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Brigham Young University
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A STANDARD HISTORY
OF
SAUK COUNTY
WISCONSIN
An Authentic Narrative of the Past, with Particular Attention
to the Modern Era in the Commercial, Industrial,
Educational, Civic and Social Development
By the Following Board of Editors
HARRY ELLSWORTH COLE
President of the Sauk County Historical Society
General Supervising Editor
Advisory Editors
MRS. CLARA T. RUNGE, Barahoo HON. FRANK AVERY, Baraloo
JOHN B. WEISS, Plain DR. FRANK T. HULBURT, Beedshurg
MAX H. NINMAN, Sauk City JAMES F. MORROW, Spring Green
SAMUEL BABINGTON, Prairie du Sac
ILLUSTRATED
VOLUME II 222523
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY : ,' r\ :>; /, :
CHICAGO AND NEW YOEK ' • J J,-* l\ /*\ f%
1918 ;•.."' .'.
• • • ' »
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Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2011 with funding from
Brigham Young University
http://www.archive.org/details/standardhistoryo02cole
DAVID MYERS
History of Sauk County
David Myers. The distinction of being the oldest man, not only in
point of residence, but also in point of age, in Sauk County, is enjoyed
by the venerable David Myers of Prairie du Sac. It is now more than
ninety-five years since David Myers first saw the light of day. James
Monroe was president of the United States when he was born. There was
not a mile of railway in the United States, the Erie Canal had not been
opened to traffic, and he was a grown man before the marvelous invention
of telegraphy was put to practical use. Probably no one in the State of
Wisconsin can better appreciate the marvels of the present age than
Mr. Myers, who has his personal recollections of the crude times and
facilities in the early part of the last century to sharpen the contrast.
It was more than seventy years ago that David Myers first made the
acquaintance of Sauk County, and here, too, he has witnessed a trans-
formation almost beyond belief.
He was bom in Otsego County, New York, January 10, 1822, a son
of Cornelius and Penny (Clark) Myers, his father a native of New Jersey
and his mother of New York. David Myers was reared and educated in
the East and came West to Madison, Wisconsin, with his father in 1844.
For two years he worked as a blacksmith at Madison, and in 1845 came
to Prairie du Sac in Sauk County. Here he resumed blacksmithing, and
in those early days one of the things most demanded of him was the mak-
ing or repairing of plows. He handled plows when the old-fashioned
wooden moldboard was still a prominent feature. He became widely
known as an expert horseshoer. He set a record of making a hundred
shoes in a single day, and also of taking off and resetting a hundred shoes
on horses. In those times he would be paid a dollar a team for shoeing.
Blacksmithing was Mr. Myers' regular vocation and work until twelve
years ago. He was more than four score years old when he did his last
work in that line. He finally sold his shop to Chris Platts, and in later
years has found employment for his leisure in looking after his present
little town farm of two acres in the northwest section of Prairie du Sac.
He has found both pleasure and profit in raising a crop of tobacco on
his land.
Mr. Myers has always been extremely fond of hor.ses, skillful in man-
aging them, and has owned some of the best examples of horse flesh ever
sieen in this part of the state. At different times he owned eleven fine
stallions. He bought them at high prices, securing a number from New
London, Canada, and .some in Michigan and in other places. He bought
569
570 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
a fine liorse named Tempest at New London, Canada, which set the county
record for speed at I^araboo. He also bought a horse known as Nigert
in Michigan, and it was recognized as one of the best horses in America,
being of black and tan color. Mr. Myers won a number of first prizes on
liis horses in races and exhibitions.
* In 1848 he married Miss Esther Hatch. Six children were born to
them. Cornelius, who lives in California, married Sarah Barl. Elihu
married for his first wife, E. C. Bush, and for his second wife, Alice
Thornhaus; and Elihu is a carpenter by trade and has three children.
John is a mason by trade and is still unmarried. Hattie married Bert
Hannaman and lives at Beloit. Mary is the wife of Fred Johnson and
makes her home in California. Frank is unmarried and lives in Prairie
du Sac.
Mr. Myers lost his first wife in 1892, after they had been partners
for forty-four j^ears. He married for his second wife Anna Brugger, who
was born in Switzerland. She first came to America in 1888, but subse-
quently went back to her native land and remained there until 1891, when
she came to America and soon afterward married Mr. Myers. Mrs. Myers
is an artist at needle work and has taken many prizes at county fairs on
her bed covers, petticoats, stockings and table spreads.
"When most of Wisconsin was still a wilderness Mr. Myers found a
great delight in spending a large part of the winter hunting. He was
as accurate and skillful a Nimrod as he was in his trade. In one day
during the year 1860 he shot twenty-one deer. As a hunting exploit that
stands out all the more remarkable when it is remembered that he did
the execution with a muzzle-loading gun. This trusty hunting piece was
made by a man named Clark Herford at Madison, Wisconsin. Mr. Myers
also had his share of Indian adventure when Wisconsin's woods were
filled with Indians as well as wild game. The Indians would frequently
steal part of the game he shot, and that usually caused some trouble until
Mr. Myers had shown the red men his determination and ability to stand
by his rights.
Mr. Myers has been a democrat and cast his first vote back in the
days when James K. Polk was President and about the time the Mexican
war started. However, he has usually exercised his franchise for the best
man in local affairs. He is himself of a Methodist family, while his first
wife was a Baptist and the present Mrs. Myers belongs to the Reformed
Church,
Walworth Delavan Porter. A life long resident of Wisconsin and
one who has witnessed and taken part in the development of the southern
part of the state, Walworth Delavan Porter is now living in retirement
at Baraboo, where he is one of his community's best known citizens. He
is a veteran of the Civil war and for some years was engaged in business
at Baraboo, in addition to which he spent a long period in the pursuits
of the soil, and now, in his seventy-eighth year, is in the enjoyment of
those comforts which are attained through a lifetime of industry and
well-directed effort.
Mr. Porter was one of the first white children born in Walworth
County, Wisconsin, his natal day being June 11, 1839. His father was
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 571
Samuel Lyman Porter, born at Staten Island, New York, "July 4, 1800,
and his mother, Permelia (Clark) Porter, born at Monmouth, New Jer-
sey, March 7, 1805. They were married in the East, and during the
'30s came to Wisconsin, taking up their residence in Walworth County,
at that time practically a wilderness. They were shortly followed by two
of Mr. Porter's brothers, Henry and Selah Porter, each of whom took
up a farm in Walworth County and passed the remainder of their lives
there. Samuel L. Porter was a carpenter by trade and had followed that
vocation while in New York, but on his arrival in Wisconsin took up
the occupation of farming on 160 acres of land in LaGrange and Wal-
worth counties. There he continued to be similarly engaged until 1850,
when he came to Sauk County, and in the following year bought six
building lots at Baraboo. At this city he resumed his trade, and dviring
the years that followed built many of the leading residences and frame
store buildings erected here. He also made several trips to other states,
engaged in carrying on his trade, and was in Mississippi when the Civil
war jjroke out, subsequently experiencing some difficulty in reaching the
North. While a stanch supporter of the Union, he was past the military
age and was not called upon for duty, but always, by word and action,
upheld the cause of the North. He and Mrs. Porter were faithful mem-
bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church and in that faith he died in
December, 1889, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. L. C. Stanley at Chip-
pewa Falls. In politics a republican, while a resident of Walworth
County he held several political offices. His fraternal connection was
with the Masons. Mrs. Porter died in 1890, the mother of six children :
Charles Wesley, Samuel Nelson, Cornelia Ann, Walworth Delavan,
Albert Bartlett and Melvin S., all being deceased except Walworth D.
and Albert B.
Walworth Delavan Porter received good educational advantages in
his youth, attending the early schools of Walworth County, the public
school at Baraboo and the old Baraboo Institute, and when his education
was completed he entered upon his career as clerk in a store in this
city. He later invested his earnings in a small farm, which he cultivated
during the period when hops was a leading Wisconsin crop, but his
home from boyhood has always been located at Baraboo. He is tlie
owner of one of the best brick residences of the city, built by him in
1912 at No. 220 Eighth Street, in addition to which he owns six lots and
three buildings which he rents. During his later years he was for a time
engaged in real estate transactions, but for the past several years he has
been retired from active pursuits, although still active in body and alert
in mind.
Politically Mr. Porter is a republican, but pulilie life has never held
out any particular attractions to him, In 1862 he enlisted in Company
F, Third Wisconsin Cavalry, a command with which he served for three
years during the Civil war, establishing a good record for faithfulness
and bravery in action. His brother Charles was a member of the same
company and served four years, and his brother Albert belonged to
Company H, Seventeenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and
served three years.
Mr. Porter M^as married in 1870 to Mrs., Ellen (Atkinson) Williams,
572 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
who was born in 1837 in Maine, a daughter of Christopher Atkinson.
Mr. Atkinson was born in 1777, at Fredericksburg, Virginia, while his
wife was born in 1793 in Massachusetts, and both died at Baraboo, the
former in 1872 and the latter in 1878. Mr. Atkinson cast his last presi-
dential vote for Ulysses S. Grant. "Sir. and Mrs. Porter have had two
children, Christopher Lyman, who died aged four years, five months;
and Cornelia, who is the wife of Rev. Richard Rowley, D. D., of Kanka-
kee, Illinois, a minister of the Episcopal Church, who for fifteen years
filled various Chicago pulpits. By her former marriage Mrs. Porter
had five children : George, deceased, who married Mary Stevens, of
Chicago ; Addie F., who is the wife of R. B. Griggs, of Baraboo ; Albert
H., who married Carrie Dickens, of Milwaukee ; Elizabeth A., who is the
widow of Robert Bloom, formerly of Kansas City, Missouri ; and Carrie,
who is the wife of Dr. B. N. Webster, a practicing physician of Rice
Lake, Wisconsin.
Henry A. Ociisner, member of one of Sauk County's most distin-
guished families, has spent liis life steadily on the old homestead farm
in Honey Creek Township, where he was born July 27, 1856. Mr. Ochs-
ner is an older brother of the celebrated surgeon. Dr. Albert J. Ochsner
of Chicago, who as a methodical and successful operator has few peers
in the surgical world anywhere.
The parents of Henry A. Ochsner were Henry and Judith (Hottinger)
Ochsner. Both of them were born in Switzerland. Henry Ochsner,
Sr., came to Sauk County in 1849 and took up a tract of Government
land where his son Llenry A. now lives. He batched on the homestead
for one year and for another year worked for Mr. Waterbury. In 1852
he returned to Switzerland, married, and brought his bride to the wilder-
ness of Sauk County, where they endured many hardships in clearing
up and developing a farm. The father built a log house, and not a
single piece of iron entered into its construction, the timbers being held
together with ^vooden pegs. He used oxen in clearing and cultivating
his fields, frequently having a team of five yoked together. In the matter
of crops he raised wheat as his chief product until in the '60s, when he
became a hog and cattle raiser and dairyman. The father lived on the
old homestead until 1883, when he removed to Baraboo and died in that
city in 1889, an honored and esteemed old resident. His wife died there
in 1891. There were five children in the family, Henry A. being the
oldest.
The second in age is Dr. Albert J., who was born in Sauk County
in 1858, graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1884, and in
1886 took his M. D. degree from Rush Medical College of Chicago. He
also studied abroad at Vienna and Berlin and has been in practice at
Chicago steadily since 1889, and since 1896 has been chief surgeon of
the Augustana and St. Mary's hospitals. Besides his work as an indi-
vidual surgeon thousands of younger men have received training at
his clinics, which are perhaps the chief center of attraction for medical
men pursuing their studies in Chicago. He has for many years been
professor of clinical surgery in the Chicago College of Physicians and
Surgeons. He is a distinguished author and is a recognized authority
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 573
on many subjects connected with surgery. He is married and has two
children and two grandchildren.
The third child, Louisa, is the wife of Fred T. Gratophorst, living
in California. Edward H., the fourth child, has also gained distinction
as a Chicago surgeon and physician, is a graduate of the same schools
as his brother Albert and has a widely extended practice, though his
name is not so eminent as that of his distinguished brother. He is mar-
ried and has four children. The fifth child, Emma, is unmarried, has
studied medicine and is a skilled hospital worker and is now connected
with a hospital at Los Angeles, California.
Henry A. Ochsner has spent most of his life on the old homestead
which his father cleared after obtaining it from the Government. He
obtained an education in the public schools and also in the Baraboo High
School, and for seven winters he taught in country school districts.
He married Anna M. Weirich, daughter of George and Wilhelmina
(Kuehn) Weirich. Mr. and Mrs. Ochsner have two children. Arthur C.
is married and lives at home, sharing in the responsibilities of the man-
agement of the farm with his father. The daughter Ella is the wife of
John B. Luther, a farmer living at Spring Green.
At the time he married Henry A. Ochsner began farming for him-
self and has kept steadily along this general line with a success that
makes him now one of the substantial men of Sauk County. He is a
general farmer and stock raiser and also handles considerable dairy
stock, being owner of 500 acres of land. Many of the substantial im-
provements found on the old homestead are due to his constructive labors
since he took charge.
TiiOMxVS AV. Claridge. One of the most interesting and valuable
citizens Sauk County has ever had is Mr. Thomas W. Claridge of Reeds-
burg. Mr. Claridge has now attained venerable years. Recently he
passed the four-score mark. He and his beloved wife, who had been com-
panions side by side and mutual sharers in the .joys and pleasures of this
world, came to Sauk County soon after their marriage in England over
sixty years ago, and they are among the very few couples, who have cele-
brated that most impressive event, a sixtieth anniversary of their wedding-
day.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Claridge are natives of England. He was born
February 2, 1837, a son of Thomas and Mary (Knight) Claridge. His
father was born in England March 13, 1818, and his mother in September,
1818. Some time after their son started out to find a home in the New
World they .joined him at White Mound in the Township of Franklin,
Sauk County, in 1858, and Thomas Claridge, Sr., followed farming there
for a number of years. He owned forty acres of land which he developed
as a farm, and subsequently he and his wife removed to Reedsburg, where
both of them died. They had two sons: Thomas W. and Robert, the
latter born March 10, 1839, and died February 16, 1840.
Thomas W. Claridge received his educational advantages in England.
In the Cathedral at Manchester on the 20th of August, 1856, he and Miss
Anna Pollitt were united in the bonds of matrimony and those bonds
have never been loosed in the sixty years that have passed since that
574 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
joyful day when he was in his twentieth year and his bride eighteen. She
was born in England March 15, 1838.
Immediately after the wedding- service in the Cathedral the bride and
groom embarked upon a sailing vessel and set out for the United States
as a honeymoon voyage, which lasted five weeks and two days. Landing
in New York City, they proceeded on their journey to their chosen desti-
nation and in the month of November arrived in Franklin Township of
Sauk County. Here Mr. Claridge bought 160 acres of raw land. It was
a heavy task that confronted him and his young wife. He built a log
cabin and they lived to enjoy its simple comforts and gTadually the land
became adapted to the uses of cultivation and prosperity began to smile
upon their efforts. When his parents came on a year or so later he turned
over this first quarter section to them and then bought another 160 acres
in the same township. As a result of many years of hard labor so common
to the pioneer settlers a large farm was developed by their united efforts
and the substantial fruits of their earlier toil and management have
sufficed to give them comfort and independence in their later years.
In 1882 Mr. and Mrs. Claridge removed to Reedsburg, and for a
number of years he was engaged in the real estate business. His influence
has also been uplifting and upbuilding in many ways. He represented
the second ward as alderman, and was one of the men who laid the founda-
tion for Reedsburg 's municipal ownership policy. In 1903 Mr. Claridge
was appointed postmaster of Reedsburg and held that office for five years.
He and his wife now live retired and in comfortable circumstances at their
home, 340 Laurel Street.
Mr. Claridge is an honored veteran of the Union army and active in
the Grand Army of the Republic. In 1864 he enlisted in Company A of
the Thirty-sixth Wisconsin Infantry, and served with that regiment dur-
ing the closing campaigns of the war and was present when Lee surren-
dered. During the siege of Petersburg he fell unconscious in the trenches
and his enemies undertook to end his life. A brother Odd Fellow found
some papers in his clothes showing that he, too, was a member of that
lodge, and this fraternal brother saved his life though a grave had already
been prepared for his body. He saw much active fighting but he was never
wounded, although his hat was once shot from his head.
Mr. Claridge arrived in this country during that notable campaign
when the republican party had its first standard bearer in the field. Gen-
eral Fremont. He identified himself with this new political organization
and has never wavered in his allegiance. Official honors, however, have
not been an object of aspiration, though he has done much to keep up the
party management and to work for his friends. He has steadfastly
favored wise public improvement, and has done all he could for the bene-
fit of his city, state and nation. For a number cf years he was active in
the Grange. He is affiliated with Reedsburg Lodge No. 157, Ancient
Free and Accepted Masons, Reedsburg Chapter, Royal Arch Masoiis, St.
Johns' Commandery No. 21, Knights Templar, and while the war was in
progress he was made a member of Hope Lodge of the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows at Madison, Wisconsin. In religious matters his prefer-
ence has always been for the Baptist Church, though he is not a member.
His wife was reared an Episcopalian and still adheres to that faith.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 575
Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Claridge and seven of the
children are still living. Sarah Mary, the oldest, married William Clar-
idge, son of William Claridge, another pioneer of Sauk County. Their
children are Elizabeth, now deceased ; Lillie, Alvin, Ruble, Pearl, Clar-
ence, Thomas and Albert. John Henry Claridge, the second child, lives
at Reedsburg and by his marriage to Eliza Carpenter has five children,
named Ralph, May, J. D., Loyal and Ted. Charles, whose home is in
Oklahoma, married Emma R. H. Jenson, now deceased, and has one
daughter, Eva. The son Thomas is now deceased. Thomas W., a resident
of Chicago, married Addie Lane and has one son, Thomas Wesley.
George A., assistant postmaster at Reedsburg, married Amelia Essellman
and has two children, George and Marion, Joshua, also a resident of
Chicago, married Jessie Gayland, of Baraboo, and has two children,
Catherine and Gayland. Mary Ellen, now deceased, was the wife of
Edward Scheroltz, and left two children, Vera and Milton. The remain-
ing child is Mrs. Laura Townsend.
On August 20, 1906, Mr. and Mrs. Claridge celebrated their golden
wedding anniversary, and on August 20, 1916, there came the even more
notable event of their sixtieth wedding anniversary celebration. At each
occasion Mrs. Claridge wrote a poem which was read and gave great
pleasure to both her family and many friends. At their sixtieth anni-
versary about 300 relatives and friends assembled. It was an event
which because of its unusual character attracted wide attention and it
w^as made the subject of a long article in a LaCrosse paper, and a part of
that deserves quotation : ' ' An unusual event took place at the home of
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas W. Claridge last Saturday when they celebrated
their sixtieth wedding anniversary. The plans for the celebration were
all made and carried out by the seven children. The immediate family
and near friends were at the home for dinner. The G. A. R. and their
wives came in the afternoon, staying to enjoy the fireworks which were
displayed in the evening. A treat was planned for all the children of the
neighborhood, each child receiving a George Washington hat, a jar of
candy, ice cream cones and a toy balloon. The music was furnished by
the drum corps, Mr. Tibbetts, Mr. Seamans, Mr. Pettis and Mr. Charles
Todd.
"Mr. and Mrs. Claridge have seen a great deal of this world's pleasure
as well as sorrow. They returned to England to visit their relatives and
friends after they had been in this country several years. Mrs. Claridge
has crossed the Atlantic seven times. Their friends all over the United
States have remembered them on their sixtieth anniversary, sending them
their congratulations and best wishes. Even the soldier boys in Texas
remembered them."
Casper E. Accola is a man w^ho has lived in Sauk County for over
sixty years, and out of his experiences as a worker and farmer has
accumulated one of the most attractive farm estates in Troy Township,
his postofifiee being Spring Green.
Mr. Accola, like many other worthy and thrifty citizens of Sauk
County, was born in Switzerland. His birth year was in 1845, and his
parents were Edward and Dora (Bunder) Accola. His parents were
576 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
born and married in Switzerland, and all of their four children were
born there, namely: Casper E.; Martha, who married C. Kinchi and
lived in Baraboo, where she died; Kate, wife of Kasper Accola, living
at Black Hawk; and Margaret, who died on the ocean while the family
M'Cre coming to America.
The Accola family came to this country in 1855, when the son Casper
was ten years of age. They first located in Prairie du Sac Township,
where the father bought forty acres and made a very humble beginning
with a log home and with very little capital and few instruments to
cultivate the farm. At the end of the year he sold out, bought another
farm, on which he remained about ten years, and then sold and bought
an adjoining place in Sumpter Township, which was his home for about
ten years, during which he had greatly improved the land and sold out
at greatly increased value. He next bought eighty acres two miles
west of Sauk City, and that was his home until about two years before
he died, when he sold out and lived with his son Casper. His death
occurred at the age of eighty-six.
Casper E. Accola grew up on the farms of his father in Sauk County
and acquired most of his education in Wisconsin. In 1875 he married
Sola Rothenberger, daughter of Henry Rothenberger, also a native of
Switzerland. Mr. and Mrs. Accola had seven children : Dora, who is
married and living in Black Hawk ; Lizzie, who died at the age of twenty-
nine years; Eddie, married and working his father's farm at Black
Hawk; Selina, wife of George Gasser, living at West Point and the
mother of two children, named Verna and Irene ; Margaret, Mrs. Erwin
Litcher, living in Sumpter Township ; Arthur, who is unmarried and
lives with his father on the farm ; and one that died in infancy.
Casper E. Accola made his independent start in life as a farmer in
Sauk County, purchasing eighty acres of land. After keeping it for
ten years and making a living and increasing its value he sold out and
then acquired a farm of 120 acres in Honey Creek Township. This
was his home for only two years, when he removed to Black Hawk, and
has lived in that community ever since. His home place comprises 110
acres. Mr. Accola has found his profits as a general farmer and stock-
raiser and dairyman, and his success is such as to give him a position
among the most substantial citizens of Sauk County. The family are all
members of the Evangelical Church, and Mr. Accola and his sons vote
as republicans.
Professor Wilbur Eugene Smith. A man of high intellectual
attainments and of practical ability, Professor Wilbur Eugene Smith,
principal of the Training School of Sauk County, at Reedsburg, is one of
the best known educators of this part of the state. Professor Smith's
entire career has been devoted to educational work, and while he is still a
young man his experience has been broad, comprehensive and diversified.
He is a native of Wisconsin, having been born March 20, 1879, near
Appleton, Outagamie County, a son of John and Eliza Ann (Greenfield)
Smith.
John Smith was born in New Brunswick, in 1832, and when a lad of
seventeen years became imbued with the gold fever and made the long
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 577
and perilous journey across the plains to the treasure fields of California.
A short experience satisfied him that gold mining was not his forte, and
he soon returned to his home in the East. However, he had seen much in
his travels and decided that the West offered him opportunities such as
could not be found in his home community, and accordingly he came to
AVisconsin and settled in Outagamie County. There he met and married
Eliza Ann Greenfield, Avho had been born in 1844, in St. Lawrence
County, New York, a daughter of Harvey and Amanda (Cobb) Greenfield,
ihe former born in New York and the latter at Sheldon, that state, March
30, 1822. Mr. and Mrs. Greenfield came to Wisconsin and settled at Dale,
Outagamie County, in 1850, Mrs. Greenfield being the first teacher in the
school at that place, while her husband engaged in farming and during
the early days conducted a tavern on his property. There he died in
1904, aged about ninety years, Mrs. Greenfield having passed away
August 18, 1880. They were the parents of three children: Frank W.,
who is engaged in farming in Michigan ; Eliza Ann, who became Mrs.
Smith ; and Charles W., an attorney of Chicago. The Cobb family traced
its ancestry to England, from which country its earliest members came
to America in 1635, making a settlement at Watertown, near Boston,
Massachusetts.
John Smith spent many years in the logging business. For some years
he had charge of lumber camps on Wolf River, but about 1883 or 1884
went to South Dakota, where he took a homestead. After several years
he returned to Wisconsin and settled at Sherry, Wood County, v/here he
again entered the logging business, handling logs and conducting camps
for some years. In later life he went to Manawa, Waupaca County, and
there his death occurred February 6, 1905, while his widow still survives
and makes her home at that point. Mr. Smith was one of the substantial
citizens of his community, a Free Mason, and a member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church. He and Mrs. Smith were the parents of three chib
dren: Dexter B., of Kaukauna, Wisconsin; Linda, who is the wife of
A. N. Hilton, of Symerton, Illinois; and Wilbur Eugene, of this notice.
W^ilbur Eugene Smith was still a child when the family moved to
South Dakota, and there in the pioneer schools of the frontier he received
his preliminary educational training. He was twelve years old when he
accompanied his parents to Sherry, Wood County, where he was further
trained, and subsequently graduated from the Little Wolf High School at
Manawa. At that time Mr. Smith began teaching school, but later took a
complete course at the Stevens Point State Normal School, from which he
Avas graduated in 1904. In that year he became principal of a ward
school in Chippewa Falls, and after about two months was appointed
superintendent of the Waupaca county schools and held that position
for four years. Subsequently he went to Wautoma, Waushara County,
where he established the Waushara County Training School and was
principal for three years, and in 1911 came to Reedsburg, where he has
since been principal of the Training School of Sauk County. Professor
Smith is a leader not only in the field of his profession, but his familiarity
with the conditions and needs of Reedsburg and his natural initiative
force, have brought him into prominence as an enterprising and pushing
man of affairs. While at Wautoma, as chairman of the Advancement
578 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Association, lie was one of the strongest factors in the section identified
with the general welfare of the public interests of the community. His
political support has always been given to the republican party.
On December 20, 1905, Mr. Smith was married to Miss Margaret
Lindsey, who was born in Waupaca County, Wisconsin, October 27, 1879,
a daughter of Arthur and Lettie (Ritchie) Lindsey, natives of Ireland
and of Scotch-Irish descent. Mr. Lindsey was born in 1843 and Mrs.
Lindsey November 18, 1843, and both came to the United States when
five years old and located with their parents in New York, although Mrs.
Lindsey 's parents later went to Ohio. The paternal grandparents of
Mrs. Smith were George and Isabel (Wallace) Lindsey, who settled in
Waupaca County, Wisconsin, in 1855, and there both died, the grand-
father in 1879 and the grandmother in 1891. The maternal grandparents
of Mrs. Smith were George and Margaret (Carroll) Ritchie, who came
from Ireland to the United States, lived for several years in Ohio, and
were pioneers of Waupaca Count}^, where both died, the grandfather in
1883 and the grandmother in 1912, at the advanced age of ninety years.
Arthur and Lettie Lindsey were the parents of the following children:
Jennie, George, Wallace, Arthur, Margaret and Robert, of whom Wallace
is deceased. Mr. Lindsey engaged in the logging business at an early day
and for about thirty years has been a member of the Hatton Lumber
Company. He is now one of the prominent citizens of Manawa, where he
is president of the First National Bank, is a leading democrat and former
postmaster, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Mrs. Smith was graduated from the Manawa High School, following
which she attended Lawrence College, of Appleton, Wisconsin, and then
accepted a position as stenographer in her father's lumber business at
Manawa, retaining that post until her marriage to Professor Smith. They
are the parents of two children : Eleanor Eliza, born November 18, 1906 ;
and Arthur John, born December 26, 1908. Professor Smith is justly
popular with the people of his adopted community, where he has stead-
fastly sought to elevate educational standards. He has won the right to
stand with the few who combine a natural aptitude for teaching with the
executive force necessary to energize a body of teachers.
Levi Cahoon. The Cahoons are a family of pioneers. They have
been identified with Sauk County since wilderness days, more than sixty
years ago, and the pioneer spirit which caused them to come to this new
locality had in a previous generation actuated them to remove from the
Atlantic seaboard into the wilds of Northern Ohio. The family history
is an interesting one and deserves to be carried back beyond the date of
settlement in Sauk County.
The original American seat of the family was in Massachusetts, Berk-
shire County, where Wilber Cahoon was born December 27, 1772. He
married Miss Priscilla Sweet, of Rhode Island. For a number of years
they lived in Herkimer County, New York, where all their children but
one were born. It was in the year 1814 that these worthy people, par-
ticipating in that great westward movement which began about the close
of the second war with Great Britain, left New York State for the far
West. Wilber Cahoon traded his 100 acres of land in Plerkimer County
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 579
for a tract of 800 acres, all covered with heavy forests, in what is now
Avon Township of Lorain County, Ohio. Arriving there with his family
he established such rude accommodations as conditions permitted for his
first home. In 1825 he erected the first frame house in Avon Township.
The tract of land owned by the Cahoons in 1814 was so isolated that a
trail for eight miles had to be cut through the woods to make it accessible.
At the time there was not a single settlement between the Cahoon habi-
tation and the little village of Cleveland, Ohio. Wilber Cahoon possessed
the character and the energy which would have made him influential in
any country. He was a whig, was the first justice of the peace elected
in his part of Lorain County, and he and his wife were charter members
of the First Baptist Church at Avon. Wilber Cahoon played a promi-
nent part in Lorain County, though he died twelve years after his com-
ing, on September 27, 1826. His wife, Priscilla, died May 2, 1855.
Their descendants are still numerously represented in Lorain County.
Of their eight children one was Wilber Cahoon, Jr., father of Mr.
Levi Cahoon, first noted above. Wilber Cahoon, Jr., was born in Her-
kimer County, New York. He became a farmer and miller, operating
a lumber mill in Lorain County, and subsequently went to California as
a gold seeker and died in that state September 9, 1852. He was married
April 6, 1826, to Thirza Moore, whose family was also identified with
the early settlement of Sauk Count3^
A son of Wilber Cahoon, Jr., and wife, Mr. Levi Cahoon was born
in Lorain County, Ohio, June 2, 1834. Thirza Moore, his mother, was a
daughter of Joseph ]\Ioore, who served with distinction in the Revolu-
tionary war and was with General Washington throughout that struggle.
Mr. Moore subsequently moved to Ohio and was also a pioneer in Lorain
County.
Levi Cahoon during his youth became a sailor on the Great Lakes and
in 1855, at the age of twenty-one, he came to Baraboo and joined his
uncle, Capt. Levi Moore. He acquired land, cleared up a good farm and
became a widely known and prominent citizen. He served in a number
of town and county offices in the early days. Mr. Levi Cahoon married
Willie Ann Wells, who was born at Whitewater in Walworth County,
Wisconsin, July 4, 1846. She died at Baraboo June 13, 1915. Her
father, William Wells, was a native of Nova Scotia and a pioneer in
Wisconsin. Mrs. Levi Cahoon was a school teacher before her marriage.
She and her husband had six children: Wells, who was killed on a
railroad in Montana at the age of twenty-five ; Wilber, reference to whose
career appears on other pages; Lee, a rancher in Missoula, Montana;
Paul, a farmer ; Doctor Roger, who was born in Baraboo March 2, 1877,
is a graduate of the Louisville Medical College and has for fifteen years
been in active practice at Baraboo ; and Ora, a graduate of the Wisconsin
State University in the engineering department and now located in
Chicago.
Hon. Wilber Cahoon, a former representative from Sauk County
in the state legislature, has for years been a successful farmer and busi-
ness man and has lived up to the worthy traditions of the Cahoon family
for public spirited activity in behalf of everything that promises good
to the community. ,
580 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Mr. Cahoon was born on the old homestead of his father in Baraboo
Township March 22, 1868. He is a son of Levi Cahoon, elsewhere referred
to in this publication. He grew up on the home farm, attended the
public schools, and for thirty years has steadily pursued his basic indus-
try as a farmer. In 1896 he bought eighty acres of land in Baraboo
Township, and he also still owns twenty-one acres of the former tract of
forty acres, from which a portion has been sold to constitute the property
known as the Cahoon Mines. He is also owner of another farm in Bara-
boo Township eomprising eighty-two and a half acres. ]\Ir. Cahoon is a
general farmer and has long been active in the dairy industry and as a
breeder of registered Jersey cattle. He is a stockholder in the Excelsior
Co-operative Creamery Company of Baraboo and hauled the first load of
cream to that plant. He was a member of the building committee which
established the first dairy plant.
Mr. Cahoon is a progressive republican. He has served as treasurer
of Baraboo Township and was elected a member of the legislature in
1906, serving one term. For two years, 1915-16, he served as supervisor
of Baraboo Township and in 1917, was elected chairman of the board.
He is vice president of the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Baraboo.
For twenty years he has been a member of the local school board and is
also a member of the Sauk County Board of Education. Mr. Cahoon is
president of the Skillet Falls Telephone Company. He is quite active in
fraternal matters and is affiliated with Baraboo Lodge of Masons, and
also the lodges of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights
of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Order of Beavers."
In religious faith he is a Unitarian, but Mrs. Cahoon is a member of the
Episcopal Church.
In 1890 he married Miss Ella Davis. Mrs. Cahoon was born in Phila-
delphia in 1869, a daughter of Thomas L. and Mary (Thompson) Davis.
Her parents were very early settlers in Sauk County, but subsequently
removed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1880 they returned to Sauk
County, where Mrs. Davis died in 1906. Mrs. Cahoon 's father is still
living in Baraboo. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs.
Cahoon. Leelyn T., bom September 5, 1892, was educated in the public
schools and the Baraboo Business College and is a successful young
farmer of this county. He married Martha Bittrich, and their three sons
are named Ralph, Wells and Elmer. Wilber Davis Cahoon, the second
son, was born November 20, 1895, and since completing his public school
education has lived at home. Ivan W., born May 22, 1900, is a student
in the Baraboo High School. Ora B., the youngest, was born January
26, 1907, and is attending the grade schools.
Martin Hickey. One of the largest and wealthiest business firms of
Reedsburg is Hickey Brothers, livestock and commission dealers. It is a
business that has been growing steadily for upwards of forty years, when
Martin Hickey moved into Reedsburg and began employing his energies
on a limited scale in the livestock business.
The firm now consists of Mr. Martin Hickey and his younger brother,
John E. Hickey. Besides livestock the firm handles an extensive produce
business. They own a large warehouse and every year buy immense
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 581
quantities of the products raised in the surrounding country district and
market them at a distance. Martin Hickey now has the active superin-
tendence of the produce end of the business and also the general office,
while his brother John is usually in the field looking after the livestock
interest.
Martin Hickey was born in Dellona Township of Sauk County Decem-
ber 16, 1854. His parents, Patrick and Catherine (Crowley) Hickey ,^
were both natives of Ireland. Patrick Hickey came to Sauk County in
1846, when it was a completely pioneer district and two years before
Wisconsin became a state. Locating in Dellona Township, he acquired
a tract of Government land and in time developed a 320-acre farm. He
lived there in substantial comfort and prosperity until his death in 1903,
at the venerable age of ninety-five. His wife passed away in 1886.
Patrick Hickey was a democrat in politics and was quite active in local
affairs, holding several township offices. He and his wife were members
of the Catholic Church and reared their family in the same faith. They
were married in Sauk County and their six children were named : Mary ;
Catherine, now deceased; Martin; Michael; John, and Anna.
Martin Hickey grew up on the old home farm of his father in Dellona
Township. He attended the public schools there, and was a young man
about twenty-five years of age \vhen he came to Reedsburg and began
ha'ndling live stock. From live stock the scope of his enterprise was
extended to the produce commission business, and since 1894 his brother
John has been associated with him under the name Hickey Brothers. Mr.
Martin Hickey is also a director in the State Bank of Reedsburg.
Politically he is a democrat and for the past five years held the position
of alderman in the city council. He and his family are Catholics. He
was married in 1895 to Miss Ellen Newman, of Ironton, Sauk County,
daughter of Patrick and Catherine Newman. Her parents were also
natives of Ireland, and on coming to this country first settled in New
York and later moved to Ironton. They spent their last days in Superior,
Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Martin Hickey have three children. Catherine
is a graduate of the Reedsburg High School and is now a student in the
College of St. Catherine in St. Paul. Rolland M. is a junior in the Reeds-
burg High School, while Agnes is in the eighth grade of the public schools.
Philip Grubb. It might surprise some people, who still have in
mind the old-fashioned farm when agriculture is mentioned, if they
could have the opportunity of visiting a first class, modern dairy farm
such as is owned by Philip Grubb and lies in Freedom Township, Saukr
County. Modern and substantial buildings, the best improved machin-
ery and sanitary conveniences and equipments in the farm buildings
throughout would be seen and with other indications of thrift might
be noticed a fine automobile. With the passing of old time methods
the old time farmer has gone also, and there is no class more awake
to present opportunities than is the intelligent and progressive Wis-
consin farmer in the year in which this is recorded of him.
Fortunately it is possible to tell the story of the Grubb family
somewhat in detail, and that story is valuable in the strong light it
throws upon the pioneer life and times of Sauk County.
582 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
His father, Philip Peter Grubb, was born in Rhenish Bavaria, Ger-
many, November^ 28, 1824. In 1848, when Germany was in a state of
revolution, he left the Fatherland and came to Pittsburg, Pennsyl-
vania. At Pittsburg he married Philopena Rumpf, who was born in
Rhenish Bavaria, Germany, January 25, 1832. She died October 7,
1904, while Philip Peter met an accidental death May 22, 1881, at the
age of fifty-seven.
Philip Peter Grubb had a good education. While living in Ger-
many he followed the business of teamster. In 1856 or 1857 the Grubb
family migrated to Wisconsin. A steamboat carried them down the
Ohio River from Pittsburg and thence up the Mississippi and up the
Wisconsin River to Sauk City. From there they traveled by wagon
and team to the Town of Freedom in Sauk County. On this part of
the journey as they came to Zimmerly's in Freedom Township Mrs.
Grubb was taken very ill with cholera morbus. As soon as possible they
moved to the eastern part of the Town of Westfield and remained there
until a log hut had been built and some trees cleared away from their
permanent home in section 5 of Freedom Township. All of that region
was then a forest of heavy timber. There were no roads, and the only
method of conveyance was with ox teams and lumber wagons. In the
absence of fences it was possible for the people to drive in any direc-
tion where they could get through. Philip Peter Grubb and family
lived in their log house until 1870, when they constructed a new frame
building. Toward the close of the '50s and the beginning of the '60s
two settlements of German people from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, were
made in Sauk County, one in the western part of the Town of Bara-
boo, including the Nippert and Hishinger and other families, who
organized a Methodist church or society. The other colony located in
the western part of the Town of Freedom and East Westfield and they
constructed a log church for the Methodist denomination. These fam-
ilies included the following names: John Werron, Henry Faller, Peter
Stachhouse, Christ and George Mook, Henry Herbel, Henry Shuts and
others. They were all very sociable and neighborly, and as greed and
jealousy were things unknown in those early days social communion was
an undiluted joy. These families saw much of each other during the
protracted and quarterly meetings of the church, and attended those
meetings by going on foot or in wagons drawn by ox teams. It is said
that these old time congregations sang and prayed with such fervor
that the church benches vibrated. In 1860 a Sunday School picnic was
held at Ableman, at Gust Pifron's Hill. The children walked four
miles from the Methodist log church to Ableman, John Faller carry-
ing the banner at their head. Henry Faller, father of John, and
George Mook were Sunday School superintendents for many years.
In 1861 the war broke out and many of the local boys and men
went into the army, including most of the able bodied. Some of them
never came back, their bodies resting on the battlefields where they
fought so valiantly. Others came home sick and died of disease con-
tracted in the army. All of these old timers have since passed away.
In the Town of Freedom only one man was drafted during the war.
He was Ab Densloy, a neighbor of the Grubb family.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY . 583
It is recalled that in the pioneer days when no roads had been con-
structed two early settlers in West Freedom, named Mike and John
Hanely cut out and blazed a road so that the other settlers eould find
their way. They put the letter H on the trees to mark this trail. John
Werron was fond of telling the remark of a neighbor's son, named
Mike Hafer, who when he saw the letter H carved on a tree would
always remark "here the Hanelys have been."
In May, 1881, Philip Peter Grubb, while removing a large double
log barn to make room for a frame barn 34 by 60 feet, was struck by
a falling timber and killed. He had a family of nine children, whose
births are recorded as follows : Philip, born February 12, 1852, at
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; George, born at Mount Washington in Pitts-
burg March 16, 1855 ; Wilhelmina, bom May 31, 1857 ; William, born
November 18, 1858 ; Charles, born August 30, 1860 ; Franklin, born
February 4, 1863 ; Sophia, born October 24, 1864 ; Edward, born May
1, 1867 ; John, born January 25, 1869. Mrs. Philopenia Grubb, being
left a widow, in November, 1883, married August Filter, of Mani-
towoc, Wisconsin, and after living at Manitowoc several years returned
to a farm in the Town of Westfield, Sauk County, where she lived
happily with her second husband and where she died October 7, 1904,
at the age of seventy-one.
As he was only about five years old when the family came to Sauk
County, Mr. Philip Grubb remembers none of the incidents of that
journey. But of his environment and of the incidents of life in this
frontier community he has many interesting memories. He recalls the
little log house and its surroundings, where a small area had been
cleared of trees and brush, while the large trees had been girdled, the
bark being cut off at the bottom so that their shade would not inter-
fere with the growing of crops. His father would cut down many of
these trees in the winter, would roll the logs together in heaps by
means of chains and skids and then the entire heap would be burned.
As a boy he often crossed the country without restriction in every
direction, where now progress would be impossible except by climbing
over fences and crossing tilled fields. A special place in his memory
was the steep hill across W. C. T. Newell 's land on the way to Wer-
ron's place, where the religious meetings were held. He recalls when
the log church was built on the boundary line between the land of I.
Werron and George Mook, and how full the woods were of animals,
game, birds and snakes. Many times he saw deer running past the
house. Rattlesnakes were a constant pest in those days. Sometimes
they even entered the house, and one of these reptiles was found in
the basement of the Grubb home. Other animals of destruction were
the chicken hawk, which many times invaded the Grubb poultry yard.
His parents claimed that they killed more than sixty rattlesnakes the
first year of their residence. Close to the log house was a shed which
sheltered the two oxen and the cow, constituting the family live stock.
Mr. Grubb 's father spent many days mowing marsh hay for the cat-
tle, and he recalls how Adam Shuster, Henry Shuts and Jake Balloon
assisted his father in mowing this hay with the scythe. Philip himself as
soon as strong enough to handle the tools wielded the scythe for cut-
voi. n — 2
584 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
ting hay and the cradle in mowing grain. His father at one time went
to Gen. A. W. Starks' place to mow hay with a scythe so as to get a lit-
tle money for the necessities of life. About the time the Civil war
began was a scene on the Starks place when five or six men were cut-
ting hay with scythes and following each other in a row.
General Starks had a son named John who went into the Sixth
Wisconsin Regiment, was wounded in battle and died. Mr. Philip Grubb
has always been a good church member, and as a boy he regularly
attended Sunday School. One spring Sunday morning he set off for
this school, and was accompanied on the road by two neighbors, Adam
Waltz and Dave Conely. They soon came to what was known as the
Rattlesnake Den, half way between the Grubb farm and the church.
Here a heap of sandstones furnished a favorite covert for the snakes.
The men cut sticks, some of them with prongs on the end and others
with a sharp hook on the end. A stick with a prong was used to hold
the snake down while its head was cut off with a pocket knife. The
other sticks they would use to reach down into the crevices between
the rocks and draw the snake forth, after which it would flop and
fly around and rattle its tail until the men could capture it and dis-
patch it. After witnessing this snake killing Mr. Grubb himself did
the same thing a number of times until he had experienced several close
calls from getting bit and he gave up the sport as too dangerous to
practice.
Many of his memories center around the old schoolhouse which stood
on the line between Freedom and Westfield and half a mile east of
the present cheese factory in that neighborhood. This schoolhouse was
built of round logs and the clapboard roof came down very low, so
that the larger boys could touch it with their hands around the eaves.
There was a door on the south side at the gable end, a stove in the cen-
ter, and a window in the west, north and east sides. As the roof was
so low the windows were set in horizontally. Around the walls on
three sides desks for writing were fastened by pins. There were also
three seats or benches around the sides and three other benches around
the stove. These benches had no backs, and when the boys stood up
on them they could reach the ceiling in any part of the room. The ceil-
ing was made of rough boards. On the south side was a blackboard,
and at various places wooden pegs were driven into logs where the
scholars hung up their hats and caps. The boys of course played ball,
chiefly "Andy Over," and the memories of the games they played are
perhaps more strongly impressed than the things they learned out
of the books. One of the teachers while Philip Grubb was a student
in that old time schoolhouse was Kazie Faller. She afterwards mar-
ried Philip Cheek who went to the war with the Sixth Regiment. At
the beginning of the war one of the boys of the school named Levi
Waltz joined the army. At that time the teacher was Numan Pitts
from near Logansville. After the close of the term be joined the
Nineteenth Regiment, was captured and put in Libby Prison, where he
died. John Faller was also captured and sent to Libby Prison, but
at home the report came that he was dead. The German Methodist
preacher. Rev. Mr. Backer, was preparing to preach his sermon
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 585
when a letter arrived from ^Ir. Pitts saying that Faller was with him a
prisoner of war at Libby. John Faller came home a wreck after the
war, and died of disease contracted in the army, and thus Rev. Mr.
Backer was able to use the sermon he had prepared.
Philip Grubb, it will be understood from this brief reference to the
early school he attended, had little opportunity to secure a good edu-
cation. His father was a man of letters and learning, and Philip's
three brothers all went to school and college anS all of them were
teachers. The Grubb home entertained most of the local school teach-
ers as boarders during the term. His brother, George, after teaching
for a time, became president of the Juneau County Bank. His brother,
William, was also a teacher and was studying medicine in Rush Medi-
cal College at Chicago in 1883, when he was stricken with smallpox and
died. His brother, Frank, made a record as a school man, was school
superintendent of Waupaca County three terms, six years, and after-
wards served as mayor of Stanley in Chippewa County.
Until the end of the Civil war Philip Peter Grubb was unable to
afford anything better than an ox team. The son, Philip, several times
accompanied his father to Baraboo for the purpose of getting the grist
ground, and going to mill afforded the boy one of his most appreciated
pleasures. At the same time the mother carried eggs and butter to
the county seat, selling them for 10 cents a dozen and butter for 10
cents a pound. It was eleven miles from home to Baraboo. The father
and son frequently walked this distance, especially during the war,
and one of the sights to be seen was the drilling of the soldiers at
the county seat.
When the war was over the growing of hops came into the high
tide of its popularity in Sauk County. Mr. Grubb recalls his own part
as a hop picker during several seasons, in the field three miles the
other side of Ableman. He boarded at home and walked back and
forth every day to his work. It was the practice for the pickers to put
the hops in a box containing about seven bushels, and the wages for
picking was 25 cents a box.
Prior to the war there was no postoffice and the mail was sent to
Baraboo in care of S. V. R. Ableman, who would make periodic trips
to the county seat and bring the letters and papers back to Ableman-
for distribution. At that time there were three prominent men in the
community. Gen. A. W. Starks, Col. S. V. R. Ableman and Maj. Charles
Williams. When hop growing became a flourishing industry Mr. Able-
man enjoyed much prominence, built and conducted a saw and grist
mill at his place and was a popular man throughout the state. Then
prices of hops took a sudden fall and Mr. Ableman failed. He had sev-
enteen acres in that crop and two large hop houses. He lost practically
all of his possessions in that crash.
The hop industry was also participated in by the Grubb family.
Philip Peter Grubb in 1867 had II/2 acres in hops and w^as paid $1,500
for his crop. In 1868, thus encouraged, he put in more than four acres
and had hop pickers from Madison and LaCrosse. Prices went down
and he sold the crop at a big loss.
In 1869, when Philip Grubb was seventeen years of age, he took
586 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
his place as a wage earner in the harvest field and contributed his earn-
ings to the family. In 1874 Philip Peter Grubb bought eighty acres
of land and sold forty acres of it to his son Philip. On this forty
acres Philip erected in 1876 a house for himself. Mr. Philip Grubb had
his own share of hard work. For eleven seasons he did harvesting in
four different states, going three times to Minnesota and remaining there
until late in the fall. He was on the Mississippi River two terms, and
in 1869 helped grade a portion of railroad line.
In February, 1881, Mr. Philip Grubb married Dora C. Klipp, of
Westfield. Her father, William Klipp, now deceased, was a farmer in
Sauk County. To their marriage were born four children, two sons
and two daughters, named William, Mary, Ida and Fredie. Fredie
was accidentally drowned in a pond on his father's farm.
The son William is at home with his father and together they own
a place of 137 acres, a large part of which was cleared by Mr. Grubb 's
individual efforts and has been brought under a tine state of cultiva-
tion. There are good buildings and an ample supply of farm machin-
ery, including a four-roll McCormick shredder. Some years ago he
built a large tile silo. They have also a silo tiller, plenty of good horses,
forty-five head of cattle, a drove of hogs, and hardly a season comes
and goes without excellent crops from their fields. A fine Buick auto-
mobile is a source of great pleasure to the entire family. The daugh-
ters, Mary and Ida, are married, both of them have families, and live
witli their husbands on farms in Northern Wisconsin, and are on the
road to substantial prosperity. Mr. Philip Grubb and his son carry
more than $5,000 of fire insurance on their homes, and Mr. Grubb also
has $3,000 life insurance. He has been a lodge member for a num-
ber of years, being affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America and
the Mystic Workers. He also owns an interest in the public hall, in
which the lodges meet at North Freedom. In politics Mr. Grubb is not
as much interested as he is in matters pertaining to agriculture, on
which subject he is well posted. He has always kept alert concern-
ing improved methods, and with industry and good judgment has made
a success of his undertakings.
To this substantial degree of prosperity he has come not without
many narrow escapes. He has been kicked by a horse, has had numerous
runaways, has just missed falling timbers, the accidents of drown-
ing and other mishaps. But it is a long look backward to the time of
his boyhood when all this region was an alteration of hill ground and
swamp, crooked roads and other inconveniences that a modern com-
munity would consider intolerable. In the list of evil things there
have also been human factors to deal with. Mr. Grubb 's father many
times suffered wrong at the hands of his fellowmen. There has also
been loss and inconvenience due to the slowness 6f the public to take
up undertakings. Mr. Grubb recalls that in the October when he bought
his homestead a new road was laid out over the bottomlands toward
North Freedom. As the land was very swampy the town was unable
to work the road and it ceased to exist merely through lack of use
and improvement. After the road had thus lain practically forgot-
ten for twenty j^ears an agitation was begun in 1891 by petitions and
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 587
otherwise to get the road opened. The town board was in favor of
the improvement, and after much strife it was jjut through, and every-
one has agreed that it is a great blessing to the community.
Mr. Grubb has always lived peaceably with his fellowmen and has
desired to do right to others as' he would be done by them. But even
to the innocent injury sometimes comes. In 1903 Mr. Grubb found
his old log barn too small, its dimensions being 24 by 60 feet. Though
he was somewhat in debt, he determined to build a new barn on credit,
and he put up a splendid one, with a foundation wall 11 feet high
and 36 by 60 feet and with 20-foot posts. In that summer the min-
ing boom broke loose in Sauk County and Mr. Grubb was persuaded to
entertain in his home a number of mining prospectors. All kinds of
men made up this party and some evil-minded persons* took advantage
of his good nature and for several years made him serious trouble,
financial and otherwise. From his long and varied experience Mr.
Grubb is almost of the opinion that where there is a will power to
do wrong, the church, bench, pulpit and all the forces of good cannot
prevent it.
Henry W. Sorge. An example of self-made manhood that should be
encouraging to the youths of today who are starting out in life to make
their way without financial resources or influential connections is the
career of Hon. Henry W. Sorge. While he is now one of the most sub-
stantial business men of Reedsburg, identified with large business opera-
tions as the head of the Central Wisconsin (-reaniery Company, when
he first came to Wisconsin, in 1868, he had neitlier means nor friends,
nor had he even a working knowledge of American business customs or
methods. Solely through his own initiative and persevering industry he
has steadily worked his way upward not alone in a business way but in
the confidence of his fellow citizens, whom he has represented in legis-
lative halls as well as in other positions of honor and trust.
Mr. Sorge was born March 18, 1852, in Germany, a son of Joachim
and Dorothea (Hoeverman) Sorge, natives of that country, where lioth
passed their entire lives, dying about the year 1869, when well advanced
in years. The public schools of his native land furnished Mr. Sorge with
the rudiments of an education, and in May, 1868, when he was just past
sixteen years of age, he immigrated to the United States and took up
his residence in Reedsburg township, Sauk County. Here he secured
employment as a farm hand, and what time he could spare from his
agricultural duties he devoted to the gaining of an education in the
English language in the countrj^ schools. It was a difficult proposition
for the young man to face, but he was earnest in his efforts and deter-
mined to make a success of his life, and slowly he amassed the means
with which to establish himself as the proprietor of a property of his
own. Eventually he became the owner of a farm, to the acreage of which
he added from time to time and continued to carry on his agricultural
activities until 1901. In the meantime, in 1898, recognizing an oppor-
tunity, he embarked in a modest way in the creamery business. His first
venture was known as the Narrows Prairie Creamery, and this proved
so successful under his wise and energetic management that he was
588 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
encouraged to open other enterprises of the same kind until he was
at the head of thirty creameries, the M'ork of which finally became so
great as to necessitate his giving his entire time to their management.
In 1901 he left the farm and came to Reedsburg, where, in 1902, the
business was incorporated under its present name, the Central Wisconsin
Creamery Company. The compan}^ manufactures fancy Elgin creamery
butter and Sorge's ice cream, and the product has a fine market all over
this part of the state, where it is known for its parity and wholesomeness.
The officers are : Henry W. Sorge, manager ; A. 0. Sorge, superintendent ;
and H. A. Sorge, secretary. In recent years several of the plants have
been sold, but the largest and most important have been retained.
Politically a democrat, at an early time Mr. Sorge became interested
in political and 'public affairs, and soon became recognized as a man of
Avorth and executive ability, the kind of material needed to straighten
out civic entanglements and to govern the affairs of his fellow citizens.
For twelve years he served as chairman of the Reedsburg Township Board
of Supervisors, and in 1910 was elected mayor of Reedsburg, a capacity
in which he served for four years, his administration being characterized
by a masterly handling of the city's municipal matters and the installa-
tion of improvements which contributed materially to Reedsburg 's wel-
fare and advancement. In 1895 he was elected to the Wisconsin Legis-
lature, in which body he gave universal satisfaction. AVhiie a Lutheran
in his religious belief, he is now attending the Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Sorge is prominent in fraternal affairs, being a member of Reeds-
burg Lodge No. 157, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons ; Reedsburg
Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; St. Johns Commandery No. 22, Knights
Templar ; Milwaukee Consistory, thirty-second degree ; and Tripoli
Shrine, Milwaukee, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine ;
and of the Knights of Pythias, Reedsburg. He joined the Masonic Con-
sistory at the Golden Jubilee, fiftieth anniversary, at Milwaukee.
On March 4, 1874, Mr. Sorge was married to Miss Rosetta Andrus,
who was born in Ohio in September, 1852, daughter of Edwin and Macena
Andrus, who in 1854 came to Reedsburg Township and purchased the
farm which their son-in-law later owned, and on which they spent the
remaining years of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Sorge became the parents
of two children. Estella married Louis Hyzer and died, the mother of
three children, Arthur, Harold and Kenneth, the last named deceased.
Albert, educated in the public and high schools, the dairy schools at
Madison, and the school of practical experience, was elected to the Wis-
consin State Legislature in 1911, and is now superintendent of the
Central Wisconsin Creamery Company. He married Miss Emma
Wheelei^, of Reedsburg, and has three children, Rolla and Rolland, twins,
and Rosetta. Mrs. Sorge died in 1881, and in 1883 Mr. Sorge married
Miss Elizabeth Heffel, who was born in England, daughter of James
Heffel, who was an early settler of Sauk County and died in Winfield
Township in 1914, aged eighty-one years. Two sons were born to Mr. and
Mrs. Sorge. Harry H., bom in Reedsburg Township April 14, 1885,
was educated in the public schools, in the Reedsburg High School and
LaCrosse Business College. He has been for several years engaged in
the creamery business as secretary of the Central Wisconsin Creamery
HISTORY OP SAUK COUNTY 589
Company. He married Florence M. Cooper, who was born in Troy
Township, Sauk County, and has one daughter, Elizabeth Mildred.
Ralph F., born February 1, 1891, was educated in the public schools,
in the Reedsburg High School and the Milwaukee Business College, and
has also been identified with the creamery enterprise during his business
career. He married Miss Icle Crall, and has one child, Ellen. Mrs.
Henry W. Sorge died February 7, 1898, and in 1901 Mr. Sorge married
for his third wife Miss Nellie Rowe, of Washington Township, Sauk
County. The Sorge home is at No. 500 South Park Street.
William Gall has become a well-to-do citizen of Sauk County through
his continued enterprise spread over a period of years in the quarry in-
dustry. He operates a large business at Ableman, and for years has fur-
nished much of the building stone, crushed stone and similar materials
used in that section.
Though a resident of Wisconsin over thirty-five years, Mr. Gall was
born in Germany December 3, 1862, son of Daniel and Paulina (Keller)
Gall. His parents came to America and arrived in Sauk County March
17, 1881. They located near Ableman in Excelsior Township, where the
father bought a small tract of land, and subsequently sold that and
bought another place in the same township. He lived there as a contented
and fairly prosperous farmer until his death on February 3, 1901, at the
age of seventy-one. His wife is also deceased. Their living children are
William, Augusta, Ida, Daniel, Hulda, Julius, Pauline, August, Martha
and Minnie.
Mr. William Gall was nineteen years of age when he came with his
parents to America. He received his education in Germany and his prin-
cipal capital on starting life was a capacity for hard work. After coming
to America he spent one year working in a quarry in Iowa, and then con-
tinued his experience as a quarryman with the Northwestern Railway
Company. In 1889 he bought the place he now owns at Ableman, and he
and his brother Daniel leased a quarry in Excelsior Township several
years. About six years later Mr. Gall bought a quarry near where he
now lives, known as the Gall Quarry, and has continued its operation
to the present time. In 1914 he bought a gravel pit near Ableman, but
sold three acres of the gravel right to Sauk County. The rest of it he still
owns and operates, and in 1916 he installed a stone crusher. These
three branches of his industry give him a very large and extensive busi-
ness. He employs a number of men, and has facilities for furnishing
road and building material in almost any quantities.
Mr. Gall is also a stockholder in the Farmers State Bank of Ableman.
In 1908 he built one of the finest homes in that village, and has much to
show for his years of industry and well-directed efforts.
Politically he is a republican. For some years he has been a member
of the town council and its president, and was also trustee of the village.
In 1887 Mr. Gall married Miss Johanna Steinharst, who was born in
Germany but lived in Sauk County some time before her marriage. Eight
children were bom to Mr. and Mrs. Gall: Walter, William, Clara, Otto,
Emil, Selmer, Hilda and Raymond, the last dying in infancy. The
590 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
mother of these children died February 1, 1909. On June 12, 1910, Mr.
Gall married Miss Anna Meyer, who was born in Washington Township
of Sauk County September 15, 1877, a daughter of Henry and Dorothy
Meyer. Her parents came from Germany to Sauk County during the
decade of the '60s, and located on and developed a farm in Washington
Township. They both spent their last years there, where her father died
in 1909 and her mother in 1907. Mrs. Gall was one of a family of eight
children, named as follows: Dora, Henry, William, Fred and John,
twins, the latter now deceased, August, Anna and Sophia. Mr. and
Mrs. Gall have one daughter, Olga Dorothy, who was born August 29,
1913.
L. S. Drew for many years a resident of Sauk County, is member
of a notable family in this state. Practically all the wholesale drug
houses in the country know Mr. Drew under the familiar name '^Worm-
wood" Drew. The wormwood oil industry has been a business of the
Drew family for several generations. The Drews were from England
originally, several brothers of the name having come from that country
and located on Long Island about four generations ago. They began
making distilled oils from various vegetables and attempted to secure
a market for the product in New York. But because the manufacture
was a home industry it had to encounter much prejudice. The objection
was made that the oils were too weak. Similar oils had been coming
from England, and the Drew brothers finally resorted to selling their
products abroad, and some of the very oils manufactured in Long
Island were subsequently imported to this country bearing the stamp
of English manufacture and M^ere readily accepted and pronounced
adequate for their specific purposes.
L. S. Drew was born in New Hampshire August 18, 1841, a son of
Dr. Leander and Almira (Shattuck) Drew. Dr. Leander Drew was a
graduate in medicine from Dartmouth College. He practiced medicine
in New Hampshire, and in 1848 brought his family to Wisconsin, locating
at West Point in Columbia County. There he acciuired 400 acres of land
from the government, though more of his time was given to the practice
of his profession than to farming. He was the only physician at West
Point for a number of years and as a pioneer doctor traveled over a large
scope of country. He brought most of his drugs from Milwaukee. At
that time it was customary for the doctor to mix his own medicines, since
there were few drug stores where prescriptions could be filled. Dr.
Leander Drew had the distinction of starting the first distillery in Wis-
consin to manufacture oil from wormwood. He continued that business
actively until his death in 1858. The manufacture was then continued
by his son, L. S. Drew, for half a century. Mr. Drew still owns the build-
ing and the principal stock in enterprise.
L. S. Drew engaged actively in the wormwood business immediately
after his marriage, and he kept his home on the old farm until thirteen
years ago, when he sold out to G. A. Gannon, who continued the same
business for several years. Mr. Drew then removed to Lodi, and after
three years to Prairie du Sac, where he still has his, home.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 591
His father was a very influential character in his pioneer localit}^ in
Wisconsin. He was liberal to a fault and while he dispensed large sums
of money he was never oppressive in demanding payment when the notes
came due.
L. S. Drew was married in 1866 to Miss Hattie Riddle, who was born
in Ohio. There were two children of that marriage.- Harry G. Drew
and Louise. Louise is now Mrs. Steuber and lives in Prairie du Sac.
Harry G. Drew still runs the wormwood business for the manufacture of
oil. Mr. Drew's first wife died in 1886. He then married Irene Rings-
dorf, daughter of Philip and Martha (Bartholomew) Ringsdorf. The
one child of this marriage is Elizabeth, who was partly educated at Prairie
du Sac and for one year was a student in the University of Wisconsin, but
withdrew on account of ill health. She is now at home with her parents.
Mr. L. S. Drew sensed six years on the school board and has made
himself a factor in the general improvement of his home community.
He is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America and is a member
of the Seventh Day Adventist Church.
John Riggert, merchant, banker and public spirited citizen, has been
accumulating interests and responsibilities that make him an important
citizen ever since coming to Sauk County over thirty years ago. The
center of these interests have been at Loganville.
Mr. Riggert was born in Germany December 13, 1868, son of Henry
and Catherine (Marquard) Riggert. His father was born August 5,
1826, and his mother June 15, 1828.' They were married in Germany
and they reared in that country a family of eight children, noted as
follows : William, born March 13, 1852 ; Herman, born March 29, 1854 ;
George, born May 20, 1856 ; Adolph, born February 1. 1858 ; Otto, born
April 8, 1860; Ernest, born November 26, 1861; May, born April 20,
1864 ; and John, born December 13, 1868.
Mr. John Riggert acquired most of his education while a boy in
Germany. In 1883, when he M'as fifteen years of age, he left the Father-
land, crossed the ocean and came to Sauk County, Wisconsin, where he
joined some of his older brothei's. For one year he attended school at
Loganville and acquired a familiarity with the English language. He
then entered the store of his brother William as a clerk at Reedsburg, and
remained steadily in his employ for nine years.
During this time he had familiarized himself with business, gained
the confidence of people and was well prepared for embarking in busi-
ness for himself. In February, 1893, he and his brother William estab-
lished a store at Loganville, and it was started under the name John
Riggert & Company, a title which remains to the present time, though
after four years, in 1897, Mr. John Riggert bought the entire establish-
ment. For nine years the store was in the old Trexler Building, but in
1902 Mr. Riggert erected a store building of his own, 32 by 80 feet, two
stories, and thoroughly stocked with merchandise of every description
suited to the trade of that locality.
From handling this business Mr. Riggert 's interests have gradually
been spread to other affairs. In 1907 he started the Loganville Telephone
Exchange, continued the management of the business until it bad gained
592 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
275 subscribers and in 1917 sold out to W. H. Wheeler. In 1915 Mr.
Riggert organized the Loganville State Bank, an institution that furnishes
adequate banking facilities to that section of Sauk County. William
Riggert is president, Charles King is vice president, while Mr. John
Riggert gives his personal superintendence to the bank as cashier, the
assistant cashier being Conrad C. Wiesler,
Mr. Riggert in politics is a republican and for the past fifteen years
has consecutively held the office of township treasurer of Westfield Town-
ship. He and his family are active members of the Lutheran Church.
On March 3, 1897, he married Miss Elizabeth Schuette. She was born
in Westfield Township of this county March 30, 1875. Mr. and Mrs.
Riggert had two children, Lavita, who died at the age of two years ; and
Valera, born August 5, 1906.
Mrs. Riggert is a daughter of John William and Dorothy (Reinecke)
Schuette. Her grandfather, John Schuette, brought his family from
Germany and settled on a farm in Westfield Township in pioneer times,
in 1863. He and his good wife lived out the rest of their industrious
lives in this community. Their children were Catherine, deceased,
Elizabeth and John William. John William Schuette was born in
Germany March 31, 1849, and was fourteen years of age when brought
to Sauk County. He had attended the common schools in Germany and
for a short time was a student in Westfield Township. On reaching
manhood he bought sixty-three acres of land where his son Henry J. now
lives. His success as a farmer enabled him to increase his holdings by
the purchase of 160 acres adjoining, and most of this was cleared up
while he occupied it and some good substantial buildings erected. In
1905 he retired from the farm and he and his wife have since lived at
Loganville. He is a democrat and for a number of years was side
supervisor, and for four years assessor of the township. He and his
wife are active Lutherans. October 24, 1869, John William Schuette
married Miss Dorothy Reinecke, who was born in Germany in 1848,
daughter of William and Margaret Reinecke. She was twenty years of
age when in 1868 her parents located in Sauk County and found a
home on a farm in Westfield Township. John William Schuette and
wife have six children : Amelia, wife of Edward Luhrsen, of Reedsburg ;
Henry J., owner of the old homestead, married Augusta Bargwart, of
Jefferson County, and their three children are Arold, Harold and
Arciena ; Elizabeth, wife of John Riggert ; William, of Phoenix, Arizona,
who married Tina Kry and has children named Helen and William;
Annie, who died in 1916, was wife of Henry Steckelberg and was the
mother of four children, Elva, Herbert, Arnold and Evelyn ; Albert, a
resident of Columbus, Wisconsin, is married but has no children.
Henry G. Tible. An ever increasing prosperity has rewarded the
efforts of Henry G. Tiele since his arrival in Sauk County in 1872. To
the then fast growing community he brought an earnest purpose and
strong physical equipment which counteracted in large degree the dis-
advantages of speaking a foreign tongue, of customs with which he was
unfamiliar, and of agricultural methods which were better suited to the
old world conservatism of Germany than the awakening vigor of the
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 593
Central West. At the time of his arrival his chances for success did not
seem bright, as he was without capital or friendly influences, but his
sturdy nature, his faith in himself and his determination overcame all
obstacles, and with these assets he won his way to the achievement of
deserved prosperity. He is now the owner of a valuable farm in Baraboo
Township and accounted one of his community 's substantial men.
]\Ir. Tiele was born in Germany, January 14, 1853, and is a son of
Henry and Christian Tiele. The father passed his entire life in Germany
as a small farmer, and there passed away when in middle life, in 1874,
following which his widow immigrated to the United States and joined
her son, with whom she continued to make her home during the remainder
of her life, her death occurring in Baraboo Township in 1909, when she
had reached the advanced age of eighty-two years. She became well and
favorably known in the vicinity of her son's farm and was highly
esteemed for her many sterling qualities of heart and mind.
Henry G. Tiele was reared in a home where a modest income neces-
sitated the practice of economy, and as he was reared to manhood he
was taught lessons of frugality and thrift. His education was secured
in the public schools of his native land, and his early training was along
several lines, so that he was prepared to give a good account of himself
Avhen he engaged in his battles with the world. He had seen his father's
struggles in trying to gain a competency for his family, and early
determined that he would find a locality for the display of his abilities
where opportunities were more prolific than those of which his native
community could boast, and by the time he was nineteen years of age,
in 1872, had saved sufficient funds from his earnings to carry him to
America. After a voyage on a sailing vessel he arrived at New York
City, and from the metropolis made his way to Sauk County, which com-
munity has continued, almost uninterruptedly, to be his home to the
present time. On certain occasions he has made short visits to Minnesota
and the Dakotas, but each time has returned to Sauk County.
On his arrival in Sauk County, Mr. Tiele first secured employment in
the butcher shop of Charles Hunt at Reedsburg, but after several months
thus spent turned his attention to farming. At first he worked by the
day and month, later was able to set himself up as a renter, and through
hard and industrious work finally achieved his ambition and bought a
farm in Baraboo Township, the property which is now owned and
operated by James Bonham. This was an eighty-acre tract, which Mr.
Tiele cultivated for a number of years, and on which he erected all the
buildings and made the other improvements. When he sold this land he
purchased the farm which he now owns, a forty-acre property^ also in
Baraboo Township, which has been brought to a high state of cultivation
and is a profitable investment. In addition to this the Tiele property
includes forty acres of timber land which is the property of his second
wife, who was Mrs. Southard. Mr. Tiele carries on general farming and
the raising of stock, and has been successful in both departments. He has
made his own way in the world, and the success that has come to him
has been gained not through outside sources but as a result of his own
hard work, ability, resource and initiative. In politics he is inclined to be
independent in supporting candidates, although, perhaps, he has demo-
594 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
-eratic leanings. For himself he has never sought office, having been
content to play a good citizen's part in the life of the community and to
discharge his civic responsibilities by helping to advance good move-
ments, education and morality. Mr. Tiele is a consistent member of the
Lutheran Church.
Mr. Tide's first marriage was to Miss Mary Monti, daughter of
Carl Monti, one of Sauk County 's pioneer residents. Two children were
born to this union, namely : Lena, who is the wife of Jesse Reel, a farmer
of Baraboo Township, and has one son, Teddy ; and Erna, who is engaged
in teaching in the public schools of Sauk County. The mother of these
children died in 1898, and in 1907 Mr. Tiele was united in marriage with
Mrs. Jennie (Stelting) Southard, widow of Harry Southard, of Baraboo
Township. Mrs. Tiele belongs to one of the early families of Wisconsin.
Her parents, originally from Indiana, came to Vernon County, Wisconsin, -
where they were engaged in agricultural pursuits for a number of years
and where both passed away.
James Anchor. Among the retired residents of Fairfield Town-
ship one who is accounted a- substantial and representative citizen is
Capt. James Anchor, the owner of a farm of sixty-seven acres situated
in the northwest part of the township. For thirty years, from 1872 until
1902, he sailed the Great Lakes, rising from ordinary seaman to master,
and abandoned the calling only when, through energy, industry and
integrity, he had accumulated a moderate fortune.
Capt. James Anchor was born in Norway, October 30, 1840, and was
a son of Hans and Mary Anchor, both of whom passed their lives in that
country and died there. They had four children: Katrina, who died
in Norway ; James ; Anna, who died in Milwaukee ; and Mary, who died
in infancy in Norway. The education of James Anchor was secured in
the public schools of his native land, and with a youth's love of adven-
ture became a sailor on ocean-going vessels, his first few trips determin-
ing his vocation in life. In 1872 he crossed the bar at the entrance to
Chicago Harbor and at once entered upon a career that brought him to
the forefront in his calling. He rose rapidly from position to position
until he became captain of the Arndale, and remained as master of that
sturdy vessel for fifteen years. In 1885 Captain Anchor purchased a
farm of 156 acres in Fairfield Township, upon which he located his
family, but continued to sail the Great Lakes until 1902, when he bought
his present farm of sixty-seven acres, upon which he has since lived
retired, the farm being operated by his son Carl. Captain Anchor's char-
acter is one admirably adapted to the work in which he spent his active
life. Of uncompromising honesty and fearless courage, he was a rigid
disciplinarian, yet his sympathies were broad and easily touched. During
his experience as a lake captain he had frequently to encounter men
whose inflamed passions impelled them to deeds of violence to enforce
the demands of those who denied others the right to fix their own valua-
tion upon their own labor. To such malcontents he exhibited a firm
front. Thovse who were willing to work he was always willing to protect,
and the turbulent spirit of their persecutors was awed and controlled hy
Ms simple word, backed by the expression of a purpose which the dis-
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 595
orderly, riotous crowd knew would be carried out to the letter. In the
relations of domestic and commercial life he has always been a man to be
trusted. Among his business associates his oral promise is considered as
good as a bond. He votes the republican ticket, but political matters
have held little interest for him, save as they have affected the welfare of
his country or his community. Both he and Mrs. Anchor were reared in
the Lutheran faith, but now attend the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Captain Anchor was married in 1876 to Miss Katrina Petersen, who
was bom January 14, 1851, at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, daughter of Abra-
ham and Sophia Petersen, natives of Norway and early settlers of
Milwaukee, where the father died in 1917, at the advanced age of
eighty-nine years, and the mother in 1869, when thirty-nine years old.
They were the parents of six children : Katrina, Lena, Josephine,
Edward, Paul and Olaf, of whom Mrs. Anchor is the only survivor.
Captain and Mrs. Anchor are the parents of five children: Norman,
formerly a sailor on the Great Lakes, who secured his first mate's card
before taking up farming, is now the operator as a renter of the Ringling
farm in Fairfield Township. He married Miss Etta Anchor. Alfred,
who is engaged in farming in Fairfield Township, married Hattie Mar-
tina, daughter of August Martina, she being now deceased. Carl, operat-
ing his father's farm, and supervisor of Fairfield Township, married
Lottie Lamar, and has two children, Dazie James and Charley Marion.
Hans is unmarried and an agriculturist in Fairfield Township ; William
died in October, 1913, aged twenty-four years.
Henry Schlickau. One of the fine farms of Westfield Township is
that owned by Henry Schlickau, and it has repaid his industry and
intelligent management throughout the thirty years he has lived there,
giving him prosperit,y and an envia,ble position among the representative
citizens of Sauk County.
Mr. Schlickau was born in Hanover, Germany, March 20, 1862, a
son of Henry and Mary (Hams) Schlickau. When he was seven years
of age he came with his parents to America. The family arrived in
Illinois in May, 1869, and, the following August went to Westfield Town-
ship of Sauk County. His parents bought 120 acres of wild land. It w'as
a tremendous task to cut down the trees and only gradually was the
change made from the wilderness into settled conditions of agriculture.
The fathet- lived a long and industrious life and passed away in May,
1901, while his wife died in February preceding his death. Henry
Schlickau, Sr., was an active member and an official in the Lutheran
Church. Their children were Henry, William, Annie and Lizzie. The
son William married Katherina Filing and now lives in Kansas. Annie
is the wife of Carl Stoletie of Hill Point, Sauk County. Lizzie married
Charles Giffert. of Westfield Township.
Mr. Henry Schlickau married. March 2, 1887, at the age of twenty-
five. Miss May Hahn, daughter of George and Dorothy Hahn, of Westfield
Township. In the same year of their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Schlickau
located on their present farm, and here they have reared their family
and while making ample provisions for their training and comfort
they have still been prospered and find themselves in a comfortable and
596 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
valuable home and surrounded with all the comforts and good things of
life. Mr. Schlickau is a progressive farmer, using the silo system of
feeding, and has made many improvements on the farm by his own hands.
He is a republican voter and an active member of the Lutheran Church.
Mrs. Schlickau 's brothers and sisters were: Catherine, now de-
ceased ; Henry, also deceased ; Anne ; and Dora. Anne is the wife of
Fred Reincke, of "Westfield Township. Dora married Christ Yenke, of
Honey Creek Township. Catherine became the wife of Chris Neinmann,
and he now lives in the State of Washington.
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Schlickau have a bright and interesting family
of six children, all of them still at home and unmarried. Their names
and dates of birth are : August, 1888 ; Lizzie, 1889 ; Mary, 1894 ; Annie,
1898 ; Dora, 1901 ; and George, 1904. These children were well educated,
in the local public schools and also attended a school conducted by the
Lutheran Church.
Emanuel Lorenz Philipp, the present governor of Wiscon.sin, is a
native of Sauk County, where he was born March 25, 1861, a son of Luzi
and Sabina (Ludwig) Philipp.
Governor Philipp had only a common school education, and his early
life was spent as a farmer, school teacher, telegraph operator, railway
station agent, and train dispatcher. He achieved eminence as a factor
in the business and industrial life of Wisconsin long before his name was
considered in polities. From 1893 to 1903 he was engaged in the lumber
business at Philipp, Mississippi. For a number of years he gave his
time to developing transportation interests and in 1897 was elected
president of the Union Refrigerator Transit Company, and has been
proprietor and manager of this business since 1908.
For many years his business interests have required his residence at
Milwaukee. He has served as president of the Humane Society of that
city, as regent of Marquette University, was police commissioner from
1909 to 1914, and in 1914 was elected, after a strenuous campaign, as
governor of Wisconsin for the term from 1915 to 391 7. Governor Philipp
is a prominent republican and was a member of the Republican National
Committee in 1908.
He is known as a forceful speaker and has done some vigorous writing,
being author of the "Truth about Wisconsin Freight Rates," published
in 1904, and the article "Political Reform in Wisconsin," published in
1908. He is a member of the Masonic Order and the Milwaukee Athletic
Club. On October 27, 1887, he married Miss Bertha Schweke of Reeds-
burg, Wisconsin.
"O)
Herbert W. Dano, now living retired at Reedsburg, is a native of
Wisconsin, and has found his life crowded with opportunities and has
used them with discretion and ability. His chief work has been as a
farmer, and for a number of years he has been one of the extensive cran-
berry growers of Central Wisconsin. His name is one that well deserves
mention in any history of Sauk County.
He was born at Janesville, Wisconsin, January 26, 1852, a son of
William and Margaret (Culver) Dano. His father was of New p]ngland
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 597
ancestry and was born at Vergennes, Vermont, in 1814. His mother was
born in Germany in 1822. In 1846 the Dano family arrived in Wisconsin,
locating at Janesville in Rock County, but in 1854, when Herbert was two
years of age, they removed to Sauk County and located in Washington
Township. Margaret Culver before her marriage had been a school
teacher at Sandusky, Ohio. Another early settler in this part of Sauk
County, coming about the same time as the Danos, was Mr. Joshua
Holmes, who married Miss Rosetta Lahmen. Mrs. Holmes had also
taught school in Sandusky, Ohio, and the two ladies selected Sandusky
as a name for an incipient village in Washington Township, a name
that still designates one of the little centers of Sauk County. William
Dano served as the first postmaster of Sandusky, having been appointed
in 1855. Associated with Mr. Joshua Holmes, he also built sawmills, and
they were together in the mercantile business. William Dano resided
at Sandusky for ten years, also lived for some time in Baraboo, but spent
his last years in Reedsburg, where his death occurred in 1886. His wife
had died on the farm in Excelsior Township in 1870. William Dano was
a republican in politics, taking a vigorous stand in political questions.
He and his wife had the following children : Louisa, who died at Janes-
ville in 1850; Elmer G.. ; Duane M. ; Herbert W. ; Charles; Albert 0. :
Edward E. ; Oscar L. ; and Inez Clair, who died in infancy.
Mr. Herbert W. Dano spent some of his childhood years in Sandusky
village and attended the public schools there. After his marriage he
located on the farm of his wife's father, the old Metcalf place, and Mr.
and Mrs. Dano still own this fine homestead, consisting of 240 acres.
They also own and for a number of years Mr. Dano looked after the
active management of three cranberry marshes situated in Juneau,
Monroe and Jackson counties.
Mr. and Mrs. Dano came to Reedsburg to live on March 4, 1908. Their
home is at 1118 East Main Street. Their home was destroyed in the high
wind of 1915, but it was rebuilt in the same year by a fine residence
of every modern convenience. Politically Mr. Dano follows the example
of his father and is a stanch republican.
On November 13, 1879, he married Miss Alice Metcalf. Mrs. Dano
was born on the old Metcalf homestead in Excelsior Township July 31,
1856. They have one daughter, Margaret, born September 24, 1880. She
was educated in the public schools, graduating from the Reedsburg High
School, and is now the wife of Walter Morgan. Mr. Morgan is a man of
affairs at Ladysmith, Wisconsin, serving as cit}^ engineer, is a wholesale
and retail produce dealer and a drainage contractor. For several years
he was in the lumber business and has had a very successful career. Mr.
and Mrs. Morgan have two children, Ruth and Alice.
Mrs. Dano is a daughter of Thomas and Mary (Warrener) Metcalf.
Her father was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1821, and her mother in
Kilburn, England, in 1826. They arrived in New York City in April,
1847, and located on a tract of new land in Excelsior Township of Sauk
County in April, 1852. Mrs. Dano's mother died there in 1859 and her
father passed away in 1899. Mrs. Dano is a sister of Richard Metcalf,
elsewhere mentioned in this publication.
598 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Adam Leicher, a retired business man of Loganville, enjoys the satis-
faction of having given the world a capable service as a mechanic and
business factor for more than half a century. Honest and good work has
been the means by which he has climbed step by step to a position of
prosperity, and he is one of the most highly esteemed men of Westfield
Township.
Mr. Leicher was born in Germany, September 16, 1847, a son of
Lawrence and Margaret (Ruf) Leicher. In 1857, when he was ten
years of age, his parents came to America and located in the wilderness
section of Hartford in Washington County, Wisconsin. His father
bought forty acres of raw land in Hartford Township, cleared it up with
his own hands, and provided for his family by its cultivation. He died at
Lavalle, Wisconsin, in 1875, at the age of sixty-nine, and his wife passed
away in 1877, aged sixty-six. They had a family of six children:
Elizabeth, Catherine, Eva and Lorenz, deceased : and Martin and Adam,
still living.
Adam Leicher attended school in Germany for four years before
coming to America. He was .just old enough to appreciate his surround-
ing and environment when the family settled at Hartford in Wash-
ington County. The first school he attended there was a private one and
in the basement of a house owned by Fred Prien. He is one of the few
men still living who can recall the time when the few children of Hart-
ford attended that old institution. Later he went to school in a little
red schoolhouse. In the fall of 1865, when he was eighteen years of
age, he began an apprenticeship at the wagon making trade, and worked
steadily in that line for fifty-one years.
For several years he lived at Neosho in Dodge County, where in 1869
be married Miss Marietta Kendall. She was born in Walworth County,
Wisconsin, February 13, 1849, daughter of William and Eliza Kendall.
Her parents were natives of Vermont, were pioneers in Walworth County
and in 1851 removed to Dodge County and settled at Neosho, where they
died, her father July 10, 1892, and her mother in 1855. Her father after
the death of her mother married twice. His second wife was Louisa
Stoughson, and the one son of that union was William Fenton. His third
wife was Jane Goodwin, and she was the mother of a daughter, Nellie.
In 1870 Mr. and Mrs. Leicher moved to Loganville, where he estab-
lished a Avagon shop and for years his shop w^as the place where the
farmers brought their instruments to be repaired and it became one of
the leading business establishments of the village. In 1892 Mr. Leicher
added an undertaking department, and continued in that business until
1915. In 1916 he practically retired from business altogether, although
he is still interested with his sons in a local automobile business.
In matters of politics Mr. Leicher is a republican. His fellow citizens
have shown their confidence in his judgment and integrity by electing
him and keeping him steadily in the position of justice of the peace for
over forty years. With many other good things to his credit it remains to
account briefly for his family. Eleven children were born to him and
his wife, and most of them have grown up to occupy honorable stations
in the world. William L., the oldest, was born March 6, 1870, and is now
deceased; Fenton A., born March 20, 1873, is now in the automobile
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 599
business at Luveme, Minnesota ; Edward L. was born September 23, 1876 ;
Albert, October 12, 1878 ; Lyda, June 24, 1879 ; Gilbert C, July 3, 1882 ;
Frank J., October 19, 1884 ; Cora May, May 11, 1887 ; Clyde and Claud,
twins, January 22, 1889; and Fernando, January 23, 1891. The sons,
Gilbert and Frank, with the assistance of their. father as silent partner,
established an automobile business at Loganville under the name Leicher
Brothers, and they now have the leading garage and repair and accessory
shop of the town,
August Thies. Some of the finest and best equipped dairy and gen-
eral farms in Sauk County are found in the Loganville community, and
one of these is in Westfield Township, its proprietor being August Thies.
Mr. Thies represents a family that has been identified with Sauk County
since early times, and his own part has identified him with the clearing
and developing of the land as well as the substantial and well-ordered
industry of modern times.
Mr. Thies was bom in Westfield Township, on the farm now owned by
his brother Herman, on April 25, 1873. He is a son of Charles and Eliza-
beth (Meyer) Thies, both of whom were natives of Germany. The
paternal grandparents also came to Sauk County after the arrival of some
of their children and spent their last days here. The maternal grand-
parents, George and Elizabeth Meyer, found a hom.e in Sauk County for
their last years. George Meyer was a German soldier under the great
Napoleon and had marched with the French troops into Russia and wit-
nessed the burning of the Russian City of Moscow. Charles Thies came
to America in 1850, when ten years of age, with his two brothers, who
located in Dane County, Wisconsin. One of these brothers was Frederick,
who was then twenty-one years of age and who passed away recently in
April, 1917, at the age of eighty-seven. The other brother was Henry,
who spent his life at Cottage Grove in Dane County. When Charles
Thies was seventeen years of age he came to Westfield Township with his
brother-in-law, Frederick Telker, and bought what is known today as the
John Schultz place. He cleared up most of the land contained in that
farm and later sold it. Charles Thies then bought a tract of land which
he subsequently sold to Mr. Luther mann, the present proprietor. His
next purchase was the Briggs farm of 120 acres, and here again he applied
himself to the clearing and developing of a farm from practically new
land. This constituted the old homestead where August was born and
where the son Herman now lives. Charles Thies owned and developed a
number of good lands in Sank County. He bought the 160 acres where
his son William resides, and later bought 106 acres nearby, and still later
the Lew Tarst farm of 152 acres at Reedsburg. This is the farm now
owned and occupied by his son Heniy. Charles Thies finally moved to
Loganville, where he bought the home of D. B. Hulbert, a good house with
seventeen acres of ground. In that home he spent his last years in com-
fort and plenty and passed 'away in 1913, at the age of seventy-three. His
widow still lives among her children and is now eighty-three years of
age. The parents were both active in the Lutheran Church and the father
was a democrat. Their children were : Henry, who died in early child-
Vol. 11 — 3
600 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
hood; William; Charles, of Madison, Wisconsin; Annie, who died in
1893; August; Herman; and Henry,
August Thies grew up on his father's farm and attended both the
parochial and public schools. In March, 1894, at the age of twenty-one,
he married Miss Dora Meyer. She was born on the farm where she and
her husband now reside on July 24, 1873. Her parents, August and Dora
(Fredericks) Meyer, were early settlers in Westfield Township and cleared
up 100 acres of the farm now owned by August Thies. Mrs. Thies'
father died there and her mother is still living.
In the year that he married Mr. Thies bought the Meyer place and
has since developed it into a modern stock and dairy farm. He keeps
from forty-five to fifty head of cattle, including some thoroughbred Hol-
stein cows, and contributes materially to the production of Sauk County
as a dairy county. Mr. Thies has all the equipment necessary for stock
raising and dairying, including a large barn which in its main dimensions
is 34 by 86 feet, with an addition 14 by 46 feet.
In 1917 Mr. Thies was honored by his fellow citizens with election to
the office of side supervisor. He is a republican and a member of the
Lutheran Church. He and his wife have a fine family of nine children,
all of them still living. Their names in order of birth are Martin, Lena,
William, Frederick, Freda, Lydia, August, Dora and Paul.
MiVEiON LaMar. In Marion LaMar is found a retired citizen of Fair-
field Township whose industrious and well-directed efforts entitle him
to a place among the upbuilders of Sauk County. During his long resi-
dence within the borders of the county he has worked out an admirable
destiny, and from modest beginnings has drawn about him for the comfort
and happiness of his later years such compensations as wealth, the affec-
tionate devotion of his well-established children, the credit for having
contributed largely to the general development of the community, and
the confidence and good will of his business and social associates.
Mr. LaMar was born in Baraboo Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin,
July 8, 1850, and is a son of James and Arminda (Rowan) LaMar, the
former a native of Tennessee and the latter of Columbia County, Wis-
consin. The maternal grandparents of Mr. LaMar, Mr. and Mrs. Wallace
Rowan, were early pioneers of Sauk County, whence Mr. Rowan came to
trade with the Indians, and later he assisted in the building of the first
mill on the Baraboo River, in company with Abe Wood. Mr. Rowan died
at Lyons, Wisconsin, and Mrs. Rowan later went to Illinois, where she
passed away. James LaMar came from Tennessee to Baraboo at an early
day and entered 160 acres of land in Baraboo Township, which he sold
to Mr. Wells before the Civil war. He bought another 160 acres of
Archabold Barker, which he sold to Nelson Morley after the Civil war.
He then bought 200 acres of land in Fairfield Township, where his son
Marion now resides, and continued to make his home on that property
during the remainder of his life. He and his wife were the parents of
the following children : Carrie ; Marion, of this notice ; Melissa, who is
the wife of A. Z. Norton and resides in Oregon ; Eleanor, who is the widow
of Charles Meyers and lives in Baraboo Township ; Rhoda, the wife of
Charles 0. Meyers and a resident of Oregon ; James Frederick, who is
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 601
deceased ; Britomart, who is the wife of Bert Dodge and resides in Colo-
rado; and Alfreda, who is the wife of Robert Gibson, of Delton Township,
Sauk County.
Marion LaMar received his education in the country schools of Bara-
boo and Fairfield townships, and when he entered upon his career adopted
the vocation of agriculturist. For many years he carried on successful
farming operations, demonstrating what a man can accomplish by pursu-
ing practical and straightforward methods and by exercising always in
his associations with his fellow men the qualities of consideration, integ-
rity and honesty. At the present time he is living in retirement, and his
son Maxwell is conducting the home farm. Mr. LaMar is a prohibitionist,
but is interested in politics only as a voter. He and Mrs. LaMar are
members of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of Fairfield Township.
In 1873 Mr. LaMar was married to Miss Ella Norton, who was born
in Fairfield Township, Sauk County, in December, 1855, daughter of
Amos and Cordelia Norton, who came to Sauk County in 1849 and settled
at Peck's Corners, Fairfield Township. Mr. and Mrs. Norton passed the
remainder of their lives here in agricultural pursuits, the latter dying in
1860. They were the parents of the following children : Roswald, born
in 1837, who fought as a soldier during the Civil war ; Eli, born in 1840,
who also wore the uniform of the Union in that struggle ; Nirum, born in
1842, who likewise showed his patriotism by enlisting in the struggle
between the North and the South ; Melissa, born in 1844 ; Sarah S., born
in 1847, taught school at an early day until her marriage to Harry
Wooden, who was born in New York, came to Illinois to work at his trade
as carpenter, enlisted in the Thirty-second Regiment, Illinois Volunteer
Infantry, served four years in the war and was with Sherman on his
march to the sea; then came to Baraboo, Wisconsin, and died in 1907,
aged seventy years, having been the father of three children, Ralph
Harry, who died aged eighteen years, Viola lone and Russell ; Charlotte,
born in 1850 ; Amos Z., born in 1852 ; and Ella P., born in 1855, now Mrs.
LaMar. After the death of the mother of these children Mr. Norton mar-
ried Catherine Marston and had one child, William, born in 1862, and
now a resident of Baraboo. Mr. Norton rounded out a long and honor-
able career as an agriculturist and died in 1894.
Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. LaMar, namely : Lena,
who is the wife of Wayne Newell ; Ruby, the wife of Milton Holt ; James,
who is engaged in farming in Fairfield Township ; Clifford, a resident of
Baraboo ; Percy, living in Fairfield Township ; Lottie, who is the wife of
Carl Anchor, of Fairfield Township ; and Maxwell, who is conducting
operations on the home farm.
Clare A. Briggs. It is known to perhaps only a comparatively few
of the well-informed people of Sauk County that one of the world's
ablest and most popular cartoonists was born within the borders of this
county, and though his life from early boyhood has been spent in other
scenes, it is appropriate to include his name and something of his career
among the records of Sauk County people who have gained distinction.
.Clare A. Briggs was bom at Reedsburg August 5, 1875, son of William
P. and Ella (Stewart) Briggs. He spent his youth and early manhood
602 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
chiefly in Illinois and Nebraska, and from 1894 to 1896 was a student in
the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. He began his Avork as a news-
paper artist with the St. Louis Globe Democrat in 1896, was connected
with the St. Louis Chronicle in 1898, the New York World in 1898-99,
the New York Journal in 1899, and came into the early fruits of his
fame in his profession while with the Chicago American and Examiner.
In 1907 the Chicago Tribune attracted him to its staff, and some of his
best work was done while exclusively employed by that paper. In 1914
he went to the New York Tribune and since then his illustrative genius
has largely been syndicated.
He is known as the creator of ' ' Skin-nay, " " The Days of Real Sport, ' '
' ' When a Feller Needs a Friend, " " Friend Wife, " " Kelly Pool. ' ' Sev-
eral of his best known series of illustrations have jjeen compiled and pub-
lished in book form.
He is a member of the Cliff Dwellers, Chicago Yacht, the Forty Club,
the Press Club of Chicago, the Lambs, the Salmagundi and Press clubs
of New York, the Wykagyl Country and New Roehelle Yacht clubs. His
home is at New Roehelle, New York, and his present address is the New
York Tribune.
Henry Harms. For upwards of half a century the name and career
of Henry Harms have been identified with Sauk County. The first work
he did in the county was as a harvest man, and the accumulations that
have made him one of the most prosperous farmers in Westfield Township
have been the result of a slow and toilsome progress.
Mr. Harms was born in Germany, November 14, 1852, a son of Fred-
erick and Margaret (Bodenstab) Harms. The family came to Sauk
County in 1869, settling in Westfield Township, where his father hired
out his services to others for several years, but about 1873 bought the land
where his son Henry now lives. The old homestead consisted of eighty
acres and its first improvement was a log house. It was gradually brought
under cultivation, and the father lived there for a number of years,
finally going out to Nebraska with his son William. He died in that state
in 1917, at the advanced age of ninety-three years and three months.
His wife also passed away in Nebraska, aged ninety-one, in 1915. Thus
they were of hardy and vigorous stock and their lives were prolonged
beyond the normal expectation of years, though both of them were hard
workers. They were active members of the Lutheran Church. Their five
children were Henry, William, Dorris, Fritz and Catherine. Dorris died
in 1915, at the age of fifty-six.
Henry Harms acquired his early education in Germany. He was old
enough to do a full day's work when he arrived in Sank County" in July,
1869, and a few days later he was earning a wage as a harvest hand in
Dane County, Wisconsin. For several years he worked, saved and finally
invested his earnings in the old homestead of eighty acres. He has since
added two other eighties, making his home farm 240 acres. Still another
eighty came under his ownership, but he sold that to his son Frederick
and later he bought 160 acres which is now owned by his son William.
All these tracts of land are in Westfield Township and they represent a
splendid estate for one family. Mr. Harms has invested much of his
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 603
income in buildings and other improvements, and he has one of the finest
bams in the toAvnship, 42 by 108 feet in ground dimensions. Many years
ago Mr. Harms had some experience in hop growing, formerly one of
the chief industries of the county. He runs a fine dairy of Holstein cattle,
keeping about forty head of cows besides a large amount of young stock.
He has rendered public service on the school board and is an active
republican. He and his family worship in the Lutheran faith.
In 1880 Mr. Harms married Miss Louisa Gade. She was born at
Eeedsburg, Wisconsin, in 1858, a daughter of Fred and Dora (Schroeder)
Gade. Her parents, both now deceased, were among the pioneer settlers
of Reedsburg. Mr. and Mrs. Harms have eight children, the four younger
ones still living at home. Frederick, the oldest, married Martha Hartig,
who died in 1904. The son William, another practical and progressive
young farmer of Westfield Township, married Elsa Goetsch. Henry
married Amanda Peters. The daughter Mary is the wife of Walter
Goetsch. The four younger children at home are' Dora, Ludwig, Ernest
and Lydia.
Jefferson C. Payne. Sauk County has profited by the stable citi-
zenship and faithful industry of the Payne family since the late '40s.
Practically all bearing the name have been identified with agriculture, but
their services have been extended also to politics, education and religion.
Jefferson C. Payne, now living retired at Baraboo, but for many years
known as one of the most extensive farmers and sheep raisers in this
section, represents the second generation of his family in the county.
He is a native son of Sauk, having been born on Sauk Prairie, February
12, 1850, where his parents, Charles and Orpha (Squires) Payne, had
settled in March, 1848. His father was born July 16, 1824, in St. Law-
rence County, New York, and was married at Massena, that state, to Miss
Squires, who had been bom in Vermont, February 19, 1825.
Seeking a community in which to make a home and to own property
of their own, Charles and Orpha Payne came overland from New York
to Wisconsin in 1846, their first settlement being in Dane Comity, where
they took up land from the United States Government. Their property
there did not prove satisfactory, and in March, 1848, they removed their
household effects and small farm outfit, including stock, to Sauk Prairie,
Sauk County, where the father bought a claim of 160 acres. He was
enterprising and industrious and made a decided success of -his agri-
cultural operations, adding to his holdings from time to time
imtil he owned 900 acres of land. In 1898 he retired from active
pursuits and moved to Prairie du Sac, where Mrs. Payne died in 1899,
he surviving until June 22, 1907. He was a member of the Free Masons,
a good citizen of his community, and a man held in universal esteem for
his integrity and upright character. There were four children in the
family, namely : William, born December 21, 1847 ; Jefferson C. ; Isaac,
bom January 19, 1853 ; and Elizabeth, born March 8, 1856, who died in
1911.
Jefferson C. Payne was reared on the old homestead and received his
education in the old Baraboo Institute and in the schools of Albion, Dane
County. He remained on the farm with his parents, and after his mar-
604 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
riage, in February, 1872, embarked upon operations of his own, having
early adopted the vocation of an agriculturist as his life work. Like his
father, he made it his policy to add to his land from time to time, extend-
ing his holdings as his means would permit and making improvements as
he gained more property, so that when he was ready to retire he had 360
acres of finely cultivated land, with good buildings and first-class equip-
ment. For a number of years Mr. Payne was a leading breeder of Shrop-
shire sheep, and in this connection shipped each year a number of these
animals, frequently to far-distant states. In each of his several ventures
his sagacity and business ability made him successful, and at all times
he maintained a reputation for strict integrity in business transactions
that made his name an honored one in business circles.
In 1905 Mr. Payne purchased a modern home at No. 522 Second
Street, Baraboo, but it was not until three years later that he laid aside
the cares of active toil and moved to this city to live in quiet contentment,
enjoying the comforts that his years of labor had brought. He has always
been a republican, and while he has not been a seeker for personal prefdt-
ment has taken an active interest in politics in behalf of his friends and
his party. His only fraternal connection is with the Modern Woodmen
of America.
On February 22, 1872, Mr. Payne was united in marriage with Miss
Bettie Hedges, who was born in Elkhart County, Indiana, April 14, 1850,
being a daughter of Charles and Phoebe (Hoagland) Hedges, natives of
Penn Yan, New York, the former born in 1805 and the latter in 1810.
Mr. and Mrs. Hedges were married in their native state, and as young
people went to Elkhart County, Indiana, where they made theij;' home
until 1852. In that year they answered the call of the West, coming to
Sauk County, Wisconsin, where Mr. Hedges, purchased a farm on Sauk
Prairie. He continued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits until his
death, which occurred in 1865, when he was sixty years of age, while
Mrs. Hedges survived him, for thirty years and had reached the advanced
age of eighty-five years at the time of her demise in 1895. They were
the parents of the following children : Isaac, who died in infancy ; Ben-
jamin, who also died when a babe ; Jane ; Dayton, who fought as a Union
soldier during the Civil war and died in Idaho in 1915 ; John, also a
wearer of the blue during the Civil war, who with his brother Dayton was
wounded at Gettysburg, but who did not come safely through the struggle,
meeting his death on the bloody battlefield of the Wilderness ; Cela, who
was also a Union soldier in that war ; Clement, who is a resident of Idaho ;
Bettie, who is now Mrs. Payne ; Charles, who is deceased ; and William,
who is a resident of Idaho.
To Mr. and Mrs. Payne there have been born five children, namely :
Delia, born February 24, 1874, has followed an educational career, being
a graduate of Whitewater Normal School, after which she taught for
several years, became principal at Marinette for five years, taught five
years in the eighth grade at Baraboo, took a course and graduated from
the Stout Training School, and is now a teacher of domestic science at
Eau Claire, Wisconsin ; Edward, born May 7, 1878, a graduate of a busi-
ness college at Eau Claire, who has succeeded his father in the manage-
ment and operation of the old homestead ; Jennie, born March 30, 1881,
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 605
and now the wife of C. F. Rich, who is engaged in farming in- Sauk
County ; Dayton, bom February 2, 1884, a graduate from a Milwaukee
business college, and now engaged in farming on Sauk Prairie; and
Verne C, born in February, 1890, one of the enterprising young agricul-
turists of Sauk County, and who enlisted in July, 1917, in Company I,
6th Wisconsin Infantry.
Herman Hasz, of Westfield Township, is proprietor of a thoroughly
equipped small farm where he conducts a model dairy, producing milk
from thoroughbred Holstein cattle.
Mr. Hasz has been a fixture in this community all his life and his
people were all pioneers of the county. He was born on the farm he now
owns in Westfield Township September 3, 1881, a son of Nicholas and
Marie (Luehrsen) Hasz. The parents were both born in Germany, the
father in 1836 and his mother in 1841. Nicholas Hasz was brought to
Sauk County in 1856 by his parents, Peter and Rebecca Hasz, and they
all settled on a tract of raw land in Westfield Township, where the grand-
parents spent their last years. The grandmother was ninety-one years
of age when she died. The maternal grandparents, Henry and Anna
Luehrsen, were also among the early settlers of Sauk County, in the year
1856, and Henry Luehrsen, who died at LoganviUe at the age of eighty-
four, was a mason by trade and did much of the pioneer work in that
line in Sauk County. Nicholas Hasz and wife were married in this
county, rented land for a few years, and then bought the farm now owned
by their son Herman. This land has been in the family ownership for
nearly fifty years, and the father cleared away much of the timber and
put in the first crops. He also erected some substantial buildings, and
lived there until his death in 1912. His interests were not confined to
his farm. He was secretary of the Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company
for thirty-five years and also secretary of the LoganviUe Creamery Com-
pany. He was township treasurer and at one time was chairman of the
Township Board. Politically he was an active democrat and "he and his
family were Lutherans. His widow is still living, at the age of seventy-
six. They had eight children: Henry, Emma, Anna, Marie, Martin,
Theodor, Henrietta and Herman. Of these, Anna, Marie and Henrietta
are now deceased.
Herman Hasz grew up on the old homestead farm and received his
education from the parochial and district schools. He was a practical
farmer before his father's death and after that event he acquired the old
homestead and has demonstrated the possibilities of a place of 156 acres
for farming and dairying. He has all the necessary equipment in the
way of buildings, and runs a dairy of about twenty-five pure Holstein
cattle. Mr. Hasz is a democrat in politics. June 7, 1916, he married
Helen Sternitzky, of Clark County, Wisconsin.
GusTAv W. Hass. Steady application to the development of an idea
and persevering attention to the building up of an enterprise have brought
success to Gustav W. Hass, proprietor of a flourishing meat market busi-
ness at Reedsburg. Mr. Hass is of German ancestry, and from ancestors
who were compelled to labor under discouraging conditions inherits char-
606 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
acteristics of perseverance and industry, but also has an obliging nature
and keen sense of humor which lubricate the wheels of his business and
bring him into touch with the pleasures as well as profits of existence.
In addition to being a substantial business man Mr. Hass has taken more
than a passive part in civic affairs, and is also prominently identified with
the Sauk County Fair Association.
Gustav W. Hass was born at Mauston, the county seat of Juneau
County, Wisconsin, October 22, 1870, and is a son of Gustav and Eliza-
beth (Perau) Hass. His paternal grandfather was Louis Hass, who died
in Germany, following which his widow, Anna Hass, came to the United
States about the year 1871 and lived at the home of her son until her
death in 1872, at Mauston, in which city she was buried. Gustav Hass
was born March 2, 1840, in Prussia, Germany, and was about twenty-
three years of age when he immigrated to the United States, coming in
1863 to Wisconsin and first locating at Kilbourn. Subsequently he went
to Ableman, and from that point to Baraboo, having formerly been in the
meat business both at Kilbourn and Ableman. He remained at Baraboo
for one winter. February 16, 1867, he was married at Reedsburg to Miss
Elizabeth Perau, who was born October 15, 1851, in Hanover, Germany,
a daughter of John and Catherine Perau. Mr. Perau died in Germany
in 1862, and his widow subsequently brought her daughter to the United
States, locating at Kilbourn in 1864. Mr. Hass had purchased a meat
market at Mauston, and as soon as married, in 1867, went to that city
and for the next forty years was a resident there and engaged in busi-
ness, having for much of that time as partner Andrew Ely. On April
8, 1907, Mr. Hass came to Reedsburg and purchased a good home at
No. 420 South Park Street, where he now lives in retirement from active
pursuits, having sold his market at Mauston in 1916. At the time of his
retirement he had an up-to-date, well-equipped meat market, with an
excellent trade, and at the side of the business building was loeated his
comfortable and commodious residence. He was a good business man,
industrious, honorable and capable in handling his affairs, and the suc-
cess that rewarded his efforts was his just due for a lifetime of probity
and hard labor. In politics Mr. Hass is identified with no party, always
reserving the right to be independent in his views and not tied down by
party lines. He and his wife are faithful members of the Lutheran
Church. On February 16, 1917, they celebrated their golden wedding
anniversary, at which their children and grandchildren, as well as many
other members of the family, gathered to do honor to this worthy old
Wisconsin couple. They are the parents of five children, namely : Bertha,
Gustav W., of this review ; Arthur, of Tomah, Wisconsin ; Alvin, engaged
in the meat business at Reedsburg; and Frederick Wilhelm, who died at
Reedsburg in 1916, at the age of twenty-four years.
Gustav W. Hass was educated in the graded and high schools at
Mauston, and at the age of fourteen years went to work in his father's
meat market, thus early securing his introduction to and training in the
business which he was to make his life work. After several years the
young man showed such promise that his father admitted him to partner-
ship in the business at Mauston, and this association continued until
January 1, 1893, when it was mutually dissolved, Gustav W. Hass coming
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 607
to Reedsburg, where he formed a partnership in the meat business with
Charles Krohn, under the firm style of Hass & Krohn. This combination
has continued to the present time and has grown and developed until it
is now one of the most successful retail business enterprises of the city,
having a large, sanitary store, well equipped with the latest appliances.
Mr. Hass is known in business circles as a man of integrity, who respects
the highest business ethics and fully lives up to the letter of his agree-
ments.- Sauk County boasts one of the best fair associations in the State
of Wisconsin. Mr. Hass was one of the organizers of this association,
having formed a stoek company in association with W. A. Stolte. This
was sold in 1912, although Mr. Hass still remains as a stockholder in the
enterprise. He has been speed superintendent of the venture for several
years, and has done much to give it its prestige and reputation as a live
and interesting affair. Politically a republican in sentiment, he has
always reserved the right to vote independently at times, preferring to
rely upon in his own judgment in certain cases. He has served excep-
tionally well as city treasurer of Reedsburg and in other offices. Mr. Hass
is also well known in fraternal circles, being a member of Reedsburg
Lodge No. 157, Free & Accepted Masons; Reedsburg Chapter, Royal
Arch Masons; Reedsburg Commandery No. 21, Knights Templar; Mil-
waukee Consistory, and Tripoli Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of
the Mj^stic Shrine; of the Order of the Eastern Star, to which his wife
also belongs ; and of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias.
On December 25, 1890, Mr. Hass was married to Miss Mettie May
Pratt, who was born in Juneau County, Wisconsin, a daughter of Lorenzo
Pratt, an early settler of Mauston and a soldier of the Civil war, who
died at Mauston, where his widow still resides. To Mr. and Mrs. Hass
there have been born two children, as follows : George, a graduate of
Reedsburg High School, who attended Carroll College one year and the
University of Wisconsin two years, and is now attending the Marquette
Law School, preparing for a career in the legal profession ; and Louise,
a graduate of Reedsburg High School and of the School of Oratory at
Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, residing at home.
John M. True was born in Moultonboro, New Hampshire, October 9,
1838. He received an academic education and taught in the public schools
of New Hampshire and Massachusetts. His marriage to Miss Annie Beede
took place in New Hampshire in 1864 and together they came to Wisconsin
in 1866, locating on a farm near Baraboo, For a time Mr. True com-
bined school teaching with farm work. In 1874 he was elected county
register of deeds, which office he held for a period of six years. He
served as city-assessor in Baraboo for seven years and for fourteen
years acted as supervisor from his ward, being chairman of the Count}^
Board of Supervisors eleven years during this time.
At the organization of the City of Baraboo he was elected a member
of the Board of Education, which position he held for a period of more
than twenty-five years. For several j^ears he was selected to fill the
office of president of the Sauk County Agricultural Society, also acting
as secretary of the association several times. Mr. True was active in the
Farmers' Institute work in the state for a number of vears and was a
608 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
regent of the University of Wisconsin during the administration of
Governor W. D, Hoard. As secretary of the State Agricultural Society,
which office he occupied for six years, he assisted in locating the present
state fair grounds in the City of Milwaukee. Upon the organization of the
State Board of Agriculture he was asked to act as first president of the
board and later he served as its secretary for twelve years.
Mr. True was a member of the State Assembly in the sessions of
1898-1899 and 1900-1901, and of the State Senate from the district com-
posed of the counties of Sauk and Columbia in 1911-1915.
Harry Ellsworth Cole is a son of Thomas Cole who came with his
father's family to the State of Indiana in the pioneer days of that com-
monwealth. Their home for many years had been near Columbus,
Ohio. The grandfather of Thomas Cole was a Methodist Divine. The
mother, Caroline Moyston Cole, had journeyed with her family from
Schenectady, New York, about the same time that her future husband
came from Ohio. Her ancestors were the sturdy settlers of New Am-
sterdam, earnest followers of the Dutch Reformed church. After the
marriage of Thomas Cole and Caroline Moyston they located on a farm
adjoining the Town of Pierceton, Indiana, and here the son Harry Ells-
worth was born soon after the Civil war opened. He graduated from
De Pauw University at Greencastle, Indiana, in 1892. He was an
enthusiastic member during his college days of the Delta Upsilon
fraternity, representing his chapter at the Boston Convention in 1891.
Before attending De Pauw he had taught several terms of school
and following his graduation he accepted the principalship of the
schools in Pierceton. During these years he had done reportorial work
during vacations on the Muncie (Indiana) Daily Times and after a year
of teaching he returned to newspaper work, accepting a position upon
the La Crosse (Wisconsin) Republican and Leader. On April 27, 1894,
in company with A. D. Dorsett, a classmate at De Pauw, he purchased
an interest in the Baraboo News from J. F. Kartack. Mr, Cole, Mr.
Dorsett and Mr, Kartack began the publication of the Baraboo Daily
News on June 4, 1894, Since then Mr. Kartack and Mr. Dorsett have
severed their connection with the paper but Mr. Cole is still actively
interested in the publication.
On May 24, 1899, Mr. Cole and Miss Dorothy Matchette, of Pierce-
ton, Indiana, were united in marriage, and through the years their home
has been one of open hospitality to friends and acquaintances.
Besides his life work, which has been to publish a paper of high
ideals and practical usefulness in the community, Mr. Cole is connected
with other activities in the locality. As a member of the republican
political party he has always stood frankly for his convictions and
worked for them. He was one of the organizers of the Sauk County
Historical Society and has occupied the position of president of the
organization since its beginning. He is a life member and curator of
the State Historical Society, On account of his interest in matters
historical he was tendered an honorary membership in the Historical
Society of the City of Chicago.
In literary activities he has always been interested, being president
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 609
of the Fortnightly Literary Club of Baraboo and a frequent speaker at
similar clubs.
As a creed Mr, Cole holds that life is worth living and he follows it
with enthusiasm.
Riley J. LIartiny is a Sauk County farmer who has not contented
himself entirely with the routine handling of lands and crops and live-
stock, but has gone in for a specialty. That specialty is the raising of
seed corn, and he has adhered to such high standards in the production
of seed corn that all he can produce has a ready sale here and elsewhere.
Mr. Martiny was born in Baraboo township of this county March 2,
1868, a son of August and Jane (Wilder) Martiny. On other pages will
be found an article referring to his father, one of the venerable old
timers of Sauk County who is now living retired near Baraboo.
At the family homestead in this county Riley J. Martiny spent his
early years, and at the same time attended the district schools and the Bar-
aboo High School. After his education he worked for seven years with the
railroads, but in 1895 came back to the land and bought 137 acres in
Delton Township. He has since increased his estate to 247 acres. His
building improvements are all modern, and include two large silos and
two seed corn drying houses. Mr. Martiny has made a specialty of Golden
Glow seed com for the past eight years. His corn has met every test
of germination, hardiness and running true to type, and every year's
experience gives him a better hold on the business and increases the value
of his product. Aside from the production of seed corn Mr. Martiny 's
farm is devoted to the breeding of Guernsey cattle and Duroc Jersey
swine. He has two large hog houses in addition to his large barn.
Mr. Martiny has at the same time taken an active interest in public
affairs, has been a member of the town board for five years, and is an
active republican. He and his family worship in the Methodist Episcopal
Church in Fairfield Township.
August 12, 1893, Mr. Martiny married Mary Atkinson, member of an
old and prominent family of Sauk County. She was born in Delton
Township on the old homestead February 17, 1873, daughter of John
and Mandilla L. (Hackett) Atkinson. Both the Atkinson and Hackett
names are widely known over Sauk County. John Atkinson, her father,
was born at Emden in the state of Maine, January 26, 1818, a son of
Christopher and Betsey (Johnson) Atkinson. Christopher Atkinson was
born at Fredericksburg, Virginia, while his wife was a native of Maine.
In Virginia Christopher learned the hatter's trade, was employed in that
line at New York for some time and afterwards moved to Farmington in
the State of Maine. He married there and had a family of thirteen
children. Three of these children are still living. Joseph Atkinson, in
Maine ; Mrs. Walworth D. Porter, of Baraboo ; and George, of LaCrosse,
Wisconsin. Christopher Atkinson in 1856 came to Sauk County and his
wife followed him the next year. They lived with their son John in Fair-
field Township, and Christopher passed away at the venerable age of
ninety-six years in April, 1873, His widow died in Baraboo in 1877,
aged eighty-six.
John Atkinson, father of Mrs. Martiny, grew up in the State of Maine
610 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
with a public school education, and did much work on the home farm and
in the lumber woods in the winter season. It was in 1855 that he came
to Sauk County and joined the pioneer settlers, establishing his home in
what is now Delton Township. There he bought 100 acres of wild land,
and by his own labors cleared up a considerable part of it. It was a farm
of excellent improvements long before he passed away. He died there
July 21, 1893. His widow is still living on the old homestead, and that
has been her home continuously for over sixty years. John Atkinson
married in 1856 Miss Mandilla L. Hackett. She was born at New Vine-
yard, Maine, January 10, 1835, daughter of Hartson and Martha T.
(Johnson) Hackett. John Atkinson and wife had five children: Emily
is the widow of Frank Wilder and has two children, Frank and Ethel;
Nellie is the wife of Frank Getchell and had three children, Perry P.,
Tina and Dillie; Fannie married Mark Getchell and their one child is
Edith ; Mary L. is Mrs. R. J. Martiny ; and Joseph B. died August 6,
1893, at the age of twenty-nine. John Atkinson was a republican in
politics, and was one of the founders of that party in the State of Maine.
His widow is an active member of the Congregational Church.
To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Martiny have been born three chil-
dren, named Pierce, Evelyn and Keith.
Fred C. Kruse is proprietor of the Roseland Stock Farm in Westfield
Township. His career is a stimulating example of what may be accom-
plished by a man of energy in pursuit of a definite ambition and a deter-
mination to make a home and achieve something out of the ordinary
in farming.
Mr. Kruse is a native of Westfield Township, where he was born March
18, 1868, a son of Herman and Annie (Luehrsen) Kruse. His parents
were both natives of Germany. In 1853 they came to New York City,
where his father engaged in the wholesale candy manufacture for a
immber of years. He realized considerable capital in that and in the fall
of 1867 came M^est and invested in land in Westfield Township of Sauk
County. For a 160-acre farm he paid sixty-five hundred dollars. That
was a rather high price for land at that time. The father spent the rest
of his years here and died in 1883. The mother, who was born August
9, 1828, lived to the venerable age of eighty-nine. There were four chil-
dren : Henry ; Lucy, who died in 1903 ; Fred C, and Annie.
Fred C. Kruse grew up on a farm, attended school at Loganville,
and when only fourteen years of age he started out to make his own way
in the world. Nothing has ever been given him and by looking out for
himself he has steadily made progress to his present prosperous and satis-
fying situation. He learned the milling trade and worked at it two
years. Then for four years he worked in mills and on farms, and always
having an eye to the future he saved his wages until he could buy forty
acres in Westfield Township. That was the nucleus of his present estate
and he has since added to it until the Roseland Stock Farm comprises
136 acres. He cleared up a large part of the land with his own sturdy
right arm, and in getting the land ready for cultivation he sold any
number of cords of wood at eighty cents per cord. Most of the returns
from this timber he invested in permanent improvements, and he now
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY " 611
has some of the best building equipment found in the township. His
stock and dairy barn is 40 by 84 feet. For the past eleven years Mr.
Kruse has been handling thoroughbred Holstein cattle. He has a dairy
of about twenty-five cows and keeps about forty-five head of livestock.
Another feature of his industry is the breeding and raising of high class
poultry. His farm is operated on a business plan and under the firm
name of Fred C. Kruse & Sons.
Mr. Kruse has always been interested in movements directed to
improve the condition of the community, and especially the local schools.
He has served as school director, but has never been an aspirant for
offices in the political sense. He is a republican and a member of the
Lutheran Church. November 29, 1892, he married Miss Anna Hasz. She
was born in Loganville in 1870, a daughter of Christ and Dora (Westedt)
Hasz. Her parents were early settlers in Sauk County and her father
died here at the age of fifty-five and her mother at fifty-one. Five chil-
dren comprise the family of Mr. and Mrs. Kruse: Conrad, who married
in 1916 Elsie Feldtman, of Loganville ; Paul ; Edwin ; Martha, who died
at the age of four months; and Clara.
Eduaed Clement. Beginning his career as a school teacher and as
clerk in a, country store, Eduard Clement is now a member of one of the
largest mercantile firms in Sauk County, operating a department store
at Reedsburg.
Mr. Clement is a native of Sauk County and was born in Sauk City
January 25, 1874. His people have lived in this section of Wisconsin
fully seventy years. His father is the venerable Lucius Clement, who is
now living retired at Sauk City. Lucius Clement was born in Southern
Switzerland, at Graubuenden, in 1838, a son of Henry and Margaret
(Schneller) Clement. In 1847, the family came to America, landing at
New York City, going on to Milwaukee, and from there driving across
the country with wagon and ox team to Sauk City. Henry Clement took
up forty acres of Government land, and while proving up and developing
his farm he followed his trade as carpenter. Henry Clement lived on
the old homestead, and in 1871 moved into Sauk City, where he died
three years later. He was born in 1800 and died in 1874. His widow
survived him about ten years and was eighty-two years of age at the time
of her death. They were the parents of five sons : John Jacob, who died
on a farm in Minnesota ; Lucius ; Flourin, who lives in Prairie du Sac,
Wisconsin ; Matthew, who died as a soldier in the Civil war ; and Henry,
who is a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church at St. Paul,
Minnesota.
At the age of twelve years Lucius Clement began making his own
way in the world. For his first work he was paid two dollars a month
during the year 1848-49. The following year he worked at wages of four
dollars a month, and after that felt that he was on the road to prosperity
because his wages were raised to seven dollars a month. During the sum-
mer he would drive teams for breaking the sod, and the winters were
spent in splitting rails.
At the age of twenty-two Lucius Clement married Miss Engelina
Sutter, who was born in Switzerland in 1837, and immigrated to this
612 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
country in 1848. She died in 1917. After his marriage Lucius Clement
took up some land of his own. He continued farming actively for about
eight years, at the end of which time he sold his land and moving to
Sauk City engaged in the grain and agricultural implement business.
He was one of the leading dealers in that class of commodities for about
twenty years. At the same time he improved a farm of forty acres near
the village, and had that farm largely in order to give his sons something
to do. About twelve years ago he retired from farming and had previ-
ously given up his mercantile interests. Lucius Clement is an active
member of the Evangelical Church, was a member of the town board, the
first after the village was incorporated, and for about fifteen years was
alderman and for about ten years was assessor.
Mr. and Mrs. Lucius Clement had six sons and six daughters, and
ten are still living, six sons and four daughters. Henry is a farmer in
Dakota, and by his marriage to Helen Tasker, of West Point, has three
children. John, who lives in Iowa, married Eva Tasker and has four
sons and one daughter. Margaret is the wife of Dr. Whitlaw, of
Lodi, Wisconsin. Joseph is a carpenter at Sauk City and married
Selma Buerli. Christiania is the wife of Mr. Habberman, a manufacturer
at Lodi, and they have five children. Lena married Michael Kindschi, a
shoe merchant at Plattsville, Wisconsin, and their family consists of
four boys. The seventh in age is Eduard, of Reedsburg. Sarah married
William J. Neu, who lives at Three Lakes in Oneida County, and they
have four children. Lucius married Emelia Miller and has one child.
Lucius Clement has had a very interesting career. He graduated from
the Sauk City High School, taught school two years, was a student in
Milwaukee College about one year, and then joined the Fifth United
States Cavalry and went with that regiment to Porto Rico. After the
Spanish- American war he became superintendent of school and organized
one of the English schools in Porto Rico. Returning to America, he
entered the railway mail service and for two years had one of the fast
mail runs between Chicago and St. Paul. He then became assistant super-
intendent of mails at St. Paul, and has handled the responsibilities of that
office for the past nine years. The youngest of the living children is
Benjamin C, who gained his active business experience as clerk in Mil-
waukee and Three Lakes, and is now managing a store at Clayton,
Wisconsin. He married Mary Berns.
Mr. Eduard Clement grew up in his father's home at Sauk City and
had a good education. He finished grammar school course under Super-
intendent W. II. Schultz, and then for two years was a teacher in Sauk
County, and another two years in Dane County. Removing to Lodi,
Mr. Clement entered the store of Seville & Bissell, and after Mr. Seville
retired he became a member of the firm. He was in active business there
until 1903, when he removed to Reedsburg and took employment with the
firm of Webb & Schweke. In 1908 Mr. Clement with others organized
the present large department store conducted under the firm name
Kruger, Huebing & Clement. Mr. Clement is president of the company
and has been instrumental in the building up of its magnificent trade.
It is a store containing five distinct departments and handling all classes
of general merchandise and also dealing extensively in farm produce.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 613
The main store is 86 by 80 feet, two stories and basement, and there is
also a warehouse for flour and seed. Mr. Clement is interested in another
mercantile house in Clayton, Wisconsin.
In matters of politics he is affiliated with the republican party. He
has been a member of the school board for about six years and was
president of the board two years. He and his family are members of
the Presbyterian Church, and he is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen
of America. In 1899 Mr. Clement married Miss Estella Leeson, of Spring-
Green, Wisconsin. Five children have been born to their union : Rebecca,
Robert, Ruth, Eugene and Edna, all of whom are living, all at home and
they have received the best of advantages in the local schools.
J. Bbiggs. Among the substantial business houses of Baraboo that
owned and operated by J. Briggs, who carries flour, feed, seeds and gro-
ceries, enjoys a dependable reputation and perpetuates 'an old and honor-
able name in Sauk County, the parents of Mr. Briggs having been pioneers
here in 1855.
J. Briggs was born in Oneida County, New York, May 16, 1854, and
is a son of Amyntus and Emily (Dunham) Briggs. They were born,
reared and married in New York and from there came to the Baraboo
country in January, 1855. The father was a cooper and a chair and
basket-maker, and carried on his business in the village of Newport. He
was born in September, 1802, and died in 1887. His widow survived until
1896, dying at Baraboo. They had thirteen children and six of these
survive.
In the public schools of Sauk County J. Briggs secured an excellent
common school education. In the spring of 1876 he went to Minnesota
and spent three years in Winona County, going then into Wadena County
and there purchased 160 acres ofJand, on which he resided for twenty-one
years. In December, 1899, he returned to Sauk County and in 1902 he
embarked in his present business at Baraboo and since 1904 has been
loeated at No. 139 Third Street. Mr. Briggs has a wide acquaintance
which yearly grows wider because of the dependable quality of the com-
modities he handles and of his honorable business methods, his store
therefore being the leading one of its kind in the city.
In 1885 Mr. Briggs was married to Miss Jessie E. Troup, who was
bom in 1863 in St. Joseph County, Michigan. • She is a daughter of
Benjamin Franklin and Eunice (Batholamew) Troup. They were very
early settlers in Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota, and built the first
house, a primitive one of logs, west of the Lac qui Parle River. Later
they removed to Todd County, Minnesota, and resided there until 1907,
when they came to Baraboo. The father of Mrs. Briggs died here in
1911, and her mother died May 15, 1917, being in her eighty-fourth year.
Mrs. Briggs has one sister, Florence May, there being but two children in
her parents' family.
Mr. and Mrs. Briggs have four children : Beulah, Marie, Wesley and
Reginald. The comfortable family residence is at No. 502 Sixth Avenue.
In politics Mr. Briggs has never been unduly active but his strong senti-
ment in regard to absolute temperance has made him an adherent of the
prohibition party and he takes much satisfaction in the very apparent
614 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
growth over the country of temperance feeling and the wise legislation
that is being contemplated in every progressive commonwealth. With
his family he belongs to the Congregational Church.
Grant A. Briggs, brother of J. Briggs, and a well-known and highly-
respected resident of Baraboo, now engaged in the fur business at No. 141
Third Avenue, was born February 26, 1862, in what was then the village
of Newport, in Delton Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin. He was
educated in the public schools and the old Newport Academy. Early
uniting with the Methodist Episcopal Church, he subsequently became a
local minister in that body ^nd for two years was supply preacher for
Doctor McKay, the regular pastor of the church at Parker's Prairie, and
later, for two more years, engaged in evangelistic work, with great
encouragement.
In 1899 Mr. Briggs came to Baraboo, where his brother William had
started a fur business. In this way he became interested in this line,
subsequently succeeding his brother, and has continued in the business
up to the present time, being assisted by his son, Harry Milton, who was
educated in the grade and high school and in a business college at
Baraboo.
On March 1, 1888, Mr. Briggs was married to Miss Minna Goulix,
of Delton Township, Sauk County, >vho died May 18, 1894, the mother
of two children: Cassie P., who is the wife of Samuel Harvey, of
Baraboo, and they have three children, Philip, Lillian and Ethel; and
Dean, who died at the age of three years. In 1896 Mr. Briggs was married
to Miss Gertrude Alexander, of Verndale, Minnesota, and they have one
son, Harry Milton, who was married on Thanksgiving Day, 1916, to Miss
Edith M. Huntington, of Baraboo. Since old enough to cast a vote
Grant A. Briggs has given his political support to the temperance cause
and has reason to believe that his influence in this direction has had
weight.
John Block has acquired financial independence by many years of
successful enterprise as a farmer in Sauk County, and while not com-
pletely retired he is in a position to enjoy a well earned leisure and
busies himself largely with the supervision of his farm from his home
in Prairie du Sac Township.
Mr. Block was born in Germany December 26, 1842, a son of John
and Sophia (Wolf) Block. His parents came to America and located
at Milwaukee in 1862, when he was twenty years of age. A year and a
half later they came to Sauk County and with their son Fred bought a
farm and lived with this son the rest of their lives. The father died
here about twenty-five years ago and the mother twelve years later.
There were six children : Fred, who died ten years ago ; Louis, who lives
in the Village of Prairie du Sac ; John ; Henry, who died at Baraboo four
years ago; Reka, who is married and lives in Milwaukee; and Sophia,
who married Vinzens Nold, of Sauk City, and died about five years ago,
leaving four children.
John Block was reared and educated in Germany and after coming
to Sauk County at the age of twenty-six married Miss Theresa Juble.
Seven children were born to their marriage. Charles is now farming
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 615
in Minnesota and is married and has six children. Robert is married
and has a home adjoining" his father. George is proprietor of a grocery
store at Hinsdale, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. William lives on the same
farm as his father at Prairie du Sac and is unmarried. Anna married
Richard Roberts, and her husband is connected with the grocery store at
Hinsdale with her brother George. Emma married Herman Brown, lives
in Baraboo, and has seven children, one of whom is married. Clara is
the wife of Ed Ketline, a farmer in Prairie du Sac township, and they
have four children.
Mr. John Block early interested himself in farming in Sauk County,
and in time acquired a farm of 240 acres in Prairie du Sac Township.
Most of this is sandy soil and is highly productive. From the fruits
of that farm he has provided for his own future and reared his family
and lived on the same place for forty-three years. He then sold to his
son Robert and moved to Sauk City, where he now spends most of his
time. His success as a farmer came from raising the staple crops of rye
and corn and he always kept good grades of livestock. He made the
improvements out of the work of his own hands and did a great deal of
building. Mr. Block is a member of the Evangelical Church and in poli-
tics is a democrat in national afiPairs.
William Terry. The name of Terry has been well known in Sauk
County since pioneer days, and it has always belonged to men of enter-
prise and industry who have been good citizens and supporters of the
schools and churches. Through intermarriages this family is also connected
with a large number of other old families, and these relationships have
bound them closely together. One of the well-known and highly-regarded
bearers of this name is William Terry, who by birth, education and large
property interests, particularly belongs to Sauk County. He was born
in Baraboo Township, on the old Terry homestead, September 21, 1874.
His parents were John and Catherine (Dorsey) Terry, extended mention
of whom will be found in this work. His father was an extensive
farmer.
William Terry grew to manhood on the present farm and obtained
his education in the public schools. He assisted his father for many years
and later on bought the old home, a valuable tract of 222 acres and since
then has made many substantial improvements, these including the put-
ting of a fine basement under the farmhouse. Mr. Terry is of the modern
type of farmer, understanding the facts of science and applying new
methods in the growing of many of his crops. He raises excellent stock
of all kinds but gives the larger part of his attention to raising Shorthorn
cattle.
Mr. Terry was married in 1911 to Miss Ava Chase, who was born at
Oregon in Dane County, Wisconsin, and is a daughter of Denman and
Sarah (Mallen) Chase. Her father came to North Freedom, Sauk
County, as an employe of the Northwestern Railroad Company and
continues with this company but now lives at Baraboo. Mrs. Terrj^ was
educated in the public schools and is a lady who is highly thought of in
Delton Township. Mr. and Mrs. Terry have three children, namely:
Elizabeth, John and Elaine. The family belongs to the Roman Catholic
Vol II 4
616 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Church. In polities Mr. Terry is a democrat and takes much interest in
local political matters. He is a believer in the public school system when
intelligent and conscientious men take an interest and he has served as
clerk of the township school board for the past six years. Genial and
hearty, he not only is popular within the wide circle of kinship in the
county, but with all with whom he has relations in the way of business.
William Toole, proprietor of the noted pansy farm, mentioned in the
general history as one of the institutions of Baraboo worthy of a visit,
is an old resident whose good influence has extended into many practical,
as well as cultural fields. He has been farmer, florist, botanist, horticul-
turist, historian, thoughtful father to two families, useful citizen and
kind and generous friend. So that it would be impossible to find anyone
in Sauk County who has more or warmer supporters than William Toole.
Although he was born in Lancashire seventy-six years ago, his good Irish
inheritances have kept him young and elastic. What education he
received was obtained in the schools of Providence, Rhode Island, and in
its neighborhood and in 1857, when about sixteen years old he went with
other members of his family to Massachusetts. For a time he followed
his father's old trade as a calico printer, but in 1859 migrated to Excelsior
Township, Sauk County. General farming occupied him for many years,
but he had gradually become interested in the cultivation of pansies, and
in 1887 moved to what have become so widely known as Pansy Heights,
overlooking Baraboo. There, with one of his sons, William A., he has
built up a business and a farm for the cultivation of seed pansies which
he literally loves; and he treats and fondles his flowers as if they were
his children, of whom he is proud when they flourish and sick at heart
when they languish. William Toole has been a member of the school
boards of Excelsior and Baraboo townships for thirty years; was, for a
long time president of the County Horticultural Society and served, for
two years, as president of the state organization. His papers and investi-
gations along agricultural and horticultural lines have brought him com-
mendatory testimonials from the experts of the State University. He
has also been foremost in the co-operative social work among the various
farming communities and clubs and for five years was president of the
Sauk County Country Life Association ; in fact, Mr. Toole and George W.
Davies, county superintendent of schools and secretary of the association,
have been behind the movement from the very first — pushing it, as well
as leading it. It seems to be a sort of revival, on a broader base, of the
old Farmers' Alliance, of which Mr. Toole was also a recognized leader in
the county and the state. In line M'ith the general movement to strengthen
and uplift the rural communities of the county is the establishment of
accessible circulating libraries. Mr. Toole is now president of the Sauk
County Traveling Library Association and as such Is throwing his genial
weight in favor of that organization.
August Hamburg, a resident of Sauk County for over half a century,
has well established his name and fortune as a prosperous farmer and
stockman in Franklin Township, where he has lived the greater part of
his active career.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY . 617
Mr. Hamburg was born in Hanover, Germany, July 28, 1852, a son
of John and Elizabeth (Bodenstab) Hamburg. When he was seventeen
years of age, in July, 1869, his parents arrived in America from Ger-
many and established a home in Westfield Township at Loganville. His
father bought eighty acres and in the course of time had it improved and
in cultivation. It was on this farm that August Hamburg gained his
first knowledge and experience of American ways of farming. Mr. Au-
gust Hamburg was one of four children : Henry, August, John and Fred,
the last two now deceased.
August Hamburg acquired his education chiefly in Germany and his
life since coming to Sauk County has been a continuous round of industry
and accomplishment. He is the owner of a fertile. and well-cultivated
farm of 123^ acres in Franklin Township, and conducts it both as a
general farm and stock-raising enterprise. He keeps about thirty-three
head of cattle and has a dairy of nineteen cows. Mr. Hamburg is a
republican and a member of the Lutheran Church.
He married Johanna Kalba, daughter of Christian and Mary Kalba.
Mr. and Mrs. Hamburg 's children are Adolph, Johannis, August, Amelia,
Arnstena and Bertha.
Ralph Percy Perry, a native son of Reedsburg, reared and edu-
cated there, Ralph Percy Perry gave up a large and promising practice
many years ago to devote himself largely to a career as a business man
and banker. He is president of the Reedsburg Bank and has in many
ways assisted legitimafe industries and enterprises to secure substantial
hold in this community, and has also done an important part as a public
spirited citizen and generous benefactor of the town.
Mr. Perry's parents were early settlers in Reedsburg, where he him-
self was born June 22, 1859. He is a son of Oliver H. and Mary J.
(Mc Cloud) Perry. Oliver H. Perry was a merchant in Reedsburg from
1848 until 1880. In the latter year he was elected sheriff of Sauk County,
He was a very forceful as well as successful man and stood as an example
of the strictest integrity of character. The ancestors of Oliver H. Perry
were early located in New Hampshire and from there removed to Essex
County, New York. Oliver H. Perry's paternal and maternal grand-
fathers, respectively Abijah Perry and Capt. Joshua Brown, were both
soldiers in the American Revolution, and Captain Brown served with
special distinction as an officer. The McCloud family were Scotch and
were early settlers in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.
Ralph P. Perry was the second in a family of four children. His
older brother, Arthur, is the secretarj^ of The St. Paul Fire and Marine
Insurance Company of St. Paul, Minnesota. His two sisters, Florence
and Alice, also live in St. Paul.
Ralph P. Perry left his studies in the public schools at Reedsburg
at the age of fifteen and soon afterward entered the law office of J. W.
Lusk, one of the well-known attorneys of Reedsburg at that time. He
pursued his studies with such determination and energy that at the age
of twenty he was qualified and admitted to the local bar. Three years
later he became a partner of Mr. Lusk, and that partnership continued
until Mr. Lusk resigned and went into practice at St. Paul. In 1884,
618 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
at the age of twenty-five, Mr. Perry was elected district attorney, but
resigned while still in office in order to take charge of two large estates.
In 1887 he became manager of the Reedsburg Bank, and has been
connected with that institution for thirty years and much of the time
as president. Mr. Perry assisted in reorganizing the Reedsburg Woolen
Mill Company, and was its treasurer until the plant was sold to the
Appleton Woolen Mill Company. In politics his work has been done with
the republican party. When he has assumed the role of a public speaker
he has done so with credit and has taken part in a number of campaigns.
He belongs to the Wisconsin Consistory of Scottish Rite Masons, and is
a member of the Wisconsin Society of the Sons of the American Revolu-
tion and of the Sons of the Colonial Wars, and his wife is a member of
the Daughters of the American Revolution and of the Society of Colonial
Dames. Both are members of the Presbyterian Church, in which he is
an elder.
Mr. Perry was married in 1883 to Miss Helen S. Neely, of Platteville,
Wisconsin. Mrs. Perry is a graduate of the Plateville State Normal
School and first became acquainted with Mr. Perry while she was teaching
in Reedsburg. Three children have been born to their union : Edna M.,
now Mrs. N. T. Yeomans, Mildred I. and Katharine. From the means
acquired by a successful business career Mr. Perry has contributed gen-
erously to local churches and philanthropic enterprises in Reedsburg,
and Mrs. Perry is an active member of the public library board. Mr.
Perry was a delegate from Wisconsin to the Republican National Con-
vention of Chicago in 1904. Among other interests he is serving as a
member of the board of trustees of Carroll College at Waukesha.
Albert Walsteb. Among the early names of permanent settlers in
Sauk County is recorded that of Walster, and that name is now a promi-
nent one because of the sterling character of those who bear it, men who
have been born in this county and have never sought any other home.
Such a one is Albert Walster, who is an extensive farmer and breeder of
Holstein cattle in Troy Township, and through a farther extended area
is known because of other business activities. Sauk County owes much
to that sturdy class of pioneers who came here and took up raw land that
required many years of ceaseless toil to convert into the present fertile,
well improved farms. They came from many lands but almost all ac-
cepted the hard conditions of early days in Wisconsin in order to build
a home, to enjoy the independence that comes with the ownership of land,
and to feel that a duty was well performed in thus providing for their
possible descendants.
Albert Walster was born in 1859, on the farm in Troy Township,
Sauk County, Wisconsin, that is now his own property. His parents
were Samuel and Elizabeth (Bonham) Walster. The father was born
in 1817, in Lincolnshire, England, and the mother in 1827, in Bucking-
hamshire. When they came to the United States in 1849 they located
first in Ohio and remained there two years, coming then to Wisconsin and
in 1851 secured a homestead in Troy Township, Sauk County, that
being in the year following the admission of Wisconsin to the Union.
While discoveries, inventions and scientific methods have served to make
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 619
the farmer's life no longer one of unremitting; labor, it must be remem-
bered that these assistants were not available sixty-eight years ago, when
Samuel Walster found himself confronted with the task of clearing acres
and acres of prairie and woodland before he could make even a beginning
in profitable cultivation. He accomplished it, however, and remained
on the farm he had rescued from the wilderness for many years, but
finally raioved to Iowa and lived there for the five years preceding his
death in 1897.
The following children were born to Samuel and Elizabeth Walster :
Mary, who is deceased ; Horatio, who is married and lives in Iowa ; Hattie,
who is the wife of Edward Palmer and lives in North Dakota; Albert;
Parker, who has a family and lives in Noth Dakota; Belle, who is the
wife of William Bear and resides in Iowa; and Isa, a highly educated
woman who has been a school teacher at Charles City, Iowa, for twenty-
five years. She is unmarried.
Albert Walster was reared on the home farm and attended the district
schools. His farm training was thorough and practical and when he was
prepared to begin life for himself he had useful experience to draw upon.
He now owns 380 acres of excellent land, well adapted to carrying on
general farming and stockraising. He raises many hogs but makes a
specialty of breeding Holstein cattle and his herds command high prices
when sold. He also has large dairy interests.
Mr. Walster was married in 1882, to Miss Mary Stelzman, who is a
daughter of Franz and Mary Ann (Hocking) Stelzman. Her mother
was born in England and her father in Germany. They came to Sauk
County in the '50s. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs.
Walster, namely: Harlow, who is an educator in the Wisconsin State
University at Madison; Edna, the wife of George Habberman, who con-
ducts a blacksmith business at Lodi, Wisconsin, and they have two chil-
dren ; Edith, who married Alfred Reiser, and they have one child and
live at Black Hawk, Wisconsin ; Cecil, who is the wife of Iras Radle, and
they live at Spring Green, Sauk County; and Clarence, who is his
father's dependable assistant on the farm.
Mr. Walster has been somewhat prominent in politics and for fifteen
years has been chairman of the township board, and for twenty years
has been a member of the school board. Aside from his agricultural
activities he has been interested in enterprises in which he has shown
much business capacity as well as public spirit. He was one of the
promoters of the Troy-Honey Creek Telephone Company and was also
interested in the establishing of the Twin City Telephone Company of
Prairie du Sac. He is a man of clear foresight and early recognized
the permanent value of telephone service. Fraternally he is connected
with the order of Modern Woodmen of America at Black Hawk, and
with his family attends and liberally contributes to the Presbyterian
Church at Prairie du Sac.
Cassius S. Jeffries.. The Jeffries family has been represented in
Sauk County for over sixty years. As a family they have been character-
ized by honest industry, ability to make homes and perform their proper
620' HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
share of duties to themselves and to the community, and have been both
useful and honorable' citizens.
One of the prominent representatives of this family is Cassius S..
Jeffries, a prosperous farmer in Baraboo and Delton townships. Mr.
Jeffries was born in Greenfield Township of Sauk County June 22, 1858,
a son of Benjamin and Martha (Crawford) Jeffries. His father was
bom in the State of Tennessee, April 16, 1822, and when about sixteen
years of age he went out to Missouri and from there came in 1845 to
Sauk County, where he preempted eighty acres of land in Greenfield
Township. Pie was a practical and industrious farmer and lived in this
county until his death on June 15, 1897. He married in Sauk County
and his wife was born in Ohio April 27, 1825, and died January 25, 1902.
Her father, James Crawford, was one of the notable pioneers of Sauk
County, locating in Baraboo Township at what is now called Crawford's
Crossing, in 1847, the crossing being named in his honor. He bought a
farm in Baraboo Township near the city of that name and there spent
the rest of his life. His wife was Lucy Wallice. The Crawford children
were named Daniel, Robert, Jackson, James, Sarah, Lucretia, Emely,
Eleanor, Lucinda, Martha and Adelaide. Benjamin and Martha Jeffries
had seven children : Wilburn, born January 16, 1849, in Greenfield' Town-
ship and died October 2, 1916 ; Jessie, born June 27, 1851 ; Erminie,
born March 14, 1853 ; Ralph, born November 5, 1855, died June 15, 1915 ;
Cassius S. ; Alma born January 18, 1862, and died in 1864; and Florence,
born December 24, 1865.
Cassius S. Jeffries grew up on the homestead farm of his father, and
he made the best of such advantages as were to be obtained in the local
schools. He has made farming his occupation from the first, and in 1883
he went out to South Dakota, or what was then Dakota Territory, and
took a homestead of 160 acres. He lived on it and developed it as a farm
for two years. On returning to Sauk County he bought twenty acres
in Fairfield Township, and that was the scene of his agricultural activi-
ties until 1894, when he acquired an eighty acre farm in Delton Township.
There he made most of the improvements, clearing up some of the land
from the woods, and is now numbered among the substantial residents
of that community. Mr. Jeffries is independent in political matters.
AVhile living in Dakota he served as a member of the school board.
February 28, 1883, he married Miss Martha E. Post. Mrs. Jeffries
was born near Springville in Linn County, Iowa, March 25, 1854. She
is a daughter of William T. and Rosetta (Sharpe) Post, both of whom
were natives of New York. Her father was born February 28, 1817, and
her mother May 1, 1817. Mrs. Jeffries was only five years of age when
her mother died on November 26, 1859. The Post family came west
before the days of railroads, journeying by canal and lake to Chicago,
and from there overland to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. About 1873 her father
came to Sauk County, and took up his home at Reedsburg, but for the
last three years of his life lived among his children. His death occurred
September 28, 1899.
Mrs. Jeffries was one of a family of six children. The record is :
Sarah, born May 31, 1841 ; George, born August 17, 1843, a Union soldier;
Daniel, born September 8, 1847, who also was in the Civil war ; "William
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 621
T., born February 20, 1849 ; Ellen, born January 4, 1851 ; and Martha,
born March 25, 1854. Mrs. Jeffries and her sister Ellen are the only
ones of the family now living.
Frank Carson. The Carson family has played a notable part in the
agricultural life of Sauk County for nearly sixty years and in the second
generation of the family here Mr. Frank Carson is widely known as one
of the most prosperous citizens of Franklin Township.
Mr. Carson was born in Westfield Township of Sauk County March
25, 1859, a son of Daniel and AVinifred (Norton) Carson. His father
came to America from County Antrim, Ireland, in 1844 and settled in
New Jersey. The mother came out of County Roscommon, Ireland. The
parents were married at Janesville, Wisconsin, in 1857 and in the next
year they settled in Westfield Township of Sauk County. The father
acquired eighty acres of wild land, paying the government a dollar and
a quarter per acre. At that time the government land office was at Mineral
Point in Iowa County, Wisconsin, and Daniel went all the way to that
town to make his first payment and enter his land. He was a vigorous and
industrious Irishman, and his hard work cleared the land and made it a
valuable farm. He was a man of influence in the community and served
in both church and school offices. He is now living in advanced years,
while his wife passed away December 20, 1913.
Mr. Frank Carson, the only child of his parents, has satisfied his
ambitions by his work as a farmer and is the owner of a splendid place of
220 acres. He is a breeder of Shorthorn cattle, and progressiveness is
a keynote of his farm in every department. He has excellent buildings,
including a silo, and refuses to be satisfied with anything but the best
results and the best methods of farm management.
Mr. Carson is a democrat in politics and he and his family are mem-
bers of the Catholic Church. On September 9, 1891, he married Mary
Carney, daughter of James and Mary Carney, of Franklin Township.
Mr. and Mrs. Carson have one son, James, born January 9, 1895. Mrs.
Carson 's brothers and sisters were : Margaret, deceased wife of Mike
Quinn ; Bridget, who is unmarried and lives in Chicago ; Catherine, wife
of Henry Fargen, son of John and Bridget Fargen; Anne, unmarried;
and Frank, who is unmarried.
Frank H. Metcalf, now postmaster of Reedsburg, has played a spir-
ited and successful role in business and public affairs in this county for a
number of years, and his experience has also taken him into the North-
western states. Mr. Metcalf is a native of Sauk County, and a member of
one of its oldest pioneer families.
He was born on a farm in Excelsior Township March 14, 1864, a son
of Isaac and Mary (Riding) Metcalf. Both parents were born in Eng-
land, where they were married, and in 1849 they came to Sauk County,
which was then a virtual wilderness. In Excelsior Township Isaac Met-
calf acquired a tract of Government land and proceeded forthwith to its
development and improvement. He and his wife lived in a log house
for some years, until it was replaced by a substantial frame structure.
Later he retired to Reedsburg to enjoy his well earned prosperity, and
622 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
died in that city March 23, 1908, at the venerable age of eighty-five.
While living in Excelsior Township he was not only a progressive farmer
but also a man who took much interest in local affairs. He served as a
member of the township board for several years. He was also one of the
early supporters of the Methodist Episcopal Church in this community.
His children were eight in number: Martha, Annie, Nellie, Frank H.,
Fred, Emma, Charles and Louis. The daughter Emma died in South
Dakota in 1917.
Frank H. Metcalf spent his early boyhood on the old homestead in
Excelsior Township. While there he attended the common schools, and
his first practical experiences were in connection with farming. Subse-
quently he went to the Northwest and was in the grain business in the
State of Washington and also spent some time in the State of Idaho. In
1906 he returned to Sauk County and located at Reedsburg, becoming
financially identified with the large department store firm of Krueger,
Huebing & Clement. He was personally active in that store until Novem-
ber 14, 1914, when he was appointed postmaster of Reedsburg by Presi-
dent Wilson. Mr. Metcalf entered upon his new office with zeal and under-
standing and has applied business methods to its management. Mr.
Metcalf while living in Excelsior Township was treasurer of the township
and clerk and has long played an active part in democratic politics in
this county. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Fra-
ternal Order of Eagles.
He was married in 1885 to Miss Pet Rose, who was born in Waukesha
County, Wisconsin. They have one child, Emma R., who was educated
in the Reedsburg High School and in business college and is now the
wife of B. L. Hall. Mr. and Mrs. Hall have a daughter, Wanda E.
Thomas W. English, president of the First National Bank of Baraboo
for the past ten years, is one of the leading citizens of that place. He is
a son of Thomas T, English, a farmer and merchant who moved to Sauk
County from Virginia, when Thomas W. was three years of age. The
father was also one of the early directors of the First National Bank, a
trustee of the Village Board and a town assessor for several terms. There
were five children in the family, of whom Thomas W. was the oldest ; the
second, J. E. English, is the physician. Mr. English, president of the
First National, is a graduate of the Wisconsin University, was engaged
in the hardware business for many years, has held most of the township
offices, served one term in the Legislature, and has been identified with
the First National Bank since 1906.
Fred W. Luhrsen, The blacksmith who has wandered so long
through song and story, the man of hard muscles, strong physique, genial
manner, ready wit and innumerable companionable qualities, seems to
have a living counterpart in Fred W. Luhrsen, owner and proprietor
of a blacksmithing establishment at Reedsburg. Increasing prosperity
and popularity have hovered around this shop ever since the owner sent
out the first merry clang of his anvil here in 1892, although he had been
in business here eight years before that time. Mr. Luhrsen was born near
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 623
Madison in Dane County, Wisconsin, February 21, 1857, and is a son
of Christopher and Christina (Ensh) Luhrsen.
Christopher Luhrsen was born in Germany, in 1822, and was there
married to his first wife, with whom he came to the United States about
1851. There Mrs. Luhrsen died, and in the metropolis Mr. Luhrsen was
married a second time, to Christina Ensh, who had been born in 1826,
also in Germany. In 1855 they came to Wisconsin and settled in Dane
County, near the City of Madison, residing there until 1857, when they
removed to Westfield Township, Mr. Luhrsen there purchasing a farm.
After some years passed in agricultural pursuits in Sauk County he
removed his family to Loganville, where for a period he was engaged in
merchandising, but eventually returned to agricultural pursuits, buying
a farm one mile east of the village mentioned, where he passed the remain-
der of his life and died in 1906, at the age of eighty-four years. Mrs.
Luhrsen died September 22, 1917, having reached the remarkable age of
ninety-one years. They had a family of eight children : Elizabeth,
Nicholas, Fred W., Anna, Emma, August, William and Edward, of
whom all are living except William.
Fred W. Luhrsen was reared on the home farm and received his
education in the public schools of Westfield Township and the parochial
schools of the German Lutheran Church, of which faith his parents were
devout members. When he was nineteen years of age he learned the
blacksmith trade. In 1876 he eame to Reedsburg, and in 1884 he estab-
lished a business of his own, since that time having built up a prosperous
business. During forty-one years Mr. Luhrsen has not lost in time over
two months, a remarkable record and one which speaks well for his great
industry and energy. The present blacksmith shop of Mr. Luhrsen is one
of the busiest and best managed establishments of its kind in Sauk
County. Its forge and anvil have been in almost constant operation
since 1892, when the present shop was built, and the trade which rewards
the owner's enterprise and skill in continuous and appreciative, being
recruited both from the city and county. He has the most modern and
practical appliances of his trade, and his work is invariably well done
and satisfactory. In addition to his shop he has a comfortable and
attractive residence, located at No. 628 Main Street. Politically Mr.
Luhrsen is a prohibitionist. He has never cared for public office, although
always a good citizen and a supporter of public-spirited movements. He
and Mrs. Luhrsen are faithful members and supporters of the Church
of God.
Mr. Luhrsen was married in 1880 to Miss Sarah Colling, who was bom
at McKeesport, Pennsylvania, December 14, 1850, a daughter of Daniel
and Sophia (Gerss) Colling. Mr. and Mrs. Colling came to Westfield
Township, Sauk County, in 1855, and here spent the rest of their lives
on a farm, the former dying in 1881, at the age of seventy-four years,
and the latter in 1891, when eighty-one years of age. Mr. and Mrs.
Luhrsen have five children : Agnes, who is the wife of Walter Thomas,
living near the City of Milwaukee, and has had four children, Beatrice,
who died in infancy, Glenn Douglas and Marshall ; Walter, of Red Lodge,
Montana, who is married and has two children, Richard and Gertrude ;
Josie, who is the wife of P. J. Smart, of Carthage, Missouri, and has had
624 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
four sons, Howard F., Stanley (1), deceased, Stanley (2) and Russell;
Vernie, a traveling salesman for an automobile company, with head-
quarters at Missoula, Montana, who is married and has one son, Robert;
and Lillie, who is the wife of Victor Seagraves, of Woonsocket, Rhode
Island, and has two children, Richard and Gerald. Mrs. Luhrsen has
one half-sister : Sophia, of Avada, Colorado ; and two sisters : Sarah ;
and Nancy, the wife of Charles Schulte, now living on the Colling
homestead.
Mr. Luhrsen has acquired a competence through his labor, and, what
is better, has won the regard of hosts of friends and the confidence of
the entire community. His patrons come from many miles in the country,
and for many of them he has been doing work for more than a score of
years. His life is a lesson of industry, frugality, honesty and good humor.
C. F. Henry Meyer, now retired, was for many years a prominent
factor in business and civic affairs at Sauk City, and still exercises a
large influence in that community. Mr. Meyer is of German birth, but
has lived in "Wisconsin for about fifty years.
He was bom at Nordenbeck, Waldeck, Germany, August 29, 1846, a
son of Frederick and Mary (Berges) Meyer. His father and uncle had
made a brief trip to the United States as early as 1846. While here they
spent a short time in Louisiana, but then returned to Germany. As a
boy Henry Meyer heard his father tell many of the interesting things
about America and it was those stories heard from the lips of his father
that eventually caused him to seek his own fortune in the New World.
Thus it was that in October, 1865, C. F. Henry Meyer, then a boy
of nineteen, landed at New York City. A few days later he was a new
arrival at Sauk City. In the old country, after the thorough apprentice-
ship required of all mechanical trades there, he had learned millwright-
ing. At Sauk City he was unable to find employment in that line and
instead he worked two years as a carpenter for Charles Ross. He then
entered the service of Martin Lodde, millwright, and was in his employ
steadily until 1872, making good wages as wages were measured at that
time.
In 1872 Mr. Meyer returned to the old country and remained there
about four years, finishing the learning of his trade. While there he
attended a Barschule, the German name for an architectural school, at
Halzminden, an institution attended by several thousand students.
On March 16, 1878, after returning to this country, Mr. Meyer mar-
ried Miss Emma Boiler. Her father, Kasper Boiler, owned a general
merchandise store at Sauk City. He continued active in the business
until 1891, when he sold out to Conrad Kuoni. In 1892 Mr. Meyer and
his father-in-law, Mr. Boiler, built a cold storage building at Sauk City.
Mr. Boiler was active in business affairs until his death on February 6,
1907. He was born August 29, 1828. After Mr. Boiler's death Mr. Meyer
continued the business until 1913, when he sold the establishment and
has since lived practically retired. They built up a large and prosperous
business.
Mr. and Mrs. Meyer had five children, three sons and two daughters.
Doctor Arno, who was born January 8, 1879, is now successfully prac-
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 625
ticing medicine in Chicago. He has been married thirteen years. Lena,
born January 31, 1881, is the wife of Theodore Crusins, of St. Louis.
Edgar C, born March 10, 1883, is now conducting a general merchandise
store at Sauk City and was married two years ago. Freda, born May 11,
1890, was married three years ago to Walter Pune, foreman of a machine
shop in St. Louis. Ralph, born July 18, 1892, is unmarried, lives at home
and works in the store with his brother. All the children attended school
at Sauk City.
Mrs. Meyer's parents were members of the Free Congregation of
Sauk City and Mrs. Meyer has affiliated with the same church. Politically
he was always a stanch republican until in recent years, and he supported
Mr. Wilson for the Presidency. He has kept the machinery of good gov-
ernment moving in his home community, served as village president seven
years, and for twenty-six years has been secretary of the fire department.
He was school clerk four years and has two years yet to serve in that
position. He was president of the society of his church for fifteen years.
Mr. Meyer's three sisters lived in Germany all their lives. His
brother, Fred Meyer, who was born in Germany in 1833, came to America
in 1866 and after landing in Sauk City took up the trade of millwright.
■ In 1869 he went back to Germany, but returned to this country in 1870.
He then conducted the new United States Hotel at Sauk City until his
death on February 8, 1894. This hotel is now known as the Curtis Hotel.
He also ran a livery stable in connection. Mr. Fred Meyer made three
trips back to Germany and the hotel was managed by his wife during
his absence. He served several years as mayor of the village, and was a
very active citizen. In the early days he drove the stage from Sauk
City to Mazomanie. Fred Meyer married Ottilie Boiler, who was born
February 8, 1850, daughter of Kasper Boiler, They had two children:
Ida, who was born January 6, 1872, and died May 23, 1888, at the age
of sixteen ; and Meta, who was born March 17, 1882, and is now living at
home with her mother.
George Isenberg. There is no vocation to which men devote their
energies that has a more important bearing upon the growth and develop-
ment of any community than that which has to do with building and its
allied interests. The calling which has to do with the erection of build-
ings which house large enterprises is one of the oldest known to mankind,
and in its ranks are found individuals who have risen to high places in
the world. The community which includes among its citizens able and
energetic workers in this field seldom lacks enterprise and civic zeal.
These men create a need for their services, and while advancing their
own interests promote the community's growth. Among the leading
representatives in building work in Sauk County George Isenberg holds
a deservedly high place, for he has been connected in this line of endeavor
at Baraboo and in the surrounding territory for more than a quarter of
a century, and has been interested in the erection of many of the leading
structures there.
George Isenberg was born at Bemdorf, Waldeek, Germany, Septem-
ber 9, 1867, and is a son of William and Marie (Schultz) Isenberg, who
passed their entire lives in Germany. William Isenberg, who was a
626 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
carpenter by vocation, diet! when his son George was a small boy, while
the mother survived for many years, dying in 1912. There were seven
sons and three daughters in the family, George being the youngest son
and the third oldest child. Of the sons three came to the United States :
Karl, of Baraboo ; Christ, and George.
George Isenberg was educated in the public schools of Germany, and
as a youth was apprenticed to the trade of carpenter, in which he spent
an apprenticeship of three years. In 1885 he immigrated to the United
States, Avhence his brothers Karl and Christ had preceded him. He at
once came to Sauk County, in the following year taking up his residence
at Baraboo, which has been his home without interruption ever since,
although at various times, in the interest of his business affairs, he has
resided for short periods at other places. For three or four years he
was employed as a carpenter by his brother Karl, with whom he eventually
formed a partnership, and the firm of Isenberg Brothers has since that
time steadily grown to be one of the leading contracting and building
concerns of this part of the state. During this time the brothers have
erected many of the largest buildings erected at Baraboo, including all
the Ringling buildings, and in 1912 George Isenberg went to Florida,
where he erected the winter home of Charles Ringling. His life has been
one of continuous activity, in which she has maintained a high standard
of business ethics, and has been accorded due recognition of labor. Few
have shown greater activity and few have been more greatly interested in
Baraboo and its affairs, business and civic. He is at present one of the
directors of the First National Bank of Baraboo, and is also a director
of the Baraboo Commercial Association. In politics he has always been
a stanch republican. Since 1909 he has been an alderman, being now in
his third term in that ofBce, and for the past two years has been president
of the council. He likewise belongs to the Baraboo Water Commission.
His official record is an excellent one, and has been characterized by his
sympathetic support of all measures tending to advance the city's inter-
ests. With his family he belongs to the German Lutheran Church, and at
present he is a member of the board of trustees.
In 1892 Mr. Isenberg was united in marriage with Miss Emma Bender,
who was born at Baraboo, Wisconsin, August 11, 1871, and has resided
here all her life. She is a daughter of Carl and Grace (Kunzelman)
Bender, the former born in Southern Germany, October 4, 1842, and died
at Baraboo, June 19, 1911, and the latter born May 22, 1849, and died
July 10, 1908. Carl Bender came to the United States as a small boy
with his father, Christ Bender, locating in the Town of North Freedom.
At the beginning of the Civil war, with his brothers Ehrenreich and
Adolph Bender, he enlisted in Company K, Thirteenth Regiment, Wis-
consin Volunteer Infantry, and fought with the Union army until the
war closed and victory rested with the forces of the North. With a
splendid record as a soldier he returned to Wisconsin and established
himself in business as the proprietor of a blacksmith shop in Baraboo,
and for twenty years followed that trade. He also engaged for a time
in farming near the city limits, but finally located at Baraboo, where he
founded a cement business and continued to be interested therein during
the remainder of his life. He was one of the well known and highly
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 627
esteemed business men of the city. Mr. Bender was also actively inter-
ested in civic matters, and for some years was the incumbent of important
public offices. After serving as alderman for several years and as com-
missioner of streets, in 1910 he was elected mayor of Baraboo and was
acting in that capacity when his death occurred. Mr. Bender was the
father of the following children : Mary, who is the wife of Rev. F. P.
Papp, pastor of the Lutheran Church at Ableman, Sauk County ; Emma,
who is now Mrs. George Isenberg; Nettie, who is the wife of Charles
Goethe, of Baraboo ; Carl, a resident of Madison, Wisconsin ; and Hilda,
who is the wife of Edward Cuch, of Baraboo.
Mr. and Mrs. Isenberg are the parents of four children : Ernest
August, who is bookkeeper for the First National Bank of Baraboo;
Elsie Marie, who has completed a course in home economics at Stout
Institute, Menominee, Wisconsin ; Lydia Grace, a graduate of the Baraboo
High School, class of 1917 ; and Louis Christian, who is attending the
Baraboo public schools. The family is well known in the city, where its
members are all recognized as sound and reliable citizens, the kind of
material that has helped the city to grow and develop,
Longfellow Turner. Since its establishment in Sauk County in
the early '60s the Turner family has unfailingly sustained the most prac-
tical and intelligent interests of the community and has manipulated with
equal courage and ability the implements of the husbandman and the
franchise of the citizen. Its men have demonstrated the worth of indus-
try and integrity, and its women have kept their houses in order and
taught their children to be fair, honest and considerate in their dealings
with their fellow men. A worthy representative of this honorable family
is found in the person of Longfellow Turner, who is engaged in farming
in Fairfield Township. It has been his fortune to have realized many of
his worthy ambitions in the working out of his career and to have attained
at the same time material prosperity and the esteem and confidence of
the people among whom his life has been passed.
Longfellow Turner was born in Fairfield Township, Sauk County,
Wisconsin, December 8, 1866, and is a son of Samuel and Elizabeth
(Saxe) Turner, the former a native of the State of Maine and the latter
of Germany. Samuel Turner was reared in his native New England
locality, but when a young man developed a desire to see the West, and
in the early '60s came to Wisconsin seeking his fortune. Here he met and
married Elizabeth Saxe, who had been brought to this country by her
parents as a child, and they began their married life on a farm in Fair-
field Township. They were industrious and hard-working people and
were well on their way toward the attainment of their ambitions, the
establishment of a comfortable home and the making of arrangements
for the proper rearing and education of their children, with a possible
competence for their own old age, when Mr. Turner died suddenly in 1876,
and the mother followed him to the grave within a short time. The
children thus left orphans were: Verona, Longfellow, William, Mary
and George, all of whom are still living, and all of whom have been suc-
cessful in life.
Reared on the home farm, Longfellow Turner grew up amid healthful
628 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
country surroundings, and was attending the public school in Fairfield
Township when his parents died. The ten-year-old lad was then taken
into the home of his maternal grandparents, John and Catherine Saxe,
pioneers of Fairfield Township now both deceased, who gave him the best
advantages that they could and kept him in school until he had secured
a thorough rudimentary education. He remained with his grandparents
until after he had attained his majority and then embarked in agricultural
pursuits on his own account, and from that time to the present has been
constantly growing in prosperity. About the year 1897 he secured, by
purchase, the farm which he now occupies in Fairfield Township, a tract
of 170 acres of productive and well cultivated land. Here he has installed
the latest improvements and has erected substantial buildings, including
a comfortable dwelling and two good barns. While general farming has
received the major part of his attention, he has also been gratifyingly
successful as a breeder of standard Holstein cattle, and is a stockholder
in the Excelsior Co-operative Creamery Company of Baraboo. Mr.
Turner is one of the best known of the agriculturists of the section, one
who is alive to the possibilities of his vocation and who makes the most
of his opportunities. He is one of the largest hay producers of the
region, and furnishes great amounts of this commodity annually to the
Ringling Brothers at Baraboo. In polities he favors the prohibition
candidates, but has not been exceptionally active in public affairs, although
he has served very acceptably as overseer of roads. With his family he
attends the Wesleyan Methodist Church.
Mr. Turner was married in 1894 to Miss Mabel Bell Herron, of Fair-
field Township, Sauk County, who was born in 1873, in the State of Iowa,
daughter of Theodore and Susannah Herron, who were early settlers of
Sauk County and for many years engaged in agricultural pursuits here.
Mr. Herron is now deceased, but his widow still survives and resides in
Fairfield Township. To Mr. and Mrs. Turner there have been born
seven children, namely : Bessie, who is the wife of Christian Callisch, a
farmer of Fairfield Township, and has one child, Genevieve ; Ray, who
married July 4, 1915, Edna Smith, of Delton Township, daughter of
Thomas Smith, who has resided in that township for about thirty years,
and has one child, Lynn ; and Gladys, Myrtle, Edith, Elmer and Esther,
at home.
John B. Weiss has been a factor in the business life of Sauk County
for many years, and is especially well known and a factor in the affairs
of Franklin Township, where he is cashier of the Plain State Bank and
has had much to do with civic affairs.'
Mr. Weiss was born in Germany, January 28, 1868, a son of John and
Theresa Weiss. He immigrated to America at the age of fifteen and he
finished his education in the high school at Hillside, Wisconsin.
Mr. Weiss took up a business career as a merchant, but since November,
1911, has been a banker at Plain and his ability and personal popularity
have been the chief factors in the success and influence of the Plain State
BaTik. He also owns considerable real estate, and his fellow citizens have
a number of times called upon him for the performance of those duties
which are an indication of general public esteem and confidence. Mr.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 629
Weiss served as postmaster at Plain from 1893 to 1897, during Cleve-
land's second term, and during the same period he was also town treas-
urer. Mr. Weiss is a member of the Catholic Knights.
July 28, 1897, at Plain, he married Miss Mary Machreiner. daughter
of John B. and Emily (Voelkel) Machreiner. They have a household of
six children, named Esther, Marcus, Martha, Julius, Carl and Paul.
Francis N. Peck, register of deeds of Sauk County from 1880 to
1886, is one of the oldest and most prominent residents of the Town of
Excelsior and City of Baraboo, A Connecticut man, he came to Excelsior
in March, 1856, then in his twenty-eighth year, and has been a farmer
ever since. Aside from this, the main business of his life, he has given
most of his time to the public affairs of his town, and during the many
years of his residence therein was usually serving as town clerk, chairman
of the town board, supervisor of the county board, or justice of the peace,
often holding several offices simultaneously. Mr. Peck is a veteran and
a rock-ribbed republican, and has voted for seventeen presidential candi-
dates, from Gen. Winfield Scott to Judge Hughes. He has been a resident
of Baraboo for a number of years.
George T. Morse is one of the leading bankers of Sauk County, and
banking has been his chief experience throughout his career. He is now
president of the Citizens Bank of Reedsburg and has been actively identi-
fied with that institution for over thirty years.
Mr. Morse was born in Schoharie County, New York, a son of Hiram
A. and Mary (Mackey) Morse, both of whom were natives of New York
State. Hiram A. Morse was for a number of years a merchant at Albany.
In 1864 he enlisted for service in the Civil war, and was killed before the
conclusion of his service. His widow spent her last years in Reedsburg.
George T. Morse lived in Schoharie County, New York, until he was
fifteen years of age. He attended school there and also at Reedsburg,
Wisconsin, where he had his first business experience in the bank of his
uncle, Joseph Mackey. He was made cashier of the old Reedsburg Bank
during the second year of its existence, and then for four years was
connected with the First National Bank of Lincoln, Illinois. On returning
to Reedsburg Mr. Morse resumed his connection with the Reedsburg
Bank while J. W. Lusk was its president.
Mr. Morse organized the Citizens Bank of Reedsburg in 1887, and its
first president was Charles Keith, after whom Mr. Morse took the execu-
tive management of the institution and has directed its welfare and con-
served its resources now for a great many years.
Mr. Morse has one of the attractive homes of Reedsburg on Locust
Street. He served several years as alderman and fraternally is affiliated
with Reedsburg Lodge No. 157, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons,
Reedsburg Chapter No. 56, Royal Arch Masons, St. John's Commandery
No. 21, Knights Templar, with the thirty-second degree, Scottish Rite
Consistory, at Milwaukee, and the Temple of the Mystic Shrine in that
city.
Mr. Morse married Miss Belle Ward, of Dubuque, Iowa, daughter of
Hiram and Emma Ward. Mrs. Morse's mother gave the ground for the
630 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Reedsburg Public Library. Mr. and Mrs, Morse have two children:
Ward Stone Morse, who is now manager of the Hotel Leamington at
Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Emma, wife of W. H. Brockmann, of
Chicago, Illinois.
Peter Henry. An example of that kind of thrift and well applied
energy which enables a man to retire from active life at a comparatively
early age is found in the career of Peter Henry, who is now living in a
fine modem home at 941 Main Street, Reedsburg. Reared a farmer, for
many years Mr. Henry was engaged in the pursuit of the tilling of the
soil, and for a short time after coming to Reedsburg was connected with a
business industry at this place, but since 1913 has lived quietly, enjoying
the fruits of his early years of toil. He has always been one of the
helpful and public-spirited men of his community wherever he has lived,
and at various times has been called upon to act in positions of public
responsibility, in which he has discharged his duties in a manner that has
always acted for the benefit of the general public.
Peter Henry was born on a farm in Walworth County, Wisconsin,
November 16, 1863, and is a son of John Henry and Mary (Priemer)
Henry. His father w^as born in Switzerland, July 16, 1824, and was
-a young man when he came to the United States and arrived in Walworth
County, Wisconsin, in 1848. There he started his career in a modest
manner, farming a small tract of land with crude implements until he
could afford better ones, living in a rude home until he could
build one more commodious, and gradually building up a reputation
for sobriety, integrity and worth in his community. In Walworth County
he met and married Mary Priemer, a young lady newly arrived from
her native Germany, where she had been born February 4, 1839, and
together they labored industriously in the building up of a home. In
1866 they changed their place of residence from Walworth County to
Woodland Township, Sauk County, where Mr, Henry purchased a farm
of some proportions. To his original purchase he continued to add from
time to time until he was the owner of 440 acres in that township and
35 acres in Richland County, and on his farm the remainder of
his life was passed, his death occurring there September 24, 1894, when
he was past seventy years of age. Mr. Henry was a democrat in his
political views, but was never mixed up in political matters save as a
voter, preferring the quiet life of the farm to the strenuous one of public
affairs. He was a faithful member of the Lutheran Church, to which
Mrs. Henry, who survives him, also belongs. They were married October
25, 1862, and had the following children : Peter, of this review ; Anna,
who is the wife of Theodore Moll, lived on the homestead place until
April, 1916, and then removed to her present home at Wonewoc, Wiscon-
sin, where she lives with her husband and four children, Joseph, John
Henry and Mary and Kate, twins ; Dorothy died in infancy.
Peter Henry was reared on the old homestead farm and was educated
in the public schools in the vicinity thereof, completing his studies at the
Wonewoc High School. When he left that institution he took up farming
in earnest, and for more than a quarter of a century followed the vocation
of an agriculturist, winning success in his chosen occupation and invest-
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 631
ing his earnings with intelligence and foresight. During the period of
his agricultural labors Mr. Henry accumulated some 235 acres of land in
Woodland Township, which he brought to a high state of cultivation,
improved in a modern manner and worked with modern methods, making
his property pay him substantially for the labor which he put into its
cultivation. In addition to general farming on this tract, which included
a part of the land formerly owned by his father, he was a successful
breeder of Holstein cattle, and became known in the community as a
skilled raiser of crops and an excellent judge of livestock. For about
twelve years he acted as supervisor of his township, was school clerk for
fourteen years, and for four years was township treasurer, and in all
of these offices gave his fellow townsmen excellent satisfaction, his duties
being discharged expeditiously and faithfully.
In 1909 Mr. Henry retired from matters agricultural and took up
his residence at Reedsburg, where for a time he made his home on Plum
Street. During the first four years of his residence in this city he was
. employed by S. A. Collins in the monument business, but in 1913 retired
from active affairs entirely and settled down to enjoy life in his handsome
new home, which he had erected at 941 Main Street and which he still
occupies. In 1916 he and his son George bought a one-half interest in
the Miller Drug Store, and his son is now active in that enterprise.
Mr. Henry is a stockholder in the Condensors at Middleton and Footville,
and has several other business interests. In politics a democrat, he has
been active in his support of that party's candidates and one of the valu-
able men of the organization in this section During the past four years
he has served very acceptably as superintendent of the Sauk County
Agricultural Fair Grounds. Mr. Henry belongs to the Lutheran Church,
of which his son is also a member, while his daughters belong to the
Presbyterian faith.
On November 13, 1887, Mr. Henry was united in marriage with Miss
Alice Carpenter, who was bom at Rockbridge, Richland County, Wiscon-
sin, August 6, 1867, daughter of Silas and Clarissa (Smith) Carpenter,
the former born in New York in 1839, and the latter in Vermont in 1841.
Mr. Carpenter came to Palmyra, Wisconsin, as a child with his parents,
Halsey and Sarah Ann Carpenter, and later removed to Richland County,
where his parents both died at Richland Center. Mr. Carpenter and his
first wife, who died in Richland County in 1879, had seven children:
LeRoy ; Eugene, deceased ; Alice, now Mrs. Henry ; Fred ; Elma ; Nellie,
deceased ; and Edith, deceased. Mr. Cai-penter, who still makes his home
at Rockbridge, was married a second time, in 1880, to Delia Knapp, and
they had two children : Beryl, deceased ; and Mollie. Mr. and Mrs. Henry
have three children: George, born July 26, 1890, a graduate of the
graded schools and the Reedsburg High School, studied pharmacy and
is now engaged in the drug business at Reedsburg, married M^'ss Louise
Monn and has one son, Richard George ; Mary, born October 29, 1892, a
graduate of Reedsburg High School, taught school for three years, and
then entered Wisconsin University, from which institution she was gradu-
ated with the class of 1917 ; and Clarissa, bom September 3, 1895, a
graduate of Reedsburg High School, and now residing with her parents.
Vnl. IT 5
632 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
James H. Bailey is one of the oldest native sons of "Wisconsin,
having been born in this state nearly ten years before the territory
was admitted to the Union. His life has been as creditable and useful
as it has been long, and for a great many years he has lived at Prairie
du Sac.
He was born at the old town of Belmont in Lafayette County, "Wis-
consin, November 21, 1839, a son of Benjamin Franklin and Elizabeth
(Johnson) Bailey. His maternal grandfather was William Johnson.
Benjamin F. Bailey came west from Montpelier, Vermont, and married
his wife at Belmont, Wisconsin. He was a blacksmith by trade, and the
family cherishes the distinction due to the fact that the first plow which
turned the first furrow in Sauk County was made in the Bailey shop.
On moving to Sauk County Benjamin F. Bailey drove through from
Belmont with six yoke of oxen and six teams of horses. In 1857 he moved
to Platteville, and he continued following his trade as blacksmith until
his death. He died at Grundy Center, Iowa.
James H. Bailey started life for himself at the early age of thirteen.
He began an apprenticeship at the harness making trade and worked at it
faithfully until he was past twenty-one years of age. The war broke out
about that time and he enlisted for service in the Union army, joining
the Sixth Wisconsin Artillery. For one year he was a regular artillery-
man, and was then assigned to special duty as a harness maker, and
served out the last two years of his enlistment in that capacity.
After the war Mr. Bailey lived at Spring Green in Sauk County six
months, following which he was on a farm for two years. In 1867 he
married Louisa Utendorfer, daughter of George Phillip and Mary
(Brown) Utendorfer. Both her parents were natives of Germany, and
they were married at Wilmington, Delaware, in 1842. George Uten-
dorffer followed the trade of cabinet making in the East, biit in 1856 he
came to Wisconsin and located at Richland City and soon afterward at
Spring Green in Sauk County. In Sauk County he became a carpenter,
and that was his chief occupation the rest of his life.
After two years of farming experience Mr. Bailey removed to Prairie
du Sac and resumed his work as a harness maker. He followed that trade
continuously for twenty-five years, developed a large business and became
known as a reliable workman and in every sense a thoroughly energetic
citizen. He finally sold his business and since then has occupied himself
largely with his private affairs.
Mr. Bailey is a member of the Masonic order and the Modern Wood-
men of America. His fellow citienzs have trusted him with various
duties of a public nature, and he was a member of the city board for five
years and for two terms was deputy sheriff of the county. He is a very
earnest and effective exponent of his political faith, which is republican.
He and his family are members of the Presbyterian Church.
To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Bailey were born two children:
Frances Louise, born January 17, 1869, and now a successful school
teacher, and Robert Harold, born May 22, 1883. Robert Harold married
Ada Roetner, and their two children are Tom James, bom February 16,
1913, and Robert William, born July 4, 1916.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 633
Henry J. Rodwell. Among the families which have lived in
Sauk County for fully half a century one of the best known is that which
bears the name Rodwell and whose members have taken a more or less
prominent part in the settlement, development and well being of several
communities.
When the Rodwells came to this county in 1867 Henry J. Rodwell was
five years old. He has spent practically all his life here and today is
rated as one of the most substantial farmers and best citizens of Delton
Township.
Mr. Rodwell was born in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, September 2, 1862,
a son of Henry and Rachel Ann (Abraham) Rodwell. His father was
born in Yorkshire, England, May 7, 1819, coming to America in 1843,
and living for a number of years in Northern Ohio, near Cleveland. He
married in Ohio in 1855 Miss Abraham, who was born at the City of
Cleveland in 1833. In 1867 these parents came to Sauk County and
located on eighty acres of land in Delton Township. Here the father
pursued his vocation as a practical agriculturist and at the time of his
death in 1885 owned a well developed farm of 120 acres. His wife passed
away in 1875. He was a republican and the family were Methodists.
Their children were : Edward ; Joseph ; Sarah Jane ; Henry ; Martha,
deceased; Mary, deceased; Charles, deceased; and Robert, deceased.
Henry J. Rodwell grew up on his father's farm and acquired all his
education in the schools of Sauk County. He early in life took up the
trade of carpenter and has followed it more or less actively in combina-
tion with farming. In 1892 he bought eighty acres of wild land in Delton
Township, and that property has responded to his efforts at clearing and
development until today after twenty-five years, it has a high value and
productiveness and is a property which shows Mr. Rodwell 's well directed
enterprise. In politics Mr. Rodwell is a prohibitionist and he attends
worship at the Church of God.
December 28, 1891, he married Miss Lillian Burgess. She was born
in Ironton Township of Sauk County October 18, 1872, a daughter of
Peleg and Lucretia (All) Burgess. Her father was born in Washington
County, New York, December 18, 1844, and was brought to Sauk Countj^
in 1851 by his parents, Peleg and Mrs. (Herrington) Burgess. The Bur-
gesses located on a farm in Ironton Township, where grandfather Peleg
and wife spent their last years. Peleg, Jr., was reared on the farm, was
educated in the public schools, and served nearly three years in the
Union army as a member of Company F of the Second Wisconsin Cavalry.
He was a republican and an active member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church. His death occurred February 12, 1902, at Lavelle, Wisconsin.
His wife, who was born at Albion in Zane County, Wisconsin, April 3,
1852, died September 1, 1904. They were the parents of thirteen chil-
dren : Lillian J., Mrs. Rodwell ; Walter J., deceased ; Charles P. ; John
G. ; Murlian ; AVilliam ; Albert ; Carrie ; Hattie and Sarah, both deceased ;
Bertha ; George and Arthur.
Mr. and Mrs. Rodwell have been blessed with nine children, and some
of them are still in the family circle. Their names are : Myrtle, deceased ;
Esther, wife of Edwin Thomas and mother of two children, Charles and
634 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Walter ; Sarah ; Charles H. ; Carrie and Marion, both deceased ; Mordecai ;
Mildred ; and Everett.
William Reuschlein. One of the solid and substantial old families
of Sauk County is represented by William Reuschlein, whose name is a
household word in Franklin Township. Mr. Reuschlein is one of the
oldest merchants of the Village of Plain, and has been a figure in public
affairs both in his home township and in the county for many years.
He was born at Plain in Franklin Township, a son of Sebastian and
Cecelia (Schauf) Reuschlein, His parents were natives of Baden, Ger-
many, and on coming to Wisconsin first settled at Burlington and after-
wards in Franklin Township. Their children were : Elizabeth, deceased ;
Caroline ; William ; Jane ; Henry J. ; Annie ; John ; Albert and Catherine.
The daughter Caroline married John C. Aron, of Franklin Township.
Henry J. married Christina Paulus, daughter of Mike and Catherine
Paulus. Annie is the wife of Adam Frank, a son of Lawrence Frank,
Catherine married Harry H. Plon, of Tory, Wisconsin.
Mr. William Reuschlein married Rose Brechtl, daughter of Ferry
and Catherine Brechtl, of Bear Creek Township, this county. The four
children of Mr. and Mrs. Reuschlein are : Clarence, aged thirteen ; Laura,
aged eleven ; Herbert, aged nine ; and Alice, aged three. The older chil-
dren are making splendid progress as students in the local school.
Mr. Reuschlein for the past nineteen years has been proprietor of a
large and well stocked general store at Plain, and not only has the patron-
age which would normally come to his store but has also attracted a large
custom because of the service which he gives and the confidence reposed
in his integrity as a business man. For a number of years Mr. Reusch-
lein served as secretary of the Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Company,
He is now postmaster of Plain, having filled that office for the past four
years. During 1911-13 he was a member of the County Board of Super-
visors and has been treasurer of the Town Board of Franklin Township
for the past four years. Mr. Reuschlein is a democrat, a member of the
Catholic Church and of the order of Catholic Knights.
James Wilson Babb, the founder of Reedsburg, pre-empted his lands
in what are now Reedsburg and Ironton townships in 1844, These
included 1% sections west of what is now Reedsburg City and
120 acres in the Township of Ironton. With his son John, he came to
the Narrows Creek Gap in May, 1845. Proceeding further up the river
they reached the fertile tract comprising what became Babb 's Prairie and
where they made their principal claim. In December, after they had
made some improvements and laid in a stock of provisions at Baraboo,
he returned to his home in Ohio and, early in the spring, accompanied
by his sons, Strother and John, the wife of the latter and Washington
Gray, he settled himself and his little colony at the Ford. Afterward he
brought out his wife, another son, his daughter Betsey, and, as stated,
the latter 's husband, Sterne Baker. Thus the settlement grew apace and
such other promoters as David C. Reed and Mr. Powell rather displaced
the original proprietor. But the settlement which developed into Reeds-
burg was a fixture and Mr, Babb has always been acknowledged as its
636 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
of stage fright such as is seldom seen. The performance was billed as
"Ringling Brothers' Classic and Comic Concert Company, an Enter-
tainment of Mirth and Music." All had taken up music, and they
were thus enabled to give an introductory overture with their own
orchestra. The program consisted of juggling, singing, dancing, sup-
posedly funny sayings, and a concluding sketch. Mr. Al Ringling and
wife (Lou), had one company, and John, Charles and Alfred had another.
These two companies were distinguished by numbers, namely, No. 1 and
No. 2. Al and Lou Ringling 's number being No. 1 and the other brothers
the latter number. Both companies were called Ringling Brothers
Comic and Classic Concert Company. Al and Lou Ringling 's company
or No. 1 staid and played on the road for over thirteen weeks, bringing
home over $1,300. Charles, John and Alfred's company or company
No. 2 closed in less than four weeks and came home financially embar-
rassed or broke. Mrs. Lou Ringling, the wife of Al Ringling, took an
active part in this company. She did the lighting crayon pictures and
worked in other sketches.
After a few years of this form of entertainment the brothers found
themselves in possession of some ten or twelve hundred dollars, and they
decided to embark in the circus venture forthwith. At this period they
were fortunate in making the acquaintance of John Robinson or "Yankee
Robinson," as he was called, a famous circus man of ante-bellum days,
and they combined their capital with his reputation. With a tent seating
about 600 people the first circus show of the Ringling Brothers was
given at Baraboo May 19, 1884. Robinson did not live the season out,
but he had no active part in the show, his principal part consisting of a
humorous speech to the audience prior to the beginning of the entertain-
ment. He always ended his address with the following prediction :
' ' I am an old man. I have traveled in every state in the Union, and have
been associated with every showman of prominence in America. I
will soon pass to the arena of life that knows no ending, and when I
do I want to die in harness and connected with these boys, for I can
tell you that the Ringling Brothers are the future showmen of America.
They are the coming men." Subsequent events proved that his judgment
of human nature, Yankee grit, ability and perseverance in this instance,
was correct. Ever since Robinson's death, in 1885, the Ringling Brothers
have conducted the circus business under their own name, adding to it
each year horses, animals, equipments and performers until its magnitude
not only equaled that of Barnum's "Greatest Show on Earth" but has
far exceeded it. Aside from the high class entertainment which they
give the public, the Ringling Brothers have practically revolutionized the
circus business in America. Early in their career they realized that it
would be impossible to attain lasting success except by the most honorable
and truthful means. They were insistent in employing none but people
of good character; they waged unceasing war on dishonest camp-
followers, thieves and fakirs who until that time always followed and
infested the traveling circus, and they forbade all intoxication and
profanity among their own people. In truth, they established such a
new moral standard in the handling of a circus that among old time
showmen they became known as the new school of American showmen
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 637
and were sometimes facetiously referred to as the ' ' Sunday-school show. ' '
In the handling of their circus each of the Eingling brothers had his
own distinctive duties. Al was equestrian director, and had particular
charge of the exhibition before the public. His especial part of the work
was to hire the performers, to ''put the show together" — that is, to
drill and rehearse them and make them fit to be put on the road. For
this reason "Uncle Al," as they called him, was personally known to
almost every circus performer in the United States — or in the world.
Nearly all of them, at one time or another, had worked under his
direction.
During the winter seasons, in former years, the brothers conducted a
' ' Carnival of Fun ' ' while the circus was in quarters for the season. As
early as 1887 they had placed on the road a No. 2 circus under their name.
In 1888 they were billed as ' ' Ringling Brothers Stupendous Consolidation
of Seven Monster Shows." In 1889 the title was Ringling Brothers &
Van Amburg's United Monster Shows, and the next year Ringling
Brothers United Monster Railroad Shows. In 1898 they operated the
John Robinson shows in addition to their own. In 1904 they bought a
half interest in the Forepaugh & Sells Brothers Circus, and after manag-
ing it on the road for three years they bought them out entirely in
1906. In the following year they bought the famous Barnum & Bailey
shows, since which they have been proprietors of all the greatest tented
amusement enterprises in the world's history. In 1909 they opened the
season by performing at Madison Square Garden, New York City, which
previously had been reserved by Barnum & Bailey exclusively. In the
same year they bought the celebrated Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show
and leased it to Cody & Bailey.
No better illustration of what can be accomplished by honest, earnest
and steady effort can be given than the brilliant success of the Ringling
brothers, who started as poor boys without a dollar, and by indefatigable
effort and careful adherence to the most honorable business standards won
places in the front rank of their chosen profession. As the oldest of the
boys much of the fame that came to the circus was brought to the brother
Al. The circus spirit seemed to be more inbued in Al than in any of the
others, although each had his part to play. He outlived Barnum and
Bailey and the Forepaughs, and at his death was the veteran showman
of the country, with a name and fame that has spread to every part of
the land. While details of the work connected with the vast circus enter-
prise were uppermost in his mind, yet he found time for other things.
His sympathy was shown in kindly thoughts and worthy deeds and no
man was ever more free from ostentation and selfishness. He remained
to the last one of the most progressive and liberal citizens of Baraboo,
in which city he had reasonable pride. To keep himself from utter
idleness he engaged a Chicago architect to draw plans for a splendid
$100,000 theater, and spent his last months supervising its build-
ing. Thus Baraboo now boasts the Al Ringling Theater. With his
brothers he gave $5,000 toward the erection of the new St. John's
Evangelical Lutheran Church at Baraboo, dedicated in 1915. His
parents were active members of this faith, also was Al Ringling
himself and he was buried by this church. He was also a contributor
638 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
to various public enterprises. On a day in 1915 Baraboo celebrated "Al
Ringling Day" in his honor, and Governor Phillips, members of the
State Legislature, and many notables went to the city to do him honor.
Al R-ingling found his chief recreation in fishing and owned a summer
cottage at Mirror Lake, Wisconsin. His winter seasons in recent years
were usually spent at Sarasota, Florida.
On November 18, 1890, he married Miss Eliza Morris. She was born
at Bunker Hill, West Virginia, May 12, 1852, a daughter of John and
Christina (Lyons) Morris. When she was eighteen months old her
parents removed to McGregor, Iowa, and there she grew up on a farm
until she was twelve years of age. Her father then moved into Mc-
Gregor and was proprietor of a hotel for ten years. Mrs. Ringling after
the death of her parents became self supporting, learned a trade, and
after her marriage she lived for twenty-five years with the circus. No
small part of the success of Mr. Ringling as a showman is due to his
capable wife. She performed a multitude of duties when the Ringling
circus was a comparatively small affair. She worked in the side-shows,
was snake charmer, rode horses, took part in the parades, and for ten
winters she had complete charge of the circus wardrobes. She kept
twenty girls employed sewing for her both winter and summer. Mr.
Ringling always called his wife "Lou" and they were known by every
person in Baraboo as "Al and Lou" Ringling.
Al Ringling 's name and memory shall long be honored by the circus
going public as well as by the city which honored him and which he
repaid in loyalty and appreciable service. Al Ringling died at Baraboo,
Wisconisn, January 1, 1916.
Last but not least, Mr. Al Ringling erected a beautiful $25,000 marble
mausoleum for himself and his wife in the Baraboo Cemetery and had
above the door the names of "Al and Lou Ringling" cut in the marble.
John P. Stone. As one of the noted early industries of Sauk County
much attention has been paid to hop growing, and it has a big place in
the agricultural history of the county, though it is now practically
extinct. One of the men who knows every phase of that business from
practical experience is John P. Stone, now a prominent banker at Reeds-
burg and president of the State Bank of that city.
Mr. Stone is a native of the State of Maine, having been born in
Oxford County February 5, 1847. He has been a resident of Sauk County
more than sixty years. His grandfather was David Stone, a loyal and
gallant soldier of the American army in the war of the Revolution.
Mr. Stone is a son of Thomas S. and Sarah P. (Tredwell) Stone. Both
parents were natives of Maine. His father was born May 8, 1816, and
his mother March 30, 1816. They were married in Maine, and in 1856
brought their family to Reedsburg, Wisconsin. Thomas S. Stone acquired
a farm of 120 acres now adjoining the city of Reedsburg. He was hard
at work at its improvement and development when he died in 1857. His
widow died a number of years later. Their children were eight in num-
ber : Mary, Sarah, Cbarles H., Betsey, all deceased ; John P. ; Clara,
deceased ; Flora ; and Ella. In February, 1860, the mother married
George Kellogg, of Sauk County.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 639
From the date of his mother's second marriage John P. Stone had to
shift for himself. He had a very limited education, chiefly in the schools
of his native state. Hard work was his portion in the early years, and
he was a farm hand and also worked long hours in the hop fields. Finally
he and his brother Charles bought a farm, which is now included in the
city limits of Reedsburg. There. they were successfully identified with
the business of hop growing until that industry proved unprofitable. Mr.
Stone continued to live on his farm until 1910, when he removed to his
city residence on North Park Street. The old farm has since been sub-
divided and sold for town lots.
On March 10, 1898, the State Bank of Reedsburg was opened for
business with Mr. Stone as president. He has guided the destinies of that
financial institution with wisdom and discretion and has made it one of
the strong banks of Sauk County. Mr. Stone is a republican in politics,
is a member of the Presbyterian Church and has been an elder for many
years.
On April 22, 1874, he married Miss Amy P. Phillips, of Sauk County,
daughter of Otis and Janet Phillips, who were settlers in this county in
the year 1866. Both are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Stone have two
children. Winifred P. is a graduate of the Reedsburg High School and
the Whitewater Normal School, was a teacher in the Reedsburg schools
two years, and is now the wife of Mr. N. T. Gill, cashier of the State Bank
of Reedsburg. Mr. and Mrs. Gill have two sons, Kenneth and Charles H.
Stone Gill. Charles H. Stone, the only son of Mr. and Mrs. Stone, is a
graduate of the Reedsburg High School, the University of Wisconsin,
has his law degree from the State University, and is now a successful
attorney in his native city. In addition to his private practice he is serv-
ing as income tax assessor for Sauk County. This young lawyer married
Edna Bryden, of Reedsburg, and their three children are named Thomas
S., David and Portia.
Bert Mahoney. Among the younger representatives of the farming
element in Sauk County few have made better progress in material pros-
perity since reaching years of maturity than has Bert Mahoney, of 802
Ash Street, Baraboo. In Mr. Mahoney 's return to the country is found
ail instance of the call of Nature rising above the din of the city and the
possibly more rapid compensations of a commercial career, for during
several years he was identified with mercantile matters, only to again
take up the vocation of his forefathers, that of the husbandman. He is at
this time the owner of 160 acres of well-cultivated land in Excelsior
Township, and is numbered among the skilled and progressive farmers of
his part of the county.
Bert Mahoney was born at Janesville, Roek County, Wisconsin, April
11, 1888, and is a son of Cornelius J. and Agnes (Bevins) Mahoney. On
both sides of the family he is descended from families who have resided
during a long period in Wisconsin, for his father was bom at Clinton
and his mother at Janesville, both in Rock County. Cornelius J. Mahoney
followed railroading all his life, and for forty-five years was conductor
on a passenger train on the Northwestern Railroad, running out of
Janesville, in which city his death occurred April 6, 1913, when he was
640 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
fifty-nine years of age. He was one of the trusted employes of his com-
pany, a reliable, steady and faithful trainman, and a general favorite
with the traveling public who journeyed over his branch of the road.
In political matters he took no part, and in regard to a preference for
one or another of the parties, he invariably maintained an independent
position, his ballot being cast in favor of the man whom his judment told
him was best fitted for the duties of the office at stake. He and Mrs.
Mahoney, who survives him and still resides at Janesville, were members
of the Catholic Church. They had four children : Frank, Bert, Estelle
and Catherine.
Bert Mahoney received his education in the public schools of his
native city, and after his graduation from the Janesville High School
secured employment in a mercantile establishment there. There he resided
until 1907, continuing to be connected with business matters, and in the
year mentioned came to Baraboo, where he became associated with a
business house as a traveling representative. He was successful in this
direction and undoubtedly would have gone far as a business man but
the call of the country was too strong to resist and in 1913 he took up
farming in Excelsior Township, where he now has 160 acres of good
land, although he still makes his home at Baraboo, having a comfortable
residence at No. 802 Ash Street. He has brought his land to a high state
of cultivation and has improved his property with modern buildings,
equipped with the latest appliances. As a general farmer he has reaped
the success that is given as a reward for industry and good management,
and his stock-raising efforts have also met with prosperous returns. In
the life of the community he takes an active part, although public matters
have had little interest for him, and had he so desired he would have
found it difficult to find time from his farming duties to enter the lists
as a candidate for office.
On January 15, 1913, Mr. Mahoney tvas married to Miss Maud
Kellogg, who was bom in Greenfield Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin,
October 9, 1887, a daughter of Arthur and Mary (Wilson) Kellogg, the
former born in Greenfield Township, March 27, 1858, and the latter at
Decorah, Wisconsin, in 1866. The paternal grandparents of Mrs.
Mahoney were Albert Frederick and Sarah Jane (Bassett) Kellogg, pio-
neers of Sauk County and the first of this family to come to Wiseonsfn,
the former home of the Kelloggs having been in New York. Albert F.
Kellogg was engaged during the early days in teaming between Baraboo
and Milwaukee, and became widely and favorably known to the people of
this locality. He died in 1887, at an advanced age, having rounded out a
full and useful life, while Mrs. Kellogg survived until 1913, and was also
well advanced in years at the time of her demise. They had the following
children : Chauncey, Ansel, Elwin, Levi, Almira, Alice, the wife of
Charles Mattoon, of Watertown, Connecticut ; and Arthur.
Arthur Kellogg was educated in the public schools of Sauk County,
attending the primitive log schoolhouse in Greenfield Township and
receiving instruction from J. M. True, one of the pioneer teachers of the
county. For a number of years he was engaged in farming and stock-
raising, and also was a stock buyer with George Hill, of Baraboo, but later
embarked in the livery business, and continued to be engaged therein dur-
PIISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 641
ing a period of seventeen years. He then retired from active pursuits
and went to Janesville, where he resided for several years, but his death
occurred at Portage, Wisconsin, Thanksgiving Day, 1913. He was a
republican, but not a politician. Mrs. Kellogg had passed away July 28,
1904, the mother of five children, all of whom, survive : Maud, now Mrs,
Mahoney ; and Beatrice, Charles, Frederick and Virginia. Mr. and Mrs.
Mahoney are the parents of one child : Mary Patricia, born June 27, 1916.
Henry H. Tinkham. Back to stanch old New England stock does
Henry H. Tinkham, of Baraboo, trace his lineage, and that in his char-
acter abide those sterling qualities which have ever marked the true type
of the descendants of Vermont's sons is manifest when the more salient
points in his career are considered. Since the year 1881 Mr. Tinkham
has been identified with the service of the Chicago & Northwestern
Railway, and during this long period he has advanced steadily in the
esteem of his employers as well as in the confidence of his fellow workers,
and at the present time is the possessor of one of the most desirable
passenger locomotive runs out of Baraboo.
Mr. Tinkham is a native son of Sauk County, having been born in
Baraboo Township September 25, 1862. Plis parents were Hiram W. and
Harriet (Foster) Tinkham, the former born at Dickerson, New York,
October 28, 1833, and the latter at Yorkshire, England, October 28, 1835.
The paternal grandfather of Henry H. Tinkham was Jacob Tinkham,
who was born October 24, 1797, at Windsor, Vermont. He married
Rebecca Nutting, who was born August 4, 1800, at Reading, Vermont,
and shortly thereafter they removed to New York, where they lived for
some years. Making their way then to the West, they stopped for a time
in Illinois and then pushed on to Sauk County, Wisconsin, in 1846, and
took up land from the United States Government in section 3, Excelsior
Township . Here they continued to be engaged in successful agricultural
operations until 1870, at which time they went to Michigan to live with
their youngest daughter, Anna Violette, the wife of Doctor Parmeter, at
whose home Mr. Tinkham passed away November 24, 1871. Mrs. Tink-
ham continued to live with her daughter to the time of her death, which
was in October, 1882. There were seven children in the family, namely :
Matilda ; Amos W. ; Harriet P. ; Irving Wilbur, who died on a Southern
battlefield while wearing the uniform of his country during the Civil
war ; Hiram Wesley, the father of Henry H. ; Aralette Rebecca and Anna
Violette.
John Foster, the maternal grandfather of Henry H. Tinkham, was
born in England, and on bringing his family to the United States settled
in the vicinity of Whitehouse, near Toledo, Ohio, where his death occurred
not long thereafter. His daughter Harriet came to Sauk County, Wiscon-
sin, with a family by the name of Hunter, when she was about eighteen
years old, and about two years later, in 1855, was married to H. W.
Tinkham. They became the parents of seven children : William Watson,
deceased ; John, deceased ; William, deceased ; Henry H. ; Alice, deceased ;
Sarah, and Eva B., deceased.
Hiram W. Tinkham was about thirteen years of age when he came
with his parents to Sauk County, Wisconsin. Here he learned the trade
642 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
of carpenter, which he followed for some years, in addition to which he
drove a stage coach from Prairie du Sac to Kilbourn. He likewise spent
three years in Iowa in working at his trade, but eventually returned to
Wisconsin and became a farmer in Baraboo Township, a vocation which
he followed during the remaining active period of his life. He was a
democrat in politics, but never sought public office.
Henry H. Tinkham was reared on the home farm and secured his
education in the public schools. Like many other farmer boys he was
attracted by the life of the railroad man, and finally secured a position
with the Chicago & Northwestern Railway on June 3, 1881, entering
upon his duties in a minor position in the yards. There he soon found
that railroading was hard work and not a romantic life at all, but he
was determined upon remaining in the business, and about four months
later was given his chance to work as a fireman. He proved steady and
dependable and November 20, 1884, was promoted to the position of
engineer, which he has since retained. In 1912 he was given a regular
passenger run. Mr. Tinkham has been very prominent in the Brother-
hood of Locomotive Engineers, which organization he joined at an early
day. He has been chief of the local lodge, and secretary and treasurer
thereof at different times, and has been a delegate to a number of national
conventions, including those at Norfolk, Virginia, in 1902, Los Angeles,
California, 1904, and Columbus, Ohio, 1908. He is a member of the
Modern Woodmen of America, having joined as a charter member in
1886, and attends the Congregational Church. In politics he has pre-
ferred to maintain an independent stand.
On September 24, 1885, Mr. Tinkham was united in marriage with
Miss Minta H. Brown, who was born at Baraboo, March 29, 1866, a
daughter of Bela E. and Sabrina (Allen) Brown, the former of whom
was born in Broom County, New York, October 15, 1835, and the latter
in Ohio, March 5, 1840. The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Tinkham,
Armour Brown, was born July 17, 1808, and his wife, Clarissa Howe,
January 31, 1812. They were married June 22, 1831, and came to Sauk
County at an early day, Mr. Brown following the trade of carpenter here
for some years. During the '60s, however, they went to Oshkosh, Wis-
consin, and there both died. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Tinkham
was Alden Allen, who was born April 11, 1802, and died October 7, 1872.
He married Harriet Williams, who was born March 1, 1812, and about
the year 1847 came to Sauk County and settled in Baraboo, later making
their home in Reedsburg, where the grandfather died, the grandmother
subsequently going to Dakota, where she passed away. They were the
parents of the following children : Malissa, bom March 17, 1830 ;
Arlotha, born November 23, 1832, died Januarv 21, 1914; Amanda, born
April 21, 1834, died May 19, 1838 ; Olivia, bom April 14, 1836 ; died
May 21, 1843 ; Elmira, born July 1, 1838, now a resident of Kilbourn ;
Sabrina, born March 5, 1840; Jane, born September 15, 1844: Alden,
Jr., born May 21, 1846, died April 3, 1847; Oscar, born November 25,
1847; Mary Adele, born July 18, 1849, died September 21, 1872; Henry,
born November 26, 1851 ; and Almond, born January 27, 1853, died
November 11, 1853.
Bela E. Brown was a young man when he came to Sauk County with
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 643
his parents. He enlisted in Company E, Forty-ninth Wisconsin Volunteer
Infantry, but remained in the army only four months and on account of
sickness was honorably discharged. He then returned to Baraboo, where
he had left his young wife, to whom he had been married March 18, 1860.
Mr. Brown assisted in building the foundations of the woolen mills at
Baraboo and worked there during many years of his life, being at the
time of his death, October 31, 1879, boss carder. He and his wife, who
still survives him and is sevety-seven years of age, were the parents of
seven children, all of whom are living: Alba E., Armour J., Minta,
Charles E., Bela, LaVerne A. and David D., all of whom were born at
Baraboo.
Mr. and Mrs. Tinkh£|,m have had three daughters : Laura," born May
30, 1886, a graduate of the Baraboo High School and of Knowlton Train-
ing School for Nurses, Milwaukee, died at Milwaukee, January 5, 1912 ;
Eva Eunice, born December 14, 1887, received her education in the Bara-
boo High School and is a graduate of the Baraboo Business College, and
now the incumbent of a business position at Madison ; and Ruth A., born
November 7, 1902, who is still attending school. The pleasant family
"home is located at No. 321 Fourth Street, Baraboo, where Mr. and Mrs.
Tinkham located shortly after their marriage, in 1885.
Henry L. Naumann, a native of Wisconsin, is one of the men who
are contributing their enterprise to the making of Sauk County a great
dairy center, especially in the production of cheese. Mr. Naumann has
one of the most modern and best equipped and best conducted cheese
factories in the county in Bear Creek Township.
He was bom in Door County, Wisconsin, April 9, 1885, a son of
August and Katherina Naumann. His parents came to this country from
Germany about 1851 and were married in Wisconsin. They are still
living. The father located on 120 acres in Door County and cleared up
and improved that, being one of the pioneers in that section of the state.
The parents had the following children : Annie ; William and Louise,
both deceased; Ida; Henry; Minnie; Lilly; Herman; Mary; Elsie, and
August.
Mr. Henry L. Naumann was educated in the common schools, and at
an early age learned the business of cheese making. On February 20,
1912, he established himself independently in the manufacture of cheese,
and his factory is situated in the center of a very fine farming district.
The factory is absolutely modern and Mr. Naumann bears the reputation
of being one of the best in the business. He handles an average daily
supply of milk of about 35,000 pounds.
March 16, 1910, Mr. Naumann married Louise Scholl, daughter of
William Scholl, of Bear Creek Township. Two children were born to
their marriage, August" who died at the age of two months, and Henry,
now five years old.
Peter Zins is one of Sauk County's representative and estimable
citizens, a farmer of advanced ideas, well trained in business and honor-
able in all his civic and personal relations. He represents one of the
early families of the county.
644 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
He is himself a native of Sauk County, and was born a mile and a
half west of Lodde Mills in Prairie du Sac Township January 28, 1860.
His parents were John and Motlena (Durish) Zins. His mother was
born in Switzerland in 1825 and died at the age of sixty-seven, while
his father was born in Germany February 17, 1815, and died at the age
of seventy-seven. The first of the family that came to America was
Andrew Durish, the oldest brother of Mrs. John Zins. He located in
Sauk County in 1847. He was followed by his parents and other mem-
bers of the family and a year later John Zins came to Sauk County
and was married at Sauk City in 1848. For two years after their mar-
riage they lived at Roxbury and then came to Prairie du Sac Township,
where they paid $1.25 an acre for 160 acres of land. Subsequently John
Zins bought forty acres a mile from where his son Peter now lives. On
the old farm John Zins prospered and spent the rest of his life. There
were six children : Lena, born in 1850 and now deceased ; Lizzie, born
in 1855, wife of Arch Baker, of Sauk City ; Anna, born in 1857, wife of
Robert L. Leinenkugel, of Sauk City ; Peter, the fourth in age ; Andrew,
born April 1, 1862, living on a farm a mile west of Lodde Mills; Mary,
born in 1865, wife of John Baultes, of Roxbury.
Mr. Peter Zins grew up on the old homestead farm, attended school,
and after his marriage went to farming on his father's place. In 1902
he removed to Lodde Mills and was in the saloon business eleven years,
since which time he has given his attention to farming. Mr. Zins
received $300 from his father as a start in life, and the rest of his pros-
perity has been the results of his steady efforts and wise management.
He now has a fine farm of 355 acres, a hundred acres in the Township of
Troy and the rest in Prairie du Sac Township. Mr. Zins served eight
years on the school board and is a democrat in politics. The family are
members of the Catholic Church.
On February 20, 1900, he married Amelia Paepke, daughter of Wil-
liam and Minnie (Balk) Paepke. Her parents were both born in Ger-
many and for forty-five years have lived at Roxbury. They were the
parents of ten children : Willie, forty-three years of age and still living
in Troy Township; Mrs. Zins; Charles, a resident of Prairie du Sac
Township; Mrs. Clara Westerman, living at Bismarck, North Dakota;
the fifth in age died young; Rose, is Mrs. Robinson, living in California;
Mrs. Gusta Winninge lives in Milwaukee ; Bertha is unmarried and lives
at Sioux Falls, Iowa; Mrs. Freda Miller lives at Castle Prairie; and
Herman is unmarried and lives at Honey Creek, Sauk County.
Mr. and Mrs. Zins have four children : Otto, born in 1901 ; Clarence,
born in 1902 ; Rudolph, born in 1905 ; and Lawrence, born in 1909. The
children are all being educated in the Prairie du Sac Township schools.
Francis M. Baker, a leading agricultural implement dealer and
prominent citizen of Reedsburg, is a son of Sterne Baker and Betsey Ann
(Babb) Baker. On his mother's side he is therefore descended from
James Wilson Babb, the founder of the place. His parents were married
in Green County, Ohio, December 8, 1846, and in 1850 crossed the Baraboo
River at Babb's Ford, now Reedsburg; which was six years after Mrs,
Baker's father had settled there and pre-empted over 1,000 acres of land,
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 645
a portion of which was in what is now Ironton Township. That was a
few months before Francis M. M^as born. He was brought up on Babb's
Prairie, afterward educated in the Reedsburg public schools, and subse-
quently engaged in various lines of business, finally forming a partner-
ship with a cousin, Henry Babb, and taking contracts to thrash for neigh-
borhood farmers. In 1901 he sold the old homestead to advantage and
in the following year located at Reedsburg and established himself there
as a dealer in agricultural implements.
Samuel Welch, now living retired in the city of Baraboo, is a vet-
eran of the Civil war, and he made his substantial success in life as a
farmer. He cleared up many acres in Sauk County, harvested crops
year after year during his prime, and as a result of his industry and
good judgment was finally able to retire with a competence sufficient for
all his needs.
Mr. Welch was born at Milton, Wayne County, Ohio, February 19,
1847. He is a son of Nelson and Anise (Griswold) Welch, being the
only child of these parents. His father was a native of New York State
and his mother of Ohio. The Welch family came to Wisconsin in 1849.
In 1850 they located, in Rock County and in 1851 moved to Baraboo,
and the father bought 160 acres of land in the town of Delton. Nelson
Welch spent his last days in Baraboo, where he died in 1889, at the age
of sixty-seven. He was three times married. By his first wife there were
two children : Laura, deceased ; and John, who was a Civil war soldier
and is also deceased. For his third wife Nelson Welch married Nancy
Murphy, and there were seven children of that union : Stantia and
Clayton, deceased ; Frank, Ralsa ; Hattie ; Eva and Lottie.
Mr. Samuel Welch has spent practically his entire lifetime in Sauk
County, though his varied activities have at times taken him beyond the
boundaries of his home county. He was educated in the loeal public
schools and grew up on a farm. Though he was extremely young at the
time, he enlisted in 1861 in Company F of the Third Wisconsin Cavalry.
He proved his mettle as a soldier and fought alongside his older comrades
in that regiment for one year. He re-enlisted in Company F of the
Fifth Wisconsin Infantry. He went into the service at Eau Claire,
Wisconsin, and remained until the end of hostilities. A notable part
about his service is that he marched with the victorious armies in the
Grand Review up Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, a tried and
seasoned veteran, and worn and weary from nearly four years of active
service. Just fifty years later to the day he went back to Washington,
then with the burden of many years upon him, with hair grown gray, but
Math spirit still alert and young, and again marched over the same ground
and again was reviewed by the President of the United States.
With the close of the war, but still under age, he returned to Sauk
County and for the next thirteen years he spent his winters as a lumber-
man on the Chippewa River. He finally settled on his father's old home-
stead, buying the farm, and subsequently removed to Baraboo Township,
where he rented land for some years. In 1909 Mr. Welch retired from
the farm and bought a comfortable home at 202 Fifth Avenue in Baraboo.
He has shown the same public spirit in local affairs as he did while
646 HISTOHY OF SAUK COUNTY
a soldier in the army during the Civil war. He has been a loyal republi-
can, and while living in Delton Township he served on the township
board seven years and for many years had a part in directing the district
schools as a school director. His father was an active member of the
Baptist Church.
Mr. Welch was married June 25, 1871, to Miss Laura Spencer. Mrs.
Welch was born in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, March 18, 1852, and
is a daughter of Thomas Hardy and Nancy (Maynard) Spencer, Mrs.
Welch is of very old American stock. In 1640, more than two and a
half centuries ago, three brothers named Spencer came out of England,
one of them locating at Saybrook, Connecticut, and he was the original
American ancestor of Mrs. Welch. Coming down the line there were sev-
eral of her ancestors who fought as soldiers in the Revolution. Her
great-grandfather, Samuel Spencer, another great-grandfather, Lebbus
Chapman, and a great-great-grandfather, Captain Kirkland, were all
Revolutionary patriots. Mrs. Welch's parents were married at Browns-
ville, Jefferson County, New York, August 15, 1841. Her father was
born at Saybrook, Connecticut, in 1813, and her mother at Lenox in Madi-
son County, New York, on February 15, 1819. In 1849 the Spencer
family came to Waukesha County, Wisconsin, and soon afterwards moved
to Baraboo Township, where they lived on a farm. Mrs. Welch's mother
died in 1887 and her father died at Baraboo in 1900. He was a republi-
can and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, There were
eleven children in the Spencer family, all of whom grew up and eight are
still living : Charles, a Civil war veteran ; Julia, deceased ; Marietta ;
Louisa, deceased; Jane; Laura: Cyuthia; Martha; John and Milton,
twins, the former deceased ; and Mary,
Mr. and Mrs. Welch gave a good home and careful training to their
six children, most of whom now have homes of their own and there are
a number of grandchildren, Dwight Spencer, the oldest, married Belle
Astle, daughter of John H. Astle, a well known Baraboo citizen, and they
have three children, AVinifred, John and Harley ; Fred Warren, the second
son, lives at Spokane, Washington; Samuel Rolla is married and lives in
Spokane, Washington ; Harvey Griswolcl married Laura Bauer and has
two children, Florence and Lorene; Thomas Hardy Welch married Lula
Washburn and has four children. Clifford, Samuel, Dorothy and Anna
Laura; Laurie Clifford, the youngest son, married Edith Brownell,
Herman Dorow has for many years been numbered among the suc-
cessful and enterprising farmers of Dellona Township,
He was born in that rural community of Sauk County in 1882, a son
of Auarust and Wilhelmina (Hoelke) Dorow. His parents immigrated
from Germany in 1881 and in 1884 settled in Dellona Township, where
they acquired a farm and where they were long honored citizens. The
father passed away in July, 1914, and his widow is still living. Their
family consisted of the following children : Charles, who married Mary
Verthein; Albert and Bertha, unmarried; Amelia, wife of Emil Klenn;
August, who married Anna Leight ; Hulda, wife of Frederick Gardner ;
and Herman.
Herman Dorow early chose farming as his permanent career and is
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 647
now proprietor of 104 acres, devoted to general fanning and stock raising.
Mr. Dorow is an active republican and with his family worships in the
Lutheran Church. On January 6, 1908, he married Mildred Hewett,
daughter of Wellington Hewett. They have four children, Walter, Mina,
Herman and John.
Mrs. Henry Weirich, widow of the late Henry Weirich, has been a
resident of Sauk County for over forty-five years and has played her part
beautifully as wife and mother and as one of the kindly and helpful
members of the old community of Sumpter Township, where she has had
her home for many years.
She was born in Pomerania, Germany, a daughter of Carl and Hen-
rietta (Konda) Swanka. Mrs. Weirich came alone to America in 1871,
and somewhat later she was followed by her parents and brothers and
sisters.
Henry Weirich was also a native of Germany and came to America
about 1861. At first he worked in the pine woods of Wisconsin, then
lived a few years in Honey Creek Township of Sauk County and finally
settled on the home farm in Sumpter Township where his widow still
resides. That farm has been in the possession of the Weirich family since
about 1867, a period of fifty years. Henry Weirich lived there the indus-
trious life of the sturdy farmer until his death in 1901. As a farmer
he began with only a pair of oxen and a grubbing hoe. In the early days
all the grain was cut with the cradle and was handled entirely by hand.
He hauled some of his first farm produce to Milwaukee. At that time
only one store occupied the present site of the Village of Prairie du Sac.
There were no railroads anywhere in the com.munity. The nearest rail-
road came to Portage, and then grain and produce were hauled to that
town. Transportation was almost entirely in wagons with ox teams.
Before his death, as a result of his industry and thrift, Henry Weirich
had acquired a well-improved farm of 140 acres.
His first wife was Helena Miller. Their children were : Susan, Mrs.
Julius Crom, living at Reedsburg, Wisconsin; Louisa, deceased; Mary,
who is unmarried and lives in the State of Washington ; Charlotte, Mrs.
Clark Burrows, of Milwaukee; and Anna, Mrs. J. E. Venn, of Chicago.
Mr. Henry Weirich 's first wife died in 1872.
In 1874 he married Miss Swanka, three j^ears after she had come to
this country. Mrs. Weirich is the mother of ten children, six of whom
are still living, as f ollov/s : Ida, Mrs. William Leiser ; Lydia, Mrs, Ernest
Haskins; Lena, wife of Ed Payne; Lillie, Mrs. Louis Grosse; Henry, who
is married and manages the old homestead ; and Charles, who is unmarried
and lives with his mother.
George M. Hill has spent nearly all his life in Sauk County and is
the oldest dealer in livestock in the City of Baraboo. Probably no one
from personal experience could give a better account of livestock values
in this section of Wisconsin than Mr. Hill. He has paid the lowest as
well as the highest market prices for stock, and has been the medium of
shipping out many hundreds of carloads and has also brought in much
stock from outside places. He knows his business thoroughly, not only
Vol. II — 6
648 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
as a result of practical experience but by careful study and constant
attention to all the details.
Mr. Hill was born in Carroll County, New Hampshire, November 20,
1851, a son of Amos E. and Nancy S. (Moulton) Hill. Both parents were
New Hampshire born and of New England ancestry. His father was born
in 1807 and his mother in 1816. The father was a thrifty farmer in New
Hampshire and died in that state on June 29, 1865, at the age of fifty-
eight, when his children were still young. In March, 1866, the widowed
mother brought her two children west to Merrimack, Sauk County, and
in 1867 moved to Baraboo, where she bought some property on the South
Side. She lived there with her children until her death on January 31,
1890, at the age of seventy-three. She was the mother of one daughter
and one son. The daughter, Sarah E., was born August 24, 1850, and
died in Sauk County at Baraboo.
George M. Hill was fifteen years old when brought to Sauk County.
Most of his education had been acquired back in New Hampshire, but he
also attended the Collegiate Institute taught by Professor Kimball in
Baraboo, and later was a student in the public schools. The old school
house which he attended as a boy was subsequently sold to the City of
Baraboo and used as the city hall. In that building Mr. Hill attended
council meetings as a member of the city council for three years.
He has been making his own way in the world since an early age.
For two years he clerked for George Arnold in the grain business, and
at one time he hauled freight on the streets of Baraboo with a wagon and
ox team. He also worked on a farm and he did some practical farming
for himself on forty acres which he bought from William Bassett. For
another two years he was employed in "William Bassett 's stave factory.
He finally sold his local interests and went West, but did not remain long
and on returning to Baraboo he bought George Lodi's meat market.
For a few months he also conducted a livery and horse shipping business.
For about thirty-five years now he has been engaged in the general busi-
ness of livestock shipping, and has survived all his early contemporaries
and competitors in that line. Mr. Hill has prospered and at different
times has owned considerable property in Baraboo and has done much
to develop it. His fine residence is at 1009 Ash Street. He built that
home and he also built the Peck store on the South Side, leasing the
building for three years to the firm of Peck & Herfort, and finally selling
the building. He is a stockholder in the Bank of Baraboo. Politically
Mr. Hill is a republican and was elected on that ticket to the city council.
He was formerly affiliated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen
and he and his familv attend the Congregational Church.
On April 14, 1886, Mr. Hill married Miss Sebie A. Greenslet, of
Fairfield Township, Sauk County. Her parents, Fred and Ruth Greenslet
were early settlers in Sauk County and her father died in 1914, her
mother still living. Mr. and Mrs. Hill have two children: Laura F.,
born in 1888, is a graduate of the Baraboo High School and the University
of Wisconsin and is now the wife of A. J. Gafke. The second child,
George A., was bom in 1900 and is still carrying on his studies in the
Baraboo High School.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 649
Dennis H. Dederich is one of the best known citizens of Bear Creek
Township, where for a number of years he has carried unusually heavy
responsibilities as a farmer and land owner and has done his share
toward developing this section of a peculiarly rich and prosperous Wis-
consin community.
Mr. Dederich was born in Bear Valley of Richmond County, Wis-
consin, October 9, 1862, a son of A. D. and Mary (Schaefer) Dederich.
His father came from Germany in 1848, the year that marked the revo-
lution in that country and the exodus of so many of its best citizens
to America. He and his wife were married at Roxbury, Wisconsin.
A. D. Dederich was a wagon maker by trade, but he finally turned to
farming and acquired 550 acres. Taking this land in a rough and wild
state, he cleared most of it and was in very prosperous circumstances
when he died October 20, 1898. His widow passed away October 20,
1892. Their children were Margaret, Gertrude, Peter, Adolph, Tony,
Dennis, Gerhard, Ramie, Francis and Joseph.
Dennis H. Dederich grew up on his father's farm, was educated in the
local schools, and at an early age began farming on his own responsibility.
He established himself at his present home" in Bear Creek Township
December 1, 1903. Here he owns 200 acres and thirty acres were cleared
up by his own hands. He has built a good house and barns and is con-
ducting a model dairy of thirty-one cows, while he has about forty-two
head of cattle. Mr. Dederich is independent in politics and a member of
the Catholic Church.
He married Philomena Weiser, daughter of Frank and Genevieve
(Danger) Weiser, of Bear Creek. Mr. and Mrs. Dederich have six chil-
dren, named Genevieve, Philomena, Joseph, Gertrude, Margaret and
Hilda, all of whom have been carefully educated in the public schools.
Louis Wichern is one of the young and progressive farmers of Bara-
boo Township, and has spent practically all his life on the farm that he
now occupies.
He was born on that farm January 8, 1883, and is a son of the late
Mathias Wichern, a citizen long and favorably known in business and
farming circles of the county.
Mathias Wichern was born in Hanover, Germany, September 13,
1833. His parents spent all their lives in Germany. He was reared and
educated in his native land and during the '50s, when about twenty years
of age, he came to Baraboo, Wisconsin. In July, 1859, he married Miss
Louisa Kroher, who was born at Pirmassens, Germany, March 3, 1838.
She crossed the ocean to New York City in 1855 and arrived at Baraboo
in 1857. Her parents also died in Germany.
On coming to Wisconsin Mathias Wichern was employed in Henry
Ryan's chair factory and subsequently engaged in the furniture business
at Baraboo. He later bought a farm but sold it and moved to Lodi,
Wisconsin, where he was in the furniture business three years. In 1878
he bought the farm where his son Louis now resides, and he was engaged
in its management and operation until his death in March, 1909. Had
he lived four months longer he and his wife would have celebrated their
golden wedding anniversary. In politics Mathias Wichern was a republi-
650 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
can and he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His widow
is still living at Baraboo and owns the old homestead. A brief record of
their children is as follows: Fred, who lives in Barron County, Wis-
consin, and by his marriage to Bertha Ryan has three children, named
Feme, Fred and Hazel; Anna, wife of Louis Armbruster, of Baraboo;
George, Henry Franklin and Albert, all of whom died in infancy ; Sam-
uel, who died at the age of twenty-one ; Emma, who is living at Baraboo,
unmarried ; Frank, who married Carrolyn Fellows and has two children,
Harold and Julia Louise ; Carl, a farmer in Baraboo Township, who mar-
ried Nettie Kimbel, and has a daughter, Ethel May; and Louis, who is
the youngest in this family of ten children.
Mr. Louis Wichern grew up on the farm where he now resides, and
besides managing it for his widowed mother he is personally the owner
of forty-three acres of Baraboo Township land. Mr, Wichern is a prac-
tical general farmer and stock raiser, and for several years has made a
success of breeding thoroughbred Guernsey cattle and Poland-China
hogs. He is a republican in politics and attends the Methodist Episcopal
Church in Baraboo.
On June 14, 1916, he married Miss Lottie Owen. Mrs. Wichern was
boirn in Fairfield Township of Sauk County May 30, 1884, a daughter of
Evan D. and Elizabeth (Steumpfig) Owen. Her father was born in
Wales in 1848, and was three months old when he crossed the ocean and
came to America with his parents, David and Jane Owen. David and
Jane Owen brought their family across the ocean on the ship Jamestown
and settled in Racine, Wisconsin. Their seven children were named
John AV., Evan D., Rachel, Jane, Walter, Joel and Mary In 1847 Evan
D. Owen came to Sauk County and in 1878 married Elizabeth Steumpfig,
who was born in Columbia County, Wisconsin, in 1853. Following his
marriage Mr. Owen engaged in farming in Fairfield Township and his
widow still owns the old place. He died February 11, 1917. He was a
republican, served as a member of the school board, attended the Presby-
terian Church and was a member of the Masonic order. Mr and Mrs.
Owen had three children : David, Lottie and George. ^
William Stackhouse, Sr., is a retired farmer, who was prominent in
the affairs of the Town of Westfield for many years and served as sheriff
of the county in 1901-02. His oldest son, William, Jr., also held that
office for a term. They both now reside in Baraboo, the younger man
being a conductor on the North-Western line. The family came to Sauk
County from Pittsburgh in 1858, locating on a farm in the Town of West-
field. William Stackhouse, Jr., M^as then about fourteen years of age.
Three years afterward, in the fall of 1861, he enlisted in Company F of
the Eleventh Wisconsin Infantry, and served in its ranks until January,
1865. He then returned to the Westfield farm and lived thereon until
May, 1909, when he moved to Baraboo. During that period of forty-four
years he held numerous offices connected with the government of the town-
ship, as well as the shrievalty, and when he went to reside at the county
seat he had fairly earned his position of comfort and good standing.
Henry J. Ellefson. One of the enterprising and progressive men
Mho are extensively engaged, in agricultural pursuits in Sauk County,
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 651
Henry J. Ellefson brought to his calling excellent judgment and good
business methods, and his labors have been crowned with success.
He has spent most of his life in Sauk County but was born at Decorah^
Iowa, February 5, 1874, only son and child of E. H. and Louise (Larsen)
Ellefson. Both families were early settlers in this section of M'^isconsin,
where the father came in 1*861 and the mother in 1868. Grandfather
Halvor Ellefson was a prominent pioneer of Sauk County. E. H. Ellef-
son and wife were married at Decorah, Iowa, January 18, 1873, and for
several years they lived on a farm in Iowa but in 1879 located in Bear
Creek Township of Sauk County. Both the father and grandfather had
an active part in clearing up this land which came into the possession of
the family in 1865. Grandfather Halvor Ellefson died in December, 1904.
Henry J. Ellefson was educated in the Spring Green High School
and also had technical training in one of the Indiana colleges. He is
now living on part of the land which was developed by the family in early
times, having bought a part of his present holdings from Mrs. 0. Kettle-
son. Mr. Ellefson has 253 acres in his farm and is doing a prosperous
business as a farmer and stockman. He keeps about fifty head of milch
cattle.
Mr. Ellefson is an active republican, served as town treasurer fifteen
years, and with his family worships in the Lutheran faith.
July 14, 1909, at Decorah, Iowa, he married Gena Ganson. They have
two children, Melvin E. and Ellen Louise.
A. G. Baumgarten has been identified with the business interests of
Sauk County for a long period of years and is now one of the leading
merchants of Loganville.
Mr. Baumgarten was born in Germany, son of Fred and Wilhelmina
Baumgarten, and came from that country in 1862, the family locating
on a farm five miles east of Loganville in Sauk County.
In 1879 Mr. Baumgarten went to Chicago, was in that city eighteen
months, and in the summer of 1883 was at Minneapolis, Minnesota, where
he engaged in the gardening and sodding business. From there he went
to North Dakota, but in the following October returned to Loganville in
Sauk County and bought a half interest in the Loganville Grist Mill.
That was his chief business connection for six years. During 1889-90
he conducted a hotel and saloon at Loganville, selling out in the latter
year. For five years he was in the agricultural implement business at
Ableman, having bought out E. P. Richardson in 1895. In 1900 Mr.
Baumgarten returned to Loganville and bought the general store of
E. F. Merrimen. For ten years he continued to sell goods as a general
merchant and farm implement dealer, and. then disposed of the general
merchandise department and concentrated his entire attention upon
agricultural implements. In 1914 he added automobiles, and this is now
one of the most thriving enterprises of that section of Sauk County.
Mr. Baumgarten has been twice married, both wives being now
deceased. He first married Katherine Licht, and by that union had three
children, named Hulda, Martha and Irene. For his second wife he mar-
ried Bertha Huebing, and by his second marriage there were four chil-
dren, namely: Edwin, Lawrence, Levera and Harold.
652 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Henry F. Schewe. When Henry F. Schewe first came to Reedsburg
to enter upon a business career his available assets consisted of a small
amount of capital which he had been able to save from his earnings while
working on farms. He had, however, many far more dependable resources
and among them were grit and determination and an unlimited capacity
for industry. These have elevated him to a place among the substantial
business men of the city, to prominence in commercial circles, and to
public-spirited participation in all that tends to the permanent upbuild-
ing of the community. Likewise, he is a well known figure in the hard-
ware trade, and the Reedsburg Hardware Company, of which he is the
head, has been built up to important proportions upon a policy of business
honesty.
Mr. Schewe was born in Germany, July 3, 1855, and was still a child
when brought to the United States by his parents, Henry J. and Dorothea
Schewe. In their native land Mr. Schewe 's parents had been small
farmers, honored in their community and industrious workers, but lack-
ing in opportunities for the achievement of success, whereupon they
decided to try their fortunes in the United States, the land of opportuni-
ties. Upon their arrival in Sauk County they purchased a farm in
Westfield Township, and this they improved and developed, subsequently^
adding to it by further purchases until they had about 500 acres. In
their declining years they retired from active work and removed to their
comfortable home at Reedsburg, where the father died in 1900, at the
age of seventy-five years, and the mother in 1908, when seventy-eight
years of age. They were faithful members of the Lutheran Church,
attending St. Peter's Church at Reedsburg, and were honored by the
people among whom they had lived for so many years for their innumer-
able sterling qualities of mind and heart.
The only child of his parents, Henry F. Schewe was still a child when
brought to America, and his rearing was on the farm in Westfield Town-
ship, where he was given his education in the country schools. When
he reached his majority he engaged in farming on his own account and
that vocation continued to occupy his attention for some years. However,
he had in his makeup a predilection for business matters, and the call of
the city finally became so strong that in 1890 he left the homestead and
came to Reedsburg, where he had his first business experience in a hard-
ware store, as a clerk in the business in which he was later to become
prominent. After being engaged thus for about six years he embarked
in the liquor and malting business, conducting an establishment of this
nature at Reedsburg for eleven years, when he again became identified
with the hardware business, in partnership with E. L. Schulze. The
venture was started in a modest manner, but with the passing of the
years a good and constantly increasing trade has been attracted to the
Reedsburg Hardware Company, under which style the firm is conducted,
and various additions to the rooms and stock have made this one of the
important commercial enterprises of Reedsburg. Mr. Schewe has become
a keen and far-sighted business man, and through close study and observa-
tion of conditions and the trade has become thoroughly familiar with the
needs of the community in his line, and now carries an excellent stock
of modern goods, including shelf and heavy hardware, implements, stoves.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 653
etc., these being the products of some of the leading manufacturers of
the country. The store is situated on Main Street, and has come to be
looked upon at Reedsburg in the light of a necessary commercial adjunct.
Mr. Schewe is primarily a business man, with large personal interests,
but has realized that citizenship carries with it certain responsibilities
and has therefore entered actively into the life of the community. He
has preferred not to ally himself with any certain political party, voting
independently and relying upon his own judgment in his choice of candi-
dates for public office. His own public service has included six years
spent ill the office of alderman, a capacity in which he acted ably and
with fidelity to the interests of the city. He and his family are members
of the St. Peter's Lutheran Church.
Mr. Schewe was married in 1871 to Miss Dorothea Schulze, of Sauk
County, Wisconsin, and they became the parents of three children :
Dorothea, a graduate of Reedsburg High School, and wife of George
Long, of Chicago ; Agnes, a graduate of the Reedsburg High School, wife
of Henry Theman, a druggist of Reedsburg, and mother of four children,
Eloise, Gertrude, and Agnes and Lucile, twins ; and Henry, also a graduate
of Reedsburg High School, unmarried and a resident of a farm in the
vicinity of Rochester, Wisconsin. Mrs. Schewe, the mother of these
children, died in 1878. In 1891 Mr. Schewe was again married, being
united with Miss Dorothea Koemeke, of Sauk County, and to this union
there have been born three children: Paul, a graduate of Reedsburg
High School and of the University of Michigan in commercial law, is
unmarried and manager of an ice cream factory at Texarkana, Texas;
Albert, a graduate of the Reedsburg High School and of the LaCrosse
Business College, class of 1917 ; and Miss Florence, a graduate of the
Reedsburg High School, class of 1917.
John Lee. Perhaps no European country has contributed to America
a greater number of good citizens than has Norway, a sturdy, industrious,
reliable people who because of their sterling character are welcomed in
every section of this country in which they choose to locate. Sauk
County, Wisconsin, can number many Norwegians when it numbers its
men of worth, and one of these may be found in John Lee, a prosperous
farmer in Baraboo Township.
John Lee was born in Norway, February 2, 1873. His parents were
Ole and Bertha (Halverson) Lee. The father was born in Norway in
September, 1833, and the mother on August 25, 1844. They were reared
in their native land and were married there in 1866. In 1881 they came
to Baraboo, Wisconsin, where the father worked at the carpenter trade
during his active years. He died in the home of his son John in Febru-
ary, 1913. He believed in the principles of the republican party and cast
his vote for years with that political organization. His widow survives
and lives with her son John, who is unmarried. She is a faithful member
of the Lutheran Church, as was her husband. They had six children :
Olavus, who died in April, 1898, in Sauk County, at the age of twenty-
nine years; and Hans, John, Anton, Ole and Otto.
John Lee was eight years old when he accompanied his parents to
Wisconsin and he obtained a common school education in the Baraboo
654 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
schools. He did not learn his father's excellent trade, preferring an
agricultural life, and from early youth until 1892 worked by the month
as a farm hand. In that year, however, he decided to invest his savings
and bought a tract of eighty acres situated in Fairfield Township, which
land he sold advantageously in 1893 and then went to Barron County
and purchased a farm of forty acres. He resided there for two years and
then sold again, and in December, 1911, bought the old Theodore Steele
farm of ninety acres, which lies in Baraboo Township. Here he carries
on general farming and stockraising, two of the country 's most important
industries, and is meeting with the success that close attention to and
thorough understanding of his line of work deserves.
Mr. Lee followed in his father's footsteps in political affiliation and
votes with the republican party. He has accepted no political office. but
nevertheless is an influential citizen because of his excellent judgment
and practical ideas on public as well as local afi^airs. He is a member
of the Lutheran Church.
Chauncey M. Blake was one of the first pupils in the first public
school ever taught in Baraboo. He is not only one of the oldest residents
of the city but has for many years been one of its most industrious citizens,
has proved capable in the management of his business affairs, and has
made his prosperity of value not only to his family but to the community.
He was born in Franklin County, New York, October 10, 1841, a son
of Marvin and Lura (Brown) Blake. His maternal grandparents were
Chauncey and Clarissa (Hazen) Brown. Chauncey Brown was in the
War of 1812 and witnessed the battle of Plattsburg. He came from
Franklin County, New York, to Sauk County, Wisconsin, in 1846. His
son, George W. Brown, was a notable historical character in Sauk County,
and one of the most prominent early business men of Baraboo. He
owned the water power and did much to develop it. George W. Brown
was killed in 1847. He owned forty acres of land in what is now the
City of Baraboo, while Chauncey Brown, his father, also owned forty
acres. Chauncey Brown for many years conducted a lumber yard and
lumber mill at Baraboo, and was well-to-do when he died in 1863. His
wife died in 1854. His oldest son, also named Chauncey, became a wealthy
man.
Marvin Blake was born in Oswego County, New York, May 5, 1814.
His wife was born in the same state April 23, 1817. In 1844 they came
west and located at Whitewater, Wisconsin, but in 1845 removed to
Baraboo. Marvin Blake built a log house where the gas tank now stands
in Baraboo. He was a carpenter by trade and for a time worked for
his brother-in-law, George W. Brown, owner of the water power and mills
at Baraboo. He also did a large business as a contractor and builder
and subsequently invested much of his means in farm lands in this
county. He died in Baraboo June 21, 1899, and his wife passed away
December 10, 1901. Of their children Chauncey M. is the only survivor.
The first of their children died in infancy in New York. George Frank-
lin, the third child, when a young man, was drowned in Sauk County.
Chauncey M. Blake was four years of age when brought to Baraboo.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 655
He grew up in that city, attended the pioneer schools and came to man-
hood with a fair education.
He was not twenty-one years of age when on August 14, 1862, he
enlisted in Company F of the Twenty-third Wisconsin Infantry. With
the exception of three months spent in the barracks at St. Louis, Mr.
Blake was with his regiment in all its campaigns and marches and battles.
He was in ten distinct engagements, and made a record as a gallant and
faithful soldier, one who performed his duty in the face of danger and
every hardship.
After the war Mr. Blake became a factor in a once flourishing industry
in this section of Wisconsin, hop raising. He was also connected with a
manufacturing company at Baraboo, and as a carpenter he was employed
by the Northwestern Railway, and in that capacity helped build the
round house at Madison and many depots and bridges. Subsequently,
for six years, he was an engine repairer in the Baraboo roundhouse.
Mr. Blake now lives in a comfortable home at the corner of Oak and
Blake streets, the latter thoroughfare having been named in honor of
his father. Mr. Blake in politics has always affiliated with the republican
party, and served as alderman for some years and for five years was poor
commissioner for the old soldiers. He is a member and ex-commander
of the Grand Army of the Republic Post at Baraboo, and belongs to the
Methodist Episcopal Church.
On August 6, 1867, he married Miss Amanda Turney. She was born
in Connecticut October 25, 1845, a daughter of Hiram D. and Jeannette
(Johnson) Turney. Her parents came to Sauk County in 1856. Hiram
Turney was a clock maker and also a carpenter, and followed the latter
trade in Baraboo and subsequently was connected with a furniture com-
pany. He spent his last years in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Blake and
died in 1905, at the age of eighty-five, his widow surviving him until
1912, when she was ninety-one years of age.
Mr. and Mrs. Blake had five children, Mamie, Edith, Marvin, Agnes
and Charles. Mamie is the wife of T. A. Gannon, a leading farmer of
Sauk County. Their three children are named Esther, Alice and Chaun-
cey. Edith, who died February 8, 1906, married Edward Mille, and was
survived by four children : Gladys, who graduated valedictorian of her
class from the Baraboo High School and is now a successful teacher of
music at Evansville, Wisconsin ; Philip, who is a member of the Illinois
State Guard ; Bernice, a trained nurse ; and Marvin. Marvin, the third
child of Mr. and Mrs. Blake, is a machinist in Madison, and by his
marriage to Eliza Williamson, who died in 1906, has one son, Marvin,
who now lives with Mr. and Mrs. Blake at the age of fifteen. The
daughter Agnes was well educated in the Baraboo High School and the
son Charles is a machinist.
E. August Runge, who has resided in Baraboo for many years, is
well known as a lawyer and a newspaper man. He was bom in Cedar-
burg, Wisconsin, over sixty year.s ago, and soon after his father died in
1865 the widow and her family moved to Sauk City. He worked in a
printing office, was educated in the Jefferson Liberal Institute and the
Wisconsin State University, taught school for a time, and studied law.
656 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Admitted to the bar in 1881, he practised for a few years, edited a news-
paper and in 1886 came to Baraboo and, with Herman Grotophorst, bought
the Sauk County Democrat, of which he became the editor. After 1890,
for a number of years, he was also its sole proprietor. Since retiring
from the newspaper field, Mr. Runge has devoted himself strictly to his
profession. He married Miss Clara Thiele, of Sauk City, an educated and
talented Wisconsin girl, who has since become widely known in her home
city for her intellectual acumen, her philanthropies and her womanly
activities. Mrs. Runge was appointed by Governor Philipp as a member
of the Board of Regents of the State Normal Schools and holds that posi-
tion at the present time.
August Meyer, whose name and position as one of the progressive
farmers of Westfield Township appropriately belongs in the record of
Sauk County, has spent all his life in this county and is a member of a
pioneer family.
He was born in "Westfield Township February 5, 1873, a son of Henry
and Dora Meyer. His parents came to Wisconsin from the Kingdom of
Hanover, Germany, in 1860, locating on a tract of forty acres of wild and
unimproved land in Westfield Township. Later the father moved to Dan
0 'Hearn 's place in Washington Township. Still later he bought 240 acres
and in 1900 rounded out his possessions with another forty acres. During
these many years Henry Meyer came to be recognized as one of Sauk
County's most progressive and successful farmers. He and his wife had
seven children : Henry, William, Fred, August, Dora, Anna and Sophia.
Mr. August Meyer was educated in the German Lutheran schools and
grew to manhood with a competent training in the vocation which he has
successfully followed. In November, 1907, he located on his present farm
of eighty acres and is handling that most capably as a general farming and
stock-raising proposition. Mr. Meyer is a republican and a member of the
Lutheran Church, in which he was reared from early childhood. Decem-
ber 23, 1908, he married Miss Mary Wiese, daughter of M. and Elizabeth
(Schmidt) Wiese. Mr. and Mrs. Meyer had three children, Henry, Annie
and Edward, the two latter now deceased. The son Henry was born
November 7, 1909.
Herman Retzlopf, a prosperous and progressive citizen of Excelsior
Township, is the owner of a finely improved farm of 180 acres. In addi-
tion to his agricultural pursuits he conducts an extensive business in the
sale of farm implements. He is a native of Germany, where his birth
occurred December 11, 1866. His parents, Charles and Eva (Preskom)
Retzloff, were born, reared and married in Germany and they immigrated
to the United States in 1873, settling in Pennsylvania, whence they
removed to Sauk County, Wisconsin, in 1879. The father was a farmer
and initiated his work in this line in Sauk County on an estate of sixty-
five acres, which he cleared and improved with modern buildings. He
continued to reside here until his death in 1911, aged eighty-six years.
His wife passed to eternal rest in 1906, at the age of seventy-two years. '
To them were born ten children, three of whom died in infancy and the
remainder of whom are all living in 1917. Following are their names in
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY • 657
respective order of birth : Mary, Augusta, Godfried, John, Herman,
Ernest and Bertha. Mr. Retzloff was a republican, and he was a devout
Lutheran in religious faith. He was a man of sterling integrity of
character, was an efficient farmer and he gave his staunch support to all
matters forwarded for public improvements.
At the age of seven years Herman Retzloff accompanied his parents
to America and his early educational training was obtained in the public
schools of Pennsylvania, where he lived until his thirteenth year. He
then came to Sauk County, here completed his schooling and eventually
turned his attention to the great basic industry of agriculture, with
which line of enterprise he has since been identified. He owns the old
parental homestead and has added to its acreage until he now has an
estate of 180 acres. In addition to general farming and stock raising he
has a large patronage and does an extensive business in the sale of agri-
cultural implements of all kinds. He is an enterprising business man
and a loyal and public-spirited citizen.
In 1893 Mr. Retzloff married Miss Anna Liebberger, who was born
and reared in Germany, where her father died in 1900 and where her
mother still maintains her home. Mr. and Mrs. Retzloff have four chil-
dren: Rienhold, Hilda, Bruno and Esther, all of whom are at the
parental home.
Metler Mather, now living retired in Baraboo City, has spent his
active career in the farming activities of Sauk County. His labor was
a factor in bringing a section of the wilderness into fruitfulness, and the
hard work he performed in earlier years not only well justifies his retire-
ment and comfort, but should give him lasting credit as one of the men
who have made Sauk County what it is today.
He was born in Sumpter Township of Sauk County March 28, 1856,
a son of James and Sarah (Cox) Mather. Both parents were natives
of Greenwood, Columbia County, Pennsylvania, where the paternal
grandparents, Jesse and Margaret (Shively) Mather, and the maternal
grandparents, William and Mary (Batten) Cox, spent their last years.
James Mather was bom May 27, 1825, and his wife in 1830. They were
married December 16, 1847, and in 1853 arrived in Wisconsin, first
locating, in April of that year, in Jefferson, Green County, but in the
fall of the same year removing to Sumpter Township in Sauk County.
James Mather bought a farm of 160 acres, and in the course of time had
it substantially improved with buildings and much of the land under
cultivation. He lived there until the last seven years of his life, which
he spent in Prairie du Sac, where he died in 1904. His widow died in
1910 in Oakland, California. James Mather was a republican and a
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Their family comprised
twelve children : William H., who was a Union soldier, enlisting August
26, 1864, in Company G of the Forty-second Wisconsin Infantry and
receiving his discharge in June, 1865 ; Margaret E. ; Jesse A. ; Horace ;
Metier; James E., who died August 8, 1877; Mary A.; John C. ; Carrie
L., who died in 1914 ; Samuel G. ; Frank M. ; and one that died in infancy.
Metier Mather grew up on the old homestead, attended the public
schools, and early determined to make farming his regular vocation.
658 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Some time after reaching manhood he bought a place of 120 acres in
Sumpter Township. Selling that he bought 210 acres half a mile distant,
and devoted his time and energy successfully to its management until
1910. In that year he sold his farm and removed to Baraboo. He bought
a home on First Street, but in 1914 bought his present place at the corner
of Elizabeth and Second streets, where he now lives with every comfort
and convenience.
Mr. Mather is an independent republican, has never sought office, but
rendered valuable service as a member of the school board for a number
of years. He is affiliated with Baraboo Lodge No. 34, Ancient Free and
Accepted Masons, with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Guard-
ians of Liberty. His church is the Methodist Episcopal.
On February 19, 1880, Mr. Mather married Miss Jessie Josephine
Fob joy. She, too, is a native of Sumpter Township in Sauk County,
where she was born August 26, 1859. Her parents were Daniel and
Rachel (Rivenberg) Fob joy. Her father was born in England November
25, 1825, and her mother was born in Columbia County, New York,
December 3, 1832, being a daughter of Henry and Catherine (Whitbeck)
Rivenberg, who spent their last years in New York Citj'-. Daniel Pobjoy
and wife came to Sumpter Township in 1855, and at that time acquired
the eighty acres of land on which they spent their fruitful years. The
father died there January 28, 1878, and the mother passed away August
28, 1907. Mrs. Mather was one of four children, named Henrietta, Jessie
J., Richard F. and Isaac G., all of whom are living.
Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Mather : Eva ; George, who
died October 15, 1884 ; Clinton ; Nellie and Nettie, twins, the latter dying
September 1, 1891, at the age of nine months; Rachel: and Schuyler.
The daughter Eva is now the wife of John P. Wagner, of Sumpter Town-
ship, and their five children are named Lila, Violet, Jessie, Donald and
Lowell. The son Clinton married Nellie Tooley and has a son named
Virgil. Nellie is the wife of Elmer Kitel and became the mother of two
children, Thelma now deceased, and Victor.
William Soltwedel. A farm that has been made to respond to the
intelligent cultivation of one man through a long period of years is that
owned by William Soltwedel in Westfield Township, near the Village of
Loganville. Mr. Soltwedel has lived here for over thirty-five years, and
has made one of the best country homes of the county. Thrift and good
management are evident in whatever direction one may turn, and this
one farm has contributed no small share to the volume of crops for which
Sauk County is famous.
Mr. Soltwedel Avas born in Germany, April 3, 1854, a son of Frederick
and Johanna (Wagner) Soltwedel. His parents spent all their lives in
the old country, his father passing away in 1881 and the mother in 1914.
William Soltwedel grew up in his native country, was well educated
in the German schools and was about twenty-six years of age M^hen he
came to this country and settled in Sauk County in May. 1880. He first
lived near Reedsburg, but in 1882 removed to Westfield Township and
to the land that he now owns. The clearing and developing of this land
was the object of his labors for a number of years, but latterly he has
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 659
given all his time to its successful management and cultivation. He has
160 acres and runs it as a general crop and stock farm. He uses the silo
system for feeding his cattle and keeps about thirty head, with a dairy
of about twenty cows. Mr. Soltwedel is independent in political matters
and an active member of the Lutheran Church. He is a citizen who has
been frequently called upon to act in capacities of trust and responsibility.
He has been a judge in the Loganville Court, and for about ten years has
been a member of the Loganville School Board.
Mr. Soltwedel married for his first wife Matilda Gade, of Reedsburg,
daughter of Frederick and Dorothy Gade. All his children are by that
marriage, named Ernst, August, Herman, Ella, Mary and Paul. Ernst
married Esther Gatsch. August married Anna Schrank. Herman mar-
ried Elsie Gluth. Ella is the wife of Fred Haas. Paul married Florence
Brunell. In April, 1897, Mr. Soltwedel married for his present wife
Minnie Burmeister, daughter of John Burmeister, whose home was near
Loganville.
George J. Seamans, editor and proprietor of the Reedsburg Free
Press, has been a resident of Sauk County nearly fifty years, since early
boyhood, and during this time he has formed many substantial and
useful connections with his community. His is one of the best and most
ably edited newspapers of the county and it is one of the few papers of
Sauk County whose files are preserved in the State Historical Society at
Madison.
Mr. Seamans is of a very old American family. He was born in
Genesee County, New York, near the City of Batavia, on March 30, 1864.
His parents were Amos George and Anna Maria (Lown) Seamans. His
father was born in Connecticut and his mother in New York State. In
1868, when he was four years of age, his parents came to Wisconsin and
located in Ironton Township of Sauk County. His father bought a farm
there and while improving the land he also burned charcoal and delivering
from his standing timber, the burned coal to the furnace at Ironton at
a price equal to $1.75 a cord for the wood. He finally retired to Reeds-
burg, where he died in 1914. His widow is still living at Reedsburg.
Amos G. Seamans was an active republican and he and his wife were
Baptists, a religion to which the Seamans family had adhered since the
time of Roger Williams. The father was also an excellent musician, took
an active part in church and social musical affairs and for a number of
years gave musical instruction free of charge in the community. There
were nine children in the family,: George J. ; Grant, deceased ; a daughter
that died in infancy ; Archie, deceased ; Bertie Ulysses, who owns the old
homestead in Sauk County ; Amos Leigh, a farmer across the road from
the old home place ; Ina, who lives with her mother in Reedsburg ; Frank
Merrill, a merchant and farmer at Ironton Village ; Jennie, wife of 0. J.
Crane, a farmer at Ironton and a taxidermist by profession.
George J. Seamans grew up on the old home farm and attended the
public schools in the country and at Ironton Village. On completing
his early studies he took an examination for a teacher's certificate. He
was one of the four who held a first-grade certificate in the county at
that time. For a number of years Mr. Seamans taught school at North
660 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Freedom and at Valton in this county. For four years Mr. Seamans was
engaged in making and selling the Sauk County wall map. Then, in 1899,
he removed to Reedsburg and bought the Reedsburg Free Press, of which
he has been proprietor and editor to the present time. He is also presi-
dent of the Reedsburg Land and Improvement Company, of which he
was one of the organizers. One of the most successful enterprises with
business headquarters in this county is the Reedsburg Silver Black Fox
Company, of which Mr. Seamans is secretary. He is also president of the
Reedsburg Industrial Association, and has held that office for a number
of years.
Politically he is a republican, but is content to express his views as
a voter and has never sought an office. He is affiliated with the lodge of
Knights of Pythias at Reedsburg and with Forest Lodge No. 106, Inde-
pendent Order of Foresters. On September 19, 1900, Mr. Seamans mar-
ried Miss Emma Whiteley, of Reedsburg.
Mathew H. Mould, cashier of the First National Bank, is the son
of a sturdy Englishman, and was himself born in Herkimer County, New
York. His father, also Mathew, came to Baraboo with his wife and chil-
dren in 1857. He was a cabinet and a carriage maker, with a penchant
for photography, and most of his active life in this locality was spent
in that field of mechanical art. The father was also at one time president
of the Village Board and a man of practical ability. Mathew H. has been
educated in Baraboo, worked with his father as a photographer, later
engaged in various lines of business and about 20 years ago became iden-
tified with local banking. He has been cashier of the First National since
its reorganization. A list of Mr. Mould's public offices includes the city
treasurership, the mayoralty, postmastership (414 years), and mem-
ber of the water, police and fire commissions. For the past fifteen
years he has also served as secretary of the Baraboo Cemetery Association.
Charles F. Ninman. The career of the late Charles F. Ninman
was one long service to the community which he esteemed above all
others in which he had spent portions of his life. Sauk City has reason
to remember this good man, who considered its welfare above his own,
and in many ways was instrumental in shaping and influencing its life
and affairs.
A native of Wisconsin, he was born on the farm near Watertown
December 16, 1846. There he grew up and worked with his father in
the fields and the woods until eighteen. In the meantime he had made
the best of his advantages at school and he then qualifi-cd as a teacher
and taught altogether in different public schools for almost eleven years.
In 1878 he was elected superintendent of the city schools of Water-
town. He gave up that position and in 1884 came to Sauk Cit.y, where
the last twenty years of his life, constituting perhaps its most valuable
period, was lived. At Sauk City he was principal of the schools for six
years.
In 1890 he established the Sauk City Presse, a German weekly paper,
and in 1900 consolidated it with the Pionier Am Wisconsin, giving the
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HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY . 661
publication the name Sauk City Pionier Presse, which is now published
under the management of his son Max.
' The publication of this newspaper was a successful business enter-
prise, but it was more than that, since it was the medium through which
he exerted his untiring efforts in behalf of the community. Many times
he was accorded the honor of public office and served as police justice,
justice of the peace, village clerk, village president, health officer. Pie
took a great interest in all public improvements. The building of a new
high school in 1891 was in a great measure due to his efforts, and he
served on its building committee. The creamery and the canning factory
are among the enterprises which he helped to promote, and he served as
president of the Canning and Packing Company. He supervised the
erection of the electric light plant and was the principal citizen to urge
its establishment.
On May 10, 1870, Charles F. Ninman married Miss Sophie Stoevehase.
Seven children were born to them, of whom three sons and one daughter
are living : Edward, in Tacoma, Washington ; Theodore, in Reedsburg,
Wisconsin; Max, in Sauk City; and Mrs. E. G. Von Wald, in LaCrosse.
Charles F. Ninman died March 9, 1904. The attendance at his funeral
was the largest ever seen in Sauk City. Business places were closed and
the following lodges of which he was a member attended the funeral in
a body : Masons, Ancient Order of United Workmen, Modern Woodmen
of America and Degree of Honor.
■^o-"
Max H. Ninman, publisher of the Sauk City Pionier Presse, is a son
of the founder and for many years the proprietor of that well-known
G-erman weekly paper in this county. He was born while his parents
lived at Watertown, Wisconsin, December 11, 1878. Of his father a
sketch appears on preceding pages.
He attended the public schools and the high school at Sauk City, and
at the age of thirteen began learning the printing business under his
father. He worked steadily at the case and in reporting and performing
other duties of the all-around newspaper man, and when his father died
he took over the business and has conducted it with gratifying results to
himself and to the community. He now has a thoroughly equipped print-
ing plant and has a newspaper with a wide circulation and a great influ-
ence in that section of the county.
From January 11, 1911, to July 1, 1915, Mr. Ninman served as post-
master of Sauk City, during the last republican administration. While
he was postmaster he was instrumental in securing the installation of a
complete modern equipment in the postofifice building. Mr. Ninman is
vice president of the Farmers' Packing Company. One of the chief
social occasions of Sauk City in recent years was the "Homecoming" held
in August, 1907. Mr. Ninman was the originator and promoter of this
event, and was secretary of the committee in charge of arrangements.
There has always been musical talent in the Ninman family and
Mr. Ninman has developed his taste in that direction since childhood. In
fact since he was a boy he has been director of the local band and has
instructed a number of similar organizations. He has been interested in
republican politics and through the influence of his father was chosen to
662 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
serve as delegate to the Republican State and District Conventions in
1900. Another interesting distinction is that he was chosen master of the
local lodge of the Ancient Order of United "Workmen when only nineteen
years of age, and was probably the youngest master that order has ever
had in the state. He is also a member of Eureka Lodge No. 113, Free
and Accepted Masons, at Prairie du Sac, and served as its senior warden
in 1909, and belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America.
On June 28, 1904, at Sauk City, Mr. Ninman married Hannah Lenz,
daughter of William and Elizabeth Lenz, early residents of Sauk City.
Her father was owner of a brewery and in different ways took an active
part in the early development of the city. Mr. and Mrs. Ninman have
one child, Charles F., named for his honored grandfather. Mr. Ninman
is one of the Associate Editors of this publication.
James B. Fadden, whose fine country hom.e is one of the show places
of Dellona Township, is a highly-educated young man who early in life
determined to apply the resources of his mind and character to farming,
and along that line has made a notable success for one so young.
Mr. Fadden was born in Dellona Township of this county June 25,
1892, a son of Jeremiah and Catherine (Gallagher) Fadden. His parents
came from County Mayo, Ireland, in 1852, and his father for several
years worked for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St: Paul Railway. In 1867
the family located in Dellona Township, where the father developed a
good estate as a farmer. In the family of Jeremiah Fadden and wife
were the following children : John, Mary, Alice, all deceased ; Anne,
Jeremiah; William; Catherine; Peter, deceased; James B.; and Teresa,
deceased. Jeremiah Fadden was one of the old settlers in Dellona Town-
ship, and earned and was rewarded with the respect and confidence of
the entire eommunity. One of the daughters, Anne, married James
McFadden, who lives at Douglas, Arizona, where he is manager of the
Copper Queen Mining Company.
James B. Fadden grew up in the rural district of Dellona Township,
acquired a university education, and for five or six years has applied
himself successfully to the business of farming on 140 acres. He does
general farming, and is also a breeder of Shorthorn cattle. He is now
town clerk of Dellona Township and is a republican.
Carl A. Hopmann. One of the native born sons of Baraboo, who is
well and favorably known to the citizens of that place, is Carl A. Hof-
mann, city mail carrier. During a long and active career his operations
have invaded several fields of endeavor, and at the present time, in addi-
tion to performing his official duties, he is the proprietor of Hof mann 's
Dutch Bulb House. Mr. Hofmann belongs to one of the oldest and best
known families of Sauk County, and was born in his present home at
Baraboo, at 219 Second Street, August 16, 1866, being a son of Michael
and Serena (Becker) Hofmann.
Michael Hofmann was bom in Gersheim, Darmstadt, Germany, on
the Rhine River, July 6, 1832, and in May, 1851, came to Sauk County,
Wisconsin, whence his brother, John Hofmann, had preceded him by two
years. After his arrival Mr. Hofmann worked for one year for a Mr.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 663
Jamieson, who was the owner of a farm, and about 1852 came to Baraboo
and started to work for James Dykens, a manufacturer of wagons, a
work in which he remained for many years. Toward the latter part of
his life he became associated in this business with Henry Miller, Sr., and
the firm was successfully engaged for a number of years in supplying
a local trade as well as a large amount of outside business. Mr. Hof mann
became a prominent figure, being for sixteen years street commissioner
of the City of Baraboo. He was retained in office until advancing years
caused him to resig-n, this being about four years prior to his death,
which occurred October 15, 1911. Mrs. Hof mann was. born in Bavaria,
Germany, May 21, 1835, and was thirteen years of age when she came
to the United States and to Sauk County, Wisconsin, with her mother,
Mrs. Rosa (Wolf) Becker, her brother, Alois, having come to Baraboo
three years before. Mrs. Hofmann died July 4, 1891, in the faith of
the Catholic Church, to which her husband also belonged. He was a
democrat in politics. Mr. Hofm.ann was universally respected and
esteemed as a good and reliable citizen and as a straightforward and
honest man of business. He and Mrs. Hofmann were married at Sauk
City in 1855 and in 1858 went to Juneau County to live for two years at
Plymouth, but then returned to Baraboo. At that time there were about
thirty residents in the city, but Mr. Hofmann lived to see Baraboo
become a prosperous and thriving community, and through his activities
helped to make it so. He and his wife were the parents of four children :
Anna J., who died in 1893; Edward A., who died in 1882; William A.,
of Duluth, Minnesota; and Carl A.
Carl A. Hofmann was educated in the graded and high schools of
Baraboo, following which he spent some time in private study. He
started his business career at Oshkosh, where he entered the offices of the
J. H. Weed Lumber Company, later was with the Sherry Lumber Com-
pany of Neenah, and the Paine Lumber Company of Oshkosh, and then
engaged in the newspaper business at Virginia, Minnesota. Disposing
of this interest, he returned to Baraboo, where for seventeen years he
has been in the employ of the city in the capacity of city mail carrier.
As before noted, Mr. Hofmann is also interested in the growing and sale
of plants, being a specialist in regard to seeds and bulbs. Among his
leaders are Burpee's guaranteed seeds, perennials and plants, and sum-
mer flowering bulbs, roses and shrubbery. Politically he is a democrat,
and he and Mrs. Hofmann are members of the Catholic church. He is a
prominent member of the Knights of Columbus and has held the various
chairs in that order during seven years, and is now past grand knight
and a member of the state council.
On February 21, 1899, Mr. Hofmann was united in marriage with
Miss Nellie M. Monroe, of Hartford, Washington County, Wisconsin.
Henry Hahn is one of the old-time residents and business men of
Reedsburg, where he has had his home for nearly half a century. His
name is one that carried weight and influence in that community.
He comes of that substantial stock of German people contributed to
America by the Kingdom of Hanover, in wliicli country he was born
December 20, 1847. His parents, Christian and Dorothea (Elers) Hahn,
664 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
spent all their lives in Germany and both died there in the year 1898^
They had six children : Henry, W. Hahn, Dorothea, Mary, Annie and
JVIinnie, all of whom are still living except Dorothea, who died at Reeds-'
burg in 1873.
Mr. Henry Hahn grew up and acquired the usual training of a
German boy, learned the trade of a carpenter as a result of a thorough
and painstaking apprenticeship, and in 1868, at the age of twenty-one,
immigrated to America, and in the same year found his first home at
Reedsburg. For eleven years he worked industriously at his trade as
carpenter, and then in 1879 entered the saloon business and his business
interests have been in that line ever since. He is now living practically
retired, his home being at 201 West Main Street.
Mr. Hahn is a democrat and has exercised a strong influence in behalf
of good government in Reedsburg. At one time he was an alderman.
He and his family are members of St. Peter's Lutheran Church and lie
has been a member of that organization since he came to Reedsburg.
The place of business of Mr. Hahn, by an interesting coincidence,
was the site of the home where his wife was born on July 27, 1853. Her
maiden name was Caroline Emser. She was a daughter of Peter and.
Dorothea Emser, who arrived in Reedsburg about 1851. Her father was
a blacksmith and for many years conducted a shop in Reedsburg, where
he died in 1898, at the age of seventy. Mrs. Hahn's mother also died in
this city at the age of seventy-eight. Mrs. Hahn was the only child of
her parents, but her mother, by a previous marriage to Mr. Wener, had
four children, all of whom are deceased except Julia, wife of Hugh
O'Connor, of Reedsburg.
The family of Mr. and Mrs. Hahn consists of four children and the
three still living are all married and have homes of their own. Lena, the
oldest, is the wife of Henrj^ Schroeder, of Neillsville, Wisconsin. Their
children, six in number, are Leo, Emil, Helen, Harold, Marvin and
Henry. Emil, the only son of Mr. and Mrs. Hahn, is a successful jeweler
and optician and is connected with the firm of Stolte, Dangel & Foss
Company. He married Ida Gittslof and they have three children, Law-
rence, Henry and Marion. Edna married Albert Huebing, of Reedsburg,
and has five children : Juanita, Edgar, Dorothea, Wilhelm and Clinton.
The fourth and youngest child, Edgar, died in 1893, aged fifteen years
and four months.
Henry Alexander. During 1905 the retired colony of Baraboo was
augmented by the arrival of Henry Alexander, whose activities have
been centered in Sauk County since the close of the Civil war and whose
career is expressive of the possibilities of country life when directed by
a well-trained mind, an earnest purpose and a keen appreciation of its
benefits and prerogatives. Mr. Alexander represents a widely known
family of this part of the state, whose members bore their full share of
the hardships of the war between the states, and who have always been
good and helpful workers in advancing the movements which have cul-
minated in progress and public welfare. He was born in Germany,
October 15, 1846, and is a son of Jacob and Lucetta (Hahn) Alexander.
The parents of Mr. Alexander were born in Germany and married in.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 665
that country, and in 1850 immigrated to the United States and took up
their residence in Pennsylvania. The mother lived only two years after
coming to America, and in 1857 the father left his Pennsylvania com-
munity and made his way to Sauk County, Wisconsin, with his son John.
Settling in Freedom Township, he built a log house on the 80-acre farm
which he had purchased, and to which he subsequently added an addi-
tional eighty acres. In 1858 he was joined by his son Henry, and in
1859 his son Peter came to this state, with two sisters : Henrietta, who
kept house on the farm until her death in 1864, and Philipina, who had
been married to W. Simon in Pennsylvania and who after coming to
Sauk Township located on a farm in the Township of Freedom about one
mile from the home of her father. Her husband is now deceased and
she is a resident of Baraboo. After Henry Alexander married, Jacob
Alexander went to live with him and his last years were passed at the
home of his son, where he died in 1896, at the age of eighty-three years.
His six children were : An infant who died in Germany ; Philipina, now
Mrs. Simon, of Baraboo ; John, who met a soldier's death on the bloody
field of Antietam during the Civil war ; Peter, who also died in the Civil
war while wearing a blue uniform ; Henry, of this notice ; and Henrietta,
deceased. Of the three Alexander brothers who joined the Union army,
John was the first to enlist, in May, 1861. He became a member of
Company A, Sixth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and Sep-
tember 17, 1862, was killed in action at Antietam. Peter Alexander
enlisted in the month of October, 1861, joining Company F, Eleventh
Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. He was wounded at the battle
of Fort Blakeley, April 9, 1865, and never recovered therefrom, his
death occurring May 6, 1865.
Henry Alexander was still a lad when he came to Sauk County, and
here his education was completed in the public schools. He was reared
on the homestead place, and remained at home assisting his father until
the fall of 1864, at which time he took a trip to Pennsylvania. While
there he followed the example of his brothers in enlisting in the Union
army, becoming a member of Company K, Forty-ninth Regime;it, Penn-
sylvania Volunteer Infantry, a regiment with which he remained until
the close of the war. With an excellent record for bravery and fidelity
the young soldier returned to the home farm after securing his honorable
discharge, and in time bought the property, to which he added eighty
acres, at one time having 240 acres in the tract. Later he sold 160 acres,
and he still owns eighty acres of the place. Next Mr. Alexander pur-
chased 240 acres in the Township of Westfield, on which he lived until
July, 1905, when he retired, buying a good home at No. 717 Eighth
Street. He is also the owner of 7i/4 acres of the old Tuttle farm, includ-
ing a grape vineyard of one acre and a two-acre fruit orchard. Mr. Alex-
ander is a republican, but has never aspired to office. He belongs to the
Grand Army of the Republic and attends the Methodist Episcopal
Church.
On October 15, 1866, Mr. Alexander married Miss Sophia Stubaus,
and they celebrated their golden wedding anniversary October 15, 1916.
She was born at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, February 15, 1848, a daugh-
ter of Peter and Sophia (Schneider) Stubaus, natives of Germany. Mr.
666 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
and Mrs. Stubaus immigrated to America on the same boat, met at Balti-
more, Maryland, where they were married, and after a few years in that
city moved to Pittsburgh. In 1858 they came to Sauk County, Wis-
consin, and settled in Westfield Township, having a farm of 160 acres.
While on a visit to Pittsburgh in 1890 Mr. Stubaus died at the age of
eighty-three years, his wife having passed away on the farm in 1874,
aged sixty-eight years. They had the following children : John ; George ;
Peter, who enlisted in Company A, Sixth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer
Infantry, was promoted to sergeant, and was wounded at Gainesville
and Gettysburg; Philip, who enlisted in Company F, Eleventh Regiment,
Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, in October, 1861, and served three years ;
Andrew Jackson, who was a sergeant in the Forty-ninth Wisconsin Vol-
unteer Infantiy; and Sophia, Mrs. Alexander. To Mr. and Mrs. Alex-
ander there have been born the following children: John Levi, born
November 17, 1868, formerly a teacher and railway postal clerk for
eight years, and now engaged in farming in Greenfield Township, Sauk
County; William Edward, born February 17, 1869, a farmer owning
eighty acres of the homestead in Westfield Township.; Sophia Lucetta,
born December 12, 1870, who is the wife of Frank Fostick, of Chicago,
Illinois; Harry Philip, born March 7, 1872, who is engaged in farming
in Barron County, Wisconsin ; George Alvin, born August 26, 1874, now
engaged in farming in Baraboo Township ; Emma Lily, born February
11, 1877, the wife of Edward Davidson, of Barron County ; Henry Percy,
born October 2, 1880, the owner of eighty acres of the homestead; and
Cora Lyle, born September 1, 1883, the wife of Winifred Biege, of Bara-
boo, a railroad man with the Northwestern, and a veteran of the Spanish-
American war.
Albert L. Foss, a successful general farmer of Dellona Township,
has spent practically all his active career in Sauk County, where he is
widely known not only for his business enterprise but his civic standards.
Mr. Foss was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 28, 1859, a son
of John Foss. On January 8, 1885, Albert Foss married Augusta Rupp,
daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Rupp, of Portage, Wisconsin. To their
marriage were born Lilly, Esta, Bertha, Walter, Alma, Minnie, Edward
and Paul. The daughter Lilly is now the wife of Fred Hillman, of
Delton. Esta married R. Haines, of Linden, Wisconsin. Bertha is the
wife of W. Darrow, of Reedsburg. Mr. Albert Foss is independent in
politics,
Philip Cheek. Of the citizens of Sauk County who became widely
known and prominent over the state at large one of the most notable was
the late Philip Cheek. He had lived in Sauk County from early boyhood,
went from this county as a soldier in the Civil war, afterwards rose to
prominence in public affairs both in his home county and in one of the
responsible offices connected with the state government, attained distinc-
tion in official circles in the Grand Army of the Republic, and enjoyed
the acquaintance and esteem of many men distinguished in Wisconsin and
national life.
Philip Cheek was an Englishman by birth, born in Somersetshire
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 667
May 11, 1841. His parents, Philip and Hannah (Cunningham) Cheek,
immigrated to the United States in 1852, first settling in New Jersey,
later moving to Providence, Rhode Island, and in 1856 coming to Wis-
consin. The late Philip Cheek was about eleven years of age when the
family arrived in "Wisconsin and settled on a farm in Excelsior Township
of Sauk County. The parents later removed to Baraboo, where they
died. Philip Cheek, Sr., was a carpenter by trade, but in Sauk County
gave most of his time to farming. There were six children : Jane, who
died before the family left England; Mrs. Anna Roberts, who died in
Baraboo ; Mrs. Hannah Rothwell, who died in Minnesota; Mrs. A. L.
Sweet, who died in Providence, Rhode Island; Philip; and Robert, who
was killed at Petersburg, Virginia, in 1864.
The late Philip Cheek acquired his education partly in England,
in the different communities where his parents resided, and had some of
the advantages of school after coming to Wisconsin. He grew up on a
farm in the town of Excelsior, and was just twenty years of age lacking
one day when he went forth to render all the service he could in the
preservation of the Union. It was early in the war, and the second call
for troops had been made, the President requesting the service of three
hundred thousand men to put down the rebellion. Mr. Cheek enlisted
May 10, 1861, in Company A of the Sixth Wisconsin Infantry. From
that time forward for more than a year and a half he was in active service,
but in December, 1862, was granted an honorable discharge on account
of injuries received in the great battle of Antietam on Septem-
ber 17, 1862. He then returned to the old Wisconsin farm, but in the
fall of 1863 was appointed assistant provost marshall of the district,
and performed the duties of that office until the close of the war.
After the war Mr. Cheek was elected clerk of courts of Sauk County,
and filled that office with characteristic fidelity and efficiency for four
years. While in the office he took up the study of law, was admitted
to the bar, and on giving up his office he entered into active practice
and soon had a paying clientage. He was elected district attorney, and
the four years spent in that office laid the basis for a still larger reputa-
tion. He was then called into the official life. of the state by election as
Insurance Commissioner of Wisconsin, and by re-election held the office
four years. Those four years he spent most of his time at Madison, though
the family still remained at Baraboo. During his last year in the office
he resigned. Mr. Cheek then became special agent of the Hartford Fire
Insurance Company for Wisconsin, and continued with that company,
with headquarters at Baraboo but with a range of business duties which
took him all over the state, for a period of twenty years.
Mr. Cheek was honored by his old comrades by election as Depart-
ment Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, served two terms,
was a member of the executive board of the National Commander, remain-
ing on that board four years, his other associates being Nevins of New
Jersey, Brown of Ohio, Burton of Missouri, and Tanner of Washington,
District of Columbia. Mr. Cheek was for six years one of the trustees
of the Waupaca Home for Veterans, and was on that board when he died.
The death of this honored lawyer, soldier and public official occurred
September 11, 1911. He had organized many of the Grand Army Posts
668 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
in the State of Wisconsin. He was also a member of the Masonic order,
and for years was a trustee of the Baraboo Methodist Church, and was
on the building committee when the new church edifice was erected.
In July, 1861, while on a furlough from the army, Mr. Cheek married
Catherine Faller. Mrs. Cheek, who still resides in Baraboo, was born
May 24, 1840, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and in 1853 came to the Town
of Freedom in Sauk County with her parents, Henry and Mary Elizabeth
(Horn) Faller, both of whom were natives of Germany, but came to
America in youth and were married in Pennsylvania. They spent their
last years in Freedom Township. Mrs. Cheek is one of the oldest living
residents of Sauk County and has spent sixty-three years in the county.
She has taken a very active part in many interests and institutions outside
of her home, has been active in the Woman's Relief Corps, and in the
church and missionary societies. She was educated in the district schools,
in the Ladies' Female Seminary at Baraboo, and for a few years before
her marriage taught school. Mr. and Mrs. Cheek had three children.
Robert, the oldest, was killed by lightning in 1880 at the age of sixteen.
Arthur resides at Baraboo. Jane, the youngest, is the wife of Henry
Black, assistant postmaster of Baraboo, but they reside on the old home-
stead with Mrs. Cheek. Mr. and Mrs. Black have two children, Catherine
and Dorothy.
Arthur P. Cheek, only surviving son of the late Philip Cheek, was
born in the Town of Excelsior, Sauk County, March 13, 1866, but since
1871, when his parents removed to Baraboo, he has made that city his
home. He was educated in the high school at Baraboo, and in the Spen-
cerian Business College at Milwaukee. In 1885 he entered his father's
office. After that he became a special agent of the Phoenix Fire Insur-
ance Company of Hartford, Connecticut. In April, 1891, Mr. Cheek
bought an interest in the fire insurance and abstract business with Edwin
Selleck, making the firm Selleck & Cheek, which has now been in business
for a quarter of a century. In 1898 Mr. Arthur Cheek was appointed
■ postmaster of Baraboo, and served until 1911. Since then he has been
agent of the Guardian Life Insurance Company. He married Miss Emma
Randall, and they have one child, Ruth.
Frank R. Bentley, district attorney of Sauk County for four years
and a lawyer of substantial standing, especially in corporation practice,
is also the son of a well-kno\\Ti attorney and citizen. His father, Mr.
Bentley, and his grandfather and uncle, all served in the Civil war. The
first named moved to Baraboo in 1869, when Frank R. was a year old,
practiced law for thirty years and was one of the first supervisors of the
village. The son, with the exception of four years spent in Seattle,
Washington, has resided in Baraboo since he was an infant. He was a
student at law in the State University, was admitted to the bar in 1891,
and first entered into partnership with his father. Subsequently he
formed professional connections with John M. Kelley and James H. Hill.
Besides conducting his private practice, performing his duties as district
attorney and general counsel for the Cazenovia Southern Railroad and
attorney for other corporations, Mr. Bentley served for five years as
internal revenue collector and has been a director in the First National
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 669
Bank, in the railroad mentioned and in several land and investment com-
panies. He is a stalwart republican, has been a candidate for attorney-
general and was one of Governor Philipp's campaign managers.
George M. Clark. With the exception of nineteen years spent in
South Dakota the activities of George M. Clark and those of his farm
have gone hand in hand in Fairfield Township ever since the attainment
of his majority. An association of many years argues stability for both
man and property^ but particularly does it reflect the faithfulness and
ability of the human side of the partnership. In the same degree that
he has been an important agricultural factor in Fairfield Township, so
has he also been an intelligent observer of the changes that have taken
place during his residence here. He is a native son who has won his
success in the locality of his birth, for he was born in Fairfield Township,
Sauk County, March 5, 1852, and is a son of Frank and Mary (Bliss)
Clark.
The parents of Mr. Clark were born in the Empire State, where they
were reared, educated and married, and there settled down to farming
for a time. About the year 1849, believing that greater opportunities
were awaiting them in the rapidly opening and fast-growing West, they
came to Wisconsin and located in the new County of Sauk, where land
was to be secured at reasonable rates and where the soil was promising
^nd the outlook bright. Of those who came to the new locality, only the
fit remained. There was no room for any except the courageous, the vig-
orous, tlie persevering ; others returned to the East or the South and left
the field in possession of the sturdy few, upon whom rested the task of
hlazing the way for the civilization that was yet to come. Frank and
Mary Clark had all the sound and practical characteristics that made
possible the settlement of the state. They purchased a farm of about
120 acres located in Fairfield Township, and after partly clearing it sold
out and moved to another farm, which they also developed. With this
they parted at a price substantially in advance of what they had paid
for it, and at that time went to Michigan, where they spent about six
years. Again pushing to the West, with the true spirit of the pioneers,
they took up their residence in Colorado, and there Frank Clark died
about 1904, at the age of eighty years. He had been an industrious and
persevering workman, wanning success from his various undertakings by
reason of his steady application no less than by his fidelity and sound-
ness, his good business judgment and his foresight in taking advantage
of opportunities. In each of the communities in which he resided he was
respected and held in confidence by his associates, and took an active
part in the civic life and development of his locality. His political belief
made him a republican, while his religious faith was that of the Methodist
Episcopal Church. After the death of her husband Mrs. Clark returned
to Sauk County and took up her residence at the home of her son, George
M., where she died in 1911, aged eighty-two years. Mr. and Mrs.
Clark were the parents of the following children : Emma, the widow
of AVilliam A. Darling, residing near Sparta, Wisconsin ; George M., of
this notice ; and Clarence, a railroad man living in Wyoming.
George M. Clark secured his education as a student in the public
670 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
schools of Fairfield Township, and when his school days were over
returned to the home farm. Like many country youths he was attracted
by the vocation of railroading and for a short time worked as a trainman,
but eventually returned to the homestead. There he remained until
1882, in which year he went to South Dakota and took up 320 acres of
land, which he cultivated and improved, and upon which he continued
to carry on operations during a period of nineteen years. He became the
owner there of a valuable property, but in 1901, when he received a
favorable offer, he disposed of his South Dakota interests and returned
to the vicinity of his birth and is now the own-er of 120 acres of good
Fairfield Township land, which he bought in 1902. He has good build-
ings and all modern improvements, follows progressive methods in culti-
vating his tract, and is accounted one of the men who have given encour-
agement to the science of agriculture through their maintaining of high
standards. He follows stock-raising to some extent in connection with his
general farming operations, and is also interested in dairying, disposing
of his product to the Excelsior Co-operative Creamery Company of Bara-
boo. In politics a republican, he has taken an active interest in the
affairs of his community, and on several occasions has been elected to
responsible public offices, having served as treasurer of the Fairfield
Township Board for twelve years, and in the capacity of overseer of
roads.
Mr. Clark was married in January, 1892, to Miss Marian Palmer, who
was born in Penfield Township, Sauk County, in 1862, a daughter of
James and Parmelia Palmer, who came to Sauk County in 1848 and
located in Penfield Township. Mr. Palmer died here in 1910, at the
age of eighty-one years, while Mrs. Palmer survived until April, 1917,
and was seventy-nine years old at the time of her demise.
Patrick Holton who by a life of sustained industry and good man-
agement has built up one .of the fine farm estates of Dellona Township,
represents a family that has been identified with Sauk County for nearly
seventy years, in fact covering the entire period of development of the
county from the wilderness conditions in which the pioneers first found it.
Mr. Holton was bom in the City of St. Catherine's, Province of
Quebec, Canada, December 3, 1849. In the same year of his birth his
parents, Cornelius and Mary (Connerton) Holton, emigrated to Wis-
consin and settled at Portage, but soon afterward moved to Dellona
Township of Sauk County, where they were instrumental in developing
some of the new land and establishing one of the early homes in that
section. The father died there July 31, 1884, and his widow passed away
September 14, 1892. They reared a large family of nine children, named
Thomas, Patrick, Mary, Catherine, Ellen, James, Henry, Annie and
Bridget. These children were well educated in the public schools of
Sauk County and all of them married except Bridget.
Patrick Holton, after leaving school, found plenty to do on his father's
farm until twenty-seven years of age, and gradually developed his indi-
vidual interests as a farmer until today finds him the possessor and
proprietor of 520 acres. Nearly all of this is suitable for cultivation and
he has made it a general farming proposition with livestock breeding and
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 671
raising as a predominant feature. He iias bred and raised many fine
Durham cattle.
Mr. Holton has also identified himself in a public spirited manner
with town and church affairs, is an active democrat and is a member of
the Catholic Church, in which faith his children were reared.
In 1876 Mr. Holton married Bridget Bresnahan, of Adams County,
Wisconsin. Their large family consists of the following children : Cor-
nelius, Catherine, Ellen, John, Margaret, Charles, Esther, Patrick J.,
Elizabeth, Julia and William. All of these were given the advantages
of the local public schools, while Julia and Elizabeth had further training
in academies.
Edwin Monroe Hoag. During the more than forty years in which
he was engaged in business at Baraboo the late Edwin Monroe Hoag
was connected with several commercial enterprises which were identified
with the business prestige of the city and which he assisted in developing
to important proportions. His career was one which gave him a creditable
standing among the business builders of the city and his activities as a
citizen were of a nature which made his death be considered a loss to
Baraboo and its interests.
Mr. Hoag was a native of Peru, New York, and was born November 9,
1851, his parents being Emery and Almira H. (Weston) Hoag, natives
of Peru, where the former was bom November 22, 1807, and the latter
January 1, 1819. The family resided in the Empire State until 1860,
in which year the parents brought their family to Beaver Dam, Wiscon-
sin, two years later removing to Baraboo. Here Emery Hoag was engaged
in the grocery business until his death, which occurred July 3, 1872,
Mrs. Hoag surviving until June 2, 1889. They were faithful members
of the Presbyterian Church, and the parents of three children : Henrietta
A. E., deceased; Almira C, who married William Haseltine, a farmer;
and Edwin M.
Edwin M. Hoag was nine years of age when he was brought to Wis-
consin, and here he supplemented the public school education which he
had secured at Peru, New York, by five years of attendance at the Bara-
boo Institute. With this preparation he entered upon his career as a
clerk in the store of Huntington & Bacon, where he assimilated business
methods rapidly. In 1873 G. H. Bacon sold his interest in the store to
William Stanley, and in 1875 Mr. Hoag was admitted as a member of
the firm of Huntington & Stanley, an enterprise which carried on a large
business until 1898. In that year W. Stanley died and the business was
sold to the present Stanley Company, with which concern Mr. Hoag
remained in the capacity of business counsel until 1911. He then retired
and for two years lived quietly, but in 1913 his energetic nature caused
him to resume activities, this time as a partner of Charles Lee in the
hardware trade. He remained in this business until his death April 7,
1916, since which time his widow has been a member of the firm. Mr.
Hoag had at all times the full confidence of his business associates and
the esteem and confidence of the general public. He was a republican,
but had no aspirations of a public character, his only interest in political
matters being centered in his desire for his party's success. His religious
672 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
afifiliation was with the Presbyterian Church, to which Mrs. Hoag, who
survives her husband and lives at the family home at No. 318 Fourth
Avenue, belongs.
On August 19, 1875, Mr. Hoag was married at Waterloo, Iowa, to
Miss Stella R. Partridge, who was born at Lebanon, New Hampshire,
May 31, 1857, daughter of Maynard and Harriet (Parker) Partridge, the
former born in 1825 and the latter in 1829. In 1858 Mr. and Mrs. Par-
tridge brought their family to Merrimack. Wisconsin, where Mr. Par-
tridge engaged in the manufacture of furniture. Feeling that Baraboo
offered greater opportunities for success, Mr. Partridge came to this city
not long thereafter and here built up a successful enterprise, only to see
the results of years of labor swept away in 1865, when a disastrous tire
destroyed his plant. In seeking to get a fresh start Mr. Partridge went
to Winona for one year, but returned to Baraboo to become foreman of
the chair factory of M. J. Drown, and remained in this capacity until
1870. In that year he went to Waterloo, Iowa, and engaged in the furni-
ture and undertaking business, which he placed upon a sound basis and
sold, at that time going to a farm, on which he carried on successful
operations for about twelve years. He then went to Le Mars, Iowa, where
he engaged in a house furnishings business as a manufacturer, building
up this trade until it was necessary to employ in the neighborhood of
fifty men. He was finally successful in the accumulation of a competency
ancl returned to spend his last years with his daughter, Mrs. Hoag, at
Baraboo, at whose home he died in 1898. Mrs. Partridge passed away in
1908. They were the parents of four children, namely : Henry, who died
in infancy; Stella R., who is now Mrs. Hoag; Arthur W., born in 1864,
who is now a resident of Omaha, Nebraska; and Lottie, born in 1868,
who died at the age of eighteen months.
Mr. and Mrs. Hoag became the parents of three children : Emery
M., who died in infancy; Dr. Arthur E., born May 29, 1880, a practicing
dentist of Carrollton, Illinois, who married Bertha Nell Moorshead ; and
Ethel Grace, born September 8, 1889, a graduate of the Baraboo High
School and Beloit College, and for the past five years a teacher in the
school at Evansville, Wisconsin.
Jacob J. Felix. The business as well as the civic activities of the
Village of Prairie du Sac owe much to the enterprise and good judgment
of the late Jacob J. Felix. INIr. Felix continued in business in that town
until his death, and his family still live there, including the widow of
Mr. J. J. Felix, whose home has been in Sauk County since her early
childhood.
The late J^eob J. Felix was a native of Sauk County, having been
bom in Troy Township November 15, 1859. His parents were Gaudenz
and Catherine (Leutcher) Felix, both natives of Switzerland. After their
marriage they immigrated to America, seeking the better opportunities
of the New World, and arriving in Troy Township of Sauk County the
father took up a tract of Government land. He was busy with its im-
provement and clearing and in time came to enjoy a moderate prosperity.
Both he and his wife died in that community. Their children were :
Margaret, Elizabeth, Mary and Jacob.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 673
On the old home farm in Troy Township Jacob J. Felix spent the
first twenty-five years of his life. His education was confined to the
advantages of the local schools. Removing to Prairie du Sac, he began
his business career as a clerk in the store of Schneller, Patterson & Com-
pany. As a result of the fidelity which was one of his dominant charac-
teristics, supplemented by great industry, he mastered the details of busi-
ness and subsequently was made a partner in the firm. He then continued
actively in business at Prairie du Sac until his death on July 19, 1913.
Not only was he attentive to his business but also to those movements
which express the real progress and welfare of the community. He was
affiliated with Eureka Lodge No. 113, Ancient Free and Accepted
Masons, and with the local camp of the Modern Woodmen of America.
Pie and his wife were active in the Presbyterian Church.
In 1886 Mr. Felix married Miss Emma Glasner. Mrs. Felix was
born at Prairie du Sac June 16, 1865, a daughter of Henry and Annie
Margaret (Yagy) Glasner. Her parents and her people for generations
back were natives of Switzerland. Henry Glasner was born at Glarus,
SM'itzerland. August 26, 1821. Mrs. Felix's mother was born in Grau-
binden, Switzerland, ]\larch 21, 1831. She was a daughter of John Peter
Yagy and his wife, Ann (Wilhelm) Yagy, both natives of Switzerland.
• The Yagy family came to Galena, Illinois, in the pioneer times and John
Peter Yagy died soon after arriving in that country. His widow sub-
sequently removed to Sauk County, Wisconsin, and died there in the
early '60s. In the Yagy family were five daughters and one son : Bar-
bara, Cecelia, Elizabeth, Margaret, John Peter and Anna, all of whom
are now deceased. Henry Glasner, father of Mrs. Felix, served the regu-
lar time as a soldier of Switzerland and spent four years with the army
in Italy. He married his first wife in Switzerland and she died while
on , the way to the United States. Henry Glasner then proeeeded to
Galena, Illinois, and on March 28, 1850, in that town, he married the
mother of Mrs. Felix. From Galena he removed to Dubuque, Iowa, and
subsequently to Sauk County, Wisconsin, locating at Prairie du Sac in
1858. Mr. Glasner became a well-known business man in that community
and was a jeweler. He continued his business until his death in July,
1895. His widow survived him until 1902. In the Glasner family were
the following children : Barbara, Mrs. J. P. Witwen, of Baraboo ; Anna,
living at Prairie du Sac, widow of Fiorina Gassen : Henrietta, of Bara-
boo ; Mrs. Emma Felix ; Henry, who died in February, 1884, when about
sixteen years of age ; and Catherine, widow of H. L. Brethauer, of
Baraboo.
The late ]\Ir. Glasner was an active republican in politics and also a
strong temperance man. He and his wife were active members of the
Evangelical Church. He was one of the organizers of the first Evan-
gelical Church at Prairie du Sac.
Mrs. Felix, since her husband 's death, has continued to live in Prairie
du Sac and is comforted by the presence of several of her children who
still remain in the same community. She is the mother of five children :
Gertrude is the wife of H. C. Moore, of Prairie du Sac ; Miriam is now
engaged in school work at Menominee, Wisconsin; Henry has succeeded
his father in the mercantile business, so that the name Felix is still well
674 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
known in mercantile circles ; Catherine is a student in the Prairie dn Sac
High School ; and Richard is still a member of the home circle.
Patrick Coyne is member of a very well-known family in Bear Creek
Township, and his family for years have distinguished themselves as
very capable farmers.
Mr. Patrick Coyne was born in Onondago County, New York, Febru-
ary 8, 1857, a son of Anthony and Annie Coyne. His parents were both
natives of Ireland, were married there, and in the early '50s left County
Galway and established their home in America. Five children were born
to them in the old country, named Mary, Michael, Nora, John and Anna,
all of them now deceased. The three children born after they came to
America are : Thomas, born August 6, 1855 ; Patrick, born February 8,
1857; and Margaret, born October 28, 1861.
Anthony Coyne died January 14, 1895, and his wife died Septem-
ber 26, 1908. Their three surviving children, Patrick and his brother
and sister, all live together on the home farm in Bear Creek Township,
and all of them are unmarried. They have a fine farm, owned jointly
by them, and handle it as a general farming and stock-raising proposi-
tion. Mr. Patrick Coyne has served on the Board of Supervisors for a
number of years.
Their sister Anna, now deceased, married Benjamin Brumaghin, of
Albany, New York. When she died she left one daughter, Mabel, then
three years of age. Mabel married John Hartel and is the mother of
three children, Anna, Agnes and Grace, aged respectively sixteen, thir-
teen and ten years. The two older Hartel children are part of the Coyne
household in Sauk County. The daughter Anna has completed the third
year of the high school at Spring Green, while Agnes enters high school
in September, 1917.
Ernest H. Cady, of Excelsior Township, represents the second gen-
eration of a family that has played a worthy part in the affairs of Sauk
County during the past half century. He is now managing with thrift
and a high degree of prosperity a good farm in the locality where he
was born and is also a citizen in whom the community has reposed a
great deal of confidence and entrusted with the handling of local affairs.
Mr. Cady was bom on the old farm in Excelsior Township May 23,
1873. He is a son of William and Imogene (Huntington) Cady, his
father a native of Berkshire, Massachusetts, and his mother of Illinois.
His father was born July 18, 1822, and came to Sauk County as early
as 1849, only a, year after Wisconsin was admitted to the Union. He
married in Sauk County and in the early days he hauled grain with
wagon and team from this section to Milwaukee. His own home was in
Excelsior Township, at the place known as Cady's Corners, on the north
Baraboo and Reedsburg road. He later moved to Baraboo and finally
to Milwaukee, where he died in 1912. The widowed mother is still living
in Milwaukee. William Cady acquired a place of 240 acres in Excelsior
Township and much of the land was cleared by his individual exertions.
Politically he was a democrat and for twenty-nine years he filled the
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 675
office of township assessor, twenty-six years in succession. He was a
member of the Presbyterian Church.
Ernest H, Cady gTew up on the home farm, and besides the instruc-
tion afforded by the local district schools he was a student in the Baraboo
High School four years. His choice of farming as a vocation has been a
most satisfactory one and his prosperity has been gained in that calling.
In 1903 he bought his present farm in Excelsior Township, containing
eighty acres, and has devoted it to general farming and stock raising.
Mr. Cady is now in his fourth consecutive year as township treasurer
and in politics is allied with the republican party.
On September 16, 1897, he married Miss Ida Schlegelmilch. Mrs.
Cady was born at Clifton, Wisconsin, February 25, 1877, a daughter of
Charles and Amanda (Stottleman) Schlegelmilch. Her father was a
native of Germany and when eight years of age was brought to the
United States by his parents Henry and Lizzie Schlegelmilch. The date
of the immigration was 1850, and the family were pioneers in Sauk
County. His mother died in Sauk City and his father at Clifton, Wis-
consin. Charles Schlegelmilch was a blacksmith by trade, and died at
Clifton, Wisconsin, at the age of seventy-five. His wife was born in Sauk
City and died in 1877. Their four children were: A son that died in
infancy; Josephine; Selma; and Ida, Mrs. Cady. Her father married
for his second wife, Cuna Merklein, and the children of that marriage
were: Amanda, deceased; Charles; Marie; Henry, deceased; Margaret;
Lizzie ; Norbert, deceased ; and Lenora.
Mr. and Mrs. Cady are the parents of seven children, all living and
named as follows : Wayne Curtis, Charles Clifton, Merle Seldon, Ray-
mond Wallace, Ernest Luther, Kenneth Donald and Inez Louise.
James H. Hill, who has served as district attorney since 1913, comes
of an old Spring Green family. His father, Thomas Hill, is an English-
man, who came tO' the United States with his parents when a young boy
and lived for a time in Racine County before the family moved to Spring
Green. Until he was about thirty, the elder Hill was engaged in mer-
chandise in the village ; was also postmaster for nearly twenty years, but
since 1879 has resided on a large farm near Spring Green, which, with
the assistance of his eldest son he has cultivated and improved. He has
also been a member either of the County Board or of the School Board for
thirty-five years. The future district attorney left the home farm in
1907, when he was twenty-five years of age, located at Baraboo, where he
was mainly educated, read law, was admitted to the bar in 1909, served as
clerk of the Circuit Court in 1906-08, and since then has been engaged in
practice, either as district attorney or a private lawyer or in both
capacities.
W. J. Thieding. One of the most practical farmers and largest land
owners in Westfield Township is W. J. Thieding, who has lived in that
one locality continuously for over forty years.
Mr. Thieding was born in Hanover, Germany, September 25, 1863,
a son of John H. and Catherine (Meine) Thieding. When he was ten
years of age his parents came to America, and in April, 1873, settled in
If
676 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Westfield Township of Sauk County. In the following year they located
on the land now owned and occupied by W. J. Thieding. At the time
only fifteen acres had been cleared and the father went to work with
his characteristic vigor and enterprise and had the land largely in a
state of cultivation before he retired from work. John H. Thieding was.
a stone mason and contractor in Germany but his most successful efforts
in Sauk County were as a farmer. He passed away in January, 1913,
and his widow is still living at the age of seventy-nine and makes her
home with her son, W. J. They have three children : W. J., Carl and
Dorothy. Carl married Anne Schroeder, of Westfield Township, daugh-
ter of Henry Schroeder; and Dorothy is the wife of William Weise, of
Westfield Township.
W. J. Thieding grew up on his father's farm, and as soon as his
strength permitted he took a part in the work and business of agriculture.
He is now the owner of a fine estate of 349 acres, and the improvements
classify it as one of the most valuable farms in Westfield Township. Mr.
Thieding is a breeder of Durham cattle, thoroughbreds chiefly, keeps on
an average about fifty head of livestock and has a dairy herd of twenty-
five. Among other evidences of his enterprise is the use of the silo for
feeding, and he and his family reside in a very comfortable home. Mr.
Thieding is a democrat in politics and a member of the Lutheran Church.
He married Fredericka Meyer, daughter of Carl and Wilhelmina
Meyer, of Westfield Township. Mr. and Mrs. Thieding are the parents
of eight children, all of whom are unmarried and still living with the
exception of two. Named in order of birth they are Amanda, Fredericka,
Herman, William and Albert, twins, and both deceased, Agnes, Earnest
and Lawrence. The children were given good advantages both at home
and in the public schools, and the daughter Agnes recently graduated
from District No. 4 of Westfield Township.
Alfred W. Ladd. Notwithstanding all the other agencies through
which a country is developed, the most important must remain those per-
taining to agriculture, for every human being claim.s his share of the
product of the farmer's industry. At no time in the world's histor}-
like the present has cultivation of the soil to its utmost limit and growing
of stock to the farthest end possible been of so much grave importance,
not only as personal undertakings to insure against private future need,
but as public duties that must be carried on in the name of humanity.
To such a call farmers of Sauk County have nobly responded and one
of these of assured standing is found in Alfred W. Ladd.
Alfred W. Ladd was born in Franklin County, New York, June 19,
1856. His parents were John and Selina (Trask) Ladd, the former hav-
ing been born in Pennsylvania, and the latter in New York, in 1826. The
paternal grandparents lived and died in Duane Township, Franklin
County. John Ladd enlisted for service in the Civil war when the first
call came for soldiers to preserve the Union, and he continued in the
army for four years and died in 1869, at Washington, District of Colum-
bia. His widow was left with two children: Eliza, who is the widow
of 0. B. Hubbard and lives at Los Angeles, California; and Alfred W.
Mrs. Ladd subsequently married Chapman 0. Lenstead, and died in
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 677
1908, in North Dakota, the mother of two children of that union : Oliver
and Annie.
To lose one's father at the age of thirteen years is usually a very
serious matter, greatly interfering with proper schooling and eliminating
the innocent recreations of boyhood, especially when a family's responsi-
bilities are added to this calamity. Alfred W. Ladd was but thirteen
when his soldier father died and it became absolutely necessary for him
to assist his mother, and for a long time his work was not considered
worth more than three dollars a month in wages. He was faithful to the
duty thus imposed on him and cared for her until he was twenty-seven
years of age.
In 1879 Mr. Ladd came first to Sauk County, and he worked through
one summer and then returned to New York, but in 1881 he came back
to Sauk County and rented farming land here until 1885, when he pur-
chased a farm of 100 acres in Freedom Township. This property he has
greatly improved, in the way of erecting substantial buildings and shel-
ters and in bringing his fields under a fine state of cultivation through
intelligent and scientific methods. He keeps a general line of high grade
stock and devotes much attention to his herd of Shorthorn cattle. He is
considered a sound farmer and an excellent judge of stock.
Mr. Ladd was married December 31, 1883, to Miss Amelia Carlo w,
who was born in Honey Creek Township, Sauk County, July 9, 18(52.
She is a daughter of William and Henrietta (Glasknop) Carlow, who
were born and reared in Germany and were married there May 12, 1861,
and immediately set off for the United States. When they reached Sauk
County, Wisconsin, they located in Honey Creek Township and Mr.
Carlow worked by the day or by the month as opportunity came, and
through his industry and his wife 's frugality he became able to buy first
a tract of forty acres and later twenty more and left this estate to his
family. He was born October 9, 1830, and died December 6, 1912. His
widow survives, she having been born May 12, 1835. They had seven
children, namely : Amelia, Mollie, August, Louisa, Matilda, William and
Ida, all living except August, Louisa and Ida.
Mr. and Mrs. Ladd have had two children : Clara, who lived nine
months and twelve days ; and Clarence, who was born April 15, 1893, and
since completing his education in the public schools has assisted his
father. In politics Mr. Ladd is a republican and on a number of occa-
sions has been chosen for public office in Freedom Township and has
served on the school board and as supervisor.
Solomon DeKoeyer has lived in Sauk County more than forty years.
This was a new and largely undeveloped region when he came, and his
vigorous strength and capability enabled him to clear up considerable
land and make it fruitful for agricultural purposes.
As pioneers and developers of new country the people of Holland
have always had a conspicuous and enviable record. Mr. DeKoeyer,
though a native of the United States, is of Holland-Dutch parentage.
He was born at Grand Rapids, Michigan, January 20, 1854, a son of
Elias and Ada (Hendrich) DeKoeyer. His father and mother were both
born at Amsterdam, Holland, and were married in the old countrv.
678 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Three children were born to them there, John, Kate and Cornelius. In
1853 the little family came to America and joined a large colony of
Hollanders in Western Michigan at Grand Rapids, The Hollanders are
today among the chief elements of population in that section of Michigan.
While they lived at Grand Rapids two other children were born, Solo-
mon and Dora. The parents then went to the vicinity of Marshall,
Michigan, where they bought a farm and where the father spent his last
years. He died January 24, 1868, at the age of forty. His widow sur-
vived him forty-three years, passing away on the old Michigan home-
stead in 1911, at the age of eighty-seven. After they moved to Calhoun
County, Michigan, other children came into their home, named Elias,
Ada and William.
Solomon DeKoeyer grew up on a Michigan farm, and had such advan-
tages as were afforded by the local schools. On reaching the age of
twenty-one and seeking opportunities for himself he came to Sauk
County in 1875 and bought a farm of 120 acres in Delton Township.
After keeping this land and improving it he sold to advantage in 1881
and then bought the place he now occupies in the same township. This
is a splendid farm of 160 acres and its present developments and improve-
ments reflect the achievements of Mr. DeKoeyer as a farmer and devel-
oper. The ground was almost completely covered with timber when he
bought it, and he bravely undertook the task of clearing it all away and
making fields. He has also erected substantial buildings and though now
retired from active responsibilities is well content to live on the farm.
His business has been general farming and stock raising.
Mr. DeKoeyer is a democrat in politics and he served as treasurer
of his home school district for about fifteen years. He and his wife
are members of the Presbyterian Church at Baraboo. On June 22, 1876,
Mr. DeKoeyer married Miss Effie Palmer. On June 22, 1916, Mr. and
Mrs. DeKoeyer celebrated their fortieth wedding anniversary, and at that
time more than a hundred guests came to their home and paid their
respects to this worthy old couple and wished them continued long life
and prosperity. Mrs. DeKoeyer was born at Baraboo January 12, 1858,
a daughter of James Gilbert and Eliza (Crandall) Palmer. Her people
have long been prominent in Sauk County. Mr. and Mrs. DeKoeyer had
three children : Gilbert, born April 5, 1877, lives at Baraboo and is an
engineer for the Chicago, Northwestern Railway. He married Carrie
Herfort, and they have a daughter, Elizabeth. Ada D., the second child,
was bom March 22, 1880, and died February 28, 1884. George, the
youngest child, was born July 3, 1883, and for a number of years was
a rural mail carrier. Out of his experience he invented a very excellent
type of supply boxes for rural mail carriers, and is now giving his time
to the manufacture of these boxes and has a large sale for them. He
married Lorena Stephens. They have one child, Arthur.
William Siggelkow. The active career of William Siggelkow has
connected him closely with the agricultural as well as the business inter-
ests in Sauk County. For a number of years he was a practical farmer
and gained a large acquaintance with the farming element of this com-
munity. In later years he has been a salesman for threshing machinery,
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 679
and has extended his acquaintance with the substantial farming element
throughout a large section of the state.
Mr. Siggelkow was born in Caledonia, Columbia County, Wisconsin,
September 23, 1870, a son of Christopher and Wilhelmina (Fryer) Sig-
gelkow. Both parents were natives of Germany, were married in the
old country, and in 1856 arrived as early settlers in Columbia County,
Wisconsin. His father followed farming and cleared up a large tract
of land in that county, but in 1873 he moved to Sauk County. His place
of sixty acres in Columbia County he sold to his sons Charles and Moses.
In Greenfield Township of Sauk County he bought a larger place of
I37I/2 acres, situated near the Tucker Bridge. He finally retired from
his farm and spent his last years in Baraboo, where he died November
28, 1912. His wife passed away in July, 1909. Their children were :
Mina, Mary, Charles, Helmuth, Otto, Moses, William and Sophronia.
All these children are still living.
William Siggelkow was about three years of age when his parents
located in Sauk County. He attended the public schools here, grew up
in a country atmosphere, and also had the advantages of the Evansville
Seminary. When he was still a youth he went out to North Dakota and
spent a year and a half in the Northwest. While there in the fall of
1888, he enlisted in Company K of the Eighth Cavalry, United States
Army. He had the training and experience of a regular soldier for six
months and nine days, but beyond the regular routine of army post life
there was no special incident nor any active warfare.
On leaving the army Mr. Siggelkow returned to Sauk County and
was at work on the home farm until he was twenty years of age.
On October 8, 1890, he married Miss Mary Alice Murphy. Mrs.
Siggelkow was born in Baraboo Township of Sauk County March 3,
1870, a daughter of Nicholas and Mary (Brown) Murphy. Her father
was born in Pennsylvania in 1828 and her grandfather, Moses Murphy,
was born in the same state in 1808. Moses Murphy married Frances
Smaltz, and in 1851 they came west to Sauk County and were pioneer
settlers in Baraboo Township. Moses died there in November, 1898,
while his wife passed away in 1873, when about seventy years of age.
Nicholas Murphy acquired the old homestead of his father and lived
there until his death in 1906. His wife, Mary Brown, who died in 1870,
was the daughter of Ralph Brown, who married a Miss Hubbard. Mary
Brown was bom in Connecticut in 1846, and both her parents were natives
of the same state. The Brown family came out to Sauk County and were
among the early settlers of Baraboo Township, where Ralph Brown fol-
lowed farming until his death. Marj^ Brown had only one brother,
Delos, now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Murphy had the following
children : Emma, wife of Stephen Abelman, of Baraboo ; and Mary
Alice.
After his marriage Mr. Siggelkow removed to Baraboo and was em-
ployed as a railway locomotive fireman until the spring of 1895. At that
date he bought the old Murphy homestead and on that place he made his
success as a progressive and practical farmer. He lived there until 1909,
when he returned to Baraboo and bought one of the attractive homes of
the city at 630 Eighth Avenue. During the past seven years Mr. Siggel-
Vol. II 8
680 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
kow has been traveling representative for the Advance-Rumley Threshing
Machine Company, whose machinery is manufactured at LaPorte, Indi-
ana, but the branch office to which Mr. Siggelkow reports his business
is at Madison, Wisconsin. Mr. Siggelkow knows his goods thoroughly,
and also understands the people among whom he travels, and has made a
splendid record as a salesman.
While living on the farm he served as township treasurer two years.
He is an active republican, and is affiliated with the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Beavers, the
United Commercial Travelers and the Illinois Commercial Men's Asso-
ciation. He and his family are Baptists.
Mr. and Mrs. Siggelkow have three children : Luella, who was born
June 10, 1894, and iS' now the wife of Clyde H. Thomas, of Lombard ;
Marion, born March 31, 1896; and Florence, born September 24, 1898.
All the daughters are graduates of the Baraboo High School.
Charles R. Tuttle. To the lover of nature no occupation known
to man furnishes more interesting possibilities than the nursery business.
Recent developments along this line have been as wonderful as they
were formerly unexpected and unbelievable. Yet even to the man who
labors faithfully to maintain standards already established and who has
lio time to explore in luring paths of promise, there is always that satis-
faction in accomplishment possible only when one works in collaboration
with the elements of creation. Sauk County has its share of earnest,
painstaking nurserymen, men who delight in their labor and contribute
liberally to the well being of the community. Few, however, have had a
more prosperous career than Charles R. Tuttle, of Baraboo Township,
who is busily engaged in his labors at this time as nurseryman and fruit
grower.
Mr. Tuttle was born on the farm which he now owns, adjoining the
City of Baraboo in Baraboo Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin, July 12,
1879, and is a son of Merritt I. and Edna (Reynolds) Tuttle. Albert G.
Tuttle, the paternal grandfather of Charles R. Tuttle, was born at New
Haven, Connecticut, in 1814, and when he left his native state took with
him a recommendation from the Seth Thomas Clock Company, for which
concern he had done work. On his arrival in New York City he became
identified with a dry goods concern, which, recognizing his abilities, sent
him to Fort Winnebago, Wisconsin, to trade with the Indians. In the
early '40s Mr. Tuttle came to Baraboo, and in partnership with a Mr.
Sumner embarked in a general store iDusiness. This was a successful
venture, but about this time Mr. Tuttle 's health began to fail, and he
accordingly began to look about for a desirable farming property, feel-
ing that the country life would benefit him. Finally, in 1848, he bought
the farm now owned by his grandson, a tract of eighty acres, from a
Mr. Thompson, who had entered it from the Government. Later he added
to this twenty acres, and subsequently sixty aeres in the City of Bara-
boo, his holdings running from the farm of his grandson to Eighth
Street. He was personally acquainted with Baribou, for whom the river
was named. Mr. Tuttle continued to be engaged in farming until 1860,
in Avhieh year he began to devote the greater part of his attention to the
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 681
nursery business, establishing the Baraboo Valley Nursery Company,
which is still conducted by his grandson under the same name. Albert
G. Tuttle continued to follow farming, the nursery business and fruit
growing until his death, which occurred in 1905, when he was ninety-one
years of age. Politically he was an abolitionist prior to the Civil war,
following which he joined the democratic party, and, all else being even,
would give his support to the candidate who was a prohibitionist. He
belonged to the Presbyterian Church. Among the early settlers of Sauk
County he was held in the highest esteem and confidence and his business
standing was beyond question. He married Elizabeth Clark, for whom
Elizabeth Street, Baraboo, was named, who Avas born in Connecticut in
1818, and died in Baraboo Township. They became the parents of the
following children : Albert, Herbert, Merritt and Edward.
Merritt I. Tuttle, father of Charles R. Tuttle, was born in 1849, in
Baraboo Township, Sauk County, and here received his early education.
When still a boy he left home and went to Illinois, where he attended
school, subsequently going to Connecticut, where he lived with an uncle
and completed his education. After leaving school he became an archi-
tect and engaged in contracting and building, and for some years made
his home in the West, but in 1893 returned to Baraboo, although shortly
thereafter he went to Colorado and there, in addition to following his
regular vocations, engaged also in the handling of real estate. About the
year 1911 he went to Montana, where he still m.akes his home, living in
Clark 's Fork Valley, near Billings. Mr. Tuttle owns- considerable prop-
erty in that region, including his home, Fromberg, thirty miles south of
Billings. During his long and varied career he was engaged in building
in various sections of the country, and two summers were spent in putting
up hotels in Yellowstone Park. Mr. Tuttle married Miss Edna Reynolds,
who was born at Appleton, Wisconsin, in 1858, and they became the par-
ents of the following children: Charles R., of this notice; Nellie, who is
the wife of Oss Woolman ; Harvey; Ada, who is the wife of a Mr.
Hostatter; and Dorothy, who resides with her parents. The maternal
grandfather of Charles R, Tuttle was William Reynolds, who was born
in Connecticut and came to Wisconsin at an early daj-, settling among
the first residents of Appleton. He was sent by the Appleton Company
to a point north of Tomah, Wisconsin, and there his death occurred while
he was in charge of sawmills for the company. He and his wife had two
children : Edna and William..
Charles R. Tuttle was reared at Baraboo until he was seven years of
age and commenced his educational training in this city. In 1886 he
went with his parents to Colorado, where he attended the public schools,
but in 1893 came back to Baraboo and completed his education in the
high school here. While in Colorado Mr. Tuttle owned a farm and also
assisted his father in the elder man's building operations for five years,
but again returned to Baraboo in the fall of 1906 and bought the old
homestead, now having thirty acres, upon M'hich he is engaged in the
nursery business and in fruit growmg. He is also a manufacturer of
fruit products, and has built up an excellent business in each direction.
Mr. Tuttle's gardening business includes practically all the vegetables
in popular demand and he derives a large income from his beautiful and
682 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
seasonable flowers, as well as the products of his berry culture. His
vegetables, fruits and flowers reach the remote corners of the county,
and his name has become associated with all that is best in garden pro-
visioning- and floriculture. Mr. Tuttle is independent in his views and
takes only a good citizen's part in political matters.
Mr. Tuttle was married in 1907 to Miss Charlotte Armstrong, of
Tomah, Wisconsin, and they are the parents of the following children :
Albert, Edward, Florence, Ralph and Charles.
Dr. Daniel M. Kelly, of Baraboo, is a native of the Town of Green-
field, to which his father came in 1851. Patrick Kelly, the father, served
for several years as chairman of the Town Board and was also treasurer
for some time. In 1916 he died as a substantial farmer and citizen, at
the age of eighty-six. The doctor resided on the Greenfield farm until
he was nineteen years of age, when he came to Baraboo. Entering Rush
Medical College, Chicago, in 1888, he was graduated with his professional
degree in 1892, and has since practiced at the county seat. He has also
served for twenty years as United States pension examiner and as county
physician for eighteen. Doctor Kelly is a leading democrat, having been
for fourteen years chairman of the County Committee of that party. He
has been mayor of Baraboo for two years, has served as vice president
of the First National Bank since its reorganization, and is also examiner
for many fraternities and old line insurance companies.
Charles Hengstler. Among the people who came early to Sauk
County were the Hengstlers, sturdy, industrious and homeseeking. This
beautiful country, with its cultivated farms and every token of high
civilization, was very different when Charles Hengstler, the elder, with
his wife and little children, reached here in 1856. He bought forty acres
in Greenfield Township but later moved to Excelsior Township and there
reared his family of seven children, the fourth in order of birth being
his namesake, Charles Hengstler, who is one of Sauk County's representa-
tive agriculturists at the present time.
Charles Hengstler, the younger, was born in Lycoming County, Penn-
sylvania, September 12, 1851. His parents were Charles and Margaret
(Waltz) Hengstler, the latter of whom was born in Pennsylvania and
the former in Germany, in 1822. He was young when he accompanied
his mother to America, his father having died in Germany, and they
settled in Pennsylvania. Charles was the eldest of three children, the
others being : Mrs. Frank Fowler, of Monmouth, Illinois ; and Anthony,
of Paona, Colorado. Charles Hengstler took care of his mother during
her life. He learned the trade of wagon maker but after his marriage
he determined to establish his growing family on a farm and thereby
provide for their future. For many years after the Hengstlers came
to Sauk County hard pioneer conditions prevailed and they had to endure
many deprivations. Mr. Hengstler sold his first farm after residing upon
it for a time and making some improvements, and then bought 160 acres
in Excelsior Township, and he lived on that place until his death, which
occurred in 1864. His wife survived him and died at Baraboo in 1891.
They were members of the Baptist Church. Of their children four sur-
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 683
vive, Sarah, Charles, Mary and William, while Gotlieb,' Jonathan and
Samuel are deceased.
Charles Hengstler, the younger, was four years old when his parents
came to Sauk County and he has very vivid recollections of this sectiori
during his boyhood. As opportunity offered he attended the country
schools but early became his father's helper and in the course of time
became a capable farmer. In the fall of 1890 Mr. Hengstler bought his
first land in Excelsior Township, a tract of 120 acres, to which he subse-
quently added forty acres. Until 1909, when he retired from hard work,
he carried on general farming and gave considerable attention to fine
stock, keeping Shorthorn cattle and having a valuable herd. All of the
farm industries are now well managed by his son-in-law, August Henke,
a member of an old Excelsior Township family. Mr. Henke is aii up-to-
date farmer and a very successful breeder of Percheron horses and pure
bred Durham cattle.
Mr. Hengstler was married June 11, 1878, to Miss Emma Shale, who
was born in Excelsior Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin, April 1, 1859,
a daughter of Christian and Margaret (Baringer) Shale, the former of
whom was born in Pennsylvania in 1819, and the latter in Germany in
1829 and was five years old when brought to the United States by her
parents, who were John and Margaret Baringer. They came to Sauk
County with the pioneers of 1858 and resided in Excelsior Township
during the rest of their lives. The parents of Mrs. Hengstler were mar-
ried in Pennsylvania and came to Sauk County in 1857. Her father
became the owner of 200 acres of fine land in Excelsior Township, of
which he cleared a large part and continued to reside on that farm
during the remainder of his life, his death occurring in 1889. The mother
of Mrs. Hengstler died in 1898. They had ten children, Mrs. Hengstler
being the eighth in order of birth, as follows : Kate and Frederick,
both of whom are deceased, Sophia, John, Mary, William, who is deceased,
Lizzie, Emma, Ellen, and Charles, who is deceased. The parents of the
above family were fine people, honest, upright, kind and neighborly, and
were faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Mr. and Mrs. Hengstler have had five children, namely : Alice, who
married Max Springer, of Delton Township, and they have four children.
Hazel, Dorris, Lester and Alice ; Grace, who is the wife of Irvin Prindel,
and they live in Fond du Lac County ; Inez, who is the wife of August
Henke; Jessie, who died at the age of eighteen years; and Edna, who is
the wife of Paul Henke, and they have three children, Gladys, Durlin
and Goldie. Mr. and Mrs. Hengstler attend the Methodist Episcopal
Church. In politics he is a republican. He has served in township offices
connected with the public schools and has been treasurer of the school
board.
John D. Steuber, a representative of the progressive farming element
of Merrimack Township, was born here when the country was all new
and out on the frontier, and his parents went through all the battles of
existence in this section in pioneer times. Mr. Steuber was born in Merri-
mack Township in 1854, a son of John and Louisa (Swartz) Steuber.
Both parents were natives of Germany and when they came to Sauk
684 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
County and settled in Black Hawk Township they found few families
who had preceded them to that portion of the wilderness. The father
bought eighty acres in Black Hawk Township, but after a couple of years
sold out and removed to Sumpter Township, where he acquired 80
acres and 160 acres in Merrimack Township. That land he made the
object of his best endeavors as a farmer and remained a resident until
his deatli. There were nine children in the family: Maggie, Mrs. Henry
True, living in Baraboo ; Kate, wife of Delos Quiggle, of Baraboo ; John
D. ; Robert, who conducts a general store at Merrimack, married Miss
Tillie Bearnes ; Albert, deceased ; Louisa, wife of Louis Hacker, a farmer
near Madison, Wisconsin; Fred, who lives in Sumpter Township and
married Cora Weirich ; Frank, who has a farm in Merrimack Township
and lives in Prairie du Sac, married Ella Aeelan ; and Ella, wife of
William Frese.
John Steuber, the father of this family, was not only a successful
farmer but a leader in the betterment and improvement of his locality.
He was a member of the Evangelical Church and a republican. He was
l)orn September 11, 1821, and died in 1904, while his wife was born in
1826 and died in 1885. For several years he 3nade his home with his son
John D.
John D. Steuber was married in 1883 to Miss Pauline Mather. Mrs.
Steuber was born in Wuertemberg, Germany, July 4, 1859, a daughter
of Gottlieb and Catherine (Munzenmaier) Mather, who spent all their
lives in the old country. Mrs. Steuber came to America in 1880 with her
sister and brother-in-law. She was the sixth in a family of seven children,
briefly noted as follows: Carl, still living in Germany; Ernest and
Albert, both deceased ; Sophia, wife of Robert Koslitz, a boilermaker
living in Chicago ; Reglie, now living in Baraboo, widow of the late
Gottlieb Clause, with whom Mrs. Steuber came to America; and Julia,
who is the wife of John Eucker, of ]\Ierrimack Township, and they have
two children, Johnnie, born February 23, 1900 : and Pauline, born in
1904.
Mr. and Mrs. Steuber have two children : Esther, born March 6,
1891, and Dora, born May 26, 1894. Both are graduates of the Prairie
du Sac High School and Esther is teaching music while Dora is a
teacher of the Cook District School in Greenfield Township. Mrs.
Steuber is a member of the Lutheran Church, while Mr. Steuber is
affiliated with the Evangelical Association. For three years he has served
as a member of the school board, has been Sunday school superintendent
and class leader in his church, and in all the relations of a busy life has
shown an active and public-spirited attitude toward everything that
means better conditions and more improvements and a greater welfare.
He is a stockholder in the Sumpter Light and Power Company and his
efforts as a farmer and business man have given him possession of a fine
place of eighty acres in Merrimack Township, with twenty acres of
woodland on the bluffs of the Wisconsin River,, and he also owns an
entire section of land in Texas.
M. J. Tyler. Baraboo, Wisconsin, has among its honored retired
citizens many men to whom it owes much, men of the highest type of
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 685
responsible citizenship. They have been useful to the eommi^nity through
their activities in business, their public services and their professional
achievements, and now, having stepped somewhat aside from the busy
paths that their descendants still creditably occupy, they are entitled
to the consideration which they receive. In this class is found M. J.
Tyler, who during a long period of years was engaged in the milk
business, but who is now living in quiet retirement in the enjoyment
of the comforts that came as a reward for his extended period of labor.
Mr, Tyler was born in Ulster County, New York, January 17, 1857,
and is a son of Joel and Clarissa (Elmore) Tyler, the former born in
Connecticut in 1805, and the latter a native of New York, her girlhood
home being on the Hudson River. In the year 1867 the family came
West, locating in Sauk County. In his earlier years, on the Atlantic
Coast, the father had been a seafaring man, and when he left the life
of a sailor took up the vocation of an educator. On coming to Wis-
consin, however, he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, and
for many years carried on operations on a property which he owned
not far from Baraboo. There he died in 1889, his wife passing away
several years later. They were faithful members of the Methodist Epis-
copal Church, and Mr. Tyler was a republican in his political views.
There were four children in the family, namely : Mary A., Jennie M.,
Alice R. and M. J., the first named of whom is now deceased.
M. J. Tyler was reared in an agricultural atmosphere and passed
his boyhood in learning the business of farming and in doing the tasks
that fell to his lot as a farmer's son. In the meantime he was obtain-
ing a good education in the graded and high schools of Baraboo, and
when he left school returned to the farm. Later he established a milk
business and by thorough energy and good management succeeded in
building up a large and profitable route, of which he was the proprietor
until 1916, in which year he disposed of his business interests. Since that
time he has been living quietly in his comfortable home at No. 309
Lynn Street. Mr. Tyler was brought up in a republican household
and, all else being even, is likely to vote that ticket. However, he re-
serves the right to independent views, and often casts his ballot for the
man, irrespective of party lines, whom he feels to be best qualified
for the office at stake.
In 1880 Mr. Tyler was married to Miss Emily Johnson, of Bara-
boo, daughter of Albert and Ann (Check) Johnson, pioneers of Bara-
boo. Mr. Johnson served during the Civil war as drum major of a
regimental band, and died soon after the close of that struggle ; but
Mrs. Johnson survived until 1916, being about eighty years old at the
time of her demise. Two daughters were born to Mr. and Mrs. Tyler,
namely : Anna Catherine, who is the wife of Rev. Guy Goodsell of
Platteville, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and has two
children — Helen and Anna ; and Clarissa Elmore, who is the wife of
W. D. Morse of Baraboo, now proprietor of the milk business formerly
owned by Mr. Tyler, and has one son, William Tyler.
Thomas B. Buckley for a number of years has been identified with
the great circus organization whose home is in Baraboo, the Ringling
686 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Brothers. He is a native of Baraboo and is a thoroughly trained and
efficient business man and has a great many friends in Sauk County.
Mr. Buckley was born at Baraboo September 25, 1866, a son of
Thomas and Priscilla (Newson) Buckley. These families were among
the pioneers of Sauk County. Thomas Buckley was born in England
in 1829. Priscilla Newson was born at Stoke-on-Trent, England, in
1833. Her parents were George and Jane (Alexander) Newson, the
former a native of Stoke-on-Trent and the latter of Edinburgh, Scot-
land. In 1849 George Newson immigrated to America and brought
his family to Baraboo 'April 1, 1850. George Newson was a stone cutter
by profession and followed that trade in Sauk County until he was
eighty-four years of age. He died at the age of ninety, while his wife
passed away in 1881, at the age of eighty-one. In the family of George
Newson were four children, Priscilla and Jane, still living, while Clara
and Mary are deceased. Thomas Buckley's parents spent all their lives
in England. Thomas came to this country with his maternal grand-
father in 1850. He was educated in England, learned the trade of
stone cutter and stone mason, a trade also followed by his father, and
after coming to Sauk County he became a stone mason contractor. He
continued in the work until his death in 1867. His widow is still living
at Baraboo. Thomas Buckley and wife had seven children : Joseph and
the second child are now deceased; Sarah Jane; Clarence, deceased;
Arthur N. ; Alexander G., deceased ; and Thomas B.
Thomas B. Buckley, who has never marrried, was reared in Bara-
boo, attended the public schools, and gained his first experience as clerk
in a local store. For a time he was in *the insurance business both in
Milwaukee and Baraboo and was also clerk in a drug store at Mil-
waukee. In 1901 Mr. Buckley became bookkeeper for the Ringling
Brothers, and in 1906 was made treasurer of that company, a position
he still holds. He has a thorough knowledge of the financial affairs of
this large organization and for the past ten years has borne som.e of the
heaviest responsibilities of the financial and business maintenance of
the organization. Mr. Buckley has a fine home at 816 Ash Street. He
is a repulbican in politics, though with strong independent leanings.
Edward Baer, of Delton Township, is one of the men who came to
Sauk County possessing no end of physical vigor and ambition but
absolutely without capital, and he established himself on a plane of
prosperity by a number of years of work for others and as a developer
of his own farm. Pie is now living in comfortable circumstances, and
is a man looked up to and honored in his community.
Mr. Baer is a native of Switzerland, where he was born June 11,
1862. His parents were Gottlieb and Elizabeth (Wealthy) Baer. His
father died in Switzerland in 1873 and his mother in 1893. They had
two children, and Gottlieb has never left his native land.
Edward Baer attended the good schools of Switzerland and was
about twenty-two years of age when, in 1884, he came to America and
located at Baraboo. Here he found employment on the farm of
Mr. Ochner, and was paid only a dollar a week. His wages improved
with his increasing ability and his judgment, and he finally was in a
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HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 687
position to become an independent farmer. Mr. Baer bought the farm
he now owns in Delton Township in 1893. It consists of eighty acres,
and has been well improved by his labor and under his direction. He
has his property clear of debt, and his prosperity is the result of many
years of consecutive toil and judicious endeavor. He cleared most of
the land himself. He is engaged in general farming and stock raising.
In politics Mr. Baer is independent.
On October 20, 1890, he married Miss Cora Lesuer. She was born
in New York July 11, 1866, a daughter of Nathan and Mary (Briggs)
Lesuer, her father also a native of New York. Her mother was a daugh-
ter of Amintis Briggs, a prominent Sauk County citizen elsewhere men-
tioned. Mrs. Baer was about a year old when in 1867 her parents came
to Baraboo. Her father is still living in Delton Township, at the age
of eighty-four, and her mother died there in 1893, at the age of fifty-
five. The children in the Lesuer family were : Elverton, deceased ;
Ella ; Eliza ; Cora ; Arthur ; Morris, and Herman.
Mr. and Mrs. Baer have three children : Mabel, Albert and Howard.
The two youngest are still in the home circle. Mabel is the wife of Fred-
erick Boyd,, a street car conductor at Madison, Wisconsin, where they
reside. They have one daughter, Rachael.
David E. "Welch, who has been a resident of Baraboo for more than
forty years, was eighty-two years of age December 4, 1917. He is a
veteran of the Civil war and during his 41/^ years of service
with the Union army, identified with the Second Ohio Volunteer Cavalry,
he advanced from the ranks to the lieutenant-colonelcy of his regiment.
His military service ranged from the southwestern frontier to the fields
covered by the armies of the Tennessee and the Potomac. Colonel Welch
was then retained in the Cavalry Bureau until February, 1866, and in
the following year settled on a farm in the Town of Delton, Sauk County.
There, for four years, he was chairman of the County Board of Super-
visors, and in 1876 moved to Baraboo to engage in the agricultural busi-
ness. He had already served in the lower house of the Legislature (1874-
75) and was a member of the State Senate in 1876-79. The colonel also
served as postmaster of Baraboo for about six years under Harrison and
McKinley. He has been a Mason for over sixty years.
Timothy Hackett is one of the citizens of Sauk County whose mem-
ories and recollections go back almost seventy years. He knew the coun-
try when it was a wilderness. Here and there were the log cabins of the
early settlers. Wild game was abundant in the woods and fish was
plentiful in the streams. There was little money to be had, few of the
modern luxuries, and people lived in utmost simplicity, but the virtues
of the heart were not neglected and there were kind neighbors and good
friends in those early days just as there are today.
Though he is now eighty-six years of age, Mr. Timothy Hackett has
been retired from active business cares only a few years. He was born
in Canada March 26, 1831, a son of Samuel and Dency (Terry) Hackett.
His father was born in New Jersey in 1805 and his mother in New York.
In the early days after their marriage they removed to Canada, and
688 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
from that country they returned to the United States and in 1839 located
in Boone County, Illinois. In 1848 Samuel Hackett penetrated the
wilderness of Southern Wisconsin and located at Baraboo. He rented
a farm in that community for a year and then removed to Freedom
Township, where he acquired land on the site now occupied by the Village
of North Freedom. Altogether he owned 320 acres, and made it a home
of prosperity and comfort in which he spent his last years. His death
occurred February 18, 1873, and his wife also died at North Freedom.
They had a large family of children, briefly noted as follows: Mary
Jane; George and Julia May. twins; Timothy; John; Joel; Hannah E.;
Dency M. ; Frank; William J., who died in Utah when about twenty-two
years of age ; Parshall T. ; Sarah ; Wesley and Jacob, all of whom died in
infancy.
Timothy Hackett was seventeen years of age when the family came to
Sauk County. In the meantime he had profited by attendance at the
public schools of Canada and Illinois, and was well prepared to do his
part in subduing the land in Sauk County. It has been his characteristic
to do vigorously and well whatever he has undertaken. For twelve years
Mr. Hackett was one of the leading merchants of North Freedom.
Farming has constituted his chief dependence, and he still owns 336 acres
near North Freedom, besides 120 acres of pasture land. Two years ago
he gave up the responsibilities of the management of his property and
now enjoys one of the comfortable homes of his old community.
Mr. Hackett has voted for democratic presidential candidates since the
time of Franklin Pierce, and while he has been interested in local and
national affairs it has never occurred to him to ask for an office. He
attends the Methodist Episcopal Church.
On December 15, 1858, Mr. Timothy Hackett married Miss Fannie J.
Monlton. She was born in Uliuois in 1839, a daughter of N. B. and
Lura M. Moulton, pioneers of Sauk County. Mr. and Mrs. Timothy
Hackett had two children, Wesley 0., and Maj. N. B.
Wesley 0. Hackett was born in Sauk County in 1860, was educated
in the public schools, and for a number of years was in the mercantile
business at North Freedom and a traveling salesman. He married Inez
Burt. Their two children were Irene and Thecla. The daughter Irene
was married on January 6, 1910, to Charles Warn, and her daughter
Rose is a great-grandchild of Timothy Hackett. Wesley 0. Hackett died
July 21, 1909.
Maj. N. B. Hackett was born at North Freedom on a farm October
18, 1868. He was well educated, and for a time taught school. He took
up the work of traveling salesman, and for a number of years he con-
ducted a theater at Stevens Point, Wisconsin. He and his brother had
what was known as Hackett 's Baraboo Orchestra for about ten years.
In 1912 he returned to the old home where he was born and where he
still lives. It is a matter of interest to note that the first road show of
the Ringling Brothers was exhibited in a hall belonging to Timothy
Hackett.
In 1891 Major Hackett married Miss Anna Luckensmeyer. Four
children were born to their marriage: Exilda, Lysle, Durlin and Mona,
all of whom are still living. . Exilda is now the wife of Lewis White, of
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 689
North Freedom, and her two children, also great-grandchildren of
Timothy Hackett, are named Lyle and Joyce Anna. Major Hackett's
first wife died September 19, 1905. On August 24, 1910, he married Mrs.
Bertha (Barrow) Aspinwall, of Baraboo. She had by her former marriage
a son Edyn B.
George L. Fish. A Sauk County fai'm that represents many of
the ideals in the way of cultivation, productiveness, arrangement and
equipment is that of George L. Fish in Delton Township. Mr. Fish has
a large acreage under cultivation and handles it in a way to get the
maximum returns for his labor and investment. He is a thorough-
going farmer, and is one of the resourceful business men and public-
spirited citizens of the county.
His birth occurred September 5, 1864, in Winfield Township of this
county. His birthplace was the first frame house in that township. He
is of pioneer stock, and the name is one that has been spoken with
respect in Sauk County since early times.
His paternal grandparents were Silas and Betsey (Raymond) Fish.
Betsey Raymond's father was a Revolutionary soldier. These worthy
people came into Sauk County at a very early day, locating in Winfield
Township, where they bought the old Andrews farm and their first
house was built on that place. Silas Fish acquired 204 acres, and lived
prosperously on the farm for many years. He died there in 1886, at
the age of eighty-three and his widow followed him in 1891, at the age
of eighty-seven. Their children were : Elizabeth ; Elias, Spencer,
Jasper M. and Lewis. N., all deceased: Emma Jane; Lucius; and Elbert.
Lewis N. Fish, father of George L., was born in Greene County,
New York, in 1838. He was identified with Sauk County from early
manhood, and as a farmer he developed 335 acres, including a part of
his father's homestead. This farm is now owned and occupied by his
son Edwin K. Lewis N. Fish married in Sauk County Sarah Darrow.
She was liorn in Walworth County, Wisconsin, in 1842, a daughter
of Henry A. and Luceba (Dann) Darrow. They came out of New
York State and were early settlers in Walworth County, Wisconsin,
and in 1850 moved to Sauk County, establishing a home in Winfield
Township. Henry A. Darrow during his early life had cut cordwood
and manufactured charcoal and potash on the site of the present city
of Rochester, New York. In Winfield Township he had a farm of two
hundred acres and died on the old place at the age of ninety-five. His
wife passed away at seventy-three.
Lewis N. Fish was a democrat in politics. He and his wife were
the parents of nine children : Ida May, deceased ; George L. ; Edwin ;
Emma B. ; Jasper; AA^ alter; Mary; Spencer; and Blanche.
George L. Fish passed his early years in Winfield Township and
besides the public school advantages of that locality he was a member
of the first short course class in agriculture at the University of Wis-
consin at Madison. As a farmer he has always used business methods
and a thorough system in handling the multitude of details which com-
prise the farmer's life. His first farm was on Webster Prairie, the
old Lee place, containing 140 acres. After living there five ^ears he
690 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
sold out in 1903 bought his present place in Delton Township, consist-
ing of 376 acres. A considerable part of this land he has cleared up
himself. He chopped down the trees from fifty acres and sold five
thousand cords of stove wood. Of this cleared land he now has forty-
five acres under cultivation. Besides raising the staple crops he is mak-
ing something of a specialty of stock raising. He keeps about forty
head of cattle and about 100 sheep, and his farm is well adapted for
stock purposes.
Mr. Fish is a democrat in polities, served one year as township
assessor, also as supervisor, and was a member of the school board in
the Lee district four years and in his present home locality has been
on the board for six years. From his surplus capital Mr. Fish has
invested most of it in improvements for the farm, including a barn and
his modern residence, which was completed in 1917.
In January, 1892, he married. Miss Sarah Montgomery. She was
bom in Winfield Township in April, 1870, a daughter of Lyman B.
and Achsah (Peck) Montgomery. Her mother was a sister of Frank
Peck, of Baraboo, and both the Montgomerys and Pecks were pioneers
in Sauk County. In Delton and Excelsior townships Lyman B. Mont-
gomery owned and operated a large farm, having over 400 acres. He
died July 4, 1914, at the age of seventy-nine and the old farm is still
occupied by his widow.
Mr. and Mrs. Fish have three children : Marion, who died in infancy ;
Warren L., attending the State University at Madison; and Florence A.,
at home. Both are graduates of the Kilbourn High School.
John Dettmann has been a resident of Sauk County for over thirty
years. In that time his work has been partly as a farmer and partly as
a business man and he has attained a substantial position in the local
affairs of Ableman.
He was born in Germany June 2, 1862, a son of Fted and Mary
Dettmann. In November, 1884, the Dettmann family immigrated to
America, the parents locating at Ableman in Sauk County, where the
father bought a farm in Excelsior Township. He improved a raw tract
of land into a valuable property and lived there until his death in 1901,
at the age of sixty-four. His wife also died in the same year and at
the same age. Their four children are still living, being John, Freda,
Carl and Mary.
John Dettmann grew up and received his education in his native
country. He was married there in 1884, at the age of twenty-two, to
Bertha Liverence. She was born in Germany in 1860, a daughter of
Joachim and Mary Liverence. A few weeks after his marriage John
Dettmann and wife, with his parents and also with her parents, set out
for America. The parents of Mrs. Dettmann came to Ableman and both
died there in 1884.
John Dettmann on settling in Wisconsin bought a house and lot at
Ableman, and also a tract of fortj^ acres of farming land in the village
limits. Besides farming this tract he has also at different times sold
some lots for residence purposes. He conducts his land as a general
farming proposition and for the past sixteen years has been manager of
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 691
the Ableman Co-operative Creamery Association. He has also served
as a director of the Farmers State Bank of Ableman.
Mr. Dettmann is a republican in politics, and was one of the first
trustees of the village when it was incorporated. He also served as
school clerk and has taken an active part in all loeal affairs. He and
his family are members of the Lutheran Church.
Mr. and Mrs. Dettmann have both children and grandchildren. Their
oldest child, Ernest, is connected with the Johnson Lumber Company
of Ableman and by his marriage to Mary Frames has two children,
Marcellus and Mary. Emma, the second child of Mr. and Mrs. Dett-
mann, is the wife of John Geiser. Ella is the wife of Rheinhart Pope, a
merchant at Ableman.
Charles W. Whitman. The career of Charles W. Whitman is an
expression of practical and diversified activity and in its range has
invaded the realms of business, finance, agriculture and politics, all of
which have profited by the breadth and conscientiousness which are dis-
tinctive features of the work and character of this prominent Baraboo
citizen. In business circles he is prominent as the proprietor of the
South Side Drug Store, in financial affairs he is prominently connected
as vice president of the Bank of Baraboo, and as an agriculturist he is
the owner of several valuable farms in Sauk County and in Illinois.
Mr. Whitman was born March 18, 1854, in DeKalb County, Illinois,
a son of Daniel and Melissa (Hoxie) Whitman, natives respectively of
Rhode Island and Oswego, New York. They were both young people
when they located in Illinois, in which state they were married, and
following their union settled on a DeKalb County farm. There the
father rounded out his life, passing away in 1861, when his son, Charles
W., was seven years of age. Daniel Whitman was an industrious and
intelligent agriculturist and no doubt would have accumulated a hand-
some property had not his death oecurred so early in his career. Mrs.
Whitman, who survived her husband, was left with a family of seven
small children and proved to be one of those good American mothers
to whom this country owes so much. She was also a wonderful business
woman. She was left with a section of land in DeKalb County, Illinois,
but very little money with which to improve it. By her skillful man-
agement this farm was kept in her possession until the time of her
death and still remains in the Whitman family. She spent her last
days at her home in Baraboo where she passed away at the age of
seventy-seven years. They were the parents of five sons and two
daughters, namely : John, a resident of Leland, Illinois ; William, who
resides at Earlville, Illinois; Joseph, a resident of Sioux Falls, South
Dakota; Charles W., of this notice; Frank, who is in the drug store
with his brother at Baraboo ; Anna, who is the wife of Charles Young,
of Morris, Illinois ; and Alice, who resides at Excelsior Springs, Missouri.
Charles W. Whitman received his education in the public schools of
DeKalb County, Illinois, and the East Paw Paw Seminary. His early
training was secured in an agricultural atmosphere, his home being on
the farm on which his father had carried on his operations until his death.
The young man's inclinations, however, turned more toward a commer-
692 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
cial career, and as a youth he learned the drug business, a line of endeavor
that has chiefly occupied his attention throughout his life. When he was
twenty-one years of age he left the state of his birth and in 1876 arrived
at Baraboo, which city has continued to be his home to the present time.
After several years of living here he embarked in the drug business on
his own account, and, from a small and modest start, he has built up one
of the leading establishments in this line in the city. His capital at the
outset was not large, as regards cash, but he had a plentiful supply of
pluck, determination and resource, and an ambition to succeed that would
not allow him to recognize or respect the obstacles that lay in his path.
Also, he knew thoroughly his business, and likewise knew what he wanted
to make of it. This proved a combination that was a winning one, and
the South Side Drug Store, under which the business is conducted, is one
of the city's substantial and well-established business ventures. Asso-
ciated with Mr. Whitman is his brother Frank, also a capable and experi-
enced pharmacist. Mr. Whitman has always been interested in financial
affairs and since the reorganization of the Bank of Baraboo he has been
the vice president. As a banker he is known to be sound and conservative
in his policies, progressive in his ideas and shrewd and accurate in his
judgments. The ownership of farms in Sauk County, Wisconsin, and
DeKalb County, Illinois, makes Mr. Whitman an agriculturist of some
proportions, and a good deal of his time is spent in looking after the
development and cultivation of these valuable properties. Politically
he is a republican when all other things are equal, otherwise he is apt
to be independent in his support of candidates and parties. His official
positions have been merely civic ones, and at present he is one of the
three commissioners of the Lower Baraboo River Drainage District. He
has always given his support and co-operation to any project which has
been conceived and promoted for the betterment of his adopted city and
the welfare of its people.
Mr. Whitman was married in Illinois, March 12, 1878, to Miss Kate
Isabelle Fuller, of New York City. To this union there have been born
three children, namely ; Gertrude, who is the wife of Roy C. Jones, of
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and has one son, Charles Whitman ; Mattie, who
is a graduate of the school of pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin,
at Madison, and is now employed in her father's drug store; and Ada,
at home. The parents of Mrs. Whitman were Ira E. and Katherino
(Whitall) Fuller, the former born in New Hampshire and the latter, in
1833, at Birmingham, England. She came to New York as a girl and
there met and married Mr. Fuller, they subsequently removing to Illi-
nois. Mr. Fuller had been a merchant in New York and followed the
same business for some years after locating in the Prairie State, but
eventually turned his attention to farming and was so engaged at the
time of his death, when he was seventy-five years of age. Mrs. Fuller
still survives and makes her home at Baraboo. Mr. Fuller, who came of
Puritan stock, was a member of the Baptist Church and took an active
part in religious work. He was a republican in his polilical views. Mr.
and Mrs. Fuller were the parents of four children : Harry H., of Prince-
ton, Illinois, where he has been clerk of the Circuit Court for twenty-five
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 693
years ; Kate Isabelle, who is now Mrs. Whitman ; Josephine, who resides
with her mother at Baraboo; and Edgar, whose death occurred in 1910.
Charles Mittlestadt, a prominent farmer in Excelsior Township,
is a native of Sauk County, his birth having occurred in Winfield Town-
ship June 4, 1875. He is a son of Ferdinand and Minnie (Zieck) Mittle- '
stadt, both of whom were born in Germany, the former October 15, 1834.
The paternal grandparents of the subject of this sketch were John and
Charlotte Mittlestadt. He died in Germany and she came to Wisconsin
and passed to rest in Delona Township, Sauk County. Their children
were Ferdinand, Albert (deceased) and Albertina. Ferdinand Mittle-
stadt passed his boyhood and youth in the land of his nativity, where his
marriage was solemnized, and June 12, 1869, he immigrated to America.
Landing in New York City, he proceeded thence to Sauk County, Wis-
consin, and located on a farm of 120 acres in Winfield Township, near
Reedsburg. Here he was engaged in diversified agriculture for a number
of years. Eventually disposing of this tract of land, he bought twenty
acres on the outskirts of Reedsburg and in 1901 purchased the estate,
comprising 120 acres, now owned by his son Charles. His dearly beloved
wife died in November, 1877, aged forty-one years, and Mr. Mittlestadt,
being retired, riiakes his home with his son Charles. Five children were
born to Mr. and Mrs. Mittlestadt: Lena (deceased), Tala, Frank, Ida
and Charles.
To the public schools of Winfield Township and of Reedsburg Charles
Mittlestadt is indebted for his educational training. He has always been
interested in agricultural work and in 1903 bought the parental home-
stead, on which he has installed many of the latest improvements and on
which he is successfully engaged in farming and stockraising, keeping
about fifteen head of cattle. He is a democrat in politics, is treasurer of
the school board, and is a devout member of the Lutheran Church. He
is broad minded in all dealings with his fellow men and is kindly dis-
posed toward everyone.
In 1902 Mr. Mittlestadt married Miss Ida AVackles, and to them were
born four children : Florence, Lula, Ernest and Alia. Mrs. Mittlestadt
died in April, 1910, and subsequently he married Mrs. Minnie Kloop, who
had one child, Lucile, by her first husband. To this second union four
children have been born, namely, Leo, Hazel, Oscar and Edna.
Abraham Lincoln Farnsw^orth, M. D. The profession of medicine
embraces a vast field of knowledge and the successful physician and
surgeon must be a man of varied learning and attainments. Never at
any time has the healing art demanded more of its practitioners than
at the present period and never before has the profession given so fair
an account of itself. When the leading physician in a community is
found, then is found also, with few exceptions, the man of most intel-
lectual attainment, an individual of keen mind, and a citizen of groat
public spirit. In this connection attention is called to Dr. Abraham
Lincoln Farnsworth, of Baraboo, prominent member of the medical and
surgical fraternity of Sauk County, a man of more than ordinary attain-
694 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
ments, and a citizen who takes part in all the activities that make this a
live and growing city.
Doctor Farnsworth was born on a farm in Caledonia Township,
Columbia County, Wisconsin, May 28, 1866, his parents being John R.
and Christiana (Scherf ) Farnsworth. His father was born in 1808, in
Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, and in 1852 came to Wisconsin and
settled on a new farm in Caledonia Township, Columbia County. There
he succeeded in subduing the wilderness, in developing a good farm and
in making a place for himself among the substantial men of his day.
His death occurred in 1887, when his community lost one of its greatly
respected agriculturists. Mrs. Farnsworth, who was born in June, 1846,
in Saxony, Germany, still retains her residence on the old homestead in
Columbia County. There were the following children in the family:
Abraham L., of this notice ; John, who is engaged in farming on the home
place in Columbia County ; Aaron and Arthur, twins, who are masons
by trade and live on the home farm ; William, who is engaged at the
carpenter trade at Baraboo ; Edward, who is cultivating a part of the
homestead farm; Walter, a practicing attorney of Portage, Wisconsin;
Grace, who is the wife of Frank Ramsey and resides at Fairfield, Wis-
consin ; and Jacob, who died when 3i/2 years old.
Far from selecting his life work in the untried enthusiasm of extreme
youth, the choice of Abraham L. Farnsworth was that of a mature mind,
trained to thoughtfulness by years of practical experience and to a full
realization of the possibilities and responsibilities which he confronted
when he joined the medical fraternity. He was reared in an agricultural
atmosphere and passed his boyhood on the home farm, where he was
reared to habits of industry. His early education was secured in the
district schools in the vicinity of the homestead, and, while from boyhood
he had nursed a desire for a professional career, it was not until he was
twenty-eight years of age that he started upon his studies in that direction.
He left the home farm in 1894 and started to devote himself to his
medical books, finally entering the Milwaukee Medical College, from which
he was graduated with the class of 1900, receiving his degree of Doctor
of Medicine. The City of Baraboo, a growing and prosperous community,
attracted him as a likely center of success in his calling, and he has had
no reason to regret his choice of locations, for here he has met with
success in a material way as the possessor of a large and steadily-growing
practice among the most representative families, and in a professional
way by the standing which he has attained among his fellow-practitioners.
While the Doctor carries on a general practice, being equally at home in
the various branches of his calling, he has made somewhat of a specialty
of surgery, a field in which he has secured something more than a local
reputation. He has kept abreast of the developments of medicine and
surgery, spends much of his time in research and investigation, and is
an interested member of the Sauk County Medical Society, the Wisconsin
State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. Frater-
nally Doctor Farnsworth is affiliated with the local lodges of the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the Mystic Workers of the World.
He has a number of business interests, and, as noted before, is a partici-
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 695
pant in the movements that have been promoted to advance the best
interests of Baraboo.
Doctor Farnsworth was married in 1907 to Elsie Poppe, of Stanley,
Wisconsin, and they have four children : Ida May, Ruth, Beach and John
Mrs. J. U. Schmidt, who now lives with her daughter Mrs. Frank
Rosenbaum in Honey Creek Township, is one of the splendid pioneer
women of Sauk County, where she has spent nearly seventy years of her
active lifetime.
She was born in Switzerland, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John
Obrecht, and was fourteen years of age when she accompanied her parents
in 1848 to Sauk County. Her parents settled in Honey Creek, where her
father took up land from the Government. There were six children in
the Obrecht family : Margaret, Mrs. Henry Heiser, lives on a farm in
Franklin Township ; Christian, who was a lumber dealer in Sauk City ;
Mrs. Schmidt, the third in age ; Anna, married Gottlieb Raedel and lived
at Eau Claire, Wisconsin ; John, a soldier m the Union army ; and Kate,
]\Irs. John Morf, who lived in Iowa and Montana.
Mr, and Mrs. Schmidt were married in 1856 and they at once settled
in Honey Creek Township, taking up a tract of Government land.
Mr. Schmidt did all the clearing and grubbing, used ox teams, and
underM^ent many hardships to found a permanent home and provide for
the future needs of himself and family.
Mrs. Schmidt was the mother of four children. Ursula, the oldest,
married John Plon and lives in South Dakota. Christian, unmarried,
lives with his mother. Anna C. is Mrs. Frank Rosenbaum. John U., Jr.,
is married and lives in Prairie du Sac. These children all grew up and
received their early educations in Honey Creek Township.
Mr. J. U. Schmidt, who died twelve years ago, was a citizen above the
average in ability and industry, and his name deserves recognition among
the old timers of Sauk County. After his death Mrs. Schmidt lived on
the old farm until six years ago, when she went to live with her daughter
Mrs. Frank Rosenbaum. The late Mr. Schmidt served for several years
on the school and town boards and was a stockliolder in the first telephone
company in Honey Creek Township and also in the first creamery and
cheese factory at Sauk City. Mrs. Schmidt still owns the old homestead
farm.
Her daughter Anna was married in 1897 to Mr. Frank Rosenbaum,
who is one of the prosperous and influential farmers of Honey Creek
Township and is now serving as township assessor and has also been a
member of the township board for several terms. After their marriage
Mr. and Mrs. Rosenbaum located on the farm where they now live and
have been rapidly getting ahead in the world. Mr. Rosenbaum is a son
of August and Lena (Heyn) Rosenbaum, both of whom are natives of
Germany. Frank Rosenbaum came to Sauk County alone in 1888. He
is a nephew of Edwin Kuehn, the first settler in Sauk City and the
grandfather of Adolph Oehsner.
Mr. and Mrs. Rosenbaum have a farm of 174 acres, and they devote
it to general farming and stock raising. Mr. Rosenbaum has been for
six years a member of the school board, five years on the town board and
Vol. n — 9
696 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
two years as assessor. He has done much to improve his farm and has,
well earned the generous circumstances he now enjoys. In matters of
politics Frank Rosenbaum is an independent.
Heostry Ochsner (deceased), one of the first settlers of the Town ot
Honey Creek, a man of marked intelligence and ability, a generous and
helpful citizen who was often honored by public evidences of esteem and
confidence, spent the last few years of his faithful and honest life as a
resident of Baraboo. He was born in the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland,
in 1825, and migrated to America and Sauk County in 1849. He spent
a time with J. I. Waterbury, at Prairie du Sac, to learn both the language
and the ways of his adopted country. After that short and common-sense
training in the preliminaries of the life which was so new to him, and
which was typical of his thoroughness, as well as wisdom, Mr. Ochsner
always had his residence in Honey Creek until his retirement, with the
exception of 1857-58, during which he was serving as county treasurer
and lived in Baraboo. At the close of his official term he preferred to
return to his home and devote himself to farming, the chosen occupation
of his life. Subsequently he held a number of loeal offices and in 1872
was brought out as an independent candidate for member of the Assembly
for the southern district of Sauk County.
In his youth ]\Ir. Ochsner did not enjoy the benefits of a higher educa-
tion, but his naturally strong intellect, his great energy and his untiring
perseverance enabled him to gather an unusual fund of useful information
and to train himself in the exercise of many useful talents. His public
spirit and immovable rectitude completed the scope of those endowments
which earned him an influence of remarkable breadth and depth. His
aid was often sought by his country neighbors, and the advice and direct
assistance which he gave in legal, medical and surgical cases, in business
matters, and in all the little affairs of life which comprise the whole,
evinced a versatility, practical skill and humane spirit of helpfulness
which brought to him admiration and affection in equal measure. These
neighborly favors were bestowed without price and neither was it unusual
for Mr. Ochsner to give of his material means to the worthy, the manly
and the womanly.
In 1883 Mr. Ochsner retired from active farm life and moved to
Baraboo; but his retirement was somewhat clouded with the knowledge
that he was afflicted with a complication of diseases which would not long
allow him to retain a hold upon human existence, and with the belief that
the death of matter ended all. Still, he passed away peacefully December
13, 1889. Of his five children none has become so famous as Dr. Albert
J. Ochsner, the physician and surgeon of Chicago.
Wallace Vera Rich is one of the clear-eyed, common sense and
enterprising young farmers of Delton Township. His life has been spent
in Sauk County and out of varied experience he made a definite choice
of agriculture as a vocation a number of years ago and has been steadily
climbing to independence and secure prosperity.
Mr. Rich was born at Kings Corners in Sumpter Township of this
county October 4, 1879, son of Alfred and Johanna (Hazeltine) Rich.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 697
He is a grandson of Zaccheus and Flora (Ryan) Rich. Both of them
were natives of England, the latter born in 1815 in the Parish of Cripple-
gate. They married in London Noveml)er 30, 1834, and in 1849 brought
their family to America and settled at Milwaukee. In 1854 they removed
to Sauk County, settling on a farm in Merrimack Township. The grand-
father bought land here, but soon afterward, while in Milwaukee, was
taken ill and died. The grandmother died in Baraboo. Zaccheus Rich
was a carpenter by trade, and while in Milwaukee assisted in building
the old Mitchell Bank of that city. The children of Zaccheus and wife
were : William, born in London August 15, 1836 ; Flora, born June 13,
1838; Swede O'Connor, born November 26, 1840; Alfred, noted below;
Edwin, born March 23, 1846 ; Henry and Emma, twins, born in 1848,
and both died in infancy ; and John, who was born in Milwaukee December
28, 1851.
Alfred Rich was born in London, England, August 7, 1842, and was
seven years of age when he came with the family to Milwaukee, and
was still a boy when they all located on the farm in Merrimack Township.
Alfred Rich married Johanna Hazeltine in Sauk County May 22, 1867.
She was born in Vermont June 17, 1841. After their marriage they
settled on a farm in Merrimack Township, later in Baraboo Township,
from there went to Sumpter Township, and after selling their Sumpter
Township place to their son Edwin they returned to Baraboo Township
and bought a farm. The parents finally retired to Baraboo City, where
the father died in November, 1916. His widow is still living at Baraboo.
Alfred Rich was a republican in politics. He saw active service through-
out the Civil war as a ship steward and paymaster. His widow is an
active member of the IMethodist Episcopal Church. They were the parents
of eight children, all of whom are still living, named William, Edwin,
Lena, Mitchell, Colonel F., Wallace Vera, Orlando and Flora.
Wallace V. Rich grew up on his father's farm in Sumpter Township,
and secured his education from the public schools there. For a year or
so he worked at the machinist's trade but his principal business has
been farming. Fifteen years ago he and his brother Orlando bought 140
acres in Delton Township. Mr. Rich has continued his activities on tliat
place ever since and he and his brother put up all the modern improve-
ments and buildings. Mr. Rich now owns his individual share of the
farm, seventy acres, and is handling the land as a general farm and
stock-raising proposition. He takes an active interest in everything in
the community and has served as a member of the school board for the
past ten years. Mr. Rich is a republican and attends the Methodist
Episcopal Church.
March 3, 1902, he married Miss Emma Augusta Kutzner. She was
born in Merrimack Township of Sauk County June 10^ 1879, a daughter
of Rudolph and Pauline Kutzner. Her parents were early settlers of
Merrimack Township, and her father died there after a long and active
career on November 2, 1916. His Mddow is still living at Merrimack
with her son Herman Kutzner. Mr. and Mrs. Rich have two bright
young children: Lawrence, born November 29, 1903, and Clarence, born
February 19, 1910.
698 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Henry Behnke. A man possessed of initiative and a knack for
hard work can succeed in any line of enterprise to which he applies him-
self. This is true in farming as well as in other fields. Mr. Behnke is
a resident of Excelsior Township, where he owns an up-to-date farm of
120 acres, on which he has won marked success as an agriculturist and
stock raiser. He was born in Germany, November 22, 1856, and is a son
of Christian and Elizabeth (Wilhelms) Behnke. The parents were both
natives of Germany, where they were reared and educated. There they
were married and there they continued to reside until 1867, when they
came to Wisconsin and settled in Sauk County on a farm of forty acres.
Christian Behnke cleared his land and added to the original tract until
he owned a farm of 200 acres. He died in 1901, aged eighty-three years',
and his cherished and devoted wife passed away in 1873, aged fifty-six
years. To them were born three children : Elizabeth is the wife of
William Gade, of Reedsburg; William died in 1917, aged sixty -six years;
and Henry is the subject of this review.
Henry Behnke attended school in Germany prior to his coming to
America, at which time he was eleven years of age; and he completed his
education in the public and parochial schools of Sauk County. He worked
for his father until 1880, when he purchased a farm of his own in Excel-
sior Township. This estate consists of 120 acres and everything about
the place is indicative of good judgment and modern methods. In con-
junction with diversified agriculture he is an extensive stock raiser,
making a specialty of Holstein cattle, of which he has twenty-five head
in 1917. He is a republican in polities and for eighteen years gave
efficient service as chairman of the township board of supervisors ; he was
treasurer of the school board for nine years; and for twenty years has
been a member of the. board of directors of the Reedsburg Farmers'
Mutual Fire Insurance Company, which position he still holds. He is a
scientific farmer and a shrewd business man, making his way in the
M^orld unaided.
In 1879 Mr. Behnke was married to Miss Dorothy Holzmann, who
was bom and reared in Germany, where her parents passed their entire
lives. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Behnke and concerning
them the following brief data are here incorporated : Emma is the wife
of Dick G. Krueger, a merchant in Reedsburg. William was a farmer in
Excelsior Township at the time of his death, in 1914, aged thirty years.
He married Lydia Block. Henry was a hardware merchant in Ableman
and died in 1915, aged thirty years. His wife was Anna Beth. Walter
lives in Ableman and he married Elsa Phaff. Amanda is the wife of
William C. Holz, of Ableman. Arthur Reinhold and Luveme are at the
parental home. The Behnke family are devout members of the Lutlieran
Church at Ableman.
Oscar F. Jaeger, whose business enterprise as a miller and farmer
at Black Hawk makes him one of the leading men of industry and influ-
ence in Troy Township, has spent all his life in Sauk County and his
people were among the pioneers.
Mr. Jaeger was born in Troy Township, three miles west of Black
Hawk, in 1867. His parents, John and Emilia (Roseling) Jaeger, were
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 699
both born in Germany. They emigrated from that country in the his-
toric year 1848, the same year that Wisconsin became a state, and their
first location was in Dane County, near Pish Lake. They lived there for
a dozen years and in 1860 moved to Sauk County, buying 120 acres of
wild land three miles west of Black Hawk. John Jaeger was a hardy
and industrious frontiersman and cleared up his land by the hardest kind
of manual toil. He grubbed the stumps and did much of the first plow-
ing and clearing with ox teams. His first home there was a frame build-
ing 16 by 20 feet in dimensions, and it served as the family abode until
1889, when it was rebuilt and remodeled, thus making a comfortable
home. The father also made many other modern improvements, and
in addition to his first purchase acquired eighty acres more. He lived
there until his death in 1891. There were eight children in the family,
the youngest dying in infancy. The others are named as follows:
Fredericka, who married August Smoke, living in Minnesota, and she
died there in 1882. Edith was Mrs. Fred Barlen, and both of them died
in Troy Township. Mary married John Ott, and they lived in Troy
Township until about thirty years ago, when they removed to Baraboo.
Robert, who has never married, owns and operates the old homestead.
Martha is Mrs. A. L. Washburn and lives between Devils Lake and Bara-
boo. The sixth child in the family is Oscar F. Laura is Mrs. Allen
Beardsley, and they live at Waukegan, Michigan. These children grew
up in Troy Township and all of them had their education in the local
schools except the oldest, who finished his schooling in Dane County.
Oscar F. Jaeger, after leaving school, began clerking in a store at
Black Hawk at the age of sixteen. He continued working there steadily
until 1896, when he became a joint proprietor of the local flour and feed
mill with Conrad Adam. This partnership has been continued for over
twenty years and their mill is one of the principal sources of supply
for feed and grist in a large community. Mr. Jaeger is now in point
of continuous residence the oldest inhabitant of Black Hawk, no other
citizen being there now who was in that community when he first loeated
there. Besides his interest as a miller Mr. Jaeger owns a farm of 109
acres south of Black Hawk.
In 1897 he married Miss Kate Tschirke, a daughter of Henry and
Eva (Schachtler) Tschirke. Both her parents were born in Switzer-
land, and she was twelve years of age when she came Avith her family
to this country in 1884. Mr. and Mrs. Jaeger have one son, Floyd.
Mrs. Jaeger is a stockholder in the Black Hawk Bank. Both are active
members of the Reformed Church, and in politics he is a republican.
Charles H. Bubdick. The vocation of railroading is one that attracts
many j^oung men when starting out upon their careers, particularly if
they have been reared on the farm. There seems to be something about
the occupation that holds a charm for the farmer's son, and many of
the men who are today among the most thoroughly trusted employes of
our biggest systems have had their early training in the country. In
this class is found Charles H. Burdick, of Barahoo, a railroader of more
than forty years' experience, who began his career, fresh from the farm,
700 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
in the capacity of water boy for the Northwestern Railway, and who
is now the possessor of a passenger engineer 's run on the same line.
Mr. Burdick was born on Sauk Prairie, Sauk County, Wisconsin,
June 25, 1858, and is a son of Stephen M. and Betsey (Caldwell) Bur-
dick, both natives of New York State, the former born in 1823 and the
latter in 1826. The parents came to Sauk County as a young married
couple in 1851, first purchasing a farm in Baraboo Township, which they
subsequently sold in order to move to another property located on Sauk
Prairie. On that farm Mrs. Burdick died in 1863. She had been the
mother of the following children : Amelia, deceased ; Ira, who died
March 5, 1917 ; Salome ; Mary, Julia and William, who are all deceased ;
Charles H., of this notice; and Peter, who is deceased. Some time after
the death of his first wife, Stephen M. Burdick went to North Freedom,
where he became foreman of a fence gang in the employ of the North-
western Railway. In this capacity he was in charge of about thirty men,
and so capably did he -discharge his duties that he became one of the
most dependable men in the employ of his section, and his employers
relied in him implicitly to getting his work done efficiently and expedi-
tiously. In his later years, when advancing age made active labor more
of a hardship, he was transferred to Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he was
placed in charge of gates, and this labor he continued until his retire-
ment to Baraboo, where his death occurred in 1906. At various times
in his career Mr. Burdick was engaged in politics and on several occasions
was chosen to serve in public office, being at one time sheriff of Sauk
County, and, while a resident of Sumpter Township, was chairman of
the township board and clerk of the school board. He was fraternally
affiliated with Baraboo Lodge No. 34, Free and Accepted Masons. In
the several communities in which he lived he impressed himself upon his
fellow citizens as a man of honor and integrity and one whose public
spirit led him to assist in the movements beneficial to the community.
For his second wife Mr. Burdick married Amanda Roberts, who survives
him and resides at North Yakima, Washington, and they became the
parents of two- children : Edwin and Clara, the former of whom is
deceased.
Charles H. Burdick was reared on his father's farm, and secured
his education in the public schools of Baraboo and the Baraboo Institute.
He was but sixteen years of age when he began his connection with rail-
road matters. His father was at that time in charge of a fence gang
and young Burdick secured a position carrying water to the workmen.
During the next four or five years he remained in the vicinity of Baraboo,
being identified with the Northwestern Railway in numerous ways, and
then went to the Dakotas, but soon returned to Baraboo, where, in the
fall of 1882, he started firing on the road. By the fall of 1886 he had
earned himself a position as engineer, and during the next thirty years
handled the throttle on a freight train, in 1916 being promoted to a
passenger run. His record has been one singularly clean, marked' by
faithful prompt and steady service and remarkably clear of accidents.
For this reason he has earned the confidence of the employers and has
gained himself an excellent reputation among railroad men generally.
Mr. Burdick is a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 701
His religious connection is with the Presbyterian Church, and his political
belief that of the republican party, although politics has played only a
small part in his career and he has never been an office seeker. His
comfortable home at Baraboo is situated at No. 509 Sixth Street.
Mr. Burdick was married February 27, 1889, to Miss Minnie McGirr,
of Kendalls, Wisconsin, and they became the parents of three children :
May, who married Otto Benshausen, of Logansville, Wisconsin, and has
one son, Ivan, born August 1, 1916 ; and Annie and Leona, who are
single and reside with their father. Mrs. Burdick died December 23,
1898, and June 22, 1910, Mr. Burdick was again married, being united
with Miss Amanda Nelsen, who was born at Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin,
October 13, 1886, daughter of Andrew Nelsen. Andrew Nelsen was
born in Sweden, April 26, 1858, and as a lad of twelve years was taken
by his parents to Germany. When he was nineteen years old he came
to the United States and settled in Honey Creek Township, Sauk County,
where he secured work as. a farm hand, later obtained land of his own,
and eventually became a successful agriculturist. In his later years he
retired to Prairie du Sa^, where his death occurred August 1, 1914. In
political matters he voted the republican ticket, and his religious faith
was that of the Reformed Church. On October 4, 1881, Mr. Nelsen was
married to Miss Minnie Klinesmith, who was born at Cleveland, Ohio,
December 3, 1863, daughter of Carl and Minnie (Carlof) Klinesmith,
natives of Germany, the former born in 1824 and the latter in 1837.
They were married in Germany, March 23, 1860, and in the following
year immigrated to the United States, first settling at Cleveland, Ohio,
where they lived for six years. In 1867 Mr. and Mrs. Klinesmith came
to Sauk County and settled in Honey Creek Township, where they pur-
chased a small farm. Later they disposed of this and rented a large
farm, but in 1887 removed to Chippewa County and bought a property
on which Mr. Klinesmith carried on operations until his death, December
25, 1915, his wife having passed away in 1909. They were the parents
of seven children, namely : August, deceased ; Minnie, who became Mrs.
Nelsen ; Matilda ; Charles ; Louisa ; George, deceased ; and Alma. To
Andrew and Minnie Nelsen there were born nine children, all of whom
are living, as follows: George, Charles, Amanda (Mrs. Burdick), Agnes,
Arthur, Esther, Edwin, Melvin and Lorene. Mr. and Mrs. Burdick have
one son : Charles A., who was born July 27, 1911.
Enoch Shultis. A native of the Empire State of the Union, Enoch
Shultis was born in Columbia County, New York, October 3, 1854. His
parents, Henry and Malinda (Silvernail) Shultis, of Holland Dutch
ancestry, were likewise born in New York State, where they grew to
maturity and were married. In 1858, seeking fairer opportunities in
the West, they migrated to Wisconsin and located in Waukesha County,
where they maintained the family home for a score of years. In 1878
they came to Sauk County and settled first in Winfield Township and
later in Excelsior Township, in which latter community the father died
in 1898 and the mother passed away in 1901. To them were born eight
children, whose names are here incorporated in respective order of birth :
Katherine (deceased), Margaret, Betsy Ann, William, Melvina
702 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
(deceased), Enoch, Abram, Jacob and Agnes. Mr. Shultis was a repub-
lican in politics and, though never an aspirant for public office of any
description, he was loyal and public spirited in civic affairs and gave an
ardent support to all measures projected for the good of the general
welfare.
Enoch Shultis was four years of age when he accompanied his parents
to Wisconsin. His schooling was obtained in the public schools of
Waukesha County, where he continued to reside until 1875, when he
came to Sauk County and settled in Reedsburg. Shortly after his advent
here he rented land and engaged in the great basic industry of agricul-
ture. In 1889 he bought his present farm of 120 acres, located 314
miles distant from the village of Reedsburg. His place is in a high
state of cultivation and boasts many modern improvements. In his
political convictions Mr. Shultis is a staunch supporter of prohibition
principles and he has served his community as town supervisor and
as treasurer of the local school board, having retained the latter office
for the past sixteen years. He is diligent and conscientious in public
service and is well deserving of the high esteem uniformly accorded him.
In 1880 Mr. Shultis was united in marriage to Miss Lucy Smith, a
daughter of James and Bell (Bernhard) Smith, pioneer settlers in Excel-
sior Township and they are both deceased. Three children were born
of this union ; Lee, who owns a farm of 166 acres in Excelsior Township,
married Gertrude Montgomery and they have three children. Max, Doro-
thy and Barrel; Isabel is the wife of Nelson Price, and they have three
children, June, John and Milton; and Clara is deceased. Mrs. Shultis
was summoned to the life eternal in 1885. For his second wife Mr.
Shultis married Miss Elizabeth Nye, a native of Sauk County and a
daughter of Jonathan and Esther (Smith) Nye. Prior to her marriage
she taught for a number of years in the graded school of Reedsburg.
Mr. and Mrs. Shultis have five children: Esther, Rose and Roe (twins)
and Ruth and Royal (twins). Esther is the wife of Frank Montgomery
and they have two children, Philip and Roger. Both pairs of twins are
at the parental home.
Daniel Crosby is one of the capable sons of Sauk County, a man
whose life has been spent within these boundaries and v.liose career has
been not without substantial results and creditable alike to himself and
his community.
He was born in 1864 in Merrim.ack Township, only a mile east of his
present home. He is a son of Luther and Harriet ( Sutton ) Crosby, both
of whom were born in New York State, near the City of Buffalo and
near Lake Erie. They were married in New York in 1844 and soon
afterwards moved to Marengo, Illinois, where they had an interest as
farmers for about six years. From Illinois they came to Sauk County
and this was their home the remainder of their peaceful and purposeful
lives. On coming to Sauk County Luther Crosby built with his own
labor a house of logs which furnished shelter for his family and in which
five of his family were born. Of the eight children all were born in log
homes, though three at Marengo, Illinois. The youngest of these children
was Daniel Crosby, who was only five months old when his mother died.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 703
The father passed away in 1894. A brief record of each of these children
is as follows: Frances, who married Enoch Noyes, both now deceased;
Calvin, who served one year in the Tinion array during the Civil war,
afterwards moved to Miller, South Dakota, and died in that state about
thirty-five years ago ; Nancy A., living at Baraboo, is the widow of Addi-
son Brown, who died about eighteen years ago; Ida M., deceased; Emma,
Mrs. Charles Todd, their home being in Merrimack Township as neighbors
to Daniel Crosby; Willie, deceased; Mary, wife of William Hill and
living at Sorana, Wisconsin; and Daniel.
On the old farm and among the scenes where his later as well as his
earlier years were spent Daniel Crosby had a happy boyhood and attended
the public schools of his home locality. He lived at home and bore his
share of responsibilities in connection with the old farm until 1890, when,
at the age of twenty-seven, he married Miss Matilda Leppla, daughter
of Peter and Christina (Zerbell) Leppla, both natives of Germany.
Mr. and Mrs. Crosby's family consists of five children, all sons, all
unmarried, and named as follows: Ervin, Alto, Alvern, Clarence and
Milton. The two oldest are now employed at Sauk Prairie, while the
rest are at home.
In the meantime Mr. Crosby has been steadily at work getting himself
prosperously situated in the world. In his home farm he has 176 fertile
acres, and he also owns thirty-six acres on the bluff at Devils Lake. He
bought a part of that farm in 1898 from H. G. Mertske of Baraboo, the
place being known as the old Samuel Cramer farm. On his home place
Mr. Crosby has done most of the improvements in the way of building
construction and the profits have been derived chiefly from the cream
produced by his fine herd of eattle and from hogs. He is one of the
successful general farmers and stock raisers in this community. Politic-
ally he has always voted the republican ticket.
GoLLMAR Brothers, of Baraboo, have been long known to the home
people as blacksmiths, machinists, proprietors of iron manufactories,
business men and good citizens ; also as owners and promoters of a well-
known circus, in which field they are more generally known by outsiders.
The Gollmar Brothers' circus was established in 1891, the first per-
formance being given in Baraboo in May. Charles A. Gollmar was its
manager, Benjamin F. its treasurer, and Fred C. its advance agent,
and Walter S., equestrian director. Their father, Gotlieb G. Gollmar,
was born in Germany, December 13, 1823, and died in Baraboo, June 5,
1914. Their mother, Mary Magdelene Juliar before her marriage, was
born in Alsace-Lorraine, July 8, 1829, and died in Baraboo, January 26,
1916. They were married in Chicago, November 17, 1848, and lived
happily together over sixty-seven years. Before going to Chicago,
Mr. Gollmar had resided in Medina County, Ohio, later learned the trade
of a blacksmith at Toledo, and worked on the Ohio Canal with James A.
Garfield, afterward President of the United States. Mr. and Mrs. Goll-
mar came from Chicago to Baraboo by team in 1851, bought a lot at the
northwest corner of Third Avenue and Birch Street, Baraboo, where they
lived until their death. Of a family of fourteen sons and daughters the
following are deceased, Sarah, Sarah A., Jacob (who was interested in
704 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
the circus when it was organized), Caroline C. Knight, William H., and
Lillie M. Foster. The ones now living are Edward T., Charles A., Benja-
min F., Fred C, Walter S., Frances Brown, Baraboo, and Dr. Arthur H.
Gollmar, Kankakee, Illinois. During his lifetime at Baraboo Mr. Gollmar
worked at his trade, farmed and engaged in the lumber business. His
sons were brought up to his old trade and well educated, and, as Gollmar
Brothers, sold their circus to the Patterson Carnival Company in 1916.
Jerry Coughlin is one of the oldest locomotive engineers in the
employ of the Chicago Northwestern Railway. He has been continuously
in the service for thirty-three years. That does not limit his entire rail-
road experience, since as a boy of tender years he was working with a
section gang, and it might be said with truth that practically his entire
life has been lived in a railroad atmosphere. He has won the confidence
of his superior officials by his excellent work and is one of the most
popular members of the Brotherhood of Loeomotive Engineers in the
state.
Mr. Coughlin was born in Watertown, Wisconsin, August 28, 1857,
a son of Timothy and Margaret (Callahan) Coughlin. Both parents
were natives of County Cork, Ireland, and were brought to this country
when children. The father was born in 1816 and the mother in 1823.
Timothy Coughlin was also a railroad worker and became a contractor
for railroad building. In 1860 he moved to Sauk County, Wisconsin,
and acquired a farm in Greenfield Township. He lived the quiet life of
an agriculturist until his death in 1868. His widow survived him and
died at Baraboo in 1902. There were five children : Kate, who died in
1877; Jerry, Timothy, Michael and Elizabeth.
On the family farm in Greenfield Township Jerry Coughlin spent the
first eleven years of his life. He had little opportunity to attend school
but made the best of such opportunities as were presented. When only
thirteen years of age, in 1870, he found a job as water boy for a section
gang on the Northwestern Railroad, and as experience and strength per-
mitted he was soon placed on the pay roll as a regular hand, later worked
on the gravel train and about 1875 he removed to Baraboo and obtained
work in the coal shed and as an engine wiper. These were the stages
through which he passed in an effort to realize his ambition to reach the
dignity of locomotive engineer. From engine wiper he was promoted to
fireman in 1879, and after five years of employment at shoveling coal
and keeping up steam he was made engineer in 1884. Since then he
has been steadily engaged in making his runs over different divisions of
the Northwestern Road, and has grown gray-headed in the service of this
company.
Politically Mr. Coughlin is independent. He is a faithful member
of the Catholic Church and is affiliated with the Brotherhood of Locomo-
tive Engineers, the Catholic Order of Foresters and the Knights of
Columbus. On April 21, 1890, he married Miss Mary Weidenkopf. She
was born in Ohio March 3, 1862, and has spent most of her life in Sauk
County. Her parents were John and Florentina (Gosenschmidt) Weid-
enkopf, both natives of Germany. On coming to America they loeated
in Ohio, from which state John Weidenkopf enlisted for service in the
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 705
Mexican war. For his services he was given a land warrant, which he
finally located in Sumpter Township of Sauk County. The land warrant
called for 160 acres, and he subsequently bought 40 acres in Baraboo
township. He located on that land in 1864, and followed agriculture and
became a prominent citizen in Sauk County. He died April 30, 1890,
while his widow survived him until May 4, 1906. Mr. and Mrs. Weiden-
kopf had twelve children: Wilhelmina, deceased; John; Caroline;
Charles; Louise, who is deceased; Mary; Elizabeth; Josephine; Bertha
and Amelia, deceased; Julia and George. To the marriage of Mr. and
Mrs. Coughlin have been born two children. Robert Jerry, born August
1, 1892, was graduated from the Baraboo High School, spent one year
in Notre Dame University at South Bend, Indiana, and in 1916 finished
a course in the electrical engineering department of the University of
Wisconsin and follows his trade and profession in the City of Chicago.
When war was declared he enlisted in the engineering corps and was
commissioned a lieutenant. He is a young man of great promise. Edward
Weidenkopf Coughlin, born October 13, 1896, completed the course of
the Baraboo High School in 1913, and gave a good account of himself as
a member of the Marriott Hardware Company of Baraboo. He enlisted
in Company I of the Sixth Regiment, Wisconsin National Guard, and
is now in training at Camp Douglass. He is sergeant of his company.
Henry A. Hill, whose death occurred in a hospital at Madison May
19, 1915, was one of the worthy and capable farmer citizens of Sauk
County, and his career and some reference to his family deserve perpetu-
ation in these chronicles.
He was born in Sumpter Township July 3, 1870, and was only forty-
five years of age when he passed away. His parents were Henry M. and
Annie (Burga) Hill. His father was born in one of the New England
states while his mother was a native of Switzerland. Henry M. Hill
came to Sauk County at an early day, cleared up a farm in the woods,
subsequently had a place near King's Corners, and finally lived retired
at Prairie du Sac, where he died in 1893. His wife passed away in 1887.
Their children were William, Lorinda, Jacob, Maria and Henry A., the
last two being now deceased. The father was a republican and a very
strong temperance worker at a time when that cause was not so strong
as it is today. He was a Methodist.
Henry A. Hill grew up on his father's farm, acquired a public school
education, and took up his vocation in life with an earnestness which
assured his success and prosperity. He first owned a farm south of
Baraboo known as the H. J. Case farm, later the Lewis Cowles farm,
and he then moved to the place where his widow and family reside.
Mr. Hill was a republican and was affiliated with the Modern Wood-
men of America, and was active in the Methodist Episcopal Church.
October 12, 1892, he married Miss Fannie Astle. Mrs. Hill was born in
Sumpter Township of Sauk County February 12, 1870, a daughter of
John and Flora (Stone) Astle. Her father was born m Merton, Wiscon-
sin, in 1846, son of W. and Sarah Astle, who "came from England and
were early identified with the settlement and development of Southern
Wisconsin. John Astle owned a large farm in Sauk County and was for
706 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
many years closely identified with the welfare of liis community. He
died in 1910, and his widow is still living. Their children were named
Fannie, Belle and' Amy, the last being now deceased.
Mrs. Hill is the mother of two children : Glenn, born June 4, 1899,
and graduated from the Baraboo High School with the class of 1917 ; and
Harland, bom July 27, 1906, is still a student in the local schools.
Fred Metcalf was born on the parental estate in Excelsior Township,
May 20, 1861, and he is a son of Isaac and Mary (Riden) Metcalf, con-
cerning whom further data appear elsewhere in this work in the sketch
of the father. Mr. Metcalf grew up in this locality and was educated in
Public School No. 6. He has always been a farmer by occupation and
owns an up-to-date estate of 240 acres. In 1904 he erected a beautiful
residence and he also has a fine bam, 32 by 64 feet, and a silo, 14 by 28
feet. He raises Holstein cattle and feeds about thirty head. In politics
he is a democrat and he has been township assessor for the past seven
years. He is also a director on the local school board.
November 17, 1889, Mr. Metcalf married Miss Elnora Rose, a daughter
of Eleas and Bettie (Shultis) Rose, who formerly owned a farm in
Waukesha County and subsequently had the farm now owned by Charles
Mittelstadt. Mr. Rose is deceased and his widow is now living in North
Prairie, Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Metcalf have three
sons, Wayne, Harry and Clarence. The family belong to the Methodist
Church and are held in his esteem by their numerous friends and neigh-
bors.
E. Burt Trimpey. Since coming to Baraboo Mr. Trimpey has shown
that business and professional enterprise and public spirit which make
him one of the city's most valued citizens. He is a very busy man, but
always finds time to lend a hand when necessary to the promotion of any
organized movement for the general good. Both he and his wife are ex-
ceedingly talented people and are well knoM^n in local social circles.
Mr. Trimpey was bom in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, April 26,
1878, a son of John S. and Nancy (Younkin) Trimpey. His parents were
also natives of Pennsylvania and the paternal ancestors came originally
from Germany. John S. Trimpey has followed farming and is still living
in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. His wife died there in 1889. Their
large family of nine children comprised the following : Sarah, Columbia,
Almira, William, Etta, John Wesley, E. Burt, Ella and Ida, the last dying
in 1909.
E. Burt Trimpey wisely made use of the advantages afforded him by
the public schools of Somerset County and also attended normal schools.
For two years he was a teacher at Mount Union in Somerset County, and
during that time he instructed in all the grades, from kindergarten up to
post-graduate courses in the grade school. Subsequently at Uniontown,
in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, he took up the study of photography,
and was there one year. Subsequently he followed the profession in Star
Junction, Pennsylvania, for a year, at Roekford two years, and for about
six months was located at Wayeross, Georgia. In 1905 he removed to
Anderson, South Carolina, and enjoyed a large business in that city for
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 707
about five years. In 1910 Mr. Trimpey removed to Bar&boo and set up
the studio which he still conducts at 407 Oak Street. He is a leader in
the profession, does high class artistic work, and undoubtedly ranks with
the best photographers in the state.
Since coming to Baraboo Mr. Trimpey has taken an active part in the
Farmers and Merchants State Bank. He has been a very active member
of the Baraboo Commercial Club, serving as director, and is affiliated with
the Knights of Pythias and the Sons of Veterans. His membership in the
latter organization is due to the fact that his father enlisted as a Union
soldier in 1864 and was in the final campaigns of the war until the sur-
render of Lee at Appomattox. Mr. Trimpey is also a member of the
Photographers Association of America and also belongs to the American
Numismatic Association. His association with this order is due to his
interest in a special hobby, the collection of coins, and he has probably
the best collection of that kind in Sauk County. It contains a large range
of coinage both of America and foreign countries and includes a number
of colonial coins, as well as some examples of ancient coinage. Politically
Mr. Trimpey is independent, especially in local matters, and in national
politics is a republican.
Mr. Trimpey married a member of one of Sauk County's oldest fam-
ilies. Miss Alice Kent became his wife March 10, 1910. She is a daughter
of Sylvester Kent, who was born in Canaan, Vermont, in 1820, a son of
David and Sallie (Ingalls) Kent, who spent all their lives in Vermont.
Sylvester Kent married Eebecca Dennett, who was born at Canaan, Ver-
mont, in 1823. While they lived in Vermont four children were born to
them : Emeline, Philander, Sarah and John. It was during the decade
of the '50s that the family came west to Sauk County, Wisconsin, and
located on Sauk Prairie. Sylvester Kent bought a farm there and in
course. of time made a good home. After coming to Wisconsin one other
child was born, Alice, now Mrs. Trimpey. About forty years ago Sylves-
ter Kent and family removed to Baraboo, and for a number of years he
conducted a wood yard in that city. He died in 1904 and, his wife in 1903.
He was a democrat and both were active in the Methodist Episcopal
Church.
Mrs. Trimpey was educated in the Baraboo High School. She early
showed a talent for artistic pursuits and has studied painting, especially
water color and pastelle work under some of the best masters. Her in-
dividual work has met with a large appreciation and has been sold in
some of the largest stores of Chicago and other cities. Since their mar-
riage she has done much to assist Mr. Trimpey in his professional work.
In 1915 Mrs. Trimpey invented the "Pricilla Sewing Rack," which is
now extensively manufactured at Racine and is being sold all over the
country, netting considerable revenue to Mrs. Trimpey.
Antgne Jacoby. One of the very best country homes and farms in
Honey Creek Township is that owned by Antone Jacoby. The land com-
prising it has been developed through the long years of successive own-
ership and occupation by members of the Jacoby family. It was fully
seventy years ago that the Jacobys first settled in Sauk County, and
Antone Jacob}^ is a native son of this community. Wisconsin was still
708 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
a territory when the family came here and Mr. Antone Jacoby first saw
the light of day in the same year that the republican party carried on
its first presidential campaign.
Mr. Jacoby was born in 1856, on the homestead of his father in
Honey Creek Township. He is a son of Peter and Mrs. (Schultz) Jacoby.
His mother was born in Germany and his father in the Duchy of Luxem-
burg. Peter Jacoby came to Sauk County in 1846. At that time very
few settlements had been planted in Sauk County, all the land was very
much as nature had left it, and he was one of the brave pioneers who
determined to make his home where only Indians and wild game had
subsisted for generations. He had the physical equipment necessary for
such a task. He was a hard worker and in the course of time most of the
timber was felled, the stumps grubbed out, and the soil broken up and
put in condition for cultivation. In the early days he hauled his grain
to be ground as far as Milwaukee. Ox teams invariably were hitched
to the wagon or to the plow, and the Jacobys lived in the county a num-
ber of years before the first railroad was constructed. Peter Jacoby
made wheat his principal crop, and all the harvesting was done by hand,
with the old-fashioned scythe and cradle, and the grain was flailed or
threshed out by the tramping of oxen. It is said that the first hogs
raised on the Jacoby farm were sold for two and a half cents a pound.
Peter Jacoby lived here until his death thirty years ago, while his good
wife survived until eighteen years ago. They had ten children, five dying
in infancy. Antone was the oldest of the family. The second, Ferdinand,
died at Milwaukee three years ago. Matt is a real estate man in Madison.
Mrs. Mary Vogel also lives in Madison. Theo. is a resident of Iowa.
Antone Jacoby grew up on the home farm, received his education in
the local schools, and at the age of twenty-four went west to Iowa, where
he spent one year, and one year more in South Dakota. After returning
to Sauk County he had a part in the management of the farm until the
death of his father, when he bought a place in Honey Creek Township.
In 1886 Mr. Jacoby married Emma Kaufman, daughter of John
Kaufman, of Honey Creek. Five children were born to them : John,
who is married and lives on the homestead ; Nell, living at home ; Alex,
at home ; Mrs. Lula Strassman, of Madison ; and one that died in infancy.
As a farmer Mr. Jacoby still owns and operates 174 acres of land,
constituting the old homestead, and some years ago he sold 200 acres to
his son John, who is one of the leading and progressive young farmers
of this section. Mr. Jacoby has been quite active in public affairs, hav-
ing served four years on the town board and nine years on the school
board. He is a stockholder in the local creamery and he and his family
are all members of the Catholic Church of Sauk City.
Franklin Johnson, a resident of Baraboo, was born in Greenfield,
Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, in 1849, was educated in the common
schools, taught school, and in 1881 moved to Baraboo where he engaged
in the fruit business. He has held several town offices and others in the
local insurance company. He served several years as president of the
State Horticultural Society and is the inventor of the "Johnson Index
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 70^
System for Tax Collectors. ' ' He served in the lower house of the Legis-
lature from 1901 to 1903.
Henry Roick. Two vocations, those of farming and milling, occu-
pied the active career of Henry Roick up to the time of his recent
retirement at Baraboo. For more than a half a century he was engaged
in agricultural pursuits in Sumpter Township, Sauk County, and is still
the owner of a valuable farm there, although since 1904 he has been a
resident of Baraboo. His career has been one of sturdy industry and
has been fittingly rewarded by a full measure of success.
Mr. Roick was born on his father's farm in Sumpter Township,
Sauk County, Wisconsin, April 13, 1853, and is a son of Charles E.
and Catherine (Francel) Roick, natives of Germany. On first coming
to the United States Charles E. Roick settled at Milwaukee. He had
learned the trade of carpenter in his native land and being a skilled
and industrious workman had little trouble in securing employment,
but it was his desire to be the owner of a farm. Accordingly, when he
had earned the means, he walked into Sauk County from Milwaukee
and purchased eighty acres of uncleared land, but at that time could
not start farming as he had exhausted his means. Returning to Mil-
waukee, he worked at his trade for a year, and thus was able to pur-
chase a wagon and an ox team, with which he and his brother, who was
also a carpenter, began to break the land. At odd times Mr. Roick
went to Milwaukee to work, and for his labor accepted lumber, thus
getting the means of building his house, and as time went on he and
his brother acquired another eighty acres southeast of his original pur-
chase. Mr. Roick continued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits
until 1880, in which year he disposed of his farm to his son and took
up his residence at Baraboo. He had secured success from his experi-
ence in farming, but was an energetic and industrious man and occupied
his time by working at his trade, having lost none of his former skill
in that direction. He continued to be so engaged until within a short
time of his death, which occurrerd at Baraboo in 1906, Mrs. Roick hav-
ing died here in 1890. Mr. Roick was a republican, but never sought
office, and took only a good citizen's interest in political matters. He
and Mrs. Roick were the parents of four children, namely : Harry,
Caroline, Francis and Emma.
Henry Roick was educated in the public schools of Sauk County
and was reared to the life of an agriculturist, a career which he adopted
upon attaining manhood. He was twenty-seven years of age when he
assumed ownership of the old homestead place, and there he continued
to successfully operate until March, 1904, when he came to Baraboo.
He had won success as a farmer, and on coming to the city became pro-
prietor of a feed mill, which he built, and this_ proved a profitable
venture under his systematic and energetic business management. In
1914 he sold his interest in this enterprise, and since that time has lived
retired from active pursuits, although he gives some attention to the
supervision of the farm in Sauk County, of which he is still the owner.
Like his father, Mr. Roick is a republican, and, also like him, the uncer-
tain honors of public position have not be':'n sufficient incentive to draw
710 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
him into public life, it being his preference to remain simply as a private
citizen. He is the owner of a beautiful home at No. 530 Fourth Avenue.
In June, 1881, Mr. Roick was united in marriage with Miss Mary-
Jane Riches, who was born in Sauk County, Wisconsin, August 16,
1858, being a daughter of Robert and Christina (Burga) Riches. Her
father was a native of England, born in 1824, and her mother of Switz-
erland, born in 1832. In 1815 Mr. Riches came to the United States,
and after a short residence at Sauk City, Wisconsin, moved to a farm in
Troy Township, Sauk County, where he passed the remaining years
of his life and died in 1892, his wife passing away in the same year.
They were the parents of four children: Elizabeth; Christina; Mary;
and John Robert, who is now residing on and operating the homestead
farm. Mr. Riches was locally prominent in affairs of the community,
being at various times the incumbent of public position and for many
years was postmaster at Riches Corners. He was a member of the
Episcopal Church, while Mrs. Riches belonged to the Reformed faith.
Mr. and Mrs. Roick have been the parents of three children, namely :
Ella, who died in 1913 ; Charles, a jeweler b.y trade and lives in Bara-
boo: and Virgil H., who is a member of the junior class of the Baraboo
Iligli School.
Joseph P. Terry, who is successfully engaged in agricultural pur-
suits in Baraboo Township, is a worthy representative of the younger
farming element in Sauk County. To a very considerable extent it is
this element in any community, especially outside of the large cities,
which infuses spirit and zest into the activities of the place. It is this
element, whose entrance upon the arena of active life dates not further
back than the final quarter of the last centennial period, which monopo-
lizes most of the vigor, zeal and pushing energy which keep the nerves
of the commercial and agricultural world ramifying all through the
lesser towns and communities of the country strung to the full tension
of strenuous endeavor. Mr. Terry is a member of this class who is
widely known in Baraboo Township, where he has passed his entire life,
as an industrious and capable farmer and stockman.
On the old homestead farm in Baraboo Township, Sauk County,
Wisconsin, Joseph P. Terry was bom January 30, 1880, being a son
of John and Katherine (Dorsey) Terry. John Terry was born in 1834,
in Ireland, and was a child when his mother died, subsequently being
sent to make his home with an uncle who lived in New Foundland. He
was given ordinary educational advantages, but early developed ambi-
tion that led him to seek about for a location where his abilities would
bring him the best results, and eventually decided upon Sauk County,
whence he came during the early '60s and established his home in
Baraboo Township. With him he had brought gold to the amount of
$500, which represented his earnings, and as this metal was a decidedly
scarce commodity at the time he was able to dispose of it for a sum
approximating $1,000, v/hich he invested in an 80-acre farm in Baraboo
Township. This was but a start. From that time forward he prospered
and flourished, and eventually became one of the substantial farmers
and large landholders of the locality. After he had put his original
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 711
eighty under cultivation, Mr. Terry bought forty acres adjoining. Later
lie bought the old T. B. Byron farm, a tract of 200 acres in the same
township, and this was followed by the purchase of the Spandig farm
of 220 acres in Delton Township, and the 270-acre farm now owned by
one of his sons, James M. Terry, in Baraboo Township. Mr. Terry's
career was one in which he displayed perseverance, industry and ability
of a high order. His community always knew him as a man who put
his best efforts into everything that he did, and who in the working out
of his success kept his record personally clean and above board. His
death took awa.y from his community a public-spirited and helpful
citizen, and one who had brought up his children to honorable careers
and had started them upon life with something that made their path-
ways easier and brighter. He died at the home of his son James M.
Terry in 1908, the original residence on the old homestead having been
destroyed by fire some time before, and the mother passed away in
November, 1914. Mrs. Terry was one of the best beloved ladies of her
community, and, like her husband, was a faithful member of the Catholic
Church. John Terry was a democrat, and upon that ticket was elected
to the office of road superintendent, a capacity in which he served for
several years, although he was not one to look for preferment at the
hands of his fellow citizens. The ten children in the family were as
follows: Edward; James M., who owns and operates 270 acres of fine
land in Baraboo Township ; Alice ; William ; Mary ; John ; Nellie ; Jos-
eph P., of this notice; Ann; and Gertrude, whose death occurred in
1904, when she was twenty years of age.
The children of John Terr^^ were given a good trainiiig. They were
brought up in the healthy atmosphere of the farm and under good home
influences, and were granted educational advantages in the schools of
the vicinity. Joseph P. Terry shared with his brothers and sisters in
this kind of wholesome atmosphere in building him up in his youth.
Trained to be a farmer, his life has been devoted to the activities of the
soil, and general farming and stock raising have been the things to
which he has given his attention and in which he has made a success.
His present tract consists of 200 acres, located in Baraboo Township,
and is one of the valuable and handsome properties of this part of Sauk
County, its buildings, improvements and general prosperity being indic-
ative of the kind of management which supervises its operation. Mr.
Terry is also a stockholder in the Excelsior Co-operative Creamery
Company. Politically he is a democrat, and he adheres religiously to
the faith in which he was reared, that of the Catholic Church.
On February 14, 1912, Mr. Terry was married to Miss Alma Louise
Hempel. who was born at Monee, Illinois, April 13, 1882, daughter of
John E. and Margaret (Otten) Hempel, the former bom in Saxony,
Germany, in 1843, and the latter at Monee, Illinois, in 1858. Mrs.
Hempel's parents, John and Margaret Otten, were early settlers of
Illinois, and were married at Chicago, from which city they subsequently
removed to Monee, and at the latter place spent the remainder of their
lives. They had seven children, all of whom are still living: Anna,
Ida, Alma, Edward, Charley, Lillian and Richard. Mr. and Mrs.
Vol. n — lo
712 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Terry have two children: Graee, who was born November 25, 1912,
and Vera, born November 30, 1914.
Yoss Harseim has lived in Sauk County since early childhood,
through a period of over fifty years, and his efforts have been chiefly
directed along the lines of agriculture and with such success as to
enable him to live practically retired. He now has one of the attractive
small farm homes in Baraboo Township near the county seat.
Mr. Harseim was born in ]\Iilwaukee, January 10, 1852, a son of
August and Johanna (Myer) Harseim. His parents were married in
Germany and on coming to America located at Baltimore, where August
Harseim for four years acted as overseer to the slaves on a southern
plantation. He and his wife then came West, lived for a time at Mil-
waukee, and in 1853 loeated in Sauk County. They settled in the
midst of the woods of Freedom Township, where a log house was erected
for their accommodation. In 1863 they sold that farm and moved to
Baraboo, where Mrs. August Harseim died January 17, 1877, at the
age of sixty-three years, ten months, thirteen days. In 1880 August
Harseim went to Madison, but returned to Baraboo about 1882 and died
in that city August 27, 1885, at the age of seventy-three years eleven
months. Their children were : Mary ; August, who died in infancy ;
Charles, who died in infancy ; Salena, deceased ; Gertrude, who died in
Colorado in 1916 : William, who was a Union soldier in the Civil war
and died in Minnesota in 1905 ; Margaret ; Fred, who died April 27,
1873 ; and Yoss.
Yoss Harseim was reared on a Sauk County farm and attended public
school in an old log building. Since early manhood his efforts have been
directed to farming, and for three years he worked his father's old place.
He then removed to Delton T-ownship, continued renting there four years,
and then bought a place of 120 acres. That farm he developed and
improved and cultivated its crops for twenty-nine successive years. He
did his most important work as a farmer there, and he still owns the old
homestead and had enough surplus to enable him to remove to the City
of Baraboo and buy a comfortable small farm of fifteen acres, the products
of which furnish much of the living.
Politically Mr. Harseim has been an active republican and has also
become strongly allied with the prohibition movement. He served as
treasurer of his local school board for about ' ten years. He and his
family are Methodists.
On May 9, 1875, Mr. Harseim married Charlotte A. Whitney, who
was born at Windsor, Vermont, August 4, 1850. Her parents, Seneca
and Charlotte (Lackey) Whitney, were both born in the year 1813, in
the State of Massachusetts. In 1852 the Whitney family came west to
Baraboo and built as their first home a cabin near the present site of the
waterworks. They soon afterwards settled on a farm in the Skillet Creek
neighborhood in Baraboo Township, and some years later removed to
North Freedom^ where Mr. Whitney spent his last years and died in
1893. His widow survived until 1895. Their children were : Harriet,
deceased, who married Jonathan Miles ; Sarah, who married A. J. Spahr,
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 713
a veteran of the Civil war ; Delilah, wife of Charles G. Allen, of Baraboo ;
and Mrs. Charlotte Harseim. Mr. and Mrs. Harseim have no children.
Henry Pigg. Although more than five years have passed since the
death of Henry Pigg, he is remembered as a citizen of Sauk County who
resided at Baraboo for several years prior to his demise. Mr. Pigg was
one of those who wielded the implements of destruction as well as those
of construction, for he fought as a soldier during the Civil war and later
was engaged in agricultural pursuits. While he was not a public figure,
he was one of the steady, dependable men of his community, a citizen
who bore his share of the responsibilities of citizenship and whose career
Avas successfully and honorably rounded out.
Mr. Pigg was born in England, in 1840, and was a son of George and
Elizabeth (Bordos) Pigg, also natives of that country. The family immi-
grated to the United States in 1846, at which time they settled at Mil-
waukee, but ten years later moved to Merrrimack, Sauk County. There
Henry Pigg completed the education he had started in the Milwaukee
schools, and thereafter learned the trade of molder, an occupation which
he followed until the outbreak of the Civil war. In April, 1861, he
enlisted for service in Company B, Fifth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer
Infantry, with which he served for three years. Mr. Pigg took part in
numerous important engagements, among them the Wilderness and Fred-
ericksburg, at the latter of which places he was severely wounded in both
legs. The bullet that caused these wounds is kept as a memento by the
members of his family. When his term of service was completed and he
had received his honorable discbarge, after having established a splendid
record for soldierly qualities and fidelity, Mr. Pigg resumed the trade
of molder, and for a number of years was in the employ of the AUis-
Chalmers Company of Milwaukee. He was industrious, energetic and
economical and was thus able to save from his earnings sufficient means
with which to buy a farm in the vicinity of Merrimack in Sauk County.
There he continued to be engaged in successful agricultural labors until
1909, in which year, feeling that he had earned a rest from his work, he
retired and took up his residence at Baraboo. His death occurred in
April, 1911, at his home No. 514 First Street, where Mrs. Pigg, who sur-
vives him, still makes her home. ]\Ir. Pigg was a republican in his polit-
ical views, but not an office seeker, confining his activity in public affairs
to the casting of his vote. As a fraternalist he belonged to Baraboo Lodge
No. 34, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, while Mrs. Pigg and her
daughter, Ada, are members of the Eastern Star. Mr. and Mrs. Pigg
belonged to the Congregational Church and were active in its work.
In 1871 Mr. Pigg was married to Miss Sarah Ames, who was born at
Oregon, Dane County, Wisconsin, September 21, 1847, and was brought
to Baraboo in 1853 by her parents, Ira and Sarah (Brooks) Ames, natives
of New York. Nathaniel Ames, the grandfather of Mrs. Pigg, fought
as a patriot soldier during the Revolutionary war, and his portrait is
to be found at the State Historical Society's headquarters at Madison.
Ira Ames was a blacksmith by trade and followed that vocation until he
enlisted, in April, 1862, in the Seventeenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volun-
teer Infantry, during the Civil war. He did not live long after becoming
714 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
a soldier, death taking him away at Corinth, Tennessee, in June, 1862.
He and Mrs. Ames had ten children, of whom three are still living:
Frank, of LaValle, Wisconsin ; Mrs. John Wrightman, of Fairfield Town-
ship, Sauk County, the widow of a Civil war soldier who died in 1900;
and Mrs. Pigg. Mr. and Mrs. Pigg had the following children : Harry,
Bessie, May, Walter, Louise, Esther, Edgar and Ada.
*
Lincoln Barrett. Baraboo is the home of a number of railway men.
Among them is Lincoln Barrett, a veteran of the Chicago Northwestern
line, who has pidied throttles on engines for that company for over twenty
years. Mr. Barrett is a fine type of the railroad man, has proved faithful,
efficient and clear headed in all emergencies, and stands high on the holior
roll of his company's employes.
A native of Wisconsin, he was born in Grant County November 8,
1864, a son of William and Hannah (Temby) Barrett. His father was
born in England in 1833. The mother was born in 1837, probably in
Pennsylvania, a daughter of Peter and Hannah Temby. Peter Tenby
was a native of England while his wife was a Welsh woman. They lived
in Pennsylvania a number of years but finally came west to Iowa County,
Wisconsin, Peter Temby being a miner by trade, and was employed for
a number of years at Mineral Point. Later he was a farmer and he died
in Highlaiid Township of Iowa County about 1883, at the age of eighty-
two. His wife passed away about 1876. Mr. Barrrett's paternal grand-
father, William Barrett, whose wife was Grace Barrett, came to Wiscon-
sin and also settled in Iowa County. He was a miner and his death
occurred at Linden in Iowa County, his wife dying in the same county,
both at advanced age. They were buried at Linden.
William Barrett, father of Lincoln Barrett, was a cabinet maker by
trade and was also a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He
first located in Grant County and about 1865 removed to Sauk County.
He died at Spring Green in this county in 1867, while his wife passed
away at Wilson's Creek in Sauk County in 1871. Their four children
are now living, each m a difl^erent state of the Union: William, in
Montana ; Clara, in Michigan ; Lincoln, in Wisconsin ; and Mary, in
Missouri. The mother of these children married for her second husband
Gordon Farwell, and had a son by that union.
Lincoln Barrett, after the death of his father, which occurred when
he was three years of age, was reared in the home of his maternal grand-
parents in Iowa County. He attended the public schools there, and lived
and worked on the farm until past his majority. In 1887, at the age of
twenty-three, he entered the service of the Chicago Northwestern Railway
Company and removed to Baraboo the same year. He started as a fire-
man and in 1895 was promoted to the command of an engine and has
piloted a locomotive for that company over various runs for twenty-two
years. He deserves much praise for his self-made success. At the age
of thirteen he began paying his own way in the world and all he has
gained has been due to his industry and constant attention to duty. In
1903 My. Barrett Iniilt a fine home at 315 Fourth Avenue, and that is
where he and his family now reside. Politically Mr. Barrett is indepen-
dent, though he usually supports the republican ticket. He is affiliated
^
V
4
X
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 715
with Baraboo Lodge No. 34, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, with
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Lodge No. 51, with the Order
of Foresters and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. He and
his wife are both ainliated with the Eastern Star.
Mr. Barrett was married January 9, 1894, to Miss Allie Blanchet.
Mrs. Barrett was born in Kansas November 8, 1872, a daughter of Cyrus
and Elizabeth Van Arsdel Blanchet, who have been residents of Baraboo
since 1875 and are prominent and well known people of this city else-
where mentioned in this publication. Mr. and Mrs. Barrett have two
daughters. Estelle Elizabeth, born June 15, 1896, is a graduate -of the
Baraboo High School and of the Baraboo Business College. Elzaida
Mildred was born April 18, 1899, and graduated from the Baraboo High
School with the class of 1917.
Charles Hirschinger, Baraboo, was born at Capatene, Ohio, Febru-
ary 26, 1837, was educated in the schools of Ohio, Illinois and Wisconsin,
coming to this state in 1837 when it was still a territory. He was engaged
in farming and the nursery business before moving to Baraboo. He
served in the State Assembly in 1893-95.
Charles H. Lee. The annals of early settlement in Sauk County
make frequent reference to members of the Lee family, who were pioneers
in the best sense of the term, were makers of homes in the wilderness,
tillers of the soil, and helped convert a wilderness into a smiling land-
scape of farms and villages. One of the younger members of the family,
a native of Sauk County, is Charles H. Lee, M'ho for many years has
been one of the prosperous business men of Baraboo and is now proprietor
of one of its chief hardware stores.
Mr. Lee was born in Webster Prairie, Sauk County, October 21, 1860.
His parents were Lothrop L. and Harriet (Gardner) Lee. His father
was born in Livingston County, New York, February 27, 1823, and the
mother was born in Madison County, that state, May 13, 1830.
Lothrop Lee first came out to Sauk County in 1847, the year liefore
Wisconsin became a state. He was employed by Colonel Maxwell in the
construction of the dam and race which has long been known as the
Maxwell Dam. After this work, and being- much pleased with Sauk
County, Lothrop Lee returned in 1848 to New York, was married there
on October 17, 1848, and soon brought his bride bj^ way of the Great
Lakes to Milwaukee, from which point they drove with wagon and team
into Sauk County, making the journey through the City of Madison.
All these activities occurred before railroads were numerous in the West,
and Lothrop Lee is said to have been sixty years of age before he ever
traveled on a railroad train. His occupation, after making a permanent
home in Sauk County, was farming. He had the energy and thrift
required for success in that line, and he was a man of strong character
and of many fine traits. He was noted for his great love of domestic
animals, especially horses. His first settlement was in Fairfield Town-
ship, but he sold his farm there and moved to Webster Prairie.
In 1854 the parents of Lothrop Lee, Zadoc and Esther Lee, also came
out to Sauk County. These parents had the following sons : Byron B.,
716 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Henry H., David D., Herbert A., Lothrop L., and also one daughter,
Mercy E., who is the wife of Henry Cowles, of Chippewa Falls. All the
sons are now deceased. Herbert A. and his brother Byron were soldiers
in the Civil war. Zadoc Lee, on coming to Sauk County, bought 320
acres in Webster Prairie, and Lothrop, his son, took half of that land.
It was the farm on which he lived and prospered over forty years. He
sold it in 1898 and then bought a small place about a mile south of
Baraboo, where he spent his last years in comfort and retirement. He
died in 1904, and his widow is still living there at the venerable age of
eighty-seven. The children of Lothrop Lee and wife were : Frank G.,
who died in December, 1915 ; Maria C. ; Mary E., who died in 1890 ;
Charles H., and Hattie E. In politics Lothrop Lee was a republican
from the organization of that party. In still earlier days he had been
an ardent abolitionist, and in 1844, on reaching his majority, had cast
his vote for James G. Birney, a free soil candidate. Zado Lee had voted
as a free soiler and abolitionist in 1840. Lothrop Lee was a member of
the Congregational Church, which he helped build up in his community,
and he afterward became a generous supporter of the Presbyterian
Church in Baraboo. He helped build the church that is still standing in
that city.
Charles H. Lee had the advantage of good ancestry and good family
connections as a start in life, and through his individual exertions he
has made the best of his opportunities. He spent his early life on the
farm in Webster Prairie, leaving it when past twenty years of age and
arriving in Baraboo as a place of residence on April 1, 1881. Here he
learned the trade of tinner in the building where his hardware store is
now located. This building was then occupied by the firm of Gattiker
Brothers. In February, 1893, Mr. Lee engaged in business for himself,
setting up his tin shop on Fourth Street, but a year later occupied what
is now the Jorg Grocery Store, but was then conducted by Frank Avery.
On January 1, 1898, Mr. Lee came to the building he now occupies.
His business has prospered and his facilities have likewise been increased
to accommodate the growing patronage. The building, when he first
occupied it, was 30 by 80 feet, and he has since increased it to
30 by 132 feet. The firm is now known as the Lee, Radtke Hardware
Company. Mr. Lee has devoted special attention to warm air heating,
and in this line has been very successful. He has been called upon to
go to other .states and towns and is consulted by heating men from all
parts of the country. He does principally all the installing of plants
himself.
Mr. Lee has taken an active part in democratic party affairs without
the seeking for office. He is affiliated with Baraboo Lodge No. 51, Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and with the Independent Order of
Foresters. In 1884 he married Miss Ida M. Hoadley, of Baraboo, who
died August 26, 1917, and a sketch of whom follows this. Mrs. Lee" was
a daughter of Elias Hoadley, one of the early settlers in the city. Mr.
and Mrs. Lee had four children : Mary Esther, Lois Ruth, Ida Marjorie
and Robert E., all of whom are living.
Ida Hoadley Lee, whose mortal journey came to a close August 26,
1917, but the spirit of whose character and devotion still finds indwell-
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 717
ing with family and friends in Sauk County, was the wife of Mr. Charles
H. Lee of Baraboo. One of her former pastors wrote for publication in a
local paper the following tribute :
"A beautiful complete life has closed. A more beautiful, more com-
plete life has begun in that land to which we all journey. No sermon,
no eulogy, could express the beauty and joy of living a good life so well
as the simple narrative of Ida M. Hoadley, daughter of Elias and Mary
Hoadley.
"She was born in Vermont September 11, 1856. She had lived on
the place where the Lee home now stands since about 1860, and was mar-
ried in the old home April 10, 1884.
"Her character, made up of a kindness which embraced the whole
world and sustained by a calm, unflinching courage, was a rare combina-
tion. Her husband, who was a great student of history and an ardent
admirer of General Grant, often said that her wonderful courage and
fortitude was like that of the great General.
"She made such a home that her husband found no other place so
attractive, and in his spare time was always to be found there. And
when business called him away she often accompanied him. She was wife
and comrade to him. To her children she was all that a mother could be.
The world will be better because her daughters grew up with the example
of her quiet, dignified well doing. And how well we all remember her
pride and joy in her little son. And when he became grievously afflicted
by sickness and all others gave up hope, she maintained her same calm
courage and nursed him back to health.
"Those who watched her go through such trials came to realize that
indeed ' They who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. ' Verily
' her children rise up to call her blessed and her husband also he praiseth
her.'
"She was a charter niember of the South Side church. It was her
hope and prayer that a church might be maintained in that part of the
city. To say that she was a faithful member, a hard worker and a' regular
attendant expresses but part of the real influence she had upon that
church. Her very attitude spoke encouragement to the work and workers.
Her pastors look back today and remember that there never was any-
thing but good cheer and helpfulness in her work in the church, and
many a friend who worked with her remembers that there was no sting
in her friendship. She somehow always found time to help the needy
and comfort the so-rrowing. Many remember when she stood by the open
grave where someone had laid their heart's dearest hopes, and quietly
spoke words of cheer and encouragement that were sorely needed. Some-
one whose life was saved from wreck, explained it by saying, 'I had a
friend.' More than one whose life was uplifted by the influence of Mrs.
Lee may well say, ' I also had a friend. '
"When the time came that she succumbed to illness she displayed the
same unwavering courage that had marked her care of others. All that
medical science could do was done, all that loving hearts could conceive
and willing hands do was done, but to no avail — her life's mission was
accomplished. And as one preparing for a journey she told her sorrow-
ing husband that 'all was well,' and calmly made all plans for her
718 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
departure, remembering in detail the comfort of every one. And so a
beautiful life ended early on Sunday morning, August 26. As her spirit
took its flight to the triumphant life the sun broke forth in all its glory —
a fitting emblem of the glorious ending of a life of which we must all
say, 'well done.' "
There were many other tributes expressed at the time of the funeral
that reveal as well as human expression can the appreciation of a beautiful
and loving nature. It is only appropriate that some of these expressions
should be here gathered together as a permanent memorial.
In the closing words of his address Rev. Mr. Irish said : "I would
like to say, but I need not, to those who mourn especially today, some
word of comfort, but I am sure that the very character of this dear heart
is sufficient ; that the life she led will bring them peace in the day time,
peace in the night time and in their various trials and cares as they go
out and go on they shall realize somehow that she still helps them, that
she still loves them, and that love can never, never die. May God bless
each of the members of this home and help the children to emulate the
dear woman they loved so long and so well."
Rev. Mr. Jones, whose published sketch has already been quoted, was
also one of the speakers at the final services and his address in part is
as follows:
' ' I deem it a privilege to have the opportunity of saying just a word
in these rites, near the body of one whom we all love. I have learned
this in my experience; that a few beautiful families make a beautiful
church — a beautiful church in all its societies — and without a few beau-
tiful families I have found it impossible to have a beautiful church
society.
"I learned very early in my pastorate here of a very few very beau-
tiful families, and one was here, and the center of this family, I soon
found, was Mrs. Lee, and I found that the beauty that radiated from
Mrs. Lee centered and concentered in her life and radiated from her life.
"I will never forget the first one to call upon us when we came,
lonely, in a strange town. A little girl came with a basket of red apples
that smiled they were so red, and that little girl's face was so radiant
and beautiful that the sun seemed to have risen in its glory on that little
face of that beautiful girl. And she came to Mrs. Jones and she said :
'Mama sent these to you, ' and she answered her, 'But who is your mama ? '
'Why,' she said, 'Mrs. Lee.' And I have found in the four years' pas-
torate that the same token was present. When a word of cheer was needed
she was always there ready to cheer. She seemed to know just how and
just when, and all through those four years instead of being less, always
more. And so today we have only beautiful things to think about Mrs.
Lee. Why I could not think anything but beautiful things about her
beautiful life that I had four years of acquaintance with and the blessed
privilege of working with her in the Kingdom of our God. They fold
me among the first things they said about Mrs. Lee that she was the most
beautiful woman in Baraboo, but I learned the more I knew her, how
much more true it was than I believed, and I have learned more and more
that the beautiful woman is the beautiful soul, and I learned that she had
a beautiful soul, and of course she could not but do and say beautiful
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 719
things and compel us to say : 'What a beautiful life,' and I think we are
all saying that today and how nice it is to say that, and I wish we would
always repeat down through the years 'How beautiful was her life.' 1
believe we will be compelled to say as we shall remember her from time
to time, 'MHiat a beautiful life she lived.'
' ' She could not do an unkind thing ; she never learned how, for some
reason or other, but she learned so well to do those kind things ; those
things that would make you feel happy and comfortable and glad; glad
you are living; made you feel that life is really worth living. I am so
glad that my life means more to me because I had her acquaintance for
those few years while we labored in the work of our Master.
"Sir Galahad it was that said these words. I think we ought to say
them today. He said : ' I had the strength of ten because my heart was
pure.' I wondered how she could stand so much, how she could do so
much, and yet be lovely and Sir Galahad had the secret. 'My strength
Avas as the strength of ten because my heart was pure.' Then that other
poetical line :
' The night has a thousand eyes ;
The day but one
Yet the light of the whole world dies.
At set of sun.
The mind has a thousand eyes ;
The heart has but one
Yet the light of a whole life dies
When love is done.'
"I am so glad that with her love was never done. So now we say
today that her life will shine right on more and more."
In conclusion should be quoted also the words of the pastor, Rev. Mr.
Weed:
"While I cannot speak of the days of her activity, I can speak of
the hours of her suffering. We get new ideas of values, the purposes of
life become more clear, more definite when we come into contact with a life,
and death like this. Why need we suffer? Why need we serve? But
as we look at the life of Mrs. Lee we know that these beautiful things
which have been truly said have been compelled by the inner service that
this character has been able to perform. I think that is the secret of her
beauty, the beauty of her life ; that everywhere she somehow saw an
opportunity to serve somebody in some way. I think that has been the
remarkable testimony that has come to me as I have visited among people
and they have inquired how Mrs. Lee was. Then the comment on her
life : ' She was such a good woman ; so thoughtful of other people. '
"How prone we are to rebel when life's struggles are upon us, when
the hard things of life come to us; and yet it is only when these hours
of trial and testing come that we find the opportunity for the develop-
ment of character that makes life worth while after all. And just this
word to the family that has, during these months, yes, years, been suffer-
ing the anguish of an expectancy ; that expectancy of the time that how
is. Helpless, she has needed care — much care. Could anything be more
720 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
lovingly bestowed than that was bestowed? I think not. And after all,
the greatest privilege that has come to the lives of these children of hers,
the greatest blessing is the chance to pay back a little bit of the care and
affection that had been expended upon them in their childhood. It is
a blessed thing, this matter of service, this ability to serve one another ;
to take the burdens that we bear and share them together. It's a won-
derful thing — this matter of trial and distress and anguish when the
spirit of the Master comes into it all. It somehow is like an unfolding
bud, that, when it has burst into its full beauty, is full of the glory of
the sunshine. Just as God has kissed into light it has blushed in its
beauty to express His affection. So our lives have the possibility of blos-
soming in the time of testing and trial. This life went out, I think, the
most beautifully that I ever beheld. I have been at many death beds and
seen many pass out into the other life but the sweetness of Sister Lee's
faith was a very precious thing.
"Just a few days ago in calling, before she had lost her power of
speech, after a few moments of prayer in which her heart seemed to
rejoice, I asked her how she was and she said : ' The love of Jesus can
make a dying bed as soft as a downy pillow.' Characteristic. She loved
the words of Tennyson, and I am glad to fulfill the request that these be
read. They coincide with the spirit of this departed life and somehow
seem to express just as she would like to express the desire in the journey
home.
' Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me,
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea.
But such a tide as moving seems asleep.
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.
' Twilight and evening bell.
And after that the dark
And may there be no sadness of farewell.
When I embark;
For, though from out our bourne of time and place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar.'
"And she did. If anybody doubts the reality of the power of Jesus
Christ to reveal Himself, if I could bring you into the life of this woman
as she made the transition from earth to heaven, you could not longer
doubt, for she saw Him — she knew Him. He was with her and she went
home. She made one last request. It's a request that I'd like to send
home. I think only its repetition will send it home. 'Tell my friends
to sell all and buy the pearl of great price. ' That was her message, and
it has eternal truth wrapped up in it. "
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY ' 721
Ferdinand Keller, a resident of Honey Creek Township and a
veteran of the Civil war, has been a resident of Sauk County more than
sixty years, and with his own eyes witnessed the transformation of the
woods and prairies of that section into a broad landscape of fertile farms.
Mr. Keller was born in Switzerland in 1843, a son of Ferd and Eosena
(Stulke) Keller. He was twelve years of age when the parents left their
native land and, seeking the better opportunities of America, arrived in
Sauk City aiid afterward established a home in Honey Creek Township.
At that time they acquired the farm where Ferdinand Keller now resides.
It was nearly all wild lands and the father went through many years of
hard labor in redeeming his share of the wilderness and in establishing a
home. The parents spent the rest of their days on the farm, where the
father died in 1881 and the mother in 1888. They had a very large
family, fifteen children, eight of whom are still living. A brief record
of the family is as follows : Lena, a widow, living in Colorado ; Ferdi-
nand; Henry, who died in Italy when young; Herman, who died at the
age of eighteen ; Albert, who died in 1887, at the age of thirty-nine ;
Emma, Mrs. F. A. Harter, a widow, living in Chicago, where her husband
died two years ago ; Emilia, unmarried and living with her brother
Ferdinand; Emil, who died young; Edward, unmarried and living at
Amboy, New Jersey ; Alfred, single, and a resident of Colorado ; Minnie,
Mrs. F. A. Fetz, living in Colorado; Mark, who died at the age of two
years ; Otto, who died at the age of twenty ; Richard, who is married and
lives in Colorado; and the fifteenth child died in infancy. Ten of these
children were natives of Switzerland, while five were born in Sauk
County. All the children grew up on the old homestead.
At the place where he now resides Ferdinand Keller had most of the
associations of his youth from the age of twelve, and he acquired some
education in the local schools. At the age of eighteen he enlisted for
service in the Union army with Company D of the Ninth "Wisconsin
Infantry, and spent three years with his regiment, doing his duty faith-
fully, participating in many hard fought battles, and returning home
at the age of twenty-one with a well-earned meed of glory as one who
had fought for the preservation of the Union.
After his war service he settled down to work on his father's farm,
and was part of the family household until the age of forty, when he
married Miss Fredericka Block. Mrs. Keller died seventeen years ago.
She was the mother of one child, Herman, now twenty-one years of age,
and has assumed most of the responsibilities of managing the home place.
Mr. Keller's farm comprises 220 acres and it is devoted to general
farming and stock raising. Most of the land w^as cleared during the
active years his father lived here, though Mr. Keller himself shared in
that hard labor and knows the toils and vicissitudes of pioneering. In
the early days oxen were used almost exclusively to do the plowing and
even the hauling of produce and six oxen made a team for drawing a
plow through the stubborn soil. Mr. Keller also recalls the old time
agricultural implements used in harvesting grain, the sickle and the
cradle. He has swung these implements himself many hot and weary
days in the field and has bound up the grain by hand. Mr. Keller's father
served as clerk of the local school board in the early times and the son
722 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
has also been school clerk for two years. He is a member of the church
at Black Hawk.
Blias D. King has spent practically every day of his life in Sauk
County. It is his birthplace and was the environment in which he grew
up, and in which the best efforts of his life have been expressed.
He was born on a farm in the Township of Snmpter in 1851. His
birthplace is only an eighth of a mile from his present residence. He is
a son of Solomon and Ursula S. (Buck) King. His father was born in
Ohio in 1818 and his mother was born in Lebanon, New Hampshire, in
1819. Crandfather King was twice married. By jiis first wife he had
nine children, and he then married a widow, Polly Fox, who also had
nine children. Of this second marriage there was another child born,
Reuben F.
Solomon King came to Sauk County with his father and mother in
1843. In the same year Ursula S. Buck had come to Madison, Wisconsin,
with her sister, and on March 19, 1846, she came to Sauk County and
in the same year was married to Mr. King. He then located at King's
Corners in Sumpter Township, and in coiniection with their farm they
conducted a hotel or wayside inn for about eight years. That was before
railroads were built and when all transpo}'tatioii and traffic went over-
land. Their house was the headquarters for the stage coaches and many'
travelers were entertained there. They also furnished lodging and board
to the teamsters in the pineries. For their crops they were paid only
twgnty-five cents a bushel for wheat after liauling it over the rough
roads, with ox teams, to Milwaukee. The grain was' cut with cradles
and was threshed out with flails. Gradually various improvements came
into use and the King family has always kept up with this advance and
gradually substituted horses for oxen and power machinery for the old
hand methods. When the Kings located at King's Corners Indians still
lived about in the county and nearly all the country was new and
unbroken. Solomon King spent years in clearing up his land. Besides
farming and keeping tavern he also followed his trades as a gunsmith
and carpenter and had a shop on his farm, where he was busil}- employed
during the winter seasons. In 1857 he built a new home, where his son
Elias now resides. Solomon King had sawed most of the timbers that
went into the construction of that building, iticluding boards and shingles.
Within this more comfortable shelter he passed his remaining years and
died in 1869. His widow lived there until February, 1893. She was
appointed the first postmistress of the postoffice of King's Corners, and
subsequently Elias D. King served as postmaster for six years, from 1888
to 1894.
Mr. Elias D. King was married in 1893 to Mrs. Ella (Brooks) Haynes.
Mrs. King by her former husband had three children: Raj^mond Earl
Haynes, who died in 1889; Myrta E., wife of Fred Zantow; and Mabel
A., Mrs. Charles Watkins, both of which families live on farms in
Sumpter Township.
Mr. Elias D. King was reared and educated in Sauk County, and
at the age of twenty-one began farming as a renter. He rented the home
place five years and then spent some time in Nebraska. On returning to
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 723
Sauk County in 1888 he again began farming the home place and also
conducted the operation of a threshing outfit in the harvest time and in
winter operated a saw mill. He was well known* as a thresherman and
went about over the country district during tlie harvest seasons for nine
years. He also conducted a saw mill for about seven years. In later
years Mr. King has been successfully engaged in general farming and
stock raising. He has about eighty-seven acres of land and does nearly
all the work himself.
Besides his position as postmaster he served as path master two years
and as justice of the peace for two terms. His parents were active mem-
bers of the Methodist Church. His mother had three brothers who became
Methodist ministers in New York, and the oldest brother had a son who
is now preaching in California.
George P. Hanson has for many years been identified with those
solid activities that make up the agricultural and business resources of
Sauk County. He is now living retired in the City of Baraboo, though
he still keeps an active interest in business and other affairs.
Mr. Hanson was born in Delton Township of Sauk County April 15,
1866, and is a son of Asa and Jane (Morey) Hanson. His father was
born in Vermont in 1820 and his mother in New Plampshire May 15,
1837. They were married in the East, and settled in Sauk County during
the latter '50s, locating in Delton Township. Asa Hanson left the farm
to assist in the construction of one of the railroads through Sauk County,
and while in that work contracted smallpox, which brought about his
death. All the children were af&icted with the same disease. He and his
wife had five children : Albert, Olin, Wilbur, Laura Jane and George P.
George P. Hanson grew up on a farm, attended the common schools
and eventually acquired a farm of 200 acres in Fairfield Township, and
also one of 100 acres. He owned and operated that large place until
1916, when he sold out. Since January, 1913, he has lived in Baraboo
and in 1914 he bought his present residence at 321 Fifth Street. Mr.
Hanson supports the prohibition party in politics. He is a member of
the Good Templars and the Beavers Society and is an active member of
the Baptist Church. He and his wife for over twenty years sang in the
choir of the old Baptist Church in their country community, close to their
farm.
Mr. Hanson assisted in organizing the Farmer's Co-operative Cream-
ery Company of Fairfield. This was a small plant and has since been
consolidated with the Excelsior Co-operative Creamery Company located
at Baraboo, the largest creamery industry in the county, with about six
hundred patrons. Mr. Hanson was also one of the organizers of the
first telephone company in the county.
On March 16, 1887, he married Miss Elizabeth Dustin, who Avas born
in Fairfield Township September 20, 1867. She is a daughter of Miles
and Sylvia (Holden) Dustin. Her father was born in New York State
in 1841 and came to Sauk County with his parents in the earl}' days. Plis
people lived in Webster Prairie, but his parents died in Northern Wis-
consin, near the center of the cranberry industry. Miles Dustin was a
miller, merchant and farmer, also drove stage in the early days, and at
724 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY '
one time was identified with the pioneer hop growing industry of Sauk
County. He died in 1900. His wife, Sylvia Holden, was born in Ohio
in 1849, a daughter of" Henry S. and Elizabeth (Cowles) Holden. Eliza-
beth Cowles was a daughter of Alpheus Cowles, who came to Sauk County
with his daughter and spent his last years here. Henry S. Holden served
three years as a Union soldier and located at Baraboo while the war was
still in progress. Later he moved to a farm in Fairfield Township, and
his last days were spent in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Hanson, where he
died January 25, 1913, at the age of eighty-seven. At the time of his
death Henry S. Holden was the head of five generations, having a great-
great-grandchild. His wife had died many years before him. He out-
lived all his own children, and Mrs. Hanson was the oldest of his grand-
children. Mrs. Hanson had only one brother, Charles Edgar, now living
at Stratford in Marathon County, Wisconsin. Mrs. Hanson's mother
died in 1870.
Mr. and Mrs. Hanson have five children. Grace is the wife of Richard
Herwig, a farmer near Kilbourn, Wisconsin, and their children are
Gordon, Kenneth, Phyllis, Edith, Meta and Chester. Miles, the second
child, died in 1902, at the age of fifteen. Clinton lives in Cleveland, Ohio.
Homer is a senior in the Baraboo High School, and the youngest of the
family is Claude, a junior in the high school,
Paul Neitzel. There are found young men who at the opening of
their business careers declare that in modern times there are no more
real opportunities. Such may well consider the case of Paul Neitzel,
who is one of Sauk County 's men of wealth and importance, and thereby
learn, perhaps, the secret of not only properly seeking for these obscure
business opportunities but also of finding them. When a young man
starts out, as did Paul Neitzel, with no superior educational advantages
to help him, with no capital and no influential friends to further his
cause, and yet far within the usual space of time covered by the activities
of the ordinary man honestly accumulates a goodly portion of a town-
ship's acreage, his methods may well be worth following and emulating.
Paul Neitzel was born in Germany, January 9, 1863. His parents
were Frederick and Johanna Neitzel, who came to the United States and
reached Sauk County, Wisconsin, in 1882, .ioining their son Paul, who
had come here in the fall of the previous year. They were no longer
young people and the strain of the long voyage and the severing of old
ties proved too much for the father to bear and his death occurred ten
days after reaching Sauk County, his age being sixty-five years. The
mother survived for five years, her death occurring July 2, 1887, also
aged sixty-five years. They had twelve children, as follows: Bertha,
Pauline, Julius,' Augusta, Fred, Hannah, Paul, August, Frances, Emma,
Richard and an infant unnamed. Of these three live in America, Paul,
Fred and Richard.
Paul Neitzel received his education in the public schools of his own
country. It was his desire from boyhood to become independent as a
farmer and this was not possible in his section at that time and thus it
was that he turned his eyes to the United States and resolved to come
here and through hard work, if need be, acquire some of the valuable
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 725
land in Wisconsin that needed only careful cultivation to become unbe-
lievably productive. In 1881 he reached Tayloj- County, in the following
year settled in Sauk County and by 1884, though industry and frugal
living, had saved enough to buy eighteen acres of land in the south-
western corner of Baraboo Township. In 1894 he went to Greenfield
Township and bought eighteen acres and lived on that property for
seven years and then bought 200 acres, his present home place in Baraboo
Township, to which in 1917 he added 120 acres adjoining, lying in
Delton Township. Mr. Neitzel has not been satisfied with the mere
acquisition of land, its highest possible improvement has also been his
object. He has put up handsome, commodious buildings with modern
conveniences installed and on his home farm he has had a silo con-
structed that has a capacitj^ of 120' tons. He carried on general farming,
understanding his business in a scientific way, and gives a great deal of
attention to his high grade stock. His Shorthorn cattle and Percheron
horses are features at many exhibitions and command high prices on the
market. The prosperity that has come to him is the direct result of
intelligent industry and wholesome manner of living.
. Mr. Neitzel was married March 9, 1884, to Miss Bertha Mielke, who
was born in Germany in 1862. Her parents were Ferdinand and Fred-
ricka Mielke, natives of Germany wdio came to Wisconsin and settled in
Baraboo Township, Sauk County, in 1870. The father of Mrs. Neitzel
died in 1891, at the age of seventy-six years. Her mother spent her last
years with Mr. and Mrs. Neitzel, dying here in January, 1904, when aged
eighty-one years. Of their eleven children all died in Germany except
three, William, Lena and Bertha, who is Mrs. Neitzel. To Mr. and Mrs.
Neitzel the following children have been born : Kichard, who is deceased ;
Edward, who resides at home ; Carl, who is a farmer in Delton Township,
married Hazel Springer and they have two children, Kenneth and Doro-
thy May ; Alice, who married Albert Zimmerman, and they have one
child, Esther; and Stella, Harry, Mabel, Paul, Catherine and John, all
of whom reside with their parents.
As may be inferred, Mr. Neitzel has always been a very busy man,
but has never been too much occupied with his own concerns to forget
his responsibilities as a good citizen. He votes with the republican party
and has served three years in the otfice of township treasurer and is
serving his second year as assessor. With his family Mr. Neitzel belongs
to the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Henry James Farnum. The County of Sauk has numerous citizens
who have laid aside the cares of labor after long years of honorable effort
and now are spending the evening of their lives in the peace and comfort
that reward those who have been ipdustrious during the period of their
manly strength. Perhaps a large majority of these men have been enlisted
from the ranks of the agricultural class, for during the prime of life the
farmer gives to his work labors of the most strenuous kind that make
him ready to accept with relief the quiet that comes with well-earned
retirement. In this class is found Henry James Farnum, now one of
the well known residents of Sumpter Township, and a resident of Sauk
County for more than sixty-five years. During the greater part of this
726 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
period he has devoted himself to the work of the husbandmau. He has
tilled the fertile soil of the county, has aided its advancement by good
citizenship, has seen it grow and advance in prosperity, and during this
time has succeeded in the accumulation of a property that allows him,
now that his period of labor is over, to spend his remaining years in
comfort and peace.
Henry James Parnum was born in 1831 at Girard, Erie County,
Pennsylvania, and is a son of William and Lydia (Randall) Farnum.
His parents were agricultural people who owned a small farm in the
Keystone State, but who felt that in the new places in Wisconsin they
eould better themselves and their fortunes, and accordingly, in 1851, left
their eastern home and started overland for Sauk County. Here the
father took up land from the United States government in Sumpter
Township, and on that property he continued to operate industriously
during the remainder of his life, both he and Mrs. Farnum passing away
at the homestead which they had developed from the wilderness and
where their children had been reared. They were the parents of the
following children : William, Jr., Dexter, Henry James ; Eliza, who
became the wife of E. T. Kellogg; Jane, who married Daniel Barber;
and Anna, who is deceased.
Henry James Farnum came with his parents to Sauk County. He
had commenced his education in his native state, and after coming to
Wisconsin continued it here, but the county at that time had no excellent
school system as at present and he was forced to be content with several
months of attendance each year at the primitive school of his district.
He was reared to the life of an agriculturist, and was but twenty-four
years of age when he was married, in 1855, to Miss Elizabeth Shell, a
daughter of David and Lavina (Kenter) Shell, of this county. After
their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Farnum commenced keeping house on forty
acres his father gave him. He continued to live in Sumpter Township,
adding from time to time to his holdings, as his finances allowed, and
always working industriously and managed his business affairs honorably.
Thus, while accumulating a good property, he also gained a reputation
for integrity and fidelity that has remained as one of his chief assets
to the present time. At the time of his retirement Mr. Farnum did
not sell his property, as so many have done, but rented it out to others,
and thus he is still the owner of the farm which he developed through so
many years of hard and earnest work. The members of his family belong
to the Methodist Church. Mr. Farnum is a strong prohibitionist and
has done much for the cause of temperaiice in his community. In local
civic affairs, while not active as to seeking political preferment, he has
done his share in bettering conditions, and while residing on his farm
served as a member of the school board of Sumpter Township.
Mr. and Mrs. Farnum have been the parents of the following chil-
dren: Ida, whose death occurred as a child of eight years; Charles H.,
who died October 21, 1916, at Baraboo, Wisconsin, married Ada Lyrieck,
who is a resident of that city; Emma Jane, who died in infancy; and
Dr. Edward J., a graduate of Bennett Medical College, Chicago, who has
been engaged in a successful medical practice for a quarter of a century.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 727
Charles Stadi^er. Of that service which means as much to the
welfare of modern nations as any other department of activities, rail-
roading, Charles Stadler is a veteran and after more than thirty years
of continuous connection with the Chicago Northwestern road is now
living retired in comfortable quarters in the City of Baraboo. Mr. Stad-
ler belongs to Sauk County, which he claims as his native soil, and has
always considered it his home, though his work as a railroad man required
his residence in other centers.
Mr. Stadler was born in Greenfield Township of Sauk County Decem-
ber 7, 1859, a son of Joseph and Lucinda (Fetter) Stadler. Both parents
were natives of Germany. His father was born in the Kingdom of Wuer-
temberg, February 22, 1822, while his mother was born August 7, 1827.
They were married in Germany, and in 1854, with high hopes of bettering
their fortunes in the New World, they crossed the Atlantic Ocean an4
arrived at Sauk County, Wisconsin, which was practically a wilderness.
Buying land in Greenfield Township, Joseph Stadler applied himself to
its clearing and development, and underwent many of the hardships and
privations of existence. He and his wife lived in a log cabin for a
number of years and gradually they were able to see the light of better
fortune and surrounded themselves with many comforts for their declin-
ing years. Joseph Stadler died in 1891 and his wife in 1899. After
becoming an American citizen he was a staunch ally of the republican
party and he and his wife were faithful attendants in the Catholic
Church. Before coming to this country Joseph Stadler had served his
time in the German army. The children were : John ; Charles ; Almena,
who died in 1889; S. H., who lives in Canada; L. C, an engineer of the
Chicago, Minneapolis and Omaha Road ; Joseph, also a resident of Canada ;
and Lucinda, deceased, who married Edward Koerth.
The Sauk County farm was the early environment of Charles Stadler,
and his education came through the public schools. When only eighteen
years of age he entered the service of the Chicago Northwestern Railway
as worker on a bridge gang. Later he became a locomotive fireman and
was promoted from that to engineer. With steady hand and the poise
and efficiency of the well co-ordinated mind and body he. handled the
throttle of his engine for twenty-eight years, and had many of the impor-
tant runs of the road. He was continuously with the company for thirty-
one years and is now enjoying the honors of a position on the retired list.
For eight years of his service his home was in LaCrosse, Wisconsin.
Mr. Stadler and family now reside at 227 Third Street, Baraboo.
Mr. Stadler has been active in the buying and selling of Baraboo real
estate. He built a house next to the hospital and also bought another
house, and has dealt considerably in local property, which he believes the
best of investments. His prosperity is the direct results of his own labors
and intelligent management. Besides his local property he has interests
in Montana and he and his wife made a trip to that state in August,
1916. The old Stadler homestead of his father was owned by the family
until 1914, when it was sold to Edward DeBoyce.
Mr. Stadler is a democrat in politics. The family attend the Metho-
dist Episcopal Church. Fraternally he is affiliated with Baraboo Lodge
No. 34, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Baraboo Chapter No. 49,
Vol. n — 11
728 HISTOKY OF SAUK COUNTY
Royal Arch Masons, Baraboo Commandery No. 28, Knights Templar, and
the Scottish Eite Consistory and Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine at
Milwaukee. Mr. Stadler has been a Mason since 1893, and when he
attained the Consistory degree he was the youngest in the state. While
active in railroading he was also a member of the Brotherhood of Loco-
motive Engineers. Both Mr. and Mrs. Stadler are members of the
Eastern Star.
He was married March 17, 1901, to Miss Ella Wipman, of Baraboo.
Mr. and Mrs. Stadler spent three months in California during the Panama
Exposition and attended the opening of that great fair.
Hermajst Grotophorst, Baraboo, was born in the Town of Honey Creek
fifty-nine years ago. He was appointed by Governor R. M. LaFollette as a
member of the State Board of Control and served until 1904. He was
named by Governor Philipp as a member of the State Board of Educa-
tion, which office he now holds. He is a lawyer by profession.
Nicholas Schneider is one of the stirring and enterprising young
farmers and business men of Honey Creek Township, where he carries
on the old homestead farm of his father and is also a dealer in automo-
biles.
He was born on the homestead where he still resides in 1876. His
parents, Nicholas and Eva (Weaden) Schneider, were both born in Ger-
many. Nicholas Schneider, Sr., came to Sauk County during the '40s,
locating in Honey Creek Township when all that district was one vast
and unbroken wilderness. He took up a claim or homestead from the
Government, and with little more than his individual energy and ability
had to undertake the heavy task of clearing and making a farm of it.
He cut down the first trees, grubbed the first stumps and planted the
first acres on that homestead. All his farming at first was done with
the aid of ox teams, and gradually he reached th& position where he could
command more resources and farm more extensively. In the early days
he hauled his potatoes and other produce to Madison. He and his good
wife lived on that old homestead and long before they passed away they
saw its fields blossom as the rose. The father died there only two years
ago, while the mother passed away in 1898. There were six children :
John, married and living in Sauk City ; Mary, Mrs. John Lamberty, living
at Cross Plains ; Clara, Mrs. Joseph Colts, of Dane County, Wisconsin ;
Andrew, who is married and lives east of Madison ; and Barbara and
Nicholas, both, of whom are unmarried and live together on the old farm.
These children all grew up and received their educations in Honey Creek
Township.
About ten years ago Nicholas Schneider, Jr., took over the manage-
ment of the farm for his father, and has worked it ever since. His man-
agement is along the lines of general farming, stock raising and dairying,
with particular attention to the raising of hogs. Mr. Schneider has 340 .
acres under his care and cultivation.
His father was a stockholder in the first creamery in Honey Creek
Township. Mr. Schneider and his family are members of the Catholic
Church, and in politics he votes independently.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 729
Martin Moely, of Sumpter Township, has lived in close touch with
the soil and its related activities all his life, and has gained a splendid
prosperity well represented in his farm and its products.
He was born in Sauk County in 1866, a son of Conrad and Clara
(Bernhard) Moely. His parents were both natives of Switzerland.
Conrad Moely came with his widowed mother to Sauk County in 1855,
when a young man, and they located in Prairie du Sac Township on what
was known as the old Wolf Farm. Five years after coming to Sauk
County Conrad Moely married. He began with eighty acres of land
and gradually increased his holdings until he had a well developed farm
of 120 acres at the time of his death. He deserves a place in the memory
and gratitude of the people of Sauk County for what he achieved in
pioneer work. He cleared up many acres, grubbed out the stumps, broke
the land, and that this was a great achievement none who are familiar with
the processes described will doubt. His early crops were chiefly wheat.
Farm produce brought very little actual cash when sold. The father
took his grain to be ground to Milwaukee or Madison, hauling it with
ox teams, and frequently it required a week to make the journey. He
and his wife had seven children : Lizzie, deceased ; Barbara, Mrs. Anton
Van Wald ; Andrew, living at Prairie du Sac ; Mary, Mrs. W. C. Cook,
living in Texas ; Lola, wife of Christian Ploety, of Prairie du Sac ; Mar-
tin ; and Conrad, who is married and lives in Prairie du Sac. The father
of these children died in 1867 and was survived many years by his
widow. The children all grew up on the home farm and acquired their
education in the district schools.
Martin Moely had a rigorous farm training and took up the vocation
as an independent means of existence with all the qualifications necessary
for success. In 1891 he established a home of his own by his marriage
to Emelia Diehl, daughter of Peter Diehl. They had three children :
Clara, wife of Rudolph Shlog, of Merrimack Township ; Diehl, aged fif-
teen ; and Russell, aged eleven.
Mr. Moely began his independent career as a farmer in 1890, having
a place on the prairie. Twenty-four years ago he bought his present
farm in Sumpter Township from Uncle Joseph Johnson. His business
as a farmer is an extensive one and involves the successful operation of
400 acres of land. He does considerable stock raising and dairying and
is one of the stockholders in the Farmers' Creamery at Sumpter.
Mr. Moely has also been a leader in the public life of this section of
the county, having served as chairman of the town four years, as member
of the side board eight years, and was on the school board twelve years.
He and his family are members of the Evangelical Church and in partisan
politics he cast his vote according to the dictates of his independent
judgment.
George Weirich. Now living retired at Baraboo, George Weirich,
who is eighty-four years of age, has spent over sixty-five years of his
lifetime in Wisconsin and most of it in Sauk City. He is one of the
veterans of old time lumbering, log driving, forest clearing and the heavy
tasks of winning the wilderness.
A native of Germany, he was born in Baden October 1, 1833, a son
730 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
of Peter and Anna Maria (Treiber) Weirich. His parents, after most
of their children were born, sought a home in the New World, soon after
the revolutionary troubles of 1848, and came to Wisconsin in August,
1849. They lived about two years in Kenosha, but in 1849 Peter Weirich
had made a trip to Sauk County and had located a homestead in Sumpter
Township. This homestead comprised 120 acres, and in 1851 he moved
his family to the new farm. They made the trip from Kenosha with two
wagons and some young stock. Peter Weirich was industriously engaged
in making a farm in Sauk County until his death in February, 1862.
He was accidentally killed by a runaway team. His widow survived
him until about 1882. They reared quite a family of children. The two
oldest were Henry 'and George. Michael, who now lives at Augusta,
Wisconsin, was bom February 17, 1835, and is now eighty-two years of
age. He served as a soldier in the Civil war in the Thirtieth Wisconsin
Infantry, and much of the time was out on the western frontier guarding
the settlements against Indians. John, the fourth child, was born in
1841 and was a soldier in the Ninth Wisconsin Infantry, afterwards
became a farmer on Sauk Prairie and died at Baraboo in 1916. The
only one of the children born in this country was Lottie, who was born
at Kenosha.
George Weirich was about sixteen years of age when his parents came
to America. Most of his education had been acquired in Germany and
he attended two winters in Kenosha. In 1851 he walked from Kenosha
to his father's new home on Sauk Prairie, and for many days swung a
scythe cutting the wild hay so as to provide forage for the livestock during
the winter. He remained on the homestead, and was busily engaged in
clearing and cultivating and also worked in the lumber woods. He
engaged in many of the river drives, which were notable features of the
lumber industry of that day, and sometimes went on rafts of lumber
down the rivers as far south as St. Louis. Out of his savings he bought
160 acres of Government land in Adams County, Wisconsin, and after
keeping it a year sold it for $500 in gold, making a profit of $300 on the
transaction. For two years following he was in Clark County, Wisconsin,
where he worked on a farm in the summer and in the woods and on the
log drives down Black River in the winter. About that time Mr. Weirich
made a purchase in Eau Claire County of six 80-acre tracts, two for
himself, two for his brother Henry and two for his brother Michael.
Michael is still living on the quarter section thus acquired. Mr. George
Weirich did not retain his land in Eau Claire County long, and after
selling he bought eighty acres on Sauk Prairie in Sauk County. He
also acquired ownership of his father's old farm, and improved both
places. He has bought and sold several farms and his industry and good
judgment gave him a competence when still in middle age.
In 1884 Mr. Weirich moved to Baraboo, buying twenty-six acres of
land close to the city limits, and still owns all that except six acres.
Here he engaged in the manufacture of brick, and conducted one of the
leading brick yards of the county for six years. From the brick manu-
factured at his plant he built in 1885 the brick store at Baraboo now
occupied by his sons, Weirich Brothers. Mr. AA^'eirich is now living
retired at 417 Third Avenue.
HISl^ORY OF SAUK COUNTY 731
He cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln during the war. He has
been a steadfast republican ever since. He and his wife were reared as
Presbyterians but he is liberal in his religious views.
Mr. Weirich was married October 28, 1859, to Miss Wilhelmina Kuehn.
She was born in Germany November 16, 1842, a daughter of Edward
and Ernestine (Erbe) Kuehn, who came to Sauk City in 1853, and both
of them died there in 1898. Her father was a musician and cabinet maker.
Mr. and Mrs. George Weirich have six living children. Anna Maria, wife
of Henry Adolph Ochsner, of Honey Creek Township, Sauk County;
Edward, living on the old homestead ; Louis, of Baraboo ; Emil, of Bara-
boo ; Lottie, wife of Fred GoUmar, of Baraboo ; and Herman, a farmer in
South Dakota. Three children died in infancy, George and Wilhelmina,
twins, and another child named George.
Reference is made elsewhere to the career of Louis Weirich, active
member of the firm Weirich Brothers at Baraboo. The other member of
that firm is Emil Weirich, a son of George Weirich. Emil was born in
Sumpter Township of Sauk County September 10, 1868, grew up an
the old home farm, and gained his education in the public schools. He
was still young when he moved to Baraboo with his parents, and in 1887
he engaged in the meat business. He and his brother have since conducted
this business and have extended their operations -until the firm Weirich
Brothers is now one of the leaders in the commercial life of Baraboo.
Emil Weirich is a republican and is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias,
the Beavers and the Mystic Workers.
On May 20, 1897, he married Miss Mabel Young, of Baraboo. They
are the parents of three children : George Michael, born in November,
1899 ; Monroe William, born in November, 1902 ; and Edith Ruth, born
in November, 1904.
Louis Weirtch. The active business association of Mr. Weirich with
the City of Baraboo covers a period of thirty years. Throughout that
time he has helped feed the people with a steady and reliable supply of
good meats, and his is the oldest and the best known retail meat business
of the city. The firm is Weirich Brothers, and his business associate is
his brother Emil Weirich.
Mr. Weirich, who is a son of George Weirich, a notable Sauk County
pioneer mentioned elsewhere, was born on Sauk Prairie in this county
June 10, 1863. He spent the first twenty years of his life upon a farm.
His education came from the old Kern school house. When it came time
for him to make his own living and find his own opportunities he spent
one winter in the pine woods and during one summer was employed in
the lumber indsutry at Eau Claire. Returning to Baraboo, he found
steady employment with his father in the brick yard, and in 1887 he
put up the brick building which he has since occupied as his place of
business. That building and business are reckoned as one of the chief
landmarks of the town, and many families have steadily patronized
Weirich Brothers for their meat supplies for over a quarter of a cen-
tury. The business is located at 407 Oak Street.
Mr. Weirich is a republican, though he has never shown any desire
for public office, but is well fitted for public responsibilities. He is affili-
732 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
ated with the Knights of Pythias of Baraboo. On April 3, 1890, he
married Miss Annie Maria Falkenstein, of Lodi, Wisconsin. They have
one daughter, De Etta Monetta, who was born December 23, 1900, and
is now a student in the Baraboo High School.
Henry Carl Manthey, township supervisor and treasurer of the
school board of Excelsior Township for a number of years past, is suc-
cessfully engaged in agriculture on an estate of 219 acres in the vicinity
of Ableman. He was bom in Prussia, March 31, 1848, and is a son
of Carl Frederick and "Wilhelmina (Heier) Manthey, who were born,
reared and married in the old Fatherland, whence they immigrated to
America in 1865. The Manthey family landed in New York City May
19, 1865, came to Freedom Township the twenty-ninth of May and on
June 4th located in Excelsior Township. Mr. Manthey bought 160 acres
of land on which was a frame shanty, and with the exception of a tract
of five acres he chopped down the trees and cleared the land. He was
engaged in general farming and stock raising until death called him from
the scene of his mortal endeavors in 1905, aged eighty-eight years. His
cherished and devoted wife died in 1899, aged seventy-six years. In
politics he was a republican but he never aspired to public office of
any description. He was a blacksmith in Western Prussia before coming
to this country and after his arrival in Wisconsin he studied for the min-
istry and was a Baptist preacher in addition to attending to his farming
work. He preached at North Freedom and at Ableman and was one of
the influential men in the erection of the Baptist Church in the latter
place. The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Manthey :
Matilda, who died in Chicago; Henry C, the subject of this review;
August, engaged in farming in Excelsior Township ; Mary, who died in
Baraboo; and Pauline, the wife of Herman Wordleman, and they live in
South Dakota.
In the schools of Prussia Henry Carl Manthey received his early edu-
cational training and he was seventeen years of age when he accompanied
his parents to the United States. He assisted his father in the work and
management of the old homestead, and for three months was engaged in
railroading. After reaching their majority he and his brother each
received eighty acres of land from their father; they bought an addi-
tional eighty acres and then divided the entire tract between them,
making a farm of 120' acres for each of them. Since then Mr. Manthey
has purchased additional tracts and his estate now comprises 219 acres.
He is engaged in diversified agriculture and is well known as a breeder
of Norman horses and Shorthorn cattle. Since 1915 he has rented his
land to his son Arthur but he still gives it a general supervision. In
his political convictions he is a republican and he has been supervisor
of Excelsior Township for the past eleven years. He is also interested
in educational work and has served as treasurer of the local school board
for eighteen years.
In 1874 Mr. Manthey was united in marriage to Miss Amelia Schune-
mann, who was born in Germany, March 6, 1857, and who is a daughter
of Carl and Fredericka Schunemann. The Schunemann family came to
Wisconsin in 1867 and settled first at Reedsburg, then at Loganville,
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 733
then in Excelsior Township, and finally in Ableman, where both died
Concerning the nine children born to Mr. and Mrs. Manthey the follow-
ing brief data are here inserted : Carl was educated in the public schools
of Ableman and now operates a farm of eighty acres adjoining his
father's estate. He married Emma Panser and they have two children,
Henry and Marie. August studied engineering in night school and is now
foreman for a large construction company in New York City. He mar-
ried Lucy Helen Grane and they had three children : Lawrence, Lucy
Helen (died in infancy) and Helen. Louis is an engineer at Grand
Junction, Utah. He is unmarried. Wilhelmina is a trained nurse in
Milwaukee. George, a farmer in South Dakota, married Alvena Lange
and they have two children, Amelia and Jack. Arthur rents the old
homestead from his father. Albertina was graduated in the Baraboo
High School and for a number of years taught school. She is now the
wife of Chester Tyer, principal of Indian schools in South Dakota.
Henry died in infancy. Holland graduated from the BarajDoo High
School and is now a student in the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
Mrs. Henry Gattwinkel represents in her own family and through
her late husband some of the oldest settlers of Sauk County. Mrs. Gatt-
winkel is now living at her old home in Sumpter Township at Prairie
du Sac.
She was born in Germany in 1835, a daughter of Christian and Lucile
(Schultz) Stiedtmann. Her parents were both natives of Germany and
they came to America in 1848, the year that marked such a generous
immigration of sturdy and thrifty Germans to this country. They located
in the pioneer wilderness of Merrimack Township of Sauk County and
secured a tract of Government land. Their first home was on an uncleared
place of forty acres in the midst of the woods and surrounded with wild
game and other conditions of frontier life. Christian Stiedtmann was
a very energetic citizen, and his industry and wise business management .
enabled him to acquire the materials for substantial prosperity. In time
he owned three tracts of twenty acres each and had it all cleared and
Avell developed as a farm. He and his good wife lived on the homestead
the rest of their years. He died in 1877 and his wife in 1875. Christian
Stiedtmann was a butcher by trade, and he followed that vocation during
the winter seasons, farming the rest of the year. He and his wife had
five children : Mrs. Henry Gattwinkel ; August, who lives in Madison ;
Louisa, deceased wife of Adam Frenzel, of Warsaw; Paul, who lives in
Prairie du Sac ; and Emilia, who married Richard Tyler and is now
deceased.
Mrs. Henry Gattwinkel grew up in Sauk County from the age of
thirteen, and in 1852, at the age of seventeen, she married Mr. Henry
Gattwinkel. They then located where Mrs. Gattwinkel is still living.
Their first home contained only two rooms and was built up from the
ground on four blocks of timber. The rooms were not plastered, and
the only protection from the outside elements was a sheet of weather
boarding. In time many comforts and additional property came to them,
and they also had ten children born into their household, nine of whom
are still living. A brief record of the children is as follows : Elizabeth,
734 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Mrs. Paul Schlag, living in Baraboo; Edmund, who is unmarried and
is manager of the home farm; Herman, married and living retired as a
farmer in Prairie du Sac ; Charles, who is unmarried and lives on a farm
next to that of his mother ; Edward, married and a farmer in Merrimack
Township ; Rosalia, Mrs. Fred Waffensehmidt, of Sumpter Township ;
Emelia, Mrs. Christian Waffensehmidt, of Merrimack Township ; Bertha
M,, widow of Henry Thoelke; Elmina, Mrs. Charles Brown, of Sumpter
Township ; and Laura, Mrs. U. C. Keller, of Prairie du Sac.
Mr, Henry Gattwinkel died on the old homestead in 1914, at the age
of eighty-nine. He was one of the earliest settlers of Sauk County, and
spent a career useful to himself and to the entire community. His name
is one that is spoken with respect and esteem in many parts of Sauk
County. For several years before he married he spent his winters regu-
larly in the pine woods as a lumberman.
John R. Hofstatter, who has been a resident of Baraboo since 1870,
has been in the mercantile business for more than thirty years past. He
has also been a public man, having served as alderman for twelve years
and one term in the State Assembly. He is of German parentage, his
father locating in Sumpter Township in 1855, and there John R. was
born three years later. The family came to Baraboo in 1870, where both
the parents died.
John H. Astle. One of the fine old citizens of Sauk County who
have gone to their reward was the late John H. Astle, whose life was
spent productively and usefully in the farming community and who,
with an ample competence for his needs, finally retired to the City of
Baraboo, where he died.
He was a native of Wisconsin, born at Merton, April 4, 1846, before
Wisconsin became a state. His parents were both born in England.
They moved to Sumpter Township in Sauk County when he was a boy,
and he grew up in the country districts there, attended common schools,
and chose the life of the agriculturist. He finally bought a farm in
Sumpter township adjoining that of his father, and some years later
sold that and bought the J. W. Wood farm. He was a man of great
industry, of shrewd intelligence in the management of his farming affairs,
and by many successive years of hard work and well directed efforts
he prospered. When his children were grown and his own circumstances
justified the move, he left the farm, and on October 27, 1909, bought city
property at 526 Second Avenue in Baraboo. He lived there quietly until
his death October 23, 1910. Mr. Astle was a republican without political
aspirations, was affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America, and
both he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
He was married November 18, 1868, to Miss Flora Stone. Mrs.
Astle was born in Maine September 13, 1850, but since early girlhood
has lived in Sauk County. Her people have long been prominent in this
county. Her parents were Thomas S. and Sarah (Treadwell) Stone, both
natives of Maine. Her father was born at Albany, Maine, May 8, 1816,
and her mother, at Waterf ord March 30, 1816. In 1855 the Stone family
came to Sauk County and located at Reedsburg, where the father bought
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 735
land, but had little opportunity to develop it since death called him away
on June 3, 1857, His wife passed away July 24, 1888. There were ten
children in the Stone family, and those still living are Mrs, Astle, of
Baraboo, Mrs. W. D. Johnson, of Baraboo, and John P. Stone, who is
president of the State Bank at Reedsburg.
Mrs. Astle, who makes her home in a comfortable residence at Bara-
boo, is the mother of three children : Fannie was born February 12,
1870. Anna Bell was born November 15, 1875, Aimee Pearl was born
October 31, 1881, and died February 16, 1885.
F. Henry Rischmueller. Around the village of Plain in Honey
Creek Township may be found some of the most progressive and reliable
farmer citizens of Sauk County. One of these is Mr. Henry Rischmueller,
whose life has been spent almost entirely in this locality.
He was born there in 1860, on the land which his grandfather had
acquired in 1845. Thus the Rischmueller family was of true pioneer
stock. Grandfather Rischmueller paid $300 for an 80-acre tract contain-
ing as its chief improvement an old log building covered with clapboard
roof, a well and a log barn.
F. Henry Rischmueller is a son of Henry and Eva (Jigl) Risch-
mueller. His grandfather was Henry S. Rischmueller. The early gener-
ations of the family in the paternal line lived in Hanover, Germany,
but Henry Rischmueller 's mother was a native of Switzerland.
Henry Rischmueller, Sr., was eighteen years of age when he came
to America with his parents. He had two sisters, and all of them were
natives of Germany. Father Rischmueller was killed in a threshing
machine the first fall he spent in Sauk County, and his son Henry then
took charge of the homestead and married at the age of twenty. He
lived on and cultivated the land until his death in 1905, being followed
by his good wife one year later. Henry and Eva Rischmueller had
eight children : F. Henry, Anna, Caroline, Fred, Peter, "William, John
and one that died in childhood.
Besides the original homestead of Grandfather Rischmueller the
father bought eighty acres next to the homestead and built a good house
and barn. He did most of the cleariiag and grubbing with oxen and w^as
a very prosperous and hard working farmer. In early days he hauled
his produce to Lodi and Mazomanie until railroads were built in Sauk
County. He was also an active citizen, serving two years on the town
board. His children all grew up and received their education in Honey
Creek Township.
F. Henry Rischmueller after leaving home worked out for eight years,
and in 1895 he married Miss Caroline Steuber, daughter of Casper and
Charlotte (Schulte) Steuber. Her parents were residents of Honey
Creek Township. Mr. and Mrs. Rischmueller have four children : Ella,
now the wife of Fred Heiser ; Arthur, unmarried and living at home ;
Ruth, also at home; and Oscar, who works out.
Mr. Rischmueller began farming for himself two years before his
marriage, and has alwaj^s lived on the place where he may now be found
enjoying the comforts and prosperity of many years of consecutive
endeavor. He has done much building and other improving and operates
736 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
his 230 acres as a general farming, stock raising and dairying proposition.
Mr. Rischmueller is a stockholder in the Leland Creamery, has served
three years on the school board, six years as road supervisor, and is one
of the men of affairs in his community. The family are members of the
Lutheran Church and in polities Mr. Rischmueller votes independently,
according to the dictates of his conscience and judgment.
Henry Thoelke. In Henry Thoelke is found a sample of that mate-
rial which has brought Sauk County into the limelight as a prosperous
agricultural center. Endowed at the outset with average, ability and
backed by shrewd business judgment and determination, this agriculturist
has worked his way to the ownership of a handsome and productive farm
in Sumpter Township, which he has owned since 1900 and which he is
devoting to general farming and stock raising. There are indications
of his progressive methods oh every hand and of a struggle to attain to
the best thus far achieved in agricultural science. Mr. Thoelke has a
special leaning toward high-grade stock, and is particularly proud of
his hogs, the raising of which is made a feature of his work.
Henry Thoelke was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1859, but has been
a resident of the United States since he reached the age of nine years.
His father was John Henry Thoelke, who was born in 1812, in Germajiy,
and his mother, Adelheit Krenhopp, who was born in that country in
1822. They were married in 1841 and settled down to a life of hard and
continuous work on a small farm owned by Mr. Thoelke in Germany,
but as the years passed and they made no progress in their labor toward
the attainment of a competence and the making of a home for their
increasing family, they decided that no future lay before them in Ger-
many and resolved to try their fortunes in the United States. The father,
therefore, converted his property into money, and in 1868 the family
embarked for America, arriving at Castle Garden on May 2d. After
several days they started for "Wisconsin, their destination being Grant
County, and after their safe arrival the father rented a farm, on which
he worked while familiarizing himself with the customs, methods and
language of his new country. Three years later, in 1871, he brought his
family to Sauk County and located in Sumpter Township, on the farm
now owned by his son. For this land he paid $9,000, and it seem^ed that
he at last was upon the high road to success, but he did not live to secure
the reward to which he was so eminently entitled, for he lived only four
years longer, his death occurring in 1875.
Henry Thoelke was given his educational training in the public
schools of Grant aiid Sauk counties, and was but sixteen years of age at
the time of his father's death. However, he had been brought up to
industry and to a recognition of the value of hard work, and with his
brother Herman undertook the management and operation of the home-
stead. The brothers were successful in making the farm a paying invest-
ment for their labor, and continued to conduct it for their mother until
1890, in which year the brothers bought the property. The mother's
death occurred three years later. Henry and Herman Thoelke continued
as partners in the operation of the farm for ten years, but in 1900 the
first named bought his brother out, and since then has farmed it alone.
HISTOEY OF SAUK COUNTY 737
The successful management of a farm of this size in a community where
competition is rife and high standards prevail presupposes the possession
of a thorough knowledge of agricultural science, as well as of shrewd
business ability. When these requisites are met in the head of a farming
interest and to them is added the progressive and inquiring tendencies
of the present day, a harmony should result as gratifying generally as
it is financially. Such a combination of interests is found on Mr. Thoelke's
farm. He has erected substantial buildings and installed modern im-
provements, making his property both attractive and valuable, and its
ownership places him among the well-to-do men of the township. While
he has devoted his interests generally to ordinary operations in the field
of agriculture, he has also made somewhat of a feature of stock raising,
and his hogs are always in demand and bring a good price in the markets.
He belongs to the Guardians of Liberty, and adheres to the faith of the
Lutheran Church, of which his parents were members and in the belief
of which he was reared. While in political tendencies he has a leaning
toward republicanism, he is apt to disregard party ties on occasion and
give his ballot to the man whom he deems best fitted for the office, with-
out taking party affiliation into consideration.
In 1900 in Sumpter Township, Mr. Thoelke was united in marriage to
Miss Bertha Gattwinkle, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Gattwinkle,
old and honored residents of Sauk County and well known among the
agricultural element. To this union there were born two children,
namely: Henry, born in 1902, who died at the age of six years; and
Harold, who was born in 1907, and is now attending the public schools
of Prairie du Sac. Mrs. Thoelke died in October, 1907, and in 1909
Mr. Thoelke married Miss Louise Franke.
GusTAV Rudy. One of the substantial and highly regarded citizens
of Sauk County is Gustav Rudy, who is an enterprising and progressive
farmer and stockraiser in Excelsior Township. He was born in Germany,
February 7, 1865. His parents died in Germany. He attended school
there until twelve years of age and then accompanied his uncle, Gottleib
Jesse, to the United States and to Baraboo, Wisconsin.
Gustav Rudy remained with his uncle until he was eighteen years
old and then went to work for Doctor Koch and remained in the physi-
cian's employ for five years. After that he had considerable farm experi-
ence in different sections. For a time he worked in Minnesota and then
came back to Sauk County for two years, after which he went to South
Dakota and was a farmer there for five years. He had left good friends,
however,' in Sauk County and then returned here and has never seen any
reason to leave this fine section of country since. Mr. Rudy has become a
man of ample fortune here through his own industry and thereby has set
a good example. For eight years after his marriage he rented a farm and
then bought 100 acres in Excelsior Township. Subsequently he sold
twenty acres of his estate but retains eighty acres and this land he has
brought to a high state of cultivation and also has developed a valuable
herd of Holstein cattle. He has taken pride in his surroundings and has
erected fine and substantial buildings and keeps them in repair.
Mr. Rudy was married in 1891, to Miss Augusta Dahlke, who was
738 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
born in Germany in 1867 and was a daughter of John and Henrietta
(Henke) Dahlke, well known residents of Excelsior Township, Sauk
County. Mrs. Rudy died December 23, 1915, a faithful wife, devoted
mother and kind neighbor. Three children survive her : Elma, George
and Martha. Mr. Rudy and family are members of the German Lutheran
Church at Ableman. In politics he is a republican and at times has
been elected to township offices, especially being identified with the public
schools. He has been a member and clerk of the school board for thirteen
years and through his careful, methodical methods, the school records
are well preserved.
Edv^in S. Clingman. A diligent and progressive citizen of Sauk
Couiity, Wisconsin, Edwin S. Clingman is an agriculturist of note in
the vicinity of Reedsburg, his finely improved farm of 150 acres being
located in Excelsior Township. Mr. Clingman M^as born in Monroe
County, this state, May 6, 1862, and he is a son of Daniel and Maria
(Siler) Clingman, both natives of Union County, Pennsylvania, where
the former was born December 5, 1827, and the latter in the year 1833.
The father passed his boyhood and youth in the Keystone state and in
1848, at the age of twenty-one years, went west to Illinois, where he
joined his brother, Samuel, who had gone there some years previous.
For a number of years Mr. Clingman was engaged in the general mer-
chandise business at Port Clinton, Illinois, but in 1860 he came to Wis-
consin and located in Monroe County, where he bought a homestead of
eighty acres. In the following year he began his life work as a Methodist
Episcopal minister and from 1861 to 1889 was an itinerant preacher in
Wisconsin, going from place to place and helping to build churches and
to pay off old debts. In 1889 he was appointed a missionary to Mexico
and Southern California, and he passed the closing years of his life on
a fruit farm in the vicinity of San Diego. He died in 1900, aged seventy-
three years, and his devoted wife was called to eternal rest in 1903, at
the age of seventy years. The Reverend Clingman was a republican and
later a prohibitionist. To him and his wife were born three children :
Edwin S., of this notice ; Theodore, who died at the age of three years ;
and Clara, wife of George Wood, of California.
In the public schools of the numerous places in which the family
lived during his boyhood Edwin S. Clingman received his educational
training. In 1890 he bought a tract of 200 acres of land in Excelsior
Township, subsequently selling fifty acres, so that he now owns an estate
of 150 acres. On this land he has erected substantial and modern build-
ings and in addition to general farming he is engaged in the breeding
of Holstein cattle, keeping about thirty head on hand all the time. His
political convictions coincide with the principles set forth in the repub-
lican party, and for eight years he served with the utmost efficiency as
township assessor. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America
and was reared in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
In 1883 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Clingman to Miss Mary
Brimmer, who was born in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, in 1864, and
who is a daughter of William and Katherine Brimmer, who left Waukesha
County in April, 1875, and located in Sauk County. Mr. Brimmer died
in Reedsburg, January 16, 1908, aged eighty-six years, and Mrs. Brim-
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 739
mer died in 1916, aged seventy-three years. They had eighty acres
of land, formerly part of the Ira Smith farm in Excelsior Township.
Ten children were born to them, as follows: Jacob H., of Madison,
Wisconsin; Mary, wife of Mr. Clingman; Thomas, of Reedsburg; Wil-
liam, of Reedsburg ; Frank, of Lavalle ; Catherine, wife of Robert Snyder,
of Excelsior Township; Orland and Edward, of Reedsburg; Viola, of
Reedsburg ; and Raymond, who married Elsa Randall and lives at Reeds-
burg. Mr. and Mrs. Clingman have six children, whose names and re-
spective years of birth follow : Amy, 1884 ; Elsa, 1886 ; Myrtle, 1889 ;
Earl, 1891, William, 1894, and Gertrude, 1896.
In 1912 Mr. Clingman helped organize the Reedsburg Farm Company,
a general produce concern, and he has since served as secretary. He
is a stockholder in the Excelsior Creamery Company of Baraboo, and
in all his business dealings he has gained prestige as an honorable and
upright man.
Gordon H. True, son of John M. and Annie B. True, was born in
Baraboo, Wisconsin, December 14, 1868. He attended the public schools
of iBaraboo and being interested in the subject of agriculture continued
his studies at the University of Wisconsin, taking the long course in
agriculture. He was graduated in 1894 from the state institution and
immediately took a position as instructor in dairying at Michigan Agri-
cultural College at Lansing, Michigan. He remained there until 1898
when he accepted the professorship of agriculture and animal husbandry
in the University of Arizona, where he continued until 1902. From 1902
until 1913 he occupied the chair of agriculture and animal husbandry
and was director of the experiment station of the University of Nevada.
Since 1913 he has been professor of animal husbandry in the University
of California.
October 3, 1914, Professor True was united in marriage to Miss Eliza-
beth S. Stubbs of Reno, Nevada.
At the International Live Stock Show at Chicago in December, 1916,
he gained the distinction of winning both the championship and reserved
championship on fat steers, shown by him ; these animals having been
bred and fed under his direction at the university farm at Davis, Cali-
fornia.
George H. Leppla. Sauk County is admirably adapted for the suc-
cessful prosecution of farming operations, for the soil is fertile and
productive, the climatic conditions are excellent for the growing of certain
crops, and transportation f?,cilities have been developed to a very satis-
factory stage. However, although the agriculturist here has these ad-
vantages, he cannot hope to compete successfully with others unless his
operations are carried on in line with modern ideas, both as to methods
and machinery. That the majority of the farmers in this section are
progressive is shov/n by the number of finely improved properties to be
found all over the county, a fact that has very materially elevated the
standard of excellence here and has placed Sauk among the leading
agricultural counties of Wisconsin. One of the men who have assisted
in bringing about this desirable condition of affairs is George H. Leppla,
740 HISTOEY OF SAUK COUNTY
who is the owner of a fine farm in Sumpter Township and who is one
of iiis community 's representative men.
George H. Leppla, like numerous others of his fellow citizens in the
county, has passed his entire life on the property he now owns. He was
l)orn in 1870, in Sumpter Township, being a son of Peter and Christiana
(Zerbel) Leppla. Peter Leppla was born November 24, 1827, in Ger-
many, and in 1852 immigrated to the United States, first locating in New
York City, where he made his home for three years. Feeling that he
was making no headway there, in 1855 he came to Sumpter Township
and settled in the locality known as Stone's Pockets, where he started
agricultural operations on 160 acres of unimproved land. In 1859 he
was married to Christiana Zerbel, who was born February 23, 1838,
at Stettin, Pomerania, Germany, and in 1846 came to the United States
with her parents, who first settled near Milwaukee and later moved to
Mazomanie, Dane County, where she was living at the time of her mar-
riage to Mr. Leppla. They continued to be engaged in farming in Sump-
ter Township until 1892, when they retired and moved to Prairie du
Sac, where the mother died November 4, 1910, the father surviving until
1915. They were the parents of four children : Carrie, who is the wife
of George Prano and lives at Merrimack; Emma, deceased, who was the
wife of the late George Huber; Matilda, who is Mrs. Dan Crosby and
resides at Merrimack; and George H. The parents of these children
were honorable, hardworking people who labored faithfully and indus-
triously to make a good home for their children, and who taught the
latter to live honest Christian lives. They were greatly respected in
the community in which they spent so many years.
George H. Leppla received his education in the public schools of
Sumpter Township and was reared to the life of a farmer, a vocation
which he has always followed. At the time of the retirement of his
parents he took entire charge of the homestead, and this he has developed
into a handsome and valuable farm, on which he carries on general opera-
tions, in addition to which he is interested to some extent in stock raising.
He has succeeded in both departments of his work and also has outside
interests, being a stockholder in the Sumpter Creamery. Politically he
is republican. He has been identified with local public affairs, and has
served acceptably in the capacities of clerk of the school board and
member of the board of township supervisors from the west side of Sump-
ter Township. He and his famjly are faithful members of the Evangelical
Church. His standing in the community is that of an industrious agri-
culturist, an honorable man of business and a good and public-spirited
citizen.
Mr. Leppla was married in 1900 to Miss Sulla Accola, a daughter
of John and Agnes (Nigg) Accola. John Accola was born October 4,
1849, in Prairie du Sac Township, Sauk County, and has been engaged
in general farming on the same property all his life. Mrs. Accola, who
also survives, was born November 26, 1847, in Switzerland, and was
eighteen years of age when she accompanied her mother to the United
States. Mr. and Mrs. Accola are members of the Reformed Church and
their children have been as follows : Anna, born in 1868, the wife of
Andrew Hosig and a resident of Black Hawk ; Lizzie, born in 1870, who
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 741
is single and resides with her parents; Sulla, now Mrs. Leppla, barn
in 1874; Valentine, born in 1876, married and a resident of Sumpter
Township ; John, born in 1878, married and a resident of Merrimack ;
Agnes, born in 1880, the wife of Fred Haberman and a resident of Prairie
du Sac; Barbara, born in 1882, the wife of George Lusby, of Black
Hawk; Lena, born in 1885, residing in Idaho and the wife of Frank
Potinger; George, born in 1888, single and living in Montana; Mary,
the wife of Ed Reckord, living in Montana; and Kate, born in 1894,
who is Mrs. Gilbert Gasner and a resident of Black Hawk.
Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Leppla, namely : Lewis,
who is seventeen years old ; Berniee, who is fifteen ; Aaron, who died at
the age of two years ; and Glen, who is twelve years of age.
William J. Power. For so many years that the memory of living
citizens in Baraboo runs not to the contrary, a large part of the local
tailoring business has been in the hands of the Power family. William
J. Power is perhaps the oldest merchant tailor in continuous business
at Baraboo, and his father was in business before him, beginning nearly
half a century ago. It is one of the old and substantial family names
of Sauk County.
The City of Baraboo was the birthplace of William J. Power, where
he was born September 28, 1865. His parents were William and Catherine
(Mitchell) Power, both natives of Ireland. His father was born in 1828
and iiis mother in the same year. William Power came to Baraboo in
1854. Miss Mitchell after coming to America lived a few years in Massa-
chusetts and in 1859 came to Baraboo, and in that year they were married.
William Power had learned the trade of tailor and in 1869 he established
a tailoring shop in Baraboo and continued actively in business until his
death twenty years later, in 1889, at the age of sixty-one years. His
widow survived him until 1913, and her death came at the age of eighty-
six. They were the parents of three children: Mary F., wife of J. W.
Moran, of Baraboo; Nellie A., who died in 1903, the wife of C. J. Sharkey,
of Portage, Wisconsin; and William J., the youngest.
Reared and educated in Baraboo, William J. Power after leaving
the public schools learned the tailor's trade by a thorough apprentice-
ship under the direction of his father. He entered business with his
father and continued it after his death and for many years his shop at
410 Oak Street has been the headquarters for the men of taste and dis-
crimination in good clothes.
Mr. Power is a republican in politics. He has served as alderman
from the second ward and for a number of years was chief of the fire
department of Baraboo. He is affiliated with the Benevolent and Pro-
tective Order of Elks and is a member of the Knights of Columbus.
He and his family are active in the Catholic Church,
He was married July 29, 1908, to Mrs. Jane Hopkins, of Baraboo,
who was born in Ireland. They are the parents of one son, James Wil-
liam, born August 5, 1909.
Among other distinctions associated with this name in Sauk County
was a creditable military service rendered by the late William Power
during the Civil war. At Madison in January, 1862, he enlisted in
742 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Company H of the Seventeenth Wisconsin Infantry and bore himself
as a courageous and faithful soldier for one year and ten days. He
was always an esteemed member of the Grand Army of the Republic.
Both he and his wife were very loyal Catholics.
Fred Wofpenschmidt, One of the agriculturists of Sauk County
who has spent his entire life within its borders is Fred Woffenschmidt,
who, beginning without capital, has progressed through his innate quali-
ties of industry, perseverance, economy and integrity to the owner-
ship of a highly productive and valuable farm and the position of a
substantial, influential and useful member of the community. Mr. Wof-
fenschmidt is a representative of a family which has resided in Sauk
County since the early '50s and whose members have been, in the main,
engaged in agricultural pursuits. He has kept pace with the advance-
ments made during the long period of years in which his home has been
located here, and, having made the most of his opportunities, has steadily
risen to the accomplishment of a worthy and honorable success.
Fred Woffenschmidt was born on a farm in Sumpter Township,
Sauk County, Wisconsin, November 19, 1858, and is a son of Christian
and Catherine (Murphy) Woffenschmidt. Christian Woffenschmidt was
born at Heilbronn, Germany, and was a young man when, during the
'40s, he immigrated to the United States in search of the opportunities
which he had heard were offered to those Avith ambition and energy.
He first made his home in the State of New Jersey, where he remained
for about ten years, but decided that he was not making rapid enough
progress and accordingly set his face toward to West and eventually
located in Sauk County, Wisconsin, taking up land in Honey Creek
Township. There he became, through purchase, the owner of a good
farm, which he sold in 1862, in which year he moved to Merrimack Town-
ship, in the meantime having spent a short period in Sumpter Township.
The Township of Merrimack continued to be his home until his death,
which occurred in 1884. Mr. Woffenschmidt was a man of tireless in-
dustry, and while he spent the spring, summer and fall months in farm-
ing, in the winters he worked at his trade, that of a cooper, which he
had learned in his youth in his native land. He was a republican from
the birth of that party, and while he never sought public office was a
stanch supporter of his party's principles and candidates. Through-
out his life he was a faithful member of the Methodist Church. In 1849
Mr. Woffenschmidt was united in marriage with Miss Catherine Murphy,
who had been born in Ireland and came to this county as a young woman,
and they became the parents of the following children : John, who is
a resident of Minnesota ; Henry, who was living in Sumpter Township
at the time of his death in 1891 ; Laura, who is the wife of Frank Wheeler
and resides at Muscoda, Wisconsin; Fred, of this review; Mary, who
died in 1913, as the wife of William Orajan, of Barron County, Wisconsin :
Christian, who is engaged in farming operations in Merrimack Town-
ship ; Fmma, who died at the age nf fourteen years ; Minnie, whose death
occurred in her twelfth year; one cbiM who died in infancy; and Carrie,
who is the wife of Ed Gatt winkle and lives on a farm in Sumpter Town-
ship.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 743
Fred Woffenschmidt grew up on his father's farm and during the
winter terms attended the district schools of Sumpter and Merrimack
townships. From the start of his career farming has been his vocation,
and the success that has attended his efforts has been brought about
through his willingness to work hard, his ability to recognize opportuni-
ties, and the able manner in which he has managed his business affairs.
He is now the owner of 250 acres of land, the property formerly known
as the Young farm in Sumpter Township, which he has brought to a
high state of cultivation and upon which he has made numerous modern
improvements, including a good and substantial set of buildings. He
uses modern methods in his general farming, and is considered one of
the best stockmen of his community, his pure-bred Clydesdale and Nor-
man horses being a particular feature of his work. While he has al-
ways been a stanch republican and a citizen who has realized and taken
care of his civic responsibilities, he has found no time to engage in the
game of politics.
Mr. Woffenschmidt was married in 1883 to Miss Rosella Gattwinkle,
and they have four children : Arthur, who is married and superintends
the work on his father's farm; Guy, who is single and works at farming
in the county; Fred, who assists his brother Arthur; and Maud, the
wife of Ed Muckler, who owns a farm in Sumpter Township and has
one child, Dean Edward.
George Schwarz. One of the prosperous farmers of Freedom Town-
ship, Sauk County, who conducts his extensive operations with method
and good judgment, is George Schwarz, who is also one of the county's
most respected residents. He was born in Freedom Township, on his
present farm, May 26, 1867, His parents were George and Philapena
(Cook) Schwarz,
The parents of George Schwarz were born, reared and married in
Germany and from there they came to the United States in 1864, and
settled at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. That was only a temporary home,
.however, because Mr. Schwarz wanted to secure a farm and establish
himself permanently, so that in 1866 the family came to Sauk County,
Wisconsin, Here Mr. Schwarz bought a farm of eighty acres situated
in Freedom Township and set about clearing it and subsequently bought
another tract of eighty acres and cleared that also and made of his hold-
ings a very valuable estate. His death occurred on this farm September
7, 1901, when he was aged sixty-four years. His widow yet survives,
at the age of eighty-two years, and lives at Westfield, Wisconsin. They
had the following children : Bertha, George, Emma, Philapena, William
and Clotilda, two being deceased.
George Schwarz, bearing his father's name and having a like enter-
prising and industrious spirit, attended the public schools in Freedom
Township and has been engaged all his life since boyhood in agricul-
tural pursuits. He is the owner of the old homestead of 160 acres and
to this has added what is known locally as the Judvine farm, a tract
of eighty-four acres, and has placed modern improvements on the entire
property. He is a general farmer, dividing his time between grain and
stock.
Vol. n — 12
744 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Mr. Schwarz was married December 3, 1890, to Miss Emma Voss,
who was born in Germany, February 12, .1871, and is a daughter of
Christof and Dora (Bogeman) Voss, who came from Germany to Sauk
County in 1878. The mother died here and the father resides at North
Freedom.
To Mr. and Mrs. Schwarz eight children have been born, as follows:
William Herman, Selma, George Walter, Bertha, Harry, Edward, Ella
and Arthur Christof. William Herman, the eldest born, is his father's
valued helper on the farm.
In politics Mr. Schwarz is a republican and for sixteen years he has
been a member of the school board, a careful, intelligent man who realizes
that this is an important responsibility. Mr. Schwarz and family belong
to the Lutheran Church. They are kind, hospitable people and have
many friends in the county.
August L. Manthey, who is now living retired in the Village of Able-
man, has been a resident of Sauk County since 1865. He was born in
Prussia, August 10, 1852, and was there reared to the age of thirteen
years, at which time, in 1865, he accompanied his parents to the United
States. His father was a farmer and Baptist minister and was a man
of considerable influence and prominence in this county. His name was
Carl Frederick Manthey and further data concerning his career are
given elsewhere in this work in connection with the sketch of his son
Henry F. Manthey.
On coming to Sauk County August Lorenz Manthey attended several
sessions in the log schoolhouse in Excelsior Township and his teachers
were John Young and Myra Wetherby. After leaving school he assisted
his father in the work of the old homestead, of which he and his brother
Henry F. each received eighty acres. He has since purchased additional
land and now owns a finely improved estate of 160 acres. He cleared
most of his land and erected several modern buildings and devotes his
time to general farming and stock raising. In politics he is a stalwart
republican and he has served his home community in several official
positions of importance. He was chairman of the Excelsior board of
supervisors for one year and has held a similar office in Ableman for
two years, but recently resigned from that position. It was he who made
the motion to erect a bridge across the Wisconsin River at Spring Green.
His residence is in the Village of Ableman.
In the year 1878 Mr. Manthey married Miss Sadie Veith, whose birth
occurred in Dane County, Wisconsin, August 18, 1854, and who is a
daughter of Hironnius and Frances (Herkins) Veith, pioneer settlers
in Dane County. Mr. and Mrs. Veith were married in Dane County
and to them were born the following children : Bernard, Anna (deceased),
Sadie, Dina, Fi-ank (deceased), George and Gerhardt (deceased).
Mr. and Mrs. Manthey have no children. They are kindly, hospitable
people and are always ready to lend a helping hand to the poor and
needy. They are members of the local Baptist Church, to whose good
works they are liberal contributors, and they command the high esteem
of all with whom they have come in contact.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 745
James Curry, now living on a small farm in the outskirts of Baraboo,
is one of the few living old-time stage drivers in Sauk County. An
addendum to that statement should include Mrs. Curry in the list ; for
she was not only the domestic head of the household, but, upon numerous
occasions, proved that she was about as good a driver and all-around
horseman as Mr. Curry himself. Mr. Curry is an Ohio man, his
parents coming to Janesville, Wisconsin, when he was about thirteen
years of age. That, however, proved to be only a temporary stopping
place ; for within a month or so the family continued their wagon trip to
Baraboo. The father was a plasterer and busied himself at his trade
all his manhood life. Jim naturally assisted him, and, as a side issue,
commenced to drive stage for Moore & Davis's old company. After the
death of Mr. Davis, and later, he acquired a stage and mail route of his
own, as elsewhere narrated in detail. After the railroad crowded him
out of that business, in the fall of 1873, he engaged in farming, and in
1891 bought about five acres on Fourteenth Street, Baraboo, which, with
the still faithful assistance of his wife, he has since cultivated. Mrs.
Curry, formerly Miss Elizabeth McCann, is a Canadian of good Irish
ancestry. They were married in 1864, have a married son and three
grandchildren, and one would have to go far and search carefully before
a more wholesome and contented old couple could be found.
Alger C. Pearson. One of the youngest of the United States Gov-
ernment's appointees of the year 1916 was Alger C. Pearson, who on
July 10th of that year, when but several months past his majority, was
appointed postmaster of Baraboo. Prior to this time his experience had
been entirely of an agricultural character, but on assuming the duties
of his office he at once showed himself possessed of the abilities neces-
sary to the proper handling of the mails of this live and enterprising
city, and the people of Baraboo have had no reason to complain of the
service that they have thus far received under his administration.
Alger C. Pearson was born on a farm two miles south of Baraboo,
February 19, 1895, a son of Charles L. and Blanche (Hessel grave)
Pearson. He belongs to a pioneer family of Wisconsin, his grandfather,
Levi Pearson, a native of New York, having come to this state during the
frontier days and settled on a property fourteen miles northeast of
Portage. There he reclaimed a farm from the wilderness, devoted him-
self to agricultural pursuits during the remainder of his life, and in
later years moved to the farm on which his grandson was born. He
became one of the substantial men of his community and died in comfort-
able circumstances and with the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens,
among whom he was known as a reliable and honorable man of business.
Charles L. Pearson was born on the farm which was originally settled by
his father, and was nine years of age when he accompanied his parents to
the property south of Baraboo. Here he has since passed his life. When
he came to an age at which he was expected to make a choice of vocations
he adopted that of agriculture, and that his course was well chosen is
shown in the fact that he is now one of the substantial farmers of his
locality. He has brought his property to a state of fertility and pro-
ductiveness that makes it one of the most valuable in this section, and
746 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
his various commercial and financial interests make his name well known
in business circles. Mr. Pearson has been a lifelong democrat, and has
been frequently honored by election to offices of importance. After serv-
ing in a number of township and county positions he was elected to the
Wisconsin State Senate, and during his term in that body represented
his constituents' interests well and established a good record for con-
sistent and energetic work. Mrs. Pearson was born on a farm near Lodi,
Wisconsin, and made her home there until her marriage. She and
Senator Pearson became the parents of six children: Gladys, who is
the wife of Hardy Spencer, of Baraboo ; Alpha, who is the wife of Russell
Tye, of Hazelton, North Dakota; Alger C, who is a twin of Alpha; and
Armour, Helen and Berenice, who live with their parents on the farm.
Alger C. Pearson received his education in the country schools of
Sauk County, was reared as an agriculturist, and remained under the
parental roof until his appointment, July 10, 1916, to the office of post-
master of Baraboo. He at once took charge of the duties of the office
in an energetic and conscientious manner, and under his direction the
mails are being handled expeditiously, accurately and smoothly. This
is a second-class office, and the duties are important and exacting, but in
spite of his youth Postmaster Pearson has discharged them in a satisfying
way. He is courteous and obliging and has already attracted to him
numer6us staunch friends among the people of Baraboo. Mr. Pearson
cast his first vote in 1916 and supported President Wilson. He is a
member of the Congregational Church.
!
JuDSON W. Watebbury. One of the names that is well known to the
people of Sauk County as standing for expert agricultural ability and
sound citizenship is that of Waterbury, which was established in this
county as early as 1842 by a pioneer settler, J. I. Waterbury. From
that day to the present those who have borne the name have been men
of stability and character, for the greater part agriculturists who have
helped to develop to county's farming interests and at the same time
have contributed to its progress as a lawful and desirable part of the
country. A worthy representative of this old and honored Sauk County
family is found in the person of Judson W, Waterbury, whose entire
life has been passed here and who is now the owner of a handsome farm
in Sumpter Township.
Mr. Waterbury, who is a nephew of the pioneer above named, was
bom on the farm which he now owns in Sumpter Township, Sauk County,
Wisconsin, July 1, 1867, and is a son of George W. and Jennie (Frizzell)
Waterbury. George W. Waterbury was born in Saint Lawrence County,
New York, and in 1848, acting upon the advice of his brother, J. I., who
had come here six years before, he journeyed to Sauk County and secured
160 acres of land, on which he remained for a short time, then returning
to the Empire state. In 1850 he again came to Wisconsin, that
time to remain permanently, and, having developed his first property,
during the period of the Civil war he purchased an additional 160 acres
from Mr. Underwood, for which he paid $2,500, the top-notch price
•at that time. He continued to follow farming until 1895, in which year
he retired from active work and moved to Prairie du Sac, where his
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 747
death occurred July 9, 1911, when he was eighty years of age. His early
years here had been passed with his parents, with whom he lived until
his marriage to Jennie Frizzell, who was born at Montpelier, Vermont.
They became the parents of six children, namely : Clayton, who is mar-
ried and resides at Knapp, Wisconsin; Charles F., who was married
and resided in Minnesota until his death in 1912; Judson W., of this
notice; E. S., who is married and lives at Chicago, where for the past
twenty years he has been connected with the big packing and provision
firm of Morris Packing Company ; I. J., who is a resident of Minnesota
and a machinist in the employ of the Big Four Tractor Works; and
Mary E., who is the wife of William B. Anderson, a graduate of the
University of Wisconsin, who did seven years of post-graduate work
and is now head of the Physic department of the University of Oregon
and resides at Crovallis, where their home has been for three years.
Judson W. Waterbury received his education in the schools of Prairie
du Sac, following which, in 1888 and 1889, he pursued a commercial
course in a business college at Valparaiso, Indiana. Returning to his
home, he resumed his labors in assisting his father to cultivate the home
farm, and in 1894 was married and started housekeeping. In the follow-
ing year his parents removed to Prairie du Sac and he took charge of the
farm, which he operated on shares for about six years and then purchased.
He has added to his holdings to some extent and now owns 360 acres
of fertile land, which he has brought up to a high state of productiveness.
Mr. Waterbury has up-to-date improvements on his property and a
good set of substantial buildings, and his agi'icultural operations are
carried on in the most approved scientific manner. He raises all the crops
that can be grown in this section and is considered a good, common-
sense farmer, who keeps thoroughly alive to the agricultural develop-
ments being made, and who is cognizant of the possibilities of his vocation.
In 1894 Mr. Waterbury was united in marriage with Miss Alice L.
Shell, a daughter of William and Kate (Mack) Shell, and they have
two children: Eva K., who is attending a young ladies' school. Downer
College, at Milwaukee; and William, who is attending the high school
at Prairie du Sac. Mr. and Mrs. Waterbury and their children belong
to the Methodist Church. He is a member of the Guardians of Liberty.
In political matters he takes an independent stand, it being his idea to
vote for the man rather than for the party.
Alvah G. Glover, a veteran of the Civil war, has been a resident
of Sauk County almost half a century. He did his big work in civil
life as a farmer, and for many years owned and occupied a considerable
tract of land within the city limits of Baraboo. He is now retired and
after providing liberally for his family of children has sufficient for his
own needs through the rest of his days.
Mr. Glover is a native of Maine, in which state he was born October
8, 1843. His parents, Freeman and Hannah (Chase) Glover, were also
natives of Maine. The mother died in that state in 1856. The father
some years later came out to Sauk County, Wisconsin, and bought a
farm in Greenfield Township on which he lived until his death. He
was the father of ten children, four sons and six daughters, and the
748 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
only two now living are Alvah G. and Jane, Mrs. Levenseller, of Dover,
Maine.
Alvah Gr. Glover grew up in his native state, had only a public school
education, and was quite a youth when he enlisted on July 28, 1862, in
Company K of the Eleventh Maine Infantry. He gave faithful and
gallant service as a soldier of the Union, and was with his regiment until
granted his honorable discharge on June 12, 1865. Having fulfilled
his duty to his country he went back to his native state, but in a short
time removed to Pennsylvania and after two years there came in the fall
of 1867 to Sauk County, Wisconsin. He acquired a material interest in
the county by the purchase of twenty acres of land in Greenfield Town-
ship. Somewhat later he sold this small farm to his father, and then
bought eighty-five acres in the city limits of Baraboo. He farmed that
place steadily for a period of eighteen years, and eventually sold it to
the Iron Company. Mr. Glover now lives retired at 424 Guppy Street.
He is a republican in politics. For about thirty-five years he has
been a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and is affiliated
with the Guardians of Liberty and is a member of the Christian Advent
Church at Baraboo.
In 1868 he married Miss Rhoda A. Prothero, of Baraboo. Four
children have been born to their union : Alice Alberta, who died in
Old Mexico; Cora Bell; Claude E.; and Ethel May, who died January
16, 1915, at the age of twenty-eight years.
Alfred Trueb. Many productive and useful years have come and
gone since Alfred Trueb took active, charge of the farm where he now
resides in Honey Creek Township near the Village of Plain. Mr. Trueb
is one of the progressive and successful men of Sauk County and has
spent all his life in this one community.
He was born on the home farm where he now resides on August 24,
1859. His parents, John and Elizabeth (Walder) Trueb, were both
born in Switzerland, were married there, and arrived in Sauk County
in 1854. On coming to this county John Trueb bought the homestead
of 160 acres. Thirty acres had already been cleared, but it was largely
through his individual industrious efforts that the remaining acreage was
subdued to the uses of agriculture. Subsequently he acquired by tax
sale forty acres more in Troy Township. John Trueb had much to do
and very little to do with in the early days. He used oxen to perform
the heavy work of the farm and also the hauling of produce to market at
Merrimack and Spring Green. The breaking of the virgin soil was also
performed with ox teams. His chief crops as a farmer were wheat and
hops. John Trueb continued the active management of the old home
farm until 1884, when he turned it over to his son Alfred and then went
to live with his older daughter in Honey Creek Township, where he died
in 1899. His wife passed away in 1878. They had six children : Anna,
wife of Fred Mellentine, who died in Honey Creek Township in 1916 ;
Barbara, who taught school for a number of years, and afterwards mar-
ried M. Phifer and died in 1884; Mary, Mrs. Rudolf Alexander, living
on a farm in South Dakota ; Herman, who is married and lives in South
Dakota; Salina, who died in childhood; and Alfred.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 749
All these children grew up on the old home farm and received their
education in the local district school. Alfred Trueb has always lived
at home and in 1884 he married, and from that time forward has managed
the home place. The maiden name of his wife was Augusta Militine.
They have one child, Lily, Mrs. Paul Zech. The mother of this daughter
died, and in 1896 Mr. Trueb married Emelia Geise. They have a family
of five children, all of them still at home, constituting a bright and at-
tractive family circle. Their names are Edna, Lurena, Gilbert, William
and Esther.
Since taking over the old homestead thirty-three years ago Mr. Trueb
has done much to increase its productiveness and its value. He has
rebuilt many of the farm structures and now has under his individual
ownership 304 acres. This is devoted to mixed farming, and he has some-
thing more than a local reputation as a stock raiser and dairyman. He
has been successful in the breeding of Norman horses and the Shorthorn
Durham cattle. Mr. Trueb is a stockholder in the Sauk City Creamery.
He is a republican and his family are members of the Black Hawk Church.
Lawrence Keller. Since its establishment in Sauk County in 1854
the occupation of farming has received decided impetus through the labor
and good judgment of the members of the Keller family. Those bearing
this name have steadfastly endeavored to increase or maintain the pro-
duction of the land without exhausting the soil of its fertility, and thus
have proven helpful factors in keeping agricultural standards high in
their community. A well-known and worthy representative of this
family is Lawrence Keller, who has lived all his life in Sauk County and
who is now the owner of land in Sumpter and Freedom townships. It
has been his fortune to have succeeded in the vocation in which his fore-
fathers engaged and at the same time to have established a reputation as
a sound and stable citizen.
Mr. Keller was born on the homestead place in the Township pf
Sumpter in 1876, his parents being John and Minnie (Tholke) Keller.
His father came from Albany, New York, in 1854, and settled with the
grandfather of Lawrence Keller in Sumpter Township. In 1861 his
father enlisted in the Sixth Wisconsin Battery for service during the Civil
war, and fought bravely as a soldier of the Union. Upon his return from
his military duties he resumed farming on the home place, but in 1868, at
the time of his marriage, moved to another place. He continued to carry
on general farming there until 1888, when he rented his property and
went to Prairie du Sac, where, in partnership with Mr. Waffel he started
an implement business, and remained in that enterprise for three years.
This business is now conducted by J. P. Doll & Co. Returning to the
farm- in 1891, he resumed the tilling of the soil. In 1897 he opened the
Commercial House at Prairie du Sac and continued its proprietor for
two years, at the same time carrying on his farm. In March, 1911, he
retired from business and his death occurred at Prairie du Sac in 1914.
Mrs. Keller still survives and resides at that place. John Keller was one
of the highly respected men of his community and served for a time as
a member of the township board. He and Mrs. Keller were members of
the Evangelical Church and were the parents of twelve children, as
750 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
follows: John E., who lives in the State of Washington; Ollie, who died
at the age of twelve years; U. C, who was clerk of the County Court for
six years and now lives at Prairie du Sac ; Eugene, who died at the age of
eleven years; Lawrence; Benjamin, who died in infancy; Leo, who is
engaged in farming in the State of Oregon ; Reuben, who is also engaged
in farming in that state ; Addie, the wife of Henry Kinzler, who operates
the Sumpter Creamery in Sumpter Township ; H. R., who resides on a
farm near Stratford, Wisconsin ; Lulu, who is the wife of AVilliam Roaper,
a foreman in construction work at Madison, Wisconsin; and Sena, who
is the wife of Ralph Southerland, a painter of Baraboo, Wisconsin.
The public schools of Sumpter Township furnished Lawrence Keller
with his educational training while he was growing to manhood on the
nome farm. The mere fact of a man being born on a farm does not by
any means make of him a farmer, but Mr. Keller's training was such
that he has been able to realize a profit from his operations through
up-to-date business methods. Such results require clear-headed ability
possessed only by the practical farmer, such as Mr, Keller, who com-
menced with an understanding of his vocation and thus has been able
to follow it up with success. He has engaged in general farming and
stock raising, in both of which departments of farm work he has been
prosperous, and his property, which consists of eighty acres in Sumpter
Township and twenty acres in Freedom Township, shows evidehce of the
presence of industry and able management.
Mr. Keller was married in 1903 to Miss Minna Baumgarth, a graduate
of the Sauk City High School and a successful rural school teacher for a
number of years. She was the daughter of Henry and Hedwig (Vogel)
Baumgarth. Her father, who was a farmer in Troy Township, died when
she was a small child, leaving a widow and four children as follows:
Edward C, a farmer in Town of Sumpter; Dr. Henry, a dentist in
Chicago; Minna; and Alma, the wife of Reuben R. Keller, of Millican,
Oregon. The mother was subsequently married to George Walser, and
now resides at Sauk City. Mr. and Mrs. Keller are the parents of two
children : Marvel, bom January, 1905, and Theon J., born March, 1906.
Mr. Keller is a republican, and while not a politician, takes a keen interest
in affairs of his community. He is fraternally affiliated with the local
lodge of the Modern Woodmen of America, in which he has numerous
friends.
Thaddeus Banks Hanger has found his work and has profited from
his business as a farmer in Freedom Township. He is one of the highly
respected residents of that locality and in the estimation of his friends
and acquaintances has fully deserved all the success that has followed his
efforts.
Though a resident of Sauk County most of his life, Mr. Hanger was
bom in Pennsylvania March 28, 1853. He is a son of Jacob and Matilda
Jane (Shirley) Hanger. His father was born in Germany, and came to
America when still unmarried as did his wife. They were married in
Pennsylvania and made their home in Lycoming County of that state
until i866, when they came to Wisconsin. From Kilbourn they journeyed
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 751
with wagon and team into Freedom Township of Sauk County and located
on the fann now owned hy Thaddeus B. Later the father retired to
Reedsburg, where he died at the age of seventy-seven, and his widow
passed away in that town in 1901, aged eighty-five. Their children were :
John Calvert, Ann, Thaddeus B., Alice Viola and William Henry, The
father was a democrat in politics and the family had long been identified
with the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Thaddeus Banks Hanger was thirteen years of age when he came ta
Sauk County. He attended the public schools of Pennsylvania and also
had a few terms of instruction in Freedom Township of Sauk County.
In early life he took up the trade of plasterer and stone mason, and
after his marriage he lived in the Village of North Fi-eedom until 1902,
when he moved to his present farm in Freedom Township. As a farmer
he handles 120 acres of fertile and well-managed land, and keeps some
high-grade Holstein cattle. Most of the improvements on the farm have
been made by his labor or under his direction. He has one of the best
barns in this part of the county, a gambrel roof structure 32 by 66 feet,
Mr. Hanger is a republican in politics and for some years has served
on the school board.
April 16, 1879, he married Miss Mary Murphy. She was born in
Westfield Township of Sauk County June 30, 1860, daughter of Richard
and Mary (Larken) Murphy. Both her parents were born in Ireland
and were brought to this country when young and were married in Ohio,
settling in Westfield Township of Sauk County in the early '50s. Mary
Larken was a daughter of Andrew and Margaret Larken, whose names
should be recorded among the pioneer settlers of Sauk County. They
spent their last years on their farm in Westfield Township. Richard
Murphy died in March, 1882, while his widow survived to the advanced
age of ninety-one, passing away May 15, 1917. They had seven children :
Jennie, Margaret, Daniel, Mary, William, who died in 1912, at the age
of "fifty, Morris and Richard.
Mr. and Mrs. Hanger had a family, of five children: Bruce Max, the
oldest, is living in Denver, Colorado, and by his marriage to Miss Kate
Reger has one son, Bruce. Glenn is still a factor at home and has a large
share of the responsibilities connected with the farm. Pearl is the wife
of Roy Miner, of North Freedom, and they have one child, Clifford
Thaddeus. Clinton is now a bookkeeper in the Pennsylvania Railway
offices at Chicago, and married Blanche Douglas. The fifth and young-
est child was named Clifford Thaddeus and died in infancy.
William Stoeckmann is one of the live and progressive citizens of
Ableman, has lived in that community thirty-five years and almost con-
tinuously has been identified with the quarry industry, which is so
important in that section of Sauk County. He is now superintendent of
the largest quarries around Ableman, and has other financial interests
and in. various ways has served the welfare of the community.
Mr. Stoeckmann was born in Germany, January 8, 1861. His parents,
Michael and Caroline Stoeckmann, came to America and located in
Ableman in 1882. The father acquired a tract of land in Excelsior Town-
ship and out of it developed a first-class farm. He finally sold his agri-
752 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
cultural interests and is still living, at the age of eighty-four, with his
daughter, Mrs. James Sprul, at North Freedom. The wife and mother
died in 1907, when about seventy years of age. Michael Stoeckmann was
a republican in politics and an active member of the Baptist Church. He
and his wife had five children : William ; Albert, a farmer in Excelsior
Township; Theodore, of Ableman; Bertha, wife of James Sprul; and
Charles, who is a minister of the Baptist Church now stationed at St.
Paul, Minnesota.
William Stoeckmann was about twenty-one years of age when he came
with his parents to Wisconsin. He had grown up in his native land, had
attended the common schools of that country, and had learned the value
of honest toil before he arrived in Sauk County. He put his sturdy
energy to good account as a workman in the stone quarries of the North-
western Railroad. After two years there he entered the employ of W. G.
LaRue, and has been with that great quarry industry continuously since
that date. In September, 1916, he was made superintendent of the quar-
ries and handles the practical operations of the business. In 1908 Mr.
Stoeckmann built a fine home at Ableman and he and his family now
live in very congenial and comfortable surroundings. Mr. Stoeckmann
is a stockholder in the Farmers State Bank of Ableman and in the Able-
man Co-operative Creamery Association.
He has been a member of the council, a village trustee and for several
years was president of the council but finally resigned that office. In
politics his support iS given to the republican party. Mr. Stoeckmann
and family are members of the Lutheran Church.
In 1887 he married Miss Ida Gall, of Ableman, daughter of Daniel
Gall and member of a well-known Sauk County family elsewhere referred
to in this publication. Mr. and Mrs. Stoeckmann have seven children :
Martha, Mabel, Mary, Madeline, Reuben, Viola and Lillian, all of whom
are living. Two daughters are married, and Mr. and Mrs. Stoeckmann
have three grandchildren. Martha is the wife of Fred Jolitz, and their
two children are Alvera and Jane. Mabel is the wife of Herman Doro
and has one daughter, Ida.
W. A. Johnson, the venerable citizen of Baraboo, is one of the oldest
natives of the county, having been born on Sauk Prairie in 1841. His
parents came to the county in early middle life and purchased Govern-
ment land on the west side of the prairie, where they both died in the
early '90s. The father, who was a blacksmith, as well as a carpenter
and stone mason, built and operated the first mill for grinding corn in
Sauk County. He had a blacksmith shop on his farm. The head of the
family had four sons in the Civil war, Benjamin, George W., Judge
William A., and D. Joseph. After the war the latter went to North
Dakota, where he took up a soldier's homestead of a quarter section and
purchased an additional 120 acres. As a farmer and leading resident of
Barnes Covmty he served as county commissioner for five years and as
county .judge for twelve. He was also repeatedly selected as a delegate
to various state conventions. In 1907 Judge Johnson returned to his
native county and located at Baraboo, where he has since resided. Mr.
and Mrs. Johnson celebrated their golden wedding on November 6, 1917,
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 753
Herman E. Stone has lived in Sauk County all his life. In fact he
has never been beyond the county limits for more than a month at a
time. In view of the prosperity that he won as a substantial farmer in
Sumpter Town and the high standing he enjoys as a citizen, now living
retired at Baraboo, he is extremely loyal to his native section, and is
one of the men who have not only seen Sauk County grow from small
beginnings but has borne his own individual care and responsibility in
that growth and advancement.
He was born in the Town of Sumpter, Sauk County, September 14,
1849, a son of Ransom E. and Lydia Lathrop (Tracy) Stone. His parents
were both born in St. Lawrence County, New York, the father on Novem-
ber 17, 1813, and the mother on December 14, 1819. They grew up and
married there on September 3, 1844, and just two years later, in 1846,
they arrived in Wisconsin and located on a tract of land in the Town
of Sumpter, which as yet had few settlers and only here and there had
clearings been made in the forest. To the degree that all sturdy, per-
sistent and honorable men prospered in that time and generation, Ransom
Stone also prospered, and he lived a life of quiet influence and substantial
effort. Before he came to Wisconsin he was a teacher in New York State,
and at one time, under the old system, he served as county superintendent
of schools in Sauk County. He was also for many years chairman of the
town, and after the formation of that party became a loyal adherent of
republican principles. He died March 6, 1884, and his wife passed away
September 9, 1895. There were seven children : Oren, who lives at
Riverside, California ; Orlando E., of Prairie du Sac, but spends his
winters in California; Herman E. ; Martha, wife of Edwin Kiiapp, of
California ; Florence, of California ; Isabel, wife of Charles Crawford ;
A. W. Stone, who for thirty years was a prominent banker and real
estate owner in Kingsbury County, South Dakota, where he died in July, '
1915.
Herman E. Stone grew up on the old farm established by his father
in the town of Sumpter, attended the schools maintained in that com-
munity, and then applied his best energies to making a home for himself,
and he continued to be identified with farming there until six years ago,
when he retired to a comfortable home in the City of Baraboo. He
started out on a farm adjoining the old home place and later bought the
homestead and still owns that place. At one time he was owner of
between 500 and 600 acres, and two of his sons now have the active farm
management. Mr. Stone is a republican, served fourteen years as chair-
man of the town and was town clerk eight years. He resigned the office
of chairman when he came to Baraboo. At the present time Mr. Stone
is one of the three trustees of the Sauk County Poor Farm and Asylum,
and is also attending to the duties of county humane officer.
On November 10, 1875, he married Miss Mary Matilda Lenich, who
was born in Reedsburg, Sauk County, in 1855, daughter of Joseph Lenich.
With all the satisfaction that might be derived from his material accom-
plishments Mr. Stone feels that the best results of his life are represented
in his noble sons and daughters, nine in number. Lyman E., the oldest,
is now one of the active managers of the old homestead in the town of
754 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Sumpter; Ethel is the wife of Irwin Winter, of Cameron, Wisconsin.
Mabel is the wife of H. A. Swanson, of Clay Center, Nebraska. Allen
lives in the town of Sumpter. Birdie married Jacob Weirich, of the Town
of Greenfield. Truman R. is associated with his brother Allen in the
management of the old farm. Gladys lives at home. Iva is attending
school at Clay Center, Nebraska. Lila, the youngest, is also a member of
the home circle.
Frank Herport, proprietor of the Frank Herfort Canning Com-
pany, has given Baraboo one of its best and most highly specialized
industries. It is a business that means a great deal to the welfare and
permanent prosperity of the city and the surrounding country. It has
made possible the intensive cultivation of land, it furnishes employment
to a great many people and through its products serves to make the name
Baraboo better known to the world at large.
While now a business leader in this Wisconsin City, Frank Herfort
began life under peculiarly inauspicious circumstances. He was a poor
boy and in addition lost his father when he was still a child and has been
dependent upon his own exertions since an age when most boys are con-
sidered children and still under the watchful care of home and school
teachers.
Mr. Herfort, though his life has largely been spent in Sauk County,
was born in Germany August 1, 1860, a son of Florian and Maria (Mann)
Herfort. He spent about six or seven years of his early life in Germany
and attended one term of school there. The family then immigrated
to America, locating in Baraboo, Wisconsin, on August 1, 1867. His
father was a shoemaker by trade and worked in the shop now known as
the Dibble Shoe Shop at Baraboo. He did not long survive after coming
to this country and passed away in May, 1868, leaving five sons : August
F., Joseph and Carl, all now deceased ; Paul and Frank. The mother of
these children died in 1885.
After coming to Baraboo Mr. Frank Herfort attended the public
schools, but at the age of ten years he began earning wages. He worked
in a local nursery for fifty cents a day, and for one year was employed
by a local business house at wages of board and clothing. The following
year his experience enabled him to demand five dollars a month. He
was assigned to the work of delivering the goods for the store, and deliv-
ered them all in a wheelbarrow. He continued clerking for eight years,
and while part of his wages went to the upkeep of the family he managed
by dint of the greatest economy and thrift to save $230. He had a
young friend, F. C. Peck, who had accumulated a capital of $300. Put
together this capital enabled the young men to start a grocery business
of their own. Later they changed to dry goods. Their first store was
on the South Side, where the Schey Store is now located, and later they
were where the Peck Mercantile House now stands. The firm was Peck
& Herfort, and it was a prosperous and thriving business. Mr. Herfort
finally sold out to his partner in 1902 and then engaged in the general
merchandise business on Third Street. That location he retained for five
years, but in 1907 sold out to engage in the canning business.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 755
Mr. Herfort bought the old canning factory at Baraboo and under
his stimulating direction the business has never failed to return a profit
both to its owners and to the community at large. On April 9, 1915, the
entire establishment was wiped out by fire, but it was rebuilt and ready
for operation by August of the same year. It is now conducted on a larger
and better scale than ever. During the canning season from 100 to 150
people are employed and twenty-five teams are also necessary to handle
the business. The year around the factory employs on the average
about twenty persons. The factory has an output of about 100,000 cases
and during the season it is operated to the limit of its capacity. The
special products of the Frank Herfort Canning Company are peas and
corn. The company owns lands upon which are produced about a third
of the crop canned, while individual growers in and around Baraboo
raise the rest. About $25,000 are paid out for labor every year.
Mr. Herfort has always been an interested and public spirited citizen
of Baraboo. He was one of the charter members of the Baraboo Fire
Department and was connected with its operation and maintenance for
twenty-eight years. He is a republican and a member of the Knights
of Pythias. In 1885 he married Miss Frederica Wilde, who was born in
Germany in May, 1860. Mr. and Mrs. Herfort have had three children :
Edna died in 1904 at the age of seventeen; Randall H., born July 11,
1895, is a graduate of the Baraboo High School and the Baraboo Business
College, and is now a corporal in Company I, Sixth "Wisconsin Volunteer
Infantry, having enlisted in July, 1917; and Lawrence Howard, born
June 8, 1903, is a student in the public schools.
William Wichern is one of the substantial element of agriculturists
and stock husbandmen in Sauk County and has his fine farm in Baraboo
Township, in which locality he has practically spent all his life.
He was born in that township August 3, 1869, and is a son of Henry
and Charlotte (Frick) Wichern. His father was born in Hanover, Ger-
many, in 1827, and his inother was born in West Prussia in 1841. About
1862 they came to Sauk County and located in Baraboo Township. Henry
Wichern worked as a renter for several years and during that time
cleared up a large amount of land. He finally bought eighty acres near
where his son William now lives, and that farm constituted his home
and the scene of his active efforts for about thirty years. He died in
1897. He was a republican and a member of the German Methodist
Episcopal Church in Baraboo Township. He was one of the regular
attendants and supporters of that church when its pastor was John A.
Salzer. Henry Wichern was married in Germany when a young man,
and by this first marriage had three children : Meta, deceased ; Matthew,
in California; and Maggie, living at Osage, Iowa. His second wife was
a widow when he married her. She had one child by her first mar-
riage, Charles Spaver, now in the drug business at Racine, Wiscon-
sin. Henry Wichern and wife by their marriage had two children,
William and Albert.
William Wichern grew up on a Sauk County farm and attended the
public schools. He learned the lessons of industry and independence at
756 HISTOEY OF SAUK COUNTY
an early age and has always applied his efforts chiefly to farming. He
is now the owner of 160 acres. The improvements mark it out as one of
the notable homesteads in Baraboo Township, and most of the value has
been put into the land by his own enterprise." Mr. Wiehern has lived
there since June, 1897. His place is known as the Cherry Eed Ranch.
He has had considerable success in the breeding of pure bred Red Polled
cattle, high-grade Percheron horses and Rhode Island Red poultry.
Besides his interests as a farmer Mr. Wiehern is a stockholder in the
Excelsior Co-operative Creamery Company of Baraboo. In politics he
is a republican aiid has served as clerk of the school board seven years.
He was married in June, 1897, to Miss Martha Camp, who was born
in Sauk County in 1872 and graduated from the Baraboo High School
in 1891. She represents a pioneer family here. Her father was the late
James Camp, who enlisted from Sauk County and made a most creditable
record as a soldier with the Twelfth Wisconsin Infantry. It is estimated
that during his campaigning he marched a total distance of 10,000
miles. Mr. and Mrs. Wiehern are the parents of four children, Ernest
and Bernice, Gerald and Doris. Ernest and Bernice are twins and were
born June 14, 1898. Both graduated from the Baraboo High School
with the class of 1916 and Bernice is now a student in the Platteville
Normal School. Ernest is attending an electrical school in Detroit,
Michigan. Gerald was born May 1, 1901, and is in the second year of
the high school at Baraboo. Doris, also a school girl, was born May 14,
1906. The family attend the Presbyterian Church.
William H. Payne has spent practically all the years of an effective
and useful lifetime in Sauk County. All other activities have been only
incidental to his main vocation as a successful farmer. His home, where
he has lived since his marriage, is in Sumpter Township and it constitutes
a farm of modern improvements and under a highly efficient system of
management.
Mr. Payne was born in 1847 and is a son of Charles and Orpha
(Squires) Payne. His father was born in New York State and his
mother in Vermont. They were married in New York December 25,
1846, and in the spring of the following year arrived in Wisconsin, first
locating in Roxbury, but after a year moving to Sauk County and locating
in what was then Kingston, now Sumpter Township. From about 1848
until 1871 he lived on and owned the Ed Payne farm at Stones Pocket.
He then moved to a new farm which he had bought at the locality known
as Payne's Corners, and in that locality he was busily engaged with his
farming and other affairs until 1898. In that year he moved to Prairie
du Sac, and lived retired until his death on June 22, 1907. He was
born July 16, 1824, in the town of Massena, St. Lawrence County, New
York, and was nearly eighty-three years old when he died. His wife
died August 28, 1900, and he afterwards married Mrs. Julia Durkee, of
Prairie du Sac, who died in July, 1913. While living at Stones Pocket
Charles Payne helped build the first log schoolhouse in that section. In
the early days he did his farming and clearing with the aid of oxen and
had a reputation as a most efficient man in swinging the cradle at harvest
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 757
time. He was able to cut five acres a day. In using oxen for breaking
up the laud it was customary to drive as many as ten yoke and the plow
was what was known as the ' ' bull plow, ' ' and would cut a furrow three
feet wide. Charles Payne was a very progressive man and he owned
the first horse rake in the township. Before he got his land under culti-
vation he employed his services as a teamster and would haul produce
to Milwaukee with his oxen and bring back provisions and other supplies
for local merchants. Later he spent all his time and energies on his farm.
For many years, until the construction of railways through the locality
and the establishment of mills, he hauled his grain and produce to Madi-
son, Portage, Baraboo and other convenient railway points.
William H. Payne was one of a family of four children. His brother
J. C. Payne lives in Baraboo. Another brother is Isaac Payne. His only
sister, Elizabeth, is the widow of Oran McGilvra, who died in 1912 in
Sumpter Township.
William H. Payne attended the local schools in Sumpter Township,
and his early environment was that of the typical Wisconsin farm boy.
In June, 1877, he married Persis Dennett, a daughter of John and
Martha (Morrill) Dennett. For forty years Mr. and Mrs. Payne lived
together, sharing their joys and troubles and their increasing prosperity,
and it was a heavy loss and affliction when she was taken away on Febru-
ary 3, 1917. She was the mother of two children. George was born in
1880 and died in 1882. The daughter, Martha Orpha, was born in 1883
and is the wife of Mr. John Meisser, a son of John M. Meisser and wife,
who were formerly residents of Prairie du Sac, but for the past four
years have lived in Montana. Mr. and Mrs. John Meisser live with her
father and Mr. Meisser, besides operating his own farm of eighty acres,
has the management of the Payne farm of 120 acres. He is a very com-
petent agl-iculturist and is making these farms pay handsomely. Mr.
and Mrs. Meisser have one child, Sybil, born in 1907. She is the only
grandchild of Mr. Payne.
Mr. Payne in politics is a republican. Besides his work as a farmer
he has found time to make himself a useful factor in the community and
has never neglected the poor and the distressed, the call to neighborly
duty and the co-operation with all good things.
Michael Hanley was one of those sturdy pioneers who helped to
clear up and develop the wood lands of Sauk County. He lived a very
active and energetic life, was a man of usefulness to himself, his family
and his community, and his name is one that deserves to be enrolled per-
manently among the pioneers of this section.
He was bom in Ireland August 27, 1834. He was early left an orphan
and he was reared largely in the home of his bachelor cousin, Michael
Hanley. This cousin early came across the waters and located in Provi-
dence, Rhode Island, and young Michael joined him there when fourteen
years of age. Through the influence of his cousin he was able to attend
public schools in Connecticut and he also learned farming in that state.
At Providence he learned the machinist trade, serving a three years'
apprenticeship. In 1856 his brother, John Hanley, had come west to
758 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Sauk County. With James Norton as a partner he took up a tract of
Government land here. James Norton was subsequently lost during a
hard winter in Sauk County and was frozen to death before he could
reach a settlement. John-Hanley retained the land which he and his
partner had taken up.
In December, 1860, Mr. Hanley came to Sauk County and in the spring
of 1861 bought eighty acres of land from C. J. Lamb. He and his cousin
Michael cleared up this tract, and subsequently the bachelor cousin bought
the 149 acres where Mrs. Michael Hanley now lives. The bachelor cousin
subsequently gave Michael the farm. This cousin died in Minnesota.
Michael Hanley cleared up and improved a good farm in Sauk
County and he erected a fine barn, which was struck by lightning and
destroyed. He also improved a good home, and was a man of substantial
prosperity before his death, which occurred October 9, 1903. He was
independent in politics, was assessor of his township and lent his influ-
ence steadily to the improvement of roads and other facilities.
He first married in Providence, Rhode Island, Mary Kelley, and by
that union there was six children. In 1876 he married Bridget Dockery.
Mrs. Hanley was bom at Providence, Rhode Island, March 24, 1847, a
daughter of James and Catherine (Leicey) Dockery. Her parents came
from Ireland to New York and later settled in Providence, where her
father worked at his trade as a mason. In the course of time he acquired
two farms and gave his later years to their improvement. James and
Catherine Dockery were married in 1843, and both of them died on the
same day, December 3, 1865.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Michael Hanley located on their
farm in Freedom Township, and Mrs. Hanley has lived there for over
forty years. The family are members of the Catholic Church at Baraboo.
Mrs. Hanley is the mother of eight children. Frank is a farmer and
a bee man in Freedom Township. Mark has spent the last eleven years
in Canada. Walter died at the age of eight years and James Augustine
died at the age of eighteen months. Mary is a trained nurse now living
in Milwaukee. Peter Clarence is a prospector and spends his time in
British Columbia. Albert is deceased. Edna is the wife of Robert
Stewart, having formerly been a teacher in Sauk County.
John Hanley, a brother of the late Michael Hanley, and previously
referred to, came to Sauk County in 1856 and bought a farm of 134 acres
in Freedom Township. He cleared up the land and lived there success-
fully and honorably until his death in 1905, at the age of seventy-six.
He married Rose Bennett, of Providence, Rhode Island, and she is now
living in Rusk County, Wisconsin. John Hanley was a republican and
was chairman of his township board and for some years served as assessor
and justice of the peace. He was an active member of the Catholic
Church. He and his wife had ten children, four of whom are still living :
James, in North Dakota ; Mrs. 0. B. Gray, also in North Dakota ; Edward,
in Minnesota; and Mrs. Julia Hasson, of Rusk County, Wisconsin.
Charles Henry Goedecke. When Mr. Goedecke was born in Troy
Township of Sauk County December 12, 1860, his parents were living
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 759
in one of the log houses which were typeial of the time and which indi-
cated the fact of their pioneer ventures in this section of Wisconsin.
This is an old and honored family name, and much has been done that
can be traced directly to the worthy efforts of the Goedeckes. Charles
Henry Goedecke has long been an active merchant at Ableman, and while
his business affairs have prospered he has also found opportunity to serve
his community in public positions.
His parents were John Henry Louis and Julia Henrietta Anna (Mors-
bach) Goedecke. His father was born in Brunswick, Germany, in 1834
and his mother was born in Germany in 1836. The latter came to Mil-
waukee in 1847 with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Morsbach. John
H. L. Goedecke located in Milwaukee in 1852, and he married his wife
there. For several years they lived in Waupun and Cross Plains, and
then went as pioneers into Troy Township in Sauk County and secured
a tract of Government land. For three years the father clerked at Sauk
City for Charles Nebel and in 1865 he removed to Spring Green and
engaged m business there with his brother-in-law, Jacob Witzel. That
firm continued at Spring Green five years. In 1869 Mr. Witzel sold his
share in the store to Adam Fey. In 1871 the firm of Fey & Goedecke
established a store at Ableman, and built up and conducted for years the
leading general merchandise establishment of that community. After the
senior partners reached an age where they did not desire to continue
active in responsibilities they turned matters over to their sons, and the
business is still conducted under the name Fey & Goedecke Company.
John Henry Louis Goedecke was a democrat in politics. For fifteen
years he held the office of postmaster at Ableman. He and his good
wife lived to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary on October 26,
1906, and that was an occasion of great rejoicing for them and their
children and many friends. The father died December 13, 1915, nearly
ten years later, while his wife passed away April 28, 1910. They were
the parents of three sons and one daughter : Charles Henry ; Louis, of
Knapp, Wisconsin ; Hugo, of Kilbourn, Wisconsin ; and Ella, wife of
Victor Ralofsky, a resident of Joplin, Missouri, and owner of some zinc
and lead mines at Miami, Oklahoma.
Charles Henry Goedecke was reared in several different communities,
including Sauk City and Spring Green. He attended public school at
the latter place and also at Ableman. His first teacher was James Lott,
and he also attended school under Mrs. N. M. Bliss of Baraboo. He gave
up his studies and faced the practical world at the age of thirteen and
did not attend school again until he was twenty-four, when for a brief
four months he was a student at Winona, Wisconsin, and at the same
time was employed in the store of Kingsbury & Holland in that town.
In the meantime he had worked in a stave mill at Ableman and also had
some arduous experience in the lumber woods.
In 1885 Mr. Goedecke returned to Ableman and became a member
of the firm with his father. After two and a half years he sought a larger
field for his business and going to Chicago sjained a metropolitan experi-
ence as clerk in different grocery stores. He lived there for a number
of years, in 1902 returned to Ableman and then took up an active part
Vol. n — 13
760 HISTOEY OF SAUK COUNTY
in the business established by his father and assumed most of the responsi-
bilities of his father's interests.
Mr. Goedecke is a republican in politics. While his father was post-
master at Ableman he served as assistant for about two years. For four
years he was village treasurer, and has shown himself ever ready and
willing to aid in any enterprise for the betterment of the community.
He is an active member of the Commercial Club and belongs to the
German Singers' Society.
Mr. Goedecke was married in 1893, at Chicago, to Miss Helen Reichow,
who was born in Germany in 1873, a daughter of Albert Reichow, now a
resident of Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Goedecke have had a happy and ideal
home life, and in the course of years nine children have blessed their
union. All these children are still living, mentioned brietly as follows :
Walter, bom May 28, 1894, is now a second lieutenant and is at Camp
Green, North Carolina, expecting soon a call to France ; Raymond, born
March 13, 1896; Irving, born August 16, 1899; Harold, born January 8,
1902 ; Hazel, born February 5, 1904 ; Roy, born July 18, 1905 ; Louis,
born October 26, 1906; Victor, born March 28, 1909 ;' and Hubert, born
January 19, 1910.
Benjamin G. Paddock (deceased), and Herbert E. Paddock, his son,
have long been identified with the business, industrial, financial and pub-
lic activities of Lavalle and the county. AVhen the father came to Wis-
consin from New York in 1858 he settled at Ironton Village, then quite a.
manufacturing town. There he engaged in business, served as postmaster
of the village, town clerk and justice of the peace and, in 1871, when he
commenced his term as sheriff, moved to Baraboo. At the end of his term
he returned to Ironton, in 1873 opened a store a Ijavalle, and in 1876 fixed
his residence there. At that point he also engaged in the manufacture
of barrel staves, served as postmaster, in 1888 was elected to the Legis-
lature, and died at Lavalle in March, 1900. Herbert E. succeeded to his
father's interests and in 1902 organized the State Bank of Lavalle, of
which he has since been president.
Edward V. Alexander, long and prominently known in Baraboo,
represents an old family name of that city, and his wife's people were
also influential in the early days of Sauk County.
Mr. Alexander was born in the City of Baraboo, in a house where the
railway depot now stands. His birth occurred December 5, 3852. His
parents were Dr. Josephus and Mary (Hazen) Alexander. Dr. Josephus
Alexander was born in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in 1820. His wife was
born in New York State in 1826, but when a girl her parents removed
to Waterloo in Jefferson County, Wisconsin. Dr. Josephus Alexander
came to Sauk County when a young man, and was married in 1850. He
took up his residence in Baraboo and was in active proetice as a physician
until 1S55. His partner in practice was Doctor Arnold. Dr. Josephus
Alexander died in 1857, when his son Edward was only five years of
age. His widow survived him many years and passed away in 1908.
They had just two children, and the daughter, Mary, died in infancy.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 761
Edward V. Alexander was educated at Baraboo principally, both at
the public and private schools. He was in the private school conducted
by Professor Kimball, Mr. Alexander's chief business activity is looking
after his farming interests, and he owns twenty acres in the corporation
limits, formerly the property of his father. Plis father had taken up
forty acres of Government land adjoining Baraboo, and it is a portion of
this estate which Edward V. Alexander still occupies. In politics he is
a republican and has been quite active in local affairs. He served as
supervisor of Baraboo for several years, an office he still holds, and for
the past three years has been chairman of the committee on county build-
ings. He is member of the Unitarian Church.
In 1903 Mr. Alexander married Miss Eva J. Slye. She was born
in Waukesha, Wisconsin, March 15, 1852, a daughter of Dr. L. Calvin
and Abigail Annette (Church) Slye. The late Doctor Slye, whose name
is so familiar to many of the older generation in Sauk County, was born
in Shaftsbury, Vermont, July 15, 1815. He studied medicine, and when
a young man located for practice at Waukesha, Wisconsin. While there
he practiced as an allopath. At Waukesha he met Miss Church, who was
born in Newport, New Hampshire, December 5, 1818, and was on a visit
to W^aukesha at the time. They soon afterwards returned to Jefferson
County, New York, and were married at Henderson in that county May
27, 1847. Doctor Slye continued practice at Waukesha, but in 1857
removed to Baraboo, where he became a homeopathic physician. He was
very successful and skillful in his work and continued his professional
work for many years. His death occurred February 2, 1898, and his wife
passed away April 13th of the same year. Doctor Slye was noted as a
student, both in his profession and in general literature. He was a
follower of the Swedenborgian faith and in politics was a republican.
Many years ago he built the home at 226 Sixth Avenue in Baraboo, which
is now owned by Mrs. Alexander. Doctor Slj'C and wife had two daugh-
ters-: Eva Jane, Mrs. Alexander; and May Bell, who was born April
30, 1859, and died September 3, 1862.
Mr. and Mrs. Alexander are very active members of the Sauk County
Historical Society. Mr. Alexander is one of the curators of the society,
and his wife is the treasurer. Mrs. Alexander was liberally educated.
She attended the public schools of Baraboo and also the fine private
school taught by Miss Lucy and Miss Laura Lawrence. The school
occupied a building where the Episcopal Church now stands. Mrs.
Alexander prior to her marriage taught in Lyons and at Ableman, and
while living in Ableman she boarded at the home of Colonel Ableman,
the founder of that town.
Wilbur D. Johnson. Now living retired at Baraboo, Wilbur D.
Johnson has played a very active role in business affairs in Sauk County.
His people were in Wisconsin while it was still a territory, and various
members of the family have done their part in redeeming Sauk County
from the wilderness.
Mr. Johnson was born at Fayette in Lafayette County, Wisconsin,.
December 12, 1850. His parents first located in Lafayette County and
762 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
from there came to Sauk County. He is a son of William B. M. and
Phebe Ann (Eaton) Johnson. His father was born in Shelby County,
Indiana, January 27, 1819, while the mother was bom in Ohio in 1827.
In 1841 William B. M. Johnson came to Wisconsin and located in
Lafayette County, where he lived until after his marriage. Miss Eaton
arrived in the same county in 1845 with her parents, who spent the rest
of their lives in that section. In October, 1853, William B. M. Johnson
and wife removed to Sumpter Township of Sauk County and bought a
farm of eighty acres at King's Corners. They lived there and prospered
for a number of years but subsequently moved out to Iowa, where the
father died in 1893. His widow subsequently went to live with her
daughter. Mrs. Flora Riley, in North Dakota, and died there in 1908.
They had a very large family of children : Byron, deceased ; Charles,
deceased ; Louisa, deceased ; Wilbur D. ; Lyman ; Clarina, deceased ;
Joshua ; Walter, deceased ; Crete ; Ransom, deceased ; Joseph ; and Flora.
Wilbur D. Johnson was reared on a farm in Sauk county. He at-
tended public schools until fifteen years of age and he early learned
the lessons of industry and that the most substantial successes of life
come to determined energy and a logical purpose. He took up farming
for himself and for a short time he lived in Iowa. Returning to Sauk
county, he resumed farming in Sumpter township and was one of the
substantial agriculturists of that section for two years, and then moved
to Excelsior township, where he farmed for sixteen . years. In 1899
Mr. Johnson moved into Reedsburg and for ten years was local repre-
sentative of the Standard Oil Company. He then established a farmers'
hitch barn in Reedsburg, and in 1915 he sold that business and estab-
lished a similar one in Baraboo, M^hich he conducted for a year and a
half before selling out. Mr. Johnson then established the Johnson Stor-
age Garage at the corner of Oak and Fifth streets, and he still owns the
establishment, though it is leased and under operation by another man.
Mr. Johnson was one of the organizers of the Excelsior Cheese Factory
and was treasurer and sales manager for a number of years. He also
helped organize the canning factory at Reedsburg. Thus his enterprise
has been helpful in giving Sauk county some of its substantial business
enterprises.
Mr. Johnson is a republican and has been very active in party poli-
tics, serving as delegate to county conventions for about eighteen years,
though he never asked for any office for himself. He is a member of
the Methodist Episcopal church and both his parents were of the same
denomination. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Camp of the Modern
Woodmen of America.
A stimulus to his business energy through many years was his wife
and children, and now that his children are grown and most of them
established in homes of their own he well merits the leisure and comfort
of retired life. He was married August 20, 1873, to Miss Ella M. Stone.
Mrs. Johnson was born in Waterford, Maine, February 12, 1854, a
daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Tredwell) Stone, of an old and promi-
nent family of Sauk county. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs.
Johnson. Lillian L. is the wife of George E. Buss, a Sauk county
HISTOEY OF SAUK COUNTY 763
farmer, and they have four children; Myrle, wife of John Schultis of
Reedshnrg; Leon, Iva and Edna. Ethel S., the second daughter, is the
wife of Frank W. Buss, and they live at Lavalle in Sauk Count.y, the
parents of three children, named Velma E., Clinton and Ivan. William
Spencer lives at Reedshurg and by his marriage to Mary E. Rose has
two children, Lyle and Feme. Leonora C. is the wife of Frank E.
Brimmer, of Lavalle, Sauk County, and they have a large household of
seven children, named Percy, Lois, Wesle.y, Spencer, Lester, Royee and
Lucy. Jessie S. is the wife of Will B. Meyer, a weaver in the woolen
mill at Reedsburg, and their one child is named Mideliiie. M. Blanche,
the youngest of the children, is the wife of Harvey N. Hill, of Cameron,
Wisconsin, and the mother of one child, Helen.
William Fred Petzke is a native son of Sauk country who is mani-
festing the commendable virtues of his ancestry as a farmer and sturdy
and thrifty citizen, and is going ahead in the world as an agriculturist
in Freedom township.
Mr. Petzke was born in Honey Creek, Sauk County, June 28, 1878,
a son of Frederick and Kate (Roser) Petzke. His parents were both
natives of Germany. His father was brought to Sauk county when a
boy and he began life with limited circumstances in the way of finance
or influence. He finally was able to buy a farm in Honey Creek, and
he lived there with his family about twenty-one years. On selling that
he went to North Freedom and bought the farm now occupied by his
son William F. Ten years ago he sold that to the mining company, and
has since lived retired at North Freedom. In politics he is a republican
and while living in Honey Creek was a member of the school board.
He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Their
children, seven in number, all living, are Tena Bertha, William, Ida,
Minnie, Kate and Clara.
William Fred Petzke spent his early youth partly on the homestead
in Honey Creek township, where he attended the public schools, and
since early manhood has been identified with agriculture as his vocation.
For the past eight years he has rented the farm formerly owned by his
father from the Mining Company, and as a renter is making a success
equally as great as many individual farm owners. Mr. Petzke is a very
successful breeder of Percheron horses and high grade Shorthorn cattle.
Politically he is a republican.
Li 1907 he married Miss Ida Thom. She was born in North Freedoin,
daughter of William and Amelia Thom. Mr. and Mrs. Petzke have
three sons : Frederick, Theodore and William.
Louis Klein is a native of Sauk County and has spent his lifetime
here as a capable and successful farmer and one of the men of influence
in Freedom Township. His fellow men have many times reposed their
confidence in his judgment as a public official and he has a long record
of service as township supervisor.
Mr. Klein was born on the old homestead in Freedom Townsliip
August 18, 1868, a son of Carl and Carolina Klein. His parents were
764 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
both natives of Germany. His father came to the United States when a
young man. He had learned the trade of foundryman in the old country
and the first two years in America he worked in a foundry in Penn-
sylva^iia. From there he came west to the comparative wilderness of
Sauk County and bought ninety-one acres near the present home of his
son Louis. While he was not accustomed to farming, he was a good
worker and he faced the future without fear. He began clearing up his
land, and aftei^ a time he bought another quarter section. All of this
gradually assumed the condition of a well improved farm, and he put up
a number of substantial buildings. After coming to Sauk County Carl
Klein married, and his first wifq died in 1875, leaving three children:
Louis, Charles and Augusta. Later the father married Lena Trinne, and
of that marriage seven children are living, three having died in infancy.
Carl Klein is a republican and for a number of years served on the
school board. He is now living retired in North Freedom at the age of
about seventy-six. He began his career in Sauk County in a log cabin
home, and he long ago acquired a financial independence which enables
him to spend his declining years with every comfort.
Louis Klein grew up on the homestead farm and as a boy he attended
the Maple Hill district school. Some time after reaching his majority
he bought the old homestead of ninety-one acres and subsequently was in
a position to acquire the ownership of the 160 acres which represented
his father 's second purchase. He farmed the entire place for three years
and then sold the original farm of ninety-one acres, still retaining the
quarter section. Mr. Klein has made something of a local reputation by
raising and handling high grade Shorthorn cattle. Even to the casual
observer the farm impresses one as one of the best in Freedom Township,
Its fields are well kept and tilled, abundantly productive, and the build-
ings include a large barn and one of the modern residences of that town-
ship. Politically Mr. Klein is a republican. He has filled the office of
township supervisor for about twelve years and has also been a member
of the school board, an office he still fills. The welfare of the schools has
always been a matter close to his heart.
In January, 1892, Mr. Klein married Miss Annie Schultie, who was
born in Sauk County in 1870, a daughter of William and Catherine
(Behn) Schultie. Her parents came to this county at an early day and
settled in Westfield Township, where her mother died in January, 1917.
• Her father now lives on the farm with his son Carl, its owner. Mr. and
Mrs. Klein have three children : Walter, Alvena and Lawrence.
William Hasheider. Many lives have entered into the foundation
of Sauk County, and none of them more worthy to be considered in a
history of pioneer personalities than the late William Hasheider. Those
who have come and enjoyed the splendid prosperity of the later era have
all owed a great debt to the pioneers who first tested the capabilities of
soil and climate, who faced the hardships of existence when only the
strong and brave could remain, and who laid the foundations of a
greater civilization and permanent prosperity.
Among* such men was the late William Hasheider. He was born in
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 765
Germany in 1817. When a young man he immigrated to America with
his parents and they all settled in Missouri, where his father died. The
family went to Missouri in ^840, but after six years William Hasheider,
his widowed mother and a sister came to Sauk County. They arrived
in the spring of 1846, and joined the handful of settlers who were then
living in Tro}- Township. This was two years before Wisconsin was
admitted to the Union, and all of Sauk County was a virtual wilderness.
William Hasheider began with eighty acres of land secured from the
Government, and later he bought eighty acres from that old pioneer,
Henry Steuber. All of this was wild and uncultivated and he was con-
fronted with the tremendous task of clearing away the woods, grubbing
out the stumps and gradually, acre by acre, getting the land ready for
cultivation. When he came to Sauk County he possessed nothing except
the elemental vigor of his bod.3^ and mind and he had little to do with
except his bare hands. Later he bought a yoke of oxen, and used them in
performing the heavy labor of the farm.
After getting established William Hasheider married Charlotte
Lapabel, who was also born in Germany, the year of her birth being
1813. They became the parents of three children : August, who died
in 1892; Mary, Mrs. Jacob Hatz, living at Prairie du Sac; and Adelia.
The parents continued to live on the old homestead which had under-
gone many improvements through their management and work until
1880, when they removed to Sauk City. From there they moved to
Prairie du Sac, and there William Hasheider passed away in 1899, at
the age of eighty-two, while his wife died in 1898. Both were active
and zealous members of the Evangelical Church.
Miss Adelia Hasheider, daughter of the late William Hasheider, was
born in the Township of Troy in 1857 and has spent most of her life in
Sauk County and has been a witness of its changing growth and develop-
ment for many years. She made her home with her parents until they
passed away and since then has spent most of her time at Naperville,
Illinois.
Charles E. Ryan. At the time of his death in March, 3915, Charles
E. Ryan of Baraboo was said to have been the oldest jeweler in Wiscon-
sin. He was in his eighty-eighth year. Mr. Ryan came to Portage in
1854 and to Baraboo in 1855, when he established his jewelry business.
He was a New Hampshire man and in 1852 married a New Hampshire
woman. His widow is still living. Of their four children three were
daughters, and their only son died in infancy; so that although Mrs.
Ryan succeeded to the business it is not actively conducted by any
member of the family. A. Ch. Reisz conducts the store.
Charles L. Brewster. The enterprising and progressive City of
Baraboo is fortunate in the character of the citizens who make up its
quota of officials, for it is a well-established fact that a community is
measured in large degree by the worth and integrity of the men who
govern its affairs. One of the most important offices of the civic admin-
istration is that which has to do with the handling of the city's finances,
766 HISTOEY OF SAUK COUNTY
and in choosing Charles L. Brewster for the office of city treasurer, in
1916, the citizens of Baraboo displayed remarkably good judgment and
assured the city of honorable and honest representation in regard to its
monetary affairs.
Charles L. Brewster has been a resident of Sauk County all of his
life and for thirty-five years has made his home at Baraboo. He is a
product of the farm, having been born on his father's homestead, located
one mile south of the City of Baraboo, in the township of the same name,
August 28, 1850, and is a son of William and Lavina (Frey) Brewster.
His father was born in New York, July 7, 1823, and as a lad accompanied
his parents to Indiana, where his father died when he was seven years
of age. From the Hoosier state he came with his mother to Wisconsin
in 1844, settling on a farm in Sauk County and here engaging in agri-
cultural pursuits. Here he met and married Lavina Frey, who was bom
in Virginia, in 1819, and who had come to Wisconsin in 1846 with her
grandparents, having lost her parents when she was a small child. After
their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Brewster settled on the farm one mile south
of Baraboo, and there the father developed a good and paying property
and established himself as a substantial and progressive agriculturist.
He was a man much esteemed in the country community, and when he
retired from active pursuits in 1882 and removed to Baraboo he left
numerous friends behind who had come to know him as a man possessed
of admirable traits of character and a business citizen whose word could
be depended upon absolutely. Mrs. Brewster died seven years after
locating at Baraboo, and Mr. Brewster then went toi live with his son,
Charles L., with whom he resided up to the time of his death. William
Brewster was one of Baraboo 's most remarkable old men. At the age of
ninety years he was still active in body and alert in mind, and until
within two weeks of his death, when he was ninety-three years of age,
was up and about, in the best of health and spirits, and taking a keen
and enjoyable interest in all that went on about him. In January, 1916,
he contracted an attack of grippe and this disease was the cause of his
death two weeks later. As in the country, he had made numerous friends
at Baraboo. There were three children in the family of William and
Lavina Brewster, namely: William, who went to Missouri as a young
man and there died; George E., who is a resident of Chippewa Falls,
Wisconsin ; and Charles L.
Charles L. Brewster received his education in the public schools of
Sauk County and was reared to agricultural pursuits, in which he con-
tinued to be engaged until he came to Baraboo in 1882. In the fall of
that year he began teaming and followed that business for three years.
During this period he became connected with city contract work and thus
was placed in a position where he became a candidate for the office of
street commissioner, to which he was duly elected. With the exception
of three years Mr. Brev/ster continued to act in that capacity until 1916,
discharging his duties in a manner that won him public commendation
and confidence. In 1916 he became the republican candidate for the
office of city treasurer, and was duly elected to that position, in which
he has given the best of satisfaction. Mr. Brewster has fully lived up
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY • 767
to his pre-election promises and is conscientiously trying to put the city's
finances in the best of condition, his work thus far having been especially
pleasing to the taxpayers. During his long residence at Baraboo he has
been identified with various movements for the public welfare, and the
city has few more public-spirited rnen. Fraternally Treasurer Brewster
is identified with the local lodges of the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows and the Modern Woodmen of America.
Mr. Brewster was married first in 1871, to Miss Emmeline Prothew,
who died in 1900, leaving one child : Harry Z., who resides at home.
In 1902 Mr. Brewster was again married, taking as his bride Miss Eliza-
beth Myers, of this city.
Henry Steinhorst. The Steinhorst family, of which there are
worthy representatives in Sauk County, has belonged to this section for
over a quarter of a century and its members have a reputation for suc-
cessful farming and for good citizenship. Henry Steinhorst, who owns
one of the best improved properties in Excelsior Township, was born
in Germany June 29, 1871, and accompanied his parents to the United
States in 1890. He was the eldest in a family of eight children borii to
Frederick J. and Johanna Steinhorst.
Frederick J. Steinhorst was born, reared and married in Germany.
His occupation was farming in his native land and it continued to be
the same after reaching Wisconsin with his family in 1890. For two
years after reaching Sauk County he worked at Ableman, then came to
Excelsior Township and bought eighty acres of land, and during the
remainder of his life succeeded in clearing the greater part of it. He
made improvements and carried on farming and stock raising with
success. He was a faithful member of the Lutheran Church, and in
politics was a republican. His death occurred in December, 1914, at
the age of sixty-eight years. His eight children are : Henry, Bertha,
August, Herman, Helena, Minnie, Fred and Emma, all of whom survive,
as does also his widow, who still lives in Excelsior Township.
Henry Steinhorst was educated in his native land and after reaching
Sauk County remained with the family at Ableman for two years, in the
meanwhile working bj^ the month for farmers in the neighborhood.
Being industrious and frugal, by 1899 Mr. Steinhorst found himself in
a position that made it possible for him to buy a farm of eighty acres.
The only improvement on the place was a log shanty and there was no
well, but these disadvantages did not discourage him and very soon
better conditions were brought about. At the present time Mr. Stein-
horst has cleared fifteen acres of his heavily timbered property and has
added thirty-one acres, has excellent buildings and has invested in good
stock. Through his own efforts he has brought about his present pros-
perous state and is numbered with the best farmers of Excelsior
Township.
Mr. Steinhorst was married October 30, 1896, to Miss Emma Eickert,
who is a daughter of Fred and Mina Eickert, who came to Sauk County
from Germany in 1892 and now resides at Ableman. Wisconsin. Mr.
and Mrs. Steinhorst have had nine children, as follows: Edward. Henry.
768 HISTOEY OF SAUK COUNTY
Herbert, Helda, Walter, Essie, Clara, Otto and Alace, the two last named
being- deceased. Mr. Steinhorst is a republican in politics but takes no
active part in political campaigns and seeks no public office. With his
family he belongs to the Lutheran Church.
Fred Steinhorst, the youngest brother of Henry Steinhorst, was born
on the old family homestead May 25, 1888, and now owns this property,
on which he has built a fine barn. Like his brother he is a republican
and belongs to the Lutheran Church.
John P. Doll is a native of Sauk County, spent a number of years
as a practical farmer, and knows farming conditions and farming people.
This knowledge has proved of immense value to him in his present busi-
ness as a dealer in agricultural implements at Prairie du Sac. In point
of continuous service he is one of the oldest business men of that village.
Mr. Doll was born in Honey Creek Township of Sauk County June
28, 1865. He is a son of George and Ursula (Masseger) Doll. George
Doll was born in Germany in September, 1824, and came to America and
located at New York City in the '50s. Ursula Masseger was born in
Switzerland in 1828 and when she came to America she also located in
New York City. Not long afterwards they were married in the eastern
metropolis, and seeking- opportunities to get a home of their own they
came to the free and unsettled AVest and became pioneer settlers in Sauk
County. Here George Doll bought a farm and spent many years in its
improvement and cultivation. In 1888 his noble wife and the mother
of the children died on the old place, and being left practically alone he
then removed to Prarie du Sac and lived in that village retired until
his own death in 1912. He and his wife had seven children: Mary,
deceased ; Barbara, wife of Leonard Meyers, of Baraboo ; George and
Caroline, deceased; Emma, who died' in infancy; John P.; and Emma,
living at Prairie du Sac.
The early environment of John P. Doll was the old homestead farm
in Honey Creek Township. Besides getting an acquaintance with the
farm and field, all its pleasures and pastimes and duties, he also attended
the public schools. In 1886, at the age of twenty-one, he began an
apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade and followed it regularly as a
means of livelihood for five years. With this experience he removed to
Prairie du Sac and on February 7, 1891, opened his place of business
as a dealer in agricultural implements. He has prospered in every way
and his trade has been constantly growing. He owns his building and
warehouses and has a splendid stock of implements.
Mr. Doll is a republican in politics. He served as a member of the
council at Prairie du Sac four years, and was deputy sheriff under Sher-
iffs Myers and Nicholsen. Fraternally he is a member of the Modern
Woodmen of America and belongs to the Evangelical Church. Mr. Doll
was married June 17, 1897, to Miss Mary K. Witwen, of Troy Township.
Her father, Martin Witwen, was one of the early settlers of Sauk County.
Henry Nehring. Considering the inauspicious circumstances of his
earlier career, Henry Nehring has made an exceptional success, and
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 769
from a farm laborer has progressed until his credit now ranks with that
of the most substantial citizens of Freedom Township.
Mr. Nehring was born in Germany March 7, 1870. His father, Henry
Nehring, died in the old country in 1872. Later his widow, Mary, mar-
ried Henry Steve. Mr. Henry Nehring of Sauk County was the only
child of his father and mother. His mother and her second husband came
to Sauk County in 1894, locating on a farm in Baraboo Township, where
she died in 1915, at the age of fifty-seven. Mr. Steve is still living in
Baraboo. They had four children, named Charles, Herman, Paul and
Alvina, the daughter the wife of August Steckman.
Mr. Henry Nehring- grew up in Germany, had only the advantages
of the common schools, and was early inured to hard work and the earning
of his living by the sweat of his brow. When he came to Sauk County
in 1895 he worked out on farms at monthly wages, and subsequently
rented a tract of land. It was only by constant thrift and much self
denial that he was in a position to acquire the surplus with which in
1900 he bought eighty acres in Freedom Township. He has since devel-
oped that land into a good farming proposition, has put up good build-
ings, and has cleared away many acres of timber and is now practically
free of debt and has much to show for his efforts. Mr. Nehring is a
successful stock raiser and keeps high grade Shorthorns and Durham
cattle. He is a republican in politics and has been a member of the
local school board.
In 1896 he married Miss Christina Kapelka. She was born in Ger-
many April 2, 1864, a daughter of Henry and Tena (Schroeder) Kapelka.
Her parents were born and married in Germany and in 1893 her father
came to Sauk County, her mother having died in Germany. Mr. Kapelka
is now living with Mr. and Mrs. Nehring and is seventy-five years of age.
Besides the farm and material possessions with which he is surrounded
Mr. Nehring has the satisfaction and pleasure of a happy family of six
children, all of whom are living. Otto, the oldest, married Mabel Daw-
son, of Baraboo, and has two children, Harold and Alfred, these being the
only grandchildren. The other children, all at home, are Anna, Leonard,
Elsie, Ida and Frederick.
James Brennan. The claim of James Brennan upon the good will
and consideration of his fellow townsmen in Baraboo Township rests
upon many years spent in progressive and individual work as an agri-
culturist, upon a meritorious record as a citizen, and upon his activity
in promoting education and kindred accompaniments of advanced civili-
zation. While born in New England, he has resided in Sauk County
since his infancy, and much of his life has been passed on the farm which
he now occupies and a large part of which he himself cleared from its
virgin state. He has led an honorable career, and is accounted one of
the representative and substantial citizens of his community.
Mr. Brennan was born at Stamford, Connecticut, April 8, 1866, and
is a son of Thomas and Alice (Terry) Brennan. Thomas Brennan was
born in Ireland, in 1824, and was a young man when he came to the
United States, settling in Connecticut, where he met and married Alice
770 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Terry, who had been born in 1834, also in Ireland. While an energetic
and industrious worker, Mr. Brennan met with little suceess in his ven-
tures in the East, and in 1867 brought his family to Wisconsin, where
opportunities were brighter and better for the achievement of prosperity.
Locating in Sauk County, he settled on a farm in Baraboo Township,
the one that is now occupied by his son Walter, and here passed the
remainder of his life, devoting himself whole-heartedly to the pui'suits
of the soil and working out a well-earned success. Mr. Brennan had the
confidence of his community. He was a practical agriculturist who
believed in using the tested methods, but was never disdainful of the new-
inventions and discoveries as relating to his vocation, and was always
willing to give any method a trial that sounded feasible. As a citizen,
while not thrusting himself forward in taking part in the civic life of the
locality, he quietly did his share in advancing movements for the general
welfare. His original purchase, a modest tract, was added to from time to
time by his good business management and shrewd investment, and at
the time of his death, in 1909, he owned 320 acres of good land, with
modern improvements and good buildings. JMrs. Brennan died on the
homestead in 1895. They were the parents of the following children:
John, who is deceased ; Edward ; Thomas, deceased ; Alice and James,
twins; Mary; Walter, operating the old homestead; William; Bridget,
deceased ; Ella, and Peter. Mrs. Brennan, the mother of these children,
was a sister of John Terry, a substantial farmer and livestock raiser
and head of one of the best known families of Baraboo Township. He
was the father of Joseph P. and James M. Terry, mentioned elsewhere
in this work. Mrs. Brennan 's father was Edward Terry, who was an
early resident of Sauk County and spent his last years at the Brennan
home, where he died at the age of eighty-two.
The old homestead furnished the scene for the rearing of James
Brennan, for he was but one year old when brought to Sauk County,
and his boyhod was passed amid the surroundings of country life. He
was reared to habits of industry and frugality and secured the usual
country school education in Baraboo Township, and when his studies
were completed applied himself to the vocation of his father. Eventually
he became the owner of a farm of eighty acres of his own, of which he
has himself cleared twenty-eight acres and on which he has erected good
buildings and made many improvements. He uses modern methods and
appliances in his work, and has made a study of the science of farming,
so that he is able to gain a full measure of profit from the labor which
he extends upon his land. In addition to his general farming operations,
in which he has been very successful, he carries on also the breeding of
thoroughbred cattle, making a specialty of Holstein animals, for which
he finds a ready and profitable market. Mr. Brennan is a stockholder in
the Excelsior Co-operative Creamery Company and has an excellent
reputation in business circles. He is an adherent of democratic principles
in his political views, but has not entered actively into political life, nor
has he been a seeker for public preferment. With his family he belongs
to the Catholic Church, which he attends at Baraboo.
Mr. Brennan was )narried October 7. 1902. to Miss Clara Hawkins,
C^y/i 4 ^^^7-^
-^
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 771
who was born in Winfield Township, Sauk County, October 22, 1876, a
daughter of Albert and Catherine (Casey) Hawkins. Mr. Hawkins was
born near Burlington, Vermont, in 1844, and was fourteen years of age
when, in 1858, he accompanied his parents, Albert and Eliza Hawkins,
to Sauk County, the family settling in Winfield Township, where Mrs.
Brennan's grandparents both died. Albert Hawkins still owns the
original Hawkins farm, but is now retired from active pursuits and makes
his home at Reedsburg. He is a democrat in politics and while living in
the country was a man of importance in local affairs, several times tilling
the otSce of chairman of Winfield Township. He and the members of
his family belong to the Catholic Church. Mrs. Hawkins, who also
survives, was born in New York City, in 1851, and was a girl when
brought to Wisconsin by her parents. She and her husband had three
children: Clara, who is now Mrs. Brennan; Nellie; and Albert, who is
operating the farm that was the original home of the family in this state.
Mr. and Mrs. Brennan are the parents of four children, namely : Alice,
Grace, Ella and James.
Robert M. Dickie represents a family well known in Freedom Town-
ship. His parents were both born in Scotland, where they were married.
In 1850 they settled in Milwaukee and five years later in Freedom Town-
ship, where Robert M. was born in 1861. In 1890, having owned several'
farms and becoming "well fixed," the father moved to South Dakota
to make his home with a married daughter. There were eight children in
the family, of whom Robert M. was the sixth. He owns 100 acres of the
old homestead and is engaged in both general farming and stock raising,
Mrs. Ella A. Cooper. The Cooper and Cummings families have
been known and honored in Sauk County since pioneer times. Member-
ship has comprised faithful men and devoted women, worthy workers in
whatever vocation life has called them, and the community is the better
for the presence of such excellent families.
It was in the Village of Prairie du Sac, in which she now lives, that
Mrs. Ella A. Cooper was born in 1851, a daughter of Albion Paris and
Cynthia Cummings. Her father was a native of the State of Maine and
her mother of Vermont. Mrs. Cooper grew to womanhood in Prairie
du Sac, was liberally educated in the local schools, and for one year
attended a private school in Jefferson, Wisconsin. In 1880 she married
Mr. Jesse Cooper.
Mr. Jesse Cooper was born in New Hampshire, son of AVillard and
Amelia (Perry) Cooper. Both parents were natives of Vermont, and
they moved to New Hampshire when Jesse Cooper was about eighteen
years of age. He had a district schooling and for two years attended an
academy, at the same time working on the farm. He finally became
engaged in merchandizing and was postmaster in his New Hampshire
town for ten years. After his marriage he took his bride back to New
Hampshire, but in 1885 returned to Prairie du Sac and became active
manager of Doctor Cummings' drug store. That business he conducted
with success until his death in 1897. Mr. Cooper served two years as
county assessor and one year as town clerk, and was also a member of
772 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
the board of review. He was a republican and attended the Presby-
terian Church.
Mrs. Cooper's father was born at Albany, Maine, in 1820, a son of
Mr. and Mrs. John Cummings, both of whom were natives of Maine.
Albion P. Cummings grew to manhood in his native state, attended school
there and by private reading and work in hospitals acquired a thorough
proficiency as a physician and surgeon. He began practice in Vermont,
and lived in that state two years and was married there. He then moved
west and located at Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, where he began the practice
of medicine and continued it actively until about six months before his
death. Doctor Cummings was for years perhaps the most familiar figure
in his section of Sauk County. Every one esteemed him for his ability
and loved him for the kindness and wholesomeness of his character. He
practiced over a country manj^ miles in extent, and in the early days
endured countless hardships in making his professional calls. He was
always looking after the welfare of his patientSj not alone in physical
health, but in a material and moral sense. He was a democrat, but was
liberal in politics and fair-minded and broad in all the relations of his
life. Doctor Cummings' wife was born April 21, 1822, in Temple, Massa-
chusetts, but moved to Canaan, Vermont, when three years of age. She
received her education there and it was her home until her marriage.
She came west to Wisconsin and located in Prairie du Sac in 1850 and
remained a resident of that village until her death on December 26, 1914.
Mrs. Cooper has one son, Louis Albion Cooper. He was bom in New
Hampshire in' 1881, but when about four years of age came to Sauk
County with his parents and grew to manhood in Prairie du Sac. He
attended the local high school and common schools and for two years was
in college preparatory work at Morgan Park Academy. In 1901 he
entered Harvard College at Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was graduated
in 1905. For two years he taught at Rockford, Illinois, and then after
a year in the University of Chicago he became professor of English liter-
ature in the Ohio State University at Colum.bus. He is a man of brilliant
intellect and of high qualifications as an educator. He was connected
with the Ohio State University six years, and his seventh year was spent
in study at Columbia University of New York City. He has since
returned to Columbus, Ohio, where he is now located.
GuSTAV Federmann. One of the heavy landowners and successful
farmers of Sauk County is Gustav Federmann, who operates and owns
375 acres situated in Troy Township. He was eight years old when his
parents brought him to Wisconsin and he has lived here ever since and
long has been one of Sauk County's excellent citizens.
Gustav Federmann was born in Germany in 1865. His parents
were William and Wilhelmina (Hoppe) Federmann, who came to the
United States and to Wisconsin in 1873. For the first three years the
father worked at the mason's trade but he wanted a farm and selected
land in Sauk County, purchasing eighty acres in Troy Township, which
his son now owns. To this first tract he later added forty acres and still
later bought 160 acres. Later he sold 120 acres, but all the rest of his
land he cleared with the assistance of his sons. There was a large amount
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 773
of grubbing to be done and only oxen were strong enough to use in
breaking up the virgin land. In that section and at that time there was
comparatively little farm machinery in use and Mr. Federmann can
remember the early years on the farm when the scythe and the cradle
were the main harvesting implements. Both parents died on the home-
stead, the father in October, 1906, and the mother on April 1, 1917. They
were worthy people and faithful members of the Evangelical Church.
They had four children, namely : Albert, who resides with his family in
Spring Green Township ; Bertha, who lives in Troy Township, is the wife
of Frank Schukuecht; Gustav; and Lizzie, who is Mrs. Robert Fuchs,
lives in Troy Township.
Gustav Federmann has always lived on his present farm and has made
many improvements here. He helped his father clear the land and was
his main dependence for many years. He has acquired a large amount
of land, all of it valuable, and now owns in addition to the homestead
another farm of 280 acres. He has always carried on general farming,
has done some dairying and raises first-class stock. For a couple of years
Mr. Federmann also operated a lime kiln. In all his undertakings he
shows good judgment and is rated with his township's most substantial
men.
Mr. Federmann was married in 1892 to Miss Frederika Schaefer, and
they have a family of nine children, as follows : Gustav, Minne, Bertha,
Edward, George, Samuel, Benjamin, Alfred and Verna, all of whom are
living. Gustav is managing a farm that adjoins that of his father. Mr.
Federmann has given his children all the advantages in his power and his
sons and daughters have developed into men and women who are credits
to their parents and the community. The entire family belongs to the
Evangelical Church. Mr. Federmann has not at any time been active
in politics, but in neighborhood aifairs, when something must be done
to benefit the whole community or immediate help must be given in case
of poverty or sickness, his fellow citizens know he can be appealed to
and that his help is certain and his advice timely and practical.
Sidney E. Wakefield. Upon commerce rests the prosperit}^ of
nations as well as communities. Buying and selling, meeting the demands
of producer and consumer and so regulating trade that injustice be
done to neither and that progress and contentment result, make up so
large a portion of the world's activities and engage the efforts of so
many people that the business man in commercial fields is one of the
most necessary units in the scheme of things. The lumber business, with
its various connecting industries, is a commercial relation absolutely
necessary to the development of any section. At Baraboo one of the
leading industries in this field is the Deppe-Carpenter Lumber and
Produce Company, much of the success of which is due to the sterling
abilities of its vice president, Sidney E. "Wakefield.
Mr. Wakefield represents the type of business men who have been
the architects of their own fortunes. Lie was born on a farm in Adams
County, Wisconsin, August 7, 1862, and is a son of Thomas S. and Emily
(Temple) Wakefield, natives of Reading, Massachusetts, who came to
774 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Wisconsin in 1860 and located in Adams County. The little family circle
was broken up by the demands of the Civil war, for on August 12, 1862,
Thomas S. Wakefield enlisted for service in the Union Army, joining a
Wisconsin volunteer infantry regiment. After fighting for several years
he was granted a furlough and visited his home, but that was the last
seen of him by his loved ones, for after he had returned to the front
he was captured in battle by the enemy and cast into the awful prison
stockade at Andersonville, where he succumbed to starvation and disease
and died in August, 1864. There were four children in the family :
Marian, who is the wife of H. L. Cornell, of Chicago; Arthur, deceased,
who as a lad of seven years was taken by his grandmother to New York,
and then on a trip around Cape Horn to Oakland, California, living
there until twenty-one years of age and then returning to Kilboum City
where he died in 1888 ; Sidney E. ; and Thomas, who is a well-known
pharmacist of Oak Park, Illinois. Mrs. Wakefield, who came to Sauk
County, Wisconsin, in 1866, died at the home of her son, Sidney E., at
Baraboo, in 1914.
Sidney E. Wakefield was only two years of age when his father died,
and he and his brother were reared on the farm of their grandparents in
Adams County. He was educated in the public schools and reared to
agricultural pursuits, and when not yet eighteen years of age, March 1,
1880, began working for his stepfather, Charles Pelton. He remained
in the latter 's employ until his marriage, December 25, 1888, to Alice
Davenport, who was born in Sauk County. They began their married
life on a rented farm in Sauk County, on which they resided for
ten years. At the end of that time they changed their residence
to Eeedsburg, where Mr. Wakefield entered the employ of the Morgan
Building Company, a concern with which he was connected for about
thirteen years. In January, 1912, Mr. Wakefield came to Baraboo
and became identified with the George Carpenter Lumber Company, and
in May of the same year, when the organization and incorporation of
the Deppe-Carpenter Lumber and Produce Company was effected, he
became vice president of the new concern and manager of the Water
Street yards, the down town department, the West Side yards being on
Second Avenue. This company deals in lumber and produce, carries a
complete stock of lumber and building material and buys produce of all
kinds. Mr. Wakefield is thoroughly experienced in his line of work and
is well known to the trade and an energetic and progressive lumber and
produce man. Mr. Wakefield is a prohibitionist, is affiliated with the
Methodist Episcopal Church, and belongs to the Modern Woodmen of
America, which he joined in 1889, and to the Sons of Veterans.
Mrs. Wakefield is a daughter of Calvin P. and Mary (Gillespie)
Davenport, the former a native of Vermont and the latter of Scot-
land. She was brought to the United States as a child of eight years
and married Mr. Davenport in New England, from which locality they
came to Sauk County as pioneers. Mr. Davenport, who passed his life as
a farmer, died about 1910, while his widow still survives and makes her
home with her daughter, Mrs. Wakefield, at Baraboo. They had five
daughters and two sons. Prior to her marriage Mrs. Wakefield taught
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 775
in the public schools for about six years. She is active in the work of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, the Sunday school and the Women's Chris-
tian Temperance Union. While residing at Reedsburg Mr. Wakefield
was superintendent of the Sunday school for about ten years. He was
also the first president of the South' Side Social Center Club and acted
in that capacity for two years. Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield have two sons :
Lawrence S., bom January 26, 1896, now in Waco, Texas, at Camp
McArthur with Company A, One Hundred Twenty-eighth Infantry, U. S.
N. G. ; and Sidney John, born October 25, 1911.
Otto J. Dahlke. Sauk County has been fortunate in the class of
citizens who have made their permanent homes here and it can take a
special pride in those families who came from Germany. An excellent
representative of this class of local citizens, though himself a native of
Wisconsin, is Otto J. Dahlke of Excelsior Township. Mr. Dahlke started
as a farmer with limited capital and by hard work and good management
has made one of the -excellent farm homes of his locality. He was born
in Milwaukee October 14, 1874, a son of John and Henrietta (Henke)
Dahlke. John Dahlke, who was born in Germany December 14, 1836,
was the only son of his parents, Christoph and Rose Dahlke, both of
whom died in Germany. Henrietta Henke, who was born in Germany
July 7, 1842, was the only one of her parents' children to come to the
United -States. She was a daughter of Adam and Louise (Wintland)
Henke. Her father was born December 2, 1812, and her mother in
April, 1812. Adam Henke was a shepherd in Germany. The Henke
children were : Ernestina, deceased ; Amelia, deceased ; Henrietta ; Peter
August, deceased ; Augusta, who still lives in Germany ; William, in
Germany, and Julius, deceased.
John and Henrietta Dahlke were married in Germany, September
4, 1864, and on June 1, 1873, they arrived at Milwaukee and from that
city moved to Sauk County on April 19, 1875, when Otto was about
six months old. Here the father found employment in grubbing out
stumps and brush, working as a farm hand, and in 1879 he bought the
place known as the David Jones farm of forty acres in Excelsior Town-
ship. He was a most capable man and a hard worker and through his
efforts as a farmer he provided liberally for his family. He is now
living retired at the age of eighty-one. Politically he has identified him-
self with the republican party and is a member of the German Lutheran
Church. There were eight children in the family : Bertha, deceased ;
Henrietta, deceased; Augusta, deceased ; Hulda ; Otto J. ; Emma, at home
with her parents; Mary, who died in infancy, and Juliu.s, deceased.
Otto J. Dahlke grew up on the home of his father in Excelsior Town-
ship and at the same time benefited by regular attendance at the local
schools. Responsibilities beyond his age were early thrust upon him.
and when only thirteen he was working on a farm and milking fourteen
cows night and morning. It is very evident that the success he now
enjoys was well earned. For three years he worked on farms in Illinois,
but on February 1, 1905, bought a hundred acres in Fairfield Township.
He has since sold twenty acres of this, and his well developed farm of
eighty acres has every evidence of thrift and good management. In
Vol. n — 14
776 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
1912 he built a good country home, and has instituted many other im-
provements, all the buildings being the "result of his management, except
the barn. He is a republican without political aspirations, and he and
his family are members of the Lutheran Church at North Freedom.
On February 19, 1902, Mr. Dahlke married Miss Emma Milke, who
was born in the Township of Greenfield, Sauk County, December 3, 1879,
a daughter of Carl and Henrietta (Dickow) Milke. Her parents were
both natives of Germany, married there, and in 1876 came to Greenfield
Township of Sauk County. Here her father worked as a farm hand,
rented land for a time, and in I88I1 bought a place of eighty acres in
Excelsior Township. His prosperity as a Wisconsin farmer was gained
on that farm and he died there August 4, 1905, at the age of sixty-nine.
The old homestead is now occupied by his son Gustave. The widowed
mother passed away in December, 1916, at the advanced age of eighty.
Their children were : Bertha, deceased, who married Ferdinand Effinger,
of Baraboo ; Julius, deceased ; Amelia, wife of August Killian, of Bara-
boo ; Minnie, wife of John Ziemke, of Sauk City ; Annie, the present
wife of Ferdinand Effinger, of Baraboo ; Gustave, on the old homestead ;
Charles, and Emma, Mrs. Dahlke.
Mr. and Mrs. Dahlke have four children, the older ones still in school,
and it has been their pride and pleasure to give them the best advantages
both at home and in local institutions. The record of this family is :
Ethel, born July 1, 1903 ; Lucile, born July 28, 1905 ; Lilah, born July
29, 1909, and Floyd, born June 3, 1915.
Samuel Babington. A resident of Sauk County nearly half a cen-
tury, Samuel Babington earned his position in the esteem of the com-
munity by work as a hard headed and practical farmer, and after success
came to him in that line and it was possible for him to slacken somewhat
the pace he had pursued he was dignified with a number of positions
of trust and responsibility, and for many years has almost constantly
been engaged in the performance of some public duty. He is now living
retired at Prairie du Sac and is mayor of that little city.
Mr. Babington was born in Canada, June 9, 1845, of Irish parentage.
John and Ann (Marlin) Babington were both born in Ireland, the father
in 1801. After their marriage they immigrated to Canada, where John
Babington died in 1871, at the age of seventy. His widow subsequently
came to Wisconsin and died in Eau Claire in 1903, at the age of eighty-
one. John Babington was a farmer. He and his wife had eight children :
John, deceased ; Elizabeth ; Samuel ; William ; Ann, deceased ; Mary ;
James, deceased, and Charlotte.
His early years Samuel Babington spent in Canada on a farm. He
attended the public schools there, and was about twenty years of age
when he came to the United States in September, 1865. His first ex-
perience in this country was in the oil district around Titusville, Penn-
sylvania, but he soon went west to Illinois, and worked on a farm one
season. In November, 1866, he arrived in Wisconsin, at Mazomanie, in
Dane County. The date of his arrival in Sauk County was March 15,
1867, when he located in Troy Township. He began as a farm worker
and with growing experience and means he subsequently bought a farm
HISTOEY OF SAUK COUNTY 777
in sections 33 and 34, township 9, range 5. That old homestead he still
owns and it is a highly productive and valuable place, consisting of
380 acres. In the earlier years of his ownership it was practically wild
land, and Mr. Bahington through this farm has contributed something
of lasting and permanent value to the County of Sauk. Besides making
the land productive he built substantial buildings and for all time to
come this farm is destined to produce crops that will help feed and
maintain mankind.
In 1907 Mr. Babington retired from active farming and has since
lived retired at Prairie du Sac. He owns a good residence in that town.
He is one of Sauk County's prominent men in the creamery industry,
he has been one of the officers of the Wisconsin Creamery at Sauk
City for twenty-seven years. He was one of the organizers and the
creamery opened for business April 1, 1890.
In matters of politics Mr. Babington has always been a democrat.
He was chairman of the board in Troy Township for fourteen years and
assessor four years, and for three years side supervisor. In 1905 the
county board appointed him supervisor of assessments and he served
seven years, until the office was discontinued. In April, 1911, he was
elected mayor of Prairie du Sac and the people were thoroughly satisfied
with his administration of local affairs and kept him in office continu-
ously from that date to April, 1917. Fraternally he is a member of the
Ancient Order of United Workmen and is a member of the Presbyterian
Church.
Mr. Babington was married in March, 1872, to Miss Thomazine
Patterson. Mrs. Babington was born in New York City, March 15,
1851, a daughter of John and Mary (Thornberry) Patterson. In 1854
the Patterson family came west and located in Troy Township of Sauk
County and soon acquired the farm which Mr. Babington now owns.
Mr. Patterson died here in 1877, while his wife had passed away in 1869.
Their five children were : John H., Thomazine, Robert A., Mary Jane
and William G., all of whom are still living.
The family of Mr. and Mrs. Babington consists of six children, all
living and most of them established in homes of their own. Their names
are: John T., Eobert S., Maud M., Bruce D., Lottie Ann and Edith
Pearl.
Herman Weinke has for many years cultivated some of the
broadest acres and conducted one of the finest farming establishments
in Freedom Township. While he now enjoys a large degree of pros-
perity, Mr. Weinke began life in comparatively humble circumstances
and at one time rented some of the land that he now owns.
He was born in Germany, July 13, 1851, a son of Christian and
Minnie (Schoenke) Weinke. His mother died in the old country in
1869. The father afterwards accompanied his sons to America and
spent the rest of his days in Sauk County, where he died in 1896, at
the age of eighty-four. There were five children: Charles, Herman,
Ernest, Prank and Louisa, the daughter dying at the age of twenty years.
Herman Weinke secured his early education in Germany. He was
nineteen years of age when, in 1870, he crossed the Atlantic, and soon
778 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
afterward he came to Wisconsin, spending his first year in Caledonia
Township, of Columbia County. He then removed to Freedom
Township, and for a time was employed with a construction gang in
building the Northwestern Railway through this township. In 1881
he rented the farm he now owns and in 1883 bought it from the firm of
Brown & Avery. He carried heavy burdens of debt for a number of
years, but each year saw him a little further ahead and nearer to the
maturing of his ambitious plans. Under his hands the land was cleared
and put into cultivation, substantial buildings arose, and though he
is still a hard working citizen he might retire with an ample' competence
for all his future needs. Mr. Weinke has done much with thoroughbred
livestock, handling high grade Norman horses. Shorthorn cattle and
Duroc Jerse.y hogs.
Politically he is a republican, but has always been too busy with his
farm and business affairs to look favorably upon office holding. He and
his family are members of the Lutheran Church at North Freedom.
In 1877 Mr. Weinke married Miss Rosa Mielke. She was born in
Germany in 1859, and died at their home in Freedom Township, Novem-
ber 12, 1913. Her father, Ferdinand Mielke, came to Sauk County in
1870, locating in Freedom Township, where he and his wife spent their
last years. Mr. and Mrs. Weinke were the parents of nine children, all
of them still living and named in order of birth, George, Mary, Herman,
Louisa, William, Sophia, Ernest, Frederick and Arthur. They have been
given liberal advantages in schools and Ernest has made an exceptional
record in school work. He finished the grade schools in North Freedom,
is a graduate of the Baraboo High School, the LaCrosse State Normal,
took the training course at Reedsburg and is now engaged to teach in
Merrimack for the year 1917-18.
Frank Morley. Without undue disparagement of the labors of
others along the same line, a great deal of credit can be given to members
of the ]\Iorle.v family for the improvement and development of the better
and more substantial grades of livestock in Sauk County. The Morleys
have been in the livestock business for many years and through at least
two generations in this county. One of the most successful of them is
Mr. Frank Morley of Baraboo Township, who for years has had a
fai-m noted for its Percheron horses and Shorthorn cattle. Some of
his Percherons have taken premiums at the State Fair and his Short-
horn cattle have likewise been premium winners. Mr. Morley is an
excellent judge of thoroughbred livestock and has contributed to the
permanent advantage of the county as well as to his own profit by his
■work in this line.
The Morley family have long been leaders in the dairy industry of
the county, and Mr. Frank Morley is president of the Excelsior Coopera-
tive Creamery Association of Baraboo, having held that office since the
association was organized.
He was born March 4, 1868, on the farm that he now owns in Baraboo
Township. He is a son of Nelson W. Morley. He grew up on the farm,
attended local public schools and the Baraboo High School, and for three
years was a teacher, though that was not destined to be his real vocation.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 779
For a number of years he has been farming and raising- stock and in
1915 he bought the fine old homestead of his father, consisting of 240
acres. He was one of the organizers of the Excelsior Cooperative
Creamery, of which he is president, and is also a stockholder in the Bank
of Baraboo. Politically Mr. Morley is a republican, and for about nine
years has been supervisor of Baraboo Township. He and his family
attend the Presbyterian Church.
In 1894 he married Miss Alma Knapp, who was born in Sauk County
in 1873, a daughter of C. H. and Prussia Knapp. Her people were
early settlers in Sauk County and both her parents are now deceased.
Mr. and Mrs. Morley have two children: Alvin J., born November 9,
1900, and now a student in the Baraboo High School, and Kenneth, born
August 13, 1912.
William Haseltine is a prosperous retired farmer residing on the
family homestead three miles south of Baraboo which his father, Rev. '>V.
B., a Methodist minister, purchased in 1855. At one time Mr. Haseltine
was a well-known breeder of short horn cattle. Besides being a sub-
stantial land holder, he has investments in the Excelsior Co-operative
Creamery Company and other rural enterpri.ses, and has served in
numerous township offices.
Henry Stelter. On the roster of the men of Sauk County wlio have
won success by industry, good management and hard and well-directed
■effort is found the name of Henry Stelter, whose home is now located at
Prairie du Sac. Mr. Stelter had no particular advantages in his youth,
in fact he was compelled to make his own way in the world practically
from the time when he entered his 'teens. The success that he has won
— and it is not inconsiderable — is therefore all the more creditable.
During the thirty-six years that he has been a resident of Sauk County
he has always borne an excellent reputation for honorable and straight-
forw'ard dealing, and at Prairie du Sac, where he has lived a retired life
for the past four years, he is consfdered a valuable and useful citizen.
Mr. Stelter was born in 1851, in Hanover District, Germany, where
his parents, natives of that locality, spent their lives on a farm. Henry
Stelter was educated in the public schools, and at the age of .seventeen
years left the parental roof and made his way to London, England, in
order to escape the enforced military service of Germany. In the English
capital he worked at whatever honorable employment he could find,
and at the end of fourteen months found himself possessed of .sufficient
funds with which to take passage for the United States, where he con-
sidered opportunities better for the advancement of a young and ambi-
tious man. Shortly after his arrival in this country, in 1870, he made
his way to Platteville, Grant County, Wisconsin, and, having no capital,
hired out to a farmer as a hand. During the following eleven years he
worked faithfully and steadily for several agriculturists of that locality,
all the time carefully hoarding his earnings with the end in view of one
day becoming the proprietor of land of his own. In 1881, at the time
of his marriage, he saw his ambition come true, for in that year he
bought 160 acres of Sauk County land from Halom Baxter, for wliich
780 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
he paid $45 per acre. This farm continued to be his home during a
period of thirty-one years, and was developed from a partly improved
and not very productive tract into one of the fertile, model farms of
the district. Using modern methods, directing his energies along certain
well defined channels, and making use of every opportunity, he gradually
erected good buildings and installed improvements, so that his farm
became not only a paying investment but one of the valuable properties
of the county. In 1913, feeling that he had earned a rest from his years
of hard labor, he came to Prairie du Sac and erected a comfortable
home, in which he has since resided in retirement. At the time of
his coming he disposed of his farm, passing its labors and responsibilities
on to younger shoulders.
Mr. Stelter was married in 1881 to Miss Margaret Riechers, who was
born in 1861, in Germany, a daughter of John and Margaret (Kuehlen-
kamp) Riechers, natives of Hanover, Germany. The parents of Mrs.
Stelter came to the United States in 1865, and in the same year took up
their residence on a farm in Grant County, Wisconsin. After a short
stay there they removed to Lafayette County, Wisconsin, where they
purchased one-half section of land, in the cultivation of which Mr.
Riechers was engaged until his death December 8, 1873, at the age of
fifty-three years. The mother survived until April 11, 1899, being
seventy-eight years of age when she died. The children of Mr. and Mrs.
Riechers were as follows : John Herman, deceased, who was a resident
of Nebraska ; 'Justin, residing in Wisconsin ; Justice, deceased ; Dorothy,
who lives in Wisconsin ; Dick, also a resident of this state ; William,
who is deceased ; John and George, who live in Wisconsin ; Margaret,
now Mrs. Stelter, and Henry, who lives in Colorado.
Mr. and Mrs. Stelter are the parents of three sons and three daugh-
ters, as follows : Katherine, who is the wife of Chris Gruber, and lives
on a farm in Sauk County; Sena, who is the wife of George Kingston
and lives at Madison ; Margaret, who is the wife of Arthur Wagner and
lives at Prairie du Sac ; Albert, who married Leta Bernhart and js the
proprietor of a livery business at Prairie du Sac ; Clarence, who is single
and working at the carpenter trade, and Howard, who is taking a com-
mercial course in a business college at LaCrosse. Mr. and Mrs. Stelter
and their children are members of the Lutheran Church.
Jesse Wilfred Frenz. To tireless energy and industry the inevi-
table law of destiny accords a successful career, and in no avenue of
endeavor are there greater opportunities for advancement than in the
legal profession, a vocation whose devotees must, to be successful, be
endowed with inherent talent, sterling rectitude of character, power of
resource and well-directed purpose, while equally valuable assets are
thorough training, close and careful application and broad general
knowledge. Among the legal men of Sauk County who fully meet all
these requirements is found Jesse Wilfred Frenz, who during his six
years of practice at the Baraboo bar has gained an enviable suc-
cess for so young a man.
Jesse W. Frenz is a native son of Wisconsin. He was born in the
City of Madison May 17, 1886, his parents being William F. and
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 781
Mary Ann (Fauls) Frenz, natives of Dane County, Wisconsin, who
were married there and shortly thereafter located at Madison. From
the capital city they came to Baraboo in 1888 and here they have resided
ever since, being among the well known residents of this city. Mr.
Frenz, the elder, is prominently known among railroad men and has
. been a passenger conductor in the service of the Chicago & Northwestern
Railroad since 1882. There were three children in the family, namely :
Jesse Wilfred, Millard A. and Lillian M., wife of Lieut. Lyle C. Clarke,
United States Army.
Jesse W. Frenz was two years of age when brought to Baraboo by
his parents and this city has been his place of residence ever since with
the exception of several years while he was gaining his .education. He
first attended the public schools, being graduated from the Baraboo
High School in 1905, when nineteen years of age, and following this
entered the Beloit (Wisconsin) Business College, where he completed
a full course of study in 1906. After some preparation he began his
legal studies at the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and was
graduated from the law department of that institution in 1911, with
the degree of Bachelor of Laws, and immediately returned to Bara-
boo, where he has since continued in practice. He was admitted to the
Wisconsin bar in July, 1911, and is allowed to practice in all Wis-
consin and Michigan courts. Mr. Frenz 's law practice has been gen-
eral in character and his ability is evidenced in the large cases which
he has handled, for important litigated interests are never placed
in unskilled hands. His success may be said to be the outcome of
close study, a thorough preparation of his cases, a keen analysis of the
facts and a logical application of the law that bears upon and gov-
erns them. He holds membership in the Wisconsin State Bar Asso-
ciation, the American Bar Association and the Commercial Law League
of America, and occupies a high place in the esteem of his brother
practitioners.
Mr. Frenz has always. taken a keen and active interest in the wel-
fare of his adopted city and has been identified with movements that
have made for its advancement and welfare. For two years he was
secretary of the Baraboo Commercial Association and in this capacity
worked energetically with other public-spirited citizens in the further-
ance of civic projects. He was reared in the faith of the Congrega-
tional Church, to the movements and work of which he contributes
liberally. Mr. Frenz is well known in fraternal circles, being a mem-
ber of Baraboo Lodge No. 34, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of
which he is worshipful master; Baraboo Chapter No. 49, Royal Arch
Masons; and Maraboo Commandery No. 28, Knights Templar, of the
Masonic order: and the Equitable Fraternal Union.
On September 30, 1914, Mr. Frenz was united in marriage with
Miss May E. Yager, of Madison, Wisconsin, and they are the par-
ents of two sons : William Yager and Bruce Wilfred Frenz.
Frederick August Langenhan is a veteran citizen and business
man of Ableman, now retired. For many years he was the genial vil-
lage blacksmith, and he prosecuted his labors with such effective energy
782 . HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
and wisdom as to give him an ample competence for his declining
years.
The Langenhan home in Ableman is in many respects the most
interesting and conspicuous place of the village. He owns a block of
land where his home stands and he has expressed his enthusiasm for
many years in the cultivation of flowers and rare plants. In the
grounds around his home are over 5,000 bulb plants, more than 125 rose
bushes and he is famous for his dahlias, of which he has some sixty
varieties. Around the house stand some evergreen trees which he
planted himself, and in that quiet and beautiful retreat he and his
wife have everything that make life enjoyable.
He was born in Germany November 23, 1849, and his parents spent
all their lives in the old country. He grew up in his native country,
attended the German schools, and also began learning the trade of
gunsmith with his father. When he was eighteen years of age lack-
ing a few months he arrived at the City of Baltimore, Maryland, May
1, 1867. Just a year later to the day he arrived in Sauk City, Wis-
consin. At Sauk City he completed his apprenticesliip at the black-
smith's trade, and after working there a few years moved to Ableman
in 1876. He has thus been a resident of this town for over forty years.
He engaged in the general blacksmith business, had a wagon shop and
for a time was interested in a harness shop. These various interests
he prosecuted with success until he had sufficient for his future needs
and retired from business in 1904. Besides his home he owns consid-
erable other property in Ableman, including the site of his former busi-
ness enterprise.
Mr. Langenhan was one of the first trustees of the village when it
was incorporated, and for seven 'years was president of the school
board. He has worked for the community because it is the home where
he has meant to spend all his years, and his efforts have been from a
disinterested patriotism and loyalty. In politics he is a republican.
Mr. Langenhan was married May 1, 1877, to Miss Ida Schlegelmilth.
She was born in Sauk City, Wisconsin, February 19, 1857, and that
date indicates the pioneer place of her family in this county. She is a
daughter of Henry and Louise Schlegelmilth, who came from Ger-
many and located at Sauk City as early as 1852. Her father in the
old country followed the trade of cabinet maker, and in Wisconsin he
was chiefly a millwright. His death occurred in Sauk City in 1893
and his wife passed away there in 1885. Mrs. Langenhan was the
youngest of their three children. Her two brothers are Charles, of
Clifton, Wisconsin, and Bernhard, of St. Louis, Missouri.
Mr. and Mrs. Langenhan have three children : Walter was edu-
cated in the schools of Ableman and the Sauk City High School and
is now employed as an operator at Reedsburg, Wisconsin. Selma,
the only daughter, has had a brilliant scholastic career. She gradu-
ated from the Reedsburg High School, and then entered the Univer-
sity of Wisconsin, from which she has received the degrees Master
of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy. She is still pursuing her research
studies in the university. Her husband is E. J. B. Sehubring, a prom-
inent attorney of Madison, and member of the firm of Jones & Schu-
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 783:
bring. Henry August, the youngest child of Mr. and Mrs. Langenhan,
was graduated from the Ableman schools, attended the Reedsburg High
School, and was graduated from the University of Chicago, where he
specialized in chemistry. In 1916 he received the Master's Degree
from the University of Wisconsin in the chemistry department. He is
now employed as an instructor in the university in the pharmacy depart-
ment, and also as a chemist. Henry A. Langenhan married Bertha
Arnold, of Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Bert Giegerich is one of the veteran newspaper men of Sauk
County and for many years has been editor and proprietor of the Sauk
County News at Prairie du Sac.
Mr. Giegerich is still in the prime of life, and almost his entire career
has been spent in this county. He was born at Sauk City May 13, 1876,
a son of Bertram and Eva Giegerich, his father a native of Germany
and his mother of Switzerland. Mr. Giegerich grew up in Sauk City,
attended the public schools there, and as a boy he entered the office
of the Pionier am Wisconsin, a German weekly newspaper published
in Sauk City. In that office he learned the printer's trade, and famil-
iarized himself with the general duties of a country newspaper. This
paper was subsequently consolidated with the Sauk City Presse, now
the Sauk City Pionier Presse. For a number of years Mr. Giegerich
worked as a compositor with this paper and subsequently had some
experience in the book department of the Madison Democrat. In 1899
he and Mr. William P. Just bought the Sauk County News from E. J.
Browne, and they conducted the paper in partnership for ten years. In
1906 Mr. Giegerich bought Mr. Just's interest, and has since been
sole proprietor of this old and influential journal.
Mr. Giegerich is an active Mason and was master of Eureka Lodge
No. 113, Free and Accepted Masons, at Prairie du Sac in 1905 and
again in 1910-11. He is also affiliated with the Modern Woodmen
of America and the Equitabl-e Fraternal Union. He and his wife are
members of the Prairie du Sac congregation of the Evangelical Asso-
ciation.
Mr. Giegerich was married at Sauk City May 11, 1911, to Miss Ida
Meng, of, Sauk City, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Meng, wh6 were
pioneer Swiss settlers in the Town of Troy, Sauk County.
Ralsa a. Morley. Morley is a family name in Sauk County around
which have gathered many associations due to long residence, success
in business affairs, and honorable participation in those movements and
activities which are most vitally connected with the general welfare of
the community.
A prominent member of this family was the late Ralsa A.- Morley.
He was born in Lake County, Ohio, April 15, 1834. His father was
Thomas Morley, mention of whom is made in other connections in
this work. Ralsa A. Morley came to Sauk County with his people
when about sixteen years of age. He subsequently went back to Ohio
and attended Oberlin College. He and his father drove from the
State of Ohio a band of 1,000 sheep to Excelsior Township of Sauk
County. These sheep were owned by I. W. and Russell Morley.
784 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Ralsa A. Morley finally joined his brother, Nelson W., and together
they bought 320 acres of land in Baraboo Township from their father and
engaged in business as farmers and stock raisers. He finally acquired
the interest of his brother and the old farm constituted the scene of
his useful activities until his death in 1896. For a number of years he
had carried on the business of dealing in stock on a large scale, and
drove many herds out of Sauk County to market at Milwaukee and
Mazomanie and frequently drove hogs to Kilbourn City. A large part
of the land owned by the Morleys in Sauk County was acquired direct
from the Government.
Ralsa A. Morley was for several years a member of the town board
and its chairman, and superintended the construction of the insane
asylum. He was a republican, and for some years served as chair-
man of Baraboo Township, being always deeply interested in politics.
He was an attendant of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
On January 2, 1866, he married Miss Rose M. Clark, who was born
in Walworth County, Wisconsin, November 19, 1842, and is still living
on the old farm with her two sons, Rollo and Robert. She is the
daughter of Charles A. and Ruth E. (Sanford) Clark. Her father
was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, May 24, 1816, and her mother
in Rensselaerville, New York, November 15, 1815. The latter came to
Walworth County in 1840. Charles A. Clark when a child went to
Indiana with his parents, Benjamin T. and Betsey M. Clark, who sub-
sequently removed to Sauk County, Wisconsin, where both of them
spent their last years. Charles A. Clark went to Walworth County
about 1840, was married there, and in 1848 he and his wife came to Bara-
boo, where they owned the first frame building in that little village.
Mr. Clark was a mason by trade. Later he took up a farm in Bara-
boo Township and died there May 3, 1865. Mrs. Morley 's mother lived
until 1901. Their children were: Rose Mary; Caroline Augusta and
Charles Augustus, twins, both deceased ; Ruth Beatrice, deceased ; Bur-
gess Buell, of Carthage, Missouri.
Mr. and Mrs. Morley have three children: Rollo Clark, Ralph Fred
and Robert W.
Rollo Clark Morley was born on the old homestead in this county
September 2, 1867, attended the local schools and the Baraboo High
School, and for a number of years has lived at home with his mother,
and with his brother, Robert, has had active charge of the farm. These
brothers are well known breeders of Shorthorn cattle, an industry that
was established here by their father on October 1, 1878. They have
also bred Percheron horses. Rollo C. Morley was for ten years town-
ship assessor, and for the past twelve years has been a director of the
Farmers Mutual Insurance Company. Politically he is a republican.
Ralph Fred Morley, who was bom December 12, 1872, is a graduate
of the Baraboo High School, later attended the University of Wiscon-
sin, graduated from Lake Forest University at Lake Forest, Illinois,
and also from the McCormick Theological Seminary of Chicago. He
is now a successful attorney at Tulsa, Oklahoma. He married Augusta
Moore, and they have one child, Lucile.
Robert W. Morley was born December 10, 1875, graduated from
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 785
the Baraboo High School, and attended the University of Wisconsin
one year before joining his brother as a stock farmer.
Charles H. Stoddard. At the age of eighty-six Charles H. Stod-
dard still goes about his work, active and vigorous, in a manner that
bespeaks a wonderful store of youth and vitality. Mr. Stoddard is one
of the oldest business men of Prairie du Sac, where he located over
sixty years ago. The record of his career and of his family has a most
appropriate place in the history of Sauk County.
He was born at Coldbrook, New Hampshire, July 10, 1831, and
has in his veins the stock of the sturdy New Englander. His parents
were Asa and Sarah (Little) Stoddard. His mother died in New Hamp-
shire in 1842. She was survived by the following children : W., de-
ceased ; Charles H. ; Abigail and Calvin, both deceased ; Emma, who
died after her marriage to Hugh Shull. Asa Stoddard subsequently
married Philanda Frizzle. By that marriage there were three daugh-
ters : Sarah, Lueinda and Fannie, Sarah being now deceased. Asa
Stoddard and his second wife came out to Sauk County in 1862 and
located at Prairie du Sac, where he lived out his remaining years. At
his death in 1884 he was eighty-two years old. His second wife died
in 1885.
Charles H. Stoddard grew up in the environment of the typical
New Hampshire home, attended the public schools there, and had his
early experiences and training for life on a farm. It was on the 14th
of July, 1855, that he obtained his first view of Prairie du Sac, the
village which has known him and honored him during all the subse-
quent years. When a youth of nineteen, in 1850, he had become an
employe of the Grand Trunk Railroad. He took up the carpenter
trade and worked on bridges from Montreal to Island Pond and thence
to Portland, Maine. After removing to Prairie du Sac he continued
his trade as a carpenter and also that of a mover of buildings, an occu-
pation he had already followed to some extent back in Vermont. Some
of the oldest buildings in and around Prairie du Sac testify to the
skill of Mr. Stoddard as a contractor. He is still in business, and his
work now is fortified by the many years of experience. He has kept
for years all the facilities needed for moving buildings of every kind,
and is probably the best known man in that business in Sauk County.
For about forty-six years Mr. Stoddard has lived in one of the sub-
stantial homes of Prairie du Sac.
In politics he became a republican at the organization of that party
and was steadily affiliated with its policies and principles until recently,
when he has chosen to vote largely independently. Some years ago he
was a member of the council. For forty years he was active in the
Good Templars organization, and the principles of that order express
his own theory and practice as to the use of liquors and tobacco. His
parents were active members of the Free Will Baptist Church and Mr.
Stoddard himself has served as a supply minister of that denomina-
tion.
In 1855 he married Miss Eliza A. Clough, of New Hampshire. Mrs.
Stoddard died September 15, 1868, being survived by one son. This
786 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
son died at Roekford, Illinois, at the age of thirty-four. He had become
a successful teacher and for a number of years conducted a commer-
cial college at Rockford, building up the school until it had an enroll-
ment of 500 students.
On July 3, 1870, Mr. Stoddard married' for his second wife ]\Iiss
Florence Higday. She was born in Iowa County, Wisconsin, October
12, 1850, a daughter of George and Clarinda (Hatch) Higday. Her
mother was a daughter of Jonathan Hatch and wife, who came to Sauk
County as early as 1844 and both died at Lyons in that county. Jona-
than Hatch married for his second wife Polly Johnson, sister of Wil-
liam Johnson, the man who plowed the first furi-ow in Sauk County.
George Higday, father of Mrs. Stoddard, was born in New York State,
while his wife was a native of Ohio. He came to Evansville. Wis-
consin, at a very early day and was married at Prairie du Sac. Subse-
quently he located at Dover in Iowa County, and was a merchant and
manufacturer there. In 1855 he removed to LaPorte County, Indi-
ana, and while there he went into the army. He died in LaPorte
County in 1864, at the age of fifty-three. In 1865 his widow and fam-
ily returned to Prairie du Sac, and she died at the home of Mr.. Stod-
dard in 1889 at the age of sixty-three. In the Higday family were
four children : Florence ; Elizabeth ; Caroline ; and George, who died
when about five years old.
Mr. and Mrs. Stoddard have four children, Lawrence C, who was
born at Prairie du Sac November 2, 1872, married Lucy Young, and
Their three children are Ralph, Cecil and Lyle. George Bruce, who
was l)orn May 27, 1875, married Elizabeth Stillwell and has two sons,
Charles Bruce and James Henry. Roy Charles, born July 7, 1881,
married Alma Buehler and has a son, Lynn. Myrtle, born December 16,
1884, is now a proficient linotype operator in the Democrat office at
^ladison. Thus in his declining year's Mr. Stoddard has both the retro-
spect of an honorable business career and also a home made delightful
hy children and grandchildren.
John IT. Claridge, of Reedsburg, is a native of Franklin Township,
Sauk County, and came to the city when he was twenty-one years of age,
in 1881. For a period of twenty-four years he was in the contracting
business with G. W. Morgan under the title of the Morgan Building Com-
pany, and the firm constructed some of the largest buildings at Reeds-
burg. Mr. Claridge was afterward engaged in the produce business and
for the last six years has been a real estate dealer. He has also been
assessor at Reedsburg for there years, and is widely known in fraternal
circles. His father, Thomas W. Claridge, is an old settler, and among
his fond and proud recollections is the part he took as one of the body
guards of the martyred Lincoln. A detailed biography of the elder
Mr. Claridge is published elsewhere. John H. Claridge has four sons —
the eldest a practicing physician and surgeon, another studying medicine
in Chicago, a third serving in the national army, the youngest a school
boy, but all anxious to "get to the front."
George J. Paddock. After a long life of industry and usefulness
the worthy citizen of Sauk County whose name constitutes the cap-
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 787
tion of this sketch is now spending his declining' years in comfortable
and contented retirement at Baraboo. Mr. Paddock passed his active
years as an agriculturist and was the owner of a large and well-culti-
vated farm, which he had developed through the application of intel-
ligent and well-directed methods. He has been successful in a mate-
rial way and is looked upon as a good citizen and a representative
man of a flourishing community.
Mr. Paddock was born in Onondaga County, New York, May 17,
1843, being a son of Daniel and Jan (Van Loon) Paddock, the former a
native of New York and the latter of Pennsylvania. While a resident
of New York the father was connected with canal boating, but after
coming to the West he devoted himself to agricultural pursuits. He
was married in New York, and in 1844 brought his family to Illinois,
where he spent three years in farming, then moving on to Baraboo. He
soon succeeded in securing 160 acres of United States Government land,
which he later traded for another tract of like acreage in section 31,
Baraboo Township. There his death occurred in 1871, when he was
fifty-nine years of age, while Mrs. Paddock survived him for a long
period and passed away at the home of her son, George J., at Bara-
boo in 1897, being then eighty-four years of age. Both were members
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Mr. Paddock was a republi-
can. There were six children in the family : Ann, who is deceased ;
George J., of this notice; Edwin B., deceased; Cynthia J.; Orlando
F. and Laura J., the last two named being deceased.
George J. Paddock's educational instruction was obtained through
attendance in the primitive log schoolhouses of his day and locality.
He was a scholar at the first school in Baraboo Township, and was grad-
uated from a log shanty schoolhouse, following which he returned to
the farm. When the Civil war came on his patriotism was aroused,
and after several months of fighting he offered his services, in October,
1861, and was accepted as a private of Company A, Nineteenth Reg-
iment, Wisconsin Volunteer -Infantry. With this organization he fought
until September, 1865, when he received his honorable discharge. Mr.
Paddock's service was largely in Virginia and North Carolina, and in
the former state he was in the fighting around Richmond and partici-
pated in the fall of that city. In all he was in thirty-seven, battles and
came through the war without a wound, although he had numerous
narrow escapes and on one occasion his hat was shot from his head.
His army record showed him to be possessed of the qualities of cour-
age, steadfastness and fidelity to duty, and when he returned to the
affairs of civil life he applied these qualities there, with the discipline he
had received as a military man, to the tasks which daily presented
themselves. The result was that his operations proved successful and
lie eventually became the owner of the home farm. This he cultivated
prosperously until 1891, when he sold out his holdings and came to
Baraboo. Here he purchased a whole block on Ninth Avenue, where
his home is now located at No. 506. He lives a quiet, retired life, con-
tent in being able to enjoy the fruits of his enterprise and early industry
in congenial surroundings, among his many friends, and holding the
788 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
confidence and respect of a wide acquaintance. He has never cared for
public life. With Mrs. Paddock he belongs to the Church of God.
On October 10, 1867, Mr. Paddock was married to Wealtha Force,
who was born in Dane County, Wisconsin, March 18, 1850, daugh-
ter of Daniel and Elizabeth (Kelchbaugh) Force, natives of Connecti-
cut who came to Wisconsin in 1846. After developing a good farm, Mr.
Force sold it and moved to near the home of Mr. Paddock at Para-
boo, where he spent the rest of his life and passed away in 1884, when
eighty-five years^ of age, Mrs. Force djdng two years later, aged sixty-
five years. They had children as follows:" John, who died during the
Civil war ; Sarah ; Deborah ; Lydia, deceased ; Wealtha ; Daniel W.
and Elizabeth, deceased. Three children have been bom to Mr. and
Mrs. Paddock : Edwin D., formerly a railroad man and now living
with his father; William J., an engineer, who died June 25, 1915,
aged forty-three years ; and Ernest G.
Ernest G. Paddock, youngest son of George J. Paddock, was born
on the home farm in Baraboo Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin,.
May 9, 1876, and was reared there, in the meantime securing his edu-
cation in the public schools. At the age of twenty years he began
railroading, subsequently took up dray work, and in 1907 went back
to the Northwestern Railroad in the capacity of locomotive fireman.
In 1912 he was promoted to engineer, a position which he still holds.
He is a republican, attends the Congregational Church and is a mem-
ber of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Engineers and
the Order of Foresters.
In September, 1896, Mr. Paddock was married to Miss Annie Brew-
ster, who was born in Baraboo Township, Sauk County, daugliter
of Uriah, and Anna (Miller) Brewster, natives respectively of New
York and Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Brewster came to Wisconsin dur-
ing the Civil war period and bought a farm in Baraboo Township, on
which Mr. Brewster died March 26, 1914, aged eighty-six years. J\Irs.
Brewster had died November 3, 1897, aged fifty-one years, leaving a
family of five children: Edward, Charles, Annie, ]\Iary and Alice. To
Mr. and Mrs. Paddock five children have been born, all of whom sur-
vive: Hazel Alice, a graduate of the Baraboo High School and of the
Oshkosh State Normal School, class of 1917 ; Raymond, a graduate of
the public schools of Baraboo; Laura, who is in her second year of
high school ; Eva, who is in seventh grade in the Baraboo schools ; and
Adda May, who is in the fifth grade.
William C. Holtz. Diligent and ever alert for his chance of ad-
vancement, William C. Holtz has progressed steadily along the road
to success until he is recognized today as one of the foremost farm-
ers of the younger generation in Excelsior Township. Here he is held
in high esteem by his fellow citizens, who honor him for his ability and
for his fair and straightforward career.
William C. Holtz was born in the Empire of Germany, October 17,
1881. His parents, Henry and Augusta (Schloff) Holtz, were bom
and reared in Germany and there was solemnized their marriage. They
resided in the land of their birth until May 27, 1883, when they packed
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 789
their belongiugs and started out with their family to face a new life
in a new country. They came direct to Wisconsin and settled in the
Village of Ableman in Sauk County. Mr. Holtz decided to take up
farming and located on a fine landed estate of 315 acres within the
city limits. He cleared his land and erected a fine house and barn, ])oth
of which are still standing and which are now occupied by the son,
William C, subject of this review. Mr. Holtz is now sixty-two years
of age and, having retired from active participation in business af-
fairs, he lives with his son on the old homestead. His beloved wife
died April 19, 1898, aged thirty-nine years, and she is survived by the
following children : Bertha, William, Fred, Adolph, Emma, Paul, Anna
and Walter.
When William C. Holtz arrived in Wisconsin with his parents he
was an infant of but two years of age. What schooling he received
as a boy came in the intervals of a rugged life of farm work and con-
sisted of such facilities as were afforded in the country schools of that
period. He was seven years old when his father purchased the farm
on which he now lives and, being the oldest son in the family, he early
began to assist his father in its work and management. In 1909 he
bought the farm from his father and it now comprises 267 acres, of
which sixty-seven acres are within the village limits of Ableman. He
devotes his attention to general farming and stock raising and in both
those lines has won marked success.
In 1911 Mr. Holtz married Miss Amanda Behnke, a daughter of
Henry Behnke, a sketch of whose career appears elsewhere in this
edition. They have three children : Willis, Evan and Loraine.
Mr. Holtz and his family are members of the Lutheran Church in
Ableman. His interest in political questions is deep and sincere and he
gives an earnest support to republican principles, believing that the
platform of that party contains the best elements of good government.
He was assessor of Ableman for five years and served three terms as one
of the supervisors of the village. He is conscientious in the performance
of duty and is generous and sincere in his friendships.
John M. Kindschi is well and favorably known all over Sauk
County, and for the past eighteen years has served as commissioner of
the poor. At the urgent solicitation of his fellow citizens he has ac-
cepted other places of trust and responsibility. For many years he
was a progressive farmer in Prairie du Sac Township, but is now liv-
ing retired in the Village of Prairie du Sac.
It was in Sumpter Township on a farm that he was bom February
2, 1860. He is a son of Michael and Verena (Gasser) Kindschi. Bo(-h
parents were born in Switzerland, the father in 1830 and the mother
in 1833. Michael Kindschi was a son of John and Margaret (Accjla)
Kindschi. Margaret Accola died in Switzerland. The paternal grand-
father, John Kindschi, brought his family to Sauk County in 1846,
locating at Prairie du Sac and buying the farm previously owned by
John L. Accola. John Kindschi lived out the rest of his useful life
there and died in 1884, at the age of eighty-four. He and his wife
had four children : Michael, deceased ; Peter, deceased ; Kate, living
790 HISTORY OP SAUK COUNTY
at Prairie du Sac, the widow of J. P. Felix; and Christian, of Bara-
boo.
Verena Gasser, mother of John M. Kindschi, came to Sauk County in
1856, and a year or so later she married Michael Kindschi. They located
on a farm in Sumpter Township, and by their industry and economy
they prospered and at one time owned three farms. Michael Kindschi
spent his last years in Prairie du Sac Township, where he died March
5, 1916, at the age of eighty-tive. His wife had passed away in 1896,
aged sixty-three. Their children were John M., Jacob, George, Christ
H., Michael J. and Mary, wife of John M. Meisser, living in Montana.
Within the limits of Sauk County John M. Kindschi has had his
chief experiences in life and has worked out a substantial career. He
was reared and educated in the county, had a farm training, and
farming became his regular vocation. For many years he operated
successfully a 160 acre place in Prairie du Sac Township, and after his
children had grown up so as to relieve him of the heavier responsi-
bilities he removed to the Village of Prairie du Sac in 1915 and bought
one of the fine homes of that place, where he now enjoys every com-
fort and advantage.
In politics Mr. Kindschi has always been affiliated with the republi-
can party. He has served as township clerk, as chairman of the board
of supervisors five years, having been township clerk four years, and
since 1899 he has looked after with that carefulness and .efficiency
which are characteristic of him the interests of the poor in his capacity
as poor commissioner. Mr. Kindschi and family are members of the
Evangelical Church.
He was married in 1884 to jMargaret M. Ragatz. Mrs. Kindschi, who
died January 29, 1912, leaving her husband and four children, was
born in Troy Township of Sauk County in 1860, a daughter of George
and Caroline (Meyer) Ragatz. The Ragatz family were among the early
pioneer settlers of Sauk County and both parents are now deceased.
Mr. Kindschi had four children : Ella C, wife of Henry G. Witwen,
of 1239 North La Salle Street, Chicago, Illinois ; Emma S. ; Julia J. ;
and Arthur H., who died October 8, 1917, at the age of twenty-two
years.
John Voeck. The Voeek family has been a factor in the prosperity
and development of certain favored portions of Sauk County for nearly
half a century. Mr. John Voeck was fifteen years of age when he
came to the county and has made his career one of great prosperity
and of substantial community influence in Freedom Township.
He was born in Germany June 24, 1853, a son of Christian and
Augusta (Krengel) Voeck. His father was born in the old country in
1813 and his mother in 1823. When they brought their family to Sauk
County in 1868 they settled in Freedom Township with a son-in-law,
William Duramer. Mr. Dummer is now living in Baraboo. Later
Christian Voeck resided with his son John and died at the latter 's farm
in 1901, having survived his wife who passed away in 1899. Both
were active members of the Baptist Church. They had a family of
four children : Fredericka, wife of William Dummer ; Charles, a resi-
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 791
dent of Baraboo, where for nearly forty years he has been an em-
ploye in the railroad roundhouse; John; and Minnie, deceased wife
of George Urbon.
Mr. John Voeck received all his education in Germany. On coming
to Sauk County he was able to take a hand in cultivating the fields
and doing other work, and he began his career without money and with
nothing to depend upon except his industry and an ambition to make
the most of his opportunities. He worked out by the day and the
month, was employed by a railroad for a time, and subsequently began
farming as a renter. His purchase of land was forty acres in Free-
dom Township adjoining the place where he now lives. This was sold
later and he then worked in the stave and sawmill at North Freedom,
being head sawyer. After some fifteen years of this employment he
bought the Sproul farm of 155 acres, and was owner of that well known
place for nine years. He then sold out to the Iron Mining Company,
retaining only ten acres on which he built a comfortable house and a
good barn and managed it as a small farm until April, 1916, when
he traded for the place he now, owns in Freedom Township, compris-
ing 120 acres. This farm is producing a big contribution to the gen-
eral agricultural total of Sauk County and he also raises considerable
stock.
Mr. Voeck is a republican and for four years was supervisor of
Freedom Township and for the past four years has been township
assessor. He is a member of the German Baptist Church of North
Freedom.
March 1, 1880, Mr. Voeck married Miss Katie Mueller. Mrs. Voeck
represents a family of prominent pioneers in Washington County,
Wisconsin, where sbe was born April 10. 1862, a daughter of Henry
J. and Margaret (Swentener) Mueller. Her father was born in Ger-
many June 26, 1836, and her mother in Switzerland March 23 1887.
Her father died in August, 1900, and her mother on May 6, 1917, at the
age of eighty years. Henry Mueller came to Washington County, Wis-
consin, when a child, with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph MueUer, who
spent the rest of their lives in that county. Mrs. Voeck's mater a 1 grand-
father was Michael Swentener and her grandmother, Kate Swentener.
The Swentener family established their home in the wilds of Washington
County in 1846, the grandparents spending the rest of their lives there.
Henry Mueller and wife were married in Washington County in April,
1856, and they have thirteen children, named Margaret. Peter, Katie,
Henry, Minnie, Lydia, Tillie, Carl, Nellie, Freda, Mary, Benjamin and
Arthur. All of these are still living except Carl, Mary and Arthur.
Mrs. Voeck's parents were active members of the Baptist Church, and
her father was a local minister in that denomination for twenty-five
years. He enlisted with a Wisconsin regiment and served three years in
the Union army. He was a very prosperous farmer and besides his pos-
sessions in Wisconsin he owned a farm in Minnesota and also one in
Kansas.
Mr. and Mrs. Voeck have some very capable children and also some
grandchildren. The names of their children in order of birth are
Arthur, William, Lillian, Gilbert and Edna. Arthur, who was born
Vol. II 15
792 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
February 19, 1884, married Edith Wilzewske and they have one son,
Kenneth. "William, born May 14, 1887, was accidentally killed May 2,
1914. He married Alice Lange and left a son, William. The daughter
Lillian, born June 23, 1892, is the wife of Otto Wilzewske, and they have
two children, Marie and "Walter. The son, Gilbert, was born December
19, 1894, and the youngest child, Edna, was born January 21, 1906,
both of them still being at home.
John C. Bunn. The successful baking business of John C. Bunn,
which is now in its twenty-second year at Baraboo, has become known as
one of the reliable and substantial commercial enterprises of this thriving
Wisconsin city. The business was primarily founded upon honesty,
excellence of goods and a fair representation of the same, and this policy
has continued to be its watchword, therein lying in a large degree its
success. Its proprietor, John C. Bunn, is an industrious man of business
who has done much in a commercial way to contribute to the welfare
of his city, and who also, in thQ capacity of alderman, has since 1912
had a share in shaping its civic government.
John C. Bunn was born in 1865, in Germany, being a son of Christian
and Mary (Petschow) Bunn. The family came to the United States in
1884, locating at Arlington, Wisconsin, where three years later the
father died, being aged about fifty-two years. Mrs. Bunn survived until
1909, and was about seventy years of age when she passed away at Beloit,
Wisconsin. They had a family of six children, namely : John C. ;
Ernest ; Freda, who died in 1913 ; Charles ; William ; and Frank.
The education of John C. Bunn was secured in the schools of Ger-
many, and in that country he was apprenticed to the trade of baker, a
vocation which he learned thoroughly. In 1883 he immigrated to the
United States and first located at Arlington, where he resided for two
years, then going to Madison, where he secured employment at his trade.
During 1887 and 1888 he traveled through Minnesota, Missouri and
Kansas, working at his trade, and in the latter year returned to Wiscon-
sin and began his first independent venture, a bakery at Hartford, Wash-
ington County. After li^ years in this business he sold his estab-
lishment and turned his attention to farming in Columbia County,
Wisconsin, but in December, 1894, gave up agricultural pursuits and,
returning to Madison, again began working at his trade. In February,
1896, he took up his residence at Baraboo, at the same time establishing
his present business at No. 114 Walnut Street. Under his able manage-
ment this has become one of the most successful commercial enterprises in
the city and his business has grown and developed yearly until his goods
are in demand not only throughout Baraboo, but in the surrounding
country and in a number of the smaller towns and villages nearby. He
enjoys an excellent reputation in business circles for fair and honorable
dealing, as well as for good citizenship. A democrat in politics, for some
years he has been interested in the campaigns of his party, and has
accepted public service as a part of the responsibilities of citizenship.'
He served as a member of the board of county commissioners of Sauk
County for three years, and in 1912 was elected alderman of Baraboo,
a capacity in which he has since acted very efficiently. He and Mrs.
Bunn are consistent members of the Lutheran Church.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 793
Mr. Bunn was married in 1893 to Miss Caroline Behrend, who was
born August 25, 1870, in Germany, a daughter of W. and Mary Behrend.
Mrs. Behrend died in Germany, in 1874, and Mr. Behrend was left with
three children : Carl, Caroline and Bertha, the last named of whom
died in September, 1884. For his second wife he married Mary Baden,
who died in 1889, in Germany, without issue, and his third wife was
Mary Buscke, by whom he had three children : Ida, who died in Ger-
many; William and Freda. Mr. and Mrs. Behrend came to the United
States and located at Madison, Wisconsin, where he continued to be
engaged in business until his death in 1907, when he was seventy-two
years of age. His widow still survives him and makes her home at
Madison. Mr. and Mrs. Bunn have no children.
Stephen N. Kinsley, who is now living a retired life at Reedsburg
in his eightieth year, was one of the founders of Loganville, as will
appear by reference to the sketch of that place in the general history.
He comes of combined Vermont and New York stock, and when twenty-
two years of age migrated from the Empire State to Racine County,
Wisconsin, and then, in 1854, to the site of the Village of Loganville
near Narrows Creek, this county. He had only been preceded to that
locality by Chauncey P. Logan and R. B. Balcom. Mr. Kinsley had taken
up 200 acres of Government land in that locality, divided the water power
with Mr. Logan and at once joined him in the erection of the sawmill,
and in the following year became the first postmaster of the place. As
will conclusively appear from the historical sketch of Loganville,
Mr. Kinsley played as large a part in the development of the village as
Mr. Logan himself. He continued to operate the sawmill for a number
of years, improved much of the land he had purchased, and did not
dispose of his interests at Loganville until 1899. when he located at
Reedsburg. In 1856 Mr. Kinsley married Miss liucy A. Seamans; one
of the first to teach in the county, as was he himself. His first wife died
in 1868 and he married a younger sister. Miss Elizabeth E. Seamans,
who had also come on from New York to teach school. He has had four
children by each wife.
Hon. John B. Quimby was born in Ireland, in 1823, his family name
being Bartlett. He was a son of John Bartlett, also a native of Ireland.
John Bartlett 's mother died in Ireland when the former was five years of
age, and he soon afterwards went to Canada with his father. In Canada
he was adopted by John Quimby, whose family lived in Vermont, and he
ever afterwards honored the family name of Quimby. John B. Quimby
grew to manhood in the East, was educated in the common schools, and
finally took up the study of law. He was admitted to the bar and on
coming west, he located at Baraboo for a short time. Not finding the
opportunities he desired at the county seat, he walked across the country
to Prairie du Sac and made that his home. He also taught school in Sauk
City for a couple of years and in 1850 set up as a regular lawyer at
Sauk City. He continued in active practice until 1890, when he retired.
During these years he held the office of county clerk, was county judge
two terms and state senator six years. In 1870 he bought the old Baxter
794 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Farm, lying between the towns of Sauk City and Prairie du Sac, and
spent much of his time in the country. He was widely known over Sauk
County and was always active in behalf of the public welfare. He was
a strong republican, a member of the Masonic Lodge, and in younger
days was a Methodist, but later attended the Presbyterian Church, He
died February 2, 1904,
John B, Quimby married Sarah E, Leland. She was born at Peoria,
Illinois, April 10, 1837, a daughter of Cyrus and Sarah Leland, of Peoria.
When Mrs. Quimby was two years of age, in 1839, her parents moved
to Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin. They were among the first settlers there.
The surrounding country was a total wilderness and the family endured!
many privations before getting well settled. In 1843 Cyrus Leland
established a sawmill, which became the center of a small settlement
known as Leland, in his honor. After two years he removed to Sauk
City and subsequently members of the Leland family moved out to
Kansas and some of them are still found in that state. At the age of
sixteen Sarah Leland was given charge of a school at Sauk City, and
she taught until 1856, when she married John B. Quimby. She died
March 5, 1917.
The family of John B. Quimby and Sarah Quimby were eight chil-
dren: John L., of'Duluth, Minnesota; Mrs. Fannie M, Boder, of St.
Joseph, Missouri; Edward B., of Spokane, Washington; Jessie A., of
Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin; Mrs. Mildred E, Ickstadt, of Mount Horeb,
Wisconsin; Cyrus L., of Sauk City, Wisconsin; Howard B., of Reeds-
burg, Wisconsin ; and Herbert W., of Hunters, Washington.
Oscar Altpeter has been a successful business man in Baraboo for
a great many years and practically his entire career has been identified
with the bottling business. He now owns and operates one of the largest
bottling plants in Sauk County, and through his energy and business
acumen has kept the establishment up to the highest grade of quality and
extent of patronage.
The Altpeter family have been identified with Sauk County siace
pioneer times. Mr. Oscar Altpeter was born in Baraboo November 12,
1873, son of August and Catherine (Holtzinger) Altpeter, both natives
of Germany. John Holtzinger, father of Catherine, came from Germany
to Sauk County in very early times. John Holtzinger was a mason by
trade and did much of the work along that line in the early days of
Baraboo. He also owned and operated a farm, and both he and his
wife died in Baraboo. They had a large family of children. August
Altpeter came to America with his brother Philip, who afterwards located
in Milwaukee, and they were the only members of their family to become
Americans. August arrived at Milwaukee in 1851 and in 1853 came to
Baraboo, A cooper by trade, he established himself in business there
and continued his work almost uninterruptedly until his death in Aug-
ust, 1916, at the age of eighty years. His first wife, the mother of Oscar
Altpeter, died in 1881. She was the mother of the following children:
Emma and Ida, both deceased ; Fred ; Mary ; George ; Oscar, and Alvina.
August Altpeter married for his second wife, Mrs. Bingie, whose maiden
• name was Huber. To that marriage were born two more children, Aug-
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 795
ust and Daisy. August Altpeter was a democrat in politics and a mem-
ber of the Evangelical Church.
In the city where he was born Oscar Altpeter spent his youthful days,
attended the public schools, and was only eleven years of age when he
began earning his own living. Even as a boy he worked in bottling
works, and acquired an experience which meant more than capital when
he embarked in business for himself in 1897. He has gradually devel-
oped a firm second in importance to none in Sauk County, and his plant,
representing a large investment of capital and equipped with all the
latest appliances, is at 217-219 Maple Street.
Mr. Altpeter is a democrat in politics. For the past eleven years he
has filled the office of alderman from the Third Ward and is one of the
most efficient of the city 's governing officers. He is affiliated with Baraboo
Lodge No, 34, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons ; Baraboo Chapter No.
49, Royal Arch Masons ; Baraboo Commandery No. 28, Knights Templar ;
with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks ; the Woodmen of the
World ; and the Knights of the Maccabees at Madison.
Mr. Altpeter has one of the comfortable homes of Baraboo, located
at 127 Maple Street. He was married in 1907 to Miss Julia Weidenkopf,
a native of Sauk County and a daughter of John Weidenkopf, a pioneer
of this section of Wisconsin. John Weidenkopf fought with the Ameri-
can armies in the Mexican war and the land warrant granted him for
his services he used to secure Government land in Sauk County. Mr.
and Mrs. Altpeter have two children : Roger, born February 26, 1909 ;
and Roland, born February 21, 1910.
CoRwiN HiRSCHiNGER is the possessor and occupant of the farm which
has been in the family possession since pioneer times. That farm is
located in Baraboo Township and Mr. Hirschinger is utilizing its fer-
tility and resources as a general farm enterprise, and he is also a well-
known fruit grower.
He was born at Baraboo City in Sauk County November 7, 1865.
The farm he now occupies was the place originally settled upon by his
grandfather, Michael Hirschinger. Michael Hirschinger was born in
Germany in 1783 and married there Selma Beyx, who was born in 1797.
Michael Hirschinger saw active service as a solider during the Napoleonic
wars in Europe. In 1832 he left Germany, bringing his family to
America, and they were thirteen weeks on one of the old sailing vessels
that crossed the ocean. He first located at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, sub-
sequently lived in Ohio, and in 1847 came to Sauk County. That was a
year before Wisconsin was admitted as a state and only a few clearings
had been made here and there as evidence of the presence of white men
in this county. Michael Hirschinger had bought a land warrant, and
first used it to acquire 160 acres on the present site of Baraboo. He
gave up that and located another place in section 8 of Baraboo Township,
where he had 120 acres. He did much development work on this land
and lived there until his death in 1857. His widow survived him until
1881. They had five children: Frederick, Saloma, Michael, Jr., Jacob,
all deceased, and Charles, who is still living at Baraboo.
Mr. Corwin Hirschinger is a son of Michael and Annie (Risley)
796 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Hirschinger, both of whom were also born in Germany, but were married
in Sauk County. The father was born in 1825 and the mother in 1843.
For twenty years Michael Hirsehinger, Jr., was in the feed business at
Baraboo, and subsequently bought a farm near the county seat, consisting
of fifty acres, but after a few years sold that and moved to the south side
of Baraboo, where he had about sixteen acres within the corporation
limits. There he lived in comfort and ease until his death in July, 1901.
His widow is still living and makes her home with her daughter Mrs.
Edward Roser in Baraboo. There were just two children, Corwin and
Cora, wife of Mr. Roser.
In 1906 Corwin Hirsehinger bought from his uncle, Charles Hirseh-
inger, the original Michael Hirsehinger homestead. Seventy years have
witnessed many changes in that land since it was first acquired by the
family. He has a large orchard. Mr. Hirsehinger makes something of
a specialty of fruit growing and also raises the staple crops and some
livestock. Politically he is a republican and is a member of the Metho-
dist Episcopal Church.
In 1892 he married Miss Anna Luebke, of Greenfield, Sauk County,
a daughter of Frederick Luebke, of Baraboo. Mr. and Mrs. Hirsehinger
have four children, all living, their names being Robert, Gertrude, Carl
and Philip.
L. J. Steubeb, D. V. S. That most useful of all quadrupeds, the
horse, has a humane and skillful overseer of its welfare in the person of
Dr. L. J. Steuber, who has been engaged in the practice of veterinary
medicine and surgery at Prairie du Sac since shortly after his gradua-
tion from the McKillip Veterinary College in 1914. Doctor Steuber has
been engaged in a variety of vocations during his career, and first became
interested in his present profession while following agricultural pursuits
in Sauk County. He has already made marked advancement in his
choseii occupation and the scope of his practice is enlarging daily.
L. J. Steuber was born on a farm in Sauk County, "Wisconsin, in
1877, being a son of Kasper and Charlotta (Schulte) Steuber, natives of
Germany. Kasper Steuber was educated in his native land, and as a
youth learned the trade of mason stonecutter, an occupation which had
come to be known as a family vocation, his father and grandfather having
followed it before him. He was employed at his trade in Germany, but
felt that he eould better himself in the United States, and at the age of
thirty years came to this country and located at Prairie du Sac. At that
time this little city was enjoying an era of building activity and the
skilled young workman found plenty of employment for his ability,
many of the old stone buildings here still standing as monuments to his
skill and good workmanship. Later he went to Middletown, from whence
he removed to a farm eight miles west, in the Township of Honey Creek,
but while he lived on that property for sixteen years he continued to
work at his trade and had his stalwart sons conduct the operations of
the farm. At the end of the period mentioned he moved back to Prairie
du Sac, where he resided until his death in 1903. Mr. Steuber was a
member of the Lutheran Church and a man who was always held in the
highest esteem. He reared his children to lives of industry and honesty
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 797
and lived to see them all well established, honored members of their
several communities and credits to their rearing and to the honorable
name they bore. Charlotta (Schulte) Steuber was fifteen years of age
when she came to the United States with her parents, Mr, and Mrs. Carl
Schulte. The family first settled at Middietown, between Sauk City and
Prairie du Sac, subsequently moved to the latter point, and then went
to Honey Creek Township, and still later to the Township of "Westfield,
where Mr. Schulte engaged in farming. After the death of Mrs. Schulte
the father went to live with his son at Ableman, at whose home his demise
occurred. Mrs. Steuber lived for two years at Prairie du Sac prior to
her marriage with Mr. Steuber, by whom she had ten children, as fol-
lows: William F., a bricklayer at Madison, Wisconsin, who married
Louisa Wintemantl ; Mary, who is the wife of John Wareham, of Bara-
boo; John, manager of the silk department for a wholesale house at
Superior, Wisconsin, who married Mamie Dwyer ; Lena, who is the wife
of Henry Rischmueller, a farmer of Honey Creek Township; Charles,
who married Minnie Schellenberger and lives on the old homestead in
the Township of Honey Creek; Minnie, who married Fred Schellenger
and after his death, Charles Miller, and now lives in Sumpter Township,
where Mr. Miller is engaged in farming; Emma, who is the wife of
Ernest Fisher, a druggist at Baraboo ; Ida, who is the wife of John J.
Gasser, a farmer of Honey Creek Township ; Fred J., professor of Ger-
man in a college at St. Louis, Missouri, who married Jennette Blanchard ;
and Dr. L. J., of this notice.
L. J. Steuber grew up on his father's farm, on which he remained
until he was fifteen years old, in the meantime securing his early educa-
tion in the public schools of the country district. He next attended high
school, and when he had completed his course began teaching school in
the country, a vocation which he followed for three years. The next
eight years of his career were identified with the creamery business, and
he then returned to farming in the Township of West Point. It was
during the five years that he was thus engaged that he became seriouslj''
interested in the work which he has since made his life's occupation.
After some preliminary study and observation he went to Chicago, where
he enrolled as a student at the noted McKillip Veterinary College, and
was duly graduated therefrom in the spring of 1914. His practice was
commenced at Baraboo, but after several months he came to Prairie du
Sac, where he has since built up an excellent professional business in the
treatment of all kinds of animal diseases. In his specialty he has been
quite successful, and his ability and skill are generally recognized in the
vicinity of his home and the surrounding territory.
Doctor Steuber was married in 1899 to Miss Lois Drew, and they are
the parents of one son, Lawrence H., born in 1901, who is attending
school at Prairie du Sac. Doctor Steuber is a member of the Woodmen,
the Masons, the Beavers, the Eastern Star and the Alpha Sigma Society,
and he and Mrs. Steuber belong to the Lutheran Church.
John Egerer. The practice of business farming is being more widely
applied and adapted every year, and Sauk County has a considerable
number of men who may properly be called business farmers in the
798 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
strictest sense of that phrase. Among them is Mr. John Egerer of Free-
dom Township. A few years ago he took his son into partnership, and
they now conduct their operations under the firm title of John Egerer
& Son. The father learned farming by experience and long continued
years of work and observation combined, while the son is what many call
a scientific agriculturist in the sense that he received a thorough technical
training in addition to the practice he acquired on the home farm.
Together they are making a striking success as general farmers and are
also extensively known as breeders of high grade Holstein cattle and
Hampshire swine.
The farm where they conduct operations has been in the Egerer
family for a great many years. It was the birthplace of Mr. John Egerer,
who first saw the light of day in Freedom Township March 12, 1860.
The farm is owned by Mr. John Egerer and his brother William, under
the name Egerer Brothers, but the personal property and the equipment
of the farm, including livestock, are owned by John Egerer & Son.
Mr. John Egerer is a son of John and Mary (Werthmer) Egerer,
both of whom were natives of Germany, the father born in 1824 and the
mother in 1826. John Egerer, Sr., was a son of George Egerer, who
came to Sauk County about 1857. The grandmother died here in 1860
and he passed away about 1870, when eighty years of age. In the family
of George Egerer and wife were the following children : Peter, Lizzie,
George, John and Adam.
John Egerer, Sr., came to America when a young man, located in
Ohio in 1848, married there, and in 1854 brought his wife to Sauk
County. Here he bought forty acres near where his son John now lives,
subsequently acquired another forty acres, including the present home-
stead buildings, the first forty having been purchased from George Mer-
ton, the second forty from John Dickey and subsequently another forty
from Mr. Hawk of Chicago. The last forty acres, making a total of a
quarter section, was acquired from William Ode. On this farm John
Egerer, Sr., lived until 1891, when he retired to a town home at Baraboo
and died there after a long and useful career in 1904. His widow sur-
vived until 1912. John Egerer, Sr., was a democrat and an active mem-
ber of the Lutheran Church. He and his wife had seven children : Bar-
bara, deceased ; Annie, John, Paulina, William, Gussie and Joseph.
John Egerer, Jr., grew up on the farm where he now lives and bene-
fited by more or less regular attendance at the local schools. He learned
farming during his youth and for many years he and his brother have
owned the old homestead of 160 abres. This does not complete the total
of their landed possessions, and they have a farm of 195 acres in another
portion of Freedom Township and own 240 acres in Forest County,
Wisconsin.
Mr. John Egerer is a democrat in polities and is now serving as school
director and as road commissioner. He is active in the Lutheran Church
at North Freedom.
In 1892 he married Miss Mollie Armbruster, who was born in Freedom
Township of Sauk County August 26, 1869, a daughter of John and
Louisa Armbruster. Her parents were early settlers in Sauk County.
Her father was a veteran of the Civil war and died in 1905, while her
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 799
widowed mother is now living at North Freedom. Mr. and Mrs. John
Egerer have seven children : Obert John, Clarence, Alma, Chester,
Deane, LaFollette and Marie. All the children are still living and make
an effective group of young and vigorous Americans. The son, Obert
John, was educated at North Freedom, in 'the Baraboo Business College,
and has brought to the firm of John Egerer and Son the valuable quali-
fications of youth, agricultural enthusiasm and an ambition for success
which has already realized him a position among the most progressive
young farmers of the county.
Rodney H. True was born in Baraboo, Wisconsin, October 14, 1866,
son of John M. and Annie B. True. He was educated in the schools
of Baraboo and the University of Wisconsin, graduating in 1890 in the
general science course. He received the degree of M. S. in 1892 and the
Ph. D. degree at Leipsig, Germany, in 1895. He married Katharine
McArrey, Windsor, Missouri, in 1896. He was assistant professor of
pharmacognosy. University of Wisconsin, 1896-99, lectured on botany at
Harvard University, 1900-01, and has been physiologist in the United
States Department of Agriculture since 1901. He is a member of the
Botanical Society of America and Botanical and Biological societies at
Washington. Mr. True has contributed papers on original research to
botanical and other scientific journals and is the author of Government
scientific bulletins.
Edward L. Luckov^ was born in Washington County, this state, April
27, 1866, and came to Baraboo in 1886. In 1895 he purchased the Sauk
County Democrat which he edited until 1913, when he was appointed
auditor of the Navy Department at Washington by President Wilson.
He is now in Washington. During his residence in Baraboo he served
the city as mayor and was active in municipal affairs. In 1915 he sold
the Democrat to R. J. Osborne.
Robert J. Buerki. A conspicuous factor in the business life of Sauk
City for many years has been Robert J. Buerki, who is still active as a
merchant and has an honorable record of more than a quarter of a cen-
tury by which his standing in the community can be judged. Mr. Buerki
is a forceful and enterprising man, and has proved his ability not only
in the conduct of his private affairs but also in the management of large
and important public interests.
Mr. Buerki was born in Sauk County in 1860, a son of John and
Amelia (Stadelmann) Buerki. His father was born in Switzerland in
1830. His mother was born in ^Germany in 1836. Coming to America
in 1854, John Buerki traveled about over the country for a couple of
years, but in 1856 located at Sauk City. He was a shoemaker by trade,
having learned that vocation in Germany. Taking up his trade at Sauk
City he was a steady workman in that line and provided for his home
and family by his occupation, which he followed until about a year before
his death in 1888. He was married March 28, 1857, to Miss Amelia
Stadelmann, and they became the parents of eight children, four sons
and four daughters. John Buerki was village treasurer of Sauk City
800 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
for several years, was affiliated with the Ancient Order of United Work-
men and a member of the German Reformed Church, Of the children,
the oldest, Matilda, who died in 1909, became the wife of Rev. Mr. Gruen-
ingen, who was for thirty-five years a minister of the Reformed Church
at Sauk City. Rev. Mr. Grueningen died in, 1911. They had two chil-
dren, Paul and Rebecca. The second child of the parents is Robert J.
Buerki. Otto is a resident of Madison, but is engaged in a sanitarium at
Waukesha. He has three sons, Robin, Glen and Frederick, all living.
Emelia is the wife of August Becker, of Sauk City, a photographer, and
they have three children, Richard, Alma and Oscar. John is the active
head of the State Bank of Sauk City and married Pauline Kuoni. Salina
is the wife of Joseph Clement, a carpenter living in Sauk City. Albertine
is the wife of Louis P. Back, of Sauk City, and their children are Otto,
Paula, Rowland and Marcus. Oscar, the youngest of the children, is
associated with his brother John in the banking business, and by his
inarriage to Lavona Herring has a daughter Helen.
Robert J. Buerki grew up in Sauk City, attended the public schools,
and when a boy of fifteen gained his first business experience as clerk
in a store. He continued working for other merchants until he was
thirty years of age. Then, in 1890, he entered business for himself under
the name Buerki & Becker. His partner was his brother-in-law, August
Becker. Mr. Buerki handled the general retail merchandise end of the
business while Mr. Becker, a professional photographer, looked after
the photograph gallery. In 1905 Mr. Buerki bought the interest of his
partner, and has since conducted the entire store, his son Armin being
now associated with him. Mr. Buerki has one of the leading stores in
Sauk City and his prosperity has been well earned. For the past twenty
years he has also served as a director and secretary of the Sauk City
Canning and Packing Company, and is director of the State Bank.
At the age of twenty-four Mr. Buerki married Miss Augusta Kahn,
a daughter of Andrew and Sophie (Froehlich) Kahn. Her father was
born in Germany. Her mother was one of the first white children born
in Dane County. Mrs. Buerki 's grandmother came to this country from
Hamburg, Germany, while her grandfather was from Bavaria, Germany.
Mr. and Mrs. Buerki had two children : Armin, now the business associate
of his father, married Emma Lemm, daughter of Kasper Lemm, and
their two children are Robert, aged five years, and Frederick, aged two.
Edgar, the second child, died in 1909, when nineteen years of age.
Mr. Buerki was actively identified with the Ancient Order of United
Workmen until that organization dissolved. For about eight years he
was a member of the village board, serving consecutively, and was for
twenty-four years in succession a member of the school board. He has
for the past twelve years been a member of the County Board of Super-
visors. Much of his time and constructive efforts have been given to
the benefit Of the local schools. In 1891 he was a member of the Board
and Building Committee which erected the first high school at Sauk
City. Then, in 1916, he was chosen by popular vote as chairman of the
building committee for the erection of the handsome new high school
which was completed In that year, just a quarter of a century after the
first high school was erected. For thirty years Mr. Buerki has been
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 801
secretary of the Reformed Church and was chairman of the building
committee when the new church edifice was constructed in 1913. He and
his family are all active members of that church. Mr. Buerki in political
allegiance has made his judgment direct his choice rather than a blind
partisanship, and has always voted for the best man.
Edwin Steidtmann. Many of the men who owe their early training
to the productive farms of Sauk County have outlived their home environ-
ment and developed business qualities better suited to the activity of
the city than the quiet of the country. That it is commendable to seek
that which is most congenial and, therefore, better done, is a truism
lying at the foundation of all worth-while success.
Edwin Steidtmann was born on the home farm 4% miles north of
Prairie du Sac, Sauk County, in 1874, and is a son of August William
and Theresia (Kuhn) Steidtmann, natives of Germany, The family
was founded in the United States in 1849, in which year the grand-
father of Edwin Steidtmann came to this country and located in Merri-
mack Township, Sauk County. In his native land he had been a butcher,
but on coming to America turned his attention to agricultural pursuits,
in which he spent the remaining years of his life. He was industrious
and possessed of the thrift of his race, developed a good property and
made a home for his family, and became one of the highly respected men
of his community. He passed away on his farm, August William Steidt-
mann was six years of age when brought by his parents to America, and
here he grew to manhood among the rapidly changing conditions that
characterized the development of Sauk County from a wilderness to a
fertile and productive section. At his father's death he took charge of
the home farm and continued to be engaged in its operation until 1914,
in which year he retired from active labor and is now making his home
with his son at Madison, Wisconsin. Mrs. Steidtmann died on the farm
in 1905. They were the parents of four children: Two daughters who
died in infancy; Edwin, of this notice; and Edward. Edward Steidt-
mann, who is now a professor at the University of Wisconsin, at Madi-
son, married Miss Bertha Franke, daughter of Carl Franke, and they
have four children : Edward, Carl, Alice Louise and Robert, the two
older of whom are attending school at Madison.
Edwin Steidtmann was reared on the home farm north of Prairie
du Sac and attended the schools of the country until he was fourteen
years of age, at which time he went to high school for two years. Fol-
lowing this he taught school for one year, was then identified with the
drug business for a like period, and returned to his duties as a school
teacher for another term. The following three years were spent in
Louisiana, where he was engaged in farming, and he then returned to
Sauk County and for one year conducted a newspaper, the Sauk County
News, a venture in which he was associated with E. C. Brown, Return-
ing once more to agricultural operations, he located in Merrimack Town-
ship, and while there held the office of town clerk and chairman. For
some time Mr. Steidtmann had been interested in the progress being
made by the automobile industry, and, after due consideration, he became
associated with C. H. Lehmann and Roland Steuber in the automobile
802 HISTOEY OF SAUK COUNTY
business at Prairie du Sac January 1, 1916. He is well known in the
business circles of this thriving community, where he has established a
reputation for absolute integrity and fidelity to engagements. In addi-
tion to his automobile business he still has agricultural holdings in Sauk
County and is interested in Texas lands.
Mr. Steidtmann married Miss Rosina Lehman, daughter of Carl
Lehman, a farmer of Sauk County, and they have three children : Lynda,
who married Addison D, Weese and lives on the old family homestead
in Sauk County; Violet, who will finish her education at the Baraboo
High School in 1917 ; and Olivia, who is attending school at Prairie du
Sac.
Gottlieb Hengstler. This is a name which has a distinctive place
in the annals of Sauk County. The Hengstler family and their relation-
ship has been identified with this section of the state since the forests
were first cleared and the task of improvement begun which has trans-
formed a large area into a landscape of splendid farms, homes, towns and
industries.
The late Gottlieb Hengstler came to Sauk County when a boy and
lived a life of purposeful energy and effectiveness until his death. He
was born in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, August 22, 1845, a son of
Charles Hengstler, one of the oldest and most prominent of Sauk County
pioneers. He began his education in Pennsylvania, but when nine years
of age accompanied the family to Sauk County, and here he attended
such limited schools as were in existence and also assisted his father in
the wagon-making trade.
About the time he was grown, in 1865, he bought his father's old
homestead with the exeception of forty acres. That gave him 120 acres,
and he retained that land and brought it to bountiful production. He
also bought and sold other tracts, including the forty acres where his
son Charles now lives. Gottlieb Hengstler was not only a hard worker
but a good manager, and he made ample provisions in the way of im-
provements and solid comforts. He put up first-class buildings on his
farm, cleared much of it and was busily engaged with its work until
his death on June 8, 1914, when nearly sixty-nine years of age.
In politics he was always affiliated with the republican party. For
some years he served as township supervisor and for forty-one years he
performed the duties of clerk of the school board without pay. Public
spirit was one of his strongest characteristics, and the welfare of the
local schools particularly received his attention. He attended the Metho-
dist Episcopal Church.
On October 1, 1870, he married Miss Janet Dickie, who survives him
and resides on the old farm. Mrs. Hengstler represents some of the
solid Scotch element that figured prominently in the early life of Sauk
County. She was born August 11, 1850, in the Old American House
at Milwaukee, a daughter of John and Mary (Strathern) Dickie. Her
parents were both born in 1828, in Scotland, and both natives of Ochil-
tree. They were married in Scotland in 1849 and two weeks after the
wedding they set out for America. For several years they lived in Mil-
waukee, where her father followed the trade of shoemaker and in 1855
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 803
they arrived in the wilderness of Sauk County, where her father bought
forty acres in Freedom Township near the iron mines. This was school
land and he at once applied himself to its development and improve-
ment. Later he owned 160 acres, and had it fruitfully developed, most
of it under the plow and with good buildings. John Dickie died here
February 4, 1904, and his widow on January 5, 1912. Their children
were: Janet, Jane, Barbara, Thomas, William, Mary, Sarah, John,
Robert and Marian. The parents were members of the Presbyterian
Church.
Mr. and Mrs. Hengstler became the parents of five children : Charles
F., the oldest, was born October 9, 1871, was educated in the district
schools and the North Freedom Schools, graduated from the Baraboo
High School, and is now owner and farmer of eighty acres, half of the
homestead originally acquired by his grandfather. He is a republican in
politics, is now serving as township clerk and has been a member of the
school board and is director and treasurer of the Baraboo Mutual Insur-
ance Company. He married Edith Haynes, of Sauk County, and their
three children are Genevieve, Bernice and Gordon, these being the only
grandchildren of Mrs. Hengstler. George, the second child, was born
August 1, 1873, was educated in the public schools, and married Julia
Doppler, of Sauk County. John D., born April 22, 1881, is a graduate
of the Baraboo High School and also of the LaCrosse Business College
and is now purchasing agent for the Russ Manufacturing Company of
Cleveland. He married Miss Mame Clark, of Baraboo. Eugenie, who
was born November 10, 1887, was educated in the local schools and is
now the wife of Peter Brennan, who handles the work of the Hengstler
homestead farm. Mary, the youngest child, was born in 1891 and
received her education in the district schools and the North Freedom
High School. She is still at home.
"William H. Mash. There are many names identified with the early
settlement and agricultural development of Sauk County that are yet
among the leading ones here, and that of Mash is particularly well known
in Delton Township and also in Excelsior Township, in which latter
William H. Mash owns one of the valuable farms. He was born in
Delton Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin, June 18, 1869. His father,
William Mash, was born in Huntingdonshire, England, in 1842, and in
1854 was brought to the United States and to Sauk County, Wisconsin,
by his parents. The grandparents of William H. Mash died in Excelsior
Township, both at the age of eighty years, the grandfather in 1887 and
the grandmother in 1886.
William Mash, father of William H., was reared in Sauk County and
became a farmer. He died in the same year as his mother, 1886, when
aged forty-four years. He was married in Sauk County to Miss Emma
Spaulding, who was born in DeHon Township, Sauk County, in 1850.
Two sons were born to them, William H. and Frederick, the latter of
whom resides in Delton Township, as also does the mother. The maternal
grandfather was Oliver Willard Spaulding, and both he and his wife
were born in Vermont. They came to Sauk County and afterward made
their home here, coming in 1848, among the earliest pioneers and settling
804 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
in Delton Township on tlie farm now owned by "William Terry. Mr.
and Mrs. Spaulding had eight children, namely : Henry, Charles, Emma,
Nettie, Albert, Hattie, John and Frank.
William H. Mash attended the public schools. He has been a farmer
all his life and is one of the well informed, practical kind who thoroughly
understands the business. He owns 159 acres and devotes it to general
farming and stockraising, and as his operations are carried on with
forethought and good judgment he has met with much success.
Mr. Mash was married in 1893 to Miss Hulda Dahlke, who was born
in Germany, December 25, 1872. Her parents, John and Henrietta
(Henke) Dahlke, came to the United States in May, 1873, and located
in the City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where they remained four years
and then settled on the farm in Excelsior Township, Sauk County, on
which they now live. They had eight children born to them, but three
of whom survive : Hulda, the fourth in order of birth, Otto and Emma.
Bertha, August, Nellie, Mary and Julius, are all deceased. Mr. and
Mrs. Mash have no children.
In his poltical views Mr. Mash has always been a republican and has
done his full duty to party and friends and at times has been called upon
to serve in township offices. During his term as township supervisor
many important matters came before the board, and his excellent busi-
ness judgment assisted greatly in satisfactorily settling them. Mr. and
Mrs. Mash are active members of the Lutheran Church and liberal con-
tributors to its Christian activities.
Rudolph Beaun. To really comprehend the wonderful changes
which sixty years have effected in Sauk County, one should listen to the
interesting reminiscences of such an old resident as Rudolph Braun, one
of Troy Township 's most highly esteemed citizens and substantial farm-
ers, who has lived through this entire period and has done his part in
developing this section and improving conditions here. He has watched
whole families come and go, has seen fine farms developed from a wilder-
ness, in the shelter of which once lurked savage beasts, together with deer
and other wild game, has noted the growth of new and useful industries
and the building of towns and cities, churches and schoolhouses, and h;>.s
lived to see, also, farm life sheared of much of its isolation and hardship
through modem inventions and discoveries. Then, too, there is one
period of his life to which Mr. Braun may refer with justifiable pride,
for during three long years he served his adopted country as a soldier
in the Union army during the Civil war and acquitted himself with
credit.
Rudolph Braun was born in 1846, in Prussia. His parents were
Johan and Eleanor (Knabe) Braun. The father was born in Prussia and
the mother in Saxony, Germany. In 1852 they crossed the Atlantic
Ocean in a sailing vessel, and after landing in the United States came
directly to Sauk City, Wisconsin. The father was a reliable workman
at the carpenter trade and this he followed for the first ten years in
Wisconsin, and then secured a small tract of land near Sauk City, on
which he started a vineyard, and during the rest of his life devoted his
attention to the growing of grapes. His death occurred in 1892 and that
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 805
of the mother two years later. They were good people, industrious,,
frugal and kind, and their memory is tenderly preserved by their sur-
viving children, four in number, the eldest, Robert, having died in 1912.
The others are: Balthasar, who is a resi'dent of Wisconsin; Rudolph;
Emma, who is the wife of Joseph Schadde, of Minneapolis, Minnesota;
and Bertha, who is the wife of Carl Bartch, and also lives in Minne-
apolis.
Rudolph Braun was six years old when his parents brought him to
Sauk County and he remained with his people and helped his father until
he was sixteen years old, at which time the whole country was in a state
of excitement on account of the Civil war, then in its second year.
Although but a boy in years, Rudolph had settled opinions, and had the
courage of a man and this he proved by enlisting for war service in
Company K, Twenty-third Wiseonsin Volunteer Infantry and going to
the front. During the succeeding three years he bore himself with the
valor of a brave soldier and, although often in great danger, survived his
three years of service and returned home after being honorably dis-
charged without any serious injury.
Soon after Mr. Braun 's return to Sauk County he was married, when
nineteen years old, to Miss Katherine Hahn, and they became the parents
of six children, all of whom survive, as follows: Clara, the wife of
Robert Hoppe, lives on a farm adjoining that of her father ; Bernhardt,
who lives with his family on a farm in Sumpter Township; Ida, the
wife of Fred Brooks, lives in Westfield Township ; Isabel, the wife of
George Loerpabel, lives in Oregon; Udo, who lives with his family in
Westfield Township; and Alfred, who lives with his family in Troy
Township. Mrs. Braun died August 16, 1905. At the time of his mar-
riage Mr. Braun bought 160 acres of undeveloped land in Sumpter Town-
ship, Sauk County, which he subsequently cleared and improved, and he
lived on that property for fifteen years. At that time he sold and bought
his present fine farm containing 294 acres in Troy Township. For many
years he has carried on general farming and stock raising.
On May 6, 1913, Mr. Braun was united in marriage to Mrs. J. E.
Snediker, of Angola, Indiana. Mr. Braun has always been a fair-minded
citizen and has worked for the good of his neighborhood, but has never
joined any political organiziation, casting his vote according to his own
judgment. He has served as a school director for ten years, but other-
wise has never accepted a public office. Mr. Braun is one of the men
of whom it is said that ' ' his word is as good as his bond. ' '
Whiting Day Staj^tley. The name Stanley has been prominently
identified with the commercial life of Baraboo for over half a centur3^
A prosperous concern that was established by members of the family in
early days is now carried on by two brothers, one of whom is Whiting
Day Stanley. This is known as the Stanley Company, grocers, and their
store has been a landmark in the business district and a center for
patronage to the people of Baraboo and the surrounding country for so
many years that the old residents could not well think of Baraboo with-
out the Stanley store.
The two brothers now comprising the firm Stanley Company are sons
806 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
of the late William Stanley. William Stanley was a son of Whiting Day
and Maria (Castle) Stanley, who came from Canandaigua, New York,
to Dane County, Wisconsin, in 1847, locating on a farm, William Stan-
ley was sixteen years of age when the family came to this state, and he
reached his majority in Dane County. At the age of twenty-one, in 1853,
he engaged in the mercantile business with his brother Lemuel, and they
were partners until 1858.
On January 13, 1859, William Stanley married Louisa A. Hunting-
ton, daughter of Herbert N. and Amanda M. Huntington. Louisa Hunt-
ington was born in Oswego County, New York, September 16, 1839, and
when a young girl of twelve years came with her parents to Baraboo.
She finished her education in the Ladies' Seminary in that city.
In 1860 William Stanley engaged in the general merchandise business
at Baraboo with his father-in-law, under the firm name Huntington &
Stanley. From that time forward to the present the name Stanley has
stood for the best in the commercial life of the city. William Stanley's
business affairs prospered, and he also held many of the local offices in
Baraboo, including membership on the school board. He was a republi-
can in politics.
His old business associate and his father-in-law, Mr. Huntington,
died in 1877, and was succeeded in the business partnership by Edwin
M. Hoag. William Stanley died in 1898, after which the firm was
changed to The Stanley Company.
The seven children of Mr. and Mrs. William Stanley were : Maria
M., born January 26, 1861, and died October 14, 1863 ; Ida Louisa, born
April 30, 1863, and died October 10, 1864; Herbert H., born June 6,
1866 ; Whiting Day, born August 11, 1868 ; Daniel C, born September
6, 1870, and died November 2, 1879 ; William Nelson, born June 21, 1872 ;
and Mary Grace, born July 22, 1874.
Whiting Day Stanley was born in Dane County, Wisconsin, August
11, 1868, but has spent nearly all his life in Baraboo. He and his
brother Herbert took charge of the business in 1898, at the time of their
father's death, and have succeeded in maintaining the old reputation of
the house and in greatly extending its activities and enterprises.
Mr. Stanley is a republican in polities. He was married in 1895 to
Flora Lawson. Their three children were William, Frederick and Flora.
The mother of these children died in 1901. In 1905 he married Maud
Hamilton, and by this marriage there are also three children, George,
Lawrence and Margaret.
Herbert H. Stanley married in 1890 Ethel Hoadley. He has served
as an alderman from the first ward for nine years and has taken a very
active part in republican politics. Both the brothers are members of the
First Methodist Episcopal Church.
Lewis Birgen. Some of the earliest settlements of Sauk County
were made in Honey Creek Township, and it is of one of the oldest
families here that Lewis Birgen is a representative. Mr. Birgen is him-
self a native of Sauk County and was born more than sixty years ago
on the same farm where he lived until reeentlv.
He was born in 1855, son of Michael and Elizabeth (Decker) Birgen.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 807
His parents were both born in the Duchy of Luxemburg, Germany, were
married there, and on leaving their native land for America came direct
to Sauk County, They made the journey by railroad as far as Madison,
where they bought a team of horses and then drove overland to their
location in Honey Creek. Michael Birgen bought land from a specu-
lator and founded a home in the midst of the heavy timber. He was a
pioneer in every sense of the term. He cleared away the forest, grubbed
out the stumps, broke the land with ox teams, and pursued a course of
unremitting toil for many years until his home and financial independ-
ence were established. In the early days he made many journeys with ox
teams to Milwaukee, hauling his wheat to market or to mill, and it
required a week to make the round trip. Michael Birgen continued to
live on the old farm until 1878, when he went out to Dakota Territory,
spent nine years on that portion of the Northwest frontier, and then
moved to Iowa, where he died in 1905, at the age of seventy-seven. His
widow passed away in 1907. They had nine children: Catherine,
deceased; Anna, Mrs. John Medel, living in Minnesota; Lewis, who was
the third in order of birth ; Isabella and Mary, twins ; Matthew, who is
married and living in South Dakota ; Susanna, Mrs. Julius Bower living
in Montana; Peter, who is married and living at New Hampton, Iowa;
and Katie, Mrs. John Clements, of New Hampton, Iowa. All these
children were reared on the old homestead.
At the age of twenty-six Lewis Birgen married Miss Mary Steuber,
daughter of Henry Steuber, who deserves mention as one of the first
settlers of Sauk County. The Steubers came here in 1843, lived among
the Indians and in the wild woods almost isolated from white compan-
ionship for several years. He took up land in Troy Township and was
a man of substance and ability and influence. He married in 1850 and
died at the age of eighty-three in 1899, his wife having passed away in
1883.
When Lewis Birgen was twenty-two years of age he took the manage-
ment of the home farm and has lived there continuously ever since. The
original homestead comprised 180 acres, and he has since increased its
extent to 200 acres, all well improved and cultivated. He has also
replaced the old buildings by those of modern construction and the attrac-
tive homestead stands as a monument to his industry and good manage-
ment. He was a general farmer and did considerable stock raising and
dairying. For several years Mr. Birgen served as a member of the local
school board and has always been a friend and supporter of good schools.
His four children are all daughters, named as follows : Delia, Mrs.
John U. Schmidt, of Prairie du Sac ; Eva, Mrs. Felix Ferber, of Honey
Creek Township ; Bessie, unmarried and living at home ; and Mary, wife
of Andrew Moely, and resides on the old homestead. The children were
all born on the farm, grew up there, and acquired their education in the
Honey Creek Township Schools. As a family they are active members
of the Reformed Church in Prairie du Sac. In matters of politics Mr.
Birgen is independent. In October, 1917, Mr. Birgen retired from active
farming and moved to Prairie du Sac, where he has a fine modern home.
A. L. Young, who has been in the grocery business at Baraboo for the
past seventeen years, is the son of John Young, who took up land in the
Vol. II 16
808 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Town of Troy at an early day, and moved to the city where he was elected
sheriff of the county in 1878. He had been an active republican for
some years and in 1873 had served a term in the Legislature. For many
years he had been advancing politically through service in numerous
township offices. The son, A. L. Young, was a farmer on the old home-
stead for some years, but left it when a young man, engaged in business
in Baraboo, passed ten years in Missouri and Iowa in mercantile pur-
suits, and since then has been a grocer at the county seat. H;is father
died in Baraboo in 1905.
Edmond J. Terry. The most successful farmers in Sauk, as in other
counties, are those who are not only industrious but also well informed.
Many of these conduct all their operations according to modern and
improved methods and they are the farmers that reap large returns.
One of the prosperous farmers of Excelsior Township, Sauk County, is
Edmond J. Terry, who was born on the farm he now owns, November 12,
1863. His parents were John and Alice (Welch) Terry.
John Terry was bom in County Waterford, Ireland, and from there
in young manhood came to the United States and for twelve years was
employed in iron works in Connecticut. He was married in the City of
New York to Alice Welch, who was also' a native of County Waterford,
Ireland, and in 1855 they came to Wisconsin, and in May of that year
settled on the farm that their son Edmond J. now owns. At that time
it was heavily timbered and in a wild state, but Mr. Terry worked hard
and gradually cleared it and developed a fine farm, which he improved
with substantial buildings. He resided on that farm until 1898 and then
moved to Baraboo. He died in the following year on the old homestead,
having reached the unusual age of ninety-six. His widow survived him
and her death occurred in 1903, when aged eighty-four years. They
were fine people, devoted members of the Catholic Church, and were
well known all through this neighborhood. They had a family of seven
children, namely : Mary, James, Alice, Ellen, Anna, John and Edmond,
the last named being the only survivor.
Edmond J. Terry has always lived on the old home place. He
attended school in District No. 3 and afterward began farming, first
for his father and later for himself. He owns 160 acres of richly culti-
vated land and in 1901 erected a fine modern residence, while in 1909,
he built one of the best barns in the township, its dimensions being 34 by
80 feet. His stock is all high grade.
Mr. Terry was married in 1902 to Miss Ellen MuUoney, who was
born in Richland County, Wisconsin, June 12, 1870, and is a daughter
of Walter and Catherine (Harroll) Mulloney, who came to Richland
County in the late '60s, developed a farm and became people of well
known standing. Both lived to advanced age, the father dying April 6,
1914, aged eighty-nine, and the mother on March 18, 1908, when aged
eighty years. They had six children, namely: James, Eliza, William,
Johanna, Walter and Ellen, two of whom, Johanna and Walter, are
deceased.
Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Terry : John, an affec-
tionate child who died at the age of twelve years, in March, 1916 ; Cather-
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 809
ine, born February 18, 1908; Walter, born February 26, 1909; and
Helen, born July 20, 1910. Mr. Terry and his family belong to the
Catholic Church. In politics he is somewhat independent, well able to
do his own thinking on public matters, but nominally he is a democrat.
He has never been a seeker for public office.
William Edwards. In passing through a country, whether on
business or pleasure bent, travelers are very apt to notice, with the
leading, natural features, the extent and appearance of the lands and
stock in the agricultural sections, and favorable or otherwise, these
reports are carried over the country. Many a heavy investor has been
influenced entirely in this way. In no part of Wisconsin are to be found
better cared for farms or more thoroughbred stock than in Sauk County
and, it is noted also that this county stands very high in education and
good citizenship. Among the prosperous farmers and highly respected
citizens of Fairfield Township is William Edwards, a worthy representa-
tive of one of the old pioneer families here and the owner of the old
homestead which has been in the family since 1853.
William Edwards was bom on the present farm in Fairfield Town-
ship, Sauk County, Wisconsin, March 22, 1863. His parents were Hugh
and Gwen (Roberts) Edwards, the former of whom was born in Wales
and the latter in New York, of Welsh ancestry. The father first came
to Wisconsin at an early day in its settlement, remained for a time at
Racine and then came to Sauk County, and here he bought 173 acres of
virgin land in Fairfield Township. At that time these fertile acres were
wild prairie, dense timber or low, swampy tracts, timber prevailing, and
it took pioneer courage and brawn to clear and prepare sufficiently for
cultivation. The story is an old one but it never lacks in interest, for the
pioneer as the forerunner of civilization belongs to the history of Ameri-
can settlement. Hugh Edwards was a hard-working, patient and thrifty
man, and during his active years made many improvements on the farm
he had produced out of the wilderness and was permitted to live and
enjoy them into old age. He was eighty-eight years old when his death
occurred in 1901 at Baraboo, Wisconsin. His wife had passed away
many years before, in 1869, when aged but thirty-six years. She was
the beloved mother of seven children : Hugh, Catherine, Edward, Rob-
ert, William, Owen and Mary.
William Edwards grew to manhood on the home farm and secured
his education in the public schools. He assisted his father on the home-
stead until 1886 and then decided to investigate western lands and the
possibility of better farming opportunities in Dakota Territory than in
Wisconsin. Finding nothing to satisfy him there he went on to Wash-
ington Territory and in 1888 took up a homestead there of 160 acres
and lived on it until 1900, and then came back to Sauk County. In
1902 he bought the old homestead in Fairfield Township and has con-
tinued to live here contentedly ever since. He now has 110 acres, having
sold sixty- three acres of the low land, and carries on general farming
and stock raising. He is a man of enterprise and thoroughly understands
his business, and the excellent condition of his farm and stock and the
general appearance of thrift in his surroundings testify to it.
810 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Mr. Edwards was married in 1913 to Mrs. Mary Lawrence, widow of
August Lawrence, who came to Baraboo from Vernon County, They
have three children : Leonard, Marcella and Kenneth.
The parents of Mrs. Edwards were Emil.and Amelia (Brown) Shin-
nick, the former of whom was born in Germany in 1838 and the latter
in 1858. They were married in Germany and landed in New York
Harbor when they came to the United States. Their objective point was
Wisconsin, and they settled first at Sparta and then on a farm in Vernon
County, on which the mother of Mrs. Edwards died May 26, 1909. She
was a good wife and mother and was a faithful member of the Lutheran
Church, to which Mr. Shinnick also belongs. He still survives. Mrs.
Edwards was the eldest of six children, the others being : Otto, Charles,
Annie, who died in infancy, Emma and Delia.
Mrs. Edwards was reared in the Lutheran faith and the parents of
Mr. Edwards attended the Calvinistic Methodist Church, but he has never
united with any body, although he lends his influence to religious move-
ments as moral mediums. He has given hearty support to the candi-
dates and principles of the republican party all through manhood, but
has never had any desire for public office. Mr. Edwards is a successful,
practical farmer, belonging to a class of men now taking first rank in
the world's work and faithfully doing his part as becomes a true
American citizen.
Fred W. Schultz. With its fortunate location adjacent to a rich
and wide agricultural territory, with proximity to the nation's finest
fruit belt and with water power inviting manufacturing of all kinds,
Baraboo, Wisconsin, has long offered much to permanent settlers in the
way of business, and here business enterprises of magnitude have been
built up by far-sighted and progressive men. While business, founded
on financial stability, has flourished, education and culture have devel-
oped equally and now no city in the state creates a more favorable im-
pression as to its residential districts or its class of people. It is no
wonder then that native sons of Baraboo take pride in having been born
here, as have many of its representative men, and one of these is Fred W.
Schultz, who is a director of the Farmers and Merchants Bank of this
city and one of its organizers, and is also agent for the American Express
Company.
Fred W. Schultz was born at Baraboo, Wisconsin, November 2, 1868.
His parents were William and Minnie (Schulz) Schultz. The father was
born in 1826, in Saxony, Germany, and the mother, December 31, 1842,
in Pomerania, Prussia. The father came to the United States and
reached Baraboo in 1854, and here he followed the shoemaking trade for
many years, his shop being located at No. 116 Fourth Avenue. He was
an honest, upright man and a true Christian. He was one of the organ-
izers of the First Lutheran Church of Baraboo, and for many years
served in the office of church treasurer. He lived a long and blameless
life, respected by every one, retiring from business some time before
his death, which took place June 1, 1910, when his age was eighty-four
years. He was married at Baraboo to Miss Minnie Schulz, who came to
the United States some years after he arrived, and they had one child,
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY ' 811
Fred W. She was a faithful wife, good mother and kind neighbor. Her
death occurred May 29, 1910, her age being sixty-nine year?.
Fred W. Schultz attended school in his native city and finished the
high school course when about seventeen y^ars of age and then felt ready
to prepare for some line of business activity. He then learned the tele-
graphic art and became an expert operator and worked with a number
of the great transportation systems. For twenty-one years he continued
at the key, working with the Western Union Company, the Northwestern,
the Wisconsin Central, the Chicago & Great Western and the Northern
Pacific railroads both as operator and station agent at different points.
In 1911 Mr. Schultz returned to Baraboo to establish his permanent
home here and accepted work as relief agent for the American Express
Company until 1915, since Avhich time he has filled the office of agent for
this company. He has invested capital here and was one of the four men
who organized the Farmers and Merchants Bank, a sound and popular
financial institution of Sauk County, and has continued one of its
directing board. The bank occupies handsome quarters on the corner
of Oak and Fourth streets, Baraboo.
Mr. Schultz was married in 1897 to Miss Alice M. Oilman, who was
born near Rosemount, Minnesota. They have one son, Fred W., who
was born at Stillwater, Minnesota, January 7, 1902, and is now a student
in the high school at Baraboo.
Mr, Schultz cast his first presidential vote for Hon. Benjamin F.
Harrison, the republican candidate foi' the presidency, and ever since
has maintained his allegiance to the republican party. He has never
consented to accept any political office but is ever ready to assist his
friends and to lend his influence to every public spirited measure that
appeals to his sense of right and justice. He belongs to Cataract Lodge
No, 2, Free and Accepted Masons, at Minneapolis. Courteous and oblig-
ing, prompt and reliable, Mr. Schultz has always made friends wherever
he has lived and he has a wide circle at Baraboo.
William Alw^in is one of the native sons of Sauk County, and has
ordered his life along the pleasant and not unprofitable lines of agricul-
ture and owns one of the notable farms of Baraboo Township.
He was born in Honey Creek Township of Sauk County July 4, 1861,
a son of Martin and Caroline (Radel) Alwin. His parents were born
in Germany, were married there, and in 1856 crossed the Atlantic and
came to Sauk County, Wisconsin. In Honey Creek Township they
acquired a tract of land and developed it into a farm which has been
in the family possession ever since. It is now owned by their son,
Herman Alwin. They also acquired another farm about a mile away,
and on that second place Martin Alwin spent his last years. He died
in 1896, at the age of sixty-nine, and his widow passed away in 1903,
aged sixty-nine. Martin Alwin began voting as a republican but sub-
sequently became affiliated with the democratic party. He and his
family were active members of the German Lutheran Church at
Leland in Honey Creek Township. Their children were nine in number :
Fred, Julious, Augusta, William, Herman, Martin, Amelia, Louisa and
August, the last three being deceased.
812 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Mr. William Alwin grew up on the old homestead farm. He at-
tended the local public schools and also the Sauk City High School.
For over thirty years he has been prosperously and actively engaged
in farming on his own account and is now the owner of a place of
260 acres in Baraboo Township. He has thrifty and well tended fields
and does considerable stock raising. He also owns a block of stock
in the Excelsior Cooperative Creamery Company of Baraboo.
Politically Mr. Alwin is a republican, but active merely as a voter
and never an aspirant for office. He is a member of the Lutheran
Church at Baraboo.
On October 22, 1890, he married Miss Bertha Graf, who was born
in Sumpter Township of Sauk County August 30, 1871, a daughter
of Christian and Louisa (Diebel) Graf. Both her parents were born
in Germany but came to this country and to Wisconsin when young
and were married in Sumpter Township. Her mother was thirteen
years of age when she came to Sauk County with her parents, Martin
and Christiana (Hansen) Diebel. That was in 1848. Martin Diebel
and wife spent their last years in Sumpter Township on their farm.
Christian Graf was a carpenter by trade and located in Sumpter
Township in 1855. Mrs. Alwin 's mother had first married Carl Schied,
and by that marriage there were two children : Christina, wife of Frank
Eschenbeck, and Fred, now deceased. Mrs. Alwin was one of six chil-
dren : Henry, Louisa, Charles, Herman, Bertha and William, Charles
and William being deceased. Mrs. Alwin 's father died at Prairie du
Sac in 1908, at the age of eighty-three, and her mother passed away
October 29, 1910, at the age of seventy-five.
Mr. and Mrs. Alwin have six children, William C, Selma, Caroline,
Martin, Esther and Rodger. Selma married Fred Kuntzelman and
their two children are Lasetta and Harold. Caroline graduated from
the Sauk County Normal and for the past four years has taught at
Baraboo Township. The youngest child, Rodger, though only fourteen
years of age, is now in the third year of the Baraboo High School.
Andrew Moely has known Sauk County from his earliest recollec-
tions. He is a native of Prairie du Sac Township and since attaining
his majority he has acquired a worthy success as a practical farmer and
business man in that locality and has also shown a spirit of helpfulness
in all matters of community concern.
He was born in Prairie du Sac Township in 1862. His parents then
lived in the west part of the township. He is a son of Conrad and
Clara (Banhard) Moely, both of whom were natives of Switzerland,
His father came to America five years before the mother and they were
married in Prairie du Sac Township. Conrad Moely died eleven years
after his marriage. He was a farmer and on coming to Sauk County
he took up 140 acres of land from the Government and was indus-
triously engaged in its clearing and cultivation until his death. His
widow survived him until about six years ago. There were seven chil-
dren in the family: Lizzie, who married William Schoephorster and
died three years ago; Barbara, Mrs. Anton Norwald, lives in Sauk
City; Andrew; Mary, wife of William Cook, a Texas rancher; Lola,
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 813
wife of Chris Plots, of Prairie du Sac ; Martin, who is married and
lives in Sumpter Township; and Conrad, who lives in Prairie du Sac
and is married and has a family.
Andrew Moely grew up on the home farm and resided there until
he was twenty-two years of age. For several years he worked the
homestead for his mother, and then acquired the place where he now re-
sides. This contains 270 acres and is a place of excellent improvements
and has been brought to a high state of cultivation under his capable
management. For the first four years after buying this farm Mr.
Moely had his sister Mary as housekeeper. He then married Miss Kate
Caflich, who was born in Switzerland, Her parents died in the old
country and later she and her brother John, now deceased, set out for
America and came to Sauk County. Mr. and Mrs. Moely have six chil-
dren: Walter, who lives on a farm in Prairie du Sac Township and
is married; John, unmarried, lives at home with his father; Leona,
wife of Henry Detriek, of Madison, Wisconsin, who married Marion
Bergen and is living on the Bergen Farm ; Emma, who attends college at
Madison ; and Aaron, still at home.
Mr. Moely does general farming and stock raising and for a number
of years has kept one of the good dairies of the county. He has been
active in public affairs, having served seventeen years on the township
board, eighteen years as school clerk, and in politics is an independent
republican. He and his family are members of the Reformed Church
of Prairie du Sac and he has been an officer in that church since he was
twenty-one years of age.
August Rudy. A thrifty representative farmer in the fine agricul-
tural community of Excelsior Township, August Rudy has lived in Sauk
County more than forty years. He started life at the bottom so far as
financial circumstances were concerned, and by his own work and well
directed endeavor has acquired one .of the good farms of the county.
His birth occurred in Germany September 20, 1848. His parents
were Martin and Rose Rudy, the maiden name of his mother being
Henke. She died in Germany in 1873, and in the following year the
father came with his children to America and settled in Sauk County.
Here the rest of his life was spent in the quiet vocation of agriculture
and he died about thirty years ago at the age of seventy-two. The chil-
dren were : William and Caroline, both deceased ; Julia ; Rose, wife of
Gottlieb Jungerman ; August ; Mena, wife of Gottlieb Jesse ; Nettie, who
lives in Caledonia, Wisconsin, widow of W. Seif ert ; and Fred, who lives
near Lavalle in Sauk County.
August Rudy grew up in his native land, acquired a substantial edu-
cation, and was about twenty-six years of age when he came with his
father in 1874 to Wisconsin. Here he worked as a farm hand and sev-
eral winters he spent as an employe of the railroad. Later he became
a farm renter and then for five years he was employed by Risley Morley.
About 1883 Mr. Rudy bought forty acres included in his present farm,
As his means increased he bought another tract of twenty acres, then
twenty acres more, so that his present homestead comprises eighty acres
of well improved and fertile land. He also owns forty acres of timber
814 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
in Excelsior Township near his home farm. All this represents his sturdy
endeavors since he came to Sauk County and he has improved his farm
with good buildings. His first house there, in which he and his family
lived for several years, is now used as a granary. Mr. Rudy has fol-
lowed the plan of general farming and stock raising, and he has long
been considered one of the substantial men of Excelsior Township. In
politics he is a republican and is a member of the Lutheran Church at
North Freedom.
In 1887 he married Miss Albertine Kepp. She was also a native of
Germany, and was a most capable and thrifty wife and homemaker. Her
death occurred in 1909, after twenty-two years of married companion-
ship. She was the mother of one child, Ida, who is now the wife of
August Jungermann.
August Jungermann, who has the active management of the Rudy
Farm, was born in Germany February 21, 1866, a son of Gottlieb and
Gustina Jungermann. His mother died in April, 1886, and his father
subsequently married Rose Rudy, a sister of August Rudy, and they now
live in Baraboo. August Jungermann and wife are the parents of four
children: Anna, Arthur, Martha and August Frederick.
The parents of August Jungermann came to Sauk Count}^ in 1872
and bought eighty acres of land in Greenfield Township, which was their
home until the death of the first Mrs. Jungermann in 1886. Of their
children, August is now the only survivor. His sisters Julia and Amelia
and his brother Fred have all been dead for several years. August
Jungermann was six years of age when he came to Sauk County with his
parents and he acquired his literary education in the Greenfield Public
Schools and has always pursued the vocation of farming. He came to
the Rudy Farm on November 24, 1910, and has given his best energies
to its cultivation and management.
William P. Bassett, a retired farmer of Sumpter Township and
manufacturer of Baraboo, now a resident of the county seat, is the son
of a well-known pioneer couple of Sauk County. His parents came to
Baraboo in 1852 when he was seven years old, migrating from Virginia,
his native state. The father, P. A. Bassett, had visited Baraboo the year
before, and when he located with his family built a flour mill, later
opened a store with M. J. Drown, and for a number of years was quite
a factor in the development of the village. He died in 1885. William P.
Bassett, the son, received his education in the private schools and at the
Collegiate Institute of Baraboo. For about twenty years he was a manu-
facturer of staves and a merchant, and later became a farmer in Sumpter
Township. In 1914 he retired from active work and became a resident
of Baraboo.
Arthur Attridge. One of the widely known and highly respected
citizens of Sauk County is found in Arthur Attridge, whose valuable
farm of 190 acres lies in Fairfield Township. Mr. Attridge is a repre-
sentative of an old county family and one, on the maternal side, of mili-
tary distinction, and in his own person is an honored veteran of America's
great Civil war. He was bom at Rochester in Monroe County, New
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 815
York, June 8, 1838. His parents were Eobert and Eliza (Malloy)
Attridge, both of whom were born in Ireland.
Bartholomew Malloy, the maternal grandfather, came in his daugh-
ter's infancy to the United States with his father, John B. Malloy, and
they took part in the Seminole Indian war. Another son of John B.
Malloy served in the Civil war. Bartholomew Malloy, with his sons
Richard, Bartholomew and Ralph, came to Sauk County, and Adam,
who served in the Mexican war, came later to Milwaukee. Adam was a
drummer boy with the troops on Governor's Island and later at Fort
Winnebago, and when sent to Mexico was a soldier in the Sixth United
States Infantry and served through the entire war. At the opening of
the Civil war he raised Company A, Sixth Wisconsin Infantry, at Bara-
boo, of which he was made captain, and later the governor of the state
made him lieutenant-colonel of the Seventeenth, which was called the
Irish Brigade, and later he was brevetted brigadier-general. General
Malloy died in California in 1914, at the age of eighty-two years.
The parents of Arthur Attridge passed the most of their married life
at Rochester, New York, and it was in that city that the father, Robert
Attridge, met with an accidental death on the railroad in 1844, after
which the mother came to Sauk County with her three sons : Arthur ;
Richard, who was killed in the battle of South Mountain during the
Civil war; and Robert, who is a resident of the City of Baraboo, Wis-
consin. Her second marriage was to a Mr. Wardwill, to which three
children were born : Eliza, who died at Baraboo in 1915 ; Henry and
Dora, of Delton Township, Sauk County.
Arthur Attridge went to school at Rochester, New York, but after-
ward had but few school advantages. He was only ten years old when
he accompanied his mother, his brothers and his grandfather, Bartholo-
mew Malloy, to Milwaukee, reaching, that county July 6, 1848. In 1852
he came to Sauk County and for two years lived at Baraboo, and then
went to Prairie du Sac and started to learn the shoemaking trade with
Thomas Baker. Later on he and his brother Robert decided to strike
out for themselves and started for Hannibal, Missouri, by water, going
down the Wisconsin and later the Mississippi River. They stopped at
St. Joseph and at other points, including Fort Leavenworth, and even
went on to Kansas City, at each place trying to find remunerative em-
ployment. At that time Kansas City was but a small town. When they
reached Lexington Mr. Attridge found work as a shoemaker, but did
not remain long, returning then to Pi^irie du Sac and to his old em-
ployer, Thomas Baker, working in his shop until in August, 1862, when
he enlisted for service in the Civil war. He became a member of Com-
pany K, Twenty-third Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, in which he was
brave, true and faithful until he was honorably discharged March 13,
1865, after a service of two years and seven months.
Mr. Attridge returned then to Prairie du Sac in time to cast his
vote for Abraham Lincoln. By this time he had some capital and decided
to invest it in land, and together with his brother Robert bought eighty
acres in Fairfield Township, and brought his mother and grandfather to
this new home. Here his mother lived until the time of her death in
1890, at the age of seventy-three years. At that time the land was still
816 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
virgin soil and it took many years of hard work to convert it into a
profitable property, but Mr. Attridge not only accomplished that but
gradually kept adding to his possessions until they amounted to 190
acres. Since Mr. Attridge retired from active work his son William
operates the farm. It is well located as to markets, and because of the
care that has always been given it it is very productive land, returning
rich yields for the thorough cultivation bestowed.
Mr. Attridge was married November 25, 1877, to Miss Wilhelmina
Zeigler, who was born in Germany, January 27, 1857, and is a daughter
of William and Caroline (Wiesman) Zeigler. They were born in Ger-
many, reared and married there, and in June, 1869, came to the United
States and located first at Portage in Columbia County, Wisconsin, com-
ing to Sauk County from there in September following. For three years
afterward Mr. Zeigler worked for Albert G. Tuttle, but in 1873 bought
thirty acres, to which he later added ten acres, all timber land at that
time. He cleared off his thirty acres and later made many substantial
improvements, dying on the land he had so efficiently developed and
after many years of enjoyment of it, June 10, 1906, when aged eighty-
four years, having survived his wife since 1874. Their family numbered
eight children, four of whom died in Germany, three accompanied them
to Sauk County, and one was born here: Wilhelmina (Minnie), who is
the wife of Arthur Attridge ; Carl, who lives at Valley Junction ; Aug-
ust, who owns the old homestead; and William, who was born in Sauk
County.
August Zeigler, who not only owns the old Ziegler home place but
a farm of ninety acres in Fairfield Township, carries on general farming
and stockraising, keeping a first class grade of cattle and stock and
making a specialty of dairying. Mr. Zeigler is. a republican in politics^
and in his religious views is liberal. His father was a member of the
Evangelical and his mother of the Lutheran Church. On March 26, 1884,
he was married to Miss Ella Malloy, who was born in Fairfield Town-
ship in 1863, and whose parents were Bartholomew and Isabel Malloy,
early settlers who both died in Fairfield Township. Mr. and Mrs. Zeigler
have three children: George, who lives in Baraboo, married Amanda
Braun, and they have one daughter, Mildred ; Otto, who is a farmer in
Monroe, married Marela Jones; and John, who assists his father, mar-
ried Sebe Lusby, August Zeigler was born December 19, 1860, and
thus has been a resident of the United States since he was nine years
old.
Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Attridge, as follows : Mary ;
Elizabeth, who is a graduate of the Baraboo High School and the Platte-
ville State Normal School, and also spent two years at Mendota College,
Illinois, and still furthered her liberal education through a Chicago
correspondence school, and has been a very acceptable teacher at Mon-
roe, Wisconsin, for some years ; Ella, who resides at home ; and William,
who is in charge of the home farm.
In politics Mr. Attridge has always been a republican, and further
than that has always been a conscientious citizen. His good judgment
has many times been acknowledged by his fellow citizens and they have
elected him to township offices, such as road master and school director,
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 817
and during one year he served as clerk of the school board. He has
never lost interest in his old comrades of army days and belongs* to
the post at Baraboo of the Grand Army of the Republic. Mr. Attridge's
name belongs to the list that most creditably represent Sauk County
people.
Robert Bruce Curry. One of the well-to-do families of Sauk County
is represented by Robert Bruce Curry, whose home has been here over
thirty-five years and who has long been enjoying the splendid fruits of
his early toil and industry. He began his career here without special
advantages or capital, and has relied entirely upon hard work and good
judgment to put him ahead in the world.
Mr. Curry was born in Canada March 6, 1862, a son of Samuel and
Jane (Crosley) Curry. His father was a native of England, came to
New York State in early life and from there moved to Canada, where he
followed farming until his death about 1870. His widow passed away
in Canada in 1899. They had a large family of thirteen children,
Robert B. being the youngest of the sons. The others in order of age
were Lizzie, Annie, Jennie, Addie, James, Catherine, Fannie, Sadie,
Edward, Robert, Hattie, Margaret, and Trina Louisa.
Robert Bruce Curry grew up on the farm in Canada and was only
eight years old when his father died. He received a modest amount ol
education, and at the age of eighteen he came to Sauk County. Here he
worked as a farm hand and through that work saved the money by which
he was able to buy a farm of eighty acres in Freedom Township. He
kept that place and worked it for a number of years, but in April, 1915,
sold and bought one of the well improved places in Baraboo Township,
consisting of eighty acres. Here Mr. Curry may be found industriously
occupied with his work as a general farmer and stock raiser.
May 19, 1891, he married Miss Luella Eggleston. Mrs. Curry was
born at Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, June 22, 1875, daughter of Edward
and Henrietta (Ambler) Eggelson. Her parents were early settlers at
Prairie du Sac. She was a small child when her mother died and -she
grew up in the home of her Grandmother Ambler. Mrs. Curry died
April 7, 1912, the mother of nine children, all of whom are living.
Archie Bruce, the oldest, is now in the signal corps of the United States
Army at Fort Bliss, Texas. The other children in order of birth are
Mildred Luella, wife of Gustav Kleinschmidt, Cecil George, Lyle Edward,
Sadie ,Manzaneta, Robert Claire, Theodore, Thelma Viola and Clifford
Crosley.
Henry K. Dillenbeck. Among the thriving business enterprises of
the prosperous City of Baraboo, one which has grown to be a leader in
its line under its present management, is the cigar and tobacco store
conducted by Henry K. Dillenbeck. The proprietor of this business is
a product of the agricultural community of Wisconsin, a former railroad
man and for some years connected with the grain trade. In his present
line of business he has made many friends at Baraboo and has firmly
established himself in public confidence as a reliable and capable man
of affairs.
818 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Mr. Dillenbeck was born at Janesville, Wisconsin, August 26, 1870,
and is a son of Ezra and Jennie (Pritchard) Dillenbeck. His father,
born in 1836 in the Mohawk Valley of New York, was nineteen years .
of age when he came to "Wisconsin in 1855, settling in the vicinity of
Janesville on a Rock County farm. Being enterprising, capable and
industrious, he succeeded well in his agricultural undertakings, devel-
oped an excellent property, and accumulated a competence that enabled
him to retire in the evening of life and to pass his closing years in com-
fort at Janesville, at which city his death occurred February 14, 1916.
Mr. Dillenbeck was not only an energetic and able agriculturist, but also
made a place for himself as a helpful and public-spirited citizen. Rec-
ognizing his general worth and sterling integrity, his fellow citizens
frequently called upon him to serve in positions of public responsibility,
and after acting as assessor of the Township of Harmony for nine years
he was elected township chairman and retained that office three years.
He was a republican in his political views, and wielded something of an
influence in the ranks of his party in his locality. During a period of
twenty-seven years he faithfully discharged the duties of the office of'
treasurer of the Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and the
members of that organization placed the most implicit confidence in his
honesty and judgment. He was an attendant of the Congregational
Church, and was fraternally affiliated with the local lodge of the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows. Mrs. Dillenbeck, who was born in 1837,
did not survive her husband long, as her death occurred December 27,
1916, only ten months after he had passed away. She was a faithful
member of the Congregational Church and a woman of many excellencies
of mind and heart. There were four children in the family : Emma ;
Albert, whose death occurred in 1915; Henry K., of this notice; and
May.
Henry K. Dillenbeck was reared on the home farm until he was
seventeen years of age, in the meantime attending the graded and high
schools of Janesville. Subsequently he took a course in the select school
of Mrs. C. A. Hunt, having for a classmate Judge Stevens, and in 1891,
at the time of attaining his majority, came to Baraboo and entered upon
his career as a fireman in the employ of the Northwestern Railroad.
After four years with this line Mr. Dillenbeck went to North Dakota,
where for eight years he was engaged in the grain business. His first
location was at Hatton, subsequently he moved to Northwood, and from
the latter place went to Sharon, where he remained until 1903. In that
year he disposed of his interests at that point and returned to Baraboo,
where he sought a suitable location in a business way. Eventually he
purchased the cigar business of B. W. Brewer, and here he has since
built up an excellent trade. Mr. Dillenbeck, like his father, is a repub-
lican, but unlike the elder man has never been an aspirant for office of
a political character. He is widely known in fraternal circles, being a
member of Baraboo Lodge No. 34, Free and Accepted Masons ; Baraboo
Chapter No. 49, Royal Arch Masons; Baraboo Commandery, Knights
Templar; the Knights of Pythias; and the Modern Woodmen of
America, and is treasurer of Baraboo Local of the Brotherhood of Loco-
motive Firemen and Engineers.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 819
Mr. Dillenbeek was married in August, 1899, to Miss Emily Hender-
son, who was born in 1871, in England, a daughter of Robert and Eliza-
beth Henderson. Mrs. Dillenbeek was brought to the United States by
her parents in 1874, the family settling fh-st in Chicago, from whence
they soon came to Baraboo, Mr. Henderson being foreman of the black-
smith shop of the Northwestern Railroad for a period of twenty-seven
years. His death occurred in 1911, at which time Baraboo lost a depend-
able and useful citizen. To Mr. and Mrs. Dillenbeek there have been
born three children, namely : Henry John, who died at the age of seven
years J Robert E., who died in infancy; and Marjorie, bom in March,
1906.
Carl W. Wichern. The younger element of the agricultural indus-
try in Sauk County, upon which must come the work that will insure the
future prosperity of this wonderfully fertile region, is ably represented
by Carl W. Wichern, who is carrying on operations in Greenfield Town-
ship. Mr. Wichern also has the distinction of belonging to one of the
old and honored families of the county, being a son of Mathias Wichern
and a brother of Louis M. Wichern, in whose sketch on another page of
this work will be found the family history.
Carl W. Wichern has had an essentially agricultural career. His life
has been passed in the country, amid the surroundings of the farm and
out of his opportunities he has acquired success. Born on the old home-
stead place in Baraboo Township September 23, 1880, he was given good
educational advantages in his youth, first attending the public schools
of Sauk County and later completing his agricultural training by a
course in the agricultural department of the University of Wisconsin.
On his return from the university Mr. Wichern at once began to work
at his chosen vocation and shortly thereafter he and his brother Louis
M. secured a farm in Barron County, which they sold later. They oper-
ated the old homestead in Baraboo for six years and this partnership
continued until November, 1914, when their association was mutually
dissolved. At that time Carl W. Wichern bought a farm of eighty
acres located in Greenfield Township, to which he first added twenty
acres and later forty acres more, now having 140 acres of some of the
finest land to be found in the township. He has installed first-class im-
provements and built a set of fine, commodious, modern buildings, his
machinery and appliances are of the latest manufacture, and the gen-
eral air of prosperity hovering over the farm indicates the presence of
able and progressive management. In addition to carrying on general
farming operations Mr, Wichern has met with very satisfying success
as a breeder of livestock, making a specialty of pure-bred Guernsey cattle
and Poland-China hogs. He is a stockholder in the Excelsior Co-opera-
tive Creamery Company of Baraboo, and has a number of other inter-
ests. He is a republican, but has not found time to engage actively in
political affairs, although he takes a good citizen's interest in matters
of importance affecting the welfare and advancement of his community
and its people and gives his support to such measures as he believes will
be beneficial.
Mr. Wichern was married in June, 1915, to Miss Nettie Kimball, who
820 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
was born December 28, 1889, at Baraboo, Wisconsin, daughter of Willard
and Lizzie (Gerofski) Kimball, of Lyons, Wisconsin, and granddaughter
of Daniel and Harriet Kimball, pioneers of Sauk County, who died here.
Mrs. Willard Kimball was born in Germany and was a child when
brought by her parents to the United States, the family first settling in
Illinois, later removing to Dane County and then going to New York,
where the maternal grandparents of Mrs. Wichem passed away. Mr.
and Mrs. Wichern are the parents of one daughter, Ethel Mae.
Mrs. Egbert Schlag, widow of the late Robert Schlag, has her home
in Prairie du Sac and represents some of the pioneer elements of German
citizenship in Sauk County.
Mrs. Schlag is a daughter of Frederick and Barabara (Frank) Wi'eg-
low. Both her parents were born in Germany. Her father died ia
1912 and her mother in 1889. They came to America when still single,
were married in New York State and coming westward, settled in Merri-
mack Township of Sauk County on a farm. They lived on that place
for a number of years and finally sold it to Mr. Palmer of Baraboo.
The mother died on the old farm, and the father lived retired for eight
years in Baraboo.
Mrs. Schlag was one of eleven children: Frederick, married and
living in Baraboo ; Caroline, Mrs. Orlando Gottminkle, of Baraboo ;
Bertha, Mrs. William Clark, of Baraboo ; Anna, who died in March, 1906,
married Frank Hewer, of Belvidere, Illinois; Charles, who is married
and living in South Dakota; Mrs. Schlag; Frances, wife of John Cox,
living in Baraboo ; Ida, who died in 1885, after her marriage to Ernest
Thomas; Oscar, who is married and living in Baraboo; Minnie, the
widow of William Graff; and DeGraw, who is married and living in
Baraboo. These children all grew up and received their early educational
training in Merrimack Township.
Mr. and Mrs. Schlag were married March 8, 1879. To their marriage
were born two children. Lena Dell, the older, is now Mrs. Fred Scheuf-
ler, and they live in Merrimack Township and have two children, Doris
Gladys, aged twelve years, and Elmer Dell, aged nineteen months. The
son, Rudolph, is married and living on the old homestead farm in
Sumpter Township of Sauk County.
The late Robert Schlag was a son of John G. Schlag, who came from
Germany in 1844 and was one of the earliest residents in Sumpter Town-
ship, the land he took up and developed now being occupied by his son
Rudolph. John G. Schlag married Wilhelmina Steidtman, and on the
same day they -set sail for America. Their first stop was Milwaukee,
and from there they went to Bear Creek and then settled on their farm
in Sumpter Township. John G. Schlag and wife had nine children :
Rudolph, deceased ; Lena, who died after her marriage in 1901 ; Andrew,
deceased ; Susan, Mrs. Herman Matthews, living in Baraboo ; Paul, who
is married and living in Sumpter Township ; Herman, of Prairie du
Sac; Eliza, Mrs. August Oeherhaurer, of Baraboo; Robert; Alexandier,
who is married and living in Baraboo. These children all grew up on
the farm in Sumpter Township except the two youngest, who were chil-
dren when their parents removed to Baraboo. John G. Schlag, after
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 821
leaving the farm became proprietor of the Wisconsin House in Baraboo,
an old hostelry occupying the site now filled by the Ringling Theatre.
Some years later the old farm was sold to Robert Schlag, and he in turn
sold it to his son Rudolph. John G. Schlag continued to run the Wis-
consin House until his death.
Robert Schlag moved to Baraboo with his parents, but after a couple
of years there became discontented and returned to the farm, where he
lived with his father's tenant, at the same time attending school. After
his marriage he went to Minnesota, took up a homestead claim, and
during the five years they spent there they proved up on the land and
were then able to sell out at a good profit. Returning to Sumpter Town-
ship, Mr. Schlag bought his father's place and made it his home until
two years before his death, when he sold it to his son Rudolph and then
moved to Prairie du Sac, where his death occurred in July, 1916. He
was an honored citizen of the county, was generous, upright and had a
host of friends. For four years he served on the school board, and in
politics was a republican. His parents were members of the Lutheran
Church, but most of the present generation are free thinkers in matters
of religion.
Edward N. Marsh (deceased) was, for many years, a photographer
and hotel keeper at Devil's Lake. He built the first hotel in that locality,
which was known as the Minnewaukee House. He conducted it for a
number of years, sold it and moved to Elkhart Lake, where he erected
and managed the Swiss Cottage for some time. His next move was to
Fairplay, Colorado, where he also was engaged in the hotel business;
then he took up a homestead in South Dakota, located at Baraboo and
there engaged in the real estate business until his death in 1910.
Mr. Marsh was a Civil war veteran: His wife and living widow (nee
Mary Ann Blake) came to Baraboo with her parents in 1850, when twelve
years of age, and attended the first village school in a log house. She
was married to Mr. Marsh in 1855.
George W. Hackett. While it may offend his natural modesty to
make the statement, there is no question that George W. Hackett of North
Freedom is one of the foremost authorities on poultry in the State of
Wisconsin. What he has accomplished in that line as a practical poultry-
man and the recognition paid to his abilities both in this state and else-
where serves as a voucher of his leadership.
For seven years Mr. Hackett has been poultry lecturer at farmers'
institutes throughout the state. He is editor of the poultry department
for the Wisconsin Agriculturist, published at Racine, and is also super-
intendent of the poultry department of the Wisconsin State Fair. Mr.
Hackett is member of one of the oldest and best known families of Sauk
County. The farm which he now owns and occupies at North Freedom
was the scene of his birth on December 17, 1867. His grandfather was
Samuel Hackett, who founded the family in Sauk County in 1848.
Samuel Hackett was born in New Jersey in 1805, and after his marriage
moved to Canada, but in 1839 returned to the United States, locating
in Illinois, and from there coming to Sauk County in 1848. His descend-
822 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
ants are now numerous both in this state and elsewhere. The Hackett
family has held annual reunions for the past thirty-five years, and Mr.
George W. Haekett is secretary of the Hackett Family Reunion Asso-
ciation.
His parents were Frank S. and Ann E. (Loomis) Hackett. Frank
S. Hackett, a son of the pioneer Samuel Hackett, was born in Boone
County, Illinois, July 24, 1840, and was eight years of age when brought
to Sauk County. He received the limited advantages of the public
schools of that day, and grew up on a farm and made it his steady
vocation. He had a place of forty acres in North Township and owned
.forty acres in the Village of North Freedom. He finally retired to his
home in North Freedom and lived there until his death on October 15,
1916. He was one of the honored old citizens and for some years served
as justice of the peace, also as street commissioner, and was a member of
the village board. He also had a military record, having enlisted during
the Civil war in Company F of the Third Wisconsin Cavalry. After a brief
service he was discharged on account of disability. Frank S. Hackett mar-
ried for his first wife Pauline Wiggins. The one child of that marriage
is W. J. Hackett, of Tennessee. On February 10, 1867, Frank S. Hackett
married Miss Ann Elizabeth Loomis, who was born in the State oi
Michigan August 8, 1848. She was a daughter of Jerome and Harriet
(Chittenden) Loomis. Her mother was a cousin of a former seeretar^^
of the United States Treasury. Jerome Loomis came to Sauk County
in the early '50s, locating in Freedom Township in the ' ' Hill settlement. ' '
He was one of the early farmers there. In 1885 he moved out to Dakota
Territory, but subsequently located at Valley Junction in Monroe
County, Wisconsin, where he died. His wife died in North Freedom.
Jerome Loomis and wife had the following children: Ann Elizabeth;
Helen, deceased ; William ; Thomas ; Jay B. ; Francis ; Mina ; and
Douglas. Frank S. Hackett was a republican in politics, and he and his
wife and their respective parents were members of the Latter Day Saints
Church. The children of Frank S. Hackett by his second wife were:
George W., Joseph F., Samuel J., Joshua T., Mary Ann, John M., Jacob
A., Martha E., Laura, Arthur J. and Ethel M. All these are living
except John M., who died July 18, 1892.
Mr. George W. Hackett grew up in the rural surroundings of Free-
dom Township. Besides the local public schools he attended the Rock-
ford, Illinois, Commercial College. For a number of years he followed
general farming and for seven years conducted a meat market at North
Freedom. About 1892 he began breeding poultry as a practical enter-
prise. He had always been interested in this department of farm activ-
ity and for many years has been a close student and observer of every-
thing connected with the subject. His own experience might constitute
him an authority on several special lines of poultry, while his extensive
associations with poultrymen have done much to improve his judgment
and his ability as a demonstrator and judge. For the past twelve years
Mr. Hackett has given his entire business attention to the breeding of
poultry. His special breeds are the Barred Rock, the Partridge Rock
and the Rhode Island Reds. For the past ten years his services have
been in great demand as a judge of good poultry, he having officiated
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 823
at such shows as the Great Mid-West Show at Chicago, and the best shows
of the Middle West. He has been officially identified with the Wisconsin
State Poultry Breeders' Association, and has done much for more and
better poultry in Wisconsin. He had charge of securing and assembling
the poultry exhibits of Wisconsin at the Panama Exhibition in San
Francisco. His own Partridge Rock fowls exhibited there won the first
special premium.
Mr. Haekett has also been a leader in public affairs. He is independ-
ent in politics and is a strong and active force for temperance. For
several terms he served as mayor of North Freedom, and was also village
clerk and assessor for two years, and assessor of Freedom Township two
years. For fourteen years he was clerk of the school board and president
of the county board of education two years. Fraternally he is affiliated
with North Freedom Lodge No. 284, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons,
and also belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America.
On December 28, 1892, Mr. Haekett married Miss Diantha Gertrude
Call. Mrs. Haekett was bom in Rock County, Wisconsin, June 29, 1869,
a daughter of Charles Frederick and Mary (Sanborn) Call. Her father
was bom in the State of Maine in 1840, while her mother was bom in
Walworth County, Wisconsin, in February, 1849. Her father died at
North Freedom in 1913 and her mother is now living at Rockford, Illi-
nois. Mrs. Haekett is an influence for good outside her own household,
and is now serving as president of the North Freedom Library Board
and as county "secretary of the Women's Christian Temperance Union.
To Mr. and Mrs. Haekett were bom four children : Gerald A. and
Harold W.^ twins, were bom in August, 1894. Gerald died at the age
of six years. Harold W. is a graduate of the North Freedom graded
schools and the Baraboo High School, and then entered Berea College
at Berea, Kentucky, where he took his bachelor's degree in June, 1915.
He also pursued graduate study at Columbia University, New York
City, in 1916. He is still at Berea, acting as cashier of the treasury
department of the college. Howard Lloyd, the third child, was born
March 30, 1899, was graduated from the Reedsburg High School with
the class of 1917, and entered Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Indiana,
in September, 1917. Ralph Waldo Emerson, the youngest, was born
January 1, 1904, and graduated in the eighth grade in June, 1917, enter-
ing high school the following fall. He has marked talent for drawing
and cartooning and is now taking a special course in that work.
Edward R. Thomas. The career of Edward R. Thomas reflects prac-
tical and useful ideals and its range of activities has included the pro-
motion of agriculture, education, politics and insurance. Primarily a
farmer, with large landed interests, he has also been prominent in busi-
ness affairs of the community of Fairfield Township, and for many years
has been an active factor in the civic life of the community, having been
frequently elected to represent his fellow citizens in official positions of
trust and responsibility. Mr. Thomas was born April 27, 1856, in Dane
County, Wisconsin, and is a son of William and Lydia (Wineland)
Thomas.
William Thomas was bom in New Jersey, but as a young man
Vol. n— 17
824 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
removed to Eastern Pennsylvania, where he became a teacher in an
academy. While there he married Lydia Wineland, who was born in
the Keystone State, and in 1856 they came to Wisconsin and settled on
a farm in Dane County. There they made their home until 1881, when
they came to Fairfield Township, Sauk County, and began agricultural
operations on the farm now owned by their son, B. F. Thomas. William
Thomas continued to be an energetic and progressive farmer and highly
esteemed citizen here during the remainder of his life, and died in 1894,
having rounded out an honorable career of eighty-five years, while Mrs.
Thomas passed away in 1895, when eighty years of age. They were
faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and the parents
of the following eleven children : Maria, who died in 1915 ; Ann Eliza-
beth, a resident of Savannah, Georgia ; George, who fought for 41^ years
of the Civil war as a member of the Third Wisconsin Infantry, and is
now a resident of Taft, Florida ; William, who was a soldier of the
Twenty-third Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry during the war between
the North and the South ; Charles, who was a member of the Eleventh
Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry and met a soldier's death during the
Civil war; Martha, whose death occurred in Nebraska; Jefferson, who
died when twenty-two years of age ; Emma, who is the wife of James J.
Bray, a veteran of the Civil war ; John, who died in infancy ; Benjamin
Franklin, who owns the old homestead and resides at Baraboo ; and
Edward R., of this review.
The youngest of his parents' children, Edward R. Tliomas received
good educational advantages in his youth while being reared on the home
farm. He first attended the public schools of Dane County, then went to
the Oshkosh and Baraboo High schools, and completed his education
at the Oshkosh Normal School, following which for several terms he was
engaged in teaching school in Sauk County. In 1880 he began agricul-
tural work on a farm of 113 acres situated in Fairfield Township, to
which he has since added 153 acres and on which he has made improve-
ments of a modern character. His farm is one of the model tracts of
the community and its buildings are substantially constructed and hand-
some in appearance. In addition to general farming he gives some atten-
tion to the raising of live stock, and has made a specialty of Holstein
cattle. For some years Air. Thomas has been identified with important
business enterprises. At this time he is treasurer and a director of the
Excelsior Co-operative Creamery Company of Baraboo ; for twenty years
has been a director of the Baraboo Farmers Mutual Insurance Company,
of which he has been president for the past fifteen years ; and is a
director of the Wisconsin Tornado Insurance Company of Evansville,
Wisconsin. Among his business associates he is accounted a man of
shrewd judgment and great foresight, possessing the qualities that make
for leadership and executive ability.
Politically Mr. Thomas has always been independent in his views,
relying upon his own judgment in the selection of candidates. During
the past twenty-two years he has served as township clerk of Fairfield
Township, for several years was clerk of the school board, and during
the past nine years has been chairman of the township board of trustees.
He has always given his best abilities to the discharge of his official
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 825
duties and has been an important factor in securing numerous improve-
ments for his community. Mr. Thomas attends the Methodist Episcopal
Church, of which Mrs. Thomas is a member.
In 1879 Mr. Thomas was married to Miss Carrie F. Ayers, who M^as
born in Fairfield Township, Sauk County, January 30, 1857, a daughter
of Royal and Amelia (Jackson) Ayers, early settlers of that township.
Mr. Ayers, who was a farmer by vocation, was active in political affairs,
and was for several years chairman of the township board of trustees.
He died about the year 1890 and Mrs. Ayers survived him for six years.
To Mr. and Mrs. Thomas the following children have been born : Charles,
who died in August, 1914, married Jennie Pinneo, of Baraboo, and had
five children, Arthur, Edward, Theodore, Ruth and Bessie, the widow and
children now making their home with the family of Edward R. Thomas ;
Millicent, who is the wife of George Caflisch, of Baraboo, and the mother
of seven children, Roger, Bryan, Robert, Rodney, Donald, Lucille and
Wilbur ; Herbert, who married Fern Porter and has two children, Audrey
and Donald; Frank, a farmer of Fairfield Township, who married Eva
Davis and has one child, Phyllis ; Neal, who died in infancy ; Delia, who
is the wife of Harry Filer, of Pipestone, Minnesota, and has two children,
Francis and Mary ; Donald, who died in infancy ; Percy, who resides
on the home farm and is assisting his father in its operation; and
Lucy, who was engaged in teaching in the public schools of Reedsburg,
is now the wife of Rollo Webster and lives on a farm in Fairfield Town-
ship.
Charles A. Carpenter is one of the veterans in the service of the
Chicago Northwestern Railway Company. He has been in the train
service for over forty years and for the greater part of that time has
had one of the passenger runs as a conductor through Baraboo. He is a
popular man in the Order of Railway Conductors and has a host of
friends in his home city and among the traveling public generally.
Mr. Carpenter was bom in Westchester County, New York, INIarch
3, 1853. Three years later, in 1856, his parents, Alonzo B. and Phoebe
Jane (Smith) Carpenter, came west and located in Richland County,
Wisconsin. Their place of settlement was in Ithaca Township on Bear
Creek. Here Alonzo B. Carpenter took up a tract of Government land
and followed farming actively for a number of years. He also served
one term as county superintendent. He had eighty acres of land and
was in a fair way to prosperity when his good wife died on that farm
February 21, 1865, at the age of thirty-one years, two months, twenty-
five days. She was survived by five young children : Charles A., Char-
lotta, now deceased ; Eugenia, Benjamin F. and Nellie. Charles was
then twelve years of age. The father took his little family back to New
York State for one year and then returned to Richland County, Wis-
consin, and married for his second wife Miss Elizabeth Waterman. There
was one child by the second wife, who was born in Iowa. Alonzo Car-
penter followed the lumber business in Iowa for a number of years and
died there May 16, 1885, at the age of fifty-four years, eight months,
seventeen days. He was a well educated man, having gained his educa-
tion in New York State. He became a pharmacist and was also a skilled
826 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
accountant. Politically lie was a republican and a member of the
Masonic Order. The family on both sides were for generations connected
with the Friends or Quaker Church.
Charles A. Carpenter began his education in Richmond County,
attending the public schools, and also for one year attended school at
Ossining in Westchester County, New York. He returned to Richmond
County with his father and subsequently began working as a farm em-
ploye in Walworth County. He had a variety of experiences, and from
an early age was dependent upon his own resources. During one sum-
mer he worked on a Government steamboat running on the Wisconsin
River. For one or two winters he was employed in the pine woods.
It was in 1873 that Mr. Carpenter began his service with the Chicago
Northwestern Railway and with headquarters at Baraboo. At first he
was employed in the bridge department, but in 1876 secured a job as
freight brakeman, and in 1881 was promoted to freight conductor. After
ten years in that capacity he was promoted to passenger conductor in
1891, and for over a quarter of a century has had charge of some of
the passenger trains of the Northwestern Railway.
In 1895 Mr. Carpenter built one of the handsomest homes of Baraboo
at 407 Second Street. He and his family have lived there for many
years and have surrounded themselves with the comforts and also with
many social pleasures. Politically Mr. Carpenter is a republican but has
confined his work in politics to voting.
On February 6, 1879, he married Miss Frances Stone. Mrs. Car-
penter was born in Columbia County, Wisconsin, November 13, 1854,
daughter of John and Esther (Sharp) Stone. Her parents were pioneers
in Columbia County, but subsequently removed to Baraboo, where they
spent their last years. Her mother died in 1900. Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter
had one daughter, Perliett C, who was born June 26, 1883, was well
educated in the Baraboo High School and was just at the entrance of a
beautiful voung womanhood when she was taken away by death August.
22, 1901. '
Rev. Henry Mueller, who is now minister of the Evangelical Luth-
eran Church at Baraboo, represents a family which have been pioneers
in the establishment of the Lutheran religion in Wisconsin and in various
other parts of America. The Evangelical Lutheran Church at Baraboo is
one of the finest in that city, and it is also one of the largest congrega-
tions of religious worshipers. Rev. Henry Mueller has done a great deal
of constructive and organizing work in the ministry, and is very pleased
with his church and its people and they in turn give much credit to his
spiritual leadership in the community.
Rev. Mr. Mueller is a native of Wisconsin, and was bom at Freis-
tadt, Thiensville, June 4, 1865. His parents were Frederick and Julia
(Rohr) Mueller, both natives of Germany. The father was born in
1808 and the mother in 1836. The maternal grandfather, Henry Rohr,
and his wife Julia came to America in 1841, locating first at Buffalo,
New York. Henry Rohr was a minister, but in Germany had served as
an officer of the King's Guard. On coming to the United States he
brought twelve congregations of people of his own faith and located them
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 827
in New York and Wisconsin. Frederick Mueller and Henry Rohr organ-
ized the first Lutheran churches in Wisconsin, and thousands of Lutheran
people came to this state partly under their guidance. Rev. Henry
Rohr died in New York in 1876.
Frederick Mueller also came to the United States in 1841, locating at
Buffalo, New York, and was a minister for upwards of thirty years. For
two years he preached in Canada, then returned to New York, and was
active in his profession both in that state and in Wisconsin. He was one
of the early settlers at Freistadt, Wisconsin, and served as minister there
eighteen years. He and his wife were the parents of five children : Julia,
Beata, John, Reverend Henry and Ella. John died in infancy.
Rev. Henry Mueller soon after his birth was taken to New York,
where he lived until eleven years of age. In 1876 the family located
at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, where he continued his education in the
parochial and public schools. He was also partly educated at Water-
town, Wisconsin, and attended Northwestern College there and the
Lutheran Seminary, at Milwaukee, from which he was graduated in
1889. For fourteen years he was a minister in Manitowoc County, and
while there he erected a fine church. In 1903 he came to his present
charge, the St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church at Baraboo, and
under his leadership the congregation completed in 1914 the handsome
church edifice at East Avenue and Fifth Street. This church was dedi-
cated February 28, 1915. It is a fine structure, built of red brick, and
with rich and beautiful interior. His congregation numbers about 700
people and 140 families.
Rev. Mr. Mueller was married in 1893 to Miss Emma Buss of Fond
du Lac, Wisconsin. They have one daughter, Adelia, who has been edu-
cated in the public schools of Baraboo.
William H. Premo. One of the substantial men of Sauk County
is William H. Premo, who is a well-known representative of the farm
and stock interests, particularly in Greenfield Township, in which, adja-
cent to Baraboo, lies his valuable farm of 113 acres. Mr. Premo belongs
to an old pioneer family of this county and was born in Merrimack Town-
ship, Sauk County, ]\Iay 19, 1867. His parents were Charles and Eliza
(Astle) Premo.
Charles Premo was born in 1835, in the State of New York, and died
on his farm in Sumpter Township, Sauk County, in 1901. He was a
son of Joseph and Melvina (Delergie) Premo, both of whom were born
in France. In 1850 they came to Sauk County from New York, and
lived for one year in Sumpter Township and then moved to Merrimack
Township, and there Joseph Premo bought and improved a farm, on
which his death occurred in 1877 and that of his wife in 1880. Charles
Premo purchased a farm in Sumpter Township, removing to it in 1877.
He married Eliza Astle, who was born in England in 1837, a daughter
of William Astle, a pioneer in Sauk County, and she died in Sumpter
Township in 1905. Of their family of eight children three survive,
namely: Stephen, Joseph and William H., and the following are
deceased : Sarah, Elizabeth, Herman, Ada and John.
William H. Premo was reared on a farm and all his life he has been
828 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
interested in agricultural pursuits. He attended the public schools dur-
ing boyhood, is a well informed man along many other than agricultural
lines, but he early chose the life and business of a farmer and stock-
raiser and his success has justified him. He owned the homestead in
Sumpter Township and additional land that aggregated 225 acres, and
this large property he continued to manage and operate until 1912, when
he sold it. On March 7th of the same year he bought his present valuable
farm, consisting of 113 acres in Greenfield Township, which adjoins the
corporate limits of Baraboo, where he maintains his residence. He
devotes his attention mainly to the breeding of Aberdeen Angus cattle,
and experts say that his present herd of thirty-five are among the finest
specimens of this breed in the state. His farm structures are modern
and adequate and all the surroundings- indicate excellent management,
resulting in prosperity.
In 1895 Mr. Premo was united in marriage with Miss Nellie J. Shaw,
who was born in Sauk County in 1874. She is a daughter of Henry and
Mary Shaw, both now deceased. The father of Mrs. Premo served as a
soldier in the Civil war for three years, nine months and eighteen days.
He came to Sauk County among the pioneers. His death occurred in
1915, at the home of ]\lr. and Mrs. Premo. To them have been born four
children : Lavantia, a graduate of the Baraboo High School, is a student
in the Platteville State Normal School ; and George, Lilah and Stanley.
The family belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church. In politics
Mr. Premo is a republican.
Richard B. Griggs is an old business man of Baraboo, having been
a resident and merchant of the city since 1874. He had previously been
engaged in various lines at Waukegan and Chicago, for several years.
Since 1912 he has been retired from the clothing business, his brother and
nephew having succeeded him. Mr. Griggs has been prominent in the
prohibition movement for many years, and has been a leader in other
fields. In 1895 he assisted in the organization of the Baraboo Mutual
Fire Insurance Company, of which he was president for some time, and
is now its secretary. He also held the secretaryship of the Sauk County
Agricultural Association for a time.
Henry L. Hale. One of the best known among Sauk County's citi-
zens is Henry L. Hale, county sheriff, former city treasurer and long a
resident of Baraboo. Coming to this city forty years ago, for thirty-three
years he was connected in various capacities with railroad work, and
whether as railroad man or county official he has always had the esteem
and friendship of these among whom his labors have brought him.
Henry L. Hale was born at Easton, Adams County, Wisconsin,
February 2, 1857, being a son of Fred L. and Mary E. (Willis) Hale,
natives of New York. They came to Wisconsin as a young married
couple and settled on a farm in the viciinity of Easton, where Fred L.
Hale carried on agricultural operations until 1860. In that year he went
to Racine and secured work in a factory and was thus employed until
1863, when he enlisted at Milwaukee in a Wisconsin volunteer infantry
regiment for service in the Union army during the Civil war. While
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HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 829
wearing his country 's uniform he contracted a disease which necessitated
his removal to the army hospital at Keokuk, Iowa, and there his death
occurred. Mrs. Hale, who still survives her husband, is a resident of
Fond du Lac, and is now in her eighty-third j^ear. There were four
children in the family : Henry L. ; Emma, who is the wife of George
Vetter, of Racine ; Fred L., also a resident of that city ; and Nettie, wife
of Nelson McDonald, chief clerk in the sash, door and blind factory at
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
Henry L. Hale received a common school education in the rural dis-
tricts of Wisconsin and has been a resident of the state all of his life. He
began his career as a farm hand, but an agricultural life did not appeal
to the young man, and at the age of twenty years he came to Baraboo and
secured employment as a section hand in the service of the Chicago &
North-AVestern Railroad. After one year of this kind of work he was
promoted to train service and became a brakeman, a vocation which he
followed two years. His next promotion was to the position of fireman,
and after fourteen months of firing he was entrusted with an engine
and continued to manipulate the throttle until August 5, 1905. Mr. Hale
was one of the best liked men on the road, as well as one of the most
trusted men in the service, and his retirement as an engineer came only
as a result of the loss of sight in his right eye, which incapacitated him
for further service in that direction. He did not leave the employ of the
company, however, as his past services had convinced his employers of
his value, and he was transferred to the round house at Baraboo, where
he was put in charge as foreman. He remained in that capacity until
May 5, 1910. Following this, Mr. Hale engaged in the insurance busi-
ness, a line in which he continued for two years. In the meantime he
had become interested in politics, and in 1912 was elected on the republi-
can ticket as city treasurer of Baraboo. He served in that of^ce for two
years, or until April, 1914, and established a splendid record in the
handling of the city's finances. On January ], 1915, he was the success-
ful candidate of his party for the office of sheriff of Sauk County, being
elected for a term of two years. In the shrievalty, as in the treasurer's
office, he discharged his duties in a highly acceptable and conscientious
manner, and no stain or blemish mars his record. While a republican,
Mr. Hale is a great admirer of President Wilson and his policies.
Mr. Hale joined the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers in 1886
and is still a member of that great body, and during the past eight years
has been secretary and treasurer of the Baraboo Local of the organization.
He was one of the charter members of Baraboo Lodge of the Independent
Order of Foresters and still holds membership in that fraternity. An
enthusiastic motorist, during the past twenty-two months ending in
December, 1916, Mr. Hale has traveled by automobile no less than 11,000
miles in Sauk County. While his greatest friendships are probably to
be found among trainmen, he is also well known to the people in other
vocations and few men possess more friends.
On September 7, 1878, Mr. Hale was united in marriage with Miss
Vina B. Hill, who was born at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, daughter of
Thomas B. Hill, an early settler of Wisconsin. To this union there have
been born three sons and one daughter : LeRoy W., who is a resident
830 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
of Detroit, Michigan ; Ethel M., who resides with her parents ; and two
sons who died in infancy.
H. 0. Kleiner. The well-cultivated farm, v/ith its substantial group
of buildings, where Mr. Kleiner now lives in Prairie du Sac Township,
has been his home since birth and in that one environment he has worked
out life's problems and utilized its opportunities.
Mr. Kleiner was born in Prairie du Sac Township in 1872, a son of
Samuel and Mary (Sutter) Kleiner. His parents were both natives of
the Canton Zurich, Switzerland, his father born in 1830 and his mother
in 1832. After their marriage they came to America in 1854 and first
located in Sauk City. After four years there they went to Troy Town-
ship and in 1873 moved to Prairie du Sac Township and bought the
land now owned by their son, H. 0. Kleiner. Twenty-two years ago the
parents moved into Sauk City, where they retired and where the father
died November 9, 1890, and the mother on December 15, 1898. Samuel
Kleiner began life at the bottom of the ladder. In the old country he
had taught school for a couple of years, but was a farmer by training
and vocation. On coming to Sauk County he secured employment in
mills, and he got his real start by farming a place in partnership with
William Fisher in Troy Township. In 1863 he bought 120 acres in
Prairie du Sac Township and in time he had it all under cultivation
except twelve acres. The present buildings on the farm were erected
by Mr. H. 0. Kleiner, who has owned and occupied the homestead for
the past twenty-two years.
Samuel Kleiner and wife had a large family of fourteen children,
and those still living are all married. The names of this family are :
Samuel, who lived at Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and died at the age of
thirty-five ; Jacob and Rudolph, both residents of Eau Claire ; Carl and
Anna, who died young; William and Fred, living in Eau Claire; Louisa,
Mrs. George Ament, of Chicago ; Emma, twin sister of Louisa, wife of
Edmund Tausend, living in Iowa; Charles, a resident of Utah; Mary,
who died young; H. 0. Kleiner, who was the twelfth in order of birth;
George, who lived in Illinois, where he died two years ago ; and Albert.
Mr. H. 0. Kleiner has made his success as a general farmer and stock
raiser. He served fifteen years as town clerk and was clerk of the school
board for three different terms. He and his family are members of the
First Reformed Church and in politics he is a republican and fraternally
is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Equitable
Fraternal Union at Sauk City.
He married in 1894 Miss Elizabeth Kleinert, daughter of Henry W.
and Caroline (Schoephoerster) Kleinert. Her parents were natives of
Germany. Her father was brought to America at the age of seven
years. They lived in the Township of Troy, where her father died
February 23, 1916. Her mother is still living in Prairie du Sac.
Mr. and Mrs. Kleiner have three children, all unmarried and all
were well educated in Sauk City and the township schools. Their names
are Nellie, Lillian and Irene.
Charles C. Allen. Old age is honorable and worthy of veneration
■when viewed as the climax of a virtuous and well spent life. To have
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 831
lived to the verge of three-score and fifteen years is primarily the result
of a careful observance of the laws of nature, and to have reached that
advanced stage in the earthly journey with all the receding years
unmarred by reproach is indeed a consumhiation devoutly to be wished.
Crowned with honor and upheld by a sustaining faith is he who can look
back over so long a career in the serene consciousness that he has faith-
fully discharged his duties to his God, his country and his fellowmen.
Among the few to whom such a retrospect is possible may be counted the
venerable and greatly esteemed Charles C. Allen, one of the best known
among Baraboo's retired citizens.
Mr. Allen belongs to an old and honored American family, and is a
descendant of the great Revolutionary patriot and hero, Col. Ethan
Allen. He was bom in Washington Township, Erie County, Pennsyl-
vania, June 16, 1841, a son of Levi and Cynthia Elizabeth (Walden)
Allen, the former a native of Massachusetts, bom in 1818, and the latter
of Connecticut, born in 1814. They were married in Massachusetts, went
next to Erie County, Pennsylvania, then to Chenango County, New
York, and in 1847 came to Wisconsin, locating first at Milwaukee. Sub-
sequently they moved into Dane County, at Grand Springs, and in 1849
removed to Washington Township, Sauk County, where they received
Government land. This 160-acre tract they later sold and removed to
the Township of Reedsburg, where they took the John Babb Farm and
resided thereon until 1873. Mr. Allen then took his family to Nebraska,
where he took up a farm from the Government and proved up on a
homestead, on which he spent the remainder of his life, his death occur-
ring in 1900, at Alina, the county seat of Harding County. Mrs. Allen
passed away there in 1901. They were the parents of the following
children : Charles C, of this notice ; Albert, who was a member for one
year of the Fiftieth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and died
in December, 1915 ; Myron F., who lived for some years on the old home-
stead in Nebraska, a part of which is owned by his wife, but who died in
Montana; Hiram, who is a retired farmer and lives at Cambridge,
Nebraska ; Edward N., who went to Nebraska in 1871 and took up Gov-
ernment land, built a schoolhouse on his claim and was county superin-
tendent of schools three terms, taught school for some years, was a hard-
ware merchant at Arapo, Nebraska, then was sent to the state senate,
and finally went to Seattle, Washington, where he died about 1906, and
two sons and one daughter who died while young.
Charles C. Allen was reared in Sauk County and secured his educa-
tion in the Washington and Reedsburg Township schools and the public
schools of Baraboo. About the year 1858 he went to Dane County to
secure employment, but did not remain there long, but instead took a
boat down the Mississippi River. When the Civil war broke out he was
on Island 63. He was seized by the authorities and taken to Memphis,
Tennessee, but after some examination was allowed to leave the state,
and went to Springfield, Illinois, where in 1861 he enlisted in the State
Guards. Later he was sworn into the United States Army as a member
of Company I, Fourteenth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, with
which organization he served three years and twenty-six days, re-enlist-
ing in 1865 in the Ninth United States Veteran Volunteer Infantrj'-
832 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Corps. He received his final lioiiorable discharge April 16, 1866, at
Detroit, Michigan. After the war closed the brave young soldier returned
to Sauk County and located on a 40-acre farm in Excelsior Township,
which he had purchased before. This he disposed of in 1872, when he
went to Nebraska, in which state he proved up on a farm of 320 acres.
Returning to Sauk County in 1880 he bought a farm in Fairfield Town-
ship and resided thereon until 1904, when he retired from active labor.
He came to Baraboo in that year, purchased a lot, and erected a modern
liome at 215 Eleventh Street. Mr. Allen is a valued member of the
Grand Army of the Republic. Since 1880 his political views have coin-
cided with those of the prohibition party.
Mr. Allen was married September 30, 1866, to Miss Lilah Whitney, and
they celebrated their golden wedding anniversary September 30, 1916.
She was born at Grafton, Vermont, May 11, 1846, a daughter of Seneca
and Charlotte (Lacy) Whitney. The family came to Sauk County in
1852 and settled on a farm in Baraboo Township, but in 1866 removed to
Lyons Village, and after some years to North Freedom, where Mr. Whit-
ney died in 1894 and his wife in 1895. They were the parents of four
children : Harriet, who is deceased ; Sarah, the widow of A. J. Spahr,
of Baraboo ; Lilah ; and Charlotte, the wife of Yoss Harseim, of Baraboo
Township. Mr. and Mrs. Allen have had five children: Hiram, who
died when four years of age ; Whitney, a farmer of Baraboo Township,
married Mabel Thomas and has three children. Myrtle, Cecil and Mil-
dred; Carrie, who died in Nebraska at the age of three years; Edith,
who is the wife of James Karns, of Kilbourn, Wisconsin ; and C. Lotta,
who is the wife of Roy Steele, of Delton Township, Sauk County, a
farmer, and has three children, LaVeta, Dean and Elmer.
GuSTxVV Seils. One cannot follow the long career of Gustav Sells
without renewed appreciation of those homely, sterling qualities which,
when allied with practical business sense, lift men from obscurity to
influence and from poverty to affluence. This Fairfield Township farmer
has been a resident of Sauk County for more than forty-five years, and
during this period has been a witness to and a participant in the won-
derful advancement which has taken place in this rich agricultural com-
munity. His own fortunes have increased with the prosperity of the
county, and his actions have been helpful in bringing about a number
of movements which have added to Sauk's prestige.
Mr. Seils was born in Germany, March 13, 1853, and is a so)i of
John and Lena Seils, natives of that country. The family had resided
in Germany for many years, and while the name was an honored one
the fortunes of the family were not large, and the activities of the mem-
bers were largely confined to farming on small plots which yielded but a
meager living. With a desire to establish themselves in a comfortable
home, where they might hope to attain a competence for their declining
years and afford their children better educational advantages and other
opportunities, the parents came to the United States in 1870 and located
in Sauk County, where they settled on a farm in Baraboo Township.
Here they spent the remaining years of their lives, both rounding out
full and useful careers. John Seils died on the homestead in June, 1894,
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 833
when seventy-two years old, while Mrs. Sells passed away at the same
age in 1896. They were the parents of six children : Gustav, of this
review ; Mary, who is deceased ; Lena, Herman, Bertha and John. The
parents were good church members of the Methodist Episcopal faith and
reared their children to lives of industry and honesty, fitting them as
far as lay in their power to take their rightful, honored places in the
world. The children have all been reasonably successful and have grown
up to be a credit to themselves, to their family, and to the kind and
loving training given them in their youth.
Gustav Sells secured his early education in the schools of his native
laud and was brought up in a home where industry and economy were
considered cardinal virtues. He early learned the value of labor and
of honesty and a naturally ambitious nature led him to endeavor to
master any subject to which he applied himself. Pie was seventeen years
of age at the time he accompanied the family to the United States, and
here in Sauk County he attended the public schools and thus secured
his education in English. It was twelve years before he was able to
secure a property of his own, but in the meantime he was gaining valu-
able experience on his father's farm and becoming thoroughly acquainted
with farming methods, machinery and appliances. In 1882 he bought
eighty acres of land in Fairfield Township, where he now resides, as well
as fifteen acres in Greenfield Township, and most of this property he
cleared himself, putting in modern improvements and erecting good
buildings. These latter include a commodious and comfortable resi-
dence, a splendid barn and a large up-to-date silo. He has adopted the
latest methods of cultivating the soil and is a student of the science of
farming, thus being able to make his land pay him well for the labor
he puts into its operation. In addition to general farming he has met
with success in the breeding of livestock, and his graded Holstein cattle
find a ready market wherever shown. Mr. Sells is a stockholder in the
Excelsior Co-operative Creamery Company. Politically a republican,
he has not taken any particularly active part in the work of his party,
but has supported good community movements and has lent his support,
moral and financial, to those things which have been promoted for the
best interests of the public in general. With his family he belongs to
the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Mr. Sells was married in 1880 to Miss Rose Laukenberg, and they
became the parents of three children, namely : Edward, Albert and
Ferdinand. The mother of these children died in 1892, and in the fol-
lowing year Mr. Sells was united in marriage with Miss Minnie Liver-
entz, who M^as born in Germany, where her parents died. Mr. and Mrs.
Sells are the parents of four children, all of whom are living: Otto,
Lena, Bertha and Henry.
Edwin J. Farr. Whether it was chance or fate that led the parents
of Edwin J. Farr to Prairie du Sac in 1856, it is certain that the little
growing Wisconsin city gained thereby one who was to prove a valuable
citizen, and at the same time in the little village there came to the youth
excellent business opportunities, the improvement of which brought him
to a prominent position among the successful business men of the locality.
834 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
The period of Edwin J. Farr 's residence here has covered sixty-one years,
during which time the little straggling town has been converted into a
live and thriving commercial center. For many years he kept pace with
the business development of Prairie du Sac, and it has only been within
recent years that he has partially retired from active participation in
affairs. But while as a busine&s man he has won and deserved success,
he is also known as one who has helped to secure things of material bene-
fit to the community and as a public official who has always merited- the
confidence of his fellow citizens, as evidenced in his quarter of a century
of incumbency in the office of justice of the peace.'
Edwin J. Farr was born in 1849, at Corinth, Orange . County, Ver-
mont, a son of Amos and Sally (Taplin) Farr, natives of the Green
Mountain State. His father was a carpenter by trade, and followed tliat
vocation throughout the period of his active career. He was a member
of the Masonic fraternity and of the Unitarian Church, and in polities
was a whig until the formation of the republican party, after which he
gave his vote to the latter organization. Born in 1811, he had reached
the advanced age of ninety-one years, lacking eleven days, when he
passed away in 1902. Mrs. Farr's people had resided in New England
for many years, where the family was principally engaged in the pursuits
of agriculture.
Edwin J. Farr was about seven years of age when he came with his
parents to Wisconsin, arriving at Prairie du Sac July 1, 1856. At that
time the town covered about half a mile square, and, approximately,
there were sixty houses and five barns, with one schoolhouse and one
church. While growing to sturdy young manhood Mr. Farr attended the
first school, and when ready to enter upon his own career chose the hard-
ware business as the medium through which to work out his success. He
was twenty-two years of age when he embarked in this venture, conduct-
ing a store for four years with a moderate measure of success, and then
disposing of his interests to turn his attention to the poultry business with
his father and in connection with his uncle, J. F. Lamson, of Boston,
Mr. Farr bought the poultry in the surrounding countr>^ and shipped
it to Boston, and while during his first year he secured less than a ton
all winter, during the latter part of his experience in this business he
shipped his product in carload lots. When he embarked in this line
poultry was worth about eight or nine cents per pound, with ten cents
for turkeys; it is interesting to compare these prices with the ones of
today. After fifteen years spent in this field of endeavor Mr. Farr trans-
ferred his energies to participation in the implement business, which at
that time offered a much broader and more remunerative field than at
the present. He remained identified therevidth for something like six
years, and then disposed of his holdings and became connected with the
creamery business, one of the first ones opened in the village and owned
by Bickford & Lampson. His identification with the creamery covered
a period of five years, and at the end of that time he bought out the
hardware business of J. A. Moore, which he can'ied on successfully for
five years and then sold to Stoddard & Fay. At that time Mr. Farr took
up the fire and life insurance business, with which he has been connected
more or less actively to this time.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 835
Mr. Fair has been connected with the official life of Prairie du Sac
for many years and in a number of capacities. For twenty-five years he
has served as justice of the peace, and during this time has been the
means of satisfactorily adjusting countless disputes and controversies,
many of which have come to a conclusion even before they reached the
court. His first case was tried before him September 21, 1892, Judge
Farr has also been president of the village seven times, giving its citizens
a good and clean administration each term, and has been on the board
of trustees several times. He has shown himself one of the most useful
and energetic workers in the cause of securing local improvements, and
was a member of the board at the time the first cement sidewalks were
laid in the city, an improvement which necessitated a hard fight to land.
He has been a. steadfast republican from the outset of his voting career,
and in religious matters is a Universalist. Fraternally he belongs to the
Masons, having held the office of worshipful master in the lodge at
Prairie du Sac for eight years; and is a member of the Woodmen, the
Royal Neighbors and the Eastern Star.
Judge Farr Avas married January 10, 1872, to Emma L. Dodd, daugh-
ter of Garrous and Emeline (Baldwin) Dodd, natives of New Jersey.
Her father was engaged in farming until twelve years prior to his
death, at which time he took up work as a toll-keeper. Mrs. Farr died
in February, 1916, leaving one daughter, Sarah Evelyn, who was born
in October, 1874. She was educated in the public schools, and in 1895
was married to A. E. Fey, by whom she had four children: Berenice,
Raymond, Alice and Winifred, who have enjoyed good educational
advantages at Prairie du Sac and Viola, and the last two of whom are
now going to school at Monroe. Mrs. Fey's first husband died, and she
married for her second husband Henry E. White, of Monroe, Wisconsin,
a cement contractor and well known business man of that place. They
are the parents of two children, Mary Emma and Henry Edwin.
William H. Aton. A business career which has always been looked
upon as an important asset to the City of Baraboo is that of William H.
Aton. Mr. Aton is progressive, enterprising and industrious from youth
up and has developed one of the leading musical instrument houses in
Sauk County.
His family is of old American ancestry and dates back to early days
in Sank County, through Mr. Aton himself is a native of Michigan, in
which state he was born August 10, 1870. His parents were James
G. and IMarietta (Spencer) Aton. James G. Aton was born in Pennsyl-
vania in 1844, and when a boy came to Sauk County, Wisconsin, with his
uncle, John Aton, who was one of the pioneer farmers. James G. Aton
grew up in this county, and developed and for many years operated a
fine farm on Sauk Prairie. In 1885 he moved into the City of Baraboo
and became identified with the sewing machine and organ business and
gradually concentrated all his attention on piano selling, which he con-
tinued until his death in 1900. His widow, who now lives in Sioux City,
Iowa, was born in New York State in 1846, a daughter of Thomas Hardy
and Nancy (Maynard) Spencer. Thomas H. Spencer was born at Say-
brook in Middlesex County, Connecticut, in 1813, while his wife was born
836 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
in Lennox, Madison County, New York, February 15, 1819. Three
Spencer brothers came from New England in the year 1640, one of them
settling at Saybrook, Connecticut. Thus this branch of the family history
goes back for nearly three centuries in America. Marietta Aton 's great-
grandfather, Samuel Spencer, was a faithful soldier in the Revolutionary
war. Thomas H. Spencer was married at Brownsville in Jefferson
County, New York, in 1841 and in 1849 came to Waukesha County, Wis-
consin, and soon afterwards to Baraboo Township, where he located on
a farm. His wife died there in 1887 and he died in Baraboo in 1900.
He was a republican and he and his wife were both Methodists, and they
reared a family of eleven children, eight of whom are still living, as
follows : Charles, who was a soldier in the Civil war ; Julia, deceased ;
Mrs. Marietta Aton ; Louisa, deceased ; Jane ; Laura ; Cynthia ; Martha ;
John and Milton, twins, the former deceased ; and Mary.
James G. Aton and wife were married in Sauk County August 23,
1868. They had four children : William H. ; Belle, wife of George
Munderloh, of Chicago ; Robert, of Sauk Prairie ; and Lewis, of Sioux
City, Iowa. The father of these children was a republican in politics,
and both parents were members of the Methodist Church.
William H. Aton grew up on a farm in Sauk County, attended the
public schools, and in 1885, at the age of fifteen, came to Baraboo, and
after a course in the high school, engaged in business with his father
under the firm name of James G. Aton & Son. AVhen his father died
he continued the business and in 1911 organized the W. H. Aton Piano
Company, which continued very successfully for five years. Since then
Mr. Aton has associated himself with the Marquette Piano Company of
Chicago. He has offices and salesrooms at 1118 Oak Street.
Mr. Aton is a republican, and is affiliated with Baraboo Lodge No. 34,
Ancient Free and Accepted Maso«s; Baraboo Chapter No. 49, Royal
Arch Masons ; Baraboo Commandery No. 28, Knights Templar ; and
with the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America.
He has been happily married for many years. He was married
February 19, 1891, to Martha 0. Bishop. Mrs. Aton was born near
Reedsburg in Sauk County January 8, 1871, a daughter of Thomas
Keyes and Catherine (Vemoy) Bishop, both of whom were natives of
New York. Her father settled on a farm west of Reedsburg, Wisconsin,
about 1854 and lived there until his death in 1878. His widow spent
her last years with Mr. and Mrs. Aton and died at their home in May,
1916, at the age of eighty-four. The children in the Bishop family were
five in number : James, of Reedsburg ; Naomi ; Helen ; Effie, deceased ;
and Martha O. Mr. and Mrs. Aton have four children : Elsie, after
completing her education in the local gram.mar and high schools married
Hallet Wickus, who died in May, 1916, leaving a son and daughter, James
William and Elsie Elizabeth ; Catherine C, who has finished her high
school course at Baraboo ; and James Keyes and Elizabeth Ross.
August Platt. Prominent among the business men of the leading
cities of Sauk County are found many who had their earliest training
on the farm, and whose agricultural experiences formed the foundation
upon which has been built the successful structure of their commercial
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 837
operations. In this class is found August Piatt, of Baraboo, who for
more than two decades has been the proprietor of a thriving ice business,
but who prior to that time was a farmer of Sauk County. The character
of a town or community depends almost, wholly upon the standing of
its business men, their degree of reliability, push, enterprise, integrity
and fidelity to contracts and agreements being, in most instances, a meas-
ure of the prosperity of the town. It is generally found that the men
who have had their upbringing among agricultural surroundings form a
class of men who do their community proud, and in having a number of
such men included in its business class Baraboo is decidedly fortunate.
August Piatt was bom in Baraboo Township, Sauk County, Wis-
consin, March 5, 1864, being a son of Henry and Catherine (Bender)
Piatt, natives of Germany. The grandfather of Mr. Piatt, Andrew
Piatt, after losing his wife by death in Germany, immigrated to the
United States in 1849 and settled in Baraboo Township, where he con-
tinued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, which
occurred about 1871. While he was past the age of- military service,
he fought for the land of his adoption during the Civil war, and always
showed himself a good and public-spirited citizen. He was the father of
the following children: Jacob, who died while wearing the Union blue
during the Civil war; Conrad, who also met a soldier's death during
that struggle ; George, who met an accidental death in California, being
killed while operating a threshing machine ; Louis, who died at Baraboo ;
Andrew, who was killed in a runaway accident ; and Henry.
Henry Piatt was still a youth when brought by his father to the
United States, and his education was secured in the primitive schools
of his day and locality, while he was reared amid agricultural sur-
roundings and to the hard work of the farm. He grew to manhood on
the home place, in the ownership of which he succeeded his father, and
continued to be a farmer throughout his life and one of his community's
highly-respected citizens. He was a republican and he and Mrs. Piatt
belonged to the Lutheran Church, in the faith of which she died in
1895 and he March 18, 1915, aged eighty-one years, ten months and
eleven days. They were the parents of nine children, namely : Lena,
George, August, Charley, Emil, Minnie, Mary, Ida and Adolph. All the
children are still living.
August Piatt was reared on the home farm in Baraboo Township and
educated in the public schools. As before noted, his earlier years were
passed on the farm, he continuing as an agriculturist until 1891, in which
year he came to Baraboo and established himself in the ice business, an
enterprise in which he has been very successful. While he gives the
greater part of his attention to the business which he has so laboriously
and painstakingly built up from small proportions to an important com-
mercial asset of the city, he has been variously interested in other direc-
tions and is a well known figure in business circles of the city, where
he bears an excellent reputation for fair dealing and honorable conduct.
Politically a republican, he served two years as alderman from the
second ward. With his family he belongs to the German Methodist
Church.
Mr. Piatt was married December 31, 1889, to Miss Augusta Link,
838 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
who was born at Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, March 12, 1865, a daughter
of John C. and Fredericka (Wedewart) Link, natives of Germany. Mr.
Link was eighteen years of -age when he located in Sauk County, while
Mrs. Link came here when a girl of twelve, and here they met and mar-
ried. In 1874 they went to Juneau County, Wisconsin, but in 1879
returned to Sauk County and located at Baraboo. Here Mr. Link died
in his seventy-ninth year, December 25, 1914, Mrs. Link having passed
away in 1898, when fifty-seven years of age. They were the parents of
the following children, all of whom are still living: Augusta, John,
William, Lena, Frank and Charley. Mrs. Piatt was given good educa-
tional advantages, attending the Prairie du Sac public schools and the
Baraboo High School, and for several years prior to her marriage was
one of the popular teachers of Sauk County. She and Mr. Piatt have
had the following children : Lydia, a graduate of the Baraboo High
School and now the wife of Paul Bittrich, of Freedom Township ; Alfie,
who died at the age of three years; Fern, a graduate of the Baraboo
High school ; Harold, also educated in that institution ; Viva, who is a
student in the eighth grade ; and Cecil, who is in the second year of high
school.
Nathaniel Darrow, now a retired citizen of Reedsburg, was county
surveyor for many years. His father, Henrj^ A. Darrow, settled with
the family (Nathaniel was then ten years old) in Winfield Township
during the year 1851. He improved his property, became locally promi-
nent and named the township after it was organized in honor of Winfield
Scott. He died on the old homestead in 1887, and in 1902 his son,
Nathaniel, sold it and retired to Reedsburg.
Leonard C. Roser. The growth of intelligence and sound optimism
has advanced farming to a combination of science and vocation, the
profound possibilities of which can be but imperfectly mastered by one
man during his comparatively brief span of years. With his faith pinned
to the soil, and with delight and reward using its stored fertility for the
most enlightened needs of civilization, man has brought agriculture
to a stage of usefulness unequaled in any other walk of life. To such
must come the greatest material satisfaction also, as witnessed in all
prosperous farming communities, of which Sauk County is a good ex-
ample. Since the early history of this part of the state certain families
have been connected with its continuous advancement, lending color
and enthusiasm and splendid purpose to its unfolding prosperity. Of
these one of the best and most favorably known is that which is rep-
resented by Leonard C. Roser, a resident of Sauk County for sixty-
two years, and now living in Baraboo Township, where he still pursues
the vocations of farmer and stock raiser.
Mr. Roser was bom in Germany, May 10, 1849, a son of Christian
and Louise (Welcher) Roser, both of whom were natives of that country.
There they were educated, reared and married, and there several of
their children were bom, the family living on a small farm which the
father cultivated with only medium success. Like many others of his
countrymen, he became convinced that in his native land he could only
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 839
hope for a life of hard work, without much chance of the attainment of
success, and finally decided to risk his capital in a trip to America in
an endeavor to find prosperity. Accordingly, in 1855, he brought his
family to this country and settled in Sauk County, investing his re-
maining means in forty acres of land in Freedom Township. The first
several years of liis residence here were very hard ones, as he was un-
familiar with the customs of this country, the methods used in agricul-
ture, or even the language, but he was persevering and thrifty, economical
and industrious, and as he saw his prospects brightening visibly before
him he was stimulated to renewed effort that eventually brought suc-
cess. Mr. Roser spent ten years on his original farm in Freedom
Township, but in 1865 disposed of that land and moved to Baraboo
Township, where he purchased eighty acres. This he cultivated and
improved, established a more comfortable home for himself and family,
and by adding to his acreage eventually became the proprietor of a
valuable and handsome country estate. There he passed the remaining
years, of his life and died in 1884, at the age of eighty-two years. Mrs.
Roser, who was born June 16, 1821, survived until September, 1903,
being also eighty-two years old at the time of her demise. They were
faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Mr. Roser
was a republican. While he took no active part in public or political
life, he was a man of influence in his community, and his sober judgment
and intelligent views were frequently relied upon in movements of im-
portance affecting the welfare of the community. By his first marriage,
to a wife who died in Germany, he had three children: Christian and
Gottlieb, who are deceased ; and Henry, who is now a resident of Bara-
boo. Five children were born to him and his second wife : Frederick,
Leonard C, John, Louisa and Samuel, the last named of whom is now
deceased.
Leonard C. Roser was a lad of six years when he accompanied his
parents on the long and perilous journey across the Atlantic and the
subsequent trip across this country to Wisconsin, and his boyhood expe-
riences included all of the hard work and harder play incident to life
in a new farming community. He found his education in the country
schools of Freedom Township, but his career as a farmer, for which
vocation he had been carefully trained, began in Baraboo Township,
where his entire career has been passed since 1865. At the present time
he is the owner of the old homestead, a tract of eighty acres, which
boasts numerous modern improvements and a set of substantial and
attractive buildings, and in addition to carrying on general farming
operations, he is also a skilled and successful breeder of Aberdeen- Angus,
cattle. For several years he was a stockholder in the Sumpter Creamery
Company. Politically he is a republican and has taken an active inter-
est and participation in the work and government of the community.
For a long term of years he served in the capacity of supervisor of
Baraboo Township, was a member and clerk of the school board for a
long period, and is now a member of the board of school directors. With
his family he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church.
On November 20, 1890, Mr. Roser was married to Miss Lucetta
Arnold, who was born near her present home in Baraboo Township
Vol. n — 18
840 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
March 29, 1864, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Brenner) Arnold,
natives of Germany. As young people they came to the United States
and were married in New York, from whence they came to Sauk County,
where they took up Government land in Baraboo Township, later buying
forty acres, which they cleared and improved. Mr. Arnold was a
republican, and he and Mrs. Arnold belonged to the Lutheran Church.
He was born in 1824 and died in November, 1908, and she was born in
1832 and died in November, 1897. They had four children : George,
Adam, John, deceased, and Mrs. Roser. Mr. and Mrs. Roser are the
parents of two children : Bernice, born November 19, 1891, a graduate
of the Baraboo High School, who taught one year in Sauk County and
one year in North Dakota, and is now the wife of Walter Rodewald ;
and Howard, born August 18, 1899, who was educated in the public
schools and is now engaged in assisting his father in the work of the
home farm.
Henry Koenig was one of the liberal minded and progressive busi-
ness men and industrial factors in Sauk County for many years. By
trade he was a millwright, an expert in mill construction and other lines
as well, and spent the hest years of his life as an owner and operator of
flour and saw mills.
He was born in Germany and came to Sauk County at the age of
thirty-two. He was first identified with the lumber business, running
a sawmill. From that he got into the flour and feed mill business and
for twenty years was the leading miller at Leland. He sold out there in
1882, and for fifteen years lived at Sauk City, and from there bought
the Lodde Mills, now owned and operated by his widow. He and Mr.
Pagel conducted a sawmill at Leland for ten years and then converted
it into a flour and feed mill. Mr. Henry Koenig died in 1907, and besides
the substantial fortune he left he also left an honored name in business
and civic affairs. For twenty years he served as school clerk at Leland
and was a member of the village board at Sauk City. Politically he was
a republican.
Mrs. Henry Koenig is a daughter of Martin and Christiana (Zeh)
Lodde. Her parents were both born in Germany and, coming to America,
loeating in Milwaukee in 1850, where they were married. The father
was nineteen and the mother was thirteen years of age when they came to
America. Her father was born in 1824 and died in 1903, and her
mother was born in 1836 and died in 1905. After a brief residence in
Milwaukee the parents removed to Sauk County and became residents
of Sauk City. Per father was a millwright and built many mills in
this county and elsewhere in Wisconsin. In 1872 he bought the water
rights and constructed what was known as the Lodde Mills, now the
Sauk City Mills, which he operated until 1897, when he sold them to
Mr. Henry Koenig. After that he retired from business.
Mr. and Mrs. Martin Lodde had the following children: Henry,
who lives in Sauk County ; George, a resident of Louisville, Kentucky ;
Anna, Mrs. Dr. Von Hiddessen, who died at Sauk City in December,
1916 ; Mary, wife of Walter Taylor, living at West AUis, Wisconsin ;
Christina, Mrs. Henry Koenig; Katie, unmarried and living at Sauk
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 841
City ; Miss Millie, living at West AUis ; and August, who died at the age
of four years.
Mr. and Mrs. Plenry Koenig were married in Sauk City in 1893.
Mrs. Koenig is the mother of four sons: Ernest, twenty-two years old,
who is unmarried and is manager of the Bank City Rolling Mills for his
mother; Henry, nineteen years of age, who conducts the home farm
and is also in the mill and is living with his mother ; Herbert, seventeen
years old, a student in the University of Wisconsin in the civil engineer-
ing course ; and Gerhard, thirteen years old and attending township
school.
Julius Hoppe. The qualities of energy, adaptability, perseverance
and integrity have combined in the character of Julias Hoppe in such
a manner as to ensure him success in business life and to give him
standing among his fellow citizens. He has been a resident of Baraboo
for thirty-three years, a period in which has occurred the greatest
growth and development of the city, and in this time he has built up
the leading merchant tailoring and clothing business here, while at the
same time doing his part to aid the city's progress.
Mr. Hoppe was born in Germany, November 11, 1851, being a son of
Carl and Wilhelmina (Cline) Hoppe. His father passed his entire life
in the country of his birth, dying when his son Julius was but four
years of age, but the mother survived for many years, and in the evening
of life came to the United States and settled at Chicago, where her death
occurred in 1905. Julius Hoppe, as noted, was but a small lad when
he lost his father by death and his education was only the ordinary one
obtainable in the public schools. He had hardly left boyhood behind
when he assumed man's responsibilities, becoming apprenticed to the
trade of tailor, a vocation which he thoroughly mastered. For some
years he worked at that occupation as a journeyman in Germany, but
in 1872, at the time he attained his majority, crossed the Atlantic to
seek his fortune in America, believing that in this country he could find
more and greater opportunities to satisfy his ambitions than in the
fatherland. His first location was in Chicago, where he spent some
hard years while learning the manners, customs, language and business
methods of this land, but through perseverance and industry he won
through to success. He established his own shops for manufacturing
clothing. By the year 1884 he had decided to find a smaller town, where
he could establish himself in a retail clothing business. In the meantime
he had prepared himself thoroughly and was the possessor of some small
capital, saved through frugality and hard work. Accordingly, in look-
ing about for a location, he saw an opportunity in the growing city of
Baraboo, and, coming to this place, established himself in business as the
proprietor of a clothing store and as a merchant tailor. Since locating
here he has moved but once. His present location he has occupied for
the past twenty-four years. He has always maintained the same policy,
that of fair dealing and honest treatment. His present place, at No.
518 Oak Street, is a commodious store, with a large display of up-to-date
goods, and is the center of a most representative and lucrative trade.
It is the leading establishment of its kind at Baraboo and deserves to
842 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
be, as a reward for Mr. Hoppe's years of faithful work and undeviating
integ^rity. His handsome residence is located at No. 739 Fifth Street.
Mr. Hoppe has a numer of other business connections and is a director
of the First National Bank. Fraternally, he is connected with Baraboo
Lodge No. 34, Free and Accepted Masons; Baraboo Chapter, Royal
Arch Masons; and Baraboo Commandery, Knights Templar. With his
family he belongs ^o the German Lutheran Church,
Mr. Hoppe was married in 1875 to Miss Augusta Schroeder, who
was born in Germany, June 12, 1857, a daughter of Daniel and Henrietta
(DeBall) Schroeder. Mrs. Schroeder died in her native land in 1860,
and in 1869 Mr. Schroeder came to the United States, settling at Chi-
cago, where his death occurred in 1892. Six children have been born to
Mr. and Mrs. Hoppe : Anna and Julius, both deceased ; Henrietta, bom
at Chicago in 1880, and now the wife of Raymond McCoy, who, with
Peter Lind, assist Mr. Hoppe in the clothing store, Mr. and Mrs. McCoy
being the parents of two children, Roger and Kathleen; Wilhelmina,
born at Chicago in 1883, is the wife of Peter Lind and has three chil-
dren, Genevieve, Audrey and Elizabeth Jane ; Julia, born at Baraboo
April 13, 1888, and a graduate of Baraboo High School and of Beloit
College, is now a teacher in the public schools; and Emma, born at
Baraboo July 29, 1893, is graduate of the Baraboo High School, and
now the wife of Henry L. Block, an engineer on the North Western Rail-
road. They had one child, Henry Julius, born November 29, 1916, who
died in infancy.
Herman Schubring. There are a few of the pioneers of fifty years
back still remaining in Sauk County but many have passed out of life.
Some left behind them, together with an honorable name, material proof
of their industry and good management during life in the shape of
extensive farms that they literally had earved out of the wilderness.
When such people as the Schubrings and the Kruegers first settled in
the county there was great need of such men as they, men of industry,
resourcefulness and perseverance, and the county in general profited
by their example. One of the finest farms in Greenfield Township be-
longs to Herman Schubring, who is a worthy representative of a sturdy
old pioneer family.
Herman Schubring was born in Merrimac Township, Sauk County,
Wisconsin, March 16, 1871. His parents were August Herman and
Minnie (Krueger) Schubring. The father was born in Germany, Septem-
ber 17, 1836, and there his father died. In 1859 he came to the United
States and to Sauk County, Wisconsin, with his mother, Mrs. Sophia
Schubring. who died in Merrimac Township, Sauk County. August
Herman Schubring was married in 1863 to Minnie Krueger, who was
born in Germany September 17, 1842. She was eleven years old when
she accompanied her parents, William and Augusta Krueger, to Merri-
mac Township, Sauk County, and there her mother died in 1857 and
her father many years later. William Krueger lived for one year at
Chicago and then went to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, where he was in
the business of tanning hides and traded with the Indians for furs.
These he manufactured into mittens. After he settled on a farm in
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 843
Merrimac Township, Sauk County, Mr. Krueger continued his fur busi-
ness and further developed it and made in addition to mittens hand-,
some robes and fur coats. He was a man of a great deal of enterprise.
August Herman Schubring served for six months during the Civil
war as a member of the Forty-fifth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, but
the rest of his life was spent as a farmer. When he came to Greenfield
Township he bought eighty acres of wild land and immediately began
to clear it off, no light task in those days, as it was done without tlie
help of machinery that would be available today. Later he bought a
tract of 160 acres, to which he subsequently added another eighty acres
and still later an additional eighty, aggregating 400 acres by that time.
During his lifetime the greater part of this land was cleared and he put
up substantial buildings. His death occurred on the farm owned by
his son Herman in 1912. He was a fine man and was universally re-
spected. His children were : Minnie and Amelia, both of whom died
in infancy; Frances, who married Peter Kramer, and they have had
four children, Irvin, Oscar, Dora and an infant deceased; Herman;
and Fred William, who is a farmer jn Greenfield Township.
Herman Schubring obtained his education in the public schools and
ever since has been engaged in farming and stockraising on the land
once owned by his father, 240 acres of which is now his own. This land
is well adapted both for cropping and stockraising, and in both indus-
tries Mr. Schubring has proved himself very capable. He has always
taken a good citizen's interest in public matters because that is right
and sensible, but he has not desired public oiSce and has never united
with either of the great political parties. He is a man of intelligence,
and when he casts his vote it is for a candidate that has proved accept-
able in his own judgment. Like all other members of his family, he
belongs to the Lutheran Church.
'to'-
Louis Ulrich has spent his life since childhood in Sauk County^
and owns one of the many excellent farms found in Freedom Township.
While he never attended a scientific school of agriculture, he has made
a thorough study of agricultural methods and in a successful practical
fashion has adapted himself to the environment and has made every
year's results a lesson for the next following.
Mr. Ulrich is a native of Germany, where he was born, August 23,
1877, a son of Rheinholt and Augusta Ulrich. Six years after his birth,
in 1883, the family crossed the ocean and settled in Sauk County, at first
at Ableman, then lived four years at North Freedom, and then on a farm
in Freedom Township. The father subsequently sold that place and is
now living retired in North Freedom. He came to Sauk County with
practically nothing, and by industry and good judgment has come to be
rated as one of the well-to-do citizens. He and his wife had six children :
Louis, Richard, Frank, William, Meta and Ella. All are living except
Frank.
Louis Ulrich grew up on his father's farm in Freedom Township
and secured his education in the local schools. In 1900 he bought a
hundred and sixty acres in Freedom Township, and for the past seven-
teen years that has been the scene of his progressive enterprise as an
844 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
agriculturist. He has made many improvements, including the erection
of a fine barn, 32 by 60 feet. He combines the raising of crops with live-
stock and with a man of his substantial character every year leaves
something to his profit and advancement. He is a republican and a
member of the Lutheran Church at North Freedom.
Mr. Ulrich married April 5, 1900, Miss Mary Voss. She was born
at North Freedom October 20, 1883, a daughter of Christ Voss, one of
the early settlers of Sauk County. Mr. and Mrs. Ulrich have four
children, Walter, Rheinhart, Arthur and Lawrence.
Valloo V. Moore has lived in Sauk County all his life, for over
'sixty years, and is bound by many ties of loyalty to this section. His
father was one of the real founders of Baraboo as an industrial center,
and Mr. Moore has always endeavored to follow the worthy example of
his sire and assist in every undertaking that would increase Baraboo 's
advantages as a residence and business center.
Mr. Moore was born a mile east of Devil's Lake in Sauk County,
September 23, 1855. His parents were Levi and Deborah (Stevens)
Moore. His father was born in New York State in 1807, while his mother
was a native of Indiana, where she was born in 1828.
Levi Moore left New York State in early life and went to Ohio.
He married there for his first wife a Miss Titus, and about 1838 he
came into the wilderness of Wisconsin Territory, first locating at Port-
age. His first wife died there, and only one child grew up, Erastus,
who lost his life while a Union soldier in the Civil war. Levi Moore
became one of the very first settlers of Sauk County. He came into that
vicinity in the early '40s. He and Abe Wood were long associated in
their varied enterprises. They established the dam and built the mill in
Baraboo on the present site of the McFetridge factory. That was about
1842. Levi Moore was engaged in the sawmilling business the greater
part of his active career. As early as 1850 he also became interested in
brick making and was associated with Mr. Case in a brick yard near
Baraboo. About 1855 he built a mill on Black River and gave it his
personal supervision for several years. On returning to Baraboo in
the fall of 1860 he reconstructed the dam above the McFetridge dam
and used the power for the operation of a lumber mill. About 1866 he
also started a brick yard, which he operated for some six years. He
and Mr. Griswold later operated a brick plant about two miles west
of Baraboo. Another business to which Levi Moore's attention and
capital were directed was the growing of cranberries when that was an
important industry of this section of Wisconsin. He acquired several
hundred acres of land notheast of Tomah, Wi-sconsin, and developed it
as a cranberry marsh.
Levi Moore was a true New Englander in his spirit of enterprise.
He was always working and always had his mind intent upon some
enterprise that meant more than his individual prosperity. While in
Ohio he had learned the ship carpenter's trade, and he built several
boats. He was also a sailor and became captain of his own vessel when
about nineteen years of age. During that period of his career he took
a cargo of lumber to Chicago. After selling it he found opportunity to
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 845
make some good investments, but like many others he could not foresee
the destiny of the great metropolis of the West. He was also much
interested in early affairs in Sauk County and was one of the men
influential in securing the location of the- court house at Baraboo.
The death of this honored old timer occurred at Baraboo November
17, 1899. For his second wife h*e married Deborah Stevens, who died
October 4, 1916. Her father, James Stevens, married a Miss Watts,
who died when Deborah was a small child. James Stevens afterwards
came to Sauk County, owned a farm and died there about 1865. Levi
Moore and his second wife were married at Baraboo in the fall of
1847, and they lived together to celebrate their golden wedding anniver-
sary and then for two years longer. They were the parents of six chil-
dren: Jeanette, deceased; Eugene, who was drowned in the Baraboo
River at the age of four years; Margaret, now Mrs. Charles Williams;
Valloo v. ; Carrie, wife of F. F. Slocum ; and Edith, who died in 1893.
Levi Moore was a democrat in politics and he attended the Unitarian
Church.
Valloo V. Moore, who has never married, grew up in close associa-
. tion with his father and the latter 's varied interests smd acquired his
education in the Baraboo public schools. When about twenty-two years
of age he left home and took up a homestead claim in Pipestone County,
Minnesota. He lived there and farmed for eleven years, but returned
to Baraboo, since his parents were getting old, and took a lively interest
in the various investments of his father. He also did some farming
near Baraboo and has wisely conserved his father's estate and has
turned it to excellent usage in the community. His father and Abe
Wood at one time owned 150 acres of land in what is now the City of
Baraboo, and Mr. Moore has cleared up part of this estate and developed
it for farming and other purposes. For the past eighteen j^ears his home
has been at 625 Second Avenue, not far from his father's old place. He
built the house in which he now lives. Mr. Moore is independent in
politics, and is a man of genial disposition with a host of friends and
admirers.
William L. Frese is one of the principal farmers and stockraisers
in Merrimack Township, and his home has been in this county through-
out his life. His parents were among the very early pioneers of Sauk
County.
Mr. Frese was born May 28, 1863, a son of George and Johannette
(Goette) Frese. Both parents were born in Waldeck, Germany, and
arrived in this country in October, 1850. They soon afterwards settled
in the Township of Sumpter or Kingston, as it was then known, and
here George Frese bought forty acres as the nucleus of his homestead
and subsequently acquired through the profits of his work and his farm-
ing enough to give him a farm of 140 acres. That old homestead George
Frese occupied as a place of residence from 1852 until his death in 1910.
He was born in 1824 and lived to be eighty-six years of age. His wife
died in November, 1875. George Frese was a carpenter by trade, having
learned that art in Germany, and he followed it until coming to Amer-
ica. While he was a practical farmer in Sauk County he also did ear-
846 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
pentry work at odd times and combined the two Yoeations until about
fifteen years before his death. He was a hard worker and continued
diligently at his business as long as he was able. He was also a man of
influence in the community, served as a member of the town board for
about eight years and also as treasurer of the school board for a long
time. He was a democrat and a member of the Lutheran Church.
He and his wife have five children, William L. being the youngest.
Christina is Mrs. Charles Graff, living in the village of Merrimack, and
they have three living children and one deceased. Bertha is a widow,
Mrs. Herman Roick, living at Prairie du Sac. She has no children.
George is a farmer at Nora Springs, Iowa, and is married and has five
children, named Fred, George, Ruby, Dora and Margaret, all single
except Fred. Ida is Mrs. John Hartwig, and they have four children,
Herbert, Lola, John and Cora, all of whom are unmarried and living
with their parents on a farm at Nora Springs, Iowa.
William L. Frese was married in 1896 to Ella Steuber, daughter of
John and Louisa (Schwartz) Steuber. They have two children: Louis,
bom in 1899; and Mabel, born in 1903. Both are still at home and
Louis is attending the high school at Prairie du Sac, while Mabel is
still in the district school.
Mr. W. L. Frese grew up on a farm, learned the vocation very thor-
oughly before he took it up as an independent occupation, and for the
past eight years has owned the old homestead of 120 acres in Merrimack
Township. It has responded to his efforts as a practical farmer and
for three years he has given his entire time to its management. He
is also a member of the Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Company. Mr.
Frese gets his profits as a general farmer, stockraiser and dairyman.
His family are all members of the Methodist Church and he is a demo-
crat in politics.
Herman Schlag. Among the retired agriculturists of Sauk County,
one who has won success and independence through his own industry
is Herman Schlag, now a resident of the thriving little city of Prairie
du Sac. Mr. Schlag has passed his entire life within tlie limits of the
county where he now lives. Here he was educated, here he received
his training as a farmer, and here he prosecuted his labors to such good
effect that he is able to pass his declining years in quiet and comfort,
secure in the knowledge of a life well spent and of a re-spected name in
the community.
Mr. Schlag was born on his father 's farm in the Township of Sump-
ter, Sauk County, Wisconsin, in 1852, being a son of John G. and Wil-
helmina (Stiedtman) Schlag. His parents were born in Germany, and
in' the year 1844 left their land for the United States, making a long and
perilous voyage across the Atlantic in a frail sailing vessel. Arrived
in this countr5% they made their way to Milwaukee, from whence they
came by wagon to what is now the town of Sauk City, then a little settle-
ment of but a few houses. In that community they remained while the
father completed negotiations for the purchase of government land on
Otto Creek, in Sauk County, to which they soon removed. Several years
later they went to Sumpter Township and again took up land from the-
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 847
government, and there continued to be engaged in agricultural oper-
ations until 1870. In that year they took up their residence at Baraboo,
where John G. Schlag died in 1895, the mother surviving until 1900.
Mr. Schlag was a republican, although not a politician, and he and Mrs.
Schlag belonged to the Lutheran Church. They had six sons and three
daughters, of whom two daughters are living in Baraboo and one is
deceased, while two sons are deceased, and Herman, Paul and Alexander
survive.
Herman Schlag was given his educational training in the country
schools of Sauk County, and was reared to the vocation of farming,
which he made his occupation throughout the active period of his
career. He remained with his parents until he was twenty-five years
of age, at which time he was married, started housekeeping and com-
menced operations on his own account. He proved a good and indus-
trious tiller of the soil, used modern methods in his work, and brought
his land to a high state of development, so that in later years he was
able to retire from active labor and since that time has been living in
quiet retirement at Prairie du Sac. In 1877 Mr. Schlag was married
to Miss Dell Elizabeth Vandemark, who was born in 1857 in Freedom
Township, Sauk County, a daughter of Peter and Rebecca (Odell)
Vandemark. Her parents came from New York to Wisconsin in 1854
and settled in the Township of Freedom, but later moved to the Town of
Baraboo, and lived there until 1878, when they went to Minnesota.
There, in Big Stone County, Mr. Vandemark carried on farming until
his death in 1895. Mrs. Vandemark met her death during a cyclone
which struck her home near Clinton, Minnesota, in 1908. There were
the following children in the family : Erwin and Ella, of Minnesota ;
Dell Elizabeth, now Mrs. Schlag ; Myra, of Minnesota ; Kate and Marie,
decea.sed ; and Will, of Minnesota.
Mr. and Mrs. Schlag have three children : Wilhelmina is the wife
of Robert Aton. Dr. Rex Alexander, who graduated from Baraboo
High Scho,ol, attended Rush Medical College, Chicago, for three years,
completed his medical preparation at Denver, Colorado, where he re-
mained for two years, commenced practice at Monroe, Iowa, and there
continued about four years, and in 1909 opened an office at Prairie du
Sac, where he has since had a large and constantly increasing practice.
He married Louise Swanson, of Cambridge, Nebraska, and has one son,
ten years of age. R. H. Schlag graduated from the Baraboo High
School and for five years has been a railway mail clerk running out of.
the offices at Chicago. He is now in the marine service for the Grovern-
ment.
Mr. Schlag is a republican, and while he has not sought preferment
in his community in the way of public office, has always taken a prom-
inent part in movements for local improvements and the general wel-
fare of his town and county. He fraternizes with the local lodge of-
the Modern Woodmen of America and has numerous friends and well
wishers in the community.
Mortimer Hoover has lived in Sauk County most of his life and has
witnessed the development of this region from a wilderness to a county
848 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
of some of the finest farms and some of the most prosperous communities
in the State of Wisconsin. He has borne his own share in that develop-
ment and for many years was an active farmer and is now living retired
at Baraboo.
Mr. Hoover was born in Sumpter Township of Sauk County May
16, 1847, a son of John and Arietta (Releford) Hoover. His father
was a native of Ohio. The. parents came to Sauk County when Wiscon-
sin was still a territory and acquired a tract of Government land 200
acres in extent in this county. A log house was the first home of the
Hoovers, and John Hoover went ahead improving and clearing his land
and lived there the rest of his days. His first wife died in 1847, her
four children being named Hulda, Marion, Almira and Mortimer. For
his second wife John Hoover married Rosalind Jackson, of Sauk County,
and by that marriage there were seven children : Rogene and Josephine,
both deceased ; Gertrude ; Ida, deceased ; May ; Sigel ; and Eva. John
Hoover was a republican from the organization of that party. He was
a good, hard working citizen and at one time served as overseer of the
West Sauk Road. A Methodist, he assisted in building the church of
that denomination in Sumpter Township.
Mortimer Hoover grew up on the old homestead and lived there until
he was fifteen years of age. He attended the public schools and he gave
up the comforts of home life and the advantages of school to carry out
his ardent desire to become a soldier.
Though only sixteen years of age at the time, he enlisted in 1863 in
Company E of the Forty-first Wisconsin Infantry. He served the
hundred day period for which he enlisted and then re-enlisted in Com-
pany G of the Forty-seventh Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry and was
with that organization through all its campaigns until the close of the
war.
Having thus fulfilled his duties to the nation in time of her need, he
returned home and began working on a farm. He had to make his oWn
way in the world, and it was through hard work that he earned his
financial independence. He finally bought a farm of eighty-five acres in
Sumpter Township, improved it with good buildings, and the farm is
still in the family. Afterwards he bought a place of eighty acres at
Kings Corners, in Sumpter Township, which is also still in the family.
On the second farm he lived and prospered for many years until 1903,
when he came into Baraboo and bought his home on the south side, on
Second Avenue. He now enjoys the comforts of a substantial brick
house and has all that a man of his quiet and simple tastes could
desire for a happy old age. He sold his farm to his son Roy.
Mr. Hoover is a republican but has never sought any official distinc-
tion. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and of the
Guardians of Liberty. February 12, 1871, he married Miss Sarah J.
Francis. Mrs. Hoover was born in Bennington, Wyoming County, New
York, April 26, 1853, daughter of Charles and Cynthia (Hemstreet)
Francis, who camie to Wisconsin in 1862, first lo'cating in Dodge
County, and in 1865 moving to Sumpter Township in Sauk County.
Her father bought a farm at Kings Corners and that farm was sub-
sequently acquired by Mr. Hoover and is now owned by Roy Hoover.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 849
Charles Francis and wife spent their last years on the old homestead.
They had five children : Zina, John, Oscar, Sarah and Elmer, all of
whom are deceased except Mrs. Hoover.
Mr. and Mrs. Hoover now enjoy the solace of both children and
grandchildren. Their oldest child is Blanche, wife of George Weiden-
kopf, of Baraboo, and their two children are named Vane and Arlene.
Eoyden J., the second child and only son, has the old homestead farm,
and by his marriage to Myrtle Kellogg has a daughter, Lucile, now a
student in the Baraboo High School. Maud, the third child, is the wife
of Archie Cook, a farmer of Greenfield Township.
Albert Koerth. A fine family are the Koerths of Sauk County,
and they have lived here for almost a half century. They have been
agriculturists in the main and through their excellent farming methods
and careful stock selection have become some of the most substantial
people of the county and have added to its agricultural wealth in no
small degree. Albert Koerth, one of the younger generation of farmers,
and who has recently purchased his father's fine homestead in Green-
field Township, was born on this place July 16, 1886. His parents are
Louis and Annie (Putz) Koerth.
Louis Koerth was born in Germany, September 1, 1843, a son of
Michael and Wilhelmina Koerth, who immigrated to the United States
and settled first in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, and in 1870 came to
Sauk County. They both died on the farm of their son Louis in Green-
field'Township, the father in 1888 and the mother in 1889. They had
two children, a son and daughter, Louis and Amelia, the latter being the
wife of William Putz, who is a farmer in Greenfield Township. Louis
Koerth attended the public schools in Germany until old enough to enter
the army, in which he served the number of years required by law.
His desire was to become a farmer, and thus he was led to come to
America, where farm land could be secured for a moderate price. In
1868 he reached Waukesha County, Wisconsin, and from there in 1870
he came to Sauk County and bought the farm which became the family
home and which is now the property of his youngest son. For forty-
seven years ]\Ir. Koerth has successfully carried on his agricultural
operations in Greenfield Township, in the meanwhile making excellent
improvements on his property. Mr. Koerth is one of the township 's most
respected citizens, a man of upright character and good intention. He
is one of the leading members of the Lutheran Church, in which faith
his family has been reared. In politics he is a republican.
Louis Koerth was married in 1869, in Waukesha County, Wisconsin,
to Miss Annie Putz, who was born in Germany in 1.844. Her mother
died in Germany but her father, Christ Putz, came to the United States
and to Wisconsin, and after coming to Sauk County lived with his son,
Michael Putz, until his death. Ten children were born to Louis Koerth
and wife, as follows : Emma, Minnie, Otto, Edward, Hulda, Matilda,
Rose. Lena, Albert and Hannah.
Albert Koerth attended the public schools through boyhood and had
excellent training for his life business under his father. He assisted
on the homestead and has always lived here and in 1917 purchased the
850 ■ HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
property from his father. He is a capable general farmer and gives
a great deal of attention to growing fine Shorthorn cattle, his herds
making an excellent showing in any stock exhibition. Interested in-
tensely in his farm enterprises, Mr. Koerth keeps abreast of the times in
relation to newly discovered methods on the farm, and makes use of
the best machinery that can be procured. His is a model modern farm
and his undertakings are proving very profitable.
Albert Koerth was married in 1908 to Miss Lena Neuman, who was
born in Greenfield Township, Sauk County, in 1884. Her parents, Carl
and Helena (Zuch) Neuman, came from Germany to Waukesha County
in 1869 and to Sauk County in 1871. The mother of Mrs. Koerth died
here in October, 1915, aged seventy-six years. She was a kind and
careful' mother and a good neighbor. The father of Mrs. Koerth resides
in Greenfield Township and has reached his eighty-fourth year. His
children are : Minnie, Gustav, Amelia, Charles, John, Jacob and Lena.
Mr. and Mrs. Koerth have two children, a son and daughter, John and
Adeline. Mr. Koerth has no political ambition but is a good citizen and
ever ready to help in public movements needful or beneficial in his
township, and casts his vote with the republican party. He and wife
are members of the Lutheran Church.
Louis Schreiber. The fine farms and general prosperity noted in
Sauk County proves that there are capable farmers in this section of
Wisconsin, and one of the representative ones of Greenfield Township
is found in Louis Schreiber, whose well improved farm of 109 acres is
situated here. He has been a farmer and stockraiser during all his
business life and the result of his experience is evident in his productive
fields and his healthy stock,
Louis Schreiber was born in Germany, June 10, 1845. His father
died in Germany and his mother, Mrs. Mary Schreiber, married John
Kelinow and in 1873 they came to the United States and to Waukesha
County, Wisconsin, where he died three days later. After that the
mother of Louis Schreiber came to live with him and continued a mem-
ber of his family until her death on September 22, 1899. Mr. Schreiber
attended school in his native land and was a farmer there. On account
of better opportunities being offered in the United States in the way
of securing land and founding a home, he came to the United States and
in 1871 to Waukesha Comity, Wisconsiii, and from there in 1886 to
Sauk County. Here he decided to locate permanently and with this
end in view purchased 109 acres of land situated in Greenfield Town-
ship. This farm through his industry and efficient management has be-
come one of the best in the township and his improvements in the way
of substantial buildings have added still further to its value. He raises
a good grade of stock, which command high prices when marketed. His
cattle are kept in sanitary surroundings and he can sell all the milk and
cream his cows produce to the Excelsior Cooper Creamery.
In Waukesha County Mr. Schreiber was married on February 3,
1878, to Miss Anna Ludwig, who was bom in Germany in 1859, and
their children have been as follows : William, August and Kate, both of
whom are deceased ; Regina, Louis, Annie, Amanda, Amy, Minnie,
Esther and Lucy.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 851
The parents of Mrs. Sehreiber were John and Mary Ludwig, who
were born in Germany and came to the United States and to Waukesha
County in 1872. The father was an industrious and successful farmer
and died in "Waukesha County in 1889. The mother lived until March,
1906. Beside Mrs. Sehreiber they had four children, namely: Christ,
who lives in Lyons, Wisconsin ; Hannah, who is deceased, was the wife
of John Lange ; Christina, who is deceased ; and August, who is a farmer
in Burlington Township, Racine County. Mr. Sehreiber was the only
child of his parents, but two children were born to his mother's second
marriage, John and Christ, both of whom are deceased.
Mr. Sehreiber has given his children all the advantages in his power
and as a whole it is a family to be proud of. One son, Louis, is an
unusually intellectual young man and is widely known and has many
friends in different sections. He is a graduate of the University of Wis-
consin and was teaching school at Sun Prairie when the state militia, to
which he belongs, was sent to Texas. After completing his military
duties there he returned to Wisconsin and then went to Arkansas and
taught school in that state. Evidently there is a future for him in the
educational Beld. In politics Mr. Sehreiber is a republican. His parents
were Lutherans but he has united with the Evangelical Church since
coming to Sauk County. As a good farmer, kind and obliging neighbor
and honest and sturdy citizen, Mr. Sehreiber is held in high regard in
Greenfield Township.
Stephen D. Perkins. Now living retired at Prairie du Sac, Stephen
D. Perkins has had a very long and active career, and has known Sauk
County since boyhood for upwards of three score and ten years.
He is of New England birth and ancestry. He was bom in the State
of New Hampshire, May 4, 1843, a son of Hiram and Elizabeth (Drawn)
Perkins. In the family were just two sons. At the age of five years
Stephen Perkins came to Wisconsin with his parents and grew to man-
hood in Sauk County. He attended the district and high schools there,
and on leaving school had a practical experience in a store at Prairie du
Sac. That experience gave him his start in life, and he subsequentl}^
became a hotel proprietor at Berlin, Wisconsin. For six years he was
in the woolen mill business at Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and for a
time was in that industry with his brother, L. A. Perkins. He then
returned to Wisconsin and engaged in flour milling, but finally opened
and operated a hotel at Madison. His next location was at Mount
Vernon, Wisconsin, where for two years he handled a creamery and
also conducted a hotel. From Wisconsin he moved to Ashton, Iowa,
where he combined the hotel and creamery business for about five years.
Mr. Perkins was for many years a recognized expert in the creamery
business and he spent a year installing creameries in various points in
the State of Minnesota. During that year he lived at Worthington.
Returning to Ashton, Iowa, and then to Wisconsin, he finally settled
at Prairie du Sac in 1908. For three years he conducted a hotel, and
since 1911 has lived retired except for the management of his private
affairs. He formerly owned the hotel at -Prairie du Sac and had a nuin-
ber of other investments in the town.
852 , HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Mr. Perkins is affiliated with the Masonic Lodge at Prairie du Sac
and the Odd Fellows in the same city. Politically he is a democrat, but
has been more or less independent and a voter for the l)est man. His
family were long memliers of the Universalist Church and he belonged to
the same faith when young but later attended the Congregational.
Mr. Perkins started out for himself at the age of twenty-one and
married and gained a home of his own. His first wife was Addie
Haynes, daughter of Moody Haynes. To this marriage were born four
children: Lucy U., who lives in Oregon on a ranch; Merrell D., who
is manager of a lumber yard ; William W., who conducts a wholesale
supply house at Seattle, Washington; and Nathaniel W., who is living
on a ranch in Oregon. The two older sons are married and also the
daughter Lucy. The mother of these children died in 1894. In 1897
Mr. Perkins married j\Iabel Randle, of Watertown, Wisconsin, daughter
of Silas E. Randle, formerly a prominent implement dealer at Water-
town. Mrs. Perkins' mother was Martha Kein.
Richard Metcalf. One of the well remembered citizens of Sauk
County, now gone to his reward, was the late Richard Metcalf, who rep-
resented a pioneer family here and for many years was identified with
the service of the North Western Railroad Compan3^
Mr. Metcalf was born at Wappinger Falls in New York State August
26, 1847. His parents were Thomas and Mary (Warrener) Metcalf.
His father was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1821, and his mother at
Kilburn, England, in 1826. They were married in the old country and
on immigrating to America they arrived in New York City April, 1847.
For a few years they lived in Dutchess County, New York, and while
there the son Richard was bom only a few months after their arrival
in this country. In April, 1852, when Richard Metcalf was five years
of age, the family arrived in Excelsior Township of Sauk County, and
here the mother died in 1859. Thomas Metcalf, who lived to the year
1899, was a progressive farmer and developed some land from a state
of wilderness. He was a republican and an active member of the
Methodist Episcopal Church. He and his wife had only two children
who reached maturity. The older was Richard and the daughter was
Alice.
Richard Metcalf grew up on his father's farm in Excelsior To\^ti-
ship, was educated in the local schools, and finally left the farm to be-
come an employe of M. J. Drown in the latter 's business at Baraboo.
From that he entered the service of the North Western Railway Com-
pany and by various promotions remained in the work until his death,
which occurred January 20, 1885. He had been for several years yard-
master at Baraboo.
Mr. Metcalf was a loyal democrat, and was an active and well-
thought-of member of BaraboQ Lodge No. 34, Free ;and Accepted
Masons, Baraboo Chapter No. 49, Royal Arch Mason.s, and also belonged
to the Knights Templar Commandery. His wife and daughter Alice
are members of the Eastern Star.
Mr. Metcalf was married iii 1867 to Miss Mary Elizabeth Britton.
^Irs. ^Metcalf, who is still living at Baraboo, was born in Providence,
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 853
Rhode Island, December 5, 1849. She was brought to Sauk County
when a small child, was educated in Excelsior Township, and lived there
until her marriag-e to Mr. Metcalf. Of the three children born to Mr.
and Mrs. Metcalf only one is now living.. Louis E., the only son, was
born in Excelsior Township in 1868, also entered the railroad service,
and for a number of years was a locomotive engineer with the North
Western and died in 1912. His widow, whose maiden name was Cora
Le May, is still living at Baraboo. They had four children, Doris,
Muriel, Lou and Richard. Mabel, the second child of Mrs. Metcalf, was
born in 1874, M^as graduated from the Baraboo High School, and taught
school in Dane and Sauk counties until her death on February 4, 1916.
Mary Alice, the only surviving child, was born in 1878, is a graduate of
the Baraboo High School and also attended the Whitewater Normal
School, and is now a teacher in the second grade of the First Ward.
School at Baraboo. She and her mother own and occupy a comfortable
home at 308 Lake Street.
Mrs. Metcalf is a daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth (Hudson) Britton,
the former a native of Bristol and the latter of Chorley, England. They
were married in England, and Mrs. Britton was born in the old country.
In 1847 Mr. and Mrs. Britton came to Rhode Island, and from there in
1854 moved to Sauk County, Wisconsin. Isaac Britton bought a farm
and by trade was a stationary engineer. For a time he operated the
engine for Colonel Ableman at Ableman, in this county, but in 1863 he
went to Colorado in a party guarding mule and ox teams, and spent
several years on the frontier. He finallj^ returned to Baraboo and lived
in that city until his death in 1890. His wife, who is also deceased, was
the daughter of W. T. and Elizabeth (Brindle) Hudson, and they
deserve mention also as Sauk County pioneers. Both, were born in
England and in 1847 came to Massachusetts, locating at Danvers, later
removed to Philadelphia, and from there to Sauk County in 1853. W. T.
Hudson died at Baraboo and his widow died near Waterville in the State
of Washington. W. T. Hudson and wife had the following children :
Elizabeth ; Alice, wife of Nelson Bowen ; Hugh, who died near Water-
ville, Washington, and his widow, whose maiden name was Alice Kay,
and her children live near Hudson in the State of Washington.
Mrs. Metcalf was the oldest in a family of five children, the others
being named: William, Albert, Alfred, and Bell, the last named the
wife of Abner Carpenter, of Crandon, Wisconsin.
Arthur Charles Hills. The Hills family has been identified with
Sauk County since pioneer times, over sixty years. They have con-
tributed their share of the heavy labor required for clearing away the
forest, grubbing out stumps, and putting the land into cultivation. Mr.-
Arthur C. Hills is one of the oldest native sons of the county and for
many j^ears has been industriously engaged in looking after a well
developed farm in the Township of Merrimack.
He was born in the year 1865 in West Merrimack Township, a son
of Charles A. and Elizabeth (Phillips) Hills. His father was born in
1830 in the southern part of England, while his mother was born in
Southern Wales in 1827. They came to New York State in 1854, were
854 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
soon afterwards married and in 1855 came to Sauk County and located
in Merrimack Township, where their son Arthur C. was bom the same
year. There were three other children, mentioned as follows : Eliza-,
beth, Mrs. John Humphreys, living in Iowa County, Wisconsin; George
J., who is married and lives in Nebraska; and Alice, wife of Arthur
Chalfant, living in California.
On coming to Sauk County Charles A. Hills located in Merrimack
Township and for nine years lived in the Village of Merrimack, where
the mother was employed in the old tavern owned by Walter P. Flanders,
while the father worked on Mr. Flanders' dairy farm. After three
years he rented a farm and finally moved from the Village of Merrimack
to the Farnsworth farm, four miles west. He was there one year and
in 1866 came to a part of the farm now owned and occupied by Arthur
C. Hills. Charles A. Hills died in 1880 and his widow is still living,
past the age of ninety.
Arthur C. Hills grew up and received his early schooling in Merri-
mack Township. He has never married and since 1883 has given his
time to the working of the old farm which his father bought in 1866.
Hls father first bougiit eighty acres and the son has since increased the-
holdings until it now represents an estate of 240 acres, 180 acres of which
are under cultivation. Mr. Hills has cleared up and grubbed out forty
acres of this land by his own effort. He is successfully engaged in gen-
eral farming and stock raising, and has a great deal to show for his life
of well-directed enterprise. He lives with his widowed mother. In
the early days the Hills family did their farm work with oxen and with
the other limited facilities of the time. Mr. Hills and his mother are
active members of the Methodist Church and he has been superintendent
of the Sunday School of Merrimack for twenty years. His father was
a republican, while he himself votes the prohibition ticket,
John J. Hatz. The name Hatz has always signified a great deal in
the Prairie du Sac locality of Sauk County. The family of that name
came as pioneers, when nearly all of Sauk Countj^ was a wilderness, and
by their industry and their integrity they not only made themselves
masters of a goodly quantity of land but also lived so as to command
the respect and esteem of every one who knew them. Mr. John J. Hatz
represents the second generation of the family and is now living retired
at Prairie du Sac.
His father, Jacob Hatz, was born in Switzerland in 1816 and came
as a pioneer to Wisconsin in 1844, four years before the territory be-
came a state. He at that time located in Sauk County, and he brought
with him his young wife. Her maiden name was Dorothy Aceola, and
she was born in Switzerland in 1814. Their home for the first two years
was in Prairie du Sac Township, and then Jacob Hatz moved to the place
he had acquired from the Government in Sumpter Township. Jacob
Hatz while living in Switzerland had followed the trade of carpenter
and mechanic, but in Sauk County his work was as a farmer. He con-
tinued to live on the old homestead until the spring of 1880, when he
moved to town and he died in the fall of that year. His widow survived
him until 1891. They were active members of the Evangelical Church
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 855
and reared their children in the same faith. These children were eight
in number, all born in Sumpter Township : Jacob, Casper, Luzie,
Erhart, now deceased, Florian, of Yankton, South Dakota, Kate and
Dorothy, both deceased, and John.
Mr, John J. Hatz was born on the old home place in Sumpter Town-
ship of Sauk County, April 9, 1857. He lived there continuously until
1915, a period of fifty-eight years. His education came from the local
schools of that community and as soon as he was old enough he took
an active part in the labors of the home farm and finally succeeded to
its ownership, and on the land where his father had provided for his
children John J. Hatz lived and prospered and reared a family. Mr.
Hatz and his family are supporting members of the Evangelical Church.
He was prominent in his country community, spending seven years as a
member of the town board and clerk of the school districts twenty -seven
years.
Mr. Hatz has five children: Lillian, who married Herman Wilhelm;
Kate R., wife of Arno Woffanschmidt ; Jacob A., who married Ruth
Gasser; Obert J., whose wife is Ina Hatz; and Lyman, unmarried. The
old homestead is now being run by Jacob, and Jacob's son is the fourth
generation of the family in that one place, and members of three gen-
erations were born there.
John Roonet was a fighting young Irishman in the Civil war, is
one of the few surviving veterans of that conflict still living in Sauk
County, and one of the worthiest men upon whom the Government ever
bestowed a pension.
He was born in Ireland August 15, 1844, but has been an American
since early infancy. His parents, James and Ann (McManus) Rooney,
were born and married in Ireland and in 1847 brought their family to
America, locating in Dolphin County, Pennlsylvania. There James
Rooney died on August 15, 1852, when his son John was only eight
years old. In 1853 the widow and her family removed to Muskingum
County, Ohio, and in 1854 she was married there to George Sullivan.
In 1855 the family came on to "Wisconsin, first locating near Elkhorn,
in Walworth County, later going to Cross Plains in Dane County, and
in 1856 to Green County. In 1857 the Sullivans and the Rooneys came
to Sauk County and established their homes in Honey Creek Township.
The mother of John Rooney spent her last years in Freedom Town-
ship. She died December 28, 1885. By her marriage with James
Rooney she had six children : Mary and Patrick, deceased ; John ; Mar-
garet, deceased ; Ann ; and Elizabeth. By her marriage to Mr. Sullivan
she was the mother of four children: Edward and Joseph, deceased;
George ; and Michael.
John Rooney received all his early education in the public schools
of Wisconsin. As a boy he learned how to be independent through hard
work, and at one time he was employed during the construction of the
railroad between Madison and Prairie du Chien and also on the line
between Monroe and Janesville. This work furnished him occupation
during the summer and for four winters he attended school in Sauk
County, in Honey Creek and Sumpter townships. He also worked as a
Vol. II 19
856 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
farm hand for a Mr. Lock in Westfield and for another farmer in
Sumpter Township.
In 1862, at the age of eighteen Mr. Eooney enlisted in Company K
of the Twenty-third Wisconsin Infantry. He was in the army until his
honorable discharge on June 27, 1865. He carried a musket and fought
alongside his comrades during the earlier campaigns and at Port Gibson
was injured by a spent ball. He was afterwards assigned to the com-
missary department, but was finally compelled to go to the hospital and
remained there until discharged. His injuries were such that for
twenty-seven years he has been an invalid and for seventeen of those
years has been confined to his bed. Mr. Rooney has the cheerful disposi-
tion and nature of the true Irishman, and though bedridden for so many
years maintains a cheerful outlook. A great factor in his happiness has
been his devoted wife, who has stayed with him and comforted his de-
clining years and has made life worth living.
After the war Mr. Rooney returned to Westfield Township, rented
a farm, and in 1869 bought a place in Freedom Township. In 1885 he
came to the farm he now owns near Baraboo, buying fifteen acres within
the corporation limits of that city.
Mr. Rooney is independent in political matters. He is a loyal and
popular member of John Fowler Post of the Grand Army of the Re-
public in North Freedom Township.
On May 24, 1869, he married Miss Sarah M. Lamb, who was born
in Huron County, Ohio, March 10, 1846, a daughter of James Chauncey
and Abbie (Petteys) Lamb. In 1857 the Lamb family came to Freedom
Township, in Sauk County, and located in the midst of the heavy woods.
Mrs. Rooney 's father developed a farm from a portion of the wilder-
ness but subsequently sold this property and he and his wife spent
their last years in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Rooney, where her mother
died in 1887 and her father in 1889. Mrs. Rooney was the second of
three children. Her brother George D. died at Madison, Wisconsin, in
1864, just one month after he had enlisted for service in the Union
army. Her sister Emma died December 20, 1916. Mr. and Mrs. Rooney
have two children. Edward James, still living on the farm with his
parents, married Theresa Picker. Their four sons, grandsons of Mr.
and Mrs. Rooney, are named Sylvan J., Arthur M., Harold Leo Frank,
and Lloyd Henry. The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Rooney is Alice M.,
wife of Edward J. Curry, now head machinist in the woolen mills at
Baraboo. Mr. and Mrs. Curry have a son, Rollo McKinley,
Algernon Fry. While many vocations seem necessary to carry on
the activities and industries that make a nation happy, comfortable and
contented, there is after all but one that is absolutely indispensable to
life, and that is agriculture. The teeming millions must be fed and their
food must come from the soil. Those sections of old Mother Earth in
which farming and stockraising have been encouraged and dignified are
today the hope of nations, and the American farmer has, through cir-
cumstances, become the most important factor in the world's commerce.
Wisconsin has never taken a backward step in agricultural develop-
ment since her early pioneer homeseekers came and settled in her rich
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 857
wilderness, and Sauk County well represents her agricultural wealth
at present, as well as her finest citizenship.
Algernon Fry, one of Sauk County's leading men and one of her
honored Civil war veterans, was born in Lycoming County, Pennsyl-
vania, January 1, 1846. His parents were Isaiah and Elizabeth (Wil-
son) Fry, both of whom were born in Pennsylvania, the latter being a
daughter of John and Hannah (Harrington) Wilson, who came to Sauk
County in 1850 and lived for one winter in Baraboo and then settled
permanently on Webster Prairie. Both lived into old age, Mr. Wilson
being ninety-three at the time of death and his wife was aged eighty-
seven years.
The parents of Algernon Fry came with the Wilsons to Sauk County
in 1850 and after a short stay in Baraboo also moved to Webster Prairie,
but subsequently went to South Dakota and took up a land claim in
Lake County, near Wentworth, and there they passed the rest of their
lives. They were the parents of the following children : Algernon,
Ziba, John W., David, Joel, Henry, Charles, Elizabeth, Mary, Frank
and Ernest. The parents were quiet, frugal, law-abiding people and
governed their lives according to the peaceful precepts of the Society
of Friends.
Algernon Fry had such educational advantages as were afforded at
the time in the neighborhood of his father's farm, the first school he at-
tended being in the Village of Lyons and was taught by Doctor Cran-
dall, a well known resident. Mr. Fry gave his time and attention to
the business of farming until, in the course of time, he became the owner
of a farm on Webster Prairie, on which he continued to reside until
1898, when he traded that farm for one containing 104 acres which lies
in Greenfield Township. On this place he has done the greater part of
the improving and has a valuable property. He carries on general
farming and is one of the county's large raisers of stock. He has had
a large fund of agricultural experience to draw on and his industries
are carried on with very satisfying results. While Mr. Fry has been
busy as boy and man on his farm, he had not yet attained manhood when
he proved that following the plow and herding the stock were not the
only important facts in a Wisconsin youth's conception of life. When
the Civil war came on he soon discovered an unexpected spirit of loyalty
and love of a united country and this led to his enlistment, in February,
1864, in Company A, Nineteenth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, in
which he served with commendable valor until his honorable discharge
on August 9, 1865. The Nineteenth was the third regiment to enter the
captured capital of the Confederacy and its flag was the first to be raised
over Richmond's state house. He was never wounded nor was he made
a prisoner, although he participated in such hard fought battles as Fair
Oaks and Petersburg and numberous sharp skirmishes. He is a valued
member of the Grand Army Post at Baraboo, of which he has been com-
mander.
In 1868 Mr. Fry was married to Miss Elizabeth Devine, who was
born in Ohio and died in Wisconsin in March, 1896. She was a daughter
of John and Effie Devine, who were early settlers in Sauk County,
Four children were born to the above marriage, namely : Effie, who
858 . HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
is the wife of Edward W. Donney, a train dispatcher at Chicago and a
well known railroad man, and they have one daughter, Ruth ; Allie, who
is the wife of John Gillny, of Portland, Oregon ; John, who is deceased ;
and Howard, who is a resident of Belvidere, Illinois, married Viola
Kramer and they have two children, Olive and Lester. In 1897 Mr. Fry
was married to Miss Maria Lee, who was bom in Delton Township, Sauk
County, Wisconsin, December 22, 1856. Her parents were Lathrop L.
and Hannah 0. (Gardiner) Lee, the former of whom was born in New
York in 1823 and the latter in 1830. Mr. Lee came to Sauk County
in 1848 and after providing a home went back to New York in the fol-
lowing year and when he returned was accompanied by his wife. They
located first in Greenfield Township but later moved to Delton Town-
ship and then to Baraboo Township, where Mr. Lee died in 1904. Mrs.
Lee resides with Mr. and Mrs. Fry. To this marriage five children were
born, as follows : Frank, who is deceased ; Maria ; Mary, who is deceased ;
and Charles and Harriet.
In politics Mr. Fry has always been a republican. As a man of fine
business ability and of sterling honesty, on many occasions his fellow
citizens have shown appreciation by electing him to public office, espe-
cially in relation to educational affairs. For sixteen years he served
on the school board in Delton Township and for a little over nine years
has been chairman of the Greenfield Township Board. His acquaintance
over the county is wide and his name is held in respect by all.
Charles E. Palmer. Prominent among the members of the retired
colony at Baraboo is found Charles E. Palmer, who has had a successful
career as business man and farmer and is now enjoying the fruits of his
years of labor. With the exception of short periods when he was fight-
ing as a soldier of the Union during the Civil war, Mr. Palmer has re-
sided at Baraboo and in Sauk County continuously since 1856, and
during this time has aided in the progress and development which have
characterized the community's growth.
Mr. Palmer was bom in Eaton Township, Madison County, New
York, February 21, 1847, being a son of J. Gilbert and Eliza (Crandall)
Palmer. J. Gilbert Palmer was born at Athens, Windham County,
Vermont, December 12, 1818, and as a young man went to Madison,
New York, where he was married September 18, 1844, to Miss Eliza
Crandall, who was born at Sangerfield, Oneida County, New York,
September 19, 1824. The family came to Baraboo, Wisconsin, in 1856,
and here J. Gilbert Palmer followed the trade of plasterer for some
years, but later turned his attention to agricultural pursuits and be-
came the owner of a farm in Delton Township, Sauk County. His death
occurred on this property in 1902, Mrs. Palmer having passed away
there in January, 1900. There were four children in the family, namely :
Charles E. ; Clementine Ruth, born January 23, 1850, at Stockbridge,
Madison County, New York; Marion C, bom January 24, 1854, who
died in infancy; and Effie Lucinda, born at Baraboo in 1858, and now
the wife of S. DeKolyer, of Delton Tovmship.
Charles E. Palmer received his early education in the schools of his
native state, but after he was nine years of age he was a resident of
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 859
Baraboo and here completed his studies in the public schools and the old
Baraboo Institute. When a youth he learned the trade of plasterer
under the guidance of his father, and this was his vocation for some
years. He was too young to enlist when the Civil war started, but in
February, 1865, he became a member of Company D, Forty-sixth Regi-
ment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the.
close of the war. Returning to Baraboo when his military experience
was finished, he resumed his trade and continued to be engaged in
working thereat until March, 1874, when he went to Delton Township
and bought a farm. If he had been successful at his trade, he was
equally so as a farmer, and through industry and good management
developed a property that was well cultivated, highly improved and
very productive. It was his home until 1895, in which yeajr he returned
to Baraboo and retired from active labor, his present home being at No.
320 Seventh Avenue, a street on which he has lived, at one point and
another, for nearly sixty years.
Mr. Palmer is a democrat. He is a stanch adherent of the principles
and candidates of his party, but his interest therein has never led him to
seek personal preferment at his party's hands. His fraternal affiliation
is with Baraboo Lodge No. 34 of the Masonic order, in addition to which
he belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic and to the Presbyterian
Church.
On March 19, 1868, Mr. Palmer was married to Miss Ann McGilvra,
who was bom November 20, 1846, at Schuyler, Herkimer County, New
York, a daughter of Samuel and Alatheah (Holdridge) McGilvra, natives
of that state, the father born April 19, 1829, and the mother February
2, 1829. They came to Sauk County, Wisconsin, at an early day in the
history of the county, then returned for a time to New York, but in
1866 again came to this county and settled on a farm not far from
Baraboo. There they passed the remainder of their lives, Mr. McGilvra
dying November 1, 1894, and Mrs. McGilvra in October, 1895. To Mr.
and Mrs. Palmer the following children have been bom : Clara E., who
died in 1895, at the age of twenty-four years ; Daisy C, born in 1875,
proprietor of an establishment for the manufacture and sale of furs at
No. 320 Seventh Avenue, Baraboo, with a large local trade and excel-
lent mail order business, is the wife of A. M. Todd and has one daughter,
Elva Lucia, born February 4, 1906, at Placerville, California; and
Samuel James, born October 3, 1883, is now auditor of the Public Service
Company of Chicago, a firm with which he has been connected for four-
teen years, and a resident of the fashionable Chicago suburb, Evanston.
He married Miss Maude Lewis, of Baraboo, and has had three children,
Dorothea Elizabeth ; Evelyn, who died when two years of age ; and Lewis
James.
Davis Hackett. The record of Davis Haekett, of Baraboo, is that
of a man who has by his own unaided efforts worked his way upward
to a position of affluence. His life has been one of industry and per-
severance, and the systematic and honorable business methods which
have been followed by him have gained him support, confidence and
friendship. While he has for several years been retired from active
860 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
pursuits he still takes a keen interest in the welfare and developihent
of his community and is considered one of Baraboo 's useful and helpful
citizens.
Mr. Hackett was born in the State of Maine, October 18, 1839, and is
a son of Hartson and Martha T. (Johnson) Hackett, both natives of the
Pine Tree State. The father was born August 2, 1806, and the mother
in February of the same year, and in 1853 they came to Sauk County,
Wisconsin, and purchased a farm in Fairfield Township. After a num-
ber of years passed in successful agricultural operations the parents
retired from active labor and located at Baraboo, where Hartson Hackett
died in June, 1889, Mrs. Hackett surviving until 1892. Mr. Hackett
was originally a whig and later a republican in his political affiliation,
and he and his wife attended the Congregational Church. Their chil-
dren were as follows: Mary Sears, deceased, who was the wife of the
late John Luce; Emily Vaughan, deceased, who became the wife of the
late Joseph Luce, who fought as a soldier during the Civil war in the
same company as Davis Hackett; Mandilla L., of Sauk County, widow
of John Atkinson ; Davis ; and Oscar, who died in 1865, at the age of six-
teen years,
Davis Hackett commenced his education in the public schools of his
native state, and was fourteen years old when he came to Sauk County,
his schooling being completed in the old Baraboo Collegiate Institute,
the teachers of which at that time were Professor Hobart and his wife.
After leaving school he began working in the pine woods, but in 1864 he
donned the uniform of his country for service in the Civil war, enlisting
in Company M, First Wisconsin Heavy Artillery, with which he served
until the close of hostilities. He established an excellent record as a
soldier, and at the close of his service returned to Sauk County and
engaged in farming in Fairfield Township, where he was the owner of
the old homestead until 1880. In that year he was employed by C. L.
Coleman, of La Crosse, to act as his agent on the Chippewa River and
the Black River in buying logs, contracting for timber and generally
looking after the business. In 1883 he came to Baraboo and built a home
at the comer of Fourth and Barker streets, to which he moved his
family, while he returned to the lumber business, making occasional
visits to the city. Mr. Hackett continued to be thus engaged until 1901,
when he retired from active labor and came to Baraboo to make his
permanent home. The family still resides in the house which Mr.
Hackett built in 1883. He is a republican in politics, and at one time
was elected police justice, but resigned before the expiration of his term,
and has never cared for any other public service. He has been a mem-
ber of the Grand Army of the Republic since 1901, and his family
belong to the Congregational Church.
In 1868 Mr. Hackett was married to Miss Carrie Brown, who was
born in England, in 1846, a daughter of William and Mary Brown, who
on coming to the United States located on Bigfoot Prairie, Illinois.
When the Civil war came on Mr. Brown enlisted in the Union army
and died while in the service. Later his widow came to Baraboo and
made her home with her daughter and son-in-law- until her death. Mrs.
Hackett died January 6, 1916, having been the mother of four children :
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 861
Millicent M., a graduate of the Baraboo High School and for several
years a teacher in the public schools, who married Richard B. Maloney,
of Baraboo, and has one son, Richard Addison ; Edith M., a graduate of
the Baraboo High School and a teacher in the public schools until her
marriage to Dr. George L. G. Cramer, a physician of Owosso, Michigan ;
Ephraim Leonard, now of Baraboo, but formerly of Oregon, where he
owned a transfer line and looked after his father's mining interests,
married Annie Kelley, of near Baker City, Oregon, and has two chil-
dren, Nathaniel Desmond and Louis; and Carrie Fern, a graduate of
the Baraboo High School, the Milwaukee Normal School and Wisconsin
University, formerly a teacher at La Crosse for seven years, and during
the past two years a teacher in the Baraboo schools, where she now
teaches a high school class, unmarried and making her home with her
father.
James A. Stone. The lawyer has ever been accorded, by an unwritten
law, first place in securing the greatest liberty and the greatest justice
for the society of mankind. The idea prevailing when the ancient Roman
laws were framed, that he was the best informed as to the rights of man
and the limits of government — both of them prescribed by law — exists
today to an appreciable extent. No man in our form of civilization is
given such privilege to guide the affairs of state to either glory or dis-
honor as is vouchsafed by thinking minds to the lawyer. The fact that,
financially speaking, there are rarely compensations in law commensurate
with the labor given, lends a prophecy of splendid and distinterested
achievement to men sufficiently gifted to become successful lawyers and
sufficiently honest to maintain the ethics of the profession. One familiar
with the jurisprudence of Sauk County will unhesitatingly place within
this sphere of largest usefulness the name of James A. Stone, general
practitioner of Reedsburg, former assistant secretary of state, ex-city
attorney and alderman, and supporter of those enlightening agencies
which make for the permanent well being of the community.
James A. Stone was born at Smithfield, Madison County, New York,
December 1, 1856, and is a son of James Riley and Pamela C. (EUinwood)
Stone, both natives of Smithfield. James Riley Stone was a stonemason
by vocation, and many fine evidences of his skill and good workmanship
are still to be found in New York, an especially good specimen being
at the Village of Peterboro, where stands a stone arch bridge marked
''Erected A. D. 1854, by J. R. S." Mr. Stone followed his occupation
successfully until August 15, 1862, when, feeling that he was needed by
his country in its hour of peril, he enlisted in Company F, One Hundred
and Fifty-seventh Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry, with which
regiment he went to the front as captain of his company. He did not
return. After several severe engagements and others of a minor char-
acter came the awful struggle at Gettysburg, where his company was cut
off and captured by the enemy. Captain Stone spent one year at Libby
Prison and was then transferred to Macon, Georgia, where, after untold
hardships and privations, he died August 12, 1864. His widow, left
with five children, struggled bravely on for a time in the East, but finally
decided that in a state further west she would be better able to give them
862 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
advantages and opportunities and accordingly in 1869 started for Reeds-
burg, where the little party arrived in December. Later she went to
Sully County, South Dakota, after her children had been well established,
but returned to Reedsburg on a visit, and here died December 12, 1886 ;
she was buried in this city. The children were as follows : Dr. Willis C,
who is a successful practicing physician of Chicago; James A., of this
notice ; Orna P., who was a student at West Point, received an appoint-
ment in the United States Census Department at Washington, D. C, and
died in 1881 ; Minna L., who was a teacher in the high school at Madison,
Wisconsin, for nine years prior to her marriage to John H. Gabriel, who
is now an attorney of Denver, Colorado; and Orlando Lincoln, who is
engaged in agricultural pursuits at Cresbard, Faulk County, South
Dakota.
James A. Stone attended the public schools of his native place, and
was not yet eight years of age when his father died. His mother, how-
ever, managed to give him a further educational training, and he was
duly graduated from Evans Academy, a private institution at Peterboro,
New York, where was situated the stone arch bridge mentioned above.
He was thirteen years of age when he came to Reedsburg, an enterprising
and ambitious lad, and here entered the Reedsburg high school and was
a member of the first graduating class from that institution in 1875.
He had determined that he would have a college education, and in the
fall of 1875 entered the University of Wisconsin, but soon found his
funds inadequate to meet his many expenses, be as economical as he might,
and he accordingly gave up his ambition for a time and returned to
Reedsburg, where he began to teach school during the winter terms,
adding to his income by working in the fields as a farm hand during the
summer months. Thus he was able to save some small earnings, and in
the fall of 1881 again entered the University of Wisconsin, where he
spent two years. In addition to this he had previously had one year of
training as a student in the law office of G. Stevens at Reedsburg, and
with these qualifications went to South Dakota in 1883 to start practice.
Like all young lawyers, he had to go through his probationary period, a
trying time for most young men who are endeavoring to get a foothold
upon the ladder of success, and in order to piece out his meager legal
earnings he worked on a homestead when not engaged with the interests
of his clients. In 1887 Mr. Stone returned to Reedsburg and entered the
office of R. P. Perry, where he remained until he passed the examination
of the state bar, and in 1889 was admitted. to practice. From that time
to the present his success has been assured, and as the years have passed
his cases have become more and more important and his clientele more
and more prominent.
Mr. Stone cast his first vote for James A. Garfield as a republican in
1880. He was with the reform movement and LaFollette in 1904 and
since that time has acted with the progressive wing of his party in this
state. He was a delegate to the national republican conventions of 1912
and 1916 and alternate in 1908, and from 1901 to 1903 served as assistant
secretary of state of Wisconsin, resigning in the latter year. At Reeds-
burg he has been city superintendent of schools for two years, a member
of the Board of Education for one term and city attorney several times,
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 863
and at present is acting as alderman. His entire public service has been
characterized by faithful and capable performance of duty, and his
record is one which does him honor. Fraternally Mr. Stone is affiliated
with the Modern Woodmen of America" and the Masons, belonging in
the latter to Reedsburg Lodge No. 157, Free and Accepted Masons, and
Reedsburg Chapter. While a Unitarian in his religious belief, he attends
the Presbyterian Church. He has various business connections, and is
a stockholder in the State Bank of Reedsburg and a director of the
Baraboo Valley Agricultural Association and of the Harley Davidson
Motor Company of Milwaukee.
On April 19, 1884, Mr. Stone was married to Miss Minnie L. Corwith,
of Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, who was born in Troy Township, Sauk
County, Wisconsin, March 6, 1857, a daughter of Silas W. and Anna L.
(Abrecht) Corwith, the former born at Southampton, Long Island, and
the latter in Germany. They were pioneers of Prairie du Sac, where Mrs.
Stone's father died, while her mother still survives and makes her home
at Reedsburg with her son-in-law and daughter. Three children have
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Stone: Anna L., who was married in Marcli,
1914, to James R. Semple, and died November 5, 1914; Riley, a resident
of Reedsburg and a farmer of Sauk County, married Vera Milhaupt,
who came to this city from New Holstein, Wisconsin ; and Millie C, who
resides at her home with her parents. A son was born to Riley Stone
and wife July 6, 1916, and named for his ancester James Riley Stone.
Riley Stone was drafted into the service of the United States and left
Baraboo August 3, 1917, in charge of the thirty-four men, Sauk County's
quota on that date. He was assigned to Company A, Three Hundred and
Forty-first Infantry, Camp Grant, Rockford, Illinois, where he is now
stationed.
William Dobratz. The Township of Merrimack has no more in-
dustrious citizen than Mr. William Dobratz. He owns a large amount
of farming land, well and efficiently tilled and most of it cleared and
improved. This property represents his individual labors and while
constituting a valuable estate is at the same time a valuable contribution
to the aggregate resources of the county.
Mr. Dobratz has lived in Wisconsin since he was fifteen years of age.
He was born in Germany in 1857, a son of John and Minnie Dobratz,
also natives of the fatherland. The family came to Wisconsin in 1871,
spending the first ten years in Milwaukee. John Dobratz was an
agriculturist and on leaving Milwaukee he moved to Sauk County and
acquired a farm of sixty acres in Greenfield Township. In that locality
he spent the rest of his life, though he retired from the farm about a
year before his death. His widow survived him ten years.
William Dobratz grew up in Germany and in Milwaukee and lived
at home until he was twenty-six. He then married Miss Barbara
Schinder, daughter of Michael Schinder, of Sauk County, and took up
his independent career. Mr. and Mrs. Dobratz have four children :
Walter, who is married and living in the Village of Merrimack; John,
still single and a farmer in Merrimack Township ; Anna and George,
still at home.
864 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
On starting his independent career Mr. Dobratz became a farmer
two miles east of Baraboo, where he bought eighty acres. After five
years there he moved to Merrimack Township and for eighteen months
farmed a place 1^^ miles north of his present location. For the past
twenty-six years he has lived on his home farm and has 160 acres, 120
acres of which are under the plow. He has cultivated his land with the
staple crops of this region and has also raised considerable stock and
has operated a dairy. Besides his home farm he has another 160 acres
a mile north, and of this 140 acres are cleared.
It has required constant and vigilant work to build up such a prop-
erty, but Mr. Dobratz has not for that reason neglected an active par-
ticipation in local affairs. For a number of years he served as a member
of the town board and for ten years was on the school board. He is a
republican and with his family is a member of the Lutheran Church.
Mrs. Adelaide P. Keysar. Among the old and honored residents
of Sauk County few there are whose lives in this community have ex-
tended over a longer period of time than has that of Mrs. Adelaide P.
Keysar, • whose home is now at Prairie du Sac. When Mrs. Keysar
arrived in this locality with her parents, an infant in arms, in 1846,
the country hereabouts was in the stage of its infancy, nearly as it had
been left by the disappearing Indians, with trails instead of roads,
comparatively few houses, and these at widely-separated distances, and
educational and religious facilities of the most meager kind. She has
lived to witness the development of a fertile and prosperous com-
munity, a center of agricultural and commercial activity, and the home
of modern schools and fine churches, a section prolific with good roads,
fine transportation facilities and modern improvements of every kind.
Mrs. Keysar is a native of the old Granite state. She was born in a
house on the banks of Indian Stream at Pittsburg, Coos County, New
Hampshire, in 1845, being a daughter of Joshua and Harriet (Hall)
Perkins. Her father was bom in New Hampshire, where the family
was an old and numerous one, among his brothers and sisters being
Nathaniel and Hiram Perkins, Mahala (Perkins) Bunnell and Polly,
a sister who was also married but the name of whose husband is now
forgotten. All save Joshua passed their lives in the East. The Hall
family came from New York, where Mrs. Perkins was born, and when
members of this family came to Wisconsin they settled in Dodge
County, where they became a part of the agricultural community. Mr.
and Mrs. Perkins were married in New Hampshire, where they resided
for several years, the father being engaged in agricultural pursuits.
He found the soil unproductive and his labor unremunerative, and after
an endeavor to make his operations pay decided to try his fortune in
the West, where land was to be secured cheap and where he felt he could
get a start upon the road to independence. Accordingly, in 1846, with
his wife and child, he made the long and dangerous trip across the
country to Sauk County, stopping for a short period at the little settle-
ment of Prairie du Sac, at that time just a cluster of rude houses
inhabited by the sturdy pioneers and then pushing on two miles west
of the hamlet, where he took up land from the United States Govern-
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 865
ment. This he secured for what today would be considered a ridicu-
lously small price. For the next fifteen years he farmed this land
faithfully and industriously, thus making ^ome headway with his
finances, and then sold out and moved to Rolling Prairie, Dodge County,
in the same community in which his wife's family had made their
settlement. The new locality did not suit him, he soon became home-
sick, and in a short time he returned to Sauk County and took up his
residence at Prairie du Sac, where he engaged in the nursery busi-
ness, doing tree-grafting in a small way for the rest of his active career.
His death occurred in 1895, when he was seventy-seven years of age.
Mr. Perkins was extremely fond of his home, and for that reason was
not to be found taking any prominent part in activities which would
carry him far from his fireside and family. He voted the democratic
ticket at election times and did his share in contributing to the advance-
ment, of his community, but never cared for public office nor felt him-
self called upon to serve in such. A faithful member of the Universalist
Church and a deacon therein, he was very strongly set in his religious
sentiments, and exemplified his faith in his every-day life. For a
number of years he belonged to the Masons, but finally withdrew from
that fraternal body.
Adelaide P. Perkins was an infant when brought to Sauk County,
and her childhood was passed amid pioneer scenes and surroundings.
She secured her first schooling in Yanka Street, about two miles west
of Prairie du Sac, where all the Yankas had settled at that time, and
later went to the public schools of Prairie du Sac. She remained at
home as a dutiful daughter helping her parents until she was married,
at the age of twenty-four years, in 1869, to Holmes C. Keysar, who at
that time was engaged in the mercantile business at Prairie du Sac.
Later Mr. Keysar embarked in the stock and grain business and built
up a fine enterprise in spite of the numerous difficulties attending a
venture of that kind during those days. As there were no railroads he
was compelled to ship everything via the steamboat Ellen Haidy
on the Wisconsin River to Portage, to meet the Chicago, Milwaukee
& St. Paul Railroad, while his stock he drove to Merrimac, fifteen
miles, to the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. Furthermore, produce
brought only a small price, butter being frequently as low as 5 cents per
pound and eggs 8 cents per dozen. In spite of all obstacles he developed
a paying and successful business, and in 1905 was enabled to retire
from commercial cares and worries. Up to that time he had never
found time for rest or pleasure, but in that year he built a cottage at
Lake Mendota, where he and his family spent the summers thereafter
in hunting and fishing, while in the winters they lived at Prairie du
Sac. His death occurred here May 4, 1915. Mr. Keysar was a member
of the Masonic order, in good standing. His people belonged to the
Unitarian Oliurch, and while he never united with that faith, he sup-
ported it generously and donated liberally to the building of the church
of that denomination at Prairie du Sac.
Mrs. Keysar still makes her home at the thriving little city where
she arrived seventy-one years ago. She is widely known to the people
866 HISTOEY OF SAUK COUNTY
here, where her friends are legion, and where she is greatly esteemed
for the many excellencies of her mind and the kindnesses of her heart.
James H. Turner. By the accident of birth James H. Turner is a
native of England, though his entire life since infancy has been spent
in Wisconsin, most of it in Sauk County. Mr. Turner learned a me-
chanical trade when a young man, but his most productive efforts
have been put in as a farmer, and he now owns one of the well improved
places in Baraboo Township.
He was born in England November 4, 1846, a son of James and
Sarah Turner. His parents were also natives of England, and in 1846,
the year their son James was born, they immigrated to America and
first located in Walworth County, Wisconsin, moved from there in 1848
to Milwaukee, and soon afterward came to Merrimack in Sauk County.
Here for a time James Turner, Sr., operated the ferry over the Wis-
consin River for Walter P. Flanders. From there he removed to
Baraboo and became identified with the firm of Pouiton & Brown in
the pottery business. By trade he was a mason. His death occurred
in Baraboo Township in 1873 and his wife died there in 1871. He was
a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and his family followed
him in the same religious worship. There were four children: George,
who served in the Forty-sixth Wisconsin Infantry during the Civil
war and died November 8, 1865 ; Elizabeth, who lives on Eighth Avenue
in Baraboo, is the widow of Romine Van Orman ; James H. ; and Mary
Ann, wife of Henry Brisco, who was also in the Forty-sixth Wisconsin
Infantry, their home now being in Baraboo.
James H. Turner was reared at Baraboo, attended the public schools,
and on leaving school learned the trade of mason. In 1887 he began
farming in Baraboo Township, and acquiring a tract of seventy acres he
cleared most of it and put it in condition for cultivation. That is his
present home and all its valuable improvements are the results of his
energy and good management. One experience of his earlier career
should be recalled. In 1871 he and Henry Cowles hauled the first rail-
road iron for what was known as the Steam Shovel Cut at the end of
Devil's Lake.
Mr. Turner is a democrat in politics but has never sought public
office. He was married in 1870 to Miss Esther Jane Brown. Mrs.
Turner was the first white child born in Summit Township of Juneau
County, Wisconsin. Her birth date was October 31, 1851. Her parents,
Thomas and Esther Brown, were among the pioneers of Juneau County.
Mr. and Mrs. Turner had three children. Isabel died when eight years
old. Cora is living in Baraboo and the widow of William McFarland.
She has one child, Vem William McFarland, who is a graduate of the
public schools of Fairfield Townsh'ip and is now in the second year of
the Baraboo High School. George William, the youngest child, is still
at home and unmarried.
AARON F. Teel. If any resident of Sauk County has reason to
feel at home in this rich and beautiful part of Wisconsin it would seem
to be Aaron F. Teel, widely known and universally esteemed, for almost
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 867
three-quarters of a century have rolled away since he, a boy of eight
years, was brought by his parents to his present home. For seventy-
one years Mr. Teel has lived on this farm in Fairfield Township, in
which part of the county he has long been a man of large importance,
not only because of his wealth but because he has always taken so deep
an interest in its progress and development.
Aaron F. Teel was born in St. Lawrence County, New York,
November 27, 1837. His parents were Benjamin and Phoebe (Morrill)
Teel. They were born in Massachusetts and lived in St. Lawrence
County, New York, when rumors reached that section of the great
agricultural possibilities offered in the but sparsely settled territory of
Wisconsin. They were courageous and enterprising people and the sus-
pected hardships of pioneer life did not prevent their deciding to seek
a new home in the rich territory that then was largely given over to
foreign settlement. They came by water and the impression made by
the little Town of Chicago, lying on her sand flats, was not favorable
enough to make them desire to pause there as they passed through.
They continued on their journey and crossed the Wisconsin River at
Portage on September 15, 1845, on their way to Sauk County, their
objective point, and settled at once on the land in Fairfield Township
which has been the home of their son Aaron F. to the present time.
They both died there, the mother in 1869, at the age of sixty-six years,
and the father in 1885, he having reached his eighty-fifth year. They
were the parents of seven children, namely : Hannah, who was the wife
of P. J. Parshall, survived to be ninety-one years old ; Joseph, who was
also an example of family longevity, died when aged eighty years;
Lucy, who is deceased, was the wife of Benjamin Clerk; Rebecca, who
is deceased, was the wife of James Battles ; Aaron F. ; Susan, who is
the wife of Porter Buck, of Reedsburg, Wisconsin; and Almina, who
is the wife of Joseph Hackett, of Baraboo. The mother of the above
family was a member of the Congregational Church.
Aaron F. Teel obtained his education in the public schools which
became well established soon after the admission of Wisconsin to state-
hood in 1848. Farming and stock-raising have engaged his attention
since boyhood and in all his undertakings a sense of good judgment
has prevailed and made them successful. For a number of years he
was numbered with the heavy landowners of the county, having over
700 acres, and he still retains 380 acres, all of which is exceedingly
valuable. Although now retired from active participation in the farm
industries, his interest is not lost and his judgment on all agricultural
matters remains unimpaired.
Mr. Teel was married in 1861 to Miss Mary Watts, who was born in
Ohio in 1835, and her parents too, Joseph and Sophia Watts, were
early settlers in Sauk County, where they died when full of years.
Four children were born to Mr. and • Mrs. Teel, two sons and two
daughters, namely : Frank D. ; Lillie, who is the wife of P. W. Post,
residing at Evanston, Illinois; Nelson, who is a farmer in Fairfield
Township, married Emma Malloy, a member of one of the old county
families ; and May S., who is the wife of Robert Schneller, who is a
868 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
farmer in Fairfield Township. They are all people of business and
social prominence. -
Mr. Teel was reared, by his father, to believe in the principles of
the democratic party, and this organization has always received his
hearty support. He has always taken much interest in educational
matters in his township, which, largely through his efforts, has ex-
cellent schoolhouses and good teachers, and for over thirty years he has
served as treasurer of the school board in his district. In him Fairfield
Township has had a wise, practical and honest supervisor and also
assessor, and he has served in these offices for over a quarter of a
century. He has always been a leader in his community in all move-
ments looking to the public welfare and his influence counts largely
when subjects of county, state or national moment are brought forward
for discussion, for his fellow citizens have entire confidence in his good
judgment and unselfish opinion.
Edward P. Terry. Farming and stockraising have been industries
in which the Terry family of Sauk County have met with success. This
well known family was established here in 1853, when Patrick Terry
and his young wife came to Baraboo from Milwaukee, where they had
been married. Patrick Terry was born in Ireland, in 1837, and was
a young man when he came to America. He found work as a laborer
in Wisconsin and helped to build the first railroad that entered Madison
and also assisted in the construction work of the branch of the North-
western Railroad which was extended to Baraboo. In Milwaukee, Wis-
consin, he was married to Ellen Tinnel, who was born in Ireland in
1838, and they had four children born to them: Patrick, who died at
the age of twelve years; Edward P.; Margaret, who died when aged
sixteen years; and John, who is a member of the household of his
brother Edward P. Terry. When Patrick Terry began farming it was
on a tract of forty acres situated in Delton Township, and through his
industry and good management as years passed by he became the owner
of 310 acres. He was a son of Edward Terry and, like all of the name,
was a man of sterling character. In politics he was a democrat and
all his life was a faithful member of the Roman Catholic Church. His
wife died September 28, 1898, but Mr. Terry survived until February
20, 1917.
Edward P. Terry, who owns eighty acres of the old Terry Home-
stead of 310 acres, was educated in the public schools in Delton Town-
ship and has always devoted himself to agricultural pursuits. In addi-
tion to the farm land he owns in this township, Mr. Terry has 160 acres
in South Dakota and lived there for fourteen months. He has made
many substantial improvements on his farm and has everything very
comfortable. In politics he is a democrat. Being a sound business
man and highly respected citizen, he has often been mentioned for
public office in his neighborhood, but has never consented to accept
any position except membership on the school board.
Mr. Terry was married October 25, 1886, to Miss Ann Mullowney,
who was born near Mauston, Juneau County, Wisconsin, February 7,
1864, and is a daughter of Patrick and Mary (Dorsey) Mullowney.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 869
The father of Mrs. Terry was born in 1828 in Ireland, and the mother
was born in 1836 at Syracuse, New York. They were married in
Juneau County, Wisconsin, and settled in Seven-Mile Creek Township,
where he took up Government land. TTie mother of Mrs. Terry died
there in 1896 and the father in 1908. They had a family of eleven
children, as follows : Eliza, Mary, Edward, Ann, Ellen, James, John,
William, Kate, Severnia and Frances, all of whom are living except
William and Frances.
To Mr. and Mrs. Terry six children have been born, namely : Mary,
who is the wife of Robert Cleary; Margaret, who is a popular teacher
in the county, attended the Reedsburg training school and was grad-
uated in 1911 from the La Crosse State Normal School, and for seven
years has devoted herself to educational work; Helen, who, like her
sister, is well educated, after graduating from the Reedsburg High
School becoming a student in the La Crosse State Normal School, from
which she was graduated in 1911, and has been a successful teacher
for four years; Patrick, who is a farmer in Delton Township; and
Francis and Edward, both of whom died in infancy. Mr. Terry and
family belong to the Roman Catholic Church.
Sylvester E. King. Shrewd business ability, special adaptiveness
to his calling, appreciation of its many advantages, and belief in his
own power to succeed, placed Sylvester E. King among the foremost
and most substantial promoters of agriculture in Sauk County. From
the prairies his unaided industry brought forth ample means, permit-
ting his retirement to Baraboo in 1912 and his consigning to younger
hands the tasks that made up the sum of his existence during his active
years. He has a modern and well-furnished home at 115 Sixth Avenue,
and is regarded as one of the financially strong and morally high retired
farmers.
Mr. King was born on Sauk Prairie, Sauk County, Wisconsin, Jan-
uary 12, 1845, and is a son of Eli and Clarinda (Eaton) King. He
belongs to one of the old families of this region, his grandfather, Hosea
King, having settled on Sauk Prairie among the pioneers of 1842. He
became one of the extensive and prominent farmers of his day, and
when he founded a hotel a small community grew up about it, the name
of the hamlet being called King's Corners in his honor. He had come
from Ohio, and by his two marriages was the father of ten children,
among whom were : Eli, Hosea, Garress Norman, David, Solomon,
Lucinda and Alvira, by his first wife, and Reubeu and two others by
his second wife. Eli King, father of Sylvester E., was bom in Ohio
and there educated, reared and married, his wife, Clarinda Eaton, being
also a native of the Buckeye State. They accompanied Hosea King's
party to Sauk County in 1842, and here Eli King bought out a claim of
120 acres, to which he subsequently added forty acres, and still later
twenty acres, continuing to be engaged in farming throughout his life.
He was one of the industrious and energetic men of his community,
an intelligent farmer who used the most modern methods of his day
and a man bearing an excellent reputation in business circles. As he
had learned the blacksmith trade in his youth he often had recourse to
870 , HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
this vocation, not alone in the repairing of his own implements and
tools, but in doing work for the farmers of his neighborhood, and his
little blacksmith shop stood as a landmark and memento of the old days
until recent years. As a citizen Mr. King filled various township
offices, and for quite a period was a melnber of the school board. He
and his wife were the parents of six children : Sylvester E. ; Euphemia,
deceased; Malinda, deceased; Mary, deceased; Myrtie, who is the wife
of Grant Pobjoy and resides on the old Pobjoy family homestead in
Sauk County; and Irving, deceased.
The boyhood and youth of Sylvester E. King were passed on the
homestead farm, where he acquired a thorough knowledge of agricul-
tural work, while his education was secured first in an old log school-
house on Sauk Prairie and later at the old Baraboo Institute, under the
instruction of Professor Hobert. He adopted farming when he came of
age and succeeded to the old family homestead, which he managed to
such good advantage that when he was ready for retirement he had
accumulated 230 acres. This was a well-developed, fertile and finely-
improved farm, which Mr. King sold to his son-in-law in 1912, on March
3d of which year he took up his residence at Baraboo. He has since
lived in quiet retirement, enjoying the comforts that his years of hard
labor had earned. Mr. King is a republican and for a long period
was one of the prominent and influential men of his party in his
locality. He served as township treasurer for five years, as a member
of the school board in Sumpter Township for fifteen years, and as
justice of the peace for five years, and his public record was one which
was clean and commendable, his services always being of a character to
attract and retain the confidence of the people of his community. With
his family he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church. He has been
generous in his support of worthy enterprises, whether civic, religious
or charitable, and his influence has been felt in the securing of reforms
which has made his section better governed and a more desirable place
in which to reside.
Mr. King was married March 24, 1869, to Miss Salome Almeda
Burdick, who was born July 31, 1849, in Clinton County, New York,
daughter of Stephen and Betsey (Cadwell) Burdick, natives of the
Empire State, the former born in 1823 and the latter in 1826. The
parents of Mrs. King brought their family to Sauk County, Wisconsin,
in 1851, and located first in Baraboo Township, where they bought a
farm, but subsequently sold this and went to Sauk Prairie, where they
obtained another property. There Mrs. Burdick died in 1863, having
been the mother of tlie following children : Amelia, deceased ; Ira, who
died March 5, 1917 ; Salome Almeda, who became Mrs. King ; Mary,
Julia and William, who are all deceased; Charles H., who is a passenger
locomotive engineer on the Northwestern Railway and resides at Bara-
boo; and Clementine and Peter, who are deceased. Mr. Burdick was
later married to Miss Amanda Roberts, and they became the parents
of two children : Edwin and Clara, the former of whom is now deceased.
When he was elected to the office of sheriff of Sauk County in 1864 Mr.
Burdick came to make his home at Baraboo, having formerly been chair-
man of the board of township supervisors in Sumpter Township and a
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 871
member and clerk of the school board. He was likewise a member of
Baraboo Lodge No. 34, Free and Accepted Masons. Later he went to
North Freedom, where he became foreman, of a fence gang in the employ
of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway, and while thus engaged was at
the head of thirty men. Still later he went to Waukesha, Wisconsin,
where he attended gates at the railroad crossing until his retirement,
when he returned to Baraboo, and here died in 1906. His widow, who
survives him, resides at North Yakima, Washington. The paternal
grandparents of Mrs. King were Lester and Hannah Burdick, who came
to Sauk County in 1851 and passed their lives here, the former being
for many years a well known veterinary surgeon.
One child was born to Mr. and Mrs. King: Bessie, born in 1871, who
became the wife of Marvin Wilson, of Sauk Prairie, and they had one
son, Ivan, bom in 1898. The mother died in 1900, and her husband
and son are now residing on a cattle ranch in North Dakota.
I. J. NoRRis, one of the oldest men living in Merrimack Township,
being now in his ninetieth year, has been a resident of Sauk County
since the early '70s and has lived a purposeful and worthy life and
one that entitles him to the high respect paid his name. Mr. Norris
was born at Danbury, New Hampshire, November 27, 1827. His birth
occurred while Andrew Jackson was President of the United States,
before a single line of important railroad had been constructed in this
country or in the world, and only two years after the opening of the
Erie Canal to traffic. He was almost grown before the telegraph was
invented, and was nearly past military age when the Civil war was
fought. Few men have had such a remarkable period of history within
their own lives.
Mr. Norris is a son of William C. and Sarah (Elliott) Norris. His
father was born in Massachusetts, and early moved to New Hampshire.
The mother was a native of England and brought to this country by
her parents when she was a small child. She died in New Hampshire
in 1877 and the father in 1879.
I. J. Norris grew up and received his schooling in the district schools
of New Hampshire. When he was thirty-one years of age in 1858 he
married Harriet Augusta Leeds, who was born in 1840. They lived
together seven years after celebrating their fiftieth or golden wedding
anniversary. Mrs. Norris passed away in 1915. The youngest of their
six children is now nearly forty years of age. George William, who
was born in New Hampshire in 1860, is postmaster at Beaver Crossing,
Nebraska; Charles B., who was born at Yaphank, Long Island, in 1862,
died twelve years ago ; Daniel C, born in New Jersey in 1864, is married
and lives at Bruster, Nebraska, and has five children. Nellie Erma,
born at Portage, Wisconsin, in 1870, is the wife of William Taylor, a
mechanic living in Chicago; Ned J., born in 1875 in Merrimack Town-
ship of Sauk County, is still living in that community at his father's
home and is married and has three children; Bertha B., the youngest
child, was born in 1880, and is the wife of William A. Rogers, of Madi-
son, Wisconsin.
Mr. I. J. Norris came to Wisconsin in 1870, spending one year at
Vol. n— 20
872 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Portage, and the following year at Baraboo. He then moved to Merri-
mack Township, where he has lived for the past forty-five years. For
fifteen years Mr. Norris was connected with the Chicago & Northwestern
Railway as boss of the grading gangs. He then secured his present
farm of 85% acres iu Merrimack Township and has given his later
years to its superintendence and management. Mr. Norris knows all
the experiences of farming, and has benefited both from the era of high
prices as well as low prices. He sold wheat at 50 cents a bushel, butter
at 10 cents a pound and eggs at 6 cents a dozen. He did all the clear-
ing of his land and used oxen for a number of years. His individual
integrity has commended him to the confidence of his fellow citizens,
who have frequently requested his service in public positions. For ten
years he was a member of the school board, served several years on the
town board and was justice of the peace several terms. In politics he
is a democrat and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, his
wife having also been a devout member of that denomination.
George Ferber has lived in Sauk County more than seventy years.
His endeavors as a practical farmer were liberally prospered, and in
later years he has lived at Sauk City largely retired, though he has
never permitted himself to be without some useful occupation and in-
terest. He is one of the best known citizens in that part of the county.
Mr. Ferber was born in Switzerland November 19, 1842, but was
brought to America in 1846 by his parents, Felix and Margaret (Parrli)
Ferber. Both parents were natives of Switzerland and on coming to
America they located in Sauk City. A short time later Felix Ferber
took up a tract of Government land in Honey Creek Township. He was
busied with its care and development for about two years and then
returned to Sauk City, where he died in 1853. Felix Ferber was a
tailor by trade, an occupation he had learned in his native land. There
was little demand for the services of a tailor in the pioneer times of
Sauk County, and regular occupation thus being denied him at his
chosen pursuit he found work wherever it offered. Felix Ferber and
wife had five children : George ; Alec, who is now living retired at
West Allis, Wisconsin, and his three children are all married ; Badger,
deceased ; Henry, who is married and lives in Sauk City ; and John,
also deceased. The mother of these children died when seventy-six
years of age.
. George Ferber, being the oldest of the family, had to assume unusual
responsibilities and burdens soon after the death of his father. He was
eleven years of age when his father died and at the age of thirteen he
began working at wages on neighboring farms in order to contribute
to the support and maintenance of the household, consisting of his
mother and five children. In this way he worked hard and earnestly
until he was nineteen.
Mr. Ferber has a record as a soldier of the Union army which will
always be cherished by his descendants. At the age of nineteen he
enlisted in the Ninth Wisconsin Infantry, and saw 3i/4 years of active
service. He was in many of the notable campaigns of the South, and at
the close of the war he laid down his arms and came home with health
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 873
much impaired by his hardships. After resting a year he went out to
California with his brother Alec and for three years they worked at
the logging business. After coming back to Sauk County George Ferber
bought a farm, and in the fall of 1870 he was joined by his brother
Alec. Two years later Alec sold his interest in the place to George,
and the latter then had active charge and continued farming as his
vocation until about nine years ago. He then sold his farm, which had
greatly increased in value in the meantime, and has since lived in
Sauk City.
In 1873 Mr, Ferber married Miss Louisa Meyer. She died in 1890,
leaving six children : George, who is unmarried and lives in Sumpter
Township ; Henry, a machinist living at Milwaukee and married ; Millie,
wife of Anton Dietrichson, a resident of Payette, Idaho, and they have
three children; Clara, deceased; Walter, who is a Government employe
in Washington; Louis, who is unmarried and living in Chicago, where
he is connected with the postoffice. In 1893 Mr. Ferber married Anna
B. Myer. One child was born of that union, Alec, who is married and
lives in Sauk City. All the children were well educated in the public
schools of Sauk City. Louis also spent two years in the Toland Business
College at La Crosse.
Mr. Ferber has had much to do with public affairs in his section of
the county. For ten years he served as school clerk, was on the town
board six years, was a member of the village board in Sauk City seven
years, and for nineteen years was on the Farmers Insurance Board.
Fraternally he is affiliated with the Woodmen of the World.
Paul Cahoon is both a farmer and business man and has exempli-
fied the progressive spirit which has put Sauk County far ahead in the
matter of agriculture and agricultural organization and system.
He is also an auctioneer by profession, but his chief business has'
been centered around farm enterprise. He was born in Baraboo Town-
ship of Sauk County February 23, 1875, was educated in the public
schools and grew up in a rural community. In 1900 Mr. Cahoon bought
the farm he now owns in Baraboo Township. It comprises 120 acres,
and has become highly developed under his direction in the way of
first class improvements.
Mr, Cahoon and two of his neij^hbors built the first three concrete
silos in Baraboo Township. He is a dairyman and keeps a herd of fine
Jerseys. In 1915 the farmers of about twenty-two counties in Wiscon-
sin organized a packing company, with plant at Madison, known as the
Farm Cooperative Packing Company. Mr. Cahoon under the auspices
of the organization established the shipping association of the company
during 1916-17. He is also one of the organizers of the Excelsior
Creamery Cooperative Company of Baraboo and served as its treasurer
for about nine years. This is a consolidation of several creameries in
and around Baraboo, and one of them was known as the Excelsior
Creamery, and that name was taken for the larger association. Mr.
Cahoon was a member of the building committee which established the
fine plant at Baraboo.
Paul Cahoon is a son of Levi and Willie Ann (Wells) Cahoon. His
874 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
father was one of the pioneers of Sauk County, and extended reference
to his career and family history will be found on other pages. His
mother, who was born in Walworth County, Wisconsin, July 4, 1846,
and died at Baraboo June 13, 1905,. was an early day teacher in Sauk
County. His father cleared up 215 acres of land in the woods of Bara-
boo Township. His later years have been spent in retirement and he
now resides at Baraboo. Paul was the fourth in a family of six sons.
The oldest, Wells, was killed in a railroad accident in 1892, when about
twenty-five years of age. Concerning Wilber, a farmer of Baraboo
Township, mention is made on other pages. Lee H. went to the North-
west when about eighteen years of age and has since become an ex-
tensive farmer, horse dealer and cattle feeder in Montana. Roger, the
next younger than Paul, is a physician at Baraboo. Ora, the youngest,
was graduated from the Baraboo High School at the age of seventeen,
the University of Wisconsin at twenty-one, and then worked on the
ranch of his brother. By profession he is an electrical engineer and
served at one time as superintendent of the electric light plant at
Chippewa Falls, subsequently was with the large Moline factory, and
is now at Chicago, employed as an expert by the Sturdevant Company,
manufacturing motors for aeroplanes and submarines for the Govern-
ment.
Mr. Paul Cahoon served as treasurer of Baraboo Township for three
years and is an independent in politics. He is affiliated with Baraboo
Lodge No. 234, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, with the Knights of
Pythias at Baraboo and the Modem Woodmen of America. He was
married in 1895 to Miss Myrtie Spencer, daughter of Charles Spencer
and a granddaughter of Thomas Spencer, one of the pioneers of Sauk
County. Mr. and Mrs. Cahoon have four children: Ruth, who grad-
uated from the Baraboo High School in 1917; Horace, who has com-
pleted the work of the Baraboo public schools and is now in Company
I, Sixth National Guards of Wisconsin ; Ethel, a junior in high school ;
and Myrna, also in the public schools.
Charles L. Spencer, a veteran of the Civil war and for over half
a century a resident of Sauk County, is now living retired at Baraboo.
He has lived in Wisconsin since childhood, and was born in Madison
County, New York, in 1842. His great-grandfather, Samuel Spencer,
was a soldier in the Revolutionary army in the struggle for inde-
pendence. His grandfather, Reuben Spencer, was married February
22, 1807, to Nancy Chapman, and they removed from Connecticut to
the vicinity of Oneida Lake in New York.
Thomas H. Spencer, father of Charles L., was born in Connecticut
October 1, 1813, and was married August 16, 1841, to Miss Nancy Maria
Maynard, who was born in Massachusetts February 15, 1819. In 1850
Thomas H. Spencer moved to Wisconsin and in 1861 located in Sauk
County on a farm 31/2 miles west of the City of Baraboo. He was a
practical farmer and spent his last years in retirement at Baraboo, where
he died in 1897. His wife passed away in 1886. Their children were
Charles; Julia, born October 14, 1843; Maude A., born June 26, 1846
Louisa, born March 14, 1848; Nancy Jane, born February 14, 1850
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 875
Laura A., born March 18, 1852; Sidney, born April 13, 1855 ; Martha,
born May 8, 1857 ; Thomas M. and John W., twins, born September 7,
1858; and Mary, born February 28, 1860.
When Charles L. Spencer was eight years old his parents removed
from New York to Waukesha County, Wisconsin, and two years later to
Lodi, Wisconsin, He there attended school and in 1857 removed to
Caledonia in Columbia County, Wisconsin. In 1861 he came to Sauk
County, and after living here about two years enlisted, on July 4, 1863,
in Company C of the First Wisconsin Heavy Artillery. Mr. Spencer
saw two years and three months of active service in the Union army and
was not granted his discharge until November 21, 1865, some months
after the close of actual hostilities. For years he has been a member of
the Grand Army Post at Baraboo.
After the war he returned to Sauk County and took up farming.
He still has his well improved farm of eighty-five acres but since 1910
has lived retired at Baraboo. Politically he is a republican.
On December 28, 1868, Mr. Spencer married Miss Salena Jones, who
was born in Walworth County, Wisconsin, in 1850, a daughter of David
and Maria (Delap) Jones, both natives of New York State. Her
parents removed to Walworth County, Wisconsin, locating on a farm,
and in 1854 came to Sauk County, where her father died April 3,
1861, at the age of forty-one. Her mother attained the age of eighty-
four and died May 9, 1916. Mrs. Spencer was the oldest of eight chil-
dren, the others being Elizabeth, Abbie, Rosa, David, Fred and Byrd.
Mr. and Mrs. Spencer have four children: Rosette, Arthur, Myrtie,
wife of Mr. Paul Cahoon, and Charles Hardy. Rosette is the wife of
Fred Burdick, of Baron County, Wisconsin. Their children are named
Harold, Irwin, Lester, Willis, Cecil and Helen Salina. Charles Hardy,
who occupies his father's farm in Baraboo Township, married Gladys
Pearson, a daughter of C. L. Pearson, formerly state senator. Their
four children are named Charles Lavern, Thomas Hardy, Ruth Blanche
and Pearson.
Joseph E. Premo. The old pioneer family of Premo, which was
established in Sauk County in 1850, has among its worthy representa-
tives some of the leading men of this section, one of whom is Joseph E.
Premo, who is well known in this section of the state in the livestock
industry. Mr. Premo was born in Merrimac Township, Sauk County,
June 17, 1864. His parents were Charles and Eliza Ann (Astle) Premo.
Charles Premo was born in 1835, in the State of New York, and died
on his farm in Sauk County in 1901. He was a son of Joseph and
Melvina (Delegerie) Premo, both of whom were bom in France. In
1850 they came to Sauk County and located first in Sumpter Township,
improved property in the county and he died in Merrimac Township in
1877 and his wife died in 1880. He married Eliza Ann Astle, who was
born in England in 1837, a daughter of William Astle, and died in
Sumpter Township in 1903. Of their family of eight children three
survive, namely: Stephen, Joseph E. and William H., and the follow-r
ing are deceased : Sarah, Elizabeth, Herman, Ada and George.
Joseph E. Premo obtained his education in the public schools of
876 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Sumpter Township. Under the supervision of his father he learned the
principles of agriculture and when ready to enter upon business life
for himself found his knowledge thorough and practical.
In 1901 Mr. Premo bought his first farm, consisting of 103 acres
situated in Baraboo Township, near Devil's Lake. In 1908 he bought
the farm in Greenfield Township that is now owned by his brother
William, to whom he sold it in 1912, when he bought the old Albert
McGilvra farm of seventy-two acres and also a tract of twenty-five
acres in Greenfield Township. This was followed by a purchase of
twenty acres located within the eity limits of Baraboo, being a part of
the Stanley farm. Mr. Premo devotes the larger part of his acreage to
the maintenance of his extensive stock and cattle industries. For six-
teen years he has been a heavy breeder of Poland China hogs and Shrop-
shire sheep, and he stands among the foremost in this part of
Wisconsin as a successful breeder of Shorthorn cattle. He has made ade-
quate provision and many improvements of his different properties,
insuring the best of conditions for his valuable stock. Mr. Premo is
a man of enterprise and belongs to the modern type of agriculturist,
to which not only the United States but the world is turning an anxious
eye in anticipation of future needs.
Mr. Premo was married May 2, 1892, to Miss Emma E. Fowler, who
was born near Lansing, Clinton County, Michigan, September 8, 1870.
She is a daughter of Dr. John and Mary (Blodgett) Fowler. Doctor
Fowler and wife had four children, namely: Eva, who is the wife of
John Searls and lives in Montana; James; Emma E., who is the wife
of Joseph E. Premo; Dora, who died at the age of three years. Doctor
Fowler, father of Mrs. Premo, was born in England in 1842 and her
mother was born in Ohio in 1841. They came to Prairie du Sac, Wis-
consin, in 1882, and there Doctor Fowler engaged in the practice of
medicine for three years. In 1885 he came to Baraboo for a time and
then went back to Michigan, his earlier home, where he practiced one
year more and then returned to Baraboo. Here he died June 21, 1916,
his wife passing away at Baraboo in 1899. Six children have been
born to Mr. and Mrs. Premo, as follows : Ada May, who is a graduate
of the Greenfield public school, the Baraboo High School and the State
Normal at Plattville, Wisconsin, and she taught school most acceptably
for two years; Flora, Charles and Alice, all of whom have creditably
completed their public school courses in the grade schools and the latter
became a student in the Baraboo High School in 1917 ; Selinda Berniee ;
and Nellie Margaret, who died in infancy.
Mr. Premo is nominally a republican in politics but is a man well
able to do his own thinking and on many subjects entertains inde-
pendent ideas that regulate his support of political candidates at times.
He has never been desirous of political honors for himself but once con-
sented to serve as road overseer in Baraboo Township and has always
displayed & commendable interest in the public schools.
Samuel P. Searle. Of the men who have actively participated in
the agricultural transformation of Sauk County during the past half
century none are better or more favorably known than Samuel P. Searle,
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 877
of Delton Township. Mr. Searle has had a long and active career and
for a number of years has been in a position where he might retire and
enjoy financial independence.
Mr. Searle is a native of England, where he was born April 19,
1847. His parents were William and Ann (Pollard) Searle, both
natives of England and of English ancestry. In 1859 they crossed
the ocean with their family to Quebec, soon came to the United States,
spending about two months at London, Ohio, then went to Rockford,
Illinois, and in 1860 to Mauston, Juneau County, Wisconsin. Still
later they located in Columbia County, Wisconsin, and in October, 1867,
established their home in Delton Township of Sauk County. Here the
father bought the eighty acres now owned by his son Samuel and also
eighty acres which he subsequently sold and is now owned by Edward
Terry. The father acquired another farm of eighty acres and later a
place of 160 acres in Excelsior Township. He was a very practical
business man and to his qualifications as a farmer he added the ex-
perience and skill of a veterinary surgeon. During the American Civil
war he was in active service one year, enlisting in the Tenth Battery of
Light Artillery, with which he went to St. Louis and subsequently
transferred to the Ninth Battery and crossed the plains to Pike's Peak
on an expedition against the Indians. He died in Sauk County in
December, 1891, at the age of eighty-two. His wife passed away March
26, 1874. In politics he was a republican and a member of the Epis-
copal Church. He and his wife had the following children: John,
deceased; George, who became a sailor and died and was buried at
Havana, Cuba; Samuel, who was third in age; Elizabeth, who died
in 1916 ; and William Francis, a resident of Barron County, Wisconsin.
Samuel P. Searle was twelve years of age when he came with his
parents to America. He had received his first instruction in the schools
of England, and for a brief time attended school in this country. At
the age of fifteen he tried to enlist in the Union army, but was rejected
on account of his extreme youth. His early life was spent on a farm
and farming became his permanent calling in life. He still owns and
occupies the eighty acres of the old homestead acquired by his father
fifty years ago and he has added to this forty acres. The passing of
years has brought many improvements through his hands, and in his
earlier and more active years he spent many weary days cutting down
trees and grubbing up stumps. He has most of the land under cultiva-
tion, improved with good buildings, and is one of the leading general
farmers and stock raisers in Delton Township. He has served as town-
ship supervisor and was chairman of the board for three years. Po-
litically he is a republican.
On June 4, 1874, Mr. Searle married Miss Constantine Welch, who
died September 25, 1880, leaving two children : Louis Claude and Grace
Ann, the latter the wife of James Fry, son of A. H. Fry. Louis Claude,
when fourteen years old, suffered the loss of a leg and at the age of
sixteen he attended a school of telegraphy. At the age of eighteen he"
started in as a telegraph operator, and is now train dispatcher at Three
Forks, Montana.
On December 25, 1882, Mr. Searle married for his second wife Melissa
878 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Graves. She was born in Delton Township of Sauk County April 21,
1859, and belong^s to one of the pioneer families of Sauk County. Her
parents were Willett Johnson and Rebecca (Murphy) Graves, the former
a native of New York and the latter of Pennsylvania. They came to
Sauk County when young people, were married here, and after their
marriage they located in Delton Township, where her father followed
farming actively until his death in 1883, at the age of sixty-three.
Mrs. Searle's mother died in Baraboo in 1912, at the advanced age of
seventy-nine. Mrs. Searle was one of nine children : Carrie, Lettie,
George, Melissa, Moses, Daniel, Arthur, Mary and Albert. Mrs. Searle 's
father was for a number of years a member of the school board in
Delton Township,
To Mr. and Mrs. Searle were born nine children: Clara, the oldest,
is the wife of Clyde McFarland, of Tacoma, Washington, and they have
a daughter, Catherine ; Catherine, the second child, was formerly a
teacher and is now the wife of John Owen, their home being in the State
of Oregon; Martha married Otto Powell and they have two children,
William Searle and Arlene; Jennie is a graduate of the Reedsburg
Training School and has been a successful teacher for eight years;
Samuel P. is a graduate of the Baraboo Business College and lives at
Milwaukee ; William is still at home ; Eva Belle died in infancy ; Howard
died at the age of six years ; and Ruth, the youngest, is now in the junior
class of the Baraboo High School.
James W. Dibble. Through three successive generations members
of the Dibble, family have been connected with the boot and shoe mak-
ing trade in Sauk County. James W. Dibble is a son of a pioneer
shoemaker of Baraboo, and he himself followed that business through-
out his active career but is now living retired. His son still continues
the trade in Baraboo.
For sixty-seven years a resident of Sauk County and an honored
veteran of the Civil war, James W. Dibble was born at Danbury, Con-
necticut, February 2, 1845, a son of James S. and Julia (Johnson)
Dibble. His parents arrived in Baraboo July 7, 1850, when that city
was a mere village and when most of the surrounding country was a
wilderness. James S. Dibble worked at his trade as a shoemaker in
the employ of Andrew Anders for a number of years. Both he and his
wife died in Baraboo. They had three children : Julius R., who became
a soldier in the Civil war and died at St. Louis while still in the army,
in 1863 ; Jasper Rufus, who died at Baraboo in 1897 ; and James W.
James W. Dibble was five years of age when brought to Baraboo.
The family had made the journey from Milwaukee to this frontier town
with covered wagons. He attended some of the first public schools at
Baraboo and was still a youth of eighteen when on December 16, 1863,
he enlisted in Company F of the Third Wisconsin Cavalry. He was
with that splendid regiment during its later service in the war, and he
performed all the arduous duties assigned to him and gave nearly two
years of his young life to the cause. He was mustered out in October,
1865, and then returned to Baraboo and began active work as a shoe-
maker. For thirty-four years he was connected with the Marriott Shoe
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 879
Company. For about twelve years he lived at Bloomer in Chippewa
County, Wisconsin, where he also followed his trade and on returning
to Baraboo he began work with the E. G. Marriott Shoe Company and
was with them continuously until quite recently, when he retired, after
having been a follower of his trade for nearly half a century.
Mr. Dibble has been a loyal republican since he followed the flag
of the Union during the Civil war. He is now commander of Joe
Hooker Post No. 9, Grand Army of the Republic, Department of Wis-
consin, and has served as its commander three different years and as
chaplain two years.
Mr. Dibble was married December 25, 1867, to Miss Ella M. Bailey.
Mrs. Dibble was born in New York State November 3, 1849, a daughter
of John L. and Sophronia Ann (Cotton) Bailey. Her parents came
from Ohio to Merrimack, Sauk County, Wisconsin, in 1856. Her father
bought a farm in Merrimack Township, but that being insufficient for
his purposes he rented more land and became one of the substantial
agriculturists of that vicinity. In 1865 John L. Bailey enlisted for
service in the Union army, although he was then past military age.
He served as a quartermaster and was with the army until 1866. Re-
turning to Sauk County, he lived an active life as a farmer until he
retired. He spent sixteen years at Lyons and finally met with a rail-
way accident which made him helpless during his last six years. He
died at the home of his daughter Mrs. Dibble in July, 1913. In Decem-
ber of that year he would have celebrated his ninety-third birthday.
Mrs. Dibble's mother died at Baraboo in 1909, at the age of eighty-eight.
They were married in Chautauqua County, New York, May 7, 1843,
in 1849 moved to Ohio, and in 1856 came to Sauk County, Wisconsin.
To make the journey from Ohio to Wisconsin required twenty-six days.
John L, Bailey was born in Yates County, New York, December 21,
1821, and his wife was born there February 11, 1821. Their children
were four in number: Joanna Adaline, who was born March 19, 1844,
now deceased; Ella Marie, born November 3, 1849; Burton B,, born
July 1, 1854, and died November 26, 1900 ; and Eliza Annette, born June
9, 1862, and died in 1865.
The only son of Mr. Dibble is Howard Lynn. He was born July
7, 1870, and was reared and educated at Bloomer in Chippewa County.
He married Lavina LaBell, of that county. She was born in Bloomer
and was a school teacher there before her marriage. Howard L. Dibble
served as town clerk of Bloomer for a number of years. Like his father
and grandfather he is a shoemaker by trade and now conducts a shop
at Baraboo and is enjoying a prosperous business. He and his wife have
six children, named Harry L., Maud, Ned, Glenn, Ella and Catherine.
George A. Gross is one of the oldest native sons of Merrimack
Township, Sauk County. His life and its chief activities have been
passed in that community, and he first gained success as a practical
agriculturist and later has applied his time and capital to business
enterprises in the Village of Merrimack.
His birth occurred in 1851, on a farm three miles south of that vil-
lage. The township was then known as Kingston. He is a son of
880 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Andrew and Margaret (Keitel) Gross. His parents were both born in
Wurtemberg, his father in 1811 and his mother in 1813. In that year
of the German revolution, 1848, they immigrated to America, having
married in the old country. From August of that year until the fol-
lowing spring they lived at Sauk City. Early in 1849 they moved to
Kingston Township and lived on rented land. While there Andrew
Gross built one or two log houses and was there about two years. His
home was near the bluff. He bought land from the Government, pay-
ing $50 for forty acres. He and Mr. Keitel acquired together three
forty-acre tracts, and then divided them. In 1875 Andrew Gross bought
what was known as the Colborn farm, where his son John now lives.
Andrew Gross succeeded by hard work in acquiring a competence, and
died in 1882, a highly respected citizen. He went through all the
pioneer experiences. In the early days he used oxen to break the land
and perform the other heavy work of clearing and cultivating. Many
weary days he swung the cradle or the scythe in harvesting his grain.
His surplus produce was hauled to Madison. Mrs. Andrew Gross died
in 1887. From the time of her husband's death she made her home
with her daughter, Sophia. They had three children, George being
the oldest. John, who lives in Sumpter Township, is the father of
seven children, two daughters and five sons. Sophia, the only daughter,
is the wife of August Borchers, living at Lavalle in Sauk County. They
have four daughters.
Mr. George Gross grew up in the Township of Merrimack and at-
tended the local schools. His knowledge of farming came by practical
experience under the direction of his father, and he spent most of his
time at home until his marriage in 1880, at the age of twenty-nine.
The maiden name of his wife was Frances Roick, daughter of Charles
Roiek and a sister of Henry Roick of Baraboo. Mr. and Mrs. Gross
after their marriage located on the Gaunt farm, where he bought 120
acres. That was his home until 1889, when he bought the Sheppard
farm a mile west of the Village of Merrimack. This furnished him
scope and opportunity for his successful efforts as an agriculturist
and he remained there until 1913, in which year he moved into the
Village of Merrimack.
Mr. Gross was supervisor of the town board about twenty years,
served as assessor two years and town clerk two years. He was on the
school board of district No. 5 for nine years. He and his family attend
the Methodist Church, and in politics he is a democrat.
He and his good wife are the parents of four children, Herbert,
Waldo, Salina and Ervin. Herbert alone is married. He was well
educated in Merrimack Township and also attended high school at
Prairie du Sac. For six years he was a successful teacher after grad-
uating, spending two years in Sauk County and four years in Green
Bay. In June, 1911, Mr. George Gross bought the Merrimack Lumber
Company and installed his son Herbert as active manager. Herbert
has proved a very progressive young business man, and for the past
three years has had the active assistance and co-operation of his father
in managing this enterprise. .
The son Waldo finished the course of the township schools and took,
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 881
two courses in the agricultural department of the University of Wis-
consin at Madison. He is now assistant cashier of the First State Bank
of Burlington, North Dakota. The daughter, Salina, graduated from
the Baraboo High School and in 1914 finished a four years' course in
the University of Madison. She is now teaching at Spring Green.
Ervin, the youngest child, attended school in Sumpter Township, finish-
ing at the Lodi High School, and is now completing an agricultural
course in the state university. The son Herbert married Agnes Schleuter,
whose parents came from Westphalia, Germany.
John Meyer. One of the best known citizens of Sauk County was
the late John Meyer, whose last years were spent at Sauk City. Mr.
Meyer was of German birth, had the characteristics of the Bavarian and
by unlimited industry and perseverance he developed a home for him-
self in the wilds of Wisconsin and lived to prosper and to enjoy the
respect and esteem of his fellow men to the full.
His birth occurred in Bavaria February 24, 1823, and though his
years were filled with labor and useful toil he lived to be nearly ninety-
four years old. He died at Sauk City January 12, 1917. He was the
oldest of the family of six brothers and one sister. One brother is still
living.
In his native land he was given a good secular and C!hristian train-
ing, and made a thorough study of agriculture. Agriculture was his
line of endeavor while he lived in Germany and he left the old country
in 1850, at the age of twenty-seven. With a party of friends he came
to America, first locating at Pittsburg, where he found some relatives.
In that city he remained until 1853. That year was marked by a visit
back to his old home in Germany, but in the fall he returned to Pitts-
burg and there he met and on May 16, 1854, married Margaret Reiser.
A short time after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. John Meyer made the
journey to Central Wisconsin. They traveled by train as far as Madi-
son, but from there it was necessary to take a wagon and team and
journey through the woods into the wilderness of Sauk City. A yoke of
oxen drew the wagon, and at Sauk City they found themselves almost
on the frontier of civilization. Two years later John Meyer bought
a tract of land in Troy Township in the neighborhood of Fairy Bluff on
the Wisconsin River. For over thirty years he remained there, patiently
working out his destiny as a home maker and farmer. In the early days
before railroads were built in Sauk County he hauled his grain a dis-
tance of thirty-four miles to the City of Madison, and he used oxen
for a number of years. In 1889 Mr. Meyer retired from active labors
and responsibilities as a farmer and moved to Sauk City, where he had
his home for nearly thirty years. He was able to take life at leisure
but he was never an idle man and busied himself with gardening and
with other occupations which made his old age pleasant and not without
some contribution to the work of the world.
Mrs. John Meyer died in 1904. Eight children were born to their
union, one of whom died in infancy, while a son, Thomas, died April
14, 1916. The other children are all living : John P. is a retired farmer
living at Sauk City, and by his marriage to Emma Genz has three chil-
882 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
dren, Mamie, Meta and Gilbert, Anna married George Strober, a re-
tired farmer living at Sauk City. Jacob C. is unmarried and has found
his work chiefly on the old homestead, where he still lives. He is now
retired from the heavier part of farming and also does a business as a
grain dealer. Conrad J. is a successful merchant at Kiel, Wisconsin,
where he is in partnership with his brother George. He married Lil-
lian Shumacher and has one child. George P. is in business at Kiel with
his brother and by his marriage to Florence Bickford has two children.
Minnie, the youngest of the children, is unmarried and lives at the old
home with her brother Jacob.
John Meyer was a man whose interests caused him to do what he
could to support community enterprises. He served as school clerk and
also as road overseer. He always voted the republican ticket and kept
himself well informed on public matters. He and his wife were active
members of the German Reformed Church.
George B. McGilvra. Some of the leading representatives of farm-
ing in Sauk County have been contributed by the Empire State, and
those who have come from that commonwealth have founded families
whose members have taken positions of importance in various localities.
In this classification is found George B. McGilvra, a substantial citizen
and skilled and progressive agriculturist of Greenfield Township. Mr.
McGilvra, while a native of New York, has spent practically his entire
life in Sauk County, as he was an infant when brought here by his
parents, and, therefore by education and training is a real Sauk County
man. He has been a representative of the best element to be found in
this rich agricultural district, and has had a hand in the shaping of its
civic affairs, being at the present time chairman of the township board
of supervisors.
George B. McGilvra was born June 26, 1853, in Herkimer County,
New York, and is a son of Seth and Seviah (Farington) McGilvra,
both of whom were born in the same county. His father had followed
farming in the East until 1853, with but moderate success, and in that
year came to Sauk County, buying a tract of land in Greenfield Town-
ship. He returned to New York and in April, 1854, he brought his
family to Sauk County. During the remainder of his life he made his
home here, continuing to add to his holdings until he had accumulated
some 400 acres of land. He was an industrious farmer, who made the
most of his opportunities and as a citizen held an honored place in
the community. His death occurred at his home, which was located
near the Fair Grounds, in Baraboo Township February 22, 1905. His
first wife died in 1859, leaving two children: George B. and Albert D.,
and for his second wife he wedded Mary Ann Huntington, who bore him
two children: Seviah and Emma. His third wife was, before their
marriage, Mary Cranson, and they also had two children: Avis and
Sarah.
The home farm, upon a part of which George B. McGilvra now
resides, was the scene of his boyhood activities, and he was brought up
in a family which was taught to have a love for truth, industry and
honorable dealing. He was given his educational training in the public
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 883
schools of the country and the graded schools of Baraboo, and when
still a youth was launched upon his career as a tiller of the soil. He
has had no desire to change his occupation, as his efforts have been re-
warded with success, and at the present time he is the owner of seventy
acres of productive land, which shows in its improvements the marks
of his good management and constant industry. His son Edward has a
similar tract, and the land of both father and son forms a part of the
original homestead secured by Seth McGilvra in 1853. Sixty-five years
of connection with the agricultural industry have given the men bearing
this family name a sure and certain prestige for skilled farming and
substantial citizenship, and the confidence placed in them by their
fellow citizens has never been betrayed. George B. McGilvra is a gen,
eral farmer, and has met with prosperity in his stockraising operations.
He has ever held independent opinions in regard to political matters,
in that he has refused to allow any party to dictate to him whom to
support at election time, his right of franchise being exercised in behalf
of the interests of the men, whom he personally believes best fitted to
hold office. As before noted, he has been a factor in public affairs for
some time, having served as township clerk and assessor, and for five
years has been a member of the board of supervisors of Greenfield
Township, of which body he is now chairman. His record as a public
official will stand the most rigid scrutiny and be found to be unblemished
by any dishonorable act. His religious connection is with the Methodist
Episcopal Church.
Mr. McGilvra was married March 18, 1874, to Miss Edith Turney,
who was born at Baraboo, Wisconsin, August 5, 1855, daughter of
Hiram S. and Jeannette Turney, who located at Baraboo in the year of
Mrs. McGilvra 's birth. Mr. and Mrs. Turney were natives of Connecti-
cut, and were married at Watertown in that state October 6, 1840.
Fifty years later they celebrated their golden wedding anniversary,
and in 1900 their sixtieth anniversary. Hiram Turney was born at
Reading, Connecticut, February 4, 1818, and as a young man mastered
the carpenter's trade, at which he was employed for many years. While
still a resident of New England he was connected at Thomaston, Con-
necticut, with the famous factory of the Seth Thomas Clock Company,
and after coming to Wisconsin was for a long time identified with the
Ryan Chair Factory. Both he and Mrs. Turney were faithful mem-
bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he was class leader
and leader of the choir. He died at Baraboo, July 30, 1905, while Mrs.
Turney passed away February 4, 1912, on her ninety-first birthday.
Their children were : Amelia, Amanda, Henry, Charles, Egbert and
Edith. Eight children have been bom to Mr. and Mrs. McGilvra, as
follows : Clarence, of Portland, Oregon, who married Jennie Dickin-
son and has four children, Hugh, Frances, Robert and Ralph ; Arthur,
of Sioux City, Iowa, who married Hattie Hulsebos and has five children,
Annetta, Edith, Raymond, Harold and Arthur; Edward, the owner of
seventy acres of the old homestead, who married Mabel Congdon, and
has three children, Ruth, George and Donald; Bessie, who is the wife
of William Griffith, of Draper, South Dakota, and has one child, Ethel ;
Ethel, who is the wife of Prof. Adolph Meyer, of Saint Paul, Minne-
884 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
sola, a civil engineer by profession and an instructor in the University
of Minnesota, and has three children, Beth, Martha and Caryl; Alice,
who was given a thorough course as a trained nurse at Saint Paul,
Minnesota, and is now engaged in the practice of her vocation at South
Britain, Connecticut; Miss Jeannette, who resides with her parents;
and Ealph, who was educated at the Saint Paul High School and the
University of Wisconsin, at which latter institution he took a four-year
agricultural course, and after training at the officers' camp at Fort
Sheridan, Illinois, was commissioned lieutenant, and is now ready to
fight for his country in the world war.
Fred L. Schubring. Of the younger generation of farmers whose
efforts promise to lend vigor and prestige to the future of Baraboo Town-
ship mention is due to Fred L. Schubring, who has passed his entire life
in this community. Starting his career with no advantages, either as
represented by capital or other aiding influences, he has worked his way
to a position among the successful farmers of the township and the owner-
ship of a valuable and well-improved property. He was born in Baraboo
Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin, June 28, 1886, and is a son of August
and Louisa (Schmidt) Schubring.
August Schubring was born in Germany and as a young man came
to the United States, locating, about 1880, in Sauk County, where he was
married to Miss Schmidt, who had also been born in the fatherland, and
who came to this country as a girl. They became the parents of two
children: Freda and Fred L., and had a happy and comfortable home
and seemed on the verge of the achievement of prosperity when the
father died in 1887. Three years later Mrs. Schubring was married to
Henry Bittrich, who was born in Germany, November 1, 1849, a son of
Charles and Mary (Boeke) Bittrich, natives of Germany, where Charles
Bittrich died at the age of seventy-two years. Subsequently Mrs.
Bittrich came to the United States and took up her residence in the State
of Minnesota, where her death occurred in 1910, when she had reached
the remarkable age of ninety-six years. She and her husband had a
family of nine children, as follows : Fred, who is deceased ; Ferdinand ;
Tina; Herman, deceased; August; Henry; Robert; Julius, deceased;
and Albert, a resident of Baraboo.
Henry Bittrich was educated in the public schools of Germany, and
as a young man entered the Prussian army, with which he fought as a
soldier during the war of 1870-1. In 1881 he immigrated to the United
States, first stopping in Ohio, where at Sandusky he remained from March
to July. In the latter month he came to Sauk County, Wisconsin, where
he secured employment at railroading while living at North Freedom.
In 1893 he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, when he pur-
chased sixty-eight acres of land in Baraboo Township, and through
judicious investments has since increased this amount to 188 acres and
has made many improvements, including the erection of a set of substan-
tial buildings. While he is now retired, his sons being the operators of
the land, he continues to reside on the farm and to supervise its work.
Politically he is a republican, and he and his family belong to the
Lutheran Church. Mr. Bittrich was married in Germany to Miss Amelia
HISTORY OP SAUK COUNTY 885
Klein, who was born in that country and died in North Freedom Town-
ship, January 1, 1890. They were the parents of four children, namely :
Charles, who is deceased; Augusta, who is the wife of James Heffel, of
Baraboo ; Alma, the wife of Albert Heffel", of that city ; and Mary, who is
unmarried. In 1890 Mr. Bittrich married Mrs. Louisa (Schmidt)
Schubring, and they became the parents of three children: Ernest and
Henry, who operate the home farm ; and Martha, who is the wife of Lee
Cahoon, son of Wilbur Cahoon, of Baraboo.
Fred L. Schubring was only one year old when his father died, and
many of the advantages granted to other boys passed him by in his
youth. His educational training was confined to the opportunities to be
gained in the country schools, and when he was still a lad he faced the
world as a monthly and daily wage-earner and has since made his own
way. Possessing traits of industry, determination and ambition, he care-
fully saved his earnings, subsequently establishing himself as a renter,
and finally, in 1914, was able to become the owner of a farm of his own,
in that year buying the Watkins farm in Baraboo Township, a tract of
sixty-two acres, on which he has put a great deal of improvements. Three
years of occupancy have already individualized the place and have con-
verted it into an indicator of the personal traits and characteristics of
the owner. To a large extent general farming is carried on, and high
grades of livestock are bred. The home is a roomy and comfortable one
and the barns and outbuildings are substantial and in good repair. Mr.
Schubring is a stockholder in the Excelsior Creamery Company of
Baraboo. He has energy, resource and keen intelligence, which qualities
will insure him business success. Politically he is a republican, but not
an office seeker, and his religious connection is with the German Lutheran
Church.
On January 11, 1911, Mr. Schubring was united in marriage with Miss
Hattie Hyer, who was born at Springfield Corners, Dane County, Wis-
consin, September 28, 1891, daughter of Walter and Louisa (Beitz) Hyer.
To this union there have been born two children : Walter, born November
15, 1911 ; and Harold, born March 4, 1913.
Walter S. Hyer was born at Madison, Wisconsin, December 28, 1857,
a son of David R. and Eliza (Hyer) Hyer, who came from Vermont and
settled in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, at an early day. The senior
Hyer was a hotel keeper at Deerfield for some years, subsequently had a
popular hostelry at Madison, and in the fall of 1891 came to Sauk
County and settled in Sumpter Township, where he spent the rest of his
life, dying in 1897, at the age of eighty-four years. His widow died at
Baraboo in 1912, when ninety-two years of age. Walter S. Hyer, the
only child of his parents, was educated in the schools of Dane County, at
Hyers Corners, and was reared as a farmer. With his mother he owned
eighty acres of land, which he sold in 1891 and came to Sauk County,
takiiig up his residence in Sumpter Township, where he continued to be
engaged in successful agricultural pursuits until his death, February 9,
1904. In politics he was a democrat, and his fraternal connection was
with the Modern Woodmen of America. On January 26, 1882, Mr. Hyer>
married Miss Louisa M. Beitz, who was born in Germany, November 4,
1866, daughter of Carl and Lena (Stubbie) Beitz, the former born in
886 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
1835 and the latter in 1825 ; both in Germany. Mr, and Mrs. Beitz came
to the United States in 1868 and settled in Dane County, near Middleton,
but later had a farm near Springfield Corners, where Mr. Beitz died,
August 8, 1909. Mrs. Beitz died in Sumpter Township August 17, 1894.
They were the parents of five children: Minnie, Christina, Louis,
Augusta and Louisa, of whom Christina and Louis are deceased. Six
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hyer, namely : David C, who died
in infancy; Albert W., operating the homestead in Sumpter Township,
married Ella Franst and has two children, Duane Albert and Eunice
Eliza; Hattie L., now Mrs. Sehubring; Edna, who is the wife of Elvin
Young, a farmer of Sumpter Township ; Roy, who is unmarried and
resides in Sumpter Township ; and Esther, who is a student in the first
year at the Baraboo High School.
Cyrus S. Bl.\nchet is a veteran survivor of the Union army, is past
commander of the Baraboo Post of the Grand Army and now adjutant,
and is also a veteran employe of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway
Company, being now on the retired list. His home has been in Baraboo
for over forty years, and he is one of the oldest and most highly esteemed
citizens.
Mr. Blanchet has lived in many sections of the Union. He was born
in Aroostock County, Maine, April 14, 1843. His paternal ancestry
goes back through the history of France to the thirteenth century.
Members of the family lived for many generations in that stormy and in-
teresting province of France known as Avignon, and some of them were
participants in the revolutionary troubles and the religious wars. Mr.
Blanchet 's parents were Alexis and Leocadia (Ouillet) Blanchet, both
of whom were bom near Quebec, Canada, the former in 1804 and the
latter in 1808. From Canada they moved to Maine, where they married,
and in 1852 they came West and settled at St. Anne in Kankakee County,
Illinois. There the father owned a farm and was quietly engaged in its
cultivation until his death in 1876. His wife had died in 1866. They
were active members of the Episcopal Church. Their children were
Alexis, Andrew, John R., Mary C, Bruno, Cyrus S., Clement, Anna,
Philonise, Robert, John B. and William F.
Cyrus S. Blanchet was nine years old when his parents went to
Illinois, and he grew to manhood in Kankakee County, attending the
public schools there. In 1861 he endeavored to enlist in the Union army,
but his father took him out of the ranks. Already four brothers had
gone to the war, and Cyrus did not get his opportunity until 1862,
when he enlisted in Company D of the One Hundred and Thirteenth
Illinois Volunteer Infantry. With that regiment he saw a great deal of
arduous campaigning, and was with it fourteen months. He was finally
discharged on account of disability. He was the youngest of five
brothers who were soldiers in that war, and all of them except Alexis
and Andrew were in the same regiment. These other brothers fought
with Kansas regiments and Andrew was killed by Indians while sta-
tioned at Fort Union in New Mexico in August, 1864. Bruno died as a
result of disease contracted in the army in August, 1863. His death
occurred at home. John R. died at his home at Morrill, Kansas, in
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 887
1914. Of this quintet of soldier brothers Alexis and Cyrus are the
only ones still living.
Mr, Blanchet followed some of his brothers out to Kansas in 1867,
and located in Dickinson County, where he was a pioneer and he recalls
much of the stormy and turbulent happenings in and around Abilene
when that was the great center of the cattle industry and also a center
of outlawry and many wild west adventures. While in that county on
November 23, 1868, Mr. Blanchet married Elizabeth Van» Arsdal. She
was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana, April 24, 1843, a daughter of
Henry and Catherine (Buck) Van Arsdal. From Indiana the Van
Arsdal family moved to Kansas, and her parents both died in Dickinson
County.
In 1875 Mr. and Mrs. Blanchet came to Baraboo, "Wisconsin. Here
for thirty-two years he was a machinist in the employ of the North
Western Railway Company, and was finally retired on a pension. In
politics he is a republican, is a member of the Episcopal Church, is
affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has been
actively identified with the Grand Army of the Republic since 1880.
Mr. and Mrs. Blanchet became the parents of five children. Clara,
the oldest, was educated in the Baraboo High School, married Charles
C Hoyt, of Kaukauna, Wisconsin, and has one daughter, Madge. Allie
is the wife of Lincoln J, Barrett, of Baraboo, and has two daughters,
Estle and Elzaida. Catharine Mabel, after completing the course of the
Baraboo High School, learned printing in the New Printing Office at
Baraboo, and is now a linotype operator with the State Journal at
Madison. Henry, the fourth child, died in infancy. Clement James,
who attended the Baraboo High School, is now a machinist in the
employ of the North Western Railway Company and lives at Kaukauna,
Wisconsin. His first wife was Sophia Maiser, who died leaving one
son, Kenneth Clement. Clement J. married for his present wife Mina
Butler.
Mr. Blanchet has always taken an active part in politics and always
as a stanch republican. He has served as an alderman from the Third
Ward of Baraboo and has been a delegate to republican state conven-
tions.
George E. Premo is one of the best known citizens of Merrimack
Township, has retired from the heavier activities of agriculture which he
carried so many years, and is now chiefly employing his time as a rural
mail carrier.
He represents an old and honored family of Sauk County. He was
born in 1857, in Merrimack Township, a mile and a half north of the
village of that name. He is a son of Lewis and Jane (Sutton) Premo,
the former a native of Buffalo, New York, and the latter of Pennsyl-
vania. The mother died February 14, 1870. The grandparents Premo
were natives of France and were early settlers in Sauk County. Lewis
Premo was about eighteen years of age when he was brought to this
county, and his people settled a mile and a half west of Merrimack Vil-
lage. The Sutton family came about the same time and located two
miles west of Merrimack. Lewis Prerao and wife were married in this
Vol. II 21
888 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
county. Of their seven eMldren four are living: George E.; Harvey,
who lives in Brooks, Minnesota, and has two children; Samuel, also a
resident of Brooks, Minnesota, and married and the father of one child ;
and Daniel, who lives west of the Village of Merrimack and has two
children.
Lewis Premo started his farm enterprise in Sauk County with forty
acres of land^ which he bought before he married. He cleared all this,
and in the process of cultivating and bringing his land into condition
he acquired other tracts until he owned 160 acres, all well improved and
valuable. He lived on his farm until twenty-two years of age, when he
bought property in the Village of Merrimack. Six years ago he sold his
old home in that village to his son George. He died in Merrimack May
25, 1917.
George E. Premo grew up and attended the schools of Merrimack
Township, and lived at home until he was twenty-one. In 1883 he
married Carrie Lappla, daughter of Peter and Christina (Zerbel)
Lappla. His mother came from Stettine, Germany. Peter Lappla and
wife located in Honey Creek Township of Sauk County. To Mr. and
Mrs. Premo were born three children. Lewis, the oldest, died at the
age of seventeen. Charity is the wife of L. E. Utter, who is engaged
in the lumber business with his brother-in-law, W. E. Cooper,' at
Nashotah, Wisconsin. They have two children. The youngest child,
Gertrude, is unmarried and lives at home with her parents.
After his marriage Mr. Premo moved out to Minnesota and was a
farmer at Pipestone eight years. He next moved to Duluth, Minnesota,
and remained there twelve years, when he returned to Sauk County.
Mr. Premo has been a permanent resident of Sauk County for the past
eighteen years. For a number of years he lived on the old Walter
Flanders property, but six years ago he sold that place and bought the
property he now owns and occupies. For the past thirteen years Mr.
Premo has been driving the mail wagon on rural route No. 2. He is a
member of the Mystic Workers at Merrimack, and his wife belongs to
the Degree of Honor at Duluth, Minnesota. Mrs. Premo is a member of
the Methodist Church. In politics Mr. Premo is a republican. His suc-
cess in life is due to good management as well as hard work, and he is
now enjoying a home and prosperity such as none could justly begrudge
him.
John T. Clavadatscher. The Clavadatscher family have been iden-
tified with Sauk County for fully seventy years. They helped reclaim
a portion of the wilderness and their lives have always been significant
of industry, energy and a high degree of civic pride and honor.
The family was founded here by Nicholas Clavadatscher, who was
born in Switzerland in 1812. He came to America in 1847 and located
in the Township of Prairie du Sac, where he found himself in a virtual
wilderness and was one of the first to subdue the forest and plant crops
in the land. In 1846, in Switzerland, he married Catherine Meisser,
who was born in 1822.
Nicholas Clavadatscher came to Sauk City the same year that Mil-
waukee was incorporated. He bought 120 acres of raw land in Prairie
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 889
du Sac Township and went through all the pioneer experiences involved
in clearing, building a house and other shelters, and in raising crops and
stock. For a number of years he usecj oxen to drag the plow across
the fields and to haul his produce to Milwaukee. Later the market was
changed to Madison. Prices were exceedingly low and the farmer had
very little to show for his hard work until about the time of the Civil
war. After developing his first farm Nicholas Clavadatscher sold it and
bought 270 acres in Troy Township. This was chiefly timber and was
valuable only for lumber and pasture. In course of time he had much
of it developed and under cultivation. Nicholas Clavadatscher was a
good old pioneer of Sauk County and died in 1903, his widow passing
away in 1904. They were the parents of five children: Tobias, the
oldest, has been a merchant at Baraboo for half a century. He married
and had a family of three children : Kate L., who died in Baraboo in
1896, the wife of Philip Cramer; Lena, the wife of E. D. Scales, a part-
ner in the Clavadatscher store; and Pearl, wife of J. M. Donahue, a
locomotive engineer living at Baraboo. The second child of Nicholas
Clavadatscher and wife is Mr. John Clavadatscher, mentioned in the
following paragraph. Martin died on the old homestead in Troy Town-
ship in 1914. Christian died at the age of eighteen. Catherine is the
wife of Rev. John Schneller, of Tomah, Wisconsin.
John Clavadatscher was born in Troy Township and for many years
actively followed farming. In 1902 he left his farm and has since re-
sided in the Village of Prairie du Sac. He began his independent career
on a farm adjoining that of his father and his agricultural enterprise
was directed on one body of land until he retired. He married Barbara
Schneller and they had four children : John T. ; Kate, wife of J. B.
Myer ; Anna, who died unmarried four years ago ; Nicholas, who died in
infancy.
The present owner and occupant of the John Clavadatscher farm in
Troy Township is John T. Clavadatscher, who was born on that farm in
1877. He grew up and received his education in the local schools and
in 1903 married Miss Lona Wintermantel, a daughter of George Winter-
mantel, of Honey Creek Township. Mrs. Clavadatscher taught school
for eight years before her marriage and became a cultured and very
capable homemaker. They have one child, Evangeline, born in 1905,
and now a student in the public schools.
In 1903, after his father retired, John T. Clavadatscher took pos-
session of the home place and now has a fine estate of 145 acres, which
he devotes to general farming and dairying. Politically he is a repub-
lican and his family are members of the Evangelical Church. Mrs.
Clavadatscher passed away in July, 1916.
John Alexander. While it is not an uncommon sight in Sauk
County, a thoroughly improved farm and herds of sleek cattle inevitably
attract attention and favorable comment, and there are few better
properties or finer herds than those owned by John Alexander, teacher,
farmer and stockraiser, of Greenfield Township. With acre after acre
of cultivated field and rich pasture land stretching as far as the eye can
reach, with sleek cattle and wholesome appearing stock of all kinds
890 HISTORY OP SAUK COUNTY
maturing under the best of conditions and methods, and with abundant
provision made for care and protection in the way of substantial struc-
tures of modern type, the visitor may see in all these what real scientific
agriculture means to a wide-awake, intelligent and progressive man,
such as is John Alexander, owner of the Allswell Dairy Farm.
John Alexander belongs to one of the prominent old families of Sauk
County and was born in Freedom Township November 17, 1867, a son
of Henry Alexander, extended mention of whom will be found in this
work. He was reared on his father's farm and was educated in the
country schools and the high school at Reedsburg. Other interests than
farming claimed him for some time afterward, teaching school accept-
ably for some years and afterward serving for eight years as a railway
mail clerk. During this period, however, he had never entirely separated
himself from that inherent love of the soil, which undoubtedly is an
inherent quality in those who became truly successful agriculturists, and
this resulted in his purchasing a farm in Freedom Township, and in
1905 an additional purchase in Greenfield Township of what is now his
home place, the Allswell Dairy Farm, situated two miles east of Bara-
boo. Here Mr. Alexander has become a heavy breeder of stock, notably
of Poland China hogs, and makes a specialty of breeding Holstein
cattle, and in his herd of sixty-one animals may be found some of the
most attractive specimens in the state, rich in the best blood lines of the
breed. Mr. Alexander's land is well adapted to both general farming
and to carrying on his large stock of dairy interests. He has been
lavish in expenditure in the way of improvements, adopting modern
ideas in his structure building, an evidence of this being a magnificent
barn, one of the largest ever constructed in the county, its dimensions
being 176 by 36 feet. He has also built two great cement silos, all his
operations being carried on on a large scale and in an up-to-date manner.
In 1899 Mr. Alexander was married to Miss Lydia Schluter, who was
born in Washington Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin, and is a
daughter of .Charles Schluter, now of Reedsburg. Mr. and Mrs. Alex-
ander have five children, namely : Percy H., Beatrice Lydia, Hazel
Irene, Clinton John and Mildred. The family belong to the Congrega-
tional Church and have a pleasant social acquaintance that extends over
the county. Their home is one of great hospitality.
Mr. Alexander has always been identified with the republican party
and has been an important factor in politics both in Freedom and Green-
field Townships and at times has served in township offices, being as-
sessor and chairman of the Freedom Township board and also very
actively concerned in educational matters in the two townships, serving
on the school board in both, and as clerk of the board in Freedom Town-
ship. He is a stockholder in the Excelsior Co-operative Creamery-
Company of Baraboo, and has other interests. He belongs entirely
to the modern school of farmers, keeping abreast of the times in all
that concerns his profession, for profession it is, being ever on the alert
for new ideas and having the sound judgment that enables him to adapt
them to his own needs. His example and success are not lost in his
neighborhood, his influence resulting in considerable desirable emu-
lation.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 891
Christopher August Zuch. One of the successful farmers and
stockraisers of Sauk County is Christopher August Zuch, who is the
owner of the old Zuch homestead situated in Greenfield Township.
Mr. Zuch is one of the leading citizens of 'his township and is well known
all over the county. He was born in Greenfield Township, March 29,
1884. His parents were Gustav and Barbara (Habecker) Zuch, both
natives of Germany, the father born January 9, 1846, and the mother
on August 23, 1849.
Gustav Zuch came to Sauk County in 1872. He had served for three
years in the German army and during that time had taken part in many
important military movements but had never suffered from any material
injuries. He was a young man when he came to Wisconsin and was mar-
ried November 9, 1874, to Barbara Habecker, who had come alone to
Sauk County, Mr. Zuch soon purchased forty acres of uncleared land
located in Greenfield Township and to this later added another forty
acres, and was occupied during the rest of his active live in improving
his property. He was industrious, quiet and frugal and at the time of
death, on February 7, 1914, was respected and esteemed throughout the
township. In politics he was a democrat but was never very active in
political matters, and all his life was a faithful member of the Lutheran
Church. The same might be said as to high regard in the home neigh-
borhood of his wife, who survived until in April, 1915. She was a care-
ful, self-sacrificing mother and the kindest of neighbors. They reared
a large family of sons and daughters and they also belong to the town-
ship's best citizenship. Of these Christopher August was the seventh
in order of birth, the others being: Emma, Susie, Lizzie, Anna, Chris-
tian, Edward, Otto and Fred Charles.
Christopher A. Zuch has always lived on the old home place, which
he purchased in 1912. He carries on general farming and stockraising
in modern, progressive ways, and has the satisfaction of seeing his well
cultivated acres yield up to expectation and his various kinds of stock
bring him handsome profits. Mr. Zuch was educated in the public
schools and is a sensible, broad-minded man and as such has been chosen
at times by his fellow citizens to serve in public office. During his term
as road overseer there were no complaints about the highways in Green-
field Township.
Mr. Zuch was married November 26, 1908, to Miss Tilla Jahn, who
was born in Greenfield Township and is a daughter of Herman and Dora
(Wendt) Jahn, both of whom were born in Germany. In 1880 they
came to Dodge County, Wisconsin, and later to Sauk County, and now
own a farm of 200 acres in Greenfield Township, where he carries on
an extensive business in breeding Holstein cattle. He is a prominent
man in the township, of which he has been assessor for some years and
is serving also on the school board. Mr. John is a member of the
Lutheran Church. His children are as follows : Minnie, Tilla, Otto,
William, Louise, Helen, Dora, Hulda, Herbert and Ada, all of whom
are living.
Mr. and Mrs. Zuch have two children, Irvin and Eleanora. Without
doubt these children will have excellent school and social advantages
892 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
and is equally certain that they will be carefully reared in the Lutheran
faith, to which church both parents belong.
Fred Charles Zuch, the youngest brother of Christopher A. Zuch,
was born in Greenfield Township, Sauk County, in July, 1889. He
obtained his education in the public schools and afterward worked for
three years at the carpenter trade. In 1911 he bought the Michael
Steckmann farm of seventy acres, situated in Greenfield Township, and
since then has made a specialty of breeding Duroc Jersey hogs, and, like
his older brother, has been successful in his undertaking. Politically he
is a democrat, but has not served in office, although well qualified. In
1912 he was married to Miss Louisa Waters, who was born at Mil-
waukee, Wisconsin, and they have one daughter, Gladys, who was born
July 11, 1915. Mr. and Mrs. Zuch are members of the Lutheran Church.
Paul Schneller did his part as a productive worker in Sauk County
through farming for thirty years on the old homestead in Troy Town-
ship, and is now living with the comforts of town in Prairie du Sac.
Mr. Schneller is a native son of Sauk County, and represents that
sterling Swiss element which has had so much to do with the develop-
ment of the country from pioneer days. He was born in Troy Township
February 1, 1858. His father, John Schneller, was born in Switzerland
in 1809 and immigrated to America in 1849. He located in Troy Town-
ship of Sauk County and developed a tract of land which he had secured
direct from the Government. That land is still owned by his family.
He was a hard working and prosperous citizen and lived a long and
useful career. His death occurred in 1890. He married Anna Bueler,
and they became the parents of eight children : Peter, Leonard, Jacob,
George, John, Paul, Barabara and one that died in infancy.
The old homestead which was the scene of his youthful pleasures
and joys was also the farm which Paul Schneller occupied for such a
long period of years. He was reared and educated in Sauk County, and
had been trained to methodical industry under the direction of his
father. Though he farmed the old place for thirty years and is still
vigorous and active, he moved to the Town of Prairie du Sac two years
ago, his children in the meantime having grown up so as to be capable
of looking after their own interests. Mr. Schneller spent three years
as a member of the town board and four years on the school board. He
and his family are active supporters of the Evangelical Church.
He was married January 1, 1881, to Miss Minnie Accole, who was
born in Honey Creek Township of Sauk County July 16, 1860. Her
parents were John and Fannie Meisser Accole, both natives of Switzer-
land. They were born in the same year, 1829, and her mother died in
1885 and her father in 1907. Mr. and Mrs. Schneller are the parents
of four children: John E. and Dan B., both of whom are married;
Ella, wife of Walter Sprecher; and Edwin J., who is unmarried and is
now secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association at Detroit,
Michigan.
Mrs. R. B. Barry, widow of the late R,. B. Barry, is a resident of
Merrimack Township, where she and her family and their connections
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 893
have been since pioneer times. She is a member of the Roll family, and
the Rolls and Barrys did their part in cleaning np the land and fitting
this locality for the uses of civilization.
Mrs. Barry was born in Sauk County, in the Township of Honey
Creek, in 1863, and is a daughter of Andrew and Julia (SoUiguer) Roll.
Her mother was a native of France and her father of Germany. Andrew
Roll and Julia SoUiguer came to New York about 1846 on the same
vessel, and were married in New York City about a year after they
landed. Two years later they moved West to Galena, Illinois, and
after two years in that city on the Mississippi River they moved to Sauk
City on the Wisconsin River, and took up a farm in Honey Creek Town-
ship about 1852. Andrew Roll was successfully identified with farming
in that locality until his death in 1865, at the age of fifty-two. For
ten years after his death his widow and children continued to live on the
farm, then removed to Sauk City for two years and from there to Prairie
du Sac, where the mother died in 1880. Andrew Roll and wife had nine
children : Andrew ; George, a resident of California, who married Vina
Werrich, and has two children. Bertha and George; John, also a resi-
dent of California, who married Emma Runge; Julia, who is the wife
of Henry Ferber, of West Allis, their three children being Felix, a resi-
dent on the old home farm, Freda, a teacher at West Allis, and Robert,
a druggist in West Allis; Frank, Felix 0. and Robert B., all of whom are
residents of California; Mrs. R. B. Barry; and Elisa, deceased. Elisa
was a graduate nurse, having graduated from the Cfook County and
Presbyterian Hospitals in Chicago, and afterwards spent three years
in the University of Wisconsin.
Mrs. Barry grew up and received her education in Sauk County,
and taught until her marriage in 1887 to Mr. R. B. Barry. Mrs. Barry
has three children : Stella, who acquired her early education in Sauk
County and afterwards took training in the Madison General Hospital ;
Linda, a graduate of the Prairie du Sac High School and now teaching
in Cazenovia ; and David, in the third year of his high school course.
The late R. B. Barry was born in Dane County, Wisconsin, in 1857,
a son of David and Mary (Joyce) Barry, both of whom were natives of
Ireland. His parents were married in Massachusetts and had three chil-
dren : Margaret, who is the wife of Henry Kelley, of Portage, Wiscon-
sin, and their two children, Mary and James, are both deceased; James,
who died in 1887 ; and Richard B. Barry, who died in 1910. Mr. Barry's
parents located in Sauk County in 1865 and bought the tract of land
where Mrs. Barry now lives. They lived on that old farm until 1887,
when they moved to Portage, and the management of the farm was left
in the hands of their son Richard, who steadily worked the place and
made a success as a farmer. He continued actively in that pursuit until
his death and Mrs. Barry and her children have since looked after the
farm and she has shown great business capability in doing so.
The late Mr. Barry was chairman of the Board of Supervisors for
several years and was clerk and assessor at different times. He was
affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America and was a democrat in
politics. He belonged to the Catholic Church. Mr. Barry before engag-
ing in farming had taught school for six years and left that occupation
894 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
to enter the business in which he made his chief success, general farming
and stockraising.
Mrs. Barry's grandfather, John Roll, also lived in Honey Creek
Township of Sauk County about ten years, and died there in 1867, when
ninety -six years of age. He was also a farmer.
John F, Hamburg is one of the progressive and thrifty farmers
of Baraboo Township, and largely by his own exertions has developed
his land and put many of the improvements upon it which mark it out
among the homesteads of this vicinity. Besides his interests as a farmer
he is a stockholder in the Excelsior Co-operative Creamery Company of
Baraboo.
Mr. Hamburg was born in Westfield Township of Sauk County
September 19, 1879. He is a son of Henry and Margaret (Carstons)
Hamburg. His parents were born and married in Germany and in 1877
came to Sauk County. His father was a man of great energy and in-
dustry but arrived in America with very limited capital. For about two
years he worked for day wages, and then bought a farm near the county
line, four miles and a half southwest of Reedsburg. This old home-
stead is now owned and occupied by his son, Henry, Jr. Henry Ham-
burg and wife removed to Baraboo in 1915, and are now living in that
city retired. Their seven children were : Ernest, John F., Tillie, Albert,
Emma, Freda and Henry.
John F. Hamburg grew up on his father's farm near Reedsburg,
attended the public schools there, and by his early experience was well
trained for the vocation of farming and husbandry when he started his
individual career. In 1907 he bought his present farm in Baraboo
Township. This comprises eighty acres of rich and fertile land and is
situated three miles south of the county seat. Besides general farming
Mr. Hamburg is doing well as a breeder of Red Polled cattle and of
Rhode Island Red chickens. He is looked upon as something of an
authority on these two branches of stock husbandry. Politically he is
a republican and he and his wife are active members of the Lutheran
Church, his parents being of the same denomination.
Mr. Hamburg was married in Baraboo Township February 22,
Washington's birthday, 1905, to Miss Freda Schubring, of Baraboo
Township. Her father, August Schubring, died a number of years ago
and her mother is now Mrs. Henry Bittrich of Baraboo Township. Mr.
and Mrs. Hamburg have two children : Norma and John Henry.
Nelson W. Morley is one of the oldest surviving pioneers of Sauk
County and is still enjo.ying a vigorous old age at his home in Baraboo.
The chief secret of a long life, health and prosperity is hard work coupled
with a cheerful and even disposition. Mr. Morley could account for his
unusual success by hard work, and he is still a worker though eighty-six
years of age. He can still handle the axe with some of the old-time energy
which he employed in hewing out a farm from the wilderness of Sauk
County sixty or more years ago.
Mr. Morley was born in Lake County, Ohio, January 2, 1831. Lake
County is in the Western Reserve of Ohio. Much the greater part of the
^/sU^:^<:^.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 895
early population of the Western Reserve was composed of New Eng-
landers, chiefly from Connecticut. Mr. Morley's people were early
settlers in the Reserve and all of them possessed the substantial virtues
of the New England character. His paternal grandfather, Thomas
Morley, came with his wife and children in 1814 from Massachusetts to
Lake County, Ohio, and spent the rest of their years there, being highly
esteemed in the community where they lived. Mr. Morley's maternal
grandfather was Habel Russell, who came out from Connecticut to Lake
County, Ohio, also in pioneer days. Nelson W. Morley is a son of Thomas
and Lillis (Russell) Morley, his father a native of Greenfield, Massa-
chusetts, and his mother of Connecticut. They were married in Lake
County, Ohio, and the mother died there in 1852. They had a family
of seven children, namely : Russell Lyman, who was an early settler in
Sauk County and died in 1853 ; Isaac, who served as the first county
superintendent of Sauk County ; Alvin, who died at New Buffalo, Michi-
gan ; Harriet, who died leaving no family ; Thomas M. ; Nelson W. ; and
Ralsa, who also came to Sauk County. The father of these children was
a farmer by occupation, as nearly all the members of the family had
been for generations. He spent nearly all his life in Lake County, Ohio,
but most of his children settled in Saiik County, Wisconsin. He made
a visit among them, but .subsequently decided to spend his last years
in his home county of Ohio, where he died lacking only a few months
of being ninety-three years of age. All his children except Nelson were
successful teachers at some time in their careers, and all of them developed
strong traits of character and were useful in their respective spheres
and hardly any family name in Sauk County possesses more associations
Math thrift and general well being.
Nelson W. Morley grew up on his father's farm in Lake County,
Ohio, and had a good education, though it was not composed of the
liberal advantages enjoyed by present school children. He took up farm-
ing, and from the first was especially interested in horses. In 1852 he
was awarded a fine medal at the Ohio State Fair for the best gelding
exhibited at Cleveland. That medal he still has in his possession and
cherishes it with special pride. Not long after this, in 1852, he came to
Sauk County, Wisconsin. His brother Thomas had come to the county
the preceding year, and taught a term of school on ground now occupied
by the high school building in Baraboo. Thomas Morley did not remain
a resident of Sauk County.
Mr. Nelson Morley on coming to the county bought a farm in Baraboo
Township and spent many industrious years in clearing and developing
it. Part of the land and the old homestead is now owned and occupied
by his son Frank. As a farmer and stockman Mr. Morley was easily a
leader in Sauk County and he acquired a large amount of land which he
subsequently divided among his children. These children now comprise
a group of farming people among the most progressive in the county.
For the stimulation and development of Sauk County 's dairy interests
perhaps no one man deserves more credit than Mr. Morley. As far back
as 1876 the butter from his dairy won a substantial prize when exhibited
at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. A bronze medal and
diplomas which were awarded Mr. Morley are filed in the Museum of the
896 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY '
State Historical Library at Madison. The bronze medal and one of the
diplomas were awarded at the Centennial of 1876, held in Philadelphia.
The other two diplomas were awarded at the International Dairy Fair,
held in New York in 1879. Besides these diplomas there was a cash prize
of $250 given to Mr. Morley at the International Dairy Fair. He has
attended a great many dairy conventions, and his example and influence
were not inconsiderable factors in making Wisconsin one of the greatest
dairy states in the Union. His work was especially helpful in getting
Sauk County on the map as a dairy section. During his active years he
was also well known as a breeder of Percheron horses. These fine draft
horses Avere exhibited at the State Fair in Milwaukee and at many
county and local exhibitions, and they always carried away a share of the
prizes.
In 1899 Mr. Morley retired from the farm and coming to Baraboo
built a fine residence at 626 Eighth Avenue. There he intends to spend
his remaining years and abyut his home he finds sufficient occupation
so that he can always be busy. He is a republican and his family are
members of the Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Morley was married in September, 1853, to Miss Adaline Serviah
Fuller. Mrs. Morley was born in Massachusetts May 10, 1830, a daughter
of Ambrose Fuller, who died in that state. Mr. and Mrs. Morley became
the parents of eight children, named Newton Fuller, Arthur William,
Fannie, Lillis, Thomas, Frank, Lucy and Charles. Newton Fuller, the
oldest, was born in Sauk County October 2, 1854, was educated in the
public schools and is now a successful farmer in Baraboo Township. He
was married May 17, 1883, to Miss Sarah Jane Christy, who was born in
Sauk County in 1852, daughter of Archibald and Catherine (Haynes)
Christy, pioneer people of Sauk County, and Mrs. Christy is still living
at the age of eighty-seven. Newton F. Morley and wife have two chil-
dren, Laura Hazel and Fannie Edna. Arthur William Morley, the second
child, was bom November 1, 1855, is a farmer in 0 'Brien County, Iowa,
and by his marriage to Abbie Van Buren has four children : Mabel,
deceased ; Martha ; Carl and Keith, the last two being twins. Thomas
Morley lives in Excelsior Township, while Frank occupies the old home-
stead. Frank married Elma Knapp and has two sons, Alvin James and
Kenneth. The son, Charles, lives in Ohio, and by his marriage to Edna
George has three children, Charles W. and Dorilia and Dana, twins.
Charles William Neuman. One of the large and important families
of Sauk County bears the name of Neuman, and one would have to
travel far to find better farmers or more highly respected people. The
pioneer settler of the family still survives and is found in Charles
William Neuman, who came from Germany to Wisconsin in 1869 and
has been a resident of Sauk County for forty-six years. Mr. Neuman
was bom in Germany, November 19, 1834, the second in a family of
seven children born to his parents, John and Henrietta Neuman. His
mother died in Germany in 1844 and his father in 1871. Their children
were named as follows : John, Charles William, Edward, Louisa, Hen-
rietta, William and Caroline. The father's second marriage was to Eva
Zech, and to that union seven more children were born.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 897
Charles William Neuman was thirty-five years of age when he came
to America in the hope of hettering his condition, and was attracted
to Wisconsin because of opportunities there at that time afforded to
secure Government land and found a home. He attended school in boy-
hood and before leaving his own country had satisfied the authorities as
to military service, and when he reached the United States it was as a
free agent. He had married in his native land and his wife and two
children accompanied him and they reached Waukesha County, Wiscon-
sin, in 1869. Mr. Neuman took two years to look about him before he
invested any money in land and then, in 1871, he bought eighty acres
in Sauk County, where he yet lives. There was a large amount of tim-
ber on the place at that time but with the help of his sons the land was
cleared and through Mr. Neuman 's careful methods was developed into
a very valuable farm. In 1900 Mr. Neuman sold the homestead to his
son Charles William, who is his namesake.
In Germany Mr. Neuman was married to Helen Zuch, who was born
there May 6, 1841. To them were born the following children: Minnie,
who was born in Germany in 1865, is the wife of Gustav Steinke;
Gustav, who was born in Germany in 1867, and is a farmer in Greenfield
Township; Amelia, who was born in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, in
1871, is the wife of William Geyman, of Caledonia, Wisconsin; Charles
William, who was born in Greenfield Township, Sauk County, March
30, 1873; John, who was born also in Greenfield Township, in 1876,
married Paulina Steinhorst, and they have seven children, namely:
Mabel, Viola, Laura, John, Adelia, Harold and Elsie; Jacob, who was
born on the farm on which his father lives in Greenfield Township Octo-
ber 1, 1878, is a carpenter by trade and worked as such for eleven years,
but in March, 1915, returned to farming; he was married June 14,
1905, to Miss Bertha Malzahn, who was born in Honey Creek Township,
Sauk County, January 6, 1884, a daughter of Carl and Pauline (Klein-
schmidt) Malzahn, who came to this country from Germany and both
died here, the mother in 1886 and the father in 1900;. Jacob Neuman
and wife have the following children : Irma, Beatrice and James ; Helen,
who was born January 6, 1881, is the wife of Albert Koerth, a substantial
farmer and well known resident of this township.
Charles William Neuman, the second son and the fourth born in his
parents' family, was educated in the public schools of Greenfield Town-
ship and has devoted himself closely and profitably to farming. In 1900
he bought the homestead from his father and added land and is now
operating 100 acres. His father had built a comfortable log house on
the place, but Mr. Neuman has improved the property with modern
buildings and has one of the most attractive farms in the township. He
is a first-class farmer and also a reputable citizen. He votes with the
republican party but has never consented to accept office. He is unmar-
ried.
Charles William Neuman is one of the pillars of the Lutheran Church
at Baraboo, to which church his wife also belonged, as do all of his chil-
dren. Mrs. Neuman died October 29, 1915. She was a most estimable
woman and not only her family but the neighborhood has sadly missed
her. Mr. Neuman is a republican in politics but the Neumans have
898 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
never been seekers for office. Since coming to Sauk County he has done
his full duty and lived honestly and uprightly and now, in the even-
ing of life, can look back over a long path with few regrets. He takes
much comfort in the fact that his children are all in easy circumstances
and are located near to him and each other, the tie of kindred in the
family being very strong.
Gerhart Schuette. The United States ranks today as the fore-
most nation of the modern civilized world. It has served as the melting
pot of the best characteristics of all other nations and the outcome is
a fine, sterling, American citizenship consisting of strong and able-
bodied men, loyal and public-spirited in civic life, honorable in business
and alert and enthusiastically in sympathy with every measure tending
to further the material welfare of the entire country. Like other coun-
tries, Germany has contributed its fair quota to the upbuilding of this
great nation and among its representatives in this country are to be
found successful men in every walk of life, from the professions to the
prosperous farmer.
The Schuette family is one of old standing in Sauk County, the
progenitor of the name in America being John Schuette, who was born
in Germany early in the nineteenth century and who came to America
and settled in Sauk County, AVisconsin, in 1861. He settled on a farm
in Excelsior Township and was engaged in diversified agriculture until
two years prior to his demise, when he located in Reedsburg, where his
death occurred in October, 1886, at the age of seventy-one years. His
wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Wilhelms, was likewise a native
of Germany and she died in Reedsburg in October, 1897. They had five
children, whose names are here entered in respective order of birth:
William, Henry, Dora, Katherine and Frederick. Dora is the wife
of Henry Behn, of Reedsburg, and Katherine married Henry Striek,
also a resident of Reedsburg. Mr. and Mrs. Schuette were devout Luth-
erans and in the faith of that church they reared their children.
Henry W. Schuette, father of him whose name forms the caption
for this article, was born in Germany November 7, 1854. He was seven
years of age when he accompanied his parents to America and he was
educated in the public schools of Excelsior Township. After reach-
ing manhood he purchased his father's farm and there resided until his
death in 1912, aged fifty-eight years. He married Dorathea Weseloh,
who was born in Westfield Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin, June 12,
1864. Her parents were John and Katherine (Sehroeder) Weseloh,
both of whom were born in Germany in August, 1838. They came to
America in 1863 and settled on a farm in Westfield Township, Sauk
County, where he died October 2, 1912, and where she passed away
October 3, 1910. They had ten children: Henry (deceased), William,
Dorathea, Frederick, Eddie (deceased), Henry, Bertha, Emma, Mary
and Martha. Mrs. Schuette survives her honored husband and now
resides at 226 Locust Street, Reedsburg. Four children were born to
them, namely: Martha, Gerhart, Hugo and Odelia. Mr. Schuette was
a republican and a member of the Lutheran Church.
Gerhart Schuette, son of Henry W. and Dorathea (Weseloh)
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 899
Schuette was born on the old family homestead in Excelsior Township,
Sauk County, Wisconsin, January 3, 1891. He was the second in order
of birth in a family of four children and he received his educational
training in the public schools of his native place. He has always
followed the life of a farmer and since 1915 has rented the old home-
stead from his mother. In politics he maintains an independent attitude
and though he has not as yet held any public office, he gives a loyal
support to all matters projected for the good of his home community.
January 5, 1915, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Schuette to
Miss Meta Hinz, a native of Freedom Township, where she was born
August 15, 1896, a daughter of Julius and Adeline (Heritz) Hinz,
Her parents were pioneer farmers in Freedom Township, Sauk County,
and they are now living retired in Ableman. Mr. and Mrs. Schuette
are devout Lutherans and they are popular in connection with the social
affairs of the younger generation in the community in which they live.
Mrs. Caroline Woffenschmidt has been a resident of Sauk County
over sixty years, and has shown her ability as a capable business woman
since the death of her husband by taking the active management of the
home farm in Sumpter Township.
Mrs. Woffenschmidt was born in Sumpter Township of Sauk County
July 31, 1856, a daughter of William and Christina (Graff) Siebecker.
Her parents were both born in Germany and came to America in 1848.
They soon afterwards located as pioneers on the homestead in Sumpter
Township, buying land from a Mr. Johnson. Mr. and Mrs. Siebecker
farmed that place until 1886, M^ien they removed to another place a
mile and a quarter north. At that time Mr. and Mrs. Woffenschmidt
took charge of the old homestead. Mr. Siebecker lived on his new place
about six years, then made his home with his daughter, Mrs. Woffen-
schmidt about five years, and from there removed to Sauk City, where
he lived retired until his death in 1899. His wife had passed away in
1876. Mr. and Mrs. Siebecker had eight children : Louisa is the wife
of Fred Swartz and they live in Baraboo; William is also a resident
of Baraboo ; Charles C, of Cambridge, Nebraska, married Margaret
Evans ; Fred, a resident of Baraboo married Caroline Roick ; Christina
is living at Baraboo, the widow of Joseph Kunzelmann, who died in 1897 ;
Robert lives at Madison, Wisconsin, and married Josephine La Follette,
sister of Senator La Follette-, the next in age is Mrs. Woffenschmidt;
Ida is the wife of Carl Isenberg, of Baraboo.
Mrs. Woffenschmidt grew up on the home farm in Sumpter Town-
ship, was educated in the local schools, and in 1879 married the late
Henry Woffenschmidt. Mr. Woffenschmidt took charge of the old
Siebecker homestead, and was successfully engaged in farming until
failing health compelled him to leave Wisconsin in 1898 and he spent
several months in the West recuperating. On returning to the county
he located at Baraboo, and lived there until his death in August, 1900.
Several years he served as assessor of Merrimack Township. He was a
member of the Evangelical Church and was affiliated with the Modern
Woodmen of America. Henry Woffenschmidt was a son of Christian
and Catherine (Murphy) Woffenchmidt, the former a native of Gex-
900 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
many and the latter of New Jersey, in which state they were married
about sixty-six years ago.
After the death of her husband Mrs. Woffenschmidt removed with
her family to the old farm and has lived there in comfort, operating
the place with hired help and giving her children all the advantages pos-
sible both at home and in school. She is the mother of four children.
Amo, born in 1880, is a farmer in Sumpter Township on a place ad-
joining that of his mother, and by his marriage to Catherine Hatz has
two children, Nora and Henry. Stella, bom in 1884, is the wife of Ervin
Young, of Sumpter Township, and they have four children, Henry,
Roland, Salma and Russell, all living except Roland. Salma, born in
1886, is the wife of Arthur Werich, of Sumpter Township, and the
mother of one daughter, Florence. Robert Henry, who was born in 1899,
married Ema Bernhard and lives at Prairie du Sac; their one child is
Helen Gale.
Henry Guhl is one of the oldest native sons of Troy Township and
has been identified with that locality of Sauk County as an active farmer
for a great many years. Every one knows Mr. Guhl's material pros-
perity and also his influence as a citizen and capability as a leader in
public affairs.
He was born in Troy Township February 26, 1856, a son of Henry
and Barbara (Trueb) Guhl. His parents were both natives of Switzer-
land and were among the pioneers of Sauk County. About two years
after their coming to this county they located on a farm in Troy Town-
ship, and there acquired a tract of Government land. They contended
with the many difficulties of the time, reared their family and lived
there until the death of the good mother twenty-six years ago. After
two or three years the father then moved to Sauk City, where he
married Emelia Yench. She died several years ago, and the father is
still living in Sauk City at the age of eighty-five. His children are all
by his first marriage and are named: Henry; Barbara, wife of Albert
Speiger, of Reedsburg; Pauline, wife of John E. Whitman, of Prairie
du Sac; Engline, wife of Lewis Querhammer, of Sauk City; and Anna
and Fred, both of whom died in infancy.
Henry Guhl, Jr., grew up on his father's farm in Troy Township and
in 1882 he married Miss Anna Sprecher, daughter of Andrew Sprecher.
Mr. and Mrs. Guhl had six children: Sarah, born in 1883, is the wife
of Martin Bernhard and lives in Troy Township ; Ida, wife of Julius
Kietzke, lives in Troy Township ; and the younger children, all un-
married and living at home, are named Lyda, Anna, George, Henry.
Before he married Mr. Guhl bought his farm of 119^2 acres, and
there he has been steadily at work as a general farmer and stockraiser,
also doing some dairying and has not only provided liberally for his
home and family from the products of his toil but has also amassed
a prosperity sufficient for his future needs. "When his father started
farming in Sauk County he used oxen to do the plowing and also to
haul the produce to market. At first the nearest market was Mil-
waukee, later Madison and finally a railroad was built to Sauk City.
The father owned 164 acres of land. The Guhl family have always
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 901
worshiped in the Evangelical Church. Mr. Henry Guhl, Jr., has served
thirteen years as assessor of Troy Township and also was for several
years clerk and director of the school board. He is one of the stockhold-
ers in Troy Township Cheese Factory, is in politics a democrat, and is
a member of the Modern Woodmen of America at Black Hawk.
Alexander Smith is one of the well-to-do farming men of Sauk
County and has reached a position in life where he can be classified as
independent and spends most of his time in his city home at Baraboo.
A native of Scotland, he was born in that country in 1862, son of
Alexander and Jane Smith. Five years later, in 1867, the family set
out for the New World and came to Sauk County, Wisconsin. Here
Alexander, Sr., bought twenty acres of land in Baraboo Township from
Reuben Kipp and in 1876 acquired another tract of thirty-three acres
from William Stanley. This was the land which he operated as a farmer
and which he owned at the time of his death. He died in Baraboo Town-
ship in 1880, at the age of fifty-seven. His widow survived him until
1914, passing away at the age of seventy-nine. Their children were :
Betsey, deceased ; Alexander ; John ; Jennie, who died in 1915 ; William ;
Emma; and Ella.
Alexander Smith, Jr., grew up on the old farm in Baraboo Town-
ship, attended the public schools, and has found pleasure and profit in
the management of his farm of seventy-six and a half acres near the old
homestead. Besides general farming, Mr. Smith has developed a special
industry as a bee keeper, and has about 125 colonies that work for him
and furnish no little profit and also an enjoyable diversion. Mr. Smith
is a republican in politics. His parents were active members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church.
Mr. Smith was married in 1911 to Miss Anna Douglas, of Sauk
County. Mrs. Smith was educated in the Baraboo High School and in
the Whitewater State Normal School, and at the age of sixteen began
teaching in the country district of this county. For some years she was
the primary teacher in the school at Lyons, Mr. and Mrs. Smith have a
good home in Baraboo, but spend part of each summer on the farm.
While they have no children, their home is the center of many hospitable
times for their many friends and they move in the best social circles
•of Baraboo.
Mrs. Smith is a daughter of Edward Douglas, who was born in Ver-
mont in 1832. Edward Douglas married Alice Fawcett, who was born
in Ireland of English extraction. The Fawcetts have long been one
of the leading families of England. She came to Massachusetts when
about sixteen years of age to join some of her relatives on this side of
the ocean. Later she moved to Portage, Wisconsin, and lived there until
her marriage. Edward Douglas was a son of Henry and Lucy (Tra-
verse) Douglas. The Douglases were very early day settlers near Port-
age, where Henry and his wife spent their last years. He was interested
in sawmills in the East and his son Edward was also a lumberman and
for years managed a sawmill at Baraboo. Camp Douglas took its name
from Edward Douglas and two more Douglas boys about fifty years
ago. Edward Douglas died at Baraboo in 1889, at the age of fifty-
902 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
seven, and his widow survived him until April, 1916, being eighty-two
years of age at the time of her death. The children of Edward Douglas
and wife were : Anna ; Eobert ; and Fannie, wife of Clarence Kindsehi,
of Beloit, Wisconsin. Edward Douglas voted the republican ticket.
He and his wife were active members of the Episcopal Church. Mr.
and Mrs. Douglas moved to Baraboo in 1868, and Mrs. Smith was born
in that city. Edward Douglas had a military record as a soldier of the
Union. He was a member of the First Wisconsin Heavy Artillery and
had five brothers who were also Civil war soldiers. Their names were
Henry, Joseph, Charles, Asa and George. Two other brothers, James
and John, were too young to enlist. The sisters of the family were
Sophia, Jane, Mary, Hannah and Esther.
William Smith, a brother of Mr. Alexander Smith, above mentioned,
was born on the old Smith homestead in Sauk County July 30, 1867. He
grew up there, attended the public schools, and has made farming his
vocation. He has never married and with his sister Emma owns 100
acres of land in Baraboo Township. They have sold twenty acres to the
Mining Company, but they still operate this land for farming purposes.
Mr. William Smith is a general farmer and stockraiser and does con-
siderable dairying. He is a stockholder in the Excelsior Co-operative
Creamery Company at Baraboo. As a dairyman he keeps good grades
of Guernsey cattle. He is a republican. He and his sister have a well
improved farm and enjoy the comforts that have rewarded their many
years of work and careful management.
William G. Montgomery. The agricultural industry of Wisconsin
is excellently represented in Sauk County. Here are found men who
consider their vocation as something more than a mere occupation, and
who have elevated its standards until they have nearly reached the
plane of a science. In doing so they have followed along lines that tbeir
common sense, governed by years of practical experience, has directed.
This is the kind of work that has contributed toward the iDuilding up of
Sauk as one of the most progressive farming counties of the state, and
one who has done his share in a practical way in helping things along is
William G. Montgomery. Both Fairfield and Greenfield townships have
profited by his well-directed labors, and his citizenship has been of the
kind that promotes the general welfare at all times.
William G. Montgomery is a Wisconsin man by birth, education,
rearing, training and experience. He was born at Fort Atkinson in
Jefferson County, November 14, 1849, and is a son of George and
Catherine (Prosser) Montgomery, natives of the Empire State. His
parents were married in New York, and became residents of Fort Atkin-
son at an early date, but had not resided there long ere the news of the
discovery of gold swept over the country, with its luring promises of
fortunes to be had for the asking. George Montgomery made the long,
hazardous journey across the plains to the Golden State in 1852, but it
was not his fortune to be numbered among those who located the precious
metal in large quantities, and he soon returned to Wisconsin to resume
the prosaic but more satisfactory occupation of farming. In 1860 he
brought his family from Eichland County to Sauk County, and was
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 903
living here when the Civil war came on. His love of adventure, coupled
with his patriotism, caused him to enlist in the Third Wisconsin Cavalry
for service under the colors of his country, .and throughout the struggle
between the North and the South he fought valiantly and faithfully,
receiving his honorable discharge after peace had been declared. He
continued to maintain his interest in his army comrades during the
remainder of his life, and was one of the most enthusiastic and popular
members of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic. One of
his brothers, Henry Montgomery, who was also a soldier, worked on the
North Western Railroad for several years and assisted in drawing the
material for the construction of that road through Sauk County. For
some years George Montgomery resided at Baraboo, later went to Caze-
novia, and finally took up his residence at Lime Ridge, where he died
in 1914, aged about eighty-four years. Mrs. Montgomery had passed
away in May, 1903, when seventy-two years of age. Their children
were as follows : Maria, who is deceased ; William G., of this notice ;
and Adelia, who was in the great earthquake at San Francisco, Cali-
fornia, and subsequently died.
William G. Montgomery secured a public school education, and as a
young man learned the trade of stone mason, one which he followed
for several years. He decided, however, that farming held out a better
future for him, and accordingly embarked upon agricultural ventures
in Fairfield Township, where he resided for seventeen years, subse-
quently removing to Greenfield Township, where he passed twenty years.
In the former township he had a good property, and at the present
time he is the owner of forty acres of well cultivated land, upon which
he has personally made the most of the improvements. Mr. Montgomery
has always endeavored to maintain high standards in his work, and has
always been ready to adopt new methods as they have shown their
practicability. While living in Fairfield Township he was one of those
who worked hard for the schools, and for twenty years was clerk of
the school board of directors. He also served as a member of the board
of supervisors, and since coming to Greenfield Township has been active
in public affairs, having been health officer for a period, treasurer of
Greenfield Township for four years, and clerk of the district in which
he resides, holding the last-named position at the present time. He has
always been independent in his political views, but has a strong tendency
to give his support to the candidates who advocate prohibition.
Mr. Montgomery was married September 22, 1872, to Miss Carrie
Malloy, who was born at Baraboo, Wisconsin, in 1852, a daughter of
Ralph and Harriet (Ward well) Malloy, early settlers of Sauk County,
and granddaughter of Batholomew Malloy, one of the county's pioneers.
Ralph Malloy, who died in 1868, married Harriet Wardwell, who was
bom September 11, 1835, and who still survives, making her home with
her daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery. There were
four children in the Malloy family: Carrie; Frances; Douglas, who is
deceased; and Albert, of Baraboo. Seven children have been bom to
Mr. and M^rs. Montgomery: Hattie, who is the wife of William Jones,
a farmer of Greenfield Township ; Arthur, who died when six years of
age ; Fern, who is the wife of Lester Montgomery and resides in Green-
Vol. n 2 2
904 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
field Township; Paul, who died in infancy; Avis, who is the wife of Emil
Piatt, of Baraboo ; and Minnie and Winnie, twins, the latter of whom is
deceased, while the former is the wife of Nelson Bartley, a railroad man,
and lives in Adams County, Wisconsin.
John Jacob Gattiker. The early settlers of Sauk County were on
the whole people of substantial character, above the average in intelli-
gence and ability, and many of them were well educated according to the
standards of the time. But the addition of John Jacob Gattiker to the
local citizenship in 1855 gave a man of exceptional scholarship, of that
broad culture which is closely associated with foreign learning and
travel, and almost from the first he made his presence felt as a vitalizing
influence in the affairs and institutions of the county.
His part in molding and influencing local affairs during the latter
half of the last century can hardly be justly estimated even at the pres-
ent time, and the few brief paragraphs that can be here devoted to his
career must necessarily fall short of being an adequate representation
of his character and influence. Fortunately the people of Sauk County
have a permanent memorial of this splendid old time citizen in the form
of a handsome memorial clock which was given to Sauk County in his
memory by his daughters, Margaret and Luise Gattiker, and in 1915
was placed in the tower of the courthouse at Baraboo.
John Jacob Gattiker was born at Zurich, Switzerland, April 18,
1826, a son of Henry and Maria M. Gattiker, also natives of Switzerland.
His father was a teacher, followed that profession in Zurich all his life,
and died there when John Jacob was a young man. In 1871 the widowed
mother came to the United States, and died in Baraboo at the age of
seventy-six.
When he was twenty years of age John Jacob Gattiker graduated
from the College at Zurich. He took up the same profession which his
father had adorned, and for ten years was teacher of French, mathe-
matics and Italian in the Gymnasium, corresponding to our high school
or college. He was a fluent linguist and a master of many subjects.
After leaving the Gymnasium he became a tutor to a wealthy family at
Chamberi, Italy.
He was twenty -nine years of age when in 1855 he came to the United
Spates and took up his residence with other early settlers on a farm in
the Town of Honey Creek, Sauk County. A man of such talents natur-
ally could not long be hid in a rural community, and in 1858 he was
called to serve the county in the office of county clerk. He filled that
office for eight years, and in the meantime removed his residence to
Baraboo. Later he engaged in the hardware business with his brother,
A. Gattiker, and they built up a large and prosperous establishment and
he was identified with its management until he retired in 1886.
Perhaps the avenue through which he influenced the history of Sauk
County more than in any other way was in inducing emigration to this
section of Wisconsin. A great many German and Swiss families took
up their homes here as a direct result of his leadership, and he thus
contributed one of the most stable elements to the county's population.
He not only influenced many families to come to Sauk County, but gave
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 905
them every possible assistance after they arrived, and did much to
insure their permanence of residence and their prosperity as capable
home makers. Many of the descendants of these old families are still
living in Sauk County and all of them hold the name of John Jacob
Gattiker in special veneration. "•
He was not yet seventy years of age when he died, April 2, 1895,
but he had lived usefully and well and made a name that will long
have an honorable memory. In politics he was a republican. He rep-
resented his home community on the board of supervisors for a number
of years and was chairman of the board a long time. Naturally he took
the keenest of interest in educational advancement and was president
of the Board of Education of Baraboo for a number of years, and the
first and second ward school buildings were constructed under his per-
sonal supervision.
In May, 1851, before coming to America, Mr. Gattiker married
Magdalene Truninger, who was born at Winterthur, Switzerland, Octo-
ber 30, 1828, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Truninger. Mrs.
Gattiker died in the City of Baraboo August 3, 1898.
John Here. Among those men who have proved their competence
and ability to get the best results out of the soil in Sauk County, one
entitled to special mention is Mr. John Herr of Merrimack Township.
Mr. Herr has lived in Sauk County over thirty -five years and practically
his entire life has been spent in this section of the state.
He was born in New York State February 14, 1852, a son of Martin
and Emilia (Hauesen) Herr. His parents were both born in Germany.
His father came to New York State when a young man, learned the
cooper's trade, and followed that actively until he came out to Wiscon-
sin and became a farmer in Dane County. Mr. John Herr was about
four years of age when his parents located on a farm at Roxbury. His
father first bought forty acres and kept on buying more land and
improving and developing until at the time of his death he had a valu-
able estate of 160 acres. This good and thrifty German- American
citizen of "Wisconsin passed away about twenty years ago and his wife
about twelve years ago. There were eight children : John ; Anna, un-
married and living at Roxbury with her brother George ; Maggie, Mrs.
Alfred Raynolds, of Lodi, Wisconsin, has two children, Ralph and Wal-
lace; Emma, Mrs. Frank Groves, of Lodi, has six children, Raymond,
Vera, Louisa, Lerna, Milla and Harold ; Charles, who was married and
lives in Dane County; George, unmarried and occupying the old home
farm ; Frank, married and living at Reedsburg, has two children, Arthur
and Helen ; and Mary, who died at the age of four years.
Mr. John Herr grew up on his father's farm in Dane County, at-
tended the local schools and lived with his father and mother until he
M^as twenty-nine, when he married and started out for himself.
He was married October 8, 1881, to Miss Helen Runge, a daughter
of Augustua and Caroline (Foss) Runge, both natives of Germany. Im-
mediately after his marriage Mr. Herr moved to his present farm in
Sauk County, buying 151 acres. The years have prospered him as they
have come and gone and as a general farmer and stock raiser he stands
906 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
among the most substantial men of his community. He cleared most of
the land which he now cultivates and has invested heavily of his per-
sonal labor and his means in buildings and other improvements. Be-
sides his interests as a farmer Mr. Herr is now one of the directors of
the Merrimack Stat& Bank.
To him and his good wife were born four children : Jessie, who died
at the age of two years and three months; Anna, Mrs. Henry Weirich;
and Charles and Walter, both unmarried and living at home.
Mr. Herr has served as chairman of the township board two years,
and was director of his local school district for eighteen years. Frater-
nally he is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America at Merri-
mack. In politics he reserves his right to vote for the best man regard-
less of party affiliations.
Peter Schneller, a veteran of the war for the preservation of
the Union, is one of the oldest continuous residents of Troy Township
and has been steadily identified with one farm there for over half a
century. The element of permanency is a strong one in Mr. Schneller 's
makeup, and the community recognizes in him one of its most substantial
citizens.
Mr. Schneller was born in Switzerland, in 1840, a son of John and
Anna (Buehler) Schneller. His parents were natives of the same country
and brought their little family to America in 1848, locating in Troy
Township of Sauk County. Here the father acquired direct from the
Government forty acres, and after getting that under cultivation and as
his means justified it he bought other land until at the time of his death
he was proprietor of more than 400 acres. From the time he came
to Sauk County he lived on his farm in Troy Township, and died
there at a good old age, having survived his wife several years. In
pioneer times he had cleared up his land and cultivated it with ox teams.
That he was one of the earliest settlers is testified to by the fact that he
lived eight years in Troy Township before the first school district was
organized. Such surplus as were produced on his land he hauled over-
land to Milwaukee. In the family of John Schneller and wife were
seven children, all of them still living, and named Peter ; Lenora ; Jacob ;
George ; Barbara, Mrs. John Clausseher ; John and Paul.
Peter Schneller grew up on the old homestead in Troy Township,
being about eight years of age when the family came to this county.
He had just reached young manhood when the war broke out between
the States and he enlisted in Company C of the Twenty-sixth Wisconsin
Infantry and saw three years of active army service.
Not long after returning from the army, in March, 1866, he married
Margaret Nolt, of Troy Township. Eight children were born to their
marriage, two of whom died in infancy. The other-s are mentioned as
follows: John, who is married and lives in Naperville, Illinois; Vin-
cent, married and living at Harrisburg; George, whose home is at
Springfield, South Dakota; Anna, wife of Fred Kenchi, of Prairie du
Sac ; Peter, who is unmarried and lives at Blackhawk ; and Carrie, wife
of Oscar Cramer, and both of them live with her parents.
Mr. Peter Schneller began farming in Troy Town.ship in 1866, in
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 907
which year he bought 320 acres. This land has become highly devel-
oped under his constant care and attention and for many years has
proved the basis of a fine business in general farming and stock raising.
Mr. Schneller has also participated in public affairs, having served as
chairman of his township four years, as clerk of the town board twenty
years, and also as a member of the school board. He is a republican and
a member of the Evangelical Church,
Mrs. Mary Keitel. is one of the oldest living residents of Sauk
County. Before her eyes has been enrolled a great panorama of change
and development during the last sixty years. She knew this country
when it was a wilderness, when the forests spread almost unbroken
from one side of the county to the other, and when comparatively little
land was under the plow. She is still living on the old farm in Merri-
mack Township, on Rural Route No. 2, and has passed the age of four
score.
She was bom in Germany, January 21, 1836, a daughter of Ludwig
and Anna Mary (Blotchy) Keitel. Her parents were also born in
Germany.
After growing up and receiving her education in the old country
she came to America alone at the age of nineteen. A year later she
married the late Michael Keitel, and they then settled on the home-
stead where Mrs. Keitel still resides in Merrimack Township. This
■homestead was one that Michael Keitel had acquired direct from the
government. He was also a native of Germany and had come to
America three years before his wife. He lived in the State of New
York two years, and then settled in Sauk County.
Mr. Keitel by a previous wife, who died in 1854, had three children.
The daughter Elizabeth married John Losh and they now live in Okla-
homa. John, who died four years ago, married Ida Gattwinkle, a
daughter of George Gattwinkle. John and Ida Keitel had two chil-
dren, Edwin and Elmer, married and living in Prairie du Sac. Elmer,
the grandson of Mrs. Keitel, married Nellie Mather, daughter of Mat-
thew Mather. They have one child, Victor, now five years of age.
Mrs. Mary Keitel by her marriage to Mr. Keitel had one daughter,
Mary, now Mrs. John Quimby. Mr. and Mrs. Quimby live in Duluth,
Minnesota, and have two children, "Walter and Bessie.
Michael Keitel throughout the rest of his days lived on and farmed
the old homestead. He took the place as a part of the wilderness, and
it was years before he had the clearing and the grubbing so far advanced
that he could cultivate any considerable area. He began farming with
oxen, and used those animals to plow and do all other kinds of farm
work for years. His surplus grain and produce he hauled to Portage,
a distance of twenty-five miles, and it required many hours to make
the journey with the slow plodding oxen. He would leave home one
night and not get back until the next. In those days the price paid
for wheat was seldom more than 50 cents a bushel, and the price
paid for eggs was 5 cents a dozen and 7 cents a pound for
butter. The wages of a good harvest hand was never more than
$1 a day. During the winter Michael Keitel worked in the woods
908 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
splitting rails, and there was never a time when his hands did not find
some good and useful employment. At first he had sixty acres, and
subsequently he bought another forty acres and finally another sixty.
Besides his work at home he served two years as road master. He was
an active member of the Lutheran Church. Michael Keitel died at the
old home in 1886. Since then Mrs. Keitel has remained on the old
place, and she managed the farm with the aid of hired labor until four
years ago, when her grandson, Elmer, took charge.
"Willis F. Ryan is a Baraboo Township farmer. His enterprise has
been well directed, not only to the profitable management of his farm
from season to season but also to the proper conservation of its resources
and the gradual improvement of its value as a home and place of
business. Mr. Ryan is a native of the City of Baraboo, where he- was
born July 1, 1867, a son of Henry R. and Abbie 0. (Gazlay) Ryan.
His father was a pioneer of Sauk County. He was born at New Ips-
wich, New Hampshire, in 1818, and his wife was born in New York
State in 1828. They were married in New York and in 1853 came
west and located at Portage, Wisconsin. Henry R. Ryan was a cabinet
maker by trade and spent most of his active career in some line of
wood working or manufacturing. In 1855 he removed from Portage
to Baraboo, and until 1870 conducted the mill at Baraboo for the manu-
facture of lumber. Subsequently he became manager and part owner
of the Baraboo Furniture Manufacturing Company. Same of his
resources were invested in land near the county seat, where he owned
440 acres, and his last days were spent at the homestead where his son
Willis now resides. He died there in 1898. Mrs. Henry Ryan is still
living and is now eighty-nine years of age. The father was an active
republican and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Their
four children, all living, are George H. and Charles A., both in the
State of Washington ; Abbie M., living in Chicago ; and Willis F.
Willis F. Ryan grew up on a farm and most of his early recollections
are centered around the place where he now lives. He attended the
public schools of Baraboo. Since reaching manhood he has given the
l)est of his labors to farming and now owns 105 acres of the old home-
stead, besides eighty acres of timber land in Baraboo and Sumpter
townships. He follows mixed farming, keeps some good stock, and has
built or supervised the building of most of the modern improvements
on his land. Mr. Ryan is a republican without aspirations for public
office, is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Wood-
men of America, and attends religious services in the Methodist Epis-
copal Church.
In 1888 Mr. Ryan married Miss Bird E. Dockham. Mrs. Ryan was
born in Baraboo Township in 1872, daughter of J. A. and Maria Dock-
ham, a pioneer family of Sauk County, and both her parents are now
deceased. Her father was a veteran Union soldier of the Civil war
and after the war followed farming in Sauk County. Mr. and Mrs.
Ryan have three children. Stella B. completed her education in the
public schools of Lyons and is now the wife of Eric Stebler, of Mil-
waukee. Marjorie P. is a graduate of the Lyons and the Baraboo high
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 909
schools, and is now in the sophomore year of the University of Wiscon-
sin. Howard R. completed his high school course at Baraboo with the
class of 1917, having previously attended the Lyons High School.
William Burckhardt, a practical farmer of Merrimack Township,
has lived and prospered in this agricultural section and by industry and
diligence has found those rewards which constitute the object of every
ambitious man's efforts.
He was born in this county in 1874, and his parents. Christian
Traugott and Sophia (Schuman) Burckhardt, were among the very
early settlers in Merrimack Township. They were born in Germany,
and Christian T. Burckhardt crossed the ocean and came to America alone
in 1849. Miss Schuman came to this country in 1850 with her parents.
After locating in Sauk City Christian. T. Burckhardt was employed
for a time in the brick yard, and subsequently worked on the ferry
boat at Watson's Ferry at Merrimack. After a few years he was able
to establish a home of his own and he bought as the nucleus of his
property forty acres on the township line between Sumpter and Merri-
mack townships. That farm is now the property of Mr. William
Burckhardt, and has been under continuous development and improve-
ment by members of the family for over half a century.
Christian T. Burckhardt lived on the home farm until his death,
September 3, 1900. His widow passed away in 1908. Christian T.
Burckhardt was a successful farmer, and he and his wife were almost
the first settlers in that part of the county. They endured all the
hardships of pioneer life and in time, in addition to providing for their
growing family of children, they were able to add to their possessions
until they owned about 170 acres of cultivated land and forty-nine
acres of woodland. Christian T. Burkhardt was a member of the
Lutheran Church. A brief record of their children is as follows :
Emma, Mrs. John Gobbler, living near Hombard, Wisconsin; Herman,
who is married and lives in the Town of Merrimack; Augusta, Mrs.
Eschenbach ; Emilia, Mrs. Herman Gattwinkle, of Prairie du Sac ;
Louisa, Mrs. Frank Schlag, of Sauk City; Charles, who is married
and lives in Texas ; Edward, married and living on a farm in Merrimack
Township ; William ; and Ida, deceased.
Mr. William Burckhardt was married in 1910 to Emelia Bender,
daughter of Michael Bender, of Honey Creek Township, a well known
farmer in that section. Mr. and Mrs. Burckhardt have two children :
Henry, born January 7, 1911 ; and Clara, born March 10, 1914. Mr.
Burckhardt is a republican, Mrs. Burckhardt and children attend the
Lutheran Church, of which they are members.
Henry Sorg. One of the best known and highly respected resi-
dents of Sauk County is Henry Sorg, who now lives retired on his
valuable farm of 414 acres, which is situated in Troy Township. For
many years before retirement he led the quiet, steady, industrious life
of a farmer, devoting himself entirely to the peaceful pursuits of agri-
culture, but there was a time when, for three long, wearisome, dan-
gerous years, he was a soldier in the Union army and marched and
910 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
fought with courage, self sacrifice and determination side by side with
other brave men, and through their combination of effort the disunion
of the states was prevented. Not gladly but from a sense of duty he
responded when President Lincoln issued his first call for patriots,
and when his duty had been well performed he quietly returned home
and again took up the peaceful pursuits that meant much more to him
than military glory. During his long residence in Sauk County he has
proved a man of solid worth and sterling character.
Henry Sorg was born in Germany, in 1839. His parents were
Philip John and Mary (Hiltz) Sorg, both of whom were natives of
Germany. They immigrated to America when he was young, and
after living for two years in the State of New York made their way
to Washington County, Wisconsin. The father was a man of great
industry and he desired to establish a permanent home in Wisconsin.
He worked as a farmer for five years in Washington County and then
came to Sauk County and bought a farm of 160 acres in Honey Creek
Township. He cleared that land and lived on it for twelve years and
then moved to Troy Township and located on the place on which Henry
Sorg now lives. The father died on this farm in 1900 and the mother
died two years later.
Henry Sorg grew to manhood in Honey Creek Township and
attended the district school as opportunity was afforded. He assisted
his father on the farm until 1861, when he enlisted for service in the
Civil war, becoming a member of Company D, Ninth Wisconsin Volun-
teer Infantry. Mr. Sorg served three years in this organization and
took part in many battle engagements but sustained no permanent
injury, and at the close of his term of enlistment was honorably dis-
charged.
When Henry Sorg returned from the army he was married shortly
afterward to Miss Caroline Kruhl, a daughter of August Kruhl and
wife, natives of Germany, but then residents of Honey Creek Township.
Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Sorg, namely: Carrie,
deceased, who was the wife of Marion Farris; Henry, who married and
lives in Sauk City; Hattie, who married George Barto and they live
14 mile west of Mr. Sorg; Philip, who resides on his father's farm,
carries on the farm industries, and has a family of his own ; Fred, who
lives with his family on his farm in South Dakota; William, who is a
resident of St. Paul, Minnesota; and Louisa, who is deceased, was the
wife of John Baker.
After his marriage Henry Sorg settled on the next farm west of the
one on which he now lives, containing 220 acres, which he bought and
there all his children were born. He then came to his present farm,
where he has 414 acres of well developed land. His main business was
general farming for many years, but he also raised fine stock and to
some extent engaged in dairying. Whatever Mr. Sorg undertook he
accomplished through his industry and good judgment and he became
so successful a farmer that many of his neighbors from time to time
adopted his methods.
In politics Mr. Sorg has been a republican since he cast his first vote
but he has never been anxious to serve in public office, though, owing
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 911
to his interest in general education he accepted membership on the
school board and during the ten years that he so served his sound,
practical advice and counsel were recognized as being of great value,
both to the school children and to the taxpayers of the township. Mr.
Sorg is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Castle Prairie.
Charles Enge. One of the names longest and most prominently
identified with Sauk County agriculture is that of Enge. As a family
they represent the substantial elements of the Swiss stock, and in their
careers they have proved themselves masters of circumstances and
have done' much to improve the community while working for their
own welfare.
The old Enge homestead in Troy Township, which has been in the
family possession for many years, is now under the proprietorship of
Mr. Charles Enge, who was bom on that farm in 1869. He is a son of
the late Peter and Louisa (Schoephorster) Enge. His father was born
in Switzerland in 1831 and his mother in Germany in 1841. Peter
Enge, who died at Prairie du Sac in April, 1917, came alone to Sauk
County in 1851. His parents joined him here a year later. Grand-
father Enge took up eighty acres of land in Troy Township, near where
Charles Enge now lives. This land subsequently came under the owner-
ship of Peter Enge, who used it as the nucleus for his gradually extend-
ing estate, until now the farm consists of 345 acres. This is owned
by Mr. Charles Enge. There was besides 120 acres given by Peter Enge
to his son Ulrich, and another farm of 217 acres sold to Mr. J. P. Enge.
The late Peter Enge had one sister, Anna, wife of Martin Witwen,
of Troy Township.
The late Peter Enge was a very capable agriculturist and also a
stock raiser. He raised large numbers of good livestock, including
horses and cattle, and was a successful grain farmer. One year he had
the biggest crop of wheat in Sauk County. About seventeen years ago
Peter Enge retired from the farm and spent the rest of his years at
Prairie du Sac, where his widow is still living. They were the parents
of four children. Peter Enge was twice married. His first wife was
Anna Witwen. The four children of this union were: Ulrich, who
is living in Troy Township on a farm; J. P. Enge, of Prairie du Sac;
while the second and fourth children died young. For his second wife
Peter Enge married Louisa Schoephorster, and the children of this
union are: Anna, widow of George Ragatz, of Prairie du Sac; Mary,
who died when three years old ; Mary, second of the name, now Mrs.
Henry Meyer, of Prairie du Sac, a widow; and Charles.
Charles Enge grew up on the old homestead farm in Troy Township
and attended the local schools there. In 1900 he married Miss Minnie
Gasser, daughter of Jacob Gasser, who came from his native country
of Switzerland and settled in Honey Creek Township of Sauk County.
Mrs. Enge 's mother was a native of German5^ Mr. and Mrs. Enge have
six children. Clarence, Howard, Carl, Ramona, "Wallace and Robert,
all of whom are attending school except the youngest. Clarence is a
student in the Prairie du Sac High School.
Mr. Charles Enge served twenty years as school clerk, has also been
912 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
chairman of the township board, and for the past twenty years has
been secretary and treasurer of the Tryo-Honey Creek Creamery. This
is one of the oldest and most profitably managed creameries in the
county. Mr. Enge is also a member of the Farmers Packing Company
of Sauk City. He and his family worship in the Evangelical Church.
In politics he is a republican. Since early manhood his business has
been that of general farmer and stock raiser, and he is one of the large
dairymen of Sauk County.
W. W. Fuller has been a resident of Sauk County since 1882. He
has made a success as a farmer and has reared a very capable family
of children in his home in Merrimack Township.
Mr. Fuller was born in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, at Milford,
October 8, 1855. He is a son of Albert and Keziah (Uda) Fuller. His
parents were both natives of Vermont and were very early settlers in
Jefferson County, Wisconsin, where they experienced all the hardships
of pioneering. His father died March 23, 1860, and his mother married
again and lived to a good old age, passing away in September, 1913.
Albert Fuller and wife had the following children: W. W. Fuller;
Mary E. Black, of Madison; Wesley, who lives at Aurorahville in
Waushara County; and Albert, a resident of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.
There are also four half-brothers : Curtis Philips, of Sauk Prairie ;
Arthur Philips, living at Brooklyn in Dane County, Wisconsin ; Charles
Philips, of Evansville, Wisconsin; Wilber Philips, also of Evansville.
Mr. W. W. Fuller was reared and educated in Jefferson County
and in 1882 came to Merrimack Township. He bought eighty acres of
land but has since sold some of it, and his present farm consists of about
fifty-five acres. He has been a prosperous general farmer for many
years. For three years Mr. Fuller served on the school board. He is
independent in politics and votes for the candidate he thinks best fitted
for office.
In Jefferson County in 1877 he married Miss Gertrude Carr, daugh-
ter of James C. and Mary (Crocker) Carr. Her parents were both
natives of New York State. James C. Carr was one of the most influ-
ential citizens of Columbia County, Wisconsin. He located there in
1843, taking up land from the Government. He walked all the distance
from Columbia County to Green Bay in order to enter his land in the
land office and secure his title. He had the distinction of planting the
first apple trees in Columbia County, bringing apple seed in his pocket
from New York State. He also originated the plan for locating the
county seat at Portage and was the first town superintendent. He died
in 1894 and Mrs. Fuller's mother passed away in 1884. Their daugh-
ter Hattie was the first white child born on Fountain Prairie, four miles
from Columbus. James C. Carr was the first county treasurer and the
first county clerk of Columbia County. Mrs. Fuller has the following
sisters and brothers: Hattie, mentioned above, was for some years a
resident of Baraboo, but is now a resident of Winona, Minnesota, the
wife of Mr. Shepard; Mary A. Myers lives in Otsego, New York; Mrs.
Fuller is the third in age ; Margaret Thornton lives at Ashwood, Ore-
gon; Jessie F. Baker lives at Lucile, Idaho; James A. Carr is also a
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 913
resident of Lucile, Idaho ; while John 0. Carr has his home at Linden,
Idaho.
Mr. and Mrs. Fuller have three daughters: Hattie M. is the wife
of Leigh Wilson, living in Minnesota,, and their four children are
Wardner W., Catherine M., Beatrice F. and Leigh W. The second
daughter, Carrie M., is the wife of George A. Green, living at Green
Bay, Wisconsin, and has one child, Wallace. Edna K. is the wife of
Fred Powers, a resident of Merrimack Township. Edna K. Fuller
was for twelve years a rural mail carrier from Merrimack and the only
woman who ever carried mail out of that town. She was married Janu-
ary 20, 1916, and the patrons and friends along her rural route held
a big wedding in her honor and she received many beautiful gifts from
the people she had so faithfully served along her route. About 300
friends and relatives were present at her wedding. Mr. and Mrs.
Fuller's children were well educated in the local district schools and
in the Merrimack High School. Hattie studied music at home and
later taught music. Edna was a graduate of the Lodi High School and
took up the work of mail carrier soon after leaving school. Carrie
graduated from the Portage High School and the Whitewater Normal
School and taught in Columbia County and in Merrimack before her
marriage.
James M. Terry. Many of the substantial farmers of Sauk County
have passed their entire lives either on the homestead upon which they
were born or in the near vicinity, and in this class is found James M.
Terry, the owner of 270 acres of fine land in Baraboo Township.
Energy and patient endeavor have been leading factors in securing
for him financial and general success, and he has made the most of
each opportunity that has presented itself, and where none has appeared
he has made opportunities of his own. In both general farming and
stock raising operations he is accounted one of the skilled and well-
informed men of his community, and as a citizen has been identified
with a number of movements his activity in which has testified to his
public spirit and community interest.
James M. Terry was born on the Terry homestead place in Baraboo
Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin, October 3, 1870, being a son of
John and Katherine (Dorsey) Terry. His father, who was born in
1834, in Ireland, was still a child when his mother died, and was sent
to Newfoundland to be reared in the home of an uncle. There he
received his education and continued to make his home until fully
grown, developing qualities of perseverance and ambition and carefully
saving his earnings. From his youth he had heard of the chances
afforded by the United States for young men who were willing to work
and who had a fair amount of ability, and during the early '60s he
came to this country and located in Sauk County. With him he had
brought gold worth about $500, and as this metal was very much in
demand at that time he was able to dispose of it for about $1,000 in
money, which he immediately invested in a farm of eighty acres, located
in Baraboo Township. This formed the nucleus for his later large
land holdings. When his original purchase was cleared and put under
914 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
cultivation lie bought forty acres more, and this was followed by the
purchase of the old T. B. Byron Farm, a tract of 200 acres in the
same township, and the Spandig Farm of 220 acres in Delton Town-
ship, in addition to which he likewise owned the farm that is now the
property of his son, James M. John Terry was one of the able and
industrious men of his day and locality. From small beginnings he
worked out a splendid success, and in its gaining was always fair and
honorable in his dealings, never taking an unfair advantage of a com-
petitor. When he died he not only left his children wxll-to-do as to
material things, but also bequeathed to them the heritage of an hon-
orable name. Mr, Terry's death occurred in 1908, while he was living
at the home of his son James M., where he had lived from the time the
house on the old homestead was destroyed by fire. Mrs. Terry died on
the homestead in November, 1914, greatly respected and beloved in her
community. Like her husband, she was a faithful member of the
Catholic Church. Politically a democrat, Mr. Terry was not desirous
of public favors, but served his locality well in the capacity of road
superintendent for several years. There were ten children in the fam-
ily: Edward; James M., of this notice; Alice; William; Mary; John;
Nellie; Joseph P., who is engaged in farming in Baraboo Township;
Ann ; and Gertrude, who died in 1904, at the age of twenty years.
James M. Terry was reared on the homestead farm and was brought
up with the idea of his becoming a farmer, being supplied with a com-
prehensive training all the way through in agricultural work. His
education was obtained in the country public schools, which he attended
during the winter terms, and when ready to enter upon a career of his
own started farming on the 270-acre property which is now his home.
This is located in Baraboo Township, not far from the city of that
name, and is a well-cultivated and productive farm, on which Mr. Terry
carries on both farming and stockraising with equal success. He has
made numerous modern improvements, including a substantial set of
buildings, and is an adherent of progressive methods and the use of
up-to-date implements and machinery. In addition to his farming
activities Mr. Terry has several business connections, among them being
the Excelsior Co-operative Creamery Company at Baraboo, of which
he is a stockholder. Politically a democrat, he was for seven years a
member of the township supervisors, being for six years chairman of
the board, was also for several years leader of his party's forces in the
first ward, and a highway commissioner, and operated the crushing plant
for the township, building the first macadamized road in Sauk County,
With his family he belongs to the Catholic Church.
Mr. Terry was married November 24, 1909, to Miss Julia David,
who was born in Greenfield Township, Sauk County, January 16, 1875,
daughter of Louis and Catherine (Bresnahan) David. Mr. David was
born in Walworth County, Wisconsin, in 1841, and Mrs. David in Ire-
land, January 1, 1845, she being a daughter of Thomas and Margaret
(Welch) Bresnahan, who came to the United States and located in
Vermont in 1846 and five years later removed to Adams County, Wis-
consin. There Mr. Bresnahan died in 1877, aged sixty years, while his
widow survived until 1896, when she passed away at Kilbourn, Wis-
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 915
consin, aged seventy-four years. The following children were bom to
Mr. and Mrs. David : Carrie ; Louis ; Arthur ; Julia, who is now Mrs.
Terry; Catherine; Charles, on the old family homestead at Delton;
and Lawrence. Mr. and Mrs. Terry have three children : Louis, John
Donald- and Catherine Eileen.
Herman Meyer. One of the solid and representative citizens of
Troy Township, Sauk County, is found in Herman Meyer, who now
lives retired near Spring Green, Wisconsin. He has been a resident
of Sauk County for about fifty years and during this time, through his
own persevering industry, has become possessed of ample means, and
through honest and upright business methods and neighborly kindness
has gained the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens.
Herman Meyer was born in Germany, in 1850. His parents were
Henry and Albertine (Jiese) Meyer, who remained in Germany until
1893 and then came to Sauk County and settled at North Freedom and
subsequently died there. Herman Meyer was eighteen years of age
when he came to America, at that time having little capital except good
habits and robust health. He reached Sauk County, Wisconsin, in 1868
and stopped at Leland, where he worked for some time. After his
marriage he settled on a farm one mile south of the small farm on
which he now lives, in the next year moving to the farm of 127 acres
on which he remained until 1909. There Mr. Meyer developed a fine
property and successfully carried on the usual farm industries. In
that year he sold this farm to his son Elmer and then moved to the
little farm near Spring Green, one mile north of his old place. He
also owns 200 acres of valuable timber land.
In 1872 Mr. Meyer was married to Mary Nichelhouse, and they have
six children, all of whom are married except John C, who resides with
his parents. The others are as follows : Herman, who lives at Baraboo,
Wisconsin ; Elmer, who now owns the old homestead in Troy Town-
ship ; Emma, who is the wife of Julius Fuchs and lives in Troy Town-
ship ; Edith, who is the wife of William Fuchs, of Troy Township ; and
Mata, who is the wife of George Dickerson and lives at Sauk City.
In earlier years Mr. Meyer was somewhat more active in politics
than now and his influence was felt in township affairs, and he served
two terms as school clerk and school treasurer. The family belongs to
the Evangelical Church Association,
Reynard S. Ott. One of the large, substantial and truly worthy
families of Sauk County is that of Ott. It was established here in 1857
and has always prospered because of its sterling honesty, its industry,
thrift and good management. The family has been an agricultural one
and its farms, stock and fine herds of cattle have been among the best
in the county for years. The Otts have always also been intelligent,
temperate and church-going people. A well known and highly respected
member of this old family is Reynard S. Ott, who was born in 1879
on the old homestead in Troy Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin, which
his father bought, cleared, broke and improved. He is one of a large
family bom to his parents, who were Gottlieb and Mary (Hoppe) Ott.
916 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Gottlieb Ott was born in Germany and lived there until he was
thirty-five years old. He was a shepherd, a tender of sheep in his native
land, but knowing that he could never hope to own either flocks or
land in Germany he decided to emigrate. As many of his countrymen
had already settled in "Wisconsin, when he reached the United States
he also made his way here and secured employment from Wilson Cas-
sel at Cassel Prairie in Troy Township, Sauk County. He worked
faithfully day after day in the winter time for Mr. Cassel and on farms
in the summer time until he was able to buy his first tract of land,
this being forty acres of his son's present farm. He kept on buying
land, the most of it being heavily timbered at the time, late in the
'50s, until he was one of the heaviest taxpayers in Sauk County, and at
the time of his death, March 29, 1914, he owned 642 acres. During
early years times were hard and deprivations many. There were no
railroads through this section and travel was by stage-coach, and this
was also the means by which the mails were transported. He lived to
see wonderful changes and to enjoy unlimited comfort in his old age.
Gottlieb Ott was twice married, first, in 1860, to Sarah Helf, who
died 214 years later. His second marriage, in 1868, was to Mary Hoppe,
and they became the parents of the following children: Gottlieb, who
lives with his family in North Dakota ; Mary, who died in 1910, was the
wife of Patrick Kernan, and they lived at Donnybrook, North Dakota;
Minnie, who died in April, 1917, was the wife of Bat Sullivan, and
they lived in North Dakota; Gustav, who lives with his family in Troy
Township ; Daniel, also married, lives in Troy Township ; Reynard S. ;
Roxie, who is the wife of Michael Hanley, of Donnybrook, North
Dakota; Lizzie, who is the wife of Frank Williams and lives in Sauk
County ; Elmer, who lives in North Dakota ; Blias, who lives in Wis-
consin Emma, who is the wife of Andrew Hansen, of Withee, Wiscon-
sin ; and Sarah, the twelfth and youngest, died in infancy. All the
others lived to maturity and attended school at Cassel Prairie.
Reynard S. Ott grew up on the old homestead and attended school
through boyhood and then assisted his father on the farm until two
years before his marriage, when he took charge and has been farming
for himself ever since, his agricultural industries including crop rais-
ing, dairying and stockraising, and in every line he has been unusually
successful. He makes use of modern machinery, keeps well posted in
relation to new agricultural methods and is a very fair representative
of the prosperous agriculturist of the country as found in modern
times.
In 1903 Mr. Ott was married to Miss Lena Just who is a daughter
of Christ and Louisa (Moehlman) Just. Her mother was born in
Germany but her father was born at Watertown, Wisconsin, where his
parents settled when they came from Switzerland. Before the building
of the railroad Mr. Just engaged in a draying and teaming business
between Mazomanie and Prairie du Sac. Mr. and Mrs. Ott have had
three children, the youngest of whom, Cyril, is the only survivor.
Russell died in infancy and Violet lived to be but 3I/2 years old. From
a former marriage there was a son, Laverne, who resides with Mr. and
Mrs. Ott. Mr. and Mrs. Ott belong to the Evangelical Church at Black
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 917
Hawk. Having very strong temperance convictions, Mr. Ott, from a
sense of duty, has united with the prohibition party and in the present
attitude of the country on this great subject, not unreasonably believes
that the time is near when prohibition 'principles will be accepted by
every one and the world thereby will be made happier and better.
John H. Diehl. That some of the best farms in Sauk County have
been developed from wild land within the past thirty years into a state
of rich fertility and general improvement is a remarkable fact when one
remembers the tremendous amount of labor such development required.
The clearing of 140 acres, as comprises the valuable farm of John H.
Diehl, one of Troy Township's most representative and substantial citi-
zens, was alone a stupendous undertaking, but it was accomplished, and
practically without help, by its present owner, who also did the entire
sum of improving and put up all the substantial farm structures. Mr.
Diehl is yet in the prime of life, his strenuous activities having been
crowded into a short period, comparatively speaking, and what he has
accomplished through his industry may also be credited to a large
measure of good judgment and managing ability.
John H. Diehl was born in Troy Township, Sauk County, Wis-
consin, in 1867, on the first farm north of where he now lives. His
parents were John Peter and Elizabeth (Rudolph) Diehl, who were
born in Germany. John Peter Diehl came to the United States and to
Wisconsin in the '50s and for a short time remained on a place near
Harrison with his brothers. He then came to Sauk County and bought
a small tract of land in Troy Township, in what was known as the
Patterson Pocket. This was heavily timbered and Mr. Diehl worked
early and late to grub out the roots after the timber was cut on his
place, in the meanwhile building himself a log house, in which he used
wooden pegs in the place of nails, his German ingenuity providing him
with the necessary fastenings for his logs. He also built a barn in the
same way and thus had a home ready when he was married in 1859 to
Elizabeth Rudolph, who had come to Sauk County at a later date. They
settled on this farm of eighty acres and to this first tract he continued
to add until he owned 214 acres and lived on the same place until his
death, which occurred September 23, 1883. Although for thirty years
his wife had been in poor health she survived him a long time, her death
taking place June 7, 1916. There were the following children in their
family : John H. ; Lizzie, who is the wife of Fred Schweppy and lives
in Troy Township ; Kate, who is the wife of Conrad Laukauf and lives
in Troy Township ; Matilda, who is the wife of George Gasser ; Amelia,
who is the wife of Martin Mohley; John Peter, a first lieutenant in the
present war with Germany ; and Caroline, who is the widow of William
Hoppe and lives in Troy Township.
John Peter Diehl, the sixth born in the above family, is married
and lives at Fortress Monroe, being a soldier in the United States army
and now stationed there. He has a fine record of service in the Spanish-
American war and was the brave artilleryman who placed the first
American fiag on San Juan Hill. He has been in the artillery division
since 1899. Previously, he spent five years in the infantry.
918 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
John H. Diehl grew to manhood in Troy Township and attended
school here in boyhood. The assistance he gave his father in clearing
and developing land proved very useful when his time came to do prac-
tically the same work. He worked on the farm he now owns for six
years before he was married and for two years afterward rented the
property and in the third year purchased it from the estate of Henry
Patterson. It is a fine property and Mr. Diehl is justified in feeling
proud of the fact that he not only developed it but paid for it without
any assistance. He has always carried on general farming and has
raised good stock and done dairying, making a specialty of Holstein
cows for this purpose. He has grown many hogs and, in comparison
with present prices on all hog products, it seems almost unbelievable
that at one time he had to accept a price of 2i/2 cents per pound.
Although Mr. Diehl has devoted himself quite closely to his own
affairs, he has somehow managed to find time to perform public duties
and has served acceptably for nine years on the school board and three
years on the township board, elected to these offices on the republican
ticket, of which party he is a staunch adherent. He is a stockholder
in the Cassel cheese factory. In addition to his farm in Troy Town-
ship Mr. Diehl owns 514 acres in Sumpter Township, Sauk County,
and 1,280 acres, two sections, in Texas.
Mr. Diehl was married in 1887 to Miss Henrietta Schweppy, who is
a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Yoge) Schweppy, who were born
in Switzerland and Germany, respectively, and they have had children
as follows : Minnie, who is the wife of Fred Braun and lives in Troy
Township ; Luella, who is the wife of John Bernhard and lives at Bau
Claire; Richard, who now lives with his family in Sherman County,
Texas ; and Ray, James, Harold and Violet, all of whom live with their
parents. Mr. and Mrs. Diehl and their children all belong to the
Evangelical Association and the older members have always attended
church at Black Hawk.
Albert Percy Steele represents a family that has continuously
for three generations and for a period of over fifty years been identified
with one farming community in Delton Township. Of the qualities of
permanence and stability no family in Sauk County has exemplified
more than the Steeles. They have been practical agriculturists, fine
business men and public spirited citizens since Sauk County was a
wilderness.
The founder of the family in this region was James Steele, great-
grandfather of Albert P. James Steele was known all over Sauk County
as "Gran Steele." He was a remarkable character in more ways than
one. He came to Sauk County along with the first settlers, and was
closely identified with the old settlement of Newport. Doubtless his
was the longest life of any man in the annals of Sauk County. At his
death he had attained the age of one hundred and thirteen. His vigor
and vitality were with him almost to the last. He was past the century
mark when he broke a pair of steers to work. He also married his last
wife after he was a centenarian, and at her death she had attained the
age of one hundred and two.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 919
]\Ir. Steele's grandfather was James Steele, Jr., who married Sarah
Ann Smith. They settled at a very early date in Delton Township,
where James Steele acquired 260 acres of land, where they raised their
family and he also acquired 380 acres , of other nearby land. He
also owned a large amount of land around Newport. He had
some of his father's vitality and died at Kilbourn, Wisconsin, in 1911,
at the age of eighty-nine, while his wife passed away in 1915 at the
age of seventy-eight. Their children were: Theodore, who died in
1913 ; Lorenzo M. ; Albert and Ida, twins, the former dying at the age
of ten and the latter at nineteen; and Ella, now Mrs. W. J. Hurlbut,
of Reedsburg.
Lorenzo M. Steele, father of Albert P., was born on the old home-
stead in Delton Township, October 18, 1857. He grew up on that farm,
attended the public schools at Newport, and was a very successful
farmer. Besides the homestead of 260 acres he added another 60
acres, making him a full half section. In 1912 he moved to Kilbourn,
where his death occurred November 26, 1915. He was a republican in
politics and for many years served on the school board in the Steele
District. He married Miss Lucy Anderson, who was born in the State
of Iowa, June 17, 1863, and is still living at Kilbourn. Her parents once
lived in Sauk County, at Newport. Lorenzo M. Steele and wife had
three children : Clara Mabel is the wife of Claud Newell, of Fairfield
Township, and is the mother of two children, Genevieve and Everett.
Roy Chester, the second child, owns and farms land joining the old
homestead.
Albert Percy Steele, the youngest of his parents' children, was
born on the farm where his father was ■ raised in Delton Township
October 22, 1885, and has seldom for any extended time been away
from the scene of his birth and childhood. While learning the practical
problems of farming, he attended the school in the Steele District, and
since beginning his independent career has successfully farmed sixty
acres of his grandfather's estate. He is doing well as a general farmer
and stockraiser and has made a capable citizen and enterprising worker
for the welfare of the community. Like his father he has served on
the Steele School District Board and in politics is a republican.
July 9, 1907, he married Miss Josie St. John. She was born at
Lime Ridge. Sauk County, May 29, 1886, a daughter of Herman and
Melissa (Smith) St. John. Her parents came to Sauk County in an
early day. She was only a child when her mother died and her father
is still living in Minnesota. Mrs. Steele was reared in the home of
her uncle and aunt, S. Z. and Rachel Hudson, at Ironton, Wisconsin,
Mr. and Mrs. Steele have one son, Milton Lorenzo, born May 27, 1908.
Edward Robson. Fortunate it is that so large a proportion of the
steady, substantial men of a state and county turn their talents and
energies to the business of farming. A farmer's life is certainly the
most independent of all others, but it by no means is the least laborious,
even in modern times when perfected machinery can be procured for
the most toilsome tasks. Wonderful as some of this farm machinery is,
there must be back of its great exhibition of energy, a man's mature
Vol. II 23
920 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
judgment and observing eye as to climate, weather changes, seed, soil,
crop rotation and markets, together with the hundred other important
bits of knowledge that will make the difference between the successful
farmer and the one who never gets ahead. For three generations the
Eobson family has prospered as farmers in Troy and other townships
in Sauk County, Wisconsin, a present representative being Edward
Robson, one of Troy Township's leading citizens.
Edward Robson was born in this township March 24, 1862. His
parents, Samuel and Elizabeth (Lonsdale) Robson, were born in Eng-
land. His paternal grandparents, William and Phoebe Robson, came
to the United States with their children in the '50s and settled in Troy
Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin, where the grandfather engaged in
farming. His children, all of whom were born in England, were as
follows: Samuel; Richard, John, Henry and Thomas, all of whom are
deceased ; Phoebe, who became Mrs. Relly ; Jane, who married a Wyman ;
Laura, who married James Austin; and Eliza, who married Lancing
Hildreth, of Madison.
Samuel Robson was educated in the schools of his native land and
was twenty years old when he came to Wisconsin. He settled first in
Blackhawk Township, Sauk County, in the year of his marriage, and
then moved to Troy Township and in 1867 bought a farm near Edward
Robson 's present farm. His first purchase was of 40 acres and to
that he continued to add as opportunity came until he had 300 acres,
all fine, well cultivated land. On that place Samuel Robson resided until
1913, when he retired and moved to Spring Green, where he still lives,
a very highly esteemed resident of the village. His wife passed away
in 1913. They had eleven children, namely : Edward ; Mirta, who is
the wife of Harry Finney and lives at Spring Green; George, who lives
with his family in Kansas; William, who is married, and lives on the
old homestead ; Alpheus, who is deceased ; Irving, who lives at Madison ;
Silas, who lives with his family on the place adjoining that of Edward ;
Walter, who married Lizzie Jenson and lives in Iowa ; Elsie, who is
Mrs. John Hyett, of Spring Green, Wisconsin ; and one who died in
infancy.
Edward Robson was reared in Troy Township and attended school
here and assisted his father until he was twenty-one years old, when he
started out for himself. For five years he followed farming in Bear
Creek Township and then bought the farm in Troy Township on which
he still lives, a tract of 240 acres. Mr. Robson may well take pride in
this magnificent farm, all well cultivated and well improved as the
result of his own industry. He erected all of the substantial farm
buildings and they compare favorably with all others in the township.
He carries on general farming, stockraising and dairying, these indus-
tries being probably of more importance in the United States at present
than ever before. He is considered a capable farmer, a fine judge of
stock and conducts his dairy according to sanitary regulations.
Mr. Robson was married in his twenty-fifth year to Miss Bertha
Becker, who is a daughter of Fred and Mary Becker, and they have
six children : Forrest and Jennie, who were born in Bear Creek Town-
ship, Sauk County; Gladys and Minnie, who were bom in Bear Creek
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 921
Township ; and Gordon and Howard, who were born in Troy Township.
All the children were educated in the Troy Township schools and at
Spring Green. Mv. Robson's father served two terms on the township
school board and Mr. Robson himself served three years as clerk of the
board, all the Robsons being interested in educational matters and as
a family intelligent and well informed. Mr. Robvson is a stockholder in
the Hickory Hill Cheese Factory, a prospering enterprise of this section
that is supoprted by the leading farmers and dairymen of this part of
the county. With his family Mr. Robson belongs to the Congregational
Church at Spring Green and contributes to the good work it is engaged
in promoting. He belongs to the lodge of the IModern Woodmen of
America at Spring Green.
John M. Paddock is one of the older native sons of Sauk County,
and has spent practically his entire life within a few miles of the City
of Baraboo. His work has been that of a farmer and with the prosperity
accumulated through years of earnest toil he is now practically retired.
He was born in Baraboo Township, a mile from the county seat,
June 5, 1859, a son of George W. and Ann (Marsh) Paddock. On both
sides the families were represented as pioneers in this section of Wis-
consin. George W. Paddock was born in New York State in 1818, and
was an early settler in McHenry County, Illinois, and from there came
to Baraboo in 1852. He was a practical sawmill man and spent his
entire career in that industry. For a time he worked in a sawmill
owned by his brother Nathan Paddock, and was also employed by
Charles Waterman and John McCalf, both well known old lumbermen
of the county. From the time he was eighteen years old he was a
sawmill laborer and continued in that industry until he was seventy.
He then retired and died in this county in 1901. He was married in
Sauk County to Miss Ann Marsh, who was born in Nova Scotia, Canada,
in 1819 and died in Sauk County in 1882.
Ann Marsh was a daughter of Joshua and Susan (Parmeter) ]\Iarsh,
who located in Milwaukee about 1840, subsequently removed to Lake
County, Illinois, where Susan Marsh died, and in 1847 Joshua Marsh
came to Sauk County, where he became identified with the frontier
conditions and where he lived until his death in 1864. Joshua Marsh
and wife had eleven children, named John, Margaret, Peleg, Alexander,
Mary, Susan, Laura, Joshua, Ann, Abbie and Edward.
In this connection mention should be made of one of these chil-
dren, Abbie Marsh, who was born in Nova Scotia, May 4, 1830, and is
still living in Sauk County at the age of eighty-seven. She married
Henry Willard, who was born at Chenango in Madison County, New
York, August 15, 1826. Mr. Willard came to Sauk County in 1852,
and was chiefly identified with lumbering. For eight years he mined
in Colorado, but in 1862 returned to Sauk County and lived here until
his death, an honored old resident, in 1892. He was a son of Rufus and
Eliza Warren Willard, who were early day settlers in Illinois, and
from there went out to California, conducted a fruit farm, and died
at Napa in 1875. Mrs. Eliza Willard had, however, died in Illinois in
1856. The children of Henry Willard and wife were two in number,
922 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Ella and Emma. Emma was boru in Lake County, Illinois, October 3,
1849, and in 1871 she married Nathan F. Sherman. Mr. Sherman was
born in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, June 14, 1849, a son of Nathan
and Cynthia (Scott) Sherman, the former a native of Vermont and
the latter of Connecticut. They were married in New York State and
in 1847 removed to Rock County, Wisconsin, and from there to Jeffer-
son County in 1849, and in 1855 to Vernon County. Cynthia Sherman
died in Vernon County about 1878, and ten years later her husband
removed to Sauk County, and died there in 1889, at the age of eighty-
nine. Nathan F. Sherman is a farmer in Baraboo Township, a republi-
can and an Odd Fellow. He and his wife have three children : Willard,
born January 30, 1872; Bevie, born January 13, 1875; and Ray, born
October 6, 1876.
Returning now to the Paddock family history, George W. Paddock
and wife were the parents of six children: Leonard; Benjamin; Arthur;
Charles, deceased; John; and Albert. Their father was a very active
republican and a member of the Baptist Church.
John M. Paddock grew up near Baraboo, attended the public schools
and his first teacher was Rose Clark, now Mrs. Rilsa Morley. When he
attained the age of twenty-one Mr. Paddock took up the business of
brick manufacturing, and followed that industry for twenty-four con-
secutive years. In the meantime he had acquired farming interests and
has given his time to that vocation largely. Mr. Paddock owns at his
home, 214 miles west of Baraboo, a well improved little place of twenty
acres, and also has eighty acres near the old homestead. Mr. Paddock's
farm is now under the managment of his son Fred J.
Politically he voted with the republican party for many years but
lately has been a prohibitionist in sentiment and in action. He and his
wife and the children are all members of the Seventh Day Adventist
Church.
In 1887 he married Miss Ella Brennier, who was born in Baraboo
Township, a daughter of John Brennier, one of the pioneer farmers of
Baraboo Township. Mr. and Mrs. Paddock have two children: Fred
J., who was educated in the Baraboo public schools, being a graduate
of the high school, and is now active manager of his father's farm;
and Ella, who graduated from the Baraboo High School and the Bara-
boo Business College, taught school two terms, has had two years of
correspondence school work and is now a capable stenographer employed
at Chicago.
John R. Riches. Some of the finest soil and some of the best crops
and livestock in Sauk County are found on. the farm of John Riches
in Troy Township. Mr. Riches is a very capable farmer and business
man and has spent all the days of his life in this county.
He was born in Troy Township in 1861, a son of Robert and Chris-
tina (Burgha) Riches. His father was born in England and his
mother in Switzerland. His father died about twenty years ago.
John R. Riches grew up and received his education in Troy Town-
ship and then worked for his father on the homestead until he was
twenty-five, when he married and started out for himself. After the
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 923
death of his parents he acquired the homestead and has utilized its
fertile acres for general farming ,and stock raising. At the present
time he owns 500 acres of valuable land.
Mr. Riches married Abbie Meyer, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Philip
Meyer, residents of Prairie du Sac Township. The six children born
to their union are all still living. Anna is the wife of Walter Maely,
of Prairie du Sac Township ; Robert is unmarried and is still at home
on the farm; Lona married Edwin Maely and lives in Prairie du Sac
Township ; Mabel is at home ; Cora is also at home ; Olive is attending
the Prairie du Sac High School.
Mr. Riches has always taken much interest in public schools and
other affairs of his locality and for many years was on the school
board. His children were educated in the township and in the high
school of Prairie du Sac. He is a republican in polities and he and his
family are members of the Reformed Church at Sauk City.
William Fingerhuth. That agricultural industries succeed so well
in Sauk County may be attributed in some degree to climate and to
soil, but mainly to the fact that at the present day the big farms, the
fine stock and the dairy interests are largely in the hands of men of
farm experience who have been trained in the business since boyhood
and understand how to make these industries profitable through their
intelligent management. An example may be found in William Finger-
huth, whose fine stock, dairy and grain farm is situated in Troy
Township.
William Fingerhuth was born in Spring Green Township, Sauk
County, Wisconsin, in 1876. His parents are Henry and Mary Finger-
huth. The father resides at Black Hawk, Wisconsin, now comfortably
retired from active life. The mother died in 1901. They were born in
Germany and came to the United States in 1860, .settling in Sauk County,
Wisconsin. The father took up eight acres of land in Spring Green
Township. It was wild land that had never known the plow and it took
years of hard work to clear it and transform it into a paying farm. Henry
Fingerhuth persevered and prospered and continued to reside on that
place until 1912. Then he built a comfortable residence in Black Hawk
and is highly esteemed in that village. To Henry and Mary Fingerhuth
twelve children M^ere born, as follows: Henry, who is a resident of
Chicago; Edward, who died when aged seventeen years; Lewis, wlio
lives at Highland, Wisconsin : Albert ; William ; August, who is a resi-
dent of La Crosse. Wisconsin ; Otto, who lives at Highland ; Robert,
M'ho is a resident of Watertown, South Dakota; Carl, who died when
aged thirteen years ; Samuel, who is a farmer in Spring Green Town-
ship ; Ida, who is the wife of Herman Homouth and lives at Cadotte
in Chippewa County, Wisconsin ; and Arthur. All the children survive
except the two above noted and all went to school in Troy Township.
William Fingerhuth remained with his father until he was twenty-
one years of age. At twenty -five years of age he married and began
farming for himself, and two years afterward bought 146 acres of land
in Troy Township. This land he has put under a high state of culti-
vation and successfully carries on general farming, stockraising and
924 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
dairying and is realizing satisfactory profits from his operations. In
all he does he is thorough, whether it is in the feedjng and manage-
ment of his stock or in deciding on soil and subsoil in regard to crops
or in considering the great subject of drainage. In addition to his
farm interests he is a stockholder in one of the big packing companies
at Madison. He is level-headed and cautious as a business man and
honest and friendly as a neighbor.
Mr. Fingerhuth was married in 1901 to Miss Anna Meng, who is a
daughter of Jacob and Anna Margaret (Thoeing) Meng, who came to
the United States from Switzerland and have lived in Sauk Count.y
since youth. Mr. and Mrs. Fingerhuth have one son, Roy William. As
a family they belong to the Evangelical Church, and in politics he is
a republican. He has served three years on the township school board.
August Martiny. Eighty years of age, still active and hale in
spite of the burden of years, August Martiny is one of the oldest and
most admired citizens of Sauk County. It has been his lot to witness
practically all the development of the county during the past fifty
years and he lived in close contact with frontier conditions and frontier
peoples. His interest in life is undimmed, and while most of his con-
temporaries have long since been laid to rest, he takes a keen interest
in all that goes about him. For a number of years be has lived prac-
tically retired in a suburban home adjoining the City of Baraboo.
Mr. Martiny is a native of Belgium, born December 21, 1837. His
parents were John and Mary (Balon) Martiny, both of whom spent
their lives in Belgium. His mother died in November, 1855, and his
father on January 2, 1857. There were seven children: Claude, still
living in Belgium; Antoinette, who died in infancy; August; Katrine,
of Belgium ; Victorine, who is living in Waupaca County, Wisconsin ;
Celestine, who died at Baraboo in 1905, at the age of fifty-eight; and
John, still living in Baraboo.
August Martiny grew up in Belgium, had his education in that
country, and for three years he was a soldier of the regular army.
Fresh from that experience and training he immigrated to America in
1861, landing at New York City on the 20th of May. The Civil
war had been in progress only a few weeks, and it was perhaps no m.ore
than natural that the young Belgian should be attracted into the Union
army. On September 13, 1861, he enlisted in Company A of the Eighty-
fifth New York Infantry, and remained in service four years, until his
honorable discharge on July 15, 1865. He made a record as a soldier
which his descendants will always cherish.
The fall of 1865 found Mr. Martiny at Kenosha, Wisconsin, where
he remained about three months. In March, 1866, fifty-one years ago,
he arrived at Baraboo, and with what he had been able to earn and
save from his wages as a soldier he bought sevent}^ acres of land in
Baraboo Township. For this land, then raw and unimproved, he paid
$1,200, and he subsequently bought forty-two acres for $210. As a
farmer Mr. Martiny was busily engaged in converting his waste lands,
into productive fields and he lived on his farm for thirty-four consecu-
tive years. In 1895 he came to Baraboo and built a comfortable resi-
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 925
deiiee for his retired years. In 1912 he sold his farm. Mr. Martiny
has always done his duty as a good citizen, and in politics is a republi-
can with strong leanings toward the prohibition cause. For eleven
years he was a member of the school board.' His church is the Methodist
Episcopal.
On May 5, 1868, Mr. Martiny married Miss Jane "Wilder. She was
born at St. John in Lake County, Indiana, March 15, 1848, a daughter
of Rile}^ and Harriet (Caldwell) Wilder. Riley Wilder was born near
Ashtabula, Ohio, September 17, 1826, while his wife was born in Ver-
mont July 4, 1830. Riley was a son of Reuben and Jane Wilder, who
came from Ohio and became early settlers and pioneers in Lake County,
Indiana. Harriet Caldwell also came with her parents, John and
Minerva (Hill) Caldwell, to Lake County, Indiana, and her parents
subsequently settled in Sauk County, in Baraboo Township, where both
of them spent their last years on a farm. Riley Wilder and wife were
married in Lake County, Indiana, and in 1852 came to Sauk County
with wagons and teams, taking up Government land in Baraboo Town-
ship near where August Mahoney now lives. They w^ere a splendid
type of people for this pioneer community, and besides developing their
land they \vere good neighbors and sustained all the movements for
betterment in their community. They spent their last years in Bara-
boo, where Mrs. Martiny 's mother died in 1904. Her father died in
1907, having spent his last years with Mr. and Mrs. Martiny. Mrs.
Martiny was the oldest of nine children, the others being named Reuben,
Augusta. Mary, John, Martha, Frank (now deceased), Fred and Almon.
]\Ir. and i\Irs: Martiny have six children : Riley, mentioned else-
where ; Ellen, wife of Adelbert Wickus, of Baraboo ; Charles, who lives
in Colorado ; ]\Iary, wife of William Britten, of Minnesota ; Hattie,
deceased; and Nellie, wife of C. C. Cowles.
Mr. ]\Iartiny is now living just outside the limits of Baraboo in
Baraboo Township, a fine home surrounded with five acres of land,
which furnishes him ample occupation for his declining years. This
land is valued at four hundred dollars an acre and altogether it con-
stitutes a model suburban estate. The family are looking forward to
a liappy reunion and celebration of the golden wedding anniversary of
Mr. and Mrs. Martiny, which, should they live, will occur May 5, 1918.
Mr. iMartiny has many interesting recollections of life in Sauk County
covering a period of fifty years. He says that he had shoes made for
his children by Mr. Sehultz, one of the pioneer shoemakers of Baraboo.
This shoemaker was the father of Fred Sehultz, now of Baraboo, and a
well known citizen.
H. L. Peck is one of the veteran old timers of Sauk County, though
for a number of years he lived in the far Northwest in Montana. He
first knew Sauk County when he was a small boy, over sixty years ago,
and he is still an active citizen of Merrimack Village, where for a num-
ber of years he has conducted the leading dray line.
Mr. Peck was born in Ashtabula, Ashtabula County, Ohio, in 1838,
a son of J. W. and Harriet (Bennett) Peck. His father was born in
Vermont in 1804, and was married in New York State, where his wife
926 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
was boru. For a few years they lived in Northeastern Ohio, and in
1848 they came to Wisconsin, which in that year was admitted to the
Union, They lived in Walworth County until 1852, and then located
in Sauk County, two miles north of the Village of Merrimack. Here
the father bought eighty acres from John Dwinnell. It was raw and
absolutely unimproved, and one of his first tasks was to erect some sort
of slielter. This house consisted of only one room, but during the first
year it had to accommodate the family of J. W. Peek and wife and
eight children and also his brother and a sister. In course of time the
land came under cultivation and improvement and the father spent the
rest of his days there. He died in 1891, and his wife in 1878. Many of
the experiences of the pioneer were his. His work animals for plowing
and hauling were oxen. When his farm gave him surplus produce he
hauled it in wagons drawn by oxen to Portage. The ox wagon was even
brought into use when the family went to church or attended funerals.
In those days the doctor made his rounds on horseback, carrying his
medicines in the saddle bags. J. W. Peck and wife had eight children.
Ann died unmarried. Marie married 0. Cooper, a lumber dealer at
Merrimack, and both are now deceased. They left two children, Frank
and Will. The third in age is Mr. H. L. Peck. Jane, who died in 1863,
married Thomas Premo. Eliza married Phillip Quigle and is now
deceased. George is married and lives with his family in Iowa. Mary
died in 1916, the widow of James Morey. Samuel S., the youngest,
lives in the town of Merrimack and was the father of five children.
Birdie, Hattie, Phillip, J. and Rodney, Hattie and Rodney being now
deceased.
H. L. Peck grew up in the primitive circumstances and surroundings
of early Sauk County. He attended school in Merrimack Township
and lived at home and assisted on the farm until he was twenty-four.
In 1864 he joined the expedition to the Northwest and to the newly
opened territory of Montana. He drove across the country with an
ox team, and remained a resident of Montana for seven years, living
on a ranch and raising stock and also to some extent engaging in gen-
eral farming. On December 10, 1870, he returned to his old home in
Sauk County. His interests were still in Montana, but he was persuaded
to remain here and for ten years he engaged in farming in Merrimack
Township. In 1880 he returned to Montana, and after four years more
in that state came back to Sauk County and bought the land where
he now resides. He is now retired from active farming and for a
number of years has been engaged in the dray business at Merrimack.
In 1876 Mr. Peck married Miss Harriet Lindsey, daughter of Alonzo
and Martha (Dennett) Lindsey. Her parents lived for many years at
Prairie du Sac, and are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Peck have one
child, Jean, bom in June, 1904, and now attending school. Mrs. Peck
was born in New Hampshire in 1849, and was brought to the State of
Wisconsin at the age of six years. Her parents located on Sauk
Prairie, where she grew up and received her early education. After
graduating from the Prairie du Sac High School she taught school four
years. Her first term of school was taught when she was nineteen years
of age in the Quigle District. Mrs. Peck has a brother and two sisters.
o
o
o
i.^
../t -
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 927
Eebecca is the wife of Peter Bennett, a farmer living at Wilmington,
Virginia. George Albert resides at Mineral Point, Wisconsin, and has
three daughters, Martha, Hattie and Emma. Etta is the wife of Tim-
othy S. Wells, a painter and paper hanger at Merrimack. Their two
children are named Grace and Lysle, both still single.
Mr. Peck served twelve consecutive years as a member of the village
board of Merrimack, finally resigning that olSce about a year ago.
Politically he is a republican and the family are members of the Metho-
dist Episcopal Church.
Chauncey W. Kellogg. The name of Kellogg has been identified
with the history of Sauk County from earlj^ pioneer times. The late
Chauncey^ Warner Kellogg became a man of influence and leadership
in the county while he lived there and enjoyed an enviable prominence
due to his high character, his learning and his general ability.
He was of notable American ancestry. He was New England born
and bred, having been born at Northfield, Connecticut, December 15, 1821.
His father, Frederick Kellogg, was descended from the youngest son of
the martyr John Rogers, who was one of the victims in the Smithfield
burnings inaugurated by "bloody Queen Mary" and continued for three
years from 1555. Frederick Kellogg was for about fifteen years a whole-
sale and retail merchant in New York City, but he subsequently cciine
west to Baraboo and died at the home of his son Chauncey in May, 1860.
Chauncey W. Kellogg was liberally educated, having attended the
Cheshire Academy in Connecticut. He was married October 4, 1846,
to Mary Elizabeth Bassett, who was born at Northfield, Connecticut,
March 3, 1826, a daughter of George and Eliza Bassett. One of her
paternal ancestors held a colonel's commission in the army of George III
and was sent to America to help subdue the colonies at the time of the
Revolution.
Albert Frederick Kellogg, a brother of the late Chauncey W. Kellogg,
had come to Greenfield Township of Sauk County in 1851 and bought
two farms, one for himself. and one for his brother Chauncey. Chauncey
Kellogg came west with his family, consisting of wife and son George, and
settled in Greenfield Township when it was still part of Baraboo Town-
ship. He became a successful farmer, developed a large tract of land,
and at the same time gave his time liberally and freely to the promotion
of enterprises of substantial benefit to the community. He assisted
in organizing .Greenfield Township, and was elected its first school super-
intendent. That office he filled many years. He- served his own school
district as clerk and director, and it was largely due to his influence that
this became the best school in the township. His old homestead comprised
138 acres situated in section 32, and it is one of the notable farms on
Peck's Prairie. Chauncey W. Kellogg and wife were faithful and active
members of the Episcopal Church.
They were the parents of six children, (leorge Trowbridge, who died
at Baraboo, lived his career as a farmer and also served as township
clerk and chairman of Greenfield Township ; Mary Anna and Kate, both
at Baraboo; Frederick, who died on the home farm in infancy; Caroline.
who also died in infancy ; and Archibald.
928 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
After the death of the father and }iiother the family left the farm and '
came to Baraboo. For a short time their home was near the hospital,
but subsequently they bought the Jacob's residence at 915 Second Street,
where the two daughters, Mary Anna and Kate, and the brother, Archi-
bald, now live. They also own the old homestead and have increased its
acreage until it is now 181 acres. The land is operated through tenants.
Archibald Kellogg is the only living son of his father, was reared on the
homestead and attended pulilic schools. Mary Anna and Kate completed
the work of the Baraboo High School. Kate is a talented artist and
deserves special mention among Sauk County's people of artistic pursuits.
Archibald Kellogg is a republican and he and his sisters attend the
Episcopal Church.
Some further reference should be made to another brother of the
late Chauncey W. Kellogg, Ansel Nash Kellogg. He founded the Baraboo
Eepublic, and during the Civil war he found it almost impossible to
secure help in bringing out his paper and finally solved the problem by
going to Madison and having one entire side of his paper printed in the
capital city. This gave the idea which he subsequently developed and
exploited as the "patent insidos" or "ready print" feature which has
become so widespread and is now the basis of several large industries.
Out of that idea Ansel N. Kellogg realized a fortune. There is hardly
a small country newspaper anywhere in America which does not utilize
the "patent inside" supplied from large central printing and news
gathering plants. At his death Ansel N. Kellogg left his fortune to his
wife, who afterwards married i\Ir. Dale. She died in the State of New
York and her fortune was distributed among many relatives, five of '
whom resided in Baraboo, nephews and nieces of Ansel N. Kellogg,
namely, George and Archibald Kellogg and Kate and Mary A., sons and
daughters of Chauncey W. Kellogg, and Arthur Kellogg, son of Albert
Frederick Kellogg.
Thomas Schwartz. Among the older residents of Sauk County
few are better known or more highly respected than Thomas Schwartz,
who located on the farm he yet owns in Troy Township forty-seven
years ago. People have come and gone in that time and farms have
changed owner.ship time and time again, but the Schwartz family is a
steady, solid one, not given to wandering or to frequent change of habi-
tation, and the idea of ever permitting the old homestead to pass out of
the name could not be entertained for a moment. Although Mr. Schwartz
has retired from its active management he is well satisfied, as he has
capable and industrious sons to carry on all the farm industries that he
managed so long by himself.
Thomas Schwartz was born in Germany, in 1838. He was married
there in 1867, in 1874 came with his family to the United States, and
in 1877 settled in Troy Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin. Farming
was the business he understood, and as he secured one tract of land
after the other he cleared, developed and improved them until he
owned 240 acres of some of the finest land in the county.
Mr. Schwartz has been twice married, first in Germany, to Theresa
Fogel, who became the mother of eight children, as follows : Michael ;
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 929
Margaret, Avho is Mrs. Geo. Lagerman and lives in Milwaukee ; Thomas,
who lives with his family in Iowa County ; Henry, who lives with his fam-
ily at Redfield, South Dakota ; Mary, who is the wife of John Kramer and
lives at Plain, Wisconsin ; Katherine, who is the wife of Prank Lager-
man and lives in Milwaukee ; Joseph, who lives on the homestead ; and
Albert, who lives with his family in Spring Green, Wisconsin. After
the death of his first wife Mr. Schwartz was married to Margaret Mick,
and to them the following children were born : Eva, who is the wife
of Leo Lins, of Sauk County; and Bert, Herman, Agnes, Gertrude,
Clement, Alvin and Grace, all of whom live at home. All the children
but two were born and attended school in Troy Township.
Mr. Schwartz continued to operate his farm until 1912, having made
all the substantial improvements here. He then moved to a comfortable
residence- at Spring Green and his two sons, Michael and Joseph, under
the name of Schwartz Brothers, conduct the farm industries, which are
extensive, including general crop raising, stockraising and dairying,
and for fourteen years they have also made a business of raising ginseng
and golden seal, medicinal roots, the former being largely shipped to
China, where it is an ingredient of many medical preparations, and
the latter being marketed at home. This business has assumed large
proportions and its development is creditable to the enterprise of the
Schwartz Brothers.
In politics Mr. Schwartz has always been a democrat. Formerly
he was a stoekholder in the Hickory Hill Cheese Company, but sold to
his sons, who are present stockholders in a packing company at Madi-
son. With the rest of the family Mr. Schwartz belongs to the Roman
Catholic Church and is a parishioner at Spring Green.
Mrs. Julia Diehl. One of the most highly esteemed residents of
Troy Township, Sauk County, is Mrs. Julia Diehl, widow of Henry
Diehl, who for many years was a man of financial importance in this
section. Mrs. Diehl was born in Austria, in 1837. Her parents were
Joseph and Elizabeth Hehenberger and with them she came to the
United States in 1852. For one year the family lived at Buffalo, New
York, and then came to Sauk County and in the same year took up
land and located permanently in Troy Township. The father had 100
acres and cleared his land and did all his early farming with oxen.
Mrs. Diehl can remember when the grain was cut with a cradle and
bound by hand and the threshing was performed with a flail. She can
relate many exceedingly interesting details of farm life of fifty years
ago and they picture life on a farm ver^^ different from the present
day with modern conveniences on every hand.
Three years after coming to Sauk County Julia Hehenberger was
married to Henry Diehl, who was born in Westphalia, Prussia, in 1818,
and came to Sauk County, Wisconsin, with his mother in 1853. After
marriage Henry Diehl took up a claim of forty acres of government
land and afterward bought land until he owned 220 acres. He was a
very industrious, careful man and was more enterprising than many
of the other early settlers. He carried on his farming operations with
success and profit and also engaged in hop growing and raised cane
930 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
and manufactured sja-up. Still later he became interested in a cheese
factory. His early farm industries he carried on as did his neighbors,
with little help and with primitive implements, but the time came when
in place of the flail to beat out the grain he owned nine threshing
machines. He lived to be seventy-four years old and was a faithful
member of the German Reformed Church, as is his widow. In politics
he was a republican but business affairs interested him more than
office holding. He was a fine man in every way and his memory is held
in respect in the community in which he was known so long.
Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Diehl, as follows : Christ,
who lives with his mother on the old home farm; Elizabeth, who died
in infancy; Henry, who died at Plain, Wisconsin, in 1906, and left a
family; Louise, who is the wife of Adolph Schoenmann and resides at
Madison, Wisconsin; Joseph, who is deceased; John, who lives with .
his family at Plain ; Emma, who is the wife of A. T. Braun ; and Pauline,
who is deceased.
Mrs. Diehl has resided on the same farm in Troy Township on
which she and her husband first settled for over half a century. Mr.
and Mrs. Braun reside with her and Mr. Braun not only operates the
farm but also conducts two cheese factories. He is well known through-
out the township and for several years has served as clerk of the town-
ship school board. Mr. and Mrs. Braun have two children, Warren and
Hjalmar, both attending school and taking much interest in tlieir
studies. They are members of the Lutheran Church.
F. J. Meyer, of Sauk City, is the pioneer dental practitioner of that
community. He located there in 1894 and has built up a practice that
gives him front rank among the dentists of Sauk County. Mr. Meyer
has spent practically all his life in Sauk County and is a member of
one of the old and honored pioneer families.
He was born in Troy Township of Sauk County February 2, 1868,
a son of Henry W. and Elisabeth (Buehler) Meyer. His mother was
born in Switzerland in 1836, and at the age of eleven years, in 1847,
came to America with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Buehler. Jacob
Buehler located on a farm in Troy Township, and acquired his land
direct from the government. His father, Henry W. Meyer, was born
in Germany in 1820 and came to Wisconsin in very early days, when
Wisconsin was still a territory, and very little land was under culti-
vation. The Indian trails still ran in different directions over the virgin
soil and through the woods, and most of the early breaking of the sod
was done with ox teams. His parents had died in the old country and
on coming to Sauk County he had his first home in Prairie du Sac
Township and found employment at monthly wages on different places.
Later he acquired a farm in Troy Township. Frequently he took his
crops to Milwaukee with oxen, the round trip requiring about two weeks.
He was a very hard working man, following his farming with increasing
comfort and success until his death in 1897. He was active almost until
the end, it being his seventy-seventh year. His wife passed away in
1913, also having attained the age of seventy-seven. Henry W. Meyer
and wife had thirteen children. Those who grew up are mentioned
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 931
as follows : Andrew, deceased ; Leonard, of Baraboo ; Henry, deceased ;
Margaret, deceased; William, of Honey Creek Township; Dr. F. J,
Meyer; Elisabeth, wife of C. H. Kindschi, of Prairie du Sac Town-
ship ; Jacob, wlio is married and lives on the old home farm. There
were still five more children, but they died during childhood.
Doctor Meyer grew up on the home farm, learned his duties there as
chore boy, and M'hen not otherwise employed attended the country
schools. He afterward entered the Northwestern Dental College, where
he graduated D. D. S. in 1894, and at once opened his office in Sauk
City. He was the only dentist in the community at the time, and his
skill and ability have kept him in the front rank of dental practitioners
in that locality.
Doctor Meyer was married in October, 1898, to Miss Rose Witwen,
daughter of Gaudence and Mary (Miller) Witwen. Her father came
from Switzerland in 1848. Her mother, of English parentage, was born
in the State of Ohio. To Mr. and Mrs. Witwen were born seven chil-
dren: John, of Prairie du Sac; Elias, of Witwen; Sarah, Mrs. Erff-
meyer, of Milwaukee ; Elisabeth, deceased ; Mary, Mrs. J. G. Nold,
of Witwen; Rose, Mrs. F. J. Meyer, of Sauk City; and Henry, of Chi-
cago. Mrs. Meyer's father was a carpenter, having learned that trade
in Switzerland. Mr. and Mrs. Meyer have two children: Lilah, who
was born in 1899 and is a member of the class of 1917 of the Sauk City
High School. H. Lowell F. Meyer, who was born in June, 1904, is still
attending school. The family are members of the Evangelical Church
at Prairie du Sac. Doctor Meyer is a Mason and a member of the
Equitable Fraternal Union. Poltically he gives his allegiance as a
rule to the republican party. For several years he served as a member
of the village board and has always been interested in everything that
affects the community welfare.
John Rieser. One of the early families to settle in Sauk County
was of Swiss origin and bore the name of Rieser, and for sixty-two
years this name has represented good citizenship and financial stability.
Coming to Wisconsin in its seventh year of statehood, the Rieser family
has always respected its laws and has lent its influence to promote
temperance, education and religion. A well known and highly respected
representative of this family is found in John Rieser, who bears his
father's name, the latter being a pioneer in Sauk County. The present
John Rieser was born at Sauk City, in 1857, and is a son of John and
Madeline (Neiderhausen) Rieser.
The parents of John Rieser were natives or Switzerland, in which
country they grew to maturity and married and in 1855 immigrated
to the United States and found a home in Wisconsin. The father was
a man of discrimination and good judgment and when he came to this
state with the intention of following an agricultural life located in its
southern part, in Sauk County. For the first two years the family lived
in Prairie du Sac Township and then moved into Troy Township and
settled on a farm lying three miles west of the homestead of the present
John Rieser. which property he bought and improved. Seven j^ears
later Mr. Rieser sold that farm and purchased a farm of 200 acres situ-
932 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
ated three miles south, and started industriously to improve it. He was
a hard worker and perhaps overdid his strength, as two years after
taking possession of the last farm he sickened and died. At that time
a man had to have a strong constitution to successfully contend with
the hardships of pioneer farming. He made use of oxen in breaking up
the ground and later in cultivating it, and when his fields of grain were
ready for harvest he went over them with the old-time cradle. There
was, as yet, little farm machinery in the country and some of the mar-
velous inventions of today had never been dreamed of. John Rieser
was a faithful member of the Reformed Church. He was the fatlier of
four children: Lena, who died at the age of two years; John; Lena (2),
who married and lives at Sauk City; and Lewis, died in Madison, Wis-
consin, in 1914.
The second marriage of Mrs. Rieser was to Ulrich Wirth, and three
children were born to that union, namely : Bertha, who is the wife of
William Radke; Amelia; and Alfred, all of whom live at Black Earth,
in Dane County. Mrs. Wirth died in 1910. She was a devoted member
of the Reformed Church. She was widely known in Troy Township
and greatly beloved because of her neighborly kindness.
John Rieser obtained his education in the schools of Troy Town-
ship and has always taken a great deal of interest in the schools and
has served continuously^ on the school board for fifteen years. He
started out for himself as a farmer in the year of his marriage, buying
280 acres of land, and in attending to his many farm industries ever
since has found his time and attention fully occupied. With easier
methods in farming and assisted by machinery in almost every step of
the way, he finds less drudgery and more certain the returns from his
labor than did his father in his time. A careful agriculturist, looking
after his crops and stock the year round, has no easy vocation. Mr.
Rieser gives considerable attention to raising hogs.
In 1885 John Rieser was married to Miss Carrie Kurtz, a daughter
of Gotleib and Wilhelmina Kurtz, who were residents of Troy Township.
Three children make up their family, as follows : Alfred, who is married
and resides on the home farm to give his father needed assistance ; Clara,
who resides at home ; and Ella, who is attending school in Sauk City. Mr.
Rieser and his family are all members, of the Reformed Church. In his
political views he is a republican, but he is an intelligent and liroad-
minded man and in many matters relating to local affairs acts accord-
ing to the dictates of his own judgment.
Thomas Baker. In the many years that he lived in Sauk County
the community had no better, no more influential, and no more highly
esteemed citizen than the late Thomas Baker, who came more nearly
representing the varied business and civic interests of Prairie du Sac
than any other man.
He was a native of England, born November 10, 1832. He was reared
and educated in the old country. After coming to Sauk County he
spent one winter in a school at Baraboo. Mr. Baker left England in
April, 1852, and came to Baraboo with the F. K. Jenkins family. That
was one of the prominent pioneer families of Sauk County. The only
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 933
daughter of F. K. Jenkins is Mrs. Judge Marshall, now living at Madi-
son. John Jenkins at one time was a congressman and was chairman
of the Judiciary Committee and subsequently was appointed United
States Judge to Porto Rico and died in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.
Rufus Jenkins was a member of the firm of Stanley, Hoag & Jenkins,
and his two sons, George and Samuel, were long in business at Chippewa
Falls. The youngest son, Walter, was a prominent lawyer and died in
Chippewa Falls, and at one time had served as a page in the Legislature.
F. K. Jenkins was killed while a loyal Union soldier at Gettysburg.
Thomas Baker after coming to this country clerked in a store at
Madison for a time, and subsequently removed to Prairie du Sac, where
he bought the shoe store of David Morrill. For a number of years he
was one of the leading merchants of the village.
In 1861, at the beginning of the Civil war and in the first year of
Lincoln's administration, Thomas Baker was appointed postmaster of
Prairie du Sac. In 1869 he removed the postoffice to the old building
which was the first frame store building built in the town and stood
where the drug store is now located. Later Mr. Baker erected the red
brick building which now houses the drug store. He was postmaster
of Prairie du Sac through almost a generation. He held the office until
1893, with the exception of the period of Cleveland's first administration.
Mr. Baker became one of the leading republicans of Sauk County.
In the winter of 1875 he represented his county in the State Legislature.
He was reared in the Episcopal or Established Church of England, but
he and his wife were afterwards Presbyterians.
Thomas Baker was married in 1858 to Jane McGinnis. She was
born in County Tyrone, Ireland, December 10, 1834, a daughter of Wil-
liam and Jane (Kyle) McGinnis. This is one of the well known families
of Sauk County. The McGinnis family in 1847 immigrated to America
and settled in St. Lawrence County, New York, and in 1857 they came
West to Sauk Prairie, buying a small place Avhere William McGinnis
lived quietly and usefully until his death, in September, 1876. His
wife had died in April, 1876. In the family of William McGinnis and
wife were the following children : Mary, wife of Roswell Johnson ;
Alexander, who at one time served as sheriff of Sauk County ; Joseph ;
Eliza, wife of Philo W. Carpenter; Jane, Mrs. Thomas Baker; Cather-
ine ; Margaret, who was a teacher for a number of years and then be-
came the wife of Edward C. Hall ; and Lucinda, who began teaching at
the age of fourteen, taught continuously for twenty-five years, and
twelve years of that time was in Madison, where she was principal of
the Second Ward School at the time of her death.
Mr. Thomas Baker continued to live at Prairie du Sac until his death
on March 16, 1909. He had bought a fine home in that village, and it
is now occupied by his wife and their only daughter and child, Sarah
Jennie.
Miss Jennie Baker was reared and educated at Prairie du Sac, at-
tending the village schools and later for two years was a student in the
University of Wisconsin. She became a highly proficient and popular
teacher, and taught at Prairie du Sac for sixteen years. At that time she
was in the primary department, and for four terms she taught on Sauk
934 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Prairie. Miss Baker has traveled extensively, and several years ago
she and Miss Henrietta Glarner made a trip abroad, during which they
visited the leading cities and places of interest in Europe. The late
Thomas Baker, it should be noted, in addition to what has already been
said, was deputy collector of internal revenue from December, 1869,
until the second and third districts were consolidated in July, 1871.
Julius Balzer. One of the prosperous farmers and stoekraisers of
Troy Township, Sauk County, is Julius Balzer, who has practically
spent his life in this county and who owns the old Balzer homestead
of 156 acres. He was born on a farm in Westfield Township, Sauk
County, in 1863, and is a son of John H. and Henrietta (Hill) Balzer,
both of whom were born in Germany.
John H. Balzer came to the United States in 1848. For a number
of years afterward he worked in the pine woods of Michigan and Wiscon-
son, also worked at Manawa and Milwaukee, and during the Civil war
served for nine months as a soldier in Company E, Forty-ninth Wis-
consin Infantry. For twelve years after coming to Sauk County he lived
on a farm of eighty acres in Westfield Township and on that farm all
his children were born, two of whom are deceased but three survive,
namely : Mary, William and Julius. The mother of this family died
when forty-six years old, but the father was a vigorous man into ad-
vanced age and lived until 1910.
Julius Balzer was reared to the age of four years in Westfield
Township and then his father sold that place and in 1868 bought a farm
of 156 acres in Troy Township, and that still is Mr. Balzer 's home and
here the father died. This is excellent land and by father and sons
has been well cultivated and from time to time improved. General
farming is carried on and some stock is grown. Mr. Balzer 's sister Mary
and brother William are also residents of Troy Township and all went
to school here and have a wide circle of friends in their neighborhood.
The parents were faithful members of the Reformed Church and they
were carefully reared in the same religious body.
Mr. Balzer has never been very active in politics but, like his father
was before him, is a sound republican and a conscientious citizen. The
father served several years as a member of the school board and Mr.
Balzer takes an interest in educational matters also. He is one of Troy
Township's solid and dependable citizens.
William T. Marriott was the founder and is the head of the Marriott
Hardware Company of Baraboo. He is a member of one of Sauk
County 's oldest and most substantial families, inherits the splendid busi-
ness qualities and integrity of his father, and though still a very young
man has had a most successful business career. The present firm was
established in 1909, and his business associates are William J. Stortz
and Edward J. Coughlin.
Mr. Marriott was born in Baraboo December 30, 1885, a son of Wil-
liam and Laura (Sorenson) Marriott. His father was born in England
December 30, 1860. The mother was born in Madison, Wisconsin,
August 3, 1864, and died at Baraboo in 1916. Her parents were D. T.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY , 935
and Wilhelmina Sorenson, both natives of Denmark and early settlers
at Madison. D. T. Sorenson subsequently removed to La Crosse, Wis-
consin, where he and his wife died.
William Marriott came with his parents- to Sauk County in 1872.
His father, Ebenezer, was for many years store keeper for the North
Western Railway Company and died at Baraboo. William Marriott and
his brother Henry engaged in business together under the name of
Marriott Brothers, and their partnership was uninterrupted and mu-
tually pleasant and profitable for twenty-five years. The lives of these
two brothers always ran closely parallel. Both of them died in 1902,
within three days of each other. Through their activities in the real
estate field they did much to build up the east side of Baraboo. Both
were republicans and both served at different times as members of the
City Council. These two brothers organized the local telephone com-
pany, the canning factory and the Fair Association of Sauk County,
and Henry Marriott was secretary and treasurer of the Agricultural
Society and treasurer of the telephone company at the time of his death.
William T. Marriott has one sister, older than himself, Ada, wife of
V. R. Harding, of Baraboo. Mr. Marriott grew up in Baraboo, attended
the public schools, and after graduating from high school was a student
in the University of Wisconsin for two years. In preparation for an
independent business career he worked in various hardware stores in
the cities of Milwaukee, La Crosse and Waukesha, and in 1909 returned
to Baraboo and organized the Marriott Hardware Company, located
at 112 Walnut Street. The firm occupies a large building, 50 by 80
feet, and in 1914 the business was expanded by the addition of a grocery
department.
Mr. Marriott is a republican, but so far has had no time nor desire
for active participation beyond casting an intelligent vote. He is af-
filiated with Baraboo Lodge No. 34, Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons,
Baraboo Chapter No. 26, Royal Arch Masons, Baraboo Commandery
No. 28, Knights Templar, for five years was secretary of his Knights
of Pythias Lodge, and is a member of Lodge No. 688, Benevolent Pro-
tective Order of Elks. He is also active as a member of the fire depart-
ment. His father was a Knight Templar Mason and Knight of Pythias,
and also attended the Episcopal Church.
In 1908 William T. Marriott married Miss lone E. Franklin, of
Baraboo, daughter of John Franklin, who for many years was a railroad
engineer and spent most of his life at Baraboo, where he died in 1914.
Her mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Franklin, is still living at Baraboo. Mr.
and Mrs. Marriott have two children : Evelyn Lucile and Franklin
William.
Henry Ost. One of the up-to-date farmers and stockraisers of
Sauk County is Henry Ost, proof of which is seen in his finely improved
and carefully cultivated farm and his pure-bred stock, his beautiful
herd of Ilolsteins being much in evidence. Mr. Ost belongs to a fine old
family of the county, one that has belonged to Reedsburg Township
for about sixty-two years.
' Henry Ost was bom in Reedsburg Township, Sauk County, Wis-
Vol. II 2 4
936 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
consin, October 21, 1871. His parents were Ferdinand and Frederika
(Garske) Ost, both of whom were born in Germany. Ferdinand Ost
came to the United States and to Sauk County in his youth and here
was subsequentlj^ married to Frederika Garske, who came to Reedsburg,
"Wisconsin, with her parents, William and Henrietta (Koplein) Garske.
After his marriage Ferdinand Ost bought a farm in Reedsburg Town-
ship consisting of 120 acres, and made a number of improvements on the
place and then sold it and bought another farm, the second farm con-
taining 152 acres. He took pride and interest in this property and
worked hard and made numerous improvements. About ten years
before his death he moved to Reedsburg and there he died in his seventy-
fifth year. His wife died at the age of sixty-five years. They had the
following children : Augusta, Henry, Albert, William, Fred, Matilda
and Anna.
Henry Ost was eighteen years old when his parents moved on the
farm he now owns. He had attended public schools and was ready to
give his father assistance and continued with him until the father's
retirement, and at the latter 's death inherited the farm. The improve-
ments that Mr. Ost had made are of a substantial kind. He has erected
one of the finest residences in the township, and with its equipments of
hot and cold water and electric light from his own plant is not excelled
in comfort and convenience by any in the Town of Reedsburg. He uses
modern methods on his farm and understands the scientific advantage
of them, has a silo for winter feeding and has adopted other modern
plans that have been found of benefit. He takes justifiable pride in
his fine herd of Holstein cattle.
Mr. Ost was married in 1894 to Miss Marie Flohr, who was born in
Germany and was a daughter of Henry and Marie (Wolter) Flohr,
who came to Reedsburg in 1890 and bought a farm in this vicinity,
which they later sold and now live retired at Reedsburg. They had four
children: Henry, Marie, Ernest and William. Mrs. Ost died in 1904,
leaving two children : Hugo and Maria. In 1906 Mr. Ost was married
to Miss Augusta Pufhal, who was born at Reedsburg, a daughter of
Ferdinand and Henrietta (Schultz) Pufhal. No children have been
born to Mr. Ost's second marriage.
Ferdinand Pufhal, father of Mrs. Ost, was born in Germany, Novem-
ber 13, 1847, a son of William and Henrietta Pufhal, who in 1857 came
to Sauk County and both are living near Reedsburg. Ferdinand and
Henrietta Pufhal had the following children: Augusta, Emma, Her-
man, Henry, Martha and Berdina. Ferdinand Pufhal accompanied his
parents to Sauk County in 1857 and still resides here and owns a farm
of 120 acres in this township. He is a well known and respected citizen.
In politics Mr. Ost is a staunch democrat, as was his father. The
latter was a leading man in public matters while living in Reedsburg
Township and served three years as a member of the board of super-
visors, being a member at the time the bridge was built at Reedsburg,
an important era in local public affairs, having much to do with the
town 's subsequent development. Henry Ost is also an active citizen and
has served six years on the board of supervisors, being progressive but
prudent, as was his father, and he is serving at present on the town-
HISTOEY OF SAUK COUNTY 937
ship school board. The Osts have all been members of the Lutheran
Church.
E. J. Battles. The importance of the practical real estate man to
any live community is very well demonstrated in the recognition he
receives in every locality, for through his efforts and honestly purpose-
ful actions communities are developed and outside capital attracted.
While unfortunately there are some who unscrupulously take unfair
advantage of their position, the majority of the men engaged in realty
transactions are men of probity, upon whose advice and recommenda-
tions the investors may rely. Baraboo is one of the flourishing cities
of Wisconsin which has advanced greatly through the operations of this
class of men, and one who has done much for his city in this respect
is E. J. Battles. During a. long business career Mr. Battles has been
engaged in a variety of ventures, but since 1906 has been identified with
the real estate and insurance business, and has taken his place as one of
the city's sound and reliable business citizens.
E. J. Battles was born on a farm four and one -half miles north of
Baraboo in Sauk County, Wisconsin, and is a son of James and Rebecca
(Teel) Battles. Mrs. Battles was born in New York, was taken to Illinois
as a child, and in 1845 was brought to Sauk County, Wisconsin, by her
parents, Benjamin and Theda (Morrill) Teel. Aaron Teel, Mrs. Battles'
brother, now lives on the farm that was originally settled by her father
in 1845. Mrs. Battles died in June, 1872, when her son E. J. was nine
years of age, he having been born January 24, 1863. James Battles was
bom in Maine and when a youth, in 1847, was brought to Sauk County,
Wisconsin, by his parents, James and Abigail (Hackett) Battles, who
passed the remainder of their lives here. ]\Ir. Battles met his death in
1866, while working at the Summer Mills, being drowned when the dam
went out on Kickapoo Run. There were three children in the family :
Barton, of Baraboo ; Frankie M., who is the wife of S. A. Pelton, of
Baraboo; and E. J.
E. J. Battles was but nine years of age when he was made an orphan
by the death of his mother, and from that time forward until he was
seventeen years of age he was reared in the home of Wyman Getchell.
His early education was secured in the district schools, which he at-
tended during the winter months, and for three years he was employed
in working as a farm hand for monthly wages. Next he took a course
at the American School of Telegraphy, at Madison, and while thus
■engaged worked at Brooklyn for one summer, and then resumed farm-
ing operations on the homestead of his uncle, Aaron Teel, with whom he
worked for two years. In November, 1886, Mr. Battles was married to
Miss Elizabeth Malloy, who was born on a farm north of Baraboo, and
in that same year bought a farm in Sauk County, and for the next '
fourteen years confined his efforts to agricultural pursuits. During the
last eight years of this time he was treasurer of his home town of Fair-
field, and the excellent manner in which he discharged the duties of his
official position made such a favorable impression on the people that
when he came to Baraboo in 1900 he was elected county treasurer of
Sauk County. He vindicated the faith placed in him and was re-
938 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
elected to succeed himself, being the incumbent of that office for a period
of four years in all and establishing an excellent record. Following
this he was made deputy sheriff, a position in which he served one full-
term and a part of another, resigning during the latter to take up the
duties of clerk of the County Court, to which office he had been appointed
and in which he completed the term. Mr. Battles was then made oil
inspector of his district, and still retains this post. In 1906 Mr. Battles
embarked actively in the real estate and insurance business, to which
he has given his attention to the present time with gratifying success.
He has sought to keep himself thoroughly informed as to relative values'
of property, and has been the medium through which some large and
important deals have been consummated. In addition to city realty and
farm property in and about Baraboo he is extensively interested in
Montana lands. As an insurance man he represents all the old-line
insurance companies. Mr. Battles and the members of his family belong
to the Presbyterian Church. He is fraternally affiliated with the Mod-
ern Woodmen of America, the B. R. F. F., the Equitable Fraternal
Union and the Mystic "Workers of the World. In his political views he
adheres to the principles and policies of the republican party. In a
business way and otherwise he has done much to assist the advance-
ment of his community and all public-spirited movements have his
support.
Mr. and Mrs. Battles are the parents of four children, namely:
Lura, who is the wife of J. S. Davidson of Fort Morgan, Colorado, and
has one child, Richard B. ; Tracy R., who is conducting the Montana
ranch; Lloyd E., who completed his course in the graded schools and
graduated from the law department of the University of Michigan,
class of 1917, is now in the United States Marine Corps, Eighty-fourth
Company, Sixth Regiment; and Ruth F., who resides at home and is
attending school.
John Paul Stabnow. One of -the enterpri.sing men and progressive
modern farmers of Freedom Township, Sauk County, is John Paul
Stabnow, whose well improved farm contains 320 acres. Mr. Stabnow
was born on this place, the old family homestead, May 28, 1876. His
parents were Siegfred and Wilhelmina (Krause) Stabnow.
Siegfred Stabnow was born, educated and reared in Germany, his
birth taking place February 5. 1826. In 1855, accompanied by his family,
he came to Watertown, Wisconsin, where he resided three years, coming
to Sauk County in 1858 and settling in Freedom Township. He acquired
320 acres and cleared a large acreage himself being a man of great in-
dustry and rolnist health. He continued his residence on this property
until the year 1899, when he moved to Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, re-
maining there until 1908 when he removed to the old homestead where
he remained until the time of his death, which occurred January 19,
1915. He was a republican in politics and M^as a member of the
Evangelical Church. Pie was twice married, first in Germany, 'to
Augusta Sastrow, who died June 28, 1866. Eight children were born
to that marriage, as follows : Wilhelmina, Herman Frederick, Bertha
Louisa, William Charles, Henry Ferdinand, Minna Christina, Anna
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 939
Mary and Louisa Anna. On November 9, 1867, Siegfred Stabnow was
married to Wilhelmina Krause, who was born in Germany, October 9,
1842. Her parents were Edmond and Wilhelmina (Glasnap) Krause,
who came to Sauk County in 1871 and died here. To the second mar-
riage the following children were born : August Frederick, Carl Albert,
Amelia Augusta, Ernest Frederick, John Paul and Anna Eliza.
John Paul Stabnow has always resided on the old homestead, which
became his own property by purchase in 1915. With his brothers and
sisters he attended school in Freedom Township and under the direc-
tion of their capable father and sons all became good farmers. Although
Mr. Stabnow has not done much building since owning the property,
it not being necessary because his father had put up very substantial
structures, he has made other improvements, has invested in first-class
farm machinery and has improved his grade of stock. He is numbered
with the successful farmers of the county. In politics he is a republican
and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is not married
but his mother resides with him and he is thus assured as to having
a comfortable home.
Ernest F. Stabnow, the fourth born in the family of Siegfred and
Wilhelmina (Krause) Stabnow, was born on the old homestead in Free-
dom Township, Sauk County, June 14, 1874. He attended the public
schools and remained on the home farm until prepared to go into busi-
ness for himself. In 1902 he bought the John Rooney farm of 200 acres,
situated in Freedom Township, and has made very extensive improve-
ments,.recently completing a home which is one of the finest in the town-
ship. Like his brother, John Paul, he carries on general farming and
stockraising and has a fine herd of Shorthorn cattle.
Mr. Stabnow was married in 1900 to Miss Ida Pagel, who was born
in Sauk County in 1881, and is a daughter of Frederick and Augusta
Pagel, the former of whom was born in 1850 and the latter in 1854, in
Germany, from which country they came to the United States, were
married in 1879 and settled in Sauk County, Wisconsin. They had
eight children, namely: Paul, who is deceased, Ida, Albert, Paul Carl,
Herman, Emma, Elsa and Alma. Mr. and Mrs. Stabnow have two chil-
dren : Clarence, who was born in Januarj^ 1904 ; and Lawrence, who
was born September 19, 1907.
Ernest F. Stabnow, like his brother, is a republican in politics and
is quite active in township affairs. He served as township supervisor
and at present is clerk of the school board, an office he has held for eleven
years. With his family he attends the Lutheran Church at North Free-
dom. The entire Stabnow family is held in high regard in Sauk County.
Roy Chester Steele. That class of citizens whose efforts are di-
rected to the cultivation of the soil and raising of the food stuffs which
help supply the demands of the world is represented in Sauk County
by Roy Chester Steele, one of the intelligent and progressive farmers of
Delton Township.
Mr. Steele was born on the old Steele homestead in Delton Township
May 19, 1883, and represents one of the oldest and most prominent
families of Sauk County. The founder of the family in this region was
940 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
William, Steele, great-grandfather of Roy Chester. William Steele
was known all over Sauk County as "Uncle Billy Steele." He was a
remarkable character in more ways than one. He came to Sauk County
along with the first settlers, and was closely identified with the old set-
tlement of Newport. He acquired a large amount of land there and at
one time kept a hotel in the town. Doubtless his was the longest life of
any man in the annals of Sauk County. At his death he had attained
the age of a hundred and thirteen. His vigor and vitality were with
him almost to the last. He was past the century mark when he broke
a pair of steers to work. He also married his last wife after he was a
centenarian.
Mr. Steele's grandfather was James Steele, who married Sarah Ann
Smith. They settled at a very early date in Delton Township, where
James Steele acquired 260 acres of land, which is still in the family
name. He also owned a large amount of land around Newport. He
had some of his father's vitality and died at Kilbourn, Wisconsin, in
1911, at the age of eighty-eight, while his wife passed away in 1915, at
the age of seventy-eight. Their children were : Theodore, who died in
1913 ; Lorenzo M. ; Albert and Ida, twins, the former dying at the age
of ten and the latter at nineteen ; and Ella, now ]\Irs. W. J. Hurlbut, of
Reedsburg.
Lorenzo M. Steele, father of Roy Chester, was born in Delton Town-
ship on the same land now occupied by his son, October 18, 1857. He
grew up on that farm, attended the public schools at Newport, and was
a very successful farmer. Besides the homestead of 260 acres he added
another sixty acres, making him a full half section. This remained
under his successful management until 1912, when he removed to Kil-
bourn, where his death occurred November 26, 1915. He was a repub-
lican in politics and for many years served on the school board in the
Steele district. He married Miss Louisa Anderson, who was born in the
State of Iowa, June 17, 1863, and is still living at Kilbourn. Her
parents once lived in Sauk County, at Newport, and later had the land
included in the present farm of Albert P. Steele. Lorenzo M. Steele
and wife had three children : Clara Mabel is the wife of Claud Newell,
of Fairfield Township, and is the mother of two children, Genevieve
and Everett. Albert P., the youngest child, owns and farms a part of
the old homestead.
Roy Chester Steele grew up on the land which has been occupied by
the family for over sixty years, attended the Steele district school, and
has made a highly creditable record as a successful farmer on sixty
acres of the old homestead. In politics he is a republican, but has never
aspired to any official position, though well qualified for such duty.
June 6, 1905, he married Miss Celotta L. Allen. She was born in
Fairfield Township of Sauk County, September 21, 1884. Her father is
Mr. Charles C. Allen, now living at Baraboo and one of the prominent
old-time residents of Sauk County. Mr. and Mrs. Steele have three
children: Lavetta, born January 21, 1907; Dean, born July 4, 1913;
and Elmer, born July 14, 1915.
. Florian Gasser. The name of Florian Gasser deserves to remain
long in the memory of the people of Prairie du Sac, since he was an
; .V- _ ;SAUK COUNTY 941
a} ' V ..3 man, upright and straightforward in his citizenship and
yci&onal relations, and stood for the best things in the life of the
community. Hardly less well known is his widow, Mrs. Anna Gasser,
who for many years has conducted the leading millinery establishment
at Prairie du Sac.
The late Mr. Gasser was born at Haldenstein, Graubinden, Switzer-
land, in January-, 1861. He was five years of age when in 1866 he accom-
, panied his parents to America. The family located in Prairie du Sac
Township, and there he was reared in a simple country atmosphere and
attended the local schools. At the age of seventeen he went to Prairie
du Sac and entered the employ of Conger Brothers as a clerk. In 1888
he formed a partnership with George Kindsehi and J. B. Ragatz in their
general mercantile business. The title of the new firm, was Kindsehi,
Ragatz and Gasser. They did a large business under that title for
seven years. Mr. Ragatz and Mr. Gasser then bought the interests of
Mr. Kindsehi, and after that the firm of Ragatz and Gasser was con-
tinued until the death of Mr. Gasser on November 27, 1909.
The success and energy he exemplified in his business affairs were
duplicated in his activity as a church member. He was especially well
known for Sabbath School work. He and his wife were both strong
and active supporters of the Evangelical Church of Prairie du Sac. At
the time of his death Mr. Gasser was secretary of the Sauk County
Sunday School Association. His frequent attendance upon state and
national conventions, his familiarity with the best and latest literature
on Sunday School methods and his activity as president of the local
Young People's Alliance contributed much to making him a most ef-
ficient worker among young people.
In 1887 Mr. Gasser married Miss Anna Glarner, daughter of Henry
and Anna Margaret (Yagy) Glarner. Both her parents were natives
of Switzerland. Her father was born August 26, 1821, and her mother
March 21, 1831. Her father was born in Glarus, Canton Glarus, and
her mother in Zitirs, Graubinden. Henry Glarner was a soldier in the
Swiss army and spent four years in the service in Italy. He married his
first wife in Switzerland and she died while they were crossing the ocean
to America. He came on after this calamity and located at Galena,
Illinois. In that town, on May 28, 1850, he married Miss Yagy, whose
family had settled at Galena some time previously. She was a daughter
of John Peter and Anna (Wilhelm) Yagy, both natives of Switzerland.
John Peter Yagy died soon after he came to America. His widow sub-
sequently removed to Sauk County, Wisconsin, and died there in the
early '60s. In the Yagy family were six children: Barbara, Cecelia,
Elizabeth, Margaret, John Peter and Anna. After his marriage at
Galena Henry Glarner moved out to Dubuque, Iowa, but in 1858 located
at Prairie du Sac, in Sauk County, where he continued his business as
a jeweler. He had one of the pioneer establishments in that line in
Sauk County, and was active at his work until his death in July, 1895.
His wife died in 1902. Their children were : Barbara, wife of J. P.
Witwen, of Baraboo; Anna, Mrs. Gasser of Prairie du Sac; Henrietta,
of Baraboo, Wisconsin; Emma, widow of Jacob J. Felix, of Prairie du
Sac ; Henry, who died in 1884, at the age of sixteen ; and Catherine, wife
942 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
of H. L. Brethauer, of Baraboo. Henry Glarner was a republican in
politics. He was especially active in behalf of temperance at a time
when temperance views were not so common as at present. He was one
of the organizers of the Evangelical Church and gave his liberal support
to that denomination.
Mr. and Mrs. Gasser became the parents of one son and two daugh-
ters. Mrs. Gasser has now been in the millinery business for thirty-
four years. In April, 1883, she and her sister Henrietta, now of Bara-
boo, opened a millinery shop at Zumbrota, Minnesota. They remained
at Zumbrota two seasons, and in February, 1884, returned to Prairie
du Sac and established themselves in the parlor of their old home.
Soon afterward they moved to the quarters still occupied by JMrs.
Gasser, at the time that structure was completed. The sisters were
business partners for ten years, when Miss Henrietta went to Clinton,
Iowa, to take charge of a similar establishment for John Conger. Since
then Mrs. Gasser has been in business for herself and has made a re-
markable success. She has also carried on the business of dressmaking
and for years has conducted what is in reality a dressmaking school.
About two hundred ladies in this section of Sauk County learned the
art in her establishment, and it is especially worthy of mention that
many of the mothers who learned to sew under Mrs. Gasser 's efficient
direction nearly a quarter of a century ago are now sending their
daughters to the same skillful teacher.
Mrs. Gasser owns the old home where her father conducted the
jewelry business for so many years. Her father from his work bench
could view the beautiful hills across the Wisconsin River, and many
times he remarked that these hills were as beautiful as the much cele-
brated scenery in Switzerland, his native land.
Mrs. Gasser 's three children are Henry Glarner Gasser, Ruth and
Margaret. Ruth is the wife of Jacob Hatz, and they have one child,
Robert.
Mrs. Kate Teel, who has spent most of her life in Sauk County,,
is the widow of the late Charles Teel, himself an early settler and long
a prosperous farmer in Sumpter Township, where Mrs. Teel still lives.
Mrs. Teel was born in Broom County, New York, in 1844, and was
brought to Sauk County at the age of twelve years by her parents,
Charles and Ellen (Hoffman) Farington. Her parents were born in
Dutchess County, New York, and were married in Poughkeepsie, and on
coming to Sauk County located in Sumpter Township. About nine
years later they moved out to the State of Iowa, but in 1884 returned
to Sauk County and spent their last years where Mrs. Teel now resides.
Her father died May 12, 1892, and her mother September 28, 1890.
Charles Teel's first wife was Miss Emma Cargil. Three children
were bom to them : Henry J. Teel, now of Milwaukee ; Olive, now Mrs.
George Grisim, of Northfield, Minnesota; and Frank, who died at the
age of eighteen, when attending high school at Baraboo.
Mrs. Kate Farington Wilson was married in 1881 to Mr. Charles
Teel. The two children of their union are both now deceased. The first
died in infancy. The daughter Alta married Edwin Keitel, and she
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 943
and her husband lived with Mrs. Teel on the farm. There is one child
of that marriage, Shirley Catherine, who was born in 1910 and is a much
beloved grandchild of Mrs. Teel. Mrs. Teel was first married to U. A.
Wilson, and to that union was born one son, M. A. Wilson, now of Earl,
North Dakota. He also has a son, Ivan A. Wilson.
Mr. Charles Teel was bom in Ohio, May 24, 1832, a son of Henry
Teel. He died at the old home in Sauk County, May 23, 1898, at the
age of sixty-six. In 1836 his parents moved to Helena, Wisconsin, and
when he was eight years of age they came to Sauk Prairie and located
on the place where Mrs. Teel now resides. This homestead was ac-
quired direct from the Government and there Mr. Charles Teel spent his
industrious years. The family first lived in a log house. The land
was mostly prairie and the chief work animals in the early days were
oxen. These animals hauled the wagons laden with grain and other
produce to Milwaukee before railroads were constructed through this
section. Mr. Teel's parents lived with him during their last years. His
mother was born in Pennsylvania, February 9, 1786, and died October
2, 1882, at the remarkable age of ninety-seven years. Henry Teel died
in 1856, when about sixty-nine years old. The family are all Metho-
dists on both sides and both the Teels and Faringtons furnished numer-
ous republican voters. Mr. Charles Teel was an honored resident of
Sumpter Township and filled several local offices, including town clerk
and member of the township board.
Hubert Bongard. The name of Hubert Bongard is one entitled
to the high respect of the large community in Sauk County and to which
he is bound by many ties made in the course of a long and useful life.
He is one of Sauk County's oldest residents.
He was born in Germany, in 1823. In 1847 he married Gertrude
Johnson. In the same year they set out for the New World, filled with
high hopes of the future, and did not stop until they had penetrated
the wilderness of Wisconsin into the Township of Prairie du Sac. Here
Hubert Bongard took up seventy acres of Government land. After-
wards he bought forty acres more, and the strength of his own arms
sufficed to do the clearing and grubbing and also the erection of his own
buildings. His first house was built of logs. He made his own chairs,
even his own wagons. Oxen were used to perform the farm labor and
he hauled his produce to Madison and Milwaukee, frequently . selling
potatoes at ten cents a bushel or three dollars a load, whereas now a
single bushel would bring as much as a load did at that time. Even
with these low prices two full days were required to make the trip front
his farm to and from Madison. He also experienced all the crude and
early methods of farming, and did harvesting with cradle and scythe
and gradually saw the introduction of the modern machinery which is
now found in every farm in Sauk County.
On the old homestead he and his wife saw the birth of nine children.
The first, Martin, died at the age of two years. The others all grew up
in Prairie du Sac Township, and all of them married and arc still
living. Mary is the wife of Leonard Scheffer, living in Chicago;
Josephine is Mrs. Lee Kechiner, of Chicago; Theodore is married and
944 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
lives in Chicago ; John is also a resident of that city ; Martin has his
home near Grand Rapids, Wisconsin. The seventh in the family is Mr.
Carl Bongard. William and Bella, the youngest, are twins and the
former lives near Chicago and the latter in that city.
Mr. Hubert Bongard lived on the old farm until he was about sixty
years of age, when he retired into Sauk City. His good wife passed
away there in 1903, and they had been married more than a half
century. He then returned to the homestead and lived with his son
Carl for two years and from there accompanied this son to Roxbury in
Dane County. In the winter of 1916 he returned to Sauk County,
where he is now passing his declining years, having attained the vener-
able age of ninety-four.
Carl Bongard was married in 1887 to Elizabeth Knipscheld, daugh-
ter of Willfam and Frances (Koch) Knipscheld. Her parents were
both born in Germany and were living in Merrimack Township of Sauk
County when she was married. Mr. and Mrs. Carl Bongard have eight
children. William is married and lives in Roxbury. Frank is unmar-
ried. Mary is the wife of William Frye, of Roxbury. Eugene, Bella
and Clara, twins, Carl and Norbert, are all still young people and liv-
ing at home. Carl Bongard at the age of twenty-five took the man-
agement of his father 's farm, renting it for a few years and then bought
the homestead. After selling it he paid $16,000 for a large farm of 400
acres in Roxbury, improved it and with increasing values he sold out
for $27,700. He then returned to Sauk City and bought the property
where he now resides.
Carl Bongard served two years as a member of the township board
and two years on the school board in Prairie du Sac Township. He
was formerly affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America, is a
member of the Catholic Church and in polities is a democrat.
Joseph X. Nachreiner, a prominent and leading farmer of Frank-
lin Township, has been a resident of Sauk County more than sixty-two
years, and through all that time the name has been associated with good
works and those influences which mean most to any community in the
matter of advancement and progress.
Mr. Nachreiner was born in Bavaria, Germany, June 11, 1846, a son
of Michael and Franzika Nachreiner. The founder of the family in Sauk
County was Michael Nachreiner, who came in 1854 and settled on 120
acres of raw and unimproved land in Franklin Township. That land
under his capable hands changed from a portion of the wilderness into
a cleared and improved farm, and for years it responded to his efforts
as an intelligent husbandman and agriculturist. Michael Nachreiner
died in June, 1895, and his wife in July, 1908. Their children were
Joseph, Alois, John, Michael, Caroline, Teresa, Frank, Anna and Simon,
all of whom are still living except Michael.
Joseph X. Nachreiner was eight years of age when his family came
to Sauk County, and he grew up here and received the somewhat limited
advantages of the schools of that early day. He developed his oppor-
tunities at first as a farmer, and became the owner of a highly devel-
oped place of 160 acres. This farm he has since sold to his son Rudolph,
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 945
who conducts it as a model dairy farm, keeping about thirty head of
cattle and milking twenty cows. Mr. Naehreiner is a republican and a
member of the Catholic Church.
On June 13, 1872, he married Miss 'Teresa Brueckel, daughter of
Daniel and Marv' Brueckel, of Franklin Township. Their children are :
Joseph M. ; Robert, who married Bertha Weishan ; Daniel, who married
Matilda Malloy ; Otilie, wife of Joseph Brei ; Albert, who married Mary
Magli; Ludwine, wife of George Alt; Margaret, wife of William Ring;
Herbert, deceased; and Rudolph, who married Rosella Heiser.
Joseph M. Naehreiner, son of Joseph X., married Mary Bettinger,
daughter of Louis and Augusta (Hutter) Bettinger, of Franklin Town-
ship. They were married October 28, 1902, and have two children :
Alma, aged thirteen, and Marie, aged six. These children are being
educated in St. Luke "s parochial school at Plain. Mrs. Joseph M. Naeh-
reiner has the following brothers and sisters : Elizabeth, Katie, Philip,
John, Rosa, Hilda, Bernetta and Alvin.
Joseph M. Naehreiner lived with his father on the farm up to the
age of twenty-six and then entered the hardware and implement store
of Lins & Hood at Spring Green. With the experience acquired there
he established a partnership with John Beck in the general merchandise
business at Plain. In 1902 the firm took in another partner, C. L. Car-
penter, and then opened a branch store in White Mound, Franklin
Township. In 1906 Mr. Carpenter became sole owner of this branch
store. In 1912 John Beck sold his interest to his nephew, Lawrence
Beck, who is the present active member of the firm with Mr. Naeh-
reiner. The business is now conducted as Naehreiner & Beck and in
their store they handle every commodity and furnish practically every
service required by the large eommunity which furnishes them their
patronage. They also have an undertaking and embalming department.
Joseph M. Naehreiner has been an active and public-spirited citizen,
was supervisor of the Village of Plain and for several years in succes-
sion has been a member of the village board.
Albert Teel. The Teel family is one of the oldest and best known
in Sauk County. References to its members will be found in several
places in this publication.
Mr. Albert Teel was born on the farm he still owns in Fairfield
Township, December 27, 1854. His parents were Joseph and Mary
(Getchell) Teel, and the family was established here by Benjamin and
Thede (Morrill) Teel. Joseph Teel was bom in New Hampshire, No-
vember 22, 1827, was educated in St. Lawrence County, New York,
and was a very young man when he came to Sauk County with his
parents. His wife was born in the State of Maine in October, 1831.
Joseph Teel took up 100 acres of Government land, now the old home-
stead farm in Fairfield Township, and cleared and developed this tract
and was a substantial farmer and upright and progressive citizen. He
died in January, 1908, and his wife passed away October 30, 1896.
Their children were : Albert ; Arthur, deceased ; Burr, living in Oregon ;
Curtis, who met death by drowning ; Rollo, deceased ; Carrie, wife of
946 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Abel Porter; Minnie, wife of John Sneller; the eighth child died in
infancy; and Clinton, deceased.
Albert Teel grew up on the old home farm, attended the local schools,
and after reaching manhood he acquired an interest in the homestead
and now owns its 100 fertile acres. He devotes it to general farming
and stockraising and has some fine improvements, including a large barn
and a silo. Politically Mr. Teel is a democrat.
March 18, 1897, he married Louise Roser, daughter of Christian
Roser, of Sauk County. Two children were born to their marriage,
Mary, deceased, and Arthur, still at home.
Patrick McPhillips is. one of the progressive agriculturists of Bear
Creek Township. His affairs are in a prosperous condition, and he is
possessed of that intense energy and enterprise which are characteristic
of the farming element of this county.
Mr. McPhillips was born in Ireland February 14, 1855, son of
Michael and Mary (Smith) McPhillips. He was about thirteen years of
age when his parents came to Wisconsin in May, 1868. The family
lived at Bear Creek about a year and then settled on sixty-eight acres
near Spring Green. The father was a man of much industry, and finally
added forty acres to his original estate and continued a resident of tlie
country districts until his death in August, 1912. The mother died in
1886. Their children were Patrick, Susan, John, Mary and Owen. Of
the.se Mary is now deceased.
Patrick McPhillips finished his education in the public schools of
Spring Green, and for the past forty years has been an industrious
farmer, steadily forging ahead in the business of making a home and
providing for those dependent upon him. In October, 1910, he settled
upon his present farm, where he owns 320 acres. Some of this land he
has since cleared, and most of it is in cultivation and in itself represents
a competence. Mr. McPhillips has interested himself in community
affairs, was for three years clerk of School District No. 2, is a democrat
and a member of the Catholic Church.
In November, 1879, he married Catherine Burns, of Middleton, Dane
County, Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. McPhillips are the parents of eight
children, Mayme, James, Anna, Elizabeth, Rose, Susan, Leo and Gene-
vieve. Mayme is the wife of Henry Ellefson; Anna married George
Bauer; Elizabeth is the wife of Anton Weitzel; Rose married AA'^illiam
Coyle, while the other children are still unmarried and at home.
Mayme McPhillips is a graduate of Spring Green High School and
taught" in the schools of Sauk County for fourteen years. Anna aud
Elizabeth graduated from the Richland County Normal and taught in
the schools of Sauk and Richland counties for a number of years. Leo
is the proprietor of the Muscoda Cheese Factory at Muscoda, and has
operated the same for several years.
Hon. George Carpenter. It would be difficult to name an essential
element in the advancement and development of Sauk County, and
more particularly of the community of Baraboo, that does not bear the
impress of the strong individuality of Hon. George Carpenter. He has
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 947
beeu a very important factor in the industrial and commercial activity
of the county, has been a leader among its farmers and stockmen, has
advanced its moral and educational interests, has been one of its promi-
nent representatives in the field of politics and in public life, and has
founded business enterprises that stand as ' monuments to his enter-
prise and well directed efforts.
Mr. Carpenter was born in the Town of Franklin, Sauk County,
Wisconsin, April 22, 1866, and is a son of Daniel and Margaret (Thomp-
son) Carpenter. His father was born at Newark, Ohio, May 2, 1828,
and was married at Lexington, in that state, to Margaret Thompson,
who was born in Mansfield, Ohio, January 13, 1829. Some time after
their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter came to Wisconsin, and in
October, 1853, secured a land warrant in the Town of Franklin, where
they made their home for many years and developed a well-cultivated
farm. In 1885 they retired from active life and moved to Reedsburg,
where both passed away at the age of sixty-nine years. They were
devout members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and were exemplary
people in every way. Mr. Carpenter was an industrious citizen, of
sterling integrity, who led a life of absolute probity, it being said of
him that he never uttered an oath during his lifetime. In politics he
was a republican, but was not a seeker for office, being satisfied to pass
his existence in the pursuits of agriculture. On two occasions he en-
deavored to enlist in the Union army for service during the Civil war,
but in each case was rejected by the examining officers. However, he had
four brothers who fought in the uniform of the North: Isaac, Justin,
LaFayette and John H. The last named is serving as a member of
the county board of .supervisors of Sauk . County, of which his nephew,
George, is also a member, and resides at Spring Green, Wisconsin.
LaFayette is now a resident of near Lexington, Ohio. These two are
the only ones now surviving of a family of ten sons and one daughter.
Daniel and Margaret Carpenter were the parents of seven children, of
whom five survive, namely: I. W., a resident of Gentry, Arkansas;
Alice, who is the wife of J. H. Bear, of Spring Green, Wisconsin;
Lorinda, who is the Mddow of George W. Morgan, who was in the lum-
ber business with George Carpenter during the early days; Eliza, who
is the wife of John H. Claridge, who was George Carpenter's first part-
ner during the early days, when they did grubbing by hand ; and George.
George Carpenter received his education in the public schools of
Sauk County and early showed himself possessed of more than ordinary-
industry and ambition. By the time he was seventeen years of age he
was already deeply interested in the stock business, and became a shipper
at that time, also buying stock for >and with E. W. Evans andon his
own account. This business has always had a large share of his atten-
tion, for it Avas the enterprise in which he really secured his start.
When he was but nineteen years of age he took entire charge of the
home place, which he operated successfully for three years, and then
became interested in the lumber business at Reedsburg, where he also
was engaged as a building contractor with G. W. Morgan and John H.
Claridge, as the Morgan Building Company. This venture occupied
his attention for two years, at the end of which time he went to Illinois.
948 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
There he homesteaded a tract for a short time, but soon gave up the
venture, as he felt that he had been deceived as to the crops, Avhich
were not those of Sauk County, and that there was no place like Wis-
consin. Mr. Carpenter's experience in the Prairie State led him to
believe that the water supply was poor and that the neighbors were not
so friendly, helpful or hospitable as they were in the county of his
birth, and he returned to Wisconsin and for one summer worked in the
employ of the Morgan Building Company. Following this he purchased
the William Hubing farm, on which he carried on operations for seven
years, later was the owner of the Cahoon farm near Baraboo, which he
cultivated for nine years, and then bought the Brown place, in which
he retained a one-half interest. Mr. Carpenter's next venture was at
Faulkton, South Dakota, where he spent one summer, then returning
to Baraboo, where he established his present business, the Deppe-Car-
penter Lumber Company, of which he is still president. In starting
this business Mr. Carpenter purchased twelve acres of land adjoining
the City of Baraboo, built a lumber yard, erected suitable business
buildings, and in a short time had established one of the fast-growing
enterprises of the city, and one which later extended materiall.y by
taking over the interests of the Stewart Lumber Company. In connec-
tion with this business he handles a general line of building material,
feed, produce, etc., and the management of this business occupies the
greater part of his attention, although he also is extensively engaged
in the buying, breeding, selling and shipping of cattle. When his son
Floyd was fourteen years of age, the latter expressed a desire to enter
the cattle business, and Mr. Carpenter, remembering his own early
success in that line bought for him the Thomas Barker farm, a 335-acre
tract, which he equipped as an up-to-date cattle farm. This has proved
an investment more valuable by far than it could have been expected to
be at its start, for it is now nationally known as one of the best stock
farms in America for the breeding of Shorthorn cattle. The cattle
from the Carpenter place have won over 500 first prizes and more
than 100 championships, including the grand championship and
the championships of Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Texas, Toronto (Can-
ada), Washington, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Alabama,
Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Missouri. In lots of 50 and 100
head the Carpenter farm has topped the three leading sales in the United
States in prices.
Mr. Carpenter has been a lifelong republican and at various times
has held public office. He served one term in the Wisconsin Legislature,
and was renominated by a 739 majority larger than ever before received
by a candidate for that office. That he is an excellent debater is evi-
denced by the opinion of Senator Everett, who said that no man in
the Legislature could influence more votes when on the floor than could
Mr. Carpenter. At present he is one of the board of county commis-
sioners and one of that body's most energetic workers. With his family,
Mr. Carpenter belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a
member of the Masons, the Knights of Pythias, the Beavers and the
Modern Woodmen of America, and is vice president of the Skillet Creek
Farmers Club.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 949
Mr. Carpenter was married in 1886 to Miss Minnie Utendorfer, who
was born at Spring Green, Sauk County, Wisconsin, in 1867, a daughter
of George and Marie (Brown) Utendorfer, natives of Germany, who
came to the United States as young people. Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter
have had three children : Vertie, who died at the age of nine years ;
Floyd, born July 1, 1897 ; and Marie, born in May, 1903.
William Rose. Science during recent years has done much to teach
the farmer how to adapt his crops to the soil, how to combat the diseases
which afflict his cattle, how to improve the quality and quantity of his
crops and how to use to best effect the many appliances which have
been invented to make his labors easier — in short, it is teaching him to
treat his vocation as a profession and not merely as a means of gaining
a livelihood. Sauk County has many farmers who have responded
readily to these teachings and who, through grasping every opportunity,
have secured satisfying results and are enjoying the prestige and ma-
terial prosperity that success in the agricultural field brings. Among
these is William Rose, the owner of a finely improved farm in Reeds-
burg Township and a progressive farmer who has not been backward
in adopting modern scientific ideas.
William Rose was born in Germany, March 14, 1866, a son of John
and Sophia (Bliss) Rose, who immigrated to the United States in 1868
and located in Sauk County. During the first four years here the
family resided in Westfield and Reedsburg townships, then went to a
rented farm in Honey Creek Township, where John Rose carried on
operations for nine years, and finally located about one and one-half
miles south of Reedsburg, in the township of that name, where the
father purchased 120 acres of land. Here he followed general farming
and stockraising during the remainder of his life, and died in 1882, aged
fifty-four years. By that time, through the exercise of good business
management, he had developed a good property, and by his honorable
conduct of all his affairs had established himself in the confidence of
the community. Mrs. Rose survived him for a long period, dying in
1901, when seventy years of age. They were the parents of four chil-
dren : Henry ; Dora, who died in Germany ; William ; and Herman, who
is a merchant at Tomah, Monroe County, Wisconsin.
Henry Rose, the eldest son of the above parents, was born Septem-
ber 10, 1858, in Germany, where he received his early education, and
was ten years of age when he accompanied his parents to the United
States. He was reared on the home farm, and after he had completed
his education in the parochial schools secured employment in the lumber
yard owned by Thomas Young, of Reedsburg, where he worked for
several years. However, he soon returned to farming, going to West-
field Township, where he rented a farm until 1894 and in that year pur-
chased it. He now has a good property of 101 acres, nearly all of
which is under cultivation, and on this land he has substantial build-
ings, including a new barn and commodious silo. He follows general
farming and stockraising and the success that he has won has been well
deserved, as it has been attained purely through his own efforts. Mr.
Rose is a republican, and attends the Lutheran Church. He was mar-
950 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
ried January 26, 1883, to Miss Fredericka Elilert, who was born in
Germany, January 1, 1859, a daughter of Fred and Carrie (Pancho)
Ehlert, who came to Sauk County in 1881 and settled at Reedsburg,
where Mrs. Ehlert died in 1909, aged seventy-five years. Mr. Ehlert is
now living retired at Reedsburg and is eighty-three years of age. They
were the parents of twelve children: Fredericka; Carrie; Frederick
and Herman, deceased ; Charley ; Minnie ; Augusta and Martin, de-
ceased; Augusta (2) ; Sophia; John and William. Henry and Fred-
ericka Rose are the parents of nine children : Emil, Elma, Lydia, Paul,
Freda, Martha, Esther, Ruth and Florence.
William Rose has passed his entire life in an agricultural atmos-
phere. He was reared on the home farm, and when not assisting his
father in the duties of the homestead attended the district schools, re-
ceiving an education similar to that of other farmers' sons. This has
since been supplemented by reading and observation, and Mr. Rose is
now a well-informed man upon many subjects. In 1889 he became
a property owner, when he purchased forty acres of land in Reedsburg
Township, and this has since been his home property, although he has
added an additional forty to it. He has a substantial and comfort-
able residence, a splendid barn, 32 by 58 feet, and a modern silo, 12 by
25 feet, and his improvements are modern in character, reflecting his
ideas of progressive methods and appliances in the treatment of the
soil. His operations as a general farmer and raiser of stock have been
consistently successful, and he is accounted one of the agriculturists
representative of the element which has given prestige to Sauk County.
In politics Mr. Rose is a democrat; his religious faith is that of the
Lutheran Church and he belongs to Saint Peter's congregation. As a
stanch friend of education, he is now serving in the capacity of clerk of
the school board.
Mr. Rose was married November 6, 1887, to Miss Emma Halbers-
leben, who was born in Reedsburg Township, June 6, 1868, a daughter
of August Halbersleben. Mr. and Mrs. Rose have been the parents of
eleven children. Amanda, who is the wife of Edward Schafer, and has
two children, Wilbert and Gerhardt ; Hilda, the wife of Oamiel Van Bas-
selaere, of Reedsburg; Martin, a soldier at Camp Grant, Rockford,
Illinois ; Teona ; Arnold and Reinhold, deceased ; Agnes, at home ; Bern-
hard, deceased ; and Adeline, Norma and Rubina, at home.
William Halbersleben, a brother of Mrs. Rose, was born in Germany,
October 9, 1860, being a son of August and Christina (Miller) Halbers-
leben, natives of Germany, the former born in 1827 and the latter in
1829. In 1863 they came with their children to the United States, lo-
cating at Reedsburg, and in 1872 located on the farm now owned by
their son, on which not a tree had been cut at that time. Here they con-
tinued to be engaged in farming until 1898, when they retired to Reeds-
burg, the father dying there in 1902 and the mother in 1913. They
succeeded in developing a good farm and in establishing themselves as
useful members of the community. Mr. and Mrs. Halbersleben were
members of the Lutheran Church, and the parents of six children:
Elizabeth, August, William, August (2), Emma and Louis. William
Halbersleben was educated in the Lutheran parochial schools and in
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 951
1877 went to Madison, Wisconsin, where he was at the experiment
station for five years and on other farms for about seven years, return-
ing to the home farm in 1888. When he bought the homestead it con-
sisted of 120 acres, and this he has made iflto one of the model general
and stock farms of the Township of Reedsburg, with fine improvements
of every kind. He has long been prominent in official life in the locality,
having been chairman of the township board for some years and now a
member of the state road and bridge committee and treasurer of the
school district, which latter position he has held for twenty-seven con-
secutive years. He is a supporter of the principles of the republican
party.
Mr. Halbersleben was married in 1888 to Miss Mary Stroebel, who
was born in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, in 1859, daughter of Rev.
Frederick Stroebel, a pioneer minister of Sauk County, now deceased.
Mr. and Mrs. Halbersleben have one child, Esther, who is the wife of
August Henrichs and the mother of two children, Robert and Irma.
By a former marriage, in 1884, to Miss Mary Kempf, of Madison, Wis-
consin, who died in 1886, Mr. Halbersleben had one daughter, Emma.
David J. Bennett has made his life's efforts count for a great deal
as a farmer and citizen in Sauk County, and for many years his work
has been identified with the management of a fine farm in Winfield
Township, where he is prosperously situated and has a family of capable
and bright children growing up around him.
Mr. Bennett was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, December 18, 1869,
a son of William J. and Mary (McKnight) Bennett. His father, who
was born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1833, died in 1904. The mother was
born at Albany, New York, in 1836, and passed away in 1880. Their
eight children were named William, Sarah, Andrew, Hugh, Isabel,
Anna, David J. and Jack, all of whom are still living except Hugh and
William.
David J. Bennett came to Sauk County in early life and has steadily
identified himself with the basic industry of agriculture. He is now
proprietor of a farm of 220 acres in Winfield Township, and besides
general farming he makes something of a specialty of Durham cattle.
In politics he is independent.
On February 3, 1897, he married Effie Mills. Mrs. Bennett is a
cordial and genial lady and well educated. She has ably and faithfully
performed her part as wife and mother in the building up of their happy
home. She is a native of Juneau County, Wisconsin, born April 17,
1873, a daughter of Orson and Lodema (Luke) Mills. Her father was
one of the brave men of Wisconsin who offered his services to the
Government during the Civil war and was a member of the Second
Wisconsin Cavalry. He faithfully performed his part as a soldier as
well as a good citizen and he died in 1913. The mother of Mrs. Bennett
is still living and is a resident of Kendall, Wisconsin. She is a faithful
member of the United Brethren Church. Mrs. Bennett received a good
common school education and also attended the graded schools of Lavalle.
She was a successful teacher for five years, two years in Juneau County
and three years in Sauk County. Their children, Arthur J., Clyde E.,
Vol. n-^2 5
952 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Frank A., Daisy and Helen, are all being accorded the best advantages
of the local public schools. The son Clyde was a member of the Reeds-
burg High School, in the third year, but is now a soldier and a member
of Company A, which was organized in Texas, where he is located at the
present time, at Waco. Mr. Bennett has been a useful man as a citizen
of his township, having served as township assessor for four years and
as director and treasurer of his school district for fifteen years.
Mr. and Mrs. Bennett are citizens who are held in the highest esteem
by all who know them.
Harry Leon Gray, well known to Sauk County as a banker at
Spring Green, was born at Mazomanie, Dane County, Wisconsin, August
26, 1885. His parents were Harry and Elizabeth (Linley) Gray, of
Iowa County, Wisconsin. His mother died December 17, 1906, and his
father died September 9, 1917.
Harry Leon Gray married, September 24, 1910, Miss Josephine Jost,
daughter of Herman and Anna Jost, of Presto, North Dakota. Mrs.
Gray died January 23, 1916, leaving one child, John William, who was
born September 9, 1911.
James P. Hart. A pioneer citizen of Sauk County who did his
life work well and honorably and left a name deserving of kindly remem-
brance was the late James P. Hart.
Mr. Hart was born in County Sligo, Ireland, crossed the ocean to
New York City in 1848, and in 1851 arrived in Sauk County and joined
the earliest settlers of Winfield Township. He was successfully iden-
tified with farming there and provided liberally for his family, who
still enjoy some of the competence he won by hard effort.
James P, Hart married January 31, 1854, Mary Conway. Both of
them are now deceased, James P. Hart passing away August 15, 1898,
and his wife on September 12, 1895. Their children were named Mary,
Michael, Martin, Bridget, Honor, James Peter, Patrick Henry, Ellen,
Catherine, John and -Sarah. John and Ellen are now deceased. None
of the sons ever married. The daughter Mary married Mr. Heiner,
who died May 7, 1891, leaving a son, Eugene. The daughter Bridget
married Richard J. Brennan, of Chicago. The daughter Honor mar-
ried, November 26, 1884, Henry Diener. Mr. Diener died July 14, 1913.
Mrs. Diener and her youngest child, Honor Margaret, now fifteen years
of age, are living in Baraboo, and her oldest son, John V. Diener, is a
successful attorney at Green Bay, Wisconsin. Her daughter Mary
Magdalene is a school teacher in Baraboo, and her son Charles Norman
Diener is now enlisted for service in the new National army.
The Hart family own jointly 200 acres of land in Winfield Town-
ship, and it is devoted to general farming and the raising of Durham
cattle. Two children of the late James P. Hart live at Baraboo, Mrs.
Catherine Kaseman and Mrs. August Rathman.
Edwin Green is clerk of Fairfield Township, has spent practically
all his life on one tract of land there, and represents a family of early
settlers.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 953
He was born in the township January 6, 1863, a son of Richard and
Martha (Felt) Green. His parents were both natives of England, the
father born in 1823 and the mother in 1831. They were married and
soon afterwards came to America and settled in Sauk County. The
father homesteaded forty acres near where the son Edwin now lives
and gradually increased his holdings until his estate consisted of 131
acres. He spent a very useful and industrious life and died on the old
farm in 1885. His wife passed away in 1883. Politically he was a
republican. They were the parents of twelve children. Two of them
received the name John and both are now deceased. Two died in early
infancy. The others were named James, Sarah Ann, Mary Jane, Wil-
liam, Fred, Edwin, Louis and Walter.
Edwin Green grew up on the home farm and attended the local
schools. In time he acquired the ownership of the old homestead and
in time added to that until his present fine place consists of 220 acres.
It is devoted to general farming and stockraising and for a number of
years Mr. Green has been a successful breeder of Shorthorn cattle. He
has also taken a conspicuous part in the affairs of his home township
and served as treasurer four years, two. years as supervisor, and for the
past ten years has been clerk of the township. Politically he is a pro-'
hibitionist.
Mr. Green was married in 1895 to Miss Mary Cameron, who was
born in Sauk County in 1875, daughter of Thomas and Addie (Fuller)
Cameron. Her parents came to Sauk County during the '60s. Her
widowed mother is still living with Mr. and Mrs. Green. The latter
have four children, all living, and named Paul, Edith, Burr and Louis.
Edith is now a student in the Baraboo High School.
NoRRis Wilcox. Of the substantial old families of Fairfield Town-
ship, one that has been longest identified with that community and in
a most progressive way in its development is that of Wilcox, represented
by Mr. Norris Wilcox, who owns and occupies part of the homestead
which has been in the ownership and management of the family con-
tinuously since it was acquired from the Government.
Mr. Wilcox was born on the old homestead August 20, 1859, a son
of Norris Case and Charlotte Augusta (Oldes) Wilcox. His father
was born near Syracuse, New York, June 25, 1824. His mother was
born in Ohio in 1822. When the family first came to Wisconsin in
territorial times they located near Clinton Junction on a tract of forty
acres. In 1847 they removed to Sauk County and in 1848, the year
Wisconsin was admitted to the Union, Norris C. Wilcox bought 120
acres of Government land, including the present farm of his son Norris.
He went industriously to work clearing up, removing the trees and
brush and gradually getting the land under cultivation. On this farm
he was engaged busily the rest of his active life and died there March
6, 1893. His wife passed away in September, 1878. He was a demo-
crat in politics and a man of notable influence in the community. He
served as assessor of Fairfield Township, for many years was on the
school board, and he assisted in laying out the State Road from Portage
to Prairie du Chien. There were five children : Norris ; Henry, who
954 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
died in infancy; Mary, wife of Miner E. Brown, who lives on part of
the old homestead ; Ulysses G., living near Kilbourn, Wisconsin ; and
Minnie A.
Norris Wilcox attended the local schools, and in his mature years
he has become owner and farmer of eighty acres of his father's land.
This land has responded to his capable management in generous crops
and he has put on it excellent buildings. He follows both general farm-
ing and stockraising. Mr. Wilcox is a stockholder in the Excelsior Co-
operative Creamery Company at Baraboo.
Politically he is a prohibitionist. He has served as treasurer of Fair-
field Township and also as a member of the township board. He and
his wife are active in the Methodist Episcopal Church.
On March 22, 1883, he married Sarah E. Smith, who was born
August 14, 1858. Her parents, Chase and Dorcas A. (Hatch) Smith,
came to Sauk County in 1867 and later bought a farm in Fairfield
Township. They spent their last years in the home of Mr. and Mrs.
Wilcox. Mr. Wilcox has two daughters. Anna May was educated in
the public schools and the high school at Baraboo and is still at home.
Flora A. was married on Thanksgiving Day in November, 1916, to E. P.
Good. Mr. Good is now assisting in the cultivation of the Wilcox farm.
Edgar Stanley Powell, the present supervisor of Winfield Town-
ship, is a native of that locality and has made his enterprise count for a
liberal success in farming and in his influence as a citizen.
Mr. Powell was born in Winfield Township, a son of Thomas H. and
Elizabeth (Fish) Powell. His parents were natives of Albany County,
New York, and were pioneers in Winfield Township in the year 1855.
The father lived until 1914, while the mother passed away in 1903.
Their children were Ida M.. Charles D., Frederick J., Alden T., Edgar
Stanley, Clarence S. and Bessie R.
Mr. Powell is busied with the management of a large farm of 267
acres, and is one of the leading stockraisers of the township, keeping
about twenty-five head of Holstein cattle. He has filled the office of
supervisor for several years and is an active democrat. He and his wife
have five children, Virgil H., Florence E., Lulu E., Lyman, now de-
ceased, and Vesta May.
John Terry, Jr., now occupies the old homestead which his father,
John Terry, Sr., developed from a portion of the wilderness of Sauk
County. John Terry, the son, has never married and he and his sister
Nellie keep the old home and preserve its associations and attractions
for the family, several of whom live in Baraboo Township and vicinity.
On the old farm where he now resides John Terry, Jr., was born in
Baraboo Township June 15, 1876. He grew up in that environment,
attended the public schools, and always lived at home and has succeeded
to the ownership of 120 acres of the old homestead. He has introduced
many improvements and new methods and is one of the leadino- general
farmers and stockraisers of the township. He is also a stockholder in
the Excelsior Co-operative Creamery Company in Baraboo. Mr. Terry
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 955
is independent in politics, but has never sought any office. He and his
sister are active members of the Catholic Church.
George C. Astle. Among the representative men of Sauk County
no one stands higher in public esteem than does George C. Astle, who is
president of the Farmers and Merchants Bank at Baraboo and for
many years was one of the county's most extensive and progressive
agriculturists. Mr. Astle was born in Sumpter Township, Sauk County,
Wisconsin, September 25, 1848. His parents were William and Sarah
(Moscow) Astle.. They were born, reared and married in Derbyshire,
England, and when they came to the United States, about 1843, brought
with them their family of seven children : Mary, Sarah, Hannah, Eliza-
beth, Eliza, William and Harriet. Two more children were born to
them in Wisconsin : John H. and George C.
William Astle and family came first to Merton in Waukesha County,
but soon secured a homestead in Sumpter, then called Kingston Town-
ship, in Sauk County, buying a tract of 160 acres of timber land. This
he cleared and improved, and resided on the place until his death. He
was one of the pioneers of this section and the family saw much early
hardships, as was inevitable. They lived at first in a log house put up
by Mr. Astle, but in 1861 he replaced it with a substantial stone house
that yet stands. His wife survived him many years, living into old
age, seeing her ninetieth birthday. She and her husband were among the
organizers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which they were
most worthy members. William Astle became a naturalized citizen and
at first was affiliated in politics with the whig party and later became a
republican, voting that ticket as long as he lived and always remember-
ing with pleasure that he had assisted in the election of Abraham Lin-
coln to the presidency on two occasions.
George C. Astle was reared on the home farm and in his boyhood
attended the country schools as opportunity offered, but, like " many
other men who have become prominent and successful, he had no such
educational opportunities as are not only offered but are actually forced
upon the boyhood and youth in every section of the country at the pres-
ent time. He remained on the old homestead, which became his, and
in 1885 traded that farm for the Thomas Stone place, consisting of 360
acres, lying one mile east, and resided there until he sold that farm. He
now owns 160 acres in Greenfield Township, situated one and three-
quarter miles from the City of Baraboo. At different times he has
owned and sold many other tracts of land, having had numerous trans-
actions along this line, and has dealt heavily in lands in both South
Dakota and Colorado. He always entertained progressive ideas as to
his agricultural operations and believed in keeping his property in fine
condition and in handling only fine stock. He had pure-bred Polled
Angus cattle, Percheron horses and did a large business in raising Ken-
tucky-bred standard road horses, at one time having seventy-five head.
He shipped to Chicago, New York and also Colorado. At present he
specializes in dairying. Mr. Astle was one of the enterprising men of
his township and always was first in the field with new ideas. He con-
tinually held an office of trust in his own township, serving as super-
956 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
visor, chairman, treasurer, assessor, etc. He was earnestly interested
in the education of the children and served on the district school board
for over twenty years, as treasurer, his aim being to hire the best avail-
able teachers regardless of expense. His daughters graduated from the
University of Wisconsin at Madison. He was one of the organizers of
the Sumpter Creamery, and continued one of the directors of that suc-
cessful industrial plant until he left the neighborhood and came to
Baraboo in 1908.
In 1869 Mr. Astle was united in marriage with Miss Alice Dean, who
was born in Green County, "Wisconsin, and died in 1903. Five children
were born to them, namely : Herbert, Cora, Celia, Jessie and Winifred,
Herbert and Jessie being deceased. The family home at No. 138 Eighth
Avenue is one of the fine residences of Baraboo.
After coming to this city Mr. Astle entered the financial field, as-
sisting in the organization of the Farmers and Merchants Bank, which
has central location on the corner of Oak Street and Fourth Avenue. It
is a solidly financed institution, its officials are all capitalists, and it
has the support and confidence of this whole section, Mr. Astle 's name
as president being a very valuable asset in itself.
In politics Mr. Astle has long been an important factor in the repub-
lican party in township and city, and is also a strong temperance
advocate. He is president of the Sauk County Agricultural Society and
has been for the past eight years. On' June 11, 1914, Mr. Astle was
married to Miss Daisy Beecroft, of Madison, Wisconsin.
Robert F. Taylor. One of the citizens now gone to his final rest who,
while he visited numerous foreign lands and practically every state in the
Union, preferred to make his home in Sauk County for many years,
was the late Robert F. Taylor, of Baraboo, who during a long, interesting
and eventful life was identified with several of the leading circuses of
this country and at the time of his demise was one of the most valued
men in the great army that made up the famous Ringling Brothers
organization.
Mr. Taylor was born at Mill Grove, Pennsylvania, December 8, 1857,
and was given a graded and high school education. As a young man
he engaged in railroad work, being for some years with the Pennsylvania
Railroad, and thus became familiar with transportation matters. His
love of adventure, as well as his knowledge of the country, took him into
circus life and for a number of years he traveled with the Walter L.
Main Shows and later with Sells & Forepaugh, and in his subsequent
travels he visited nearly all the civilized countries of the globe, including
Australia. The Ringling Brothers, always alert to secure good material
for their organization, induced him to come to Baraboo in 1893, and
here he was made manager of transportation, one of the most important
departments in a traveling institution of this kind, requiring intimate
knowledge of conditions, stupendous executive ability and a voluminous
amount of labor. He became one of the most valued and dependable of
the men who helped to make this great circus famous throughout the
world, and continued to be connected therewith until his death in 1913.
Just as he was one of the best known men in his line in the country, so
ROBERT F. TAYLOR
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 957
was he also one of the most popular. He proved his mettle and worth
on innumerable occasions when disaster threatened and his personal
courage was as unquestioned as his ability was proved. Mr. Taylor was
a member of Baraboo Lodge of Masons and a Knight Templar, and be-
longed also to the Woodmen of the World and the Knights of Pythias.
He was a republican in politics, but the nature of his business forbade
that he enter actively into political affairs.
Mr. Taylor was married March 20, 1898, to Miss Alvena Boltzman,
who was bom near Spring Green, Sauk County, Wisconsin, April 11,
1880, a daughter of Fred and Christina (Penning) Boltzman. Her
parents were natives of Germany, where they were married, and came
to the United States about 1875, first settling in New York, but soon
coming to Sauk County and locating on a farm in Reedsburg Township,
where Mr. Boltzman still lives, aged eighty-three years. Mrs. Boltzman
died in 1885, and Alvena, then a child of five years, was taken to rear
by her sister, Mrs. Charles Westfall, of Reedsburg Township, who af-
fectionately performed the duties of both sister and mother. Mrs. Taylor
was educated in the public schools of Reedsburg Township, and since
her husband's death has been the proprietress of the picturesque spot
loeated about one-half mile north of Reedsburg, a twenty-acre tract of
land in Reedsburg Township known as Pine Grove Park. This is a
summer resort and picnic grounds, with many attractive features, and
is greatly patronized, not only by Reedsburg people and those of the
surrounding country, but by many who come from far-distant points.
Mrs. Taylor is one of the popular ladies of her locality and a valued mem-
ber of the Order of the Eastern Star. While she has traveled exten-
sively in many states of the Union, she, like her husband, believes that
Sauk County is one of the finest spots in the country and is satisfied
to make her home among its hospitable people. She has beautified and
adorned her pretty summer resort home with neat cottages, an artificial
lake and boats. Her "Pine Grove Park" is one of the beauty spots of
the vicinity of Reedsburg. Mrs. Taylor is a lady of pleasing personality
and cordiality of manner and her extensive travel over the United States
has made her conversant with all parts of the country, so that she is a
pleasing conversationalist, and her guests and friends always receive
cordial greeting at her home. Mrs. Taylor was one of six children born
to her parents : Fred, a resident of Spooner, Wisconsin ; Dora, now Mrs.
Charles Westfall, of Reedsburg Township ; William and Freda, deceased ;
Anna, also deceased ; and Alvena.
Mrs. Dora (Boltzman) Westfall was born January 28, 1861, in
Germany, and was about fourteen years of age when the parents, Fred
and Christina (Penning) Boltzman, came to the United States. She com-
pleted her education in the public schools and was married in 1885 to
Charles Westfall, who was born May 3, 1863, in New York, a son of
John and Louisa (Prange) Westfall, natives of Germany. His parents
were married in that country and about the year 1860 came to New
York, five years later moving to Sauk County and settling in Freedom
Township, where they purchased forty acres of land and made it their
home for seven years. At the end of that time they came to Reedsburg
Township, where they remained two years, then returning to Freedom
958 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Township, where they rented land during the remaining period of their
active careers. Mrs. Westfall died in 1905, at Reedsburg, her husband
passing away in 1910, aged seventy-two years. They were the parents
of eight children: Minnie, Charles, John, Lena, Lizzie, Augusta,
Sophia and Emma.
Charles Westfall entered upon his career with little more for his
capital than a public school education, but his industry was great and
his ambition strong, and after renting land for some years, in 1908 he
bought 122 acres located one mile north of Reedsburg, where he has
developed a handsome property. He has been the architect of his own
fortunes and is well-to-do, now enjoying all the rewards that are to be
obtained through a life of industry and integrity. He engages in general
farming and keeps a good grade of Holstein cattle, and his buildings
and improvements, most of them of his own construction, are modern
and attractive. He is a republican and as a citizen is highly thought
of in his community. Mr. and Mrs. Westfall have had four children :
William, deceased, born in 1886; Edward, born September 19, 1888;
Carrie, deceased, and Madeline, born August 6, 1903, and now attending
the Reedsburg High School.
Fred W. Schutte. Among the business men of Reedsburg who have
been the authors of their own success and who have worked their way to
positions of substantiality without the aid of outside influence or assist-
ance, one who is well known is Fred W. Schutte, a member of the impor-
tant department store firm of Stolte, Dangel & Foss Company. When
he entered upon his connection with mercantile affairs Mr. Schutte began
in a humble capacity, and the success that has attended his efforts should
prove an incentive and encouragement to the youths of today who are
compelled to start their battle with life with naught but ambition and
determination to aid them.
Mr. Schutte was born on a farm in Westfield Township, Sauk County,
. Wisconsin, August 1, 1865. His parents, John and Elizabeth (Williams)
Schutte, were born in Germany, where they were married in 1851, and
about ten years later came to the United States, settling in 1861 on a
farm in Westfield Township. After a few years on this property they
sold out and bought a tract of 180 acres located in Reedsburg Township,
to which they moved in 1867, and there succeeded in developing a valu-
able and well-improved farm. In 1885 the father retired from active
pursuits and moved to Reedsburg, where his death occurred in 1886, when
he was sixty-seven years of age. The mother survived until 1898, and
was seventy-three years old at the time of her demise. They were faith-
ful members of the St. Peter's Lutheran Church, and in politics Mr.
Schutte was a republican. There were five children in the family :
William, Henry, Dora, Catherine and Fred W., of whom the first two
named are deceased.
Fred W. Schutte received a country school education and passed his
youth in assisting his father in the cultivation of the home farm. He
felt, however, that a better future awaited him in mercantile lines, and
when he was twenty years of age left home and secured his first experi-
ence in business affairs, in the humble capacity of delivery boy in the
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 959
employ of S. J. Dearholt. After about two years thus spent he was
experienced enough to take up the duties of clerk with the firm of Webb
& Schweke, with which concern he remained for about three years, then
entering the employ of H. C. Hunt, of Reedsburg, in the same capacity.
Two years later he transferred his services to the firm of Stolte, Dangel
& Foss Company, an enterprise which had been founded in 1893, and in
his new environment he rose rapidly, so that in about 1897 he was
admitted as a member of the firm. He is now manager of the clothing
department of this great business house, and is accounted one of the
most experienced men to be found in his line in Sauk County. Mr.
Schutte has made his own opportunities and luck or chance have not
entered into the making of his success. He has a high standing in busi-
ness circles, and as a citizen is ever ready to lend his support to worthy
movements, giving freely of his time, energies and abilities. He is a
republican, but has not entered actively into public or political affairs.
With his family he belongs to St. Peter's Lutheran Church, and at this
time he is serving in the capacity of secretary of the congregation.
On February 1, 1891, Mr. Schutte was united in marriage with Miss
Anna Huebing, who was born at Reedsburg, February 18, 1866, a daugh-
ter of Henry and Elizabeth Huebing, pioneers of Sauk County, who are
both now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Schutte have one daughter,
Miss Elva M., who was born March 13, 1895. She is a graduate of
the Reedsburg High School, attended the Milwaukee Normal School for
two years, and is now teaching English at St. Peter's Lutheran School,
Reedsburg.
Mrs. George W. Smith is head of one of the notable families of Bear
Creek Township in the Lone Rock community.
She was born in this state in 1864, a daughter of J. and Alvina
(Harris) Nichols. She became the wife of Mr. George W. Smith in
1882, and two years later they located on their present farm of
200 acres in Bear Creek Township. This farm has been completely
developed and cleared under their management, and is now operated by
Mrs. Smith, with the aid of her sons. They keep about fifty head of
livestock and have a dairy of twenty-eight cows.
Mrs. Smith's children are Herbert, Henry, Walter, Wilbur, Grace,
George and Earnest, the last two being deceased. The son Herbert mar-
ried Grace Strang, of Little Willow, Richland County. The daughter,
Grace, is the wife of Henry Christian, of Spring Green.
Grant Dryer, a former sheriff of Sauk County, has lived within the
limits of this county since his birth, and his name stands not only for
efficiency and honor in public affairs, but also for success as a practical
farmer and stockman.
Mr. Dryer was born in Dellona Township of this county January 25,
1868, and except for the period he lived in the county seat has always
had his home in that section. He is a son of James L. and Adeline Dryer,
who came to Sauk County from New York State in 1864 and located a
farm in Dellona Township. Their children were : Helen J., unmarried ;
Etta, deceased; Bertha; John W., deceased; George, deceased; and
960 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Grant. The daughter Etta married Stephen Green, of Sauk County.
Bertha is the wife of D. A. Bradley and lives at Denver, Colorado. Eva
. married 0. J. Green, of Oklahoma.
Mr. Grant Dryer married in April, 1893, Blanche Weidman, daughter
of Leonard L. Weidman, of Sauk County. They have three children :
Hazel, Lila and Clifton. The daughter Hazel is the wife of Percy
Bass, of Dellona Township, and has one daughter, Dorothy. Lila, who
is unmarried, is a successful teacher in a school in the Village of Merri-
mack. Clifton married Bessie Simpson and has a son. Grant.
Mr. Grant Dryer served a term as sheriff of Sauk County in 1909-10.
He has always been an active republican aid a leader in any movement
for the general welfare of his home community and county. As a farmer
he owns 210 acres in Dellona Township. Fraternally he is affiliated with
Knights of Pythias.
Robert Greenv^ood. One of the men whose lives have given char-
acter to the agricultural and civic enterprise of Winfield Township is
Robert Greenwood, the oldest resident of that section.
Mr. Greenwood is an Englishman by birth and parentage, having
been born in that country August 14, 1839. He had five brothers and
four sisters, and all of them are now deceased except himself and his
brother Miles.
He arrived in the United States from his native land of England
May 9, 1848, and since 1852 he has been an honored citizen of Sauk
County, Wisconsin, with the exception of the two years when he served
his adopted country as a soldier in the defense of the Union. He
received his honorable discharge and returned to his home in Sauk
County and this has since been his home. Farming has constituted his
life's activities, and a number of years ago he acquired 120 acres in
Winfield Township, which he has developed by the erection of good
buildings and by the clearing up the land for cultivation. He follows
general farming and stock raising and has a beautiful and valuable
estate.
Mr. Greenwood married Eveline Miller. Their children are named
as follows : James, Joseph, Vesta, Eva, Robert, Carrie, Benjamin and
George. All of them were educated in the district schools of Sauk
County. The sons, Joseph, Benjamin and James, are all members of
the Masonic fraternity. Mr. Greenwood is an active republican in poli-
tics and he and his son, Benjamin, and wife, are members of the Metho-
dist Episcopal Church. His sons and daughters have grown to man and
womanhood and are honored citizens of their communities and an honor
to their parents.
Grant Weidman has spent his active career in Sauk County as a
farmer, and is still employed in the management of his farm in Reeds-
burg Township.
Mr; Weidman was born in Westfield Township of Sauk County
March 31, 1866, a son of Alexander and Eleanor (Mcllvain) Weidman
and a brother of Samuel Weidman, whose achievements as a scientist
and scholar have been noted on other pages.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 961
Grant Weidman grew up on his father's farm, acquired a public
school education, and for many years has occupied his share of the old
homestead in Eeedsburg Township. The eighty acres in this farm he
devotes to general agriculture and stock raising, and has done much
to improve its equipment. He has a set of good buildings, including a
barn 36 by 60 feet. Mr. Weidman is a democrat but has never sought
any official honors in or out of the party. He is affiliated with the
Modem Woodmen of America.
October 2, 1889, he married Miss Bell Flitcroft, who was born at
Reedsburg September 13, 1867, daughter of John Flitcroft. John Flit-
croft was born in New York State June 13, 1826. He married Regina
Thomas, who was born in Canada November 4, 1829. In 1852 John Flit-
croft arrived in Reedsburg Township, where he was one of the earliest
pioneers and settled on land which as a result of long and continuous
labor on his part was developed into a good farm. He died at his home
August 24, 1888, his widow surviving him until August 12, 1916. There
were four children in the Flitcroft family : Frances, wife of Byron
Randall, of Reedsburg; Charles, who lives at Red Deer in Western
Canada ; Lillie, wife of Joseph Mepham, of Reedsburg Township ; and
Bell, wife of Mr. Weidman.
Mr. and Mrs. Weidman have two children. Harvey, the older, was
born June 12, 1893, was educated in the Reedsburg High School, spent
three years at Ripon College and then entered the School of Mines at
Platteville, Wisconsin. In 1916 he served with the Wisconsin troops on
the Texas border and in 1917 he organized a company and is now com-
missioned a captain in the Fourth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, located
at present at Camp Douglas preparing for a German campaign. The
youngest son, Hubert, was bom August 19, 1894, was educated in the
Reedsburg High School, spent two years in Ripon College, and is a
graduate of the School of Mines at Platteville. He was located at
Paris Island in South Carolina, but is now at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands,
South America.
Charles F. Shelden. With the exception of two years spent in
Minnesota and the period of his serviqe as a soldier of the Union during
the Civil war, Charles F. Shelden has been a resident of Sauk County
since 1855, the greater part of this time having been passed at Reeds-
burg, his present home. For many years he was engaged in mercantile
pursuits, and a large portion of his energies has been devoted to dis-
charging the duties of public positions, but he is now retired from
business and official activities and is enjoying the repose and comfort
that reward the efforts of the energetic and industrious.
Charles F. Shelden was bom in Oneida County, New York, Septem-
ber 2, 1841, and is a son of DeWitt Clinton and Maria (Smith) Shelden,
natives of the Empire State. In 1845 they struck out for the West, their
destination being Walworth County, Wisconsin, where they made their
home for ten years, the elder Shelden being engaged in agricultural
pursuits. In 1855 the family place of residence was changed to Sauk
County, where the father purchased a farm, which he improved, and
on which the family lived until 1862, when they moved to Reedsburg.
962 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Here the parents rounded out long and useful lives, the father dying at
the age of seventy-six years and the mother vi^hen seventy-nine years of
age. DeWitt C. Shelden was a republican in politics, and he and Mrs.
Shelden were members of the Congregational Church. They were the
parents of the following children: Caroline and Ezekiel B., who are
deceased ; DeWitt M. ; Charles F. ; Kirk W., who is deceased ; and Amy
Gardner.
Charles F. Shelden received his early training on the home farm and
received his education in the country schools. The Civil war found him
ready and anxious to serve his country, and January 27, 1862, he was
accepted as a private of Company A, Ninteenth Regiment, Wisconsin
Volunteer Infantry, with which regiment he served until the close of the
war, with the exception of about six months when he was on detached
duty on an army gunboat. He received his honorable discharge January
27, 1865, after having made a most creditable and honorable record as
a soldier, having taken part in numerous important engagements. When
he returned the young soldier remained on the farms of the community
for several years, and then went to Cottonwood County, Minnesota,
where he purchased a farm. Two years of residence there convinced him
that he could better himself in his former residence locality, and accord-
ingly he returned to Sauk County and settled at Reedsburg, where, not
long afterward, he was appointed assistant postmaster, a position which
he retained for ten years. He was also express agent for a like period,
following which he embarked in the mercantile business, conducting a
general store with success for several years. He also acted in the capacity
of justice of the peace for thirty-three years, during which time he estab-
lished a commendable record for fidelity to duty and capable handling
of the matters that came to him for adjustment. In 1880 he erected a
commodious and comfortable residence on South Pine Street, and here
he has since made his home, the past several years having been passed
in quiet retirement. Mr. Shelden is one of the best known and most
highly respected citizens of his community and has taken an active part
in many of the movements that have served to make for civic develop-
ment and betterment. His political support has always been given to
the republican party. In Masonry he has risen to a high rank, being
a member of Reedsburg Lodge No. 157, Free and Accepted Masons ;
Reedsburg Chapter No. 561, Royal Arch Masons; and St. John's Com-
mandery No. 21, Knights Templar. He belongs also to the Grand Army'
of the Republic.
Mr. Shelden was married in 1868 to Miss Isabel Hood, of Racine,
Wisconsin, and they are the parents of two children : Walter D., M. D.,
one of the brilliant and eminent physicians and surgeons of Rochester,
Minnesota, is connected at that city with the famous Mayo brothers.
He married Byrd Hunter and has two sons, Charles Hunter and James
Thomas. Mabel is the wife of W. D. Whitney, of Minneapolis, Minne-
sota, a member of the firm of Twin Cities Rapid Transit Company. They
have one daughter, Mary Isabel.
Anton Schlosser is one of the oldest and best known business men
of Spring Green. For over twenty years he was in the general mer-
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 963
chandise business there, but has since given up the role of merchant and
is now devoting himself to his duties as village clerk, notary public and
as an insurance man.
Mr. Schlosser has spent most of his life in "Wisconsin. He was born,
however, in K^oenigshofen, Bavaria, Germany, October 15, 1857. In
1867, at the age of ten years, he came to America with his parents, Gus-
tav and Lona (Gerstner) Schlosser. They all located in Merrimack
Township of Sauk County, where his father was an active farmer for
two years. He then removed to Sauk City, and making his home in that
village followed his trade as carpenter the rest of his life. He died in
Sauk City in 1877, at the age of fifty-six. His widow survived him nearly
thirty years, passing away at Sauk City in 1906, at the age of eighty-two.
Anton Schlosser lived at home with his parents until he was fifteen,
and then began making his own way in the world. He had a limited
public school education, but was a boy of natural industry and of keen
observation and good habits. Thus he was prepared to make a favorable
impression and win promotion when he started as a boy clerk in a store
at Black Hawk in Sauk County. He remained there accumulating
experience and earning a living for five years. The proprietor of a store
at Spring Green was S. M. Harris, and he next clerked for him five
years. In the spring of 1882 Mr. Schlosser, capitalizing his experience,
opened a general stock of merchandise at Spring Green and soon had a
profitable trade. In 1883 he took in as a partner Albert Held, under
the name Schlosser & Held. In 1894 Evan Davis joined the firm, under
the name Schlosser, Held & Davis. In 1900 Held & Davis sold their
interest to J. A. W. Sprecher and William Bonham, and the title of the
new firm was Schlosser, Sprecher & Bonham.
In 1904 Mr. Schlosser sold his interest in the store, which in the
meantime had grown and prospered, to Eli Schoephorster, and after
that he lived retired from business entirely for two years. In 1905 Mr.
Schlosser went to Broadhead in Green County and bought an interest
in a general store from the Stair Brothers. He had as partners in this
enterprise Henry Jones and Henry Schwartz, the firm being Schlosser,
Schwartz & Jones. Mr. Schlosser also moved his family to Broadhead,
but in 1906 he sold out and returned to Spring Green. For about ten
years he had no special business connections except as representative of
several insurance companies, but in 1916 he became village clerk and
now gives most of his time and attention to that office. He has also
served as villasre assessor five years. He is secretary of the Inter County
Fair Association. Mr. Schlosser is a member of the Congregational
Church, is treasurer of his Lodge of Odd Fellows and a member of the
Modern Woodmen of America.
On February 24, 1881, he married Miss Rosina Diehl, of Troy Town-
ship, Sauk County. Mrs. Schlosser was born in that locality February
24, 1862. and was married on her nineteenth birthday. Her father,
Ludwig Diehl, was a farmer in Sauk County and is now deceased. Her
mother's maiden name was Carolina Fey. Mr. and Mrs. Schlosser have
two children : Pearl C, at home, and Irene, a graduate of the White-
water Normal School and now a teacher in the Reedsburg public schools.
964 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Anthony S. Winckler, of Reedsburg, is enjoying a well earned
retirement at the age of past fourscore. He knows both the modern and
the pioneer life of Sauk County, which he has known for over fifty years.
In business he has been prospered, in patriotism he tested his loyalty
by three years of service in the Civil war, and his influence has always
gone to the betterment of his community.
Mr. Winckler is a native of New York City. He was born on Broad-
way, February 12, 1836, and spent some of his early childhood in that
city. He knew Broadway when it was little more than a highroad above
Thirtieth Street, and from that small metropolis he was transferred by
the removal of his parents to the veritable wilderness of Wisconsin. His
parents were Gotlieb and Henrietta (Warner) Winckler. His father
was born in Germany in 1799, was educated in the old country and
learned the trade of baker at Heidelberg. He came to America when
about sixteen years of age, and worked at his trade as baker in New
York City for a number of years. Subsequently he and his brother
Andrew engaged in building flatboats and operating them from the
headwaters of the Ohio at Pittsburg down the Ohio and Mississippi to
New Orleans. Subsequently he resumed the bakery business in New
York City, where he married Miss Warner, who was born there in 1809.
In 1852 Gotlieb Winckler brought his family west to Wisconsin and
secured a tract of Government land in Marquette County. After doing
some development work he sold this and about the beginning of the
Civil war moved to Dane County. For several years he lived in Sauk
County, but went back to Dane County, and from there went west to
Nebraska and bought a fine farm in that state. Again he pulled up
and went to the far Northwest in Oregon, where he operated a fruit
ranch until his death in 1881. His widow died at Oregon City in 1891.
They were the parents of eight children, including Anthony S. ; Nicholas,
who fought in the same company in the Civil war with his brother and
for many years followed farming near Reedsburg, where he died in
1913 ; Maria, who lives in Oregon ; Andrew, deceased.
Anthony S. Winckler gained most of his education in New York
City. He was sixteen years of age when the family came west to Mar-
quette County, Wisconsin, and for a time he attended school at Dakota
Village in Waushara County. He also taught school, and had a very
successful record in that vocation. At the beginning of the Civil war he
was township superintendent of schools.
He resigned that position to enlist in Company G of the Thirty-
second Wisconsin Infantry in 1862. With that regiment he served until
the close of hostilities. He was in the last battle of the war, when Sher-
man met Johnston's army at Bentonville, North Carolina. Though he
was never severely wounded he had some narrow escapes. Several times
his hat was punctured by bullets, and one bullet scarred the top of his
head, causing the loss of considerable blood and making him extremely
sick, though only temporarily keeping him out of the ranks. He served
with the rank of first sergeant in Company G.
After the war Mr. Winckler located in Sauk County and became
actively engaged in farming in Reedsburg Township. He left his farm
in 1893 and removing to the City of Reedsburg was for four years book-
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 965
keeper with the Morgan Building Company. He then became one of
the organizers of the State Bank of Reedsburg and filled the post of
assistant cashier in that institution for ten years and is still one of the
bank's directors. For the past seven years Mr. Winckler has lived a
retired life. His home is at the corner of Third and Myrtle streets.
For many years he was actively identified with the republican party,
but for the past ten years has given his support to the prohibition move-
ment. He is devout in the performance of his religious duties, is active
in the Baptist Church, and for over forty years has taught a Bible class
in the Sunday School. He is also one of the honored veterans of the
war and a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.
Mr. Winckler was married in 1862 to Miss Emily Tredwell of Wal-
worth County, Wisconsin. They were the parents of two children :
Eva, who died in infancy ; and Belle, who is the wife of Charles Risley.
Mrs. Winckler died in 1906. On July 19, 1908, he married Miss Janette
Melntosh, of Sauk County, and of sterling Scotch ancestry. Her par-
ents were Laughlin and Catherine (Cameron) Mcintosh, who settled in
Sauk County as early as 1851. Her father acquired a tract of Govern-
ment land and developed it into a splendid farm, but spent the last
twenty-five years of his life at Reedsburg, where he died in 1910, at the
age of eighty-two. His wife passed away in 1907, aged seventy-two.
Mrs. Winckler was one of a family of nine children: James and Ann,
both deceased ; Katie ; Thomas ; Joseph, deceased ; Mrs. Winckler ; Lizzie ;
John, and Mirren.
Jacob Van Orden, president of the Bank of Baraboo, has been con-
tinuously identified with that institution and at the same time with the
commercial life of the city for more than forty years.
While the details are fresh in mind some reference should be made
to the history of this institution even at the risk of some repetition. As
far back as 1856 a stock company comprised of Simeon Mills and Terrell
Thomas owned and operated a banking institution at Baraboo for several
years and then Mr. Mills dropped out and Mr. Thomas continued alone
until 1873. In that year the business was succeeded by the First National
Bank of Baraboo. This in turn gave way in 1880 to the Bank of Baraboo,
under a state charter. Mr. George Mertens was the first president of
the State Bank and J. Van Orden was cashier. While Sauk County has
had a remarkable growth and development within the last forty years,
the Bank of Baraboo has not failed to keep pace with developments. It
is one of the strongest banks in Southern Wisconsin, with total resources
of about $2,000,000, with capital stock of $100,000, and with deposits
of over $1,500,000.
The Van Orden family have been identified with Wisconsin since
the year 1849, when Wisconsin was still in its infancy as a state. Jacob
Van Orden was born at Neosho in Dodge County August 13, 1856, a
son of Lucas S. Van Orden, a native of New York State. His father
on coming to Wisconsin spent a brief time in Milwaukee and then became
an early settler at Neosho in Dodge County. He erected the first flour
mills in Neosho, and was a highly respected citizen and business man
until his death in 1858. For two years he served as register of deeds.
966 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
I
His wife was a native of Ohio, and survived him more than half a
century.
The only child of his parents, Jacob Van Orden was educated in
district schools and for three years in Ripon College. He was eighteen
years old when in 1874 he came to Baraboo, the year after the organiza-
tion of the First National Bank. He entered this institution in a nominal
capacity which might best be described as general utility boy and clerk.
His duties involved sweeping out the banking room in the morning, run-
ning errands, and any other work which might be required by his super-
iors. He possessed more than average ability, was industrious, and these
faculties under the guidance of a determined purpose to become a banker
brought him steady promotion. At the end of six years he was handling
the responsibilities of cashier in the reorganized Bank of Baraboo, and
his services in that position were continuous for more than thirty years,
much of the time with the active management of the bank's affairs.
Recently Mr. Van Orden succeeded H. Grotophorst as president of the
Bank of Baraboo. Mr. Van Orden is well known among Wisconsin
bankers, has participated in the meetings and associations of the state's
financiers, and is thoroughly informed on the broader aspects of finance.
The people of Sauk County esteem him not only for his work and
success as a banker but also for his public spirit. Mr. Van Orden is much
interested in historical and archaeological matters. It was due to his
enterprise and liberal contributions of necessary expenses that one of
the most interesting of the early Indian remains in Wisconsin has been
preserved for all time to the public. Many mounds exist in different
sections of the state erected by the prehistoric inhabitants, and many
of them in superficial shape represent the forms of different animals.
Very rarely a mound is found delineating the human figure. Two of
such mounds were in Sauk County, one of them having been obliterated
by cultivation. Another, 4i/i> miles north of Baraboo, had escaped the
plow and other implements of civilized man, though a public road had
cut through the portion of the mound containing the figure of the legs.
In order to preserve the II/2 acres of land including the mound the Sauk
County Historical Society and the State Archaeological Society endeav-
ored to enlist popular subscriptions for the purchase of the land from
its owner, and as the result of a campaign this historic site has finally
been preserved and fenced in as a memorial to the aboriginal inhabitants
of Wisconsin. On a large granite stone near the mound is now af^xed
a bronze tablet containing in one panel the outline of the figure originally
represented by the mound, while the central panel, which Mr. Van
Orden paid for, contains this inscription: "Man Mound Park. Wis-
consin Archaeological Society. Sauk County Historical Society. Land
Mark Committee: W. F. W. C." In the right panel are the following
words : "Mound located and platted by W. H. Canfield in 1859. Length
214 feet, width at shoulders 48 feet."
Mr. Van Orden is a thirty-second degree Mason, a member of the
Baraboo Commercial Club, is independent in political and partisan affairs
and for years served as junior warden of Trinity Episcopal Church,
and as a member of the Board of Education of the City of Baraboo.
Whatever concerns the welfare of his community concerns him personally
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 967
and he has used his means in many other ways than those mentioned
to get results.
Mr. Van Orden was married at Waupun, Wisconsin, January 14,
1880, to Miss Martha Atwood. Mrs. Van' Orden was also educated in
Ripon College. Their two children are Lucas S., born in December,
1881, and Mary Louise, born in October, 1883.
John H. Carpenter is an honored veteran of the Union army, his
second enlistment having been from Sauk County. For many years he
was successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits in Franklin Township
and after retiring from the farm he removed to Spring Green, where
he is now found nearly every day looking after his duties as secretary
of the Franklin Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Company, He has held
that office in this company since 1895.
Mr. Carpenter is of old and patriotic American stock. His great-
grandfather served as a soldier in the Revolutionary war. His grand-
father, William B. Carpenter, was born May 17, 1769, and was too young
to participate in the Revolution and was a little too old to serve in the
second war with Great Britain. The father of John H. Carpenter was
Justin Carpenter, who was born in Vermont February 27, 1798, and
when only fourteen years of age enlisted for service in the War of 1812.
He married Elizabeth Brown, who was born in Pennsylvania January
30, 1804. She died at Lexington, Ohio, April 28, 1891. Justin Carpen-
ter died near Lexington, Ohio, August 19, 1875.
John H. Carpenter was born at Olney, Illinois, December 2, 1843,
and spent his boyhood and early youth on a farm near Lexington, Ohio.
He was completing his education in the Ontario Academy in that state
when the war came on and most of the boys enlisted for service. Not
enough were left to make a school, and consequently all the other
students and teachers enlisted. That broke up the school, and it was
never re-established after the war.
Mr. Carpenter was enrolled as a soldier in October, 1862, in Com-
pany F of the Forty-third Ohio Infantry. During that enlistment he
served nearly one year. At the siege of Vicksburg he did guard duty
for a provision train. At the close of this service he came to Wisconsin,
and during the winter of 1863-64 taught school in Sauk County. Then
in October, 1864, the war still being in progress, he enlisted in the First
Wisconsin Heavy Artillery as a sergeant in Company G. He was with
that command until the close of hostilities, and thus has the distinction
of being a veteran Union soldier.
Following the war he returned to Wisconsin and bought a farm in
Franklin Township of Sauk County. This place he managed continu-
ously until June 13, 1898, at which date he removed to Spring Green
and has since taken life somewhat more leisurely, though he spends most
of his time looking after the interests of the insurance company.
Mr. Carpenter has been quite a well known figure in county politics.
He was once candidate for sheriff. He has served as chairman of Frank-
lin Township Board, as township clerk and school clerk, and for several
years he has been a member of the county board of the Village of Spring
Green, which office he now holds. In every way possible he has sought
Vol. n 2 6
968 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
to advance the welfare and best interests of his community. He is a
member of T, J. Hungerford Post No. 39, Gr. A. R., and has held all
the offices in the post and is now adjutant. His church is the Methodist
Episcopal.
On June 24, 1864, between his first and second enlistment in the
army, Mr. Carpenter married Julia E. Culley, of Lexington, Ohio. At
her death she left one child, Charles, now a farmer near Spring Green.
Her parents were Levi J. and Mary Culley, a family of farmers near
Lexington, Ohio.
On February 14, 1880, Mr. Carpenter married for his second wife
Carrie C. Utendorfer, who was born' at Warren, Pennsylvania, August
14, 1849. Her parents, George and Maria B. (Brown) Utendorfer, were
natives of Germany, the former born in 1809 and the latter in 1820.
George Utendorfer saw active service as a German soldier in the Father-
land, came to America in 1840, and located first at Wilmington, Dela-
ware, in 1856 brought his family to Richland County, Wisconsin, and in
1857 established a home in Spring Green, where he was one of the pioneer
carpenters. He died July 7, 1877, and Mrs. Carpenter's mother passed
away February 28, 1903. Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter have three children:
Mary Edna, wife of John J. Flannery, a merchant at Des Moines, Iowa ;
James W., a farmer at Spring Green; and Frank A., who was born
September 9, 1889, and died July 4, 1911, while a student in the Uni-
versity of Wisconsin. The daughter Mary graduated from the White-
water Normal School and taught some years in Madison before her mar-
riage. James was a graduate of business college, and all four of Mr.
Carpenter's children finished the course of the Spring Green High
School. His oldest child, Charles, is married and has five children,
named Julia, Florence, Benjamin, Theodore and William. His daughter
Mary has one child, Ruth. The son James is the father of two children,
John H. and Lawrence.
Morris E. Seeley. During the past several years Morris E. Seeley
has been a member of the retired colony of Reedsburg, where he owns
a pleasant home and devotes himself to its oversight and improvement.
He is still active and possessed of sound faculties, although more than
seventy-seven years have unrolled their length since his birth. May 3,
1840, and he takes a keen and active interest in the world's work going
on about him, although to younger shoulders has he transferred the
labors that were his for so many years. His memories are culled from
experiences as pioneer, hunter, carpenter, general mechanic and soldier,
and particularly are rich in incidents relating to the very early history
of Sauk County.
Morris E. Seeley was born in Medina County, Ohio, a son of Austin
and Mary (Kent) Seeley and a grandson of Levi and Mary (Webster)
Seeley. The grandfather, who fought as a soldier during the War of
1812, came to Reedsburg about the year 1850,- and here passed away, as
did also his wife. They were the parents of a large family of children,
and of these three still survive : Sarah, who is a resident of North
Freedom ; Milo, who fought in the Civil war as a captain in the Fourth
Wisconsin Cavalry, and is now a resident of North Freedom ; and Levi,
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 969
who was also a soldier during the war between the North and the South,
and who is now a resident of Bingham, North Dakota. Austin Seeley
was born in 1820, in Medina County, Ohio, and was there married to
Mary Kent, also a native of that county, who was born in 1822. In
1845 they left Ohio, where Mr. Seeley had at one time been a manufac-
turer of guns, and came to Wisconsin, first locating at Geneva and later
removing to Delavan, Walworth County, where Mr. Seeley was engaged
in business as a manufacturer of coffins. In 1848 the family came to
Reedsburg, which continued to be its home during the lifetime of the
parents, both of whom passed away here. Mr. Seeley was variously
employed at this place, although the greater part of his attention was
devoted to the cultivation of his farm, a tract of eighty acres of good
land lying 1^4 miles from Reedsburg, which is now worth in the neigh-
borhood of $20,000. He was one of the substantial and highly respected
citizens of his community, and at various times was called upon to rep-
resent his fellow-citizens in positions of public trust, at one time being
chairman of the board of supervisors during the early days when such
officials were called upon to work out their own problems, with few
precepts to guide them. From the formation of the republican party
until his death Mr. Seeley was a supporter of the principles of the grand
old party. Mrs. Seeley was at first a member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, but in later life transferred her membership to the Congrega-
tional faith. There were three children in the family, as follows : Morris
E., of this review; Caroline, who is now Mrs. Markle and resides at
Reedsburg; and Ada, who is the wife of Robert Tate, of Lavalle,
Wisconsin.
Morris E. Seeley was five years of age when he accompanied his
parents from his Ohio birthplace to the new country of Wisconsin, and
but three years older when he arrived at Reedsburg, then a little set-
tlement boasting of five log shanties, which gave but small indications
of developing into a thriving mercantile center, with modern schools,
churches and civic improvements and a population of prosperous, indus-
trious and energetic people. Beside himself there were but two white
boys in the little community, and in search of playmates the youth often
chose as his boyhood friends the Indian youths of the locality, there
being many red men still having their camps in Sauk County in the
vicinity of Reedsburg. It was but natural that he should learn a smat-
tering of the tongue spoken by his playmates, and he still remembers
many Indian words. From his father Mr. Seeley inherited a natural
love and predilection for mechanics. When not attending the rude and
primitive schools of the country or assisting his father on the home
farm, he could usually be found tinkering with some piece of mechanism,
often preferring this than to join the other lads of the neighborhood in
play. Thus it was that he developed his inherent genius in this direc-
tion, and throughout his life he has been identified with one or another
of the skilled trades. Game was still plentiful in Sauk County when he
came and for many years after, and Mr. Seeley gained something more
than a merely local reputation as a huntsman and fisherman. He also
had a touch of frontier life, making a trip to South Dakota, where he
resided on a claim for a time, and his youthful experiences were such as
970 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
many men do not enjoy in an entire lifetime. Thus he grew to strong
and sturdy manhood, just the kind of material necessary for the coun-
try's needs when the great issue between the North and the South had
to be decided by force of arms. In 1861, with the war only several
months old, he enlisted in Company B, Twelfth Regiment, Wisconsin
Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the close of the struggle,
after Appomattox. The Twelfth Regiment took part in numerous notable
engagements, including those of the Atlanta campaign, and had the
record for marching of any regiment in the Union army. For three
years Mr. Seeley played as a member of the regimental band, but also
took an active part in the fighting, and because of bravery and fidelity
was advanced in rank to corporal of his company. When he received
his honorable discharge he returned to Reedsburg and again took up
mechanical work, principally engaging in carpentry, although he also
did a nice business in repairing guns, lawnmowers, etc., in his well known
little shop, a historic landmark of Reedsburg, which was originally thq
first schoolhouse of this city. Upon his retirement he settled down to a
life of comfort in his neat and attractive home at No. 222 North Walnut
Street. Mr. Seeley may be said to be something more than a mechanic ;
in his way he is an artist, as will be evidenced by a number of fine pieces
of furniture of his manufacture which are to be found in his home and
which are composed of sumac. He is a fine worker in and carver of
wood, in fact can still make anything that can be composed of wood,
and several fine pieces of work in his home are a large hall clock
and a violin. All the best turning work in the big stores of Reedsburg
was done by Mr. Seeley, whose services during his active years were
always in demand when an exceptionally difficult or intricate piece of
work was needed to be done. Mr. Seeley is a republican, but has never
cared for office. He belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic, and is
a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason.
Mr. Seeley was married on Narrows Prairie, Sauk County, in 1867,
to Miss Nellie Augusta Farrar, who was born at Columbus, Chenango
County, New York, June 23, 1844, and came to Sauk County, Wisconsin,
in 1855, with her parents. Nelson and Olivia Farrar, the family first
settling in Washington Township on a farm. Later they removed to
Reedsburg, where Mrs. Farrar died January 25, 1910, aged eighty-eight
years, Mr. Farrar having passed away at Mendota, Wisconsin, September
29, 1872, when fifty-eight years of age. Mrs. Seeley died at Reedsburg
September 26, 1910, having been the mother of one child, a daughter,
Calla, born October 9, 1881, at Reedsburg. She was educated in the
graded and high schools of this city, and was married March 26, 1911,
to Leon B. Devereaux, of Lavalle, Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Devereaux
now reside at Reedsburg with Mr. Seeley, and are the parents of one
child: Bliss Leon, born April 4, 1916. Mrs. Devereaux is a talented
musician, one of the real artists of the Reedsburg Orchestra, of which
she has been a member for several years, and a general favorite in social
circles of the city of her birth.
William R. Purdt has been a name in Sauk County journalism for
nearly thirty years. He was editor and proprietor of the Spring Green
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 971
Weekly Home News until recently, when he took in his son, Harry C.
Purdy, as partner, and the business is still continued under their man-
agement and control.
This is one of the pioneer families of Central Wisconsin. William R.
Purdy was born at Victory in Vernon County, Wisconsin, July 4, 1854.
His father, William S. Purdy, was born in the historic little town of
Carlisle in Sullivan County, Indiana, in 1825.
William R. Purdy spent most of his boyhood at Viroqua, Wisconsin.
While there he learned the printing business, beginning his apprentice-
ship at the trade at the age of fourteen, after a limited schooling. He
also worked in printing offices at La Crosse. In 1876, at the age of
twenty-two, Mr. Purdy went west and took up a homestead near Sioux
Falls, South Dakota. He remained on his claim until 1879, and then
went to Pratt County, Kansas, where he remained a year. Returning to
Wisconsin, he followed his trade as printer at Viroqua, and until 1888
was active manager of the Vernon County Censor in that city.
Mr. Purdy came to Sauk County in 1888 and bought the Spring
Green Weekly Home News, which for nearly thirty years has been under
his management and editorial direction. It is one of the leading news-
papers of Sauk County and in point of continuous service Mr. Purdy is
one of the oldest if not the oldest newspaper editor in the county. In
January, 1916, he took in as partner his son, Harry C.
Mr. Purdy is past master of his Masonic Lodge. He was married
January 8, 1879, to Miss Julia E. Coe, of Viroqua, Wisconsin. , Mrs.
Piirdy was born in Franklin Township of Vernon County August 25,
1856, a daughter of Nathan and Mary (Lawrence) Coe. Her father,
who died in 1900, at the age of seventy-three, was one of the pioneers
of Vernon County.
Harry C. Purdy was born in Pratt County, Kansas, November 14,
1879, but has spent practically all his life in Wisconsin. He was nine
years of age when the family moved to Spring Green and he received
the rest of his education in that village and learned the printer's trade
with his father. He was employed in various capacities with the News-
until he was admitted to partnership in January, 1916. Mr. Harry
Purdy has served as village clerk and since 1910 has held other minor
offices. He is a Knight Templar Mason and is past master of his home
lodge.
On July 12, 1913, he married Miss Ruth Woodbury, of Spring Green.
Mrs. Purdy was born at Lone Rock, Wisconsin, May 7, 1892.
Henry Alexander Weidman, who has spent his life in Sauk County,
was for many years an industrious and skillful worker at the carpenter
trade, but for the pa.st fifteen years has cultivated a good farm in Reeds-
burg Township.
His birth occurred in Westfield Township of Sauk County May 8,
1862. He is a son of Alexander and Eleanor (Mcllvaine) Weidman,
and more concerning their history and concerning the other achievements
of the family in Sauk County will be found on other pages of this pub-
lication.
Henry A. Weidman while growing up as a boy on the farm attended
972 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
the public schools and also learned the trade of carpenter. For about
sixteen years he was employed by the railroad company and lived at
Ableman. When his father's farm was divided he took as his share
eighty acres and he also owns thirty acres in Excelsior Township. This
land he devotes to general farming and stock raising, and has sur-
rounded himself with all the equipment necessary for progressive agri-
cultural industry. He has a barn 34 by 52 feet.
Mr. Weidman is a republican in politics. During his residence in
the village of Ableman he served as village trustee, and has always
interested himself in the public spirited movements of his community.
In 1887 Mr. Weidman married Miss Lena Pierce. She is a daughter
of Shepard Pierce, an early settler of Sauk County. Mr. and Mrs. Weid-
man have six children, Eleanor, Irene, Ralph, Lola, Kenneth and Grier.
The two younger children are still at home. Eleanor is the wife ot
Glen Rork, formerly of Reedsburg but now of Greenwood, Wisconsin,
and they have two children. Whitman and Allen Willard. The daughter
Irene married Arthur Ristau and their one son is named Kenneth.
Ralph, a farmer near Greenwood in Clark County, Wisconsin, married
Eva Hoag. Lola Bell is the wife of Robert Harvey, and they have one
daughter, Lola Bell.
Walter F. Winchester is vice president of the Reedsburg Bank,
and has been connected with banking affairs in Reedsburg for the past
thirty-five years, since early youth.
His parents, Oliver W. and Jennette S. (Jones) Winchester, were
living in Turkey, at Sivas, where his father was a missionary among
the Armenians for nine years. In this Oriental country Walter F.
Winchester was born October 28, 1864, but has no distinct recollections
of his native country, since his parents during his infancy returned to
the United States. His father was born in St. Lawrence County, New
York, in April, 1826, and his mother in Shoreham, Vermont, in the same
month and year. His father, after his missionary experience, became a
Presbyterian minister, and in January, 1881, became pastor of the
Presbyterian Church at Reedsburg, Wisconsin. He remained there six
years, then was minister at Cambria, Wisconsin, about two years, and
his last pastorate was at Oregon, Wisconsin, where he died November
7, 1890. His widow afterwards returned to Reedsburg and lived with
her son Walter until her death on March 24, 1910. Their three children
were : Henry N., a well known attorney of Reedsburg in the office of
James A. Stone ; Mary C, wife of Charles W. Eberlein, of San Francisco,
California ; and Walter F.
Walter F. Winchester was reared in New York, Michigan, and Min-
nesota, and received a high school education at Fergus Falls, Minnesota.
He was seventeen when his parents located at Reedsburg in 1881 and
for one year he attended high school there. In 1882 he became a clerk
in the Reedsburg Bank. For five years he performed his duties faith-
fully and laid the foundation of his banking experience. Then with
Charles Keith and George T. Morse he assisted in organizing the Citizens
Bank and became its cashier and filled that office until 1896. In that
year he returned to the Reedsburg Bank and has been one of its officials
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 973
and stockholders ever since. He was cashier until 1913, when he was
elected vice president.
Mr. Winchester is a republican in politics and a member of the Pres-
byterian Church. His home is on North Pine Street in Reedsburg. In
1905 he married Miss Edith M. Rork, of Kilbourn, Wisconsin, They
have a daughter, Janette, born June 26, 1907.
Hon. Frank Avery, of Baraboo, is a remarkable man. He is now
eighty-six years of age. He has lived at Baraboo sixty years, has been
a factor in its business life perhaps longer than any other citizen now
living, and his experience has extended to the larger life of the state.
Mr. Avery was born in County Kent, England, on November 17,
1830. His parents were Thomas and Mary Avery. His father was a
shoemaker, the grandfather also followed that trade, and Frank Avery
learned it and followed it for some years. When Frank Avery was
eight years of age his mother died, and most of her family came to the
United States. Thomas Avery also came to America, while the Civil war
was in progress, and spent his last years at the home of his son, Frank,
in Baraboo.
Mr. Avery was the only son of the family, and his sisters are all
deceased. Frank Avery grew up in England, attended local schools,
and then served an apprenticeship at the shoemaker's trade. In the
spring of 1853, when twenty-three years of age, he embarked on a vessel-
bound for America. While at the harbor he witnessed the embarkation
of English soldiers who were going to Southern Russia to fight in the
Crimean war.
After coming to America Mr. Avery followed his trade for a time
near Syracuse, New York, and in the winter of 1855 arrived in Wis-
consin, first locating at Janesville. In the spring of 1856 he arrived
in Baraboo, and he has known that city as a place of residence ever
since. For thirty years Mr. Avery conducted one of the leading boot
and shoe stores of Baraboo and since retiring from his life as a merchant
in 1892 he has been in the insurance business. He still maintains an
office and in spite of his advanced years has no inclination to retire from
business.
He has always been a republican since he became a naturalized
American. The first vote he east was at Baraboo. That was in 1856,
when General Fremont was the first candidate of the. republican party.
Mr. Avery has the unusual distinction of having voted for every repub-
lican presidential candidate from the time the party was organized down
to the present date. He attended a county convention of the party in
1856, and has been a delegate to such conventions in nearly every election
year since that time. When Baraboo was a village he served both as
trustee and president. In 1887 he was elected to the state assembly and
in 1888 was elected to the state senate. Altogether he served six years
in the Legislature. He has been an alderman of Baraboo, and for two
terms was mayor.
In 1853 Mr. Avery took his first degree in the Masonic order at Syra-
cuse, New York, and is now one of the oldest Masons living in Wisconsin.
His religious faith is that of the Unitarian Church.
974 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
In 1859 Mr. Avery married Miss Emily Andrews. She died in 1895.
Four years later Mr. Avery married his present wife, Harriet Hall. Mr.
Avery had one adopted daughter, Julia A., who died in 1877. She was
a graduate of the local schools, and had become private secretary to the
superintendent of schools at Milwaukee.
Henry Steckelberg has been more than a prosperous farmer in
"Westfield Township and has carried some of the heavier responsibilities
in connection with public affairs in the community. For the past twenty-
five years he has been chairman of the town board, and that has made
his influence and prosperity a means of general advancement.
Mr. Steckelberg was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1850, but has
lived in Sauk County since early manhood. His parents were George
and Mary (Leicht) Steckelberg, his mother passing away in the old
country in 1858. George Steckelberg brought his family to America
and to Sauk County in 1868 and lived here until his death in 1905. There
were the following children : William, Elizabeth and Henry. William
married Etta Loving. Elizabeth became the wife of Henry Schultz.
Mr. Henry Steckelberg was educated in the old country and since
coming to Sauk County nearly fifty years ago has been steadily improv-
ing his opportunities and his interests as a practical farmer, and is now
owner of 240 acres of well cultivated land in Westfield Township. He is
a republican in politics and a member of the Lutheran Church, in which
he was reared.
In 1876 he married Kathleen Meyer, daughter of George Meyer, who
also came from Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Steckelberg have had the
following children : Henry, who married Anna Schuette ; Ida, wife of
Herman Leicht; Emma, wife of Gus Schranke; and Rosella, Ernst and
William, deceased.
L. E. Montgomery, whose work for many years has identified him
with Dellona Township as a general farmer and stock raiser, belongs to
an old-time family of this county and is himself a native son.
He was born in Excelsior Township December 9, 1859, a son of L. B.
and Achsah (Peck) Montgomery. Only a very small area of the forest
of Sauk County had been cleared away when the Montgomery family
arrived here from New York State in 1850. They went through the
trials and adversities of pioneering in Dellona Township, where the
father in course of time cleared up and developed a splendid farm. He
lived a useful and honorable life and passed away at a good old age July
4, 1914. His widow is still living, making her home with her son, C. L.
There were four children : L. E., Isabella, Sarah and Charles, all living
except Isabella.
L. E. Montgomery grew up on his father's farm, attended the local
schools, and from an early age has applied himself to the work and busi-
ness of farming. He now owns a well improved place of 230 acres, devoted
to farming and stock raising. He breeds some high-grade Holstein cattle.
Mr. Montgomery is a republican in politics. He has been twice married.
His first wife was Annie Mcintosh, daughter of L. Mcintosh of Winfield
Township, Sauk County. In July, 1915, Mr. Montgomery married
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 975
Minnie Krug, daughter of H. Krug. His children are all by his first
wife, who passed away in June, 1900. Their names are Frank J., Ger-
trude, Florence, Walter, Vernie, Gladys and Paul. They have been well
educated in the local district schools and 'the high school.
"William Claridge. One of the true pioneer families of Sauk County
is that of Claridge. The founder of it in the wilds of this state was
William Claridge, and his son, Mr. George Claridge, now living retired
at Spring Green, has lived here since early childhood and is thoroughly
competent to speak by personal experience of pioneer conditions as they
were sixty or seventy years ago.
The family are English. William Claridge was born in Leicester-
shire, England, April 14, 1816. On April 19, 1841, he married Eliza-
beth Felstend, who was born April 10, 1810. Their four children and
the dates of their birth were : George, November 19, 1842 ; Ann, Janu-
ary 30, 1845 ; Alice, March 27, 1849 ; and William, Jr., April 20, 1852.
George and Ann were both born in England, while Alice was born in
Dane County, Wisconsin, and William in Sauk County. The daughter
Ann is still living at Reedsburg, Wisconsin. Alice died in 1869. William
is a farmer near Ableman.
William Claridge left England on a vessel at Liverpool May 9, 1847,
and after a long voyage landed at New Orleans. He came north up the
Mississippi River, partly on a steamboat. By way of Mineral Point he
reached Dane County, Wisconsin, and located on a farm and cultivated
the soil near Sun Prairie in that county until July, 1850. At that date
he established a new home in what is now Franklin Township of Sauk
County, and some years later he removed to Spring Green. By trade he
was a shoemaker, which he followed as a vocation in England, but in
this country was a practical farmer. He died April 23, 1898, his wife
having preceded him in death on February 13, 1881. They were active
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. William Claridge was a
member of the township board and school board and for nine years was
treasurer of Franklin Township.
Mr. George Claridge was about five years of age when he accom-
panied the family on its trip to America and has lived in Sauk County
since he was eight years old. He grew up on the farm and many is the
pioneer condition registered upon his mind and recollection. When the
family arrived here there was not a single flour mill in the entire county.
Wild game of all kinds abounded. Mr. George Claridge when a boy
killed three deer with an old army musket. He also caught in traps
thirteen wolves and took their scalps to Baraboo. Few farmers used
any other kind of work animals than oxen. They drew the plow through
the heavy soil and also hauled the wagons of produce to market and
very frequently they were driven to the wagon on occasions of ceremony
such as church attendance and social occasions. Mr. Claridge spent his
early youth in the log cabin days of Sauk County. The modern farmer
would be completely at loss to do any work if he had to depend upon such
few and crude instruments and machinery as the pioneers had. Scythes
and cradles were used instead of mowers and self binders, and in hun-
dreds of ways Mr. Claridge might graphically represent the transfer-
976 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Illation in industry as well as in social and economic life. He recalls the
interesting fact that some of the first wheat raised by his family was
eaten somewhat as a modern breakfast food, being boiled and mixed
with milk. The old Claridge home offered little protection against the
elements, and in the winter the cold winds would come so freely through
the cracks that the cups would freeze to the saucers while the family
were at table. Mr. Claridge recalls that the first school in Franklin
Township was taught in the kitchen of William Hinneman by Elizabeth
Cooper in 1851. In 1852 the community built a log schoolhouse and
Mr. George Claridge received some of his early instruction there.
He remained at home until February 24, 1864, when he enlisted in
Company A of the Thirty-sixth Wisconsin Infantry. He was in the
Union army until discharged August 30, 1865. He saw some of the
hard fighting during the last year of the war. He was at Spottsylvania
Court House and at Cold Harbor, and on the fifth of June, 1864, sus-
tained a scalp wound, while three days later, on June 8th, he was shot
through the side. For eight months he was in a hospital at Washington
and on partially recovering was transferred to Company A of the Tenth
Regiment, Veteran Reserves. With this command he did guard duty
in Washington. His company was selected as guard of honor to accom-
pany the body of Lincoln from the White House to the Capitol, where it
lay in state. The Ninth and the Tenth regiments of Veteran Reserves
were assigned to guard duty at the arsenal prison while the conspirators
who had been involved in the widespread plan to kill Lincoln and mem-
bers of the cabinet were on trial. These regiments guarded the prison
alternately, one regiment one day and the other the next. A guard stood
at the cell door of every prisoner. This guard was changed every two
hours, and no man was allowed to guard a prisoner more than once.
It fell to the lot of Mr. Claridge to stand guard at the cell door of the
noted prisoner, Herold, for the limit of two hours.
On the thirtieth of August, 1865, Mr. Claridge returned home from
the war and tesumed his place on his father's farm. Then, on November
19, 1867, he married Miss Elizabeth Born, of Franklin Township. She
was born at Canton, Ohio, September 12, 1846, a daughter of John and
Annie (Angel) Born, both natives of Switzerland. They were married
in Columbus, Ohio, and they subsequently traveled by railroad with
their family from Ohio to Milwaukee and from that city went by team
to Sauk City, where they arrived in 1853. John Born was a tailor by
trade, learning that occupation in Switzerland. He was born in 1820
and died May 10, 1891. Mrs. Claridge 's mother was born in 1808
and died in February, 1888.
To Mr. and Mrs. Claridge were born ten children. Ellen married
L. C. Tupper, of Sioux City, Iowa, and they have two children, Omer
A. and Amy. John W. is a carpenter at Reedsburg, and his two children
are Vera and Elizabeth. George H. lives at Sioux City, Iowa, and has
two children, Walter E. and Laveme. Annie is the wife of William
Weston, a carpenter at Spring Green. Albert L. died at the age of
twenty-one years. Alice 0. died aged one year and seven months.
Bessie H. died at the age of three years and seven months. Wallace E.
and Walter P., twins, the former a farmer in South Dakota, at Hettinger,
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 977
and the latter died at the age of twenty-two. Erwin, the youngest of the
family, died when only eighteen days old.
In 1867, the year he married, Mr. Claridge bought 160 acres in
section 17 of Franklin Township. That was fifty years ago and the land
responded to his diligent efforts and good management and returned
him bountiful crops and made him financially independent. He continued
his farming there until 1901 and then sold out and retired into Spring
Green, where he owns a comfortable home and finds employment for his
leisure hours as a gardener. He and his wife are members of the Metho-
dist Episcopal Church. For nine years he served as pathmaster of
Franklin Township.
Patrick Croal. Two vocations, those of railroading and farming,
have occupied the energies of Patrick Croal since he started upon his
wage-earning career as a mere lad. For many years he traveled all over
various parts of the country while acting in numerous capacities in the
service of railroad companies, but in middle life settled down in Sauk
County and became a farmer, and this occupation engaged his attention
until 1916, when he retired, and took up his residence at Reedsburg.
He is one of the substantial citizens of this thriving community, and
whatever success has come to him has been the result of his own unaided
efforts.
Patrick Croal was born in County Leitrim, Ireland, in 1843, and is
a son of John and Catherine (Clinton) Croal, also natives of Erin's
Isle. He was but four years of age when brought to the United States
by his parents, the first place of residence of the family being the City
of Danbury, Connecticut, where they lived until 1851. In that year they
migrated to Wisconsin and located on a farm in Jefferson County, where
they established at first a humble home and began the cultivation of the
soil. They were hard-working. God-fearing and industrious people, made,
the most of their opportunities, and through their continuous labor man-
aged to develop a good farm and establish a comfortable home. While
they spent many years in Jefferson County, the parents died at Milwau-
kee, the father in 1873, at the age of sixty-nine years, and the mother in
1878, when seventy years of age. They were devout members of the
Catholic Church, and were laid to rest in Calvary Cemetery. John and
Catherine Croal were the parents of ten children : Honora, James, Cath-
erine, Andrew, Ann, Mary, Hannah, Rose, John and Patrick, of whom
all are now deceased except the last named.
Patrick Croal enjoyed the educational privileges afforded by the
country schools of Jefferson County and was brought up on the home-
stead, it being the assumption df his father that he would adopt t^ie
vocation of farming when ready to start upon his career. However, like
numerous other country boys, he was early attracted by the railroad,
and, grasping the opportunity, managed to master the art of telegraphy.
Thus equipped, he was qualified for a position with the Chicago, Mil-
waukee & St. Paul Railroad, and entered the service of that line as a
telegrapher, but this work did not prove congenial, and the youth gave
up the key to become a brakeman. By the time he was seventeen years
of age he was earning a man's salary as a conductor, and continued in
978 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
that capacity for several years, the period of his connection with the
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul covering eight years. At the end of
that time Mr, Croal went to California, where he secured a position as
conductor on a line running from San Francisco to San Jose, and during
the years that followed he covered a rather wide stretch of countrj'- in
the extreme West, being at various times employed by most of the leading
systems.
After a quarter of a century of railroading Mr. Croal returned to
Wisconsin, and April 8, 1892, at Winfield, was united in marriage with
Miss Maria Daly, who was born in County Mayo, Ireland, in 1857, a
daughter of Patrick and Jane (Moran) Daly. Patrick Daly was born
in 1807, in County Mayo, and was there married to Jane Moran, who
was born in 1820, and in 1862 they immigrated to the United States and
located on a farm in Winfield Township, Sauk County. They succeeded
in the cultivation of a good property and rounded out their lives there,
the father dying in 1880 and the mother not long thereafter. Patrick
Daly was an exceptionally well informed man, a profound student and
a reader of the classics. He was a democrat in politics, and he and Mrs.
Daly were consistent and devout members of the Catholic Church. Their
children were as follows: Michael, who died as an infant in Ireland;
Maria (1) and Jane, who also died in infancy; Catherine, who is the
wife of John Loughney, of Ironton, Wisconsin ; Maria, who is now Mrs.
Croal ; Patrick, who became one of the leading lawyers of Reedsburg and
died here in 1911 ; John, who died in infancy; John (2), who is engaged
in farming near Fond du Lac, Wisconsin; Frank P., M. D., a leading
physician and surgeon of Reedsburg ; and Martin, who died in infancy.
In 1893 Mr. Croal purchased the Patrick Daly homestead in Winfield
Township and settled down to farming operations, in which he was very
successful. While his training up to 1893, with the exception of several
years in his youth, had been along entirely different lines, he proved
himself capable of managing and directing a farm, and during his occu-
pancy numerous improvements were installed which enhanced its value,
while at the same time he produced good crops and made his land pay
commensurately for the labor he expended upon it. In March, 1916,
Mr. Croal retired from active labor and came to Reedsburg, where he
now resides at the corner of Dewey and Bast Main streets. He is a demo-
crat in politics. With his family he belongs to the Catholic Church.
Mr. and Mrs. Croal are parents of the following children : John, who
was educated in the public schools and is now engaged in operating the
homestead farm in Winfield Township ; Jane, who was educated in the
schools of Winfield Township and Reedsburg, and is now in charge of a
school at Lime Ridge ; Agnes, a graduate of the Reedsburg High School
and now a teacher at Lavalle, Wisconsin; Mary, educated at the Reeds-
burg High School, and teaching at Lime Ridge; Rose, a junior at the
Reedsburg High School ; and Rita, a sophomore in the same school.
Joseph B. Ragatz, for many years one of the leading merchants of
Prairie du Sac, is now retired from merchandising, but has recently
become president of the People's State Bank. He is a member of one
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 979
of Sauk County's oldest families, and his individual career has been in
keeping- with the high ideals and standards of previous generations.
Mr. Ragatz was born in Sauk County, in Honey Creek Township,
December 16, 1862. He is a son of Thomas and Catherine (Buehler)
Ragatz, both natives of Switzerland. His father was born in 1837 and
his mother in 1840. The Ragatz family was established in this country
by Bartholomew and Agnes Ragatz, who arrived in Sauk County in
March, 1842. Bartholomew Ragatz took up land from the Government
in Honey Creek Township and also had landed possessions in Prairie
du Sac Township. His home was always in Honey Creek Township,
and from the condition of the wilderness he developed his land until
it made a splendid farm. Perhaps more than any one else he was re-
sponsible for establishing the worship of the Evangelical Church in his
community. The early meetings of that church were held in his own
home. Subsequently he donated six acres of his land to build the
Evangelical Church, known as the Ragatz church. At first the wor-
shipers met in a log building, that gave way to a frame structure, and
in 1875 the present church home was built. Bartholomew Ragatz and
wife lived out the rest of their days on the old farm. Their children
were : Christian, Jacob, Bartholomew, Henry, George, Oswald, Thomas,
Julius and two daughters. Of this family Henry and Oswald both be-
came ministers of the Evangelical Church.
Thomas Ragatz was eight years old when brought to Sauk County
and the homestead farm which was the scene of his early childhood also
became the stage of his mature endeavors as a prosperous farmer. He
attended the public schools, was well read and a man whose character
made him a distinctive influence in the community. While a farmer, he
possessed the genius of a natural mechanic and did practically all me-
chanical work required about his own place. For over twenty-five years
he acted as superintendent of the Sunday School in the Ragatz church.
He was an advocate of temperance and in politics a republican. His
death occurred at the old home farm in 1890. His widow is living
in the Village of Prairie du Sac. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Jacob Buehler. Jacob Buehler came to Sauk County in 1847, locating
in Honey Creek Township on Government land. His farm, on which
he died, is now owned by his son Ulrich, former county clerk of Sauk
County. Jacob Buehler and wife had a family of eight children : John,
Elizabeth, Ulrich, George, Sadie, Catherine, Maggie and Christian.
Mr. Joseph B. Ragatz was the second in a family of seven children.
The names of the others are Sarah, Rosana (deceased), John J., Henry,
Lydia and Edward J.
On the old farm where both his grandfather and father spent so
many productive years, Joseph B. Ragatz lived until he was twenty-
one years of age. He received his education in the local schools. In 1884
he removed to Prairie du Sac and started his business career as clerk
for Mr. Jacob Hatz. In four years' time he had mastered the funda-
mentals of mercantile life, and he then invested his modest capital in
a store of his own. He continued actively in business at Prairie du Sac
for a quarter of a century, finally retiring on January 1, 1914. Pos-
sessed of considerable means, and with a judgment matured by long
980 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
experience, he became one of the leaders in the organization of the
People's State Bank in 1916, and when that bank opened its doors for
business, March 5, 1917, he was the president.
Mr. Ragatz is a republican in politics and has become well known
over Sauk County as a useful man in any position to which the people
appoint him. In 1905 he was elected a member of the State Legislature
and served one term with credit. He was elected supervisor of Prairie
du Sac Township in 1901 and, except for the time spent in the Legis-
lature, has been in that office continuously to the present. For about
twenty-three years he was a member of the Board of Trustees. Mr.
Ragatz is affiliated with Eureka Lodge No. 113, Ancient, Free and Ac-
cepted Masons, and with the Modern Woodmen of America, and is a
member in the church of his father, the Evangelical. On June 14, 1892,
he married Miss Cora M. Reese. They have one son, Joseph B., Jr., born
March 21, 1910.
Frank Brothers. The Frank Brothers have developed an im-
portant business enterprise at Spring Green, where they conduct a garage
and machine shop. The firm comprises John and Alphons Frank,
and they organized under the present partnership in April, 1915. By
the following May they had their splendid building erected and ready
for business. This is an absolutely fireproof structure of vitrified tile
and consists of two stories and is 48 feet wide by 72 feet long. It is
located at the corner of Lexington and Monroe streets. The plant is
perfect, and the service rendered by the Frank Brothers also has an
excellence and efficiency which have had much to do with their pros-
perity. The brothers sell Buick cars and all kinds of automobile and
gas engine accessories. The equipment consists of an Oxy Acetylene
welding apparatus, tire vulvanizing facilities, storage batteries, and a
general service station. They do all kinds of repairing both of automo-
biles and other machinery. The garage is one of the best in Sauk County
and has many conveniences, including a ladies' waiting room.
Mr. John A. Frank, senior member of the firm, was born on his
father's farm in Spring Green Township, April 27, 1887. He is the
third of ten children of Joseph and Mary (Soeldner) Frank. He grew
up on his father's farm, but early showed a special genius and inclina-
tion for mechanics and machinery. He acquired his education in the
local schools, and worked at home until he was twenty-four years of age.
He then bought a farm of 160 acres in Spring Green Township, and
followed farming four years. At the same time he maintained a gen-
eral repair shop on his land and his success with that enterprise caused
him to sell his plant and establish his garage and automobile service
station at Spring Green.
On June 20, 1911, John Frank married Margaret Guerten, who was
born at Cross Plains, in Dane County, Wisconsin. She is a daughter
of Fred and Mary (Rauls) Guerten, her father now deceased and her
mother a resident of Madison.
Alphons J. Frank, junior member of Frank Brothers, was born in
Spring Green Township December 24, 1888. He also spent his early
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 981
life on the farm, attended the local schools, and left the farm to join
his brother in the garage in April, 1915. He is still a young bachelor.
George Schwartz represents the second generation of an enterpris-
ing family of agriculturists in Bear Creek Township and has applied
his efforts to good advantage in the locality where he was born and
reared.
Mr. Schwartz was born in Bear Creek on May 13, 1874, son of Joseph
and Catherine Schwartz. His parents came from their native land of
Germany in 1871 and located in a comparatively new and unimproved
district of Bear Creek Township, where they bought eighty acres. Much
of this land was cleared and improved by the father, who spent an in-
dustrious life here and died April 16, 1913. ' The widowed mother is
still living. Their children were George, Katherine (deceased), Eliza-
beth, Augusta, Annie, Joseph, Mary and Christina.
George Schwartz grew up in his home locality, was educated in the
local schools, and on March 19, 1902, bought his present farm of 230
acres. A better and more profitably managed farm it would be difficult
to find anywhere in Sauk County. Mr. Schwartz is a democrat and a
member of the Catholic Church. June 23, 1897, he married Miss Joseph-
ine Meister, daughter of Martin Meister, of Bear Creek. Mr. and Mrs.
Schwartz have the following children : Roselia, Bertha, Grace, George
and Eleanor.
Arthur Claude Withington. The late Arthur Claude Withington
spent practically his entire life at Baraboo, where several evidences of
his civic spirit are to be found in the grouping of the shrubbery on the
grounds surrounding the public library, as well as in the buildings
themselves, much of his time during his later years having been devoted
to work in this direction. He was also greatly interested in church
work, and as a citizen contributed materially to the welfare of Baraboo
along civic, educational and moral lines.
Mr. Withington was born in England, February 8, 1855, a son of
Arthur Harding and Emma (Marzetti) Withington. His parents, na-
tives of England, were married in that country, and in October, 1857,
came to the United States and located on a farm near Baraboo, where
Arthur H. Withington carried on agricultural operations for some years.
A sister of Mrs. Withington, Louise Marzetti, who was born in England
December 22, 1829, was married July 19, 1859, to W. Gowan. On
August 23, 1859, they came to Sauk County, Wisconsin, and purchased
a farm near to that occupied by the Withingtons, and there Mr. Gowan
died in 1867, leaving no children. Mr. and Mrs. Withington then went
to live with Mrs. Gowan, and at her home Mr. Withington died in 1872,
following which the sisters resided together until Mrs. Withington 's
death in 1891. Mrs. Gowan now lives at No. 424 Fourth Avenue, Bara-
boo, which has been her home for twenty-two years.
Arthur Claude Withington was the only child of his parents and
was about 2i/2 years old when brought to the United States, so that
almost his entire life was passed within the limits of Sauk County.
He was reared on the farm and passed his school days at Baraboo, where
he attended the graded and high schools. When he began his business
982 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
career he became a traveling salesman, and the greater part of his busi-
ness life was devoted to that occupation, in which he met with a full
measure of success, being the representative of a number of leading
houses. In 1885 Mr. Withington was married to Mary Sterling Slye,
who was born at Baraboo in 1857, a daughter of Col. A. L. and Anna
M. (Yard) Slye, natives of Vermont, the former born May 23, 1825, and
the latter December 2, 1829. They came to Baraboo in 1856, Colonel
Slye assisting, with Mr. McGlaughlin of Chicago, in the organization
of a bank, with which he was connected for a number of years. Later
his energies were devoted to farming and he became successful as an
agriculturist. A stanch -and unswerving republican, he was greatly
interested in politics and from 1875 until 1883 served as county treas-
urer of Sauk County. Mrs. Slye still survives and makes her home with
her daughter, Mrs. Withington.
Mr. Withington was a republican, but did not seek public honors,
preferring to devote his energies to other fields of endeavor. He was a
member of the Modern Woodmen of America and was also well known
in local Masonic circles, belonging to Baraboo Lodge, Chapter and Com-
mandery of that order. As a devout Episcopalian, he was senior warden
of the Baraboo church of that denomination, an office which had also
been held by his father, and sang as a member of the choir for many
years. From its inception the Baraboo Public Library, of which he
was one of the organizers, held his interest, and he remained a member
of the library board up to the time of his death. The beautiful gro\inds
surrounding this institution are largely a result of his work and much
of their beauty must be accredited to his artistic taste and sense of har-
monious arrangement. A tablet to his memory is found in the library
at this time.
Mr. Withington died at Baraboo August 11, 1912, leaving a widow
and three children, the latter being: Arthur Harding, born 'May 23,
1888, a graduate of the Baraboo High School and of the University of
Wisconsin, class of 1913, and now located at Centerville, Iowa, where he
holds the office of county engineer; Frances Eleanor, born February 8,
1891, a graduate of the Baraboo High School and of the University of
AA^isconsin, class of 1913, who, after teaching for two years in the high
school at Wausau, Wisconsin, was married in September, 1916, to Dr.
W. W. Bissell, who is connected with the eminent Mayo brothers of
Rochester, Minnesota; and James Sterling, born October 7, 1893, a
graduate of Baraboo High School and of the University of Wisconsin,
class of 1917.
William Cummings. One of the oldest families located in Bear
Creek Township is that of Cummings, established here nearly sixty
years ago. The old homestead now owned by William Cummings reflects
what the family has done in the way of material improvement, and as a
name it has always stood for the better things of community life.
The family was established here by Dennis and Mary Cummings,
who were settlers in Sauk County in the year 1858. They acquired 160
acres, and the father, with the assistance of his children, did much to
improve and beautify that particular location. The father died here in
August, 1910, and the mother is still living. Their children were Mary,
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 983
Thomas, Maria, William, Esther, Ellen, Annie and Dennis. Thomas
and Maria are now deceased. Mary is the wife of Frank Tenant, of Bear
Creek Township. Ellen married Andrew Anderson and lives in Colo-
rado. Annie is the wife of Fred Scholl, of Bear Creek. Dennis married
Annie Diamond and is also a resident of Bear Creek.
William Cummings, who acquired his father's old farm, is now the
owner of 360 acres. He was born in Bear Creek Township April 21,
1863. He has always lived in this locality, had the advantages of the
local schools while growing up, and is one of the most prominent and
successful farmers. He is unmarried and gives all his time and atten-
tion to the successful prosecution of his biisiness as a farmer and stock'
raiser. He runs a dairy of eighteen cows. Mr. Cummings is a repub-
lican and is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
George T. Thueber, D. D. S. The professional fraternity of the
City of Baraboo has a worthy representative in the person of Dr.
George T. Thuerer, who has been engaged in the practice of dentistry
at this place for more than a quarter of a century and is one of the city 's
dependable and substantial citizens. Not alone as a professional man
but as an official is Doctor Thuerer known to the people of the county
seat, for he is now serving in his third term as mayor, an office in which
he has been able to accomplish much for the advancement of his city.
Doctor Thuerer was born at Baraboo, Sauk County, Wisconsin, Sep-
tember 23, 1869, being a son of Christian and Anna (Tarmetzer)
Thuerer, natives of Graubunden, Switzerland. His parents came to the
United States as young people and were married at Sauk City, Wiscon-
sin, from whence they came to Baraboo in 1868, Mr. Thuerer having
resided here ever since, while the mother passed away about twenty
years ago. In his young manhood, in his native land. Christian Thuerer
had learned the trades of blacksmith and carriage builder, vocations
which he followed first at Sauk City and later, for many years, at Bara-
boo. During a long period he was associated in business with Henry
Miller, under the firm style of Miller & Thuerer, but the partnership
has been dissolved for some years and both partners have retired from
business affairs. While he has now reached an age when most men feel
that they have earned a rest from their labors, Mr. Thuerer 's energetic
and industrious spirits of a lifetime will not allow him to remain inactive
and he is constantly busy in a number of ways, keeping alive a keen
interest in all that appertains to the life of his city. He is serving in
the capacity of city weigher, in addition to which he has heretofore been
the incumbent of other official offices. In political views he has always
been a republican, and is considered one of the influential men of his
party in this section. With his family, he belongs to the German Evan-
gelical Church, in which Mrs. Thuerer was active up to the time of her
death. Of the ten children born to Christian and Anna Thuerer, three
died in infancy, the others being : Dr. George T., of this notice ; Dr.
C. L., a practicing dentist of Baraboo, associated with his brother;
Margaret, who is a trained nurse of Janesville, Wisconsin ; Dr. Edward,
a successful physician and surgeon of Billings, Montana; Jessie L., who
is the wife of Lawrence B. Shei, of Sacramento, California ; Albert, who
is assistant superintendent of the woolen mills at Appleton, Wisconsin;
Vol. II 2 7
984 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
and Nellie, who is a trained nurse and a resident of Long Beach, Cali-
fornia. Christian Thuerer reared his children to lives of honesty and
industry and those wIm) have reached maturity have all attained posi-
tions of comfort and usefulness in the world. Mr. Thuerer 's reputation
in business circles is of the best, and throughout Baraboo he is an object
of respect and esteem, rewards of a well spent life.
George T. Thuerer has passed his entire life at Baraboo. He re-
ceived his early education in the graded schools here, and after his
graduation from the high school secured employment in the office of
Dr. A. H. Gilette, a dental practitioner, with whom he remained for one
and one-half years. With this preparation he entered the dental de-
partment of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, being graduated
therefrom with his degree in 1890, immediately after which he returned
to Baraboo and entered practice. By diligent attention to his work
Doctor Thuerer has acquired a profitable patronage, while by reason of
his marked ability he has secured prestige in his profession. Dentistry
may be said to be almost unique among the various occupations of man-
kind, being at oncq a profession, a trade and a business. Such being the
case it follows that in order to attain the highest success in it one must
be thoroughly conversant with the theory of the art, must be expert in
the use of the many instruments and appliances incidental to modern
dentistry and must possess business qualifications adequate to dealing
with the financial side of the profession. In none of these requirements
is Doctor Thuerer lacking; on the contrary,, close study has given him
a broad understanding of the science of dentistry, and his practical ex-
perience is demonstrated by his extensive patronage, which at once indi-
cates his high standing in the profession. He is a valued member of the
Wisconsin State Dental Society and of the American Dental Association.
Doctor Thuerer has long been prominent in civic affairs and as a leader
of the forces of the republican party. After serving for four years as
alderman of Baraboo, he succeeded ]\Iayor Bender as chief executive
of the city, and is now acting in that office for the third consecutive time.
He has been faithful to the interests of the city and its people, and
through his energetic and businesslike handling of Baraboo 's affairs has
put the city on a sound financial basis. He is a member of the German
Evangelical Church, in the faith of which he was reared. Doctor
Thuerer is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
and is well known in Masonry, being a member of the Blue Lodge,
Chapter and Commandery, in which he has filled various chairs. His
amiable disposition and genial deportment have attracted to him many
stanch friends.
Doctor Thuerer was married July 3, 1895, to Miss Emma M. Royck,
a native of Sauk County, Wisconsin, and a daughter of Charles E. Royck.
They are the parents of two children : Margaret L. and George Royck.
Miles H. Keysar. The life of the late Miles H. Keysar at Prairie
du Sac embraced a period of fifty-three years, from the time of his ar-
rival, in 1848, until his death, in 1901, and covered the era of the
phenomenal growth of the county of his adoption. From the time of his
immediate arrival until his retirement, some twelve years prior to his
demise, he was engaged in a variety of pursuits, principally connected
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 985
with the rising commercial and mercantile interests of the community,
with the growth of which he was intimately related and with the pros-
perity of which he himself prospered. At different times he associated
himself with others in bringing strength and maturity to incipient in-
stitutions, and his organizing and executive powers were accounted as
of high value by those who were fortunate enough to be identified with
him in the important affairs which attracted his attention. Although
sixteen years have passed since his death, his influence and progress and
enlargement is still felt in business circles of the city in which his home
was made for so many years.
Miles H. Keysar was born at Canterbury, Merrimack County, New
Hampshire, in 1823, and was a son of Edmund and Becky (Young)
Keysar, natives and lifelong residents of the old Granite State. His
father was an agriculturist and tilled the soil throughout the period
of his active career, and the son was brought up in the atmosphere of th3
farm and early learned the lessons of hard work and strict honesty.
His early educational training was secured in the common schools, and
this was supplemented by an academic course in his native state, in an
institution at Colebrook, Coos County. With this preparation he entered
upon the serious business of life as teacher of a country school, and
this vocation he followed for two terms, although his summers were
passed on the home farm, to which he eventually returned when he had
finished his school teaching experience.
Mr. Keysar remained on the home farm until he had reached the
age of twenty-five years. He was at that time an ambitious, industrious
young man, and seeing no particular future for him in his native state
he decided to try his fortunes in the newly opened West, which was
sending out urgent calls for virile and willing manhood. In 1848 he
arrived in the little community of Prairie du Sac, after a long and
arduous trip, and soon found employment as a carpenter, having mas-
tered that trade in his youth. This and other honorable occupations
occupied him for three years, at the end of which time he had accumu-
lated sufficient capital to encourage him to enter the lumber business.
He started in a small way, but soon transferred his interests and his
activities to the mercantile business, a field in which he remained for
some three years. At this time, in 1857, he sold his holdings and made
his first trip to his boyhood home, but after a short stay came once more
to Wisconsin and again entered actively into the life of the growing little
community of Prairie du Sac. His first accomplishment upon his return
was the erection of the building which is now known as the Congres;^
Store, and upon its completion he again entered the mercantile trade.
This occupied his attention until 1861, when he sold out to embark in
the stock and grain business, with which he continued to be identified
until his retirement in 1889. While the greater part of his attention
was given to this business during the closing years of his busines.s
career, Mr. Keysar was identified with a number of other enterprises
which were important factors in establishing Prairie du Sac's prestige
among the cities of this region. He was one of the principal owners of
the main steamer, Ellen Haidy, which plied between Prairie du Sac
and Portage, and it was largely through his efforts that the Chicago,
Milwaukee and Saint Paul Railroad was induced to build its road to
986 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Prairie du Sac. He was pre-eminently and primarily a business man,
yet the needs of his community ever held a foremost place in his heart,
and he gave, unreservedly, of his energies, his abilities and means to the
furtherance of any movements whose objects were the betterment of
conditions, whether commercial, industrial, civic, religious or social.
It was part and parcel of his belief that the city should share in the
individual's prosperity, and that the best results could be attained
when said individual and community were working each for the other's
interests. Mr. Keysar was not a politician, yet he was well informed
upon the subjects of the day and took an interest in the success of the
democratic party, with which he voted throughout his life. When the
split came in that party on the question of gold and silver he lined up
with the supporters of solid money. He was a lifelong Universalist, and
while not over-ostentatious in advertising his belief to the world, lived
his faith every day. When he died, in 1901, church as well as com-
munity lost a good and generous friend.
In 1850 Mr. Keysar was united in marriage with Miss Barbara
Stevens, who died without issue three years later. In 1860 occurred his
second marriage, when he was united with ]\Iiss Stella Lawrence, who
bore him two children, Lawrence and Miles, both of whom are now de-
ceased. His second wife died in October, 1878, and in 1880 Mr. Keysar
was married to Mrs. Jeannette (Lyon) Lay, who was born March 9, 1840,
at West Brookfield, Orange County, Vermont, a daughter of William
and Betsy (Mann) Lyon. Mrs. Keysar still survives her husband and
resides in a comfortable residence, being one of the best known and most
highlv esteemed ladies of Prairie du Sac.
'o'
John J. McDermott is one of the enterprising business men of Bear
Creek Township, being a merchant and closely associated with the agri-
cultural enterprise of the district as a manufacturer of cheese.
Mr. McDermott was born in Door County, Wisconsin, August 10,
1881, a son of Patrick and Nora (Malloney) McDermott. His father
was born in Ireland, March 17, 1842, and the mother in Canada, Decem-
ber 13, 1854. Both parents are still living. They were married at
Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, June 17, 1880.
John J. McDermott grew up in the country and has been a resident
of Sauk County since March 6, 1911. He owns a high class mercantile
establishment, stocked with general merchandise and located in the cen-
ter of a fine agricultural district. By fair dealing and enterprising
methods he has built up a large patronage, and though still a young man
his success is practically assured.
For some time Mr. McDermott was employed by the Gruber Cheese
Company of Bear Creek Township. December 9, 1911, he bought a
cheese factory in Big Hollow of that township, and besides that he owns
two other factories in the county, these three factories handling a total
of about twenty thousand pounds of milk every day. Thus his enterprise
is contributing to Sauk County 's preeminence as a dairy center.
Mr. McDermott is a democrat in politics and a member of the
Catholic Church. On June 19, 1912, he married Miss Nellie Carmody,
daughter of John and Ellen (Lawton) Carmody, of Iowa County, Wis-
consin. They have one child, Leo Francis.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 987
Christian Christensen. There is occasionally found an individual
who in the performance of his public duties works to achieve something
more than the things covered by a strict- interpretation these duties
mean, and in this category is found Christian Christensen, of Reeds-
burg, superintendent of the Sauk County Farm. Since becoming the
incumbent of his present position, nine years ago, Mr. Christensen has
labored continuously and successfully to improve his surroundings, to
better conditions and to add to the comfort of his charges. He has
taken an honest pride in his work and has not l)een afraid to introduce
innovations. For these reasons Sauk County may consider itself for-
tunate in possessing his services, for under his management the institu-
tion has become one of the best ordered in the state. This institution be-
came the pioneer among Wisconsin institutions, in what is known as in-
dustrial occupation for inmates. This course is especially of untold
benefit to those among the inmates whose mental condition is such as to
unfit them for any ordinary occupation. The result of this innovation is
that today the institution boasts of one expert carpet weaver, several bas-
ket makers, two men who are expert shoe-repair men. Fancy work in
brass is an accomplishment of several inmates. Several women have be-
come expert needle-workers. While these industries were begun primar-
ily to find occupation for a large number of the most disturbed inmates
with the idea of awakening an interest in their surroundings, and as a
pastime, it has also become a source of income to the institution, the
net profits last year amounting to $217.57. This work has since been
adopted in nearly every other institution in Wisconsin and in several
other states.
Christian Christensen was born at Sjelland, Denmark, May 16, 1869,
a son of Nels and Anna Christensen, who never left that country, the
mother dying there in 1902, at the age of sixty-six years, and the father
still making his home there at eighty-two years of age. They were the
parents of five children : Hans Christian, a resident of California ; James
Peter, who lives in the State of Washington ; Kara ; Christian, and Anna
Sophia. Christian Christensen received his education in the public
schools of his native land and in 1883, at the age of fourteen years, came
to the United States, locating in Ohio, in November of that year. He re-
mained in the Buckeye State for only a short time, however, and March
1, 1884, came to Wisconsin and located near Neenah. He had no capital
at that time, but was willing to work and secured employment on a
farm, where for a time he did chores for his board. Later he clerked
for Hans Gram, at Neenah, and then secured the position of attendant
at the Northern State Hospital at Winnel)ago, a position in which he
remained six years. Later he returned to Ohio, where for four years
he was an attendant in the Toledo State Hospital, then coming back to
Wisconsin as an attendant at the AVisconsin State Hospital, at Mendota,
for ten years. He resigned from that position April 15, 1908, and in
the following month took his present position as superintendent of the
Sauk County Farm. Since taking charge here Mr. Christensen has added
several l)uildings to the institution, and has beautified the farm by in-
stalling grape arbors and ornamental trees and in numerous other ways.
That he is a skilled and thoroughly informed agriculturist as well as
a good business man is shown in the value M'hich he attains from the
988 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
pi'oduets and the volume of the cash sales. He also understands thor-
oughly the breeding of livestock, now having a fine herd of Holstein
cattle, and his success with swine has been remarkable, he having for
the .year 1917 approximately 140 Duroc spring pigs. No doubt some
of the farmers of the county could secure some valuable advice from Mr.
Christensen, who has made a close and careful study of conditions and
has done a large amount of practical experimenting with very gratifying
results. As an executive he is kindly and large-hearted, but a strict
disciplinarian, and while he never neglects his multitudinous duties, he
always seems to find time to explain his methods and to dispense hos-
pitality to visitors. In this matter he is ably seconded by his wife, a
Avoman of many accomplishments, who has been his chief assistant in
all that he has undertaken and who has been of the greatest help to him
in the accomplishment of what he has set out to do. Mr. Christensen is
independent in politics, and was reared in the faith of the Danish
Lutheran Church. He is prominent in Masonry, having attained the
thirty-second degree, and is a member of Madison Lodge No. 5, Madison,
Mdiich he joined in 1908 ; Reedsburg Chapter, No. 56, Royal Arch Ma-
sons; Council No. 21; Milwaukee Consistory, and Saint John's Com-
mandery No. 21, Kniglits Templar, of which he has been commander
for the past three years. He was a member of the Golden Jubilee Class in
the fall of 1913. JNIr. Christensen also belongs to Reedsburg Lodge of
the Knights of Pythias, and he and his wife are members of the Order of
the Eastern Star, at Reedsburg, of which he is worthy patron.
Mr. Christensen was married April 15, 1896, to Miss Fannie Hoose-
man, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, daughter of George and Mary Hooseman,
who came from England and located at Oshkosh, where Mrs. Hooseman
still resides, her husband having died there in 1908. Mr. and Mrs.
Christensen had one daughter, who died in infancy.
Peter ]M. Dietl, a prosperous farmer of Bear Creek Township, be-
longs to an old and prominent family in this section of Sauk County.
He was born in Austria September 28, 1871, son of Andrew and
Teresa (Weiss) Dietl. Peter Dietl received most of his education in
his native land and was fifteen years of age when his parents came in
1886 and settled in Bear Creek Township of Sauk County. The father
acquired eighty acres as a beginning, cleared and improved it, and had
a good farm before his death, which occurred April 23, 1892. The
widowed mother is still living. Their children were : Peter ; Joseph ;
Teresa, unmarried ; Frank, who is married ; Barbara, still single ; and
Andrew, who married Genevieve Moussan.
Peter i\I. Dietl, who has never married, has applied himself to the
business of farming and stock husbandry very successfully and since
1898 has lived on his present farm of 112 acres. He is quite well known
locally as a lireeder of Holstein cattle. He has about thirty-two head of
those fine animals and runs a dairy of eighteen cows. Mr. Dietl is a
democrat and a member of the Catholic Church.
Joseph Dietl, a son of Andrew Dietl and a brother of Peter M.
Dietl, was born in Austria but has spent the greater part of his life in
Sauk County, where he now owns the old homestead farm of his father
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 989
of 120 acres, and has directed its operations independently since 1905.
A part of the land was cleared under his management, and he is giving
a very creditable account of himself as a general farmer and also as a
breeder of Holstein cattle. Mr. Joseph Dietl is a democrat in politics
and a member of the Catholic Church.
November 8, 1905, he married Miss Mary Schwartz, daughter of
Babtist and Walburga (Hutter) Schwartz. Her parents came from
Austria. Mr. and Mrs. Dietl have five children, named Hubert, Mary,
Gertrude, Alfons and Bertha.
Patrick H. Hurley is numbered among the independent and pro-
gressive farmers of Winfield Township, where he has spent practically
all his life.
He was born there December 3, 1870, a son of William and Mary
(Holton) Hurley. His parents were among the pioneers of Winfield,
where they located in 1860. William Hurley cleared up the land and
developed a good farm in that locality, and lived there until his death
on November 18, 1902. His widow passed away January 30, 1909. They
had a large family of children, named Patrick, Margaret, James, Mary
E., Frank, Neil, Kate, Carrie, Teresa and Florence. James and Mary
E. are both deceased. The daughter Margaret married Waldo Fessey.
The son Frank is still unmarried. Neil married Elsie Hirst, who is now
deceased. Kate is the widow of Robert Whitty. Carrie married Joseph
Fessey. Teresa became the wife of Arthur Kranz. Florence is still
unmarried. Mrs. Kate Whitty, now a widow, with her daughter Estella
lives with her brother Patrick, who has never married and is success-
fully pursuing the business of farming on a place of 160 acres in Win-
field Township. He is both a farmer and stockraiser. Mr. Patrick
Hurley votes independently in matters of politics.
GoDFRiED Retzloff. An enterprising agriculturist and representa-
tive citizen whose interest in public affairs has ever been of the most
sincere order, Godfried Retzloff commands the unqualified respect of his
fellow men. He was born in Germany, January 23, 1859, and was there
reared to the age of fourteen years. In 1873 he accompanied his parents,
Charles and Eva (Preskorn) Retzloff, to America and the family located
in Pennsylvania, whence they removed to Sauk County, Wisconsin, in
1879. Here the father was engaged in farming operations until Jiis
demise in 1911. Further data concerning the Retzloff family is given
in the sketch of Herman Retzloff on other pages of this work.
Godfried Retzloff maintained his home in the Keystone State for six
years after his parents departed for Wisconsin. There he was married
and after that event, in 1885, he, too, came to Sauk County. He pur-
chased a farm of eighty acres in Excelsior Township and subsequently
added to that estate so that his present farm comprises 139 acres. He
has some fine buildings on his place and recently erected a new bam,
30 by 70 feet. He raises Holstein cattle and has a herd of about thirty
head. He is a republican in his political proclivities but votes for the
man rather than the party. He has never aspired to public office of any
description but gives a whole-hearted support to measures projected for
the public good.
990 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Mr. Retzloff has been twice married. In Pennsylvania was celebrated
his marriage to Miss Bertha Snyder, who bore him ten children : William
and Charles are deceased; Mary is the wife of Orlan Brimer and they
have five children ; Herman is mentioned on other pages of this work ;
Louise is the wife of Adolph Krueger and they have one child, Milton ;
Marthy married Henry Ashenbach and they have one child, Henry ;
Alta is deceased ; Caroline and Eva are at home ; and a son died in
infancy. Mrs. Eetzloff died in 1893. Mr. Retzloff married for his second
wife Mrs. Lena Buhr, who had four children by her first husband : Alta,
Delia, Lillian and one deceased. There were no children born of this
second marriage and Mrs. Retzloff died in 1911.
Mr. Retzloff is a man of marked enterprise and initiative. Self made
in the most significant sense of the word, he has progressed steadily
toward the goal of success until he is recognized today as one of the
prominent farmers of Excelsior Township. He is warm-hearted and
generous in disposition, is fond of home life, and is held in high esteem
by all who know him.
William S. Pierce. To look back over sixty-seven years of life in
Sauk County is the privilege of William S. Pierce, one of the highly
respected citizens and well known farmers of Troy Township. He was
bom in Cortland County, New York, in 1842. His parents were Abra-
ham and Priscilla (Saulsbury) Pierce, who, with their three children,
started for Wisconsin in 1848. In those days ordinary travel was
necessarily slow, for the roads were mostly poor and streams were but
indifferently bridged, if at all. The family reached Ohio and spent
a year there and then proceeded on their western way until they came
to Evansville in Rock County, Wisconsin. During the year they lived
there the father sought out a tract of land that he believed desirable on
which to settle permanently, and in December, 1850, preempted sixty
acres of Government land in Troy Township, Sauk County. This was
both prairie and river bottom land and was a wise selection. The
parents passed the remainder of their lives on the place, the father
dying in 1887 and the mother two years later. They had three children
only: Hannah Janette, who lives near Spring Green, Wisconsin, is
the widow of Edward Talbert, who died in 1909 ; Eliza, who was Mrs.
Jacob Proctor, lived in Kansas until her death in 1 917, and her husband
was accidentally killed in a coal mine ; and William S. All were reared
and attended school in Troy Township.
During many years of his early business life Mr. Pierce operated
rafts on the river, running to and from many points, including Grand
Rapids, Stephen's Point and Warsaw. He owns 100 acres of land in
Troy Township and when he began to cultivate it, in 1865, he used oxen.
He has witnessed wonderful progress in farming methods and many of
these have greatly eased the labor that once had to be performed by the
farmer himself or remain undone. Modern machinery and the building
of good roads have been boons to the farming community.
In 1865 Mr. Pierce was married to Miss Mary Patterson, who was
born in the city of Bangor, Ireland. Her mother died when she was
young and she came to Sauk County, Wisconsin, with an aunt. Her
father, William Patterson, came two years later with the other children,
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 991
two sons and one daughter, one brother of ]Mrs. Pierce, Robert Patter-
son, still surviving and living in Kansas. William Patterson settled
when he came to Sauk County in what was called Patterson Valley, but
is now known as Pox Valley. He took up land there and engaged in
farming until his death, at the age of forty-four years.
Mr. and Mrs. Pierce had two children born to them, a son and a
daughter. The daughter, Ada, resides with her parents. The son, Wil-
liam, went to Kansas and was married there and died in that state in
1911. In politics Mr. Pierce has kept to an independent attitude, with
good judgment weighing public questions as they come up and casting
his vote for the candidate he deems best fitted for oifice. He has served
twelve years as a school director, two years on the township board, and
was postmaster of the Cassell postoffice twenty-eight years. He is a
member of the Adventist Church.
Frank Tennant. An able representative of the agricultural inter-
ests of Sauk County, Frank Tennant owns and operates a large, well
appointed and well managed, farm in Bear Creek Township.
He was born in Herkimer County, New York, May 3, 1852, son of
Cyrus and Rosina (Campbell) Tennant. His parents were also natives
of New York State. In coming West they spent one year in Illinois,
and in 1854, when Frank was two years of age, they located in Sauk
County. Both parents are now deceased. Their children were : Bur-
rell, Olive, Frank, Malvin, Daniel, Lafayette, Hannah, Ella, Cyrus, Rex-
ville and Bertha. Cyrus and Rexville are now deceased.
Mr. Frank Tennant grew up in Sauk County, attended the local
schools and has given his best years to the prosecution of farming. He
located on his present farm in 1887. He found the land partly cleared,
and has since put many acres under the plow and has otherwise in-
creased its value by good buildings and the wise and capable manage-
ment of its resources. He has 180 acres and is giving considerable atten-
tion to Holstein cattle. Mr. Tennant is a republican and has served his
township as supervisor one year.
He married Miss Mary Cummings, W'ho was bom January 1, 1857,
daughter of Denis and Mary Cummings, another pioneer family of Sauk
County. Mr. and Mrs. Tennant have four children : Cora, deceased :
Roy, who married lola Knudson ; Lucy, wife of Bert Anderson ; and
Dora, now Mrs. Reinfeldt.
August Behn. Among the native sons of Sauk County who have
gained success there are to be found many who have adopted the voca-
tion of farming, and their broad fields indicate their prosperity and
yield them handsome incomes. Their trim farm houses, commodious
bams, neat premises and well-fed stock all give evidence that those in
possession understand the business and are making it pay. These de-
sirable conditions have not been brought about without an expenditure
of considerable hard work and energy and the exercise of rigid economy,
but the success attained well repays the owner for his outlay. Sauk
County, located as it is in the center of a fertile farming county, num-
bers among its residents a number who have made their own way in
this direction, and among them is found August Behn, representing the
992 HISTORY OP SAUK COUNTY
third generation of the family to engage in agriculture here, and a man
who has brought his property to a high state of cultivation, being num-
bered among the skilled agriculturists of Reedsburg Township.
August Behn was born September 9, 1880, in Reedsburg Township,
and is a son of Carl and Caroline (Burmaster) Behn. His paternal
grandparents were Carl and Dora (Cans) Behn, who came from their
native Germany to the United States in 1867 and settled in Sauk County,
buying twenty-five acres of land in Reedsburg Township. Here they
passed the remaining years of their lives in the peaceful cultivation of
their small tract, and the grandfather died about 1887, aged sixty-eight
years, while the grandmother at her death in 1913 had reached the ad-
vanced age of ninety years. Their children were four in number :
Charles (Carl), W. F., August and Henry, the last named of whom is
deceased. One of these sous, W. F. Behn, was born in Germany, May 18,
1850, and arrived in Sauk County on his seventeenth birthday. May
18, 1867. He was reared and educated at Reedsburg, where for several
years he worked at the trade of carpenter, but in 1873 turned his atten-
tion to farming in a small way, when he purchased nineteen and one-half
acres of land located in Reedsburg Township. This furnished the
nucleus for his present farm, he having attained eighty acres in 1878,
and at the present time he is one of the successful farmers and stock
growers of his locality as well as a substantial and public-spirited citizen.
He was married in 1873 to Dora Meyer, who was born in Germany, July
23, 1846, and they have three children : William, Albert and Freda.
Carl Behn, the father of August, was born in Germany, July 7, 1848,
and was nineteen years of age when he came to the United States with
his parents, having received his education in his native land. He as-
sisted his father in the cultivation of the first small family tract in
Reedsburg Township, of which- he later became the owner, and subse-
quently purchased other land, which he continues to cultivate in a mod-
ern and successful manner. Mr. Behn is well known as a reliable,
dependable citizen, whose integrity in business matters and probity in
private life are unquestioned. Of his ten children, five sons and two
daughters are still living.
August Behn was reared on the old homestead, in the vicinity of
which he attended the public schools, and when he entered upon his
independent career it was as the owner of a farm of 120 acres lying in
Winfield Township. This he sold and came to Reedsburg Township,
where he, with his brother Willie, first rented 160 acres of land and in
1914 they became its owT^iers by purchase. He is a general farmer and
stockraiser who has met with success in his operations because they have
been carried on in a methodical, practical and progressive manner, and
the prosperity which he has gained is all the more satisfying because it
has been achieved without outside assistance and because it has been won
in an honorable way. He is a republican in politics, but has not sought
nor cared for public office, being content to follow the life of a private
citizen. With his family he belongs to the Lutheran Church.
In Ironton Township Mr. Behn was married to Miss Aura Hineman,
of Sauk County. Mrs. August Behn is a native of Sauk County, Wis-
consin, and was born September 16, 1884. She is the fourth in a family
of five children, two sons and three daughters, born to Daniel W. and
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 993
Mary (Fry) Hineman, and all the family are living. Her parents are
also yet living and are residents of Ironton ToM^nship. Mr. Hineman
is one of the progressive agriculturists and dairymen of Sauk County
and has a good farm of 133 acres. ]Mrs. Hineman, the mother, is a mem-
ber of the United Brethren Church at Reedsburg.
Mrs. Behn is a lady of more than ordinary education. She was
educated in the Lime Ridge graded schools of Sauk County and received
her teacher's certificate and taught successfully for three years in her
native county. She attends the German Lutheran Church vv^ith her
husband, but formerly affiliated with the United Brethren Church. She
is a lady who aims to keep abreast of the times and she loves good
literature and books of an elevating character.
Mr. and Mrs. Behn have three children : Wilma, born February 19,
1907; Mary, born February 16, 1910; and Agnes, born November 30,
1912. Mr. Behn is optimistic in regard to the agricultural future of th§
County of Sauk, and in his own operations has always been more or less
of a philosopher, being glad to accept the full and bounteous seasons
and not finding it worth while to grumble over the poor ones. In this
way he maintains a cheerful outlook upon life and really helps him-
self to a fuller success.
Mr. Behn is an honored member for years of the Modern Woodmen
of America, Camp No. 2246, of La Valle, Wisconsin.
Mr. Behn's brother, Willie H., was born on the 28th of August, 1888.
He resided with his father until 1911, when he became a' partner with
his brother August. In 1914 they purchased the farm they now own.
On September 18, 1917, Willie Behn was called to be a soldier. He be-
longs to Battery D, Three Hundred and Thirty-first Field Artillery,
Camp Grant, at Rockford, Illinois.
Henry Leslie Sarrington. The commercial and industrial inter-
ests of the Village of Delton has for many years been largely in the
hands of the Sarrington family. The grist mills there have long been
turning out a high grade of flour and other food stuffs, and these mills
have successively been under the ownership of the late Henry Sarring-
ton and now his son Henry L. Sarrington.
The latter was born in Delton Township, April 1, 1871, being a son
of Henry and Susan (Balderson) Sarrington. Henry Sarrington was
born in England, December 25, 1835, and in early manhood came to
America, first locating in Neshkoro, Wisconsin, where he married. For
one year they lived in Watertown, Wisconsin, and in 1866 came to Sauk
County, locating on the site of the present Village of Delton. Henry
Sarrington was employed for a time in the old grist mill at that point
and he also conducted a store for a few years. He finally traded his
farm in that vicinity for the mill which is known as the Delton Queen
Roller Mills. He continued the ownership of this milling property until
his death in June, 1914, but had retirecl from active business in 1903.
In matters of politics he was a democrat.
Henry Sarring-ton married Susan Balderson. She was born in
England January 4, 1846, and came with her parents to Wisconsin in
1850. She was a daughter of Kent and Elizabeth (Jack) Balderson,
994 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
both natives of England, her father born in 1805 and her mother in
1808. After the Balderson family located in Milwaukee Kent was
employed for a couple of years by the old-time packer of that city, John
Leighton. He then moved to a farm eighteen miles from Milwaukee,
two years later rented another farm, and from there moved to Neshkora,
where he had a farm and cultivated it until his death in 1864. His
widow survived him until 1874. Their children were : Henry, William,
Elizabeth and Joseph, all deceased; John; Susan, Mrs. Henry Sarring-
ton, now deceased; and Rebecca, deceased. Of these children, John
Balderson was born in London, England, January 3, 1844, and has been
a resident of Delton Township since 1866. He was a carpenter by trade.
He married Josephine Frances Good, daughter of Benjamin F. Good,
one of the early settlers of Sauk County. John Balderson and wife had
three children, Fred, Arlena and Benjamin, all now deceased. Mrs.
John Balderson died December 4, 1904, and since her death he has
made his home with his nephew, Henry L. Sarrington.
Mr. Henry Sarrington married for his second wife Mrs. William
Mash. His children, however, are by his first marriage and are three
in number: Evelyn Elizabeth, wife of J. I. Sumner, of Detroit, Michi-
gan ; Henry Leslie ; and Grace Susan, wife of M. J. Wolcott, of Necedah,
Wisconsin. The mother of these children died in 1888.
Henry Leslie Sarrington grew up at the Village of Delton, attended
the public schools there, and from the age of fifteen was working in his
father's mill and acquired a thorough knowledge of the milling in-
dustry before he reached his majority. In 1903 he took the active man-
agement of the mills and is now sole proprietor. In addition to this
enterprise he owns forty acres adjoining the mill property and another
farm of seventy-three acres adjoining the Village of Delton. He is a
very capable miller and business man, and is one of the citizens of high
standing in that community. In political matters he votes as a democrat
and has served as township clerk and for the past ten years has been
township treasurer. He is affiliated with Dells Lodge of Masons at
Delton.
On April 12, 1892, Mr. Sarrington married Miss' Laura Harrison.
She was born in Excelsior Township of Sauk County June 3, 1872,
daughter of John and Mary (Tucker) Harrison, now of Reedsburg.
Mr. and Mrs. Sarrington have children : Vera Susan, Ralph Leslie,
Charles Oliver, Harold Dolaver and Genevieve.
John W. Herrington. Though he served nearly three years in the
Union army during the Civil war, John W. Herrington is still on the
active list and has not yet celebrated his seventieth birthday. He is not
only a veteran of the war but also a veteran in the railway service, and
has been with the Chicago and North Western Railway upwards of half
a century, being now head of the telegraph office at Baraboo.
Mr. Herrington is a Canadian by birth, having been born March 10,
1848, but in the following year his parents, John and Julia Ann (Hill)
Herrington, moved to Wisconsin and located at Janesville in Rock
County. His father was a tailor by trade and was in business at Janes-
ville until his death in 1896. The mother died there in 1873. Their
HISTORY OP SAUK COUNTY 995
five children, all living, are John W., W. F., Blanche, Roland G. and
Ida.
John W. Herrington grew up at Janesville, where he attended the
grammar and high schools. He was just fifteen years old when in March,
1863, he enlisted in Company M of the Tenth Illinois Cavalry, a famous
regiment that did a great deal of active service in the middle West and
the far South. Mr. Herrington served as a soldier two years, seven
months, twenty-two days, until the close of hostilities.
Following the war he returned to Janesville and soon entered the
employ of the North Western Railway, and that employment has seen
no important interruption to the present time. He came to Baraboo
in 1880 and for many years has been telegraph foreman at this point.
Mr. Herrington 's residence has always been on the south side of
Baraboo. He served as an alderman in the city council three years,
and in voting cast his ballot independently. He is an honored member
of the Grand Army of the Republic and has served as commander of the
Baraboo Post. He is also active in Masonry, having affiliations with
Lodge No. 34, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Chapter No. 49,
Royal Arch Masons, Commandery No. 28, Knights Templar, and Chapter
No. 21 of the Eastern Star, all at Baraboo.
In 1882, a year or so after he came to Baraboo, Mr. Herrington mar-
ried Miss Lettic E. Roberts, of Ridge way, Wisconsin. She died Decem-
ber 2, 1911, the mother of four children : Ida Elizabeth; Blanche, who
died in infancy; Lucile Virginia ; and John W., Jr.
Tobias C. Clavadatscher. While agriculture is the oldest of in-
dustries and is the most indispensable one, it has never been so scien-
tifically carried on as at present, nor has it ever before claimed so many
educated, college-bred young men's interest and attention. A member
of one of the oldest families in Sauk County who belongs to the above
class is Tobias C. Clavadatscher. He is personally conducting his fine
farm of 220 acres situated in Troy Township, and is proving that intel-
lectual acquirements and thorough agricultural training are great assets
in the business of modern farming.
Tobias C. Clavadatscher was born on his present farm in Troy
Township, Sauk County, in 1883. His parents were Martin and Barbara
(Geyman) Clavadatscher. The father was born in Prairie du Sac Town-
ship, Sauk County, Wisconsin, and was a son of Nicholas Clavadatscher, _
who was one of the first settlers in this county. The other children of
Nicholas were: Mrs. John Schneller; John, who lives at Prairie du
Sac, Wisconsin; Tobias, who lives at Baraboo; and Christian, who died
at the age of twenty-one years. Martin Clavadatscher was married in
1878 to Barbara Geyman, who was born in Greenfield Township, Sauk
County, and resides at Prairie du Sac. Of the four children born to
them, two died in infancy, the two survivors being Tobias C. and Amelia,
the latter being the wife of Walter Baumgarth, who lives at Black Hawk
in Troy Township. From the time he was eight years old until his death,
Martin Clavadatscher lived on the same farm in Troy Township and for
many years was considered one of the leading farmers of this section.
He was a man of sound business sense, and in addition to his farm enter-
996 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
prises owned stock in a large mercantile concern and in the Honey Creek
Creamery. He was a republican in politics and frequently was selected
by his party to serve in important local offices. For two years he was
supervisor and for six years was a member of the township school board,
his public duties at all times being performed with the strictest sense of
honesty. He was a faithful member of the Evangelical Church at Black
Hawk.
Tobias C. Clavadatscher grew up on the home farm and attended
the public schools and later became a student in the agricultural engi-
neering department of the Wisconsin State University at Madison, and
afterward, because of his proficiency in this line, was accepted as an
instructor there in the gas engine department (as pertaining to the
carrying on of modern agriculture) and taught in the university for
four years. In 1913 Mr. Clavadatscher went into the automobile busi-
ness as a salesman through Sauk and Dane counties and continued in
that line for two years, becoming well known all through this part of
the state and making both business and personal friends. He returned
then to Troy Township and since 1915 has been devoting himself to farm
industries, including stoekraising and dairying with general crop grow-
ing. He has gone about his business in the right way and in practically
applying his university training has prospered.
On May 11, 1916, Mr. Clavadatscher was married to Miss Ella
Klebesadel, a daughter of William Klebesadel, who was born at Mazo-
manie, Wisconsin. They are members of the Evangelical Church. In
politics Mr. Clavadatscher is a republican and his good citizenship can-
not be questioned. He has never been willing to accept any public office,
his preference being for the quiet, useful life of a farmer.
Frank Pieper. One of the highly respected retired farmers of Sauk
County is found in Frank Pieper, who has been a resident of this county
since he was seven years old. He was born in Germany in 1857 and in
1864 accompanied his parents to the United States. They came imme-
diately to Sauk County and the father bought a farm of 120 acres in
Honey Creek Township. During the following eight years he did some
clearing and then took advantage of an opportunity to sell at a profit,
moving then to Greenfield Township. There he purchased a farm on
which the family lived for seventeen years. The last farm that Father
Pieper bought was a tract of ninety-nine and one-half acres situated in
'Troy Township. His death occurred two years later, in 1895, and the
death of the mother of Frank Pieper occurred seven years later. Of
their family of ten children the following are living: Fred; August,
who lives on the old homestead in Greenfield Township ; Frank ; and
John, who lives at Castle Prairie in Troy Township. A number of the
children died in infancy but Matilda lived to be thirty-one years old.
Frank Pieper grew to manhood in Greenfield Township and in boy-
hood attended the district schools. He assisted his father on the farm
until his marriage and then began operations for himself and continued
to live in Greenfield Township for the next eight years, moving then to
Baraboo Township and was engaged in farming there for five years
before coming to Troy Township and settling on the old homestead here..
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 997
During his many years of agricultural experience, Mr. Pieper became
known as a capable farmer and an expert judge of stock. For some
years he was also a stockholder in a local creamery, but this stock he
recently transferred to his son Herman. • For some time Mr. Pieper
has been retired from active labor but still keeps interested in everything
about the farm, which now belongs to his son Herman, who is one of the
progressive and enterprising farmers and stockraisers of Troy Town-
ship.
Mr. Pieper was married in 1879 to j\Iiss Bertha Yerke, a daughter
of Gotlieb Yerke. She was born in Germany and was seven years old
when she accompanied her parents to Waukesha County, Wisconsin.
They lived in that county for four years and then moved to Sauk County
and Mr. Yerke bought forty acres in ^lerrimack Township, and on that
farm both he and his wife died. Mr. and Mrs. Pieper have had six
children, namely : Anna, who died when fifteen years old ; Martha, who
died at the age of fourteen years and fourteen days; Amelia, who died in
infancy; Mary, who is the wife of Arthur IMarquardt, lives at Plain in
Franklin Township ; Herman, who now owns and capably operates the"
farm of about one hundred acres ; and Elsie, who lives with her husband
at Castle Rock. Mr. Pieper has one grandchild, a son of Herman, who
married Laura Myer, a daughter of William ]\Iyer. Mr. Pieper and his
son vote the republican ticket. The whole family belong to the Lutheran
Church and in every way are people who may be justly classed with the
representative citizens of this rich county and great state.
Fred Kraft. Among the substantial farmers of the present time in
Sauk County may be found some who came here with not a penny of
capital, and now their name on a legal paper will be gladly accepted in
any financial institution in the country. Such an one is Fred Kraft,
the owner of one of the finest farms in Troy Township, well improved
and well stocked and so valuable to its owner that it is not for sale.
Mr. Kraft is a man who has made his own way in the world and for
many years of his earlier life worked early and late and often under
conditions that were most discouraging. He was born in Pomerania,
Germany, in 1841.
In 1870 Mr. Kraft came to Sauk County, his parents coming in the
same year. They all lived in Honey Creek Township for a time and
then they moved to Nebraska and there both died. Mr. Kraft has one
brother in California, two brothers and a sister in Nebraska, and one
sister, Mrs. Fred Guetzkow, in Honey Creek Township, Sauk County.
Fred Kraft has always been an indutrious man and when he first
came to Sauk County looked about to find something to do while acquiring
enough money to make a purchase of land. He rented a house in Honey
Creek Township, for he had a wife and one daughter at that time,
and then secured grubbing work by the day from other settlers who
were clearing farms. Afterward he secured a job in a sugar factory
at Black Hawk and then moved to. Harrisburg, and during the first
winter walked the distance of a mile and a half night and morning. He
then moved east of Black Hawk and through the next winter worked
in the sugar factory, and when work was slack there returned to grub-
998 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
bing. In this manner, with the closest kind of economy, Mr. Kraft by
1875 was ready to purchase eighty acres of wooded land. He built his
own log house and then with a will began to clear his land, in the
earlier stages using oxen because of their great strength. In the course
of time he added a second eighty acres to his first and has never parted
with any of his holdings. Being thorough in his farming methods, Mr.
Kraft has prospered in his undertakings and now has everything com-
fortable around him.
Of Mr. Kraft's family of ten children six are living, namely: Bertha,
who was born in Germany, is the wife of a Mr. Dodd ; Anna, who is the
wife of Aaron Middleton, lives in Illinois ; Rhynold, who is unmarried,
lives at Black Hawk ; John, also unmarried, lives with his father ; Emma,
who is the wife of Lewis Fuchs, lives just across the road from her
father; and Ida, who lives on the home farm, is the wife of Erwin
Elsing. All the children, except Bertha were born in Troy Township
and all attended school here. Mr. Kraft is a republican in politics. He
and all his family are members of the Evangelical Church, in which he
has been a class leader for many years.
Mr. and Mrs. Fuchs have three children : Mabel, Benjamin and
Machim, the eldest of whom was graduated with credit from the public
school quite recently. Lewis Fuchs is a son of Theobald and Caroline
Fuchs, natives of Germany, who were married in 1866 and settled in
Troy Township, Sauk County. The father has served three years in the
German army. They had the following children: Carrie and Emma,
both of whom died in infancy : Robert, who married in Troy Township,
lives at Harrisburg; George, also married, is a rural free delivery post-
man out of Sauk City ; William, also married, is a farmer in Troy Town-
ship ; Lewis, who married Miss Emma Kraft ; Julius, who lives with his
family in Troy Township ; Millie, who is Mrs. Henry Sarg, lives at
Sauk City; and Benjamin, who is a merchant in Sauk City. Theobald
Fuchs lived on his farm until within a few years of his death and then
moved to Sauk City and was given a commission by the Government as
mail carrier over route No. 1, and died at the post of duty in February,
1902. He was somewhat prominent in township politics and served for
several years as clerk of the school board and as assessor and treasurer.
The mother of Lewis Fuchs died February 12, 1917. For some time
Mr. Kraft has lived retired but he still feels an interest in all that goes
on on the farm he worked so hard to secure. The whole family are well
known in this section and their hospitable homes are ever open to kindred
and friends.
William Henry Caflisch. Sauk County being such an important
dairy center in Wisconsin, it is appropriate that some space should be
devoted to some of the leading creamery, cheese and butter makers, and
perhaps there is none with a larger and more varied experience and
more of an expert in that line than William Henry Caflisch of Baraboo.
Mr. Caflisch belongs to the pioneer element of Sauk County. He
was bom on what is known as the old English farm in Baraboo Town-
ship September 4, 1877. His parents were Christian R. and Barbara
(Aukenbrandt) Caflisch, both of German stock. His father was born
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 999
in Switzerland in 1842 and the mother in Germany in 1852. Christian
Caflisch came to Sauk County when a young man, and at once signalized
his patriotism to his adopted country by enlisting in 1861 in the Union
army. He gave four years of gallant service as a soldier and on return-
ing to Sauk County he married and took up farming, which he has
followed now for half a century. For the past twenty years he has lived
on his farm in Fairfield Township. He is a republican in polities, and
was reared a Lutheran, while his wife was brought up as a Catholic.
Aside from their material achievements this worthy old couple deserve
great credit for the splendid family of fourteen children they have
reared. Some reference to these eight sons and six daughters and their
positions in life is here made. Anna, the oldest, is the wife of Harry
Brown, of Chicago. Frank married Bertha Thomas, daughter of B.
F. Thomas, of Baraboo, and they have five sons, Betie, Everett, Dean,
Grordon and Glenn. Marj^ living at Baraboo, is the widow of J. B.
Mclntyre, who died in 1907, leaving two children, Bessie and Fred-
erick. The fourth in the family is William Henry. John, a farmer
of Fairfield Township, married Avis Bump and has three children,
Floyd, Vivian and Kenneth. Lula is the wife of Joseph Postner, of
Chicago. George, in the draying business at Baraboo, with home on
Oak Street, married Millie Thomas, and their children are Roger, Bryan,
Robert, Rodney, Donald, Lucile and Wilbur. Delia married C. J.
Cook, of Lyons, Iowa, and has three children, Lola, Thelma and Rudolf.
Christian H., a farmer in Fairfield Township, married Bessie Turner
and has one child, Genevieve. Anthony, who was born in Baraboo Town-
ship October 7, 1887, is a buttermaker by trade and assisting his brother
William, and in 1912 married Miss Louise Weber. Catherine is un-
married and lives in Chicago. Vem is a clerk with the Lee Radke Hard-
ware Store at Baraboo. The two youngest children, Marjorie and
Archie, are still living at home with their parents.
William Henry Caflisch grew up on a farm and attended public
schools in Baraboo, Greenfield and Fairfield townships. His years were
passed uneventfully on a farm until he was twenty-three. In 1900 Mr.
Caflisch began learning the creamery business with the Elgin Creamery
Company. In the fall of that year the company sent him to North
Freedom as foreman of the local plant, and little later he went to Bara-
boo and worked a year, until the Elgin Company failed. Its interests
were acquired by the Continental Company, which in turn sold to the
Baraboo Company, with whom Mr. Caflisch remained nine months.
Then came an interruption to his career as a creamery man and for a
year he was a locomotive fireman with the Chicago and North Western
Railway. He resumed his regular business with the Excelsior Creamery
Company for seven months, and on March 1, 1906, took employment
with John Barker in the creamery at North Freedom, where he remained
thirteen months. On March 19, 1907, Mr. Caflisch bought the Baraboo
Creamery and opened up the business under his management, April 6th
of that year. The plant was exclusively devoted to the making of butter
and ice cream until February 1, 1917, since which time they have also
manufactured cheese and at present there is a large output of these three
important commodities.
Vol. 11^ 2 8
1000 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Mr. Cafliscli is also one of the organizers and a director of the Farm-
ers and Merchants Bank of Baraboo. He is independent in politics, and
is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Equitable
Fraternal Union. In 1900 he married Miss Eva Powell, of Fairfield
Township. Their four children are named Aylmer, Virgil, Audrey and
Elva.
Ferdinand Harder. Farming and stochraising are old industries
and in no section of the country have they brought in their train more
substantial and satisfactory rewards than in Sauk County, Wisconsin,
One reason may be that many of the agriculturists here are stead}^ hard-
working men who give their entire attention to their business and
through thoroughly understanding it make it profitable. One of the
successful farmers of the county who came here thirty-four years ago,
with but small capital, is now the owner of one of the finest farms in
Reedsburg Township. He acquired his property through his own efforts
and what he has accomplished is creditable to him in every way. This
well known farmer and stockman is Ferdinand Harder, one of the
county's most respected citizens.
Ferdinand Harder was born in Germany, October 28, 1856. His
parents were Christian and Wilhelmina Harder, who spent their entire
lives in Germany, the father dying in 1882 and the mother in 1884.
They had eight children, namely : William, August and Albert, all de-
ceased ; Ferdinand ; Franz, who is deceased ; Henry, who is a resident
of La Crosse, Wisconsin; and Bertha and Wilhelmina.
Ferdinand Harder grew to manhood in his native land and was
married there in 1882 to Miss Minnie Manska, and in the same year
they came to the United States and located in Sauk County, Wisconsin.
Mr. Harder soon found employment with a Mr. Gale, for whom he
worked for eight and a half years, being careful and saving in the mean-
while, and by 1893 was in a position to buy a farm for himself. He
found a tract of ninety-two acres situated in Reedsburg Township that
suited him, and soon the transaction was concluded that made it his
property. Mr. Harder has done a great deal of improving here. He
has cleared a part of his land and has put up substantial buildings. He
raises grain and other products and keeps excellent stock. Mr. Harder
may be called a modern farmer because he uses modern methods intel-
ligently and has plenty of first-class farm equipments.
Mr. and Mrs. Harder and their children are members of the Lutheran
Church. They are nine in number, as follows: Henry, Walter, Meta,
Arnold, Esther, Otto, Ida, Rudolph and Elva, a fine family reflecting
credit upon their parents and the neighborhood. Mr. Harder votes the
republican ticket. He has never accepted any political office, although
he keeps well posted on all that occurs in a public way in the township,
for he is a good citizen and desires to lend his influence to promote the
best interests of this section.
Conrad Kruse is one of the youngest independent farmers in Sauk
County, but, regardless of age, there is no one who shows more com-
petence and ability to manage a good farm than he. i\Ir. Kruse is both
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1001
a practical and scientific farmer and is getting ahead in the world
because he is willing to study and learn not only from his own experi-
ence but from the experience of others.
Mr. Kruse was born in Westfield Township October 20, 1893, a son
of F. C. and Anna (Hasz) Kruse. His parents are well known people
of Westfield Township, and more extended reference to the family will
be found on other pages of this publication.
Conrad Kruse was educated in the Loganville public schools and
in order the better to equip himself for the vocation he had chosen he
has spent two winters in a course in agriculture at the University of
Wisconsin at Madison. On March 1, 1916, Mr. Kruse located on his
present farm of eighty acres in Westfield Township and though the two
seasons he has spent there have not been altogether ideal from, a
farmer's standpoint, he has already laid a good foundation and success
with him is only a matter of time. Mr. Kruse handles high grade Hol-
stein cattle, keeping about twenty-three head of that fine stock and has
a dairy herd of fourteen cows. Besides the other general equipment of
the farm he has two large silos.
Mr. Kruse is a republican voter and a member of the Lutheran
Church. He married Miss Elsie Feldmann, daughter of George and
Dorothy (Kohlmeyer) Feldmann, of Westfield Township. Mrs. Kruse
has the following brothers and sister : Edward, Henry, August, George,
all of whom live in North, Dakota ; William, of Loganville ; Otto, of
Loganville; Ernest, of Reedsburg, and Emma, also a resident of Sauk
County.
J. Stephen Tripp. In the contemplation of such a character as was
the late Hon. J. Stephen Tripp realization comes as to the great loss
sustained by his city and county in his death. His was a life of signal
usefulness and its influence was potent and beneficial. Fidelit.y to trust
and conscientious performance of every duty formed part and parcel
of his very nature. Highly gifted, he exercised his talents nobly. Be-
nevolent in a great degree, he distributed his donations wisely, and his
public spirit led him to make gifts to his city and his state which will
stand as monuments to his progressive nature in years to come. A resi-
dent of Sauk County from 1853 until his death in 1915, the greater part
of this time was spent at Prairie du Sac, where he was favorably known
not only as a capable banker and as an excellent citizen, but as a friend .
to those who needed and were worthy of friendship.
J. Stephen Tripp was born at Duanesburg, Schenectady County,
New York, July 5, 1828, and was a son of Benjamin and Martha A.
(Stephen) Tripp. His father was a farmer by vocation and the youth
was reared on the home place, but cherished greater ambitions than the
opportunities which seemed to be offered in an agricultural career, and
w^hen still a boy made plans to break away from the implements of the
soil. He was fortunate in securing a good educational training, first at-
tending the public schools and subsequently entering Schoharie
Academy, one of the most noted educational institutions in the Empire
State. Having been attracted by the law, at the close of his academic
course he applied himself assiduously to the study of his chosen calling,
1002 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
with the result that he mastered its complexities and perplexities suf-
ficiently to pass the examination, and in June, 1853, was admitted to
the bar.
While there were numerous opportunities for him to establish him-
self in practice in a community where he was known and where he would
have had the support, moral and material, of friends, the young lawyer
preferred to make his way without this kind of assistance. He answered
the call of the West soon after being given permission to practice, and
in 1853 arrived in Sauk County, his lirst settlement being at Baraboo,
where he remained only one year, being in partnership with his cousin,
Giles Stephen, now Judge Stephen, of Reedsburg. In 1854 Mr. Tripp
located at Sauk City, where he hung out his shingle and solicited law
business, and the people of that city soon came to know that the young
man from the East was possessed of more than ordinary legal knowl-
edge and acumen, and with his success in a number, of eases came an
added patronage that soon placed him well upon the high road to suc-
cess. In 1867 he was sent from his district to the General Assembly
of his state, and while in that body was made chairman of the committee
on contingent expenses and a member of the committee on corporations
and others. He gave his district good service and his record in legis-
lative halls was an eminently honorable one.
While engaged in the practice of the law, Mr. Tripp had acted as
counsel in a number of cases where he was compelled in the course of
his legal activities to familiarize himself with the working machinery
of the banking business, and in this way he became more and more
interested in financial affairs until he finally decided to venture into that
difficult field on his own account. In 1868, therefore, he established his
first banking enterprise, a private institution at Sauk City, which grew
and developed from small proportions into extensive and important
ones, the magnitude of which finally engrossed his attention to the ex-
clusion of all else. From that time forward he was not engaged in the
practice of law, but his knowledge thereof was of great help to him in
his business, and his advice and counsel were always at the disposal of
his fellow bankers. During the twenty years that he was engaged in
the banking business at Sauk City he discharged the duties of citizenship
by serving in the capacity of citj- clerk, his incumbency in that office
extending over a period of sixteen years. In 1888, or thereabouts, Mr.
Tripp changed his center of operations to Prairie du Sac, and that city
continued to be his home during the remainder of his life, his death
occurring there in July, 1915. He had rounded out a long and useful
life, in which he had contributed materially to the welfare of his fellow
men, and the closing years of his career were characterized by public
and personal philanthropies. Among these was his gift, March 4, 1912,
of $10,000 to the Village of Prairie du Sac for the erection of a public
library, which threw open its doors to the public in October, 1913. In
1915 Mr. Tripp added to the beauty and value of this institution by the
presentation of a number of handsome and highly valuable paintings
which for years had graced the walls of his own home. Shortly before
his death he donated $40,000 to the University of Wisconsin, at Madison.
In "Sir. Tripp's death the Village of Prairie du Sac lost a true friend.
HISTORY OP SAUK COUNTY 1003
a citizen who had done much for its welfare and progress, and a man
who always shouldered more than his share of civic responsibilities. His
memory, however, will long be kept green in the hearts of his fellow-
citizens who knew his sterling qualities and admired them.
Mr. Tripp was married first in 1857 to ]\Iiss Fannie AV. Hallett, of
Fairfield, New York, daughter of Sheriff Hallett. She died without
issue in 1865, and Mr. Tripp was again married, in 1874, being united
with Miss Nellie M. Waterbury, daughter of the Hon. James I. Water-
bury, of Prairie du Sac. They had one son, who died in infancy, and
Mrs. Tripp passed away in 1893.
Frank Kaney is a native of Wisconsin and has lived steadily on
one farm in Franklin Township for the past forty-three years. He
has made the land respond to his capable efforts as an agriculturist and
from it has been able to provide for his growing family and at the same
time perform his share of responsibilities as a public-spirited citizen.
Mr. Kaney was born in Whitewater Township of Walworth County,
Wisconsin, June 4, 1855. He is a son of James and Annie (McGuire)
Kaney. Both his parents were natives of Ireland. His father came
from County Leitrim in 1847 and his mother from Kings County,
Ireland, about the same time. They married in this country in 1850.
James Kaney was a cooper by trade and for some years followed that
occupation at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. In 1867 he located on a
tract of land in Sauk County, partly cleared and improved, and had it
well developed as a good farm before he passed away. Both parents
died in the same year, 1887, the father on April 3d and the mother on
July 28th. Their children were named Alice, Frank, Elizabeth, Anne,
Mary, Margaret, James and William, all still living except the oldest
and the youngest.
Frank Kaney was educated chiefly in Sauk County and he learned
farming by practical experience from his father. In November, 1874,
he located on his present place and is now the owner of 120 acres,
devoted to general farming and stock raising. He keeps about forty
head of cattle and has a dairy herd of sixteen cows. Mr. Kaney has
manifested a commendable interest in the welfare of his community, is
an active republican, a member of the Catholic Church and has filled
several church offices.
He married Anna Walsh, daughter of Peter and Catherine (Curran)
Walsh, both of whom came from Dublin, Ireland. Mr. and Mrs. Kaney
have the following children : James, Catherine, John, Mary, Anna and
Leo. These children were all well educated in the local schools and
all of them are still unmarried except James, whose wife was Margaret
Doyle.
M. R. Prouty. Since pioneer times the name Prouty has stood for
success and extensive holdings of land in Sauk County. It is in many
ways an honored name. Hundreds of acres of the fertile soil of this
section have been developed by Prouty enterprise and the members of
the family have also borne a worthy part in every movement for com-
munity betterment.
1004 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
M. R. Prouty was born in Bear Creek Township of this county
January 18, 1868. He acquired a good education, and starting out
with limited capital he has found a way to success by industry and by
a growing knowledge of farming and all its kindred industries.
Mr. Prouty located on his present place in Franklin Township near
the Town of White Mound in 1898. Some of the lands which he acquired
he cleared by his own efforts and has become one of the largest land
holders in that section. His first purchase was 200 acres, and later
he bought another tract of 220 acres, and finally 120 acres. While he
has sold some of this he still owns a magnificent place of 440 acres and ,
is using it to provide feed and room for his extensive operations as a
breeder and raiser of Shorthorn cattle. Mr. Prouty has about 100
head of cattle, and is one of the recognized experts in this field of stock
husbandry.
Mr. Prouty married in February, 1889, Miss Wilda Jane Henry,
daughter of Jacob and Jane Henry. They are the parents of three
children, Robert, Walter and Marion. Robert, a capable young farmer
in his own right, owns eighty acres adjoining the old homestead. Wal-
ter is also a farmer on his own account, and has a place of eighty acres
near his father's home. Robert married Julia Carpenter, daughter of
Charles and Rachel Carpenter, of Spring Green. Walter married Ella
Welsh, daughter of Mike and Mary Welsh.
Mr. Prouty has T3usied himself with local affairs, served as town
treasurer four years, and for twenty-seven years has been school clerk.
In politics he is a republican.
GusTAV C. ScHW^EKE. A member of that old family of Reedsburg
which has played so important a part in its commercial and civic
affairs, Gustav C. Schweke has been a resident of Sauk County most
of his life, for many years was a prosperous merchant at Reedsburg,
and is now living retired in that city.
His birth occurred in Milwaukee March 14, 1864. He is a son of
Dietrich Schweke, elsewhere mentioned in this publication. He was
only a child when his parents moved to Reedsburg, and his early edu-
cation was acciuired in the German Lutheran Parochial School and the
Reedsburg High School. He early began to learn merchandising by
practical experience as a clerk. One year he was employed by 0. H.
Perry, for four years by H. C. Hunt, and another year by Hunt &
Bueyington. After one year with the firm of Harris & Hosier he
engaged in business for himself as junior partner in the firm of Webb
& Schweke. This was one of the firms that did a large part of the
volume of business transacted in Reedsburg and the partnership was
continued successfully until 1907. It was this firm which was the first
in Reedsburg possessing the courage and enterprise to put in operation
a cash system, and after they had given it a thorough trial and justi-
fied its value not only to merchants but to individual patrons, the plan
was copied and used by many other merchants in the town and
elsewhere.
About the time Mr. Schweke retired from business he built the
beautiful home he and his family have since occupied at 244 Locust
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1005
Street, at the corner of Third Street. Mr. Schweke is a republican
without any political aspirations and he and his family are members
of St. Peter's Lutheran Church.
He was married February 1, 1893, to Bertha Reineke, a native of
Reedsburg and a daughter of Gustav and Louisa Reineke. Her par-
ents were early residents of Reedsburg and her father was a baker by
trade and subsequently was in the hotel business for a number of years.
Her mother is still living at Reedsburg. Six children have been born
to Mr. and Mrs. Schweke. Phillip, after completing the course of the
Reedsburg High School entered the University of Wisconsin, where he
was graduated with the class of 1917. Rupert is a graduate of the high
school and is now a student in the LaCrosse Business College. Norma
is a junior in the Reedsburg High School, and the three younger chil-
dren, still in school, are Amy, Arthur and Ruth.
Peter Sussner. The mere fact of a man being born on a farm
does not make him a farmer, but it very often influences, through imme-
diate opportunity, his choice of vocation. Accustomed to the duties of
farm life from youth up, he naturally is better informed in regard to
the different industries than another who has had a different training.
One of the successful farmers of Sauk County, Peter Sussner, is the
son of a farmer and was brought up amid farm surroundings.
Peter Sussner was born in Richland County, Wisconsin, February
16, 1869, and attended the public schools there. His parents were
Andrew and Gustina (Pufhal) Sussner. They were born in Germany
and from there came to the United States and were married in Sauk
County. Afterward Andrew Sussner bought a farm in Richland County
and it was while the family lived there that Peter Sussner was bom.
His father sold his farm there and came back to Sauk County and lived
here the rest of his life, his death occurring in 1879. The mother resides
at Reedsburg and is now in her eighty-seventh year and active both in
mind and body. They had five children: Paul, Peter, Amelia, Mary
and William, all of whom survive except Paul.
Peter Sussner bought his first farm, a tract of 220 acres in Dellona
Township, in partnership with his brother-in-law, Henry Benzaman, but
later sold his interest. In 1906 he bought 100 acres in Reedsburg Town-
ship, and this farm he has improved so that it is one of the most valuable
in this section. His buildings are all first class, and his residence is
equipped with modern comforts and conveniences. He has one of the
largest bams in the township, the structure being 55 by 48 feet, and
has a silo that is 46 feet high and 14 feet across. His operations are
carried on according to modem methods and he is unusually successful.
Mr. Sussner was married September 21, 1899, to Miss Lizzie Kruger,
who was born at Reedsburg, Wisconsin, August 29, 1874, and is a daugh-
ter of Henry and Mary Kruger. They were early settlers in Sauk
County and Mr. Kruger owned a farm in Reedsburg Township and
there he died in 1898, at the age of fifty-six years. Mrs. Kruger lives
at Reedsburg, being in her sixty-sixth year. Their children were :
Bertha, Lizzie, Ida, Albert, Mate, Louie and Rudolph, Bertha and Mate
being deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Sussner have had three children, namely :
1006 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Herbert, who died in infancy ; Leo, who was born August 9, 1901 ; and
Adaline, who was born February 28, 1903.
Mr. Sussner has always been identified with the republican party,
but he has never been willing to serve in a political office, although well
qualified in every way to do so satisfactorily. With his family he belongs
to the Lutheran Church. Mr. Sussner is a man who stands well in his
community, being a friendly neighbor and honest and upright in all
his business transactions.
Henry Westedt has been a resident of Sauk County for over half
a century, and has given his capable attention to various lines of business,
but chiefly to contracting and building. With headquarters at Logan-
ville, he has extended his work as a contractor all over this section of the
state, and besides much other high class work he erected two hotels at
Loganville.
Mr. Westedt was born in Germany, May lOj 1846, son of Henry and
Mary (Schultz) Westedt. His father was bom in 1818 and his mother
in 1822. The father died in Germany in 1852, when his son Henry was
six years of age. The family continued to live in Germany for some
years, where Henry Westedt grew up and received his education. On
June 9, 1866, he landed in New York City with his mother and two
sisters, Dora and Mary. They soon came on west and settled at Logan-
ville in Sauk County, where his mother passed away in 1893. Mr. Wes-
tedt's sister Dora married Christ Hasz, daughter of Peter Hasz, of
Loganville. His sister Mary married William Schmidt.
Mr. Henry Westedt married Dora Sehmedt, daughter of Henry and
Elizabeth (Retzmann) Sehmedt. They have reared a splendid family
of children named William, Otto E., Dorothea, Ida, Fredericka, Ewald
H., Caroline and Ruth. The son William married Anna Schuette ; Otto
E. married Annie Lueders ; Ida is the wife of Charles Bartenbach ; and
Caroline is the wife of Edward Kohlmeyer. The other children are still
unmarried. The daughter Fredericka is a graduate nurse. The son
Otto enjoys a very successful practice as a physician and surgeon at
Loganville. Ewald is now finishing his work in preparation for the
degree Doctor of Dental Surgery.
Merton Lester Porter. Two of the most honored and respected
names in Fairfield Township are Porter and Webster. M. L. Porter,
representing one of these families, has spent much of his active career
as a substantial farmer in Fairfield Township. His wife was a member
of the Webster family, which located here in very early pioneer times.
Mr. Porter was born in Fairfield Township December 17, 1867, a son
of Harrison and Elizabeth Sophia (Thayer) Porter. His father was
born in Massachusetts in September, 1823, and his mother in the same
state on January 9, 1829. They married in Massachusetts and during
the early '50s came west and located in Fairfield Township of Sauk
County. Harrison Porter acquired 105 acres of land and developed it
to the uses of civilization. He spent his last days there and died May
27, 1892. His widow survived him until January 10, 1903. Politically
he began voting as a republican and in later years was a prohibitionist.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1007
Their children were : Harley, of Sauk County ; Perry, of San Jose,
California; Herman, who died in 1908, at the age of forty-four; and
Merton L.
Merton L. Porter spent his boyhood on the old farm and indulged
in the pastimes and occupations of the average Wisconsin farm boy.
He attended the public schools of Fairfield Township. For three years
he was employed in the butter tub factory at Brandon in Fond du Lac
County, and then returning to Sauk County he located as a tenant farmer
on the place he now owns. He began there in October, 1896, and in
1903 bought 160 acres of that farm, known as the old Webster estate.
Under his management this land has become increasingly productive and
its improvements have been brought up to a high standard. Mr. Porter
is one of the leading dairy farmers of the county and has some excellent
Holstein cattle. He is a stockholder in the Excelsior Co-operative Cream-
ery Company of Baraboo. Politically he is a prohibitionist, is a director
of the local school board and he and his family are members of the
Wesleyan Methodist Church.
On December 17, 1890, Mr. Porter married Miss Octa Irene Webster.
She was born on the farm where she now lives November 11, 1870, a
daughter of Samuel H. and Rose (Loveland) Webster.
Samuel H. Webster was bom at Fairfield, Vermont, in 1830. He
came to Sauk County in 1855 and at that time bought the land now owned
by Mr. and Mrs. Porter. He was a man of great energy, of fine char-
acter, and became widely known throughout Sauk County. In his later
years he left the farm and moved to a comfortable home on East Street
in Baraboo, where he died in 1901. He was married in Sauk Counry.
His wife had come to this section with her parents, Thomas Quimby and
Roana (House) Loveland. They were both natives of Trumbull County,
Ohio. Thomas Q. Loveland died at Brookins, Brook County, South
Dakota, in January, 1916, at the age of eighty-four. His wife passed
away in the same state in 1900, at the age of seventy. Thomas Q. Love-
land had seen active service in the Civil war, and Mrs. Porter's father
was also a Union soldier. Mrs. Porter was the second of four children :
Effie, Octa Irene, Myrtle E. and Herman J.
Into the home of Mr. and Mrs. Porter have come two daughters.
Vivian, born in March, 1898, is a graduate of the local schools of Fair-
field Township and is still at home. Lois, born November 3, 1902, gradu-
ated from the common schools in 1916 and is now in the first year of the
Baraboo High School.
Joseph Mackey. There are few names more highly respected in
Sauk County than that of Mackey. Especially has Reedsburg great
reason to honor and perpetuate the memory of those of the name, for on
every side are tangible evidences of this family's useful activities, of
father and son, and proof of the civic pride and interest that inspired
them. To recall the name to many of Reedsburg 's most worthy citizens
is to arovise testimonials of personal esteem as well as gratitude.
Joseph Mackey, with his two brothers, Safford and Ebenezer, founded
the family in Sauk County, Wisconsin, in 1854. He was born in Scho-
harie County, New York, in 1822, attended school there and studied
1008 HISTORY OP SAUK COUNTY
law and before leaving his native state had served as district attorney
in Schoharie County. The brothers settled at Reedsburg and Ebenezer,
who was a physician, became eminent in his profession here, retiring
later in life to a home at Catskill, Greene County, New York. Joseph
Mackey engaged in the practice of law at Reedsburg and became widely
known in his profession, and in many other directions was a man of con-
sequence. He owned some of the early mills in Sauk County, brought
the first thoroughbred horses into this section, was largely instrumental
in getting the first railroad through Reedsburg and founded the first
bank. It was Mr. Mackey and his family that made possible the erection
of the first Presbyterian Church. Late in life he retired to Minneapolis,
Minnesota, and there his death occurred in 1882.
Joseph Mackey was married in 1850 to Miss Cornelia Mackey, who
was born in Schoharie County, New York, in 1831. His brother Safford
married his wife's sister. Miss Harriet Mackey. To Joseph Mackey and
wife two children were born : Franklin J. and Callie. The latter mar-
ried Harry Mcintosh, and they are residents of Chicago and have two
children, Marjorie and Donald.
Franklin J. Mackey was born in Schoharie County, New York, in
1852. He was educated at Reedsburg and has never forgotten his old
home, although his wide business interests have demanded his presence in
other cities and even in another land. He has resided in Minneapolis and
Chicago and has maintained a home at Leamington, England, for many
years. He was married in Minneapolis to Miss Florence Day, who died
in 1912, leaving no children. She was laid to rest in the beautiful ceme-
tery at Reedsburg, to the beautifying of which sacred plot Mr. Mackey
has devoted much attention. In his business undertakings in other sec-
tions he has been a very successful man, but Reedsburg is the home of
his mother and was so long a leading interest to his late father that it
seems to give him pleasure to make such improvements as paving the
streets and in many directions making the city comfortable and attrac-
tive. It is said that he demonstrates, in one way or another, his love
and respect for his father at all times and that any one, laborer or capi-
talist, who ever proved trustworthy to his father finds in him a friend.
Evan W. Evans, of Spring Green, was one of the oldest residents of
Sauk County at the time of his death, which occurred August 6, 1917.
He bore an honored and honorable part in local affairs for many years,
and his children have grown up here and have occupied prominent posi-
tions in affairs, including his son, the widely known Judge Evans, now
member of the Federal Judiciary.
The family for many generations lived in Wales, where Evan W.
Evans was born June 13, 1841, the third in a family of fourteen children
born" to Evan and Margaret (Williams) Evans. Evan Evans came to
America in 1841, bringing his wife and three children. They first
located in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and in 1849 came west and settled
at Spring Green, Wisconsin, where they were among the early pioneers.
Evan Evans developed a farm and most of the land is now within the
limits of Spring Green. Seven of the children are still living.
Evan W. Evans was reared on a farm three miles northeast of Spring
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1009
•
Green. He acquired his education in the local schools and in 1861, early
in the Civil war, he enlisted in the Sixth Wisconsin Battery. He saw
three years of strenuous and active service.. He was in the campaign by
which the Mississippi Valley was won from the Confederacy and among
other great battles participated in the siege of Island No. 10 in the
Mississippi River, and afterwards in the siege of Vicksburg and the
battles of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge.
After the war Mr. Evans returned to Sauk County and for two years
taught in the country schools. In 1868 he bought his farm, and con-
tinuously identified himself with its cultivation and with the profitable
growing of staple crops of this section during the remainder of his life.
In the meantime his fellow citizens sought him out for special honors and
distinctions, and for four terms he represented them in the lower house
of the State Legislature.
Evan W. Evans was married June 13, 1868, on his twenty-seventh
birthday, to Mary Ellen Jones, of Spring Green. Her parents, Thomas
D. and Mary (Lewis) Jones, were also of Welsh stock. Mrs. Evans
was born at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, October 21, 1850, and her mother
died there in 1853. Thomas D. Jones came west soon after the death of
his wife and he had the distinction of erecting the first house in the
Village of Spring Green. He followed farming for many years near
that village.
Mr. and Mrs. Evans had seven children. Emma is now agent of the
state school at Sparta, Wisconsin. George graduated with the degree
civil engineer from the University of Wisconsin and is now practicing
his profession at St. Louis, Missouri. Mary is a graduate of the Uni-
versity of Wisconsin, with the degree B. A., in 1904, and now teaches
history and mathematics in the public schools of Eau Claire. Evan A.
has attained distinction as a lawyer and is now federal judge on the
Seventh Circuit, including the states of Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana.
His official headquarters are at Chicago, but Sauk County still regards
him as one of its foremost citizens. Isaac is manager of the home farm
and is a stock buyer at Spring Green. Lillian is a graduate in the
classical department from the University of Wisconsin with the class of
1904 and is now teacher of English in the Kenosha High School. Alice
was graduated A. B. from the University of Wisconsin in 1906 and is
the wife of Henry J. Steeps, superintendent of schools at Rice Lake,
Wisconsin.
William F. Waterstreet is one of the most expert cheese makers
of the State of Wisconsin, noted for its products in that commodity.
He has had long and thorough experience and is now manager of the
Spring Green branch of Schmitt Brothers, wholesale cheese dealers.
The Schmitt Brothers headquarters are at Blue River, Wisconsin. This
firm buys immense quantities of Wisconsin cheese and ship the product
all over the world. The Spring Green branch, of which Mr. Waterstreet
is the manager, consists of a frame warehouse, two stories high with
basement, 115 by 30 feet, and located near the railway station on the
railway tracks. Through the Spring Green branch six cars of cheese
are marketed and shipped out every week. This means about 250 cars
1010 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
per year, and as each ear holds on the average about 20,000 pounds it
can be seen that the business done through Spring Green is an enormous
one.. The price in recent years has averaged about 19 cents a pound.
Mr. Waterstreet was born at Kewaunee, Wisconsin, March 20, 1874.
His father, Frederick -Waterstreet, was born in Germany in 1841, and
married in the old country Sophia Keuhl, who was born in Germany in
1848. They came to America in 1868 and located on a farm near Kewau-
nee, Wisconsin. Frederick Waterstreet died there in 1904 and his widow
is still living at Kewaunee.
The fourth in a family of eleven children, William F. Waterstreet
grew up on his father's farm and received all his early education at
Kewaunee. At the age of fifteen he left home and going to Morrison,
Illinois, was employed as a farm hand three years. It was in 1893, at
the age of nineteen, that he began his career as a cheese maker at
Kewaunee. He acquired a practical knowledge of the business during the
three years spent there and subsequently he was located two years at
Cadott, Wisconsin, one year at Dundas, and another j^ear at Big Hollow
near Spring Green.
In 1900 Mr. Waterstreet was appointed instructor in cheese making.
It was the firm of Crosby & Myers, well known wholesale cheese dealers
at Chicago, who employed him in this capacity to look after the output
of their 100 plants in Wisconsin. The duties of this position required
almost constant travel. After two years the firm built the large ware-
house at Spring Green, and Mr. Waterstreet was then employed to take
active charge of the branch. In 1914 Crosby & Myers sold this station
to Sehmitt Brothers, but Mr. Waterstreet remained with the new firm.
Besides handling the business of the branch storage and warehouse he
personally supervises the operation of eight cheese factories in and
around Spring Green.
Mr. Waterstreet has also acciuired other business interests and is a
stockholder in the Larsen Automatic Pump Company of Menominee,
Wisconsin, and in the Madison Bond Company of Madison. For two
years he served as a member of the village board of Spring Green. He
is active in the German Lutheran Church.
On December 31, 1902, he married Miss Grace Flyun, of Spring
Green. Mrs. Waterstreet was born at Mazomanie, Wisconsin, May 7,
1881, a daughter of Larry and Mary (Murphy) Flynn. Her father was
born in Ireland in 1841 and after coming to America he enlisted in a
New York regiment for service in the Civil war, served gallantly until
captured and spent six months in the foul Libby Prison at Richmond
before he was released. He afterwards came to Wisconsin and for many
years was active in the railway service but is now living retired at Spring
Green. His wife, Mary Murphy, was born in Ireland in 1848. Mr.
and Mrs. Waterstreet have two children : Mary Valerian, born October
20, 1903 ; and Neal William, born October 18, 1907.
LiEUT.-Gov. Edw^ard F. Dithmar. Sauk County has sent a number
of men from its boundaries into the larger service of the state, and
none has reflected more credit upon this constituency than the present
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1011
lieutenant governor Mr. Dithmar, a Baraboo lawyer and a native of
Reedsburg.
Mr. Dithmar is serving his second term as lieutenant governor. He
was first elected in the campaign of 1914. His service in the office was
of exceptional merit, especially because of the dignity and impartiality
with which he presided over the state house during the extraordinarily
long session of 1915. In the primaries of 1916 his choice by the repub-
licans as lieutenant governor was approved by an overwhelming vote,
and he went into office a second time with the substantial endorsement
of the people.
Mr. Dithmar was born in Reedsburg January 31, 1873, of German
parents, Rudolph E. and Fredericka (Dargel) Dithmar. His parents
were both born in Germany. His mother came to this country with her
parents in 1865. His father was a druggist and physician and died at
Reedsburg August 4, 1873. The widowed m.other is still living in Reeds-
burg. There were just two children, and the oldest son, J. T. Dithmar,
is assistant attorney general at Madison.
Lieutenant Governor Dithmar was educated in the German Lutheran
School and the high school at Reedsburg, and in 1890 entered the Uni-
versity of Wisconsin, graduating with the class of 1894. He had already
had some public experience, having been a messenger in the general
assembly during the session of 1889. In 1894, at the age of twenty-one
and fresh from college, he was elected clerk of the circuit court for
Sauk County and re-elected in the campaigns of 1896 and 1898, serving
creditably for six years. While circuit clerk he was diligently pursuing
the study of law and was admitted to the bar in 1899. Since 1901 he
has been in active practice at Baraboo.
Mr. Dithmar served four years as chairman of the Sauk County
Republican Committee, four years as member of the Republican State
Central Committee and in 1910 was vice chairman of that committee.
He was secretary of the Republican State Central Committee from the
campaign of 1912 for two years.
Governor Dithmar married Miss Emily Upham, daughter of Pro-
fessor A. A. Upham, of the Whitewater Normal School. They have two
sons, Edward Upham Dithmar and John Upham Dithmar.
Fred J. IIot.tz. In contemplating the careers of those who have
attained more than ordinary success in the pursuits of life, one is inter-
ested to know just Avhat qualities have gone into the making up of such
lives. In almost every case it is found that the foundations , of the for-
tunes of today have been laid Iw industry, close economy and strict
integrity, and particularly is this true in the career of Fred J. Holtz,
who is now the owner of one of the finely cultivated farms of Reedsburg
Township and a citizen of Avorth and standing in his community. Mr.
Holtz has been a resident of Sauk County for thirty-seven years and
during this time has been identified with the agricultural interests of
this rich region, so that his experience has been extensive and he has had
ample time to familiarize himself with conditions existing here as to
climate and methods.
Mr. Holtz was born in Germany, April 17, 1876, and is a son of
1012 HISTORY OF SxYUK COUNTY
Adolph and Minnie Iloltz. In his native land the father was a farmer
in a small way, but did not make the success that he desired, so in 1880
brought his family to the United States and settled in Sauk County.
Four years later he bought a tract of twenty acres in the vicinity of
Ableman, to which he subsequently added thirty-two acres by purchase,
and put the entire tract under cultivation. In 1893 he disposed of this
property and removed to Eeedsburg Township, where he bought the
120-acre property that is now being operated by his son. Here he passed
the remainder of his life in the industrious tilling of the soil, and died in
1901, at the age of fifty-one years. Mr. Holtz was one of the substantial
men of his community, a hard-worker, possessed of honorable business
methods and good judgment, and respected by his fellow-citizens. He
voted the republican ticket at elections and was a member of the Lutheran
Church, to which Mrs. Holtz, who is sixty-one years of age, and resides
with her son, also belongs. They had two children : Fred J. and
Augusta.
Fred J. Holtz was four years of age when brought to the United
States by his parents, and his education was here secured in the public
school at Ableman. He was brought up to habits of honesty and indus-
try, and carefully trained by his father in the work which must be
done by the successful farmer, and his tuition in this direction was
secured in the school of hard work and practical experience. From the
outset of his career he has been devoted to farming, and his present 120
acres, the home tract, shows every evidence of the presence of ability and
business judgment,- its buildings being of modern character and its im-
provements in other directions of the best. In addition to general farm-
ing, Mr. Holtz has carried on stockraising to some extent and at this
time has about twenty head of high grade Holstein cattle. Politically a
republican, Mr. Holtz has not been an office seeker, but has discharged
his civic duties in a public spirited way, and as a friend of education
has served as a member of the board of school directors. He belongs to
the Lutheran Church and has liberally supported its movements.
Mr. Holtz was united in marriage, October 25, 1903, in Sauk County,
to Miss Ida Schulze, who has passed her entire life in Reedsburg Town-
ship, where she was born December 13, 1875, a daughter of Fred Schulze
of Reedsburg, and a grand-daughter of Fred Schulze, Sr., one of the
oldest citizens of this place, still living at the age of ninety-three years.
Mr. and Mrs. Holtz are the parents of two children: Reuben, born
December 19, 1904 ; and Lucille, born July 21, 1906.
James Hill, now living retired at Baraboo, is himself an old timer
and member of one of the old families of Sauk County. Within his own
recollection much of what is 'now pioneer history was unfolded in this
section of Wisconsin, and he is one of the few men whose memory goes
back nearly seventy years.
Mr. Hill was born in Scotland, August 6, 1833, a son of W. and
Elizabeth (Smith) Hill. His mother was a native of England and
his father of Scotland. They were married in Scotland and about 1842
the father immigrated to America and soon afterward located in Sauk
County, where his family joined him about 1850. He was a miller
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1013
and millwright by trade, and had his pioneer milling enterprise in
Honey Creek Township. He also established a number of other mills
in this section of the state, including a mill at Baraboo. Most of his
subsequent life was spent in Baraboo, though he also worked at Able-
man and Lavalle. He also acquired a farm in Freedom Township, but
subsequently sold that and bought other land in Excelsior Township.
His son Captain W. Hill, who made a creditable record as an officer in
the Civil war, also bought 160 acres in Excelsior Township and subse-
quently for some years was editor of the Baraboo Republic and is now
living retired at the age of eighty-six in Neodesha, Kansas. Captain
Hill is president of the Bank of Neodesha.
W, Hill, Sr., died at Baraboo at the home of his son Edward in
1891. His wife passed away in 1894. Their children were : Mathew,
deceased ; Elizabeth ; William ; James ; Mary Ann ; Ediward ; Janet,
deceased ; Seymour, deceased ; and Douglas. The father of these chil-
dren began voting in America as a whig, subsequently becoming a repub-
lican, and his sons followed him in that party affiliation. He was active
in the Presbyterian Church.
James Hill was about seventeen years of age when he came to Sauk
County and had had a public school education in Ohio. His career here
has been that of a farmer and for a number of years he owned 160 acres
in Excelsior Township and participated in the hop growing industry
when that business was at its prime in Sauk County. Later he sold his
farm and removed to Baraboo and in 1887 acquired thirty-six acres of
land adjoining the city, known as the Indian Ford Farm. He still owns
this land, but it is rented and he is living retired.
Mr. Hill is a republican and served as chairman in Freedom, Excel-
sior and Baraboo townships and for about four years was a member of
the City Council of Baraboo. He regularly attends worship in the Pres-
byterian Church, although he is not a member.
Mr. Hill was married October 30, 1867, to Miss Emma Barringer.
She was born in Pennsylvania September 5, 1847, a daughter of John F.
and Margaret (Bergen) Barringer. Her parents removed to Sauk
County in 1855, locating on a farm in Excelsior Township. Her father
died there in 1868 and her mother passed away in Baraboo in 1886. The
Barringer children were : Margaret, Frederick, John, Jacob, Mary, Wil-
liam and Emma. Mr. and Mrs. James Hill have eight children : Nettie,
wife of E. B. McCoy of North Freedom; Edward; William; Robert;
Lorene, wife of H. C. Duncan, of Baraboo ; Ernest ; Grace, wife of Ernest
Edwards ; and Max.
George Horkan. Including his sons, who are now prosperous agri-
culturists, George Horkan, living retired at Reedsburg, represents a
family which for three generations has been identified with the improve-
ment, development and cultivation of Sauk County lands. The family
have proved industrious and valuable citizens in every sense of the word.
More than seventy years have come and gone since the name was first
introduced into Sauk County annals, and they especially figure in the
early history of Dellona Township.
When the family moved to this region Mr. George Horkan was a
1014 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
eliild of about six years. He was born in Toronto, Canada, December
25, 1840, and was a Christmas gift to his parents, Peter and Bridget
Horkan. His parents were both natives of Ireland and moved to Toronto,
Canada, a short time before the birth of their son George. Peter Horkan
kept a hotel in Toronto a couple of years and then moved to a farm
near Port Hope, Ontario. From there he went to Illinois and had a
farm in that state. In 1846 Peter Horkan, Patrick Mulligan and William
Recliff all walked from their Illinois community to Sauk County, Wis-
consin. After pursuing their investigations for some time- they finally
located upon land in Dellona Township near the north line of the county.
Peter Horkan acquired a tract of Government land and it was one of
the first tracts taken up by a permanent settler in that township. After
bringing his family here he lived through all the hardships and changing
conditions of the frontier settler. He saw the land which he had taken
up gradually improved and developed into a fine farm and at the same
time the region about him was opened up and gradually peopled with
substantial settlers. Peter Horkan died at his home in Dellona Town-
ship about thirty-eight years ago and his widow subsequently removed
to Reedsburg and has now been deceased about twenty years. They
were the parents of six children : George ; Ellen ; James, deceased ;
Mary ; W. Horkan, who lives in Duluth ; and John, who occupies the
old homestead.
George Horkan had limited opportunities to gain an education when
a boy, since the early schools of Dellona Township were largely sup-
ported on the subscription plan and their terms lasted for only a few
months each winter. He found plenty of employment in the woods or
in the fields of his father's farm and after reaching his majority he
acquired part of the old homestead and his enterprise enabled him to
add to his possessions there until he owned 160 acres. This farm is now
a complete and model place and is occupied and managed by his son
James. Mr. Horkan also cleared up and improved another tract of land
and later bought the Riley farm of 163 acres in the same township, where
his son Frank now lives.
After nearly fifty years of continuous work as a farmer Mr. Horkan
came to Reedsburg in 1909 and has since lived retired at 446 North
Park Street. He is the owner of considerable city property, including
three houses and lots in Reedsburg. He began life with very little except
his own industry and has accomplished a satisfying material independ-
ence. For years he plowed his land with oxen and he bought and paid
for his first yoke of oxen by cutting hoop poles. In politics Mr. Horkan
is a republican. At one time he was chairman of the township board of
Dellona Township. He and his family are active members of the Catho-
lic Church.
In January, 1871, he married Miss Bridget Davenport, who was born
in the State of Vermont May 18, 1850, a daughter of Stephen and Mary
(MacNemara) Davenport. During the early fifties the Davenport family
came out to Wisconsin and located in Juneau County, where her parents
spent the rest of their worthy and useful lives. Her father died in 1882
and her mother in 1889, and both were about seventy-two years old when
they passed away. Mrs. Horkan was the fifth in a family of six children.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1015
the others being: Patrick, of Baraboo; Mary, wife of John Scully, of
Juneau County ; James and John, deceased ; and Michael, deceased.
While Mr. Horkan's material achievements have been exceedingly
creditable, he and his good wife deserve all added praise for the twelve
children who came into their household and most of whom have grown
to stalwart manhood and gentle womanhood. James W., the oldest, was
bom November 4, 1871, and is playing the part of an active and pro-
gressive farmer on the old farm. By his marriage to Catherine Timlin
he has six children, named Loretta, Annetta, Glenn, George T., Fern
and Agnes. John Henry, the second son, was born March 25, 1873, and
is a resident of the State of Nevada. Frank Edward, born May 18, 1874,
has the farm where his father resided until he retired and moved to
Reedsburg. His wife's maiden name was Catherine Welch. They have
no children. Mary E., the oldest daughter, was born February 4, 1876,
and by her marriage to Edward Donahue, of Dellona Township, is the
mother of seven children, Mary Elizabeth, Charles, Ann, Grace, Helen
and Edward and Eleanor, twins. Ellen Agnes, bom February 23, 1877,
is now deceased. By her marriage to Nels Winney she was the mother
of two children, Helen, who lives with her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs.
Horkan, and Alice Thelma, deceased. Delia H., born October 27, 1878,
is living in Kansas City, Missouri, unmarried. Stephen Joseph, whose
home is in Baraboo, married Theresa Hayes, of Dellona Township, and
their two sons are Edward and Donald. George Thomas, bom October
27, 1881, is a merchant at Reedsburg, and by his marriage to Lena
Welch has a child, Mary. Michael Austin was bom June 14, 1883, and
died when a child in 1890. Caroline, bom August 7, 1885, is a milliner
and is now located at Sterling, Illinois. Theresa, born March 24, 1888,
is a teacher at Wonewoc, Wisconsin. Catherine, the youngest of the
twelve children, was bom May 27, 1889, and is still at home with her
parents in Reedsburg.
John Quinn. In the farming district of Washington Township are
many prosperous and progressive men who believe that the happiest life
as well as the most independent one is to be lived on the farm. Prominent
among these is John Quinn. Mr. Quinn has been identified with Sauk
County almost all his life, and his present home is a farm that was
developed partly by his father and partly by himself, from the woods
and wilderness which once held sway all over this section of Wisconsin.
Mr. Quinn was bom in Dodge County, Wisconsin, May 21, 1853, but
came with his parents to a farm in Washington Township on May 9,
1854. He is a son of James and Anna (Riley) Quinn, both natives of
Ireland, his father a native of County Wexford and his mother of
Queens County. His father was born November 1, 1816. James Quinn
first married a Miss Laughlin, and there were two children of that
union, Michael and Elizabeth. By his marriage to Anna Riley there
was one child, John. Mrs. James Quinn was also' twice married, her
first husband having been Thomas Cahill. Her two children by that
union were James and Michael, both now deceased.
James Quinn came to America and settled in Dodge County in 1846,
two years before Wisconsin became a state. After moving to Sauk
Vol. n 2 9
1016 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
County he applied his industrious labors to the development and clearing,
of his land, and was a man of prominence in that locality. He was one
of the organizers of his home school district, in which he held offices, and
was also treasurer. His death occurred September 24, 1875, and he was
buried in old St. Patrick's Cemetery in Bear Creek Township. His
wife, mother of John Quinn, died October 28, 1865, and was buried at
Keysville, Wisconsin.
Mr. John Quinn grew up in the locality where he now lives and has
witnessed the entire transformation of this district from woods and
unproductive places into a smiling landscape of farms and comfortable
homes.
Mr. Quinn married for his first wife Mary Ahern, daughter of Daniel
and Hannah Ahern, of Washington Township. Mr. Quinn 's children
are all by his first wife, their names being James, Mark, Bessie, Lawrence,
John, Edna and George. Of these two are now deceased, Mark and
Bessie. For his second wife Mr. Quinn married Mary Gavin, daughter
of Daniel and Bridget Gavin, of Bear Creek, Wisconsin. Mrs. Quinn
has two brothers, William and Michael. William married Margaret Lee
and Michael married Johanna Anglium.
The John Quinn farm in Washington Township comprises 140 acres.
His postoffice is Loganville. Mr. Quinn has carried out a program of
farming here for more than forty years, and is one of the milk and cream
producers of the section. He keeps on an average about twenty -four head
of cattle, and at present his dairy herd consists of sixteen fine Holsteins.
Mr. Quinn is a democrat in polities and an active member of the Catho-
lic Church. He has given much of his time to public office, having been
a member of the town board, and is present chairman of that board,
and has been town assessor and town clerk. He has also been a trustee
in his home church.
William Brennan is one of the sturdy and thrifty men upon whom
the agricultural burdens of Sauk County rest, and has given a good
account of his energies and abilities in passing years.
He was born in Baraboo Township April 27, 1871, a son of Thomas
and Alice (Terry) Brennan. His parents were both natives of Ireland,
his father born in 1824 and his mother in 1834. They came to America
before their marriage. In Connecticut they lived for several years and
were married at Stamford, and in 1867 arrived in Sauk County, locating
on the farm now owned by their son Walter. Thomas Brennan was a
very industrious Irishman and after developing his first land he increased
its acres until he had a complete half section and all in a high state of
cultivation. He spent his years on the old homestead and died there
in 1909. His wife passed away in 1895. Their children were : John,
deceased; Edward; Thomas, deceased; Alice and James, twins; Mary;
Walter ; William ; Bridget, deceased ; Ella ; and Peter.
Mr. William Brennan grew up on the old farm, attended public
schools, and took up the vocation to which he had been trained from
childhood. As a farmer he has the management and ownership of 142
acres close to the old homestead. He devotes it to general farming and
stock raising and is a dairyman and a stockholder in the Excelsior
Co-operative Creamery Company at Baraboo. Mr. Brennan is a demo-
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1017
crat in politics but has never sought any official honors in the county.
His parents were devout members of the Catholic Church and he and his
own family are communicants of the church of that faith at Baraboo.
Mr. Brennan was married January 27, 1904, to Miss Mary Power.
She was born in Sauk County January 17, 1876, daughter of Michael
and Catherine (Donahue) Power, both of whom were natives of Ireland,
her father born in 1828 and her mother in 1833. Michael Power came to
Baraboo when a young man in pioneer times and his wife came to
Baraboo at the age of fourteen. They were married at the county seat
•and the good wife died in 1910. Mr. Power is now living on the old
farm. Their nine children were named : William ; Ellen, deceased ;
John, deceased ; James ; Michael ; Edward ; Catherine ; Mary ; and Agnes.
Mr. and Mrs. Brennan have three children : Lawrence, Francis and
Mary Agnes.
William H. Townsend. It is not unusual to find men who after
many years of successful agricultural effort turn to the city and its
manifold business activities for the rounding out of their careers, but it
is not a common thing to see the successful business man turning his
attention to the farm. This latter, however, has been the case with
William H. Townsend, of Reedsburg. During a long period of praise-
worthy effort he became known as a successful business man of this city
in the field of contracting and building, and a number of structures here
and elsewhere testify to his skill and good workmanship. As a farmer,
which vocation he adopted in 1913, he has been equally successful, and
his fine property, located in Reedsburg Township, shows ample evidence
of the presence of good management and system.
Mr. Townsend was born near Cedarburg, Ozaukee County, Wisconsin,
July 9, 1862, and is a son of Joseph H. and Flavilla (Miller) Townsend.
Joseph Townsend was born in Oneida County, New York, January 15,
1827, and was a youth when he accompanied his parents, Lewis and
Sarah Ann Townsend, to Wisconsin, the family home for a number of
years being in Ozaukee County. There were fifteen children in the
grandparents' family, of whom several still survive, and a number of
the sons wore the Union blue in the Civil war. Lewis and Sarah Ann
Townsend moved from Ozaukee County to Sauk County, where they
lived east of Sandusky for a time, but the closing years of their lives
were passed at Waterville, Minnesota.
Joseph Townsend remained on the home farm in Ozaukee County
until the early '50s, when, fired with the news of the fortunes that were
being accumulated in the gold fields of California, he made the long
and perilous journey to that state. On his return he resumed his resi-
dence in Ozaukee County, but in 1868 moved to Sauk County, locating
east of Sandusky, where he owned a farm of forty acres and also con-
ducted a blacksmith shop. At various times he owned farms in several
parts of the county, but finally retired and moved to Reedsburg, where
he lived quietly for twenty-five years and died January 13, 1913, being
buried on his eighty-sixth birthday. While living here he owned about
six acres within the city limits, and, more to keep himself occupied than
anything else, engaged to some extent in gardening. He was a member
1018 PIISTORY OP SAUK COUNTY
of the United Brethren Church, as was also Mrs. Townsend, whose death
occurred in February, 1873. Her parents were early settlers of Sauk
County, at Sandusky, although both died at Richland Center. Among
their children were a number of sons who served in the Civil war. In
fact, on the paternal and maternal sides William H. Townsend had four-
teen uncles who fought at one time or another during the war between
the states. Joseph and Flavilla Townsend were the parents of five
children : Janie, who died young ; William H., Adaline Elizabeth, Clark
L. and Richard.
William H. Townsend was six years old when brought by his parents
to Sauk County, and here his education was completed in the district'
schools of Sandusky. As a youth he learned the trade of carpenter,
and in 1887, upon first coming to Reedsburg, he accepted employment in
the lumber yard. Subsequently, with his brother, Clark L., he embarked
in the building and contracting business, which they followed in partner-
ship for about fourteen years, during which time they erected numerous
structures which still stand as monuments to their enterprise and indus-
try. One of their contracts was the building of the big brick church
at Logansville. William H. Townsend built the main part of the Town-
send-Metcalf Garage, and later he and his brother built a 3-story addition
to the main building. While Mr. Townsend was more than ordinarily
successful in his business operations, he had for some years desired to
engage in agricultural pursuits, and this ambition reached fruition in
1913, when he purchased a farm of 200 acres located in Reedsburg
Township, i/^ mile from the city limits. Here he has developed a hand-
some property and engages in general farming, in addition making a
specialty of raising Holstein cattle, with which he has had much success.
It has been his fortune^ to secure prosperous results from all of his
efforts, but these have not been attained without earnest and well-directed
labor. Politically Mr. Townsend is a progressive, and on the ticket
of that party he was elected alderman of Reedsburg for six years. His
fraternal connections are with the local lodges of the Knights of Pythias
and the Modern Woodmen of America, and he and his family belong to
the Methodist Episcopal Church.
On December 31, 1891, Mr. Townsend was united in marriage with
Miss Nellie Maud Randall, who was born November 1, 1872, in Reeds-
burg Township, Sauk County, daughter of Byron and Frances M. (Flit-
croft) Randall, of Reedsburg. To this union there have been born two
children: Doris Lucerne, born September 27, 1893, a graduate of the
Reedsburg High School, who spent two yea^s at Lawrence University
and attended the University of Wisconsin, and is now the wife of
Maurice Deppe, of Baraboo ; and Donald William, born August 5, 1910,
and now attending the public schools. The pleasant and comfortable
Townsend home is situated at No. 717 Main Street.
Byron Randall. Of the citizens of Reedsburg who, while attaining
individual success, have contributed to the material welfare and im-
provement of the community one of the best known is Byron Randall.
During the twelve years that he has been serving in the capacity of alder-
man, nearly all of the civic improvements of Reedsburg have been
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1019
installed, and a nnniber of these have been brought about largely through
his support and initiative. He was born in Reedsburg Township, Sauk
County, December 8, 1850, and is a son o£ George and Naamah (Thomp-
son) Randall.
George Randall was born in 1810, in New York, and removed as a
young man to Illinois, where be was married to Naamah Thompson, who
was born in England, near the City of London, February 29, 1828. She
came with her parents to the United States in 1841, and after a short
stay at New York went to Illinois. Her parents later went to Columbus,
Wisconsin, where her father died in 1874 and her mother some time
later. After their marriage, in 1847, Mr. and Mrs. Randall removed to
Columbus, Wisconsin, then going to Juneau County, and finally, in 1849,
locating in Reedsburg Township. There they took up Government land
and developed a good farm, on which both passed the rest of their lives,
Mr. Randall dying in 1887. In politics he was a democrat, but never
aspired to public office. He and his wife assisted in the establishment
of the Methodist Episcopal Church on Narrow Prairie and later Mrs.
Randall was a member of the church of that denomination at Reedsburg.
They had nine children, all of whom are living : Alfred, Byron, Charles,
King, Frank, William, James, Lester and Clara.
After securing his education in the public schools Byron Randall
devoted himself to assisting his father in the cultivation of the home
farm, and eventually went to work for his brother Alfred, who was the
owner of a threshing outfit. He spent fourteen years in this kind of
work, and in 1880, came to Reedsburg, where, with the same brother,
he established a machine shop, an establishment which they conducted in
partnership for nine years. Mr. Randall then became a clerk in a hard-
ware store for a time, but now for a number of years has been in the
employ of the Brithingham & Hixon Lumber Company as a carpenter.
From the outset of his career he has been a democrat, but his prohibition
leanings are strong and he has voted in favor of the representatives of
prohibition since the time when there were only seven votes cast in that
way at Reedsburg. He has long been a foremost figure in public move-
ments here, and for tlie past twelve years has been elected alderman.
During this time he has attended every meeting of the council except
one, and every special meeting except one. He was a member of the
building committee when the high school was built, and has been alder-
man while the most of Reedsburg 's other improvements were made,
including the park. While he is progressive and always in favor of uev^
innovations, he is of a sound, practical nature, and does not believe in
fly-away policies. He and Mrs. Randall are members of the Christian
Science Church.
On December 3, 1871, Mr. Randall was married to Miss Frances M.
Flitcroft, who was born in Walworth County, Wisconsin, December 28,
1852, a daughter of John and Regina (Thomas) Flitcroft, the former
born in Steuben County, New York, in 1826, and the latter in Canada,
November 4, 1829. They were married in Walworth County, Wisconsin,
in 1851, and came to Sauk County two years later, settling in Reedsburg
Township, on the property adjoining the Randall Farm, a part of which
Mr. Flitcroft secured from the Government. There the parents of Mrs.
1020 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Randall rouncted out their lives in industrious agricultural efforts, the
father passing away August 24, 1888, and the mother in August, 1916.
They were the parents of five children, all of whom are living : Frances,
Charley, Lillie, Belle and Walter. Mr. and Mrs. Randall have one
daughter : Nellie Maud, who is the wife of William H. Townsend, for-
merh^ a l)usiness man of Reedsburg, and now a prosperous farmer in the
Township of that name.
Edgar A. Wood, a resident of Sauk County nearly all his life, has
applied himself successfully to the business of farming and in a public
spirited manner to the affairs of his home community of Washington
Township.
Mr. Wood was born at Necedah in Juneau County, Wisconsin, Octo-
ber 31, 1874. He is a son of the late Albert Wood and Ida (Organ)
Wood, who came to Wisconsin from Jefferson County, New York.
Albert Wood, who played a notable part in the affairs of Sauk
County for many years, was born December 28, 1844. When he was
twelve years of age in 1856 his parents came to Washington Township of
Sauk County and joined the earliest pioneers of this section. Grand-
father Wood was a pioneer physician and a man of great force, ability
and learning.
Albert Wood was educated in the common schools of that day and
he also attended Milton College of Wisconsin. Though very young at
the time he joined the Union army and fought for the preservation of
the Union. For many years he taught school, and his education was
largely self acquired. He was naturally studious, and directed his
studies to such good purpose that he secured a life certificate as a
teacher. Along with teaching he combined farming and he finally retired
to the old homestead in Washington Township, where he looked after
his parents during their declining years. There was never a time when
his interests slackened in the welfare of his community educationally
and otherwise. At one time he was his party's candidate for county
superintendent of schools. When well advanced in years he took up
the study of law. In 1906 he was admitted to practice in the courts
of this state and though his legal career was brief he distinguished him-
self by his industry and careful and efficient management of all inter-
ests entrusted to him. All his life he enjoyed communion with the great
Spirits of the world through books, through active contact with men, and
acquired a great fund of general information which was available when
he took up the profession of law. After his admission to the bar he
opened an office in his home town and acquired a favorable clientage.
Albert Wood died at his home in Washington Township March 9,
1914, leaving his widow, his son Edgar A., and two daughters, Estella
and IMabel. Estella is the wife of Byron Chapin.
The Sauk County Bar Association, under date of April 18, 1914,
prepared resolution, from which the following is a quotation : ' ' There-
fore be it resolved that in the death of Albert Wood the bar of Sauk
county has lost an honest, conscientious member. Resolved further, that
we extend his widow and family the sympathy of this association and
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1021
that this memorial be spread upon the minutes of the court and a copy-
presented to the family. ' '
Mr. Edgar A. "Wood, who is unmarried, now occupies the old home-
stead of his father with his unmarried sister Mabel. He has a farm of
120 acres, and is operating it along general lines, keeping about fifteen
head of cattle and having a dairy of about ten head. He uses the silo
system of feeding, and enjoys a justly earned place among the progressive
farmers of Sauk County.
Mr. Wood is a director of the school board and for five years was
road commissioner in his district. From 1905 to 1908 he served as post-
master of Woodlawn. He is an active republican, a member of the
Modern Woodmen of America, and is secretary of the Beavers Lodge,
Thomas Morley, whose name is numbered among the successful
fanners in Sauk County, was born in Excelsior Township March 31,
1859. He comes of a widely known family, conspicuous among whom
was his father, the late Isaac W. Morley, who served as the first county
superintendent of schools of Sauk County.
Isaac W. Morley was born at Mentor, in Lake County, Ohio, Septem-
ber 2, 1820, a son of Thomas Morley, who is elsewhere mentioned in this
publication. Isaac W. Morley came to Sauk County in 1849. He
acquired 160 acres of Government land. His brother Russell also took
a quarter section and another brother, Alvin, took the farm where Isaac 's
son Harvey now lives.
Isaac W. Morley taught school from early youth and did considerable
work as a pioneer educator in Sauk County. November 5, 1861, he was
■elected county superintendent of schools, and had the distinction of
putting the county school system into operation. He also conducted a
farm and a sawmill, and was a man of good ability in every line. He
married in Ohio Mary F. Smith. Isaac Morley was a republican, but
later became stanchly aligned with the prohibition party. He and his
wife had a large family of children : Mary, wife of A. C. Cole, of Excel-
sior Township ; Alvin, deceased ; Lucian, who died at the age of three
years ; Lucius, who died in November, 1916, at the age of sixty ; one
that died in, infancy ; Thomas ; Harvey, who now owns the 200-acre home-
stead which his Uncle Alvin once had ; Leaphe, who is unmarried ; and
Minnie, wife of Arthur Stanley.
Mr. Thomas Morley grew up on his father's old farm, was educated
in the public schools, and in passing years has acquired a fine estate of
his own in Excelsior Township, consisting of 130 acres. He devotes this
to general farming and stock raising. He has served as a member of
the school board and is an active republican.
In 1890 Mr. Morley married Miss Addie Crater. She was born at
Reedsburg in Sauk County, daughter of Levi Crater! Mr. and Mrs.
Morley have eight children : Ralsa ; Sidney, who died in infancy ;
Reuben, Pearl, Eva, Alice, Lena and Rose.
George T. Horkan is one of the live and enterprising business men
of Reedsburg, being member of the firm Siebert, Horkan, Verthein &
Company, proprietors of what is known as the Daylight Store.
1022 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Mr. Horkaji was born in Dellona Township of Sauk County October
27, 1884, a son of George and Bridget (Davenport) Horkan. His father,
who was born in Canada in 1841, has long been prominently identified
/with Sauk County affairs, and further reference to his career will be
found on other pages.
George T. Horkan grew up on his father's homestead, attended the
local schools and the Reedsburg High School, and early chose a business
career. For a year and a half he was an employe of the Kelley Mercan-
tile Company of Reedsburg. In 1904 the present firm was organized,
with him as an active partner, and they bought out the Kelley Store and
Mr. Horkan has been an active factor in its management and develop-
ment ever since.
In matters of politics he is independent. He and his family are
Catholics and his fraternal affiliation is with the Modern Woodmen of
America. Mr. Horkan married in June, 1908, Miss Helena Walsh, of
Reedsburg. They have one daughter, Mary C.
Henry Grote. Among the men who have contributed to the agri-
cultural development of Sauk County and who have now passed to
their reward was the late Henry Grote, who for many years was the
owner of a farm located 1^ miles from Reedsburg in the township of
the same name. When he first came to this locality, not long after the
Civil war, in which he had fought valiantly as a soldier of the Union,
he settled on a property which was almost totally unimproved, and
during the years that followed, through industry and steadfast effort,
he succeeded in the development of a valuable farm and in establishing^
himself thoroughly in the confidence of the community as a reliable and
useful citizen. In 1911 he retired from agricultural labors and took up
his residence at Reedsburg, where his death occurred in 1915.
Mr. Grote was born at Hobenbernsdorf, Germany, and was a young
man when he immigrated to the United States. His residence in Sauk
County began in 1859, when he secured employment on the farm of a
Mr. Coddington in Reedsburg Township, for whom he continued to work
until he entered the army, enlisting February 22, 1862, in Company A,
Nineteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. With this organi-
zation he participated in numerous engagements, including- the bloody
battle of Fair Oaks, and when he received his honorable discharge at
Richmond, Virginia, August 5, 1865, he had an excellent record as a
brave and faithful soldier. Returning to Sauk County, he became the
owner of a farm in Excelsior Township, and in 1867 was married. About
three months after this event he sold his Excelsior Township farm and
moved to Reedsburg, soon thereafter purchasing a farm II/2 miles from
town, in Reedsburg Township. About ten acres of this property had
been cleared and Mr. Grote made an additional clearing upon which to
erect his home and other buildings, following which he settled down to
the serious business of developing a productive and paying farm. In
this effort he succeeded admirably, becoming one of the township 's skilled
and successful farmers. After his first home was destroyed by fire he
built another residence, and as the years passed and he accumulated
more means he added to his buildings, improvements and equipment.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1023
f
He continued to be engaged in general farming and stock raising opera-
tions until March, 1911, when he retired from active work and moved
to Reedsburg, where he purchased a comfortable home at No. 433 North
Locust Street. Here his death occurred November 7, 1915, and here his
widow still resides. Mr. Grote was a republican in his political sym-
pathies and support and took an active part in local affairs, being for
several years chairman of the township board of Reedsburg. His stand-
ing in the community was that of an honorable and substantial man,
honest in his engagements and faithful in his friendships. A supporter
of good movements, he was also one of the founders of St. Peter's Church,
of which he and his wife were faithful members.
On October 13, 1867, Mr. Grote was married to Miss Dorothea Hue-
bing, who Avas born September 6, 1849, in Germany, a daughter of
Henry and Elizabeth (Harms) Huebing. The parents of Mrs. Grote
came to the United States in October, 1861, and located in Westfield
Township, Sauk County, where Mr. Huebing worked on a farm until
he had accumulated sufficient means with which to purchase a property
of his own in Reedsburg Township. His first residence was a log house,
but after he had cleared and improved his farm he erected more com-
modious buildings. In the evening of life this reliable citizen and sub-
stantial farmer moved to Reedsburg, where his death occurred in Janu-
ary, 1913, when he was eighty-six years of age, Mrs. Huebing having
died aged eighty years, November 25, 1902, while living on the farm in
Reedsburg Township with her daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs.
Grote. Mr. and Mrs. Huebing had the following children : Dorothea,
now Mrs. Grote ; Catherine, who is the widow of Bernhard Conerus ;
William, who is the owner of the family homestead in Reedsburg Town-
ship ; Henry ; and Annie, who is the wife of Fred Schutte, of Reeds-
burg. Mr. and Mrs. Grote became the parents of seven children : Levi,
who died at the age of twelve years ; Bertha, who is the wife of John
Sherhorn, of Reedsburg; William, resident of Reedsburg; Albert, twin
of William, who died in infancy ; Pauline, who is the wife of Charles
Bodenstab, a lawyer of Chicago ; Otto, who owns the Grote homestead
in Reedsburg Township ; and Walter, who is employed at the sheet
metal works at Gary, Indiana.
Mrs. Catherine (Huebing) Conerus, sister of Mrs. Henry Grote,
was born February 17, 1857, in Germany, and was married March 10,
1880, to Bernhard Conerus, who was born May 1, 1851, at Wittmund,
Hanover, Germany. He was a son of Herman Martin and Frances
(Harkens) Conerus, both of whom died in Germany. They had two
children : Gerhardt and Bernhard. Bernhard learned the blacksmith
trade in his youth, and in 1870 immigrated to the United States and
located in Dane County, Wisconsin, subsequently moving to Ableman,
Sauk County, and in 1878 to Reedsburg, where he followed his trade
until his death, September 9, 1884. He was a republican in politics, and
he and his wife were members of St. Peter's Lutheran Church. Mrs.
Conerus is now the owner of a comfortable home at No. 431 Vine Street,
Reedsburg. To Mr. and Mrs. Conerus there were born two children :
Arnold Martin and Bernhard Henry, the latter born April 22, 1883,
died in July, 1895. Arnold Martin, born at Reedsburg, May 26, 1881,,
1024 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
was educated in the public and high schools, and is now a jeweler and
optician of Elroy, Wisconsin. He married Caroline Schultz, of Reeds-
burg, and has two children, Tevna Catherine and Caroline Velma.
George Young. One of the substantial citizens of Sauk County is
George Young, who is a member of an old settled family in the neigh-
borhood of Reedsburg, and whose extensive farm and stock operations
have given him much prominence here. He was born on his present
farm in Reedsburg Township, January 23, 1866. His parents were
W. Henry and Lydia (Dewey) Young.
W. Henry Young was born in Montgomery County, New York, May
10, 1824, and was a son of John C. and Hannah (Dingman) Young,
who, when he was ten years old, moved to Otsego County, New York,
and he lived there until 1847. In that year W. Henry Young went to
Jefferson County, New York, and from there in 1854, came to Wiscon-
sin and settled at Reedsburg and lived there until in July, 1856, he
moved on the farm which is now the property of his son, George Young.
He was a man of consequence in Sauk County, serving as district clerk
for sixteen years, for four years was supervisor of Reedsburg Town-
ship and for one year was chairman of the town board. Mr. Young fell
heir to eighty acres of his land and later bought 120 acres, and in the
course of time made many improvements. He lived to an unusual age,
ninety years and eighteen days, passing away in 1914. He was twice
married, first in January, 1^56, at Reedsburg, to Adaline Crawford,
who was born in Ohio, a daughter of James Crawford, and died July
10, 1861. Two children were born to this marriage, Clarence and
Howard. Mr. Young's second marriage took place on December 17,
1863, to Lydia Dewey, who was born at Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, and
is a daughter of Henry and Mary A. Dewey. She resides at Reeds-
burg, where she has a wide circle of friends. Three children were born
to this marriage: George, Charles, who is deceased, and Winnie F.
George Young was educated in the public schools and after complet-
ing his studies in the high school at Reedsburg assumed the duties and
responsibilities he has borne ever since, these including operating a
200-acre farm, and since 1892 he has been a breeder of pure strain
Holstein cattle. At the time of writing he has twenty head, fine animals
that would undoubtedly bear off many prizes if exhibited. All his
agricultural industries are well directed, Mr. Young being a very capable
business man, and he is credited with much enterprise in his efi'orts to
improve the standard of stock generally through the county.
INIr. Young was married in 1897 to Miss Gertrude Mason, who was
born in Ohio, and they have five children : Helen, Ethel, Vera, Henry
and Emma. Mr. Young is an important factor in the democratic party
in this section. He has served as township clerk for sixteen years. Per-
sonally he is held in high esteem as an honorable and upright man, one
who is ever ready to do his part in protecting and promoting the best
interests of the section in which his family has been favorably known
so long.
George Weidenkopf, formerly identified with the farming inter-
ests of Sauk County and now a successful real estate and loan broker at
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1025
Baraboo, is a native of the county and his family has had interesting
relations with this country from pioneer times forward.
Mr. Weidenkopf was born on the old homestead of the family in
Sumpter Township April 7, 1872. The 'homestead was the northeast
quarter of section 22. His parents were John and Florentina (Gossen-
schmidt) Weidenkopf. His father was born near the River Rhine in
Germany in 1822, while the mother came from the famous Schwartz-
wald or Black Forest district, w^here she was born in 1826. John Weiden-
kopf came to America and located in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1842, and
some years later married there, his wife having come to America several
years after him. Her father, John Gossensehmidt, maternal grand-
father of George Weidenkopf, was a man of exceptional attainments.
He learned the trade of blacksmith, afterwards took up veterinary
surgery, and finally ac(iuired a thorough knowledge of medicine in the
old country. On coming to America he located in Ohio, lived with his
daughter, ]\Irs. John Weidenkopf, and subsequently came to Sauk
County and practiced his profession here for two years. He doctored
many of the early families. His death occurred in 1866.
John Weidenkopf enlisted for service in the Mexican war with the
Fifteenth Ohio Regiment and was in service until that brief but decisive
conflict was ended. For his service the Government gave him a land
warrant, and in 1852 he located it in Sauk County, in Sumpter Town-
ship. His first place was 160 acres but in 1864 he moved to the old
homestead above noted. The first home of the Weidenkopf family in
Sauk County was a house of hewed logs, 22 by 26 feet in ground dimen-
sions, and being twelve feet high furnished a story and a half of room.
That building is still a landmark in the county and still in use. The
property was in the family ownership until 1907. On this farm, which
he had brought to a high state of development John Weidenkopf died
in the spring of 1890. His widow passed away at Baraboo in June,
1906. They were the parents of nine children. Minnie, who died in
1893, was the wife of A. F. Herfort. John, Jr., lives at Badger, South
Dakota, where he was a pioneer settler in 1879. Caroline is the wife of
Paul Herfort, of Baraboo. Charles lives at Highland, South Dakota,
where he was a homesteader in 1879. Mary is the wife of Jerry Cough-
lin, of Baraboo. Elizabeth, the first of the family born in Sauk County,
is the wife of John Franklin, of Baraboo. Josie married Emil Reinke,
and they live at Portland, Oregon. Julia is the wife of Oscar Altpeter,
of Baraboo.
Mr. George Weidenkopf, the youngest of the family, grew up on
the old homestead farm and acquired his education in district school
No. 7. He finely acquired the homestead and worked it as a practical
farmer until he sold the property in 1907 and moved to Baraboo. At the
county seat he has conducted a successful real estate and loan business
and is a member in good standing of the AA^isconsin Association of Real
Estate Brokers.
Mr. Weidenkopf lives at 714 Eighth Street, and has a good home and
grounds of an acre and a quarter. In politics he is a democrat, having
cast his first vote for Bryan in 1896. He is affiliated with the' Modern
Woodmen of America.
1026 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
October 26", 1898, ]\Ir. Weidenkopf married Miss Blanche Hoover, of
'Sumpter Township, a daughter of Martin Hoover and a granddaughter of
John Hoover, one of the real pioneers of Sauk Prairie. Mr. and Mrs.
Weidenkopf have two children, Vane Hoover, born October 9, 1902;
and Arlene born December 30, 1904.
Henry W. Meyer. The connection between the growth and devel-
opment of the interests, industries and institutions of a community and
its agricultural affairs implies so close a relation that it cannot be lost
sight of by the intelligent observer. Unless the farms are prosperous and
the farmers progressive the community will not grow. Therefore, the
men who are engaged in the tilling of the soil are very important factors
in the scheme of things, and their lives are connected indissolubly with the
history of their localities. Accordingly, in writing of Sauk County, and
particularly of Reedsburg Township, mention should be made of Henry
W. Meyer, who is successfully engaged in farming, stock-raising and
dairying, and whose progressive methods and good business management
have assisted in building up his county 's prestige.
Henry W. Meyer was born November 5, 1869, in Germany, a son of
August and Maria Meyer, the latter of whom died in Germany in 1885.
Three years later the father, with his children, immigrated to the United
States, his first settlement being at Nicollet, Nicollet County, Minnesota,
where he remained nine years. In 1897 he came to Sauk County, Wis-
consin, then returned to Minnesota for a time, only to again come back
to Sauk County, where he made his home with his son and died in 1906,
aged eighty-one years. There were four children in the family, namely :
August, who is deceased ; Maria ; Henry W. ; and William.
Henry W. Meyer received the greater part of his education in the
schools of Germany, and was nineteen years of age when he accompanied
the family to the United States and located at Nicollet, Minnesota,
where he attended school for two months. Mr. Meyer first came to
Sauk County in 1893, bringing with him a capital of $500, which he
invested in a farm of eighty acres. This land he put under a good state
of cultivation, making numerous improvements and erecting substantial
buildings, and in 1904 was able to sell this property at a good figure.
In that year he bought 120 acres of land in Ironton Township, which
he still owns and upon which he carried on operations until 1914, when
he bought his present farm in Reedsburg Township, a property 130
acres in extent. Immediately upon locating upon this tract Mr. Meyer
began to improve his surroundings, and ere long had impressed his
progressive spirit and industry upon the buildings and equipment of
the place. He made improvements upon a number of the structures and
in 1917 erected a handsome and commodious residence, modern in every
particular and attractive in appearance. As a farmer Mr. Meyer has
won success through his industry and able business judgment, and in
addition to raising the standard crops of the locality has met with pros-
perity in the breeding of Holstein cattle and in his dairy work, in which
he milks twenty-two cows. He is a man who has the respect of those
with whom he has been connected in business enterprises, and his integ-
rity in this direction, as in others, is unquestioned. In civic affairs he
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1027
has taken an interest in all that pertains to the welfare of his com-
munity, and while residing in Ironton Township served as a member of
the board of school directors for several years. His political support is
given to the republican party. With Mrs'. Meyer and their children he
attends the Lutheran Church.
Mr. Meyer was married in 1901 to Miss Ida Thiemann, of Reeds-
burg, daughter of W. A. and Dora (Von der Ohe) Thiemann, the former
deceased and the latter a resident of Reedsburg Township. Three chil-
dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Meyer : Paul, Emma and Olga.
Andrew Nelson. One of Sauk County's substantial citizens is
Andrew Nelson, a successful general farmer in Excelsior Township. He
was born at Kongsberg, Norway, December 28, 1846, and his parents
died in that country.
Andrew Nelson attended the public schools in his native land. In
1866 he came to the United States and went to work for farmers in
Columbia County, Wisconsin, near Kilbourn, and also worked along
the IMississippi River and spent one summer at Dubuque, Iowa. In
1872 he bought 160 acres of wild land in Excelsior Township, Sauk
County, and has cleared seventy acres and made excellent improvements.
In addition to general farming Mr. Nelson raises high grade Durham
cattle. A republican in politics, he has always been loyal to party and
friends but has never been willing to accept public office. He is a mem-
ber and liberal supporter of the Methodist Episcopal Church of North
Freedom.
In 1871 Mr. Nelson was married to Mrs. Sophia (Halversen) Hart-
wig, who was born in Norway and died in Sauk County, March 2, 1916,
when aged seventy-six years. She came from Norway to Dane County,
Wisconsin, with her parents when four years old. They died in the
Moe settlement at Newport, near Kilbourn, Wisconsin. Her first mar-
riage was to Morton Hartwig, and they had two children : Julius, who
is state chemist for INIinnesota, having filled that office for sixteen years
and resides at St. Paul ; and Isaac, who died when aged nine years.
To Mr. and Mrs. Nelson two sons were born :' Carl Morton, who
resides with his father and operates the home farm; and Tunis Nor-
man, who resides at Gays Mills in Crawford County, Wisconsin. He
married Grace IMcCuUough, and they have two children : Max and
Claire.
Morton Hartwig was a son of Isaac Hartwig, who was one of the
pioneers of Sauk County. When the Civil war came upon the country
Morton Hartwig entered the Union army and was a brave soldier. He
died in a military hospital in the City of St. Louis, Missouri.
Edward Krueger. Few farms in Sauk County are better improved
than the one owned by Edward Krueger, which is situated in Reedsburg
Township, a part of it being the old Krueger homestead, which was pur-
chased by his father, the late Edward Krueger, more than forty years
ago. Edward Krueger, the younger, was born at Reedsburg, October 4,
1872. His parents were Edward and Minnie (Schroeder) Krueger,
1028 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
They were natives of Germany, where the father was born April 14,
1827, and the mother, January 20, 1845.
The elder Edward Krueger lived in Germany until he was thirty-
one years old, in the meanwhile serving for four years in the German
army. When he came to the United States he located in the City of
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he remained for twelve years. He had
left his parents in Germany and when his father died there he sent for
his mother and he cared tenderly for her until her death. Mrs. Wil-
helmina Krueger was born October 31, 1805, and died on the farm which
her grandson, Edward, now owns December 31, 1895. Edward Krueger
came to Reedsburg when forty-three years old and resided in the vil-
lage for four years and during this time put up the first brick building
in the place. He was in the bakery and saloon business with a Mr.
Rheneke. In 1877 he traded his Reedsburg interests for a farm of
eighty acres in Reedsburg Township and moved on the property, M^hich
he subsequently improved. In 1903 he moved back to Reedsburg and
his death took place there in August, 1910, when he was aged eighty-
three years.
At the age of forty-five years Edward Krueger was married to Minnie
Schroeder, whose people had come from Germany and settled at Wone-
woc, Wisconsin, and she died at Reedsburg, February 3, 1916. They
were the parents of the following children : Laura, who was born
November 7, 1871, is the wife of Charles Krohn, of Reedsburg ; Edward ;
Henry, who was born July 10, 1874, resides at Clayton, Wisconsin;
William, who was born March 30, 1876, lives at Port Edwards, Wood
County, Wisconsin ; Herman, who was born April 5, ^1878, lives in
Michigan ; Ida, who was born November 25, 1879, is the wi'fe of Amandus
Stampe, of Reedsburg; Frederick, who was born February 12, 1882,
and Dietrich, his twin brother, are in a general store business at Reeds-
burg; Bertha, who was born October 7, 1883, is a trained nurse resid-
ing in Milwaukee; Otto, who was born March 15, 1886, died May 22,
1887 ; Gustav, who was born June 14, 1887, resides at Clayton, Wis-
consin ; Emma, who was born April 4, 1889, resides at Reedsburg and is
the youngest of a family remarkable for its general intelligence and
robustness of constitution. In politics the father of the above family
was a democrat but he was never interested enough to accept any politi-
cal office for himself, although frequently urged to do so, as he was
considered not only an honest man but one of business ability. He was
one of the early shippers of wheat and also of hops from Kilbourn.
Both he and wife were faithful members of the Lutheran Church and
did much for the church at Reedsburg.
Edward Krueger, the younger, attended the district schools and as
he was the eldest son was called on to give his father assistance for a
number of years. He owns the old homestead of 160 acres and now
carries on his industries with plenty of room, these being largely crop
raising, and he is one of the successful farmers of the county. He is
half owner of eighty acres in Polk County, Wisconsin, and has a half
interest in 120 acres in the same county. He has another large source
of income in his business of buying and selling horses, and thus far in
1917 has sold fifty-six head and has further contracts. He is a fine judge-
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1029
of stock of all kinds and keeps only a high grade. Mr. Krueger has made
many improvements on his place that have added to its value and appear-
ance. In 1913 his fine residence, with all manner of modern comforts
installed, was completed and in 1906 he pht up one of the best barns in
the township, the structure being 36 by 86 feet in dimensions. Many
of the progressive farmers in this section think they do well when they
have one silo, but Mr. Krueger has two of these expensive but valuable
structures, the dimensions of one being 14 by 36 feet, and the other
10 by 36 feet.
Mr. Krueger was married February 24, 1903, to Miss Matilda Ost,
who was born in Reedsburg Township, Sauk County, May 9, 1880, and
is a daughter of Ferdinand and Frederika (Garske) Ost, extended men-
tion of whom will be found in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Krueger have
no children. They are active and valued members of the Lutheran
Church. Mr. Krueger casts his vote with the democratic party, to which
he is very loyal.
August Henke is member and head of a widely known family in
Sauk County, especially in the North Freedom community. Mr. Henke
has spent the best years of his life in Sauk County, but was born in
Germany, March 23, 1848, a son of Martin and Rosa Henke. His parents
came to this country and first located in Waukesha County, Wisconsin,
and in 1867 moved to Excelsior Township of Sauk County, where they
acquired 120 acres. This farm is now owned by August Henke, though
some years ago he sold twenty acres and now has 100 acres. On
occupying the land the father built a log house, and did much of the
heavy clearing necessary for cultivation. August Henke during his
regime has advanced improvements in many ways, has erected substan-
tial buildings, and in 1913 put up one of the model country homes of the
township. He is a successful farmer and stock raiser.
His parents finally left the farm and moved out to South Dakota,
where they took up a homestead and both of them died at Gettysburg
in that state, the father in 1889, when about eighty years of age, and
the mother in 1913, at the age of eighty-nine. They had seven children :
August; Julius, deceased; Nettie, Mrs. William Wiland, of Greenfield
Township ; Julia, wife of August Belter ; William, who had taken
up a claim in South Dakota and lost his life by drowning in the Missis-
sippi River, his body never being recovered ; Augusta is the wife of
Gottlieb Siebrasse, of Gettysburg, South Dakota; and Rosa is the wife
of John Barbknecht, of Tripoli, Iowa.
August Henke grew up partly in Germany and partly in Sauk
County and has been continuously identified with the vocation of agri-
culture for upwards of half a century. At Baraboo, on November 29,
1872, he married Miss Augusta Pflugradt. Mrs. Henke was born in
Germany June 9, 1853, a daughter of Michael Pflugradt. Her father
died in the old country in 1856, when she was three years of age, she
being the only child. Her widowed mother, Justina Selmer Pflugradt,
afterwards married Gottlieb Hildebrandt. There was one child of that
union, August, but he is now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Hildebrandt came
to Sauk County, Wisconsin, in 1867, when ]Mrs. Henke was fourteen
1030 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
years of age, and located in Honey Creek Township. Both of them spent
their last years with their daughter in Excelsior Township, where Mr.
Hildebrandt died in 1894 and Mrs. Henke's mother in 1886.
Mr. and Mrs. Henke had a family of eight children. Their names
in order of birth are Emma, Edward, August, Otto (who died in
infancy), Mary, Paul, Elizabeth and Julius. This family constitutes a
number of the well known people of Sauk Couuty. The oldest child,
Emma, is the wife of Gustav Meyer, of Excelsior Township and they
have four children, named Herbert, Irma, Clara and Minnie. The son,
Edward, who was born on the homestead, was educated in the public
schools, did his part in clearing up and developing the farm and in
erecting its modern equipment of buildings, and is still steadily at Mork
in its improvement and cultivation, living unmarried with his mothjr
and father. The son, August, is a farmer in Excelsior Township and
married Inez Hingstler. The daughter, Mary, is the wife of Jake
Zimerly, of Excelsior Township, and they have three children, Ernie,
Philip and Ruth. Paul, also a farmer in Excelsior Township, married
Edna Hingstler, and their family consists of two, Gladys and Durlan.
Elizabeth is the wife of A. Gurgel and the mother of four children, Fred,
Raymond, Hilda and Viola. Julius, a farmer in Excelsior Township,
married Dorris Springer and has two children, Julius and Wendall.
George Grantin. Some of the most progressive and successful of
the agricultural representatives of Sauk County are engaged in opera-
tions on land on which they were born and which has been in their fam-
ilies for many years. In this class is found George Grantin, of Reedsburg
Township, who has passed his entire life on the farm which was origi-
nally owned by his father.
George Grantin was born in Reedsburg Township, November 24, 1882,
a son of Henry and Mary (Pfifer) Grantin. His father, born in Ger-
many in 1834, immigrated to the United States at the age of thirty
years and first located at Chicago, where for several years he worked at
the trade of carpenter, which he had mastered in his native land. Com-
ing then to Sauk County, he purchased eighty acres of land in Reedsburg
Township, of which he cleared forty acres, and in addition owned forty
acres of timbered land in Ironton Township. He erected good buildings
and made a number of improvements, and continued to actively follow
general farming until 1906, when he sold his land to his son, retired to
Reedsburg, and there died in 1907. He was an industrious and hard-
working man and was highly esteemed in his? community, where he was
a faithful member of the Lutheran Church. In political matters he
supported the principles of the republican party. Mr. Grantin was first
married at Reedsburg to Mena Dravis, and they had three children,
Henry, Bertha and Lena. After the death of his first wife he was mar-
ried in Sauk County to Mary Pfifer, who was born in Honey Creek
Township, Sauk County, in 1855, a daughter of Sheron and Annie
Pfifer, pioneers of Sauk County, Mr. Pfifer being a veteran of the Civil
war. He died about the year 1878 in Honey Creek Township. Mrs.
Grantin passed away at Reedsburg in 1909, having been the mother of
five children: Louise, Augusta, Anna, George and Ferdinand.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1031
«
George Grantin was reared on the home farm in Reedsburg Town-
ship, where he attended the district schools, and was later sent to the
Lutheran parochial school at Reedsburg. • With this training and that
secured from his father in an agricultural' way, he began farming for
himself about the time he reached his majority, and in 1906 bought the
home farm from the elder man and has since devoted his attention to
the operation of its eighty acres. Here he has his home, a comfortable
residence, and his barns and outbuildings, but in addition to this land
he owns forty acres in Ironton Township, where he has likewise made
good improvements. He has been successful in the raising of good crops
of rye, wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, corn and hay, and has also devoted
some attention to the raising of graded Durham and Holstein cattle,
while his dairy demands necessitate the milking of fifteen cows. Inde-
pendent in his political views, he has taken no more than a good citizen 's
interest in party affairs. His religious connection is with the Lutheran
Church.
Mr. Grantin was married June 12, 1906, to Miss Emma Schulz, who
was born in Ironton Township, Sauk County, August 6, 1884, a daugh-
ter of William C. and Angelina (Samsow) Schulz, of that township,
the latter of whom died June 6, 1906. Mr. and Mrs. Grantin have been
the parents of five children : Robert, Frances, Irma, Harry and Rhein-
hold, the last named of whom died in infancy,
Ferdinand Schmidt. The changes that have been effected in Ameri-
can agricultural operations in recent years are transforming farm life,
formerly so hard, into one of the most independent, peaceful and agree-
able of occupations. Farm life today offers more attractions than at
any other time in the world's history and is calling millions from the
desks and factories of the city to the healthful, invigorating life of the
country. Sauk County has many attractive and up-to-date farms, where
the appliances and conveniences equal those of city life, and among
these is that owned by Ferdinand Schmidt, a well-cultivated tract lyiiig
in Reedsburg To^\'Tlship. Mr. Schmidt is of foreign birth, but has been
a resident of Sauk County for more than a quarter of a century, and
is now numbered among his community's substantial men.
Mr. Schmidt was born May 31, 1879, in Germany, and is a son of
Gottlieb and Christina (Gareng) Schmidt, the former born in Prussia,
September 18, 1842, and the latter in Poland, April 4, 1854. They were
married in Germany and there followed farming in a small way, but
did not feel that their outlook for success was bright and accordingly,
in 1890, started for the United States, their vessel making port at New
York City June 13. After a short stay in the metropolis they came to
Reedslnirg, the father renting eighty acres of land, this now furnishing
a part of the farm owned by his son. He bought this land in 1892, and
later bought an additional forty acres, but disposed of the greater part
of the latter before his retirement. He was industrious, thrifty and
hard-working, and succeeded in the cultivation of a fertile and pro-
ductive property and the establishment of a good home, in which he was
ably assisted by his worthy wife. After she passed to her reward in
A'ol. II 3 0
1032 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
1908 Mr. Selimidt retired from active pursuits, although he still makes
his home on the farm with his son.
Ferdinand Schmidt attended the public schools of his native country,
as well as those of Sauk County, and from childhood has shown himself
industrious and enterprising. The only son of his parents, when still a
youth he became his father's assistant, and in 1906 invested the earn-
ings which he had carefully accumulated in an eighty acre tract adjoin-
ing the homestead place. In the following year he added to his holdings
by buying the original eighty acres of his father, and in 1911 he further
augmented the size of his acreage by another purchase, and now has about
195 acres. This land is all valuable and productive, yielding large crops
under Mr. Schmidt's intelligent methods of cultivation. The value of
the farm is enhanced by good buildings and modern improvements, and
in addition to general farming Mr. Schmidt carries on stock raising and
is considered an excellent judge of cattle and other live stock. While
not a politician or an office seeker, he stanchly supports the republican
party's candidates, and as a citizen has been quick to assist wherever
needed in the advancement of public-spirited movements. He belongs
to the Lutheran Church, in the faith of which he was reared.
Mr. Schmidt was married August 22, 1906, to Miss Annie Grantin,
who was born on the old Grantin homestead farm in Reedsburg Town-
ship July 5, 1881, a daughter of Henry and Mary (Pfifer) Grantin, a
sketch of whose career will.be found elsewhere in this work in the review
of George Grantin. Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt are the parents of seven
sons, all living: Harold, Herbert and Wilbert (twins), Arnold, Ferdi-
nand, Raymond and Elmer,
William Henry Baxter. There are few older settlers in Sauk
County than William Henry Baxter, who arrived here in 1854 and in
the sixty-three years that have since followed has built up a reputation
for integrity and general worth that is as rare as it has been upbuilding
to the townships of Baraboo and Fairfield. While he is now retired
from active pursuits, having reached the advanced age of eighty-six
years, he was formerly the owner of a large amount of valuable prop-
erty, and is credited with being one of those men who maintain, into
the eventide of their lives, those genial and kindly thoughts which make
them a blessing and inspiration to those about them. He has kept pace
always with the advance of agricultural science, and the improvements
which he made upon his property indicated a painstaking and cautious
judgment.
William Henry Baxter was born on a farm in Addison Township,
Steuben County, New York, August 16, 1831, and is a son of William
and Anna Baxter, natives of that county. The parents of Mr. Baxter
were life long residents of Steuben County, where they followed farm-
ing as residents of Addison Township, both passing away there, the
father in 1836 and the mother in 1852. William H. Baxter was but five
years of age when his father died, and in his boyhood he was denied
many advantages which are granted to youths who do not have to spend
the greater part of their time in working in order to contribute their
share to the family income. His education was of a public school charac-
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1033
ter and somewhat limited, but tlie lad was quick to learn, sharp i]i
observing', and possessed of a ready intellect and retentive mind, so that
he gained a much better training than many others who possessed
greater advantages. Also, he was eager to succeed and placed his ambi-
tions high, and early in life displayed a remarkable industry and unlim-
ited capacity for hard, painstaking work. He was engaged in farming
in his native state, and there started a household of his own when in
1852, following the death of his mother, he was married.
Mr. Baxter, as noted, was a hard and industrious worker and accepted
whatever opportunities for honorable employment presented themselves,
but he finally came to the conclusion that in New York his chances were
limited and therefore decided to remove to some locality where the land
was not so crowded. Reports had reached him of the fertility and pro-
ductiveness of Sauk County land, and in 1854 he left the Empire state
for Wisconsin and upon his arrival located on a farm of eighty-five
acres situated in Fairfield Township. His first few years spent here
were ones that tried his mettle, for under the new conditions he was
forced to work out his own difficult problems, but he was persistent and
patient, and his well directed labors soon began to bear fruit. After
clearing a part of his original purchase he disposed of it and bought
another farm near it in Fairfield Township, this being a tract of 120
acres. With the exception of sixteen years he has resided in Fairfield
Township ever since coming to Sauk County. In 1895, after the death
of his first wife, he moved to the City of Baraboo, but when his second
wife died, in 1911, he returned to the Fairfield Township farm and here
is now living retired. During the period of his active labor in agricul-
tural work Mr. Baxter was accounted one of the skilled and thoroughly
capable farmers of his locality. While somewhat conservative and rely-
ing on tried and practical methods, he did not hesitate to give more
modern means a chance and was ready to experiment with the new
machinery constantly being invented to lessen the work of the farmer.
He always aimed to make his land pay him for all the labor he put into
its cultivation and generally succeeded in doing so, at the same time
enhancing the value of his farm by the erection of good buildings and
the installation of modern improvements. In addition to general farm-
ing he carried on stock raising. Little by little Mr. Baxter disposed of
his property to his children, who now own it all. In politics Mr. Baxter
is a democrat, and has several times been the incumbent of political
positions, having served one term as a member of the board of town-
ship supervisors and several years as a member of the school board.
His citizenship has always been of the best, and his support has been
given to worthy movements", civic, educational and religious.
Mr. Baxter was first married in 1852, in Steuben County, New York,
to Mrs. Samantha Hagadone, who was born in that countj^, and they
became the parents of five children, as follows : Adelia, George Henry,
W. Franklin, Frederick and Thomas Jefferson. Mrs. Baxter died in
Fairfield Township in 1895, at which time Mr. Baxter went to Baraboo.
There he was married in 1897 to Mrs. John Dangerfield, who died in
1911. Mr. Baxter has rounded out a successful and satisfying career.
He survives, like an oak in the forest, the majority of those who started
1034 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
in life when he did, and his memory is a panorama of those small and
large events which make up the history of the white man's labors in
Sauk County.
Frank A. Strang was born in Bear Creek Township of Sauk County
August 21, 1869. He has never strayed far from the scene of his birth
and early childhood, but in this one locality has made a success as a
farmer and stockman and is today one of the leading and influential
citizens of that community.
His parents were Nelson C. and Alvina (Harris) Strang. His father
was born in New York State March 9, 1819, and the mother was born in
1840. Nelson C. Strang was a pioneer of Bear Creek, where he located
in 1857, and died at Spring Green, Sauk County, February 8, 1889. The
mother is still living. Their children were Frank, Minnie, Cora, Charles,
Jacob, Harvey and Alma.
Frank A. Straiig received a common school education when a boy,
and then applied himself to the main business of life, farming. In
April, 1896, he came to his present farm of 160 acres, and is widely
known through that section of Sauk County for his success as a cattle-
man. He keeps about forty head of cattle, many of them Holsteins, and
his herd is headed by a thoroughbred bull. As a dairyman he markets
the products of thirty-one cows. Mr. Strang is a republican, belongs to
the Congregational Church and is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen
of America and the Order of Beavers.
On Christmas Day, December 25, 1894, he married Cynthia L. Max-
w^ell. daughter of Charles and Johanna Maxwell. Mr. and Mrs. Strang
traveled together along the highway of life for nearly twenty years,
until her death on March 6, 1914. She became the mother of ten chil-
dren, as follows: Minnie, Nelson, Harvey, . Agnes, Florence, Eva, Edna,
Herbert, Francis and one that died at birth. Nelson and Herbert are
also deceased.
Theodore Henry Kessler. Among the members of the agricultural
fraternity of Sauk County one who is a representative of an early family
of this region is Theodore Henrj^ Kessler," whose property is located in
Greenfield Township. He has passed his entire life within the limits of
the county and has worked out a worthwhile success, being accounted
one of the substantial farmers and stock raisers of the community, as
well as a citizen who is aiding in the general advancement and progress
of the locality. He was born in 1870, four miles from Loganville, in
Westfield Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin, and is a son of Rev.
Christopher and Susannah (Oberheim) Kessler.
Rev. Christopher Kessler was born in Bavaria, Germany, where he
was educated, and as a young man entered the ministry of the Lutheran
Church. His ministerial labors were so successful in his native land
that during the '60s the earnest young man was sent by the church as
a missionary to Wyoming, where he established several churches, then
going into Iowa, where he was married to Miss Susannah Oberheim, who
had been born in Dubuque, that state. From Iowa Rev. and Mrs. Kess-
ler came to Sauk County, where the remaining years of their lives were
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1035
passed. Reverend Kessler became known far and wide as one of the most
successful, devoted and energetic laborers in his church in Wisconsin.
He built the stone church near Loganville which still bears his name,
and in addition held charges at different' times at Westfield, Ableman,
Reedsburg and Merrimack, and in Greenfield Township. He was more
than a minister to his people, for in addition to being their spiritual
adviser he was also friend and counsellor, giving them valuable advice
in money matters and performing all manner of services for the unfor-
tunate. As a result he became greatly beloved, and when he died there
were many to mourn his loss. Mrs. Kessler was an able helpmate for
her husband, a devoted Christian woman, with a warm heart and a
charitable nature, who seconded him in everything he did and whose
life was filled with kindlj^ acts and beautiful deeds. Reverend Kessler
was a man of sound business judgment and became successful in a
material way, wisely investing his means in valuable and productive
land, of which he owned 320 acres in Greenfield Township. On this
farm both he and his wife passed away. They were the parents of the
following children : Carl, who left home to go to Denver, Colorado,
where he was section foreman on the Denver & Colorado Railroad, and
subsequently went to Alaska, since which time nothing has been heard
of him ; Mary, who is the wife of Rudolph Euholt, of Greenfield Town-
ship ; Henry, who is deceased ; Theodore Henry, of this review ; and
Christopher, who is engaged in agricultural operations and owns a good
farm in Baraboo Township, Sauk County.
When Theodore H. Kessler was still an infant his parents moved to
their newly purchased farm in Greenfield Township, and it was in that
locality that he received his education in the public schools. His early
training was all along the line of agriculture, and no other vocation has
ever suggested itself to him, for in the period of his career he has met
with marked success in his operations, and has been content to follow
the peaceful vocation of the husbandman, tilling his fields and gathering
his crops. As the years have passed he has added from time to time to
his holdings, and his present property, located in Greenfield Township,
consists of 205 acres, all fertile, productive land, upon which he raises
the standard crops of the locality. His buildings are large, substantial
and attractive, including a handsome barn, 62 by 34 feet, and in them
he has installed modern improvements and machinery calculated to save
labor for the busy agriculturist. Mr. Kessler is a general farmer and
also raises standard stock, in addition to which he does a profitable dairy
business, being identified with the Excelsior Co-operative Creamery
Company of Baraboo. He has never desired public office, bitt takes
an interest in local affairs, and is one of the men of his township who have
contributed to the success of beneficial and progressive movements. His
support during elections is given to the candidates of the 'republican
party, and he and Mrs. Kessler are members of the Lutheran Church of
Baraboo.
In 1894 Mr. Kessler was united in marriage with Miss Emma Kosine.
who was born in Germany and was a child when brought to the United
States. Her father is Herman Kosine, who was one of the early settlers
of Baraboo and who still makes his home in that city, one of the
1036 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
respected members of his community. To Mr. and Mrs. Kessler there
have been born the following children : Carl, who is assisting his father
in the operation of the home farm ; Elsie, Jennie, Ernie, Aleck, Mareta,
Florence, who is deceased ; Ruth, Theodore and an infant, unnamed.
Their children have been and are being given good educational advantages
and are being trained to take their rightful positions in the life of the
community and to conduct themselves in a manner which will be cred-
itable to themselves, to their township and to their fahiily.
William Roecker. In Westfield Township one of the farms that
indicate the care and thrift bestowed upon it by its owner and represents
a material asset of the entire county is that of William Roecker, who
has lived continuous!}^ in that locality for nearly thirty years. Mr.
Roecker came to Wisconsin when a boy of seven years from Germany,
where he was born December 19, 1861. He is a son of Albert and Pau-
lina (Blank) Roecker. His parents came to Sauk County in 1868, for
several years rented land, and later bought the farm where their son,
Edward, now lives. This contained eighty acres and the father built
in the woods a log house and by his own labors cleared most of the
farm. He is still living there with his son at the advanced age of
eighty-four. His wife passed away in 1907, at the age of sixty-eight.
Their family of nine children were William, August, Augusta and Tilly,
both deceased, Edward, Annie, Marie, Minnie and Henry.
William Roecker acquired his education in the common schools of
Wisconsin. For about five years he lived with his parents at Portage
and Casimir, but otherwise his home has been in Sauk County. Growing
up as a farmer, he industriously took advantage of every opportunity to
get a home of his own, and in 1889 bought eighty acres contained in his
present homestead. Later he bought another forty and now has 120
acres under cultivation, improved with good buildings, including a barn
36 by 66 feet, which is one of the best equipped structures of the kind
in the township. Mr. Roecker does general farming and has about
twenty-seven head of cattle. He is a member of the Lutheran Church.
In 1886, several years before coming to his present homestead, he
married Miss Mary Hasc. Their companionship was terminated by her
death in 1889. She was the mother of three children : Herman, Martha
and Marie, the last two being twins and both now deceased. In 1891
Mr. Roecker married Miss Marie Meier. She was born in Germany,'
March 22, 1869. Her father died in Germany and her widowed mother,
Katrina Meier, brought her family to Sauk County in 1890 and died
there in 1893. Mr. and Mrs. Roecker have had five children: Albert,
deceased; Emil; Martha; Erna, deceased; and Elda.
Fred Schoephorter. In every community there is apt to be found
a body of retired farmers, and very often they represent the most solid
and substantial citizenship of the section in which they live. Many of
those who live in Sauk County belong to old pioneer families and some
of them, like Fred Schoephorter, a highly respected resident of Troy
Township, may be classed as pioneers themselves. Having come here
early, they have witnessed and helped to bring about the wonderful
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1037
development this section of Wisconsin has enjoyed and their reminis-
cences covering the period are both interesting and instructive. In Mr.
Schoephorter 's case recollection goes back even to another land, for his
birth took place in Germany, March 25, 1845, and he was eight
years old when the long ocean voyage was taken and the further over-
land trip to the new home in the Wisconsin wilds.
The parents of Mr. Schoephorter were Carl and Maria (Millman)
Schoephorter, natives of Germany who came to the United States in
1853 and made their way to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where they hired a
conveyance that brought them to Sauk City. There were no railroads
at that time in this part of the state and the traveling that people did
was with oxen or horses as their preference might be. The weary
travelers settled as soon as they could on the 120 acres which the father
had secured from the Government, and never left it, both dying on the
farm now owned by their son some twenty years ago. They came at a
time when many hardships had to be endured because of unsettled con-
ditions, but they were brave and industrious and had not been expect-
ing a life of ease, hence they went to work with a will and the time came,
which their son is glad to remember, when they were able to take their
ease at will. The 120 acres had to be cleared before it could be culti-
vated and the father made use of oxen to break up the land.
Fred Schoephorter grew up on this pioneer farm and in boyhood
attended the district schools". He has always followed farm pursuits and
has always lived on the old homestead, having purchased the interests
of his three sisters, he being the only son and the third in order of birth
in his parents' family, the others being: Louise, who was the wife of
Peter Engel and lived at Prairie du Sac ; Mary, who married and lived
at Cottage Grove in Dane County; and Caroline, who is the wife of
Fred Hansmyer and lives at Cottage Grove.
When Mr. Schoephorter was twenty-five years old he married Miss
Caroline Mittie, and four children were born to them, as follows : Mary,
who lives at home ; Charles, who is a merchant in Prairie du Sac ; Eli,
who lives on a farm in Sumpter Township, is married, as is also his
older brother; and Lizzie, who is Mrs. Henry Carmacker and lives in
Cottage Grove. The mother of the above children died and subsequently
Mr. Schoephorter married her sister, Augusta Mittie, and to this mar-
riage there were also bom four children, namely : Willie, who is a
farmer and has a family and lives at Baraboo ; Lidie, the wife of Simon
Stibur, lives in Honey Creek Township ; Julia, the wife of Henry Gasser,
lives in Troy Township ; and Henry, who resides on and operates his
father's farm.
For many years Fred Schoephorter was one of the most successful
farmers of Troy Township and kept active until 1906, when he retired,
being fully justified when he could turn his affairs over to so capable
a farmer as his youngest son. In political matters he has always been
a repiiblican but has never accepted any political office unless member-
ship on the school board might be deemed such, for he has served six
years in all as a school director. With the members of his family he
belongs to the Evangelical Church, which is a strong organization in
Troy Township. Mr. Schoephorter has seen many changes in agricul-
1038 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
tural methods, in manner of living and in a general progress along all
lines, and he has accepted those of which he has been able to approve,
but he has not altogether forgotten some of the old familiar customs
which prevailed in earlier days. He is one of the best known residents
of Troy Township.
William A. Stolte. In 1893 was formed the business of Stolte,
Dangel & Foss Company, an enterprise which had its chief capital in the
ambition of the members forming the concern. The records show that
the venture in that year did a fairly prosperous business, and that in
the fifteen years that followed it continued to add to its prestige and
to gain in greater and greater degree the confidence of the buying pub-*
lie, so that in 1908 it was forced to enlarge its quarters. Today it is the
largest department store in Sauk County, and thus it wall be apparent
to the merest layman that the personnel of this concern has been far
above the ordinary. One of the guiding spirits of this Reedsburg con-
cern, one who has brought it right to the forefront in the face of stern
competition, who has had the courage to grasp opportunities and the
foresight to see when these opportunities would come, is William A.
Stolte, secretary and treasurer, who has won and retained for himself
a leading position among Sauk County business men.
William A. Stolte is a product of the community in which his labors
have been prosecuted and in which his success has been gained. He was
born January 23, 1866, at Reedsburg, on the present site of the Hotel
Stolte, a son of William and Dorothea (Meyer) Stolte, natives of Ger-
many, where the former was born March 2, 1835, and the latter in Novem-
ber, 1840. William Stolte came to the United States in 1861 and located
in Westfield Township, Sauk County, and there met and married his
wife, who had come here one year later, their honeymoon journey con-
sisting of a ride in a wagon drawn by an ox-team. Mr. Stolte worked on
a farm in Westfield Township for a time, but subsequently went to Kil-
bourn, where he worked at the trade of tailor, which he had learned in
his native land. After about three years he came to Reedsburg and
embarked in the mercantile business under the firm style of Sehweke &
Stolte, this association continuing until 1869, the year of the hop crash.
The shock of this calamity caused Mr. Sehweke 's death, but Mr. Stolte
continued the business alone until 1887, when he retired. During this
time he also conducted a li.quor establishment, and from 1887 forward
engaged in farming until 1911, when he gave up all active labors and
lived quietly until his death, which occurred in 1913. Mr. Stolte was
one of Reedsburg 's most successful men of business, was one of the
stockholders in the woolen mill, and built the Hotel Stolte, which he
gave to his sons, one of whom, Edward G., was manager of the house at
the time of his death, December 25, 1914. He was a democrat in politics
and prominent in local affairs, serving at times as supervisor and treas-
urer of Reedsburg, and took a leading part in religious work, being one
of the founders of Saint Peter's Lutheran Church and afterwards of
Saint John's Church, of which, he was president at the time of his
demise. Fraternally he belonged to the Independent Order. of Odd
Fellows, and was very active in that order. Mr. Stolte was a son of
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1039'
George and Dora Stolte, who came to Reedsburg about 1864 and lived
on a farm which was located within the city limits and which was owned
by their son. They both passed away here. George Meyer, the maternal
grandfather of William A. Stolte, fought in a number of the battles of
the Napoleonic wars, including Moscow. He married Elizabeth Meyer
and in later years came to America and located in Westfield Township,
where both grandparents passed away. They had four children : Mrs.
Stolte ; Mrs. Charles Thies, with whom they made their home ; Mrs. Carl
Giffert ; and one son. William and Dorothea Stolte were the parents of
ten children : Dora, who is deceased ; William A. ; Edward G., deceased ;
Nannie ; Louisa ; Henry, who died in infancy ; George ; Lydia ; Lena ;
and Freda.
William A. Stolte was educated in the public and parochial schools
of Reedsburg, spent one year in the Reedsburg High School, aiid was
confirmed in Saint John's Church. He was but thirteen years of age-
when he began his connection with mercantile affairs, and to this line
his efforts have since been confined, with the exception of six years when
he was engaged as a traveling salesman in selling hops. In March,
1893, he became one of the organizers, with Frank A. Foss and Louis
Dangel, in the formation of the Stolte, Dangel & Foss Company, the-
new concern taking over the stock and good will of the Harris & Hosier
Company. The business was in poor shape, but the new partners soon
introduced methods and ideas that rapidly brought custom, and from
the start the business grew and prospered. Changes were repeatedly
made to accommodate the increased business, and for some years the
business was conducted on the corner of Main and Walnut streets.
The two-story department store now comprises the largest business of
its kind in Sauk County, and employs in the neighborhood of fifty people.
In connection therewith is operated a large cold storage plant, and a
recently added feature of the business is a complete automobile depart-
ment. Mr. Stolte has been secretary and treasurer of the firm since its
inception, and by his foresight, acumen and natural ability has been a
leading figure in the development of the enterprise. His standing in
business circles is evidenced by the fact that he is president of the Com-
mercial Club of Reedsburg, and in civic affairs he also takes a leading
part as a member of the city council. His political affiliation is with
the democratic party. Fraternally he is connected with Reedsburg
Lodge No. 157, Free and Accepted Masons ; Reedsburg Chapter, Royal
Arch Masons; the Order of the Eastern Star; the Modern Woodmen of
America ; the Beavers ; and the Knights of Pythias, all of Reedsburg.
He is a member of Saint John's Lutheran Church, and has been presi-
dent thereof since his father's death.
Mr. Stolte was married in 1894 to Miss Rosette J. Heyer, of Darien,
near Delavan, Wisconsin. They have three children: Ruth, born in
1896, a graduate of Reedsburg High School and a junior at the Univer-
sity of Wisconsin, who is greatly interested in the Young Woman's
Christian Association and religious work; Herbert A., born in 1898, a
graduate of the Reedsburg High School, class of 1917, and now attend-
ing the University of Wisconsin ; and William A., Jr., born in 1904.
1040 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Samuel Andrews. On the 17th of February, 1917, was summoned
to the life eternal the soul of a man whose sterling integrity and most
exemplary character have left an indelible impress upon the hearts of
his fellow men. At the time when he was called from the scene of his
mortal endeavors he was in his eighty-seventh year, and it may be said
concerning him that "his strength was as the number of his days." The
prestige which he gained as a fair and honorable man was the result of
his own well directed endeavors and his success was on a parity with
his ability and well applied energy.
Samuel Andrews, the subject of this sketch, was a native of Herford-
shire, England, where his birth occurred August 1, 1830. His parents
passed their entire lives in England and as a young man he decided to
come to America. He landed in the harbor of New York July 4, 1849,
and proceeded thence to Cleveland, Ohio, where he remained about six
months. He then located in Baraboo, where in company with his brother,
Andrew, he learned the trade of shoemaker. Andrew continued to reside
in Baraboo but Samuel came to Ironton and here engaged in the shoe
business in 1858. His partner in this enterprise was Jack Jessup, and
they were together until the hop crash, after which Mr. Andrews con-
ducted the growing business alone during the long intervening years
until 1910, some seven years prior to his demise.
In 1887 Mr. Andrews purchased a farm of 140 acres 3^ miles from
Ironton. This farm is still in the possession of the family and for the
past twenty years has been managed and conducted by a son, David
James.
Mr. Andrews was a republican in his political proclivities and for
fourteen years he filled the office of treasurer of Ironton Township with
the utmost efficiency. In a fraternal way he was a member of Ironton
Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, having been connected with that
organization for fifty-six years. He was treasurer of the lodge for several
years and was carried to his final resting place by a large delegation of
Masons. With his wife he was a member of the Eastern Star for six
years.
March 24, 1860, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Andrews to
Miss Melissa Harrison, who was born in England, March 24, 1842, a
daughter of George and Martha (Bottomly) Harrison. Mrs. Andrews'
parents were natives of Bradford, Yorkshire, England, and they immi-
grated to Massachusetts in 1848, at which time he came on to Sauk
County and located a claim in what is now Lavalle Township. This
claim consisted of forty acres, and here the family joined him two years
later, in 1850. Mr. Harrison died in 1868 and his devoted wife died
in 1870.
Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Andrews : Walter is now a
resident of California; Martha, of Baraboo; George W., who lives in
Baraboo; Eleazer maintains his home in Chicago; Joseph is likewise a
resident of Chicago; Jane is the wife of John 0 'Gorman, of Duluth;
David James runs the old homestead in Ironton Township ; and Jane,
Nancy and Arthur all died in infancy.
In community affairs Mr. Andrews was active and influential and
his support was readily and generously given to many measures for-
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1041
warded for the general progress and improvement. His life history is
certainly worthy of commendation and of emulation, for along honorable
and straightforward lines he won the success which crowned his efforts
and which made him one of the substantial residents of Sauk County.
Mrs. Andrews, who survives her beloved husband, is a woman of great
kindliness of character and marked hospitality. She is a prominent mem-
ber of the local chapter of the Eastern Star and her beautiful home in
Ironton was the scene of many attractive social gatherings during the
lifetime of her husband. Mr. and Mrs. Andrews were married nearly
tiftj^-seven years when death called him.
Albert Schulze. On the fine old homestead which was founded by
his father, Albert Schulze is now most successfully engaged in general
farming and stock raising. He is a young man of sterling character,
quick intelligence and exemplary habits and as such holds a high place
in the esteem of his fellow citizens. The date of his birth was January
6, 1883, and he is a son of Henry and Lizzie (Lipkeman) Schulze, who
came to America from Germany in 1881. Mr. and Mrs. Schulze were
married in the old country and there became the parents of three chil-
dren : Henry, William and Lizzie. In 1881 they came to Sauk County
and located a homestead in the vicinity of Reedsburg, where Mr. Schulze
was engaged in work as a carpenter for a number of years. For two
years they lived in Lavalle Township but since 1891 they have been con-
tinuous residents of the farm on which Albert now lives. This estate
consists of 180 acres, and although the original buildings were con-
structed of logs the present ones are fine examples of the substantial,
modern farm buildings. Mr. Schulze retired from active participation
in farm work in April, 1912, and is now living in comfort on the com-
petence gained in his prime. He was born November 28, 1848, and his
wife June 30, 1849. Four more children were born to them after their
arrival in Sauk County, namely : Albert, Emil, Otto and Ida. Mr.
Schulze has a genial and kindly personality and is greatly beloved by
his family and many friends.
Albert Schulze grew to maturity under the invigorating discipline
of the old home farm, in the work and management of which he early
began to assist his father. He was educated in the Reedsburg schools*
and since his father's retirement he has been manager of the homestead
which he now owns. He is a practical farmer and has met with marked
success in his endeavors. A republican in his political convictions, he
manifests a deep and sincere interest in public affairs although he is
not an active politician. He is a devout member of St. Peter's Church
at Reedsburg and is a generous contributor to the charities of that insti-
tution.
In 1905 Mr. Schulze was united in marriage to Miss Emma Wester-
man, a native of Ironton Township, where her birth occurred March
10, 1883. Mrs. Schulze is a daughter of John and Katherine Wester-
man, the former of whom is deceased and the latter is now living in
Reedsburg. Mr. and Mrs. Schulze have seven fine children : Christel,
Selma, Hilda, Alfred, Edna, Adena and Florence.
1042 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Henry Garske. The farming interests of Sauk County are very
important, for this section of the state is noted for the fertility of its
soil and the value of its agricultural lands. There was a time not so
long distant when these fertile fields were covered with prairie grass
or timber and when the wild animals held undisputed sway, but now
all is changed and Sauk County has blossomed forth in a remarkable
degree. Here are to be found many intelligent, hard-working men
engaged in farming, and some of these have passed their entire lives on
their present lands. In this class is Henry Garske, of Reedsburg Town-
ship, who was born on the farm that he now owns, October 30, 1868, a
son of Frederick and Amelia (Puhal) Garske.
The grandparents of Mr. Garske, William and Henrietta (Koplein)
Garske, were born in Germany, and brought their family to the United
States in 1855, settling in Reedsburg Township, Sauk County, where for
many years they lived on the farm now owned by their grandson,
although they died on the property owned by Henry Yost. They
were industrious and honest farming people, greatly respected in their
community, and both reached advanced years, the grandfather being
eighty-eight years old at the time of his demise. Their children, all of
whom are deceased, were as follows: William, Ferdinand, Minnie,
Hannah, Frederick and Fredericka. The maternal grandparents of
Mr. Garske, August and Henrietta (Schultz) Pufhal, were also born in
Germany, and came to the United States with their children in 1857,
locating in Reedsburg Township, where they rounded out their lives in
the cultivation of a farm and the making of a home. ]\Ir. Pufhal died
when well advanced in years, and Mrs. Pufhal in 1890, when eighty-
four years of age. They belonged to the sturdy class of honorable early
settlers who assisted in the development of the great County of Sauk.
They had three children : Gudima, Amelia and Ferdinand.
Frederick Garske was born January 13, 1834, and had about reached
his majority when he accompanied the family in its journey to the United
States. Like the other members of the family, he chose farming as his
life work, and it was he who purchased the eighty-acre farm which is
now owned by his son. Throughout his life agricultural pursuits con-
tinued to occupy his attention, and as he was an industrious man, with
good business ability, he made his labors pay and at the same time occu-
pied a substantial place in his community. His death occurred in 1899.
Mrs. Garske, who was born November 6, 1845, still survives him and is
now a resident of Reedsburg, where she has many friends and is highly
esteemed. She is the mother of five children : Albert, Augusta, Henry;
Annie and Frederick.
Henry Garske 's entire life has been an agricultural one. Born in the
country and reared amid agricultural surroundings, his earliest boy-
hood remembrances are connected with the homestead, where he assisted
his father while not attending the district schools. When he came to
choose his life work it was natural that he should select farming, and in
this and stock raising he has found complete success. On the homestead
farm, of which he became the owner through purchase in June, 1917, he
has good buildings and up-to-date improvements, and his operations are
carried on in a modern and progressive manner, backed by good busi-
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1043
ness management. Hard-working, industrious and thrifty, he has becoipie
one of the well-to-do men of his locality and enjoys the universal respect
of his community. Politically he is independent of party lines, and has
not sought public preferment. He belongs 'to the Lutheran Church and
contributes to its movements.
Mr. Garske was married in 1912 to Miss Ida Schwanz, who was born
iu Reedsburg Township, Sauk County, in 1880, daughter of William
and Amelia Schwanz, a sketch of whose career will be found in the review
of Louis Schwanz, elsewhere in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Garske are the
parents of one son : William, born November 3, 1915.
Samuel Weidman. There is something singularly appropriate in
the fact that a county with such marvelous geological resources as Sauk
should produce at least one man eminent in the science of geology and
recognized by his work and attainments throughout the country.
Samuel Weidraan, whose home has been at Madison for many years,
was born at Westfield in this county, October 11, 1870, a son of Alex-
ander and Eleanor (Mcllvaine) Weidmau. His parents were both born
in Ohio, and his paternal grandparents, of Pennsylvania German origin,
were Samuel and Mary (Schenk) Weidraan. Mr. Weidman is descended
in the sixth generation from Martin Weidman, who came from Durlach,
Germany, and settled in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, as early as
1733. Martin Weidman received his patent to a grant of land of 385
acres in what is now Clay Township, Lancaster County, signed by Wil-
liam Penn, on October 6, 1733, with the consideration named therein of
fifty-nine p>o^^iitls nineteen shillings and six-pence. Mr. Weidman 's
paternal grandfather, Samuel, a great-grandson of Martin, was born in
Lancaster County in 1790 and lived for many years in Summit County,
Ohio. He was a pioneer in Sauk County and bought much land in West-
field and Reedsburg townships, and died in 1863 at the home of his
youngest son, Samuel, in the Town of Reedsburg. Alexander Weidman
and wife were married in Sauk County in 1859, and at the time of his
death in 1897 he owned 240 acres of .land in section 36, Reedsburg, and
section 1, Westfield, now in farms owned by three of his children. Alex-
ander Weidmau, born in 1832, was a democrat originally but for many
years voted independently. He served two years in the Civil war,
1861-63, being a member of Company A, Nineteenth Wisconsin Regi-
ment. His wife, Eleanor (Mcllvaine) Weidman, born in 1833, in Wayne
County, Ohio, was the daughter of John Mcllvaine, of Scotch-Irish
descent, who was born in 1788 in Washington County, Pennsylvania,
and removed to Ohio in 1820. Mrs. Weidman lives with her son, Clifton,
on the home farm and is in good health and vigor at the age of eighty-
four years. She is one of the oldest pioneers of Sauk County. Alex-
ander Weidman and his wife had seven children: Vernie, Mrs. Charles
G. Waltz, living in California; Henry, who has eighty acres of the old
homestead in Reedsburg; Grant, who owns another eighty acres of the
old farm in Reedsburg; Edna, deceased; Clifton, who has the third
share, eighty acres, of the old farm in Westfield; Samuel; and Angle,
who died at the age of ten years.
Samuel Weidman grew up on the old farm, and from an early age
1044 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
manifested a more than ordinary curiosity in his environment and from
boyhood became a student of local geology. He graduated in 1889 from
the Reedsburg High School and in 1894 took his Bachelor of Science
degree in the University of Wisconsin. He was a Fellow in Geology at
the University of Wisconsin in 1895-96, and a Fellow in Geology at the
University of Chicago in 1896-97. Mr. Weidman has the degree Doctor
of Philosophy given him by the University of Wisconsin in 1898.
On many phases of Wisconsin geology, especially economic geology,
he is a recognized authority, both by his work and his writings. He has
discovered several new minerals. He was field assistant in the United
States Geological Survey in the Lake Superior region in 1894-96. Dur-
ing 1897-99 he was assistant geologist and since 1899 has been geologist
of the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey. He is also
secretary of the Wisconsin Clay Manufacturers' Association, an organi-
zation for educational purposes largel3\ He is a Fellow of the Geologi-
cal Society of America, of the American Association for the Advance-
ment of Science, the Association of American Geographers, and a mem-
ber of the Wisconsin Academy of Science, Arts and Letters.
As an author Mr. Weidman is known by the following works, pub-
lished by the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey : ' ' Soils
and Agriculture of North Central Wisconsin," first published in 1903
and a second edition in 1908; "The Baraboo Iron Bearing District,"
1904; "The Geology of North Central Wisconsin," 1907; "Soil Survey
of Northwestern Wisconsin," 1911; "Soil Survey of Marinette County,"
1911 ; "The Water Supplies of Wisconsin," 1915; and the following by
the United States Geological Survey : ' ' The Marathon-Wausau Geologic
Folio," 1917; besides many reports, bulletins and articles for journals,
including the article on local geology which appears under his name in
this history of Sauk County.
Mr. Weidman is a member of the Sigma Zi, an honorary scientific
fraternity, the University Club at Madison, is generally a democrat, and
is a member of the Unitarian Church. He is also a member of the
Masonic Order. His home is at 410 North Henry Street in the City of
Madison.
On November 22, 1899, Mr. Weidman married Miss Adda J. Westen-
haver, of Madison. " She was born in Sauk County, daughter of Henry
and Alice (Hulburt) Westenhaver. Her mother is a sister of Dr. F. D.
Hulburt, of Reedsburg. Mr. and Mrs. Weidman have three children:
Samuel Henry, John Mcllvaine, and Robert Hulburt.
Joseph Keith. Many of the ablest men in America are ardent
devotees of the great basic industry of agriculture and it is well that
this is so, because the various learned professions are rapidly becoming
so crowded with inefficient practitioners that in a few years it will be
nearly impossible for any but the exceptionally talented man to make
good or even to gain a competent living therein. The independent farmer
who in addition to tilling the soil cultivates his mind and retains his
health is a man much to be envied in these days of strenuous bustle and
nervous energy. He lives his life as he chooses and is always safe from
financial ravages and other troubles of the so-called "cliff dweller." An
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1045
able and representative agriculturist who lias ever done all in his power
to advance the general welfare of his community is Joseph Keith, who
is engaged in general farming and stock raising on a finely improved
estate of eighty acres in Ironton Township, this county.
Mr. Keith was born in the State of Ohio, January 7, 1845, and is a
son of William and Sarah (Holden) Keith. The parents left the Buck-
eye state in 1855 and migrated to Sauk County, here settling on the farm
now owned by the subject. The father died in 1859, at the age of forty
years, and the mother passed away at the age of seventy years. To
them were born six daughters and two sons, of whom Rachael, Joseph,
^largaret, Elizabeth, Oney and Nancy are living.
At the age of ten years Joseph Keith accompanied his parents from
Ohio to his present home in this county and four years later he was
bereft of his father. He assisted his widowed mother in clearing the
land and erected several of the buildings still standing on the farm.
His education consisted of occasional attendance in the country school
and he early learned the rudiments of farming and stock raising, to
which lines of enterprise he has since devoted his earnest endeavors.
Politically he is a democrat and he has served faithfully and with effi-
ciency on the local school board.
In 1871 Mr. Keith married Miss Lucy IMoorhouse, a native of Ironton
Township and a daughter of James and Ellen Moorhouse, both of whom
are deceased. Mrs. Keith died in 1894 and is survived by the following
children: Josephine, Ira, Herbert, Clyde and Albie. Clyde is asso-
ciated with his father in farming the old homestead. Mrs. Keith was
a woman of most gracious personality and her memory will long be
green in the hearts of her -friends. Mr. Keith's life has been exemplary
in every respect and he supports those interests which are calculated to
uplift and benefit humanity. He is well liked by all with whom he has
come in contact.
William Giese has played the part of a pioneer in Sauk County and
is a member of a family which for more than half a century have made
their efforts productive not only for the benefit of themselves but for
the welfare of the community.
William Giese was born in Pomerania, Germany, January 17. 1849,
a son of Michael and Elenore Giese. In November, 1864, the family
came to America and settled in Honey Creek Township of Sauk County.
They acquired 220 acres, a part of which was cleared and improved. In
a few years it was all brought under cultivation and became one of the
farms of note in that part of the county. Michael Giese died at Water-
town, South Dakota, in 1894 and was buried at Watertown, and his
wife passed away in 1871 and was buried in Honey Creek Township.
All their children except the youngest were born in Germany, their
names being Lottie, John, William, August, Amelia, Julius, Bertha and
Annie.
William Giese grew up on his father's place in Sauk County. He
married Miss Minnie Priebe January 11, 1871. She was a daughter of
William Priebe and Minnie Priebe, and they also came from Germany.
He made his home in Chicago for six vears and in 1876 came to Sauk
1046 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
County on a farm and had to grub out a place to put up a house for
his family. There he made his home until the death of Mrs. William
Giese, who died June 4, 1904, leaving seven children: Anna, William,
John, Henry, Albert, George and Marie. Anna married William Harty ;
William married Amelia Kohlmej^er ; Henry married Mary Luck ; Albert
married Clara Petske ; and Marie married Jason Tuthill. William Giese
is making his home with his son, John.
John Giese now owns the old homestead farm of his father, William,
comprising 240 acres, half of which is situated in Franklin and the other
half in Westfield Township. The improvements on this farm are a credit
to the entire county. There is a commodious residence, good barns, and
the farm also boasts two large silos, capable of storing many tons of feed
for the stock. Mr. Giese is a very successful Holstein cattle breeder. In
matters of polities the family are republicans and their church affilia-
tions are Lutheran.
John Giese married March 1, 1905, Miss Minnie Rusch, daughter
of William and Alvina (Backman) Rusch, of Reedsburg. To their
union have been born five children : Agnes, aged twelve ; Alvine, aged
nine ; Raymond, aged eight ; and Edmund and Etta, twins, aged four
years.
Aaron Austin. An able and representative agriculturist who has
done much to advance progress and conserve prosperity in Sauk County,
Wisconsin, is Aaron Austin, who owns and operates a finely improved
farm in Ironton Township. Mr. Austin was born in Onondaga County,
New York, March 29, 1846. He is a son of Elkana and Eliza (White)
Austin, the former a native of Rhode Island and the latter of Connecti-
cut. The parents both located in Onondaga County in early youth and
there their marriage was solemnized and to them two children were born,
namely, Charles, a resident of Southwestern Missouri, and Aaron.
Elkana Austin died in Onondaga County, New York, in 1875, and his
wiie passed to the life eternal in 1909, in Sauk County, whither she had
accompanied her son, Aaron, in 1881. She lived to the patriarchal age
of ninety-three years.
To the public schools of the Empire state Aaron Austin is indebted
for his educational training, and he continued to live in Onondaga
County, New York, until 1881, when he came to the Badger state, pur-
chasing a farm of 120 acres in Ironton Township, this county. At one
time he owned a plot of eighty acres in Montcalm County, Michigan, near
Stanton. He is engaged in general farming and stock raising and is
considered one of the most substantial citizens in this vicinity. In poli-
tics he is a stalwart republican and he has served with marked ability
as treasurer, director and clerk of the local school board. He is kindly
and courteous in his demeanor and is ever considerate of those with
whom he has dealings.
In New York was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Austin to Miss
Elizabeth Gardner, a native of Onondaga County, that state. To them
were born three children, concerning whom the following brief data are
here inserted : Eli is a resident of Milwaukee, where he married Edna
Bogel, and they have a daughter, Bernice; Rose is the wife of Frank
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1047
Steinberg, of St. Louis, and they have two children, Goldie and John;
and Lawrence married Mala Schutz and is a farmer in Ironton Township.
They have three children : Oliver, William and Adaline.
Louis Schwanz. In order to attain success in agriculture, in these
modern days, it is necessary that science be displayed in operations and
intelligence in management. Some of the best farmers in the country
are to be found in Wisconsin, and especially in the great grain belt in
which Sauk County is situated, its location making it particularly valu-
able for agricultural purposes. Of those men working scientifically and
intelligently that have attained more than ordinary success as farmers
is numbered Louis Schwanz, who has passed his entire life in Reeds-
burg Township.
Mr, Schwanz was born in this township, September 26, 1874, and is
a son of William and Amelia (Klitzke) Schwanz, natives of Germany,
who came to the United States in 1872. They were not possessed of any
great amount of capital, in fact their ambition and willingness to .work
represented their chief assets, and for a number of years there were
many hardships in their lives, but eventually they overcame all obstacles
and gained a well merited success. In 1898 they purchased a farm of
120 acres in Reedsburg Township, upon which Mr, Schwanz died in
1901, at the age of sixty-two years, Mrs. Schwanz surviving until 1911
and l3eing sixty-eight years of age at the time of her demise. There were
twelve children in the family of this worthy and* highly respected couple:
Albert, deceased ; Bertha ; Minnie, deceased ; Herman ; William, deceased ;
Louis; Anna and Mary, deceased; Ida, William, Martha and Emma,
and the last named is deceased. The parents were devout members of the
Lutheran Church and Mr, Schwanz was a democrat in his political
views.
Louis Schwanz was reared on the home farm and received his educa-
tion in the public schools, and, his training all having been along agri-
cultural lines, he adopted farming when he made a choice of his life
work. In 1901 he purchased eighty acres of land in Reedsburg Town-
ship, which forms a part of his present farm, and when this was put
under a high state of cultivation he added forty acres more in the
same township. He later bought twenty acres of timber land in Ironton
Township, which he also owns at this time. Mr, Schwanz has devoted
his energies to general farming and stockraising, and has made a success
of his efforts because he has realized the value of modern scientific meth-
ods, while at the same time discarding none of those which still prove
practical and which have been tested by time. He has made a study of
his vocation, and combines industrious work with good management.
His buildings are equipped with up-to-date appliances and the structures
themselves are substantial and commodious. In his political affairs, Mr.
Schwanz is allied with neither of the large parties, preferring to rely
upon his own judgment in the selection of candidates for office. He
belongs, with his family, to the Lutheran Church.
Mr. Schwanz was married October 4, 1906, to Miss Anna Niebuhr,
who was born in Reedsburg Township, September 10, 1878, a daughter
of William and Elizabeth (Bergamann) Niebuhr. Her parents came
Vol. II 3 1
1048 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
from Germany about the year 1871, settling on a farm in Reedsburg
Township, and here Mrs. Niebuhr died in 1909, aged seventy-two years,
while Mr. Niebuhr passed away at the home of his daughter and son-in-
law, Mr. and Mrs. Schwanz, in 1914, when eighty years of age. They had
five children : William ; an infant who died unnamed ; Henry, deceased ;
Ernest; and Anna, now Mrs. Schwanz. Mr. and Mrs. Schwanz are
parents of two children: Wilbert, born February 1, 1908; and Anola,
born February 4, 1913.
Francis Byrne. Many people gain wealth in this world, many gain
distinction in the learned professions, and many are honored with offices
of trust and responsibility, but to few is it given to attain so high a place
in the esteem and affection of their fellow citizens as that enjoyed by
Mr. and Mrs. Francis Byrne, who are known throughout Sauk County
for their hospitality. Their spacious and comfortable residence in the
Village of fronton is widely renowned for its charity, hospice having
been frequently given to those persons less fortunate in the way of
worldly goods than themselves. Farming was long Mr. Byrne's chief
occupation but he is now living retired.
A native of the fine old Emerald Isle, Francis Byrne was born in
County Cavan, Ireland, in 1842. He is a son of John and Bridget
(Royal) Byrne, who came to America and settled at Lancaster, Ohio, in
1852. Seven years later, in 1859, they located in Richland County, Wis-
consin, going thence to Ironton, in which latter place they resided at the
time of their demise. Seven children were born to them, as follows :
Mary, Alice, Bridget, Francis, Peter, Catherine (deceased) and Ellen.
Francis Byrne was ten years of age when he arrived with his parents
in the United States. His education consisted of such facilities as were
afforded in the public schools of Lancaster, Ohio, and he was seventeen
years of age when the family settled in Sauk County. As a young man
he purchased a farm of forty acres in Westford Township and he added
to that plot until he eventually owned 440 acres in that section. Subse-
quently he began acquiring land in the vicinity of Ironton, and at one
time owned an immense estate of 1,440 acres, parcels of which he has
recently given to his sons. His main work in life has been the manage-
ment of his farms, brain and not brawn building up his fortune. His
success in life has proved that the adage of Benjamin Franklin, "He
who by the plow would thrive, must either hold the plow or drive," is
not applicable in all cases. For a number of years Mr. Byrne was super-
intendent of outside works for John F. Smith, at one time owner of prac-
tically everything in the vicinity of Ironton. Mr. Bryne set forth on his
journey through life some seventy-five years ago, and from the date of the
beginning of his business career at a tender age, under the rapidly shift-
ing skies of success and adversity and through years burning with intense
energy and devotion to the manifold affairs of life, he has come to the
years of his retirement with undimmed alertness and clearness of men-
tality and judgment and rejoices that he can still carry the burdens which
would overwhelm most men of half his years.
In the year 1868 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Byrne to Miss
Anna Slaven, a native of Dane County and a daughter of James Slaven,
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1049
a pioneer of Dellona. To Mr. and Mrs. Byrne were born five children :
John, a farmer near Ironton ; James, likewise a farmer ; Mary ; Frank
and Joseph (deceased). The family are Catholic in their religious faith
and in politics Mr. Byrne is a stalwart democrat. Mrs. Byrne is a woman
of most gracious personality and in conjunction with her husband has
extended hospitality to the needy in many walks of life. They are greatly
beloved by all who know them and their lives are a fine example of faith-
ful industry and charitableness to the younger generation.
Charles M. Kester. Shrewd business ability, special adaptiveness
to his calling, appreciation of its many advantages and belief in his own
power to succeed placed Charles M. Kester among the foremost and
most substantial promoters of agriculture in Reedsburg Township. From
the prairies his unaided industry brought forth ample means, permitting'
his retirement to Reedsburg in 1905 and his consigning to younger
hands the tasks that made up the sum of his existence for forty years.
He has a modern and well furnished home at the corner of North Walnut
and Second streets, and is regarded as one of the financially strong and
morally high retired farmers.
Charles M. Kester was born in Morrow County, Ohio, July 22, 1842,
and is a son of William W. and Susan R. (Washburn) Kester. His
father was born in Virginia in 1819, and as a young man went to Morrow
County, where he met and married Susan R. Washburn, who had been
born in New York, in 1822, and had gone as a child with her parents
to Ohio. They resided in the Buckeye State for some years, but Mr.
Kester felt that he could gain greater success further to the west, and
in 1855 the family came to Wisconsin, settlement being made on a farm
in Ironton Township which is now included in the Village of Ironton.
The elder Kester continued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits
throughout the period of his active career, and upon his retirement
located at Reedsburg, where he died April 30, 1901, Mrs. Kester having
passed away February 20, 1897. They were the parents of eight children,
as follows: Charles M., of this notice; Sarah P., who was for a number
of years one of the popular school teachers of Sauk County; Charlotte
J., now deceased, who also was well known in educational circles as a
successful and popular teacher of this county; Olive E. ; Harriet C,
deceased; John W., a successful practicing physician and surgeon of
Mazomanie, Wisconsin; Clara B., deceased; and Helen. When the office
of county superintendent of schools was established, and the first exami-
nation was held at Ironton, in April, 1862, Charlotte and Sarah P.
Kester were among the applicants, and the former was the first teacher
in Sauk County to receive a certificate. William W. Kester from being
a small farmer and an obscure citizen of his community rose through
his own efforts to the owner of a valuable property and to a place in the
esteem and confidence of his fellow-citizens. He was clerk and assessor
in Washington Township, held the same offices in Ironton Township, occu-
pied all the school offices in his community, and for several years was
township superintendent of the Ironton Township schools. His public
life was one marked by devotion and fidelity to duty and his record is
clear and spotless. Fraternally he was affiliated with the Independent
1050 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Order of Odd Fellows. During the early days he and Mrs. Kester
belonged to the Free Will Baptist Church, later transferred their mem-
bership to the Christian Church, and finally joined the Methodist Epis-
copal Church, in the faith of which both died.
Charles M, Kester was reared on the homestead farm and secured
his education in the public schools of Ohio and Sauk County. Brought
up in a family noted for its patriotism, when the call to arms came at
the outbreak of the Civil war he was not slow in answering, and October
1, 1861, became a private in Company F, Third Wisconsin Cavalry.
He served his country bravely and faithfully during nearly three years
while wearing the blue uniform, but in August, 1864, became incapaci-
tated through injury and illness, and at that time received his honorable
discharge. Returning to his home, when he was fully recuperated he
resumed farming operations, and continued to be engaged therein in
Ironton Township and Reedsburg Township for a period of forty years.
In 1905 he disposed of his farm in the latter township and retired to
Reedsburg, where he has since lived at the corner of Second and North
Walnut streets. During the time that his attention was directed to
matters agricultural Mr, Kester was successful in making his labors
yield him handsome returns, his native business ability, resource, initia-
tive and general all-around ability and energy enabling him to make a
success of each venture in which he embarked. He is now known through-
out the community as a dependable and upright man, one who regards
his word as he would his bond, and who has ever maintained the highest
methods of farming and the noblest ideals of home and community life.
Politically a republican, he has served as a member of the board of
education, and while residing in Ironton Township acted for a number of
years in the capacity of justice of the peace. His fraternal connections
are with Reedsburg Lodge No. 157, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons ;
Reedsburg Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; and Saint John 's Commandery,
Knights Templar. Mrs. Kester belongs to the Presbyterian Church.
On October 4, 1866, Mr. Kester was married to Miss Julia A. Ford,
of Ironton, Wisconsin, and they became the parents of two children:
X and Charles E. The daughter is now the widow of Allen Reese, who
was a successful Nebraska farmer, and has four children, Rosetta,
Charley, who is a member of the United States regular army, Jared,
who on account of heart disease was rejected as a soldier, and Allen.
Charles E. Kester is a resident of Hutchinson, Minnesota, where he is
manager and vice president of the Hutchinson Produce Company, a
position which he has held for many years. He married Mabel Peck, a
daughter of a prominent citizen of that community, and they have two
children, Harold and Ora May. Mrs. Kester died April 22, 1891, and
in 1893 Charles M. Kester was married to Mrs. Electa (Benson) Wheeler,
the widow of Henry Wheeler. Henry Wheeler was a native of Ohio
and came to Sauk County in 1854, settling in Ironton Township with his
parents, Nelson and Emmeline Wheeler, who died at Reedsburg, his father
in 1869 and his mother about 1902. Mr. Wheeler died December 27,
1884. having been the father of four children: William, who is engaged
in the machinery business at Madison, Wisconsin; Orton, a successful
hardware merchant of Baraboo ; Elias, who was an editor of newspapers
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1051
at Reedsburg, Kilbourn and Oxford, former proprietor of the Mirror-
Gazette and the Oxford Times, owner of 320 acres of land in Bowman,
North Dakota, and now a newspaper editor at Bowman, North Dakota ;
and Emmeline, who is the wife of A. 0. Sorge.
Mrs. Kester was born in Lincoln Township, Morrow County, Ohio,
March 29, 1841, and is a daughter of Almeron and Lucinda (Stanton)
Benson, the former born in Oneida County, New York, in 1815, and the
latter in Pennsylvania, in 1819. They came to Ironton, Sauk County,
Wisconsin, in 1855, and purchased a farm, later selling out to buy
another property in the same community, on which Mr. Benson died in
1889 and Mrs. Benson in 1897. They had the following children : James,
Elias, Sophia and Sarena, who are deceased ; Electa ; Mary ; Phoebe, who
is deceased; Samantha; and Jennette, deceased. Mr. Benson was a
major of militia in Ohio, and in 1861 enlisted in Company B, Twelfth
"Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, with which he served bravely for two
years, then being honorably discharged because of disability. He was
a stanch republican in his political views, and a faithful member of
the Christian Church, as was also his wife.
John Tait. Sauk County has long been favored with a fine and
sturdy class of men who have contributed to its development along com-
mercial and agricultural lines, and in the latter connection John Tait,
the subject of this review, demands recognition, as he has been actively
engaged in farming operations on the old Tait homestead in Ironton
Township during practically the entire period of his career. He has
long been known as a prosperous and enterprising agriculturist and as a
man whose methods demonstrate the power of activity and honesty in
the business world.
A native of Sauk County, John Tait was born on his present farm,
in the vicinity of Reedsburg, January 17, 1882. He is a son of Thomas
and Annie (Mclntyre) Tait, the former of whom was a native of Phila-
delphia, Pennsylvania, where his birth occurred in 1842, and the latter
was bom at Mauston in 1851. Further data concerning the ancestors
and immediate family of John Tait are given in the sketch of his brother
Thomas, a brief record of whose life appears elsewhere in this work.
John Tait grew to manhood on the old Tait homestead and his educa-
tional training consisted of such advantages as were afforded in the
Oak Hill School. He is now associated with his brother Thomas in farm-
ing operations on the old parental estate and they are likewise extensively
interested in stock-raising. Mr. Tait is a stalwart democrat in his politi-
cal proclivities and he manifests a deep and sincere interest in all mat-
ters connected with the general welfare of his home community.
November 20, 1912, occurred the marriage of Mr. Tait to Miss Cath-
erine McCarthy, a native of Richland County, Wisconsin, where she was
born August 20, 1889. Mrs. Tait is a daughter of John and Hannah
(Drea) McCarthy, residents of Reedsburg. To Mr. and Mrs. Tait have
been born three children, Kathleen, John and Mary. The Tait family
stand high in the esteem of their fellow citizens and they take an active
part in the social life of the community.
1052 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Thomas Tait. Sauk County, Wisconsin, figures as one of the most
attractive, progressive and prosperous divisions of the state, justly claim-
ing a high order of citizenship and a spirit of enterprise which is certain
to conserve consecutive development and marked advancement in the
material upbuilding of this section. A substantial agriculturist who has
done his share toward the improvement of Ironton Township is Thomas.
Tait, a native of the farm on which he now resides. He was born March
18, 1884, a son of Thomas and Annie (Mclntyre) Tait, the former of
whom died in 1913 and the latter is now a resident of Mauston, Wisconsin.
Thomas Tait, father of the subj*ect of this review, was born in the
City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the year 1842. He resided in the
Quaker City until he was twelve years of age and then accompanied his
parents to Wisconsin. He ably assisted his father in the development
of one of the finest farms in this section and in due time he became owner
of the parental estate, on which he resided until his death in 1913, as
noted above. He married Annie Mclntyre, whose birth occurred in
1851. Mrs. Tait survives her husband, and she bore him the following
children : Mary is deceased ; John is mentioned elsewhere in this work ;
Thomas is the subject of this sketch ; and Robert is a jeweler at Reedsburg.
The paternal grandparents of Thomas Tait, of this notice, were
Thomas and Mary Tait, who settled in Ironton Township in 1854. They
bought and sold land in Lavalle Township and prior to their demise were
known as well-to-do farmers. He died in the latter township and she
lived in Reedsburg when death called her. Their children were: Jane,
Mary, Lizzie, Sarah, Robert and Thomas. The maternal grandfather of
Thomas Tait came to Wisconsin and settled in Juneau County, where
he died.
To the public schools of Ironton Township Thomas Tait, whose name
forms the caption for this review, is indebted for his preliminary educa-
tion, which was supplemented by a course of study in a business college
at Stevens Point. For some years past he has co-operated with his
brother John in the development of the old family homestead. They
own a splendidly improved estate of 204 acres and in addition to agri-
cultural work they devotb a great deal of time to stock-raising.
In 1911 Mr. Tait married Miss Grace Giffers, of Tracy, Minnesota.
This union has been prolific of three children, whose names are William,
Neal and Dorothy. In his political affiliations Mr. Tait maintains an
independent attitude, giving his support to the man rather than the
party. Members of the Tait family have always been known for their
uprightness and they have ever given a loyal support to all matters
affecting the good of the community.
Frank David Hulburt, M. D. In point of years of continuous
service one of the oldest physicians in Sauk County is Dr. Frank David
Hulburt of Reedsburg. That fact alone might be a doubtful distinction.
But Doctor Hulburt is generally recognized among his professional
brethren as a leader and one of the ablest physicians in Central Wis-
consin. His attainments and his work have placed him in that position.
The regard he enjoys from his professional associates in Sauk County
HISTORY OE SAUK COUNTY 1053
is well indicated by the fact that for the past ten years he has served
as president of the County Medical Society.
The name Hulburt entered Sauk County annals in pioneer times.
Doctor Hulburt himself was born December 23, 1858, at Loganville in
this county. His parents were David B. and Josephine M. (Van Scoter)
Hulburt. The late David B. Hulburt was one of Sauk County's most
prominent men both in business and in politics. He was born at Port-
land in Chautauqua County, New York, December 8, 1829, was reared
on a farm, and was liberally educated. He attended the public schools
at Fredonia, New York, and graduated from the Normal Department of
the Fredonia Academy. For a number of years he taught school, and in
1857, accompanied by his wife and one child, located at Loganville in
Sauk County. That was his home until 1907, when he removed to
Reedsburg and lived retired until his death September 19, 1912. Many
interests occupied his time and attention. He owned 200 acres of land
constituting a model farm adjoining the Village of Loganville. He was
also one of the first merchants to have a stock of goods at Loganville.
His abilities were by no means confined to the walks of private life.
In the early days he served as postmaster of Loganville and during the
Civil war was enrolling officer. For over twenty years he filled the office
of county surveyor and was also township superintendent of schools. He
had the ability to express himself both instructively and entertainingly
as a public speaker. For four years he sat in the Lower House of the
State Legislature and served one term as state senator. It was David B.
Hulburt who introduced in the Legislature the bill for the ''one mill
tax" to increase the common school fund. While in the Senate he was
chairman of the committee on party caucuses and was also chairman of
several congressional conventions. He was known as a man of very
temperate habits, and, while broad minded, was very positive and ag-
gressive when he had at once decided upon a course of action.
David B. Hulburt was married February 10, 1856, to Josephine M.
Van Scoter. She was born November 27, 1835, and died August 17,
1908, aged seventy-two years, eight months and twenty days. She was
the oldest of the four children of Doctor Thomas and Abigail (Jones)
Van Scoter, the Van Scoters being of old Dutch stock in New York,
while her mother was English. Josephine Van Scoter was liberally
educated in literature and music at Fredonia, New York, where her
father practiced medicine for many years. Doctor Van Scoter died in
Fredonia and his widow subsequently came west to Rockford, Illinois,
and was matron in the Female Seminary there.
Doctor Hulburt grew up at Loganville, was graduated from the
public schools there at the age of sixteen, and at the same time was
granted a certificate to teach school. In a short time he went to New
Boston, Illinois, and entered the drug store of his uncle, George Lytle,
who soon made him head clerk. He spent 3i/2 years in that store and
then returned to Loganville. In 1882 he was granted a certificate as
registered pharmacist, and became prescription clerk in the drug store
of the late Moses Young at Reedsburg.
Doctor Hulburt had begun the study of medicine in 1880. He sub-
sequently entered Rush Medical College at Chicago, where he completed
1054 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
his course and was given his degree Doctor of Medicine February 19,
1884. Doctor Hulburt began practice at Loganville, but after two
years, in 1886, removed to Reedsburg, which has been his home and
professional headquarters now for over thirty years. For five years up
to 1891 he was physician for the Sauk County Asylum for the Insane.
He has held for many years the post of local surgeon for the Chicago
and Northwestern Railway Company. He has probably had a more ex-
tensive practice in Sauk County than any other physician. He is an
active member of the Wisconsin Central and the Wisconsin State
Medical societies and the American Medical Association.
Doctor Hulburt is affiliated with Lodge No. 157, Ancient Free and
Accepted Masons, and with the Reedsburg Lodge of Knights of Pythias.
Like his father he is liberal in his religious views. Politically he is a
republican and served several terms as alderman and one term as mayor
of Reedsburg.
Doctor Hulburt was married February 13, 1887, to Miss Mina
Markee. She was born in Reedsburg March 25, 1866, only daughter of
Asa Engle and Caroline M. Seeley Markee. Her parents were very
early settlers in the old Town of Reedsburg, where her father for many
years was a merchant. Mrs. Hulburt 's mother is still living. They have
two children : Arthur M., the older, was born July 17, 1894, was gradu-
ated from the Reedsburg High School, spent one year at Valparaiso
University in Indiana in a business course and one year in the University
of Wisconsin, where he pursued a civil engineering course. He is now
local agent at Reedsburg for the Mutual Life Insurance Company of
New York. Milton F., the younger son, was born June 2, 1897, is a
graduate of the Reedsburg High School and is now continuing his
higher education in the University of Wisconsin.
Asa Engle Markee was for many years engaged in business at
Reedsburg and the family have long been prominent in that city. He
was born in Ohio, June 20, 1838, a son of Thomas and Mary Elizabeth
(Engle) Markee. His parents moved to Sauk County prior to 'the Civil
war, and his father followed the business of milling. At one time he
conducted the flour mill at Reedsburg, but subsequently removed to
Vernon County, where he died. His wife died in Ohio about 1846. Asa
Engle was the oldest of their four children. His brother James was a
soldier in the Civil war and is also deceased, as are also Levi and Mary.
Asa Engle Markee acquired his early education in Ohio and was a
young man when his parents came to Sauk County. For a time he
clerked for the firm of Harris & Hosier and then engaged in mer-
chandising at Reedsburg, which he continued until his retirement. He
died July 3, 1916. His home was at 147 South Pine Street, where. his
widow, Mrs. Markee, has lived for forty years. The late Mr. Markee
was a republican and a charter member of Reedsburg Lodge No. 157,
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and was a regular attendant at
the Congregational Church.
He was married July 3, 1862, just fifty-four years to the day before
his death, to Miss Caroline M. Seeley. Mrs. Markee, who is still living
in Reedsburg, represents one of the oldest families of the city. She was
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1055
born in Medina County, Ohio, February 5, 1842, a daughter of Austin
and Mary (Kent) Seeley. Her father was born in Lake County, Ohio,
November 5, 1820, and her mother, also a native of that state, vi^as born
March 25, 1822. They were married in 1838 and on February 1, 1849,
the family arrived in Reedsburg, being the first family to permanently
locate in this town. Austin Seeley was a carpenter by trade, and though
he owned a farm he always followed carpentry as his regular occupation.
He died at Reedsburg in 1880 and his wife passed away February 27,
1895. Mr. Seeley was a republican and during the war he gave his in-
fluence to the Union cause and rendered some special service as chair-
man of the Board of Supervisors. His wife was a member of the Con-
gregational Church, and when that church was disbanded in Reedsburg
she and two other ladies were the only members left of the original or-
ganization. Mr. and Mrs. Seeley had three children: Morris E., who
was born May 3, 1840, served as a Union soldier and is still living at
Reedsburg ; Caroline M. ; and Ada L., wife of Robert Tate, of Lavalle,
Wisconsin.
Mrs. Markee has always taken a great interest in the growing of
flowers and for about twenty years has conducted the only greenhouse
in Reedsburg. She and her husband were the parents of three children :
Fred, who was born in 1863, was connected with a business house at
Madison as a clerk and later was a traveling salesman and died at Reeds-
burg in 1902; Mina is the wife of Dr. F. D. Hulburt, of Reedsburg; and
Frank K., born in 1873, died July 5, 1895.
Simon Cobleigh. No name is held in higher regard in Delton Town-
ship, Sauk County, than that of Cobleigh, and it belongs to an old
pioneer family that has had much to do with developing this section. Of
New England birth and training, they brought with them the steady
liabits and sturdy citizenship that have been marked characteristics
ever since. The Cobleighs have been capable farmers for the most part,
but other vocations have not been neglected, while their sterling char-
acter and general intelligence have made them the men to whom others
have turned for leadership in public matters.
Simon Cobleigh, of Delton township, was born on the farm in this
township on which he lives, January 5, 1855. His parents were Simon
and Orrel Elizabeth (Way) Cobleigh. The father was born in Vermont,
July 10, 1810, and died in Delton township, Sauk County, December
30, 1887. He was married in Connecticut, February 22, 1839, to Orrel
Elizabeth Way, who was born in Connecticut, June 15, 1820, and died
in Sauk County, March 26, 1889. In 1841 they moved to Mississippi
and lived there for ten years, in 1851 coming to Wisconsin and settling
in Sauk County. The father bought 120 acres of undeveloped land in
Delton township and resided on the tract until the close of his life. Like
other pioneers Mr. and Mrs. Cobleigh had to endure hardships but both
lived to enter upon days of peace and comfort. They were among the
organizers of the first Methodist Episcopal church in the township and
continued a liberal support and carefully reared their children in this
faith, there being five in number, as follows : Sidney, Mary, Albert,
Norris and Simon. Sidney has made his home in Montana for a num-
1056 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
ber of years. He is seventy-six years old and resides on his farm of 320
acres. Mary, who was born August 12, 1844, died in infancy, in Missis-
sippi, i?Llbert was accidentally killed in a runaway in Delton township.
Norris was born December 9, 1850, went to Minnesota, was a pioneer in
Redwood County, and is now one of the well to do and substantial men
of Redwood County. The father of the above family was a leading man
of Delton township for many years and he frequently served in such
offices as on the township and school boards.
Simon Cobleigh, who bears his father's honored name, was born four
years after his parents settled as pioneers in Delton township. They
were people of refinement and desired advantages for their children, but
in his early boyhood the schools were not to be compared with those of
the present day in the same section, and his opportunities were some-
what limited thereby. Being the youngest of the family, he remained
at home and gave his father assistance on the homestead, which property
he subsequently acquired through purchase. He has ever since carried
on general farming and stockraising, increasing his facilities later on
by the addition of more land and now owns 280 acres. All of his prop-
erty is well improved and his surroundings indicate extreme comfort.
Mr. Cobleigh was married June 13, 1889, to Miss L. DeEtte Shaw,
who was born in Merrimack township, Sauk County, "Wisconsin, July 28,
1868, and is a daughter of Henry W. and Mary A. (Nelsen) Shaw. The
father of Mrs. Cobleigh was born at Mazomanie, Wisconsin, in 1841, and
was brought to Merrimack Township by his parents in 1842. They were
Samuel and Eliza (Waggoner) Shaw, who moved later to Portage and
then to Milwaukee, where both subsequently died. He was a tailor by
trade and was engaged in the tailoring business at these different places.
To Samuel and Eliza Shaw the following children were born: Henry
W. ; Angeline, who is deceased, was the wife of Frank Terrill ; Levantia,
who was the wife of Evan Owens, now deceased, and they lived in
Racine County; Melvina and her husband, William Bertell, once of
Clark County, are deceased; Frances, deceased, was the wife of C. E.
Newcomb; and Charles A., who is a mechanic in Milwaukee.
Henry W. Shaw was educated in the district schools of Merrimack
township and later bought the farm which his father had owned. He
served three and one half years in the Civil war, enlisting September 11,
1861, in Company K, Fourteenth Wisconsin, Sherman's army, and took
part in all the engagements from Missionary Ridge to Atlanta and in
the march to the sea. A few years after purchasing his father's farm
he moved to Iowa and lived there for six years and then came back to
Sauk County and bought a farm in Delton Township. On that farm he
lived for twelve years and then desired a change and on March 15, 1890,
moved to Mulino, Oregon, and bought a farm there and resided on it
until 1911, when his wife was taken sick. His daughter, Mrs. Cobleigh,
went to Oregon and brought her mother back home with her, where she
died on April 14 of that year. The father remained in Oregon until in
September, 1914, when he came back to Sauk County and resided with
his children until his death, September 17, 1915, at the home of his
daughter Mrs. William Premo. The mother of Mrs. Cobleigh was born
in Illinois in 1844. Her father, John Nelsen, was a pioneer in Baraboo,
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1057
Wisconsin. He was engaged in the butcher business and was a mer-
chant at the time of his death. Both he and his wife died at Baraboo.
Mrs. Cobleigh is the eldest of her parents' children, the others being
as follows : Francis N,, who remains on the Oregon farm which belongs
to the family; Nellie J., who is the wife of William Premo; Eliza M.,
who died in infancy; Mabel, who is the wife of Christian E. Kramer, of
Baraboo; Belva, who is the wife of Edwin Faust, of Oregon; and
Charles L., who resides near Portland, Oregon.
Mr. and Mrs. Cobleigh have three children: RoUo S., who was born
in 1890, married Lilah Harrison, of Fairfield Township, and they have
two children, Gerald Larelle and Gwendolyn Hazel. Wayne James was
born January 11, 1894, and died in the Northwestern Hospital at
Minneapolis, Minnesota, August 1, 1915. Perry N. was born June 24,
1897, and resides at home. Mr. Cobleigh and family are active members
of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Delton Township. In politics he
is a republican. For thirty years he has been a member of the township
school board and it may be noted that Delton Township has high grade
schools. Mr. Cobleigh has served in numerous township offices that
carry heavy responsibility with them, for a number of terms being
township treasurer and at present is supervisor. He has interests in
addition to those definitely agricultural, and since 1896 has been a
director in the Baraboo Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Company.
Frank A. Foss. In tracing the lives of men who have met with
success in their undertakings in any community it will be found that
each one possesses in common certain qualities, and among them are
included ambition, industry and perseverance. To these, as in the case
of Frank A. Foss, are often added sound judgment, unswerving integ-
rity, and a thorough appreciation of responsibility, that produce a man
of force, usefulness and undoubted achievement. Oftentimes it happens
that a man will find a royal road to fortune through the influence of
others or by the weight of his money, but for those who have not these
advantages to forge ahead and achieve distinction requires just those
dominant characteristics outlined above. Reedsburg is fortunate in
having such a man in its midst and its business prestige is affected ad-
vantageously by the fact that he is connected with such an important
enterprise as the Stolte, Dangel & Foss Company, of which firm he is
a member.
Mr. Foss was born in Dellona Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin,
July 30, 1866, being a son of John and Minnie (Springer) Foss, natives
of Germany. John Foss was born in June, 1839, and was eleven years
of age when brought to the United States by his parents, Christopher
Foss and wife, who first settled at Milwaukee and came overland from
that city in an ox cart, settling in Dellona Township. Here they bought
a farm, in the clearing and cultivation of which they spent the rest of
their lives. They had four children, namely: Louis, Christopher, John
and Mary, of whom all are deceased except John.
John Foss received the greater part of his education in the schools of
his native land, and when little more than a lad began instructing others
as a teacher in the public schools of Milwaukee. In this manner he se-
1058 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
cured the capital necessary to give him a start as an agriculturist, and
eventually he became the owner of a farm in Dellona township, a prop-
erty which he cultivated and improved and upon which his son Albert
now resides. His long and faithful labor brought him a substantial
reward in the shape of a good income, and in 1896 he was able to retire
from active pursuits and to take up a quiet and peaceful residence at
Reedsburg, where he still makes his home, Mrs. Foss having died in 1914,
at the age of seventy-three years. In politics Mr. Foss is a democrat, and
his religious connection is with Saint Peter's Lutheran Church, of which
Mrs. Foss was also a member. They were the parents of five children,
all of whom are living.
Frank A. Foss attended the public schools of Dellona township and Kil-
bourn High School, and was sixteen years of age when he entered the
employ of Harris & Hosier. He became one of the most trusted employes
of this Reedsburg concern, gained experience through coming in contact
with all departments of the business, and in 1893 became one of the organ-
izers of the new concern of the Stolte, Dangel & Foss Company, which
took over the stock of the concern with which he had been connected for
eleven years. To the furtherance of the interests of this enterprise he
has continued to steadfastly give his attention, and his work and fidelity
have been prominent factors in the advancement that has enlarged the
scope of this company until it is now the largest department store in Sauk
County, occupying a two-story building that runs for an entire block on
Walnut Street, from Main to Second Street, and employing fifty people.
In connection with the general business done a large cold storage plant is
operated, and one of the recent acquisitions of the company has been an
automobile department, of which Mr. Foss has direct charge, as he has
also of the hardware and implement sections. While Mr. Foss has given
his attention almost solely to this business to the exclusion of other enter-
prises, his name is well known and highly respected in business circles
of the city and county, and his judgment is esteemed as accurate, valuable
and timely. He is a republican, and has served efficiently and with fidel-
ity as a member of the city council, holding the office of alderman for
nine years.
Mr. Foss was married in 1890 to Miss Helen Harris, who was bom at
Spring Green, Sauk County, July 30, 1866, a daughter of William Ham-
ilton Harris, a Sauk County pioneer and a veteran of the Civil war.
Mrs. Foss was educated in the schools of Spring Green and Baraboo, and
is one of the popular ladies of Reedburg's social circles. She and Mr.
Foss have had three children : I\Iadeline, who graduated from the Reeds-
burg High School and the Milwaukee Normal School and taught schoql
for two years, and is now the wife of J. A. Lund, of Reedsburg, and has
one son ; Lyle, who died in infancy ; and Lloyd, a junior in the Reedsburg
High School.
William Hamilton Harris, father of Mrs. Foss, was born in Richland
County, Ohio, in 1832, a son of Jonathan Whitaker and Abigail (Gra-
croft) Harris, the former born in 1799 and the latter in 1804. In 1846
the parents of Mr. Harris came to Sauk County and settled at Harris-
burg, buying a farm in section 18, Troy Township, where they built a
small cabin for their first home. After improving their farm Mr. Harris
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1059
erected good buildings, and here his first wife died September 14, 1860.
On May 7, 1861, he married for his second wife Catherine Shords, of
Baraboo, and in 1863 sold his farrii and went to that city, where he resided
until his death, October 3, 1872, being laid'to rest at the side of his first
wife in Harrisburg Cemetery, Troy Township, on the old home farm
which bore his name. By his first marriage he had fifteen children:
Phoebe Ann, Sarah Jane, Mary Ruth, Elizabeth Eleanor, John Wesley,
James Madison, William Hamilton, Joseph C, Steven Michael, Charles
Gracroft, Abner Logan, Wesley Harrison, Abigail Emeline, Lucy Ade-
line and Joseph Henry.
William Hamilton Harris was educated in the puhlic schools and
was fourteen years of age when brought to Sauk County, where he was
reared on the farm. On entering upon man 's estate he adopted the voca-
tion of farming, and was so engaged until August 2, 1862, when he
enlisted at Harrisburg in Company K, Twenty-third Regiment, Wiscon-
sin Volunteer Infantry, being mustered into the service on the 30th
of that month at Camp Randall, Madison, Wisconsin. Among his numer-
ous battles were Chickasaw, December 25-31, 1862 ; Fort Hindman,
January 11, 1863 ; Cypress Bend, i'ebruary 19 ; Fort Gibson, May 1 ;
Champion Hill, May 16; Black River Bridge, May 17; Vicksiburg, May
19- July 4 ; Jackson, July 12-23 ; Carrion Crow, November 3, where
wounded and taken prisoner; Sabine Cross Roads, April 8, 1864: Cain
River, April 23 ; Jackson, October 5 ; Dallas, December 24-25 ; Green-
ville, February 16-23, 1865 ; and siege of Mobile, March 25-April 12.
He was discharged as first sergeant and mustered out of the service
at Mobile, Alalbama, July 4, 1865. After the war Mr. Harris returned
to Sauk County and resumed farming, his property being situated 3i/2
miles from Spring Green. He was active and prominent in public
affairs, was a leader in the ranks of the republican party, and in 1886
was elected sheriff of Sauk County, holding that office in 1887 and 1888.
He then resumed farming for a time, but finally went to Spring Green,
where he established himself in the 'hotel business, and continued to be
engaged therein until within two years of his death, which occurred
January 21, 1906. Mr. Harris was married March 22, 1859, to Miss
Dorothy Benson, of Columbia County, Wisconsin, who was born January
1, 1836, and was brought as a child to Portage. Mrs. Harris' mother,
who died at Whitehall, AVisconsin, in 1909, had reached the extraordinary
age of 104 years. Mr. and Mrs. Harris were the parents of the following
children: Leo, who resides at Yellowstone Park; Naomi and William,
residents of Sauk County ; Helen I., who is now Mrs. Foss ; Jennie B., the
widow of Alfred G. Thompson, resides at Minneapolis, and has two
children, Harris and Florence ; Eva G., who is the wife of A. E. Giffert,
of Reedslburg, and has four children, Juanita, Dorothy, Audrey and
Albert; Bertha L., who is the widow of E. R. Hungerford; Irvin, of
Canada, who married Bertha Meyer, and has one child, Ruth ; and Alma
Ruth, who is the wife of I. L. Hager, of Reedsburg, and has two chil-
dren, Frances Evelyn and Lewis Hamilton.
Louis Dangel. In the business life of Sauk County progressive
characters have never lacked for opportunities, and these opportunities
1060 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
have not signified so much as the men themselves, for the business prob-
lems have been solved in many ways by the albilities of individuals. With
the expansion of trade in the thriving communities, such as Reedsburg,
there has arisen a need for concerted efforts, but the personal factor
has always been potent. During the last quarter of a century the com-
mercial enterprises of Reedsburg have played an important part, and
one of the men of known and acknowledged business integrity is Louis
Dangel, whose career has been interesting and is typical of modern
progress and advancement. Alert and enterprising, he early utilized the
opportunities offered, and has attained thereby notable success, so that
today he is president of the largest department store in Sauk County, the
Stolte, Dangel & Foss Company.
Mr. Dangel was born in the City of Oswego, New York, December
7, 1865, and is a son of Peter and Dorothea (Pereu) Dangel. His parents,
natives of Germany, came to the United States as young people, at
different times, and were married at Oswego, where they made their
home for some years. In 1866 they left the East and came to Wisconsin,
their first settlement being at Kilbourn, from whence they subsequently
moved to Reedsburg. Here the elder Dangel was employed in the grist
mills by the Mackeys, and later embarked in business on his own account
in partnership with Paul Bishop, with whom he conducted an establish-
ment for the sale of boots and shoes. After he had disposed of his interest
in this business he bought the W. Roeckel meat market, which he operated
in partnership with his son Peter, and continued in that business until
his retirement, about one year before his death. He was a democrat and
took an active part in political affairs, and as a man of integrity and
substantial worth was called upon to serve his community in official posi-
tions, being a member of the village board for many years. He and Mrs.
Dangel attended the Lutheran Church, the latter being a member of
Saint Peter's congregation. They were the parents of five children:
Louis, of this notice ; Peter, who is still a substantial business man of
Reedsburg ; Gustav ; Louisa, who died at the age of eighteen years ; and
William, whose death occurred in infancy.
Louis Dangel received his education in the public and Oerman Luth-
eran parochial schools, and when a lad of fourteen years began to clerk
in the Harris & Hosier store. There he received the initial training for
the business in which he was to gain success in later years, and there
he continued to work until about the time that he attained his majority,
when he went to Mauston, Juneau County. At that point he had an
experience as the proprietor of a mercantile establishment, but after
two years returned to Reedsburg and entered the employ of Webb &
Schweke, with whom he remained two years. He was working in this
firm's employ, in 1893, at the time he with Frank A. Foss and William
A. Stolte founded the Stolte, Dangel & Foss Company, with which he has
been connected ever since, in the capacity of president. From a modest
beginning this concern has grown to 'be the largest department store in
Sauk County, occupying a two-story building on Walnut Street running
the entire block from Main to Second Street, and employing fifty people.
A great deal of the success of this concern is due to Mr. Dangel's wise
judgment, and his associates place the utmost faith in his advice, looking
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1061
to him for leadership in many cases of importance. He is essentially a
business man and has not looked for honors aside from those to be
achieved through an honorable career in the commercial field ; therefore
his name has never appeared as a candidate for official position. In
politics he maintains an independent stand, his vote being invariably
cast for the men whom he believes best equipped for the offices at stake,
without regard for party adherence. With his family he belongs to Saint
Peter's Lutheran Church.
Mr. Dangel was married May 10, 1895, to Miss Margaret Fix, of
Reedsburg, and they have had two daughters : Dorothea, born September
27, 1898, who graduated from the Reedsburg High School in the class
of 1916 and is now a student at the University of Wisconsin; and Mar-
garet, who was born in 1908, and died in 1913.
Charles Gasser. A native of France, Charles Gasser came to
America in 1871 and has been a resident of Sauk County during prac-
tically all the intervening years to the present time. He is strictly a self-
made man, having advanced from a destitute boyhood to a competent
old age. His success in life is due entirely to his own efforts and for
that reason is the more gratifying to contemplate. Mr. Gasser is now liv-
ing retired in the Village of Ironton, where he is held in high esteem by
all who know him. Born in Lorraine when that territory was an adjunct
of France, Charles Gasser first saw the light of day April 21, 1851. He
was bereft of his parents at an early age and in 1871, accompanied by
his brother Felix, he crossed the Atlantic, landing in New York, whence
he came immediately to Sauk County. His first work was that of chop-
ping wood and later he was employed in a charcoal works. Subsequently
he located in Ironton and worked in an iron furnace for some years.
He then purchased a farm of forty acres near Cazenovia, Richland
County, later selling that and returning to Ironton. Here he bought
an eighty-acre farm, which he soon sold and then settled permanently
on an estate a mile and a half west of Ironton. He cleared most of his
land, erected some substantial buildings and resided on this place for a
period of thirty-five years. He was very successful in his farming ven-
tures and is now living in retirement, enjoying to the full the fruits
of his former years of earnest toil and endeavor. Mr. Gasser is a repub-
lican in politics and is a communicant of the Catholic Church. For a
number of years he was chairman of the board of trustees of Ironton
Township and as an active politician he has done much good for his
home community.
In Ironton occurred the marriage of Mr. Gasser to Miss Sarah
Buchant, whose birth occurred in Ironton, October 11, 1858, and who is
a daughter of Frank and Caroline (Rebbity) Buchant. The Buchants
were pioneer settlers in Ironton Township, where they were successful
farmers and where Mr. Buchant was ernploj^ed in the iron works for a
number of years. Mrs. Buchant passed to the life eternal in 1906 and he
died in 1909, in Colorado. Mrs. Gasser was called to rest December 6,
1907, and she is survived by the following children : John, Frank, Adelia,
Evaline, Eugene, Arthur, Caroline, Charles, Frederick, Raymond, Marie,
Omer and Sarah.
1062 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
In his prime Mr. Gasser was a man of unusual enterprise and initiative.
Self-made and self-educated in the most significant sense of the words,
he progressed steadily toward the goal of success until he gained recogni-
tion as one of the foremost farmers of this section of Sauk County. He
gained and retains the admiration of his fellow citizens, who respect him
for his exemplary life and marked ability.
Edward George Marriott. Of the men who have contributed to
the development of business interests and the advancement of the civic
welfare of Bara)boo, few have held in greater degree the respect and
esteem of the people than did the late Edward George Marriott. He
was a resident of the city for a period of forty-seven years, during which
time he rose from poverty and obscurity to independence and promi-
nence, winning success and reputation as a business man and establishing
a record for upright action and sterling integrity in the discharge
of his duties as a public official. When he died, August 11, 1916, the
community was deprived of the services and example of one of its
most useful men.
Edward George Marriott was born at WoUaston, Northamptonshire,
England, September 30, 1850, and was a son of Ebenezer and Rebecca
(Green) Marriott. His father, who had been a merchant in England
in a small way, came to the United States in March, 1870, and secured
a position with the Northwestern Railroad at Baraboo, with which line
he was connected for a number of years. In September, 1870, he was
joined by his wife and several children whom he had left in England,
and in later years he and his sons William and Henry were engaged in
the hardware business. Mr. Marriott was an enterprising and industrious
man and a citizen who was lawabiding and willing to do his share in
assisting his community to grow. He rounded out a successful life and
passed away at Baraboo at an advanced age, as did also his wife. They
were the parents of the following children : Mary Ann, who is the wife
of Benjamin Clark, of Baraboo ; Elizabeth, who is the wife of W. Toole,
a pansy specialist of this city ; Edward G., deceased ; Emily, who is the
widow of Reuben Wilby, of Boulder, Wisconsin; Henry and William,
who are deceased ; Eliza, who is the widow of Rev. Christopher Nitzel,
of Stevens Point, Wisconsin ; and Ezra, a resident of Champaign, Illinois.
Edward George Marriott was reared in his native England, and
received few of the advantages which boyhood at this time considers as
its right. His education was a decidedly limited one, as he started to
assist in making his own livelihood when he was but nine years of age,
his occupation at that time being the scaring of crows from the farmers'
fields. This vocation and similar ones he followed until he was thirteen
years of age, at which time he was given a definite start in life by being
apprenticed to the trade of shoemaker, a vocation which he mastered.
In 1869, when a youth of nineteen years, he crossed the Atlantic for a
visit to his uncle, Isaac Green, who had resided for some years at Bara-
boo, and who was a partner in the shoe firm of Avery & Green. Mr.
Marriott worked in this establishment for some time while learning the
customs and business methods of this country, but subsequently went to
Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where he followed the same line of work and
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1063
further prepared himself for his career. In 1875, returning to Baraboo,
he established a shoe business of his own, and in the fall of 1876, having
been encouraged by a fair measure of success in his first venture, bought
out the business of Joseph Dibble, which had been established some time
before. This he built up and developed, eventually becoming one of the
leading men in his line in the city, and continued to conduct the same
establishment until 1913, when he left business to give his entire attention
to the duties of assessor, to which he had been elected. He died while
still in office, August 11, 1916.
A republican in his political views, Mr. Marriott took an active part
in politics and wielded a distinct influence in the ranks of his party in
Sauk County. He had held a number of offices, having been constable
when it was still the Village of Baraboo, later becoming alderman of the
second ward, an office which he held for twelve years, and finally being
elected mayor, an office in which he served for four years. His official
record was a clear and unblemished one, and through his energetic work
in his public capacities Baraboo benefitted greatly. Mr. Marriott was
an honorary member of the Grand Army of the Republic, which turned
out in force at his funeral, and he and his wife were honorary members
of the Third Wisconsin Cavalry. Fraternally Mr. Marriott was affiliated
with the Masons, having reached the Knight Templar degree, the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America and
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. His religious faith made
him a Unitarian, to which belief Mrs. Marriott also belonged, and he was
president of the Unitarian Society and had been for some yeart at the
time of his demise. While he did not have great educational advantages
in his youth, he educated himself through observation, study and much
reading, and was particularly interested in history, national, state and
local, being a member of the Wisconsin State Historical Society and the
Sauk County Historical Society.
On May 2, 1876, Mr. Marriott was united in marriage at Baraboo
to Miss Elizabeth Kelley, who was born August 24, 1857, in Chautauqua
County, New York, and who was two years of age when brought to Wis-
consin by her parents, Edward and Mary (MacPaque) Kelley, natives
of County Antrim, Ireland. They were married in their native land,
emigrated to this country and settled in New York, and in 1859 came
to Wisconsin. Two years later, at the outbreak of the Civil war, Mr.
Kelley enlisted in Company H, Seventeenth Regiment, Wisconsin Vol-
unteer Infantry, the famous Irish Brigade, in which he served one year,
then receiving his honorable discharge. He was a member of the
Grand Army of the Republic, and died in 1885, his widow surviving
until 1889. They had three children : Hugh ; Ellen, who is deceased ; and
Elizabeth, now Mrs. Marriott. Three children were born to Mr. and
Mrs. Marriott : Isabella, who is the wife of J. W. Palmer, of Chicago, and
has three children, Elizabeth, Marriott and Deane; William H., his
father's successor in the shoe business at Baraboo, who married Catherine
Eber, of this city; and Deane, who is a resident of Chicago. The late
Mr. Marriott had a number of important business connections, among
which was a directorship in the First National Bank of Baraboo.
Vol. n 3 2f
1064 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Patrick Dowd. Everywhere in Dellona Township the name Patrick
Dowd is spoken with that respect due to the practical achievements of
the good farmer and the good citizen. The name is one of the oldest
among the families of Sauk County.
Mr. Patrick Dowd was born in Dellona Township in 1860. His
parents were among the earliest arrivals in the wilderness of Sauk
County, locating here in 1848, the same year that Wisconsin was admitted
to the Union.
Patrick Dowd grew up in Dellona Township, learned his lessons in
the local schools and has successfully applied his efforts to farming. He
is the owner of 200 acres, devoted to crops and stock. Dr. Dowd has
also been a man of leadership in the democratic party and in public
affairs for many years and for the past three years has been chairman of
the town board of Dellona.
Patrick F. Healy. A practical farmer in "Winfield township is still
on the old homestead which was settled and improved by his honored
father and altogether the name Healy is one that is spoken with much
respect and admiration throughout that section of Sauk county.
The father was the late Patrick Healy, who came from County Cork,
Ireland, to New York in 1850. For a few years he worked near Staten
Island, receiving the paltry sum of $6 a month, but out of this
meager wage he for some time saved money to send to his people in the
cholera stricken district of Ireland. In June, 1855, he came to Wiscon-
sin and*settled among the pioneers of Winfield township. He lived a
most industrious life, looked after his interests as a farmer and business
man, and passed away full of years November 2, 1912. Prior to coming
to Wisconsin he married Annie Egan, who died March 27, 1902. Their
children were Katie, Mary, Nora, Maurice, David, Patrick and Annie.
The daughter Katie became a Sister of Mercy in a convent in Milwaukee
and died December 12, 1908. The daughter Mary is still unmarried.
Nora married Timothy Kelly. Maurice married Jane Carroll LaValle.
David married Mamie Kitson. Annie is the wife of Patrick Carroll.
All the children were well educated in the public schools.
Patrick F. Healy was born on the old farm in Winfield township.
His sister Mary is living with him and keeping house. Patrick Healy
has made a success as a farmer and owns a hundred sixty acres which
he uses intelligently and successfully for raising crops and keeping good
stock. In 1904 Mr. Healy was elected town assessor and he also held
other town offices for several years. He is a democrat in politics.
Frederick Schroeder. The successful agriculturist, like the man
who makes a success in any other line of endeavor, must not only possess
the knowledge necessary to keep abreast of the advancement of the times,
but also the ability to apply this knowledge so that it will be productive
of satisfying results. In Sauk county, where rapid progress is being
made in farming and stock-raising, the average of intelligence and ability
is more than ordinarily high, and one who is contributing to this prestige
is Frederick Schroeder, who is carrying on operations in Reedsburg
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1065
Township and is tlie owner of a property that is paying valuable returns
for his labor.
Mr. Sehroeder was born in Germany, November 10, 1864, a son of
George Sehroeder. When he was less than two years old his father,
while serving in the German army, was killed, and in 1866 his widowed
mother emigrated to the United States, bringing her two children,
Frederick and Dorothy, the latter now a resident of Lakeland, Minne-
sota. Mrs. Sehroeder settled in Reedsburg Township, Sauk County,
where she shortly thereafter was married to Peter George Meyer, a native
of Germany and a veteran of the Civil war, who had settled in this county
at an early day. They purchased a farm in Westfield Township and
engaged in the growing of hops, but when the great boom burst they, like
others, lost their all and were compelled to make a new start. After
several j^ears they purchased the farm in Reedsburg Township now owned
by Frederick Sehroeder, at that time consisting of seventy-eight acres,
and built a long house, barn and outbuildings, continuing to make that
property their home until their retirement and being successful in the
development of a fertile and well improved property. Mr. Meyer died
at Reedsburg, in 1901, aged sixty-three years, and his widow still makes
her home here at the age of more than seventy-six years, having been
born March 3, 1841. They were the parents of ten children : Mary,
George, Annie, Emuma, Ida, Bertha ; Eddie, deceased ; Adolph ; Martha,
deceased; and an infant son, deceased.
After completing his education in the district schools of Reedsburg
Township, Frederick Sehroeder began assisting his stepfather in the
cultivation of the home farm, of which he became the owner by purchase
in 1897. Since that time he has added to the acreage and erected new
buildings, in addition; to which he has installed improvements and
appliances of the latest kind, making this one of the valuable farms of
the township. Both as a general farmer and a breeder of livestock he
has achieved success, and his high standing in the confidence of his
fellow-citizens rests upon many years of honorable dealing and straight-
forward transactions. He is a republican, but not a politician, while his
religious connection and that of his family, is with St. John's Lutheran
Church of Reedsburg.
Mr. Sehroeder was married November 26, 1889, to Miss Catherine
Richert, who was bom in Germany, January 28, 1869, daughter of
August and Catherine (Burmasterj Richert. Mrs. Richert died in
Germany in 1871, leaving two children : Catherine and Henry, and Mr.
Richert subsequently married Dorothy Spratz. In 1886 he came t(J the
United States located in Reedsburg Township, where he first farmed
on rented property and later on a farm of his own, and was successful
in the accumulation of 200 acres, now owned by his son, Otto. Mr. and
Mrs. Richert, who are now both deceased, had six children: August,
Dorothy, Lizzie, Otto, Olga and Albert.
Mr. and Mrs. Sehroeder now make their home at Reedsburg, although
he continued to supervise the operations on his farm. They have had
eight children, as follows : Rudolph ; Pauline, who is the wife of Herman
Biehl and has three children, Arthur, Florence and Harry ; Irving, who
was married ]\Iay 12, 1917, to Louisa Redders, of Madison, Wisconsin;
1066 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Edwin, who is deceased; and Freddie, Emma, Florence and Walter, all
at home.
Timothy F. Howley, who has been actively indentified with the farm
enterprise of Dellona Township for over twenty years, is a Sauk County
citizen who has justly earned all the material prosperity associated with
his name and also the esteem so liberally bestowed upon him in his home
community.
Mr. Howley was born in Ohio in 1854, a son of Thomas and Margaret
(Howard) Howley. His parents came to Wisconsin many years ago and
both of them died in Juneau County, his father in January, 1907, and his
mother on February 8, 1902. Their children were : John, who married
Catherine Casey ; Timothy F. ; Martin, who married Viney Costello ;
Thomas and Patrick, both deceased ; Mary- Jane, unmarried ; Cornelius,
deceased, and William who resides in Juneau County, Wisconsin.
Timothy F. Howley grew up as a farmer, learned the lessons of the
local schools with his brothers and sisters, and in 1894 settled on his
present farm in Dellona Township. He has a complete quarter section
under his ownership and management, and is devoting it to general
farming and stock raising. Mr. Howley is an active democrat in politics
and with his family worships in the Catholic church.
On June 14, 1881, he married Catherine Kelly, daughter of Terence
and Ellen Kelly, of Juneau County, Wisconsin. They are the parents
of two children : Margaret M., who married Joseph Timlin and lives in
Dellona Township of Sauk County ; and Thomas J., unmarried.
John E. Wadleigh has been successfully identified with the farming
enterprise of Winfield Township for a great many years. He is a native
son of Wisconsin and belongs to the pioneer element in this state.
His birth occurred in Dodge County, Wisconsin. His parents, Wil-
liam E. and Sophie (Stevens) Wadleigh, came from New Hampshire
in 1856 and settled at Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. John E. Wadleigh
grew up on his father's farm, acquired an education in the local schools
and went to farming in Sauk County with limited means but unlimited
energy. He has seen his resources grow until he is now owner of 251
acres in Winfield Township, and is one of the leading general farm-
ers and stock raisers of that section. His specialty is Shorthorn cattle,
and he keeps from thirty to forty head of those fine animals.
Mr. Wadleigh married Jennie Blatchley, who died in 1898, leaving
him "four children. Earl, Elsie, Alice and Hubert. These children
were all educated in the public schools. Mr. Wadleigh is a republi-
can, is affiliated with Lodge No. 5670 of the Modern Woodmen of Amer-
ica, and is a Knight of Pythias.
Dietrich G. Schweke was for many years actively and prominently
engaged in business at Reedsburg, has retired with a competence, but
still exercises considerable influence over the business affairs of that
community. He is one of the prominent early families of Wisconsin
and is a brother-in-law of the present Wisconsin governor.
Mr. Schweke was born in Milwaukee October 12, 1862, a son of
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY . 1067
Deitrich and Bertha (Schuckart) Schweke. Both parents were natives
of Germany. His father was born in the Kingdom of Hanover in 1826,
while the mother was born at Dessau, Germany, December 19, 1841.
Dietrich Schweke, Sr., came to America tn 1845 with his parents, his
father being also named Dietrich. Grandfather Schweke died soon
after arrival in Milwaukee. Bertha Schuckart came to Milwaukee with
her parents, Gustav and Fredericka (Ulrich) Schuckart, in 1850. Gus-
tav Schuckart and wife spent the rest of their lives in Milwaukee where
he died in 1852 and she in 1863. Dietrich Schweke, Sr., was aroused
by the discovery of gold in California in 1848, and soon afterward left
with a party of gold seekers bound across the plains with wagons and
ox teams. After some experiences on the gold coast he returned to
Milwaukee and was engaged in the grocery business for several years.
In 1865 he removed to Reedsburg and was a merchant where the
Stolte Hotel now stands. For a number of years he was associated
with Mr. William Stolte under the name of Schweke & Stolte. They
also engaged extensively in the hop business when that was an impor-
tant industry in this section of Wisconsin. The senior Schweke made
a business trip to New York City in 1869, and while in the metropolis
his death occurred on March 31. He was one of the founders of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church at Reedsburg, and one of its first trus-
tees. He and his wife were married in Milwaukee in 1861, and their
children were : Dietrich G., Gustav C, Dora, now the widow of George
Herner, and Bertha, wife of Governor Emanuel L. Philipp, himself
a native of Sauk County. The father of these children was an active
democrat. A brother of his wife, Albert Schuckart, was a veteran of
the Civil war and spent his last days in Reedsburg.
Mr. Dietrich G. Schweke has lived at Reedsburg since he was a small
child. He attended the public and parochial schools and also the
parochial schools of Milwaukee. When twenty years of age he took a
business course and since then has made his own way in the world.
His first experience was as clerk with the firm of Kellogg & Harris.
He was with them seven years, beginning in 1876, and gained a thor-
ough knowledge of the fundamentals of merchandising before start-
ing out on his own account. In December, 1883, he entered business
for himself with Mr. H. H. Webb and his brother, Gustav C. The
name of this firm was Webb & Schweke and it is a firm title that is still
spoken in terms of respect over a large community. They were gen-
eral merchants, conducted a large department store, and handled an
immense volume of business every year. The firm was continued until
1908, since which time Mr. Schweke has lived retired, merely looking
after his private interests.
Mr. Schweke has lived at the corner of Pine and Second streets in
Reedsburg for twenty-three consecutive years. He has a beautiful
home there and has everything to make life attractive. In politics
he is a republican and was an alderman of the city when it was first
incorporated, but his aspirations have never been for political honors.
He is an active member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Mr.
Schweke was married in 1893 to Miss Mary Roper, who was born at
Reedsburg in 1868, a daughter of William and Dora (Schierwater)
1068 , HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Eoper. Her parents were among the early residents of Reedsburg.
Mr. and Mrs. Schweke have two children. Florence is a graduate of
the Reedsburg High School and is now a junior in Downer College at
Milwaukee. Antoinette is a student in the parochial schools.
William Roper is one of the prominent old time citizens of Reeds-
burg, and became widely known both to the local and the traveling
public as proprietor of one of the leading hotels of the city. He is
now living retired.
He was born in Germany December 18, 1839. He grew up and re-
ceived his early advantages in the schools of his native land, and in
1867 married Miss Dora Schierwater. She was born in Germany March
27, 1843.
A year after their marriage the young couple started for America.
They soon located at Reedsburg in Sauk County and Mr. Roper took
up ho^el work and for thirty-five years was proprietor of the City
Hotel of that town. He was an excellent and genial landlord, a capable
business man, and from the fruits of his well earned prosperity he
retired and for the past eight years has looked after his private affairs.
In 1909 he built a fine brick home at 136 Second Street, and is now
enjoying its comforts with his daughter-in-law, Mrs. Albert Roper.
Mr. Roper is a democrat in politics, and he and his wife, who is now
deceased, were very active members of St. Peter's Lutheran Church.
They were the parents of the following children : Mary, wife of D. G.
Schweke, one of the wealthiest business men of Reedsburg; William,
a dentist, who died in 1907 at the age of thirty-five, his widow, Harriet
Roper, being now a resident of Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, and the
mother of two children, Janette and William ; Albert ; Laura, who
died in infancy; Otto, who is unmarried and is in the offices of the
Chicago and Northwestern Railway Company at Sioux City, Iowa;
Frona, wife of George C. King, a cement contractor living in Iowa,
and they have a child, George ; Paula, wife of R. C. Pride.
Albert Roper, a son of Mr. William Roper, was prominently iden-
tified with business affairs at Reedsburg until his death on March 31,
1916. He was born at Reedsburg April 12, 1875, was well educated
in the public schools, and after leaving the high school took a course in
Toland's Business College at LaCrosse. For several years he was ac-
tively identified with his father in the management of the hotel and
then entered the Daylight store at Reedsburg and was manager of its
grocery department at the time of his death. Politically he was a
republican, and filled the office of constable and for eleven years was
connected with the fire department. He was also one of the early
members of the State Militia and was connected with that organization
about ten years. He and his wife were active members of St. Peter's
Lutheran Church.
Albert Roper was married August 17, 1910, to Miss Anna Rosen-
thal. Mrs. Albert Roper, who now makes her home with her father-in-
law, Mr. William Roper, is the mother of one daughter, Dorothy
Pauline, who was born September 5, 1912. Mrs. Albert Roper was born
at Reedsburg January 4, 1880, a daughter of Gustav and Pauline
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1069
«
(Collies) Rosenthal. Her father was born in Milwaukee in 1846 and
her mother in Reedsburg in 1860. Her mother was a daughter of
August and Pauline Collies, very early settlers of Reedsburg Township,
Their home was a farm 2i/^ miles west of Reedsburg. Both had come
from Germany and both died in 1908. Mrs. Albert Roper's paternal
grandfather was August Rosenthal, who likewise M^as an early farmer
settler of Reedsburg Township. He and his wife were also emigrants
from Germany. Gustav Rosenthal, father of Mrs. Roper, was for
about thirteen years engaged in the foundry business at Ironton, and
for over twenty years was connected with what is now the Reedsburg
Supply Company. Mrs. Roper was one of a family of nine children:
Fred, who died in infancy; Anna, Mrs. Roper; William, of Reedsburg;
Edith, wife of Herbert Wischoff of Reedsburg; George, who lives at
Reedsburg and married Elizabeth Wollschlager ; Louis, a resident of
Thompsons Falls, Montana, who married Eva Miller; Edward, con-
nected with the lumber company at Reedsburg, married Freda Hue-
bing ; Leona ; and Arthur, who is unmarried and is employed in the
Daylight store.
Harry Thornton^ who became specially well known over Sauk
County during his service as register of deeds, is a business man and
banker at the Village of LaValle. His own life has been lived within
the boundaries of Sauk County since birth, and his people were early
settlers in this region seventy years ago.
He was born at Ironton, Sauk County, November 30, 1861, a son
of John and Hannah (Harrison) Thornton. John Thornton was born
in Yorkshire, England, February 9, 1833, a son of Reuben and Betty
Thornton. The Thornton family emigrated to America and settled
in Sauk County, "Wisconsin, in 1849, the same year that Wisconsin was
admitted to the Union. They were pioneers at Ironton and Reuben
and his wife both died there. Their children were John, who lives
in LaValle, and Richard, Charles, Sarah, Hannah and Emma, all de-
ceased. The daughter Sarah who died in 1915 attained the great age
of ninety-five.
John Thornton was fifteen years of age when he came to Sauk County
and after reaching manhood he acquired a farm in Ironton Township
and conducted it until his death. Politically he was a republican. He
was married in Ironton Township to Hannah Harrison, who was born in
England in 1836. Her parents, George and Martha Harrison, came
to Sauk County as early as 1847 and located on a tract of wild land in
La Valle Township. Both of them spent their last years there. ' Their
children were : James, Eleazer, George, Jemimah, Rachel, Martha, Sa-
lena, Hannah and Malissa. John and Hannah Thornton had five chil-
dren : Rachel, Jane, Harry, Martha and Edward.
Harry Thornton grew up on his father's farm, and wisely improved
his advantages in the local schools. Farming offered him his first oppor-
tunities in life and he lived on and cultivated a tract of land until he
was nearly thirty years of age. In 1890 he removed to LaValle and
took up the lumber and produce business. Later he became one of the
organizers of the State Bank of LaValle and from 1901 to 1904 served
1070 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
as cashier of that institution. In the latter year he was elected regis-
ter of deeds for Sauk County and by re-election filled that position two
terms, during which time he and his family lived at the county seat,
Baraboo. After returning to LaValle at the close of his official admin-
istration, Mr. Thornton had charge of the roller mills for two years
and then resumed his position in the State Bank as cashier, an office
to which he has been giving his chief time and attention.
Mr. Thornton is a republican in politics. He has served as supervi-
sor of LaValle and is now treasurer of the village. Fraternally he is
affiliated with Ironton Lodge of Masons, with Reedsburg Chapter of the
Royal Arch and he and his wife are active in the Reedsburg Chapter
of the Eastern Star. He was also affiliated with the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America.
In 1884 Mr. Thornton married Miss Sarah Pearson. Mrs. Thorn-
ton was born in Sauk County in May, 1861, and her parents, Charles
and Martha (Harrison) Pearson, came to this section of Wisconsin about
1847. Mr. and Mrs. Thornton have one daughter, Elsie, who was grad-
uated from the Baraboo High School in 1906 and is now assistant cash-
ier of the State Bank of LaValle.
Charles F. Wilkinson. In point of development, equipment, stock-
ing and general management it would be difficult to find a more sat-
isfying farm estate than that of Charles F. Wilkinson in La Valle Town-
ship. This farm represents the successive and progressive efforts of
three generations of the« Wilkinson family. What the grandfather won
by the hardest of efforts from the wilderness his son in turn added to,
and in the third generation Charles F. Wilkinson has again increased
the holdings not only in extent but in value and development.
Mr. Wilkinson was born on this farm in La Valle Township Sep-
tember 7, 1879. His paternal grandparents, Sammy and Martha (Pear-
son) Wilkinson, were natives of England, the former born in 1814 and
the latter in 1815. Martha Pearson was a sister of Manlius Pearson,
a prominent Sauk County pioneer whose name occurs elsewhere in this
publication. The Wilkinsons left England when in middle life and
came to Sauk County, arriving here in 1857. Not long afterwards
Sammy Wilkinson bought eighty acres contained in the present home-
stead above mentioned. He cleared up the land and before his death
had increased it to 160 acres. He lived there usefully and honored in
the community until his death on January 11, 1870, his widow pass-
ing away in 1874. They were the parents of eleven children, Orlando,
Zena, Grace, Alexander, Patience, Isabella, Randolph, Ronald S. P.,
Adolphus, Sammy and Charles.
Ronald S. P. Wilkinson, father of Charles F., was bom in Brad-
ford, Yorkshire, England, in April, 1849, and was eight years of age
when brought to Sauk County. He grew up in the midst of a pioneer
environment, learned his lessons in the primitive schools, and on arriv-
ing at manhood went forthwith into a career as a practical farmer.
He finally bought the homestead and his management was so success-
ful that he increased it to 280 acres and also erected the residence which
still stands there. In his time a small building served the purposes of a
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1071
barn. He was at one time a successful breeder of shire horses, and con-
tinued his residence on the farm until 1904 when he moved to the Vil-
lage of La Valle for three years and later to Augusta, Wisconsin, in
which section he bought a farm of 100 acres. He still owns this land
and rents it, and is now living in the Village of Augusta. Ronald Wil-
kinson married Emma Lycan, who was born in Sauk County April 18,
1857, her parents having also been pioneers here. She died at the old
homestead in La Valle in 1903. Ronald Wilkinson is a democrat in
politics and his brother Charles was chairman of the township board of
La Valle for twelve years. Charles is now living in Juneau County,
Wisconsin. Ronald Wilkinson and wife had a family of eleven chil-
dren: Georgia, Mattie, a son that died in infancy, Charles F., Jessie,
Ronald, Alice, Cleveland, Clem, Irma and Dorothy. The father by a
previous marriage had one child named Patience.
Charles F. Wilkinson has spent nearly all the days of his life on the
old homestead in La Valle Township. He grew up there, his childhood
associations center around it, and he attended the local schools. Only
two years were spent away from the home farm while he was doing
agricultural work in the State of Minnesota. In 1904 he bought the
homestead and has continued its operation and has also added 120 acres,
and he now has the ownership and management of 400 acres of rich and
valuable land. His building improvements show to the casual visitor
proof of his progressiveness as a farmer. His barn is undoubtedly one
of the best in the county, its ground dimensions being 122 by 30 feet
and equipped with everything that serves the purpose of a methodical
and systematic farmer. He also has two silos, one 14 by 30 and the
other 12 by 30. As a stockman. Mr. Wilkinson keeps good grades of
Holstein and Shorthorn, and has a number of thoroughbred Hereford
cattle. Through the year he usually has from sixty-five to seventy-five
head of cattle, besides other stock. Mr. Wilkinson is independent in
casting his vote, and his only public service has been on the school
board. He is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America.
In March, 1911, he married Miss Lucy Gabbitas, a native of Sauk
County and a daughter of John and Ann Gabbitas, who were early set-
tlers here. • Her father died in 1908 and her widowed mother is still
living in La Valle. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Wil-
kinson : C. H., Gail and John Wesley, the last now deceased.
Lewis B. Robinson. One of the best known residents of Sauk
County is Lewis B. Robinson who, for many years, has been a repre-
sentative citizen and a substantial farmer and stockraiser. For over
a half century Mr. Robinson has resided here and a history of pioneer
days as he endured them, would be an exceedingly interesting chapter
to preserve with other county annals. A few of the early settlers came
with capital and thereby had fewer hardships to face, but Mr. Robin-
son came practically empty-handed and what he has acquired has been
the result of his industry and good management.
Lewis B. Robinson was born in England, April 7, 1843, and came to
the United States in 1861. He desired to secure a farm and a permanent
home and in cherishing this ambition sought work of any kind to assist
1072 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
him in realizing it. After he reached Ironton, Sauk County, Wisconsin,
he found hard but well paid for work in the furnace there and with the
money he earned and saved he laid the real foundation of his present
state of financial independence. In the course of time, in partnership
with Edward Briggs, he bought a tract of 120 acres, then owned by
Bailey Pearsen and situated in La Valle Township. To this first tract
the partners added twenty acres and worked hard and with much self
denial, to develop the land.
Circumstances changing somewhat caused Mr. Robinson to sell his
part of the first farm and he then bought the one he yet owns, a fine
tract of eighty acres which is favorably located in La Valle Township,
being well watered and thus suitable for carrying on one of his most
important industries, this being the raising of high grade Holstein
cattle. For many years Mr. Robinson superintended all his farm indus-
tries himself but is now practically retired, his son Frank having taken
over the management of the farm and is proving his business capacity.
Mr. Robinson has seen wonderful changes take place here in every way
and in every vocation and he has done his part in bringing about many
of the admirable conditions which make life pleasant, profitable and com-
fortable in La Valle Township. "When he came here in the early days
there was practically no school system and he has been one of the men
to give encouragement to the public schools and for many years served
on ihe school board.
Mr. Robinson was married in 1864, to Miss Margaret Hendricksen,
who was born in Ohio in 1844 and came to Sauk County with her parents
when young. She died in 1908. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson had six chil-
dren, namely : Joseph, who is a resident of Tacoma, Washington ; Nellie,
who is the wife of Frank Beier, residing in Wisconsin ; Alfred, who lives
in South Dakota; Edith, who is the wife of Franklin Borchers of Des
Plaines, Illinois; Eddie, who lives in South Dakota; and Frank, who, as
above mentioned, is the manager of the home farm. He married Flora
Robinson and they have three children : James Edwin, Mildred and Ruth
Margaret.
Nominally Mr. Robinson is a republican but he has long been a close
and intelligent student of public questions and frequently votes accord-
ing to the dictates of his own judgment. In addition to serving in educa-
tional bodies, Mr. Robinson has been township clerk and supervisor and
has been chairman of the board. Some years age he visited his native
land, for which he naturally entertains feelings of affection, but in all
essentials Mr. Robinson is an American and rejoices that the tie between
the two countries is so close.
Francis James Thompson has been most successfully engaged in
farming and stock raising during practically the entire period of his
active career thus far. Honest and industrious, his success in life is due
entirely to his own well directed endeavors and for that reason is the
more gratifying to contemplate. A native of Sauk County, he was
born in Ironton Township, October 13, 1857. His parents, Abraham and
Elizabeth (Ashfort) Thompson, were both bom and raised in War-
.wickshire, England, the date of the former's birth being August 25, 1829,
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1073
and that of the latter May 17, 1832. They came to America and were
married at Troy, New York, in 1854. In the spring of 1857 they came to
Sauk County and settled temporarily in the City of Reedsburg, in the
meantime erecting a house on the farm he' had purchased while still in
the Empire State. In due time they cleared the land and during the
years 1873 and '74 made brick on the farm with which to erect a brick
house. In addition to general farming and stock-raising Mr. Thompson
bought and sold stock and in 1890 he located in Reedsburg, where he
owned considerable property, and there confined his attention to stock
dealing. His beloved w^ife died in September, 1912, and he passed to
eternity in March, 1914. They were conscientious workers and their
genial hospitality was extended to all in need. To them were born eleven
children, whose names are here entered in respective order of birth :
Lizzie, Francis James, William A., Edward, Robert, George, Etta, Belle,
Jennie, Rose and Martha. Mr. Thompson was a democrat in politics
and he and his family were devout members of the Methodist Episcopal
Church.
On the old Thompson homestead, in Ironton Township, occurred the
birth of Francis James Thompson and he was the second child in a family
of eleven. As a boy he assisted his father in the work and management
of the farm and he was educated in the neighboring schools. He has
been identified with farming operations all his life and in 1915 purchased
the Henry Thies farm, comprising 156 acres. This estate boasts every
improvement and is known as one of the ideal farms of this section of the
county. A republican in his political convictions, Mr. Thompson is a
director on the school board and he ever manifests a deep and sincere
interest in all matters forwarded for the betterment of the community.
June 29, 1884, occurred the marriage of Mr. Thompson to Mrs. Ida
A. Castle, whose maiden name was Ida Babb. Mrs. Thompson was born
in Indiana, August 19, 1857, and she is a daughter of the Rev. H. M.
Babb and Ann (Lane) Babb, who lived in Ohio and went thence to
Indiana in 1833. In addition to being a minister Rev. Babb was a skilled
cabinet-maker and he also figured extensively in land deals. When he
' settled in Indiana he engaged in the hotel business and followed that line
of work in different states for thirty-five years. His wife died in Indiana
and he passed away in the home of Mr. Thompson, in Sauk County, in
1903. at the patriarchal age of ninety-two years. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson
have six children: Florence, Emmet, James, Harvey C, Frank and
Ricliard.
Patrick D. Carroll. The Carroll family is one of the oldest and
most substantial of Sauk County. They first arrived here more than
sixty years ago, when most of the timber was uncut, the marshes un-
drained, and comparatively little of the land fit for cultivation. A good
many acres have been brought under the plow and made productive
through the instrumentality of the people of this name. They have lived
upright and honorable lives and have been valuable factors in any
community.
The old Carroll homestead is in La Valle Township and its present
owner is Patrick D. Carroll, who was born there May 18, 1868. He is
1074 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
a son of Patrick and Bridget (Casey) Carroll. His parents were both
born in Ireland, his father in 1817 and his mother in 1830. Patrick
Carroll, Sr., came to Reedsburg', Wisconsin, in 1855. His father had
died in Ireland, but not long- after his arrival in Sauk County he was
joined by his widowed mother, Jane Carroll, his brother John and his
sister Catherine. Patrick D. Carroll's maternal grandparents, John and
Mary Casey, were also among the pioneers of Sauk County, living in
Winfield Township for a number of years, but afterwards going to Dane
County, where both of them died. For about five years after coming to
Sauk County, Patrick Carroll, Sr., was employed by the Maekeys at
Reedsburg, and then in 1861 he and his brother John bought a hundred
twenty acres* in La Valle Township. This estate they divided between
them, John taking eight acres and Patrick forty acres. This forty
acres is the homestead now owned by Patrick D. His father subse-
quently bought another forty acres, and the present farm consists of a
hundred acres, Patrick l3. having added another twenty. Patrick Car-
roll, Sr., was well fitted for pioneer life, was industrious and strong, and
though he took the land when it was absolutely raw, he soon had a clear-
ing made and a log house erected for the shelter of his family. All his
children were born there and both he and his wife died in that home.
Their children were John, Jane, Ellen, Mary, Patrick, Anna, William,
Maggie, besides twins who died in infancy. The daughter Mary is also
deceased.
Patrick D. Carroll grew up on the home farm and as a boy remem-
bers when it was in the process of clearing. He attended the local public
schools and since reaching' manhood has given a good account of himself
as a successful farmer and stockman. In 1914 he built the comfortable
home where he and his family now reside.
Mr. Carroll is a democrat in politics, has filled the office of school
treasurer for a number of years and was treasurer of the township for
eight years. He and his family are Catholics.
June 18, 1895, he married Miss Anna Healy. She was born in Sauk
County, daughter of Patrick and Anna Healy, early settlers of Winfield
Township and both now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Carroll have six chil-
dren, all living and named in order of birth: Gaynold, Kathleen, Byron,
Ivan, Mark and Norman. The oldest, Gaynold, was educated in the
local district schools, the Villa Sancta Scholastica, at Duluth, Minnesota,
for two years, and also the Reedsburg High School. She is one of the
most successful and popular teachers of Sauk County. The daughter
Kathleen was educated in the same schools as her sister and also two
years in the La Valle High School. The son, Byron, finished his education
in the La Valle High School. The other children are still in the local
schools.
William A. Carroll younger brother of Patrick D., was born in
La Valle Township, April 27, 1871, and since leaving school has applied
himself to the business of farming and owns a good place of a hundred
acres near his brother. He is a democrat and a Catholic. In 1896 he
married Mary McCabe of Winfield Township, who died childless in 1901.
In 1905 William Carroll married Ellen Fanning, of Juneau County.
Their four children are Margaret, Madeline, Agnes and Rita.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1075
George A. Karstetter. To the Karstetter family belongs the dis-
tinction of building the first house in LaValle Township. It probably
was a rude log cabin, as were the dwellings, of the pioneers of that early
day, but the fact of its construction will always link the name of Kar-
stetter with the early settlement of this section of Sauk County. The
family has continued to live and prosper here and one of its worthy
representatives of the present day is George A. Karstetter, one of the
county's most respected citizens.
George A. Karstetter was born in Fulton County, Indiana, March 3,
1849. His parents were Joseph P. and Mary (Jackson) Karstetter.
The father was born in Pennsylvania, in 1820, and was a son of Sebastian
and Mary Elizabeth (Marks) Karstetter, both of whom were born in
Pennsylvania and later moved to Ohio, and then to Indiana, and in 1848
they moved to Sauk County, Wisconsin, and the house they built, which
was long a landmark, stood on the farm in LaValle Township that is
now the property of John Carscaden. This land was entered from the
government for Sebastian Karstetter by his son, Samuel Karstetter, the
transaction including 240 acres for the former and 360 acres for the
latter. Sebastian Karstetter and wife passed the rest of their lives on
this land and passed away about 1870.
Joseph P. Karstetter was married in Indiana to Mary Jackson, who
was born in Marion County, that state, in 1828, and was a daughter of
Henry and Mary Jackson, who moved from Ohio to Marion County,
Indiana, and at one time they owned seven acres of the present city site
of Indianapolis. Mr. Jackson was born in 1797. In 1856 he and wife
removed to Wisconsin and both died in Sauk County.
In 1855 Joseph P. Karstetter and family eame to Sauk County. Here
he bought 120 acres of state land, later trading forty acres of his purchase
for another forty-acre tract, and still later, in 1876, sold forty acres to
his son George. He was a vigorous man both in body and mind and sur-
vived until 1898. His widow died in 1900. They were members of the
Methodist Episcopal church and were Christians in fact as well as in
name.
George Karstetter had few such school privileges in his boyhood as
the young people of the present day enjoy. At that time boys were, prob-
ably, just like the boys of the present, healthy, hearty little lads, full of
animal spirits and each one with a touch of mischief, and then, as now,
none' were more devoted to their books than they were interested in their
sports. Of the latter there was no lack, but just the difference that cir-
cumstances inevitably bring about. Bears were plentiful in the heavy
timber that surrounded Mr. Karstetter 's boyhood home and he yet recalls
his boyish anguish when he discovered Bruin eating his little pet pig.
In 1875 Mr. Karstetter was married and in 1876 he bought his farm
from his father and began to operate it for himself, making use of oxen
as motive power and never dreaming then of the day when the great
farm tractor would under many conditions do the work of hundreds of
oxen. Mr. Karstetter carried on general farming and raised good stock
without making a specialty of that feature, and continues supervision
although he has two sturdy, capable sons who now carry on the farm
industries.
1076 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Mr. Karstetter was married in 1875 to Catherine Hendrickson, who
was born in Ohio in 1846, a daughter of Thomas Hendrickson and wife,
who came to Sauk County in 1856 and died here in the '60s. Mrs.
Karstetter died in 1912, the beloved mother of four children, namely:
Charles, who died at the age of twenty-eig-ht years ; Elvin, who married
Margaret Formater, lives at Eoscoe, Illinois, and they have one son,
George Lewis; Harry and Ernest, both of whom are managers of the
home farm, well educated young men, but neither have married. The
farm has been well improved with commodious and substantial buildings,
one of these being a barn with dimensions 30 by 54 feet.
Mr. Karstetter belongs to a long-lived family. His parents had the
following children, all but two of whom are living, as follows: John,
deceased ; George ; Adaline, deceased ; Amanda, Alfred, 'Jane, Thomas
and Margaret. In his political views he hasj always been inclined
toward independence of thought and action as far as consistent with good
citizenship. He has been a school director and for forty years has
served in the office of school clerk ; was for fifteen years road overseer of
Town of LaValle. With his family he attends and gives support to the
Methodist Episcopal Church.
William Sussner. In view of the nomadic spirit which dominates
the American public and causes its citizens to wander restlessly about
from one place to another, it is most gratifying to come in contact with
a man who has passed practically his entire life in the place where he
was born and reared. William Sussner, a native of Sauk County, was
born in Washington Township, August 28, 1875, and he is a son of Rev.
Andrew Sussner.
To the public schools of this county William Sussner is indebted for
his early educational training, which has since been supplemented with
extensive reading and association with men of affairs. As a young man
he purchased a farm of eighty acres in the vicinity of Reedsburg, sub-
sequently selling that tract of land. In 1915 he bought an estate of 133
acres, formerly a part of the Henry Miller farm. This place he has put
into good condition in every respect and recently erected a new hog
house and silo. He is a stock-raiser, making a specialty of high-grade
Holstein cattle, and he has also met with marked success as a general
farmer. He is a staunch republican in his political proclivities, has served
for a number of years on the local school board, and at the present time,
in 1917, is road overseer. His farm is located in section 36, LaValle
Township.
June 26, 1897, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Sussner to Miss
Anna Knipple, a native of Reedsburg, where she was born November
29, 1878, and who is a daughter of William and Mena (Stetfen) Knipple,
both of whom were born in Germany, the former November 26, 1845, and
the latter July 4, 1850. The Knipple family came to Wisconsin in 1870
and settled in Dodge County, where their marriage took place in 1871.
In 1874 they bought a farm in Sauk County, near Reedsburg, the same
comprising eighty acres. Mrs. Knipple passed away October 7, 1887,
and Mr. Knipple is now living retired on his farm, on which he has
resided for thirty-eight years. The Knipple family consists of three
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY • 1077
children : Emma, Mary and Anna, the last of whom is the wife of Mr.
Sussner, as already noted. Mr. and Mrs. Sussner have one son, Paul,
whose birth occurred October 6, 1898, and who has taken advantage of
the splendid educational advantages offered in the Reedsburg schools.
Mr. Sussner is a progressive farmer and representative citizen whose
interest in public affairs has ever been of the most sincere order. He
and his wife have many friends in this vicinity and they are held in high
esteem by all with whom they have come in contact.
ViLLARS G. FuNNELL. While one of the younger farmers and stock-
men of LaValle Township, V. G. Funnell has shown a progressiveness
and enterprise that caused his name to be spoken with respect, especially
among cattle breeders.
Mr. Funnell 's farm comprises eighty acres, and since attaining man-
hood he has done a big work in clearing and improvement of the land.
Two years ago he built a fine silo and he operates his farm with special
emphasis on the dairy industry. He milks ten to twelve cows, of the best
Holstein stock. Mr. Funnell owns a thoroughbred Holstein bull which
took first prize in the Reedsburg show in 19.15 as a nine-months old. The
pedigree name of the bull is King Elza De Kol Komdyke No. 154950
H. F. H. B.
Mt*. Funnell was born in LaValle Township of Sauk County, Novem-
ber 25, 1880, a son of J. G. and Minerva Funnell. His father was born
at Greenwich, England, and his mother in New York state. They were
married at Lloyd, in Richmond County, "Wisconsin, and after living
there four years settled in LaValle Township in 1876. -
Villars G. Funnell was reared and educated in LaValle Township,
and took up farming soon after reaching his majority. He is married
and has five children : Floyd James, Averilla Minerva, Edward Charles,
Irene and Ella. The daughter Irene was born June 8, 1912, and the
daughter Ella on May 29, 1916. Politically Mr. Funnell is a republican.
Frank W. Apple. The Township of La Valle acknowledges one of its
most capable and prosperous farmers in the person of Mr. Frank W.
Apple, whose life from birth to the present time has been identified with
Sauk County. Mr. Apple is a good business man and in the past has
exhibited a strenuous performance and activity in the various lines of
farming, and is now in a position to take things somewhat more leisurely.
He was bom in Washington Township of this county on October 3,
1858, a son of Philip and Sarah Apple. His father was a native of Ger-
many and of good old German stock, and his mother was born in Pennsyl-
vania. In 1847 they settled among the pioneers in Washington Town-
ship of Sauk County. Their labors helped to develop that section of the
county and their lives were closely identified with the early history.
Frank W. Apple grew up in the county, acquired a common school
education, and has found in farming a business suited to his talents and
offering a good field for the exercise of his ambitious endeavors. He has
been a resident of La Valle Township since 1899.
In 1885 Mr. Apple married for his first wife Anna Head. The chil-
dren of that marriage are Alice and William, both deceased; and Philip
1078 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
and Marion. In 1899 Mr. Apple married Louise Eder, daughter of
Adam Eder. In the year of this marriage Mr. and Mrs. Apple located
on their present farm in La Valle Township. To the second marriage
were bom three children, Glenn Eder, Clarence Adam and Sylma Anna.
Mr. Apple's older children were educated in the local district and
high schools, and his younger children are all in school and giving good
account of themselves as students. The son Glenn has taken the first
year of the agricultural course at Madison, Wisconsin.
Mr. Apple's farm comprises a hundred and twenty-two acres. He
has given maeh attention to the breeding of Holstein cattle and keeps
an average number of about twenty-five head of this fine stock. He is
also a director in the Farmers Warehouse Company and is vice president
and director of the La Valle Creamery Company. In politics he is an
independent, and is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America.
Fred A. Hinrichs is a man of unusual enterprise and initiative
and has met with such marvelous good fortune in his various business
projects that it would verily seem as though he possessed an "open
sesame" to unloek the doors to success. As a result of his own well
applied endeavors he has progressed steadily toward the goal of success
until he is recognized today as one of the foremost farmers and citizens
of La Valle Township, where he has resided during most of his active
career.
A native of Sauk County, Fred A. Hinrichs was born in Reedsburg
Township, May 27, 1870, son of Fred and Elizabeth (Ringelman) Hin-
richs. His father was born in Germany in 1844, son of Henry Hinrichs
and wife, both of whom died in Germany. Frederick came to Sauk
County in January, 1867, and on May 3, 1868, he bought the homestead
where his son Fred now lives. There he spent an active career as a pros-
perous farmer until his death in 1904, at the age of sixty. He was a
republican and a devout member of the Lutheran Church. He married
in Sauk County in 1869 Elizabeth Ringelman, who was born in Ger-
many, February 15, 1840. Her parents both died in Germany, their
names being Casper and Katrina Ringelman. The Ringelman children
were: Frederick, who died at Reedsburg in January, 1917, at the age
of eighty-six ; Dorothy and Henry ; and Elizabeth, who is still living at
the Village of Reedsburg. She was the mother of four children : Henry,
deceased ; Fred A. ; Bertha ; and Martha, at home with her widowed
mother.
Fred A. Hinrichs passed his boyhood and youth on the farm now
owned by him and his educational training was obtained in the local
schools. After the death of his father he became heir to one hundred
acres of finely improved land and subsequently he purchased an addi-
tional tract of one hundred and eighty acres, making in all an estate of
two hundred and eighty acres. He is engaged in general farming and
stock-raising and in the latter connection is a breeder of thoroughbred
Holstein cattle, of which he keeps about fifty-five head. The buildings
on this farm are fine modern ones, the barn being an immense structure,
34 by 110 feet, and the silo 35 by 14 feet. Everything about this place is
indicative of up-to-date methods and expert management.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1079
In 1898 Mr. Hinrichs married Miss Anna Borth, who was born at
Loganville, this eountj^, August 22, 1881, and who is a daughter of
William and Dorothy (Burmaster) Borth. Mr. Borth was born and
reared in Minneapolis, where he learned the' trade of blacksmith, which
he plied with success after his arrival in Sauk County. For a number
of years he had a shop at Loganville and eventually he turned his atten-
tion to farming in Washington Township, where his devoted wife died
in April, 1888, aged thirty-three years, and where he passed away in
1905, aged fifty-five years. The following children were born to Mr. and
Mrs. Borth: Amelia, William, Mala, Anna, Charles (deceased), Mathilda,
Emma and Alina. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hinrichs :
Albert, Fred, Arnieta and Warnieta, twins, Leona, Irvin, Herbert and
Eleanora (died in infancy).
Albert Strutz. To the business of farming Albert Strutz has applied
the best years of his life since he reached his majority and is now culti-
vating and managing a fine farm in La Valle Township, which was
redeemed from the wilderness largely through the efforts of his honored
father.
Mr. Strutz was born in Winfield Township of this county October 23,
1886, a son of Herman and Wilhelmina (Jenwich) Strutz. His parents
were born in Germany and came to Sauk County many years ago, first
locating in Winfield Township. In 1899 the family removed to La Valle
Township and located on the farm where Mr. Albert Strutz now resides.
In the family were four children: Frederick, who married Minnie
Wacholtz. a daughter of B. Wacholtz of Winfield Township; Charles,
who married Annie Dravs ; Ida, wife of Guy Tate, son of Robert Tate ;
and Albert.
Herman Strutz after many years of successful enterprise as a farmer
died on the old homestead February 2, 1916, at the age of sixty- four. His
widow is still living there, the farm being under the capable manage-
ment of her son Albert, who is still unmarried. Mr. Albert Strutz is
giving a good account of himself as a farmer on the 113 acres, has his
fields well tilled, raises considerable stock, including about fifteen head
of cattle, and milks ten cows. Mr. Albert Strutz was educated in Dis-
trict School No. 4 of Winfield Township, and is everywhere recognized
as one of the capable younger citizens of Lavalle Township. He is a
republican, a member of the Lutheran Church.
Mrs. Otto Standow has been a resident of Sauk County and has
occupied her present homestead in Lavalle Township for the past thirty-
four years.
Mrs. Standow was born in Germany in 1858, her maiden name being
Wilhelmina Hanka. She was adaughter of Manthey and Anstee Hanka.
Her father died in the old country in 1871. Her mother came to Amer-
ica in 1883 in company with Mrs. StandoAV and her two other children,
Amelia and Albert.
Wilhelmina Hanka was married in Germany in 1879 to Mr. Otto
Standow. Coming to America in 1883 the family located on the present
Standow farm in Lavalle Township and Mrs. Standow has for years
Vol. n 3 3
1080 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
carefully looked after its management and cultivation in addition to
the burdens and responsibilities of home making. She owns 120 acres
of good land, and with the aid of her children has successfully farmed
it and has raised much good stock.
Her children are : Frank, William, Mary, Eliza, Albert and Paul.
Mary is deceased, and the son Paul is unmarried and lives at home with
his mother. The son Frank married Ida Burmeister. William mar-
ried Annie Gates. Eliza is the wife of Paul Middlestead. Albert mar-
ried Elsie Ceich. These children were all given good advantages in the
local public schools. Mrs. Standow and her family are active members
of the Lutheran Church and her sons are independent in politics.
Herman C. W. Lucht has been numbered among the enterprising
farmers of Lavalle Township since his early youth. He was born in
that township on the farm where he still lives, and his own exertions
helped clear some of it from the woods.
Mr. Lucht was born June 11, 1875, and is a son of August and Wil-
helmina Lucht, who were arrivals in this county from Germany in 1872.
At that time they acquired the land now constituting the home of their
son Herman. The father and mother were residents of Sauk County for
nearly forty years, and the father died in 1911 and the mother in 1916.
They had only two sons Albert, and Herman. The former is still
unmarried.
Herman C. W. Lucht at an early age took his place as a worker on
the home estate, and finally acquired it and has done much to develop
the 198 acres under his ownership. He is a prosperous general farmer
and stock raiser. He is thoroughly convinced of the value of silage as a
means of economical feeding, and some years ago he built one of the best
silos in the township. He properly takes pride in his farm, much of
which represents his individual efforts at clearing the land and also the
erection of most of its buildings.
Mr. Lucht is a democrat in politics and is an active member of St.
Paul's Lutheran Church. He first married Bertha Zietlow, daughter of
William Zietlow of Juneau County, Wisconsin. His children by his
first wife are Ottilie, Wilhelmina, Franz, Christina, Arthur, Ella, Lydia,
Victor. These children are still young and none of them married. On
January 28, 1917, Mr. Lucht married Anna Prochnow, daughter of Julius
and Amelia Prochnow, and they have one child, Clara, born December
17, 1917.
Joseph Abbott Douglass, who is now living retired in the Village of
LaValle, was identified with farming operations in the township of
LaValle' during the major portion of his active career. He has ever been
on the alert to forward all measures and enterprises projected for the
good of the general welfare and he has served his community in various
official positions of trust and responsibility. He has been township
supervisor, was a member of the board of trustees of LaValle for a num-
ber of years and has also been village and township assessor.
A native of the fine old state of Rhode Island, Mr. Douglass was born
November 16, 1852. He is a son of Benjamin Crandall and Abbie A.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1081
(Salisbury) Douglass, the former of whom was born in Connecticut,
October 25, 1826, and the latter in Augusta, Maine, December 1, 1832^
Mr. Douglass was a volunteer in the Civil- War with the Twenty-ninth
Connecticut Regiment aacl served over a year, was wounded and mus-
tered out. Mr. and Mrs. Douglass were married in Providence, Rhode
Island, in 1847, and in 1867 they came to Wisconsin and settled on the
farm in Sauk County, now owned by their grandson, Frank Douglass.
This homestead originally consisted of eighty acres, which Mr. Douglass
cleared and improved with good buildings. In 1879 he removed to the
village of LaValle and thence settled in Wonewoe, in 1903.
He and his wife were residents of the latter place at the time of their
death; he died September 17, 1907, and she passed away May 8, 1905.
They celebrated their gold wedding in Wonewoe, in 1897. Following
are the names of their children: Henry (deceased)', Joseph Abbott,
Rose A. (deceased), and Harvey. In politics Mr. Douglass was a repub-
lican and he was chairman of the township board of trustees for a num-
ber of years. He affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
and was a Baptist in his religious devotion ; his wife was a member of the
Advent Christian Church.
Joseph Abbott Douglass, subject of this review, was born in Rhode
Island and kas fifteen years of age when he accompanied his parents to
Sauk County. He attended school in Connecticut until his twelfth year,
when he began to work in a cotton mill. After his arrival in Wisconsin
he attended school again for a time and then turned his attention to -the
great basis industry of agriculture. In 1882 he purchased his father's
farm, the acreage of which he kept increasing until he had 192 acres of
well cultivated and finely improved land. In addition to general farm-
ing he was a breeder of Jersey cattle. In 1905 he assisted in the organi-
zation of the LaValle Creamery Company, of which he was manager for
three years and in which he is still a stockholder. He has lived in retire-
ment in LaValle since 1904 but still retains interest in certain business
matters, being a stockholder in and secretary of the LaValle Telephone
Company. He sold the farm to his son Frank April 3, 1911. A repub-
lican in politics, he has been township treasurer and supervisor and for
several years past has served as village assessor.
May 7, 1876, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Douglass to Miss
Susan Burdick, whose birth occurred in Connecticut, November 23, 1857,
and who accompanied the Douglass family to Sauk County in 1867.
Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Douglass and concerning
them the following brief data are here incorporated : Clara May is the
wife of Jerry Jackson, of Spokane, Washington, the}^ have one child,
Delia May; Jane Gertrude married Deibert Marshall, of Clyman, Wis-
consin : they have two children, Harry and Floyd ; Benjamin Franklin
lives on the old Douglass homestead, which he purchased from his father
in 1911 : he married Nellie Jackson and they have two sons, Lorin and
Russell ; Joel is a farmer in Juneau County : he married Lulu Darrow
and they have four children, Jay, Lee, Benjamin and Nona; and Han-
nah is the wife of Frank Darrow: they have two children, Roy and Fern.
Otto Behn is an honest and conscientious farmer in La Valle Town-
ship, where he is the owner of an up-to-date farm of eighty acres, on
1082 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
which he has achieved marked success as a general farmer and stock
raiser. He was born on the parental estate in Reedsburg Township,
Sauk County, Wisconsin, March 17, 1882, and is a son of Carl and Caro-
line (Burmaster) Behn.
Reared to the life of a farmer on the old Behn estate. Otto Behn was
educated in the neighboring country schools and after reaching his
majority he worked for 0. P. Morrill for a period of seven years. In
1906 he bought a forty-acre tract of land, formerly owned by Fred Hin-
richs, and subsequently purchased an additional tract of forty acres
from the Jack Fisher farm. This land he has cultivated to a high degree
and improved with fine, modern buildings, erecting a new silo in 1917.
He breeds Holstein cattle and is engaged in general farming. In his
political attitude he maintains an independent position, voting for the
man rather than for party principles. His public service has been con-
fined to membership on the school board.
In November, 1906, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Behn to Miss
Bertha Hinrichs, a native of La Valle Township, where she was born
July 17, 1874. Mrs. Behn is a daughter of Fred and Elizabeth (Ringel-
man) Hinrichs and a sister of Fred A. Hinrichs. Mr. and Mrs. Behn
are devout members of the St. John's Lutheran Church, to whose good
works they are liberal contributors. They are popular with their neigh-
bors and are well known for their generous hospitality. They have no
children.
Harry P. Apker. There are few more intelligent and none more
important in a community than the modern, progressive farmer, and to
the credit of Sauk County it may be declared that few sections can show
more proof of this. The county is one of the soundest in the state, its
taxes are not burdensome when its improvements are taken into account,
and it is a profitable section in which to do business and has no equal
in advantages that add to comfortable living. A representative farmer
of the county who belongs to the enterprising class above indicated, is
Harry P. Apker, who is a representative of one of the old families of
the county and is the owner of one of the best improved properties in
La Valle Township.
Harry P. Apker was born in Woodland Township, Sauk County, Wis-
consin, July 10, 1861, and is a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Parker)
Apker. Henry Apker was born in 1825, near Williamsport, Pennsyl-
vania, and was a son of Peter and Charlotte (Meyer) Apker. They were
natives of Pennsylvania who came very early to Sauk County and settled
in Woodland Township as pioneers, living in their wagon until they
could build a log house in the wilderness. That took many days of stren-
uous labor and when completed was a residence which offers, in retro-
spect, a great contrast to the beautiful electrically lighted residence of
his grandson, Harry P. Apker. The grandparents lived and died on
their farm and were the parents of thirteen children, three of this large
family still surviving, as follows : Tunis ; Susan, who is the wife of John
Sanborn ; and Cassie, who is the wife of Charles Norton, of Brooklyn,
Wisconsin.
In 1852 Henry Apker went to Baraboo and worked in the Bassett
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1083
sawmills for a time and then followed farming in Woodland Township,
buying a farm that adjoined his father's land, but later sold it and came
to La Valle village. He worked in sawmills and in a carding mill and
was an experienced mill man. His death" occurred in 1897. At Baraboo,
Wisconsin, he was married to Elizabeth Parker, who had come to La Valle
from the East to teach school, her birth having taken place in 1836, in
Oneida County, New York, and she still resides at La Valle. They were
the parents of six children, namely : Everett Edward, who is a railroad
conductor and resides at Baraboo ; Mary, who is the wife of James Fitz-
gerald, of Sauk County; Harry P.; Fannie, who is the wife of D. E.
Wright, of Oneida County, New York ; Ina, who is the widow of Philip
Mihlbemer; and Clinton A., who died in 1914, for twenty years was chief
clerk in the Northwestern Railroad office at La Valle.
Harry P. Apker obtained his education in the village schools and
for several years afterward was baggage roaster at La Valle for the
Northwestern Railroad, and also v/orked as a freight brakeman for four
years. When he left the railroad he went to Iowa and bought a farm of
eighty acres and worked on the same for two years and then came back
to La Valle, after selling his western property, and in 1894 bought a
farm of 120 acres, forty acres of which lies within the corporation limits.
He has sold five lots to the village but has retained the rest of the land,
which is certain to become more valuable every year. Mr. Apker has
been very enterprising in putting his property in good condition. He
has put up handsome buildings and has both his residence and immense
barn, the dimensions of which are 32 by 57 feet, lighted by electricity.
All his surroundings indicate thrift and good management. In addition
to general farming he does some dairying, keeping fourteen cows, is a
breeder of high grade Holsteins and is a member of the Holstein Asso-
ciation.
Mr. Apker was married March 7, 1883, to Miss Anna Sands, who was
born in Ironton Township, Sauk County, March 7, 1862, and is a daugh-
ter of Charles H. and Elizabeth (Atkinson) Sands. Mr. Sands was born
in 1830, in New York, and Mrs. Sands in 1836, in Rhode Island. John
Atkinson, the maternal grandfather of Mrs. Apker, was one of the earliest
pioneers in Ironton Township. He became a well known man, a large
landowner and for many years kept the Buck horn tavern and his grand-
daughter has a piece of the old tavern sign, which she preserves as an
interesting family record, for this place of entertainment ' ' for man and
beast" is mentioned in early histories. He also kept a general store and
was a farmer of 160 acres of land. After the death of his wife he went
to Nebraska and died there.
The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Apker were Nathaniel and Jane
Sands, early pioneers from New York to Dane County, Wisconsin, Avhere
both died. Charles S. Sands, father of Mrs. Apker, settled on what was
known as the Ners Stowe farm but later sold it, having been the original
owner and sold it to Stowe. Later he bought the Atkinson farm of 160
acres but later sold it and subsequentl}'- went to Iowa and there he died in
1890. The mother of Mrs. Apker died February 15, 1872. Mr. Sands
served in the Civil War from 1865 to its close and through his enlist-
ment into 1866. He was a man of political prominence and served in
numerous important offices, was township trustee for several years and
1084 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
also supervisor, and from 1863 to 1864 was chairman of the board and
again held that position in 1880. Mrs, Apker was the fifth born in her
parents' family of eight children: Jane, George, Orin, Flora, Anna,
Charles, William and Arvin.
Mr. and Mrs. Apker have three children, namely : Verne, Gladys
and Merrill. The elder son is an electrical engineer. He was born
August 9, 1886, attended the grade and high schools at La Valle and
took an electrical course at Kansas City. He married Elsa Rist. The
only daughter, Gladys, was born May 5, 1894, at La Valle, attended the
public schools here and was graduated from the Baraboo High School in
1912. She is a graduated and registered nurse and has made pathology
a special object of study and is a graduate in that science. Already, she
has found her life busy and useful and at the time this is written (1917)
she is attached to the Memorial Methodist Hospital, at Mattoon, Illinois,
her duties including the examination of young men for service in the
World War. Merrill, the younger son, was born November 22, 1897,
and attended the public schools at La Valle and will be graduated from
the high school at Reedsburg, in the class of 1918. In politics Mr. Apker
is a republican and has always been a loyal party man but has never
been willing to accept preferment for himself. Fraternally he is identi-
fied with the Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America and the
Woodmen of the World. The entire family and its connections merit
the high regard in which they are held.
Alfred Beuchat. One of the widely known, highly respected and
substantial citizens of Sauk County is Alfred Beuchat, who was born in
Ironton Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin, November 17, 1864. His
parents were August and Mary Beuchat.
The Beuchats came to Sauk County in 1856. They were natives of
Switzerland, where the father was born in 1828 and the mother in 1832.
The mother's people had settled in Massachusetts, and after August
Beuchat bought eighty acres of land in Ironton Township as a founda-
tion for a home, he went to Massachusetts and was married there and
brought his wife back with him to the pioneer farm. The building of a
log house followed and his original eighty acres, together with another
eighty acres were cleared through Mr. Beuchat 's industry, and "here both
he and wife spent the rest of their lives. August Beuchat had other
interests, however, during his useful life. In his own land he had been
a charcoal burner and was engaged in a similar way in Massachusetts
for a time and subsequently was in the employ of the furnace company
at Ironton as a capable and experienced man in this line. He served as
a soldier during the latter part of the Civil War, as a member of the
Fifty-first Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. In politics he was a repub-
lican but was a quiet, sensible man who voted with this party because he
believed in its principles and not because he desired public office. He
died in 1895 and his wife in 1881. They were members of the Catholic
Church. They had the following children: Henry, Alfred, George,
William, Julius, Alice and Joseph, the last two dying in infancy.
Alfred Beuchat grew up on the home farm and gave his father assist-
ance for many years. Later he bought the homestead of 160 acres and
later sold it to advantage, after which he bought the farm he now owns.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1085
an exceedingly valuable property comprising 165 acres, five and a half
acres lying within the corporate limits of La Valle, and on this finely
improved tract stands his residence. Mr. Beuchat has carried on his
agricultural activities with remarkable success, being one of the leading
breeders in the county of pure bred Percheron horses and Jersey cattle.
He has taken a great deal' of interest in improving the standard of live
stock in the county.
Mr. Beuchat was married December 25, 1895, to Miss Annie Tordoff,
who was bom in La Valle Township, Sauk County, a daughter of John
and Fannie (Tetlow) Tordoff'. Mr. Tordoff came to Columbia County,
Wisconsin, in 1848, and in the same year was married to Emma Thorn-
ton, who was a daughter of Reuben Thornton. Four sons were born to
that marriage, namely : Edmund, Samuel, Squire and John. After the
death of his first wife, Mr. Tordoff married Fannie Tetlow and five chil-
dren were born to the second marriage, namely : Annie, Ledger, Harry,
Thomas and Herman. Mr. Tordoff was born in England in 1831 and
died in 1903. The mother of Mrs. Beuchat survives.
To Mr. and Mrs. Beuchat three children have been born, as follows :
Vera M., Max H. and Kathryn. The eldest daughter. Miss Vera, was
born November 4, 1896. She was liberally educated, attending the La
Valle public schools and the Reedsburg High, and was graduated from
the Reedsburg Normal Training School, since when she has followed the
profession of teacher. Max H., the only son, was born. January 24,
1898, and was graduated from the La Valle High School and the Lane
Technical School, Chicago, and is a student in the Armour Institute,
preparing for the profession of electrical engineer. The youngest daugh-
ter, a schoolgirl of seven years, was born January 30, 1910.
In politics Mr. Beuchat maintains an independent attitude but his
good citizenship has never been questioned. He is held in very high
regard in La Valle village and township and has served with great satis-
faction to all concerned as village trustee and as president of the village.
He is a pronounced temperance man, a prohibitionist, and takes much
comfort in the probable abolition of intoxicants that the people of the
United States have learned to look upon as one of the great achievements
of the twentieth century. Men of the high personal standing of Mr.
Beuchat have had much to do in influencing public opinion in this
direction.
Charles E. Decot. No condition more strongly emphasizes the
remarkable changes which have taken place in Sauk County since the
pioneers began taking up land here, than the fact that only thirty-five
years ago many of the farmers settled on land which was still covered
with heavy timber and were compelled to clear a space to build their
first rude habitation of logs, and that without exception these properties
are now well cultivated and productive farms, with modem buildings
and splendid equipment. The Decot family has been closely identified
with the agricultural interests and development of Sauk County since
1880, and its members have spanned the distance between wooded land
and fertile fields and log cabins and modern residences. One of its
representatives who belongs to the later generation is Charles E. Decot,
the owner of a fine property in La Valle Township.
1086 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Mr. Decot was born in Germany, April 23, 1875, and is a soil of
Eugene and Mary (Gasser) Decot, natives of France, the former born
in 1853 and the latter in 1851. In 1888 the family came to the United
States and located in La Valle, and about three years later the father
purchased a farm in the township of the same name. His first tract,
consisting of forty-three acres, was all in the woods, and before he could
build his log home he was forced to make a small clearing, and when he
made his second purchase, of eighty acres, the land was also largely tim-
bered. Mr. Decot succeeded in developing a good farm and in later years
he and his wife have enjoyed the comforts of a modern home and up-to-
date conveniences. In 1911 he sold his eighty-acre farm to his son,
Charles E., although he still owns the original forty-three-acre tract,
which is being operated by his son Frank. Mr. Decot and his wife are
now living in retirement and are among the highly esteemed people of
their community. Politically he is a republican, and he and his wife
are members of the Catholic Church. Their children have been as fol-
lows: Charles E., of this notice; Theodore, a resident of Sauk City;
Edward, of La Valle ; Victor, of the township of that name ; Mary, who
died in 1917, aged thirty-three years; and Frank, who operates the
home farm.
Charles E. Decot was thirteen years old when he came with his parents
to the United States, and his education was secured in Nitting, Germany,
and the Oak Hill public school. He was reared as a farmer, and in 1911
started operations independently when he purchased the eighty-acre
farm of his father, where he has since carried on general farming and
stock-raising. He has made a number of improvements on his land, and,
using modern methods and improved machinerj^, is achieving success
in his chosen vocation. He supports the republican party at elections,
and belongs to the Catholic Church. His many acquaintances have entire
confidence in his integrity and the number of his friends testifies to his
general popularity.
Mr. Decot was married in March, 1905, to Miss Josephine Romies,
who was born in Bear Creek Township, Sauk County, daughter of Joseph
and Frances Mary Romies, early settlers of Sauk county, the former now
deceased and the latter still living here. There were six children in the
Romies family: Barbara, Sophie, Casper, Josephine, Frances and
Frank. Mr. and Mrs. Decot have six children : Charley, born Septem-
ber 13, 1906 ; Margaret, born in 1909 ; Frank, in 1911 ; John, in 1912 ;
Frances, in 1914 ; and Theodore, born in 1915.
Herman Lucht, of La Valle Township, is in a position to appreciate
his own prosperity and the wonderful development that has occurred in
Sauk County during the past half century. He was at one time a laborer
himself in clearing away the woods and making the resources of the
county available for settled agriculture, and though in those days he
had much to contend with he has never regretted the choice which brought
him away from his native Fatherland to this region of Wisconsin.
Mr. Lucht was born in Germany January 18, 1850, a son of John and
Anna Mary (Kaeting) Lucht. His mother died in Germany in 1871 at
the age of sixty-three. The father, in 1872, after the death of his wife,
came to Sauk County to .join his children and died here in 1881 at the
age of seventy-two.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1087
Herman Lucht grew up in his native country, was given the usual
education of a German youth, and in 1868 at the age of eighteen crossed
the ocean and came to Milwaukee. In the course of the same year he
arrived at Reedsburg and on the 12th of December, 1872, moved to the
farm that he now owns. It could hardly have been described as a
farm when he Avent there. In a few weeks a log cabin had been erected
for his shelter. Then with the energy inspired by an ambition to conquer
a home for himself he went to work clearing up and removing the stumps
and putting the ground in cultivation, and the fine farm which he now
owns is in the nature of a response to his industry and persistent efforts.
He has done much to improve the land with good buildings, and has one
of the fine barns of the township, 34 by 54 feet with 18-foot posts. He
has for many years carried on general farming and stock-raising. His
first purchase was eighty acres of land, and as his means justified it he
bought another forty and then still another forty, so that his present
farm comprises a complete quarter section.
Mr. Lucht is a member of the Lutheran Church and in politics a
democrat. He has served on the school board and for several years past
has been a side-supervisor.
In 1872, the year he occupied his present farm, he married Miss
Albertina Roloff. She also is a native of Germany and came to Sauk
County before her marriage. They were married in Milwaukee and their
lives have been lived side by side now for forty-five years. One son was
born to them, William, whose birth occurred in 1873. William was
educated in the local public schools and as a practical and progressive
farmer now handles the estate of his father. William married Lizzie
Falk. Four children were born to their union, but three died in infancy.
Peter, who was born August 14, 1898, is the only grandchild of Mr.
and Mrs. Lucht.
Thomas Rudolph Litz is a native son of Sauk Cqunty and has spent
nearly all his industrious and active j^ears on the farm in La Valle Town-
ship where he first saw the light of day. Mr. Litz was born April 13,
1862, a son of Sylvester and Catherine (Boyle) Litz. The father was
born in Pennsylvania in 1828. In Pennsylvania he married for his first
wife in 1849 Miss Louisa Gardner, and the young couple soon journeyed
west and settled in Dane County, Wisconsin, v/hen all that section of
the country was a wilderness. His first wife died in Dane County, Wis-
consin, and he afterwards married in Sauk County Miss Catherine Boyle,
a native of County Mayo, Ireland. Sylvester Litz was one of the pioneers
of La Valle Township, and located there in the midst of the woods before
there was any town of Reedsburg and when it was necessary to go to
Baraboo for all groceries and other supplies. He used ox teams in the
ploM^ng and breaking up of his land and also for the transport of
products to market. He secured and developed a farm of 120 acres, but
before his death sold forty acres, leaving the homestead eighty acres in
extent. The father died there in 1900 and his wife is also deceased. He
was a democrat in politics and a member of the Catholic Church. The
children are : Mary Jane, Sarah Ann, Thomas R., Sylvester, Catherine
and U. Simon.
Thomas R. Litz grew up on the old farm, attended the local schools,
and a number of years ago he bought 100 acres of land which by his
1088 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
own efforts became productive and a valuable farm. Still later he bought
the homestead of eighty acres and has done much to increase its value
and facilities beyond the point at which his father left it. He has
erected good buildings, including a most substantial barn erected in 1902.
Mr, Litz is an ambitious farmer and one of the live stockmen of the
county. He keeps good grades of Holstein and Jersey cows for his
dairy, usually milking about twenty-five head. He also has six or eight
horses to furnish power on the farm.
In matters of politics Mr. Litz is independent and has never aspired
to any office. The schoolhouse attended by his children is located on land
that was formerly a part of his farm. He and his family are active
members of the Catholic Church. It may be recalled that his father was
at one time a factor in the hog-raising industry which was so important
a feature of Sauk County agriculture in the early days.
In 1894 Mr. Litz married Catherine Conner, who was born in La Valle
Township in 1865. Her pa.rents were among the early settlers of this
county and both are now deceased. Mrs. Litz, after fifteen years of mar-
ried companionship, passed away in 1909. She was the mother of these
children: Theresa May, wife of Henry Wright, of Beloit, Wisconsin;
John T. ; Elizabeth Catherine ; Mary Ruth and Thomas R., twins ; Hattie ;
and James Edward.
John GtALLAgher. In recalling the early settlers of Sa^iik County,
James Gallagher, one of the earliest landowners in Dellona Township,
comes to mind. He was the paternal grandfather of John Gallagher,
who is one of the representative citizens and substantial agriculturists
of La Valle Township, Sauk County. For many years he has been a
public offieial, serving ably and honestly and few men in this section
are better or more favorably known.
John Gallagher was born in Winfield Township, Sauk County, Wis-
consin, July 31, 1863. His parents were Owen and Margaret (Casey)
Gallagher, both natives of Ireland. The paternal grandparents, James
and Kate Gallagher, came to the United States and landed in 1848 in
the city of New Orleans. There James Gallagher was employed in the
construction of the great levees that reach across the water front. From
there Mr. Gallagher and his family came up the Mississippi river and
finally landed in Sauk County, Wisconsin, where he secured a govern-
ment land claim of 160 acres, situated in Dellona Township. They had
many pioneer hardships to face but they were sturdy, resourceful peo-
ple, well fitted to blaze the way for later civilization.
The maternal grandparents of John Gallagher were among the
pioneers of the '50s in Dellona Township, Sauk County. Their names
were John and Mary Casey, both natives of Ireland. They later removed
from Dellona to AVinfield Township and still later to Dane County and
there both died. In Winfield Township John Casey had a farm of 160
acres and acquired eighty acres in Dane County.
Owen Gallagher accompanied his parents to the United States and
to Sauk County, Wisconsin, and he spent the remainder of his life in
this county, devoting himself to agricultural pursuits exclusively. In
1862 he bought the farm now owned by his son, John Gallagher, and he
moved on the place in 1864 and from then to the close of his busy life
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1089
he continued clearing work on his property and making improvements.
He died here, October 23, 1905, and his widow on March 21, 1910, both
aged sixty-eight years. They had the following children : John, James,
Mary, Maggie, Katie and Annie.
John Gallagher has spent his life in Sauk County. From boyhood
he has been accustomed to the industries carried on on a farm and on
his 102 acres these are conducted along modem lines and according to
good judgment and prove very profitable. Mr. Gallagher raises a con-
siderable amount of stock but only first class breeds and his herd of
Shorthorn cattle and his many head of Poland China hogs give proof
of the wisdom of his decision. He frequently attends meetings of farm-
ers where different methods are discussed and belongs to that intelligent
class that believes in progress and enterprise on the farm as well as in
other directions.
Mr. Gallagher was married in 1899 to Miss Cecelia Gahagan, who
was born in Winfield Township, Sauk County, July 21, 1869, and is a
daughter of Cornelius and Mary Gahagan, who in 1863 bought a farm
of forty acres in Winfield Township, from a Mr. Belong, making their
farm eighty acres. This farm remained the Gahagan homestead and was
subsequently well improved, and here both parents of Mrs. Gallagher
died, the father in 1878 and the mother in 1902. They had the following
children : Mary, who is the wife of Joseph Corbin, of Warren, Pennsyl-
vania; Nellie, who is the wife of John F, O'Brien, of Reedsburg; Cor-
nelius, who is in business at Reedsburg; Michael, who is engaged at
Milwaukee; Cecelia, who married John Gallagher; and John, who lives
at Milton Junction, in Rock County, Wisconsin.
Mr. and Mrs. Gallagher have five children : John, who was born- Feb-
ruary 3, 1901 ; Cecelia, who was born December 1, 1905 ; Philip, who was
born August 17, 1907 ; Owen, who was born October 17, 1908 ; and
Eugene, who was born March 12, 1911.
In his political views Mr, Gallagher has always been affiliated with
men in whom he has reposed confidence and casts his vote with the repub-
lican party. Personally he has long been regarded as a man of financial
soundness as well as unwavering integrity and his fellow citizens have
called him to positions of trust and responsibility. The office of super-
visor is one that requires great good judgment and this office Mr. Gal-
lagher had filled continuously for thirteen years and for five of these
has been chairman of the board. He is a liberal supporter of the public
schools and of religious bodies.
Julius Schulz is a resident of La Valle Township, where he is the
owner of a finely improved farm of eighty acres, on which he has resided
since 1900. A self-made man, Mr. Schulz has progressed steadily toward
the goal of success until he is now recognized as one of the substantial
farmers of the vicinity of Reedsburg, where he is known as a loyal and
public-spirited citizen.
August 19, 1866, occurred the birth of Julius Schulz and his native
heath is Germany. He is a son of Carl and Hannah (Semson) Schulz,
who brought their family to America from the old Fatherland in 1870
and settled in Sauk County, Wisconsin. The father purchased a farm
of 160 acres in Reedsburg Township and there reared to maturity a fam-
1090 HISTOEY OF SAUK COUNTY
ily of four children, concerning whom the following brief data are here
incorporated: Julius is the subject of this sketch; Louis; Carl is now
deceased ; and Lizzie is the wife of August Mayer, of Reedsburg Town-
ship. Mr. Schulz was a demoerat in politics and he and his wife were
devout members of the Lutheran Church. He passed to eternal rest in
the year 1911 and the mother died in 1899.
Julius Schulz was but four years of age when he accompanied his
parents to the United States and he was reared to maturity under the
sturdy discipline of the old homestead in Eeedsburg Township. He
received a good common-school education in the country schools and for
a number of years after reaching maturity he worked as a farm hand.
In 1900 he bought a fine farm of eighty acres in La Valle Township and
here he is most successfully engaged in general farming and stock-
raising. He was reared in the faith of the Lutheran Church and in
politics is a loyal supporter of the principles set forth in the democratic
party. While never desirous of holding public office, Mr. Schulz does
all in his power to advance the general welfare of his community and
he is held in high esteem by his fellow citizens.
In 1898 Mr. Schulz was united in marriage to Miss Lena Bramer,
who was bom in Reedsburg, in 1880, and who is a daughter of Henry
and Lena Bramer. Mr. Bramer was a farmer in Reedsburg Township
during practically the entire period of his active career and he died in
1917, aged seventy-four years. Mrs. Bramer, who survives her honored
husband, is now a resident of the old home farm. To Mr. and Mrs.
Schulz were born the following children : Alvena, Esther, Emil, Bern-
hard, Edna, Harold, and Arnold.
Francis Marion Groat. Many of the old landmarks and the old
names of Sauk County have disappeared in the passage of sixty-eight
years, but the name of Groat has survived this long lapse of time and the
Groat homestead has remained in the family for almost as long. Francis
Marion Groat, for many years an extensive farmer and stock-raiser in
La Valle Township, but now living retired in his beautiful home at
Whittier, in Los Angeles County, California, was born in Broom County,
New York, November 25, 1847. His parents were Frederick J. and
Clarissa (Spurr) Groat, and the paternal grandparents were Frederick
and Cornelia (Spoor) Groat. The grandfather died in New York in
1822, leaving an infant son, Frederick (who was born July 13, 1822) and
other children. He grew to manhood there and was a farmer in Broom
County. He married Clarissa (Spurr) Groat, the widow of his brother
William Henry Groat. She was born in New York in 1819 and to her
first marriage one son was born, William Henry Groat, who was a member
of Compiany A, Sixth Wisconsin Infantry for eighteen months and later
of the Thirty-fifth Wisconsin Infantry. He died in the service at Vicks-
burg, Mississippi. To the second marriage six children were born,
namely: Francis Marion; Cornelia, deceased; Esther; Mary; Ella; and
Angeline, deceased.
In 1848 the Groat family decided to remove to Wisconsin and made
their preparations so that they reached Dodge County in that year. The
members of the party were Frederick Groat and wife and children,
including William Henry Groat, and the grandmother, Mrs. Cornelia
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1091
<
(Spoor) Groat. They were people of some means and had brought with
them from the old home sufiQcient household possessions to make them
comfortable even in a wilderness and a year, passed by before Frederick
Groat became convinced /that Sauk County presented more substantial
attractions for a permanent home and the family came to a farm near
Reedsburg. In 1850 Mr. Groat secured by a land warrant 160 acres,
situated in Ironton Township. The land was yet uncleared but appar-
ently our pioneer forefathers knew no such word as discouragement, and
clearing was immediately begun and carried on until a farm of 120
acres was under cultivation. That farm was the Groat home till the
death of the wife and mother in November, 1888, when it passed into other
hands. The father later married Mrs. Julia Greaves, who faithfully
ministered to his needs for the rest of his long life, five years of which
were passed in the darkness of the blind.
Frederick Groat was one of the valuable pioneers and influential
men of his day. In politics he was a Republican and a loyal defender of
his country from disunion in the Civil War, in which he served three
years and eleven months as a member of Company B, Twelfth Wisconsin
Volunteer Infantry. For some years he served in Sauk County in the
office of justice of the peace. He was reared a Wesleyan Methodist but
later was an ordained minister of the Adventist religious body.
Francis Marion Groat attended the district schools in boyhood and
later took courses in Ripon College and at Madison, and then went into
educational work and taught school for twenty years, during eleven of
these teaching at La Valle, and all over the county may be found men
and women active and useful in their various stations, who recall Mr.
Groat with sentiments of high regard because of his helpful influence in
their student days.
In 1885 Mr. Groat purchased a farm of 160 acres in La Valle Town-
ship and spared no expense to substantially improve it. He built the
first silo in this township and during his active life on the farm, investi-
gated and accepted other methods of feeding along modern lines and
scientific reforms in general. For twenty years he was a breeder of
Poland China hogs. In 1912 he sold his farm to his son, Frank Groat,
and since then has not been a permanent resident of Sauk County. The
family spent three winters in Florida and two in California before choos-
ing California for a permanent home.
In politics Mr. Groat was reared a Republican and continued as such
until the Progressive party became a factor in public affairs, when he
united with that organization, believing in the truth of its principles
and sincerity of its leaders. He has served his fellow citizens in numer-
ous capacities in the township, chairman of the board of supervisors and
township treasurer and was township clerk of Ironton for some years.
He has ahvays been an advocate of good schools and of good roads and
has tried to encourage those things which assist good government, good
feeling and neighborly interest and social comfort and contentment.
He remembers with some satisfaction, that he was well enough thought
of to be allowed to teach the children of his neighbors for eighteen years
in three schools within two and a half miles of his old home ; that he
clianged an old run-down farm to one of the most productive in the com-
1092 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
munity and that he helped develop co-operation among the farmers of the
community.
Mr. Groat was married September 22, 1878, to Miss Jennie Butman,
who was born in Richland County, Wisconsin, January 12, 1856, and died
August 18, 1896. She was a daughter of Volney and Lucretia (Benja-
min) Butman, who spent much of their lives in Ironton. Mr. Butman
was a molder by trade and was the boss in a furnace at Ironton. Later
he went into the bee business at La Valle and still later went to Whittier,
California, and died there in 1912 at the age of eighty-two years. Mrs.
Butman died in 1915, aged eighty-four years.
Mr. Croat in 1898 married Miss Jane Tordoff, who died April 26,
1917, in Whittier, California, at the age of fifty-six years and was buried
in Ironton, Wisconsin. She was a daughter of Edmund and Harriet
Tordoff, English-born pioneers. The children born to Mr. Groat's first
marriage were : William Henry, who was born in 1880 and died in 1898
from an accidental gun-shot wound by the hand of a neighbor boy.
Francis Marion, who was born in 1882 ; Mary, who was born in 1884, and
became the wife of Thomas Tibbitt of Chippewa Falls. Mr. and Mrs. Tib-
bitt have two children, Eleanor and Nellie, made fatherless by the drown-
ing of their father with two other fathers of young families October 14,
1917. Two children were born to Mr. Groat's second marriage, namely:
Edmund Tordoff, who was born February 2, 1900, and is a graduate
of the high school at Whittier, California ; and Frederick Jeremiah, who
was horn February 26, 1902, and is a high school student in the third
year.
Francis Marion Groat, Jr., his father's namesake and successor on the
farm, was educated in the public schools and is one of Sauk County's
enterprising agriculturists who has- conducted his activities with excellent
results. In 1912 he bought his father's farm of 160 acres and has con-
tinued the industries and undertakings that have made this farm for
many years noted for its products. His herd of dairy cows are good
producers, and his returns from them make him the heaviest patron of
the local co-operative creamery. Mr. Groat married Miss Alma Cors-
eadden, who was born in La Valle Township, Sauk County, and they have
one son, William Henry.
John Mears for more than a generation has represented much of the
solid business enterprise and substantial citizenship of Bear Creek
Township.
He was born in Canada in October, 1852, but when he was three
years of age, in 1855, his parents, Andrew and Margaret (Howard)
Mears, came to the United States and settled on eighty acres of land in
Franklin Township of Sauk County. To the clearing and developing of
this land his father gave the best of his subsequent years. Both parents
are now deceased. Their children were: John, Mary (now deceased),
Martin, Nellie, Michael, James, Johanna, Margaret (deceased) and
Andrew.
John Mears was reared and educated in Sauk County, attended the
public schools, and in 1880 he located on the farm of 3 60 acres which
he still owns and manages as a general farming and stock-raising enter-
prise. Besides farming he has also long been active as a builder and
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1093
contractor. A capable man in the management of his own affairs, Mr.
Mears has again and again been sought for public duty, and is now and
for a number of years has been chairman of the town board and has
also filled various school offices. He is a democrat in politics and a mem-
ber of the Catholic Church.
November 25, 1880, he married Miss Helen Farrell, daughter of Pat-
rick and Julia (Harrington) Farrell, of Bear Creek Township. Mr. and
Mrs. Mears have five children: James, who married Molly Purcell;
Thomas, who married Stella Mears ; Mary, wife of M. T. Drea ; Margaret,
unmarried; and William, who married Clara Fargen. The daughter
Mary has six children, named: Willie, Catherine^ Margaret, Joseph,
Jane and Lawrence. William and wife have two children : Henry and
Julia, twins, born in 1917.
Charles Pearson. One of the oldest families in Sauk County bears
the name of Pearson and members of this family still own the land that
their grandparents secured almost seventy years ago. A worthy repre-
sentative of this sturdy old pioneering family is found in Charles Pear-
son, one of the substantial and prominent citizens of Ironton Township,
who has been an extensive breeder of Shorthorn cattle and Percheron
horses for some years.
Charles Pearson was born on his father's farm in Ironton Township,
Sauk County, Wisconsin, May 2, 1867. His parents were Charles and
Martha (Harrison) Pearson, natives of England and born in 1834 and
1832, respectively. The father came to Sauk County, Wisconsin, in
1848, with his parents, Manlius and Amy (Rowe) Pearson. They located
in what is now La Valle Township, and their farm of 160 acres is still in
the family. Their youngest child, Mary Ann, was the first white child
born in the township. Their other children were: Charles; Isaac, who
died in 1894; Thomas; Christopher Columbus, who lives at Whittier,
California; and Martha.
Charles Pearson, the elder, was fourteen years of age when his
parents settled in Sauk County and here he spent his after life. He was
a general farmer and raised stock for his own use, carrying on his agri-
cultural industries on 160 acres that he purchased in Ironton Township.
When he took possession of this land it was wild and uncleared and he,
like other pioneers had to go through the laborious task of clearing it, a
work of magnitude when it is remembered the lack of tools and machin-
ery that at the present day are put to use in like circumstances. It
speaks well for the courage and perseverance of our ancestors that they
were not disheartened in those early days. Mr. Pearson not only cleared
his land but improved it and gained a competency through his industry,
making it possible to retire when age came upon him and his death
occurred after he had removed to Ironton. His widow survives and
makes her home with her children. She is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, as was Mr. Pearson. They had a family of eight
children, namely: Eleaser; Azilla, who is the wife of William Rabuck,
of Reedsburg ; Jacob, who lives in Ironton Township ; Sarah, who is the
wife of Harry Thornton, of La Valle ; Salina, who is the wife of George
Stowe, of Reedsburg ; Charles ; Ida, who is the wife of Daniel Williams,
of Glasgow, Montana; and Mina, who is the wife of Doctor Booher, of
Richland Center, Wisconsin.
1094 HISTOEY OF SAUK COUNTY
Charles Pearson was reared on the home farm and obtained his edu-
cation in the public schools of Ironton. Afterward he worked for five
years in a gristmill at La Yalle and thoroughly learned the business
under Harry Thornton, but for some time has devoted all his attention,
to farm pursuits. He owns the old homestead in Ironton Township to
which he has added forty acres, and in 1915 he bought a farm of eighty
acres in La Yalle Tov/nship, on which he resides, and additionally he
owns 150 acres in Ironton Township that he secured from Frank Byrne.
For some years past Mr, Pearson has given close attention to raising
fine horses and cattle and has been very successful.
Mr. Pearson was married September 23, 1891, to Miss Emeline L.
Tordpff, who was born November 8, 1864, at La Yalle, Wisconsin, and
is a daughter of Edmund and Harriet (Pickles) Tordoff. The father
was born in England in 1827 and the mother, in 1828 and they were
married in England. They came to Sauk County, Wisconsin, in 1858,
and bought 160 acres in La Yalle Township and lived on that farm. The
mother of Mrs. Pearson died in 1889 and the father died at La Yalle in
March, 1911. By trade he was a carpenter and put his knowledge to
good account in erecting his own buildings. In politics he was a repub-
lican and stood well with his party and fellow citizens, as was evidenced
by his being elected'to the responsible office of township treasurer. Both
he and wife belonged to the Unitarian Church. They had the following
children: Jane Elizabeth, Mary Ann, Emeline Ledger, Hattie Olive,
and Charles Colfax, Jane and Hattie being deceased. When the parents
of Mrs. Pearson came to Sauk County, the grandmother, Mrs. Elizabeth
TordofP, accompanied them and she died here in 1865.
Mr. and Mrs. Pearson have four children : Harriet Ruby, Louie Tor-
doff, Cecil Lee and Charles Edmund, all of whom reside at home. Louie
Tordoff, the eldest son, married Miss Marie Thomas, who is a daughter of
Charles Thomas of Ironton Township.
In politics Mr. Pearson is a republican, as was his father, and he is
quite active in township affairs, for some years being chairman of the
township board and at present is treasurer of Ironton Township and a
member of the township school board. In many ways he has been one
of the useful and most enterprising citizens, always being ready to
encourage movements that, in his judgment, will be of general benefit.
He was one of the promoters of the Little Baraboo Yalley Agricultural
Society that existed for eighteen years and was very helpful to this whole
section during that time, and served as secretary of the association. For
many years he has been an Odd Fellow and belongs to the lodge at
Ironton.
Thomas J. Holton, a retired farmer of Dellona Township, has lived
in several of the great states of the Union and throughout the greater
part of his career, covering three-quarters of a century, has been a prac-
tical and progressive farmer.
Mr. Holton was born in Ohio in February, 1842, son of William H.
and Mandy (Combs) Holton. His father died in 1875 and his mother
in 1902. Their children were: Simon S., who married Electa Hall;
Thomas J.; William Wallace, who man-ied Cordelia Gardner; Heil M.,
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1095
who married Helen Cracker ; Dexter B. ; and Hattie, who married John
Habuck.
Thomas J. Holton married, January 1, 1866, Susan Luce, daughter
of L. Luce, of Minnesota. To their marriage were bom two children:
William, born in January, 1868; and Clarence, bom October 27, 1872.
Mr. Holton was formerly a successful farmer in Minnesota and owned
considerable land there, but has disposed of that and is now retired.
Politically he is a republican,
William Lucht. Among the names that have been longest identi-
fied with the clearing of the wilderness and the successful cultivation
of the soil and the management of its resources that of Lucht is promi-
nent. Mr. William Lucht is a native son of Sauk County, grew up here,
and for years has maintained an enviable position as a successful farmer
and citizen in La Valle Township.
His birth occurred in Reedsburg Township in 1868. His parents
John and Minnie (Stelter) Lucht came to this county from Germany
and were pioneers. The Lucht family has lived in La Valle Township
since 1872. William was the younger of two sons, his older brother being
Herman.
William Lucht grew up in La Valle Township, had the advantages
of the local schools and since attaining manhood has applied himself
steadily and progressively to the business of farming. On September
28, 1888, he married Augusta Radtke, daughter of William and Hannah
Radtke of Sauk County. Four children were born to their marriage:
John, now deceased; Hannah; Mary; and August. The daughter Han-
nah married August Sefkar, who died quite recently. Mary is the wife
of Albert Roloff. The son August married Elsie Pfaff September 14,
1917, and is numbered among the progressive young farmers of the
county and is now serving as school clerk for the district.
Many years ago Mr. William Lucht acquired the 102 acres constitut-
ing his present farm, and much of the clearing was done by his strong
right arm. He has placed many good improvements on the farm and
it is now well adapted to the iDUsiness of general farming and stock
raising. He breeds some Holstein cattle and his place shows the fruit
of good management. Mr. Lucht and family are active Lutherans and
for years he has held some church office. In matters of politics he is
independent.
Carl Radtke has been numbered among the progressive farmers of
La Valle Township for the past thirty years, and the fruits of his in-
dustry are represented in a well cultivated farm and those influences
that emanate from a family of public spirit and of kindly neighbor-
liness.
Mr. Radtke is a native of Germany, born November 7, 1869, a son
of William and Hannah Radtke. When he was twelve years of age
in 1881 his parents came to America and settled in La Valle Township
of Sauk County. They brought little capital with them from Germany,
and for several years rented a farm. In 1885 the father located on
land that is now owned by his son Carl, and cleared up much of it and
Vol. II 3 4
1096 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
put it in cultivation for the first time. The father lived an industrious
and honorable career until his death June 2, 1910, at the age of seventy-
three. His wife passed away on November 1st of the same year at the
age of sixty-eight. They had the following children: Augusta, wife
of William Lucht, of a well known La Valle Township family; Carl;
Bertha, wife of William Krueger; William, deceased; and Albert, a
resident of La Valle Township.
The education of Carl Radtke was begun in Germany but from the
age of twelve he attended the public schools of Sauk County. He learned
farming by practical experience when a youth and a number of years
ago he bought seventy acres adjoining the old homestead. His pros-
perity finally enabled him to acquire the fifty acres of the home farm,
and on that place he still resides and has 120 acres devoted to general
farming and stock raising. He has done much to improve the value
of his land. Politically Mr. Radtke is a democrat but independent in
local affairs.
In 1898 he married Miss Maria Ripke, who was born in Woodland
Township in 1878, a daughter of Judson and Dora (Bearman) Ripke.
Her parents lived for a number of years in Woodland Township but
are now residents of Wonewoc, Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Radtke have
six children, all living, and constituting a lively household. Their names
are Paul, Herman, Elma, Walter, Carl and Regina.
George Borchers. For thirty-three years the name of Borchers has
been held in esteem in Sauk County because of the dependable men
who have honorably borne it. It was in 1884 that Herman Borchers,
one of La Valle 's most respected retired citizens, came to this section
of Wisconsin, married here and reared a family and long since gained
financial independence.
George Borchers, the youngest son of Herman and Marie (Bearman)
Borchers, is one of the enterprising and successful farmers and stock-
raisers of La Valle Township. He was born in the City of Chicago,
Illinois, October 25, 1891. Both parents were born in Germany, the
father on July 11, 1859, and the mother on February 21, 1863. They
came as young people to Sauk County and were married here and had
the following children, namely : Hedwig, who was born March 17, 1885,
was educated in Chicago for the profession of trained nursing; Hugo,
who was born October 6, 1886, attended the public schools of La Valle
Township and also of Chicago, and is now an employe of the Foley
Nursery Company of Baraboo, Wisconsin, and married Edna Jacobansen.
Herman Borchers was twenty-five years old when he came to Sauk
County. He had little capital at that time except health and the deter-
mination to get on in life that so often is the great factor in making
progress. He was married soon after coming here and for five years
worked in different kinds of business, both in Sauk County and in
Chicago, Illinois. In 1900 he purchased a farm of eighty acres, the one
on which he yet lives, situated in La Valle Township. The buildings on
the place were in poor condition but this he soon remedied by remodeling
and later erecting a fine new barn. Sheds and a garage have since been
built. He has been a general farmer, has engaged to some extent in
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1097
dairying and has raised a good grade of stock. Mr. Borchers and his
family are members of the Lutheran Church. He has never taken any
very active part in politics but in local m'atters his neighbors have al-
ways been sure of his co-operating in affairs of general importance.
George Borchers obtained his education in the township schools and
the La Valle High School. He has always lived at home and from the
age of fourteen years has given his father's agricultural industries close
attention and since taking entire charge has displayed excellent judg-
ment and proved one of the best farmers in this section. He owns a
fine Buick automobile, which may be taken as satisfactory evidence that
Mr. Borchers belongs to the modern type of farmer. He is well known
both in business and social life in this section and is considered an honor-
able, upright and intelligent citizen.
Julius Prochnow is the example of a man who came to Sauk County
twenty years or so ago with an exceedingly modest amount of capital,
and out of his own efforts and enterprise has builded well for himself
and the community not only from the standpoint of material prosperity
but in the degree of community esteem paid him.
Mr. Prochnow was born in Germany in 1867, a son of Herman and
Henrietta Prochnow. His father died in the old country in 1881. Julius
Prochnow grew up in his native land, and in 1893 he and his widowed
mother came to Sauk County and settled on the farm in La Valle Town-
ship. His mother is still living.
Julius Prochnow has applied himself to farming as a practical busi-
ness with the .judgment acquired by long experience and is now the
proprietor of eighty-six acres of land devoted to general farming and
stock raising.
In 1892 he married Miss Amelia Eeinholtz, daughter of H. Reinholtz.
They have five children, Anna, Herman, Marie, Alwine and Martha.
These children were given the advantages of the La Valle Lutheran
School and two of the daughters are now married. Anna married H.
Lucht of La Valle Township, while Marie was married January 15, 1917,
to Henry Daugs.
The family take a very active part in the La Valle Lutheran Church,
Mr. Prochnow being church president. In polities he is a democrat.
Besides his general farming interests he runs a dairy and keeps about
twelve high grade cows.
William Sosinsky. One of the hard-working farmers and respected
citizens of Sauk County, is William Sosinsky, who owns valuable land
in La Valle Township and is a producer of grain and raises high grade
Jersey cattle. He has been a resident of Sauk County since he was fifteen
years of age and during a large part of this time has devoted himself to
agricultural pursuits.
William Sosinsky was born in Germany, December 25, 1853. His
parents were Andrus and Julia Sosinsky. They were natives of Germany
and came to Sauk County in 1870. At first they lived on rented land
in La Valle Township, near the village of that name, but the father
was a good business man and later moved to Ironton and bought town
1098 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
lots there which later increased in value. He died there in 1889, when
aged seventy-five years, the mother living until 1898. She was then
eighty-two years old. They had five children, namely : Thomas, Martin,
Jacob, William and Julia, Martin and Julia being deceased.
After William Sosinsky reached Sauk County, he went to work for
an iron company at Ironton and as his wages were paid him a part was
always saved for the buying of the farm on which. he had determined.
Finally it came to pass and he was the owner of sixty-nine acres of land
situated in La Valle Township. He cleared his land and improved it
and lived on it for five years. In 1901 he sold that property and bought
another farm in the same township, this being his present homestead.
It contains seventy-four acres of valuable land which each year, through
Mr. Sosinsky 's good farming and practical improving is becoming still
more valuable. He has suitable farm buildings and has his property all
enclosed with wire fencing.
Mr. Sosinsky was married October 12, 1886, to Miss Mary Laufen-
berg, who was born in Monroe County, Wisconsin, February 22, 1864,
and is a daughter of Henry and Katherine Laufenberg. When Mrs.
Sosinsky 's parents came first to the United States they stopped in Chi-
cago, Illinois, and from there went to Sterling in the same state and
then to Monroe County, Wisconsin. There the mother died in 1903,
when aged eighty-two years. The father fell ill and was taken to Chicago
and died in a hospital in that city in 1906, being then aged eighty years.
They had the following children : Matthew, Catherine and Cecelia, all
of whom are deceased; Anthony, Matilda, Henry, Mary and Peter, the
last named being deceased.
Mr. and Mrs. Sosinsky have had the following children : Katherine ;
an infant son who died ; Mary Theresa, who is deceased ; Frances ; Mary
Caroline; and Methilda and Fidelia, twins. Mr. Sosinsky and family
are members of the Roman Catholic Church and stand well in the parish
as they do in the entire neighborhood. Mr. Sosinsky takes a good citizen 's
interest in public affairs and casts his vote with the democratic party.
C. D. Johnson is one of the men who have contributed to the im-
provement and development of Bear Creek Township. He has lived here
for about a quarter of a century and his work is now manifest in the
splendid farm of which he is proprietor. This farm is located in the
Lone Rock community.
Mr. Johnson was born in Denmark October 29, 1872, a son of Martin
and Caroline Johnson. His father died in Denmark while his mother
is still living there. Their children were Peter, Jennie, Carl, Helen
and John M.
C. D. Johnson secured his education in the schools of Denmark and
was nineteen years of age when he came alone to America and sought
his fortune in this world of opportunity. While he had no capital, he
possessed a pair of willing hands, and working steadily the good things
of life have come to him one by one until he is now one of the substantial
citizens of his home county. In March, 1902 he located on his present
farm, and owns now 200 acres. Some of this land was cleared by his
own labors, and the splendid buildings represent a large investment of
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1099
his personal means and labors. He is doing general farming- and stock
raising, and one of the features of the farm that indicates his progres-
siveness is a large silo near the barn. He keeps forty head of livestock
and has a dairy of seventeen cows. Mr.- Johnson is a republican in
polities and a member of the Lutheran Church.
He married Miss Mary Sophia Nelson, daughter of N. J. Nelson of
Bear Creek. Mrs. Johnson has a brother Fred and two sisters, Amelia
and Erlrena.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are named, Helen, Ernest,
John, Marcella and Myrtle, twins. These children have received the
advantages of the schools of their locality and all of them are still at
home, except Helen, the wife of Frank Luce.
Thomas Pearson. For almost seventy years the name of Pearson
has been known in Sauk County, where it yet is held in great esteem
representing as it does, some of the most dependable and substantial
people in this section of Wisconsin. The pioneer of the family was
Manlius Pearson, who was the father of Thomas Pearson, one of the
leading citizens of La Valle Township, who owns the old Pearson home-
stead.
Thomas Pearson was born on the farm on which he lives, February
24, 1853. His parents were Manlius and Sarah Ann (Rowe) Pearson,
both of whom were born in England. The father came to Wisconsin in
1846, two years before this state was admitted into the union of states,
and before he returned to England he bought a tract of eighty acres
but never settled on that land. He was well pleased with the country
and climate and as a man of good judgment, foresaw the opportunities
awaiting men of enterprise and energy. Within two years, in 1848,
Manlius Pearson and his wife and family came to Sauk County. His
first purchase of land had been near Lime Ridge but after coming here
the second time, he took up a government claim of 160 acres in La Valle
Township and eighty acres of this pioneer farm now belongs to his
son, Thomas Pearson. Manlius Pearson and family encountered many
hardships for some years and at first lived in an Indian wigwam while
their log cabin was being constructed. The father died on this farm,
a man respected by all his neighbors, and the mother passed away on
one near by. They had the following children: Charles, who is de-
ceased ; Isaac, who died in 1894 ; Thomas ; Christopher Columbus, who
is a resident of Whittier, California ; Martha ; and Mary Ann, M'ho was
the first white child bom in La Valle Township, Sauk County. During
all these intervening years since their first settlement, the Pearsons have
been people of substantial character and today are among the most pro-
gressive and successful agriculturists in Sauk County, and have been
identified with progress along other lines.
Thomas Pearson was reared on the home farm, and has always devoted
himself to agricultural pursuits. In his boyhood the schools did not
offer the advantages that they now do and he had far less opportunity
to take what they offered, but he attended when he could be spared from
the farm and thereby laid a sound foundation. He remembers the time
when oxen were used .to do the heavy farm work and when a cradle
1100 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
scythe was used to cut the grain. The wonder working' machinery that
he now uses was not then on the market and much of it had not yet
been invented. He is a modern farmer in the full sense of the term.
He has 235 acres, all in one tract and raises grain and high grade live
stock making a specialty of Holstein cattle and operates his dairying
industry with thirty head of the same.
Mr. Pearson was married in 1874 to Miss Martha Greenhalgeth, who
was born in Ironton Township, a daughter of Peter Greenhalgeth, who
is one of the oldest surviving pioneers of Sauk County, being now in his
ninety-fourth year. With his wife he now lives in California but for-
merly owned a farm in La Valle Township. Two children were born
to Mr. Pearson 's first marriage : Robert, who died in infancy ; and
Carrie, who resides in California. The mother of these children died
in 1889. Mr. Pearson's second marriage was to Miss Julia Tavor, who
was born in Ironton Township, Sauk County, a daughter of Eugene and
Agnes Tavor, early settlers, Mrs. Tavor still living on the old home
place in Ironton Township. Mrs. Pearson died in 1903, leaving four
children, namely: Eva, who resides at home; Thomas Arvin, who as-
sists his father; Susan, who is a school teacher; and Robert, who is
at home.
In 1904 Mr. Pearson was married to Mrs. Anna (Stott) Tomlinson.
She was born in Ironton Township, Sauk County, and was then a widow
with two sons, William Tomlinson and George, and one daughter, Eliza-
beth, who is the wife of Byron Barnette, of La Valle, Wisconsin. The
elder son is an employe of the Ford Manufacturing Company at Detroit,
Michigan, and the younger is at home.
In politics Mr. Pearson has always been a democrat. On numerous
occasions he has been elected to important township offices and has
served for years as supervisor and for five years has been chairman of
the board. With his family he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal
Church. Some years ago Mr. Pearson made a trip to England and had
the satisfaction of visiting the old home of the Pearsons that has been
owned by the family for 125 years.
Michael E. Croal. The Croal family belongs among the old timers
of Washington Township, where they established their home in pioneer
times and where a large amount of land was cleared and made pro-
ductive through their efforts.
The founders of the family here were John and Catherine (Daily)
Croal, the former a native of County Leitrim and the latter of County
Roscommon, Ireland. They came to Sauk County in 1856 and located
on forty acres of raw land in Bear Creek Township. Later the father
acquired another forty acres in Washington Township, partly cleared
and improved, and though a blacksmith by trade and conducting a shop
for a number of years, he managed to get his land under cultivation and
was one of the well known citizens of that community. John Croal died
in 1874, his widow surviving him until May 27, 1911. They were the
parents of eight children: John; Andrew, now deceased; Thomas;
Joseph; Mary; Katherine; Jennie, now deceased; and Michael E.
Michael E. Croal was born on his father's farm in Washington
HISTORY OP SAUK COUNTY 1101
Township August 23, 1871. He has never married and his sisters Kath-
erine and Mary keep house for him, while he gives his attention to a
large and well managed farm and also to numerous public duties.
The Croal farm consists of 200 acres, and Mr. Croal for a number
of years has specialized in the breeding of Shorthorn cattle. He has
served as town clerk for three years and is an active democrat. He is
a trustee of St. Patrick's Catholic Church and is affiliated with the
Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of Columbus.
Heney Kruse represents the second generation of sturdy and thrifty
farmers in Sauk County, where his father was a pioneer, and where some
of his sons now bear a notable part in agricultural and business affairs.
Henry Kruse was born in Westfield Township of this county October
21, 1863, a son of George and Dorothy (Ratzman) Kruse. His parents
both came from Germany in 1861 and were married in Wisconsin in
the same year. Their children were : Anna, deceased ; Henry ; Doris
and Herman, both deceased in early life ; William, Amelia ; Bertha,
deceased ; Herman, deceased ; and Bertha. The son William married
Annie Licht, daughter of Fred Licht. Amelia is the wife of John
Heistend. Bertha married Albert Neistedt.
Henry Kruse grew up in Sauk County, was educated in the local
schools, took up farming as a vocation, and 'on November 16, 1888, at
the age of twenty-five married Dorothy Hahn, daughter of Henry and
Dorothy Hahn of Westfield Township. Mr. and Mrs. Kruse have a
large family of children named Henry, Albert, William, Hilda, Dora,
Edward, Meta, Emma, Arthur, Marie and Clara. Of these the son
Albert married Josie Hanko and has one son. Hilda is the wife of Wil-
liam Hammermester and is the mother of two boys. The son William
married Meta Struck.
Henry Kruse is now substantially fixed and located as a practical
farmer of Washington Township, and owns a well developed estate of
eighty acres. He conducts it largely as a dairy farm, keeping about
fifteen head of cattle, and his dairy herd comprises nine cows. Mr.
Kruse is a republican in politics and he and his family are all Lutherans.
Ernest Schuette. A progressive farmer and representative citizen,
whose civic attitude has ever been of the most public-spirited order,
Ernest Schuette is the owner of a well improved farm of 160 acres in
Ironton Township, near Reedsburg. A native of Germany, he was born
February 4, 1865, and he is a son of John and Elizabeth Schuette, who
immigrated to America in 1889 and located in Sauk County, where the
former died, in 1908, aged eighty years, and the latter in 1897. Mr. and
Mrs. Schuette had three children : Ernest, Dora and August, and by
a former marriaae Mr. Schuette had four sons : Henry, John, Frederick
and William, all living.
Ernest Schuette received a good common school education in Ger-
many and in 1881, when sixteen years, he came to America and began
to work on a farm in Sauk County by the month. Subsequently he pur-
chased a farm of eightv acres east of Reedsburg and after having the
place for two years sold it and located in the city of Madison where he
1102 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
worked in the iron foundry of Fuller & Johnson for a period of eighteen
years. In 1902 he returned to this section and bought a farm of 160
acres, which he has cleared and improved with good, modern buildings
and on which he is most successfully engaged in general farming and
stock raising.
On November 24, 1894, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Schuette
to Miss Bertha Grade, a native of Reedsburg Township, this county,
where her birth occurred October 14, 1871, and who is a daughter of
Frederick and Louisa (Winkleman) Gade, early settlers in Reedsburg
Township. Mr. Gade died at Reedsburg in 1909 and his widow, who is
sixty-seven years of age, is now living in that town. The following
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Schuette : Laura, John, Raymond,
Reinhard, Edna and Arnold, all of whom are at the parental home ex-
cept Arnold who is deceased.
In his political proclivities Mr. Schuette is an independent democrat
and while he has always manifested a deep interest in civic matters his
public service has been confined to membership on the school board. He
is a member of the Lutheran Church of Reedsburg and he and his wife
are popular in the social affairs of their home community.
Frederick W. Kohlmeyer has been a resident of Sauk County
forty-four years and has had a very successful career, being now in the
machinery and automobile business at Loganville.
Mr. Kohlmeyer was born in Germany April 11, 1869, son of Henry
and Margaret (Hagelberg) Kohlmeyer. When he was four years of
age his parents came to the United States and loeated in Sauk County.
His father died here November 2, 1894, and the mother on August 5,
1908. Their children were: Henry, Dora, William, August, Kate and
Frederick W. Henry married Dora Harms. Dora is the wife of Henry
Feltman. William married Dora Burmeister. August is married, and
Kate is the wife of George Nickols.
Frederick W. Kohlmeyer grew up in Sauk County, attended the
public schools, and in early life was associa^ted in the threshing business.
He is of a decided mechanical turn of mind, and has found in mechanical
lines the best avenue of his business career. He owns a beautiful home
in the Village of Loganville, and is rated as one of its most prosperous
citizens.
On April 13, 1891, Mr. Kohlmeyer married Mary. Hase, daughter
of Fred and Caroline Hase of Loganville. They had two children, Ed-
ward, and Frederick, now deceased. The son Edward married April
8, 1917, Lena Westedt, daughter of Henry Westedt of Loganville.
August Krueger. One of the richest and best improved farming
districts of Sauk County is in Washington Township. Many good farms
may be found there and improvements are generally of a high class.
One of the best of them is owned by August Krueger, located in the
vicinity known as Lime Ridge. Mr. Krueger is an old timer of Sauk
County and has been a resident of Wisconsin more than half a century.
He was born in Germany May 23, 1847, a son of Carl and Dora
Krueger. August Krueger was reared and educated in Germany and
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1103
in the spring of 1863 came to Wisconsin with his parents and settled
in Herman Township of Dodge County. Ten years later in 1873 he
removed to Washington Township of Sauk County and since that time
has been identified with the business of farming.
On April 22, 1873, the same year he came to Sauk County, Mr.
Krueger married Anna Goetsch. Her parents, Carl and Fredericka
Goetsch, are both deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Krueger have eight children
named William A., Frank 0., Albert F., Ernest F,, Lydia M., Helena
T., Emma D. and Herbert. Three of them are already married and
established in homes of their own. Frank 0. married Anna Hahn ;
Albert F. married Bernice Prouty; and Ernest F. married Emma Wer-
thien.
Mr. August Krueger has again and again been honored with posi-
tions of trust and responsibility in his home township. He was town
treasurer eleven years, chairman of the town board three years, and
supervisor ten years. His oldest son William has been town clerk for
the past four years and for seven years has been treasurer of the school
board in District No. 1.
Mr. Krueger owns a farm of ninety acres, and most of the land was
cleared by the work of his own hands and under his supervision. He
conducts a model dairy of fourteen cows, and keeps about twenty head
of good livestock. Mr. Krueger is a republican in politics and he and
all his family worship in the Lutheran Church.
William C. Schluter is a citizen of Washington Township whose
education as a farmer began with the fundamentals while he was a boy
on his father's place and who with increasing experience has made him-
self master of the business and enjoys the possession of one of the best
farms in his section of the county.
Mr. Schluter was bom in Washington Township May 15, 1881, a
son of Charles and Catherine (Schurman) Schluter. His father was
born February 2, 1844, and his mother, a native of Richland County,
Wisconsin, was bom March 5, 1850. They were married in October,
1868, at that time located in Washington Township, where the father
owned 200 acres of land and from it acquired the prosperity which en-
abled him to rear and educate a capable family of children and also the
competence which he and his wife now enjoy in their good home at Reeds-
burg. Their children are Annie, wife of Herman Felske; Lydia, wife
of John Alexander; Henry, who married Lizzie Reuter; Clara and
Martha, still unmarried ; William C. ; Orra, who married Maud Pearson ;
and George, who is serving in the Field Artillery, U. S. Army.
William C. Schluter was educated in the public schools of Washington
Township, and in March, 1906, at the age of twenty-five located on his
present place. He is the owner of 240 acres, and is both a crop raiser
and a stockman. He is a breeder of Shorthorn cattle and is working
rapidly towards a competence. At the same time he has given liberally
to every movement intended for the advancement of community welfare,
and for two years has been treasurer of his home township. He is a
republican and an active supporter of the Methodist Episcopal Church-
Mr. Schluter married August 30, 1911, Minnie Stoll, daughter of Henry
1104 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
and Mary Stoll of Lime Eidge, Sauk County. Three children have been
born to their marriage named Carroll, Robert and Marie, the oldest four
years old and the youngest about twelve months. Mrs. Schluter has
two sisters, Ida and Edna, the latter the wife of Bradford Hineman.
John Richartz. The business of farming has been the occupation
by which John Richartz has accomplished a substantial success. He is
an old resident of Sauk County and many years ago he went on to a
farm in Bear Creek Township which with its improvements now stands
a monument to his industry and intelligent husbandry.
Mr. Richartz was born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, September 16,
1860, a son of Martin and Mary (Weber) Richartz. His parents were
both born in Germany and came to Wisconsin in 1851, locating at Fond
du Lac. Later they entered a homestead of forty acres in Fond du Lac
County, and while the industrious wife remained at home looking after
the interests both in and outside the house, including the management
of the farm, the husband worked several years in the copper mines around
Lake Superior. In the course of time they had their land cleared and
improved, then bought another forty acres which was also developed by
them, in 1867 they sold out at Fond du Lac County and then located
in Sauk County. These good people lived worthy and useful lives, and
in death they were not long separated, since the father passed away
March 31, and the mother on May 9 of the year 1897. Their children
were : Joseph J., Celia, Peter, Mary and John, all living except Mary.
John Richartz grew up and received his education largely in Sauk
County and though he started out with limited capital he has made more
than an ordinary success. In 1890, the same year that he married, he
located on his present farm, where he now has 390 acres. Most of this
land was cleared by his own efforts, and he has invested much of the
surplus profits in new improvements. He is one of the largest stock
farmers of Bear Creek Township, keeping about ninety head of livestock
and has a dairy of twenty-three cows. Mr. Richartz is a demoerat and
a member of the Catholic Church, has filled church offices and for many
years has been clerk of the school board.
His home school is District No. 3 and he himself attended that school
when he was a boy and his own children derived their early advantages
from the same place. On September 23, 1890, Mr. Richartz married
Kate Brucker, daughter of Peter and Clara Brucker of Richland County,
Wisconsin. Their children are Martin, Mary, Cornelius, Gertrude and
Clara. Clara attended high school at Richland Center, Richland County.
WiLiJAM Hasse's enterprise since he reached manhood has been
directed to the management and cultivation of the thrifty farm in Wash-
ington Township which was also the scene of his birth and early child-
hood days.
Mr. Hasse was born on that farm May 22, 1870, son of William and
Wilhelmina (Schultz) Hasse. His parents were both natives of Ger-
many, and in 1867, seeking the advantages of an American home and
opportunity they crossed the ocean and settled in Dodge County, Wis-
consin, but three years later removed to Washington Township. With
HISTOEY OF SAUK COUNTY 1105
them on their trip from Germany came George Schultz, father of Mrs.
Wiihelmina Hasse. He was born about 1816 and he lived as a member
of his daughter's household till his death in February, 1904. The land
in the fields now cultivated by William Hasse was largely cleared of its
wilderness growth by his father. William Hasse, Sr., was the father
of three children, Ferdinand, William and August. Ferdinand married
Mary Brandt, daughter of Fred Brandt, while August married Lena
Lophan.
William Hasse grew up and received his education in Sauk County
and has always lived on the old home place. He owns 120 acres of land,
and besides raising the standard crops of Sauk County he keeps about
thirty head of cattle and has a first class dairy of twenty cows. In politics
he is a republican and a member of the Lutheran Church.
On March 17, 1899, he married Miss Bertha Ruehlow, daughter of
William and Wiihelmina Ruehlow. To their marriage have been born
eight children, all still living except one. These children in order of age
are named Walter, born December 10, 1899 ; Emma, July 18, 1901 ;
Emilie, August 28, 1903 ; Lorinda, February 20, 1906, died December 9,
1906 ; Adela, born October 8, 1907 ; Lydia, November 16, 1910 ; Rosina,
April 22, 1913 ; and Alvina, October 13, 1915.
Peter J. Horkan has long been identified with the agricultural and
civic prosperity of Winfield Township, and is one of the leading farmers
and stock raisers there.
He was born in that township in 1875, a son of ^ames and Mary
(Gallagher) Horkan. His father was born in Toronto, Canada, and his
mother in Ireland. The mother is still living. Peter was one of a family
of children named John, James, Peter, Patrick, William and Mina. Of
these William and Mina are now deceased.
Peter J. Horkan is a very busy man, owner of 140 acres, devoted to
general farming and stock raising. He has also been called upon to
serve the public as a member of the town board, and has filled that posi-
tion for about ten years. Mr. and Mrs. Horkan have the following chil-
dren : Francis, Leo, Mary, Patrick, Henry, James and Bernard.
Amos Alonzo Carr. At this point it is proper to pay tribute to the
memory and works and family of the late Amos Alonzo Carr, long a
prominent resident of Ironton Township, where the best work of his life
was accomplished. Mr. Carr died at the old homestead where Mrs. Carr
now resides on June 12, 1909, in his sixty-fourth year.
He was born at Niles, Michigan, July 29, 1845, a son of Melancthon
and Rebecca (King) Carr. When he was a small child his parents re-
moved to Dane County, Wisconsin, and about 1863 located in the Town-
ship of Ironton in Sauk County. On coming to Sauk County they first
rented a farm and later bought school lands. The father was a Union
soldier and died in September, 1865. His widow survived him many
years and passed away at Independence, Iowa, in 1910.
Amos A. Carr was about eighteen years of age when he came to Sauk
County. He married for his first wife Hattie Dearholt. There were six
1106 HISTOEY OF SAUK COUNTY
children of that marriage: Henry, Addie, Bertha, Edith, Alice and
Myrtle, all living except Alice. Their mother died in 1882.
In 1883 Mr. Carr married Libbie Selden. She was born in Madison
County, New York, December 19, 1852, a daughter of George and Hannah
(Petley) Selden. Her parents were both natives of England, her father
born in 1827 and her mother in 1832. George Selden came to New York
when seventeen years of age, locating in Madison County, and his wife
was four years of age when her parents John and Hannah Petley arrived
in this country. Her parents died in Madison County, New York.
George and Hannah Selden were married in Madison County, New York,
and from there he enlisted early in the Civil war in the One Hundred
Fifty-seventh New York Volunteers. He served a period of three years
and fought in many of the engagements of his regiment including Chan-
cellorsville and Gettysburg, where he was taken prisoner. He spent a
number of months in Libby prison and Belle Isle. After the war he
returned to New York and in September, 1865, turned his face westward
and came to Sauk County. He established his home on a farm in Iron-
ton Township adjoining the place where his daughter Mrs. Carr now
resides. George Selden had a farm of eighty acres. His wife died in
April, 1887, and he passed away at Superior, Wisconsin, in July, 1916,
his remains being now at rest in the cemetery at Reedsburg.
The late Mr. Carr after his first marriage located on a farm in Iron-
ton Township and that farm is now occupied by the present Mrs. Carr.
He began with eighty acres and subsequently added another twenty acres
and left the place splendidly improved before his death. Mr. Carr was
a man of public spirit, served as clerk of the school district for thirty
years, and was always willing to sacrifice his own time and interests to
serve the public. Mrs. Carr is an active mem^ber of the Methodist Epis-
copal Church. Before her marriage Mrs. Carr taught school in Sauk
County. She is the mother of five children. Vem, born December 27,
1884, is unmarried and lives at home and has a farm in Ironton Town-
ship. Ethel Hannah, born November 8, 1886, is the wife of Benjamin
Templin of Washington Township. Walter Amos, born January 7, 1889,
with his brother Floyd and their mother own and operate the homestead
farm. Marian Ruth, born May 26, 1891, is the wife of Cloyd Porter of
St. Lawrence, South Dakota. The youngest child Floyd Selden was born
November 4, 1893.
Henry W. Kruse is one of the active members of that live and enter-
prising corporation known as the Hill Point Auto and Milling Company
at Hill Point in Washington Township, This firm has a large and well
equipped garage, handles automobiles and also does an extensive milling
business. The firm was incorporated under the state laws of Wisconsin
on June 20, 1916. The building is a fireproof structure, completed in
September, 1916, and has a very desirable location. The firm enjoy a
large patronage and have the complete confidence of all who are fortunate
enough to have dealings with them.
Mr. Kruse was born in Westfield Township of Sauk County Sep-
tember 30, 1889, a son of Henry and Dorothy Kruse. He belongs to
an old and Avell known family of the county elsewhere mentioned in
HISTOKY OF SAUK COUNTY 1107
these pages. Mr. Henry W. Kruse is still unmarried, and in his business
is associated with his brother Albert and his brother-in-law Anthony
Hanko.
Benjamin S. Brandt. In Washington Township the name Brandt
has long been associated with the most capable efforts of farm husbandry
and management, and in this connection it should be here noted that
Benjamin S. Brandt, of this family, has one of the carefully cultivated
homes and farms of the Lime Ridge community.
Mr. Brandt was born in Washington Township October 28, 1881, a
son of Fred and Dora (Wiese) Brandt and grew up in his home locality.
He acquired and wisely made use of the advantages afforded by the
common schools, and is now proprietor of the home farm of 120 acres.
Everything about this farm indicates his intelligent and careful manage-
ment, and one feature alone that indicates his progressiveness is two
silos. He runs his farm as a general stock and dairy proposition, keep-
ing about twenty-five head of cattle and milking about twenty cows.
Mr. Brandt is a republican in politics.
February 5, 1907, he married Miss Anna Hanko, daughter of Joseph
and Catherine (Fassel) Hanko of Westford, Richland County, Wiscon-
sin. Mr. and Mrs. Brandt have four bright young children, the older
ones already learning their lessons in the common schools. Their names
in order of birth are Donald, Maynard, Willard and John. Mrs. Brandt's
brothers and sisters are named Edward, Anthony, Francis, Clara and
Josephine. Anthony and Francis are still single. Her brother Edward
married Florence Sweeney. Clara is the wife of Ferdinand Wilman.
Josephine married Albert Kruse,
Patrick Daly. The best and greatest wealth of Sauk County has
always consisted in its men and women and especially those whose char-
acter has been exalted above the ordinary levels of existence and whose
lives have made better and purer the community around about them.
There was no finer example of lofty public character than that af-
forded by the late Patrick Daly, who when in the prime of his years but
after much suffering from persistent disease died at the home of his
brother, Dr. Frank P. Daly, on April 19, 1911. He was a son of Patrick
and Jane (Moran) Daly, and was born in County Mayo, Ireland, January
10, 1860, being brought to Sauk County when not quite two years of age.
The early life of Patrick Daly was the usual routine of a child grow-
ing up in a pioneer home. His parents had come to this country to enjoy
its freedom and secure advantages they had not before enjoyed and they
strove to give their children the best educational opportunities afforded.
Accordingly the boy attended the district school during the winter
months when school was in session, and later attended the high school
at Reedsburg. But it was not destined that his early life should be free
from struggle and unusual responsibility. In the spring of 1879 both
parents died within a few months of each other, leaving him the oldest
son at the age of nineteen the head of a family of five children, face to
face with the struggle of securing a livelihood for himself and them, a
task which in those days was indeed hard. Perhaps it was those early
1108 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
responsibilities, coupled with the strength he inherited from his sturdy
ancestry, that gave him the remarkable degree of endurance and self
sacrifice which showed in his character in later years. For a time he
worked at the carpenter trade and became a skillful mechanic. There
was no such thing as compromise with duty in the life of Patrick Daly.
To whatever he attempted he gave his whole energy and aspired to a
high standard of success.
After he felt that he could be spared at the old homestead and do
more for those near him in another vocation he entered the Whitewater
Normal, finishing the course in 1887. For several years he was a teacher
in the country schools of Sauk County. Possessing a fine intellect and
a great love for knowledge, he was perhaps naturally led to take up the
study of law. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin with the
law class of 1896 and at once opened practice in his home city of Reeds-
burg, where from that time until his death nearly fifteen years later
he was known as an able lawyer and as a citizen took a part in the every-
day life of the community and was a strong moral influence and a foe
to every form of social and civic corruption..
One who had long known him and appreciated the elements of his
character wrote the following tribute:
"He was a man whose life was never touched by the desire for fame
or honor, who hated sham and deception and whose personal wishes were
completely submerged in his devotion to principle. He lived up to
ideals in his profession which, if followed by every lawyer, would im-
measurably elevate the standard of the bar. He gave every power of
his intellect to see the right and to find a way to remedy the evils on
every hand and then uncompromisingly lived up to his belief.
''He had a keen appreciation and a great love for the beautiful in
nature and was a deep student of history and literature. He took a
great interest in the schools and in young people entering on life's career
and no doubt his influence helped to guide many young people in choos-
ing their life work.
"When death sets the seal of insignificance on worldly fame and
honor and the petty schemes of men, it is a glorious thing to leave a
record of a life unsullied by any form of vice, a life of unselfish devotion
to principle and to every cause that is righteous. Such is the unstained
record left by Patrick Daly, an example that may well be emulated in its
integrity and purity by every young man and which, if followed, will
help to right the social and political wrongs that he so much deplored
and to remedy which he gave the best years of his life. ' '
Frank P. Daly, M. D. Holding prestige in the ranks of his profes-
sion by reason of superior natural ability, combined with a thorough
training, wide experience, an acute comprehension of human nature and
a broad sympathy, Dr. Frank P. Daly is firmly established in the confi-
dence of the people of Reedsburg. A practitioner of this city for more
than twenty years, this thorough master of his calling has built up an
excellent professional business and standing, while as a citizen he has
always shown himself ready to do at all times at least his full share in
behalf of the public weal.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1109
Frank P. Daly belongs to the class of men who have distinguished
themselves in the county of their birth. He was born on a farm in Win-
field Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin, June 24, 1869, being a son of
Patrick and Jane (Moran) Daly. His father was born in County Mayo,
Ireland, in 1807, and his mother in the same locality in 1820, and their
marriage took place in their native land, where they resided until 1862.
In that year they emigrated to the United States and located on a farm
in Winfield Township, Sauk County, a tract of 160 acres, which they
proceeded to clear and improve. Jndustrious and hard-working people,
they succeeded in developing a handsome and valuable farm, on which,
they spent the remaining years of their lives, the mother dying there in
1880 and the father not long thereafter. The farm is now occupied by
Patrick Croal, who married Maria, the sister of Doctor Daly. In politics
a democrat, Patrick Daly was content to confine his political activities
to the casting of his vote, and never allowed small local matters to dis-
tract his attention from his business affairs, although always willing to
support good movements and to work in behalf of worthy men and meas-
ures. A student and exceptionally well informed, he was a prolific reader
and was well acquainted with the classics. Both he and Mrs. Daly were
devout members of the Catholic Church, in which faith they reared their
family. Their children were as follows: Michael, who died in Ireland
as an infant ; Maria and Jane, who also died in infancy ; Catherine, who
is the wife of John Loughney, of Ironton ; Maria, who is the wife of
Patrick Croal and resides on the homestead farm in Winfield Township ;
Patrick whose career is reviewed on other pages; John, who died in
infancy; John (2), who is single and engaged in agricultural operations
on a farm near Pond du Lac, Wisconsin ; Frank P., of this review ; and
Martin, who died in infancy.
The boyhood of Dr. Frank P. Daly was passed on his father's farm
in Winfield Township, and he was given the advantage of good educa-
tional opportunities. After completing his primary training in the
country schools, he went to the high school at Reedsburg, and then con-
tinued his preparation by taking the course at the Whitewater Normal
School. His first several years of independent work found him acting
as a country school teacher in Sauk County, but during this time he had
been preparing himself for the profession which he intended to make
his life work, and in 1894 he matriculated at Rush Medical College, the
famous Chicago institution of medical learning. Upon his graduation
therefrom, in 1897, he returned to Reedsburg and opened an office, and
here he has continued in the enjoyment of a constantly increasing prac-
tice. Doctor Daly has not ceased to be a student. On the contrary,
much of his time is spent in investigation and research, and in keeping
in touch with the discoveries of his calling. He is a member of the Sauk
County Medical Society, the Wisconsin State Medical Society and the
American Medical Association, and his fraternal connection is with the
Knights of Columbus. The doctor has maintained an independent stand
in regard to politics, exercising his prerogative of voting for the man he
has deemed best qualified for the office, regardless of party ties. For
himself, he has never been an aspirant for the honors accruing from
holding public position.
1110 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
Doctor Daly was married in 1900, at Eeedsburg, to Miss Anna Joyce,
who was born in Winfield Township, Sauk County, October 2, 1874, a
daughter of Patrick and Mary (Byrne) Joyce, natives of County Mayo,
Ireland, the father born March 17, 1825, and the mother May 15, 1831.
They were married in Ireland, and in 1863 emigrated to the IJnited
States, landing at New York City, where they remained for several
weeks. They then made their way overland to Wisconsin and located in
Winfield Township, whre Mr. Joyce, then in modest circumstances, found
employment as a farm hand during the summer months, while in the
winter he worked for Smith and Tower in the iron industry at Ironton.
Thus he succeeded in accumulating sufficient means with which to pur-
chase a farm, which he continued to cultivate during the remainder of
his life. He lived in Winfield Township until 1913, in which year he
removed to Reedsburg, and here his death occurred January 12, 1915,
Mrs. Joyce having passed away on the farm January 8, 1910. Mr.
Joyce was one of the substantial and highly respected men of his com-
munity, and active in the ranks of the democratic partj^ in his locality.
He and Mrs. Joyce were faithful members of the Catholic Church. Be-
fore coming to the United States, Mr. Joyce, who was well educated in
the Gaelic and English languages, spent much of his time in England
during the harvest seasons, and to the time of his death retained a vivid
recollection of the birthplace of William Shakespeare, which he had
visited. Patrick and Mary Joyce had two children : Anna, now Mrs.
Daly, and Martin Edward, now a resident of Reedsburg, but for some
years the operator of the old homestead in Winfield Township, which
is still in the family name, married Mary Conway, who died April 9,
1900, leaving two children ; Martin Edward, Jr., and Mary Ellen.
Mrs. Daly attended the Reedsburg High School and the LeMars
(Iowa) Normal School, and in 1893 to 1896 taught school in Iowa. Re-
turning to the county of her birth she continued as a teacher here until
1900, the year of her marriage. Doctor and Mrs. Daly are the parents
of five children: Francis Matthew, born May 28, 1902; Jane Claire,
bom April 22, 1904; Zita Joyce, born August 28, 1908; Mar^^ A^es,
bom October 18, 1909 ; and Patrick Joseph, born March 17, 1912.
Walter Goetsch of Washington Township is owner of one of the
largest and best equipped farms of that township, andis a representative
member of that great body of industrious and thinking producers who
earn every cent they get by adding honestly to the wealth of the world.
Mr. Goetsch was born in Washington Township of Sauk County
June 10, 1885. He represents the second generation of a hardy family
that has had much to do with the clearing and development of the lands
of Wisconsin. His parents Otto and Anna (Kmeger) Goetsch, who now
live at Reedsburg retired, were both born in Germany and on coming
to America settled in Dodge County in 1861 and five years later moved
to a new tract of land in Washington Township, clearing up and develop-
ing a farm for the use of their sons and daughters. Their children were :
Walter, Esther, Elsie, William, Arthur and Otto. All except Arthur
and Otto are married and established in homes of their own. Esther is
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1111
the wife of Ernest Soltwedel. Elsie married William Harms of West-
field Township. William married Alma Wieslow.
Walter Goetsch grew up and received his education in Washington
Township, and on May 8, 1912, married Marie Harms, daughter of Henry
and Louise Harms. Mr. and Mrs. Goetsch have one small daughter,
Margaretta, now four years old.
The Goetsch farm comprises 200 acres, including some of the best
soil in Washington Township. It has a notable group of building im-
provements, and most of the buildings were constructed out of the native
stone. One special feature of the farm is a large stone silo, and that
gives tone and character to the quality of farming carried on by Mr.
Goetsch. Mr. Goetsch besides growing the staple crops keeps about sixty
head of cattle and runs a large dairy of about forty-three cows. In
politics he is independent and is a member of the Lutheran Church.
William Johnson. In a volume devoted to the careers of represen-
tative citizens of Sauk County, Wisconsin, it is a pleasure to insert a
brief history of Y/illiam Johnson, who has ever been on the alert to
forward all measures and enterprises projected for the general welfare
and who has served his community in various official positions of trust
and responsibility.
A native of the Bluegrass state, William Johnson was born in Elliott
County, Kentucky, November 16, 1866. He is a son of James and Re-
becca Jane (Porter) Johnson, the former of whom was born in Kentucky,
October 11, 1833, and the latter in Virginia, January 27, 1839. The
parents were married in Kentucky and there resided until 1883, when
they came to Sauk County and purchased a farm of eighty acres in Iron-
ton Township, subsequently adding an additional forty acres to that tract.
They erected good buildings on their land and here Mr. Johnson was
engaged in general farming and stock raising until his demise, in 1908,
aged seventy-five years. His widow survives him and to them were born
the following children: Ellen (deceased), Sarah, Emaline, William,
Sherman, Olpha, John E. (deceased), Lillie, Minerva and James. In
politics James Johnson was a stalwart republican and during the Civil
war was a strong supporter of the Union, although he was a member of
an old southern family. Four of his brothers enlisted as soldiers in the
Confederate army but he joined the Fortieth Kentucky Mounted In-
fantry of the Union forces, serving with distinction for a period of two
years.
William Johnson passed his boyhood in Kentucky and in 1883 ac-
companied his parents to Sauk County, Wisconsin, where he has since
resided. He attended school for one year after his arrival here and
after reaching manhood engaged in the saw-mill and threshing business,
with which lines of enterprise he was identified for twenty years. He
has also dealt in farm lands, buying and selling various parcels and in
1910 he located on a farm of forty acres near Limeridge, in Ironton
Township. He now devotes the major portion of his time and attention
to farming and stock raising. A republican in politics, he was assessor of
Ironton Township for one year, was supervisor in 1912 and for five years
Vol. II 3 5
1112 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
was chairman of the board of trustees of Ironton Township. He and
his family attend the United Brethren Church.
August 3, 1897, occurred the marriage of Mr. Johnson to Miss Rhoda
Hineman, who was born in Ironton Township, May 13, 1877, and who
is a daughter of Daniel and Mary (Frye) Hineman. Daniel Hineman
was a native of Richland County, Wisconsin, where his birth occurred
November 16, 1856. His father was Daniel Hineman, a native of Penn-
sylvania and an early pioneer in Richland County. Mary Frye Hineman
was born in Indiana, in 1860, and she and her husband now reside on
their farm of 140 acres in Washington and Ironton townships. Mr. and
Mrs. Johnson became the parents of a daughter, Blanche Lueile, born
February 5, 1902, and died in December, 1908.
Mr. Johnson is a man of fine mentality and broad human sympathy.
He thoroughly enjoj'S home life and takes great pleasure in the society
of his family and friends. He is always courteous, kindlj- and affable
and those who know him personally accord him the highest esteem. Mr.
and Mrs. Johnson's lives have been exemplary in all respects and they
have ever supported those interests which are calculated to uplift and
benefit humanity, while their own high moral worth is deserving of the
highest commendation.
John Biser is a native of Switzerland, but was brought to America
in early infancy, and for many years has been enrolled among Sauk
County's progressive and capable farmers and stock raisers. His home
is in Bear Creek Township.
Mr. Biser was born at Basel, Switzerland, December 10, 1868, a son
of Gotthilf and Anna Susana (Brunuer) Biser. The father died before
the birth of John, and in the following year, 1869, the widowed mother
brought her son John to America and located at St. Paul, Minnesota,
where she died in 1874. Herman Biser, elder brother of John was taken
to Germany by his grandparents and grew to manhood there and in
1912 he and his family were brought to this country by John Biser.
John Biser grew up an orphan from the age of six and had many
adversities to contend with in order to acquire an education and fit him-
self for an independent career. In January, 1901, he came to his present
farm in Bear Creek Township, where he now owns 245 acres. By his
own hands he cleared thirty of these acres, has erected fine barns and
put in many other improvements, and enjoys prosperity. He keeps about
forty-two head of livestock and has a dairy herd of twenty-five cows.
April 20, 1898, Mr. Biser married Miss Anna Carberry, daughter of
Joseph and Bridget Carberry. Her parents came from County Mon-
aghan, Ireland, to America in 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Biser have a fine,
family of children, named Mary, John, Thomas, James, Anna and Vincent.
Mr. Biser has been honored in a public way, having been a member
of the Town Board and also a school officer. He is a democrat, he and
his family worship in the Catholic faith and fraternally he is identified
with the Modern Woodmen of America.
John Bodendein. Education and financial assistance are very im-
portant factors in achieving success in the business Avorld of today, where
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1113
every faculty must be brought iuto play, but they are not the main ele-
ments. Persistency and determination figure much more prominently
and a man possessed of these qualities is bound to win a fair amount of
success. John Bodendein, whose name forms the caption for this article,
is practically self educated and during recent years has climbed to a high
place on the ladder of achievement. He is one of Sauk County's promi-
nent citizens and at the present time is the owner of a finely improved
farm in Ironton Township, in addition to which he is president of the
Carr Valley cheese factory.
John Bodendein was born in Richland County, Wisconsin, January
10, 1870, and he is a son of Joseph and Barbara (Kutzer) Bodendein,
both natives of Germany, where he was born in 1832 and she in 1840.
The paternal grandparents of John Bodendein came to Wisconsin in an
early day and settled in Fond du Lac, where both died. Anton Kutzer
and wife, maternal grandparents, were likewise natives of Germany and
Mr. Kutzer died in Fond du Lac at the age of ninety years and Mrs.
Kutzer at the age of eighty years. Joseph and Barbara Bodendein settled
in Richland County, Wisconsin, in 1860, there clearing and improving
a farm of 400 acres, on which he died June 22, 1909. Mrs. Bodendein
survives her beloved husband and is now living on a farm she owns in
Ironton Township, Sauk County. Mr. Bodendein was a democrat and
for a number of years gave efficient service as township sujiervisor and
as member of the school board. He was a Catholic in religious belief and
to him and his wife were born the folloMdng children : Gertrude, Andrew,
Paul, Peter, Mary, Frank, Annie, John, Lena, Barbara, Lucy, Phillip
and an infant son deceased.
Eighth in order of birth in a family of thirteen children, John Boden-
dein grew to maturity on his father's farm in Richland County and he
received a smattering of education in the neighboring schools. In 1893
he located in Ironton Township and purchased eighty acres of land, later
selling half that tract. He then added 120 acres to his estate and in 1913
bought an additional 130 acres, of which he eventually disposed. He then
bought five acres and his farm now comprises 165 acres of highly culti-
vated land, on which he recently erected a fine barn 34 by 90
feet. As a stock raiser he handles Holstein cattle, owning thirty-five head,
in 1913, and at times feeding as many as TOO head. In addition to his
farming interests he is president of the Carr Valley cheese factory, a
business that is becoming one of marked importance in this community.
Mr. Bodendein is a democrat, is township supervisor and a member of
the school board. He is one of the trustees of the Catholic Church at
Limeridge and he is looked upon as a man of importance in every walk
of life. He is a self-made man and as such is deserving of much credit,
having alread,y laid the foundation for a big success in life.
Mr. Bodendein has been twice married. In 1894 he married Miss
Clara Tourdot, who was born in Green County, Wisconsin, in 1868.
August and Mary (Fleuria) Tourdot, parents of Mrs. Bodendein, were
both born in Paris, France, the form.er in 1827 and the latter in 1837.
Mr. Tourdot was a mere child when he accompanied his parents from
Paris to New York. In 1839 the family located in Green County, this
state, remaining there until 1855, when they came to Sauk County and
1114 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
settled on a forty-acre farm two and a half miles from Limeridge. One
year later, however, they returned to Green County and bought 120
acres of land, on which they resided until their respective deaths. This
parcel of land was retained by the family until July 30, 1917. Mr.
Tourdot died in 1892 and his wife passed away December 28, 1915. They
were capable, industrious people and were gracious and hospitable to
everyone. Eleven children were born to them and following are their
names in respective order of birth: John, Mary (deceased), Sophia,
Gilbert (deceased), Joseph, Olamp, Clara and Martha (both deceased),
Albert, Charles (deceased), and Charley. Mr. and Mrs. Bodendein had
five children, as follows: A son who died in infancy, Mary, Charles,
Betsey and Clara. Mrs. Bodendein died in 1904 and was laid at rest
in the cemetery near La Valle. In 1907 Mr. Bodendein was united in
marriage to Miss Martha Tourdot, a sister of his first wife, she died July
31, 1915, without issue.
Olamp Tourdot, sixth child of August and Mary (Fleuria) Tourdot
and a brother-in-law of Mr. Bodendein, was born in Green County. He
located in Sauk County in 1893 and is an extensive farmer in Ironton
Township, where he is the owner of a finely improved estate of 335 acres.
In 1891 he married Miss Anna Bodendein, of Richland County, a sister
of the subject of this sketch. They have ten children : John, deceased,
August, William, George, Celia, Leo, Ruth, Frank, James and Olamp,
all of whom are at .the parental home.
Anton Bethke has been a resident of Sauk County since 1882, in
which year he came here and purchased a farm of 100 acres. He is a
shrewd farmer and is known throughout the county as an honest and
reliable business man. A native of Germany, he was born in January,
1848, and is a son of Gotlieb and Mary Bethke. The parents were born,
reared and married in the fatherland and immigrated to America in
the year 1853. They were engaged in farming operations in the old coun-
try and on their arrival here located on a farm in the vicinity of Mil-
waukee, where the father died, in 1862, aged sixty-five years, and the
mother in 1911 at the ripe old age of eighty-two years. They reared a
large family of children, of whom but three were living in 1917, namely :
Michael, Anton and Mary. They were a kindly, hospitable couple and
were held in high esteem by their neighbors and numerous friends.
As he was but five years of age when he arrived in America, Anton
Bethke was reared to maturity under the sturdy discipline of the old
home farm near Milwaukee and his education was completed with attend-
ance in the parochial schools of that city. As a young man he learned
the trade of cooper and he followed that line of business for a number
of years. In 1882 he came to Sauk County and purchased a farm of 100
acres, later adding an additional plot of twenty acres. He has cleared
most of his land and has improved it with a couple of splendid up-to-date
buildings. In addition to farming and stock raising he is interested in
the production of honey. He is known throughout Sauk County as the
"Bee Man" and his apiary is one of the largest and finest in this section
of the state.
In 1872 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Bethke to Miss Mena
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1115
Franz, a native of Milwaukee. This union was prolific of ten children,
as follows: Stephen is an engineer in Milwaukee; Theodore resides at
Duluth ; John and Joseph are deceased ; Leo, Bernhard, August, Therise,
Mary and Dora. Mr. Bethke is independent in politics and he is an
ardent supporter of all matters projected for the good of the general
welfare. He and his family are communicants in the Catholic Church
and they take a prominent part in the social activities of their home com-
munity. Their lives have been exemplary in every respect and they are
most worthy of the high esteem accorded them.
James McDonnell. Among the riien whose etforts have been longest
and most continuously directed to the farm enterprise of Dellona Town-
ship is James McDonnell.
He was born in that township of Sauk County in 1850, a son of Owen
and Mary (McHugh) McDonnell. His parents were born in County
Galway, Ireland, and came to America in the early forties and soon found
their way to Wisconsin and cleared up from the wilderness a tract of
land in Dellona Township.
It was on the home farm that James MIcDonnell grew to maturity,
and is now the fortunate owner of 200 acres of well developed land. His
good wife died June 2, 1906. His children are Mary, John P., Catherine,
Frank, all of whom are living and unmarried, and Theresa, deceased.
His son John P. has taken an active part in local affairs and was a mem-
ber of the town and school board in 1911 and 1912.
Henry F. Sander. The progressive faculty possessed by some men
stands as one of their dominating characteristics and gives to them a
marked advantage in gaining distinct prestige in any line of endeavor
to which they may confine their efforts. A self-made man in every sense
of the term, Henry F. Sander stands today as one of the worthy and in-
fluential citizens of Ironton Township, where he is the owner of a finely
improved farm of eighty acres.
Henry Frederick Sander was born in Westfield Township, Sauk
County, December 21, 1869, and he is a son of John and Mary (Fuhl-
bohm) Sander, both natives of Germany, where the former was born in
1844 and the latter in 1847. His maternal grandparents were John and
Dorothy (Schultze) Fuhlbohm, who came to America and settled in
Sauk County in 1861. Mr. Fuhlbohm was a farmer and brick-maker and
at the time of his demise, in 1912, he resided on the Fuhlbohm farm,
south of Reedsburg. He died in his eighty-fifth year and Mrs. Fuhlbohm
died in 1905, aged about eighty years. Mr. and Mrs. John Sander had
three children : Emma, wife of Herman Klagos, of Reedsburg ; Henry
Frederick, whose name forms the caption for this review; and Henry
Christ, who died in 1902. The parents are both deceased, the former
having passed away in 1873, and the latter in 1875.
Reared a farmer, Henry Frederick Sander grew to maturity in the
home of his uncle, Henry Sander, a resident of Freedom Township.
After completing his education in the public schools of his home com-
munity, Mr. Sander hired out and worked by the month for different
farmers and for three years he was employed by Superintendent Hall
1116 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
to work on the county farm. In 1907, as a result of conscientious
endeavor, he was able to buy a farm for himself, the same consisting of
eighty acres in Ironton Township. Here he has since resided and he has
met with marked success as a general farmer and stock raiser. In the
latter line hd makes a specialty of Holstein cattle. He has cleared his
land and has erected an up-to-date barn and silo on same; everything
about the place betokens good management and business-like methods.
In politics Mr. Sander maintains an independent attitude and for the
past nine years he has been a director on the school board. He and his
wife are devout Lutherans in their religious faith and they are generous
contributors to the good works of the church.
The marriage of Mr. Sander to Miss Maud Kinsman occurred July 5,
1905. Mrs. Sander was born on her parents' farm near Limeridge, in
1875, and is a daughter of Edward B. and Samantha (Benson) Kinsman,
both of whom are now residents of Limeridge. Four children have come
to bless the union of Mr. and Mrs. Sander, namely : Dorris Lucile, Fred-
erick Edward, Maxine Marie and Harold Walter.
Theodore Brandt is the fortunate possessor of one of the fine farms
in the community known as Limeridge in Washington Township. He
is a native of that township, and during his active career has accumulated
a substantial share of landed property and has also enjoyed the respect
and esteem of a large community of friends and fellow citizens.
Mr. Brandt was born in Washington Township of Sauk County No-
vember 9, 1874, a son of Frederick and Dorothy (Weiss) Brandt. Hi^
parents were both natives of Germany and came from the old country
and settled in Washington Township in 1861. Here they were instru-
mental in clearing up a portion of the wilderness and ordered their lives
according to the principles of probity and honesty and were kindly and
helpful factors in the neighborhood until they passed away. The father
died in 1891 and the mother in 1894. They had a family of eight chil-
dren : Mary, who married Ferdinand Hasse, a resident of Washington
Township ; Frederick, who married Amelia Redlow of Washington Town-
ship ; Theodore, who married Dorathea Meyer ; Albert, who married
Bertha Meyer; Benjamin, who married Annie Hanks; Elsie, wife of
William Meyer ; Walter, who married Grace Schwanke ; and Simon, who
married Amelia Meyer.
Mr. Theodore Brandt grew up in the county, learned farming by prac-
tical experience and received a common school education. On March 19,
1897, at the age of twenty-three, he married Dorathea Meyer, daughter
of Henry J. and Dora Meyer of Washington Township. Mr. and Mrs.
Brandt have a fine household of children, all of them still young and
unmarried, and all of them have been given the advantages of the public
and Lutheran schools of their community. The names of these children
are: Garfield, Rena, Rosa, Harold, Clarence, Edna, Theodore, and Ella
and Esther, twins.
Mr. Brandt is a capable farmer, owning and managing 119 acres of
well improved land. He runs a dairy and stock farm, having about six-
teen cows in his dairy, and altogether has about twenty head of good
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1117
grade cattle. He has frequently been called upon to serve his fellow
citizens in offices of trust, having been a member of the town board, and
supervisor. He is a warden in St. Peter's Lutheran Church and in pol-
itics is a republican.
Henry J. Meyer belongs to a group of citizens who have effected the
transformation and clearing of the wilderness in Washington Township
during the past half century, and he is now in a position to enjoy the
fruits of his well spent earlier years.
Mr. Meyer was born in Germany, April 17, 1845, and four genera-
tions of his family have lived out a portion of their lives in Sauk County.
Mr. Meyer's parents were George and Margaret (Krueger) Meyer. In
1862 the family emigrated to America living at Madison for some time,
and in 1881 they all settled in Washington Township. Margaret Meyer
died in Germany in 1860, but George Meyer survived her until 1883.
Their children were Catherine, H. J., Dora, William, George and Fred.
Henry J. Meyer received most of his education in Germany and since
coming to Wisconsin has been a practical and industrious farmer. On
October 13, 1867, he married Dora Kuager of Sauk County. Their
twelve children are Emma, Elisabeth, Annie, Dora, Ida, George H.,
Bertha, Henry, Amelia, Liddy, Silas and Simon. Of these Ida and
Simon are deceased.
The son George H., who lives with his father and has the active man-
agement of the homestead, married on June 25, 1903, Hilda Struck,
daughter of Henry and Mary Struck of Dellona Township, Sauk County.
George H. Meyer and wife have six children, Frona, Gertrude, Clara,
Ella, Ahdn and Hubert. These children, grandchildren of Henry J.
Mej^er, are all being educated in tke public and Lutheran schools except
Ella, who died in early childhood.
The Meyer family have a well improved place of 150 acres in the
Lime Ridge community of Washington Township, and nearly all the
land was cleared up either by Henry J. Meyer or with the assistance of
his son George. Henry J. Meyer was a member of the town board and
in 1907 filled the office of township supervisor.
Frederick Brandt. Whether riding and working in hi&, fields, or
busy about his house and barns, Frederick Brandt gives everywhere the
impression of a thoroughly methodical and efficient farmer and a man
who knows his business down to the smallest detail. X^^at in fact is the
reputation he bears in Washington Township, where he has been sig-
nally successful in building up and maintaining one of the best farms.
Mr. Brandt was born in that township and is a son of Fred and
Dorothy (Wiese) Brandt. His parents came to Sauk County from Ger-
many in 1857 and were numbered among the useful and prosperous
pioneer settlers.
Mr. Frederick Brandt grew up here, and is now the prosperous
owner of a farm of 255 acres, a large part of which has been cleared
and improved under his own hand. He is one of the large dairymen
and stock raisers, keeping about fifty head of cattle and having about
1118 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
twenty-five milch cows. Mr. Brandt is a republican and a member of
the Lutheran Church.
March 14, 1895, he married Emilie Ruehlow, daughter of Wilhelni
and Wilhelmina Ruehlow, of Washington Township. Mr. and Mrs.
Brandt have a fine family of six children, all still unmarried and still
in the home circle, and the younger ones still attending the public
schools. Their names and respective ages are as follows: Irwin, aged
twenty-one; Herman, nineteen; Hedwig, seventeen; Alma, fourteen;
Hilda, thirteen ; and Edmund, ten.
Fred W. Harms is numbered among the younger and more progres-
sive elem.ent of the farming community of Washington Township, and is
demonstrating his ability to handle a farm thoroughly and efficiently
even in these times of scarcity of farm labor.
Mr. Harms is a western man by birth, having been born in Cuming
County, Nebraska, June 27, 1891. His parents are F. H. and Anna
(Presser) Harms. His father was born in Germany August 25, 1860,
while the mother was born in Cuming County, Nebraska, December 17,
1869, her family having been pioneers out on the frontier of that state.
In 1902 Mt. F. H. Harms and family came to Westfield Township, of
Sauk County, and the parents are still living there. The children of
F. H. Harms and wife are : Anna, Louise, Dora, Henry, Paulina, Mar-
gareta and Fred W.
Fred W. Harms was eleven years old when the family came to Sauk
County, and he completed his education here. Farming, was his choice
of vocation, and he is now proprietor of eighty acres in Washington
Township. He raises Holstein cattle and Chester White hogs and every
year sees some increase in his general prosperity. Mr. Harms is a repub-
lican in politics, and has served as clerk of School District No. 5, in
Washington Township. His father was formerly clerk of School Dis-
trict No. 2, in Westfield Township. The family are all members of the
Lutheran Church.
On September 19, 1912, Mr. Harms married Mary Lawrence, daugh-
ter of R. B. and Amanda Lawrence, of Ironton Township, Sauk County.
Mr. and Mrs. Harms have one daughter, Marjorie.
Fred Kollmeyer arrived in Sauk County nearly half a century ago,,
poor in purse, almost a stranger in a strange land, but with an abundant
supply of that energy and determination which has sufficed to give him
a secure position among the thrifty and substantial residents of this
county and have enabled him to provide well for his family of children,
most of whom he has seen grow up and settle in good homes of their own.
Mr. Kollmeyer was born in Prussia, Germany, April 28, 1849, a son
of Gottlieb Kollmeyer. His father died in 1887. Fred was one of a fam-
ily consisting of the following children : Henry, Christian, Louise,
Mary, Caroline, Sophia and Fred.
Fred Kollmeyer acquired the usual education given to the German
youth and in May, 1866, at the age of seventeen he arrived in Wiscon-
sin. The first point of his introduction to the state was at the City of
Madison, and for a couple of years he worked on a farm in that locality.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1119
He then removed to Washington Township, of Sauk County, and using
his limited capital to acquire a tract of land he has gone steadily ahead
with the work of clearing and improvement until he is now possessor
of 120 acres, all of it well adapted to the uses of agriculture and situ-
ated almost in the village of Hill Point. Mr. Kollmeyer has always been
progressive, and one of the indubitable signs of his progressiveness is
the silo that stands adjacent to his barn and is a valuable part of his
cattle feeding system. He keeps about thirty head of cattle and oper-
ates a first class dairy of twenty cows.
Mr. Kollmeyer is an active republican in politics and a member of
the Evangelical Church.
On November 8, 1873, he married Miss Minda Schluter, daughter
of Charles Schluter, of Washington Township. The children of Mr.
and Mrs. Kollmeyer are Henry, Fred, Elsie, Louise and Rosa. The son
Henry married Lilly Ahrens, daughter of Nanna and Johanna Ahrens.
of Monroe County, Wisconsin. They were married April 16, 1902. and
their home is now brightened with three children : Harold, Gladys and
Rose. These are not the only grandchildren of Mr. and Mrs. Kollmeyer.
Their daughter Elsie was married June 22, 1900, to Louis Schruder,
son of Gustav and Louise Schruder, of Juneau County, Wisconsin. They
have two children, Ethel and Edith. The daughter Louise married
December 25, 1912, Ed Nelson, of Racine County, and their family also
consists of two children, Russell and Clifford. The youngest daughter,
Rosa, became the wife of Scott Knoll on August 22, 1910. Mr. Knoll
is a son of John and Emma Knoll. Mr. and Mrs. Scott Knoll have three
children : Virginia, Rosalie and Carleton. Fred, at home, is working
his father's farm.
Henry F. Kollmeyer is a native son of Sauk County, grew up in
this county when it was still being developed from the wilderness and
as a boy he helped his father clear some of the land around the village
of Hill Point, where Henry F. is now rated as one of the largest and
most prosperous farmers and dairymen.
Henry F. Kollmeyer was bom in Washington Township, son of Fred
and Minda (Schluter) Kollmeyer. His father came from Prussia. Ger-
many, in May, 1866.
Henry F. Kollmeyer grew up on his father's farm, was well educated
in the local schools and on April 16, 1902, married Miss Lilly Ahrens,
daughter of Nanna and Johanna Ahrens, of Monroe County, Wisconsin.
Mr. and Mrs. Kollmeyer have three bright young children : Harold, aged
fourteen; Gladys, aged seven; and Rose, who was born in 1917. The
older children are making good records in the local schools.
The farm presided over by Mr. Henry F. Kollmeyer comprises 280
acres located on the edge of the village of Hill Point. Some of this land
was improved and cleared by his father and some of the buildiiigs
erected there, but Henry F. Koll-meyer has shown himself a chip of the
old block and is as enterprising and progressive in the matters of farm-
ing as his father. He runs a fine dairy of thirty-five cows and alto-
gether keeps about fifty head of cattle.
Mr. Kollmeyer has been active in local affairs, was town treasurer
three years, and filled the office of town clerk a similar period.
1120 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
George F. Schulz has been numbered among the prosperous and
progressive farmers of Washington Township for a long period of years
and owns one of the estates which give character and beauty and value
to the community around Lime Ridge.
Mr. Schulz was born in Germany October 13, 1851, son of George
and Dorothy (Schwalb) Schulz. When he was an infant his mother died
in the old country and his father then brought his family to America,
first settling in Dodge County, at Iron Ridge, but in 1870 locating on
the farm in Washington Township now owned by his son George. The
father died here in February, 1902.
George F. Schulz grew up and received most of his education in
Wisconsin, and since attaining manhood has applied himself with splen-
did results to the business of farming and dairying. His farm consists
of 160 acres, and he has all the facilities for handling his crops and
stock. He keeps about twenty head of cattle and his dairy consists of
sixteen cows. Mr. Scliulz is an independent voter in political matters
and is an active member and an elder in St. Peter's Lutheran Church.
For three terms he filled the office of trustee of the town board.
Mr. Schulz married for his first wife Mary Goetsch, daughter of
Charles Goetsch, of Washington Township. They were married in March,
1873, and at her death Mrs. Schulz left four children named Albert,
Otto, Louise and Mary. For his second wife Mr. Schulz married Dora-
thea Meyer, daughter of Henry Meyer, of Washington Township. The
children of this union are Lydia, Henry, Fred, Emil, William, Eddie,
Herbert and Irene. These are all living except Fred.
Frank J. Zaunt. whose activities as a farmer identify him with the
community of Winfield Township, was bom in that township July 2,
1892, a son of Joseph and Kunigunde (Wolf) Zaunt. His parents,
natives of Germany, settled in Sauk County in 1880.
Frank J. Zaunt since acquiring his education in the public schools
has applied himself to the business of farming. He is the owner of
eighty-two acres of land, and while he is a young man too modest to
boast of his achievements or possessions, his neighbors look upon him
as a hard working and capable farmer and one Avhose future can hardly
be other than prosperous. Mr. Zaunt married Clara Larsen, daughter
of Charles and Lottie Larsen. They have two young children : Harold,
bom in 1913; and Wallace, born in 1916.
Ernest Krueger is a native of Sauk County and has been an inde-
pendent farmer in Washington Township for the past seven years and
is looked upon as one of the coming men of that community.
Mr. Krueger was born in Washington Township November 21, 1880,
a son of August and Annie Krueger. He grew up on his father's farm
and received his education in the old Sandusky public school of Sauk
County. Mr. Knieger moved to his present farm in January, 1910,
where he has 100 acres under his control and management. He is breed-
ing and raising some good stock, and has shown unusual capability in
handling a farm both from an agricultural and a business standpoint.
Mr. Krueger is independent in matters of casting his vote and is a
member of the Lutheran Church.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1121
On September 26, 1906, he married Miss Emma Vertine, daughter
of Henry and Anna Vertine, of Washington Township. Her father died
at Phillips, Wisconsin, December 26, 1889, at the age of forty-three, and
her mother is still living at the age of sixty-three. Mr. and Mrs. Krueger
have two children : Meynard, aged ten years ; and Leonard, aged six.
U. T. Prouty is a native of Sauk County and for many years has
capably carried on a combined industry as a farmer, dairyman and
cheese maker at the Village of Sandusky, in Bear Creek Township.
Mr. Prouty represents truly the pioneer element of Sauk County.
He was born at Sandusky June 23, 1866, a son of Barnabas and Mar-
garet (Fry) Prouty. Barnabas Prouty was born in Ohio in October,
1840, and his wife was a native of Indiana, born in 1842 and removing
to Sauk County in 1850. Both the parents are still living.
The grandfather of Mr. U. T. Prouty came from Ohio with his wife
and eight sons in 1847 and was one of the very first settlers to locate in
Washington Township. He acquired his land direct from the Govern-
ment, at a payment of $1.25 per acre, and when his own life work is
summed up, together with that of his sons and grandson, it is doubtful
if any one family have contributed more to the permanent development
of Sauk County than the Proutys. Grandfather Prouty lived a long and
useful life and attained the venerable age of ninety-four, while his wife
lived to be seventy-five. Their eight sons were Andrew, deceased ; John ;
Stephen, deceased: Barnabas; Joshua, deceased; Enoch; Jeremiah; and
Hiram ; all of them having been given good biblical names, indicating
the strong religious nature of their parents.
Barnabas Prouty, now a resident of Spring Green, has had his home
in Sauk County for over seventy years, and with his eyes has witnessed
practically every phase of development of which this publication is a
record. He and his wife had the following children : Uriah T., Murten
R., Lottie, Edward A., Earl B. and John M.
Uriah T. Prouty grew up on the old home farm, and was educated
in somewhat better schools than those which his father attended when
he was a boy in Sauk County. Mr. Prouty has shown much business
ability and in 1895 he bought from his father the old homestead in
Washington Township. He is the owner of 110 acres, well improved and
highly productive, and no small part of its area has been cleared and
put under the plow by his individual exertions. Mr. Prouty has a high
class dairy with a herd of about twenty-two cows, uses the silo system
of feeding, and liesides his home place he conducts a cheese factory,
which cares for about 7,000 pounds of milk daily. Mr. Prouty is a
republican in politics and is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of
America and the Order of Beavers.
On January 15, 1896, Mr. Prouty married Mary Constantino, daugh-
ter of Peter and Alvina Constantine, also of Sandusky, Sauk County.
Mr. and Mrs. Prouty have three children : Helen, aged eighteen ; Net-
tie, aged sixteen ; and Margaret, a young girl of seven just entering
public schools.
Thomas E. Fargen. Bear Creek Township has known and honored
the name of Fargen for nearly seventy years. The naiT\^ is associated
1122 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
with industry, with the clearing of the land from tlie wilderness and
with every honorable activity and influence of that community. The
family was established here in early times by Martin and Mary (King)
Fargen. Martin Fargen was born in County Mavo, Ireland, and came
to Wisconsin in 1847. As a partner with his brother John he settled
on a farm in Sauk County and these two brothers cleared up and
improved a large part of the land. Martin Fargen passed away in 1901.
He married April 12, 1873, Mary King, who is still living. Their chil-
dren were: Mary; Martin, deceased; Henry, deceased; James; Kate;
Ellen ; Thomas ; Clara ; and Bernard.
Thomas E. Fargen was born on the old home farm where he still
lives on June 23, 1887. He grew up there, attending the public schools
of Bear Creek Township, and has developed his opportunities and
capacities as a farmer and is now the active head of one of the best farms
of the township, comprising 460 acres. He has done a great deal with
live stock, and at the present time has about seventy head of cattle and
has a dairy of thirty-one cows. He has first-class improvements all
around, and has found the silo a most satisfactory and profitable ad.junct
and it is one of the modern features of his farm. Mr. Fargen is a demo-
crat in politics, a Catholic in religion, and affiliates with the ^lodern
Woodmen of America.
Mrs. Elizabeth Goodell has been continuously a resident in one
locality of Washington Township for almost half a century. Her fine
farm at Lime Ridge represents the toil and industry of all these years
and is a beautiful home in which she expects to spend the rest of her life.
Mrs. Goodell was born in Queen's Gardens, Middlesex, London,
England, October 13, 1846, daughter of Mitchell Burke and Annie Price.
Two months before her birth her father died in London. Her mother
afterwards married in England Patrick Shea, and in 1851 the family
came to America, there being two other children besides Elizabeth, Mary
A. and Patrick. Mrs. Goodell's mother died in 1905.
Mrs. Goodell was married in Washington Township May 26, 1867,
to Orrin Goodell, son of Major and Deliverance Goodell. His father was
a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Mr. and Mrs. Goodell had seven
children : Amanda Elizabeth, v David, John, Maryetta, Arthur F.,
Thomas J. and Homer L. Amanda E. is the wife of Wilbert L. Morgan
and has two children. John married Anna Birney and their family con-
sists of three children. Maryetta is the wife of Napoleon Trombly and
is the mother of five children. Homer L. married Ada Mead and has
two children. The other children of Mrs. Goodell are still single.
Mrs. Goodell 's farm consists of eighty acres, and it has been her place
of residence since 1868. Mr. Goodell did nearly all the clearing of this
place and put up most of the substantial building improvements that
now mark and give value to the home. Mr. Goodell was an active demo-
crat. The family now run a profitable dairy, keeping about fifteen head
of cattle and milking about twelve cows. The son Arthur F. has been
town treasurer of Washington Township for the past five years.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1123
Robert Dowd. Some of the best farms and some of the most pro-
g:ressive farmers are found in Dellona Township, and among them is Mr.
Robert Dowd, who grew up in the same section where he is now employ-
ing his efforts with such success to the tilling and cultivation of the soil.
Mr. Dowd was born in Dellona Township in 1863, a son of Patrick
Dowd. who came to Dellona Township in the early days from County
Monaghan, Ireland. Robert Dowd has two brothers, Patrick and James.
After getting his education he took up farming, and has gradually
increased his meaus until he owns a completely equipped farm of 160
acres. He is also known locally as a breeder of Durham cattle. Mr,
Dowd is independent in politics.
J. D. Leigh, one of the men who are giving tone and character to the
agricultural interests of Dellona Township, has spent nearly all the years
of his manhood in Sauk County, and has founded a place that satisfies
most of his ambitions and his ideals of a home and place of business.
Mr. Leigh was l)orn in Wales Township, Erie County, New York, in
1854, son of Charles and Miranda (Pease) Leigh. His father came from
England in boyhood and was married in New York State. On coming
west he first settled in Dane County, Wisconsin, and in February, 1880,
located in Dellona Township of Sauk County. He was a prosperous
agriculturist and died in February, 1901, in advanced years. The
widowed mother passed away August 4, 1906.
J. D. Leigh grew up as a farmer, acquired a common school educa-
tion, and is now the prosperous owner of 280 acres of land in Sauk
County. He does general farming and has also bred and raised Jersey
cattle for dairying purposes. Mr. Leigh is an active republican in poli-
tics. In 1897 he married Miss Ida Crosier, daughter of J. W. Crosier.
Michael Gleason has been numbered among the successful farmers
of Dellona Township for over thirty years, and is today the fortunate
possessor of a fine farm with all the modern improvements and has a
home and family who do credit to his name.
Mr. Gleason was born at Lyndon, in Juneau County, Wisconsin,
January 13, 1861, a son of Patrick and Catherine (Quimi) Gleason. His
parents came from County Clare, Ireland, in 1859, and were early
settlers in this section of Wisconsin. His father died in 1882 and his
mother in 1890. They had a family of seven children: Patrick, who
married Bridget GrifRn ; May. who married Ed Murphy; Annie, unmar-
ried; John, whose wife was Agnes Collins; Michael; Thomas and Cath-
erine, both unmarried.
Michael Gleason grew up on a farm, and through his own efforts has
acquired his present place in Dellona Township of 160 acres. He pur-
sues general farming and stock raising. In politics he is an active
democrat.
In 1885 Mr. Gleason married Bridget McHugh, daughter of Francis
McHugh. Mr. and Mrs. Gleason have five children: Mary, now the
Mdfe of Turner ITside and living in Tacoma, Washington ; Francis, Agnes,
Roy and Irene, all unmarried and still at home. These children were
educated in the local district and the high school.
1124 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
F. J. Henrichs has been a resident of Sauk County over thirty years,
and coming to this country an obscure and poor German youth, has
steadily progressed by industry and thrift until he is now proprietor of
one of the fine farms in Dellona Township.
He was bom in Germany, August 1, 1858, a son of John and Marie
(Meyer) Henrichs. He grew up and was educated in the old. country
and in 1884 arrived in Sauk County, first settling in E-eedsburg Town-
ship. Later he bought the place he now owns, comprising 220 acres, in
Dellona Township. That farm has responded to his efforts as an agri-
culturist and its many improvements are practically all the fruit of his
enterprise and hard work. He is both a farmer and stock raiser.
Mr. Henrichs married Maria Gade. Their children are: AVilliam,
who married Alwene Neimann, of Baraboo ; Dora, wife of C. Farber, of
Reedsburg; Edward, unmarried; Ella, wife of Herman Schuette, of
Lime Ridge; and Hugo, unmarried. The children were all given good
advantages at home and in the local public schools. Mr. Henrichs is a
republican in politics and a member of the Lutheran Church.
Joseph J. Weitzel has been a resident of Bear Creek Township since
1893, in which year he located on 163 acres. This hardly constituted a
farm at that time, certainly not in the modern sense, and in the past
twenty-four years Mr. Weitzel has expended a tremendous amount of
personal energy and of time and means in its clearing and development.
He has now a place which to a large degree satisfies even his particular
and critical standards, and is regarded as one of the fine farms of the
township. Mr. Weitzel conducts a dairy of about twenty-eight cows.
He was born in Richland County, Wisconsin, September 23, 1863, a
son of John and Catherine (Dick) Weitzel. His father was born in Ger-
many and his mother at Waukesha, Wisconsin. They were married in
Keesville Church in Bear Creek Township in 1862. The father was a
well known citizen of Sauk County and died here February 22, 1917,
while the mother passed away October 18, 1914. Their children were :
Joseph J., Mary, Louise, Edward, Julia, John, Clara and Winnie.
Joseph J. Weitzel married Susan Smyth, daughter of Peter and Mar-
garet (Quigley) Smyth of Bear Creek Township. Mr. Weitzel is a dem-
ocrat in politics, a member of the Catholic Church. He has served on the
school board of his home locality.
W. D. Bible is one of the most prosperous farmers of Ironton Town-
ship, and both he and his famil.y have long been identified with this com-
munity. His maternal grandfather Carr was the first settler in the town-
ship, and the valley where the farm is situated is named in his honor
Carr Valley.
Wilbert D. Bible is a son of George W. and Esther M. (Carr) Bilile.
His father was a native of Tennessee and his mother of Wisconsin.
George W. Bible fought throughout the Civil war as a Union soldier,
and is now living at Reedsburg at the venerable age of eighty-one. His
wife passed away in May, 1890. They had a large family of children
named as follows : Wilbert D. ; Addie of Baraboo ; Frank 0. of Chipi:)ewa
Falls ; Charles E. of Downing, Wisconsin ; Mary E. of Ironton ; Emma B.
of North Freedom ; Walter L. of Lime Ridge ; and George E. of Chippewa
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1125
Falls. Addie is the wife of Frank W. Cleveland of Baraboo; Frank 0.
married Rose Heneritte of fronton Township; Charles E. married Adell
Conklin of Lime Ridge; i\Iary E. is the wife of Alfred J. Blakeslee of
Ironton ; Emma B. married George W. Davies, of Spring Green, present
superintendent of schools of Sauk County; Walter L. married Elsa M.
Bohn of Lime Ridge; and George E. married Myrtle Bohn, daughter of
C. Bohn of Lime Ridge.
W. D. Bible was born in Ironton Township, and has always lived on
the farm where he now carries on his industry as a practical agriculturist.
He bought this place from his father on November 4, 1901. Altogether
he owns 196 acres and conducts it as a general farming and stock raising
proposition, with a herd of dairy cows.
Mr. Bible married December 1, 1883, Nellie Cleveland, daughter of
Henry and Angeline Cleveland. Their daughter, Edna Esther, is the
wife of Lee Matthews and they have one little daughter, June, born
August 23, 1917. Mr. Matthews is the son of William and Amy (Smith)
Matthews of Sauk County, Wisconsin,
W. L. Bible, whose skill and attainments as a doctor of dental surgery
have brought him a large patronage, is a native of Sauk County and is
established in practice at Lime Ridge in Ironton Township.
Doctor Bible was born in that township September 24, 1880, a son of
George W. and Esther M. (Carr) Bible. His father was a native of
Tennessee and his mother of Wisconsin. Walter L. Bible grew up in
Sauk County, acquired his education in the local public schools and in
1906 graduated from tlie Northwestern University School of Dentistry
at Chicago. He at once returned to his home locality and with offices at
Lime Ridge has built up a most successful patronage. He was born on
his father's farm in Ironton Township, and his environment was that of
the country until he was twenty-one j^ears of age.
Doctor Bible married Elsa M. Bohn, daughter of R. L. and Belle
(Cushman) Bohn of Lime Ridge. Mrs. Bible has the following brothers
and sisters : Otto Bohn of Lime Ridge ; Mrs. Nellie Kamps of Marsh-
field, Wisconsin ; Mrs. Nina Hall of Livingston, Alabama ; Mrs. Eva Ful-
ler of Reedsburg ; Alta Bohn of Lime Ridge ; Clarence of York, Pennsyl-
vania, now serving in the United States Army; Harvey, also serving in
the United States Army ; Blanche ; Carl and Lucile, all of whom live at
Lime Ridge.
Frederick Koenig, now seventy-five years of age, and a retired resi-
dent of Washington Township, has been identified with the farming
interests and the civic affairs of Sauk County for over forty years. He
■won his prosperity in Sauk County, and is extremely loyal to the county
and its people.
Mr. Koenig was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1842, son of Henry
and Caroline (Mueller) Koenig. His mother died in 1867 and his father
in 1863.
Reared and educated in his native country, Frederick Koenig came
to America in 1874 at the age of thirty-two. For a time he was in Illinois,
but later in the same year came to Sauk County and soon acquired his.
1126 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
first interest in the lands of Washington Township. He proved an in-
dustrious and energetic farmer and gradually built up the homestead
whose fruit he now enjoys.
On November 17, 1878, Mr. Koenig married Fredericka Rambow,
daughter of William and Wilhelmina Rambow of Brandenburg, Ger-
many. Mr. and Mrs. Koenig have only one child, Ida. She was married
March 9, 1911, to Mr. Emil Kappen, son of Rudolph and Bertha Kappen
of fronton Township, Sauk County. Mr. Kappen is now active manager
of the homestead farm, which contains eighty well tilled and fertile acres.
They operate the farm as a dairy proposition, have about fourteen milch
cows and altogether about seventeen head of good cattle. Mr. and Mrs.
Kappen have three sons : Alvin, aged five ; Arthur, aged four ; Everett,
aged about two years, and their only daughter. Alma, died in infancy.
Frederick Koenig is a republican in politics and is an active member
of the Lutheran Church.
Frank McCarville, a native of Sauk County and member of one of
its oldest families, M'as blessed with health and strength and with the
enterprise that enables any man to make the best of his circumstances
and opportunities. He has employed these advantages to help himself
and help his community, and is numbered among the ablest farmers and
citizens of Bear Creek Township.
Mr. McCarville was born in Bear Creek Township May 1, 1863, a
son of James and Julia McCarville. His parents came from Ireland in
1847 and in that year, before Wisconsin became a state, located in the
wilderness of Bear Creek Township, where they began the development
and improvement of a wilderness tract of eighty acres. The father was
prospered in his endeavors and subsequently acquired 200 acres more,
all of which he saw well cleared and improved before his death which
occurred in October, 1910. His wife passed away in 1874. Their chil-
dren were : John, deceased ; Daniel, deceased ; Frank ; Catherine : Delia ;
and Mamie.
Frank McCarville has spent all his life in the locality where he was
born, and as a boy he attended the local public schools. About the time
he married in November, 1891, he settled on his present farm, where he
now owns 340 acres. Some of this land was improved and cleared by
his own hands, and any part of it is now worth several times what he paid
for it. Mr. McCarville conducts general farming operations, keeps about
sixty hea.d of livestock, is a breeder of Holstein cattle, and runs a dairy
of thirty-nine cows. Mr. McCarville is a democrat in politics, belongs to
the Modern Woodmen of America and he and his family worship in the
Catholic Church.
On November 27, 1891, he married Julia Farley, daughter of John
and Margaret (Dwyer) Farley. Mr. and Mrs. McCarville have not only
enjoyed prosperity in a material sense but they take much credit them-
selves for the fine family of children who have grown up or are growing
up within their home. These children named in order of birth are :
Genevieve, Monica, Bessie. Rae, Viola, Loretta, Camilla, Marguerite,
Bernadine, Vivian, Madeline and James.
HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY 1127
William Mihlbauer. One of the best farm homes in La Valle Town-
ship, and one that contributes its share to the dairy industry of Sauk
County, is that of William Mihlbauer, one of the young and progressive
agriculturists of this section.
He was born on the old homestead in La Valle Township April 3,
1874, a son of Philip and Mary (Eder) Mihlbauer. The father was born
in Germany in 1843 and was about fourteen years of age when his parents
came to Sauk County and settled in the wilderness. The maternal grand-
parents Adam and Barbara Eder were also German people and identified
themselves with Sauk County in early times. They settled on the farm
where Frank Appel now lives and both of them spent the rest of their
days there.
Philip Mihlbauer grew up in Sauk County, married here and his first
wife passed away in 1877 leaving three children, George, Susie and
William. He afterwards married Kate Salzenbarger, and the children
of that union were : Pauline, wife of George Gardner ; Mattie, Edward,
Hilda, Wendell, Annie, Laurie, John and Anthony, the last three being
deceased. The mother of these children passed away in 1914, and Mr.
Philip Mihlbauer is now living retired at the age of seventy-five on the
old farm.
William Mihlbauer was three years of age when his mother died. He
grew up on the home place, secured his education in the local schools, and
from the first has been identified in a special manner with the agricul-
tural industry. In 1904 he bought a farm of sixty acres, including the
site of his present residence, and later bought eighty acres of woodland.
He has since sold seventeen acres so that his farming operations are now-
conducted on 123 acres representing a most complete and well managed
farm. He has erected some good buildings, including a good home in
1912. He farms the land to the staple crops of this region and raises
considerable stock, his dairy consisting of about twelve graded cows. In
matters of politics Mr. Mihlbauer is a democrat and in religious faith is a
Catholic.
June 1, 1904, he married Miss Lizzie Leicher. Mrs. Mihlbauer is also
a native of La Valle Township, where she was born in 1887, a daughter
of Lawrence and Bena Leicher. Her parents were early settlers in Sauk
County and her father died here in 1898 and her mother in 1913. They
had seven children named Joseph, Annie, Rose, William, Matilda, Eliza-
beth (Mrs. Mihlbauer), and Gertrude. The son William died at the age
of twenty-six and Gertrude is deceased.
Mr. and Mrs. Mihlbauer are the parents of four children. Paul, the
oldest, is deceased, and the other three who constitute the family circle
are Emery, Emeline and Leonard.
Anthony Olson. Among the men who have borne the hard work of
clearing and establishing farm homes in Bear Creek Township, one is
Anthony Olson, owner and proprietor of one of the leading dairy and
general farms of his community.
Mr. Olson was born in Norway June 7, 1850, son of Hans and Matilda
(Gilbertson) Olson. On the 4th of July, 1856, the Olson family arrived
in Dane County, Wisconsin, but three years later moved to Iowa County
Vol. II 3 6
1128 HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
in this state, where the father bought forty acres of new land. Hans
Olson was a very industrious and capable pioneer, and before his death
owned 280 acres. He passed away March 12, 1908, and his widow is still
living- at the age of ninety-two. Anthony is the only survivor of their
four children, his brothers and sister having been Louis, Albert and
Caroline.
Anthony Olson grew up and received his education in Wisconsin and
was well trained as a farmer under the direction of his father. He came
to Bear Creek Township and bought his present farm in the spring of
1904. He owns 300 acres, and eighty acres of that were cleared under his
immediate supervision. He has a splendid group of building improve-
ments including barns, silo and a comfortable home. He keeps on the
average seventy head of livestock and has a dairy of thirty-seven cows.
His home occupies a rather historic site, the ground having been occu-
pied in early times by an old grist mill which ground the grain for many
of the pioneer settlers of this community. Mr. Olson is a republican in
politics and a member of the Lutheran Church.
On April 11, 1872, he married Miss Dina Nelson. They have reared
a large family of children, namely : Martin ; Nicholas ; Samuel ; Henry,
deceased ; Albert ; Louis ; Caroline ; Augusta ; and Christopher.
'^EMCO, ,Nc
BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVE^^^^^^
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