilbourn and George H. Walker 99 

X Life and Labors of Andrew J. Vieau 107 

XI Milwaukee in the Pioneer Period 113 

XII The Lady Elgin Disaster 129 

XIII The Great Milwaukee Fire 147 

X I V Lincoln in Milwaukee 153 

X V Immigration and Race Origin 171 

XVI Beginnings, Dates, Events 189 

XVII The Era of Internal Improvements 207 

XVIII Industrial Beginnings and Achievement 219 

XIX Commercial Rise and Expansion 257 

XX Harbor and Marine Interests 569 

XXI The Coming of the Railroads 319 

XXII Banking and Finance 339 

XXIII Life and Fire Insurance 369 

XXIV The Chamber of Commerce 379 

XXV Milwaukee Association of Commerce 383 

XXVI The Milwaukee Post Office 415 

XXVII The Milwaukee Auditorium 421 

XXVIII The Municipal Government 435 

XXIX Water Works Department 469 

XXX The Health Department 477 

XXXI City Planning and Zoning 481 

XXXII Milwaukee County Government 557 

XXXIII Woman's Suffrage in Wisconsin 565 

XXXIV Participation in War 571 

XXXV Roosevelt's Visit to Milwaukee , 607 

XXXVI .Milwaukee Public Schools 629 

ix 



x CONTENTS 

PAGE 

XXXVI] Higher Institutions of Learning <H7 

XXXVII] The Public Library and Museum 667 

XXXIX Milwaukee's Musical History 675 

XL The Progress of Art in .Milwaukee 685 

XL! Newspapers and Trade Publical inns 707 

XLI1 Public and Private < lharities 739 

XLII1 The Transition Period 755 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



PAGE 

Bruce, William George Frontisjriect 

Milwaukee— An Old-Time View 20 

M ihvaukee in 1840— Outline Map 24 

Milwaukee in 1820 — Bird 's-eye View 36 

Form of Proclamation — 1825 44 

An Old Marriage License 14 

Old Settlers' Club— Presidents 52 

Milwaukee in 1853 — Bird's-eye View 60 

Milwaukee in 1873 — Bird's-eye View 66 

Site of First House— Tablet 80 

Solomon Juneau — Portrait 84 

Solomon Juneau Monument 88 

Solomon Juneau, First Mayor of Milwaukee 92 

Solomon Juneau — Original Letter 94 

Juneau Trading with Indians — Ba's Relief 94 

Byron Kilbourn — Portrait ' 08 

Byron Kilbourn Residence 100 

Walker, George H— Portrait 104 

Chestnut Street in 1860 112 

Increase A. Lapham — Quit Claim Deed 124 

Sinking of "Lady Elgin" 130 

" Augusta" — Schooner 134 

Steamer "Lady Elgin" 140 

John Wilson, Captain of the "Lady Elgin" 140 

Matthew Stein Gun Shop, The 172 

Rufus King Residence 1 7(i 

Old Cream City Base Ball Club 176 

Wisconsin Street in an Earlier Day 180 

John Pollworth 's Restaurant ' 180 

Milwaukee House 1< S 4 

Mrs. Milwaukee H. Smith Hackelberg 190 

Charles Milwaukee Sivyer — Tablet 194 

Bauer & Steinmeyer's Store - { ^ 

East Water Street in the Early Forties 208 

Wesf Water Street— Looking North 210 

Wisconsin Street— About 1867 214 

Ludington Block 216 

Original Penny Store 216 

Skyline of Milwaukee — Looking North 218 

First Steam Flour Mill 218 

Northeast ( lorner Milwaukee and Wisconsin, 1871 220 

Looking North on Main Street. 1870 220 

Republican House 224 

Old Newhall House 224 

Astor Hotel 226 

Medford Hotel 230 

Wisconsin Street — Looking West 232 

xi 



xii LIST OF [ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Miller Hotel and Third Streel 236 

Menominee Valley — Manufactuiiag ( 'cut it 240 

Milwaukee Manufacturers' Some Building 240 

The Hotel Wisconsin 244 

Toj Theatre and ( Ihinese Restaurant 2 Hi 

Easl Water Street, North of Wisconsin Street 258 

New Plankinton Hotel and Old Plankinton House 260 

Grand Avenue East from Sixth Street 2f>2 

The Pfister Hotel 264 

View of Milwaukee — Looking West 266 

( >hl-Time Schooner Entering Harbor 270 

Car Perry "Grand Haven" 270 

Steamer "Christopher Columbus" 274 

Kinniekinnie Basin 274 

Harbor Plans— Outline Sketch 278 

A Lake Coal ( larrier 2-2 

Me ninee River. Coal Doek Center 282 

Jones Island and Kinniekinnie Basin 288 

Coal Handling Scenes 294 

Menominee River, Coal Shipping ( 'enter 298 

Milwaukee River, Grain Elevators 298 

Sidewheeler "John A. Dix" 304 

Old Goodrich Dock 304 

.Milwaukee River and Commercial ('enter 310 

Milwaukee River North from Buffalo Street 314 

Old Lake Shore Depot 320 

First Railway Depot 320 

Old Lacrosse Depot and Third Street in 1860 322 

Railroad Rate Table 324 

Officers and Employes, Milwaukee & St. Paul Ry 326 

( Ihicago & Northwestern Station 330 

Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Ry. Station 330 

Stock Yards at West Milwaukee 334 

East Water Street — Looking North from Wisconsin Street 338 

First Wisconsin National Bank Building 346 

The .Marshall & Ilsley Bank : 350 

Second Ward Savings Bank 356 

Old insurance Building 370 

Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company Building 374 

Northwestern National Fire Insurance Company Building 374 

( 'hamber of Commerce and Mitchell Building : '>7> 

Merchants' Association — Dinner Program 384 

Merchants' Association .Menu Cover Design 386 

Merchants' Association — Banquet Menu 386 

Milwaukee Athletic Club 390 

Grand Avenue, West from Bridge 392 

Wells Office Building 396 

View of Milwaukee Looking Southwest 398 

Majestic Building 402 

The Milwaukee Club 404 

The Calumet Club W8 

The Wisconsin club 408 

Milwaukee Yacht Club U0 

Old Elks' Club House 410 

Post Office Old Building 414 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xiii 

PAGE 

Post Office and Wisconsin Street -US 

Soldiers' Home Fair Building, 1865 422 

Auditorium Building- 424 

Auditorium — Interior Main Arena 428 

Exposition Building — Old 430 

City Hall and Market Square 436 

Old Courthouse and County Jail 440 

Old-Time Campaign Document 442 

City Hall and Bergh Fountain 444 

Old City Hall ! . . 448 

Fourth of July Announcement 450 

Milwaukee Engine Company No. 1 452 

Hook and Ladder Company No. 1 456 

Expenditure of City Tax Revenues 458 

Mass Meeting of Electors 460 

Carpenter, Matthew H. — A Sentiment 462 

Army Call of 1862 for Volunteers 466 

Water Tower and Park 470 

McKinley Park — Bathing Beach 470 

Columbia Hospital 476 

Milwaukee Hospital 476 

Washington Park— Moonlight Scene 482 

Christian Wahl — Bust 484 

Mitchell Park — Sunken Gardens 484 

Lake Park, Grand Terrace 486 

Entrance to Lake Drive 4!K) 

Skyline of Milwaukee from the Bay 490 

North Point Light House 490 

Grand Avenue Viaduct 492 

Prospect Avenue 494 

Layton Boulevard — Looking South from National Avenue 494 

Juneau Park — Solomon Juneau Monument 4! Mi 

Civic Center Group — Clas 500 

Arteries — Proposed East and West, in Connection with Auditorium and 

City Hall Sites 502 

Sketch of Suggested Grouping of Public Buildings 504 

City Hall Civic Center— Map 504 

Bridge and River Scheme — Clas 506 

Lakeshore Drive and Parkway — Clas 508 

Civic Center Scheme — Bird's-eye View Milwaukee's Proposed Parkway. . . . 508 

Washington Monument 510 

Arteries — Proposed East and West, in Connection with Revised Park Board 

Site 512 

River Improvement Scheme — Clas 514 

Von Steuben Monument 518 

Plan Proposed by Park Board in 1909 520 

Lake Front Study — Clas 522 

Bridge and Dock Area — Clas 522 

Auditorium Site — Plan for Grouping 524 

Dr. E. B. Wolcott Monument 526 

City Hall ( 'ivic Center — Bird's-eye View 530 

Civic Center Plan 1 .' 532 

Civic Center Plan 2 532 

Kosciuszko Monument 5:; I 

City Hall Site — Proposed Grouping 538 



xiv LIST OF [LLUSTKATIONS 

PAGl 

Auditorium Site — Suggested Grouping 540 

Roberl Burns Monument ."ill 

Goethe-Schiller Monument, Washington Park 544 

Washington Park. Seal Enclosure 546 

Liei' Ericson Statue. Juneau Park 546 

Washington Park —Winter Scene 550 

South SI Li ire Park Bathing Beach 554 

Courthouse and St. John 's ( lathedral 556 

Soldiers' Monument , .".Til 

.Milwaukee Light Guard — Group 576 

Milwaukee Light Guard — Card of Thanks 582 

National Soldiers' Home 590 

Fourteenth Distrid School 630 

Twenty-third Distrid School 630 

Trinity Hospital 646 

Marquette University Administration Building 646 

( Joncordia College 650 

Milwaukee-Downer College Buildings 650 

Milwaukee University School 656 

Milwaukee State Normal School 662 

Riverside High School, East Side 662 

Public Library 668 

Old Dam at North Avenue 672 

Layton Art Gallery 684 

Old Academy of Music 690 

Pabst Theatre 696 

Davidson Theatre 702 

Ivanhoe Commandery Temple 706 

Kenwood .Masonic Temple 706 

Emergency Hospital 74(1 

St. .Mary's Hospital 740 

Grand Avenue Methodist Church 742 

Grace Lutheran Church 742 

The Rescue Mission 744 

St. Paul's Church 746 

Altenheim (Lutheran Old Polks' Home) 74 s 

Trinity Lutheran ( Jhurch 750 

The Gesu Church 752 

Temple Emanu-El 754 

St . Josaphat 's Church 754 

Old-Time Milwaukee Garden Saloon 760 

Schlitz Park, Now Lapham Park 760 

I lenrv Wehr's, a Famous Restaurant 766 

Old-Time Whitelish Lav Bay Resort 77- 

Old-World •' I'.ierstulie" 77- 

Bar at Schlitz Palm Garden 784 

Interior of a Famous Palm Garden 784 



PART I 

EXPLORATION AND DISCOVERY 

PIONEER AND SETTLEMENT PERIOD 

IMMIGRATION AND RACE ORIGIN 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 



INTRODUCTION 



Every community has its story of humble beginning's, of earlier struggles 
and trials, and of hard won achievements. Every generation receives its 
inspiration and guidance from the preceding generation. Every people 
demonstrates its character and worth by the estimate it places upon its pro- 
genitors, and the respect and appreciation it manifests for them. 

Thus, an eventful past, with its achievements and its lessons, is reduced 
to historic record that we may enter into the charm of its romance, profit 
by its teachings, and emulate its examples in effort equally worthy and benefi- 
cent. Moreover, it enables a grateful progeny to measure human values, 
pay tribute to the builders of a former day, and realize as well as recognize 
the blessings and benefactions conferred by preceding generations. 

The story of an Indian village that grew in less than a century to the pro- 
portions of a great American city, that has reared mighty structures dedicated 
to the useful arts, to commerce and trade and to the cultural aspirations of 
man, is not wholly without interest or charm. 

True, it notes no historic battles, no brilliant or decisive strokes in war- 
fare, no epoch making turns in the tide of human affairs, no momentous 
events in our national history. And yet it tells of a most splendid conflict — 
a conflict in which man has grappled with the elements of nature in order 
to subject them to uses for which the Creator intended them — a conflict in 
which mind has triumphed over matter. 

The founders of Milwaukee were men of character, of vision, of action. 
The Indian instinctively sought that spot where three rivers converged and 
opened into a beautiful inland ocean. But, the white man saw the gifts of 
nature, the advantage of location and environment, and proceeded to build 
a habitation that should suit his fancy, his needs, his purposes. He applied 
his ingenuity, his enterprise, and his industry, and thus performed his part 
in the great march of human progress and civilization. 

It was the trading instinct that first brought the white man to the haunts 
of the Indian. It was, however, the industrial bent rather than the com- 
mercial instincts of the former that gave stimulus to subsequent economic- 
stability and population growth. The individual mechanic, who, single 
handed and alone, fashioned useful things became the founder of monster 
industrial enterprises. The individual worker gradually resorted to the group 

17 



IS IIISTOKV OF MILWAUKEE 

system, then came the era of organization and of quantity production. Thus. 
greal manufacturing plants, whose products now go to the four ends of the 
world, found their inception witli the simple manic in overalls, who under- 
stood the immediate wauls of his fellowman and knew how to supply them. 

A glance at the cast and west shore lines of Lake Michigan reveals a 
peculiar phenomenon. The easl shore presents a series of small eities and 
villages while the shores of Wisconsin maintain a number of large and impor- 
tant manufacturing centers. The binterland of the two shore lines has. no 
doubt, much to do with the material vitality of these cities but the primary 
cause must be sought elsewhere. The population thai sougbl the wesl shore 
was in the main industrially inclined. It included a preponderance of skilled 
mechanics. There were, of course, those who were trained in commercial and 
professional pursuits, but the artisan at all times predominated. 

The Yankees who came from New England and the Knickerbockers, as 
they were then called, who came from New York state between the thirties 
and forties of the last century, were young, strong and hopeful. They sought 
business opportunities and concerned themselves with transportation, bank- 
ing, insurance and general commercial undertakings. 

With the tide of immigration that rolled in between the years of 1840 
to 187.") from Germany, Austria, Ireland, Scotland and tin' Scandinavian 
countries, came also that industrial impetus which since has so strongly char- 
acterized the Wisconsin lake cities and led to Milwaukee's rise as a greal 
manufacturing center. 

In connection with the foregoing it should be added that the transition, 
too, from a community whose racial origin was at one time more largely 
foreign than native, passing in an orderly, logical and consistent manner from 
a stajre of foreignism to Americanism, constitutes a chapter that deserves 
treatment in the lie-lit of present day conceptions and of developments id' a 
more recent period. 

What is told of the men of Milwaukee in point of industry and perse 
verance, is equally true of the women. They braved the privation and hard- 
ships of a pioneer day. They bore the burdens of motherhood and shared 
with their husbands the sterner realities of life in a new and rough country. 
In the subsequent development and maintenance id' educational, charitable 
and welfare endeavor they assumed the larger task, and thus made a mag- 
nificent contribution to the social and moral progress of their time and their 
community. 

It is safe to say that adequate recognition has never been accorded to 
the part which women here played in tin- earlier foundations of a social order 
and in the development of those agencies which gave practical expression to 

the higher anil nobler impulses id' man. 

Histories are frequently subject to revision not so much as to the bare 
facts they chronicle bu1 rather as to the spirit they breathe, the atmosphere 
they aim to reflect, ami the impressions thej ultimately convey. Even isolated 

facts may obtain their true setting and relative import in the light of later 
facts and conditions. ('oiistaut research and the coupling of event with 
event lead to the correction of missl atemenl s, the adjustment id' values, and 



INTRODUCTION 19 

the fixing of conclusions. Again, histories already begun must from time to 
time be brought up to date and amplified by subsequent events. 

In the light of the marvellous progress made by the city and county 
of Milwaukee during the past two decades, and in amplification of the 
assembled records of the past, a new history must be deemed timely and 
desirable. The more important events of that period, a record of the later 
influences and forces that have entered into the growth and development of 
a great population center, must be rendered accessible to present and future 
generations. The lessons and precepts of that period must not be lost. 

The contribution which the people of that political unit with which this 
volume deals, have made to the economic and civic life of the nation is well 
worthy of a dignified and permanent record. Out of the aggregate of events, 
out of its successes and its failures, must spring the history of a nation. 

The people of whom this history treats have manifested the same inven- 
tive genius, the same enterprise and energy, the same constructive ability and 
the same loyalty and patriotism that has characterized the nation as a whole. 
They have been so closely interlinked with its material progress as to share 
in its adversities as well as in its successes; they have constituted so intimately 
a part of its political life as to share fully in its burdens as well as its blessings. 
At all times have they responded, willingly, readily and unselfishly, to the 
national spirit and impulse as they have complied with the duties of citizen- 
ship at home. 

It is with this thought in mind, and in this manner of approach, that the 
task of writing a new history of Milwaukee city and county, as an integral 
part of the Great Republic, is undertaken — a history that shall be concise, 
comprehensive and complete in form and presentation, and worthy of the 
people whose story it tells. 

WILLIAM GEORGE BRUCE. 



CHAPTEK I 
DISCOVERY OF THE GREAT WEST 

In the year 16.34, Jean Nicollet, accompanied by .seven Indian companions, 
entered Lake Michigan by way of the Straits of Mackinac, and thus was the 
first white man to behold the broad surface of this inland sea. "Along its 
northern shores his canoe was paddled by his dusky oarsmen," says H. E. 
Legler in his "Leading Events in Wisconsin History." "At the Lay de 
Noquet he briefly tarried, and finally came to the Menomonee, where that 
river pours its waters into Green Bay." 

Later Nicollet ascended the Fox River until he came to the country of the 
Mascoutens and at that point he turned south, when within three days' journey 
of the portage, into the Wisconsin River, thus missing the route to the Missis- 
sippi which -Joliet and Marquette followed in 1673. At length in the course 
of his extended .journey he reached the country of the Illinois Indians. After 
a sojourn with these tribes he returned to Green Bay, "doubtless along the 
western shore of Lake Michigan," says Legler. However, as this is a con- 
jecture the statement may not be accepted as fully authentic. 

Nicholas Perrot came to visit the Wisconsin Indians in 1665, having been 
intrusted by the authorities at Montreal with the task of making peace among 
the tribes who were "fierce as wild cats, full of mutual jealousies, without 
rulers and without laws." In this mission Perrot succeeded remarkably well. 

Voyages of Joliet and Marquette. — The discovery of the Upper Mississippi 
River was made on the celebrated voyage of Joliet and Marquette in 1673. 
The beginning of the recorded history of the Great West dates from this year 
and this voyage, and its importance requires some account of the events which 
marked one of the most brilliant and daring enterprises in the annals of west- 
ern adventure and exploration. 

The Mississippi River had been discovered by a Spaniard, Hernando De 
Soto in 1541, at" a point near the present City of Memphis; but this discovery 
had been well-nigh forgotten at the period of time here spoken of. That a 
great river existed, far to the north of the region where De Soto found and 
crossed the Mississippi, was well known to the French from the reports made 
to them by the Indians, vague and indefinite though they were; and these 
reports excited the imagination and stimulated the ambition of many of the 
adventurous spirits of the time. 

It does not appear to have been suspected by any of the early French 
explorers that the Great River of which the Indians told them, was one and 
the same with that discovered by the Spanish explorer, more than a century 

21 



22 BISTORT OF MILWAUKEE 

before. .Manx conjectures were made as to where it reached the sea, on which 
point the Imlians could give no reliable information. Some thoughl thai it 
emptied into the "Sea of Virginia," others contended thai it flowed into the 
Gulf of .Mexico, while Front enae. the governor of New Prance, was convinced 
that it discharged its waters into the Vermilion Sea. thai is the Oulf of Cali 
furnia: ami that by way of it. a passage mighl lie found to China. 

The Great Unknown River.- Reports having reached France, regarding 
the "Ureal River of the West," as it was often spoken of, the French minis 
ter, Colbert, wrote to Talon, the intendanl at Quebec, in 1672, that efforts 
should he made "to reach the sea:" meaning to explore tie- great unknown 
river and solve the mystery of its outlet. This was followed by appropriate 
instruct ions. Father Dablon, in the "Jesuit Relations." says: "The Counl 
Frontenac, our governor, am! Monsieur Talon, then our intendant, recogniz- 
ing: the importance of this discovery [to lie made], appointed for 
this undertaking Sieur Joliet, whom they considered xcry tit for so greal an 
enterprise: and they were well pleased that Father Marquette should lie of 
the party." 

It must he understood that the government of New France ;it this period 
was of a dual character. The French King did not believe it safe to intrusl 
the affairs of his American dominions to the hands of a single man. and there- 
fore the office of "intendant" was created, the ineumbenl possessing coordi- 
nate authority with the governor general. Thus the acts of the intendant 
were regarded as of equal authority with those of the governor general, and 
as mentioned above through the joint action of these two officials the expedi- 
tion was authorized. 

Choice of Leader. — The authorities were not mistaken in the choice they 
made of Louis Joliet. lie was a young man then twenty-eighl veins old. 
possessing all the qualifications that could he desired for such an undertaking; 
he had had experience among the Indians, and knew their language; he had 
tact, prudence and courage, and. as the event proved, he fulfilled all the 
expectations which were entertained of him by his superiors. Father James 
Marquette was a Jesuit missionary, thirty-six years old. and. in addition to his 

zeal for th inversion of the Indians, he was tilled with a burning desire 

to behold the "Great River'' of which he had heard so much, lie was sta- 
tioned at this time at St. [gnace, and here Juliet joined him late in the year 
ltiT'J, and broughl him the intelligence of his appointment to go with him in 

the conduct of tl xpeditiou. "I was all the more delighted at this good 

news," writes Marquette in his journal, "since 1 saw that my plans were 
about to he accomplished; and since I found myself in the Messed necessity 

of exposing my life for the salvation of all these peoples, and especially of 
the Illinois, who had very urgently entreated me. when 1 was at the point 
of St. Esprit, to carry the word of God to their country." Here at St. [gnace 
1 1 1 ' ■ \ passed the winter. 

As the spring advanced, they made the necessarj preparations for their 

journey, the duration of which they could not foresee. In two hark canoes. 

manned by five frenchmen, besides the two intrepid Leaders, the partj em- 
barked, "fullv resolved to do and suffer evervthine Eor so glorious an enter 



DISCOVERY OP THE GREAT WEST 2:1 

prise;" and on the 17th of May, 1673, the voyage began at the mission of 
St. Ignaee. Father Marquette writes in his journal: "The joy that we felt 
at being selected for this expedition animated our courage, and rendered 

the labor of paddling from morning to night agreeable to us. And because 
we were going to seek unknown countries, we took every precaution in our 
power, so that if our undertaking were hazardous, it should not be foolhardy." 
The journal of Father Marquette is the principal source of our information, 
and is full of detail and written in a simple style. Joliet also kept a record 
and made a map, but, most unfortunately, all his papers were lost by the up- 
setting of his canoe in the St. Lawrence, while he was returning to Quebec 
the following year to make a report of his discoveries. Thus it happens thai 
Marquette's name is more frequently and prominently mentioned in all the 
accounts than that of Joliet. 

Beginning of the Journey. — The adventm - ous voyagers proceeded along 
the .northern shore of Lake Michigan, tin' only portion of the lake which had 
at that time been explored, and entered Green Bay. They arrived at the mis- 
sion established by Father Allouez two years before, and from here they began 
the difficult ascent of the Fox River. On its upper waters they stopped at a 
village of the Mascoutins, from whom they procured guides; and by these 
friendly savages they were conducted across the portage into the upper waters 
of the Wisconsin River, whence the travelers made the r way alone. As the 
Indians turned back, they "marvelled at, the courage of seven white men, ven- 
turing alone in two canoes on a journey into unknown lands.'' 

They were now embarked on the Wisconsin River anil soon passed the 
utmost limits of Nicollet's voyage on this river made thirty-five years before. 
Their route lay to the southwest, and, after a voyage of seven days on this 
river, on the 17th day of June, just one month from the day they started from 
St. Ignaee, they reached its mouth and steered their canoes forth upon the 
broad bosom of the Mississippi, "with a joy that I cannot express." wrote 
Marquette. 

"Here, then, we are," continues the ivood Father in his journal, "on this 
so renowned river." Westward, coming down to the water's edge, were Lofty 
wooded hills intersected by deep gorges, fringed with foliage. Eastward were 
beautiful prairie lands; while great quantities of game — deer, buffalo and 
wild turkey — were seen everywhere. In the river were islands covered with 
trees and in the water they saw "monstrous fish," some of which they caught 
in their nets. Following the flow of the river, they note the changes in the 
scenery, while passing between shores of unsurpassed natural beauty, along 
which a chain of flourishing cities was afterwards to be built. 

Afloat on the Mississippi. — Steadily they followed die course of the river 
towards the south, and on the eighth day they saw, for the first time since 
entering the river, tracks of men near the water's edge, and they stopped to 
examine them. This point was near the mouth of the Des Moines River, and 
thus they were the first white men to place foot on the soil of Iowa. Leaving 
their men to guard the canoes the two courageous leaders followed a path 
two leagues to the westward, when they came in sight of an Indian village. 
As they approached, they gave notice of their arrival by a loud call, upon 




OUTLINE MAP OF MILWAUKEE MADE IX L840 
See Key mi opposite page 



KEY TO .MILWAUKEE MAP OF 1840 



A. 
B. 

c. 

D. 
E. 
F. 
G. 
H. 
I. 
K. 
L. 

X. 
0. 

p. 

1 

2 

3 

4 



The East Side. 
Kilbourn Town. 

Walker's Point. 
Milwaukee River. 
Msnomonee River. 
Red Bridge, 

Menomonee Bridge. 

Spring Street Ferry (Grand Avenue i . 
Walker's Point Ferry. 
Old Harbor Entrance. 

Proposed Straight Cut (Xew Harbor En- 
trance i . 
Lighthouse. 
Courthouse. 
The Canal. 

East Water street. 

Swamp — Present City Hall Site. 

Market Street. 

Division Street (Juneau Avenue i. 

Chestnut Street. 

Wesl Water Street. 

Spring Street (Grand Avenue). 

Chicago Road. 

Prairieville Road. 

I liven Bay Road. 



11 
12. 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
L8 
19 
20 
21 
2 2 
23. 
24, 
25 
2 il 



29 
30 
32 
33 

35 

:;r, 



Washington House. 

Kilbourn Warehouse. 

Leland & American House. 

Fischer Kroeger's German House. 

St. Peter's Chapel (Cathedral). 

Fountain House. 

Milwaukee House. 

Cottage Inn. 

Lutlington's Corner. 

Wisconsin Street. 

Beam & Company Store. 

George H. Walker's Home. 

Rogers Old Corner. 

Market Square. 

1 rge Dousman's Warehouse. 

Longstreet's Warehouse. 
Walker's Warehouse. 
Sweet & .Ten is Warehouse. 
Barber's Wharf near Ludwig's Garden. 
Little German Tavern. 
River Street Swamp. 
34. Small Islands in the Milwaukee River 

Later Removed. 
Lake Brewery. 
Huron Street. 



26 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

which the savages quickly rami' forth from their huts and regarded the stran 
gers attentively. Some of their uumber who had evidently visited the mis- 
sion stations recognized tham as Frenchmen, and they res] ded to Mar 

quette's greeting in a friendly manner and offered (lie "calumet," or pet 
pipe, which greatly reassured the visitors. Pour of the elders advanced and 
elevated their pipes Inwards the sun as a token of friendship: and. on Mar 
quette's inquiring who they were, they replied, "we are Illinois;" at the 
same time inviting the strangers to walk to their habitations. An old man 
then made them a speech in which he said. "All our people wait for thee, and 
thou shalt enter our cabin in peace." 

The Illinois Indians lived at this time beyond the Mississippi, whither ti ! 
had been driven by the fierce Iroquois from their former abode, near I. 
Michigan. A few years later most of them returned to the east side and m 
their abode along the Illinois River. Indeed. Joliel and Marquette found a 
large village of them on the upper waters of tin 1 Illinois, while ascending that 
river a few weeks later. It may be remarked here, however, that the Illinois 
Indians never fully recovered from the disastrous defeats they suffered from 
the Iroquois, and held only a precarious possession of their lands along the 
Illinois River after that time: until a century later, the last broken 1 mna il 
of them was exterminated at Starved Rock by the Pottawatomies and 
Ottawas. 

Visit to the Illinois Indians. — While still at the village of these Illinois 
Indians, a grand feast was prepared for the travelers, and they remained until 
the next day, when they made preparations for their departure. 

The chief made them two gifts which were a valuable addition to their 
equipment, namely, an Indian lad. the chief's own son, for a slave, and "an 
altogether mysterious calumet, upon which tin' Indians place more value 
than upon a slave." The possession of this "mysterious calumet." was th • 
means of placating several bands of hostile Indians, whom they met later in 
their journey. The chief, on learning their intention to proceed down the 
river "as far as the sea,*' attempted to dissuade them on account of the 
great dangers to which they would expose themselves. "1 replied." says 
Marquette, "that I feared not death, and that 1 regarded no happiness as 
greater than that of losing my life for the glory of Him, who has made us 
all. This is what these poor people cannot understand." These were no idle 
words of Marquette's, for before the lapse of two years from that date, he 
died of privation and exposure, a martyr to the cause he had s,, much at 
heart. 

The sequel to the story of the little Indian boy mentioned above was a 

sad one. He accompanied the voyagers to tl ml of their journey. In the 

following year, when Joliel was on his way to Quebec to make the report 
of his discoveries, his canoe was overturned in the rapids of the Si. Lawrence 
near Montreal, as previously stated. The resl of tin' narrative is quoted from 
Mason's "Chapters from Illinois History." "His box of papers, containing 
his map ami report, was lost, and he himself was rescued w'th difficulty. Two 
of his companions were drowned; one of these was the slave presented to 
him by the greal chief of the Illinois, a little Indian lad ten years of age, whom 



DISCOVERY OF THE GREAT WEST 27 

he deeply regretted, describing him as of a good disposition, full of spirit, 
industrious and obedient, and already beginning to read and write the French 
language." 

Friendship of Marquette and Joliet. — On the departure of the party, Mar- 
quette promised the Indians to return to them the next year and instruct 
them. They embarked in the sight of the people, who had followed them 
to the landing to the number of some six hundred. The people admired the 
canoes and gave them a friendly farewell. We cannot fail to note the har- 
mony which existed between the two leaders on this expedition, in such strik- 
ing contrast with the bickerings and disagreements observed in the accounts 
of other expeditions of a like nature. For there is no severer test of the 
friendly relations between officers of an exploring expedition than a long 
absence in regions beyond the bounds of civilization. Joliet and Marquette 
were friends long before they started together on this journey, and both were 
single minded in their purpose to accomplish its objects. No more lovely char- 
acter appears in the history of western adventure than that of Marquette, 
a man who endeared himself to all with whom he came in contact, and made 
himself an example for all time. Joliet, in turn, "was the foremost explorer 
of the West," says Mason, "a man whose character and attainments and 
public services made him a man of high distinction in his own day." 

Continuing their journey the voyagers passed the mouth of the Illinois, 
without special notice, but when in the vicinity of the place where the city 
of Alton now stands, and while skirting some high rocks, they "saw upon 
one of them two painted monsters which at first made them afraid." The 
paintings were "as large as a calf," and were so well done that they could 
not believe that any savage had done the work. Joutel saw them some eleven 
years later, but could not see anything particularly terrifying in them, though 
the Indians who were with him were much impressed. St. Cosme passed by 
them in 169!), but they were then almost effaced; and when, in 1867, Parkman 
visited the Mississippi, he passed the rock on which the paintings appeared, 
but the rock had been partly quarried away. 

They had scarcely recovered from their fears before they found themselves 
in the presence of a new danger, for they heard the noise of what at tirsl they 
supposed were rapids ahead of them: and directly they came in sight of the 
turbulent waters of the Missouri River, pouring its flood into the Mississippi. 
Large trees, branches and even "floating islands" were borne on its surface, 
and its "water was very muddy." The name Missouri, which was afterwards 
applied to this river, means in the Indian language "muddy water," and the 
river is often spoken of to this day as the "Big Muddy." They passed in 
safety, however, and continued on their journey in good spirits and with 
thankful hearts. 

They now began to think that the general course of the river indicated 
that it would discharge itself into the Gulf of Mexico, though they were still 
hoping to find that it would lead into the South Sea, toward California. As 
they passed the confluence of the Ohio and the Mississippi, the shores changed 
their character. They found the banks lined with extensive fields of cane- 
brakes: mosquitoes tilled the air. and the excessive heat of the sun obliged 



28 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

them to seek protection from its rays by stretching an awning of cloth over 
their canoes. While they were thus floating down the current of the river, 
they were in communication with Europeans, probably the Spaniards of 
some savages appeared on the banks armed with guns, thus indicating that 
Florida. The savages at first assumed a threatening attitude, but Marquette 
offered his "plumed calumet," so called because of the feathers it was 
adorned with, which the Illinois chief had given him, and the strangers were 
at once received as friends. These savages told them that they were within 
ten days' journey of the sea. and with their hopes thus raised they soon 
resumed their course. 

Soothing Effect of the Calumet. — They continued down past the monot- 
onous banks of this part of the river for some three hundred miles from the 
place where they had met the Indians just spoken of, when they weir sud 
denly startled by the war-whoops of a numerous band of savages who showed 
every sign of hostility. The wonderful calumet was held up by Marquette, 
but at first without producing any effect. Missiles were flying, but fortunately 
doing no damage, and some of the savages plunged into the river in order to 
grasp their canoes; when presently some of the older men, having perceived 
the calumet steadily held aloft, called back their young men and made re- 
assuring signs and gestures. They found one who could speak a little Illinois: 
and, on learning that the Frenchmen were on their way to the sea, the Indians 
escorted them some twenty-five miles, until they reached a village called 
Akamsea. Here they were well received, but the dwellers there warned them 
against proceeding, on account of the warlike tribes below who would bar 
their way. 

Joliet and Marquette hei-e held a council whether to push on, or remain 
content with the discoveries they had already made. They judged that they 
were within two or three days' journey from the sea. though we know that 
they were still some seven hundred miles distant from if. They decided 
however, that beyond a doubt the Mississippi discharged its waters into the 
Gulf of Mexico, and not to the East in Virginia, or to the West in California. 
They considered that in going on they would expose themselves to the risk 
of losing the results of their voyage, and would, without a doubt, fall into 
the hands of the Spaniards, who would detain them as captives. The upshot 
of their deliberations was the decision that they would begin the return 
voyage at once. The exploration of the river from this point to the sea was 
not accomplished until nine years later, when that bold explorer. La Salle. 
passed entirely down the river to its month; where he set up a column and 
buried a plate of lead, bearing the arms of France: took possession of the 
country for the French King, and named it Louisiana. 

The party were now at the mouth of the Arkansas, having passed more 
than one hundred miles below the place where l)e Soto crossed it in the 
previous century, had sailed eleven hundred miles in the thirty days since 
they had beei the greal river, an average of about thirty seven miles a 

day, and had covered nine degrees of latitude. ( in the 17th of duly, they 
began their return journey, jusl one month to a day after they had entered 
the river, and two months after they had left the mission at St. [gnace. 



DISCOVERY OF THE GREAT WEST 29 

The voyage up the river in the mid-summer heat was one of great diffi- 
culty, but steadily they "won their slow way northward,'" passing the mouth 
of the Ohio and that of the Missouri; until at length they reached the 
mouth of the Illinois River. Here they left the Mississippi and entered the 
Illinois, being greatly charmed "with its placid waters, its shady forests, and 
its rich plains, grazed by bison and deer." They passed through the wide 
portion of the river, afterwards known as Peoria Lake, and reached its upper 
waters, where, on the south bank, rises the remarkable cliff, s'nce called 
"Starved Rock." They were thus "the first white men to see the territory 
now known as the State of Illinois." 

On the opposite bank of the river, where the Town of Utica now stands, 
they found a village of Illinois Indians, called Kaskaskia, consisting of sev- 
enty-four cabins. It should here be stated that the Indians removed this 
village, some seventeen years later, to the south part of the present State of 
Illinois, on the Kaskaskia River, where it became noted in the early annals 
of the West. The travelers were well received here, and, on their departure, 
a chief and a number of young men of the village joined the party for the 
purpose of guiding them to the Lake of the Illinois, that is, Lake Michigan. 

The course of the river was now almost directly east and west, and the 
voyagers could not fail to notice the ranges of bluffs flanking the bottom 
lands through which the stream meanders in its flow. This broad channel 
once carried a mighty volume of water from Lake Michigan to the Missis- 
sippi, at a time when the glaciers were subsiding and the lake level was some 
thirty feet higher than in historic times. 

The travelers soon arrived at the confluence of the Desplaines and the 
Kankakee rivers which here, at a point some forty-five miles from Lake 
Michigan, unite to form the Illinois River. Under the guidance of their 
Indian friends they chose the route by way of the Desplaines as the shortest 
to the lake. On reaching the place where the portage into the waters tribu- 
tary to Lake Michigan was to be made, their Indian guides aided them in 
carrying their canoes over the "half league" of dry land intervening. As 
this portage is much longer than that, it is likely that the "half league" 
mentioned by Marquette referred to one stage of the portage, between the 
Desplaines and the first of the two shallow lakes which they found there and 
on which they, no doubt, floated their canoes several miles on their way to the 
waters of the south branch of the Chicago River. 

Beaching Lake Michigan. — Here their Indian friends left them while they 
made their May down the five miles that yet intervened before they would 
reach Lake Michigan. (Troves of trees lined its banks, beyond which a level 
plain extended to the margin of the lake. This level plain was the only por- 
tion of the "Grand Prairie" of Illinois which anywhere reached the shore 
of Lake Michigan, a space limited to some four miles south of the mouth of 
the Chicago River. They were not long in coming into view of that splendid 
body of water which they were approaching, and must have beheld its vasl 
extent with the feelings of that "watcher of the skies" so beautifully written 
of by Keats, "when a new planet swims into his ken." 

No date is given by Marquette in his journal of the arrival of the party 



30 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

a1 this point, luii it was probably early in September of the year 1673 thai 
the site of the present City of Chicago was firsl visited by white men. It 
is quite possible thai coureuf^ de Inns ("wood-rangers" may have visited 
tlic spol while among the Indian tribes, bu1 no record was ever made of such 

visits before the time that Joliel and Marquette arrived u] the scene, and 

made known the discovery to the world. The mouth of the river is shown 

<m all tl arly maps as at a point a quarter of a mile south of the presenl 

nutlet, owing to a long sand spit that ran out from the north shore of the 
river near its confluence with the lake, which has long since been dredged 
away. This was Juliet's first and only view of the Chicago River and its 
banks, as he never passed this way again. 

The stimulating breath of the lake breezes which met them ;is they issued 
forth upon the blue waters of the ""Lake of the Illinois," must have thrilled 
the explorers with feelings of joy and triumph, having escaped so many 
dangers and won such imperishable renown. Turning the prows of their 
canoes northward, they passed the wooded shores still in their pristine love- 
liness. The emerald hues of the prairies, whieh they had left behind them. 
were now replaced by the mottled foliage of the early autumn, and the waves 
breaking on the beach of sand and gravid must have impressed them deeply 
as they proceeded on their way. The shores began to rise and form bluffs 
as they passed the regularly formed coast on their course. 

Throughout their journey the voyagers gaze on scenes familiar now to 
millions of people, then unknown to civilized man. They see the gradual 
increase in the height of the bluffs, reaching an elevation at the present town 
id' Lake Forest of 100 feet or more above the surface of the lake, and the bold 
shores of the present site of the City of Milwaukee. No comments arc made 
regarding the events of this part of the journey by Marquette in bis journal, 
and it most likely was made without special incident. He closes his narra- 
tive by saying that "at the end of September, we reached the Bay des Puants 
(Green Bay), from which we started at the beginning of June." 

The world renowed voyage of Joliet ami Marquette thus ended at the 
.Mission of St. Francis Xavier, where the Village of De Pere, Wisconsin, now 
stands. The explorers had traveled nearly twenty-five hundred miles in about 
one hundred and twenty days, a daily average of nearly twenty-one miles. 
had discovered the Mississippi and the Chicago rivers, as well as the site id' 
the present City of Chicago: and had brought back their party without any 
serious accident or the loss of a single man. Here they remained during the 
tall and winter, and in the summer of the following year (1674), Joliel set 
out for Quebec to make a report of his discoveries to the governor of Canada. 
It was while Hearing .Montreal on this journey that his canoe was upset in the 
rapids, his Indians drowned, and all his records and a map that lie had care- 
fully prepared were lost. Joliet never returned to the West, lie was rewarded 
for his splendid Services with a grant of some islands in the lower St. 
Lawrence, including lie- extensive island of Anticosti, and died in l"tM>. As 
regards the credit due Joliel for the discovery made, the late Mr. Edward G. 
Mason in his valuable work entitled. "Chapters from Illinois History," s-iys: 

••Popular error assigned the leadership of the expedition which discovered 



DISCOVERY OF THE GREAT WEST :I1 

the Upper Mississippi and the lllino s Valley to Marquette, who never held or 
claimed it.. Every reliable authority demonstrates the mistake, and yet the 
delusion continues. But as Marquette himself says that Joliet was sent to 
discover new countries, and he to preach the gospel; as Count Frontenac 
reports to the home authorities that Talon selected Joliet to make the dis- 
covery; as Father Dablon confirms this statement; and as the Canadian 
authorities gave rewards to Joliet alone as the sole discoverer, we may safely 
conclude that to him belongs the honor of the achievement. He actually 
accomplished that of which Champlain and Nicollet and Radisson were the 
heralds, and, historically speaking, was the first to see the wonderful region 
of the prairies. At the head of the roll of those indissolubly associated with 
the land of the Illinois, who have trod its soil, must forever stand the name of 
Louis Joliet." 

Marquette Continues Exploration. — Father Marquette was destined never 
to return to the French colonial capital. His health had become impaired 
on account of the hardships he had suffered during the return journey on the 
Mississippi, and he remained nearly a year at the Mission of St. Francis 
Xavier in an effort to recover his health and prepare himself for another 
journey to the Illinois Country, as he had promised his Indian friends he 
would do. 

Early in the summer of 1674, that is, about seven or eight months after his 
return to Green Bay from the voyage described in the previous pages, Joliet 
started on his journey to Quebec to inform the authorities regarding the new 
countries he had found. As already related, Joliet met with disaster on this 
journey, and had it not been for the journal kept by .Marquette we should 
have had no detailed record of the explorations of the previous year, though 
Joliet gave some oral accounts afterwards, records of which have only in 
recent years come to light. Later in the same year Marquette, having re- 
covered from the poor health he had been suffering, received "orders to pro- 
ceed to the mission of La Concepcion among the Illinois." On the 25th of 
October, 1674, accordingly, he set out with two companions, named Pierre 
and Jacques; one of whom had been with him on his former journey of dis- 
covery. From this journey Marquette never returned; and indeed it would 
seem to have been a most perilous risk for him to have taken considering his 
physical condition, having only recently been "cured," as he says, of his 
"ailment,"' and starting at a time of year when he would soon be overtaken 
by the winter season. But no toils or exposure could deter those devoted 
missionaries of the cross from engaging in any undertaking which seemed to 
hold out the least prospect of saving souls, as the history of those times 
abundantly shows. 

Details of the Journey. — The route taken was by way of the difficult 
portage at Sturgeon Bay, where now there is a canal, cutting through the 
peninsula, and thus saved them a circuit of nearly one hundred and fifty 

miles. Accompanying his canoe was a flotilla of nil thers, containing parties 

of Pottawatomie and Illinois Indians; and in due time they embarked their 
little fleet on the waters of Lake Michigan. They encountered storms and 
the navigation proved difficult, but at length the party arrived at the mouth 



32 HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

of the Chicago River, which Marquette calls "the river of the Portage," 
early in December. Finding thai the stream was frozen over, they encamped 
near by at the entrance of the river and engaged in hunting, finding game 
very abundant. While here the two Frenchmen of the party killed "tin 
buffalo and four deer." besides wild turkeys and partridges, which, con- 
sidering the Ideality as we of this day know it, seems difficult to imagine; 
and this passage in the journal composes the lirst sketch on record of the 
site of the great city of the West. 

Having followed the course of the river some "two leagues up.'" Mar- 
quette "resolved to winter there, as it was impossible to go farther." His 
ailment had returned and a cabin was built for his use and protection. Tier.' 
he remained with his two Frenchmen while his Indian companions returned 
to their own people. It must be borne in mind that Marquette's destination 
was the village of Illinois Indians on the Illinois River, where he and Jolict 
had been entertained the year before; and that the cabin here spoken of was 
merely a temporary shelter where he would remain only until spring. But 
sometime during the interval of the fifteen months since Marquette had pre 
viously passed the portage, two Frenchmen had established themselves, about 
"eighteen leagues beyond, in a beautiful hunting country," and these men 
in expectation of the holy father's return had prepared a cabin for him. 
stocked with provisions. This cabin Marquette was not able to reach, and 
the two hunters, hearing of the good Father's illness, came to the portagi 
to render such assistance as was in their power. One of these Frenchmen 
was called "the Surgeon," perhaps because he possessed some knowledge of 
medicine, but his true name is not given. The other was called "La Taupine," 
that is, "the Tawney," whose proper name was Pierre Moreau, a noted 
coureur de bois of the time. Indians passing that way also e-ave assistance. 
and late in March Marquette found himself with strength recovered and able 
to set out on his journey to the Illinois, though not before he was driven out 
of his winter cabin by a sudden rise of the river which obliged him to take 
refuge near the place now called "Summit." 

As in the previous year, Marquette kept a journal which has come down 

to us among that valuable series of papers called the "Jesuit Relal -. 

This journal is the sheet anchor of all the writers treating of the history of 
the two journeys of discovery and exploration which we are here narrating. 
Marquette occupied a portion of the time during his stay at the cabin in writ- 
ing the memoirs of his voyages. In his journal the good Father breathes 
the spirit of self-sacrifice, the concern for the conversion ami spiritual welfare 
of the savages; and with it all tie shows a kern curiosity and interest in the 
manners and customs, the country and habitations, of the tribes he meets 
with. 

Winter Quarters of Marquette. — The location of the cabin in which Mar- 
quette spent the wilder of lti74-."i was marked with a cross made of mahogany 

WOOd, at the base of which in recent years was placed a bronze table! with 
an inscription. The site was fixed upon m 1905 by a committee of the Chicago 
Historical Society under the guidance of the late .Mr. Ossian Outhrie, an in- 
telligent and devoted student of local antiquities, with a view of marking tin' 



DISCOVERY OP THE GREAT WEST 33 

spot in a suitable manner. An entire day was spent by the party in driving 
and walking over many miles of country in order to compare the topography 
with the journal of th'e missionary, and a scries of photographs taken. The 
investigations resulted in confirming the opinions of Mr. Guthrie, namely, that 
Marquette's winter cabin was situated on the north bank of the south branch 
of the Chicago River at the point where now it is intersected by Robey Street, 
and from which at the present time can be seen, by looking westward, the 
entrance to the great Drainage Canal. 

There is also a. monument at Summit a few miles distant from the site of 
Marquette's winter cabin, marking the spot where Marquette landed after 
being flooded out of his winter quarters at Robey Street. This monument 
is constructed of boulders taken from the Drainage Canal while in process 
of building, and was placed there in 1895 by the Chicago and Alton Railroad 
Company. The inscription on the monument reads, "Father Marquette landed 
here in 1675."' 

Marquette reached the Illinois village which he called Kaskask a in the 
journal of his first visit, and which lie refers to as the "mission of La Concep- 
cion" in his later journal. This was on the 8th of April, 1675, and on reach- 
ing the village "he was received as an angel from heaven." There was always 
an atmosphere of peace wherever the good missionary went, and, no matter 
how unfavorable the circumstances were, he was the object of solicitude and 
kind attentions from his followers. From the time that he crossed the portage 
he discontinued his journal, probably owing to his increasing weakness. The 
account of the remainder of his journey is written by Father Dablon, his 
superior at Quebec. lie summoned the Indians to a grand council and "dis- 
played four large pictures of the Virgin, harangued the assembly on the 
mysteries of the Faith, and exhorted them to adopt it." His hearers were 
much affected and begged him to remain among them and continue his in- 
structions. 

Last Days of Marquette. — lint Marquette realized that his life was fast 
ebbing way, and that it was necessary if possible to reach some of the older 
missions where he could either recover his health or hand over his responsi- 
bilities to others. Soon after Easter he started on his return, pledging the 

Indians on his departure that h ' some other one would return to them and 

carry on the mission. He set out with many tokens of regard on the part 

of these good ] pie, and as a mark of honor a party of them escorted linn 

for more than thirty leagues on his way. and assisted him with his baggage. 
Some writers have supposed that he took the route by the Desplaines-Chicago 
portage, but it is more probable, according to Mason, that he ascended the 
Kankakee, guided by his Indian friends, and reached the Lake of tin' Illinois 
by way of the St. Joseph River. His destination was St. lgnace and his 
course lay along the eastern shore, which, as yet, was unknown except 
through reports from the Indians. Now alone with his two companions, he 
pushed forward with rapidly diminishing strength, until, on the 19th day of 
May, 1675, the devoted priest felt that his hour had come, and being near a 
small river, he asked to be placed ashore. Here a bark shed was Imill by his 
companions, and the dying man was placed within its rude walls. 



::i HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

"With perfed cheerfulness arid composure," relates Parkman, "he ga^ 
directions for his burial, asked their forgiveness for the trouble he had caused 
them, administered to them the sacrament of penitence, and thanked Ood that 
he was permitted to die in the wilderness, a missionary of the Faith and a 

member of the Jesuit brotherhood." Soon after I xpired, and was buried 

by Ins ( panions at that place, while they made their way to St. [gnace 

with their sad tidings. Two years later a party of Ottawa Indians, who were 
informed of the death and burial place of Marquette, were passing thai way, 
found the grave, opened it, washed and dried the bones, and placed them in 
a box of birch bark; and bore them, while chanting funeral songs, i ■ ► St. 
[gnace, where they were buried beneath the floor of the chapel of the mission. 
A statue now stands in a public place 1 near the water front at the Town of 
St. [gnace placed there in recent years. 

Thus ends the story of Marquette, who is, one may say. the patron saint 
of the people of Illinois and Wisconsin. He participated with Joliel in dis- 
covering the Mississippi River and- described its vast expanse of plain and 
forest. He came again and spent a winter in a rude cabin on the river bank, 
and from here passed on to his chosen field of work where his last missionary 
labors were performed. Memorials of him have been placed all over the West, 
where lie spent the last two years of his brief but memorable career. The 
story has been often told but never loses its interest. "Let it be told in every 
western home," writes Pres. E. J. -lames, and "every good cause in this section 
will feel tin- beneficent results of its influence," in awakening a pride in our 
earliest annals, "and quickening the spirit of service in all our people." A 
statue of Marquette, clad in his robes, has been placed by the State of Wis- 
consin in Statuary Hall in the Capitol at Washington. 

Father Marquette's Successor. — The promise made by Marquette to the 
Illinois Indians did not long remain unkept. Father Claude Allouez was sum- 
moned by his superior to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Father Mar- 
quette, and promptly responded to the call. Allouez, with two companions, 
embarked in a canoe at St. Francis Xavier in October, 1676, just two years 
after Marquette had set out from the same place: but owing to the ice in 
Green Bay they were not able to reach Lake Michigan until the following 
February. At length in April, 1677, the party reached "the river that leads 
to the Illinois." that is, the Chicago River, where they met eighty Indians 
coming towards them. The chief presented a tire brand in one hand and a 
feathered calumet in the other, from which Allouez discreetly made choice 
of the latter. The chief then invited the little party of whites to his village, 

which was soi listance from the mouth of the river, "probably," as Mason 

says, "near the portage where Marquette hail passed the winter" two years 
previously. Allouez remained at tins village a short time and then passed 
on to the Illinois River Mission, which he reached on the 27th of April. After 
erecting a cross at the mission he returned to Green Bay, as he had made 
the journey, it seems, "only to acquire the necessary information for the 
perfect establishment of tin' mission." He came again the next year, but 
retired to the Wisconsin Mission in 1679 "upon hearing of the approach of 
La Salle, who believed that the .lesuits were unfriendly to him. and that 



DISCOVERY OF THE GREAT WEST 35 

Allouez in particular had sought to defeat his plans." "The era of the dis- 
coverer and missionary was now giving plan- to that of the explorer and 
colonist," and the great figure of Robert Cavelier de La Salle appears upon 
the scene. 










mmm 






v 4y^T 






CHAPTER II 
THE ORDINANCE OP 1787 

< (wing to its profound influence on the later history of the State of Wis- 
consin and its people some account will here be given of the Ordinan* f 

1787 and a brief analysis of its provisions. 

The Ordinance of 1787 was passed by the Continental Congress on the 
13th of July in the year named in the title of the ordinance, and the Federal 
Constitution was adopted by the same body mi the 17th of September of the 
same year. Thus the famous ordinance enjoys a priority of date of more than 
two months over that of the constitution. The Ordinance of 1787 has been 
termed by Senator George F. Hoar "one of the title deeds of American con- 
stitutional liberty," and it lias, indeed, all the authority and force of an article 
of the constitution itself. 

By the Ordinance of 1787 there were to be formed from the Northwest 
Territory not less than three nor more than live states. In case there should 
be only three states formed the ordinance provided that these states should 
have certain boundaries, with this proviso: "It is further understood and 
declared that the boundaries of these three states shall be subject so far to 
be altered, that if Congress shall hereafter find it expedient, they shall have 
authority to form one or two states in that part of the said territory which 
lies north of an east and west line drawn through the southerly bend or 
extreme of Lake Michigan." 

Before the formation of states, however, there were territorial divisions. 
When the Territory of Illinois came to be formed in 1809, the boundaries were 
established on the same lines as those of the present State of Illinois except 
that the territory extended northwards to the boundary line between Canada 
and the United States. When the Enabling Act (enabling the people of Illi- 
nois to form a state constitution) was passed, April 18, ISIS, the northern 
boundary of the new State of Illinois was fixed in accordance with the Ord:- 
nance of 1787, on the east and west line drawn through the southerly or 
extreme bend of Lake Michigan, afterwards ascertained to be forty-one 
degrees and thirty-nine minutes of north latitude. 

Nathaniel Pope who was the delegate in Congress from the Territory of 
Illinois moved an amendment to the bill, which was then under consideration 
in the committee of the whole, by striking out that part which defined tli • 
northern boundary and inserting "forty-two degrees and thirty minutes north 
latitude." The amendment was agreed to ami the bill was passed. 

The effect of Pope's Amendment was to include within the limits of the 
new state a strip of country sixty-two miles in width, extending from Lake 

37 



38 ■ HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Michigan to the .Mississippi River, containing an area of 8,500 square miles 
n!' fertile country, diversified with forests and rivers, within which at the 
presenl time are located fourteen counties with many populous and pros 
perous cities. 

Mr. Pope's Argument. — In presenting the amendmenl to the enabling ad 
in L818, Mr. Pope made the following argument: "That the proposed new 
state (Illinois), by reason of her geographical position, even more than on 
account of the fertility of her soil, was destined to become populous and 
influential ; that if her northern boundary was fixed by a line arbitrarily estab- 
lished rather than naturally determined, and her commerce was to be con- 
fined to that great artery of communication, the Mississippi R'.ver, which 
washed her entire western border, and to its chief tributary to the south. I 
Ohio River, there was a possibility that her commercial relations with the 
South might become so closely connected that in the event of an attempted 
dismemberment of the Union, Illinois would east her lot with the southern 
states. 

"On the other hand," he continued, "to fix the northern boundary of Illi- 
nois upon such a parallel of latitude as would give to the state jurisdiction 
over thi' southwestern shores of Lake Michigan, would he to unite the in- 
cipient commonwealth to the states of Indiana. Ohio, Pennsylvania and New 
York in a bond of common interest well nigh indissoluble. By the adoption 
of such a line Illinois might become at some future time the keystone to the 
perpetuity of the Union. It was foreseen, even at that early time that • Ihicago 
would be a lake port of great importance, and that a canal would be con 
structed across the state between the lake and the Mississippi; and Mr. 
Pope urged that it was the duty of the National Government to give Illinois 
an outlet on Lake Michigan, which, with the support of the population back of 

tl oast, would be capable of exercising a decisive influence upon her own 

affairs, as well as strengthening her position among her sister states." 

Effects of Altering the Boundary. -When we reflect that the region affected 
by Pope's amendment was at that time an almost unbroken wilderness, that 
the advantageous position of Chicago and its contiguous territory was only 
a matter of speculation, we must recognize in Pope's action in proposing and 
urging the adoption of his amendment the work of a keen and far-sighted 
statesman. "No man," says John Moses in his "History of Illinois." "ever 
rendered the state a more important service in Congress than did Nathaniel 
Pope." That the fixing of the northern boundary of the state where it is 
today had momentous consequences can be seen in tile subsequent historj 
,d' the state. Had the northern tier of counties included within the sixty- 
two mile Strip become attached to Wisconsin, as it inevitably would have 
been, the State of Illinois would have lacked, when issues of tremendous 
moment were at stake, a vital element in her legislature at the time of the 
breaking out id' the Civil war. an element that Wisconsin did not require, 
;,s the Union sentiment in that state was at all times verj strong. 

Whether or not the splendid support given to the Union cause in the state 
of Illinois was of such importance as to justify Pope's declaration, when 
arguing for the amendment, that the state mighl become "the keystone to 



THE ORDINANCE OF 1787 39 

the perpetuity of the Union," may be regarded differently by historians. Hut 
the commanding position occupied by Illinois during- the Civil war, with one 
of its citizens in the presidential chair and another leading- the armies of the 
Union, went far to make good the claim made by Hope in his declaration. 
The part taken by Hope in the boundary matter well illustrates whal has been 
called "his almost superhuman sagacity." 

lion. Clark E. Carr, in an address made in 1911, referred to Pope's dis- 
tinguished services in the following eloquent words: "Long- after that greal 
statesman had passed away, his arguments were tested, in the midst of car- 
nage and death, in the smoke of battle by brave Illinois heroes, some of them 
led by his own son, Maj. Gen. John Pope, and proved to be sound." 

Analysis and Comments on the Ordinance. — It may be well to recall the 
opinions of eminent statesmen regarding the importance of the Ordnance 
of 1 7.S7 in the formation of the states under its provisions. A brief summary 
of the ordinance may here he inserted: These provisions, it is declared, shall 
"forever remain unalterable unless by common consent"; "no person shall 
be molested on account of his mode of worsh'p or religious sentiments" ; every 
person shall be "entitled to the benefits of the writ of habeas corpus and of 
trial by jury"; "religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good 
government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of educa- 
tion shall forever be encouraged"; "the utmost good faith shall always In- 
observed towards the Indians": there shall he formed "not less than three 
nor more than five states in the said territory"; "there shall he neither 
slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said territory otherwise than in the 
punishment of crimes whereof the party shall have been duly convicted." 

Perhaps to some readers the word "ordinance" as applied to an act of 
Congress may not be readily understood. Why was it not called an "act" 
for certainly we should so call it if it had passed in a similar manner at the 
present day. The term "ordinance" is now Hinted in its use to measures 
passed in a city council. There is no legal distinction, however, between an 
ordinance and an act or statute. The term has gone out of use as applied 
to acts of Congress, though at the time of the old Continental Congress it 
was quite usual to so employ it. But after the United States became a 
nation, by the rat'fication of the Constitution in 1 7 S , the term act or statute 
became the usual one. 

Lincoln's View of the Ordinance. In his great Cooper Institute s] h 

Mr. Lincoln referred to the Ordinance of 1 7 s 7 . making use of the provisions 
therein contained to buttress his arguments against the extension of slavery 
into the territories. He showed that federal control as to slavery in federal 
territory, as asserted in tin- ordinance, was the deliberate expression of the 
highest power then existing in the country; and that after the Constitution 
had been ratified, namely, in 1789, an act was passed by the new Congress 
"to enforce the Ordinance of 1787, including the prohibition id' slavery in the 
Northwestern Territory," and that this act had been signed by George Wash- 
ington. 

Quoting from Dr. William V. Poole's treatise on the ordinance, summariz- 
ing the benefits accruing to posterity, it is said: "The Ordinance, in the 



40 BISTORT OP -MILWAUKEE 

breadth of its conception, its details, and its results, has been perhaps the 
must notable instance of legislation thai was ever enacted by the representa- 
tives of the American people. It fixed forever the character of the immigra- 
tion, and of the social, political and educational institutions of the people who 
were to inhabit this imperial territory — then a wilderness, but DOW covered by 
five great states." 

Of the ordinance as a whole Daniel Webster said: "We are accustomed 
to praise the lawgivers of antiquity — we help to perpetuate the fame of Solon 
and Lycurgus; but I doubt whether one single law, ancient or modern, has 
produced effects of more distinct, marked and lasting character than the 
Ordinance of 1787." 

A Famous Boundary Controversy. — When Wisconsin had arrived at the 
dignity of territorial existence in ]S'-'S, the southern boundary of the territory 
Mas naturally placed at the line of the northern boundary of Illinois as it 
was fixed by "Pope's Amendment" when the latter state was admitted to 
the Union in 1818; that is, at 42 degrees and 30 minutes north latitude. The 
Ordinance of 1787, under the terms of which the states of Ohio, Indiana. 
Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin were afterwards formed, prescribed the 
northern boundary of the state which became Illinois on an east and west line 
drawn through the southern bend of Lake Michigan, that is, sixty-two miles 
south of where it was eventually placed. It was claimed by the Wisconsin 
statesman of that day that Illinois was not entitled to the strip of land thus 
enclosed and added to its area. They contended that this land belonged to 
the new territory and that Congress should repeal that part of the act creat- 
ing the State of Illinois though it had been a settled transaction for eighteen 
years. 

It will be remembered that by reason of "Pope's Amendment" the line had 
been changed while the enabling act was passing through Congress so that 
an area of some eighty-five hundred square miles in the northern part of the 
state had been added to Illinois against the plain provisions of tin- Ordinance 
of 1787. 

This tract of country had been rapidly filled with settlers, great projects 
of public improvement were under way, ami it had thus become a very im- 
portant addition to the wealth and population of the state. The Wisconsin 
people appealed to the language of the Ordinance of 17S7 which seemed to 
justify their claim. 

The Ordinance of 1787 provided for the erection of three states out of 
the northwest territory (which afterwards became Ohio. Indiana and Illi- 
nois), and further specified that "if Congress shall hereafter rind it expedient 
they shall have authority to form one or two more staler in that part of 
said territory which lies north of an east and west line drawn through the 
southerly bend of Lake Michigan," and that this provision was to "forever 
remain unaltered except by common consent." The Legislature of Wisconsin 
Territory sent a somewhat belated memorial to Congress nearly three years 
after the organization of the territory, declaring that the determination of 
the nothern boundary of Illinois was "directly in collision with and repug- 
nant to the compact entered into by the original states with people and states 



THE ORDINANCE OF 1787 11 

within the Northwest Territory." Finding that Congress gave no heed to 
this protest the Legislature passed a resolution that Congress had "vio- 
lated the Ordinance of 1787," and that "a large and valuable tract of 
country is now held by the State of Illinois contrary to the manifest right 
and consent of the people of the territory." 

Appeal to the Ordinance of 1787. — Congress, however, still turned a deaf 
ear to these proceedings, and in 1840 the people living in the disputed tract 
in Illinois were invited by a resolution of the Territorial Legislature of Wis- 
consin to hold an election to vote on the question of forming a const. tution 
for the proposed new State of Wisconsin, as if the tract were really a part 
of Wisconsin Territory. Strange as it may seem, the people of the counties 
within the disputed tract complied with the invitation, and delegates were 
chosen to a convention to be held at Rockford. This convention formally 
declared that Wisconsin was entitled to the disputed tract as it claimed. 
Nothing came of this, as it was found that the people of Wisconsin Territory 
generally regarded the movement for the formation of a state government 
as premature, and no action was taken on their part in the matter until a year 
or two later. 

So matters stood until 1812, when a new impulse was given to the move- 
ment for a state organization in Wisconsin. It was argued that if the strip 
of country in Northern Illinois were reckoned as a part of Wisconsin Terri- 
tory, as it rightfully should be, there would be a sufficient number of in- 
habitants, when added to those of the territory, to warrant a demand to be 
admitted as a state to the Union. Orators became belligerent in their claim 
for the "ancient limits," which was how they described the disputed land in 
Illinois. One member of the Legislature declared that Wisconsin ought to 
assume jurisdiction over Northern Illinois, saying: "Let us maintain that 
right at all hazards, unite in convention, form a state constitution, extend our 
jurisdiction over the disputed tract if desired by the inhabitants there, and 
then, with legal right and immutable justice on our side, the moral and 
physical force of Illinois, of the whole Union, cannot make us retrace our 
steps." 

It seemed impossible, however, to arouse any marked interest among the 
Wisconsin people themselves on the subject, the interest being almost wholly 
confined to the Illinois northern counties and the politicians guiding the 
sentiments there. This willingness of the Northern Illinois people to unite 
with Wisconsin seems the more singular when it is remembered that already 
the Illinois and Michigan Canal, reaching far to the south of Wisconsin's 
possible limits, was in course of construction; and that the chief dependence 
of these northern counties was on the rapidly growing City of Chicago, whose 
future was bound up with the canal's prosperity. The Illinois people, how- 
ever, recovered their senses and in later appeals from the Wisconsin leaders 
became indifferent, and finally were entirely reconciled to their Illinois 
allegiance. 

Failure of Congress to Heed Appeals. — The last shot in the controversy 
was tired by a committee of the Territorial Legislature which late in 1813 
prepared an address to Congress on the boundary question, running in part as 



J2 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

follows: "Had we formed a constitution and state government, and ex- 
tended our jurisdiction over all the territory appropriated, though it mighl 
have involved us in a dbnflict with [llino ! s, qo one could truly say we had 
done more than exercise our lawful rights iii a lawful manner." Bu1 Con- 
gress made qo response io this warlike appeal, and the subjeel failed to 
attract any further attention; no doubl for the reason thai the boundary ih 
it stood was an accomplished fact, and any disturbance of the line after a 
quarter of a century from the time it was established would result in endless 
confusion. Wisconsin was admitted to the Union .May 29, 1848, the presenl 
boundary line being accepted withoul further question. 

It is an interesting fact in this connection that while the boundary line is 
described as at "41' degrees, 30 minutes of north latitude" in all lie acts ami 
proceedings connected with the subject, ami boundary posts ami monuments 
were placed in supposed accordance with that line, yet it was found in later 
years that the old surveys were incorrect, and that there was a variance of 
three-fourths of a mile in places from the true parallel. Indeed the line of 
monuments is north of the parallel in the western part of the state, and 
zigzags to and fro. finally landing some distance south of the parallel at the 
eastern end on the shore of Lake Michigan. 

Wisconsin was admitted as a state of the Union on May 29, I s Is after 
a probation period of twelve years as a territory. It was the fifth state to 
be formed out of the Northwest Territory whieh had been organized under 
the Ordinance of 1 7S7. We have previously given some account of the 
boundary controversy with Illinois while Wisconsin was yet a territory. But 
in the generally prosperous conditions prevailing throughout the regions 
occupied by Illinois and Wisconsin all the grievances between the two sections 
were forgotten, or became the subjeel of humorous references. It is recalled 
that Hon. James R. Doolittle of Wisconsin, in a speech at the beginning of 
work on the great Chicago Drainage ('anal in 1892, spoke in terms of praise 
for the work. The veteran ex-senator said he hoped to see the greal enter 
prise completed and a "'waterway established between the lakes and rivers." 

He eonti I as follows: "I say it with jusl as much earnestness as if all my 

interests were identical with Chicago. I still live in Wisconsin. 1 live in the 
state to which Chicago belongs according to the < Irdinance of 17*7. i Laughter 

and applause, i I sometimes give ; xcuse to those gentlemen who ask me. 

'Why is it you practice law in Chicago, and yet live in Wisconsin?' I tell 
them that by the Ordinance of 17*7. Chicago belongs to Wisconsin, and I 
have a righl to be there. Bui independent of all that my interests are of a 
national characl er. ' ' 



CHAPTER III 
DISCOVERY OF THE GREAT LAKES 

A prospect of Lake Michigan from any point along its shores is like thai 
of the ocean itself in its seeming boundless expanse. And yet all this vast 
flood is destined to pass over the Kails of Niagara in its eventual flow to the 
sea. There will be considerable hiss in its volume from evaporation before 
reaching the falls, and il will also be somewhat diminished by reason of the 
withdrawal of a small fraction of its waters for the use of man ami his works. 
The entire volume of the four great lakes above the falls. Lakes Superior, 
Michigan, Huron and Erie, must find an outlet into Lake Ontario ami so on 
down to the sea through the Niagara and St. Lawrence rivers. It can well 
be imagined that the Hood pouring over the brink of the cliff at Niagara is 
so tremendous that there is not on earth a rival to it in its size ami magnifi- 
cence save the great Victoria Falls of the Zambesi River in South Africa. 

The Order in Which They Were Discovered. — With a map of the Great 
Lakes spread out one sees them clustered in a group like a bunch of tubers 
on a stem, each one connected with the other by rivers or straits. Going back 
to the time when these large bodies of water were as yet unknown to civilized 
men, it is curious to note the course of events through which their existence 
ami bounds were made known to map makers and geographers. It would be 
natural to suppose while looking at the map that Lake Ontario would have 
been the first one of the great lakes to be opened to the knowledge of white 
men, always remembering that the French were the leaders in these dis- 
coveries. From their settlements on the St. Lawrence the French gradually 
pushed westward into the wilderness, but in the early period of their ad- 
vances they chose the Ottawa River as the route towards the west and north- 
west rather than the St. Lawrence itself. This led them in the direction of 
Lake Huron, and thus this lake was the first one of the Great Lakes to be 
discovered. Champlain was the man -who, in Kilo, first saw the waters of 
Georgian Bay, which opened from the larger body of Lake Huron, and thus 
became the pioneer in the discovery of the Great Lakes of the Northwest. 
The discovery of Lake Ontario followed soon after, which was also discovered 
by ( ihamplain. 

Lake Erie Eluded Them.— A few years later, that is in 1634, Nicollet 
crossed Lake Huron, and passing the Straits of Mackinac entered the northern 
waters of Lake Michigan ami penetrated as far as Green Hay. Here he 
entered the mouth of the Fox River and traveled as far as the portage into 
the Wisconsin River, but he did not continue to the .Mississippi as he might 

43 



jfflrm 0% $t&Klai$aUmu 



THERE is a purpose of Marriage between 




residing in 



of which proclamation is hereby made for the 



time. 



£s~ 



" the jCC~^sfc~-^lay of ^W^ _ Tl82«^' 
It is hereby certified, That the above-mentioned Parties have 
been Three Times Proclaimed in order to Marriage, in the Parish 



Church of £*^ 



no objections have been offered 




&f/<.>? t 



and that 




Sess. Clerk. 



-.»»*—; 'Sir et«>- 



At {Zu-lt****? — the 2-4 day of lyyu/^C IS2 j' 

The above Parties were Married by 

C^UCS! Vt^Zo <y*A^ Minister. 



COPY OF AN OLD WISCONSIN MARRIAGE LICENSE IN POSSESSION OF THE 

SETTLERS CLUB OF MILWAUKEE 



DISCOVERY OF THE GREAT LAKES 45 

have done if he had held on a few days longer. The discovery of the latter 

river was reserved for Joliet and Marquette, who passed over the same route 
thirty-nine years later. In 1658 De Groseilles entered Lake Superior through 
the St. Mary's River. Thus four of the Great Lakes had become known to 
the French, but still Lake Erie eluded their knowledge, and it was not until 
1669 that Joliet, passing south on Lake Huron through the St. Clair River. 
discovered Lake Erie, the last one of the group to become known. 

Thus the five great lakes were discovered in the following order: Huron. 
Ontario. .Michigan, Superior and Erie. Between the discovery of Lake Huron 
the first, and Lake Erie the last, there was an interval of fifty-four years. It 
will be interesting to make a brief survey of what was happening in other 
parts of the country during this interval. Champlain had founded Quebec in 
1608, that is twelve years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, and in 1609 
Hudson sailed up the river now called by his name; and five years later the 
first Dutch settlements were made at New Amsterdam, now New York. Settle- 
ments had been started on the James River in Virginia, and others were scat- 
tered along the Atlantic Coast at Delaware and Maryland. 

Iroqucis Blocked Way. — After the discovery of Lake Erie in 1669 it would 
seem to have been inevitable that Niagara Falls would almost at once have 
been discovered by the French. Cut it must be remembered thai the Iroquois, 
those "pests of the wilderness," who held possession of the region about the 
Niagara River were hostile to the French and prevented their approach. It 
was well known, however, that there was a great cataract somewhere along 
the river connecting the two lakes, Ontario and Erie. But during a lull in 
the age-long hostility between the [roquois and the French, La Salle organized 
his expedition to explore the Mississippi, and laid his route by way of the 
Niagara River. A part of his force, starting from Fort Frontenac on Lake 
Ontario, went in advance of La Salle himself, and landed at the mouth of 
the Niagara River. Father Hennepin was with the advance party, and he 
lost no time after landing in making a search for the falls so long known by 
report, but as yet never seen by white men. 

The Imperial Cataract. — Parkman's account is well worth quoting as to 
what happened, which at the same time is a fair specimen of the famous 
historian's style. "Hennepin, with several others," he says, "now ascended 
the river in a canoe to the foot of the mountain ridge of Lewiston. which, 
stretching on the right hand and on the left, forms the acclivity id' a vast 
plateau, rent with the mighty chasm, along which, from this point to the 
cataract, seven miles above, rush, with the fury of an Alpine torrent, the 
gathered waters of four inland oceans. To urge the canoe farther was impos- 
sible. He landed, with his companions, on the west bank, near the foot of that 
part of the ridge now called Queenstown Heights, climbed I he steep ascent, 
and pushed through the wintry forest on a tour of exploration. On his left 
sank the cliffs, the furious river raging below; till at length, in primeval 
solitudes, unprofaned as yet by the pettiness of man, the imperial cataracl 
burst upon his sight." 

The date of the discovery was December li, 1678, so that when it is remem- 
bered that Joliet and Marquette discovered the Upper Mississippi in June. 



46 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

1673, it is seen thai the gn a1 river of the West, as well as the Illinois country 
ami the sites of Chicago and Milwaukee, were actually discovered more than 
five years before the discovery of Niagara Palls was made. Hennepin, in 
his account, described the Falls as 600 feel in height, which, of course. was a 
greal exaggeration. It is well known that the falls arc onlj aboul 171 feel 
high, hut Hennepin was given to enlarging on his facts. With all his failings, 
however, he will go down to posterity as being the discoverer of the most 
wonderful natural feature, perhaps, in the world. The Greal hakes together 
with their connecting straits and rivers were now completely made known 
to the civilized world. 

Aspect of Lake Michigan. — As one stands on the shore of Lake Michigan 
and gazes on its broad expanse stretching far to the north, east and south. 
a noble view is presented. One realizes the great extent over which his eye 
wanders by noting the lake craft in the distance, some vessels lying "hull 
down" with their white sails only in sight, and some trailing clouds of smoke 
along the horizon, indicating passing steamers beyond the limit of vision. 
Those in plainer sight seem to stand motionless while in strange contrast the 
waves near the shore dash violently on the breakwaters and piers, throwing 
up clouds of spray, or break in thunderous surges on the sand and gravel 
at one's feet. 

Such a view from the bluffs along the north shore forms a grand and 
impressive spectacle, and such an outlook is one of the principal attractions 
to the dwellers in the beautiful homes that have been built in the neighbor- 
hood. When tossed by the wind the ruffled surface of the lake shows many 
shades of blue and green according to the light reflected upon it from the 
sky; and when light, fleecy clouds are passing over it, casting broad shadows 
upon its far-extending surface, the colors arc shown in varied hues ranging 
from neutral tints to most beautiful olive greens and violet blues. One of our 
local poets happily likened its broad expanse under these conditions to a 
"pictured psalm." 

"A level plain of a vast extent on land is certainly no mean idea," wrote 
Edmund Burke in his celebrated essay on the •"Sublime and Beautiful." 
"The prospect of such a plain may be as extensive as a prospect of the ocean; 
but can it ever fill the mind with anything so great as the ocean itself?" 
This can be well understood by those who have long dwelt on the shores of 
Lake Michigan. I bit when 

" — storms and tempests wake the sleeping main. 

And lightnings flash while winds grow hoarse and loud. 

And writhing billows toss their white crests high," 

then, indeed, Lake Michigan's aspeel changes from the beautiful to the sub- 
lime. It is then when darkness adds its terrors to the scene that the perils 
of the mariner come home to the observer with moving force and quickened 
s\ mpathy. 

Natural History of Lake Michigan. Lake Superior is the largest bodj of 
fresh water in the World, with an approximate area of 31,200 Square miles. 



DISCOVERY OF THE GREAT LAKES 47 

Next in order of size comes Lake Victoria Nyanza in Africa, with an approxi- 
mate area of 22,500 square miles. It is 320 miles long and 85 miles broad at 
its widest part. 

'"Lake Michigan receives the drainage of only a very narrow bell in north- 
eastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana, comprised mainly in the drainage 
of the Chicago and Calumet rivers," writes Frank Leverett, the eminent 
geologist, in his monograph published by the Cnited States Geological Survey. 
"It drains about one-half the area of the southern peninsula of Michigan and 
adjacent portions of Wisconsin, mainly tributary to Green Bay. South of the 
Green Bay drainage system only a narrow belt is tributary to the lake. The 
watershed draining to Lake Michigan is estimated to be 45,000 square miles, 
and the total area of the basin (including the lake itself) is 68,100 square 
miles." 

Physical Features of Lake Michigan. — There is no other lake in America, 
north or south, which traverses so many degrees of latitude, extending from 
45 degrees, 55 minutes on the north, to 41 degrees, 37 minutes on the south. 
There are a number of islands in the northern part of the lake: Beaver 
Island, comprising an area of about forty square miles, the Fox Islands ami 
the Manitous. South of the latter there is a stretch of over two hundred 
miles to the southern end of the lake in which there are no islands or even a 
sand bar of any description rising above the surface. As the bed of the lake 
is composed of clay, sand and gravel throughout this portion of its extent, 
there is no danger to navigation from the occurrence of rocks either in its 
bed or on its shores, and vessels driven by storms can find good holding 
ground for the'r anchors. There are, however, some rather dangerous shoals 
and reefs, especially in the vicinity of Racine and South Chicago which are 
plainly indicated on the Government "Lake Survey" charts, printed for the 
use of navigators. 

The elevation of the surface of Lake Michigan above the level of the 
sea is 581 feet, and its approximate maximum depth is eight hundred and 
seventy feet. Its southwestern shores are bordered with "dunes" of sand 
rising in mounds of many graceful shapes. Many of these dunes rise to a 
height of 100 feet or more. 

Schoolcraft's Observations. — "These dunes are, however, but a hem on the 
fertile prairie lands," wrote Schoolcraft, in 1820, "not extending more than 
half a mile or more, and thus masking the fertile lands. Water, in the shape 
of lagoons, is often accumulated behind these sand-banks, and the force of 
the winds is such as to choke and sometimes entirely shut up the mouth of the 
rivers. We had found this hem of sand-hills extending around the southern 
shore of the lake from the vicinity of Chicago, and soon found that it gave an 
appearance of sterility to the country that it by no means merited." On 
other portions of the lake the shore consists of a somewhat irregular line of 
bluffs, from fifty to seventy-five feet in height, though there are eminences 
which attain a much greater altitude, as for instance. "Bald Tom," situated 
on the Michigan shore, on a line directly east of Chicago, which is 240 feet 
in height. 

An English traveler, in the course of a description of the view landward 



48 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

from the deck of ;i passing steamer, used the expression, "the monotonous 
shores of Lake Michigan," which as they appear from a distance may have 
deserved such a mention. 'if by thai it was intended to notice the absence of 
hills or mountains in the vicinity of its shores. But Schoolcraft's observations 
as above quoted will go far to give a true impression to the beholder. 

The whole extent of the shore line of Lake Michigan is 1,320 miles. The 
length of the shore line bordering on Wisconsin, from the Illinois state line 
on the south to the end of the Door Peninsula on tin- north, is about two 
hundred in les. This does not reckon in the coast line of Green Bay. 

Tin' fluctuations in the Level of the waters of the Greal Lakes have at- 
tracted much attention among scientific observers, to ascertain if possibly 
these fluctuations could be identified witli regular tidal movements. As early 
as 1670, Father Dablon in the "Jesuit Relations," says, "as to the tides, it 
is difficult to lay down any correct rule. At one time we have found the 
motion of the waters to be regular, and at others extremely fluctuating. We 
have noticed, however, that at full moon and new moon the tides change once 
a day for eight or ten days, while during the remainder of the time there is 
hardly any change perceptible. 

It is worth while remarking in this connection that Schoolcraft, who was 
an eminent geolog'si and who visited Green Bay in 1820, did not believe 
there were any tides in the lakes. "Governor ('ass caused observations to be 
made.*' he says, "which he greatly extended at a subsequent period. These 
give no countenance to the theory of regular tides, but denote the changes in 
the level of the waters to be eccentrically irregular, and dependent, so far as 
observations extend, altogether on the condition of the winds and currents 
of the lakes." 

Whether or not there is actually a lunar tide in Lake Michigan was made 
the subject of an address by Lieut. -Col. James I). Graham, a Government 
engineer, before the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 
in 1860. Referring to the writings of the early missionaries and explorers, 
he said that in the lakes were noted some peculiar fluctuations in the eleva- 
tion of the waters of these inland seas. "In the speculations indulged in by 
some of these writers." he continued, "a slight lunar tide is sometimes sus- 
pected, then again such an influence on the swelling and receding waters is 
doubted, and their d'sturbanrc is attributed to the varying courses and forces 
of the winds. 

Lack of Systematic Observations. — "But we have nowhere seen that any 
systematic course of observation was ever instituted and carried on by these 
early explorers, or by any of their successors who have mentioned lie subject, 
giving the tidal reading's at small enough intervals of time apart, and by long 

enough duration to develop the problem of a diurnal lunar tidal wav i thes 

lakes. The general idea has undoubtedly been thai no such lunar influence 
was here perceptible. 

"In April. 1854, I was stationed at Chicago by the orders of the Govern- 
ment," continued Colonel Graham in his address, "and charged with the 
direction of the harbor improvements on Lake Michigan. In the latter part 
of Augusl of that year, 1 caused to be erected at the east or lakeward ex 



DISCOVERY OF THE GREAT LAKES 49 

tremity of the north harbor pier, a permanent tide-gauge for the purpose of 
making daily observations of the relative heights and fluctuations of the 
surface of this lake. 

"The position thus chosen for the observations projects into the lake, 
entirely beyond the mouth of the Chicago River, and altogether out of the 
reach of any influence from the river current upon the fluctuations of the 
tide-gauge. It was the fluctuations of the lake surface alone that could affect 
the readings of the tide-gauge. 

"On the first day of September, 1854, a course of observations was com- 
menced on this tide-gauge, and continued at least once a day, until the thirty- 
first day of December, inclusive, 1858. * * These observations were in- 
stituted chiefly for the purpose of ascertaining with accuracy the amount of 
the annual and also of the secular variation in the elevation of the lake 
surface, with a view to regulating the heights of break-waters and piers to 
be erected for the protection of vessels, and for improving the lake harbors." 

Results of Tidal Observations.— The result of this series of tidal observa- 
tions, continued over a period of four years and four months, is given by 
Colonel Graham as follows: "The difference of elevation of the lake surface, 
between the periods of lunar low and lunar high water at the mean spring 
tides is here shown to be two hundred and fifty-four thousandths (.254) of a 
foot; and the time of high water at the full and change of the moon is shown 
to be thirty minutes after the time of the moon's meridian transit." 

For the benefit of readers who may not be accustomed to terms familiar 
enough to residents of tide-water regions, we will here state that "spring 
tides" have no relation to the spring season. Spring tides occur twice a 
month. 

Colonel Graham sought to justify himself in taking so much pains to 
ascertain the facts regarding tidal movements in Lake Michigan, by saying: 
"Although this knowledge may be of hut small practical advantage to navi- 
gators, yet it- may serve as a memorandum of a physical phenomenon whose 
existence has generally heretofore been either denied or doubted." He con- 
cluded his paper by submitting his observations as a solution of the "problem 
in question," and as "proving the existence of a semi-diurnal lunar tidal 
wave on Lake Michigan, and consequently on the other great fresh water 
lakes of North America," varying from fifteen hundredths of a foot to 
twenty-five hundredths of a foot, that is, from one and four-fifths inches to 
three inches' rise and fall. 

"Col. J. D. Graham's report on the tides of Lake Michigan," says R. A. 
Harris in the Coast and Geodetic Report for 1907, "have not been altered by 
subsequent observations." Graham's work was discussed by Ferrel in his 
book "Tidal Researches": and Harris accords Colonel Graham the honor of 
being the discoverer of tides in the lakes. 

Prof. Rollin D. Salisbury of the University of Chicago, sums up the matter 
in his work, entitled, "Physiography," as follows: "Tides are imperceptible 
in small lakes and feeble in large lakes and inclosed seas. In Lake Michigan, 
for example, there is a tide of about two inches." 

Sudden and Gradual Fluctuations. — Oscillations of the lake level are 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

familiar phenomena to residents on the shores of the lake "Thej - are g 
crally attributed by scientific men," wrote Thomas C. ('lark.' in the Atlantic 
Monthly for March, I86I5 "to atmospheric disturbances which, by increasing 

or diminishing the atmosphere pressure, produce a corres] ling rise or fall 

in the water level. These are the sudden and irregular fluctuations. The 
gradual fluctuations are probably caused by the variable amounl of 1 
which falls in the vast area of country drained by the lakes." 

Thus it may be said in general that the levels of lakes with river outlets 
of a limited volume change from time to time, according 1" the amount of 
precipitation on their surfaces and the contiguous territory. The sources of 
supply of such a body of water as Lake Michigan, fur example, are springs 
and rivers; and, since they are dependent upon rain and snow, the sources 
of the supply of lake water may be said to be atmospheric precipitation. 

The fluctuations in the level of Lake Michigan in different seasons is thus 
accounted for, though in the case of the frequently observed sudden changes 
in lake levels the cause is found in the atmospheric pressure. "A sudden 
change in atmospheric pressure on one part of a large lake." says Professor 
Salisbury, "causes changes of level everywhere. If the pressure is increased 
in one place, the surface of the water there is lowered and the surface else 
where correspondingly raised." 

Disastrous Fluctuations. — On the 30th of April, 1909, a very remarkable 
rise of water of the lake occurred, reaching a heighl of six feet at Evanston. 
It rose and retired within the space of a few hours, coming just after a storm 
of unusual severity. The accounl of it in the Evanston Index of the next 
day says: '"The lake shore presents a highly interesting sight following the 
action of the tidal wave which washed clear to the middle of the lake front 
park, filling the lagoon with debris andTeaving a big windrow of driftwood 
of all sizes and shapes to mark its extreme reach." 

The Chicago Tribune of May 1, 1009, states that the storm above referred 
to caused the loss of five lives, and of property estimated al sl'.inhi.iiuii 
Collapsed and unroofed houses dotted the stretch of prairie land near the 
Illinois Central Railroad in the neighborhood of Seventy-fifth Street. "The 
storm caused unusual disturbances in Lake Michigan at the Thirty-ninth 
Street pumping station; variations in the lake level of between four and five 
feet occurred The authorities caused the flow of water into the Sanitary 
Canal to be nearly doubled in order to ease the pressure, but despite the 
efforts made the Chicago River at times was reversed and ran its old course 
into the lake. 

In the Coast and Geodetic Survey Report for 1907, it is stated thai "the 
most common cause of these periodic movements is the wind blowing over 
bodies of water in which they occur. The sudden variations in barometric 
pressure maj cause ■seiches' (tidal waves in lakes and other Dearly enclosed 

bodies of water." 

Gradual Fluctuations of the Lake. — The variations in the water levels of 
the lake extending over comparatively lone' periods of tune, for example a 

month, a year, or even for a Longer period, have been carefully measured at 
stated intervals, for more than fifty years. Results from such measuremei 



DISCOVERY OF THE GREAT LAKES 51 

disregarding the sudden rises and subsidences of which we have spoken, show 
a slow increase or decrease in the general height of the surface, as compared 
with the level of the sea, such fluctuations sometimes extending over years 
of time. 

The mean stage of water on the lake, for the period extending from 1860 
to 1907 (inclusive), is given on the chart of Lake Michigan, issued by the 
United States Lake Survey, as 581.32 feet above mean tide at New York. 
The highest stage of water on record was that of "the high water of 1838," 
when it stood at 584.60 feet above sea level. The lowest stage was that of 
December, 1895, during which month the average was 578.98 feet. Thus be- 
tween the extremes there was a variation of 5.71 feet. 

There had, however, been many noteworthy fluctuations throughout the 
period from 1838 down to the end of the century between these extremes, as 
will be shown below. For example, in the year 1869 the level declined to 
580 feet, followed two years later by a rise to 582.7 feet. Again, there was a 
decline in 1873, to 579.9 feet, followed by a rise, in 1876, to 583.5 feet. 

In 1880, a low stage was again reached when the level stood at 580.7 feet ; 
after which there was a gradual rise to the year 1S86, when the level stood at 
583.6 feet. After that there was a gradual descent for ten years, and, in 
1896, the level dropped to 579 feet, the lowest on record. The level again 
began to rise, so that by the year 1900, the elevation was 580.7 feet above 
thi> level of the sea. 

Aspect of Milwaukee from the Lake. — In an article printed in Scribner's 
Magazine for March, 1892, by Charles C. Rogers of the United States Navy, he 
says: "Perhaps the most pleasing prospect of the lake (Lake Michigan) is 
Milwaukee, whose cream-colored buildings produce a peculiar and most agree- 
able effect. Eight railways center here after traversing a rich and rapidly 
improving country, whose grain forms the chief element in the city's pros- 
perity. In entrances and clearances, it follows closely upon Chicago, the 
number last year (1891) exceeding 20,000; one of the chief contributors to 
this record is the line of wooden steamers to Ludington, in the service of the 
Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad. Its vessels arc built especially 7 to con- 
tend with the lake ice; they run regularly in winter and are never detained 
more than a few hours." * 




FORMEK PRESIDENTS OF THE old SETTLERS CLUB OF MILWAUKEE COUNTY 
Wild WERE ALU LIVING AT THE TIME THIS GROUP PICTURE WAS 

MADE IN mis 

Photo liv Guttenstein 



CHAPTER IV 
MAIL CARRIERS AND ROUTES 

The first mail route that crossed the Alleghany Mountains was established 
in 1788, coming west as far as Pittsburgh. Within the next few years routes 
were extended to Louisville (1794), to Vincennes (1800) and from Vandalia 
to Springfield (1824). As the northern part of Illinois was sparsely settled, 
it was not until the early '20s that mail was brought to Chicago by regular 
"express"' as the carriers were called. Before that time letters arriving had 
come through special conveyance or messenger as opportunity offered, and 
when conditions Were favorable. 

In 1826 David McKee agreed with the Government to carry dispatches and 
letters once a month between Chicago and Fort Wayne. This was mainly 
for the convenience of soldiers or agents occupying Fort Dearborn. He took 
with him an Indian pony to carry the mail bag and sleeping blankets, driving 
his pony ahead of him. For his own food he relied upon the game which he 
could kill, and for his pony's eating he cut down an elm or basswood tree 
here and there on the path. The route lay from Chicago to Niles, Michigan ; 
thence to Elkhart, Indiana; and thence to Fort Wayne. The average tr'p 
took fourteen days, it beiug sometimes accomplished in ten days. 

Writing of the mail at Chicago in 1825, Mrs. Kinzie says, "The mails 
arrived as may be supposed, at very rare intervals. They were brought occa- 
sionally from Fort Clark (Peoria), but were more frequently from Fort 
Wayne, or across the peninsula of Michigan, which was still a wilderness 
peopled with savages. The hardy adventurer who acted as express was, not 
unfrequently, obliged to imitate the birds of heaven and 'lodge among the 
branches,' in order to insure the safety of himself and his charge." The 
carriers often suffered from "snowblind" having to suspend the journey 
or hire it done by another while they recovered in some cabin or other stop- 
ping place along the route. Although usually provided with parched corn 
against the scarcity of game, there were many times when the mail carriers 
traveled for days on the verge of starvation ; just as common a hardship 
was freezing the feet, in sonic instances the men losing their toes as a result. 
One might wonder why horses were not in general use for these long wilder- 
ness journeys. The question is answered by point'ng out the difficulty of 
progress through forests crossed by few or no paths. In writing of his 
western tour, Storrow says, "The thickness of the forest rendered marching 
difficult, and almost entirely impeded the horse; but for exertions in assisting 
him over crags, and cutting away branches and saplings with our tomahawks, 

53 



54 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

we should have been obliged to abandon bim. 'J'lic land was broken with 

hillocks and masses of rock." 

The eastern mail was- brought to Wisconsin twice a year by a soldier, 
whose route was overland from Detroit, around the southern bend of Lake 
Michigan and through Chicago. Aboul the year 1825 postoffices were estah 

lished in towns west and smith of Chicago, and mail routes put through i 

necting these places. Tn this way the older settlements in Illinois were more 
closely connected with the northern part of the state. Of the route between 

Green Bay and Chicago much is found in historical records, as it was o E 

the oldest western routes. In an account of one who lived in Green Hay in 
182o. we read, "Once a month a mail arrived, carried on the hack of a man 
who had gone to Chicago, where he would find the mail from the Bast, des 
tined for this place. lie returned as he had gone, on foot, via Milwaukee. 
This day and generation can know little of the excitement that overwhelmed 
us when the mail was expected — expectations that were based on the weather. 
When the time had come, or was supposed to have come, that the mail carrier 
was nearing home, many of the gentlemen would start off in their sleighs t.. 
meet him." 

Alexis Clermont, Pioneer Mail Carrier. — One of the well known carriers 
of the early days was Alexis Clermont, who regularly made this journey, 
after the Black Hawk war. He has told his own story of it: "1 would start 
out from the postoffiee in Shantytown, taking the Indian trail to Manitowoc. 
jOuly twice would I see the lake between Green Bay and Milwaukee — at 
Sauk River, twenty-five miles north of Milwaukee, and at Two Rivers. From 
Milwaukee I went to Skunk Grove, then to Cross Point, where I struck tin- 
lake again, and then I would see no more of the lake until I reached Chicago. 
In making my trips I was not alone. An Oneida Indian always 
accompanied me. The load was limited to sixty pounds and we usually had 
that weight. As a rule it took us a full mouth to make the round trip from 
Green Bay to Chicago and return. We carried two shot haps tilled with 
parched corn; one of them hulled, the other ground. For the greater part 
of our diet we relied upon the Indians, or on what wild panic we could kill: 
the hags of corn wen- merely to fall back upon, in case tin- Indians had moved 
away, as they were apt to do, on hunting and fishing expeditions. At night 
we camped out in the woods, wherever darkness overtook up, and slept in tic 
blankets which we carried on our hacks. In Chicago we merely stopped over 

night, and promptly returned the way we came; unless we were delayed by a 
tardy mail from Detroit, which reached Chicago by steamer in summer, and 
h\ fool, overland, in winter. * Our pay was usuallj from $60 to $65 

for a round trip such as I have described, although in the fall sometimes it 
reached .+70." 

The receptacle carried by the express was not always the bag that i- re 
ferred to so frequently. John II. Fonda, in starting on his trip from Green 
Bay to Chicago, was intrusted "with not mail-bag hut a tin cannister or 
box of a tlat shape, covered with untamed deer hide, that contained the dis- 
patches and letters of the inhabitants." 



MAIL CARRIERS AND ROUTKS 55 

In the period about 1825 "the United States mails coming from the East 
to Chicago and other lake ports were conveyed, during' the season of navi- 
gation, by the irregular and lardy conveyances of sail vessels, and the in- 
habitants of the country were oftentimes for weeks and months without 
intelligence of what was passing in other parts of the world from which they 
were completely isolated." The privilege of mail service "was purchased 
partly by voluntary contributions of the citizens and an allowance from U. S. 
Quartermaster's Department, and the military post fund at Fort Howard. 
The Government at Washington found it would not pay to establish a mail 
route, or defray the expenses of carrying the mail, and decreed, no doubt 
wisely, that no expenditure could lie made by the Post Office Department 
for that purpose, exceeding the net proceeds of the mail matter." 

The narrative of Alexis Clermont, from which the above account is in 
large part derived, is printed in the Wisconsin Historical Collections in Vol. 
XV. In that interesting volume, entitled "Historic Green Hay," by Ella Hoes 
Neville, Sarah Greene Martin, and Deborah Beaumont Martin, it is related 
that one Moses Hardwiek was also employed during tin:' ':!(is as mail carrier 
to Milwaukee, where Solomon Juneau was at that time postmaster. The small 
newspaper published semi-monthly at Green Bay, in 1834, had this refrain 
at the head of its columns: 

"Three times a week without any fail. 
At four o'clock we look for the mail, 
Brought with dispatch on an Indian trail." 

Trusty carriers, it is said, "were hard to find, although the pay was ample 
according to the scale of wages in those days, $45 to Milwaukee, and from 
$60 to $65 to Chicago and return, but communication must have been very 
irregular, to judge from letters that passed between Bernard Grignon who 
had the contract for transporting the mail, and the Milwaukee postmaster." 

"The mail carrier (it was said), was necessarily a man of tough fibre 
and strong nerve, for, burdened as he was with his pack, mail pouch, and 
loaded musket, he was forced to keep on his feet day and night, wading 
through snow so deep at times as to require snow-shoes. When overcome with 
sleep he wrapped himself in his blanket and lay down in a snow-bank, taking 
such rest as he could with the wolves howling around him." 

Unsettled State of the Country. — "The country was in a wild, unsettled 
state," continue the authors above quoted from. "Acts of violence were 
frequent, although summary punishment was usually inflicted upon the of- 
fender. The enlisted soldiers at the fort were often desperate characters, 
and officers were in danger of assasination by their own men in revenge for 
arbitrary punishment, as well as from the suspicion and enmity of the 
Indians. In the summer of 1S21, the post surgeon, William S. Madison, was 
shot and instantly killed near the Manitowoc River by a Chippewa Indian 
concealed in the brush. The murderer was captured, taken to Detroit, and 
tried at the September term of the Supreme Court. 



56 HISTORY (IF MILWAUKEE 

"His counsel, James D. Doty, denied the jurisdiction of the court, alleging 
thai tlic murder was connnitlt'd in a district of country to which the Indian 

title bad qo1 I n extinguished, ami therefore the United States could no1 

take cognizance of the crime, for the Chippewa ami Winnebago nations, both 
being sovereign ami independent, exercised exclusive jurisdiction within their 
respective territorial limits. Further, he argued that the American Govern- 
ment, by repeated treaties with the Indians, had acknowledged that its 
dominion extended no further than as actual owners of the soil by purchase 

from the savages; that the Indians must 1 ither citizens of the United 

states or foreigners; yet were evidently not considered citizens by our Gov- 
ernment, the privileges id' our laws and institutions not being extended to 
them, nor had any aet of theirs been construed as treason or rebellion. 

"He said they had 1 n regarded by the French, English ami American 

governments as allies, and were not a conquered people. Various other argu- 
ments were urged by the brilliant young advocate, hut his plea was over- 
ruled by the court, and Ketauka was sentenced to be hung at Green Hay. 
on December 21, 1821. The sentence was executed at the appointed time and 
place." 

Moses Hardwick, Noted Mail Carrier. — In one of the chapters of the 
Wisconsin Historical Society's collections 'for 1882) there is a sketch of a 
mail carrier of the period of 1817, contributed by Morgan L. Martin. This 
mail carrier's name was .Moses Hardwick. He was a discharged soldier and 
was employed for several years by the quartermaster at the fort in carry- 
ing the mail from Detroit by way of Chicago and Milwaukee to Fort Howard 
during the season when lake navigation was closed. He made monthly trips 
on foot between these points for seven consecutive winters, commencing in 
1817. 

"It was a service," says the writer, "which few could perform, requir- 
ing powers of endurance ami strength, with which men are rarely endowed. 
The depth of snow was such as to require the use of snow-shoes, and to give 
no opportunity for providing a comfortable camp for the night. The person 
engaged in this service was obliged to keep on his feet day and night until 

overcome by fatigue and want of sleep, when rest bei ting an absolute 

necessity In 1 wrapped himself in his blanket, lay down in a snow bank, ami 
took the needed repose, after which he continued the same rout in,' of tramp- 
ing and rest until his destination Mas reached. The severity id' the trial of 
strength seems almost incredible, for in addition to the mail-ba'g, weighing 
usually from fifty to sixty pounds, the carrier had the necessary supply of 
provisions to pack on his back. 

"There were two or three other men engaged in this arduous service, hut 
none it is believed suffered greater hardships than Hardwick: and yet after 
many years of this severe and continued labor, exposed to all changes of 
weather, he lived to tin* remarkable age of eight-eight year 1 -." Hardwick 
was employed to carry the mail on the route between Green Bay and Mil- 
waukee when it was established in 1833. 

Iii an address before the Old Settlers' Cluh in 1873, Judge Andrew G 



MAIL CARRIERS AND ROUTES 57 

Miller, who came to Milwaukee in the late thirties, referred to the early mail 
carriers and the mail routes. He said that between Milwaukee and Green 
Bay the only intermediate stopping places were Port Washing-ton, Sheboy- 
gan Falls and Manitowoc; and that "the postman traveled the trail on foot, 
delivering the mail at the terminus of his route on the fourth day. Return- 
ing from holding court in Green Bay, in October, 1839, a beautiful Indian 
summer day, between Sheboygan Falls and Milwaukee, I met the mail car- 
rier on foot, who was the only white man I observed mi the trail that day, 
but there were numerous Indians enjoying their hunting season." 

John H. Fonda. — Having previously referred to John H. Fonda we will 
here give some account of this picturesque traveler with a brief description 
of his movements through the West. Fonda was a rover who left accounts 
of his travels in the form of memoirs winch are printed in the early records 
of Wisconsin. He belongs to the "Realm of Vagabondia" who, urged by 
his boyish love of roving, joined in about 1819, a party which was going 
to Texas, taking their departure from New York State. After following 
the occupation of fur trader in that country for about four years which 
seemed to be as long as his interests in his surroundings held out, he 
traveled in a haphazard fashion toward Saint Louis, sometimes crossing the 
plains "on board an old pack mule," at one time stopping for a season in 
a mixed settlement of trappers, Mexicans and Indians; moving on again to 
Saint Louis in charge of a caravan of wagons and cattle over a barren coun- 
try, that even then seemed to him rich in its possibilities. In Texas he had 
been a fur trader; in Saint Louis he was a bricklayer; and next, after a few 
months in that place, hearing that fortunes were to be made in lead mining 
near Prairie du Chien. and that a number of men were starting up the Missis- 
sippi, he made himself one of this party. It was sufficient for him that they 
were seeking new experiences. On the journey up the river rumors of Indian 
disturbances in the mining region came to them, so they branched off at 
the Illinois River, went on up the Desplaines, across the old slough into tin.' 
Chicago River, and thus Fonda first entered Chicago paddling down toward 
Fort Dearborn in a canoe. 

Feeble Beginnings of Chicago. — "At this period,'" he relates, "Chicago 
was merely an Indian agency; it contained about fourteen houses, and uo1 
more than seventy-five or one hundred inhabitants at the most. 
The staple business seemed to be carried on by Indians and runaway sol- 
diers, who hunted ducks and musk-rats in the marshes. There was a great 
deal of low land, mostly destitute of timber. The principal inhabitants were 
the agent (Dr. Alexander Wolcotti, a Frenchman by the name of Ouilmette, 
and John B. Beaubien. It never occurred to me then that a large city would 
be built up there." 

From Chicago he started to Green Bay, but at the scanty trading settle- 
ment of Milwaukee he stayed two years, perhaps for no reason at all, per- 
haps for one having to do with the fact that a few years later he married the 
niece of the only merchant in the settlement. In 1827 he roved toward Green 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Bay. In all his wanderings the scenery on the way afforded him as much 
interesl and exeitemenl as actual adventures. 

Al Fori Howard, neat Green Hay. hi' was delighted i" see Yankee sol 
diers, after eighl years' absence from his eastern home. Colonel McKenney 
was in command of the Eort, and visiting him was Oen. Lewis Cass, who was 
thereon a commission to hold a treaty with the Local Indians. Ai Oreen Bay, 
he was continually hearing rumors increasingly alarming, of Indian disturb 
ances,- the first warning notes of the Winnebago war: he "continued," as 
he said, "to hang around the fort, leading a sort of free ranger life, some- 
times accompanying the officers on their hunting tours, hut refusing all pro- 
posals to enlist. " 

Soon there came a task that suited his fancy. "It was the winter of '27 

that the U. S. Quartermaster, having heard of me through son I' his 

men with whom I was a favorite, came to me one clay, and asked mi- if I 
thought I could find the way to Chicago. I told him it wasn't long since 
I had made the trip up the lake, lie said he wanted to get a person who 
was not afraid to carry dispatches to the military post at Fort Dearborn. 
I said I had heard that the Indians were still unfriendly, hut 1 was readj 
to make the attempt. He directed me to make all the preparations neces 
sary, and report myself to his quarters at the earliest moment. 1 now began 
to consider the danger to lie provided against, which might he classed under 
three heads, viz., cold, Indians, hunger. For the first i1 was only needful to 
supply one's person with good hunting shirts, flannel and deer-skin loggins. 
extra moccasins, and a Mackinaw blanket; these, with a resolute spirit, were 
deemed sufficient protection against the severest weather. And fortunate 
was he who possessed these. Hunger, except in case of getting lost, was 
easily avoided by laying in a pouch full of parched Indian corn and jerked 
venison." 

Against danger from Indians, he provided himself with adequate arms, 
a rifle, a sheath knife, and two pistols. — took unto himself a comrade lor 
sociability's sake and was ready to start on the long journey to Chicago. 

Suffice it to say that Fonda with his companion started for Fori Dearborn 
(Chicago) on foot in the dead of the winter of lM'T. passed through a coun- 
try then little known to the white man, depending upon his compass and 
the course of rivers to keep the right direction. <>u the fourteenth day after 
leaving Qreen Bay (Fori Howard thej arrived at Juneau's settlement on 

the Milwaukee River, and at the end of one month arrived at Fort Dear- 
born. Here he delivered his dispatches and in a few days started on the 

return journey, arriving at Green Bay, ahoiit the lasl of February. In the 

Black Hawk Mar he served in the army and from that time forward lived 
at Prairie du Chien for the remainder of his life. 

Mail Carriers of the Early Days. It is amusing to regard these two com- 
panions together, •Fonda, the valiant, Eree lat tall, powerful. <j 1 

natured; and Boiseley beside him in comical contrast, a short, uncouth, hir- 
sute woodsman, with long arms, having an endurance and power even greater 
than that of his companion. These two lei't Fori Howard on foot, with 



MAIL CARRIERS AND ROUTES 59. 

letters and dispatches for the Indian agenl at Fort Dearborn. The trip was 
made by land, and in a little more than a month then- destination was 
reached. This was the second time that Fonda had come to Chicago, and 
in 1] is approach as a carrier of dispatches, he felt a certain importance, a 
dignity which his former arrival as a casual tourist had lacked. The dis- 
patches were delivered to Captain Morgan, whom he found in command 
at the fort with a company of volunteers from the Wabash country, who had 
come in response to Gurdon S. Hubbard's appeal for aid. The two men then 
went out from the fort into the settlement to a house "built," as Fonda says, 
"on the half breed system, — partly of logs and partly of boards." At this 
house, kept by a Mr. Miller, Fonda and his companion stayed while in the 
settlement. Of the place at the time of his second visit he said, "With the 
exception, that the fort was strengthened and garrisoned (that is, by the 
volunteers mentioned), there was no sign of improvement having gone on 
since my former visit." 

In another month they were hack at Fort Howard with return dispatches 
from Fort Dearborn. Regarding this experience Fonda makes his confes- 
sion: "The Quartermaster at Fort Howard expressed himself satisfied with 
my performance, and he wanted me to make another trip; but as 1 had seen 
the country, which was all I cared for, I did not desire to repeal it. Get- 
ting my pay from the Department and a liberal donation from the people, 
a portion of which 1 gave to Boiseley, 1 left Uncle Sam's employ and took 
up my old profession, as a gentleman of leisure, and continued to practice 
as such until the spring came, when with a view to extend the field of my 
labors, I made ready to bid goodbye to Green Bay." Urged on by the "joy 
of the open road," he started forth with his little goblin of a companion 
tow y ards Fort Crawford, near Prairie du Chien, where Col. Zachary Taylor 
took command in 1829. 

Fonda in the Black Hawk War. — During the Black Hawk war Fonda 
served in the army, and for his service he received at the end of the war 
a land warrant, whereupon he married and settled down. From that time 
he lived at intervals, in Prairie du Chien, taking his family with him as he 
moved from place to place. After his last discharge from the army he was 
a Justice of the Peace for a number of years. In 1858, Fonda related the 
story of his pioneering. lie was then about sixty years old. ami for the 
past thirty years a resident of Prairie du Chien, having come there as a 
young man when it was the extreme frontier settlement in the Northwest. 
He is interesting rather as a personality than in any historical connection 
with Milwaukee or Chicago. He was one of the brotherhood of Borrow and 
Stevenson, of Josiah Flynt and Richard Hovey. lie felt the glory of the 
open air and knew the worth of a wayfaring companion. He loved adven- 
ture, was brave in danger, of great physical endurance and did well what- 
ever he set himself to do. It is characteristic of him that he fought hard 
against the Indians and yet could say, "No person under heaven sympathizes 
more sincerely with them than I do." 




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CHAPTER V 
INDIAN VILLAGES 

When Lieutenant James Gorrell of the British army visited the western 
posts in October, 1761, in order to take them over from the French (Canada 
now having passed into the possession of the English in consequence of the 
surrender of Quebec two years before), he found at Green Lay, or La Bay 
as the French called it, but one family of Indians in the village at that place, 
the other Indians having gone, according to their custom, on their annual 
hunt. 

The English detachment under Lieutenant Gorrell consisted of twenty 
men. The absent hunters were not expected back at the village until the 
following spring when it would be in order to hold councils with them and 
cultivate their friendship and loyalty. There were six tribes that visited 
La Bay where they met with the traders, some of them having two or more 
villages within their limits, and each of these subdivisions would expect the 
indispensable wampum belts as well as various other presents. In May of 
the following year (1762), a1 a council with the chiefs of the Folles Avoines, 
the name given by the French to the Menomonees, Lieutenant Gorrell pre- 
sented them with belts of wampum and in addition a number of other articles 
both useful and ornamental. 

While Lieutenant Gorrell was at La Bay holding councils with the re- 
turning Indians he was visited by a party of Indians from "Milwacky" mak- 
ing complaint of a certain trader among them, but as the trader had come 
to them from Mackinac the lieutenant referred the visitors to the officer in 
command at that point. In later years when Col. Arent de Peyster was in 
command at Mackinac, he delivered a speech to the Indians in which he 
spoke of "those 'runegates' of Milwakie, a horrid set of refractory Indians." 
In the same speech he alluded to "a sensible old chief at the head of a re- 
fractory tribe." probably the Milwaukee band whom he had already called 
"runegates," and who no doubt dwelt in a village at this place. 

The Menomonee Indians. — The Menomonee Indians were an Algonquian 
tribe the members of which, according to Dr. William Jones, claimed to 
understand Sauk, Fox and Kiekapoo far more easily than they did Chippewa, 
Ottawa or Pottawatomie. "Hence it is possible," writes a contributor to 
Hodge's "Handbook of American Indians," "that their linguistic relation was 
near the former group of Algonquians. Grignon speaks of the Noquel as 
a part of the Menomonee, and states that 'the earliest locality of the Menomo- 

(il 



(12 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

nee, al the firsl visil of the whites, was a1 Bay de Noque and the Menomonee 
River, and those al Bay de Noque were called by the early French Des Noques 
or Des Noquia.' 

"The Jesuil Relation for Kill includes the Menomonee among the trihes 
driven from their country, that is. 'the Lands south of the Michilimackinac, ' 
which is the locality where Hip Noquet lived when they firsl became known 
in the French. It is generally believed that the Noquet, who disappeared 
from history at a comparatively early date, were closely related to the Chip- 
pewa and were incorporated into their trihes; nevertheless, the name 
Menomonee must have been adopted after the latter reached their historic 
seat: it is possible they were previously known as Noquet." Charlevoix 
says: "I have been assured that they had the same origin and nearly the 
same language with the Noquet and the Indians at the Falls." 

"The people of this tribe," says the same writer, "were first encountered 
by the whites when Nicollet visited them, probably in 1634, at the month of 
the .Menomonee River. In KiTl. and henceforward until about 1852, their 
home was on or in the vicinity of the Menomonee River, not far from where 
they were found by Nicollet, their settlements extending at times to Pox 
River. They generally have been at peace with the whites. A succinct 
account of them, as well as a full description of their manners, customs, art-, 
and beliefs, by Dr. "W. J. Hoffman, appears in the Report of the U. S. Bureau 
of Ethnology for 1896. In their treaty with the United States. February 8, 
1831. they claimed as their possess ; on the land from the mouth of Green Hay 
to the mouth of the Milwaukee River, and on the west side of the bay from 
the height of land between it and Lake Superior to the headwaters of the 
Menomonee and Fox rivers, which claim was granted. They now reside on 
a reservation near the head of the Wolf River. Wisconsin. 

Characteristics of the Tribe. — "Major Pike described the men of the tribe 
'as straight and well made, about middle size: their complexions generally 
fair for savages, their teeth good, their eyes large and rather languishing; 
they have a mild but independent expression of countenance that charms 
at first sight.' Although comparatively indolent, they are described as gen- 
erally honest, theft being less common than among other tribes. Drunken- 
ness was their most serious fault, but even this did not prevail to the same 
extent as among some other Indians. Their beliefs and rituals are substan- 
tially the same as those id' the Chippcwas. They have usually been peaceful 
in character, seldom coming in contact with the Sioux, but bitter enemies of 
the neighboring Algonquian tribes. They formerly disposed of their dead 
by inclosing the bodies in Ion"' pieces of birchbark, or in slats id' wood, and 
burying them in shallow "raves. In order to protect the bodies from wild 
beasts, three logs were placed over the grave, two directly on the grave, and 

the third on these, all being secured by stakes driven oil each side. Tree 

burial was -asioiially practiced. 

"The Menomonee -as their name indicates- subsisted in pari on wild 

rice; in fact it is spoken id' by earlj writers ;is their chief vegetable Eood 

Although making such constant use id' it from the earliesl notices we have 



INDIAN VILLAGES 63 

of them, and aware that it eould be readily grown by sowing in proper 
ground, Jenks, who gives a full account of the Menomonee method of gather- 
ing, preserving and using the wild rice, states that they absolutely refused 
to sow it, evidently owing to their unwillingness to 'wound their common 
mother, the earth.' " 

There are two rivers in Wisconsin bearing the name of Menominee or 
Menomonee, the former being a. comparatively small stream that flows into 
the Milwaukee River at Milwaukee, the latter forming part of the boundary 
line between Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. 

Indians at Milwaukee. — "The Indians were principally Pottawatomies, " 
says A. J. Vieau, in the narrative elsewhere quoted from. "Those who were 
at what came afterwards to be called Walker's Point, on the south shore of 
Milwaukee River, were considerably intermixed with Sacs and Winnebagoes. 
They were lazy fellows as a rule, and preferred to hind and fish all summer 
long to cultivating corn. They were noted players of the mocassin game 
and la crosse, were heavy gamblers and given to debauchery. In the winter 
time these fellows scattered through the woods, divided into small hunting 
parties, and often Walker's Point was practically deserted. 

"But in the summer there was a large settlement here, the hark wigwams 
housing from a thousand to twelve hundred Indians of all ages and condi- 
tions. On the old Juneau marsh, where are now Water, Main, Milwaukee, 
Jefferson and Jackson streets, Indian ponies would graze in great droves in 
the earlier years, it being then, I am told, a quite dry meadow; but as far 
back as I can remember it, it was flooded and the home of countless water- 
fowl. 

"The Spring Street flat, from the river back to the bordering highlands, 
the Indians had under • j ■ i te excellent cultivation. On the lime ridge there 
was a big Indian settlement. Some of the Indian families there would raise 
as much as one hundred and fifty bushels of corn and a considerable store 
of potatoes; they were quite industrious and counted as honest, in striking 
contrast to what we used to call 'the Walker Point rogues." On the K nm- 
kinnick River, there was a small band of one hundred fifty or two hundred 
Pottawatomies." 

The Menomonee Tribe was peaceful and friendly, and in consideration in 
part of benefits received of government, they ceded to the United States the 
lands described in the following treaty: 

"The Menomonee Tribe of Indians, in consideration of the kindness and 
protection of the government of the United States, and for the purpose of 
securing to themselves and posterity a comfortable home, ceded and forever 
relinquished to the United States all their country on tin- southeast side of 
Winnebago Lake, Fox River and Green Bay, described in the following 
boundaries: Beginning at the south end of Winnebago Lake and running 
in a southeast direction to Milwaukey or Minnawakey River, thence down 
said river to its mouth, thence north along the shore of Lake Michigan to 
the entrance of Green Bay, thence up and alontr Green Bay, Fox River and 
Winnebago Lake to the place of beginning excluding all private land claims. 



6-1 BISTORT OP MILWAUKEE 

which tlic United States has heretofore confirmed and sanctioned — and also 
all the islands in Fox River and Green May arc likewise ceded, the lands 
ceded comprising by estimation, two million five hundred thousand acres." 

This treats- and a cession from the Pottawatomies and other tribes in- 
cluded the lands covered by this city. The month of the Milwaukee River 
was the extent of the Menomonee's lands on the south, the lands of the I'ot- 
tawatomies, and other tribes extending from that point south and west. The 
cession of the friendly Menomonee was made in 1831, the year before the 
Black Hawk war. The cession of the Pottawatomies and of the Sacs and 
Foxes, which tribes were warlike, was made in 1833, the year after that 
war. , 

At Milwaukee, says A. C. Wheeler in his history, the unexplored wilder- 
ness of Wisconsin lay all about the early traders. " If the treacherous natives 
in a moment of vindictiveness came out of their lurking places and shot down 
the trader they had but to fall back into the recesses of their own forests, 
and pursuit or punishment was impossible." Still the red man was sus- 
ceptible to a certain kind of treatment which the early traders knew how 
to employ. He quickly realized that outrages and revengeful cruelty towards 
the whites reacted disastrously upon him in many ways for early in their 
relations he found that he had become dependent upon the trader for the 
supply of his wants, rude as they might be. Thus the wisdom of the chiefs 
often put a restraint upon their followers which operated as a protection 
to the traders. 

The Indians at Mahn-a-wauk-kie, as the Indians called this trading post, 
were very difficult to manage. "At one time O-nau-ge-sa, a well known 
chief, would seem to wink at the overbearing disposition of certain bullies 
of his tribe," says Wheeler, "and the violence must needs be overlooked 
by the sufferers from it. Treachery lurked under the guise of friendship. 
and the scalping knife was worn nearest the heart. Discretion was the higher 
law, and it required all the shrewdness of the white men to preserve their 
own standing in the community of traders." 

The Whiskey Tribute. — O-nau-ge-sa levied a tax of several gallons of 
whiskey a week for himself and his followers, and if the traders refused the 
regular supply, or demanded money therefor, it was regarded as a cause for 
hostility, upon which "the scalping knife leaped from its lurking place, and 
the lords of the forest put on their most fiendish war paint." A copious 
supply of lire water pacified them but it usually brought a demand Eor more 
and that made demons of them. "When under its influence all the dark vil- 
lany of their natures came uppermost, and to refuse to satisfy their drunken 
thirst but precipitated violence. Therefore was cunning greatly exercised by 
these early traders in order to save their own lives as well as to preserve 
their goods and chattels." 

These Mahn-a-waukies were incurable thieves besides being confirmed 
whiskey sots. "They would at all times." says the historian, "rather steal 
than trade, and it is but justice to say that the fear of the white man's guns 
alone saved the trailer's stock from rapid depletion without equivalent 
returns." 



INDIAN VILLAGES 65 

The historian invites us to gaze with him on the scene presented in 1818. 
"Could the reader have seen Milwaukee then," he says, "he would have 
beheld the still expanse of forest and river rendered picturesque by these 
savages, mayhap in an encampment, or it may be gathering the wild oats 
in their canoes, where now commerce has piled up monuments of brick and 
stone, and mechanical industry thunders night and day." He would have 
beheld the far-flung lines of breakers on the shore of Lake Michigan, its sur- 
face as today stretching away blue in the distance beyond the bounds of 
human vision. 




2 * 



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3 



CHAPTER VI 
DAYS OP THE FUR TRADER 

Wisconsin, Early Forms of Name. — In the oldest French documents the 
name is spelled "Misconsing, " " Ouisconching, " " Ouiskensing, " etc., bnt in 
time the name was finally crystallized into " Ouisconsin, " says R. <i. Thwaites 
in a footnote on page 233 of his volume in the American Commonwealth 
series. "The meaning of the aboriginal word thus variously rendered," con- 
tinues Thwaites, "is now unknown. Popular writers declare that it signifies 
'gathering of the waters,' or 'meeting of the waters', having reference pos- 
sibly to the occasional mingling of the divergent streams over the low-lying 
watershed at the Fox-Wisconsin portage; but there is no warrant for this. 
In order to preserve the sound in English it became necessary, on the arrival 
of the Americans, to modify the French spelling." Thus the official spell- 
ing has become "Wisconsin." 

Pioneer Traditions. — The rich variety of picturesque names applied at 
one time or another to the historic site upon which the City of Milwaukee 
now stands is constantly met with in the narratives of the explorers and 
missionaries, and in the traditions of the aborigines. One writer says: 
"Man-a-waukee (rich and beautiful land)!" said the Indian brave as the 
slow current carried his canoe out of the forest twilight. His gutturals 
christened a metropolis, and he was its first citizen; for Milwaukee stands 
on "the ashes of by-gone wigwams." 

"The future heart of the city was a swamp of wild rice which his squaw 
beat into the bottom of the canoe as he paddled slowly along. Three rivers 
— the Milwaukee, the Menomonee and the Kinnickinnic — brought the beaver, 
the nniskrat, the mink and the otter to his traps among the, alders. 

"After the first Indian found 'Man-a-waukee' it wasn't many moons he- 
fore other Indians followed him to the 'rich and beautiful land.' They came 
with the war-paint washed from their faces to set up their tepees when white 
winter covered river and lake. Some of the later arrivals, in a different 
dialect, named the attractive spot 'Mahn-a-waukec Seepe' — 'gathering place 
by the river.' • 

"On the open glades in the forest the squaws planted and harvested the 
golden corn while the braves stalked wild game in the woods and took fish 
and furs from the streams. A warm welcome awaited the pale-face when 
he journeyed hither from the land of the sunrise." 

"Near Thanksgiving time in 1674, fifty-four years after the Pilgrim 

67 



68 IIIstoKY OF MILWAUKEE 

Fathers landed on Plymouth Bock," says the writer of the historical Leaf- 
lets for the First Wisconsin National Bank, "Father Marquette, the Ji 
missionary, saw the beautiful Milwaukee harbor and its sheltering blull's. It 
is possible that he stopped here, where many years later a greal university 
was named in his honor, lie was on his way, with a party of Indians, from 
Green Bay to 'Chicagou.' During the next decade other missionaries fol- 
lowed him, and they left record of 'Millioki,' ' Alehvarik. ' and ' Mie-sit-gan. ' 

"Indian legends tell id' a greal battle on the .Milwaukee between the 
Menomonee and the Sioux tribes for the mastery of this rich territory," 
continues the account printed in the bank leaflet already quoted from, 
piping of the blue-bird mingled thenceforth with the lapping of the waters 
"Hut never after that was the war-whoop heard in 'Man-a-waukee,' and the 
where the wild daisies held watch over the braves whose spirits roamed the 
'Happy Hunting Grounds.' " 

Early Mention of Milwaukee.— Among the early notices of .Milwaukee in 
which the name of that city appears in one or another of the various forms 
of spelling met with in the records is found a mention by St. Cosme in his 
letter to the Bishop of Quebec printed in John G. Shea's "Early Voyages Up 
and Down the Mississippi." The letter states that St. Cosme ami his party 
set out from Miehilimackinac on September 14. 1698, and reached Melwarik 
on the 7th of October, where they remained two days, •partly on account 
of the wind and partly to refresh our people a little, as duck and teal shoot- 
ing was very plenty on the river." 

In Lieutenant James Gorrell's Journal, printed in the Collections of Cm 
Wisconsin Historical Society, Volume I, it is stated that he visited Detroit 
in 1762, and there met "a party of Indians from Milwaeky," as he writes 
the name in his journal. A note by the editor of the reprinted collections, 
Mr. Reuben Gold Thwaites, says that at the time it was "quite an Indian 
town," and adds that there was "an English trader residing there." In 
Hodge's "Handbook of American Indians," other modes of spelling are 
given, — Meliwarik and Melwarik (St. Cosme), Mellioki (Shea), and Milwau- 
kee (in a Congressional document in 1824). 

Origin of Name. — In Schoolcraft's "Mississippi." the author gives the fol- 
lowing account id' the origin of the name, Milwaukee, or Milwaukie. 

"The name id' Milwaukie exhibits an instance of which there are many 
others in which the French have substituted the sound of the letter / in place 
of n in Indian words. Mia, in the Algonquin languages signifies .</<»'</. WauMt 
is a derivative from mil.-ii, earth or Land, the fertility of the soil along the 
banks of that stream being the characteristic trait which is described in the 
Indian compound." 

In William George Bruce'fi "Century of Progress" it is stated that the 
name is id' Pottawatomie origin, first spelled Mil-wah-kie, derived from Man- 
na wah kie, meaning "good land." Bu1 Milwaukee cannot compare with 
Chicago in tin' variety of its forms of spelling as found in the early records, 
giving occasion for l'residenl John Quincy Adams' remark thai "during his 
administration no two government officers, writing from Chicago, r\rv spelled 
the name the same way;" and Doctor stennett. the historian of the Chicago 



DAYS OF THE FUR TRADER 69 

& Northwestern railway, gives examples in his book of a score or more of 
the uncouth combinations that served to indicate the name of Chicago. 

The early fur traders made extensive use of the streams and lakes for 
the transportation of their furs to the greal centers of the trade, principally 
at Mackinac Island. The accumulations of their winter's trading with the 
Indians were made up into bales and transported along the smaller channels 
and trails, eventually passing into the great routes as they aeared their 
destination, ('amies and barges- in charge of voyageurs, usually Canadian 
French, were employed in great numbers. The share of the Indians in this 
trade was that of trapper and hunter with whom the traders exchanged 
various articles of merchandise for their furs. 

Each year the fur traders assembled in great numbers at Mackinac Island 
which although only a village of some five hundred permanent inhabitants 
was swelled to a transient population of several thousands, — traders, voy- 
ageurs and Indians, who remained during the summer, until as fall 
approached they gradually left the island and returned to their winter hunt- 
ing grounds and trading posts scattered throughout the vast region of the 
western country. 

Gurdon S. Hubbard. — About the time thai Solomon Juneau was becoming 
established at Milwaukee in 1818, Gurdon S. Hubbard, then a young man 
under twenty years of age, was in the employ of the American Fur Company 
which made its headquarters at Mackinac Island, or Miehilimackinac as the 
traders of those days seemed to prefer to call it. During the winter of 1818-19 
young Hubbard was learning the details of the fur trade at Mackinac, and 
in tlie spring he accompanied Antoine Deschamps on a trip to tin' Illinois 
country with a stock of supplies suitable for the trade with the Indians. 

In later years Hubbard wrote a book of reminiscences in which is de- 
tailed many adventures in the life of the fur traders of those days, a book 
which is of great value to the historian in later times. Hubbard made many 
trips to and from Mackinac in succeeding years and became well known to 
the traders and Indian tribes throughout the country among the latter of 
whom he was known by an Indian name which meant "Swift Walker," by 
reason of Ins speed when traversing the trails of the region. lie was in- 
trusted by the A I'ienn Fur Company with the conduct of many expedi- 
tions in later years. 

Navigation of Lakes and Rivers. — The boats which in the spring bad 
brought the furs to Mackinac and bad deposited them in the warehouses 
of the American Fur Company were in due time loaded with merchandise 
of every description for the Indian trade, ami dispatched in fleets on their 
return journeys in the fall, not to appear again until the following spring 
or early summer. These fleers were called "brigades," and one of them 
described by Hubbard was in charge of a commander (in this case Antoine 
Deschamps i with himself as clerk, and a full complement of voyageurs to 
act as paddlers on the twelve boats of the brigade. There were also passen- 
gers to be accommodated who found this the speediest method of reaching 
various points on the distant frontiers. Tn fact these passengers were con- 
sidered a very desirable addition to the expedition as they paid well for 



70 IIIstoKY OF MILWAUKEE 

their subsistence and transportation. The Pur Company al Maekinac Wore 
the necessary expenses of these expeditions and provided ample supplies 
besides the merchandise designed for bartering with the Indians. 

The boats in use by the i'ur traders were called "batteaux." They very 
much resembled the boats used in later days by fishermen on the lake Each 
of them was manned by a crew of five men besides a clerk, called "the bour- 
geois." "Four of the men rowed while the fifth steered," continues Eub- 
bard. "Eaeh boat carried about three terns of merchandise, together with 
the clothing of the men and rations of corn and tallow. No shelter was 
provided for the voyageurs, and their luggage was Limited to twenty pounds 
in weight for each man, carried in a bag provided Eor that purpose. The 
commander of the brigade took for his own use the besl boat, and with 
him an extra man who acted in the capacity of orderly to the expedition. 
The will of the commander was the only law known. The clerks were fur- 
nished with salt pork, a bag of flour, tea and coffee, and a tent for shelter, 
and messed with the commander." The men hail only such shelter as was 
provided by the boat tarpaulins, and no other covering than a single blanket 

for each of them. Their rations isisted id' one quart of "lyed corn" and 

two ounces of tallow daily, or "its equivalent in whatever sort of food is 
to be found in the Indian country." 

Characteristics of the Voyageurs. — The voyageurs, or "it-jj^-'v " 
were a race of people unlike any other class of men. In Mrs. John 11. 
Kinzie's book, entitled "Wau-Bun," she describes them as Eollows: "1. 
the poet they seemed born to their vocation. Sturdy, enduring, ingenious, 
and light-hearted, they possessed a spirit capable of adapting itself to any 
emergency. Xo difficulties baffled, no hardships discouraged them: while 
their affectionate nature led them to form attachments of the warmest char- 
acter to their 'bourgeois,' or master, as well as to the native inhabitants 
among whom their engagements carried them." 

An atmosphere of romance surrounded the lives of these children of 
the frontier. They are always regarded with the greatesl interesl by his- 
torians through the sympathy fell for the hardships they endured and the 
example they furnished of light-hearted cheerfulness at all times. Their 
simplicity, their readiness to undertake any task of physical endurance. 
their inextinguishable sense of fun and hilarity, and their capacity for enjoy- 
ment under every vicissitude that fell to their lot. rendered them the mosl 
picturesque feature of the life of the early day, especially in the part they 
tools in the Ui\- trade which we are here describing. 

"One of the peculiarities of the voyagteurs," writes .Mrs. Eanzie in "Wau- 
Bun," was "their fancy for transforming the names of their 'bourgeois' 
into something funny resembling them in sound." Thus Kinzie, the Chii 
trader, would be called by them "quinze nez" (thai is. fifteen noses . and 
another of the traders '.Mr. Shaw) was by the voyageurs called "Monsieur 
Le Chat" (that is, Mr. Cat . It is related thai "ti quitting the Indian coun- 
try Shaw married a Canadian lad\ and I ame the father of several chil- 
dren. "Some years after his return to Canada, his old foreman, named 



DAYS OF THE FIR TRADER 71 

Louis la Liberte, went to Montreal to spend the winter," Mrs. Kinzie relates. 
"He had heard of his old 'bourgeois' marriage, and was anxious to see him. 
"Mr. Shaw was walking in the Champ de Mars with a couple of officers 
when La Liberte espied him. He immediately ran up and seizing him by 
both hands accosted him, "Ah! mon cher Monsieur le Chat, comment vous 
portez vous?" "Tres bien, Louizon." "Et comment se porte Madame la 
Chatte" (How is the mother eat?) "Bien, bien, Louizon; elle est tres 
bien." (She is very well.) "Et tons les petits Chatons?" (And all the 
kittens?) This was too much for Mr. Shaw. He answered shortly that the 
kittens were all quite well, and bidding him call at his house, turned away 
with his military friends, leaving poor Louizon much astonished at the ab- 
ruptness of his departure. 

Practices of the Fur Traders. — It is a generally accepted notion among 
white ] pie that the traders took advantage of the ignorance and sim- 
plicity of the savages with whom they dealt. On one occasion a lady travel- 
ing in a party conducted by Joseph Rolette, a famous fur trader of those 
days, remarked, "I would not be engaged in the Indian trade; it seems a 
system id' cheating the poor Indians." "Let me tell you, madame," replied 
Rolette, "it is not so easy a thing to cheat the Indians as voir imagine; 1 

have tried it these twenty years, and have never yet sin eded." 

While one of the American Fur Company's boats, on another occasion, 
was passing through Lake "Winnebago enroute to Green Lay for supplies, 
it came in sight of a party in charge of Rolette himself returning to his 
post at Prairie du Chien after an absence of several week's duration. As 
Rolette was one of the agents of the American Fur Company the men of 
both parties were his employees. 

The meeting of the boats in these lonely waters was an occasion of great 
excitement among the men and the news from home was eagerly inquired 
for by the men of the returning party. The boats were stopped, earnest 
greetings exchanged, questions following each other rapidly. Rolette asked 
if the new house was finished, whether the chimney smoked, if tin 1 harvest- 
ing had been completed, and if the mill was at work. Then he asked about 
his favorite horse, about the store, and about other activities of various 
descriptions; and having exhausted his stock of inquiries lie shouted the 
order to his men to move on. 

Then suddenly seeming to remember something he called out, "arretez, 
arretez!" (stop, stop!) "comment se portent Madame Rolette et les enfas?" 
(How are Mrs. Rolette and the children?) Saving now received satisfac- 
tory answers to Ids questions the parties then resumed their melodious boal 
songs, bent themselves to their oars, and quickly lost sight of each other. 

Of Rolette the editor of the Wisconsin Historical Society collections says: 
"In consequence of his early settlement in the country, and from his energy 
and enterprise as a trader and a merchant, Rolette well deserves to be kindly 
remembered as one of the prominent pioneers of Wisconsin. 

Boats of the Fur Traders.-— When Mrs. Elizabeth Therese P.aird was 
traveling from Green Pay to Mackinac Tsland in 1S2.~>. she took passage in 



72 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

one of a fleet of six boats lailcn with furs belonging t<> the Americai] Pur 
Company, m charge of her brother-in-law, Joseph Rolette. Mrs. Baird at 
that tunc was a young woman scarcely fifteen years of age. In later years 
she contributed a paper to the collections of the Wisconsin State Historical 
Society, printed in volume XIV, pages L7-64, drawn from In')- recollections 
of the time. 

This interesting holy was horn at Prairie du Chien in L810, ami was the 
granddaughter of an Ottawa Indian chief, thus having a strain of Indian 
blood in her veins. ".Mrs. Baird," says the editor of the historical series 
quoted from, "was a woman of charming personality and excellent educa- 
tion, proud of her trace of Indian Mood, and had a wide acquaintance with 
the principal men of early Wisconsin." In the previous year (1824) she had 
been married to Henry S. I laird, a rising young lawyer of Green Bay. 

During his life there it was said of him that he had taken long journeys 
in the eourse of his law practice by various primitive modes of conveyance 
to Mackinac and Detroit by sailing craft, to Prairie du Chien by bark canoes 
with Indian voyageurs, and to .Milwaukee on horseback. 

Journey from Green Bay to Mackinac- Mis. Baird's descriptions of the 
boats in use by the fur traders and other particulars of the journey arc 
here given in her own words in the main, though involving some repetition 
of portions of the previous narratives in this history. The route taken by 
the party was along the eastern shore of Green Pay to its opening into the 
northern portion of Lake Michigan, and thence to Mackinac Island. The 
account is replete with many lively details of the passage. 

"In each of the boats," she says, there were seven men, six to row ami 
a steersman, all being Frenchmen. There was in addition in each boat a 
clerk of the American fur Company, to act as commander, or bourgeois. 
These boats were each thirty feel long, the furnishing of which was com- 
plete. The cargo being furs a snug-fitting tarpaulin was fastened down ami 
over the sides, to protect the pelts from rain. This cargo was placed in the 
center of the boat. A most important feature of the cargo was the mess 
basket, one of the great comforts of the trip and a perfect affair of the 
kind. It was well filled with everything that could be procure! to satisfy 
both hunger and thirst, such as boiled ham. tongue, roast chicken, bread, 
butter, hard biscuit, crackers, cheese, tea. coffee, chocolate, pickle, etc., and 
an abundance of eggs. Then there were wines and cordials, and in addition 
we depended upon securing fresh game and fish on the way. Rolette was 
a generous provider, sending to distant markets for all that this part of 
the country could not supply. 

"'The mess basket on this occasion see 1 to have an extra supply of 

eggs. It seemed strange, however, that such faithful workers as the men 

were should have been fed so poorly; they had nothing but salt pork, 'lyed 
corn' ami biscuit, the general Eood of workmen in the fur trade. Our bo; ' 

Carried two tents and had a cot bed ami camp stool for my use. 

"The party in our boat consisted of Rolette (the head man . John Ivu/ie 
'of Chicago), my husband and myself. Starting quite late in the day we 



DAYS OF THE FUR TRADER 7:i 

were only able to gel as far as Red Banks before it was time to stop and 
camp for the night. As I stepped from the boat I saw that my tent was 
almost ready for me, so quickly did these men arrange matters for the 

encampment. 

"Next morning dawned gloriously, and we started off in our boats after 
breakfast in fine spirits, cheered and enlivened by the merry songs of the 
boatmen who always begin the journey with a song'; always keeping within 
easy distance of the shore in ease of a sudden squall or violent wind. The 
camping hour was always hailed with delight by the men at the close of a 
hard day's work, and it was an agreeable change to the passengers as well. 

"As we rowed away from Red Banks on that most beautiful June morn- 
ing many were the amusements indulged in by the crews of the boats. This 
morning the men began by throwing 'hard tack' at each other, but this did 
not last long as the prospect of needing the biscuits later checked their 
sport. Shortly after we began to sec eggs flying in the air which continued 
with considerable activity until the end of the day's journey. It was re- 
newed after the men got ashore amid great hilarity until the ammunition 
was nearly exhausted." This stopping place was afterwards called "Egg 
Harbor," in honor of the occasion, a name it has ever since borne. 

The Shores of Green Bay. — "The names of some of the islands in Green 
Bay have been changed since our trip in 1825, and many that in that day 
had no names whatever have since been christened. Then we knew by 
names only Washington Island, the Beavers, — Big and Little, — Chambers, 
Fox, and Pottawatomie, or Rock Island. Never were we obliged to dine or 
encamp on the east shore at any spot not attractive. One night we encamped 
at a place called Petit Detroit, not far from Death's Door. It is a small 
island formed like a half moon, the inner portion being a most beautiful har- 
bor beyond which rose rather high bills. The whole island was then a per- 
fect garden of wild roses. Never have 1 seen at one time so many flowers 
of any kind as I then saw. The charms of the place so attracted us that 
we made an early landing. The men had to clear a spot to pitch the tent, 
and in finishing their work they very thoughtfully decorated my lent with 
roses. ' ' 

Mrs. Baird, in her account, goes on to describe the practical features of 
the long journeys of the fur traders. "This fleet of boats," she says, "was 
originally loaded at Prairie dn Chien, ami then unloaded at the portage 
between the Wisconsin and Fox rivers, where the men carried firs! the packs 
of furs on their backs, then returned I'm' the boats, and reloading them would 
run down to the Big Chute, now Appleton. Here the boats again had to he 
unloaded and the furs portaged around by the men. The boats, however, 
made the journey down the swift water, which was called 'jumping the 
rapids.' The unloading was repeated at Grand Kaukauna; but at Rapides 
Croche and at Rapides des Peres, now De Pere, the loads Mould hi' carried 
through on the boats, all the men walking in the water to guide the boats 
with their valuable cargoes. Our boats were loaded for the last time at 
Kaukauna, not to be unloaded until they reached Mackinac. 

"We now traveled slowly, waiting for a day which would show signs 



74 BISTORT OF MILWAUKEE 

of being fine throughout, thai we might make in safety 'La Grande Traverse' 
— to cross the lake 1" the easl or north shore. The crossing started from 
Rock Island and we ma'cle a successful crossing. We were six days in mak- 
ing- the journey from Green Bay to Mackinac." As they neared their des 
tination the fleel stopped at Pointe a la Barbe to give the men an opportunity 

to shave for the first time si they Lef1 Green Bay and to array themselves 

in fresh garments so that they mighl make a presentable appearance upon 
their arrival at the "grand emporium of the West." "Each man Looked 
well in his striped cotton - shirt, blue pantaloons, red sash around the waisl 
and red handkerchief around his neck. Caps of all surfs they wore but no 
hats. They purchased high hats when they reached Mackinac; everybody 
then wore the hat since called the 'stove-pipe.' 

The Fashion for Tall Hats. — Making a brief digression a1 this point in 
our history we may remark that one ran scarcely imagine the rage among 
all classes nf men for the tall hats of the period of which we are writing. 
As we see by the above allusion to this ungainly feature of men's attire even 
the voyageurs did not consider themselves completely equipped in dress 
until they had provided themselves with tall hats, a notion which they shared 
with men of all classes and degrees everywhere. It is recalled that when the 

mounted men of the Kentucky volunteers made their appeara at the battle 

of the Thames, in 1813, they wore stove-pipe hats in the charge that resulted 
in the death of Tecumseh, and doubtless the ground was strewn with hats of 
this description in all stages of battered ruin after the fight. 

It has been said that when Sir Thomas Picton led the charge of the British 
cavalry at Waterloo he wore a frock coat and a tall hat. not having had time 
to put on his military uniform before the action commenced. Tt is recalled 
by veterans of the Civil war that General Sheridan habitually wore a hat 
with an abbreviated crown of the same description, in battle ami on his cam- 
paigns; and after the war he was often seen on the streets of Chicago in 
a tall silk hat of the latest fashion. 

Conductors on passenger trains in the thirties and forties usually wore 
tall hats while on duty: Mississippi River pilots likewise wore high hats as 
•well as the ocean pilots of the present day. Even the Indians wore them if 
they were able to procure them, though often devoid of other clothing, as 

it is mentioned in the recollections of a pioneer printed in the "Pro dings 

of the Wisconsin Historical Society for 1916. John Kinzie. the Chicago 
pioneer, is shown wearing a high hat in a picture of the fort Dearborn mas- 
sacre of 1812, where he was present endeavoring to assuage the fury of the 
savages on that terrible occasion. Everyone is familiar with the numerous 
portraits of Abraham Lincoln thai are in existence showing the tall hat in 
all its glory. 

Effects of the Fur Trade on the Indians. The fur trade was at its b.eigb.1 
in 1820, ami seriously on the wane by 1835. The fur trade was dependenl for 
its successful prosecution on the Indian hunter though his advancemenl 
towards civilization was imperilled by this occupation. The most important 
step for the improvement of the Indian's condition was in the practice of 



DAYS OF THE FUR TRADER 75 

agriculture rude as were his methods. It was a distinct reversion in savage 
life when they became hunters exclusively. 

"The introduction of the fur trade, - ' says Thwaites, "wrought a serious 
change in the life and manners of the Indians. They were induced to aban- 
don much of their agriculture and most of their village arts. Becoming 
hunters, they took a backward step in the long and painful road towards 
civilization. Heretofore they needed furs only for raiment, for sleeping- 
mats and tepee coverings. Now they found that peltries were eagerly sought 
by the white trader, who would exchange for them weapons, cloth, iron 
kettles, tools, ornaments, and other marvelous objects of European manu- 
facture, generally far better and more efficient than those which they had 
been wont to fashion for themselves. 

"Thus the Indians soon lost the arts of making clothing out of skins, 
kettles from clay, weapons from stone and copper, and heads from clam- 
shells. They were not slow to discover that when they hunted their labor 
was far more productive than of old. Comparatively slight effort on their 
part now enabled them to purchase from the white traders whatever they 
desired. Moreover, the latter brought intoxicating liquors, heretofore un- 
known to our savages, but for which they soon acquired an inordinate greed, 
of which advantage was taken by charging prices therefor that brought 
enormous profits to the traders. Aside from this new vice, the general 
result was disastrous to the improvident aborigines, for in considerable meas- 
ure they ceased to be self-supporting. They soon came to depend on the 
fur traders for most of the essentials of life; and so general was the credit 
system among them, the summer's supplies being bought on the strength 
of the following winter's hunt, that the tribesmen were practically always 
heavily in debt to the' traders, which rendered it advisable for them to stand 
by their creditors whenever two rival nations were contesting the held. In 
the end these conditions materially ass ; sted in the undoing of the Indian." 

In the forest traffic of the American Fur Company the variety of goods 
was extensive, and the enumeration of a few of the articles may he found 
interesting. There were blankets, shawls of brilliant hues, coarse cloths, 
cheap jewelry, heads of many colors and sizes, ribbons and garterings, gay 
handkerchiefs, sleigh and hawks' hells, jewsharps, mirrors, combs, hatchets, 
knives, scissors, kettles, hoes, firearms, gunpowder, tobacco, and the never 
failing intoxicant. 

These goods were brought to Mackinac from Montreal in canoes, bat- 
teaux. and later by sailing vessels; the cargoes were there divided and dis- 
tributed to the several larger agencies and posts, whence they ultimately 
found their way to the farthest "trading shanties." This was the heyday 
of the fur trailing days, hut the trade gradually declined, as American agri- 
cultural settlement slowly developed. 

The Fur Traders of Revolutionary Times. — The influence of Gen. George 
Rogers Clark on the Milwaukee Indians was felt even in those early days 
succeeding his conquest of Illinois. Clark did not himself penetrate into 
"Wisconsin, but from his headquarters in Kaskaskia there were sent out active 
agents by him to gain the neutrality of the tribes, throughout the southern 



76 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Wisconsin region, towards the struggle then in progress between the Ameri- 
cans and the British. In this he was successful and be secured a promise of 
neutrality from the Saulf, Fox and Winnebago chiefs, and an alliance with 
the Americans even was accepted by the Milwaukee Pottawatomies. 

The British maintained three sloops on Lake Michigan during tin- war. and 
one of them made a reconnoitering voyage around the lake in 1779, "visiting 
ami supplying the Indians and traders at the mouths of several rivers on the 
cast shore, and at 'Millwakey' on the west," according to a narrative printed 
in the collections of the Wisconsin state Historical Society (Volume XI. 203 . 
At the last named port the captain found a white trader and a "mixed tribe 
of Indians of different nations." 

This allusion to the Milwaukee trading post of that early period hint- at 
certain complications with the American and Spanish settlers of Cahokia, 
Illinois, which would require many pages of narrative to set forth clearly. 
The events thus referred to may be found in full detail in the collections of 
the Wisconsin State Historical Society, Vol. XVIII, preface (p. XXI i, and on 
page 416 of the same volume. 

The events thus referred to occurred many years prior to the permanent 
occupation of Milwaukee as a fur trading center. But it may be said that 
the fur trade of Milwaukee, carried on at that time, as it was. by visiting 
traders from Mackinac (then in British possession i was not of sufficient im- 
portance to exercise much influence on the later development of that trade, 
except as indicating where the site of a great city would eventually be 
established. 

In his volume entitled. "Leading Events of Wisconsin History," the late 
Henry E. Legler wrote as follows: "The influence of the fur trade has been 
well described by Frederick .1. Turner as 'closing its mission by becoming the 
pathfinder for agricultural and manufacturing civilization.' for where the 
posts were located, the leading cities of the state have since been built. 'The 
Indian village became the trading post, the trading post became the city. The 

trails 1 aim- our early roads. The portages marked out the locations for 

canals at Portage City and at Sturgeon Bay; while the Milwaukee and Rock 
River portages inspired the project of the canal of that name, which had an 
influence on the early occupation of tin 1 state. The trader often put his 
trading house at a river rapids, where the Indian had to portage his canoe, 
and thus found the location of our water powers.' 

"Among the cities that have been built on the sites of the trading sta- 
tions and 'jack-knife posts.' as the dependent stations were termed, may be 
enumerated. Milwaukee. La Cross.', Green Bay, Prairie du Chien, Manitowoc, 
Sheboygan, Eau Claire. Black River Falls, Eudson, Racine, Two Rivers, Kau- 
kauna. Peshtigo, Oconto, Fond du Lac. Oshkosh, Chippewa Falls, Kewaunee, 
Portage, Trempeleau, .Madison, st. Croix Falls, Shullsburg, Rice Lake, Cass 

ville, .Menonionee. 

"For many years the fur trade was Wiscons'n's chief source of wealth. 
It continued such until the lead mine fever in Southwestern Wisconsin de- 
veloped a new channel of industry and started the immigration that brougb.1 
thousands of settlers to the territory." 



CHAPTER VII 
THE LEAD MINING INDUSTRY 

Among the earliest exports passing through the porl of Milwaukee was the 
movement of lead from the mines in Southwestern Wisconsin across the 
territory both in pig metal form and in the form of shot, for both of which 
there was a constant demand at home and abroad. 

During the period that the lead mining industry flourished in Southwestern 
Wisconsin, there were lively times and every sort of business activity. It con- 
tinued to flourish until the discovery of gold in California proved a stronger 
magnet. . Its decline was hastened by unfriendly tariff legislation, and in 
addition, inadequate transportation facilities operated largely to prevent its 
continued successful prosecution. "In this age of myriad ribbons of steel 
radiating from every commercial center," says Legler in his volume, "Lead- 
ing Events of Wisconsin History," "it is hard to appreciate the difficulties 
encountered by the pioneers in transporting commodities. 

"There were then no railroads in the Northwest, and the great transporta- 
tion projects all centered in canals. The lead industry and its transportation 
necessities influenced many of the early canal schemes which played a large 
pari in the early politics of the territory. The Pox- Wisconsin route, as well 
as that of the greater Mississippi River highway, was used for the shipment 
of ore to a considerable extent." 

Shot Tower on the Wisconsin River. — In the year 1831, Daniel Whitney, 
a merchant of Green Hay. built a shot tower at Helena on the Wisconsin River, 
which on account of its contiguity to the lead mines insured a reliable supply 
of metal for the manufacture of shot. Whitney hail observed that shot 
towers were successful commercial ventures in Missouri and a company was 
formed under the name of Whitney, Platte & Company to build one. The 
tower was two years in course of construction. It was built on the sum.mi1 
of a bold escarpment fronting Pike Creek. A contemporary description is 
cited by Legler, as follows: "One hundred feet from the base of the rock 
there is a ledge or landing place; on this ledge rises the shot lower, of frame 
construction, eighty feet to the roof: of course the depth from the top of the 
tower to the base of the rock is 180 feet. A well or shaft has been sunk 
through the rock, which is of sandstone. 100 feet, and a lateral drift or 
entrance ninety feet in length, has been cut from I he bank of the creek to 
the perpendicular shaft." 

77 



78 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

The daily outpul of the shol tower employing six bands was 5,000 lbs. of 

shot, and the i ess of making it is described as follows: "At the edge of 

the cliff stood the melting. house with two kettles in which the mineral was 

prepared for dropping. A little to the cast of tins were an arch ami a Large 
kettle protected by a small roof. Here the lead was tempered by the addi 
tion oi' arsenic, and run into 'pigs' I'm- further use; the pigs thus obtained 
were used tu give the requisite brittleness to the Lead from which the shut 
was made. A small portion would suffice to temper a kettle holding 1,003 
pounds of lead. The 'dropping ladle' was perforated with hoi.- of varying 
si/e. and when partly full of melted Lead would be tilted gently sidewise, forc- 
ing the metal out in drops to form the shot, which falling 1 v feet would 
assume a spherical shape and at the same time he cooled.. At the bottom of 
the shaft the shot fell into the shot-cistern, tilled with water, which served 
to break the fall, and cool the shot." 

Shipping Eoutes for Lead and Shot.- The earliest shipments of shot made 
at Helena were to Galena and Fori Winnebago, though shipments of lead 
had been made to the cast by way of Green Bay in previous years. "The 
importance of the early shot trade of Wisconsin in developing lines of com- 
munication with the lake, overland across the state, deserves mention here." 
says Prof. O. G. Libby in a chapter by him in the "Collections" of the state 
historical society, for 1895. "The Helena shot tower passed from the owner- 
ship of Daniel Whitney in 1836, and was bought up by certain Buffalo capi- 
talists, who held it with hut little interruption till I s IT. 

"Now when we remember," continues Professor Libby, "that tin- Missis 
sippi markets were monopolized by the shot makers of Missouri, the signifi- 
cance of this eh a nue of owners will he at once apparent. ( 'ut off from western 
markets by the competition of long-established rivals, the only cuius,, open 
was to develop eastern markets, with which the Buffalo capitalists wen 
already more or less familiar. As a consequence of this, the shipments 
shot between 1841 and 1844 were made to Buffalo and by no other than the 
lake route. For at least ten years then, interest and necessity combined t" 

turn the shot trade through Milwaukee." 

Iii the Milwaukee Sentinel for September 18, 1838, it is stated that "it 
was a common thing to see oxen haulm-' wagons laden with lead from Grant 
and La Payette counties appear at the wharves after a journey of eight or 

ten days." Even two years before this time the Milwaukee Advertiser an- 
nounced that, at Racine, "two wagons, containing 4,200 lhs. of Pig Lead, 
arrived there last week from the rapids of Rock River." 

Increasing Popularity <6f the Lake Route.— Following the example of the 
shot tower owners the lead smelters began sending an increasing proportion 
of their produd to the lake ports. This movement had begun as early as 
1836 and 1838, and in a Madison paper for 1841, cited by Professor Libby, 
the following statements appear: "The Lead Trade: We arc pleas..,! to 

Observe by notices in the .Milwaukee and Southporl (Kenosha papers that 
this trade is beginning to find its way to our lake ports on its way tu eastern 
mark-els. The Milwaukee Courier of the Ith inst. says: 'Our citizens mi Satur- 
day afternoon were not a little surprised by the appearance on mir streets 



THE LEAD MINING INDUSTRY 7.9 

of four sucker teams loaded with lead from the furnace of Thomas Parish, 
near Muskoday in Grant County. These teams brought over about ten tons 
of lead to be shipped to New York.' " 

The Madison paper adds to its quotation from the Courier that "the lead 
which arrived here on Saturday was shipped on the steamer 'Madison' on 
Monday, and will be in New York within twenty days from the time it left 
the furnace near the Mississippi River; and the owner will get his returns in 
about four weeks from the time the lead was smelted. A gentleman from 
Galena recently informed us that he shipped over ninety days since about 
fifteen hundred dollars worth of lead to New York by the southern route and 
he had not then got his returns from it. Besides getting a better price for 
their lead on the lake shore than can be afforded on the Mississippi, our 
miners can procure their necessary supplies more cheaply, generally, at the 
lake cities than at Galena or other points on the river where they have been 
in the habit of trading, and this including the cost of transportation. The 
teams of which the Courier speaks returned with salt which was obtained at 
Milwaukee for about two dollars and fifty cents per barrel, and can be sold 
at the mines at about seven dollars per barrel. - ' 

Influence of the Lead and Lead Mining Industry. — The history of the lead 
mining industry has been very fully investigated by various industrious in- 
vestigators whose contributions to this important branch of activity have 
been printed at different times in the series of the state historical society 
publications. The preparation of these contributions has required much 
painstaking research and an adequate presentation of the subject would need 
a volume or more to contain the details. 

The lead was brought across the country to Lake Michigan in wagons 
drawn by oxen, at a cost of $10.00 a ton. The teamsters found it a profitable 
business as they got loading both ways, carried their own provisions, and the 
prairies afforded all the fodder for their cattle at the nightly camping places 
in the open. The teams would return to the mining regions laden with 
lumber, shingles, salt and merchandise, which under these circumstances could 
be obtained from lake shore ports to better advantage than from any other 
quarter. 

In 1842, nearly two million pounds of lead and "2,(114 kegs of shot were 
shipped from Milwaukee to New York; and in 1843, the shipments from the 
same point totaled 2,200,000 lbs. of lead and 250,000 lbs. of shot. The route 
from Milwaukee was by way of the Straits'of Mackinac, Lake Huron, and 
Lake Erie to Buffalo, where it was transshipped on the Erie Canal to New 
York and from there distributed to Boston and other Atlantic cities. 

Commenting upon this movement of heavy metals, a Buffalo paper said, 
'•Illinois. Iowa and Wisconsin will soon send to this mart an incalculable 
amount of lead and copper, in addition to the whole of their surplus agricul- 
tural products. We already export lead to England, from whence we have 
heretofore imported many millions of pounds. * * Capitalists interested 

in the lake and canal trade should not delay in aiding the construction of 
a canal or railway from Milwaukee, or some other point on Lake Michigan, 
to the Mississippi River." 



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TABLET ERECTED ON WISCONSIN TRUST COMPANY BUILD 

[NG (FORMERLY I' LBST BUILDING), 1 OF 

Wist ii\si\ SI REET, N'EAB BRIDG] 



THE LEAD MINING INDUSTRY 81 

Milwaukee Merchants Alert for Trade. — An advertisement in the Mil- 
waukee Courier for April 5, 184:!. announces thai Weeks and Miller of Center 
Store, M'lwaukee, offer goods in exchange "for most kinds of country prod- 
uce — lead, shot, furs, peltries, etc." A Milwaukee store at Walker's Poinl 
advertises that "James Rathbun has just arrived from New York with an 
extensive assortment of goods suitable to the wants of the country round 
about which he will sell or exchange at the lowest prices for cash, wheat, 
shot, copper, lead, flax and timothy seed." A Rochester (New York) paper. 
in 1S44. says that "Within the last eighteen months an excellent road has 
been opened from Milwaukee to the .Mississippi, passing through the mining 
district which will be much used hereafter in sending lead to the East by 
way of the lakes. " 

.Mail stages followed (dose after the freight routes already in use. It was 
announced in the Argus of September 26, 1844. that "we would call the atten- 
tion of the traveling public to C. Genung & Co.'s line of mail stages now 
running between Madison and Milwaukee, on the old United States road 
leading from Madison through Cottage Grove, Lake Mills, Aztalan, Summit 
and Prairieville to Milwaukee." In Lapham's ""Wisconsin," referring to the 
trade of Mineral Point, he says: "The quantity of lead and copper sent from 
here is very considerable; most of it finds its way to Galena, Illinois, whence 
it is shipped down the .Mississippi and by way of the ocean to Xew York. 
Within the last few years, however, much of i1 is sent by wagons to Lake 
Michigan, mostly to Milwaukee, and thence sent direct by way of the lakes 
to New York." 

A Milwaukee newspaper published the following item in 1847: "The 
'Lead schooners' (a variation of the term 'prairie schooners' as used by the 
pioneers to denote the great covered wagons carrying the emigrants and 
transporting heavy freight i are constantly arriving here from the mineral 
region. These singular teams, drawn by six. eight or more yoke of oxen, 
excite some curiosity in those who are not used to such sights in the East. 
The teamsters and their cattle sleep under the canopj of heaven beside their 
camp fires, their meals prepared military fashion, and rising with the early 
dawn to continue their journey." 

Decline of Lead Production.- -" Next to the wheat and grain products," 
says Miss Phelps in her "Story of Wisconsin." "the minerals of Southwestern 
Wisconsin brought wealth. This, the oldest settled region, kept for a long 
time a distinct character allied to the south and southwest, its population, 
however, remained nearly stationary. The production of lead reached its 
highest point in 1844. and thereafter declined. With the decline of mining 
the old frontier character of the mining region passed away, the shifting 
populace moved off to new centers, notably to California in 1848. About the 
middle of the '4()s the lines of transportation shifted. Lead began to be 
hauled to the lake board: by 1*47 the bulk of the product crossed the terri- 
tory in wagons drawn by six- and eight-yoke ox-teams, and was transshipped 
by steamer to the Last . 

"With this change in connections the population of the southwestern por 

Vol. I— 6 



82 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

t ion of Wisconsin began to assimilate to the type of the remainder of the 
territory. The lead-mining region, however, has never quite overtaken the 
remainder of 1 1 1 <■ stale in enterprise and in the production of wealth." 

Planning for Improved Transportation Lines. -By 1847 tl verland lead 

trade from the mining regions to Milwaukee was well estahlished. -lust as in 
1839 and 1840 the delays and difficulties of the Mississippi mute brought 
about the opening of better and shorter, routes to the eastern markets, so now 
it began to be keenly felt that improvements must be made in the means of 
communication between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River. The agri- 
cultural interests also began to suffer for want of transportation facilities. 
"The capacity of production has satiated and overpowered the capacitj of 
consumption," wrote a correspondent to his paper; "we need a reliable, 
liberal market for our increasing agricultural products." 

But men's thoughts tended towards canal navigation as the most desir- 
able method of transporting products of all description. Railroads were 
dreamed about and, indeed, occupied the thoughts of multitudes. Canals, 
however, had proved successful in several states. Steam navigation on the 
large rivers and lakes was already established and steadily increasing. Canals 
were enormously popular wherever the country was adapted for their con 
struction. The Erie Canal in New York State was opened in 1825, and was 
regarded as the mother of canal transportation. As early as 1826 Ohio began 
the construction of a canal to join the waters of Lake Erie and the Ohio 
River. Indiana launched an extensive system of improvements, and Illinois 
began the eonstruct'.on of a canal between Chicago and the Illinois River in 
1836. Wisconsin, then a territory, began a preliminary survey for the 
Milwaukee and Rock River Canal in 1837 which, however, was destined never 
to be completed. 



CHAPTER VIII 
SOLOMON JUNEAU AND HIS FAMILY 

An interesting sketch of Solomon Juneau and his family is found in the 
pamphlet issued in June, 1921, under the title of the "Milwaukee Diamond 
Jubilee." This sketch is here included in the early history of Milwaukee 
as it contains many details not readily accessible from other sources, although 
throughout the pages of this volume frequent mention is made of Juneau 
in connection with the stirring events of the early day. 

More than a century ami, 2,000 miles intervening, two babes were born, 
a boy and a girl, who were destined to play important roles in the early his- 
tory of the great Northwest. The boy was born of pure Alsatian French 
parents, the girl was of French and Indian extraction. The boy was reared 
in a home of refinement, the girl grew to womanhood amidst the primitive 
surroundings of the frontier. Fate decreed they should meet. 

Across the broad expanse of wilderness extending from the St. Lawrence 
Valley to the beautiful shores of La Baye Verte (Green Bay), braving the 
perils and hardships which lay before him, this young man — in all the strength 
and beauty of youth — came to seek his fortune in this land of vast commercial 
advantages. It was at the old Indian trading post in historic Green Bay that 
he met the noble-hearted child of the forest that fate had decreed should be 
his. Joined in the holy bonds of matrimony, they began their journey 
through life and together laid the foundation of a city. 

At the outbreak of the French Revolution, in 1789, Francois and Therese 
La Tulipe left France and sought refuge in Canada, settling in the little ham- 
let of L'Asumption, near Montreal. As did many others, who left France 
during those troublous times, they changed their name from La Tulipe to that 
of Juneau, trying in a way to obliterate all sad memories connected with hav- 
ing to leave the land of their birth and of their honored ancestors. 

. "The French Revolution was a violent reaction against that absolutism 
which had come in time to supplant the old feudal institutions of the country. 
It began with an outbreak of insurrectionary movements in July, ITS!), includ- 
ing the destruction of the Bastile. On January 21, 1798, King Louis XVI 
was beheaded, the Christian religion was deposed, the sacredness of the re- 
public and worship of reason established, and a disastrous reign of blood and 
terror followed, which was brought to an end in 1704, when Robespierre, 
himself, suffered the same fate to which be had condemned countless numbers 
of his countrymen."— Library of Universal Knowledge, Vol. NIT, p. 598. 

Birth of Juneau. — Solomon Laurent Juneau, the subject of this sketch, 
second son of Francois and Therese Juneau, was born at L'Asumption, Can- 

83 




SOLOMOK JIXI'.A!' 
Milwaukee's first permanent white settler, village president and mayoi 
l i am an engraving in possession of the Old Settlers < lull ot Milwaukee 

( .unit I 



SOLOMON JUNEAU AXD IMS FA.MIL t 85 

ada, on the banks of the St. Lawrence River, August 9, 1793, where his boy- 
hood days were spent. On reaching manhood he became imbued with the 
spirit of adventure so common among the young men of the St. Lawrence 
Valley in those early days, and during the summer of 1816, a1 the age of 
twenty-three years, he left L'Asumption to seek his fortune in the great 
Northwest, arriving in Mackinac in September. Shortly after his arrival at 
that place, he met Jacque Vieaux, a French trader, who had trading posts at 
Mackinac, Green Bay and Milwaukee, and into whose employ he entered at 
the Green Ray and Milwaukee posts as a clerk, which position he held until 
the year ISIS, after which year he was not connected with Mr. Vieaux in a 
business way. 

He attended the village school at L'Asumption, later entering a Catholic 
colle.se where he completed his education. Tie was well educated in French. 
and was in this country but a short time before he mastered the English 
language which he spoke fluently, ami was well versed in many Indian dia- 
lects, especially the Menomonee tongue. 

Solomon Laurent Juneau was a man of rare personality. Of commanding 
figure, in height he was six feel four inches, he had brown curly hair, clear 
cut features, and large gray eyes. While of a jovial temperament, he never 
for a moment lost his natural dignity; of a kind and benevolent nature, he 
was the friend and confidant of all. Tin' Indians looked upon him as a father, 
and whatever advice their beloved "Solomo" gave them, was accepted and 
followed in f\cry detail. His word was sacred, and once given, nothing could 
make h m change his promise either in public or in private life. 

During the year 1818 the American Fur Company established a trading 
post at Milwaukee and Mr. Juneau was their authorized agent up to Hie time 
of the removal of the Indians in 1838. lie. however, continued in business 
on his own account in Milwaukee until 1852, when he removed with his family 
to Theresa. Wisconsin. 

As agent of the American Company lie settle, 1 in Milwaukee in 1818, at 
which time lie erected the log house, corner of East Water and Wisconsin 
streets, which lie occupied as his residence until the year 1835, when he 
erected a dwelling house on the southeast corner of Michigan and East Water 
streets, where he resided a number of years, later building the commodious 
dwelling, corner of Milwaukee and Division (now Juneau Avenue) streets 
where he lived until 1852. 

During his many trips as an Indian trader between Milwaukee and Green 
Bay, he was attracted to a pretty spot on the banks of the Rock River where 
during the early '30s he established a trading post, which in later years 
became a prosperous village. Mr. Juneau named the post Theresa, in honor 
of his mother, whose memory and early teachings he held sacred and were 
his guiding spirit in all dealings through life with his fellow men. Mr. 
Juneau's mother died February 2, 1815. His father died in 1828. 

In September. 1820, .Mr. Juneau married Miss Josette Vieaux, of i liven Bay. 
Seventeen children were born to them, three dying in youth. Seven of their 
children were born in the old log house. Mr. and Mrs. Juneau resided con- 
tinuously in Milwaukee for thirty-two years. 



S( ; BISTORT OF MILWAUKEE 

White men had visited Milwaukee trading with the Indians prior to 
advenl of Solomon Juneau, but their stay was of shorl duration. To Mr. 
Juneau must be conceded the honor of being the firsl permanent white settler, 
as well as the firsl land owner, he having acquired title to a Large tract of 
land. He was known as the most successful of all the Indian traders and 
in and around Milwaukee, being closely connected with the commercial life 
of that region. 

He was closely identified with every step in the progress of Milwaukee. 
In 1835, when a postoffice was established, he was appointed postmaster, 
which office he held for a period of nine years. In 1837, when Milwaukee was 
incorporated as a village, he was elected president. In 1846, when Milwaukee 
became a city, he was chosen its first mayor. He encouraged every under- 
taking that could benefit the community. He was a member of the State 
Historical Society, and was liberal in his contributions to its archives and 
picture gallery. Aside from his interests on the east side, he had property 
on the west side. He and T.ynm Kilbonrn were warm personal friends and 
close business associates in many enterprises. He assisted Mr. Kilbourn in the 
platting of the west side. Mr. Kilbourn was an intimate friend of Mr. 
Juneau's entire family. 

Mr. and Mrs. Juneau were generous in their gifts to the city which they 
founded. He built the first courthouse, and with the land upon which it stood. 
they presented it to the county, that the people might have a temple of 
justice. They gave the land upon which St. Peter's Catholic Church stood 
(corner Martin and Jackson streets), and the material for building, that their 
family, the incoming white population and the Indians might have a place to 
worship; they gave largely to St. John's Cathedral, among which was a strip 
of land between the pastor's house and the Cathedral, for which they and 
their descendants were forever to have two seats in the church; they gave 
the land for the first C4overiiment lighthouse at the bead of Wisconsin Street ; 
they gave the land, corner of Milwaukee and Division streets, whereon a 
college was erected. All this they gave that their city might lie as other 
cities. To those who were too poor to buy, they gave land and in many 
instances the material for building, that their poor might have homes. 

Generous Hosts. — They were fond of entertaining their friends and pos 
sessed the virtues of hospitality and thai warmth of heart which was char- 
acteristic of those good old pioneer days. The few remaining old settlers 
look back with fond recollection to those ties of friendship and good cheer 
which at all times prevailed in and around the •Juneau home. 

.Mr. .lean Pierre Busting, Mayville, Wis., once said of Mr. and Mrs. Juneau: 
"They united in their personality those qualities of unselfishness, generosity, 
Christianity, nobility of purpose and good will toward all mankind, rarely, 
if ever, found in any one individual."' 

After his removal to Theresa. .Mr. Juneau engaged in many b pur- 

suits, among which were a general merchandise store, saw and grisl mill, 
and trading with the Indians. He was postmaster of the village. At the time 
of his death he was reputed to have left quite a fortune. Aside from his 
husiness enterprises, lie hail large real estate holdings. Mr. Juni d to 



SOLOMON JUNEAU AND HIS FAMILY S7 

see his Indian trading posl at Milwaukee develop into a thriving city, which 
from the very first had been his highest ideal. 

In the early part of November, 1856, ^Ir. Juneau left Fond du Lac for the 
Indian Reservation at Keshena, near Shawano, Wis., to attend the annual 
payment of the Indians, lie bad not been well for some time, the death of his 
wife had completely crushed his spirit and broken his health. His daughter, 
Mrs. Frank Fox, at whose home he had been visiting in Fond du Lac prior to 
his departure for the reservation, tried in vain to persuade her father to 
abandon the trip, but all effort on her part and that of her husband were of 
no avail. Owing to his indisposition and the inclement weather, he was taken 
very ill shortly after his arrival at the reservation, and he continued to grow 
worse until November 14, when he passed away. 

All that medical aid and careful nursing eould do was done for him. 
Doctors Hiibschmann and Wiley did not leave his bedside until death came. 
To Doctor Hiibschmann he gave his dying messages for his children, and he 
proved a faithful messenger. With him at the time of his death were Doctor 
Hiibschmann, Indian agent ; Doctor Wiley, Hon. Geo. W. Lane, B. Hunkins, 
Edward Outhwaite, Win. Johnson, Wm. Powell, Chas. Corron and others. At 
the time of his death Mr. Juneau was sixty-three years, three months and five 
days. 

When the announcement of his death reached Milwaukee, it was a great 
shock to the citizens and in fact to the entire country from Green Bay to 
Chicago. The Indians were broken hearted over the loss of their beloved 
"Solomo." He was buried on the reservation, the Indians would have it so. 
Had not the ''Great Manitou" claimed his spirit. Why then did they not 
have the right to claim his body. The spot selected by the Indians was on a 
knoll just back of the Council House. But there were others who claimed him 
— his grief-stricken children and the citizens of Milwaukee. 

The funeral on the reservation was held from the Catholic Church, fol- 
lowed by a large concourse of white men and Indians. Four of his pall- 
bearers were Indians, one of whom was the famous Chief Oshkosh. During 
the services at the grave, the deep and solemn grief of the Indians, both men 
and women, over the loss of their "Solomo," was indeed pathetic. 

When the news of Mr. Juneau's death reached Theresa, his sons, Nar- 
cisse and Paid, and his son-in-law, Frank Fox, left for the reservation to con- 
vey the remains to Milwaukee, the trip both ways being made by team. 
The Indians accompanied them as far as Shawano, loth to give up all thai 
remained of their beloved friend. 

On arriving at Milwaukee his remains were taken to the home of his 
daughter, Mrs. II. K. White. The funeral was held on November 26, from 
St. John's Cathedral, Reverend Riordan officiating. Interment was in the 
Catholic Cemetery at the head of Spring Street. This, however, was not the 
final resting place of Solomon Juneau and his wife. After a period of sis 
teen years their remains were removed to Calvary Cemetery. 

The monument erected to the memory of Mr. and Mrs. Solomon Juneau 
in Calvary Cemetery bears the inscription: "In memory of Solomon Juneau, 
Founder of Milwaukee, Born August 19, 17!):!. at L'Asumption, Canada." 




THE SOLOMON JUNE \! VION1 Ml VI 
Located at i In* lake front . Juni .1 u Pari 



SOLOMON JUNEAU AND HIS FAMILY 89 

On the reverse side, "Josette Juneau, Wife of Solomon Juneau, Born at Fort 
Howard, 1803." In 1906 members of the Old Settlers' Club of Milwaukee 
placed marble markers at the head of the graves of Mr. and Mrs. Juneau. 

Mrs. Solomon Juneau. — Josette Vieux was horn at Fort Howard, Brown 
County, Wis., April 16, 1803. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jacques 
Vieux and was the granddaughter of an Indian chief, Ah-ka-ne-po-way. Her 
girlhood was spent amidst the primitive surroundings of the frontier. She 
was taught to read in French. Reared a Roman Catholic, she began at an 
early age to do mission work among the Indians, which work she continued 
for many years after her marriage. She was of medium height ; her black 
hair and eyes, clear olive complexion, low sweet voice and courteous manner, 
gave evidence of her French and Indian origin. 

In 1820, at the age of seventeen years. Miss Yieux was married at the old 
Mission Church in Green Hay to Solomon Laurent Juneau. Their wedding 
journey from Green Bay to Milwaukee was made in a hark canoe, paddled by 
Indians. She received from her parents the customary wedding presents of 
those pioneer times, consisting of feather beds, pillows, quilts, blankets, etc. 
Although young in years at the time of her marriage, she was an adept in 
the art of housekeeping. 

The country at the time Mr. Juneau brought his" young bride to Milwaukee 
was destitute of roads; nothing hut the Indian trail traversed .the wide 
expanse of prairie and forest between Milwaukee and Green Bay, and travel 
was made on foot or on horseback. There was little to break the monotony 
during the firsl few years aside from an occasional vessel bringing goods 
and taking away furs, or the Indian traders passing thrbugh that section 
from Green Bay to < Ihicago. 

Mrs. Juneau exercised great influent ver the Indians and was of much 

assistance to her husband in carrying on his business in the fur trade with 
the Indians, speaking several Indian dialects. She dressed in Indian costume, 
which style of dress she wore for many years. Of a retiring nature, she 
mingled little with the incoming white population and rarely spoke English, 
French being the language used in the home circle. 

Jas. S. Buck, in his "Pioneer History of Milwaukee," pays the following 
tribute to Mrs. Juneau: "She was among women what her husband was 
among men, one of the noblest works of God. Honest and true, a fitting wife 
for the noble-hearted man with whom she lived so long. 

"Many of the first settlers were indebted to this braveJiearted woman for 
their persona] safety, more than once, in 1836, when the Indians were anxious 
to destroy them, which they certainly would have done upon one occasion, 
had she not interfered to protect them, upon which occasion she stood guard 
over the whites all the night hm,e- during her husband's absence." 

Mrs. Juneau possessed many noble traits of character. Aside from her 
many duties to her family, she was every ready to minister to the wants of 
the sick and the needy. The poor she had always with her. Her home was a 
stopping place for ministers of all denominations who passed through the 
trading post. She made them all welcome. She mighl lie called the guardian 
angel of the unfortunate. Many a p • girl who had started life wrong "a- 



90 BISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

taken into her home, given religious instruction, taughl to do housework and 
sew, and positions secured for them. 

As years passed, and'the tide of immi'jrat ion eontinued to How into the 
infant metropolis, the inhabitants numbering thousands, where a few short 
years before the country was but a wilderness, .Mrs. Juneau longed for the 
quiet of the country, and persuaded her husband to remove to their summer 
home at Theresa. There, surrounded by every comforl a Loving and indul- 
gent husband could provide, she settled down to enjoy the declining years of 
her life. 

After removing to Theresa she became ill and gradually failing, Mr. Juneau 
took her to Milwaukee to consult their family physician, Dr. E. I>. Wolcott. 
It was found her malady was of a more serious nature than was at first sup- 
posed. Doctor Wolcott. assisted by Doctor Hewitt and a specialist from Chi- 
cago, held a consultation and it was found necessary to perform an opera- 
tion, which proved unsuccessful. At the time of her death Mrs. Juneau was 
fifty-two years, seven mouths and three days. Thus closed in perfect peace, 
a life of love and service to God, November 19, 1855. 

The funeral was held from the residence of her daughter, Mrs. II. K. 
White. Services were conducted by Reverend Riordan at St. John's Cathedral. 
of which church she was a devout member during her residence in Milwaukee. 
Burial was in the Catholic Cemetery at the head of Spring Street. 

Uriel B. Smith pays the following tribute to Mrs. Juneau: "I was in- 
timately acquainted with Airs. Solomon Juneau. My child, Milwaukee Smith, 
was born October 10, 1835. She was the first white child born in Milwaukee, 
and Mrs. Juneau was present at her birth, and attended upon my wife in 
such a kind and motherly manner as to win the love and esteem of my wife 
as well as myself. 

"Mrs. Juneau was also an attendant and watcher at the death bed of my 
wife some two years after, and during the whole period of our acquaintance 
we were on the most intimate terms. 

"For such services rendered to my wife during her sickness. 1 offered 
ample remuneration, which was immediately declined — she saying to me. 
'Such services were due all, and that, too, without consideration.' Such inci- 
dents cannot he forgotten. 1 trust that Milwaukee today has her equal — I 
know it has not her superior." 

Martin's Estimate of Solomon Juneau. — In the narrative of Morgan I.. 
.Martin, printed in the Wisconsin Historical Collections, Volume XI. extended 
mention is made of Juneau and others contemporaneous with him. "I firsl 
visited Milwaukee in -July, is:;:;.'' he says, "on a tour of exploration. With 
me were Daniel Le Roy and P. B. Grignon, and wo were mounted on horses. 
As far as Fond du Lac our course lay on the same trail that Judge Doty 
and I hail made in 1829. After thai we struck southeast to the shore of 
Lake Michigan, following it closely until Milwaukee was reached. 

"Jacques Vieau and Sol >n Juneau traded at this point. 1 had known 

them and their families since 1827, for their homes Mere really in Green Baj 
at which place they obtained all their supplies. Both Vieau, senior, and 
Juneau were in Chicago with the greater pari of their families at the time 



SOLOMON JUNEAU AND HIS FAMILY 91 

of our arrival, but young Jacques Vieau, sou of the elder, officiated under the 
parental roof. 

"When we set out on our tour, we agreed to eat everything we saw, and 
one time we were compelled to thus dispose of a hawk. At Milwaukee there 
were no provisions for us, but there were several Indians loafing around 
and we engaged one of them to go out and get us some ducks. These Jacques 
cooked for us and we ate them cold upon our return trip which was made by 
way of the lake shore. On Sheboygan River, four miles above its mouth, 
there was an Indian village. We found a net spread near the mouth of the 
river, and in it two tine fish which we appropriated without ceremony. 

En Route to Green Bay. — "Next morning an Indian. from the village over- 
took us and supplied us with dried and smoked whitefish which we found 
quite palatable. Manitowoc was out of our line of travel so we did not see 
the native village said to be there. We reached Green Bay after a delight- 
ful trip, in which the eager search for provisions only served to strengthen 
our appetites. Both Solomon Juneau and Jacques Vieau were intelligent and 
worthy men, Mr. Juneau having the polished manners and airs of the French 
gentleman. In a certain 'History of Milwaukee,' published by the Western 
Historical Company, in 1881, Juneau has been described as being on a par 
with the Indians, as to intelligence and manners. That they and their fami- 
lies were far removed above the savage tribes by which they were surrounded, 
is proven by the fact that they were enabled to procure goods and supplies 
to a large amount on the usual credit from the American Fur Company. 

"Neither of them did at that time regard themselves as permanent settlers 
of Milwaukee, but were temporary residents there for the purposes of trade 
with the Indians. Their homes were in Green Bay. When I first visited 
Milwaukee in the summer of 1833, on the tour of exploration before nar- 
rated, they and their families were not there, the premises being in charge 
of employees and one of Vieau 's sons. A further evidence that all were mere 
sojourners was found in the fact that no land was cleared, fenced, or even 
under cultivation, except a small patch of ground used by a brother of 
Juneau, in which he cultivated a few vegetables. Subsequent events, how- 
ever, proved Solomon Juneau to be the first permanent settler, when the 
land he occupied was ceded by the Indians and subjected to sale as Govern- 
ment land. 

Martin a Frequent Visitor. — "From 1833 forward, I was a frequent and 
always welcome visitor to the house of Solomon Juneau. His home was the 
'old trading house,' and so far from being the filthy, disgusting home repre- 
sented in the 'History of Milwaukee,' was in all respects neat and comfort- 
able; for the proverbially neat and tidy French women know how to make 
their habitations attractive. In the fall of 1834, the late Governor Doty, 
Byron Kilbourn and myself were at Milwaukee and spent a few days, being 
entertained at the hospitable old trading house, the only habitation there. 
In April previous, on my way home from Detroit, Mr. Juneau's house was my 
only stopping place between Chicago and Green Bay; my business relations 
with him compelled my sojourn there for several days. At none of my visits 
did the partially cured skins or the odors given off by fresh meats and fish 




o 
- 



y 3 
< S 



< — 

— i 

< — 



W - 



r 






SOLOMON JUNEAU AND II IS FAMILY 93 

winch had become rank produce an unsavory sine]]. If there were any such 
they never invaded the comfortable dwelling in which we were entertained. 

but wer mfined to the storehouse, the usual adjunct of all Indian trading 

posts. 

"As a man, Solomon Juneau needs no encomiums from me. He was 
always the same unselfish, confiding, open-hearted, genial, honest and polite 
gentleman. Our business relations commenced in October, 1833, and con- 
tinued for several years. His first hint of the prospective value of his loca- 
tion at Milwaukee came from me, and he was so incredulous that it was some- 
times difficult tn prevent his sacrificing his interest to the sharks who soon 
gathered about him. Himself the soul of honor, and unaccustomed to the 

wiles of speculators, without a friend to caution him he would have 1 n an 

easy prey of designing individuals. Green Bay was his home as well as that 
of the Vieaus, and it was not until is:;.") or 1836 that Juneau first thought of 
permanently residing in Milwaukee, after it came to he seen that the place- 
was going to become a village. 

Martin and Juneau Original Plat Owners.— "Juneau and 1 were joint 
owners of the original plat of .Milwaukee. We never made any written 
memorandum of the terms of our partnership, and on account of his residence 
on the spot he took the principal management of our joint interest for more 
than three years. At the close, accounts were adjusted between us and 
property valued at hundreds of thousands divide. I, with as little difficulty as 
one would settle a trifiiiie.' store bill. 

"It would take a volume to enumerate the many admirable traits of char- 
acter which distinguished my friend. Solomon Juneau. The intimate rela- 
tions existing between us made me well acquainted with his family, ami 
their every day social relations. Mrs. Juneau, instead of the pure French 
of her husband, had a slight tincture of Indian blood. Her native tongue 
was French, and that language was used in their family intercourse, though 
both spoke English. They both probably had also acquired a knowledge of 
the languages of several Indian tribes, with whom Mr. Juneau was accus- 
tomed to do business; but that they 'dressed and ate like Indans. and in their 
domestic conversation spoke in the Indian tongue,' is far from the truth. 
Mrs. Juneau was an amiable and excellent woman, and many of the first 
settlers around Milwaukee will no doubt bear ample testimony to the deeds 
of charity by which she was distinguished." 

The Dawn of a Better Day.— " Hut in the year 1818," says the historian, 
"the first grey streaks of the coming dawn in Milwaukee were visible. So 
faint were they that the wily chief, O-nau-ge-sa, with all his natural watch- 
fulness, did not perceive them. They were to gradually brighten into the 
rosy tints of civilization, as the night of barbarism sank away in the west." 
Up and down the river Solomon Juneau pursues his search for a suitable 
place for settlement. Finally he finds "a green spot a1 the fool of a long, 
wood-covered hill that rises to the east, and here he builds his own cabin 
with the river between him and tin' opposite swamp." 

But wandering traders have already appeared and for a brief time have 
lent an appearance of activity to the scene. ".Mi-. Hypolite Grignon is alreadj 



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ts^fc^ /L&^t -PWY 

^yuV-L^i-iic fi'/fr^ ^jy(/<<(si /z^r^t^ ^uuc-^^^Uc. 

~ff ' ^tot-is /My /jz^r ' ys<^^ 








■ISlSls^' 




J t/t-t^tsz^^ 



COP'S OF A LETTEE WRITTEN BY SOLOMON JUNEAU IN 1838 




SOLOMON JUN1 \\ TRADING Willi THE [NDIANS 
Bas relief on pedestal <'t Solomon Juneau Monumenl 



SOLOMON JUNEAU AND HIS FAMILY 95 

here," says the chronicle, ''and James Kinzie (the half -brother of John Kinzie 
of Chicago) is expected with a large stock of goods from the American Pur 
Company at Mackinac. There are three other white men in the settlement, 
and this constitutes the entire white population. Chicago, or 'Eschicagou' 
(as Col. Arend De Peyster called it), contains two white inhabitants living 
outside of Fort Dearborn. Detroit is composed of French half-breeds, and 
lias one brick house which had been built by Governor Hull many years 
lief ore. There is one little steamboat on the Upper Lakes called the 'Walk in 
the Water,' which makes the round trip from Buffalo to Detroit once in two 
weeks, but never ventures into the unknown waters past Mackinac." 

About this time Jacques Vieau built a trading post up the Menomonee 
two miles where the Green Bay trail crosses that river. "The sand heaps at 
the mouth of the Milwaukee River," says historian Wheeler, "with the one or 
two bark wigwams and the scarcely better tenements that had been erected 
under the supervision of French Wanderers,, offered no attraction to him; and 
so we find the first trading post which was destined to be permanently located 
away off to the west. Here Vieau, who-coming from Green Lay, a place already 
somewhat advanced in civilization and Christianity, had more refined ideas, 
perhaps, than his neighbors, built a log house, a magazine and repository 
for furs. All three of these structures were standing in 1836." 

From the time when Jacques Vieau first settled here up to IMS, there 
was very little of historic interest transpired, says Wheeler: "the Indians 
flitted about the bluffs, and when a companion died they lighted their funeral 
fires on the burial ground at the foot id' Michigan Street, and danced their 
wild orgies between the lurid flames and the dark midnight on the lake." 

Juneau as a Young Man. — "A few years later than 1818," we read in 
Wheeler's "Chronicles," "there might have been seen, leaning against the 
door of Jacques Vieau 's log house, a young man attired in a calico hunting 
shirt and corduroy pantaloons. His countenance is rather pleasing, not from 
any beauty in its outline, but on account of an open, frank expression, which 
is at once indicative of a generous nature and a steady will. This is Solomon 
Juneau, clerk for Jacques Vieau, his father-indaw. He stands in the doorway 
of the cabin, and looks listlessly across the great marsh to the east, and up 
to the oak-crowned bluffs beyond; nor does it occur to him that in the short 
space of a few years the bayou beneath his eyes will be swarming with 
vessels, and that a populous city will be crowning the eminences with wealth 
and magnificence. 

"Young Juneau does not for a moment allow his youthful enthusiasm to 
soar into even improbabilities: not being a visionary young man his fancy 
sees no Utopia in the green banks of the Mahn-a-waukie. The outlines of 
a few duties to be carefully performed are enough for his contemplation at 
present. " 

Juneau's Claim as "First Settler." — But lest the foregoing account might 
seem inconsistent with the statement frequently made that Juneau was the 
first settler and founder of Milwaukee in 1818, it is proper to add some 
explanation. In Isabella Fox's biography of Solomon Juneau, published in 
11)16, it is stated that "as agent of the American Fur Company he settled 



96 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

in Milwaukee in 1818, and continued to live there until 1852." Isabella Pox 
was a grand-daughter of Solomon Juneau, and in the biographj mentioned 
she says thai "white men had visited Milwaukee, trading with the Indians 
prior in the advenl of Solomon Juneau, bu1 their stay was of shorl duration. 
To Mr. Juneau musl 1"' conceded the honor of being the firsl permanenl 
white settler as well as firsl landowner, he having acquired title to a large 
tract nf land." 

Jacques Vieau who has been mentioned as having built a trading posl 

two miles up the Men onee River, was a resident of Green Bay and his 

trading post here was a branch of his Green Bay establishment. Henry B. 
Legler, in his bonk. "Leading Events of W sconsin History.'" says of Juneau, 
"It was as Vieau 's clerk that he came to Milwaukee in 1818; he was the first 
landowner here, for the others exercised 'squatter sovereignty' merely. Th - 
Eacl iias probably had some influence in crediting Juneau with having been 
.Milwaukee's first permanenl settler." 

Many years lain- (in 1887) Andrew Vieau, in an interview with th litor 

of the Wisconsin Historical Collections related to him that he was a son of 
Jacques Vieau, and thai his father had for many years previous to 1818 
••considered Green Bay his home; he had a farm there and I and several 
oilier members of the family were horn upon the homestead." As to the form 
of the name which is variously spelled. Andrew said: ■■The family name was 
originally De Veau; but as that meant calf or veal in French, other children 
would annoy my ancestors in their youth by bleating in their pre-, .nee. so 
the name was changed to Vieau in self-defense." 

In Andrew J. Vieau's narrative printed in the "Collections of the Wisi 
sin State Historical Society," Volume XI. it is stated thai Solomon Juneau 
was appointed clerk to Jacques Vieau in 1818 at .Mackinaw. "Tim- il was," 
says the son. "that Juneau arrived at the Milwaukee River in August of that 
year in my father's company. The next year father withdrew as agenl of 
what had by that time become the American Fur Company, and procured the 
agency for Juneau, who had in the meantime married my half sister. Josette. 
He had a farm there and J ami several other members of the family were 
My father had for many years before this considered Green Baj his home. 
born upon the homestead on the west bank of the Fox River. 

"Green Bay also became Juneau's home and remained such until about 
1834 ,,|- 1835, when Milwaukee began to grow and Juneau platted the village 
ami settled there permanently. Juneau was one of the lasl to recognize that 
Milwaukee was dest i I to hecome a permanent settlement, and had to 1 

persuaded by his friends into taking advantage of the laid. Green Bay re 
mained as his home and that of my father despite their business interests at 
.Milwaukee. From about 1810 forward the family would frequently remain 
at tin' Bay during the winters while father was off among the [ndii 

Description of Mackinaw Boats. A description is given of the-, boats 
by Mrs. Elizabeth Therese Baird in a chapter of renvniscences, printed in the 

Wisconsin Historical Society's collection-. Volume XIV. p. 17. Ill 1825 

made a journey from Green Baj to Mackinac Island, accompanied by her 
husband. Their route lay alone ti astern shore of Green Bay and the 



SOLOMON JUNEAU AND HIS FAMILY 97 

northern shore of Lake Michigan. They took passage in a Mackinaw boat, 
one of a fleet of six which were laden with furs. 

"In each of the boats," she writes, "there were seven men, six to row 
and one a steersman, all being Frenchmen. There was, in addition, in each 
boat a clerk of the American Fur Company to act as commander or bourgeois. 
The furnishing of these boats, each thirty feet long, was quite complete. The 
cargo being furs a snug-fitting tarpaulin was fastened down and over the 
sides to protect the pelts from the rain. The cargo was placed in the center 
of the boat. A most important part of the cargo was the mess basket, one 
of the great comforts in the past days, well filled with everything to satisfy 
both hunger and thirst. Rolette, who was in charge of the fleet, was a gen- 
erous provider, sending to St. Louis for all that this part of the world could 
not supply. 

"It seemed strange that such faithful workers as the men were, should 
have been fed so poorly. They had nothing but salt pork, 'lyed' corn, and 
bread or biscuit. This was the general food for workmen in the fur trade.*" 
The boats are usually unloaded from the time they leave port until they 
reach their destination, which in this ease occupied six days. "This fleet of 
boats," she continues, "was originally loaded at Prairie du Chien, and then 
unloaded at the portage between the AVisconsin and Fox rivers, where the 
men carried first the packs of furs on their backs, then returned for the 
boats, and after reloading them would run down to the Big Chute, now 
Appleton. Here the boats again had to be unloaded and the furs portaged 
around by the men. 

"The boats made the journey down the swift water which was called 
'jumping the rapids.' The unloading was repeated at Grand Kaukauna, but 
at the rapids below the loads were carried through, all of the men walking in 
the water to guide the boats and their valuable loads. Our boats it will be 
seen were loaded for the last time at Kaukauna. not to lie unloaded until they 
reached Mackinac." 




VA i;m\ Ml BOURN 
Founder of Kilboum Town. 1 1 < > w known :is the Wesl Side 



CHAPTER IX 
BYRON KILBOURN AND GEORGE H. WALKER 

Byron Kilbourn. — "Byron Kilbourn came to Milwaukee in 1835, from the 
State of Ohio. He was by profession a civil engineer, and as such, held a high 
rank in his profession," says James S. Buck in his "Pioneer History of -Mil- 
waukee." 

"In person he was tall and commanding, sharp features, keen, expressive 
eye; looked you square in the face when speaking, and was in every respect 
one who would command attention from all with whom he came in contact. 

"He was possessed of a will of iron, good judgment, excellent executive 
abilities, great brain power, saw far away into the future, and possessed a 
magnet ism that would both attract and attach to himself and his plans all 
who came under its influence. He was a horn leader. 

"He knew the value of money, and how to use it; could tell at a glance 
the competency of every man, and the right place for him. He was the 
originator of our railroad system, and it was mainly due to his great executive 
abilities that they were so soon completed. 

"His positive character often made him enemies, but for that lie eared 
very little. The more he was opposed the stronger became his will, and tic 
result would he the accomplishment of whatever he undertook. 

"He took a deep interest in politics ami was a democrat. He was twice 
mayor, and to his liberality is the city indebted for the ground upon which 
stands the Kilbourn Park Reservoir. Such was Byron Kilbourn. He has left 
a record, both in city and state, that shall never die. He died and was buried 
at Jacksonville, Florida, December 16, 1870." 

Juneau and Kilbcum. — In Wheeler's history it is said that Juneau and 
Kilbourn were rivals, hut the two men were friendly to each other and 
cooperated in procuring legislation, in 1839, to consolidate the two towns 
known at the time as "Juneautown" on the east side and "Kilbourntown" 
on the west, in the Town of Milwaukee, with two wards, the East and the 

West. 

In commenting upon the rivalry which existed between the two towns the 
historian remarks: "The Milwaukee River was the dividing line with our 
settlers. Not only the nation but states, communities, sects and families, all 
have a Mason and Dixon's line." The very harmony of our system, observes 
our historian in a curious strain of reasoning, its "discords, antagonisms and 
•wars,' afforded a healthy recrimination essential to the stimulation and pros- 
perity of the contending opinions." Whether the reader will agree with such 




OLD BYRON KILBOURN RESIDENCE 

Corner Grand Avenue anil Fourth Street after same had been converted into stores 

Originally built in isj.1 



BYRON KILBOURN AND GEORGE H. WALKER 101 

a view or not the fact remains that whatever virtue there may have been 
in that doctrine it was thoroughly tested in the early days of Milwaukee. 

In a paper by James Seville, printed by the Old Settlers' Club of Mil- 
waukee, in l'J16, it is said that there were but few men of his time "whose 
opinions had more influence in the state at large than those of Mr. Kilbourn. 
He could do more with the Legislature, governor, etc., than any other man, 
and that, too, without any seeming effort on his part. He was a man of large 
build, a large head and brain, a skilful engineer, and just such a man as is 
required to manage large enterprises; sociable, communicative, benevolent 
and always ready to engage in anything to help his adopted city." 

Byron Kilbourn was born in Connecticut in 1801, but when a young lad his 
parents moved to Ohio. His father was a member of Congress in 1812 and 
again in 1814. Having received a good education young Kilbourn, at the age of 
twenty-two, entered the service of the state as an engineer for the great 
system of internal improvements then being carried on by Ohio. In 1832, he 
journeyed to the far-off country beyond the western shores of Lake Michigan. 
He landed in Green Bay May 8, 1834, and soon found employment as a sur- 
veyor of public lands. In the course of his travels he was attracted by the 
advantages offered by the region around the mouth of the Milwaukee River. 
Here he found Solomon Juneau who had been settled here many years in the 
fur trade with the Indians. 

"Juneau was one of Nature's noblemen," says a writer in a history of 
Milwaukee published in 1881, "and was the very soul and embodiment of 
hospitality and good cheer. Among his pleasantest recollections Mr. Kil- 
bourn often adverted to the cheerful fireside scenes in Mr. Juneau's wildwood 
home after days of travel, toil and privation." 

Here Kilbourn determined to settle and purchased a tract of land on the 
west side of the Milwaukee River at the same time that Juneau purchased a 
tract on the east side. Both of these tracts were in the same section and 
were divided from each other by the river. These two tracts extending along 
the river for one mile constituted the nucleus of the present City of Mil- 
waukee. 

"The east side was platted in the summer of 1835," it is stated in tin- 
article on Milwaukee, in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, "and very soon after- 
ward the plat of a settlement on the west side was also recorded, Byron 
Kilbourn being the chief projector and proprietor of the latter." These two 
settlements bore the popular names of Juneautown and Kilbourntown respec- 
tively. A third settlement, begun mi the south side by George II. Walker. 
and known as "Walker's Point," was subsequently platted. The rivalry 
between the east and west sides of the river became intense, the plats were 
so surveyed that the streets did not meet at the river, and there were bitter 
quarrels over the building of bridges. On one occasion a force of armed men 
was assembled on the east side "to defend their rights," and a cannon was 
leveled at Mr. Kilbourn 's house on the opposite bank of the river. After some 
further complications the "bridge war" was amicably settled, and since that 
time bridge building has gone forward in an orderly manner. 

"When the public mind began to comprehend the importance of railroad 



102 BISTORT OF MILWAUKEE 

communication with the interior," says a writer in ;i history of Milwaukee, 
published in 1881, "Mr. Kilbourn was by common consenl designated as thi 
mosl suitable person to lead the firsl enterprise of thai description. Be was 
accordingly elected president of the 'Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad 
Company.' This company was organized in the early pari of 184!), and Mr. 
Kilbourn continued to occupy the position of president of the company until 
1852." 

In 1846, the City of Milwaukee was chartered, and Mr. Kilbourn was 
chosen a member of the first board of aldermen. In the next year Mr. Kil- 
bourn was chosen a delegate to the state constitutional convention, and in 
that body he drew up and reported the "Declaration of Rights" and some 
other important articles. In ISIS, he was (dec-ted mayor of Milwaukee, which 
had then become a city of about fifteen thousand inhabitants. Mr. Kilbourn 
was again elected mayor in 1854. 

•"It has been said that no man in Wisconsin has made so many railroad 
speeches," says the writer above quoted, "or lias s,, often presided over 
state and district conventions ami other public meetings as Byron Kilbourn. 
.Mr. Kilbourn was a zealous Free Mason and left the use oi a beautiful hall 
to the lodge and chapter named after him. He was a member of this lodge 
and chapter, and also of Wisconsin Commandery, K. T. 

"Owing to exposure in early life Mr. Kilbourn was afflicted with rheuma- 
tism, and in the fall of 1868 he made a tour of the South for the benefit of his 
health, lie spent several months at Hot Springs, Ark., but received no 
especial benefit. Finding the climate of the extreme South most agreeable to 
his exhausted system he located at Jacksonville, Florida, where on December 
Hi. 1870, he died suddenly and painlessly of apoplexy, in the seventieth year 
of his age. He passed away full of years, an honor to his familj name, and 
a benefactor to his race." 

George H. Walker. — In 1834, George II. Walker came to Milwaukee from 
Virginia, where he was born October '2-. 1811, and located on the south side 
of the river. He was then twenty-three years of age. Mere be erected a log 
house, "the first." says J. S. Buck in his "Pioneer History," "ever built by 
a while man upon that side of the river." The spot is known to this day in 
common parlance as "Walker's Point." He carried on the business of an 
Indian trader ami was identified thereafter with the growth of Milwaukee in 
many and various ways throughout his life. 

In 1S4'_\ he was elected to the territorial legislature and was made speaker 
of that body, and two years later was re-elected to the same office. In 1851, 
Walker was elected mayor of Milwaukee and again in 1853. He was a demo- 
crat m politics but at the breaking out of the civil war he look a decisive 
stand in favor of the preservation of the Union. 

"The city was largely indebted to him." writes -1. A. Watrous in his 

"Memoirs of Milwaukee County," "for the building of the Milwaukee and 

Mississippi Railroad. He was at oik' time president of this railroad company, 
and lone a member of the hoard of directors. He built the first streel rail- 
way ill Milwaukee at a considerable hiss to himself which was the foundation 
of the present splendid system. One of the last public acts of his useful life 



BYRON KILBOURN AND GEORGE II. WALKER 103 

was to aid in securing the Ideation here of the National Soldiers' Home." 
He died at his home on Biddle Street, September "in, 1866. 

George II. Walker engaged in many building enterprises and promoted 
various corporations of a semi-public or public nature. He built a large four- 
story brick block bearing his name, which stood on the corner of South 
Water and Clinton streets, and was. at one time, the center of the largest 
trade upon the South Side. This brick building is undoubtedly the most 
substantial brick building ever built in the City of Milwaukee. 

In a pamphlet issued by the Milwaukee Times in June, 1921, the leading 
events of his life are described. From this pamphlet much information has 
been derived for this work, as for example the following paragraph: 

"Colonel Walker was a very active, energetic and pushing citizen. He 
was a large and portly man, with a genial manner, betokening hearty good 
will to all whom he met, with genuine kindliness beaming from every feature 
of his face. He had a magnetic presence, ami a most hearty greeting for 
all whom he knew. He was selected to rill many offices of responsibility by 
his fellow citizens, and among them we find he was made supervisor, twice 
elected a member of the Territorial Legislature, in 1 S4l2 and 1844, and on each 
occasion was made speaker of the lower house, was appointed register of the 
Milwaukee Land office, elected alderman, and twice elected mayor of Mil- 
waukee, once in 1851 and subsequently in 1853. At that time the mayors held 
office for Imt one year. As register of the Land office one of the strong char- 
acteristics of (he man became ('specially prominent, and that was his most 
perfect honesty. In this position as register he had abundant opportunity for 
making himself very wealthy, hut he would neither permit himself nor any of 
his subordinates to take advantage of the knowledge which the office afforded 
them to enrich themselves. This characteristic was always a prominent one 
throughout his life. His integrity was unquestionable. 

"From 1835 to 1849 he was continually pestered by men who tried to 
'jump Iks claim' to his quarter section, and who insisted that the pre-emption 
laws of that day did not permit the location of a 'float' claim upon so valu- 
able a piece of land." 

Colonel Walker's Picturesque Heme. — Tin- writer of the pamphlet re 
ferred to describes the location of Colonel Walker's home with some interest- 
ing details. He says that it was located upon a high hill fronting upon Han- 
over Street in the center of the double block lying between South Pierce 
and Virginia streets. The house was built in the style of an old Virginia 
mansion, with broad doors and windows, spacious rooms with a wide hall 
running through from front to rear, into which might he driven a horse 
hauling logs for the fire places. 

The house had a beautiful outlook over the city and a complete view of 
Milwaukee Bay clotted over with the white-winged messengers of commerce 
Hanover Street in front of tin' residence had been graded down some twenty- 
five or thirty feet leaving a steep bank in which many deep cavities had 
been left. These cavities formed convenient uesting places for hundreds upon 
hundreds of swallows in which to brood and mir their young. The whole 
front and perpendicular face id' this block- id' land was a curiosity to passersby 




GEORGE II. WAl.KKl; 
Founder of Walker's Point, now known as the South Side 



BYRON KILBOURN AND GEORGE H. WALKER 105 

upon the street below, and they often stopped to view the myriads of birds 
flitting in and out from these holes in the clay bank, busy with their domestic- 
duties. In consequence of this deep cut of the street in front of his resi- 
dence. Colonel Walker's only means of access to his home was by way of 
Greenbush Street, upon the west front of this tract of land. As the colonel 
was a very ponderous man, it was difficult for him to do much walking, and 
at a regular hour each morning he could be seen getting into his buggy, 
which he filled to its full capacity, to drive down to his place of business, 
returning with the same regularity at noon and in the evening. His horse and 
buggy and his corpulent figure and benignant face were known all over Mil- 
waukee, and nothing seemed to please him more than to be greeted with the 
familiar appellation of "George," omitting all titles whatsoever. 

Pioneer Railroad Construction. — It was through the active and persistent 
work of Colonel Walker and other prominent citizens that the City of Mil- 
waukee was at this time induced to loan its credit to the first railway enter- 
prise by issuing its bonds to the Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad Company 
for the sum of $234,000, and it further aided this enterprise, which was then 
urgently in need of funds, by subscribing in cash for $16,000 worth of the 
railroad company's stock. 

In addition to his many other enterprises for the development of the city, 
Colonel Walker undertook the construction of a street railway, which was 
opened to the public in May, I860. It began at the foot of East Water Street, 
north to Wisconsin Street, east on Wisconsin to Jefferson, on Jefferson to 
Biddle, on Biddle to Van Buren, north on Van Buren to Juneau Avenue, thence 
up Prospect Avenue to Albion. The cars ran on a single track with turn- 
outs at intervals. The cars were entered by a single step and door at the 
rear and drawn by mules. The fare-box was at the front of the car where 
passengers deposited their fares. This was the beginning of the present 
splendid system of street railways in Milwaukee. 

Activities in the Civil War. — At the breaking out of the Civil war no man 
living north of Mason and Dixon's line could have been more ardent in his 
loyalty and more active in his efforts for the preservation of the Union than 
Col. George H. Walker. Though a Virginian by birth and a democrat in his 
political allegiance he joined the party of the Union and aided in the most 
conspicuous manner in its efforts to suppress the rebellion. He made it his 
daily and nightly occupation to attend meetings in every part of the city and 
lent his voice and great influence toward arousing his fellow citizens to the 
necessity of prompt action for the preservation of the Union. 

He was seen at these meetings with Hon. Matt. Carpenter, Judges Mc- 
Arthur and Hubbell, engaged in awakening the loyalty of the people. Being 
a corpulent and heavy man as heretofore noted, he would often find difficulty 
is ascending the steps of the platforms used for the speakers, and it was 
necessary for his friends at such times to assist him in the operation. But 
ready hands pulled and pushed him up amid the cheers and laughter of his 
audiences. He worked most faithfully and loyally until there was no longer 
necessity for such patriotic labors. 



106 HISTORY OF .MILWAUKEE 

And al the conclusion of the war, be was among the Eoremosl in securing 
from the Government the location and purchase of grounds near this city 
for the establishment of £ comfortable and adequate Soldiers' and Sailors' 
Eome, for the wounded, maimed and worn-out veterans who had helped pre- 
serve our common country. He was appointed one of the Board of Soldiers' 
Home Commissioners by the secretary of war, and beld this office at the time 
of his death. It is said that his trip to Washington, D. ( '.. on behalf of the 
Soldiers' Home caused bis death, as he never recovered from a cold contract 
at that time. 

(_'ol. George II. Walker died September 20, l<S(i6, at the early age of fifty- 
four years and eleven months, after an active life spent in hardships, trials 
and labors in behalf of his fellow men, mourned by a loving wife and by 
every one who knew him. Truly may it be said of him as was said by the 
poet Homer, "He was a friend to man and lived in a house beside the road." 

A. C. Wheeler's "Chronicles of Milwaukee." — Concerning this excellent 
history it may be remarked that a vein of humor pervades its pages through- 
out. Writing of the difficulties he encountered in gathering the facts about 
early history the author, in his introduction, says: "So bitterly opposed were 
some even to open their mouths that the author was at first fain to believe 
that the early hisory of .Milwaukee had formerly been the witness of a mon- 
strous iniquity in which all the first inhabitants were implicated." 

The reluctance hinted at above gradually disappeared anil the author 
acknowledges the assistance of many of the "Id settlers in the preparation 
of ids history, which was published in 1861. "To such men as Colonel Walker. 
Byron Kilbourn, Elisha Starr. II. Kirke While. Jonathan E. Arnold. Joshua 
Hathaway, William Brown ami a host of others, the author is indebted for 
all that is of any material value in these pages." 



CHAPTER X 
LIFE AND LABORS OP ANDREW J. VIEAU 

After stating that he was born in Green I'.ay in 1818, Andrew J. Vieau, in 
iiis narrative, says that he went to the French school kept by John 1!. Jacobs 
in 1826 or 1827. Mr. Jacobs abandoned the school a year or two after and 
J. B. Dupre became his successor. After some time with Dupre young Viean 
received instruction at home from his father's old clerk, Petteel. "Father 
Fauvel was also my teacher for a time. Rev. R. F. Cadle, the Episcopalian 
missionary, came in 1830. He was a very fine gentleman, and 1 went to his 
excellent mission school in company with my brothers, Nicholas and Peter." 
It is thus seen that the elder Vieau hail an exalted idea of the value of 
education for the younger generation. 

"There I remained until 1833, when I went to clerk for R. & A. J. Irwin 
at their general store and post office in Shanty Town. Robert Irwin was the 
postmaster and I served as his deputy. This was during the Black Hawk 
war, ami 1 well remember the soldiers coming down the Fox River with Black 
Hawk in 1833 on his tour to the Fast. The Irwins failed in 18:14. and I went 
to -Milwaukee to clerk for my brother-in-law, Solomon Juneau, who was agent 
for the American Fur Company." It is stated in the narrative that Juneau 
was doing a fine business in those days. ''I think," says the narrator, "that 
the company allowed him one-half the profits as a commission." 

Young Vieau remained in the employ of Juneau seven months and then 
went to Chicago to clerk for Medore Beauhien a merchant there. "I suc- 
ceeded in this new position." he continues, "to a Mr. Saxton, who had gone 
to Racine to do business there. There were several clerks in Beaubien's store 
and I was at the head of them. I stayed in Chicago until September, 1836," 
when the payments to the Indians were made in that year. In the course of 
the narrative young Vieau enters upon a brief description of what he saw in 
Chicago which we will quote in this place. 

"Chicago was very small then," he says. "The principal store was kepi 

by Oliver Newberry and George W. Dole, on South Water Street. ner of 

Dearborn. Beaubien's stor icupied the opposite corner. Mai. John Greene 

was commandant at Fort Dearborn, with perhaps one company of soldiers. 
J. B. Beaubien, father of my employer, lived in the old American Fur Com 
pany's post, south of Fort Dearborn on the lake shore. There were, perhaps, 
from one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and fifty buildings in Chi 
cago, shops and all, at the time of which I speak. They were mostly un- 

107 



108 BISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

painted and there was certainly no promise of the place ever amounting to 
anything. On the streets mud was knee deep, and wagons had often to be 
lifted mit of the mire with handspikes. I am sure thai nearly every inhabitant 
of the place would have smiled incredulously if any one had prophesied thai 
here was to be the great eity of the west." 

Milwaukee in 1836. — In December, 1836, Andrew J. Vieau 'whose narra- 
tive lias been so freely drawn upon) returned from Chicago to Juneau's post 
in Milwaukee and served him for a time as his bookkeeper. Soon after he 
bought out the Juneau establishment, "lock, stock and barrel," and con- 
tinued the business on the west side of the river, a half block north of Spring 
Street. There had been a big rush to Milwaukee while he was in Chicago, 
and it continued unabated during that fall. In the following February he 
was married at Green Bay to Pebeeea R. Lawe. "Our bridal trip." he says. 
"was made across the country to Milwaukee on what was called a 'French 
train." The sleigh was a deep box, (i feet lone' by :!•"> inches broad, which 
slipped easily on the surface of the snow, when drawn by two horses hitched 
tandem. There were, of course, no wagon roads in those days, but there 
were two regularly traveled trails to Milwaukee. 

"The one we took led first on a short cut southeast from Green Bay to 
Manitowoc. At Manitowoc rapids, 2C> miles from the lake shore, the path 
turned almost due south, striking' the mouth of the Sheboygan River. Thence 
we would proceed south along the lake shore, sometimes on the beach and 
aga'n on the high land, for fifteen or sixteen miles; thence west southwest to 
Saukville; thence directly southeast to Milwaukee. This path between Green 
Bay and Milwaukee was originally an Indian trail, and very crooked; but 
the whites would straighten it by cutting across lots each winter with their 
jumpers, wearing bare streaks through the thin covering, to be followed in 
the summer by foot and horseback travel along the shortened path. 

"The other trail was by way of Fond du Lac, taking advantage of the 
military road along the east shore of Lake Winnebago; thence south-south- 
west to Watertown; thence east to "Waukesha, and coming into Milwaukee on 
the Kilbourn Road. The time occupied in traveling from Green Bay to Mil- 
waukee was four days, either by foot or by 'French train.' the distance being 
estimated at 12.") miles." 

Having returned to Milwaukee from his wedding trip in the picturesque 
manner described, Vieau soon afterward sold out his establishment to Solomon 
Juneau, his brother-in-law, not being satisfied to lead the humdrum life of 
an Indian trader, these two men buying and selling out to each other on fre- 
quent occasions. 

In the fall of 1837, he removed to Port Washington with a small stock 
of goods and was appointed postmaster at that place. "A little settlement 
had been established here," he relates, "by Wooster Harrison and other 
.Michigan City speculators, but the place had been starved out and practically 
abandoned." It is interesting to note in this connection that Abraham Lin- 
coln about Ibis time contemplated making Port Washington his home, having 
traveled all the way from his place of residence at Xew Salem. Illinois, to 
make the necessary arrangements. An article in the Wisconsin Magazine of 



LIFE AND LABORS OF ANDREW J. YIEAU 109 

History for September, 1920, describes this episode in the life of the great 
Emancipator, and mentions the man whom he met on that journey. 

Abraham Lincoln in Quest of a New Home. — In a history of Port Wash- 
ington it is stated that the first dwelling house built in the village was erected 
by "Gen." Harrison, as Wooster Harrison, above mentioned, was familiarly 
termed by the old settlers. This first dwelling house was erected in 1835. 
"It is still standing," so a writer states in the history mentioned which was 
published in 1881. "It is a little story-and-a-half frame building with gable 
ends, the sills resting on the ground. A partition divides the first floor into 
two apartments, and also the upper or half story. It was at this house that 
the first votes of the town were polled. 

"This old and time-worn structure has become one of the sacred relics of 
the past, commanding a prominent place in the history of the town of Port 
Washington, not only on account of the relation it bears to the first white 
settler of the village, but because it once served as a shelter to one of Amer- 
ica's greatest statesmen. It may be of interest to mention the fact that the 
great and martyred President, Abraham Lincoln, during his days of 'rough- 
ing it,' once walked from Milwaukee to Sheboygan, and stopped a night or two 
in this old house." 

Lincoln's Purpose in making the Visit. — Professor Julius E. Olson of the 
University of Wisconsin contributed the article printed in the Wisconsin 
Magazine of History referred to -above, and in the article he elucidates some 
particulars of this historic visit, which does not appear to be mentioned either 
in Nicolay and Hay's or Miss Ida Tarbell's works. Mr. Lincoln "s purpose in 
making the journey was to find a location where he might establish himself 
in the practice of the law, as he was just then completing his preparation for 
that profession. Professor Olson says that in an interview furnished by 
Harry W. Bolens to the Milwaukee Daily News, sometime during the Lincoln 
centennial year (1909), Mr. Bolens. who had formerly been mayor of Port 
Washington, stated that the Lincoln visit was made at some period between 
1835 and 1840, the exact year not being known. Mr. Lincoln was returning 
from Sheboygan having concluded after his visit to that place that "it had 
no future before it." 

Mr. Lincoln remained at Port Washington two days during which time 
he arranged with General Harrison for the rent of quarters for his law office. 
This was in the fall of the year (probably 1835), and the arrangement w;is 
that Mr. Lincoln should return in the spring and take possession of his quar- 
ters. "In the spring, however, the floods put a quietus on all travel, the Wes1 
was fairly afloat in the freshet, and the heavy rain storms kept up until Late 
in the summer. Under these conditions Mr. Lincoln decided to locate else- 
where and later sent his regrets to General Harrison." From this it would 
appear that Lincoln's presence in Milwaukee in 1835 (at least about that 
time), while going to Sheboygan and Por1 Washington, considerably ante- 
dates the visit he made in 1859 to Milwaukee when he addressed the Wiscon- 
sin State Agricultural Society giving his views on agriculture; though in 
Conard's excellent work it is stated thai this latter visit was his "only visit." 

What had induced Mr. Lincoln to direct his attention to the lake shore 



Ill) HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

region uorth of Milwaukee and to look here for a location for his new home? 
Professor Olson answers the question. Mr. Lincoln had seen considerable of 
Southern Wisconsin during his brief service in the Black Hawk war and knew 
the country had many attractions. In fact the Black Hawk war was Wiscon- 
sin's introduction to the American people, jusl as ii proved i<> be the start 
in emigration from the eastern states to Illinois. "There was an immediate 
and rapid increase of immigration, not only in the mining region, bu1 in vari 
mis parts of what is now Wisconsin, more especially in thai portion bordering 
mi Lake Michigan," using the quotation from the history of Washington and 
Ozaukee counties found in Professor Olson's article "Lincoln knew of this 
strong trend of immigration," adds Professor Olson. "Then he may have 
wanicd in see Lake Michigan, particularly as the eastern part of the state 
was the most accessible." 

Lincoln in Milwaukee. — Lincoln visited Milwaukee, October 1. 1859, and 
made an address at the State Fair being held there at the time. He attended 
the performance of a so-called "strong man" which greatly interested him. 
The performer went through the \isual antics, — tossing iron balls and letti 
them roll down his arms, lifting heavy weights, etc. Apparently Lincoln had 
never seen such a combination of strength and agility before, and every now 
and then gave vent to the ejaculation, "l!y George! By George!' After 
making his speech Governor Iloyt introduced him to the athlete; and as Lin- 
coln stood looking down at him from his great height, evidently pondering 
that one so small could be so strong, he suddenly gave utterance to one of 
his quaint speeches. "Why." he said. "I could lick salt off the top of your 
hat!" 

Lincoln was called on by many of his admirers during his visit to .Mil- 
waukee. He stopped at the Newhall House and in the evening he delivered 
a campaign speech, standing on a table while doing so. Tin' presidential cam 
paign of 1860 occurred a year later than the period of his visit above spoken 
of. All of Lincoln's speeches at that period were discussions of the issues 
raised during the debates of the previous year between himself and Senator 
Douglas. These debates had attracted nation-wide interest, and the able 
ami original treatment of these subjects at the hands of Mr. Lincoln were 
i Ii nil it less responsible for the immense popularity he had achieved when the 
nominating convention met in Chicago in May, 1860. 

Vieau Leaves Port Washington. — "In the spring of 1839," continues the 
narrative of A. .1. Vieau, which is written remarkably in the vein of Sinbad, 
the Sailor's, narratives, "I (dosed up my post, bought a lot of sugar from 
the Indian^, loaded a boat with the sugar and furs that I had collected and 
went up to Milwaukee, where I disposed of my venture, having had an e\ 
cellcnt winter's trade. 1 had started in with only seven hundred dollars' 

worth of ■- Is. While at Porl Washington I would take in loads of turkey s, 

venison, and other game by ox teams to Milwaukee, in which enterprise 1 was 
particularly successful. "When I left Milwaukee for tin- Port, my frame 
house in the former place was rented from me by Governor Harrison Luding 
toil, then a young man newlj married. With the results of my venture I now 
built two new houses and had iej enough h-ft in the fall of Is:'.' 1 to go into 



LIFE AND LABORS OF ANDREW J. YIEAU 111 

business with Solomon Juneau who had traded but little since I originally 
bought him out. In the spring of 1840, we dissolved partnership and divided 
our stock. That summer I bought and handled lumber from Two Rivers 
and other points, and dealt as well in dry goods, groceries and Indian sup- 
plies. This store was on the west side of East Water Street, between Huron 
and Michigan streets. 

"I thus continued in trade in Milwaukee and made money, until the fall 
of 1843, when I went to Two Rivers, then called Twin Rivers, and took pos- 
session of John Lawe's old sawmill there. The place was then a small fish- 
ing village of some eight or ten houses, with perhaps twenty-five inhabitants. 
A part of the time I ran the sawmill myself, but leased it for the most part, 
at first to Bascom and Ward; then to Daniel Smith of Manitowoc; in 1845, to 
II. II. Smith of Milwaukee, who finally bought the plant about 1846. I also 
did some trading with the Indians while at Two Rivers." 

Editor's Note. — It is not generally known to the people of Milwaukee that the small park 
bounded by National Avenue, South Pierce, Hanover and Greenbush streets was named Yieau 
Park at the public opening of the same in memory of Jacques Yieau, father of Andrew 
J. Vieau, and father-in-law of Solomon Juneau. 







— 
K 
r- 
f. 



y. 



v. 



:_ 



CHAPTER XI 
MILWAUKEE IN THE PIONEER PERIOD 

The first permanent settlement of Milwaukee was made by Jacques Vieau 
who came in 1795. Vieau was an Indian trader and was quite successful, 
though he lost his property in 1832. He was well known for his integrity. 
Solomon Juneau bought Vieau 's trading post in 1819, at which time "he was 
already married to Vieau 's daughter, Josette, so that his relations with Vieau 
were necessarily close," says Edwin 8. Mack in a sketch entitled, "The Found- 
ing of Milwaukee,'* printed in the Proceedings of the Wisconsin State His- 
torical Society for 1906. 

Vieau, however, soon resumed trading, becoming the agent of Michael 
Dousman of Chicago. His son, Andrew J. Vieau, is quoted at length in the 
Wisconsin Historical Society's Collections for 1888. He says that his father 
was "the first man to engage in the Indian trade on the ground now occupied 
by the City of Milwaukee." The editor in a note qualities this statement 
(which also applies to the statement contained in the first sentence of the 
previous paragraph) by saying that "there were, off and on, several traders 
at the mouth of the Milwaukee River previous to the arrival of Jacques Vieau, 
chief among them, Alexander La Framboise, v ho commenced his trade in 
1785." 

Continuing his narrative Andrew says: "The family name was originally 
De Veau, but as that meant veal or calf in the French, the language we were 
familiar with in childhood, other children would annoy my ancestors in their 
youth by bleating in their presence; so the name was changed to Vieau in 
self-defense." Other particulars about his father are given. He was a full- 
blooded Frenchman but he married Angeline, daughter of Joseph Le Roy, a 
trader at Green Bay in 178(3, and she was of Indian blood, so his children 
partook of that strain. His father's family were quite numerous, the children, 
in order of their birth, were as follows: Madeleine, Josette, Paul, Jacques, 
Louis, Joseph, Amable, Charles, Andrew (the narrator), Nicholas, Peter, and 
Mary, — "a round dozen in all," as he says. 

Andrew's narrative is continued as follows: "My father (Jacques) first 
went to Mackinaw from Montreal as a voyageur for the Northwest Fur 
Company, in 1793, when he was forty-two years of age. His first trip in 
that capacity was to La Pointe in Lake Superior. In 1794, he returned to 
La Pointe, but this time as a clerk for the company. In 1795, he was appointed 
one of the company's agents being sent out with a supply of goods to explore 
and establish posts on the west shore of Lake Michigan. The goods were con- 

113 



114 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Mined in a large Mackinaw boat, beavily loaded and manned by twelve men. 
He with Ills family, consisting then of mother, Madeleine, Paul and Jacques, 
followed in a Large bark canoe, in which was stored also the camping equipage. 

My father's clerk mi That trip was .Mike le Petteel." 

Establishing a Site for a Trading Post.— The expedition started from 

Mackinaw in July, and the first important camping pla was where Kewaunee 

is now situated. Here he established a "jack-knife" posl to open the trade. 
and left a man in charge of it. "My father's expedition," continues Andrew, 
'•arrived at Milwaukee on either the 18th or 20th of Augusl (1795). He me1 
at the month of the river a large number of Pottawatomies, but mingling 
freely with them were Sacs and Foxes, and a few Winnebagoes who had mar- 
ried into the other three tribes. The Indians told my father that he was the 
first white man whom they had seen there, and he was warmly welcomed. He 
had a good stock of -nods, and French traders Mere always particularly well 
received at the outposts of civilization in those days. He erected two log 
buildings, one for a dwelling and the other for a warehouse, a mile and a 
half up the Menomonee River, on the south side at the foot of the lime ridge. 
I was in Milwaukee during the Civil war period (nearly seventy years after 
the arrival of my father), and the places where the store and dweUing had 
stood were plainly visible from the remains of banks of earth which had sur- 
rounded them." 

The editor of this narrative remarks in a note, as follows: "It will be 
noticed that nowhere does the narrator mention Jean Baptiste Mirandeau, 
who is reported in all existing histories of Milwaukee to have been in Jacques 
Vieau's company. In answer to later questions relative to his recoUections 
of Mirandeau. I have letters from A. J. Vieau. dated October _7 and 'J!». 1887, 
in which he says in substance: 'I never heard my father say that Jean I!. 
Mirandeau went to Milwaukee in his company. 1 never heard him say what 
time Mirandeau arrived there. 1 am of the opinion that Mirandeau came after 
my father, but not long after, lie was never in any sort of partnership with 
my father. 1 have heard my father and mother and older brothers all say 
that Mirandeau carried on blaeksmithing and did father's work whenever 
engaged to do it, like any other mechanic' lie was. from my father's account 
of him, a very good man but had one bad fault— he drank whisky, and that 
was the cause of his death. 

•'.Mirandeau married a Pottawatomie squaw with whom he lived t ; ll his 
death in the sprine; of 1819. After Ins death she and her children went to 
live anion- the Pottawatomies again, except Victoria, who was raised by the 
Kinzies in Chicago, and in 1822 she married a Canadian named Joseph Por- 
thier. .Mrs. Porthier is still living (1887 in the town of Lake near Mil 
waukee. I think nearly all Mirandeau's sons and daughters married Indians. 
Louis was alive fifteen years ago near Grand Rapids, Wisconsin. Several of 
the others went with the Pottawatomies to Kansas in 1837. 

"Mirandeau was buried on the slope of the hill on what is now the north- 
easl corner of Main and Michigan streets. When in 1837 or 1838, Michigan 
Street was being graded Solomon Juneau told the workmen to take care ot 
Mirandeau's bones, their resting place being marked by a wo,, den cross, i 



MILWAUKEE IX THE PIONEER PERIOD 115 

was standing near the grave with others when the blacksmith's skull came 
tumbling down the hank. The greater part of the hair was still attached to 
the skull, and some one remarked that the reason for this was that Mirandeau 
had drunk so much poor whisky that he hail become sort of pickled. I do 
not know how much truth there was in the remark. The rest of the bones 
came down almost immediately after, and all the remains were picked up by 
Juneau's orders, put in a box and placed in the regular cemetery." 

Life Routine of a Fur Trader. — "My father remained at his post during 
the winter of 1795-17 n G, and indeed, every winter thereafter for two or three 
years. Each spring, after packing up the winter's peltries and buying all the 
maple sugar obtainable from the Indians, father would start out with his 
family and goods on his return to Mackinaw, after leaving a clerk in charge 
of the post, to superintend the planting of potatoes and corn and the purchase 
of what were called "summer furs." These were the 'red skin' or summer 
skin of the deer: this was the only summer fur that was good for anything, 
for all other animals shed their hair during that season. 

"Upon his return down the lake father would stop at his various 'jack- 
knife posts' and collect their furs and maple sugar, and often relieve the men 
stationed there by substituting others for them. This trip to Mackinaw would, 
with fair weather, take about a month. He would set out on his return in 
August, distributing goods to the lake shore posts, and stay at Milwaukee 
until May again. Thus he did not abandon any of his posts; he was not doing 
a roving business, but was in possession of the establishments the entire time." 

It is stated in the further course of A. J. Vieau's narrative that his father 
while still in charge of the lake shore posts was ordered by the Fur Company 
to the Fox-Wisconsin portage in 1797 or 1798, and thither he went with h'.s 
family, remaining there in the company's behalf for two or three seasons. 
Then he returned to Milwaukee anil resumed his former mode of life there, 
going either to Mackinaw or Green Pay, each spring, with 'long-shore goods 
and returning in the fall. 

"After disposing of his interests to Juneau in 1819," continues the narra- 
tive of A. J. Vieau, "my father was equipped by Michael Dousman of Chicago, 
and for several years traded at his old post on the Menomonee River near 
the bluff. He was an active man, very prompt and precise in his business deal- 
ings and sociable in his manner, so that he commanded much influence with 
the Pottawatomies. In the winter of 1832-33 the small-pox scourge ran 
through the Indian population of the state. Father and bis crew were busy 
throughout the winter in burying the natives who died off like sheep. 

* * In this work and in assisting the poor wretches who survived, my 
father lost much time and money, while of course none of the Indians who 
lived over were capable of paying their debts to the trailers. This winter 
ruined my father almost completely, and in 1836, aged seventy-four years, 
he removed to his homestead in Green Bay where his father-in-law, Joseph 
Le Roy, still lived." 

Cabins of the Pioneers. — Living conditions in the thirties while terri- 
torial government prevailed (1836 to 1848) were bard but wholesome. In 
the Wisconsin Magazine of History, for December, 1919, Miss Louise Phelps 



116 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Kellogg describes some of the features of life among the settlers. "As a rale 

eaeli family was a unit largely self-sufficing," she writes. "When necessity 
arose for combined labor, .it was accomplished by voluntary services called 
'bees,' which were made the occasion of social recreation. The must impor- 
tant 'bee' was that for cabin-making. The logs were cut and trimmed before 
hand, and people came for miles around to take part in the 'raising. 1 The 
proper space having been marked off, the logs were quickly rolled and laid 
in plaee, notched at the ends to hold firm. The roof was made of bark or 
'shakes,' the floor of puncheons — logs split in two with rounded side down. 
The interstices between the logs were chinked in with clay or mud and 
usually whitewashed both inside and out. Sometimes the entire cabin was 
made without the use of nails. A blanket was used for a door until a board 
one could be made. Windows were covered with shutters, but few had in 
them any glass. 

"The most important part of the structure was the chimney, which some 
times occupied all one side of the cabin. This was commonly built of small 
stones and (day, although sticks occasionally took the place of stones, lid" 
this capacious fireplace great logs were hauled, somet'mes by the help of a 
horse, to keep the family warm in the severe Wisconsin winters. Almosl 
all the immigrants from the older states brought with them furniture, cook- 
ing utensils, linen for tables and beds, and some store of quilts and clothing 
Additional furniture was quickly provided by the handy skill of the men 
and boys. Bedsteads were improvised with one side fastened between the 
logs, ticks were filled with straw or hay and most housewives brought with 
them a cherished feather bed. The •truck patch' quickly furnished vege 
tables, while the woods and streams abounded with fish and game. Deer 
were easily obtained, and plenty of smaller animals and game birds were 
within reach of a gun.*' 

This attractive picture of living conditions among tin' pioneers is made 
more interesting by other matter-of-fact details. "Tools and implements 
were precious," continues Miss Kellogg in her account. "Except the axe 
and hammer, tools were freely borrowed and lent, agricultural implements 
were almost common property. One grindstone usually served a considerable 
community." The neighbors assisted one another not only at house raising 
but at plowing and harvesting, clearing land and grubbing stumps, fencing 
and planting. "Sickness, death, anil marriage were community affairs; 
everyone lent a helping hand, and any skill or ability he possessed was at 
the service of his neighbors." 

A Pioneer Journey from New York State. — The incidents of a journey 
undertaken by one of the emigrating families from the eastern portion of 
New York Stale about the year 1820, form a picture of pioneer conditions 
such as was commonly experienced among the arrivals in the New Wesl of 
that period. The following account, substantially quoted below, was written 
by one id' the daughters of the family as she recalled the scenes of her girl- 
hood days. In an address prepared in late)- years and read before a small 
company of fr'ends, she said: "I will ask yon to take with me the journey 
■which seemed like a weary march from one world to another. 



MILWAUKEE IN THE PIONEER PERIOD 117 

"No railroads had then been planned, and as a great internal improve- 
ment the Erie Canal was being constructed. My father and second brother 
had preceded us and my mother and eldest brother had charge of the cara- 
van, the mental picture of which may increase your appreciation of the rail- 
way and palace ear of the later days. We may see several wagons waiting 
loaded with household necessities (all else had been sold at auction), with 
only room for personal belongings and places for the accommodation of the 
members of our large family. 

Breaking- the Old Home Ties.— "When all was ready a tearful company 
assembled at the parting, and the caravan moved on toward 'the West' not 
knowing whither it was going beyond that indefinite destination. At Utica 
we exchanged our teams for canal travel as far as Rochester, then wagons 
aga'n to Buffalo, where we arrived just in time for the steamer waiting with 
tires burning at the wharf. We were to sail on the 'Superior,' the second 
steamboat put afloat on Lake Erie. Only time remained to get a hasty din- 
ner which I decided to forego, 

"I had asked about the boat and it had been pointed out to me, so being 
somewhat enterprising, I set out on my own account to make sure of my 
passage and got safely aboard without question. So when the family were 
ready to take ship one silly lamb was missing. In great consternation the 
missing one was sought for everywhere. The moments were growing pre- 
cious. If they should miss the steamer it might be two weeks before an- 
other trip Mould be made. 

"At the last moment my mother remembered my question as to the 
whereabouts of the steamer, and with a faint hope of finding the lost one 
they all came dashing down to the wharf, the horses being urged to the top 
of their speed in dread of beinjj' left, when, behold, the lost child stood wait- 
ing for them, well satisfied with her performance and quite innocent of any 
intention to give the anxiety and trouble she had caused. 

The Voyage on Lake Erie. — "Very soon we were steaming out into the 
open sea which practically was just as boundless as the broader Atlantic, 
for when you are out of sight of land, what matter whether the distance 
be one hundred or one thousand miles. And as for sea-sickness the inland sea 
is worse for the waves arc shorter and the motion more upsetting. Well, as 
retribution for the trouble I had caused my friends, or as a precaution lest 1 
climb over the guards to have a visit with the fishes, I was taken very ill 
and continued so during the four or five days between Buffalo and Detroit. 
The voyage, I think, was stormy but I only know that it seemed interminable 
and that I was very, very sick. I did not recover quickly and was still poorly 
when we embarked again on a small boat which plied between Detroit and 
Monroe, the place to which we were going." 

A few words as to the status of both Michigan and Wisconsin at this 
period may be appropriate in this place. At the period referred to in the 
pioneer's narrative Lewis Cass was the governor of Michigan Territory which 
included the present State of Wisconsin, the capital being at Detroit. This 
area had previously formed a part of the old Northwest Territory under the 
Ordinance of 1787, but in the organization of Indiana Territory in 1800 it was 



118 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

included in its boundaries. In 1809, it became a pari of Illinois Territory 
after its formation. When Illinois vvas admitted to the Union, in 1818, it 
became a pari of Michigan Territory, and did not have a separate and dis- 
tind existence until 1836, when it was organized under a territorial form of 
governmenl and took the name of Wisconsin, although Governor Doty en- 
deavored long and hard to secure the adoption of the name of "Wiskonsan" 
in which, fortunately, he did not succeed. 

Territorial Days (1836-1848). "Previous to 1836," says II. E. Legler in 
his volume, "Leading Events in Wisconsin History." "Wisconsin had been 
a neglected section, successively, of the territories of the Northwest, Indiana. 
Illinois and Michigan. As early as Isiid. Judge -lames Duane Doty, who rep- 
resented the judicial authority of Michigan Territory in the region west of the 
lake, had begun an agitation to secure separate territorial governmenl for 
Wisconsin. He represented that the seal oi governmenl Detroii . 

being 600 miles distant, totally inaccessible during the winter season and 
nearly so by land at all periods of the year, the people regarded it as little 
more than the capital of a foreign government; that their votes for repre- 
sentatives could not lie forwarded in time to he counted; that this being the 
home of some of the most numerous and warlike nations of Indians within 
the United States, the people ought to have better facilities for protection," 
ete. 

While Judge Doty was partial to the ungainly orthography of the name 
of "Wiskonsan." he also proposed as an alternative choice the name "Chip- 
pewau." Other names proposed during the long period of agitation were, 
"Huron" and "Superior," hut the euphonious rendering of the French 
"Ouisconsin" finally prevailed in the present form. Into the territorial lump 
was included a large section of what is now Iowa. .Minnesota and a part 
of Dakota. "Until given separate territorial rights," says heeler. "Wiscon- 
sin was an orphan in the neglectful charge, first of the Northwest Territory, 
then of the territories of Indiana. Illinois and Michigan." 

Albert Fowler, Early Settler. -The firsl countj clerk of Milwaukee County 
was Albert Fowler, a sketch of whom is given in .1. S. Buck's "Pioneer His 
tory of Milwaukee." lie was also the first justice of the peace in the county. 
lie was thirty-one years of age when he came to Milwaukee an. I soon after 
his arrival he entered the employ of Solomon Juneau as a clerk. "He was 

the first white man of Anglo-Saxon hi 1 to settle in Milwaukee," says 

Watrous, and he held many town and county offices during his residence here. 
In 1853 he removed to Etockford, Illinois, where he was three times elected 
to the mayoralty of that city. He died there at the age of eightj oni 

.Mr. Fowler's narrative of his coming 1" Milwaukee in the fall of 1833 
is full of interest and presents a lively picture of pioneer conditions. "Having 
acquired a few hundred dollars." he relates, "by speculating in corner lots 
ami trading with the Indians at Chicago, during the summer and autumn of 
1833, I left during the early pait of November of that year, in company \ 
K. .1. Furrier. Andrew .1. Lansing and Quartus <i. Carley for Milwaukee. Tii 
journey passed without further incident than the difficulty experienced in 
getting through a country with a team, where neither roads nor bridges 



MILWAUKEE IX THE PIOXEER PERIOD 119 

existed; until the evening of the 12th of November, 1833, when we were en- 
eamped on the banks of Root River, and on which oeeasion the great meteoric 
display occurred that so alarmed the Indians and which has become a matter 

of historical remark to this day. 

"We pursued our journey the day following, I being compelled to swim 
Root River no less than three times in getting over our baggage and team 
although the weather was so cold as to freeze our water-soaked clothing. At 
Skunk Grove we found Col. George H. Walker who had a small store of 
Indian goods and was trading there. We reached Milwaukee on the 18th of 
November, 1833. After our arrival in Milwaukee, my three companions and 
myself took possession of an old log cabin where we lived during the winter 
of 1833-4, doing our own cooking and amusing ourselves as best we could, 
there being no other white man in the place during the winter except Solo- 
mon Juneau." 

Fowler made a trip to Chicago a few weeks after his arrival in Milwaukee 
which was the occasion of considerable hardship and suffering. "In the early 
part of the month of January. 1834," he says, "Mrs. Juneau was taken ex- 
ceedingly ill, and there being neither medicines nor physicians nearer than 
Chicago, I was started off by Juneau on an Indian pony, clad in Indian 
mocassins and leggins and a spare blanket, for medical aid. The journey in 
mid-winter, through eighty-five or ninety miles of wilderness, was one of 
great hardships, and one' I should never desire to undertake again. The 
Indians predicted I would perish, but thanks to a vigorous constitution and 
a physique already inured to frontier life, I succeeded in reaching Chicago, 
pbtaining the desired aid, and was rewarded with the double satisfaction of 
having assisted in relieving a most kind and noble hearted woman, besides 
the gift of a new su'.t of clothes from .Mr. Juneau." 

"In the spring of 1834, my companions went up the river to the school 
section and made a claim, upon which they afterwards built a mill, and 1 
went into Mr. Juneau's employ, kept his books and accompanied him in his 
trading expeditions among the Indians. I soon learned to speak the Potta- 
watomie and Menomonee languages with considerable fluency, dressed in 
Indian fashion, and was known among them as 'Red Cap,' a name given me 
because 1 wore a red cap when I first came among them. I remained in Mr. 
Juneau's employ until 1836. After he was appointed postmaster I assisted 
him in the post office, and prepared the first quarterly report ever made out 
at that office." 

Modes of Travel. — There were several different modes of travel employed 
by the immigrants of the '30s and '40s. J. S. Puck mentions in his book 
two men, Palser and Holmes, who came from Michigan City in an open boal 
drawn by a horse following the beach tiie whole distance. Enoch Chase came 
in 1835, traveling in a wagon from Chicago in company with James Plinl 
and Gordon Morton. The first day they traveled as far as Gross Point, 
twelve miles from the starting point, and the next day they covered the dis- 
tance to Sunderland's, back of the present City of W'aukegan. 

"We intended to stay at Louis Vieau's trading house at Skunk Grove 
(in Racine County) the third night, but found the house filled with drunken 



120 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

linliaiis. and concluded to push on, reaching Root River which we crossed on 
a pole bridge before dark. * * The following day we reached Walker's 

Point in Milwaukee about noon." 

Edward D. Holton's Reminiscences. — In his address before the .Milwaukee 
< 'handier of < lommerce in 1858, Edward U. Holtmi gave a rapid and interesting 
review of his arrival in .Milwaukee in 1838, and of his subsequent experiences 
as a citizen. Portions of his address are given below: 

"When a boy of fifteen or sixteen years of age I read the history of the 
Valley of the Mississippi by the Rev. Timothy Flint, an itinerant missionary 
of the Presbyterian Church. Never will the impressions of his graphic and 
delightful descriptions of our own portion of the great valley pass from my 

mind. I longed to depart from my New England mountain home and I ome 

a citizen of that fair land. Following the open door of opportunity I made my 
way first to Wisconsin in the fall of 1838. I spent one day in Milwaukee. 
A period of high water was then prevailing on the lake and much of the 
lower part of the settlement was submerged — no sidewalks, no streets; specu- 
lation had raged here through the years 1836 and 1837, and everything was 
now prostrated. Surely a more desolate, down-at-the-heel, slip-shod looking 
place scarcely could be found than was Milwaukee in October, 1838. It 
population was from twelve to fifteen hundred. 

"I turned away from the town then with the feeling that if it was a fair 
sample of tin' glorious and beautiful West. I had seen enough, lint my journey 
took me into the interior of the state, through all the southern part of our 
own ami the northern and central parts of Illinois. At this time the popula- 
tion was very sparse. As an illustration, 1 passed a night and a day at the 
cabin of a gentleman who was almost the sole occupant of the beautiful little 
prairie known as Prairie du Lac which later became the site of the Village of 
Milton, in Rock County, and the populous region round about. The owner 
and occupant of that cabin is now a member of this board and is present 
upon this floor. I allude to N. G. Storrs. 

"At what is now the site of Janesville, I tarried a number of days. There 
were there then three log houses and one log blacksmith shop. John P. 
Dickson, just elected a member of the Legislature from the City of Janes- 
ville. entertained travelers in his more than usually ample log house. Old 
Squire Janes, a frontiersman from whom the town took its name, was residing 
there. At that time there were no bridges and but \\'\v roads in the whole 
country. But the weather was delightful, and who that saw Southern Wis- 
consin and Northern Illinois in that early day. when the annual tires swept 
prairie and opening, and made them (dean and smooth as a house floor, will 
ever forget their beauty, or the facility with which the traveler passed through 
the country even without roads and bridges? Most fully now did my own 
observat'ons confirm the description given by Mr. Flint, of the beauty and 
natural wealth of the country ! 

"It was not difficult for the commonesl observer to arrive at a conclusion, 
after an observation of the surrounding country, that important towns must 
arisu upon the west shore of Fake Michigan, and hence it was that my own 



MILWAUKEE IN THE PIONEER PERIOD 121 

mind turned again toward Milwaukee as one of those natural commercial 
I mints to which this delightful interior country must become tributary. 

Takes Up His Abode in Milwaukee.— •' On the 12th day of November, 1840, 
I took up my abode iii .Milwaukee, with the profession of merchant. I first 
opened my goods in one corner of a warehouse known as Hollister Ware- 
house, just below Walker's Point bridge, but soon after removed to another 
location on the corner of Wisconsin and East Water streets." Mr. Holton 
then recalled some of the early business men of the period. There was 
Maurice Pixley, a brother of John Pixley, who did business on the west side 
of East Water Street; Ludington & Company, composed of Lewis Ludington, 
Harrison Ludington and Harvey Birchard; Gary & Taylor, clothing; Higby & 
Wardner, general merchandise; Cady & Parwell, iron and tin; J. & L. Ward. 
This firm did a large business and was •"the first to induce the transportation 
of lead across the country by wagons drawn by oxen from the lead mines." 
This business was continued to a greater or less extent for two or three 
years. 

Among the other places of business mentioned by Mr. Holton in his 
address were the shop of Robert Davis, Tailor; the shoe shop of Richard Ilad- 
ley; and the store of George Bowman. These were all above Michigan Street. 
and on the west side of East Water Street. Below Michigan Street and above 
Huron, was the store of William Brown & Company, one of the first firms 
which did business in Milwaukee. Next to them was the store of L. Rock- 
well & Company; next, that of Goo. F. Austin, and of Cowles & Company. 
George Dousman was the leading forwarder of that day; and Holton 's store 
was the only one on the east side of the street. Below Michigan, and above 
Huron, was the residence of Mr. Juneau, and the Cottage Inn. The hotels 
and taverns were made up as follows: The Milwaukee House, kept by Graves 
& Myers, on the corner of Wisconsin and Main streets; the Cottage Inn, kept 
by Mr. Vail; and the Fountain House kept by X. P. Hawks. The Cottage Inn 
was consumed in the great fire of 1845. 

•"And now I am amazed," cont'nued Mr. Holton in his address, •'when I 
visit either the northern or southern ends of our city and witness the extent 
of business done. Now, hundreds of people come to the city daily to do busi- 
ness, and in coming from the north, market their productions ami make their 
purchases, and do not get east of the river, or south of Tamarack Street. The 
same is approximately true when an equal number approach the city from 
the south and do not get north of the Milwaukee and Menomonee rivers; so 
numerous and extensive are the mercantile and manufacturing establishments 
in those quarters of the town, where, at the time to which our observation 
goes back, not one of them existed." 

Professional Men and Others. — Following the mention of the business men 
Mr. Holton gives the names of professional men and others belonging to that 
period. Among the members of the legal fraternity there were J. II. Tweedy; 
Upham & Walworth; Wells, Crocker & F neh ; Graham & Blossom; Charles 
J. Lynde; J. E. Arnold; and Francis Randall. The physicians of that day 
were Drs. E. P.. Woleott, Proudfit, Ilewett. Bartlett and Castleman. Members 
of the clerical profession were Rev. Lemuel Bull, rector of St. Paul's Church; 



122 BISTORT OF MILWAUKEE 

Rev. Stephen Peet, minister in charge of the Presbyterian Church; Rev. Mr. 
Bowles, of the Methodisl Episcopal Church; and Rev. Father Morrissey of the 

< 'at Inilic- ( Ihurch. 

Others mentioned by the speaker were Cyrus Hawley, clerk of the court; 
Rufus Parks, receiver; Colonel Morton, register; Daniel Wells, deputy sheriff; 
Clark Shepardson, blacksmith; Ambrose Ely, shoemaker; C. I>. Davis, livery 
keeper; .lames Murray, painter; Elisha Starr and Geo. Tiffany, stage men; 
Matthew Stein, gunsmith; Doney & Mosely, founders; I. A. Lapham and 
Joshua Hathaway, land agents; 1'.. II. Edgerton and Garretl \*liet. surveyors; 
Harrison Reed, publisher of the Sentinel; Daniel II. Richards, publisher of 
the Advertiser; Alexander Mitchell, banker; and Messrs. Kilbourn, Juneau, 
G. II. Walker. I.. W. Weeks. James II. Rogers, Mayor Prentiss, ami E. Cramer. 
proprietors, land dealers and money lenders. These were the names of the 
leading men of that day and their occupations. 

Beginnings of the Grain Business. — Mr. E. D. Holton, in his address before 
the Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce in 1858, gave some interesting infom 
tion about the grain business in its early days. "I")) to 1841, no grain had 
gone iint of Wisconsin," he said. "I think 1 am correcl in stating that I 
purchased during the winter of ls-h> and 1841 the firsl cargo of grain thai 
was sent from the then territory. The amount was small: I advertised to 
pay cash for it. and gathered about four thousand bushels which wenl to 
Canada in the spring of 1*41. From this time on more or less grain came to 
town, and I suppose I am correct still in saying that the firm of Holton iV 
Goodall, up to ]N44. purchased more wheal than all others put together. But 
still the amount was trifling, not exceeding in tl ntire year, nor even reach- 
ing, as much as now arrives in a single day in the season of marketing this 
commodity. 

As the grain hnsiness increased there were warehouses hnilt fur handling 
this important staple. In 1848, the first building to use a steam engine for 

the elevation of grain was completed by Alanson Sweet. From thai tun i 

building operations were frequent in adding t<> the facilities I'm- storage. 
"It took three days in 1*41." says Holton, "to ship the 4,000 bushels of wheal 
I spoke of, as the first shipment made from Wisconsin. Now, I suppose, if 
need be, more than as many hundred thousands of bushels could he shipped 
in t he same time. " 

Piers Along the Lake Shore. — The first pier was hnilt at the font of Huron 
Street in the year 1842, by Horatio Stevens, of New 5Tork. He added to this 
a second in the next year, and .Mi'. Higby hnilt a third iii 1845. These piers 
were near together. In 1845, Doctor Weeks hnilt the smith pier. For several 
years these piers did nearly the entire business both for imports and exports, 
until their construction," says Bolton, "vessels and steamers anchored 
and in the absence of a harbor they answered the purpose admirably. "For, 
in the hay. and received ami discharged their cargoes at infinite cosl and 
trouble upon a small steamhoat. or sc,,\\s." The opening of the new harbor 
was begun ami partly broughl into use in L844. From L840 until the new 
liarlmr came into use the little steamer. "C. < '. Trowbridge" performed the 
hnsiness of running up and down the river, taking freight and passeng ts, 



MILWAUKEE IN THE PIONEER PERIOD 123 

to and from the steamers and vessels in the bay. This little steamer drew 
about two feet of water and was able to get over the bar at the mouth of the 
river. 

Increase A. Lapham. — The records of early Milwaukee as well as those of 
the state are filled with allusions and frequent mentions of this distinguished 
man. Increase A. Lapham came to Milwaukee in July, 1836. He was then 
a young man of twenty-five having emigrated to this state at the invitation of 
Byron Kilbourn, and at once became a conspicuous figure among the early 
settlers and later among the scientific men of the state, as his tastes were 
chiefly in the direction of scientific investigations. He studied and made 
known through various publications the physical features, topography, geol- 
ogy, natural history, meteorology ami antiquities of the state. 

The animal-shaped mounds of Wisconsin early attracted his attention of 
which he made an extended survey, and an account of which was published 
by the Smithsonian Institution in 1855. He also examined and described 
several masses of meteoric iron found near Milwaukee on which he found 
peculiar marks afterwards known as "Laphamite markings." Mr. Lapham 's 
education consisted only of that obtained in the common schools, supplemented 
by his own studious efforts. In I860, he received from Amherst College the 
degree of "LL. D." 

In the biographical sketch printed in Conard's "Milwaukee," it is stated 
tiiat Doctor Lapham made numerous observations on the rise and fall of water 
in Lake Michigan by which the highest and lowest and the mean or average 
stage was determined. These observations were used by the engineers of 
Milwaukee and Chicago in establishing their systems of sewerage and water 
supply. "In 1849, he made a series of very careful observations by which 
he discovered in the lake a slight lunar tide like that of th •can. This im- 
portant fact was announced in the papers at the time, and the observations 
were communicated to the Smithsonian Institution. Many years later Lieut. - 
Col. James I). Graham of Chicago made a like discovery at that city, the tide 
there being much larger than at Milwaukee." More extended remarks are 
made on the subject of lake tides in another portion of this work contained 
in tiie chapter on the Natural History of Lake Michigan. 

At the unveiling of the Lapham Memorial in Lapham Park, Milwaukee, 
on June 18, 1915 (the centennial anniversary, it may be noted, of the battle 
of Waterloo), Mr. William Ward Wight made an address which contains 
many interesting facts concerning the subject of this chapter. 

Increase Allen Lapham was horn at Palmyra, New York, .March 7, 1811. 
His father, Seneca Lapham, was a contractor on the Erie ('anal, and in 1824 
the family lived at Lockport, N. Y., where stupendous and intricate engineer- 
ing was employed in the const met ion of the canal locks at that place. He 
acquired experience and knowledge in surveying while at work with his 
father, and was afterwards employed in similar work in Ohio and Ken- 
tucky. On his arrival in Milwaukee he engaged in a variety of occupations 
and soon gained recognition for his scientific accomplishments both al home 
and in more distant centers of learning. 

"Mr. Lapham was intensely interested in the education of youth, and his 



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MILWAUKEE IN THE PIONEER PERIOD 125 

name appears at the head of those citizens who, on March 1, 1851, became 
incorporated by legislative act as the Normal Institute and the High School 
of Milwaukee. This institution became later the Milwaukee Female College, 
and still later the Milwaukee Downer College. Of this girls' school he became 
president in 1851, and so continued until he declined further election in 1863. 
He was a trustee from 1851 until his death, twenty-four years. In the welfare 
of the young women gathered in that college he was deeply interested, tem- 
pering and holding in check the extreme views of the early patron of the 
school, Miss Catherine Beecher, yet advocating the advanced and symmetrical 
development of the feminine mind. His bonks, his collections, the wealth of 
his varied learning were always at the service of teachers and pupils." 

"How gladly would I," continued Mr. Wight in his address, "his remote 
successor at the head of the trustees of Milwaukee Downer College, exhibit 
to President Lapham the present institution in the Eighteenth Ward the seeds 
of which his labors planted and his industry watered!" 

In a bibliography of Wisconsin authors published in 1873, Doctor Lap- 
ham's name appears as the author of a long list of works in the form of 
contributions to periodicals or in separate volumes and pamphlets, on his 
chosen subjects. Of these the list mentions some fifty titles. In a list of 
eminent meteorologists by Prof. Henry J. Cox, of the United States Weather 
Bureau, and Dr. J. Paul Goode of the University of Chicago, published by 
the Geographic Society of Chicago in 1906, Doctor Lapham is named by these 
authors as "the man who took a prominent part in influencing Congress to 
establish the Weather Service, then known as the Signal Service, in this 
country." He helped to organize the new service and for a time in 1870 
hi' served as forecaster in charge of the Storm Warning service. In 187.'! he 
was appointed state geologist of Wisconsin. 

Doctor Lapham was married October 24, 1838, to Ann M. Alcott of 
Rochester, N. Y. Mrs. Lapham died in Milwaukee February 25, 1863. In 
the address of Mr. William Ward Wight at the unveiling of the Lapham 
Memorial in Lapham Park, Milwaukee, June 18, 1915, he adds this tribute to 
tlie memory of Mrs. Lapham: "She was a worthy helpmeet for her husband; 
his papers received her criticism, all his labors her encouragement, all his scien- 
tific tasks her assistance, all his varied successes her applause." 

In the publication of the "State Historical Society" (Volume VII, 472). 
Dr. Lyman C. Draper writes of the death of Doctor Lapham, as follows: 
"Wisconsin's great naturalist, Increase A. Lapham, LL.D., died of heart dis- 
ease while alone in a boat on Lake Oconomowoc, September 14, 1875, in the 
sixty-fifth year of his age. Coming to Wisconsin in 1836, he, probably more 
than any other person, drew attention by his writings to the advantages 
for settlement and enterprise which the territory, afterwards the state, of 
Wisconsin, presented to eastern emigrants; and as a scientist his nam,' had 
become familiar to the savants of both hemispheres. For twenty-two years lie 
served as president or vice president of the Wisconsin State Historical So- 
ciety. The services and memory of such a man deserve fitting memorial 
recognition by the society." 



li'ii HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Rapid Growth of City.- I. A. Lapham, writing of the growth of the city 
in bis history of Wisconsin, in the early times, --ays: 

"No town or city has grown up with anything like the rapidity of Mil 
waukee. Within ten years from the time when the first family arrived here, 
with a view to permanent residence, we see a city with a population of at 
leasl ten thousand. 

"The City of Rochester, in Western New York, lias often been referred 
to as having increased more rapidly in wealth and population than any other 
in the world — and perhaps she has Keen entitled to that distinction. Mr. 
O'Reilley, who lias written a very valuable hook, entitled, 'Sketches of 
Rochester and Western New York.' asks exultingly, 'Where, in what place, 
through all the broad and fertile West, can there be shown any town which 
has surpassed Rochester in the permanent increase of population, business and 
wealth?' We may answer the question by making a little comparison. 

"Rochester was laid out in 1812, and in 1816, or in four years, the popu- 
lation was 331. In 1820, or eight years, the population was 1,500. 

"Milwaukee was laid out in ls:!,">, and in is:',!), or in four years, the popula- 
tion was 1,500 — or as much increase in four years as Rochester had in eight. 
B\it in 1843, or in eight years, the population of Milwaukee was over m\ 
thousand, or an increase of four times as much as Rochester during a similar 
period. 

The "Father of the Typewriter." — An important page in the history of 
inventions which have had their birthplace in .Milwaukee should he assigned 
to the inventor of the typewriter, and the beginnings of his useful invention. 
Christopher Latham Sholes was horn in Columbia County. Pennsylvania, 
February 14. 1819. At an early aye he entered a newspaper office to learn 
the printing business, and at the age of eighteen he joined a brother in the 
same business at Green Bay, Wisconsin. A year later, when only nineteen 
he compiled the house journal of the Territorial Legislature and attended to 
its printing. 

At twenty years of age young Sholes took charge of the Wis, sin "In- 
quirer" at .Madison, and later he edited the Southport (Kenosha "Tele- 
graph." In 1844 he became tin 1 postmaster, receiving his appointment from 
President Polk. "Later." says the biographical sketch of ( '. L. Sholes in the 
"National Cyclopaedia of American Biography," "during his residence at 

.Milwaukee he was postmaster, and filled with credit the positions of COmmis 
sinner of public works, and collector of customs. He was for a long tint'' 
editor of the 'Sentinel,' and the 'Xews' which at a later date was absorbed 
into I he 'Sentinel. ' 

While discharging the duties of collector of customs at Milwaukee in 

1866, sholes became interested in making a consecutive numbering machine 
especially \'^v use on hank notes and on the pages of blank hooks. Hi- 
attention being directed to an account of a machine devised by John Pratt, 

an A ri, 'an inventor, published in an English journal, for writing by me- 
chanical means, lie at once saw the possibilities of "a revolution in the 
handling of a pen," and "from that moment he devoted his whole time and 



MILWAUKEE IN THE PIONEER PERIOD 127 

thought to the idea which has given to the world the typewriter." This won- 
derful creation is the result of his creative genius. 

"In 1SU7, the first crude instrument was made. James Densmore became 
interested, and, in 1S7>>, the invention was so far perfected as to warrant 
the production of machines on an enlarged scale. The Remington factory 
at Ilion, X. Y., was selected, and the manufacture begun. For a long time 
the financial returns were small, and Mr. Sholes, who was to receive a royalty 
on each machine, disposed of his right for a comparatively small sum. Later 
he invented several improvements, which with an excess of conscience char- 
acteristic of the man he gave to the persons in control of the manufacture. 
In the last years of his life, although confined to his lied, lie invented two new 
machines for typewriting- which were more satisfactory to him than any of 
his previous inventions. This last work of the weary hours in the chamber 
of sickness was consigned to tin 1 care of his executors." 

Mr. Sholes' Folitical Activities. — "In addition to his inventive powers," 
continues the sketch, "Mr. Sholes did much as an editor and a politician. 
He witnessed the evolution of the State of Wisconsin from its wild begin- 
nings, and contributed no small share to shape the laws that were necessary 
to set the new state government in successful motion. Although at all times 
interested in general politics, he was never a strictly party man. He was 
raised a democrat, but in 1848 joined the free-soil movement. He served in 
the State Senate in 1848-49 from Racine County, and in 1852-53 represented 
Kenosha County in the Legislature; and in 1856-5? was state senator, being 
president pro tern, for more than a year. He was a man of such broad and 
generous sympathies that he took naturally to the side of the minority. His 
innate abhorrence of wrong and cruelty made him an abolitionist, and he was 
one of the most active founders of the republican party in the state. He was 
a dreamer and an idealist, and though not a writer of poetry, was imbued with 
a true poetic nature." 

Mr. Sholes disliked the details of business and the painstaking efforts 
usually found necessary to make money was with him a particular aversion. 
A man of an excessively tender conscience in all matters pertaining to the 
practical affairs of life he failed to secure the pecuniary reward that was 
undoubtedly due to his abilities in perfecting the first successful typewriting 
machine. "He lived to see the work of his genius," says the cyclopaedia 
article already quoted from, "accepted throughout the world, and to hear the 
pleasing compliment rendered him, that he was "the father of the type- 
writer. ' 

Mr. Sholes died in Milwaukee February 17, 1890, at the age of seventy-one 
years. 

The foregoing sketch of C. L. Sholes and his invention is by no means a 
complete history of the typewriter. Such a history is found in widely scat- 
tered publications of which the more important ones are the biographical 
cyclopaedia mentioned above, under the names of James Densmore, G. W. N. 
Yost and John Pratt. 

In a historical sketch of Kenosha County of which C. L. Sholes was one of 
the early settlers (printed in the collections of the State Historical Society) 



128 HISTOKY OF MILWAUKEE 

it is quaintly remarked by the writer thai C. 1j. Sholes had "always been for- 
ward in every improvement and good work, and that if the spirits of the de- 
parted influence none to worse deeds than they did to him we shall not be very 
jealous of their visits." 

In Commemoration of Sholes' Invention. — On the occasion of the "Dia- 
mond Jubilee," held in Milwaukee during the month of June. 1921, a letter 
written by Mr. Frederick Heath was sent to the committee in charge urging 
that some action be taken to honor the memory of C. Latham Sholes. the 
inventor of the typewriter. Mr. Heath is a member of the county board, and 
in the course of his letter he said: "It is more than fifty years since the 
typewriter was invented, and it was a product of Milwaukee genius. Mr. 
Sholes, the inventor, has never been fittingly recognized by Milwaukee, and 
it is coming to be a matter of remark on the part of visitors to the city. 
Even his grave lacks a monument and a collection is now being taken up 
nationally by court reporters and stenographers for such a purpose. 

"A few years ago, the Milwaukee County Board, of which 1 am a member. 
purchased a piece of ground west and north of the Grand Avenue viaduct, 
and just beyond what was known as Castalia Park. It was known as the 
Winkler tract, and I had it named Sholes Park; with the design also of 
making it a so-called historic park, in which might be placed educational 
evidences of the lives of the early settlers, such as a log house, trading post. 
windmills, etc. The park has never been formally thrown open to the people, 
and I would suggest that it be fittingly dedicated." 



CHAPTER XII 
THE STORY OF THE '-LADY ELGIN" DISASTER 

The appalling disaster, known in the history of Lake Michigan as the 
"Wreck of the 'Lady Elgin'," occurred on September 8, 1860, on which occa- 
sion 297 lives were lost, most of them residents of Milwaukee. The particulars 
of this disaster are narrated in the following pages. In point of the number 
of lives lost this disaster was the greatest that had ever up to that time 
occurred on any of the Great Lakes. It remained the most important event 
of that kind for fifty-five years until the foundering of the steamer "East- 
land" in the Chicago River on July 24, 1915, with the loss of 812 lives. 

The steamer "Lady Elgin," a large side-wheel steamer, and the finest one 
on the lakes, left Chicago late in the evening of September 7, 1860, with 
nearly four hundred passengers on board bound for Milwaukee. While pro- 
ceeding on her course about three hours later, that is, about two o'clock in 
the morning of September 8th, the steamer came into collision with the 
schooner "Augusta" bound for Chicago. Immediately after the collision tin' 
captain of the schooner hailed the captain of the steamer inquiring if his 
ship had suffered any damage and whether help was needed, but receiving an 
answer that no assistance was required the schooner proceeded on her course. 
<>u her arrival in Chicago Harbor next morning the captain of the schooner 
learned from the papers that tin' steamer had gone down in half an hour after 
the collision and that a large number of lives were lost. 

Position of the Ill-fated Steamer. — The blow received by the unfortunate 
steamer was far more serious than her captain realized at first. The bow of the 
schooner had struck her forward of the paddle box on the port side, the 
broken stump of her bowsprit entering the sal i where many of the pas- 
sengers, largely composed of young people, were occupied in dancing and 
merry-making at the time. A great hole was opened in her side reaching 
far below the water line and the water began pouring in flooding the engine 
room and lower decks. The steamer was proceeding north about five miles 
from shore and was then about opposite Highland Park, a village twenty- 
three miles from Chicago. As Milwaukee is eighty-five miles from Chicago 
the steamer had covered a little more than a quarter of the distance to that 
port which was the destination of the great majoriy of her passengers. 

There was a gale blowing from the northeast accompanied by rain, and 
the waves were running high. The steamer was brought to a stop imme- 
diately after the collision and three boats were lowered manned by sailors 
provided with mattresses and sail-cloth for the purpose of stopping the hole 

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THE STORY OF THE "LADY ELGIN" DISASTER 131 

in her side; but the oars were broken or lost in the attempt and the boats 
drifted away, eventually arriving on the neighboring shore with their occu- 
pants in safety though no passengers were with them. It was the report 
of these men that gave the first intelligence of the disaster mi shore and 
which was telegraphed to Chicago from the Highland Park Railroad Station. 

Foundering of the Steamer. — Large quantities of wreckage were loosened 
as the steamer went down, and the passengers seized upon any object that 
would serve to keep them afloat. In the cargo was a drove of cattle and 
the struggling animals were precipitated into the lake among the passengers. 
Many found a precarious hold on the backs of these animals as they swam 
about, although none of the cattle reached the shore alive. A large piece 
of the hurricane deck of the steamer became detached at the moment when 
the steamer went down, and on this raft-like object the heroic captain 
gathered more than fifty people and navigated the improvised raft toward 
the shore at Winnetka. The steamer hail no other boats than those lowered 
by the sailors in the attempt to stop the leak and these did not return to 
the ship, and consequently proved of no assistance in the work of rescue. 
The raft ran on a sand bar at some distance from the shore and went to 
pieces and most of those who had so nearly reached a place of safety were 
lost in the raging surf, and with them the captain who was plainly seen 
from the shore holding a child in his arms whose life he was endeavoring 
to save while retaining his hold on the raft. Llis efforts, however, were in 
vain, as will appear in the later course of this narrative. 

Newspaper Accounts. — The issue of the New York Illustrated News for 
September 22, 1860 (preserved' in the rooms of the "Old Settlers' Club" at 
Milwaukee), contains an account of the disaster accompanied by a number of 
illustrations, a portrait of Capt. John Wilson, and a picture of the schooner 
"Augusta" after her arrival at Chicago showing her damaged condition. 
There are other views, one of them a large double page picture of the steamer 
just before she sank, which of course is drawn from description. 

The disaster is described as taking place twenty-five miles from Chicago 
and ten miles from shore. The schooner, says the account, struck the steamer 
"at the midship's gangway on tin.' larboard side." She sank in half an hour 
"in nearly three hundred feet of water." .Mr. Caryl, the clerk of the steamer, 
was one of the survivors, and his account is printed among others, which is 
substantially as follows: "Left Chicago Harbor at 11:30 P. M. of the 7th 
with Milwaukee excursionists, a party of about three hundred persons known 
as the 'Union Guard' and their invited friends." The plan of the excursion 
party was to spend the day in Chicago where they were to attend a political 
meeting which was to be addressed by Stephen A. Douglas, United States 
Senator from Illinois, and return to .Milwaukee in the evening. The Union 
Guard was a volunteer military company composed of Irishmen and demo- 
crats, and, as in consequence of a controversy with the state government 
some mouths before, their arms had been called in by the adjutant general, 
if was intended that the profits from the excursion should be used to pur- 
chase a new outfit. 

Efforts to Stop the Water. — In the direction opposite to that in which 



132 BISTORT? OF MILWAUKEE 

the steamer was moving the schooner "Augusta," lumher Laden, was bearing 
down upon her, though all Lights were burning both on the steamer and 
schooner, with her sails set and approaching a1 a bigh rate of speed with 
the wind in her favor. As appears from subsequenl reports both the officers 
of the steamer and the schooner bad seen the Lights of the other for some 
time before the collision. After the crash a dumb panic seized the throngs of 
passengers. The mate reported afterwards that be passed through the cabin 
after the collision and "the silent women sal there with their beautiful pale 
t'aees. motionless and resigned, sunn to be engulfed in the raging waters of 
the lake." 

At this point Lake Michigan is about sixty miles in width, ami the land 
on the Michigan shore even in clear daylight is invisible. No Life savings 
crew was then in service, the Government not having yel established the 
station at Gross Point which indeed did not begin its existence until June, 
1871. There was therefore little or no hope of relief from the shore. The 
three boats of the steamer were quickly lowered manned by sailors provided 
with blankets and mattresses with which it was intended to stop the yawning 
gap in her side, as stated above. The engine and walking beam had broken 
away from their fastenings as the result of the collision and dropped through 
the bottom of the steamer, thus relieving her of an immense weight but at 
the same time causing another great opening through which the water rushed 
hastening the inevitable moment of her sinking. 

In an editorial article of one of the papers it was said: "A tragedy which 

almost puts a paralysis upon one's faculties, and certainly strikes t hen 

for words to utter or tears to express its agonies." is that of the sinkinc il 
the "Lady Elgin." "The excursionists were composed." it says, "of a volun- 
teer military company of Milwaukee known as the 'Union Guard.' In the 
party were many youths and maidens, the flower ami beauty of Milwaukee 
and Chicago, anil of young and old from various parts of the States and 
foreign countries. Universal merriment ami revelry prevailed among the 
passengers, a band furnishing the music for the dancing in the saloon which 

was brilliantly lighted." Outside the sky was dark and murky, the m had 

risen at midnight and it was able to lighten the gloom only slightly through 
the heavy clouds, while a steady rain was falling. 

The Account of the Captain of the Augusta. Captain Malott, of the 
schooner "Augusta," states that when he first discovered the steamer's lights, 
both red and blight, hi' supposed her to be from a quarter to a half mile dis- 
tant, and steering northeast: il was raining very bard at the lime. "We 

kept our Vessel on the course east by SOUth, Until We saw a collision was 
probable, when we put the helm hard and struck the steamer two Or three 
minutes afterwards on the port side; the steamer kept on her course, her 
engine in full motion. The 'Augusta' headed around north, alongside the 
steamer, but they got separated in about a minute, when the schooner fell 
into the trough of the sea: all the head '/ear. jibboom and Stanchions were 
carried away. We took in sail and cleared away the anchor, supposing the 
\esscl would till. After we hail cleared the wreck and got up tin- Eoresail, 



THE STORY OF THE -LADY ELGIN" DISASTER 133 

we succeeded in getting before the wind, and stood for land; we lost sight of 
the steamer five minutes after the collision." 

.Mr. Beman, second mate of the steamer "Lady Elgin," stated thai "at 
half past two a small squall struck us, and in five minutes more we saw the 
lights of the vessel one point off the port bow. I sung out 'hard-a-port,' but 
the vessel seemed to pay no attention, and struck us just forward of the 
paddle-box, larboard side, tearing off the wheel and cutting through the 
guards into the cabin and hull. We were steering northwest by west, a point 
to windward; our course at the time was northwest. After striking us the 
vessel hung for a moment, and then got clear; I went below to see what 
damage was done, and when 1 got back the vessel was gone." 

The Prince of Wales, afterward King Edward VII, was traveling in 
America at the time of the disaster, and the same storm which prevailed over 
so extensive a territory as to include both the Lake Michigan region and the 
surrounding shores of the great lakes, held him and his party storm-bound 
at Toronto, Canada, for a week. 11 will be remembered that the Prince 
visited Chicago in the latter part of the same month as that in which the 
disaster occurred. 

There is a piece of sheet music to be obtained at any music store entitled, 
"Lost on the Lady Elgin," by Henry ('. Work, who it will be recalled was 
the composer of many popular songs. The refrain of the song is as follows: 

"Lost on the 'Lady Elgin,' 
Sleeping to wake no more! 
Numbered in that three hundred 
Wile failed to reach the shore." 

There were some notable passengers on board and among others was Mr. 
F. A. Lumsden of New Orleans, the proprietor of the "Picayune." one of 
tin' most prominent of the southern newspapers. Mr. Lumsden had estab- 
lished this paper some thirty years before the event described. His wife and 
son were with him and all of them perished. 

On board, also, was another gentleman, Herbert Ingram, Esq., M. P., well 
known both in England and America as the proprietor of the London Illus- 
trated News, who had his son with him, both of whom perished. .Mr. Ingram's 
history is very interesting from the fact that he "rose from the ranks" ami 
from a mechanic became one of the richest commoners in England, and a 
member of the English Parliament. About twenty years before he had 
started the London Illustrated News. It was at this time that the illustrated 
papers -first began to appear, and owing to the energy ami judgment which 

Mr. Ingram bestowed upon the Illustrated News, it succ led, and got the 

start of the five or six competitors which made their appearance about the 
same time in London. Since the starting of the pictorial paper Mr. Ingram's 
career had been one of unbroken prosperity, and everything he hail put his 
hand to of any importance had succeeded with him. He was a large landed 
proprietor, and his paper realized a princely income. 

The body of .Mr. Ingram was r >vered and sent to England where it is 

now lying in the churchyard of the Church of St. Botolphe, Boston, England. 




THE sciiooxi'.i; ■ wcrsTA." AFTEB THE COLLISION 

WITH THE "LADY ELGIN," AS SEEN AT THE 

LAKE STREET BRIDGE, CHICAGO, AN 

lion: AFTEB HEB ARRIVAL 



THE STORY OF THE •'LADY ELGIN" DISASTER 135 

The body of his son, a lad of twelve years of age, was never found. A monu- 
ment to Mi-. Ingram's memory was built for him surmounted by a statue of 
himself. In Harper's Magazine for September, 1908, there is an article by 
William Dean Howells giving an account of a visit made by him to old Boston, 
the "Mother of the American Athens," and in the course of his description 
he notes the monument to Herbert Ingram standing near the church ami 
overlooking the market place of the city, of whom he writes, that he founded 
the "Illustrated London News" with the money he made by the invention ami 
sale of "Old Parr's Pills." Regarding the monument the guide book records, 
"that whilst on a visit to America in I860 Ingram was drowned, together with 
his eldest son, Herbert, in Lake Michigan." 

Thus a reminder of this great disaster exists in a quiet churchyard over 
seas, but few of the visitors to that spot will know the details of the event 
as Ave have here related them. Even our own Howells did not seem to con- 
nect the event witli the monument he was describing. 

Scenes in Milwaukee When the News Arrived. — The news of the calamity 
cre-ated the wildest excitement in Milwaukee and Chicago and the morning 
papers in both cities were filled with vivid details of the disaster. There was 
scarcely a house or place of business which had not lost an inmate or an 
employee and it was said that there were 300 orphans in the homes of Mil- 
waukee caused by the deaths of young parents on board of the ill-fated 
steamer. 

An eye witness related that the scene in Milwaukee on Saturday morn- 
ing, when the news of the catastrophe was first received, can never be effaced 
from his memory. The stores in the principal streets were deserted imme- 
diately, many of them being left open and unattended, and all rushed to the 
telegraph office to learn the extent of the disaster. In walking along the 
streets, it seemed as if every second person met was either crying or so dumb- 
stricken that lie could not express himself, nor recognize his friends and 
acquaintances. 

The campaign in which Abraham Lincoln was the presidential nominee 
of the new republican party was in full swing, but the political excitement 
was forgotten in the face of such an appalling calamity. All the tales of the 
survivors were unanimous in, according to Captain Wilson, the commander, 
praise for his bravery and daring throughout. He was foremost in confront- 
ing danger and earnest for the safety of his passengers. He was drowned 
within a hundred feet of the shore. More than a hundred persons arrived 
within fifty yards of the beach but were swept back by the returning waves 
and lost. Up to nine o'clock on Saturday night only twenty-one bodies had 
been recovered most of which were recognized by friends as those of residents 
of Milwaukee. 

Scenes at the Wreck. — At about ten o'clock in the morning of the daj 
of the wreck a number of reporters for the newspapers of Chicago readied 
the scene at Winnetka where most of the passengers from the "Lady Elgin" 
came ashore. The surf was rolling in heavily and breaking in thunder along 
the beach, the gale having risen to a fearful fury from the northeast. The 



136 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

shore there is an uneven bluff, ranging from thirty to sixty feet in height, 
with a narrow strip of beach al its base. 

"The whole beach for three miles we found strewn with fragments of the 
light upper portions of the ill fated steamer," said one of the papers, "and 
out to sea, where the waves were rolling inure heavily than is usually seen 
even in our September gales, the surface of the angry waters for miles in 
extent, as far as the eye could reach seaward, was (lotted with fragments 
of the wreck, and rafts and spars, with what was made out (dearly to be 
human beings clinging to them. At this time various authorities estimated 
that from eighty to one hundred persons could have been counted driving at 
the mercy of the maddened elements, toward the high rolling breakers and 
surf-washed beach and bluff, from the tup of whieh thousands, with straining 
eyes, watched their progress, and with pale cheeks noted that many met their 
fate in the waves." 

Parties of men were on the alert and ready for the work id' rescue. Word 
was sent to Evanston, some four miles distant, and the citizens and its entire 
student community came up in force. Attention was first directed to a large 
raft coming in steadily hut bravely over the waves, upon whieh were clinging 
a large number of human beings, since known to have been some fifty in 
number. Around it and beyond it on all sides were single survivors and 
groups of two or three or more keeping afloat on pieces of wreckage, hut 
interest centered about the fate of that large raft. It ueared the seething line 
of surf. "With a "lass, those on shore could see that the company on board the 
raft seemed to obey the orders of one man, and that there were ladies and 
children on hoard. The hearts of those on shore forgot to heat for an 
instant when they saw the raft break up and disappear in the seas. Of the 
entire number on board of the raft only fifteen appear to have been saved. 
Among the lost was the brave heart who tried his Lest to save those com- 
mitted to his charge and who perished in the attempt — brave ('apt. Jack Wil- 
son, tin' commander of the unfortunate steamer. 

Spencer's Rescue Work. — Among the students of the Garret! Biblical 
Institute at Evanston many of whom rendered heroic service on that day 
was Edward W. Spencer who by his own exertions saved seventeen lives 
Spencer was a man of slight physical frame hut a famous swimmer, having 
heen brought up on the banks of the Mississippi River where he had learned 
the art thoroughly. As he looked out on the distressing sceue lie perceived 
;it once that it was a case of swimming out and seizing the half-drowned 

people and forcibly drawing them through the surf, as tew or none of them 

were able to reach the shore by their own efforts, lie divested bimself of his 
outer clothing and with a line fastened around his body he boldly swam 
through the waves when he would grasp tin' persons in the water and bring 
them through to a point where others could help them to s footing on dry 
land. 

Others followed his example and soon there were a number of resellers 
working by the same methods. The steepness of the bluff alone the Winnetka 
shore, where most of the unfortunates reached the laud, made it very diffi- 
cult to gel a foothold after coming out of the water in a weakened condition. 



THE STORY OF THE '-LADY ELGIN" DISASTER 137 

Spencer repeatedly plunged through the surf and each time brought out a 
sufferer, though some would escape his grasp and drown in spite of every 
effort to help them. 

But soon Sjiencer's strength began t<> be exhausted and he was obliged 
to lie down to recover his strength after each effort. All day. at short in- 
tervals, he would rise to enter again upon the work of rescue. This continued 
until he had in this manner saved the lives of seventeen persons. The last 
persmis saved by Spencer were a man and his wife. The man was observed 
coming toward the shore near the high bank of the bluff, to strike against 
which would be almost certain death. He was clinging with one arm to a 

piet f wreck-age. and in the other he seemed to be holding a bundle which 

he was trying to keep above water. It was seen that it was a woman or child 
whom lie was trying to bring to the shore. 

Spencer at this moment was almost at the end of his endurance, bid he 
pulled himself together for another effort. "Cost what it may," he exclaimed, 

"I will save them or die in the attempt." S i be was seen far out in the 

lake where he reached the man who then cried out, "Save my wife!" "I'll 
save her and you too," he answered; and fastening his hands in their cloth- 
ing he said to them, "You must swim now for your lives and mine as well." 
They obeyed his instructions ami safely reached the land. Many rescues 
were made on that dreadful day which deserve to be recorded. Altogether 
there were about one hundred lives saved along this shore. 

Recognition by Evanston People.— The citizens of Evanston presented 
Spencer with a gold watch in recognition of his heroism and efficient services 
in saving lives. .Many years later the class of 1898 in the Northwestern Uni- 
versity erected a bronze tablet in the reading room of the University library 
which bore this inscription: "To commemorate the heroic endeavors of 
Edward W. Spencer, first Northwestern student life saver. This tablet is 
erected by tin- Class of 1898. At the wreck of the Lady Elgin, off Winnetka, 
September 8. 1860. Spencer swam through the heavy surf sixteen times, 
rescuing seventeen persons in all. In the delirium of exhaustion which fol- 
lowed, his oft-repeated question was, 'Did I do my best?' ' 

The Lady Elgin disaster occurred many years before the establishment of 
the Government life-saving service, now known as the Coast Guard. The 
strain upon his physical endurance on that occasion broke his health so 
that he was never the same man as he had been before. At that time the 
power to reward life savers had not been conferred on the Secretary of the 
Treasury to bestow medals for heroic deeds, and thus no official recognition 
was ever given to Mr. Spencer who so richly deserved it. But he won an 
enduring fame and will be remembered as long as golden deeds such as his 
are cherished in the memories of his neighbors and friends. 

Efforts to Obtain Medal for Spencer. — At different times during the years 
1907, 1908 and 1909, persevering efforts were made to obtain a medal from 
the Government in recognition of Spencer's heroic services at the time of 
the disaster above described. .Mr. David I). Thompson, for many years editor 
of the Northwestern Christian Advocate, joined with the Evanston Historical 
Society and a number id' other friends and neighbors of Evanston, in these 



138 BISTORT OF MILWAUKEE 

efforts. Mr. Thompson was a frequent visitor to Washington during those 
years and often was a welcome guesl of Presidenl Roosevell al the White 
Eouse. < > 1 1 one occasion while a1 the tahle he related the story of Spencer's 
rescue work at the time of the Lady Elgin disaster nearly half a century 
before, which attracted the deepesl interesl of the President. The Presidenl 
was so much impressed with the story thai he soon after caused an investiga 

lion to be made to ascertain whether a medal could not In- obtained even 
after so long a time had elapsed since the event. A hill was introduced in 
Congress but it failed of passage because it was feared thai by conferring 
a medal on an individual for an action so long in the past would open the 
door for many other claims that could no1 he considered. 

Spencer died in California in 1917 at the age of eighty-one. In the later 
years of his life the papers of Los Angeles, near which city he had his resi- 
dence, frequently printed pictures of him with lone- accounts of the rescue 
work performed by him at the time of the Lady Klein disaster. lie was 
aboul the most popular hero of that section of the country on account of his 
exploit at the famous disaster which we have lore described, an evenl not 
connected with the history of California, hut adopted as a part of their 
heritage in common with us dwellers here on the shores of Lake Michigan 

Distressing Scenes Along Shore. — Thenceforward the scene on shore until 
L' P. M. when the last survivor was drawn out of the surf, was a scene which 
lookers-on will never forget. Of its nature the best proof is the fact that 
the forty or fifty persons saved alone- this shore were less than one-third of 
the number that came from the open lake to pass that fearful gauntlel of 
the line of breakers, several hundred feet off shore, where under tic verj 
.yes ami almost within hail of those on shore the majority perished. The 
rafts would come into the line of surf, dip to the force of the waves and then 
turn completely over. Again and again would rafts containing from one to 
five persons gradually near the shore and then he lost, where a stone's cast 
would reach them, yet really as far from human help as if .in mid-ocean. 

A peculiarly distressing experience was that of Mrs. Jane Cook and her 
daughter Elizabeth of Fond du Lac. who had hut a day or two before come 
up the lakes from Buffalo on the steamer Sun, intending to land at Mil- 
waukee. But owing to the gale blowing at the time the steamer did no1 
make ils usual call there and they were brought to Chicago, where they were 
placed on hoard of the Lady Elgin to return to Milwaukee. Both of them 
were lost. William Farnsworth, an early settler of Sheboygan, was also 
among the lost. 

The Damage Done in the Collision. — It afterwards became evident from 

the appearant I' a portion of the wreck which came ashore near Waukegan 

thai the final catastrophe was broughl aboul by the dropping of the engine, 
walking-beam and its supporting frame through the side and bottom. At the 
point mentioned all that pari of the hull abaft the midships, on the larboard 
side, lay upon the beach, a full fourth of the hull from the plank shear to 
the keel. The most rational explanation of the disaster seems to have been, 
according to contemporary accounts, that the colliding vessel carried away 
the Larboard paddle wheel and most of the engine braces on that side, and 



THE STORY OF THE "'LADY ELGIN" DISASTER 139 

that as soon as the steamer rolled a-port, the engine, walking-beam and its 
heavy frame, having nothing to support them, were loosened and fell through. 
carrying away a large part of the hull. These heavy objects went out on 
the larboard side of the vessel, producing the catastrophe, which all the sur- 
vivors describe as very sudden. It is probable that the first violent roll after 
the collision did the fatal work. On no other hypothesis can the separa- 
ration of the hull be accounted for, or the positive testimony of some of the 
officers be explained, than that the walking-beam went down through the 
lower part of the hull before the upper works floated off. 

The Lady Elgin and Her Captain.— The Lady Elgin was built in Canada 
about nine or ten years before, and named after the wife of the then governor- 
general of British America, Lord Elgin. She was a side-wheel steamer of 
about three hundred feet in length and 1,000 tons burden. She was a fas1 
and favorite boat, and went on three or four excursions annually. For the 
first five years after her construction the Lady Elgin was employed in the 
Canadian traffic of the lakes, and carried the mails along the northern 
shores, while the Grand Trunk Railway, which now perforins that service, 
was yet incomplete, or even in embryo. Four or five years previous to the 
disaster she Mas purchased by Hubbard, Spencer and Company of Chicago, 
to whom she belonged at the time of the calamity. Captain Wilson, her com- 
mander, was a man of ten years' experience in the navigation of the upper 
lakes, a fine officer, vigilant in his duties, and a popular commander among 
the travelers on Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, lie was also a man of 
family and resided in Chicago. 

The News at Milwaukee.— It was Sunday forenoon when news of the 
appalling calamity reached Milwaukee. Inquiry brought the confirmation 
"Only thirteen saved." Out of 400 happy pleasure seekers only thirteen 
saved ! 

"The excitement was dreadful. A crowd of several hundred collected 
about the Sentinel office, and it required the presence of all the clerks to pass 
out to the crowd the slips on which was printed the meager intelligence," 
reported the Milwaukee Daily Sentinel, in black bordered columns, on Monday 
morning, September 10, I860. "Still the extent of the calamity, the awful 
magnitude did not seem to be fully comprehended by the public. That some- 
thing appalling had transpired was felt, but that so many of our citizens 
had been hurried into Eternity was hard to believe. 

"It would be utterly impossible to convey any idea, to- those who did 
not visit the Third Ward, of the scene presented there. It seemed as though 
sounds of moaning proceeded from every third house. Little crowds of 
women were congregated along the walks, some giving free expression to 
their grief, others offering condolence. Never before has our city been 
stricken witli such a calamity. 

"The scene at the lake shore depot baffles description. Thousands had 
congregated there to await the arrival of the noon train, and as it approached 
the crowd, impatient to learn tidings of friends, could not wait for the loco- 
motive to stop, but besieged the train. 

"Then it was that the heart-rending tidings were received by broken- 




CAPTAIN JOHN WILSON OF THE STEAMER 

"LADY ELGIN" 

Published in the New York Illustrated News, September -"-', L860 




THE ST] \MI i: "LAD! ELGIN" As SHE LAID AT II KK DOCK IN' MILWAUKEE 

BEFORE -III u SlS LOS1 



THE STORY OF THE "LADY ELGIN" DISASTER 141 

hearted parents and friends with demonstrations of grief thai could not be 

repressed. Timothy O'Brien was the first survivor who was recognized, and 
it was doubtful for some time whether lie could survive the rude but honest 
congratulations of his friends. All about the long depot were anxious 
females, some with their heads bowed, and others too heavily stricken to weep. 
With each detail of news there were fresh wails and wringing of hands. 

"A special train of five cars was sent to the scene. At the suggestion of 
Charles H. Larkin a committee was formed with John L. Doran as chair- 
man, whose duty it became to take charge of the work of searching the beach 
and caring for the bodies recovered. Francis Hubsehmann, the acting mayor, 
issued a proclamation declaring Tuesday. September 11, 1860, a day of mourn- 
ing, fasting and prayer, and ordering the closing of all public offices. At a 
meeting of citizens held at Albany Hall suitable resolutions were adopted 
and arrangements made to provide for destitute survivors." 

The survivors as recorded in the newspapers following the disaster were: 
Timothy O'Brien, Frank Boyd, Thomas Keogh, John McLander, Edward 
Burke, John J. Crilley, Charles Beverung, William Beman, John Doyle, "W 
Elwood, John Gillmore, Bridget Kehoe, Fred Kuttemeyer, Thomas Ken- 
nedy. Adelbert Doebert, Wm. Kinsella, Isaac Kingsley, .John II. Millard, 
Charles May, Wm. Miller, Patrick Maher, James McManus, John McCanley, 
John McLinden, Patrick Myers, T. McCoslen, John O'Brien, James Rogers, 
John Rossiter, E. J. Powers, Wm. Weiger, Fred Snyder, Wm. Sivyer, W. C. 
Smith, P. Walsh, Wm. Wilson. 

A military and civic funeral procession was held on Tuesday morning. 
It was formed at the City Hall Square and moved to St. John's Cathedral 
where a solemn requiem high mass was read for the repose of the souls of 
the victims. 

Some of the survivors had a miraculous escape from a watery grave bj 
holding to pieces of wreckage. It is told of Charles Beverung, the drummer 

boy of the band, that he swam ashor i his drum which he had converted 

into a life preserver. 

On the anniversary a year later in the calm of retrospection, the Sentinel 
said: "Never, perhaps, did such a calamity fall upon one city, as did that 
of the Lady Elgin disaster upon Milwaukee. The victims of the wreck were 
mostly poor — mostly from the Third. Ward mostly Irish. Whole blocks 
of houses were rendered nearly tenantless; and, perhaps never was more' real 
Christian charity exhibited than was there and then. Never was there a 
nobler sight than that of the Sisters of Charity, like ministering angels, dis 
pensing their Cod-directed aid and assistance." 

Every year since 1860 a solemn requiem mass is read on the morning of 
September 8th. On this day the survivors attended in a body until they had 
all passed away. The last survivor, Adelbert Doebert, a musician, died at 
Milwaukee November 10, 1921, at the age of eighty-nine years. 

Number of Lives Lost in the Disaster. — "The loss of life in the Lady 
Elgin disaster is nowadays given as 295," says Dr. Henry M. Bannister of 
Evanston, in his account of the wreck. "It may have been more. When a 
vessel goes down in deep water in Lake Michigan few bodies are recovered 



1 12 HISTORY <>K MILWAUKEE 

and sometimes doI any. N T one, so Ear as I have heard, were recovered from the 
Alpena, lust October 16, L880, or from the Chicora, lost January H4. 1895, 
in the same waters. Only about two hundred, however, were rescued or their 
bodies washed ashore from the Lady Elgin, though sin- sank a number of 
miles from the shore in deep water. There musl have been, therefore, a 
large number thai went to the bottom with the ship." 

Doctor Bannister in his lifetime was recognized as an eminenl scientisl 
and his observations are perfectly reliable and ran safely be accepted as 
good authority. The Lady Elgin had about four hundred people aboard 
when she sank and only about one hundred bodies were recovered besides 
the same number rescued. Thus half the whole number were entirely unai 
counted for, the most of whom presumably went down with the ship and 
remain at the bottom where their hones are no ilonht lying at the presenl 
hour. 

The loss of the Lady Elgin is the classic event in the long and thrilling 
chapter of marine disasters on Lake Michigan. It resulted in poignant 
grief to hundreds of families especially in Milwaukee where the greal ma 
jority of the lost previously lived, and it was the great evenl with which 
all disasters of a like nature were compared. In these days of coast guards 
and numerous lighthouses, of fog-horns and careful regulations for sailing, 
the chances of such appalling events are reduced to the lowest proportions, 
ami it may he fervently hoped that such disasters cannot again occur for 
ages to come. 

Lessons of the Disaster. — When a vessel founders far from land, either 
on the lake or on the ocean, the scenes at the crisis of the calamity are of the 
most heart-rending description. The interest aroused among the readers 
of a tale like this easily becomes morbid, and although it is perhaps not wise 
for the historian to dwell al too great length upon calamities of any kind. 
ye1 the warnings and cautions involved in such narratives have their use^. 
However, it is needful and proper to relate enough to give the later genera- 
tions of travelers a knowledge of necessary precautions, at least such as it 
is in their power to take for themselves. The most important lessons of 
the Lady Elgin disaster were the necessity of life-saving stations along the 
shore which in consequence id' this dire evenl began to lie apparent, a full 
supplj of life preservers (those provided by the steamer were merely short 
pieces of plank six feet long ami a foot wide with a short line looped at the 
end), a letter system of signalling between passing vessels, and a lar 
number of life-boats than were carried by any of the passenger steamers 
at thai time. 

A few days after the disaster Dr. Daniel 1'. Kidder, one of the professors 
at the Garrett Biblical Institute at Evanston, addressed a letter to a Chicago 
paper in which he said: "A principal object of the presenl note is to suggest, 
while the topic is before the minds of the community, that measures he taken 
to establish life leal stations along this shore." Eventually such measures 

were taken and though it was not until 1^71 that a life-boal was provided by 
the Government, manned by students of the Northwestern University, it 



THE STORY OF THE "LADY ELGIN" DISASTER 14:; 

speedily proved its usefulness, and in time a regular station house with crew 
and full equipment was established ou laud donated by the University. 

Other Notable Lake Disasters. — The Indians of the Mackinac Island region 
called Lake Michigan "the man-devouring lake," so we are told by Col. 
Arent de Peyster who was in command of that post when it was held by the 
British in 1776. In view of the dangerous character of the waters of the 
Straits of Mackinac and of the lakes which are connected by them the epithet 
is an appropriate one, as will appear from the record of disasters, a few of 
which' will be mentioned in this place, particularly those occurring on Lake 
Michigan. 

The earliest disaster of which there is a record was that which befell the 
Griffin, built by La Salle at the entrance to the Niagara River, in 167!t. She 
was a small sailing vessel of about forty-five tons burden, was armed with five 
small cannon and carried about thirty-four men. La Salle himself was in 
command and in due time the vessel safely reached Mackinac and then con- 
tinued its voyage to Green Bay. Here La Salle left the vessel in charge of 
the pilot and continued his journey in canoes down the west shore of Lake 
Michigan after leaving orders for the vessel to follow him a few weeks later 
to the St. Joseph River. His purpose was to reorganize his party at St. 
Joseph and push on to the Illinois River at Peoria where he intended to build 
another vessel and go down the .Mississippi River to its mouth as that river 
had never yet been fully explored. 

Not finding the Griffin at the expected rendezvous La Salle went on fo 
the Illinois without knowing any further particulars as to the cause of her 
failure to arrive. It seems from later accounts that after La Salle had parted 
company with the Griffin in Green Hay she was loaded with furs to he scut 
back to the Niagara River where they were to he forwarded to .Montreal. 
Some Pottawatomie Indians reported that after La Salle's departure the pilot, 
who had anchored off the north shore of the lake under the shelter of a 
headland near the wigwams of these savages, determined to proceed to 
Mackinac, despite the warnings that a mighty tempest was raging in the 
open lake, which was white with foam. "Mocking at their fears and assert- 
ing that no wind could stay his course," says E. G. Mason in his "Chapters 
from Illinois History," "the pilot set sail in the face of the increasing storm. 
Hardly had the little vessel gone a quarter of a league from its anchorage 
when the natives saw it rolling wildly amid the huge waves, and then with 
its canvas furled, driven irresistibly before the blast. In the gathering gloom 
and floods of rain it disappeared from view, ami they never saw it more." 

There were discovered, however, some relics of the disaster. Mason relates 
that in the following spring there was found "some clothing along the shore, 
and in the summer a hatchway, a hit of cordage and a few packages of beavei 
skins." These, with the head of ;i flagstaff', were the sole relies of the un- 
fortunate craft, which undoubtedly foundered not many hours after it was 
last seen from the Pottawatomie Village. .Midnight guns had been heard by 
the wondering savages above the roar of the tempest, her last appeals for 
help as she went to her doom in the depths of the lake. 

"Romance has been busy with her fate," says Mason, "and has even 



1 H HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

fancied thai the Griffin, shaped as we sec her in the picture in Hennepin's 
'New Discovery,' after the fashion of ancienl men-of-war, her bow and stern 
lmili high and her beat head displaying a flying griffin and an eagle, with 
her five small cannon and all the rest of her antique equipment, is preserved 
in this day beneath the sand dunes of the coast." 

Loss of the Fropeller Phoenix.— The Milwaukee Sentinel and Gazette, in 
its issue of November -4, 1S47. contained the startling announcement thai the 
propeller Phoenix had been burned on Lake Michigan with the loss of 250 
lives, and told that it was "the must terrible calamity that lias ever occurred 
on the waters of Lake Michigan." The following account is summarized from 
the Sentinel and Gazette, a photographic copy of which, taken from the files 
preserved in the State Historical Society at .Madison, is before us as we write. 

The Phoenix had Left the previous week from Buffalo bound for Lake 
Michigan ports. She had made a stop at Manitowoc and lay there for 
several hours waiting for the sea to go down, intending to make the uexl call 
at Sheboygan, twenty-five miles distant. At one o'clock in the morning she 
started on her fatal voyage. After being out an hour or two the fireme i 
discovered that the pumps did not work and this fact was immediately re- 
ported to the engineer, but he seemed to pay no attention to this alarming 
condition. Soon afterward it was observed that the water in the boilers 
was very low. 

Before any steps had been taken to remedy the difficulty, and aboul four 
o'clock in the morning, the boilers had become red-hot on top and had com- 
municated fire to the boat. The firemen in the hold at once tools active steps 
to stop the fire, but the progress of the flames was so rapid that they were 
soon driven out of the hold. The alarm had now become general, tin- pas- 
sengers were all amused, lines formed on deck and water passed up in buckets 
and poured upon the flames. But it soon became apparent that all efforts 
to check' the tire were utterly unavailing, and both passengers and crew began 
to think only of how they might save their lives. 

Tic Phoenix carried three boats. Captain Sweet who was confined to Ids 
quarters with a fractured knee resulting from an injury he had received 
while coming up Lake Erie, consented, at the entreaty of Mr. Blish, to 
eider the first boat to leave the burning propeller in company with twenty 
others, and reached the shore in safety. The second boat, carrying nineteen 
persons also arrived safely on the shore, about ten miles north of Sheboygan. 

The light of the fire was firsl seen at Sheboygan at 1:30 in the morning 
and the propeller Delaware, then lying there, immediately got up steam 
and started to the assitance of the burning vessel. But it was an hour and a 
quarter before she reached her and aid was impossible bj that time. The 

Phoenix was burned t" the water's edge. The rescuing vessel eould only 

take the burning wreck in tow and bring her into the harhor where she sunk 
soon after. 

The propeller Delaware was able to rescue only three persons from the 
burning wreck, and these besides those who had reached the shore in the 
boats were ;ill that were saved old of a total 300 souls. The boats when the\ 
left the burning propeller made directly for the shore, distant about four 



THE STORY OP THE "LADY ELGIN" DISASTER 145 

miles. The intention was to leave the passengers on the land and return to 
the wreck to take off others, but long before this could be done all human 
aid was unavailing'. 

Scenes and Incidents. — Among the incidents of this famous wreck it is 
related that "one man ascended to the mast-head and there remained till 
the mast itself toppled over into the lake. As the fire advanced the shrouds 
became thronged with human beings who, scorched by the ascending flames, 
gradually dropped off one by one. Many, frightened, or despairing, threw 
themselves into the lake, in the vain hope of struggling to the distant shore." 

The Phoenix had on board a full cargo of freight, and of her passen- 
gers, about fifty were Americans, including the crew, and l!.~>() emigrants, all 
Hollanders and all coming to Milwaukee. Among the latter were many who 
had considerable sums of money with them. It was supposed that they had in 
the aggregate some fifty thousand dollars in gold. One young girl of seven- 
teen was the sole survivor of a party of twenty-five who had together $18,000. 
An old man, the father of nine children, was left to mourn the loss of all 
those for whose sakes he left his native land and emigrated to America. 
"Indeed," concludes the account, "the whole calamity is the most afflicting 
in its details that we have ever been called upon to record." The vessel 
was insured in Buffalo for $12,000. Her books, papers, freight and pas- 
senger list, etc., were all lost. 

The Burning of the Sea Bird. — <>n the morning of the 9th of April, 
1868, the steamer Sea Bird, while on her way from Two Rivers, Wis., 
to Chicago, and while opposite Lake Forrest, Ilk, caught fire and was totally 
consumed. There were seventy persons on board at the time, and of these but 
three escaped. The Sea Bird was a sidewheel steamer of about five hundred 
tons burden, and was making the first trip of the season on her regular route 
along tlie west shore of the lake. 

"How the fire originated," says Andreas, "was never known, but is was 
supposed to have been through the carelessness of one of the porters, who was 
observed by one of the survivors to throw a scuttle of coal and ashes over- 
board, ami a very short time afterward the fire broke out in the after 
part of the vessel, near where the porter hail stood. It was a little be- 
fore seven o'clock in the morning when the fire was discovered, as the pas- 
sengers were rising from breakfast. The steamer was immediately headed 
for shore, but the wind was blowing heavily from the northeast and drove 
the flames forward, soon stopping the machinery. The fire rapidly drove 
the passengers toward the bow, and then over into the lake. No boats seem 
to have been lowered nor any effective effort made to save life, by the 
officers. If there were any life-preservers, mi board, and there presumably 
were, n ■ was used. Panic seems to have seized officers, crew and pas- 
sengers alike. Before noon the vessel was burned to the water's edge. The 
survivors were A. C. Chamberlain, Mr. Hennebury of Sheboygan, Wis., and 
•lames II. Leonard of Manitowoc. 

"In recalling lake disasters," says a recent writer, "many old residents 
confuse the particulars of the Lady Elgin disaster with those of the Sea Bird. 
The details of the former event are related in previous pages of this history. 

Vol. I-IO 



146 HISTORY OK .MILWAUKEE 

Tin' Lady Elgin was lost September 8, 1860, and nearly three hundred persons 
drowned. Its loss was occasioned by a collision with a Lumber schooner on a 
stormy night, the steamer sinking within half an hour after the accident. The 
Lady Elgin was a much larger steamer than the Sea Bird. The two events 
were separated by an interval of nearly eight years. 

Loss of the Steamer Alpena. — The steamer Alpena was built in lstii;. 
and bought by the Goodrich Company two years later. She was a staunch 
boat of 650 tons burden, and for several years was engaged on the route 
between Chicago, Grand Haven and Muskegon. The Alpena left Grand 
Haven for Chicago about 8 o'clock Friday evening, October 15, 1880, though 
the weather bureau signals indicated that a severe storm was approaching. 
Captain Napier was in command. 

She carried a crew of thirty men and there was a "fair passenger list." 
numbering in all about seventy-five persons. The steamer as she put out 
into the open lake encountered a gale of great severity. The narrator who 
contributed an article giving this information in the Chicago magazine for 
June, 19112, says that he was the clerk of the propeller Messenger which 
safely made her regular trip that night from Benton Harbor to Chicago. At 
midnight the gale had greatly increased in violence and it was thoughl that 
the Alpena encountered the full force of the storm when about forty 
miles from Chicago at which point she probably foundered. At all events 
she was never seen after her departure from Grand Haven. Not a soul 
survived to tell the tale. 

Loss of the Car Ferry steamer Pere Marquette, No. 18. — The loss of 
the carferry steamer, Pere Marquette, No. IS. occurred September 9. 1910, 
while she was on her voyage from Ludington, .Mich., to Milwaukee. She sank 
in Lake Michigan, between 6 and 8 o'clock on Friday morning, when about 
thirty miles off Sheboygan, Wis. Two passengers and thirty-one of the officers 
and crew were drowned. Thirty-three persons were rescued by ear ferry No. 
17, which had been summoned to the scene by a wireless call for help. 

The exact cause of the disaster could not We ascertained. The weather at 
tin' time it occurred was good and only a moderate sea was running. 

Accident to the Steamer, Christopher Columbus. — The Chicago Daily 
News Almanac fur L918, printed the following record of the painful event 
referred to above. "Sixteen lives were lost by a peculiar accident to the 

whaleback excursion steamer, 'Christopher Columbus,' hi the river at Mil- 
waukee, Wis., June 30, 1917. The craft was starting mi its return trip 
to Chicago when i' became unmanageable and ran into the river bank, 
where it struck one of the supports of a Large Steel water tank on top of a 
tower 10(1 feet high. The tank fell and hit the steamer, carrying away part 
of the pilot house and the tWO upper decks, and flooding the ship with water. 
There were some four hundred excursionists mi board at the time, most of 
them teachers and pupils in Chicago summer schools. In addition to the 
sixteen killed a number of other persons were severely injured." 



CHAPTER XIII 
THE OREAT MILWAUKEE FIRE 

The most serious fire that ever occurred in Milwaukee was that which 
broke out October 28, 1892, often referred to as "the Great Fire." The fire 
started in the evening of the date above mentioned at 275 East Water Street, 
between Detroit and Buffalo streets, on the premises of the Union Oil com- 
pany, and quickly communicated to an adjoining wholesale drug establish- 
ment. The fire spread to other large buildings near by and involved a large 
portion of the Third ward before it was finally got under control, destroying 
sixteen blocks which included extensive residence districts. The surging 
flames shot high in the air and the reflection of them in the heavens could 
be seen at a distance of thirty miles from the city in various directions. 

"The conflagration," writes Mr. E. P. Bacon in Conard's history, "was 
prevented from extending farther northward than Detroit Street by the 
strong wind which prevailed from that quarter. It extended eastward and 
southerly to the lake in one direction and to the main arm of the river in 
the other. It swept over the side tracks of the Chicago & Northwestern 
railway which were filled with standing cars, and there were 215 cars con- 
sumed, most of which were loaded with merchandise of various kinds. The 
freight houses of the company were partially destroyed, with a large portion 
of their contents. 

"The loss sustained by the company, including claims paid to owners 
of freight damaged and destroyed, amounted to $160,000. The total number 
of buildings destroyed by the fire was 440, of which 81 were brick and 359 
were of frame or wood. The value of the buildings and contents destroyed, 
as estimated by the officers of the fire department, was upwards of $4,500,000. 
The insurance thereon was $2,111,450, which was collected by the owners." 

Fire engines from other Cities. — Two firemen and an unknown man were 
killed during the efforts made to combat the flames, besides a number se- 
riously injured. Fire engines from the cities of Racine, Kenosha, Sheboygan 
and Oshkosh quickly arrived in the course of the evening and rendered 
effective aid. Four engines from Chicago with forty men came by the 
Chicago & Northwestern railway, the train making a speed of fifty-six miles 
an hour, but they did not reach the scene until near midnight when the 
fire had been brought pretty well under control. They afforded great 
relief, however, to the almost exhausted force of the Milwaukee tire depart- 
ment in staying the further progress of the flames. 

"The region devastated by the fire," continues the narrative, "was one 

147 



I 18 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

of the oldesl quarters of the city and contained a large number of frame 
dwellings which had been occupied for many years by a class of laboring 
men with their families, ma"inly of Irish origin. Large business blocks, bow- 
ever, used for commercial and manufacturing purposes, covered the western 
portion of the region, a large number of which were destroyed. Hundreds 
of families were driven from their homes by the flami s in their rapid progress, 
without opportunity being given by the occupants to rescue any of their 
possessions. 

Relief Measures Organized. --A mass meeting of citizens was called the 
following- morning by the Chamber of Commerce in the exchange room of 
their building, ami measures were promptly adopted to afford relief to the 
victims of the conflagration. A committee was appointed to take general 
charge of the work of providing relief, known as the "Board of Organiza- 
tion and Control," consisting of the following persons: E. P. Bacon, F. <l. 
Bigelow, C. C. Rogers, J. E. Hansen. II. C. Payne, Washington Becker, -las. 
A. Bryden, P. J. Somers, Patrick Cudahy, Rev. J. J. Keogh, J. G. J. Camp- 
bell, Prank Siller. -lames Hannan, and George W. Porth. Mr. Bacon was 
elected chairman. 

A special Relief Committee was appointed at once to which all applica- 
tions were to be made, and through which the distribution of funds should 
he administered, consisting of -1. (i. -I. Campbell, chairman; Rev. -I. -I. Keogh. 
James Hannan, George Koeppen, Prank Siller, Bernard Goldsmith, Adolph 
Meinecke, Rev. Judson Titsworth, Rev: -lames I). Foley. Paul -I. Foley, Cor- 
nelius Corcoran, (i. Prellson, and R. D. Whitehead. 

Efficient Aid Extended. -The committee had the advantage in organizing 
their work of relief of the example furnished by the Chicago Relief and 
Aid society in their work of a similar character after the great Chicago lire. 
twenty-one years before. The report id' the Chicago society was published 
in a thick volume of 441) pages, in 1874. The report gave a complete 
history of that great event ami of the disbursements made in the vast work 
of relief after that unparalleled disaster, and the committee had access to the 
record there printed for their guidance. 

The population of Chicago at the time of iis great tire (in 1>>71 was 
334,270. The loss of life was estimated to he nol less than three hundred 
persons though the number was never accurately ascertained. The property 
losses were given at $196,000,000. One hundred thousand people Were drA'en 

from their homes by the Chicago fire. In tin' work of relief the vast sum 
of $5,000,000 was disbursed, contributed by every civilized country on earth 
as well as by every stale and nation of the western hemisphere. 

The Chicago World's Pair was dedicated October 21, 1892, seven days 

before the greal lire in .Milwaukee occurred. It will he re inhered that 

the World's Fair was nol opened to visitors until .May firsl of the following 
scar, namely, .May 1, 1893. An interval of over six months took place 
between the "dedication" and the formal "opening." The immense amount 
O.f news in regard In the World's Fair which tilled tile ordinary channels 
of the newspapers prevented tin' wide publicity which the great importance 
of the .Milwaukee lire would otherwise have claimed. 



THE GREAT MILWAUKEE FIRE 149 

The work of the Milwaukee committee was of much the same character as 
that of the Chit-ago committee though of course was not on so large a scale. 
Both committees discharged their Herculean tasks in a thoroughly credit- 
able manner, so that both cities have always taken pride in the splendid 
record made by them. 

Methods of Relief. — The first and most pressing needs were food for 
those rendered destitute, and shelter for the homeless. The Milwaukee com- 
mittee lost no time in supplying f 1 and money as the first requisite and then 

proceeded to make plans to provide houses for the victims of the great 
conflagration. 

"This committee devised a plan for the systematic canvassing of the 
city for funds,"' says Mr. Bacon in his account, "'but voluntary contribu- 
tions were offered so freely that solicitation proved wholly unnecessary. The 
spontaneity and liberality with which money was poured into the hands 
of the committee by all classes of citizens, was a demonstration of human 
kindness and sympathy rarely witnessed. Many of the individual contribu- 
tions were three or four times as large as would have been expected if 
solicited, and people of all conditions of life and of all creeds, were par- 
ticipants alike. Over $53,000 had been contributed before three o'clock of 
the day following the fire." 

The population of Milwaukee in 1890 according to the Federal census 
was 204,468, and ten years later, in 1900, it was 285,315. Thus for the year 
1892, the year in which the fire occurred, it was not far from 230,000. 

"Telegrams were received from the mayors of several cities and from 
various commercial organizations offering aid, which were gratefully ac- 
knowledged, lint tin' kind offers were courteously declined on the ground that 
local contributions were on such a scale that they seemed likely to meet 
all requirements. Several contributions were, however, received from indi- 
viduals residing elsewhere who were former residents of Milwaukee, or were 
specially interested in her welfare. 

"Collections were taken for tin' relief fund in all the churches of the city 
on the Sunday next following the occurrence of the tire (October, 30), which 
amounted in the aggregate to $6,293. Members of several branches of trade 
and clerks and employees of large establishments, and some benevolent 
societies also, made up separate funds among themselves, which they con- 
tributed to the general fund. Several newspapers, both English and German, 
opened their columns for subscriptions to the fund, through which medium 
$10,448 was contributed and added to the fund. Proprietors of the principal 
places of amusements gave benefit performances, the proceeds of which were 
contributed to the fund. By the 14th of November the contributions amounted 
to $136,825, and the Board of Organization and Control adopted a resolution 
to the effect that a sufficient amount of money had been subscribed to meet all 
probable requirements for the suitable relief of the sufferers by the fire, and 
directed that the public be so notified through the press of the city which was 
immediately done. 

"The two principal railways whose lines concentrate in Milwaukee, namely: 
the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paid, and the Chicago & Northwestern, each 



150 IIISTOKY OF MILWAUKEE 

contributed $5,000, although the latter suffered ;i very heavy Ions from the 
fire. The Milwaukee Sired Railway company also contributed $5,000." 

Work of Various Committees. — other committees were appointed in order 
to make more effective the work of relief, one of which was an advisory 
committee to give aid and counsel to the fire sufferers in their endeavors to 
better their condition, and also to aid in the proper adjustment of insurance 
claims. This committee consisted of Bernard Goldsmith, chairman; Rev. J. J. 
Keogh, Benjamin M. Weil. Matthew Keenan, and Peter Doyle. The committee 
rendered valuable assistance in numerous eases. A committee on providing 
quarters was also appointed to devise some plan for temporary quarters for 
families unable to privide dwelling places for themselves. This committee con- 
sisted of S. E. Hansen, chairman; Jeremiah Quin, John Johnston, Edward Bar- 
ber, and Emil Burr. 

The report of the last named committee recommended that barracks be 
constructed for 100 families, or such portion as might be found requisite, on 
such suitable public or private grounds as might be secured for the pur- 
pose. The recommendation was adopted and the committee was authorized 
to proceed at once with the erection of tin' barracks. Before the close of tin- 
week the barracks for ten families were erected in the Lake Shore Park 
grounds. It was then found that dwellings and apartments had been secured 
for occupancy by the homeless families to such an extent that further provision 
was unnecessary. In a short time all the homeless families were comfortably 
housed and provided with needful furniture and bedding. 

The Board of Organization and Control held two meetings daily dm 
the first three days following the fire, and daily meetings thereafter during 
the ensuing week, then less frequently until the loth of December. A few 
days after the fire the relief committee was authorized to give to the bead 
of each family made destitute by tin' tire the sum of $50, and, in addi- 
tion thereto, $5 tor each child or other dependent of the family, for the 
purpose of immediate relief, (in the 5th of November the sum <<\' $70 to $100 
was authorized to be given to each family for furniture, varying accordi 
to the size of the family, excepting to those whose loss of furniture was made 
good from insurance. 

No money was given to any person or the Eamilj of an\ person <e\ inn- 
real estate- or other available property. Pupils in public or parochial schools 
who had lost their school books in the tire Mere supplied with new ones, and 

mechanics who had lost their tools were provided with monej to purchase 
a new supply. Sewing women were supplied with sewing machines and wo 
ing girls received monej Eor new clothing. "The case of every applicant 
aid in an} way, " continues Mr. Bacon 's narrative, " was carefullj investiga 
by the relief committee. It is believed that very few if any received aid Erom 
the fund thai were ao1 in destitute circumstances and had become so in 
consequence of the fire; and on the other hand that none who wej -red 

SO destitute were refused neeiled aid." 

Expenditures for Relief.— I >urinu the winter months following the fire aid 
had been rendered to 1.710 persons, including members of families and single 
persons. mostlj obi people in .the receipl of monthlj allowances |',\ the 6th 



THE GREAT MILWAUKEE FIRE 151 

of May, 1 S ! > : ; . the number requiring continued aid was reduced to fifty-seven 
persons comprising- old, and infirm people, widows and invalids. The amount 
remaining- in the hands of the treasurer was $655, which was ordered to be 
distributed among the remaining beneficiaries from month to month until 
exhausted. The total amount thus distributed, according to the treasurer's 
statement was $137,136. 

"It is worthy of note," concludes Mr. Bacon's chapter, "that the entire 
expense incurred in the administration of the fund was only $1,158, being 
less than one per cent of the amount disbursed. There was received for in- 
terest on deposits $1,016 which nearly covered the expenses of administra- 
tion." 

The systematic manner in which the work of relief had been performed 
by the various committees working in cooperation reflected the highest credit 
on the public-spirited citizens who devoted time and means to the relief of 
distress resulting from the losses in the great fire of 1892. 

The Great Fire of 1871 in Chicago. — During the preparation of the manu- 
script for this history the City of Chicago has been engaged in the commemo- 
ration of the fiftieth anniversary of its great fire which occurred on October 
9th, 1871. This event also claims the particular notice of the people of 
Milwaukee because of the distinguished share they had in the work of relief 
and aid rendered by them in that dreadful event. 

In the report of the Chicago Relief and Aid Society, published some three 
years after the great fire, in a volume of over 400 pages, there occurs frequent 
mention of the aid rendered by I lie people of Wisconsin and Milwaukee in 
particular to the sufferers in that great calamity. The numerous proclamations 
and telegraphic messages calling attention to the extremely serious nature of 
the disaster, and the words of sympathy thus extended, accompanied by more 
substantial gifts of money and provisions to the people of the stricken city, 
are briefly noticed in the following quotations from the report. 

<»n the day of the great fire, the governor of Wisconsin, Hon. Lucius Fair 
child, issued a proclamation, in which he appealed to the people id' tin' state 
for aid to the sufferers from forest fires, then raging, in the regions of the 
northern part of the state. That part of the proclamation referring to the 
Chicago lire was as follows: "The telegraph also brings the terrible news that 
a large portion of the City of Chicago is destroyed by a conflagration, which 
is still raging. Many thousands of people are thus reduced to penury, stripped 
id' then- all. and are now destitute of shelter and food. Their sufferings will 
he intense, and many may perish unless provisions are at once sent to them 
from the surrounding country. They must be assisted now. 

"In the awful presence of such calamities the people of Wisconsin will 
not be backward in giving assistance to their afflicted fellow-men. I, there- 
fore recommend that immediate organized effort he made in every locality to 
Forward provisions and money to the sufferers by this visitation, and suggesl 
to mayors of cities, presidents of villages, town supervisors, pastors of 
churches, and to various benevolent societies, that they devote themselves 
immediately to the work of organizing effort, collecting contributions, and 



L52 HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

sending forward supplies for distribution. And I entreal all to give of their 
abundance to help those in such sore distress." 

Response to the Call of -Humanity. — Prom far away Switzerland was re- 
ceived a message from the United Slates minister to thai country, Hon. Horace 
Rublee, well-known in Milwaukee (having been appointed to thai posl by Pre- 
sident Grant, the year before), addressed to .Mayor Mason of Chicago, enclos- 
ing a draft I'm- $1,500 for the relief of the fire sufferers. In the accompanying 
message Mr. Kid dee said, "this sum is the aim mnt of divers contributions made 
in Switzerland for the benefit of' the sufferers by the <rrea1 fire in Chicago, and 
forwarded through this legation." 

A message was r tved by Mayor It. B. .Mason id' Chicago from ll. Luding- 

1 mi, mayor id' .Milwaukee, on the day id' the fire, saying, that a ear load of pro- 
visions would be sent the next morning, and this was followed up by the 
visit of a representative from the Milwaukee Chamber of ( !ommerce with offers 
id' further supplies and contributions. .Mayor Ludington closed his letter 
accompanying this offer with a warm expression of sympathy in these words: 
'•Yours with respect and sorrowful feeling for the sad calamity that has been 
east upon your once beautiful city." 

Many car loads of provisions and materials of all kinds were sent to 
during the period of distress through which the city passed in those troublous 
Chicago by the kind and generous people throughout the state of Wisconsin, 
days. 



CHAPTER XIV 
LINCOLN IN MILWAUKEE 

The centennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln occurred February 12, 
1909, and the anniversary was distinguished at that time quite generally 
throughout the country by a great number of newspaper articles and remin- 
iscences concerning this renowned man. The vast volume of literature in 
existence, know among collectors as "Lincolniana," received a great acces- 
sion in that year and has continued to increase ever since. Much additional 
information in the form of the recollections of former friends, neighbors and 
associates has been published, and the newspapers of former years have been 
carefully searched for every scrap of mention or reference to the great Eman- 
cipator. 

Thus we find that Milwaukee has had a notable share in the incidents of 
Mr. Lincoln's wonderful career. In a previous chapter of this history we have 
described .Mr. Lincoln's appearance in Wisconsin, first as a captain of Illinois 
volunteers in the Black Hawk war of 1832, and some years later as a visitor 
to Milwaukee and Port Washington while on a search for a location for a 
future residence. 

Again, in 1859, Mr. Lincoln came to Milwaukee to make an address at the 
State Fair, in September of that year. An article by -J. E. Moriarity was 
printed in recent years, in the Milwaukee Free Press, giving interesting de- 
tails of h.s visit, and quotations from his speeches made on that occasion. 

"Few among us remember the day," writes Mr. Moriarity, "when Mil- 
waukee was just branching out of its infancy, that Abraham Lincoln spoke 
before the people of this city a1 the State Fair, held September 30, 1859, at 
tin' old Brockway Fair grounds. There was nothing about Abraham Lincoln 
in those days to distinguish him much above the average man in public life. 
True, it was just following the (dose of the famous 'Lincoln-Douglas 1 debates 
which had trained the eyes of the continent on the rising young lawyer of 
Illinois. He bad battled his way in a few short months to the front rank 
among the orators, and when the time came for choosing a speaker for the 
annual exhibit of the Wisconsin Agricultural Society Abraham Lincoln was 
invited as worthy of that honor. 

Previous Visits Referred To. — "Before going further," continues the 
writer, "we might state that this was not Mr. Lincoln's first connection with 
Milwaukee. Few among us know how close Milwaukee came to being the 
home of the martyred president id' the United States. Back in 1836 or 1837 
(the exact date is not known) when young Lincoln was a member of the 

153 



154 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Illinois legislature, he began to look aboul him for more Lucrative prospects 
in liis law practice. He was then living in New Salem, and it was aboul this 
time thai he came north fo Milwaukee which was a thriving town in those 
days. He found the prospects hen' favorable bu1 wenl on to Port Washing- 
ton for further investigation. He returned to Milwaukee after a short stay, 
and soon afterward he went back to his home in Illinois." The writer then 
quotes from Henry Bleyer, the veteran newspaper man. who said of the visit. 
"he did not meet with much encouragemenl in Milwaukee, however. The 
same was true of Port Washington." 

It was not until 1859 that Mr. Lincoln ajrain came to Milwaukee, this time 
as the state fair orator. "There was no brass hand to greel him at the depot 
when lie arrived. There was no crowd of hacks or swarming reporters. It 
was just plain Abraham Lincoln, the citizen, who was met by a representative 
of the State Fair board and quietly conducted to the old Newhall House where 
he was to stay." 

The old Brockway Fair grounds were located at Twelfth Street and Grand 
Avenue which was "the edge of the city" in those days. Just where the 
platform stood from which Lincoln spoke is a much disputed question. It 
was somewhere, probably, near the intersection of the two streets— near the 
grand stand not far from the gate. "It was a dusty day. a high wind sweeping 
the grounds, making it uncomfortable for speaker and audience. The papers 
of the next morning made slight mention of the occasion, merely that "at 
the conclusion of the address three lusty cheers were given to the 'Kentucky 
boy.' " 

"That was all." proceeds the account. "And yet hut a few months later 
the country over was ringing with the name of Abraham Lincoln." In the 
National Republican convention, held in the following May at Chicago, he was 
nominated for the presidency ami triumphantly elected in the following No- 
vember of 1860. 

Epitome of the Address. — "One feature. I believe, of every fair is a regular 
address," Mr. Lincoln began. "The Agricultural Societj of tin- young and 
prosperous state of Wisconsin has done me the high honor of select inu me to 
make that address upon this occasion, an honor for w h it-li 1 make my profound 
and grateful acknowledgment. I presume I am not expected to employ the 
time assigned to me in the mere flattery of the farmers as a class. My opinion 
of them is that, in proportion to numbers, thej are neither better nor worse 
than other people. In the nature of things they are more numerous than any 
other class, and I believe there are more attempts to flatter them, the reason 
for which I cannot perceive, unless it be thai they can cast more votes ti 
any other. On reflection I am nol quite sure that there is no1 a positive 
suspicion againsl you in selecting me, in some sort a politician, ami in no sort 

a farmer, to address you. The farmers being the most numerous class, it 

follows thai their interest is the largest interest. It also follows thai thai 
interest is most wurthj of all to be cherished and cultivated and thai if there 
be inevitable conflict between thai interest and anj other, thai other should 
yield." 

"\li Lincoln then branched into a discussion of labor and capital, the 



LINCOLN IN MILWAUKEE 155 

relation of one to the other, a discussion that has often 1 n repeated, and 

which has been heard many times in Milwaukee since in the .Socialistic 
campaigns," continues Mr. Moriarity. "But he was not a Socialist. Mr. 
Lincoln's argument aimed rather at the existence of slavery and he had not 
talked many minutes before he struck right into the heart of his subject. 

"He met a willing audience. lie was in the heart of the abolition north, 
in the country where everyone was excited, where the Missouri Compromise 
was being fought out as bitterly as the conflicts in the war that was to follow. 

"Those farmers of Wisconsin, whom he did not flatter, whom he did 
not praise, were attracted to him as a man, and according to the few survivors 
who remember his speech, cheered him repeatedly throughout. They were 
free men, believed in free labor, and his comparison of the lot of the 'mud 
tiller* with the 'free laborer" touched them with sympathy for the black men of 
the South who were held in bondage to the soil which they tilled ; who were 
sold as so many cattle, were traded back and forth as so many horses, who 
Worked their lives throughout, creating wealth for their owners but never a 
cent for themselves. 

"No community whose every member possesses this art (the art of deriving 
a comfortable subsistence from the smallest area of soil) can ever be the 
victim of oppression in any of its forms. Such community will alike be 
independent of the crowned kings, money kings, and the land kings." 

Took Interest in the Fair. — Lincoln was given a rousing applause "three 
lusty cheers for the 'Kentucky lad/ ' "Such words today." continues Mr. 
Moriarity 's narrative, would lie hurled across the continent, printed from coast 
to coast in a single day. He was attacking an institution, that institution 
that while it was tottering seemed to he on its strongest legs, bound to exist 
as long as the South was the South and the North was the North. 

"Mr. Lincoln was royally entertained that afternoon, and it is said he 
enjoyed the attractions as much as any man at the fair. Then- were the 
ordinary county fair attractions of that time, the races, and all was followed 
by a big fireman's parade. He did not get much opportunity to see Milwaukee. 
He viewed the city in his carriage as he rode to the grounds and again on 
his way back to the hotel. He saw many of the improvements that hail 
occurred since the time more than twenty years before when he had thoughl 
of settling in the city as a young lawyer. 

"He may have remained around the fair grounds for a while after that 
speech. No one remembers. lie was just the 'Hon. Mr. Lincoln.' He had 
given his speech and he might go. Perhaps some crowded around to shake his 
hand and tell him of their sympathy in the new cause. 

"The next we know of him in his visit to Milwaukee was that night at 
the Newhall house. Train service was crude in those days. There was no 
two-hour schedule to Chicago, and no trains running every two hours. There 
was no railroad commission to appeal to for better service. Automobiles had 
not made their appearance and Mr. Lincoln was obliged to remain in Mil- 
waukee until the next day. 

"Peter Van Vechten, Jr., then a youngster working in his father's store 
adjoining tin' Xewhall house, tells a, picturesque story of the tlighl of Septem 



L56 EISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

ber 30, 1859, at the Newhall bouse. 'He arrived at the hotel rather late from 
the Pair grounds. Many local politicians had gathered at the hotel. Some 
remained around to talk to him, or gathered in the lobby to talk over his 
speech. Slavery was a great question in those days, more important than 
the tariff question of today, and caused more discussion than the Canadian 
reciprocity treaty. 

" 'After supper a number of Mr. Lincoln's friends prevailed upon him to 
make a short speech,' said .Mr. Van Vechten. 'Then' was not much of a crowd 
there, not over fifty men. He consented. 

What shall I stand on .'" he asked. 

" 'There was nothing there, so I ran hack to tin' store and gol a dry g Is 

box. This we placed in a eornei- in the lobby. 1 don't remember much id' thai 
speech. 1 know it was on the slavery question. < hie sentence stands out 
prominently in my mind, however, a sentence which lias often since been 
quoted. 

I do not believe," he said, "that this nation can exist half free and 

half slave." ' 

"Those words became a part of the campaign issue when he was nominated 
for president and proved to the South that the time had come to make or 
break when Mr. Lincoln was elected. 

"Little more id' Mr. Lincoln's visit can he learned. That was the lasl time 
he ever visited Milwaukee. In the campaign which followed there was no use 
of his spending tine in Wisconsin. The Badger State was strongly for aboli- 
tion, and it was in this state that Republicanism and Mr. Lincoln's policies had 
their birth, lie spent the time fighting the question out in the east and on 
the border states, where the battle for votes was to be followed by the battle 
of blood. 

"Then came his election, his inauguration, lapping almost into the period 
of the war. There was no traveling and little speech-making for him after 
that. He was confined to a ghastly business which ended in his own death by 
an assassin's bullet, after he had piloted the country to the' freedom for which 
he pleaded in his only Milwaukee address." 

Walter Distelhorst, president of the Milwaukee Historical Society, in an 
address delivered before that body on February 8th, 1922, gave a most inter- 
esting account of "Lincoln in Milwaukee," which we republish herewith: 

If tin' Milwaukee newspapers in 1859 had told with the same richness of 
detail the story id" Lincoln's visit to this city as they do today whenever some 

celebrity conies to town, we might have a verj interesting picture of the 
incident and of the period. Bui the art of quick photography and of photo 

engraving were not discovered until many years later, so that no illustrations 
appear in the papers id' the day upon which we must depend for the printed 
record of Lincoln's visit; and furthermore, there did not seem to he at that 

early time that intense curiositj on the part of the newspaper-reading public 

for tiie intimate details ihat obtains at the present day. If it did exist. 

the journalists of 1859 did not cater to it. for their reports are extremely 
brief, not to say barren, of such facts as we today would like to read. 

As to Lincoln's personal appearance, we are safe in saying ihat Milwau- 



LINCOLN IN MILWAUKEE 157 

keeans of this early day did not see the Lincoln with whom we are familiar, 
for the MeClure portraits show that he was smooth-shaven in 1859. His 
pictures do not show him as wearing' a beard until 1861. 

There is a story to the effect that while he was riding on the train to 
Washington a little girl, his fellow passenger, suggested that whiskers would 
improve his appearance, and that it was her suggestion upon which he acted 
when he let his beard grow. 

The Milwaukee Public Library lias mi file only the Milwaukee Sentinel 
and the Daily News of this particular period. Both were morning papers of 
four pages, eight columns wide (as is the present width of the .Milwaukee 

dailies), tlie length being about four inches more than now. Th litors 

must have been unusually busy witli their "blue pencils" on the Lincoln 
"copy," or the papers may have been short-handed of compositors (all type 
being at that time set by hand), for it does seem that in view id' Lincoln's 
participation in the epoch-making debates with Douglas only a short time be- 
fore, which served to make him a national figure, somewhat more extended 
mention should have been made id' his address in .Milwaukee. 

In connection with these debates, it may he of interest to (piote from an 
Associated Press report which appeared in the daily papers of the country 
on October 7, 1921, under a Galesburg, 111., date line. My ({notation is taken 
from the .Milwaukee Journal, the item in full reading as follows: 

Standing where Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas stood on 
the same day in 1858, in front id' "Old Main," the historic building of Knox 
college. Dr. William E. Barton, Chicago, spoke on the emancipator at a 
celebration commemorative id' the Lincoln-Douglas debates. 

The celebration was under the auspices of Knox college, which conferred on 
Lincoln the honorary degree of doctor of laws. 

"Lincoln's high title to honor in that notable series of debates lies in 
the fact that he did not rest his ease on the opportune split in the party of 
his opponents, hut forced the moral issue, and would not permit even so 
astute an opponent as Douglas to evade it," said Doctor Barton. "Standing 
in this spot, Lincoln said to Douglas: 

' 'Judge Douglas declares that if any community wants slavery, they have 
a right to it. He can say that logically if there is no wrong in slavery; but 
if you adm'.t that there is wrong in it. he cannot logically say that anybody 
has a right to do wrong. Now", I confess myself as belonging to that class 
of society who contemplate slavery as a moral, social and political wrong. 
He is blowing out the moral lights around us when he contends that who- 
ever wants slaves has a right to hold them.' 

"<>n that platform Lincoln lost the sonatorship of Illinois in 1858 and on 
that platform he won the presidency in 1860." 

It is not unlikely that these debates were largely influential in inducing 
the Wisconsin Agricultural Society to invite Lincoln to deliver the annual 
address at the State Fair. Vet in its announcement in the Sentinel running 
during Fair Week, Lincoln's name was not given. Evidently this was a paid 
advertisement, similar to our present-day display advertisements, for it ap- 
peared in a '.)Yi> inch single-column spi >n the front page and presented the 



158 HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

program for the Pair in a way similar to that followed today. It was headed 
"Ninth Annual Shite Fair of the Wisconsin Stair Agricultural Society. Sep- 
tember 26, 27, 28, 29 & 30" 1859." Lincoln's speech was mentioned as the 
"annual address" which was to be delivered on Friday al 10 a. m. 

In the issue of Monday morning, September 2tith, the Sentinel article on 
the opening of the Fair had these words: 

"Hon. Abram (note the spelling of the firsl name) Lincoln, of Illinois, will 
deliver the annual address." 

In the issue of Friday morning, September 30th, substantially the same 
words were used- and that was the day of the address. 

No more space was given in the Monday issue to Lincoln and his forth- 
coming address than to "Professor Steiner" who was scheduled to make a 
balloon ascension on the Saturday following. 

On Tuesday the Sentinel in referring to the speaker said: "No better 
orator for the occasion could have been found in the whole Northwest." 

This is not waxing unduly enthusiastic, in the light of similar mention of 
our public men today by a journal that is of the same political faith as the 
man referred to. 

We learn also from the news columns that the schools closed on Thursday 
and Friday to permit "scholars and teachers" to visit the Fair. An announce- 
ment appeared for several days to the effect that the hanks would close at 
1 o'clock on Thursday afternoon, to permit their employees to visit the Fair 
also, and it bore the signature of a number of banks, but nothing was said 
about the following day, the day on which Lincoln was scheduled to give 
his address. 

Henry W. Bleyer, a veteran Milwaukee newspaper man. who died in 
.Madison on January 19th, 1922, at the age of 86 years, recalled that Mr. 
Lincoln's train was late when he reached Milwaukee on Friday, September 
30th, so that Lincoln did not arrive until late in the forenoon. These recol- 
lections are included in a letter which was written at Mr. Bleyer's dictation 
by his nephew, Prof. Willard G. Bleyer. of the University of Wisconsin, at 
Madison, where he resided. The date of the letter is October 3rd, 1921. Owing 
to his advanced age, Mr. Bleyer was himself unable to write. 

Mr. Bleyer, the uncle, recalls that the distinguished visitor was driven in 
a carriage to the Newhall House, and from there to the fair grounds. It was 
probably after his speech that he made the rounds of the fair grounds with 
the president of the Wisconsin Agricultural Society. Elisha W. Edgerton. 

George Richardson, a Milwaukee pioneer, who was a boy a1 the time of 
Lincoln's visit, told the writer i in a personal reminiscence al the Old Settlers 
Club in the fall of 1920) thai Lincoln walked over to the scene of the plow 
ing contest, in the course of his rounds, the contest being held somewhere in 
the vicinity of what is now about Twelfth and Clybourn streets, outside the 
Fair Grounds proper, and thai his homely comments on the eontesl were 
enjoyed by the by-standers quite as much as his more formal words a few 
minutes before. 

The address has until very recently been practically unknown. Prof. 
Julius Iv oison. of the University of Wisconsin, writing in the quarterly 



LINCOLN IN MILWAUKEE 159 

of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, the "Wisconsin Magazine of 
History," Volume IV, Number 1, for September, 1920, says that the only 
place in which he found it was in the C. S. Hammond & Company edition 
of Lincoln's works, which was published in 1907, and in none of the other 
biographies of Lincoln, so far as he knows. A page of the manuscript was 
reproduced in connection with this article, the page being among Professor 
Olson's treasured possessions. 

On October 1, 1859, the "Sentinel" printed Lincoln's address in full 
on the front page. It ran several columns. For this journalistic feat the 
writer had been led to believe that the paper was indebted to Henry Bleyer, 
as the writer had understood from Julius Bleyer, a brother of Henry and 
a Milwaukee newspaper man, too, but the letter already referred to (now 
in the collection of the Milwaukee Historical Society) explains that "the 
manuscript was secured from Lincoln by a 'Sentinel' reporter" — obviously 
not Mr. Bleyer — "and the speech was set up in the 'Sentinel' composing 
room," of which another uncle of Professor Bleyer, Louis Bleyer, was foreman. 

This letter also corrects another mistaken impression on the writer's 
part (and this was generally shared because it was repeated in the press 
at the time of Mr. Henry Bleyer's death), that during the Civil war, after 
President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation had been issued, that Mil- 
waukee negroes visited the "Sentinel" office and begged Mr. Henry Bleyer 
for hits of the manuscript penned by their beloved Lincoln's own hand. 

Professor Bleyer writes : 

"Louis Bleyer kept the original manuscript and later gave it to my uncle, 
Henry W. Bleyer. After Lincoln became prominent, Henry W. gave aw r ay 
pieces of the manuscript to various persons, cutting it up for the purpose. 
Another uncle, George, gave Lathrop E. Smith, of Beloit, the page of tin' 
manuscript reproduced in the 'Wisconsin Magazine of History," while Smith 
and George Bleyer were working together on one of the Beloit papers. 

"The story about Henry Bleyer distributing some of the pieces of manu- 
script to negroes from the steps of the 'Sentinel' office is incorrect. My 
uncle (Henry) says that he recalls giving some pieces to some of the leaders 
among the negroes in Buffalo, New York, after he moved to Buffalo in 1860, 
but not to any negroes in Milwaukee." 

The manuscript, Mr. Bleyer says, was in large part written in ink on 
legal cap paper, "but apparently on the (rain Lincoln had written a page 
about the importance of the steam plow, in lead pencil." 

Referring to the page of the manuscript reproduced in the Historical 
Society quarterly, Professor Olson says in his article that "a 'Sentinel' 
printer" gave it to Mr. Smith that same year (1859), and ultimately it 
came into his (Professor Olson's) possession. 

The headline over the article in the "Sentinel" on the day after the 
address was a single line of small blackfaced type — "Hon. Abram Lincoln's 
Address." The introduction follows: 

In another column we publish in full the very able address of Abram 
Lincoln, of Illinois, before the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society. It is 
in every sense a practicable and readable effort and will receive attentive 



160 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

perusal. Yesterday ;i high wind combined with the dusl rendered the day 

s >wha1 unfavorable bu1 there was ;i large attendance al the Pair Grounds 

nevertheless. At 11 o'clock the plank auditorium a1 Brockway's was filled 
with an expectant crowd waiting with commendable patience the appeal 
ance of Abram Lincoln who bad been announced to deliver the address at 
10 o'clock. It was qo1 Ear from noon when the distinguished gentleman 
made his appearance and be was immediately welcomed with clapping of 
hands and a stamping of feel <m the raised scats which caused the afon 
mentioned Brockway to show considerable nervousness. Upon being in- 
troduced Mr. Lincoln waited a few minutes for the applause to subside and 
spoke as follows. 

Just before the opening of the Wisconsin State Pair late in August, 
1921, the .Milwaukee "Journal" ran a considerable portion of Lincoln's 
address delivered at the Fair sixty-two years before, under title of "Here's 
Lincoln Message to Wisconsin Fair in 1859," two lines of type across two 
columns, the letters being half an inch high. 

The address" in full can be found at the Public Library, so only two 
excerpts will be given : 

"1 presume 1 am not expected to employ the time assigned me in the 
mere flattery of the farmers as a class. My opinion of them is that, in 
proportion to numbers, they are neither better nor worse than other people. 
In the nature of things they are more numerous than any other class, and 
I believe then' are really more attempts at flattering them than any other, 
the reason of which I cannot perceive, unless i1 be that they can cast more 
votes than any other. On reflection, I am not quite sure that there is not 
cause of suspicion against you in selecting me, in some sort a politician, 
and in no sort a farmer, to address you. 

"But farmers being the most numerous class, it follows that their interesl 
is the largest interest. It also follows that that interest is most worthy 
of all to he cherished and cultivated — that if there he inevitable conflict 
between that interest and any other, that other should yield. 

"hi all this, book learning is available. A capacity and taste for reading 
c-ives access to whatever has already been discovered by others. It is the 
key. or one of the beys, to the already Solved problems. And not only SO; 
it gives a relish and facility for successfully pursuing the unsolved ones. 
The rudiments of science are available, and bighly available. Some knowl- 
edge of botany assists in the dealing with the vegetable world with all 
growing crops. Chemistry assists in the analysis of soils, selection ami ap- 
plication of manures ami in numerous other ways. The mechanical branches 
of natural philosophy are ready help in almost everything, but especially 
in reference to implements and machinery. 

"The thought recurs that education— cultivated thought- can best be 
combined with agricultural labor, on the principle of thorough work; 

that careless, half-performed, slovenly work makes no place for such 

a combination: and thorough work, again, renders sufficient the smallest 

quantity of ground to man: and this, again, < forms to what musl occur 

in a world less inclined to wars and more devoted to the arts of peace than 



LINCOLN IN MILWAUKEE 161 

heretofore. Population must increase rapidly, more rapidly than in former 
limes, and ere long the most valuable of all arts will be the art of deriving 
a comfortable subsistence from the smallest area of soil. No community 
whose every member possesses this art can ever be the victim of oppression 
in any of its forms. Such community will be alike independent of crowned 
kings, money kings and land kings." 

In the Sentinel art'cle, after the text of the address we find the following: 

"At the conclusion of the address three hearty cheers were given for 
the 'Kentucky boy' and the Secretary proceeded to read the awards of the 
premiums. " 

In the Daily News of the same date we read that the speaker occupied 
an "elevated stand" — and the article does not contain much els-, the editor 
going on to explain the reason for the brevity of the mention (tin article 
also appeared on the front page) in these words: 

"Mr. Lincoln's address was a written one and will doubtless be pub- 
lished, hence we refrain from giving a synopsis id' it. .Mr. Lincoln 
spoke about an hour and was listened to with attention by the large auditory, 
lie is a man of ability and is possessed of a stentorian voice which could 
be distinctly heard by every person in the vast assemblage." 

The Daily News, which was democratic, made another mention of the 
occasion on its editorial page. This was headed "In Questionable Taste" 
and refers to the short speeeh made by Lincoln the evening before at the 
Newhall House. Some of Lincoln's friends had gathered there after dinner 
and insisted on his addressing them. 

We read : 

"There is some diversity of opinion as to the propriety of bringing black 
republican speakers here to make political speeches under the auspices id' 
the State Agricultural Society." 

Peter Van Vechten gave some reminiscences of this Newhall House ad- 
dress in an article written for the Milwaukee Free Press of February 12, 
1911, by J. E. Moriarity. Mr. Van Vechten worked in his father's store 
adjoining the NewhaU House at the time, and brought a box from the store 
fin' the speaker to stand on. (This is corroborated in Professor Bleyer's 
letter.) .Mr. Van Veehten's recollection as here given is that about fifty 
persons heard this talk, but tin' Daily News, from which the foregoing 
quotations were taken, was probably nearer right when it gave the number 
as 250. 

(Newhall House, which was located on the northwest corner of Michigan 
Street and Broadway, was on January 10th, 1883, the scene of one of Mil- 
waukee's greatest tragedies, when it was destroyed by tire and sixty-four 
persons lost their lives. In Lincoln's day it was the largest and finest hole] 
in the West, being of brick, six stories high and having 300 rooms, accord- 
ing to the "History of Milwaukee," 1663 pages, published by the Western 
Historical Company, of Chicago, in 1881. The hotel was built by Daniel 
Newhall ami his associates in 1857 (p. 1426), and the property, including 
building, site and furnishings, represented an outlay of $270,000. Messrs. 
M. Kean and A. M. Rice were the landlords at the time of Lincoln's visit.) 

Vol. 1—11 



L62 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

A letter from \V. P. Powers, of Los Angeles, Cal., appeared in the Mil- 
waukee Journal of September 4th. 1921, which throws considerable light 
mi Lincoln's visit to Milwaukee. David J. Powers, mentioned in the letter 
was the secretary of the Agricultural Society, under whose auspices Lincoln 
spoke. The letter follows: 

"In 1859 my father, David J. Powers, in arranging for the State Pair 
al Milwaukee, invited Abraham Lincoln, a lawyer of Springfield, Illinois. 
In dr|i\ .■!• the address. 

"Mr. Lincoln had become widely known through the debates between 
himself and Stephen A. Douglas. 

"To the first letter of invitation, written in July, no answer was re- 
ceived, and a second letter written a few- weeks later broughl the following 
reply : 

" 'Dear Sir: — Reaching I ie after an absence of nine days 1 find yours 

of the twelfth. I have also received that of July 27th: and to lie plain. I 
disliked to decline the honor you tendered me. Two difficulties were in the 
way — first, I could not well spare the time from the courts: and secondly, 
I had no address of the sorl prepared, and could scarcely spare the time 
to prepare one: and 1 was waiting, before answering yours, to determine 
whether these difficulties could lie surmounted. I will write you definitely mi 
the first of September, if you can safely delay so long. 

"•Yours very truly. A. LINCOLN'.' 

"Upon receipt of the letter my father, reading between the lines, thought 
In- saw the real reason for the stand-off when he remembered that he had 
said nothing about compensation in either of the previous letters, lie there- 
upon wrote him again, saying he had neglected to mention in his former 
letters that there would he a compensation of .^loO, which appeared to strike 
him favorably, as in a few days a letter came to the effect that he was 
phased to say that he had so arranged matters in the courts that he could 
come. 

"He came and delivered the address and j| appears in some of the lives 
of Lincoln, interested as he was in the absorbing topics, of tiie day. he was 
little adapted to a talk to farmers, and the address nave slight promise of 
the wonderful heights to wh'ch his genius later mi attai I. 

"His address was largely devoted to the desirability of steam plows, a 
want that is now so happily filled by the modern tractor of which he seemed 
to have a vision. 

"He was careful in his address to avoid anything of a political nature 
hut in the evening at the old Newhall House, to a select company of those 
of his own faith, he freely held forth on the suliject that was nexl to his 
heart. 

".My father said he had given tie- letter to the Illinois State Historical 
Society, and it is now in the Lincoln Memorial Collection at Springfield, 

Illinois. 

"Now conies to the writer, the i nt crest ' ng part of this matter. At the 
San Francisco Exposition in 1915, entering the Lincoln .Memorial room in 
the Illinois Building, my attention was attracted to a frame over which 



LINCOLN IN .MILWAUKEE 163 

was the inscription, 'Letters of Abraham Lincoln previous to I860.' Re- 
membering the story often told by my father, I intuitively looked at the 
letters under the glass in the frame and to my surprise and delight the 
first one I saw was addressed to D. J. Powers." 

There is more to the letter, but the rest is of a personal nature and 
has no special bearing on this particular subject. 

At the time of Lincoln's visit Milwaukee had a population of about 
forty-six thousand.. The edge of town was at about Twelfth Street, and the 
stand from which Lincoln spoke was probably close to what is now the 
corner of Twelfth Street and Grand Avenue, or perhaps a little to the north 
of this spot. 

Mr. Lincoln on leaving the grounds was driven about the city. Accord- 
ing to Mr. Richardson's recollection, he attracted comparatively little atten- 
tion, and Mr. Richardson himself, with others, did not stay for more than 
a part of the address at the Pair, little realizing that they were in the 
presence of a later president of the United States and one of the greatest 
figures of all time. 

On October 4th, following Lincoln's address in .Milwaukee, he gave an 
address during the afternoon at Beloit and during the evening af Janes- 
ville, both being political addresses. 

In view of the manner in which the Milwaukee papers handled Lincoln's 
speech, it is unlikely that he was at that time considered seriously as a 
candidate for the presidency. This reminder is found in the Carl Schurz 
essay, "Abraham Lincoln" (Houghton Mifflin Company, 1891): 

"As late as April, 1859, he had written to a friend who had approached 
him on the subject that he did not think himself tit for the presidency. 
The vice-presidency was then the limit of his ambition." 

Lincoln's visit to Wisconsin on the occasion of his address at the State 
Fair at Milwaukee in 1859 was his third to this state. 

His first visit was in 1832 during his participation in the Black Hawk 
war. He was among the first to respond to the call of Governor Reynolds 
for volunteers to repel the invasion of Black [lawk. It is an early testi- 
monial to Ins leadership that at the age of twenty-three he was chosen 
captain by his fellow militiamen. His power over men was shown when he 
defended an old Indian who strayed into camp and was detained because 
the men though! he was a spy, and they wanted blood. 

Before Lincoln's company go1 as far as Wisconsin, however, it was mus- 
tered out; and on the same day (May l2Sthi he re-enlisted as a private in 
the Independent Spj Company and with that organization crossed the state 
line near Beloit on June 30, 1832. 

With the company Lincoln pushed north, but they did not come in con- 
tact with the enemy, and no fighting was done. On July 10th they wen 1 
'mustered out near Fort Atkinson, and returned home before the battles of 
Wisconsin Heights ami Bad Axe, with which the Black Hawk war was 
ended on August 2d. In all Lincoln spent about two weeks in Wisconsin 
at that time. 

The Black Hawk war episode was an important one in the life of the 



1(1! HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

future president, because ii broughl him to the notice of Maj. John K. Stuart, 
the Springfield lawyer, which resulted in the latter's giving Lincoln en- 
couragemenl and assistance in his law studies, and in his inviting Lincoln 

in 1837 to become his law partner. 

The record of Lincoln's second visit to Wisconsin to which reference is 
made also in Professor Olson's article is found largely in the "Historj of 
Washington and Ozaukee Counties," 1881, Western Historical Company, 
Chicago. The visil is more or less shrouded in mystery, If Lincoln did 
come to Wisconsin, and it is very likely that he did, in the ligh.1 of what 
follows, then of course he visited .Milwaukee also. 

On page 508 of the "History" we read: 

"The lirst dwelling house buill in the village was erected bj Gen. 
(Wooster) Harrison in 1835. It is still standing (1881), apparently in a 
good state of preservation. It is a little story-and-a-half frame building, 
gable end. the silk resting on the ground. A partition divides the lirst floot 
into two apartments, and also the upper or half story. It was at this bouse 
that the first votes of the town were polled. This old and time worn si mc 
ture has become one of the sacred relics of the past, commanding a prom- 
inent phi.ee in the history of the town of Port Washington, not only on 
account of the relation it hears to the first white settler of tin' village, bu1 
because it once served as a shelter to one of America's greatesl states 
men. It may he of interest to mention the fact that the greal and martyred 
president, Abraham Lincoln, during his days of roughing it, once walked 
from Milwaukee to Sheboygan, and stopped a night in this old house. After 
the defeat of the Merrimac by the Monitor, .Mr. Lincoln, in company with 
some of his Cabinet officers, visited Fortress Monroe to gel a practical knowl- 
edge of the fort. While viewing the works, desiring some information, lie 
approached an officer, who proved to he ('apt. Berger, from Port Washing- 
ton. 'Well, my man.' said Lincoln, 'where are you from.'' 'Porl Wash 
ington,' replied the Captain. 'Por1 Washington— le1 me see: that is in 
Wisconsin about twenty-five miles north of Milwaukee is it not.'' The Cap- 
tain answered that it was. "1 stopped there over night once.' said the 
President; 'jusl name over some of tin' men who lived there in the early 
days.' The Captain proceeded to name over quite a number, finally men 
tioning thai of Harrison. 'Harrison, that is the man!' said .Mi-. Lincoln. I 
remember him well.' He then walked off to join Ids escort, Leaving Capt. 
Berger very much elated to think that his town hail been honored h\ the 
presence of so great a man." 

Harry W. Bolens, ex mayor of Port Washington, and a well known journal- 
ist, in an interview in the Milwaukee Daily News during the year of the 
Lincoln centenary (1909), supplemented this story. He said that the visit 
occurred some time between 1836 and L840. Lincoln also visited Sheboygan, 

Mi'. Bolens said. L't In returned at once to l'ort Washington and stopped 

there for two days, during which ii he rented quarters for a law office 

from General Harrison, This was in the fall. It was Lincoln's intention 
to return in the spring, hut Hoods prevented all travel in the Middle West 



LINCOLN' IX .MILWAUKEE 165 

during the following year, rains continuing till early fall, so Lincoln sent 
his regrets to Harrison and remained in Illinois. 

Professor Olson thinks that all this may he true. The records show an 
abnormally heavy rainfall during 1836. Furthermore, Ann Rutledge died 
on August 25, 1835, the great tragedy of Lincoln's life. He was driven 
nearly msane with grief, Ave read in all his biographies. Friends urged a 
change of scene, and his Wisconsin trip probably resulted, there being 
some weeks at this period in his life which none of his biographers can 
account for satisfactorily. 

In this connection, biographers and lecturers on Lincoln call attention 
to his great liking for William Knox's poem "0, Why Should the Spirit 
Of Mortal he Proud?" He often quoted passages from it during these 
dark days. 

(The first stanza is as follows: 

[ 

Oh, why should the spirit of mortal he proud? 
Like a swift-flitting meteor, a fast-flying cloud, 
A flash of the lightning, a break of the wave, 
lie passeth from life to his rest in the grave.) 

Carl Schurz, considering this great tragedy, writes in his essay on "Abra- 
ham Lincoln" : 

"In the meantime he had private sorrows and trials of a painfully afflict- 
ing nature. He had loved and been loved by a fair and estimable girl, Ann 
Rutledge, who died in the flower of her youth and beauty, and he mourned 
her loss with such intensity of grief that his friends feared for his reason. 
Recovering from his morbid depression, he bestowed what he thought a now 
affection upon another lady, who refused him. And finally, moderately 
prosperous in his worldly affairs, and having prospects of political distinc- 
tion before him, he paid his addresses to Mary Todd, of Kentucky, and was 
accepted. Bui then tormenting doubts of the genuineness of his own affec- 
tion for her, of the compatibility of their characters, and of their future 
happiness came upon him. His distress was so great that he felt li mself 
in danger of suicide, and feared to carry a pocketknife with him ; and he 
gave mortal offense to his bride by not appearing on the appointed wedding 
day. Xow the torturing consciousness id' the wrong he had done her grew 
unendurable. He won back her affection, ended the agony by marrying her, 
and became a faithful and patient husband and a good father. Hut it was 
no secret to those who knew the family well, that ins domestic life was full 
of trials. The erratic temper of his wife not seldom put the gentleness of 
his nature to the severest tests; and these troubles and struggles, which 
accompanied him through all the vicissitudes of his life from the modest 
home in Springfield to the White House at Washington, adding untold private 
heartburnings to his public cares, and sometimes precipitating upon him 
incredible embarrassments in the discharge of his public duties, form one of 
the most pathetic features of his career." 

Two years before Lincoln's trip through Milwaukee to Port Washing 



166 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

ton and Sheboygan, a pioneer Norwegian, EQeng Peerson, traveled alone 
from Chicago to Milwaukee on foot, over the Chicago Green Bay Indian trail. 
This trail had for sometime been used by the half-breed who packed the 
mail on his back between the two lake shore poets. Peerson found only 
Solomon Juneau ami one other white man at Milwaukee at thai lino-. 

If Lincoln actually made tin- trip, as it seems likely that he did. it is 
strange that no record of it has come down to us. Quite likely he spenl 
less time here than at Port Washington, but Milwaukee was the more im- 
portant post and without doubt even for a brief visit Lincoln would have 
come in contact with more whites in Milwaukee than at the post further 
up the lake shore. 

Henry Bleyer is quoted in the Milwaukee Pree Press in .Mi-. Molarity's 
article as saying that Lincoln met with little encouragement to settle either 
here or at Port Washington at that time, and so returned to Illinois. And 
as success came to him later in his native state, there was little likelihood 
of his leaving; so that Wisconsin lost its opportunity of numbering the 
Great Emancipator among its famous sons, if it ever had the opportunity. 

Milwaukee achieves connection with Lincoln once more in the controversy 
which raged in 1916 and 1917 over the Bernard statue of Lincoln. The Mil- 
waukee Sentinel took part in this controversy and is quoted as follows by 
the Literary Digest under date of February Id, 1917, the article appearing 
in the "Art World"' of June of that year under the title of "A Mistake in 
Bronze," which fj-ives a hint as to its purpose: 

"The question arises (says the Sentinel), is it realism at all! 1 Is it a faith- 
ful presentment in bronze of the real Lincoln? That question is still fairly 
capable of settlement, There are entirely credible and competent witnesses 
now living who knew Lincoln in the flesh and remember perfectly well how 
he looked — no difficult thing, for 'Old Abe' was a striking figure that, once 
seen, was never forgotten. 

"We have tried this test, by submitting to some who knew Lincoln in 
life the appalling photographic cut of the production, which is supposed to 
perpetuate for < Jincinnatians the appearance of Lincoln. The consensus of 
usually indignant testimony is that it is fearfully and wonderfully unlike 
Lincoln as they knew him. 

"The sculptor seems to have evolved his conception of Lincoln out of 

his inner consciousness, though he states that he was greatlj assisted by 
Contemplating a man he met in Louisville, who was six feel EoUT and one-half 
inches tall, who was horn not far from Lincoln's birthplace, and who had been 
splitting rails all his life. 

"The finished artistic result of these processes is one that, s,, far as our 
own inquiries go, is calculated to stir to wrath and resentment those who 
knew Mr. Lincoln in life and must be admitted to be competenl witnesses 
as to his personal appearance. 

"It is perfectly possible to combine good art with a respectable degree 

of verisimilitude in these productions. If we are going to have statues of 
Lincoln, a decent respect for tin' memory of 'Old Abe' seems in require that 

thej resemble him, and are not Leaks of fancy that with a few alterations 



LINCOLN IN MILWAUKEE 167 

might do duty as figures of [chabod Crane, or Dominic Sampson, or St. 
Simeon Stylites on his penitential pillar." 

A noble statue of Lincoln, seated, occupies the crest of the Upper Campus 
hill at the State University of Madison, in front of Bascom Hall (formerly 
known as "Main Hall") where it dominates the vista between the great 
elms over the beautiful lawns. A mile to the east is the State Capitol, under 
whose great dome is housed the machinery that keeps this great Common- 
wealth functioning in our democracy, and toward which the spirit of Lincoln 
gazes steadily out of the bronze eyes. It is one of the shrines of the State 
of Wisconsin. It helps to shape the ideals of the thousands of young men 
and young women from this Nation and cither nations who are training them- 
selves for citizenship in the shadow of this great memorial. 

Adolph Weinman is the sculptor, the original of which it is the replica 
being at Hodgensville, Ky., Lincoln's birthplace. It is the Lincoln whom his 
neighbors knew and loved, the statesman who piloted a nation through a great 
war and then gave his own life on the altar to heal the breach caused by the 
four years of bloody warfare. 

Weinman was born in Germany in 1870, but came to this country at an 
early age and was educated in the public schools of New York. He was a 
pupil of St. Gaudens, another of the outstanding sculptors of the immortal 
Lincoln. 

A personal reminiscence by a Milwaukee man of the nomination of Lincoln 
at the convention of 1860 may be of interest. Amherst W. Kellogg, a resident 
of Wisconsin since 1836, was an eye-witness. The following is from an inter- 
view given by him to the Milwaukee Sentinel on October 23, L'21 : 

When Illinois presented the name of Abraham Lincoln I was much surprised 
at the demonstration that occurred: however, when Seward was nominated by 
New York he seemed to awaken even greater enthusiasm. Salmon P. Chase 
was Ohio's favorite son; Edward Bates was .Missouri's choice; Pennsylvania 
presented Simon Cameron. On the first ballot Seward had more votes than 
any of the others, but not enough for a nomination. Before the second 
ballot was taken Simon Cameron withdrew his name and his votes went to 
Lincoln, who then almost equaled Seward's vote. 

With the third ballot the excitement grew intense; state after state turned 
over to Lincoln and lie seemed likely to succeed ; but we who had been keeping 
tab found as the last vote was cast that he was two votes short of the number 
necessary to nominate. Then just before the figures of the ballot were an- 
nounced Carter of the Ohio delegation got the floor and shouted: "Ohio 
changes four votes from Salmon I*. Chase to Abraham Lincoln.'' 

With that such a wave of emotion swept over the vast audience as I have 
never seen in all my experience; women threw up their parasols and men their 
hats. Though we were packed in so we could scarcely move, Mr. Daggett 
(S. S. Daggett, also of Milwaukee, who was at that time seventy years old) 
danced up and down like a boy. One man standing beside us, down whose face 
the tears were pouring in streams, cried out: "I can't help it! I can't help it! 
I've been working for him a week and I didn't really hope for it." Another 
old man near us began to shout at the top of his voice: •'Glory, Glory Halle- 



168 HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

lujah ! Now, Lord, lettesi Thou Thy servanl deparl in peace, for mil yes 

have seen the redempt on of Egypt" (as Southern Illinois was then called). 

Meanwh ; le the chairman of the convention, George Ashmun of Massa- 
chusetts, moved thai the vote for Abraham Lincoln be made unanimous. With 
that the enthusiasm broke out afresh and continued until the audience was 
fairly exhausted. 

Notwithstanding the impression made by Lincoln in his address at the 
state Pair, the feeling of dismay which was common throughout the country, 
as Carl Schurz rem mis us, dovibtless was shared by citizens of .Milwaukee 

and Wisconsin when after Lincoln's election the Southern states s< ded and 

war became imminent. 

Mr. Schurz writes : 

"Honest Abe Lincoln." who was so good-natured that he could not say 
"no;" the greatest achievement of whose life hail been a debate on the 
slavery question; who had never been in any position of power; who was with- 
out the slightest experience of high executive dut'.es, ami who hail only a 
speaking acquaintance with the men upon whose counsel anil cooperation he 
was to depend. Nor was his accession to power under such circumstances 
greeted with general confidence even by members of his party. While he hail 
indeed won much popularity, many Republicans, especially among those who 
had advocated Seward's nomination for the presidency, saw the simple '•Illi- 
nois lawyer" take the reins of government with a feeling little short of 
dismay. The orators ami journals of the opposition were ridiculing ami 
lampooning him without measure. .Many people actually wondered how such 
a man could dare to undertake a task which, as he himself had said to his 
ueighbors in his parting speech, was "more difficult than that of Washington 
himself had been." 

The Gettysburg address is great, if short, hut the closing words of Lincoln's 
second inaugural, Schurz says, are "like a sacred poem. No American presi- 
dent hail ever spoken worils like these to the American people. Americans 
never hail a president who found such words in the depths of his heart." 

Let us consider Lincoln 's words : 

Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of 
war may speedily pass away. Vet if God wills that it continue until all the 
wealth piled up by the bondman's 250 years of unrequited toil shall he sunk, 
and until every drop of blood drawn with the last shall be paid by another 
drawn with the sword, as was said 3,000 years ago, so still it must be said. 
"The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether." With malice 
toward none, with charity for all. with firmness in the righl as God gives us 
to see the right, let us strive to finish the work we are in; to hind up the 
Nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for 
his widow and for his orphan ; to do all which may achieve and cherish a just 
and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. 

And then the closing scenes of the war. The fall of Richmond, with Lincoln 

himself entering the citj on font, where the slaves crowded about him. kissing 
his hands and his garments, while tears streamed down his care-furrow ed 
cheek's. Following cdose on the heels of the news of Lee \ surrender, came llie 



LINCOLN IN MILWAUKEE 169 

stunning' news of Lincoln's assassination. And all the civilized world wept 
beside his coffin. The judgments of those mourning nations of his worth and 
greatness have never been reversed. 

The "History of Milwaukee," page 736, says: 

"The city was hushed in grief. Silently and sorrowfully the buildings, 
many of them still gaily flaunting the joyous decorations of the week before, 
were clad in the habiliments of woe." 

11 was the saddest week in Milwaukee's history. 

Mayor Abner Kirby issued a proclamation, the day, April 15th, being the 
hist of his term. This is what he said. 

Mayor's Office, April 15 — The joy of the Nation is turned into mourning. 
The Chef .Magistrate of our country is reported to have been slain at the 
hands of an assassin, and the life of our Secretary of State taken by a still 
more infamous hand. Therefore, I, Abner Kirby, Mayor of Milwaukee, do 
hereby recommend that all the dwellings and business places of our city forth- 
with be clad ill mourning as a token of the deep and common sorrow that 
prevails; and that the people, abstaining from all excitement improper for 
such solemn occasion, postpone their ordinary duties today, and that in all 
the churches, tomorrow, such services be performed as will duly express the 
great and general grief. ABNEB KIRBY, Mayor. 

Word of the assassination, which occurred on Pr'.day night. April 14th, 
did not reach .Milwaukee until the following day. 

Issuance of the foregoing proclamation was Kirby's last official act. for 
John J. Tallmadge was inaugurated as mayor immediately afterward. Tall- 
madge's first public proclamation, which appeared on Tuesday, April 18th, 
announced the public funeral, set for the following Thursday. 

Services were held in all the churches between It and Id o'clock. The 
procession was scheduled at 11 o'clock, but rain interfered and the sun did 
not come out till afternoon, so that the procession did not start until •'! o'clock. 

There was a hearse, and the following well-known Milwaukeeans acted as 
pallbearers: Hans ( 'rocker, Jackson Hadley, Alexander Mitchell (later United 
States senator). Angus Smith, John Bradford, James S. Brown, Doctor John- 
son. John W. Cary and Mortiz Schoeffler. 

There wen 1 4,(10(1 persons in line, the procession being over a mile long, 
while 40,000 more, with bared heads, lined the streets as the solemn pageant 
passed to the accompaniment of dirges, tolling bells, muffled drums and the 
firing of minute guns, the afternoon sun shedding its benign rays over all. 

A great meeting on the Courthouse Square hail been arranged to take 
place during the forenoon, but this too had to be postponed on account of 
the downpour. Addresses were to have been made from three stands at 
different parts of the grounds, three speakers being scheduled at each stand. 
George II. Walker, founder of Milwaukee's South Side, was one of the 
chairmen, and Senator Matt II. Carpenter was one of the speakers. These 
eulogies had to be given indoors, meetings being held in the Plymouth Con- 
gregational and the First Presbyterian Churches. 

Milwaukeeans have a personal interest in the splendid Lincoln memorial 
recently completed at Washington. Lyman II. Browne, for many years a 



170 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

residenl of this city, informed the writer thai his brother-in-law, Fred Drew, 
of Washington, I). C, was the contractor and builder. 

Theodore <i. Joslin sonic time ago described the memorial in the Boston 
Transcript, the article being reprinted in the Literary Digesl of December 20th, 
1919. We read: 

"A great axis planned scores of years ago is completed by the memorial. 
At one end is the Capitol, containing the national legislative and judicial 
bodies, which is a monument to the United States Government. A mile to 
the westward, in the center of the axis, is the monument to Washington, who 
established the Government. Terminating the axis is the new memorial to 
Lincoln, who saved the Government." 

The movement to establish the Lincoln memorial had its inception in 
1867. The memorial, costing over two and a half million dollars, takes the 
form of a monument symbolizing the union of the Nation, enclosing in the 
walls of its sanctuary three memorials of the man. himself — one a statue 'of 
heroic size expressing his humane personality; the others memorials of his 
two great speeches, one of the Gettysburg address and the other his second 
inaugural, each with attendant sculpture and painting telline; in allegory of 
his splendid qualities evident in those speeches. William Howard Taft turned 
the first spadeful of earth on Lincoln's birthday in 1H14. 



CHAPTER XV 
IMMIGRATION AND RACE ORIGIN 

In the process of assimilation, as exemplified in sections of the Middle West, 
where, during the last half of the nineteenth century emigrants grouped 
themselves in great numbers, striking social situations have been evolved 
which either have escaped, or have been deemed unworthy, the attention of 
the essayist and fiction writer. 

Every phase of American life, susceptible to literary treatment, has- been 
explored to the fullest, The conditions, characters and complications of a. 
quaint New England village, of a peaceful Dutch settlement in New York 
Stale, or a German county in Pennsylvania; the race problem and Creole life 
of the South, and the thrilling picturesqueness of the western frontier — all 
have been treated by author and poet. 

The home-hunting foreigners, who came to the north central west, may 
have tended to that prosaic industrialism which leaves no surface indications 
of romance or dramatic situations, and yet upon closer analysis they reveal 
in unique setting and scenery, life's drama in climaxes as compelling and 
touching as those enacted in other parts of the new world. 

Where the foreigners are sparsely sprinkled among the natives the absorp- 
tion is necessarily rapid, but where those of similar racial origin have settled 
in numbers, they cling tenaciously to language and customs, and stand out in 
stronger contrast to social order of the native. 

The assumption that the transition stages from a raw emigrant to a 
fullHedged American citizen are colorless, or that the collective newcomer 
merely offers in subdued colors a reproduction of old world customs and 
mannerisms, might be wholly true if the foreigners wholly isolated themselves 
from the natives. But where, in the commingling of foreign and native born, 
the amalgamation proceeds along social as well as economic and civic lines, 
the element of conflict and heart interest become pronounced and appealing. 

The clashes between foreign and native tradition, between old and new 
world conceptions are bound to ignite the sparks of prejudice and hatred. 
In the manifest course of human adjustment many situations are created 
in which tolerance and the nobler impulses of man may come vividly into 
play. The writer has here seen an unplowed held rich in material and setting 
for the dramatist and novelist. 

In thus directing attention to what seems to the author an unexplored, or 
at least only partially explored field tor study and treatment, he is convinced 
that much, in the inner struggles and outward movements of the emigrant, 
during the transition period, constitutes an essential factor in American life, 

171 










i 




THE n[.D MATHEW STEIN GUN SHOP ON MARKET SQUARE IN" THE LATEE 

'40s -VXD KAK'I.V '50s 
See "lil Town Pump to the left below 



IMMIGRATION AND RACE ORIGIN 173 

and is therefore worthy of permanent record. Admirat'on is aroused when 
the progress of the emigrant is contemplated, when his preconceptions per- 
ceptibly have yielded to openmindedness, when alienism has faded into a 
sturdy loyally to American institutions, when the humblest and must unpromis- 
ing lies linings are followed by useful service and valuable contributions to 
the prestige, power and prosperity of the nation. 

Racial Complexion. — It would be difficult to establish with any degree of 
accuracy the racial origin of the population. That is, it would be practically 
impossible to deal in exact figures, separating the native from the foreign 
horn and at the same time trace the ancestry of the native born. Yet we may 
venture appropriate figures based upon the various sources of information that 
nave been at our command. 

Before doing so. it may be well to ascertain the probable order and the 
periods in which the different nationalities made the r appearance. Tin.' 
Indian, the primitive man, was first joined by the French Canadian. Then 
came the Anglo-American from the New England states and the so-called 
Knickerbockers, Dutch descendants from New York state. The "New England 
Society" and the "Sons of New York" flourished for several years as social 
and patriotic bodies. 

Tiie Easterners wen' followed in large numbers by the Irish and Germans, 
with a sprinkling of Scandinavians. Hollanders, Bohemians and Austrians 
In the period from 1S44 to 1878 the German immigration outnumbered all 
other nationalities. During the latter part of this period the Polish immigra- 
tion began to secure momentum, continuing for some years. While the emigra- 
tion from Central Europe declined, the peoples from eastern and southern 
Europe began to turn towards the United States and Milwaukee received a 
goodly number of them. 

Those coming from eastern and southern Austria-Hungary included Sla- 
vonians, Croatians and Hungarians. The Slovaks and Serbs came somewhat 
later. During the past thirty years there has also been a steady but some- 
what meager influx of Italians, Greeks and Russians. 

Composition of the Population. — Prof. Lawrence M. Larson, in his review, 
remarks that "Milwaukee is a cosmopolitan city. She has drawn her citizen- 
ship from all parts of the civilized world. In the old Third ward, once the 
heart of the city, the Italian now (LUIS) reigns supreme; while in Kilbourn- 
town the African and the Russian .Jew have inherited the earth. On the 
South side of the city the Poles arc the strongest, numbering more than 
90,000 and controlling two or three wards. The Scandinavian elements are 
located principally on the south side. Greeks and Hungarians have their rep- 
resentatives in the city, and occasional Asiatics may also be found. The more 
distinctly American population is found in greatesl numbers on the East side 
and in the southern part of the West side. But most numerous of all is the 
German element. It is estimated that at least 200,000 Germans, native born or 
of German parentage, live in Milwaukee. 

"It is therefore inevitable," continues Professor Larson, "that the city 
should display certain prominent foreign characteristics. On the religious side 
these are particularly evident. Stronger than all the Protestant churches 
combined is the Catholic church with its large German, Polish, Irish ami 



171 HISTORT OF MILWAUKEE 

[taliaii parishes. Of the Protestants more than half belong to the Lutheran 
churches, mainly Germans and Scandinavians. The presence of these two 
powerful organizations lias treated an interesting situation in the system of 
elementary schools. About forty per rent of the total school attendance is 
found in the parochial schools. Alongside of the public school system has 
grown up therefore, a group of rival systems entirely independent of the 
former. ' ' 

Language Difficulties of the Immigrants. — The first obstacle met with by 
the newly arriving immigrants was the diversity of languages among them 
The acquisition of the English language by foreigners was of course a neces- 
sity, but it often proved a very difficult task for the older men and women. 
The children, however, quickly learned to speak and write it. and families 
gradually dropped the use of their native forms of speech, ami thus could co- 
operate with their neighbors in affairs of business and government. The estab- 
lishment of schools for the young was the chief agency in this amalgamating 
process, and few neighborhoods were without a schoolhouse and teachers, even 
in the earliest stages of settlement. 

Thus was developed a community spirit of vital importance in the main- 
tenance of our American form of government and its institutions. Americans 
indeed have made language a more powerful nationalizing instrument, says 

a recent writer, than even the English people themselves have I n able to 

do in their own country. The same writer goes on to say that the old stock 
of native born Americans have been largely replaced by the newly arriving 
elements from foreign countries, now represented in our population; and 
that the nationalizing processes have been of such a thoroughgoing character 
as to produce a new type spoken in a purer language than that in use in the 
country of its birth. 

"Political and social institutions in the United States," continues the 
writer above mentioned, "have a quality which speedily transmutes various 
types into one type, the public school probably being the most powerful of 
them. " 

The German Immigration. —" When .Milwaukee was but a small cluster of 
houses in the early thirties," writes II. E. Legler in his volume, "Leading 
Events of Wisconsin History," "Germans had made their home in the village. 

but it was not until a decade later that colonists began to arrive ii nsider- 

able numbers from the fatherland. Political disturbances at I sent many 

id' them over the ocean, and the low price of land and liberal laws of Wiscon- 
sin attracted many of them to this territory. Between 1840 and 1848 
pamphlets and books describing the resources and favorable climatic condi- 
tions of Wisconsin were circulated in greal numbers in some parts of Germany, 
and undoubtedly greatly influenced intending settlers to seek tin' golden 
Northwest. In the Rhine region, in the Wupper valley and in the duchy 
of Brunswick these guides for immigrants found especially eager readers. 

".Milwaukee soon became known as the German Athens of America, but 
the German population of Wisconsin was not confined to the chit' citj of 
the territory. The wooded sections aloni;- the lake shore and In the inteii 

attracted large numbers of h seekers. The early German settlers were 

mostly of the Catholic faith, but In the early forties I'omerania and luanden 



IMMIGRATION AND RACE ORIGIN 17.". 

burg, as the result of religious contentions, lost many of their people, and 
their leaders directed many of them to Wisconsin." 

Prominent among the citizens of Wisconsin who were born in Germany 
was Carl Schurz whose political career opened in this state when he was yet 
a young man of twenty-seven. He settled at Watertown, Wis., in 1856, and 
became prominent in the republican party of the state. He had received a 
good education in his native country, and after his arrival began the study 
of law. He was admitted to the Wisconsin bar in 1858, and began the prac- 
tice of law in Milwaukee. In the Republican National Convention of 1860, 
he was chairman of the Wisconsin delegation which voted for William II. 
Seward for the presidential nomination. He was a member of the committee 
appointed to notify Mr. Lincoln of his nomination. In 1861, he was sent as 
minister to Spain, but lie returned In the United States in the following year 
and was commissioned brigadier general. As a commander of division he 
took part in the second battle of Bull Run. He was promoted to the rank 
of major general and was present at the battles of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg 
and at Chattanooga. 

After the close of hostilities he resigned his commission and thereafter 
became identified with .Missouri affairs. From 1869 to 1875, he was United 
States senator from Missouri, and in 1S77 he was secretary of the interior 
in President Hayes' cabinet. In 1881, he removed to New York City where 
he became engaged in editorial work, and died there in 1906. 

A most interesting study of Wisconsin's German element, by Kate A. 
Everest, is printed in Volume XII of the Wisconsin Historical Collections. "In 
the Western States many large German settlements were formed," she says, 
"especially in Ohio, but they did not become centers of attraction, nor of 
any political importance. The masses of colonists hail German sentiments, hut 
not the German ideals. They would not suffer themselves to be directed by 
their countrymen, especially since the leaders, who were often idealists and 
free-thinkers, were men far removed from the general German sentiment ; but 
the immigrants settled rather where business interests were most favorable. 

"The general sentiment of later years is well expressed by Priedrich Kapp 
and Carl Schurz. 'The well-being of the Germans,' says Kapp, 'does not lie 
in separation from the American educational interests nor in fantastic dreams 
of founding a German state in America — a German Utopia. A German 

nation within the American they cannot be, but they can throw the rich 
treasures of their life and thought into the struggle for political and human 
interests, and their influence will penetrate the more deeply and create for 
them a wider field of activity, the less peculiar they make it.' ' 

In a speech by Carl Schurz in New York he expressed himself as follows: 
"Let us never forget that we as Germans are not called upon here to form a 
separate nationality, but rather to contribute to the American nationality 
the strongest there is in us. and in place of our weakness to substitute the 
strength wherein our fellow Americans excel us, and to blend it with our 
wisdom. We should never forgel that in the political life id' this republic 
we as Germans have no peculiar interests, hut that the universal well-being 
is ours also." 

These sentiments were held and expressed by eminent writers and pub- 




OLD CREAM CITY BASEBALL CLUB— 1869 
Archie McFadden, M. Lumkin, I'.. C. Wells. \Y. II. Dodsworth, \V. ( . Smith, George Redding, 

.1. II. \Y I. K. A. Smith. t . S. Norris. 




OLD Rl FUS KING RESIDEN< i: 
Northeast corner Mason and Van Buren Btreets. Built 1 > v Henry Williams, 1838 



IMMIGRATION AND EACE ORIGIN 177 

lieists many years ago and are still held by the clear-thinking men of our later 
time. We honor the German element in our population, and that element in 
turn forms a most valuable ingredient in the development of the "one hundred 
per cent Americanism" of Wisconsin people. 

Native versus Foreign Bern. — The attitude which obtained among the 
Germans, and the reciprocal prejudice which the native and foreign born 
entertained for each other, were some years later well expressed by Hugo 
Miinsterberg, who said: 

"The German immigrant can justly claim to be a respectable and very 
desirable element of the American population ; he has stood always on the 
side of solid work and honesty; he has brought skill and energy over the 
ocean, and he has not forgotten his music and his joyfulness; he is not second 
to any one in his devotion to the duties of a citizen in peace and in war, and 
without his aid many of America's industrial, commercial, and technical 
triumphs would be unknown. 

"But all that does not disprove the fact that he is often somewhat unfit 
to judge fairly the life which surrounds him. First, lie belongs almost always 
to a social stratum in which the attention is fully absorbed by the external 
life of a country, and which is without feeling for the achievements of its 
mental life; he was poor in his fatherland, and lives comfortably here, and 
thus he is enthusiastic over the material life, praises the railroads and the 
hotels, the bridges and mills, but does not even try to judge of the libraries 
and universities, the museums and the hospitals. 

"On the other hand, he feels socially in the background; he is the 'Dutch- 
man,' who, through his bad English, through his habits and manners, through 
his tastes and pleasures, is different from the majority, and therefore set apart 
as a citizen of second rank, if not slighted, at least kept in social isolation. 
On the side of the German, the result of this, situation is often an entire 
ignorance of the Anglo-American life. 

"But there were more important factors — industry and civic virtues, 
which, brought from Germany, helped to build up the land and the nation, 
and it is unfair to stamp the German-American as a citizen of second rank 
and thus to isolate him socially." 

In placing an estimate upon the American the same writer says: "What 
most quickly misleads is, doubtless, his consuming interest in money-making, 
together with the sharp struggle for existence, the gigantic scale of his 
undertakings, his hasty, impulsive movements, his taste for strong sensational 
stimuli, his spoils politics, and the influence of corporations upon his legis- 
lation. But is not all that merely the surface view? The American is not 
greedy for money; if he were, he would not give away his wealth with such 
a liberal hand, and would not put aside all the unidealistic European schemes 
of money-making which exclude individual initiative, as, for instance, the 
pursuit of dowries, or, on a lower level, the tipping system. 

"The American runs after money primarily for the pleasure of the chase; 
it is the spirit of enterprise that spurs him on, the desire to make use of his 
energies, to realize his personality. And there is one other factor: in a country 
where political conditions have excluded titles and orders and social distinc- 
tions in general, money is in the end the only means of social discrimination, 



178 HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

iinil financial success becomes thus the measuremenl of the ability of the in- 
dividual and of his power to realize himself in action. That the struggle for 
existence is sharper here than in Europe is simply a fairy tale. In a country 
where the greatesl enterprises are undertaken in the service of charity, and 
where the natural resources of the land are inexhaustible, even the lowest 
classes do not struggle for existence, but, seen from the Continental stand- 
point, merely for comfort; of this the lyrical character of the discussions of 
social problems here compared with their dramatic character in Germany 
gives the fullest evidence. 

"■But the most amusing misunderstanding arises when the American him- 
self thinks that he proves the purely practical character of his life by the 
eagerness with which he saxes his time, on the ground that 'time is money.' 
It strikes me that, next to the public funds, nothing is so much wasted here 
as time. Whether it is wasted in reading the endless newspaper reports of 
murder trials or in sitting on the base-ball grounds, in watching a variety 
show or in lying in bed, in waiting for the elevator or in being shaved after 
the American fashion, in attending receptions or in enjoying committee meet 
ings, is quite unessential. 

"The whole scheme of American education is only possible in a country 
which is rich enough not to need any economy of time, and which can there 
fore allow itself the luxury of not asking at what age a young man begins 
to earn his own living. The American shopkeeper opens his store daily one 
hour later than the German tradesman, and the American physician opens 
his office three years later than his German colleague of equal education. 
This may be very good, hut it is a prodigality of time which the Germans 
would he unable to imitate. 

"Add to it tin' American's gratefulness and generosity, his elasticity and 
his frankness, his cleanliness and his chastity, his humor and his fairness; 
consider the vividness of his religious emotion, his interest in religious and 
metaphysical speculation, his eagerness always to realize the besl results of 
science — in short, look amund everywhere without prejudice, and yon eannol 
doubt that behind the terrifying mask of the selfish realist breathes the 
idealist, who is controlled by a belief in ethical values. 

"Undeniably, every one of these characteristics may develop into an ah 
surdity; gratitude may transform the capture of a merchant vessel into a 
naval triumph, speculative desire may run into the blind alleys of spiritualism, 
fairness may lead to tin' defense of the most cranky schemes, and the wish 
for steady improvements may chase the reformer from one fad to another; 
and yet it is all at bottom the purest idealism. 

"Whenever I have written about America for my German countrymen, 
1 have said: 'You are righl to hate that selfish, brutal, corrupt, vulgar 
American who lives in your imagination; hut the true American is at least 
as much an idealist as yourself, and Emerson comes nearer to representing 
his spirit than do the editorial writers of the New York Journal.' If 1 had 
to draw the American with a few lines, I should emphasize three mental 

elements, 

" 'All the essential features of his public life spring from the spirit of self 



IMMIGRATION AND RACE ORIGIN 179 

determination, which was developed by his separation from his mother 
country; the features of his economic life, from the spirit of self-activity which 
was developed by his pioneer life ; and the features of his intellectual life 
from the spirit of self-perfection, which has partly a utilitarian and partly 
Puritan origin.' Every one of these three strong tendencies involves dangers, 
but essentially they are forces of purely idealistic poAver." 

The Story of an Old Neighborhood. — The older section of the city known 
as the Lower East Side was described in a paper before the Old Settlers' Club 
some years ago by William George Bruce as follows: 

"The section of the city now known as the lower Seventh and First 
wards is not only one of the oldest but also one of the most interesting as far 
as its earlier history is concerned. It possessed a community life seventy years 
ago that was peculiarly its own, and was in its time the very heart of the 
small city. While the upper and eastern part of the ward, known as Yankee 
Hill, was the residence district of the better conditioned, the lower part was 
the industrial and commercial centre. 

"It was the home of the mechanic, the laborer, the small shop keeper, and 
the small manufacturer. Everybody knew everybody else. The policeman 
wore no uniform but lie was known by everybody in town. Every physician, 
preacher and lawyer was known by everybody. The names and location of 
streets were as familiar to everyone as the alphabet. 

"To tell the story of this section means after all only to say something in 
a fragmentary way of some of the people who resided there and who were 
a part and parcel of its activities; to recall names that later figured in the 
life and traffic of the city. Again, such a story must be told from the stand- 
point of recollections and the vision and views of a child — a condition of life 
as seen by a small boy and remembered as a man. 

"My earliest recollections take me back as a four year old boy peering out 
of the windows of my grandfather's old home on East Water Street near the 
corner of Johnson Street, a two storied wooden structure with, a moss covered 
roof, slanting towards the street. Large locust trees shaded the cottage which 
sat back a respectable distance from the street and gave the immediate 
neighborhood a village air. 

"This section of the city was distinguished from the others in point of 
nationality in that its residents were in the main German-born. The people 
residing on the hill and who were known as Yankees, came from New York 
and the New England states. That portion lying to the south of the hill and 
known as the Third Ward was almost wholly settled by the Irish as they 
landed here. 

"The Know-nothing movement which had its inception in the East and 
which swept across the country in early '50s found some expression here. 
The Germans of this neighborhood were obliged to hear the cry 'Damn the 
Dutch,' and the constant influx of both Germans and Irish gave the Yankee 
element some concern. But, when these foreigners began to manifest their 
thrift and industry, adding to the growth and development of the city, and 
incidentally adding to the wealth of so-called Yankee element, the motto 
'America for Americans' became more faint and finally died out. 




JOHN POLLWORTH'S HOME RESTAURANT 
Located ai No. 2 Grand Avenue and established in L846 




WISCONSIN STREET 
The dwellings i<> the ri^lii gave way ;>» ;i — i t « - for the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance 

i < • 1 1 1 1 • .- 1 1 1 \ Building. 



IMMIGRATION AND RACE ORIGIN 181 

"The Larger industries which clustered in the valley at that time were 
Mabbett's lumber yard, Elmore's coal yard, Higby's elevator, Bertchy's mill, 
the old Davidson ship yard and the Pierrou Pottery. It was the small indus- 
tries, however, that thrived more actively. The machine had not yet come 
into use as a potent factor in manufacturing products. Shoes were made by 
the shoemaker who took the measurements of the foot, the tinsmith made 
the pots and kettles, the cooper made washtubs, etc. 

"The German market at the corner of East Water and Division streets, 
now known as Juneau Avenue, was a bee hive in small trade. It was more 
popularly known as the 'Green Market,' a designation which had its origin 
from the green vegetables which formed the principal commodity. The good 
housewives from all sections of the city came here to get the provisions, their 
vegetables and dairy products. 

"The hills now forming the handsomest residence districts in the First 
and Sixth wards then were the choice grazing grounds for the cattle that fur- 
nished the butter and cheese that was sold by the market women. The little 
back yard gardens on the northside provided the cabbages, onions and lettuce 
which was brought in wagon loads to the market before sunrise each morning. 

"The market life, aside from its congenial commercialism, had its interest- 
ing phases. The market men and women were not devoid of that human 
interest which embraces the liveliest gossip and which concerns itself with 
everything from the merry wedding bells to the solemn strains of a recpiiem. 
It was the clearing house for the news of the day and when the good house- 
wife carried home the day's provender in her basket she took with her also 
the town gossip of the day. 

"Many of the small vendors and hucksters of the Green Market later 
became well to do business men and in course of time retired with a hand- 
some competency. Their sons in many instances are now among the important 
merchants and manufacturers of the city. Their daughters are the wives of 
some of the most prosperous men in the community. 

The Main Street. — East Water Street from Wisconsin Street to Juneau 
Avenue was like the main street of a country town. There was the butcher, 
the baker, and the candlestick maker; the small dry goods merchant, the 
druggist and the hotel keeper. 

At the corner of Biddle Street was Hoffmann's butcher shop. The owner 
of this small shop was none other than John Hoffmann, later the head of John 
Hoffmann Sons & Co.. the wholesale grocery house. Across the street was the 
small retail grocery store of John Wellauer, who later with John Hoffmann: 
founded the great grocery house above mentioned. 

"Further down the street were John Poss, the butcher; Krauthoefcr, the 
shoemaker; Boeshaar and Manschot, the cobblers; Stephen Hoff, the grocer, 
the father of Stephen II. Hoff, later of Ilackett, Hoff & Thiermann ; Higler, 
the second hand man, father of James A. Higler, manager of the Alhambra 
Theater; Koch's barber shop, owned by the father of William Koch, a promi- 
nent musician; Chaintron, the dyer; Gebhardt and Hubmann, the bakers; 
Memminger's restaurant conducted by the father of the late Fire Chief Mem 
minger; Wiese's drug store; Grosch's horse shoeing shop; Friedberg's notion 



182 HISTORY OK U ILWAI'KEH 

store, conducted by the father of Joseph Friedberg, later manager of the 
Friend Bros. Clothing Co.; Mittendorf's milliner simp. etc. 

"At the German markai a modesl booth in Yankee notions was conducted 
by the mother of Bishop A. P. Schinner; Oscar F. Miller the late manager of 
the Alhambra Theater was born and raised on Markel Street ; a curly headed 
handsome lad raised in the same neighborhood, later Judge John C. Ludwig; 
Hans .!. and Max Grove the show printers saw their boyhood days here; the 
immediate relatives of Solomon Juneau resided here; the Geilfuss family from 
which A. B. and Frank Geilfuss sprang, lived in Hi is vicinity, etc. 

The Old Pierron Pottery. — There was a time when Milwaukee promised 
to be a greal pottery center. Clay was brought in vessel loads across the lake 
from Ohio and eastern points and loaded on the docks at the fool of Johnson 
Street. Here it was taken to the Pierron Pottery, for a time known as the 
Hermann Pottery, aud turned into jars and jugs. These were set out on the 
streets and back yards to dry and were then placed into large kilns to be 
burned into solid earthenware. 

"At night the heavens would blaze in scarlet red from the heat which 
shot forth from the great kilns as an emblem of useful industry. These kilns 
were for years fed with the choicest maple wood brought in by the farmers 
from the neighboring country districts. 

"The interior life and activities of the pottery was intensely German in 
character. The men who were gathered here had come from different portions 
of Germany, but principally from South Germany. They possessed all the 
prejudices of a divided Germany. The Bavarian who came from South Ger- 
many had no particular love for the Mecklenburger who came from Northern 
Germany. They differed in religion, in politics, and in their social views 
They were known to each other as Hans, Fritz or Michel, or else as the Prus- 
sian, the Bavarian, the Hannoverian, the Pommeranian, etc. 

"They enjoyed their pint of beer during the several luncheon periods of 
the day, denounced the money grasping Y'ankee and the corruption in Ameri- 
can public life and incidentally praised the solidity of Germany's officialdom 
and the beauties of their native villages. 

"The pottery industry thrived until the competition from Akron and other 
Ohio points became too strong, and what was once a thriving local industry 
has been converted into a warehouse and distributing center for Ohio pottery." 

Polish Immigration. -The immigration of Poles had its beginning in the 

early '60s. A few families came and settled on the lower east side towards 
the south. The tide of immigration secured its real momentum, however, in 
the early '70s of the last century when a great number of Poles arrived daily. 
The old Hoed Street Station was the scene of their coming. 

William George Bruce, in an article published in one of the local news- 
papers offers this description of the advent of the Polish immigrants: "We 
deemed it one of the sights to behold these anxious men and women and 
abashed children nestled among the boxes, bundles and bedding of an old 
world household, awaiting transfer to a permanent abode. Usually a ricket \ 
express wagon took them to the southern limits of the city which up to this 



IMMIGRATION AND RACE ORIGIN 183 

time had only been sparsely populated. They were travel stained, poor and 
ignorant, but they were hopeful, courageous and ambitious. 

"The wooded lands south of Greenfield Avenue were soon transformed 
into a vast area of cottages with high basements accommodating two families, 
with gardens in the rear and some shrubbery and a rest bench in the front. 

"Their life in a new world began. Everybody went to work. The men 
dug sewer trenches, built streets, bridges and houses. The boys and girls 
entered the factories and mills and stores. Many of the married women 
went out to do a day's washing in addition to doing their daily housework. 

"They imbibed the American spirit. Progress was in the air. With the 
passing of time the rising generation performed more exacting duties in the 
industrial and commercial life of the city. They entered the skilled trades. 
Some of the young men entered the professions. Others went into the chan- 
nels of trade, still others into the public service, until there are among the 
present generation young lawyers, physicians, judges and representatives in 
the city, county, state and national legislative bodies. 

"The Poles also settled upon the east and the north sides of the city. The 
colony on the south side is by far the larger. These several colonies, aggre- 
gating a population of approximately one hundred thousand, note the progress 
of the Polish-American by thousands of neat and cozy homes and the mar- 
velous size and beauty of their churches." 

Mr. Bruce, in discussing the tendency of the Polish element to colonize, 
says: "If the Polish-Americans have colonized in certain sections of American 
cities, it has been clone in response to expedience rather than from a desire 
to foster isolation. Their colonies or neighborhoods not only manifest from 
within an intense progress in the various activities that make for a modern 
city, but they are an essential part of the community as a whole." 

He adds: "There is a disposition on the part of those of other nationali- 
ties to ridicule Polish names. In the days of political conventions it was not 
uncommon to resort to laughter and jeers when the names of the Polish- 
American delegates were read. I took occasion to remind one of these con- 
ventions that these names were no more subject to laughter than were any 
series of German, Irish, or Scandinavian names. These names had been in- 
herited from honorable fathers and mothers, were borne by the families of the 
present generations and hence were sacred to them. The convention there- 
after indulged in no more laughter at the mention of Polish names. In his 
home life the Pole may foster the traditions and the nobler impulses of a 
mother country, but in his economic and civic life he is an American." 

In discussing the advancement by the Polish-American element, the same 
author says: "My evening walks frequently extend into the southern part of 
the south side and when I contrast the scenes which attended the earlier 
Polish immigration at the railway station with the thousands of clean and 
comfortable homes, magnificent churches and schools, the business blocks on 
Mitchell Street, Kosciuszko Park and the many beautiful streets which char- 
acterize the Polish section, I am thrilled with the transformation that has 
taken place. Here is the evidence, eloquently demonstrated, that the Polish 
immigrants were industrious and thrifty, law abiding and God fearing, and 




SiWl 



. i- r' rir, -.- J ^"'*V~L^ S'|l'WiB'lF ln iYVI M I 

"i 1 1,-..: nSn»^'' i ri|iMr,iiiii i 



*H9 



I!W B ffl B IMS 



j^aJp is 1*1 



Usi 



8 fell 






THE OLD MILWAUKEE HOUSE, WHERE THE FIRST PASSENGER ON THE UNDER- 
GROUND RAILWAY ARRIVED IN SLAVERY DAYS 
(From ;, wood cut in Milwaukee Under the < barter, published in L884) 



IMMIGRATION AND RACE ORIGIN 185 

that to tlic best of their ability, they arc making their contribution to the 
progress of the city and to American civilizat'on as a whole." 

While many of the Poles hail from Austria and Russia, the larger number 
come from what was the grand duchy of Posen, formerly a part of Germany. 
A number of Poles, specially those formerly residing on Jones Island, were 
known as "Kashubes" who have their own peculiar dialect and customs and 
came from a northeast section of German-Poland. 

Monsignor Goral, in a chapter on the Poles in Milwaukee, says, "Whoever 
is closely acquainted with the psychology of the Polish nation will readily 
understand why it always has been, and still continues to be, the ambition of 
the Poles to organize a parish and to have their own school and church when- 
ever the numbers warrant it. It is admitted by all that at least ninety-five per 
cent of the Poles are Catholics. There is probably no other nation on God's 
earth that loves so fanatically and clings so tenaciously to its language and 
national traditions as the Poles do. Woe to those that would ever dare to 
conspire against this most sacred heritage of theirs!" 

The Jewish Pioneers.-— The first Israelite to come to Wisconsin was Jacob 
Franks who settled in Green Bay in 1704. He was an agent of the Canadian 
Fur Company and became one of the enterprising men of that settlement. 
Franks and Meyer Levi of La Crosse, concerned themselves in the erection 
of the first sawmills in the territory then known as Wisconsin. 

Isador S. Horwitz, who is the acknowledged historian of the Jewish element 
in Wisconsin, says that the arrival of Jews in Milwaukee had its beginning 
in the early '40s. The records of those years reveal a number of Jewish 
names. Among the first and most prominent among them were 1 the Sehoyer 
brothers. Gabriel Sehoyer, the older, conducted a mercantile enterprise on 
East Water Street for a number of years. 

In the year 5610. according to the Jewish calendar, or in the year 1S47, the 
beginning for a Jewish Synagogue with ten members was made. The first 
religious services were held on the Jewish new year, Rosh Hashona, and the 
feast of Torn Kippur. 

The synagogue was at first located at the home of Henry Neuhaus ami a 
year later at the home of Isaac Neustadel. In 1849 the first regular Jewish 
congregation was formed and located over a small store on Chestnut Street 
conducted by Nathan Pereles. Gabriel Sehoyer became president of the con- 
gregation and Solomon Adler its secretary. The congregation later erected 
the Temple Emanu-El on Broadway and Johnson Street. 

The first Jews to arrive here were of English and Holland birth and later 
came the Bohemian and German. The Russian Jews who are represented in 
larger numbers came at a later period and colonized in the area hounded by 
Chestnut, Center, Third and Sixteenth streets. 

The Jewish worshipping places are Emanu-El and B'ne Jeshurum (Re- 
form), Beth Israel, Anshe Stard, Anshe Lebowita, Moshab Zkenim, Anshe 
Ungarn, Degel Israel, Agudath Ahim and Beth Hamedrosh Hagodel (Ortho- 
dox). 

Italian Immigration. — The Italian population is estimated at nine thousand, 
of which probably one-quarter is American born. The greater number live 



186 HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

in the districl bounded by Michigan Street, Broadway, the hike and the river. 
They are mostly Sicilians who came from the Province of Palermo. The 
Italians residing elsewhere "in the city come from south, central and north 
Italy. 

Fully seventy-live per cent of the Italians of the city are common laborers. 
The number of skilled mechanics and small tradesmen is minor. (!. La Piana, 
who in 1915 made a survey of the Italian population in Milwaukee, stales thai 
many of those who had been farmers, fishermen and mechanics in their native 
laud, had been obliged to resort to common labor in this country. Ee claims 
that the difference in language and usage in a new country lias been respon- 
sible for this condition. 

This explanation, however, must be deemed insufficient. Some years ago 
(1912) the editor of this volume met a distinguished Italian nobleman in 
Rome who was much concerned in the progress of the 7,000,000 Italians who 
had left their native land and were now settled in different countries of the 
world. 

"We have just held a convention here in Rome" said the nobleman, "of 
delegates who came from all parts of the world for Hie purpose of advancing 
the interests of Italians who had left their mother country. 

"It is a pecular fact that our Italian emigrants are not sharing adequately 
in the economic fruits of their adopted countries. They colonize, for in- 
stance, in the American cities, and at the same time isolate themselves from 
the life and activities about them. They continue to eat Italian food, drink- 
Italian wines, and sing Italian songs. This is all very well. But they should 
assimilate some of the customs, habits and ways of their new surroundings. 

"Italians who live in America should become Americans, in England become 
Englishmen, in Prance become Frenchmen, in Germany become Germans. They 
should, as do other nationalities, find their way into the commercial, indus- 
trial, professional and political activities of their adopted countries, and share, 
adequately in the material and civic advantages afforded them. 

"The object of this international convention, which was under the patron- 
age of the Queen of Italy," said the nobleman, "was to stimulate our country- 
men in distant lands to make for greater material and civic progress and thus 
secure a more adequate share of the world's material blessings." 

Skandinavian Element. — Among the immigrants who came to Milwaukee 
in the '40s and '50s there was a liberal sprinkling of Skandinavians, particu- 
larly of Norwegians. Upon lauding they lived for a time on the lower east 
side. Later, as their numbers grew, they settled on the central and eastern 
part of the south side. Many of them became identified with the marine 
activities. They excelled as seamen and fishermen, and in some ef the me- 
chanic arts. A number of them owned vessel property and became well to do. 
They founded a number of churches, sonic of which have discarded the native 
tongue, and employ only the English language in their sermons. When the 
tide of Skandinavian immigration was directed to Minnesota it practically 
ceased here. 

Negro Population. The negro population compared with that of other 
American cities has always been rather small. At no time did the number 



IMMIGRATION AND RACE ORIGIN 187 

exceed the three thousand mark. When the leading hotels some years ago 
dispensed with colored help the population dwindled to even a smaller num- 
ber. During the World war, when white labor was at a premium, several of 
the larger manufacturing concerns brought several hundred negroes from the 
South. Some of these have returned to their native states again. 

Variety of Nationalities. — During the World war in 1918 a local patriotic 
woman's committee made a survey of the city and located the foreign born, 
and the districts in which they dwelled without, however, dealing in any 
statistics or attempting to separate accurately the native from the foreign 
born. They prepared an interesting chart showing the sections where the 
foreign born resided indicating proportionately their race origin. 

Aside from the native born, some twenty nationalities were represented 
as follows: Albanian, Anglo-Saxon, Armenian, and Syrian, Austrian and 
Hungarian, Belgian, Bulgarian, Chinese, Colored, Croatian, Czechoslovakia, 
English, German, Greek, Hebrew, Holland, Irish, Italian, Polish, Roumanian, 
Russian, Scandinavian, Scotch, Serbian, Slovene, Welsh, Dalmatia, Ukriane, 
Macedonian, Turkish (thirty-one nationalities). Recording also the following 
scattering nationalities: Arabians, Canadians, Finns, French, Lithuanian. 
Spanish and Swiss (thirty-seven nationalities in all). 

The Census Bureau gave out the following statistics regarding the country 
of birth of foreign born white for Milwaukee for the year 1920: 

Total foreign-bom white 110,068 

England 1,968 

Scotland 589 

Wales 252 

Ireland 1,447 

Norway 1,852 

Sweden Sli:! 

Denmark 732 

Belgium 109 

France (incl. Alsace-Lorraine) 565 

Luxemburg 164 

Netherlands 528 

Switzerland 931 

Germany 39,576 

Poland 23,060 

Austria 5,906 

Hungary 4, SOI! 

Czechoslovakia 4,497 

Jugo-Slavia 4.359 

Russia 7,105 

Finland 147 

Lithuania 398 

Portugal 7 

Spain 43 

Italy 4,022 



188 HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

Greece 1,815 

Bulgaria 53 

Roumania r 633 

Turkey, Europe II 

other Europe 283 

Asia 386 

Africa 14 

Australia 37 

Canada, French 22:; 

Canada, Other 1,830 

Newfoundland 26 

Cuba and other West Indies 29 

Mexico 36 

Centra] America 4 

South America 4-") 

Atlantic Islands 4 

Pacific Islands 8 

At Sea 82 

( 'ountry not specified 623 

These figures are based on a population of approximately four hundred 
and sixty-five thousand. Basing the population of city and county in round 
numbers at one-half million, the proportion of nationalities will probably 
undergo but slight changes. On the whole it may be safe, assuming that cities 
like Cudahy, South Milwaukee and West Allis have large percentages of 
foreign horn, to fix the entire foreign horn population at 125,000 and the native 
horn at 375,000. 

The census of 1920 fixed the citizenship of foreign-born white men at 
50,856, the number of those naturalized at 27.44s, and those who had taken 
out their first papers a1 12,454, leaving the number of aliens at 14,7:!1. with 
1,953 unreported. 



CHAPTER XVI 
BEGINNINGS, DATES AND EVENTS 

A compilation of dates relating' to the beginning' of things in the several 
activities of men, the inauguration of movements, establishment of enter- 
prises and institutions, events and occurrences was made in 1915 and am- 
plified since then by John R. Wolf, a Milwaukee journalist, as follows : 

Advertising.— March 15, 1890— First whole page ads published by Frank 
A. Lappen. 

Aeronautics.— .March 2, 1908— Aero Club; 1910— Aviator Art Hoxey at 
State Fair; 1911-12-14 — Aviator Lincoln Beachey at State Far. 

Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co.— May, 1847— Established as Reliance Works by 
Decker & Seville; 1860, bought by Edward P. Allis, Charles D. Nash and 
John P. McGregor, and conducted under name of E. P. Allis & Co.; March, 
1913, incorporated in Delaware. 

Area.— 1910 Census — 14,585.8 acres; metropolitan district — city and im- 
mediate environs, 112,826.6 acres; 1910—24.35 miles; 1900—21.5; 1880—15. 

Art.— 18S6— Milwaukee Art Society; 1910— revived ; April 5, 1888— Lay- 
ton Art Gallery opened; Feb. 17, 1890 — Carl Marr left for Germany; April 
21, .1890— Art League organized; April 10, 1896— Carl Marr's "Flagellants" 
presented to city by Mrs. Emil Sehandein. Later placed in lobby of Audi- 
torium. 

Automobiles.— May, 1899— First car operated by George L. Odenbrett; 
1912 — Vanderbilt Cup and Grand Prix races. 

Auditorium.— September 21, 1909— Opened. 

Baseball Championship. — April 8, 1868 — Founded; 1887, annexed. 

Bald Heads. — June :!0, 1889 — Neumueller's Park scene of a picnic held by 
the Moonshiners, an organization of bald-headed men. 

Bennett Law.— April 18, 1890— Bennett Law Democrats organized; March 
14, 1890 — West Side Turners support law; May 2, 1890 — Wisconsin Lutherans 
called convention to oppose Bennett Law. 

Bethel Home.— August, 1868— Established by the Wisconsin Seamen's 
Friend Society. 

B'Nai B'Rith.— June 29, 1861— Gilead Lodge, No. 41. 

Butterine.— April 20, 1915— First butterine factory. 

Canal. — January, 18:58 — Milwaukee and Rock River. 

Cemeteries. — 1850— Forest Home; Nov. 2. 1857 — Calvary ; 1859— Holj 
Trinity; January 11, 1865— Union ; August, 1880— Pilgrim's Rest: April 1. 
1872— Greenwood : September 6, 1894— Wanderers' Rest; June 5, 1909— Holy 
Cross. 

189 




MRS. Mil. \\ AIM E II SMITE ffiLCKELBERG 
First white yirl born in Milwaukee, 1835 



BEGINNINGS, DATES AND EVENTS 191 

Centenarians. — October 2, 1914 — ^\Irs. Louise K. Thiers, 100; December 25, 
1914— Thomas Kelly, resident of the Soldiers' Home, 100; 1913— Mrs. Kath- 
erine Orzechowski, 100. 

Chamber of Commerce. — 1854 — Known as Board of Trade ; February 3, 
1863, new building; November 18, 1880, present building at Michigan Street 
and Broadway opened. 

Churches. — 1835 — Methodist Mission, Rev. Mark Robinson first pastor, 
place of worship, carpenter shop, Huron and East Water streets; May, 1841, 
first church built on east side of Broadway, between Oneida and Biddle streets; 
1848, first German Methodist Church, Rev. Casper Jost, pastor, built on Fifth 
Street; 1849, Welsh Methodist Church built on lake shore at Huron Street; 
March 25, 1865, Norwegian Methodist, Rev. A. Haagenson. 

1836 — First Baptist Church, Washington Street, and First Avenue, Elder 
Griffin; 1855, First German Baptist Church, Chestnut and Third streets; Rev. 
Carl Kleppe. 

1836 — St. Paul's Episcopal, Milwaukee and Wisconsin streets. 

April 13, 1837 — First Presbyterian, Rev. Moses Ordway. 

1837 — First Congregational Church; 1857, Welsh Congregational Church. 

August, 1837 — First Catholic services held in home of Solomon Juneau by 
Rev. Fleurimont Bonduel, March 19, 1844, Very Rev. John Martin Ileum con- 
secrated bishop of Milwaukee; St. Mary's 1846; 1863, St. Stanislaus Church 
established at Grove and Mineral streets by Father Bonaventura Buczynski. 

1839— St, Paul's Lutheran; 1847, Trinity Lutheran. 

1848 — Our Saviour's Norwegian Evangelical, Scott and Reed streets. 

1841 — Unitarian. 

1844 — Universalist. 

April 19, 1846 — Corner stone of St. Mary's Catholic Church laid; conse- 
crated September 12, 1847. 

1847 — Evangelical. 

1848— First Reformed (Dutch). 

October 5, 1856— B'ne Jeshurum ; August 5, 1869— Temple Emanu-El ; 1900 
— Sinai. 

1862 — Trinity Evangelical, Fourth and Lee streets, Rev. William Geyer. 

November 17, 1877 — Union Gospel. 

September 6, 1878 — Lutheran Theological Seminary. 

1889— -First Christian Science. 

March 9, 1890 — Methodists celebrated semi-centennial. 

City Hall.— February 24, 1894— Corner stone laid; December 23, 1895— 
inaugural proceedings; cost of building and fixtures, $1,016,935; height of flag 
pole, 393 feet; bell weighs 20,505 pounds and cost $4,000. 

Clearing House — December 1, 1868. 

Clocks. — 1906 — Street clocks removed by Mayor Becker. 

Colleges.— September 14, 1848— Milwaukee College; 1895— Milwaukee- 
Downer ; 1864 — Marquette University. 

Comm'on Council. — 1851 — First meeting held in Spring Street Methodist 
Church, Grand Avenue and Fifth Street. 

Courts. — 1835 — Albert Fowler appointed justice of peace; 1836 — Court- 



192 HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

house sit.' donated by Solomon Juneau and Morgan L. Martin ; June 13, 1837 — ■ 
Federal Court opened by Judge William ('. Frazier; 1>,:!7 -Cyrus Eawley 
first clerk of Federal Courf; July 7. 1848-J. S. Rockwell first United States 
marshal; March 18, 1859 — Erasmus Foote elected first judge of Municipal 
Court; election later declared unconstitutional and -lames A. Mallory, then 
district attorney, appointed judge; 1872 — Courthouse, cost $1,000,000; June 
29, 1889— Jury commission; April 19, 1910— Civil courts. 

Dancing.— < Ictober, 1856 — First academy. Prof. L. W. Vizay; November 
'iii. 1910 — People's dances. Auditorium. 

Debate, Liquor.-- April 30, 1909— Rose-Dickie. 

John Dietz, Cameron Dam Hero. — April 2s. 1905 Seventeen Milwaukeeans 
sworn in to arrest Diet/: October S, 1910 — Captured. 

Dime Museum. — December 31, 1889 — Closed. 

Disasters. — May 7. 1875 — Steamer Schiller lost off England; Joseph Sehlit/.. 
Henry Friend. Herman Zinkeisen, Marcus Stein and .Mrs. Marie Millner and 
chilli of Milwaukee lost; April 20, 181)3 — Waterworks crib disaster, fifteen 
lost; March 1. 1N92 — Seven killed in wreck in Milwaukee road yards: Feh 
ruary 4, 189.") — Three drowned when car ran into open draw at Kinnickinnic 
bridge; May 29, 1914 — Mr. and Mrs. Henry Freeman saved from the steamer 
Empess of Ireland, lost in St. Lawrence River. 

Drama. — 1850-56 — Albany Hall, on site of Chamber of Commerce: March 
24, 1S62, burned. 

February. 1852 — Young's Hall completed; February 17. 1 S. V2. burned; 
March, 1853, rebuilt: April 8, 1853, opened with the production of "The Czar 
and the Ship Carpenter." by the Musical Society; June 21, 1859, burned. 

1860- Academy of .Music: 1869, leased to Young Men's Association, became 
first public library. 

January 10, 1865 — Daniel Bandmann. 

January .'51. 1865 — Music Hall dedicated: 1869, name changed to Academy 
of Music. 

October 21, 1868— Stadt Theater. Third Street, dedicated. 

August 29, 1889— Bijou Opera House. 

Augusl 17. 1871 — Grand Opera Eouse opened with production of "Martha" 
by fhe Philharmonic Society. 

April l(i. 1890 Booth and Modjeska played at Grand Opera House. 

April 6, 1890— Ernest I'ossart. German actor, firsl appearance. 

1891— Pabst Theater; 1890— Davidson Theater; 1909— Drama Club. 

March 20, 1910— -Hedwig Beringer's golden jubilee at Pabst Theater. 

May 21. 1915 Ludwig Ereiss silver jubilee. I'abst Theater. 

Druids.- -Augusl 22. 1853 Walhalla Grove, No. 2. 

Earthquake. — Augusl 31, 1> SS C 

Eight-Hour Day. -.May 9. lsiio Carpenters' demand granted. 

Epidemics.— Cholera. 1849 104 die; Ship fever. September. 1850—37 
die; Smallpox. 1871 — 774 die; 1872-217 die: 1894-5 268 die; rioting during 
removal of patients to isolation hospital. 

Exposition Building.— September 6, 1881 Opened: June 4. 1905, burned 

Famous Sayings. — 1898 — "There are some things worse than war: somi 



BEGINNINGS, DATES AND EVENTS 193 

things better than money." — Senator John L. Mitchell in debate on question 
of declaring war on Spain after the destruction of the battleship Maine. 

Father of Weather Bureau. — November 1, 1870 — Increase Allen Lapham. 

Federal Building.— April 22, 1899— Opened. 

Fire Department. — December, 1836 — First tire, Samuel Brown's residence. 
Cherry Street, between Second and Third streets; 1837 — Volunteer Hook and 
Ladder Co.; 1839 — "Neptune, No. 1," first fire engine; 1840 — Second com- 
pany; 1844 — Third company; February, 1869 — Alarm system; March, 1874 — 
Paid department established; February, 1878 — Relief fund established: 
August 17, 1885 — Thomas A. Clancy joined Engine Co. No. 4; 1S.")8-1867 — . 
Jobst II. Buening, first chief; December 2, 1877 — Fire insurance patrol; 1889 — 
Henry Haerter, first fireman pensioned; September 4, 1889 — Mayor Brown 
christened Cataract; 1885 — Fire and Police Commission; Thomas Shea. Gen 
F. C. Winkler, Jacob Knoernsehild, Jerome R. Brigham; April 10, 1915 — First 
fire engine placed on Jones Island. 

Fires. April li, 1845 — First big fire burned block bounded by Broadway, 
East Water, Huron and Michigan streets; August 24. 1854 — Block bounded by 
Broadway. .Michigan, Huron and Fast Water streets, old Mitchell Bank, Tre- 
mont House, United States Hotel at East Water and Huron streets, and four 
livery stables on Broadway destroyed. January 18, 1851 — Block bounded by 
Broadway. Erie, East Water and Chicago streets; March 20, 1860 — Twenty 
stores on Wisconsin Street; January 1, 1863 — Camp Siege! barracks, three 
soldiers killed; November 15, 1869 — Gaiety Theater, three killed; February 
2, 1865 — Van Etta, Treedman & Co.'s tobacco factory; October 23. 1865 
Block on Wisconsin Street between Broadway and Milwaukee streets; October 
10, 1871 — Refugees from Chicago fire came to Milwaukee; January 10, 1883 — 
Newhall House, northwest corner of Broadway and Michigan streets; 90 to 
100 kiUcd; October 20, 1883— First Assistant Chief George M. Linkman 
joined department; October 26, 1913 — Goodyear Rubber Co. Building, 380 
East Water Street; nine firemen killed and seventeen injured; October 28, 
1892— Twelve blocks in the Third Ward: started in Union Oil Co. store on 
East Water Street and burned to the lake and the river; two firemen killed. 
two women died from excitement; loss, $3,000,000 to $4,000,000; Milwaukee's 
most disastrous fire: April 9, 1894 — Davidson Theater burned; Third Asst. 
Chief August Janssen and eight other firemen killed; fifteen firemen injured; 
March 28, 1895 — Grand Avenue, Landauer Bros, wholesale dry goods house, 
loss $1,000,000; July IS, 1899— Hotel Grace, Park and Heel streets, one fire- 
man killed and six injured; February 3. 1903 — Schwaab Stamp ami Seal Co., 
372-4 East Water Street; nitric acid gas caused death of Chief James Foley 
Capt. Andrew White and Pipeman Edward Hogan and Thomas Droney; Asst. 
Chief Thomas A. Clancy and twelve firemen overcome; February 24, 1905 — 
Lieut. Charles Dressel killed by fall from hosecart; February 13, 1909 — H. 
W. Johns-Manville Co.. Clybourn Street, fire firemen killed, one employe 
killed and several firemen injured; January 3, 1910 — American Bridge Co., 
Seventeenth Street and St. Paul Avenue, four firemen killed; October 29, 
1910 — Phoenix International Light Co., 317 Chestnut Street, one fireman 



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. 



TABLET ERECTED ON FIBST WISCONSIN NATIONAL BANE 
BUILDING, CORNEB WISCONSIN AND MASOH STRJ ETS 
The first white boy born in Milwaukee was Charles Milwaukee 
Sivyer whose parents resided on the site now occupied bj the First 
Wisconsin National Bank. Be died ai Los Angeles, California, in 
October, 1921, at the age of eighty-five, and was buried in 
Milwaukee. 



BEGINNINGS, DATES AND EVENTS 195 

killed; March 24, 1911 — Middleton Manufacturing Company, 354 Broadway, 
fire firemen killed; March 19, 1914 — Windsor Hotel, one life lost. 

First Bank Chartered. — 1839 — Wisconsin Marine & Fire Insurance Co. 
(now Marine National Bank). 

First Barbecue. — January 1, 1841 — Honor of Harrison and Tyler's election. 

First Blacksmith Shop. — 1835 — D. W. Patterson. 

First Block Pavement. — 1861 — West Water Street from Clybourn Street 
to Grand Avenue. 

First Brewery. — 1840 — Owens & Pawlett. 

First Brick. — September, 1835 — Nelson Olin. 

First Bridge. — Built by Byron Kilbourn across the Menomonee to connect 
Chicago road and Kilbourntown (west side). 

First Commissioners of Public Works. — May 10, 1869 — C. Latham Slioles, 
Henry Millman and James Reynolds. In April, 1871, Mr. Reynolds resigned; 
sm-ceeded by Jacob Velten. 

First City Attorney.— 1846— Charles E. Jenkins. 

First City Clerk.— 1846— A. H. Bielfeld. 

First City Comptroller. — 1852 — Cicero Comstock. 

First City Directory.— February 10, 1847 — Julius P. B. McCabe; April, 
1881, A. G. Wright began publication of city directory. 

First Electric Car.— April 3, 1890— Wells Street line. 

First City Engineer.— May 20, 1869— Theodore C. Brown. 

First Dam. — 1842 — Built on Milwaukee River for Rock River Canal Co., 
by Capt. John Anderson. 

First City Treasurer. — 1846 — Robert Allen. 

First Commissioner of Health. — April, 1S77 — Dr. I. II. Stearns. 

First Commissioners of the Public Debt. — 1861-65 — Alexander Mitchell ; 
1864-72 — Charles II. Larkin; 1871-86— Guido Pfister. 

First Constable. — October, 1835 — Sciota Evans. 

First Express Line. — 1852 — Arthur Flanders, over Milwaukee and Prairie 
du Chien Road. 

First Foundry. — 1842 — Egbert Mosley, Loring Dewey and Stephen New- 
hall. 

First German Settler. — 1835 — Wilhelm Strothman. 

First Grocer, Wholesale.— 1845— P. W. Badgley. 

First Hotel.— 1835— Triangle, East Water Street, Jacques Vieau; 1836, 
called ( !o1 tage Inn. 

First Lighthouse.— is: 18. 

First Match Factory .—1844— R. W. Pierce. 

First Marshal. — 1846-7 — Thomas II. Fanning. 

First Mayor.- 1846— Solomon Juneau. 

First Milwaukee Surgeon in the Philippines. — 1899 — Dr. John R. MeDill. 

First Motion-Ficture Theatre.— July 10, 1906— Saxe Bros., N. E. Grand 
Avenue and Second Street. 

First Murder. — November, 1836. — Indian named Manitou killed by Joseph 
Scott and Cornelius Bennett at southeast corner of Michigan and East Water 



196 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

streets, murderers escaped from jail; Scotl hanged in Indiana: Bennetl never 
found. 

First Natatorium. — February 14. 1890. 

First Newspaper. July 14. 1836 -The Advertiser, democratic, published 
mi the sit' 1 of the Republican House by Daniel II. Richards; June 9, 1*17. 
absorbed by the Evening Wisconsin, founded by William E. Cramer. 

First Passenger Conductor. — November 21, 1850— Edwin Bridgeman of 
the Milwaukee & Mississippi. 

First Pier. — ls42 — Built by Horatio Stevens of New York, fool of Huron 
Street. 

First Planing Mill. — 1 84'^ — Robert Luscombe and John T. Perkins. 

First Poet. — 1836 — Egbert II. Smith. Oak Creek. 

First Postmaster. — 1835— Solomon Juneau; Augusl 7. 1*4:;. removed; suc- 
ceeded by Josiah A. Noonan. 

First President of the Common Council. — 1874 — II. M. Benjamin; served 
until 1878. 

First Sailing Vessel. — 177!) — British sloop Felicity, Capt. Samuel Robert- 
son, vis ted Milwaukee. 

First Steamboat. — June 17. 1835 — United State-. 

First Survey of Lots. — 1834 — By William S. Trowbridge. 

First Tannery. — 1 848^Pfister & Vogel. 

First Tax Commissioner. -1869-72 — Matthew Keenan. 

First Type Foundry. — December, 1856. 

First Vessel Built Here. — 1836 — Sloop Wenona, by George Barger for 
William Brown. 

First Water Registrar. — 1872-4 — .Matthew Keenan (secretary board of 
water commissioners i . 

First Woodenware Factory. — 1844 — ('. E. Woolsey. 

Five Times Mayor.— 1898, 1900, 1902, 1904, 1908— David Stuart Rose. 

Flood.— November 2, 1858; March 23, 1865. 

Flushing Tunnel.— September 8, 1884 -Finished; Sept ember 18, 1888, first 
service. 

Foundation.- -May 24, 1915 — Milwaukee Foundation organized at meeting 
of Wisconsin Trust Company directors. 

Gas Works.- Nqvember 12, 1852 — First jet lighted. 

Gatherings.— June 8, 1880; August 26, 1889 -G. A. R.; June 17. 1888 
First national skat tournament; June 20, 1889 Saengerfest, July 23, 1893 
Turnfest; 1896 -Semi-centennial; 1898 Carnival; Augusl 3-7, 1909 Home- 
coming; September 1910— American Health Association; Augusl 1. 1913— 
Perrj Centennial; June 11. 1914 -Comptrollers. 

German Association. Ma\ 8, 1880 Organized to proted immigrants. 

Harugari. — February 18, 1855 — Guttenberg Lodge, No. 57. 

Home for the Aged. September, 1878 Established by the Little Sisters 
of the Poor. 

Home for the Friendless. October, 1867. 

Hospitals. -July. 1848 st. Mary's, at Jackson and Oneida streets; Augusl 
:;. 1863 Milwaukee, established by the late Rev. William Passavant; Octo- 



BEGINNINGS. DATES AND EVENTS 107 

ber 15, 1877 — City (isolation), Mitchell Street and Nineteenth Avenue; August, 
1880 — County; May, 1888 — Johnston Emergency Hospital. 

House of Correction. — 1865 — Windlake Avenue. 

House Numbers.— April 24, 1865— Property owners given ten days to 
number houses under penalty of $5. 

Humane Society. — December 5, 1879. 

Illumination.— April 5, 1880— Streets lighted by electricity by Prof. C. II. 
Ilaskins; February 28, 1890— $600,000 municipal electric light plant plans 
before board of public works. 

Immigration, Board of. — March, 1879. 

Indians.— September 4, 1862— Fear of Uprising; October, 1844— Last 
annual dance. 

Industrial School for Girls. — February 11, 1875 — Michigan Street; April 
15, 1875 — Jackson Street; 1878, North Point. 

Infants' Home. — June 1, 1882. 

Insurance, Fire—February, 1852— M lwaukee Mechanics; February 20, 
1869 — Northwestern National; March, 1871 — Concordia. 

Insurance. Life.— November IS. 1858— Northwestern .Mutual Life Insurance 
Co. organized in Janesville : moved to .Milwaukee, March 7. 1859 — February 
14, 1915, George W. Young, 50 years in its employ; October 1, 1915, occupied 
new building on Wisconsin Street; April, 1910 — Old Line Life Insurance Com- 
pany of America. 

Inventor of Typewriter.— 1S68 — C. Latham Sholes. 

Investigations.— March :;, 1905— Beef "trust;" March 0, 1905— Tenement 
houses; October 2, 1911 ; Senator Isaac Stephenson; July Li. 1914 — Vice com- 
mission. 

Jenny Lind Club.— 1861. 

Jitneys.— Fein-nary 6, 1915— First license issued to W. B. Putnam; May 
I'. 1915. Robert Stauss killed; June 3, 1915, 1.0(1(1 licensed. 

Journalism.— 1910 — School Founded at Marquette University by Rev. J. E. 
i lopus, S. J. 

Klondike Gold Excitement. — luly 15, 1891— News of discovery; Milwau- 
keeans prepare to leave for gold fields. 

Knights of Honor.— September 9, 1870— Milwaukee Lodge. No. 300. 

Knights of Pythias.— September 9, 1870— Milwaukee Lodge, No. 1; May 
21, 1890 — Wisconsin brigade, uniformed rank, organized; July, 1890 — encamp- 
ment. 

Labor.— February 20, 1887 — Federated Trades Council organized; August 
14, 1887, received charter; March 7, 1890 — Eight-hour day, building trades. 

Legion of Honor.— 1880— Six subordinate councils. 

Library, Public— February 7, 1878— Established, taking over books of 
loung Men's Association. 

Library and Museum Building. 1898— Cost $(27,674. 

Lincoln. April IS, 1865 — Funeral services in memory of President Lincoln. 

Literary Workshop.— 1915— 420 Marshall Street. 

Lynching. September (i. 1861— Marshal] Clark Lynched following murder 
of Darbey Carney. 



198 BISTORT OF MILWAUKEE 

Man Girl.— May 4, 1914 — Ralph Kerwiniec discovered to be .Miss Cora 
Anderson. 

Marine.— 1S47 — Dry doffk, floating; slip. February, 1877, Wolf & David- 
son; .May I, 1877— Life saving station; 1838 Lighthouse, fool of Wisconsin 
Street; 1855— Lighthouse, North Point; November I, 1870 -U. S. Signal 
service; January 5, 1890— Whale Club; 1908— Strike of lake seamen, fire- 
men, oilers, watertenders, cooks and stewards against Lake Carriers' Asso 
ciation; December 1 5, 1912 — Ligbtship, three miles off Wisconsin Street; May 
l.'i, 1!H.">— Interstate Commerce Commission divorces lake-rail lines: order 
effective December 1, 1915. 

Marine Disasters. — June 17, 1852— S. P. Griffith burned; 322 lost: October 
24. 1856— Steamer Toledo foundered off Port Washington; thirty lost: Sep- 
tember 8, 1860 — Steamer Lady Elgin lost off Winnetka, III.: about 300 
drowned ; April 9, 1868 — Steamer Sea Bird burned off Waukegan, III. ; seventy- 
three drowned; October 14, 1872 — Steamer Lac La Belle foundered in Lake 
Michigan; seven lost; September 15, 1873 — Steamer Ironsides foundered in 
Lake Michigan; Captain Sweetman and sixteen others lost: September 9, 1875 
—Bark Tanner wrecked; Captain Howard drowned; crew of nine saved by a 
volunteer life-saving' crew, Henry M. Lee, X. A. Peterson. Burnt Oleson, Henry 
Spark and John MeKenna, assisted by the revenue cutter Andy Johnson and 
the tug F. C. Maxon; October 16. 1880 — Steamer Alpena foundered in Lake 
Michigan; about 10H lost; March 19, 1885 — Steamer Lake Michigan crushed by 
ice in Lake Michigan; no lives lost ; October 20, 1887 — Steamer Vernon found- 
ered; twenty-two lost; October 30, 1888 — Explosion on tug Lawrence kills 
Capt. John Sullivan and three others; May 18, 1894 — Schooner M. J. Cum- 
mings lost off Milwaukee; six drowned: January 21, 1895 — Steamer Chicora 
lost in Lake Mchigan; thirty-six drowned; September !), 1910 Car ferry 
Pere Marquette No. 18 foundered in Lake Michigan: twenty-eighl lost; Octo- 
er 8, 1913 — Explosion, cutter Tuscarora; November 7. 1913 — Storm on great 
lakes: I'll sailors drowned and seventeen vessels lost. 

Masonic.--.! uly 5, 18.43 — Milwaukee Lodge. No. 22. 

Medical Society County. -1846-53, lapsed; November, 1879, revived. 

Merchants' and Manufacturers' Association. March. 1861 Organized as 
Merchants' Association. Later changed to Milwaukee Association of Com 
merce. 

Military. -1845— Washington Guards; Milwaukee (German) Riflemen; 
1854, reorganized as the City Rifles; 1847— Milwaukee (German) Dragoons; 
1848 Milwaukee City Guards; 1854 — Milwaukee Union Sarsfield Guards; 
National Guards; 1855, reorganized as the Union Guards; July 16, 1855, again 
reorganized as the Milwaukee Light Guard; 1856 Washington Artillery; 
1857 — Milwaukee Light Guard Cadets; 1858 reorganized as Milwaukee 
Cadets; 1861, changed name to Milwaukee Zouaves; July 13, 1861, mustered 
into the 1". S. service as Company I!. Fifth Wisconsin Regiment; August .'!. 
1864; mustered out; 1857 Black Yagers; entered U. S. service for three 
months as Company I). First Wisconsin Regiment; mustered oul at expira- 
tion of thai term; 1858 Montgomery Guards; July Pi. 1861, mustered into 
C. s. service as Company P>. Fifth Wisconsin Regiment; mustered ou1 at 



BEGINNINGS, DATES AND EVENTS 199 

the close of Civil war; 1858 — Juneau Guards; 1858 — Milwaukee Cavalry 
Company; 1859 — Green Yagers; October 10, 1861 — Second Wisconsin Bat- 
tery; June 15, 1869 — Company A, Sheridan Guards; September 14, 1874 — 
Company K, Kosciuszko Guards; June 20, 1879 — Company L, South Side 
Turner Rifles; April 22, 1880 — Light Horse Squadron organized; April 25, 
1 ss 4 — Sheridan, Kosciuszko and Lincoln Guards and South Side Turner Rifles 
organized into Fourth Battalion, W. N. G. ; 1887 — Company I. Rusk Guard; 
October 24. 1888, mustered into National Guard as Company E; January 19, 
1889— Company F, Badger State Rifles; June 25, 1898— Fourth Infantry at 
Oshkosh riots; July 26, 1898 — Company D, Scofield Guard; February 28, 
1899 — Fourth Regiment mustered out at Anniston, Alabama. 

Milk Famine.— July •"., 1914. 

Milwaukee Lyceum. — January 10, 1839 — Lucius I. Barber, president. 

Milwaukee to Liverpool. — July 21, 1856 — Schooner Dean Richmond sailed 
with 14.0(H) bushels of wheat; arrived December, 29. 

Monuments and Statues. — November 7, 1885 — Washington; (lift of Miss 
Elizabeth Plankinton; July 6, 1887 — Juneau: Charles T. Bradley and William 
II. Metcalf; November 15, 1887 — Ericson : Mrs. Joseph T. Gilbert; March 25. 
1901— Elk: B. P. O. E.— June 19, 1905— Kosciuszko : Popular subscription: 
June 28, 1898— Soldiers : Popular subscription; July 14, 1908— Schiller-Goethe : 
Popular subscription; June 26, 1909 — Burns: James A. Bryden; August 11)21, 
Baron von Steuben. 

Music. — January, 1843 — Beethoven Society; E. I). Holton, President ; May 
1, 1850 — Musical society; Jacob Mahler, president; 1840 — First music hall 
built at Third and Chestnut streets by John Hustis; July 23, 1858 — Lieder- 
tafel; John Marr, president; November 2D, 1877 — Arion Musical club; June 
16, 1859 — Deutscher Maennerverein, originally the Catholic Young Men's As- 
sociation: September 17, 1871 — Nunnemacher 's Grand Opera House (now 
Pabst theatre); "Martha" presented by Philharmonic Society; March 29, 
1905— "Parsifal," in English. 

Museum, Public. — April 14. 1882 — Accepted collection of Wisconsin Natural 
History Society. 

Odd Fellows. — 1846 — Kneeland Lodge, No. 5. 

Odotological Society. — August 25, 1878 — To protect and further interests 
of dentists. 

Orphan Asylums. — May !», 1848 — St. Rose's (Catholic); January 4, 1850— 
Protestant; June 12, 1877 — St. Vincent's. 

Paper Mill.— 1848 — North side of Menomonee River, block west of West 
Water Street bridge; owned by Ludington & Garland; destroyed by a freshet 
in 1864. 

Parks.— June 1, 1864 — Quentin's park opened; April 4, 1865 — Juneau 
park established; 1889— Park law authorized, $1,000,000 bond issue; 1889 
Park Commission: Christian Wahl, Calvin E. Lewis, Charles Manegohl, Jr., 
Louis Auer and John Bentley. 

Pfeil Funeral Pyre.— < >ctober 22, 1855. 

Phonological Institute for Deaf Mutes. — January, 1878 — 594 National 
Avenue. 



200 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Police Department.— September 10, 1855 Organized with Chief William 
Beck and eleven patrolmen; chief's salary, $800; men, $30 a month; October 
26, 1885 — John T. Janssea made chief. .May 7. 1921, Jacob G. Laubenheimer 
made chief. 

Thirteenth City (Census 1920) 

13. Milwaukee 457,1 17 

12. San Francisco 506,676 

11. Buffalo 506,775 

10. Los Angeles 576,673 

9. Pittsburgh 588,343 

8. Baltimore 733,826 

7. Boston 748,060 

6. St. Louis 772,897 

5. Cleveland 796,841 

4. Detroit 993,678 

3. Philadelphia 1,823,779 

2. Chicago ■ 2,701,705 

1. New York City 5,620,048 

Population.— 1915, estimated— 41 9,054. 

Growth— 1850— 20,061; 1860—45,246; 1870—71,440; 1880—115,587; 1890 
—204,468; 1900—285,315; 1910—373,857; 1920—457,147. 

Press Club, English. — September 7, 11)10 — Silver jubilee; Theodore Roose 
velt guest of honor: "The Big Stick" published, Harlowe Randall Hoyt, editor; 
Fred W. Luening. associate editor. 
Press Club, German. — 1887. 

Postal Service. — 1835 — First post office, southwest corner East Water and 
Wisconsin streets: April 13, 1915 — Louis Manz a letter carrier for fifty years: 
aged < s <> years April 9, 1915; oldest letter carrier in the United States. 

Pound. — May 12, 1865 — Thirty cows were reported in Caleb Wall's Seventh 
Ward pound. 

Railroads, Steam.— 1S47 — Milwaukee & Waukesha chartered: 185] — Mil- 
waukee & Mississippi finished to Waukesha; 1854 — Finished to Madison: 
1857 — Built to Prairie Du Chien; 1854 — Milwaukee & Watertown built from 
Brookfield to Oconomowoc; 1854 — Line south from Fond du Lac. now owned 
by Chicago & Northwestern; 1856 — Milwaukee >.y. La Crosse begun; I s ' 1 - 
Reached La Crosse: 1866— Union depot, Reed Street; 1879-80 -West Milwau- 
kee shops; December 19, 1886 — First train ran into new Tnion passenger 
station, between Third and Fourth and Everett and Clybourn streets, a1 5:45 
p. in., Sunday, June 24, 1889 — General passenger and freight departments 
of the Milwaukee mad moved to Chicago; December 10, 1889 — Northwestern 
depot, Wisconsin Street ; June 16, 1905 — Passes abolished. 

Railways, Street.--. Inly 1859 — River and Lake Shore City Railway; May 
30, 1859, first two cars operated with four horses each, from Fast Water 
Street bridge to Juneau Avenue; one car's receipts first day were $38; March, 
L865 Milwaukee City: 1874- Cream City; June 1, L874 West Side; April 
17, 1890— Pittsburgh syndicate boughl Cream City; April 3, 1890 First 
eh'. 'trie car. Wells Street : February 1. 1905 — Public Service Building planned; 



BEGINNINGS, DATES AND EVENTS 201 

February 11, 1905 — Henry C. Payne, president Cream City; October, 1905— 
Milwaukee-Northern organized; October 28, 1907, first train to Cedarburg; 
November 2, 1907, Port Washington ; September 22, 1908, Sheboygan ; February 

I, 1915 — Railroad conrmiss : on rescinds order directing Electric Co. to sell 
thirteen tickets for 50 cents; June 14, 1915 — U. S. Supreme Court upholds 
Circuit Court order in thirteen-tickets-for-50-cents (coupon) case. 

Real Estate. — May 22, 1905 — Railway Exchange (Herman) building, sold 
for $400,000; March 3, 1890— Pabst Building site leased for 99 years. 

Riots. — April 6, 1845 — Rev. E. Leahy attacked in Spring Street (Grand 
Avenue) Methodist Church and at U. S. Hotel; May 8, 1845 — Bridge ; March 
4, 1850— Residence of State Senator John B. Smith in Third Ward mobbed 
by crowd which objected to a measure he had introduced in the Legislature 
and which became known as "the blue liquor law"; June 24, 1861 — Bank; 
May 4, 1886 — Bay View; five killed; March, 1889 — Chinese mobbed; August 
22, 1893— Unemployed ; May 3, 1896— Street railway. 

Roosevelt Shot.— October 14. 1912— Theodore Roosevelt shot by John 
Schranck while leaving Hotel Gilpatrick. 

Royal Arcanum. — December 29, 1877 — Alpha Council, No. 4.'!; February 2. 
1878, Allen ( louncil. 

Sane Fourth Commission. — 1911. 

Schools. — 1835 — Private schools established; 1845 — Thirteen schools, four 
public; 356 pupils out of 1,781 children of school age; 1885 — State Norma! 
School; August, 1857 — Three high schools established; 1860 — abolished; No- 
vember, 1859 — Normal class established; 1859 — Rufus King first superin- 
tendent; 1879 — First kindergarten; June 7, 1904 — Frank M. Harbach, sec- 
retary; March IS, 1890 — Supreme court decides against reading bible in 
public schools. 

Settlement. — 1789 — Jean Baptiste Mirandeau and Jacques Yieau arrived; 
September 14, 1818 — Solomon Juneau located on the site of the Wisconsin 
National Bank, northwest corner of Wisconsin and East Water streets; 1833 - 
Morgan L. Martin of Green Bay became a partner of Juneau: 1834 — George 

II. Walker located on Walker's Point, south of the Milwaukee River; 1835 — 
Laid out as a village; 1835 — Byron Kdhourn bought a tract on the west side; 
September, 1835 — First town meeting held at Juneau's home; May 4, 1835 — 
Charles Milwaukee Sivyer, first white boy horn in Milwaukee; October 10, 
1835 — Milwaukee H. Smith, daughter of Uriel B. and Lucy C. Smith, horn; 
first Anglo-Saxon girl horn in Milwaukee; December 25, 1837 — Louis Bleyer, 
son of Henry Bleyer, first German child horn in Milwaukee; September 12, 
1844 — Aid. Henry Smith arrived from Stark County, Ohio, with his parents, 
two. brothers and sister: January 31, LS46 — Charter adopted; .Inly 5, 1S69 - 
Old Settlers' Club organized. 

Slave Rescued. — 1S42 — Caroline Quarles; March 11, 1858 — Joshua Glover, 
a runaway slave, rescued by abolitionists led by Sherman M. Booth, editor 
of the Free Democrat. 

Slot Machines.— March 22, 1905— Destroyed by Sheriff Cary; June 9. 
1915, destroyed by Sheriff Melms. 



202 BISTORT OF MILWAUKEE 

Socialists.— 1<J10— Emil Seidel elected mayor; 1910— Victor L. Berger 
elected congressman from Fifth District. 

Soldiers' Home.— March"31, 1864^-Opened ; June 28, 1865 Greal fair raised 

$110,000 iii ten days for new building. 

Sons of Hermann. — April 20, 1848 — Milwaukee Lodge, No. 1. 

Spelling, in Early Days— Minwaki, Minewaki, Maunawaukee, Meloaki, Me] 
leoki, Meloaky, Milouaqui, Milwaukie, Milwalky. 

St. Andrew's Society. — January 25, 1859— Alexander Mitchell, president. 

Stockyards. — 1870 — Established by Milwaukee road. 

Strikes.— .March 10, 1890— Switchmen ; .May 1.".. 1905— Molders. 

Swimming record. — August 17, 1894— World's record, eighty yards: fifty 
seconds, George J. W li it taker. 

Tax, Income. — March 19, 1865 — Incomes for year: Alexander Mitchell, 
$53,071; Guido Pfister, $42,221: Angus Smith. $30,000; 1913— Largest tax- 
payer, Patrick Cudaliy, $9, 556.31! ; largest woman taxpayer, Charlotte Hartig, 
$5,128; 1914 — Largest corporation tax. Schlitz Brewing Co., $103,852. 

Titanic Victim. — April 15, 1912 — Capt. E. G. Crosby among the 1 . -"> 1 7 
victims. 

Telegraph. — January 17, 1848 — First dispatch sent to The Evening Wis- 
consin from the Chicago Journal: "Chicago and Milwaukee united." 

Telephone. — 1877 — John S. George, first subscriber; first exchange. 411 
Broadway. 

Traveling Men. — December 9, 1893 — Post IS. Travelers' Protective Asso- 
ciation; June 29. 1895 — Milwaukee Council, No. 54, United Commercial Trav- 
elers of America. 

Turners. — July 18, 1853 — Turnverein Milwaukee. 

United Workmen.— March 23, 1877— Schiller Lodge, No. 21. 

Visitors.— 1679— La Salle; October 7, 1698— De St. Oosme; 1778— Charles 
de Langlade: April 28, 1853— Ole Bull; April 28, 1853— Adelina Patti (at the 
age of 13 i : September 30, 1859— Abraham Lincoln ; October 14, lsiiii Stephen 
A. Douglas: January 23. ISlio Ralph Waldo Kmerson ; February .">. 1865 
John B. Gough; 1865 — Artemus Ward: 1865 — Josh Billings; September 4. 
1865. June 9, 1880— Gen. U. S. Grant; October 2, 1865— Gen. W. T. Sherman; 
November 2. 1870 — James A. Garfield; January 2, 1872— Grand Duke Alexis; 
September 12, 1878— President Rutherford B. Hayes; 1880— Henry Ward 
Beecher; July 9, 1887— Earl