Class. F ^ " Z 
 Book ^^L C'\ 
 
- -O Ly' -J 
 
 C()MME.\I0HAT1VE 15I0GRAFIIICAL KECORD 
 
 OK THE 
 
 WEST SHOR§ OF GREEN BAY, 
 
 WISCONSIN, 
 
 INCHJOING THE COUNTIES OF 
 
 Bniwii. Oconto. Marinette and Florence, 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF PROMINENT AND REPRESENTATIVE 
 CITIZENS, AND OF MANY OF THE EARLY SETTLED FAMILIES. 
 
 -ILLUSTRATED- 
 
 ciiiCAGo: 
 
 J. H. BEERS & CO. 
 
 1896. 
 
Prekace. 
 
 THE importance of placing in book form biographical historj- of representative 
 citizens — both for its immediate worth and for its \alue to coming generations 
 — is admitted by all thinking people; and within the ])ast decade there has 
 been a growing interest in this commendable means of perpetuating biography 
 and family genealogy. 
 
 That the public is entitled to the pri\'ileges afforded by a work of this nature 
 needs no assertion at oar hands; for one of (_)ur greatest Americans has said that the 
 history of any country resolves itself into the biographies of its stout, earnest and 
 representative citizens. This medium, then, serves more than a single purpose: 
 while it perpetuates biography and family genealogy, it records histor}-, much of 
 which would be preserved in no other way. 
 
 In presenting the Commemorative Biographical Record to its patrons, the 
 publishers have to acknowledge, with gratitude, the encouragement and support their 
 enterprise has received, and the willing assistance rendered in enabling them to sur- 
 mount the man}- unforeseen obstacles to be met with in the production of a work of 
 this character. In nearly every instance the material composing the sketches was 
 gathered from those immediately interested, and then submitted in type-written form 
 for correction and revision. The volume, which is one of generous amplitude, is 
 placed in the hands of the public with the belief that it will be found a valuable addi- 
 tion to the library, as well as an invaluable contribution to the historical literature of 
 the State of Wisconsin. 
 
 THE PUBLISHERS. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL 
 
 ^'j 
 
 
 AKTIN, HON. MOR- 
 GAN LEWIS, *was 
 ' ' one of tlie most 
 conspicuous and dis- 
 tinguished among the 
 band of pioneer settlers 
 who early gave a nation- 
 al reputation to Wiscon- 
 sin. " He was mainly 
 instrumental — chiefly by 
 his influence in both Sen- 
 ate and Congress — in se- 
 curing the Fox River\'al- 
 *^J^* ley improvement, and his name 
 "y*^ is indissolubly linked with the 
 early history of a great portion of north- 
 ern W^isconsin. 
 
 Judge Martin, for by that title he is 
 more generally referred to, came of good 
 lineage, the family being of eminence and 
 antiquity in Hertfordshire, England, and 
 Tours, France. The name of his imme- 
 diate ancestor, Thomas Martin, is borne 
 on the list of colonists who emigrated to 
 America in 1693, and he became one of 
 the proprietors of the Ockoocangansett 
 plantation in Marlborough, Mass., land 
 
 * For much of the personal sketcli of Judge Martin we 
 are indebted to ■■ Reminiscences of Morgan L. Martin, 18^7- 
 IHH7," edited and annotated, witll biographical sketch, by 
 Reuben G Thwaites. Secretary State Historical Society of 
 Wisconsin. — Ed. 
 
 having been granted him there. Aaron 
 Martin, his grandson (son of Adam, who 
 died April 25, 1716), born January 21, 
 1 712, was in Salem, Mass., where the 
 colonists first settled, the Martins a few 
 years later moving to Sturbridge, in that 
 State, where the original homestead was 
 built, and which is still in a fair state of 
 preservation. This Aaron Martin, who 
 was the great-grandfather of Morgan 
 Lewis Martin, was one of the first manu- 
 facturers in New England, holding large 
 domains of land on the various river 
 courses; and, while yet in middle life, was 
 drowned in one of his own mill streams, 
 the Quenebang river, when crossing over 
 to the mill on a cold March morning. 
 
 Adam Martin, his son, who was born 
 August 5, 1 7 16, owned, in 1763, a valua- 
 ble estate, with water power and sawmills. 
 He was an officer in the Provincial army 
 during the French and Indian wars, sub- 
 sequently captain in a Massachusetts regi- 
 ment during the Revolution, his commis- 
 sions dating April 24, 1770, and August 
 '7. '797. respectively. Like his father, 
 from whom he inherited extensive landed 
 property, he was largely interested in 
 lumber, woolen and grain mills in Lewis 
 county, N. Y., whither he had emigrated 
 at an early day, while the country was 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 yet a wilderness. He purchased a town- 
 ship in Lewis county (which was named 
 after Governor Morgan Lewis, of New 
 York), naming the chief town "Martins- 
 burg," after himself. 
 
 His only son, \\'alter, father of Hon. 
 Morgan L. Martin, while yet a young 
 man, came into the inheritance, and was 
 considered the patron of northern New 
 York. \\'hile yet a lad he served under 
 his father in 1788, and at the close of the 
 war of 1812 Col. Martin was commis- 
 sioned by Gov. George Clinton, of New 
 York, quartermaster No. 1 of militia 
 in which his father had been commis- 
 sioned lieutenant-colonel. These com- 
 missions are still intact, the heading of 
 Col. Walter Martin's reading as fol- 
 lows: " The People of the State of New 
 York, by the grace of God free and inde- 
 pendent, to Walter Martin, gentleman, 
 greeting." 
 
 Morgan Lewis Martin, son of Gen. 
 Walter Martin, was born in Martinsburgh, 
 Lewis Co., N. Y., March 31, 1805. In 
 1824 he graduated from Hamilton Col- 
 lege, at Clinton, N. Y., and for two years 
 he studied law with Collins & Parish in 
 Lovvville, N. Y. In 1826 he went to 
 Detroit (then the chief city of the North- 
 west), where he entered the law office of 
 Henry S. Cole, and was soon afterward 
 admitted to the bar. But he did not 
 long remain in Detroit, for in May, 1827, 
 acting under the advice of his cousin, 
 James Duane Doty-^who was then seek- 
 ing to have the Territory of Huron erected 
 by Congress, with Green Bay as the seat 
 of government — he took up his home in 
 Green Bay, and here resided until his 
 death which occurred December 10, 1887 
 — a most interesting period of sixty 
 years. 
 
 Judge Martin landed in Green Bay 
 May 20, 1827, the voyage from Detroit 
 having been made c)n the "La Grange," 
 a chance sailer, loaded with provisions 
 for the garrison at Fort Howard, and 
 having on board several army officers, 
 among whom were Brig-Gen. Hugh 
 
 Brad}' and Paymaster Maj. Benjamin F. 
 Larned. Of the civilians, who were also 
 passengers on the "La Grange," was 
 Father Fauvel, the first of his Church, it 
 is said, to land in Green Bay after the 
 close of the earlj' missions. At Shanty 
 Town, in those days the commercial em- 
 porium of the Bay Settlement, our sub- 
 ject established his law ofifice, which con- 
 sisted of a room in a story-and-a-half 
 frame building occupied by a branch of 
 the Ducharme family. At that time there 
 were not more than one hundred civilians 
 at the Bay Settlement, in the main con- 
 sisting of French and mixed-blood " voy- 
 agcurs," and Indians of various tribes — 
 Pottawattamies, Ottawas, &c. — were 
 numerous. There were a few clearings 
 and cultivated fields surrounding the set- 
 tlement, Lawe, Porlier and Grignon be- 
 ing the leading agriculturists, the latter 
 having, probably, the most pretentious 
 farm, which same was located at the 
 Kaukauna rapitls, on the north side, be- 
 low the present city of Kaukauna. 
 
 In 1828 Judge Martin took a canoe 
 voyage from Green Bay to Prairie du 
 Chien, up the Fox ri\er and down the 
 \\'isconsin, and enjo3'ed a ver}' interesting 
 experience. The year before had occur- 
 red the Winnebago outbreak at Prairie 
 du Chien, and the murderer Red Bird 
 and his friends were now to be tried at a 
 special term of court. Judge Doty had 
 appointed our subject United States dis- 
 trict attorney, />n> tent, hence the latter's 
 presence with the judicial party. On his 
 arrival at Prairie du Chien he met Lucius 
 Lyon (whom he had previously known in 
 Detroit), at that time a United States sur- 
 veyor, who had just completed his survey 
 of the private French land claims there, 
 and our subject finding that, after all, 
 his services in the Red Bird case would 
 not be needed, he and Lyon planned to 
 make a tour through the lead mines. 
 "There were no maps of this country 
 then," writes Judge ^Iartin, "but Lyon 
 had a small pocket compass with him, 
 and took the courses and distances of the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Fox-Wisconsin route, and made the tirst 
 approximately correct map of that water 
 highway; later, on my return from Galena 
 to Prairie du Chien, I did the same for 
 the Mississippi; we then put our notes to- 
 gether and gave the result to a prominent 
 eastern map-maker who adopted it as part 
 of the geography of the country. It was 
 published in 1829 or 1830, and was the 
 first real map of the country between 
 Green Bay and Galena. I was much 
 gratified, afterward, to see that later 
 official surveys of the Mississippi corres- 
 ponded exactly with mine. Lyon and I 
 started down the Mississippi from Prairie 
 du Chien on a very primitive sort of 
 steamer; there were two vessels like 
 Mackinaw boats, with a platform between 
 and a shed built on that — it was, in fact, 
 a steam catamaran. During the entire 
 time court was in session at the Prairie, 
 we staid at Galena, and then Judge Doty 
 and Rowland came down and joined us 
 there. After a few days, Lyon and I went 
 on what was then a decidedly novel trip, 
 an expedition through the mining region 
 north of Galena," which they found over- 
 flowing with prospectors, miners, and a 
 certain nondescript class that might be 
 catalogued as " camp followers," in all 
 fully two thousand men. After their in- 
 spection of the mining country, the party 
 returned home from Galena the way they 
 had gone, meeting with no special ad- 
 venture. 
 
 In the spring of 1829, in company 
 with Wistweavv, a Menomonee Indian, 
 and Alexander Grignon, a young half- 
 blood Menomonee, as assistants. Judge 
 Martin and Judge Doty, starting from 
 Green Bay on horseback, traversed the, 
 up to that time little known, region south 
 of the Fox and Wisconsix rivers, and are 
 believed to have been the first party to 
 make the trip by land between the ex- 
 treme outposts of this section — Green 
 Bay and Prairie du Chien. At the latter 
 place Judge Doty held a term of court, 
 and Judge Martin officiated as United 
 States district attorney, pro tc/n. Their 
 
 return trip was also by overlanil, but with 
 some change of trail, and on both jour- 
 neys they were greatly struck with the 
 beauty of the lake country and its adapta- 
 bility for becoming the abode of civilized 
 life. They passed along the north bank 
 of Fourth lake, where eight years after- 
 ward, in 1836, Judge Martin laid out the 
 " City of the Four Lakes," and the coun- 
 try they traversed on this novel journey 
 was (in the words of Judge Martin him- 
 self), "after reaching a distance of thirty 
 miles from Green Bay, more charming 
 than any we had ever beheld, with its ex- 
 tensive oak openings and almost unlimited 
 prairies. There was not, however, a 
 trace of occupancy or any indication that 
 it had ever before been traversed by white 
 men. " 
 
 In October, 1829, the first public 
 meeting in the history of Green Bay was 
 held there, Louis Grignon being chair- 
 man, and Judge Martin, secretary. Con- 
 gress was petitioned to build a road from 
 Green Bay to Chicago, and also to im- 
 prove the Fox and Wisconsin rivers. In 
 1833 the Judge paid his first visit to Mil- 
 waukee, while on a horse-back tour of 
 exploration, on which occasion he was 
 accompanied by Daniel Le Roy and P. 
 B. Grignon, and as far as Fond du Lac 
 their course lay on the same trail our sub- 
 ject and Judge Doty had made in 1829. 
 After that they struck southeast to the 
 shore of Lake Michigan, following it 
 closely until the Milwaukee river was 
 reached. At their destination they met 
 Solomon Juneau, the trader, whose home 
 was the " old trading house," and he and 
 Judge Martin became fast friends, their 
 business relations continuing many years 
 — in fact they were joint owners of the 
 original plat of Milwaukee; and such con- 
 fidence had they in each other, that no 
 written memorandum of the terms of 
 their partnership was ever made between 
 them; yet at the end of three years ac- 
 counts between them were adjusted, and 
 " property valued at hundreds of thous- 
 ands divided with as little difficulty as 
 
lO 
 
 COMMkMUJiATIl'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 you would settle a tritling store bill," the 
 Judge's own words. Such in lirief is an 
 outline of the life of Judge Martin as a 
 pioneer of northern Wisconsin; and the 
 early history of the city of Green Bay, as 
 well as of the entire Fox River Valley, is 
 so inter\olved with the active period of 
 his life, that a record of the one is essen- 
 tially a record of the other. 
 
 From the "Reminiscences" we ex- 
 cerpt the following, illustrative of the 
 early efforts toward the improvement of 
 the Fox-Wisconsin river highway, an im- 
 portant feature in the development of 
 this portion of the State. The statement 
 is substantially in the Judge's own words: 
 " The first movement by the general gov- 
 ernment toward the improvement of the 
 Fox-Wisconsin ri\er highway — with a 
 view to making a continuous line of navi- 
 gation from Lake Michigan to the Missis- 
 sippi river — was made in 1839, while I 
 was in the Territorial council. Capt. 
 Thomas J. Cram, of the topographical 
 engineers, made, under the direction of 
 the War Department, a preliminary sur- 
 vey of the rivers and an estimate of the 
 cost of their improvement. In 1846, 
 while a delegate in C(Migress, 1 secured, 
 by dint of very hard work, the passage of 
 an Act (approved August 8) making a 
 grant of land to the State, upon its ad- 
 mission into the Union, for the improve- 
 ment of the Fox river alone, and the build- 
 ing of a canal across the portage between 
 the two rivers. The grant covered every 
 odd- numbered section within three miles 
 of the canal, the river and the lake, fit 
 route from the portage to the mouth. 
 When the second Constitutional Conven- 
 tion was held, this proposition on the 
 part of Congress was endorsed, and, at 
 the first session of the State Legislature, 
 the latter body passed an Act, approved 
 August 8, 1848, appointing a board of 
 public works consisting of five persons 
 and providing for the improvement of the 
 river. * * * On January i, 1851, the 
 board reported to the Legislature that 
 the work would have to stop unless some 
 
 device for a more rapid sale of land could 
 be originated. While the affair was in 
 this condition, I made a proposition to 
 the Legislature, through Gov. Dewey, to 
 do the work from Green Bay to Lake 
 Winnebago, except what the board of 
 public works had finished or was already 
 under contract for. The board had dug 
 the canal at Portage, before there was 
 any steam navigation possible on the 
 Lower Fox. * * * The Legislature of 
 1851 accepted my proposition, and I 
 went to work with about five hundred 
 men, commencing at Kaukauna. Oper- 
 ations were carried on throughout that 
 season, along the entire distance from 
 Green Bay to Lake W^innebago." The 
 Improvement Company went on with the 
 work until 1856, in which year the first 
 boat, the "Aquilla," passed through the 
 works — from Pittsburg to Green Bay. 
 
 From 1 83 1 to 1835 Judge Martin was 
 a member of the legislative council of 
 Michigan Territory, and from 1838 to 
 1844 he was one of the Territorial council 
 of Wisconsin. In 1845-47 he represented 
 his Territory in Congress with marked 
 ability; was president of the State Con- 
 stitutional Convention of 1847-48, and 
 both in the chair and on the floor was 
 one of the guiding spirits of the body 
 which framed the charter under which 
 the Commonwealth of Wisconsin still 
 operates. In 1855 he was elected a 
 member of the State Assembly, and three 
 3"ears later was sent up to the Senate. 
 Throughout the entire period of the Civil 
 war he served as an army paymaster. In 
 1866 he was appointed Indian agent, 
 holding the position until 1869, when the 
 War Department took charge of Indian 
 affairs. In 1866 he was the candidate 
 (mider the Johnson movement) for Con- 
 gress, from the Fifth District, in which 
 campaign he was defeated by Philetus 
 Sawyer. In 1870 he resumed the prac- 
 tice of law which he had temporarily laid 
 aside, and in 1873 he was again elected 
 to the Assembly. From 1875 until his 
 decease he served as county judge of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Brown count}', and from its orj^anization 
 was one of the most active of the vice- 
 presidents of the State Historical Society 
 of Wisconsin. 
 
 On July 25, 1837, Judge Martin was 
 united in marriage, at Green Bay, with 
 Miss Elizabeth Smith, daughter of Col. 
 Melancthon Smith, U. S. A., and grand- 
 daughter of Judge Melancthon Smith, 
 who wLs a delegate from New York, in 
 Congress, in 17.S2-84, prior to the period 
 of the Constitution. To this marriage 
 were born si.x children, namely: Leonard 
 Martin; Annie, who died in 1861; Me- 
 lancthon, deceased in infancy; Sarah, 
 Morgan L. , Jr., and Debbie. Judge 
 Martin was a man of generous impulses, 
 kindly manner, keen wit, fine literary 
 tastes, and greatly enjoyed the comforts 
 of his beautiful home in Green Bay, 
 " Hazelwood," where lie was surrounded 
 by a loving and accomplished family. He 
 died December 10, 1887. 
 
 JOHN L. JORGENSEN, proprietor 
 of the largest dry-goods and carpet 
 establishment in northern Wiscon- 
 sin, the same being located in the 
 thriving and wide-awake city of Green 
 Bay, Brown county, is a native of Den- 
 mark, born of German ancestry May 27, 
 1849, in the city of Nakskov, Laaland. 
 
 Grandfather Jorgensen (who spelled 
 his name "Juergens"), a highly educated 
 man, resided in Schleswig, where he was 
 a minister of the Lutheran Church. He 
 was possessed of great force of character, 
 interesting himself deeply in the politics 
 of his country, and, being both pro- 
 gressive and aggressive, he took an active 
 part in the revolutionary risings of 1848, 
 shortly after which he was removed to 
 Denmark, the language of which country- 
 he spoke fluently. 
 
 J. A. Jorgensen, father of our subject, 
 who was one of a family of six children, 
 received his education at the public 
 schools of Denmark, which was supple- 
 mented with a course of study at a 
 
 college, his intention at first being to 
 enter some profession. Preferring, how- 
 ever, a mercantile career, he prepared 
 himself for such in some business house 
 of Nakskov, Denmark, where he re- 
 mained, and he has been prominently 
 and successfully engaged in mercantile 
 pursuits for the past hfty years or more, 
 being now one of the oldest and 
 wealthiest merchants in that city, where 
 he is highly esteemed for his integrity, 
 and recognized as a man of influence and 
 ability, and as a leading churchman. He 
 married Miss Sophia Mortensen, a native 
 of Denmark, who died in middle life, the 
 mother of one son, John I^. , the subject 
 of this sketch. 
 
 John L. Jorgensen received his educa- 
 tion in his native town, and was reared 
 to mercantile pursuits. At the age of 
 sixteen years (in 1865), having decided to 
 try his fortune in the New World, he set 
 sail from his native land, and after an 
 uneventful transatlantic voyage landed at 
 Boston, whence he at once proceeded 
 westward, arriving at Chicago, a stranger 
 in a strange land. After a short sojourn 
 in the metropolis of the West, he set 
 out for Wisconsin, Neenah, Winnebago 
 county, being his objective point, and 
 here attended school for a short time in 
 order to become conversant with the 
 English language. Securing now a 
 position in Mr. Pettibone's dry-goods 
 store in Neenah, he remained there a year 
 and a half, after which he was sent by 
 Mr. Pettibone to Green Bay, where he 
 clerked for him a long time in his store 
 in that city; also was in the employ of 
 D. Butler & Son for a brief period. 
 Having by this time saved some money, 
 he commenced the dry-goods business 
 May 27, 1876, at Fort Howard, in part- 
 nership with A. Gray, of that place, in 
 which they continued two and one-half 
 years, when they divided the stock, and 
 Mr. Jorgensen opened out a similar liusi- 
 ness for his own account in Fort Howard, 
 commencing on a small scale, with but 
 two clerks; but he soon found he had to 
 
C0M.MI:M0RATIVE biographical liECORD. 
 
 enlarge his store by adding to it from 
 time to time. The business at last had 
 grown to such proportions in 18S7 that 
 he was compelled to open a branch store 
 in Green Bay, and form a joint-stock 
 company composed of himself and his 
 two brothers-in-law, G. A. and F". T. 
 Blesch, under the firm name of Jorgen- 
 sen, Blesch & Co. Soon the branch 
 store became the chief one, and Mr. 
 Jorgensen found himself under the neces- 
 sity of building a new store on the same 
 street, opposite the old one, which he 
 fitted with all modern improvements, and 
 to-day it is without exception the largest 
 dry-goods and carpet store in northern 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 In 1877 John L. Jorgensen was mar- 
 ried at Fort Howard, Wis., to Miss 
 Sophia Blesch, daughter of Francis and 
 Antoinette (Schneider; Blesch, natives, 
 the father of Bingen-on-the-Rhine, Ger- 
 many, the mother of Brussels, Belgium. 
 Mrs. Jorgensen was born and educated at 
 Fort Howard, is a lady of refined tastes, 
 a great reader, a lover of home, flowers 
 and home influences, and, withal, special- 
 ly excelling as a musician. Our subject 
 in his political preferences is a Republi- 
 can, and in social affiliations is a member 
 of the I. O. O. F.. A. O. U. W. and 
 Royal Arcanum: in the I. O. O. F. he is 
 grand master for the State of Wisconsin, 
 and he was instrumental in having the I. 
 O. O. F. Home established in Green Bay, 
 where at present some thirty members 
 find a home and shelter, and he has been 
 general manager and superintendent of 
 this institution since its establishment. 
 
 WILL1.\M LUEKE, the able and 
 efficient county treasurer of 
 Brown county, stands promi- 
 nent among the German-Ameri- 
 can citizens of northern Wisconsin, by 
 reason of his jiopularity, his administra- 
 tive abilities and his long-established 
 reputation for honesty and loyalty. 
 
 He was born December 24, 1850, in 
 
 Fahlenverder, Province of Brandenburg, 
 Prussia, Germany, of which province, in 
 the cit\' of Nauen, Potsdam, his ancestors, 
 who were for the most part millers by oc- 
 cupation, as far back as can be traced, 
 had "a local habitation and a name." 
 Here his father, Charles F. Lueke, was 
 born December 4, 1S22, and here he was 
 reared and taught the trade of miller in 
 the ancestral mills. After serving his ap- 
 prenticeship he became a journeyman in 
 the business, traveling from place to place 
 (as is the custom in the Fatherland), 
 finally settling in Fahlenverder, where he 
 married Miss Amelia Hordlemann, young- 
 est daughter of one of the prosperous 
 farmers of that locality. Here to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Lueke were born two children, 
 William (our subject) and Louisa, the lat- 
 ter of whom died in Milwaukee, Wis., 
 shortly after the family's arrival in the 
 Western World, in the fall of 1854, the 
 then village of Green Bay being their ob- 
 jective point. Here the father first found 
 employment with G. T. Kyber, in the 
 construction of the old military plank 
 road running from Green Bay to Fond du 
 Lac, next spring moving to De Pere, 
 where he found employment as a miller, 
 his legitimate vocation, and so continued 
 until i860, in which year he bought a 
 mill on Cedar creek, near Green Bay. In 
 the following year, however, he abandoned 
 this and. returning to De Pere, made his 
 home there till the spring of 1867, at 
 which time he moved to Wrightstown, 
 where he built a gristmill, on the East 
 river, more frequently called "Devil 
 river," which mill he successful!}' operated 
 till July 4, 1880, when it was destroyed 
 by fire; he also owned a fine farm of 160 
 acres of land. Selling out this property 
 in the fall of 1880, he removed to Mani- 
 towoc, and here remained till the spring 
 of 1 883, the year of his taking up his resi- 
 dence in Greenleaf. Brown county, where, 
 in association with his son William, he es- 
 tablished a grain and general mercantile 
 business, which they successfully con- 
 ducted till April 7, 1890, when they dis- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 solved partnership, the father takin,;; the 
 store, the son retaining sole control of the 
 grain branch of the concern. Charles F. 
 Lueke continued the store up to his death, 
 which occurred March 23, 1891, when he 
 was sixty-seven years old, the county los- 
 ing one of its best-known and most highly- 
 respected citizens, esteemed by all for his 
 sterling honesty and manly qualities of 
 head and heart. He was an active and 
 consistent member of the Lutheran 
 Church, and in his political affiliations 
 was a lifelong Democrat, although no 
 partisan. In Wisconsin were born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Lueke children as follows: 
 Mary, now Mrs. Gehrke; Albert; Emma, 
 now Mrs. Alten; Charles, Minnie and 
 Fred — eight children in all. The mother 
 is still living in Greenleaf, Brown county. 
 
 William Lueke, the subject proper of 
 this memoir, secured a liberal education, 
 in part at the schools of De Pere, in part 
 at the North Western University of 
 Watertown, Wis. Learning the trade of 
 miller under his father's instruction, he 
 followed same till the summer of 1874, 
 when he embarked in the hotel business 
 in Greenleaf, erecting the "Greenleaf 
 Hotel," now operated by Albert Lueke, 
 who purchased it in 1887. Our subject 
 then devoted his entire attention to the 
 mercantile and grain businesses in the same 
 village, retiring from the former in 1S90, 
 as already recorded, and from the latter 
 at the time of his moving to Green Bay, 
 May 14, 1 89 1, renting his warehouses to 
 other parties. 
 
 In the fall of 1890 he received the 
 Democratic nomination for county treas- 
 urer, and was elected by a majority of 
 1,200, his unquestioned popularity being 
 proven bj' his re-election in the fall of 
 1892, and he is yet filling the incumbency 
 with characteristic ability and fidelity. 
 
 On July 12, 1 87 1, Mr. Lueke was 
 married to Miss Augusta Wuerger, a na- 
 tive of German}', and their union has been 
 blessed with a family of seven children, 
 named respectively: Charles, Flora, Clara, 
 William, Anna, Nora and Lillie. Mr. and 
 
 Mrs. Lueke are members of the Lutheran 
 Church, and are in the enjoyment of the 
 well-merited esteem and regard of the 
 community at large. 
 
 J 
 
 OHN BETH, senior member of the 
 widely-known wholesale and retail 
 grocery firm of John Beth & Sons, 
 is one of those successful merchants 
 who in early life acquired a knowledge of 
 the value of time and money, and who had 
 been early trained to possess patience, 
 qualified with perseverance; to remember 
 that time is money, and that there are 
 just sixty minutes in one hour; and to 
 never forget that whatever is worth doing 
 at all is worth doing well. 
 
 Mr. Beth is a native of Bruttig, Ger- 
 many, born on the river Moselle, Rhein 
 Province, January 25, 1840, a son of 
 Theodore and Catherine (Goebel) Beth; 
 also of German nativity, who in 1852, 
 with their little family of children, emi- 
 grated to the United States, making their 
 first New-World home in Milwaukee. 
 Here the father, who was a shoemaker, 
 followed his trade until 1855, when he 
 came to Green Bay, where he continued 
 his trade up to about the time of his death, 
 which occurred May 3, 1857; his wife had 
 died October 24, 1852. They were the 
 parents of six children, viz. : Jacob, 
 Joseph, John and Frank, who all reside 
 in Green Bay; Maggie, who is the wife 
 of Thomas Hubert, of Menominee, Mich. ; 
 and Katie, who died November i, 1852, 
 at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 
 
 As will be seen, the subject of this 
 sketch was twelve years old when the 
 family came to the United States, so his 
 education had already been secured in 
 Germany, he having attended school 
 there between the ages of seven and 
 twelve. At thirteen he commenced work- 
 ing from home, in Wisconsin, engaging 
 in various occupations for the next few 
 years, or until 1861, when, the Civil war 
 having burst over the land, his ardor to 
 fight for his adopted country prompted 
 
'4 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 him to enlist for service in the Union 
 army. Accordingly, on June 14, that 
 year, he set out on foot for Appleton, 
 Wis., and the following day entered the 
 Appleton Light Infantry, being the third 
 recruit in it from Green Bay. The quota 
 of this company, however, was not filled 
 at that time, and our subject, not to be 
 thwarted in his intentions, proceeded by 
 rail to Alton, 111., where he enlisted in 
 Company K, Twenty-fourth Illinois In- 
 fantry, three-\ears' service. This regi- 
 ment was attached to the Army of the 
 Cumberland June 30, 1861, and partici- 
 pated in the battles of Perryvilic (Ky.), 
 Stone River and Chickamauga, at which 
 latter engagement he received a gunshot 
 wound in the left elbow, which confined 
 him to hospital for some time. On July 
 30, 1864, Mr. Beth received an honorable 
 discharge, and returned home to Green ^ 
 Bay. He then commenced clerking in a 
 grocery store, and so continued until 
 March i, 1870, when he embarked in the 
 wholesale and retail crockery and glass- 
 ware trade, which for eight years he con- 
 ducted with encouraging success. In 
 April, 1878, he combined general gro- 
 ceries, also wholesale and retail, and 
 carried on these departments until 1891, 
 when he closed out the crockery and 
 glassware, substituting flour and feed. In 
 1886 he put up his present substantial 
 brick building, two stories and basement, 
 53 X 100 feet, on Washington street. 
 
 On January 10, 1865, Mr. Beth was 
 married in Green Bay to Miss Elizabeth 
 Knapp, a native of St. Louis, Mo. Her 
 parents resided in Monroe, Wis., for sev- 
 eral years, but are both now deceased, the 
 father having died in St. Louis, Mo. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Beth were born eleven 
 children, nine of whom arc yet living, a 
 brief record of them being as follows: 
 Leonard was married September 24, 1 890, 
 to Miss Mary Mahn. who was born in 
 Green Bay, daughter of Theodore Mahn, 
 an early pioneer of the city, and they have 
 two children, Laura E. and Aaron (he is 
 a member of the Modern Woodmen); 
 
 John \'alentine was married October 10, 
 1893, to Mary Dennis, who was born in 
 Belgium, daughter of David Dennis, of 
 Green Bay; Maggie was married in 18S9 
 to Benjamin Smith, of Green Bay, aod 
 they have two children, Clarence and 
 Chester; Elizabeth is married to Joseph 
 Dennis, and has two children, Louie and 
 Raymond; and Anna, Fred, Emma 
 Charley, and Louie. 
 
 Mr. Beth is a representative self-made 
 man, having b\- his own industry and 
 sound judgment, commencing on a bor- 
 rowed capital of thirty dollars, risen to 
 his present commercial standing, doing a 
 business to the amount of one hundred 
 and twenty thousand dollars per annum. 
 Outside of members of his own family, he 
 gives employment to eight hands, and 
 three of his sons are now associated with 
 him in business. Politically he is a Re- 
 publican, and has served as supervisor. 
 Socially, he is a member of T. O. Howe 
 Post No. 124, G. A. R., of which he was 
 commander two years; president of the 
 Peninsular \'eteran Association, and a 
 member of the Catholic Knights of 
 ^^'isconsin. 
 
 M 
 
 KS, ROSAMOND (BROWN) 
 FOLLETT, deceased. This 
 lady, who for so many years 
 was editor and proprietor of 
 the (Jazctti\ Green Bay, was a native of 
 New York State, born at Dansville. Jan- 
 uary I, 1847. Her early life was happy 
 and abounded in good influences, while 
 the privileges of e.xcellent schools were 
 enjoyed by her, which by degrees brought 
 her into a beautiful womanhood, thor- 
 oughly equipped in purpose and prepara- 
 tion for a useful career. Her education 
 for the most part was received at the 
 public schools and seminary of the place 
 of her birth, also at Auburn, N. Y. . and 
 at Milwaukee. Wisconsin. 
 
 On May 29, 1873, she was united in 
 marriage, at Bath, N. Y., with Dwight I. 
 Follett, one of the founders and proprie- 
 
40 ^^ ^-^ v^^Ur-^ 1 C' 
 
 L Mf</6 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 n 
 
 tors of the Green Bay (\\'is.) Gazette, 
 which had been established by him and 
 Col. George C. Ginty early in 1866. In 
 September of the same year, however, 
 Mr. FoUett sold his interest to Col. Ginty, 
 but reconnected himself in May, 1868, 
 with the paper by purchase of the 
 Colonel's interest (who in the meantime 
 had associated himself with William B. 
 Tapley, of Racine), the firm name be- 
 coming Tapley & Follett. This arrange- 
 ment continued about eighteen months, 
 or until January i, 1870, when Mr. Tap- 
 ley sold out to George E. Hoskinson, and 
 the new firm of Hoskinson & Follett then 
 changed the name of the paper to The 
 State Gazette, commencing a daily issue 
 in November, 1871, and in 1882 Mr. Fol- 
 lett assumed sole ownership and control. 
 The Gazette has always stood in the front 
 rank of the Republican political journals 
 of the State of Wisconsin. 
 
 The home which Mr. and Mrs. Fol- 
 lett created by their marriage was ideal 
 in its happiness, till the 3'oimg wife saw, 
 with unspeakable sorrcjw, that an incura- 
 ble malady would soon take her husband 
 from her. After much painful suffering 
 he was called from earth June 24, 1888, 
 deeply mourned by a wide circle of 
 friends. He was a man of perfect recti- 
 tude, just and honorable, and possessed 
 of a good mind and a true heart — a lover 
 of things beautiful in nature, literature 
 and art. After his death the responsi- 
 bility of the extensive business, which he 
 had wisely planned, but which, owing to 
 ill-health, he had never been able to 
 Ijring to its best possibilities, were laid 
 upon his sorrowing widow. She rose to 
 her new duties, however, with a strength 
 and capacity which astonished even those 
 who knew her best. The necessities of 
 the situation, and, doubtless, the des- 
 peration of her grief, stimulated her every 
 energy into activity. Discouragements 
 that seemed almost paralyzing yielded to 
 her unconquerable determination, and she 
 persevered till success w-as complete. 
 But the shadow of death was upon her. 
 
 and the bright, useful and beautiful life 
 was doomed to total eclipse. Early in 
 the spring of 1894 Mrs. Follett began to 
 realise that her health, which she had 
 thought to be almost faultless, was rap- 
 idly failing, and in searching for a cause 
 it was found that she was suffering from 
 an internal cancer, from which it was 
 early seen there was no possible cure. 
 How this knowledge moved her brave, 
 resolute soul can never be known, for she 
 made no sign of either fear or regret, 
 though her sufferings were intense. She 
 bore all with uncomplaining fortitude, 
 responding to the faithful and tender 
 ministrations o[ friends with loving grati- 
 tude, while her thoughts were of others 
 rather than of herself, even to the last 
 hour of consciousness. 
 
 The end came at last, death releasing 
 her from her sufferings August 27, 1894, 
 and three days later all that was mortal 
 of the departed was laid beside the re- 
 mains of her husband amid the peace and 
 silence of Woodlawn cemetery, Green 
 Bay. A great concourse of the people of 
 the city where for twenty years she had 
 lived and wrought — old and young, rich 
 and poor — citizens from other places, 
 officials, representatives of the Press 
 Association, and many friends from even 
 greater distance, followed the remains to 
 their last resting-place. The funeral took 
 place from the Presbyterian Church, of 
 which she was a member, Re\'. J. L. 
 Hewitt officiating, assisted by Revs. F. R. 
 Haff and H. W. Thompson. Among 
 those assembled to pay their last respects 
 to their loving friend were members of 
 the Press Association, as just mentioned, 
 with which organization earh' in her 
 newspaper life she had identified herself, 
 becoming after the death of her husband 
 a constant attendant at its sessions. 
 Eulogies in the Press were numerous, and 
 from the Green Bay Gazette we glean 
 the following: "" " * " Simple and touch- 
 ing were the ceremonies at the funeral; 
 grief and sorrow were the emotions of al. 
 who had come to bid her a last farewelll 
 
iS 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE DWGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 There were those who had known her 
 long and intimately, and who will miss 
 her greatly, and there were those who 
 thought they had stood farther from her, 
 yet had often felt the touch of her 
 friendly hand, had frequently heard from 
 her words of sympathy and of cheer, and 
 who had come to see in her a sister, 
 friend and mother." The Green Bay 
 Advocate also paid a beautiful tribute to 
 the memory of her whose life had left the 
 world the better for her having lived, and 
 we quote the following : " It is with 
 deep sadness that we realize that the 
 vital spark has fled from the suffering 
 body of our long kind friend, highly 
 respected citizen and co-laborer in 
 the newspaper field, Mrs. Rosamond 
 Follett. We grieve at the severance 
 of those early ties of friendship and 
 almost kindred feeling that long years 
 of harmonious work in a common cause, 
 without a jar or discord, had cemented. 
 We grieve that we shall nevermore see 
 the kindly face, animated by its cheerful, 
 benevolent spirit. At the same time we 
 feel thankful that the inevitable parting 
 is over, and the free spirit has risen from 
 the tortured clay, unhampered with cares 
 and gr^fs of earthly life, to unending 
 peace and blessed rest in the mansions 
 that the Master went before to prepare. 
 
 * * * Her work was well done from the 
 cradle to the grave. In the years that we 
 have known her, from the time that she 
 came here as a bride until she finally laid 
 down the pen and entered the chamber of 
 suffering, we have found nothing in her to 
 criticise, and everything to commend. 
 We recall her sturdy step, as with strong 
 frame she supported the failing energies 
 and wasting frame of her late husband, 
 Dwight I. Follett, shouldering the weight 
 of the cares of his business as he entered 
 the dark valley, and assuming the busi- 
 ness altogether when he passed away. 
 
 * * * A perfectly healthy and whole- 
 some childhood and youth laid the foun- 
 dation of those powers of endurance so 
 valuable to her. She was a ready writer. 
 
 with a faculty of pleasing; was always 
 courteous, and made friends of all with 
 whom she had dealings or acquaintance. 
 There was no false pride about her, and 
 she was careful never to assume a dig- 
 nity that would drive away the humble. 
 She was sympathetic for the woes of oth- 
 ers, and always ready to relieve the dis- 
 tressed. " Mrs. Follett left one son, John 
 C. Follett, to mourn the loss of a loving 
 mother. — [In compiling the above sketch, 
 the writer is indebted for many sugges- 
 tions to a beautiful article from the pen 
 of Edwin D. Coe, which appears in the 
 "National Printer-Journalist," of Octo- 
 ber, 1894.^ — Ed. 
 
 AUSTIN F. OLMSTED, M. I)., 
 for over twenty years a highl}' 
 respected citizen of Green Ba)', 
 enjoying an unchallenged reputa- 
 tion as a successful physician and surgeon, 
 is a native of Middlebury, \'t., born Jul}- 
 20, 1843. 
 
 Erastus Olmsted, grandfather of our 
 subject, was of Welsh descent, and was 
 born in Middleburj', Vt. , of which locality 
 his ancestry, inthiscountrj', were pioneers. 
 By trade Erastus was a chair-maker, 
 which he carried on at his home in the 
 country, near Middlebury, becoming pros- 
 perous. He had a numerous family of 
 children, of whom Juba Olmsted, father 
 of our subject, was born August 15, 1807, 
 in Middlebury, Vt. He learned his 
 father's trade, and followed it for a time, 
 but eventually took up farming, which he 
 made his life work for the rest of his days, 
 in 1850 moving with his family from Ver- 
 mont to Wisconsin, and settling on a 
 farm in Fond du Lac county, four miles 
 south of the city of that name. Here, by 
 industry and judicious thrift, he accumu- 
 lated a comfortable competence, and by his 
 exemplary life, sinccrit}' of heart, genuine 
 charity and elevation of character, won 
 the highest esteem and respect in the com- 
 munity in which he li\ed. He died in 
 1854, at the early age of forty-seven 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 years, deeph' regretted by all who knew 
 him. In religious faith he was a member 
 of the M. E. Church, in politics a stanch 
 Whig. In 1829, he was married to Miss 
 Sarah K. Huston, daughter of Robert 
 Huston, an honored pioneer of Middle- 
 bury, Vt., and three children, all sons, 
 were born to this union, \'\z. : Wallace 
 Juba, a minister in the M. E. Church, at 
 present stationed at West Bend, Wis. ; 
 Charles Cook, a practicing physician at 
 Kansas City (he studied medicine under 
 Dr. Patchen, of Fond du Lac, and gradu- 
 ated at Cleveland, Ohio); and Austin P., 
 the subject of this sketch. The mother 
 of these was married, the second time, to 
 Hiram Edgerton, and is now living at 
 Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. 
 
 Austin F. Ohnsted received his liter- 
 ary education at the Fond du Lac high 
 school and Lawrence University, Apple- 
 ton, which latter institution he left at the 
 end of two years, for a time thereafter 
 clerking in a store. Deciding on making 
 the noble profession of medicine his life- 
 work, he during these years, as circum- 
 stances permitted, studied the science, and 
 in 1 87 I entered Clexeland (Ohio) Home- 
 opathic Hospital College, where he grad- 
 uated in the spring of i<S74, immediately 
 thereafter settling in Green Bay, where 
 he has since remained in the active prac- 
 tice of his profession. He now ranks 
 second to none in the county among the 
 followers of /Esculapius and Galen, his 
 specialty, perhaps, being obstetrics, in 
 which he has had a wide and uniformly 
 successful experience, which can be also 
 truly said of his general practice; and this, 
 coupled with his well-known professional 
 zeal, as well as attentiveness to his 
 patients, has established for him an en- 
 viable reputation throughout the length 
 and breadth of the Fo.x River Valley. He 
 is associated with the American Institute 
 of Homeopathy, and is an active member 
 of the State Homeopathic Medical Society 
 of Wisconsin. 
 
 On October 21, 1863, Dr. Olmsted 
 was married to Miss Harriet Sylvester, 
 
 daughter of Setli antl Rachel (Young) Syl-. 
 vester, and three children have been born 
 to them, named respectively: Minnie 
 Edna, Clara K. and Austin (). Dr. and 
 Mrs. Olmsted are active workers in the 
 Presbyterian Church at Green Bay (form- 
 erly connected with the Congregational 
 Society), of which she is a member. So- 
 cially, he is affiliated with the Knights of 
 Pythias, Independent Order of Foresters 
 and Ro\al Arcanum, and in his political 
 preferences casts his vote in the interests 
 of the Republican party. Public-spirited, 
 and in all things progressive, he has iden- 
 tified himself with every civic movement 
 tending to the advancement and prosperity 
 of the city and county of his adoption, 
 where, as a useful, loyal and intelligent 
 citizen, he is held in the highest regard. 
 
 PH. MARTIN. This gentleman, 
 who has been prosecuting attor- 
 ney for Brown county since 188S, 
 is a native of the county, born in 
 Rockland township April 21, 1S62. Ed- 
 ward and Bridget (Farrell) Martin, 
 natives of Ireland, parents of subject, 
 came to the United States when young, 
 settling in Rockland township, where 
 they engaged in fanning, and are still 
 living. 
 
 P. H. Martin, whose name tipens this 
 brief sketch, received his education at the 
 schools of Rockland and in the cit}' of 
 De Pere. He was reared on the farm, 
 but at the age of eighteen he coniiiienced 
 teaching school in Brown county, a voca- 
 tion he followed some five years. In 
 1885 he came to the city of Green Bay, 
 and for some time was in the United 
 States railway mail service as postal 
 clerk on the Chicago, Milwaukee & 
 St. Paul railroad, running between 
 Green Bay and Milwaukee. In 1883 
 he commenced reading law in the 
 office of Hudd & Wigman, attorneys- 
 at-law. Green Bay, and in 18S7 he 
 was admitted to the bar. In 1889 he 
 entered into partnership \\ith Mr. Wig- 
 
20 
 
 COMMEMORATIVK BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 man, under the firm name of W'igman & 
 Martin, and has since been engaged in 
 regular practice. In the fall of 1888 he 
 was elected to his present incumbency, 
 that of prosecuting attorney for Brown 
 county, which he fills with eminent 
 ability, and to the complete satisfaction 
 of the people. 
 
 In 1 886 P. H. Martin and Miss Mary 
 Wigman were united in marriage. She 
 is a daughter of J. H. M. Wigman, senior 
 member of the firm, and an early pioneer 
 of Brown county. To this marriage four 
 children have been born, viz. : Marie, 
 Agnes, John Edward and Patrick Jerome. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Martin are members of St. 
 John's Catholic Church. Iti politics he 
 is a Democrat. 
 
 AI).\M SPUHLER, of the firm of A. 
 Spuhler & Co. (limited), whole- 
 sale and retail dealers in dry 
 goods, clothing, carpets, hats, 
 caps, notions, etc., in Green Bay, has 
 been a prominent resident of that city 
 since 1879, and an enterprising merchant 
 of several \ears standing. 
 
 Mr. Spuhler is a native of Wisconsin, 
 born in Washington county, in 1 846, of 
 German parents. Henry Spuhler, his 
 father, was born in Bavaria, where he 
 married Miss Sarah Zepp, of the same 
 country, the young couple soon afterward 
 emigrating to the United States, making 
 their first home in Washington county, 
 Wis., where they took up a farm. In 
 I S67 they moved to Dodge county, same 
 State, settling at Beaver Dam, where they 
 passed the rest of their busy lives, the 
 father dying in 1870, the mother in 1880. 
 Their family numbered seven children, 
 five of whom are yet living, namely; Mol- 
 lie, wife of Benjamin Filield, a farmer of 
 Lake county, Ind. ; Mary, wife of Charles 
 Schuette, of Beaver Dam, W'is. ; Lizzie, 
 wife of Andrew Schluckebier, also of 
 Beaver Dam; Adam, of whom we write; 
 and John, a cigar manufacturer, in Wi- 
 nona, Minnesota. 
 
 The subject of this notice was reared 
 on his father's farm in Washington county. 
 Wis., receiving his education at the win- 
 ter schools of the neighborhood of his 
 home. In 1861, then fifteen jears old, 
 he entered the dry-goods store of Newton 
 & Willard, in Beaver Dam, remaining 
 with them till they sold out in 1865 to 
 Hebgen & Lehrkund. With the latter 
 firm he clerked till 1 867, in which year he 
 commenced business in the same town, 
 in partnership with a Mr. Schluckebier, 
 carrying cmi a prosperous dry-goods trade 
 till 1873, when the firm dissolved and our 
 subject moved to Wrightstown, in Brown 
 county. Here he was associated with a 
 Mr. Mueller in the same line of trade from 
 1873 to 1879, the style of the firm being 
 Mueller & Spuhler, and in that j'ear they 
 transferred their business to the more 
 thriving town of Green Ija\\ here remain- 
 ing in partnership till 1886, the year of 
 Mr. Mueller's death. After that event 
 Mr. Spuhler continued the retail business 
 alone till 1889, when, having established 
 a wide connection and an enviable repu- 
 tation for fair and square dealing he ex- 
 panded his business by combining the 
 wholesale trade with the retail, changing 
 the style of the house to the .A. Spuhler & 
 Co. (limited). 
 
 In 1867, in Dodge county. Wis., Mr. 
 Spuhler was married to Miss Jennie Far- 
 dell, a native of England, but reared to 
 womanhood in Dodge county. Wis., and 
 daughter of Matthew and Sarah (Bishop) 
 Fardell, highly respectable English 
 people who immigrated to the United 
 States several years ago, settling in 
 Dodge county. Wis., where Mr. Fardell 
 died in 1887, and his widow is yet living. 
 To our subject and wife have been born 
 seven children, to wit: Sarah, Nellie 
 (wife of D. Lucas, a boiler manufacturer 
 in Ft. Howard, Wis.); Fred (assisting in 
 his father's store), Alice, Mabel, Jennie 
 and Louise. In his political predilections 
 Mr. Spuhler is a Democrat; in 1881-82 
 he served his city as alderman of the 
 First ward, and is now a member of the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 town council and of the county board, 
 and was chairman of tlie Finance commit- 
 tee of that board some j-ears. Socially 
 he is affiliated with the F. & A. M., at 
 Green Bay, Washinj^ton Lodge No. 21, 
 Warren Chapter No. 8, Council No. 13, 
 and Palestine Commandery No. 20, \\. 
 T. ; is a member of the I. O. O. F. , 
 A. O. U. W., and of Pochequette Lodge, 
 K. of P., Uniformed Rank. In religious 
 faith he and his wife are members of the 
 M. E. Church. Mr. Spuhler is one of 
 those men of business to whom success is 
 bound to come, a success that is the re- 
 sult of his own individual exertions, and 
 not of that "luck" which the world 
 (little understanding what the word im- 
 ports) so often ascribes to those who rise 
 unaided to distinction. No man knows 
 better how to time his efforts, and while 
 he has never wasted his force on worth- 
 less and unattainable objects, he well 
 knows how to take advantage of opportu- 
 nities promising advantages to his busi- 
 ness. 
 
 HON. JAMES HENRY ELMORE, 
 the efficient, progressive and pop- 
 ular mayor of the city of Green 
 Bay, is a native of Wisconsin, 
 born in Mukwonago, Waukesha county, 
 January 6, 1843. The first of the Elmore 
 famil)- in the United States, of whom our 
 subject is a worthy representative, were 
 three brothers who came from England, 
 one settling in New York State, one in 
 Connecticut, and the third in South Caro- 
 lina, the first of the three being the im- 
 mediate progenitor of Mayor Elmore. 
 
 Our subject received his elementary 
 education at the common schools of his 
 native town, whijh was supplemented 
 with a course of study at the East Troy 
 school taught by Mr. Markham, who after- 
 ward became principal of the " Markham 
 Academy," Milwaukee. At the age of 
 fifteen he entered Racine College, which 
 he attended two years, and we then find 
 him connected with his father's mercan- 
 
 tile business in Mukwonago, later in the 
 capacity of reporter for various news- 
 papers, being stationed, during the winter 
 of 1862-63. at Madistni, Wis. In the 
 spring of 1863 he came to (ireen Bay, 
 and engaged in the grain elevator and for- 
 warding business, in which he remained 
 until 1877, removing then to Milwaukee, 
 where, tor a year, he was interested in 
 the commission trade, after which he 
 spent several years in traveling and 
 employing his time at various occupa- 
 tions. Two summers he spent in New 
 York; was in the Black Hills and in 
 Arizona; at Crystal Falls, Mich., where, 
 for one year (1882), he was superintend- 
 ent of the Crystal Falls Iron Company. 
 Returning to Green Ba\-, he received the 
 appointment. May, 1884, of receiver for 
 Strong's bank, the mi.\ed-up affairs of 
 which institution he succeeded in unravel- 
 ing and clearing up in such a highly credit- 
 able and satisfactory manner as to receive 
 from all concerned, including the judge of 
 the court, the highest encomiums, the 
 upshot being his appointment at different 
 times as assignee to various estates. Mr. 
 Elmore's next occupation was in the 
 manufacture of and dealing in cedar poles, 
 ties, piling posts, shingles, etc., in which 
 line he has since done a remarkabl}' large 
 business, and at the present time he is in 
 partnership w-ith James Delaney, of Fort 
 Howard. 
 
 Mr. Elmore has at various times had 
 abundant proof of his popularity by elec- 
 tion to various positions of honor and 
 trust, including, more than once, the 
 highest civic office in the gift of the 
 people. In 1873 he was elected, without 
 opposition, the first mayor of Fort How- 
 ard; also served as alderman of the same 
 borough, and after coming to Green Bay, 
 in 1883, he was elected mayor of that city 
 in 1890, which incumbency he has since 
 filled continuously, having been elected 
 twice without opposition, and once (1892) 
 over an opponent who succeeded in cap- 
 turing only about one-fourth of the votes. 
 Mr. Elmore was again elected in 1895. 
 
22 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BWGliAPUlCAL RECORD. 
 
 Although known to be a stanch Demo- 
 crat, still he has always had the support 
 of all parties, regardless of political bias, 
 the general feeling being that the chief 
 magistrate of a city should be a man pro 
 bono publico, and not a politician. 
 
 Since assuming the reins of civic gov- 
 ernment in Green Bay, Mayor Elmore 
 has had the pleasure of seeing vast im- 
 provements in the fast rising city, among 
 which may be mentioned a couple of miles 
 of cedar block paving; several miles of 
 sewers; two old bridges rebuilt, and a new 
 one erected; the reorgani;iation of the 
 Fire Department, which is now in all re- 
 spects a model one, equipped with the 
 Gamewell fire-alarm telegraph s\stem, 
 besides man\- other improvements, all 
 tending to place Green Bay among the 
 model cities of the State. The latest 
 project, in the way of public progressive- 
 ness, is the new high school, which, it is 
 intended, is to be built of Lake Superior 
 red sandstone, and which will be an orna- 
 ment to the city. To his efforts, also. 
 Green Bay is indebted for the best system 
 of street railroads in the United States, 
 everything pertaining to it being of the 
 most modern design. 
 
 On January 19, 1876, Mayor Elmore 
 was married to Miss Anna Leola Chap- 
 man, daughter of Col. \\'illiam Chapman, 
 U. S. A., and one child has been born to 
 them, named William Chapman. Mrs. 
 Elmore is a prominent member of the 
 Daughters of the Revolution, of which 
 she was appointed regent for the State of 
 Wisconsin. Mayor Elmore is a member 
 of the F. & A. M., and is a Knight Temp- 
 lar; he is also affiliated with tlie Order o{ 
 Elks. 
 
 GUSTAV KUSTERMANN. This 
 well-known, popular and promi- 
 nent citi/en of Green Bay, of 
 which flourishing city he has 
 been postmaster since 1892, is a native 
 of Detmold, Germany, born May 24, 
 1850. 
 
 Carl Ludwig Kustermann, grandfather 
 of our subject, was a farmer and mechanic 
 (as was his father before him) in Schoet- 
 mar (Lippe-Detmold), and died there in 
 advanced life, the parent of a large 
 family of children, one of whom, Carl 
 (father of our subject), was born in 1820, 
 also in Schoetmar. He (Carl) was reared 
 to the trade of gunsmith, and was eni- 
 plo3'ed as such in the German army for 
 nearly thirty years, also serving in the 
 Schleswig-Holstein campaign and the 
 Prussian-Austrian war of 1S66. In 1846 
 he married Julia Wollcben, daughter of 
 Gustav Wolleben, b}' which union four 
 children were born — all sons — to-wit: 
 Carl, (lustav, Robert and Otto, the last 
 named dying at the age of fourteen years; 
 Robert was in partnership with his 
 brother Gustav in the book and music 
 business at Green Bay until 1894; Carl 
 and Gustav will be more fully spoken of 
 farther on. The mother of this family 
 died in 1886, the father in 1894. 
 
 Gustav Kustermann, whose name in- 
 troduces this sketch, received his educa- 
 tion at the gymnasium or high school in 
 Detmold, graduating therefrom, and when 
 fourteen years old went to the city of 
 Hamburg, where he served a three-years' 
 apprenticeship to the wholesale dry-goods 
 business. At the age of eighteen, in 
 1868, he emigrated to America, from the 
 port of debarkation coming direct to 
 Wisconsin and Green Bay, whither, not 
 long before, two of his old schoolmates 
 had come and settled. Here he clerked 
 in the hardware store of St. Louis 
 Case & Co., but at the end of about si.\ 
 months secured the position of book- 
 keeper in the office of the Green Bay 
 Advocate, at that time owned by Robin- 
 son & Bro. , and filled the incumbency 
 with the utmost satisfaction for three 
 years, or until 1872. On March 15 of 
 that year, in company with Louis Neese 
 and Erastus Root, he established in 
 Green Bay a stationery and job-printing 
 business, the style of the firm being 
 "Neese, Kustermann & Root "; but De- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BWQRAPHWAL RECORD. 
 
 23 
 
 cember 15, 1873, the firm experienced a 
 change, Mr. Root and a Mr. Kimball tak- 
 ing the job-printing branch, our subject 
 and Mr. Neese retaining the stationery de- 
 partment, adding thereto music and 
 musical instruments, the name of the 
 firm being Neese & Kustermann until 
 May I, 1876, when Mr. Kustermann 
 bought out Mr. Neese's share, and from 
 that time until 1880 carried on the con- 
 cern alone. In that year his brother 
 Robert became associated with him in 
 the business, the partnership e.xisting till 
 1 894, when the latter retired from the 
 firm (as alread}' stated), since when our 
 subject has continued the business alone. 
 He carries a well-assorted line of sta- 
 tionery and all its adjuncts, as well as 
 a complete assortment of musical instru- 
 ments, his trade in these particular lines 
 not being surpassed by any similar enter- 
 prise in northern Wisconsin. In all his 
 business obligations he is prompt and 
 reliable, and his innate courtesy and 
 obliging disposition have brought him 
 hosts of friends and customers. 
 
 Mr. Kustermann is a ready writer, as 
 well as a clear, forcible speaker, in either 
 English, German or French, and his 
 trenchant pen has contributed not a few 
 interesting articles to one or other of the 
 standard European journals, among which 
 may be mentioned Die Gartcnlauhc, pub- 
 lished in Leipzig, besides political articles 
 during election campaigns, to home jour- 
 nals, especially the leading newspapers of 
 Milwaukee. Recently he compiled a high- 
 ly-interesting work on the "World's Fair" 
 or "Columbian E.xposition, " being a col- 
 lection of articles written by him for a 
 newspaper published in his native town. 
 In oratory he has secured a wide reputa- 
 tion as a good, reliable all-round political 
 speaker, whether on the "stump" or on 
 the platform, and he has always been 
 affiliated with the Republican party, 
 wherein he has never failed to exert a 
 substantial influence. Nor have his 
 efforts for the cause remained altogether 
 unrewarded. Twice was he nominated 
 
 for Congress, although through no fault 
 of his own on each occasion he had the 
 minority; but, by his pure, yet forcible 
 language, clear and concise reasoning, he 
 left upon the minds of his auditors a last- 
 ing impression that there was a man 
 among them worthy not only of the metal 
 of any political foe, but also of the respect 
 and esteem of the communit\' at large — a 
 citizen, in truth, of whom the State might 
 well feel proud. During the last political 
 campaign he was urged by some of the 
 leading spirits of his party to become a 
 candidate for the highest State office in 
 the gift of the people; but he resolutely 
 declined to "listen to the song of the 
 Siren." Indeed, it has been said, and in 
 no spirit of mere flattery, that, without 
 doubt, Mr. Kustermann, in point of edu- 
 cation and natural ability, is one of the 
 most representative German-American 
 citizens in the State of Wisconsin. In 
 February, 1S92, he was appointed post- 
 master at Green Bay by President Harri- 
 son, and is still holding the office, his 
 term expiring in i 896. In civic affairs he 
 has served in the city council of Green 
 Bay, also as city treasurer, and has been 
 a member of the county board. 
 
 On June I3, 1S75, our subject was 
 united in marriage with Miss Emma Schel- 
 lenbeck, of Green Bay, and four children, 
 all daughters, named respectively: Tillie, 
 Alma, Olga and Emma, have come to 
 bless their home. 
 
 Carl Kustermann, eldest son of Carl 
 and Julia (Wolleben) Kustermann has 
 been assistant postmaster at Green Bay 
 since 1892. He was born in Detmold, Ger- 
 many, October 29, 1847, and in 1868 
 came to Green Bay, where he first found 
 employment as clerk in the dry-goods 
 store of D. Butler. At the end of a year 
 he entered the office of the register of 
 deeds, where he clerked some twelve 
 months, his next employment being as 
 bookkeeper for a lumber company at Lit- 
 tle Sturgeon Bay, an incumbency he filled 
 three years. In 1873 he paid a six- 
 months' visit to Eurtipe, and on his return 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 to Green Baj" engaged for his own ac- 
 count in a white-goods and shirt-factory 
 business; but finding the same unprofit- 
 able, he accepted a position as manager 
 of the shoe and clothing store of B. Fol- 
 lett, holding the same for two years, at 
 the enii of which time he entered the 
 Green Bay Savings Bank as assistant 
 cashier. In 1S78 the bank affairs were 
 \\ound up, and Mr. Kustermann removed 
 to Helenville, Jefferson Co., Wis., where 
 for si.\ years he conducted a general store; 
 then returned to Green Bay to fill the 
 position of bookkeeper for Anson Eldred 
 & Son, lumber merchants, but, in 1892, 
 he left this to accept his present position 
 in the postoffice. 
 
 In 1873 Carl Kustermann was married 
 to Miss Margaret Grimm, who was born 
 in Jefferson, ^^'is., daughter of Adam 
 Grimm, the celebrated apiarist, who died 
 in 1876. To Mr. and Mrs. Kustermann 
 were born two children, Julia and Agnes, 
 who lost their mother in 1882, and in 
 1S84 their father was married to Miss 
 Anna Haubert. of White Water, Wis., 
 daughter of Joseph and Marie (Rust) 
 Haubert, natives of Bavaria, Germany. 
 By this marriage there are three children: 
 Otto, I-Irna and Herbert. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Kustermann are members of St. Paul's 
 German Lutheran Church, and in his 
 political preferences he is a Republican 
 in national affairs, but independent in 
 local issues. 
 
 ALONZO KIMBALL. The family 
 in America, of which the subject 
 of this sketch is a worthy mem- 
 ber, dates back to one Richard 
 Kimball, who in 1634 came from Ipswich, 
 county of Suffolk, England, to America. 
 It is presumed that he settled in Ipswich, 
 Esse.x Co., Mass., for his son Henry is 
 known to have been a resident of that 
 town in 1640, while another son, Thomas, 
 was in Charlestown, Suffolk county, 
 in 1653. 
 
 Boyce Kimball, a lineal descendant of 
 the immigrant Richard, was born June 
 26, 1 73 1, in Ipswich, Mass., where he 
 married, and the children born to him 
 were as follows: Bo\ce, Rebecca, Jona- 
 than, Ebenezer, Mary, Susanna, Pris- 
 cilla, Timoth). Richard. Amasa and Ruel. 
 Of these, Ruel Kimball was married Jan- 
 uary I, 1799, to Hannah Mather, and 
 settled in Marlboro, \'t., where he was a 
 Presbyterian minister. The children born 
 to this union were Ruel, Amanda, Cotton. 
 Hulda, Alon^o, David M.. Lucy (who 
 married Rev. Henry Bannister, of Evans- 
 ton, 111.), Mary, Harriet and Martin L. , 
 Alonzo, our subject, being the only sur- 
 vi\or; Amanda, the second in the family, 
 married Alanson Merwin, and they cele- 
 brated their golden wedding in 1875. 
 Ruel Kimball was for the most part self- 
 educated, and was a man of strong con- 
 victions, one who represented the true 
 type of orthodox Presbyterianism. He 
 was a very useful man, was beloved for 
 his many good qualities of head and 
 heart, and was possessed of sound com- 
 mon sense and judgment. He could 
 draw a deed or contract of any kind, and 
 was an adviser and friend to all. He died 
 at East Hampton, Mass., October 1, 
 1847. Mrs. yannah (Mather) Kimball, 
 mother of our subject, was a daughter of 
 Timothy Mather, who was a descendant 
 of Increase Mather, the father of Cotton 
 Mather. She was a woman of great 
 force of character, and may be said to 
 have inherited much of the spirit of her 
 noble ancestors. She died in Leyden, 
 N. Y. , at the age of seventy-eight years, 
 eight months and eight days. 
 
 Alonzo Kimball, the subject proper of 
 these lines, was born November 20, 1808, 
 in the town of Le Ray. Jefferson county, 
 N. v., and received his primary educa- 
 tion at various schools, which was sup- 
 plemented with a course at Union 
 College, Schenectady, N. Y. , where he 
 graduated in 1836, while Dr. Nott was 
 president. After this he taught school 
 about ten vears, and then engaged in 
 
^-^^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 business, condiictiiii,' a general store in 
 Green Bay several years, whither he 
 came May 22, 1849: in 1S54 he com- 
 menced the hardware business. From 
 the time of his first entering the arena oi 
 commercial trade success followed his 
 efforts, and his reputation for honesty 
 and veracit)' became as a household word 
 in the Fox River \'aney. On October i, 
 1S40. Mr. Kimball married Miss Sarah 
 Weston, daughter of Rev. Isaiah Weston, 
 who, during the war of 1S12, was revenue 
 collector at New Bedford, Mass., and 
 later lived in Dalton, same State, where 
 he was engaged in business, and preached 
 the Gospel of love to the people. He 
 died there of paralysis February 17, 1S21, 
 aged fortj--eight \ears and sixteen days, 
 deep!}' lamented. Six children blessed 
 the union of Mr. and Mrs. Kimball, viz. : 
 Mary C., A. Weston, Charles T. , Mather 
 D., Sarah and William Dwight; of whom 
 A. Weston is general agent of Illinois for 
 the Northwestern Life Insurance Com- 
 pany of Milwaukee, and has made an 
 enviable record: Mather D. is in the em- 
 ploy of the same company: Charles T. 
 conducts his father's business: Mary C. 
 is the wife of M. H. W^alker, and Sarah 
 married L. B. Sale, who was drowned 
 in the Vo\ river with his two sons, 
 Richard and Robert: \\'illiam Dwight 
 died at the age of two years. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Kimball li\-ed a happ\' life together 
 of over half a century, having celebrated 
 their golden wedding October t, 1890. 
 She died in Green Bay June 27, 1891, 
 aged near!}- ninety jears, an active mem- 
 ber of the Presbyterian Church. Charit\- 
 was her twin sister. Rich and poor 
 alike, she called them all her friends, and 
 her name and deeds of bene\'olence will 
 long be held in blessed remembrance by 
 the people. Mr. Kimball is a member 
 of the Presbyterian Church at Green Bay, 
 and was appointed an elder in 1858. His 
 venerable appearance on the streets, 
 bearing on his snowy head the winter of 
 over eighty-six years, reminds the passers- 
 by of the patriarchs of old, and the 
 
 respect shown is evidence sufficient of 
 the high esteem in which he is held 
 bv all. 
 
 WALTKR THOMAS HAGEN, M. 
 I)., who is fast making his way 
 to the front rank of his profes- 
 sion, not only as a ph}'sician in 
 general practice, but also as an oculist and 
 aurist, as a specialist, is yet a young man, 
 with the promise of a brilliant future before 
 him. 
 
 He is a nati\e of Green Bay, Wis., 
 born October 19, 1868, a son of Frank 
 and Nellie (Magher) Hagen, the former 
 of whom was born in I'ranktort, Germany, 
 and when a seven-year-old lad came to 
 the United States with his parents. For 
 a time the}' made their home in Fond du 
 Lac, Wis., finally removing to Winona, 
 Minn., where Frank grew to manhood, 
 after which he returned to Wisconsin and 
 was engaged in business in Oshkosh till 
 1865, the year of his coming to Green 
 Bay. Here he established a livery-stable 
 business, which he carried on successfully 
 some twenty-seven years, eventually 
 l)ecoming actively interested in a stone 
 quarry and in a steamboat line: he also 
 takes government contracts for the build- 
 ing of piers, breakwaters, etc. His wife 
 is a native of Ireland, and, coming to this 
 country whenjoung, was reared to woman- 
 hood in Cleveland, Ohio : she is the 
 mother of four children, \\z. : Frank, 
 Walter T., William and Mary. 
 
 The subject proper of this sketch 
 received his elementary education at the 
 common and high schools of Green Bay, 
 and learned the trade of printer in Eras- 
 tus Root's office. When seventeen years 
 old he entered a drug store in Green Bay, 
 subsequently clerking in one at Stephen- 
 son, Mich., prior to which, July i, 1885, 
 he had commenced the study of medicine 
 under the preceptorship of Dr. J. R. 
 Brandt, formerly a well-known physician, 
 of Brown count}', Wis., now of Chicago. 
 Being now fully prepared for college, our 
 
COMMFMi>i:.\ riVi: niOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 subject entered tlie University of Michi- 
 gan, at Ann Arbor. October i, 18S5; but 
 ill health prevented him from completing 
 his course, and at the end of two years he 
 had to return home. In October, 18S9, 
 he entered Jefferson Medical College, 
 Philadelphia, where, after two years' 
 attendance, he graduated April 15, 1S91, 
 during which time he made a special study 
 of the eye and ear. Along with some 
 friends he took the State (Pennsylvania) 
 examination, which he passed satisfactor- 
 ily, and he is also registered in the State 
 of Illinois. In July, 1891, he returned to 
 Green Bay, where he opened an office, 
 and after about one month's general 
 practice became assistant to Dr. E. W. 
 Bartlett, the eminent eye and ear special- 
 ist, of Milwaukee. At the end of si.\ 
 months he returned to Philadelphia, and 
 took a private course in general medicine 
 and literature, at the same time holding 
 the position of assistant in the Eye and 
 Ear Department of Jefferson Medical 
 College Hospital. 
 
 On December 10, 1S92, he again 
 returned to Green Bay, and at once com- 
 menced the practice of his chosen pro- 
 fession, in which he has met with emi- 
 nent success, particularly in hisspecialty — 
 eye, ear and throat treatment — in which, 
 as an ardent student, thoroughly read-up 
 in all the details, he has no superior and 
 but few peers in the State. Socially the 
 Doctor is a member of the I. O. O. F. , 
 and in politics he is an active Republican. 
 
 C.VPT.MN JOSEPH G. LAWTOX. 
 Hut few men have come more 
 directly in contact with the mone- 
 tary institutions, and the business 
 men of the country, and none have com- 
 manded more completely their respect 
 and confidence than this gentleman. His 
 ancestors in this country were not only 
 early English colonists of the educated 
 and wealthy class, but were active in the 
 affairs of the colony of New York. Massa- 
 chusetts and Connecticut — men of high 
 
 standing in professional, commercial, poli- 
 tical and also militar\' affairs of those 
 early days in New England. 
 
 The name Lawton was original spelled 
 and pronounced Layton, by some simple 
 metamorphosis becoming, during the life- 
 time of the eldest born in this country, 
 what it now is. Capt. Lawton traces his 
 ancestry to one John Layton, who was 
 born in 1630, and who, in 1652, at the 
 age of twenty-two years, in company with 
 others, mostly from Connecticut and other 
 portions of New England colonies, settled 
 in Newtown, Long Island, N. Y. Twenty- 
 eight members of this colony, John Lay- 
 ton being of their number, purchased 
 farms direct from the Indian owners, 
 although also purchasing titles from the 
 government of New Netherlands, of which 
 Peter Stuyvesant was then governor: and 
 it is worthy of record that this purchase 
 from the Indians was the onl\- one of 
 that kind made, excepting a similiar 
 transaction effected by William Penn, in 
 Pennsylvania. During John Layton's resi- 
 dence in New Netherlamls, that colony 
 fell into the hands of the Duke of York, 
 and on account of the active and promin- 
 ent part he took against Governor Stuy- 
 vesant, Layton made many enemies among 
 the Dutch colonists. Consequently he 
 moved with his family to Suffield, Conn., 
 where he died September 17, 1690. and 
 was buried in the Presbyterian grave\ ard 
 by the side of his wife. Benedicta. Their 
 gravestones are still (1S94) extant, and 
 the name inscribed thereon is plainly 
 "Lawton. " so that the change of the 
 spelling of the name presumably must 
 have taken place some time in the latter 
 part of the seventeenth century. John 
 Layton was married twice; the first time 
 September 2 I. 1659, to Johanna \Villiams, 
 by whom he had one daughter, Mary. 
 His second marriage occurred at Ports- 
 mouth, R. I., in 1665, the lady of his 
 choice being Benedicta, and to this union 
 were born three children perhaps more) 
 as follows: Benedicta, born October i 3, 
 1666, married in 16S3; William, born 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BlOGliAPinCAL RECORD. 
 
 April 15, K'lOy, died May 8, 1677; and 
 James, born April 5, i'i73, married 
 November 9, i<)93, to Al)i;^ail Lamb, who 
 bore him two children, both dyinf^ younj;; 
 the mother passed away November 14, 
 1696. For his second wife James married 
 Faith Newell, who bore him live children, 
 their names and dates of birth being as 
 follows: Christopher Jacob, July 20, 1701; 
 C'harity, November 8, 1703; Mercy, 
 November 23, 1705; John, April 26, 1708, 
 and died August 22, 17 14. 
 
 Christopher Jacob Lawton, the eldest 
 of this family, was the great-great-grand- 
 father of ("apt. Joseph G. Lawton. He 
 was married in 1 73 1 to Aljigail Ivellogg, 
 who was born in l^eicester, Mass.. in 
 1702, and died in 1734. He was a law- 
 yer of considerable note, spoken of in 
 Washburn's History as an honor and or- 
 nament to his profession. In 1735 he 
 moved to Leicester, Mass., where he 
 served as a member of the general court 
 of Massachusetts during the years 1736, 
 '739- > 740 and 1741, and as moderator 
 of the court in 1739. He had one child, 
 Pliny, born in 1732, in Siiffu;ld, Conn., 
 and married, in 1750, to Lucretia Sar- 
 gent, a great-granddaughter of William 
 Sargent who came from England in 1638. 
 By this marriage there was but one child 
 who did not die young — William, born 
 April 9. 1759. Pliny Lawton was a phy- 
 sician, beccjuhng prominent in his pro- 
 fession at Leicester, Mass. ; he died from 
 smail-po.x, and was buried in one of his 
 own fields. William I^awton, his son, 
 who also became a physician and sur- 
 geon, served during the war of the Rev- 
 olution, in the Fifth Regiment Massachu- 
 setts infantry, and in 1794 was appointed 
 by President George Washington as sur- 
 geon at West Point. In 1784 he was 
 married in the Presbyterian Church at 
 Flushing, L. I., by Rev. Matthias Bur- 
 net, to Abigail Farrington, who died 
 about the year 1 800, and was buried at 
 Flushing. To this marriage were born 
 four children, vi/. : Ch;irles ^father of the 
 subject proper of this sketch, and of 
 
 whom further mention will jjresently be 
 made); Mary, born October 23, 1789, 
 married John Ogilvie Roorbach fhad six 
 children; William. Benjamin, Charles L. , 
 Mary, John Ogilvie. Jr., and Sarah;; 
 Amelia, born in 1792; and William, born 
 at West Point, N. Y. , in 1795, married 
 January 17, 1817, to Maria R. (Juion 
 (had six children; Frederick. Franklin, 
 Julia, Cornelia, Maria and J. Warren j. 
 
 Charles Lawton, eldest son of Dr. 
 William and Abigail (Farrington) Lawton 
 was born at L(n'cester, Mass., in 1787. 
 On January 17, 1809, he was married in 
 New York City t(j Miss Sophia l)(jbsoa 
 Willson. In the war of 1812-14 he was 
 commissioned a captain, and served as 
 such to the close of the struggle, after 
 which he returned to New York where he 
 became actively engaged in business for 
 some years. In 1826 he and his brother 
 William, and others, organized what is 
 known as the "Board of Brokers, " the 
 nucleus of the present New York Stock L.\- 
 change. At one time he served as treasurer 
 of the City of New York. In 1827 he 
 moved to Ogdensburg, N. Y. , and was 
 there engaged in the lumber business until 
 1830 when he decided to move to Potts- 
 ville, Penn., where there were extensive 
 mining operations, and the following brief 
 account of their trip may not l)e uninter- 
 esting to the reader: 
 
 The family and servants, all told, com- 
 prised nineteen persons, of whom the two 
 eldest sons had gone on before, the coach- 
 man and cook traveling the entire dis- 
 tance in the family carriage. That left 
 fifteen persons to go by steamboat from 
 Ogdensburg to Oswego. They left their 
 own home for a hotel, there to await the 
 departure of the steamer which was de- 
 layed in starting. At last, about 9 o'clock 
 1'. M., all was ready to "get aboard," but 
 before starting the captain of the steamer 
 recommended Mr. Charles Lawton, as 
 his party was a pretty large one, to 
 "count noses," to make sure that all 
 were on the steamer. This being done, 
 to their surprise one was missing; a search 
 
3° 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was made, and on returning; to the hotel, 
 behold! a }oun]Ljrfon was discovered sound 
 asleep across the foot of the bed, so well 
 covered up with the bed clothes that he 
 had been overlooked. This young son 
 was Joseph G. Lawton, eight years old, 
 the subject of this biographical sketch. 
 From Oswego the faniih- proceeded by 
 canal to Albany, X. Y. , thence by steam- 
 boat to New York, from which cit\- a 
 chartered stage-coach conveyed them to 
 Philadelphia, while from that point another 
 chartered stage-coach carried them to their 
 destination, Pottsville, Penn., one hun- 
 dred miles distant, the family arriving 
 October 4, 1S30. Until a residence which 
 Mr. Lawton had engaged was prepared 
 for their reception, they took up their 
 quarters at a new hotel at Port Carbon; 
 but as soon as possible moved into the 
 house. In this they made their home one 
 year, and then removed into a more com- 
 modious residence which Mr. Lawton 
 bought, and this comparatively elegant 
 home the family occupied many years. 
 
 Charles Lawton ere long took a very 
 prominent and active part in business mat- 
 ters and other affairs of Pottsville, becom- 
 ing one of the most extensive miners and 
 shippers of coal at that place. He died 
 there July 21, 1858; his wife passed from 
 earth .\pril 19, 1844, while on a visit to 
 New York City, and the\' rest side by side 
 in the cemetery at Pottsville. Fourteen 
 children were born to them as follows: 
 John Willson. born April 22, 18 10 (never 
 married); Alfred Tom, born August 1 6, 
 181 I, married October 16, 1834, to Mary 
 Kern Nichols, daughter of Francis B. 
 Nichols, who was on board the U. S. 
 frigate "Chesapeake" in her memorable 
 fight with the British frigate "Shannon," 
 on which occasion he was wounded by a 
 ball which entered his left side below the 
 heart, passed thence down into the groin, 
 causing lameness for many years; Mary 
 Willson, born March 28, i Si 3, married 
 May 10, 1832, to William H. Mann, of 
 Pottsville, and died November 12, 1879; 
 Sophia Matilda, born September 15, 181 5, 
 
 married Charles Warder Bacon May 10, 
 1832, and died December 22, 1839; 
 Charles, born April 27, 181 7, married at 
 Pottsville, Penn., April 7, 1842, to Eliza- 
 beth Evans Ridgeway. and died April 17, 
 1 891; Catherine Dobson, born Decem- 
 ber 31, 18 1 8, married April 11, 1843, at 
 Pottsville, Penn., to John Charles Neville, 
 now of Green Bay, Wis., and died April 
 16, 1876; William, born April 15, 1820, 
 died August 5, 1820; Joseph Grellet, sub- 
 ject proper of sketch, whose personal 
 biography is given further on; Sarah Havi- 
 land, born Ma\' i, 1823, twice married, 
 first time October 5, 1847, to Alfred Sab- 
 baton (who died), second time June 28, 
 1858, to William Henry Bruce Gilbert, 
 and now lives at De Pere, Wis. ; Walter 
 Van Wagener, born October 8, 1824, 
 married to Julia Willis, who died June 5, 
 1 88 1 , and for his second wife wedded 
 Elizabeth E. Eustis, and died September 
 30, 1888. at Boston, Mass.; Amelia, born 
 December 6, 1825, married May 13, 
 1848, to John Ogilvie Roorbach, and now 
 lives at M\'stic, Conn. ; William Thorn- 
 ton, born December 6, 1828, died Octo- 
 ber 14, 1833; George Augustus, born De- 
 cember 6, 1829, married April 18, 1853, 
 at Green Bay, Wis., to Sophie Pauline 
 Mitchell, and now lives at Afton, Rock 
 Co., Wis.; and Anna Maria, born August 
 9, 1834. married at Erie, Penn.. March 
 4, 1858, to George Selden, and died 
 March 2, 1871, at Erie. 
 
 Capt. Joseph G. Lawton, w'hose name 
 introduces this sketch, was born February 
 14, 1822, in New York City, where, on 
 Broome street, his father had erected 
 four fine dsvelling houses, in one of which 
 it was destined our subject shouhl first see 
 the light. He safely passed through the 
 years of his childhood and earlier boy- 
 hood, and was in his ninth year when the 
 family made their memorable trip from 
 Ogdensburg, N. Y., to Pottsville. Penn. 
 At the latter city he was placed in a pri- 
 vate school kept by one Silas Hough, 
 where he received his elementary instruc- 
 tion, and then at the end of one year 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 31 
 
 entered tlie hi,L;h school of the place. In 
 this educational institution he remained 
 until he was was about fourteen jears old, 
 after which he became a student at the 
 Pennsylvania University at Philadelphia, 
 leaving at the close of one year to enter 
 upon his first business traininj^. This was 
 in a fruit and wine importinj^ house, in 
 Philadelphia, in which he remained until 
 1840, when he returned to Pottsville, and 
 soon afterward, in company with his 
 brother John, and assisted by his father, 
 purchased the Mammoth Vein ("oal Mine, 
 on Mill creek, at the foot of Broad nioim- 
 tain, which they operated until 1849, also 
 conducting in connecti(jn a general store. 
 In that same year our subject began the 
 study of law. 
 
 Having heard and read much of the 
 brilliant opportunities awaiting men of 
 energy in the West, he on .March i, 1851, 
 set out on a prospecting tour, to Green 
 Bay., arriving there on the 17th (jf the 
 same month. So favorably was he im- 
 pressed with the country and its surround- 
 ings, that he at once returned to Potts- 
 ville, and made preparations to move his 
 family to the new Wisconsin Eldorado. 
 Accordingly, a party — consisting of his 
 wife and four children; his brother-in-law, 
 W. H. Mann, wife and two children; his 
 brother, G. .\. Lawton, and sister, .Amia 
 Maria Lawton — set out with their eftects, 
 arriving at Green Bay August 4, 1851. 
 In 1852 J. G. Lawton formed a partner- 
 ship with Otto Tank, for the purpose of 
 operating a foundry and machine shop at 
 Fort Howard, and same year purchased 
 Private Claim 12 and i ;;, 450 acres on 
 the west side of Fo.\ river. Hereon he 
 built a commodious house, into which the 
 family moved December 14, 1852. In 
 the spring of the following year he organ- 
 ized in Green Ba}'. under State charter, 
 the Fo.\ River Bank, of which he was 
 elected president and his brother, G. A., 
 cashier. In June, same year, the partner- 
 ship between him and Mr. Tank was dis- 
 solved. During all these years Mr. Law- 
 ton, bu.sy as he was, still found time to 
 
 prosecute bis law stu<lies, and could have 
 been admitted to the bar, had he not, at 
 the request of Morgan L. Martin, pro- 
 ceeded to New York for the purpose of 
 selling the bonds which he received for 
 carrying on the improvements on Fox 
 river, under contract with the State. Mr. 
 Lawton succeeded in his mission, and in 
 December, 1853, proceeded to Madison, 
 Wis. , to attend the Legislative Assembly, 
 in the interest of Morgan L. Martin, to 
 endeav(.)r to secure the issue of bonds by 
 the governor, as per contract with the 
 State, .\fter no little delay and consid- 
 erable effort, this important mission sub- 
 stantially was successful. Mr. Lawton's 
 success depended in a great measure on the 
 interpretation of the laws already passed, 
 which laws the opponents of the improve- 
 ment refused to execute. Then the friends 
 of the improvement suggested to Mr. 
 Lawton that he should form a company 
 to complete the improvement, and prom- 
 ised that they would give himself and 
 friends a liberal charter. Having secured 
 the consent of Morgan L. Martin, Mr. 
 Lawton himself tirew up a charter which 
 was presented to that session of the Leg- 
 islature. At that time, however, there 
 was great excitement over the impeach- 
 ment of Judge Hubbell, and the Legisla- 
 ture decided to tr\ the impeachment at 
 an adjourned meeting to be held in June 
 following, when, after the actjuittal of 
 Judge Hubbell, the Legislature took up 
 the subject of the Fox and \\'isconsin im- 
 provement, and granted a charter to 
 Morgan L. Martin, Dr. Darling, Otto 
 Tank, Joseph G. Lawton, Edward Gonk- 
 lin and Dr. U. H. Peak (who weri' incor- 
 porated as the Fox and Wisconsin Im- 
 provement Company) conditional that they 
 each enter into a bond of $10,000 for the 
 faithful performance of their part of the 
 contract. Prior to the meeting of the 
 adjourned session of the Legislature in 
 June, 1854, Mr. Lawton had purchased 
 from the executor of the estate of Joshua 
 F. Cox, the undivided half interest in the 
 town plat of De Pere as well as of the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 water power of the De Here daiu on both 
 sides of the Fox river at De Pere. tniine- 
 diately after receipt of the charter of the 
 Fox and Wisconsin Improvement Com- 
 pany they organized, executed the requisite 
 bonds to the State, and appointed a com- 
 mittee consisting; of Morgan L. Martin, 
 Dr. Darling and Joseph G. Lawton, to 
 proceed to New York in order to negotiate 
 requisite funds for the company. This 
 the committee succeeded in doing, and 
 while in New York Mr. Lawton arranged 
 with John & A. H. Lowery, owners of 
 the other undivided half of the Joshua F. 
 Cox estate, to deed the whole estate to a 
 company called the " De Pere Company," 
 and to issue bonds for the improvement of 
 same. 
 
 Early in 1S55 Mr. Lawton f)urchased 
 the stock of the Erie City Bank, at Erie, 
 Penn.. and in June of the same jear 
 moved with his family to that city in or- 
 der to fill the position of cashier of that 
 institution, an incumbency he tilled until 
 1857. In 1858 he sold the Erie City 
 Bank to C. B. Wright, then of Philadel- 
 phia, Penn., and on June 7, that year, 
 returned to \\'isconsin with his familj', 
 locating at De Pere. In 1856 he had 
 founded the Brown County Bank of De- 
 Pere with a capital of $25,000, appoint- 
 ing G. A. Lawton, president, and J. O. 
 Roorbach, cashier. On .August 4, 1858, 
 he commenced the erection of a stone 
 dwelling in De Pere, on the north end of 
 Broadway, on Private Claim 28, into 
 which he moved with his family on the 
 last day of that jear. New Year's Eve be- 
 ing celebrated within the new and elegant 
 structure. After leaving the army in 1863 
 (an account of his military experience ap- 
 pears farther on), and recovering some- 
 what from an illness brought on by ex- 
 posure in the service, he set out cast on 
 December 3 1 , that 3ear, to arrange for the 
 erection of a sta\e factor)' at West Dc- 
 Pere, also for the erecting of a smelting 
 furnace and flax factor)-. Succeeding in 
 his mission, these enterprises were at 
 once commenced. In Ma)\ 1863, he 
 
 laid out and platted all that part of West 
 De Pere l)ing on Pri\ate Claim 28. In 
 the same ) ear he built a wing dam on the 
 west side of the river, and dug a canal 
 200 feet long, which in i 867 was extend- 
 ed 600 feet farther. In 1864 he built a 
 new bridge 1 , 500 feet long between East 
 and West De Pere; also built a sash and 
 door factory — 80 x 40 feet — in West De- 
 Pere; and it may be here noted that his 
 work here during the two years, i 863-64, 
 increased the population of West De- 
 Pere from 150 to 2,500. From 1858 to 
 1 88 I the family lived in the stone house 
 he had built at the north end of Broad- 
 way, East De Pere, and cleared and 
 farmed a 200-acre tract of land, and in 
 1889 he moved into his present residence. 
 No. 610, Broadway. Since 1881 the 
 Captain has lived a retired life. 
 
 On February 19, 1844, Capt. Joseph 
 G. Lawton was married to Miss Ellen V. 
 Baird, daughter of Capt. Thomas J. 
 Baird of the U. S. army, and grand-daugh- 
 ter of Mathew Carey, the Philadelphia 
 publisher and philanthropist, who pub- 
 lished the first Bible printed from mova- 
 ble type in the United States, a copy of 
 which, dated 181 2, is now owned by Capt. 
 Lawton. Henry C. Carey, an uncle of 
 Mrs. Ellen V. Lawton, was a well-known 
 author of standard works on political econ- 
 omy. To the marriage of Capt. Lawton 
 and Ellen \' . (Baird) Lawton were born 
 children as follows: Charles Augustus, 
 December 16, 1S44, Fannie Augusta, 
 August 30, 1846, Henry Carey, May 23, 
 1848 (died February 3, 1858), and Caro- 
 line Virginia, May 13, 1850, all born in 
 St. Clair, Penn. ; Sophie Willson, August 
 2, 1852, in Green Bay, Wis., Ellen Jose- 
 phine, Augu.st I, 1854, in Fort Howard, 
 Wis., died February 3, 1888. Of these, 
 Charles Augustus was married September 
 5, 1866, in De Pere, Wis., to Elcey Mor- 
 gan Arndt, who was born November 27, 
 1846; they have two children, Edward 
 Wallace, born October 20, 1867, and 
 Ellen Baird, born April 9, 1869. Fannie 
 Augusta was married at De Pare Septem- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUWAL RECORD. 
 
 ber 26, 1867, to Jeremiali S. Dunham, 
 and they also have two children: Lewis 
 Augustus, born F"ebruary 10, 1869; and 
 Edith Virginia, born May 17, 1872. Caro- 
 Hne Virginia was married in De Pere, Oc- 
 tober 4, 1876, to Archie Lynn Gowey, 
 and they have six children; Archie Lynn, 
 Eliza Carey, Paul Eugene, Pauline 
 Eugenie, Ellen Virginia and Clarence 
 Parish. Ellen Josephine married, June 
 25. 1879, Ervvin A. Thompson, and they 
 have two children: NanineM., born Aug- 
 ust 2, 1 88 I, and Bessie D., born March 
 28, 1885. On February 19, 1894, Capt. 
 and Mrs. Lawton celebrated their • ' golden 
 wedding," amid many congratulations 
 and much rejoicing. Capt. Lawton was 
 by birth a member of the Society of 
 Friends; but having been married by a 
 " hireling Priest " he was " disowned." In 
 1 842 he united with the Episcopal Church, 
 afterward, in 1887, becoming a member 
 of the Presbyterian Church, with which 
 he is still associated. In 184^ he joined 
 the F. & A. M. and the I. O. O. F. 
 
 Military Rtcord of Capt. Jose pit G. 
 Lazi'toii. — On August 20, 1861, Joseph 
 G. Lawton was authorized, by Governor 
 Harvey, of Wisconsin, to raise a com- 
 pany for service in the war of the Rebell- 
 ion. By September 22 he had enlisted 
 forty men, and soon thereafter received a 
 commission as first lieutenant, dated Sep- 
 tember 27, I 861 ; later was commissioned 
 captain, and by October 21 recruited his 
 company to one hundred men. On No- 
 vember 12 they were ordered into camp 
 at Camp Wood, Fond du Lac, arrived 
 there on the 15th, and were assigned to 
 the Fourteenth Regiment Wis. V. I. 
 The first night they passed at Camp 
 Wood, the thermometer registered twenty- 
 si.x degrees below zero. At six .\. M., 
 March 8, 1862, the Fourteenth regiment 
 left Fond du Lac and arrived two days 
 later at Benton Barracks, St. Louis, Mo., 
 and there were cheered with the view of 
 green fields and dry land instead of a 
 country covered with snow a foot deep, 
 as in Camp Wood. On March 23 they 
 
 left Benton Barracks on steamer " Minne- 
 ha-ha" for seat of war; left Cairo, III., 
 March 25, and Paducah, K\'., 26th, arriv- 
 ing at Savannah, Ga., 27th, and disem- 
 barking from steamer 28th. lincauiped at 
 Savannah until April 6, on which day 
 they embarked on steamer for Pittsburg 
 Landing; disembarked i 1 v. m. same day, 
 and by daylight of following morning 
 had occupied the right of the left wing of 
 General Smith's division. The regiment, 
 including Captain Lawton and his com- 
 pany, participated in the battle of Pitts- 
 burg Landing April 7, iS()2, and in a 
 charge captured a Rebel batter)' of three 
 guns, which, by Captain Lawton's orders 
 and in his presence, were spiked. Dur- 
 ing a slight lull in the firing, after the 
 spiking of the guns. Captain Lawton ob- 
 served a number of soldiers retreating, 
 and supposing they were of his company, 
 hastened to rally them, and ga\e them 
 orders to get under cover in the wockIs. 
 They obeyed, and then Captain Lawton 
 discovered that they were chiefly mem- 
 bers of an Illinois regiment who had 
 passed through the ranks of his regiment; 
 soon afterward an officer of that regiment 
 came up and requested Captain Lawton's 
 assistance in re-forming the men. This 
 was soon accomplished, and their Colonel 
 gave the order to march aiid "fire at 
 will." At this the Lieutenant-Colonel 
 rode up and asked the Colonel why the 
 men should fire when there was no 
 enemy in sight; to which he replied: 
 "Only to make a noise and let them 
 know we are here." Captain Lawton 
 fearing that his own regiment would be 
 in the line of their fire, unless they had 
 retreated, went in search of them and 
 meeting a lieutenant of cavalry, the latter 
 suggested that the Captain should rally a 
 large number of soldiers who had become 
 separated from their regiments. This he 
 Droceeded to do, and on looking arouna 
 perceived the color-bearer of his own 
 regiment and a corporal guard. Asking 
 them where the regiment was, he received 
 the reply that ' ■ the regiment was all cut 
 
34 
 
 COMMEMOKATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to pieces. " [To il(j tlie color-bearer jus- 
 tice, it should be added that afterward, 
 when he was put on oath b\ pension ex- 
 aminers, he swore that it was not he who 
 gave that answer, but the corporal.] 
 Capt. Lawton ordered them to halt, 
 and then rallied the retreating sokliers 
 around the Hag, about a dozen of them 
 responding. He was also endeavoring to 
 get other soldiers to join the little squad, 
 which took him some 1 50 yards away, 
 and on his return he found that the color- 
 bearer and the rest of the rallied soldiers 
 had disappeared. The cavalry lieuten- 
 ant said they had "gone off into the 
 woods to the left;" and while they were 
 yet talking a lieutenant of infantry came 
 up, and reported to the cavalry lieuten- 
 ant that the enemy were in full retreat. 
 This being the case, Capt. Lawton re- 
 paired to the regimental surgeon's head- 
 quarters, which were in sight, and while 
 talking with Surgeon Walker, the latter, 
 looking over his shoulder, exclaimed to 
 Capt. Lawton: "There is your regi- 
 ment marching b)'. " Of course, the re- 
 port of the regiment being cut to pieces 
 was false or imaginary, as it had been 
 ordered to this part of the field t(j guard 
 a batter}'. The Captain then rejoined 
 his regiment, which was marched back to 
 place of bivouac, formed in line and or- 
 dered to "rest" for the night. During 
 the 8th, 9th, loth and nth of April, 
 after the fight, the regiment was without 
 tents, and every night it rained. 
 
 Capt. Lawton relates some interest- 
 ing incidents illustrative of the bravery 
 and coolness of the men, among which 
 may be here recorded the following: A 
 sixteen-year-old soldier, named Philip 
 Duirr, had in his excitement loaded his 
 rifle ball-end of cartridge down, instead 
 of powder-end, rendering the rifle tempo- 
 rarily useless as a firearm. The young 
 soldier, running to the Captain, reported 
 his mistake, and asked what he should 
 do. "Throw away your gun and pick 
 up another." "But it's numbered, and 
 the boys will say I lost it." "Then take 
 
 your rod and draw the load." So, in 
 .spite of the enemy's bullets flying thick 
 around him, he deliberately extracted the 
 charge from the barrel and reloaded his 
 rifle, then ran to his captain and reported 
 his "gun all right," but he could not 
 "return ramrod," as the wormer had 
 been screwed too tight on the rod. So 
 the captain and he put their united 
 strength to the job, but even then could 
 not unscrew it. The rod was then 
 thrown away and another jtickcd up, and 
 he regained the ranks, .\nother inci- 
 dent: After the battle, when the 
 wounded were being cared for, Capt. 
 Lawton. observing a wounded soldier 
 lying on the ground in the hospital tent, 
 stopped to talk to him. He found the 
 man had been wounded thirty-six hours 
 before, and to all appearance a bullet 
 had passed through his body, entering 
 his breast near the heart and coming out 
 at the back. The unfortunate soldier 
 had been given up by one or two of the 
 surgeons; but Capt. Lawton, thinking 
 that as he had lived so long after being 
 wounded there might yet be some chance 
 of saving his life, called to his assistance 
 a surgeon who had just amputated both 
 legs of a soldier at the thighs. This 
 surgeon, after carefully examining the 
 wound, said to the apparently dying man: 
 • ' You are a good deal better than a dead 
 man yet; what you want most is some- 
 thing to eat; the ball has not passed 
 through your body, but has simply 
 entered here in your breast, broken a rib, 
 glanced off, and run clear around under 
 the skin, and come out at the back." 
 The soldier immediately arose, and, 
 although weak, walked off in search of 
 his company as if nothing had happened; 
 he had been lying on the ground nearly 
 two days under the impression that he 
 had received a fatal wound — such is the 
 force of imagination! 
 
 On .April 10, Col. Wood, who had 
 been a]ipointed jirovost-marshal of the 
 camp, appointed Capt. Lawton officer of 
 the day, giving him at the same time the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHWAL RECORD. 
 
 use of his hcirse, and he h;ul to remain in 
 the saddle all day long, from early morn- 
 ing until night. On the i 5th Gov. Harvey 
 and staff arrived, and one of the hitter, 
 Commissary-Gen. E. W'adsworth, called 
 on Capt. Lawton to inform him that 
 before starting for the seat of war he had 
 been at De Pere and there learned that 
 his (Capt. Lawton'si wife was very sick, 
 and that the attending physician had said 
 that her husband's return home was the 
 only hope for her life being saved. Con- 
 sequently, on the iSth he sent m his 
 resignation, which Gen. XN'adsworth pre- 
 vailed on Col. Wood to accept, and Gov. 
 Harvey til approve. On the 19th Capt. 
 Lawton accompanied Gow Harvey to 
 Gen. Grant's headcjuarters, and the Go\- 
 ernor induced the General to accept the 
 resignation, and grant Capt. Lawton lea\e 
 of absence and transportation home jiend- 
 ing its approval by Gen. Hallcck. The 
 Captain accompanied Gov. Harvey to the 
 steamboat, on which they were to go to 
 Cairo on their way to Wisconsin, and 
 just as the_\- arrived at the gangway t<i the 
 upper cabin, some one told the Governor 
 that "a man wished to see him." There- 
 upon Gov. Harvey requested Ca]it. Law- 
 ton to take up to the cabin a Kelul gun 
 and some other relics he was taking home, 
 saying he would "be back in a minute." 
 The Captain took the articles from him, 
 carried them into the cabin, and had just 
 laid them on the tal)le when some one 
 came on board exclaiming, ' ' the Governor 
 is drowned; " he had made a mis-step and 
 had fallen off the gang-plank. Cajit. 
 Lawton left on the e\'ening of the 19th 
 and arrived home, a \ery sick man, on 
 the afternoon of April 2},, 1863. 
 
 H1-;XKY WAT1:K.M0LKX, derk 
 of the circuit court of iJidwn 
 county, is a native of Belgium, 
 born October 2S, 1836, a son of 
 Christopher and ISTary (Denuiylder) Water- 
 molen. The family immigrated to the 
 United States in 1856, settling in Helle- 
 
 \nv. township. Brown Co., Wis., where 
 the father died three weeks afterward; 
 the mother passed from earth in Febru- 
 ary, 1 8C0. They were the parents of 
 three children, namely: Christo]iher, 
 who resides on the old homestead in 
 Bellevue townshii); b'rancis, retired, hav- 
 ing his residence in Green Ba)', and 
 Henry, the sul)ject of this sketch. 
 
 Henry Watermolen was reared and 
 educated in his nati\e land, and. as will 
 be seen, was twent\- years old wIk'u he 
 came to the New World. b'oi- a time, in 
 order to become con\ersant with the I'.ng- 
 lish language, he attended school at 
 Henry, 111., subseciiu'utly (18611 taking a 
 course at Munns Business College, Chi- 
 cago. In that city he was emplo\'ed in a 
 warehouse and commission business, 
 through the day, in the evenings attend- 
 ing school, until the age of twenty-six, at 
 which time he returned to Green Ba)'. 
 Here he engaged in the stave and shingle 
 business two years, after which he moved 
 to De Pere, same rountw and in Febru- 
 ary, 1865, embarkt'd in general mercan- 
 tile trade. Continuing in same till 1882. 
 Ill that year he returned to Green Bay, 
 having received the appointment of deputy 
 sheriff, an incumbency he tilled four years, 
 at the end of which time he was elected 
 sheriff, serving as such unld 1888, when 
 he was elected to his present official posi- 
 tion. 
 
 On September 5, 1865, Mr. W'ater- 
 molen was united in marriage with Miss 
 Elizabeth Tuyls, also a natixe of \\v\- 
 gium, daughter of [ohn and .\nna Marie 
 (Van Op. den Bosch) Tuyls, of the same 
 coimtry, who came with their family to 
 America and to Brown county. Wis., in 
 1855; they died in Preble township. To 
 Mr. aiul Mrs. Watermolen were liorn 
 eight children, four of whom are yet liv- 
 ing, to-wit: Isabella, a school teacher in 
 Milwaukee, Wis.; Frances A., a student 
 in the law office of Ellis & Merrill, Green 
 Bay; Louise and Dora. The deceased 
 are Charles F., who died in infancy, 
 Josephine, at the age of seven and a half 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHTCAL RECORD. 
 
 years, Louie F.. in infancy, and Octa\ic, 
 at the age of four years. Tfie parents 
 are members of St. Willebrord's (Catho- 
 lic) Church. Mr. Watermolen in politics 
 is an ardent Democrat, and in addition to 
 the public offices above mentioned he 
 served as a member of the board of trus- 
 tees of De Pere; as clerk of Lawrence 
 township; assessor for De Pere eight 
 years, and for several years was county 
 poor commissioner. 
 
 JR. MINAHAN, M. 1). Among the 
 eminent physicians and surgeons of 
 Brown count}', the more prominent 
 of whom find place in this volume, 
 none cnjojs to a greater extent the con- 
 fidence and esteem of the community at 
 large than the gentleman, although }et a 
 jouiig man, whose name is here recorded. 
 Dr. J. R. Minahan is a native of Wis- 
 consin, born September 6, 1862, in Calu- 
 met county, a son of William B. and 
 Mary (Shaughncssy) Minahan, natives of 
 Ireland, who immigrated thence in single 
 life to this country, settling in New York 
 State. In New York they were married, 
 and in 1850 they came west to Wisconsin, 
 locating first in Manitowoc county and 
 later in Calumet county, for the most part 
 making their home in the town of Chilton. 
 
 REV. PROSPER GOEPFERT, C. 
 S. Sp. Emerson, the great Amer- 
 ican writer, has said that "society 
 is a troop of thinkers, and the best 
 heads among them take the best places," 
 an epigram peculiarly applicable to the 
 reverend gentleman whose name is here 
 recorded. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born 
 a little over fifty years ago, in a suburban 
 parish of Colmar, in the (then) French 
 Province of Alsace. At an early age he 
 began his classical studies in the flourish- 
 ing college of that town, where year after 
 year he distinguished himself in all his 
 classes, and won the esteem and affection 
 
 of his masters and fellow-students. At 
 the age of eighteen he felt himself called 
 to enter the arena of foreign missions, 
 and with that purpose in view entered the 
 Society of the Holy Ghost, whose mem- 
 bers, though laboring in every part of the 
 earth, are chiefly de\()teil to the conver- 
 sion of the heathen in Africa, where they 
 have established numerous Christian set- 
 tlements. After spending three years at 
 the College of Langonnet, in Brittany, 
 where he finished his literary studies, he 
 took a five-years' philosophical and theo- 
 logical course at the seminary of the So- 
 ciety in Paris. Here, always crowned 
 with marked success, he eagerly availed 
 himself of every opportunity to "drink 
 deep of the Pierian spring." 
 
 In 1866 he was raised to the priest- 
 hood by Prince Cardinal Chigi, then Papal 
 nuncio at the court of Napoleon III. In 
 the following year his superiors, instead 
 of complying with his desires to devote 
 his life to the conversion of the unen- 
 lightened natives of the dark continent, 
 sent him to Rockwell College, Cashel, 
 Ireland, where he remained for twenty- 
 two years as master of novices, and pro- 
 fessor of almost every branch of educa- 
 tion. During the last ten years of Father 
 Goepfert's stay in Erin he filled with dis- 
 tinction the position of president of Rock- 
 well College, which has always ranked 
 among the foremost educational institu- 
 tions of the country. 
 
 In 1890 our subject came to Michigan, 
 and at Dearborn, Wayne county, he was 
 for three years the beloved pastor of a 
 parish under the direction of the Congre- 
 gation of the Holy Ghost, and although 
 but a limited field for so enunent a scholar 
 and prominent a priest of the Congrega- 
 tion, he was the same hard worker in his 
 Master's vineyard, and when he was sent 
 to his present charge in Green Bay. Wis., 
 he left a record of Christian charity, genial 
 characteristics, hospitality, and last, not 
 least, hard work in the comforting of the 
 unfortunate and the salvation of souls. 
 Early in the year 1893 he came to Green 
 
COMMEMORA TIVE BIOO nAPIlICA L UKCOUD. 
 
 37 
 
 Ba\' to take charge of the thriving parish 
 of St. John. 
 
 Besides his many otiier accoinphsh- 
 inents, Father Goepfert has attained no 
 Httle distinction as an author, having writ- 
 ten and pubhshed, during his sojourn in 
 Ireland, a work of much celebrity, en- 
 titled ' ' Life of the \'enerable Libermann, 
 Founder of the Congregation of the Holy 
 Ghost;" he also founded and edited till 
 his departure from Ireland the popular 
 monthly magazine, "The Messenger of 
 St. Joseph." In spite of his hard studies 
 and harder teaching, as well as the great 
 responsibility confided to him. Father 
 Goepfert is still active, hale and vigorous, 
 and his healthy appearance predicts for 
 him a long period \'et of energetic useful- 
 ness and success as a minister in his new 
 field of labor. 
 
 Be. BI-JETT, M. I)., is the oldest 
 active practitioner in the city of 
 (h'een Bay. He is a native of 
 the State of Maine, liorn in 
 Franklin county in 1835, a son of C. H. 
 and Mary fHunter) Brett, also of Maine 
 nativity, the mother born in Franklin 
 county. About the year i 86j the family 
 came west, locating in Minnesota, the 
 parents shortly afterward mo\'ing to and 
 settling in the town of Henry, S. Dak. 
 They were quiet, unassuming, farming 
 people, in their honorable pursuit, desir- 
 ing to live " far from the madding crowd's 
 ignoble strife." The)- were the parents 
 of nine children, as follows: B. C, of 
 whom this sketch chieHy relates; Mrs. 
 Lucy A. Baker (a widow), residing in St. 
 Paul, Minn. ; Mrs. E. P. Baker, in Henry, 
 S. Dak.; George E., in Mankato, Minn.; 
 Frank R. and Mrs. G. F. Piper, both 
 also in Henry, S. Dak., and Jennie M., 
 Maud, and Mrs. Sarah Jordan, deceased. 
 B. C. Brett received his elementary 
 education in the schools of Franklin 
 county and Augusta, Maine, and in 1857 
 entered the medical department of Bow- 
 doin College, Brunswick, same State, 
 
 whence, in 1859. he went to the medical 
 department of Dartmouth College, Han- 
 over, N. H., where he gratiuated in the 
 class of 'Oo. He then commenced hospi- 
 tal and dispensar}' practice in New York 
 City, diligentl}- devoting to it his entire 
 time and attention until i86j, in which 
 year he came to Highland, Iowa Co., 
 Wis. Here, the Civil war being in pro- 
 gress, he was offered a commission as 
 assistant-surgeon to the Si.xteenth Wis. 
 V. I., which he, however, declined; but 
 later (same year) was commissioned as- 
 sistant-surgeon to the Twenty-first Wis. 
 V. I., which position he accepted. He 
 joined the regiment at Mitchellville, 
 Tenn., and served with it throughout the 
 campaign in which it participated in the 
 battles of Stone River, Chickamauga and 
 minor engagements, as well as those 
 which occurred during " Sherman's march 
 to the sea." In January, 1865, the Doc- 
 tor was commissioned surgeon in the 
 Seventeenth Wis. V. I., but on account 
 of the illness of his wife was obliged to 
 decline. In 1865 he was honorably dis- 
 charged from the service at Sav;innah, 
 Ga. , and returned to Wisconsin. In 
 1866 he commenced the general practice 
 of his profession in the town of Brodhead, 
 Green county, remaining there until July, 
 1872, when he came to Green Bay. In 
 addition to his regular practice Dr. Brett 
 is A. A. Surgeon in the U. S. Marine 
 Hospital Service, has l)een Health Officer 
 of Green Bay fifteen years, and for nine 
 years was U. S. E.xamining Surgeon for 
 Pensions. 
 
 On April 19, i860, Dr. B. C. Brett 
 was united in marriage with Miss Lucy 
 Wilson Eastman, daughter of William H. 
 and Eliza Eastman, all of the State of 
 Maine, who after the war of the Rebellion 
 came to Green Bay; the parents are both 
 deceased, the father having died January 
 10, 18S7, the mother July 17, 1884. To 
 Dr. and Mrs. P>rett were born children as 
 follows: I'rank. who died in Green Bay 
 August 2, 1879, at the age of nineteen; 
 Fred N. (married), attending Rush Medi- 
 
3S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BWGliAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 cal College, Chicago; Anii;i E., Jennie 
 M., and James K., all at home. The 
 parents are members of the Presbyterian 
 Church. Dr. Brett is president of the 
 Wisconsin State Medical Society, presi- 
 dent of the Brown C'ljunty Medical So- 
 ciety, a member of the Fo.\ River \'alley 
 Medical Society, of the Brainerd Medical 
 Society, and of the Menomonee River 
 Medical Society. Socially he is a mem- 
 ber of Washington Lodge, No. 2i, F. & 
 A. M., and of Warren Chapter; is Sur- 
 geon of T. O. Howe Post, G. A. K. ; and 
 is a member of the Wisconsin Command- 
 ery of the Loyal Legion of the United 
 States. Politically he is an active Re- 
 publican. 
 
 X.\\"IER MARTIN was born Janu- 
 ary lO, 1832, in the commune of 
 drez-Doiceau, Province of Bra- 
 bant, Kingdom of Belgium, emi- 
 grating to the United States with his 
 father and mother, brothers and sisters, 
 and landing in New York, July 5, 1853, 
 from which city he proceeded at once to 
 Philadelphia. Here his father and mother 
 remained about a \ear. whence they 
 moved to Brown county, \\'is. , locating 
 in the Belgium settlement, where they 
 bought governnient land, and there they 
 livecl, with their children, by farming and 
 making shingles. They were honest, 
 God-fearing people, and members of the 
 French Presbyterian Church. The family 
 trace their ancestry to the year 1665, and, 
 originally, to the city of Paris, France. 
 John Martin, father of Xavier, was 
 born in the Parish of Dion-Ie-val, Depart- 
 ment of the Dyle, on the 21st Brumaire, 
 in the year XIII of the French Republic, 
 which date corresponds with the i 2th of 
 No\ ember, 1804. He died on his farm 
 in I 870. 
 
 Aseline Bosel, mother i>[ Xa\ier. was 
 born in the city of Brussels, Belgium, in 
 October, 1805. and died in the city of 
 Green Bay, Wis., in 1874. John Martin, 
 by his wife Aseline, raised a family of 
 
 Tiine children, their names and births 
 being as follows: Constant, born May 
 I 1, 1830, lived in the city of Green Bay, 
 engaged in the real-estate and insurance 
 business until his death, which occurred 
 June 16, 1894; Xavier, born January 10, 
 1S32, now living in the citj' of Green Bay, 
 engaged in the real-estate and insurance 
 business; Martin Leon, born June 28, 
 1834, died July 2, 1863, and until his 
 death was engaged in farming and lum- 
 bering; Pierre Joseph, born November 24, 
 1836, died February 3, 1840; Desire, 
 born August 23, 1839, died August 16, 
 1855; Mar\' Eleonore (now Mrs. Joseph 
 Dhynej, born November 23, 1841, is 
 residing in the city of Green Bay; Alex- 
 ander, born December 6, 1843. now 
 residing at Bayticld, Wis. ; Elie, born 
 .\ugust 12, 1848, is now residing in the 
 cit}' of (MX'cn Ba}', engaged in the real- 
 estate and insurance business, and is also 
 a popular justice of the peace; Celina 
 (now Mrs. I'rancois Hannon), born Janu- 
 ary 29, 1852, is living on their farm in the 
 town of Scott, Brown Co., Wisconsin. 
 
 Xavier Martin came from Belgium to 
 Philadelphia, Penn., in 1853, where he 
 remained four \ears, and there studied 
 the English language and literature under 
 Prof. Gardner, a professor of languages 
 and literature in that city. In 1857 he 
 left Philadelphia and came to Brown 
 count}', Wis., visiting the Belgian settle- 
 ment, where his people lived. Here he 
 was induced to locate, there being no one 
 in the settlement who could speak, read 
 or write the ICnglish language, and for 
 li\e years Mr. Martin labored among the 
 people of the settlement in the capacity 
 of school teach'er, justice of the peace, 
 town clerk, school superintendent and 
 postmaster, and, in a great measure, 
 through him, his energy and his influence 
 in his official capacity, new highways were 
 laid out, new schot>l districts were formed, 
 new school-houses were built, and teachers 
 provided. In the fall of 1862, at the 
 general election, he was elected register 
 of deeds for Brown county, consequently 
 
COMMEMUUA TIVK BlOHllAl'lIICA 1. liKCORD. 
 
 39 
 
 on the 1st of January, 1863, lie had to 
 lea\e tlie Belgian scttlemLMit and imivc 
 with liis fainil}- to tlic city of Cireen Hay, 
 tlicif to assume tlu- (hitics of register of 
 deeds, to which he was elected fur four 
 consecutive terms (eis^lit years). In 1S71 
 he estabhshed liis present business, that 
 of real-estate and insurance assent, in 
 which he has been engaged up to the pres- 
 ent time, and he has been closely identi- 
 fied with the liusiness interests of the 
 city of Green I^ay for o\er thirty- 
 one years. He has ser\ed his city 
 in various official capacities. In 1875 
 antl 1 S/') he was an active member of the 
 city council; was president of same dur- 
 ing the last year, and was chairman of the 
 Finance Committee both years. In 1882 
 he was elected city assessor by the city 
 coinicil, an office he has continued to fill 
 witli credit to himself and satisfaction of 
 his constituents, having been elected and 
 re-elected to that important office thirteen 
 times, and is still occupj'ing that position. 
 Mr. Martin has been thrice married: 
 First time, in 1855, in Philadelphia, 
 Penn., to Miss Mary K. Gray, the second 
 time in 1873 to Miss Augusta Bliske, who 
 l)ore him eight children, six of whom are 
 li\ing, as follows: I\udol])h, Albert, Paul- 
 ine, b'rederick, Fvclynn and Richard. 
 The mother of these children died in 
 Green Hay in 1887, and in 188S Mr. 
 Martin married Mrs. .Amelia Dendoven 
 (wcV Amelia Gosin), daughter of Dieudon- 
 nez Gosin, who, in 1S58. came from Bel- 
 gium to one of the lielgian settlements in 
 Kewaunee county. Wis. In liis political 
 preferments Mr. Martin is an active Re- 
 publican. He is one of the founders of 
 the Wisconsin Society for the Prevention 
 of Cruelty to Animals, organized in 1S74 
 and incorporated in 1882; was elected its 
 first president, and has filled that office 
 ever since. Socially he is a ineml)er of 
 the Knights of Honor, and of the Inde- 
 pendent Order of Odd Fellows. He is 
 also a member of Washington Lodge No. 
 21, of Free and Accepted Masons, and in 
 Masonr\' has been elected and served as 
 
 senior deacon, and junirjr and senior 
 warden; in the chapter of Royal Arch 
 Masons he has Ihhmi elected and served as 
 scribe one year, king two years, and is 
 now a loyal and select master in the 
 Council of i\.o\al and Select Masters. 
 
 CONSTANT M.AKTIN, late dealer 
 in real estate, and insurance and 
 general collection agent, was a 
 natix'e of the Province of Brabant, 
 Belgium, born May 11, 1830, a son of 
 John and Aseline (Bosel) Martin. 
 
 Our subject was reared and educated 
 in his native lan<l, and followed the rest 
 of the family to the United States. Im- 
 mediately on his arrival in Philadelphia 
 he conmienced the study of the English 
 language. In l^elgium he had been en- 
 gaged as clerk, but in this country he at 
 once commenced buying and selling land, 
 and l)ecame one af the most extensive 
 real-estate dealers in northern Wisconsin, 
 largely interested in town property. In 
 1853 Mr. Martin was united in marriage, 
 in Philadelphia, with Miss Fannie Gillon, 
 a natix'e of Brussels, Belgium, by whom 
 there were two children, \'iz. ; Clotilde 
 and Joseph, who both died in 1870 (as 
 did also their mother), the girl at the age 
 of fourteen years, the boy when two 
 months old. In 1870 Mr. Martin was 
 married, in Green Bay, to Mary Louisa 
 Rosenberg, a native of Johnstown, N. Y., 
 daughter of Peter and Louisa (Isham) 
 Rosenberg, who came from New York 
 State to Clinton, Wis. , and from there in 
 1867 to Green Bay, where both died. To 
 this seconil marriage of Mr. Martin were 
 born two children, viz. : James C, engaged 
 in the insurance Ijusiness with his father, 
 and George, deceased in infancy. In his 
 political preferences our subject was an 
 Independent. In 1866 he was a member 
 of the Assembly; in 1867 he was deputy 
 United States assessor; in 1870 he was 
 deputy marshal for the Northern District 
 of Wisconsin; also, same year, postmaster 
 at Red River, and was a member and 
 
4o 
 
 COMMEMOHATIVE BWUIiAJ^llJVAL RECORD. 
 
 chairman of the board. For five years 
 he was town clerk of Red River; served 
 as a justice of the peace five years; and 
 for two years was school superintendent 
 for Kewaunee county, ^fr. Martin was a 
 resident of that county from 1859 to 1874, 
 and of Green I3ay from 1874 until his 
 death, which occurred June 16, 1894. 
 From 1885 till 1892 he was an active 
 member of the board of education in the 
 city of Green Bay. This family trace 
 their ancestr}- to the year 1665, and orig- 
 inally to the City of Paris, France. 
 
 W1:BSTER a. BINGHAM. Pre- 
 senting as it does a worthy ex- 
 ample to the rising generation, 
 the life of this gentleman, which 
 from earl}' boyhood has been one of as- 
 siduous industry, untiring energy and un- 
 questioned integrity, is well deserving of 
 being sketched, however briefly, in the 
 pages of this volume. 
 
 Mr. Bingham was born March 25, 
 1844, in Ogle county. 111., a son of Hol- 
 land Weeks and Sarah S. (Goodrich) 
 Bingham, both natives of Cornwall, Vt., 
 the father born in 1804, the mother in 
 i8io. They were married in the East, 
 in 1836; moved, in 1838, to a farm in 
 Ogle county, 111., and from there, in 1849, 
 to \\'atertown. Wis., one daughter, aged 
 eight years, and one son (our subject), 
 aged five years, accompanying them. The 
 latter was educated at the Watertown 
 (Wis.) High School, and at the age of 
 fourteen commenced the battle of life bj- 
 carrying brick at twenty-five cents per 
 day. He also during the summer vaca- 
 tions worked in a m'achine shop; a part of 
 the time, up to the age of seventeen, ran 
 a stationary engine, and when he was but 
 si.xteen \ears old he taught a country 
 school near Watertown; by which it will 
 be seen that his early life experience was 
 of a decidedly versatile character. ]-5ut 
 he was always equal to the occasion. He 
 was possessed of vigorous natural abilities, 
 and although his opportunities for acquir- 
 
 ing knowledge were but few, jet he ap- 
 plied his powers of (observation upon the 
 things which were nearest to him, and the 
 boy became father to the man. In 1861, 
 at the age of seventeen, he enlisted in the 
 First Wis. \'. C, in which regiment he 
 experienced three years of constant active 
 service in the Civil war, never being absent 
 from his post of duty during any engage- 
 ment in which the" First " participated. 
 He received slight promotions in the non- 
 commissioned line, and in 1864. at the 
 age of twenty, by reason of expiration of 
 term of service, was mustered out as regi- 
 mental quartermaster-sergeant. Return- 
 ing to Wisconsin, he entered upon a 
 course of study at the Spencerian Business 
 College, Milwaukee, and when his course 
 was nearly completed secured a position 
 in one of the departments of the college 
 as teacher, which he held for a short time 
 until a situation was open to him in a cer- 
 tain large wholesale hardware house in 
 Milwaukee, at that time one of the most 
 prominent firms in the West. In this 
 business he remained as salesman eight 
 years, advancing from a salary of five 
 hundred dollars to twenty-five hundred 
 dollars per annum, and becoming very 
 popular with the trade. In the fall of 
 1872 he engaged in a general merchandise 
 business in West De Pere, Brown Co., 
 Wis., on a small capital, which was more 
 than doubled the first two years, the sales 
 having been pushed up to ninety thousand 
 dollars the first year, in an ordinary coun- 
 try store, and for several successive years 
 increased until a steady and permanent 
 trade was established, which has been al- 
 most phenomenally successful from its 
 commencement to the present time. The 
 business has been conducted on the best 
 and most secure business priciplcs, and 
 no firm in Brown county stands higher 
 either with customers or creditors. 
 
 In 18S7 Mr. Bingham made a trip to 
 California, in reality for recreation; but 
 an opening for manufacturing presenting 
 itself strongly, he became one of the 
 members of a large corporation organized 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOCrRAPJlWAL RECORD. 
 
 41 
 
 for the pui'iiose of iiiaiinfacturiiii; tiic-rlay 
 products, principally vitrified j'ipe for ir- 
 rigation purposes, city sewers, etc. The 
 full management of this company \\as 
 soon placed in his hands, and for several 
 years he has been the president and man- 
 ager of the "Pacific Clay Manufacturing 
 Company," of Los Angeles, Cal. The 
 concern is in a most prosperous condi- 
 tion, and has paid regular dividends to the 
 stockholders each year, under his manage- 
 ment. He retains his business interests 
 in De Pere (which is really his home), and 
 gives them as much personal attenticin as 
 is needed. 
 
 In 1869 Mr. Bingham was married in 
 Milwaukee to Miss Fannie H. Bird, of 
 Cambridge, Mass. , and three children 
 have blessed their union, named respect- 
 ively; Mary Homer, .Arthur Walter and 
 Susan Abbott. In religious faith he has 
 been an active member of the Congrega- 
 tional Church from the age of si.xteen; in 
 political predilections he is a Republican, 
 but not an active politician, and has 
 served on the l)oard of education of \\'est 
 De Pcre, ten years, and as mayor of that 
 city, one year. Now at the age of fifty 
 years, and in the prime of life, Mr Bing- 
 ham is in perfect health, with some of tha 
 best years before him, as he believes, and 
 he deserves to lake pride in a substantial, 
 though modest, business record which 
 stands without a blemish. 
 
 M 
 
 AKTIN VAX BEEK, owner of 
 one of the finest farms in 
 Preble township. Brown coun- 
 ty, is well-known as one of the 
 most industrious and progressive farmers 
 of his section. 
 
 He was born October 29, 1842, in 
 Holland, son of John Van Beek, who 
 was a carpenter by trade, at which he 
 worked in his native countrj', being also 
 employed as a plow- maker. In 1850 
 John \'an Beek emigrated from Holland, 
 on June 24, that year, landing in Green 
 Bay, Wis., with his family of five chil- 
 
 dren three sons and two daughters. On 
 arriving here he had but t(>n guilders (four 
 dollars) left, and inmiediately went to 
 work for Judge Ellis (at a place near 
 where Hagemeister's l)rewery now is), 
 repairing a sawmill, and also at his trade. 
 So limited were their circumstances at 
 first that the family lived in a stable, and 
 later for four months in a blacksmith 
 shop, after which they removed to a house 
 owned by Jtjshua Whitney's father. Thus 
 Mr. Van Beek struggled along, and after 
 some years was able to purchase a house 
 and lot, and still later i 20 acres of land 
 in Preble township. Brown county, part 
 of which is now incorporated in the farm 
 of our subject. John Van Beek passed 
 from earth in 1S83, at Bay Settlement; 
 his wife died May 23, 1880, at the same 
 place, and they now lie buried in Bay Set- 
 tlement cemetery. After coming here 
 Mr. Van Beek visited his native country 
 once, but was not content to remain 
 there. From being a poor man he had, 
 by hard work and honest industry, ac- 
 cumulated a comfortable competence, 
 and he was highly respected in his lo- 
 cality. 
 
 Martin Van Beek was deprived of 
 educational advantages in his youth by 
 the limited circumstances of his parents, 
 who needed his help; but he was anxious 
 to learn, and attended night school even 
 after his marriage. During his later years 
 he has been a great reader, and in this 
 manner, and by observation, he has se- 
 cured a practical education. When but 
 a boy he was initiated into the details of 
 the lumber business, becoming c]uite 
 skilled in the care of saws, and was also 
 expert at manufacturing shingles by hand. 
 When a little older he did some sailing on 
 the lakes and ocean. At New Franken, 
 Wis., he found work as head sawyer in a 
 shingle mill. He was completely at home 
 in the lumber business, and during fifteen 
 springs he "rode logs," at \\hich he had 
 few equals, for \\hich hazardous labor he 
 has been paid as much as seven dollars per 
 day. But being of a roving disposition, 
 
42 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPBICAL RECORD. 
 
 he lias not been content to remain at 
 home all the time, and, especialh' as a 
 sailor, has probably traveled more than 
 any other farmer in his neighborhood. 
 
 On January 2, 1S67, Mr. Van Beek 
 was married to Miss Catharine Bomber, 
 who was born April 18, 1843, in Bel- 
 gium, a daughter of Agelius I^omber, and 
 came to the United States when thirteen 
 years old; her parents resided in Green 
 Bay. To tliis marriage have been born 
 thirteen children, three of whom — Mar- 
 garet A.. Joseph and William -are de- 
 ceased. The others are named as fol- 
 lows: Mary, Henry, John, Josephine, 
 Joseph, Gertrude, Elizabeth, Samuel, 
 Aloysius and William. At the time of 
 his marriage Mr. Van Beek located in 
 Green Bay, and shortly after went with a 
 surveying corps, who were laj'ing out the 
 course of the Green Bay, Winona & St. 
 Paul railroad. Upon his return home he 
 again engaged in the lumber business, 
 remaining with one firm, Clouse & 
 Featherly, for fi\e years, during which 
 time his work was such that he gained 
 some knowledge of the blacksmith and 
 machinist trades. For two stunmers he 
 was in the employ of Earl iS: Case, and 
 received good wages, scaling lumber and 
 "booming logs." He also commenced 
 to learn the printer's trade in the Gazette 
 office at Green Bay, but gave it up on 
 account of his fiealth. During these 
 years he had saved some monej', and 
 built a home in Green Bay, which he 
 subsequently traded for forty acres of 
 land where he now lives, and to which 
 he has added other forty acres. When 
 he took up his residence on this land it 
 was covered with stumps, was very 
 swampy, and, altogether, in such poor 
 condition that he found it necessary to 
 tile almost the whole farm. But his 
 labor has been well repaid, for to-day he 
 has one of the best farms in Preble town- 
 ship, the result of years of hard work and 
 systematic management. While not a 
 life-long farmer, he has, during his resi- 
 dence here, proven himself capable and 
 
 progressive in the agricultural depart- 
 ment, paying special attention to the 
 raising of garden truck. 
 
 During the Civil war Mr. Van Beek 
 enlisted in the United States service, at 
 Oconto, Wis., but was rejected on ac- 
 count of his youth. He afterward en- 
 listed at Berlin, Wis., and was again 
 rejected, this time on account of injuries 
 received in a fall. Politically he is a 
 stanch I'iepublican, and a strong sup- 
 porter of the principles of that party, but 
 he gives no time to party affairs, his own 
 interests requiring all his attention. In 
 religious connection he and his wife are 
 members of the Catholic Church, in 
 which he has been councilor some vears. 
 
 E 
 
 DWARD DECKER was born 
 May 2, 1827, in Casco, Cumber- 
 land Co., Maine, son of David 
 and Eliza (Dunham) Decker. 
 The progenitor of the Decker family in 
 America was the great-great-grandfather 
 of our subject, coming from England, and 
 settling on the Kennebec river, in Maine, 
 where he became a prominent and pros- 
 perous citizen. His grandson, David 
 Decker, removed to Cumberland county, 
 Maine, in an early day, married Jemima 
 Decker, a cousin, and they became the 
 parents of the following children: Mary, 
 David, John. William, Eunice. Charles, 
 Nathan and Spencer. Of these, David 
 Decker, was a well-known character in 
 his community, was a Jacksonian Demo- 
 crat, and had considerable influence in 
 local and State politics. By occupation 
 he was a merchant and miller, his mill 
 property being situated on the Kennebec 
 river; and as he was a capable business 
 man he prospered, but he also met with 
 many reverses. About 1857 he was in- 
 duced by his son, Edward, to come west 
 to Wisconsin, where he purchased a half 
 section of land in Kewaunee county, near 
 Casco, so named by his son, Edward, in 
 honor of his birthplace. Here David 
 Decker died in 1865 at the ags of sixty- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 45 
 
 four years. His wife, Eli^ja (Dunham), 
 was a daughter of Jesse Dunham, a na- 
 tive of Boston, Mass., who resided in 
 Otisfield, Maine. Domestic, kind-hearted, 
 charitable, and possesse(i of many en- 
 dearing quahties of head and heart, she 
 had hosts of friends. To her and her 
 husband were liorn eight chilciren, narne- 
 \\: Edward, Ehza Ann, Stillman, Levi, 
 Lucw Adehne, Jesse and Lizzie. She 
 died in I 889, at the age of eighty years. 
 Her family, the Dunhams, were generally 
 noted for stability in l)usiness and social 
 circles. 
 
 ICdward Decker received in his boy- 
 hooil but few advantages, even of the 
 pulilic schools, and at the age of fourteen 
 he left home and proceeding to Portland, 
 Maine, there obtained a position, working 
 for eight dollars per month. When six- 
 teen vears old he went to Boston, where 
 he clerked for his uncle in a general store 
 two years. During his stay in that city 
 Mr. Decker heard a good deal about 
 Iowa, enough to induce him to set out for 
 that State; but while in Milwaukee lie was 
 persuaded to locate with a large party in 
 \\'isconsin, and thus the State gained a 
 \'aluable citizen. He landed in Milwau- 
 kee, May 2, 1845, and after one )-ear's 
 residence in Watertown, Wis., moved to 
 Oshkosh, where he embarked in the lum- 
 ber business, being the tirst man to run 
 logs to that ])lace, in which connection he 
 became well known. Under a treaty 
 with the Indians, Robert Grignon had 
 permission to l)uild a sawmill on Indian 
 lands along the Little W^jlf river, and 
 Mr. Decker contracted to stock the mill 
 with logs, he receiving half of the lumber. 
 This lumber was rafted and run down the 
 river, where it was disposed of among the 
 ■early settlers of Winnebago county, and 
 pieces of same are still to be found in the 
 old houses of that section. Mr. Decker 
 continued in the lumber business three 
 years, and then built a hotel in Menasha, 
 which he conducted for a short time. 
 Selling this and other property he re- 
 moved in 1S55 to Kewaunee count}'. Wis. 
 
 (where he entered a large amount of land 
 with the intention of establishing a set- 
 tlement;, opened a store and cleared 
 some land. In 1856 the count}' was or- 
 ganized and county officers elected, but 
 Mr. Decker declined to ha\e an}'thing to 
 do with the organization. The county 
 officers being inexperienced, however, all 
 failed to (pialify in the following |anuar}', 
 and he was requested by prominent busi- 
 ness men in the county to organize the 
 affairs and establish the different offices. 
 Having set the machiner}' going, and hav- 
 ing been deputized by the treasurer and 
 clerk, he set to work to put things in run- 
 ning order, and the business was soon in 
 proper condition. At the end of two 
 years he was elected clerk, and continued 
 to serve as such many years, being re- 
 elected often against his wish; he held the 
 office until January i, 1869. In the fall 
 of 1859 Mr. Decker was elected State 
 senator, in which capacit}' he served one 
 term. At the next convention his name 
 was again used, but he refused to be a 
 candidate, and when tendered the nomi- 
 nation declinetl to accept it. In the same 
 fall the Republicans and Democrats called 
 a mass convention, and again offered him 
 the nomination, which he, as before, re- 
 fused. 
 
 Regardless of part}' politics, he per- 
 formed some deeds of daring and acts of 
 charity that are entitled to honorable 
 mention in the history of the State. Diu'- 
 ing the Civil war the draft was inevitable 
 in many counties in Wisconsin, and in 
 some armed resistance was feared. The 
 principal population of Kewaunee county 
 was foreign, and resisted the draft; armed 
 bodies of men discussed the situation, and 
 excitement ran high. Troops had been 
 ordered to the scene of trouble, l)lood- 
 shed seemed unavoidable, and the feeling 
 was bitter against the government. At 
 this critical stage the cooler heads of the 
 representative men of the State proposed 
 Edward Decker as the only man who in 
 all probability could act as United Slates 
 deput}' provost marshal, and avert blood- 
 
46 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 shed and the dire consequences attendinj; 
 it. He realized to the full the difficult 
 task before him, but finally was persuaded 
 to accept it. His record as county officer, 
 friend, business man and neifjhbor, all 
 combined to aid him, but it was weeks 
 after accepting the office before any im- 
 pression could be made on the wrathful 
 inhabitants, who regarded him as an 
 enemy to their rights and privileges. 
 Many of his acquaintances refused to 
 speak to him on meeting, and manifested 
 marked hostility. He had stipulated that 
 no armed force should be sent into the 
 Territory, and had secured other rights 
 and privileges which he could make use 
 of if occasion demanded; so by degrees 
 the hostility subsided, and his influence 
 with the people was felt. The cooler 
 heads saw the wisdom of his counsel, 
 and eventually the obno.xious draft was 
 avoided, money was subscribed liberally, 
 and bounties were paid. Mr. Decker's 
 full share in bringing this about will never 
 be fully learned, but many an old farmer 
 and father remembers the aid he received 
 in that trying time. 
 
 During all these years, besides attend- 
 ing to his public duties, he looked after 
 his settlement on Decker creek, which, 
 as before mentioned, was named ' ' Casco " 
 in honor of his birthplace. He eventually 
 established a lumber mill, which is still in 
 operation; owns 1,500 acres in a body at 
 Casco, and 1,500 acres in the vicinity. 
 His long service in the county office made 
 him familiar with every acre of land in 
 Kewaunee and Door counties, where he 
 owns, altogether, over ten thousand acres, 
 this land being accumulated by degrees, 
 excepting the old homestead at Casco, 
 where he bought three thousand acres at 
 one time. After withdrawing from the 
 county offices Mr. Decker intended to go 
 into the railroad business, starting a road 
 from Green Bay to St. Paul, and a com- 
 pany was organized which obtained a 
 charter. Associated with Mr. Decker 
 were Col. C. B. Robinson, editor of the 
 Green Bav Advocate, and Anton Klaus, 
 
 a merchant and lumberman. The pro- 
 ject was a bold one, and there is no doubt 
 that, had it been carried out, it would 
 have been a success, and the road would 
 probably have been the first through the 
 Northwest to the Pacific coast; but al- 
 though aid was voted, no material pro- 
 gress was made. In 1868 Mr. Decker 
 concluded to embark in the undertaking 
 in earnest; new directors were elected, 
 and he was made president, but Provi- 
 dence had ordered it otherwise. He was 
 injured in a runaway, his left arm being 
 so mangled as to necessitate amputation, 
 he was disabled for over a year, and he 
 consequently resigned the presidency, and 
 the road was subsequently built by others 
 to Winona. Minn., instead of St. Paul. 
 Always active in business affairs, he has 
 been interested in many deals, and has 
 been a silent partner in various concerns. 
 While residing in Kewaunee he had 
 an interest in the large lumber mills there, 
 which he subsequently sold to good ad- 
 vantage. In 1872 he took up his resi- 
 dence in Green Bay, and purchased a 
 controlling interest in the Bank of Com- 
 merce, of which he became one of the 
 officers, and with which he retained his 
 connection several years. Removing 
 again to Casco, he built up quite an ex- 
 tensive business there, also conducting 
 from that place his interest in various 
 enterprises with which he was identified. 
 He became one of the main stockholders 
 of the Kewaunee Exchange Bank, which 
 has since been incorporated as one of the 
 State Banks of Wisconsin, and of which 
 he is now president. In 1881 he started 
 a private bank at Ahnapco, called the 
 Bank of Ahnapse. of which he is president 
 and owns the entire stock. In 18S8. in 
 company with James Keogh. he founded 
 the Bank of Sturgeon Bay, of which he is 
 also president. In February, 1891, Mr. 
 Decker and his son David organized the 
 Bank of Two Rivers, Wis., of which he 
 is president and David Decker cashier. 
 
 Though ever engaged with the many 
 duties of the various commercial enter- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 47 
 
 prises with which he was comiected, Mr. 
 Decker still found time to devote to news- 
 paper work. In June, 1859, he brought 
 to Kewaunee a printing press, which he 
 had purchased at Menasha, where it had 
 been used to print a small weekly. None 
 of the Kewaunee citizens knew of this 
 enterprise till its arrival, and having a 
 cousin who acted as his clerk, and who 
 was a professional printer, Mr. Decker 
 got him to set it up and started the Ke- 
 waunee Enterprise, a paper politically 
 Democratic; in January, 1869, it was 
 sold to John M. Reed. In 1S85 Mr. 
 Decker bought a half interest in the Green 
 Bay Advocate, which has since been in- 
 corporated as the Green Bay Advocate 
 Company, of which he is president and 
 principal stockholder. This paper is pub- 
 lished both daily and weekly and is also 
 Democratic. Mr. Decker has just com- 
 pleted the building of a railroad from Casco 
 Junction to Sturgeon Bay, called the 
 Ahnapee & Western railway, of which he 
 is president. The road, which is practically 
 his own conception, is thirty-four miles in 
 length, and is operated as a general freight 
 and passenger line. 
 
 Mr. Decker is the father of six chil- 
 dren, viz. : George A. (of California), 
 Mrs. Anna Curtin, David B., Edward, 
 Nathan and Libbie, the latter of whom is 
 a student at Grafton Hall. 
 
 Although Mr. Decker's position in life 
 makes him a conspicuous figure in this 
 part of the State of Wisconsin, he is yet 
 the most companionable and approach- 
 able of men, and has an ever ready ear 
 and a helping hand for those in distress or 
 seeking advice in business matters. In 
 summing up his life sketch it is but just to 
 speak more fully of his relation to the 
 business world of the State, for the men 
 that compose it have universally a high 
 respect for his integrity and moral worth. 
 His success in life has led to many in- 
 quiries regarding his methods in business, 
 which are sound and safe, and peculiarly 
 free from the vortex of speculation which 
 has made a few wealthy men, but which 
 
 has ruined sn many of the rcalJN' progres- 
 si\'e and enterprising. Aside fnnii his 
 proverbial square-dealing with rich and 
 poor, it is his attention to details that has 
 been the foimdation and rock of all his suc- 
 cesses. The ser\ices he has rendered in 
 developing the resources of the State, and 
 more especial!}' those of Kewaunee and 
 Door counties, will best lu- appreciated 
 by a new and thinking generation, who 
 will be more able, as time gives opportun- 
 ity for reflectit)n, to truly comprehend antl 
 revere the memory of its [lioneers who 
 were its best benefactors. 
 
 JH. EBELING, one of the most 
 prominent millers in Green Bay, was 
 born in i8:;r) in Holstein, Germany, 
 a son of J. H. and Anna Dorothea 
 fWinert) Ebeling. The father, who was 
 also a miller, died in Germany in 1851, 
 the mother surviving imtil about 1887. 
 Of their eighteen children, Henry N. and 
 J. H. (our subject) now reside in (a'een 
 Bay. 
 
 In 1864 j. H. libeling came to the 
 United States, and in Mishicot, Mani- 
 towoc Co., Wis., was engaged, in part- 
 nership with Mr. Soenksen, in milling 
 tmtil 1866, when he came to (ireen 15ay. 
 Here he worked as a miller for a Mr. 
 Hoeffel two years; then, in i86,S, went to 
 New Franken, Brown comity, built a 
 Hour mill, and under the firm name of 
 Smith & Ebeling carried on the business 
 until 1876, when the mill was destroyed 
 by fire. In 1877 the present floin- mills 
 were erected, Mr. Ebeling and H. A. 
 Straubel being then the proprietors. The 
 mills were built with four run of buhrs, 
 and later rebuilt to the roller system and 
 enlarged to a capacity of 300 barrels of 
 flour per day, with an elevator attached, 
 of 45,000 bushels capacity. The mills 
 were run under the firm name of Ebeling 
 & Straubel's mill until March, 1894, when 
 Mr. Ebeling bought his partner's interest, 
 and has since conducted the business on 
 his sole account. Mr. Ebeling is jiresi- 
 
48 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BlOGliAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 dent of the Coliiiiibi;in 15akery Company, 
 is a stockholder in the Brown County Fair 
 & Park Association, and holds various 
 other important business interests. 
 
 He was married, in 1865, in Mishicot, 
 to Miss Mary, daughter of Carl Frederic 
 and Augusta (Kun/e) Altmann, all natives 
 of Dresden, Germany. To this union 
 were born four children, viz.: J. H., Jr., 
 engineer at the mills; Frederic Charles, 
 traveling salesman for the same; Marie 
 C. ; and William Theodore, shipping clerk 
 for the mills. Mr. Plbeling is in politics a 
 Republican. His business qualifications 
 are universally recognized, and it may be 
 mentioned, to his great credit, that he 
 started in his present lucrative trade with 
 a cash capital of only one thousand dollars. 
 
 CII.\KLi:S WEST DAY, of the 
 city of De Pere, was born July i, 
 1836, in the town of Limerick, 
 Jefferson Co., X. Y. , and is a son 
 of Otis and Elmira (Scribner) Day, both 
 also natives of New York State, the for- 
 mer of whom was a farmer by occupa- 
 tion. Three children were born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Day in New York State, as fol- 
 lows: Charles W., our sul)ject; Philander 
 I., a butcher and fanner, of Wrightstown, 
 Wis., and Frances, wh<j died in Wrights- 
 town at the age of seven years. 
 
 In November, 1849, Otis Day sold his 
 farm and decided to come to Wisconsin, 
 then the " Far West," which State was 
 offering cheap homes at the time men- 
 tioned. .\ccompanied by his family, he 
 journeyed to Buffalo, N. Y. ; and thence 
 via the lakes to Manitowoc; thence to 
 Green Bay, in January, 1850, reaching 
 Wrightstown, Brown county, where he 
 entered a tract of eighty acres of land. 
 The route from Green Bay to this land 
 led through an unbroken wilderness, and 
 from De Pere down was only a trail, which 
 had to be cut through to form a road for 
 the passage of his team. On his eighty 
 acres Mr. Day erected the first habitation 
 ever occupied by a white man in that re- 
 
 gion — a cabin of logs covered with bass- 
 wood boughs, which was occupied by the 
 Da\' family seven or eight jears before a 
 more substantial and pretentious residence 
 was substituted. The sufferings of the 
 family from sickness at that early day 
 were terrible in the e.xtreme, and at one 
 time Charles \\'. was the only member of 
 the household able to be on his feet. He 
 brought supplies from De Pere on his 
 back, often through knee-deep snow, and 
 on one occasion, returning from one of 
 these trips, found his onh' sister a corpse. 
 The growth of timber was very dense, 
 and great labor was required in felling it. 
 Shingles made bj' hand were the only 
 source of revenue, and it recpiired two 
 days' hard work to secure a load, that is 
 a thousand, which after being hauled to 
 De Pere, the nearest market, by o.\-team, 
 brought but seventy-five cents in trade in 
 goods at the store. As the timber was 
 felled, an axe was used to make incisions 
 in the ground, into which seed corn was 
 dropped, and the natural fertility of the 
 soil producing good crops, a comfortable 
 living was graduallj- derived from this 
 cereal. The death of Otis Day occurred on 
 this farm June 20, 1882, and that of Mrs. 
 Day May 7, 1890, and their remains now 
 lie in Greenleaf cemetery. 
 
 Charles West Day received such an 
 education as the schools of his early days 
 afforded, and has lived to see great changes 
 in the conduct of these institutions, the 
 advantages of which he has fully availed 
 himself of for the benefit, at least, of his 
 own children. He of course began life on 
 a farm, but was early initiated into the 
 mysteries of lumbering, the general voca- 
 tion of his neighborhood. At the age of 
 twenty he left his old home to begin the 
 battle of life for himself, and has made a 
 good fight. The first summer of his ca- 
 reer was passed in company with Reuben 
 Thompson in making shingles by hand; 
 the following year he worked for a Mr. 
 Blake, of De Pere, who was building cor- 
 duroy roads, and the next winter received 
 his first real start in life by clearing five 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPIIWAL llECOHD. 
 
 49 
 
 hundred dollars with a team of oxen he 
 had purchased the year pre\ions. 
 
 On July 3, 1S60, Mr. Day was mar- 
 ried to Miss Juliette Chase, who was born 
 June 14, 1S40, in the town of Charleston, 
 Kalamazoo Co., Mich. Her parents, 
 Henry and Persis (Averill) Chase, were 
 New Englanders, but came from Canada 
 to Michigan, and later, in 1856, moved to 
 De Pare via Green Baj', four years after- 
 ward removing- to W'rightstown. The 
 marriage of Mr and Mrs. Day was sol- 
 emnized by Squire Brown on the site of 
 the "Old Agency House," a short dis- 
 tance north of De Pere. After his mar- 
 riage Mr. Day located on eighty acres of 
 timberland bought of Lucien Wright, in 
 partnership with H. S. \\'right, whereon 
 he built a log shant\', and the tasty man- 
 ner in which Mrs. Day kept the humble 
 abode was the comment of all the neigh- 
 bors rounil about. All the timber was 
 cut from the land, which Mr. Day sold 
 after passing one winter thereon, and 
 he then moved to Greenleaf, the follow- 
 ing winter locating on the old homestead, 
 where he continued lumbering. Here a 
 water-mill had been erected by Otis Day, 
 which Charles W. converted into a steam- 
 mill — something of a novelty in its da}' — 
 which in later years was enlarged and im- 
 proved. Mr. Day, in his time, has bought 
 and sold thousands of acres of timberland, 
 which he has resold after cutting off the 
 timber, and to-day owns a tract of 500 
 acres, of which 400 are mider cultivation. 
 In August, 18S4, he removed to De Pere, 
 where he has ever since resided, although 
 his business interests lie entirely in 
 Wrightstown, in and around Greenleaf. 
 
 Politically a Republican, Mr. Day cast 
 his first Presidential \-ote for Abraham 
 Lincoln. He has never been an office- 
 seeker, but has always been one of the 
 advisers and counselors of his party in his 
 section, and has filled various local offices, 
 though on two occasions, when elected 
 township trustee, he declined to serve. 
 For twenty-nine years he was school 
 treasurer of his township, four years of 
 
 which he served after leaving the District, 
 and was, in fact, legall\' disqualifieil from 
 serving. In 1 SS6 he was elected to the 
 State Senate, ami slt\ ed the term to the 
 gratification of all concerned. In all his 
 monetary transactions, involving thou- 
 samls upon thousands of dollars, he has 
 never had a lawsuit, which fact is in itself 
 sufficient demonstration of the rectitude 
 of his conduct. To the foresight, skill, 
 industry and imlomitable energy of sucli 
 citizens does Brown coiuit\' owe much of 
 her prosperity. Mr. Day is not a mem- 
 ber of a secret lodge or secret societv of 
 any kind, preferring to spend his leisure 
 time in the home circle of his interesting 
 family, which is a true t\'pe of an ideal 
 American home. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Da\- have hail burn to 
 them seven children, as follows; Ed- 
 ward B., of Greenleaf; Persis E., now 
 the wife of W. H. Earles, M. D., of Mil- 
 waukee; Mary E., married to B. I. Bray- 
 ten, of St. Paul; Alma E., who died in 
 infancy; Carlton A., at home; Frederick 
 E., who also died in infancy; and Lillian 
 M., at home. 
 
 HON. JOHN M. HOGAN. This 
 gentleman is a well-known prom- 
 inent farmer, of Preble township, 
 Brown county, in whose career 
 as a successful merchant and financier 
 we find one of the best examples of safe 
 conservative enter[)rise. 
 
 Patrick Hogan, his father, was a na- 
 tive of County Clare, Ireland, where he 
 received a liberal education. When little 
 more than a lad he emigrated to the 
 United States, and in New York City 
 learned the trade of hatter, which he fol- 
 lowed for some time there. In that city 
 he married Miss Isabella McGillan, a na- 
 tive of Tyrone, Ireland, who came to 
 America with a sister, both being then in 
 their young womanhood, and to this 
 union were born two children: John M., 
 and Mary. When our subject was yet 
 an infant his parents came west, and 
 
50 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 landing in Detroit. Midi., tlic mother 
 and child were left there while the father 
 proceeded farther westwanl to Milwaukee, 
 Wis., where he purchased land in the 
 neighborhood, situated in Town I2, 
 W'ashington county. Later the family 
 joined him, and on this farm they lived 
 three years, at the end of which time they 
 ' moved to Green Baj', residing there un- 
 til March, i860, when they came to 
 Preble township and settled on the farm 
 now owned by our subject. Very little 
 clearing had been done on this piece of 
 land at the time the family came to it, 
 but hard work and industrious persever- 
 ance soon converted it into a productive 
 farm. The father resided here at vari- 
 ous times, occasionally in Green Bay, 
 where he died July 17, 18S7, his remains 
 being interred in Allouez township ceme- 
 tery. His widow, now seventy-four years 
 of age, is living with our subject; she is a 
 member of the Church of St. John the 
 Evangelist, at Green Hay. The daughter, 
 Mary, died when four and one-half years 
 old, and is also buried in .Alloue^ town- 
 ship cemetery. Mr. Hogan was a typ- 
 ical self-made man, one who climbed from 
 the bottom rung of the ladder of success 
 to the top, totally unaided, and by his 
 own indefatigable exertions and labor. 
 John M. Hogan. the subject proper of 
 these lines, was born, in 1S48, in New 
 York City, whence when an infant he wa's 
 brought by his parents to Wisconsin, as 
 above related. .\i the common schools 
 of his boyhood period he received a fair 
 education, and was reared to agricultural 
 pursuits, in which he was thoroughly 
 trained. In iSSj. in company with 
 Peter Tuyls, he embarked in general 
 merchandising in Green Bay, their store 
 being located on Main street, where they 
 met >vith encouraging success, but failing 
 health compelled his retirement. Selling 
 his interest in the store, he for a time 
 lived comparatively retired, occasionally 
 buying and sellingreal estate, in which he 
 also made a success. Two years after 
 the death of his father he purchased the 
 
 home farm, and believing it would i?n- 
 prove his health, in the spring of 1890 
 returned to it, and has remained there 
 ever since, not doing any active work, 
 however, as the farm, which now com- 
 prises eighty acres, is looked after by 
 others. In politics he is a Republican, 
 but no partisan, as in county and town- 
 ship matters he votes for the individual 
 he considers best suited to the office, while 
 in State and National affairs he invariably 
 supports his party ticket. He has been 
 called upon to serve his township in var- 
 ious capacities, such as chairman of the 
 board of supervisors some seven years, 
 justice of the peace and treasurer of the 
 school board, at all times acquitting him- 
 self with credit and honor, and to the sat- 
 isfaction of his constituents. In the fall 
 of 1880 he was elected representative to 
 the State Legislature, in which he served 
 one term with marked ability. Much 
 credit is due to Mr. Hogan for the envia- 
 ble position in society he has elevated 
 himself to, he being recognized as a lead- 
 ing man in the county, and a wise coun- 
 selor. .\t the breaking out of the war of 
 the Rebellion Mr. Hogan was too young 
 to enlist, being then but twelve years of 
 age, but on May 26, 1864, when not quite 
 sixteen years old, he enlisted at Green 
 Bay without the knowledge of his par- 
 ents, becoming a member of Company G, 
 Forty-first Wis. V. I. He served with 
 his command at Memphis, Tenn., and 
 was on picket duty there when the Con- 
 federate general Forrest made the attack 
 on that place in 1864. Mr. Hogan com- 
 pleted his term of enlistment, and on 
 September 23, 1864, was honorably dis- 
 charged from the service, in Milwaukee. 
 
 PlIlLirr MULLER. In the life 
 of this well-known gentleman there 
 is presented a lesson for the youth 
 of any land; something to be found 
 in it of a nature encouraging to the young 
 aspirant, who, without friends or fortune, 
 is struggling to overcome obstacles in his 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAI'IIirM. RECORD. 
 
 efforts to acquire a comfortable compe- 
 tence, if not absolute wealth. 
 
 Mr. Muller was born in Prussia, Sep- 
 tember 6, 1 83 I, in one of the wine-grow- 
 ing districts that luxuriate along the fer- 
 tile banks of the beautiful ri\'er Moselle, 
 and distant some eighteen miles from the 
 city of Trier. He is the second child and 
 eldest son of Matthias Muller, a well-to-do 
 landowner in Germany, also a wine-grower 
 and cooper, making his own casks for use 
 in his business. YoungPhilipp was brought 
 up to this industry, working steadily at it 
 after leaving school, until he was nine- 
 teen years old, when he decided to emi- 
 grate to America, here to seek his fortune. 
 
 On May i, 1850, in company with a 
 cousin, Matthias Hoffman, he set sail 
 from the port of Antwerp, Belgium, in the 
 American ship "Edwina," and after a 
 quick passage of thirty days, landed at 
 New York, where he found his funds 
 completely exhausted. His cousin, how- 
 ever, kindly came to his assistance, sup- 
 plying him with sufficient money to bring 
 him on to Wisconsin, and after landing in 
 Milwaukee, he and his cousin (for they 
 were still companions in their journey) 
 proceeded to Sheboygan, thence by foot 
 to Manitowoc, where our subject found 
 his first employment on American soil, 
 commencing, as will be seen, in debt. 
 His employer was one Richter, who kept 
 several cows a short distance from Mani- 
 towoc, and young Muller's duties were 
 to attend to them, receiving the sum 
 of eight dollars per month for his serv- 
 ices, boarding all this time in Mani- 
 towoc with John Raymer, a fellow-coun- 
 tryman. On leaving Richter he went to 
 Two Rivers and commenced work in the 
 sawmill of H. H. Smith, at the same 
 wages as he had previously got; but in 
 two short weeks the terrible scourge, 
 cholera, broke out, paralyzing work, and 
 people fleeing from the place, one of the 
 fugitives allowing our subject to occupy 
 his deserted home, and here the latter re- 
 mained, living as best he could. When 
 the plague had abated, people began to re- 
 
 turn to their liomes, the sawmill was once 
 more starti.-d up, and Mr. MnlK'i- found 
 work until the fall of the year, at which 
 time the null was cIosimI. Purchasing a 
 strong pair of boots and an axe, he next 
 tried his hand at chopping cordwood at two 
 shillings and sixjience per cord, but at 
 the end of winter he fninnl cm settling up 
 that he owed his euiploj-er eight <iollars 
 after gi\'ing him his axe, which was not a 
 very encouraging transaction. In the 
 spring he again engaged tn work in Smith's 
 sawmill at eight dcjllars jjer month, and 
 found himself at the end of the season 
 with just thirteen dollars in cash. I'l-oin 
 that he again went tn lumbering in the 
 woods for a short time; then, piu'chasing 
 an axe and a cross-cut saw, cut cordwood 
 for a time, after which for the remainder 
 of the winter he made shingles, and on 
 settling up in the S])ring he found that, 
 after surrendering his tools to his em- 
 ployer, he \\';is enabled to begin the sum- 
 mer of 185.: simply out of debt. Work- 
 ing again in a sawmill at nine dollars per 
 month, he succeeded in saving by the 
 commencement of winter about twenty- 
 fi\'e dollars, and for the next few months 
 he found various kinds of employment for 
 no more than his board. 
 
 Next year, leaving Two Rivers, he 
 hired out at Neshoto at sixteen dollars 
 per month, and at tlie end of something 
 o\-er a \ear he had saved $160, with 
 which sum he proceeded to New York in 
 order to meet his parents, brothers and 
 sisters and an old uncle, all of whom had 
 just landed from Germany, and were 
 without money to take them westward. 
 Mr. Muller, however, brought them all 
 to Wisconsin, thirteen in number, and 
 when they reached Two Rivers there was 
 not a penny left in the party, so Mr. 
 Muller had to borrow two shillings where- 
 with to pay the wharfage on the chattels. 
 The family then went to live with a rela- 
 tive in Two Rivers, but the junior mem- 
 bers soon found work, the ^>oys at peeling 
 bark, the girls as domestics. A farm was 
 rented for the parents and the old uncle, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the youngest child going with thcin. In 
 the following spring, in Mishicot town- 
 ship. Manitowoc county, the father 
 bought eighty acres of uncleared land, 
 paying on account $35, which money was 
 supplied by Philipp, saved by him out of 
 his earnings in the lumber woods, where 
 he worked at $18 per month. Later on. 
 finding themselves unable to meet pay- 
 ments falling due on this land, forty acres 
 had to be sold in order to clear them- 
 selves. There was not a single stick cut 
 on the remaining forty acres, so there 
 was a vast amount of work to be done to 
 make a clearing. A log house, 16x24 
 feet, was first built, and this was the only 
 shelter for the family, at that time seven 
 in number, for a long time. By i860 
 sufficient improvements were made, our 
 subject furnishing out of his hard-earned 
 wages all the necessary means; and, in- 
 deed, it may be said he was the mainstay 
 of the family until they were able to sup- 
 port themselves from the product of the 
 farm, and then he began for himself. 
 
 On December 7, 1861, Mr. Muller 
 was married to Miss Magdalene Flem- 
 ming, who was born May 5, 1842, in 
 Luxemburg, Germany, a daughter of 
 Frank Flcniming, who in 1856 came from 
 Antwerp, Belgium, to New York, bring- 
 ing his family, from there traveling west- 
 ward to Wisconsin, and settling in Ne- 
 shoto, .Manitowoc county, where the 
 marriage took place, 'Squire Jacob King 
 performing the ceremony. In Neshoto 
 the young people commenced housekeep- 
 ing, and after a five-years' residence there 
 moved to Two Rivers, Mr. Muller work- 
 ing there in sawmills; thence proceeded 
 to Kewaunee, where he was employed in 
 the same line of work, his wages being 
 now $3 per day, for eight years working 
 in the mill simimers and "scaling" logs 
 winters, after which for nineteen years 
 he was employed in sawmills onlj' — a 
 total of twenty-seven years, eight years 
 nniier one employer, the remainder with 
 three different companies, never being 
 discharged from anyone of them, and not 
 
 leaving Kewaunee until the last log in the 
 neighborhood was sawed. 
 
 From there Mr. Muller came to the 
 city of Green Bay, owning some lots 
 there, but after a short sojourn re- 
 moved into the country. In the fall of 
 1877 he came to his present farm of 
 ninety-three acres in Preble township, 
 Brown county, situated four miles south- 
 east of (jreen Bay, and here he has since 
 resided, prosperously engaged in agricul- 
 tural pursuits, including stock-raising. 
 When he came to this farm it was in a 
 very wild condition, covered with under- 
 brush and fallen timber, but by dint of 
 assiduous labor and untiring energy he 
 has converted it into a lu.xuriant farm of 
 fertile fielils. Twt) sons and two daugh- 
 ters complete the happy family circle, 
 viz. : Jacob, born February 6, 1863, in Ne- 
 shoto; George, born March 18, 1866. also 
 in Neshoto: Catherine, born June 15. 
 1875, in Kewaunee, and Elizabeth, born 
 August 21. 1877. also in Kewaunee. 
 They arc all on the farm, the sons assist- 
 ing the father in the general work thereon. 
 Politically our subject is a Democrat, his 
 first vote being cast for Franklin Pierce, 
 and has sersed his township in various 
 offices, such as road overseer for District 
 No. 5, two terms. The familj' are wor- 
 thy members of the Catholic Church, and 
 enjov the respect and esteem of all who 
 know them. 
 
 HON. S. D. HASTINGS, Jk., Cir- 
 cuit Judge of the District com- 
 prising Brown, Oconto, Marinette 
 and Door counties, was born 
 June 19, 1 84 1, in Philadelphia, a son of 
 Samuel D. and Margaretta (Schubert) 
 Hastings, the former a native of Massa- 
 chusetts, the latter of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Samuel D. Hastings was reared in his 
 native State, and as a representative of a 
 business house was sent to Philadelphia, 
 where he resided until 1845, when he 
 came to W'isconsin and located in Wal- 
 worth county, where he was an earnest 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 S7y 
 
 worker in the cause of temperance, until 
 1 85 1, at which time he removed to La- 
 Crosse, Wis. In the fall of 1S57 he was 
 elected State Treasurer of Wisconsin, and 
 filled the office eif^ht years. On his elec- 
 tion to this responsible office he removed 
 to Madison, the capital of the State, and 
 there he and his wife still reside. Since 
 the expiration of his office as State 
 Treasurer, in 1865, he has devoted all 
 his attention to the cause of temperance. 
 His children are three in number, 
 namelv; S. D., our subject; limnia M., 
 wife of H. Iv. Hobart, editor of the 
 Rail:i'(ir Ai^c, of Chicago, 111., and Flor- 
 ence L. , married to H. ^\'. Hoyt, princi- 
 pal owner of the Gates Iron Works, of 
 the same city. 
 
 Hon. S. I). Hastings came to lirowu 
 count}' in August, 1867, fmni Madison, 
 where for two _\ears he had been 
 in the practice of law; in 1883 he was 
 elected to his present high pi:)sitioii, and 
 was re-elected in 1889 — each term being 
 for six years. He was a graduate of 
 Beloit College and of the .\lbany (N. Y.) 
 Law C-illege; was admitted to the bar of 
 New York in 1865, and, with his eighteen- 
 years' experience at the bar, was fully 
 prepared for the duties of the circuit 
 judgeship, taking his scat on the bench 
 January i, 1884. The Judge was first 
 married, in 1863, at Beloit, \\'is., to Miss 
 Mary C. Kendall, a native of Milwaukee, 
 and a daughter of the late J. G. Kendall, 
 a pioneer of Beloit. Mrs. Hastings be- 
 came the uKjther (;f three daughters, 
 Lillias M. {the only one now living), 
 and in 186S passed to the other side of 
 Life's river. In 1873 the Judge chose for 
 his second wife Miss Hetta Sue Clapp, 
 whom he married in her native cit\', 
 Kenosha, \Vis. Her parents were Na- 
 thaniel P. and Sarah (Mc('oy) Clapp, 
 natives of New York, and pioneers of 
 Kenosha before Wisconsin was admitted 
 to the sisterhood of States. The father, 
 who was prominent as a stock dealer, 
 was accidentally killed, while in New York 
 with a shipment of cattle; the mother 
 
 died in Green Bay in 1889. To this 
 second marriage of judge Hastings have 
 been born five children — Florence N., 
 now agei.1 fourteen; S. U., Jr., now aged 
 eleven, and three sons who died in in- 
 fancy. Mrs. Hastings has one living 
 sister, the wife of George G. Greene, of 
 the firm of Greene & Yrooman, attor- 
 neys-at-law. 
 
 Judge Hastings is a Republican in 
 politics; he was president of the Green 
 Bay school board for years, and has 
 been president of the board of directors 
 of the city library since its organization 
 in 1890; he is a member of the board of 
 directors of the Electric Light Company 
 of (ireen Bay, of the Kellogg National 
 Bank of Green Ba}', and of the Oconto 
 National Bank of Oconto. For se\-eral 
 years he has been lecturer in the law de- 
 partment (_)f the Wisconsin University at 
 Madison. He has filled all these positions 
 of usefulness with marked abilit}-, and 
 few men of his _\ears in the State of 
 \\'isconsin stand higher in the esteem of 
 its citizens. 
 
 EDWIN H.\KT was one of the 
 earl}' pioneers of Brown count}'. 
 Wis., having come here in 1830, 
 in the emplo}' of the United States 
 Government, to assist in the rebuilding of 
 Fort Howard, and in other public works. 
 He was employed b}' the government 
 some years, having charge, part of the 
 time, of the sur\eying force on the con- 
 struction of military roads ivom Green 
 Bay to Manitowoc and Calumet, as well 
 as a lighthouse and fort at Mackinac 
 straits. Later hi: took up his residence 
 in Green Bay — in that portion of it known 
 as Navarino — as a carpenter and con- 
 tractor. During his active life he took 
 many large contracts, and nearly all the 
 old landmarks in and about Brown county 
 are his handiwork. In 1829, prior to 
 coming to Green Bay, he erected a Mission 
 church on Mackinac Island, but in the 
 
54 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 fall of that year he returned to Cleve- 
 land. 
 
 Mr. Hart was born Ma\' 5, 1807, in 
 Griswold, New London Co., Conn., a son 
 of Judah and Abigail (Belden) Hart, both 
 also natives of Connecticut, in which 
 State they were married. In 1822 they 
 moved westward to Ohio, first locating in 
 Cleveland, and in 1824 settling on a farm 
 in I-)rownhelm township, Lorain county, 
 same State, where they died within three 
 days of each other. The father served in 
 the war of 1812. 
 
 Edwin Hart, of whom this sketch 
 more particularly relates, was fifteen 
 years old when the famil}' moved from 
 Connecticut to Ohio, and in Cleveland he 
 learned carpentry (which was his regular 
 trade), there remaining until coming to 
 Wisconsin in the employ of the govern- 
 ment, as related at the commencement 
 of the sketch. In 1832 he was married 
 in Green Bay to Miss Eliza J. Glass, a 
 native of Clarksville, Ohio, and daughter 
 of Joseph and Effie (Roger) Glass, who 
 were married in Ohio, and came to Green 
 Bay in 1828; the father, who w^as a fur 
 trader, died in Green Bay, the mother 
 passing awa}' in 1856 in Oconto. After 
 marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Hart con- 
 tinued to reside in Green Bay until 1852, 
 removing then to Oconto, same State, 
 where he embarked in the lumber, mill- 
 ing and steamboat business, and where 
 they still reside. This old pioneer couple 
 had a family of eight children, a brief 
 record of whom is as follows: (i) George 
 E. resides in California. (2) Levi W. was 
 killed in the railroad accident at Ashta- 
 bula, Ohio, in December, 1S76, when 
 about forty years of age; he was a travel- 
 ing salesman at the time, with residence 
 in Akron. Ohio, and on hearing of the ac- 
 cident his wife, Mrs. Susie fMay) Hart, 
 having some foreboding as to his fate, 
 drove all the way to Cleveland in a cut- 
 ter, to find her fears were only too well 
 founded; when his remains were dis- 
 covered in the wreck both arms and the 
 right leg had been burned off, but the rest 
 
 of the bod\', especially the face, was com- 
 parativel}- uninjured. (3) Mary A. is the 
 wife of Dr. S. A. Coleman, of Cleveland, 
 Ohio. (4j Clifford B. is a member of the 
 firm of H. \V. & C. B. Hart, owners and 
 managers of Hart's Steamboat Line, 
 Green Bay. (5) P21iza Jane is the wife of 
 B. J. Brown, of Menominee, Mich. (6) 
 Cyrus S. is editor of the Oconto County 
 Rcfiorter. (j) Capt. H. W. is in partner- 
 ship with his brother C. B., as above 
 mentioned. (8) Franklin died at Oconto, 
 Wis., in 1863. Mr. Hart in politics was 
 originalha Whig, and since the formation 
 of the party has been a stanch Repub- 
 lican. Socially he is a member of the 
 I. O. O. F. 
 
 CAPTAIN H. W. HART, senior 
 member of the firm of H. W. 
 & C. B. Hart, owners and mana- 
 gers of Hart's Steamboat Line, 
 Green Bay, is a native of the town, born 
 January 8, 1846, a son of Edwin and 
 Eliza J. (Glass) Hart. 
 
 At the age of six years he moved with 
 his parents to Oconto, Wis., where he 
 received his education. In early life, 
 when a mere boy of fourteen years, he 
 shipped on board a lake vessel in the 
 capacity of cook, from which humble 
 position, by energy and perseverance, he 
 rose step by step, in the various ex- 
 periences of a sailor's life, at the age of 
 eighteen j'cars becoming captain of his own 
 ship, the steamer "Eagle"; this vessel 
 was built in Oshkosh and was rechristened 
 in Oconto, running between the latter 
 city and Green Bay for two seasons, after 
 which it carried both freight and passen- 
 gers for a time, and was then turned into 
 a tug boat for raft towing. Hart's Steam- 
 boat Line was founded in 1873, with a 
 capital of $140,000, by Capts. H. W. 
 and C. B. Hart, both able and ex- 
 perienced steamboat men. They built 
 the "May Queen" in Green Bay, and ran 
 her on the old line for two seasons, after- 
 ward building the "Northwest" and re- 
 
COMMEMOUA Tl VE BlOOIiAPUICAL UEC'OliD. 
 
 55 
 
 building the "May Oueen," which was 
 burned at the dock in Green Bay in 1877. 
 In the spring of 187S they launched the 
 steamer "Welcome," anil some time 
 afterward the " C. W. iSIoore," which our 
 subject ran between Green 15ay and 
 Manistique until 1888, when the "Fannie 
 C. Hart" was built,, which he has since 
 run between Green Bay and Cheboygan, 
 Mich. The last-named boat was re- 
 modeled in 1890; the "Eugene C. Hart" 
 was built in 1890, and run on the same 
 route with the "Fannie C. Hart," the 
 company now owning four propellers — 
 the "Fannie C. Hart," "Eugene C. 
 Hart," "C. W. Moore" and the " Wel- 
 come " — all stanch, speedy, safe and re- 
 liable boats. The two brothers take 
 great pride in the "Fannie" and 
 "Eugene," which thev command in 
 person. 
 
 In June, 1868, Capt. H. W. Hart 
 was married to Miss Hattie A. Wagner, 
 a native of Ogdcnsburg, N. Y., daughter 
 of Stephen H. Wagner, now a resident of 
 Green Bay, and to this union six children 
 were l)orn, viz.: Fannie C., wife of 
 Frederick Brett, of Green Bay; Edwin 
 W. ; Katie and Eliza J., who died of scar- 
 let fever at the ages of six and four years 
 respectively; Hattie A. and Julia B. 
 Capt. H. W. Hart in politics is an active 
 Republican; socially he is a member of 
 the F. & A. M., Washington Lodge No. 
 21, Warren Chapter, and Palestine Com- 
 mandcr}', all of Green Bay. 
 
 ELEAZER HOLMES ELLIS was 
 l)orn August 26, 1826, in Brown 
 county, \\'is. , at or near Green 
 Bay. His Grandfather Ellis was 
 a native of Connecticut, and was of Welsh 
 extraction. He and his wife, who was 
 also a native of Connecticut, removed to 
 Herkimer county, N. Y., where Mr. El- 
 lis died when still young; his widow pass- 
 ed away at the age of about seventy-seven 
 years, the mother of two children, Albert 
 Gallatin, and Sophronia (Mrs. Holmes). 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Holmes removed to Brown 
 county. Wis., in 1841; both have since 
 ilied leaving many descendants, Albert G. 
 E. Holmes, a merchant of Green Bay, 
 being their eldest son. 
 
 Albert G. Ellis, the father of Judge 
 Ellis, was born August 24, 1800, in Ver- 
 ona, N. Y. He received a common- 
 school education, and at the age of four- 
 teen years entered a printing office in old 
 Herkimer, N. Y., there laying the founda- 
 tion of a thoroughly jiractiral education, 
 which proved of immense value to him in 
 after life. He was full of ambition, and 
 at the age of twenty-five sought a wider 
 field of usefulness in what were then the 
 wilds of Brown county. Wis. His first 
 \'isit to this country was made about 
 1 82 I, when he came with the Oneida In- 
 dians, who were remove<l to Wisconsin 
 from Oneida county, N. ^'. He was em- 
 piloyed as a surveyor, and assisted in lay- 
 ing out the land of the Indian Reserva- 
 tion in Brown county, which then includ- 
 ed the greater part of northern Wiscon- 
 sin. He was familiar with Indian cus- 
 toms, and after the survey was completed 
 remained as a permanent citizen and soon 
 became a valuable acquisition to the new 
 settlements, being a man of more than 
 ordinary ability, and of great force of 
 character. He taught school at three 
 different places in the neighborhood 
 of Fort Howard and Green Bay. In 1S24 
 Mr. Ellis returned to Oneida county; 
 N. Y., where he married Miss Pamela, 
 daughter of Elijah Holmes, of West 
 Winfield, N. Y. , and the young couple 
 came to Green Bay, Brown county, then 
 called La Baye Verte by the French and 
 the old settlers. They began housekeep- 
 ing at or near Shantytown, three miles 
 south of Green Bay. Mr. Ellis taught 
 school for some time, and later engaged 
 in various occupations until he became 
 identified with the (irccii Bay Intelligencer. 
 He was a practical printer, became asso- 
 ciated with John V. Suydam in the estab- 
 lishing of the paper, and with him shares 
 the honor of founding the first newspaper 
 
56 
 
 COMiMEMORA TIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in the Northwest territory. Soon after 
 he severed his connection with the Grccii 
 Bay Intclligciucr he was elected a mem- 
 ber of the Second Session of the Third 
 Territorial House of Kepreseutiiti\es, 
 which convened at Madison December 6, 
 1 84 1. In I.S42 he was re-elected, and 
 had the honor of beinjj elected speaker of 
 the House ; he was again re-elected in 
 1843. In 1841 or 1842 Mr. Ellis was 
 appointed, by the United States Go\ern- 
 ment, Surveyor-general for Wisconsin and 
 Iowa, the office then being located at 
 Dubuque, Iowa, whither he was accus- 
 tomed to travel on horseback; he still 
 made his home, however, at Green Bay, 
 and he rendered the government valuable 
 services in both Territories. He also 
 surveyed and subdixided many townships 
 and sections in Wisconsin, embracing 
 Manitowoc, Kewaunee, Door, Oconto, 
 Brown and Outagamie counties. An un- 
 tiring worker, he often, in running his lines, 
 tired out even his hardy French-Canadian 
 assistants. He also rendered valuable 
 service in this county, and as his surveys 
 were remarkably correct, he was consid- 
 ered quite an expert in his profession. 
 He was no speculator, or he could have 
 become wealthy, for he knew every valu- 
 able foot of land in the surrounding 
 countr\'. In 1838 he removed with his 
 family to Hill Creek, one and a half miles 
 east of Green Bay, where he carried on the 
 business of milling and farming, and he 
 there owned a sawmill, a gristmill, and a 
 cabinet shop, all of which, with the farm, 
 he successfully ojierated for many \ears. 
 He was familiar with mechanics' tools and 
 machinery, and could turn his hand to 
 almost every kind of work — a valuable 
 accomplishment indeed. He was moder- 
 ately successful from a financial point of 
 view, but sold much of his land at $3 
 an acre, before values in land were on 
 the increase. He also made some Gov- 
 ernment surveys north of Stevens Point, 
 to which place he removed in 1853, 
 making investments there in town lots. 
 Shortly after liis arrival there he was ap- 
 
 pointed receiver of the United States 
 Land Office at that place, and he held the 
 position several years. Among the prop- 
 erties he bought there was a flouring mill, 
 which he conducted for some time. He 
 also started the Wisconsin Pinery, a 
 paper Democratic in politics, which ex- 
 isted until within a short time of this writ- 
 ing; he was editor of the same for many 
 years, but finally sold his interest. He 
 was a very enterprising, puplic-spirited 
 man, and at one time served as mayor of 
 Stevens Point. He was an ardent mem- 
 ber of the Episcopal Church, to which he 
 gave liberal support, and he helped to 
 build the churches at Stevens Point and 
 Green Bay; he was one of the incorporat- 
 ors and a vestryman in the church at the 
 latter place. Mr. Ellis was not a member 
 of an\' secret organization. Having the 
 welfare of the community always at heart, 
 his many acts of charity and brotherly 
 affection toward humanity in general en- 
 deared him to every one, and he died De- 
 cember 23, 1885, honored and respected 
 by all who knew him, at the advanced age 
 of eighty-five years. He was a man of 
 regular habits and good principles, and his 
 whole life is a lesson to posterity. Mrs. 
 Pamela Ellis was also an active member 
 of the Episcopal Church, and was beloved 
 by all, old and young. She died at Green 
 Bay, March 18, 1847, aged forty-three 
 years, the mother of six children, of whom 
 Judge E. H. Ellis is the eldest, and the 
 only survivor. 
 
 Judge Ellis was educated in the pio- 
 neer schools of Green Bay, and his father 
 being anxious for him to study Erench 
 and Latin, he procured good private 
 teachers, some of whom resided in his 
 family at the Hill Creek Mills for several 
 3'ears. Young Ellis entered the law office 
 of Hon. Henry S. Baird, a well-known 
 attorney in Green Bay and vicinity, who 
 was the president of the first Legislative 
 Assembly of the Territory ')f \\'isconsin, 
 and after studying for three and a half 
 years was admitted to the bar by Judge 
 Andrew G. Miller, in October, 1847. The 
 
COM.Uf.VonA TIVE BIOOn.iPUICAL llECORD. 
 
 5} 
 
 same autumn he set out, on liorseback, 
 to look up a suitable location, and at the 
 age of t\vent}-one years "hung mit his 
 shingle" at Manitowoc Rajiids, then the 
 county seat of Manitowoc count}'. Here 
 he practiced for three and a half years 
 with good success, and in the spring of 
 1851 returned to Green Bay, where he 
 opened an office and met with good suc- 
 cess from the start. For many j-ears he 
 practiced alone, and was uniformly suc- 
 cessful. As his business increased he en- 
 tered into co-partnerships at different 
 times with the well-known attorneys, S. 
 D. Hastings, Jr., now circuit judge, 
 \\'illiam H. Norris, George (i. Greene 
 and Carlton Merrill, the names of the 
 firms being Ellis, Hastings lS: Greene, 
 Norris & Ellis, Ellis, Greene i.\; Merrill, 
 and Ellis & Merrill; at present Mr. Ellis 
 is practicing with Mr. Merrill. In 1869 
 our subject was elected circuit judge, his 
 circuit including the counties of Brown, 
 Outagamie, Shawano, Oconto and Door. 
 He was twice elected without opposition, 
 and held the office for eight successive 
 years, when he resigned and resumed the 
 private practice of his profession. Judge 
 Ellis has gained an enviable reputation as 
 a member of the bench and bar of the 
 State of Wisconsin, being looked u})on as 
 an able, conscientious and careful prac- 
 titioner. His whole career has been a 
 most honorable one, well worth}' the em- 
 ulation of the youth of our nation. Our 
 subject is a member of the Episcopal 
 Church, and has been connected with the 
 same for more than forty years. His pri- 
 vate character is above reproach. 
 
 JM. SMITH. The late J. M. Smith, 
 of Green 15ay, was born in Morris- 
 town, N. J., December 13, 1S20, 
 and was the eldest son of Jonathan 
 Smith, who was at that time one of the 
 most progressive farmers in that region. 
 He was a subscriber to the first volume 
 of the first agricultural paper printed in 
 the United States, ihe. Albaity Cidtivator, 
 
 a full file of which was seen in the old 
 home at Morristown a few }ears ago; and 
 was also the first man, so far as is known, to 
 )iut down an underdrain in the United 
 States. It was made l)\' digging a deep 
 ditch and putting large stones in the bot- 
 tom, then lillini; in with smaller ones, 
 and co\'ering with sods and dirt. This 
 drain, si.\t\'-fi\-e }'ears later, is still doing 
 good work. Under the training of such 
 a father Mr. Smith naturall}' acquired 
 habits of industr}' and forethought, and 
 being a close student of everything that 
 came in his way, he naturall}' did a good 
 deal of independent thinking on his own 
 account, ami looked forward to a time 
 when he would have land of his own, and 
 test its capacity to grow crops. 
 
 He enjoyed the benefit of as good 
 schools as were within his reach; but as 
 he grew older, he became earnestly desir- 
 ous for something better, and finally en- 
 tered the nearest acadeni}', to prepare for 
 college, hoping also to enter a law school 
 when he should reach that point. But 
 when ready to enter college, a dangerous 
 accident to his father called him home, 
 and changed the whole course of his life. 
 He remained at home until he became of 
 age, and made diligent use of his spare 
 time in study of different kinds. Then, 
 after a few months of teaching, he com- 
 menced business for himself as a lumber- 
 man and wood dealer in a small way, 
 with such success that on the 14th of 
 March, 1 S44, he felt qualified to take a 
 partner, and was married, at Sparta, N. 
 |., to Miss Emily B. Torrey. Two are 
 better than one, if well mated, and cheer- 
 ily they worked on for ten years together, 
 with varying success, taking their full 
 share of such disappointments as are 
 common to those working their way, 
 often under difficulties. But with sun- 
 shine in the home, all sorts of things may 
 be borne. 
 
 In the spring of 1854, ten years after 
 their marriage, they came with four sons 
 to Wisconsin, and in July located in 
 Green Bay, little thinking it was to be 
 
5S 
 
 C02dME.\fORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 their home for the balance of tlieir lives. 
 The chief productions of the place at that 
 time were pine lumber and icebergs; and 
 for a few j'cars Mr. Smith was principally 
 engaged in lumbering; but in 1857, when 
 the bottom fell out of the lumber market, 
 he turned his attention to whatever he 
 could get to do, to afford a living for his 
 family, until 1861, and then came the 
 terrible war. 
 
 Ten children had been born to them 
 (two were sleeping in the silent city), the 
 eldest being at that time sixteen years 
 old and the joungest ten months; but the 
 country must have soldiers, and in Sep- 
 tember of 1 86 1 Mr. Smith and the eldest 
 son left the home in the care of the wife 
 with her seven children, the eldest of the 
 seven being but twelve years old, and 
 went to help save the country. In five 
 months he came home to die, as he 
 thought; but he gradually improved in 
 health until the fall of 1864, when he was 
 drafted to serve another year, and again 
 he joined the army, remaining therein 
 until August, 1865, when the war was 
 over, and he was honorably discharged. 
 While he was absent, the mother and her 
 sons did what they could at gardening, and 
 soon after his return the market in the 
 towns north of Green Bay was opened 
 for the sale of vegetables, and as his 
 health was not equal to any arduous labor, 
 he went to work with his sons to try 
 what might be done in that direction. A 
 few acres of land were purchased at a 
 hgh price, to begin on; but the demand 
 for vegetables increased so rapidly that 
 more was soon needed, and the garden 
 increased in area from time to time, until 
 it contained forty acres. By the help of 
 true and loyal sons, the garden was 
 finally paid for, and improved by under- 
 draining and in other waj's, until, if there 
 is another forty-acre piece of land in Wis- 
 consin of equal value and productiveness, 
 and as favorably situated for a market 
 garden, it would be hard to find it. 
 
 But it must not be imagined that all 
 of Mr. Smith's time or energy was spent 
 
 on the garden. He was, dunng nearly 
 all of these years, very largely identified 
 with the agricultural and horticultural de- 
 velopment of the State, and did much in 
 other ways, not only by personal work, 
 but with his pen, having been a regular 
 contributor to several agricultural papers 
 for several \'ears; and was also an earnest 
 worker in farmers' Conventions and Insti- 
 tutes. He also, by special invitation, de- 
 livered addresses before the American 
 Pomological Society at Boston, and 
 at the dinner at the celebrated Shaw's 
 garden at St. Louis, as well as in many 
 other places. He was one of the com- 
 missioners from \\'isconsin to the Cotton 
 E.xposition at New Orleans, and also a 
 delegate from the Wisconsin Horticultural 
 Society to the Convention of the Ameri- 
 can Horticultural Society held in Cali- 
 fornia. He was twenty-two years presi- 
 dent of the Brown County Horticultural 
 and Agricultural Society; four years pres- 
 ident of the Northern \\'isconsin Agricul- 
 tural and Mechanical Association, located 
 at Oshkosh; and fifteen years president of 
 the Wisconsin State Horticultural So- 
 ciety, in which he was largely instru- 
 mental in introducing among its workers 
 many educated women whose valuable 
 papers have helped to make our horticul- 
 tural volume one of the best, if not the 
 very best, published in the United States. 
 Mr. Smith was not a politician in the 
 common acceptance of the term, never 
 having been a seeker after office; but he 
 was thoroughly versed in political affairs, 
 and acquainted by reputation with all the 
 prominent men in the nation who have 
 figured in political affairs since his early 
 manhood. He was proud to call himself 
 a Henry Clay Whig in his boyhood, and 
 was one of the men who helped to or- 
 ganize the first Republican part\- in Green 
 Bay. He claimed the right to hold and 
 enjoy his own opinions, but accorded to 
 every f)ther man the same right. He 
 was a member of the Episcopal Church, 
 but very broad in his views, and honored 
 every man and woman who showed in 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BJOGRAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 59 
 
 their lives, and in tiicir ilcalin^s witli 
 their fellowmen, tiie spirit nf Chris- 
 tianity, b}' \vhate\'er name they were 
 called. . He was extremely fond nf music, 
 havinr; been a leader in church choirs in 
 his early manhood, and also in his later 
 years, and a great man}' of his particular 
 friends through life have been musical 
 people. He was never better pleased 
 than when he could gather a company of 
 good singers around the organ in his own 
 home, and wake the echoes with the 
 ringing of the grand old anthems which 
 were his particular favorites. Of little 
 children he was very fond, and during his 
 long illness often asked to have some of 
 the little grandchildren brought in to see 
 him. Having himself felt the pressure of 
 hard times when he had a large family 
 dependent on his efforts, he was sympa- 
 thetic toward those who were trying to 
 do their best, and still finding it hard to 
 keep those dependent on them comfort- 
 able, and always ready to lend a helping 
 hand to lighten their burdens. 
 
 He did not amass a large amount of 
 money to leave to his children, but left 
 them the heritage of an honorable name, 
 unstained by any smirch of dishonor or 
 treachery to any one, and his death, which 
 occurred February 20, 1894, was felt in 
 many homes whose inmates he had be- 
 friended, as the departure of a near per- 
 sonal friend. Not long after his death a 
 farmer, who had often come to him for 
 advice about agricultural matters, was 
 heard to say: " I am worth thousands of 
 dollars more than I should have been if I 
 had never known J. M. Smith." He rests 
 from his labors, but his memory lives in 
 the hearts of many friends outside of his 
 own home. 
 
 Mrs. J. M. Smith was born in Bethanj', 
 Penn., January 31, 1821. Her father died 
 before she was old enough to appreciate 
 his worth, but her mother was a woman 
 of such rare qualities of mind and heart 
 that she was able to govern a large family 
 with great firmness, and yet with such 
 loving gentleness that the desire to dis- 
 
 obey her was a rare tiling anmug her flock 
 of children. Mrs. Smith was early thrown 
 upon her own resources, but managed to 
 acquire what was considered in those 
 days as a good common-school education, 
 and at the early age of sixteen was given 
 charge of a district school. The next 
 four years were sjient alternately in teach- 
 ing and attending school, when she set- 
 tled down to the steady business of teach- 
 ing, until Nfarch 14, 1844. when she be- 
 came the wife of J. M. Smith. I. ike her 
 husband, she had grown up with habits of 
 industry and economy, and al\\a\"s thought 
 it worth wiiilc to learn how to perform 
 the many sorts of work that are likely to 
 fall to the lot of women in the common 
 walks of life. Consequently in the many 
 seasons of trial through which she has 
 been called to pass, the knowledge, thus 
 carefully sti:)red away, has been a golden 
 treasury from which she has often been 
 able to draw for the benefit of others, as 
 well as herself. 
 
 The marriage proved to be a most 
 happy one; the love plighted at the altar 
 grew with the passing years, and was 
 strengthened and intensified by the joys 
 and sorrows which nearly fifty years must 
 inevitably bring. Nine sons and two 
 daughters were given to cheer and brighten 
 the home, of whom seven sons and one 
 daughter still remain. The children were 
 always considered by both parents as 
 God's best gift, and stood nobly by them 
 through storm and sunshine; and are 
 making, or we should say have already 
 made, for themselves honorable places 
 among their fellowmen. 
 
 FI>:.\NK T. SMITH, now a resident 
 of the town of Suamico, Brown 
 county, is the third son of the late 
 J. M. Smith, of Green Bay. He 
 was born in Morristown, N. J., October 
 27, 1849, and came with his parents to 
 Green Bay, Wis., in 1854, where be 
 lived until he removed to his present 
 home. 
 
6o 
 
 COMMEMORATI\'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 He enjoyed such advantages as were 
 possible in the common schools to which 
 he had access at that time, but bore his 
 full share in the hardships incident to the 
 times from 1857 until the close of the 
 war. He was too j'oung for a soldier in 
 the army, or he would doubtless have 
 been there; but all the heroism was not 
 shown on the battlefields, and he with 
 j'ounser brothers bravel\' stood by the 
 mother while the father and older brother 
 were at the front, helping to save the 
 country. After his father came home 
 broken in health, Frank T. , with his 
 brothers, worked faithfully at whatever 
 they could do, not only in the summer, 
 but during the winter, to help to support 
 the family, and to pay for the garden, 
 until he came of age. After that time he 
 worked on with his father on a salary, 
 gaining much practical knowledge in 
 methods of cultivating land. 
 
 On June 9, iS/,^, he married Miss 
 Clara Taylor, a native of Susquehanna 
 county. Pcnn., and daughter of Samuel 
 and Mary (Bruce) Taylor, the latter of 
 whom died when her daughter Clara was 
 twelve years old. From the union of 
 Frank T. and Clara Smith have been 
 born si.x children, namely: Clifford I., 
 born April 15, 1875; Elsie M., May 2, 
 1877; Bessie R., July 25, 1879; Emrie 
 B., September 22, 1881; Celia T., Sep- 
 tember 17, 1883, and Stanley B., June 
 16, 1887. Seven years (1880) after his 
 marriage, Frank T., preferring farming 
 to gardening, left theemploy of his father, 
 and purchased one hundred acres of land 
 in the town of Suamico, where he now 
 lives. Only a small part of the land was 
 adapted for the growing of crops when 
 purchased, but most of it is now in fairly 
 good condition, while some of it is highly 
 manured, and from now on he will find 
 much plainer sailing than in some of the 
 past years. He has alwa\s led a strictly 
 temperate life, following in this particular 
 the example of his father and grandfather 
 before him. He and his wife and older 
 children are members of the Methodist 
 
 Episcopal Church, and are also faithful 
 workers in the cause of temperance. In 
 his political faith he is a Republican, and 
 cast his first presidential vote fpr U. S. 
 Grant, on the occasion of that warrior's 
 second candidac\- for that office. But 
 believing earnestly in Prohibition, and 
 having an unfailing faith in the principles 
 he advocates, he has since 1888 cast his 
 vote in accordance therewith. 
 
 D.WIl) McCartney. The stand- 
 ard by which to judge a commu- 
 nit\' is the character of its promi- 
 nent citizens. Progress is rarely, 
 if ever, the result of chance, but always 
 the execution of well-laid plans based on 
 a thorough comprehension of the laws of 
 business. It is only by keeping in view 
 the lives of men who are ever associated 
 in the busy marts of commerce that we 
 can judge of the importance of develop- 
 ment, and the possibilities of progress. 
 Thus it is, that from the commercial, 
 more than the literary or political side, 
 the most valuable lessons of life are to be 
 extracted. In this connection, as a gen- 
 tleman whose business qualifications have 
 proven of the best, as indicated by the 
 numerous enterprises he has brought to 
 a successful issue, a brief biographical 
 sketch is given of David McCartney. 
 
 Some writer has said that the most 
 prominent characteristics of the Scotch- 
 Irish are stern integrity, the defense of 
 libert)-, and the love of God. Of such a 
 grand old race is the subject of this 
 sketch, who is a native of County Down, 
 Ireland, born near the city of Belfast, 
 September 14, 18 14, of hard\-, stalwart 
 Scotch-Irish ancestry, from whom he in- 
 herits, no doubt, his wonderful vitality, 
 strong indi\'iduality, courage and deter- 
 mination. He is a son of William and 
 Isabella (McCreary) McCartney, who 
 about the \ear 1820, deciding to seek a 
 new home in the New World, set sail 
 from the shores of Erin with their little 
 family, consisting of one son (the subject 
 

COMMEMORA Tl VIC UWGUA i'UlCA L liECOHD. 
 
 63 
 
 of these lines j and one dau,i,'hter. l-'roin 
 the [lort of debarkation tliey made their 
 way to Ohio, where for some jears in 
 Guernsey county, later in Belmont county, 
 the father followed agricultural |iiirsiiits, 
 which had been his %'ocation in the mother 
 countrj'. He died on the farm he last 
 conducted, his widow passing awa\' some 
 years later at Monmouth, Warren C(.)., 
 111. The blo(jd running in their veins of 
 that stern and rugged race of Cmenanters 
 who left their Scottish mountains and 
 glens for the North of Ireland, where re- 
 ligious persecution could not follow them, 
 the\' lived and died in that Presbyterian 
 faith for which their forefathers had 
 fought and bled. 
 
 In Guernsey count}', Ohio, David Mc- 
 Cartnej' recei\ed such education as could 
 be acquired at the primitive pioneer 
 schools of the period, at the same time 
 learning the trade of stone-cutter. His 
 father had two brothers in this countr}', 
 both builders and contractors, and with 
 one of these, John McCartney, he was 
 emploj'ed at the commencement of the 
 construction of the IJaltimore & Ohio 
 railroad, his uncle Inning a contract 
 thereon; and later he was gi\en employ- 
 ment b\' his other uncle. James McCart- 
 ne\', who had a contract for earlier work 
 on the Philadelphia & Columbia railroad, 
 afterward known as the Pennsylvania Cen- 
 tral railroad. (At that time G. A. Thomp- 
 son was ci\'il engineer for the compan\', 
 and by merit rose to l)e president of the 
 same road). Subsequently Mr. McCart- 
 ne}' was employed on the construction of 
 the Lake Erie & Pittsburg canal. In 1836, 
 at the age of twenty-two years, he was 
 married in Coshocton count}-, Ohio, to Miss 
 Elizabeth Heslip>, and the young couple 
 then took up farming pursuits in that 
 county, where and on other farms owned 
 by him they resided for about eight years. 
 Abandoning agriculture, Mr. McCartney 
 now embarked in the milling and mercan- 
 tile businesses at Hendrysburg, Belmont 
 Co., Ohio, in connection therewith en- 
 gaging in stock buying and general trad- 
 4 
 
 ing. Hut his natural enterprising spirit 
 was soaring \'et higher, and in search of 
 fortune he sought other fields, turning his 
 attention naturally to railroad contract- 
 ing. Among tlie new roads on which he 
 secured contracts mas be mentioned the 
 Ikdtimore t\; Ohio, ("(.■utral Ohio and the 
 Hempheld railroad (now part of the Bal- 
 timore & Ohio; this railroad was built 
 about 1854-55, and the failure of the 
 company resulted in a loss to Mr. MrC.irt- 
 ney of $So,ooo). Mo\'ing about the \ear 
 1855 to Barnesville, Ohio, he there oper- 
 ated a steam gristmill and a sawmill, 
 which he owned in connection therewith, 
 conducting other business, and at the end 
 often years, in the spring of 1865, he 
 came to Wisconsin. First locating in 
 Oshkosh, he operated two steam sawmills 
 there, Itnt at the expiration of two years 
 sold his interests and removed to Ft. 
 Howard, where he became largely inter- 
 ested in lumbering, sawmilling and other 
 enterprises, in\ol\ing the utilization of 
 thousands of acres of pine land. In i88j 
 Mr. McCartney retired from these inter- 
 ests and established the McCartney's Ex- 
 change Bank fa pri\'ate institution) at 
 Ft. Howard, which in 1S92 was organized 
 as a National Bank with a capital of 
 $50,000, and is recognized as one of the 
 safe and solid financial institutions of the 
 State. 
 
 In 1884, while visiting the Cotton 
 Exposition at New Orleans, his attention 
 was attracted to the State of Georgia and 
 its resources; and judging that there was 
 a good held for the profitable investment 
 of capital, he in the year following pur- 
 chased a tract of 3,500 acres of land, 
 comprising three plantations, subsequently 
 buying other tracts, consisting of 3,900 
 acres, making a total of 7,400 acres. At 
 Thomasville, the county town of Thomas 
 county, Ga. , he Iniilt a comfortable resi- 
 dence, where in tlu' lu\nr\' of balmy 
 breezes and cheerful sunbeams he passes 
 his winter months, in the enjo\nicnt of 
 that ease and comfort which comes as 
 the reward of years of industry and toil. 
 
64 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 The land he rents chiefly to negroes, who 
 raise for the most part cotton, but por- ^ 
 tions of the estate are covered with vahi- ; 
 able timber, mosth' pine. | 
 
 During the Civil war Mr. McCartney 
 was appointed a brigadier-general in the 
 Ohio State militia, and also a United 
 States provost-marshal, serving in the 
 last-named office one and one-half years. 
 During the famous raid into Ohio made 
 b}' the Confederate general Morgan, our 
 subject was in command of a thousand 
 militiamen at Barnesville, in Belmont 
 county, Ohio, guarding a long railroad 
 trestle, over which were carried daily 
 supplies for the Union army, as well as 
 drafts of soldiers on their way to the seat 
 of war. An attack on this trestle by 
 Morgan was daily expected, and to further 
 his ends he resorted to the following ruse: 
 In order to learn what force there was 
 guarding this work, from which he was but 
 eight miles distant, he cut the telegraph 
 wire, and instructed his own operator to 
 telegraph to Gen. McCartney asking how 
 many troops he had to defend the trestle, 
 at the end of the message placing the 
 name of Gen. Burnside, who was in com- 
 mand of the Union troops at Cincinnati. 
 When the message reached Gen. McCart- 
 nej', he happened to be in the telegraph 
 office at Barnesville, reclining on a couch, 
 and on reading over the dispatch he at 
 once suspected it was a ' ' bogus " message. 
 With the presence of mind which was ever 
 ready to him, especially in moments of 
 danger or seeming perplexity, he tele- 
 graphed back that he had "sufficient 
 force to guard the trestle, and enough 
 men to capture Morgan's entire command 
 should he come this way. " This clever 
 thought of Gen. ^^cCartney, crystallized 
 in the return message he sent, and which 
 of course was received by Morgan, was 
 no doubt the cause of the latter abandon- 
 ing his intended attack on the trestle, and 
 making a detour to the north. Who can 
 calculate of what inestimable value this 
 act alone proved to the Union cause! But 
 for the coolness, courage and presence of 
 
 mind of this one man. Gen. McCartney, 
 who can tell what terrible disaster might 
 have ensued .' The sequel is a matter of 
 the history of the war. Shortly afterward 
 Morgan and his entire command were 
 captured, and he and his fellow prisoners 
 passed through Barnesville, where they 
 halted and were fed. Throughout the 
 entire war the General was a stanch sup- 
 porter of the government, giving liberally 
 both of his means and influence. 
 
 Twice married, our subject had, by 
 his first wife, three children, namely: 
 William, now of Guernsej' county. Ohio; 
 Ellen, deceased wife of \\'illiain Hum- 
 phrey ville; and Thomas Jefferson, in 
 business at Golden, Colo. The mother 
 of these died February i", 1845, and in 
 1S47 Mr. McCartney married Miss Lena 
 Eliza Harris, a native of Ohio, by which 
 union there were three children as follows: 
 Elizabeth, widow of Thomas Whelan, 
 and now a resident of Fort Howard; 
 Emma Belle, unmarried and living at 
 home, and Laney Viola, who died un- 
 married. The mother of these passed 
 from eartii June 3, 1884. A lifelong 
 Presbyterian, Mr. McCartney has been a 
 liberal contributor toward its support, 
 as well as to all beneficent institutions, 
 particularly in his own city and in Green 
 Bay. .\t his own expense he built the 
 First Presbyterian Church of Fort How- 
 ard, at a cost of about eight thousand 
 dollars, and presented it to the congrega- 
 tion. He is a member and trustee of 
 same. In his political sympathies he was 
 a Whig until the organization of the Re- 
 publican party, when he enrolled himself 
 under its banner, as a zealous and loyal 
 supporter of its principles. 
 
 Before closing this sketch, there is to 
 be added yet another to the record of Mr. 
 McCartney's many gigantic undertakings; 
 for although more than an octogenarian, 
 he is as enterprising as he was twenty 
 years ago, and he feels that he has not 
 yet completed his task of doing good to 
 his fellowmen. As an individual enter- 
 prise, he is building at Fort Howard an 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIO(j]iAi'JIICAL IlKCoRD. 
 
 electric railroad, and also putting in an 
 electric system for lighting the city, all of 
 which will be completed ere long. Self- 
 reliance is and has been one of his strong- 
 est characteristics, and in his business 
 enterprises he has always relied upon his 
 own judgment for results rather than the 
 opinion and advice of others. He is a 
 man of fine as well as forcible intellectual 
 qualities, an extensive reader and close 
 thinker, of a remarkably practical cast of 
 mind. He is cautious, but firm in his 
 judgments, and reliable; in manner he is 
 social and friendly, and possesses quali- 
 ties that readily win admiration and re- 
 spect. His mental faculties to-day, when 
 he has passed fourscore milestones on the 
 highway of life, are as clear as ever, and 
 with seeming unabated energy he is man- 
 aging his far-away Georgia plantation of 
 over seven thousand acres; at the same 
 time is the head of a bank doing a large 
 business, and moreover is conducting the 
 construction of the important and com- 
 plicated work connected with the putting 
 into operation the electric railroad and 
 electric lighting already referred to. For 
 some thirty years he has been promi- 
 nently connected with the public and pri- 
 vate enterprises of Ft. Howard, and with 
 its social, educational and mercantile in- 
 terests. In brief, Mr. McCartney is a 
 man of sound common sense, of great 
 courage and resolution, and executive 
 ability; a Christian gentleman, generous 
 and liberal toward all beneficent institu- 
 tions that he believes to be for the good 
 of his city and the public at large; just to 
 a fault, and ever thoughtful of those con- 
 nected with him in social and business re- 
 lations. May he live on in the enjoy- 
 ment of life, the admiration of his many 
 friends. 
 
 C.\PT.\IX CLIFFORD BELDON 
 H.ART, junior member of the firm 
 of H. \V. & C. B. Hart, owners 
 and managers of Hart's Steam- 
 boat Line, Green Bay, is a native of the 
 
 town, born Xo\ember 13, 1X39, a son of 
 Edwin and Eliza J. Glassj Hart. 
 
 In Green Bay and Oconto our subject 
 received his education, attending the com- 
 mon schools up to the age of twelve years, 
 when he commenced sailing on the lakes 
 between Oconto and Green Bay, and by 
 his ability as a mariner, and close atten- 
 tion to his duties, rose by degrees from a 
 comparatively humble position to be cap- 
 tain of his own steamboat. Hart's Steam- 
 boat Line was founded in 1873, with a 
 capital r)f $140,000, by Capts. H. \V. 
 and C. B. Hart, both able and experi- 
 enced steamboat men. They have now 
 four propellers — the "Fannie C. Hart, " 
 the "Eugene C. Hart," the " C. W". 
 Moore, " and the "Welcome " — all as 
 stanch, safe and reliable as their com- 
 manders. The two brothers Hart are 
 captains of the "Fannie" and "Eugene " 
 in person, taking great pride in their boats. 
 They run chiefiy between Green Bay, 
 Wis., and Cheboygan, Mich., and during 
 the season give employment to about one 
 hundred men. Capt. C. B. Hart was 
 also part owner of the schooners "Eva 
 M. Cone" and "Union," both in their 
 day plying between Green Bay and 
 Chicago, and was captain of the "Eva 
 M. Cone ' from 1857 to 1863, and of the 
 "Union" from 1863 to 1865. From 
 1865 to 1883 he was steamboating on the 
 Oconto river, returning to Green Bay in 
 the latter year. 
 
 On December 25, 1862, Capt. C. B. 
 Hart was united in marriage with Miss 
 Hattie Ellen St. Ores, a native of Illinois, 
 but reared in Oconto, Wis., daughter of 
 Lewis and Maryette St. Ores, who in an 
 early day came from the East to Oconto, 
 where the father was engaged in the lum- 
 ber business till 1862; he died November 
 '3t 1893, preceded to the grave by his 
 wife, who died in 1S76 of heart disease. 
 To Captain and Mrs. Hart has come one 
 son, Eugene C born December 7. 1880, 
 who is at home with his parents. Politic- 
 ally our subject is a Republican. In the 
 fall of 1888 he joined Washington Lodge 
 
«6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPBICAL RECORD. 
 
 No. 2 1, F. & A. M., and at once became 
 deeply interested in the workings of that 
 fraternity, rising rapidly in the order 
 until he attained thirty-second degree, 
 being connected with Warren Chapter 
 No. 8, Palestine Commander}', K. T. , 
 and Wisconsin Consistor}'. He is also a 
 member of Green Bay Lodge No. 259, 
 B. P. O. P:., and of the I. O. O. F., 
 Lodge No. 19, Green Bay, where he was 
 initiated. 
 
 JH. LE ROY. Among the promi- 
 nent agriculturists of De Pere town- 
 ship, Brown county, none is more 
 deserving of mention than this gen- 
 tleman, who is a worthy member of one 
 of the early pioneer families of same. He 
 is descended from hardy New England 
 stock. 
 
 Jonas Le Roy, father of our subject, 
 was born August 12, 1819, in West Troy, 
 N. Y., son of Isaac Le Roy, a native of 
 Poughkeepsie, who was a fisherman by 
 occupation, following same along the 
 banks of the Hudson river. His family 
 consisted of four sons, John, William, 
 Jonas and Henry. Jonas received a 
 limited education in the subscription 
 schools of the home neighborhood, left 
 home at the age of nineteen, after his 
 mother's death, and went to Cheapside, 
 Deerfield, Mass., where he learned the 
 trade of cabinet maker under Capt. 
 Thayer, and some time later removed to 
 Greenfield, same State, where he was 
 employed in the cutlery factory of John 
 Russell & Co. On September 10, 1840, 
 he was married in Greenfield to Miss 
 Edith A. King, who was born January 
 29. 1 82 1, in Sunderland, \'t., daughter 
 of James H. and Lilly (Willcut) King, 
 the former of whom was a shoemaker by 
 trade. In April, 1824, the King family 
 moved to Massachusetts, and they were 
 residing in Greenfield at the time of the 
 daughter's marriage. The young couple 
 immediately settled in Greenfield, and 
 there remained about fourteen years, Mr. 
 
 Le Roy continuing to work in the cutlery 
 establishment. Two sons were born to 
 them in Greenfield, viz.: John M., who 
 enlisted in September, 1861, at De Pere, 
 Wis., in Companj- F, Fourteenth Wis. 
 V. I., and was killed at \'icksburg May 
 22, 1863 (his body was never recovered), 
 and David S. J., who died when five 
 years old. From Greenfield the family 
 removed to Deerfield, where one child, 
 J. H., was born, and later to Conway, 
 same State, where they also had one 
 child, Edith A., now Mrs. W. R. Mat- 
 thews, of De Pere, Wis. In May, 1856, 
 the family came westward to Wisconsin, 
 journeying by stage to Adams, Mass., 
 thence by rail via West Troy to Buffalo, 
 N. Y. , at the latter place taking the 
 steamer "Michigan" for Green Bay, 
 where they landed May 28. The trip 
 from Green Bay to De Pere was made by 
 boat. 
 
 James S. King, a brother-in-law of 
 Mr. Le Roy, had preceded them to Wis- 
 consin, where, with money the latter had 
 sent, he had purchased eighty acres of 
 land in Section 32, De Pere township, 
 along the Dickinson road. Some of the 
 timber had been cut from this land during 
 two winters of lumbering on it, but other- 
 wise it was still in its primitive state, and 
 they immediately set to work to clear a 
 small space, where a log cabin, the first 
 building on the farm, was erected. On 
 this place was born one child, William S., 
 now of De Pere. They resided here for 
 eight years, and then, in 1865, sold the 
 place, and purchased the farm our sub- 
 ject now owns and resides upon, of which, 
 at that time but fifteen acres were cleared. 
 Another child was born on this farm, a 
 daughter, who died in infancy. In Octo- 
 ber, 1887, Mr. Le Roy removed to De- 
 Pere on account of failing health, and 
 there lived until his death, which oc- 
 curred September 8, 1892; he was buried 
 in Woodlawn cemetery. He was origin- 
 ally a Whig, afterward a Republican, in 
 politics, and for twelve years held the of- 
 fice of clerk of De Pere township, a 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPBICAL RECORD. 
 
 'i 
 
 recurd which speaks for itself; for two 
 years he was justice of tlie peace in the 
 city of De Pere. but his faihng health 
 compelled him to gi\e this up. In religious 
 connection he was a member of the M. 
 E. Church, with which his widow is also 
 identified. Since his death she has con- 
 tinued to reside in De Pere. They had 
 lived a happy wedded life of over fifty 
 years, and the golden anniversary of 
 their marriage was appropriately cele- 
 brated by the family. When they came 
 to Brown county bears, deer and wolves 
 still roamed the forests, and almost the 
 entire country was yet in its primitive 
 condition. Bears were often seen even 
 on the farm, and freiiucntly carried off 
 the pigs. A portion of ttie journey to 
 their new home was made in an ox-cart, 
 and for several years oxen were the only 
 beasts of l)urden the pioneers had. The 
 land was covered with white and red oak, 
 beech, pine and maple trees: in those 
 days not only the men, but the women 
 assisted in the clearing, and many were 
 the hardships and privations endured by 
 those early settlers before they had hewn 
 for themselves a comfortable home from 
 the dense forest. 
 
 J. H. Le Ro}' was borti I'^ebruary 7, 
 1 85 1, in Deerfield, Mass., and in May, 
 1856, came with his parents to De Pere 
 tcjwnship. Brown Co. , Wis. , where he 
 received such education as the district 
 schools of that time affordetl. His older 
 brother having enlisted in the Civil war, 
 he was early put to work on the farm, 
 and thus his attendance at even those 
 primitive schools was limited to a few 
 months each \'ear. He was thoroughly 
 trained to farming, and resided on the 
 home place until 1S7J, in the fall of 
 which year he entered the employ of 
 James S. Scott as clerk in a grocery store 
 in De Pere, remaining there two years. 
 He then attended Lawrence University, 
 at Appleton, three months, after which 
 he returned to his present farm. The 
 following winter he acted as bookkeeper 
 and measurer for Henrv Graves, at the 
 
 Morrison Coal Ivilns, in Cdenmore town- 
 ship. Brown county, but he has since al- 
 ways made his home on the farm. He 
 successfully conducts a general farming 
 and stock-raising business, and in connec- 
 tion with his agricultural operations runs 
 a threshing machine. 
 
 Mr. Le Roy was married, September 5, 
 1878, in De Pere township, to Miss Susan 
 .\. \\'inton, who was born in De Pere, 
 daughter of Charles A. Winton, a native 
 of Pennsyhania, who came to Brown 
 county in an early day. The young 
 coujile immediately took up their resi- 
 dence on the farm, and here children as 
 follows have been born to them: Edith 
 A. (who is attending school at De Pere), 
 Ellsworth G., Eva W., Ada P.. J. H., 
 |r.. and Charles A., all li\ing. Politic- 
 ally Mr. I^e Ivoy is a stanch Republican, 
 and keeps himself well informed in the 
 movements of his party, in whose welfare 
 he takes great interest. He has been 
 elected to various offices in his township, 
 having served as assessor (two terms), 
 school director, school treasurer, town- 
 ship clerk (eight \'ears), United States 
 census enumerator for his town in 1890. 
 State census enumerator in 1885, and in 
 each capacity discharging his duties with 
 credit to himself and satisfaction to his 
 fellow citi;;ens. He has also been called 
 upon to act as representative to county 
 conventions and assemblies, and he is one 
 C)f the "wheel horses" of the Republican 
 party in his section. Socially he is a 
 member of De Pere Lodge No. 222. I. O. 
 O. F., and Maple Leaf Lodge No. 107, 
 K. of P., De Pere. Mrs. Le Roy, in re- 
 ligious connection, is a member of the 
 Methodist Church. 
 
 T 
 
 HOMAS ELDER SHARP, the 
 well-known furniture dealer and 
 cabinet manufacturer of De Pere. 
 was born five miles northeast of 
 Newville, Cumberland Co., Penn., in 
 August, 1821, a son of James and Martha 
 (Hanna) Sharp, of Scotch and Irish de- 
 
•6S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 scent respecti\ely. The father was a 
 farmer, and also a captain in the Penn- 
 sjhania niihtia, and both parents died in 
 the Keystone State. 
 
 Thomas E. Sharp hved on the home 
 farm until sixteen or seventeen years of 
 age. when he went to Lofjansport. Ind. . 
 where an uncle and friends of the family 
 resided, and began learning carpentry and 
 cabinet making at a point about five or 
 six miles north of that city. His mother 
 and the rest of the family accompanied 
 him (his father having died when subject 
 was but an infant), but the mother sub- 
 sequently returned to Pennsylvania. 
 Thomas E. progressed rapidly at his trade, 
 and was but a little over seventeen when 
 he built a school house near Logansport, 
 and also had manufactured several ar- 
 ticles of furniture. \Mien twenty-one 
 or twent\-tvvo he rcturneii east, and for 
 eleven months worked in Pittsburg, four 
 months in Philadelphia, three in New 
 York. Philadelphia and Newcastle, Penn. ; 
 thence he went to Cincinnati, and in 
 1848-49. the cholera year, was in Louis- 
 ville, Ky. He then returned, via Indian- 
 apolis, to Logansport, and started a 
 cabinet shop, remaining about six months. 
 In 1S50, about the month of May, he set 
 out west with a horse and bugg\-, reach- 
 ing Chicago in the latter part of the same 
 month, and there shot at a mark on 
 stumps that would now l)e in the heart of 
 the city, if they were still in existence. 
 He then drove on to Milwaukee and thence 
 to Fond du Lac, where he disposed of his 
 rig; then went to Green Bay and thence 
 came to De Pere. where he built a resi- 
 dence and also did some cabinet work. 
 He had first intended to enter the build- 
 ing and cabinet-making business, but 
 finally drifted into cabinet making only, 
 and in 1S54 built a shop. He has also 
 done something at boat building, pattern 
 making, painting and other kinds of work, 
 and has alwa\s been an industrious man 
 and a skillful mechanic. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Sharp took place 
 in De Pere, October 4, 1S53, to Miss 
 
 Harriet Stewart, a daughter of Robert D. 
 and Sarah (Carpenter) Stewart, who were 
 among the earliest settlers of the city. No 
 children ha\e been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Sharp, although a neice of Mrs. Sharp — • 
 Alice A. Stewart — lived with them many 
 years, and is now married to Dr. Porter, 
 of Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Sharp are 
 members of the Congregational Church, 
 and in politics he is a Republican. He 
 has served as city treasurer of De Pere, 
 and is considered to be one of the most 
 solid inhabitants of the place. 
 
 ROBERT 1). STEWART (de- 
 ceased), born at Stewartsville, 
 W'arren Co., N. J., March 5, 
 1779, was of Scotch descent. He 
 was married to Sarah Carpenter, October 
 20, 1807, and died May 10, 1848; the 
 death of his wife occurred May i, 1855. 
 He landed at Green Bay June 14, 1836, 
 lived in a house at Shant3'town, three 
 miles distant, and was employed as super- 
 intendent of the hjdraulic works at De- 
 Pere, at three dollars per day. In 1837 
 he moved his family to De Pere, and 
 bought a claim of 160 acres on the west 
 side of the Fox river, erected the first 
 house in West De Pere, and was the first 
 white man to make his permanent home 
 there. He was supervisor for many years 
 and also chairman of the board. He took 
 much interest in schools, was an elder in 
 the Presbyterian Church, and it was his 
 constant habit to take his family and 
 neighbers six miles to church at Green 
 Bay on the Sabbath, by means of his 
 sailboat. 
 
 Robert I), and Sarah Stewart had a 
 family of thirteen children, three of whom 
 died in New Jersey. The ten who came 
 with him to De Pere were William Max- 
 well, who married Rachel Carpenter, and 
 is now deceased; Elizabeth, who became 
 the wife of \\'. W. Matthews, both now- 
 deceased; Caroline M.. widow of Godfrey 
 Miller, residing in De Pere; Mary, de- 
 ceased; Joseph (deceased), who married 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAniWAL RECORD. 
 
 69 
 
 Lora Lessey; Theodore (deceased), who 
 married Mary J. Hamniond, who now 
 Hves in Chicago, 111.; Ellen, who married 
 Fred W. Newhall, and lives in Chicago; 
 Harriet, horn December 28, iiS30, mar- 
 ried Thomas E. Sharp; Charles A., mar- 
 ried to Maggie McFarland, and residing 
 in Chicago; Matilda, who married Will- 
 iam J. Green, of Nyack, N. Y. , and is 
 now deceased. 
 
 Mrs. William Maxwell Stewart, widow 
 of the eldest son of Robert D., narrates: 
 "Mr. R. D. Stewart, in 1S36, beside 
 farming, established a ferrj- across the 
 Fo.\ river at his house, situate at that 
 time about a half mile south of the pres- 
 ent dam at De Pere, and during the ab- 
 sence of the father and brothers Mrs. T. 
 E. Sharp and others of the children would 
 often take passengers across the stream 
 in canoes, occasionally in the large scowe 
 and, to tell the truth, the young ladies 
 did not regret the al)sence of father or 
 brothers on such occasions, as the passage 
 money was applied by the girls to their 
 own use for pin mone\-. When the family 
 arrived at De Pere Indians were quite 
 numerous." 
 
 Thomas Stewart, the father of Robert 
 D., was a native of Scotland, an(i settled 
 in \N^arren count}-, N. J., in 1739; he was 
 a farmer, owned 360 acres of land, and 
 built a stone dwelling, around which after- 
 ward clustered the \'illage named Stewarts- 
 ville, in his honor. He served as judge 
 of the court of common pleas, five years, 
 and also as justice of the peace. He died 
 in his stone dwelling at the age of eighty- 
 three jears. His wife bore the maiden 
 name of Rachel Dewees. When Robert 
 D., his son, started for the West, he was 
 accompanied by thirt}' others, including 
 his own family, in their own boat, on the 
 Delaware and Raritan canal, and so on to 
 Philadelphia. Xew York and Buffalo 
 (where he sold his boat), and thence by 
 the steamer "Daniel Webster" to Green 
 Bay, the trip from Easton, Penn., occupy- 
 ing just three weeks. The half-mile front- 
 age he purchased on the west side of Fox 
 
 river, and on which the larger part of 
 West De Pere has since been built, is 
 known as Stewart's addition. 
 
 The extraordinary career of this re- 
 markable man extends beyond the limits 
 of comprehensive comment. With a heart 
 filled with lo\e and charity ior his fellow 
 creatures, his ear was ever open to the 
 plaint of those in distress, and his hand 
 ever extended in aid of the suffering. His 
 intuitive knowledge of the laws of trade 
 and the sequence of demand and supply 
 led him to adapt the means at hand in the 
 primitive country in which he lived to the 
 precise wants of the hour, as well as to a 
 permanent de\'elopment of a prosperous 
 future. His death was a severe blow to 
 the community, and was indeed sincerely 
 deplored. 
 
 WILLIAM MAXWELL STEW- 
 ART preceded his father, Rob- 
 ert D. Stewart, in his de- 
 parture from New Jersey for 
 Wisconsin, in 1S35, and on his arrival at 
 Green Bay acted as foreman for his uncle, 
 John P. Arndt, in getting out lumber, 
 and afterward had charge of a vessel be- 
 longing to the same gentleman, freighting 
 lumber and stone. 
 
 W. M. Stewart was married at what 
 is known as Carpentersville, N. J., in 
 June, 1S34, to Rachel Carpenter, daugh- 
 ter of Joseph A. and Sarah (Stewart) 
 Carpenter. The Carpenters were of 
 German origin, and descendants of the 
 earliest settlers of New jersey. \N'hen 
 William M. came west he left his wife in 
 New Jersey, and the following },-ear, 1836, 
 she followed in company with Robert D. 
 Stewart's family. '\\'. M. Stewart had 
 always been a farmer. In politics he 
 was a Republican, and served as super- 
 visor, besides filling several minor offices; 
 he was an elder in the Presbyterian 
 Church for a number of years. He died 
 in September, 1S81. He and his wife 
 were the parents of ten children, as fol- 
 lows: Thomas, who married Augusta 
 
70 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGIiAJ'JJICAL RECORD. 
 
 Sheean; John P.. who was a Union sol- 
 dier in the Civil war, and died at home of 
 disease contracted in the service; Lyman, 
 who married Annie E. Malone; Winslow, 
 who married Julia Bene; Luella, who 
 died in infancy; Ellen, who was married 
 to James C. Ritchie; Elsie, single, at 
 home; Robert D., who married Helen 
 Hodgeson; and Joseph Carpenter, who 
 married Matilda Stickles; Edward died at 
 the age of ten years. 
 
 WJ. FISK. This gentleman is 
 president of the Kellogg National 
 Bank at Green Bay, which in 
 1 874 was organized out of the 
 City National Bank, and he has been 
 actively identified with the bank since 
 1865; he is also one of the largest railroad 
 contractors in the State of Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. Fisk was born in Brunswick, 
 Ohio, in 1833, a son of Joel S. and Char- 
 lotte (Green) Fisk, natives of New York, 
 who in the year 1835 came to Wisconsin, 
 landing at Sheboygan, whence he pro- 
 ceeded on foot to Green Ba\-. I'^rom there 
 he traveled, again on foot, by an Indian 
 trail to Chicago, 111., returned east, and 
 in 1836 came to Green Bay with his 
 family. Here Joel S. Fisk found his first 
 employment, in his new western home, 
 in the general store of Mr. Whitney, 
 afterward conducting a similiar establish- 
 ment for his own account, and for a long 
 time was a prominent figure in the mer- 
 cantile and lumbering interests of this 
 section of \\'isconsin. But he did not 
 confine himself to these lines of business 
 (which were of necessity the leading ones 
 in the early days of a new country), for we 
 find him in 1 84S filling the position of 
 register of deeds in the Land Office, and 
 he it was who in 1 850 platted what is now 
 the thriving city of Fort Howard. He 
 also served as postmaster at Green Bay 
 for some considerable time. He died in 
 1876, his wife preceding him to the grave 
 by just six weeks. They were the parents 
 
 of seven children, of whom the following is 
 a brief record: (1) W. J. is the subject of 
 this sketch. (2) Valentine S. enlisted in 
 Kansas, at commencement of the war 
 of the Rebellion, in the Eighth Kansas 
 Infantr}', served throughout the entire 
 struggle, and died at Washington, D. C, 
 in 1872. (3) Elizabeth is the wife of 
 Albert Johnson, and resides in Idaho. 
 (4) Fannie C. died in 1875. (5) Kate P. 
 died in 1863. (6) M. H. graduated in 
 medicine at Ann Arbor Medical College; 
 enlisted at .Ann Arbor in the ninetj'-days' 
 service; is now practicing medicine at 
 Wauwatosa; Wis. (7) Oneson, unnamed, 
 died in infancy. 
 
 W. J. Fisk received his elementary 
 education at the schools of Green Bay, 
 proving an apt scholar and diligent 
 student. In his boyhood he evinced 
 talent as a draughtsman, and at the early 
 age of fifteen (in 1848) he made the maps 
 for the Reservation of Lands for the im- 
 provement of the Fox and Wisconsin 
 rivers. For two years thereafter he 
 served as clerk at Fort Howard, and 
 then, being desirous of improving his 
 education, attended college at Appleton, 
 Wis. Returning to Fort Howard, Mr. 
 Fisk here commenced trading in shingles — 
 buying and selling; and as a natural tran- 
 sition he soon embarked in the manufac- 
 ture of that article, in course of time, 
 however, abandoning that line for the 
 lumber trade, in which he has since con- 
 tinued, from day to day expanding his 
 already vast interests. He began to sup- 
 ply railroads, and his first contract was 
 with the Chicago & Northwestern Rail- 
 way Company to supply them with ties 
 and timber for the construction of some 
 fifteen miles of their road. The business 
 was established in 1862 by W. J. Fisk, 
 and in 1877, admitting two sons, the firm 
 name became W. D. Fisk & Co., the 
 business consisting in the supplying of 
 wood, ties, telegraph poles, etc., to rail- 
 way companies. Quite an army of 
 laborers and teams find employment in 
 the vast operations of the firm. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGltAPHICAL UEOORD. 
 
 71 
 
 In 1S55 Mr. Fisk was united in mar- 
 riage at Fond du Lac, Wis., witii Miss 
 Mary J. Driggs, daughter of John J. 
 Driggs, a native of New York, who in 1 836 
 came to Green Bay, where he carried on 
 a mercantile business. He died some 
 years ago. To Mr. and Mrs. Fisk four 
 chikh'en have been born, viz.: Frank S. , 
 who (Hed in 1881; Wilbur D. and Harry 
 W. , both married and residing in Fort 
 Howard, being members of the firm of 
 W. D. Fisk & Co., of that place; and G. 
 Wallace, also married and living in Fort 
 Hnward, where he is bookkeeper for the 
 Kellogg National Bank. In politics W. 
 J. Fisk is a Kepublican. I'rom 1862 to 
 1865 he ser\ed as postmaster at Fort 
 Howard; during the term 1875-76-77 he 
 represented Brown county in the Assem- 
 bly, and was chairman of the Railroad 
 Committee when the famous Granger- 
 Potter railway law was rejiealed. 
 
 REV. FATHER ANTHONY JOS- 
 EPH VERBERK. Where emi- 
 nent abilities and unlilemished in- 
 tegrity, combined with unimpeach- 
 able \irtue, derivable from the daily 
 practice of religion and Jiiety, contribute 
 to adorn the character of an individual, 
 then it is most proper to be prominently 
 set forth as an example to those who 
 would make themselves useful to the rest 
 of mankind. .And the writer cherishes 
 the belief that he will jierforin this ac- 
 ceptal^le service in giving a brief sketch of 
 the reverend gentleman whose name here 
 appears. 
 
 Our subject was born in Holland Jan- 
 uary 17. 1832, a son of Martin \'erberk, 
 a cabinet-maker and jnunter by trade in 
 the same country, wiiere he was born 
 February 2, 1800. He (the father) was 
 educated for a teacher of French, during 
 the time of Napoleon's control of Hol- 
 land, but after the fall of Napoleon aban- 
 doned that profession for a trade. In his 
 familv there were originally ten children 
 
 — live sons and five daughters — which by 
 1853 was reduced to two sons — Gerhard 
 and Anthony Joseph — and three daugh- 
 ters — Mary (now Mrs. H. Bremer, of 
 Cleveland, Ohio), Joanna (who married 
 John Rolder, and died in De Pere, Wis.), 
 and Dora (now Mrs. Anthony Meulcn- 
 dyke, of Menonnnee, Mich. ). In the 
 spring of the year just named the family, 
 resolving to seek a new home in the West- 
 ern World, sailed f(.)r New York via 
 Rotterdam and Li\erpool. P'rom their 
 port of debarkation the party came west 
 to Cleveland, Ohio, whither some of their 
 friends had alread)' migrated, and from 
 here, in 1856, part of the family, amongst 
 them the subject of this sketch, canu' to 
 Green Bay; but becoming dissatisfied with 
 the locality they returned to Cleveland in 
 July, 1857. In aftei- \ears the parents, 
 in care of their son Gerhard, again came 
 to Wisconsin, both dying in Do Pere, 
 Brown county, the mother on .April 10, 
 1874, the father on May 6, 1878. 
 
 Rev. A. |. \'erberk received his ele- 
 mentary education at the parish schtjols 
 of his native town, pr(.)ving himself an 
 apt and diligent scholar, studious antl re- 
 flective. At the age of fourteen he entered 
 college, where for six years he was a no 
 less diligent student • of the languages — 
 lioth ancient and modern — and studied 
 philosophy until he was about twenty-one 
 years old, when owing to his father's 
 physical affliction, his studies were inter- 
 rupted, and he had to assist in many 
 ways at home till 1861, in September of 
 which jear he came to Little Chute, AN'is., 
 to visit an old Holland acquaintance. 
 Father Spierings. Having been persuaded 
 by this gentleman to resume his studies, 
 Mr. Verberk on January 29, 1862, entered 
 St. Francis Seminary, near Milwaukee, 
 where he completed his philosophical and 
 theological course. On December 27, 
 1863, he was ordained to the priesthood, 
 by Bishop Henni, in the Cathedral at 
 Alilwankee, and appointed to his first pas- 
 toral duties at Theresa, Dodge Co., Wis., 
 as assistant to the priest stationed there. 
 
COyfMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 who was sick at the time. In September, 
 1864. he was jjiven charge of his first con- 
 gregation, which was in Freedom, Outa- 
 gamie count}', and here he remained until 
 March, 1865, at which time he was trans- 
 ferred to Little Chute, where his old friend 
 Father Spierings had been stationed. 
 Here our subject labored among his flock 
 till October, 1869, during which time he 
 built a new house for the priest, and the 
 new church building, of which for several 
 years nothing had been standing except 
 the foundation, was through his efforts 
 and labor completed, with the exception 
 of the work on the interior. F"rom Little 
 Chute he was sent to St. Mary's Church 
 at Appleton, at which time the parishion- 
 ers, who were of several nationalities, all 
 attended the same church, and it was dur- 
 ing his incumbency here than the separa- 
 tion took place. While in Appleton 
 Father Verberk decided to pay a visit to 
 his native land, and set out on his journey 
 in June. 1872, proceeding to New York, 
 visiting en route friends in Cleveland, 
 Ohio, and Fort Lee, N. J. The voyage 
 from New York to I^iverpool occupied 
 twelve days, and in August he arrived in 
 Holland, where he mot with an affection- 
 ate reception, and lingered long and 
 fondly about the hallowed spot of his 
 happy childhood and boyhood days. His 
 first intention was to travel through- 
 out the continent and visit the Holy Land, 
 but, a sickness that might be called "in- 
 digenous" to Holland having seized him, 
 he had to forego the anticipated pleasure, 
 and return to the United States after a 
 brief sojourn in his native country of 
 about three months. 
 
 On November 25, he started on his 
 westward journey to resume his clerical 
 duties in the Far West, and after a 
 twenty-five days' passage from Liverpool 
 landed in New York, the voyage having 
 been protracted by an accident which oc- 
 curred when they were four days out, 
 necessitating return to port. Tarrying for 
 some weeks in New York and New Jerse}', 
 he then visited relatives in Cleveland, 
 
 Ohio, and in the spring of 1873 arri\ed 
 once more at Green Bay, Wis., whence 
 he proceeded to the eliocese at Lacrosse, 
 and for two years and a half had charge 
 of the congregations at Baraboo, Sauk 
 count}', and Eagle Point, Chippewa 
 county. Being claimed by the bishop of 
 Green Bay * as belonging to his diocese, 
 he in November, 1875, was called to the 
 temporary care of Wrightstown and other 
 charges, and later, in February, 1 876, 
 was transferred to Chilton, Calumet 
 county, where was built under his pastor- 
 ate a new church costing some twelve 
 thousand dollars, and another for the 
 Germans, costing from six to seven thous- 
 and. In May, 1881, from the fact of his 
 speaking the language of Holland, best 
 understood by the Catholic congregation 
 at Little Chute, he was recalled thither, 
 remaining from 1881 to 1889. From that 
 parish, where during his sta\' he com- 
 pleted the yet unfinished church building 
 and erected a new parish school, he re- 
 moved in October, 1889. to his old charge 
 at Chilton, remaining until 1892, when 
 on account of failing health he resigned, 
 in September taking up his residence in 
 Dc Pcre. where he made his home about 
 nine months, during which period of re- 
 pose he employed a portion of his time 
 writing for a Dutch paper called De Pere 
 Standixrd, and the English Rclio of t/ie 
 Valley. By the advice, however, of his 
 physician, who recommended him to live 
 more into the country, he came in May. 
 1893. to the town of Hollanil. in Holland 
 township, Brown county, where he has 
 since led a retired life, at the same time 
 filling the charge of St. Mary's Church, 
 Hilbert Junction, by regular weekly visits 
 and religious services whenever required. 
 
 * The first resident inisionary priest at Green Bay was 
 Father Van den Broek. and Fatlier Verberk is the only Hol- 
 iand priest in Wisconsin to sec that venerable divine in life. 
 This happened durine the winter of 1K47-I8. when Father Van- 
 den ItrocK. after years of tnissionary work ainonc the Indians 
 in the Fox River 'X'allev. was on a visit to liis native country. 
 Father Verberk. at that time inakinK his collcce course, went 
 to see tlie .iRed missionary for advise about joinini; tlie colony 
 of Hollanders just then preparing to emigrate with Father 
 \'an den Broek. Strange, that the college boy in after years 
 should build a new church on the very spot, where the Pio- 
 neer was laid to rest: 
 
COMMEMOHAriVE BIOORAPUWAL RECORD. 
 
 73 
 
 HON. PATRICK FINNEKTY, a 
 leading representative citizen and 
 prosperous farmer of Holland 
 township, Brown county, by vir- 
 tue of his popularity and usefulness in his 
 county, deserves prominent place in 
 this Biographical Record. 
 
 He is a native of Brown count}-. Wis., 
 born October 22, 1856, on the farm 
 whereon he now lives in Section 14, Hol- 
 land township, the eldest son of Thomas 
 and Catherine (Keaton) Finnerty, natives 
 of Ireland. Thomas Finnerty was born 
 in County Sligo in 1820, the eldest in the 
 family of Patrick Finnerty, a tenant 
 farmer, who had by his wife, Catherine 
 (Caggin), a family of ten children — sesen 
 sons and three daughters. In the spring 
 of 1 848 the family emigrated to the United 
 States, crossing the ocean from Liver- 
 pool in the sailing ship "Lord Elgin," 
 the voyage occupying seven weeks. Land- 
 ing in Boston, they proceeded from there 
 to Vermont, locating for a time in Rut- 
 land county. In November, 1849, the 
 entire family came to Wisconsin via Buf- 
 falo to Sheboygan, and in Holland (at 
 that time Kaukauna) township, Brown 
 county, settled in the dense wild woods on 
 160 acres government land in Section 14, 
 for which he paid ten shillings per acre, 
 and entered in the name of Thomas, the 
 eldest son. To reach this property the 
 party traveled from Fond du Lac along 
 the military road to a point south of 
 Wrightstown, and from there had to lit- 
 erally hew their way through the unbroken 
 forest, there being neither road nor even 
 path, the one they had to cut being the 
 first. Here they built them a rude cabin 
 and commenced to make a clearing for a 
 farm. Patrick Finnerty, the head of this 
 immigrant family, died in 1871, his wife 
 passing away later at the home of their 
 son Thomas. 
 
 Thomas Finnerty, just mentioned, 
 soon after their arrival here, in fact in the 
 fall of the same year (1848), had to return 
 to Ireland for some purpose, but in the 
 following spring rejoined his parents and 
 
 was one of the hardest workers in the 
 clearing of the land. For two summers, 
 however, after coming here. Thomas Fin- 
 nerty worked at Kaukauna, for the Fox 
 River Improvement Compau)', as a com- 
 mon laborer, in order to earn means for the 
 support of his parents and younger broth- 
 ers and sisters, after which he commenced 
 regular farim'ng on the home place, and 
 in the course of time what was a dense 
 inhospitable forest he converted into a fer- 
 tile farm and comfortable home, the met- 
 amorphosis representing years of toil and 
 unceasing industry. In 1855 he married 
 Catherine Keaton, a native of Tipperary, 
 Ireland, and by her had children as fol- 
 lows: Patrick, the subject jiroper of this 
 sketch; Ellen, now Mrs. Hugh Finnegan, 
 of Holland; Catherine, who died unmar- 
 ried at the age of thirty-one years; Mary, 
 living in Green Ba\'; and Bridget, at 
 home. The family arc all members of St. 
 Francis Church, at Hollanil. In his po- 
 litical associations Thomas Finnerty is an 
 ardent Democrat, and in National and 
 State elections invariably votes that 
 ticket, but in county and township affairs 
 he supports the candidate lie considers 
 best qualified for the office, regardless 
 of party ties. In his township he has 
 held the positions of treasurer and chair- 
 man, as well as treasurer of the school 
 board. 
 
 Patrick Finnerty, the subject of this 
 memoir, received a lil)eral education at 
 the winter schools of the vicinity of his 
 home, and being a diligent and apt 
 sch<jlar, made remarkable progress with 
 his Ixjoks. Schools in his boyhood were 
 very different to what they are at the 
 present time, and the lad, young as he 
 was, saw by his own experience that vast 
 improvements in the nurseries of the 
 young mind were necessary if education 
 was to keep pace with the phenomenal 
 progress of the latter half of the nine- 
 teenth century. Indeed, so aggressive 
 was the stand he took, and so convincing 
 were the arguments he advanced, that 
 before he was twenty-one years old he 
 
74 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 received the appointment of clerk of the 
 school board of his district, an office he 
 has ever since held, al\va\'s laboring for 
 the best interests of the educational in- 
 stitutions, particularly those included 
 within his own district. He was reared a 
 farmer boy on the same farm he now 
 conducts, all his instruction in this line 
 of work being received under the pre- 
 ceptorship of his father. Prior to his 
 marriage, in 1889, he took a trip to the 
 Pacific coast — his destination California; 
 and traveling by the Union Pacific rail- 
 road he stopped at many of the principal 
 c\t\es en route. In the "Eureka State" 
 he sojourned some ten months, visiting 
 various interesting points, and in passing 
 through Oregon spent some time in Port- 
 land, returning to his Wisconsin home at 
 the end of about a year. 
 
 Politically Mr. Finnerty has been a 
 Democrat from the time he cast his first 
 vote, and has always been a wheel-horse 
 of the party, being from early manhood 
 recognized as a leader in the Democratic 
 ranks in his township. He has been re- 
 peatedly called to positions of honor and 
 trust, all of which he has filled with honor 
 to himself and satisfaction to his con- 
 stituents. For two years he served as 
 treasurer, and in 1 894 he was elected 
 township clerk. In the fall of 1886, by 
 a majority of votes, he was sent to the 
 Assembly as member of the thirty- 
 eighth session of the Wisconsin Legis- 
 lature, the occasion being the second bi- 
 ennial session, and he was the youngest 
 man ever elected to the Legislature in 
 Brown county. 
 
 In February, 1S89, Mr. Finnerty was 
 married at Milwaukee, Wis. , to Miss 
 Ellen Desmond, a native of Brooklyn, N. 
 Y., and daughter of Matthew Desmond, 
 who settled in Milwaukee when Mrs. 
 Finnerty was a child of about three sum- 
 mers. Three children have been born to 
 this union: Addie, Matthew and Thomas. 
 The home farm, still comprising 160 acres 
 of prime land, is contlucted under the 
 immediate supervision of our subject him- 
 
 self, and reflects as nmch credit on him 
 as an agriculturist as have his public ser- 
 vices as a statesman. 
 
 IVl 
 
 AirillAS REYNEX. Like 
 thousands of other worthy men 
 whose lot in their native coun- 
 tr}' was simply to drudge and 
 be ahvaj's poor, John Rcynen, father of 
 Matthias, saw in the Western World a 
 rainbow of promise. In the spring of 
 1 85 I, with his wife and si.\ children, he 
 left hard times and Holland behind, and 
 sailed from Amsterdam in an English 
 ship bound for New York city, arriving 
 after a fifty-eight-days' voyage. Green 
 Bay, Wis. , was their final destination, and 
 they proceeded up the Hudson river bj- 
 steamboat to Albany, where they were 
 delayed a month by the severe illness of 
 the head of the family. When he had re- 
 covered they continued their journey via 
 the Erie canal, and Matthias and his 
 brother werepriviledged characters on the 
 trip, being allowed to ride the horscswhich 
 drew the canal boat. Upon arrival at Buf- 
 falo it was learned that but one vessel, the 
 old " Michigan, " was plying between that 
 point and Green Bay, and as it took her 
 two weeks to make the round trip, it was 
 necessary to wait most of that time for 
 her return; but they at length embarked, 
 and in the fall of 1851 reached their des- 
 tination. 
 
 The family i>assed the first winter in 
 Green Bay, but the following spring found 
 them in De Pere, as tenants of Samuel 
 Blake. After passing the summer here 
 they removed to Little Chute, where the 
 elder Reynen found employment on the 
 canal, as he had previously done, carry- 
 ing back to his family fifty pounds of 
 flour upon his return. He continued to 
 reside at Little Chute during his active 
 life, finally locating at De Pere, where he 
 died in 1.883, and his remains were in- 
 terred in the Catholic cemetery at that 
 place. His widow yet lives with a mar- 
 ried daughter, on the same farm first 
 
COMMEMOUATTVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 75 
 
 occupied by the family upon their arrival 
 in this rej^ion. Their children, who are 
 all lix'in.e;, are as follows; William, re- 
 siding; in South Dakota; Matthias, whose 
 name introduces this article; Gertrude, 
 now Mrs. |ohn Coonen, of De Pere; Han- 
 nah, now Mrs. William Vandervelden, of 
 Cornelius, Oregon; Mary, wife of John 
 Vandyke, of Freedom, Outagamie Co. , 
 Wis.; Martin, of South Dakota; and the 
 only death in this family has been that of 
 the father. The chililren have all reared 
 large families. 
 
 Matthias Reynen was born in Holland 
 March 14, 1838, and was consequently 
 but thirteen years of age when he arrived 
 in the land of his adoption. His father 
 was able to afford him but a meager edu- 
 cation in the old country, and after arriv- 
 ing in the United States his only school- 
 ing was included in a four-weeks' attend- 
 ance at Albany, during the sickness of his 
 father, as above mentioned. He showed 
 remarkable aptness, and during that short 
 period succeeded in mastering the three 
 primary "readers" which a kind old 
 gentleman had furnished him. By the 
 time he reached Green Bay he was able 
 to speak the English language fairly well, 
 and the first money he earned was fifty 
 cents received for acting as interpreter. 
 The same spirit of determination has been 
 of great value to him in the subsequent 
 years of his life, for by his own sole efforts 
 he has reached the position he now holds, 
 as a substantial, respected and estimable 
 citizen. His first employment in Wis- 
 consin was peeling potatoes for Capt. Ed- 
 wards, proprietor of the old ' ' Washing- 
 ton House" (which stood on the site now 
 occupied by the "Beaumont House"), 
 and having performed the same kind of 
 labor in his passage across the Atlantic, 
 he was undoubtedly proficient. Contin- 
 uing to reside with his parents until he 
 became of age, young Matthias turned 
 his earnings over to them, assisting them 
 to the best of his ability to keep ' ' the 
 wolf from the door" and become the pos- 
 sessors of a home, engaging in various 
 
 kinds of labor — fishing, gardening, etc. 
 Until 1852 he carried the mail for Mr. 
 Tyler between Green Ba\' and Manito- 
 woc, one sunnner, when his horse had 
 only an Indian trail to follow, and the boy 
 had no definite idea as to the location of 
 Manitowoc, frecjuently turning out to 
 avoid wolves, bears, and other wild ani- 
 mals. His instructions were, if the horse 
 got disabled and swamped, to shoulder 
 the mail bag and continue on foot; this 
 happening on one occasion he left the 
 horse in the swampy ground, and started 
 to walk, but the animal succeeded in ex- 
 tricating itself from the mudhole, and fol- 
 lowing Mr. Reynen caught u[i with him 
 and whinnied for his master before he 
 had reached his destination. He at 
 length secured a position with Mr. Wager 
 and afterward with Wilcox & Wager, 
 millers of De Pere, with whom he learned 
 the milling trade, when the stone mill 
 was built in De Pere, and continued to 
 work at that place, at intervals, for twelve 
 years, as well as in a similar capacity at 
 other points; he is the oldest Hollander 
 miller in the Fox River Valley. He was al- 
 so employed more or less in the woods, and 
 hand in hand along with hard work plod- 
 ded along through the years, making a 
 record as a toiler scarcely surpassed by 
 a man of his age. He has been engaged 
 at nearly all kinds of labor except military 
 duty, and barely missed that, for he was 
 drafted, but escaped through a mistake on 
 the part of the enrolling officer, who 
 spelled his name "Ryan." Mr. Reynen 
 is unquestionably a leader of the self- 
 made men of his section, and, in addition 
 to his ability, being possessed of a won- 
 derful retentive n-.emory, there is no 
 doubt but that, with proper education, he 
 might have made an honorable and dis- 
 tinguished record in the professional 
 world. 
 
 On NoN'ember 16, 1S63, Mr. Reynen 
 was wedded, in the old German Catholic 
 Church at Green Bay, to Adelia Martins, 
 who was born in Holland in 1843 and 
 came to the United States with h er 
 
76 
 
 COJJMEMORATIVK BIOGRAPUICAL KECORD. 
 
 father's family in 1S50, the latter locat- 
 ing near the home of our subject, in Al- 
 ienee township, at the foot of Robinson 
 Hill, the property now owned by Mr. 
 Reynen. The children born to this union 
 were: Minnie, now deceased; Fannie, 
 now Mrs. Frank \'an Noss, of Green Bay; 
 Mary, now Mrs. Charles \'an Noss, of 
 the same city, G. \\'illiam, of .\lloue/. em- 
 ployed in the railroad service; Martin, 
 Tony, Ella and Minnie, at home; Frank, 
 deceased; Peter and Lilly May, at home; 
 and Dora, deceased. For a short time 
 after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Reynen 
 resided at Green Bay, but soon remo\ed 
 to De Fere, where Mr. Reynen formed a 
 partnership with Fred Lucke, and en- 
 gaged for a few years in the milling busi- 
 ness. He also purchased the • ■ De Pere 
 House."' becoming its landlord. He had 
 previously started up a new mill for other 
 parties in Chippewa Falls, and, besides, 
 built and conducted another at De Pere, 
 which latter was burned in 1S83, the loss 
 being heavy and the insurance small. 
 After this disaster he located upon the 
 farm of ninety-.seven acres upon which he 
 has since resided, the homestead being 
 generally known as "• Robinson Hill." 
 From his pleasant home, erected in 1891, 
 a delightful view of the Fox river is 
 obtained. 
 
 Politically Mr. Reynen is an unswerv- 
 ing Democrat, and he has been elected by 
 his party to various official positions at 
 the different places where he has lived. 
 While in De Pere he was a member of the 
 city council several years, as well as of 
 the county board of supervisors twelve or 
 fifteen years, resigning upon his removal 
 to Allouez. In the latter township he has 
 been chairman of the town board for sev- 
 eral years, and is the present member for 
 Allouez on the county board, a positim 
 in which he has always rendered credit- 
 able service. During the panic of 1873 
 he lost nine thousand dollars inside of six 
 months, and his fire losses in 1S83 were 
 ten thousand; but, notwithstanding these 
 severe blows, he is vet comfortabh situ- 
 
 ated, owning one hundred acres of the 
 most desirable land in the vicinity of 
 Green Bay, a property which is destined 
 to be worth many thousand dollars in the 
 not tlistant future. From his boyhood he 
 has found it necessary to make an uphill 
 fight. Instead of being assisted by his 
 parents his efforts were lent to their sup- 
 port, and it was a struggle for years be- 
 fore there was perceptible gain. In deal- 
 ing with his fellowmen his methods have 
 been straightforward and honorable, and 
 "Matt" Reynen, as he is best known, 
 is respected and esteemed by a wide circle 
 of acquaintances. He and his family are 
 members of the Holland Catholic Church, 
 in which he has been an officer for years, 
 and to which his contributions have been 
 most liberal. From out the Netherlands, 
 which have sent sturdy men and women 
 into the four quarters of the globe, there 
 have come few, if any. who can lay 
 stronger claim to the proud title, "a 
 self-made man, " and he bears his laurels 
 with becoming composure. 
 
 CHARLES JOANNES, member of 
 the firm of Joannes Bros., whole- 
 sale grocers. Green Bay, Wis., 
 is a native of Belgium, born in 
 the town of Tervueren, about six miles 
 east of Brussels, April 24, 1844, the 
 eldest son of Eugene C. and Marie Eliza- 
 beth (Vandersmissen) Joannes. 
 
 In 1856 the family, consisting of 
 father, mother and eight children, left 
 their native land for the New World, 
 taking passage on a sailing vessel at Ant- 
 werp, and after a voyage of thirty-nine 
 days landed in New "V'ork. From there 
 they proceeded westward to Wisconsin, 
 via rail to Buffalo, thence steamer to 
 Green Bay, which they found to be a 
 thriving village and important trading 
 point. The family settled in Lawrence 
 township. Brown county, on a small 
 farm, which they commenced to clear, by 
 hard work and untiring perseverance to 
 
'/"t u-'Z.'Cz^ ' /^ ^c 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 77 
 
 make ;i new hunic in the then conipara- 
 ti\e wilderness; but tlie fatlier was 
 doomed never to realize his hopes and 
 plans for the future, for early in the fol- 
 lowing spring (1857J, in attempting to 
 cross Fox river on the ice he broke 
 through and was drowned, leaving a 
 widow and seven children to survive him, 
 the youngest child (an infant) having died 
 a few months before this. He had lived 
 in Brown county only about six months, 
 yet during that short time had estab- 
 lished himself in the estimation of all 
 whom he came in contact with as an 
 earnest, industrious man, above the 
 average in intelligence and progressive- 
 ness. All of the children that were old 
 enough were sent to school soon after 
 they were settled. The death of the 
 father left the widowed mother alone 
 among strangers with her children, the 
 eldest being only about fourteen years 
 old; but being heroic in nature, and 
 possessed of an indomitable will power 
 and a strong constitution to back it, she 
 set herself to the task of rearing her 
 children as well as circumstances would 
 permit. The neighbors, being kind- 
 hearted people, took great interest in the 
 family, and helped them in many ways, 
 five of the children finding homes among 
 them, where they were required to do 
 chores, assisting in farm work during the 
 summer season and attending school 
 during the winter months. In 1861 the 
 family moved into Green Bay, the farm 
 having been sold, and the money realized 
 from it was invested in a small home on 
 Pine street, where the Green Bay, 
 Winona & St. Paul railroad office build- 
 ing now stands. Here the family resided 
 some years, the children, when old 
 enough to leave school, succeeding in 
 securing employment of one kind or an- 
 other in Green Bay. 
 
 Charles Joannes, who, as will be 
 seen, was about twelve years old when 
 the family came to Wisconsin, after 
 spending five years on the farm, went to 
 Green Bay, where he immediately secured 
 
 a position with the late Dr. Henry 
 Pearce, remaining there a little more 
 than two years, doing cIkjics and attend- 
 ing school. l<'roni there he entered the 
 office of register of deeds as copying 
 clerk under Xavier Martin, and there he 
 remained two years, at the end of which 
 time he entered the store of Bennett X: 
 Williamson, jn'oprietors nf the then lead- 
 ing dry-goods store in Green Bay, con- 
 tinuing in their emjiloy until the winter of 
 1867. At that time, being desirous of 
 impro\ing himself in ronnnercial theory, 
 he went to ("hicagn, where he entereil 
 Bryant lv: Stratton's Business College, 
 and after graduating from this school he 
 received the appointment of assistant 
 bookkeeper with Fielding Bros. lV Cc , 
 manufacturers and joljbers of sewing 
 silks, Chicago. At the enil cif three 
 months he had earned the conlulence nf 
 the firm, and was sent by them to their 
 Cincinnati house to take full charge of 
 their books there, while at the close of 
 two years he became traveling salesman 
 for the same firm, his territor}- co\ering 
 almost the entire South; but in July, 
 1872, he se\'ered his connection with 
 Belding Brothers in order to embark in 
 the grocery lousiness with his brothers in 
 Green Bay. 
 
 The firm of Joaimes Brothers, consist- 
 ing of Charles, William, Mitchell and 
 Thomas, connnenced business in a retail 
 way in August, 1S72. William (at that 
 time the only one of the four brothers to 
 have any experience in that line) was sent 
 to New York to buy their first stock of 
 goods, which was liought for cash. The 
 boys, being well known and respected, did 
 a flourishing business from the start, ami 
 soon became the leading retail grocers in 
 the city. There was then quite a large 
 jobbing business done in Green Bay, but 
 the panic of 1873 soon followed, and 
 proved ver\- disastrous to all the business 
 interests in Green Bay, particularly to the 
 wholesale grocery trade, it taking but a 
 short time to close up all of the whole- 
 sale grocery firms in the city. Joannes 
 
COMMEMOItATlVh: DIOGRAPniCAL ItECORD. 
 
 Brothers, being then the leading retail 
 grocers, were quick to realize the import- 
 ance of trying to take care of as much of 
 the trade, that had fonneriy been buying 
 their goods at wholesale on this market, 
 as possible; but with their limited capital, 
 together with the panicky condition then 
 existing, they could readily see that noth- 
 ing but a strictly cash basis would now be 
 safe to follow. This they adopted, and 
 adhered to until conditions were more 
 fa\-orable to again return to a credit sys- 
 tem, from which time on their business 
 increased very rapidly, so that in 1884 
 they discontinued their retail department, 
 and have ever since conducted an exclu- 
 sively jobbing business. In 1891 their 
 business had grown to such an extent that 
 they found it absolutely necessary to in- 
 crease their facilities, and they then 
 erected their present four-story fand base- 
 ment) building, 88 x 90 feet in dimensions 
 (with granite front), with warehouses in 
 rear extending to the channel of the Fox 
 river, where all the largest lake steamers, 
 having goods for the firm, land and unload 
 their cargoes direct into these warehouses, 
 thus saving the firm a large amount every 
 year in cartage. They also have the track 
 of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul 
 railroad running between their store and 
 warehouse, thus enabling them to being all 
 car-load lots directly opposite their prem- 
 ises for unloading. In connection with their 
 grocery business they also own and oper- 
 ate a very complete coffee and spice mill, 
 and there are no better goods on the 
 market than their Champion brand spices. 
 Taking all things into consideration, the 
 Joannes Brothers have, without a doubt, 
 the most complete and best equipped 
 plant for conducting a wholesale grocery 
 business that can be found in the North- 
 west, with a trade that is second to none 
 in the State of Wisconsin. They now 
 have seven traveling men on the road 
 selling goods, which fact, however, hardly 
 gives a correct idea of their business, 
 fully half of which comes to them un- 
 solicited, and they employ in their differ- 
 
 ent departments no less than forty-four 
 hands. In the accomplishment of this 
 the brothers have had very little leisure 
 time, and to-day, even, they are harder 
 workers than any of their numerous em- 
 ployees, and their success in life is largely 
 attributed to the close personal attention 
 they have always given every detail in 
 their business, thej- never allowing goods 
 to be misrepresented, so far as they are 
 able to judge. 
 
 On July 2, 1872, Charles Joannes, the 
 senior member of the firm, was married 
 in Cincinnati to Miss Hattie P. Lambdin, 
 a native of that city, and daughter of 
 William Thomas and Martha I'.Athern) 
 Lambdin, who were born in Martha's 
 Vine\ard, Mass., where \\'illiam Athern, 
 the grandfather of Mrs. Charles Joannes, 
 helped to build the United States frigate 
 "Constitution." Mrs. Joannes received 
 her education in the schools of Rising 
 Sun, Intl., and is a lady of culture and 
 refinement. She is a prominent member 
 of the Congregational Church, and takes 
 an active interest in the social life of 
 Green Bay. As a business man, Mr. 
 Joannes is recognized as possessing the 
 utmost ability, push and energy, and as 
 a citizen none stand any better. 
 
 M 
 
 ITCHELL JOANNES, member 
 of the wholesale grocery firm of 
 Joannes Bros., Green Baj-, is a 
 native of Belgium, born in 
 1848, and is the third son of Eugene C. 
 and Marie Elizabeth (Vandersmissen) 
 Joannes. 
 
 Mitchell Joannes was but eight years 
 of age when he left home to live with 
 others. At the age of eight and one-half 
 years he began working on a farm; four 
 years afterward went to Ripon, Wis., 
 where for two years he was employed at 
 the same kind of labor. In 1862 he 
 came to Green Bay, entered a physician's 
 office as clerk, and was thus engaged for 
 two years, at the end of which time he 
 commenced clerking in the crockery 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHIUAL RECORD. 
 
 8l 
 
 house i>f W'hccliick cV I'lKipnian, at 
 whicli he continuetl until liis enhst- 
 inent, in 1865, in Company ("., l-'ort}- 
 first Wis. \". I., under the ninety- 
 da\'s' call; was statiimed at Mem- 
 phis, Tenn., ami was honorabl}' dis- 
 charj^ed at the expiration of his term of 
 enlistment; he sustained only one injury, 
 and that was at ("hatham. 111., through 
 an accident while cii i-initc for home. On 
 his recovery, he was employed as clerk 
 for eighteen months in (ireen Baj-, and 
 was then appointed to a position in the 
 postoffice, in the service of which, as 
 clerk and assistant postmaster, he re- 
 mained nine years, doing duty during the 
 terms of Capt. D. M, W'hitnew Capt. C. 
 R. Tyler and W. C. E. Thomas. He 
 resigned this position to take an active 
 part with his brothers, Charles and Will- 
 iam, in the grocery business. [Business 
 record of Joannes Bros, will be found in 
 the sketch of Charles Joannes.] 
 
 l>esides his interest in this e.xtensive 
 concern, Mitchell Joannes has manifold 
 collateral connections. He has been a 
 director in the Citizens National Bank 
 since the organi/ration of that institution; 
 is a stockholder in the Columbian Bakery 
 Company, of which he is a director aiul 
 vice-president; also stockholder in and 
 treasurer and director of the Green Bay 
 and Fort Howard Water Works Com- 
 pany. He is likewise a stockholder in 
 the Green Bay Planing Mill, as well as 
 in the Green Bay Pickle Factory, and 
 both building and loan societies; he is a 
 stockholder in the Brown Count}- Fair 
 and Park Association, and director in the 
 J. R. Thomas Machine Company, and a 
 member of the Business Men's Associa- 
 tion of the city. In politics he is inde- 
 pendent, locally, \oting for such men and 
 measures as will redound, in his opinion, 
 to the best interests of the general public, 
 and has served, with the same end in 
 view, as alderman from the Second 
 ward. In religion he is a devout Roman 
 Catholic, and worships at the French 
 Catholic Church. 
 5 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Joannes was 
 celebrated at Green Ba)- Jul)- i, 1875, 
 with Miss Fannie D. Goodhue, daughter 
 of Charles F. H. and Delia (Alger) Good- 
 hue, early settlers at Beloit, Wis. The 
 father of this amiable lady died in Wood 
 county. Wis., May 16, 1874, a much- 
 honored citizen; the motlier makes her 
 home in Green Bay with Mr. Joannes' 
 familw This union was crowned by the 
 birth of five children, of whom three are 
 still living, viz.; Gertrude A., .Arliueand 
 Harold V. ; the deceased are Guy Good- 
 iiue, born May 17, 1876, died August 25, 
 1876; and Nellie Genevieve, born August 
 31, 1880, died June 23, 1S82. Mr. Joaimes 
 has indeed been the "architect of his 
 own fortune," having by his upright busi- 
 ness methods won for himself a host of 
 friends in the community of trade, and 
 by his genial manners and pleasant ad- 
 dress added daily to his list of patrons. 
 He has always been among the foremost 
 to aid l)y his means and enterprising 
 spirit the building up of Green Baj- city 
 and the county of Brown, of which he is 
 recognized as one of the most substantial 
 citizens. 
 
 THOMAS JOANNES, member of 
 the wholesale grocery firm of 
 Joannes Brothers, Green Bay, is 
 a native of Belgium, born March 
 17, 1849, in Tervueren, a town situated 
 some si.x miles east of Brussels, a son of 
 Eugene C. and Marie Elizabeth (Vanders- 
 misseni Joannes. 
 
 Thomas Joannes was seven 3-ears old 
 wlien the family came to the United 
 States and to Wisconsin, and at the 
 schools of Green Bay he received a fairly 
 liberal education up to the age of fourteen 
 years. On leaving school he commenced 
 learning the trade of jeweler, and by the 
 end of three years was so proficient at the 
 business that he was given charge of most 
 of the repairing in the store where he 
 served his apprenticeship. About the year 
 1866, al)andoning the jewelry business, 
 
82 
 
 commemorath'e btograpuical record. 
 
 he was given a clerkship in the postofficc 
 at Green Bay, and after four years in that 
 capacity was appointed, by United States 
 Senator T. (). Howe, to the position of 
 postal clerk in the United States mail ser- 
 vice. He had charge of the first mail car 
 that ever ran north of Green Bay, and his 
 was the first appointment for that division; 
 but after a faithful service of one and one- 
 half years he resigned in order to take 
 active interest in the grocery business of 
 Joannes Brothers, with which he had been 
 affiliated since 1872. [Business record of 
 Joaimes Brothers will be found in the 
 sketch of Charles Joannes.] 
 
 From the time of the opening out of the 
 wholesale branch, Thomas Joannes has, 
 more particularly, had charge of the spice 
 mills, besides attending to outside mat- 
 ters, such as collections, etc. On Octo- 
 ber 23, 1878, he was united in marriage, 
 in Oshkosh, Wis., with Miss Emma M. 
 Heath, a well-educated and highly-cul- 
 tured lady, whose native place is Racine, 
 Wis. She is a daughter of Joseph and 
 Catherine (Norton) Heath, old residents 
 of Oshkosh. To Mr. and Mrs. Joannes 
 have been born three children, named 
 respectively: Genevieve Regina, Mary 
 Hortense and Leland Heath. The par- 
 ents are members of St. John's Church, 
 Green Bay, and in his political sympathies 
 Mr. Joannes is pronouncedly independent. 
 During the winter of 1893-94 he built one 
 of the finest residences to be seen in Green 
 Bay or vicinity, in which he takes a pro- 
 per pride, for it is an ornament to the 
 city. His success in life is due to hard 
 work and good business management, 
 which, coupled with conmion sense and 
 sound judgment, have brought him the 
 reward he so well merits. 
 
 Wl LLI.\M EDW.\RI) KEL- 
 LOGG, cashier of the Kellogg 
 l^>anking Company at De Pere, 
 Brown County, was born June 
 1, 1835, in .Xmherst, Mass. He is a son 
 of Sanford W. and Emily L. (Spears) 
 
 Kellogg, the former of whom was at one 
 time a resident of Amherst, Mass., and 
 later a capitalist at Waukegan, 111., re- 
 moving still later to Sauk Center, Minn., 
 where he engaged extensively in general 
 merchandising and flour-milling. He sub- 
 sequently returned to Waukegan, 111., 
 where he died in October, 1882. 
 
 William E. Kellogg was educated 
 partly at the high school of Waukegan, 
 having previously passed the junior year 
 at Notre Dame College, South Bend. Ind. 
 After leaving high school he was em- 
 ployed for a couple of years by a mer- 
 cantile firm at Sauk Center, Minn., of 
 which his father was the head, doing 
 business under the title of Kellogg, Cha.'^e 
 & Mayo; later was with Thomas, La/ear 
 & Hayden, wholesale dealers in furnish- 
 ing goods at Chicago, and then with John 
 V. Farwell & Co., wholesale dry-goods 
 men of the same city. In June, 1878, 
 he entered the Kellogg National Bank at 
 Green Bay, \\^is. , at the bottom of the 
 ladder, and remained until October, 1881, 
 when he was made cashier of the Rufus 
 B. Kellogg & Co. bank at De Pere. of 
 which institution he is now the hea\iest 
 stockholder. The average annual de- 
 posits in this bank up to the panic of 
 1893 were about one hundreit and twenty- 
 five thousand dollars, and although a 
 slight diminution then took place, the 
 deposits soon recovered their wonted 
 volume. Throughout the most stringent 
 season of the year named the bank never 
 for a moment closed its doors, and never 
 asked a dollar aid from any source — an 
 illustration of the safe and conservative 
 system of the bank, which has never yet 
 lost a dollar by bad loans or investments. 
 Since 1881 the affairs of the bank have 
 virtually been under the control of Mr. 
 Kellogg, and although this gentleman 
 was but a novice when he took charge, 
 the owners made but one visit of inspec- 
 tion per year after the first two or three 
 months, being thoroughly satisfied with 
 the safe .system upon which the cashier 
 was conducting its affairs. The manage- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 83 
 
 ment hold the entire confidence of the 
 public, and depositors feel that their 
 funds are as safe in its custody as if 
 locked up in a safety-deposit vault. The 
 bank is a State bank, and was incorpor- 
 ated in icS89 with R. B. Kellogg, presi- 
 dent; L. D. Hurd, vice-president, and W. 
 E. Kellogg, cashier, with a capital stock 
 of twenty-five thousand dollars, being the 
 outcome of a private bank established by 
 Rufus B. Kellogg in 1878. The death of 
 R. B. Kellogg, however, took place in 
 September, 1891, and H. H. Camp suc- 
 ceeded to the presidency of the Kellogg 
 Banking Company. This gentleman was 
 formerly president of the First National 
 Bank of Milwaukee, and is now also presi- 
 dent of the Milwaukee Trust Company. 
 
 \i the death of Rufus B. Kellogg our 
 subject was appointed one of the execu- 
 tors of his estate of half a million, with- 
 out bonds, and was also made guardian 
 of his children. Rufus B. Kellogg was a 
 practical business man, and when our 
 subject started in with him, at the mea- 
 ger salary of twentj' dollars per month, he 
 was warned that promotion depended on 
 his ability and attention to his duties. 
 The result speaks for itself. 
 
 The marriage of W. E. Kellogg with 
 Gertrude M. Hutchinson was solemni;?ed 
 June 7, 1882. at Waukegan, 111., the 
 fruit of the union being Rufus H., born 
 December 13, 1889, and Anna, born 
 January 22, 1893. 
 
 DANIEL WHITNEY (deceased). 
 Something more than a simple 
 announcement and a passing re- 
 mark is due to the memory of one 
 who was not only the founder of Green 
 Bay, but for more than thirty years had 
 his residence there, and was as familiar 
 to the people as their own household 
 gods. More than any other man, he was, 
 in the earlier part of his career, ardently 
 and actively engaged in developing the 
 resources of the then wilderness of the 
 Northwest, and in building up the city of 
 
 Green 15ay. .\s one of the first settlers 
 and pioneers of Wisconsin, there is due 
 to his memory a place on the record of 
 his adopted honie. In the prosecution of 
 his early explorations, as pioneer, no one 
 traveled as nuich, or labored as liard as 
 he; and, in doing so, no man suffered 
 more hardships, or t-xposure, or ran more 
 desperate risks. He knew no fear. 
 Wherever his duty or liis business called 
 him, he went. Cold, storm, or night- 
 time had no terrors sufficient to deter him 
 from pursuing his object. 
 
 Mr. Whitney was born September 3, 
 1795, in Gilsum, N. H., a son of Samuel 
 and Mar\- Whitney, the former of whom 
 was a nati\-e of Massachusetts, born 
 August 5, 1758, in Newton, whence in an 
 early day he removed to New Hampshire, 
 becoming a \'erv prominent man in the town 
 of Gilsuni, that State. He there married 
 Miss Mary Whitney, daughter of Capt. 
 Joshua Whitney, a prominent citizen of 
 Worcester, Mass. , and captain of a \ol- 
 unteer company raised there, serving 
 throughout the Revolutionary war. Sam- 
 uel Whitne}-, father of our subject, was 
 also a soldier in that struggle, a member 
 of Capt. Flagg's company of "Minute 
 Men." His son Daniel, of wIkmii this 
 sketch jiertains, was reared in New Hamp- 
 shire, and recei\ed his education in part 
 at the schools of the neighborhood of his 
 home, in part in Boston, Mass. In 18 16 
 he paid his first visit to Green Bay, to 
 "spy the land," and returning east again 
 in 1 8 19, came here to make his perma- 
 nent home in the new country, being 
 twenty-four years old at the time. Here 
 he established himself in mercantile busi- 
 ness near Camp Smith, two and one-half 
 miles above the present site of Green 
 Bay, where the village then was; and this 
 was the starting point of all his subsequent 
 numerous enterprises. 
 
 ^^'isconsin, and all the west and north, 
 was then a complete wilderness, inhabited 
 only b\' wild Indians comprising within 
 the limits of the present State at least six 
 different nations, and other nations still 
 
S4 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 more fierce and warlike held all the coun- 
 try west of the Mississippi. This did not 
 prevent Mr. Whitney from making many 
 long journeys to the interior, and push- 
 ing his in\estigations wherever he thought 
 good locations for trade could be found. 
 He explored the Fox river to its source, 
 and the Wisconsin from the rapids to the 
 Mississippi. In 1821-32 he was sut- 
 ler for U. S. troops at Fort Snelling, on 
 tlie St. Peter's river, Minnesota; estab- 
 lished several trading posts on the Missis- 
 sippi, where he supplied traders with 
 goods, and had also a trading post at 
 Sault Ste. Marie. During the winter of 
 1822 he traveled on foot from Fort Snell- 
 ing to Detroit, with only an Indian for a 
 companion, to assist liim with his pro- 
 visions and bedding, which the\- drew on 
 a hand sled. During this whole journey 
 (about one thousand miles) he met but 
 one white man, and saw but two cabins. 
 An incident occurred on this trip which 
 showed the perseverance and daring of 
 the man. In crossing one of the numer- 
 ous rivers en route, he found the ice bad. 
 The Indian guide became afraid, but Mr. 
 Whitney crossed over, drawing the sled 
 and load with him. The Indian would 
 not follow, whereupon Mr. Whitney re- 
 crossed, and in so doing broke through 
 the ice (which was thin, the water deep 
 and the current strong) with one foot. 
 He provided himself with a rope from the 
 sled and a cudgel, anti compelling the In- 
 dian to lie down upon the ice, with the 
 rope drew him over in safety, In the fall 
 of 1824 he had a vessel, loaded with 
 goods and provisions for Green Bay, frozen 
 in near Mackinac. Such an accident in 
 those times threatened serious conse- 
 quences to the settlements, and, although 
 starvation was impossible when fish and 
 venison were plenty, yet manj' would suf- 
 fer inconvenience, and Mr. Whitney a 
 great loss, unless the supplies could be 
 reached. As soon, therefore, as cold 
 weather had insured a bridge of ice, along 
 the shore, and across the rivers and bays, he 
 fitted out an expeditiejn consisting of him- 
 
 self and several French-Canadians, with 
 horse-trains, made the trip to Mackinac 
 on the ice, where the vessel was, and re- 
 turned with all he could of the most 
 necessary goods. In order to carr)' on 
 his extensive operations, he went several 
 times to Canada, and procured large num- 
 bers of "voyageurs," men used to voy- 
 aging and the trader's life. With those as 
 companions and assistants, he traversed 
 the country on foot, in the bark canoe 
 and in the Mackinac boat, exploring new 
 sections of country, and transporting goods 
 to his trading houses. Man\' of these 
 men are still in the county, and are num- 
 bered among the most substantial farmers. 
 From these early times, until the light of 
 civilization shone across the country, un- 
 til settlements were formed, and roads 
 opened from the lake shore to the in- 
 terior, and until the improvement of the 
 Fox river had so far progressed as to ad- 
 mit of partial steamboat navigation, Mr. 
 Whitney was largel)' engaged in the trans- 
 portation business. For many years all 
 the supplies for Forts W^innebago and 
 Crawford and the upper Mississippi, for 
 troops, Indian treaties, etc., were con- 
 veyed in boats from Green Bay by the 
 Fox and Wisconsin rivers; and few per- 
 sons, not familiar with those times, can 
 form any idea of the immense labor and 
 cost involved. 
 
 Between 1825 and 1830 Mr. Whitney 
 explored the upper W'isconsin. built mills 
 at Plover Portage, and for more than 
 fifteen jears was engaged in the business 
 of manufacturing lumber, and running it 
 down the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers 
 to the St. Louis market. This was the 
 first lumbering establishment erected on 
 the Wisconsin river, and probably the 
 first on any tributary of the Mississippi. 
 During the same period he also built a 
 shot-tower at Helena, on the Wisconsin 
 river, and inaugurated an extensive busi- 
 ness at that point. From the time the 
 Stockbridge Indians came into the State 
 to commence their new homes, in 1827 
 or 182S, until their removal to their 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 present locatioji in Shawano cijunt\', he 
 kept a supply store among them, trans- 
 acting also their business for them; and 
 during the whole time, about thirteen 
 years, as a strictly honest man antl a fair 
 and liberal dealer, he possessed their 
 entire confidence; and down to the time 
 of his death these Indians looked up to 
 him as their father and friend. He also 
 supplied goods to Indian agencies, as will 
 be seen by the following letter, written 
 over sixty years ago: 
 
 IxniAN Agkncv, 
 Grken- Bav, July 21, '32. 
 To Daniel Whitney: 
 
 Dear Sir. — With the arms purchased from 
 Messrs. Kircheval iS: Hamilton, tog-ether with 
 your own, you will please to include some to be 
 liad from Messrs. Law, Porlier A Gri!.!-non, in 
 order that the whole number may be included 
 in the one draft to be drawn on ac. of 
 army. These arms I should be glad to have 
 sent to the Agency in the course of tlie day, or 
 early on Monday morning. 
 
 (Signed) G. Bo\-D. H. S. Indian Agt. 
 
 In 1831 he abandoned his residence 
 near Camp Smith, and moved his family 
 and store to Navarino (now Green Baj'), 
 near the mouth of the river, where he 
 passed the rest of his days. From his 
 earliest acquaintance with the locality 
 and surroundings of Green Bay, he enter- 
 tained the most unbounded confidence in 
 its capabilities and fitness to become the 
 most important commercial town in the 
 State, and, acting upon this faith, he as 
 early as possible secured the land where 
 the city now stands, and in 1828 or 1829 
 laid out the town of Navarino, since 
 incorporated as Green Bay, and com- 
 menced building a city. In 1830 he had 
 completed a wharf and spacious ware- 
 house, a portion of the "Washington 
 House," a school house, and some dwell- 
 ing houses for his mechanics and labor- 
 ers. From 1830 to 1840 he continued to 
 build, and as fast as materials could be 
 obtained erected eight or ten stores and 
 a large number of dwelling houses to rent; 
 in the meantime giving away a consider- 
 able number of lots to mechanics and 
 others who were desirous of building 
 
 homes for themselves. He also con- 
 tributed ver\' largely toward the comjile- 
 ticju of the Episcopal church edifice — the 
 first Protestant house of worship built in 
 either the city or the State. This church 
 edifice was always a special object of 
 interest to him, and from its completion 
 in I S38 until cares ended witli him on earth 
 he never ceased to watch about it, and 
 many a dollar has he e.\]>ended in repairs, 
 from time to time, which no one but him- 
 self ever noted or recorded, and for which 
 the congregation can never cease to owe 
 him a grateful remembrance. The fol- 
 loNving is copied from a sketch of ' ■ Pioneer 
 Life in Wisconsin," written Iiy Henry 
 Merrill for the benefit of the State His- 
 torical Society: 
 
 At Shanteetown I met Rev. Mr. Cadle. who 
 liad charge of the Episcopal Mission, delig-ht- 
 fully situated on a hill back from the river in a 
 beautiful grove: and Alexander Irwin and his 
 lady, and Samuel, his brother, who were en- 
 gaged in merchandise here ; Wm. Dickinson 
 and others. Having letters of introduction to 
 Mr. Daniel Whitney, I became well acquainted 
 with him, and have considered him one of the 
 most enterprising: men of the West. At this 
 time he was doing- an extensive business in 
 merchandise, reaching on to the Wisconsin 
 river, where he had built the first sawmill upon 
 the river at Point Pass, some seventy miles 
 above the Portage, one on the Wisconsin and 
 one on the Fox, a shot-toiver at Helena, and 
 extending his business on to the Mississippi to 
 Galena and St. Louis. Three years before he 
 persisted in building and laying off a town, 
 what is now the town of Green Bay. although 
 he was laughed at and called crazy. But the 
 trouble was. in many of his operations he was 
 ahead of the times, and some of them did not 
 prove good investments, although Navarino 
 did not prove one of them, for the town of 
 Green Bay is now a large and flourishing city. 
 I afterward met him often, and roamed over 
 the country with him on horseback, as all our 
 traveling was accomplislied in that way in 
 those days, sometimes without road and some- 
 times on Indian trails, fording- streams, marsh- 
 es, etc., etc., sometimes in the rain and some- 
 times throug^h the snow, taking the ground for 
 our body with our saddles for pillows, carrying 
 provisions and blankets with us. I always 
 found him a cheerful companion and an estima- 
 ble man. He g-ave me at one time an account, 
 the minutes of which I took down, of a journey 
 of his from Fort Snelling, on the St. Peter's, 
 to Detroit. Mich., in 1821, on foot in the midst 
 of winter, as follows: December (1, 1821. he 
 started in a canoe with two men, the ice run- 
 ning thick in the river. His acquaintances 
 
S6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tried hard to persuade him to defer starting 
 until the river closed; but no. business called 
 him. and he must jfo. They soon found them- 
 selves in a bad fix, for the ice blocked up under 
 the canoe so as to raise it six feet above the 
 water. After g^reat exertion they got to shore, 
 as he said, more pleased than he ever was in 
 his life at getting on land again. They then 
 started on foot, and got only nine miles the 
 first day and encamped. The next day started 
 down the river bank, packing their food and 
 blankets on their backs, each carrying a gun, 
 the weather extremely cold and the snow six 
 inches deep. They were five days in getting 
 to Lake Pepin. In crossing the lake Mr. Whit- 
 ney broke through; the lock of his gun catch- 
 ing on the ice was the only thing that saved 
 him. The weather was .so cold some of the 
 time that they had to stop and build fires to 
 warm them.selves to keep from freezing. 
 Thirty miles above Prairie du Chien they got 
 out of provisions, but seeing a smoke they made 
 for it and found Augustin Grignon encamped, 
 an acquaintance from Green Bay. He was on 
 a trading voyage among the Indians; he sup- 
 plied them with provisions. In this way they 
 passed through Pr;iirie du Chien to Fort Win- 
 nebago, and from thence to Green Bay. where 
 they arrived in twenty-one days from Fort 
 Snelling. After remaining a few days he took 
 a guide and started on foot for Chicago, where 
 he arrived in ten days, and from there to De- 
 troit in ten days more, making his tramp in 
 forty-one days from Fort Snelling. and said he 
 could then make his forty miles a day, and 
 easier than to ride on horseback. 
 
 During the last rtfteen jears of Mr. 
 Whitney's hfe he pursiicti no regular busi- 
 ness, but devoted his whole time to the 
 care of an immense landed estate. His 
 early life in the wilderness, upon the 
 rivers, and upon the bay, is full of in- 
 cidents, interesting, as showing the intre- 
 pidity of his character, and his indomitable 
 perseverance, under the most discourag- 
 ing difficulties. On one occasion while 
 returning home from Grand Kaukauna 
 with horse and train, on the ice, in the 
 night, his horse broke through. Being 
 alone, and finding himself unable to extri- 
 cate the horse without aid, in order to 
 keep the horse's head above water he tied 
 it to the train, and then went three miles 
 for assistance, rather than let his horse be 
 drowned, as most men would have done. 
 He returned with help, and saved the 
 animal. Whenever there was danger in 
 the path, he was always at the head of 
 his party, and never required a man in 
 
 his employ to go where he was afraid to 
 lead. He was never a candidate for 
 office and never served in one. Honest 
 and upright in all his dealings, he always 
 possessed the confidence of his employes 
 and dependents, and all who had any 
 business transactions with him. His heart 
 was ever kind, and the poor, the unfortun- 
 ate, and the afflicted, in his death lost a 
 friend who never forgot them. Many was 
 the time that such, in their greatest want, 
 found the needed supply in the doorway, 
 or at the kitchen corner at nightfall, or 
 at daydawn, without ever knowing the 
 hand that relieved them; and oft had the 
 Christmas-tide brought with it happiness, 
 when else no merry Christmas jubilee 
 would have found its way around the fires 
 where no Yule log was wont to burn, but 
 for his ever benevolent and open hand. 
 Such will remember him with affection, 
 and it is feared look in vain for one to 
 take his place. He died November 4, 
 1862, in the house where he had resided 
 almost thirty years, at the age of sixty- 
 eight years, and by his will left his large 
 and valuable estate entirely under the 
 control of his widow, as sole executor. 
 Calmly he awaited the approach of death, 
 which he saw slowly but surely approach- 
 ing for many weeks; and spoke of it as 
 unconcernedly as if he was expecting a 
 friend to accompany him on a pleasant 
 journey. And thus quietly passed away 
 Daniel Whitney. If he had faults, let us 
 forget them, and remember only his many 
 virtues, and the sweet savor of his good 
 deeds. In his political associations he 
 was a lifelong Whig. 
 
 Our subject was married at Middle- 
 bury, Vt., September i, 1826, to Miss 
 Emmeline Hcnshaw, a native of that 
 place, born July 21, 1803, daughter of 
 Daniel and Sarah (Prentis) Henshaw, na- 
 tives of Connecticut, he born in Middle- 
 town, she in New London, both dying in 
 \''ermont. .'\fter marriage Mr. and Mrs. 
 \N'hitney made their permanent home in 
 Green Bay, where, October 25, 1890, she 
 passed away. To them were born seven 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGIiAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 children, of whom the foUcjwing is a brief 
 record: (Ij Daniel Henshaw, born in 
 Shantytown, June 7, 1827, was married 
 March 10, 1S63, to Miss Rosena Bader, 
 and settled in Stockbridge, Wis., but died 
 in Menasha November 17, 1866; they had 
 two children: Emmeline Stillman, born 
 October 28, 1865, now residing in Green 
 Bay, and Daniel, born January 27, 1867, 
 now living in Philadelphia. (II) Joshua 
 resides in Green Bay, and sketch of him 
 immediately follows this. (Ill) William 
 Beaumont, born in Navarino (now Green 
 Bay) April 4, 1832, the first male white 
 child to see the light in that then village, 
 resides in Philadelphia; was married first 
 in Piqua, Ohio, November 21, 1854, to 
 Miss Laura Margaret Clewell, who died 
 May 4, 1884; to them were born children 
 as follows: Mary C., November 4, 18^5, 
 died in Newport, Ky. , August 28, 1857; 
 Helen C, November 15, 1863, married 
 to Francis Sedgwick Bangs, November 
 9, 1 888, and resides in New York; Mary 
 Douglas, born October 29, 1865, married 
 November 19, 1 89 1, George M. Hender- 
 son, and lives in Germantown, Penn. ; 
 William Beaumont was married the sec- 
 ond time at Chicago, November 23, 1888, 
 to Miss Emma Graham Varian, by whom 
 he has one child, Margaretta, born March 
 13, 1892. (IV) Charles Richards, born 
 September 27, 1837, died November 27, 
 
 1 84 1. (V) John Prentis Kane, born No- 
 vember 10, 1840, died October 30. 1841. 
 (VI) Harriet Hayward, born October iS, 
 
 1842, is still living on the old homestead, 
 in the house she was born in. (N'll) 
 Henry Clay, born April 12, 1847, died 
 September 28, 1847. 
 
 OSHUA WHITNEY. Were this 
 
 gentleman asked to define the secret 
 
 ^ 1 of success in life, from his own 
 standpoint and experience, his reply 
 would be, no doubt, that it is hard work, 
 availing itself of fair opportunities. Always 
 and everywhere he remembers that his 
 
 business career has been a successful one, 
 and that to himself, and all Wisconsin 
 men of his caliber, is peculiarly applicable 
 the well-worn ma.xini, that "nothing is so 
 successful as success." 
 
 Mr. Whitney was born in the cit}- of 
 Green Bay. Wis., in 1S29, a snn of Daniel 
 and Emmeline S. (Henshaw) Whitney, 
 a sketch of whom iinmediatel}' precedes 
 this. He received his education in Gam- 
 bier, Ohio, whither he was taken when a 
 four-year-old boy. On leaving school he 
 went to the Middlebury (\'t. ) College, 
 where he studied five years, and then re- 
 turned to Green Bay. He was engaged 
 in the carrying trade on Fox river, and 
 transported the first iron for the N. 
 \^^ R. R. in this section, from Fond 
 du Lac to Watertowii. I'or some 
 time in the iron industry, his interests 
 therein took him much abroad, and for a 
 time he \vas a resident of Hartford, Conn., 
 where he had charge of the Connecticut 
 \'alley railroad. On his return to Green 
 Bay he did not here remain long, as we 
 next find him in Duluth, Minn., of which 
 city he was a resident eight j-ears, finally 
 returning to Green Ba)', where he has 
 since continuously resided. 
 
 On November 9, 1852, Mr. Whitney 
 was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth 
 Frances Irwin, a nati\e of Brown count}-. 
 Wis. , daughter of Alexander A. and 
 Frances P. (Smith) Irwin, and they have 
 one child, Emmeline Henshaw, married 
 to Walter A. Calhoun, of St. Louis, Mo., 
 b\' whom she has a son named George 
 Whitney. In his political preferences 
 Mr. Whitney was originally an Old-line 
 Whig, and since the organization of the 
 party he has been a stanch Republican, 
 at one time a member of the Know- 
 Nothing part}-. In municipal matters he 
 has been president of the council, and 
 served as chief of the Fire Department. 
 Socially he is a member of Washington 
 Lodge, F. & A. M. A generous, liberal 
 gentleman, the private life of Joshua 
 Whitney is adorned with many beneficent 
 acts. 
 
88 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD 
 
 GKEGORIE DENIS. Among: the 
 representative self-made men, and 
 well-known capitalists of Brown 
 county, few if any have been the 
 architects of their own fortune to a degree 
 such as has been attained bj- the gentle- 
 man whose name is here recorded. 
 
 Mr. Denis is a native of Belgium, born 
 February 8, 1841, the eldest in the family 
 of Justice and Josephine Denis, also Bel- 
 gians by birth. The father in his native 
 land was a well-to-do farmer, in comfort- 
 able circumstances, but being desirous of 
 seeing something of the New \\'orld, and 
 perhaps bettering himself and family, re- 
 solved to emigrate hither to prospect for 
 a new home in the Far West, if he could 
 find a suitable one. Accordingly, in 
 1855, finding himself possessed of suf- 
 ficient means for the purpose without hav- 
 ing to convert any of his real estate into 
 cash, accompanied by his wife and son 
 Emil, he set sail from the port of Ant- 
 werp, and on arrival at New York the lit- 
 tle family at once proceeded westward to 
 Wisconsin, where in Green Bay town- 
 ship. Brown county, near the village of 
 Robinsonville, Mr. Denis purcha.sed a 
 farm. Here they lived for some time, and 
 liking the locality and finding the property 
 a desirable one, Mr. Denis concluded to 
 remain, sending instructions to Belgium 
 to have his property there disposed of and 
 the proceeds sent to him. Shortly after 
 their settlement here another child was 
 born in the family, a daughter, named 
 Fanny, who is now living in Wausau, 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 But we must now return to our sub- 
 ject, Gregorie, who had been left behind 
 in Belgium in the care of friends. He 
 received a fairly liberal education at the 
 parish schools of his native place, and 
 being of studious habits and an apt 
 scholar made good progress with his 
 books. The party he had been left in care 
 of by his parents was by trade a 
 baker, who, shortly after young Denis 
 commenced to make his home with him, 
 became financiallv involved, ha\ing all 
 
 his possessions seized by the authorities 
 for debt, thereby making the lad prac- 
 tically homeless. For some time Gregorie 
 debated within himself what to do, and 
 even at his then early stage of life his in- 
 domitable will power and other charac- 
 teristics began to assert themselves. As 
 the flint show its fire only when it is 
 struck, so this sudden stroke of misfor- 
 tune at once awakened into action the 
 dormant spirit in the lad. His mind after 
 some deliberation being made up, he con- 
 cluded to return to the old home of his 
 childhood, where he first saw the light, 
 and which yet remained in the family, 
 there to await the summons from his 
 father to set out f(U" the new home in 
 America. The thought of having to leave 
 the hallowed spot where in sunny daj-s 
 he sported in childish glee, and trod in 
 boyish pride, was a bitter one indeed; 
 and as he surveyed the well-known sur- 
 roundings of the old home, one of the 
 most beautiful in that part of the country, 
 shaded as it was by luxuriant shrubbery 
 and fragrant with the perfume wafted 
 from a million beautiful flowers, he could 
 scarce restrain the tears from coming to 
 his eyes. For some time he remained 
 around the sacred spot, but was far from 
 contented, although, being naturally in- 
 dustrious, he emplo\ed his time well at 
 whatever of use he could find for his hand 
 to do. After a time an uncle kindl}' 
 offered him a home, which he accepted, 
 and there he remained until sent for by 
 his parents, during the winter of 1855-56 
 attending school again, the last of his edu- 
 cational training. In .^pril following the 
 summons came for his departure to 
 America, and accordingly bidding a fond 
 farewell to friends and old scenes so dear 
 to him, he took passage at Antwerp on a 
 sailing vessel for Quebec, Canada, which 
 he reached after a voyage of thirty-five 
 days. From there he at once came west- 
 ward to Wisconsin, and had a happy 
 meeting with his parents, his brother 
 Emil and his little sister, Fanny, whom 
 he had never yet seen. Here the lad 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 89 
 
 worked industriously, assistinj; his father 
 in clearing:; up the farm, and familiarizing 
 himself with all the trials and vicissitudes 
 incident to pioneer life. The country in 
 Brown county was but sparsely settled at 
 this time, and wild animals still roamed 
 the forests, Indians being also numerous, 
 though friendly. Our subject worked 
 many a time for neighbors at one shilling 
 per day, his father being able to earn no 
 more than two shillings. The latter, who 
 was an industrious, persevering man, 
 without reproach and highl}' respected, 
 died in i<S67, his demise being, no doubt, 
 hastened by hard work and exposure; his 
 widow, who passed her declining years 
 at the home of her son Gregorie, was 
 called from earth in 1891. and they both 
 sleep their last sleep in Bay Settlement 
 cemetery. They were consistent mem- 
 bers of the Catholic church. Emil, the 
 other son, is now a farmer in Green Bay 
 township. 
 
 In 1 861 the subject of this sketch was 
 united in marriage at Bay Settlement 
 with Mrs. Mary Depereau.x (;/<r Gosya). 
 widow of Joseph Depereaux, and he at 
 once located at that place. She was pro- 
 prietor of a small restaurant there, doing 
 a thriving business with the traveling 
 public; but the business did not af- 
 ford support to both, and our subject 
 had to take employment in Appleton as a 
 common laborer on the Chicago & North 
 Western railway then building. Here 
 for three months he worked at meager 
 wages under contractors who paid but 
 little for their help, and many a sleepless 
 night he had from the violent aching of 
 his bones and muscles, the result of the 
 previous day's hard labor. During these 
 three months of toil he succeeded, by 
 dint of the strictest economy, in saving 
 $.^5.00, with which sum he returned to 
 his wife in the Bay Settlement. She in 
 the meantime had saved some $30.00, 
 and their combined capital they invested 
 in a stock of groceries. Business was 
 opened up in the log house then standing, 
 but finding their capital still insufficient. 
 
 Mr. Denis proceeded to Green Bay where 
 he purchased one hundred dollars' worth 
 of groceries from Louis Day, who, how- 
 ever being unacquainted with Mr. Denis, 
 was indisposed to credit him. However, 
 a Mr. DePew, who hati confidence in 
 the young man, and was disposed to be- 
 friend him, (jffered himself as a surety to 
 Mr. Day, and the goods were shipped on 
 to the unpretentious store in Bay Settle- 
 ment. Business continuing to increase, 
 purchasers from a distance patronizing 
 the store, which was beginning to enjoy 
 a wide popularity, it became evident that 
 both stock and premises would have to 
 be enlarged. But, again, the lack of 
 capital was the seemingly insurmountable 
 obstacle, and the worthy business couple 
 were not a little concerned about their 
 future prospects. One day, howe\'er, 
 two customers, who were at their counter 
 refreshing themselves (for in addition to 
 the store Mr. and Mrs. Denis also kept 
 a sort of saloon) — Mr. Louis Van Dycke 
 and a Mr. Croker, then cashier of the city 
 bank, of Green Bay — got into conversa- 
 tion with our subject, and on learning 
 from him the circumstances just related, 
 and having confidence in the young mer- 
 chant, and in his abilit\- to conduct a 
 much more extensive business, voluntar- 
 il\" offered to give him letters of credit to 
 certain wholesale merchants in Milwau- 
 kee. Thus equipped Mr. Denis pro- 
 ceeded to the "Cream City," ami made 
 purchases of dry goods, boots and 
 shoes, hardware, tinware, etc.. until he 
 thought he had a sufficient stock, all 
 selected with the same shrewdness and 
 caution which ha\'e characterized all his 
 dealings both before and since, and never 
 thinking of taking any advantage of the 
 unlimited confidence placed in him by his 
 two friends. Great was his surprise and 
 dismay when, on returning to his hotel, 
 he found that his purchases summed up 
 to about seven thousand five himdred 
 dollars! The very thought of assum- 
 ing so great an indebtedness with a 
 capital of but a few dollars much per- 
 
9° 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 turbed him, but after due reflection and 
 re%'olving all the />n>s and coj/s in his 
 mind, he concluded to allow the goods to 
 be shipped, and trust to fortune and his 
 own good business capacity for the re- 
 sults. The freight on the goods itself 
 was eightj'-five dollars, a large sum for 
 him to payout at onetime, and then there 
 was the expense of enlarging the store- 
 room. But undismayed now, he put his 
 shoulder to the wheel, and adopting a 
 strictly cash trade, he soon did a pajing 
 business, the magnitude of his stock alone 
 bringing him hundreds of customers who 
 came out of curiosity, but very few of 
 whom left without purchasing something. 
 His bills were met as they became due, 
 business continued to e.\pand, the stock 
 was added to with fresh lines as enquiries 
 for various articles demanded, and in 
 course of time Mr. Denis found himself 
 the leading merchant in Brown county. 
 His home for a considerable time was in 
 the rear of the store, but the rooms being 
 required for business purposes, he in 1889 
 erected what is probably the finest coun- 
 try residence in the county, elegantlj' 
 furnished throughout with all modern im- 
 provements. 
 
 His mercantile business not affording 
 sufficient opportunities for judicious in- 
 vestments of his rapidly accumulating 
 capital, Mr. Denis commenced a private 
 banking and real-estate business. Here 
 and there purchasing land, he at the 
 present time owns, in Scott and Preble 
 townships, between 400 and 500 acres, 
 which, however, does not nearly repre- 
 sent his possessions. In Green Bay he 
 owns a residence on Pine street, a busi- 
 ness block on Washington street, sixty- 
 six feet frontage of desirable business 
 property between Pine and Main streets, 
 where it is his intention to erect a suit- 
 able block. In all his investments and 
 transactions his business acumen and 
 sagacity have been particularly notice- 
 able, and to these for the most part is his 
 phenomenal success to be attributed. 
 
 By his first marriage Mr. Denis had 
 
 three children, viz. : Edward, who acts 
 as private secretary, and has control of 
 his father's immense business, taking 
 charge of nearly all his transactions, a 
 position for which he is well adapted, 
 having received a good business educa- 
 tion; Louis, who owns a prosperous 
 butcher business in Milwaukee; and 
 Joseph, in the employ of A. G. Spuhler 
 & Co., of Green Bay. In 1869 the 
 mother of these was called from earth, 
 and was interred in the Bay Settlement 
 cemetery. To her th(-)rough business 
 capacity, judgment and tact, much of her 
 husband's earlier success was due, and in 
 his after prosperity he never forgot the 
 onward struggle she so faithfully shared 
 with him. For his second and present 
 wife he wedded Miss Annie Schurger, who 
 was born August 6, 1845, on Lake Michi- 
 gan, to Mr. and Mrs. Casper Schurger, 
 while they were f// route from Germany 
 to Wisconsin. To this marriage there 
 are five children, all living, as follows: 
 Mary, Barbara, Annie, George (studying 
 pharmacy at the North Western Ohio 
 Nortnal School at Ada, Ohio), and Will- 
 iam. 
 
 Politically our subject has been a life- 
 long Republican, and was appointed by 
 the Grant administration postmaster at 
 Bay Settlement, an incumbency he tilled 
 with acknowledged ability, twenty-three 
 years, his removal after that long period 
 being due to political reasons only. He 
 and his wife and family are all prominent 
 members of the Catholic Church. The 
 parents, deprived themselves of early 
 educational advantages, believe in the 
 thorough training of their children, who 
 have all had excellent academical and 
 other advantages. Mr. Denis has been 
 remarkably and happily fortunate in his 
 marriages. His worthy helpmeet possesses 
 all the characteristics of a thorough busi- 
 ness woman, and has been of invaluable 
 assistance to him in his many and diverse 
 interests. His success in life has well 
 proven the truth of the adage: " Where 
 there's a will there's a way," and his 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 91 
 
 Strong" deterininution, indomitable will 
 and never-failing courage, have placed 
 him in a position to be recognized as, 
 without a peer, the heaviest taxpayer in 
 Scott township. 
 
 REV. FATHER C. DE LOUW,the 
 learned and pious pastor of St. 
 Francis Roman Cathulir Church, 
 in the town of Holland, Brown 
 county, is a native of Holland, burn Au- 
 gust 27, 1839. 
 
 He is the }'Oungest in the family of 
 fourteen children born to the late Martin 
 De Louw, who was by occupation a manu- 
 facturer of cloth in Holland. One son, 
 Andrew, is now a priest at Moergestel, 
 Holland; another son, John, is conducting 
 his father's old business, and one daugh- 
 ter is a Sister of Mercy. One of the sons 
 and one of the daughters married, but, as 
 the son had no children, with this genera- 
 tion the family name becomes e.xtinct. 
 The father reached the advanced age of 
 eighty-three, the mother dying when six- 
 ty-three, and her mother li\-ed to the 
 patriarchal age of ninety-three. 
 
 When six years old our subject com- 
 menced attending the public school in the 
 vicinity of his home, at the end of three 
 years entering the French college there, 
 from which he graduated with high honors 
 after a four-years' curriculum, at which 
 time he was not yet thirteen years old. 
 He then for four or five years worked in 
 his father's factory and was engaged in 
 other business, but his inclinations lead- 
 ing him more in the direction of the " Pie- 
 rian spring, " he resumed his studies, at- 
 tending a gymnasium in Jumet, a French 
 village in Belgium, and here took a classi- 
 cal course preparatory to entering college 
 at Enghien, where he studied philosophy 
 and theology, dogmatic and moral. Here 
 he remained from 1859 till 1S66, on June 
 6, of the latter year, being consecrated to 
 the priesthood at Bruges, and until 1871 he 
 served as a missionarj- priest in various 
 cities in Belgium and Holland. 
 
 In the year last named, deciding to 
 come to America, he proceeded to Li\er- 
 pool, England, ami there took passage 
 on the steamship, "City of Eisbon," 
 which, after a someuhat tempestuous 
 passage, the vessel on one occasion en- 
 countering a great storm, landed at New 
 York. Our subject's destination being 
 Green Bay, Wis., whither he had l)een 
 called by Bishop Melchcr, he continued 
 his westward journey via Chicago, arriv- 
 ing in Green Bay November \(>. 1871. 
 His first charge in his new field of pas- 
 toral duty was the mission at Wrights- 
 town, in Brown county, which in course 
 of a short time he organized as a parish, 
 becoming its first pastor, an incumbency 
 he held two years from January 1 2. 1872, 
 at the same time establishing the mission 
 at East Wrightstown and also attending 
 the mission at Sniderville. In 1874 he 
 was transferred to Robinsonville, same 
 county, and after one year's lalior in the 
 vineyard there he attended occasionally 
 five missions which were without priests, 
 viz.: Dyckesville, Thierrij-Daams, Mar- 
 chant, Little Sturgeon Bay and Delwich. 
 Returning to Wrightstown in 1873 he re- 
 sumed his charge there, remaining till 
 1875, when he removed to Green Bay, 
 having been given the pastorate of the 
 Holland Church in that city. For three 
 years he lal:>ored here with unremitting 
 zeal, and then, in 1878, was transferred 
 to Little Chute, Outagamie county, hav- 
 ing been given charge of St. John's Nipo- 
 moc Church. Here, by his piety and 
 assiduous attentions to the spiritual wel- 
 fare of his flock, he became much liked 
 and beloved, but having been recalled by 
 Bishop Krautbauer to his old Green Bay 
 congregation he acceded to their request, 
 and for three more years ministered there. 
 On September i, 1S84, he came from 
 Green Bay to his present charge, the 
 Church of St. Francis, at Holland. In 
 1886 he was made dean of the Diocese 
 by Bishop Katser, but this office after 
 three years he resigned. In 1876 he was 
 appointed a member of the Bishop's 
 
92 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 council, one of four, since 1892 one of 
 SIX, he being consulter for the Dutch ele- 
 ment, for in the congregation three 
 nationalities — Dutch, German and Irish 
 — worship in perfect harmony. 
 
 Since coming here F"ather De Louw 
 has been the means of many improve- 
 ments and additions being made in the 
 church and parish, among which may be 
 mentioned a winter chapel, besides re- 
 pairing the main building, which was 
 struck by lightning; a pipe organ costing 
 thirteen hundred dollars, fully equipped 
 with all modern improvements; and a 
 new convent for the Sisters. St. Francis 
 congregation, in early days known as ■ ' St. 
 Francis Bush," was organized by five 
 Holland families, early settlers in Holland 
 townshi]), who ga\e forty acres of land, 
 from the proceeds of the sale of which the 
 original church building was erected, and 
 on nine acres of this same land now stand 
 the church, the rectory, schoolhouse and 
 other buildings, l^'ather De Louw's cler- 
 ical jurisdiction is of no small extent, and 
 he finds ample scope for his characteris- 
 tic zeal and energy, while here, as in all 
 his previous incumbencies, he has gained 
 for himself an enviable popularity and 
 the well-merited love and esteem of his 
 parishioners. 
 
 M 
 
 .\LCULM SELLERS, Fort 
 Howard. It is always gratify- 
 ing to true citizens of this Re- 
 l)ublic to note the readiness of 
 many men, born under foreign flags, to 
 become loyal and patriotic supporters of 
 the United States riovernment, when they 
 adopt the country as their home. This 
 can never be misconstrued as an act dis- 
 playing lack of fidelity to their native 
 land, for which they must ever hold the 
 warmest affection, but it is evidence that 
 they are men who recognize their duty 
 as citizens in common with the native- 
 born of the Republic, and do not hesitate 
 to perform it. 
 
 Malcolm Sellers was born October 
 26, 1S19, in Guysboro, in the county of 
 the same name in Nova Scotia, removing 
 to Prince Edward Island when twelve 
 years old. That he was diligent in ac- 
 (juiring an education is plain from the 
 fact that he began teaching at the age of 
 fourteen, continuing two years. At six- 
 teen he became a clerk in the mercantile 
 establishment of McKeever & Walsh, 
 shipbuilders, and six months later was 
 placed at the head of the management of 
 that branch of the firm's business, con- 
 tinuing in that capacity for three years. 
 His relations there were interrupted by a 
 summons to the sick bed of his mother, so 
 he settled his affairs and went home. She 
 recovered, and the trustees of school affairs 
 in his native place offered him a situation 
 which he accepted and filled three years. 
 At the end of that time he received a 
 letter from the Lord Bishop, inquiring if 
 he would go to Country Harbor and as- 
 sume charge of a school and church at 
 that point. He accepted the proposition, 
 proceeded at once to the place, and re- 
 ceived his credentials as catechist and lay 
 reader from the Lord Bishop, and a general 
 license as teacher and missionary, under 
 the Colonial Church Society of London. 
 He discharged the duties of this position 
 for more than five years, and in the mean- 
 time was married in Nova Scotia, in i S44, 
 to Miss Isabella Archibald, daughter of 
 Hon. Charles and Margaret Archibald, 
 natives of Nova Scotia, and who resided 
 there until their death. 
 
 Desiring to find a wider field in which 
 to exercise his abilities Mr. Sellers came 
 to the United States in the spring of 1847, 
 and after visiting a number of eastern 
 cities concluded to push farther westward. 
 He finally located at Beaver Dam, Dodge 
 Co., Wis., where he engaged in the 
 manufacture of mill pnnhicts and con- 
 ducted a mercantile establishment in con- 
 nection. It was natural that he should 
 take an interest in public affairs, and in 
 the fall of 1849 he was persuaded by the 
 Whigs in his locality to become a candi- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BWORAPHWAL RECORD. 
 
 93 
 
 date for the State Assembly. He was 
 elected over four competitors, and entered 
 the Legislature in the session of 1850. 
 In 1 852 he accepted a position with Bean, 
 Clinton & Powers, at Waukesha, and six 
 months later took charge of a primary 
 class in Carroll College. Among his 
 pupils was Sidney A. Bean, who after- 
 ward became colonel of the Fourth Wis- 
 consin Cavalry, and was killed in action. 
 His brothers, Weaker and Irving Bean, 
 who were also gallant soldiers, were pupils 
 of Mr. Sellers, as were James Proctor, of 
 Milwauke< ; George Burchard, of Fort 
 Atkinson, distinguished in the annals of 
 Wisconsin, and Hon. Cushnian C. Davis, 
 aiterward senator from Minnesota. Upon 
 the close of his service at the College, 
 Mr. Sellers became agent for the Mil- 
 waukee cS: Prairie du Chien railroad on the 
 route from Milwaukee to Waukesha, and 
 was one of the first in the State to fill 
 such a position. In his anxiet)' to please 
 he over-exerted himself, and was attacked 
 with hemorrhage of the lungs. \\'hen 
 once more able to transact business he 
 established a general store at Waukesha, 
 and bought wool in the interest of manu- 
 facturers, becoming the hea\iest dealer in 
 that comniodit}' in Wisconsin. Coming 
 to the State before its admission to the 
 Union, he has been identified with and a 
 prominent factor in its growth and devel- 
 opment, while his acquaintance with men 
 in business and political circles has been 
 extensive. ■' He has," sa}s a writer, "ever 
 maintained an active interest in the re- 
 ligious and moral advancement of society 
 where he has resided, and has been espe- 
 cially prominent in Church and temperance 
 work. He holds commissions from the 
 American Bible Society, the American 
 Sunday-school Union and other evangeli- 
 cal organizations in the United States. 
 For more than a half century he has been 
 a declared advocate of temperance, and 
 was one of the founders of the Republi- 
 can party in Wisconsin. He has been 
 one of its most ardent and enthusiastic 
 supporters from its inception, aiding by 
 
 voice, tiKiney antl ballut in its march of 
 progress." 
 
 When the gauntlet of battle was 
 thrown down in Charleston Harbor, in 
 April, 1861, Mr. Sellei's, who was then in 
 Madison serving as clerk of the Judiciary 
 Committee, was one tif the first to offer his 
 services to Governor Randall. The lat- 
 ter, knowing his weak pli_\sical condition, 
 said to him, "Malcolm, you would not 
 li\e a month in the ser\'ice; you are not 
 fit for war, but stay at home and do what 
 you can and I will give you any i>osition 
 3'ou ask in the State." Under this 
 arrangement he was assigned to the 
 quartermaster's department, with head- 
 quarters at Madison, and later was trans- 
 ferred to the commissary department. 
 Upon the call for additional troops he 
 went to Waukesha and neighboring coun- 
 ties to recruit soldiers, spending a jear in 
 such service at his personal expense. If 
 unable to demonstrate his unswerving 
 patriotism on the field of carnage, he per- 
 formed such services at home as stamped 
 him with the undoubted seal of loyalt}', 
 and won the gratitude of those who were 
 cognizant of his labors. In 1869 he re- 
 mo\ed from Waukesha to Fort Howard, at 
 the instance of Hon. E. D. Clinton, to as- 
 sist in the construction of the railroad from 
 the latter place, by way of Shawano, to 
 the Mississippi river. Through a re-ar- 
 rangement of plans both his connection 
 and that of Mr. Clinton with the enter- 
 prise ceased, and in the years following, 
 until 1874, he was engaged in lumbering 
 and mercantile interests. His active busi- 
 ness life practically ceased in the latter 
 year, and he subsequently took up the 
 work of assisting old soldiers to obtain 
 piensions. In this line he became partic- 
 ularly successful, and many a veteran has 
 had reason to rejoice in the fruit of his 
 labors. He has added insurance to his 
 pension work with marked success. He 
 has been a notarj' public as k)ng as Wis- 
 consin has been a State, and is at present 
 serving a third term as justice of the 
 peace at Fort Howard. He also conducts 
 
94 
 
 COMMhMOHATIVh- DlOGIlAPmCAL RECOHD. 
 
 a livery business, in vviiich he is assisted 
 by his son, Malcolm, who was previously 
 for some time in the railway mail service. 
 It was largely throuf^h Mr. Sellers' exer- 
 tions and influence that Hon. T. O. Howe 
 was the first time sent to the United 
 States Senate. The followinj;:, taken from 
 the Milwaukee Siii/iiu/ of November 4. 
 188S, speaks for itself: 
 
 FOKT How.AKD. Nov. 2. 
 To the Editor of Tin Sentimt: 
 
 On Wednesday of this week I received a cir- 
 cular from James Morgan, the nominee of the 
 Democratic party for iijovernor of this State, to 
 which I sent the following reply: 
 
 FoKT Howard. Oct., 31, I88S. 
 IMdr .S/r;— Your circular reached me this morning, and in 
 reply would say, if 1 had ten thousand votes 1 would not i^iyv 
 you one under your present nomination. A Scotchman receiv- 
 ing a nomination from the modern Democratic party, which 
 has souKlit by all means on earth and in hell to destroy our 
 Nation, is too much for me. As a true Scot, I cannot compre- 
 hend what you are after. 
 
 Yours truly, M. Skllers. 
 
 The children of Mr. and Mrs. Sellers 
 have been six in number, but of these 
 only two are living: Maggie I. and Mal- 
 colm A. Charles A. enlisted early in the 
 war in Company F, First Wisconsin Cav- 
 alry, was wounded at Pulaski, Tenn., and 
 sent to the hospital, and finally came 
 home wrecked physically and with his 
 constitution undermined by disease and 
 wounds, causing him to fall a victim to 
 chronic diarrhea and inflammatory rheu- 
 matism. His death occurred February 
 20, 1876. Florence Victoria died when 
 but four years of age, Martha lived to 
 the age of twenty and died in the dawn 
 of beautiful womanhood, and Ida P. 
 passed awaj' at the age of nineteen years. 
 On November lo, 1894, on the occasion 
 of the "Golden Wedding" of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Malcolm Sellers, friends to the num- 
 ber of I 50 persons assembled at the Sell- 
 ers residence in Fort Howard in the eve- 
 ning, and presented Mr. Sellers with a 
 handsome gold-headed cane, and Mrs. 
 Sellers with a number of elegant and 
 valuable presents. The guests were highly 
 pleased, and declared that it was the 
 pleasantest entertainment they ever at- 
 tended. 
 
 Mr. Sellers, while not a native of the 
 
 United States, is in every possible respect 
 an American. His parents, Donald and 
 Margaret fMcKenzie) Sellers, were re- 
 spectively of Highland and Lowland 
 Scotch ancestry, his father coming to the 
 American colonies previous to the war of 
 the Revolution. In that struggle for lib- 
 erty and independence he espoused the 
 cause of his adopted country, enlisted in 
 her army and served until the battle of 
 Charleston, S. C, where he received a 
 British bullet in his thigh and was sent to 
 the hospital. He finally reached home, 
 and after the war removed to Nova 
 Scotia, where he married and located on 
 a farm, " He reared ten children and died 
 on his estate in i 848, in his ninety-ninth 
 year. He was a man of vigorous temper- 
 ament, and two years before his death 
 walked from his farm to Guysboro, and 
 return, a distance of twenty miles. He 
 had no son who could perform such 
 a feat. The ball lie received in the 
 battle of Charleston moved down to 
 a position below his knee, and was 
 in his body when he was buried." 
 The son of such a sire could not help 
 being imbued with an intense love for that 
 country for which his father fought and 
 bled, and the record of the family in the 
 scr\ice of the Nation is a proud one. In 
 such men lies the hope of the Republic. 
 May they multiply within her borders. 
 
 HON. ROBERT J. McGEEHAN, 
 State Senator from the Second 
 Senatorial District of Wisconsin, 
 comprising the counties of Brown 
 and Outagamie, was born August 26. 1 S54, 
 at Peel, Wellington county, Canada. His 
 grandfather, Robert McGeehan, a native 
 of Scotland, was married in County Down, 
 Ireland, to Margaret Morgan, and in 1S18 
 migrated with his wife and family to 
 Guelph, Canada. 
 
 John J. McGeehan, son of Robert, was 
 but five years of age when the family 
 reached Canada, where he was reared a 
 farmer, and where he married Mary Ann 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGIiAPUWAL RECORD. 
 
 95 
 
 Drisciill, whowas born in CaiKida. IniS7o 
 John J. and his family came to Wiscon- 
 sin, and on March i of that year located at 
 Wrightstovvn, where he pnrchased a farm. 
 His son, Robert J., the subject proper 
 of this sketch, was also reared to farminj;-, 
 which he followed, in conjunction with 
 sawniilliiig, until 1878, when he estab- 
 hshed the agricultural implement business 
 at De Pere, which he is still most success- 
 fully conducting, handling large numbers 
 of wagons, buggies, carriages, etc. In 
 early Hfe he became an adherent of the 
 Democratic party, and at once became 
 most enthusiastic in its support. Although 
 still a comparatively young man, he was 
 recognized as being possessed of ability, 
 and as a hard worker, and was soon 
 elected by his neighbors to serve in many 
 local offices of honor and trust. During 
 the years 1884-85, he served as alderman 
 of De Pere, and from 1887 to 1890 as 
 member of the Brown county board of 
 supervisors; he has also served for li\"e 
 years as a member of the board of trus- 
 tees of the County Asylum for the Chronic 
 Insane, and is now president of the Brown 
 County Agricultural and Mechanical As- 
 sociation, an office to which he has been 
 elected for a term of three years. In 18S9, 
 while serving as supervisor, he was elected 
 a member of the Wisconsin State Assem- 
 bly for the Second District, and re-elected 
 in 1890; in 1892 he was elected to the 
 State Senate, which office he continues 
 to fill to the entire satisfaction of his con- 
 stituents. He never tires in his devotion 
 to the interests of his fellow citizens or of 
 his party; has acted as chairman of the 
 Brown county Democratic committee; is 
 also a member of the Democratic State 
 Central committee, elected September 6, 
 1894, and on several occasions has served 
 as delegate to Democratic State and 
 Congressional conventions. He is prob- 
 ably as well and as favorably known as 
 any public man in his portion of the State, 
 and socially and fraternally stands very 
 high, being now president of the Society 
 of Catholic Knights, Branch No. 46, of 
 
 De Pere, member of the Order of the 
 Catholic Knights of .America, and also of 
 the Business Men's Association of De- 
 Pere. 
 
 Mr. McGeehan was most happily 
 married, October :;, 1 8S.:, to Miss Bridget 
 E. Hines, who was born September 10, 
 i860, at Kaukauna, Wis., and six chil- 
 dren were the result of this union, viz.: 
 Myra C, who died in infancy; (irover 
 Thomas, born December 8, 1884; l£lmer 
 James, born May 12, 1886; Mary Eliza- 
 beth, born May 11, 1888; .Margaret 
 Catharine, born April 17, 1890, and Ellen 
 Earen, born October 10, 1894. Mr. Mc- 
 Geehan owes his success entirely to his 
 own imaided efforts, having, since he was 
 eleven years of age, fought the battle of 
 life with Nature's weapons only — intel- 
 ligence and determination. 
 
 JOHN C. NEVILLE, senior member 
 of the well-known law firm o{ John 
 C. and A. C. Neville, Green Bay, is, 
 probably, the oldest legal practi- 
 tioner in this part of Wisconsin, having 
 come to Green Bay nearly forty years 
 ago, when the now bustling city was in 
 its infancy. 
 
 He is anati\eof Dublin, Ireland, born 
 July 27, 181 5, and was there reared and 
 educated, remaining at the parental home 
 until he was twenty-one years old, at 
 which time, in 1836 or 1837, ^^^ f^'"'" 
 grated to this country, landing in New 
 York. From there he moved to Potts- 
 ville, Penn., and in 1840 commenced the 
 study of law in the office of Francis W. 
 Hughes (who, later, became attorney- 
 general of Pennsylvania), and was ad- 
 mitted to the bar of that State in July, 
 1842. Immediately thereafter he com- 
 menced the practice of his chosen profes- 
 sion at Pottsville, practicing in all the 
 Pennsylvania courts, and remained in 
 that city until coming to Green Iiay, De- 
 cember 27, 1856, where he has since had 
 his home, and built up one of the most 
 lucrati\e clientages in northern Wiscon- 
 
96 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE EWGliAPUlCAL RECORD. 
 
 sin, in 1869 forming a partnership with 
 J. J. Tracy, later, in 1874, receiving his 
 son Arthur C. into the tiriii. In 1875, 
 Mr. Tracy withdrew, and the firm has 
 since been known by the above title. 
 
 On April 11, 1843, Mr. Neville was 
 married at Pottsville, Penn., to Miss 
 Catherine D. Lawton, a daughter of 
 Charles Lawton, all natives of New York 
 city, whence thej' moved to Pottsville, 
 where Mr. Lawton was engaged in the 
 coal business, and where he and his wife 
 passed the rest of their days. To this 
 union were born in Pottsvile, six children, 
 only two of whom are now living: Arthur 
 C, who was si.\ years old when the 
 family came to Green Bay, read law with 
 Neville & Trac}', and is now a member of 
 the firm, as already related (he was mar- 
 ried in 1 88 1); and Sophia R., at home. 
 The mother, Mrs. Neville, died in 1876. 
 In his political predilections Mr. Neville 
 has been a Democrat since qualifying to 
 vote, and has been honored b}' his party 
 with election to various positions of trust. 
 For several years he was district attorney; 
 was cit}' attornc}' in 1862, and in 1S80 
 served as mayor of the cit\-, at which 
 time Gen. U. S. Grant visited Green Bay, 
 and was escorted through the city by our 
 subject. In 1859 he was elected repre- 
 sentative to the State Legislature, taking 
 his seat in i860, but at the expiration of | 
 his term of service he declined renomina- 
 tion. Socially, Mr. Neville is a member 
 of the I. O. O. F., in 1844 was admitted 
 to the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, and 
 since 1856 has been deputy grand master; 
 he is also a member of the Daughters of 
 Rebekah. In religious faith he is promi- 
 nently indentified with the Episcopal 
 Church, and he enjoys the respect and 
 esteem of a wide circle of warm friends. 
 
 GEORGE B. HESS, senior mem- 
 ber of the Geo. B. Hess Milling 
 Company, of Green Bay, Wis., is 
 a native of Ohio, born in Carroll 
 county in 1851. 
 
 John D. Hess, father of our subject, 
 was a native of Maryland, a miller b)- 
 trade, carrying on a milling business in 
 Uhrichsville, Ohio. He married Cath- 
 erine A. Simmons, a lady of Connecticut 
 birth, who died in 1886, he himself pass- 
 ing away in 1S89. They were the parents 
 of eight children. 
 
 The subject of these lines received his 
 education in the schools of his native 
 place, and learned his trade in his father's 
 mill and under his tuition. In 1874 he 
 came to Wisconsin, and was engaged in 
 the milling business for a number of }ears 
 in compan\- with Thos. Smith, of Green 
 Ba}', \Vis. In 1893 he, in company with 
 Dr. H. A. Wolter and C. Massey, erected 
 the "Star Flouring Mills," corner of 
 Quincy and Cedar streets in the city of 
 Green Bay, which has a daily capacity of 
 two hundred barrels of fiour and ten tons 
 of feed. The institution has been incor- 
 porated, and is doing a fine business. 
 Politically Mr. Hess is a Republican; 
 socially he is a member of the I. O. O. F., 
 Green Ba}' Lodge No. 19. 
 
 WILLIAM FINNEGAN. Biog- 
 raphy is history of the purest 
 type, and to possess a history 
 is that which distinguishes man 
 from the lower creatures around him. 
 They present the same appearance from 
 age to age, unchanging in their instincts 
 and habits, except in so far as they have 
 been modified through contact with man; 
 and, therefore, the histor)' of one gener- 
 ation of irrational animals is the history 
 of every other. But in the human race 
 there is progressive change, which it is 
 the part of history to both record and 
 accelerate, and the duty of the living to 
 perpetuate in biographical form for the 
 benefit of coming generations. In this 
 connection it is a pleasure to here pre- 
 sent a brief review of the life of the gen- 
 tleman whose name is here recorded. 
 
 Mr. Finnegan was born November J2, 
 1836, in the city of Philadelphia, Penn.. 
 
^^^^^.^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 99 
 
 in what was then called Mojanieiising, 
 on Bedford street (now known as Kates 
 street), three doors east of Broad street, 
 a son of Henr)- and Nancy (Smith) Finne- 
 gan. The parents were of Scotcli-Irish 
 origin, the father born in County Tyrone, 
 a son of Henry Finnegan, and the ni(.)ther 
 in Culdaff, near the most northern point 
 of Ireland, lioth coming to this country 
 when quite }'0ung, marrying, in 1827, in 
 Philadelphia, where tliey had located. 
 
 The father of our subject was reared 
 to farming pursuits in the old country, 
 and after coming to Philadelphia he kept 
 teams working in brickyards, besides do- 
 ing teaming for the corporation and for 
 Stephen Girard, who gave him an old gig 
 he used to ride in himself, which the 
 recipient kept for a long time. In those 
 days cows, hogs and goats were ' ' free 
 commoners" in the southern part of 
 Philadelphia; that is, they were allowed 
 to run at large; and in this connection it 
 is known that Mr. and Mrs. Finnegan 
 kept cows, whose milk they sold, and also 
 hogs which the}' fed on swill gathered 
 from place to place in the city and con- 
 veyed in carts made with water-tight 
 bo.xes; the cows were allowed to run on 
 the commons Ij'ing west of Broad street 
 and south of South street. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Henry Finnegan accummulated consider- 
 able propert}- in small three-story houses — 
 some ten or twelve in number — which 
 they rented, and in 1S43 lis bought forty 
 acres of land twelve miles west of the 
 city, in Marple township, Delaware county, 
 whither he moved April 4, 1S44, and here, 
 August I, 1846, his faithful wife, at the 
 early age of thirt}'-four years, died of 
 dro]")sy brought on by hard work. She 
 was the mother of three sons and two 
 daughters, the latter of whom both died 
 in infancy, and were buried in the Kandle- 
 ■son burying ground, Philadelphia, which 
 at the present time is in the heart of the 
 city. Of the three sons, John and Henry 
 are living in Jones count}', Iowa, and 
 William is the subject of this sketch. 
 Some time after the death of the 
 
 motlier of these Mr. l'"innegan mar- 
 ried a much younger woman than 
 himself, in the person of Charlotte Pat- 
 ton, which event broke up the famil}', 
 the two elder sons not living at home 
 nnich afterward. After residing on the 
 farm in Marple township the family re- 
 turned to the city. In i860 the father 
 moved to Iowa, where, in Jones county, 
 he had previously bought a partly im- 
 proved farm of 320 acres, from which he 
 eventually retired to Fairview, where he 
 passed the rest of his days in retirement, 
 dying at the age of eighty-five years. 
 
 Until the fall of 1857 our sub- 
 ject worked in the brickyards at Phila- 
 delphia, and in the following spring, ac- 
 companied by his brother Henry, he set 
 out for the then " Far West," arriving at 
 Muscatine, Iowa, April i, 1858. Times 
 being then particularl}' "hard," no work 
 being obtainable at any price, they stayed 
 around Muscatine until their money was 
 all gone and William's trunk held at 
 Stein's Hotel for $6.00, the balance he 
 owed for board. Finding no work on 
 land, they shipped on board a steamboat 
 bound for St. Louis, Mo., in the capacity 
 of roustabouts, and now in earnest com- 
 menced their hardships. Arrived at St. 
 Louis, they looked in vain for work until 
 their hard-earned money was all gone 
 again, so once more they shipped as deck 
 hands, this time on a Missouri river 
 packet bound for Leavenworth city, they 
 intending to hire themselves out there to 
 the government as ox-drivers across the 
 Plains, as United States troops were on 
 the eve of setting out for Utah Territory 
 for the purpose of operating against the 
 Mormons. When our young adventurers 
 reached the fort (Leavenworth) they found 
 to their disgust and disappointment that 
 for every vacancy there were not less 
 than fifty applicants alread}' on the 
 ground, so there was nothing for it but to 
 return to St. Louis by the same boat that 
 brought them up, working on her as deck 
 hands. While on the down trip the 
 cylinder head of one side of the engine 
 
lOO 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 blew out, so that the vessel had to make 
 the rest of the trip to St. Louis with one 
 wheel; and when she did arrive it was 
 found there were no funds to pay the 
 crew with, and as the brothers had not a 
 cent wherewith to pay for board while 
 waiting for a settlement with the steam- 
 boat people, they concluded to sell their 
 claims, which they did to a lawyer, each 
 getting about eight dollars, by which time, 
 as Mr. Finnegan himself sagely remarks, 
 he was "beginning to find out the value 
 of monej'," and in all probability these 
 hard knocks were the • ■ open sesame " to 
 his future wonderful career of success. 
 At this point things were getting des- 
 perate, and something had to be done, at 
 once. Henry still had his trunk, \\'ill- 
 iam's was where he left it at the hotel in 
 Muscatine; so the two agreed that Henry 
 should pay his passage to Muscatine, and 
 that William should try to make his way 
 thither without paying. On arrival at 
 Keokuk, however, he was put ashore, but 
 just then another boat was leaving "for 
 somewhere," which our subject immedi- 
 ately boarded, not knowing at the time 
 whether she was going up or down the 
 river. On the boat were several rafts- 
 men on their way to Prairie du Chien, 
 Wis. , and he cleverly succeeded in get- 
 ting "mixed up" with them, the result 
 being that he finally, without let or hin- 
 drance, reached Muscatine (for fortu- 
 nately the vessel was going in that direc- 
 tion) before his brother did. Here they 
 found it necessarj' to live as economically 
 as possible, and finding a family in the 
 outskirts of the town who allowed them 
 the use of their cooking-stove, they fur- 
 nished their own victuals and slept wher- 
 ever they could. Learning that there 
 was some wood-chopping to be done at 
 Fredonia, on the Iowa river, west of Mus- 
 catine, they proceeded thither, and found 
 that employers were paying thirty cents a 
 cord for cutting big knotty black jack oak, 
 while board, consisting of salt pork, corn 
 bread, black molasses and rye cofTee, was 
 $2.00 per week. Here our subject worked 
 
 for two weeks, in that time not earning 
 enough to pay his board, for being brought 
 up in a large city he knew very little 
 about chopping, and his hands would 
 continually blister. In the meantime his 
 brother had returned to Muscatine, in- 
 tending to be gone about one week, but 
 William did not sec him again for three 
 months. Giving the "board boss" what 
 wood he had cut, his axe and iron wedge, 
 in payment for his board, our subject set 
 out for Iowa City on foot, and now, alas! 
 to use his own words, "became a genuine 
 tramp, out of money, begging my food as 
 I journeyed onward by day, and sleeping 
 under the canopy of some straw or hay 
 stack at night." All his clothes, except 
 what he was wearing, were in his trunk 
 at Muscatine, so he had no change of 
 clothing whatever. After wandering 
 through Iowa for more than a month Mr. 
 Finnegan returned to Muscatine, and 
 securing employment on a farm at five 
 dollars per month, worked one month, 
 after which he set out for Illinois for the 
 purpose of hunting up his brother Henry, 
 and falling in with James Vanatta, the 
 latter took him to his home. Mr. \'an- 
 atta is now living at Buffalo Prairie, Kock 
 Island Co., 111., at the age of seventy- 
 one years, and Mr. Finnegan has kept up 
 a correspondence with him ever since 
 they parted, some thirty or forty years ago. 
 At Buffalo Prairie our subject found 
 three months' work on a farm, for which 
 he was to receive six dollars per month; 
 but being unable to get cash he had to 
 be content to accept three steers in lieu 
 thereof. These he drove to Muscatine to 
 sell, but all he could get for them was 
 nine dollars cash for the three, six dollars 
 of which he applied toward getting his 
 trunk released from "Stein's Hotel." 
 That winter he worked for James \'anatta 
 for his board, and fluring the sunnner of 
 1859 he worked land on shares, getting 
 one-third of the crop for his labor. The 
 wheat yield, however, was a failure, and 
 corn was only half a crop. Mr. Finnegan 
 traded his share of the corn crop for a 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 youn;L;' mare which he took with him to 
 Iowa, to the farm his father liad bought; 
 but two days after reaching this farm, the 
 mare strayed away, and he never saw her 
 again. On his father's farm he worked 
 from December 25, 1859, till August 7, 
 1862, when he enlisted in Company F, 
 Twenty-fourth Iowa V. I., under 
 Capt. Dimmit. He served through- 
 out the entire struggle, being mustered 
 out Jul}- 17, 1865. He took an active 
 part in all the marches, skirmishes and 
 engagements of his regiment, but was 
 once taken prisoner in Louisiana, and 
 held from November 15, 1863, until 
 December 25, following, when he was 
 exchanged. At Milliken's Bend, in the 
 same ^>tate, he was once confined to 
 hospital through sickness for several 
 weeks, but with these exceptions he was 
 on constant duty. 
 
 After his return from the war Mr. 
 Finnegan again worked on his father's 
 farm for a time, but his stepmother's 
 manner toward him becoming so unbear- 
 able, he concluded to try his luck farther 
 west. Consequently, on March 10, 1867, 
 he left home with a light wagon and span 
 of horses, with which he traveled across 
 Iowa, arriving April 10 following at Lin- 
 coln, Neb., which now prosperous city 
 was said at the time to contain but 300 
 inhabitants. Times were good there, 
 work plentiful and wages high, and until 
 the fall of that year Mr. Finnegan 
 freighted lumber from the Missouri river 
 to Lincoln; also hauled from Beatrice 
 some of the stone that was used in the 
 building of the capitol. In that fall 
 (1867) he took up a pre-emption claim 
 twelve miles north of the city (Lincoln), 
 built a "dug-out," and lived therein 
 throughout the winter, during the follow- 
 ing spring breaking prairie and hauling 
 stone for the State University then build- 
 ing at Lincoln. In the fall of 1868 he 
 proved up his claim and homesteaded 
 eighty acres adjoining, making in all 240 
 acres, and during the following two years 
 he was occupied in farming and teaming. 
 
 III the S])ring of 1870, in ci)uipan}- with 
 L. K. Holmes, an uncle of his wife, he 
 started a brickjard, made brick two 
 years, at the end of which time he sold 
 out his interest in the business to his 
 partner, his farm to other parties, and 
 with his wife started for Wisconsin, arriv- 
 ing in the town of Howard December i 7, 
 1872. In the spring of 1873 he com- 
 menced operating a small brickyard on 
 land owned by A. G. E. Holmes, molding 
 the brick himself by hand and making an 
 average of 8,000 for a day's work, con- 
 ducting the yard entirely by hand fcr 
 some seven years, ov until August, 1880, 
 when he put in small steam-power, which, 
 in 1882, he supplanted with large power 
 machinery. At the same time he built a 
 nKxlern brickyard, known as "Yard No. 
 I," which is located on the Chicago, Mil- 
 waukee & St. Paul and Green Baw 
 Winona & St. Paul railroads, also on 
 Duck creek, a navigable stream for light- 
 draft boats. In 1890 he built "Yard 
 No. 2," on the same stream, one mile 
 below "Yard No. i," with a track from 
 the Chicago & Northwestern railroad to 
 the yard, a distance of three-quarters of 
 a mile. In 1891 he purchased 124 acres 
 of land in the cit}' of Fort Howard, and 
 following year built on this land "Yard 
 No. 3," which has a capacity of 60,000 
 bricks per day. The total capacity of 
 the three yards, when running full time, 
 is from twelve million to fifteen million 
 bricks per annum. 
 
 On June 16, 1S72, at Trinity Episco- 
 pal Church, Lincoln, Neb., Mr. Finnegan 
 was most happily married to Miss Ella S. 
 Oatle}', who was born in Oneida count\', 
 N. Y., March 12, 1851, daughter of 
 Albert B. and Lavantia (Holmes) Oatley, 
 also natives of Oneida county, who came 
 to Wisconsin in 1857, settling in Suamico 
 township. Brown county, where they 
 lived for twelve years, and now reside in 
 the town of Howard. To this union were 
 born five children, as follows: Holmes 
 Adelbert, William, Jr., Ella Ruth, Edith 
 Mav, and Anna Leona, the eldest of 
 
102 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BTOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Nvhoiii died at the a-^c of nine years, the 
 jouiijjest when one jear and nine months 
 old. Mrs. Finnegan is. a prominent 
 member of the Episcopal Church, with 
 which she united herself at the age of 
 fourteen years, and is known far and 
 wide as a good Christian lady, given to 
 works of benevolence wherever her femi- 
 nine sympathy can reach. Mr. Finnegan 
 in politics is a sound Republican, and his 
 first vote was cast for Abraham Lincoln. 
 He is remarkable for his quiet, unobtru- 
 sive manner, in all his acts proving 
 himself the very beau ideal of a good, 
 loyal and useful citizen. In local affairs 
 he takes a deep interest, and although he 
 has filled several minor offices in his town- 
 ship he has never been an office-seeker. 
 Besides being an expert in the manufac- 
 ture of. brick, he is equallj- skillful as an 
 agriculturist, and his tract of 250 acres is 
 a model of neatness and comfort, giving 
 every evidence of intelligent and system- 
 atic management. His talents as a business 
 man have tnade him a prominent figure 
 in the business world, and have given 
 him a solid standing as a substantial citi- 
 zen, which his continuous transactions 
 since 1873, without the slightest in- 
 fringement of his word or infringement of 
 his integrity, fully entitle him to. 
 
 PHILIPP KLAUS (deceased). Men 
 there have been, unversed in 
 classics or science, without art, 
 without eloquence, who yet had 
 the wisdom to devise and the courage to 
 perform that which they lacked language 
 to explain. Such men have worked the 
 deliverance of nations and their own 
 greatness. Their hearts are their books; 
 events are their tutors ; great actions are 
 their eloquence, and in this category 
 stand surely men of such a stamp as is 
 the subject of this sketch. 
 
 In the pretty little village of Bruttig, 
 "on the Banks of the Blue Moselle," in 
 Rhein Prussia, Germany, was born, July 
 
 20, 1832, Philipp Klaus, of whom this 
 sketch relates, and he there received his 
 education, less a knowledge of the En- 
 glish language. At the age of seventeen 
 he left the Fatherland, in company with 
 his father and four brothers, to seek a 
 new home in the Western World, and on 
 No\'embcr 11, 1849, landed in the then 
 young town of Green Bay, Wis., thus be- 
 coming, in fact, one of its German pio- 
 neers. He quickly Americanized him- 
 self, made rapid progress in the English 
 language, and in course of time became 
 one of the most active and energetic, as 
 well as infiuential, business men of the 
 town. 
 
 His ancestors, as the name indicates, 
 were Germans, and the village of Bruttig 
 has known the family for many years. 
 Here Grandfather Stephen Klaus was 
 born, married, and at an advanced age 
 died, leaving a good name as an heritage 
 to his posterity — a name that has been 
 honored and kept unsullied ever since. 
 His son, Jacob, father of Philipp, also 
 born there, was taught the trade of shoe- 
 maker, and became a good workman. 
 He was married in Bruttig to a young 
 German woman, who bore him five chil- 
 dren, all sons, and died at the birth of 
 our subject. The names of the children 
 are John, Joseph, Charles, Anton and 
 Philij)p, of whom only Anton survives. 
 
 Philipp Klaus was reared b\- his broth- 
 ers, whose devcjtion for him, and their 
 almost motherly care, often excited the 
 admiration of the neighbors and others 
 who knew the family. The boys also 
 kept house, and did their domestic work 
 well, while all of them learned to cook. 
 When the eldest entered the German 
 army, the next eldest took his place, and 
 so on in rotation till it came to Philipp's 
 turn, when, in 1S48. the father concluded 
 to leave the Fatherland, and bring his 
 five stalwart sons to America. On land- 
 ing in New York they at once proceeded 
 by boat on the Hudson river to Albany, 
 thence traveled by cars to Buffalo, from 
 which city they came by the steamer 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHWAL RECORD. 
 
 103 
 
 "Empire State" (at that time tlic finest 
 boat on the lakes) to Milwaukee, Wis. 
 Here they took passage on the old 
 steamer " Lexington," which on a beauti- 
 ful November morn, as the rising orb of 
 day was tinting the heavens with ethereal 
 hues, majestically entered the Fox river, 
 and in due time safely landed the immi- 
 grant family in Green Bay — the " ultima 
 thule " of their long journey. 
 
 During the first few years after his 
 arrival in Green Bay our subject worked 
 with his father at the shoemaking trade, 
 and then betook himself to the pineries 
 at Peshtigo, same State, where he re- 
 mained until 1S55, returning to Green 
 Ba}'. At this time he and his lirother 
 Charles leased the "Green Ba)' House," 
 a well-known hostelry in Green Bay, 
 which they conducted till i(S56. The 
 same j'ear Mr. Klaus built the old " Klaus 
 Hall, " which was afterward sold to the 
 proprietors of the Green Bay Advocate, 
 and he then erected the present "Klaus 
 Hall." Here he opened a general store, 
 in which he met with the most encour- 
 aging success. From about 1S74 till 
 within a year or two ago he was chiefly 
 engaged in the real-estate and insurance 
 business, and for the most part in the 
 real-estate line managed the affairs of 
 large outside corporations or interests, 
 among which ma\'be mentioned the great 
 W. L. Newberry (Chicago) estate, while 
 in insurance matters he represented the 
 Phoenix, Mutual Life, the Charter Oak 
 and other companies. These insurance 
 agencies came to Mr. Klaus totally un- 
 solicited by him, at the time he was suf- 
 fering from the financial depression 
 following the panic of 1873, and he was 
 thus enabled to resume his real-estate 
 operations, which had been temporarily 
 discontinued from the same cause. Hav- 
 ing by patient, quiet industry and 
 laborious diligence accumulated a hand- 
 some competence, Mr. Klaus for the last 
 few years of his life resided in Green 
 Bay, in the enjoyment of quiet retire- 
 ment, with his faithful wife, still, how- 
 
 ever, doing a little real-estate business, 
 principally annuig friends and old ac- 
 quaintances. Fur the last year or so of 
 his life he was in poor health, and his 
 death, on July 23, 1894, caused little sur- 
 prise among his friends and accjuaintances 
 in Green Bay, where he will long be re- 
 membered as a most worthy citi/en. 
 
 On Easter Monday, March 24, 1S56, 
 Mr. Klaus was united in marriage with 
 Miss Elizabeth Basten, daughter of Franz 
 Jacob and Maggie Concen Basten, and to 
 this union were born five children, as fol- 
 lows: Christine, wife of A. M. Grau, of 
 Milwaukee; Anna, who died at the age of 
 fifteen years; Barbara, wife of A. G. 
 Netter; Elizabeth, and Henry P., now of 
 Milwaukee, of whom special mention will 
 presently be made. In politics Mr. Klaus 
 was a Democrat, and the citizens of 
 Green Bay honored him by electing him 
 to the office of city treasurer, which he 
 filled with much acceptability for nine 
 years, leaving an honorable record as a 
 city official; later he was elected city as- 
 sessor, an office he held two terms, de- 
 clining re-election. He was a prominent 
 member of the Cathedral Church at Green 
 Bay, with which Mrs. Klaus is also con- 
 nected. 
 
 Henry P. Klaus, only son of Philipp 
 and Elizabeth Klaus, received his ele- 
 mentarv education at the Cathedral school, 
 Green Bay, and at the age of thirteen 
 years entered Marquette College. Mil- 
 waukee, where he took a three-years' 
 business course, graduating in August, 
 1 89 1, with the class honors, and receiv- 
 ing a gold medal from the college. Im- 
 mediately on leaving college he looked for 
 employment, and found it in a wholesale 
 establishment in Milwaukee, in the capac- 
 ity of receiving clerk. After a few months 
 he was offered, and accepted, a position 
 as bookkeeper for the Cream City Brewery, 
 Milwaukee, where he was held in high 
 esteem by his employers, and he is win- 
 ning well-merited recognition among busi- 
 ness men. At present he is at home, man- 
 aging the affairs of his deceased parent. 
 
I04 
 
 coiryrEiioRATiVE biograpuical record. 
 
 ELISHA MORKOW. When an 
 e\ei-busy man, from the feverish 
 turmoil of politics, and the harass- 
 ing cares of business, is retired to 
 a peaceful, quiet and happy life, such an 
 individual natural!)- excites the friendly 
 en\y of his less-favored fellowmen. \\'ith- 
 out ostentation or apparent conscious 
 superiorit)', he mingles in the societ)- of 
 his neighbors, and enjoys with them the 
 affairs of the present, and a pleasant 
 retrospect of a life well spent. 
 
 Elisha Morrow, of whom we write, 
 comes, on the paternal and maternal 
 sides respectivel}', of Irish and English 
 ancestry who settled in New Jersey prior 
 to the Revolutionar}' war. He was born 
 in Susse.x county, N. J., in 1819, a son 
 of George and Maria fDavis) Morrow, 
 who for some years resided in that county, 
 where the father was engaged in the man- 
 ufacture of iron, and died in 1826. His 
 widow spent the rest of her days at the 
 home of her son Elisha, in Green Bay, 
 Wis., passing from earth in 1869. Our 
 subject received his education at the 
 schools of Sparta, N. J., and at about 
 the age of fifteen commenced clerking in 
 a store in that town, remaining there 
 some three or four jears. In 1837 he 
 came west, locating at Peoria, 111., where 
 he had, living, three sisters married to mer- 
 chants of the place. Near here he took 
 up 160 acres of wild land at $1.25 per 
 acre, eighty acres of wl.ich he cleared and 
 farmed. At the end of three years he 
 sold this property and bought several 
 head of cattle, which he drove to Galena, 
 same State, where he sold them. His 
 next speculation was the purchase of 100 
 head of cattle, driving them to Green 
 Bay, Wis., where he arrived with them 
 November 26, 1S40. At that time there 
 was a fort at the place, several compa- 
 nies of United States soldiers being sta- 
 tioned thereat, and some of the cattle he 
 sold to the Government, others being 
 slaughtered and sold by the carcass, the 
 venture proving fairly successful. Hav- 
 ing bought an interest in a tannery at 
 
 Green Bay, and liking the place, Mr. 
 Morrow concluded to remain, and his 
 home has since been here. In addition 
 to the tannery he was for a long time 
 more or less interested in the buying and 
 selling of real estate, lumbering, farming, 
 merchandising, etc. From 1S43 to 1851 
 he ran stage lines from Green Bay to 
 Milwaukee, Sheboygan and Madison. 
 
 As a politician Mr. Morrow was origi- 
 nally one of the most acti\e supporters of 
 the Democratic party, and in 1845 he 
 was elected to the Territorial Legislature, 
 serving two successive terms of one year 
 \ each. In 1847-48-49, under the admin- 
 istration of President Polk, he served as 
 receiver for the United States land oflice 
 at Green Bay, which at that time was sit- 
 uated on the corner of Adams and Chi- 
 cago streets. .\i this time there was a 
 great boom, and during Mr. Morrow's in- 
 cumbency about two million dollars worth 
 of property' was turned over. On leaving 
 the land office he became largely inter- 
 ested in the lumbering business and mer- 
 cantile pursuits until 1873. In 1856 the 
 course of events caused Mr. Morrow to 
 change his allegiance from the Demo- 
 cratic party to the new Republican one, 
 he becoming one of the early adherents and 
 organizers of that party in Wisconsin. He 
 was prominent and active in the nomina- 
 tion for President of J. C. Fremont, and in 
 the subsequent campaign, attending as a 
 delegate the first Republican State con- 
 vention (of which he was elected presi- 
 dent) held in Wisconsin; this was in June, 
 1856, and the convention was held in 
 Fond du Lac. In June, i860, he was a 
 delegate to the Chicago convention that 
 nominated Lincoln for President. Since 
 the organization of the State government 
 he has taken no part in public affairs, and 
 since 1874 has been engaged in no busi- 
 ness except agriculture, having one or 
 two farms in the neighborhood of the 
 city. 
 
 In 1849 Mr. Morrow was married to 
 Miss Maria Bemis, of Buffalo, N. Y. , who 
 died in 1852, leaving two children, viz.: 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BWGBAPUIVAL RECORD. 
 
 lo; 
 
 Claude Beinis, born in 1S50, now in 
 charge of a lumbering establishment at 
 Barronett, Wis. , recently all burned out 
 by the forest fires, and Maria, who died 
 at the age of five years. In 1859 Mr. 
 Morrow married, at Green Bay, Miss 
 Josephine Amelia Sayre, of that town, 
 by which union there are six daughters; 
 Maria (Mrs. Lally, of Kansas City), Helen 
 E. , Carrie (wife of R. H. Pierce, who 
 was chief electrician for the World's 
 Fair, and now living in Chicago), May, 
 Jennie R. and Louisa L., the unmarried 
 young ladies living at the pleasant family 
 home in Green Bay. Mrs. Morrow is a 
 member of Christ Church, Episcopal. 
 
 ALBERT G. E. HOLMES, retired 
 merchant, of Green Bay, was 
 born in Oneida county, N. Y. , in 
 1825, a son of Alvah and Sophro- 
 nia (Ellis) Holmes. 
 
 Alvah Holmes was a native of Con- 
 necticut, and at eight years of age was 
 taken to Oneida county, N. Y. , by his 
 father, Elijah, who was also a native of 
 Connecticut, but removed to Herkimer 
 county, N. Y. , and later to Oneida coun- 
 ty. Alvah Holmes was reared in New 
 York, was a drummer boy in the war of 
 1812, and in 1821, at his majority, was 
 married; in 1840 he came with his family 
 to Green Bay, Wis., where he was en- 
 f;;aged in milling and farming. Here his 
 wife died in 1S45, s^nd he returned to 
 Oneida county, where his death took place 
 February 8, 1871. He reared a family of 
 seven children, viz. : Olive Ingalls, widow 
 of Edson Sherwood, of the firm of Sher- 
 wood & Holmes, Mr. Sherwood dying in 
 Greing Bay in 1880, and Mrs. Sherwood 
 taking up her residence in Howard town- 
 ship. Brown Co., Wis. (she died Septem- 
 ber 10, 1894); Albert G. E., our subject, 
 the second in the famil}-; Clinton resides 
 on the old homestead in Oneida county, 
 N. Y. ; Lavantia C, wife of Albert Oat- 
 ley, resides in the town of Howard; Leo- 
 nidas K., who lives in Lincoln, Neb.; 
 
 Asahel Brainerd, of Los Angeles, Cal., 
 and Stephen Augustus, a resident of 
 Herkimer count}', N. Y., died January 
 26, 1S94. 
 
 During the Presidential campaign of 
 1840, A. G. E. Holmes took part in a 
 Harrison log-cabin procession, going on 
 horseback from Oneida county, N. Y. , to 
 Buffalo, where the famih', including him- 
 self, embarked on a steamboat for Green 
 Bay. Our subject was then fourteen 
 years of age, and had been fairly edu- 
 cated in New York, to which privilege he 
 added by further study in Green I-iay. In 
 1853 he here engaged in the grocer}' and 
 provision business under the firm name of 
 Sherwood & Holmes; in 1877 Mr. Sher- 
 wood retired, but the business was con- 
 tinued, under the style of Holmes & Har- 
 teau, until about 1S79, when Mr. Holmes 
 disposed of his interest in the concern and 
 engaged, in partnership with L. M. Mar- 
 shall, in the lumber, shingle and general 
 merchandise trade, which was successfully 
 conducted until 1888, when Mr. Marshall 
 died. The trade was then carried on by 
 Mr. Holmes alone until 1892, when he re- 
 tired entirely from business, after an ac- 
 tive experience of over forty years. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Holmes was sol- 
 emnized in the town of Brookfield, Madi- 
 son Co., N. Y., in 1849, to Miss Antoin- 
 nette R. Brown, a native of Madison 
 count}', and daughter of Williams and Es- 
 ther (Randall) Brown. Williams Brown 
 was born in Connecticut, in 1783, coming 
 to New York with his father, Asa Brown, 
 when twelve years of age. He lost his wife 
 in 1863 in Madison county, and just after 
 this event came to Dane ccjunty. Wis., 
 where his death occurred in 1 867. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. A. G. E. Holmes have been born 
 two children: Kittie, who died in 1872, 
 and Albert, who is attending a business 
 college in Green Bay. Mr. Holmes is a 
 Republican; he was a member of the 
 school board for three years, has served 
 as alderman from the Second ward, and 
 for nine years was county superintend- 
 ent of the poor; he is a member of the 
 
io6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Knights of Honor and a charter member of 
 Green Bay Lodge. Mrs. Holmes is a 
 member of the Episcopal Church, Mr. 
 Holmes himself being a constant attend- 
 ant. The family are respected by all the 
 community of Green Bay, and the busi- 
 ness qualitications of Mr. Holmes have 
 been made the subject of constant re- 
 mark. He is patriotic and liberal in for- 
 warding and sustaining the general in- 
 terests and improvement of Green Bay, 
 and is a factor in her moral and educa- 
 tional progress. 
 
 HENRY F. HAGEMEISTEK, presi- 
 dent of the Hagemeister Brewing 
 Co., Green Bay, which was or- 
 ganised in 1 886 and incorporated 
 in 1890, is a native of Green Bay, Wis., 
 born in 1855. 
 
 Francis Henry Hagemeister, father of 
 subject, was born in Prussia, and in early 
 manhood emigrated thence to the United 
 States, locating first in Milwaukee, Wis., 
 where he worked in a meat market for 
 J. Nuimemacher. In 1866, along with 
 four others, he organized a brewing com- 
 pany in Green Bay, Wis. , later buying 
 out the interests of the others. In Green 
 Bay he married Miss Barbara Martin, a 
 native of Wurtemberg, Germany, and 
 they reared a family of si.\ children, as 
 follows: Mary, wife of G. Walters, of 
 Pittsburg, Penn. ; Henry F. ; Bessie; Min- 
 nie; Albert, married, and residing in Green 
 Bay; and Louis W., engaged in a boot 
 and shoe business in Green Bay. [Since 
 this was written Louis W. Hagemeister 
 died F"ebruary 20, 1895.] The father 
 died November 18, 1892, aged sixty-five 
 years, eleven months; the mother passed 
 away in 1882. Francis H. Hagemeister 
 was a member and an officer of the Luth- 
 eran Church; politically he was a Dem- 
 crat, and at one time served as alderman 
 in Green Bay. 
 
 Henry F. Hagemeister, the subject 
 proper of this sketch, received a liberal 
 education at the public schools of his na- 
 
 tive town, and at the age of seventeen 
 j'ears commenced working in a brewery, 
 a line of business he has been identified 
 with ever since. In 1879, when twenty- 
 four years old, he had the management of 
 abrewrey, and in 1886, as above recorded, 
 was organized the present concern, of 
 which he is president, his brother Albert 
 being secretarj" and treasurer. The plant 
 in Green Bay is located on the East side, 
 and, including the branch brewery at 
 Sturgeon Bay, Wis., represents a capital 
 of two hundred and twenty-five thousand 
 dollars. 
 
 A Democrat of the purest type, Mr. 
 Hagemeister has not been inactive in the 
 interests of either his party or the public 
 at large. At the present time he repre- 
 sents the First District of Brown county 
 in the Legislature; has served his city as 
 alderman four years; has been president 
 of the council, and is now supervisor of 
 his ward. Sociallj" he is a thirty-second 
 degree Mason, a member of W'ashington 
 Lodge, No. 21, F. & A. M. ; of Warren 
 Chapter, No. 8; of Palestine Command- 
 ery. No. 20; and of the Wisconsin \'alley 
 Consistory; is also a member of the Golden 
 Shrine, of the Order of Elks; and of the 
 Knights of Honor. In all connections — 
 business, political or social— Mr. Hage- 
 meister has ever proved himself worthy of 
 the high esteem and respect in which he 
 is held by the community. 
 
 LOUIS W. HAGEMEISTER, 
 proprietor of boot and shoe estab- 
 lishment, in Green Bay, and vice- 
 president of the Hagemeister Brew- 
 ing Co., is a native of Green Bay, born 
 March 17, 1865; a son of Francis H., and 
 Barbara ( Martin) Hagemeister, natives of 
 Germany. 
 
 The subject of this biographical mem- 
 oir received his education in Green Bay, 
 and on leaving school commenced to work 
 in a brewery. In 1 890 he became a stock- 
 holder in same, and in 1893 was appoint- 
 ed vice-president of the Hagemeister 
 
COMXEMORATTVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 107 
 
 Brewing Co., which was organized in that 
 year. In addition to the extensive plant 
 in Green Bay, there is a branch brewery 
 at Sturgeon Bay, the entire phmt costing 
 in the neighborhood of two hundred thou- 
 sand dollars; the industry giving employ- 
 ment to from thirty to forty hands. In 
 1893 he commenced in his present boot 
 and shoe business, keeping a full line of 
 everything in the trade. After learning 
 the brewing business in Green Bay, Mr. 
 Hagemeister went, at the age of twenty- 
 one, to Detroit, Mich., and for twelve 
 months worked in the E. W. Voight 
 Brewery, receiving a diploma; after which 
 he was for a time in Keeley Bros. Brew- 
 ery, Chicago. Moving to Dallas, Te.xas, 
 he remained with the Dallas Brewing Co., 
 eighteen months, and then returned to 
 Green Bay, becoming manager of the Stur- 
 geon Bay Brewing Co., after which he 
 was appointed manager of the bottling de- 
 partment. In addition to city real estate, 
 Mr. Hagemeister owns an interest in 130 
 acres farm jiroperty. In his political 
 preferments he is a Democrat, and he is 
 a member of the K. O. T. M., Tent 
 No. 25. 
 
 The following account of the old home 
 of the Hagemeister family is from the pen 
 of Miss Bessie Hagemeister: " It is one of 
 the old landmarks of Green Bay. Much 
 of my knowledge was gathered from Mrs. 
 Mitchell, mother of Mrs. Theodore Har- 
 ris, and from others who had occupied it 
 or knew of its history. The home is sit- 
 uated at the corner of North Adams and 
 Pine streets. Green Bay. It was erected 
 in 1835 by the late Hon. Fred Ellis, 
 father of Judge Ellis. Mr. Ellis contin- 
 ued in possession of the property until 
 about 1844, when it passed into the hands 
 of one Rev. Davis, an Episcopalian divine. 
 The next change in ownership occurred 
 in 1858, when it was bought by Frank 
 Hagemeister, and it is still in the posses- 
 sion of the Hagemeister family. During 
 all these years the home was occupied by 
 other families, as tenants. In 1839 the 
 parents of Charles White moved into the 
 
 house, and resided there until 1 S44. 
 Then for a short time it was vacant. 
 During this period Rev. T. R. Haff, the 
 present rector of Christ Church, Green 
 Bay, and a few friends, while on an ex- 
 pedition through the country for an out- 
 ing, camped in the house for a short time, 
 instead of pitching tents outside. Some- 
 time between this and 1846 a family 
 named Ste\ens li%ed there. In 1847 the 
 late Col. Chapman and family became its 
 occupants, and Mrs. Wheelock was with 
 them as a member of the family during 
 the time. In 1848 the owner, Re\-. Davis, 
 moved in, Col. Chapman having vacated. 
 In 1852 Mr. Davis died, but Mrs. Davis 
 still made it her home till 1854, when 
 Mr. Holmes moved in, and she boarded 
 with his family until 1857. The next oc- 
 cupants were Mr. Frank Lenz and wife. 
 The old home then became a sort of 
 country tavern, or, nmre properly, a 
 boarding house, although Mr. Lenz occa- 
 sionally entertained transients, and became 
 quite popular as a stopping-place for fel- 
 low countrymen of Mr. Lenz on their ar- 
 rival in the cit}'; and it was here that Mr. 
 and Mrs. Schellenbeck first stopped on 
 their honeymoon. About this time the 
 property was purchased by Mr. Hage- 
 meister, and he lived there during his life- 
 time. I have preserved all this historj' of 
 the old home, in which I am deeply inter- 
 ested." [Since the above sketch was put 
 in type, we have received information of 
 the death of Mr. Louis W. Hagemeister, 
 which occurred February 20, 1895, at the 
 old homestead. — Ed. 
 
 REV. JOHN L. HEWITT. A. M., 
 D. D. , pastor of the First Pres- 
 byterian Church of Green Bay, is 
 a native of England, born March 
 4, 1843, in Oswestry, Shropshire, of an 
 old family in that stalwart " little island," 
 the name Hewitt frequently appearing in 
 old-time annals. 
 
 Grandfather Samuel Hewitt held a 
 
io8 
 
 CO.VMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 government position, and was a man of 
 prominence in his daj'. He and iiis wife, 
 Elizabeth, were members of the Church 
 of England, and were the parents of five 
 children, named respectively: Samuel, 
 Joseph, Thomas, Sarah and Elizabeth. 
 Of these, Thomas was born in Wolver- 
 hampton, Staffordshire, England, and 
 was reared to the trade of mechanic, in 
 which he became highly skilled. In Os- 
 westry he married Miss P'lizabeth Jones, 
 a granddaughter of Charles Devereux 
 Price, who was a son of a London gentle- 
 man of means, supposed to be a descend- 
 ant of the Earls of Essex. Mrs. Eliza- 
 beth Hewitt's father, Morris Jones, was 
 a master builder by occupation, becom- 
 ing successful and prosperous ; he came 
 to the United States about the j'ear 185 1, 
 and died in Racine, Wis. He had a 
 famil}' of six children, of whom. Eliza- 
 beth was born in Mellinochreg Hall, 
 Welshpool, Montgomeryshire, North 
 Wales, almost under the shadow of 
 Plynlymmon, a picturesque mountain in 
 Cardiganshire. She was well-educated 
 in her native city, and a woman of the 
 most refined taste, one who reared her 
 family well and in true Christian faith. 
 To her and her husband were born twelve 
 children, six of whom survive. In 1856 
 the family came to the United States, 
 settling in Racine, Wis., where the father 
 died in July, 1867. 
 
 The subject of this sketch received his 
 education in London, England, first in 
 three different select schools, later in St. 
 Luke's, Chelsea, and St. Mark's College, 
 Brompton. He was thirteen years old 
 when the family came to Wisconsin, and 
 here he has since lived. In 1862 he en- 
 tered Lawrence Universit3^ Appleton, and 
 in 1870 was ordained a minister. Since, 
 he has officiated at Waukesha, Kenosha 
 and Milwaukee, at which latter place he 
 was pastor of the Grand Avenue M. E. 
 Church; subsequently he was presiding 
 elder of the Milwaukee district, and pastor 
 of Washington Avenue Church. In 1881 
 he received the degree of Master of Arts 
 
 at Lawrence Universit}', and, in 1891, 
 while officiating as pastor of the Wash- 
 ington Avenue M. E. Church, Milwaukee, 
 that of Doctor of Divinity, from the Uni- 
 versit}' of the Northwest. In 1892 he 
 received an unanimous call to the pastor- 
 ate of the First Presbyterian Church of 
 Green Bay, his present incumbency, and 
 was installed October 17, 1893. Of this 
 church a local paper of October, 1893, 
 sa3's the following: "The Green Bay 
 Church in question is one of the oldest, 
 if not the oldest. Congregational Church 
 in Wisconsin, being over sixty years old 
 as a church organization. The site upon 
 which the society's buildings stood since 
 organization was presented to the congre- 
 gation by John Jacob Astor, in the days 
 of his great fur deals. The deed to the 
 land reads: ' From John Jacob Astor 
 to the First Presbyterian Church of 
 Green Bay,' etc., antl in that way the so- 
 ciety received its name as a Presbyterian 
 Church, although it has always beon a 
 Congregational Church in doctrine and 
 practice." Of the chief characteristics 
 of the present pastor, the following is 
 gleaned from a long-time acquaintance: 
 ' ' Dr. Hewitt was cast in a finer, gentler 
 mould than many men, and yet he has 
 also those manl}' qualities that we ought 
 to find in every man, be he statesman or 
 business man or clergyman. His sense 
 of the fit and the beautiful is keen — he has 
 much of the spirit of the poet in his 
 thinking and living. His ideas of honor 
 and integrity and duty are exceptionally 
 strong. Mentally he has both depth and 
 breadth. He is never afraid of new 
 ideas, is receptive to any new truth, but 
 has the faith that assures him the founda- 
 tions of God stand unshaken amid man's 
 changing opinions and speculations. 
 * * * As a minister of the Gospel he 
 has always emphasized the spiritual 
 rather than the ecclesiastical or dogmatic 
 side of the church and the personal life, 
 and has been uniformly beloved as 
 preacher, teacher, pastor and man. To 
 this sacred and honored calling he has 
 
COMME.^rORA Tl VE JUIX! UAl'JIICAL UKCOltD. 
 
 lOy 
 
 devoted all of himself, and is splendidly' 
 equipped for successful work." 
 
 In 1866 Rev. Dr. Hewitt was married 
 to Miss Kate Richardson, daughter of 
 George Richardson, of Omro, \\'is., and 
 three children have been born to them, 
 to wit: Frederick J., in Milwaukee; May 
 Belle, at home; and George P., a classi- 
 cal student at Lawrence Uni\ersity. In 
 his fiolitical preferences our subject is a 
 Republican, with Prohibition tendencies; 
 socially he is a Royal Arch Mason. 
 
 HON. THOMAS RICHARD 
 H U D D. Thers is something ex- 
 ceedingly attractive in the volun- 
 tary retirement of a man who, for 
 several years, has taken an active and in- 
 fluential part in the affairs of the govern- 
 ment. He leaves public life in the full- 
 ness of his strength, and while in the path- 
 wa}' of political advancement. He e.x- 
 changes the exciting scenes of political 
 turmoil, which present the most power- 
 ful attractions to the ambitious, for the 
 peaceful labors of his profession, or other 
 vocation, in the pursuit of which he, may- 
 hap, finds time to ruminate on past 
 events, on those that are passing, and on 
 those which futurit_vwill probably develop. 
 Mr. Hudd is a native of New York 
 State, born October i, 1835, in Buffalo, 
 a son of Richard and Mary (Harrison) 
 Hudd, English people, the father a na- 
 tive of Laylock, Wiltshire, the mother of 
 Northamptonshire, born in the village of 
 Barby. Richard Hudd was a painter and 
 decorator, and in i S30 came to the United 
 States, where he followed his trade until 
 his death, which occurred in 1841, he 
 having been accidentally drowned. He 
 was descended from the land-holding 
 class of England, and was a man of fine 
 appearance, and good education, having 
 been a student at the famous Eton school. 
 His wife was daughter of Thomas Harri- 
 son, who came to this country and for a 
 time resided near Utica. N. Y. , but after- 
 ward, in 1833, became a pioneer of Illi- 
 
 nois, settling near Lisbon, Kendall county. 
 He died of apojjlexy while taking a load 
 of wheat to Chicago by wagon. He was 
 a lineal descendant of Gen. Harrison, who 
 was one nf Cromwell's right-hand men, 
 and one of the judges who condemned 
 Charles I. to death. 
 
 Thomas R. Hudd was a lad of seven 
 sunnners when his father died, and soon 
 after that saij e\ent the widowed mother 
 moved with her little boy to Chicago, 
 where he attended school until he was 
 about fifteen years old, when he left his 
 books to assume the role of "devil" in 
 the job-roc iin of the livciihii:; /nnnui/, 
 Richard L. Wilson at that time being 
 publisher, ami .\ndrew Matteson foreman 
 of the job-room. From there he went to 
 the ]\\-shTu Citi-:,-)i, where he learned 
 typesetting and the trade in general, 
 remaining in that office until 1853. In 
 the meantime his mother, having married 
 a Mr. A. D. Partridge and removed to 
 Neenah, \\'is., induced the lad to rejoin 
 her, which he did, and he soon thereafter 
 became a student at Lawrence (Appleton) 
 University, paying his way toward receiv- 
 ing a good education by working at his 
 trade in the office of the Appleton Cri-sii-ut. 
 In 1855 he left college and commenced the 
 study of law with R. P. Eaton, in Apple- 
 ton, then with Smith & Ballard, the senior 
 member of which firm, Perr\' H. Smith, 
 afterward became well-known as a prom- 
 inent railroad official of Chicago. In 
 October, 1856, Mr. Hudd was admitted 
 to the bar, and in the following Novem- 
 ber was elected district attorney of Outa- 
 gamie county. Forming a partnership 
 with John J. Jcwett, they practiced law 
 together in Appleton until 1863, when 
 Mr. Jewett retired, and Mr. J. H. M. 
 Wigman succeeded him in the partner- 
 ship. When Mr. Hudd came to Green 
 Bay, in 1S68, Mr. Wigman continued the 
 Appleton office until 1870, when he re- 
 moved to Green Bay, after which time 
 the firm engaged in general law practice, 
 extending to all the State and Federal 
 courts. For a short time, in the heyday 
 
I lO 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of his Congic.~-...iial work, and at the ex- 
 piration of the Lth Congress, Mr. Hudd 
 was a member of the law firm, in Chi- 
 cago, of Case, Hudd & Hogan, which was 
 intended only as a temporary arrange- 
 ment, and was discontinued in October, 
 1890. 
 
 Mr. Hudd has served his adopted 
 State well in public affairs. In 1861 he 
 was elected to the State Senate, and in 
 1867 to the A.ssembly; in 1876 he was 
 again elected to the Assembly, and in this 
 session he was prominently identified in 
 the securing of the repeal of the ' ' Granger 
 Law," which had become so obno.xious to 
 the State. In 1877 he was again sent 
 by his constituents to the Senate, and 
 was successively re-elected to same until 
 1885, in which year he was elected to the 
 United States Congress, resigning his 
 seat in the State Senate when he had 
 three years yet to serve. This was the 
 XLIXth Congress, and he was elected to 
 the vacancy caused bj- the death of Jos- 
 eph Rankin. In this Congress he served 
 on the committee on Commerce, to take 
 the place of Joseph Pultzer, who had re- 
 signed in order to visit Europe. Elected 
 to the Lth Congress, Mr. Hudd was ap- 
 pointed chairman of the committee on 
 Expenditures, in the Interior Department. 
 This closed his most active life in the 
 arena of politics, and he has since con- 
 fined himself to the practice of his pro- 
 fession, wherein he has a wide clientage 
 and enjoys the distinction of being the 
 leading criminal lawyer in this section of 
 Wisconsin. In municipal affairs, also, he 
 has been active, having served the peo- 
 ple of his locality in many minor offices, 
 among which may be mentioned that of 
 president of the school board, several 
 years. In 1 889 he was appointed by 
 Gov. Hoar, one of three commissioners 
 to represent the State of Wisconsin at 
 the Centennial celebration of the inaugur- 
 ation of George Washington as first 
 President of the United States, which was 
 held at New York in April, 1889. Dur- 
 ing the Civil war he was commissioned to 
 
 a lieutenancy, and mainlj- by his individ- 
 ual e.xertion were organized two military 
 companies in Outagamie county, but he 
 was unable to take active service, having 
 just been elected to the State Senate. 
 
 Mr. Hudd has been twice married, 
 first time, in 1857, to Parthenia S. Peak, 
 who died in 1871, the mother of four 
 children, as follows: Richard P., Sophia 
 M. (now wife of William Beatty, of Colo- 
 rado), Mary H., and Julia P. (now living 
 in Washington, D. C). In 1872 Mr. 
 Hudd married, for his second wife. Miss 
 Mary Kiel, and four children, all daugh- 
 ters, have been born to them, named as 
 follows: Gertrude D. , Nellie. May and 
 Maude, all at home. Mr. Hudd is a mem- 
 ber of the F. & A. M., Waverly Lodge 
 No. 51, Appleton, and in politics he is a 
 stanch Democrat. 
 
 WILLLUI C. HINSDALE, the 
 popular and efficient agent at 
 Green Bay for the American 
 Express Company, is one of the 
 ten oldest employees of that corporation 
 in ^^'isconsin, and has earned for himself 
 an enviable reputation as a courteous, 
 painstaking official. 
 
 He is a native of this State, born, in 
 1847, hi the town of Kenosha, a son of 
 W. L. and Isabella C. (Courtenay) Hins- 
 dale, natives of New York City, whence 
 they came in 1836 to South Port (now 
 Kenosha), Wis., where, in company with 
 a brother, Mr. Hinsdale was engaged for 
 some jears in the lumber business, they 
 becoming extensive traders in that line, 
 and ultimately selling out to F. B. Gard- 
 ner, of Chicago. Mr. Hinsdale then re- 
 sided in Madison, Wis., one year, moving 
 from there, in 1855, to Milwaukee, where 
 he became the first treasurer of the Chi- 
 cago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad, 
 which in a few years he resigned to ac- 
 cept the position of secretary of the North 
 Western National Fire and Marine Insur- 
 ance Company. His father was a well- 
 
COMMEMdUATIVK BIOG RAPIHCAL RECORD. 
 
 known jeweler in New York Cit\-, where 
 he passed his entire hfe. 
 
 Isabella C. Coiirtena\-, mother of the 
 subject of this sketch, was born in Ikilti- 
 more, Md., and was a member of one 
 of the early leading families of that State, 
 English people who settled in the town of 
 Goodhope about the year 1700. One of 
 her remote ancestors on her father's side 
 lost his life on account of claiming a right 
 to the crown of England, and some of her 
 later ancestry were engaged in the war of 
 the Revolution in this country, others, 
 again, in the war of 1812. Grandfather 
 Courtena_v died in Maryland, and his 
 widow came to Kenosha, Wis., with her 
 brother, Hercules, who opened up a farm 
 in Kenosha county, where he died; she 
 passed from earth in the town of Kenosha 
 about the j-ear 185 I. Mrs. Isabella C. 
 Hinsdale died in 1892. 
 
 William C. Hinsdale, our subject, re- 
 ceived his education in Milwaukee, and 
 after leaving school entered the employ 
 of Marshall Ilsley, as bank collection 
 clerk, and after four jears, or in 1869, 
 entered the service of the American Ex- 
 press Compan)', at Black River Falls, 
 Wis., thence moved to Milwaukee, from 
 there to Green Bay in 1871, passing 
 through the \'arious grades of promotion 
 "with flying colors." In 1S73-74 he was 
 Express Messenger between Green Bay 
 and Marquette, Mich., and other points, 
 and in 1881 received the appointment of 
 agent at Green Ba\-, his present incum- 
 bency. In October, 18S1. he was mar- 
 ried in Green Bay to Miss Minnie C. 
 Gardner, a native of that town, a daughter 
 of B. C. and M. E. Gardner, who about 
 the year 1854 came to Green Bay, where 
 the father followed his business, that of 
 contractor and builder; he died about 
 1880; the mother is yet living in Green 
 Bay. To Mr. and Mrs. Hinsdale have 
 been born two children, Florence and 
 Isabella. In politics our subject is a Re- 
 publican; socially he is a member of 
 Pochequette Lodge No. 26, K. of P., and 
 has passed all the Chairs. To his well- 
 
 directed efforts — efforts that ne\'er know 
 fatigue — Green Bay is indebted for as 
 well-conducted an express system as ex- 
 ists in the State. 
 
 G 
 
 E. T. KVBEIx., notary public, 
 mortgage loan and real-estate 
 broker, of Green Bay, \\'is. , was 
 born in Saxony, Germany, in 
 1828, a son of Theodore George and 
 Caroline (Weygant) Kyber, the former of 
 whom, a native of Saxony, died at the 
 age of ninety-one; the latter was of Polish 
 descent. They had born to them eight 
 children, of whom the living are Carl, in 
 Glauchau, Saxony; Frederick and Amelia, 
 residing near Dresden, Saxony, and G. E. 
 T. , who is the subject of this sketch. 
 
 G. E. T. Kjber lost his mother when 
 he was six years of age. He was reared 
 and educated in Saxony and studied mili- 
 tary science and architecture, which pro- 
 fession he followed in the old country 
 until he was twenty-two years old. In 
 1850 he came to America, and in New 
 York was employed for a short time in 
 lithographic work and painting; then 
 went to Central America and served as 
 head steward of a large hospital, caught 
 the yellow fever, and returned north. In 
 1854 he came to Green Bay and opened 
 a paint shop, which he conducted until 
 i86r, when he was appointed notary pub- 
 lic; in 1863 he was appointed, as a Demo- 
 crat, auditor of the Volunteers Aid Fund 
 in the office of the Secretary of State, and 
 held the position until 1865; in 1867 was 
 elected the first police justice of Green 
 Bay. In 1S73 he moved to Allouez town- 
 ship, where he has ever since had his resi- 
 dence, and is now public administrator 
 for Brown county. Mr. Kyber was mar- 
 ried, in New York, in 1852, to Miss 
 Susanna Muth, and to this union have 
 been born eight children, of whom the 
 living are: Fannie, wife of F. L. Erd- 
 mann, of Green Bay; Virginia, Theodore 
 G. and Frederick E. The mother of this 
 family was called from earth in 1887 
 
C0MMEM0RAT1VI-: liJOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 since when Mr. Kyber has remained a 
 widower. 
 
 Mr. Kyber is a member of Herman 
 Lodge No. 1 1 1, I. O. O. F., and also of 
 the Turn Verein, of which he was one of 
 the organizers. He is also a member of 
 the Lutheran Church, lives fully up to its 
 teachings, and is greatly respected for his 
 moral walk through life. 
 
 THOM.'XS J. McGRATH. senior 
 member of McGrath & Anderson, 
 leading firm of contractors and 
 builders, of Green Bay, is a fair 
 representative of those whose sagacity 
 and capital have done so much toward 
 the commercial and manufacturing pro- 
 gress of the city of his adoption. 
 
 A native of Canada, he was born 
 January 15, 1859, in Emily, \'ictoria Co. , 
 Ontario, to Michael and Mary Ann (Mc- 
 Carthy) McGrath, the former of whom 
 was a carpenter by trade. In March, 
 1863, the father died, and in 1S75 the 
 family, then consisting of mother and 
 three children, including (jur subject, 
 came toWisconsin and settled in Lebanon, 
 Waupaca county, where the mother 
 subsequently married Michael Ahearn, of 
 that place, where they are now living. 
 As will be seen, our subject was a lad of 
 some si.xteen summers when the family 
 came toWisconsin, prior to which he had 
 received at the excellent public schools 
 of Canada the onlj- literary education he 
 was destined to have, which in after 
 years he added to by close reading and 
 general observation of men and things. 
 At the age of eighteen he commenced to 
 learn carpentry, at which trade he soon 
 proved himself admirably adapted; and so 
 quickly did he make himself prolicicnt 
 that at the early age of twenty-two he was 
 placed as foreman over men whose actual 
 experience represented more years than 
 he had lived. But he was equal to the 
 responsibility, and proved himself an 
 efficient and capable overseer. In this 
 capacity his first employment was for 
 
 contractors, but ere long he entered the 
 employ of the Chicago & Northwestern 
 Railway Company as foreman of bridge 
 carpenters, the work at that time being 
 done by this company on the St. Peter 
 division in Minnesota. For six years he 
 continued in this position, proving him- 
 self well worthy of his trust — honest and 
 capable. He then entered the employ of 
 the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. 
 Marie Railroad Company as superin- 
 tendent of building construction, but at 
 the end of one year he resigned to accept 
 the position of superintendent of bridges 
 and buildings for the Milwaukee & North- 
 ern railroad, which about three years 
 thereafter merged into the Chicago, Mil- 
 waukee tS: St. Paul railroad. 
 
 In 1890 Mr. McGrath commenced the 
 since prosperous business of general con- 
 tracting and building, and among the 
 many substantial works in Green Bay 
 that stand to-day as e\idence of his skill 
 may be mentioned the Mason street 
 bridge over the Fox river; an extension 
 of one thousand feet dockage for the 
 Murphy Lumber Companj', and elevator 
 and dock for W. W. Cargill & Bro. In 
 February, 1893, Mr. McGrath received 
 as partner in his extensive business Mr. 
 W. B. Anderson, since when the firm 
 have completed the following contracts: 
 Plant for "The Columbian Bakery"; ex- 
 tensive coal-sheds for Barkhousen & 
 Hathaway; the power-house for the Fox 
 River Street Railway Company; 800 feet 
 extra dockage for the Murphy Lumber 
 Company; about 14,000 yards of cedar 
 block paving on Washington street; 25,- 
 000 yards cedar block pavement on 
 Crooks and Walnut streets; bridge over 
 the East river, connecting Allouez and 
 Bellevue townships, in Brown county; 
 bridge over East river on Mason street; 
 and three and one-half miles of railroad 
 for the Chicago & North Western Com- 
 pany, in Michigan. 
 
 At Mankato, Minn., on March 21, 
 1880, Mr. McGrath was married to Miss 
 Eleanor Fuller, a native of Lapeer, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 "3 
 
 Mich., and daughter of Daniel and Mary 
 J. i Arlow) Fuller. An interesting laniily 
 of si.x clever children ha\e been born to 
 this union, named respectivel)': Nellie 
 M., Claude A., Violet M., Thomas R., 
 Daniel F. and Alvin E. Politically Mr. 
 McGrath is a stanch Republican, but has 
 no time to spare for office, his business 
 demanding and receiving his closest at- 
 tention. He is a member of the F. & A. 
 M., Washington Lodge No. 21, Warren 
 Chapter No. 8, Warren Council No. 13, 
 and Palestine Commandery No. 20. Mrs. 
 McGrath is a member of the M. E. 
 Church. 
 
 NS. KIMBALL, division master- 
 mechanic of the Chicago, Mil- 
 waukee & St. Paul railr(_)ad, by 
 virtue of his long residence in 
 Wisconsin, covering a period of over 
 thirty-six years, is not only well known 
 but highly respected, especially in railroad 
 circles, where he is prominent. 
 
 He is a native of New Hampsliire, 
 born November 21, 1S31, in the town of 
 Warner, Merrimack county, a son of John 
 and Hannah (Bean) Kimball, the former 
 of whom was born and reared in Waltham, 
 Mass. In early life, he. John, moved to 
 New Hampshire, and in tlie town of War- 
 ner established a paper-mill as well as a 
 bookbindery, being proprietor of both. 
 Senator Chandler, of New Hampshire, 
 is now owner of the site on which these 
 old-time industries stood. John Kimball 
 and his wife passed the rest of their 
 days in New Hampshire, dying in Man- 
 chester in 1 841 and 1862 respectively, he 
 at the age of lift}' years, she at the age of 
 sixty-two; his maternal grandfather, 
 Thomas Wellington, was a soldier in the 
 Revolution, spent the winter at Valley 
 Forge and crossed the Delaware with 
 Washington. John Kimball served in the 
 war of 181 2, in which conflict John Bean, 
 the maternal grandfather of our subject, 
 was also a soldier. 
 
 The subject of these lines received a 
 
 liberal education, in jnirt at the schools of 
 Manchester, N. H., and in part in Hop- 
 kinton Academ}', same State, chiefly, 
 however, at the schocjls of the latter 
 place. He was in reality reared to farm- 
 ing, and for a time tended sheep on the 
 Kearsarge Mountains, but in 1847, '^^^ the 
 age of seventeen, he commenced to learn 
 the trade of machinist in the Amoskeag 
 locomotive shops of Manchester. N. H., 
 which had just been started, remaining in 
 them as long as they existed as locomotive 
 shops, or until 1857. In January of that 
 year he moved to Detroit, Mich., and 
 for a short time was in the employ of tire 
 Michigan Central Railroad Company, 
 thence removing to La Porte, Ind., where 
 he worked for the Lake Shore cS: Michi- 
 gan Southern railroad. After this he 
 was on a farm in Logan county. 111., for 
 some eight months, at the end of which 
 time, in 1858, he removed to Milwaukee, 
 Wis., where he was given charge as fore- 
 man in the repair shops of the Milwaukee 
 & Mississippi railroad, which at that time 
 extended as far as Prairie du Chien, and 
 is at present a division of the Chicago, Mil- 
 waukee & St. Paul railroad, on which he 
 is now employed. Here he remained 
 within one year of a quarter of a century, 
 and in 1882, having accepted the position 
 of division master-mechanic of the Mil- 
 waukee & Northern railroad, came to 
 Green Bay, where he still remains in the 
 same capacity. In 1882 this was the 
 Milwaukee & Northern railroad, but in 
 1890 it was absorbed by the Chicago, 
 Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad. He has 
 therefore served continuously thirty-six 
 years in positions of responsibility on the 
 lines of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
 Paul railroad. 
 
 In 1S53 Mr. Kimball was married to 
 Miss Mary A. Edmunds, daughter of 
 Enoch and Mary (Campbell) Edmunds, 
 all natives of New Hampshire, where her 
 father died, the widowed mother after- 
 ward coming to Green Bay. where, at 
 the residence of our subject, she passed 
 away in 1892. To Mr. and Mrs. Kim- 
 
114 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ball has been born one child, Walter H., 
 by profession a stenographer, married, 
 and residing at Green Baj'. In his polit- 
 ical preferences our subject is a Republi- 
 can. In 1854 he joined the Masons, at 
 Manchester, N. H., and he is a member 
 of Washington Lodge No. 21, F. & A. 
 M. , Green Bay; Chapter No. 7, Milwaukee; 
 Palestine Conmiandery No. 20, of Green 
 Bay (of which, he is past eminent com- 
 mander), and of the Wisconsin Consis- 
 tory, thirty-second degree ; he is also a 
 member of the Mystic Shrine. Tripoli 
 Temple, of Milwaukee. He and his wife 
 are members of the Protestant Episcopal 
 Church, with which he has been connect- 
 ed for thirty years, and for several years 
 he has been a vestryman and warden. 
 
 FW. SCHNEIDER, photographic 
 artist, at No. 310 North Wash- 
 ington street. Green Bay, was 
 born in Westphalia, Prussia, Janu- 
 ary S, 1854. His parents were Anton 
 and Mary Elizabeth(Schneider) Schneider, 
 natives of Rhine-Province, Prussia, where 
 the father died in 1859; in 1868 the 
 mother came to Wisconsin and located in 
 Kewaunee county, where she carried on 
 farming and a cheese factory and store 
 until her death in 1891. She reared a 
 family of three children, viz: Charley, a 
 farmer; F. W., our subject; and Helen, 
 wife of W. Gauerke, of Brown county. 
 F. W. Schneider was educated in 
 Prussia until fourteen years of age, and 
 after coming to America attended the 
 evening schools, and a business college 
 in Green Bay, Wis. In 1870 he settled 
 in Brown county, and was employed in 
 sawmilling and team driving till 1874, 
 when he moved into Green Bay, where he 
 learned his art, and in May, 1877, com- 
 menced business on his own account, be- 
 ing now the oldest gallery proprietor in 
 the city, and one of its finest artists. 
 
 Mr. Schneider was married in De- 
 Pere, in 1876, to Miss Elainna M. Nuss, 
 a native of Pennsylvania, and daughter 
 
 of Michael Nuss, who settled in De Pere 
 about the year 1866. This happy union 
 has been blessed with three children, 
 named respectively: .\lvin, Mabel and 
 Fred. Mr. Schneider is a Republican in 
 his political affiliations, and in his social 
 and fraternal connections is affiliated with 
 Green Bay Lodge. No. 19, I. O. O. F., 
 in which he has passed all the chairs, and 
 is also a member of the Encampment; is 
 a member of the Royal Arcanum, of the 
 Modern Woodmen, and of the Knights of 
 the Maccabees. He has grown up with 
 the city of Green Bay, has been a witness 
 to much of its progress, and is now 
 ranked among its most respected citizens. 
 
 HON. W. J. ABRAMS. The life 
 of the subject of this sketch pre- 
 sents a striking example of enter- 
 prise, industry and integrity, con- 
 ducting to eminent success, and of politi- 
 cal consistencies based on enlightened 
 and moderate views — views at all times 
 compatible with a generous toleration of 
 the sentiments entertained by others, and 
 commanding general confidence and es- 
 teem. 
 
 Mr. Abrams was born March 19, 1829, 
 in Cambridge, Washington Co., N. Y. , 
 and is a son of Isaac T. and Ruth (Hall) 
 Abrams, natives of New York. The 
 father, who was a business man of West 
 Troy, N. Y., died in 1868, the mother in 
 1870. Of their family of children only 
 one grew to maturity, the son whose 
 name introduces this sketch. His great- 
 grandfather on the mother's side, Capt. 
 Alexander Thomas, was commissioned in 
 December, 1 778, by the General As- 
 sembly of Rhode Island, a captain in 
 Col. Topham's regiment, and it is rec- 
 orded that he "drew regular pay." Our 
 subject is a blood-relation, on his 
 mother's side, of Lyman Hall, one of 
 the signers of the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence, and, on his father's side. Mr. 
 Abrams claims lineal descent from Lord 
 Townley, of the English House of Peers. 
 
^-7-7 
 
 ,.i^~y- C'^-^.^-,'!- ' 
 
 7 
 
 '/T/j. GJ^a^-v/Mi 
 
CO^rMEMOIlATTVE DWGRAPUWAL RECORD. 
 
 117 
 
 W. J. Abranis, after receivinj; an 
 academic education at Cainbiiiij^e and 
 Troy, N. Y., entered the theoiof^'ical 
 school at Wilhamstown, Mass. ; but, 
 owing to impaired health he had to aban- 
 don the course, and spent some years in 
 travel, at the same time continuing his 
 studies, for the most part in history, arts 
 and general literature. In the latter con- 
 nection it may be mentioned that he was 
 the author, under various iioiiuiiis dc 
 pluiiii of various essays, but his health 
 would not permit of his continuing in such 
 work as a profession. 
 
 In 1856 he came to northern Wiscon- 
 sin, and was engaged for a consideralile 
 time in railroad surveys from Lake Michi- 
 gan to Ontonagon, making his permanent 
 home in Green Bay in 1861. He became 
 identified with the Collingwootl, Sarnia 
 and Buffalo line of steamers, and, until 
 1870, none was more prominent in the 
 development of the water transportation 
 facilities of the town. In that year he 
 directed his attention more especially to 
 railroad enterprise, and was one of tlie 
 promoters of the Green Bay & Lake Pepin 
 railroad (ha\'ing made the survey and ob- 
 tained its charter), becoming officially 
 connected with same, for many }'ears 
 serving as secretary. This road was sub- 
 sequently merged into the Green Bay lS: 
 Minnesota, and still later into the (ircen 
 Bay, Winona cS: St. Paul. Mr. Abrams 
 was also the leading promoter of the Ke- 
 waunee, Green Bay & Western railrcjad, 
 some thirty-five miles in length, built in 
 1891, and has been president of llie com- 
 pany from its organization. 
 
 In 1854 Mr. Abrams was married in 
 Montgomery county, N. Y., to Miss Hen- 
 rietta T. Alton, a native of New York 
 State, daughter of James Alton. Her 
 mother, at the time of lier marriage with 
 Mr. Alton, was the widow of Commodore 
 Germain, commander of the " Ironsides," 
 during the Revolutionary war. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Alton are now deceased. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Abrams have been born three 
 
 children, viz.: Two daughters- — Kate, 
 7 
 
 wife of Hamilton Townsend, in the real- 
 estate business in Milwaukee, Wis.; and 
 Ruth, wife of Dr. C. McVeigh Tobey, of 
 St. Paul, Minn.; and one son — Winford, 
 at home. Mrs. Ttnvnsend is a member 
 of the Daughters of the Ri.'volution in 
 Milwaukee, and secretary of the State di- 
 x'ision of that order. 
 
 During the Rebellion Mr. Abrams was 
 an uncompromising war Democrat, and is 
 still as ardent as he was when he cham- 
 pioned the rights of the party in the halls 
 of the State Assembly and in the Senate, 
 in the former of which he served four 
 years (from 1864 to 1S67J, and in the lat- 
 ter two years (1868-69). Among the nu- 
 merous official positions he holds or has 
 held may be mentioned — vice-president 
 of the Soldiers Orphans Home, at Mad- 
 ison, Wis.; vice-president of the Fair and 
 Park Association, in which he is a stock- 
 holder, and a member of the Horticul- 
 tural Society; mayor of Green Bay in 
 1882-83, and again in 1885. Socially he 
 is a retired meml^er of the I. O. V). F., 
 and a member of the Royal Arcanum, of 
 which he is supreme representative at the 
 present time, and has been Grand Regent 
 of the State. One of the most active, 
 progressive, public-spirited men, Mr. 
 Abrams has done as much to develop the 
 almost ine.xhaustible resources of the Fo.x 
 River Valley as any other man. 
 
 Mr. Abrams has frequently appeared 
 as a public spieaker, especially during po- 
 litical campaigns, and his style is of a cliar- 
 acter to command the respect and atten- 
 tion of his audience. As a jniblic officer 
 he has few superiors; as a railroad official 
 he has a wide reputation for executive ca- 
 pacity and able management of affairs, 
 and it would be hard to find a man better 
 adapted to organizing capital to promote 
 such enterprises as he may become inter- 
 ested in, his foresight and sagacity in 
 financial matters fitting him especially 
 therefor. His power o\er men — and 
 hence his influence in social, political, and 
 business matters — is of that quiet order 
 that makes little outward show, yet is a 
 
iiS 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGIiAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 potent factor in shaping the success of 
 the community in which he resides. The 
 State of Wisconsin is justly proud of such 
 sons, and the record of their lives should 
 be perpetuated in history, chronicled in 
 steel and in words that endure forever. 
 
 THOM.AS .\TKINSON, a respected 
 ;uk1 well-known citizen of Preble 
 township. Brown county, is a na- 
 tive of Ireland, born March lo. 
 i<Si6, in County Sligo, son of Henry and 
 Kate (Kavenj') Atkinson, the former of 
 whom was a farmer and stock raiser. 
 
 Thomas Atkinson received such an 
 education as the .schools of the time and 
 place afforded, and from boyhood was 
 reared to farm life. In Jamiary, 1842, 
 he was married to Miss Mary Flatlcy, 
 who was born in 1S23, daughter of Dom- 
 inick and Mar-^aret (Flynn) Flatlcy, and 
 this union was blessed with children as 
 follows: Margaret (now Mrs. John Mahon, 
 of Preble), Henry (deceased in infancy), 
 Kate (who died, unmarried, in Preble 
 township) and Maria (who was a school 
 teacher, and died in Preble township in 
 young womanhood), all four born in 
 Ireland; and Louis (at home), Philip (of 
 Ironwood, Mich.) and Thomas H. (who 
 died young), these three born in America. 
 In January, 1848, Mr. and Mrs. Atkinson, 
 w ith their family, then consisting of three 
 girls, left Ireland, and shortly afterward 
 sailed from Liverpool, England, on the 
 "West Point," landing at New York in 
 March, after a voyage of forty-one days. 
 They first located in Cherry \'alley, 
 Oneida Co., N. Y. , where Mr. Atkinson 
 worked as laborer on a plank-road at that 
 time in course of construction, remaining 
 there over a year; then, in the fall of i S49. 
 proceeding by canal from Rome to Buf- 
 falo, X. Y., they took passage on a ves- 
 sel bound for Kewaunee, Wis., thence 
 coming to Green Bay on the tug "Jim 
 Wood." The same fall Mr. Atkinson 
 located on a small farm in Holland town- 
 
 ship. Brown county, "all in the woods;" 
 but after remaining there about a month 
 returned to Green Bay, where he resided 
 some years. In 1853 he was appointed 
 lighthouse keeper at Long Tail Point, 
 Wis., and was stationed there si.x years 
 and one month, at the end of which time 
 he removed to Fort Howard, where he 
 opened out a grocery and saloon business. 
 A few months later, in the spring of i860, 
 he located on his present farm, and has 
 here since continuously resided, having 
 now 133.1 acres of prime land, which he 
 has accumulated by years of industry and 
 toil. On May 4, 1856, Mrs. Mary Atkin- 
 son passed from earth, and May 29, 1857, 
 Mr. Atkinson wedded, for his second wife, 
 Miss Margaret Howard, who was born, 
 in 1827, in County Limerick, Ireland, 
 daughter of Michael Howard; she died 
 January 22, 1877, without issue, and her 
 remains now rest in Shantytown ccmeterj'. 
 Our subject, as a member of the Dem- 
 ocratic party, takes an active interest in 
 politics, and has held the offices of super- 
 visor and chairman of his township; in 
 religious faith he is a member of the Cath- 
 olic Church. He is well read, keeping 
 himself closely informed on the issues of 
 the day, and is highly respected where- 
 e\er he is known. 
 
 iOMAS DOUBELL BOWRING 
 is a native of Reigate, county of 
 
 T 
 
 I Surrey, England, and was born 
 January 13, 1 844, the son of 
 Thomas and Susan (Doubell) Bowring. 
 The father, with his wife and five chil- 
 dren, came to the United States in 1851, 
 locating at Lyons, N. Y. From there he 
 moved to Detroit, Mich., where for the 
 most part he lived until his death, wliich 
 took place in 1885; his widow died in the 
 same city in 1891. 
 
 Thomas D. Bowring obtained his edu- 
 cation partly in England, and partly at 
 the common schools of this country. 
 While attending school at Lyons, N. Y. , 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIO.ORAPHWAL RECORD. 
 
 ily 
 
 he sustained an injury to his U'ft hip 
 which crippled him for Hfc. He learned 
 the art of photography in Detroit, where 
 for about a year he was in business for 
 himself; but in 1868 he moved to Green 
 Bay to become operator for H. S. Clark. 
 In 1869 he took charge of a branch gal- 
 lery in De Pere, which, at the close of the 
 year, he purchased, and has since been in 
 business for himself. Mr. Bowring was 
 married in 1874 to Miss Alice Arndt, 
 daughter of J. W. Arndt, and there have 
 been born to this union five chililren, 
 named, respectively: .Alice Irene, 'i'homas 
 Keuben, Randall, ^^'illiam Wallace and 
 Elcey Arndt. Of these, Ivandall ilied in 
 1883: the others are li\-iiit; with their par- 
 ents. In local politics Mr. Jjowring is 
 independent, supporting the men whom 
 he thinks will best perform the duties of 
 th(^ \arious offices; but in National affairs 
 he has usually been in accord with the 
 policy of the Democratic partv. He \\as 
 treasurer of De Pere in 1877 78, and is 
 the present supervisor from the First 
 ward. He is a member of the De Pere 
 Temple of Honor, was made a Freemason 
 in Detroit in 1863, and is now a member 
 of the De Pere Lodge, F. & A. M. 
 
 WILLIAM ARMSTRONG, of De- 
 Pere, is now retired on his 
 means, although when he first 
 reached De Pere he was the pos- 
 sessor of the sum of only twenty-five cents. 
 His indomitable energy and shrewd busi- 
 ness qualifications have alone been the 
 secret of his success, as will be found in 
 the sequel. He is of Scotch-Irish extrac- 
 tion, and was born in the village of 
 Hathurst, N. B., January 14. 1821, 
 son of William and Sarah (Ellis) .Xrm- 
 strong, natives, respectively, of Aberdeen, 
 Scotland, and Londonderry, Ireland, the 
 former of whom, by vocation a lumber- 
 man and ship-owner, took up his resi- 
 dence in New Brunswick, where he and 
 his wife passed their declining days. 
 
 William .Vrmstrong recei\ed a fair ed- 
 ucation at the connuon or district schools 
 of Bathurst, and at the age of tvvent\-one 
 years began work at lumbering at Paubo, 
 in the district of Gaspe. Being ver}- apt 
 and well educated, at the end of a year's 
 life in the woods he was made superin- 
 tendent of a gang-mill employing 300 
 men, nati\es of Canada, of whom two 
 only could write their names, and over 
 this large number of men he held con- 
 trol three years. In 1849, smitten with 
 the gold fever, he started for Califor- 
 nia, going by team to St. John, N. B. , 
 thence by boat to ISoston, Mass. ; but the 
 sea-going vessel had taken its departure 
 before he reached that port. This cir- 
 cumstance necessitated a change of plans, 
 on the part of Mr. Armstrong, and, after 
 working three months in a ship-xard in 
 Boston, he found his wa\' to Albany, X. 
 "\'. , where for three months he w.is em- 
 ployed in canal-boat l)uildinf;. Imoiii Al- 
 bany he went to Buffalo, N. ^'., by canal, 
 thence by steamer, via the lake, tn She- 
 boygan. Wis., and finally reached I )e- 
 Pere, his jiresent residence, about Mav 
 30, 1850, as before stated, with cmly a 
 few cents in his pocket, and om.' sint of 
 working clothes, as his trunks were de- 
 layed and did not arri\e until two nr three 
 weeks afterward. He fnund einplo}'- 
 nient in a lumber-mill as head sawyer, 
 and, after working three or four da\s the 
 proprietor was heard to remark that there 
 must be something wrong about that man, 
 for, to judge by his good writing and fig- 
 ures, he was evidently well educated and 
 superior to his present (.'mploxMnent ; so 
 he was set down as a rogue in hiding, an 
 impression which did not last long, how- 
 ever, although there was perhaps suffi- 
 cient cause for it, as he had worked in the 
 dirt and wet for two or three weeks with- 
 out change of clothes, making him look 
 very rough, a condition which was vvu\- 
 edied on the arri\'al of his trunks. .After 
 working a }'ear as head sawyer in the 
 lumber-mill he subse(]uently ri'Uted the 
 same, in partnership with James Morgan, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. Armstrong superintending thr^t inn- 
 out of the logs and the general work of 
 the gang in the forest. Having now ac- 
 cumulated some money, our subject next 
 purchased a tax-title to some heavily tim- 
 bered pine land east of De Pere, which 
 proved as prolific as any to be found in 
 the State of Wisconsin; still, with his 
 keen business eye, he saw that the price of 
 lumber was going down, and for several 
 years filled positions as superintendent 
 for various lumber companies on salarj', 
 until i860, from which time until 1862, 
 the times being troublous, he wisely ab- 
 stained from venturing his capital in busi- 
 ness. In the latter year, however, he ac- 
 cepted an appointment as deputy United 
 States marshal for the northern (iistrict of 
 Wisconsin, filled the quota of enlisted 
 men, and then proceeded to make the 
 draft for extra men over and above the 
 volunteer contingent. Inthisdraft, which 
 first occurred at Green Bay for the town of 
 Washington Island, Door county, a singu- 
 lar incident occurred: A blind man was 
 selected to do the drawing, and Mr. Arm- 
 strong gave the wheel containing the 
 names of the men to be drawn, three 
 turns; a somewhat prominent fisherman, 
 standing near, demanded another turn of 
 the wheel, until he said enough, and, on 
 this being done, the first name drawn was 
 that of Robert Nolan, the fisherman who 
 had demanded a new turn of the wheel. 
 For two years Mr. Armstrong filled the 
 office of provost marshal, and in 1864 
 started for the gold fields of Montana, 
 where he secured a placer claim on Hen- 
 derson Gulch, and wrought out $12,000 
 in one season. He also bought an inter- 
 est in a ranch on Burnt Fork, a stream 
 that emptied into Bitter Root valley, from 
 which he produced 250 barrels of flour, 
 which was sold at forty dollars per barrel; 
 1.500 bushels of potatoes, sold at seven 
 dollars and fifty cents per bushel; 1,200 
 bushels of oats, sold at five dollars per 
 bushel, all spot gold; onions sold at 
 twenty-five cents per pound, rutabagas 
 at fifteen cents per pound, and other 
 
 I'loducts in proportion. A portion of his 
 produce was sent to the mines market, 
 140 miles away, and the hauling was done 
 b)- four six-yoke oxen-teams, and two 
 four-horse teams, the rate of freight being 
 four cents per pound. Mr. Armstrong 
 also purchased beef cattle in large quan- 
 tities, which he slaughtered and solil for 
 food to the miners; and thus life was 
 passed at the mining districts, to the great 
 profit of Mr. Armstrong, his gain for his 
 residence of two years on the ranch being 
 ten thousand dollars, or more. He was 
 always a favorite with the miners, among 
 whom he was familiarly known by the 
 sobriquet of " Uncle Billy," and enjoyed 
 a monopoly of the trade of the camp, 
 never hesitating to run out a line of credit 
 to those who had not the ready means for 
 cash payment. During the winter season 
 he lumbered a little, whipsawed lumber 
 at two hundred dollars per thousand feet 
 for spruce, and also manufactured shingles 
 at an immense profit. He built the 
 first shingle-roofed house in Bitter Root 
 valley, and at the end of the four years 
 sold out the balance of his mining claim 
 for one thousand dollars, and went to 
 Fort Benton, thence by steamer to Omaha, 
 and from that point came to De Pere. 
 Here he was engaged two years at the 
 furnace business; next was superintendent 
 for the Fox River Iron Company for 
 about ten Vears, continuing to put money 
 in his purse and filling the position to the 
 entire satisfaction of his employers. In 
 1880 he patented a stump-puller, in the 
 manufacture of which he was engaged 
 eight years at De Pere. Of this valuable 
 implement he sold upwards of three 
 thousand, and, in addition, disposed of 
 the right to manufacture in a large extent 
 of territory. In 1889 he was appointed, 
 by President Harrison, postmaster at De- 
 Pere; but, at the expiration of the Presi- 
 dential term, resigned, for political reasons, 
 although no fault had been foimd by the 
 general public with his performance of 
 the duties of the oflirc. It will readily be 
 perceived that Mr. Armstrong is a Repub- 
 
COMMKMOllA TlVh: II IOC, UAI'II iCAL IIKCORD. 
 
 131 
 
 lican ill politics, aiiil as suili lias bcrii 
 elected three terms as akleniiaii, in which 
 caj.iHcity lie is now serviiii;'. h'oi- one 
 term, also, he served as president ol ICast 
 Ue Pere vilhi^', :inil in all public oi'lices 
 he has discharm-d his duties with credit to 
 himself and to the ])ul)lie. In relif^ioii he 
 is a birthrij^ht member of the Presbyterian 
 Church, and in i .S74 was also :ulnntte(l, 
 by profession of faith, as a nu-ndicr of the 
 church at De Pere, of which liod\- he is 
 now an elder, and has always li\ed up to 
 its teachinj;s. 
 
 (3n March 25. 1S51, Mr. Armstrong; 
 was hap|)il\- married to Miss Rebecca 
 Rogers, a nati\i'of No\a Scotia, and a 
 daughti>r of I)a\id and Hannah (Iladley), 
 Rogers, who ended their life pilgrimage in 
 Mr. Armstrong's land of birth. 'l"o the 
 union of Mi. and Mrs. Armstrong ha\e 
 been born I wo children, \i/. : Alexanih'r, 
 born January 4, 1S5J, married to Mary 
 Hannah, and now residing in Chicago, 
 111., and William S. , born January 2, 
 1863, and now a resident of Cirei-n Bay, 
 Wis. William Armstrong is, strictly 
 speaking, a self-made man, ha\ing in- 
 hcrit(>d nothing from his lather, \\iio was 
 reduced from most eN<'cllent circumstances 
 by the failure of Joseph C. Cunard, ship- 
 builder and shi]i-owner. But Mr. Arm- 
 strong has e\'er been a moral man, has 
 been enterprising and industrious, and is 
 now retired with a i'omfortal)le com- 
 petence. 
 
 CHAl'NCY N. ALDKICH, one of 
 the earliest and best-known resi- 
 lients of Preble township. Brown 
 county, is a native of Cortland 
 county, N. Y., born in tlu' town of Preble, 
 May I I, 1825. 
 
 His father, [onallian Aldrich, who was 
 a farmer, first saw the light in \'ermont, 
 where he married .Amelia Cains, and to 
 this union were born children as follows: 
 Jonathan, who died al)out 1S90, at Am- 
 herst, Portage Co., Wis.; Penelope, who 
 
 married Calel) Blancliard. ami dieil in 
 I A'wis County, N. \ . ; ( )li\e, w ho w as fust 
 maiMr<l to Horatio llow.iid. ,iiid later to 
 William H. ISriice (slu' died mi the farm 
 of our subject 1; .\melia, who niairieil 
 I'raiicis Cilbcrt, and dieil at (iieiui l!ay; 
 Delight, who was married to Ko\ al 
 ]acobs, and died m Michigan; \ alciit iiie, 
 who died m C oopi/i slow n, Manitowoc 
 Co, , Wis. ; Amasa ( 1. , w ho i\\rK\ m I'l cble. 
 Cortland Co., N. Y. ; Asa 11., who <lied 
 in Brown coimt\-, Wis.; Samuel M., who 
 <lie<l on the farm of his brother, ('. N. ; 
 (laiiis 1)., who died in Cireeii l>ay; 
 ( haimcy N., specialK mentioned liirther 
 on; and Ke.wille K., (U^ceased in inlancy. 
 The father of this family was a lik'-long 
 agrii lilt ui'ist, and made his home in Ni'vv 
 \dik State for many j'ears, dying .Xii^ust 
 13, 18.18, in the town of Scott. Cortland 
 eoiml\'; he was bin led in I'rcblc. same 
 county. His wife, who snr\i\i<l him 
 niaiu' \ears, passed awa\' |nne 1, 1 871, 
 in Prelije township, lirown t"o, , Wis., at 
 the home of lier son Chauucy N., andher 
 remains now rest in a pri\'ate cemetery 
 on his farm, wlu're she w.is laid at lu'r 
 own recpiest. She was :i member ol the 
 Methodist Chunh. Jonathan .\ldrich 
 was a Democrat of the " [acksonian 
 stri]ie,"and a \cr)' stanch adherent ol the 
 party. 
 
 Chaimcy X. Aldrich is the sole sur\i- 
 Ncir of the iannl)' ol twelve (diildren born 
 to Jonathan and Amelia ((iains) Aldric:li. 
 He received such an education as the 
 common scliools of his time aflonled. and 
 was reared a farmer l)oy, residing at honu; 
 up to the time of his father's death. The 
 latter had re(]ueste<l him to go west to 
 Pirown countw \\ is. , and make his home 
 with his brothei'-in-law, William W. 
 I'lruce, until he reached his majority, and 
 after attending school one year longer he 
 left his native place for the " ['"ar West," 
 as W'isconsin was then considered. He 
 madi: the journey by wagon to Syracuse, 
 bv canal to lUiffalo, and thence by lake 
 on the boat "Plinois," Cajit. Blake (her 
 first tri])), to Mackinaw, where he waited 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 for a boat to Green Bay. He took pas- 
 sage on the "Gov. Marcy, " and arrived 
 at his destination October 24, 1839. His 
 brother-in-law, Mr. Hrucc (above men- 
 tioned), was a genera! merchant at Green 
 Bay, and young .-Mdrich resided with him 
 for seven years, engaged at various kinds 
 of labor, driving team, working on the 
 farm, and in fact doing anything that 
 presented itself. 
 
 At the age of twenty-two Mr. Aid- 
 rich was united in marriage, at Green 
 Bay, with Miss .\manda Porter, who was 
 born at Coeymans, N. Y. , daughter of 
 John Porter. Mr. Aldrich, in the mean- 
 time, had saved a few dollars, and shortly 
 after his marriage located on the farm 
 where he has ever since resided, and 
 which then belonged to his brother-in- 
 law, Mr. Bruce. At the time our sub- 
 ject came here there was not a building 
 between the farm and Green Bay, and 
 the roads had to be cut out as he went 
 along The old house which he first oc- 
 cupied is still standing. Here he has 
 since made his home, with the exception 
 of one year, when he lived in Stephens- 
 ville. Outagamie county. Mr. Aldrich 
 has been a farmer and stockman, and he 
 has seen his land converted from its 
 primitive condition, the forests sup- 
 planted by fertile fields, all representing 
 many years of harfl, unremitting toil. 
 When he first located here wild animals 
 abounded, deer and wolves being especi- 
 ally numerous. His farm consists of 160 
 acres of good laud. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs Aldricii have been 
 born nine children, a brief record of them 
 being as follows: Arthur X. is a resident 
 of Larimer county, Colo. ; Amelia is the 
 wife of John Cojipens, tf Humboldt town- 
 ship: Olive is married to Henry Rock- 
 well, of Preble township; Lavina married 
 Charles Sidel. and died in Wausau.Wis. , 
 leaving four children; Madison is a resi- 
 dent of Preble township; Chauncy N. 
 died when three months old; William is 
 livim; at home; Delight is the wife of 
 Fred I^ockwell. of Preble township; 
 
 Porter lives at home. Politically a Demo- 
 crat, .Mr. Aldrich has been one of the 
 stanch supporters of the party in his 
 township, and has been called on to 
 serve in many positions of trust, such as 
 chairman of the board, in which capacity 
 he has served for twenty years, at various 
 times, at one time holding the office when 
 his jurisdiction e.xtended over what is now 
 six townships. He has also served two 
 years as township treasurer, and has been 
 justice of the peace, filling every position 
 with credit to himself and satisfaction to 
 his constituency. In religious connection 
 Mrs. Aldrich is a member of the Baptist 
 Church. 
 
 FKblD. P. GROSS, a well-known 
 citizen of Fort Howard. Brown 
 county, was born in 1863, in Mor- 
 rison township. Brown Co., 
 Wis., and was educated in the schools of 
 the locality. His parents, John G. and 
 Margaret (Moschel) Gross, were born in 
 (iermany, near the "wild and winding 
 Rhine," the father coming to this vicinity 
 when a voung man, about 1852, and set- 
 tling on a farm in the woods. F'or some 
 years subsequent to 1 87 1 he was pro- 
 prietor of a sawmill, and he and his wife 
 are now residents of Morrison township, 
 Brown county. Their children are: Car- 
 oline, wife of Frank Falk, of Seymour, 
 Wis. ; Louisa, wife of Joseph Leonard, of 
 Medford, Wis. ; August, married and re- 
 siding in Morrison township, where he 
 operates a sawmill; John, married and 
 resitling in Fort Howard, engaged in the 
 saloon business; Fred. P, , the subject of 
 this article; Maggie. wife of Daniel 
 Schunk. of Morrison township; Sophia, 
 wife of \^'illiam Peters, of Bulli(ni. Wis. ; 
 Christina, wife of Charlcj' Furslenburg. 
 also of Bullion, and Godfrey, residing 
 in Fort Howard. 
 
 Our subject resided on the home farm 
 and was engaged in milling pursuits until 
 April. 1S89, when he located at I'ort 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGHAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 [33 
 
 Howard, embarking the following year in 
 the saloon business on Broadway. He is 
 a Democrat in politics, and in the spring 
 of 1894 was elected su]iervisor of the 
 Third ward, Fort Howard, his opponent 
 being A. L. Gra}'. In 1890 he was mar- 
 ried, in Morrison townshi)),to Miss Minnie 
 Lapnow, a native of that township, 
 daughter of Fred Lapnow, and they have 
 two children: Laura and Minnie. Mr. 
 Gross, with his wife, belongs to the Lu- 
 theran Church, and he is a member of the 
 F. & A. M. , Despres Lodge, No. 85, of the 
 American Legicm of Honor, and of the 
 Turnverein. 
 
 JOHN COOK, fashionable merchant 
 tailor, and proprietor of the ojiera 
 house at De Fere, Brown county, is 
 a native of that city, born March 2 I, 
 1S56, a son of John and Catherme 
 (Uwyerj Cook. 
 
 The father of our subject was a na- 
 tive of Germany, a tailor bv trade, and 
 came to the United States with his par- 
 ents, who settled at Tiffui, Ohio, in 1832. 
 In 1848 he came tcj De Fere, and in 1849 
 established a merchant-tailoring establish- 
 ment. In 1858 he purchased a farm of 
 fifty-eight acres one-half mile south of 
 East De Fere, antl upon it uK.ixed his 
 famil)', but retained his business in the 
 village until his death. He was a Demo- 
 crat in politics, served as chairman of 
 the board of supervisors some eight or 
 nine years, was a member of the Catholic 
 Church, and was regarded as a man of 
 the strictest integrity. ' His wife, Mrs. 
 Catherine (Divyer) Cook, was born near 
 Dublin, Ireland, and came to the United 
 States with her brothers and sisters, set- 
 tling in the northcu-n part of Illinois, in 
 Lake county, in which State she became 
 acquainted with Mr. Cook. Her death 
 took place in i860, and her remains lie 
 interred beside those of her husband in 
 the Catholic cemetery, just south of 
 Green Bav and cast of Shantvtown. Mr. 
 
 and Mrs. Cook had born to them a family 
 of three children, viz.: Mary, who mar- 
 ried Albert Martens, of De Fere; Isadore 
 William, who went to ('alifornia twenty 
 years ago. and |ohn, the subject of this 
 sketch. The last named was educated 
 in the De Fere schools, and was taught 
 his trade by his father. In the f:dl of 
 1882 he began merchant tailoring on his 
 own account, and has since been at the 
 head of the trade in De Fere. On Ai)ril 
 10, 1 888, he opened his opera house to 
 the public, and has found it to be a profit- 
 able iuN'estment; the building is a frame 
 structure, with an auditorium 60 x 114 
 feet, antl has a seating cajiacity for si.\ 
 hundred persons, but. on e.xtraortlinary 
 occasions, from nine hundred to one 
 thousand can be crowded within its walls. 
 In politics Mr. Cook is Democratic, 
 in I S90 was elected alderman from the 
 First ward of De Fere, and proved him- 
 self so efficient that he was re-elected in 
 1891 ; in religious faith he is a member of 
 the Catholic Church. In the fall of 1888 
 he was married to Catherine Rooncy, who 
 was liorn in Canada, andonechild, Cyrill, 
 has blessed this imion. Mr. Cook has 
 led a life of integrity and industry, and is 
 recognized as one of the solid men of 
 De Fere. 
 
 Ji;. L.\ST, general freight and pas- 
 senger agent at Green Bay for the 
 Green Bay, Winona ev St. Faul, the 
 Kewaunee and Green ISay tS; Western 
 Railroad Companies, is one of the most 
 popular, c(.)urteous and obliging railroad 
 officials to be found in the State. 
 
 Mr. Last was born at Green I5ay, in 
 1848, a son of |ohn and Sarah (Green) 
 Last, the father a native of near London, 
 England, the mother of New Yiu-k. Some 
 time in the "thirties" John Last immi- 
 grated to America, and coming to Wis- 
 consin settled in Green Bay. He <licd in 
 1884; his widow is still a ri'-^idcnt of 
 Green I5a\'. After receiving a libei'al ed- 
 
'I 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ucation at the scliools of his nati\e town, 
 our subject commenced active business 
 life in the service of the American Ex- 
 press Company as messenger between 
 Green Bay and Oshkosli, Wis. This po- 
 sition he held for about one year (1866), 
 and then accepted a engagement as clerk 
 for the Chicago & Northwestern Railway 
 Company at Fort Howard, remaining there 
 three years, at the end of which time he 
 embarked in mercantile business in Green 
 Bay. At the close of six years, his in- 
 clinations tending more toward railroad 
 work, he entered, as clerk, the general 
 freight offices of the Green Bay, Winona 
 & St. Paul railroad. In the fall of 1882 
 he went to Chicago as general agent 
 for the Milwaukee & Northern railroad, 
 being located there until the spring of 
 1883. We next find our subject in Den- 
 ver, Colo., where he was in the service 
 of the Claim Department of the Union 
 Pacific railroad till 1887, in which }ear he 
 returned to Green Bay. Here he was lo- 
 cal agent for the United States Express 
 Company some two jears, when (1889) 
 he was appointed to his present position, 
 to which, by his wide experience and gen- 
 eral qualifications, he is admirably 
 adapted. 
 
 FllKDIXAXD GOFFART, justice 
 of the peace, and one of the most 
 extensi\e farmers of De Pere 
 township, Brown count}', was 
 born November 18, 1836, in Belgium, son 
 of Peter J. Goffart. The latter was a 
 gardener and store-keeper, and also fol- 
 lowed the business of dyer, besides 
 various other occupations. He had eight 
 children — five sons and three daughters — 
 of whom Ferdinand is tiie second child 
 and eldest son 
 
 Our subject first attended the village 
 schools, and then for two years went to a 
 graderl school, receiving a very fair educa- 
 tion, all in French. It was the intention 
 of his parents to educate him for profes- 
 
 sional life, but, his father dying when he 
 was sixteen years old, he was obliged to 
 leave school and assist in the support of 
 the family. Concluding he could better 
 his condition by coming to the United 
 States, he bade farewell to his home and 
 friends, and in the spring of 1857 sailed 
 from Antwerp on the "John Elliot," 
 landing at New York after a voyage of 
 fifty-six days. His destination was Green 
 Bay, W^is. , and thither he proceeded from 
 New York by rail and water, arriving 
 August 8. The first work he did in the 
 New World was on a piece of land in the 
 town of Scott, Brown Co., W^is. , which 
 he abandoned after some time, and hard 
 work, and later he went to Bay Settle- 
 ment; proceeding to Red River township, 
 Kewaunee county, he jirospected for land; 
 but, not being satisfied, he returned to 
 Green Bay. In the following spring 
 (1858) he came to De Pere township. 
 Brown county, and here purchased about 
 one hundred acres of land, paying there- 
 for eleven hundred dollars. On this 
 tract he erected a round-log house. 14 x 16, 
 which was the first building on the place, 
 and there was only one other house be- 
 tween it and De Pere. He immediately 
 set to work to clear up the land, which 
 was densely covered with timber, princi- 
 pally beech and maple, but he also found 
 some pine, black birch, elm and ash 
 trees; on one part of the land was a heavy 
 growth of "sugar bush." After much 
 hard work he succeeded in clearing space 
 enough to put in a crop, the first being 
 rye, and as the years passed the entire 
 tract gradually became a well-culti\ated 
 farm. In June, 1858, Mr. Goffart's wid- 
 owed mother had come hither, bringing 
 the remainder of the familv, but the 
 greater part of the responsibility rested on 
 Ferdinand. She died in Rockland town- 
 ship. Brown countv, in 188S, and was 
 buried in De Pere cemetery. 
 
 On March 9, 1861. Ferdinand Goffart 
 was united in marriage in Fremont coun- 
 ty, Iowa, with Miss ]nlia E. I'rederick- 
 son, who was born in Burlington. Racine 
 
COMMEMORATIVK DIOaHAPIIICA L UECOUD. 
 
 125 
 
 Co., Wis., and to this union were born 
 twelve children, eit;ht of whom are now 
 living, \v/.. : Sylvester, a resident of the 
 State of Washingjton; Mary C, now Mrs. 
 Oscar Barknian, of St. Paul, Minn. ; 
 Adaline, a Sister in the convent at De- 
 troit; Noah, residing;' in the State of 
 Washington; Isabella, Sister in the con- 
 vent at Chicago, 111. ; Sedonia, at home; 
 and Emily and Julia, both of Detroit, 
 Mich. Those deceased are Christiana, 
 Charlotte S., Mary S. and Francis B. 
 The mother of these died in 1882, and 
 was buried in De Pere cemetery. On 
 September 24, 1882, Mr. Goffart was 
 married in De Pere, for his second wife, 
 to Pelagie Bell, who was born December 
 31, 1 85 I, in Belgium, daughter of Remy 
 Bell, and came to the United States in 
 1865. To this marriage were born chil- 
 dren as follows: Victor B. (deceased), 
 Rachel, Isaac, Rebecca, Moses, Zipporah 
 (deceased), and Aaron. Immediately after 
 his marriage to Julia Frederickson, Mr. 
 Goffart went to South Dakota and took 
 up a homestead at Elk Point, on the Mis- 
 souri river, where he remained for nearly 
 two years. He then removed to Iowa 
 City, Iowa, and while there enlisted, on 
 August 9, 1862, in Company G, Twenty- 
 second Iowa V. I., for three years. He 
 served to the close of the war, and was 
 discharged in July, 1865, in Savannah, 
 Ga. , being mustered out at Davenport, 
 Iowa, and during his entire serxice he 
 was never on the sick list, and was never 
 wounded. Upon his return home from 
 the army he \\'ent back to Dakota, and 
 thence, after a residence of two years 
 more, removed to Detroit, Mich., and for 
 one summer acted as superintendent of a 
 farm near that city. Then, in 1868, he 
 came to his present farm in De Pere 
 township. Brown Co., Wis., which at 
 that time was in a totally unimproved 
 condition, and here he has ever since 
 made his home. He now owns 225 acres 
 of excellent land, and is one of the most 
 extensive agriculturists of his section. He 
 has labored much and endured many 
 
 hardships in the clearing and subduing of 
 his land, and during his residence here he 
 has seen the entire surrounding country 
 transformed from a wilderness into fertile 
 farms. He and his estimable wife are 
 now about to live a retire<l life. During 
 his service in the Civil war Mr. Goffart saw 
 a great deal of the South; he is a well-read 
 man and an observer, and is possessed 
 of no small stock of general information. 
 During the war he was a Republican, but 
 he has since been a member of the Demo- 
 cratic party, and is a strong supporter of 
 its principles, always voting that ticket 
 in State and National elections, but in 
 township and county affairs he exercises 
 his franchise according to the dictates of 
 his own conscience. He has been elected 
 to various offices in his township, has 
 been member of the school board, clerk 
 of same, and is at present serving as jus- 
 tice of the peace, an office he has held 
 with eminent satisfaction to all for the 
 past fifteen years. He and his wife are 
 members of the Catholic Church. 
 
 ALEX. CLEEREMANS, alderman 
 fn.iiri the Second ward, P'ort 
 Howard, is now serving his first 
 term in that capacity. He is also 
 engaged in gardening, and for the past 
 nine years has been janitor of the Second 
 ward schoolhouse. He took the State 
 census for a certain district in 1885, and 
 has gathered statistics for the school cen- 
 sus for eight years in succession. 
 
 Mr. Cleeremans, who is a son of 
 Frank and Josie (DeLangi Cleeremans, 
 was born in 1850 in the vilhige of \\'eert 
 St. Georges, Belgium, anil came with his 
 parents to the vicinity of (uecn Bay in 
 1867, the family settling on a farm in the 
 forest of Scott township. The fatlier 
 
 died in 1876, the mother in 1S71. 
 
 Ak 
 
 is one of the family of live sons, the other 
 four being: Charley, a gardener of Fort 
 Howard; John, working at the carpenter's 
 trade in the same citv; P'rank, a farmer 
 
126 
 
 COMMKMdHATlVE DIOGRAPIHCAL liECOUD. 
 
 in Scott township; and Henry, a sawyer 
 or setter in the mills at Oconto. Alex, 
 received his education in Belgium, in 
 both the Belgian and French languages. 
 He aided his father in clearing and im- 
 proving the Scott township farm, and 
 after coming to Fort Howard, in 1871, 
 worked in the McDonald mills, and for 
 the government in the stone cjuarry. In 
 1877 he went to Oregon, thence two 
 months later to Nevada, where he worked 
 in the mountains, getting out mining 
 timber for McKay & Fair. He came 
 home in the latter part of the same year, 
 by wa)- of California and Oregon; from 
 1880 till 1886 was tie inspector for the 
 Chicago & Northwestern railroad, and 
 now owns a fine garden tract of four 
 acres within the cit\' limits. He was 
 married, in 1 874, in Duck Creek, town 
 of Howard, to Miss Sophia Simoens, who 
 was born in Cleveland, Ohio, daughter of 
 F'rank and Theresa (Hooters) Simoens, 
 natives of Belgium, who sattled near Fort 
 Howard in 1857, on a farm in Howard 
 township. Her father now resides in Fort 
 Howard; her mother died January i, 
 1886. Of their eight children three are 
 living: Nettie, wife of Bernard Vaner- 
 beck; Mrs. Cleeremans; and Henry, of 
 Fort Howard. The children of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Cleeremans are: Celia, Joseph, 
 Rosa, Angeline, Anna, Lucy. Willie and 
 Laura. Mr. Cleeremans is a Democrat 
 in ]Kjlitics, and was elected several times 
 to Congressional and Senatorial conven- 
 tions. He is a member of St. Joseph's 
 Society of Green Bay, and, with his wife, 
 belongs to St. Patrick's Catholic Church. 
 
 PLTER HFKBICR, an energetic 
 young farmer of Howard town- 
 ship. Brown county, was born in 
 New York, Mav 6, 1855. a son of 
 John and I'lizabeth ,'Ftich< Herber. 
 
 John Herber was born in Kotherburg, ; 
 Germany, .April 14, 1816. left his home | 
 at the age of thirteen years, and was em- 
 
 ployed as a laborer through the country. 
 On November 15, 1854, he married, and 
 the same year startc(i for the United 
 States via Liverpool, the \oyagc from 
 that port to New York occui>yitig si.x 
 weeks. .After working in a stone quarry 
 in New York until 1856, he came to 
 Wisconsin, and first settled in Eaton tosvn- 
 ship. Brown count}', where he resided 
 twelve years, cleared up a farm, for two 
 years rented one, and then bought his 
 present place of fifty-seven acres in How- 
 ard township. This tract was partly im- 
 proved, and for seven years he made his 
 home in the log house then on the prem- 
 ises, afterward moving into his present 
 handsome and convenient dwelling. Mrs. 
 Elizabeth Herber was born in Bavaria, 
 Germany, January 23, 1824, but lost her 
 parents when she was a little girl. 
 
 Peter Herber is an only child, and has 
 always lived under the parental roof. He 
 was reared to the useful j^ursuit of farm- 
 ing, and on October 25, 1881. married 
 Miss Karoline Breuninger. a native of 
 Green Bay, born October 2. 1857, and a 
 daughter of Karl and Sophia (Huenger) 
 Brueninger, the former of whom was born 
 at Shrotsburg. W'urtemburg, Germany, No- 
 vember 23, 18 1 8, and in 1 840 came to 
 the United States, and for a year lived in 
 the State of Delaware; he next went to 
 Ohio, and four months later came to 
 Wisconsin and settled in Green Bay, 
 where his death occurred March 3. 1866. 
 He was a son of John Breuninger, an old 
 school-teacher, who was born in Kocher- 
 stertien. and there died: his wife, Sophia 
 C. Phaff. was born February 17. i^oo. 
 in Hermersberg Castle, and her death 
 took place October 9. 1834, at the place 
 where her husband's death occurred. 
 Karl Breuninger. as mav well be sup- 
 posed, was a hiirhly-ediicated man, and 
 wascniplovcd in clerical work. His wife, 
 Sophia Huenger. w-as born in Saxony, 
 and is now a resident of Preble township, 
 Brow-n county. 
 
 To the union of Peter and Karoline 
 Hcrbor have been born three children, 
 
CO.VMKMDIIA Tl \'E BloaUAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 viz.: Henry J., October 4, iSS:?; Peter 
 K., February 15, 1SS4; and Karl 1'., 
 October 4, 1886. After hi'- niarriaf;e 
 Mr. Herber settled dnwii on the old 
 homestead, and has increased his posses- 
 sions to eif,dity acres, v\'hich he (U'Notes to 
 general farming'. ]^>oth father and son 
 have been hard-\vorkinf,^ industrious men 
 and worthy citizens, and to illustrate in a 
 small way the hardships of pioneer life it 
 may be mentioned that the elder Mr. 
 Herber, on hrst settling, was obliged to 
 pawn his coat in order to obtain ati a.\e 
 wherewith to cho]) wood, so scarce was 
 money in that day. In politics, both 
 father and son are Republicans, the 
 father luu'ing cast liis first Presidential 
 vote for Abraham Lincoln, ami tht' son 
 for Rutherford B. Ha\es. 
 
 JOHN CONNELLY, inoprietor of 
 the "Pine ("iro\'e Hotel," and a suc- 
 cessful, self-made man, of IJe Pere 
 township, ISrown county, is de- 
 scended from Scotch-Irish ancestry. He 
 was born March J5, 1840, in 'hiehi-c. 
 Lower C'anada (now known as the Prov- 
 ince of Ouebec), a son of Michael Con- 
 nelly, who was a natixe of county Lim- 
 erick, Ireland, 
 
 \Mien a voung man Michael Coniielh 
 immigrated to Canatia, wherc> he married 
 Mary Hamilton, a native of County Don- 
 egal, Ireland, and to their union were 
 born fifteen children --four sons antl 
 eleven daughters — seven of whom are yet 
 living. Michael, who was a farmer in 
 Quebec, in the fall of 1S65 came with his 
 family to De Pere, lirown Co., Wis., later 
 moving to Bay Settlement, same county, 
 and here for some time worked in a saw- 
 mill. He then remo\ed to Belle\iie town- 
 shi]\ where he had purchased a partly- 
 improved farm of 140 acres, and there 
 made his home for a number of vears, 
 finally returning to l)e Pere township, 
 \vhere he and his wife are now ])assing 
 • their declining years. Two of the daugh- 
 
 ters. Mary Jane and Jennie, also came to 
 I)e Pere in 1865. Mr. Connolly is a 
 Democrat in jiolitics, but he takes no ac- 
 ti\e interest in party affairs. 
 
 lohii Comii'lly, the subject jiroper of 
 these lines, li\ed with his parents until he 
 reachi'd the age of se\enteen, at which 
 time he commenced to \\'ork in the lum- 
 ber regions. Up to that jteriod he had 
 recei\ed no schooling wliatever, but he 
 then attended a night school, where he 
 received a fair common-school education, 
 the instruction being in the P'rench lan- 
 guagi', which he learned to read and write. 
 He was two years in W'ilkinsoiiville, 
 Mass., near Worcester, working in cotton 
 fact<iries and mills; from there went to 
 l,ower Canada and bought a farm of ninety 
 acres, x\hich he sold, and then located in 
 Belleville, Ujijier Canada (Ontario), where 
 he again attended night school. On July 
 17, 1865, Mr. Connelly was married in 
 Belleville to Miss Mary McDermott, a 
 native of Canada, daughter of Michael 
 McDermott. At this time (jur subject had 
 about one thousand dollars, every cent of 
 which h(^ had saved from his own earn- 
 ings. In Octoln-r, i8()5, he returnetl to 
 De Pere, Wis., and worked f(M' (nie year 
 
 , for Reed in a sawmill, thence going to 
 Bay Settlement, in Scott township, I>rown 
 comity, where he was employed for se\'en 
 years as foreman and sujierintendeiit of a 
 sawmill, and as foreman in the \\-oods. 
 About 1867 he iiurchased 160 acres of 
 land in Bellevue township. Brown county, 
 and the family resided there off ,-uid on, 
 never making a permanent home thi-re, 
 however, until 1888, as Mr. Connelly's 
 work took him to various places. I"or 
 many years he was in theemployof Anton 
 Clans and other lumbermen, and for four 
 years resided at Angelica, Wis., where he 
 was su]ierintendent of a sawmill. In 1871 
 
 1 Mr. and Mrs. (\;nnelly, while residing in 
 the town of Scott, lost ever\thiiig in the 
 
 I great lire that broke out there on the 
 night of October 7, and which drstroyed 
 
 the sawmill, 
 ino' bnildint; 
 
 as well as rll th 
 ;, includin 
 
 md- 
 
 the boarding 
 
I2S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGllAI'lIlCAL RECORD. 
 
 house, besides the cattle, horses, etc. 
 Mrs. Connelly and her children escaped 
 from the boardinj; house with nothini; but 
 their night clothes, and, taking to the 
 woods for their lives, succeeded, after a 
 desperate fight with fire and smoke, in 
 reaching a clearing, where they were in 
 comparative safety; but the infant, Johnnie, 
 whom the mother carried in her arms, was 
 so injured by the heat that it died a few 
 months afterward. Mrs. Connelly, as 
 soon as possible, went to the home of her 
 parents in Hellcviile, Canada, there to re- 
 main till her husband should have a new 
 home prepared, and in the meantime he 
 and his crew were fighting the flames, 
 which continued in great fury for three 
 weeks. Prior to the fire Mr. Connelly 
 had been working as engineer for a saw- 
 mill in Brussels township, Door county; 
 but as there was considerable danger of 
 fire, of which there was a good deal 
 throughout the woods at that time, he 
 left there for Scott township, and the 
 very night of the breaking out of the fire 
 in the latter locality a conflagration burst 
 out in Brussels township, which destroyed 
 everything for miles around, no less than 
 sixty people being burned to death, in- 
 cluding the man Mr. Connelly had en- 
 gaged to take his place; and our subject, 
 on visiting the spot shortly afterward, saw 
 sixteen charred bodies of his old comrades 
 lying close together. 
 
 After the fire in Scott township, Mr. 
 Connelly put up a mill for Anton Claus 
 on the spot where the burned mill stood, 
 and this he superintended some ten 
 months. His wife and children having 
 returned from Canada by this time, he, in 
 1888, moved with them to his farm; but 
 after two years he removed to Little River 
 in order to superintend the erection of a 
 mill for Marshall & Holmes. After this 
 he again returned to the farm, and re- 
 mained there until 1891, in which year he 
 ramc tw Pine Grove, where he now con- 
 ducts the "Pine Ciro\e Hotel," of which 
 he is pro|)rietor. He is the owner of 227 
 acres of land, all representing years of 
 
 hard work and thrift. His success has 
 been the direct result of his own individual 
 energy and good business management, 
 coupled with industry and a strong deter- 
 mination to win. His long and varied 
 experience in the lumber business made 
 him one of the most competent managers 
 in that line, and at different times he had 
 as many as one hundred men under his 
 direction. 
 
 Mr. Connelly has taken an active and 
 leading interest in the welfare of his town- 
 ship and county, and is recognized as a 
 progressive, loyal citizen. He has served 
 his community in various capacities, hav- 
 ing been chairman and supervisor of Belle- 
 vue townshii) for eight years, and for 
 twelve years he was a member of the 
 school board, acting as director and treas- 
 urer. In his ])olitical affiliations Mr. 
 Connelly was a Republican until 1884, 
 since when he has been non-partisan, 
 voting for the best man, regardless of 
 party lines. He is not an advocate of 
 free trade, but believes in tariff reduction. 
 In religious connection he antl his wife are 
 members of St. Francis Catholic Church, 
 De Pere. They had children, as follows: 
 Li/zie, wife of Henry Nachtwey, a mer- 
 chant of Pine Grove; Rosa, Mrs. Frank 
 Novakafsky, of Green Bay; John, de- 
 ceased in infancy; and John, Edward and 
 Arthur, at home. 
 
 FK.\NK HllVRMAN. Among the 
 early pioneer families of Preble 
 township. Brown county, none 
 arc better known than the Hcjt- 
 man family, the first of whom to come to 
 Wisconsin was John Heyrman fgrand- 
 father of Frank Heyrman), who. about 
 the year 1856, came to the United States 
 from Belgium, where he was a well-to-do 
 farmer. 
 
 John Heyrman married in his native 
 country, and there three sons were, born 
 to him: Charles L. . who is mentioned 
 farther on; J'>hn B., editor of a news- 
 
COMMKilOllA TIVK B lOUUAPIIICAL IIKCORD. 
 
 paper at De Pere; and Joseph, now de- 
 ceased, who was a ci\il engineer at Green 
 Bay. The mother of these died on the 
 ocean, wiiile the family were <•// roii/c for 
 America, and was buried at sea. From 
 the port of landing the father and sons 
 came by rail to Chicag(.i. 111., thence by 
 water to Green Bay, Wis., where they 
 arrived May 4, 1856. Here they niacfe 
 but a short stay while deciding on a place 
 to locate, and then made a settlement in 
 Preble tcnvnship, where Mr. Heyrman, 
 who was a man of considerable means, 
 purchased a farm of 160 acres, the same 
 his grandson Frank Heyrman now re- 
 sides on. At that time not a tree had 
 been felled, nor a habitation of an}' kind 
 erected by white men; but they soon 
 had l)uilt a log cabin, in which they re- 
 sided until i.SC)S, when it was supplanted 
 by a more substantial residence, which 
 still stands. The hind was ilensely 
 covered with oak, pine, hemlock and 
 maple trees, and, in the low places, ash 
 trees, and wild animals were still numer- 
 ous and troublesome. But the forests 
 soon gave way before the axe of the pio- 
 neer, and the cleared land not only af- 
 forded support for the family, but yielded 
 a comfortable income as well. On this 
 farm John Heyrman passed the remainder 
 of his life, dying August 25, 1874, a 
 member of the Catholic Church, and he 
 was buried in the Finger Church ceme- 
 tery. Prior to his decease his two younger 
 sons had left home and engaged in busi- 
 ness, Charles L. alone remaining on the 
 farm. 
 
 Charles L. Heyrman was born Septem- 
 ber 8, 1827, in Belgium, and, as will be 
 seen, was nearly thirty years of age when 
 he came with his father to the United 
 States. In Brown countv, Wis., on Jan- 
 uary 6, 1857, he was united in marriage 
 with Miss Monica Van Lent, also a native 
 of Belgium, and they immediately settled 
 on the home farm with his father, and 
 there made a permanent home. To their 
 union were born six children, of whom 
 Frank is the subject of this sketch; Mary 
 
 is the wife of Martin Lindsley, of Belle- 
 vue township; Celia is married to Julius 
 Lamal, of Humboldt township; PZdward 
 died in 1893 at the age of twenty-four 
 years; two sons died in infancy. Mr. 
 Heyrman was very successful, and became 
 one of the leading farmers in his town- 
 ship, continuing to live on the home farm 
 until his death, which occurred Septem- 
 ber 8, 1889, when he was just sixty-two 
 years oki, and his remains now rest in the 
 I'^inger Church cemetery. He was a 
 Catholic in religious faith, and one of the 
 founders of the Church of the Holy Mar- 
 tyrs of Gorcuin, in Preble township, of 
 which for many \oars he was a leading 
 member. Mr. Heyrman ser\'ed as super- 
 visor (jf his township; in his political 
 preferences he was a Democrat, invari- 
 ably supporting that party in State and 
 National elections. l)Ut in township and 
 county affairs he was non-partisan, the 
 fitness of a candidate being more im- 
 jiortant to him than party connection. 
 Since his death his widow has resided on 
 the home farm with our subject; she is a 
 devout member of the Catholic Church. 
 Frank Heyrman was liorn November 
 25, 1858, in Preble township. Brown 
 county, on the farm he now owns and 
 resides on. He attended the first school 
 ever held in his district, the "hall of 
 learning " being a log cabin, and was 
 among tlie tirst pupils the day it was 
 opened, the teacher being Miss Aldrich, a 
 daughter of C. N. Aldrich, of Preble 
 township. At the same time he received 
 thorough training to agriculture, uiuier the 
 direction of his father, on the home place, 
 where his whole life has been passed. On 
 February 19, 1889, our subject was 
 united in marriage with Miss Clara De- 
 Greef, who was liorn in Humboldt town- 
 ship. Brown county. November 27, 1865, 
 daughter of Anton De Greef, who came 
 from Belgium. Three children have been 
 born to them, viz. : Louis, John and 
 Kate, who represent the fourth generation 
 of the Heyrman family who have lived 
 on the farm. Politically Mr. Heyrman is 
 
'3° 
 
 COMMKMORAriVK IIIOGRAPIIICAL llKCOliD. 
 
 a Democrat, and one of the leadinj;' mem- 
 bers of the party in his township, where 
 he has held various offices of lionor and 
 trust. For two years he served in the 
 important position of chairman of the ; 
 township, and has also been assessor, 
 proving himself an efficient an<l trust- 
 worthy official. He kecjis himself in- 
 formed on the mo\ements of iiis party, 
 and is well read on all current topics, 
 finding a great help in his excellent mem- 
 ory. Though still young he is a respected, 
 worthy representative of the farming 
 community in Preble townshi)), and is 
 foremost in e\ery movement of interest 
 or benefit to his section. 
 
 NII:LS HANSEN, contractor and 
 builder, I'ort Howard. This 
 gentleman, who was born in 1840 
 in Denmark, is a son of J(jhn and 
 \'albiug (Holm) Hansen, anil one of a 
 family of nine children — five sons and 
 four daughters — of whom seven are now 
 living, all married: Peter, who lives in 
 Prussia, and Johan, in Denmark, both 
 blacksmiths; Niels, of Fort Howard; Iver, 
 a shoemaker in Denmark; Mary, wife of 
 Henry Terp, of Prussia; Anna, wife of 
 Peter Lund, a Danish farmer; and Sarah, 
 wife of John Zimmerman, of Prussia. 
 Their father, who followed blacksniithing 
 in early life, afterward became a farmer. 
 His death occurred about 1878, and that 
 of his widow in 1879, in Denmark. 
 
 Niels Hansen grew to manhood and 
 was educated in the \ icinity of Koldiiig, 
 Denmark, and during the war between 
 Denmark and Prussia served two years 
 (1863-64) in the Danish army. He learned 
 his trade in that country, following it until 
 coming to Fort Howard in 1872, in which 
 place he is now the oldest contractor. 
 Among the many buildings he has erected 
 are those of R. M. Wilson, J. L. Jorgen- 
 sen, Mrs. Blesch, James Treman, the 
 Presbyterian church, Kellogg National 
 Bank, Jorgensen & Blesch Company's 
 
 store at Green Bay, L. Gotfredson's resi- 
 dence in the same city, and others. Dur- 
 ing the busy season he furnishes employ- 
 ment to from fifteen to twent}-five hands. 
 His own residence, one of the finest in 
 Fort Howard, was built in 1891. Aside 
 from this he owns four other dwellings in 
 the city, from which he derives rental. 
 His property has been accumulated 
 through untiring industry and close econ- 
 omy, and in his declining years will serve 
 to furnish him the means for living with- 
 out the necessity of hard labor such as his 
 former years have experienced. As a 
 good citizen he takes avowed interest 
 in all that may contribute to the growth 
 and prosperity of his city. Mr. Hansen 
 was united in marriage, in 1875, to Mary 
 M. Peterson, daughter of Anders and 
 Mary Peterson, all natives of Denmark, 
 where her parents remained. The chil- 
 dren of Mr. and Mrs. Hansen are Bertha, 
 John, Lizzie and .\hin, and of these, 
 John, who is now eighteen N'ears of age, 
 holds a position as clerk in the McCart- 
 ney National Bank. In political matters 
 Mr. Hansen is actively interested, voting 
 with the Republican party. Socially he 
 is a member of Green Bay Lodge, No. 19, 
 I. O. O. F., also of Mvstical Seven Coun- 
 cil, No. 519, Ro\al .\rcanum, in which 
 latter organization he has served one 
 term as treasurer and two terms as trus- 
 tee. He and his wife are members of the 
 Presbvterian Church. 
 
 P\:V\:K HOSKLNS, a well-to-do 
 agriculturist of De Pcre township. 
 Brown county, was l>orn Feb- 
 ruary 4, 1838. in East Flanders, 
 Belgium, son of Peter J. and Catherine 
 Hoskens, farming pcojile of that country. 
 They had a family of thirteen children — 
 six sons and seven daughters — of whom 
 our subject is the eleventh. 
 
 Peter attended the schools of his birth- 
 place until he was eleven years of age, 
 when he commenced farming, working 
 
COMMEMOUA Tl VE IJIOGRAPULCAL RKCOIW. 
 
 for his father and others, perforiniiif; such 
 labor ;is his age wdiiKi permit. He re- 
 mained in his natise country until he 
 reached the ajje of twenty-six, when he 
 went ti> France, and there worked on 
 railroads for a time; he was also employed 
 (1867) at work on the then forthconnng 
 Paris Exposition. t'oncludinj; he could 
 improve his condition by comin,t( to the 
 United States, Mr. Hoskens returned to 
 his native country, and biddin;; his home 
 and friends farewell, set sail Auf^nst 20, 
 1868, from Antwerp for Liverpool, En^;- 
 land. At that [)ort he took passage on 
 the '■ Colorado," and after a voyage of 
 thirteen days landed in New York, fnom 
 which city he came, with several others of 
 his countrymen, to Green Bay, Wis., ar- 
 riving Septeml)er 8. He remaineif over 
 night with John Martin, at the "United 
 States Hotel, "and the next day, Sunday, 
 came to De Pere. Mr. Hoskens had 
 saved a small sum from his earnings, but 
 his passage to tin- United States cost 
 three himdred francs, and by the time he 
 reached De Pere he had only twenty 
 francs with which to l)egin life in his new 
 home. He secured work in a brickyard 
 opposite De Pere, remaining there until 
 the season closed, in November, and then 
 went to Snamico, Brown county, where 
 for a short time he was employed 
 in the mills. He next went to Stiles, 
 Wis., and remained all vvinti'r, work- 
 ing in the lumber mills and in the 
 woods, where he became thoroughly famil- 
 iar with the hardships and dangers in- 
 cident to lumbering, and the ])rivations 
 which must be endured in camp life. But 
 this occupation, though dangerous, was 
 very popular, as in those early days it 
 was a very lucrative business, and was 
 an important industry in pioneer times. 
 After finishing his work in Stiles our sub- 
 ject returned to De Pere, and there re- 
 mained until the spring of 1870, when he 
 went to Delta county, Mich., at which 
 place he took out his naturalization papers. 
 Here he worked at railroaifing and char- 
 coal-burning until 1873, when, having 
 
 saved some money (eight hundred and 
 forty dollars), he concluded to pay a visit 
 to his native country. He sailed fiom 
 New York to Liverpool, thence to Ant- 
 werp, where he arrived in June, 1873. 
 On May 16, 1874, he was united in mar- 
 riage, at his old home, with Miss Louise 
 Van Remoortel, who was b(jrn June 25. 
 1836, a daughter of Joseph and Celia 
 Van Remoortel, and shortly after their 
 marriage the young couple sailed from 
 Antwerp on the "Switzerland," bound 
 for New York, from which city they came 
 by rail to De Pere, Wis. In the mean- 
 time Thomas Hoskens, brother of our 
 subject, had come to the United States 
 and purchased the farm now owned by 
 Peter, in De Pere township, and for a 
 short time they made their home with 
 him. I5ut Peter, not wishing to take up 
 farming at that time, again went to Delta, 
 Mich., resuming his old occupation, 
 though he had to work for less than half 
 of what he had before received. He lived 
 there, however, for three and a half years, 
 and then, in August, 1878, returned once 
 more to De Pere township, and purchased 
 his present farm from his brother Thomas, 
 paying eight hundred dollars for forty 
 acres. Here he has since been engaged 
 in general farming and stock-raising, and 
 he has improved his farm and added 
 thereto until it now comprises sixty acres. 
 In 1 89 1 the residence on the place was 
 burned, and the following year he built 
 the present comfortable home of the 
 family, which is the most substantial farm 
 residence in the township. The place is 
 also equipped with connnodious out- 
 buildings. Our subject is a self-made 
 man in the fullest sense of the word, and 
 his success shows what man may do with 
 plenty of energy and a determination to 
 win. Coming to America a poor man, 
 he has, by industry and pluck and strict 
 attention to his business, made for him- 
 self a comfortable property and gained 
 the respect of his fellow citizens for hon- 
 esty and integrity. Mr. Hoskens votes 
 independently, and does not take any 
 
»32 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGllAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 active part in political matters. In re- 
 ligious connections he and wife are mem- 
 bers of St. Mary's Catholic Church, De- 
 Pere. They have had one child, Joseph, 
 who was born on the farm in Dc Pere 
 township, January 29, 1879, and is at 
 present attending the De Pere High 
 School. He is the only heir of Peter and 
 Louise Hoskens, the only living child of 
 the three they had by their marriage, and 
 the only one for whom they live and work. 
 On him they base all their hopes, and, 
 therefore, wish to give him a good edu- 
 cation. The lad's father says he would 
 like him to be something better than a 
 farmer, not that he (the father) has any 
 distaste for the vocation, but probably 
 thinks Joseph should take up one of the 
 professions. Grandfather Henry Hoskens 
 had six children, five of whom were mar- 
 ried, but left only two children, Peter and 
 Thomas. The latter has six daughters, 
 three of whom are Sisters in the Order of 
 Notre Dame, the inclination of the other 
 three being in the same direction. The 
 family, as far back as known, have be- 
 longed to the Roman Catholic faith, and 
 Peter Hoskens says that if his son Joseph 
 follows their rule, " the laws will be of no 
 use to him, for not one of the family has 
 ever come before the law." 
 
 D.W II) \VI-:LLS BRITTON, the 
 most extensive manufacturer of 
 cooperage of every kind in the 
 Northwest, with his plant at Green 
 Bay, Wets born December 8, 1832, in 
 Sidney Plains, Delaware Co., N. Y., a 
 son of Solomon and Amy (Whitney) Brit- 
 ton, who were natives of New England, 
 the father having been born in Massa- 
 chusetts and the mother in Connecticut. 
 In 1806 Solomon Britton removed 
 from his native State to Albany county, 
 N. Y. , and later to Delaware county, 
 where he was married. He followed his 
 vocations of farmer and cooper in both 
 counties until 1850, in that year coming 
 
 to Green Bay, Wis., where he died in 
 1854, his wife in 1856. Walter Whitney, 
 the maternal grandfather of our subject, 
 was a resident of Albany, N. Y. ; at the 
 age of fifteen years he enlisted in the 
 patriot army, and served throughout the 
 Revolutionary war. The Brittons, who 
 are of French extraction, settled in Amer- 
 ica during Colonial da}s, and members of 
 that family also served in the war for 
 American independence. To the union 
 of Solomon and Amy Britton came nine 
 children, all born in the State of New 
 York, and all deceased with the exception 
 of D. W. Britton, the subject of this 
 sketch; of the remainder — Dorcas died at 
 Long Lake, Minn., in 1884; Walter in 
 Knox county. 111., in 1888; Nicholas, at 
 Buffalo, N. Y., in 1869; Emaline, at 
 Freeport, 111., in 1850; Julia, in Indiana, 
 in 1874; the other three died in New York 
 State — Hannah, in 1838, at the age of 
 seventeen, and two in infancy. 
 
 D. W. Britton was educated in the 
 schools of Delaware county and Buffalo, 
 N. Y. At the age of eighteen he moved 
 with his parents to Green Bay (previous 
 to which he had resided four years in 
 Ashville, N. Y.), and the same year 
 opened out the cooperage business on 
 premises beginning at the confluence of 
 the East and Fox rivers, retaining that 
 yard one year, after which he moved to 
 the present site of the Green Bay Car- 
 riage Co., holding possession here until 
 1867, when he removed to his present 
 extensive yards and shops, which arc now 
 the largest establishment — or promise to 
 be, to say the least — of any of the kind 
 in the great Northwest. In little over 
 three decades a business has been estab- 
 lished that would, in the conservative 
 countries of the Old World, have taken 
 several generations to build \\\). With 
 shops supplied with every description of 
 the most desirable machinery required in 
 the business; with his immense yards, 
 filled witli every form of lumber tiemanded 
 by his trade, Mr. Britton's operations are 
 seen to require a more than ordinary ex- 
 
-\ 
 
 
 
 ^(f?r^tZ^nyO 
 
COMMEMOIIATIVE moUllAPUlCAL RECORD. 135 
 
 ecutise ability and a knowledge of detail 1 yi'ar of her marriage, and in ICS55 Mr. 
 thai wiiuKl (lisiiiay tlu- i>rdinar\' mind. nritton \\ cdiicd Jmisha Kclse\ , wlui was 
 Tlic mamifaclory and conlinj^enls in- reared in (irecn ]'>a\; she died in 1S56, 
 cnpy nearly fifteen acre.s, and Mr. llrit- tfie mcilher nf one child, who died when 
 ton's o])erations e.Ntend into t\\L-l\-e dil- one \ear old. Mr. Britton's third mar- 
 ferent States, in itsi-H sif^nilicant <>t what riage was solenmi/ed in iS5<>, the lad\' of 
 great ad\'antaf;e to the city siieh an insti- ' his choice hein^ Lanra Strickland, whose 
 tiition must he. One lumdreil an<l thirt}' 1 death <iccurred Septendier 1, I1S90. This 
 men, nil an a\era,i;c, are employed, and | miioii was blessed with two children, 
 allottinf^ a laniily ol three to eacli man I h'Jmer 1',.. married, and Sarah Josephine, 
 (the lowest estimate allowed 1)\ statis- who died at the aj;e nf two years and ei,t;ht 
 ticiansi, it would indicate a population ol months. l'"or his fmirth wife Mr. liritton 
 iiearl}' four hundred, all of whom depend | married, ( )ctober iS, iSqj, Am\- Thrall, 
 for theii' subsistcnice upon the enter])rise \ a nati\'e of New York. Mr. I-Jritton is 
 and abilit\ nl Mr. llrittoii. Illustrative I one of the oldest and most prominent fig- 
 of hii methods it may be mentimied that ures in the commercial circles of ("iieeli 
 all workiiK'n are rej^ularly paid each Mon- jiaw .is well as one of tlie most extensive 
 day — a consideration of great moment to i business men of the Northwest, and his- 
 the poor man, and one which frees him ' e.\perience has extended over the most 
 from the clutches of debt, that monster proj^ressixi' periods in the historv of dreen 
 that follows close in the tram of the ' l'.a\ .ind I'rowii c(iiint\. 
 monthh' payment system. It is nut onl)' 
 better for the workman, but a great | 
 desiderat inn with the mei'chants who sup- 
 ply his daily needs. 1 ()H\' M( KXICHT, an esteemed and 
 
 J 
 
 In his political aftiliat i( ms Mr. ISiitton I prosperous farmer of New Denmark 
 
 is a I\e])ublican, and under the auspices : ^ f townshij), is a native n| the land 
 of that party has most satisfactorily served of lirin, born in iS^j^, sun nf |iihii 
 
 as alderman of (ireen Bay threc> terms; he ■ and I'lridget (Frawley Mi Knight, tin- 
 has also done good service on the board formei" of whom was a faniiei'. Oursul)- 
 of health, on the school board, and one j ject was the eldest in their famil}' of In e 
 term as fire wanieii. He was one of the children, namely: John, Margaret, Mar- 
 promoters and organi/ers of the l'"air and tin, Michael and ("atheiiiie. 
 Park Association, was its first president, , .\boiit 1S47 the laniily sailed lor 
 
 serving two years, and is at ])resent one •. America, and during the si.x-\\ fi.'ks' \oy- 
 of its directors. He is a stockholder in j age the father died and w.is buried at 
 the Kellogg National Bank, and is alwa\s 1 sea. The mother ami children landed at 
 one of the first to assist in an\ enterprise 1 (hiebec, thence tra\eluii; to Burlinglon. 
 tending to promote the public good. So- \'t., where they li\eil one year, and then 
 cially he is a member of Washington ' retiiined to nuebec, where Mr.>. Mcknight 
 Lodge, No. 21, F. & A. M., ami of the purchased some propi-rt\, and there 
 I. O. O. P.. Lodge No. |i>. passed the remainder of her life. |olm 
 
 Mr, Britton was first married, in 1S53, ' McKm'.;lit ii'iiiamed with his mother sev- 
 to Miss Frances Daggett, a nati\ e of New er.il \iars after coiiiin,!; In ,\iiierica and 
 York, whose father, V.. Daggett, came to then moNcd to ('liweland, ()lhii, where 
 Wisconsin years aj^o, locating first at Ke- he li\eil about three years, princi|)ally 
 nosha, and afterward, in 1S52, engaging i engaged in farming. I'rom there he went 
 in the manufacture of shingles at Green | to La Fayette, Ind , \\here he worked as 
 Bay; hedied in Suamico township. Brown ' day laborer for about a ye.ir, after which 
 county. Mrs. Frances Britton died the he migrated to ISrowii count\-, Wis., and 
 
136 
 
 COMMKMOHA TIVK IlIOnRAPiriCAL RECORD. 
 
 entered the employ of the Two Rivers 
 Company, continuing to work for them 
 several winters, in the summer time doing 
 farm labor. 
 
 In 1859 he was married to Miss Mar- 
 garet Smith, also born in Ireland, daugh- 
 ter of James and Mary Smith, who died 
 ■when she was a child; she came to the 
 United States when about twentj-five 
 3'ears old. After his marriage Mr. Mc- 
 Knight bought forty acres of wild land in 
 New Denmark township, and a few years 
 later added an adjoining fort} -acre tract, 
 subsequently making other additions to 
 the place, which now comprises 1 1 8 acres, 
 all of which he has cleared and improved 
 himself. To Mr. and Mrs. Mcknight 
 have been born ten children, viz. : Michael, 
 Catherine, Mary, Margaret(Mrs.T. Arens), 
 John, Martin, Julia, Bridget. Honora and 
 George. The family give twelve mem- 
 bers to the Catholic Church. Politically 
 Mr. McKnight is a Democrat, but not a 
 strong partisan, and does not aspire to 
 office, though he has served as school 
 director. He is much respected in his 
 communit)', where he is regarded as a 
 faithful, loyal citizen. 
 
 WlLLl.VM HANDKVSIDE, the 
 very popular liveryman of De- 
 IVre, Brown county, was born 
 September 15, 1843, in York- 
 shire, England, and is a son of Roger and 
 Ann (Stevenson) Handeyside, who were 
 the parents of nine children, William 
 being the eldest. In April, 1849, Roger 
 Handeyside, who was a shepherd in the 
 old country, sailed from Hull, England, 
 for Ouebec, Canada, the vojage lasting 
 forty-three days. After experiencing 
 many " ups and downs" in Canada, the 
 family came to the United States in 1858, 
 settling in Wayne comity, Mich., where 
 several members still reside. The father 
 is now eight}'-two years of age, the mother 
 died November 10, 1877. 
 
 William Handeyside has earned his 
 
 living since he was fifteen years old, and 
 until he reached the age of twent\'-one 
 gave all his earnings, like the dutiful son 
 that he was, to his parents. As a dutiful 
 citizen, also, he enlisted, November 18, 
 1864, in Company C, Thirtieth Mich. V. 
 I., and served until June 17, 1865, prin- 
 cipally on detached duty. He then re- 
 turned to Michigan, and worked at farm- 
 ing and broom-making ; next went to 
 Kentucky; thence back to Michigan; then 
 to Green Bay, Wis. ; thence to Marquette, 
 Mich., where he was employed a year 
 and a half as teamster at the Morgan 
 Iron Furnace, No. i, and worked himself 
 up to engineer of Furnace No. 2. In 
 August, 1868, he came to De Pere, and 
 for nine years was employed as en- 
 gineer for the Fox River Company; then 
 was employed at E. E. Bolle's Wooden- 
 ware Co.'s Works, as engineer and fore- 
 man in the lumber yard; thence went to 
 Glenmore township, where he conducted 
 a mill and store for his employers; then 
 returned to De Pere and organized the 
 VanGalder & Handeyside Co. , for making 
 imitation cedar cigar-box lumber, and at 
 the end of a year became sole proprietor 
 of the plant, but was soon afterward burned 
 out. In June, 1889, he became a member 
 of the firm of Thiele & Handeyside, now 
 the most popular and successful livery- 
 men in the city of De Pere. 
 
 On January 19, 1873, Mr. Handey- 
 side was united in marriage with Miss 
 Blanche Packard, daughter of John and 
 Diantha (Hannon) Packard, the former a 
 native of Canada, the latter of New York 
 State. Mrs. Handeyside is the seventh 
 child in a family of nine, the other eight 
 being Wiiislow H., who served three 
 years in the Union army and died Sep- 
 tember 13, 1874, leaving a wife and two 
 children, Mary and Cynthia; Florence A. , 
 now the wife of John' Handeyside, her 
 former husband, John Leach, having been 
 killed in the Civil war; William P., of 
 Canton, Wayne Co., Mich. ; Silas J., who 
 died at the age of twenty-seven; Cynthia, 
 now Mrs. William McKinstrey, of Jack- 
 
COMMhJ.UORA TIVE IllOGIlAPincAL RECORD. 
 
 137 
 
 son, Mich.; George \\'., who died at the 
 age of ten; Martha, who dii'il at tlic 
 age t)f nineteen, and ]{lliertie, now on 
 the h(jniestead at Canton, Wayne Co., 
 Mich. The father ol tins fanulw who 
 was a pioneer of Wayne county, Mich., 
 died May 20, icS86, his wife following 
 him to the land of eternal rest December 
 2, 1888, both dying at the age of sixty- 
 eight years. Mr. Handeyside antl his 
 wife are l)oth Baptists in their religious 
 belief, but there is no church of that de- 
 noniinatinn at De Pere with which to af- 
 filiate. In [)olitics he is a Republican; 
 socially he is a member i.)f the Soldiers' 
 Rehef Committee, appointed liy the county 
 judge, and is also a member of the F. t\: 
 A. M., I. O. O. F., K. of P., G. A. K., 
 and TempK' of Honor. He has wcm a 
 high place in the confidence of the busi- 
 ness men of the community, and is highly 
 esteemed in a wide circle of social ac- 
 quaintances. Mrs. Handeyside is a 
 member of the ^^'omen's Relief C'orps of 
 the G. A. R., and of the Social Temple — 
 the latter an au.xili.ary degree of the Tem- 
 ple of Honor — and enjoys, with her hus- 
 band, the respect of all acquaintances. 
 
 CARL G. MUlCLLIiR (deceased), 
 well-known and highly respected 
 in his day in both county and 
 Stati', was born January 8, 1834, 
 in Saxony, Germany, and in 1852 came 
 to America with his father and a brother 
 and sister, his mother ha\'ing died in the 
 old country when he was but three years 
 old. The family, on arriving in tiie United 
 States, located near Milwaukee, Wis., and, 
 for about two years, Carl G. clerked in 
 a general store in the village of Calumet 
 and other localities, in 1856 settling in 
 Wrightstown, Brown county, where for 
 two years he clerked in a hotel. He then 
 opened a general store in the village, 
 which was one of the first in this section, 
 and practically succeeded to the business 
 interests of the Wrights, who were the 
 
 founders of the jilace. In August, iSdi, 
 he married ,\liss Mary Thoni]isoii, who 
 was born Decendier y, 1841, in (jran- 
 ville, a suburb of Milwaukee, out' of a 
 lamiU' ol nine elulilreii born to William 
 and l'"rane(_-s ((hniiette) Thoiiipson, the 
 iormer of whom was a nati\e of Scotland, 
 and an early settk'r in Milwaukee count)'. 
 Wis. He died in Wrightstown at the 
 age of sevent\-three; his wile, who was 
 born in I-'rance, is still li\ing in Wrights- 
 town. Gf the thiiteen children born to 
 the marriage of Carl G. and Mary Mueller 
 six sons and one (laughter lia\e been 
 calletl away. The sur\ivors are Charkis 
 W. (whose name ojiens this skelclO, 
 Fmma, Mary, Clara \'... (lertrudi,- ami 
 Selma. Mr. Mueller contimied to carry 
 on his general store after his marriage, 
 and was honoretl and res])ected b\- the 
 entire connnunit\' until the day of his 
 death; aiul, indeed, his memory is still 
 cherished with affection by those who 
 knew him. He was a gi'nllem.-m of a 
 most enterprising spirit as well as ol phil- 
 anthropic disposition; was prosperous as 
 a merchant, and invested his profits in 
 large tracts of wild land, gi\ing jioor per- 
 sons every opportunity to buy a home 
 cheaply and get a start in lile. It was a 
 prominent trait in his character that in 
 old times, when the country was new and 
 mone\' scarce, he would advance all need- 
 ful supplies, and even money, to the jioor 
 and rich, alike. In fact, all had unlimit- 
 ed credit, as can be readily testified toby 
 the old residents; to which fact, however, 
 sad to relate, he lost the greater jiortion 
 of his estate (which at one time was esti- 
 mated to be worth over one hundred 
 thousand dollars), many of those whom 
 he had befriended when in lu-ed refusing 
 to pav their obligations when they found 
 themselves in more prosptnous circum- 
 stances. For years he ran the ferry 
 across Fox river, and afterward built and 
 o]ierated the first bridge acioss that ri\-er, 
 at this place a fioating bridgi'. He binlt 
 the "American House," the best hotel in 
 the town, and was landlord of same; 
 
'3S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 also built and operated a brewery on 
 the west side of the village; started the 
 first sawmill in Wrightstown, and a few 
 years later also opened a general store and 
 built a sawmill in Ashland, Wis. Just 
 prior to his death he sold the Ashland 
 mill, however, and after his demise the 
 entire business at Ashland was closed up. 
 Mr. Mueller was a de\out Christian, ac- 
 tive in religious work. He assisted in or- 
 ganizing the first Lutheran Society in 
 Wrightstown, gave the ground on which 
 to build a church, much of the timber 
 necessary for the building, and a good 
 portion of the cash requisite for its erec- 
 tion. It is said of him by the residents 
 of Wrightstown that he gave sites for and 
 helped, financially, all the churches and 
 schools on the east side of the villiage of 
 Wrightstown. In politics he was a life- 
 long Democrat, and for over twenty-five 
 years was postmaster, also filling several 
 other local offices with honor and credit 
 at different times. He was the architect 
 of his own fortune, and was in every re- 
 spect a representative self-made man. 
 His funeral took place from the Lutheran 
 Church December 15, 1886, and was the 
 largest ever seen in this part of the coun- 
 try; so great, indeed, was the attendance 
 of Germans, Americans and others, that 
 two sermons were delivered, one in Ger- 
 man and the other in English. His 
 death was a sad blow to the entire com- 
 munity, as he was not only a friend to the 
 individual members thereof, but was also 
 looked upon as one of the fathers of 
 Wrightstown. His estimable widow still 
 has her residence at the old home, sur- 
 rounded by her children and every com- 
 fort calculated to make life desirable. She 
 is a devout member of the Catholic 
 Church, a kind and lovable woman, a 
 noble mother, and a model of honor in 
 her daily walk throusfh life. 
 
 CHARLES W. MUELLER, the eldest 
 son of this honored gentleman, was born 
 in Wrightstown township, Brown Co., 
 Wis., December 27, 1862. He is now 
 the manager of the estate, and displays a 
 
 j rare business talent, which already marks 
 : him as one of the future representative 
 men of his county. He has filled several 
 local offices, anil is at present clerk of the 
 \illage and township, which responsible 
 offices he has filled with credit for the 
 past two years. He is a graduate of Ap- 
 pleton high school, and he and his sisters 
 have been reared to a faithful observance 
 of the doctrines of the Catholic Church. 
 From an early day he was his father's 
 chief assistant, and, after the death of the 
 latter, successfully conducted the large 
 business in all its details, until his own 
 marriage, when he wound up the business 
 and has since had charge of the estate 
 and everything pertaining to it. He was 
 wedded in 1886 to Miss Louisa Delger, a 
 native of Calumet county. Wis., and 
 daughter of August and Estina Delger, 
 both of whom are now deceased. Two 
 children have blessed this union, viz. : 
 Edwin and Irene. Socially Mr. and Mrs. 
 Mueller stand in the front rank in their 
 community, and as a business man he has 
 the respect of all acquaintances. 
 
 A I GUST H.AESE, prominent as a 
 farmer and sawmill owner of 
 .Morrison township, Brown county, 
 was born January 10, 1843, in 
 Northern Prussia, son of Christoff Haese, 
 a farmer. 
 
 .\t the age of eleven years our subject 
 emigrated, in company with his brother, 
 John Ferdinand, to the United States, 
 landing in New York, thence coming di- 
 rectly to Manitowoc county. Wis., where 
 a brother, a sister, and a bnHher-in-law 
 were then living. Although a mere lad, 
 August, after attending school a year, 
 went to work in the woods at shingle 
 making, then an industry pursued alto- 
 gether by hand. Early in the spring of 
 iS6ohe went to Spring Lake Prairie, and 
 for eight months worked on a farm at six 
 dollars per month. He saved his earn- 
 ings here, and also the money he earned 
 
COMMEMOHATiyK BWGllAFUICAL RECORD. 
 
 139 
 
 later near Ripon, in Fond du Lac county. 
 In the latter part oi Auj;ust, 1862, he re- 
 turned to Manitowoc county, enlisted in 
 Company F, Twenty-.sixth Wis. \'. I., 
 and was sent to Milwaukee, whence, after 
 two weeks' drilling, he was returned 
 home on account of hein;; too younf^' for 
 a soldier and his father refusing;' to sign 
 his enlistment papers. For a few years 
 following he worked in the northern part 
 of the State in sawmills and at lumbering, 
 and then, in January, 1867, in company 
 with his Inother Ferdinand and another 
 comrade, he settled on Section 22. in 
 Morrison township, where the three 
 erected a sawmill in a dense forest, the 
 nearest road to the mill being the old 
 stage road, one and a half miles west. 
 Here, on the Branch river, the partner- 
 ship lasted for a year and a half, Mr. 
 Haese at that time buying his partners 
 out and forming a new firm, comprising 
 himself and his brothers h'erdinaiid and 
 Albert, who for seven years worked sol- 
 idly together, and consequently prospered. 
 
 On January 15, 1860, Mr. Haese 
 married, in Cooperstown, ^^'is. , Miss Ma- 
 tilda Olp, who was born in Afilwaukee in 
 1 8 50, a daughter of Ferdinand Olp, a na- 
 tive of Prussia. The young couple went to 
 housekeeping in a log cabin that stood 
 north of their present fine residence 
 which Mr. Haese erected in 1883. The 
 children born to this union were as fol- 
 lows: Helena, whtj died at the age of 
 seventeen; Louisa, now Mrs. Louis Falck; 
 Robert C, an assistant of his father; Ida. 
 Emma and Bertha, at home; August, \\-ho 
 died at nine years of age; and Julia (twin 
 of August), who lives at home; Arthur, 
 also at home, and Ella, the sur\i\or of a 
 twin that died at birth. 
 
 The Haese brothers remained together 
 in business until 1 876, when August 
 bought the interest of the other two; one 
 year after his making this purchase his 
 mill was destroyed by fire. He had no 
 insurance and but little capitnl left, but 
 he had good credit, the ne.xt best thing to 
 cash, and, ]irobably a better thing yet. 
 
 an uniinpeachable character for integrity. 
 Three solid contractors were an.xious to 
 secure the job of rebuilding, knowing full 
 well that their pay would be curtain if the 
 life of Mr. Haese were spared, and that 
 they would be fully reimbursed for their 
 cash outlay and expenditure of time. So 
 the mill was rebuilt, and paid for by Mr. 
 Haese, and now, for twenty-seven years, 
 he has been continuously and prosperously 
 conducting the business on his own prop- 
 erty — a tract of 160 acres. In 1869 he 
 added farming to his milling industry, and 
 has been as successful as an agriculturist 
 a§ he has been as a mill man. This farm 
 was literally hewn out of the woods, but 
 is now a model of thrift and beauty and 
 skillful culture. 
 
 Mr. Haese's political ))ri)cli\ities are 
 Democratic, but he prefers active busi- 
 ness interests to the ephemeral ones of 
 party politics, and wisely has never been 
 an office seeker. He and his family are 
 members of the Lutheran Church, and 
 for six years he has been a deacon. His 
 aim has always been to be a good citizen 
 and so to train his children, and there is 
 no family in the township that stands 
 higher socially than his. When it is re- 
 membered that he had no assistance in a 
 pecuniary sense in his start in life; that 
 his mother died when he was but three 
 years of age, and that he was reared 
 without the fostering care of the parent, 
 who, as a rule, imparts the virtuous les- 
 sons that from infancy onward make the 
 man what he ouglit to be morally, it be- 
 comes a matter of wonder that he has 
 succeeded so \\-ell; au'! it may be inci- 
 dentally added that his course through 
 life is well worthy tlu' emulation of the 
 \-outh of our land. 
 
 ILLS RASMUSSEN, oup of the 
 11-to-do farmers of Cli-nmore 
 
 I ^ township, Brov\-n county, was 
 
 born November n, 1838, in the 
 
 Kingdom of Denmark, son of Rasmus 
 
140 
 
 COMMEMOnATIVE BIOOIiAPffTCAL RECORD. 
 
 Christensen, who was employed as a farm 
 hand by a larg;e landowner for fortj- years, 
 and who died in Denmark, as did also his 
 wife. They were the parents of ten chil- 
 dren — four sons and six danphters — of 
 whom Niels is the eldest son and the sec- 
 ond child in order of birth. 
 
 Niels Rasmussen attended school in 
 his native country from his seventh to his 
 fourteenth year. He was reared to farm- 
 ing, which he continued to follow until he 
 was twenty-one years old, about which 
 time he joined the army, serving seven- 
 teen months. In 1863 he again joined 
 the army, also in 1864, during the vvar 
 with Prussia, and while in the service was 
 never wounded, though his clothing was 
 pierced by a ball. On March 16, 1866, 
 he married Miss Hannah Neilson, who 
 was born June 2 1839, (daughter of Niels 
 Anderson, a farmer in comfortable cir- 
 cumstances), and attended school from 
 the time she was seven years old until she 
 reached the age of fifteen. One child was 
 born to this union in Denmark, Marv, 
 now the wife of J. P. Christensen, "of 
 Glenmore township, Brown county. After 
 his marriage Mr. Rasmussen worked as 
 a laborer for a grain merchant on the 
 Island of Moen, Denmark, until 1869. in 
 the spring of which year, bidding their 
 native land farewell, he and his little 
 family proceeded from Copenhagen to 
 Hull, England, and thence to Liverpool, 
 where they took pa-sage on the "North 
 America" on April i. setting sail for 
 America. The boat was bound for 
 Quebec, but as it was early in the season 
 the ice compelled them to put in at Port- 
 land, Maine, and they landed there on 
 the 14th of Ajiril. They had tickets for 
 Green I?ay, Wis., whither they came via 
 Chicago ('where a sister of Mrs. Rasmus- 
 sen was livinc;), arriving at their destina- 
 tion, April 21, strangers in a strange land, 
 and totally unacquainted with the English 
 langiiag'^. The familv remained in Green 
 Bay while Mr. Rasmussen went to Glen- 
 more townshiji. where a lirother resided, 
 and during that summer he wnrkod n-; n 
 
 farm hand, also making shingles and do- 
 ing anything else he could to earn an 
 honest dollar to support his family. In 
 the fall of 1869 he purchased a piece of 
 land in section 24, Glenmore township, 
 but through some mistake commenced 
 clearing the wrong tract, and it was not 
 until 1S84. after much e.\pensi\e litiga- 
 tion, that he finally secured a clear title 
 to his land. He now has a fine farm of 
 1 20 acres, all of which has been cleared 
 by him, or under his direction, a laborious 
 task, and one which occupied many vears. 
 But from being a poor man he has, by 
 honest industry and assiduous toil, become 
 a well-to-do farmer and landowner. 
 
 He and his wife had five children 
 born to them in \\'isconsin, namely: 
 Charles, Lawrence, Andrew and Alfred, 
 all living, and Niels, who died in infancy. 
 The sons, who are all hard-working young 
 men, have been of great assistance to 
 their father in thccultivation of the farm, 
 which is one of the best-improved places 
 in the township, the buildings being ex- 
 ceptionally fine, and the barn one of the 
 most commodious in the vicinity. In 
 politics our subject is not an ardent party 
 man, voting usuall}' for the best man re- 
 gardless of party, and he has served as 
 school director in his township. He and 
 his wife are members of the Lutheran 
 Church of Denmark, and they are known 
 and respected throughout their commu- 
 nity as kind-hearted, hospitable people. 
 
 F1:LIX LlRfjUlN, Fort Howard. 
 The pioneer settlers in the Green 
 Bay region had many difficulties 
 to encounter in the early days, 
 but they were, for the most part, hardy 
 and persevering men. and more than one 
 lived to see his final triumph over them all. 
 Among these there have been persons of 
 various nativities, all alike struggling to 
 acquire a competence, and all ileveloping 
 into excellent citizens, public-spirited and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUWAL RECOBD. 
 
 141 
 
 alive to tlic best interests of their coiii- 
 imiiiit}'. 
 
 Felix Lurcjiiin was born in 1 842, in the 
 village of Blanden, Belginni, son of Joseph 
 and Mary (Haa/endonkj Lurqnin, who 
 had a family of five children, as follows: 
 John B., married and residing on Elmore 
 street, Fort Howard, where he is engaged 
 in gardening; Collett, wife of John B. 
 Vanderveken, residing in Belgium; Felix, 
 our subject; and August and Leonie, both 
 residents of Belgium, the latter the widow 
 of Bernard Nakaars. The parents both 
 died in the old country in the same month 
 in 1S93, the father aged eighty-six and 
 the mother eighty-four years. 
 
 Mr. l^urqnin was educated and grew 
 to man's estate in Belgium, and in 18G5 
 was married in that country to Miss Rosa- 
 line De Vroy, daughter of Franz and 
 Johanna (Kattersoll) De \'roy, all natives 
 of the same country, where her parents 
 passed their entire lives. Upon coming 
 to Green Bay, in 1866, Mr. Lunjuin found 
 employment as a day laborer, and in the 
 fall of 1867 removed to F"ort Howard, 
 settling where he now resides, on Uous- 
 man street. Purchasing four acres of land 
 from Mr. Elmore he engaged in garden- 
 ing, and subsequently added a considera- 
 ble area to this original small tract, still 
 owning twe]\-e acres, besides which he 
 sold foiu'teen acres and gave eight and a 
 half acres to his children. In 1876 he 
 built his present brick residence, and is 
 the owner of the fine brick Fink block 
 on Dousman street, which he purchased 
 in 189-^. In politics Mr. Lurquin is a 
 Democrat, and takes an active interest in 
 the workings of his part}-; he was city 
 marshal of Fort Howard for five j'ears, 
 serving twice in that capacity, and for two 
 years he was superintendent of streets, 
 but he is by no means an office-seeker. 
 He and his wife are members of St. Willi- 
 brord's Catholic Church at Green Bay. 
 When they built their home at Fort 
 Howard it was in the woods, but the place 
 has grown beyond its then narrow con- 
 fines, having developed to a degree per- 
 
 ha[)s never anticipated by its jiioneer set- 
 tlers, and their home is now within the 
 city limits. Mr. Lurcpiin has adhered to 
 industrious habits, and by perseverance 
 has accumulated the property he now pos- 
 sesses. When he and his wife arrived in 
 this country, in 1866, they were without 
 monew and all that they succeeded in 
 gathering together has been acquired by 
 hard labor and assiduous industry; at the 
 present writing he has an independent 
 competence, and is counted aiiioug the 
 substantial citizens of Fort Howard. He 
 is a worthy example of the pioneers who 
 hewed out a home in the midst of a forest, 
 and from a start of nothing secured a 
 comfortalile jiroperty by patient toil. 
 
 The children of Mr. and Mrs. Lurciuin 
 are: Josejih, who married Frances Deu- 
 ster, and resides in the same house with 
 his parents (they have one child, Henry); 
 and Nettie, the wife of Ferdinand De- 
 Volder, of Fort Howard, who has one 
 daughter, Rosaline (she had a son who 
 died Februar\- 14, 1S94). 
 
 EMILE \'AX CALSTER, one of 
 the respected self-made farmers of 
 I.ellevue township. Brown coun- 
 ty, was born April 20, 1840, in 
 Belgium, son of Gregg Van Calster, a 
 blacksmith, who had eight children — 
 four sons and four daughters — of whtim 
 Emile is the eldest. 
 
 Our sul)jcct attended the schools of 
 Belgiinn until he was eleven jears old, 
 after which, for eight \ears, he was em- 
 ployed in the thread mills. When about 
 twenty years old he commenced to learn 
 the trade of painter, in which he con- 
 tinued five years. Then, in the spring of 
 1865, he sailed from Antwerp, and after 
 a voyage of fourteen days landed at New 
 York City, thence immediately coming to 
 Wisconsin, and on June I landing at 
 Green Bay, eighty dollars in debt, as he 
 had borrowed to pay the expenses of the 
 journey. In Green Bay he secured work 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL MECORD. 
 
 at his trade, which he continued to follow 
 until 1872. In the meantime he had 
 purchased thirty acres in Hellevue town- 
 ship, where he now lives, at that time all 
 new land, and put up the lirst dwelling^, a 
 24x28 house, himself, removing thereon 
 in 1870. On December 25, 1S67, Mr. 
 ^'all Calster was married, in Green I^ay, 
 to Miss Hortense Daix. who was born 
 January 18, 1841, near his home in Bel- 
 gium, a daughter of .^nton IJaix, who 
 died in Belgium. In 1865, his widow, 
 Mrs. Uaix, came with her family to Wis- 
 consin, our subject being also one of ! 
 the party. | 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. \'an Calster have,! 
 been born the follt)wing named children : 
 Joseph (wh(j is a carpenter in dreen Bav); 
 Constance, Julius, and Sarah, at home; 
 and two that died, Constance when seven 
 j'ears old. and Alvinia, when two and a 
 half years old. Since 1872 our subject • 
 has given his attention principally to his 
 farm, and he now has 120 acres of fine 
 land, all improved by himself, where he 
 is engaged in farming, in connection with 
 which he also conducts a dairy business, 
 lindustry and good management have ' 
 lirought him success, and he is highly es- 
 teemed in his township. Politically he is 
 a Kepublican, and has served his township 
 as road master. In religious belief he 
 and his wife ;ire Spiritualists. ] 
 
 Z.\CH.\KI1-: C.OFF.\RT. .\mong 
 the intelligent, prosjierous agricul- 
 turists and self-made citii^ens of 
 l)e Pere townshi]), none is more 
 deserving of mention than the one whose 
 name is here recorded. He was born 
 August I, 1842, in Belgium, a son of 
 Peter J. (ioffart, who was a merchant and 
 landowner in his native land, and in com- 
 fortable circumstances. He died when 
 his son, Zacharie was twelve years old. 
 
 Z.tcharie C.offart received all his edu- 
 cation in Belgium, and when, about four- 
 teen vears old, came with his widowed 
 
 mother to the United States. They sailed 
 from .\ntwerp in April, 1857, on the 
 " Westj^halia,' and came via Quebec to 
 Green Bay, Wis., where they arrived 
 eight weeks after leaving their home. An 
 older brother of our subject, Ferdinand, 
 had preceded them to this country, and 
 they all resided for a time in Green Bay 
 township; but the land was poor, and 
 they soon afterward moved to De Pere 
 township, along the East river. In this 
 regi(jn, which was then all in the woods 
 and abouudetl with wikl animals, Zacharie 
 was reared to manhood, and, there being 
 no lack of work he commenced early to 
 assist in the clearing of the land. From 
 De Pere the family later removed to 
 Rockland township, where they resided 
 seven years. 
 
 On June 11, 1867, Mr. Goffart was 
 married, in De Pere, to Miss Mary T. 
 Daix, a native of Belgium, and to this 
 union were born six children, four of 
 whom are yet living, namely: Catherine, 
 l-'llen I'a school teacher, of Peoria, 111.), 
 Hortense (a school teacher at Steven's 
 Point, Wis.), and Leo (living at home). 
 The mother of these died November 10, 
 1 879, and was buried in De Pere ceme- 
 tery, and t)n January 10, 1881, Mr. Gof- 
 fart was married, in De Pere, to his pres- 
 ent wife, Elizabeth Becher. She was 
 born March 17, 1861, in New Denmark 
 township. Brown county, a daughter 
 of Joseph Becher. who was a native 
 of Germany. To this marriage were born 
 children as follows: Emily, Constant 
 (deceased), Joseph. John. Edward, Zach- 
 ariah. Elizabeth, and Flora (deceased). 
 After his marriage^ Mr. Goffart first lo- 
 cated in De Pere township, along East 
 river, and then for seven years resided in 
 Rockland townshi]i. In i 892 he removed 
 to the citv (jf De Pere. where he owns 
 twenty acres within the corporation limits 
 and forty-four acres outside in the town- 
 ship, private claim No. 35. He has fol- 
 lowed general farming and stock raising, 
 and has met with encouraging success. 
 He has seen the entire surrounding coun- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGItAPIIlCA I. RECORD. 
 
 •43 
 
 try transformed from the woods to fertile, 
 well-lcept farms, and has liimself taken no 
 small part in the de\elopmcnt of his sec- 
 tion. He has been a hard-working man, 
 and by industry and energy has earned for 
 himself a comfortable, well-improved farm 
 and home. In his political affiliations he 
 is a Democrat, but he does not take any 
 active interest in party affairs, preferring 
 to gi\'e his attention exclusive!}- to his 
 private business interests: but, though 
 not an aspirant for office, he has served 
 as roadmaster in Rockland and De Pere 
 townships. Though Mr. Goffart's early 
 educational adx'antages were somewhat 
 limited, he has acquired a good store of 
 knowledge by reading and obser\-ation; 
 he takes great interest in the newspapers 
 of his section, as well as others of general 
 interest, and keeps himself well informed 
 on current topics. He has ever been and 
 is yet a very active man, alwa\'s finding 
 something to occupy his time. He has 
 crossed the Atlantic five times, having 
 paid two visits to his native home since 
 coining to the United States, taking the 
 first trip in 1871. In 1893 he proceeded 
 over the Baltimore & Ohio railwa\- to 
 New York, where he embarked on the 
 Red Star liner ' 'Westerland" for Antwerp, 
 and spent two months as a guest at the 
 same house where he was born, as well 
 as his mother and grandmother. Mr. 
 Goffart has also journeyed throughout the 
 Great West, for the benefit of his health, 
 which was much improved, and all in all 
 there are few farmers of his section who 
 have traveled more extensively. 
 
 PV. T E R V A N I) H K K I X T E R. 
 ]5rown county is iinkdited to the 
 little kingdom of Holland for 
 many of her most loval and sub- 
 stantial farmer citizens, prominent among 
 whom in Xew Denmark township is the 
 gentleman here named. He was born in 
 Holland December 25, iSi.S, a son of 
 Peter and Anna (Cooper) \'anderkinter. 
 
 who reared a family of seven chddren, 
 named as follows: Jacob, Mary, l)id<e, 
 Leona, Catherine. John and Peter. Tlie 
 father owned a small farm, which he cul- 
 ti\'ated, and l)y thrift and industry was 
 enabled to support his fannlj' in comfort. 
 Peter \'anderkinter li\ed\\'ith his par- 
 ents until he reached the age of eighteen 
 years, at which time he entered the arm\', 
 remaining in the service ten years. He 
 then sailed fnr America in company with 
 two other )oung men, and landed in New 
 York after a voyage of thirt\-seven da\s. 
 during which one of his com])anions was 
 so seriousi}' injured that he died a short 
 time after landing; the other young man 
 lived in New York State six years, and 
 then returned to his native land. Our 
 subject was penniless on his arrival in the 
 New World, and found employment with- 
 out delay, working first for a gardener in 
 New York at four dollars a month, and 
 later going to New }erse_\-, where he re- 
 mained seven _years, following the same 
 line of work. Here he was married 
 March 9, 1850, to Miss Anna Bush, and 
 they came westward to Wisconsin. Mr. 
 \'anderkinter working near Sheboygan as 
 a farm hand for a year and a half, thence 
 moving to New Denmark township. 
 Brown county, where he took up eighty 
 acres of land, a complete wilderness at 
 that timi', and set about the task of con- 
 verting it into a pleasant, fertile farm. 
 He and his wife lived with their nearest 
 neighbor until thi^ log shanty, 18 x 20, was 
 ready for occupancy, and this was their 
 home f()r se\'en \'ears, when a more sub- 
 stantial one took its place: which in its 
 turn was in course of time supplanted by 
 the modern frame house now occu|)ie<l by 
 Frank Vanderkinter. The cle;iring of the 
 land necessarily progressed slowly, for 
 our subject had no team during the lirst 
 six years, and therefore he had to hire 
 such aid, working out b\' the day to pay 
 for it. .^11 the trading had to be done at 
 Green Bay, and, having to walk tlK> entire 
 distance, a trip to town occ\ipied three 
 days. About fifteen years after his removal 
 
144 
 
 COMMEMUIIATIVE BWORAPIHCAL RECOHD. 
 
 here Mr. \'aiiderkiiiter purchased another 
 forty-acre tract of wild land, which he has 
 also cleared and improved, the farm being 
 well-equipped with outbuildings, and 
 other accessories. 
 
 To our subject and wife were born 
 twelve children, as follows: Jacob, John, 
 Rozina, Anna, triplets who died in in- 
 fancy, Pi-ter, I-'rank. Hcnr}', .\brahani 
 and William, of which large family but 
 four are now living: John, Frank, Henry 
 and William. The mother of these 
 passed from earth March i, 1885, and 
 was laid to rest in New Denmark ceme- 
 tery, deeply mourned by all who knew 
 her. Frank Vanderkinter has always re- 
 mained on the home farm, of which he 
 now has the principal management, his 
 father having retired from active work. 
 On August 18, 1888, he was married to 
 Miss Slinnie Fager, daughter of August 
 and Hannah Fager, and their union has 
 been blessed with three children: Will- 
 iam, Frederick and Henry. Politically 
 Mr. Vanderkinter is a Democrat, but not 
 active in party affairs. 
 
 Miller, 
 homes 
 
 CW. STRECKENBACH. Far 
 across the storivi}- Atlantic, in the 
 cpiaint old German Fatherland, 
 Ernest Streckcnbach and Nettie 
 his wife, were born. Both sought 
 in the country of the stars and 
 stripes, coming to Brown county. Wis., 
 in the days when it was practically an un- 
 broken wilderness. 
 
 Mr. Streckenbach reached Green Bay 
 in 1S48, married, and settled in the woods 
 of Fittsfield township. Brown county, 
 where he erected a log cabin and began 
 the improvement of his land. It may be 
 readily imagined that the young German 
 solflier found this life wonderfully differ- 
 ent from what he had been accustomed to; 
 but he bravely plodded ahead, and lived 
 to see great changes accomplished in the 
 region about him. Four children came 
 to gladden tiie home: Edward C., now 
 
 engaged in the boot and shoe business at 
 Fort Howard; Pauline, wife of L. C. 
 Schilling; Louise, teacher in the public 
 schools of Milwaukee; and the subject of 
 this sketch. Mrs. Streckenbach, who had 
 also come with her parents to Green Bay 
 in 1 848, was called upon in i 863 to mourn 
 the death of her husband, who passed 
 away in that year. She subsequently be- 
 came the wife of Henry Rathman, and 
 bore him four children: Lena, now Mrs. 
 Alvin Outland, of Green Bay; Clara, wife 
 of \\". W. Nuss. also of Green Bay; 
 Emma, teacher in the public schools of 
 the same city, and one deceased. 
 
 C. W. Streckenbach was born in 1861 
 in Pittsfield township, I^rown Co., Wis. 
 Coming to Green Bay at an early age, he 
 acquired a common education in the pub- 
 schools and at Prof. Murch's business 
 college. At the age of thirteen years he 
 engaged in the cooperage business in a 
 plant, a jiortion of which is now owned by 
 D. W. Britton. In 1885 the present 
 wholesale hrm of C. W. Streckenbach & 
 Co. was formed. These gentlemen deal 
 extensively in oysters and fish, and fur- 
 nish employment at their establishment to 
 twelve or fifteen men. In September, 
 i8qo, Mr. Streckenbach was imited in 
 marriage, at Stephenson, Mich., with 
 Miss Maud Benjamin, a native of Mani- 
 towoc county, \\'is., where her father, 
 Sumner Benjamin, was a respected pio- 
 neer; he now resides at Stephenson, and 
 is a millwright by occupation. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Streckenbach have been born 
 two children, Sumner and Hazel. Mr. 
 Streckenbach is a Republican in politics, 
 and takes a becoming interest in the af- 
 fairs of his partv. He is a member of 
 the Royal Arcanum, Council No. 546; 
 also of Pochequette Lodge, No. 126, K. 
 of P. His estimable wife, who was reared 
 a Methodist, attends the services of the 
 M. E. Church. 
 
 In a region like that surrounding Green 
 Bay, and having so many natural facili- 
 ties for commercial advancement, the 
 changes in a few \ears will necessarilv be 
 
commi-:m(>i;a tive biograviiical hecord. 
 
 H5 
 
 mans', and, althouf^h yet a younj;' man, 
 Mr. Streckenbach has witnessed a re- 
 markable development in the snrround- 
 ings of his home. The future is full of 
 promise for this locality, and such rejire- 
 sentative men will be at the front in shap- 
 ing its destiny along the lines of prosper- 
 ity and usefulness. 
 
 HORACE J. CON LEY, yacht 
 builder, commodore of the Green 
 Bay Yacht Club, and former pro- 
 prietor of the lieautiful vessel 
 "Merlin," said to be the safest, best 
 equipped and fastest yacht on the lakes, 
 has been a resident of Green Bay for over 
 a quarter of a century, having come to 
 the town when a boy. 
 
 He is a native of Maine, born in the 
 town of Medway, August 3, 1861, to Vin- 
 cent and Eleanor (Fowles) Conley, the 
 father a Canadian by birth, the mother a 
 native of Maine. They were married in 
 that State, and there Vincent Conley fol- 
 lowed the lumber business and carpentr}', 
 until I S66, when they came west to \\'is- 
 consin, bringing their family. Settling for 
 the time in Green Bay, the father worked 
 in the shipyards, later building vessels 
 for his own account, and finally engaging 
 in the ice trade until 1884, wlien he 
 moved to Sheboygan, establishing there 
 an extensive ice business which he still 
 carries on. Eight children were born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Conlev. fi\'e of 
 whom are yet living, namely: William, 
 married, in business a boat builder; Etta; 
 Horace J., our suliject; Lincoln. an<l 
 Lewis — of whomWilliam, Etta and Lewis 
 live in Fort Ho\vard, Wis. ; Lincoln, who 
 is married, lives at -Sheboygan. Wis. ; 
 Edward, who was married and resided at 
 Watersmeet, Gogebic Co., Mich., where 
 he was a notary public and township 
 supervisor, died there July 19, 1894. 
 
 Horace J. Conley, whose name intro- 
 duces this sketch, received his education 
 at the schools of Fort Howard and at 
 
 Green Bav Business College, afterward 
 learning the trade of l)oat builder, making 
 himself conversant with all the details of 
 the craft. In i 8S3 he commenced build- 
 ing boats, yachts, etc., for his own ac- 
 count, making a specialty of racing and 
 sporting yachts of all descriptions, as well 
 as ordinary sail boats, and he has built 
 several boats that have "shown a clean 
 pair of heels" to all competitors. His 
 industr\' gives employment to some seven 
 hands. In connection with his business 
 Mr. Conley has naturally been deeply in- 
 terested in yacht racing, in which his 
 record places him " sectnid to none," for 
 he has proven that he can not only build 
 boats, but that he can also sail them like 
 the true " fore-an'-aft " sailor he is. 
 Among the many yatch races in which he 
 came off the victor may be inentiimed the 
 regatta at Chicago during the World's 
 Fair, which was of more than local in- 
 terest, as it attracted from all parts of 
 the United States thousands of lovers 
 of aquatic sports Besides winning the 
 free-for-all race, his yacht, "Merlin," 
 also lieat, in private races, the schooner- 
 yacht "Toxteth," and sloop "Rambler," 
 coming in ahead of the first-named by a 
 quarter of an hour. She took first pri;;e 
 at the Milwaukee Yacht Club regatta held 
 at Milwaukee, July 4, 1894, and first 
 prize at the Green Bay Yacht Clnli regat- 
 ta held at Green Bay, Se])tcmber 26, 
 1894. In September, 1894. the "Mer- 
 lin '' was sold by Commodore H. J. Con- 
 ley to Commodore J. D. Sarles, of Green 
 Bay. Mr. Conley's "Empress" and 
 "Vivian" are also famed for speed, the 
 first-named being said to be' the best 
 finished yacht on the lakes; she won first 
 prize in a race on Lake Oconomowoc, 
 without availing herself of her time .allow- 
 ance, the "\'ivian" coming in second. 
 fThe prize was a silver cup ]iresented by 
 Commodore Greene). In 1 88('), at the 
 closing of the season of the Oconomowoc 
 Yacht Club, on the waters of I^a Belle, 
 the "\'ivian" captured the first ]irize. 
 Among other A i yachts built by Mr. Con- 
 
146 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Icy ina\' be mentioned the fast sailor '• Au 
 Revoir, " (or A. J. Chase, of Lake Crystal, 
 Minnesota; schooner yacht "Oneida, "for 
 John C. Follett, of Green Bay, Wis., (she 
 won first prize in her class in the Green Ba\' 
 regatta held July 27, 1894;; sloop "Em- 
 ma," for Commodore Greene, which, in 
 her maiden race, beat the ' ' Empress" 
 and " \'ivian" on Lake Oconomowoc, July 
 4, I S94, also on August 26, in a race on 
 the same lake, between boats brought in 
 from Pine and Pewaukee Lakes, again 
 won first prize, this time against ten 
 starters, the boats taking part in this race 
 representing the best builders in the coun- 
 try, some of them coming from New York 
 and Boston. 
 
 In 1889 Mr. Conley was married in 
 Green Bay (where she was born) to Miss 
 Clara M. Scheller, daughter of Albert 
 and Louise Scheller, natives of Germany, 
 whence several years ago t hey came to Wis- 
 consin, settling in Green Bay, where Mr. 
 Scheller conducted one of the first tailor- 
 ing establishments of the place. He died 
 in 1863; his' widow is still residing in 
 Green Bay. To Mr. and Mrs. Conley 
 has been born one child, a charming little 
 daughter, named Marie V'ivian. Mrs. 
 Conley is a member of the Moravian 
 Chinch. Our subject is a member of 
 Pochcquette Lodge. No. 26, K. of P., 
 Green Bay, and of the Republican party. 
 He was elected commodore of the Green 
 Bay Yacht Club July 1 1, 1894. In addi- 
 tion to yachts and boats, he is also manu- 
 facturer of sails, tents, flags, awnings, 
 etc. The family residence is at No. 300 
 South Washington street. Green Bav. 
 
 FI.I.IX DROOG. This substantial, 
 vvcll-to-do citizen of I)e P<tp, 
 Brown county, is a native of Bel- 
 gium, whoit! h(^ was born Decem- 
 bur 25, 1823. and educated, attending 
 school up to the age of thirteen yenrs. 
 
 He startcil out in life for himself, first 
 commencing to work as mason's assistant. 
 
 afterward learning the trade of mason and 
 bricklayer, at which he continued to work, 
 and, being thrifty and economical, saved 
 some money. On April 15, 1856, he was 
 married in Antwerp to Bernardine Evard, 
 who was born i)i Belgium in August, i 826, 
 and a few days after their marriage they 
 bade farewell to their friends and home. 
 Mr. Droog had not to leave his native 
 country because of the fear of coming to 
 want in later life, for he had been re- 
 warded with the National Recompense of 
 two medals of honor for devoted acts of 
 courage. The first medal (silver) he re- 
 ceived in April, 1850; the second one 
 (gold), also an engraving showing his 
 courageous acts, received from the royal 
 palace February il, 1851. With this 
 honor, he and his young bride set sail 
 from Antwerp for America. They 
 took passage in the " Marj' Goodwin," 
 and after a long voyage landed at Que- 
 bec, Canada, whence they at once set out 
 for their final destination. Green Bay, 
 Wis. The journey from Quebec occu- 
 pied nine days, and they arrived in Green 
 Bay July 14, strangers in a strange land, 
 and with but fifteen dollars to conmience 
 life in the New World. For over a year 
 after their arrival they resided with Greg- 
 orie Bormans, in .Allouez township, and 
 then moved to De Pere, where Mr. Droog 
 obtained employment on the old stone 
 school building, which was then in course 
 of construction, and later took the con- 
 tract for the mason work on the "Cali- 
 fornia House" He continued to follow 
 his trade at odd times for four and a half 
 years, part of the time working for Joseph 
 G. Lawton at seventy-five cents per da}\ 
 Purchasim: a lot in De Pere, he erected 
 thereon the house in which the family 
 still resides, and, after some years, pur- 
 chased twenty acres of wild land in De- 
 Pere tnwnshiiL The place was entirely in 
 the woods, not a stick ha\ingbpen cut from 
 it, and he at once set to work toclearand 
 improve it; he never lived there, however, 
 continuing to have his home in the town. 
 He isenergeticand industrious, and In hard 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGHAPIIICAL llECORD. 
 
 •47 
 
 work and perseverance h;is accuimihited a 
 comfortable competence. He not only 
 cultivated his original farm, but added to 
 it gradually, until it now consists of fifty- 
 acres of productive land. In addition to 
 his agricultural labors he also continued 
 to follow his trade until 1S9.:, when he 
 abandoned it. For twenty-three years he 
 had been employed to set fire-l)rick and 
 do other repair work in different furnaces 
 in the Fox River \'alley, many I'f which 
 he had also helped to build. There are 
 few men in the township who have toiled 
 harder, but he has met with encouraging 
 success in his efforts, and he is highly re- 
 spected everywhere for his sterling worth. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Droog have been blessed 
 with children as follows; Mary, Mrs. 
 FrankCalaway, of WestDePere; Leona, 
 Mrs. August Matzke, of Glenmore; Jo- 
 sephine, deceased wife of Mathias Mat/ike 
 (she was a school teacher prior to her 
 marriage); and Jennie C. and Henry J., 
 at home. Mr. Uroog is a Democrat in 
 his political preferences, and in religious 
 connection he and his wife are members 
 of St. Joseph's Catholic Church, De Pere. 
 
 CAPTAIN JOSEPH DENIS, of the 
 steam tug "Charnly," has been 
 sailing from the port of Green 
 Hay since 1864, commencing on 
 the steamboat " George L. Dunlap, " and 
 receiving his commission in 1S68. 
 
 He was born in Belgium in 1845, a 
 son of Leopold and Rosalie (Noel) Denis, 
 and in 1855 the family left their native 
 land on the " Henry Reed," a sailing 
 vessel, in fifty days arriving at New York 
 City. Thence they proceeded to Buffalo, 
 N. Y., where they passed their first win- 
 ter; from there, in the following spring, 
 came by rail to Fond du Lac, Wis., and 
 thence by team to Green Bay. In Bel- 
 gium the father had followed agricultural 
 pursuits, and, being desirous of continuing 
 the same vocation in the New \\'orld, 
 bought 160 acres of totally uncleared 
 
 timber land in Jjrussells townshiji, Door 
 Co., Wis., near Red ri\er. This, how- 
 ever, the family never cleared, nor even 
 lived on, though in later yeais the father 
 did some logging on it; but in Alloue;^ 
 township they lived for hve years on Capt. 
 Cotton's farm, where is now the cemetery 
 of that township. He then bought a farm 
 near the old military road, where he died 
 January 22, 1892; his first wife had pre- 
 ceded liim to the grave in 1866. He was 
 a Democrat in politics, and for eighteen 
 years was assessor of his townshiji. This 
 couple had born to them children as 
 follows: Joseph, the subject of this 
 sketch; Victoria, wife of F'rank Garrett, 
 of Green Bay; Celestin R., residing at 
 East De Pere, engaged as engineer and at 
 farming; Louis, an engineer, who died in 
 1891, at Appleton; Alfonsine, who died 
 while cii route to America; Charles, who 
 died in Buffalo, N. Y. ; Leopold, an en- 
 gineer, residing in Green Bay; Julia, wife 
 of X. Parmentier, city clerk of Green 
 Bay; Mary, wife of Alfonse Hugot, of 
 AUouez; Rosalie, wife of Ralph Soquet, a 
 druggist, and Charles, a resident of De- 
 Pere. In 1867 Leopold Denis, father of 
 this family, for his second wife married 
 Honorine Istash, also a native of Belgium, 
 and to this union were born seven chil- 
 dren, of whom the living are Victor, 
 Frank, James, Honorine and Louisa. 
 
 Our subject was Init ten years of age 
 when he came to Green Bay, and was 
 educated in the schools of that city and 
 in Allouez township. Until he com- 
 menced boating he was emploj'ed on the 
 farm; in 1882 and 1883, however, he was 
 connected witli his brother, Leopold, in 
 sawmilling, but continued steamboating 
 between Green Bay and all lake ports as 
 far as Chicago. In 1868 he was married, 
 in Green Bay, to Miss Mary Briquelet, a 
 native of France and a daughter of 
 Nicholas Briquelet, at that time a resi- 
 dent of Allouez, where he died. Her 
 brother, Joseph, came to this country in 
 1856, and died in 1888. To the marriage 
 of Capt. Denis have been born four chil- 
 
148 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 dren, viz.: Agnes (deceased in 1891) was 
 the wife of Joseph Coel, a clothing mer- 
 chant; James is a salesman with Joannes 
 Bros. ; and Lucy, and Joseph, also clerk- 
 ing with Joannes Bros. The Captain in 
 politics is a Republican; fraternally he is a 
 member of the Roj'al Arcanum; in relig- 
 ious faith he and his wife are members of 
 St. John's Catholic Church. Their fine 
 residence in Green Bay is located at No. 
 325 Van Buren street, and is centrally 
 situated. The Captain takes a lively in- 
 terest in the progress of the city, is high- 
 ly respected both on the lakes and on 
 shore, and is recognized as a useful, sub- 
 stantial citizen. 
 
 PETER V AN D E R H E I D E N, 
 farmer of Holland township. 
 Brown county, was born in North 
 Brabant. Holland, February 10, 
 1849, a son of Derk and Antonet (Van- 
 Roy) Vanderheiden. 
 
 The father of our subject was a 
 farmer, and was twice married, first to 
 Petronella Van de Nymelenberg, who bore 
 him seven children, and died November 
 9, 1847. The father then married, No- 
 vember 30, 1S4S, Antonet Van Ro\', who 
 has bore him si.\ children, viz. : Peter, 
 our subject; George B. ; Mary, deceased; 
 John and I^ardine (twins), and Mary (2). 
 In 1S50 the parents came to America, 
 landing in New Ytjrk, thence coming 
 directly to Wisconsin. They settled in 
 Holland township, where the father 
 bought 160 acres of land in the wild 
 w'oods. from which was carved out the 
 splendid farm where our subject now lives. 
 It would be superfluous to here relate the 
 primitive manner in which the farm was 
 reached and hewed from the wilderness. 
 The courage and the endurance of the pio- 
 neer have been depicted a* housand times, 
 and the experience of the Vanderheiden 
 family was that of all others in like cir- 
 cumstances. SufTicc it to say that the 
 family prospered, but that it was for a 
 
 period of thirty years that they lived in 
 the 20 .\ 30 log cabin that originalh- occu- 
 pied the site of their present substantial 
 stone dwelling. 
 
 Peter \'anderheiden was faithful in 
 aiding his father in developing the home- 
 stead, and was always a hard worker at 
 home, with the exception of a few months 
 during the winters, when he worked for 
 neighbors; but he always brought his 
 earnings home, adding thus to the family 
 store. The father died here February 1 1 , 
 1874, aged fifty-nine years, eleven months 
 and eleven days, deeply mourned by 
 friends and neighbors. Our subject then 
 took possession of the farm, which he has 
 successfully managed to the present time; 
 each heir became the owner of eighty 
 acres. In 1887 our subject married Miss 
 Louise, daughter of John and Mary 
 (Gilsing) Pekel, the family coming to 
 America from Germany in i 860. There 
 were nine children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Pekel, namely: Lambert, John, \\'illiam, 
 Mary, George, Kate (deceased in in- 
 fancy), Louise, Kate (2), and Lena. To 
 our subject and his wife have come four 
 children, viz. : Theodore, born Decem- 
 ber 7, 1888; John and Mary, born Jan- 
 uary 14, 1891; and William, born Jan- 
 uary- 7, 1893. Mr. and Mrs. Vanderheiden 
 are devout members of the Catholic 
 Church; in politics he is a Democrat, and 
 socially he is one of the most respected 
 citizens of the township. 
 
 JOSEPH CRABB, a rising young agri- 
 ctilturist of De Pere township, is a 
 native of the town of De Pere, 
 Brown county, born November 8, 
 1871, son of Philip and Gertrude Crabb, 
 the former a nati\e of Belgium, the latter 
 of Holland. She was his second wife, 
 and they were the parents of six children — 
 three sons and three daughters — of whom 
 Joseph is the eldest son. 
 
 Joseph Crabb received a liberal com- 
 mon-school education in the schools of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUWAL RECORD. 
 
 •49 
 
 De Pere. When he was seven j'cars old 
 his father died, and his mother having re- 
 married, he resided at liome until he 
 reached the age of eighteen, at which 
 time he commenced life for his own ac- 
 count. Proceeding to Glenwood, St. 
 Croix Co., Wis., he remained there three 
 years, the greater part of the time work- 
 ing in a mill, excepting for a few months 
 when it was idle, and he engaged in rail- 
 roading. He then returned to De Pere 
 township. Brown county, where for a 
 short time he made his home with his 
 wife's parents, coming, March i, 11^93, to 
 the farm where he now resides. On No- 
 vember 5, 1 889, Mr. Crabb was married, 
 in De Pere, to Miss Nellie Kersten, who 
 was born .August 17, 1870, in De Pere 
 township, daughter of )ohn Kersten, a 
 native of Germany. To tliis union have 
 been born two children, Philip and Ger- 
 trude A. Though Mr. Crabb is but a 
 young man, and is, in fact, the youngest 
 farmer in the township, he has no su- 
 perior as an agriculturist in his section. 
 He is hard-working, energetic and pro- 
 gressive, and with his natural abilit}' and 
 good business management is bound to 
 prosper. In his political affiliations he 
 is a member of the Democratic party, 
 and in religious connection he and his 
 wife are both members of St. Mary's 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 JAMES D. McALIJSTKR, a well- 
 known resident of Howard township. 
 Brown county, is a native of W'is- 
 consin, born in Manitowoc county 
 November 27, 1847, son of Clement and 
 Minalta (Holbrook) McAllister. 
 
 Clement McAllister was born and 
 reared on a farm in the forests of New 
 York State, and came to Wisconsin in 
 1839, settling on a farm, where he died 
 when about fifty years of age. His parents 
 were Francis and Nancy (Elkins) McAllis- 
 ter, natives of Scotland, the former of 
 whom was born March i, 1792, and died 
 
 November 6, 1S41, in Manitowoc county. 
 Wis. ; the latter died in St. Lawrence 
 county, N. Y. ■ Mrs. Minalta McAllister 
 was born November 18, 1810, in St. Law- 
 rence count}', N. Y., and now makes her 
 home with her S(jn, James D. She is a 
 daughter of David and Minerva (Bartholo- 
 mew) H(.ilbrook, the former of whom, a 
 farmer, was born in 1785 in Lebanon, 
 Conn., and died in 1833 in St. Lawrence 
 county, N. Y. His parents were Peltia 
 and Mary (Clark) Holbrook. Minerva 
 Bartholomew, daughter of Isaac and 
 Lydia (Deming) Bartholomew, of Ver- 
 mont, liut later of New York, was born 
 June 3, 1793, and died in 1843, the mother 
 of twelve children, of whom Minalta Mc- 
 Allister was the eldest, and of whom seven 
 are yet living. 
 
 James I). McAllister is the youngest 
 child in a family of six, of whom but one 
 besides himself, a sister, is living. He was 
 reared on the home farm until fourteen 
 years of age, when his father died, and he 
 went to work for his Uncle Hiram, with 
 whom he remained eight or nine years. 
 In 1 876 he first came to Howard town- 
 ship. Brown county, and bought eighty 
 acres of partly cultivated land, which he 
 at once commenced to improve and work. 
 On May 28, 1879, he was married to Miss 
 Ella Ames, who was born March 27, 1859, 
 in Erie county, Penn., daughter of Clark 
 and Mary (Robbins) Ames, who had a 
 family of five children: these parents were 
 also natives of Pennsylvania, in which 
 State the mother died at the early age of 
 twenty-seven }'ears; the father, Clark 
 Ames, and his children came to Wiscon- 
 sin about the year 1866, and still reside 
 in Pittsfield township. 
 
 The union of James D. and Ella Mc- 
 Allister has been blessed with six chil- 
 dren, as follows: Mabel V., born April 
 3, 1881: William L., born September 10, 
 1882: Susan S., born June 3, 1885; Alvin 
 L., born March 8, 1888: and Clyde C, 
 born May 18, 1890, and one born May 
 17, 1S94, died July 28, 1894. Mr. Mc- 
 Allister, at the time of his marriage, set- 
 
150 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 tied on his present farm, on which he 
 conducts a profitable dairying business. 
 In his political affiliations he is a Republi- 
 can, and he is active in promoting the 
 educaticjnal interests of his section, also 
 giving his aid to religious and other moral 
 movements which tend to benefit or ad- 
 vance his township or countj-. He and 
 his family are universally respected, and 
 Mr. McAllister's steady habits render him 
 a desirable member of the community. 
 
 SKTH WILLIAMS CHAMPION. 
 railroad manager, was born De- 
 cember 25, 1844, at Princeton, 
 Ky. , son of Henry \V. and Sally 
 (Wiggenton) Champion, also natives of 
 Kentucky. They were both closely allied 
 to well-known southern families, although 
 bearing different names. 
 
 Thomas Champion, grandfather of the 
 subject of these lines, was a native of 
 North Carolina, whence he moved into 
 Kentucky, settling in Livingston county, 
 near the city of Salem, where he resided 
 until I 8 14. He served as sheriff of Liv- 
 ingston county, was a trader with the 
 Southern States, and while on a trip 
 south with a drove of horses contracted 
 yellow fever, from which he died soon 
 after reaching home, leaving a widow and 
 five children, Henry W. being the eldest; 
 Dr. Alfred Champion, now a resident of 
 Eddyville, Ky. , is the only surviving 
 member of this family. Their mother, 
 Mrs. Thomas Champion, was Miss 
 Frances Williams, who, in 1809, in com- 
 pany with her brother Henry, migrated 
 from \'irginia to Kentucky, and settled in 
 Livingstcm county, near Salem. She was 
 connected with the Williams family, nota- 
 ble among the large landowners of Cul- 
 peper county. Va., some members of 
 which achieved distinction in ]>ublic life. 
 One of the most distinguished members 
 of tliis family was Gen. Robert Williams, 
 of the United States Army, an ardent 
 Unionist, who rendered valuable service 
 
 to the government durin 
 
 the Rebellion, 
 notwithstanding the fact that he was a 
 \'irginian by birth. After the war he 
 served as adjutant-general of the army, 
 and married the widow of Stephen A. 
 Douglas. His grandfather served in the 
 Virginian line during the war of the Rev- 
 olution, and was also a commissioned 
 officer in the war of 181 2. The paternal 
 great-grandmother of Seth Williams 
 Champion came of another distinguished 
 Virginia family, representatives of which 
 were also numerous in Culpeper county. 
 
 Henry W. Champion, father of our 
 subject, was born, in 1812, in Li\ingston 
 county, Ky. , and was but a boy when his 
 father died. His wife was a granddaugh- 
 ter of John Miller Bell, who belonged to 
 a famous Southern familj', numerous rep- 
 resentatives of \\hich have been promi- 
 nent in public life, John Minor Botts, 
 who was one of the signers of Jefferson 
 Davis' bail bond at the close of the Civil 
 war, belonging to the antecedents of the 
 Bell family. Prior to the war he served 
 many years in Congress as an "Old-Line 
 Whig," and was an enthusiastic follower 
 of Henry Clay. He was a lawyer and 
 gentleman farmer, his law office being in 
 Richmond, and his country home near 
 Culpeper Court House. He opposed the 
 Secession movement, and when the war 
 began retired to his farm, refusing to act 
 with the large majority of the public men 
 of Virginia who held that they owed their 
 State allegiance paramount to that which 
 they owed to the National Governmi'ut. 
 His loyalty to the Union caused him to 
 suffer arrest and imprisonment at the 
 hands of the Confederates, and his for- 
 tune was seriously impaired by the rav- 
 ages of war. After the struggle was ended, 
 he exerted his influence to restore \'ir- 
 ginia to Statehood, and published an in- 
 teresting volume entitled "The Great 
 Rebellion, Its Secret History, Rise, Pro- 
 gress and Disastrous Failure." 
 
 In 1857 Henry W. Champion, with 
 his family, emigrated from Kentucky to 
 Coles countv. 111., one of the older coun- 
 
\ 
 
 / 
 
 s 
 
 / ^64>lcn\u 
 
 ■cf. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 '53 
 
 ties of southeastern Illinois, where he be- 
 came a farmer. In 1862 he removed to 
 central Illinois, settlinj; first in Macon 
 count}', and three or four years later in 
 Menard county, where he continued to re- 
 side up to his death, which occurred in 
 1881, one week after the decease of his 
 wife. In early life he was a printer, and 
 published a paper both in Tennessee and 
 Kentucky, but later was a merchant at 
 Greenview, and for many years postmaster 
 of that villaj;e. In his religious faith he 
 was a stanch and active member of the 
 Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and 
 during his whole life was an ardent worker 
 in the Sunday-scho(jls. 
 
 Seth Williams Champion, the subject 
 proper of this sketch, received his literary 
 education at the schools in Coles county 
 and Mount Zion, Macon Co., 111., at the 
 age of thirteen years commencing to work 
 on his father's farm, and, until he at- 
 tained his majority and sought other em- 
 plo_\'ment, by far the greater share of 
 his time was thereafter devoted to that 
 kind of labor. When he was about twen- 
 ty-two years of age, he left home and 
 went to Virden, 111., becoming a clerk in 
 the office of the Chicago & Alton Railway 
 Co. at that point, and after remaining 
 there one year he was appointed station 
 agent at Greenview, 111. At the end of two 
 years more he was promoted to station 
 agent at Lacon, 111. (also on the Chicago 
 & Alton railroad), and remained there 
 eight years. In 1878 he came to Green 
 Bay, Wis., and became the agent in that 
 city of the Green Bay & Minnesota Rail- 
 road Company, now known as the Green 
 Bay, Winona & St. Paul Railroad Com- 
 pany. Sometime afterward he entered 
 the general offices of this company as 
 chief clerk, and later was promoted in 
 succession to the important and respon- 
 sible positions of general freight and pas- 
 senger agent, and superintendent. In 
 1890 he became general manager of this 
 line of railroad, with headquarters in 
 Green Bay. He has also been manager, 
 
 since its construction, of the Kewaunee, 
 9 
 
 Green Bay & Western railroad, running 
 from Green IJay to Kewaunee, a line 
 thirty-four miles long, of which he was 
 one of the builders and principal pro- 
 moters. 
 
 As a railroad man, Mr. Champion 
 has beccjme well known throughout the 
 entire Northwest, and is recognized as a 
 railroad ojierator of superior capacity and 
 ability. Having begun his career, as a 
 railroad man, as station agent in a country 
 \illage, he has thoroughly familiari;ie(l 
 himself with all the details of railroad 
 business and management, and has earned 
 promotion by hard work and thorough 
 honesty, intelligent effort, and efficient 
 Services. He has made a close study of 
 what may be termed "The science of 
 railroading," has a broad knowledge of 
 the principles governing the operation ol 
 railroads and all the rules and regulations 
 pertaining to railroad traffic, and is a 
 man, also, of extensive general informa- 
 tion. The duties and responsibilities of 
 the positions which he has held have de- 
 manded his undi\ided attention, and he 
 has had neither the time nor the inclina- 
 tion to seek official [nefcrment or public 
 honors of any kind, the only office he has 
 ever held being that of alderman, while 
 a resident of Lacon, 111. He has, how- 
 ever, taken the interest which all good 
 citizens should feel in political nio\'e- 
 ments, acting always with the Republi- 
 can party where political issues are in- 
 volved, and being a linn believer in the 
 wisdom of its principles and politics. His 
 famil}', although of Southern origin, be- 
 longed to the "Old-Whig" party of ante- 
 war days, and when his father came 
 North he drifted easily and naturally into 
 the Republican part_\', when that party 
 came into existence. The son was brought 
 up under this influence, and has seen no 
 reason to change his political faith. The 
 religious influences, which surrounded him 
 in early life, were those of the Cumber- 
 land Presbyterian Church, and Mr. Cham- 
 pion is still a Presbyterian in his Church 
 affiliations, but on account of there being 
 
J 54 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 no Presbyterian Church of the Cuinber- 
 land faith in Green I-?ay, he afiiHates with 
 the Methodist Church, of which his wife 
 is a member. 
 
 In 1868 Mr. Champion was married 
 to Miss Lucinda A. White, a daughter of 
 George Roley White, of Decatur, 111., in 
 which city she was born, and to this union 
 were born five children, of whom three 
 are Hving, namely: Lalla May, Ora A. 
 and Clyde W. 
 
 REV. JACOBUS BOZMACK was 
 born May i, 1848, in Austria, son 
 of Valentine and Constantia Boz- 
 mack, who had a family of eight 
 children, all of whom are deceased ex- 
 cept our subject. The parents both died 
 in their native country. 
 
 Jacobus Bozmack received his early 
 education in the common schools of the 
 land of his birth, and, at the age of 
 twenty-seven years, entered the priest- 
 hood. In 1893 he came to America, 
 and after a very rough voyage landed in 
 New York city, thence coming directly 
 to his charge in Eaton township, Brown 
 county, Wisconsin. 
 
 Hi:XKV NACHTWEY, a prosper- 
 I )us wide-awake general merchant 
 (A Dc Perc township, and post- 
 master at Pine Grove, is a native 
 of Wisconsin, born July 22, 1858, in Coop- 
 erstown. Anton Nachtwc}', father of 
 Henry, was born March 26, 1S26, in 
 Prussia, Germany, a son of Michael 
 Nachtwey, who died when his son, Anton, 
 was twelve years old. Michael Nachtwey 
 was married four times, and had twenty- 
 five children; b}- his third marriage he had 
 ten, of whom Anton was the ninth and 
 the yoimgest son. Tiiis wife died whcMi 
 her son Anton was five years old. 
 
 Anton Nachtwey received a good edu- 
 cation in the schools of his native coun- 
 
 try. He was reared a farmer boy, and 
 after the death of his father left the home- 
 stead and hired out as a farmhand at 
 various places until he reached the age of 
 sixteen, when he went to Frankfort-on- 
 the-Main. Here he remained until he 
 was twenty-one years of age, during which 
 time he was employed in the German 
 mint for three years, and for a year and 
 a half worked in a brewery with his 
 brother, Henry (this brother afterward 
 conducted a store and a saloon in Coopers- 
 town, Wis.). Anton had a very profitable 
 situation in the government mint, but 
 he was obliged to abandon it on account 
 of his health. Having a few hundred 
 dollars, part of which he received from 
 his father's estate, and part of which he 
 had saved, Mr. Nachtwey, in the summer 
 of 1847, left his native country and set out 
 for America. He proceeded to London, 
 England; but after waiting there nine days 
 for a vessel which did not arrive, he took 
 the cars to Liverpool, whence he set sail, 
 and after a voyage of seven weeks landed 
 at New York. P"rom there he proceeded 
 by steamboat to Albany, thence, via the 
 Erie canal to Buffalo, where he took 
 passage on the steamer "Michigan" for 
 Milwaukee, Wis. His destination was 
 Two Rivers, but as the "Michigan" did 
 not stop at that port, be came hither by 
 sailing vessel from Milwaukee, arriving at 
 his journey's end in the latter part of 
 July. At that time the town of Two 
 Rivers contained but twenty-seven build- 
 ings, by actual count, and Indians were 
 still numerous in the surrounding countr)'. 
 Here Mr. Nachtwey found work in the 
 sawmill of a Mr. Smit, and remained four 
 years. 
 
 On July 20, 1851, ho was married, in 
 Cooperstown, to Miss Catherine Platten, 
 who was born July 8, 1835. in Prussia, 
 daughter of Anton and Margaret Platten. 
 wh(j came to the United States in 1842. 
 They were seven weeks crossing the ocean, 
 and made the entire journey from their 
 home in Germany to Green Bay, Wis., 
 b)- water, making the lake trip on the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 It;: 
 
 "Old Columbus," this beinj,' the last trip 
 made by that old boat. For a year and 
 a half after their arri\al the Flattens lived 
 in Green F>ay, and then moved t(j De- 
 Fere township, Brown county, where Mrs. 
 Nachtwey resided until her marriage. To 
 Antiin and Margaret Nachtwey have been 
 born children as follows: loseph, of 
 Bcllevue to\\nship; [ohn, of New Den- 
 mark townshij); Henry, whose name opens 
 this sketch; .\nton, of Cdenniore town- 
 ship; Fraid<, of I>elle\tie township; Mar\', 
 teacher in a con\ent iu Chicago; Mark. 
 Matilda, and Maggie and Li/;?ie (twins), 
 at home; three children that died yc.iung; 
 and Peter, who died in (ireen Bay at the 
 age of seventeen, tnnu lockjaw, the re- 
 sult of an accident in a sawmill. 
 
 .\fter his marriage Mr. Nachtwe}' re- 
 sided in Cooperstown, of which |)lace he 
 and his brother Henry wcri; anmng the first 
 German settlers. When they first came 
 there the surrounding country was still in 
 its primiti\-e ccjndition, and Mr. Nachtwey 
 remembers at one time seeing seventeen 
 Inilian wigwams in Coopersto%\n, the oc- 
 cupants of which were all engaged in 
 making maple sugar, which they traded 
 to the settlers f(ir potatoesand other food. 
 In 1877 he came to New Denmark town- 
 ship. Brown C( unity, where he and his 
 wife still make their hcimc. He has fol- 
 lowed farming continuously ever since his 
 marriage, and he now has a fine tract of 
 160 acres. He and his wife are members 
 of the Hnl)- Ti-inity Catholic Church at 
 Pine Grove, and in his political affilia- 
 tions Mr. Nachtwey generally faxors the 
 principles of the Democratic party ; how- 
 ever, he cast a vote for Abraham Lincoln, 
 and su]-)ports the best man without much 
 regard for party lines. He is universall\- 
 respected as an honest, upright citizen. 
 He has a renuukable meinorw and easily 
 recalls events which happened \'ears ago. 
 
 Henry Nachtwey received his educa- 
 tion in the common schools of his time, 
 and was thoroughly trained to agriculture 
 on the home farm. In i 870 he commenced 
 to work in a shingle-mill. and continued the 
 
 same until a painful accident to his 
 shoulder compelled him to retire from 
 active lal)or and rest for a jear, at the end of 
 which time, with complete rest and the 
 aid of a costly contrivance, he fully re- 
 covered and was able to resume work. 
 For three years he was employed in the 
 mills of Gillon & Monroe, becoming thor- 
 oughly familiar with all kinds of sawmill- 
 ing. which in the early pioneer times was 
 a very important industry, but with the 
 clearing up of the countrx' has been gradu- 
 ally decreasing. On Novemlier 12, i88g, 
 Mr. Nachtwey was united in marriage, in 
 De I\-re, with Miss Margaret E. Connel- 
 ly, who was born May 23. 1S65. in the 
 Frmince of Ontario, Canada, daughter of 
 )ohn Connelh'. and was but nine weeks 
 old when her parents came to Wisconsin, 
 where she was reared. After marriage the 
 \'oung couple commenced housekeeping 
 in Fine Grove, De Fere township, where 
 he has been engaged in general mercan- 
 tile business since 1882. He commenced 
 alone, but later received his brother, 
 Joseph, as a partner, and they carried on 
 the business together until 1891. since 
 when our subject has been sole proprietor. 
 He has been very successful, and he con- 
 ducts one of the best-kept and most com- 
 plete general stores in the county, his 
 courteous and accommodating disposition 
 having made him e.Nxeedingl} popular 
 with his fellowmen. The postoffice at 
 Fine Grove had fjeen discontinued, but in 
 1882 it was re-established, and Mr. 
 Nachtwey was appointed to the position 
 of postmaster, in which he now serves. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Nachtwey are both mem- 
 bers of Holy Trinit\' Catholic Church at 
 Fine Gro\e. They have had one child, 
 Allen A., who was born June 22, 1892. 
 
 w 
 
 II.LIAM WORKMAN, the pop- 
 ular druggist of De Fere. Wis.. 
 was born at the village of Prest- 
 wick, .-\yrshire, Scotland. June 
 1822, a son of John and Ann (Prin- 
 
COMMEMOHATIVK BWORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 glej Workman, the former of whom was 
 a weaver, who employed se\eral journey- 
 men, but who died when his son W'ilham 
 was but six years of age. Mrs. Ann 
 Workman continued to reside at Prest- 
 wick for some \ears after the death of her 
 husband, but finally followed her son Will- 
 iam to America, and ended her days at 
 his home in De Pere. Both parents were 
 members of the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 William Workman served an api)ren- 
 ticeship of five and a half jears at the 
 machinist's trade in Deanston, Perth- 
 shire, Scotland, and then, July i, 1S42, 
 at the age of twenty \"ears, emliarked at 
 Glasgow on a sailing vessel for the United 
 States, and nine weeks later landed in 
 New York City, where he remained about 
 a year, employed at various occupations; 
 he then came to Milwaukee, Wis. ; thence 
 moved to Waterville, where heemplo\ed 
 himself at farming for a year, and was 
 then employed in carpentering at Ripon. 
 On January S, 1852. he started for Cali- 
 fornia b)' the l^anama route, reaching 
 Panama on the first of the following 
 March; built and started the first circu- 
 lar sawmill in the place at a salary of 
 one hundred dollars per week in gold, 
 and on Ma\' i reached San Francisco. 
 .After (]uite successfully mining in Cali- 
 fornia for two years, Mr. \\'orkman re- 
 turned to Ripon, Wis., May 30, 1854, 
 and estal)lished a steam cabinet-making 
 establishment; in 1859 he purchased a 
 seeding machine patent, and for three 
 years was engaged in its manufacture at 
 Ripon, but the patent proved a failure. 
 Mr. Workman ne.xt secured several pat- 
 ents for sundry other machines, and in 
 the manufacture of these he met with 
 better success. In 1S66 he entered into 
 partnershi]) with Jason and Wellington 
 Hitchcock, and added the manufacture of 
 sleighs, cutters, wagons, etc., and in 1878 
 sold his interest in the factory to Jason 
 Hitchcock and moved to De Pere, where 
 he took the position of superintendent of 
 the De Pere Iron Works, in which he 
 hold some stock. In 1873 the company 
 
 failed and was bought in Iw Blanchard & 
 Arnold, of Milwaukee, for whom Mr. 
 Workman acted as superintendent. This 
 firm also fell into financial difficulties 
 through the failure of the Union Steel & 
 Iron Company, of Chicago, in 1884, and 
 bj- this disaster Mr. Workman was again 
 a sufferer to the extent of five thousand 
 dollars. On November 30, 1885, Mr. 
 Workman bought out the interest of his 
 son and his son's partner, Michael Welsh, 
 in their drug store in West De Pere, and 
 this fie conducted until August 18, 1890; 
 in 1887 he also purchased from William 
 Chapman his drug store in East De Pere, 
 and to this, after selling out in West De- 
 Pere, he has since devoted his entire at- 
 tention, meeting with a prosperous trade. 
 Mr. Workman has been twice mar- 
 ried, first time at Ripon, in 1845, to Miss 
 Rachel Stilwell, who survived her mar- 
 riage onl)' three months; his second mar- 
 riage occurred, in 1850, to Margaret 
 Miller, also at Ripon, and this union has 
 been blessed with six children, viz. : Will- 
 iam M., a druggist of West De Pere; 
 Mary, married to David Thomas, of Ripon ; 
 Margaret and Annie P., at home; John, 
 who died at Ripon of scarletina at the 
 the age of two years and nine months; 
 and Frank, who died of diphtheria at De- 
 Pere, aged three years and three months. 
 Mr. Workman was a charter member of 
 Ripon Lodge, No. 95, V. & A. M., in 
 1857; he also was a charter member of 
 Ripon Chapter, No. 30, and a member of 
 the Commandery at Fond du Lac; he is 
 now a member of De Pere Lodge. No. 
 85, of which he has served as secretary 
 three j'ears. In politics he is a Repub- 
 lican, and while living at Ripon he served 
 as county supervisor from the First ward; 
 two terms; also in the city council several 
 terms, and as mayor one term; at West 
 De Pere he has served as president of the 
 village for ten or more years, and also as 
 member of council in East De Pere for 
 two years — evincing in each position a 
 business ability that gave the utmost 
 satisfaction to the public. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 157 
 
 Mr. Wdikrnan lias always coininanded 
 the res]>ect of the conuminities in which 
 he has lived, and been recognized as a 
 valuable and desirable member of societ'S'. 
 
 JAMES TOUHEV. the -enial pro- 
 prietor of the " New Transit Hotel " 
 at De Pere, was Ixnn July 2S. 1S3G, 
 ill County Claie, Ireland, son of 
 Michael and Bridijet (Maloney) Touhey. 
 natives of the same county. 
 
 Michael Touhey was a fanner of 
 moderate means, and also a cattle dealer, 
 with his resilience about se\'en miles 
 northeast of Limerick. His chilifren, 
 who were all born in Ireland, were named 
 as follows: Jane, Mary, Dennis, Bridj^et, 
 Michael, Honora, Margaret. Winnie, 
 Michael (2). Timothy, Winnie iJi, and 
 James; there was also one that died in in- 
 fancv. They were not, however, born in 
 the orck'r named, as James, our subject, 
 was the fifth child and the third son. On 
 March 17. 1S48, Michael Touhey and his 
 family left Limerick for America, and on 
 June 20, landed in Quebec. From that 
 city he went to Burlington, Vt.. where he 
 was a[)pointe(l overseer and timekeeper 
 over 1,200 men emploxed on the New- 
 York cS: Erie railway, then being built. 
 \\'isconsin was then a lu^w State, and, al- 
 though he was making money he con- 
 cluded to try his fortune here. Accord- 
 ingly, in the latter jiart of August, 1848, he 
 arrived in Milwaukee, where he was en- 
 gaged in street grading, etc., employing 
 many men and teams, until September, 
 1S55, when lie removed to Manitowoc, 
 and a short time afterward purchased a 
 tract of 160 acres in Franklin township, 
 same count}', which he subsequenth' in- 
 creased to 400 acres. Here he died, in 
 the Catholic faith, April 6, 1886, and was 
 followed to the grave by his faithful wife 
 four days later. Their remains now rest 
 side by side in Maple Grove cemetery, 
 Manitowoc county. Of his large family 
 four children only survive: Honora, a 
 
 widow; James, our subject; Margaret, 
 now Mrs. Patrick McMaini, of Kansas; 
 and Michael, of Bessemer. Mich., Imt 
 formerly of Morrison towiiship. Brown 
 Co.. Wis., being then the representative 
 of his District in the State Legislature. 
 
 lames ToiilieN' recei\ed his earlier ed- 
 ucation in his n.ativc' land, and, after 
 reaching the Liiited States, at the age of 
 eleven j'ears, attended the .Milwaukee 
 schools until large enough to (lii\c ateam 
 for his father. While thus employed hi- 
 drove the horses that hoisted the hrst lo- 
 comoti\e that ever ran in Wisconsin, and 
 which \vas subsequently used on the Mil- 
 waukee iS; Mississippi railroad. He mo\-ed 
 with his jiarents to l~ranklin township, 
 Manitowoc county, wlu-ri.- ha worked on 
 his father's e\teiisi\e tracts of m-w land 
 until his marriage, October 26, 1858, at 
 Manitowoc Kapids, with Miss Mary Mans- 
 field, a native County Kilkenny, Ireland, 
 born in 1839, daughter of Thomas Mans- 
 field, who died when his daughter was 
 but five years of age, leaxing a widowand 
 five children. The \\idow came to the 
 United States in 1850, remarried, and had 
 three children by her second husband. 
 Mary Mansfield was reared near Ha\er- 
 straw-, on the Htidson I'or North) ri\er, 
 New York, and in 1858, while on a visit 
 to Wisconsin, met ami married Mr. Tou- 
 hey. For five years after his marriage 
 Mr. Touhe\- resirled with his father, and 
 then located on 1 20 acres of timbered land 
 that had formed part of his father's estate. 
 He cleared this land and made a fine 
 farm, on which hv residi-d t\\elve years, 
 doing hard work all the time. In the fall 
 of 1873 he remo\ed to De Peie and j)m'- 
 chased the " l"o.\ Ki\-er Hotel," \\-hich he 
 remodeled and opened on the second 
 Tuesda\- in No\ember of the same j-ear, 
 changing the name to the "Manitowoc 
 House." .Aided by his wife, a \cry ac- 
 complished lad\', he carried on a most 
 prosperous business until .April 22, 1882, 
 when the edifice was consumed by fire. 
 Mr. Touhey immediately rebuilt on a 
 larger scale, and called the new hotel the 
 
iss 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGIIAI'HWAL RECORD. 
 
 "Transit Hotel," in which he did a thriv- 
 ing trade for seven years, when he was 
 again burned out. Mr. Touhey, some- 
 what discouraged, then went to Hot 
 Springs, Ark., to be treated for rheuma- 
 tism, from which he had been suffering 
 since 1879; later he \isited various sites 
 in Colorado, where several offers of an 
 advantageous nature were made to as- 
 sist him in opening a hotel, but the pub- 
 lic-spirited citizens of De Perc induced 
 him to return to that city and resume his 
 former business. Acordingl), on the ist 
 of September, i8go, he opened the " New 
 Transit Hotel," now so well known along 
 the Fox river. 
 
 Mr. Touhey is a stanch Democrat, and 
 was once elected justice ot the peace, but 
 declined to serve; in 1863, however, he 
 served as a member of the board of alder- 
 men of De Pere. He is a meml)er of St. 
 Francis Catholic Church, and he and his 
 wife are held in the highest respect by the 
 entire cormiiunit)'. They have had no 
 children born to them, but some young 
 relative — niece or nephew — has always 
 found a home under their roof. 
 
 CHAI^LES SCHK0I-:DI-:K. This 
 popular dealer in agricultural im- 
 plements of Wrightstown, lirown 
 county, was born June 6, 1844, 
 in West Prussia, son of (iottlieb and 
 Louise (Luefgc) Schroeder. 
 
 In 1863, in com|)any with his mother 
 and two sisters. <}ur subject came to the 
 United States, landing at Baltimore Mil., 
 August 1 5, whence they moved to the 
 town of Rockland, Hrovvn Co., Wis., set- 
 tling in the wilderness near the Fox Ki\er 
 \'alley, where he engaged in farming. On 
 January 18, 1870, Mr. Schroeder was 
 here married to Miss Bertha Wirschke, a 
 daughter of Cottlieb Wirschke, who was 
 largelv engaged in the manufacture of 
 linseed oil. To this union have been 
 born ten children, namely: Mary. Charles, 
 August, Fmilie. Rudolph, Wiihelm, 
 
 Emma, Robert, Ida, and Albert. After 
 a residence of about sixteen years on his 
 farm Mr. Schroeder removed with his 
 famil}' to Wrightstown, leaving one son in 
 charge of the home place. Here Mr. 
 Schroeder at once established his present 
 business, dealing in farm machinery and 
 agricultural implements, and has built up 
 a successful and thriving trade, his fair 
 dealing and gentlemanly deportment gain- 
 ing for him the confidence of the com- 
 munity. Ho is a local leader in the Dem- 
 ocratic part)", and has filled several re- 
 sponsible offices; he is now a candidate 
 for the position of postmaster. 
 
 CHKI^T(,JPH .MEISTl^K, who is a 
 contractor and builder, of Green 
 Bay, was born in Saxony, Ger- 
 mau)', November 9, 1820, a son 
 of Henr)' and Elizabeth (Neuman) Meis- 
 ter, who, in 1855, settled in Green Bay, 
 where the father died in 1864. the mother 
 in 1 866. They reared a family of six 
 children, as follows: Christoph, the sub- 
 ject of this sketch; Fredericka, wife of 
 Matthias Fist, of Pittsfield township; 
 Caroline, wife of Jacob Low, of Preble 
 township; Harry; James; and Ernestine, 
 wife of Frank Lipman.of Preble township. 
 Christoph Meister was educated in 
 German}', and also learned his trade of 
 carpenter and builder in that country. 
 On June 18. 1853, he came to Green Baj', 
 and in 1856 erected his present pleasant 
 i residence. On arriving here he at once 
 engaged in business, and among the many 
 I structures he has juit up may l)e men- 
 I tioned " Cook's Hotel," Chapman block, 
 ' Uncle Frank's block. Engine House No. i, 
 1 the old Postofhce building. Turner Hall, 
 I the Union Brt-wery, a brewery in Esca- 
 naba, the courthouse in Grantl Rapids, 
 and most of the larger stores and dwell- 
 ings in (ireeii Bay. Mr. Meister was 
 united in matrimony in Germany. in 1849, 
 to Miss Dorothea Montag. and to this 
 union have been born ei-'ht children, \iz. : 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 '59 
 
 Ernest, Charley, Hcriiiaii, Frederick, 
 Louisa (wife of Otto Breliiner), Lena, 
 Emma, and Matilda. Mr. and Mrs. Meis- 
 ter are members ot the I^iitheran Church. 
 Socially he is a nienilier of Herman 
 Lodge, No. Ill, in which he has passed 
 all the chairs, and is also a member df 
 the Tnrnverein and of the German Bene\- 
 olent Societx. In politics he is a Ke- 
 pulslican, taking; an active interest in the 
 success of the party, and has served as 
 alderman four years. Mr. Meister is the 
 oldest contractor in Green I>ay, has la- 
 bored hard to adxance its interests, and 
 has won for himself a hij;h standing in the 
 estimation of the entire community 
 
 JOHN B.\TEY, of De Pere, was born 
 in the village of Stella, on the river 
 Tyne. Count) of Dinhain. England, 
 September I I, 1S23, and is a son of 
 Jolm and Ann ( Blair j Batey, the former 
 of whom was a mason and contractor. 
 
 Our subject was educated in private 
 schools in the \iilage of Backworth, 
 county nf Northumberland, England, 
 until fifteen years of age, when he was 
 indentured for six \ears to a coal com- 
 pany (for whom his father was a foreman 
 over the masons em[)lo)'ed) for tin.' |)ur- 
 pose of learning masonry. He served 
 out the full term of his indentures, and also 
 worked for the ctunpanj' three years as a 
 journeyman. On the J 5th of January, 
 1.S45, lie married Dorotlu' .\rmstrong, 
 then eighteen years and eleven days old. 
 a daughter of Thomas and Ann fScott) 
 Armstrong, the wedding taking place in 
 All Saints Church, Newcastle-on-Tyne. 
 For ten years after his marriage Mr. 
 Batey resided in Backworth, working at 
 his trade, and, of his four children born 
 there, three died of scarlet fever, which 
 so distressed him that he resolved to 
 abandon the coimtr)- and emigrate to 
 Australia. On reaching Liverpool with 
 his wife and remaining child, .Arm, then 
 eight years old. the news of hard times 
 
 was so dishcarlennig Iroin tin: antipi}des, 
 that he changed his destination to Amer- 
 ica, and landed in Montreal, Canada, 
 where hi' found woik on the famous Vic- 
 toria bridge, then in C(iuisi' of ccuistruc- 
 tion for the Grand Trunk rail\\a\. I)Ut 
 the Work was dangrrons, ami drownings 
 of masons were <if such li"i.(|uent occiu'- 
 rence, that he sought and scciued em- 
 ployment in the Grand Trunk railroad 
 shops at Mc/Utreal. where he remained 
 three months, and then moved to Point 
 Levi, near (>uebec; but. the water freez- 
 ing here a ipiarterof an inch in oiu- night, 
 in the month of September, he iminedi- 
 atel\- took passage for Toronto. Tliis trip 
 was an exceedingly storm\- one; the boat 
 was wrecked, his household geiods all 
 lost, and he, his wife and child barely 
 escaped with tln'iv li\es. ISeing unaware 
 of the liabilit\- of the boat owners for his 
 entire loss, Mr. Batey accepted hve dol- 
 lars from the Captain as full indeumity 
 for his goods and clothing. \\ Toronto 
 Mr. Batey worked for three years at his 
 trade for the railroad company, and then 
 came to Wisconsin and passed two years 
 at Marquette; from there, al)out 1S70. he 
 came to De Pere. since when he has con- 
 tracted for or assisted in the erecting of 
 furnaces all the vva\- across the continent 
 from Detroit, Mich., to Portland, Ore., 
 at one time taking nineteen workmen 
 from De Pere to Oregon. M present 
 Mr. l>ate\ confines himself to acting 
 as foremrm or director of men engaged 
 in mason ^^"ork. ha\ing accumulate(f suf- 
 ficient means to support his \\\{r ,ind self 
 during his declining years. 
 
 While residing in Canada there were 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Batey four childri-n, 
 of whom two only are now lixing. \i/. : 
 Rebecca, married to Mi. P.icksler, of 
 Spokane Falls, Wash., and Thomas W.. 
 at home with his parents. .Ann, the child 
 who was born in England, was married 
 in Canada, to W'illiam W'right, bore her 
 husband five children, and died when 
 about twenty-six years old — the children 
 being mostly reared b\- Mrs. l^ate\-. In 
 
i6o 
 
 COMMEMORATIVK DIOGliAPIIICAL liECORD. 
 
 politics Mr. Hatcy is independent, while 
 Mrs. Batey affiliates with the Repub- 
 licans, and she has been a consistent 
 nienibei' of the Presbyterian Church for 
 twenty-six years. 
 
 M 
 
 H. XOLAN, chief of police of 
 (ireeii Bay, was born in 1856, 
 in Sheboygan county. Wis. 
 His parents, Thomas and Mary 
 (McDonaldj Nolan, natives of Ireland, 
 about the year 1841 settled in the woods 
 of Sheboygan county, where they wrested 
 a farm from the forest and acquired a 
 moderate fortune. They now reside in 
 Green Bush township, Sheboygan county, 
 in ease and comfort. The}' had born to 
 them a family of twelve children, of whom 
 eleven are living, \\z. : Bridget, wife of 
 Michael Flynn, of .Antigo, Wis. ; John, 
 of Altoona, Wis.; .M. H., our subject; 
 Andrew, a farmer of Dakota; Katie, at- 
 tending the Normal School at Oshkosh, 
 Wis. ; Libbie, assistant county treasurer 
 of Langlade county. Wis. ; .Anna, clerk- 
 ing in Milwaukee; Thomas, a farmer of 
 Shebojgancount\'; Winnie, wifeof Thom- 
 as Keenan. of Milwaukee; Alice, a school- 
 teacher of Sheboygan county, and Madge, 
 now attending school. 
 
 M. H. Nolan was reared to farming 
 on the Sheboygan county homestead. 
 ^^'hile )et a young man he passed two 
 _\ears in traveling, seeing the country and 
 working here and there until his final set- 
 tlement in GreiMi Bay. in iSSj. After 
 being employed at different branches of 
 labor, he was placed in the city lire de- 
 partment, and had charge of engine 
 house No. 2 for a year: was then trans- 
 ferred to the police force, and ser\ed four 
 years in a subordinate position, when he 
 was appointed chief in 1S93; having filled 
 the position one term with ability and to 
 the satisfaction of all concerned, he was 
 re-appointed and is now serving his sec- 
 ond term. The force comprises the chief 
 ami six subordinates, and, undi-r Mr. 
 
 Nohm's guidance, have succeeded in keep- 
 ing the city in an admirable state of good 
 order and quietude. In politics Chief 
 Nolan is a Democrat; in religion he is a 
 devout Catholic. He is a member of the 
 Knights of the Maccabees, of which he 
 was one of the organizers of Green Bay, 
 and is also a member of the Royal .Ar- 
 canum. He is a man of nerve, and is 
 much admired by his many friends and 
 associates. 
 
 FRANK THEODORE BLESCH, 
 a wide-awake and enterprising 
 merchant of Green I:5ay, and who 
 for some years has been connected 
 with the commercial and social interests 
 of that cit\', was born in Fort Howard, 
 Wis., July 18,1861, of German descent, 
 his grandfather, Carl Blesch, having been 
 born at Bingen-on-the-Rhine. The great- 
 grandfather was a well-known musician 
 of that locality, and a composer of piano 
 and organ music. Carl Blesch was also 
 a \ery popular citizen in the community 
 where he lived, and was the proprietor of 
 the " Pariser Hof " (or " Parisian Hotel ") 
 in Bingen. He died in the prime of life, 
 leaving a widow, whose maiden name was 
 Clara Hcuser, who survived him many 
 years. They were the parents of seven 
 children: Margareta and Carl, both de- 
 ceased; John B; Andrew; l-"rancis, also 
 ceased; Elesa and Peter. 
 
 Francis Blesch, father of our subject, 
 was l)orn in Bingen, November 6, 1824, 
 and in the public schools of his native 
 town obtained a good practical education. 
 He there learned the cooper's and brewer's 
 trades, perfecting himself in the business, 
 and worked along those lines in many 
 places, traveling over the greater part of 
 Europe. Eventually' returning to Bingen. 
 he there remained until October, 1849, 
 when he cnisse<l the Atlantic to America, 
 with but little capital; he was thoroughly 
 honest, however, and willing to work, ami 
 soon won the respect and confidence of all 
 
COMMEMOUA TIVE JIJOCNAPJIICAL IIKCORD. 
 
 l6i 
 
 by his many good qualities of head and 
 heart. He first located in Milford, Pcnn., 
 but in 1850 came to Green Bay, Wis., 
 where he established a brewery and did a 
 successful business. He was a member 
 of the Masonic fraternity and a benevo- 
 lent and charitable man, giving freely of 
 his means to the poor and distressed, 
 doing all in a quiet and unostentatious 
 manner. His death occurred November 
 9, icS79, and he was mourned by many 
 friends. He married Antoinette Schnei- 
 der, a native of Brussels, Belgium, who 
 survives her husband; she is the mother of 
 six children, namely: Mrs. Sophia B. 
 Jorgenson, Mrs. Clara Monroe, Mrs. 
 Emily Lewis. Gustav A., Frank T. and 
 Louise A. 
 
 The sulijcct of this sketch was edu- 
 cated in the public schools of his nati\e 
 town, and at the age of seventeen entered 
 upon his business career as a clerk in the 
 dry-goods store of his brother-in-law, f. 
 L. Jorgenson. He remained in that store 
 nine years, during which time he mastered 
 every detail of the business. He became 
 a partner in the concern, and when a 
 branch store \\'as established at Green 
 Bay he moved thither to assume the po- 
 sition of resident manager, and has since 
 been in charge of what is now one of the 
 leading mercantile establishments of the 
 city. He is a man of excellent business 
 and executive abilities, sagacious and far- 
 sighted, and by his earnest desire to please 
 his customers, and his courteous treatment 
 and fair dealing, he has secured a liberal 
 patronage, of which he is well deserving. 
 The best interests of the community re- 
 ceive his support, and he withholds his co- 
 operation from nil wortliv undertaking 
 calculated to promote the general welfare. 
 
 Rj. BLACK, stock dealer. Fort 
 Howard. This gentleman was 
 born, in 184:;. in jylland, Den- 
 mark, and is a son of James and 
 Carrie (Morup) Black, natives of the same 
 
 place, where the father died in 1869, the 
 mother in 1871, never ha\ing left their 
 native coimtrw Their children were 
 seven in number (of whom four came to 
 Wisconsin), \i/. : James, who resides in 
 Denmark; K. J., the subject i)f these 
 lines; Carrie Marie, wife of Antlers Nel- 
 son, a large dair\' farmer of Denmark; 
 Feter, also residing in Denmark; Chris- 
 tian, a resident of Fort Howaril, Wis ; 
 Anna Catherine, who came to Oshkosh, 
 Wis., and died there in 1870, and James, 
 who came to Fort Howard in 1874, where 
 he now resides. 
 
 K. j. Black was reared and educateil 
 in Denmark, and prepared himself for a 
 teacher. At the age of twenty-one years 
 he left his native land anif came to Wis- 
 consin. Returning to Demnark in 1869 
 he remained until the following year, 
 when he again came to the "Badger 
 State." He first located at Oshkosh, in 
 1865, working at the lumber business, but 
 in May, 1874, remo\-ed to Fort Howard 
 and settled in Tanktown. fie was then in 
 the employ of the Green Bay, Winona cS: 
 St. Paul I^ailroad Company, for whom he 
 had begun work as a track-layer, assisting 
 in laying the rails as far as Winona, Minn. 
 He had prexionsly, after his return from 
 Denmark, been employeif by the Wiscon- 
 sin Central Railroad Comjiany, helping 
 to grade the road, and, later, was with 
 the Chicago iS: Northwestern Railroad 
 Companj', on their line between (iieen 
 Bay and Marinette, .\fter the lirst vear 
 at Fort Howard Mr. Black opened a meat 
 markcit, which he conducted for seNenteen 
 years, finally selling out and engaging in 
 the stock business, in which he has con- 
 tinued. He buys and sells li\e stock, and 
 has an extensive business. lie is the 
 owner of a good farm in tfie city limits, 
 and has been successful in his \enture?. 
 
 In 1872, at New London, Wis., Mr. 
 Black was marrii'd to Miss Marie Madsen. 
 a native of I.,olland, Denmark, and daugh- 
 ter of Mads and Miriam Christina (Torsen) 
 Kasmussen, who spent theii' entire li\cs 
 in their nati\e counti'w i'"i)nr of their 
 
l62 
 
 COMMEMORAriVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 children cnii^ratetl to Wisconsin: Kasinus 
 Madsen and Frederic Madsen, both resi- 
 dents of Fort Howard: Mrs. Black, of the 
 .same place, and Signe, wife of C. ]. 
 Black, who died at Fort Howard in i8<S6. 
 There were two brothers, Nels. who died 
 in Australia, and Christian, who died in 
 the South. Mr. and Mrs. IMack are the 
 parents of six children: Charlotte, wife 
 of Rev. ]. V. Young, pastor of the Pres- 
 byterian Chiircii at Fort Howard; Marie, 
 a graduate of the l-'ort Howard schools 
 in 1S93, and now attending Normal School 
 at Oshkosh; Agnes, Emma and Stella, at 
 school; and Edna. In political matters 
 Mr. Black is a Prohibitionist, and he and 
 his wife were charter members of the 
 local organisation of the I. O. G. T. ; 
 both are members of the Presbyterian 
 Church. Mr. Black also holds member- 
 ship in the I. O. O. V. at Green Bay, 
 and the Ivoyal Arcanum at Fort Howard. 
 For hve years he has served on the school 
 board, and for an e(]ual period was alder- 
 man from the Fifth ward, ser\ing also two 
 years as supervisor. He takes connnend- 
 able interest in public affairs, and is in every 
 respect an upright, \V(jrthy citizen. In 
 1889, in order to enjoy a )ileasure trip 
 and see more of the country, he visited 
 California. 
 
 Mr. and Mis. Black have both re- 
 sided in Fort Howard a sufficient period 
 to witness remarkable changes in the 
 place, and have kept pace with its devel- 
 opment. All the region round about 
 Green Bay has undergone almost a com- 
 plete transformation during the years of 
 their residence, and the end is not \et. 
 
 DM. 11 ART 1: A U, architect, of 
 Green Bay, was born at Ue Pere, 
 Brown C(junt_\', Wis., in 1842, a 
 Son of Joseph and Mary (Gorhani) 
 Hartean, the former a native of Canada, 
 the latter (•>[ Mackinac. Michigan. 
 
 Joseph Harteau, with two brothers. 
 
 Mitchell and Lewis, early came to Green 
 Bay (Shantytown), and there Joseph 
 found employment on the river under a 
 Mr. Whitney, and was there married. 
 Later he migrated to Scott township and 
 engaged in farming, and still later moved 
 to Chase township, Oconto Co., Wis., 
 where he passed from earth in 1889; his 
 wife had died in 1S88. Mrs. Harteau's 
 father, Da\id B. Gorham, was a native 
 of England, and was a shipbuilder. On 
 coming to America he settled in the Ter- 
 ritory of Michigan, and in July, 1827, 
 was naturalized in the county of Michili- 
 mackinac, but shortly afterward moved to 
 Green Bay, Wis. , where he was employed 
 by the government in boat building, and 
 where he met his death at the hands of a 
 sohlier. His widow, of whom Charley 
 Gorham, of Do Pere, is the youngest 
 brother, afterward married Charles Ga- 
 beau, a native of Canada. Joseph and 
 Mary Harteau were the parents of eight 
 children, as follows: D. M., our subject; 
 Rosella, who married William Pherson, 
 and died at Oshkosh: Adeline, wife of 
 Louis Hardwelk, of Menominee; Charley, 
 of Chase township, Oconto county ; Joseph ; 
 Augustus, of Chase township; Adel, mar- 
 ried to John Wilson, and Eliza (Mrs. 
 Longled), of Wisconsin. 
 
 In 1864, D. M. Harteau enlisted at 
 Green Bay, in Company C, Forty-seventh 
 Wis. V. I., was assigned to garrison duty 
 at Tullahoma, Tenn., and was discharged 
 at Nashville, Tenn., in 1865. On his re- 
 turn he worked at his trade, that of nuison, 
 and studied architecture, opening an office 
 in ("ireen Bay, in 1874, for the practice of 
 the latter science, and has l)een so em- 
 plf)yed ever since. He was married, in 
 1872 to Miss Camilla Follett, who was 
 born in .Mlouez township. Brown county, 
 a daughter of Burley and Lizzie Follett. 
 The father was a stationer, but later was 
 in the boot and shoe business, and died 
 in Green Bay; the mother passed from 
 earth in Marinette. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hartean six children were born, of whom 
 only one sur\ives, Zola Lillian; the de- 
 
COMMKMORA TIVE BIOGRAPHICAL IlKCOHD. 
 
 i6; 
 
 ■ceased are; Lewis, Saiali, Charles, David, 
 and Adda. 
 
 In politics Mr. Harteau is a Ke])ub- 
 lican, and has served as a member of the 
 ■common council from the Thiril ward; he 
 is also a member of T. C). Howe Post, No. 
 124, G. A. K., and of the French Catholic 
 Church; Mrs. Harteau is Presbyterian. 
 The family are (juiet and retiring in their 
 habits, and are regarded with general re- 
 spect, while Mr. Harteau's professional 
 reputation stands on a firm basis. 
 
 JOSEPH HI£NRICn.LES, present 
 district clerk, is one of the most 
 popular citizens (.)f l)e Pere town- 
 ship, Brown county, with whose in- 
 terests he has for man}' years been promi- 
 nently identified. 
 
 Our subject was born t'ebruar}' 9, 
 1S40, ill Franciircliamps, Belgium, son of 
 Hubert Henrigilles, who was a well-to-do 
 farmer and miller. The latter married 
 Mary ('. Legros, and to their union came 
 five children, fnur of whom grew to ma- 
 turity, \ i/. : Therese, married to J. Nisen; 
 Margaret, now the wife of Jacques Ducat, 
 a farmer of De Pere township; Mar}', who 
 married Nic. Guirsh, and died in Kansas; 
 and Joseph, whose name introduces this 
 meiiidir. The mother of these died in 
 US46. In 185S Hubert Henrigilles sold 
 his property in I5elgium, and in the fall of 
 the \'ear took passage at Antwerp for New 
 York, where he and his family landed 
 after a voyage of thirty-si.x days. From 
 New York they proceeded westward to 
 Chicago, 111., and here remained two 
 months, at the end of which time they 
 came to Peshtigo, Wis., where the father 
 and son entered the employ of Ogden, the 
 lumber and railroad man. They worked 
 in sawmills, and also at vessel loading 
 until 1S60, when they removed to New 
 Hamburg, Scott Co., Mo., and here the 
 father engaged in farming and other pur- 
 suits until 1 87 1, when he returned to 
 \\ isconsin, and passed the remainder of 
 
 his life in De Pere township. Brown 
 count}', at the home of his son. He died 
 in 1892, at the age of ninet}', a member 
 of the Catholic Church, and in politics a 
 Kcpublican. While a resident of Missouri 
 he enlisted in the home guards, on the 
 Union side. 
 
 Joseph Henrigilles was reared to agri- 
 cultural life, and received his education in 
 the common scho<jls of his native place, 
 the instruction being principall}' in 
 French, but he also received a fair train- 
 ing in ihc English language. When 
 eighteen years of age he came with his 
 father to the United States, and his first 
 work in the New World was for the Ogden 
 Company, near Peshtigo, Wis., as {pre- 
 viously stated. The first private resi- 
 dence in Peshtigo was built for his father, 
 but it was never taken off the contractor's 
 hands. Later our subject engaged in 
 fishing, and in I 860 he went to New Ham- 
 burg, Scott Co., Mo., and there joined 
 Company B, Scott Count}' (Mo.) Home 
 Guards, Volunteer Battalion. On August, 
 15, 1 861, he enlisted in Company B, First 
 Missouri Cavalry, Hubbard's Battalion, at 
 Jefferson Barracks, Mo., for three }ears, 
 or during the war. In 186^ he was pro- 
 moted to corporal, and on December 31, 
 same }'ear he was honorably discharged at 
 Little Rock, Ark. The ne.xt day, January 
 I, 1 864, he re-enlisted in the same company 
 and regiment, and served to the close of 
 the war, receiving his final discharge Sep- 
 temlier 1, 1865. Mr. Ht;nrigilles was 
 taken ill in St. Louis soon after his enroll- 
 ment, and was sent to the hospital, where 
 he suffered much for want of pro])cr food. 
 After leaving the hospital he joined his 
 regiment at Tipton, Mo. .and thence went 
 to Springfield, same State, under the 
 command of Gen. Fremont. subse(]uently 
 returned to Tipton, where he was taken 
 ill with fever, and, upon his reco\'er\', he 
 rejoined his regiment at Sj:)ringfield, Mo., 
 to assist in driving the Rebels from the 
 State. The latter returning, the engage- 
 ment at Pea Ridge tofik place. .At Sugar 
 Creek a friend of our subji'ct was wounded. 
 
164 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and Mr. Henrigilles was sent to the hos- 
 pital with him. This establishment had 
 been moved three miles from its first lo- 
 cation, and on March 7, 1S62. it was at- 
 tacked by the Rebels, the building V)eing 
 between the tires of both armies. From 
 there our subject was sent to Cassville, 
 Mo., was appointed hospital steward, and, 
 after some four months rejoined his com- 
 mand at Springfield. For a time he served 
 as scout, and was then engaged with i,.300 
 other men in the pursuit of Col. Coffee. The 
 Confederates were driven from the State, 
 and the pursuers returned to Mt. Vernon, 
 Mo. Our subject was then detailed with 
 one hundred other men to guard a mill at 
 Newtoiiia, Mo., which was thirt3'-three 
 miles from the Union and five miles from 
 the Confederate camp. The second day 
 the horse Mr. Henrigilles rode gave out. 
 When the detachment arrived at New- 
 tonia they were met by i ,600 Confederates, 
 forming into line for battle, and Capt. 
 Adams, who had the command, ordered 
 the men to take care of themselves. Our 
 subject was captured, put in a pen with a 
 score of others, and taken to Sugar Creek, 
 where all their effects were taken from 
 them, and they were kept on the bare 
 ground. Thence they were conveyed 
 across Arkansas, via Elm Springs, Fay- 
 ettevilJe, f)ver the Ozark mountains to 
 Van l^uren, and from there to Fort Smith, 
 where they were held for three months, 
 scantily clothed and fed, and with bricks 
 for their bed. They were paroled at Lit- 
 tle Rork, and from there Mr. Henrigilles 
 went to Helena, Ark., and after reiiiaining 
 in that city several weeks joined his bat- 
 talion at Rolla. Mo. He was again on 
 scouting duty for a while, and then went 
 to Pilot Knob and Jackson, Mo., being 
 with his command when it encountered 
 Cien. ^[armaduke and dro\e him from the 
 State, capturing the towns of Pilot Knob 
 and, later. Little Rock. .\rk. The winter 
 was s]>ent at Benton, .Ark., scouting, and 
 they then joined the Camden expedition, 
 beinij assigned to the command of Gen. 
 Steele; th(\ wi-rc on the march for fortv- 
 
 I two days, fifteen days without drawing 
 '; rations, and three days without having 
 ' anything to eat. On the return to Little 
 ' Rock, our subject was granted a veteran 
 furlough. He afterward was detailed to 
 carry mail from Camden, .Ark., to Wash- 
 ington, Arkansas. 
 
 Major Hubbard's battalion, or the 
 battalion to which Mr. Henrigilles be- 
 longed, was engaged in the following ac- 
 tions: Springfield, Mo., October 26,1861; 
 Little Blue, Mo., November 11, 1861; 
 Clinton. Mo., December 17, 1861; Silver 
 Creek, Mo, January 8, 1862; ^p^ing- 
 field. Mo., February 12. 1862; Cross 
 Timber, Ark., February 16, 1862; charge 
 at Sugar Creek, Ark., February 18,1862; 
 first capture at Fayetteville, .Ark., Feb- 
 ruary 28, 1862; Pea Ridge, Ark.. March 
 6, 7 and 8; Neosho. Mo., April 26, 1862; 
 Cowskin Prairie, April 24, 1862; Berry- 
 ville. Ark., May 20, 1862; F"ayetteville, 
 Ark., June 27, 1862; Newtonia, Mo., 
 September 13, 1862; Seneca Mill, Ind. 
 Ten .Septemberi6. 1862; McGuire's Ford, 
 Ark., October 28, 1862; Prairie Grove, 
 Ark. , December 7, 1 862 ; \'an Buren, Ark. , 
 December 28. 1862; Chalk Bluff. Mo.. 
 May 5. 1863; Bayou Metre. Ark., August 
 20. 1863; Shallow Ford, Ark. , August 25, 
 1863; Caddo Gap, Ark., November 7, 
 1863; Cedar Glade, Ark., November 10, 
 1S63; Arkadelphia, Ark., March 3, 1864; 
 Spoonville, .Ark., March 5, 1864; Little 
 Missouri River, Ark., March 10, 1864; 
 Prairie D'.Anne, Ark., March 13, 1864; 
 Poi.son Spring, Ark., March 14, 1S64; 
 capture of Camden, Ark, March 15, 1864; 
 Jenkins Ferry. Ark., April 30, 1864. 
 General Steele's division, which had suf- 
 fered heavily in incessant skirmishing 
 through the entire march to make con- 
 nection with Banks from Little Rock, was 
 attacked on the Sabine river, in Arkansas, 
 by the consolidated forces of Generals 
 Kirbv Smith and Price — 5,000 Union 
 soldiers against 20,000 Rebels. A battle 
 of about eight hours' duration ensued, 
 which was one of the sharpest contests 
 (if thf Snuthwr^t in the war, but resulted 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGllAPUICAL UECOHD. 
 
 .65 
 
 in a victory for the Union force, which 
 saved Little Kock and Arkansas to the 
 United States t-loverninent. The army of 
 the Frontier, to which our subject's regi- 
 ment had l>uen assigned, was designed to 
 put an end tn the combination of Kel)els 
 and Indians, and to do SL'r\ice \n all . 
 capacities where needed; consetjuently 
 it performed duties of the most arduous 
 and dangerous character, much of which 
 has never been portrayed on the pages of 
 history. They were occupied successive!}' 
 in expeditions against the Rebels and In- 
 dians, connected with the Confederate 
 forces in skirmishes with Rebel guerrillas, 
 bushwhackers, etc. ; and of such heavy 
 marches as were made by the cavair\- and 
 sharpshooters history has no record. 
 
 Joseph Henrigilles received his dis- 
 charge September 1,1865, at Little Rock, 
 Ark., and immediately jiroceeded to De- 
 Pere, Wis., in the hope of recovering" his 
 health, which had broken down com- 
 pletely in his long service. F"or two years 
 thereafter he worked in a sawmill for 
 David Loy. On December r, 1866, Mr. 
 Henrigilles was married, in De Pere, by 
 Father Verboort, to Miss Mary B. Bor- 
 manl who was born Februar\- 4, 1850, in 
 Belgium. She was one of a family of six 
 children (two now living) who came with 
 their parents to the United States in 1855, 
 and was reared in Brown county, Wis. 
 For about five years the young couple 
 had their residence on the Borinan home- 
 stead, and then, in 1871, took up their 
 home on the place where they are yet re- 
 siding, lot 20, private claim 'tis, De Pere 
 township. At that time the tract com- 
 prised twenty acres of heavily-wooded 
 land, but it has since been increased to 
 eighty-five acres. Although he has been 
 in poor health ever since the war, Mr. 
 Henrigilles has been a hard worker, and 
 his good management and progressive 
 habits have brought him success. He is 
 naturally intelligent, keeps himself well 
 informed on the general topics of the day, 
 and reads considerably. He is a fine pen- 
 man, and, had he devoted much time to 
 
 it, he would undobtedly ha\e become an 
 artist in this line. In his political affilia- 
 tions Mr. Henrigilles is a stanch suj^porter 
 of the Republican party, and, as such, has 
 been elected to \arinus offices, ser\iiighis 
 township as justice ol the peace, as town 
 clerk for several years, assessor ami su- 
 ()ervisor,and at present he holds the office 
 of district clerk. In religious faith he 
 and his wife are both members of the 
 Catholic Church. To their mnon have 
 been born the following named fifteen 
 children: Mar\ T. (now Mrs. Joseph 
 Martin. c_)f Lawrence township). Mar}- F. 
 (now Mrs. Hubert Durpiaine, of De Pere 
 township , Mar}' L.inow Mrs. Henry \'on 
 \'onderen, of De Pere township), Joseph, 
 Marv H.. Marv L. , Ann J., Marv T. , 
 Hubert H.. Laura E., Alise C. , Ida M., 
 Flionor L. , Catherine E. , and Mar}' L. ; 
 of whom Mary H.. Mar\' L. , Mar}'T., 
 Mar} L. . and Ann J. are deceased. 
 
 ALVIN HUNTER, a prosperous 
 husbandman of Suamico town- 
 ship. Brown county, is a native of 
 Maine, born in Kennebec county. 
 March 24, 1844. His parents, Arthur 
 and Emeline (Smith: Hunter, were also 
 natives of the same place, the former 
 born in 18 16, d}ing at the age of sexents- 
 four; the latter still enjo}'S life on the old 
 home farm. Of their three children, AI- 
 vin is one of the two surviving. 
 
 Our subject worked among the granite 
 hills of his native State, assisting on the 
 home farm, until the blast of war called 
 him from his home. He was nearly 
 twenty }'ears old when he enlisted, Decem- 
 ber 5, 1863, in Company F, Finst Maine 
 Cavalry, and he did faithful service until 
 March 31, 1S65, when he was wounded 
 at Dinwiddle C. H., \'a. ; he was honor- 
 ably discharged June 27, 1865, from hos- 
 pital at Augusta, Maine. After the close 
 of the war he came to Brown county. 
 Wis. , and bought a fort}'-acre tract of 
 land, but he followed teaming for a liveli- 
 
1 66 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 hood until his niai n.ti;!-, which took place 
 November 28. 1868, to Miss Rose Bru- 
 nette, who was a native of Green Bay, 
 born in 1842. Her parents. Prudent 
 anil Mary L. Keynoldj Brunette, were 
 natives of Canada, who came in 1854 to 
 the United States, where they died at the 
 respective a},'es of eighty-eijjht and seven- 
 ty-nine, the father passinjj away first. 
 They were born in 1804 and 1805, re- 
 spectively, and their longevity was the 
 result, no doubt, of the steady habits that 
 descended to their children, of whom 
 they had eleven, four of them still living. 
 To Alvin and Rose Hunter were born nine 
 children, as follows: Ida E., married 
 to Ed. J. Coffin, and has two sons; 
 Edward A., married to \'erna Codington; 
 Cora M., second wife of N. ). Putnam, 
 by whom she has two daughters; Lillian 
 (first wife of N. J. Putnam), who died 
 leaving one child; George, who died at 
 the age of four months; and Willie \.. 
 Walter O. , George D. and Charles L. , 
 all four at home. 
 
 .•\t the time of his marriage Mr. Hun- 
 ter settled on his purchase of forty acres, 
 which he cultivated twenty years and 
 then went east, and for one summer 
 worked on his father's farm, after which 
 he returned to Wisconsin and bought a 
 new farm of eighty acres, on which he 
 still lives. In his political preferences Mr. 
 Hunter is a Republican, having cast his 
 first Presidential vote for U. S. Grant in 
 1 868, since when he has been active in 
 party work, and has held several offices; 
 he is now chairman of his township. 
 Socially he is an active member of T. O. 
 Howe Post, No. 124, G. A. R., of Green 
 Bay, and he and his wife are regular at- 
 tendants of Calvarv Church. 
 
 CM. WINTON. general farmer and 
 stock-raiser, of De Pere township, 
 Brown county, is one of the best- 
 known and most highly respected 
 men in his conmiunity. He was born Julj' 
 
 27, 1850. in Meadville, Crawford Co., 
 Penn., son of Charles \\'inton, who was 
 a native of Centreville, same county. 
 
 The Winton family arc descended from 
 English ancestry, who settled in Pennsyl- 
 vania about the beginning of the present 
 century, coming either from New York 
 or one of the New I^^ngland States. \\'hen 
 a young man Charles Winton married, in 
 his native county. Miss Phitbc Waid, who 
 was also born there. He was a farmer of 
 but limited means, and in 1854 he brought 
 his familv westward to Wisconsin, where 
 cheap homes could then be had by those 
 who were willing to undergo the numerous 
 trials and inconveniences which were the 
 common lot of the pioneer. He lirst lo- 
 cated in Rock county, where he spent the 
 winter of 1854-5, and in the spring of 
 1855 removed farther north to Glenmore 
 township, at that time one of the wildest 
 sections of Brown county. Some timber 
 had been cut from the land, but the greater 
 part of the country was still in its primi- 
 tive state, and the life of the early settler 
 was one of constant hardship, privation 
 and danger. In 1S65 .Mr. Winton re- 
 moved to De Pere townshiji, where his 
 wife died in 1872. He now makes his 
 home in Daggett, Mich. They had a 
 famih' of ten children — five sons and five 
 daughters — all of whom but one, Edgar, 
 are yet living. 
 
 Charles Mead Winton was but four 
 years of age when he came with his par- 
 ents to Wisconsin, and his early education 
 was such as the coimnon district schools 
 of that early day afforded. In thi' mean- 
 time he als(5 recei\ed a thort)ugh training 
 on the farm, and remained with his par- 
 ents until 1872, when he decided to pay 
 a visit to his birthplace in Pennsylvania. 
 The superior educational advantages to be 
 had in the East became so apparent to 
 him that he concluded to remain, and for 
 five years attended school at Centreville, 
 Crawford Co., Pemi.. where he received 
 thorough instruction, and in 1879 he re- 
 turned to Wisconsin. 
 
 On July 20. 1881, Mr. Winton was 
 
COifMEilOHA TIVH lllni; liA I'lIlCM. i;i:c<il!l). 
 
 i'>7 
 
 married in De Pere, to Miss Harriet C. 
 Phelps, a native oi [anesxilir Wis., 
 dauf^hterof Jeremiah and Tiicrcsa i'hrl|)s, 
 natives of New ^'(lrk State, who canic t" 
 Wisconsin in an earK' day. In 1X70 Mi". 
 Winton l)onj;ht the old honu-stead, and 
 after his marriat^c he made it his perma- 
 nent home; it now consists i>| ei;.;hly acres 
 of fertile land, \\lu;re he i-onducts a ,L;eii- 
 eral farminj;- and stock-raisint; luisiness. 
 By indnstry and perseverance he has 
 greatly improveil his farm and home. In 
 politics he is a staiuh adhere'nt of the 
 principles of the Kepiihlican part\, and 
 in 1S91, 1893 and i(S94 was elected town- 
 ship assessor, in which position he is 
 proving himself an able otticer. Mrs. 
 Winton is amemlnTof the M. E. Chnrch 
 in De Pere. They have had one child, 
 Aden L. , who was horn September J5, 
 i(S82. Mr. Winton is a great reader, 
 keeping himself well informed on general 
 topics, and he and his wife are highly es- 
 teemed in the commnnits. 
 
 LEONARD V^O N E, retired mer- 
 chant, of De Pere, was born about 
 thirty miles southwest of Montreal, 
 Canada, in the \illage (jf \"au- 
 dreuil, February 2, 1826, a son of .Andrew 
 and Monick (Lesbuay) Bone, both also 
 natives of Canada and of French descent. 
 At the age of eleven years our sub- 
 ject was permitted to make his residence 
 with a wealthy gentleman, whf), in return 
 for Leonard's ser\aces, was to j.;i\e him a 
 good education, but whowholK- neglected 
 so to do, the result being that the lad, when 
 nearly seventeen years old, (juit the em- 
 ploy of the party mentioned and made 
 his way to Whitehall, N. ^'. , when not 
 quite seventeen. A few weeks later he 
 reached Albany, in the same State, where 
 he was fortunate enough to secure work 
 with a stonecutter, and, although a novice, 
 was soon able to earn sixty-five dollars a 
 month, and this business he followed 
 about eighteen months. Times becoming 
 
 dull, howe\'er, he engaged at \\(irk as a 
 hum handsexen nnles tioin .Mliain, be- 
 ginning at three dollar^ per moiilli. but at 
 the end oi the first moiilli his wa-eswere 
 increased to ten dollai>, hi^i emploxcr tind- 
 
 ) ing him to be worth that amomit. .\fter 
 
 I a tvvo-iiii lilt lis siid<ness, he \\ as married at 
 
 I All)any to Mi>s |:iiie l\iiiim,L;toii, ;i iiatixe 
 of 'l"wo Ki\ei>, ( aiiada, born September 
 2J . 1S23, a daiiglitei ol |(i|m and \'ic- 
 
 j toria lEeClain) Remingteai, the foriiiei- of 
 whom was of I'.nglish di'scent, the latter 
 o| l'reii<li. Sliortb alter his mairi.ige 
 Mr. llone came wi'St and lomid em))loy- 
 ment at stone-eilttin;; in |ohet, III., where 
 
 ' he worked two yi'ais, and \\a> then per- 
 
 1 suaded by William Towiisi-nd to embark 
 ill the liotel business at ( hica^o, where, 
 
 j within two years, he lost all he had in- 
 vested — seventeen liiindred dullais- and 
 was obliged to borrow lifty dollars to i-n- 
 
 I able him to lea\'e that cit\-. .\bout this 
 time, ill iS4(), he first came to De Pere, 
 but did not sta)' Ion;;, jireferring to 
 go to Pensaukee, where, fm a \eai". he 
 managx'd a boarding house for b'. 11. (lard- 
 ner, who operated a sa\\nnll, and for his 
 own and Ins wife's services received thirt\ 
 dollars per month; the following four 
 years their com])eiisation was one thou- 
 sand one hundred dollars per }'e;u'. .\lr. 
 and Mrs. Boni- then settled on a farm ot 
 eighty acri's near De Pere. wliuli he ciil- 
 ti\ated some years, and then went into the 
 grocery business within tlu' limits of the 
 citv, where be erected the first brick l)l(>(d< 
 and accumulated a i-om|ieteiice that fiisti- 
 tied Ins retirement tilteeii ve'ars ago. Mr. 
 and Mrs, lioiie are ineinbersf)! the Cath- 
 
 j olic Chinidi, and in politics he is a I\e- 
 ]niblicaii. 'IduM'e lia\e been no <lnldren 
 born to them, but they have' reared, from 
 the age of thirteen months, Kate Palmer, 
 
 [ now happib married to Michael Tessier, 
 and with him living in Nebraska; the)- 
 ha\e also reared Leonani Tessier (son of 
 Michacd and Katej, a graduate of the De- 
 Pere High School and of the Universit}' 
 of Wisconsin, and who is now superin- 
 tendent of the Electric Light Works at 
 
1 68 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Dc Pere; in addition to these adopted 
 children, the)' also reared a nephew, 
 Julian Bone, from the age of twelve to 
 twenty years. What more need be said 
 as to the native kindness of their hearts? 
 
 A 
 
 NTHONY GOEMANS (deceased), 
 wiio during his lifetime was a 
 much respected fanner of Rock- 
 land township. Brown county, 
 was a native of Holland, born September 
 29, 1 82 1, in the province of Limburg. 
 He was a son of John Cioenians, a well- 
 to-do fajmer, who had six chlidren, An- 
 thony being the eldest in the family. 
 
 During his youth Anthony Goemans 
 had very limited educational advantages, 
 as he had to commence work very early 
 in life, and was reared to farming, which 
 he always followed. In 1856, hearing 
 that he would have better wages and op- 
 portunities for advancement in the United 
 States, he left his native country, and 
 coming to Wisconsin remained here ten 
 years, engaging in various kinds of work. 
 In 1866 he returned to Holland, and on 
 Februarj' 28, 1867, was there married to 
 Miss Joanna Bernards, who was born No- 
 vember 5, 1839, daughter of John Ber- 
 nards, a farmer of that country. Bid- 
 ding farewell to their home and friends, 
 they left Holland a month after their 
 marriage, and, proceeding from Rotter- 
 dam to (jlasgow, took passage there on 
 a vessel bound for New York, at which 
 port they landed after a voyage of twenty- 
 four days. Their d-^stination being in 
 Wisconsin, they proceeded thither by 
 rail, and after a short stay in Little 
 Chute, Outagamie county, came to Dc- 
 Pere township, Brown county, where Mr. 
 Goemans purchased a tract of eighty 
 acres in Section 11. The land had not 
 been improved in any way; in some 
 places it was covered with logs and wood, 
 all of which had to be cleared away, the 
 task involving no small amount of hard 
 work; but being an.xious to have a home he 
 
 could call his own, Mr. Goemans perse- 
 vered, and in time succeeded in hewing a 
 fine property out of the dense forest. On 
 this farm all their children were born, as 
 follows: Anna M. (Mrs. Martin Baeten), 
 John W., Mary M. (Mrs. Henry Herm- 
 sen, of Green Bay), Frank S., Peter J., 
 Katie, Christina M., Herbert, , and Nellie 
 E. Of these, John W. is a carpenter by 
 trade, moves buildings, drives piles, and 
 builds bridges; Frank S. entered the 
 monastery of the Servite Fathers Sep- 
 tember 4, 1894, and is still there. On 
 January 2, 1886, the father of this family 
 was called from earth, and was buried in 
 De Pere Cemetery. He was a Catholic 
 in religious faith, and in politics a Demo- 
 crat. At the time of his death the eld- 
 est of the nine chddren was but seventeen 
 years of age, but Mrs. Goemans has car- 
 ried on the farm successfully, and has dis- 
 played no little business abilit\- and sa- 
 gacity in the management of the place, 
 which comprises 1 20 acres of prime land. 
 The farm work is now attended to by the 
 sons, Peter' J. and Herbert, who have 
 proven themselves fully competent, and 
 the entire familj' are respected for their 
 industry wherever they are known. In 
 church connection they are all members 
 of St. Mary's Catholic Congregation, 
 De Pere. 
 
 JOSEPH HOEFFEL, president of 
 the Alloue2 Mineral Spring Com- 
 pany, of Green Bay, was born March 
 25, 1825, in the town of Lichtenberg, 
 Province of Lorraine, France. The first 
 of the family of whom we have any record, 
 was Joseph Hoeffel (grandfather of our 
 subject), who was a mechanic, following 
 his trade in France. He reared a family 
 of six children — five sons and one daugh- 
 ter — all of whom received good educa- 
 tions, becoming for the most part teachers 
 and musicians. 
 
 Of the sons, Anthony (father of our 
 subject) was brought up to the trade of 
 
COMMKMOIIATIVK BWGRAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 171 
 
 \sra\i-r. wliiih he followed in luiropc lor 
 sonic time. In his iiiilitar}' service, which 
 ended with Waterloo, he was in the army 
 of Napoleuu the ('.reat, iloing garrison 
 dLit\- chietlx . In iSio h<' was united in 
 marriage to .Miss Cecelia Caraliin, who 
 bore him ten children, ol wliom Louis 
 died at Havre, I'raiue, in the lall of 1828, 
 while the fainil)' were .7/ /■<'///( to America. 
 Ill the United .States the}' made their 
 home at \orwalk, Huron Co., Ohio, 
 where they followed farming with consid- 
 erable success. The father being a 
 weaver, as alread}' related, constructed a 
 loom for himself and manufactured cl<.>th 
 for his neiglibors, as well as for laniilj' 
 use. He was de\oted to music, and was 
 for mam \ears leader of church (hous. 
 His wife died at the age of forty, in 1840, 
 and two _\ears later he mariied Miss Mary 
 Beyer, who passed away, in 1857, aged 
 si.xty-tive }-ears. lioth \\ives died at Nor- 
 walk, wliere he himself departed this life 
 March 10, 1861. aged sevent\'-four years. 
 Joseph Hoeffel.the subject ])ro[)i;rol this 
 sketch, received his education at N(.)rwalk, 
 Ohio. When seventeen years of age he 
 began to Ic-arn carriage making, and at 
 the end of a three-\ears' apprenticeship, 
 October 8, 1843, came to .Milwaukee, 
 ^\'is., wher<.' he loljowed his trade as a 
 journeyman one year. On August 10, 
 1846, he moved to ISrooktield, Waukesha 
 count}', and here lie engaged in the busi- 
 ness of manufacturing carriages, etc. In 
 1848, he \isited Xorwalk, Ohio, ami was 
 married No\'eml)er 3 to Miss Catharine 
 Frye. who bore him a son, .\. Lrjuis 
 Hoeffel. Mrs. Hoeffel died at ISrooktield, 
 Wis.. June 13, 1850, and May 20, 1851, 
 Mr. Hoeffel was again married, this time 
 at Waukesha, Wis., to Miss iMances 
 Knowles, by whiidi union nine children 
 have been born, of whom are now lixing 
 the following named si.\: b^rank, Sylves- 
 ter, Elizabeth, Agnes, Joseph P. and 
 James I. 
 
 In the fall of 1853, at the first W'is- 
 consin State Fair, held at Watertown, 
 
 Wis., Mr. Hoeffel exliihited a full line of 
 10 
 
 carriages, wagons, etc., of his own manu- 
 facture, and received awards on his 
 patents in gearing. On May 1, 1856, he 
 sold out his Brooktield business and re- 
 moved to Green Bay, Wis,, arriving June 
 28, 1856. The same year he erected a 
 store building on \\'ashington street, and 
 openeif a general store, conducting same 
 until 1871, In the spring of 1872, hav- 
 ing acquired j)ropert\' at Oconto, Wis., 
 he inoxed there', and started a store. 
 Business jirospered ami his sons, Frank 
 and Syhester, after assisting him in the 
 Itusiness a number (jf years, j)urchased 
 same in 1886, Mr. Hoeffel retiring, owing 
 to poor health. 
 
 In 1888, an accidental discovery de- 
 cided Mr. Hoeffel to again enter business 
 lile. While o\ erseeing some improve- 
 ments on his Astor Hill pro]')ertv at 
 Green Bay he drank freely of the v\aters 
 of a spring at the foot of the hill. The 
 proni]it action of tlie water on his en- 
 feebled system and tile remarkable relief 
 he exjierienced Irom its use coiu'inced 
 hull ot its great iiK'dicinal value. He 
 arranged at once Im' a thorough and ex- 
 hausti\'e analysis of the water. Samples 
 were forwarde<l to Prof. W". W. Daniells, 
 the distinguisheii [irotessor of chemistry 
 and pharmacy in the W'isconsin State 
 University, Madison, and, after a com- 
 plete and scientilic analjsis of the water, 
 he sul:>smitted same: 
 
 TTn'iv'ersitv of Wisconsin, 
 
 Chemic.\i, Laboratokiks, 
 Maiiison, Wis,, August 13, 1888. 
 
 Jo.sepli Hoefl'el: 
 
 De.ar Sik: The .sample of spring- water re- 
 ceived from ■yon for analysis ha.s tlie following^ 
 compo-sition, expressed in {grains, per United 
 States .standard <,'^allon of 231 cubic inches: 
 
 Sodium chloride 4.25525 
 
 Potassium sulphate (1.12072 
 
 Sodium sulphate 3.4.^820 
 
 Calcium sulphate 0.10788 
 
 Sodium phosphate trace. 
 
 Bicarbonate of iron 0.06257 
 
 Hicarbonate of lime 24.68662 
 
 liicarbonate of mag-ne.sia 27. ,5.3300 
 
 ( )xide of aluminum (alumina). . 0.17470 
 Silica and insoluble residue. . . . 1.97160 
 
 Total frrain.s per U, S. yal . .62..38060 
 Temperature. 46 degrees Fahrenheit. 
 
172 
 
 COMMEMOaATlVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 This is ail unusually large amount of solids 
 to tind in a Wisconsin mineral water — the larg- 
 est amount I have ever found. The salts that 
 exist in unusual quantities are magnesia, 
 sodium salts, sulphuric acid, lime and chlorine. 
 Of these I have made duplicate determinations, 
 to be assured of their accuracy. 
 
 You will note its freedom from organic mat- 
 ter. Yours trulv. 
 
 W. W. DANIELLS, 
 Professor of Analytical and Applied Chemistry. 
 
 The receipt of this exceedins;ly favor- 
 able analysis from so reliable a source, 
 and the action of the water on Mr. Hoef- 
 fel having proved same to be possessed of 
 positive curative \irtues, determined him 
 to develop the springs and place the water 
 before the public that others might like- 
 wise enjoy its healing powers. The an- 
 alj'sis of Allouei; Water reveals the fact 
 that it is the strongest alkaline (antacid) 
 mineral water known. The combination 
 of the salts of sodium, magnesia, lime, 
 iron and silica with carbonic, sulphuric, 
 and hydrochloric acids, all in perfect solu- 
 tion, is a rare one. This fact at once 
 brought it into prominence before the 
 public. Ph)sicians, especially, recog- 
 nized in the harmonious blending of these 
 therapeutic properties, a sovereign rem- 
 edy, whose use is indicated in all dis- 
 eases of the allied phenomena of the uric 
 acid diathesis, viz. : Diabetes, Bright's 
 disease, inflammation of the bladder and 
 kidneys, rheumatism, dyspepsia, torpid 
 liver, cloudy urine, gravel, suppression of 
 urine, calculi or stone in bladder, consti- 
 pation, piles, catarrh of the stomach, 
 nervous debility, gout, rheumatic gout, 
 dropsy, sick headache, female weakness, 
 and eczema. In the short period of time 
 since the discovery of the medicinal vir- 
 tues of Allouez, the reputation and fame 
 of the water have become widespread. 
 The marvelous curative power it possesses 
 has gained for it the attention of the 
 medical profession in various parts of this 
 country, who recommend and prescribe 
 it, often where medicine has failed to ef- 
 fect a cure. As a remedy it acts the 
 same alone or in connection with medi- 
 cal treatment. The demand for Allouez 
 
 is constantly inceasing. and thousands of 
 cases of bottled water are shipped annu- 
 ally. The springs were named • ' Allouez " 
 in honor of Pere Claude Allouez, the in- 
 trepid missionary who founded the first 
 Indian mission in 1668 (225 years ago), 
 but a short distance from these springs. 
 That the medical virtues of the waters of 
 these springs were known to the Indians 
 and earl\- missionaries may be inferred 
 from extracts taken from Marquette's 
 Journal: "Embarking in our canoes, 
 we left the river and nation of the Wild 
 Oats (.Menominees), and soon reached the 
 extremity of Baj'des Puants (Green Bay). 
 Leaving this bay, we entered the river 
 emptxing into it. We found the river 
 full of bustard, duck, teal and other water 
 birds, attracted by the wild oats growing. 
 I had the curiosity to drink the mineral 
 waters found not far from here." 
 
 The following is a short sketch of Mr. 
 Hoeffel's seven living children: (I). A. 
 Louis, eldest of the seven living children, 
 was born at Brooktield, Wis.. September 
 4, 1S49, ^ntl moved with his parents to 
 Green Bay, where he was educated; he 
 became a marine engineer, which v'oca- 
 tion he now follows; he is married and 
 has four children. (II). John Francis 
 was born at Brookfield. Wis., June 25, 
 1853, and came with his parents to Green 
 Bay, where he received his education in 
 the public schools; later he attended St. 
 Francis Seminary at Milwaukee, Wis.; 
 in 1883, he married Miss Clara Saylor, of 
 Saugatuck, Mich., who died June 12, 
 I 883; on January 25, iSSS, he was united 
 in marriage to Miss Adelaide Doolittle, at 
 Whitewater, Wis. ; he is now located in 
 business at Chicago; they have one son, 
 Basil D.. born October 26. 1S88. (III). 
 Sylvester was born October 10. 1857, at 
 Brooktield, Wis., came to Green Bay with 
 his parents, and pursued his studies in the 
 public schools; in 1871, he engaged in 
 mercantile business in Oconto, where he 
 still resides; he was married May 25, 
 1 88 1, to Miss Genevieve Heath, of Osh- 
 kosh, and they have five children, their 
 
COMMKMOItA ri VK DIOGUAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 '/.i 
 
 names and dates uf biiili being as lullows; 
 Pauls., June 12, 1SS5; Mildred G., Oc- 
 tober 27, 1888; Marion F., October 27, 
 1888; Gerald N., June 20, 1892; Ken- 
 neth M., March 29, 1894. (IV). Eliza- 
 beth was born at Green Ba)', Wis., June 
 
 8, 1858; after graduating from the high 
 school here, she attended St. Mary's In- 
 stitute at Milwaukee, Wis., in 1S75, where 
 she graduated four years later; she was 
 united in marriage with Dr. P. O'Keefe, 
 at Oconto, Wis., January ^i, 1883. where 
 they still reside; they ha\'c four children, 
 Horace V., born December 28, 1884; Jes- 
 sie A., born October 9, 1886; Carroll J., 
 born Si'ptember i, 1889; and Gertrude 
 L. , born June 2, 1S94, (V). Agnes C. 
 was born December 3, i860, at Green 
 Bay, Wis. ; received a thorough high school 
 and convent education; in 1878, she 
 studied painting at Chicago, under Prof. 
 Gregori, for two years, also music at the 
 Chicago Conservatory; on October 10, 
 1 88 1, she was united in marriage at 
 Oconto, W'is., to Henry U. Cole, where 
 they continue to reside; they have seven 
 children, their names and dates of birth 
 being as follows; Francis M., August 3, 
 1882; Minnie Cecile, December 15, 1883; 
 Helen, August. 1886; Henrv U. , April 26, 
 1888; Pauline A., July 15", 1889; Agnes 
 C, September 27, 1892; Kathleen, June 
 
 9, 1S94. fVI). Joseph P., born Septem- 
 ber 17. 1861, at Green Bay, Wis., 
 was educated at the public schools; in 
 1879. he attended the College of the Sa- 
 cred Heart at ^^'atertown, Wis., finishing 
 his studies there; after seven \-ears' ex- 
 perience in his father's store in Oconto, 
 he came to Green Bay in April, 1S89, 
 where he and James I. (mentioned below) 
 engaged in the shoe business; he is inter- 
 ested in the Allouez Mineral Spring Com- 
 pany, at Green Bay, directing the man- 
 agement of the same; he was united in 
 marriage to Miss Christine Romana Waite, 
 of Pewaukee, Wis., February 3, 1890, 
 and they have one son, Joseph Merrill, 
 born October 31, 1890. (VH). James I. 
 was born April i, 1863, at Green Bay, 
 
 \\'is. ; after atti'inlmi; the pni)li(: schouls 
 here and at Oconto, he entereil the C'll- 
 lege of the Sacred Heart at Watertown, 
 Wis., fmishing his studies there in i8,Si ; 
 having secured a business education in his 
 father's store at Oconto, he came to 
 Green Bay, 1889, and associated himself 
 in the shoe business with his brother, 
 Joseph P. ; he is also interested in the 
 Allouez Mineral Spring Company; he is 
 not married. 
 
 THOMAS RYAN, who for the past 
 forty years has been actively 
 identified with tlu; agricultiual in- 
 terests of Ivockland township, 
 Brown count}', was born November 10, 
 1833, in County Tipperary, Ireland, son 
 of Patrick and Nora Ryan, the former of 
 whom, who was a farmer, died in 1846, 
 leaving a widow antl seven children — 
 four sons and three daughters. In 1853, 
 having determined to try their fortune in 
 the New World, the family proceeded to 
 Liverpool, where they took passage on 
 the "Arctic," bound for New York, in 
 which city they landed after a voyage of 
 five weeks and five days. Going to 
 Otsego county, N. Y., they remained 
 there a year and a half, the sons engag- 
 ing in farm work, and then came west- 
 ward to Brown coimty. Wis., by water, 
 arriving in Green Bay in November, 1855. 
 After coming to Wisconsin, our sub- 
 ject worked in Oconto county and vicini- 
 ty for some time, following various pur- 
 suits, principally farming. In i860 he 
 purchased forty acres of new land in Sec- 
 tion lO, Rockland township (being obliged 
 to go into debt for a portion of this 
 tract), and built thereon a rude, though 
 comfortable log house, in which he and 
 his mother made their home. As the 
 farm yielded no support for some j'ears," 
 he followed lumbering during the winter 
 season for several years, de\'oting the 
 rest of the year to clearing and improving 
 the land. He has not only succeeded in 
 converting the original forty acres into a 
 
'74 
 
 COM MEMO HA TI I 'E BIO GUAI'UICA L liECOKD. 
 
 fertile, well-cultivated tract, but has 
 added thereto until he now has a fine 
 farm of 160 acres. His property has 
 been .leathered by years -^f industry and 
 untiring energ}-, and he is a self-inade 
 man in the full sense of the word, having 
 risen from a poor boy to his present 
 enviable position among the leading 
 farmers of kocklaiid township. He has 
 been called upon to serve in various of- 
 fices of honor and trust in his township, 
 such as member of the sthoul board, 
 supervisor and chairman, and has dis- 
 charged the duties imposed upon him in a 
 creditable and highly satisfactory manner. 
 In his political ])references he is a Demo- 
 crat, though not strictl}' jiartisan. in local 
 elections voting for the best man regard- 
 less of party ties. 
 
 In November, 1865, .Mr. Ryan was 
 married to Miss Margaret Lee, a nati\e 
 of Countv (lalway, Ireland, daughter of 
 Michael I^ee, who was a farmer of Rock- 
 land township. After marriage the young 
 couple immediately took up their resi- 
 dence on the farm, where, in 1.S.S6, .Mr. 
 Ryan erected one of the most substantial 
 rural homes in the vicinity. This union 
 has been blessed with children as follows: 
 Catherine, Mrs. H. P. Crist, of Wansau- 
 kee. Wis. ; .Agatha, a schottl-teacher of 
 De Pere; Patrick J., at home; Marie 
 .\nna, a school-teacher of Wausaukee; 
 Micliael E., at home, who attends the 
 high school in West De Pere; Wimiifred, 
 attending the State Normal School at Osh- 
 kosh; Timothy, going to school in De- 
 Pere; and Thomas and Robert, at home. 
 The.sc children have all had excellent 
 educational opportunities, of which they 
 have not been slow to take advantage 
 and to fully appreciate, and the entire 
 family are among the highly respected 
 ones of the vicinity. In religious connec- 
 tion thev are members of St. Francis 
 Church, De Pere. During the Civil war 
 Mr. Ryan enlisted, on January 1, 1865, 
 at Green Bay, in Company I, Fifty-lirst 
 Reginient Wis. , \'. 1. and served during 
 the remainder of the struggle on scouting 
 
 and guard duty, receiving an honorable 
 discharge at Madison, Wis., August i, 
 same year. 
 
 1'. C.OODELL, station agent 
 and general local representative 
 
 r 
 
 \_ ^ of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
 Paul Railway Company at De- 
 Pere, is a practical railroad man. When 
 but a youth of seventeen he was initiated 
 into the mysteries of telegraphy, ami since 
 that time his rise, though gradual, has 
 been marked. There are probably no 
 other business concerns conducted by 
 large corporations in which alnlity and 
 attention to duty are more promptly 
 rewarded by promotion than in our great 
 railwav systems, where precision, effi- 
 ciency, and reliability are e.\tremel\- es- 
 sential, and in these respects our subject, 
 though th(jroughlv tried, has not been 
 found wanting. 
 
 C. !•". Cioodell is the son of \\'atsou 
 and Luvilla (Stranahan) Goodell, th^ 
 former of whom was born in Schenectady. 
 N. v., the latter in Utica, N. V., both 
 descendants of sturdy New England stock. 
 Watson Goodell received a good common- 
 schcjol education in the schools of .\lbany, 
 N. Y. , and later in life became an expert 
 accountant, a profession he followed for 
 .several years. His health having become 
 impaired in the comparatively confining 
 work. Mr. Goodell, thinking the change 
 would pro\ o benelicial, decided to remove 
 to Wisconsin, then considered the "I-'ar 
 West." .Accordingly, in about 1850, he 
 removed hither, and made his first loca- 
 tion near Oconomouoc, where he com- 
 menced farming. .\t that time the coun- 
 try was entirely new, and the land being 
 covered with tind)er, the work was at- 
 tended with many hardships: but the 
 change brought about the result he had 
 hoped for, and his health improved. He 
 had married, in New York State, Miss 
 Luvilla Stranahan, who survives him, and 
 they had three children: C. F. : Carrie; 
 and Maria, the wife of j. H. Le Grantl, a 
 
COMMEMOIIA TIVE BIOGUAPIIirA /. HECOHD. 
 
 prominent politician and at present roiinty 
 auditor of Buena \'ista county, Iowa, witli 
 residence in Storm Lake. Mr. CiDodell 
 passed from earth in |une. i Sijo. in Port- 
 age, \\'is., and his widow now resides 
 with her daughter Maria, in Storm Lake, 
 Iowa. In politics he was a stanch mem- 
 ber of the Republican party, and at one 
 time ser\'ed <as justice of the ])eaee in his 
 township. He was a member of the (.'on- 
 gregational (Church, as is also his widow, 
 though she was originally a member of 
 the Episcopal Church. Shortl}' after his 
 removal to Wisconsin ^h■. Gootlell went to 
 Pardee\"ilk', where he had his residence 
 several years. 
 
 C. F". Cioodell was born October 3, 
 1S53, in Ocouomowoe, Wis., and received 
 at first an elementary education, after- 
 \\ard takiiii; a more complete course in 
 the schools of Oconomowoe. When 
 seventeen years old he entered a railwa)' 
 office at Pardeeville, Wis., on what was 
 then the St. Paul road, wdn-re, under .A. 
 E. Cole, station agent at that [)lace, he 
 obtained his first knowledge of telegraphv. 
 When he had advanced far enough to re- 
 ceive and send messages he was placed in 
 the capacitv of " e.xtra man " on the then 
 Northern division, from Horicon [unction 
 to Portage Cit\', \\'is. , and later, whilr 
 still in his "teens, " was gi\en eliarL;e of 
 the office at Rolling Prairie, Wis. He 
 was ne.xt stationed at Winneconne, on the 
 Northern division, as operator and ck'rk; 
 afterward ser\ed as operator.it Horicon 
 Junction for two wars, and then for :i 
 short time filled similar positions at Kipon 
 and Oshkosh. Mr. Cioodell then went to 
 Milwaukee, where for a time he was in 
 the train dispatcher's office of the Wis- 
 consin Central, later going to Phillips, 
 •Wis., in the employ of the same com- 
 pany, as operator and clerk at the chief 
 engineers's headquarters. His first ex- 
 perience as station agent was at Fifield, 
 at which place he was stationed when 
 there was not a house in the town, tents 
 being the only shelter, and in addition to 
 his regular duties he sold the lots there 
 
 for the compain, who owned the plat. 
 I'roiii l'"ilielil he w.is translerred to 
 Waldo. Sheboygan county, where he 
 attain acted as at;ent, and here m the 
 spring of l,'^7S he was united in marriage 
 with MissCarrie Ford, a natix'e of Waldo, 
 daughter of Benjamin F"ord, who came here 
 from Lake county, Ohio. In I'ebruary, 
 iS,S2, Mr. Goodell came to De Pere, at 
 \\'hich time the road through here was 
 oyjcrated b\' the Wisconsin Central, and 
 when the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul 
 Railwav Company assmiied charge he 
 still cciutinued in the office, and now has 
 charge of their interests at this place. 
 
 Oiir sul))ect is a Republican, and a 
 stanch adlu'rent of the party, though be- 
 \dnd \ otiuL; regularly he takes no active 
 part in political affairs. He is a leading 
 member of the Congregational Church, 
 bein.i; at present a trustee and superin- 
 tendent (.)f the Sunday-school. Mr. and 
 Mrs. C.oodell lia\e four children, nameh". 
 Harold 1^, Charles W., Lula and 
 
 .\lloll W. 
 
 M 
 
 vS. MARGARl-rr AEBISCH- 
 E]\, widow of Samuel Aebischer, 
 is a daughter of Charles and 
 P>arbara (Meringer) Bk)om,who 
 eamc to .\merica from Germany when 
 then' daUL;hter was about seven months 
 ol.l. jor.iting first in New York. They 
 farmed there until 1S50, wdien they re- 
 mo\(.'d to Wisconsin, and tluw still live 
 at Chilton, where tlie\ aic enga;;ed in the 
 same \dcation. The) have a lamily of 
 nine (dnldreii. 
 
 Samuel .Vebisrher was a n;iti\e of 
 Switzerland, and, on eomitiL; to .\merica, 
 in compaiix' with twd brothers, first lor 
 cated at I^lkhorn, Walworth Co., \\'is., 
 where he learned shoemaking. a trade he 
 followed thirty-five years. The family 
 came to I-^rown count\ in iS.Sj, where 
 Mr. Aebischer bought a farm of 1 I 5 'acres 
 from a brother, and cultivated same until his 
 death, which occurred when he was fifty- 
 two years old. In the Civil war he served 
 
.76 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 one j'ear (1863) in Company K, Fourth 
 Regiment Wis. V. C. and was discharged 
 at Vicksburg, Miss., on account of sick- 
 ness. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Aebischer took place October 13, 1867, 
 and they had eight children, of whom five 
 are still living, their names and dates of 
 birth being as follows: Charles N., Sep- 
 tember 25, 1870; Willie, March 7, 1872; 
 Maggie, August 3, 1879; Minnie, April 
 26, 1883; and Cora, June 21, 1885. It 
 was not until after her husband's death 
 that Mrs. Aebischer erected her pres- 
 ent comfortable brick dwelling, where 
 her son, Charles N., also lives. Mrs. 
 Aebischer has proven herself to be a 
 woman of no small business ability; but 
 the affairs of the farm are now looked 
 after by her son, Charles N. She is a 
 devout member of the Lutheran Church, 
 and is greatly respected throughout the 
 township. 
 
 EBERHARDT A. LANGE, a well- 
 known and popular druggist at 
 West De Pere, Brown county, is 
 a native of Fond du Lac, Wis., 
 born April II, 1859, and is a son of A. 
 A. and Catherine (Trumbauerj Lange. 
 A. A. Lange, a native of Berlin, Ger- 
 many, came to the United States about 
 1835. and, being an upholsterer, carried 
 on that business at Fond du Lac for 
 several years, and also at Milwaukee. 
 Mrs. Catherine Lange came from Penn- 
 sylvania. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was edu- 
 cated in the schools of Fond du Lac, and 
 at the age of seventeen entered the drug 
 store of Dr. Wright. He remained in 
 the same store ten years, the firm chang- 
 ing twice in that time, first to A. Uc- 
 Land, and then to Kellogg & Lange; 
 then, in 1886-87, he carried on a drug 
 store on his own account, in Brillion, 
 Wis. In the fall of 1887 he came to De- 
 Pere, and for three and a half years was 
 employed in the drug store of William 
 Workman. In 1890 he bought out his 
 
 employer's business in W'est De Pere, 
 and in 1893 moved to his present loca- 
 tion, where he carries a full line of drugs, 
 paints, wall paper, ammunition, station- 
 ery, etc., has one of the neatest and best- 
 equipped establishments of the kind in 
 the town, and does a remunerative trade. 
 In 1883 Mr. Lange married Miss Allie E. 
 Megnussen, who has borne him three 
 children, named respectively: Albert H., 
 Ro}' Harrison and Arthur D. Mr. Lange 
 is a member of the Presbyterian Church, 
 and is very highly esteemed in the com- 
 tnunity. 
 
 AUGUSTIX H. BABCOCK, a well- 
 to-do farmer of Howard town- 
 ship, Brown county, was born 
 July 17, 1840, in Alexander, 
 W'ashington Co., Maine, a son of Stephen 
 and Betsey (Flood) Babcock. In 1873 
 he come alone to Wisconsin. His par- 
 ents had also come here, settling on the 
 farm where our subject still resides, and 
 here the father died at the age of seventy- 
 five years, the mother at the age of 
 seventy-seven. They were the parents 
 of twelve children, of whom two sons 
 and three daughters are yet li\ing. 
 
 Stephen Babcock was a native of 
 King's county, N. S., but when a young 
 man came to the United States and made 
 his home in Maine. Mrs. Betsey (Flood) 
 Babcock was born in St. Matthews, 
 Mass. , one of the nine children of Peter and 
 Lucy (Snow) Flood, the former of whom 
 was a shoemaker and harnessmaker, and 
 died at .Alexander, Maine, at a very ad- 
 vanced age; he served through the Mexi- 
 can war. Military ardor seems to have 
 been inherent in the family, as four of 
 the grandsons, of the ]-5abcock branch, 
 did gallant ser\ire in the Civil war, in- 
 cluding Augustin H., our subject, whose 
 military record is mentioned farther on; 
 his brother William died while in the 
 service: another brother, George A., 
 served in Comjiany A, Fourteenth Wis. 
 \'. I. ; and another brother, Gilbert, was 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 177 
 
 wounded in the battle of Petersburg, Va. , 
 while serving in the Twenty-eighth Wis- 
 consin Volunteer Infantry. 
 
 Augustin H. Babcock left the parental 
 farm at the age of ten years, and hired 
 out by the month on his own account, 
 contiiiuinj; to work thus initil his rnlist- 
 ment. He \\'as lirst in t'l'inpany F. 
 Sixth Maine Volunteers, and later in the 
 Nineteenth Regiment, Maine \'. I., serv- 
 ing altogether four yc-ars. At the bat- 
 tle of thi' Wiliierness lie was so badly 
 wtnmded that he was disabled for the 
 entire summer, and subsequently he was 
 contined to hospital with typhoid fever; 
 but with these exceptions was with 
 his regiment in all its marches, engage- 
 ments and skirmishes. After the close of 
 the war he resumed the pursuits of peace, 
 and shortly afterward married Miss Louisa 
 Foster, who died two \-ears later. In 
 about 1S73 he settled down on the old 
 farm in Howard township, Brown county, 
 and in 1S79 married Miss Jennie Black- 
 burn, who was born in Manitowoc county. 
 Wis., a daughter of Lorin and Hannah 
 Blackburn. To this union ii\e children 
 have been born, of whom the following 
 four are still living: Louisa, born Au- 
 gust 9, 1880; Alice, born January 22, 1883; 
 Stella, born October 24, 1886; and Vera, 
 born October 22, 188S. Mr. Babcock 
 has made a success of his life as a farmer, 
 and has always maintained the respect 
 and esteem of his neighbors. In relig- 
 ious faith he and his wife are members of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church. In poli- 
 tics he has been independent; he cast his 
 first Presidential vote, in 1865, for George 
 Brinton McClellan, the Democratic nomi- 
 nee, but since then has voted the Repub- 
 lican ticket. 
 
 that township May 10, 1S54, a son of 
 Joseph Ley. 
 
 The latter was born in iS: 
 
 in Prus- 
 
 JOSEPH LEY, a worthy representa- 
 tive of one of the old pioneer fami- 
 lies of Rockland township. Brown 
 county, where he is a well-known 
 and highly respected citizen, was born in 
 
 sia, where he was reared, and in early 
 manhood learned the trade of carpenter. 
 Hearing and reading of the superior ad- 
 vantages offered to young men in the 
 New \\'orld, he resoh'ed to emigrate, and 
 gathering t(.igether what capital he could, 
 he left his nati\e land in 1844 to seek his 
 fortune in the United States. Many of 
 the early settlers in \\'isconsin were (jer- 
 maiis, and having decided to come to that 
 then new State, Mr. Ley after landing in 
 New York proceeded by boat to Milwau- 
 kee, Wis. He came from Milwaukee to 
 Green ]!a\' on foot, the road which he 
 took leading him the greater part of the 
 way through the dense forest, and often 
 it was nothing more than an Indian trail. 
 He frequentlv met Indians, who were 
 then still numerous in this region, though 
 usualh' friendly, but as he did not know this 
 their ap])earaiice alarmed him not a little. 
 The Woods abounded with wild animals, 
 and the howling of the \\()lves, which 
 were especiall}' ferocious, caused him 
 great uneasiness. But \hc long, tedious 
 journe}' was at last safely accomplished, 
 and on arri%iiig at (ireeii Bay he found it 
 a small town, containing a few houses, 
 the garrison stationed at Fort Howard 
 forming the greater part of the popula- 
 tion of both towns at that time. Mr. 
 Ley made his first location in Section 3, 
 Rockland, in which townshi]i only three 
 other families were then living. He had 
 a brother living at Fond du Lac, l>ut is 
 now a resident of lordan, Minn. Mr. 
 Le}- \\-as at this time but a poor young 
 man, not able to jnirchase land even 
 at the low prices it then sold for. He 
 could obtain work at his trade, how- 
 ever, and was offered two blocks in what 
 is now the business portion of Green Bay, 
 for a year's labor, an offer which he re- 
 fused, never reali;;ing that the little vil- 
 lage would in a few years become an im- 
 portant cit\'. He was truly a jiioneer of 
 Rockland township, for he cut the first 
 
17.^ 
 
 co.v.yhWfoh'A rrvK HionHAPincM. nKCORD. 
 
 timber felled bj- a white man in Section 
 3, and after making a small clearing built 
 the first house there. It was only a rude 
 log dwelling, but it was the only shelter 
 he and his famih' had the year round. 
 Here he residiid for sotne time, toiling 
 early and late to clear his land and hew a 
 home from the dense forest, and a few 
 3'ears later removed to a farm in Section 
 8, Rockland township, where he passed 
 the remainder of his daj's. This was also 
 new land; but he once more commenced 
 the task of converting the forest into a 
 productive farm, and at his death he left 
 1 50 acres of good farming land as well 
 improved as atiy in the township up to 
 that time. He endured all the vicissi- 
 tudes and hardships incident to the set- 
 tling and improving of a newcountr}', and 
 did his full share toward the adx'anccment 
 of his section. Politically he was a Dem- 
 ocrat and a leader in the party, and he 
 served faithfully in \arious local positions 
 of honor and trust, being township as- 
 sessor fifteen years and justice of the ])eace 
 feixteen years; and his good common sense 
 and sound judgment won for him the re- 
 spect of all who came in contact with 
 him. He died Ncjvember 23, 1878, a 
 member of St. Francis Catholic Church, 
 'De Pere, and was buried in I)e Pere cem- 
 'etery. After his settlement here Mr. Ley 
 offered a home to his aged parents, and 
 thej" set out on the journey from Ger- 
 inany, but the mother died i// roiitt-. The 
 father arrived safely at his destination, and 
 passed his declining years in comfort, dy- 
 ing at the home of his son February 17, 
 •1872, at the age of ninety years. 
 
 Joseph I^ey, Sr., was first married in 
 1851, in De Pere, to Miss Mary Engles, a 
 native of Germany, and they had a fam- 
 ily, of whom two sons grew to maturity: 
 Michael, who is a resident of Luxem- 
 bourg, Kewaunee county; and Joseph, 
 mention of whom is made farther on. 
 The mother of these was called from 
 earth in 1858. and buried in Sliantytown 
 cemeterv. For his second wife Mr. I^ey 
 subscqiuntlx we(!de<i Mrs. Josephine Det- 
 
 rich, who was born in Belgium, ami came 
 to the United States with relati\ es. She 
 is _\et living at the age of seventj-threfe 
 years. Of their family one son and three 
 daughters are living, vi;^. : Thomas, living 
 at Pound, Wis. ; Mary, w ife of Henry 
 Berg, of De Pere; Julia, wife of Con. 
 Keefe, of Rockland; and Louisa, wife of 
 Charles Brown, of Pound, \\'is. ; the 
 others dying in infancy. 
 
 Joseph I-ey. whose namr introduces 
 these lines, was reared in the same man- 
 ner as other pioneer children, receiving 
 his literary training at the rude schools of 
 the time, which were cpiite different from 
 those of the jiresent day. His knowledge 
 of farming he received under the tuition 
 of his father. On May 13, 1 S84, he was 
 united in marriage, at Menasha, \\'is., 
 with Miss .Mary Lemmel, the ceremony 
 being performed by I'atfier .Andrew Sen- 
 bert. She was born April i r. 1858. at 
 Maple Grove, Manitowoc Co., Wis.', 
 daughter of Agidius I^emmel, who was a 
 native of Bavaria, Germany, from which 
 country he came to Wisconsin in an 
 earh' day. Here he married Barbark 
 Schaeffer, and they had a family of seven 
 children, to wit: John D., of Menasha, 
 Wis.; Kate, Mrs. John Cure, of MiK 
 waukee; Mary. Mrs. Joseph Ley; ISar- 
 bara, Mrs. Fred Digler, of Menasha; 
 Anna L. , S. S. de Notre Dame, Cham- 
 paign, Illinois; Kosa. Mrs. Fred Esser, 
 of Milwaukee; and Maggie, Mrs. Henry 
 Grant, of Menasha, \\'is. .\fter mar- 
 riage our subject resided at the paternal 
 homestead imtil 1S89. when became to 
 his present farm, which now comprises 
 130 acres of excellent land. .\11 the im- 
 provements on this farm have been ?nade 
 by him, and he has also erected all the 
 buildings on the farm. He is a success- 
 fid agriculturist, progressive and enter- 
 prising, and is recognized as one of Rock- 
 land township's public-spirited citizens, 
 always ready to encourage and assist 
 every movement for the im|irovenient and 
 advancement of his section. 
 
 A local leader in the Democratic ranks. 
 
COMMKMORA TI VK BIOOUAPIIICAL RFA'ORU 
 
 179 
 
 Mr. Ley has been elected b)^ that part}- 
 to positions of trust, such as township 
 treasurer, in which he served ten years, 
 and he was school clerk eleven years, 
 giving complete satisfaction to his con- 
 <!tituency. Mr. and Mrs. Ley have an 
 interesting family of six children, namely: 
 Anton J., Maggie M., Anna L. , Hen- 
 rietta M., Joseph H. and Hildy M. In 
 religious faith the entire family are 
 members of St. P^rancis Catholic Church, 
 De Pere. 
 
 GEORGE A. DELANEY, one of 
 the best stone-cutters in Howard 
 township, Brown county, was 
 born here in 1869, the j'oungest 
 in the family of six sons and five daugh- 
 ters born to James C. Delaney. 
 
 [ames C. Delaney was born February 
 I, i8ig, in Shippensburg, Penn., a son of 
 James and Rebecca (Anderson) Delaney, 
 the former of whom was a native of Ire- 
 land, the latter of England. James and 
 Rebecca Delaney came to the United 
 States when quite young, and here he first 
 followed the blacksmith trade, afterward 
 conducting an old-time tavern; later he 
 settled on a farm in Ohio, where he also 
 conducted a blacksmith shop, around 
 which a little country village sprang up. 
 Here he died at the age of sixty-four 
 years; his wife had died when their son, 
 James C, was but two vears of age. Of 
 the five children born to |ames and 
 Rebecca Delaney, four arc still living. 
 
 James C. Delaney, at the age of ten 
 years, started out in the world for him- 
 self, and worked at various places by the 
 month until he was fourteen years old, 
 when he was apprenticed to a shoemaker. 
 After a two-years' service he ran away, 
 and at Philadelphia found employment as 
 driver of a canal-boat horse, later became 
 Steersman, and then captain. When 
 twenty years old he enlisted in the army 
 as a musician, and for two years served as 
 fifer in the Florida war. On his return he 
 met Miss Elizabeth Dickinson at Buffalo, 
 
 N. Y. , and they were married Deruinber 
 7, 1842. She was born in England, a 
 daughter of Robert and Mary Dickinson, 
 and was two years old when brought to 
 America by her parents, who both died in 
 Buffalo. Shortly after his marriage Mr. 
 Delaney re-enlisted for five jears, ser\'ed 
 as fifer, and was sent to Mexico, where he 
 was quartered in the halls of the Moiite- 
 zumas. He ser\ed, in all, ten \ears as 
 fifer, eight of which he was fife-major of 
 the Second United States Infantry. After 
 the Mexican war the armj' was billeted at 
 different points, and Mr. Delaney's lot 
 was cast at Fort Howard, W'is., where he 
 was e\'entually discharged. But in the 
 meantime he had bought a few acres of 
 land, on which he has lived e\er since, 
 adding constantly to his original purchase 
 until he became possessor of a fine piece 
 of property, of which he has given each of 
 his two sons fort\' or fift\' acres. 
 
 WJ. CASEY, wlio for the past 
 thirteen years has been ta\nr- 
 abl}' known as a pains-taking and 
 careful railroad official, is a native 
 of Ireland, born in 1856. a son of John 
 and Mary rO'Keefe) Case)', of the same 
 nativity. The father died in Ireland, the 
 widowed mother, about the year 1859, 
 coming with her littk- family of one (onr 
 subject) to the United States, first locat- 
 ing in Fond du Lac, Wis., later settling 
 in Milwaukee, where she is now residing. 
 Our suliject, as will be seen, was three 
 years old when he was brought to \\''is- 
 consin, and he was reared and educated 
 in Fond du Lac. When old enough to 
 commence the world, he learned teleg- 
 raphy at Campbcllsport, same State, and 
 after six months recei\ed the appointment 
 of local agent at Fredonia, Wis., for the 
 Wisconsin Central railroad. After six 
 months so employed, he was sent to 
 Forest Junction, where he also served six 
 months in similar work, at the end of 
 which time he moved to Amherst Junc- 
 tion, having been appointed joint agent 
 
I So 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BWGRAPniCAL JiECORD. 
 
 for the Wisconsin Central and the Green 
 Baj-, Winona & St. Paul railroads. Here 
 he was stationed from 1882 till 1885, and 
 was then moved to Green Bay, to (ill the 
 position of chief clerk in the freight and 
 passenger department of the Green Bay, 
 Winona & St. Paul railroad. In 1887 he 
 was appointed a^ent at Green Bay (Fort 
 Howard Junction); in 1890 he was ap- 
 pointed traveling auditor for the company, 
 in 1892 being promoted to his present in- 
 cumbency, that of car accountant for the 
 Green Bay, Winona, & St. Paul and the 
 Kewaunee, Green Bay & Western rail- 
 roads. 
 
 In 1878 Mr. Casey was married at 
 Fond du Lac, Wis., to Miss Hattie 
 Durand, and four children have blessed 
 their imion, viz.: Charles, Mamie, Will- 
 iam and George. Our subject is a mem- 
 ber of the Royal .Arcanum, of Pochequette 
 Lodge, No. 26, Knights of Pythias, and 
 lieutenant in the Uniform Kank of same. 
 
 JOSEPH HLBLL. who, for the past 
 iiuarter of a century, has been act- 
 ively identified with the farming in- 
 terests of the township of Glenmore, 
 Brown county, was born in Germany in 
 1845, a son of Mathias Hcbej. The 
 latter died befori' our subject was nine 
 years old, and, the family being left in 
 somewhat straitened circumstances, Jo- 
 seph went to live with a farmer. 
 
 Our subject was reared to farming, 
 and continued to follow that vocation 
 until he was twenty-one years of age, 
 when he nmcluded to come to the New 
 World, where he would ha\i' better 
 chances for advancement. Borrowing 
 the necessary money from a friend, he 
 sailed from Bremen early in the sunnner 
 of 1867, and landed at Quebec after a 
 voyage of eight weeks. From there he 
 came at once by rail to Milwaukee, Wis., 
 thence to Manitowoc, where he found 
 himself a stranger in a strange land, but 
 young and active, and willing to work at 
 anything which would bring him an honest 
 
 dollar. He remained in Manitowoc coun- 
 ty about three years, finding employment 
 during the summers at farm w(jrk, and in 
 the winter season engaged in lumbering. 
 Two years after his arrival he returned 
 the money he had borrowed to bring him 
 here, and he also saved enough to bring 
 his widowed mother, and his two sisters 
 — Mary and Barbara. The)' lived in a 
 rented house in Manitowoc county, and, 
 after the daughters married the mother 
 continued to reside with our subject until 
 her death. 
 
 On January 28, 1869, Joseph Hebel 
 was married, in Francis Creek, Wis., to 
 Miss Mary Gruber, who was born in Ger- 
 many in 1847, daughter of Mathias Gru- 
 ber. In the year of his marriage Mr. 
 Hebel purchased forty acres in Section 24, 
 Glenmore township. Brown county, only 
 five acres of which were cleared at that 
 time, and here, in a small log house, 
 which stood a short distance from their 
 present residence, the\' made their home 
 for a number of years. .At first the farm 
 afforded no revenue whatever, and, in 
 addition to the arduous task of clearing 
 away the forest, Mr. Hebel also engaged 
 in making shingles by hand, receiving two 
 dollars a thousand for them, delivereil at 
 Green Bay, fifteen miles distant. But 
 after several years of hard work the land 
 was greatly improved, and, though obliged 
 to go into debt for his first purchase, he 
 soon paid for it, and added another tract, 
 now owning eighty- acres of excellent 
 land. At that time his children were all 
 too young to help, but he has reared his 
 family in comfort, and hewed acomff)rta- 
 ble home from the dense forest. In all 
 his dealings with his fellow men he has 
 been square and ujiright, and has acc|uired 
 an enviable reputation for integrity of 
 character and honesty of purpose, being 
 respected by all who know him. Mr. 
 Hebel is a Democrat in his political 
 preferences, but takes no active part in 
 party alTairs; in religious connection he 
 anri his wife are members of St. James 
 Catholic Church, at Cooperstown, Mani- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGIIAPUJCAI, RECORD. 
 
 iSi 
 
 towoc county. To their union came 
 children as follows, their names and dates 
 of birth being: Joseph, November i8, 
 iS/iiJohn, April 29, 1873; Anton, No- 
 vember 2, 1875; Louis, February 23, 
 1878; Margaret, April 12, 1881; Annie, 
 March 22, 18S3; Mary, May 31, 1886; 
 Frank, January 4, 1891. (^iie son, Louis, 
 died voung. 
 
 s 
 
 W. HAYFORD, a prominent 
 citi/^en of Wrightstovvn, Brown 
 count}', is a native of Potsdam, N. 
 v., born July 25, 1832. Hisfather, 
 Abiel D. Hayford, who was a native of 
 Massachusetts, was a Congregational min- 
 ister. He married Miss Laura A. John- 
 son, whose father, C. Johnson, was con- 
 nected with the body-guard of Gen. George 
 Washington. According to tradition, he 
 was a skillful carpenter, and made the 
 coffin for the unfortunate Akijor Andre. 
 
 S. W. Hayford, at the age of fifteen 
 years, leaving the parental roof to brave 
 the world on his own account, worked in 
 different States for a time, and then, to- 
 gether with his brother, James H., began 
 the study of medicine. But their means 
 were too cramped to allow them lioth to 
 continue their education, so our subject 
 concluded to abandon the study for the 
 time being, and with fraternal generosity 
 assist his brother to a diploma, after which 
 he would resume the study himself. I\e- 
 turning to New York, he married, on 
 May 3. 1854, Miss R. Chapin, daughter 
 of a prosperous farmer of that State, and 
 two years later they came to Wrights- 
 town, Wis. To this union ha\'c been 
 born the following named children: Lu- 
 ther D., of Rhinelander, Wis ; LucinaA., 
 at home; James H., in Illinois; Edwin, 
 of Wheatland, N. Dak. ; Alfred, still at 
 home; Chester, in Illinois; Charles, of 
 Sheboygan, Wis. ; Carrie, Chapin and 
 Laura, at home. In 1 864 Mr. Hayford en- 
 listed in Company E, Forty-second Wis- 
 consin V. I., with which he served until 
 the close of the war, when he received an 
 
 honorable discharge, and returned to his 
 home to resume the jieaceful occupation 
 of tilling the soil. Circumstances pre- 
 vented his ever resuming the study of 
 medicine. Politically he is an ardent Re- 
 publican, but is not an aspirant for office, 
 although he has served as justice of the 
 peace. From a child he has been a \ery 
 active temperance worker and an active 
 Christian. 
 
 Dr. James H. Hayford, brother ot our 
 subject, and now the editor of the Lara- 
 mie (Wyo.) WccklySoitiiiil, has attained 
 considerable fame as the originator of the 
 woman suffrage movement. Mrs. Hay- 
 ford, his wife, had the distinction of serv- 
 ing on the first and onl\- jury composed 
 equally of male and female members in 
 the United States. 
 
 WB. ANDI£RSON, junior member 
 of the well-known leiuliiig firm 
 of contractors ami builders. 
 McGrath t\: Andi'rsou, (.".reen 
 Bay, is a living example of what industry, 
 perseverance and sound judgment can 
 produce; while his business life bears tes- 
 timony to what it is possible for man. 
 with willing heart and hands, to ac- 
 complish. 
 
 He is a native of Ontaricj, Canada, born 
 August 20, 1851, in the town ot Corn- 
 wall, ason of Robert and Mar\ (MeMillen ) 
 Anderson, the former of whom came, 
 when a boy, from his native land, Scot- 
 land, to Canada. He learned the trade 
 of tailor, which for many years he fol- 
 lowed in Cornwall, where he made a set- 
 tlement, becoming a leading citizen of the 
 town, which he serxed as clerk and treas- 
 urer for thirty-four years. Of Kno.\ 
 Presbyterian Church in ("ornwall he was 
 a prominent member for a long period of 
 time, and he served in many positions of 
 honor and trust, so highly was he esteemed 
 by the community. He and his wife lived 
 to advanced ages, dving, he in 1S92, slu; 
 in 1 886. 
 
 Thi- suliject of this sketch, who is 
 
l82 
 
 COMMEMORA TI \ 'E BIOGUA PUICA L II ECORD. 
 
 third in order of birtli in his parents' 
 family, received a fair education at tlie 
 schools of his natixe town. At tlie aj^e 
 of fifteen he went to work us a farm 
 hand, receivinj.; nine dollars per month 
 and his "keep," and his earninj^s he 
 turned over to his father, not that he was 
 obUged to do so, but in response to the sim- 
 ple filial promptings of his heart. When, in 
 the winter time, there was not much to 
 do on the farm, the lad would be found 
 hauling cordwood to town, his pay at 
 that time being si.\ dollars per month. 
 <'oming to the United States in 1868. he 
 worked for a time as a farm hand in St. 
 Lawrence county, X. Y., receiving seven- 
 teen dollars per month, and during one 
 season he labored in the lumber regions, 
 known as "The South Woods," in St. 
 I^awrence county. In 1870, learning 
 that labor was better paid in the West, 
 he set out with buoyant spirits and a 
 hard hand — fc^r in the words of Shake- 
 speare "there is no better sign of a 
 brave heart than a hard hand " — and 
 landing in Winona, Minn., he found 
 himself the happy owner of only twelve 
 dollars in cash and his clothes (rather a 
 limited supply^, but jiossessed of a super- 
 abundant allowance of courage and Scotch- 
 ('anadian "grit." Here he secured work 
 as a common laborer in the service of a 
 contractor named F. A. Johnson, who 
 was engaged in driving piles and erecting 
 bridges for the Chicago & Northwestern 
 railroad. After a time, Mr. Johnson 
 having similar work at St. Joe, Mich., 
 our subject went there, and staid till the 
 contract was completed. Returning to 
 Winona, he continued sometime longer 
 in the employ of Mr. Johnson, and then 
 engatred with the Chicago & Northwestern 
 Railroad Company as a bridge builder. 
 In this, though yet a lad, his work was so 
 thorough, and so highly appreciated by 
 his employers, that he was made fore- 
 man of a gang, in which position he re- 
 mained till I S76, when he resigned, hav- 
 ing accepted a similar appointment from 
 the Southern Minnesota Railwav Com- 
 
 pany. This last was a two-jears' engage- 
 ment; and his efficiency was again re- 
 warded with promotion, he becoming 
 superintendent of bridges and buildings, 
 in which capacity he remained some four 
 years. At the end of that time he 
 moved to Winnipeg, Canada, where he 
 found similar work on the Canadian Pa- 
 cific railroad, then in course of construc- 
 tion, his engagement with them termi- 
 nating in 1884, when he returned to the 
 United States, and for two years lived in 
 St. Paul, Minn., taking a much-needed 
 rest. During the next two years he was 
 foreman for contractors on the Minneapo- 
 lis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie rail- 
 way, and then for one year was superin- 
 tendent of bridges and buildings for that 
 company. We now iind him in the em- 
 ploy of the Milwaukee & Northern Rail- 
 road Company, whom he served in similar 
 capacity till in February, 1893, when he 
 became a partner with Mr. Thomas J. 
 McGrath, as contractors and builders. 
 Since the partnership was formed the 
 firm have erected 800 feet of dockage for 
 the Murphy Lumber Co. ; plant for " The 
 Columbian Bakery;" e.xtensive coal sheds 
 for Barkhousen & Hathaway; the power 
 house for the Green Bay Electric Co. ; 
 about 14,000 yards of cedar block paving 
 on Washington street, all in the city of 
 Green Bay, besides the bridge over the 
 East river, connecting Allouez and Belle- 
 vue townships, in Brown county. 
 
 On October 9, 1875, Mr. Anderson 
 was married in Winona, Minn., to Sarah 
 Pritchard, who was born May 2, 1856, in 
 the city of Delaware, Del., a daughter of 
 Thomas and Mary (Morgan) Pritchard, 
 who were of English descent. At the 
 age of thirteen Mrs. Anderson accom- 
 panied her parents to England, where 
 they left her, as they had to return to the 
 United States. The intention was that 
 the young girl should come home with 
 some relatives, but she concluded to re- 
 turn without their company which she 
 did on the steamship "Turriffo." In 1868 
 her parents removed to Minnesota, and a 
 
COMMEMORATIVK BWGUAPUIVAI, RECORD. 
 
 l'\> 
 
 year later she followed them. The names 
 of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. W. 
 B. .Anderson are: Mary Jessie (she died 
 when two months old); James I^., Will- 
 iam K., and Olive A. Politically our 
 subject is a stanch Democrat. Mrs. 
 Anderson is a member of the Catholic 
 Church, and the entire family enjoy the 
 respect and esteem of a wide circle of 
 friends. 
 
 JOSEPH TREML, farmer and stnrk- 
 raiser, and one of the highly re- 
 respected citizens of Glennmre 
 township, Brown count}', is a na- 
 tive of Germany, born October 15, 1828, 
 son of Joseph Treml, who had fi\e cliil- 
 dren — three sons and two daughters — of 
 whom our subject is the eldest. 
 
 Joseph Treml was reared to farm life, 
 and during his youth had but limited edu- 
 cational advantages, attending school (jnly 
 three winters. He remained at home until 
 he reached the age of twenty-one, at 
 which time he commenced life on his own 
 account, working as a farm hand, and 
 later the homestead came into his posses- 
 sion. In February, 1866, he was married 
 in Germany, to Miss Mary Reiter, who 
 was born November 30, 1843, daughter 
 of Adam Reiter, and while living in Ger- 
 many they had two children, as follows: 
 Joseph, born October 10, 1868, now 
 working on the home farm; and .\nnie, 
 born February 22, 1S72, who was mai- 
 ried August 3, 1892. to Thomas Crestoff, 
 of Montpelier township, Kewaunee coun- 
 ty. After his marriage Mr. Treml contin- 
 ued farming until i 874, when he disposed 
 of his property, and with the proceeds 
 brought his family to the United States. 
 They sailed from Bremen, arriving in 
 Baltimore, Md., after an ocean voyage of 
 eighteen days, and immediately after 
 landing came westward over the Pennsyl- 
 vania railroad, to De Pere, Brown Co., 
 Wis., via Chicago. Shortly afterward 
 Mr. Treml purchased forty acres of new 
 land in Section 25, Glenmore township. 
 
 for \\liii'h he ]);iid tlirer hundrrd dollars. 
 I'lie lirst tiiiilx-r nn this limd had been 
 cut by lunibernieu; but In- bnilt the first 
 house, a log structure, wliuli .-,toiid \\ here 
 the kitchen tif the prt-'sent roidt-uce now 
 is. The years that folkiwcil were lilled 
 with hardship :ind stern tml, lint these 
 settlers were an.xions to have a lioino of 
 their own, and b\' ]ierse\'i'ranie suc- 
 ceeded at last in clearing the entire farm. 
 On this place the rest of their children 
 were born, as follows: \\'olfgan^. born 
 October i, 1874; Mar}-, born Ncnember 
 8. 1876; Fr:iid<, born |anuar\ 10, 1880, 
 all three li\inj^ ,it home; and lour sons — 
 John, Charles y I 1, Charles (21, and 
 George — who died in infanc\-. 
 
 During his residence in Glenmore 
 township otu' subject has dexoted himself 
 exclusively to farming and stock-raising, 
 and besides imjiro\'ing the original tract 
 has added to it till he now has I 20 acres. 
 When he settled here it was covered u ith 
 brush and stumps and fallen timber left 
 by hmd^ermen, and no small amount of 
 labor has been in\'olved in its transh^rma- 
 tion to its ])resent condition, in which 
 work his sons ha\e' been of gri-at help to 
 liim. He is universally respected by his 
 fellow citizens for his S(|uare, honest 
 methods and upright character. He is a 
 stanch I^emocrat. but has ne\er given 
 any time to jiolitics, all his time being de- 
 \'oted to his business interests. He and 
 his wife are members of St. Mar\'s 
 Church, in ('di'uinore, and they are' highly 
 esteemed h\ all who know them. 
 
 LG. SCHILLER, manager of C. 
 Schiller, wholesale dealer in fresh, 
 salt and smoked fish, at the f<3ot 
 of Jefferson street. Green Ba}', 
 was born September 12, 1848, in the 
 Province of IJrandenburt;, German). 
 
 Oin' subject canu- to Green Bay in 
 1872, and April 6, 1874, married Miss 
 Clara Asimont, daughter of George Asi- 
 mont, wlio came to Green Bay from Ger- 
 many in 1S57. On first coming to that 
 
■4 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 cit)' Ml. Srhiller was employed by Cran- 
 dall (S: Xortli, wholesale grocers, and lor 
 four years did faithful service; he was then 
 employed for three months by John Day 
 & Son, wholesale grocers anil tish dealers, 
 and in November, 1S76, went into the 
 grocery business at the corner of Pine 
 and Adams streets; in the spring of 1S82 
 he moved to Washington street, but sold 
 out Maj' 30, i88y, and assumed his pres- 
 ent position. This house was established 
 in 1879 on East river, and in 1889 L. G. 
 Schiller established the business at the 
 foot of Jefferson street, in the interest of 
 his employer, at the time of his taking 
 the management of the concern in Green 
 Hay. Under his control all things have 
 prospered, and he now employs twenty- 
 five hands. The ]iosition of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Schiller in social circles is all that 
 can be desired, and both are members of 
 the Lutheran Church, in good and faith- 
 ful standing. He has also been treasurer 
 of his church ten years; is a memlier of 
 the Koyal Arcanum, of theOrderof Tonti, 
 and of the Knights of the Maccalices. In 
 politics he is a Republican, and in 1877- 
 j?< was a member of the city council; he 
 has likewise served as a member of the 
 board of school trustees, and every office 
 he has held with credit to himself and to 
 the satisfaction of the public. 
 
 Of seven children l>orn to the ]iarents 
 of L. G. Schiller, two besides himself are 
 ' resiilents of the United States — Louis, 
 who came to Green Bay in 1868, worked 
 for Crandall & North, until 1874, and 
 then went to Milwaukee, where he still 
 resides; and Frank, who reached Green 
 Bay in 1872. was in business with his 
 brother, L. G., till 1889, but is now a 
 resident of Fort Scott, Kans. To the 
 marriage of L. G. Schiller and Clara Asi- 
 mont were born ten children, viz. : Clara, 
 died in 1875; Gustave, bookkeeper for his 
 father; Julia, residing with her parents; 
 Frieda and Clara, (twins), died in 1878; 
 Sophie, died in iSSo; Henrietta, died in 
 18S2; Louis, died in 1883; Clarence, resid- 
 ing with his parents ; and Otto, died in 1 889. 
 
 FRANK CRABB, one of Ue lYres 
 prosperous joung business men, 
 is a native of Brown county, born 
 May 8. i86j. in Section 3. Rock- 
 land township. 
 
 Philip Crabb, his father, was born in 
 Belgium, and was there reared, receiving 
 but a limited education, as he had to 
 commence work when but a boy. In 
 early manhood, hoping to succeed better 
 in the United States, he emigrated hither, 
 and coming to northern Wisconsin, at 
 that time a new and unsettled country, 
 found employment as a laborer, work be- 
 ing plenty in the lumber regions. He was 
 married in Green Bay to Mrs. Catherine 
 Tillmans, a widow, and shortly afterward 
 located on a farm in Rockland township, 
 where they resided until their remo\al to 
 De Pere. Previous to their coming, Mr. 
 Crabb had had a business room built in 
 the town, walking daily to and fro from 
 his farm to superintend its construction, 
 and during his absence Mrs. Crabb would 
 work in the clearing. One day, while 
 she was thus engaged, she heard the 
 screams of her little daughter, who was 
 playing about the house. The child's 
 dress had accidently caught fire. and. with 
 great presence of mind, the mother dashed 
 her into a watering-trough, but the little 
 girl soon afterward died from the injuries. 
 Our subject, I'rank, was the only child 
 by the first wife that grew to maturity; 
 she died in 1871, and was buried in the 
 Catholic cemetery at De Pere. Philip 
 Crabb subsequently remarried, and by 
 that union had two children who lived to 
 adult age, namely: Annie, now Mrs. 
 Peter Pembrook. of De Pere; and Joseph, 
 a farmer of De Pere township. Mr. 
 Crabb died July i. 1S79, and was buried 
 in De Pere cemetery; he was a member 
 of the Catholic Church, and a stanch 
 Democrat, though he never took an active 
 part in politics. After his removal to the 
 town of De Pere he carried on a grocery 
 and liquor business in the store room 
 above mentioned, becoming very success- 
 ful and accumulating a snug property. 
 
commi:moua rivi-: hkxhim'Iiicai, uix'uni). 
 
 iS:; 
 
 I'ni^iilit}' and industry and attention to 
 business were iho cK-inentsof his success, 
 for iiis ])ro|U'rty was made iVoiii a start of 
 notlnni; else. 
 
 Up to tiie ai;e of Hvc years l'"rank 
 Crabl) liveii on a farm in Roe Ic land town- 
 ship, and then came with his parents to 
 De Pere, where he recei\ed his (HJncatioii, 
 atten(hng the "old slone sehoolhouse " 
 for several years. W'hen hut a boy he 
 connneneed to assist his fathei' in the 
 store, where he securi'd his tnsl l)usin(.'ss 
 traininjj, and, after Ihedealh of the father, 
 continuetl the f)usiness in the same build- 
 iui;' until i<S8j, when lu: was l)urned out. 
 In 1885 he rebuilt, ereetim;- a substantial 
 brick business room and ri'siilence, where 
 he now conducts one of the best-appointed 
 saloons in Dc Pcrc, doin;.; a ])rosperous 
 business. Mr. Crabf) was married in 1880 
 to Miss Allie V'anderlu (le'u, a native of 
 Oconto county. Wis., and a daui;hter of 
 John \'anderh}den, who is a Ilollander 
 by birth. This uinon was l)lessed with the 
 followiui; named chikh'en: I'vatie (■., 
 Cecelia T. , Theresa A., iMaidc lohn 
 Joseph (deceased), (".eorj;e A., and \\- 
 j^oniaj. Our subject, like his father, is a 
 stanch member of tiie Deniocralic i>arty, 
 but does not minj.;le in i)olilical affairs. 
 In relif^ious faith he is a member of St. 
 Marv's Catholic ("Inu'ch. 
 
 BAKN.\RI) PINNICGAN. a self- 
 made prosperous af:;rieull nrist and 
 extensivi: land owner of llolland 
 townshi]), Brown county, is a na- 
 tive of the land of I'.rin, born about tlu' 
 year 1827 in County Slij^o, a son of Patrick 
 and Rose (Flynn) Finne^an. 
 
 Patrick Finnej;an was a tenant farmer, 
 and like many others at that time, thou.yh 
 hard-working- and fruf:;al, found it no easy 
 task to support his family in comfort. lie 
 had six children — one daufihter, Winnie, 
 who died youufj, and hve sons, Harnard, 
 Patrick, Thomas, John and Euj,'ene, of 
 whom but two are now living, Barnard 
 and Patrick. The mother of these dyintr, 
 
 the father subsetpiently married Miss Mar- 
 garet Kerrigan, with whom he came to 
 the United States in i8.|() ^leavint; his 
 sons in Irelandj, and made his home m 
 Montgomery couuly, N. \'. Barnard 
 I'^iuuegan reci'i\ed a somewhat limited 
 conunon-school education, for, being the 
 eldest son, he commenced work :il the 
 early age of eleven years. .\fter hisfalhei' 
 left Ireland IJarnard suppoiled himself by 
 farm lal)or until llu' fall of 1847, when 
 ins father |)ii>\idi.'d him and his brother 
 Thomas with means to emigrate. The 
 two yiiung men procei'ded to Liverpool, 
 where they took |iassage on a sailing \es- 
 sel l)ound for America, and, landing after 
 a four-weeks' voyage, innnedialely jDined 
 their father in Monlgomery county, N. Y. 
 Here Barnard found employment as a 
 farm haiul, and was also emplo\'ed as 
 seclioii laborer on the New ^'()rk Centi.d 
 railroad belwei-n I'lii'a and .\lbany, con- 
 Innnng in this some \'ears. Thomas I'~in- 
 negan died in Monlgomery county, when; 
 he was fjiiried, and in the spring of 1855 
 Mr. and Mrs. l''iiiiiegan and Barnard con- 
 cluded to migrate to Wisconsin, attracted 
 ir.idouf)tedl\' by the cheapness of tlie land 
 in that tlieii new State. (iailuning to- 
 gether tlieir household eff(u:ts, the}' set 
 out for wdiat was then tlie " Far \\'est, " 
 going l>y rail to Buffalo, when' the\- v\n- 
 l-)arked on the lake steamer "Morton," 
 ("apt. Thompson, and landed m dreen 
 Bay, Wis., earlv in |uiie. The father 
 came at once to K.aiikauna, but ISarnari! 
 ol)taincd emiiloyment for the snmnu'r as 
 deck-hand on the steamer " Moori\" ply- 
 iiiL; betweiMi Green Bay, Wasliington Har- 
 bor and Mackinac. In the fall, rd'ter navi- 
 gation had t-los(.'d, our subject rejoined his 
 father at Kaiikaima, and here he remained 
 two years in the emidoy of the Fox River 
 ImprovemiMit Co About 1855 he pur- 
 chased eighty acres in section 12, IIol- 
 kiml township, on which not a single im- 
 provement had been made, and he built 
 the first house on the place, which is yet 
 standing. Here Mr. and Mrs. iMunegan 
 passed their declining days; but Barn.ird 
 
iS6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPEICAL RECORD. 
 
 did not make a permanent home there at 
 first, for it needed money to carry on the 
 farm, and he could at that time earn more 
 at other pursuits. But he earnestly set 
 about the task of clearing and improving 
 his farm, and not onlj- accomplished this 
 much, but also added to the place from 
 time to time, now owning 280 acres of ex- 
 cellent land, all of which he has acquired 
 by industry and honest toil. His sons 
 have been of great assistance to him in 
 the cultivation of this large farm, and to- 
 day they stand among the leading young 
 men in the township. 
 
 On F"ebruar\- 19, 1S61, IJarnard Fin- 
 negan was united in marriage with Miss 
 Mary Cavney, who was born March 7, 
 1843, in County Sligo, Ireland, only 
 daughter of Roger and Julia (McXulty) 
 Cavney. They came to the United States 
 in 1S50, and for several years resided in 
 New York City, where Mrs. Cavney died. 
 In 1858 the father and his daughter Mary 
 qamc to Wisconsin, where he passed the 
 remainder of his days, making his home 
 with his daughter until his death, which 
 occurred March 28, 1877. 
 
 After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Finne- 
 gan took up their residence on the farm, 
 where they have since continued to make 
 their home. Their union has been 
 blessed with eight children, a brief rec- 
 ord of whom is as follows : Kosa, died 
 at the age of three years. Patrick, died 
 at the age of fifteen years and nine 
 months. John C, born July 10, 1867, 
 received an education at the connnon 
 schools of the home neighborhood, sub- 
 secjuently attended McCunn's Business 
 College in Green Bay for a jear, and 
 taught school in Brown county seven 
 years; he is a stanch Democrat, a l(jcal 
 leader in the party, and in 1 893 was 
 elected township clerk; at present he is a 
 notar\' public; he married Odell Savageau 
 Xo\eml>er 7, 1894, and lives in a fine 
 residence on his farm in Holland town- 
 shi|>. Brown county. Michael J., born 
 August 28, 1869, graduated from the 
 (preen Bay Business College, and for the 
 
 past six years has been employed by the 
 Metropolitan Lumber Company, of Dick- 
 inson countj^, Mich., as bookkeeper. 
 Eddie B., born January 23, 1872, also 
 took a course in the Green Bay Business 
 College; he resides at home. Charles 
 T. , born November i, 1874, lives at 
 home. Frank died when two years and 
 seven months old. Mamie E., born 
 January 11, 1883, is living at home. In 
 religious connection the family are all 
 members of St. F"rancis Church, Holland 
 township. Politically Mr. p-innegan is an 
 ardent adherent of the principles of the 
 Democratic party, but, though interested 
 in its welfare, is not active in party affairs. 
 
 M 
 
 ANUEL BRUNETTE, proprie- 
 tor of the Duck Creek Stone 
 < hiarry, \'elp, Brown county, is 
 one of the prominent self-made 
 men of northeastern Wisconsin, where he 
 is widely and favorably known. 
 
 He was born June 5, 1842, in Green 
 Bay, son of Dominick and Louisa (Bru- 
 nette) Brunette, the former of whom was 
 born in Green Bay in 1812, and for many 
 years was a jobber in logs, lumber, etc. ; 
 he is now retired from business, residing 
 on a farm in Brown county owned by 
 our subject. Mrs. Louisa Brunette was 
 born in Lower Canada, and tlied in How- 
 ard township, Brown county, at the age 
 of sixty-six years, the mother of fourteen 
 children, of whom but five are now li\ing. 
 Manuel Brunette's paternal grandfather, 
 Dominick Brunette, Sr. , was born in 
 Little Moscow, Canada, and in 1796 came 
 to Green Bay with a party in bark canoes, 
 being among the first to visit the shores 
 and settle here. On entering the bay. at 
 that point known as " Death's Door," the 
 party was dashed against an island, and 
 the canoes wrecked, but they succeeded 
 in repairing them with birch bark, and' 
 then made their way along the east 
 shore to what is now the city of Green 
 Bay, at that time only a fur-trading post. 
 Here for some \ears Dominick Brunette 
 
■«fev 
 
 ^m^. 
 
COMMHMdUA TIVE lUOOIlAPIIICAf. UKCOIW. 
 
 >9 
 
 engaged in fur trading, and tlien inarired 
 a Miss Grignon, through vviidin he in- 
 herited part of an old French claim. 
 This led him to adopt farming, a voca- 
 tion he followed the remainder of his days, 
 dj'ing in 1S62 at the age of seventy-eight 
 years; his wife also li\ed to an advanced 
 age. He had reared his son Dominick to 
 a life of usefulness and hardihood, a train- 
 ing which fully qualified him for the 
 dangers incident to those early times, and 
 he took an active part as a home guard in 
 defense of the settlers during the Indian 
 war against the depredations and attack 
 of the Redskins, as well as in the more 
 peaceful but equally hazardous undertak- 
 ing of acting as one of the party who sur- 
 veyed the military road running from 
 Green Bay to Prairie Du Chien. 
 
 Manuel Brunette was reared to the 
 practical pursuits of agriculture as well as 
 to those of life in the woods. On com- 
 mencing life for himself he first hired out 
 tiy the day or month either at logging or 
 farming, also as a shingle sawyer, and 
 from these crude beginnings has accumu- 
 lated his present fortune. He was vir- 
 tually at home during his "jobbing out" 
 experience, until his marriage to Miss 
 Teressa Walker, a native of Lockport, 
 N. Y. , which event occurred April 21, 
 1867; their union has been blessed with 
 fourteen children, ten of whom are yet 
 living, as follows: Mary L., Sarah, Lemuel, 
 Margaret, Roland, Manuel, Abbie, 
 Robert, Norine and James. Of these the 
 second daughter, Sarah, is the wife of 
 Albert Strasburger, superintendent of 
 schools of Sheboygan county, Wisconsin. 
 
 Mrs. Teressa Brunette is a daughter 
 of James and Sarah f Welch) Walker, the 
 former of whom was born in TuUamore, 
 King's county, Ireland, May 3, T814, and 
 was about eleven years old when he came 
 to America with his sister and settled in 
 New Brunswick. There he at once shipped 
 as a cabin boy, sailing between Que- 
 bec and Chatham, a vocation he followed 
 until he reached the age of twenty, when 
 he went to Pennsylvania, working in a 
 
 stone quarry until 1839, in which year he 
 mo\ed to Lockjiort, N. \' . He was there 
 married, in 1840, to Miss Sarah Welch, 
 and resided there until 1849, when he set 
 out for Wisconsin, traveling via canal to 
 Buffalo, and thence by steamer "A. D. 
 Patchen" to Milwaukee, where he passed 
 the greater part of the summer. Coming 
 thence to Green Bay, he settled finally 
 at \'elp. Brown c<>unt_\, where he cleared 
 fort}- acres of land, and made a perma- 
 nent home, residing there until his death, 
 which occurred in November, 1892. In 
 1872 he opened a general store, and for 
 fourteen years served as postmaster at 
 Velp. In politics he was first an Aboli- 
 tionist, later a Democrat. He was the 
 father of ten children, of whom four sons 
 and three daughters survive. Mr. Walker 
 was a great traveler in his day, and \is- 
 ited nearly every stone quarry in the 
 United States; he was a great reader, and 
 a most enterprising and progressive man 
 in every way, having assisted in construct- 
 ing the first threshing machine in the 
 country; put in the first blast in the Erie 
 canal near Lockport, N. Y. , and was one 
 of the first passengers to cross the Alle- 
 ghany Mountains on a railroad. Ha\ing 
 been educated in the common schools, he 
 knew their value, and, in company with 
 David Cormier and Charles W. Athey, 
 organized the first school in Howard 
 township, against strong opposition on 
 account of the cost. He was always acti\-e 
 in public affairs, and was highly honored 
 in this section of the county. Mrs. Sarah 
 (Welch) Walker was born March 4, 1826, 
 daughter of Thomas and Mary (Nichols) 
 Welch, natives of Limerick, Ireland, who 
 landed in Toronto, Canada, the year Mrs. 
 Walker was born. 
 
 After his marriage Manuel Brunette 
 settled on a single acre of land he had 
 previously purchased with money earned 
 by hard daily labor, and built a small 
 frame house, 20x26, thereon. With no 
 capital, save good health and determina- 
 tion, he, for sixteen years, followed boat- 
 ing, and haulinir lumber, shingles, etc., 
 
190 
 
 COM ME MO RA TI I 'E BIO GRA PHICA L RECORD. 
 
 by frugality and attention to business 
 managing to accumulate some cash cap- 
 ital. In 1873 he V)ought the Duck Creek 
 Stone yuarry, the business which chietiy 
 engages his attention at present, but in 
 the meantime had purchased various tracts 
 of farming lands, to the cultivation of 
 which he has given his personal super- 
 vision, and is now not only recognized as 
 one df the most progressive farmers of 
 Brown county, but as a thoroughly sub- 
 stantial business man. The Duck Creek 
 Quarry stone is described to be the most 
 substantial for sub-structure in the North- 
 west, and is so acknowledged. The es- 
 tablishment supplies engine beds, fur- 
 nishes cut and dimension stone to order, 
 and has a steam barge to deliver orders 
 wherever practicable. It runs steam 
 drills, a channeling machine and polish- 
 ing machines, giving constant employ- 
 ment to about fifty men, and is yearly 
 extending its trade. Many of the finest 
 buildings in the Northwest are constructed 
 from the product of this quarry, and Mr. 
 Brunette deserves great credit for placing 
 the valuable material before builders and 
 architects of the country. 
 
 In politics our subject is a Democrat, 
 and cast his first Presidential vote for 
 George B. McClellan. He has served 
 his fellow citizens fifteen years as super- 
 visor, for several terms as member of the 
 Brown county board, and in other local 
 offices, in every one of which he has 
 given the utmost satisfaction. He is the 
 present treasurer of the school board, and 
 has been postmaster of \'elp since Grovcr 
 Cleveland's first administration, with his 
 daughter Margaret as assistant. Mr. 
 Brunette and family arc members of the 
 Catholic Church, toward the support of 
 which he has contributed generously, as 
 well as to the building up of other 
 churches and schools. In fact, he is 
 active and liberal in all ]iublic under- 
 takings. Mr. Brunette is self-educated, 
 and has been the sole architect of his 
 fortune. His reading is of a most exten- 
 sive character, including ancient and 
 
 modern history, politics and current litera- 
 ture. He is wise in counsel, and is much 
 sought after both by business and profes- 
 sional men for advice, and few men are 
 more highly respected in Brown county. 
 Of such men the State of Wisconsin is 
 justly proud, as such lives are a living 
 example to the new generation. 
 
 WILLAKD H. r.lKDE.VU, of 
 Flintville, Brown county, was 
 horn December i, 1859, in 
 Clinton county, N. Y. His 
 grandparents, Jacob and Fannie Burdeau, 
 were born near Montreal, Canada, and 
 came to t.'.e United States about 181 2, 
 locating near LakeChamplain, in Clinton 
 county, N. Y. ; later moved to a farm at 
 Chazy, Clinton county, thence to Woods 
 Falls, N. Y., finally returning to Dover, 
 Canada, where they died at an advanced 
 age. They had a family of thirteen chil- 
 dren, among whom was Isaac, the father 
 of our subject. 
 
 Isaac Burdeau was born May S, 1831, 
 in the village of Champlain, Clinton Co., 
 N. Y. , was reared a farmer, and was mar- 
 ried December 31, 1853, to Miss Mary A. 
 Cook, who was born in Clinton county, N. 
 Y. , October 8, 1837, a daughter of John 
 and Ann Cook. Isaac Burdeau followed 
 farming in his native count\' until 1866, 
 when he brought his family to Brown 
 county, Wis. , and bought a farm near 
 where his son Willard E. now lives, re- 
 siding thereon until his death, which oc- 
 curred January 13, 1894. He was one of 
 the best known and most highly respected 
 business men of the count}', and an old- 
 time and influential Democrat. There 
 were six children in his family, one of 
 whom died at the age of thirty-four years, 
 leaving a family of eight children. 
 
 Willard E. Burdeau, at twenty-one 
 years of age, left the home farm for Lake 
 Superior, where, for two years, he was 
 foreman for a large sawmill firm; then re- 
 turned home, anil for the next two jears 
 followed logging, working hard and mak- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGnAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 191 
 
 iiifi money. On May 8, 1884, he married 
 Miss Sarah A. Philhps, a native of 
 Suamico township, born July 6, 1863, 
 and this happy union has been blessed 
 with four children, as follows: Alma E. , 
 born February 18, 1886; Earl W. , born 
 February 21, 1888; Leo A., born October 
 5, 1891, and Flora, born March 16, 1893. 
 After his marriage Mr. Burdeau carried 
 on a farm until 1892, when he bought a 
 general store, to which, in 1S94, he add- 
 ed a large stock of farm machinery, in- 
 cluding binders and mowers, besides 
 wagons and buggies, in all of which he has 
 made a success. He is a member of the 
 Democratic party, and September 30, 
 'S93, was appointed postmaster. He 
 has served as supervisor and road over- 
 seer, and for one year as chairman of the 
 town board; he has also been a school of- 
 ficer for several years. He and his wife 
 are members of the Catholic Church. 
 
 Mrs. Sarah A. Burdeau is a daughter 
 of George Phillips, whose parents, Daniel 
 and Nancy (Hughes) Phillips, were natives 
 of County Down, Ireland, where George 
 was born, in August, 1820, one of ten 
 children. George came to America in 
 1854, landing in Canada, where he lived 
 fourteen months, and then went to 
 Whitehall, and later to Clinton, N. Y. , 
 thence to Syracuse, same State. While 
 there he married Miss Sarah Quinn, who 
 was one of a family of seven children, also 
 born in County Down ; her mother was a 
 daughter of John and Sarah Sloan. To 
 George and Sarah (Ouinn) Phillips were 
 born five children, and the family came 
 to Wisconsin about the year 1856, but 
 three years later returned to New York, 
 where they remained one year. At the 
 end of that time they came back to Wis- 
 consin, locating in Door county, but 
 about i860 settled in Suamico township, 
 Brown county, where they now reside, 
 beine among its most honored citizens. 
 
 Willard E. Burdeau has led a very 
 active and industrious life, and has made 
 his fortune solely through his personal 
 exertions. He is recognized by his 
 
 neighbors as a man of enterprise, ever 
 ready to promote all projects designed 
 for the public good; and his fellow citizens 
 have never hesitated to call ujion his ser- 
 vices when in need of a faithful and reli- 
 able executor of a public trust. His social 
 standing is with the best people in the 
 Community, and his business integrity has 
 ever been without reproach. 
 
 FRANZ LIEBMANN, a typical 
 self-made, industrious farmer, and 
 one of the leading, highly respected 
 citizens of Preble township, Brown 
 count}', is a native of Schwarzburg-Kudol- 
 stadt, German}', born June zy, 1824, in 
 the village of Lichte, by Koenigsee. His 
 father. Christian M. Liebniann, was a na- 
 tive of the same place, and by occupa- 
 tion was a farmer. 
 
 Franz Liebmann was educated in the 
 connnon schools of his place of birth. 
 When thirteen years old he commenced 
 to learn the trade of potter, at which he 
 served an apprenticeship of three years, 
 and then followed same as journeyman in 
 various parts of Germany, giving his 
 father part of his earnings before he be- 
 came of age. In the spring of 1851, con- 
 cluding he could better his condition by 
 coming to the United States, he bade 
 adieu to his home and friends and sailed 
 from Hamburg on the vessel ' ' Germany. " 
 Reaching New York after an ocean voy- 
 age of five or six weeks, he proceeded 
 thence by boat to Albany, and from there 
 by rail to Buffalo, where he took the lake 
 boat to Sheboygan, Wis. From the 
 latter place he came to Green Bay, where 
 several families from his home neighbor- 
 hood had settled. Mr. Liebmann's first 
 employment in the New World was mak- 
 ing ditches, at which he continued one year, 
 and then spent three months at his trade, 
 conducting the pottery business on a small 
 scale in Green Ba}', where he was the 
 first in that line. After a time his health 
 became poor, and, on his recovery, he 
 went to Menasha, Wis., and worked for 
 
192 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. Hatclielder in tlio pottery in that 
 town [ov about six months. Then, join- 
 ing his father and brother Louis, who had 
 followed him to the United States, he 
 went to Washinfjton Harbor, Wis., where 
 they engaged in the lishery business, and 
 prospered. But here he was again taken 
 sick, and he left the place one hundred 
 dollars in debt. Coming to Green Bay, 
 he worked in sawmills for Robinson, 
 Howe, Tyler, and others, was then for 
 some time employed in Bellevue town- 
 ship, and finally, in November, 1859, 
 came to his present farm, having sold his 
 house and lot in Green Bay. 
 
 On October 31, 1858, Mr. Liebmann 
 was married, in Green Bay. to Enistina 
 Meister, who came from Germany about 
 1853, and children as follows were born 
 to their union: Ernst, a farmer of Preble 
 township, born October 19, 1859, who 
 was married October 26, 1886, to Hannah 
 Jobelius, and has had two children: Nellie 
 (deceased) and Laura (he is a Republican 
 in political connection, a leader in the 
 party in his township, and has served as 
 chairman of the board, supervisor, and 
 for three years as assessor, still holding 
 the latter officcl; Edwin, a saloon keeper 
 in Preble; Ered. at home; Louisa, widow 
 of Charles Wallman, of Peshtigo, Wis., 
 and Caroline, Mrs. Hubbard Basten, of 
 Preble. Mr. Liebmaim first purchased a 
 tract of twenty acres, and now owns 120 
 acres of excellent farming land, the culti- 
 vation of which is now carried on by his 
 sons. In January, 1865, he was drafted 
 into Company B, Eourteenth Regiment 
 Wis. V. I. , was first sent to Vicksburg, 
 and was present at the fall of Spanish 
 Fort, this being his first battle; they then 
 commenced the march toward Montgom- 
 ery, and we cii route at the time of Lee's 
 surrender. Mr. Liebmann was mustered 
 out at Mobile, and received his discharge 
 October 9, 1865, at Madison, Wis., com- 
 ing home at once; but after his return he 
 had an attack of fever and ague, also rheu- 
 matism Twhich still troubles him), being 
 sick for two years as a result of exposure. 
 
 Our subject has followed farming for 
 thirty-five years, and from a start of forty 
 dollars, the amount he had when he 
 landed in Green Bay, he has accumulated 
 a very comfortable property, the result of 
 years of hard work and economy. Atone 
 time, while working at day labor, money 
 was so scarce that he was obliged to take 
 his pay in "shin plasters" (this was in 
 1856-57). But he struggled along, year 
 by year improving his circumstances, till 
 he now stands among the most successful 
 farmers of his section. In politics he has 
 been a Republican since i860, and is a 
 stanch supporter of the principles of his 
 party. He has held various offices in his 
 township, and served for some time as 
 clerk of the school board, then as chair- 
 man of same for six j'ears, discharging 
 his duties with credit to himself and satis- 
 faction to all. During his j-ounger days 
 Mr. Liebmann was a most indefatigable 
 worker, and he has attended to the clear- 
 ing of his entire farm, seeing the dense 
 forest, once inhabited by wild animals, 
 supplanted by fertile fields, representing 
 many years of unrelenting toil. He and 
 his family are highly esteemed, and he is 
 known to be honest and straightforward 
 in all his dealings with his fellowmen. 
 Socially he is a member of Hermann 
 Lodge," No. Ill, I. O. O. F., of T. O. 
 Howe Post, No. 124, G. A. R., and of 
 the Germania Bene\olent Society. 
 
 JOHN D. ESMANN, an industrious 
 well-to-do farmer of New Denmark 
 township. Brown county, is a native 
 of Germany, born September 9, 
 1S23, a son of Herman H. and Margaret 
 (Schlake) Esmann, \vho had a family of 
 seven children, namely: John D., Anna, 
 Geschc, Erit2, Meta, Henry, and Ber- 
 nend. 
 
 Our subject received his education in 
 the common schools of his native land, 
 and learned the mason's trade under his 
 father, following same constantly in his 
 native country. In 1852 he was married 
 
COMMEMiUtATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL UECOIID. 
 
 193 
 
 in Germany to Miss Adelaide Meise- 
 gades, and, in 1861, they emigrated to 
 America, landing in New York City, thence 
 innnediately coming' westward to New 
 Denmark township, Brown Co., Wis. 
 Here Mr. Esniann purchased eighty acres 
 of wild land, which, hy hard labor and 
 shrewd financiering, he has converted 
 into a highly cultivated improved farm, 
 where he is rnccessfnlly engaged in general 
 agriculture. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Esmann were born 
 four children, as follows: Meta, Henry 
 (deceased), Gesene, and Fritz, the latti'r 
 remaining on the home farm with his 
 father, their mother having died in 18S3. 
 She was a member of the Lutheran 
 Church, as is also Mr. Esmann In his 
 political preferences' he is a Republican. 
 
 LOKENZ HEIM, one of the thrifty 
 industrious German farmers ot 
 Scott township, Brown county, is 
 a native of the Fatherland, born 
 Februar\' 2S, 1S31, son of Martin Heim. 
 In the fall of 1.S46 the latter, with his 
 famiK' of three sons and two daughters, 
 immigrated to the United States, and com- 
 ing directh' to Wisconsin, made a settle- 
 ment in Brown county. In Green I>a)' 
 township, which then comprised what is 
 now four townships, he purchased a tract 
 of eighty acres of new land, covered with 
 timber and brush, and on this farm he and 
 his wife passed the remainder of their 
 days, he dying in 1872, she in 1878. 
 
 Lorenz Heim was fifteen years of age 
 when he came with his parents to Amer- 
 ica, prior to which he had received his 
 education in the common schools of his 
 native land. He secured work in Green 
 Bay, for four years doing chores around 
 the old " Astor House, " for which work 
 he received eleven dollars per month, his 
 earnings all going to assist his parents to 
 pay for their new home; subsecjuently he 
 worked two years at another hotel in the 
 same capacity. On November 26, 1855, 
 Mr. Heim was married at New Franken, 
 
 Brown countw to Miss Barl)ara Bidde- 
 john, who was born in liel^nnii, Ahirch 
 22, 1830, and came to .Xmcrica in 1855. 
 To this union ha\e been born scn cnteen 
 children, of whom Mary is the wife of 
 |oseph Ryder, of Menominee, Mich. ; 
 Catherine is married to Andrew Simons; 
 Frona lives at home; .Andrew is a resident 
 of Marinette, Wis. ; Louis is li\-ing at 
 home; Agnes is the wife of I'eter Becker, 
 of Michigan; Lena, Hubart, Caroline, 
 John, and Joseph all li\e at home; the 
 others dietl in intanc)'. 
 
 .At the time of his uiania;;e Mr. Heim 
 had purchased a tract (if new, uncleared 
 land, for which he went into debt, and 
 this he has since cleared and iiiipro\-ed, 
 now owning 160 acres ot prime farm 
 land. He is one of the self-made men of 
 his section, and is e\-erywhere respected 
 for his industry and honest, straightfor- 
 ward methods in dealing with his fellow- 
 men. In 1865 he was drafted into the 
 army, l)ut hired a substitute whom he 
 paid $800. In politics Mr. Heim is a 
 stanch Democrat, and, though not particu- 
 larly active in politics and no office- 
 seeker, has served four years as super- 
 visor of his township. The entire family 
 belong- to the Catholic Church. 
 
 ARCHIE LYNN GOWEY, plumber 
 at De Fere, was .born in Spring 
 Vale, Fond du Lac Co., Wis., 
 May 29, 1854, antl is a son of 
 J(jlm H. and Jane (Parish) Gowey, na- 
 tives, respectively, of Poultney, Vt. , and 
 of the village of Askron, England. John 
 Gowey was engaged in farming at Spring 
 Vale, also carried on a lumber business 
 at Fond du Lac for many years, and there 
 built the Moore cS: Galloway mill. In 
 1866-67 he was engaged in the milling 
 antl lumber business at De Pere, but 
 afterward moved to Oshkosh, Wiimebago 
 Co., W^is. , where he died; he was buried 
 at Neenah, same county. His widow 
 still resides at De Pere. 
 
 Archie L. Gowey was educated in the 
 
•M 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 schools of De Pere, and when seventeen 
 years of age went to Oconto, Wis., and 
 was there engaged in scaling lumber for 
 the Oconto Company, and for England, 
 Taylor & Company. About 1871 he 
 opened a grocery and general store at 
 Oshkosh, Wis., carried it on about two 
 years, and then engaged in farming near 
 De Pere until 1877. In 1882 he entered 
 upon his present plumbing and heating 
 business in De Pere. Mr. Gowey was 
 most happily married, in 1876, to Miss 
 Carrie Lawton, a daughter of Joseph G. 
 Lawton, and this union has been blessed 
 with the birth of six children, as follows: 
 Archie L. , Leila C, Paul E. and Pauline 
 E. (twins), Ella V. and Clarence P. Mr. 
 Gowey is a member of the Knights of 
 Pythias, Lodge No. 107, of De Pere. In 
 politics he is a Republican, and he and 
 his wife are members of the Episcopal 
 Church. Socially the family hold an 
 enviable position. 
 
 M 
 
 \KT1N VER STKATliX.one of 
 the prosperous self-made agri- 
 culturists of the township of De- 
 Pere, is a native of North Bra- 
 bant, Holland, born July 25, 1836, son 
 of George and Delia \'er Straten, the 
 former of whom was a farmer in but or- 
 dinary circumstances. He had a family 
 of eight children (three of whom lived to 
 adult age), of whom John and Martin 
 (twins) were the eldest. 
 
 Martin \'er Straten attended school 
 until he was twelve years of age, and then 
 commenced to work at farm labor, first 
 for his father, and later for others. He 
 supported his parents until they died, and 
 then he and his brother took care of their 
 younger sister, who was then seven years 
 old. In 1865 his brother John immi- 
 grated to the United States, settling in 
 Brown county. Wis., and, having ac- 
 quainted Martin with the superior advan- 
 tages for advancement offered in the New 
 World, our subject concluded to follow. 
 Accordingly, in the spring of 1866, he 
 
 bid adieu to his home and friends, and 
 proceeded from Rotterdam to Hull, Eng- 
 land, thence to Liverpool, where he 
 took passage in a vessel bound for New 
 York, arriving in the latter city after a 
 voyage of eleven days. He was accom- 
 panied by Miss Anna \'an Den, his 
 brother's fiancee, and they proceeded 
 directly from New York to Little Chute, 
 Brown Co., Wis., where the> found John 
 awaiting his bride. Martin \'er Straten 
 worked as a farm hand for five or six 
 weeks after his arrival, and then came to 
 De Pere township, where he found em- 
 ployment in a sawmill, and later on a 
 boat. His first day's work in this town- 
 ship w'as for John Coenen, and shortly 
 afterward he and his brother purchased, 
 in partnership, forty acres of partly- 
 cleared land, which he still owns, on 
 which stood a small log house. In 
 the fall of 1 869 he returned to his 
 birthplace, and, in the spring of 1870, 
 was there married to Miss Gertrude Van- 
 derwise, a native of the same localitx , 
 immediately after which event the young 
 couple set sail from Rotterdam, landing, 
 after a voyage of thirteen days, at Port- 
 land, Maine. From that city they came 
 over the Grand Trunk railroad to Chi- 
 cago, and thence to the home in Brown 
 county. Wis. In the fall of 1868 he had 
 purchased the interest of his bn>ther John 
 in the tract of forty acres, and he and his 
 wife lived there in the log house until it 
 was destroyed by fire and replaced by a 
 better one. This was the home of the 
 family until 1885, when the present sub- 
 stantial residence was erected. To Mar- 
 tin and Gertrude Ver Straten were born 
 six children, as follows: George, Leon- 
 ard, Annie, and Henry, living, and two 
 that died young. The mother of these 
 died in 1882, and was buried in the St. 
 Mary's cemetery, at De Pere, and for his 
 second wife Mr. \'er Straten married, in 
 1 88 5, Mrs. Catherine Smit, \\idow of 
 Alexander Smit. She was born in Ba- 
 varia, Germany, daughter of John Burk, 
 and came to the United States with her 
 
COM ME MORA TIVK IlIOG RAPIllCAL llECOliD. 
 
 '95 
 
 parents when five jears old. Her father 
 had emigrated three years before and lo- 
 cated in New York, reniaininj^ tlu're until 
 he saved enou<^h to brinj; his family and 
 two sisters from the old country. j^ater 
 they removed west to Waukesha, Wis., 
 and still later came to r>ro\\n count}'. 
 
 Mr. V'er Straten now has a well cul- 
 tivated farm of 1 30 acres, which rej^re- 
 sents years of hard, untiring toil and 
 econoni}'. He is a self-made man in 
 every respect, having, from a start of 
 nothing, accumulated a comfortable prop- 
 erty and a snng income, his success being 
 the direct result of his own individual 
 labor. He is highly respected in his tow n- 
 ship, where he has been elected to various 
 offices of trust, serving as super\isor four 
 terms with satisfaction to all, and he is 
 now clerk of the school board. fn his 
 political preferences he is a Democrat; in 
 religious faith he and his wife are mem- 
 bers of St. Mary's Catholic Church, De- 
 Pere. When he was nineteen years old 
 he was called to serve in the Dutch army 
 five jears, by Wilhelm IH, King of the 
 Netherlands, bnt at the end of one year's 
 service he was allowed to return to his 
 home by consent of the King. 
 
 JOHN \ER STR.\Tf-:\, who, during 
 his lifetime, was one of the best- 
 known farmer citizens of De Pere 
 township, Brown county, was a na- 
 tive of Holland, born July 25, 1836, in 
 the Province of North Brabant. He was 
 a son of George Ver Straten, a farmer, 
 and a twin brother of Martin Ver Straten, 
 a sketch of whom precedes this. 
 
 John Ver Straten lived in his native 
 country, doing farm work nntil he was 
 twenty-nine years old. He then concluded 
 to try his fortune in the United States, 
 and in 1865 set sail from Antwerp, taking 
 passage in the "Agnace." During the 
 first day of the voyage cholera broke out 
 on board, and the vessel put back to port, 
 where a fort was converted into a pest- 
 house; the vessel started again after a few 
 
 days, but three huntircd of the seven 
 hundred passengers died of the disease. 
 Immediately after lanciingMr. \'er Straten 
 came to Brown county. Wis., and for 
 one year worked on a faiiii. hi .\pril, 
 i860, he was married, in i.ittic Chute, to 
 Miss Anna Van Den, who was born Sep- 
 tember I, 1838, in Holland, daughter of 
 Martin and Delia \'an Den, and came to 
 the United States in 1 8(.)6 with Martin 
 \'er Straten, l)rotherof her late husband. 
 Innnediately after their marriage the 
 young couple took up their residence with 
 a farmer in Holland township. Brown 
 county, where they remained one year; 
 but, being an.xious to ha\a> a home of their 
 own, they, in 18(17, purchased private 
 claim No. 39, a farm of torty acres, for 
 the payment of part of \\hi(h they were 
 obliged to go into debt. A small log 
 house was the only building on this land, 
 fifteen acres of which was cleared, and 
 here they resided one year, and then for 
 three years lived on a rentetl farm along 
 the Dickinson road, his brother Martin 
 locating on the farm they hail left. In 
 the spring of 1873 they came to the 
 farm in De Pere township where the 
 family still make their home, and here 
 Mr. \'er Straten passed tlu' remainder of 
 his life. The year before they had pur- 
 chased forty acres, private claim No. 38, 
 where they now li\e, but a small portion 
 of which tract had then been cleared, and 
 on which there was not even a dwelling; 
 but a rude house was soon erected, which 
 served as a shelter for the family until 
 their present substantial home was built. 
 Mr. Ver Straten died on this farm May 
 14, 1885, leaving a family of eight chil- 
 dren to be provided foi-, and a home 
 encumbered with an indebtedness of seven 
 hundred dollars. However, by working 
 together and practicing thrift and strict 
 economy, the famil)' ha\e paid off ever)' 
 cent of the debt, and they now have a fine 
 farm of one hundred acres, equipped 
 with good out-buildings and a comfortable 
 residence. The children arc as follows: 
 George, Henry, Martin, Delia, John, 
 
196 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BlUUHAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mar)-. Kllen, aiui Petor, all living; one 
 child. Nellie, died in infanc)-. Tiie sons 
 are all hard working men. and have nobly 
 assisted their mother in paying for the 
 home. George met with a very serious 
 accident in August. 1S94. whereby he 
 lost an arm. It appears that on the ::3th 
 of that month, while he w as operating the 
 threshing machine at the home of his 
 mother ^an occupation he had been ac- 
 customed to for the past eight years), he 
 unfortunately got his arm entangled in the 
 pulley through which the belt ran. and it 
 was terriblv torn, the bone being broken 
 as well. The doctors who attended him 
 set the bone and did all they could to save 
 the arm. but three days afterward the 
 patient was sent to the hospital at Green 
 Bav. where it was found necessary to 
 amputate the arm above the elbow. He 
 is now working his mother's farm. Mrs. 
 Anna Ver Straten is a thrifty economical 
 woman, and has shown no small amount 
 of business ability and sagacity in the 
 management o{ the farm. The entire 
 famil}- are held in the highest esteem in 
 the community in which the>- reside. Mr. 
 Ver Straten was a genial, sociable man. 
 and he had many frieniis. He was a 
 member of St. Mary's Catholic Church 
 in Dc Pere. as is also his widow, and in 
 politics he was a Democrat, though he 
 never took much interest in party affairs, 
 and about fifteen years ago served as 
 assessor three vears. 
 
 ARONDOU. a prominent gar<.lener. 
 and now serving his se\ enth year 
 as supervisor of the First ward. 
 Fort Howard, came to Fort How- 
 ard in 1870, locating where he now lives 
 in 1876, and engaging in gardening. He 
 has an excellent farm of thirty acres, all 
 inside the city limits, and is in the enjoy- 
 ment of a prosperous business. He built 
 a good barn in 1891. and raises small 
 fruit and vegetables. 
 
 Mr. Rondou, who is a son of John and 
 Catherine (De Vray) Rondou, was born 
 
 in 1853. in Belgium, where his parents 
 lived and died. He came to Detroit. 
 Mich., in 1868, finding a home with an 
 aunt, an(.l from there removed to Fort 
 Howard. Here he was married, in 1876, 
 to Miss Johanna Carton, a native of Brown 
 county, daughter of Joseph Carton, who 
 was born in Helgiuni, and coming to this 
 country located in Pittsfield township. 
 Brown Co., Wis., in 1854. Here he 
 married Mary Cabesen, and. with his wife, 
 is now living with Mr. Rondou. Nine 
 children came to gladden the home of the 
 Rondous: Joseph, Frank, Anton, Mary, 
 Katie. Nettie. Lizzie [deceased'. Fred 
 and Rosa. Mr. Rondou is a Democrat 
 in politics, and the leader of his party in 
 the First ward, of which he has been 
 supervisor since 1887. He has also 
 served as alderman from the same ward. 
 He and his wife are members of St.W'illi- 
 brord's Catholic Church, and Mr. Rondou 
 holds membership in the Catholic Order 
 of Foresters, the Catholic Knights of 
 Wisconsin, and St. Joseph Society, of 
 which latter he is treasurer. He is one 
 of the progressive, successful men of Fort 
 Howard, and always active in furthering 
 the best interests of the community in 
 which he resides. 
 
 JD. MORAUN. M. D.. eminent as a 
 phvsician and surgeon, was born in 
 Green Bay, Wis., his present resi- 
 dence. May «f. 1864, and is a son of 
 \"ictor and Mary (Collart) Morau.x. both 
 natives of Belgium. 
 
 Ferdinand Morau.x. father of Victor, 
 was also a native of Belgium, and came to 
 Brown county. Wis., in quite an early 
 day, bringing his family and locating in 
 Green Bay, where \'ictor found employ- 
 ment in the grain business as foreman, 
 being employed later by Van Dyke. Burr 
 & Co., then by John Beth, and finally by 
 Weise, Hollman & Co., and here died 
 in January, 1894. Mrs. Mary Moraux, 
 daughter of Desire Collart, Sr. , still re- 
 sides in Green Bay, as does her father. 
 
COMMMMORATIVM BWGUAPUIUAL RECORD. 
 
 '97 
 
 who diici' (i|)cratu(l a sluiic iiuairy at 
 Duck C'rcck. To \'i(:t(jr and Mary Moraiix 
 wcro born smcii cliildrcn, as follows: J. 
 I)., our suhjcct; Louis, \siio ilird of scar- 
 let fever; Louis (IIj, wJKj was drowned; 
 Mary, l'"elix, |ulia and I'lora. 
 
 I)i. |. I). Moianx was reari'd m his 
 iiati\ (■ y\\\ , and, idler a pioper pi elinniiary 
 education, ri-ad nu'diemc with Dr. J, R. 
 Hrandl. lie then entered the Colle;,,'e of 
 Physicians and Surf,'eons, Chicago, where 
 he j.;r,adn.iled in l''(d)ruary, 1S87, and the 
 same ye.ir hej^an |)racl ice at J,u\end)oin",L;, 
 I\ewainiee ( 'o. , Wis., l)ul, Ixlore t he ( lose 
 
 of the \'ear, came to (iHeii \\\\\ , and 
 formed a ])artnership with l)r. I'.artran. 
 After a liiiel pr.ictiee in t Ins coiuum tien he 
 bon}.^ht out i)i'. Dechesne, at Kohinson- 
 ville, Urown Co., Wis,, but tlu're soon 
 lost everything; by lire, and retuiiicd to 
 Green Hay. The l)oitoi has al\\a)s nn'l 
 with the a])pi ob.il ion o| his fellow-|)racli- 
 tioners, and has been earnest in fiis en- 
 deavors to maintain I he dignity and coher- 
 ence of the profession. He is a iiumiiIk.'i 
 of the Vii\ l\i\-er \'allc\' Medical Society, 
 •and once lilli-d the ollice of viee-presiilellt 
 of the Kewaunee County Medical Society, 
 of wliich, also, hi' was one <jf the Censors. 
 He has built up a line rejiutation as a 
 physician, and enjoys i|ihte a lucrativt' 
 patronage foi' a practitioner ol his \ears. 
 Dr. Morau.N was married at Creen 
 Bay, October I, iSSS, to .Miss Hettie 
 Schellenbeck, a nati\ e of Cjieeii l!ay and 
 daughter of Jacob an<l Otilia freNlon) 
 Schellenbeck, wlio canu' from Ciermany 
 to Green Hay about the year 1855. 
 Here Jacob Schellenbeck engaged in tan- 
 ning, and later in the leather business; 
 he was a Republican in politics, served as 
 a member of the school l)oard, and died 
 full of honors in July, I S92 ; his widow is 
 still a resident of Green liay. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Schellenbeck were born Inc 
 children, viz. : Emma, who died at two 
 years of age; Emma (2), wife of G. P. 
 Kusterman, of Green Hay; Otto, who was 
 engaged in the drug trade for some 3 ears, 
 was a K, of P., and died in 1885, at the 
 
 age of twenty-nine years; Ernest, who 
 died when h\c years old, .ind Ilettie, now 
 the wife of Dr. Moraiix. To Dr. and Mrs. 
 Morau.N were born two children; Otto 
 Schellenbeck. and Ilettie, the latter of 
 whom died in infancy. 
 
 Dr. Morau.N is a Republiian in poli- 
 tics, IS a \\arm siip))orter of bis jiarly, l)ut 
 has never been an ollice seeker. Hc'ing a 
 native (jI the city he has witnessed much 
 (jf its progress, and has naturally taken 
 great interest in its adv.iiKcmeiil , and has 
 willingly lent e\'ery .iid in his |)ow(r to- 
 ward I hat desirable end. 
 
 C.\RI. .\l.\NTllb;\', mamifactiirerof 
 iiioiiiinielils, headstones aiul cein- 
 rii ly woik of all di'scriptiou, and 
 dealer in in.iibli-, i^ranite, etc., at 
 (irecii r>a\, was bom .May M, 1S51, at 
 ("orlin, I'loxiiHc- o| I'omeiania, Prussia, 
 Germany, a sou ol |ohaiiiia I'eterstdm, 
 and in 1858 was adopted b\ llermann 
 and Henrietta Manthe\, also n.itives of 
 the l'ro\iiice ol I'omeiani.i, and moNcd to 
 Slellin, I'riissi.i, I lir lamily caiiii' to the 
 United States 111 1 8(i(), anil located on 
 Clybonrne a\i-niie, ( liicago, where they 
 were burned oiil (lining I he great liie, 
 losing e\ cryl lnii,L;. 1 1 ere the father worked 
 as a laboiei" iinlil 187.4, wdien he came to 
 P>i(jwn county, Wis., and opened up a 
 farm in Morrison township, which he cul- 
 tiv.ited lint il his death in 188^; the widow- 
 ed mtjther tluni returned to Chicago, and 
 now resides on the North side. 
 
 Carl M.-iiilhe\', the only child, was 
 educated at .Steltin, Prussia, and on 
 reaching Chicago began an apprenticeship 
 at his present trade with the Govven .Mar- 
 ble Comjiany of that citv. In Morrison, 
 Crown Co., Wis., in 1874, he was mar- 
 ried to Miss l'"li/a!)eth Ifansch. a native 
 ol Prussia, .ind to ibis union ha\e liecn 
 bcMii four sons, w/. : llermann, in busi- 
 ness with his father; Otto, who works for 
 Joannes Hros., and Charles and lir\ in. In 
 1875 Mr. Manthey worked at his trade in 
 Appleton, Wis., moving from thi-rc' to 
 
5 98 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 Oshkosh, thence to Fond du Lac, where 
 he passed four years and, then, in tlie fall 
 of 1880, came to Green Baj-. About 
 
 1881 he formed a partnership with G. 
 Kurt/, under the firm name of Kurtz & 
 Manthey, but at the end of one year 
 bought out Mr. Kurtz's interest, and since 
 
 1882 has been in business for himself. In 
 1892 he erected his present substantial 
 brick office building at No. 132 South 
 Washington street. It is 20 x 50 in dimen- 
 sions, and here he contracts for every va- 
 riety of work in his line, being himself a 
 first-class workman, in the busy season 
 employing six assistants. Mr. Manthey 
 is a member of the I. O. O. F., and of 
 the Turnvcrcin, of which latter society he 
 was dramatic manager ten years. He has 
 seen a great many changes take place in 
 Green Bay since coming here, and has al- 
 ways taken a strong interest in the welfare 
 of both county and town. 
 
 THOM.VS H. SCANLAN, justice of 
 of the peace and notary public, at 
 \\'est De Pere, Brown county, is 
 a native of Askeaton, County 
 Limerick, Ireland, and was born July 10, 
 1837. His parents, Thomas and Mary 
 (Hanley) Scanlan, who were respectable 
 farming people, both died in Ireland, the 
 latter when our subject was ten years old, 
 the former when the boy was twelve years 
 of age. 
 
 Having received a fair education in 
 the select schools of his native place, our 
 subject followed his father's vocation for 
 several years, and then decided on emi- 
 grating to America. Accordingly, on the 
 5th day of May, 1863, he embarked on a 
 sailing vessel at Liverpool, and, after a 
 voyage of three weeks, landed at New 
 York, whence he went to Philadelphia, 
 where some relatives resided. There he 
 remained until the i Ith of the following 
 October, at which time he came to Wis- 
 consin, and for awhile stopped at Oconto. 
 On May 5, 1864, he reached De Pere, 
 and for two years lived in East De Pere, 
 
 but on June S, 1866, he moved into a 
 house that he had built on Oneida street, 
 between Fourth and Fifth street, in West 
 De Pere, and here has resided ever since. 
 On arriving at De Pere, Mr. Scanlan 
 began work in a sawmill, remaining thus 
 employed for about two years; but No- 
 vember 22, 1866, he entered the employ 
 of the E. E. Bolles Wooden Ware Com- 
 pany as yard foreman, and with this 
 company remained twent\-onc years, 
 quitting their employ March 17, 1888. 
 
 While filling this position Mr. Scanlan 
 became quite a favorite with the general 
 public. In I 872 he was elected a mem- 
 ber of the board of trustees of West I)e- 
 Pere, and for ten years faithfully per- 
 formed the functions of that office; in 
 1883, he was elected treasurer of the city 
 of West De Pere, in which position he 
 gave such satisfaction that he was re- 
 elected in 1884; in 1885 he was nominated 
 for the office of mayor of West De Pere, 
 but being disinclined to run he voted 
 against himself, and having urged his 
 friends to the same course, he was conse- 
 quently defeated; in 1889 he was elected 
 a justice of the peace, an office he has 
 ever since held; in that year was also 
 elected a supervisor, and was appointed 
 city clerk same 3ear by common council; 
 in May. 1891, he was commissioned a 
 notary public, and is still acting in that 
 capacity. It must be here observed, 
 however, that 'Squire Scanlan has been 
 borne into office solely on his own merits 
 and unbounded popularity, and that he 
 never was an oflice-seeker in the usual 
 acceptation of that term. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Scanlan took 
 place at Philadelphia, October 10, 1S63, 
 to Miss Catherin Dowling, and three 
 children were born to this union, all dying 
 young. Mr. and Mrs. Scanlan, however, 
 have reared to womanhood a niece, Mary 
 Ann Loftus, who was left an orphan at 
 the age of four years, her mother having 
 lost her life by the explosion of a kerosene 
 oil can at her home in Green Bay. Miss 
 Loftus was married to John Hoks, and 
 
COMMEMORATIVK BIOGIIAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 '99 
 
 became the mother of one child, Pater- 
 nella Hoks, now nine jears old, wlio, 
 having lost her parents when young, is 
 being also reared by the 'Squire and his 
 estimable wife. Mr. and Mrs. Scanlan 
 are devout memliers of the Roman 
 Catholic Church, and their quiet and un- 
 assuming lives have won for them the 
 respect of all who know them. 
 
 EUGENE K. A N S O K G E. The 
 beautiful land of Bohemia, famed 
 for its picturesque valleys, silvery 
 streams, romantic mountain scenes 
 and its handsome, gay and music-loving 
 people, has sent to our country some of 
 its most industrious, loyal and peaceful 
 citizens, among whom is found, in no small 
 degree of prominence, the gentleman 
 whose name is here recorded. 
 
 Mr. Ansorge was born September 23, 
 1843, in the German village of Christofs- 
 grund, in the northeastern part of 
 Bohemia, a son of Anton and Caroline 
 Ansorge, who, in 1855, with their family 
 of three children (the eldest son, Kilian, 
 serving at that time in the Austrian army, 
 followed in 1S66), emigrated to the 
 United States, where, in Manitowoc 
 county, Wis., they cleared up a farm 
 from wild woodland they had bought. 
 Here the mother died in 1867, the father 
 at Green Bay in i8S,S, aged eighty-si.x 
 years. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was a lad 
 of eleven years when the family came to 
 Wisconsin, and, not having the oppor- 
 tunity to visit a school, he acquired the 
 greater part of his education bj' self in- 
 struction in reading, etc. Up to the age 
 of twenty-one he worked on his father's 
 farm, learning also the trade of carpenter, 
 at which time, his two-years-older brother 
 returning from the war, he volunteered 
 his services to the Union for the suppres- 
 sion of the Rebellion, by enlisting in 
 Company F, Forty-fifth Wis. V. I. From 
 the commencement of his enlistment he 
 served as sergeant, chiefly in Tennessee, 
 
 and for the most part on camp and train 
 guard duty. In .\ugust, same j'ear, the 
 war having closed, he was honorably dis- 
 charged, and came home. A short time 
 afterward he went to Missouri, and for 
 over a year worked at carpentry. In 
 June, 1867, he started as contractor and 
 builder, but being taken sick, had once 
 more, in November of that year, to return 
 to the ]-)arental roof. In the fdjlowing 
 spring, having reco\xred his health, he 
 resumed his trade us builder at home, 
 continuing it until the next fall; but such 
 work does not appear to have been the 
 primary and great object of his ambition, 
 anil he began to look around him for some 
 occupation more suited to his tastes and 
 inclinations. Determined to try his hand 
 at insurance work, he, in December, 1868, 
 entered the service of the ' ' Dodge County 
 Mutual Insurance Company" as solicitor, 
 and as such traveled on foot over part of 
 Manitowoc county, and near all of Ke- 
 waunee count}', in the following April 
 opening an office in Oconto, where for 
 four years he did a thriving business in Fire 
 insurance. During all this time, being a 
 musician of acknowledged merit, playing 
 the violin, he was frequently employed to 
 furnish music for entertainments, etc., 
 and even now, at times, assists at concerts. 
 In March, 1873, he moved to Green Bay, 
 transferring his office /// toto, and has 
 since conducted one of the most reliable 
 and flourishing Fire and Life insurance 
 businesses in northern Wisconsin. On No- 
 vember I, 1892, he received into partner- 
 ship E. P. Parish, the firm name being 
 Ansorge & Parish, which still continues. 
 In 1870 Mr. Ansorge was married to 
 Miss Johanna T. Ansorge, and five chil- 
 dren were born to them, namely: Herman 
 and Walter, both deceased, and Clara, 
 Herman and Flora, all three at home. In 
 his political associations our subject is a 
 Republican, and, although no office seeker, 
 has served the city of Green Bay as alder- 
 man. He is a member of the K. of P., 
 Turnverein, German Singing Society, 
 Green Bay Sharpshooters Society, and G. 
 
!00 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 A. K., in all of which he has taken an 
 active interest, and served in various offi- 
 cial capacities. A man of enterprise and 
 integrity, success has crowned his efforts, 
 and he is the owner of considerable 
 amount of real estate. He is now a 
 director of the Citizens National Bank. 
 Although favored with but limited school- 
 ing, as already intimated, Mr. Ansorge 
 has acquired a nn)re than ordinary practi- 
 cal education by extensive reading and 
 close observation of men and things. He 
 is the owner of an excellent library, in 
 which he takes deep interest, realizing 
 full well that books "arc a substantial 
 world, both pure and good, round which 
 our pastime and our happiness will grow. " 
 
 AW. JOHNSON, successor to 
 Johnson & Havens, is a highly 
 reputable dealer in marble and 
 granite monuments and tomb- 
 stones, his office being at No. 310 Cherry 
 street. Green Bay, Wisconsin. 
 
 He was born in Black Brook, Clinton 
 Co., N. v., in 1854, and is a son of 
 William and Sarah (Delong) Johnson, 
 natives of Essex county, same State. 
 William Johnson was a miller and iron 
 manufacturer at Black Brook, but later 
 moved to Plattsburg, where he was em- 
 ployed by a marble firm. He finally 
 came to Wisconsin, and died at Fort 
 Howard. Brown county, in 1S86: his 
 widow now resides in Beekmantown, N. 
 Y. They were the parents of two chil- 
 dren : Ida, wife of A. Kea, of Beekman- 
 town, and A. W., our subject. The lat- 
 ter was reared, educated and learned 
 marble cutting in Plattsburg, and worked 
 at his trade in Clinton, Essex. Franklin 
 and St. Lawrence counties, N. Y. , and 
 then came to Wisconsin. He began 
 business in Hilbert Junction, Calumet 
 county, in 1876, remaining there until the 
 fall of 1881. when, at Fort Howard, he 
 formed a partnership with Mr. Havens. 
 In 1882 the firm came to Green Bay, 
 
 where they continued in partnership un- 
 til February, 1891, when Mr. Johnson 
 bought out the interest of Mr. Havens, 
 and is now building up a fine trade on his 
 own account, employing, on an average, 
 four men. 
 
 .Mr. |(>hnson was married at Fort 
 Howard, in 18S5, to Miss Anna Klauson, 
 a native of that place, and a daughter of 
 Henry and Mary (Hintz) Klauson, the 
 former a native of Holland, the latter of 
 Germany. They were married in Fort 
 Howard, and became the parents of 
 three children, viz. : Catherine, wife of 
 James Faulkner, of Fort Howard; Henry, 
 a painter by trade, who died in 1879, and 
 Anna (Mrs. Johnson). To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Johnson have been born two children, 
 "Wallace Kea and May Ida. Politically 
 our subject is a Kepublican; socially he is 
 a member of Hilbert Lodge, No. 56, I. O. 
 O. 1'.. and of the A. O. U. W., of Fort 
 Howard. Mrs. Johnson is a de\out mem- 
 ber of St. Patrick's Catholic Church. 
 
 ALEX.\NDER P. SCHMIDT, a 
 prosperous brewer of West De- 
 Pere, is a native of New York 
 State, born in Tonawanila, Erie 
 countv, October 3, 1846, a son of Martin 
 and Mary Ann (Naglej Schmidt. 
 
 Martin Schmidt was born near the 
 city of Sweibrucken, Bavaria, was a shoe- 
 maker, and came to the United States in 
 1832. At Buffalo, N. Y., he met and 
 married Mary Ann Nagle, a native of 
 Tonawanda. whose father, Antony Nagle, 
 was born in .Alsace, but who served in 
 the United States army in the war with 
 Great Britain in 1812 (for which he re- 
 ceives a small pension); he was killed, at 
 the age of ninety-six years, on the 4th of 
 July, 1S76, by a railway train, being deaf 
 and partially blind from old age. 
 
 .Mexander P. Schmidt was educated 
 until eight years of age at the public 
 schools of Tonawanda, when, in 1854, 
 his father moved with his family to Mani- 
 
commkmoha Tin-: liioauM'UicAi. iikcohi). 
 
 towoc. Wis., where our subject completed 
 his I'lhicatinii. The father piinhased a 
 farm near the city of Manitowoc, hut 
 later engaged in mercantile business, and 
 since Cleveland's fust administrati(5n has 
 been postmasti'r at Mlvenio, Wis., and 
 has also served, as a Democrat, on the 
 board of sujiervisors— a portion of tin- 
 time as its chairman. Mrs. Mary Ann 
 Schmidt died in the town ol Manitowoc 
 Rapids in 1S55. (.)n |nne -',4, iSf'q, 
 Alexander V. Schmidt enlisted in the 
 Union army at l^uffalo, N. Y. , and saw 
 active service in tlic department of the 
 Mississippi until September, 1805, wlu'n 
 he was honorably discharged. .Xfter be- 
 ing mustered out he conunenced learning 
 the brewing business at Nhinitowoc, and 
 li\e years later, in partnership with his 
 father, Martin Schnndt, built a brewi-ry 
 at Silver Lake, Wis., where a jtrotitable 
 business wasconducted forsixteen months, 
 at the end of which time our subject 
 mo\ed to Ma/o Nhinie, Dane Co., Wis., 
 and here ke])t a boarding-house and saloon 
 for a year, after which he settled, in May, 
 1874, in De Pere, l^rown county, where 
 he purchased his present site of four lots, 
 erecting a fine residence and brewery and 
 several commodious barns, granaries, etc. 
 Here he turns out about 500 barrels of 
 beer annually, the home trade consuming 
 the entire [iroduct. Mr. Schmidt owns 
 one-half of the bn-wery lands in partner- 
 ship with Pauline Zeller, and also owns a 
 neat farm of ninety-eight acres, of which 
 fifty-eight acres lie within the city limits, 
 fn politics Mr. Scdimidt is a Demo- 
 crat, and has served as alderman of Wt'St 
 De Pere ten or twelve terms at various 
 periods. He is a member of Harrison 
 Post, G. A. K. , at De Pere, is an upright 
 member of the Catholic Church, and en- 
 joys the respect of his fellow citizens. In 
 1872 Mr. Schmidt married Miss Augusta 
 Yasller, a native of Calumet, Fond du Lac 
 Co., Wis., and of Saxon descent. Five 
 children have been born to this union, as 
 follows: Estella C. S., now filling her 
 fourth term as teacher in the high schools 
 
 of De Pere; I^dward A. C, attending 
 the State Cniversity at Madison; Laura, 
 attending the Normal School at Milwau- 
 kee; and M\'rtle and l-iichard, at home. 
 
 DW'll) /IM1).\KS, a respected, 
 sell-made agriculturist of Glen- 
 more township, ISiiiwn count)', 
 was born b'ebruar}' 22. 1840, in 
 ('ierniau\, son nf |oai]nim /iiiidars, who 
 had a famih' of ele\-en children, Da\ id 
 being the sixth in the order ol birth. 
 
 Our subject received a fair edue.ilion 
 at the conmioii schools of his nati\e land, 
 but conunetued to work at an early age, 
 as his parents were only in moderale cir- 
 cumstances. ,\l tlie a,t;e of twenty he 
 entered the army, and sei\cd three years. 
 In 1865 he was mai-ried to Miss Minnie 
 Herkenhagen, who was bt)rn in Germany 
 in i84_', and shortly afterward thi^ young 
 couple went to work lura large farmer. 
 The wages were small, but in four years 
 the}- had managed to saNC enough to 
 bring them to America, and. with their 
 only child, Hulda, they journeyed to 
 Hrcmcn. where they took ])assage on the 
 vessel " F"erdinan<l," lai:ding at (hu'bec, 
 Canada, after a \-oyage of eight weeks. 
 At this point their funds were exhausted, 
 but, receiving money from a brother-in- 
 law in Mil\\ankee to come to that city, 
 Mr. Zimdars took his family thither at 
 once. There they remained for about 
 ten years, during which tinu; he was em- 
 ployed as laborer in the manufactories of 
 the city, and, by economy and thrift, they 
 managed to save a little. In the spring 
 of 1878 they removed to Section 10, 
 Glenmore township. Brown cijunty, where 
 Mr. Zimdars had previously purchased 
 eighty acres of wild land, which had been 
 lumbered over, but was totally unim- 
 proved. He built the first dwelling on 
 the place, and all other improvements 
 thereon have also been made by him, or 
 under his direction; he now has 120 acres, 
 the greater part of which is cleared and 
 under cultivation. Since coming to this 
 
202 
 
 CUMMM-'MUJiATiyj-: HlOUliAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 farm Mr. Zimdars lias iKme a great deal 
 of liard work, for when he first took up 
 his home here the laiul was poor, and af- 
 forded but a scanty support, their jirincipal 
 revenue beinj;' derived from the sale of 
 timber: and his success, in the face of 
 all difficulties, shows what may be ac- 
 complished by industry and honest toil. 
 Though in debt when he landed in the 
 United States, he is to-day one of the 
 well-to-do farmers of his locality. His 
 wife has assisted him nobly in the ac- 
 cumulation of their comfortable property, 
 and they are highly esteemed in the com- 
 munity for their many good qualities; they 
 have a wide circle of friends and acquaint- 
 ances. They are both members of the 
 Lutheran Church. In politics Mr. Zim- 
 dars is a Democrat, but, though interested 
 in the welfare of the party, he is not a 
 strong partisan, in local elections voting 
 for the best man regardless of politics. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Zimdars had but one 
 child, Hulda, who was born in Germany. 
 She was married in Glenmore township. 
 Brown county, to Henr\ Goethe, a native 
 of southern Germany, and one child, 
 \\'illiam, was born to this marriage. Mrs. 
 Goethe died September 23, 1889, in Mil- 
 waukee where she was buried), deeply 
 nunirned b\- her family and friends. 
 
 JCMIN MlKrilV. widely known and 
 respected in Brown county, and es- 
 pecially in Glenmore township, 
 where he is justly recognized as a 
 public-spirited, progressive citi/en, was 
 born .\pril i(>, 1S50, in Koxbury, Massa- 
 chusetts. 
 
 Timothy Murphy, his father, was 
 born in County Cork, Ireland, son of 
 John Murphy, where he received a com- 
 mon-school education, and when a young 
 man, having decided to seek his fortune 
 in the I'nited States, he came to Boston, 
 Mass. In that city he weddeil Ellen Ma- 
 honey, also a native of Ireland, and after 
 their marriage they removed to Koxbury, 
 Mass., where two children — Elnora i^now 
 
 a school-teacher of Stephenson, Mich.), 
 and John lour subject) — were born to 
 them. In the fall of 1850 Mr. Murphy, 
 accompanied by his father and his httle 
 family, migrated westward to \\'isconsin 
 (where a brother had previously located), 
 attracted by the cheap homes to be had. 
 They proceeded to Buffalo, thence to 
 Green Bay, on the steamer "Old Michi- 
 gan," and from there to De Pere, where 
 for a time the family resided. In the 
 same year he purchased 160 acres in 
 Section 23, northwest quarter, Glen- 
 more township, at ten shillings per acre, 
 and immediately commenced the clearing 
 of the land, which was still in its primi- 
 tive condition. He sf>ent some time pre- 
 paring a home for his family, and his 
 route from De Pere to his settlement led 
 through the woods from a point on the 
 Dixon road; no bridges spanned the 
 streams, which had to be forded or crossed 
 by means of some fallen log. The land 
 was heavily timbered, and a space had to 
 be cleared for the log cabin, which stood 
 a short distance southeast of the present 
 residence. Early in 1S52 the family re- 
 moved to their pioneer home, and at that 
 day the township was so wild and so 
 sparsely settled that the few families 
 grouped together near Mr. Murphy's 
 cabin. The farm at first afforded no sup- 
 port whatever to the family, and, but for 
 the few dollars he had managed to save, 
 they would even have wanted the neces- 
 saries of life. Such stock as they had 
 they were in constant danger of losing, 
 for the wild beasts, especially wolves, 
 made frequent visits to the farm. But 
 gradually the wild animals disappeared 
 from the vicinity, the forest was sup- 
 planted by beautiful, smiling farms, a 
 great work indeed, and one which in- 
 volved many years of stern toil. Two 
 more children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Murphy on this farm, Cornelius and 
 Mary, both now of Chicago. Those old 
 pioneers passed from earth in 1887, Mr. 
 Murphy on June 30, when about seventy- 
 three years of age, his wife on March 4, 
 
COMMKMOUA TlVh: II l<)<! I! M'll ICM, llEConi). 
 
 203 
 
 and tlicy imw lie iHirud in Slianl \ ti i\\ n 
 cemetery. They were nienil)ers (li llic 
 Catholic Church. In i)()litics he was a 
 .stanch Democrat, held many ollici'.s of 
 honor and trust in Ins lownshi]), and as- 
 sisted materially in the inqirovemeiit of 
 liis section. 
 
 ]ohn Mnrpliy, (.'Idesl son ol lliis old 
 ])ionei'r, was hut a child ulieii lie came 
 with his ])arents to Glemnore lownship, 
 and here was reared to niaidiood. lie re- 
 ceived his lirst schooling; in District No. 2, 
 under Maurice Casey, and later attended 
 foi aliout a year in District No. 4, Rock- 
 land township. ]hit, hein^tlu; el(k:st son 
 his hel]) was needed on the farm, where 
 he received a tlu)ronf;h tiainin^ to a).;ri- 
 cnlture under his father, and during; his 
 yoim},'er days he also worked at lumher- 
 iui;, an occujjation then \ri\ po])ular 
 amon^' young men. lint with the e.\ce]>- 
 ticjii of |)rohahly a year, he remained at 
 home. On May 13, 1880, Mr. Murphy 
 was married in Dc Pcre to Miss |ohanna 
 Ileffernan, a native of C}lenmoic town- 
 ship, horn I'ehrnary ri, i860, dauf;hter 
 (il |,imes and liridget (Leary) Heffernan, 
 who were natives of thelimerald Isle' and 
 early settlers of Ck'Uinore township. 
 This union has heen hlessed with one 
 child, hdlen !•:., horn April 16, 1881. 
 After his marriage our suhjecl settled on 
 the old homestead, where he has ever 
 since resided, principally ('ngaf^ed in gen- 
 eral farming and stock-raising, having 
 eighty acres ol excellent land, all under 
 cultivation. In his political preferences 
 Mr. Mnr])!iy is a Democrat, and gives 
 that ])arty his unfailing su]iport in State 
 and National elections; but in township 
 and county affairs he selects tlu^ best man 
 vvitliout much regard for jiarty lines. He 
 has been called upon to fill \arious local 
 offices of trust; in 1884 1k' was elected 
 township treasurer, ;ind served continu- 
 ously until 1889; he has been justice of 
 the peace for many years, and in 1894 
 was elected to his present position, chair- 
 man of the township; in every capacity 
 he has proven himself an efficient officer, 
 
 and his ser\ ice has iii\ ai ialil\ hi-en uiai ke<l 
 1)\ a raicfiil. 1 < )iisi lent H mis discharj^e of 
 his diltu'S, which has iie\ci lailed to give 
 satisfaction. llc;.;ives a ready and willing 
 sii|)|)ort to every eiiterpi'is<' ol interest o\ 
 benefit to his lownslni), and his many 
 N'ears ol public service have made him 
 well kiiciwii and i'l lliieiit lal. In religious 
 (■(iniiec t II )ii lu' .mil Ins wile are members 
 ol St. Marx's ( at Imlic ( hnii h, ( ileiimore. 
 
 Pi;i'1';k iianson sc in i.i/, an 
 old settler and pmminenl i itizen 
 of b'ort Howard, lirown county, 
 was born in North Schleswig, 
 Denmark, in I8J.1. Ills parents, |i>han 
 and Christina (llansonj Schult/, were 
 also natives of Denmark, in which country 
 the former (lied, his excellent wife, mother 
 of Peter. c:iiiie to Hrowii cniinty. Wis., 
 and settled m the township of New Den- 
 mark, where she died .ibiiiil 1 8J9, agx^d 
 ninety-three years and liuii iiiDUtlis. She 
 also had two daughters: Christimi. wife 
 of Christian llart/, in Demnaik; and 
 Ur<.d<a (widow of Hans Nelson), now a 
 resident of New I)eniii,iik ti>wiishi|). 
 Brown coiintv- 
 
 The son, I'etei Hanson Schult/, lived 
 in his native country twenty-six years. 
 lie rt'ceived a l;o()iI I'ducation, and in 
 1848 entered the Danish ariiiv, which 
 during that year engageii in its regular 
 drill, and in 1849-50 he saw act i\c ser- 
 vice in a war against the Cjermans. He 
 learned the traders of carpenter, |)lasterer, 
 and cabiiiet-m.iker while yet a resident (jf 
 fJenmark, and found em|)|oyinent in those 
 lines until he concluded to conie to 
 America. In 1852 he set out on tlu' sail- 
 ing vessel " Alter Peter," from ll.imbnrg, 
 landing six weeks later at New York, 
 from which city he proceeded directly to 
 to b'ort Howard, Wis., lindiii}; employ- 
 ment at the carpenter's trade, which he 
 folh^wed for years. In the course of time 
 he acquired considerable |irn|iertv, and 
 now owns three hf)uses besides the one in 
 which he lives. As a Repul)lican he takes 
 
204 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 a lively interest in political affairs, and 
 was for one year a member of the town 
 council. Both he and his wife belong to 
 the Lutheran Church. 
 
 Mr. Schultz was married in 1869, at 
 Fort Howard, to Anna Maria Hanson, 
 daughter of Hans Jorgen and Hannah 
 Marguerita (Hendrickson) Hanson, all 
 natives of Denmark. The family located 
 in New Denmark township in 1868, set- 
 tling on a farm. The senior Hanson died 
 in 1878; his widow, now over eighty-four 
 years of age, yet resides on the old farm. 
 Their children were: l^'redericka, wife of 
 Jens Anderson, of Denmark; Carrie, wife 
 of Jacob Klausen, of New Denmark 
 township; Hans Henry, married and re- 
 siding in the same township; Anna Maria, 
 now Mrs. Schultz; Martha, wife of Hans 
 Rasmussen, of Denmark; Julia, wife of 
 Louie Larsen, of New Denmark, Brown 
 county. When Mr. Schultz first came to 
 Fort Howard, he settled in what was 
 known as Tanktown, working at the 
 carpenter's trade fc^r Schwarz, Kemnitz 
 & \'oight, and at contracting and building. 
 
 SIMON J()Ni:S MURPHY, JR. 
 In the human race there is ever 
 progressive change, and it becomes 
 the part of biography, which is 
 the essence of history, to record and ac- 
 celerate it. It shows us how far we have 
 advanced beyond the past, and it treas- 
 ures up the experience of that past for 
 still further advance in the future. 
 
 Without history we would constantly 
 require to begin the march of improve- 
 ment or progress anew, and society would 
 be moving in a narrow ever-returning 
 circle, instead of in one straight and for- 
 ward line. While this is true of history 
 in general, that of ourselves, our relatives, 
 our people — crystallized into the form of 
 biography, whereby are perpetuated the 
 lives of the fittest — has special, even first, 
 claims upon us; and it becomes a duty to 
 both the i>resent and coming generations 
 
 to include in this biographical work 
 records of the lives of such representati\e 
 men of our time as the gentleman of whom 
 it is our pri\ilege to now write, whose 
 success in business is due to the practical 
 and sensible constitution of his mind, 
 and to the thoroughness of his business 
 training. 
 
 Mr. Murphy is a native of the State 
 of Maine, born March 27, 1851, in the 
 town of Bradley, a granrlson of Charles 
 Murphy, who was born in the Kennebec 
 Valley, in that State, and was a farmer 
 of fair education, possessed withal of 
 strong characteristics. His son, Simon 
 Jones Murphy, Sr. , who is a native of 
 the same locality, born in .\pril. 1S15. 
 was reared bj' his uncle, Cjeorge Jones, a 
 farmer on Jones Hill, remaining under his 
 care till he was eighteen years old. At 
 the age of eighteen he left the farm, going 
 to Bangor, on the Penobscot river, where 
 he became a linnberman, exploring the 
 ri\er and its tributaries for lumbering pur- 
 poses. After making himself acquainted 
 with all the details of the business, he 
 embarked in the industry for his own 
 account, and, by energy, sagacity and 
 prudence, became a successful lumber- 
 man. He was a hard worker, but 
 was endowed by nature with a rug- 
 ged and strong constitution that carried 
 him through many severe hardships. In 
 all his ventures he met with success, and 
 is to-day, in his declining years, a typical 
 representati\e of a New England pioneer 
 lumberman. Soon after getting well 
 started in business he married in the 
 State of Maine, and in 1866 removed to 
 Detroit, Mich., where he has since had 
 his home, although for the past several 
 winters he has li\ed in Los Angeles 
 county, Cal. His wife, .Ann Montgomery, 
 was a daughter of Charles M. Dorr, a 
 citizen of prominence in the East, and 
 she was educated in Boston while living 
 with an aunt. Twelve children were 
 born of this union, of whom but six lived 
 to maturity, as follows: Charles E., 
 Simon J. Jr., Albert M.. William H., 
 
yyy.^ ■" '^ 
 
 ^>t--P^ &--t^ 
 
COMMHMOHA TIVE lUOCRAPIIICAL 1!EC()I!I). 
 
 207 
 
 Anna D., and Frank \i. Of these, 
 Simon J. Jr., the subject projier of tliese 
 lines, recei\eci his primary education in 
 Bangor, Maine, hnishing at tlie high 
 school, Detroit, Mich., after whicli he 
 prepared himself f(jr college, in 1870 
 entering Har\ard Uni\ersit_y, where he 
 graduated in the class of iS/j;, in the 
 Lawrence Scientific School. The object 
 of his ambition at this time appears to 
 ha\'e been railrcjading, and he was 
 promised a jiosition on the Nt)rthern Pa- 
 cific railriiatl, but the financial crash of 
 that year inter\ened, frustrating his in- 
 tentions, and he was fain to enter the 
 employ of his father in the lumber busi- 
 ness. In order to become thoroughly 
 acquainted with all the details from the 
 very commencement, he began at the 
 bottom round of the ladder, driving 
 teams, etc., and doing all other offices of 
 the laboring man, in the end thoroughly 
 mastering the business. There is some- 
 thing to admire in the conduct of the 
 young Harvard graduate working in the 
 ranks, as it were, and receiving no ad- 
 \antage over the common laborer. As 
 soon as practicable, he was put in charge 
 of a camp, and, later, he had control of 
 drivers, in a few years becoming a mana- 
 ger in his father's vast lumber business on 
 the Saginaw river, Michigan. In 1878 
 he became also interested in the White 
 River lumber operations, controlled by 
 his father, and in 1882 the style of the 
 firm became Crepin, Murphy & Sons. In 
 1883, after the election of officers, our 
 subject became one of the directors, and 
 was made president of the White Ri\'er 
 Boom Co., remaining as such until 1885, 
 by which time the timber owned bv his 
 firm had been all cut. 
 
 In February, 1886, Mr. Murphy came 
 to Green Bay, and at once set to work to 
 build a sawmill at the mouth of Fox river, 
 on what was known as the "Whitney 
 slough," which mill is now one of the 
 largest in northern Wisconsin, its ca- 
 pacit}- being twenty-five million feet per 
 annum, running daytime onl\-. In April, 
 
 1886, his brother Frank F. joined him, 
 becoming a partner in the business, and 
 he is a director and secretarx'-treasurer of 
 the Murphy Lumber Co., their fatlici- 
 being president, and their brother Will- 
 iam H. vice-president. b'rom the ver\' 
 coiiiiiiencemeiit thi^ \ast industry has 
 been a pronounced success, gi\'ing em- 
 ployment to some 250 men in the woods 
 and in the mill, the pnuhict of which 
 latter is shipped b_v water and rail to 
 Chicago, Milwaukee and eastern points. 
 
 On October 17, 1877. Mr. Murphy 
 was married to Miss Helena Bogardiis 
 Piatt, a latly of nuich refinement, culture 
 and rare grace in entertaining. She is a 
 daughter of James Piatt, of Boston, an 
 Englishman by birth and education; lici 
 mother Mas a Miss Bogardus, of the old 
 Dutch family of that name in New 'S'ork, 
 who are related to the \'an Rensselaers. 
 To this union were born five children, 
 named as follows: Elsie L., Florence L. , 
 L<jrraine A., Yxonne Dorr, andC. Temple. 
 
 Politicallv Mr. Mnrplu' is a Kepulili- 
 can, and, in 1890 and 1894, he was a 
 candidate on that ticket for memlicr of 
 tiie Assembh' from Democratic Brown 
 count}-, but was defeated by a small ma- 
 jority. Socially he is a member of the 
 F. & A. M., thirty-.second degree, A. A. 
 S. Rite, of TripoliTemple, A. A. O. N. O. 
 M. S., E. C. of Palestine Commandery, 
 No. 20, and Gr. J. W. of the Grand 
 Commandery of the State; he is exalted 
 ruler of Green Bay Lodge, No. 259, B. 
 P. O. E., and is a member of the Order 
 of Hoo-Hoo. He was president of the 
 Business Association of Green I]ay two 
 terms. Since becoming a resident oi the 
 city of his adoption Mr. Murphy has con- 
 spicuously and effectively' contributed to 
 its rapid development, and he is justly 
 honored as one of its most useful, most 
 substantial and most enterprising citizens. 
 
 The valuable lessons, a young and 
 thinking generation can glean from such a 
 sterling character as our subject presents, 
 are briefly these: that natural abilit\- with 
 a good education, cou[iled with tact and 
 
2o8 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 restless energy, are sure roads to success 
 in business, as well as in the social and 
 pf)iitical fields. Only a man of the right 
 material could readily doff the student's 
 gown for the woodman's jacket, and learn 
 the details of a vast business, and in a 
 short time place himself practically at the 
 head of a vast lumbering concern, be- 
 sides finding time to look after the in- 
 terest of his city and watch every op- 
 portunity which might bring a benefit to 
 his town and county; and also to be all 
 that a fond father and husband should be 
 to his family in the home where the inner 
 life, which is the real life of any man, is 
 lised. There in the home circle, where 
 presides with tact and grace a true Amer- 
 ican lady, Mr. Murphy gains much of that 
 good cheer for which he is so well known, 
 and which is so highly appreciated by his 
 numerous friends. 
 
 Mr. Murphy's youth was passed with 
 a keen intelligence and much out-door 
 life that built up a healthy and robust 
 physique, which soon won for him recog- 
 nition and respect at the hands of those 
 with whom he was thrown in contact; 
 thus gradually but surely placing him in 
 an enviable position as a prominent citi- 
 zen and business man. 
 
 He is of sanguine temperament, though 
 cool and deliberate, even when absorbed 
 in the most momentous and intricate 
 business proposition; in fact, he is pos- 
 sessed of what might not improperly be 
 styled a judicial cast of mind, which has en- 
 abled him to conduct and regulate his large 
 business with that perfect order which in- 
 sures success; also to maintain discipline 
 in, and guarantee honest service at the 
 hands of, his small army of employes in 
 the mill or forests, which, through the same 
 potent agency, are kept in perfect accord 
 and under thorough control. 
 
 The casual observer may not always 
 recognize, in his often careless attire and 
 unostentatious mien, the college graduate 
 or polished sympathetic speaker, for as 
 such he is fast beginning to be known in 
 this part of the State, because he is a 
 
 man that hates cant and empty ceremony, 
 and at all times is more than he seems to 
 appear. 
 
 ABl-.L 1). NEWTON (deceased) 
 was, in his lifetime, a conspicuous 
 landmark in the part of the coun- 
 try in which for so many years the 
 cheerful ring of his anvil was heard for 
 miles around. He was a native of North 
 Leverett, Franklin Co. , Mass. , born Sep- 
 tember 2, iSo6, being of the seventh gen- 
 eration from Richard Newton, who came 
 from England to the American Colonies 
 before 1640, the heads of the family from 
 him down to our subject being as follows: 
 Moses, Jonathan, Nathan, Paul, Edward 
 and Abel I). Richard Newton, the im- 
 migrant, located in Sudbury, Mass., and 
 was one of the original proprietors of 
 that town. 
 
 Abel D. Newton, the subject proper 
 of this sketch, was reared by his grand- 
 father, Paul Newton, attending the public 
 schools of his early tiay to the age of 
 fifteen years, at which time he conmienced 
 a six-years' apprenticeship to the trade of 
 blacksmith at Deerfield, Mass., and, at 
 the age of twenty-one, worked at his trade 
 in Ashfield, same State and county. Sub- 
 sequently he took a one-year's course of 
 study at an academy in Ipswich, Mass., 
 at which town he became interested in 
 mission work. He united with the Con- 
 gregational Church of Ashfield in 1828. 
 in 1830 joined the American Board of 
 Home Missions, and same year was sent 
 out to Mackinaw in the capacity of mis- 
 sionarv among the Indians in that region, 
 continuing cheerfully and faithfully in his 
 arduous duties for three or four years; but, 
 his health becoming impaired, he had to 
 abandon mission work. His work was to 
 teach the Indian boys blacksmithing and 
 other trades, reading ami the customs of 
 civilized life. 
 
 On April 29. 1834, Mr. Newton was 
 married, in .\shtield, Mass. (whither he 
 had returntd for the purpose), to Miss 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAl'IIICAL RECORD. 
 
 209 
 
 Betsey Leonard, a native of that town, 
 born December 6, 1 S09, a daughter of 
 Ziba Leonard, of Ashfield, who was of 
 the seventh generation from Solomon 
 Leonard, who came from England to the 
 American Colonies in 1630, locating in 
 Uuxbiiry, Mass., and whose descendants 
 by generations were: Jacob, Joseph, 
 Joseph, Dan, and Ziba. After marriage 
 Mr. and Mrs. Abel D. Newton came to 
 Wisconsin, he having entered into an en- 
 gagement as blacksmith for the American 
 Fur Company, at La Pointe; this was in 
 1834, and for about four years he re- 
 mained in this employ, at the same time 
 giving some attention to missionary work. 
 In October, 1839, he came to Green 
 Bay, about which time he and his family 
 were prostrated with fever and ague, but 
 all recovered. During the ensuing winter 
 he worked at blacksmithing for Daniel 
 Whitney, and in the following summer 
 carried on a blacksmith shop he had built 
 on Adams street, between Croaks and 
 Stuart, so continuing until 1851, the year 
 of his coming to De Pere, where he built 
 him a shop, becoming the leading black- 
 smith of the locality. For edge tools, a 
 branch of the trade at which he was an 
 expert, his services were waited on from 
 far and near, his reputation as an all- 
 round artisan being widely recognized. 
 In De Pere he bought four lots, built a 
 house and lived there until i860. He 
 had, in 1849, bought a farm of 120 acres 
 in Section 33, De Pere township, for 
 which he paid $200 in gold, and hither he 
 moved in i860, having built a log house 
 on his property, which stands a short dis- 
 tance north of his present dwelling, the 
 latter having been erected in 1875. Here 
 Mr. Newton, by unremitting toil and tire- 
 less energy, cleared a fine farm, and passed 
 in peace the rest of his life, dying January 
 7, 1 889, full of years and honor. His re- 
 mains rest in Greenwood cemetery. In 
 Church matters he was an active leader, a 
 ruling elder and a prominent member of 
 the Presbyterian Congregation, of which 
 Mrs. Newton has also been a member for 
 
 si.xty-seven years. Now, in her eighty- 
 sixth year, she is calmly awaiting the 
 summons that shall call her hence, to join 
 those gone before to the Better Land. 
 The children, nine in number, born to this 
 honored couple, were as follows: Mercena 
 L. , widow of Charles T. Dickinson, of 
 St. John's, Ore.; Martha, Mrs. R. F. 
 Wilson, of Portland, Ore.; Edward D., 
 who died on the home farm from disease 
 contracted in the army, he having served 
 three years as a member of Company G, 
 First Wisconsin Cavalry; Zebina Leonard, 
 deceased at the age of three years; James 
 K. , who died in California, June 26, 1892 
 (he had studied abroad, and for sixteen 
 years was professor of modern languages 
 at Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio; dur- 
 ing the Ci\il war he served four years, 
 and W'as second lieutenant in Company ¥ , 
 Fourteenth Wis. V. I.); Samuel, now re- 
 siding in De Pere, who is clerk for Jack- 
 son & Sons (he served one year in Com- 
 pany G, First Wisconsin Cavalry); Er- 
 mina E., married, June 2, 1888, to B. A. 
 Leonard (sketch of whom follows), and 
 living on the home farm in De Pere town- 
 ship; Sarah A., Mrs. I. S. Clifford, of 
 Manston, Wis., and Marion A., who died 
 at the age of twenty-two years. 
 
 BERNARD A, LEON ARD, who is now 
 living on the home farm of the late Abel 
 D. Newton, in De Pere township. Brown 
 county, is a native of Massachusetts, born 
 July 25, 1844, in Southbridge, second son 
 of Manning Leonard, who was of the 
 seventh generation from Solomon Leon- 
 ard, who came from England to the 
 Colonies in 1630, as already recorded in 
 the sketch of Abel D. Newton. He at- 
 tended both common and high school, and 
 when of age began life for himself. In 
 Iosco county, Mich., he bought some land, 
 after a visit to Oconto, Wis., which, ad- 
 vancing in price, he sold, thus furn shing 
 himself with sufficient capital to embark 
 in regular business. For three years he 
 was a successful dealer in hardwood lum- 
 ber in Detroit, and from there moving to 
 Cincinnati, Ohio, became a leading mem- 
 
COMMEMOIiATiyj'J BIOGBAI'llWAL UECORD. 
 
 bcr of tlie (iieeinvood Stove Coinpany, 
 but at the end of three years, his health 
 failing, he returned to Detroit and com- 
 menced the manufacture of carriage 
 wheels, also conducting a dental supply 
 store. His health, however, not improv- 
 ing, Mr. Leonard returned to his native 
 State in order to recuperate, and, after a 
 stay of two years, removed to Jackson, 
 Mich., and here entered the retail grocery 
 and wholesale spice mills of Ford, Dela- 
 mater & Company, then returned to 
 Mas.sachu.setts, where, from 1879 to 1888, 
 he remained. 
 
 Mr. Leonard first married. May 31, 
 1 87 1, Miss Nellie T. Burr. For his sec- 
 ond wife he married, June 2, 1888, Miss 
 Ermina E. Newton, of De Pere, Wis., 
 since when he has lived a retired life on 
 the old Newton homestead. In genealogy 
 he takes great interest, and he has lately 
 taken up a partly completed work (left so 
 by his father) treating on the Leonard 
 family genealogy, to the completion of 
 Avhirh he devotes much of his time. 
 
 D.\N IE L 11. D.WIS, a thriving 
 farmer of Pittsfield township, 
 Hrown county, was born in Par- 
 ishville, St. Lawrence Co., N. 
 \. , .November 24, 1842, a son of Darwin 
 and Emcline (Steel) Davis, who were the 
 parents of four children, vi^. : Alonzo D., 
 deceased at the age of twenty-si,\; Daniel 
 H., our subject; Emeory, now the wife of 
 George lenkins, of \\'rightstown; and 
 William Henry, of Cato, Manitowoc Co., 
 Wis. The family came to Wisconsin in 
 1846, and for five years lived in Wal- 
 worth county; then moved to Manitowoc 
 county, where Darwin Da\is bought eighty 
 acres of hard-timber land, from which he 
 cleared up a farm; in 1858 he sold twenty 
 acres, and in 1869 sold the balance and 
 bought a house and lot in Cato, where he 
 and his wife lived until May 7, 1885, when 
 he died in the Presbyterian faith. His 
 widow passed away at the home of her 
 
 son, Daniel H., December 4, 1894, at the 
 ad\anced age of eighty-two years, se\en 
 months, two days, and was buried at Cato, 
 Manitowoc Co., Wisconsin. 
 
 On August 1 I, 1862, Daniel H. Davis 
 enlisted in Company K, Twenty-first 
 Wis. V. I., and served until December 
 29, when, having been shot through the 
 arm at the battle of Perryville, he was 
 discharged at Louisville, Ky., and re- 
 turned to his home, where he was laid up 
 a year. Early in 1864 he began dri\ing 
 team for S. A. Benjamin, and remained 
 with him four years. In the meantime, 
 November 12, 1865, he married Mrs. Edna 
 M. (\\'ariield) Branch, daughter of John 
 and Caroline (Post) ^^'arfield, and widow 
 of Nelson Branch. Mr. Warfield was a 
 butcher and farmer, and was twice mar- 
 ried; his first wife was Caroline Post, who 
 bore him three children, viz. : Mar)', 
 Edna M. and John M. Mrs. Caroline 
 Warfield died when Edna M. (Mrs. Davis) 
 was but eight j-ears of age, and Mr. War- 
 field married a widow — Caroline Howard 
 — who had b\' her first marriage two 
 children, Spencer and Eli; to her marriage 
 with Mr. Warfield were born four chil- 
 dren, \\z. : Augustus, Caroline, William 
 and Julia. Edna M. Warfield (Mrs. Davis) 
 was first married April 11, 1855, to Nel- 
 son Branch, a school-teacher and specu- 
 lator, to whom she bore one child, Rosa, 
 now Mrs. Frank Hubbard, of Maple \'al- 
 ley, Oconto Co., Wis. Mr. Branch had 
 been married about eight years when he 
 became insane, and died in an asylum. 
 No children have been born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. l)a\is. 
 
 After his marriage, and after leaving 
 the employ of S. A. Benjamin, Mr. Davis 
 came with his wife, in 186S, toMillsCen- 
 ter, Pittsfield township, and for three 
 years kept a boarding house. During this 
 period he bought forty acres of land. He 
 got rid of the standing timber by giving it 
 to charcoal burners for the clearing of it 
 away, built a frame house on the cleared 
 land, and a year later took possession of 
 it and still lives thereon, having been en- 
 
COMJfE.UORA riVK Tl I(k; HM'llICAL HKCOIID. 
 
 21 I 
 
 gatjed in {arming ever since his removal 
 hither. 
 
 In pohtics Mr. Davis is a KepubHcan, 
 and has been school clerk two terms, also 
 justice of the peace six \cars, offices he 
 has filled with great credit tn himself, and 
 to the entire satisfaction of his ri mstituents. 
 
 GEOIx^GE GEURTS, one of the 
 well-knov\'ii farmer citi/ents of 
 Ue Pere township, Brown coun- 
 ts", is a native of Holland, born 
 March 4, 1845, ^o" '-'f Arnold Geurts, 
 who was also a farmer. In the sprint:; of 
 1866 Arnold Geurts came to the Imited 
 States, bringing his family, consisting of 
 five children, all of wht)m are yet living. 
 They sailed form Antwerji, landing in 
 New York after a \'oyage of '"orty-five 
 da3s, and, in three months from the time 
 they leftt heir nati\e land, arrived at their 
 final destination. Brown county, Wis. They 
 first went to Little Chute, where some rela- 
 tives had previously located, and there 
 remained four months, working at an\- 
 thing they could find to do. The family- 
 then came to De Pere township and pur- 
 chased the forty acres where Martin Ver 
 Straten now resides, and which at that 
 time had no improvements whate\-er but 
 a small log house. There the\' made 
 their home for eight or nine years, all 
 working together to clear and improve the 
 land, which at the end of that time was 
 divided. 
 
 In July, 1S72, George Geurts was 
 united in marriage with Miss Harriet Van- 
 der\'oort. who was born February 20, 
 1852, in Holland, daughter of Arnold and 
 Mary (Barten) VanderVoort, who came 
 to the United States in 1856. They made 
 the voyage from Antwerp to New York in 
 thirty-five days, and then proceeded by 
 water to Green Bay, Wis. At that time 
 Arnold Vander\oort was a poor man, and 
 for a while supported his family by work- 
 ing as mason's assistant. He died in De- 
 Pere township in 1871 on the farm now 
 owned by our subject, with whom his 
 
 widow, now aged seventy-two years, \et 
 resides. After marriage Mr. Geurts im- 
 mediately commenced farming on the 
 place he now owns and residi'S upon, and 
 which, at the present time, comprises 114 
 acres of excellent farming land, all taken 
 from the woods. To Mr. and Mrs. Geurts 
 were b<.>rn children as follows: Mary, Ar- 
 nold, Annie, |ohn, Nellie, Delia, and Cor- 
 nelius, all lixing, ;ind four th;it died young. 
 Mr. Geurts has resided on his present 
 farm for o\'er twenty yerrs, during which 
 time, by industry and assiduous toil he 
 has done much toward its im[)ro\'ement 
 and made for himself a comfortable home. 
 He is well known and highly respected 
 in his township, where he is recognized 
 as a th(U'oiigh, hard working agriculturist 
 and a kind-hearted neighbor. In politics 
 he is a Democrat, and, though not an 
 office-seeker, he is at present serving as 
 school treasurer in his district. He and 
 his wife are members of St. Mary's Cath- 
 olic Church at De Pere. 
 
 JOHN CODY, assessor of Fort 
 Howartl, city and township, has 
 held this responsible position for 
 eighteen jears, evidence sufficient 
 in itself of the esteem in which this gentle- 
 man is held by his fellow citizens and of 
 the trust imposed in him. 
 
 Mr. Cody was born in 1820, in Coun- 
 ty Kilkenny, Ireland, in which land of 
 the Shamrock his parents, James and 
 Bridget (McCarlyj Cody, passed their 
 lives. Of their children, Ann died in Ire- 
 land; Alice came to Philadelphia; Michael; 
 a baker by trade, immigrated to Oswe- 
 go, N. Y., removing thence to Ohio. 
 John, who had received an education in 
 the schools f)f the locality of his birth, 
 set out at the age of eighteen years for 
 America, and in Greene county, N. Y., 
 was employed for seven summers at brick 
 making. He was married, in 1841, at 
 Albany, N. Y. , to Miss Catherine Ken- 
 nedy, also a native of Ireland, whence her 
 father came in the early days to New 
 
212 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 York, finally locating at New Orleans, 
 where his death occurred. Eleven chil- 
 dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Cody, of 
 whom eight are living : James Henry, 
 who enlisted in a Massachusetts regiment 
 during the war of the Rebellion, served 
 one }ear, and now resides in tht; Lake 
 Superior region; John Edward and W'ill- 
 iam, both also residents of the Lake 
 Superior country; Maria, married and 
 residing in New York City; Frank, a 
 resident of Ouincy, 111. ; Robert, who has 
 his home in Dubuque, Iowa; R. D., a resi- 
 dent of Winona, Minn. ; and Delia, at home 
 with her parents; Michael, who comes 
 between Maria and Frank, died in i 874. 
 About 1847 Mr. Cody removed to Oswe- 
 go county, N. Y. , where he continued to 
 reside eighteen years, owning a sawmill 
 and I 30 acres of land. He came to Fort 
 Howard in 1865 and settled where he 
 now resides, engaging in sawmilling for 
 the Howard Mill Company, and a portion 
 of the time for the Astor Mill Company; 
 he was also, for a few years, engaged in 
 the grocerj' business. He has always 
 taken an active interest in public affairs, 
 and enjoys the esteem and confidence of 
 all who know him. In politics he is a 
 Democrat, and he and his wife are mem- 
 bers of St. Patrick's Catholic Church. 
 
 JOHN BECHER is one of the indus- 
 trious joung farmer citizens of 
 Preble township. Brown county, a 
 son of Joseph Becher, who was born 
 in Austria, where he followed farming un- 
 til 1854, in which year he came to the 
 United States. In his native country- 
 Joseph Becher had married Anna Rosena 
 Fisher, and four children were born to 
 them in luirope, Annie, who is now Mrs. 
 Leopold Kelner, of New Denmark town- 
 ship, Brown county, being the only sur- 
 vivor. The others were: Theresa, died in 
 Europe; Matilda, died on the ocean and 
 there buried; Karl, died in New York and 
 buried there. On their arrival in America 
 the Becher family came at once to Wis- 
 
 consin, making their first location at 
 Waukesha, then in Manitowoc county, 
 and later in Brown county, settling on a 
 farm in New Denmark township, near the 
 eastern township line. The country was 
 new, and they endured many hardships and 
 ]iri\ations in the clearing and cultivj.ting 
 of the land; but being diligent and perse- 
 vering Mr. Becher succeeded in convert- 
 ing it into a fertile, productive farm. In 
 1870 he removed to Pine Grove in De- 
 Pere township, where he peacefully passed 
 the remainder of his days, dying Novem- 
 ber 18, 1882, a respected member of his 
 comnnmity. He was a Democrat in poli- 
 tics, and in religion a member of the 
 Catholic Church. Since his decease his 
 widow has made her home with her son, 
 John. Her husband was enrolled during 
 the Civil war, October 4, 1864. in Com- 
 pany D, Seventeenth Wis. V. I., for one 
 year's service, and was discharged July 
 14, 1865. at Madison, Wis. On Febru- 
 ary 12, 1 89 1, she received $2,200 pension 
 as back pay for her husband, and twelve 
 dollars per month up to date, which 
 latter she receives as pension as long as 
 she remains a widow. The children born 
 to her in America, besides our subject 
 were: Frank, born in Manitowoc county. 
 Wis., in 1857, died in Duluth, Minn., 
 November 18, 1892; Lizzie, born, also in 
 Manitowoc county, in i860, married to 
 Zachary Goffard, and living in the city of 
 De Pere; Mary, born in New Denmark, 
 Brown Co., Wis., in May, 1862, now a 
 Sister of Charity; and Clara, born also 
 in New Denmark, in May, 1867, married 
 to Samuel Boggs, and living in Preble 
 township. 
 
 John Becher first saw the light Febru- 
 ary 27, 1864, on the farm of his parents 
 in New Denmark township. He received 
 his education in the common schools of 
 his time, and remained on the home farm 
 until he reached the age of fifteen. From 
 that time until 1884 he engaged in vari- 
 ous pursuits, working a year and a half 
 for the Van Dycke Brewing Co., nine 
 months for the Menominee Brewing Co., 
 
COMMEMoRAriVK BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 three winters for Ramsey & Jones in the 
 lumber woods, etc. , and part of the time 
 with his parents at home. In 1884 he 
 opened out a saloon and dance hall in 
 Preble, conductinj; the business for his 
 mother until 1889, when he purchased it for 
 himself, and continued as proprietor until 
 May, 1894, when he sold it back to his 
 mother. He then removed to his present 
 beautiful home in Preble, near the Belle- 
 vue township line, the location being one of 
 the most delightful in the vicinity; the resi- 
 dence is situated on a knoll. Here he 
 owns a small tract of excellent land, to 
 the cultivation of which he now devotes 
 himself; also owns one dwelling house in 
 Fort Howard, one dwelling house in the 
 city of Green Bay, which he has to rent 
 out; also forty acres of timber and farm 
 land in Glenmore township. Brown 
 county. Mr. Becher is everywhere known 
 as a hard-working young man, and, being 
 possessed of good common sense and 
 sound judgment, he has made his busi- 
 ness a success. He has a wide acquaint- 
 ance in his township, in which he is at 
 present serving as supervisor and member 
 of the board of health, having been 
 elected to the latter office in 1893. In 
 his political preferences he is a Democrat. 
 On February 7, 1889, Mr. Becher 
 was married to Miss Thersa Matcke, who 
 was born in De Pere, Wis. , daughter of 
 Frederick Matcke, a native of Germany, 
 and to this marriage have come three chil- 
 dren, namely: Frederick J., born Octo- 
 ber 10, 1890; Joseph W., born October 
 26, 1 891; and John Frank, born October 
 6, 1894. Mr. and Mrs. Becher are mem- 
 bers of the Cathedral Catholic Church at 
 Green Bay. 
 
 JOHN WALLACE ARNDT (origin- 
 ally John B. Wallace Arndt), of De- 
 Pere,Wis., was, born September 15, 
 1815, at Wilkes-Barre, Penn., son 
 of John P. and Elizabeth (Carpenter) 
 Arndt. 
 
 The family is a very old one in this 
 
 country, the first to reach here having 
 been John Philip and Ernest Arndt, who 
 had lived on a farm at Frankfort-on-the- 
 Main, Germany, until about 1684, when, 
 being ta.xed beyond endurance, the}', with 
 man}' friends, sold their property, came 
 to America, and bought land of William 
 Penn on the Delaware river. John, the 
 elder of the two brothers above men- 
 tioned, was the ancestor of our subject. 
 He erected his dwelling one nule above 
 Durham Cove, and this he and his de- 
 scendants occupied until 1700, when the 
 grandfather of John W. sold out and 
 uioved to Easton, Penn., taking with him 
 a son, J. P. Arndt. The latter married 
 Elizabeth Carpenter, whose ancestors 
 came over in the same ship with the 
 Arndts, and to this union was born the 
 subject of this sketch and several other 
 children. J. P. Arndt met with consider- 
 able losses at Wilkes-Barre, Penn., dur- 
 ing the war of 1812, and in 1818 he con- 
 cluded to "go west," and after a horse- 
 back tour as far as Michigan and Illinois, 
 selected Buffalo, N. Y., as his future 
 home. In the fall of 18 19, therefore, 
 with his wife and four chidren and such 
 household goods as could be transported 
 in three wagons, he migrated to that 
 city and there engaged in the fish and fur 
 trade with the settlements on the great 
 lakes until 1822, when he changed his 
 headquarters to Mackinac, Mich., and, in 
 1824, to Green Bay, Wis. — a distance of 
 200 miles, which was made in a sailing 
 vessel in a tempestuous voyage of two 
 weeks' duration. John W. was then a 
 lad of nine years, but he still vividly re- 
 members the hardships of this voyage and 
 the loss of a part of the cargo. 
 
 The life of John P. Arndt was an act- 
 ive and successful one, and he filled many 
 public offices — among others that of mem- 
 ber of the Territorial Legislature several 
 times. He died June 10, 1861, in his 
 eighty-first year, just one year after the 
 death of his wife. His eldest son, Alex- 
 ander Hamilton, died at Point Isabel dur- 
 ing the Mexican war; his second son, 
 
214 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Charles C. P., a f;radiiate i)f Rutgers Col- 
 lege, and an attorne)' by profession, was 
 elected to the Territorial Senate of Wis- 
 consin in 1840, and was shot and killed 
 in the Senate Chamber in 1841 by James 
 R. \'inyard. The eldest daughter, Mary 
 Arndt, was married to Capt. J. W. 
 Cotton, of the United States army; Eli;?a- 
 beth, the other daughter, was married to 
 H. E. Eastman, an attorney and coU^nel 
 of cavalry in the Civil war. 
 
 J. Wallace Arndt, at the age of nine- 
 teen, had received but little schooling, but 
 in 1834 he entered the academy of Rev. 
 Dr. John \andavers at Easton. Penn., 
 studied two years, then entered Vale Col- 
 lege, where he remained until 1839, after 
 which he taught school one year. He 
 then read law a year with his brother; but 
 on the death of the latter dropped this 
 study and assisted his father in the lum- 
 ber business until 1S56. later working in 
 the gold mines of C()lora<lo, and also at 
 the oil wells of Pennsylvania. Mr. .-\rndt 
 was united in marriage, September 25, 
 1842, with Miss Mary C. Wilcox, who 
 was his affectionate companion and faith- 
 ful helpmeet tmtil her death from pneu- 
 monia, Ajiril 13, 1891. She was a 
 daughter of Randall Wilco.x. for many 
 years a member of the Wisconsin State 
 Legislature. Randall Wilcox was born 
 at Lee, Mass., was of English descent, 
 and settled in De Pere in 1S36. He here 
 became president of the De Pere Hy- 
 draulic Co., ha\ing had much previous 
 experience in hydraulics as a builder of 
 many bridges and dams in Pennsylvania 
 and Maryland. The mother of Mrs. Arndt 
 bore the maiden name of Lydia Eield; her 
 ancestors were early settlers near Pom- 
 fret, Conn., and their old home is still 
 known as Field's Point, where a branch 
 of the family still lives. The children 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Arndt were as fol- 
 lows: lulward W. , born February 8, 
 1845, a resident of Superior, Wis.; Elcey 
 M., born November 27, 1846, who mar- 
 ried Charles A. Lawton September 5, 
 1866; Emily, born March 26, 1848, mar- 
 
 rieil to Peter S. Loy September 7, 1869; 
 Mary, born November 28, 1849, and mar- 
 ried to James R. Shepard; Lizzie V., 
 born June 17, 1851, died October 24, 
 1870; Alice, born May 8, 1854, married 
 to Thomas D. Bowring; Randall, born 
 March 9, 1855, married to Annie C. Ash, 
 September 26, 1878; Lydia, born Sept- 
 ember 13, 1857, died November 7, 1879, 
 and Martha .Ann, born May 20, 1859, 
 married to John F. Byers August 2, 1882. 
 John Wallace Arndt has been actively 
 identified with the business interests and 
 public impro\ements of De Pere nearly 
 all his life, and the interests of the entire 
 territory comprising Brown county have 
 received his close attention. He has 
 given his aid to every enterprise that 
 could in any way benefit the people at 
 large, especially toward promoting the 
 incoming and outgoing of railroads and 
 their construction throughout the county 
 as connecting links for traffic between 
 local ami distant points of trade. Fra- 
 ternally he is a Freemason; politically a 
 Republican, and in religious belief a Prot- 
 estant. Sociallx' he and his family stand 
 as hiLrh as an\- in the county or State. 
 
 J.\Mi;S PALMER WETER, dentist. 
 lit De Pere, is a native of Floyd, 
 Oneida Co., N. Y., and was born 
 May 2, 1844. His parents were 
 Mahlon Palmer Weter and Jane G. (Pal- 
 mer) Weter, of whom the latter died 
 when our subject was but a year old. 
 The father again married, and in 1846 
 came with his family to Wisconsin, lo- 
 cating in Linn township, Walworth coun- 
 t\-, and he now resides in Sharon township, 
 in the same county. 
 
 lames P. Weter resided with his father 
 in Walworth county until just past eight- 
 een years of age, when he enlisted, in 
 .August, 1862, in Company C, Twenty- 
 second Wis. V. I., and served in Ken- 
 tucky until June, 1863. when he was hon- 
 orably discharged on account of having 
 contracted typhoid pneumonia, by which 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 2'5 
 
 he was iiualiilcd lor two years after his 
 return hoiiu'. When sufficiently recov- 
 ered, he attended a iiri\ate seminary at 
 Hebron, 111., lor six months, and next an 
 academy of sciences at IChnira, N. \.. 
 for a }'ear, and tiiis training;- was supple- 
 mented with a course in a ciunmercial 
 collcf^e, followed 1)\' a six-months' study 
 of the law in the office of Smith, 1-Jolnrt- 
 son cS; h'asset, IClmira; hut his health 
 proved to he too frail fcu'the continuance 
 of till' latter, and In therelore became a 
 stu<lent ot dentistiy in the otiice of Dr. 
 K. C". Terrs, of l-Lluura, \. "W, with 
 whom he remained for two years, later 
 forming a |)artiu'rship lor one \ear with 
 Dr. IC. (). J->eers, of the same cit\-. In 
 the spring of 1S70 he manied Miss Sarah 
 A. Nichols, of Windsor, ] ierkshire Co. , 
 Mass. ,and immediate l\ located in Sharon, 
 Wis., when' he practiced his profession 
 until I '^74, wluMi he came to l)c Pere, 
 and has here built iij) a line professional 
 reputation. In iS,Si) he took a post- 
 graduate course in the College of Dental 
 Surgery at Chicago, 111., thus ad<ling 
 largely to his already extensixc knowledge 
 of his art. 
 
 In politico the Doctor is a stanch Pro- 
 hibitionist, and has ser\ed the cit}' of I)e- 
 Pere three times ,is alderman in a most 
 satisfactor)' maimer once b\ ap]ioint- 
 ment to \acanc\' and twice b\ election. 
 He has also taki'ii a most acti\e interest 
 in educational matters, and has served as 
 secretary to the West De l^ere board of 
 of education lor ten \ears. In the sum- 
 mer of 1870 he was appointed United 
 States marshal for taking census statis- 
 tics. He is a member of tlie G. A. K., 
 of the Temple of Homir, and of the I. O. 
 O. F. In religion he isade\-oiil member 
 of the M. E. Church, having joined that 
 denomination in 1867. He has taken an 
 active interest in church work, has served 
 as superinteiulent of Sinulay-school for 
 the past twenty-four years consecutively, 
 and has also tilled the positions of stew- 
 ard, trustee and treasurer, as well as 
 minor offices. 
 
 On the Doctor's start in life his father 
 ga\e him one thousand dollars; hut, 
 meeting with an accident, he was laid u]) 
 so long with an abscess, fever and other 
 ills, that his funds were I'xhausted, so 
 that he was compelled to work his way 
 up to an education, and w .is \irtuall\- livt; 
 hundred dollars in debt when he began 
 practice. Since his residence in De Pere, 
 however, he has paid off all his indebted- 
 ness, and has accumulateil a comfortat)le 
 property. The children born to his mar- 
 riage were three 111 muiilier, nanu'ly: 
 Mary ()., who died in |aniiar\, i,S88;. 
 Winifred .\., now attiiiding Lawrence 
 Uni\ersit)' at .Apjijetoii, Wis.; [anies P.,, 
 jr., a student in the Sl.ite rni\ersit\- at 
 Madison, Wis. The Weters are descended 
 from one ol the very early settled families 
 of the United Stat(.s, and on the paternal 
 side are ol imdoiibted (leinian origin, 
 while on the maternal side thev .are of 
 Hi ill.ind descent. 
 
 EDMUND I'. LIh;H.\l.\NN. a well- 
 known pros))eroiis young larmer, 
 t>l Preble township, Brown county, 
 is the eldest son of Louis and 
 C"hristina ( Ojistfelder) Liebmann, both of 
 whom are natives of Cermaiiv. 
 
 Louis Liebmann was boi n Mav 29, 
 iSj8, aiul was reared in his native coun- 
 try, receiving ;i common-school education. 
 In 1853 he Set out with his parents for 
 the United States, landing, altcT a vovage 
 of several weeks, in New "N'(uk, and thence 
 proceeding westwanl, their destination 
 being Green Hay, Wis., where a brother 
 of Louis, Prank Liebmann, had located 
 two v'ears previously. They made their 
 home in Brown county, aiul, some time 
 later, Louis, his father and brother, P'rank, 
 commenced the fishing business at Wash- 
 ington Harbor, Door Co., Wis., in which 
 the\' prospered. In 1 8(io Louis Liebmann 
 removed with his parents to the f.arm 
 where he passed the remainder of his life 
 (the same on which our subject now re- 
 sides). On June 26, 1861, he was united 
 
2l6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in marriage with Miss Christina Opstfelder, 
 and they had three children, viz.: Edmund 
 F., subject of sketch; Ida, now Mrs. 
 August Fontain, of Humboldt township; 
 and Emma, Mrs. Louis Uudeau, of Merrill, 
 Wis. His widow now makes her home 
 with her son, Edmund F. 
 
 The land was entirely new at the time 
 of Louis' location, and had to be cleared, 
 but his was an energetic nature, and, going 
 to work with characteristic (lerman in- 
 dustry, he soon transformed the forest 
 into a productive farm. At the time of 
 his death he was in comfortable circum- 
 stances, the result of years of stern labor 
 and strict economy. A quiet, unassuming 
 man, he was universally respected. Po- 
 litically he was a Republican, but took 
 little or no interest in party affairs, and in 
 church connection he was a Lutheran. 
 He died on the farm February 5, 1886, 
 and now lies buried in Woodlawn ceme- 
 tery. Green Bay. 
 
 Our subject was born October 11, 
 1862, in Preble township. Brown county, 
 on the farm where he yet resides, re- 
 ceived in his youth a common-school edu- 
 cation, and has followed farming all his 
 life. On May 10, 1887, he was united in 
 marriage with Miss Elizabeth I^archied, 
 who was born July 29, 1868, in Preble 
 township, daughter of Anton and Ger- 
 trude (Bastcn) Larchied, and to this union 
 have come two children, Christina E. and 
 Julia L. In his political preferences Mr. 
 Liebmann is a Republican, and in 1890 
 he was elected township overseer. He is 
 a systematic agriculturist, and, possessing 
 the industry so characteristic of the fam- 
 ily, has a prosperous career before him. 
 
 WM. WORKMAN, the well-known 
 and popular druggist, of West 
 De Pere, was born in Ripon, 
 Wis., December 13, 1850, and 
 is a son of William and Margaret ("Miller) 
 Workman. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the city 
 schools, also at Brockway College, Ripon, 
 
 and was also highly trained in vocal and 
 instrumental music. At the age of 
 twent}' he was proficient on many instru- 
 ments, including nearly all the pieces 
 used in a brass band. Although troubled 
 with pulmonary ailments, he accepted a 
 lucrative position with the Blakely Con- 
 cert and Oratorio Compaii}', as tenor 
 singer, and, later, made an engagement 
 with the Harry Robinson Minstrel Com- 
 pany, also as tenor singer, traveling with 
 the same for about four jears. His 
 versatility as a musician was so great that 
 he could at any time be relied on to take 
 the place and instrument of almost any 
 member of the compan\' who might be 
 absent from a performance on account of 
 illness or for other cause. Mr. Work- 
 man was also a most excellent book- 
 keeper, and, when he came to De Pere, 
 April 4, 1S74, was employed in that 
 capacity by the De Pere Car Works, of 
 which his father was superintendent, but, 
 at the end of the year the business was 
 discontinued, and he then became book- 
 keeper for the Menomonee Furnace Com- 
 pany, at Menomonee, with which he re- 
 mained until 1877, when he accepted a 
 position with the De Pere Agricultural 
 Works, contracting to do all its painting 
 for a year. He then became bookkeeper 
 for the same company, then its secretary, 
 filling the latter position until Fcbruar)' 
 24, 1885, when he resigned and engaged 
 in breeding trotting horses on a farm six 
 and a half miles south of Ripon, in part- 
 nership with D. Thomas. Among the 
 trotters here bred, one, "Barney F. ," 
 made a record of 2:29.^ when five years 
 old. Mr. Workman also brought to 
 Brown county, " Achilles, " No. 2535 in 
 Wallace's Trotting Register — the first 
 registered, trottiiig-bred stallion brought 
 to the count)-. At Ripon, in 1892-93, 
 Mr. Workman was secretary of the 
 Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Com- 
 pany, which company carried risks aver- 
 aging $1,500,000 annually. In 1893 he 
 settled in West De Pere, and, on Novem- 
 ber I , began his present drug business. 
 
COMMEMOHATIVK BIOGRAPIHCAL RECORD. 
 
 317 
 
 He carries a full line of dru^s, paints, oils, 
 wall paper, stationery, etc. , and is doinj^ 
 a thriving business. Mr. Workman is a 
 member of the Masonic Lodge at De- 
 Pere, in which he has passed all the sub- 
 ordinate chairs, and has served as wor- 
 shipful master; he has also filled the 
 position of chief templar of the Temple of 
 Honor at De Pere, and for eight years, 
 all told, was a member of the West De- 
 Pere fire department, serving four years 
 as chief. 
 
 Mr. Workman was married October 
 24, 1878, to Harriet S. Stewart, who has 
 borne him four children, viz.: Jean (de- 
 ceased), William Stewart (deceased). Dean 
 and Nannie. Mr. Workman and family 
 stand very high socially, and he is looked 
 upon as one of the most enterprising and 
 substantial residents of West De Pere. 
 
 AUGUST GREILING, a respected, 
 self-made farmer of Preble town- 
 ship, Brown count}', is a native of 
 the Fatherland, born August 5, 
 1836, son of Nicholas Greiling, a stone- 
 mason, who had three children : Fred- 
 erick, who died in Germany; Caroline, 
 yet residing in her native land; and 
 August. 
 
 Our subject received his education in 
 the common schools of the time, attend- 
 ing until his fourteenth year. He learned 
 the cabinet-maker's trade, serving an ap- 
 prenticeship of three and a half years at 
 same, after which according to the rules 
 of that time, he traveled for three years, 
 then followed the business on his own 
 account, later employing three or four 
 men. On August 23, 1864, he married 
 Miss Amelia C. Overlander, who was 
 born September 21, 1840, in Germany, 
 si.\ miles from the birthplace of her hus- 
 band, daughter of Christopher Over- 
 lander, an ironworker employed at the 
 furnaces there. Two children were born 
 to this marriage in Germany, namely: 
 Hugo H. and Louis L. , both of whom 
 are now farmers in Preble township. Mr. 
 
 Greiling managed to save some monej' 
 from his hard-earned wages, and in 1866 
 concluded to trj' his fortune in America. 
 Accordingly, on October 13, that year, 
 he and his family sailed from Hamburg 
 on the steamer " Allmonia," of the Ham- 
 burg-American line, bound for New York, 
 where they landed after a voyage of fif- 
 teen days. Having friends in Green Bay, 
 Wis., they proceeded thither at once, 
 traveling by rail via Chicago, and arriving 
 November 13. Mr. Greiling secured 
 work with Bender & Phal, furniture 
 manufacturers, of Green Bay, remaining 
 with them one year, and then remaining 
 another year and a half with Mrs. Phal, 
 who continued the business after Mr. 
 Bender's death. By strict economy dur- 
 ing this time he had saved a hundred dol- 
 lars, which in part paid for the forty acres he 
 had purchased in Section 33, Preble town- 
 ship, the present homestead, where he buiit 
 a small house and took up his residence 
 thereon in April, 1868. Here for a year 
 he continued to follow his trade, making 
 furniture and hauling it to town for Anton 
 Burkhard, and then abandoned cabinet 
 making, and for twelve to fifteen years 
 engaged in contracting at various places 
 in the township, building houses, barns, 
 etc., and doing anything else in that line. 
 He has never discontinued carpentry alto- 
 gether, and still does odd jobs for others 
 besides such work as he requires for him- 
 self. When he first settled on the farm 
 it was covered with timber and brush, 
 and the task of clearing was an arduous 
 one; but he has succeeded by industry in 
 converting it into a fertile, productive 
 tract, and has also added another forty 
 acres, now having a well-improved farm 
 of eighty acres. Mrs. Greiling, by her 
 economical management has been no 
 small factor in her husband's success, and 
 the children have also assisted faithfully. 
 Much credit is due her for bringing up 
 and caring for so large a family as was 
 their's, of whom she takes, in her later 
 days, so much pride. 
 
 In this country Mr. and Mrs. Greiling 
 
2lS 
 
 C0MMi:M(inA TIVI-: niodUAPmcAi. hecorb. 
 
 have had the following; children born to 
 them: Charles and Herman, contrac- 
 tors, now the firm of Greiiiiig Bros., 
 in Green Bay; Fred C, Frank, Caroline, 
 Albert L. and Henry, all living at home; 
 John, deceased in infancy; and Emma, at 
 home. Mr. Greiling and his sons are 
 stanch Kepnblicans, and, though not by 
 any means an active partisan, he is an 
 ardent supporter of the principles of his 
 party, and is a strong advocate of protec- 
 tive tariff. His friends credit him with 
 being a strong adxocate of moreliberal edu- 
 cational facilities and stringent laws go\- 
 erning same. Mr. Greiling has won the 
 respect of his fellow citizens for his fair 
 dealings and honest methods; aiid is self- 
 made in the full sense of the term, ha\ing, 
 from a start of nothing, accumulated the 
 comfortable property he now enjoys and 
 richly deserves. At present he is enjoy- 
 ing his daily papers. 
 
 FKi;i) M.V'IZKI-:, an upright, ener- 
 getic citizen and farmer of De- 
 Pere township, is a nati\e of the 
 village of Gross-Pogul. W'ohlau, 
 Prussia, born March 2, 1826, son of 
 Anton Matzkc, a farmer in ordinary cir- 
 cumstances, who died when his son Fred 
 was si.\ years of age, leaving six children, 
 four sons and two daughters. 
 
 Fred Matzke received his education in 
 the common schools of his native place, 
 attending until he was fourteen years of 
 age. When sixteen years old he hired 
 out as a farm hand, and thereafter worked 
 as a farmer and shepherd. In 1S55 he 
 married Mary Herda, a native of the vil- 
 lage of Gleinau, Wohlau, Prussia, and 
 shortly afterward he and his young wife 
 emigrated to the United States, sailiTig 
 from Bremen to Quebec, where the\' 
 landed after a voyage of seven weeks. 
 From Quebec they came to Green Bay 
 Wis., and here resided a short time, Mr. 
 Matzke also working in sawmills at 
 Oconto, his wife remaining in Green Baj'. 
 Subsequently, having a let in Green Bay, 
 
 he traded half of it for a farm of thirteen 
 acres in 13ellevue township. Brown county, 
 and forty-five dollars in cash; the other 
 half of the lot he sold for $250. On 
 this farm in Bellevue township the family 
 resided in a log house, Mr. Matzke labor- 
 ing in the harvest fields for others, and at 
 first they endured many hardships. The 
 land was uncleared,- and Mr. Matzke 
 chopped wood on the farm at six shillings 
 a cord. On March 1, 1864, he rented a 
 farm (if eighty acres of cultivated land one 
 mile from his own farm in Bellevue town- 
 ship, and here worked hard and indus- 
 triously, doing well. On October 7, 1864, 
 while on his wwy to visit his brother-in- 
 law in Minnesota, he enlisted at LaCrosse, 
 Wis., in Company D, F(jrty-fourth Wis. 
 W I., and was sent to Nashville, where, 
 under Gen. George H. Thomas (who was 
 his commander during his entire service), 
 he participated in his first active engage- 
 ment, a three-days' battle. He served 
 until the close of the war, and on August 
 28, 1865, was honorably discharged at 
 Paducah, Ky., immediatel\' returning to 
 his home in Bnnvn countj'. Wis. In the 
 meantime, during his absence, his wife 
 sold all the ]iersonal property and grain, 
 and moved liack to their own log house in 
 Bellevue township, where she remained 
 with her five children; and to add to the 
 general unpleasantness of the situation 
 the family were considerably annoyed by 
 thieving Indians in the neighborhood. Mr. 
 Matzke takes this opportunity to return 
 many thanks to the good neighbors who- 
 assisted his wife during his absence in 
 the war. 
 
 In the fall of 1865 he purchased eighty 
 acres of partly improved timber land in 
 De Pere township, going into debt for 
 same to the extent of seven hundred dol- 
 lars, and here he has ever since made his 
 home. To our subject and wife have 
 been born children as follows : August 
 and Mathias, farmers of Glenmore town- 
 ship; Annie, now Mrs. X'ictor Fonder, of 
 Glenwood Springs, Colo. ; Mary, now 
 Mrs. Albert Kadke, of Milwaukee, Wis. ; 
 
COMMEMon.X Tl \'K niOUHAPIIlrAI. llECOltl). 
 
 Rosa, Mrs. Joseph Raster, of Dc Pere 
 township; Paul, a fariiifr, of W'rif^hts- 
 tovvn. Wis. ; Theresa, Mrs. John Beclier, 
 of Preble; Sylvester, residing; in Millhank, 
 S. Dak. ; and Elizabeth and Philip, at 
 home. In politics Mr. Matzkc was 
 originally a Democrat, but he is now in- 
 dependent, voting as his conscience and 
 judgment dictate; he has ser\ed nine 
 N'ears as supervisor of De Pere t(.)\\nship, 
 and school treasurer fourteen }ears; the 
 first school building ever erected in his 
 district he bought, and is now using as 
 his granary on the farm. He and his 
 wife are niemliers of tlu' St. Marx's 
 Catholic Church of De Pere. Mr. Matzke 
 has been one of the most industrious men 
 in his township, and his noble wife has 
 also done her share of work in the rearing 
 of their large family and the careful 
 management of the household. He is 
 straightforward and honest in all iiis 
 dealings, and has won the respect of the 
 commnnit)' by his fair methods and sterl- 
 ing worth. Thougli he was !iot wounded 
 during his service in the Civil war, his 
 general health was seriously impaired, 
 and he has ne\er been a robust man since 
 before the three-days' battle referred to 
 above, when he was taken sick. During 
 that fight he was so unwell that he had 
 to lie down on the wet ground in the 
 rain, which increased his illness. When 
 he and his faithful wife hrst arrived in 
 Green Ba\' about forty years ago, he had 
 only about $150 in cash, and ever\thing 
 the}' now possess has l)een accumulated 
 by honest industry and judicious econ- 
 omy. As good Christian people the\' are 
 deservedl\- honored and respected by the 
 entire community. 
 
 TIMOTHY I^VAN (deceased), who 
 was known during his lifetime as 
 an industrious farmer, was a na- 
 tive of County Tipperary, Ire- 
 land, where he grew to manhood. Timo- 
 thy was but a young boy when his father 
 
 died, and consequently he was obliged to 
 commence work when still \ery young. 
 
 In L-arly manhood, having saved 
 en(}ni.;h to brmg him to America, Mr. 
 Ryan emigrati'ci from his nati\e countr}', 
 to try his fortune in the New World, 
 locating lirst in New York State. In 
 Cooperstown, N. Y., he x\'as united in 
 marriage to Miss Bridget Ryan, who was 
 born in County Limerick, Ireland, daugh- 
 ter of Timothy Ryan, and came to the 
 United States in her girlhood. After 
 their marriage the young couple concluded 
 to go west where work was plenty and 
 land was chea]), and, coming to Wiscon- 
 sin, spent the hrst winter in CTreen Bay, 
 Mr. Ryan finding employment in the 
 lumber woods. The following spring he 
 purchased a totalK* unimprox'ed tract of 
 land in Rocklanil township, 15rown count}', 
 and while waiting for their dwelling to 
 be built they lived at the home of An- 
 thon\- Dw}er. The surrounding country 
 was all new and ver}' wild, liut Mr. Ryan 
 bravely set about the task of clearing 
 away the forest; and being a tiiligent 
 worker and anxious to make a comfort- 
 able home for himself and family, he soon 
 had a fine farm. He died on this place 
 Ajiril 12, 1.S74. and was buried in De- 
 Pere cemetery. In politics he was a stanch 
 Democrat. During the Civil war he was 
 a soldier in the Union army, and he never 
 fully recovered from the hardships en- 
 dured in the service. He left a family of 
 eight children fthe eldest then but sixteen 
 years of age), viz.: Nora, now a resi- 
 dent of Chicago; Joanna, Mrs. John 
 Underwood; Patrick, of Ashland, Wis., 
 Timothy, on the home farm; Mary, Mrs. 
 Fred Bettinger; Simon, a lumberman; 
 and Morris and Katy, at home. At the 
 time of the father's death the home had 
 not been fully paid for, and a portion of 
 the land was allowed to go to pay the 
 balance. Mrs. Ryan has since managed 
 the affairs of the place with ability and 
 success, and has been faithfully assisted 
 by her children. The agricultural work 
 is now attended to by the son Timothy, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and the farm yields a comfortable sup- 
 port to the family, being a fertile, well- 
 cultivated piece of land. Mrs. Ryan has 
 seen her home transformed from the 
 dense forest, taking no small part in this 
 work herself. She is a member of St. 
 Francis Catholic Church, De Pere, and 
 is highly respected in the community 
 where he has resided for so many years. 
 
 JOHN !•. W ATERMOLEN, attor- 
 ney at law in his native city of 
 Green Bay, was born in 1862, and 
 for three years has been actively en- 
 gaged in the practice of his jirofession, at 
 first under the tirm name of W'atermolen 
 & Wavrunek. His parents were natives 
 of Belgium, and in 1857 came to America, 
 settling in Bellevue township, Brown Co., 
 Wis., where the father engaged in farm- 
 ing, and where he and his wife still re- 
 side. Of their eight children, seven are 
 still living, viz.: Joseph P., William, 
 Henrv, Mary, Philiji, John p., and 
 John B. 
 
 J. P. Watcrmolen was reared and ed- 
 ucated in the township of Bellevue until 
 the age of twenty-three, and then at- 
 tended the business college managed by 
 Murch & Hills, at Green Bay; he next 
 taught in the district schools of Brown 
 county, reading law in the meanwhile, 
 and finally entered the law office of 
 Wigman & Martin, studying until Decem- 
 ber 29, 1 89 1, when he was admitted to 
 the bar with highest honors at Milwau- 
 kee, Wis., since when he has enjoyed a 
 lucrative practice. He is United States Cir- 
 cuit Court Commissioner for the Eastern 
 District of Wisconsin. He was married, 
 April 18, 1893, in Green Bay, to Miss 
 Ella M. Wigman, daughter of J. H. M. 
 Wigman, a prominent attorney at law. 
 One child, James J., is the fruit of this 
 congenial union. Mr. and Mrs. Water- 
 inolen are devoted members of St. Willi- 
 brord's Catholic Church, and socially are 
 held in high esteem by a large circle of 
 personal friends, as well as by the com- 
 
 munity at large. Mr. Watermolen is a 
 member of the Catholic Order of Fores- 
 ters and of Navarino Camp, No. 534, 
 Modern Woodmen. His business is daily 
 increasing, and his abilities as a lawyer 
 are full}' recognized as being far beyond 
 those of any practitioner of his age in 
 the county. He is one of the manj' young 
 men, self-educated and self-made, who 
 have made the most of the golden op- 
 portunities open to the ambitious Ameri- 
 can youth. 
 
 CONSTANT DE JONGHE. the 
 leading baker of De Pere, was 
 born in 1S31, in Belgium, a son 
 of Frank De Jonghe, who was a 
 butcher by trade, and had a numerous 
 family. 
 
 Constant was but three jears old when 
 he lost his parents, and, until he reached 
 the age of twenty years, was reared by his 
 maternal step-grandfather, at the end of 
 which time he commenceti learning the 
 baker's trade, and worked at same in the 
 old country until he was twenty-four 
 j'ears of age. He then, on July 5, 1856, 
 set sail from Antwerp for the United 
 States on the ".American .-Mexander, " 
 which should have sailed the previous 
 day, but was detained in port one da}- in 
 order to give the crew an opportunity of 
 celebrating the "P'ourth" onshore. On 
 September 25, Mr. De Jonghe landed at 
 New York, whence he came directly to 
 Wisconsin, landing in Green Bay with 
 but twenty-nine cents in his pocket. He 
 soon found work, however, in sawmills, 
 in the woods and on the lakes, all along 
 saving some money; and, as he was always 
 faithful in his service to his emplo}ers, he 
 never had to ask for work a second time 
 from any employer. Fourteen years of 
 his life were passed in the lumber woods 
 of Wisconsin, but he lost his earnings; he 
 was also for some fifteen or sixt<;en years 
 in Menominee, Mich. In 1873 he came 
 to West De Pere, and with what capital 
 he had manaEred to save from the time 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BlOGIiAPIIICAI. RECORD. 
 
 he lost everything, as above referred to, 
 he started a bakery which he carried on 
 there until 1887, when he moved into 
 De Pere and opened his present business, 
 on the corner of Broadway and Charle? 
 street. Here he has built a very substan- 
 tial l)rick block, two and a half stories 
 hij;h, and containing two business rooms. 
 His bakery is now the leading one in the 
 city, and his success is the result of his 
 own hard work and indomitable perse- 
 verance. 
 
 In July, 18S2, Mr. De Jonghe was 
 married in West De Pere to Miss Romaine 
 Van De Walle, a native of Belgium, and a 
 resident of Wisconsin since 1881. The}- 
 have one child, Mary, who is a natural 
 musician, and, forherage, quite a wonder 
 as a piano player. In his religious faith 
 Mr. De Jonghe is a devout Catholic, and 
 he enjoys the respect ant! esteem of all 
 who know him. 
 
 OTTOMAN GEORGI. As a living 
 example of what resolute work- 
 ing, earnest endeavor and indom- 
 itable perseverance will accom- 
 plish, this gentleman stands prominent 
 among the worthy citizens of Brown 
 county. He is a native of Prussia, Ger- 
 many, born February 24, 18^17, in the 
 village of Blankenburg, son of Philip 
 Georgi, a tanner by occupation, who 
 passed his entire life in the Fatherland, 
 dying there in 1859. 
 
 The boyhood experiences of Ottoman 
 were not different from those of other 
 lads in his rank of life — attending school 
 with regularity for a few years, and then 
 learning a trade. This latter part of his 
 education cur subject received under his 
 father's tuition, he serving a three-years' 
 apprenticeship in the tannery, after which 
 he did journeyman work at various places. 
 In 1853 he was nearing the age when he 
 should enter the army, according to the 
 law of his country, but through his father's 
 personal intercession with the King of 
 Bavaria he was given exemption. His 
 
 father ha\ingnow presented him with one 
 hundred Prussian dollars to commence 
 the world with, young Ottoman concluded 
 to try his fortune in the Western World. 
 Accordingly, securing passage on board 
 the ship "George Corning," from Ham- 
 burg to New York, he set sail with a 
 light heart and bright prospects, and, 
 after a six-weeks' voyage, landed at the 
 port of debarkation. l-'rom New York 
 he at once jiroceetled in the ilirection of 
 his destination. Green Bay, \Vis., but on 
 his arri\al in Detroit found his money all 
 gone. Assistance, however, coming from 
 friends in Green Bay, he was enabled to 
 pursue his way, but, through some mis- 
 take, landed in the town of Madison, a 
 total stranger, and penniless. Here he 
 could find no employment, and, de- 
 ciding tci make his way to Portage 
 City, where he hoped to be more suc- 
 cessful, he set out on fodt, getting an 
 occasional meal from farmers cii roiilc. 
 In Portage he succeeded in securing work 
 at eight dollars per month; but, never 
 losing sight of his proper detination, he 
 left there after saving little monew and, 
 traveling by way of Madison, Milwaukee, 
 Sheboygan and Manitowoc, finally reached 
 Green Bay, arri\ing .August 26, 1854, 
 after many adverse experiences. Here he 
 readily secured work in F. B. Gardner's 
 sawmill, remaining there over five years, 
 or until early in the spring of 1859, when, 
 having received news of his father's death 
 in Germany, he set out in the month of 
 April for his old home, taking passage at 
 New York for Bremen, the voyage occupy- 
 ing fourteen days. At his old home he 
 spent about one month, and then returned 
 by the same boat, from Hamburg to New 
 York, bringing with him to Green Bay his 
 sister, Sophia, and brother, August, the 
 latter party arriving in August, 1859. 
 Our subject then returned to his work in 
 Gardner's sawmill, continuing there until 
 1862, at which time he went to Onton- 
 agon, Mich., and there worked in a 
 tannery a couple of months, and also in 
 the mines. Returning to Green Bay. 
 
COMMEMOllATIVE lUOGHAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. Georjji secured employment in Fred 
 Schellers' Cedar Creek Gristmill, in Preble 
 township, but in October, i 864, he had to 
 leave, havinj^ been drafted into Company 
 E, Seventeenth Wis. \'. I., which was 
 mustered in at Camp Randall, Madison, 
 Wis. From there the regiment was sent 
 to Louisville, thence to Kingston, Chatta- 
 nooga and finallj' to Atlanta, where they 
 experienced their first battle. They then 
 participated in Sherman's march to the 
 sea, and followed the fortunes of the arm\' 
 till the Grand Review at Washington in 
 1865. At Louis\ille, Ky., our subject 
 was honorably discharged July 14, 1865, 
 and was mustered out at Madison, 
 Wis., whence he at once proceeded to 
 Green ISay thence to Preble township, 
 where his wife and infant son were, 
 and at once resumed the pursuits of 
 peace. In 1867 he purchased twenty 
 acres of land in Preble township, on which 
 his present residence stands, and to this 
 he from time to time added until he found 
 himself the owner of over 230 acres — part 
 of which he has given to his children — all 
 the result of his own individual hard work, 
 untiring energy and sound judgment. 
 
 On January i, 1864, Mr. Georgi was 
 married to Miss Maria Barbara Hasten, 
 born .\pril 24, 1835, in the village of 
 Kosen, Prussia, who came to the United 
 States in 1852, along with her parents. 
 The children of this union are Fred and 
 Philip, both of whom are farmers in Preble 
 townshi]i; Lena and Charles, at home; 
 and .August, who died May 22, 1876. aged 
 eight years. The mother of these died 
 January 14, 1890, and sleeps her last 
 sleep in the cemetery at Green Bay, since 
 when the daughter, Lena, has presided 
 over her father's house with becoming 
 grace. In 1870 our subject revisited Ger- 
 many, and on his return brought with him 
 his aged mother, who passed the rest of 
 her life at his home, dying November 
 9, 1892. 
 
 In politics our subject is a Republi- 
 can, and for some eight or ten years 
 served his township as supervisor, having 
 
 been elected on that ticket; but he is no 
 partisan, in county and township affairs 
 invariably supporting such men and 
 measures as he deems best for the com- 
 munity at large. Socially he is a member of 
 Herman Lodge, No. ill, I. O. O. F. ; of 
 the Germania Society, and of T. O. Howe 
 Post, No. I 24, G. A. R. , all of Green Bay. 
 Taken all in all, Mr. Georgi is a thoroughly 
 representative citizen, universalh" respect- 
 ed, and is a typical self-made man. 
 
 DON F. SMITH, one of the most 
 prominent and active citizens of 
 Suamico village, Brown county, 
 was born July 28, 1836. in Onon- 
 daga county. N. W, a son of Hiram J. 
 and Elsie H. (Adams) Smith, also natives 
 of New Yr.rk. Hiram J. Smith was born 
 March 6, 1 800, was a shoemaker by trade, 
 and died Maj' 26, 1845, in Erie county, 
 N. \'. ; Mrs. Elsie H. Smith, whose par- 
 ents came from Rhode Island, was born 
 September 4, 1802, and died October 13, 
 1872. Of the six children born to them 
 but two are still living. Don F. and Ho- 
 ratio, the latter a resident of Michigan. 
 
 Don F. .Smith was reared on the farm 
 of an uncle from the time he was hfteen 
 until he reached the age of twenty-one, 
 when, in i 857, he came to Wisconsin with 
 his brother-in-law, H. J. Ayres, and locat- 
 ing in Duck Creek, Brown county, worked 
 here two years in a sawmill. Then for a 
 time he taught school in Howard town- 
 ship, and later engaged by the month in a 
 saw and shingle mill in Suamico town- 
 ship, being thus empkn'ed at the time of 
 his marriage. On .•\ugust 25, 1863, he 
 wedded Miss Julia A. Woodruff, who was 
 born at Norton, Summit Co.. Ohio, but 
 was reared and educated in Akron, same 
 State, and when quite young came west 
 for the benefit of her health, teaching 
 school until her marriage, when she re- 
 linquished that vocatit)!!. The union of 
 Don F. and Julia A. Smith has been 
 blessed with six children, as follows: (1) 
 Hattic M.. born Ant^iist 2i>, 1864; was 
 
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 A'^ 
 
 «l 
 
 r 
 
COMMKMdHA Tl V E ISlnC l: M'll ic A L HKCOUH. 
 
 first married to C. (). Stevens, who died 
 leaving one son, now also deceased; lier 
 .second niarriagi; was to 1). W. 15in"ns, and 
 to tluMii has come om; dauf^ditcr, listher 
 (.'.., horn Auf;ust 12, 1.S93. {2) ICstella, 
 Ixjrn iVpril 12, 1.S66, was married to V. 
 13. Stevens, and to this iiinon were Ixini 
 three chikiren lliram 1)., (Jctoher 4, 
 i8yo, Ethel, November — , i.Syi,and I'^l- 
 sie, Febrnary 21, 1893. (3) Frank A. 
 was born April },<:), 1868. (4) Don 1). was 
 born July 21, 1870. (5) I^loyd was born 
 April 30. 1 88 1. (6) Cora was born Octo- 
 ber 9. 1883. Mrs. Jnlia A. Smith is a 
 <langhler of (iiles and listher fWetinorej 
 Woodruff, natives, respectively, of Massa- 
 chusetts and (Connecticut, (iiles Wood- 
 ruff, who is a farmer, was a pioneer of 
 Ohio, ami servetl as colonel of a rej;iment 
 of home guards. I le died in Akron, Ohio, 
 at the age of seventy-six years, leaving 
 two children, Mrs. Julia A. Smith and 
 .Mrs. Lucia I',. \'osburg. 
 
 .After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Don I'". 
 Smith localt'd in Suatnico village, where 
 for a year and a half he worked in a 
 sawmill, and then went to Akron, Ohio, 
 at which j)lace he l)ouglit a meat market, 
 and conducted same one summer. He 
 then returnc'd to Siiamico, where he had 
 ■charge of the shipping interests of sevi;rai 
 large firms for two or three years. When 
 the ("hicago & N(jrtinvestern railway was 
 built through the town of Suamico he was 
 appointed, on July 1, 1872, agent forthe 
 company, a position he has held ever 
 since, giving the utmost satisfaction. He 
 has also served as postmaster for the last 
 thirty years: township treasurer for over 
 three years, and has tilled several other 
 local offices with great credit and accepta- 
 bility. His first \'ote \\as cast for Abraham 
 Lincoln in 1860, and he has been a faith- 
 ful member of the Republican party ever 
 since. He is a notary public, acts as 
 agent for the American Express Company, 
 and has always manifested marked busi- 
 ness ability, industry and activity. He is 
 treasurer of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church at Suamico. Mr. and Mrs. Smith 
 
 13 
 
 were both school teachers, and full) ((Hii- 
 pi-tent to rear their family. No man m 
 the coiintv is more ca])able of lilling the 
 responsible ])ositionsto whitdi he has been 
 callcil than Mi. Smith, and Mrs. Smith is 
 a l.idv of line intellect, highly arcomplishe<i 
 and imicli lovecl by all. The lamih' lia\e 
 a delightful home 111 the town, and also 
 own a small farm, which is rented out. 
 .Mr. .Smith has, assisted b}' his amiable 
 wife, made his comfortable prop(;rty 
 through indiistrw and backed by a deter- 
 mination to succeed. By his unswi-rving 
 iiitegrit\' he first gained the conlideiice' of 
 his fell<iw citizens, and by his faith! iil at- 
 tention to the duties of the various posi- 
 tions he has filled as a public officer, and 
 as an employe, he has won the ap[)roba- 
 tion of all jiarties concerned. Socially, no 
 family in the township occupies a more 
 einiable position. 
 
 JACOB KliTTENliOLlCN, a wide- 
 awake, progressive citizen, ami the 
 leading blacksmith of Wrightstow n, 
 l^rown county, of whi(di city he has 
 been a resident some twenty years, is a 
 native of Khein-Province, (iermany, born 
 |iily 16, 1854, 111 Irsch, Kreis Saarbriick, 
 Kegicrungsbezirk Trier. l''or ten genera- 
 tions his ancestors were blacksmiths before 
 him, some serving in the armies of Europe, 
 and they were, for the most part, educated 
 above their station, many members oftlu- 
 families being educators. Grandfather 
 Mathias Kettenhofen followed blacksmith- 
 ing in Orsholtz, Germany, and also his 
 sons. 
 
 Feti'r Kettenhofen, father of Jacob, 
 (Kir subject, carried on that trade in Irsch 
 till 1862, when he was induced to come 
 to America by his sisters, who had pre- 
 ceded him to the Western World. Com- 
 ing with his family to Wisconsin, Peter 
 located in Hollaml townshi)), lirown 
 county, where he followed his tra<le in 
 connection with farming till 1872, in 
 which year he removed to Wriijhtstown 
 ami established the blacksmith shop now 
 
226 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 occupied by his son Jacob. He died 
 October 2 1 . 1887, as;ed about sixty years, 
 esteemed and respected by all who knew 
 him as a bright, intelligent, active and 
 honorable man. In Europe he had been 
 educated for the profession of teacher; 
 but the ruling trait of the family was so 
 strong in him that he preferred the trade 
 he followed throughout life, and he had 
 five brothers, all also blacksmiths. He 
 was considered a first-class mechanic, 
 making a success of his business, and 
 much of his work is still to be seen in 
 various parts of the county. In his native 
 land he had married Miss Anna Fish, who 
 was also born in Irsch, near Trier, Rhein 
 Province, Germany, and nine children 
 were born to them, six of whom are yet 
 living. The mother was called from 
 earth August 27, 1892. Peter Ketten- 
 hofen was a consistent member of the 
 Catholic Church; in politics he was a 
 stanch Democrat, and served as delegate 
 to county conventions. 
 
 The subject proper of these lines, 
 whose name opens the sketch, was eight 
 years old when his parents brought him to 
 this country, and in Holland township. 
 Brown county, he received a good com- 
 mon-school education. In 1871, when 
 seventeen years old, he commenced to 
 learn blacksmithing in Menasha, with 
 Philip Sensenbrenner, a master mechanic, 
 and at the end of two years came to 
 Wrightstown, where he entered his 
 father's shop, and has remained there 
 continuously to the present time, a period 
 of over twenty years, in which connection 
 it were superfluous to add that he is a 
 master of the business in every detail, 
 and a thoroughly expert horse-shoer. On 
 June 29, 1880. he was married to Miss Liz- 
 ;;ie Brenzel, who has borne him nine chil- 
 dren: Catharina, Annie, John, Helena, 
 Jacob, Mary, Clara, Eva and Peter. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Kettenhofcn are members of the 
 Catholic Church. Politically he is identi- 
 fied with the Democratic party, has con- 
 siderable influence in local and county 
 politics, being well known all over the 
 
 southern part of Brown countj' and the 
 northern part of Outagamie, and generally 
 serves as delegate to convt-ntions. So- 
 cially he is an active member of the Cath- 
 olic Knights of Wisconsin, is president of 
 the local order, was elected a delegate to 
 the State convention at Oshkosh in 1894. 
 He has taken an interest in educational 
 matters, and is trustee of the Sisters' 
 school at Wrightstown. 
 
 On March 28, 1894, he was chosen 
 chairman of the caucus, being the first 
 caucus held in the new town hall at 
 Greenleaf, to nominate officers for the 
 town election. 
 
 JAMES McKONE, a popular livery- 
 man and horse breeder, of Green 
 Bay, was born in County Cavan, 
 Ireland, April 15, 1854, and is a 
 son of James and Ann (McCabe) McKone. 
 The father, who was a prosperous farmer, 
 died in 1858, leaving a widow and six 
 children, \\z. : Patrick. Catherine, John, 
 James L. , Terrence and Ann — all living 
 with the exception of Ann, who died in 
 Minneapolis, Minn., leaving one child, 
 also named Ann. In 1868 the mother of 
 our subject sold her property in Ireland, 
 and with three children came to America, 
 her other children having preceded her. 
 She bought a place in Oshkosh, Wis., 
 where her three brothers, Cornelius, [nhn 
 and Frank, then lived, and where John 
 still has his residence. Here Mrs. Mc- 
 Kone passed away December 5, 1885. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, after pass- 
 ing six weeks in New York, was employed 
 in a sawmill at Oshkosh, W^is. , until 
 December, 1879, when he went to Wau- 
 sau. Wis., and for four years profitably 
 carried on a dairy; he then moved to 
 Clintonvillc, Wis., and bought a livery 
 stock, which he transferred to Fort 
 Howard, where he remained fourteen 
 months, and then settled in Green Bay, 
 and here he rented the barn which he 
 now owns. He has had his business mis- 
 fortunes, but, on the whole, has been re- 
 
commemohativk biographical record. 
 
 227 
 
 maikably successful. His stables con- 
 tain thirty-four horses, some of which 
 are very valuable, among them being a 
 two-year-old mare, "Bourbon Break," 
 with a record, as a two-year-old, of 2:31! ; 
 for this auimal Mr. McKone has refused 
 $3,000. Among other promising animals 
 in this stud are "Anna May," "Wilkes," 
 "J. C," "Skylark," "Ben Crosier," 
 "Fancher, "and " Daisy H." While a resi- 
 dent of Oshkosh, Mr. McKone married 
 Julia Helpen, daughter of Patrick and Jen- 
 nie (Mallon) Helpen. She bore her hus- 
 band two children — James L. and Mamie, 
 the former of whom resides with his father, 
 the latter dying in infancy. Mrs. Mc- 
 Kone died May 15, 1881, and her re- 
 mains were interred at Wausau. The 
 second marriage of Mr. McKone took 
 place at Clintonville, Wis., to Miss Mary 
 Geary, a native of Hazleton, Penn., and 
 daughter of Patrick and Catherine (Mulli- 
 gan) Geary, the former of whom died in 
 Chicago in 1876, while on his way home 
 to Clintonville from a trip to Texas; the 
 latter is now a resident of Philadelphia, 
 Penn. The second marriage of Mr. Mc- 
 Kone has been blessed with three chil- 
 dren : Frank, John and Alvin, the last 
 named ds'ing in infancy. Mr. McKone is 
 a member of the Royal Arcanum, and, 
 with his wife, attends St. John's (Catho- 
 lic) Church. He is a gentleman of great 
 native energy, has made himself what he 
 is, in a financial point of view, notwith- 
 standing some severe business reverses, 
 and, through his affability and straightfor- 
 ward dealing, has won hosts of friends. 
 
 MICHAEL PATTON. This gen- 
 tleman, who is now living semi- 
 retired on his farm in Glenmore 
 township. Brown county, en- 
 joys the distinction of being its oldest liv- 
 ing settler. 
 
 He is a native of the Emerald Isle, 
 born about 18 14, in County Waterford, 
 son of Martin and Mary (Powers) Patten, 
 farming people in moderate circumstances. 
 
 They had a family of six children — four 
 sons and two daughters — of whom 
 Michael was the eldest, and consequently 
 his educational opportunities were some- 
 what limited. When a mere boy he com- 
 menced to work in the copper mines, con- 
 tinuing thus while in his native country. 
 In young manhood he was married to 
 Miss Mary Hayes, who was also a native 
 of County Waterford, and three children 
 were born to them in Ireland, namely: 
 William, who is now a resident of Fort 
 Howard, Brown county; Martin, of Glen- 
 more township; and Mary, who married 
 Leonard Miller, and died in Marinette, 
 Wis. Having by economy managed to 
 save a few dollars from his meager earn- 
 ings, Mr. Patton concluded to emigrate 
 and try his fortune in the New World, 
 and, bidding their early home farewell, he 
 and his family sailed on the "Admiral," 
 in the spring of 1844, 3^nd landed in Que- 
 bec after a voyage of five weeks and three 
 days. Mr. Patton had intended to go to 
 the Lake Superior copper region; but 
 learning that work was scarce there, he 
 went instead to Lowell, Ohio, where he 
 found employment at a furnace. Later 
 he worked at other towns in the Mahon- 
 ing Valley, and also in the coal and iron 
 mines of that country, remaining in the 
 vicinity of Youngstown until 1848, when 
 he came to \N'isconsin to look over the 
 land. In Section 8, Glenmore township. 
 Brown county, he purchased a half-section 
 of wild land, and then went back to Ohio 
 for his family, returning to Wisconsin in 
 the fall. There were no roads laid out 
 at this time, the path to his farm led 
 through the forest, and their neighbors 
 were the Whitmores, who lived two miles 
 away, along the Dixon road. The trees 
 were so thick that a spot large enough 
 for the dwelling had to be cleared, and 
 Mr. Patton put up a log cabin, into which 
 the family moved. Wild animals were 
 numerous, but thev gradually passed away 
 with the clearing and settling of the coun- 
 try. The settlers labored under many 
 disadvantages in the improving and culti- 
 
!2S 
 
 COMMEMOliATIVK niOGRAI'IIICAL RECORD. 
 
 vating of the land, for almost the only 
 tools they had were an axe and a- grub- 
 hoe, and oxen were the only beasts of 
 burden. Hut the prospect of having a 
 conifort;d)ie property of his own cheered 
 Mr. Patton through the first few years of 
 hard work, and encouraged him to prese- 
 vere until the land became jiroductive and 
 yieklt'd a good income. As his sons grew 
 up the)' proved a great assistance to 
 him, and in turn he has given them a 
 comfortable start in life; he, at one time, 
 owned between 400 and 500 acres of good 
 land, but he has given the greater part 
 of it to his sons. In US92 a new resi- 
 dence was erected on the farm. 
 
 After coming to the United States Mr. 
 and Mrs. Patton had the following chil- 
 dren: Kate, Mrs. Richard Gorman, of 
 Marinette. Wis. ; Morris, who died in 
 Youngstown, Ohio, where he was buried; 
 Patrick, a resident of (jlenniore town- 
 ship. Brown county; Edward, who died 
 in Glenmore township in 1893; John, 
 who is mentioned farther on; Michael, 
 who died in Glenmore township; and 
 Morris, of Green Bay. Mr. Patton is 
 now retired from active farm work, en- 
 joying the fruits of his early toil, for the 
 past twelve years having made his home 
 with his son John. He is a typical self- 
 made man, for, landing in this country 
 with no capital save health and energy, 
 he rose by his own efforts to an enviable 
 position among the leading farmers of 
 Glenmore township. In his political af- 
 filiations he is a stanch Democrat, and in 
 his earlier years he served as supervisor 
 and school treasurer in his township, but 
 he was never an office-seeker, always pre- 
 ferring to give his undivided attention to 
 his business. In religious faith he is a 
 member of St. Francis Church De Pere. 
 His estimable wife was railed from earth 
 January i, 1888, when aged seventy-two 
 years, and her remains now rest in .'M- 
 louez cemetery. 
 
 John Patton was born March 25, 1856, 
 on the farm where he is yet living, and 
 here obtained a thorough knowledge of 
 
 agriculture under his father, at the same 
 time receiving his literary education in 
 the common schools. On May 2, 1882, 
 he was married in St. Francis Church, 
 De Pere, to Miss Frances A. Lawlor, who 
 was born in April, 1865, in Glenmore 
 township, daughter of Thomas and Mary 
 (Connors) Lawlor. To this union came 
 children as follows: Mary, Lizzie, Fran- 
 ces, and Pearl, living; Lucy, deceased; 
 and James Rhaman, living. Mr. Patton 
 is a hard-working, prosperous farmer, and 
 one of the substantial, public-spirited 
 citizens of his township. He de\otes his 
 time exclusively to the cultivation of his 
 farm, which comprises 120 acres of excel- 
 lent land. In his political preferences 
 he is a Democrat, and in religious connec- 
 tion a member of St. Francis Church, 
 De Pere. 
 
 WD. RICE, of Pittsfield town- 
 ship. Brown count)-, was born 
 I'ebruary 14, 1838, in Fitz- 
 william, N. H., the eldest of 
 the four children born to John and Caro- 
 line (Hayden) Rice. The other three 
 were Eliza, who died leaving three chil- 
 dren, Lizzie, Ellsworth and Fred; Wins- 
 low, who was killed in the Civil war; and 
 Sarah, who died leaving a husband and 
 two children — Eva and Nellie. 
 
 W. D. Rice, since the age of fifteen, 
 has earned his living through his own ex- 
 ertions. From his native State he came 
 directly to ^^' isconsin, and was one of the 
 early settlers of Pittsfield (then Suamico) 
 township. Brown county, where he 
 bought eighty acres of land which he 
 still owns, having first earned the money 
 by hard work in the lumber woods — a 
 business he followed thirty-nine years be- 
 fore he ceased active work, having al- 
 ways had charge of a camp from the age 
 of eighteen. He cleared off the timber 
 from his farm at odd intervals, ridding it 
 of trees, Indians, bears and wolves, until 
 it became one of the model farms of the 
 township. Having commenced the prep- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUIt'AL RECORD. 
 
 229 
 
 aration of a lioinc, he was married, on 
 April 2^, iJ^j'J. to Miss Hannah E., 
 daughter of Cornelius and Marj;aret 
 (Leonard) Keefe, put up the house they 
 at present occupy, and in 1860 ino\ed 
 into the new home. It was in this year 
 that the town was set off, the poll at that 
 time being 13; in 1S94 it had reached 
 230. To Mr. and Mrs. Rice were liorn 
 five children, as follows: Lizzie, John, 
 James (who died in infancx'l, Clara and 
 Leonard. 
 
 In politics Mr. Rice is a stanch Re- 
 publican; in i(SS5 he was elected chair- 
 man of the town, and has held the posi- 
 tion for several years. He has been true 
 to his party from the time he cast his 
 first Presidential \"ote, for .\brahani Lin- 
 coln, and this circumstance has been 
 fully recognized by his political friends. 
 
 HM. r.hXIv, M. I). This esteemed 
 citizen of Green Bay, and well- 
 known physician and surgeon, is 
 a nati\'e of Ha\'aria, ("lermanj', 
 born November i, 1855, a son <if Leon- 
 ard and Eva (Gesner) l^eck, also of Ba- 
 varian birth, the former of Avhom died in 
 1892 in his natixe land, where his widow 
 is yet living. They were the parents of 
 six children, viz.: Valentine, in Bavaria; 
 H. M., subject of sketch; Barbara, wife 
 of John Schenck, of Brown county, Wis. , 
 Velp P. O. ; Johanna, Iska, and Anna. 
 Of these, two came to Green Bay, and 
 are here now residing, to wit: H. M. and 
 Barbara. 
 
 H. M. Beck received his primary edu- 
 cation at the public and preparatory 
 schools of Bavaria, after which he at- 
 tended the P(5lytechnic High-shod at 
 Munich. In 1876 he immigrated to the 
 United States, arriving in Green Bay, 
 Wis., in December of that year. Here 
 for about one year he gave music lessons, 
 after which he engaged in the drug busi- 
 ness, carrying same on for several years. 
 In 1879 he commenced the study of 
 medicine with Dr. B. C. Brett, in 
 
 1881 entering Rush Medical College, 
 Chicago, where he graduated in March, 
 1883, thereafter at onci' ccimmencing 
 the general practice of his pn'ofession 
 in Green liay, in which he has met 
 with well-merited success. In 1879 
 Dr. Beck married Miss Mar\' I'o.\, daugh- 
 ter of Paul l'"o.\, an early settler of Brown 
 count}'. This wife died in 1886, lea\-ing 
 line son, ()ttii, ,iiid in 1888 the Doctor 
 was united in marriage with Miss Irma C. 
 \'an Dyke, daughter of Louis \'an Dyke, 
 and two children lia\-e come tn brighten 
 their home, viz.: Irma and I'lorence. 
 
 Dr. I:>eck is a member of I'Ox River 
 Valley Medical Socic'tx, and of the State 
 Medical Society. He is examining sur- 
 geon for the Northwestern Mutual Life 
 Insurance Company; for the .Ivtna, Equi- 
 table, Connecticut Mutual, the National 
 Life [iisurance Company of Montpelier, 
 Metropolitan of New ^'ork, Mutual Life 
 of New York, etc., besides for three or 
 four societies. He has been local sur- 
 geon for tht; Chicago, Mimieapolis & St. 
 Paul Railroad Compan\- for o\er ten 
 years. Socially he is a member of the 
 R. of P., Pochequettc Lodge, No. 26 (of 
 which he is Keeper of Records and Seals), 
 and of the ITniform Rank; also a mem- 
 ber of the Elks, No. 229, Green Bay. In 
 his political associations he is a Repub- 
 lican; served as county commissionertwo 
 years; as member of the school board also 
 two years. Taken all in all, the Doctor 
 is a thorough representative of the best 
 citizenship of Green Bay. 
 
 ADAM DOHN, a prosperous agri- 
 culturist, and one of the most 
 highly respected citizens, of De- 
 Pere township, Brown county, 
 was born February 4, 1835, in Bavaria, 
 Germany, son of John G. Dohn, a shoe- 
 maker, who had three children, Adam 
 being the eldest. 
 
 Our subject attended the common 
 schools of his birthplace until he reached 
 the age of fourteen years, when he began 
 
230 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to assist in the support of the family. 
 When he was seventeen years old his 
 father died, leaving a home unpaid for, 
 and the property was thus lost. In the 
 fall of 1852 the widowed mother and her 
 three children set out from Germany for 
 Havre, France, where they took passage 
 on the vessel " Lindy " for the United 
 States, landing in New York after a voy- 
 age of forty-two days. From there they 
 proceeded by rail to Dunkirk, N. Y. , 
 thence by boat to Detroit, Mich., by rail 
 to Chicago, 111., and from there by boat 
 to Milwaukee, Wis. Their destination 
 was Waukesha, Wis. , and, their funds hav- 
 mg been exhausted by the time the}' 
 reached Milwaukee, they walked the re- 
 mainder of the way, twenty miles, arriv- 
 ing in Waukesha seven days after landing 
 in New York City. Mrs. Dohn made her 
 home in Waukesha with her brother, Philip 
 Eiler, who had loaned them money to 
 help pay the e.xpenses of their journey to 
 the United States; and Adam, who being 
 the eldest was looked to for support, hired 
 out as a f^rm hand, receiving sixty dollars 
 for his first year's work. He not only as- 
 sisted in the support of his mother, but 
 also paid back the mone}', one hundred 
 and twenty dollars, which they had bor- 
 rowed from his uncle, and for the first few 
 years his life in the New World was one of 
 constant toil and hardship. Of the other 
 two children, his brother William received 
 a liberal education in the common schools, 
 and later engaged in business in Gibson- 
 burg, Ohio, first in merchandising, and 
 afterward in the lime business; he died in 
 Gibsonburg. The sister, Catherine, died 
 in Waukesha at the age of thirteen years. 
 Mrs. Dohn died in Ohio at the home of 
 her son William. 
 
 On May 6, 1858, Adam Dohn was 
 married, in Milwaukee, Wis., to Margaret 
 Miller, who was born, August 28, 1833, 
 in Hesse-Darmstadt, a daughter of John 
 and Anna Miller, the former of whom died 
 in Germany when his daughter, Margaret, 
 was three years old. She set out with 
 her mother for the United States in 1853, 
 
 sailing from Bremen on the " Elizabeth," 
 and, after a voyage of forty-two days, 
 landed in New York, from which city 
 they came at once to Milwaukee, Wis., 
 the journey occupying one week. After 
 his marriage Mr. Dohn purchased four 
 acres of land in W^aukesha, taking up his 
 residence thereon, and, in addition to 
 cultivating his own land, worked at farm- 
 ing for others and also at railroading. In 
 1870 he removed to Brown county, locat- 
 ing on the farm where he has ever since 
 resided. Private Claim, No. 40. De Fere 
 township, containing eighty acres of highly 
 cultivated, productive land. When he 
 came here, however, it was still in a 
 primitive condition, and he set to work 
 at once to clear and improve it, giving 
 his attention exclusivelj' to general 
 farming and stock-raising. The first 
 house Mr. Dohn erected on the place was 
 built of logs, and the family lived in it 
 until 1 89 1, when the present comfortable 
 residence was erected. From a start of 
 nothing, and without assistance from any 
 one, our subject has accumulated a com- 
 fortable competence, and his life furnishes 
 an example of what ma\' be accomplished 
 by determination and energy and indus- 
 trious habits. He has won the esteem of 
 his fellow citizens for honesty and ster- 
 ling worth, and he and his family are 
 highly respected in their community. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Dohn have been born seven 
 children, viz. : George, John, William, 
 Minnie (Mrs. William Delzer, of Wood- 
 ville township, Calumet county;, Anna (of 
 Dc Pere), and Maggie and Herbert E., 
 both deceased. 
 
 On February 18, 1864, Mr. Dohn en- 
 listed, at Milwaukee, in Company D, 
 Forty-eighth Wis. \'. I., and was sent to 
 St. Louis, Mo., thence to Fort Scott. 
 Kans. , on patrol duty, remaining in the 
 service until April, 1866, when he re- 
 ceived an honorable discharge at Madison, 
 \\'is. ; he was mustered out at Fort Leaven- 
 worth, Kans. He had served in the In- 
 dian campaigns, during which the men 
 suffered greatly from exposure and lack 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BWUUAI'UICAL RECORD. 
 
 231 
 
 of provisions. From Colorado thev 
 marched 600 miles over the plains to Fort 
 Leavenworth, Kans. , and, for thirty-two 
 nights, they had to sleep on the ground, 
 although it was covered with snow. For 
 300 miles of this long march each com- 
 pany had but one load of firewood, and 
 the men were allowed to make coffee but 
 once a day; on the remaining 300-mile 
 march they had no wood at all. Mr. 
 Dohn's health was so seriously- impaired 
 by the hardships he endured that he has 
 never fully recovered. In his political 
 affiliations he was originally a Democrat, 
 but he is now an advocate of protection 
 and a member of the Republican party. 
 He has served his township as supervisor, 
 and for eight years as member of the 
 township board, but his ill-health com- 
 pelled him to resign this position. He 
 and his wife are members of the Presby- 
 terian Church of De Pere. 
 
 FRANK KOZLOWSKY, a worthy 
 citizen of New Denmark town- 
 ship. Brown county, where he has 
 been actively engaged in farming 
 for over thirty years, and of which he is 
 one of the oldest and most highly honored 
 residents, was born March 14, 1834, in 
 Bohemia, Austria. His parents. John and 
 Anna (Horenej Kozlowsky, the former 
 of whom was engaged in farming, had a 
 family of three children, namely: Joseph, 
 Frank (our subject), and Philip, now a 
 resident of CoopersLown, Wis., who is 
 married and has seven children. The 
 mother died when her son Frank was 
 eight years old. 
 
 At the age of twelve Frank Kozlowsky 
 commenced to learn the tailor's trade, 
 continuing to follow same in his native 
 country for si.\ years. When eighteen 
 years old he set sail from Bremen, Ger- 
 many, and landed in New York after a 
 nine-weeks' voyage, thence continuing 
 his journey to Chicago, 111., where his 
 funds were exhausted, and he had to wait 
 for his baggage. He waited in that city 
 
 until his goods came after him, then he 
 started for Wisconsin, coming across Af- 
 ton to Milwaukee, thence by wagon to 
 Port Washington, from which place he 
 proceeded on foot to Manitowoc, a dis- 
 tance of si.xty-five miles, whence he walked 
 to Kossuth township, Manitowoc county, 
 where his uncle resided. Here he engaged 
 in clearing land for about a year and a 
 half, and then invested in a tract of eighty- 
 acres in Cooperstown township, in part- 
 nership with a Mr. Nejedlo. They erected 
 a small shanty and connnenced clearing 
 the place, continuing together for about a 
 year, when Mr. Nejedlo sold his share, 
 our subject becoming sole owner of the 
 tract. On January 19, 1856, Mr. Koz- 
 lowsky was married to Miss Anna Pivonka, 
 and walked afoot, along with two wit- 
 nesses, to the justice of the peace, Charles 
 Rieter, at Manitowoc, about fourteen 
 miles, and back the same day, along a 
 good snow road. They lived in the shanty 
 four years, when it was supplanted by a 
 comfortable log dwelling. Besides at- 
 tending to the work of clearing, Mr. Koz- 
 lowsky engaged in the manufacture of 
 shingles, an occupation that brought him 
 a small revenue until the farm afforded 
 a comfortable support. All the provisions 
 had to be carried by him from Kossuth, on 
 his back or in his hands, and on one oc- 
 casion, having lost his way, he wandered 
 about for several hours before he found 
 the path. After living on that farm si.x 
 years the\' sold it and come to New Den- 
 mark township. Brown county, here buy- 
 ing 120 acres, which forms part of the 
 present homestead. This was also new 
 land, totally unimproved, like all the sur- 
 rounding country, and there were no roads 
 in the township, only Indian trails, over 
 which they brought their supplies from 
 De Pere and Green Bay. I'he work of 
 clearing was commenced in earnest, and 
 besides reducing the first purchase to a 
 condition of fertility, he purchased and 
 improved forty acres additional. When 
 he first started to cultivate his land he 
 had no team with which to plow, and all 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 the ground for planting or sowing of grain 
 was made ready with a grub hoe. Mr. 
 Kozlowsky is a Democrat in politics, and 
 has served his township two years assuper- 
 visor and four years as clerk of the school 
 board. In religious faith he and his 
 family are devout members i>f the Catho- 
 lic Church, and he donated the land for 
 the Catholic Church situated near his resi- 
 dence. In 1862 he was drafted into the 
 army, and was sent to Madison, whence 
 in four days he proceeded to Fond du 
 Lac, and then was sent home. Being 
 drafted a second time, he \\as sent to 
 Green Hay. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Kozlowsky have been 
 born eight children, namely : Antone, 
 Catherine, .-\nna, Mary, Frank, Joseph, 
 Adolph antl Ennna, of wh(jm Frank has 
 always resided on the farm; the others re- 
 mained at home up to the time of their 
 marriage. Mr. Kozlowsky is now retired 
 from active farm work, he and his wife 
 living with their son Frank, who now 
 owns the farm and carries on the agricul- 
 tural work, and in 1888, besides attending 
 to all his work on the homestead, he 
 (Frank, Jr.) cleared five acres. 
 
 On January 31, 1888, Frank Koz- 
 lowsky. Jr., was united in marriage with 
 Miss Anna Konop, bringing his wife at 
 once to the home farm. Their union has 
 been blessed with four children, namely : 
 Joseph, Mary, Emma and Annie. 
 
 WILL1.\M LARSEN, mayor of 
 I'ort Howard, and one of the 
 most extensive shipping mer- 
 chants and traders of north- 
 eastern Wisconsin, was born Ma\' 29, 
 1850, in Buffalo. New York. 
 
 His father, OleLarsen, who was a natnc 
 of Norway, with his first wife, a son and ! 
 four daughters, came to the United States 
 in 1844, and first embarked in the groc- 
 cery business at Buffalo, remaining there 
 imtil 1852, when he came to Wisconsin. 
 For a short time he resided in Fort How- 
 ard, then removed to Door county, and 
 
 was engaged in farming until his death, 
 which occurred when he was sixty-five 
 years of age. Before leaving Buffalo his 
 first wife had died, and he married, for his 
 second. Miss Rachel Weisenberg, also a 
 native of Norwa}', who came to the 
 United States with her friends when 
 about thirty years of age ; she now lives 
 at the home of our subject. To this 
 marriage were born four children : A 
 daughter that died in infancy; William, 
 whose name introduces this article ; Otis, 
 a merchant of Chicago ; and Henry, who 
 is associated with \\'illiam. 
 
 ^^'illiam Larsen attended the district 
 schools of this State until about fifteen 
 years of age, then passed a year at Ap- 
 pleton College, after which he entered the 
 general store of M. E. Tremble & Co., 
 at Suamico, as head clerk, having charge 
 of the store and books for the firm. 
 This position he held four years, when, 
 at the age of twenty, he married Miss 
 Sarah Krouse. He at once settled in 
 Fort Howard, and, with $700 he had 
 saved during his clerking days, engaged in 
 the grocer\- business with M. C. Johnson, 
 conducting same most prosperously for 
 seven jears, when both partners sold out. 
 Mr. Larsen then established a general 
 shipping business, handling principally 
 fruits, produce, hay, etc., and this has 
 reached enormous proportions, the vol- 
 ume of his trade at present representing 
 half a million dollars per annum at a low 
 estimate. His pay-roll is in excess of 
 three thousand five hundred dollars per 
 month, and his payments for produce in 
 the season exceed ten thousand dollars 
 per month; during the same part of the 
 year his transactions in hay are pro- 
 digious. Mr. Larsen is also a stock-hold- 
 er in and vice-president of McCartney's 
 National Bank, and holds a large interest 
 in the Columbia Bakery Co., a very ex- 
 tensive, popular and prosperous establish- 
 ment. Besides attending to his immense 
 mercantile and financial interests, he finds 
 time to devote to the care of a forty-acre 
 garden plat, from which he also derives 
 
/J/K-^/uv 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 *35 
 
 a considerable profit. Pulilic duties, 
 moreover, have claimed and still claim 
 much of his time and attention ; for 
 three years he was alderman from the 
 Second ward of Fort Howard, and he is 
 now serving his third term as mayor of 
 the cit}'. 
 
 Mrs. Sarah Larsen was born in Suain- 
 ico, Brown Co., Wis., and is a daui^hter 
 of Ferdinand and Sarah Krouse, who 
 had a family of fi\e children. T<> her 
 marriaf;e have been born ten children, oi 
 whom one died when but a year old ; the 
 names of the others are Mabel, Austin, 
 Leslie, Fdith, Grace, Charles Sumner, 
 Marie, Milton, ami Warren. The eldest 
 of these is proficient in music, and is 
 still takinj;- lessons at the Auditoriu-n in 
 Chicago, while several of the others are 
 being educated at the best colleges ot 
 Wisconsin. Mr. Larsen and his wife at 
 first lived in a rented house, for which 
 the\' paid $S (u- $io per month, and con- 
 tinued to residi.' there until about |8S8, 
 when he completed his present magnifi- 
 cent home at a cost of nearly fifteen 
 thousand dollars. It is the most mod- 
 ern, handsouK- and complete house m 
 this section of the c(juntr\', and the fur- 
 niture and grouncls are in appropriate har- 
 mony with the residence. f-Iis business is 
 now one of the most extensive commercial 
 enterprises of the entire State, and Green 
 Bay, as well as Fort Ho\\ard, is especially 
 benefited through its dealings in country 
 produce. He is endowed, in a remarkable 
 degree, with the characteristics possessed 
 by his hardy, brave and ad\-enturous an- 
 cestors — traits of character which enabled 
 them to secure a more than prominent 
 place in the history of the world. These 
 "Norsemen" were old-time heroes, whose 
 indomitable spirit made them the most 
 adventurous navigators of their time, and 
 who undoubtedly \iewed the shores of 
 the New W^orld at a period long antedating 
 its "discovery" by Columbus, the Geno- 
 ese mariner. And not only as navigators 
 were they supreme, but as warriors in the 
 field, also; for, in all western and northern 
 
 I^urope, they came to be known and 
 dreaded as redoubtable and fearless 
 
 fighters; 
 
 iter days admired and re- 
 
 spected as an enlightened and Christian 
 people. Mr. Larsen may be justly termed 
 a representative self-made man, one who 
 in his early life received little, if any, 
 financial aid. His youth was passed 
 with a keen mtelligence, and a healthy, 
 robust physique that soon won for him 
 recognition and respect at the hands of 
 those with whom he was thrown in con- 
 tact, thus gradually, but surely, placing 
 him in an enviable jKjsition as a citizen 
 and business man. He is of a sanguine 
 temperament, though cool and deliberate 
 e\en when absorbed in the most mo- 
 mentous and intricate business proposi- 
 tion; in fact, he is possessed of what 
 might not improperly be styled a thor- 
 oughly judicial cast of mind — a quality 
 that has stood liim in good stead, placing 
 him in the trout rank of the strong array 
 of merchants in his adopted cit\', and 
 enabling him to conduct and regulate his 
 large and varied business with that per- 
 fect order \\hich insures success; also to 
 maintain discipline in, and guarantee 
 honest service at the hands of, his army 
 of employes, either at home or attending 
 to his affairs elsewhere. The minutest 
 as well as thi.' most e.\tensi\'e details of 
 his intricate business are supervised by 
 the master mind, and kept in perfect ac- 
 cord and imder thorongh control through 
 the same potent agency. Tn all his deal- 
 ings he is recognized as one of the most 
 fair and honorable of merchants, and, as 
 a citizen, he is held in such a high degree 
 of regard as to be honored with election 
 to many positions of honor and trust — 
 including the highest in municipal affairs 
 — all which he has filled faithfully and 
 well, ever giving his best endeavors for 
 the benefit of the cit}', and using the 
 same sound judgment and shrewd sagacity 
 that have so successfully militated in 
 building up his own business — now the 
 largest of the kind in northern ^^''isconsin. 
 No man is more highly honored than 
 
236 
 
 COMMKMOBATH'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. Larsen, regardless of politics, re- 
 ligion or nationality, his talents as a busi- 
 ness man ha\ing won for him the un- 
 grudged esteem of his fellow citizens at 
 home and abroad, who have ever had 
 conmiunication with him, either in person 
 or in the channels of trade. He and his 
 wife are both members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, and both are active 
 in the extension of the good work car- 
 ried on by their church, while their 
 private works of charity, which are multi- 
 tudinous, go without record. 
 
 AUGUST BAUMGART, who for 
 more than twenty years has been 
 identified with the farming inter- 
 ests of Glenmore township. Brown 
 county, is a native of the Fatherland, 
 born November 28, 1848, son of .\ugust 
 Baumgart. 
 
 Our subject received his education in 
 his native land, and after leaving school 
 commenced work in a brickyard, continu- 
 ing in that vocation until about twenty 
 years of age, when he came with his par- 
 ents to America, and to Brown county. 
 Wis. On September 29, 1874, he was 
 married, in Green Bay. Wis., to Miss 
 Honora Murphy, born in that city May 
 19, 1856, daughter of Dennis Murphy, 
 who came from Cork, Ireland. After com- 
 ing to Brown county August Baumgart 
 remained with his parents four years, 
 helping them to pay for their farm, and 
 one year prior to his marriage purchased, 
 on his own account, eighty acres of land 
 in Section 14, Glenmore township. A 
 few acres had been partially cleared, but 
 otherwise there were no improvements 
 except an old log shanty, in which he 
 made his home until the comfortable 
 house now occupied by the family was 
 built. To Mr. and Mrs. Baumgart were 
 born ten children, as follows: Charles, 
 Gertrude, Joseph, Edward, John, and 
 Anton, all living, and four that died young. 
 By industry and assiduous toil Mr. Baum- 
 gart has succeeded in clearing all his land, 
 
 and now has a well-cultivated, impro\ed 
 farm, the result of years of energy and 
 persevering labor, his wife having assisted 
 him greatly in the accumulation of their 
 comfortable property. They are respected 
 by all who know them as kind-hearted, 
 hospitable neighbors, and as members of 
 St. Mary's Catholic Church, of which he 
 has served as trustee the past three years, 
 and he is at present a member of the 
 board of education. In politics Mr. Baum- 
 gart is a Democrat, and at present he is 
 serving as assessor of his township, but 
 has refused other offices, as he prefers to 
 give his principal attention to his farm. 
 In connection with his other agricultural 
 interests he has for the past fifteen )ears 
 operated a threshing-machine. Mr. Baum- 
 gart has always been ready to listen to 
 the distressed and unfortunate, and has 
 ever been willing to extend pecuniary aid 
 and give wise counsel. 
 
 IVl 
 
 ATTHIAS LINSSEN, the pop- 
 ular treasurer of Bellevue town- 
 ship. Brown county, in which 
 incumbency he has served since 
 1 89 1, is one of the leading young farmers 
 in his township. 
 
 He was born February 19, 1859, in 
 Holland, son of Henry Linssen, a car- 
 penter, who. in 1 87 1, came with his wife 
 and ten children to America, sailing from 
 Liverpool, England. They lamled at 
 Quebec, Canada, thence coming to Wis- 
 consin on May 24. 1871, arriving in Green 
 Bay with just seventy dollars to com- 
 mence life in their new home. They 
 made a temporary location on a farm in 
 Bellevue township. Brown county, where 
 Mr. Linssen shortly afterward purchased 
 and removed to a new farm, and there 
 made his home until 1S90, in which year 
 he removed to Preble township, where he 
 has since resided, highly respected by all 
 who know him. After coining to Amer- 
 ica he abandoned his trade anil turned his 
 attention exclusively to farming. His 
 first wife died in Holland, and before 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 237 
 
 coming to the United States he there 
 married his present wife; four children 
 have been born to them in Wisconsin. 
 Matthias Linssen is the second son and 
 fourth child born to the first marriage. 
 
 Our subject received the greater part 
 of his education in Holland, and when 
 eleven years old came with his parents 
 to America. He commenced to work 
 early in life, being thoroughly instructed 
 in the duties of the farm on the home 
 place, where he remained until his mar- 
 riage. In 1880 he wedded Miss Annie 
 Wald, a native of Scott township, Brown 
 county, daughter of Michael Wald, at 
 which time he had one winter's earnings 
 with which to conmience life for himself. 
 The first winter they resided with Mrs. 
 Linssen's parents, and soon afterward he 
 purchased a piece of timber land, which 
 he cleared, realizing good returns for his 
 labor; subsequently he bought forty acres 
 of new land in Bellevue township, which 
 he afterward sold, the investment proving 
 a good one, and then purchased the place 
 in Preble township where he lived until 
 1891. In that \'ear he came to the farm 
 where his home now is. a beautiful tract 
 of eighty-four acres, highly cultivated, 
 well improved and systematically con- 
 ducted, everything about the place evi- 
 dencing the owner's thrift, good manage- 
 ment, and prosperity. Mr. Linssen has 
 no superior in his township as an agricul- 
 turist, and he is a striking example of a 
 successful, self-made man. Forsi.x years 
 he was employed at the National furnace, 
 in De Pere — one year in the stock-house 
 and five years in the casting-house, and 
 thus obtained capital to start with. In 
 addition to his general farming interests 
 he has a part ownership in a modern 
 threshing outfit. In his political prefer- 
 ences Mr. Linssen is a stanch Democrat, 
 and in 1891 was, without solicitation, 
 elected treasurer of his township, in which 
 office he has since served; and, though the 
 youngest man who has ever held that 
 office in the township, he has given com- 
 plete satisfaction to all. In church rela- 
 
 tion he and his wife are members of the 
 Holland Catholic Church at Green Bay. 
 To them were born eight children, viz. : An- 
 nie, Nellie, Mary, Elizabeth, Catharine, Jo- 
 seph, and Gertrude, all li\ing; and Michael, 
 who died in infanc\ . 
 
 GEORGE HUISENFELDT, one 
 of the substantial farmer citizens 
 of Rockland township, Brown 
 county, is a native of same, born 
 October 28, 1856, son of Stephen and 
 Wilhelmina (Sultan) Huisenfeldt. 
 
 Stephen Huisenfeldt was born in Hol- 
 land, and in 1847 came to the United 
 States, landing in New York City. Having 
 heard of the superior advantages offered 
 to settlers in the great West, he came to 
 Green Bay, Brown Co. , Wis., and thence, 
 after a short stay, to Bay Settlement, where 
 for two years he made his home with his 
 brother, Reinhard, after which he came 
 to De Pere township, where he was em- 
 jiloyed three years on the farm of James 
 Boyd, and then for two years following 
 rented and worked a farm along the Dixon 
 road. Mr. Huisenfeldt was married in 
 Green Bay to a Miss Hazacher, who 
 passed away eighteen months afterward, 
 the mother of one child, who also died. 
 He subsequently married Miss Wilhelmina 
 Sultan, a native of Holland, and, after 
 living on the rented farm a short time, 
 they came to the place in Rockland town- 
 ship, now owned by our subject, on which 
 they passed the remainder of their lives. 
 He first purchased forty acres in Section 
 10, at $2. 50 per acre, and, after clearing a 
 small space erected a 12x14 log shanty, 
 in which they lived five years. The task 
 of clearing was commenced at once; but, 
 owing to the lack of necessary farming 
 implements, the work was slow and labo- 
 rious, several years of hard labor being ex- 
 pended on the place before it yielded any 
 return. For seven years after their settle- 
 ment they had no team, and either had to 
 hire one or exchange work with others. 
 When the ground had been cleared and 
 
23S 
 
 COMMEMOUA TI I 'K BIO GRA PHICA L RECORD. 
 
 prepared for the tirst crop, Mr. Huisen- 
 (eldl found himself without money to buy 
 seed, and accordinf^ly he exchanged an 
 acre of ground for four buslieis of wheat 
 seed, thus obtaining a start. In 1870 he 
 purchased thirty-six acres more (wliich 
 also needed clearing and improving;, the 
 home farm now containing seventy-live 
 acres of highly cultivated land. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Huisenfeldt had four children, as 
 follows: Cornelius, who resides in Mar- 
 shall. Minn. ;George, subject of this sketch; 
 Johanna, who died at the age of eighteen 
 years; and one that died in infancy. 
 Stephen Huisenfeldt passed from earth 
 November 9, 1889, at the age of seventy- 
 nine years, and was followed to the grave 
 by his wife February 4, 1892. 
 
 Our subject was reared to farm life, in 
 early boyhood commencing to assist his 
 father in the work on the pioneer farm, 
 taking no small share in transforming the 
 wilderness intu a pleasant farm. He 
 always remained at home assisting his 
 parents, and on the death of his father 
 the home place came into his possession, 
 his mother residing there with him until 
 her decease. On April 19, 1889, Mr. 
 Huisenfeldt was united in marriage with 
 Miss Christine .\lbers, daughter of Cierard 
 and Johanna Albers, who emigrated from 
 Germany to. \merica in 1882, comingwest 
 to De Pere, Wis., where Mr. Albers fol- 
 lowed his trade, that of a carpenter. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Albers had thirteen children, 
 seven of whom are living, viz. : Mary, 
 Henry, Johanna, Nellie, Dora, Christine 
 and Peter. After their marriage our sub- 
 ject and wife came at once to the home 
 farm, which he conducts in a systematic 
 manner, engaging successfully in general 
 farming. Their union has been blessed 
 with tw(3 children, namely : .\nna Minnie. 
 born.'\pril 17, 1 890, and Stephen C.. born 
 May 24. 1 893. Mr. and Mrs. Huisenfeldt are 
 members of the Holland Catholic Church 
 of De Pere. Politically he is independ- 
 ent, and though not an active politician 
 has served his township as supervisor, 
 discharging the duties of his f)fTice in a 
 
 conscientious, business-like way. He 
 stands in the front rank of the progres- 
 sive farmers of his section; and commands 
 the respect of all who know him for his 
 integrity and uprightness. 
 
 P 
 
 AUL BAUMGART. who ranks 
 
 among the industrious, rising 
 
 \oung farmers of his section, is a 
 
 native of the Fatherland, born 
 
 August 9, 1858, in Breslau, Prussia. 
 
 His father, August Baumgart, was a 
 farmer and land-owner in Prussia, and for 
 several years also engaged in the manu- 
 facture of bricks. He and his wife had 
 seven children, nainel)': Charles (who died 
 in Germany), Joseph, Caroline, August, 
 Edward, John and Paul. Deciding to 
 bring his family to America, Mr. Baum- 
 gart sold his property, and in the spring 
 of 1868 they sailed on the "Schiller," 
 which vessel was bound for Baltimore, at 
 which port they arrived after a stormj' 
 pa.ssage of eight weeks and three days. 
 They then came west over the Baltimore 
 & Ohio railway, via Columbus (Ohio) and 
 Chicago (111), and on July 6, same year, 
 landed in Green Bay. Wis., locating 
 eventually in Bellevue township. Brown 
 county, where, shortly after their arrival, 
 Mr. Baumgart purchased seventy-two 
 acres of new land, all of which was still 
 in the woods, not even space enough for 
 a house having been cleared. But they 
 set to work at once, and soon had a 
 dwelling 16x20, near the site of their 
 present home. The farm was gradually 
 cleared and cultivated, and there Mr. 
 Baumgart made his home until 1882, in 
 which year he removed to another farm 
 in Bellevue township, where he and his 
 wife yet reside. They are members of 
 the Catholic Chinch, and in politics he is 
 a Democrat. 
 
 Paul Baumgart was nine years of age 
 when he came with his parents to Wis- 
 consin. He had attended school for three 
 years in Germany, and the rest of his edu- 
 cation was received in the district schools 
 
COMMEMORATIVE niOGRAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 239 
 
 of the period in the \icinity ul his new 
 home. He was reared a fanner boy, 
 thoroughh' trained to af^ricultnral pursnits 
 on the farm he now t)wns and resides on, 
 wliicli he has seen transformed from the 
 dense forest to a fertile tract. On April 
 17, 1S83, he was married, at Francis 
 Creek, Manitowoc Co., Wis., to Miss 
 Lizzie Anntholtz, a natixe of that county, 
 born May 31, 1861, (fau;;hter of Henry 
 Auntholtz, who came to Wisconsin from 
 Prussia in an early day. The young couple 
 immediately settled on their present farm, 
 and in 1888 Mr. Baumgart erected the 
 substantial, comfortable dwelling where 
 they now make their home. They have 
 had children as follows; Nettie, Theresa, 
 Sylvester, Paul, Peter and William, all 
 living. Our subject is a self-made man, 
 and by hard work and thrift has acquireti 
 the comfortable property he now owns; 
 the farm is an excellent one, and he con- 
 ducts a profitable general farming busi- 
 ness, in which he can not fail to prosper. 
 Politically he is a Democrat, and though 
 not an office-seeker, he has served his 
 township as road master. The family are 
 all members of St. Francis Catholic 
 Church, De Pere. 
 
 H 
 
 ERRMAN EHLE, one of the 
 
 early pioneers of Brown county, 
 
 was born in the village of Bari- 
 
 gau, Schwarzburg- Rudolstadt, 
 
 (iermany, lanuary 6, 1830. 
 
 His father, Nicholas Ehle, a farmer, 
 died in that country al)out 1853, and his 
 mother, who afterward came to Brown 
 county, Wis., died about 1878. Of their 
 seven children, four came to Brown coun- 
 ty; Herrman in 1855; August in 1856 (he 
 was a blacksmith by trade and removed 
 to Texas, dying at Houston in 1861 or 
 1862); Caroline in 1857 (she was the wife 
 wife of Gottfried Undehaun, and died at 
 Green Bay about 1888); Henrietta in 
 1857 (she married Theodore Mahn, and 
 now resides at Green Bay, her children 
 were seven in number, as follows; Albert, 
 
 who was accidently killed \\hile on a 
 hunting trip; Lena, wife of Herman Kajjp, 
 of Green Bay; William, a tailor, residing 
 at Green Bay, who is marrietl to Mamme 
 \'andenhubel; Mary, wife of Conrad Beth. 
 also of Green Bay; Theodore, a tailor, of 
 P^ort Howard; Anna, \\ifc of iM'ank Miller, 
 of Green Bay, and Herman Mahiij. 
 
 Herrman Ehle, the subject proper of 
 this sketch, was reared and educated in 
 Germany, and was engaged in farming 
 previous to coming to the Umted 
 States. Aftei- locating at I'ort Howard, 
 on August \2. 1855, he learned the car- 
 penter's trade, and followed that \(ication 
 many j-ears. On arriving at Wisconsin 
 he first located at Mcl\ane. near Milwau- 
 kee, remaining theie ten weeks before 
 coming t(.i h'ort Howaid. He was en- 
 gaged in building in Fort Howard, and for 
 live years was connected with Mr. C. 
 Schwarz in contracting ;uul building, con- 
 timiing in the same business for himself a 
 long period following. He erected a large 
 number of residences in Fort Howard and 
 Green Bay, building the first brick resi- 
 dence in the city of Green Bay in 1866; 
 in 1870 he erected a brick building in Fort 
 Howard, and another in I 871. He is the 
 owner of thirteen dwellings in the Fifth 
 ward of Fort Howard, five of the mnn- 
 l)er being c< instructed of brick, and it will 
 be seen that Mr. Ehle has done much 
 personally toward building up and im- 
 proving the city. He has, in addition, 
 been prominently connected with affairs 
 generally incident to the development of 
 Brown county, and is recognized as a 
 substantial citizen and representative bus- 
 iness man, with progressive ideas and 
 vigorous methods. Politically he is a 
 Republican, and has served for twelve 
 years as alderman from the Fifth ward of 
 Fort Howard. Industrious and careful, 
 he has in the nearly forty years of his 
 residence here been fortunate in l)usiness, 
 and has a record and a reputation justly 
 the source of pride. He has never mar- 
 ried. Mr. Ehle was reared under the 
 influence of the Lutheran Church, and has 
 
240 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 always been considered one of the most 
 straightforward business men and upright 
 citizens of Fort Howard. 
 
 BARTHOLOMEW DOOLAN, a 
 tlirifty and wealthy young farmer, 
 of Morrison township, Brown 
 count}', is a native of Massachu- 
 setts, born September 7, 1846. 
 
 John and Julia (Noonan) Doolan, his 
 parents, natives of Ireland, were the 
 parents of five children, namely: Mary, 
 Michael, Bartholomew. Ellen, and John. 
 The father was a farmer, and, with his 
 wife and his eldest (then his only) child, 
 came to the United States in 1832, land- 
 ing at New York after having passed seven 
 long weeks on the ocean. From New- 
 York the family went to New England, 
 and lived there for a period of eleven 
 years, principally in Rhode Island, also 
 residing for a few years in Massachusetts. 
 In 1849 ]ohu and his family reached Wis- 
 consin, and settled in Franklin township, 
 Manitowoc county, where he bought 304 
 acres of land in its primitive condition, 
 from which he. in due course of time, 
 hewed out a farm that was the pride of 
 the township. Their first dwelling was a 
 log cabin, 16x24 feet in size, in which 
 they lived twelve years, after which they 
 erected a comfortable frame dwelling. 
 The first schoolhouse was erected after 
 the family had been in the township five 
 years, and in this Bartholomew received 
 his education. The father died May 1 1;, 
 1877, the mother in 1882, and the re- 
 mains of both were interred in Franklin. 
 Bartholomew Doolan did good and 
 faithful service in assisting his father in 
 clearing up and tilling the home farm un- 
 til he was twenty-one years of age, with 
 the exception of a short time passed in 
 working in the woods. Employing his 
 time thereafter on his own account until 
 he had reached the age of twenty-five, he 
 married, September 19, 1871, Miss Sarah 
 Watt, a daughter of Thomas and Sarah 
 (O'Conncll) Watt, natives of Ireland who 
 
 came to America in 1845, and after their 
 marriage here settled in Maple Grove, 
 Manitowoc county, Wis., and reared six 
 children — Anna, Sarah, Michael. Thomas, 
 Mary, and John. After his marriage Bar- 
 tholomew and his wife came to Morrison 
 township, Brown county, and here Mr. 
 Doolan bought eight}' acres of wild land, 
 on which they erected their present home, 
 with Indians, wolves, bear and deer for 
 their companions and neighbors. Here 
 was begun that life of toil and hardship 
 developed only in pioneer life, but which 
 resulted in after years in the possession of 
 all the comforts and conveniences of civili- 
 zation. The eighty-acre tract was in- 
 creased to a farm of 200 acres, and the 
 old log house, which is still standing, was 
 their habitation fully twelve years, but 
 their present residence, erected about 
 1884, is a modern frame, with every de- 
 sirable convenience and comfort. But the 
 acquirement of all this has required toil, 
 economy, and the willing efforts of man 
 and wife and the cheerful aid of the elder 
 children. The children, eleven in num- 
 ber, were born in the following order: 
 John, July 4, 1872: Thomas. July 27, 1874; 
 Marv, October 4, 1876; Agnes J., Janu- 
 ary "21. 1879; Sarah E., May 28, 1881; 
 Helen A., May 14, 1883; Frances B., 
 September 11, 1884; Catherine G., No- 
 vember 17, 18S5; Margaret, March 19, 
 1888; Lucy.L., Noveml)er 17, 1890; and 
 Theresa, October 3, 1892. Of these. 
 Frances B. died September 15. 1884; the 
 others are all living at home, with the ex- 
 ception of Thomas, who is attending a 
 business college at Manitowoc. The 
 family are all strict members of the 
 Catholic Church, with the exception, of 
 course, of the younger members, who 
 have been baptized in that faith. Mr. 
 Doolan has served as trustee of his Church, 
 and, as a Democrat, is serving as school 
 clerk of his township, but he takes no 
 special interest in politics. 
 
 Mr. Doolan and his famil\ rank among 
 the best and most respectable citizens of 
 Morrison township, and it is such as he, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BlOGllAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 241 
 
 with strong inuscles, willing disposition, 
 industrious habits and law-abidinj; princi- 
 ples, that have made the township and 
 county what they are. 
 
 FERDINAND SMET, one of the 
 highly respected citizens of De- 
 Pere township. Brown count}', 
 where he owns a well-improved 
 farm, is a native of Belgium, born Jan- 
 uary 12, 1832. His father, Albert Bene- 
 dictus Smet, was a life-long farmer, in 
 comfortable circumstances, owning a good 
 farm, and he passed his entire life in his 
 native country. He had a family of seven 
 children — four sons and three daughters — 
 of whom Ferdinand is the eldest. 
 
 Ferdinand Sniet attended the schools 
 of his birthplace until he was thirteen 
 years old, and then commenced to work 
 on the home farm, where he remained 
 over thirty years. They lived but a short 
 distance from Antwerp. He was married 
 in Belgium to Constance Boart, and they 
 had tiiree children born to them there, 
 viz. : Ozarine, now Mrs. August Johnson, 
 of De Pere township; Emma, Mrs. John 
 \'an Vedron, of Rockland township; and 
 Martin, of Washington. About 1868 Mr. 
 Smet disposed of his business and prop- 
 erty, he being a merchant and store- 
 keeper, and set out with his family for 
 the United States, where he thought to 
 find better opportunities for his family. 
 He journeyed from Antwerp to Hull, 
 England, thence to Liverpool, from 
 which port he sailed for New York on 
 the "Colorado," making the voyage 
 in twelve days. Their destination was 
 Green Bay, Wis. , whither they traveled 
 by rail, arriving si.x days later, on Satur- 
 day, and spent the first night with John 
 Martin. A few days afterward Ferdinand 
 Smet secured work in the hub factory at 
 De Pere, and here he continued to work 
 for two and a half years, until, in 1872, 
 he purchased his present farm in De Pere 
 township. It then consisted of forty acres 
 of new land, upon which stood only a log 
 
 house and a small barn, and all but ten 
 or twelve acres was in the woods. He 
 had saved enough to pay for the land, 
 but was obliged to go into debt for the 
 farm implements, etc., which he ni'eded 
 to clear and cultivate the place. How- 
 ever, he set to work with a determination 
 to make a comfortable home for himself 
 and family, and after much hard work 
 they succeeded in reducing the land to a 
 culti\'ated condition. He now owns a 
 good farm of eighty acres, the accumula- 
 tion of which had involved no small 
 amount of hard work. But he has been 
 greatly assisted by his family, and they 
 have cleared and imjiroved the place un- 
 til it is now a fertile, well-equipped tract, 
 with a good residence and outbuildings, 
 and all free from debt. In this country Mr. 
 and Mrs. Smet had children as follows; 
 Louis, now a farmer of De Pere town- 
 ship; Mar)', .'\lice, and Henry J. at home. 
 and Edward, who died in infancy. On 
 .•\pril II, 1877, the mother died, since 
 which time the daughters have had charge 
 of the household work. The entire family 
 are highly respected for their industry 
 and sterling worth, and Mr. Smet is 
 exerywhere known as an honest, upright 
 citizen. In politics he is a Democrat, but 
 takes little active interest in jiarty affairs. 
 Religiously he is a member of St. Mary's 
 Catholic Church, De Pere. 
 
 ALPHONSE MARIA KERSTEN, 
 M. D., of De Pere, l^rown coun- 
 ty' is of Cerman origin, and was 
 born in 1848, at Rees-on-the- 
 Rhine, in Rhenish Prussia, the oldest of 
 five brothers, one of whom, the Very 
 Rev. Norbert U. Kersten was, for many 
 years, Vicar-General of Bishop F. X. 
 Katzer. of Green Bay, and Chancellor of 
 that diocese, and its administrator when 
 Bishop Katzer was promoted to the .Arch- 
 bishopric of Milwaukee. 
 
 His parents, Edward and Anna (Rutjes) 
 Kersten, were residents of the city of Rees- 
 on-the-Rhine, in Rhenish Prussia, where 
 
242 
 
 COMMEMORATIVK DIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 the father was a dry-goods merchant, dying 
 there January 31, 1S91, and where the 
 mother still li\es. The Doctor was edu- 
 cated, classically, at the Jesuit collej^^e at 
 Feldkirch, in the Province of \'orarlberg, 
 Austria; the college of Gaesdonk, in 
 Khenish Prussia; and the Gymnasium of 
 Muenster, in Westphalia. Coming to 
 America in 1868, he conducted a drug 
 store in several Wisconsin cities up tothi 
 year 1879. He then attended two courses 
 of lectures at the Medical Department of 
 the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 
 and then became a student at the Detroit 
 Medical College, from which he graduated 
 in 1883. He then began practice at 
 Petoskey, Mich., whence he removed to 
 De Pere, Wis., in 188^, and has here been 
 in active practice ever since, being recog- 
 nized as one of the most skillful physicians 
 of northeastern Wisconsin. On first 
 coming to the United States, the Doctor 
 located at Fredonia. Ozaukee Co., Wis., 
 where he operated a drug store, in part- 
 nership with a physician; in 1S78 he 
 moved to Kaukauna, built a new store, 
 and from there moved to Ann Arbor, 
 Mich., for the purpose of pursuing his 
 medical studies, as above narrated. In 
 politics the Doctor is a Democrat, and. 
 while a resident of Ozaukee county, tilled 
 various minor offices; in 1887 he was ap- 
 pointed, under President Cleveland, as 
 pension examiner, and was re-appointed 
 under President Harrison, but resigned 
 after one month under the latter appoint- 
 ment. In 1891 he was appointed, by 
 Governor Peck, State Superintendent of 
 Inspectors of Illuminating Oils for Wis- 
 consin, was re-appointed in 1892, and 
 again on April i . i S94. antl is still serving 
 in that office. 
 
 The marriage of the Doctor took place 
 in 1871, at Barton, Washington Co., 
 Wis., to Miss Mary V'andeboom, a native 
 of the city of Calcar, Rhenish Prussia, 
 and this felicitious union has been blessed 
 with nine children, named as follows: 
 Annie M., Clara M., Edward M., Norbert 
 M.. Sylvan M.. Theresa M., Leo M., 
 
 Paul Ernest M. and Hugo Henry Louis 
 M., all living at home in De Pere. The 
 Doctor is a member of the Catholic 
 Knights of Wisconsin, and vice-president 
 of the local branch of that order. He has 
 achieved a fine professional reputation, and 
 his social standing is a most enviable one. 
 
 BISHOP SblBASTIAX GEHHARD 
 MESSMER was born August 29, 
 1S47, at Goldach, Canton of St. 
 Gall, Switzerland. The ancestors 
 of Bishop Messiner were Swiss Catholics, 
 and resided in Thai, Canton of St. Gall, 
 Switzerland. At the time of the Refor- 
 mation one branch of the family became 
 adherents of the Protestant faith. Grand- 
 father Messmer also resided in the above 
 place. His son, Sebastian G. Messmer, 
 Sr. . moved to Goldach, and there resided 
 till his death in 1873, when he was aged 
 sixty-si.\ years. He was a man of con- 
 siderable wealth and education, and a 
 farmer by occupation. He held offices in 
 the Canton, by representing his district in 
 the (General .Assembly, and in the Catholic 
 Administrative Council, and was a useful 
 and conscientious legislator. He was 
 greatly belo\ed in his town, and was a man 
 of influence and importance there, making 
 himself useful and beloved among his 
 friends and fellow citizens. He was a 
 strong character, noted for his rugged 
 independence and honorable social and 
 business career. A stanch Catholic, he 
 was active in church work, and was presi- 
 dent of the town council and of the board 
 of church trustees for many years. The 
 great-grandmother of our subject, on the 
 father's side, was a Miss Kalb, an Aus- 
 trian from Bregenz. The mother of 
 Bishop Messmer was Rosa Baumgartner, 
 a native of Moerschwyl. Canton of St. 
 Gall. Switzerland. She died in the prime 
 of life, highly esteemed for her many good 
 qualities of head and heart. 
 
 Bishop Messmer is the eldest in a 
 family of six children. He received his 
 primar}' education in the common schools 
 
COMMEMOUA TIVK DWGliAl'IIICAL llECOliD. 
 
 -45 
 
 of his nati\e town, and then attended 
 the Hij^h School (or Real School) in 
 Rorschach, on Lake Constance, for three 
 years, or till 1861. There he first met 
 Otto Zardetti, his life-Ion^ friend, who 
 later became Bishop of St. Clcmd, Minn. 
 Following the clerical xocation, lie en- 
 tered the diocesan College of St. George's, 
 near St. Gall, where he became known 
 for his de\'otion and clnse application to 
 his studies, and obeilience to his superiors. 
 At that school he remained till 1866, and 
 then entered the University of Innsbruck, 
 in the Tyrol, in Austria, where he studied 
 philosophy and theology, remaining there 
 fi\'e vears. Those were years of hard 
 work, yet full of pleasant recollections. 
 On July 23, I 87 I, he was ordained to the 
 priesthood for the American mission. 
 He remained at home onl\' a short time, 
 and came to America, landing in New 
 York October 4, I 87 I. Previous to this 
 he had applied for and received an ap- 
 pointment b\' Bishop Bailey, of Newark, 
 N. J,, as professor of theology at the 
 Seton Hall College, South Orange, N. 
 J., whicii is also a diocesan seminary. 
 There he remained till August, 1889, dur- 
 ing which time he made himself general- 
 ly beloved by the thoughtful and kindly 
 interest he manifested to all with whom 
 he came in contact. .\s teacher, chap- 
 lain and Iriend, he bound man\' hearts to 
 liim, and le<l them into a brighter thought 
 world and chjser communion with the 
 Creator, the Savior and the Church. 
 During those eighteen years he also did a 
 great deal of pastoral work in St. Peter's 
 Church, Newark, N. J., which is a Ger- 
 man congregation with the largest paro- 
 chial school in the diocese, containing at 
 present fifteen hundred children. It was 
 in this church, that, at his own request, 
 he was consecrated by Bishop Zardetti, 
 March 27, 1892, because he was so well 
 known and beloved there, and because of 
 the many pleasant recollections which 
 clustered around St. Peter's. While act- 
 ing at the college as professor, he had 
 also charge of St. Mary's Orphan Asjluni 
 
 14 
 
 as chai)lain, besides doing a great deal of 
 pastoral work. He also had charge of 
 St. Leo's congregation, at Irvington, N. 
 J., for two years. 
 
 Ha\ing been called m 1889 to the 
 chair of Canon Law in the Uni\'ersit\' of 
 Washington, D. C. , he went to Rome tt) 
 prepare more fnlh fur the special work 
 assigned to him. As Canon Law had 
 been one of his classes when professor at 
 Seton Hall, he now devoted himself to 
 the study of the olil Roman civil law, aii<l 
 graduated with the degree of D. C. L. 
 (Doct(jr of Canon Lawj, at the CoUegio 
 Apollinare. In September, 1890, he en- 
 tered ujion his duties at the university, 
 where he taught with great credit to him- 
 self till he came to Green Bay, Wis. 
 While at Seton Hall he was selected as 
 one of eight theologians to prepare the 
 matter or decrees for the Baltimore Plen- 
 ary Council in 1884. He was also one 
 of the Secretaries of the Council at its 
 sessions, and afterward with Dr. O'Con- 
 nell, now rector of the American College 
 at Rome. Bishop Messmer prepared for 
 publication the proceedings of that fam- 
 ous Council, which work was published 
 ill 1886, and is a model of scholarship. 
 After the publication of the l)Ook he re- 
 ceived the title of Doct<_)r of Divinity 
 from the Pope, which was remarkable 
 when we consider the rarity of such be- 
 stowal. Bishop Messmer has written a 
 few works of merit, displaying both 
 scholarship and talent as a practical 
 writer on topics concerning his noble pro- 
 fession. He was assistant secretary of 
 the Provincial council of New York in 
 1883, and wrote a little work in Latin 
 called "Praxis Synodalis," which was 
 later used at the Council of Baltimore. 
 In 1 886 he edited for the American 
 clergy, an English translation of a Ger- 
 man work, entitled " Caminical Procedure 
 in Criminal Cases of Clerics, " which is 
 still an authority in clerical law. He has 
 also written articles for a German monthly 
 clerical paper published at St. Louis, Mo., 
 called "The Pastoral Blatt," and for the 
 
h6 
 
 COMMEMOIiA TIVE BloGIiAl'lllCAl. liKCORD. 
 
 "American Ecclesiastical Review," of 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 Bishop Mcssmer was appointed Bishop 
 of Green Bay, December 14, 1891, but 
 did not arrive here till April 7, 1892. 
 Here a wide and useful, but also hard 
 field of labor awaited him, which for the 
 time seemed to check his literarj' efforts. 
 But the strong mind that brouf^ht order 
 out of the manifold accumulations of a 
 great literary council has already made 
 him fully acquainted with wc^rk in the 
 Diocese of Green Bay. Here his influ- 
 ence, always for good, is felt in every 
 nook and corner. The respect which he 
 inspired on his arrival has not abated, 
 but is increased as time goes on. To 
 the talents of a pastor and bishop is added 
 the learning of a scholar and literateur, 
 which (united with rare business tact and 
 ability to govern) has made him already 
 a conspicuous figure in the Church and 
 State, and has gained him the confidence, 
 good will and love of all classes, denomi- 
 nations and nationalities. 
 
 JOHN L. LAMARRE (deceased), who. 
 in his lifetime, was one of the most 
 intelligent and prosperous agricul- 
 turists of Preble township. Brown 
 county, was a native of Belgium, born 
 August 4, 1822. 
 
 He was a lifelong farmer, having been 
 reared to the plough from early life, his 
 education at the same time not being 
 neglected; and. as his parents were well- 
 to-do, the}' were able to give him some 
 assistance when he first commenced farm- 
 ing for his own account. In I^elgium he 
 owned about five acres of land, which was 
 then considered quite a comfortable little 
 farm, and by careful cultivation he had 
 good average returns from it. He was 
 married in his native place to Miss Vir- 
 ginia Merrick, who was born in Belgium 
 in 1832, and children as follows blessed 
 their union: Joseph E., Victor, Alphonse 
 and Mary, all of Belgian birth, and all 
 yet living. In 1871, the sons growing up 
 
 around the little home, Mr. Lamarre de- 
 cided to emigrate with his family to 
 America, where he knew there was room 
 for all, with plent\- to spare; and on April 
 I, that year, they took passage on a ves- 
 sel bound for New York, the father having 
 previously sold all his propert}', goods and 
 chattels, which brought him a consider- 
 able sum. From New York they at once 
 traveled westward to Wisconsin, and in 
 Green Bay township, Brown county, Mr. 
 Lamarre purchased some land, on which 
 the family resided until 1884. when tiiey 
 removed to Preble township, settling on 
 160 acres of land bought by Mr. La- 
 marre. having sold his place in Green Bay 
 township. Here he passed the rest of his 
 life, dying April 18, 1885, his remains be- 
 ing interred in Shantytown cemetery. 
 
 A Democrat from the time of his be- 
 coming an American citizen, he always 
 \-oted that ticket, but was in no sense a 
 politician, attending sedulously to his bus- 
 iness on the farm. He was a quiet, unas- 
 suming man, very domestic in his habits, 
 one who strictly minded his own business, 
 and he was respected by all. Having 
 died somewhat suddenly he left no will, 
 and no provision having been made for 
 the disposal of the property, his widow 
 and children have since conducted the 
 farm conjointly. Mrs. Lamarre. though 
 now si.xty-three \ears old. is remarkably 
 acti\e. and performs her share of work at 
 the homesteail more like a woman of half 
 her age. The sons are a trio of indus- 
 trious, hard-working young men, whose 
 equal, it is said, is not to be found in any 
 one family in the township for progres- 
 siveness and enterprise, worthy sons of 
 worthy parents. In April. 1893, they 
 purchased the Cedar Creek Flouring Mills 
 from George B. Hess and H. A. Walter, 
 and. by the latter jiart of 1894. expect to 
 have the concern in full operation. The 
 home place, now comprising 1 20 acres of 
 well-improved land, is well managed, re- 
 flecting great credit on the family, and on 
 the sons in particular, for their industry 
 and energy. 
 
COMMKMOnATTVE BIOGRAPHICAL liECOItD. 
 
 ^47 
 
 JOHN LEBAL, who for the past 
 qiiartor of acenturyhas been a well- 
 known fanniT of Glenmore town- 
 ship, Hrown county, is a native of 
 l-)oheniia, born April 28, 1837, son of 
 Wencel Lebal, who was a farmer in com- 
 fortable circumstances. 
 
 Wencel Lebal had four children, viz. ; 
 Wencel, who is a farmer of Cilenmore 
 township; [ohn, whose name introduces 
 these lines; Joseph, of Allouez townshij*; 
 and Mary, Mrs. Wencel Vilda, of Ne- 
 braska. In the fall of 1852 this family 
 left their native land, and crossing from 
 Hamburg; to Hull, Mnf;land, journeyed by 
 rail to Liverpool, where they took pas- 
 sage for New York, landing after a voy- 
 age of four weeks and three days. They 
 pushed westward at once to Milwaukee, 
 W'is. ; thence, after a halt of three days, 
 coming to Kossuth township, Manitowoc 
 count}-, where a friend from their town in 
 Bohemia was living, and they remained 
 with him three weeks. In the same fall 
 they came to Cooperstown, same county, 
 taking up 160 acres of government land 
 in Section 28, for w Inch they paid seventy- 
 five cents per acre, and which at that 
 time was heavily timl)ered and entirely 
 unimproved. A rude shanty was erecteil 
 on the place, in which the family lived 
 for ten years, and. before the land \'ielded 
 a support, thost! able to work earned a 
 small income making shingles by hand, 
 selling tlu'ut in Manitowoc, some eighteen 
 miles distant. The mother died on this 
 farm, and was laid to rest in Kossuth 
 townshiii; the father subsequently passed 
 from earth in .Mlouez township, Brown 
 county, at the home of his son Josejih, 
 and he was buried in Green Bay ceme- 
 tery. I'loth were members of the Reform 
 Church. 
 
 John Lebal recei\ed a fair education 
 in the conunon schools of his native land, 
 and was reared from boyhood to agricul- 
 tural life. He came to the United States 
 with his parents, and remained with them 
 in Manitowoc county until his enlistment, 
 August 21, 1862, in Company F, Twenty- 
 
 si.xth Ivegimeiit, Wis. \'. 1. The com- 
 mand was sent to Miluaid<ec, thence, 
 after being drilled, to Washington. Their 
 first engagement was a Frederickslnirg, 
 following which came the battles of Chan- 
 cellors\ille and (jettysburg, where, on the 
 aflcrnooii of JuK' 1, i8()3, oiu' suliject 
 was woLUided in the rii^ht knee by ;i 
 imisket-f)all. He was lirst taki'U to the 
 field hospital, and thence conveyed to 
 Baltimore, where he lay twenty-one days, 
 afterwhieh he was removed lotlie general 
 hospital at Washin;;ton, and here re- 
 mained until early in |annar\, 1864. 
 Joining the \'eteran Resi'rve ("orps at 
 Alexandria. Va., he remaiiu'd tlu're some 
 time, and then returiie(l to Washington, 
 doing guarii duty about that eit_\'. He 
 was next transferred to Svraiuse, N. Y., 
 and thence to Elmira, same State, where 
 he received an honorable discharge July 
 13, 1865, having served continuously 
 since his enlistment without furlough, and 
 he saved two hundred dollars while in the 
 st-rvice. Returning to his old home in 
 Wisconsin, he ctjntinued to work lor his 
 parents three years, recei\'ing a piece of 
 land in Cooperstown township for his 
 services. 
 
 In the fall of 1869 Mr. Lt'bal married, 
 in Cooperstown township. Miss Rosa 
 Rudolf, a native of Bohemia, who died 
 one year later, and was buried in Coop- 
 erstown. About 1 87 1 he was married, 
 in Kossuth townshi]), for his second wife, 
 to Miss Eliza Krieneek, a native of Bohe- 
 mia, to which marriage came six children, 
 of whom a son and two daughters died 
 young; Emma, Annie and Joseph are liv- 
 ing at home. The mother of these passed 
 from earth April 3, 1881, and was buried 
 ;it b'rancis Creek, Manitowoc county. In 
 January, 1882, Mr. Lebal weilded in Gib- 
 son township, Manitowoc comity, for his 
 third spouse. Miss Mary Holub, a native 
 of Carlton, Kewaunee Co., Wis., and 
 this imion has been blessed with children 
 as follows : Wencel, Christina, Edward, 
 Helen and Jolm, living, and Etlward (i), 
 who died yoimg. The mother of these 
 
348 
 
 COMMKMOltAriVE BIOGIiAPiriCAL BECORD. 
 
 was called Irotn earth May 17, 1894, and 
 is buried in the Lutheran j^raveyard at 
 Glenmore. 
 
 About the year iS6(j Mr. Lcbal came 
 to Glenmore township, and in Section 20 
 purchased forty acres of new land, on 
 which the timber was still stantiinfj. He 
 erected a dwelling on the place, at once set 
 about the work of clearing, and, after 
 j-ears of labor, found liiniself possessed 
 of a fertile farm. From time to time he 
 has added to the original tract, and owns 
 200 acres in Glenmore and Rockland 
 townships. He has been the architect of 
 his own fortune, for he started in life a 
 poor bo\\ and he has won the respect of 
 all who know him for his industrx' and 
 integrity. In political affiliation he is a 
 Republican, but not active in party 
 affairs, and in religious connection he and 
 his family are members of the Protestant 
 Church, 9t Francis Creek, in Kossuth 
 township. Manitowoc county. 
 
 JOHN MICHELSON. of Pittsfield 
 township, Brown county, was born 
 August 28, 1S38, in Denmark, and 
 is one of a famih" of nine children 
 born to Michel Peterson and his wife, 
 Carrie Peterson. The father was a cabi- 
 net maker, and with liim our subject re- 
 mained until fifteen years old. He then 
 worked out as a day laborer for one year, 
 for sixteen dollars; then as a coachman 
 four years, at sixty-five dollars per year. 
 In June, 1862, he entered the army and 
 served three years; in 1S65 he sailed for 
 America, landing in New York, whence 
 he came directly to Wisconsin. For three 
 months he worked on a farm near Racine, 
 thence going to Manistee, Mich., where 
 he worked three weeks in a sawmill, and 
 tiien worked in the woods for twenty-six 
 dollars per month during the winter. Re- 
 turning to the mill in the spring, he in the 
 fall went into the woods again, at thirty- 
 five dollars per month, and remained 
 about eighteen months. 
 
 On )anuar\' 8, 1869, he married Mar\ 
 
 Nelson, one of a family ot elc\ en children 
 born to Nels and Keirsten (Fredericks) 
 Anderson. Mrs. Michelson was twenty- 
 four jears of age when she came to Amer- 
 ica. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Michel- 
 son remained five months in Manistee, 
 and then remo\ed to Fort Howard, Brown 
 Co., Wis., lived there a year and a half, 
 and then settled in Pittsfield township, 
 where Mr. Michelson bought a forty-acre 
 farm, of which about twelve acres were 
 cleared, and on which stood the house in 
 which they now live. To this farm have 
 been added twenty-three acres, all cleared, 
 and in good condition. To the marriage 
 of Mr. and Mrs. Michelson have been born 
 seven children, in the following order: 
 Constance, November 8, 1869; Nellie, 
 August 3, 1 871; Lena, July 12, 1873; 
 Frederick, August 7, 1875; Mcta, April 
 7, 1877; Alvin, July 15, 1879, and .\ndy, 
 September 20, 1882. All the children 
 are living, and five still make their home 
 with their parents. Lena, who attended 
 college at I3attle Creek, Mich., has been 
 a teacher since sixteen years of age, and 
 is still in the profession. In religious con- 
 nection the family are Seventh-Day Ad- 
 ventists. and in politics Mr. Michelson is 
 a Re])ublican. He is a self-made man in 
 the full sense of the term, and well de- 
 serves the high esteem in which he is held 
 bv his fellow citizens. 
 
 ELBRIDGE G. BOVDEN, a pros- 
 perous merchant and agriculturist 
 of Mills Center, Brown county, is 
 a native of the State of W'iscon- 
 sin, born December 2, 1853, in Manito- 
 woc county. 
 
 His father, Charles Boydcn, was one 
 of fi\e children born to Amos and Abigail 
 (Wood) Boydcn, at Orange, Mass. Amos 
 was a mill-man, and died in his native 
 State at the age of seventy, preceded to 
 the grave by his wife, who only reached 
 middle age. Charles Boyden passed his 
 early years in his father's mill, later made 
 a wiialing voyage, and afterward became 
 
COMMEMORA Tl VK BIO (lit A PIIICA L RECORD. 
 
 249 
 
 a boatman on the Erie canal, wlu-ic he 
 met his future wife, Au<;usta Dunham, 
 whom lie married |une 15, 1X50. She 
 was horn |ul\ 4, 1S25, in W'mdsoi" iduii- 
 ty, Vt., a daughter of WiUiam and Sarah 
 (Metcalfj Dunham. Botli the paternal 
 and maternal grandfathers ol .\li-. I-)oy<len 
 were heroes in the war of the KeMilution, 
 and did valiant ser\ice. Charles j-loyden 
 was born November 14, 1804, came to 
 Wisconsin in May, 1852, via the lakes to | 
 Detroit, Mich., h\ railroad to C'hii'ago, j 
 111., and thence b\' lake to .Manitowoc 
 county, where he was employed loi" some 
 years in manufacturing shingK's m tin- 
 old-fashioned way. He died in luown 
 ccninty when nearly eighty-six years of age. 
 
 Elbridge G. I->oyden is one ol a l.imily 
 of eight children, si.\ ol whom are still 
 living, for the most part engaged m busi- 
 ness. He remainetl with his fathei^ until 
 his marriage, April 29, 1875, to Miss 
 Henrietta Hollom, a native ot Sebrc, 
 Piscataquis Co., Maine, born l''eliruary 
 14, 1S51, and a daughter of C'harles !'". 
 and Dorothea .\. (Judkinsi Hollom. 
 Charles F. Hollom was born in .S;-bec, 
 Maine, in 1815, a son ol (.'harles and 
 Lydia (Crockett) Hollom, the toniier ol 
 whom was a native of SwimIcii, tin- latter 
 of New England. Charles I'", •■roimded 
 the Horn" in 1853, and died in Cali- 
 fornia at the age of sixt}-oiK'. Mrs. 
 Henrietta Boyden's mother, Dorothea 
 A. (Judkins), was born November 22, 
 18 18, in Fayette, Kennebec Co., Maine, 
 a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Bache- 
 lor) Judkins, the latter a native of I'ay- 
 ette, Maine, the former of Scotland; they 
 both died in Bangor, Maine, the lather at 
 the advanced age of ninety-five, the 
 mother at the comparatively early age of 
 thirty-seven. 
 
 Mrs. Elbridge G. Boyden at the age 
 of fourteen began teaching school in 
 Berwick, Maine, and for two years was 
 very successful in that vocation. She 
 then entered the composing room of the 
 Portland Transcript, held cases six weeks, 
 and went thence to Biddeford, Maine, 
 
 where she held rases in the PiiUi>n-/tt 
 office a Near and ;i hall, thence going to 
 Boston, .Mass.. wlu-rr ■^lu■ set ty]>e 111 a 
 book otiice lor o\er eighteen months. Re- 
 turning to Bi(ld<'ford she wurked in the 
 /<i//r//ir/ itfficc oil lliitli'i's ■• Bible Com- 
 nu'utaries, " thence to Cleat b'alls, N. H., 
 and \\'orke(l as ,1 compositor in the /ii//r//i!/ 
 oflice a few months; then taught school in 
 ISerwick a ye;ir, altiT which she came 
 alone to Wisconsin, ;uid, settling where 
 she now li\es, taught si llool one ye;ir. In 
 till- following \ear she was married to Mr. 
 BoNdeii. and the\ lia\e had li\e children, 
 iKiinely: Nettie Aimeiia, born l''ebiuar\' 
 11, 1876: Grace F. , born ,\ii,!_;ust 21, 
 1877; Allen L. , born September 7. 1S81; 
 |esse, born l'"ebruar\ 12, 1884; and one 
 son that died .it the age ol nineteen 
 months. 
 
 .\fter his marriage Mr. BoNilen settled 
 in Mill Center, working in the woods, 
 making staves, etc., for about fi\e and a 
 half years, when he opened a general 
 store, of which Ins wife has since had full 
 I barge. He also owns one hundred acres 
 of good land, from winch he reaps a fair 
 income. His hist dwelling here was a 
 log structure, and he now occupies a com- 
 hirtable brick dwelling erected b\- him at 
 a cost of h\e thousand dollars. The total 
 caj)ital of Mr. aii<l .Mrs. ]^o\cien was, on 
 starting, two hundred tlollars, which, 
 through their united energies, they have so 
 increased that they can ( laini rank with 
 the most wealthy residents of the county. 
 In politics Mr. Boyden is a Republican, 
 and cast his first Presidential vote for U. S. 
 Grant, when a candidate for the second 
 term. 
 
 NIELS ERICKSON is a native of 
 Denmark, born May 8, 1833, son 
 of lirik and Lettie (Andersen) 
 Peters(jn, who reared a family of 
 children as follows: Rasmus, Niels, Peter, 
 Anna, Christian, Hans, and Lena. 
 
 Niels was obliged to commence assist- 
 ing his parents at an early age, and ac- 
 
COMMKMOliATlVK BIOGRAPHICAL UECORD. 
 
 cordinj^ly had little opportunity to obtain 
 an education. He was employed princi- 
 pally by the farmers in the neijjhborhood 
 of his home, turning his wages over to 
 his parents until he reached his majoritj', 
 after which he commenced to save, in 
 order to get a start in life. In 1859 he 
 was united in marriage with Caroline 
 Christison, daughter of Christ and Martha 
 (Johnson) Oleson, all natives of Denmark, 
 and to this union were born five children 
 in Denmark, namely: Laura C, Chris- 
 tian, Christ, Emil and Martha. Nine 
 years after his marriage, in 1S68, Mr. 
 Erickson set out with his family for 
 America, and, after landing in New York, 
 immediately proceeded westward to Brown 
 county, Wis., and took up his residence 
 in New Denmark township. He worked 
 in a sawmill for about one month, and 
 was then engaged for a few weeks peeling 
 hemlock bark, after which he entered the 
 employ of Casper Hansen, for whom he 
 worked about two years. At the expira- 
 tion of that time he invested in eighty 
 acres of land in New Denmark township, 
 which at that time was all in the woods, 
 and was still inhabited by wild animals. A 
 log house was erected on the place, in which 
 the family lived for several }ears, and the 
 work of transforming the wilderness into 
 a fertile farm was commenced, a task in 
 which he met with well-deserved success, 
 as his present beautiful farm well shows. 
 Their trading had to be done at Manito- 
 woc or Green Bay, and, as they had no 
 team, the journey had to be made on foot. 
 Some years later other eighty acres, ad- 
 joining the original tract, was purchased, 
 making the fine farm of 160 acres now 
 owned by our subject, which has been 
 highly imprt)ved and carefully cultivated. 
 Four children were here born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Erickson, viz. : Peter, Hans, Lettie, 
 and Edith, two of whom, Peter and Edith, 
 are still at home. Politically Mr. Erick- 
 son is a stanch Republican. At the age 
 of seventeen Peter Erickson commenced 
 to work on the railroad, and continued in 
 that vocation some years, becoming a 
 
 section foreman; but he abandoned rail- 
 roading several years ago in order to assist 
 in taking charge of the affairs of the home 
 farm. He was a stanch member of the 
 Democratic party until recently, when he 
 changed his views, and is now supporting 
 the principles of the Republicans. 
 
 TERRENCE DORAN, an energetic 
 citizen of Pittsfield township. 
 Brown county, was born in Belle- 
 ville, Canada, November 20, 1838, 
 and is the second in the family of seven 
 children of Patrick A. and Ann (Hickey) 
 Doran, the other six being named as fol- 
 low's: Mary, James, John, Hugh, Matilda 
 and Rose. 
 
 Our subject was but a 3ear and a half 
 old when the family moved to New York 
 State, where Terrence received his edu- 
 cation. In 1855 he came west, stopping 
 for a time at Chicago, thence proceeding 
 to Dubuque, Iowa, in order to view the 
 country, returning to Chicago shortly 
 afterward. His eldest sister and her hus- 
 band, Michael Kirbey, who had been his 
 companions as far west as Chicago, con- 
 tinued their journey to Wisconsin, and 
 landed at Suamico, Brown county. On 
 returning from Dubuque to Chicago Mr. 
 Doran took passage, via the lake, for 
 Green Bay, whence he, also, came to 
 Suamico. After working here about fifteen 
 months, making shingle-bolts, etc., he 
 made a trip to Dunkirk, N. Y. , remained 
 six weeks, and then returned to Suamico, 
 Wis., and bought forty acres of land, 
 where now stands Tremble Station. In 
 the meantime his father and mother had 
 come to Wisconsin, and on this farm they 
 found a welcome until their decease. Mr. 
 Doran, however, only made his home 
 there until October 31, 1861, when he 
 married Margaret Page, daughter of David 
 and Margaret (Pruc) Page. He then came 
 to Pittsfiehl township, which has since 
 been his home. He has speculated largely 
 here in real estate, and for twenty-five 
 winters ran a lumber camp; at one time 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BlOGUAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 2^1 
 
 he owned 460 acres, ami now has 220 
 acres of good land, well improved. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Uoran have two chil- 
 dren: Mary Ann, at home with her parents, 
 and Andrew, married and living near by. 
 The family are Catholic in their religious 
 faith, and in politics Mr. Doran is a Dem- 
 ocrat. In his Church he is treasurer of 
 the building committee; he has served as 
 supervisor of his township twelve years, 
 and was school clerk fourteen years. He 
 has also served three terms as justice of 
 the peace, and no citizen in Pittstield 
 township is more highly respected. 
 
 FERDINAND WITTIG, a pros- 
 ]ierous general merchant of New- 
 Denmark township. Brown coun- 
 ty, was born October 20, 1851, in 
 Denmark, son of Henry C. and Maren 
 (Peterson) Wittig, the former of whom 
 was a farmer, and also followed his trade, 
 that of cooper, to some extent. His 
 family consisted of seven children, name- 
 ly: Henry C, Mary, Peter F. , Ferdinand, 
 Anna, Jacobine, and Jacob. 
 
 Ferdinand Wittig received a good 
 common-school education in his native 
 land, and lived with his parents until he 
 reached his majority, at which time he 
 decided to emigrate to and try his fortune 
 in America. Proceeding to Liverpool, 
 England, he embarked from that port in 
 an American-bound vessel and landed in 
 New York after a voyage of thirteen days, 
 immediately continuing his journey west- 
 ward to Wisconsin, his destination being 
 in New Denmark township. Brown coun- 
 ty, where his aunt, Mrs. Hans Olsen, was 
 living. He reached New Denmark by 
 way of Green Bay, and commenced work- 
 ing on his aunt's farm, remaining there, 
 however, but six months, at the end of 
 which time he migrated to Negaunee, 
 Mich., where he remained two months. 
 From there he went to Marquette, Mich., 
 thence to Minneapolis, Minn. , whence, 
 after a sojourn of two months, he re- 
 turned to New Denmark, and here con- 
 
 tinued a year. He next worked six 
 months in the lumber regions of Manis- 
 tee, Mich., and then again returned to 
 New Denmark township, where he has 
 ever since resided. 
 
 On June 28, 1877, Mr. Wittig was 
 united in marriage with Mrs. Catherine 
 (Buckman) Lange, a widow, daughter of 
 Ahrend S. and Henrietta (Bartels) Buck- 
 man, residents of New Denmark town- 
 ship. She was born June 28, 1844, in 
 Germany, and came to America with her 
 parents, remaining at home until her mar- 
 riage. May 17, 1862, with August Lange. 
 At the time of his marriage Mr. Lange 
 owned eight}- acres of wild land (on which 
 there were about four acres cleared), 
 whereon they moved, living in a one- 
 room log house until a more comfortable 
 dwelling could be built. They were hard- 
 working and industrious, and by their 
 united efforts succeeded in clearing and 
 improving their tract, converting it from 
 a wilderness to a productive farm. Their 
 marriage was blessed with five children, 
 \\z. : Herman, Ahrend, Bernard, Henri- 
 etta, and Frederick, all of whom are liv- 
 ing but Ahrend. Mr. Lange was called 
 from earth Septeniber 14, 1872, and his 
 widow continued to manage the affairs of 
 the place alone for five years, or until her 
 marriage to Mr. Wittig. Altera residence 
 of five years on the farm Mr. Wittig 
 erected his present store in New Denmark 
 township, and embarked in the general 
 mercantile and saloon business, in which 
 he has since been successfully engaged, 
 doing a thriving trade; from time to time, 
 owing to the demands of his increasing 
 business, he has been obliged to enlarge 
 the stock, and now carries a large assort- 
 ment of general merchandise. In politics 
 he is a Republican, but, though interested 
 in the success of his party, takes no act- 
 ive part in political affairs, his business re- 
 ceiving his undivided attention. In re- 
 ligious faith he and his wife are mem- 
 bers of the Lutheran Church. To their 
 union have been born three children: 
 Henry, Martha and Diederich. 
 
i=12 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Ri:V. CLEMENT LAU, pastor of 
 St. Francis Xavier Cathedral Con- 
 t^regation, Groen Bay, is a native 
 of (iertnany, born November i8, 
 1840, in the Province of Westphaha, of 
 which locality his ancestry were all resi- 
 dents as far back as can be traced, all 
 bearing an honorable reputation, their 
 life vocation, for the most part, being that 
 of farming. 
 
 He is a son of Bernard H. and Anna 
 Maria (Ross) Lau, who, shortly after the 
 birth of our subject, removed to the city 
 of Rheine, in the same Province, where 
 he attended the city schools, later the 
 gymnasium, which latter institution he 
 entered at the age of eleven years. Here 
 he studied diligently till 1859, in which 
 year he commenced a course of study at 
 the gymnasium of Muenster, where he 
 passed his final examination, and having 
 decided to prepare himself for the priest- 
 hood, in September, 1861, entered the 
 university in the same city, studying there 
 about twelve months. In the following 
 \'ear he proceeded to Austria, and in the 
 Priest Seminary at Linz (Upper Austria) 
 studied theology, after which, in June, 
 1863, he was ordained a sub-deacon. On 
 June 13, 1865, he was ordained a priest, 
 by the Right Rev. Bishop Francis Joseph 
 Rudigier, after which he .served in the 
 priesthood in three different Austrian 
 towns. Meanwhile, in 1877, he visited 
 Rome on the occasion of the Pope's jubi- 
 lee (Pius IX). In August, 1878, he came 
 to the United States, and on the 12th day 
 of the same month was received by Bishop 
 Krautbaucr in the diocese of Green Bay, 
 Wis. His first appointment was to the 
 church at Clark's Mills, Manitowoc coun- 
 ty, where he labored diligently for four- 
 teen months in a mixed congregation. 
 Next he was appointefl, by the Bishop, 
 rector of St. Mary's Church in Greenville, 
 Outagamie county, the congregation of 
 which was German, and here he built a 
 school and Si.stcrs' house; at the same 
 time he had charge of St. Patrick's (Irish) 
 Congregation at Stephensville. 
 
 In March, 1887, he was called by 
 Bishop Katzer to Green Bay to take 
 charge of the St. Francis Xavier Cathe- 
 dral Congregation, where he has remained 
 to the present day. He has labored faith- 
 fully and well, and has done much toward 
 building up the Cathedral congregation, 
 especialh' the school in connection, which 
 he made free himself. In September, 
 1892, he opened a high school under the 
 charge of the school Sisters of Notre 
 Dame, and now the Cathedral congrega- 
 tion possesses a school with eight classes 
 instead of four classes before his adminis- 
 tration. No one will know the sacrifices 
 it recpiired to put them on this footing, 
 which was the means of making the pros- 
 perity of the congregation. In Januar)', 
 1 890. at a cost of six thousand dollars, he 
 built the priest's residence, which was 
 completed in October. 1890. He has 
 been a very useful pastor, and will long 
 be remembered for his kindly counsel and 
 advice, given always with a smile that 
 meant more than mere words. 
 
 CHRISTOPH GOLDSMITH, a 
 tlirifty. enterprising farmer of 
 New Denmark township. Brown 
 countv. was born June 26. 1826, 
 in the village of \'ollhousen. Prussia. Ger- 
 many. He is a son of Christoph and 
 Augusta Goldsmith, also natives of Ger- 
 many, the former of whom was a gar- 
 dener, a vocation he followed successfully 
 in his native land for many years. He 
 had a family of four children: Augusta, 
 Christian, Charles and Christoph. 
 
 Our subject remained at home until 
 he was fifteen years of age. when he 
 commenced to learn the blacksmith trade, 
 at which he served an apprenticeship of 
 two years, subsequently following it while 
 he lived in Germany. In September, 
 1854, he proceeded to Liverpool, and 
 embarked at that port on a vessel bound 
 for America, the voyage occupying six 
 weeks. Landing at New York, he thence 
 went to Albany, where he worked at his 
 
.^ 
 
COMMEMOUA TIVE BIOGIiAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 -55 
 
 trade some time, afterward going to Sault 
 Ste. Marie, Mich., where he remained 
 one winter, and then removing to Apple- 
 ton, Wis., lived there a year and a half. 
 At the end of this time he came tf) New 
 Denmark township. Brown county, and 
 here purchased forty acres of wild land, 
 on which he erected a log house near his 
 present comfortable dwelling, and com- 
 menced clearing the place, from which 
 not a tree had been cut, nor was there 
 any road at the time he moved here, 
 thougli one was opened about a year 
 later. .\11 the supplies had to be brougiit 
 from Green Ba}-, and, as he had no ti-am, 
 he had to carry them home himself. Two 
 years after his remo\al to this iarin Mr. 
 Goldsmith was married, July 19, il^57, 
 in New Denmark, to .Nfiss Mar\' Ann 
 Nocker, daughter of Frank and Jacobine 
 (Seager) Nocker, who had a family of 
 three children, a brief record of whom is 
 as follows: Mary Ann (Mrs. Goldsmith) 
 was born November 27, 1839, in Nassau, 
 Germany ; August was born in Nassau, 
 Germany, and resides at Mishicot, Wis., 
 is married and has eight children ; Frank 
 is a resident of Franklin, Wis., is mar- 
 ried and has five children. In 1S53 Mr. 
 and Mrs. Nocker emigrated to America, 
 landing in New York after a voyage of 
 sixty-three days from Liverpool, and ])ro- 
 ceeding westward immediately Ui Me- 
 nomonee Falls, Wis., where they lived 
 three years, thence remo\ing to Franklin, 
 where Mr. Nocker purchased 160 acres of 
 timber land, on which he passed the re- 
 mainder of his days. After his death his 
 widow remoN'ed to Mishicot, Wis. , and 
 resided there until her death. The old 
 homestead, at Franklin, is now nwned by 
 the son, Frank. 
 
 Mrs. Goldsmith has aided her hus- 
 band nobly in the accumulation of his 
 property, his farm now comprising ninety 
 acres of highly-improved land. As he 
 was the only blacksmith in the town for 
 twenty years he was a very bu.sy man, 
 and, in order to carry on the farm suc- 
 cessfully at the same time, Mrs. Gold- 
 
 smith looked after it, besides attending to 
 her household duties. To their union 
 have been born six children, viz. ; Frank 
 and August, who died in infancy; Frank 
 (2), deceased; Carl G., who remains at 
 home with his parents ; and Catherine A. 
 and Susie, who also live at home. In 
 religious faith Mr. Goldsmith is a member 
 of the Lutheran Church, and Mrs. Gold- 
 smith and the rhihlreu are members of 
 the Catholic Church. In 1865 Mr. Gold- 
 smith enlisted in the army, and served 
 six months in Company C, Klexenth Wis. 
 \ . I., six weeks of which term were spent 
 in the hospital. He received an honor- 
 able discharge toward the close of the 
 struggle on account ni (lisaliilit\', and is 
 now receiving a pension of $22 per month 
 from the government for disalulity caused 
 by exposure during his service. 
 
 ALBERT VERBOORT, one of the 
 most affluent farmers and land- 
 owners of Lawrence t(j\\iiship, 
 Brown county, was l^orn March 
 I, 1839, in Uden, Province of North 
 Brabant, Holland, son of |olui and Maria 
 Verboort. 
 
 In 1S48 the parents of our subject 
 c-ame to the United States with their fam- 
 il_\', sailing from Rotterdam on the 
 "Libera," and landing at Boston, Mass., 
 after a voyage of fifty-two days. At 
 this time there were four children in the 
 family, namely: John, now a resident of 
 Washington county. Ore. ; William, who 
 became a priest, and dit'<l in Washington 
 county, Ore., at the town of Verboort's 
 (named after him), where he had estab- 
 lished a church (he was a well-known 
 ]iricst in his time; for several years he 
 lived in Brown county. Wis., where he 
 established five churches — one in Morri- 
 son township; St. Francis Church at De- 
 Pere; St. Mary's, De Pere; St. Patrick's, 
 Fort Howard, and St. Willibrord's, Green 
 Bay); Mary, residing at Verboort's, Ore., 
 and Albert, whose name opens this sketch. 
 From Massachusetts the family came by 
 
3S,6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 rail and water to Green Bay, Wis. , later 
 removing to Little Chute, Outagamie 
 county, and thence to Holland township, 
 Brown county. They were almost desti- 
 tute, and, having lost all their baggage, 
 had practically nothing with which to be- 
 gin life in the New World. They also 
 had much difficulty in securing a home, 
 and tried various localities, moving about 
 from place to place along F"o.\ river; at 
 one time they even had a house partly 
 built, when it was found necessary to 
 abandon it. They endured many hard- 
 ships, and once they had nothing to eat 
 but wheat bran. But, after reverses that 
 would have discouraged almost any one, 
 their prospects began to brighten, and in 
 1854 they purchased 1 13 acres of land in 
 Lawrence township, the place on which 
 our subject now resides. The father and 
 two sons commenced threshing by hand, 
 receiving for their laborious work one- 
 eighth of the grain, which was hauled on 
 a hand-sled to market and traded for 
 flour. The family resided on the farm 
 from 1855 to 1875, and then removed to 
 Portland, Ore., where the parents and 
 son William died in 1876, the father on 
 July 6, the mother June 23, and William 
 July 14. They were devout Catholics, 
 and were buried in the cemetery at Ver- 
 boort, where, as before stated, William 
 had established a Catholic congregation, 
 which, at the time of his death, was in a 
 flourishing condition. With the death of 
 this priest the Catholic Church lost one 
 of its most earnest workers, and too much 
 praise can not be given him for his zeal 
 and untiring industry. 
 
 Albert Verboort attended school but a 
 short time in his native country, and only 
 one month in the United States; but his 
 natural ability has asserted itself in spite 
 of his lackof early educational advantages. 
 He has an inherent genius for mechanical 
 work, and learned readily the blacksmith's 
 and wagon-maker's trades, at which he 
 worked when about fifteen years of age. 
 In the fall of 1863 he was united in mar- 
 riage, in Brown county, by Rev. Father 
 
 Spierings, with Miss Anna Johnson, who 
 was born Xovember 13, 1826, in Holland, 
 near the birthplace of her husband. She 
 was a daughter of Jacob and Mary John- 
 son, and came to the United States in 
 1850 \\ith her mother and two brothers 
 — Frank and Theodore. They sailed from 
 Antwerp, and, after an ocean voyage of 
 thirty days, landed at New York, proceed- 
 ing thence via Buffalo, N. Y. , to Green 
 Bay, Wis. After marriage Mr. \'erboort 
 located on his present farm, remaining 
 thereon until 1875, when he went to 
 Oregon, and there resided three years, 
 after which he returned to Brown county. 
 Wis., and for a time lived on land along 
 Ashwaubenon creek. He then made 
 another trip to Oregon; returned again to 
 Brown county, and after a brief sojourn 
 here once more removed to the Pacific 
 coast, where he made his home until 1892, 
 when he came back to Brown county, 
 taking up his residence on his present 
 farm. 
 
 There is probably no citizen in Brown 
 county, in the ordinary walk of life, who 
 has traveled so extensively, he having 
 gone over sixty thousand miles since 1876. 
 He has been most successful in his agri- 
 cultural work, and to-day is one of the 
 wealthiest landowners in Lawrence town- 
 ship, having won success by his own 
 efforts. In his political preferences he is 
 a Democrat, though not strictly partisan, 
 and he has never aspired to office. The 
 entire family are members of the Catholic 
 Church. Mr. and Mrs. Verboort have 
 had children as follows: John and Will- 
 iam, both living; Dora, who died when 
 twelve years of age; and others that died 
 in infancy. 
 
 AKVE ARVESON. Among the 
 progressive, highly-esteemed agri- 
 culturists of New Denmark town- 
 ship, Brown county, this gentle- 
 man occupies a prominent place. He is 
 a native of Norway, born February 22, 
 1835, son of Christian (who was a miner 
 
COMilEMOUA ri VK ISKK! RAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 ■57 
 
 in Norway) and Ingeberg" (Johnsonj Arve- 
 son, who reared a family of five .children, 
 as follows; Arve four subjectj, Mary, 
 John, Martha and Nils. 
 
 At the early age of fourteen years Arve 
 Arveson commenced to work in the mines, 
 his wages being about twelve cents a day, 
 and continued in this labor until he reached 
 the age of eighteen years, when the fam- 
 ily immigrated to America. They landed 
 in the city of Quebec, Canada, thence 
 journeyed to Green Bay, Wis. , where 
 they arrived on the old steamer "Michi- 
 gan, " and thence to New Denmark town- 
 ship. Brown county, where Mr. Arveson 
 bought eighty acres of totally unimproved 
 land. Mr. Gotfredson, another early 
 settler, who owned an ox-team, assisted 
 them to bring their household goods to 
 their home in the woods, but they had to 
 be carried some distance, as there was no 
 road for the team. There were only a 
 few yoke of oxen in the township at this 
 time, and the Arvesons lived here three 
 years before they were able to buy a team 
 for themselves. For the first two years 
 they lived in a i6x i6 log house, the first 
 dwelling erected by a white man on the 
 place, which stood in the midst of the 
 forest, and then removed to another tract 
 of eighty acres just northeast of this first 
 home, where the parents passed the re- 
 mainder of their lives, both living to the 
 advanced age of eightv-two years. 
 
 Our subject was, as above related, 
 eighteen years old when he came with his 
 parents to Wisconsin, and, being the eld- 
 est, much of the farm work devolved upon 
 him. On March 28, ICS58, he was united 
 in marriage with Miss Mariane Anderson, 
 daughter of Anders and Bertha (Ras- 
 mussen) Christensen, and, our subject 
 having purchased his present farm from 
 his father, the young couple immediately 
 took up their residence here, living in the 
 old log house during the first five years, 
 when it was supplanted by a comfortable, 
 modern residence. Their marriage has 
 been blessed with seven children, a brief 
 record of whom is as follows: Alfred C. 
 
 died of consumption at the age of twent_\- 
 fi\'e (he was in Golorado when first taken 
 ill, but came home about two months be- 
 fore his death); Emma, Mrs. Christensen, 
 is living in Iowa; Millie, Mrs. Hans(jn, is a 
 resident of New Denmark; John remains 
 at home with his parents; Rosa, Mrs. 
 Nelson, is living in Oconto; Christ is at 
 home; Arthur is a school-teacher in 
 Antigo, W'is. Mr. Arveson is strictly a 
 self-made man; recei\ing in his youth but 
 meager educational advantages, he has, 
 by his own efforts, actpiired a practical 
 education in the broad school of expe- 
 rience, and commencing life in the New 
 World with no capital sa\e health and 
 energy, he has accumulated a comfortable 
 property, having a highly-improved farm 
 of 160 acres in New Denmark to\Nnship. 
 He is greatly respected by all \\h() knov\- 
 him, and has been elected to fill x'arious 
 positions of trust in his township, which 
 he served two years as chairman, three 
 years as treasurer, and also as assessor, to 
 the complete satisfaction of his fellow cit- 
 izens. In his political preferences he is 
 a stanch member of the Republican party. 
 He and his wife are, in religious faith, act- 
 ive members of the Lutheran Church, in 
 which he has served as deacon, and at 
 present holds the office of trustee. 
 
 In I 862 Mr. Arveson was drafted into 
 the Union army, and provided a substitute; 
 but in 1865 he enlisted in Company F, 
 Fiftieth Wis. V. I., and served about a 
 year, principally in Dakota, among the 
 Indians. He received an honorable dis- 
 charge at Madison, Wis., in June, 1866, 
 and immediately returned to his home. 
 
 PHILIP M. WIRTH. The life of 
 a literary man seldom exhibits any 
 of those striking incidents that 
 seize upon public feeling and fix 
 attention upon himself. His character is, 
 for the most part, made up of the aggre- 
 gate of the qualities and qualifications he 
 may possess, as these may be elicited by 
 the exercise of tl>e duties of his vocation 
 
i-,1. 
 
 COMME.VOliA TIVK BIOdHM'IIICAI. ItECOHD. 
 
 or the particular profession to which he 
 may belonj;; and in this, possibly, the 
 subject of this sketch presents not alto- 
 gether an exception to the general rule. 
 Mr. W'irth was born in Bavaria, Ger- 
 many, April 25, 1823, the third son in 
 the family of scN^en children— six sons and 
 one daughter — of Michael J. and Theresa 
 (Rauscher) Wirth. Tlu' father was a 
 school-teacher in Germany, having quali- 
 fied for that profession by a college edu- 
 cation; and, as a natural conse<iuence, the 
 sons received excellent scholastic training. 
 Our subject, up to the age of ten years, at- 
 tended the public schools of the neighbor- 
 hood of his place of birth, then for a 
 couple of _\ears received tuition under a 
 private tutor, after which he entered the 
 Royal C}ymnasium at Muennerstadt, stud\- 
 ing at that institution of learning si.x years. 
 For a year after leaving college ^fr. 
 ^^'irth traveled through Germany and 
 Austria for pleasure and recreation, view- 
 ing in his journey many scenes not easily 
 to be effaced from his memory. In Ger- 
 many it is the custom for youths of all 
 classes to learn a trade, and our subject 
 was no exception, for on his return home 
 he apprenticed himself to a carpenter, 
 serving two years, at the end of which 
 time he answered to his call to enter the 
 army, but on account of physical de- 
 ficiencv he was rejected. Turning his eyes, 
 now. in the direction of the Western 
 World, with all its grand advantages to 
 the man "who is willing to toil, and 
 where the poorest may gather the fruits 
 of the soil." he resolved to make it 
 the battleground of his future life in 
 his struggle with the world. Accord- 
 ingly, on April i. 1846. he took pas- 
 sage at C'uxhafen. the seaport of Ham- 
 burg, on the good ship "Perseverance" 
 (a suggestive title for the young emigrant). 
 bound for (Juebec. and after a passage of 
 fifty-eight days landed at that quaint old 
 Canadian city. His destinaton, however, 
 was Wisconsin, whither his brother 
 George C., had previously emigrated; so 
 from Quebec our subject proceeded to 
 
 Buffalo, N. Y. , where he boarded the 
 steamer "Oregon" for Milwaukee, from 
 which latter port he journeyed to Green 
 Bay, arriving July 11, 1846. Here he 
 unfortunate!}' was siezed with typhoid 
 fever, but, on the other hand — •'/''or tuna 
 favct fortibiis " — he fortunateh' had the 
 home and care of his brother for the 
 two months he was ill and convalescent. 
 The first dollar he earned in the United 
 States was for work he did for Albert 
 Weise, who was putting up his first dwell- 
 ing on Walnut street, and for a month he 
 followed his trade. Preferring, however, 
 the life of a farmer to that of a trades- 
 man, he hired out to Daniel H. Whitney, 
 of Stockbridge, Calumet county, for ten 
 dollars per month, remaining with him 
 till 1849, ofttimes. no doubt, when turn- 
 ing the sods with the plough repeating to 
 himself lines from the Gcorgics of Virgil, 
 or the l-5ucolics of Theocritus, or Xeno- 
 phon and Homer. From that time for- 
 ward he followed his trade as a house 
 and ship carpenter till October 4, 1864, 
 when he was drafted into the Union army. 
 He was assigned to Company E, Twenty- 
 second Wis. V. I., and served as orderly 
 sergeant and clerk to Col. Chapman, 
 whose head(]uarters were at Camp I'iandall. 
 On May 17. 1865, he was honorably dis- 
 charged and returned home to Green 
 Bay. where he resumed his trade. 
 
 The time had now come for him to 
 buv land, and in I^ecember. 1865, he 
 purchased fifty acres in Private Claim 
 No. 43. Bellevue township. Brown coun- 
 ty, heavilv timbered and without any im- 
 provements, paying for same one thous- 
 and dollars. On this tract stood a quan- 
 tity of oak timber, and some of the heavi- 
 est trees of that kind ever cut in the 
 neighborhood of Green Ba)' were felled on 
 this farm. By assiduous laf)or Mr. Wirth 
 cleared the land, converting the primeval 
 forest into a luxurious vegetable or truck 
 farm, all the improvements being made 
 by his tnvn hand, and under his personal 
 supervision. His time, ever since com- 
 mencing in this line, has been devoted ex- 
 
COMMEMOUA riVK BIOGllAPinCAL UECORD. 
 
 -59 
 
 clusivel}' to tlie farm, varied ocrasionally 
 by some small job at carpentry lor the 
 first two years. On Februar}' 2, 1849, 
 Mr. Wirth was married in Green Bay to 
 Miss Odelia Schauer, who was horn Sep- 
 tember 8, 1824. in Bavaria, a daughter of 
 Henry Schauer, whose family (he being' 
 deceased) emigrated in 1 84O from the 
 Fatherland to the United States, arri\ing 
 in Green Bay, Wis., September 8, 1846. 
 After marriage Mr. Wirth continued farm- 
 ing in Calumet count)- until July, 1849, 
 and then came to Green Ba\', as already 
 related. For his first residence in the 
 town he built a house on Madison street, 
 which he traded later, and then erected 
 tlie present commodious family residence 
 on Walnut street, now owned by Leon 
 Findeisen. 1 he children born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Wirth were as follows : George 
 W., a marine engineer; Odelia, Mrs. 
 William Dexhue, of Preble township; 
 Martha, Mrs. John Heidorf, of Manito- 
 woc, \N'is. ; Philip and Jacob (twins), the 
 former of whom is a marine engineer, the 
 latter an artesian well-borer; Mary, Mrs. 
 Leonard Verdigen, of Bellevue; Frances, 
 Mrs. Mathias Anheuser, of Fort Howard; 
 Michael, a farmer of Bellevue; Theresa, 
 who died when nine months old. Our 
 subject and wife are members <_)f the 
 Catholic Church. A Republican, though 
 at one time a Democrat, his first Presi- 
 dential vote was cast for Lincoln, and he 
 has done yeoman service in political mat- 
 ters : For nine 3''ears he served as clerk 
 of Bellevue township; was chairman of 
 the council one yeai', and member of the 
 school board five years. He was enu- 
 merator of the Tenth United States Cen- 
 sus; in 1883-4 served in the Legislature, 
 first biennial sessions; and in all his pub- 
 lic trusts he has given ample satisfaction 
 to his constituents, reflecting the utmost 
 credit to himself for his capacity and 
 faithfulness. He still finds time for an 
 occasional stroll in the fields of literature, 
 for, with Greek, Latin, historical, scien- 
 tific and other useful books at his com- 
 mand, he has always with him a substan- 
 
 tial world, both pure and good, round 
 which, "witli tendrils strong as flesh and 
 blood, our pastime and our happiness 
 \\\\\ jjrow. " 
 
 JEKE.MIAH BKIiNXAN, one of the 
 old pioneers of Morrison township, 
 iJrown county, is a native of freland, 
 born in 1834, a son of Jeremiah and 
 Margaret (Fole_\') Brennan, who were the 
 parents of si.x children, viz.: Kate, Mi- 
 chael, John, Patrick, |ereiniah, and Mary, 
 feremiah Iiremian, the father I'l the 
 family, was the first of its nicmliers to 
 come to this countr\ . In i S40 he reached 
 Glenmore, Brown Co , Wis., where he 
 entered I r)0 acres; and about iS42he re- 
 turned to the East in order to bring his 
 ianiily out West. I-\)r several years the 
 fi-ther was employed in a grocery in Chic- 
 opee, Mass., while our subject worked in 
 a cotton factor}-. In 1854 tin.' family 
 were prepared to come west and settle oil 
 their farm, but the father was taken sick 
 and died. The mother, lunvever, with 
 her sons, left Springfield, Mass., some 
 little time after the sad event, and ar- 
 rived in Glenmore before tiie expiration 
 of the year. From De Pere they carried 
 their effects on their backs to the farm, 
 with nothing but an Indian trail to guide 
 them; but once on the land there were no 
 idle or unwilling hands, and soon a small 
 clearing was made and a small shanty of 
 scoops, 12x16 feet, erected for their shel- 
 ter, the mother doing her full share of the 
 Work. \\'ild animals, which were numer- 
 ous and ravenous, killed the oxen in the 
 woods, while the bears would carry off 
 the hogs before the eyes of the hard-work- 
 ing settlers; and the Indians, although 
 called civilized, would enter the dwelling 
 in the absence of the inmates and carry 
 off the provisions — a serious and heavy 
 loss under the circumstances. But the 
 hardy pioneers struggled on through the 
 innumerable vicissitudes and struggles r)f 
 life in the wilderness, and eventuall\- tri- 
 umphed over all difficulties — even over 
 
26o 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BWGRAI'llICAL RECORD. 
 
 the vicious, pernicious, and poisonous 
 mosquitoes, which, though small in them- 
 selves, were no small factor as an annoy- 
 ance and an irritant to the new settlers. 
 The good old mother was spared to see 
 the homestead fully developed, and died 
 in 1878, at the advanced age of eighty- 
 five years, honored and venerated by all 
 who knew her. Her mortal remains rest 
 in the Morrison Catholic burying ground. 
 In 1859, at the age of twenty-tive, 
 Jeremiah Brennan was married to Claren- 
 cy, daughter of Michael and Catherine 
 Quinn, old settlers of Morrison township, 
 having come here about the year 1855. 
 They bought 480 acres of land, and, like all 
 other pioneers, endured the hardships of 
 life in the wilderness. They were the 
 parents of three children, named Clarency, 
 John S. and Michael, .\ftcr his marrige 
 Mr. Brennan settled on his farm of 160 
 acres, which he had previously purchased, 
 and on which he had erected a house 
 built of timber hewn by his own hands, at 
 that time considered the best house in the 
 township. In 1 862 Capt. Harrison and 
 Mr. Brennan organized the first company 
 in Brown county for service in the Union 
 army during the Civil war, the comjiany 
 consisting of si.\ty men; but Mr. Brennan 
 resigned his commission, and Harrison, 
 going to the front, was killed in the first 
 action in which his regiment was engaged, 
 and was succeeded by Mr. Lawton, of De- 
 Pere. On March 28, 1863, Mr. Brennan, 
 with eleven others, started from De Pere 
 across the plains to Idaho, with sixteen 
 yoke of oxen and wagons, and arri\ed at 
 their destination August 14. They found 
 wild Indians, a wild country, and they also 
 found gold. Mr. Brennan returned to 
 Wisconsin in 1867 and resumed farming. 
 His first wife survived about twelve \ears 
 after marriage, and died July 2, 1872, the 
 mother of three children, Mary, Jeremiah, 
 and Michael. In 1873 Mr. Brennan took 
 for his second wife Ellen Pool, daughter 
 of Hugh and Mary (Mehegan) Pool, who 
 were the parents of eight children, 
 vi/. : Kate, John, Thomas. Mary, El- 
 
 len, Michael, William and Hannah. The 
 father was one of the pioneers of Cedar- 
 burg, having settled there in 1836; he 
 now resides in Milwaukee with a daughter, 
 and is nearly one hundred years of age. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Brennan lived in the old 
 log house about fourteen years, when it 
 was replaced by the magnificent dwelling 
 in which they now reside. The farm com- 
 prises I 20 acres of good land, and is highly 
 improved, the whole being the reward of 
 Mr. Bremian's industry, aided by his 
 children and their good mother. Mr. 
 Breiman is a strong advocate of public 
 schools, three of the children being now 
 teachers. The nine children born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Brennan were as follows: Will- 
 iam; Nellie, who is a school-teacher; 
 Anna; John, deceased; George, whose 
 death was caused by playing base-ball; 
 Kate. Grace and Celia; Michael, teaching 
 in District No. 6. The parents are mem- 
 bers of the Catholic Church, in which 
 Mr. Brennan is much interested, having 
 erected the first parsonage built in the 
 town. Politically he is a Democrat, and 
 has served as town supervisor and in sev- 
 eral other offices, but prefers the quietude 
 of his private life, which has been alto- 
 gether upright and industrious, and such 
 as to win for him the respect of all who 
 know him. 
 
 M 
 
 A K r I N \' A \ D E W V N - 
 
 G A A R I). .Among the repre- 
 sentative self-made agricultur- 
 ists of Belle\ue townshiji. Brown 
 county, none commands greater respect 
 than this gentleman. He is a native of 
 Holland, born August 30. 1821, son of 
 Anton \'an De Wyngaard, who was a 
 farmer and miller, and had eight children 
 — four sons and four daughters — of whom 
 Martin is the youngest son. 
 
 Our subject received his education in 
 the common schools of his birthplace, 
 con)mencing when about sixteen years of 
 age to learn the milling trade under his 
 father. In i8;i he sailed from Hotter- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 dam on the •'Mozambique," and. after a 
 voyage of forty-tive days, landed in New 
 York, whence, during the same year, he 
 came westward bj' way cif Cleveland, 
 Ohio, to Green Bay, Wis. Here he re- 
 mained but a few inonths. and then re- 
 turned to Cleveland, where he secured 
 employment at shingle-cutting, being will- 
 ing to do anything to earn an honest dol- 
 Tar. While in Cleveland he was taken 
 sick, and was sent into the country, in 
 the vicinity of Newburg, to recover, after 
 which he returned to his native land, as 
 he had learned that his father was very 
 ill. He was thirty days crossing the 
 ocean, during which passage, on August 
 15. he dreamed he was attending his 
 father's funeral, and. strange to say, he 
 founil, on his arrival home that his father 
 had died and the funeral had taken place 
 that day. After spending five or six 
 months in Holland, our subject again 
 came to America, this time sailing from 
 Liverpool on a Black Star liner, and land- 
 ing in New York after a very stormy pas- 
 sage, the vessel arriving in port with one- 
 half of her mainmast standing, while the 
 other masts were gone altogether. Mr. 
 Van De Wyngaard again came to Cuya- 
 hoga county, Ohio, and in 1854 was there 
 married to Miss Catherine Ingersoll. a 
 native of same, who was born August 13, 
 1 82 I, daughter of Levi and Derdamia In- 
 gersoll, New England people, who were 
 early pioneers of the county, having come 
 to Cleveland between the years 1 8 1 2 and 
 18 I 5. After marriage our subject lived 
 in Cuyahoga county with his wife's parents, 
 and also on a farm of his own until 1871, 
 in which year he brought his family to 
 Green Bay, and, buying the "Camp 
 Smith" farm along the ri\er, resided there 
 for some years. In 1877 he purchased 
 and removed upon his present place, now 
 consisting of one hundred acres of good 
 farming land, but which at that time was 
 a new farm and not all cleared; but with 
 constant care and attention to the details 
 of his work, he now has a pleasant home 
 and comfortable property. He conducts 
 
 a profitable general farming business, the 
 success he has met with being all due to 
 his own unceasing efforts, and he is well 
 known and highly respected by his neigh- 
 bors and fellow citizens. 
 
 In politics our suliject was originally a 
 Republican, but during the Grant cam- 
 paign he joined the ranks of the Demo- 
 cratic party, with which he has since re- 
 mained. Religiously he is a member of 
 St. John's Catht)lic Church, Green Bay. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Van De Wyngaard have 
 been born the following named children: 
 Augusta E. (wife of L. Ver Berkmoes, a 
 merchant of Atkinson, 111.), Christina, 
 Anton, and Alphonsos (at home), and 
 Barnardus (of Sheboygan, Mich.j. 
 
 NIELS HANSON GOTFREDSEN 
 (deceased) was, duringdiis lifetime 
 one of the most active, promi- 
 nent citizens in New Denmark 
 township. Brown count}', of which he was 
 one of the earliest settlers. 
 
 He was born, March 2, 18 14, in the 
 Kingdom of Denmark, where, on Febru- 
 ary 18, 1848, he was married to Miss 
 Laurentine Hjorth, who was born March 
 8, 1824. in Langeland, Denmark, daugh- 
 ter of Rasmus and Mary (IversonJ Hjorth. 
 who had eight children, three of whom 
 are now living, namely: Laurentine (Mrs. 
 Gotfredsen), Frederick, and Peter A. 
 Rasmus Hjorth was a schoolteacher for 
 twenty-eight years. One month after 
 their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Gotfredsen 
 sailed for America, landing in New York 
 two months later after a very rough voy- 
 age, and coming directly to Milwaukee, 
 Wis., in which city Mrs. Gotfredsen re- 
 mained while her husband went farther 
 north to look for land. He purchased 160 
 acres in New Denmark township. Brown 
 count}', on which they removed at once, 
 being the second settlers in the township. 
 Mr. Cooper, the first settler of Coopers- 
 town, Wis., conveyed them to their home 
 with his ox-team, and they located in the 
 midst of the forest, which they at once 
 
26z 
 
 COMilEMORA TI I 'K BIOGRAPUICA L RECORD. 
 
 coiiiinenced to clear away and convert 
 into a fertile farm. The task was not a 
 light one; and. owing to the new and un- 
 settled condition of the country, these 
 pioneers suffered numerous hardships and 
 privations incident to backwoods life, as 
 well as the inconveniences to be experi- 
 enced in a new country; but they perse- 
 vered in their noble work, and, after years 
 of toil found themselves in possession of a 
 fine property hewn from the forest. By 
 unceasing industry Mr. Gotfredsen was 
 enabled to increased the area of his farm, 
 and at the time of his death was the 
 owner of 200 acres of higiily-improved 
 land, and ranked among the most success- 
 ful men in his i(jcalit\\ In 1851 Mrs. 
 Gotfredsen's parents set out from Den- 
 mark for the United States, but the father 
 died on the sea, of heart trouble, from 
 which he had suffered many years, and 
 was buried in New York; the widowed 
 mother came to Wisconsin, and passed 
 the remainder of her life with her daugh- 
 ter, dying about 1861; she was interred 
 in the cemeterj" in New Denmark town- 
 ship, donated by Mr. Gotfredsen. 
 
 At the time Mr. Gotfredsen came to 
 New Denmark township it was included 
 in De Pere, and he was instrumental in 
 having it set apart as a separate township, 
 taking great interest in that, as well as all 
 other public improvements for the benefit 
 or advancement of his community. In 
 political connection he was a stanch Dem- 
 ocrat, and held numerous positions of 
 honor and trust in his township, serving 
 as chairman, treasurer, etc., in an able 
 and satisfactor}' manner. He was highly 
 esteemed by all who knew him, and his 
 death, which occurred February 22, 1894, 
 brought a loss to the entire community, 
 who felt keenly the departure of one of 
 the best and oldest citizens. Since his 
 decease his widow has continued to make 
 her home on the farm, having with her 
 her daughter Jeimie. The children born 
 to Mr. and NIrs. Gotfredsen were eleven 
 in number, as follows: Mary (who was 
 the first white girl born in Now Denmark 
 
 township), Hilbert, Minnie, Sophia (who 
 died at the age of twenty-six), Jennie, 
 Frederica, Augusta, Lawrence, Benjamin, 
 Laurena and Edith, most of whom are 
 living in Nebraska. In 1865 Mr. Gotfred- 
 sen revisited his native country, spending 
 a short time there among his relatives and 
 friends, who gave him a very hearty 
 welcome. 
 
 RE\'. MICHAEL JOHN O'BRIEN 
 is pastor of St. Patrick's Church, 
 P"ort Howard, one of the oldest 
 congregations in the Fox River 
 Valley, with a present membership of two 
 hundred families. 
 
 He was born February 29, i860, in 
 Granville, Milwaukee Co., Wis., a son of 
 Patrick and Margaret (O'Leary) O'Brien, 
 who were natives of Ireland, the former 
 of County Waterford, the latter of Coun- 
 ty Cork. The parents had immigated to 
 Boston, Mass., about 1846, were married 
 in that city in 1848, and removed to Wis- 
 consin early in the spring of 1855, locating 
 in Granville township, Milwaukee county, 
 where their son was born, on a farm in 
 the woods, which they cleared and im- 
 proved. In 1873 the father removed with 
 his family to Chilton, Calumet county, 
 dying on his farm there ten years later, 
 March 23, 1883. His widow now resides 
 in South Milwaukee. Of their children, 
 Ellen is the wife of John McGrath, a 
 farmer, and resides in Lebanon, \\'^aupaca 
 Co. , Wis. ; Patrick is a resident of South 
 Milwaukee; Rev. M. J. is the loved pastor 
 i)f a large congregation at Fort Howard; 
 Margaret, now Mrs. Charles Kelley, lives 
 in Lebanon, as does also Jennie, wife of 
 Patrick Cleary; Lizzie is now Mrs. Harry 
 Kearns, of Buffalo, Wis. ; George resides 
 in South Milwaukee. 
 
 The future candidate for priestly hon- 
 ors was a farmer in his youthful days in 
 Milwaukee and Calumet counties. He 
 was a member of the tirst class to grad- 
 uate from the Chilton high school, in 
 June, 1878, and, for three years follow- 
 
•Jl^^^^-l_ 
 
COMMEMnUATrVK rUnaUAPHWAL RKCORD. 
 
 .•6.^ 
 
 ing, was a teaclicr in Caliiiiii-t enmity. 
 He then, in the fall (li iS.So, entered St. 
 Francis Seminar}' at Milw;uik<'e, Irom 
 which he was graduated with the class ul 
 1888; in June, of the same year, was or- 
 dained to the priesthood hy Archbislioj) 
 Heiss, of Milwaukee, and the follov\ing 
 month was sent to St. y\ntlrew's Church, 
 at Kingston, Wis. He was next assistant, 
 for two years, in St. Peter's Church, at 
 Oshkosl), and subse(|uently in charge of 
 St. Stephen's Church, at St(;vi'iis I'oint, 
 from which place he came to I'drt How- 
 ard, in May, 1895. Here the field of his 
 hd)ors is large, and his efforts havt; heim 
 marked with gratifying success. On tiu; 
 second Sunday after his arri\al he took 
 ste])s toward the erection of the luiistnit 
 magnilicent church, at tlie corner of 
 Cherry and Hubl)ard streets, in which 
 the congregation now worship, which was 
 completed in November, 1894, and is one 
 of the finest in the h"o.\ River Valley. 
 He labored indefatigablv to secine means 
 and ad\ance the wni'k in ev'ery pnssihli' 
 way; but a good constitution tln' founda- 
 tion of wllich was laid 011 a lann and 
 his ardent love for the work undertaken 
 enabled him to give the constant atten- 
 tion necessary during tlu-- construction of 
 the edifice, and to jierform a large amount 
 of work in addition to his regular dutit;s. 
 The church is a brick building, with trim- 
 mings of Duck Creek stone, 60 .\ 124 feet 
 in dimensions, with basement, costing 
 about twenty-five thousand dollars, anil 
 is a monument to the .zeal and devotion 
 of its earnest pastor, who has endeared 
 himself to all classes, regardless of de- 
 nomin.ition and nationality. 
 
 FR.ANK CLI^I':KEMANS, Ji^, one 
 of the well-known farmiT citizens 
 of Scott townsiiip. Brown county, 
 was born April 8, 1845, in Bel- 
 gium, son of l'"raid< Cleeremans, Sr. , wiio 
 was a farmer in that coutitry. 
 
 In tile spring of 1867, having deter- 
 mined to try his fortune in America, Frank 
 l& 
 
 (.'leereiiians, Sr., cniigrate<l Iroiii his na- 
 ti\'e land, bnn;;ing his wife and faniiU' of 
 ti\'e sons Charles, |ohn, i''r.ink, |r., 
 Henry and Ale.x all of whom are yet 
 li\ing. Sailing from Antwerp on the 
 "Ottawa," tiu;y arrived in New \in\s 
 after a voyage of si.xteen days, and im- 
 mediately journeyed westward by rail to 
 Brown county. Wis., coming via ("hicago 
 to Cirecn Bay. Mr. Cleeremans, Sr. , had 
 saved a fev\' hundred dollars, and in Scott 
 township i)iirchased forty acres (where his 
 son Frank now lives), for which he |iaid 
 fifteen dollars per acre. A one-room lo^ 
 shanty was the only dwelling on this place, 
 and but ten acres of the land were cleared, 
 the n-st being still in its |iiimitive state. 
 The family lived in that house: two years, 
 when a better one was built. Tlu; farm 
 was gradually cleared and niaile to yield 
 a gocxl income, and here the ])arents 
 passed the remainder of tlicii" lives, the 
 mother dying May 20, 1871, the father 
 oil January 11, 1876. They were mem- 
 bers of the Catholic Ciiiirch, and their 
 remains now rest in Biay Settlement 
 cemetery. 
 
 Frank Cleeremans, |r. , attiMided the 
 common schools of his native? land, where 
 he obtained all his education, receiving 
 instruction in b'rencfi and l'"lemish, being 
 able to read both these' languages. His 
 knowledge of llnglish he has ae;(]uireel 
 since coming to the United States, by 
 ch.ise a])])lieation to American Ijooks and 
 papers. At the age of twenty he coni- 
 nicneed to learn the blacksmith trade, 
 which he followed until he came to Amer- 
 ica with his parents; prewie)nsly he; had 
 worked in a se)ap factory in b'rance. Afte'r 
 ceiming to Wisconsin he secured weirk in 
 Green Bay, and continued in the employ 
 of others, giving his earnings to his par- 
 ents, until the' time of his marriage, in 
 I 87 I. In that N'e-ai he' we'dde'el Miss Vir- 
 ginia Hejrckmans, also a native of ISel- 
 giiim, wlu), when fifteen months ejld, was 
 brought to America by her parents, Will- 
 iam and Thcrsa (VaneierboshjIIorckmans. 
 At this time Mr. Cleeremans, Jr., bought 
 
264 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the interests of his brothers in the home 
 farm, and, building a shop on the place 
 (all on credit), continued his trade in con- 
 nection with farming until 1875, when he 
 abandoned it, and has since given his at- 
 tention exclusively to agriculture. For 
 several \'ears he was engaged in the sale 
 of nursery stock, and while in this busi- 
 ness became widely acquainted in his sec- 
 tion of the county. He is now the owner 
 of the original place, to which he has 
 added ten acres more, and has a comfort- 
 able productive farm, free of debt. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Cleeremans, Jr., were born 
 children as follows: Annie, Thersa, Odile, 
 Minnie, .-Xugust, and Henr\-. all living, and 
 four that died in infancy. The mother of 
 these passed from earth September 14, 
 1887, and was buried in the Wequiock 
 cemeter}' in Scott township. Mr. Cleere- 
 mans, Jr., is a stanch Ivepublican, and an 
 ardent supporter of the principles of that 
 party, especially those of protective tariff. 
 He has been elected to various offices in 
 his township, serving one term as chair- 
 man, and for thirteen or fourteen jears as 
 assessor, in both capacities giving satisfac- 
 tion to his constituents. He has been 
 self-made in every respect, and, though 
 beginning life a poor man, his natural 
 ability, industrious nature and persever- 
 ance have enabled him to rise to his pres- 
 ent enviable position. 
 
 HU. \AN S1:C.G1:RN was born 
 October 9, 1 849, in Oldenburg, 
 Germany, son of Henry F. and 
 Meta (Schmidt) Van Scggern, who 
 had four children, as follows: H. D., 
 Dedrick (who died when three years old), 
 and two that died in infancy. The father 
 was a sailor and carpenter, and was em- 
 ployed as such for fifteen years, after 
 which he worked for a time in the ship- 
 yards. 
 
 In 1859 the family caiiu' to America, 
 sailing from Bremen, and landing, after a 
 voyage of thirteen dajs, in New York, 
 
 where they sojourned three days, and 
 then continued their journey west. They 
 traveled to Milwaukee, Wis., and thence 
 by boat to Manitowoc, where the}' hired 
 an o.\-team to take them to their destina- 
 tion in New Denmark township. Brown 
 county; but the team collapsed near 
 where Mr. Fagan now lives, and they were 
 obliged to finish the journe}' as best they 
 could. In New Denmark township the 
 father ])urchased a tract of 160 acres, 
 only three acres of which were cleared, 
 and the famih- took up their residence in 
 a log hut, which stood on the place, con- 
 tinuing to live in same eight years, when 
 it was replaced by a more modern dwell- 
 ing. About two jears after their arrival 
 Mr. Van Seggern disposed of eightj' acres 
 of his land. The father spent the re- 
 mainder of his life clearing and improving 
 the land he had bought; later purchased 
 some more land, and at the time of his 
 death was the owner of a fine farm of 160 
 acres, now the home of our subject. He 
 passed away at the age of seventy-eight, 
 fifteen years after the death of his wife. 
 Our subject, being the only son, had 
 to commence work verj' early in life, 
 helping his father in the labor of clearing 
 and cultivating the pioneer farm, remain- 
 ing at home except for three winters 
 when he worked in the woods. In 
 his youth the country around his home 
 was sparsely settled and totally unim- 
 pro\ed, and he has experienced all the 
 inconveniences incident to backwoods life 
 in those early days. Although no road 
 had yet been cut through to Green Bay, 
 he would walk there and l)ack, carrying 
 butter and eggs to market, and bringing 
 home provisions. On account of the 
 meager educational facilities of th3 time, 
 he received only eleven months' schooling; 
 but he has made the best of such oppor- 
 tunities as he had, antl has acquired a 
 practical education by his own efforts. 
 He assisted his parents faithfull}' in the 
 laborious task of converting the forest into 
 a fertile, productive farm, and he is now 
 enjoying the fruits of those early days of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOG liAPlIICAL RECORD. 
 
 265 
 
 hardship and incessant toil. On May 
 13' '"^791 he was united in marriage with 
 Miss Martha F. Daggart, a native of Two 
 Rivers, Wis., daughter of Charles B. and 
 Naomi (Knibbs) Daggart, who were of 
 Scotch and English descent, respectively. 
 Mr. Daggart's first wife died in Two 
 Rivers, leaving two children, Thomas and 
 Mary, and he subsequently returned to 
 New York State where he married Naomi 
 Knibbs, who became the mother of five 
 children, viz.: Amanda E., Andrew, 
 Martha F. , Evaline Ann, and one that 
 dieil in infancy. Mr. Daggart, who fol- 
 lowed merchandising, served as postmas- 
 ter at Two Rivers, and also for one year 
 as member of the Assembl}'. 
 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. 
 Van Seggern took up their residence on 
 the old homestead, which Mr. Van Seg- 
 gern inherited, and have ever since re- 
 mained here, prosperously engaged in 
 general farming. To their union have 
 been born eight children, their names and 
 dates of birth being as follows: Matie 
 N., May 32, 1880; Amanda E., Decem- 
 23, 1S81 ; Charles H., November 3, 1883 ; 
 Fred 1., Mav 13, 188:; ; Walter M., March 
 6, 1888; Irma C, July 10, 1889; Cora 
 A. A., February i, 1S92 ; Edna H., No- 
 vember 23. 1894. In religious faith Mr. 
 and Mrs. Van Seggern are members of 
 the Lutheran Church, in which he serves 
 as trustee and secretary. In his political 
 preferences he is a Republican, taking 
 considerable interest in the workings of 
 his party, and his fellow citizens have 
 honored him with election to various local 
 positions of trust ; he served faithfully as 
 supervisor three years, from 1880 to 1883; 
 also school director, and was reccntlv 
 elected to the important position of chair- 
 man of his township. For the past six 
 years he has been treasurer of the Farm- 
 ers' Insurance Company. As a promi- 
 nent, prosperous farmer, a public-spirited, 
 representative citizen, and a progressive, 
 self-made man, Mr. Van Seggern occu- 
 pies an enviable position among his fel- 
 low citizens in New Denmark township. 
 
 JACOB CRAANEN, postmaster and 
 merchant at Bay Settlement, is one 
 of the most prosperous young men 
 of Scott township. Brown countv, 
 of which he is a nati\e, having been horn 
 in Bay Settlement May 26, 1858. 
 
 He is a son of Christian Craanen, a 
 shoemaker by trade, who was born in 
 Holland, anil there married Theodora 
 Hooken, the young couple immigrating to 
 America immediately after their marriage. 
 They came to Green Bay, Brown county, 
 Wis., and arrived late iti the fall of 1S56, 
 the entire journey occupying eighty days. 
 For two or three weeks they remained in 
 Green Bay, and then came to Bay Set- 
 tlement, Scott township, where Mr. Craa- 
 nen purchased three or four acres of 
 land, on which he built a small log house. 
 One corner of the cabin was reserved for 
 his work-bench, and finding plenty to do 
 at his trade, he labored diligently to sup- 
 port his family. Three children came to 
 brighten his home, viz. : Antoinette, now 
 Mrs. Henry Kersten, of Chilton, Wis. ; 
 Jacob, a sketch of whom follows; and 
 John, a farmer of Scott township. Mr. 
 Craanen, in addition to working at his trade, 
 cleared his land, and, as his sons grew up 
 and commenced to assist him, he pur- 
 chased a tract of forty acres, from time to 
 time making other additions to his farm, 
 until at his death they had 350 acres, all 
 accumulated from a commencement of 
 nothing. He passed from earth May 14, 
 1893, and was buried in Bay Settlement 
 cemetery. Mrs. Theodora Craanen died 
 December 27, 1881, and was buried in 
 Bay Settlement cemetery, and he sub- 
 sequently married Elizabeth Noyman, 
 who survives him. He was a member of 
 the Democratic party, but not an active 
 politician, and in religious faith he and 
 his wife were members of the Church of 
 the Holy Cross, of which he was treas- 
 urer at the time of his death. No 
 citizen in the township stood higher in 
 the esteem of his fellowmen or better 
 deserved their respect. He was self- 
 made in the full sense of the word. 
 
366 
 
 CUMMEMOUATIVE dJlOUUAl'UWAL RECORD. 
 
 and his larfje property was acquired by 
 hard work, jjood inanaj,'eiiieiit, and up- 
 right dealinjj;. His powers of endurance 
 were wonderful, for, durinj,' his earher 
 years, when struf^ghnjj to obtain a fair 
 start, he would labor day and nij;ht. The 
 330-acre farm did not represent all his 
 wealth, for he owned property in Green 
 Bay and De Perc as well, and. from being 
 a poor man o\\ his arrival in Brown 
 county, he rose, by industry, to be one of 
 its leading citizens. 
 
 Jacob Craanen attended the connnon 
 schools of the home neighborhood until 
 thirteen years of age, and then entered 
 the college at Calvarj , Wis., where he 
 remained until he was si.xteen years old. 
 He commenced to work on the farm, 
 where he labored industriously to help his 
 father. On November 19, 1889, he was 
 married to Miss Mar}' Beaumier, a native 
 of Scott township, and a daughter of Au- 
 gust Beaumier, who came from Canada, 
 and was of French extraction. This mar- 
 riage has been blessed by three children: 
 George, born November 21, 1890; Jacob, 
 born June 8, 1892, and Myrtle, born Jan- 
 uary 2, 1894. In December, 1893. Mr. 
 Craanen was appointed postmaster at 
 Bay Settlement, where he also conducts 
 a grocery business. He is the owner of 
 155 acres of land, a j^ortion of which he 
 rents, and is regarded as one of Scott 
 township's substantial citizens. Politi- 
 rall\' he is a Democrat, and he and his 
 wife are members of the Catholic church. 
 
 Fll. W'lICSE, a pros])erous young 
 agriculturist antl well-known citi- 
 zen of Lawrence townshij). Brown 
 countj', was born September 6, 
 1862. in Lippe-Detmold, Westphalia, Ger- 
 many, son of Williani and Louisa (Hage- 
 meister) Wiese. 
 
 William Wiese was for thirty-two years 
 foreman in a brickyard in his native place, 
 and became quite skilled in this line of 
 work, understanding it in ever)' detail. 
 His children, all born in the old rouiUrv, 
 
 were as follows: Amelia, now Mrs. Will- 
 iam Grimmer, of De Fere, Wis. ; Louisa, 
 now Mrs. Gustav Fleck, of Kaukauna, 
 Wis. ; Minnie, wife of Rev. Bock, a 
 Lutheran minister of West De Fere, Wis. ; 
 W'illiam, decej\sed in infancy; and Fred- 
 erick H., our subject. In 1867 the family 
 sailed from Bremen on the vessel ' ' Ger- 
 many," and landed at New York after a 
 voyage of eleven days. There they re- 
 mained a short time at the "Emigrant 
 House," and then proceeded westward to 
 Chicago, thence via the Chicago & North 
 W'estern railway to Green Ba)', Wis., 
 where they made a temporary home with 
 the well-known Hagemeister family. Mr. 
 Wiese was totally unacquainted with the 
 value of property in Brown county, and, 
 acting upon the advice of relatives, he 
 purchased one hundred acres of land in 
 Lawrence township (the farm our subject 
 now resides on), the price paid being three 
 thousand dollars. A barn and frame 
 house had been erected on the place, but 
 otherwise it was totally unimproved, and 
 it was several years before it afforded any 
 revenue to the family. Being obliged to 
 go into debt for the farm, and, being 
 anxious to own a home free of incum- 
 brance, Mr. Wiese put forth every effort 
 to clear the land and create a fertile farm; 
 but the hard work soon told upon him, 
 and, as a result of exposure, he was 
 seized with inflammation of the lungs, 
 which carried him off September 3. 1868, 
 when he was hfty-one years old. He was 
 a member of the Lutheran Church. His 
 remains now rest in Lawrence cemetery. 
 The death of the father left the widow 
 and children with the encumbered prop- 
 erty, but they courageously set to work, 
 and, although the task was no small one, 
 thej' proved themselves equal to it. They 
 hired a man to assist with the heavier 
 work until our subject was fifteen years of 
 age, after which he gradually assumed 
 charge of affairs; year by year they saw 
 the indebtedness diminish, and finally, 
 after working together industriously for 
 man\' vears, found themselves owners of 
 
COMMEMOllA TIVK BJOUUAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 267- 
 
 a well-improved farm, on which a sub- 
 stantial residence had been erected. Mrs. 
 Wiese died June 15, 1S90, a member of 
 the Lutheran Church, and was buried in 
 Lawrence cemetery. 
 
 Frederick H. Wiese received but a 
 limited education, as he had to conimcine 
 work early in life, beinj;' the only son, and 
 he has always remained on the home farm, 
 which he now owns. Beini; a natural 
 mechanic, he has worked at the wa,i;i)n- 
 maker's trade. On October 14, 1890, 
 he was married to Miss Ida E. Smith, 
 who was born April 27, 1867, in Wrights- 
 town township. Brown count\', daughter 
 of Nicholas and Carolina (Zittlow) Smith, 
 early residents of that locality. Mr. 
 Wiese has followed general fanning and 
 stock-raising, also taking an interest in 
 the dairy business. He is industrious and 
 systematic, and a leader in all movements 
 tending to benefit his township and the 
 community at large. In politics he is a 
 Democrat, and in religious connection he 
 and his wife are members of the Evangel- 
 ical Lutheran Church at West De Pere. 
 They have one child, Alma L. A., born 
 July II, I 891. 
 
 ANTHONY DWYER, one of the 
 old and highly respected residents 
 of Rockland township. Brown 
 county, is a native of the Emerald 
 Isle, born in May, 181 8, in County Tiji- 
 perary. His parents. Dennis and Johanna 
 (Ryan) Dwyer, farming people, who 
 passed their entire lives in their native 
 Ireland, had a family of si.\ children, of 
 whom Anthony, the only son, was the 
 third in order of birth. 
 
 Our subject was reared to farm life, 
 and, when a young man, married Miss 
 Johanna Ryan, and while in Ireland they 
 had the following children: Johanna, 
 Dennis, Philip, Michael, Maurice, An- 
 thony (i), John and Anthony (2). Of 
 these, Johanna is now the wife of M. 
 Scandlan, of Green Bay; Dennis is de- 
 ceased; Philip lives in Pound, Wis.; 
 
 Michael is deceased; Maurice li\'es in 
 Lowell, Wash.; .Anthoii)' ( 1 ) is deceased; 
 jnhn li\-es in Kocklaiid, Wis.; .Vnthonv 
 (J) is deceaseil. In the >prm,L; nl 185J 
 this famih' went ti> Lixerponl, and, tidcing 
 |)assagi- on an .\merican-lHumd \essel. 
 landed at New York, thcii' first home in 
 the New World bciiiL; 111 Syracuse, N. 'N'., 
 where tlK-\ li\c(l tor three and a half 
 N'cars, Ml'. Dwver working at an\ thing 
 which would tiriiiL; luiii an honest dollar. 
 Here one (Inid, .\ntlioiiy (2), died, and 
 one, .\iitlioii\ (3), was boiii 1 he is now 
 livinj.; \\\ Lowell, \\'asli. i. In October, 
 I 85 5, the\' came wi.'stward to Wisconsin, 
 and for a \ear IkuI their resideu( c in De- 
 Pere, where the father en^ageil in \arious 
 ]iursuits, and then in No\eiii|jiT, 1856, 
 c;mie to the jaesent iariii 111 l\o< klaiid 
 township, purchasing forty acres at .$1.50 
 ])er acre, and then had to borrow thirty 
 dollars to make the first pa\'ment. .\t 
 that time there was not a single house 
 between the farm and De Pere, and the 
 road was onh a path through the wfiods. 
 Mr. Dwyer built the first dwelling on the 
 place, and then c<iininenced the work of 
 clearing away the f(.irest, the dense growth 
 of oak, beech, pine, maple, etc., making 
 the task a difficult one; but he was deter- 
 mineil to succeed, and, after m:my years 
 (}f hard work, had a fertiK.', productive 
 farm, whiidi \ieldeil him a good income. 
 
 Wlnl 
 
 De P 
 
 mother son, 
 
 Jeremiah, was fiorn [he 
 in Minnc;ipolis. Minn.), and the follow- 
 ing named childri'ii were born on the 
 farm: Patrick, h\ing at home; Mag- 
 gie, Mrs. Edward Martin, of P'lorence, 
 Wis. ; Mary, deceased; and Katie, living 
 at home. The mother was called from 
 earth March 26, 1876, and was buried 
 in De Pere cemetery, and since her death 
 her daughters have had charge of the 
 household affairs. Mr. Dwyer has seen 
 his present farm transformed from an un- 
 broken wilderness into a well-improved 
 farm, which represents years of arduous 
 toil, this property having all been accumu- 
 lated from a commencement of nothing. In 
 
36S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVK BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1890 his son Patrick bought the farm, and 
 Mr. Dwyer now makes liis home with 
 him, retired from active work. He is a 
 Democrat, but has never taken much inter- 
 est in politics, having, until recently, given 
 his undivided attention to the farm. Of 
 his large family of fourteen children, 
 eleven are now living, and he has twenty- 
 si.\ grandchildren and six great-grand- 
 children. 
 
 NIELS NELSON, an esteemed cit- 
 izen of New Denmark township, 
 Brown county, has been identified 
 with lier agricultural interests for 
 the past forty years. He is a native of 
 Norway, born March 14, 1823, son of 
 Nelson and Anna (Johnson) Nelson, who 
 were the parents of two children : Bertha, 
 now Mrs. Torkel Johnson, of Denmark, 
 and Niels, our subject. The father 
 worked in the iron factories of his native 
 country. 
 
 Niels Nelson lived with his parents 
 until he reached the age of about twenty- 
 five years, when he was married March 
 25, 1847, to Miss Anna Arveson, whose 
 parents, Aron Neilson and Mary (Chris- 
 terson) Arveson, had children as follows: 
 Christian, Neils, Emma and Anna (Mrs. 
 Nelson). Immediately after their mar- 
 riage Mr. and Mrs. Nelson sailed for 
 America, and after a seven-weeks' voyage 
 landed in New York City, thence contin- 
 uing their journey westward to Buffalo, 
 N. Y., and thence to Cincinnati, Ohio, 
 where they remained nearly three years, 
 Mr. Nelson working as a day laborer. In 
 i8i;o they emigrated to Wisconsin, and in 
 New Denmark township. Brown county, 
 our subject invested in sixty acres of 
 timber-covered land, and, having cleared 
 a small space in the woods, erected a 
 14 X 16 log cabin, in which they lived ten 
 years, when it was replaced by a more 
 modern dwelling. Their supplies were 
 all brought from Green Bay, and as Mr. 
 Nelson did not own an ox-team until ten 
 years after his removal to this place, he 
 
 would walk the entire distance to and 
 from that town, carrying his provisions, 
 his path for the greater part of the way 
 lying through the forest; when he came to 
 New Denmark the Manitowoc road was 
 the only one leading through the town- 
 ship. B}- diligent toil he has succeeded 
 in converting the piece of wild land into a 
 comfortable farm, with good improve- 
 ments and all necessarj- outbuildings, and 
 he carries on a profitable general farming 
 business. Politically our subject is inde- 
 pendent, and not active in public affairs; 
 in religious faith he and his wife are mem- 
 bers of the Lutheran Church. They have 
 had one child, Nellie. 
 
 F.\THER ADOLPH SMITZ. pastor 
 of St. Boniface Church, West De- 
 Pcre, is a native of Holland, born 
 October 25, 1844. at Oirschot, a 
 village of three or four thousand inhab- 
 itants in the Province of North Brabant, 
 son of Henry Bartholome and Antonia 
 Maria (Fock) Smitz, both also natives of 
 Holland. The father, who was a physi- 
 cian, is now deceased, but the mother is 
 still living in Holland at the age of eighty- 
 one years. 
 
 Adolph Smitz was educated in the 
 lower and higher seminaries of 's Herto- 
 genbosch, was ordained priest May 25, 
 1872, in the Cathedral of St. John, at that 
 place, and was afterward assistant priest 
 at Moergestel, at Diessen and at Zeelst 
 — all in Holland. On Septembers. 1883, 
 he sailed from Amsterdam on the steamer 
 " Amsterdam," and landed at Hoboken, 
 ^'- J- (opposite New York City), soon 
 afterward coming to Wisconsin. For a 
 short time he officiated in the vicinity of 
 Green Bay, and on January i, 1884, was 
 given charge of St. Boniface Church, 
 West De Pere, a position he still fills. 
 This church is an offshoot of St. Mary's, 
 of East De Pere; the edifice was erected 
 in 1883, and, when Father Smitz took 
 charge, was composed of little more than 
 bare walls, with a room partitioned off at 
 
COMMEMORATIVK DIOGItAPIIICAL UKCORD. 
 
 269 
 
 the north end for a school, but since he 
 assumed charge of affairs here a pleasant 
 priests' residence has been built (1885J, 
 the church edifice plastered, finished and 
 furnished (1891J, and a coimnodious 
 schoolhouse, containing six rooms, erected 
 (1893), the land for both parsonage and 
 school having been purchased during 
 Father Smitz' administration. The reci- 
 tation rooms are 24x30 feet, some of 
 them being at present occupied b\' the 
 Sisters for residence purposes. The 
 school enrollment in 1894 was 212, for 
 both sexes, and 150 families are numbered 
 in the prosperous parish of St. Boniface, 
 natives chiefly of Holland, Belgium and 
 and lower Germany. The corner-stone 
 of the sch(jolbuilding was laid and blessed 
 by Bishop Messmer Ma\- 14, 1893, and 
 the school was blessed by the same bishop 
 September 8, in the presance of the Most 
 Rev. Francesco Sattoli, Archbishop of 
 Lepanto, I. P. I., and apostolic delegate 
 to the United States. In February, 1894, 
 the school was made free. On June 29, 
 1893, the church was l^lessed, by permis- 
 sion of the Bishop, by Father Martin 
 Anderegg, and on the same day he cele- 
 brated first mass. St. Boniface church 
 edifice is not yet complete, as a sanctuary 
 is to be added on the north end, for the 
 purpose of enlarging its seating capacity. 
 A fine bell, weighing 1,400 pounds, and 
 costing three hundred and twenty dollars, 
 blessed February 12, 1S88, calls the con- 
 gregation to worship. 
 
 JOHN SMITH, prominent as an at- 
 torney of De Pere, Brown county. 
 Wis., has been a resident of that city 
 for the past twenty-five years. His 
 birth took place in a small village in Zwol- 
 gen, in the south of Holland, July 29, 1 844. 
 His education was acquired in the com- 
 mon and militar}' schools of his native 
 country, in the army of which he served 
 eighteen months, and he also became mas- 
 ter of the bricklayer's trade before coming 
 to the United States in the earlier part of 
 
 1 869. In the sunmier of that year he 
 settled in De Pere, with ten cents in his 
 pocket and with an indebtedness of sev- 
 ent}' dollars staring him in the face; but 
 he was ambitious and skillful, and steadily 
 worked at his trade until 1873, when his 
 labors began to lighten. He now became 
 interested in insurance and real estate, 
 and to devote his spare hours to the studj' 
 of law with his partner, George F. Mer- 
 rill, with whom he continued to read until 
 I 884, when he was admitted to the bar. 
 From that date to this he has been in 
 constant and active practice, in conjunc- 
 tion with his insurance and real-estate 
 business. He is the sole agent at De Pere 
 for the sale of steamship passenger tickets 
 to and from the old country for several 
 trans-Atlantic steamship lines. He also 
 has a Catholic book, stationery and toy 
 store, which is in charge of his daughter 
 Jennie, and he has proved himself to be a 
 shrewd and self-reliant business man. He 
 is now the owner of a large liody of real 
 estate in the cit\', and has several build- 
 ings, including the brick block in which he 
 has his office and store. 
 
 Mr. Smith was married, one year after 
 settling in De Pere, to Miss Kate Minor- 
 ette, also a native of Holland, who has 
 borne him thirteen children, nine of whom 
 are living, named as follows; Carrie, 
 Jennie, Christian, Edward, Herbert, Frank, 
 Charles, William and Fredrick, all resid- 
 ing imder the paternal roof, excepting 
 Carrie, who is married. In politics Mr. 
 Smith is a Democrat, and for eleven years 
 has served as school commissioner; he has 
 also served as mayor of De Pere two 
 terms, as alderman several times, and is 
 now filling his fourth term as city attorney. 
 He is strictly a self-made man, and enjoys 
 to the full the confidence of the public. 
 
 LEWIS KNUTH, a justice of the 
 peace, town clerk and chairman of 
 the town of Wrightsville, Brown 
 county, was born at De Pere, 
 Brown Co., Wis., February 22, 1863. 
 
COMMEMORA Tl 1 'K BIO GliA J'lIICA L HECOHD. 
 
 His father, George Kniith, was born 
 October lo, 1814, in Grondenz. in west 
 Prussia, and was there married to Cathe- 
 rine jaddaz, daughter of a prominent citi- 
 zen of the place. In 1859 they came to 
 the United States with their live children, 
 first locating in the town of Maple Grove, 
 Manitowoc Co., Wis., whence they moved 
 to De Pere, where Mr. Knuth fillecl various 
 positions, but was never a man to seek 
 public office. In 1870 he settled in 
 Wrightstown, where he made farming his 
 principal occupation until his death, which 
 occurred October 26, 1877. his widow sur- 
 viving until February 13, 1893. 
 
 Lewis Knuth was educated at De Pere, 
 and at the little log schoolhouse of 
 Wrightstown. .\t the age of eighteen 
 years he entered the store of the well- 
 known firm of Mueller & Spuhler as 
 clerk, and this position he retained about 
 eight jears. On May 13, 1887, he mar- 
 ried Miss Pauline Fieck, daughter of 
 Charles Fieck, a prominent farmer of 
 Morrison township. Brown county, and 
 the same spring he was elected to the of- 
 fice of town clerk, and two years later to 
 that of justice of the peace. The former 
 office he has filled so well that his fellow 
 citizens have retained him in it for five 
 consecutive years, and he also continues 
 to hold the office of justice of the peace, 
 for which he has proved himself equally 
 well qualified. He is also chairman of 
 the town. A man of energy and of liberal 
 views, he has risen to a high position in 
 the estimation of his fellow townsmen, as 
 is fully proven by his popularity at the 
 polls. Four children make his home happy 
 — two sons and two daughters, named 
 respectively, Elma, William, Laura and 
 Arthur. 
 
 JOHN NIVEN McCUNN. The sons 
 of Scotia, whose suggestive motto, 
 " NfiHo VIC iiiipuiie laces sit" em- 
 blazons every Scottish battle-torn 
 banner, are to be found the wide world 
 over, occupying, many of them, exalted 
 
 positions in every sphere of life — in liter- 
 ature, arts and sciences, no less than in 
 the several professions — civil and mili- 
 tary: foremost in war, first in peace. 
 
 The subject of this memoir is a native 
 of Glasgow, Scotland, born December 10, 
 1858, of time-honored ancestry. His 
 Grandfather McCunn was a sea-faring 
 man, and was drowned off the wild and 
 rugged coast of Scotland while acting as 
 pilot on a vessel. His son, James, father 
 of our subject, was born at Gourock, 
 Lanarkshire, Scotland, and learned the 
 trade of carpenter and joiner, which he 
 successfully follo\\ed many \'ears, in the 
 latter days of his life conducting a grocery 
 business: but, when he was only thirtj'-six 
 years old, death inter\ened and deprived 
 his wife of a loving husband, and their 
 four " weanies " of a devoted father. He 
 was a man of more than ordinary intelli- 
 gence, and of considerable enterprise, up- 
 right and conscientious, and a consistent 
 member of the Presbyterian Church. His 
 widow, Mrs. Janet McCunn, who was a 
 daughter of John and Mary (Kirkwood) 
 Niven, natives of Paisley, Scotland, 
 having decided, in her widowhood, to 
 come to America with her little family, 
 set out by the S. S. "St. David" of the 
 Allan line, in .April. 1870 (our sub- 
 ject being then about eleven years old), 
 arriving at Point Levi, opposi*e Quebec, 
 Canada, on May 6. From there they 
 came direct to Wisconsin, making their 
 first home in the Western World in Port- 
 age county, whither James McCunn, the 
 oldest son (now a farmer in that county), 
 had preceded them. 
 
 John N. McCunn had received some 
 elementary education in Glasgow, and 
 after coming to Wisconsin he attended 
 district school, also the high school at 
 Waupaca, afterward teaching for a season 
 or so, at the same time keeping up his 
 studies. In 1882 he entered Milton Col- 
 lege, intending to take a full collegiate 
 course; but impaired health prevented his 
 completing it. During the summer of 
 1883 he visited his old home in Scotland, 
 
t^, <^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 273 
 
 and on his return to Wisconsin he re- 
 sumed his studies, and again taught school, 
 after which he became general agent for 
 "Johnston's Encyclopedia," his territory 
 covering all northern Wisconsin, while his 
 headquarters were at Green Bay. In 
 1887 he bought a half interest in the 
 Green Bay Business College, and before 
 the expiry of a year he had complete con- 
 trol of the institution, to which he was 
 now enabled to give his e.\clusi\e atten- 
 tion. After taking charge he made a 
 complete change in the general economy 
 of the college, among other innovations 
 having added a Shorthaml department, 
 and in the spring of 1888 furnished the 
 rooms with new fixtures, etc. In the spring 
 of 1893 Prof. AlcCunn erected the largest 
 and most expensi\e college building in the 
 State, exclusively for a Business College; 
 it is a three-story structure, built of red 
 pressed brick, liaMUg brown sandstone 
 facings, the entrance being atlorned with 
 polished granite columns, basement being 
 of limestone. The entire building is 
 heated with steam and lighted with elec- 
 tricity — in fact the Green Bay Business 
 College is the most thoroughly equipped 
 institution of the kind in the West, and, 
 as a whole, is well worthy of the pride of 
 that ambitious city. 
 
 In 1884, after his return from his 
 visit to Scotland, above alluded to, Prof. 
 John N. McCunn was marrieil in \\'au- 
 paca to Miss P^lorence Ida Pipe, a native 
 of Waupaca county. Wis., and daughter 
 of Thomas Pipe, ex-mayor of Waupaca, 
 an honored pioneer and business man. 
 To this union were born three children: 
 Ethel May, Florence \'erna, and \\'alter 
 Thomas. The mother of these passed 
 from earth January 10, 1889, and in Oc- 
 tober, 1890, our subject married Miss 
 Ada Montgomery, daughter t)f John Mont- 
 gomery, an extensive farmer of W'ashing- 
 ton county, Penn., where she was born. 
 She was educated at the ladies' seminary 
 in Washington, Penn., after which she 
 taught school in her native county and in 
 the Green Bay Business College one year. 
 
 ISy this second marriage of the Professor 
 there is one child now living, Harold 
 Montgomery. 
 
 Prof. McCunn has been an active and' 
 useful citizen of Green Bay ever since 
 coming to the place, and has closely 
 identified himself with its civic affairs, at 
 the present time serving as a member of 
 the city council. Socially he is a mem- 
 ber of the Business Men's Association, 
 Royal Arcanum, B. P. O. E., and K. of 
 P., in which latter luder he was installed 
 chancellor commander in January, 1894. 
 Politically he is a Republican, his first 
 Presidential vote having been cast for 
 Garfield. Green Bay owes much to just 
 such enterprising young men as the sub- 
 ject of this sketch, who has brought his 
 young and acti\'e life to aid in forming 
 the micleus around which, in time, will 
 cluster the metropolis of northeastern 
 Wisconsin. In the building up of his 
 Business College, alone, he has been the 
 means of bringing to Green Bay many 
 enterprising young people, who are bene- 
 fited by the example set them by their 
 upright principal. 
 
 HENRY RHODE. M. I)., one of 
 the oldest and most experienced 
 physicians anil surgeons of Green 
 Bav, was born in Hanover, Ger- 
 many, in 1829, a son of Henry and 
 Catherine I'Beil) Rhode. He was edu- 
 cated at the Gymnasium at Heili.genstadt, 
 Prussia, and studied medicine at the Uni- 
 versit\' of Cioettingen. Hano\'er, from 
 which he graduated in 1850, and then en- 
 tered the Prussian army as surgeon, serv- 
 ing until I 854. 
 
 In that year he and his wife came to 
 America and located in Toledo, Ohio, 
 where his father and mother and two 
 sisters died of cholera the same year; they 
 had immigrated to America in 1 849. After 
 a brief practice in Toledo, the Doctor 
 moved to Chilton, Wis., in 1S56; thence 
 went to Manitowoc, and in 1S59 came to 
 Green Bay, where he has ever since been 
 
274 
 
 COMMEMOItATIVE BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 in active practice. He has achieved a 
 fine reputation professionally. He is a 
 member of the Fox River Valley Medical 
 Society, also of the Brown County Medi- 
 cal Society, and is likewise a censor. 
 
 Dr. Rhode has been twice married: 
 'first time in Germany, in 1852. to Chris- 
 tina Engelhardt, who died in Toledo, 
 Ohio, in 1856, two years after the death 
 of his parents and two sisters. His sec- 
 ond marriage took place in Green Bay, 
 "Wis., in i860, to Miss Mary Eva Becker, 
 a native of Prusssia and a daughter of 
 Bartholmaus and Eva Becker, who were 
 «arly settlers of Milwaukee, the former of 
 ■whom died in Milwaukee in 1853, the lat- 
 ter in Green Bay in 1886. To the Doc- 
 tor and his wife were born eight children, 
 of whom seven are living, as follows: 
 Kunigunda, wife of Felix Johannes; Caro- 
 line Matilda, wife of H. E. Bacon, Jr. ; 
 Katie, now Mrs. E. A. Beaumont; Ottilie, 
 wife of Winford Abrams; Ida; Henry P., 
 who graduated from the College of Physi- 
 cians and Surgeons, of Chicago. 111., and 
 located at Forest Junction, Wis., in 1894, 
 and Richard A. In politics Dr. Rhode 
 is a Democrat, is serving his second term 
 as a member of the board of Pension 
 Examiners, and has been county physi- 
 cian three terms. He and his wife are 
 members of the Catholic Church, and 
 their consistent Christian walk in life has 
 gained for them the respect of all their 
 neighbors. 
 
 HANS PETER ANDERSEN, a 
 successful farmer of New Den- 
 mark township. Brown county, 
 was born February 6, 1851, in 
 Langeland, Denmark, son of Rasmus 
 and Anna (Peterson) Andersen, natives of 
 the same place, the latter of whom was a 
 daughter of Peter Christensen. 
 
 Anders Christensen, paternal grand- 
 father of our subject, had a family of six 
 children, namely: Christ, Rasmus, Hans, 
 Mary Ann, Nels, and Frederick. Rasmus 
 Andersen followed the wagon-maker's 
 
 trade, which he had learned from his 
 father, and which he in turn taught to his 
 son, our subject, who followed it about 
 two }ears in the old country. Seven 
 children were born to Rasnuis as follows: 
 Anna, .Matilda, Hans Peter, Andrew, Car- 
 oline, Mary Ann, and Christiana, all of 
 whom are now in this country; two of the 
 daughters, Mrs. Rasmus Nelson and Mrs. 
 Rasmus Rasmussen, arc residents of New 
 Denmark, Brown count\'. In the spring 
 of 1867 the family left Denmark and 
 landed in New York after a three-weeks" 
 voyage, coming directly from that city to 
 New Denmark township, Brown county. 
 Wis., where they invested in sixty acres 
 of land, partly cleared. A log house 
 standing on this place was their home for 
 six 3'ears, when it was replaced by the 
 modern frame dwelling in which our sub- 
 ject now lives, and here the parents passed 
 the remainder of their lives, the father 
 passing from earth August 13, 1890, the 
 mother May 24, i8gi. Their remains 
 were interred in New Denmark cemetery, 
 where a monument now marks their last 
 resting-place. 
 
 Hans Peter Andersen remained at 
 home with his parents until he was about 
 twenty-one years of age, when he engaged 
 in carpentering, continuing at same for 
 five years. At the end of that time, in 
 1877, he bought the home farm, where 
 he had been thoroughly trained to agri- 
 cultural pursuits, his father having in his 
 day been one of the most successful farm- 
 ers of the township. On .Xpril 10, 1880, 
 our subject was married to Miss Mina 
 Nelson, daughter of Niels Peter and Maria 
 (Peterson) Nelson,the latter of whom, a na- 
 tive of Denmark, married, for her first hus- 
 band, James Anderson, and after his de- 
 cease was wedded to Niels Peter Nelson. 
 The union of Mr. and Mrs. Andersen has 
 been blessed with three children, as fol- 
 lows: Mary, born December 19, 18S0; 
 Alfred, born April 3, 1884, and Agnes, 
 born February 21, 1887. During his 
 youth our subject had very meager op- 
 portunities for obtaining an education, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE UlUCIiAPUlCAL UECORD. 
 
 but he has acquired a practical business 
 training, and by good management has 
 made a success of his chosen vocation, 
 now owning 138 acres of good land, well 
 improved and highly cultivated. A stanch 
 Republican in politics, he takes great in- 
 terest in the success of his party, and, 
 though not an aspirant for office, has served 
 his township as school clerk six years and 
 supervisor two j'ears; also was treasurer 
 of the New Denmark Mutual Home Fire 
 Insurance Company eight years. In re- 
 ligious connection he and his wife are 
 members of the Lutheran Church, in 
 which he has been an officer for the past 
 fifteen years, serving as trustee, treasurer, 
 secretary, and deacon. 
 
 M 
 
 ARTIN VAN ABEL. This lead- 
 ing representative farmer citizen 
 and prosperous merchant of Hol- 
 land township. Brown county, is 
 a living link between the pioneer days of 
 half a century ago and the present ad- 
 vanced period in the history of Wiscon- 
 sin. With a.xe in hand he felled the first 
 tree on the spot where is now his elegant 
 home, and his eyes have beheld the trans- 
 formation of impenetrable forests into 
 bright fields of golden grain and lu.xuriant 
 meadows, fragrant with the perfume of 
 honey-bearing clover. 
 
 Mr. Van Abel is a nati\'e of Holland, 
 born February 13, 1827, a son of Andrew 
 Van Abel, a farmer in comfortable cir- 
 cumstances in that world-renowned dairy- 
 land, and who was the parent of five chil- 
 dren that lived to adult age, of whom 
 three are yet living, viz.: William, in 
 Holland tov^mship. Brown Co. , Wis. ; 
 Ellen, living with our subject: and Mar- 
 tin. The father of these died in 1844, 
 the mother, whose maiden name was 
 Mary Kempen, passing away in 1863. 
 They came with some of their children 
 to Wisconsin in 1851, three years after 
 Martin's emigration. 
 
 Martin Van Abel received a fair edu- 
 cation at the public schools of his native 
 
 land until thirteen years of age, when he 
 went til work on a farm, and so continued 
 till his emigration to the United States, 
 which e\ent took place when he was 
 twenty-one years old. Ha\ing been 
 drafted into the Dutch army, he con- 
 cluded the best way to avoid service 
 would be to "take French leave," and 
 emigrate. Accortlingly, on the good ship 
 ' ' Liberia, " bound from Amsterdam for the 
 United States, he, in the spring of 1848, 
 set sail from his native land, arriving, after 
 a voyage of fifty-four da}-s, at Boston. 
 Thence traveling westward via Buffalo 
 (where he took passage on the ' ' Old 
 Michigan"), he landed in Green Bay May 
 10, same year. From there he came to 
 what is now Holland township, in com- 
 pany with the following named, who were 
 among the first settlers of tlie village of 
 Holland : William Kempen, Henr\' Van- 
 dehey, Henry Hovener, Henry Gerrits, 
 Martin Ver Kuile, Albert Vandenberg, 
 John Arts, George Vanden Heuvel, and 
 John Verboort. At this time the land was 
 all new and uncleared,, in fact, in its 
 primeval condition, totally untouched by 
 the hand of man, and here they decided 
 to form a purely Dutch colony. In order 
 that they might not only converse in their 
 mother tongue, but also worship as they 
 did in their far-away native land, they 
 brought with them their own pastor. Rev. 
 Godhart. The party came by way of 
 Wrightstown, and from there continued 
 their journey by teams, in the direction 
 of their destination : but at the end of 
 three miles they found themselves con- 
 fronted with an impenetrable forest, de- 
 fying farther progress with anything in the 
 shape of horse and wagon; consequently 
 the teams were left behind, and all the 
 goods and chattels carried through the 
 woods on the backs of the immigrant 
 colonists. Arrived at last at their goal, 
 they made their first settlement on a piece 
 of land now owned by Martin Van Abel. 
 Shanties or huts were hurriedly built of 
 bark stripped from the basswood tree, and 
 for a long time this was their only shelter. 
 
276 
 
 COMMEifORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL HECORD. 
 
 Each member of this party took up land 
 for his own account. 
 
 During^ the first year Martin \"an Abel, 
 beinj; younj;' and strong, worked for some 
 of the others who liad families, and as 
 there were no roads of any kind, bound- 
 aries, farms or fences, he found plenty 
 to do at chopping down the giants of the 
 forest, and out of the hewn logs building 
 dwellings of a more substantial nature. 
 The first land purchased l)y Mr. Van Abel 
 was forty acres, all timber-covered, in 
 Calumet county, one-half mile from the 
 village of Holland, for which land he paid 
 ten shillings per acre, and here he cut the 
 first tree that ever fell to axe on the 
 place, all the preliminary imi)rovements 
 on the place being made h\ his own 
 hand; and, as there was no means of re- 
 moving the trees as they fell, huge bon- 
 fires were made, which consumed many a 
 thousand feet of \aluable timber. .About 
 1862 our subject removed to Section 35, 
 Holland townshiji, where for one year he 
 lived on rented land, then in Section 34 
 he bought the twehe acres whereon is 
 now his home. 
 
 Hut Mr. \'an .\bel, since coming to 
 Holland township, has been more inter- 
 ested in mercantile pursuits than in farm- 
 ing. Shortly after his arrival in the vil- 
 lage of Holland, in partnership with his 
 brother-in-law. John Wassenberg, he 
 opened out a mercantile business, con- 
 ducted l)\' them two years, at the end of 
 which time our subject bought out his part- 
 ner and afterward carried on the store alone 
 until 1S80. In that year fire destroyed 
 his store and stock in trade, causing him 
 great loss, as he had but little insurance. 
 Nothing daunted, however, he rebuilt at 
 once, bought a fresh stock, later adding 
 thereto a saloon business, all of which he 
 has since conducted with eminent success, 
 the growth of his trade necessitating the 
 enlargement of his premises from time 
 to time, until now he owns quite a com- 
 modious establishment. To his land he 
 has, by (lurchases at different periods, 
 added until now he has i jo acres. 
 
 In October, 1861. Mr. Van Abel was 
 married, in Holland township, to Miss 
 Ellen Wassenberg, a native of Holland, 
 born May 16, 1842, a daughter of William 
 Wassenberg, who came to the United 
 States with his family in 185 1 on the 
 same boat in which the mother of our sub- 
 ject and others of the family crossed the 
 Atlantic. To this union came children 
 as follows : Born in Calumet county — 
 John, now a farmer of Holland township; 
 born in the \illage of Holland — Mary, 
 now the wife of Theodore Broeren, of 
 Portland, Oregon ; Hattie. Mrs. Henry 
 Van Dcuren, of Green Hay; William (i), 
 deceased at the age of two years; Minnie, 
 one of the Sisters of St. Francis, in Mani- 
 towoc, Wis. ; Michael M., at home; Henry 
 H.. a graduate of Green Bay Business 
 College ; Lizzie, who died young; Aimie, 
 William (2), and Anton, all three at 
 home; Bardene, deceased; and .Albert, at 
 home. Mr. and Mrs. Van Abel and fam- 
 ily are prominent members of St. Francis 
 Church, at Holland. Politically he has 
 always l^een a stanch Democrat, and has 
 served as supervisor, although he has 
 never sought office, his many private in- 
 terests demanding and receiving all his 
 time and attention. 
 
 Mr. Van Abel is one of the four yet 
 living of the original party of pioneers 
 who came into the Holland settlement in 
 1848 -nearly half a century ago — during 
 which long period he has witnessed mar- 
 velous changes and experienced hardships 
 imknown to and not readily realized by 
 the present commercial generation. He 
 is a living type of the progressive man, 
 who from boyhood, with but little educa- 
 tion and no knowledge of the English 
 language, essays to build up a home and 
 reputation in the wilds of a new part of a 
 new country, and succeeds by his own 
 brawny muscle and indomitable will 
 power. He was confrontetl with the 
 stern forest, and he sulidued it ; he en- 
 countered innumerable difficulties, and he 
 overcame them; he met with ruinous ad- 
 versity, but Pb(tnix-like, he built uji bet- 
 
COMMKMUUA TIVI-: JJIUGUAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 377 
 
 ter and hit;her. He and his amiable wife 
 had a large family to rrar, and they 
 brought tliem iiji nobly in the backwoods, 
 educating them as well as il they had 
 li\ed in the tinest city, and taught them 
 to know and to live up to the knowledge 
 that they are worthy children of worthy 
 pioneer parents, respected everywhere. 
 
 FRANK FROSCH, the postmaster 
 of Wa_\side, Morrison township, 
 I'lrown couiitw and a pros])erous 
 merchant, is a son ot (icorge 
 Frosch la rope-maker), anati\eof Baden, 
 Germany, born April 23, 1817, son of 
 Alexander Frosch, a merchant and also a 
 rt)pe-maker. 
 
 Ge(n"ge Frosch also served, uiidei- the 
 military laws of his country, as a soldier 
 for three years, and therefore became a 
 free v\i\/.en. At the age of tv\'enty-six he 
 had accunndated some means b\' hard 
 w'ork, and determined then to i-ome to 
 the United States. Embarking at Havre, 
 France, he reached New York City after 
 a passage of forty days, and thence went 
 to Rochester, N. Y. , where, even at his 
 age, he began to learn coopering, at that 
 time a ver}' lucrative trade. A year or 
 two later he mo\'e(l to Ohio, worked at 
 the same trade a short time, ant! then 
 came to Wisconsin, landing at Milwaukee; 
 here he worked at coopering a Near or 
 more, and then went to Cedarburg, Ozau- 
 kee county, where he was employed as 
 clerk by a Mr. Honnafer, proprietor ol the 
 " Washington House." It was there that 
 he met, and married, on Ajiril 6, 1853, 
 Elizabeth Hangen, who was born Marcdi 
 17, I S3 I, in the village of Sprendlingen, 
 Prcjvince of Hesse-Darmstadt, Gernuiny, 
 a daughter of Jacob and Catherine (Bal- 
 ser) Hangen, who came to the United 
 States in 1843. To the marriage of Mr. 
 Frosch was born. January 20, 1854, one 
 child, Frank. Late in the fall of 1856, 
 relinquishing coopering at Cedarburg, 
 which trade lie had followed since his 
 marriage, Mr. Frosch moved to Morrison 
 
 township, I^rown rount\', and settled on 
 forty aeies ol land \\r had preNiouslj' 
 bargained for in Section iS, S. li. The 
 land was new, with oul\ a lew trees felled 
 around a shantv l)uilt b\ the lormer owner. 
 No roads W(_-re 111 the neighborhood, ex- 
 cepting a loot-path thai led to the shant)'. 
 Bear and deer weic pleiits, with other 
 wild ganu', and woKes were \ et to l)e 
 foimd to make night hideous with their 
 howding. Mr. Froseh ereeti'il a small 
 worksho]) on his )ilaee, and made (jnite a 
 comfortal)le lixing lor his laiiiil\. (_)n 
 this tra<t, on XiAcinber iS. 1807. was 
 born the second son, Ceorge. .\ lew 
 \ears later .Mr. ("ieor,L;e l-'iosch bought 
 eighty acres in Section 17. opjiosite his 
 first purchase, owning e\a'ntiially 124 
 acres, which he eomcited into an excel- 
 lent farm. .\bout 1 8(i(i lir retired to 
 W'ayside, where his death oeeui"re<l I'ebru- 
 ary 24, 1892, after one week's illness 
 Irom la ''gri|)pe." f-Ie was a sincere Lu- 
 theran in his religious faith, and in poli- 
 tics was a Democrat, but did not aspire 
 to public office. Mr. Frosch led a \irtu- 
 ons and industrious life', one worthy the 
 stiid}' ol the rising generation. He in- 
 herite<i nothing to .give him a start, and 
 yet died a compaiatively wealthy man. 
 He came to .\merica with but a few hard- 
 earned dollars in his possession; finally 
 settled in a wilderness, whi(di he made to 
 ■' blossom like the rose;" worked at a trade, 
 which, in his day, was unaided by the 
 machinery of tlie present day, but all 
 done by manual labor; won the respect of 
 all who knew him, and left to his progeny 
 sidTicient for an honorable l^egimiing of 
 their (diosen callings. His estimable 
 widow, a member of the Lutheran Church, 
 is now residing with her son George. 
 That she has always been an invahiable 
 and earnest helpmeet to her honored 
 husband it is superihious to add. 
 
 Frank Frosch was hardly three years 
 of age when he was brought to Morrison 
 township by his parents. In this wilder- 
 ness he was reared on the farm and in- 
 ured to all the hardships of a pioneer life. 
 
27S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 His education was acquired at the district 
 school, and was sufficient for all the pur- 
 poses of a hardy but intelligent farmer. 
 At the age of twenty-one he went to De- 
 Pere and engaged in business with Jacob 
 Falck, thus increasing his store of knowl- 
 edge. In a short time, however, he re- 
 turned to Wayside, and purchased the 
 general store of Peter Axen, which was 
 then, in 1876, a small affair, but now. 
 
 under Mr. Frosch's 
 
 has 
 
 become one of the most thriving and 
 largest business houses of the town. Mr. 
 Frosch was united in marriage, March 22, 
 1876, at De Pere, with Miss Elizabeth 
 Beattie, a native of that city, and the 
 children born to this marriage are as fol- 
 lows: Raymond G., Frank H., Estella 
 A., and Cora E. In politics Mr. Frosch 
 is a Democrat; he was the first postmas- 
 ter at Wayside, and has so efficiently per- 
 formed the duties of the position that he 
 has held the office through all the admin- 
 istrations ever since; he has also been 
 township treasurer for the past two years. 
 His business interests have grown apace, 
 and in 1892 he took into partnership his 
 brother. George, the firm now standing as 
 Frosch Bros. Mr. and Mrs. Frank Frosch 
 are members of the Lutheran Church, and 
 are highly respected in the social circles 
 of Wayside and the entire township of 
 Morrison. 
 
 ANDREW HIBBERD. a resident 
 of Rockland township, Brown 
 county, was born August 8, 1846, 
 in the State of Vermont, son of 
 Lawrence and Julia (Hall) Hibberd, both 
 of whom were natives of Canada. 
 
 Lawrence Hibberd removed with his 
 parents to New York State when but a 
 child, and resided near Plattsburg for a 
 number of years. He was a shoemaker 
 by trade. In Canada he was married to 
 Miss Julia Hall, and they had a family of 
 eight children — six sons and two daugh- 
 ters — as fcjllows: Lawrence, of Nebraska; 
 Charles, John, and Silas, all residents of 
 
 Rockland; Edmund, of Glenmore; An- 
 drew, our subject; Angeline, Mrs. Frank 
 Gennette, of Dixon, 111. ; and Mary, who 
 died in 1894 (she was first married to 
 Oliver D. Colburn, and subsequently to 
 John Provost, of Fond du lac. Wis., who 
 preceded her to the grave). Of these, 
 Andrew and Angeline were born in the 
 United States, the others in Canada. The 
 father died in 1S51 in New York, and 
 was buried in Plattsburg ceineter\'. The 
 widowed mother and children continued 
 to reside near Plattsburg until 1855, when 
 they came westward to l)e Pere, Wis. , jour- 
 neying via Toronto, Canada, to Green Bay, 
 where they landed November i, 1855, and, 
 arriving in De Pere a few days later, rented 
 a house there for a time. The sons who 
 were able to work found employment in' 
 the logging camps then so numerous in 
 Brown county, and thus assisted in sup- 
 porting the famih'. In the spring of 1857 
 they removed to Rockland township on a 
 tract of forty acres in Section 9, for which 
 they paid $335. going into debt for the 
 amount. They built the first house on 
 the place, which was still uncleared and in 
 a primitive coniiition, and commenced the 
 work of clearing, a difficult task with the 
 few rude implements they had to work 
 with; and, as the land did not yield enough 
 to support the family for the first few 
 years, the boys found work with the neigh- 
 boring farmers. The mother lived on 
 this farm until her death, which occurred 
 November 8, 1880. when she was seventy- 
 two years of age; her remains now rest in 
 De Pere cemetery. In religious faith she 
 was a member of St. Francis Church, 
 De Pere. 
 
 Andrew Hibberd received in his vouth 
 but limited educational advantages, being 
 obliged, after the settlement of the family 
 in Rockland township, to assist with the 
 work on the home place. He was reared 
 amid all the hardships of pioneer farm 
 life, and was also thoroughly initiated into 
 the logging business, which he followed to 
 some extent. He lived at home until 
 December 28, 1861, when he enlisted, at 
 
COMMEMORA TIVK BIOGHAFUICA I, RECORD. 
 
 -79 
 
 De Perc, in Company F, Fourteenth 
 Wis. \'. I., and was sent \\itl\ his coni- 
 mand to Fond du Lac, thence to St. 
 Louis, and tlience to Tenni'ssee, \\ liere 
 he first saw active service in the enf^age- 
 ments at Pittsburg Landing; then, witli 
 the Western army, followed the engage- 
 ments at Corinth, Holly Spirings, luka and 
 Vicksburg, where he was dischargeil De- 
 cember 28, 1863, on account of disability 
 resulting from exposure: he was wounded 
 in the foot at the battle of Corinth. Re- 
 turning to Brown county, he shipped, the 
 the following spring, with Capt. Campbell 
 on the brig ''Oleander, " of l)uffalo, serv- 
 ing for a time before the mast and later 
 as second mate, thus continuing until the 
 end of the seas<.)n. On No\'eniber 20, 
 1864, he enlisted, at Chicago, in the 
 Ninth III. \'. C, joineti his command at 
 Nashville, Tenn., and during his second 
 term of service participated in the second 
 fight at Nashville, thence going to Tupelo 
 Creek, where they had si.x weeks of hard 
 fighting. They then crossed to Eastport 
 in pursuit of Hood, and after continuing 
 the chase for some time returned to East- 
 port on garrison duty and general recruit. 
 They were next engaged in destroying 
 local gun manufactories in northern Ala- 
 bama, and later went to Decatur and 
 Montgomery, where our subject received 
 his discharge, and, returning to Brown 
 county in November, 1865, continued to 
 live on the homestead until his marriage. 
 On November 13, 1869, at De Pere, 
 Mr. Hibberd wedded Miss Philomine 
 Floury, who was born lune 13, 1852, in 
 Francis Creek, Manitowoc county, daugh- 
 ter of Louis and Margaret (Boprey) 
 Floury, the former of whom was a native 
 of Canada. At the time of his marriage 
 Mr. Hibberd purchased forty acres of land 
 in Section 9, adjoining the home farm on 
 the north, and he and his wife commenced 
 housekeeping in an old log house wliich is 
 still .standing. Only about half of this 
 tract was cleared, all the improvements 
 which have since been made on the place 
 have been placed there by Mr. Hibberd 
 
 or under his direction; he has also added 
 forty acres tn the original farm, making a 
 comfortable place of eighty acres, well 
 equipped with buildings, etc. Onr sub- 
 ject and wife had children as follows: 
 Andrew, Jr., Idattie J., Frank E., Wil- 
 liam E., La\ina M., bki E. (deceased in 
 infancy), and Louis I^. Politically Mr. 
 Hibberd is one of the leaders of the Ke- 
 ]niblican jiarty in his townshiii; in relig- 
 ious connection he and his family are 
 members of St. Josejih's Church, De 
 Pere. 
 
 M 
 
 ARTIN CURRAN, who is a 
 
 thrift\' and ]ir<isperiins farmer of 
 Glenmore township. Brown 
 county, was born, in 1822, in 
 County Kerry, Ireland, son of Cornelius, 
 (a farmer) and Mary (Kennedy) Curran. 
 \\\M^ had a family of six children — four 
 sons and two daughters — of whom M;irtin 
 is the third son and the fourth ihild in 
 order of birth. 
 
 Our subject receised a meager educa- 
 tion in the schools of his native comitry, 
 and was reareil to farming, living at home 
 v\ith his parents. In the spring of 1847 
 he determined to seek his fortune in the 
 United States, and accordingl}' took pas- 
 sage at Limerick on the sailing-vessel 
 "Souvenir," bound for Ouebec, where 
 he landed after a voyage of eighteen days, 
 a stranger in a strange land, and with but 
 twelve shillings in his [locket. l>ut he 
 was young and strong and willing to work, 
 and for several days was employed around 
 the docks, unloading vessels. He then 
 came to Burlington, Vt., and thence to 
 the village of Sharon, where he secured 
 work as a laborer on a railroad, remain- 
 ing there one season, and here he received 
 the first twenty dollars he e\'er earned, 
 which was at Duce sent home to his 
 mother. He continued to do railroad 
 work, at various jilaces, in Bellows I'alls, 
 (Vt.), New Hampshire, Springfield (Ohio), 
 and Columbus (Ohio), ('where he worked 
 several years on the C. C, C. & I. rail- 
 
28o 
 
 COMMEMOliATH-E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 road, which was then in course of con- 
 iitructioii;. and managed to save a little. 
 At that time land was cheap in northern 
 Wisconsin, and Mr. Curran niij:jrated 
 to this then new State, coining by rail 
 and water to Green Bay, and thence to 
 Kaukauna. where he worked one summer. 
 The preceding fall (1853) he had in- 
 vested in 1 10 acres of land in Section 6, 
 Glenmore township, on which not a tree 
 had been felled, or an improvement of any 
 kind made. He commenced to clear 
 it during the winter, doing the best he 
 could, in the meantime making his home 
 with his brother-in-law, Thomas Sullivan. 
 The entire surrounding country was yet 
 in its primiti\e state; wild animals were 
 still numerous; there were no roads to the 
 farm, the nearest highway being the Dixon 
 road, which led east from I)e Pere. The 
 task of clearing was a difficult one, and 
 proceeded slowly, for the pioneers had 
 but a few rude tools to work with. A 
 few years later a log house was erected 
 on the place, and it still stands on the 
 original site, but Mr. Curran did not make 
 a permanent residence on his land until 
 after his marriage. 
 
 In 1857 he married, in Green Bay, 
 Miss Mary Donahue, who was born, in 
 1833, in County Kerry, Ireland, a daugh- 
 ter of Timothy Donahue, who came to 
 the United States when Mary was a child, 
 anil the family resided in Massachusetts 
 until a few years before her marriage, 
 when they came to Wisconsin. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Curran moved to the farm shortly 
 after their marriage, and here the\- have 
 ever since remained. He has spent his 
 best years clearing, improving and culti- 
 vating this land, and, with each succeed- 
 ing season, the farm has become more and 
 more productive, yielding a better income. 
 Since his settlement here he has devoted 
 himself to farming e.xclusively, and, by 
 hard work and good management, has 
 succeeded in carving a tine property from 
 the sombre forest. Our subject lias won the 
 esteem of all who have come in contact 
 with him for his integrity and upright 
 
 dealing, and he is well and favorably 
 known among the citizens of Glenmore, 
 where the entire famil}' are held in the 
 highest respect. Politically he is a Dem- 
 ocrat, but has never given any of his 
 time to party affairs, preferring to attend 
 strictly to business. In religious con- 
 nection the family are members of St. 
 francis Church, De Pere. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Curran had ten children, 
 all born on the farm, as follows: Mary 
 (Mrs. Edward Keegan) and Ellen (Mrs. 
 Robert Miers), both of Milwaukee; Cor- 
 nelius, of Medford, Wis. ; Thomas and 
 Catherine, at home; Daniel M., a machin- 
 ist, of Milwaukee; Margaret A. and 
 Timoth}-, at home; Patrick, deceased at 
 the age of nineteen }ears; and Julia, de- 
 ceased when a }ear and a half old. In 
 March, 1865, our subject, enlisted at 
 Green Bay, in Company F, Fiftieth Regi- 
 ment Wis. \'. I. ; was sent to Madison, 
 thence to St. Louis, and for a time was 
 engaged in scouting and on guard duty 
 through northern Missouri. He was next 
 located at Fort Leavenworth and Fort 
 Rice, and in May, 1866, was discharged 
 at Madison, returning home immediatel)'. 
 
 Wii.l.l.\M ROBERTENDEKHV. 
 one of the wealthiest, as well as 
 one of the most highly respected 
 and prominent citizens of Preble 
 township. Brown county, is a native of 
 England, born January 30, 1841, in the 
 town of Bolinbroke, Lincolnshire. 
 
 His father, John Enderby, a native of 
 the same county, was a laborer and small 
 farmer, industrious and honest, but not 
 overburdened with an overshare of this 
 world's goods. He married Eliza SheriiT, 
 and. after the birth of our subject, con- 
 cluded to come to the United States, here 
 to select a new home for the family, and 
 at the same time endeavor to find his 
 wife's brother, Robert Sheriff, wlm was 
 supposed to be somewhere in Wisconsin, 
 near Green Bay. Accordingly, leaving 
 his wife and voung son in England, he 
 
-^./^.^^..uuAaJj^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGUAPUICAL llECOHD. 
 
 2S1 
 
 took passage in Deceniber, 1852, for the 
 United States, landing after a six-weeks' 
 voyage at New York. On his way west- 
 ward from there he was taken sick at 
 Amsterdam, N. J., necessitating his con- 
 finetnent to hospital some six or eight 
 weeks, and on recovery proceeded on his 
 journey, traveling b_\' rail and boat to 
 Milwaukee, from which point, although 
 still unwell and feeble, he walked to 
 Green Bay, leaving, in Milwaukee, his 
 trunk, which he never saw or heard of 
 again, .\rrived in Green Bay, he en- 
 quired of John Day as to the whereabouts 
 of Robert Sheriff, and learned that he was 
 conducting a farm in Freedom township, 
 Outagamie county. Thither Mr. Kn- 
 derby went, and, renting a farm, sent 
 home to England for his wife and son, 
 who sailed October 16, 1853, from Liver- 
 pool on theship "Continental," onboard 
 of which were over one thousand Irish 
 emigrants (in eleven days 1,024 ''i^'<^ of 
 cholera). In twenty-six days tlie wife 
 and son landed in New York, and their 
 passage to Buffalo being prepaid, started 
 to continue their journey; but through 
 some rascality or glaring mistake they 
 were made to pay their fare over again, 
 which, however, was ultimately repaid, as 
 well as damages incurred, legal proceed- 
 ings ha\'ing been commenced. On their 
 arrival at Sheboygan, Wis . they found 
 that, naxigation having closed for the sea- 
 son, the boat they had come on would 
 proceed no further, which was most per- 
 plexing to Mrs. Enderby, as her money 
 was completely exhausted, and she and 
 her little boy were utter strangers in a 
 strange land. In Sheboygan they went 
 to a boarding-house, where the mother 
 worked for her board, the son helping 
 around the barn; and, as soon as sleighing 
 set in, thewav-worn, weary travelers, leav- 
 ing their trunks as security for transpor- 
 tation to Green Bay, set out for their des- 
 tination by sleigh, via Fond du Lac. ar- 
 riving at Green Bay in January, 1854, 
 where John Day assisted them to reach 
 their future home in Freedom townshiji, 
 
 16 
 
 Outagamie county, a niece of which said 
 John Dav, to use our subject's own wonls, 
 "by some unknown mystery' became my 
 wife. " 
 
 On this farm they lived two years, and 
 then Mr. Enderby pre-empted eighty acres 
 of land, to which the family moved and 
 thereon lived a year, their first habitation 
 being a log shanty, and the nearest market 
 town. Green Bay, distant some eighteen 
 miles. In 1857 they removed to the 
 farm of eighty acres in Preble township. 
 Brown county, which Mr. Enderby had 
 purchased, going in debt $1,800, retain- 
 ing, however, the property in Outagamie 
 countv. For one year, or until 1858, 
 they made their home on this new farm, 
 but, owing to the financial depression of 
 that year, the place was lost to them, and 
 for the next two years they had to rent it. 
 In the fall of i860 Mr. Enderby purchased 
 sixty acres, also in Preble township, the 
 farm our subject now (jwns, at that time 
 totally unimproved, with no building 
 thereon of any kind; consei]uently for 
 three years the family made their home 
 on an adjoining forty-acre farm, then 
 coming to their own place, where a dwell- 
 ing and some outhouses had been put up, 
 many other improvements also being 
 made. Here the father died September 
 5, 1870, the mother on May 4, 1874, aged 
 fifty-six and sixty years respectively, and 
 they sleep their last sleep in Green Bay 
 cemetery. They were members of the 
 Episcopal Church, and in politics Mr. 
 Enderbv was a stanch Democrat. 
 
 W. R. Enderby, the subject proper of 
 this memoir, was a boy of about twelve 
 summers when he accompanied his mother 
 on the tedious journey from England to 
 Wisconsin, and at the country winter 
 schools of that period he received but a 
 limited education. At the age of fifteen 
 he began to work in the lumber camps, 
 saving his earnings, which went toward 
 paying for his father's land, thereby being 
 of great service to his parents, and 1 with 
 the exception of the time passeil in the 
 army), he so continued until his marriage, 
 
284 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 employing himself one entire winter mak- 
 ing rails to fence the farm with. 
 
 On October 19, 1861, Mr. Enderby 
 enlisted in Company H, Twelfth Wis. V. 
 I., three-years' service, and was honor- 
 ably discharged at Natchez, Miss., De- 
 cember 31, 1863, when he veteranized, 
 re-enlisting .same day in the same com- 
 pany and regiment, his final discharge at 
 Louisville, K)., under special order of 
 the War Department, bearing date July 
 16, 1865. He was the first man to enlist 
 from Preble township, and the first 
 veteran to re-enlist, a fact worthy of note. 
 After his first enlistment the regiment 
 rendezvoused at Madison, Wis. , and be- 
 ing then sent to the front, participated in 
 all the exposures and discomforts incident 
 to the preliminary movements of the 
 army in an inclement season, including 
 long and wearisome marches, which oc- 
 cupied their time until the spring of 1863, 
 when at Coldwater, Miss., they experi- 
 enced their first engagement with the 
 Confederates. After this came the siege 
 of Vicksburg, where the regiment dis- 
 played great gallantry, taking thirt}- 
 one thousand six hundred prisoners, one 
 hundred and seventy-two canon, and about 
 sixty thousand muskets; part of the regi- 
 ment participated in the action at Jack- 
 son. In August, same jear, the bri- 
 gade to which the Twelfth was at- 
 tached was ordered to Natchez, where it 
 remained until it was re-organized, and a 
 majority of the men had veteranized. It 
 then took part in what is known as the 
 Meridian expedition, the object of which 
 was to cripple the resources of the enemy, 
 and during this important affair it did a 
 vast amount of useful work, entailing a 
 great deal of arduous duty, a march of 
 400 miles being, perhaps, not the least 
 part of it. At Jackson, Miss., they 
 smashed forty-four locomotives, burnt 
 twelve hundred cars and destroyed a lot 
 of railroad track. 
 
 In the spring of 1863 our subject re- 
 turned home on veteran furlough, and 
 on rejoining his regiment it was assigned 
 
 to the Army of the Tennessee, taking part 
 in several of the actions preceding the 
 Atlanta campaign, under Sherman. At 
 Hunts\ille, Ala., Mr. Enderby was taken 
 sick, and was first sent to the hospital at 
 Huntsville, Ala., later to those at Nash- 
 ville and Louisville. After recovery he 
 set out to rejoin his regiment, which was 
 still with Sherman's army, his route being 
 via New York, Pocotahgo, S. C. and 
 Wilmington, N. C. where he made con- 
 nection with the command. On the day 
 before Johnson's surrender, while on 
 picket duty at Pocotaligo, he was struck 
 in the throat by a spent rifle ball. The 
 hardships endured on the Meridian march 
 produced varicose veins in the right leg, 
 while the march to Washington, after the 
 close of hostilities, brought the same 
 trouble to his left leg, by all of which it 
 will be seen that as a brave and lojal sol- 
 dier our subject suffered considerably. 
 
 After his discharge from the army Mr. 
 Enderbj' returned home to Preble town- 
 ship, and, before once more settling down 
 to the pursuits of peace, was married, 
 September S, 1865, to Miss Eliza Aim 
 Jeffrey, who was born June 8, 1845, in 
 Scott township. Brown Co., Wis., a 
 daughter of Thomas and Eliza (Day) 
 Jeffrey, natives of Lincolnshire, England. 
 To this union children, as follows, were 
 born: Anna Eliza, now wife of Joshua 
 Ritchie, of Green Bay; John T. , at home; 
 May L., now Mrs. Frederick Huetters, 
 of Creen Hay; William L. , married to- 
 Miss Clara A. Sawjer, also in (ircen Bay; 
 Carrie J., George R., Wilbert M., Albert 
 H., and Duain M., all four at home; 
 Melinda M., deceased at the age of two 
 years; and Lottie A. and Loella A., both 
 at home. After marriage our subject and 
 his young wife made their home on the 
 farm of her parents for one year, and then 
 moved to Fort Howard, where they lived 
 three years, he conducting a butcher busi- 
 ness and farm. He is now the owner of 
 seventy-nine acres of land, eight of which 
 are covered with an orchard, the finest in 
 Brown county, and he gives considerable^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVK BIOGIiAPlIlCAL UK CORD. 
 
 2S5 
 
 attention to fruit-growing, both large and 
 small, as well as the cultivation of 
 honey bees. 
 
 Politically Mr. Enderby is a Kepub- 
 lican, though the son of a stanch Dem- 
 ocrat, whose vote, on the occasion of the 
 first Presidential election after the war, 
 the son nullified by voting for Grant. 
 But no more filial son breathes, as proven 
 by his many unselfish acts of generosit)- 
 to his parents, whom he has aided in 
 many ways, some of which have already 
 been recounted in this sketch. From 
 his pay as a soldier he saved nearly every 
 cent, in all sending home $590 to assist 
 inicancelling a six-hundred-dollar mort- 
 gage held over the home farm, thereby 
 purging the property of all liens. Not 
 many years ago " Bill Enderby," as he is 
 familiarly called, was struggling along 
 "in the same old rut," making a bare 
 living on his farm; but ha\'ing taken up 
 fruit culture and made himself thoroughly 
 acquainted with the business by reading 
 and observation, he has attained an emi- 
 nent success, and to-day not a more pros- 
 perous farmer is to be found in all Preble 
 township, a consummation he has reached 
 solely b_\- industry, study, hard work, and 
 untiring energy, supported by level- 
 headed, sound judgment. At the present 
 writing he is in very poor health. 
 
 A P. SAWYER, who, for the past 
 twentj' years, has been a well- 
 known resident of Preble town- 
 ship, Brown county, is a native of 
 New York State, born November 2, 1847, 
 in the town of Fulton, Oswego county, of 
 hardy New England stock. 
 
 Grandfather Thomas Sawyer was born 
 in the town of Orford, Grafton Co., N. 
 H., son of Jonathan Sawyer, and was 
 reared to farming pursuits. He was mar- 
 ried in New Hampshire to Miss Asenith 
 Sargent, daughter of Timothy Sargent, 
 who was a soldier in the Revolution and 
 received a pension for his services. Thomas 
 and Asenith Sawyer became the parents 
 
 of five children — two sons and three 
 daughters — of whcjm, Thomas, the father 
 of our subject, was the second in order of 
 birth. 
 
 Th(jmas Sawyer was born juh" 6, 
 1.S07, in Orford, (irafton Co., N. H., was 
 reared a farmer bo_\-, and at the age of 
 sixteen commenced to learn the trade of 
 tanner and currier, in which he continued 
 until he reached his majority. He re- 
 mained in New Hampshire until the spring 
 of 1834, when he removed to New York 
 State, and for four months was employed 
 as steersman and bowsman on the Erie 
 canal. Then for some months he drove 
 a stage between White Hall and Rutland, 
 subsequently following the same vocation 
 at Plattsburg, N. Y. From there he came 
 to Detroit, Mich., and engaged as stage 
 driver between Detroit and Dearbornville, 
 als(5 between Ann Arbor and Lima, and 
 for some time also acted as road agent 
 from Ann Arbor to Kalamazoo. Return- 
 ing to New York he worked in a livery 
 stable, and also as driver from Troy to 
 Sand Lake, Pittstown, Schenectady, 
 Albany, Lebanon Springs, and various 
 other places until 1836, when he came 
 westward to Lake county, Ind. In Por- 
 ter county, same State, he commenced 
 farming, also carrying mail and conducting 
 a tavern, and here, in February, 1840, he 
 was married to Miss Amanda E. Cady, who 
 was a native of Clinton county, N. Y. , 
 born in 181 5, and had come to Indiana to 
 live with her brother. After marriage 
 Mr. Sawyer removed to Crown Point, 
 Lake county, and there engaged in farm- 
 ing, later embarking in the hotel business 
 at that place, and conducting same un- 
 til 1846, when he removed to Illinois, 
 taking up his residence in Chicago. Here, 
 for seven years, he was in the employ of 
 Asahel Pierce, as agent, selling agricultural 
 implements and buying stock, subsequently 
 working one year in a wagon shop, and 
 then for another year following teaming 
 on his own account. He next removed 
 to Northfield township, also in Cook 
 county, and lived there for some time on 
 
286 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE DIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 rented land, later followinf; farniinji sev- 
 eral years in McHenry county, 111. In 
 the fall of 1869 he went to Sac City. Sac 
 Co., Iowa, where his son, James .A., had 
 pre\ ioiisly located, and there resided un- 
 til January, 1893, when he came to Preble 
 township. Brown Co. , Wis. , to pass his 
 remaining years at the home of his son, 
 A. P. He is a hearty, well-preserved 
 man, and though, over eighty-se\en years 
 old, still reads without the aid of glasses. 
 His first \ote was cast for John Quincy 
 Adams, and he has never missed but one 
 Presidential election since then, and that 
 was when Gen. Scott was candidate in 
 1S52, remaining a stanch member of the 
 Whig party and its successor, the Repub- 
 lican party. Mrs. Amanda Sawyer died 
 in Chicago in June, 1850, of cholera. 
 She was the mother of three children — two 
 sons, A. P., and James A. (of Sac City, 
 Iowa), and a daughter, who died when 
 ten months old. In Januarj', 1852, Mr. 
 Sawyer wedded, for his second spouse, 
 Mrs. Susan E. (Montgomery) Pratt, a 
 widow, who was born in Oswego county, 
 N. v., daughter of Capt. Archibald Mont- 
 gomery, of the British navy. This wife 
 passed from earth in December, 1868, in 
 Woodstock, McHenry Qo.. 111., without 
 issue. 
 
 A. P. Sawyer, whose name introduces 
 these lines, received his education in the 
 common schools of Cook count)'. III., 
 principally after reaching his fourteenth 
 year, as previous to that time he cared 
 little or nothing for books. On February 
 19, 1864, when but a little over sixteen 
 years of age, he enlisted, at Elgin, 111., 
 in Company G, Fifty-second 111. V. I., 
 and was sent witii his conunand to Pulaski, 
 T6nn., where they drilled for six weeks. 
 They were then sent out foraging, and 
 while climbing into a wagon, our subject 
 had his right foot crushed, for a few days 
 being obliged to remain in the cf)nvalescent 
 camp at Pulaski. .After this he was sent 
 to Tunnel Hill, on railway patrol, being 
 there for about two weeks, and then going 
 to Prospect, Tenn., helping in the garri- 
 
 son fort and guarding railway bridges. At 
 this time our subject was ordered to 
 Atlanta, where his regiment lay, and he 
 was under fire every day during the siege of 
 that city, which lasted about one hundred 
 daj's, after which his regiment was ordered 
 round to Jonesboro, which they captured, 
 thereby causing Gen. Hood to evacuate 
 Atlanta and the place to capitulate. After 
 this our subject proceeded with Sherman 
 on his march to the sea, taking an active 
 part in all the engagements cii route. He 
 was present at the surrender of Gen. John- 
 ston, at Raleigh, N. C, and took part in 
 the Grand Review at Washington, D. C 
 from that city going by rail to Parkers- 
 burg, W. Va. , thence down the Ohio river 
 to Louisville. Ky., where he was nnistered 
 out. On July 12, 1865, he recei\ed an 
 honorable discharge at Camp Douglass, 
 Chicago, then proceeding to McHenry 
 county. 111., where his father was residing 
 at that time, remained there a few months, 
 and then went to Northheld township. 
 Cook Co., III., where he followed farming. 
 WHien but a boy of fifteen Mr. Sawyer 
 had served a three-months' apprenticeship 
 at Woodstock, 111., under George R. Bas- 
 sett, and he followed his trade and paper- 
 hanging for some years. In July. 1869, 
 he went to Madison, Wis., to look for 
 work, and here followed his trade for 
 a while, his first work being for railroads, 
 and as he was a good workman he readily 
 found employment with the St. Paul Rail- 
 way Company in the Prairie du Chien 
 branch, painting bridges and depots. He 
 also worked on the same road as fireman 
 ten months, and then commenced the 
 study of dentistry under Norman Ellis, of 
 Madison; but this being distasteful to him 
 he returned to his trade, engaging with 
 Memhart & Robbins, painters, at Madi- 
 s<in. For some time he was bar-tender 
 in that city, but in 1871 removed to Osh- 
 kosh. Wis., where he worked at his trade, 
 also logging, and remained there until 
 1873. in which }ear he came to Green 
 Bay. In 1874 he rem()\ed to his present 
 farm in Section 25, Preble ti)wnship. 
 
COMMKMOliA TIVK BIOGRAPUICAL liECOUD. 
 
 zSj 
 
 Brown comity, at that time a perfect wil- 
 derness, and here he has ever since made 
 his home, engaging to some extent in fruit 
 farming, in which industry he is a pioneer 
 in his section. He has not abandc^ned 
 his trade, however, for during the season 
 he continues to follow same in Green 
 Bay, doing paper-hanging and general 
 painting work, besides carriage painting. 
 On July 14, 1872, Mr. Sawyer was 
 married, in Oshkosh, to Miss Annie M. 
 Maus, who was born in Preble township. 
 Brown county, in 1849, and to this mar- 
 riage came three children, namely: Annie 
 C. (.\frs. W. L. Enderby), of Green l^ay, 
 and James T. and Mary A.. li\iiig at 
 home. The mother of these died in 
 Preble township May I ^. 1879, a member 
 of the Catholic Church, and her remains 
 now rest in Bay Settlement cemetery. 
 Mr. Sawyer married, on .\ugiist 19, 1883, 
 for his second wife, Mrs. Mary E. (Vieu) 
 Ballinger (widow of Albert Ballinger), who 
 was born in I^awrence township. Brown 
 county, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth 
 Vieu, French Canadians, who came to 
 Lawrence township in an early day. Mrs. 
 Sawyer is a member of the Catholic 
 Church. Politically our subject is a Re- 
 publican, but gives little time to politics; 
 socially he is a member of T. O. Howe 
 Post, No. 124, G. A. R., of which he is 
 chaplain 
 
 JOHN COENEN, for over forty-five 
 years an esteemed resident of Dc Pere 
 township, Brown county, and vicin- 
 ity, where he ranks among the pros- 
 perous self-made agriculturists, is a native 
 of Holland, born October 28, 1834. 
 
 He is a son of Theodore Coencn, a 
 farmer of that country, who had a family 
 of nine children — seven sons and two 
 daughters — of whom John was the third 
 son and the fourth child in the order of 
 birth. About 1848, seeing that his chil- 
 dren could have better opportunities in 
 the United States, Theodore Coenen sold 
 his little property and sailed with his 
 
 family from I-iottenlam in a \'essel bound 
 for Philadelphia. riiey landed in that 
 city after a \oyage of iort\ -ei^lit days, 
 and then, their destination beini; in ISrown 
 count}'. Wis., prcjceeded at mue by rail 
 to Albany, N. Y., thence \ia the Erie 
 canal to Buffalo, and fiom there by the 
 old steamer " Michigan " to Green Bay, 
 Wis., where they lamled early in [une, 
 1848, The famil)' was one of ten who 
 made their home in a house m Sliaiit\- 
 town, where, one week alter their arri\al, 
 Mr. Coenen secureil work. For a short 
 time they lived in Ue Pere, then but a 
 small village, and next moved across the 
 river to a place alon;; the .\sliw anbenon 
 pike, where they farnieii lor tliret' years. 
 They then purchased forty acres ni De- 
 Pere township (where our subject now 
 lives, which at that time was government 
 land and claimed by an individual], pay- 
 ing the claimant one hundred and fifty 
 dollars for his title and ten shillings an 
 acre to the government. Twelve acres of 
 this tract had been "lumbered over," but 
 the remainder was yet in its primitive 
 state, the only improvement thereon be- 
 ing a small three-roomed log house, where 
 they lived for a time. Work was iniinedi- 
 ately begun on the farm, but moni'y was 
 scarce, and, as the boys became old enough, 
 they worked for neighboring farmers, their 
 wages usually being fifty cents a day. Mr. 
 Coenen died on this farm in 1 864, and 
 was buried in Allouez townsbi]>; his wife 
 survived him until October 23, 1885, 
 when she passed away at the advanced 
 age of eighty-six years, and was buried in 
 the Catholic cemetery at De Pere. After 
 the father's death the sons continued to 
 live on the farm, working it together. 
 The mother also had her resilience there, 
 living with her son John, at whose home 
 she died. 
 
 John Coenen attended the schools of 
 his native country, where he received all 
 his education. When fourteen years old 
 he came with his parents to the United 
 States, and here he was soon put to work, 
 assistiuL' on the farm. The land was new, 
 
jSS 
 
 COMMEMOllATIVK h'lOOHAPUICAl liECORD. 
 
 and during his boyhood he became thor- 
 oughly familiar with all the details and 
 hardships incident to pioneer farm life in 
 the opening of a new country. On Au- 
 gust 24, 1863, John Cocnen was married, 
 in Little Chute, Wis., to Miss Gertrude 
 Reynen, who is also a native of Holland, 
 born September 25, 1840, daughter of 
 John Reynen; she came with her father 
 to the United States when she was ten 
 years old, and, with the exception of a 
 six-months' residence in Green Bay, made 
 her home in Little Chute, Wis., until her 
 marriage. Immediately after their mar- 
 riage the young couple took up their home 
 on the farm with his parents, and after 
 the death of his father, and working for 
 a while in partiier.shi]) with hi.s brothers, 
 John |)aid off the other heirs and became 
 the owner of the old homestead. The 
 place then comprised forty acres, to which 
 he has added from time to time, until he 
 now own.s 200 acres in De Pere and Rock- 
 land townships, all of which is the result 
 of years of untiring industry and toil. He 
 has been a hard worker from bo\hood, 
 and from a start of nothing has accumu- 
 lated a comfortable property, and placed 
 himself in an enviable position among 
 the well-to-do farmers of his township. 
 He has never speculated, and his success 
 shows what it is possible for a man to ac- 
 complish by perseverance and honesty 
 and a determination to win. His chil- 
 dren have been of great assistance to 
 him, the sons faithfully remaining on the 
 home place and taking their share of the 
 farm work. The farm is equipped with 
 substantial outbuildings, all erected by 
 Mr. Coenen, and in 1883 he built a com- 
 fortable brick residence. Our subject has, 
 in his days, seen the entire surrounding 
 country transformed from the dense forest 
 to beautiful, well-cultivated farms, and 
 he himself has taken no small part in this 
 important work. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Cocnen were born 
 children as follows: Theodore, a farmer 
 of \\'rightstown township; .^nton. assist- 
 ing in the work on the home farm; Annie, 
 
 Mrs. Henry Verhagen, of Freedom town- 
 ship, Outagamie county; Martina, Mrs. 
 Arnold Smith, also of Freedom township; 
 John. William. Henry and Mar}-, all liv- 
 ing at home; and Hattie and another 
 child, who died in infancy. The entire 
 family are members of St. Mary's Catho- 
 lic Church, De Pere. In politics Mr. 
 Coenen is a Democrat, but no active party 
 worker. 
 
 CHRISTIAN SCHWARZ. lumber 
 merchant and proprietor of plan- 
 ing mill. Green Bay, is a native 
 of Germany, born in Baringau- 
 Thuringen February 7, 1S34. Michael 
 Schwarz, father of our subject, was a 
 farmer (as was his father before him) and 
 dealer in lumber in Germany, and was 
 one of the most progressive and active 
 men in his part of the country. He died 
 at the age of seventy-seven years. His 
 wife, Elizabeth (Hoercher), who was a 
 native of the same part of Germany, is 
 now living at the advanced age of eighty- 
 four 3'ears ; she is the mother of three 
 children — Christian, Eline and Oscar — of 
 whom Eline is married and lives in her 
 native land. 
 
 At the age of eighteen years, in the 
 spring of 1852, the subject of this sketch, 
 along with several others from his neigh- 
 borhood, set sail from Germany for the 
 United States, the voyage to New York 
 occupjing forty-nine days. From there 
 he came by way of the Hudson river and 
 railroad to Buffalo, N. Y. , where he 
 passed the winter, chopping cord-wood, 
 and the following spring he shipped as 
 deck hand from Buffalo to Chicago, mak- 
 ing several trips on the lakes as a sailor, 
 eventually finding himself in Chicago. He 
 finall\ship]ied on a steamer coming nr)rth- 
 ward;but. on arriving at Mackinac Island, 
 left the vessel, and from that point made 
 his way to Green Bay, which he reached 
 in May, 1853. He was first employed here 
 in a brewer)' a short time, but. moving to 
 Oconto, worked in a sawmill till winter 
 
COMMKMOUA TIVK BIOOHAPUWAL ItECORD. 
 
 289 
 
 time, when he engaged at lumbering in 
 the woods, resuming sawmilling the fol- 
 lowing spring. Returning to Green Bay 
 in the fall of 1854, he commenced to 
 learn the carpenter's trade, which he fol- 
 lowed until 1S65, in that year, in part- 
 nership with Theodore Keinniiti:, starting 
 a planing-mill in Fort Howard, a \enture 
 that proved a decided success, the concern 
 continuing for about thirteen years, dur- 
 ing which time, in 1866, John Voight was 
 received as a partner. Mr. Kemmitz sold 
 his interest in 1877, from which time our 
 subject and Mr. Voight conducted the 
 mill until 1887, when Mr. Schwarz em- 
 barked in the lumber business, his late 
 partner continuing the planing-mill. Mr. 
 Voight and Mr. Kemmitz both came from 
 Germany on the same vessel as Mr. 
 Schwarz. In 1890 our subject, at the 
 desire of several friends, erected a planing- 
 mill in Green Bay, which has since been 
 in successful operation, its owner, by his 
 popularity as a good citizen and his close 
 attention to business affairs, having earned 
 for himself and his mill a wide and envi- 
 able reputatit)n. 
 
 On November 7, 1857, at Fort How- 
 ard, Mr. Schwarz was married to Miss 
 Caroline Freytag, daughter of Christof 
 and Christiana (Schmideknecht) Freytag, 
 natives of Herschdorf, Schwarzburg-Son- 
 <iershausen and Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, 
 Thueringen, Germany, respectively Mrs. 
 Schwarz came from Germany across the 
 ocean in the same vessel as her future 
 husband. To this union were born four 
 children: Lina, who died at the age of 
 two years; Emma; Carrie, wife of Ernest 
 Pecker, and Louisa, wife of Philip Lucas; 
 there is also an adopted son, Herman, 
 who was educated in tlie Northwestern 
 University at Watertown, Wis., which is 
 connected with the Lutheran Synod of 
 Colleges in America (he is now a student 
 of pharmacy in Milwaukee). Mr. and 
 Mrs. Schwarz are active members of the 
 German Lutheran Church; in politics he 
 has been a Republican from the time he 
 became citizenized, and he gives all his 
 
 influence to whatever may tend to benefit 
 the town or county. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Schwarz are honored citizens of Fort 
 Howard, respected for their personal 
 worth, and held in the highest esteem by 
 all classes for their good qualities of head 
 and heart. 
 
 FATHER JAMES GAUCHE, retir- 
 ed, was born in Belgium, in 1825, 
 in the village of Messancy, and re- 
 ceived his literary education at 
 Bastogne Seminary, and at Grand Semi- 
 nary of Namur, at the latter educa- 
 tional institution also studying theology. 
 At the age of thirty years, on June 29, 
 1855, he was ordained priest, and was a 
 member of the Capuchin Order, near Fond 
 du Lac, as priest, twelve years; served at 
 Two Rivers six years; at Cooperstown 
 three years; and at Kaukauna eighteen 
 months. He was then at West De Pere 
 nine and a half years, and at Chilton three 
 years. For the past year and a half he 
 has been retired, and now lives modestly 
 at West De Pere in a neat and comfort- 
 able home, honored alike by all denom- 
 inations for his piety and benign de- 
 portment. 
 
 c 
 
 \\'. LOMAS, attorney at law, 
 Vovt Howard, was born in Wau- 
 kesha county. Wis., in 1855, a 
 son of |ohn and Emma (Jones) 
 Lomas, natives of England, who settled 
 in that county in 1848. There the father 
 was engaged in farming until his death 
 in 1887, his wife having preceded him to 
 the grave some years previously. 
 
 Our subject received his preparatory 
 education in the schools of the county, 
 and for five or six years thereafter was a 
 school teacher. He attended the Law 
 Department of the University of Wiscon- 
 sin, at Madison, graduated in 1882, and 
 was admitted to the bar the same year. 
 The next year he was in practice with 
 Sloan, Stevens & Morris, in the capital 
 
290 
 
 COMMEMORA Tl VE lUOGIiAPHICAI. JiECURD. 
 
 city, and in 1883 settled in I'ort Howard, 
 where he formed a partnership with P. \'. 
 Cothcll, now deceased, and since 1887 
 Mr. Lomas has been alone. In his po- 
 litical affinities Mr. Lomas is an ardent 
 Prohibitionist. He was the candidate of 
 that party for Attorney-General of the 
 State in 1894; has served as cit)' attorney 
 of Port Howard eijjht years; has a good 
 practice, and has accumulated some prop- 
 erty. He is a director of the McCartney 
 National Bank of P"ort Howard. In 1885 
 he was married in Crawford county, Wis., 
 to Miss P'annie Gay, who has blessed his 
 home with three bright little daughters: 
 Cora, Emma, and Loraine. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Lomas are members of the Presbyterian 
 Church, in which Mr. Lomas is superin- 
 tendent of the Sunday-school; he is presi- 
 dent of the Y. M. C. A., and was superin- 
 tendent of the Fort Howard schools two 
 years, 1891,-92. They are highly respect- 
 ed as members of society and moral factors 
 in the coininunity. 
 
 R\i\. FATilICK JOHN \"ER- 
 STEGEN, pastor of St. Marys 
 Parish, De Pere, Brown county, 
 w as born in the Province of North 
 Brabant, Holland. April 9, 1840. He 
 was educated in the classics in Holland, 
 and in philosophy and theology in the 
 Augustinean College, Belgium, finishing 
 his studies at the Seminary of St. Francis, 
 Milwaukee, Wis. . He was ordained a 
 priest at Green Ba\', Wis., June 10. 
 1870, bv Bishop Joseph Melcher, D. I)., 
 and August 14, 1870, was placed in 
 charge of the congregation at Freedom, 
 where, through his energ)-, the new 
 church edifice (St. Nicholas; was com- 
 pleted and a new parochial school-house 
 erected. Of this new church he was the 
 faithful pastor until January, 1882, on the 
 seventh day of which month he was ap- 
 pointed to St. Mary's, or the Church of 
 the Immaculate Conception, at De Pere 
 — his present incumbency. Under his 
 wise administration the church building 
 
 has been greatly enlarged and improved, 
 and he has also largely added to the 
 church property; he has, besides, erected 
 a substantial brick school edifice with a 
 capacity for 246 scholars, and in 1 893 he 
 erected a fine and roomy building for the 
 accomodation of the Reverend Fathers 
 connected with the congregation. Father 
 Verstegen is still in the prime of life, is 
 active and alert, and never tires of doing 
 trood for his beloved flock. 
 
 CH.VKLES R. DENIS. This gen- 
 tleman, for so many years favor- 
 ably known on and about the 
 lakes, especially b)- vessel owners, 
 is a Belgian by birth, born Februarj' 17, 
 1 849, "a son of Leopold and Rosalie (Noel) 
 Denis, of the same country, who were the 
 parents of eleven children — six sons and 
 five daughters — Charles R. being the sec- 
 ond son. 
 
 In 1855, our subject being then nearly 
 seven years old, the family came to the 
 United States, the trip across the ocean 
 being made in the " Henry Reed " sailing 
 ship, and, after landing in New York, pro- 
 ceeded to Buffalo, N. Y. , where they 
 passed their first winter; thence in the fol- 
 lowing spring traveled by rail to Fond du 
 Lac, Wis. , and from there by team to 
 Green Bay. In Belgium the father had 
 followed agricultural jnnsuits, and. being 
 desirous of continuing the same vocation 
 in the New World, bought 160 acres of 
 totally uncleared timber-land in Brussells 
 township, Door Co. . Wis. , near Red 
 River. This, however, the family never 
 cleared, nor even lived on, though in later 
 years the father did some logging on it; 
 but in Allouez township they lived for 
 five years on Capt. Cotton's farm, where 
 is now the cemetery of that township. 
 Here he died January 22, 1892, his first 
 wife having preceded him to the grave 
 in 1866. He was a Democrat in politics, 
 and for eighteen jears was assessor of his 
 township. They were the parents of thir- 
 teen children, \\z. : Joseph, a steam tug 
 
^ 
 
 '/?y^^^^ 
 
COMMEMOUATIVK BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 291 
 
 captain in Green Bay; Victoria, wife of 
 Frank Garrett, of Green Bay; Charles K., 
 subject of sketch; Louis fan engineer), 
 who died in 1891 at Appleton; Alfonso, 
 who dieii while cii rciiti- to America; Vic- 
 tor, who died in Buffalo, N. Y. ; Leopold, 
 an engineer, with residence in Green Bay; 
 Julia, wife of X. Parnienticr, city clerk 
 of Green Bay; Mary, \\ife of Alfonse 
 Hugot, of Allouez; Rosalie, wife of Ivalph 
 Soquet, a druggist; Charles A., of West 
 De Pere; and two, whose names are not 
 given, that died while cii route to America. 
 Leopold Uenis, father of this family, for his 
 second wife marrieii, in iST)/, Honore 
 Hitas, also a native of Belgium, to which 
 union were born five children, of whom the 
 living are Victor, Frank. ]aines, and 
 Honorius. 
 
 Charles K. Uenis, the subject of these 
 lines, received his education at the com- 
 mon schools of the period in Wisconsin, 
 and at the early age of fifteen commenced 
 working on steamboats plying between 
 Escanaba and Green Bay. Securing 
 employment on the vessels of the North 
 Western Steamboat Company, his first 
 job was firing on the "George L. Dun- 
 lap " for three years, later on the " Sarah 
 Van Epps," and still later on the "Sagi- 
 naw" and the " Escanaba, " all belonging 
 to the North Western Company. After 
 firing for six seasons, he, in 1870, was 
 given the position of engineer on the high- 
 pressure tug " Ida S." in Green Bay har- 
 bor, at the end of two years was trans- 
 ferred to the tug "Escanaba," after an- 
 other year rejoining the " Ida S.," and at 
 the close of two more years' service on 
 her was made engineer on the " John 
 Gregory," which was built in Green Bay. 
 He assisted in putting the engines into 
 this boat, and ran her on 1km maiden trip. 
 (Prior to this he served as engineer of No. 
 2 lire engine in Green Ba\). The "John 
 Gregory" plied between Green Bay and 
 Chicago, and from her Mr. Denis went to 
 the "John H. Hackley," in the same 
 capacity; but at the end of his second 
 season as engineer on her, he and his 
 
 brothers, Capt. Joseph and Paul Denis, 
 bought the "Ida S. Botsford," which 
 the\' rebuilt and named "The Denis 
 Bros." Of her our subject was engineer 
 one season, and the lollowing winter he 
 put the engine into the " W. L. Brown." 
 Selling out such uiterests as he had in 
 boats, Mr. Denis concluded to leave the 
 lakes, and in iS,S2 bought his present 
 farm of se\enty-f()ur acres in De Pere 
 township, moving thereon; but he can not 
 forsake his old love, the lakes, for every 
 summer he readilv finds employment on 
 some steamboat or other as engineer. 
 He has sailed the lakes, either as fireman 
 or engineer, for nearly all the large vessel 
 owners in his part of the State, and has 
 in every iristance proved himself as com- 
 petent as he is reliable and trustworthy, 
 (lualifications in which he is second to 
 none. In addition to what has already 
 been here enumerated, he has put the 
 engines into several boats, including the 
 " Fainiie Hart." He has never been ship- 
 wrecked, althougli he has experienced 
 manv hairbreadth escapes, and he has 
 often worked with wrecking parties, be- 
 sides meeting with not a few jiioneer ad- 
 ventures. On one occasion, while on his 
 boat, which had run ashore, word reached 
 him that his mother was dangerously ill. 
 Without a moment's delay he left the 
 boat, ami with the speed of an Indian 
 made a dash through the woods for his 
 home, either running or walking for t<.)rty- 
 five miles to a certam point, which he 
 reached in twenty-four hours. Here he 
 was enabled to take boat for his destina- 
 tion, which he reached in safety. In this 
 homeward journey he passed one night in 
 the woods amid the bowlings of hungry 
 wolves, who would ha\e made short work 
 of him had he not kept them at bay by 
 lighting occasional fires, fortunately hav- 
 ing some matches in his pocket. 
 
 On .\ugust 20, 1872, Mr. Denis was 
 married, in Green Bay, to Miss Eliza Lesses, 
 who was born September 7, 1849, in Bel- 
 gium, a daughter of August Lesses, who 
 came with his family to the United States 
 
292 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BWORAPHWAL RECORD. 
 
 in 1 87 1. The children of this union 
 ■were: Joseph, Annie, George, Willie (de- 
 •ceased in infancy), Laura, Lizzie, W'illiain, 
 Paul and Rosa. In politics our subject has 
 :al\vays been a stanch Republican, and he 
 :and his wife are prominent members of 
 'St. Francis Catholic Church, respected 
 and honored by all who know them. 
 
 JACOB JACOBSEX, a well-known 
 and prosperous citizen of Glenmore 
 township, Brown county, was born 
 June 30, 1855, in Norway. 
 His father, also named Jacob, was a 
 merchant and later a seafaring man, but 
 he met with reverses, and in 1869 con- 
 cluded to bring his family — which then 
 comprised si.\ children — to the United 
 States, he having visited this country 
 two years previously, and purchased some 
 land in Ashwaubenon township, Brown 
 <:ounty. Wis. The family sailed from 
 Skien on the " Rukan," and after a voyage 
 ■of eight weeks and three days landed in 
 •Quebec, thence journeying by rail and 
 water to Chicago, 111., where they lived 
 four months. They then removed to the 
 farm in Ashwaubenon township, where 
 the father passed the remainder of his life, 
 dying in 1876; he was a member of the 
 Lutheran Church, and in political affili- 
 ation a Republican. The mother is now 
 living in .\llouez township. Brown county, 
 with her son Peter, who is sexton of 
 Woodlawn cemetery, near Green liay. A 
 brief record of their children is a follows: 
 Six were born in Norway — Jacob, who is 
 mentioned further on; Christ, who died 
 in this country at the age of twenty-one 
 years; Louis, who lives in Fort Howard; 
 Inge. Mrs. Louis Ghristopherson, of Ash- 
 waubenon; Martin, a resident of Glen- 
 more township; and Peter, who is sexton 
 of Wotjdlawn cemetery, near Green Bay; 
 and three were born in Wisconsin — Hans, 
 and Andrew, both now living in Green 
 Bay; and Neils, who died when six years 
 old. 
 
 Jacob Jacobsen received a good 
 
 common-school education in his native 
 country, and, when about fifteen years of 
 age, came with his parents to the United 
 States. He commenced to learn wood- 
 carving in Chicago, but shortly afterward 
 went on the lakes as cook. When 
 his parents removed to Wisconsin he 
 accompanied them, and, after working a 
 few months on his father's farm, began to 
 work for others. In the spring of 1870 
 he entered the employ of M. Sellers, a 
 merchant and horse dealer of Fort Howard. 
 and afterward worked seven months with 
 a surveying corps, laying out the northern 
 extension of the Milwaukee & Northern 
 railroad. He next worked as general 
 utility man for Lawyer Neville, and later 
 peddled ice for six years for Bennett & 
 Conley, after which he removed to Glen- 
 more township. On August 22, 1877, he 
 was married, at Fort Howard, to Miss 
 Augusta Siversen, who was born in Nor- 
 way, in October, 1854, daughter of Siver 
 Oleson, and in the fall of the same year 
 the young couple removed to the town of 
 De Pere, where, during the succeeding 
 winter, he chopped wood for fifty cents a 
 cord. The next spring he removed to the 
 city of Green Bay, and during the sum- 
 mer again worked for Bennett & Conley. 
 Later he purchased sixty acres of land in 
 Section 29, Glenmore township, going in 
 debt for it, as he had but twenty-five dol- 
 lars in money, and he and his wife took 
 up their residence in a small log house 
 which stood thereon. Only five acres of 
 this tract were cleared, and he immedi- 
 ately set to work to improve the rest; but 
 he only remained there one year, when he 
 was appointed sexton of the Woodlawn 
 cemetery at Green Bay, and continued in 
 that position five years. In the fall of 
 1884 he came to his present farm, for 
 which he had in the meantime traded, and 
 here he has since resided, except during 
 the summer of 1886, when he worked in 
 Sheboygan for his former employer, Mr. 
 Conley. This place originally contained 
 eighty acres, to which he subsequently 
 added eighty more, but later sold forty. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGHAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 -93 
 
 Mr. Jacobsen has carefully cultivated and 
 improved his farm, has remodelled his 
 residence and built a commodious barn, all 
 of which tends to enhance the value of 
 his property. At one time he owned al- 
 together 760 acres, but he has disposed of 
 the greater part of it. In connection 
 with his farming interests he has conducted 
 a store and cheese factory, and has met 
 with unbounded success in all his ventures. 
 Our subject has been indeed a self-made 
 man; beginning life without pecuniar}' 
 aid, he has risen by industry to the posi- 
 tion he now occupies among the leading 
 respected citizens of Glenmore township. 
 Being steady-going and reliable he won 
 the confidence of his employers, and he 
 has won and retained the esteem of his 
 fellowmen for his honesty and square 
 dealing. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Jacobsen have had eight 
 children, namely: Emma, Jennie, Chris- 
 tina, Carl, Olena, Cigur and Clara, all 
 living, and Louisa, who died young. Mr. 
 Jacobsen has always been a Republican 
 in politics, and is one of the leaders of 
 the party in his township, where he has 
 been elected to various positions of honor 
 and trust. Since 1885 he has been school 
 clerk, and he served two terms as town- 
 ship treasurer, discharging the duties of 
 his office conscientiously and to the satis- 
 faction of all concerned. Socially he has 
 been a member of the Royal Arcanum, 
 Green Bay Lodge, since 1882, and in 
 religious connection he and his wife are 
 members of the Lutheran Church at 
 Glenmore, in which he has been trustee 
 since his residence in the township. 
 
 CASPER SCHADEN, a well-known 
 member of the farming commu- 
 nity of De Pere township. Brown 
 county, was born April 2, 1842, 
 in Prussia, son of Frank J. and Catherine 
 (Cornelius) Schaden, the latter of whom 
 died when Casper was an infant. The 
 father was subsequently married again, 
 this time to Gertrude Andre, by whom 
 
 he had four children : Mary, Gertrude, 
 Joseph and Anna Mary ; by his hrst wife 
 he had two children, Catherine and Cas- 
 per, and of the entire family, four children 
 are yet living. Frank J. Schaden was a 
 blacksmith, and a successful tradesman. 
 
 In 1852, his second wife having also 
 died, Frank J. Schaden concluded to 
 bring his famil}- to America, and after an 
 ocean voyage of forty-eight days, they 
 landed in New York Cit\-, thence imme- 
 diately coming westward to Milwaukee, 
 Wis., where the}' visited friends. From 
 Milwaukee they came direct to De Pere, 
 Brown county, where Mr. Schaden had 
 two brothers-in-law living, and during the 
 first winter the famil}' were scattered, the 
 father working hard to get a start. He 
 purchased twent}' acres of new land, and 
 erected a log house thereon, in which the 
 family lived for some time, and, with the 
 aid of his sons, he eventuall}' cleared the 
 farm and converted it into a cultivated 
 productive tract. He died September 23, 
 1 886, at the home of his daughter, and 
 was buried in Denmark, Brown county. 
 
 Casper Schaden attended school in 
 his native land until he came with his 
 father to the United States, after which 
 he was obliged to give up school, as his 
 help was needed on the farm, \\'here he 
 was thoroughly trained to agricultural 
 pursuits. When he first came to De- 
 Pere township there were no roads for 
 wagons, and he had to carr}' flour 
 on his shoulder from Green Bay. One 
 night his sister and one of the younger 
 boys went after the cows, but dark- 
 ness coming on before she reached 
 home with them, she lost her way and was 
 compelled to remain in the woods all 
 night. Our subject reniaine(f on the farm 
 continuousl}' until i860, in the fall of 
 which year he went to Pensaukee, Wis., 
 and commenced to work in the lumber 
 regions, where he experienced hardships 
 and .privations which onl}' the strongest 
 constitution could withstand. In the 
 spring he would return to the farm and 
 there remain durini; the summer, return- 
 
294 
 
 COMMEMOliATIVK BIOGRAPHICAL liECORD. 
 
 ing to the lumber regions in the winter. 
 He worketi in Stiles, Oconto county, one 
 winter, and was also emplo}ed by a man 
 named Raymen, in Denmark, for the Two 
 Rivers Company; for two winters lie was 
 in the eiiiplo}- of Richie, from De Pere, 
 and together with this he also dro\e team 
 for sixteen winters. 
 
 On January 29, 1867, Mr. Schadcn 
 was married to Miss Catherine Kohren, 
 and since then he has gi\en his attention 
 e.xclusivelj'to farming. He first purchased 
 twenty acres of land, which he paid for 
 with the pine timber cut from the place, 
 and by the united efforts of himself and 
 wife the land was cleared and improved, 
 and later added to. until they now own 
 si.xty-tive acres of fertile, well-cultivated 
 land. They have had twelve children, as 
 f(jllows; (Jasper, born October 2 1 . 1869; 
 Joseph, born January 2. 1871 (deceased); 
 Kate, born March 18, 1872 (deceased); 
 Peter, born January 25, 1873; Joseph, 
 born May 24, 1874 (deceased); Kate, 
 born February 28. 1876; Nick, born 
 October 17. 1 877; Mary M.. born Decem- 
 ber 12, 1879; Elizabeth, born .-\pril 8. 
 1882; Gertrude, born March 10, 1884; 
 .Ann A., born January 28. 1886; and John, 
 born October 28. 1889. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Schaden were originally members of the 
 Catholic Church in Green Bay, but now 
 belong to the church in New Denmark, in 
 which latter they celebrated their silver 
 wedding January 29, 1892, Rev. Father 
 Garus officiating. Politically our subject 
 is a Democrat, and has served his town- 
 ship as path master two years, and as 
 school director. He is an honest, upright 
 citizen, and has the esteem and respect of 
 all who know him. 
 
 PHILLIP FALCK (deceased), who. 
 m his lifetime, was one of the 
 leading pioneers and merchants 
 (if Morrison township. Brown 
 count}', was born August 9, 1818, in the 
 village of Kondersheim, Hesse-Darmstadt, 
 Germany. 
 
 His father, George Falck, a tailor by 
 trade, was twice married in Germany, 
 and b\' his hrst wife, whose maiden name 
 was Hahn, he had three children — Phillip, 
 Margaret, and Elizabeth. In 1837 he 
 came to the United States with his family, 
 and landed in New York, whence he went 
 to Albany. N. Y. Here it was that Phil- 
 lip began business for himself by peddling 
 goods throughout the land from a pack on 
 his back. He made money in the East, 
 liut finally determined to come to Wis- 
 consin, where homes were then cheap, 
 and he virtually walked from New York 
 to Milwaukee with his pack on his back 
 (e.xcepting, of course, when he was obliged 
 to cross streams or lakes on vessels), sell- 
 ing goods on the way, and adding to his 
 stock of cash. In the early part of 1843 
 he reached his destination, and took up 
 some land at Germantown. Washington 
 county, at that time a wilderness. He 
 made a small clearing, built a log cabin, 
 and, with a comrade, Frank Snyder, kept 
 bachelor's hall until his marriage, which 
 took place in January, 1847, with Cath- 
 erine Hangen, who was born October 27, 
 1828. in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, a 
 daughter of Jacob and Catherine i Halser) 
 Hangen. Of this family four sisters — 
 Apollonia, Christina, Catherine, and Eliz- 
 abeth — came from Germany in 1843, 
 and settled in Germantown, Washington 
 county. Mr. F"alck lived in Washington 
 county until the fall of 1855, when he 
 settled in Morrison township. Brown 
 county, where he had previously bar- 
 gained for 200 acres of land with Mr. 
 Morrison, after whom the township 
 was named. He cleared up twelve acres 
 of his land, and for a year he and his 
 family lived in a little log house, when a 
 larger and more commodious dwelling was 
 built. As the tilled land hardly produced 
 enough for the support of the family. Mr. 
 Falck entered into merchandising, and 
 for some years he carried on the first store 
 in Morrison township in a part of his 
 dwelling house. His trade increased, and 
 he built an addition to his home, later, 
 
COMMEMORA TIVE BIOGUAPIIICAL UECORD. 
 
 295 
 
 another addition, and still later, a de- 
 tached store, where the business has ever 
 since been carried on by his descendants. 
 Mr. Falck lived until September 27, 1889, 
 when, after a year's suffering of helpless- 
 ness from paralysis, he passed away, and 
 was buried in the Lutheran cemeter}'; he 
 was a Lutheran in his religious views, and 
 in politics was a Democrat. He had fil- 
 ially provided a home for liis father and 
 mother, who died in Morrison, the father 
 at eighty-five and the mother at about 
 the same age. 
 
 The children born to Phillip and Cath- 
 erine Falck are Jacob, a licjuor dealer of 
 De Pere; Phillip, a sketch of whom fol- 
 lows; Frank, a farmer of Seymour, Outa- 
 gamie county; George, a hotel-keeper at 
 Seymour, all born in Washington county; 
 Peter, a hotel and saloon keeper at Bril- 
 lion. Wis. ; Marks, a farmer in Morrison 
 township; Catherine, now Mrs. August 
 Seefeldt, of Morrison; John, a farmer of 
 Morrison township; Daniel, also of Mor- 
 rison, and Louis, a cheesemaker of the 
 same place, these si.\ being all natives of 
 Morrison township. Since tlie death of 
 Mr. Falck, his widow, who is still a well- 
 preserved lady for her time of life, has re- 
 sided at the old home in Morrison, and 
 has with her her venerable mother, now 
 at the advanced age of ninety-four jears. 
 
 PHILLIP F.ALCK, of Morrison 
 township, Brown count j', was born 
 in \\'ashington county. Wis., No- 
 vember 10, 1850, and was but 
 four years of age when brought by his 
 parents to Brown ctjunty. He was 
 reared to farming in Morrison township, 
 and received a very fair education at the 
 district school. When old enough he 
 was placed in his father's store — the first 
 established in Morrison — and after a short 
 service was sent to Milwaukee; where he 
 took a thorough course in the Spencerian 
 Business College. In 1876, in partner- 
 ship with his brother Frank, he purchased 
 his father's store, and carried on the 
 
 business under the firm name of Philliji 
 Falck & Bro. , until the fall of 1889, when 
 he became the sole proprietor. 
 
 In April, 1875, Mr. Falck married, 
 at Morrison, Miss Alvina Lemke, who 
 was born January 28, 1853, in Germany, 
 and came to the United States when 
 about fourteen years of age. The union 
 has been blessed with three children, 
 namely: William C, Frank P., and 
 L\-dia B. C, the sons both assisting in 
 their father's store. For nearly twenty 
 years Mr. Falck has carried on this busi- 
 ness so early and successfully established 
 in the wilderness by his father, Phillip 
 Falck. Having been reared under the 
 careful and watchful eye of his wise and 
 prudent father, and having lieen apt and 
 ready at all times to oblige his patrons 
 and customers, Phillip P'alck has secured 
 a long list of friends, whom he has ' ' grap- 
 pled to his soul with hooks of steel," and 
 no other proprietor of a country store in 
 Brown county can boast of a larger pat- 
 ronage. In politics Mr. Falck is a Demo- 
 crat, and in November, 1893, was ap- 
 pointed postmaster of Morrison. 
 
 CHRIST HANSEN, one of the 
 well-known business men and 
 farmers of Preble township. 
 Brown county, is a native of 
 Denmark, born September 25, 1846, son 
 of Hans Hansen, who was a brickmaker 
 and wagon wright by occupation. 
 
 Our subject received his education in 
 the common schools of his nati\'c land, 
 and when a mere youth commenced to 
 assist his father in the brickyard, continu- 
 ing thus until he reached the age of seven- 
 teen, when he commenced to learn the 
 brickmaker's trade. He served a three- 
 \'ears' apprenticeship, during which period 
 he recei\'ed only his board, his parents 
 being obliged to clothe him; subsequentl}' 
 he worked for a time as journeyman. 
 Being a natural mechanic, he was also 
 able to do blacksmith work, anil for two 
 years conducted a shop of his own for all 
 
zg6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 kinds of repair work, at the end of which 
 time he sold out. Mr. Hansen was mar- 
 ried in Denmark to Miss Mary Yorgensen, 
 a native of the same locality, and in that 
 country one child, Hans, was born to 
 them. In 1872, concluding to seek a 
 home for himself and family in the 
 United States, our subject sailed from 
 Copenhagen on an Anchor Line steamer, 
 and on April 8 landed in New York with 
 a light purse but bright prospects. In 
 Perth .Amboy, N. J., he worked a short 
 time, making tire-brick, and then com- 
 menced blacksmithing at that place, con- 
 tinuing in the same for two j-ears; shortly 
 after his arrival he had sent for his wife 
 and child, who reached America in July, 
 1872. From Perth .Aniboy, N. J., the 
 family removed to Woodbridge, same 
 State, and there remained six months, 
 during which time Mr. Hansen conducted 
 a saloon; but, being dissatisfied, he discon- 
 tinued the business, and for one summer 
 worked on a farm; then, during the fol- 
 lowing winter, went back to his old home 
 in Denmark, where he remained from 
 December until March. Returning to 
 New Jersey Mr. Hansen did not remain 
 long, but came westward to Green Bay, 
 Wis. , 'arriving April i, 1875, and here 
 connnencing to follow his trade at a saw- 
 mill, doing repair work, etc., for two 
 years. Removing thence t<3 Humboldt 
 township. Brown county, he purchased a 
 piece of land, and here engaged in black- 
 smithing for four and a half years, at the 
 end of that time coming to Preble town- 
 ship, where he has ever since resided. 
 After settling here he followed farming 
 and blacksmith work for many years, and 
 for the last eight seasons has conducted a 
 brickyard on his farm, in which time he 
 has turned out ever one million five hun- 
 dred thousand brick, all made by hand. 
 His life has been one of constant toil, but 
 he has succeeded in making for himself a 
 comfortable home, and has won and re- 
 tained the respect of all who know him 
 for his honesty and square dealing. He 
 is well known in his township, and has 
 
 served as school clerk and treasurer with 
 credit to himself and satisfaction to his 
 constituency, being faithful and efficient 
 in the discharge of all his duties. Until 
 the office was abolished at Weisert he was 
 postmaster there, having the office in the 
 brick storeroom on his farm, where, since 
 July, 1892, he has carried on a saloon 
 business. In political connection he is a 
 Republican. When he landed in the 
 United States he had four dollars; but, not 
 allowing himself to become discouraged, 
 he set to work with a will, and has met 
 with well-merited success. 
 
 To Mr. Hansen's first marriage were 
 born three children: Hans, who died in 
 New Jersey; a daughter that died in in- 
 fancy in Green Bay; and Christina, now 
 living at home. The mother of these 
 died in 1890, and was buried at Green 
 Bay; in January, 1891, Mr. Hansen mar- 
 ried Miss Caroline Neilson, who is a na- 
 tive of New Denmark, Brown county, 
 and to this union has come one child, 
 Carl Christ. 
 
 J 
 
 and 
 
 H. LEON.ARD, life insurance agent 
 at No. 105 North Washington street, 
 Green Bay, was born in Brooklyn, 
 N. Y. , in 1843, a son of Stephen 
 Mary (Howard) Leonard, natives of 
 England. Stephen Leonard was a sea- 
 captain, plying between Liverpool and 
 New York, and early took up his residence 
 in the latter city, where he- died in 1845, 
 his widow surviving until 1859. 
 
 J. H. Leonard was reared in that part 
 of Brooklyn then known as Williamsburg, 
 and at the age of si.xteen came to Wis- 
 consin and first engaged in clerking in 
 Manitowoc. In 1860-61 he attended 
 school in Madison, Wis., and in April, 
 1 861, enlisted in the Manitowoc County 
 Guards, which company was later merged 
 with Company A, Fifth Wisconsin Infan- 
 try, enlisted for three years' service. This 
 regiment was assigned to the Si.xth Army 
 Corps, .\rmy of the Potomac, and partici- 
 pated in the battles of Williamsburg, 
 
COMMEMORATIVK BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 -91 
 
 Gainesville, White Oak Swamp. Malvern 
 Hill. Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancel- 
 lorsville, Gettysburg, Rappahannock Sta- 
 tion; through Gen. Grant's campaign, in- 
 cluding Spottsylvania, Petersburg ami Cold 
 Harbor. He was wounded by a gunshot 
 at Rappahannock Station, but happily 
 soon recovered. From private he was 
 promoted to sergeant, and for meritorious 
 and gallant conduct was offered a com- 
 mission as first lieutenant. He received 
 his discharge July 2'/. 1864, and returned 
 to Manitowoc, where he, for a while, was 
 engaged in teaching, and afterward at 
 Kewaunee. In July, 1S74, he came to 
 Green Bay, and was employed as book- 
 keeper by the L. M. Marshall Lumber 
 Comjiany. In politics Mr. Leonard is a 
 Republican, and for six and a half years, 
 from January, 1878, to July, 1885, was 
 city superintendent of schools; from 18S9 
 to August, 1893, he was internal revenue 
 collector, since when he has lieen engaged 
 in his present business. The marriage of 
 Mr. Leonard took place in 1867, in Mani- 
 towoc county. Wis., to Miss Martha 
 Gould, a native of Racine, and daughter 
 of Edwin and Hester Ann (Barnes) Gould, 
 natives, respectively, of New York and 
 Massachusetts. Mr. Gould was a pioneer 
 of Racine, was a tanner by vocation, and 
 died in Green Bay; Mrs. Gould died in 
 Racine. Mr. and Mrs. Leonard had born 
 to them two children: Mattie Alice, wife 
 of F. F. Jones, of Harvey, 111. (she is a 
 graduate of the Green Bay high school, 
 and Lawrence University, Appleton), and 
 C. J., who died at the age of three years. 
 Mr. Leonard is largely associated with 
 secret societies, being a member of Wash- 
 ington Lodge, No. 21, F. & A. M. ; of 
 Warren Chapter No. 8; secretary of Pales- 
 tine Commandery, No. 20; member of 
 Pochequcttc Lodge, No. 26, K. of P. ; 
 Navarino Lodge, No. 1384, K. of H. ; of 
 T. O. Howe Post No. 124, G. A. R., of 
 which he is post commander, and is past 
 chancellor in the K. of P., a record which 
 proves his great popularity, and the ex- 
 tent of the affectionate hold he has upon 
 
 his fellow-men. Mr. and Mrs. Leonard 
 are members of the .M. L. Church at 
 Green Bay, of which he is a steward and: 
 trustee; he was also formerly superintend- 
 ent of the Sunday-school, and is still a 
 teacher. He has witnessed much of the 
 substantial growth of Green Bay, and has 
 always been, since his residence in the 
 city, an eager promoter of its prosperity 
 by all means within his power. 
 
 HERBERT F. CAMM, of the in- 
 surance and real-estate firm of 
 Cainm & Erl)e, FcM't Howard, 
 commenced business in 1891, cor- 
 ner of Main and Broadway, the hrni 
 doing a general insurance business, and 
 handling city property. 
 
 Mr. Camm was born in i 866, in Fort 
 Howard. His father, Thomas M. Camm, 
 was also born in Fort Howard, in 1828, 
 in the government fort (old Fort Howard) 
 at that place, in which his father, Orderly- 
 Sergeant John Camm (grandfather of our 
 sul>ject) was stationed as a member of 
 the detachment from the United States 
 army then garrisoning the fort, antl where 
 he had been since 1826. The worthy 
 Sergeant died in Michigan of cholera, 
 during the Black Hawk war of 1832, 
 when so many of the soldiers fell \ictims 
 to the same disease. He was a native of 
 England, and his wife, Martha (Campbell), 
 was a descendant of the noted Clan 
 Cainpcll I Duke of Argyle's clan) of 
 Scotland. Their son, Thomas M., was 
 reared in the neighborhood where he first 
 saw the light, and was educated in the 
 schools of Green Bay. He is one of the 
 oldest pioneer merchants in the Green 
 Bay region, beginning as a clerk and at 
 length engaging in business for himself. 
 In 1864 he was married, at P'ort Howard, 
 to Miss Caroline Gray, who was born in 
 Canada, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John 
 Gray, the former of whom was a native 
 of the North of Ireland, the latter <>f Penn- 
 sylvania, being descended from the early 
 Pennsylvania-Dutch settlers. Thomas M. 
 
298 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHWAL RECORD. 
 
 Camm lias been in active business about 
 forty years. Politically a Republican, he 
 has been a member of the town board, 
 member of the school board, superin- 
 tendent of schools and postmaster at 
 Fort Howard, where he and his wife still 
 reside. Besides one son, Herbert F., 
 they had two daughters: Edith M., who 
 resides at home, and Ethel C, who died 
 at the age of twelve years. 
 
 Herbert F. Camm, like his father, was 
 reared and educated in Fort Howard. 
 When of proper age he began clerking in 
 his father's store, lea%'ing there to take up 
 the study of architecture, while studying 
 which he was tendered a position in the 
 McCartney National Bank, which he ac- 
 cepted, filling same for three years, and 
 then resigning to enter the line of busi- 
 ness in which he is now engaged. He is 
 in direct line from one of the oldest resi- 
 dents of Fort Howard, and, in all re- 
 spects, is " native here and to the manner 
 born." Politically he is independent, 
 voting for what he deems the best meas- 
 ures. By profession he is an architect, 
 and has done not a little in that line, as 
 many handsome structures testify, but 
 prefers the active life of business, hence 
 his present connection. He is a member 
 of the Y. M. C. A., having been one of 
 the founders of the local branch of that 
 sterling institution. 
 
 CHESTER G. WILCOX, post- 
 master at DePere, Brown county, 
 and well known as a manufac- 
 turer of harness, saddles, etc., 
 and albeit a politician of mucli shrewd- 
 ness and merit, was born May 29, 1848, 
 in Milford, Oakland Co., Mich., the day 
 on which the State of Wisconsin was ad- 
 mitted to the Union. 
 
 He is a son of Levi S. Wilco.x, whose 
 biography will be found in the closing 
 paragraphs of this sketch. Chester G. 
 Wilcox received an excellent literary 
 education at the Union Seminarv of Cam- 
 den, N. Y. , and at Utica University. 
 
 Utica, Mich., which was supplemented 
 by a course of study in Brj^ant & Strat- 
 ton's Commercial College, of Utica, from 
 which he graduated in bookkeeping, and 
 later taught a class in this art at the same 
 college. While a student at Camden he 
 began to learn the trade of harness mak- 
 ing, and finished at Rome, N. Y. In 
 1865, on June 17, he arrived at Milwau- 
 kee, Wis., being at the time the happy 
 possessor of $17 in cash; thence he went to 
 Wheeler Prairie, Dane Co., ^^'is. , where 
 he found employment on a farm. His 
 next permanent place of residence was 
 De Pere, where his uncle, E. I. \\'ilcox, 
 was principal of the high school. Here 
 he obtained a certificate as a school- 
 teacher, but never utilized it, as he found 
 a broader and more remunerative field in 
 the harness business in Green Bay. which 
 he followed three years, when he returned 
 to New York on account of the illness of 
 his father, and from there to the Utica 
 Universit}', already alluded to. In 1870 
 he again came to De Pere, and formed a 
 partnership with John H. McDonald in 
 the harness business, their store being at 
 the corner of James street and Broad 
 way. For seventeen \ears the firm did a 
 prosperous business, and during that period 
 every other business house in De Pere 
 either failed, changed hantls or dissolved. 
 In 1 87 1 Mr. Wilcox entered into the real- 
 estate business on a small scale; but it has 
 continued to increase ever since — in fact, 
 from 1885 to 1894 it was estimated that 
 his transactions in this line exceeded those 
 of any other dealer in Brown county, and, 
 in the hundreds of real-estate deals he has 
 made, not a single deal or deed has been 
 questioned, nor has he ever foreclosed a 
 mortgage. He is now the owner of much 
 valuable property in De Pere and the sur- 
 roimding country, including residences, 
 business houses aiul farms, and is also 
 owner of the " Broadway House" at Fort 
 Howard; but he nevertheless clings to the 
 harness business in De Pere. 
 
 In politics Mr. Wilcox is a Democrat. 
 In 1873 he was elected alderman of De- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIVGUAPUICAL UECORD. 
 
 Pere against William P. Call, and served 
 three or four terms, resigning during his 
 last term; was elected to the school board, 
 was its president three terms, and is 
 president at the present time; was elected 
 to the county board in 1878, and, with 
 the exception of one year, served continu- 
 ously for fourteen years; in 1880 he was 
 elected to the State Assembly, and served 
 one term, being the youngest member of 
 that Legislature. He has been chairman 
 of the Brown County Central Democratic 
 Committee, and delegate time and again 
 to Democratic county and State Conven- 
 tions. Along with A. E. Decker, of 
 Fond du Lac, he was a State delegate to 
 the National Convention of the Knights of 
 Labor held at Richmond, Va., in 1886. 
 At three different times he was appointed, 
 by the circuit judges of as many districts, 
 commissioner for the equalization of 
 taxes, and revised the tax lists of Outa- 
 gamie, Door and Oconto counties. On 
 December 12, 1893, he was appointed 
 postmaster of De Pere, and is now filling 
 the office to the entire satisfaction of the 
 public and the department, and with 
 credit to himself. As a citizen Mr. Wil- 
 cox has been more than ordinarily active 
 and useful. He was one of the project- 
 ors and organizers of the Brown County 
 Agricultural & Mechanical Association, 
 has been a member thirteen years, and 
 for three years filled the chair as presi- 
 dent; he has also been its treasurer and 
 superintendent. In 1S71 he was one of 
 the organizers of the first fire company in 
 De Pere, drew up its first by-laws, and 
 has been a member ever since. No mem- 
 ber of the company ever beat him in 
 "running with the machine." Indeed, 
 Mr. W^ilcox excels as a runner, has been 
 in many running matches of one hundred 
 yards, and has made the distance in ten 
 and one-quarter seconds, when he beat 
 John Gray, ex-champion of Canada, in 
 Oneida county, N. Y. In 1876 he was 
 captain and catcher in the De Pere Base 
 Ball Club, and won the championship 
 •of Brown county. He has served as 
 
 17 
 
 president of the Business Men's Associa- 
 tion of De Pere, and is now treasurer; 
 is also the treasurer of the De Pere Elec- 
 tric Light & Power Company, which he 
 originated. He helped to organize the 
 Artesian Water Supply Company, and is 
 one of the largest stockholders therein; is 
 vice-president of the State Agricultural 
 Society, and superintendent of one of its 
 seven departments; he also helped in se- 
 curing the water-power for the paper-mill 
 at De Pere, and has been quite prominent 
 in forwarding numerous other enterprises 
 of great benefit to the cit}'. He engineered 
 the deal resulting in the purchase of i , 200 
 acres of land for $120, 000, for the AUouez 
 Land & Improvement Company, in 1893, 
 and also secured the land at Little Rapids, 
 abutting the dam, for Davis Bros., besides 
 conducting many other important real- 
 estate transactions, too numerous to be 
 mentioned within the scope of this bio- 
 graphical sketch. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Wilcox took place 
 June 15, 1 87 1, with Miss Sarah J. Miller, 
 daughter of Godfrey Miller, a wealthy 
 farmer of Brown county, who died in No- 
 vember, 1893, and whose widt)W, Caro- 
 line (Stuart) Miller, now resides in De- 
 Pere. To this union four children have 
 been born, two of whom: Levi S. and 
 Chester G. , aged twenty years and one 
 year, respectivel}', are living. Frater- 
 nall}-, Mr. Wilcox is a Freemason. His 
 rectitude and abstemiousness are remark- 
 able. He has never used tobacco in any 
 form, has never tasted a drop of beer or 
 liquor, except as medicine, has never 
 played a game of cards or an}' other 
 game of chance, has never been arrested, 
 and has never had a law-suit for himself. 
 He is not connected with any Church. 
 
 Levi S. Wilcox, father of Chester G. 
 Wilcox, was born December 3, 1818, in 
 the town of Pompey. Onondaga Co., N. 
 Y., and was a son of Chester Wilcox, a 
 farmer and live-stock dealer, who married 
 Lorelia Sperry.a native of Oneiiia count}'. 
 New York. 
 
 Le\i S. Wilcox was reared to farming 
 
3°- 
 
 COMMEJJOHATIVE BWOIiAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 on the north siiie of Oneida Lake, N. Y., 
 and at twenty-one years of age migrated 
 to Ohio, tiien considered to be in tlie 
 " Far West. " Here he worked a year 
 and a half at coopering and farming, and 
 then returned to New York State and 
 worked four years for Carter Bros., 
 fanners, tanners and merchants of Oswego 
 county. On April 20, 1846, he married 
 Isabella Lambie, who was born April 3, 
 1825, in Scotland, and at the age of six 
 years was brought to this country by her 
 parents. John and Jane (Allen) Lambie. 
 The father, John Lambie, was in failing 
 health when he left Scotland, and came 
 to America with the hope of recovery, but 
 he gradually declined, and died March 
 28, 1834, his remains being interred at 
 Camden, Oneida Co., N. Y. His widow 
 died at the home of her son-in-law, Levi 
 S. Wilcox, April 22. 1869, and her re- 
 mains now rest beside those of her hus- 
 band. She was the mother of ten chil- 
 dren, of whom two only survive — Mrs. 
 Wilcox and Jeannette, the wife of John 
 Carter, of Pleasant \'alley, Oakland Co., 
 Mich. Soon after his marriage Mr. Wil- 
 cox bought eighty acres of land in the 
 town of Highland, Oakland Co., Mich., 
 and on this land he lived five years, when 
 he returned to Camden, N. Y., and for 
 sometime worked for a furniture company 
 as deliverer, etc., u.-^ing the identical team 
 that hauled him and his family back from 
 Michigan — .going via Canada. He then 
 followed the livery and stage business for 
 eight or ten years, and also dealt in 
 horses, using New York City as a market. 
 Later, in company with John Lambie, he 
 built a gristmill, but, in a short time there- 
 after, he disposed of this property and re- 
 engaged in the li\ery business for three or 
 four years, and then moved to Low\ ille, 
 Lewis Co., N. Y. , and followed the livery 
 business until the fall of 1881, when he 
 came to Hrown county. Wis., and for a 
 year resided in De Pere, undisturbed by 
 business cares. About 1883 he purchased 
 the farm in Brown county on which he 
 now resides, and which he has converted 
 
 into one of the prettiest homes on the 
 Fox ri\er. The children born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. L. S. Wilcox were named as 
 follows: Chester G., whose sketch ap- 
 pears above; Jane M., who was born in 
 Michigan, and is now the widow of A. S. 
 Fifield, of De Pere; John, born in Oneida 
 county, N. Y., now a harness maker at 
 Fort Howard, \\'is. ; Lilly, now Mrs. 
 Dennis B. Foster, of Fairchild, Wis. ; 
 \\'illiam, twin of Lilly, who died at the 
 age of eight months. Mr. Wilcox is a 
 Democrat in politics, ami in religion is 
 Presbyterian. 
 
 G 
 
 ODFREY MILLER (deceased), 
 was born October 8, 18 13, in 
 Warren county. N. Y., and was 
 married November 5, 1840. to 
 Caroline Margaret Stewart, daughter of 
 Robert D. Stewart. Mrs. Miller was 
 born June 4, 1S17, and bore her husband 
 three daughters, as follows: Emma Cot- 
 ten, who was born June 25, 1S43, was 
 married to Jerome Tyler, and is now a 
 widow, residing at De Pere; Anna Rose- 
 bery, born January 29, 1847, was mar- 
 ried to George \\'oodward. of Kaukauna, 
 in June. 1870; Sarah Jane, married to 
 Chester G. Wilcox in June, 1S70. 
 
 Godfrey Miller was a wheelwright by 
 trade, and for seven years worked at his 
 vocation in Easton, Penn., having charge 
 of the shop most of the time. In 1837 
 he came to De Pere, Brown Co., Wis., 
 and in the summer of the same year built 
 a sawmill in Fond du Lac, there being 
 but two white families in the place at 
 that time. He then returned to De Pere 
 and continued to work at his trade until 
 1839, when he bought a farm of eighty 
 acres, one mile south of West De Pere. 
 The only gristmill was then at "Cocoa- 
 low," or Little Chute, and from De Pere 
 a skiff-load of grist would be taken down 
 one day, be ground, and returned the 
 next. In 1842 he moved into his house 
 on this farm, and there resided the re- 
 mainder of his days. Under the direc- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BfOORAPIIlCAL RECORD. 
 
 303 
 
 tioii cif Mr. Miller the first liam, a s]iar 
 (lain, was built across the Fox river at Ue- 
 Fere. Many sawmills in the neighbor- 
 hood were also built under his direction. 
 In politics Mr. Miller was a Kepublican. 
 He was the first treasurer of Lawrence 
 township, which he had heljied to organ- 
 ize, and filled the office many years; he 
 also .served on the school board with much 
 efficiency. He was an active mend)er of 
 the Fresbyterian Church — first at Green 
 Bay; later, a member and trustee at De- 
 Pere. His death took place suddenly on 
 the night of November 2, 1893, his corpse 
 l)eing found by his wife at seven o'clock 
 the ne.Kt morning. Mr. Miller was one of 
 the most respected of the early settlers of 
 De Fere, lionorcd for his sterling quali- 
 ties of both hea<l and heart. He was 
 thoroughly versed in tlie topics of the day 
 and the affairs of the world, being a 
 studious reader. His witlow now resides 
 at De Fere, aged seventy-si.\ years, and 
 is still bright and active. 
 
 WII.I.I.VM COOK, one of the most 
 pi()sper<jus agriculturists and 
 lumbermen of Suamico town- 
 ship. Brown county, is a native 
 of New York State, born in Cha/y town- 
 ship, Clinton county, October 12, iS4i,a 
 son of John and Anna Cook. 
 
 John Cook, father of our subject, was 
 born in the city of York, England, whence, 
 at the age of fifteen years, he emigrated 
 to this continent, for some five years mak- 
 ing his home in Canada, then moving to 
 New York State (probably St. Lawrence 
 county), where he met and married Miss 
 Ann Leger, a native of Canada, She is 
 a daughter of Francis and Margaret 
 (Lorette) Leger, French Canadians by 
 birth, respectable farming peoiile, who 
 mo\ed from Canada to New York State, 
 later to Wisconsin, where they passed 
 the remainder of their lives, dying at 
 the home of our subject's mother, lie at 
 the great age of one hundred and three 
 years, she when seventy years old. 
 
 They were the ])arents of ten chil- 
 dren. ]ohn Cook was a day laborer until 
 coming to the Unitc-d .States; then, in St. 
 Lawrence county, N. Y. , lu' bought a 
 farm, and conducted same until 1S56, 
 when he came west to Wisconsin, and 
 ])urchased the ])ro|)erty still occupied by 
 his widow, in Suamic(j t(jwnslii]), I^rown 
 county, wlicTc he conducti-d a tavern. 
 Mr. Cook died on the homestead, in the 
 fall of 1890, at the ripe age of seventy- 
 eight years, and, when he was no more, 
 the communitv in whieli he had lived 
 felt that there had (le|iarte(l from their 
 midst a grand, good man. He and his 
 faithfid wife accumulated several acres of 
 wild land, wliiih, by honest toil and untir- 
 ing energy, they converted into fi-rtile 
 fields, and here she is yet living, in the 
 old-time tavern that for over thirty-five 
 years has been known as one of the best 
 hostelrics in this section of the C(.)untry. 
 William Cook, the subject projier of 
 these lines, received a liberal education 
 at the schools of his native township, and 
 was reari'd to farming pursuits under the 
 tuition of his fatlier. In 1S56 he came to 
 Wisconsin with thi' rest of tiie family, 
 and in Suamico townshij). Brown county. 
 has since remained, actively engaged in 
 agricultural and lumbering pursuits, nmv 
 owning over 900 acres of i)riiiie lanuing 
 land. His success in life may be said t<j 
 have had its commencement, or at any 
 rate considerable impetus, in this way. 
 One day he set out to hunt ii]) the cows, 
 and found them on land covered with 
 ])ine tind)er. He brought them home, 
 and that same night proceeded to Chicago, 
 where he bought two "forties" o[ land 
 here, ]xiying for same the sum of two 
 thousand dollars, Attoiney Robert Lin- 
 coln, son of .Xbraham Lincoln, making out 
 the deed. Two weeks afterward William 
 Cook sold his puniiase for two thousand 
 dollars per "forty," to .\. Weed, wiio, at 
 that time, had a sawmill three miles from 
 Flintville, on the Suamico river. William 
 Cook is considerably interested in r<-.il 
 estate, ow^ning, in the \illage of l''liiit\ ille. 
 
304 
 
 COMMEMORATH'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 several choice building lots, as well as some 
 2,800 acres of timber land elsevvere; and in 
 all respects is one of the leading, progres- 
 sive and affluent citi;iens of Brown county. 
 He is a representative self-made man, a 
 typical American hustler, in spite of his 
 impaired eyesight. In the first winter 
 after his marriage he commenced lumber- 
 ing, and his indefatigable, clever wife did 
 all the cooking for the camp, three long 
 winters, sometimes providing for as many 
 as from twenty-five to thirty men, in ad- 
 dition to which she kept the men's time 
 and her husband's accounts. After they 
 had succeeded in making sufficient clear- 
 ing, which took two or three years, 
 they commenced cultivating their present 
 fertile farm, situated a few miles from 
 their present home. At the present time 
 he owns and operates a large sawmill 
 ninet}' miles north of Green Bay on the 
 Milwaukee & Northern railroad, and he 
 expects to cut three million feet this 
 winter. 
 
 On November 27, 1865, Mr. Cook 
 was married to Mrs. Eliza Douglas («<r 
 Millington), widow of G. Stephen Doug- 
 las, an Englishman by birth, to whom 
 she was married May 3, 1856, and who 
 died, during the Civil war, at Antietam, 
 Md., September 16, 1862. Mrs. Eliza 
 Cook is a very refined and highh accom- 
 plishetl lady, and for some time was a 
 successful school teacher, first in the 
 academy where she was receiving instruc- 
 tion, afterward teaching in the town of 
 Vienna, Oneida Co., N. Y. , in the same 
 schoolhouse she used to attend when a 
 child: and, still later, a school in the 
 village of Cleveland, Oswego county, the 
 last of her teaching in New York State. 
 In Flintville, Wis., she taught four years, 
 during which time she also tended the 
 little store that will be spoken of farther 
 on. To Mr. and Mrs. Cook came two 
 children — William E. and Jay — both 
 born in the house where the family are 
 yet residing, the former August 15, 1872, 
 the later October 3, 1875. Of these, 
 William E. was educated at the district 
 
 schools and Green Bay Business College, 
 after which he kept books two years for 
 Cook & Boulet, merchants and lumber- 
 men. Jay was married in the fall of 
 1894 to Miss Myrtle A. Huntington, who 
 was but seventeen jears old on the 24th 
 of last September, and whom he had 
 known from childhood. The entire family 
 are identified with the Congregational 
 Church, in which Mrs. Cook is an active 
 worker; in his political proclivities our 
 subject has always been a Democrat. 
 
 Mrs. Eliza Cook is a native of New 
 York State, born in Oneida county, to 
 Thomas R. and Betsy (Hall) Millington, 
 the father also a native of Oneida county, 
 N. Y. (he has been blind for the past 
 fifty years of his life, and at the age of 
 ninety is yet living at the home of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Cook), the mother born in 
 Rochester, Mass., and died in New York 
 State, at the age of thirty-two; they had 
 one son and two daughters. The first of 
 the Millington family to come to this 
 country from Wales (where, by the way, 
 the name was spelled Myllington) was 
 Peter, in 1740, accompanied by his wife 
 (who had with her a two-year-old son, 
 named Peter), and his brother Isaac. 
 Peter was an officer in the French and 
 Indian war, stationed at Fort Wang, 
 where is now the city of Albany, N. Y. ; 
 Isaac was killed by the Indians. Their 
 father, David Millington, died in Wales 
 in 1745, leaving for his heirs in America 
 an estate that is now wortli half a million 
 dollars, besides a considerable sum of 
 money in the bank. His son Peter mar- 
 ried an English lady named Anna Roberts, 
 and by her had seven children — three 
 sons, Peter. H. Gates and Asa, and four 
 daughters, Polly, Hester, Betsy and Millie. 
 His home was at Bennington, Vt., and he 
 owned a farm on the banks of the Hoosac 
 river. He served in the Revolutionary 
 war, in the Green Mountain Rangers, and, 
 though he participated in many battles, 
 was never wounded; was taken prisoner 
 twice, however, but on each occasion 
 effected his escape, the second time 
 
COMMEMORATIVE ISIOGRAPinCAL EECORD. 
 
 305 
 
 through the bravery and cleverness of a 
 Miss Hannah Wright, who will again be 
 referred to. After the war he sold his 
 farm in Vermont, and moving to New 
 York State, located in Springhekl town- 
 ship, Otsego county, near the head of 
 Lake Otsego, later making his home in 
 Vienna township, on the banks (jf Lake 
 Oneida, where he died in 1809, leaving 
 his widow well provided for. 
 
 H. Gates Millington, second son oi 
 Peter and Anna (Roberts) Millington, was 
 Mrs. Eliza Cook's grandfather. He was 
 born June 20, 1777, and died ALiy 26, 
 1849; married Miss Mary Roberts, who 
 was born February 25, 17S2. married at 
 the age of seventeen, and dieil February 
 14, 1871 ; she was a daughter of Samuel 
 and Hannah (Wright) Roberts (the mother 
 being the heroine who in her girlhood 
 was the means of Peter Millington's es- 
 caping from Burgoyne's soldiers, as al- 
 ready referred to). Samuel Roberts and 
 several brothers served in the war of the 
 Revolution, all escaping wounds or cap- 
 ture; he being a brother to Mrs. Peter 
 Millington, it shows that Mrs. Eliza 
 Cook's grandfather and grandmother were 
 first cousins. Samuel Roberts was killed 
 by a falling tree while he was clearing a 
 site at Crown Point, N. Y., near the 
 Vermont border line. H. Gates Milling- 
 ton had three sons and one daughter, 
 their names and dates of birth being as 
 follows: Thomas Ransom, November 4, 
 1804; Moremus, September 10, 1806; 
 Samuel, April 16, 1808, and Julia Ann, 
 March 3, 1812. 
 
 Thomas R. Millington, the eldest of 
 these, was Mrs. Eliza Cook's father. ' He 
 was married March 2, 1828, at the home 
 of the bride in Hastings township, Os- 
 wego county, N. Y., to Miss Betsy Hall, 
 who was born October 9, i 804, daughter 
 of Jonathan and Abigail Hall, the former 
 a native of Vermont, born of English an- 
 cestry who came from England in the 
 "Mayflower" in 1620 (two brothers, 
 were Jonathan and William Hall). They 
 were married October 24, 1784, and had 
 
 nine children — fi\e sons: Heman, Hosea, 
 Hopestill, Ji)siah, and |()hn ; and fi;>ur 
 daughters : Irene, Bets\-, Abigail, and 
 Harriet. The father died in tln' tnwii of 
 Hastings, Oswego county, X. Y., at the 
 age of seventy-two years ; m the war for 
 Independence he servetl as a wagon-mas- 
 ter. Mrs. Eliza Cook's grandmother, 
 Abigail (Bisbee) Hall, was born October 
 
 21, I7<'i7, in Massachusetts, the eldest 
 child of Hopestill and Abigail (Churchill) 
 Bisbee, the latter of whom was in some 
 way related to Lord Churchill, of Lon- 
 don, England. Mrs. Jonathan Hall's 
 father was the first to erect a furnace in 
 Massachusetts tnr the making of pew- 
 ter and Britannia metal dishes, etc. ; it 
 was built in North Rochester, but was 
 long ago con\erted into a saw and grist 
 mill, and the farm on which it stood has 
 never gone out of the Bisbee family, hav- 
 ing been handed down from father to son. 
 
 After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Thomas 
 R. Millington commenced housekeeping 
 in a neat, comfortable log house on the 
 shore of Lake Oneida, Oneida county, N. 
 Y. , and here were born one son and 
 two daughters, their names and dates of 
 birth being as follows : Marcus, Octo- 
 ber 25, 1829; Eliza (Mrs. William Cook), 
 November 6, 1834; and Betsy J., July 
 
 22. 1836. On February 19, 1838, the 
 mother died, of consumption, leaving the 
 three little children to the care of the 
 bereaved father, whose affliction was in- 
 tensified by his being nearly blind, the 
 result of an attack of measles he suffered 
 soon after marriage, on which account he 
 had subsequently to enter the Eye Infirm- 
 ary at Rochester. She was a faithful 
 wife, the kindest of mothers, and a true 
 friend to all ; in her housekeeping affairs 
 she was ever neat, tidy and industrious, 
 while no woman could be more clever 
 with the needle ; and her call from earth 
 was mourned not only by the husband, 
 children and other relatives, but also by a 
 wide circle of sorrowing friends. The 
 children, after the death of their mother, 
 were taken to the home of their grand- 
 
3o6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BWORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 parents, with whom they Hved five years, 
 enjoying every comfort and attention, the 
 grandfather especially, who was a devout 
 Christian man, being exceedingly kind to 
 them. But, alas I the pleasant, peaceful 
 home was destined to be broken up in an 
 unexpected and dire manner, the cosy 
 house and all its contents being burned to 
 the ground in a bright afternoon in the 
 fall of 1843, while all the inmates were 
 temporarily absent. After this Mr. Mil- 
 lington again took charge of his daughter 
 Eliza, and went to housekeeping, renting 
 part of a house occupied by a Quaker 
 familj', who were very kind to her, one 
 and all taking an unselfish interest in her 
 welfare. After a time she went to live 
 with a married uncle (her mother's eldest 
 brother) in Onondaga Valley, and she 
 then went to district school and acad- 
 emy several terms, intending to qual- 
 ify for the profession of school teacher, 
 which vocation she commenced at the age 
 of seventeen, continuing in same with 
 eminent success until her marriage with 
 G. S. Douglas, as already recorded. 
 
 He was a native of the city of York, 
 England, born May 9, 1830, of Scotch 
 descent on his father's side. In the 
 fall of 1856 her father set out for 
 Wisconsin, bought land, then returned 
 to New York State, sold his property 
 and once more, in the fall of 1861, 
 came to Wisconsin, his daughter, Mrs. 
 Douglas (at that time), and her little 
 daughter accompanying him, Mr. Douglas 
 having gone to the war, and, having saved 
 some money, bought land in Oconto 
 county, near the Brown county line, 
 which he held several years and then sold. 
 On November 17, 1858, a little girl was 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Douglas, but was 
 carried off by scarlet fever in 1 864, a most 
 interesting, lovable child, gone to mingle 
 with the angelic throng. In 1862, at this 
 place, which afterward came to be known 
 as Flintville, in Suamico township, 
 Thomas R. Millington and his daughter, 
 Mrs. Eliza Douglas, opened out a general 
 store, buying their stock of groceries in 
 
 Fort Howard, and their dry goods in Green 
 Bay, from which time, up to her marriage 
 with Mr. Cook, she assisted in her father's 
 store in F"lintville, also teaching school, 
 as above stated. 
 
 When Mrs. Cook came to this part of 
 Wisconsin, she traveled by water from 
 Buffalo to Green Bay, to the place now 
 called Flintville, where she has always 
 resided since coming west, and she found 
 things in a very primitive condition. 
 There was no railroad, the nearest post- 
 office (Fort Howard) was twelve miles dis- 
 tant, and the only span of horses in the 
 township was owned by John Cook, her 
 present father-in-law, so that ox-teams 
 may be said to have been the only mode 
 of transportation. The first Sunday- 
 school in Flintville was organized in 1863 
 b)' a Mr. Lepard, of which school Mrs. 
 Douglas was made first superintendent. 
 Her father is well known and greatly 
 esteemed for his industry and thorough 
 business habits, and as one who has made 
 his way in the world by laudable ambi- 
 tion. In his pcjlitical preferences he was 
 a Democrat till 1856, when he changed 
 his views, becoming a stanch Republican, 
 and has since remained a solid member 
 of that party. 
 
 JOHN GRATZA was born February 3, 
 1856, in Upper Silesia, Germany, 
 son of John and Caroline (Kuczera) 
 Gratza, the former of whom was a 
 successful farmer. They were the par- 
 ents of thirteen children: Frank, Johanna, 
 Geneva, Mary, John. Frank and Joseph, 
 and six who died in infancy. The mother 
 of this family died in Germany, February 
 17, 1872, and in 1878 the father came to 
 America, settling in Clover Bottom, Mo., 
 where ho passed the remainder of his life, 
 dying March 3, 1886. At the time of his 
 decease he was the owner of 600 acres of 
 land. 
 
 John Gratza received all his education 
 in Germany, and then in 1 877 entered 
 the priesthood. Three months later he 
 
COMMEMOEATIVE BWGUAFUIVAL RECORD. 
 
 307 
 
 came to America, sailing:; from Bremen to 
 New York, and thence journej-inf^" directly 
 to Alton, III., where he remained until 
 July, 1893, at which time he entered 
 upon the duties of his charg^e in New Den- 
 mark, Brown count}'. This congregation 
 has been organized about ten years, and 
 now includes i 20 families — one hundred 
 Polish, and twenty German. In his polit- 
 ical preferences Father Gratza is a Demo- 
 crat, and takes much interest in the suc- 
 cess of the party. 
 
 ESEIUS BEISSEL, a thoroughly 
 representative respected old set- 
 tler of New Denmark township, 
 Brown county, is a native of the 
 State of Pennsylvania, born August 27, 
 1824, in North Sunbury, Northumberland 
 county, son of Jacob and Mary (Adams) 
 Beissel, the former of whom was a farmer 
 by occupation, in which he was very suc- 
 cessful. There were ten children in his 
 famil}', of whom Rachel died when nine 
 years old; Hosanna, Mrs. Snavelly, died 
 at Watson, 111., in February, 1894; Eseius 
 is the subject of these lines; Levi lives in 
 Wenona, 111. ; John is deceased; Priscilla 
 died at Tonica, III. ; Aaron lives in Kansas; 
 Jacob went to Missouri; two died in in- 
 fancy. In 183S the father of this family 
 sold his farm of 190 acres in Pennsyl- 
 vania, and removed with his family to the 
 then new State of Illinois, purchasing 360 
 acres of wild land in Roberts township, 
 Marshall Co., 111., on which place he 
 passed the remainder of his busy life. 
 
 Our subject was reared to farm life by 
 his father, and in 1S38 came with the rest 
 of the family to Illinois. Here he was mar- 
 ried, January 7, 1 85 3, to Miss Margaret 
 Kahren, who was born January 17, 1835, 
 in the village of Marsdorf, Rhein Province, 
 Prussia, the eldest of ten children born 
 to J. Peter and Margaret fChimmer) 
 Kahren, as follows: Margaret; Jacob, who 
 was drowned in the East river, when thirty- 
 three years old; Catherine and Joseph, 
 who died in infancy; Joseph, who died at 
 
 the age of thirty-three in Oshkosh, Wis. ; 
 Elizabeth and Catherine, deceased; Anna; 
 Michael, deceased; and Catherine, now 
 Mrs. Sharky, of Green Bay, Wis. In 1852 
 this family sailed from Germany, and, 
 after a voyage of thirty-three days, landed 
 in New York, thence coming directly to 
 Milwaukee, Wis., where they lived si.\ 
 months, and then removed to Illinois. 
 At the time of his marriage Mr. Beissel 
 purchased eighty acres of land in Evans 
 township, Marshall Co., 111., where he 
 and his young wife commenced their mar- 
 ried life; but some time later, owingtoher 
 illness, he sold the place and worked out 
 by the month, being thus engaged two 
 years. Then, going to Wenona, 111., he 
 bought a house and lot, and they resided 
 there until 1862, when they came to New 
 Denmark township. Brown Co., Wis., 
 where he purchased si.xty acres of land 
 still in its primitive condition, and here 
 made a permanent home; at the time of 
 his settlement the land was still wild, but 
 with years of earnest, unremitting toil he 
 has succeeded in converting it into a well- 
 improved property. For sixteen years 
 after coming to the county he was en- 
 gaged in teaming between Green Ba}' and 
 Pine Grove. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Beissel were born 
 ten children, their names and dates of 
 birth being as follows; Mar}', February 
 14, 1854; Amelia, January 14, 1857; 
 Charles, September 15, 1859; Louis, 
 March 30, 1862; Joseph, January 28, 
 1865; Barbara, August 4, 1867; John, 
 January 21, 1870; Catherine, September 
 13, 1872; Jacob, April 25, 1875; and 
 Henry, January 7, 1878. Those deceased 
 are Mar}', who died October 2, 1885; 
 Barbara, who died September 25, 1868; 
 the rest all live at home, except Amelia, 
 Mrs. Sampson, of Fort Howard, and 
 Charles, now in Coleman, Wis. The 
 family are all adherents of Holy Trinity 
 Catholic Church, New Denmark, and in 
 his political preferences Mr. Beissel is a 
 Republican, though not a strict partisan. 
 He is well known and highly respected in 
 
3oS 
 
 COMMKMOnAriVK BIOGRAl'niCAL RECORD. 
 
 the community, with whose interests he 
 has been identified so many years, and 
 has served his township as justice of the 
 peace six years and school treasurer nine 
 years, provinj; a most reliable, faithful 
 official. 
 
 JAMES HOBBINS, the oldest living 
 settler in Rockland township. Brown 
 count}-, is a native of the Emerald 
 Isle, born in 1816, in County Tip- 
 perary, son of Thomas Hobbins, a farmer. 
 The latter had a family of ten children — 
 seven sons and three daughters — of whom 
 James is the eldest son. 
 
 James Hobbins was reared to farming 
 pursuits, which he followed in his native 
 country until 1 846, when he decided to 
 immigrate to America. He had married 
 Miss Bridget Schooley, who bore him one 
 son, John, in Ireland, and in May, 1846, 
 the family took passage for New York 
 on a Black Star liner, landing after a 
 voyage of seventeen days. They pro- 
 ceeded at once to Philadelphia, where 
 they remained a short time, Mr. Hobbins 
 working in a stone quarry, also as over- 
 seer for a farmer, and then removed to 
 Oneida county, N. Y. Here the family 
 resided about four years, Mr. Hobbins en- 
 gaging in farm labor, and here two more 
 children were added to the family: 
 Thomas, who died in De Pere, Wis., 
 where he was a justice of the peace; and 
 Patrick, who also died in De Pere, Wis., 
 of which city he was marshal for seven 
 years. In May, 1850, attracted by the 
 cheap homes offered to settlers in Wis- 
 consin at that time, they came westward, 
 taking passage at Buffalo on the "A. D. 
 Patchen," and landing in Milwaukee, 
 thence coming to Green Bay, and losing 
 no time after their arrival in looking up 
 a good location. In Holland township. 
 Brown county, Mr. Hobbins purchased 
 160 acres of new land; but, being some- 
 what dissatisfied with that part of the 
 country, he invested, in the same year, 
 in eighty acres of land lying in Section i 5, 
 
 Rockland township, and here he has 
 ever since made his home. There were 
 but three families in the township at 
 that time, no roads of any kind were 
 laid out, and, in order to reach his 
 home, Mr. Hobbins had to cut a path 
 through the forest. He felled the first 
 tree ever cut down by a white man on the 
 place, and built the first dwelling, a log 
 cabin, about twenty rods from the site of 
 the present family residence. Game was 
 still plentiful, and deer were frequently 
 seen in the clearing. Mr. Hobbins ex- 
 perienced all the hardships and inconve- 
 niences incident to backwoods life and 
 the clearing and improving of a farm in a 
 new country. Even after the trees were 
 felled the stumps and roots remained, and 
 having no modern appliances for remov- 
 ing them, he could not use a plow suc- 
 cessfully, and was obliged to do the best 
 he could with a grub-hoe. Money was 
 very scarce, so, in order to obtain enough 
 for their needs, our subject worked, dur- 
 ing the winter season for several years, in 
 the lumber camps of Brown county. But, 
 in spite of the dangers and privations, he 
 remained on the farm, laboring early and 
 late to hew himself a comfortable home 
 from the dense forest, and he has lived to 
 see his place transformed from a wilder- 
 ness to a beautiful productive tract of 
 land, the result of long 3ears of unrelent- 
 ing toil. As will be seen, he has resided 
 here continuously forty-four years, during 
 which period he has watched the progress 
 and development of his section, taking no 
 small part in the work himself. He is 
 now the oldest living settler of Rockland 
 township, where he is well known and 
 highly esteemed by a wide circle of friends 
 and acquaintances. He has served his 
 township in various positions of honor and 
 trust, ha\ing held the important office of 
 chairman several jears, was school di- 
 rector eighteen years, and has also been 
 assessor. In political affiliation he is a 
 stanch Democrat. In religious faith he 
 is a Catholic, and was among the first to 
 take active steps in the formation of St. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGMAPHICAL liECORD. 
 
 309 
 
 Francis Church at De Pere, of which he 
 is now the oldest hving member, and 
 which at first was the place of worship 
 for all nationalities. Mrs. Hobbins passed 
 from earth February i i, 1886, at the age 
 of seventy-three years, and was laid to 
 rest in De Pere cemetery; since her de- 
 cease our subject has lived a compara- 
 tively retired life, making his home with 
 his eldest son, John (the only surviving 
 member of his family), who miw conducts 
 the farm. 
 
 John Hobbins was born in April, 1845, 
 in County Tipperarj', Ireland, whence, 
 when a year old, he was brought by his 
 parents to the United States, and was five 
 years of age when the family settled in 
 Rocklantl tt)wnship. Here he was reared 
 to manhood on the pioneer farm, receiv- 
 ing a thorough training to agricultural 
 pursuits, and, at the same time, obtaining 
 such an education as the early district 
 schools afforded. In July, 1867, he was 
 united in marriage with Miss Bridget 
 Ryan, who was l)orn in County Tipperary, 
 Ireland, in 1848. She is a daughter of 
 Patrick Ryan, who died in Ireland, leav- 
 ing a widow and seven children — four sons 
 and three daughters — and in 1853 this 
 family immigrated to the United States, 
 locating first in New York State, and sub- 
 sequently coming to Wisconsin. This 
 union has been blessed with the following- 
 named children: James, Thomas, Alice, 
 Nora, Marj-, Ellen, Patrick, and Flossie, 
 all living at home. Mr. Hobbins, like 
 his father, is a stanch member of the 
 Democratic party, and has served as 
 school clerk for thirteen years. In relig- 
 ious connection he and his wife are mem- 
 bers of St. Francis Church, De Pere. 
 
 DR. WILLIAM BEAUPRK, the 
 well-known oculist and aurist, 
 whose skill in his profession has 
 gained for him a wide and envi- 
 able reputation, is a native of Canada, 
 born in what is now the Province of Que- 
 bec (Canada Bas) in 1830. 
 
 As his name indicates, the Doctor is 
 of P'rench descent, his grandfather, who 
 was a military man, having been a native 
 of "La Belle F'rance," whence in very 
 early times he emigrated to Canada, and 
 in the lower province (now Quebec) made 
 a settlement. There his son, H. N., 
 father of subject, was born and educated, 
 in early manhood taking up the mercan- 
 tile business, which was his life work. He 
 married Mile. Argauge Bargeron, also a 
 native of Canada East, and children as 
 follows were born to this union: Mary, 
 who married Edward Pelicier, of Canada, 
 and died in i 864 ; Angeline, who became 
 the wife of P'rank Pelicier, and died in 
 1878 ; Maxime, a merchant, living in St. 
 .Michel's, Canada ; Joseph, a professor, 
 who was well known in Green Bay, W'is. , 
 died in 1891 in Montreal, Canada ; Philip, 
 married, living in St. Cloud, Minn. , where 
 he is a judge of the Probate Court ; Eliza- 
 beth, wife of John Gecr, of Ford River, 
 Mich. ; Dr. Reauseau, a physician of Ford 
 River, Mich. ; Catherine, who died in 
 Canada, unmarried ; and William. The 
 father died of cholera, in 1832, in Quebec, 
 the mother passing away in St. Michel, 
 same province, in 1853. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared 
 and educated at his native place till the 
 age of fifteen (1845J, at which time he 
 came to Wisconsin, landing in the then 
 village of Green Bay on November i . 
 Here for four years he served as clerk in 
 the store of John l'. Lessey, after which 
 he sailed the lakes from the port of Green 
 Bay until the breaking out of the Civil 
 war, when his nnlitar\' ardor, inherited 
 from his grandfather, kindled into activity 
 by the youthful desire to "seek the bub- 
 ble reputation, e'en at the cannon's 
 mouth." In 1861 he assisted in raising 
 Company G ("French Mountaineers, " a 
 mounted company). Seventeenth Wiscon- 
 sin Infantry, which was attached to the 
 army of Tennessee. His connnand par- 
 ticipated in Sherman's march to the sea 
 and in the Carolina campaign. On March 
 I I, 1862, he was commissioned first lieu- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 tenant, and August 31 following was pro- 
 moted to the captaincy of the same com- 
 pany. On June 6, 1864, he was wounded 
 by a grapeshot at Marietta. Ga., but de- 
 clined hospital service. At Pocotaligo, 
 W. Va. , he was honorably discharged, 
 January 19. 1865, and returned to his 
 home in Green Ba\'. In 1867 he com- 
 menced reading medicine under the pre- 
 ceptorship of Ur. H. A. Woodbridge, 
 studying until 1871, and making a spe- 
 cialty of the eye and ear. Immediately 
 conmiencing the practice of his profession, 
 he traveled a circuit, visiting, among 
 other places, in Wisconsin and Michigan, 
 Menomonee, Escanaba, Marquette, Han- 
 cock, Red Jacket, Lake Linden, Wausau, 
 Grand Rapids, Merrill, Antigo, Ironwood, 
 finally, after an absence of four years, 
 locating in Green Bay, where he has 
 since been in the continuous practice of 
 his profession, his office being established 
 on Cherry street, between Washington 
 and Adams. 
 
 Dr. Beauprc has been three times 
 married, each time in Green Bay, on first 
 occasion to Miss Jane Matilda Beaudoin, 
 a native of France, daughter of Francis 
 Beaudoin, of the same nativity, who emi- 
 grated to the United States, taking up 
 his residence in St. Ignace, Mich. ; in 
 1840 moving to Green Bay, and making 
 his final home in Shantytown, where he 
 died. This wife was called from earth in 
 1851, the mother of two daughters: Jane, 
 wife of S. B. Cornish, of Antigo, Wis., 
 and Emily, wife of H. H. Raiche, of 
 Menominee, Mich. In 1854 the Doctor 
 married Miss I. Raiche, who was born in 
 Green Bay, a daughter of Theodore 
 Raiche, a native of Canada, whence, in 
 1840, he came to Green Bay, dying there 
 in 1886. By this union there were two 
 sons: William A., who died in St. Louis, 
 Mo., in 1888, and James, now a resident 
 of Drummond, Wis. The mother of these 
 was called from earth July 2, 1862, and 
 for his third wife, our subject, in 1866, 
 wedded Miss Olive Trudell, born in Green 
 Bay, a daughter of Theodore Trudell, of 
 
 Canadian birth, coming, in 1845, to Green 
 Bay, where he was engaged in the grocery 
 business: he now resides in South Bend, 
 Wash. By his last marriage the Doctor 
 had si.\ children, all girls, a brief record 
 of whom is as follows: Mary married 
 Frank Duchateau, and died October 11, 
 1892; Lydia Ann, born January 26, 1869, 
 died September 22, 1891, wife of S. W. 
 Lieblien; Rose Delenia, born January 24, 
 1871, died May 24, 1873; Lucy Martha, 
 born May 26, 1873, is the wife of Theo- 
 dore Remington, of Menominee, Mich. ; 
 Eva Lottie, born November 17, 1875, 
 resides in Menominee; Minnie Matilda, 
 born April 27, 1878, died July 2, 1879. 
 
 Dr. Beaupre, in his political associa- 
 tions, was a Democrat till 1886, when he 
 changed his views and his colors, becom- 
 ing as zealous a Republican as he had 
 been a Democrat. He is a member of 
 the Catholic Church, and a highly re- 
 spected, useful citizen of Green Bay, 
 which, since his first arrival in the place, 
 fifty years ago, he has seen transformed 
 from a village of a few houses to a fine 
 city with a grand future yet before it, and 
 toward whose prosperity he has con- 
 tributed a troodlv share. 
 
 CORNELIUS LEARY, prominent 
 among the prosperous agricultur- 
 ists and early pioneers of Glen- 
 more township. Brown county, is 
 a native of County Kerry, Ireland, born 
 in 1 824, a son of James and Margaret 
 (Catler) Leary, who had eight children — 
 four sons and four daughters. 
 
 When Cornelius was nine years of 
 age the family came to America, sailing 
 in the month of August from Cork on the 
 "Thomas Hanford," which arrived, after 
 a voyage of seven weeks, at St. John, New 
 Brunswick, where they lived five years. 
 They then moved to Boston, Mass., later 
 to Springfield, and resided in various parts 
 of the State until the spring of 1850, 
 when the father concluded to try his for- 
 tune in Wisconsin. In the month of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BWORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 April they traveled by rail to Buffalo, and 
 one week later embarked on a vessel 
 bound for Milwaukee, thence continuing 
 their journey by stage and boat to Green 
 Bay, via Fond du Lac, Menasha, etc. 
 In Glenmore township. Brown county, 
 Mr. Leary purchased one-half of Section 
 22, and shortly afterward a quarter of 
 Section 15. At that time but three 
 other families — the Pattons, Ryans and 
 Caseys — lived in the township; no roads 
 had been laid out, and Cornelius and his 
 brother John cut a road from their farm 
 to De Pere. Mr. Leary built the first 
 house in Section 22, a cabin of logs 
 covered with boards, which stood a short 
 distance from the present residence. Wild 
 animals were numerous, and no clearing 
 whatever had been done, the trees being 
 so thick that a space had to be made for 
 the dwelling. Mrs. Leary died shortly 
 after the location in Glenmore, and Mr. 
 Leary passed away on his farm in 1880. 
 
 Cornelius Leary received but a limited 
 education, and in early boyhood com- 
 menced to work in the cotton mills in 
 New England. He was in the very prime 
 of life when he came with his parents to 
 Wisconsin, and. being the eldest son, 
 found plenty of work ready for him on the 
 land which his father had undertaken to 
 clear. About 1854 he was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Julia Brennan, a native 
 of County Kerry, Ireland, daughter of 
 Frank Brennan. This union was blessed 
 by children as follows: Margaret, living 
 at home with her parents; James, who 
 died when five years old; Julia (Mrs. 
 James Dougherty), of Escanaba, Mich. ; 
 Catherine, deceased at the age of twenty- 
 three years; John, who died when twenty- 
 four years old; Morris, deceased when 
 one year old; Alice, of Escanaba, Mich.; 
 Annie, living at home; Hattie, Mrs. John 
 Clune, of Escanaba, Mich. ; and Theresa, 
 at home. 
 
 Mr. Leary has been a successful 
 farmer, and now owns 160 acres of good 
 land, all of which he has seen trans- 
 formed from a wilderness to a highly cul- 
 
 tivated farm, a work in which he has 
 taken no small part. He is well known 
 and highly respected throughout his sec- 
 tion, for his industry and straightforward, 
 honest methods have placed him in an 
 enviable position among his fellow citi- 
 zens. Though now past three-score and 
 ten, he is well-preserved and hearty, and 
 still continues to direct the affairs of his 
 farm, though he docs little of the active 
 work. In his party affiliations he is a 
 Democrat, and has served as roadmaster; 
 but he has given little attention to poli- 
 tics, preferring to devote his time exclu- 
 sively to his private affairs. In religious 
 faith he is a member of St. Mary's Catho- 
 lic Church, at Glenmore. 
 
 ALBERT WILLIAMS, a promi- 
 nent and influential citizen of Fort 
 Howard, is a native of Belgium, 
 and is a son of John B. and 
 Rosalie (Vandeborne) Williams, natives 
 of the same country, where they lived 
 and died. 
 
 Our subject was reared and educated 
 in his native land, where he learned the 
 trade of a bricklayer and worked at same 
 until his removal, in 1871, to the United 
 States. In that year he located at Fort 
 Howard, subsequently purchasing forty 
 acres of land in Wrightstown. After two 
 years he settled permanently at Fort 
 Howard, where he has since been engaged 
 in farming and market gardening, at 
 which occupations he has been very suc- 
 cessful. His present veneered brick resi- 
 dence was erected in 1873. Mr. Will- 
 iams, who is an independent reasoner in 
 political matters, has been the recipient 
 of certain official favors at the hands of 
 his constituents, and for a number of 
 years has served them as supervisor from 
 the Second ward of the city. He is 
 recognized as a valuable, upright citizen, 
 and commands the respect of all. In 
 1864, while yet a resident of Belgium, he 
 married Miss Rosa Vandeborne, and to 
 these worthy parents have been born six 
 
3': 
 
 COMMEMORA TIVK JUOUIiAl'lIICAL liECORD. 
 
 children: William, foreman of the Mil- 
 waukee & Northern shops; Bernard; 
 Lewis; Felix; Mary, wife of Albert 
 Brunette, of the town of Howard; Nettie, 
 wife of Jack Osterman, of Green Bay. 
 Mr. and Mrs. \\'illianis are inetnbers of 
 St. W'illibrord's Church, Green Bay. 
 They came to Fort Howard at a time 
 when it lacked very much of being the 
 flourishing city it is at present, and have 
 witnessed its steady development. 
 
 JOHN SH.\UGHNESSY, one of the 
 well-to-do and highly-respected old 
 citizens of Glenmore township, 
 I3rown count)', was born in 1824 
 in County Limerick, Ireland. His parents, 
 George and Hannah (Murj)h}'j Shaugh- 
 nessy, were farming people, who worked 
 industriously to support their large family, 
 which consisted of fourteen children — 
 eight sons and si.\ daughters. 
 
 John Shaughnessy attended the com- 
 mon schools until fifteen years of age, and 
 then assisted his father on the farm until 
 he reached his majority. At this time, 
 receiving money from his parents to pay 
 his way to America, he bid his early home 
 and friends farewell, and took passage at 
 Cork on the "Louisiana," bound for 
 yuebec, where he landed in the month of 
 August, after a voyage of si.x weeks and 
 three days. He first found employment 
 with farmers, harvesting, and afterward 
 came to Milwaukee, Wis., taking the 
 water route, via Oswego, N. Y. Mr. 
 Shaughnessy purchased a horse and 
 wagon, and commenced the draying busi- 
 ness in Milwaukee, continued in that un- 
 til 1S50, in the meantime saving some 
 money. Several railroads were then in 
 course of construction in New York State, 
 and he went to Buffalo, where he obtained 
 employment as a laborer on the New York 
 & Eric railway. 
 
 On May 29, 1.S50, Mr. Shaughnessy 
 was married in Buffalo to Miss Catherine 
 Flaherty, who was born June 24, 1828, 
 
 in Count}' Kerry, Ireland. [These facts 
 have been taken from an authentic record 
 in the possession of Mrs. Shaughnessy]. 
 She is a daughter of Thomas and Mary 
 (Lynch) Flaherty, farming people of Ire- 
 land, and she came to the United States 
 when twenty years old, with friends, sail- 
 ing from Cork on the " Lady Elgin," and 
 landing in Ouebec, after a voyage of five 
 weeks and five days. She subsequently 
 came to Milwaukee, where she met Mr. 
 Shaughnessy. After their marriage they 
 kept boarders for about two years, and 
 then returned to Milwaukee, Wis., where 
 he again took up draying for two years. 
 In 1854 he came to Brown county, and 
 purchased eighty acres of wild land in 
 Section 21, Glenmore township, for eighty 
 dollars, and when they moved to their 
 new home there were still no roads to it, 
 and their nearest neighbor was three 
 miles distant. The forest was so dense 
 that a site had to be cleared for their 
 cabin, which was the first house in Sec- 
 tion 21, and, as he himself says, his hogs 
 to-day have a better house than the one 
 he first lived in. W'ild animals were 
 numerous, deer were frequently seen near 
 the house, and bears and wolves played 
 havoc with the stock of the early settlers. 
 With an axe and a grub-hoe (the latter 
 made by "Old Newton," the blacksmith 
 of De Pere, who made many tools for the 
 pioneer farmers), the work of clearing was 
 begun and persevered in until a comfort- 
 able property had been taken from the 
 woods. When they had butter or eggs 
 to sell they carried them to Green Bay, 
 sixteen miles distant, making the entire 
 journey on foot. On April 14,1865, they 
 removed to Section 32, Glenmore town- 
 ship, where he had purchased a tract of 
 forty acres, and here lived in a shanty 
 until the completion of their log cabin, in 
 the erection of which the neighbors for 
 miles around assisted. Here Mr. Shaugh- 
 nessy has since continued to reside, and 
 was actively engaged in agriculture until 
 1 89 1, when he disposed of his property 
 and retired. The farm at one time con- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGUAPUICAL HE CORD. 
 
 '? T ^ 
 
 tained i6o acres, eighty of which he gave 
 to his sons. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Shaughnessy ha\'e had 
 nine children, of whom three sons and 
 two daiigliters died 30ung: George, born 
 in New York, is a farmer of Glenmore 
 towiishi]>; Thomas, born in Milwaukee, 
 is a butcher of Escanaba, Wis. ; William, 
 born in Glenmore, is a resident of L)c- 
 Pere township; John, born in Glenmore, 
 lives in Milwaukee. Mr. Shaughnessy has 
 alwa_\s been a stanch Democrat in poli- 
 tics, and held the office of roadmaster, 
 but has never been an aspirant for office. 
 In religious connection he and his family 
 are members of St. John's Church, in 
 Morrison township. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Shaughnessy are among the few old 
 pioneers left in Glenmore township, who 
 have seen the country converted from a 
 forest wild into smiling, productive farms. 
 They are well known and much respected 
 in their section. [Since the above was 
 written, we have been notified of the 
 death of Mr. John Shaughnessy, which 
 occurred October 3, 1894. — Ed. 
 
 ANDREW SIMONS, a thrifty, well- 
 to-ilo farmer of Huinlioldt town- 
 ship, Brown count}-, is a native 
 of same, born April 5, 1850, on 
 the farm where he yet resides, which was 
 then included in Scott township. 
 
 His parents Christoph and Anna M. 
 (Muller) Simons, early pioneers of this 
 section, were natives of Prussia, Germany, 
 and the father was a carpenter by trade. 
 They were married in their native coun- 
 try, and three children were there born 
 to them : Catherine, and Charles and 
 Seraphim (twins), with whom, in iS43,they 
 came to the United States. From the 
 port of landing they pushed westward at 
 once to their destination, Duck Creek, 
 Brown Co., Wis., during which journey 
 the twins, Charles and Seraphim, died of 
 small-pox. After their arrival at Duck 
 Creek the father was taken sick with the 
 ague, then so prevalent, and as soon as 
 
 possible moved to Preble township, where 
 he took up forty acres of government 
 land, on which they lived three years. 
 Owing to the dampness of that locality 
 Mrs. Simons suffered greatly from rheu- 
 matism, and accordingly they removed to 
 Humboldt townshi}), where they took up 
 another forty acres of land and thi>reon 
 made a permanent home. Mr. Simons 
 died on this farm November 5, 1S71, and 
 here his widow, now aged eighty years, 
 still makes her home, hving with her son, 
 Andrew. 
 
 Andrew Simons was born on his pres- 
 ent farm, and here received a thorough 
 knowledge of farming, commencing work 
 early in life, faithfully remaining at home 
 and assisting his parents. After the death 
 of his father the place came into his pos- 
 session, and by hard labor and good man- 
 agement he has improved and added to it, 
 now owning ninety acres of highly culti- 
 vated land. On November 26, 1878, he 
 was united in marriage with Miss Hattie 
 Heim, daughter of Lawrence and Hattie 
 Heim, which union has been blessed with 
 nine children, viz.; Andrew W. , Law- 
 rence C, Louis P., Agnes A., Mary N., 
 Killian H., Joseph (deceased), Harriet B., 
 and Lena K. (deceased). During his 
 youth Mr. Simons had rather limited edu- 
 cational opportunities, and, appreciating 
 the value of a good literary training, he is 
 endeavoring to give his children all the 
 advantages possible in that line. In re- 
 ligious connection the family are members 
 of the Catholic Church. 
 
 DK. ALBERT HAYDEN ELLS- 
 WORTH comes of one of the old 
 New England families which was 
 founded at a very early day in the 
 history of this country by three brothers 
 who settled in Connecticut. They were 
 farming people, but many of their de- 
 scendants were well-educated men, be- 
 coming prominent in professional circles 
 throughout the State. 
 
 The Doctor was born July 14, 1823, 
 
3'4 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in Windsor, Hartford Co., Conn., and 
 acquired his education in the public 
 schools of his native town. He aho took 
 the high-school course, and afterward at- 
 tended school in Suffield, Conn. , for one 
 year, and also in Ellington, Conn. He 
 then engaged in teaching school, being 
 thus employed for one year in the State 
 of his nativity, and for one year in Mon- 
 mouth, N. J., after which he took up the 
 study of dentistry under Dr. Sherwood, a 
 prominent dentist and highly-respected 
 citizen of Cincinnati, Ohio. He applied 
 himself assiduously in his new field of la- 
 bor, and, after a year of thorough and sys- 
 tematic study, located in Milwaukee, Wis. , 
 in November, 1848. He was one of the 
 first dentists of that city, and met with 
 most flattering success, doing a large and 
 lucrative business, which kept constantly 
 increasing until failing health caused him 
 to retire. He was doing an excellent 
 business, having probably the best prac- 
 tice in the State, and to-day, in years of 
 continuous labor, he is the oldest prac- 
 ticing dentist in Wisconsin. 
 
 Dr. Ellsworth was a prominent mem- 
 ber of the Plymouth Congregational 
 Church of Milwaukee, and took a very 
 active part in its work and c\erything 
 pertaining to its growth and upbuilding. 
 He was also an honored member of the 
 I. O. O. F., belonging to Menomonee 
 Lodge. In social circles he and his fam- 
 ily occupied an enviable position, and he 
 is well remembered by the pioneers and 
 early settlers of Milwaukee. 
 
 In July, 1852. Dr. Ellsworth came to 
 Green Bay to spend his few remaining 
 months, as he supposed, for his life was 
 despaired of by his physicians, and he 
 thought that his days were numbered; 
 but the vigorous and bracing atmosphere 
 soon brought new life and strength to him, 
 and he is to-day one of the hale and 
 hearty old gentlemen of Green Bay, pos- 
 sessed of the vigor of many a younger 
 man, his three-score-and-ten years rest- 
 ing lightly upon him. As soon as his 
 health permitted he began the practice of 
 
 his profession in Green Bay, and his skill 
 and ability soon again won recognition in 
 a large and lucrative patronage. He has 
 ever been a thorough student along the 
 line of his profession, and as a result has 
 been very successful. As his financial re- 
 sources increased the Doctor made sev- 
 eral judicious investments, which have 
 proved to him quite profitable, and gained 
 him a comfortable competence. 
 
 Since coming to Green Bay Dr. Ells- 
 worth has been identified with the Pres- 
 byterian Church. In his political views 
 he is a Democrat, but has never sought 
 or desired official preferment, giving his 
 entire time and attention to business and 
 other interests. He is a warm friend of 
 the cause of education, and, when the of- 
 fice of city superintendent of schools was 
 created, he was elected to that position, 
 which he has filled fourteen years. His 
 unselfish devotion and his untiring labors 
 have been productive of much good in the 
 educational field, and the present gener- 
 ation and the young people of the future 
 will have cause to hold him in grateful 
 remembrance for his earnest labors. 
 
 CHARLES J. LUCIA, a prosper- 
 ous fanner of Suamico township, 
 Brow n county, was born July i 5, 
 1836, in Clinton county, N. Y.. of 
 French descent on the paternal siiie. 
 His parents, Alexander and Phebe (Bessie) 
 Lucia, natives of New York, had a family 
 of two sons and four daughters, of whom 
 the sons and two of the daughters are 
 still living. The family were all reared 
 on the farm, and the parents both lived 
 to advanced ages, the father dying when 
 eighty years old, and the mother when 
 seventy-five. 
 
 Charles J. Lucia left the home place 
 when fourteen years old and worked out 
 by the month until 1854, went he came 
 west, and located first in Suamico town- 
 ship. Brown county, laboring in the 
 woods by the month. He also worked 
 in a sawmill in the same townshiji, then 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 3' 5 
 
 for a year or more was employed in 
 Oconto, in draying, sawing, and as wood- 
 man, after which he returned to Suamico. 
 On April i, 1858, he married Miss Caro- 
 hne Cook, who \\as born February 28, 
 1839, in Chnton county, N. Y., a 
 daughter of John and Ann Cook, and to 
 this union have been born six children, 
 as follows: trving J., born May i, 1859, 
 married in August, 1883, to Miss Cora 
 I>arker, and they have one son and one 
 daughter; he is now a merchant of Bes- 
 semer, Mich. William H., born Septem- 
 ber 12, i860, was married June 28, 1882, 
 to Sarali Allen, who has borne him two 
 sons; he is now a merchant at Hurley. 
 Ella j., born January 19, 1S67, was mar- 
 ried July 29, 1890, to Lawrence Head, 
 of Ashland, and has two sons. AnnaE., 
 Dorn January 4, 1869, was married Jul_\' 
 29, 1 89 1, to Ed. A. Dunham, a farmer 
 of Minnesota. Charles G., born Octo- 
 ber I, 1876, and George O., born March 
 12. 1882. 
 
 After his marriage Mr. Eucia w as em- 
 ployed in logging, etc., then bought 
 seventy-seven and a half acres, of which 
 fifteen were cleared, and settled on his 
 place in 1865; to this land he has aiitied 
 until he now owns about two hundred 
 acres, all purchased from his own earn- 
 ings, which were at the first $10 per 
 month. He is a Republican in his poli- 
 tical proclivities, but in local affairs votes 
 for the best man, regardless of party. 
 The family are all attendants of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 L.M^S JENSEN, prominent among 
 the agricultural citizens of New- 
 Denmark township, Brown county, 
 was born August 12, 1843, in Den- 
 mark, son of Jens Hemmengson and Anna 
 (Nelson) Jensen, thrifty farming people 
 of that country. They had a family of 
 seven children: Lars, Anna (deceased), 
 Peter, Hemmeng, Anna, Margaret and 
 Nels. 
 
 (_)ur subject remained at home with 
 
 his parents until he reached the age of 
 fourteen jears, receiving in the coninion 
 schools a somewhat limited education. 
 The ne.xt two years he worked on a farm, 
 and then conuuenced to learn carpentry, 
 ser\'ing an apprenticeshi]) (jf three years 
 at the trade, which he siibseiiuenll\- fol- 
 lowed si.x years. In his eaiiy manhood 
 he served two }ears ni the arui\-. On 
 June 28, 1868, he was united in marriage 
 with Miss Ellen M. Gerhardson, daughter 
 of Gerhard Nelson ami Anna M. (Jensen) 
 Gerhardson, who were the parents of 
 seven children, \i/.. : Karen, Ellen, .Stine, 
 Margaretta, two that died in infancy un- 
 named, and Wilhelmina. Shortly after 
 marriage Mr. and Mrs. [ensen came to 
 the United States, crossing to New York 
 in sixteen days, where they landed with a 
 capital of ninety-nine dollars, with which 
 to commence life in the Western World. 
 Journeying by rail to Green Bay, Wis., 
 via Chicago, they came thence to their 
 present place in New Denmark township, 
 Mr. [ensen jnu'chasing thirty-four acres in 
 the midst of the forest, from which they 
 have made a comfortable home. For 
 about a year the\' lived with an uncle of 
 our subject, who followed his trade dur- 
 ing that time, and then set about the 
 erection of a log house on his lancl. But, 
 while engaged in hewing the timbers, a 
 falling log struck his limb and fractured 
 the bone, making it necessary for him to 
 stop Work for si'veral weeks, and the 
 money he had saved to }iay on the land 
 went to the doctor. After his recovery 
 he completed the house, and made his 
 home therein for twelve years, during 
 which time he was busily engaged in clear- 
 ing and improving his land, from time to 
 time making other purchases, his farm 
 now containing 104 acres of highly-im- 
 proved land. He is trul\- a silf-made 
 man, his present firosperity being due 
 solely to his own unceasing labor, and he 
 has won the res])ect of all who know him 
 by his square, hoiu'St methods in all his 
 dealings with his fellow men. Politically 
 he is a Democrat, and has held various 
 
3i6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 local offices of trust, serving his town- 
 sliip faitlifully as supervisor ami school 
 treasurer. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Jensen have been 
 born twelve children, as follows: Gerhard 
 H., James C. , Nels C, Tourwal A., 
 Charles Edwin, Lawrence N., Anna C, 
 Tolle'tte M., and four that died in infancy; 
 of these, Gerhard H. and Nels C, at- 
 tend the Normal School at Oshkosh; 
 James is a miner in Montana; Tourwal 
 lives in Green Bay; and the remaining 
 four live at home with their parents. 
 
 21, 
 
 PETER JOSEPH BECKER, a 
 prosperous farmer of Green Bay 
 township. Brown county, is a 
 German b\' birth, born November 
 1829, in the Kingdom of Prussia. 
 He is a son of Bartholomew and Maria 
 Eva (Schneider)Becker, well-to-do farm- 
 ing people, who had four children, as fol- 
 lows: Peter Joseph, whose name opens 
 this sketch; Mary, Mrs. Burkhart, of 
 Green Bay; Barbara, who married, and 
 died at the age of twentj-eight years, 
 leaving a husband and two children — • 
 Eva and Mary — to mourn her early 
 death; and E\a, wife of Ur. Rhode, of 
 Green Bay. 
 
 In 1843 Bartholomew Becker sold his 
 property in Germany and came with his 
 family to America, arriving in New York 
 after a voyage of forty-nine days, and 
 immediately pushing westward to Akron, 
 Ohio, where he found emplo\ment on 
 the canal for about a year. Part of this 
 time the family lived in a blacksmith 
 shop, but later purchasing an old log 
 house (for which they paid twelve 
 dollarsj made that their home, an i 
 they also cleared a small piece of 
 land near Akron. After a residence of 
 six and a half years in Ohio, they came to 
 Wisconsin, where for three years they 
 lived on a rented farm near Milwaukee. 
 Here the father died in 1852, and in the 
 spring of 1S53 the widowed mother came 
 witli her family to Green Bay township. 
 
 Brown county, the journe)', which occu- 
 pied seven days, being made in a wagon 
 drawn by o.xen. In Green Bay township 
 the)- purchased eighty acres of timber 
 land, all in its primitive state, but which 
 has since been cleared and improved by 
 our subject. Mrs. Becker died here in 
 1888, aged eightj-three \'ears. 
 
 Peter J. Becker received an ordinary 
 common-school training in Germany, and 
 was reared to farming, in which vocation 
 he has been engaged the greater part of 
 his life. On June 9, 1861, he was mar- 
 ried to Miss Rosaline Aussloss, daughter 
 of Xavier and Johanna (Labus) Aussloss, 
 and to this union have been born nine 
 children, namely: Peter. Henry. Eva, 
 Anton, Mary. Catherine. Joseph. .Anna, 
 and John. Since his settlement in Green 
 Bay township in 1853, Mr. Becker has 
 made his home continuously on his pres- 
 ent farm, except from 1870 to 1873, dur- 
 ing which period he lived in the city of 
 Green Bay. He has added forty acres to 
 the original purchase, having at present 
 120 acres of fine land, highly improved 
 and cultivated, where he successfully con- 
 ducts a general farming business. Our 
 subject takes a liveh' interest in the wel- 
 fare of his township, of which he was the 
 first chairman, and he also served two 
 \'ears as assessor, discharging the duties 
 of his office faithfully and satisfactorily. 
 In political affiliation he is a Democrat, 
 and in religious faith he and his familj' 
 are members of the German Catholic 
 Church at New Eranken. 
 
 W 1 1.1. JAM HASSETT WOOL- 
 I'OKl), general yardmaster for 
 the Chicago, Minneapolis & St. 
 Paul railroad, at Green Bay, 
 enjoys the enviable distinction of having 
 a record second to none as an efficient 
 railroad official, careful, faithful and 
 trustworthy. 
 
 He is a native of Ohio, born in Day- 
 ton, June 18, 1S53. of English ancestry, 
 his grandfather ha\ing been a prosperous 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BlOOltAPIIICAL UECOIW. 
 
 319 
 
 fanner in England. William \\'(jolford, 
 father of our subject, was one of a family 
 of six children born on the farm, and the 
 first few years of his life were divided be- 
 tween attending the parish school and 
 helping his father in his agricultural pur- 
 suits. When old enough, he learned a 
 trade, and in after years turned his 
 attention to railroad contracting, becom- 
 ing successful. But, while still young, 
 seeing a wider field in America for a man 
 of his broad caliber, he emigrated, and 
 after landing on the shores of the New 
 World at once proceedeil westward to 
 Ohio, where, for a time, he assisted on the 
 construction of a railroad and the build- 
 ing ot a bridge over the Sus(]uehanna 
 river. His ne.xt venture was in Illinois, 
 where he had contracts on the North- 
 western railn.iad, then in course of con- 
 struction, and he proved to be one of the 
 most successful operators in his line of 
 business. Possessed of a great amount of 
 natural abilit}', he was a good business 
 manager and a close calculator on plans 
 and specifications. He also conducted a 
 farm in Illinois. Now, at the age of sev- 
 enty-eight years, hale and hearty, he is 
 living retired with his faithful wife, at 
 Rockford, Wright Co., Minn., in the full 
 enjoyment of the esteem of all who know 
 him. In religious faith he is a member 
 of the Methodist Church. His \\ife, 
 Eunice ("Smithj, is a native of Point 
 Albino, and is the mother of ten children, 
 seven of whom — three sons and four 
 daughters — lived to maturity. 
 
 William B. Woolford, the subject 
 proper of these lines, received his educa- 
 tion at the schools of Palatine, 111., and 
 at the age of sixteen commenced to assist 
 his father on the farm. A year after- 
 ward, howe\er, he took to railroading, 
 entering the service of the Chicago & 
 Northwestern Railroad Company as brake- 
 man, at which he continued four years, 
 when he was promoted to conductor. 
 In the latter capacity he served un- 
 til 1S88 a period of fourteen years, 
 and then resigned in order to accept the 
 
 18 
 
 position of trainmaster for the Wisconsin 
 Central railroad. In 1890 he was aj)- 
 pointed to his present incumbency, and 
 remoN'ed to Green Bay. 
 
 On July 6, 1872, Mr. Woolford was 
 united in marriage in Janesville, Wis., 
 with Miss Alice McCaffrey, daughter of 
 James and Mary (Burns) McCaffrey, na- 
 tives of County Fermanagh, Ireland, of 
 Scotch descent. Fi\e children have been 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Woolford, named 
 as follows: Mary A., Eunice B., William 
 B., Isabella A. and Henry E. Our sub- 
 ject has been a prominent member of the 
 F. l\: a. M. since uniting with the 
 fraternity in Milwaukee; he is associatetl 
 with Wisconsin Blue Lodge No. 13, 
 Chapter No. 7, Commandery No. i, and 
 the Consistory, having attained the thir- 
 ty-second degree. Mrs. Woolford is a 
 member of the Catholic Church. 
 
 GS. LAWRENCE, a pioneer 
 farmer of Pittsfield township. 
 Brown county, was born in Jeffer- 
 son county, N. Y. , August 4, 
 1837, a son of Charles and Lucy (Wals- 
 worth) Lawrence, and grandson of Elijah 
 Walsworth. There were seven children 
 in the family of Charles Lawrence, viz. : 
 Charles, who died at the age of twenty- 
 four; Harriet, wife of Oliver Crumb, of 
 Marshalltown, Iowa; Alpheus, a carpen- 
 ter, of Milwaukee, Wis., now in the 
 Soldiers Home; Alvin, who died at the 
 age of twenty; G. S., our subject; John, 
 who died at the age of thirteen; and Mor- 
 timer, of Marshalltown, Iowa. The father 
 of this family died in 1841, of heart 
 disease, and was buried at Clayton, 
 New York. 
 
 At the age of twelve G. S. Lawrence 
 was given to Eber Stevens; but, before he 
 had been with him a year, his mother had 
 moved to Chicago, and had there mar- 
 ried Peltier Barter, a sailor and ship car- 
 penter, and our subject was brought to 
 his mother and stepfather. Soon after 
 his marriage Mr. Barter bought forty 
 
320 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 acres of land at Beaver Island and went 
 to farming: but had lived there only five 
 years when he was drowned. Left a 
 widow the second time, the mother sold 
 the farm a year later, and moved to Green 
 Bay, living with Mrs. Oliver Crumb two 
 years, and thence going to Oconto, where 
 she made her home with her son, Al- 
 pheus, about three years. She then re- 
 turned with her son to Chicago, and died 
 there in i S6o. After his mother's death, 
 our subject returned to Oconto, and 
 worked in sawmills, etc. , about two years, 
 when he came to Pittsfield and purchased 
 fortv acres of timber land, on which he 
 had to clear a space large enough to per- 
 mit the eretion of a log cabin about 1 2 x 1 8 
 feet in dimensions, in which he lived alone 
 for about a year. On January 27, 1863, 
 he married Miss Mary Jane Tripp, daugh- 
 ter of Robert and Sarah (^ Ledger) Tripp, 
 who had a family of nine children, viz. : 
 Alvira, Sarah .-Vnn, Mary Jane, Willard 
 B.. .-Vnna. Emeline. James \V.. Ellen .\. 
 and Harriet M.. of whom seven are still 
 living. The father, who was a carpenter, 
 came from New York to Wisconsin in 
 1855. first taking up a piece of land in 
 Suamico township, where he remained 
 one year; was then taken sick, sold out 
 and bought forty acres in Pittsfield: on this 
 he lived six years, sold again, went to 
 Fond du Lac county, remained there a 
 year, then came back to Pittsfield and 
 bought another piece of land, on which 
 he resided fifteen years, and finally moved 
 to Stephenson. ^Iich., where he and his 
 family still reside. 
 
 After his marriage Mr. Lawrence set 
 himself steadily to work at clearing up 
 his land, enduring every hardship of pio- 
 neer life, but adding to its comforts ever\' 
 year, until, at the end of five years, he be- 
 came the proud possessor of a team. He 
 had had, however, a small pony, and when 
 he was in need of provisions he would 
 fell a pine tree, shave it into shingles, and 
 set off for Green Bay to make his pur- 
 chases with the proceeds, the round trip 
 requiring two days, as the roads were 
 
 bad. When he had cleared sufficient 
 ground, potatoes and corn were the first 
 crop planted among the stumps, and the 
 first wheat was sown by Francis Ledger, 
 Mrs. Lawrence's grandfather, who was 
 ninety-nine years old at this time. Mr. 
 Lawrence prospered with his toil, until 
 to-day he owns 120 acres of well-im- 
 proved land. To Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence 
 have been born three children: James 
 Mortimer, born January 31, 1864: Charles 
 Lee, born February 14. 1866; and Emine- 
 line, born October 7. 1880: Annie, an 
 adopted daughter, born January i, 1873, 
 has lived with them all her life. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Lawrence are Seventh-Day Advent- 
 ists: politically he is a Republican, which 
 fact, however, is only made manifest by 
 his punctual atendance at the polls. [Since 
 the above was written Mr. I^awrence 
 passed from earth, and a notice of his 
 death, given at the time, is as follows: 
 " n. S. Lawrence, of the town of Pitts- 
 licld, died shortly after midnight. Decem- 
 ber 10, 1894. Through his death Brown 
 county loses a man of sterling character, 
 much perseverance and loyalty to his 
 friends and country. He was one of the 
 few remaining pioneers, and will be missed 
 by a large circle of friends."' 
 
 Ri:\'. WILLIAM ROWBOTHAM. 
 of West De Pere, Brown county, 
 is a native of the city of Sheffield, 
 England, and was born November 
 10, 1 8 19, a son of Amos and Lucy 
 (Hutchinson) Rowbotham. The former 
 was a cutler by trade, and when the son 
 William was nine months old, moved t» 
 the village of Horncastle, Lincolnshire, 
 where he followed his trade, also keeping 
 a store for the sale of cutlery, and here 
 both he and his wife passed the remainder 
 of their lives. 
 
 At the age of twelve our subject was 
 apprenticed for six years to a tailor in 
 Horncastle. and. after serving his appren- 
 ticeship, worked for some years as a jour- 
 nevman; then, for two years, was engaged 
 
UOMMEMOllATTVE BIOGRAPIUCAL RECORD. 
 
 321 
 
 on his own account as a merchant tailor 
 at Wrangle, in the same county. On 
 April 15, 1 84 1, he married, at Boston, 
 Lincolnshire, Mary Aisthorpe, and in 
 T844 came t'o America, his family then 
 consisting of his wife and two children — 
 Amos and Naomi. Landing at New 
 York City, he there worked at his trade 
 nine months, and then, in July, 1845, 
 moved to Milwaukee, Wis., where, after 
 working as a journeyman for a while, he 
 establishetl a merchant tailor's store op- 
 posite the present site of the ' ' Plankinton 
 House,'' in which business he continued 
 ten years. In the fall of 1855 he moved 
 to Green Bay, whore for ten years he 
 conducted a clothing house, and then, for 
 nine years — 1865 to 1874 — was overseer 
 of the I>rown County Poor House; ne.xt 
 he occupied the adjoining farm for sev- 
 eral years. 
 
 Mr. Ivowhiitluun began his ministerial 
 labors when but eighteen years of age, 
 having been then licensed as a local 
 preacher in the Wesleyan Methodist 
 Church at Horncastle, England, where 
 he was in constant service until his coming 
 to .America; he was ordained a deacon 
 at Kenosha, Wis. (then Southport), in 
 1848, by Bishop Morris, and as an 
 elder by Bishop Wiley, at the Division 
 Street M. E. Chinch, Eond du Lac, 
 October i, i88j. He had served the M. 
 E. Church at Sturgeon Bay during the 
 year 18S0, and in the years 1882 and 
 1883 served at West Pensaukee ; then 
 three years at Seymour, four years at 
 Amherst, and was retired in 1890. The 
 first wife of Rev. Rowbotham died at 
 Amherst April 28, 1888, having borne 
 him three children after arriving in Amer- 
 ica, viz. : Lucy Jane, Mary Sojihia, and 
 Martha Elizabeth. I lis second marriage 
 took place December 31, 1889, to Mrs. 
 Martha Phelps, widow of Henry Phel]is, 
 of De Pore, and since 1890 Mr. and Mrs. 
 Rowbotham have resided in West De- 
 Pere, highly honored and beloved by all 
 all who know them. [Since the aliovc 
 was written we have received information 
 
 of the death of Rev. l-iowbotham late in 
 the fall of 1894. — Eu.] 
 
 Henry Phelps, the deceased husband 
 of the present Mrs. Ivowbotham, was a 
 native of Jefferson county, N. Y. On 
 January 1, 1844, he married Martha S. 
 Wright (now Mrs. Rowbotham) at the 
 town of Henderst)n, in his native county. 
 This lady was born February 15, 1824, in 
 Herkimer county, N. Y. , a daughter of 
 Eli and Nancy (Kellogg) Wright, but was 
 reared by an uncle, Peter N. Cushman, 
 from the age of four years to fifteen, and 
 first came to Waukesha, Wis., in 1838, 
 where Mr. Cushman ended his days. 
 When Mr. Cushman settled in W.aukesha 
 there were only three buildings in the 
 place, but he purchased 600 acres one 
 mile south of the village, and li\ed to see 
 the village become a populous town. 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Phelps 
 located in iMiKvaukee, where Mr. Phelps 
 worked at his trade of ship-carpenter, and 
 later at Janesville, but permanently set- 
 tled in De Pere in 1855, where, for about 
 fourteen years he lived on his farm of 
 ninety-six acres, but still followed his 
 trade of carpenter and joiner until his 
 death, which occurred in De Pere Octo- 
 ber II, 1888. He left no children. Mrs. 
 Rowbotham has been a member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church since 1850, 
 but in youth had been reared within the 
 pale of the Congregational denomina- 
 tion. 
 
 Dl'T^ATLEY, who is one of the most 
 obliging liverymen in Green Bay, 
 was born in County Sligo, Ireland, 
 in 1836, a son of Patrick and 
 Catherine (Fliim) FlatU'y, both of whom 
 died in Irelaiul, leaving fi\e cliildren: 
 Mary, D. (our subject), Amia, I'^llen and 
 Sarah. Of these Mary was the first to 
 come to America, and about tlu' year 
 1849 was followed by our siibjeit, who 
 landed in Quebec, being tluii thirteen 
 years of age. 
 
 After some e.\]>cricnce as a coachman 
 
3" 
 
 ' O.HMhWOIiATlVi: niUGliAPUICAL liECORD. 
 
 he reached Green Hay in 1S55, iiuil for 
 six years was oniplnyoii at linnberiiii; for 
 J. Ingalls; was next an assistant engineer 
 for a year at Fort Howard; then clerked 
 for two years for a half-brother, and was 
 next street superintendent for two years 
 under Mayor Klaus of Green Bay. In 
 1869 he went into partnership in the liv- 
 ery business with Don Harrison, on Pine 
 street. Green Bay, but bought out his 
 partner's interest a year later. He met 
 with much success, and about the year 
 1 884 built his present connnodious barns, 
 where fourteen horses are stabled, for the 
 acconnnodation of his prosperous trade. 
 In 1862 Mr. Flatley was married to 
 Miss Anna Kedmon, daughter of Edward 
 Redmon, and to this union were born five 
 children: Edward, Catherine, E. W., 
 George, and Idah (now Mrs. HemnitzV 
 Mrs. Elatley was called to her last resting 
 place July 4, 1884, dying in the Roman 
 Catholic faith. Mr. Elatley is a devout 
 Catholic, and is a member of the Order 
 of Catholic Knights of Wisconsin. He 
 is fair ami square in all his business trans- 
 actions, and has won for himself a repu- 
 tation of which any man might well fi. 1 
 proud. 
 
 ANnKl"\V .\. 1-.1SEXM.\N, a pros- 
 perous young citi/en of Bellevue 
 township, Brown county, is a son 
 of John and .Xpollonia ^Barth) 
 Eisenman, early settlers of that county. 
 They had ten children who grew to ma- 
 turity — fiHir sons and six ilaughters — of 
 whom Andrew A. , the second son. was 
 born in Eaton township. Brown county, 
 November 1 1, 1S67. 
 
 He received a good common-school 
 training in the district schools of the home 
 neighborhooil, and inteiuled to finish iiis 
 education in a college, but he was obliged 
 to abandon study on accomit of failing 
 eyesight. He was reared to farming pur- 
 suits, and, his father dying March i, iS8j, 
 he remained on the liome farm until his 
 marriage, assisting his widowed mother. 
 
 except for one winter, which he spent in 
 the lumber regions of northern W'iscon- 
 sin. For three years he and his brother 
 John also operated a steam threshing 
 machine. Mr. Eisenman was married. 
 October 18, 188S, in Green Bay, to Miss 
 Annie Peterson, who was born in New 
 Denmark township. Brown county, daugh- 
 ter of Erasmus Peterson, who came to 
 the United States from Denmark. For 
 a short time the young couple lived on 
 the Eisenman homestead, and then for a 
 year made their home in Pine Grove, 
 where he had purchased a saloon busi- 
 ness. He then purchased his present 
 place in Lot 16, Bellevue township, and 
 here they have resided since May i, 1891, 
 Mr. Eisenman conducting a saloon busi- 
 ness. In his political preferences he is a 
 Republican, and now serves as treasurer 
 of School District No. 2. In religious 
 connection he and his wife are members 
 of the Lutheran Church at Pine Grove. 
 They have one child, Henrietta, born No- 
 vember 18, 1892. 
 
 JOHN C. EISENMAN. a prosperous 
 farmer of De Pere township. Brown 
 county, where he is well known and 
 highly respected as an honest, up- 
 right citizen, is a member of one of the early 
 pioneer families of the section. He was 
 born September 11. 1855. in Eaton 
 township. Brown county, eldest in the 
 family of John and Apollonia (Barth) 
 Eisenman. 
 
 Our subject received his education in 
 the common district schools of the period, 
 proving an apt scholar; but work being 
 plentiful on tlie farm, and he being the 
 eldest son, there was but little time to give 
 to his literary training. The home farm 
 was not yet cleared, and he spent many 
 days in the woods, faithfully assisting in 
 the arduous task of transforming the forest- 
 covered land to a fertile farm, and re- 
 ceiving a thorough training to pioneer farm 
 life. On October 23, 1S79, he was mar- 
 ried in Green Bav to Miss Caroline Schoen, 
 
COMMKMOUA TIVI-: 1! K K i I; Aril ICA I, HEfintl). 
 
 323 
 
 who was born in Miiiiibnldt tnwnshi|), 
 Brown rounty, daiif^lilcr n| iMcdcnck 
 Schoon, a native dl (iL-rniany, and an 
 early settler of I lunilmldt townslnp. Alter 
 his niarria^'c Mr. Kiscninan canie to the 
 farm he yet owns and resides n|ion. in 
 Section 25, I)e Pere, imt li\c acres of 
 which were at that time clearc-d, the re- 
 mainder heiiifj still in its i)rimiti\'e state, 
 and contained no ini]irove'meiits of any- 
 kind, and hc' bnilt the first house on the 
 place. l^>ut he set to work coiiraf;;eously, 
 and by incliistry and jierseverinf,' toil has 
 cultivated and developed the farm, until at 
 present hc has a jiroductive fertile tract, 
 com])risinf( ninety brtjad acres. In arl- 
 dition to f^eneral agriculture, he has, fm- 
 the past ei>.;hteen years, been en;,'af.,'e(l in 
 threshin.L;', in the |>uisuit n| which occu- 
 pation he has become unusually well ac- 
 quainted thr()u;.;l)out the county. Mr. ICisen- 
 nian has been a life-lonf,' residcuit of his sec- 
 tion of the county, and has always done 
 everything;' in his powei' to eiicoiu'aj^e and 
 promote the a<lvancement and improve- 
 ment of same', and, beinj; nnudi esti'emed 
 for his sterlinj.; worth, he wields consider- 
 able' itdluence for f^ood. in |iolitics he 
 was formerly a Republican, but of late 
 years he has identilied himself with no 
 party, preferrinf; to vote accordinj.,' to the 
 fitness of the candidate and the dictates 
 of his own conscience; he is not an aspir- 
 ant to office; but has served his town- 
 ship as path master and clerk of the 
 school board. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. ICisemnan have had born 
 to tlx'in children as follows: I.ouis, 
 Arthur, ICdward, John, jr., Fred, Georf^'i', 
 and Charles, all li\in^. Tlu' family are 
 all members of the Lutheran Church at 
 Pine Grove. 
 
 Ri:V. MATTHEW 1',()nc;i:ks, 
 rector of the Church of the Holy 
 Martyrs of Gorcum, in Preble 
 township, Hrown county, is a na- 
 tive of Holland, born December 27, 1S32, 
 at Arnhem, in the Province of Gclderland. 
 
 His classical studies and his philo- 
 so|)hical courses were (onipleted under the 
 Jesuit I''athers at the seminary in Ciden- 
 buri;, and he stiidii'd theology at the 
 seminary of the Archdiocese of llticcht. 
 In May, iS6i, he .aeeoinpanied IJishoj) 
 Kistemakir to the West Indus, and was 
 ordained to the ])riesllioo(l |uMe _'5, s.amt: 
 }'ear, at St. |ose|)h's Church, Cinaccja, 
 by the above-uameil bisho|i. lie was 
 a])])ointed the bishop's secretary, also had 
 charj.(e of the Sisters of Charity, and at- 
 tc'uded the lepers foi' one year. Afler- 
 waid he labored earnestly as a missionary 
 in SIX different islands belonj.;inf( to the 
 Nelherlaiuls until 1^X5, when, on acctjunt 
 of failinj.; health, he was compidled to 
 leave the tropics for a cooK-r and more 
 couf^eiiial cHmate. Accordin).,dv he came 
 to Americ ,1, ostensii)ly to \'isit his sister, 
 Mrs. A. I., de P'rance, Oconto, Wis., ar- 
 riviiif,' there June 5. On September I, 
 same ye;ir, owinj; to the ill liialth of I\(,'v. 
 I'"allu'r Brown, our siibjeit was a|)pointed 
 assistant to the laltei- at St. Patrick's 
 Chinch, Port Howard, I>rown Co., Wis., 
 and in December followin^'^ tlu" deatli of 
 blather l.rown, he received the a]ipoint- 
 ment of rectfjr of the same church. In 
 October, i<S86, lie was removed to Green 
 Hay, Wis., to lake chart,'e of St. Willi- 
 brord's ChiU(di, with which con^rre);ation 
 he continued three years and three 
 months — (luring which time he procured 
 ;» free school for 200 children- and on 
 February 6, 1.S90, hc' assume<l his present 
 charge. 
 
 He had much experience during his 
 twenty-four years of missionary lifi', and 
 found some time for literary work as well. 
 He published a work on the education of 
 children (entitled "Virtue and Duty of 
 Parents"), in the West Indies language 
 f " Pajiiamcntoe"). He was the first in 
 the Diocese of Green Hay to establish the 
 free-school system, and he is known as 
 an able speaker. 
 
 During the thirty-three years of his 
 priesthood P'ather Hongers has, by his 
 tireless industry, zeal and devotion to his 
 
324 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 work, won the love and respect of all 
 with whom he has come in contact, and 
 he still receives a pension from the Hol- 
 land Government, in recognition of the 
 good work done by hini in tlie cause of 
 the Church. 
 
 AHREND S. BUCKMANN (de- 
 ceased), who. during his lifetime, 
 ranked with the most prosperous 
 and influential farmers of New 
 Denmark township, Brown county, was a 
 native of Oldenburg, Germany, born Oc- 
 tober 5, 1816. 
 
 Mr. Buckniann was married in Ger- 
 many, October 17, 1843, to Miss Henri- 
 etta Bartels, who was born there July 22, 
 18 13, daughter of Uiedrich and Matie 
 (Maiborn) Bartels, the former of whom 
 was a saloonkeeper, and whose family 
 consisted of five children, namely: Jo- 
 hanna, Matic, Herman, Henrietta (who 
 remained at home until her marriage), and 
 Margaret. Mr. Buckmann carried on a 
 saloon, and was also engaged in farming, 
 on rented land, continuing thus until 
 i860, when he came to America with his 
 wife and family of four children, all of 
 whom were born in Germany, their names 
 and dates of birth being as follows: 
 Catherine, June 28, 1844; Diedrich, De- 
 cember 13, 1846; Metta, March 2, 1853; 
 H. F. , March 24, 1855; (one son Henry, 
 born November 10, 1850, died in Ger- 
 many when one year old). They em- 
 barked at Bremen and landed at Balti- 
 more, Md., thence coming direct to New 
 Denmark township, Brown Co., Wis., 
 where Mr. Buckmann purchased eighty 
 acres of partly improved land, whereon 
 stood a log house, in which the family 
 lived for eleven years, when it was re- 
 placed by the beautiful frame dwelling in 
 which they now reside. Mr. Buckmann 
 was one of the most industrious of men, 
 and, by giving his undivided attention to 
 his business interests, increased the area 
 of his farm to 240 acres, all of which he 
 improved and brought to a high state of 
 
 cultivation. He also took great interest 
 in the welfare and advancement of his 
 township, and filled several positions of 
 trust, serving as supervisor (five years), 
 pathmaster, and for twenty-seven con- 
 secutive years as school-treasurer, winning 
 for himself an enviable position among 
 his fellowmen for his integrity and ster- 
 ling worth. On October 17, 1893, he and 
 his wife celebrated the golden anniversary 
 of their wedding, and three weeks later, 
 on November 6, he passed from earth, 
 aged seventy-seven years; his remains 
 now rest in New Denmark cemetery. 
 Since his decease his widow has continued 
 to reside on the farm, making her home 
 with her son H. F., who now owns the 
 place and successfully carries on the agri- 
 cultural work. 
 
 H. F. BUCKMANN was five years 
 old when he came with his parents to 
 America, and received his education in 
 the common district schools of New Den- 
 mark township. On May 25, 1881, he 
 was united in marriage with Miss Adeline 
 Lange, daughter of Herman and Anna 
 (Meyer) Lange, and they immediately 
 took up their residence with his parents 
 on the farm. I^ike his father before him, 
 Mr. Buckmann is a stanch member of the 
 Democratic party. 
 
 Ct)RNELIUS DOUGHERTY. 
 Prominent among the early set- 
 tlers and leading progressive citi- 
 zens of Brown county is found 
 this gentleman, who is a native of the 
 Emerald Isle, born about 1825 near the 
 town of Killarney, County Kerry, son of 
 James Dougherty, who was a weaver by 
 occupation. The mother of our subject, 
 who was a Sullivan, died when he was 
 eighteen months old, leaving a family of 
 five children — four sons and one daughter 
 — of whom Cornelius is the youngest. 
 
 Our subject was reared by the older 
 members of the family, and, during his 
 youth, received a common-school edu- 
 cation. In April, 1847, having received 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGIiAPUICAL liECOIlD. 
 
 3-5 
 
 money from his brother Daniel, who had 
 immigrated the year previous, he con- 
 cluded to come to America, and, bidding 
 the home of his boyhood farewell, he 
 proceeded from Cork to Liverpool, from 
 which port he set sail April 15, and, on 
 May 15, arrived in Boston, where he was 
 obliged to remain in quarantine five days. 
 A few days later his brother sent him 
 money to come to Chicopee, Mass., and 
 here he obtained employment as clerk for 
 a large merchant, John Haley, with whom 
 he remained two years. He then went 
 to Brookfield, Mass., where he learned 
 the trade of shoemaker, but, tiring of 
 that, removed to Holyoke, and later to 
 Springfield. In the latter city he was 
 united in marriage, in 1854, with Miss 
 Ellen Wrin, also a native of County 
 Kerry, Ireland, and, shortly afterward, 
 they set out for Wisconsin, coming to 
 Green Bay on the "Old Michigan." On 
 their arrival in that city they had but 
 twenty-five cents, so they walked from 
 Green Bay to De Pere, and thence to Glen- 
 more township, Brown county, where she 
 remained at the home of his brother 
 Daniel. Mr. Dougherty found work on 
 the Kaukauna canal, then in course of 
 construction, and, being strong and active, 
 he made a good workman. 
 
 Mr. Dougherty finally managed to save 
 thirty dollars from his hard-earned wages, 
 which he invested in forty acres of 
 land in Section 22, Glenmore town- 
 ship, locating thereon about 1856, and 
 here he has ever since resided. The 
 land was entirely new, the trees being 
 so thick they had to clear a space for 
 a cabin, and he was the first one to 
 do any clearing on the tract. Having 
 but few implements, the work at first 
 progressed slowly, but he persevered, 
 and soon the place began to assume a 
 cultivated appearance. For a long time, 
 however, the wolves played sad havoc with 
 his stock, and he well remembers one 
 night when these animals attacked a large 
 steer, the only one he had. The noise 
 drew him to the scene, and he succeeded 
 
 in frightening the wolves away, but the 
 animal died. However, the wild beasts 
 were gradually driven out, and, with the 
 influ.x of civilization, the forests gradually 
 gave way to beautiful, well-kept farms. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Dougherty were born 
 children as follows: James, now a resi- 
 dent of Ortonville, Minn. ; John, a 
 farmer, who is postmaster at Glenmore; 
 Mary, Mrs. Michael J. Clark, of Wau- 
 saukee, Wis.; Catherine, wife of Robert 
 Wilson, a barber, of Crystal Falls, Mich. ; 
 Josephine, Mrs. Mathias Matzke, of Glen- 
 more; and three children that died young. 
 The mother of these passed from earth 
 in May, 1867, and was buried in the 
 Catholic cemetery at De Pere. In Feb- 
 ruary, 1868, Mr. Dougherty wedded, for 
 his second spouse, Mrs. Julia Murphy 
 (widow of Daniel Murphy), lu'c Donohue, 
 who was also a native of Count}- Kerry, 
 Ireland, where Mr. Dougherty knew her 
 before his emigration. 
 
 Since his settlement in Glenmore town- 
 ship our subject has continued to follow 
 agriculture, and at one time had 120 
 acres under cultivation. He has given 
 each of his sons eighty acres, having 
 bought eighty acres more in Section 7, 
 Glenmore township, which he had deeded 
 to his son James. All his property has 
 been accumulated by years of toil and 
 persevering industry, and too much credit 
 can not be given to these old settlers for 
 the part they have taken in the develop- 
 ment of the countrs'. In his dealings 
 with his fellow men he has been straight- 
 forward and honest, and he is respected 
 by all who know him for his integrity and 
 upright bearing. Though now nearly 
 seventy years of age, he is still active and 
 well-preserved, and few men in the vicin- 
 ity are better or more favorably known 
 than "Con Dougherty, " as he is famil- 
 iarly called. He is foremost in every 
 movement of benefit and interest to his 
 community, and has been selected to fill 
 numerous offices of trust, serving for 
 thirty-two years as chairman of Glen- 
 more township, was township superin- 
 
326 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tendent of schools, and for years a justice 
 of the peace. PoHtically he has always 
 been a Democrat and a leader of the 
 party in his section. In religious con- 
 nection he and his wife are members of 
 St. Mary's Church, (ileniiiorc, in which 
 he served as trustee five or si.x years, and 
 also as treasurer. 
 
 On October 4, i S64, Mr. Dougherty 
 enlisted at Green Ha\', Wis., in the 
 Twenty-second Wis. V. I., and served as 
 clerk for Col. Chapman at Camp Randall. 
 He was honorably discharged May 18, 
 1865, and returned at once to Glenmore. 
 
 J (MIX l]ROIi:REN, one of the repre- 
 sentative well-to-do farmer citizens 
 and mechanics of Holland township, 
 Brown county, deserves, because of 
 the lessons presented in his busy life, more 
 than a passing notice in the pages of this 
 volume. He is a native of Holland, born 
 March 16, 1828, youngest in the family 
 of eight children — four sons and four 
 daughters — born to Peter Broeren, who 
 was by occupation a farmer and maker of 
 straw thatching. 
 
 Our subject was reared on his father's 
 farm, receiving in his boyhood a meager 
 education at the schools of the neighbor- 
 hood of his home. He also learned the 
 trades of wooden shoe and thatch making, 
 which, in company with his brother 
 Mathias, he followed after the death of 
 their father, and in this way was enabled 
 to make a few dollars over and above what 
 he required for living expenses, for he was 
 always industrious and frugal. In 1856, 
 then twenty-eight years old, being de- 
 sirous of bettering fiimself, and casting 
 longing eyes in the direction of the West- 
 ern World, whither many of his country- 
 men had already betaken themselves, he 
 decided to emigrate and try his fortune 
 under new skies, where homes are cheaper 
 and wages higher. At Rotterdam he 
 boarded the American ship "South Caro- 
 lina," bound for New York, which port 
 she reached after a somewhat lengthy 
 
 passage of fifty-seven days, during w hich 
 he suffered much from sea-sickness. From 
 New York he came directly to Chicago, 
 and in some part of Illinois he found work, 
 cutting grass on tfie prairie. While so 
 engaged he attended church regularly each 
 Sunday, the nearest Catholic one being 
 seven miles distant. In the fall of the 
 same year he came to Green Bay by boat 
 from Chicago, and being a natural me- 
 chanic, and having with him his tools used 
 in making wooden shoes, he found some 
 carpenter work to do until winter, receiv- 
 ing in wages about ten dollars per month. 
 One day, meeting some farmers from 
 Calumet county, he was induced by them 
 to return with them to their part of the 
 State, in order that he might there 
 make wooden shoes for the country peo- 
 ple; and at this sort of employment he 
 was engaged all winter. The following 
 spring (1857) he again came to Green 
 Bay, where, for the three following years, 
 he worked at carpentry. In the fall of 
 i860, trade in his line being dull, and 
 having saved a few dollars, he thought it 
 would be a good opportunity to revisit his 
 native land; so, in company with three 
 other Hollanders, he set out on the journey 
 via New York, where the party took 
 steamer for Southampton, landing there 
 in thirteen days from time of sailing. 
 From that port they proceeded by rail to 
 London, thence down the Thames and 
 across the North Sea to Rotterdam, Hol- 
 land, and from there our subject soon 
 reached his old home and friends. In the 
 following spring he returned to the United 
 States by steamer, via Rotterdam and 
 New York, thence by rail to Chicago and 
 Appleton, at which latter point (the rail- 
 road terminating there at that time) he 
 took boat down the Fox river to Green 
 Bay, where, after a few weeks rest, he re- 
 commenced carpentry work with his old 
 employer. Soon after coming to Green 
 Bay Mr. Broeren built himself a small 
 boat — sixteen feet in length, with a wheel 
 paddle. in the rear — the craft, which was 
 propelletl by a crank turned by hand, being 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGHAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 329 
 
 quite a curiosity at the time and attracting 
 much attention. He passed many pleas- 
 ant hours with it on the waters of Green 
 Bay, and a perfect model of the boat — 
 wheel-paddle and all — now surmounts 
 his barn. 
 
 On February 17, 1862, Mr. Broeren 
 was united in marria.i;"e, at Little Chute, 
 Wis., with Mrs. Hannah Goerkes, {in'c 
 Siemons), widow of John Goerkes, who 
 was drowned in the canal lock at Kau- 
 kauna, where he was lock-keeper at the 
 time. She is a native of Prussia, born 
 September 16, 1.S34, a daughter of Rine- 
 hart Siemens, a Hollander, who came to 
 the United States in 1848, and was one of 
 those who first settled Holland township, 
 Brown county, in that year. After mar- 
 riage Mr. Broeren continued to work in 
 Appleton at carpentry and pattern-making 
 until the spring of 1S65, when, in com- 
 pany with Cornelius Gerrits, having pur- 
 chased of Hoel S. \\'right, of Wrights- 
 town, a farm of fort}' acres, with a water- 
 power sawmill thereon, he moved thither 
 with his family. Soon afterward he 
 bought out his partner's interest, and in 
 about two years converted the water- 
 power of the sawmill into steam-power. 
 To these forty acres he subsequently added 
 forty more, and in Woodville township, 
 Calmuet county, he also purchased land, 
 now owning in all 140 acres. When he 
 first came to his farm it was completely 
 covered with timber and underbrush, but, 
 by indefatigable industry, heroic work, 
 and tireless energy, he has made the 
 quondam howling wilderness to blossom 
 as the rose. In connection with agricul- 
 ture, he has continued to conduct the 
 sawmill, to which he has added a plan- 
 ing-mill. 
 
 Mr. Broeren, in his political prefer- 
 ences, is a stanch Democrat, and served 
 his township as supervisor one year; he 
 and his wife are members of St. Francis 
 Catholic Church, and are held in the highest 
 esteem in the community. Their chil- 
 dren, eight in number, were: Peter, in 
 California; George, a farmer in Holland 
 
 township, Brown county; Francis W., 
 who died December 10, 1869; Anna M., 
 organist of St. Francis Church; Cecilia 
 B., at home; Theodore, in Portland, Ore. ; 
 and Wilhelmina and William, both at 
 home. By her first husband Mrs. Broe- 
 ren had three children — Henry, John and 
 Mary — of whom the last named married 
 Martin Vandezagt, and died leaving no 
 children. Henry went to the Pacific coast 
 in 1882, soon afterward making a trip to 
 Australia; Init, not liking the country, he 
 returned after a short stay, after which 
 time his home was, for the most part, in 
 Tulare county, Cal., until 1893. when he 
 removed to Alaska, and is now engaged 
 in mining along the Yukon river. John 
 went to the Pacific coast four years later 
 than Henry, and in the spring of i 894 also 
 went to Alaska, where he is now engaged 
 in mining with his brother. After Henry's 
 arrival in that country it was six months 
 before he reached the mines, being de- 
 tained on account of the snov\'. The 
 brothers are both practical mechanics, 
 with the ability to turn their hands to 
 almost any kind of work, a fact which 
 accounts in a great measure for their suc- 
 cess in all their undertakings. 
 
 Gifted, as he is, with more than aver- 
 age natural ability and intellect, yet de- 
 nied in his boyhood and youth aught but 
 the most limited school advantages, there 
 is to be found in the career of Mr. Broeren 
 a potent lesson to the youth of this or any 
 other land, who, commencing life as he 
 did, an uneducated, penniless lad, is 
 striving to hew out for himself an honest 
 competence and honored name. Mr. 
 Broeren is never idle; whether in the field 
 among his crops, in his mills listening to the 
 hum of the machinery, or by his domestic 
 fireside in the bosom of his family, his 
 hand and mind are ever employed — his 
 hand in labor, his mind in perusing Eng- 
 lish literature or the current events of the 
 day; and now his homestead is spoken of 
 by the newspapers of Outagamie and 
 Brown counties as the "model farm of 
 Holland township." 
 
33° 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 THOMAS DUFFY, one of the pros- 
 perous farmers • and representa- 
 tive citizens of Holland township, 
 Brown county, is a native of Berk- 
 shire county, Mass., born July 28, 1852, 
 son of James and Margaret (Martinj Duffy. 
 James Duffy was born in County Mon- 
 aghan, Ireland, where he learned the 
 trade of weaver, and when a young man 
 came to the United States, first locating 
 in Massachusetts. He was married in 
 that State, for his second wife, to Miss 
 Margaret Martin, a native of County Gal- 
 way, Ireland, and they remained there 
 until 1858, Mr. Duffy working in the 
 paper mills. Mr. Duffy had several chil- 
 dren by his first marriage, and in 1858, 
 with his entire family, which then con- 
 sisted of ten children, he came to Wis- 
 consin, land being cheap in that then new 
 country. They located in Brown county, 
 purchasing forty acres in Section 27, Hol- 
 land township, the tract having no im- 
 provements whatever except a small log 
 house, in which the family made their 
 home. The task of clearing was a great 
 one, for, having no improved machinery — 
 an a.xe and a hoe being almost the only 
 implements used — it took many years of 
 toil to make the land tillable. He passed 
 through all the vicissitudes of pioneer life, 
 and lived to see his farm converted from 
 the woods into a fertile tract. In later 
 years he purchased another forty acres. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Duffy spent the remainder 
 of their days on the farm where they first 
 located, he passing away in July, 1887, 
 and his wife following him to the grave 
 in September, same year; their remains 
 now rest in Holland cemetery. They 
 were devout members of the Catholic 
 Church, and were everywhere respected. 
 In politics Mr. Duffy was a stanch mem- 
 ber of the Democratic party, and served 
 creditably in several positions of trust; 
 in 1863-64, and again in 1S74, he served 
 as township treasurer, and he also held 
 offices in his school district. 
 
 Thomas Duffy was the third son of 
 James and Margaret (Martin) DufTy. 
 
 When six years old he came with his par- 
 ents to Wisconsin, and. having ne\er at- 
 tended school up to that time, he received 
 all his educational training in the district 
 schools of Holland township, his first 
 teachers being Martin Finnerty and 
 Michael Vandenberg. But in those early 
 days the schools were far from thorough, 
 and the education acquired, even when 
 attending regularly, was somewhat limited. 
 But work at home was the first con- 
 sideration, and he received a thorough 
 training to agriculture under his father 
 on the home farm, which he now resides 
 upon. On November 23, 1880, he was 
 united in marriage, in East Holland, to 
 Miss Ellen Clancey, who was born in 
 Holland township, February 17, i860, a 
 daughter of William Clancey, who came 
 from County Limerick, Ireland. The 
 young couple took up their residence on 
 the homestead which he now owns, as 
 well as eighty acres across the road, and 
 here he has always resided, excepting for 
 a few months when he lived in Kaukauna. 
 To this union children have been born as 
 follows: John, August 17, 1 881; Maggie 
 Ellen, June 16, 1883; Mamie A., Septem- 
 ber 6, 1884; James, October 8, 1886; 
 Willie, June 19, 1889; Jennie Elizabeth, 
 July 22, 1891; and Florence L. , July 
 19, 1893. 
 
 Mr. Duffy is a progressive, go-ahead 
 farmer, and has, to a great degree, been 
 the architect of his own fortune, for, being 
 one of a large family, he had to do for 
 himself. He is very jiopular in his locality, 
 where he has many friends and is well 
 known. In political connection he is a 
 Democrat, and one of the local leaders 
 of the party, being stanch in the support 
 of its principles. He has served as treas- 
 urer of his township for a longer term 
 than any other one man, having held the 
 office continuously since 1881, with the 
 exception of a year, discharging the duties 
 of his position in a highly satisfactory 
 manner. In religious connection he and 
 his family are members of St. Francis 
 Church, of Holland. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGBAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 33' 
 
 JOSEPH LEITERMANN, a success- 
 ful farmer of Gleninore township, 
 Brown county, was born February 
 28, 1847, in Bohemia. Austria, son 
 of Peter Leitermann, a farmer. The latter 
 had nine children — four sons and five 
 daughters — Joseph being the eighth in the 
 order of birth and the third son. 
 
 When si.\ years old our subject com- 
 menced to attend school, continuing until 
 he reached the age of twelve or thirteen 
 years. He then began the trade of 
 wagon-maker, following that about eight 
 years, or until the spring of 1867, when 
 he concluded to emigrate and seek his 
 fortune in America. His father gave 
 him money to pay the expenses of the 
 journey, and, sailing from Bremen he 
 landed in New York after a voyage of 
 nineteen days, immediately after arrival 
 proceeding to Manitowoc, Wis. Having 
 found work near that city as a farmhand, 
 he resided there a year and a half, when 
 he came to Brown county, and purchased 
 forty acres in Section 25, Glenmore town- 
 ship, going in debt for same. The only 
 improvement on this place was a log 
 shanty, which stood five or six rods 
 southeast of his present residence, and 
 the land was entirely new. In Novem- 
 ber, 1869, Mr. Leitermann was married, 
 in Glenmore, to Miss Mary Hebel, also a 
 native of Austria, who was born May 10, 
 1844, daughter of Mathias Hebel, and 
 the young couple at once commenced 
 housekeeping in the log house above 
 mentioned, where they made their home 
 until the erection of their present com- 
 fertable dwelling. Here their children 
 were all born, as follows: Barbara, born 
 December 20, 1870, now Mrs. Xavier 
 Rank, of Ivewaunee county. Wis. ; Peter 
 J., born April 6, 1873; Joseph, born 
 April 7, 1874; Mary, l)orn July 19, 1875; 
 John, born October 8, 1876; Annie, born 
 February 4, 1879; Louis, born June 4, 
 1884, all residing at home; and one that 
 died in infancy unnamed. 
 
 It required many years of stern toil 
 to clear and improve the farm, and Mr. 
 
 Leitermann not only did that, but from 
 time to time added to his original pur- 
 chase, and now has a fine farm of 120 
 acres, thoroughly equipped with substan- 
 tial outbuildings. His family have as- 
 sisted him greatly with the general farm 
 work, and he has also been a hard worker, 
 by good management and systematic meth- 
 ods making a success of his life work. In 
 connection with general farming he is also 
 engaged in stock-raising to some extent. 
 He has been a Democrat in politics, but 
 not an active party man, preferring to 
 give all his time to his farm. In religion 
 he and his family are members of St. 
 Mary's Catholic Church, at Gleninore, 
 and they are highly respected throughout 
 their community. 
 
 M 
 
 ATHEW RIPP, an industrious 
 young farmer of Green Bay 
 township. Brown county, is a 
 son of Peter and Christina (Van- 
 hattenj Ripp. Christina Vanhatten was 
 born February 14, 1844, in Germany, 
 and in 1S53 came to America with her 
 parents, Peter and Elizabeth Vanhatten, 
 whose family at this time consisted of four 
 children: Christina, Elizabeth, Catherine 
 and Mary. One child, Margaret, was 
 born in America. The family landed in 
 New York after a remarkably pleasant 
 voyage of twenty-three days, and imme- 
 diately after arrival proceeded to a place 
 about thirty miles distant from Rochester, 
 N. Y., where they purchased sixty-one 
 acres of wild land, which they cultivated, 
 and made their home there for thirteen 
 years. They then migrated westward to 
 Wisconsin, and took up their residence 
 about thirty miles from Milwaukee, re- 
 maining there seven years, or until 1873, 
 when they came to Brown county, settling 
 on a farm in Green Bay township, where 
 the parents passed the remainder of their 
 lives. 
 
 In 1862 Christina Vanhatten was 
 united in marriage with Peter Ripp, and 
 their union was blessed with six children. 
 
332 
 
 COIdMEMORATIVK BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 viz. : Elizabeth, Katie, Mathevv (who 
 married Miss Blundy), Mary (Mrs. Blundy), 
 Anna, and Margaret (deceased). Mr. and 
 Mrs. Ripp came to Green Bay township 
 with the Vanhatten family in 1873, and 
 here he died about six weeks later. Mrs. 
 Ripp purchased a tract of eighty acres in 
 Green Bay township, which her son 
 Mathew has cleared and cultivated, and 
 on which they make their home; in ad- 
 dition to this place he owns and cultivates 
 a piece of land in Humboldt township. 
 Since his father's death he has been the 
 principal support of his widowed mother, 
 proving a faithful and devoted son in every 
 respect. 
 
 s 
 
 YLVEST1:K B01:HM, now living 
 retired in the township of Belle- 
 \ue, l^rown county, with whose 
 agricultural interests he has been 
 actively identified for nearly forty years, 
 is a native of Bavaria, Germany, born De- 
 cember 30, 1828. His father, George 
 Boehm, a hard-working, thrift\' farmer in 
 the Fatherland, had a family of eight 
 children — four sons and four daughters — 
 of whom our subject is the seventh in the 
 order of birth. 
 
 Sylvester Boehm attended the schools 
 of his native place, receiving a liberal 
 common-school education. When seven- 
 teen years old he commenced to learn the 
 stone-mason's trade, at which he served 
 an apprenticeship of three years, and then 
 embarked in the business for himself, his 
 earnings being all turned over to his par- 
 ents. In the spring of 1853 he proceeded 
 to Liverpool, from which port he sailed 
 for America, landing in Philadelphia after 
 a voyage of fifty days. Going at once to 
 New York he obtained employment as a 
 mechanic (his wages being fifty cents per 
 day), continuing thus but a short time, 
 however, for he went to Detroit, Mich., 
 where he worked at his trade. In 1857 
 he was married in New Baltimore, Mich., 
 to Miss Theresa Wygal, who was born 
 September 8, 1830, in Prussia, daughter 
 
 of Joseph Wygal, whocameto the United 
 States in 1854, and located near Detroit. 
 Shortly after his marriage Mr. Boehm 
 came to Green Bay, Wis. , and for one 
 summer followed his trade; then, in 1859, 
 purchased forty acres of heavily wooded 
 land in Bellevue township, going into 
 debt for same, and on this tract, in a 
 log cabin 12 .\ 12, he and his wife took up 
 their residence. He has since devoted 
 his attention exclusively to agriculture, in 
 which he has met with most encouraging 
 success, the just reward of industry and 
 thrift. On that farm he remained until 
 1892, in which year he came to his pres- 
 ent home, a pleasant farm of twenty-eight 
 acres, where he now lives a partly re- 
 tired life. He has been a self-made man, 
 for, when he landed in the United States, 
 he had a capital of only five dollars with 
 which to commence life in the New World, 
 and from this small beginning he has ac- 
 cumulated a comfortable property. He 
 and his wife are known as good, kind- 
 hearted neighbors, and their hospitality is 
 almost proverbial. They had seven chil- 
 dren: Louis, now a resident of Florida; 
 Catherine, Mrs. Frank Rinehart, of Duck 
 Creek, Wis. ; Margarette, Mrs. Ferdinand 
 Ellinger, of BellevTic township; Caroline, 
 Mrs. Frank Nachtwey, of Bellevue town- 
 ship; and three children — one son and two 
 daughters — that died j'oung. Mr. Boehm 
 is an adherent of the principles of the 
 Democratic party, but in voting he usually 
 selects the best man, regardless of politics. 
 He and his wife are members of the 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 HUGH FINNEGAN, an influential 
 farmer-citizen of Holland town- 
 ship. Brown county, is a worthy 
 representative of one of its early 
 pioneer families. 
 
 Patrick Finnegan, his father, was born 
 in 1 8 19 in County Sligo, Ireland, where 
 he married Margaret Graham, and in 
 their native country one child was born — 
 Andrew. Mr. F'innegan was a tenant 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 .5.-) 3 
 
 farmer, and, though a hard-working' man, 
 he could barely make a comfortable liv- 
 ing. In the spring of 1848 he concluded 
 to immigrate to the United States, where 
 the workingman had a chance to better 
 himself, and, gathering together what 
 capital he could — a few dollars realized 
 from the sale of his effects and a small 
 sum he had saved — he left his home, and 
 proceeded with his little family, via Dub- 
 lin, to Liverpool. Here they took pas- 
 sage on a sailing vessel bound for New 
 York City, where they landed after a 
 weary voyage occupying several weeks. 
 Their first home in the New World was 
 made at Schenectady, N. Y., where Mr. 
 Finnegan found employment as laborer 
 on the canal, and there they resided a 
 few years, or until about 1851, when, at- 
 tracted no doubt by the cheap homes of- 
 fered to early settlers, he decicled to set- 
 tle in the then new State of Wisconsin. 
 The\' took passage at Buffalo on the ' ' Old 
 Michigan," then plying on the lakes be- 
 tween that city and Green Bay, and, after 
 arriving at the latter city, came up the 
 Fox river to Kaukauna, where they re- 
 mained several years, Mr. Finnegan work- 
 ing as a laborer on the canal. He then 
 purchased 160 acres of new land in Sec- 
 tion 22, Holland township. Brown county, 
 totally unimproved, and he built the first 
 house thereon — a small log structure, 
 which stood a short distance east of the 
 present family residence. Not a stick 
 had been cut from the land, and, although 
 he set about the clearing of the farm at 
 once, it yielded no supjiort for himself and 
 his family for several years, and he con- 
 timied to work in Kaukauna during the 
 summer time. Ha\'ing but a limited sup- 
 ply of farming implements, and no im- 
 proved machinery, the work of improving 
 and cultivating progressed slowly; but he 
 persevered, keeping ever before him the 
 prospect of one day having a comfortable 
 property which he could call his own. 
 \\'ith constant care and industry his quar- 
 ter-section of land finally was converted 
 into a smiling, productive farm, to which, 
 
 in later years, he added an adjoining forty 
 acres, the whole making a fine tract. The 
 log cabin was in time supplanted by a 
 substantial farm residence, in which he 
 passed the remainder of his life, dying in 
 No\ember, 1878, and he was laid to rest 
 in Holland township. His first wife passed 
 from earth in 1S58, and was Iniried in 
 Holland township, and Mr. Finnegan 
 subsequently married Miss Ellen McBride, 
 a native of Ireland, who survives him. 
 The children born in the United States to 
 his first marriage were: Bridget, n(3W 
 Mrs. Joseph Redline, of Green Bay; Mi- 
 chael, a resident of Ingalls, Mich. ; Hugh, 
 a sketch of whorri follows, and Thomas, 
 of Menomonee, Wis. Andrew, the eldest 
 of this family, who was born in Ireland, 
 also resides in Menomonee. To the sec- 
 ond marriage came children as follows: 
 Mary, Mrs. Peter Golden, of Wrights- 
 town; and Maggie, Mrs. John Cox, of 
 Holland township. 
 
 In politics Mr. Finnegan was a strong 
 supporter of the principles of the Demo- 
 cratic party, but he never aspired to office, 
 preferring to give all his attention to his 
 farm. In religious faith he was a mem- 
 ber of St. Francis Church, De Pere. One 
 of the earliest settlers in Holland town- 
 ship, he lived to see his farm and the sur- 
 rounding country converted from a dense 
 forest to a productive tract of land, 
 changes which those pioneers effected by 
 many years of stern toil. He was a self- 
 made man, for, though in comfortable cir- 
 cumstances at the time of his death, he 
 began life with nothing l^ut a willing 
 heart and hands, and won success by in- 
 dustry and good business management, 
 and his honesty and fair dealing won him 
 the respect of all who knew him. 
 
 Hugh Finnegan, son of this old 
 pioneer, was born July 13, 1855, in Hol- 
 land township, on the farm where he yet 
 makes his home. He received such an 
 education as could be obtained at the 
 common district schools of his time, his 
 attendance being somewhat irregular, for 
 he was reared to farm life, and, as the 
 
334 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 home place was still in its primitive con- 
 dition, there was plenty of work at home 
 to occupy his time. From the time of 
 his mother's death, up to the age of thir- 
 teen, he was reared by his grandmother 
 Finnegan, who then lived in Holland 
 township, after which he made his home 
 with his father. On November 9, 1887, 
 he was married in Holland township, to 
 Miss Ellen Finerty, who was born there 
 Januar)' 13, 1859, daughter of Thomas 
 and Catherine (Keaton) Finerty. After 
 their marriage the young couple immedi- 
 ately came to the home farm, where they 
 have ever since resided, and which Mr. 
 Finnegan now owns; it comprises 200 
 acres of prime land, all in Holland town- 
 ship. This union has been blessed with 
 three children, viz.: Carrie M., born 
 September 17, 1889; Thomas A., born 
 April I. 1 891; and Robert P., born De- 
 cember 15, 1893. Mr. Finnegan has 
 been very successful in his farming opera- 
 tions, and to-day ranks among the most 
 prosperous citizens in his township. He 
 takes an interest in every movement which 
 tends to promote the welfare of his local- 
 ity, and is foremost in the rank of pro- 
 gressive farmers Politically he is a 
 Democrat, but, though stanch in his sup- 
 port of the party, gives no time to politics, 
 being fully occupied with his business af- 
 fairs. In religious connection the family 
 are members of St. Francis Catholic 
 Church, De Pere. 
 
 P1:TER CALLAHAN, a well- 
 known farmer citizen of Glen- 
 more township. Brown county, 
 was born in November, 1837, in 
 County Monaghan, Ireland, son of James 
 Callahan. When Peter was but a boy 
 his parents immigrated to Canada with 
 their family of eight children — four sons 
 and four daughters — and here he was 
 reared. His mother died when he was 
 about fifteen years old, and, this event 
 breaking up the home, he then com- 
 menced sailing on the lakes, a business in 
 
 which he continued, "off and on, " for 
 some years. His father conducted a 
 livery stable and hack line, and during 
 the winter season Peter assisted him. 
 
 In 1S63 our subject came to Brown 
 county. Wis., sailing from Buffalo to 
 Green Bay, and here obtained work as 
 wheelsman and fireman on the "Arrow" 
 and the " \'an Epps. " He remained on 
 the " Arrow " until she gave out, and in- 
 tended to continue his work on the 
 ' ' Dunlap, '■ to which vessel the machinery 
 from the "Arrow" was being transferred; 
 but, in the fall of 1863, he enlisted at 
 Green Bay, in Company H, Thirty-fifth 
 Wis. V. I., and went to Camp Sv ash- 
 burn, Milwaukee. The command was 
 sent to Louisiana, and they engaged in 
 various skirmishes, but their first regular 
 engagement was at Spanish Fort. Then 
 followed the engagements at Fort Blakely, 
 whence they were sent to Mobile, and 
 later to Brownsville, Texas, protecting 
 the frontier from the encroachments of 
 the Mexicans during the disturbances in 
 that country. Mr. Callahan was dis- 
 charged in Brownsville, Texas, in March, 
 1866, and returned to Madison, Wis., 
 thence to De Pere, where he made his 
 home for about a year; while in the 
 service he had suffered from exposure, 
 and returned with his health seriously 
 impaired. During his residence in De- 
 Pere he worked in the stave mills, and 
 in 1867 he came to Glenmore township, 
 where he was employed in the sawmill of 
 Bowen, Thompson & Hulburt, who were 
 getting out lumber. In 1868 he removed 
 to his present farm, in the N. W. J, 
 Section 14, Glenmore township, which, 
 at that time, was an eighty-acre tract of 
 new land (with the timber thereon re- 
 served by others), and here he built the 
 first house, and made all the improve- 
 ments on the place. The work of clear- 
 ing this farm involved a great deal of 
 hard work, but, by continued industry, 
 he has reduced it to a fertile condition. 
 In 1892 he built a store on the northwest 
 corner of his farm, where he now con- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOCUAI'IIICAL RECORD. 
 
 335 
 
 ducts a saloon, in addition to carrying on 
 his agricultural work. In politics he is a 
 Democrat, and always supports the prin- 
 ciples of that party in State and National 
 elections, but in local affairs he votes in- 
 variably for the best man. He is a close 
 reader, and keeps himself well informed on 
 general topics and the issues of his party. 
 In the fall of 1863 Mr. Callahan was 
 married, in Green Bay, to Miss Johanna 
 Dwyer, a native of County Tipperary, 
 Ireland, daughter of John Dwyer, and to 
 this union were born two children: Mary 
 E., now Mrs. Warner, of Montana, and 
 James E., of Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Callahan are members of St. Mary's 
 Catholic Church, of Glenmore. 
 
 LAMBERT WELLENS. Many of 
 the thrifty, industrious, well-to-do 
 citizens of Brown county can 
 boast of Holland birth, and promi- 
 nent among these ranks the subject of 
 these lines, who is a resident of Bellevue 
 township. He was born December 6, 
 1836, in the village of Schaijk, near the 
 city of Grave, Holland, son of John H. 
 Wellens, a farmer, and the youngest of 
 eight children — all sons — four of whom 
 grew to maturity. 
 
 Lambert Wellens received a good 
 common-school education in the schools 
 of his neighborhood, was reared a farmer 
 boy, and remained at home until he 
 reached the age of twenty, at which time 
 he decided to seek his fortune in America. 
 His father had died, and having the 
 money received from the estate to pay his 
 e.xpenses, he set sail from Antwerp, land- 
 ing in New York after an ocean voyage 
 of twenty-one days. It was his original 
 intention to go to De Pere, Wis. , but 
 being influenced by an acquaintance he 
 went instead to Grant coimty, that State, 
 where he arrived with but five dollars, and 
 immediately hired out as a farm hand, con- 
 tinuing to follow agricultural pursuits for 
 two years, during five months of which time 
 he worked with his two brothers, Seeman 
 
 and Albert, who had come to the United 
 States a few months after him. In the 
 spring of 1859 these three brothers were 
 seized with the "western fever," and 
 taking a team of o.xen to haul provisions, 
 they set out across the plains for Pike's 
 Peak, the journey occupying si.x weeks. 
 But not being satisfied with the prospects 
 there, they remained only ten days, and 
 then pushed on farther westward to Cali- 
 fornia with the same team, taking five 
 months and ten days to make the trip. 
 They prospected in Shasta county, Cal., 
 remaining there four and a half years, and 
 then went to Idaho Territory, where they 
 sojourned four years, prospecting and 
 mining the greater part of the time, and 
 making about $5,000 apiece. In the fall 
 of 1867 they returned by stage to Sacra- 
 mento, Cal., thence by water to San 
 Francisco, and from there, via the Nicar- 
 agua canal route, to New York, where 
 they took passage for Liverpool, and in 
 October, 1867, arrived at their old home 
 in Holland. 
 
 In January, 1868, our subject was 
 married at his old home in Holland, to 
 Miss Barbara Johnson, who was born 
 October 35, 1840, in the same neighbor- 
 hood, daughter of John Johnson, a farmer, 
 and to this union have been born six chil- 
 dren, viz. : John, Mary. William, Albert, 
 Theodore and Nettie, all li\ingbut Theo- 
 dore, who died on the present farm in 
 Wisconsin in March, 1888. After return- 
 ing to his native land, Mr. ^^'ellens took 
 up farming, and at the same time con- 
 ducted a grocery and a mercantile busi- 
 ness, continuing in this until 1883, when 
 he again concluded to come to America. 
 In the spring of that year he and his 
 family sailed from Rotterdam on the 
 "P. Caland, " arriving in New York after 
 a voyage of eighteen days, and, their des- 
 tination being De Pere, Wis. , they im- 
 mediately proceeded thither. In Bellevue 
 township. Brown county, Mr. Wellens 
 purchased eighty-four acres of partly im- 
 proved land, where he has ever since made 
 his home, devoting his attention pricipally 
 
336 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to the cultivation and improvement of his 
 farm. The place has undergone many 
 chani^es since he has had charge, and it 
 is now one of the best improved farms in 
 the township; he has also added sixty 
 acres adjoining, and is engaged extensivel}' 
 in general agriculture, his remarkable suc- 
 cess in this hne being directly due to his 
 good business management and shrewd 
 financiering, for which he is well known. 
 He is a representative self-made man, 
 active and intelligent, having accumulated 
 a goodly share of this world's goods by 
 hard work and perseverance. He has 
 traveled considerably, more than the 
 average farmer, having crossed this coun- 
 try from New York to San Francisco, 
 visited Central America, and, in 1 893, took 
 a six-weeks' pleasure trip to his native 
 country; he has crossed the Atlantic four 
 times. Politically he is a Democrat, but 
 he gives little attention to party affairs, 
 preferring to devote his time to his busi- 
 ness interests. The family are all mem- 
 bers of the Catholic Church at I)c Pere. 
 
 JOSEPH E. DUAIME, a representa- 
 tive thorough-going agriculturist, of 
 Lawrence township. Brown county, 
 was born May 16, 1841, in St. 
 Francis, Canada, and is of French descent. 
 Our subject received the greater part 
 of his education from his mother, who 
 was a French scholar, and had been a 
 school teacher. His father, I^runo Du- 
 aime, was a ship carpenter, and among 
 other boats built the "Fanny Fisk." On 
 July 15, 1850, the family came to Green 
 Bay, Wis. , and, the parents being in only 
 moderate circumstances, Joseph com- 
 menced to work at an early age, for when 
 fifteen years old we find him in the lum- 
 ber camps of northern Michigan, where 
 he earned from twelve to fifteen dollars 
 per month. At the breaking out of the 
 Civil war he was working on a farm near 
 Fond du Lac, Wis., and he enlisted at 
 once in the Union army, but his father 
 succeeded in obtaining his release. Later, 
 
 however, he went to Brown county, and 
 in the spring of i 864 again enlisted, this 
 time in Company C, Twelfth Wis. V. L, 
 with which he went south to Cairo, 111., 
 soon afterward joining Sherman at Big 
 Shant}', Ga. Their first regular engage- 
 ment was at Kenesaw Mountain, thence 
 following the campaign to the coast. On 
 July 28, 1864, near Israel's Chapel, to 
 the right of Atlanta, Mr. Duaime was 
 wounded, receiving a ball in the neck, 
 and was sent to Marietta Hospital, where 
 he remained thirty days. He then came 
 home on furlough, and. Green Ba)' sur- 
 geons failing to extract the ball, he went 
 to Harvey's Hospital, at Madison, Wis., 
 where it was removed by Dr. Culverson. 
 In March, 1865, he went by rail to New 
 York, and thence liv boat to Morehead 
 City, N. C, where he joined his com- 
 mand about two weeks before Lee's sur- 
 render. He was present at the Grand 
 Review in Washington, D. C. ; was mus- 
 tered out July 15, 1865, at Louisville, 
 Ky., received an honorable discharge at 
 Madison, \\'is. , and immediately returned 
 to Brown county. 
 
 On September 11, 1865, Mr. Duaime 
 was married to Miss Mar)' Boyea, who 
 was born April 5, 1844, in New York, 
 daughter of August Boyea, who came to 
 De Pere in 1855. At this time our sub- 
 ject had saved some two hundred and lifty 
 dollars, and with this money he purchased 
 a lot in Green Bay, on which he built a 
 house, and lived there t\Vo years. He 
 obtained employment in the lumber mills 
 of Marshall, Speer & Co., at Sturgeon 
 Bay, and his former experience in this 
 line, coupled with natural ability as a 
 mechanic, which he possessed to a marked 
 degree, made him so competent a work- 
 man that for eight years he was foreman 
 and filer for this firm. Being thrifty and 
 econt)mical, as well as a steady worker, 
 he saved a considerable sum, and in a few 
 years was able to purchase a farm in 
 Lawrence township, for which he paid 
 two thousand dollars cash. Here he made 
 his home for ten or twelve years, follow- 
 
1k 
 
 (2^^.&^u^ 
 
 C>C--7^^^-lJ2^' 
 
COMMEMORATIVK II 100 HA I'll IC A L RECORD. 
 
 339 
 
 ing farming, and in the sprinj^ of 1882 
 purchased the tract of ninety acres, where 
 he now hves, and removed tliereon. 
 Since then he has improved the tract in 
 man\' ways, erecting new buildings, re- 
 }iairing old ones, and systematically cul- 
 tivating the land, to which he has also 
 added forty-seven and one-half acres, 
 now owning a fertile, productive farm of 
 1 2i7\ acres. Though not a lifelong farmer, 
 Mr. Duainu' has proven himself the c(]ual 
 of any in his township, and has made a 
 complete success of his vocation. He and 
 his wife have had five children born to 
 them, namely: Joseph E. (who is a 
 teacher, and a correspondent for the De- 
 Pere Democrat \, ]osephine (a dressmaker), 
 William (a carpenter;, Emma (a teacher), 
 and Sophie (also engaged in teaching). 
 In his pohtical preferences Mr. Duaime 
 was formerly a Republican, but since 
 1884 he has supported the jirinciples of 
 the Democratic party, though in voting he 
 usually considers the fitness of candi- 
 dates, especially in township and county 
 elections. He has been elected to vari- 
 ous offices of trust; served with credit as 
 chairman, and, for ten or twelve years, 
 as supervisor of the township f)oard. He 
 was repeatedly elected to the office of 
 clerk of the school l)oard, by which the 
 school profited l\v liis untiring efforts to 
 make it a pleasant and progressive place. 
 After the northwestern fire of 1871, he 
 was chosen commander of a small army 
 of twenty men got together to bury tln' 
 dead in W'illianisonville, Door county. 
 The horror of the time is indescribable. 
 As a sailor he has filled the place of cap- 
 tain on a sailing vessel. In religious con- 
 nections he is a mcinbcr of the Roman 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 AXTOK VAN DYKE, a respected 
 well-to-do farmer of Rockland 
 township, Iirown countv, vvas 
 born No\ember 30, 1853, in Hol- 
 land, son of John Van Dyke, a farmer. 
 
 19 
 
 The latter died when Anton was twelve 
 years old, and, his mother having passed 
 from earth si.x years before, (jur subject 
 lived with his older brothers imtil he was 
 twent\-t\\(i \ears of age, principally en- 
 gaged in farm work. He had received 
 his education in the coiiimon schools of 
 his birthplace, which he attended up to 
 the age of eleven years. 
 
 In the spring of i 88 1 , liaving managed 
 to save a small sum from his hard-earned 
 wages, Mr. \'an Dyke left his nati\e 
 country, and, going to Liverpool, took pas- 
 sage on a vessel bound for New York, 
 arriving in that city July 4. He imme- 
 diately came westward, via Chicago and 
 Milwaukee, to De Pere, Wis., where he 
 had a cousin, Martin Van Dyke, and 
 shortly afterward commenced to work for 
 John Coenen, with whom he remained 
 some time. He then came to Rockland 
 township to work for Martin Hubers, one 
 (.)f the early settlers of this locality, who, 
 coming to Wisconsin from Holland a poor 
 l)oy, had settled on the farm our subject 
 now owns, and by industry and thrift rose 
 to an enviable position among the farmers 
 of his township, where he was highly 
 respected. He had but one child, Mary 
 Hubers, born November 28, 1861, on the 
 farm where she yet resides, and on De- 
 cemlier 28, 1882, she and Anton Van- 
 Dyke were united in marriage. To this 
 union have come children as follows: 
 Mary, .Annie, George and Marline, living, 
 and |ohn, who died in infancy. Since 
 his marriage Mr. Van Dvke has always 
 remained on the farm, which he now 
 owns. It comprises fifty-seven acres of 
 prime farming land, to the cultivation of 
 which he gives his exchisive attention. 
 He is a hard worker and a self-made 
 man in the strictest sense of the word, 
 and by his honesty and fairness he has 
 won for himself the respect of all who 
 know him. Pohtically he is a Democrat, 
 but not active in party affairs, and in 
 religious connection he and his wife are 
 members of St. Mary's Catholic Church, 
 De Pere. 
 
34° 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 THOMAS McLEAN. The " North 
 of Ireland!" ^^'hat a wonderful 
 race of men has been sent to all 
 parts of the civilized world from 
 the region to the northward of a line 
 drawn through the bays of Dublin and 
 Gaiway, and more esjieciall}' from the 
 district embraced in the Province of Ulster. 
 How familiar are the names Donegal, 
 Londonderry, Antrim, Down, Tyrone, 
 Armagh, Fermanagh, Monaghan and 
 Cavan, counties comprising the province 
 named. The sturdy, Scotch-Irish ele- 
 ment, which has peopled numerous locali- 
 ties in the United States, has proved the 
 loyalty of its blood through many a con- 
 flict where the right was assailed, and al- 
 most without exception has arrayed itself 
 on the side which readers of its history 
 might be led to expect. The Scotch-Irish 
 are a proud race, and they have earned 
 the privilege. 
 
 Thomas McLean was born November 
 20, 1 8 16, in the Parish of Finway, town 
 of Darragh, County Antrim, Ireland, and 
 when not jet twelve and a half years of 
 age, sailed with the family of his father. 
 Hector McLean, for America, the party 
 consisting of the father, mother and four 
 children — Nail, Mary, Thomas and Alex- 
 ander. They started April 14, 1829, 
 from Belfast, the trip being made on the 
 ship " Helen," of .Xberdeen, bound for 
 Quebec. John, Eli;;abeth and Ann, the 
 other children, had crossed the previous 
 fall. The elder McLean was a poor man, 
 and was obliged to start in the humblest 
 manner. He settled upon and cleared a 
 farm in York township, twenty miles from 
 the city of Toronto, Canada, he and his 
 wife residing there until 1842, when they 
 joined their son Thomas, at Milwaukee, 
 Wis. Here the mother died at the age of 
 sixty-eight, the father's death occurring 
 subsequently at the home of the same 
 son in Stockbridge, Calumet Co., Wis., 
 when he was aged seventy-two. 
 
 Thomas McLean, a worthy son of a 
 worthy sire, was enabled to have but six 
 month's schooling, but it maybe imagined 
 
 he made the most of his opportunities 
 during that time. He continued to re- 
 side with his parents until 1841, when he 
 removed to Milwaukee, Wis., then a vil- 
 lage of but 900 people. With money he 
 had succeeded in saving from his earnings 
 in America he purchased a farm four miles 
 northwest of the place, partly cleared, 
 together with some village property'. The 
 fourth brick house in Milwaukee was 
 erected by Mr. McLean, at the corner of 
 Fifth and Chestnut streets. On May 25, 
 1843, in the then insignificant "Cream 
 City," Mr. McLean was united in mar- 
 ried with Catharine Flood, who was born 
 May 9, 1822, in the Parish of Killellen, 
 Pickettstown, County Meath, Ireland, 
 daughter of Patrick and Bridget (O'Reilej-) 
 Flood. Mrs. McLean sailed from Liver- 
 pool for the United States in 1834, on 
 the "Chesapeake, " the voyage occujijing 
 about four weeks, and landed at New 
 York, proceeding thence to her destina- 
 tion, the citj' of Rochester, N. Y. At a 
 later date she removed with a married sis- 
 ter to Wisconsin. 
 
 For ten years Mr. McLean ant! his 
 family resided in their brick dwelling in 
 Milwaukee, removing thence to Calumet 
 county and locating on a farm in the 
 village of Stockbridge. Twenty years 
 later, in 1873. they removed to Brown 
 county and located on a farm of 12 J 
 acres near Green Bay, which has since 
 been their home, the present homestead 
 consisting of twenty-five acres adjoining 
 the corporation of Green Bay; a fine 
 brick residence was erected the year ol 
 their removal. The children of this 
 couple are: Catharine, now Mrs. Pat. 
 McCool, of Chilton, Wis. ; Patrick, a 
 farmer of Allouez townshiji; jane, who 
 married Hugh Dougherty, and died at 
 Green Bay; Harriet, now Mrs. Daniel 
 Lynch, of Cakes, S. Dak. ; Mary, de- 
 ceased in infancy; Eliza, who became 
 Mrs. Frank Robinson, and died at Chil- 
 ton; Josephine, now Mrs. James Dough- 
 erty, of Oakes, S. Dak. ; Mary, now Mrs. 
 Joseph O'Callihan, of Sagola, Mich.;. 
 
COliTMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 341 
 
 and John, residing at iionie. Mr. Mc- 
 Lean, during his residence in Milwaukee, 
 was engaged in merchandising on Chest- 
 nut street. He has ais(.) at different 
 periods followed the occupation of 
 a wagon-maker, a brickmason and a 
 farmer, and for a time conducted a mill 
 at Stockbridge, Wis. He has ever been 
 a citizen of undisputed public spirit, and 
 has contributed liberally of his time and 
 means toward the furtherance of various 
 enterprises. He has been able to assist 
 his children to some e.xtent, and the 
 needy have always found in him a friend 
 and heljter. That his genercjsity may 
 have been at times taken advantage of 
 by unscrupulous people is possible, as few 
 men of his ilisposition will live to old age 
 without in some instances incurring e.\- 
 pensive experiences along such lines, but 
 he has everywhere \v<Tn the respect of his 
 fellow-citizens, and in his old age is able 
 to look back upon a life well spent. Politi- 
 cally he is a Democrat, and in 1864 was 
 elected by his party to the State Legis- 
 lature, as representative from Calumet 
 county. In religious faith he and his 
 wife are earnest and consistent Catholics, 
 and the Church has more than once felt 
 its obligations to him for substantial 
 favors extended. He was a member of 
 the committee that built St, John's 
 Cathedral in Milwaukee, and is the sole 
 survivor of that conmiittee. At one time 
 he was the owner of i. 100 acres of land 
 in Calumet county, and was interested in 
 various industries. He built a church at 
 Stockl)ridge and donated it to the Catho- 
 lics, presented the priest with a sleigh, 
 and boarded him for nearly a year. His 
 zeal in behalf of his church has always 
 been marked, and no enterprise tending 
 to its benefit ever lacked his support. 
 
 When a half century of wedded life had 
 been rounded out, the children at home, 
 in May, 1893, planned a golden wedding 
 for their parents. Notwithstanding the fact 
 that the latter were both sick when the 
 eventful day arrived and the festivities 
 were interrupted in consequence, the oc- 
 
 casion was not withdut its pleasures. 
 With the best wishes of all who know 
 them, they approach the sunset tin:e in 
 the calm enjoyment of the fruits of a cor- 
 rect and happy life, and their people \\(ill 
 at the end rise up and call them l)lessed. 
 
 P.VTRICK BAILEY, a leading rep- 
 resentative self-made farmer of 
 Glenniore township, Brown coun- 
 ty, was born about 1821 in Coun- 
 ty Kerry, Ireland, son of John and Nellie 
 (Bresnehen) Bailey, who had three sons, 
 of whom Patrick is the only one living. 
 The mother died when he was three 
 years old, and about a year later the 
 father remarried. 
 
 Patrick Bailey had fair educatinnal 
 advantages in his youth, and was reared 
 from boyhood to farming, remaining at 
 home until he reached the age of nine- 
 teen years. Wages were low in Ireland, 
 so when Patrick determined to come to 
 America his father supplied him with 
 means to pay his way, and in the spring 
 of 1S43 he sailed from his native town, 
 Blennerville, on the "Joan," landing in 
 Quebec after a voyage of six weeks. 
 Here he was given employment helping 
 to unload the vessel and then to reload 
 her with lumber, and, after this, went to 
 Montreal, where he worked for some 
 time on the Lachine canal. He next 
 went to New York City, thence after a 
 few days to Boston, Mass., and thence to 
 Lowell, where he found employment as a 
 laborer between Lowell and Andover for 
 a few weeks, working on improvements 
 along the Merrimac river. His next move 
 was to Fitchburg, same State, where he 
 worked on the Fitchburg & Massachusetts 
 railroad, and he subsecpiently worked in 
 various places in Massachusetts, in almost 
 every part of the State; thence went to 
 Keene, N. H. , working there as laborer 
 on a railroad, and later engaged in the same 
 line of work at Brattleboro, Vt., after 
 whicli he again came to Massachusetts, 
 and worked in South Hadlev. 
 
342 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 On January ^. i , Mi Bailey was 
 married, in Cabotville, Mass., to Bridget 
 Moran, who was born about 1830 in 
 South Boston, daughter of Jolin and Kate 
 (Donohuej Moran, both natives of Ire- 
 land. In the summer of 1848 our subject 
 went to Buffalo, N. Y. , and there worked 
 on city improvements for a while; thence 
 removed to Springfield, Ohio, where he 
 was emplo\ed on a railroad to Cincin- 
 nati, then in course of construction, and 
 subsequently lived for a time in Sidney, 
 Ohio. The ague being prevalent here, 
 another move was made, this time to 
 Chiliicothe. Ohio, where Mr. Bailey also 
 worked on railroads, and he next worked 
 on the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern 
 railroad, near Marietta. Ohio, and parth' 
 bargained for a farm in Washington coun- 
 ty, but hearing of the cheap land offered 
 to settlers in the then new State of Wis- 
 consin, he concluded to abandon railroad 
 work and commence farming on his own 
 account. Three children had been born 
 to them in Ohio — John, in Sidney; Ellen, 
 in Chiliicothe; and Mary A., in Wash- 
 ington county; and, with his wife and 
 family, Mr. Bailey came to Wisconsin in 
 the summer of 1854, journeying via Co- 
 lumbus to Cleveland, where they took 
 the b(5at f<3r Green Bay, landing in that 
 city in July. Leaving the family in Green 
 Bay, Mr. Bailey went to Kaukauna, where 
 he obtained employment on the canal 
 then building, and shortly afterward pur- 
 chased eighty acres, at $2.50 per acre, in 
 Section 7, Glenmore township. Brown 
 county, which tract was totally unim- 
 proved, and the family Ii\ ed with a neigh- 
 bor, Thomas Lawlor, while their log cabin 
 was being built. The forest was so dense 
 that a space had to be cleared even for 
 the small dwelling, into which they moved 
 October 10, 1854, and at this time there 
 was no road to this farm, only a path 
 through the woods. They had hired a 
 man to bring out their few household 
 goods, but the driver, finding it difTficult to 
 proceed with the horse and wagon the 
 latter part of the way, the goods were 
 
 left in the road, where Mr. Bailey. found 
 them, and it took him several days to 
 get them to the house, one of the 
 neighbors, "Con" Leary, loaning him 
 an ox-team for the purpose. The work 
 of clearing was begun at once, but it 
 was many years before the farm became 
 productive, and Mr. Bailey worked at 
 lumbering during the winter season to 
 earn enough to support his family. A 
 large amount of lumber was cut, but as 
 there was scarcely any demand for it 
 then, they had to burn many thousand 
 feet of valuable beech and maple to rid 
 the land of it. Those pioneers endured 
 many trials and privations in impro\ ing 
 and cultivating their tract, but they suc- 
 ceeded in converting the dense forest into 
 a comfortable farm, and Mr. Bailey has, 
 by his own unaided efforts, risen to a 
 position among the respected, prosperous 
 agriculturists of this section, his life show- 
 ing what may be accomplished by energy 
 and determination, coupled with perse- 
 verance and honesty. He now owns 160 
 acres of excellent land, on which he con- 
 ducts a successful farming business. He 
 has served two terms as supervisor in his 
 township, giving satisfaction to all; but 
 he prefers to give his attention to his pri- 
 vate affairs, and is not an acti\e partisan, 
 voting for the man he considers best 
 qualified for the office. In religious faith 
 he is a member of St. Francis Church, 
 De Pere. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bailey have had four- 
 teen children, three of whom were born 
 in Ohio, as above recorded, and the others 
 in Wisconsin, a brief record of them be- 
 ing as follows : John is a resident of 
 Minneapolis, Minn. ; Ellen is the wife of 
 Milan Smith, of Fond du Lac, Wis.; 
 Mary A. is the wife of John Sloan, of 
 De Pere ; Kate is living in Ashland. Wis. ; 
 James died when eighteen months oUi ; 
 Bridget is the wife of James Jennings, of 
 Scott township. Brown county; Agnes is 
 the wife of John Kummel, of .Ashland, 
 Wis. ; Lizzie is the wife of James Mills, 
 of Ashland ; Alice is living at home ; 
 
COMMEMORA TI VK lilOGllA PHICA L UECOIW. 
 
 343 
 
 Thomas is a resident of Montana; George 
 is living in Washington; Ste%en li\-es in 
 Glenmore township; Patrick is at lionie; 
 and one child died in infancy. 
 
 On March 13, 1865, Mr. Bailey en- 
 listed in Company F, Fiftieth Wis. V. I., 
 and did duty through northern Missouri. 
 at Fort Leavenworth, Kans. , and Fort 
 Rice, Dak., during his service contracting 
 rheumatism, from which he has ever since 
 suffered. He was discharged in July, 
 1866, and returned at once to his home 
 and family. Our subject is well and 
 favorably known throughout his section, 
 and stands prominent among Glenmore 
 township's most respected citizens. 
 
 JOHN BAKTELME, one of the prom- 
 inent, influential farmer citizens of 
 New Denmark township. Brown 
 county, was born November 25, 
 1810, in I"" ranee, of German descent. His 
 parents, George and Mary Schneider) 
 Bartelme, were well-to-do farming people 
 of Germany, who reared a family of nine 
 children (of whom our subject is the eld- 
 est), as follows: John, Peter, J<)hanna, 
 Nicholas, Michael, Christ(_iph, George, 
 Frank, and Belthasar. 
 
 John Bartelme remainetl in his native 
 land until twenty-five years of age, work- 
 ing principally in a nail factory from early 
 boyhood. In the spring of 1836, receiv- 
 ing help from friends, he came with sev- 
 eral others to America, landing in New 
 York in July, after aweary voyage lasting 
 seven weeks. He obtained employment 
 at once in a nail factory, and worked thus 
 some time, but the factory closing, he lost 
 one hundred and two dollars, and found 
 himself with but a dollar in money. Again 
 borrowing from his friends he proceeded 
 to Albany, N. Y. , and for five years worked 
 on a farm near that city, receiving one 
 hundred dollars a year for his services, 
 out of which he managed to save and pay 
 back all the money he had borrowed. 
 Then, in company with two other men, 
 he invested three hundred dollars in a 
 
 canal-boat, but the venture proved a fail- 
 ure, and he lost all but a hundred dollars. 
 His younger brother, Belthasar, having 
 come from Germany. Mr. Bartelme now 
 went to New York to meet him, and, after 
 remaining another nine months in that 
 city, set out for the then " l-'ar West," 
 coming first to Two Ri\ers, Wis., where 
 he remained about a year. At the end 
 of that time he came to De Pere and 
 purchased forty acres of new land in New 
 Denmark township, the nucleus of his 
 present fine well-improved farm of 180 
 acres, which he has acquired by unceasing 
 labor and good management. The first 
 dwelling on this jilace was a rude log 
 house, which in later years was supplanted 
 by the fine stone dwelling in which the 
 family now reside, this feeing but one of 
 the many improvements which had been 
 made on the place. 
 
 When our subject came to this place 
 the old Manitowoc road was the only one 
 which passed through the town, and he 
 was actively interested in building the 
 roads to De Pere and Cooperstown, tak- 
 ing a prominent part in that, as well as all 
 other movements for the benefit of his 
 locality. He was the first postmaster at 
 Denmark, and held the office for thirty- 
 si.x years from the time of his appoinment, 
 in 1854. For twelve years he filled the 
 important office of chairman of his town- 
 ship, and for six years was township 
 treasurer, invariably giving satisfastion to 
 all concerned by his ability and efficiency 
 in every capacity. 
 
 Mr. Bartelme was married at Two 
 Rivers, Wis., to Miss Almenia Ench, and 
 their union has been blessed with five 
 children, viz. : John (who is sheriff of 
 Brown county), Balthasar, Catherine, 
 Frank, and Michael, of whom Balthasar 
 lives on the homestead, caring for his aged 
 parents; his mother has been totally blind 
 for the last eighteen years. 
 
 Balthasar Bartelme has been twice 
 married: his first wife died leaving two 
 children, Jacob and Catherine, and he 
 wedded for his second wife. Miss Lizzie 
 
344 
 
 COMMEMORATI\'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Machtel, to which marriage have come 
 five children, namely: Minnie, (icorge, 
 Lizzie, Nettie, and Frank. In religious 
 faith the family are all Catholics. 
 
 JOSEPH BOEHM. This getleinan, 
 \\ ho is now living retired in the city 
 of De Pere, has for many years been 
 prominently identified with the agri- 
 cultural interests of Brown county, where 
 he is still an extensive landowner. 
 
 Mr. Boehm was born March 13, 1833, 
 in Bavaria, Germany, son of John George 
 Boehm, a farmer. Joseph received his 
 education in the common schools of his 
 native place, and was reared to farm life, 
 which he continued to follow in Germany 
 till he was about twenty-four years of age, 
 working for small wages. Being hard- 
 working and economical, he had managed 
 to save a little from his hard-earned 
 wages, and, concluding he could tind bet- 
 ter o])portunity for advancement in the 
 United States, he bid farewell to his home 
 and friends, and in May, 1857, set sail 
 from Bremen, on the "Gungson," this 
 being her second trip. They crossed the 
 Atlantic in thirty-five days, and on June 
 30, 1857, our subject landed in New 
 York, with just seventy-five cents in his 
 pocket. His ticket carried him to De- 
 troit, Mich., where he arrived almost 
 penniless, a total stranger, but honest and 
 willing to work. In the course of three 
 or four weeks he had earned enough to 
 bring him to Green Bay, Wis., where he 
 arrived in the latter part of Jul\', 1857, 
 making the trip from Detroit on the old 
 steamer " Michigan." He came to De- 
 Pere, and first worked on the " Old Stone 
 Schoolhouse," which was then in course 
 of construction, after which he went to 
 Kaukauna, where he found employment 
 on the canal. We next find him in Belle- 
 vue township, chopping cordwood for 
 three shillings a cord, and boarding him- 
 self, and, although the work was hard and 
 the wages small, he did it rather than re- 
 main idle. At the age of twenty-five he 
 
 received but ten dollars a month for his 
 services as a farm hand, and found it was 
 useless to expect more. In 1859 he went 
 to the Lake Superior country, and there, 
 for three and a half years, followed 
 mining. While here he was married to 
 Miss Marcella ISoyle, a native of Ireland, 
 and to this union were born six children, 
 viz. : Christ, a farmer of Bellevue town- 
 ship; Anna C, widow of Joseph Long, of 
 (ircen Ba\'; John, a farmer of Bellevue 
 township; Theresa, now Mrs. Joseph 
 Vandermost, of Rockland township; Mary, 
 who died young, and one that died in in- 
 fancy, unnamed. The mother of these 
 died in Bellevue and was buried in De- 
 I'erc. 
 
 In 1862 Mr. Boehm removed to Belle- 
 vue townshiji, Brown Co., Wis., where 
 he had purchased forty acres of entirely 
 new land, upon which, at that time, there 
 was not even a house. He set to work at 
 once to clear and improve the place, and 
 by dint of incessant toil and perseverance 
 succeeded in converting it into a good 
 farm, from time to time he also making 
 additions to his first purchase, until he 
 now owns over 300 acres of prime land 
 in Bellevue and Rockland townships. He 
 continued to follow farming until 1889, 
 when he moved into the town of De Pere, 
 and here he has since lived a retired life. 
 He is strictly a self-made man, having 
 from a start of nothing accumulated a 
 comfortable property and a- snug compe- 
 tence. In connection with agriculture he 
 was for manv years engaged in cattle 
 dealing, and tluring his long experience in 
 that line became an excellent judge of 
 stock. He has seen great changes in his 
 section of the country, and has taken 
 an active part in its development and 
 progress. He has held various township 
 of fices, having served as school clerk, 
 supervisor, path-master, etc. , with sat- 
 isfaction to all. In his political prefer- 
 ences he is a Democrat, and in religious 
 connection he and his wife are members 
 of St. Francis Catholic Church, De Pere. 
 On January 29, 1889, our subject was 
 
COMMEMOHAriVE BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 345 
 
 married, in De Pere, for his second wife, 
 to Mrs. Afargaret Raster, widow of Peter 
 J. Raster. She was born February 2, 
 1836, in Prussia, daus^hter of Francis 
 George and Anna (Piesj Wenthng, who 
 came to the United States in 1852, going 
 first to Liverpool, whence they sailed for 
 New York. In Utica, N. Y. , Mr. Went- 
 ling was taken sick, and the family re- 
 mained there two months, after which 
 they went to Milwaukee, Wis. , where 
 they lived two years, thence coining to 
 Green Bay, where they made a perma- 
 nent home. 
 
 EDWARD BAUMGART. This gen- 
 tleman, who is ranked among the 
 public-spirited progressive farmer 
 citizens of Bellevue township, 
 Brown county, is a native of Schlesien, 
 Germany, born July 5, 185 1, son of 
 August and Gertrude Baumgart. 
 
 August Baumgart was by trade a 
 butcher, and he also owned a farm and 
 engaged in the manufacture of bricks, 
 having often as man}-' as fifty or sixty men in 
 his employ. He had considerable prop- 
 erty in Germany, l)ut in 1868 he disposed 
 of all his interests and came to America, 
 bringing his family. They sailed from 
 Bremen on the " Schiller, " and, after a 
 voyage of eight weeks and three days, 
 landed at Baltimore, Md., from which city 
 they immediately proceeded to Brown 
 county. Wis., coming over the B. & O. 
 R. R. via Columbus, Ohio, where they 
 were on July 4. Mr. Baumgart purchased 
 seventy-two acres of new land in Bellevue 
 township, on which at that time there was 
 not even a dwelling, and resided there 
 until 1883, when he removed to his 
 present farm in the same township. 
 Here he and his wife are yet living, 
 and, though now seventy-five years old, 
 he is still an active man. To them 
 were born seven children, as follows: 
 Charles, who died young, in Germany; 
 Joseph and August, of Glenmore town- 
 ship; Edward, our subject; John, of Mani- 
 
 towoc county. Wis. ; Paul, a farmer of 
 Bellevue township; antl Caroline, Mrs. 
 Joseph Landmcr, of Duck Creek, Wis- 
 consin. 
 
 Edward Baumgart attended the schools 
 of his native place until he reached the 
 age of thirteen, and was seventeen years 
 old when he came with his parents to 
 America. He remained under the pa- 
 rental roof until he was twenty-four years 
 old, tioing farm work, or anything else 
 at which he could earn an honest dollar, 
 and turning his wages over to his parents. 
 On February 22, 1876, he was united in 
 marriage with Miss Annie Hutter, who 
 was born August 7, 1845, in Manitowoc 
 county, Wis., daughter of Joseph Hutter, 
 a native of Bavaria, Germany. After his 
 marriage Mr. Baumgart located on a new 
 farm, which he at once began to clear and 
 improve, and there made his home imtil 
 18S0, when he came to his present farm 
 in Bellevue township, which contains one 
 hundred acres. Though now a well-cul- . 
 tivated tract, it was then all in the woods, 
 and he has done all the clearing and made 
 all the improvements himself. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Baumgart have come children 
 as follows: Joseph, Edward, Caroline, 
 Annie, Henry, John, Mary, Rosa, Anton, 
 and one that died in infancy. Mr. Baum- 
 gart is not identified with any political 
 party, but votes independently, selecting 
 the man best qualified for of^ce, regardless 
 of politics. He has served his township 
 as roadma.ster, supervisor, and for two 
 years as chairman, and he is recognized 
 as a thoroughly progressive citizen, al- 
 ways ready to assist in any enterprise for 
 the benefit of his township and county. 
 He and his wife are members of the Ger- 
 man Catholic Church at Green Bav. 
 
 M 
 
 ARTIN BARTH, who, for the 
 past forty years, has been a 
 farmer of Glenmore township. 
 Brown county, is a native of 
 the Fatherland, born June 18, 1825, in 
 Wurtemberg, son of Jacob and Lena 
 
346 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 (Schenauer) Barth, who were the parents 
 of nine children. The father, who was a 
 tailor by trade, died when Martin was 
 five years old. 
 
 Our subject was reared and educated 
 in the land of his birth, and there learned 
 the weaver's trade. In his carl\- man- 
 hood he served three \cars and se\en 
 months in the German arm)', and shortly 
 afterward came to America, landing in 
 New York, July 16, 1854, after an ocean 
 voyage of forty-seven days. He imme- 
 diatel}' came to Wisconsin, arri\ing in 
 Green Hay, August 3, with $11.75 i" his 
 pocket, and thence wenttoNew Franken, 
 where he remained with an uncle ten 
 days. For three weeks he worked for a 
 Mr. Eisenman in De Pere, and then went 
 to Oconto, where he was employed three 
 months in a mill, after which he returned 
 to New Franken. .Xgain coming to 
 Oconto, he worked here ten months raft- 
 ing lumber, and then returned once more 
 to his uncle, with whom he made his 
 home until he bought land of his own. 
 His first purchase was eighty acres of 
 totally wild land, on which the timber 
 was so dense that a space had to be 
 cleared for the 14 .\ 18 log cabin which 
 he built himself. At this early date the 
 Indians had not all left the country, and 
 wild animals were numerous and trouble- 
 some, especially the wolves, who made 
 night hideous with their howling. There 
 were no roads, and Mr. Barth has made 
 many a trip on foot to Green Bay, over 
 an Indian trail through the woods. In 
 order to earn a living he had to do various 
 kinds of work, as the farm yielded no 
 support the first few years, and the work 
 of clearing progressed slowly, for he had 
 only a few rude implements, and it was 
 twelve years after his settlement here be- 
 fore he owned a yoke of oxen. One year 
 he worked forty-seven days on the road 
 for nothing. 
 
 On February 22, 1865, Mr. Barth en- 
 listed in Company F, Fiftieth Wis. V. I., 
 served sixteen months in Missouri, Kansas 
 and Dakota, and was honorably discharged 
 
 June 17, 1866, returning to his home in 
 Brown count}. Mr l^arth was united 
 in marriage January 29, 1867, with Miss 
 Fmma Kahren, daughter of Peter and 
 Maggie (Zimmer) Kahren, farming people, 
 who were the parents of ten children, 
 vix. : Maggie, Jacob, Lizzie, Kate, Joseph. 
 Joseph, Kate, Emma, Kate and Michael. 
 When Mrs. Ikirth was three years old they 
 came to America, landing in New York 
 City, thence coming to Milwaukee, Wis., 
 and thence to Illinois, where they lived for 
 some time. They then returned to Mil- 
 waukee, and later, about three \ears after 
 their landing in this country, came to 
 New Denmark township. Brown county, 
 where they invested in 120 acres of land. 
 Here Mr. Kahren passed the remainder 
 of his days, d\ing July 8, 1862; his wife 
 survived until July 19, 1880. They were 
 well-known among the early settlers in 
 their locality, and were highly respected 
 for their sterling worth. 
 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. 
 Barth lived a year in the small log house 
 he had first built, and then moved into a 
 more commodious dwelling, also of logs, 
 in which they remained until the present 
 comfortable residence was erected. Their 
 union has been blessed with eight chil- 
 dren, named as follows: Lena, Mary, 
 Martin, Jacob, John, Louis, Andrew and 
 Henry. Mr. Barth is a Republican in his 
 political affiliations, but takes no interest 
 in politics except as a regular attendant 
 at the polls. He and his wife are, in 
 religious connection, members of the 
 Lutheran Church, in which he has been 
 director. 
 
 ANDREW ANDERSON, a repre- 
 sentative farmer of New Denmark 
 township, Brown county, is a 
 native of the Kingdom of Den- 
 mark, born May 24, 1828, son of Andrew 
 and Karen (Anderson) Hansen, farming 
 people, the former of whom died when 
 our subject was thirteen weeks old. He 
 left a family of eight children, viz. : Peter, 
 
COMMEMORATIVK BIOOllAPU/CAL RECORD. 
 
 347 
 
 James, Lars, Elizabeth, Kersten, Hans, 
 and Andrew and Karen (twins). 
 
 Tiie mother, having thus to provide 
 for a large family, the children were obliged 
 to assist as soon as they were old enough, 
 and our subject commenced to work at 
 the early age of seven years, herding 
 sheep, in which occupation he engaged 
 until he reachetl the age of fourteen 
 years, receiving only his clothing for his 
 services. He remained in his native land 
 until he was twenty-eight years old, when, 
 having saved enough to bring him to the 
 United States, he decided to seek his 
 fortune in the New World. He sailed 
 from Hamburg, and, crossing the ocean in 
 six weeks, landed at New York, coming 
 thence without delay to Brown coimt}'. 
 Wis., where in New Denmark township 
 he investetl in forty acres of new land, 
 whicli he at once commenced to clear and 
 improve. Ten years later he purchased 
 another forty acres, which he also cleared 
 himself, ami has since added sixt\' acres 
 more, now having a hue farm of 140 
 acres, all highly improved and under cul- 
 tivation. This property has all been ac- 
 quired by his own honest toil, for he 
 commenced with no capital but a pair of 
 willing hands, and he is everywhere re- 
 spected for his honesty and industry. 
 
 In i860 Mr. Anderson was married, in 
 New Denmark township, to Miss Mary 
 Hansen, a daughter of Hans Paulson and 
 Karen Hansen, who reared a family of 
 five children, as follows: Maren Sophia, 
 Andrews, Mary, Anna C, and Peter. 
 When thirty-four years of age she came 
 to America with a brother and sister, and 
 ten years after her marriage her parents 
 also came to Wisconsin, making their 
 home with her as long as the\' lived. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Anderson ha\e been born 
 six children, namely: Aldrich, Tine (Mrs. 
 Anderson, of Marinette, Wis.), Laura, 
 Olof, Peter, and Hans, of whom Olof 
 lives at home, and has the principal care 
 of the farm work. The family are mem- 
 bers of the Lutheran Church, in which 
 Mr. Anderson takes an active interest 
 
 and has served as treasurer and trustee; 
 in his political preferences he is a Repub- 
 lican, and he takes a deep interest in all 
 movements tending to promote the wel- 
 fare of his communitv. 
 
 JOHN SULLIVAN, who for many 
 years has been well-known in Brown 
 county, and especially in Lawrence 
 township, as a prosperous, system- 
 atic agriculturist, is a native of the 
 "Emerald Isle," horn December 24, 
 1830, in Kenmare, County Kerry. His 
 parents, James and Ellen Sullivan, had a 
 family of seven children — six sons and 
 one daughter — of whom John is the eldest. 
 At an early age oursubject commenced! 
 to attend the common schools, and at the 
 same time was reared to agricultural pur- 
 suits under his father's tuition, the latter 
 being a well-to-do landowner and farmer. 
 However, the father died when John was 
 yet a lad, anil the mother suljsequently 
 married, for her second husband, Jere- 
 miah Sullivan. In 1S45, disposing of the 
 property, the entire family immigrated to 
 America, first taking passage on the 
 " Ajax " from Cork to Liverpool, where 
 they remained a few days at " Sheflin's 
 Hotel." They then embarked on the 
 " Moses Wheeler," Capt. King, bound for 
 Boston, in which city they landed after a 
 voyage of twenty-two days, strangers in 
 a strange land. They located in the town 
 of \^'inchendon, Worcester Co., Mass., 
 and John commenced to learn the trade 
 of tanner and currier, at which he served 
 an apprenticeship of seven years, receiv- 
 ing at the very beginning one dollar a 
 day, which materially assisted his mother. 
 A brief record of her family is as follows: 
 John is the subject proper of this sketch; 
 Patrick is a resident of Winchendon, 
 Mass. ; Daniel lives in Melbourne, Aus- 
 tralia; Dennis lives in Winchendon, 
 Mass. ; Mortimer resides near \\'inchen- 
 don; Bartholomew died in this country 
 when young; Mary is the wife of William 
 Devins, of New Hampshire. By her 
 
348 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPBICAL RECORD. 
 
 second marriage Mrs. Sullivan had one 
 child, Patrick, now a barber of Fitchburg, 
 Mass. The mother is yet living at an 
 advanced age. Her husband died some 
 years ago. 
 
 John Sullivan remained in W'inchen- 
 ■don, following his trade, for over fourteen 
 years, his wages, up to the time of his 
 marriage, all going to his mother, and on 
 his wedding day she gave him two hun- 
 dred dollars in gold. On October i, 
 1854, he was married in South Boston, 
 Mass., by Rev. Father Linden, to Miss 
 Ellen Harris, who was born in County 
 Kerry, Ireland, daughter of Gerald and 
 Ellen (Lynch) Harris, and came to the 
 United States when a young girl to live 
 ■with her sister in Boston. The young 
 couple commenced housekeeping in Win- 
 chendon, where he had purchased a home, 
 and there he continued to follow his trade 
 until failing health compelled him to 
 abandon it. His employer, Ephraim 
 Murdock, at one time the most extensive 
 wooden-ware manufacturer in the world, 
 was a large land-owner, and Mr. Sullivan 
 located on one of his farms, a change 
 which proved beneficial to his health, and 
 he remained three years, succeeding well 
 in agriculture. He had been correspond- 
 ing with an old school teacher of his, 
 whom he had known in Ireland, and who 
 then lived in Leavenworth, Kans. , and our 
 subject concluded to emigrate to that 
 State. His family at this time consisted 
 of three chiklren, all of whom were born 
 in Winchendon, namelj' : Ellen, now Mrs. 
 Charles Davis, of Lawrence township, 
 Brown county; Mary, Mrs. Michael Eagan, 
 of De Pere, Brown county; and James, a 
 farmer of Lawrence township, who lives 
 with his father (he married Geneva Mc- 
 Abee, and they have one child, Ellen, 
 born March 3, 1892). 
 
 On August I. 1864, Mr. Sullivan and 
 his family started for the then "Far 
 West," going to Chicago, III., via the N. 
 Y. C. &. H., and the Lake Shore rail- 
 roads, thence by the Burlington and the 
 Hannibal & St. Jo railroads to St. 
 
 Joseph, Mo., thence to Weston, Mo., 
 and thence to Leavenworth, Kans., by 
 boat, as there was no railroad to the city 
 at that time, although it was the largest 
 in Kansas. There he conducted a hotel 
 for about a jear, when he entered the em- 
 ploy of the St. Jo Railway Co. , keeping 
 boarders and acting as overseer of a num- 
 ber of men. Subsequently he was em- 
 ployed on the Atchison & Pike's Peak 
 railroad, then in course of construction, 
 as overseer, his family meantime residing 
 in Weston, Mo., whither he returned 
 later, owing to a suspension of work 
 caused by an absconding paymaster. 
 One day, while talking with a Wisconsin 
 soldier in Weston, he accidentally heard 
 of a sister of his wife, living in De Pere, 
 Wis., who had come to the United States 
 many years before, and of whom they 
 had lost all trace. A correspondence was 
 at once opened, which eventually led to 
 their emigrating to Wisconsin in about 
 1866, the family taking up their home in 
 De Pere, Brown county, with Mrs. Sulli- 
 van's sister, while Mr. Sullivan went to 
 look for work. He found employment at 
 his trade in Two Rivers, Manitowoc Co., 
 Wis. , with the Wisconsin Leather Co., 
 and after remaining with them ten months 
 returned to De Pere, where for a short 
 time he worked for the Chicago Tight 
 Stave Co. He then purchased eighty 
 acres of land at five dollars per acre, all 
 of which was still in the woods — not a 
 stick having been cut — and was without 
 improvements of any kind, and on the site 
 of his present residence he built a log 
 house which served as a home for the 
 family for several years, until in 1880 the 
 comfortable dwelling they now occupy 
 was erected. Under Mr. Sullivan's man- 
 agement, this place has been gradually 
 cleared and im]iroved, and has also been 
 added to, till it now consists of 120 acres 
 of excellent farming land. He has met 
 with success in his farming operations; 
 but it is only the just reward of years of 
 thrift and persevering toil, for he has been 
 a hard worker, and, though now over sixty 
 
COMMEMORATIVE DIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 349 
 
 years of age, is yet active, and able to 
 perform a good day's work. 
 
 Mr. Sullivan is well known in his com- 
 munity, and has for the past twenty-three 
 years held various offices of trust in iiis 
 township, invariably discharging the du- 
 ties of his position with satisfaction to all; 
 he has also served as deputy sheriff of 
 Brown county. In his political faith he 
 is a stanch adherent of the principles of 
 the Democratic party, to which he gives 
 his unfailing support. In religious con- 
 nection he and his wife are members of 
 St. Joseph's Catholic Church at Wrights- 
 town, in which he is trustee. One child 
 has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan 
 on their present farm, John M., a bright 
 intelligent lad, who was given good edu- 
 cational advantages, and intended to study 
 law, but on May, i, 1887, he passed from 
 earth, deeply mourned by the bereaved 
 family. He was buried in Snider cemeter)'. 
 
 M 
 
 AKK ENGLISH, who, in every 
 respect, is an admirable speci- 
 men of the self-made men of 
 whom this country is so proud, 
 often modestly declares that he owes his 
 success to the greatness of his friends, 
 but on the other hand it is -confidently 
 affirmed that he owes his friends to his 
 own grit, energy and integrity. 
 
 Mr. English is an Ohioan by birth, a 
 native of Cuyahoga county, having been 
 born November 20, 1837, to Murk and 
 Christina C. (Collins) English, natives of 
 Connecticut and Ohio, respectively. Thev 
 came from Ohio to Michigan in 1839, and 
 in the town of Jackson he carried on a 
 dry-goods business for several years, dying 
 there January 28, 1854; his widow re- 
 turned to Ohio, where on September 24, 
 1873, she, too, passed away. Children 
 were born to them as follows: Dorlisca 
 Marilla, born June 22, 1832, is the wife 
 of Edson Herrington, of Ionia, Mich. ; 
 Christina Grace, born July 30, 1834, is 
 the wife of Thomas Newsom; Mark is the 
 subject of this sketch; George O., born 
 
 March 6, 1843, is married and resides in 
 Escanaba, Michigan. 
 
 Mark English was but a small boy 
 when his parents brought him to Jackson, 
 Mich., where he was reared and educated 
 and also learned the mason's trade. In 
 the spring of 1853, being then si.xteen 
 years old, he went to Marc]uette, Mich. ; 
 where he first engaged in the fishery 
 business, afterward in contracting, taking 
 the contract for and erecting the Union 
 school building, which was the first brick 
 building erected in Marquette. In Octo- 
 ber, 1865, he came to Green Bay and or- 
 ganized the Lake Superior Stage Co. , of 
 which he was made president and super- 
 intendent, establishing a stage route from 
 Green Bay to Escanaba (Mich.) by way 
 of Oconto, Marinette and Menomonee. 
 It was a daily line, employing 120 horses 
 in all, each Concord coach, in suumier, 
 or sleigh, as the case might be, being 
 drawn by four horses, which were changed 
 every ten miles. At Escanaba the line 
 connected with the upper peninsular 
 division of the Chicago & North Western 
 railroad. In addition to the American 
 Express it carried the United States mail 
 for the entire upper peninsula, the aver- 
 age weight of which alone was over 
 1 500 pounds. This important under- 
 taking Mr. English carried on from 1S69 
 to 1877, at which time, the railroad hav- 
 ing been completed to Monomonee, he 
 sold out and turned his attention to other 
 affairs. He soon became one of the or- 
 ganizers of the "Green Bay Iron Co.," 
 and was one of its board of directors for 
 a short time. In 1885 he interested him- 
 self in vessel property, becoming the 
 owner of the schooner "Cascade" and 
 afterward of the propeller " Union," 
 which vessels plied on the lakes and were 
 principally engaged in the carrying of 
 freight. He also became quite extensively 
 interested in contracting and building — a 
 vocation which still claims his attention. 
 He is also the owner of a stone quarry at 
 Kewaunee, from which he ships stone to 
 all points on the lakes. 
 
350 
 
 COMMEMOUAriVE lilOd RM'UICM. liECORD. 
 
 It may with propriety be said that 
 Mr. Eiifjlishis one of the best known men 
 in northern Wisconsin, and his entire 
 career has been one of action and enter- 
 prise. Coming to Marquette in his early 
 manhood, when but about twenty-four 
 years of age, he was from the start a 
 prominent figure and factor in its busi- 
 ness, social and political life. In 1861 
 he was made city marshal of Marquette, 
 a position that required, at that time, 
 a man of courage and resolution, as 
 the city was tilled with a floating popula- 
 tion of 6,000 or 7,000, consisting princi- 
 pally of miners and sailors of an unruly 
 and roistering disposition. He held the 
 office four years, during the war also 
 serving as United States enrolling of- 
 ficer, and was a United States deputy 
 marshal four years. He was elected antl 
 served two years as high sheriff of the 
 county, thus serving as a public officer 
 for eight consecutive years as incumbent 
 of some one of the above-named posi- 
 tions, during which time he made a repu- 
 tation highly honorable to himself, and 
 was an actor in many stirring scenes while 
 in the discharge of his official duties. He 
 was the first city marshal of Marquette, 
 and the only one while he resided in that 
 city, with the exception of about three 
 months when he was recovering from in- 
 juries received while discharging his duties, 
 after which he was again iniluced to take 
 the office for $1,000 a year and one-half 
 the fines. When the locks were built on 
 the Fo.\ river at Appleton, Wis., he was 
 appointed United States Government In- 
 spector, and the lock at that point, known 
 as No. 2, was built under his supervision. 
 Mr. English has passed through many 
 experiences, and doubtless realities, in a 
 keener degree than many, the vast changes 
 that have taken place in the past thirty- 
 five years in the means of transportation 
 from one distant point to another. Pre- 
 vious to his organization of the stage line, 
 during one winter in the early "sixties," 
 he conveyed the United States mail from 
 Marquette to Houghton fMich.) on a 
 
 sled drawn by dogs. In politics Mr. 
 English is a Republican, and he and his 
 wife are members of the M. E. Church. 
 He is also a member of the Knights of 
 Honor, Navarino Lodge, No. 1,384. 
 
 On June 25, 1859, Mr. English was 
 married, at Port Sarnia, Canada, to Miss 
 Mary Ann\illa Hall, a daughter of Horace 
 and Lavina (Porter) Hall, all natives of 
 Whitby, Canada, but at that time resi- 
 dents of Port Sarnia. The parents moved 
 to Marquette, Mich., and later to Green 
 Bay, Wis., where they both died in 
 March, 18S2, and were buried the same 
 day. To Mr. and Mrs. English have 
 come two children — Nettie C, born July 
 6, 1864, and Lester A., born March 19, 
 1877. Since 1867 Mr. English has made 
 his home continuously in Green Bay, 
 where he has a commodious and pleasant 
 residence. 
 
 M 
 
 ICHALL MART IN (deceased), 
 who. during his lifetime, was a 
 well-known farmer of Rockland 
 township. Brown countj-, was a 
 native of County Carlow, Ireland. He 
 was born in 1828, son of Bernard and 
 Mary (McCabe) Martin, farming people 
 who had a family of seven children — five 
 sons and two daughters. 
 
 Our subject received a common-school 
 education and was reared to farming pur- 
 suits. In early manhood he emigrated 
 from his native land to the United States, 
 and coming to Herkimer county, N. Y. , 
 remained there four years, in the vicinity 
 of West Winfield, working for Lorenzo 
 Brown, a farmer. In 1854 he was mar- 
 ried, in Utica, N. Y., to Miss Mary Foley, 
 a native of County Carlow, Ireland, born 
 in 1832, daughter of James Foley, who 
 died in 1840. In 1850 she left her birth- 
 place, and proceeding to Liverpool took 
 passage on the " Columbus," bound for 
 New York, in which city she landed after 
 a voyage of six weeks, thence continuing 
 her journey to Utica, near which city she 
 worked until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 351 
 
 Martin resided in Utica fur two years, and 
 then, in about 1856, came westward to 
 Wisconsin, leaving their only child, Mary 
 Ann, in New York with Mr. Martin's 
 mother. The}' came to Milwaukee by 
 rail, thence to De Pere, and shortly after- 
 ward purchased eighty acres in Section 9, 
 Rockland township, the price of the tract 
 being two hundred and forty dollars, two 
 hundred of which he paid down. It was 
 all new land, covered with timber, and a 
 small log house, built by Mr. Martin 
 himself, was the first dwelling on the 
 place. The clearing of the place was com- 
 menced at once, but, being equipped with 
 only the rude tools of those early days, the 
 task was a long and difficult one. But 
 those years, though full of hardship and 
 privation, were hapyy ones, for the pros- 
 pect of having a comfortable home and 
 farm which they could call their own was 
 everbefore them and cheered them through 
 the hardest trials. In a few years a more 
 substantial residence supplanted the log 
 cabin, the land became productive and 
 fertile as a result of their jiersex'erance 
 and unremitting care, and prosperity re- 
 warded their earl\- years of toil. 
 
 On this farm the remainder of their 
 children were born, as follows: Ellen, 
 Mrs. William Michaiid, of Talbot, Mich.; 
 Edward, li\'ing on the home farm, which 
 he works; James, at home; Michael, a 
 school-teacher; John, living at home, who 
 is one of the leading Democrats in the 
 township, and has served as chairman; 
 William (twin of John), who died when 
 six years old; and Bridg'^t E. and Anna 
 C, at home. Mary Ann, the oldest child, 
 is the wife of John Milan, of Pound, 
 Wis. The father of this famil\- was ac- 
 cidentally killed Januar\- 13, i S74, by a 
 falling limb, and his lifeless body was 
 found by his wife when she went to call 
 him to his mid-day meal. He was buried 
 in the Catholic cemetery at De Pere, and 
 his funeral, which was attended by a great 
 number of people from the surrounding 
 country, was one of the largest ever seen 
 here up to that time. He was a member 
 
 of St. Francis Church, De Pere. In his 
 party preferences he was a Democrat, 
 and, though not particularly active in 
 politics, held Several ofiices of trust, serv- 
 ing on the school board and as pathmaster 
 of the township. A kind, indulgent 
 father and an accommodating neighbor, 
 he was very popular, and was respected 
 by all who knew him, for his industry and 
 sterling integrity. At the time of his de- 
 cease he was tlie owner of 160 acres of 
 good land, all of which had been accunni- 
 lated by hard work, for \\'hen he landed 
 in this country he had no cajiital but a 
 pair of willing hands. After his death 
 his widow took charge of the farm, and 
 continued in the management until her 
 sons became competent to relieve her. 
 In 1 89 1 a comfortable residence was 
 erected, in which the famiU' now li\e. 
 They are all members of St. Francis 
 Church, De Pere, and are highly esteemed 
 in the community in which they reside. 
 
 NIELS PETERSON. Among the 
 respected self-made farmer citi- 
 zens of New Denmark township, 
 Brown county, none is more de- 
 servmg of mention than this gentleman. 
 He was born October 2, 1832, near Mar- 
 ibo, Denmark, a son of Peter and Mary 
 (Jensen) Peterson, the former of whom 
 was a farmer by occupation. There were 
 si.x children in the famih', of whom two 
 are deceased ; of the others, Stine still 
 lives in Denmark, while Jens, Niels (our 
 subject), and Rasmus are in New Den- 
 mark township. Brown Co., Wisconsin. 
 Our subject lost his parents by death 
 when he was but eight years of age, and 
 from that time on was in the employ of 
 farmers in the neighborhood of his birth- 
 place. At the age of twenty-seven years 
 he immigrated to America, proceeding 
 from his native land to Hamburg, whence 
 he sailed to New York, the voyage occu- 
 pying forty-nine da\s. .After landing he 
 came at once to Brown countw Wis., and 
 
J3- 
 
 COMMKMORATlVt: BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in New Denmark township engaged in 
 farm labor for two and a half years fol- 
 lowing, or until his enlistment, May 2, 
 1862, in Company K, Thirty-third Wis. 
 V. I. He was in active service until the 
 close of the war, participating in many 
 important engagements, among which 
 were Cold \\'ater, Vicksburg, Jackson, 
 Meridian, Pleasant Hill, Centerville, 
 Marks\ille, Yellow Bayou, Tupelo, >sash- 
 ville, Spanish Fort and Fort du Russy. 
 His record for braverv and gallantry is 
 one of which he may well feel j)routi, and 
 in recognition of his noble conduct the 
 government presented him with a silver 
 medal, on which are inscribed the names 
 of the battles in which he took an active 
 part. He was twice injured, on one oc- 
 casion receiving a bullet wound in the 
 left side, and at another time having his 
 hearing forever destroyed by a blow upon 
 the right ear ; he now receives a pension. 
 On August 9, 1S65, Mr. Peterson was 
 honorably discharged at Vicksburg, and, 
 returning to New Denmark township, 
 once more resumed the pursuits of peace, 
 for almost ten years working at the shoe- 
 maker's trade. 
 
 On March 11, 1S67, our subject was 
 united in marriage with Miss Martine Jen- 
 sen, daughter of Hans and Maren (Ras- 
 mussen) Jensen, and about that time pur- 
 chased the forty acres of land where he 
 yet resides. He constructed a small log 
 house, in which they lived for the first 
 year, and then erected another dwelling 
 (now occupied by his nephew), which in 
 turn was supplanted by the commodious 
 residence they now occupy. The farm is 
 equipped with all necessary outbuildings, 
 put up by Mr. Peterson himself, and is 
 well improved in every way, and under a 
 high state of cultivation, yielding the 
 owner a comfortable income. His success 
 has been the result of honesty and in- 
 dustry, and he has won the esteem of all 
 who know him. by his upright methods in 
 all his dealings with his fellowmen. He 
 is a Re])ublican in political preferences, 
 but takes no active interest in part}' affairs. 
 
 PETER MARCUSSEN, farmer of 
 New Denmark township. Brown 
 county, was born July 9, 1854, 
 in Denmark, son of Marks Peter- 
 son, a laborer. The latter married Mary 
 Peterson, and they reared a family of four 
 children, as follows: Peter, whose name 
 opens this sketch; Charles, now a resident 
 of New Denmark township. Brown Co., 
 Wis.; Sophia, living in Washington; and 
 August, of New Denmark township. 
 
 In 1858 this family immigrated to 
 America, embarking at Liverpool and 
 landing in New York after a voyage of 
 six weeks. From there they came to 
 Manitowoc, Wis., and thence directly to 
 New Denmark, in which township the 
 father purchased twenty acres of land 
 and cleared a space large enough for a 
 log house, wherein the family resided for 
 some time, and which is still staniiing, 
 near Fontenoy postoflice. There the 
 father passed the remainder of his days, 
 dying in July, 1865. The year following 
 the widow married Fred Mogland, and to 
 this union were born two children, both 
 of whom died in infancy. After a short 
 residence in New Denmark township Mr. 
 and Mrs. Mogland removed to Franklin, 
 Wis., where he owned a farm, and there 
 made their home until Mrs. Mogland's 
 death, after which her husband sold the 
 place and came again to New Denmark 
 township. Brown county, where he is 
 now living. 
 
 W'hen about twenty years of age Peter 
 Marcussen went to Pensaukee, Wis., 
 where he was employed in a sawmill for 
 three summers. For six winters he 
 worked for the Two Rivers Company in 
 New Denmark township, logging, and 
 then, during the spring, engaged in driving 
 logs, continuing in this vocation up to 
 the time of his marriage. On October 
 16, 1875, he wedded Miss Minnie John- 
 son, daughter of John and Carrie (Nelson) 
 IVterson. and, for the first two years 
 thereafter, the young couple lived in a 
 rented house near Fontenoy, Mr. Mar- 
 cussen working for D. Benkle in the sum- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPUWAL RECORD. 
 
 353 
 
 mer and in the- wootls ilurinj; the winter, 
 until he b(uif;ht the farm of forty acres in 
 New Denmark township, where he now 
 makes his home. He erected the present 
 dwelling house, and they immediately re- 
 moved to the farm, which was then yet 
 in its primitive condition, not a tree having 
 been cut from the place; but he has since 
 been busily engaged in clearing and im- 
 proving it, and, in addition, has worked 
 to some extent at the carpenter's trade. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Marcussen have been 
 born seven children, as follows: John, 
 Josie, Agnes, Arthur, Emma, Louis and 
 Tony, all of whom arc living at home. 
 Mr. Marcussen, having been given but 
 little opportunity during his youth to ob- 
 tain a good education, is a hearty sup- 
 porter of the common schools and takes 
 great interest in their advancement and 
 improvement in his section. Politically 
 he is a Democrat, has served his township 
 faithfully as assessor for four years, 1887- 
 91, and in the spring of 1894 was elected 
 supervisor. 
 
 HE. MOWERS, of Pittst^eld town- 
 ship. Brown county, was born 
 January 20, 1844, in Schwarz- 
 burg-Rudolstadt, Germany. His 
 parents, Henry and Elizabeth (Rust) 
 Mowers, had but two children, H. E., 
 our subject, and Frederick, the latter of 
 \\h<_iin tlied at the age of about si.\ and a 
 half years. 
 
 In 1853 Henry Mowers, with his wife 
 and son, came to Wisconsin, for about 
 one year living in Green Bay, and then 
 went to Stiles, later moving back to Green 
 Bay and remaining two years. He then 
 went to Bellevue township. Brown coun- 
 ty, where he pre-empted eighty acres of 
 wild land, on which the family lived five 
 years, and had cleared about twenty acres, 
 when, in 1861, the land was sold for a 
 very small price, and the family moved to 
 Scott township and rented a farm for 
 two years. The father then went to work 
 in a sawmill for about three years, 
 
 ne.xt engaged in teaming for Willard 
 Lamb's mill two years, and moved into 
 a house on the mill groundsand continued 
 in its emjiloy another year. He then 
 went to Suamico township, and worked 
 for Lamb, Watson & Co. for seven years. 
 with his team, and then fcr live years 
 with our subject. After this he went to 
 \arious places, returning twice, and died 
 in 1893, at the age of seventy-six jx'ars. 
 
 On March 4, 1865, H. E. Mowers en- 
 listed in Company D, Fifty-second Wis. 
 V. I., served in Missouri and Kansas, and 
 was discharged at Fort Leavenworth 
 July 28, 1865. Returning to Green Bay, 
 he made a neat sum in a speculation in 
 standing pine timber; then, the follow- 
 ing spring, teamed for Willard Lamb on 
 the dock, and in the fall bought a thresh- 
 ing machine for $725 in company with 
 Milo Burkert, and worked through the 
 country. The winter following he bought 
 UKjre standing timber and one team of 
 horses and one team of oxen, but diil not 
 succeed well, and sold the threshing ma- 
 chine. In the spring of i 867 he worked 
 around a mill, and in the fall went to 
 Flintville and teamed two years, then 
 sold the team and worked in the mill un- 
 til 1870, when he was made foreman in a 
 sawmill on Section 23, in the town of 
 Pittsfield, where he had charge of furty- 
 five men, five pairs of horses and seven 
 yoke of cattle; the next spring he had 
 charge of the drive; he then worked two 
 years on the river, flooding logs ; and 
 next for two years drove a supply team 
 for his old employers. Lamb, Watson & 
 Company. 
 
 On March 15, 1874, Mr. Mowers mar- 
 ried Miss Amelia, daughter of Frederick 
 and Minnie (Schultz) Gothe. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Gothe were born in Germany, and 
 were the parents of eight children, \iz. : 
 Hannah, Ferdinand, Amelia, Caroline, 
 Earnestine, August, Louise, and Herman. 
 The parents came to the United States 
 in 1853, lived temporarily at Duck Creek, 
 where the father worked for twenty-five 
 cents a day, and then settled in Pittsfield, 
 
354 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 where he made a homestead, on which 
 he hved until 1890, when he went to 
 Marinette county, returning thence in 
 1894. When Mr. Mowers married he 
 bought eighty acres of land at $4. 50 per 
 acre, and for eleven years lived in a 
 log shanty that stood on the farm, which 
 has been replaced by a tine modern frame 
 dwelling. For seven years he continued 
 working for others, and then commenced 
 to clear his own farm, now in fine con- 
 dition. Four children have been born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Mowers, \iz. : George W., 
 born December 18, 1874, deceased Janu- 
 ary 30, 1893; Frederick H., born June 
 20, 1876, deceased June 8, 1877; Edward 
 E., born July i, 1878, and Lewis O., 
 born July 30, 1880. The parents are 
 members of the Methodist Church, in 
 which Mr. Mowers is class leader, trustee 
 and Sunday-school superintendent. Po- 
 litically he is a Republican. He was a 
 member of the town board in 1876, and 
 served as town clerk from 1883 to 1890, 
 inclusive, and was re-elected in 1894. 
 He is a self-made man in every respect, 
 and as such is honored and esteemed by 
 all who know him or know of him. 
 
 C.^PTAIN JOHN W. JOHANN, 
 proprietor of an extensive sash, 
 blind and door factory in West 
 De Fere, was born June 17, 1837, 
 near the city of Homburg, Rhenish Ba- 
 varia, on the road usually taken by trav- 
 elers through central Germany to and 
 from Prussia, and made historic by the 
 fact that the great Napoleon sent the 
 larger part of his army over it on the ad- 
 vance to Moscow, and later by the fact 
 that the first battle of the Franco-Prus- 
 sian war was fought in its vicinity. John 
 W. Johann is a son of Nicholas Johann, 
 a coal miner, who married Elizabeth 
 Nieder. On March 2, 1846, Nicholas 
 Johann, with his wife and three sons — 
 Peter, Nicholas, and John W. — left the 
 old country, landing in Milwaukee. Wis., 
 
 the following Ma\-. Of the sons, Peter 
 married Catharine Witmann. and died in 
 1889, his widow now residing in Port 
 Washington, Wis. Nicholas died, un- 
 married, in 1866. 
 
 John W. Johann attended school in 
 Germany from the age of five until the 
 date of his leaving for America, a period 
 of three years, and this comprised the 
 whole of his scholastic studies. In the 
 3'ear of his arrival, 1846, the father, 
 Nicholas Johann, entered eighty acres of 
 wild timbered land, near Port Washing- 
 ton, Wis., which land he subsequently 
 subdued and developed from it a fine 
 farm, the three sons materially assisting 
 in the work. In 1862 John W. Johann 
 enlisted in Company C, Thirty-fourth 
 Wis. \'. I., and soon after was commis- 
 sioned second lieutenant. Nine months 
 later he received an honorable discharge, 
 and almost immediately re-enlisted, on 
 this occasion entering Company F, Thirty- 
 fifth Wis. \'. I., and from the organi- 
 zation served as first lieutenant — com- 
 manding his compan}' until 1S65, when 
 he was promoted to the captaincy and 
 served in that capacity until his final dis- 
 charge at MadLson, Wis., April 15, 1866. 
 Of his active duty during this long period 
 of devotion to the protection of the in- 
 tegrity and freedom of his adopted coun- 
 try, we can give only this brief record: 
 After a running skirmish near Memphis, 
 Tenn.. he fought near Morganza, La.; 
 then at St. Charles, Ark.-; Brownsville, 
 Ark. ; Spanish Fort, Ala. ; Whistle Sta- 
 tion, si.\ miles from Mobile, Ala., this 
 being among the last fights of the Re- 
 bellion. On his return to W'isconsin he 
 opened a general store at Port Washing- 
 ton in 1866, but sold out in 1869 and 
 bought an interest in the woolen mill at 
 Ccdarburg, Wis., and was secretary of 
 the company until 1880, when he bought 
 an interest in the Hilgen Sash & Uoor 
 Manufacturing Co. At Cedarburg he also 
 served as postmaster from 1869 until 
 1 884, acting in the meanwhile as secre- 
 tary for the Hilgen Company until the 
 
COMMKilOllA TlVh: ni(l(lI!Al'IIir.[L RECORD. 
 
 ^7 
 
 latter part of 1S83. In i SS4 he moved to 
 De Pere and bought the IarL;er part of K. 
 W. Person's sash, docjr and blind nnll, 
 which business he later (irgani/ed as a 
 joint-stock company, denominated the 
 Nicolet Sash, Door lS: Hliud Co., of which 
 he served as president until 1S91, when 
 he liought the entire jilant. The mill is 
 of brick, with a capacity dI <ine him- 
 dred doors ])er day, in addition to sash 
 and moldin,i;s, and when running on full 
 time Mr. [cihann emploxssome thirty-fue 
 hands. 
 
 On .Vugust 7, iS()(i, Mr. |(iliann was 
 united in marriage, at Cedarburg, Wis., 
 with Miss I'^liza F. Hilgen, daughter of 
 b'red Hilgen. the manufacturer, and t<.) 
 tills union three children have been born, 
 viz.: Albert H., who married Emma 
 Davis, and is living in De Pere; J. Mmil 
 and Nellie, both still at home with their 
 parents. P'raternally Mi-. |i)hami has 
 been a Freemason since 1S58, having 
 joined the lodge at Port Washington in 
 that year; he is also a member of Chapter 
 No. 20, Green Bay, and Sir Knight of 
 Palestine Coinmandery, N". iS, at the 
 same place; als<5 a member of the Blue 
 Lodge (Master Mason, third degree). No. 
 
 H5; at De Pere; and of llarrisc 
 
 Post 
 
 No. 91, G. .\. K., of De Pere, in which 
 he has held the offices of senior vice- 
 commander, jnmor \ice-connnander, and 
 quartermaster. In politics Mr. Johann 
 is a standi Re|)ublican, has served as 
 delegate to Slate and Congressional con- 
 ventions six different times, and was 
 chairman of the count\' cminnittee of 
 Ozaukee county for twelve years. .\t 
 one time he was ])i( miinently mentioned 
 for State treasurer, but declined a nomi- 
 nation. At Cedarburg, in 1 H.So, be had 
 the pleasure of shaking the hand of Gen. 
 Grant, and also had the honor of intro- 
 ducing several of his ac(|uaintances. 
 Prior to this he had seen all the more 
 distinguished generals of the Civil war, 
 and has met every governor of Wisconsin 
 since he has lived in tin- State, Gov. 
 Rusk having been an esiiecial friend. 
 20 
 
 JOSEPH CORMIER, one of the 
 |u'osperous, respected agriculturists 
 and business men of Howrir<l town- 
 shi[). Brown comity, is a nati\e of 
 Wisconsin, born ( )ctol)er S, 1 S4 1 , in ( iii/en 
 Bay. 
 
 He is a son of l)a\ id .uid .\deline 
 (Goodchild) Cormier, the iailier a iiati\e 
 of Three Rivers, Canada, the mother of 
 Montreal; she died when our suliject was 
 but two ye.ars of age. l)a\id Cormier 
 married, for his secontl wiie, a Mrs. Mal- 
 let, by whom were boin two children— - 
 both sons, and both now deceased. David 
 Cormier was a blacksmith, and in 18^7 
 located in Green Bay, \\'bere he followed 
 his trade for a considerable time, and bu' 
 two years was in tlie government emjiloy; 
 then engaged in the fish business until 
 1850, when he moved to a place near the 
 present home of his son, Joseph, on which 
 he died in 1888, aged seventy-one years. 
 David was a son of Fabian and Geneve 
 Cormier, Canadians, who came to Wis- 
 consin and also located in Green I>ay in 
 1837. but sul)se(iuently removed to near 
 our subject's home in Howard township, 
 where I'abian Cormier died at the age of 
 sixty, and his wife at about the age of 
 eighty years. They were the parents of 
 eight children — four sons and four daugh- 
 ters. 
 
 Joseph Cormier passed his years on 
 the farm of his father until his marriage 
 in 1864 with Miss Mary Lonzo, a nati\'(; 
 of Fort Howard, who was born April 30, 
 1841, daughter cjf Jost'ph and judali 
 ('Greenwf)od) Lonzo, who came to Green 
 Bay, Wis., al»<ut 1S37, and in 184S set- 
 tled on a farm in Duck Cret'k, where they 
 passed the remainder of their days, both 
 d\-ing at the age of seventy-live years. 
 They liad a f.uiiily of ^wc children, of 
 whom four are still li\ing. To the mar- 
 riage of Mr. and .Mis. Jose])h ('ormier 
 have come two children, \iz. : Delia, Ixuai 
 June 25, 1876, and George, born |uiu~ 8, 
 1878. Joseph Cormier and his young 
 wife began their married life in a little 
 big- home on .a fort\-acre tract belonging 
 
358 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to Mr. Cormier's father, and livetl in this 
 house for two years, when they built their 
 present comfortable residence and added 
 forty acres to their farm. Mr. Cormier 
 also became interested in a stone quarry 
 his father sold to the Chicago & North 
 Western Railway Company, and was en- 
 gaged in running scows on the lakes for 
 ten years; his father conducted the Bru- 
 nette quarry for ten years. Mr. Cormier 
 is a man of most generous impulses, and 
 is withal a first-class business man, al- 
 though of domestic proclivities. With 
 his wife he is a member of the Catholic 
 Church, as were his forefathers in Can- 
 ada, and he lives faithfully up to its 
 teachings. His benevolent disposition 
 has been manifested by the adoption, at 
 the age of nine years, of a lad named S. 
 E. Marcotte, who is now grown to man- 
 hood, and is employed as a commercial 
 traveler. 
 
 JOSEPH NORTON. Among the 
 leading farmers and extensive land- 
 owners of Rockland township, Brown 
 county, none holds a more enviable 
 position in the esteem of his fellow citi- 
 zens than this gentleman, who has been 
 prominently identified with the interests 
 of his section for the past forty years. 
 He is a native of Ireland, born January 
 20, 1824, in County Wicklow, eldest son 
 of James and Catherine (Kelly) Norton, 
 the former of whom was an industrious 
 farmer in his native country, cultivating 
 a rented farm. There were fourteen chil- 
 dren in the family — four sons and ten 
 daughters — of whom our subject was the 
 second in order of birth. 
 
 Joseph Norton attended the common 
 schools of Ireland up to the age of fifteen 
 j'ears, when he commenced farming, re- 
 ceiving his first instruction in this voca- 
 tion inider his father. He continued farm- 
 ing there imtil 1S50, when he concluded 
 to try his fortune in America, and, receiv- 
 ing some assistance from his father, he left 
 his home on March 17 of that year, pro- 
 
 ceeding to Liverpool, where he took pas- 
 sage on the "Kossuth," a sailing vessel 
 which had been recently fitted up and 
 was then one of the largest vessels afloat, 
 carrj'ing 700 passengers. Mr. Norton 
 landed in New York after a voyage of 
 thirty-three days, and, finding himself 
 short of funds, abandoned his original in- 
 tention to proceed west at once and 
 commenced to work as a farm hand in 
 Onondaga county, N. Y. His emploxer, 
 Caleb Brown, was one of the leading 
 farmers of that section of the State, and 
 during the five years he remained there 
 Mr. Norton gathered some very useful 
 ideas on agriculture. In October, 1855, 
 our subject came to Dc Pere, Brown Co., 
 Wis., and, with his savings, purchased 
 eighty acres of wild land in Section i 5, 
 Rockland township, to which he added 
 another eighty acres the following year, 
 this being the farm of 160 acres where 
 he now makes his home. F"inding that 
 he could make more money at sawinilling, 
 for the first five years he obtained em- 
 ployment with Mr. Ritchie in the sawmills 
 near De Pere, and being industrious and 
 steady was able to save considerable from 
 his earnings. 
 
 On July 24, 1858, Mr. Norton was 
 married, in Green Bay, to Miss Bridget 
 Forestal, a native of County Kilkenny, 
 Ireland, whose father, Thomas Forestal, 
 died before she was born, and she came 
 to America with her mother and two 
 brothers, Thomas and Edward; their vox- 
 age across the Atlantic occupied si.\ weeks 
 and three days. After his marriage Mr. 
 Norton settled on his farm, on which a 
 few improvements had been made, a 
 house and barn built, etc. ; b.it the land 
 was still for the most part in its primitive 
 condition, and wild animals abounded. 
 After years of tireless, unremitting in- 
 dustry he fotmd himself the possessor of 
 the highly productive, well-improved farm 
 where the family yet reside, and which 
 has supplanted the unbroken forest which 
 stood there when he first came to this 
 section. Mr. and Mrs. Norton have had 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 359 
 
 the following children: Katie C, who 
 lives at home; Mary A., Mrs. William 
 Powers, of Nahma, Mich., who was a 
 school-teacher for some time; Sarah, 
 Mrs. John Shaughnessy, of Fort Howard; 
 James, Timothy and Anna S., at home. 
 
 Mr. Norton has given agriculture his 
 principal attention, and has few, if any, 
 equals in that hne in Brown county. He 
 is now the owner of 600 acres in Wrights- 
 town and Rockland townships, which he 
 has accumulated through industrj- and 
 hard work, and his success in his life- 
 work shows what a young man may 
 accomplish if persevering and diligent. 
 Forty-four _\ears ago he landed in New 
 York with but ten dollars in money, to- 
 day he is ranked among the successful 
 self-made men of his community. His 
 energy, economical habits and physical 
 strength have been important factors in 
 his success, but his business sagacitv and 
 good judgment have also proved of no 
 small value. I-Ionest and trustworthy, 
 he has always enjoyed the confidence of 
 all who have had dealings with him in 
 any wav. He has lived to see the sur- 
 rounding country transformed from a for- 
 est, and has himself taken an acti\'e part 
 in the advancement and imjiroN'ement of 
 the region, especially in his own neigh- 
 borhood. 
 
 Politically he is a Deinocrat, and has 
 always been stanch in supporting the 
 principles of his party, in\ariably voting 
 that ticket in National and State af- 
 fairs, in local elections, however, giv- 
 ing his support to the candidate whom 
 he considers best fitted for the office. 
 He has never aspired to jiolitical honors 
 himself, his own extensive interests de- 
 manding the greater share of his time and 
 attention, but he served as school director 
 in his district. In religious connection 
 he and his wife are members of St. Francis 
 Catholic Church, of De Pere. Though 
 now over seventy years of age, Mr. Nor- 
 ton is in good health, and can perform a 
 a day's work that would be a credit to a 
 man many years his junior. On Febru- 
 
 ary I, 1865, Mr. Norton enlisted at Green 
 Bay in Company .V, h'ifty-second Wis. 
 V. I., and was sent to St. Louis, but saw 
 no service, as he was taken ill with small- 
 pox, and received his discharge. 
 
 GEORGE W, SliNSIBA, a retired 
 business man and farmer of Su- 
 amico. Brown county, was born 
 January 14, 1824, in Delaware 
 county, N. Y., a son of Alfred Sensiba, 
 who was a son of Samuel and Mar\- 
 (Taylor) Sensiba. Samuel was a native 
 of Germany, and died in Utica, N. Y. , 
 an exile from his native laml on account 
 of his father's acti\ity in the patriot army 
 during the German war. Mar)' (Taylor) 
 Sensiba was of English descent, and died 
 in Onondaga county, N. Y., at the age of 
 seventy years. 
 
 Alfred Sensiba was one of a lamily of 
 seven children, and was born in Massa- 
 chusetts. When a boy he hired out as a 
 farm hand, but sustained a permanent 
 injury to his health by contracting a cold, 
 and abandoned farming for canal-boating, 
 running on the Erie canal three or four 
 years. At the end of that time he went 
 to Jordan, N. Y. , and established a soap 
 and candle business, later ino\'ing to 
 Seneca Falls, N. Y., where he engaged 
 in the same business a while; then, in 
 1842, he went to Indiana, where he con- 
 tinued to make soap and candles until his 
 removal to St. Joseph, Mich. Here he 
 bought a farm, but finally sold out and 
 came to Suamico, Brown Co., Wis., 
 where he died at the age of seventy-se\-en. 
 Alfred Sensiba was married, when t\\ent\-- 
 three years old, to Miss Nancy Houghtal- 
 ing, who was born in Delaware county, 
 N. Y. , and is still lix'ing at the home of 
 our subject, George W., who is her only 
 child. 
 
 George W. Sensiba worked at \arious 
 employments until 1844, when he came 
 West, worked in Chicago one vi'ar, and 
 then went to Lockjiort, N. ^'., with a 
 stock of goods. The next year he re- 
 
360 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE JJloallAl'lIICAL liECORD. 
 
 turned to Chicajjo and enlisted, in 1846, 
 in the Mexican war, but was prevented 
 from Roin^ by an attack of nieasels. In the 
 fail of the same j'ear he came to Brown 
 county, Wis., and for two or three years 
 carried on a cooper shop at Green Bay, 
 following which he was engaged in the 
 fish traile on the lakes six or seven years. 
 On August 26, 1850, he wedded Miss 
 Maria Wiltsey, who was born in London. 
 Canada, and during the Mexican war 
 came to the United States with her par- 
 ents, Hiram and Susan Wiltsey. farming 
 people, who died in Michigan; they were 
 the parents of seven children. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. George W. Sensiba have been 
 born eleven children, of whom ten are 
 living, \\z. : Amanda, who married and 
 had three children, two of whom are 
 married and have two children ; Georgi- 
 ana ; Arvilla, marrieil ; Alfred, married 
 and has four children ; Frank ; William ; 
 EfVie ; George C. ; Burgess ; and Irving. 
 Mr. Sensiba resumed the tish trade 
 for several years after his marriage, and 
 then went on the farm where he now 
 lives, and, after cultivating it for several 
 years, went north, again entering the fish 
 trade. I'or several years following he 
 handled cedar posts, and about i860 re- 
 turned to his old farm. In 1864 he 
 shipped in the navy, serving until August 
 22. 1865. when he again returned to his 
 farm for a time, and next removed to 
 Fort Howard, there following the grocery 
 and fish trade until 1S70. in which year 
 he sold out and retired to live in peace 
 and ease on his homestead in Suamico. 
 Mr. Sensiba is a Republican in his politi- 
 cal affiliations, and was originally an 
 olii-line Whig, casting his first vote for 
 Gen. Zachary Taylor. He has been 
 (piite active in local politics, and is now 
 serving as a justice of the peace. He and 
 his family are consistent members of the 
 Methodist Eiiiscopal Church, in which 
 congregation Mrs. Sensiba is especially 
 active, and for which she acts as Sunday- 
 school superintendent. Mr. Sensiba's in- 
 dustrious business career has won for him 
 
 the admiration of his fellow citizens, 
 while his persevering econouiy has se- 
 cured for him a competency that enables 
 him to enjoy his declining years, bereft of 
 the cares that so long engaged his atten- 
 tion. He is regarded as an upright, char- 
 itable gentleman, at all times ready to 
 aid. with his time and purse. an\' move- 
 ment calculated to advance the well-being 
 of his township and county and enhance 
 the happiness of his neighbors, j'oung and 
 old. and in consequence enjoys their un- 
 feigned esteem. 
 
 JOHN CRAANEN. farmer and stock 
 raiser, and owner of a fine farm of 
 200 acres in Scott township. Brown 
 county, is a native of same, born 
 January 30. i860, youngest child of Chris- 
 tian and Theodora (Hooken) Craanen. 
 
 Our subject received his early educa- 
 tion in the then primitive log cabin schools 
 of Scott township, and subsequently for 
 three years attended the parochial schools 
 at Calvary. Wis. He was reared to agri- 
 cultural life, and, after his school days 
 were over, commenced to assist his father 
 on the home farm, where he always re- 
 mained up to the time of his marriage. 
 On April 26. 1892. he was married, at 
 Bay Settlement, to Miss Jennie Noonyen, 
 who was born in Scott township in 
 1S72. daughter of Leonard Noonyen, 
 a native of Holland, and this union has 
 been blessed with one child. Frank, born 
 Ma>' II, 1893. After marriage Mr. 
 Craanen located in his present home, and 
 here conducts a successful general farm- 
 ing and stock-raising business. As before 
 inentioneil, he has a prime farm of 200 
 acres, and is without an equal in his town- 
 ship among the farmers of his age. He 
 is thorouglily conversant with every depart- 
 ment of his chosen vocation, having been 
 engaged in agriculture from his early boy- 
 hood, and to-day he ranks among the 
 most prosperous of the agriculturists of 
 his locality. Diligent and thorough, he 
 has shown himself fully competent to sue- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BWaUAPIIlCAL UEVORI). 
 
 361 
 
 ci'ssfulh' inaiiam' liis cNtriisix'c interests, 
 t(i wliieh lie f;i\'es his iiiuliNided .Uteiitinii. 
 In i"clif;ioiis comiectioii lie ;iihl liis wile 
 arc iiii'iiihers i)f the (.'athnhe ("liiireh at 
 ]-5ay Sel tieiiieiit, anil in polities he is a 
 Dcmncial. hilt j^ivcs little time to parly' 
 affairs. 
 
 J 
 
 anil patient Idil h\ hmisell, his wih' and 
 his suns, wh.'ll llie l.illel heeanie nid 
 eliiiiit^h ti> lend tlnar ,nd. The einldleii 
 horn to Mr. and Mrs. |ared 1). .Mason 
 were ten in ninnhei, \ i/. : .\n inlaiil, horn 
 .April S, 1S5.1, who died nnnained; .\lhert 
 L. , horn .\pril S, iSc;,, who died .\iii;iist 
 <S, I<S5iS; Marcus | , horn |aiuiaiy 11, 
 1S57; Mary, horn h'ehriiaiy i, 1S59; 
 Sarah (",, horn Maiih 17, i.S()i, who 
 ched l'~ehriiai\ <), I SO J ; Nhirlli.i .A,, horn 
 
 .\l\-h;i) 1). MASON, hirnu'r of I'itts- 
 fiejd township, Urowii eoiinl\. w,i> 
 horn |niie 1^, lS_^(), in (iiailon, Ajtri! 2^, iSi):;, who died May^, iSdJ; 
 
 ('ieoii;e 1)., hoin |illie .'1, 1S113; Minnie 
 
 aer Co., N. V. 
 
 and is (K 
 
 Si'eiided hoin Ke\(>lnl lonai \' stoek, his |., horn Mareh JO, iSdd; Cora !'>., horn 
 great-f,Mandfather, Capt. John Mason, an | April _'o, 1S70, and Uialie ('., horn ( )et<>- 
 
 luiijlishnian, haviiip' hcen hiirned at the 
 
 hi-r 1. 1, 1S73 
 
 M 
 
 Mason is .1 de\diit 
 
 slake hy the Iiidi.ins diiriii;^ that patnolii- ineinher ol llie Melliodisl ( IiiikIi. In 
 
 hill fearful sti"iiL;,L;le |oi .\nieijiaii inde- 
 |)eii<lenee. |are<l 1). Mason islheeKU'sl 
 of seven rlnlihcn horn In |olin and jloro- 
 thy Mason, w In > dud on t hen lain 1 > i| 11 h) 
 acres in tliiai n.iti\c Slate, New ^ ork, 
 and woe interred al Sand Lake nr I'res- 
 ton 1 1 ill ', Keiissi'i.ier e( miil \ . 
 
 |aied 1). Masiiii was reared on the 
 hoiiu' laini, on wliu li he remained until 
 ahoiit lweiil\-tliree wars of aj.;e, when 
 he married. May },\, 1S53, Catherine 
 Lawlor, daughter of l'"iiwaril and Mary 
 (I'^it/patriek I Lawlor, of Irish descent. 
 Mr. Mason now honi;ht sixty acres of land 
 from his lather at \\\'r dollars |ier acri-, 
 on which farm some few improNi'incnts 
 had hecn made, and here he and his wifi' 
 lived until lS('i5. when llie\ came to Wis- 
 consin, stoppiiiL; at Cireeii l'>a\', lux'anse 
 the i"ailwa\' stopped there, and thence 
 heinj; drawn to the woods h\ llenrx 
 Howard with a team of horses. Here 
 Mr. Mason rented a lo,i; cahiii, i6x20 
 fed, in which he li\c'd one year, workint,' 
 for Hrowii tv I'Aiiis, himhcrmeii, lor two 
 
 politics .Mr. M.ison is a Deiiioc rat, and 
 has ser\'eil his fellow citi/ens with innch 
 credit as meinher ol the side hoar<l lor 
 three years, and as town clerk lor one year. 
 
 A 
 
 ( I. 1\LI\/, a |iidiiiiiieiil pliolo^ra- 
 phei, ol (.ri'eii Bay, ha\in.i; a line 
 studio lo( .lied al Nos. J 10 and 
 212 Clu'rrx' stre'et, is the only 
 child of C,. and Minnie 1 Domier) Kiir/, 
 hotli ii.iti\es ol Ciermaiu'. The lather 
 came al an earl\ dale to K'ipoii, Wis., 
 was later niari"ie(l in I lncaj;o, and rmally, 
 in iS(>(), settled upon a new farm in \\'in- 
 nehai^o county. ,Al)onl 1871 he reni<)\-e(l 
 with his family to Cii-ecn Hay, estal)lislied 
 a marhle \al'd, and eni;;i!;e(l at his old 
 trade of marhle cnltin^. .\fler a iiumher 
 of \'ears he retired from hiisiiiess, and he 
 and liis wife are holh yet li\in,L;. 
 
 Our snliject was horn in 1867, in ICn- 
 reka, Winneloaso Co., Wis., and when 
 ahoiit ff)nr \-ears of ace came with his 
 
 parents lo Cireeii r)ay. Here he received 
 dollars per day. He then hon;.;ht lOo ; his education in the piihlic schools, and 
 
 acres of timl^ered land, hut let a hrotlu;r 
 in-law, Mr. Lynch, have eifjhty acres of 
 the tract. All the vicissitudes of pioneer 
 life were here gone throiij^li; tlic cahin of 
 18x26 feet is now a comforlahle dwellin;.;, 
 and the forest chanj^ed to a f(n-lil(> farm, 
 hut all this required j'ears of unceasing 
 
 lilted himself for commercial pursuits hy 
 altendinf; l)usiness collcf^e under I'rof. J. 
 N. McCiinn. Al the asjje of foiirUu.Mi years 
 he hegan to learn the art of photof^'raphy, 
 and four years later, in tlie fall of 1885, 
 launched out in business at De Perc. His 
 original prece]itor in the artist's line was 
 
36: 
 
 COMMEMOHATIVK BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 T. W. Schneider, and the lessons were 
 well learned. He formed a partnership 
 with Mr. Xus.s, under the firm name of 
 Kurz & Nuss, with a studio on Washing- 
 ton street, which was continued until 
 1892. Upon the dissolution of this part- 
 ncrsiiip Mr. Kur/: engaged in business in 
 Milwaukee, but in February. 1894. located 
 in Green Bay. At this place, in i 890. he 
 married Miss Augusta Straubel. daughter 
 of Ernest Straubel, an early settler of 
 Brown county, who now resides in Green 
 Bay. Two children have come to grace 
 their home. Mr. \\ur/. is a member of 
 Green Bay Lodge. No. 19. I. O. O. F. ; 
 Pochequctte Lodge, No. 26. K. of P. ; 
 also of the Royal Arcanum and the Order 
 of the Maccabees. In politics he is an 
 earnest Republican. 
 
 Ri:V. P. j. CAUTEREELS, the 
 worlli\' and niuch-be!o\ed pastor 
 of the Church of the Holy Gross, 
 in Bay Settlement. Brown county, 
 is a native of Belgium, born in the city of 
 Antwerp, January 3, 1S33. 
 
 His elementary education was received 
 at the parish schools of Antwerp, after 
 leaving which he studied the classics, 
 philosophy and theology in the seminary 
 of Malines, in which institution he was 
 appointed professor of Latin after his con- 
 secration to the priesthood, at Malines 
 (or Mechlin), in December, 1857. In 
 1862 he resigned this incumbency, and, 
 returning to Antwerp, was given the posi- 
 tion of chaplain to Ste. Elizabeth Hos- 
 pital, which he filled with characteristic 
 diligence and Christian zeal until 1872, in 
 which year he was given charge, as priest, 
 of the church at the village of Hemi.xem, 
 Antwerp. At the end of ten years, in 1 8S2, 
 he resigned his charge, and having ex- 
 pressed a desire, and received permission 
 from his superiors, to engage in the labor 
 of love among his countrymen and others 
 in the Far West of America, he was 
 saluted with many a hearty " bon voyage " 
 on leaving Antwerp on the 25th of June, 
 
 that year, on board the Red Star Line 
 steamship "• Westerland," for New York, 
 where he arrived July 10 following. From 
 there he came direct to Wisconsin, and 
 in the township of Humboldt, Brown 
 county, he was stationed as priest, hav- 
 ing charge, in all of four congregations up 
 to the year 1892, when he came to the 
 Church of the Holy Cross, at Bay Settle- 
 ment, his present benefice. Mr. Caute- 
 reels is also rector of St. Francis Convent, 
 where are employed twenty-two teachers, 
 and here, as in his congregation, he is 
 held in the highest regard as a pious 
 ChristiaiH servant of the Master. 
 
 JOSEPH HUSSIN, farmer and hotel- 
 keeper in the village of Duck Creek, 
 Brown county, is one of eight chil- 
 dren — three sons and five daughters — 
 still living of a very large family born to 
 Joseph and Florence (Toussaint) Hussin, 
 natives of Belgium, the former of whom 
 was born in the Province of Liege in 1812, 
 and the latter in the Province of Namur 
 in 1816. 
 
 Joseph Hussin, our subject, was born 
 in the Province of Liege, and on June 20, 
 1856, sailed with the family from Ant- 
 werp for New York, at which port they 
 arrived after a passage of six weeks, and 
 next day proceeded on their way to Green 
 Bay, Wis. The father at once engaged 
 at his trade of stone-cutting, working at 
 same until October, when he moved to 
 Duck Creek and built a log cabin, 20 x 20 
 feet, in the dense woods which at that 
 early day still covered the country, and 
 here his family resided for two years. He 
 then rented a farm, on which he lived 
 three or four ^-ears, and then bought his 
 present farm, following his trade in the 
 meantime about five years. Joseph Hus- 
 sin, whose name opens this sketch, worked 
 on the home farm, and at intervals hired 
 out by the month until his marriage, Feb- 
 ruary 8, 1869, to Miss Octavie Lumay, 
 a native of the Province of Brabant, Bel- 
 gium, and daughter of John J. and Fran- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 363 
 
 ces Luinay. The Lumay family came to 
 the United States about the same year in 
 which the Hussin family immigrated. 
 The father was a tailor, a trade he fol- 
 lowed all his life, but on his arrival in 
 America he rented a farm in Door county, 
 Wis. , on which he dietl at the age of si.\ty- 
 six years, and his wife at the age of sixty- 
 two. They were the parents of several 
 •children, four of whom are living; the 
 others died in infancy. 
 
 To our subject and wife have been 
 born eleven cliildreii, of whom ten are 
 yet living; the eldest son is married and 
 has three sons. After his marriage Mr. 
 Hussin settled on a farm in the vicinity of 
 his father's place; but, after a residence 
 there of four years, sold out and bought 
 his prL'seut property in the village, open- 
 ing a hotel and saloon, where his accom- 
 modating disposition and pleasing man- 
 ners have won him hosts of friends. His 
 surplus earnings have been invested in 
 farm property, and he is the owner of one 
 or two choice tracts of land in the neigh- 
 borhood. Politically he is a Democrat, 
 and cast his first Presidential vote for 
 Samuel J. Tilden; but he is a man who 
 thinks for himself and is capable of form- 
 ing his own opinions. For four years he 
 served as township treasurer, having been 
 elected on the Independent ticket — a fact 
 which gives evidence of his great popu- 
 larity with the people — and for seven or 
 eight years he has served as assessor, be- 
 ing the present incumbent of that office. 
 He is secretary of the Grange, and is 
 recognized everywhere as a man of ability. 
 The family are all devout Catholics. 
 
 JOHN G. FINDEISEN. who for over 
 forty years has been indentified with 
 the interests of Scott township. Brown 
 county, as a farmer and landowner, 
 is a native of Wittenberg, Germany, born 
 August 5, 1 8 14, son of Gottlieb Findeisen, 
 a farmer, who had three children — one 
 son and two daughters — of whom the son, 
 John G.. is tlie eldest. 
 
 (Jiir subject recei\-ed his education in 
 the connnon schools of his nati\e coun- 
 try, which he attended from the time he 
 was six years old until he reaclu'd the age 
 of fouiteen, also attending the Sabbath- 
 school four years, as required by law. 
 He was reared to farm life; but his father's 
 place being a small fine, he usually worked 
 f(jr (jthers, his earnings being very meager, 
 never exceeding twenty-five tlollars a 
 year. Yet, in three years, he had saved 
 enough to pay his way to America, where 
 he hoped to lind better opportunities for 
 advancement, and, leaving Germauv, he 
 proceeded to England, where he em- 
 barked, at London, on the sailing vessc;! 
 "Maggie Evans,'' bound for New \'ork, 
 the \'oyage lasting from May i^ to [une 
 19(1848). His destination being Green 
 l>ay. Wis., he journeyed from New York 
 to Albany l)y boat, thence bv rail to 
 Buffalo, from there coming by water to 
 Milwaukee, where he remained a week, 
 waiting for another boat. To Peshtigo 
 he came on a lumber vessel, thence by a 
 smaller one to Green Bay, where he 
 landed July 20. Here he f(jund w(H-k 
 cutting cordwood for a merchant, and 
 subsequently came to New Franken, 
 which at that time was included in l^ay 
 Settlement. In Green Bay township he 
 purchased a tract of forty acres (for which 
 he paid $1.25 j)er acre), directly opposite 
 his present farm, the place at that time 
 being all in the woods and totall\- un- 
 improved, not a stick having been cut 
 or a habitation of any kind erected. 
 He set to work and built a log cabin, 
 20x28, and also commenced the clear- 
 ing of the land, which for a long time 
 yielded scarcely anything; but he ob- 
 tained a small income by the manufac- 
 ture of shingles by hand, for which he re- 
 ceived one dollar a thousand. On this 
 farm he remained twenty-nine years, and 
 then removed across the road into the 
 township of Scott, erecting another log 
 house on the site of his present substan- 
 tial residence, which was built in 18S5. 
 Mr. Findeisen now owns 155 acres of 
 
3^4 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 prime fanning land, lying in Scott and 
 Green Baj- townships, all acciiiniilated 
 from the nucleus of forty acres of wikler- 
 ness and timber land that he owned in 
 184S. hlis success has been achieved by 
 ceaseless industry and unremitting toil. 
 He has seen his land transformed from a 
 dense forest abounding with wild animals 
 to a well-cultivated productive farm, 
 which he and his children now enjoy, the 
 trials, privations and hardships of those 
 early days being forever jiast. Mr. b'in- 
 deisen was actively engaged in general 
 farming and stock-raising until about 
 1880, when he practically retired from 
 the work, his farm now being conducted 
 by his sons, John, .Andrew and George, 
 who have shown themselves fully com- 
 petent to manage the affairs of the place. 
 Few farmers in the township have met 
 with more gratifying success, and Mrs. 
 Findeisen also deserves her share of 
 credit, for, by her economy and thrift, 
 she has been of no small assistance in 
 the accumulation of the property. During 
 the first winter of their marriage Mr. 
 Findeisen was employed in Green Bay, 
 cutting wood at six shillings a cord (and 
 boarding himself), and during that time 
 his wife remained alone in their cabin in 
 the forest — but a single illustration cf the 
 many inconveniences endured in those 
 early days. 
 
 Mr. Findeisen was married in Green 
 Bay to Miss Margaret Hoffman, who was 
 born July 13, 1824, in Wittenberg, Ger- 
 many, and came to America with her 
 future husband, their marriage taking 
 place July 21, 1848. This union was 
 blessed with children as follows: Sophia 
 (now deceased), who married Henry Senn, 
 and had four children; Louis W., a 
 hardware merchant of Green Bay, who 
 is married and has two children ; Leonard, 
 a member of the firm of Findeisen Bros., 
 hardware merchants of Green Bay, who 
 is married and has one child; Conrad, 
 .\ndrcw, George and John, all living on the 
 home farm; Henry, a general merchant of 
 Antigo, Wis. ; Caroline, deceased at the age 
 
 of nine years; Edward, deceased at the age 
 of five; and Emma, living at home. Of 
 these ANDREW, GEORGE and JOHN 
 are engaged in conducting the home farm, 
 and they are recognized as intelligent, in- 
 dustrious young men, successful in their 
 chosen vocation, in which they rank 
 second to none. Two of the other sons, 
 Louis W. and Leonard, carry on one of 
 the most extensive and profitable hard- 
 ware businesses in Green Bay. 
 
 John G. Findeisen cast his ballot for 
 Abraham Lincoln in 1864, and since that 
 time has been a stanch Republican, taking 
 no active part in politics, however, though 
 he is deeply interested in the success of 
 his party. His seven sons are also mem- 
 bers of that party, and keep themselves 
 well informed in its movements. In re- 
 ligious comiection he and his wife are 
 members of the German M. E. Church, 
 in which he has been trustee, and the 
 other members of the family at home are 
 also identified with the same societv. 
 
 JACOB FALCK, a progressive busi- 
 ness man of De Perc, Brown coun- 
 ty, is a native of Wisconsin, born 
 December 13, 1848, in Milwaukee 
 county. Wis., the eldest son of Philip 
 and Catherine (Hanger) Falck. 
 
 Our subject was but seven years of 
 age when his parents came to Brown 
 county, settling in Morrison township, 
 where they purchased 290 acres in Section 
 7, and also 160 acres in Section 22. On 
 the first-named property Jacob was reared 
 to manhood, receiving such education as 
 the meager school facilities of the day 
 afforded. As the eldest boy in the fam- 
 ily, the greater portion of the work in 
 assisting on the farm fell to his lot, and 
 he was but fifteen or sixteen years old 
 when a team was placed in his hands, 
 with which to help the hired man. He 
 labored hard and faithfully until nearly 
 twenty-six years of age, and acquired 
 those steady habits which have so nuich 
 benefited him in his subsequent business- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE DIOGliAPnWAL RECOIW. 
 
 367 
 
 career. In Aiij;ust, 1874, he establisheii 
 himself in a salonn in the l>aseinent of 
 Wheeler's (lrn,L; stcire m I )e I'ere, where 
 he nia<!e many friends and pmspert'd for 
 two years; his increasin;; tratle caused his 
 removal to a huildiii};' ownetl by C. G. 
 Wilcox in the business part oi the city, 
 whiih binldin.!;^, with fort y-ei,i;ht feet fron- 
 tage, he subse(inentl\ |inrcliasei,l, but in 
 April, 1S88, these prennses were de- 
 stroyed by lire. With his usual energy, 
 however, he erected at once a more sub- 
 stantial structure, which lorms one of the 
 best business blocks in the city, and here 
 he is doing a betlei" trade than r\er. 
 
 On .August 28. 187S, in .Manitow cic 
 countw Wis., .Mr. b'alcls married Miss 
 Mary .Me\er. a native of that county, born 
 April 16, 1859, a daughtei- ol iMcdcrick 
 and Sophia (Kasteu) Me\cr. The chil- 
 dren lc^ultin^ from this marriage were 
 named (ieorge E., bom |une 14, 1879, 
 and died |uly 10 of tlu- same year; Alma 
 \i. \\.. boin .\ui;ust (>, 1880; Walter R. , 
 liorn Xo\end)ei- o, 1S82; Elsa C. S. , 
 boiii December 17, 1884; and b>ven J., 
 born February 1, 1804. In National and 
 State politics iMr. l''alck usiialh' supports 
 the Democratic nominei's, but in county 
 and municipal matters he votes foi" the 
 candidate he ccuisiders best titled lor 
 office. He has himself ser\ed creditably 
 two terms on the board ol aldi-rmen, but 
 has declined lurther nominalion. He 
 and his wife are consistent mcMnbers of 
 the Lutheran Cluu'cdi, am! both stand well 
 in the esteem of the pul)lic. In 189J; Mr. 
 Falck built one of the most modern resi- 
 dences in De I'ere. lie has the reputation 
 of conducting "the most oi'deily saloon 
 in the city," and is a very popular citizen, 
 is (]uiet and unassuming, makes friends 
 with all who meet him, and iftains them. 
 
 M 
 
 I LO .AMES, a successfid fanner 
 
 and lumberman of I'itlsfield 
 
 township, l)rown county, was 
 
 born January 14, 1842, in 
 
 Erie county, Penn., son of Xathaniel 
 
 and Mirantla (Madisonj Ames, the former 
 a successful carpenter and farmer; he was 
 twice married, first to Miranda Madison, 
 and had eleven children. 
 
 (^n .September 10, i8()i, Milo Ames 
 enlisted in Comp.any K, Eighty-third P. 
 \'. I., in response to the call for 75,000 
 nun, and ser\'cd until I'ebi uary 2, 1863, 
 when he re-enlisted and ser\'ed until July 
 3, 1804. He was in every battle in wliicli; 
 the .irnu' of the Potomac was engaged 
 duiiu!; this [leriod, and was wounded at 
 (iaines' Mills. .\fter his reco\cr\ and 
 discharge fi'om the lios|iital he was ap- 
 pointed dispatch eoiu'ier, and served in 
 this capacitx' until his discharge at Harris- 
 burg, wIk'u he retmiied to his home and 
 jiassed some time in the oil country. ( )n 
 l-'ebruary 22, 1 86('i, he was united in mar- 
 riage with Loisa l'>aker, one ol the thir- 
 teen children born to William 11. .and 
 Loisa (Stowell) liaker, the former a native 
 of New ^'ork, and the latter ol N'ermont; 
 the father is a successful farmer, and is 
 still living in lu'ie county, IVim., where 
 he owns 500 acres ol land. Ml. and Mrs. 
 Ames w^'re school < hildreii tos^ether, and 
 We're m.irriecl in Erie ( duiit), where they 
 remaini'd nearly four \ears after their 
 union, he bc'in.i; cni|iloyei| m himbeiiu;.; on 
 the Alleghen\' rivei' in the meanwhile. In 
 1869 they came b\ rail to (ireen Hay. 
 Wis., aiul thence directly to Pittsfield, 
 where for six years Mr. Ames was em- 
 ployed by Oscar Gray in the lumber busi- 
 ness, lie then bought eiL;hty .icres of 
 timber land, on wliu h stood a log house, 
 and he cleared this land by his own labor, 
 anil addi'd to it until hi; at one time owned 
 120 acri's; but of this lu" sold forty acre's, 
 leaving him a well-improved tract of eighty 
 acres. Mr. and Mrs. Ames have been 
 blessed with three children, \i/. : Rose, 
 born |uly 11, i8f)9, now the wife of 
 Charles Hiintiiigton, of Pittslield; Emma 
 M., born February 3, 1876; and Harry, 
 born April 30, 1882. The jiarents arc 
 members of the Congregational Church, in 
 which Mr. Ames was a de.acon, and of 
 which he is now trustee. Politically he 
 
368 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECOliD. 
 
 was a Republican until last jear, when 
 he jjave his franchise to the Prohibitionists. 
 He has served as chairman of the town 
 ■one jear, and as member of the side board 
 two terms, and is very hij,'hly respected 
 by ail who know him. 
 
 WILLIAM CONEN, an upright 
 citizen and successful farmer, 
 of De Pere township, Brown 
 county, is a native of Holland, 
 born June iS, 1844, son of Theodore 
 Conen. When four years of age he was 
 brought bv his parents to America, and to 
 Brown county. Wis., where, in the prim- 
 itive schor>lsof that early day, hs received 
 all his education. Early in life he was 
 put to work on the farm, as the country 
 was new, and the farmers of that period 
 luul to work hard to earn a living from 
 their land; besides, wages were low, and 
 if a boy earned his board he was doing 
 well. When William was twenty years 
 old his father died, and for some years 
 afterward he and his brothers were in 
 partnership. When the property was di- 
 vided he received fort}' acres in De Pere 
 township, part of his present farm, which 
 at that time was all new land, without 
 a single improvement, and he himself 
 built the first house on the place. 
 
 In .April. 1870, Mr. Conen was mar- 
 ried in De Pere to Anna Styltics, who was 
 born August 22, 1840, in Germany, daugh- 
 ter of Anton Stylties, a farmer, and the 
 young couple immediately commenced 
 housekeeping on the new farm. To their 
 union have been born children as follows: 
 Theodore, Anton, Anna, John, Hattie, 
 and Mary, all living, and two that died 
 young. Mr. Conen has ail his life been 
 a hard-working farmer, and his present 
 prosperity is all the result of toil and in- 
 dustry. He has increased the area of his 
 farm from forty to 140 acres, all in De- 
 Pere township, and has transformed it 
 from a stumpy, brush-covered piece of 
 ground to a well-cultivated and fertile 
 tract. This has only been accomplished 
 
 by years of unceasing toil, but his chil- 
 dren have been of great help to him, the 
 sons all remaining on the farm and as- 
 sisting much with the agricultural work. 
 Mr. Conen has, during his long residence 
 in the count\-, acquired an enviable repu- 
 tation for honesty and fair dealing, and 
 he is universall}- respected for his many 
 good qualities. In religious connection 
 he and his family are members of St. 
 Mary's Catholic Church, De Pere; in po- 
 litical preferences Mr. Conen is a stanch 
 supporter of the principles of the Demo- 
 cratic part}'. 
 
 JAMES SHERLOCK, a systematic 
 progressive farmer citizen of De Pere 
 township. Brown county, is a native 
 of the same, born April i, 1854. 
 Our subject received a fair common- 
 school education, and was reared to practi- 
 cal farm life on the home place until sixteen 
 j'ears of age, after which he commenced to 
 follow other pursuits. He spent si.xteen 
 winters in the lumber camps of northern 
 Wisconsin and Michigan, enduring all the 
 vicissitudes and hardships of camp life in 
 the winter, and also becoming familiar with 
 the hazardous work of " driving logs" in 
 the spring. On October 28, 1886, Mr. 
 Sherlock was married in St. Francis 
 Church, De Pere. by Father Rine, to Miss 
 Anna Hughes, who was born in i860, 
 along the Canadian and lower Michigan 
 line, daughter of Hugh and Margaret 
 (Dalton) Hughes, natives of Ireland, who 
 settled in 1869 in Gleninore township. 
 Brown Co., Wisconsin. 
 
 Immediately after his marriage Mr. 
 Sherlock settled on his present farm, 
 where he has since continuously resided, 
 and on which he has made many improve- 
 ments. It is one of the oldest farms in 
 East River valley, and consists of 115 
 acres of excellent land. In State and 
 National affairs Mr. Sherlock votes the 
 Democratic ticket, but in local matters he 
 pays more attention to the fitness of the 
 candidate than to party connection. In 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 369 
 
 1 89 1 he was elected chainuan ol the 
 township, in which office he has since 
 served with credit to himself and satisfac- 
 tion to his constituents. Ide is a reader, 
 and well informed on general topics. In 
 religious connection he and his wife are 
 both members of St. Francis Catholic 
 Church at De Pore. They have had five 
 children, namel\' : Kaljih (., Maggie \'., 
 Annie V., Mary E. and I'hilip E. 
 
 HERRMANN RAYMAKIiIn^S, than 
 whom there is no more success- 
 ful or progressive citi/ren in Preble 
 to\\nship). Brown county, is a na- 
 tive of Holland, born Decendier 24, 1829, 
 in the village of X'enraij, Province of Lim- 
 burg, son of Leonard Raymakers,wh(i was 
 a laborer in his native land. 
 
 Hermann Raymakers recei\ed a com- 
 mon-s(diool education, and then learneil 
 the carpenter's trade, which he com- 
 menced to follow when eighteen years old, 
 \vorking around at various places, and, 
 being industrious and ambitious, he pros- 
 pered. While engaged in this he invested 
 in six acres of land (going into debt for 
 same), the cultivation of which he carried 
 on in connection with his trade. On 
 April 28, 1856, he \\as united in mar- 
 riage, in Holland, \vitli Miss Alliegonde 
 Vullengs, also a native of Venraij, and six 
 cliildren were born to them in Holland, 
 as follows: Leonard, who is now a mer- 
 chant of Green I->ay, Wis. ; Christian, of 
 Oakland, Cal., and Martin, Andrew, 
 Catharine, and Helena, living at home. 
 After carrying on his trade some \'ears in 
 his native country, Mr. Raymakers con- 
 cluded he could better his condition by 
 coming to the United States, and in June, 
 1868, he and his family sailed from Liver- 
 pool on the vessel " Nestorian," landing 
 at Quebec after a voyage of nine days, 
 and thence proceeding to Green Bay, 
 Wis., where they arrived sixteen days 
 after leaving Liverpool. In Preble town- 
 ship. Brown county, Mr. Raymakers pur- 
 chased forty acres of new land, entirely 
 
 ummpro\cd, on which, in a da\- and a 
 half afterward, a iikK- home luni been 
 constructed, and in this hoiisi.-. whicdi had 
 not e\'cn a windnw. his wife aiu.1 six chil- 
 dren li\ed fur ;i short time, until a better 
 one could be bnih, Mr. i\avmakers 
 worked around at \an(jns kmds of labor, 
 but could get no money, tlie first cur- 
 rency he e\er received in the I'nited 
 States coming from the sale of three loads 
 of hay, which brought himele\en dollars. 
 Some time after locating on the forty 
 acres of land lie remo\ed to Green Ba\', 
 but later came l)ark to the larm and built 
 thereon a house troui a t\\ ent\'-fi\e-dol 
 lar pile of lumber, whi( li was tlie resi- 
 dence of the family until 189:;. when the 
 present magnificent Ikhiic, the finest farm 
 house in the townsliip, was erected. The 
 sons. f,eonard, Martin, Hcm'\', |ohn, 
 W^illiani. Peter, and Gerard, arc all \\ith 
 their father in the business of the firm of 
 H. Raymakers & Sons, which comprises 
 a market garden in Preble, three miles 
 from the cit}' of Green Ba\-, and a gen- 
 eral produce store in the city. The store 
 is in cfiarge of Leonard and Henry, while 
 Mr. Ravmakers operates the garden. All 
 the children of our subject Ii\e at home 
 with the excef)tion of Henry, who resides 
 in the city, being married, and Christian, 
 who is settled in California. The entire 
 famih' are members of the Catholic 
 Church. 
 
 Mr. Raymakers lived "in the woods," 
 as he expresses it, and literally converted 
 his farm from its primitive state to its 
 present fertile condition, toiling early and 
 late for sixteen years to free his home 
 from debt, during which tiiiie he and his 
 family endured their full share of the 
 hardships incident to pioneer lai'in life. 
 But success has rewarded his untiring en- 
 ergy, as his beautiful farm and home now 
 testify. When Mr. Raymakers bought the 
 place the land was quite swampy, the east 
 half being covered with deep muck, and, 
 knowing this to be an excellent fertilizer, 
 he set himself to work to make the most 
 of it. Alwavs a reader, he obtained an 
 
J/^ 
 
 COMMEMOUA Tl 1 'A' BIO G I! A PHICA L HKCOHD. 
 
 idea from the 0/iio Fanner on the subject 
 he was so greatly interested in, and his 
 plans were no sooner formed than he pro- 
 ceeded to carry them out. Digging out 
 the muck from the eastern part of the 
 farm, which rises above the western part, 
 he hauled it away to fertili;ie the rest of 
 the land, thus leaving a reservoir for the 
 water to gather in, which is fed h\' springs 
 and drains, and provides irrigation for the 
 land, besides affording a constant supply 
 of running water for his house, barns, 
 hothouses, stock, etc. ; over ten thousand 
 feet of drainage and tiling have been laid 
 on the farm. The reservoir, which has 
 been well stocked with German carp, is 
 ninety feet wide and 6oo feet long, and 
 the excellent arrangements make it pos- 
 sible to distribute water to the most dis- 
 tant parts of the farm, in carts or hose, 
 when necessary. With such facilities the 
 land is exceptionally well-adapted for 
 profitable gardening, and thirty acres are 
 devoted to that branch alone, supplying 
 various markets, especially Green Bay, 
 whither a load of vegetables is sent daily, 
 he and his sons conducting a jirosperous 
 produce business in the city; the celery 
 beds on the farm are unusually fine. 
 
 Mr. Haymakers has spared neither 
 money nor pains to make an ideal farm 
 and home out of what was once a dense 
 wilderness, his fine residence, barn and 
 other buildings are all in keeping with the 
 other improvements, and he is regarded 
 as one of the most enterprising, substan- 
 tial farmers in Preble township. He 
 takes an active interest in political mat- 
 ters, studving carefully the leading ques- 
 tions of the day. I'ormcrly a Republican 
 and Protectionist, he changed his ideas 
 after much study and thought on the sub- 
 ject, and is now an advocate of the Free- 
 trade syst(Mn. He is very fond of reading, 
 keeping himself well informed on general 
 topics and public issues, and his home 
 contains a well-selected library. He is 
 an earnest advocate of thorough educa- 
 tion, and believes a country school should 
 possess the same advantages and as com- 
 
 plete an equipment as a city school for 
 the instruction of the young. In 1890 
 Mr. Haymakers paid a short visit to his 
 native country, but returned convinced 
 that though Holland is good, America is 
 better. 
 
 H i:\KV L.VNCASTEI'i, a system- 
 atic, skillful farmer of Howard 
 township. Brown county, was 
 born in January, 1832, in Man- 
 chester, England, son of Joseph and 
 Catherine (Burke) Lancaster, and was 
 a lad about twelve years of age when 
 he came alone to this country. His 
 father was the son of a coal dealer in 
 England, and was a veteran of Waterloo, 
 and a pensioner ; he died when Henry, 
 our subject, was still a mere lad of seven 
 or eight years. Mrs. Catherine Lancas- 
 ter subsequently remarried, and came 
 with her husband to the United States 
 about 1 84 1, Henry following in about 
 three years. 
 
 On reaching America our subject went 
 to Oswego, N. Y. , where he passed two 
 or three years with his mother and step- 
 father, and then worked at various places 
 until 1850, when he came to Wisconsin, 
 to which State his mother had removed 
 about a year previous. Here she died 
 at an advanced age, the mother of eight 
 children, of whom but three are now liv- 
 ing. Mr. Lancaster for the first two 
 years after his arrival in Wisconsin, rent- 
 ed land from his stepfather in Pittsficld 
 township. Brown county, and then moved 
 to Duck Creek, where he worked in a 
 mill until his enlistment, on January 25, 
 1862, in the Seventeenth WMs. V. I. 
 This regiment being full, however, he 
 was transferred to Company L, of an 
 fllinois Light Artillery regiment, and took 
 part in every battle in which the com- 
 mand was engaged, and in all of its 
 marches, until the close of the war, with 
 the exception of three months, during 
 which he was confined in Libby Prison as 
 a prisoner of war, and another three 
 
COMMKMOUATrVE DIOURAPUWAL RECORD. 
 
 371 
 
 months when he was in hospital on ac- 
 count of a wound received in the Shen- 
 andoah Valley, while fightinj; against the 
 Confederate, Gen. Early. He was hon- 
 orably discharged in April, 1865, and is 
 now receiving a pension for his services. 
 After his return to Duck Creek Mr. Lan- 
 caster again worked in the mill for a 
 time, and also cleared off forty acres of 
 his land and bought forty acres addi- 
 tional. In November, 1 869, he married 
 Miss Catherine Maher, who was born 
 in Green Bay, a daughter of Ednnuid 
 and Hannah (Handerhan) Maher, natives 
 of Ireland. This union has been blessed 
 with seven children, named as follows: 
 Joseph, Ella, Maggie (wife of Louis 
 Jagers, of Kiel, Manitowoc Co., Wis.), 
 Hannah, John, Agnes, and Nora. 
 
 Mr. Lancaster, after his marriage, 
 brought his bride to his present farm, 
 which, under his skillful management, is 
 now in a state of luxuriant cultivation, 
 and here they have lived ever since, witli 
 the exception of one year, when they re- 
 sided in Fort Howard. He raises mixed 
 crops, and the general appearance of his 
 fields and the air of comfort and neatness 
 surrounding his dwelling and farm build- 
 ings give indication of the watchful eye and 
 trained industry of the master, and the 
 willing, tasteful and deft employment of 
 the hand of his helpmeet, who is known 
 to all as a most industrious, cheerful 
 woman, a good wife and a thoughtful 
 mother. Socially Mr. I^ancaster is an 
 honored member of T. (). Howe Post, 
 No. 124, G. A. R., and he and his family 
 are regarded as most desirable neighbors 
 in Howard township. 
 
 HI-: N R Y B O R M A .\, one of the 
 leading agriculturists of De Pere 
 townsfiip. Brown county, was born 
 March 18, 1846, in Belgium, son 
 of Grcgorie Borman, who was a farmer 
 in comfortable circumstances. 
 
 Conluding he could better his condi- 
 tion h\ coming to America, the father of 
 
 our subject in 1857 sold his pro[)erty and 
 set out with liis family for the United 
 States, landing in New York City. Thence 
 they at once journe}'ed westward t(j Green 
 Bay, Wis., and, shortly after their arrival, 
 located in Allouez township, where Mr. 
 Borman was for two years employed in a 
 brickj'ard. They then came to De Pere, 
 at that time but a small village, and for 
 seven years made their home on a farm 
 (now included in the town of De Pere) 
 which they rented from John Lacey. 
 Then, in the fall of 1866, thev purchased 
 and rem(3ved upon the farm of seventy 
 acres now owned by our subject, which 
 at that time was covered with a dense 
 forest. They innnediately cleared a spot 
 for a house, and erected a frame dwelling, 
 which in later years was supplanted by a 
 neat brick cottage, and here Mr. Bor- 
 man passed the remainder of his days, 
 dying in 1883; his wife surviveil him eight 
 years, and their remains now rest in De- 
 Pere cemetery. They were both mem- 
 bers of the Catholic Church, and in poli- 
 tics he was a Democrat. 
 
 Henry Borman attended school in Bel- 
 gium until the family came to the United 
 States, after which he completed his edu- 
 cation in the then primitive schools of 
 Allouez and De Pere townships. On 
 June 2\, 1873, he was married, in De- 
 Pere, to Hortense Lhost, a native of Bel- 
 gium, born March 8, 1856, daughter of 
 John Lhost, who came to the United 
 States in 1 86g with his family of seven 
 children and settled in Brown county. 
 Wis. Immediately after his marriage 
 Mr. Borman took up liis residence on the 
 farm where he yet lives, and here he has 
 been engaged in general farming, of which, 
 by good management and untiring energy, 
 he has made a success. His farm com- 
 prises seventy acres of excellent farming 
 land, all of which has been taken from 
 the woods, involving many years of un- 
 relenting toil before the place was reduced 
 to its present fertile condition. Mr. Bor- 
 man is one of the best-known men in 
 De Pere township, where he is higliK- re- 
 
372 
 
 COifMEMORATIVE BIOGHAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 spected. He is a leader in all enterprises 
 which promise to benefit his township or 
 county, and is regarded as a public-spirited, 
 progressive citizen. Politically he is a 
 Democrat, is a stanch supporter of the 
 principles ol that party, and in 1893 was 
 elected treasurer of his township, for ten 
 or eleven years previous to which he had 
 served as supervisor, giving complete sat- 
 isfaction in that office: He and his wife 
 are members of St. Francis Catholic 
 Church at De Pere. They have had chil- 
 dren as follows: Mar\-, John E., \'ictorJ., 
 Victoria, Emily, Constant, Julia, Celia, 
 Willie, living, and others who died in 
 infancv. 
 
 WS. WfHTCOMB, a long-estab- 
 lished contractor and builder of 
 Cireen Bay, was born in .^nn 
 .\rbor, Washtenaw Co., Mich., 
 August 31, 1S32, a son of Levi and 
 Roxalana (Putnam) Whitcomb, the former 
 a native of Pennsylvania, the latter of 
 Connecticut. The father was accident- 
 ally killed, in 1869, in Howard township. 
 Brown Co., \\'is. , and the mother, who 
 was a great-granddaughter of Gen. Israel 
 Putnam, the Revolutionary hero, died in 
 1865. Mr. and Mrs. Levi Whitcomb 
 were the parents of six children, namely: 
 Sarah, who died at the age of four; Joseph, 
 who died in Brown county. Wis., in the 
 fall of 1865: Lucius, who died in Michi- 
 gan; \\'. S., the subject of this sketch; 
 Lucretia, wife of Christian Johnson, of 
 Graham comity, Kans. , and Levi, who 
 resides in McPherson county, Michigan. 
 Our subject remained in Michigan un- 
 til May, 1844, when he came to Green 
 Bay, and here served three years at the 
 carpenter's trade, also three years at 
 coopering, working twenty-eight years in 
 Green Bay at the latter business with D. 
 W. Britton. In 1861 he enlisted in Com- 
 pany H, Twelfth Wis. V. I., for three 
 years; was assigned to the army of the 
 West, and fought at Jackson, Tenn., 
 Port GiI)son, Raymoncl Hill, siege of 
 
 Vicksburg, and at Natchez. He then re- 
 enlisted in the same company and regi- 
 ment for another period of three years, 
 and was with Sherman on his march to 
 the sea, was in the Carolina campaign, 
 and in the Grand Review at Washington, 
 D. C. He received an honorable dis- 
 charge at Louisville, Ky., in July, 1865, 
 and, returning to Green Bay, worked for 
 a time at laboring, and then opened up a 
 farm in Howard township. 
 
 Mr. \\'hitcomb was married May 12, 
 1 86 1, to Miss Martha D. Athey, a native 
 of Green Bay, and a daughter of Charles 
 W. and Sarah (Gibson) Athey, the former 
 of whom, a native of Virginia, when 
 twenty-one years of age, or about 1839, 
 came to Green Bay, worked at lumber- 
 ing, and was married on Washington 
 street. Green Bay. He lost his wife in 
 I 869, and he followed her to the grave in 
 1889. To Mr. and Mrs. Whitcomb were 
 born nine children, viz. : George, of Ash- 
 land, Wis. ; Charlotte, who died at the 
 age of twelve years; Martha, wife of 
 Gnstave Waters, of Fort Howard; .\nna, 
 wife of Emil Ammerman, of Iron River, 
 Mich. ; Edward, residing at Pound, Wis. ; 
 Lillian, Nona and Mabel, at home, and 
 Maggie, who died at the age of four 
 years. Mr. \\'hitcomb is a stanch Re- 
 publican, and for nine years was town 
 clerk of Howard township. He is a 
 member of the Royal Arcanum, Iron Gate 
 Lodge, No. 546, and he and his wife are 
 consistent members of the Presbyterian 
 Church. Mr. Whitcomb has ever mani- 
 fested a lively interest in the progress of 
 Brown countv. and is never backward in 
 lending his aid to any project calculated 
 to advance its growth and prosperity. The 
 familv enjoy the utmost respect of the 
 communitv. 
 
 JACQUES DUCAT, an energetic, 
 hard-working farmer of De Pere 
 township. Brown county, where he 
 is highly respected for his honest, 
 straightford methods and sterling worth, 
 
COMMh'.)fORA TJVI-: B Itld HM'IUCAL nECOUD. 
 
 373 
 
 is n native of Belgium, born August lo, 
 1 83 I. He is u son of Loinhard Ducat, 
 a farmer, who had fifteen cliiklrcn, of 
 whoui our subject was the eldest son, and 
 the youngest of three children by his first 
 wife. Four of this large famil}' died in 
 Belgium, and in 1S55, the parents, with 
 the remaining children, came to America, 
 sailing from Antwerp, antl after a voyage 
 of forty-eight days arrived in New York, 
 thence immediately proceeding to Green 
 Bay, Wis. Hi'rc, in Green Bay town- 
 ship, Brown county, the father purchased 
 forty acres of land, and on this farm he 
 passed the remainder of his life; Mrs. 
 Ducat also died in Green Bay township, 
 and their remains now rest in Bay Set- 
 tlement cemetery. 
 
 Jacques Ducat was reared from boy- 
 hood to farm life, at which he was en- 
 gaged in his native land; but, ;dtcrcoming 
 to Wisconsin, he found work jirincipally 
 in lumbercamps, loading vessels with lum- 
 ber, and as a general labcn'er around saw- 
 mills. On August I I, 1859, he was mar- 
 ried to Miss Afargaret Henrigillis, who 
 was born June 24, 1834, in Belgium, 
 daughter of Hubert H. Henrigillis, and 
 the yoimg couple commenced housekeep- 
 ing in Peshtigo, \\'is. b^or a few years 
 he cimtinued to work in lumber mills and 
 camps, and then, in 1864, came to De- 
 Pere township. Brown county, to the 
 farm where he yet resides. He first pur- 
 chased forty-six and a half acres (on 
 which "there was not a stick amiss "), 
 and here erected a log house, which still 
 stands. During his residence of twenty- 
 eight years on this farm he has cleared 
 and improved it, and added thereto, until 
 it now comprises sixt\'-two and a half acres 
 of fertile land, and, in 1892, he erected 
 a new residence on the place. All this 
 has been accoinplished by years of econ- 
 omy and thrift, and unceasing industry, 
 and Mr. Ducat is recognized as one of the 
 hardest workers in his section. He is 
 self-made in every respect, and from a 
 start of nothing has prospered, having 
 now a comfortable home and well-culti- 
 
 vated farm. In politics our subject is a 
 stanch Republican, and in religious con- 
 nection he and his wife are members of 
 St. Francis Catholic Church. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Ducat have been born children 
 as follows; Alphouse ]., who died at the 
 age of si.xteen years; Mary, who ilied at 
 the age of ten years; Lucy, deceased in 
 infancy; Eugene, a cigarmaker, of Sioux 
 Cit\', Iowa; lu'rnanline, now Mrs. Louis 
 Evrard, of De Pere townshi]); John, who 
 died when li\-c years old; Josephine, of 
 Chicago, 111.; Eliza, of Green Bay; and 
 Leoiia, Peter Joseph and David J., at 
 home. 
 
 PATRICK E. .AND JOHN DOL- 
 L.\RD, well-known progressive 
 farmers of De Pere township. 
 Brown county, were born on the 
 farm where the\- \i-t make their home, 
 the former in .August, 1851, the latter in 
 August, 1854. 
 
 Their fatlier, John Dollard, was born 
 June 5, 1801. in County Kilkenny, Ire- 
 land, where he married Bridget Heffer- 
 naii, and while in Ireland two children 
 were born to them, \iz. ; Kate, now the 
 wife of Joseph \Mialen, postmaster at 
 South Milwaukee, Wis., and Ellen, Mrs. 
 Michael Murray, of St. Paul, Minn. 
 About 1850 John Dollard set out, with 
 his family, for Anu'rica. and, sailing from 
 Waterford, landed at (Hiebec after a 
 long voyage. His brother Patrick was a 
 priest in Kingston, Canada, and there the 
 family remained while |ohn jiroceeded 
 farther west, seeking a home for them. 
 After journeying over the State of Michi- 
 gan, he crossed Lake Michigan to Mani- 
 towoc, ^^'is., and thence came on foot to 
 Green Bay, a distance of thirty-fi\e 
 miles, through the woods, during which 
 trip he met the first wolves he had ever 
 seen, and other wild animrds were also 
 numerous. The onh' lo.ad was the (jne 
 over which the I'nited States mail was 
 carried, and fretpientlv there was nothing 
 to guide him and point out the way except 
 
374 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BWGltAFUWAL RECORD. 
 
 blazed trees. After looking over the 
 land around Green Bay, Mr. DoiUird 
 selected a tract of 160 acres, in Section 
 31, De Pere township. Brown county, for 
 which he paid five hundred dollars. The 
 place was uncleared and totally unim- 
 proved, and Mr. DoUard made a few rude 
 preparations for his familj' before return- 
 ing to Canada and bringing them to their 
 new home in the midst of the forest. 
 The first cabin stood about twenty rods 
 from the spot where the present substan- 
 tial brick residence was built in 1885. 
 The father commenced the work of clear- 
 ing the farm, an arduous task, and more 
 especially so as during the first year he 
 had no beasts of burden, and he hauled 
 100,000 feet of lumber to a point on East 
 river, with a hired team of cattle, before he 
 became the owner of a pair of oxen. The 
 first crops raised on the farm consisted of 
 oats and potatoes, and for some time 
 their only farming implement was a hoe. 
 On this place Mr. DoUard passed the re- 
 mainder of his life, dying January 30, 
 1888; he was buried in Dc Pere cem- 
 etery. 
 
 In his political afliliations he was a 
 stanch Democrat, and he helil almost 
 every office in the gift of the township. 
 He was chairman of the township, and of 
 the county board; was the first township 
 superintendent of schools elected under 
 the new school laws, and continued to 
 hold the office until it was abolished, 
 being thus the only man to serve in that 
 position in De Pere township. In what- 
 ever capacity he acted, his service was 
 ever marked by the highest ability and 
 integrity and satisfactory discharge of his 
 duties. He was a self-made man in the 
 strictest sense, having won abundant suc- 
 cess from a small beginning, by hard 
 work and energy and application to his 
 business. In his early life he had re- 
 ceived a thorough education, attending 
 school until he was twenty-four years old, 
 and few, if any, farmers of his time and 
 section were his equals in this respect. 
 From the time of his settlement he re- 
 
 sided continuously on the same farm, 
 and saw it transformed from a wilderness 
 abounding with wild animals to the fertile 
 and productive tract it now is, taking, also, 
 an active and prominent part in every 
 movement of interest or benefit to his 
 township generally, and was always ready 
 and willing to assist any worth)- enter- 
 prise. He was widely and favorably 
 known all over the county, and had con- 
 siderable influence in his community, his 
 advice being sought on many questions. 
 He also took a leading interest in Church 
 matters, and was treasurer and trustee of 
 St. Francis Catholic Church, of which he 
 and his wife were both members. Mrs. 
 Dollard survived her husband until April 
 22, 1 891, when she was laid by his side 
 in De Pere cemetery. 
 
 Patrick E. and John Dollard were 
 reared on the home farm, and received 
 an education in the common schools of 
 the home district. They have always re- 
 mained on the homestead, which they 
 now own, and where they carr\' on a 
 general farmingand stock-rairing business, 
 in connection with the latter branch being 
 extensive breeders of sheep. In their 
 political affiliations they follow in the foot- 
 steps of their father, manifesting great 
 interest in the welfare of the Democratic 
 part}-, but having no aspirations for office, 
 as they devote their time exclusively to 
 the farm. They are systematic, indus- 
 trious and prosperous agriculturists, and 
 quiet, unassuming men. Both arc un- 
 married. 
 
 FEl>iDlN.\ND UU.VrSOE, a pros- 
 perous farmer of De Pere town- 
 ship. Brown comity, is a native of 
 Belgium, born December 8. 1S47, 
 son of Peter Quatsoe, and is the fourth 
 in a family of five children, named re- 
 spectively: Angeline, Albert, Jolm. Ferdi- 
 nand and Deziria. 
 
 Peter Ouatsoe was a farmer is his na- 
 tive land, in comfortable circumstances. 
 
-^,V 'III 
 
 m%\¥s 
 
 
 AX 
 
 a^G^^y^- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGUAPHWAL RECORD. 
 
 377 
 
 About 1.S55 he sold all his pidperly, and 
 caint: with his faniil}' to the I'liitcd 
 States, the voyaf^e from Antw cip to New 
 York, which was made on a sailing \essel, 
 occupying; sixty da\s. ( )ii his arrival in 
 New York, Peter (Jiiatsne exchanged a 
 considerable amount ot forei.^u moue\\ 
 which he had, lor American gold, and, in 
 so <k.iing, was obserxeil by some truck- 
 men, who, it was afterwartl evident, im- 
 mediately planned to rob him. Hy mis- 
 representation they induced Mr. ( hiatsoe 
 to let them convey the famiK- and their 
 baggage to the cars, whicli left in two 
 hours, instead of which, however, they 
 took them to an obscure hotel. The 
 family, becoming alarmed, refused to enter 
 the hotel, and the truckmen, in trying t(.) 
 compel them, attracted the attention of a 
 Belgian gentleman who li\ed in New 
 York, and spoke both the linglish and Bel- 
 gian languages. He stopped to ask Mr. 
 Quatsoe what the trouble was, and, receiv- 
 ing an explanation of the affair, called a 
 policeman, who compelled the truckmen 
 to carry the family to the steam ferry 
 boat, which landed them at the railroad 
 station, and, boarding the cars, they once 
 more joined the party of countrymen with 
 whom they had crossed thc^ ocean. Their 
 •destination was Green Baw \\'is.. whither 
 they canu> by rail and water, and shortly 
 after their arrival Mr. Ouatsoe purchased, 
 in Allouez township, Brown county, forty 
 acres of land along the Fox rixiM', the 
 greater ])art of which was liea\il\- wooded, 
 and it reiiuired no stnall amount of hard 
 labor to clear it and reduce it to a fertile 
 ■condition. In connei'tion with farming 
 he also engaged in lumbering until his 
 death, which occurred in 1871. He was 
 buried in Shant\town cemetery. Mrs. 
 Ouatsoe, who has now reached the ad- 
 vanced age of eight\-four. makes her 
 home with her son Albert, in Lawrence 
 township. She, as was also her husband, 
 is a member of the Catholic Church. 
 After the death of the father the sons 
 took his real and personal )iropert\', pay- 
 ing their sisters fm" their share. Several 
 21 
 
 years pre\iously the)- had endiarked in 
 the threshing business, operating the first 
 horse-power threshing-machine in this 
 section of the county; and the\'were also 
 extensively engaged in the lumber busi- 
 ness, completing several \ery Large con- 
 tracts in this line which had bec'n secured 
 by their father. 
 
 b'erdinand ( )uatsoe i.\as but se\'en or 
 eight years okl when he came with the 
 rest of the family to America, and such 
 education as he received was obtained in 
 the ]irimiti\-e schools which flourished in 
 the neighborhood at that early day. At 
 £:n early age he was put to work on the 
 farm, assisting in the clearing of the 
 same, .and hc' resided at home, helloing 
 his parents, until the death of his father, 
 when he commenced life on his own ac- 
 count. On January i. iSSo, lie was 
 united in marriage, in Duck Creek, to 
 Miss Uix/Ae Ver Hulst, a native of that 
 town, born Jul\' 22, 1S5S, daughter of 
 John B. antl Catherine Ver Hulst, who 
 came to the United States from Belgium 
 in 1S54, and located in Duck Creek (now 
 in Suamico township), Brown Co., Wis. 
 Their voyage consumed sixty-two days, 
 during which time the pro\isions of most 
 of the emigrants W(n"e exhausted, and 
 Afr. and Mrs. \'er Hulst, lia\-ing plent\', 
 divided with those who were less for- 
 tunate. 
 
 To Mr. and Nfrs. (.juatsoe have come 
 three children, namely: I'red, Peter, 
 and Louisa. Immediately alter marriage 
 they settled on their present farm, where 
 his widowed mother made her home with 
 them for se\'eral \'ears. The ]ilacc now 
 contains 1 i i acres, whicdi, by patient toil 
 and ccmstant attention to the details of 
 his work, he has reduced to a fertile con- 
 dition. He is now fully engaged with his 
 agricidtural interests, to which he gives 
 his undivided attention, and has \\-on the 
 respect of the entire connnunity for his in- 
 dustr\'. his honesty and his sterling worth. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ouatsoe are members of 
 St. Francis Catholic Church in De Pere; 
 in politics he is a Democrat. 
 
378 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 JAMi:s T. MORAN. register of deeds 
 at Green Hay, was born in Glen- 
 more, Brown Co., Wis , March 20, 
 1856, a son of Michael and Cath- 
 erine (Shea) Moran, the former a native 
 of Vermont, the latter of Ireland. The 
 father came to Brown county in the year 
 1853, and settled on a farm in (ilenmore 
 township, where he has ever since made 
 his home. Mr. and Mrs. Moran reared a 
 famil)' of six children, named as follows : 
 Daniel, who resides in Athens, Wis. ; 
 James T. , the subject proper of this 
 sketch; John, who lives on the old home- 
 stead; Minnie, wife of H. Asselstine, of 
 Ashland, W'is. ; Patrick, a resident of 
 Mineral Lake, Wis., and Thomas H., who 
 died December 23, 1893. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was edu- 
 cated in the sohools of Glenmore town- 
 ship and Green Bay, and for fourteen 
 years taught school in Brown county. In 
 1890 he settled in the city of Green Bay 
 and entered, as a student, the law office of 
 Hood & McGruere. He was thus en- 
 gaged in study, when, in 1892, he was 
 elected by the Democratic party, of which 
 he is a stanch member, register of deeds, 
 and entered upon the performance of his 
 duties in Januar}', 1893. ^'''- Moran is a 
 member of the Catholic Order of Fores- 
 ters, and also of the Young Men's Colum- 
 bian Club. By his upright and manly 
 bearing he has made for himself a host of 
 friends. 
 
 A A. L. ADRIAENSSEN. This 
 well-known citi/cn of Green Bay, 
 who was born September 10, 
 1859, in Belgium, is a son of 
 Anton and Sedonie (Gelbert) Adriaenssen, 
 also natives of Belgium, who came to 
 New York in 1872, and removed to Green 
 Bay in 1874. The father was a pattern 
 maker by trade, and followe<l same until 
 his death in 1876; his widow resides with 
 her son, above named, on Harvey street 
 in Green Bay. But three of her nine 
 children are now living: F. H., a car- 
 
 penter by trade, residing at Kewaunee, 
 Wis. ; Desire, now the wife of Jule 
 Polaiii, and still a resident of Belgium; 
 and A. .\. L. , the subject of this sketch. 
 
 A. A. L. Adriaenssen, who was thirteen 
 years of age when he accompanied his- 
 parents to the United States, received a 
 partial education in his native country, 
 completing it in the schools of New York 
 and Green Bay. He speaks five lan- 
 guages, a fact showing that his oppor- 
 tunities for learning were not neglected. 
 Upon his arrival at Green Bay in 1874 he 
 found employment as a machinist, but 
 having learned the jeweler's trade he was, 
 later, for some time engaged in that line 
 of business on Main street. In 1891 he 
 decided to change his pursuit, and ac- 
 cordingly 'necame interested in the saloon 
 business, at No. 1347 Main street. In 
 1883 he took to himself a wife in the 
 person of Flora M. Biemeret, born at 
 Pcshtigo, Wis., in 1864, and daughter of 
 Grcgain and Bertime (V'ander \'est) 
 Biemeret. natives of Belgium who came 
 at an early date to Wisconsin. Her 
 father, who is yet living, was a member 
 of the Green Bay police force for fourteen 
 years. Her mother is deceased. To- 
 Mr. and Mrs. Adriaenssen have been born 
 three children: Pearl Irene. Felix Chase, 
 and Alta. 
 
 Mr. Adriaenssen is a member of Po- 
 chequette Lodge, No. 126, K. of P. He 
 has always taken an active interest in 
 politics, and since attaining his majority 
 has been identified with political move- 
 ments in his county, always, to the best 
 of his judgment, for the good of his con- 
 stituents and their public affairs. An 
 ardent Republican, he has been secretary 
 of the county conventions of that party 
 for the past ten years. He was a mem- 
 ber of the city council from 1889 to 1893, 
 serving four years on the finance com- 
 mittee, also for the same period as chair- 
 man of the committee on taverns and 
 groceries, as well as for a time on the 
 committee on public buildings. As alder- 
 man from the Fifth ward his services have 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 379 
 
 been of undoubted vahie to the city. With 
 an earnest desire for the advancement of 
 his city in all respects, looking to its 
 welfare and prosperity, this public-spirited 
 fjentlenian will in the nature of things 
 continue to be a useful citizen. 
 
 ORIX S. KITTELL. This gentle- 
 man, one of the prosperous agri- 
 culturists of De Pere township, 
 Brown count}', was born Novem- 
 ber I, 1S36, in Binghamton, Broome 
 Co., N. Y., and is descended from sturdy 
 New England ancestry. Grandfather Kit- 
 tell was a soldier in the Kevolutionar_v war, 
 during which struggle he was wounded 
 and was obliged to use crutches the re- 
 mainder of his life. By trade he was a 
 weaver. 
 
 William V . Kittell, father of our sub- 
 ject, was born in Massachusetts, where he 
 learned tannintr and glove-making. Eroin 
 here he removed to Binghamton, N. Y., 
 where he followed his trades until 1S48 or 
 1849, when he took up his residence on a 
 farm near Colesville, for which he had trad- 
 ed. He had married, in Massachusetts, Miss 
 Eliza Collins, who was also born in that 
 State, daughter of John Collins, and to 
 their union came children as follows: 
 Julietti', who died when eleven years old; 
 Amasa D., a resident of Sheboygan Falls, 
 Wis.; John H., who died at Sheboygan 
 Falls, in 1893, aged sixty-four years; 
 Nancy A., who married Samuel Rouns- 
 \'ille, and died at Sheboygan Falls in 
 1892; Harriet, wife of Norman F. Pierce, 
 justice of the peace and government 
 guager at Sheboygan Falls; Edgar, who 
 died in 1859 at Meeme, Manitowoc Co., 
 Wis. ; Ethan, a mechanic, of Ea Cro.sse, 
 Wis., where he. is foreman in a carriage 
 factory; Orin S. . whose name introduces 
 this sketch; Jennie, now the wife of Capt. 
 A. J. Lumsden, of Shebo\gan Falls; and 
 Augusta, deceased in infancy. Mr. Kit- 
 tell resided on the farm until 1853, in the 
 early summer of which year he disposed 
 of all his property, and came west to 
 
 Wisconsin, bringing his wife and the two 
 children who were yet li\ing at home — 
 Orin S. and Jennie. He had been per- 
 suaded to come hither by his son-in-law. 
 Samuel Rounsxille, an Indian trader and 
 extensive landowner, who, with his brother 
 Albert, made the first permanent settle- 
 ment in Sheboygan Falls; Albert Kouns- 
 villc btnlt the first sawmill in Sheboygan 
 county. The family journeyed by rail to 
 Bufialo, thence by boat to Sheboygan, 
 Wis., where they landed in Jul}-, 1853. 
 At Sheboygan Falls Mr. Kittell purchased 
 several lots and ten acres ot improved 
 land, and here connnenced to follow the 
 carpenter's trade, a knowledge of which 
 he had acquired, thmi^^h he ne\'er ser\'ed 
 an apprenticeship at same; but he was a 
 natural mechanic, and for many years 
 even made his own shoes. In Sheboygan 
 Falls he followed carpentry until his death, 
 which occurred in 1S82; his wife survived 
 him three years, and their remains now 
 rest in the cemetery at that place. Both 
 were members of the Baptist Church, Mr. 
 Kittell for over fifty years; in his political 
 preferences he was originally a Whig, 
 later a Rejniblican, but he took little or 
 no interest in politics, giving his attention 
 exclusiveh' to his business interests. 
 
 Orin S. Kittell received a common- 
 school education in the schools of Bing- 
 hamton, N. Y. , and later attended high 
 school. When seventeen years old he 
 came with his father to Sheboygan brails. 
 Wis., where he commenced to learn the 
 blacksmith trade under Mark Brainerd, 
 serving an apprenticeship of ten months. 
 He then went to Chicago with his brother 
 Amasa to work on the Chicago & North 
 Western railroad, and, through the influ- 
 ence of a relative, Orin obtained a sitn.i- 
 tion as fireman, continuing thus for fmn- 
 months, and then for a time worked with 
 the construction crew between I^"ox Ri\'er 
 fill.) and Silver Lake (Wis.). Returning 
 to Sheboygan Falls, he commenced driv- 
 ing the stage running from that tow n to 
 Fond du Lac fa distance' "f forty-two 
 miles), his dri\-e being to Plymouth I'fif- 
 
3So 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAl. RECORD. 
 
 teen miles), but healso covered the wliole 
 distance by relays. He was engaged in 
 this for two years, and next obtained em- 
 ployment in the livery stable of John De- 
 Bass, of Sheboygan, for about a year and 
 a half, after which he went to Manitowoc 
 county, and for one winter worked in the 
 lumber regions for his brother-in-law, 
 Samuel Rounsville. 
 
 On April 13, 1858, Mr. Kittell was 
 married, in St. Xazian/, Wis., to Miss 
 Catherine Tracy, who was born February 
 3, 1 84 1, in Kings county. Ireland, daugh- 
 ter of Patrick and Mary (Malloy) Tracy. 
 They came to the United States in 1851, 
 sailing from Liverpool on the "William 
 Rathbone. " a Black Star liner, and, after 
 a voyage of eight weeks, landed in New 
 York City. From there they proceeded 
 to Buffalo, N. v., where they remained 
 one year, and in 1854 came to Liberty 
 township, Manitowoc Co., Wis., locating 
 on an unimproved farm, where Mrs. Kit- 
 tell resided until her marriage. After 
 their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Ivittell lived 
 in a log house at Meeme, Manitowoc 
 county, where he was employed in saw- 
 mills as a saw filer, and in various other 
 capacities, for several years. In 1864 he 
 enlisted at Fond du Lac in the Fourth 
 W'isconsin Cavalry, was sent to Baton 
 Rouge, La., and participated in his first 
 engagement under Col. Moore. He next 
 went to Mobile, and was present at the 
 fall of that city; marched through Ala- 
 bama and Georgia; returned to Mont- 
 gomery, Ala., thence to \'icksburg, thence 
 to Shreveport, and from there to Browns- 
 ville, Texas. He returned sick to Baton 
 Rouge, and after his recovery was de- 
 tailed as orderly to the colonel of the 
 Eighth Cavalry, carrying discharges to 
 hospitals. In 1865 he was discharged at 
 St. Louis, and came back to his home 
 with his health much imjiaired by ex- 
 posure and hardship. 
 
 Some time after his return from tiie 
 army Mr. Kittell resumed work as a saw 
 filer, and followed same until 1871. when 
 he removed to Green Baw and in the fall 
 
 of the same year located on a farm in 
 Glenmore township, Brown county, in 
 addition to his agricultural work engaging 
 in saw-milling and hauling coal. In the 
 fall of 1882 he purchased and removed 
 upon his present farm in De Pere town- 
 ship (situated in Sections 32 and 33), then 
 comprising fifty-three acres, which he has 
 since added to until it now contains 
 ninety-five acres. Since Mr. Kittell has 
 resided here /.e has greatly improved the 
 home and farm, and he conducts a suc- 
 cessful general farming business. He has 
 also been engaged in charcoal-burning, 
 and has done no small amount of work in 
 this line for the National Furnace Com- 
 pany, of De Pere. In his political pref- 
 erences our subject is a staimch Repub- 
 lican, and takes great interest in the suc- 
 cess of the party, of whose movements 
 he keeps himself well informed. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Kittell have been 
 born children as follows: William O., a 
 liveryman, of De Pere, who is married 
 and has two children; Lawrence, who is 
 an engineer on the Lake Shore & West- 
 ern railroad; Mary E., Mrs. John Dun- 
 bar, of Liberty, Manitowoc count}'; Ed- 
 ward, of Kaukauna, a fireman on the 
 Lake Shore & Western railroad; Cather- 
 ine, Mrs. Albert Handeyside, of Menasha, 
 Wis. ; John E., who is attending the State 
 University at Madison, Wis. ; E. Jennie, 
 at home, who attends the De Pere high 
 school; Charles C, at home, and Daniel 
 E., who died when five vears and seven 
 months old. Mrs. Kittell is a member of 
 St. Francis Catholic Church at De Pere. 
 The entire family are highly respected in 
 the community in which they reside, 
 where they are leaders in every enter- 
 prise for advancement or improvement. 
 
 FR.\NK SNYDER has been en- 
 gaged in the livery business in 
 Green Bay since 1886, and is one 
 of the leading men of his calling 
 in the city and county. 
 
 He was born in W^ashington count\', 
 
COMMEMORAriVE BIOGRAPHICAL liiCCOHD. 
 
 381 
 
 N. Y., May :;, 1S52, oiu' of the familx' of 
 nine children of Le\ i and lleiner Louise 
 Snj-der, the otluT ei};lit lieiiii; (ieorj^e ami 
 Washington, hotli of lihilio; Adehne, 
 Mis. II. Huniphre} . of Iowa; Marion; 
 Jolni; liinina; Fred, now in Miiniesota, 
 and Lewis, wiio died in inlam y. l'"ianl< 
 Snyder was hut fifteen \ears of a;,;e wjien 
 he left the parental roof to seek his for- 
 tune. He first went to Michif;aii, and 
 was engaf^i'd in railroading; until 18S6, 
 when he came to Green l'>ay and estab- 
 lished his present livery business, in which 
 he has lieen so successful — owninj; at the 
 present nionient the best stables, prob- 
 ahh', to be found in the city. 
 
 Mr. Sn\'der was married, I)eeend)er 
 29, 1879, to Miss Mary ,\., dani^lilcr of 
 Barney McLaughlin, and the eldest in a 
 fatnih' of li\i- children, who lost their 
 mother when tlle\' were little more than 
 infants. Margaret, Cat Ik line and I'di/a- 
 beth arc; the names of her sisters; her 
 only brother is deceased. The father of 
 Mrs. Siniler was a hoted-keeper, and f(U' 
 years had been a railroad man, do Mr. 
 and Mrs. Siu'der ha\e been boi 11 ti\e 
 childri'ii. namely: l!ernar<l (■., breder- 
 ick, Earl, May 1\. and rrankim, o| whom 
 four are atttMuiiuL; scdiool. The fainil\- 
 are C'atholic in religion, while fraternally 
 Mr. Snyder is a member of Washington 
 Lodge, No. 21, F. & A. M. ; Warren 
 Chapter, No. S, K. .\. M.; and Palestine 
 Consistorx', No. 20. The business suc- 
 cess of Mr. Snyder is a result of his own 
 individual attention to his affairs, and his 
 urbanity and straightforward treatment 
 of his patrons, who have never known 
 him to misrepresent the i]uality, conduct 
 or |)erforinance of his stocd-; under any 
 circmnstances. 
 
 JOHN EISENMAN. who during his 
 lifetime was one of the well-known 
 farmers and extensive land-owners 
 of De Pere township. Brown county, 
 wasborn April 10, 1817, in Bavaria, Ger- 
 
 many. Ik' received an edncati(jn in the 
 common s( lu)o|s. and le,-iiiied tin- bntcdi- 
 er's trade, at \\hi( h he worked in Leipsic 
 for ten years. 
 
 About 1845 Ml". ICiseiimaii emigrated 
 from his nati\e country to (he fliiited 
 States, and, tindiiig eiii|)loyinent :it his 
 trade in Ne\v \drk, remaimd lliere one 
 winter. lla\ing saved some money, he 
 removed farther west, but work was 
 scarce and he coiilde.uii but eight dollars 
 (ler month at his trade, alllioiit;li he was 
 an aife|>t. Howe\ei, he was wiIIiiil; to do 
 an\' honest lal)oi, :iiid, obiaining eiii]iloy- 
 meiit on a canal in western I'ennsyK aiiia, 
 then in course of eonstniet ion, leeeixed 
 one ilollar a dav, boarding himself. He 
 next went to Illinois, and for a short 
 time worked in slaiiglitei houses at ( hi- 
 cago and Peoria, About 1 847 he came to 
 Green Iku', Wis., and, with a few d(.>llars 
 left of his hard-earned s.ivings, formed a 
 liartnership with b'rank Hagemeister in 
 the butcher business on Washington 
 street, in which he eontimiecl two years. 
 About 1850 he |)iir( based from his brother 
 Michael i()0 acres in b~aton township, 
 wdiich the latter had receiwd lor his ser\- 
 ices in the Mexican war. Idiere w as not 
 e\'en a house on this place, which was 
 vet in its prinn'ti\e state, not a tree hav- 
 ing been felled at that time, and wild 
 animals still abounded in the forests, such 
 game as bears, deer, wohes, etc., being 
 very [plentiful. Mr. lusemnan sjK-nt two 
 sunmicrs on the place, clearing and im- 
 proving it, during the winter seasons go- 
 ing to Chicago and Peoria, 111., where he 
 followed his trade, for being a most in- 
 dustrious man, he took every opportunity 
 to earn money to pay for his land. 
 
 On April 10, 185^, he was married, in 
 Green Bav, to Miss Apollonia Barth. 
 born April 20, 1837. in Bavaria, Ger- 
 many, daughter of Christojih and Mag- 
 dalcna Barth, who came to the ITiited 
 States in 1849, sailing from Havre, on the 
 "Oregon," and landing in New York 
 after a voyage of four weeks. Their 
 destination was Green Bay, Wis. , so they 
 
3S^ 
 
 COMMEMOHATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 proceeded by way of the Erie canal 
 to Buffalo, N. v.. from there by the 
 steamer •• Michigan " to Milwaukee, Wis., 
 and thence by propeller to Green Baj'. 
 The}' located in Scott township. Brown 
 county. Mr. and Mrs. Eisenman tirst com- 
 menced housekeeping in Eaton township 
 in a log house he had built before his 
 marriage, and which is still standing. In 
 December, 1869, he removed to the farm 
 where he died March 1, 1882, at which 
 time he was the owner of 270 acres of 
 land. For thirteen years before his death 
 he was postmaster at Pine Grove, and he 
 also conducted a hotel and saloon for the 
 accommodation of travelers along the 
 Manitowoc road. He was buried in the 
 cemetery in the southeast corner of De- 
 Pere township. In religious connection 
 he was a member of the Lutheran Church 
 at Green Bay. politically he was a Re- 
 publican, and held the office of township 
 clerk for si.xteen years. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Eisenman were born children as follows: 
 Christoph, deceased in infancy; John C., 
 a farmer of De Pere township: Lena, now 
 Mrs. .Andrew Eisenman, of North Dakota; 
 Maggie, wife of Louis Schone, of Hum- 
 boldt township; Mary, wife of Richard 
 Schone, of Humboldt: Amelia, Mrs. Otto 
 Langosch, of Glenmore; Andrew .\., of 
 Bellevue; Henry 1--. and IVed \., at 
 home: Emma, of Chicago: and Lessetta, 
 at home. 
 
 Mr. Eisenman came to the United 
 States a poor boy. with no capital but 
 health and energy and a determination 
 to succeed. But he was honest, and ever 
 ready to work, and his success shows 
 what may be accomplished by energy and 
 perseverance. He became one of the 
 most extensive landowners in his town- 
 ship, and he was much esteemed by all 
 who knew him. liecoming one of the 
 leading German citizens of his section. 
 His widow, who has continued to make 
 her home on the farm since his death, is 
 also held in high respect; her careful and 
 economical management of the household 
 affairs was no small factor in her husband's 
 
 success, and she deserves great credit for 
 the part she has taken in the accumulation 
 of their property. She is a member of 
 the Lutheran Church. The farm is now 
 conducted by her two youngest sons, 
 Henrv E. and Fred .A. 
 
 FK.WK C. SMITH, of Green Bay, 
 was born in Fort Howard, Brown 
 Co., Wis., in 1852, a son of Michael 
 B. and Josephine (Forsyth) Smith, 
 the former of whom was born in Ger- 
 many, but in early life came to America 
 and took part in the war with Mexico, 
 winning a medal for meritorious service 
 on the field of Chapiultepec. 
 
 Michael B. Smith married in Fort 
 Howard, and engaged in the grocery, 
 liquor and fur trade. In 1856 or 1857 
 he moved to Sugar Creek, Door Co., 
 Wis., and embarked in general merchan- 
 dising, which he ci>ntinued until 1867 or 
 I 868, when he settled in Green Bay, and 
 here bought what is now the "Adams 
 House. '■ but retired in 1S72. While at 
 Sugar Creek he was postmaster and town- 
 ship trustee, also a justice of the peace 
 of Door county. His death took place at 
 Fort Howard in December, 1877, that of 
 his widow in Decenibcr, 1891. Mrs. 
 Josephine (Forsyth) Smith first came to 
 Brown county in 1S32, was married to 
 John Snavcly. who located on the site of 
 the -Bay City House ; " after his death 
 she was married to Michael B. Smith. 
 By the first marriage there were born 
 George A. , proprietor of the ' ' Adams 
 House;" Louisa, wife of David Coffin, of 
 Gardner, Door Co. , Wis. ; Lewis C, who 
 enlisted in the Seventeenth Wis. \. L, 
 and died in Memphis, Tenn. To the 
 second marriage were born Frank C, 
 Nellie, wife of Louis Bender, of the Red 
 Banks, Wis., and O. W. Smith, purchas- 
 ing agent for Valentine Clark Co. , Chicago. 
 Frank C. Smith was reared and edu- 
 cated in Green Bay, and began business 
 in the employ of the Manufacturers' & 
 Builders' Supply Co. In 1873 he went 
 
OOMMEMORA TIVK lUOGUAPIlICAL RKCORD. 
 
 383 
 
 to Michasjamme. Mich., where lie en- 
 t;aged in thf liqiinr business with (n'orge 
 A. Sna\ely; in 1S74 he returned to dreen 
 Ba\', and was eniplnwd as clerk at the 
 "Adams House" nntil iS^y; tlieii went 
 west, and was employed as first pantry- 
 man on the "Dak(.)ta," pl>'in^ ln'twuen 
 l^ismarck, D. T.,and l*"ort lu-nton, Nhint. 
 Iveturnint; to Green l>,i\ he was ent;af;ed 
 by Hon. D. M. Kelly to act under T. V. 
 Bingham, private secrt'tary lor I). M. 
 Kelly, general manager of the (in-rii I'.ay, 
 Winon.i lV St. Paul railroad. .\ltcu the 
 death of 1". P. Bingham in 1 SS4, Mr. 
 Smith took up the liipuu' business in 
 (jreen l>av,and is now proprietor of "The 
 ■Office," No. \2}, Washington street. 
 
 A]-5. CONION, dealer in farming 
 impkunents, .and oni' of theliest- 
 knowii farmers of Scott township. 
 Brown conntv, is a nati\'e of the 
 county, born February 20, 1S47, in 
 Green Bay. 
 
 John 1). Gonion, his father, was born 
 in St. iMancis, Canada, and wasof I'rench 
 descent, his father ha\ing i)i'en born in 
 France. He engaged in farnnng in his 
 nati\-e countr\- until iS^q, in whicdi \H'ar 
 he came to Green l>ay. Wis., and here 
 married Miss Mary Ihanmctt, who was 
 also of I'rench extraction. 'I"o tlu'ir union 
 were born children as follows: A. )>., 
 who is mentioned farther on; Dorninick, 
 of Iron Mountain, \\'is. ; Sanuiel, of Khine- 
 kuuier. Wis. ; Mar\-, Mrs. Theodore Cham- 
 
 l)ou, of Wallace, Mich. ; L( 
 
 Mrs. 
 
 Abraham LaClare, of Menominc^e, Mich.; 
 Josc])h, of Rhinelander, Wis. ; Kate, Mrs. 
 John i^urkhardt, of Kaukauna, Wis. ; 
 Edward, a farmer of Scott township, 
 Brown connt\'; and others wlio are de- 
 ceased. In an early ilav John Ix Gonion 
 removed to Scott township, ,ind he and 
 his wife are now living in Bay Settle- 
 ment, he at the age of eightv years. In 
 religion he is a Catholic, and in ]iolitics a 
 Democrat. 
 
 A. B. Gonion receivetl a somewhat 
 
 limited education in his youth, and when 
 but nine years of agecomiui'uccd to work, 
 driving team and hauling hmr to Gicen 
 Bay, remaining at home and luniiug all 
 his earnings over to his ixireuts. t)n May 
 20, 1864, then but little oxrr siwcnteen 
 years of age, he eidisted at l'>a\' Settle- 
 ment in Company G, l"ort\-lirsl Wis. V. 
 I., was sent to MiKvaukce, and thence to 
 the seat of war, the first engagement he 
 participated in being at Memphis, Tenn. 
 The command proceeded from there to 
 Old Spring, Tenn., thence to La Grange, 
 and then back to Memphis, where Mr. 
 Gonion was discharged from the service 
 Ianuar\-25, iS()5, being must 'red out in 
 Milwaukee, and returning to the jxirental 
 roof, where he remained mitd his marriage. 
 On lune 9, 1866, he w. 'tided Miss 
 F.mil\- ChamiHiu, who was boiii in Bay 
 Settlement, daughter of Phili]) Champou, 
 a French Canadian, and to this marriage 
 were fiorn eight children, \i/. : Napoleon 
 H., Idubert, lo.sejih, Mary, Fmily, Cliffer, 
 Kosa, and Robert, all living. The mother 
 of these was called from earth .\ngust 6, 
 1887, and Mr. Gonion subsequently mar- 
 ried Miss Emily Crevier, who is a native 
 of .Scott township, daughter of b'rancis 
 Crevier. To this union ha\e come foui" 
 children: Mamie (living), and three that 
 died young, .\ftcr his marriage our sub- 
 ject commenced farming, an<l lolhnved 
 that exclusively until 1880, wlu'u he also 
 engaged in the sale of f.irming imple- 
 ments, establishing his store on Main 
 street, in the citv of Green Bay. He has 
 continued in this business e\'er since, 
 meeting with gratifying success, and is 
 now- agent for the Osborne rea]>ers and 
 other farm machinery; for fourteen years 
 he handled the "Minnesota Chief" 
 thresher, and the "Chamberlain Stump 
 Puller," as well as many other leading 
 makes in tlu^ same line. Politically a 
 Republican, Mr. Gonion has for the ]iast 
 seven years been the eiTicient chairman of 
 Scott township, and he is widely and 
 favorably known throughout his section 
 of Brown county, having also an cxten- 
 
384 
 
 COMMEMOItA TIVE BIOGItAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 sive acquaintance in other counties. So- 
 cially he is a member of the (}. A. R. , 
 T. O. Howe Post, No. 124, Cireen Bay. 
 In religious faith he is a member of the 
 Bav Settlement Catholic Church. 
 
 DEUKRK OTTO ANDKKSEN, 
 farmer and butcher of New Den- 
 mark township. Brown county, 
 was born April 13, 1844, in the 
 Kingdom of Denmark. His parents, An- 
 drus and Paulina (Nelson) Carlsen, had 
 seven children, viz.: John, Peter, Christ, 
 Catherine, Olof, Lars and Dedrick Otto. 
 The father, who was a successful fisher- 
 man, died when our subject was but a 
 year and a half old. 
 
 Dedrick Otto Andersen engaged in 
 sailing, fishing and hunting from the time 
 he was seventeen years old until he 
 reached the age of twenty-two, when 
 he came to America. Sailing from 
 Liverpool, he landed at Onebec and 
 immediately came to New Denmark 
 township. Brown Co. , W'is. , after a 
 few days going to Fort Howard, where 
 he was employed in a sawmill one 
 month. From there he went to Oconto, 
 where he worked si.\ months in sawmills, 
 and then, after spending two weeks in 
 Ripon, W'is. , went to Pensaukee to work 
 in the lumber woods. He remained there 
 three years, in the employ of Mr. Thomp- 
 son, and at the end of that time came to 
 New Denmark and invested in eight}' acres 
 of wild land, shortly afterward tlisposing 
 of half of this tract. After clearing part 
 of his land he exchanged it for property 
 on the De Pere road, and opened a butcher 
 business, which he has conducted ever 
 since. In [876 he purchased the forty 
 acres of cleared land in New Denmark 
 township, on which he has ever since re- 
 sided, engaging in farming as well as 
 butchering. In 1S92 he slaughtered 200 
 head of cattle, besides other stock, and 
 has been very successful in all his busi- 
 ness operations. 
 
 Mr. Andersen was married in New 
 
 Denmark township, to Miss Anna C. 
 Paulsen, daughter of Paul and Sarah 
 (Oleson) Nelson, the former of whom was 
 a butcher; he had four children, Peter, 
 Ole, Anna C. and Nels, of whom Anna C. 
 crossed the ocean in 1869, landing in (.Que- 
 bec; she came to Green Bay, where she 
 remained about one year, and then passed a 
 year in Eaton, Brown county. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. Andersen have been born seven chil- 
 dren, as follows : Sofus, Charles, Sarah, 
 Almine, Mary, Olof and Emma. Politi- 
 cally Mr. Andersen was originally a Re- 
 publican, but has supported the Prohibi- 
 ti(3n party since its organization. Though 
 not an office seeker, he has been elected to 
 various positions of trust, has served his 
 township faithfully as supervisor, and is 
 now a mend)er of the school board. 
 
 Fll. 1 ri,LFR. the popular and 
 trusted agent of the United States 
 E.xpress Co., at Green Bay, was 
 born in Peoria, 111., in 1865. His 
 father, Marvin O. Fuller, is a native of 
 New York, and was married in Peoria, 
 III., to Miss Emma C. Evans, a native of 
 Pennsylvania, and whose father is a mem- 
 ber of the Peoria (111.) Candy Company. 
 Our subject, after receiving a very 
 good education in the public schools of 
 his native city, entered the employ of the 
 United States Express Co. in 1880, as 
 clerk, and for thirteen years has been 
 constant in the jierformance of his duties 
 in various capacities, not having lost even 
 one da\' from illness. In December, 1887, 
 he came to Green Bay as messenger on 
 the route between this city and Winona, 
 Minn., but a few months later was ap- 
 pointed route agent for the company, and 
 then (1888), express agent at Green Bay, 
 on the lines of the Chicago, Milwaukee & 
 St. Paul, the Green Bay, \\'inona cS: St. 
 Paul, and the Kewaunee, Green Baj' & 
 Western, winning in each position the 
 confidence of the company, and each 
 year advancing in the esteem of its patrons. 
 Mr. Fuller was married, in Mitchell,. 
 
COMMHMOUA TIVE BIOGUAPIIICAI. liECORD. 
 
 3S5 
 
 Iowa, August 26, 1892, to Miss Emma C. 
 Vauderpool, a daughter of C". A. Vander- 
 pool, of tfiat place. In jiolitics our sub- 
 ject is a stanch Republican, and frater- 
 nally he is a member of Twin City Lodge, 
 No. 25, K. O. T. M. He is universally 
 recognized as being one of the foremost 
 of the young and promising residents of 
 Green Bay, and as being made of that 
 stuff which constitutes the best materials 
 for aiding in the building up of a moral 
 and progressive community. 
 
 H 
 
 M. HITTNER, M. 1)., the well- 
 known physician and surgeon, of 
 Green Bay, was born in Cincin- 
 nati, Ohio, in iSOS, a son of Ur. 
 H. M. and Margaret (Dohertyi Hittiier. 
 The father was anati\eof Germanx', 
 was educated at Munich, and at twenty 
 years of age located in Cincinnati, Ohio, 
 where he began practice. Through the 
 Civil war he was assistant surgeon tt) 
 Prof. Kepler, and after its close resumed 
 his residence in Cincinnati, where he was 
 for several years chief clinical assistant to 
 Prof. Bartholow. He moved to Milwau- 
 kee, Wis., in 1877, whence he moved to 
 Two Ri\ers. W'is., where he died in 1892, 
 and where his widow, a native of Ohio, 
 still resides. They were the parents of 
 six children, as follows: Li/zie, \\ife of 
 H. \V. Luckon, of St. Paul. Minn. ; Dr. 
 James, residing in Se_\inonr, Outagainie 
 Co., Wis.; Maggie, married to |. R. Zet- 
 tleman, of Chicago, 111. ; Dr. H. M., sub- 
 ject of this sketch; Kate and Bertha. 
 
 Our subject was nine years of age 
 when taken by his ))arents to Milwaukee, 
 and twelve years old whi-n they moved to 
 Two Rivers, in 1880. His earlv educa- 
 tion was received at Milwaukee, and in 
 1882 he graduated from the high school 
 at Two Rivers; he ne.xt attended Cincin- 
 nati Busine.ss College, from which he 
 graduated in 1884. He then read medi- 
 cine with his father until prepared to 
 enter Bellevue Hospital Medical College, 
 New York, in which he took one course. 
 
 1889-90, and this was followed by three 
 consecutive courses at Rush Medical 
 College, Chicago, 111., from which he 
 was graduated with theclassof 1893, im- 
 mediately after which he became the asso- 
 ciate of Dr. Minahan, devoting his fore- 
 noons to practice at St. Vincent's Hopital, 
 and his afternoons to office practice. The 
 Doctor has built up a lucrative practice at 
 Green Bay, making a sjiecialty of surgery 
 in connection with gt'iieral routine duties. 
 He is equally popular with his fullow- 
 proiessionals as with the public, and is a 
 member of the Fox River Medical Society.. 
 
 MRS. ELSIb: JORGENSEN wa.s- 
 born December 15, 1852, in 
 Denmark, daughter of Christ 
 and Anna (Nelson) Jensen, the 
 former of \\hom was a successful farmer. 
 They had a family of nine children, viz.: 
 Niels, James, Christ, Jens C, Dorothea, 
 Elsie, Angeline, .\nna and Mary. IClsie 
 receised all her education in Demnark, 
 and when se\enteen _\ears old came to 
 America, joining her parents in New Den- 
 mark township, Briiwn Co.. Wis, . whither 
 the\' had preceded Iht. About a year 
 later she was united m marriage with 
 Hans Jorgensen, a farmer of New Den- 
 mark township, and took up her resi- 
 dence on the farm where she has ever 
 since resided, consisting of 120 acres of 
 excellent land. At that time it was only 
 partly cleared, but Mr. Jorgensen labored 
 earnestly to reduce the ]ilace to a condi- 
 tion of fertility, and successfully con- 
 ducted a general farming business up to 
 the time of his death, which occurred 
 December 15. 1802. He left a family of 
 eight children. namel\': .Arthur. Walter, 
 Elsie ('Mrs. Herman Lange) Emma, Dag- 
 mar, Alexander, .Alvina and furgcna, of 
 whom Arthur, the eldest, now attends to 
 the affairs on the home place. The en- 
 entire family are held in the highest es- 
 teem among their fellow citizens in New 
 Denmark township. In religious faith 
 they are Lutherans. 
 
386 
 
 COMMEifORATirE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 CHARLES MEISTER has been 
 superintendent of the Park at 
 Green Bay since June 3, 1S90, 
 but is a carpenter and contractor 
 by occupation. He was born in Germany 
 in 1852, and is a son of Christopli and 
 Dorothea (Morlag) Meistcr, who came to 
 Green Bay in 1853, the father being now 
 the oldest contractor in the city. 
 
 Charles Meister was reared and edu- 
 cated in Green Bay, and here served an 
 apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade, 
 which, in connection with contracting, he 
 followed until appointed to his present 
 position. This park comprises tifty-eight 
 acres, and contains an exhibition building, 
 a club house, a grand stand, and one of 
 the best half-mile tracks in the State, as 
 well as quite a number of animals; it is 
 also contemplated to build, in addition, a 
 $10,000 club house. Mr. Meister is a 
 Republican in politics, is a member of the 
 Royal Arcanum, Order of Tonti, German 
 Benevolent Society, and of the Turn- 
 verein. His marriage took place in Green 
 Bay, in 18S1, to Miss Frances Peters, a 
 native of Kewaunee county. Wis., and a 
 daughter of John Peters. Five children 
 were born to this union, as follows: Lillie, 
 Clare, Louis and Flora, still living, and 
 Carl, deceased. As will be seen, Mr. 
 Meister is a member of one of the early 
 families of the county, and he has himself 
 seen many changes take place since his 
 childhood. He has always taken great 
 interest in the welfare of the city and 
 county, and his life has been such as to 
 win the respect of all who know him, as 
 well as a fine reputation with the general 
 public. 
 
 ARNOLD CORSTENS. Among the 
 many industrious, loyal citi/ens 
 which the little Kingdom of Hol- 
 land has given to Brown county, 
 may be mentioned this gentleman, who 
 is a thrifty, well-to-do farmer of Scott 
 township. 
 
 John Corstens, father of Arnold, was 
 
 born in Holland, September 10, iSio. 
 and there learned the trades of shoemaker 
 and tanner. He was married in his na- 
 tive country to Dora Steegs, who was 
 born there in August, 1S15, and they be- 
 came the parents of the following named 
 children: Arnold (whose name opens this 
 sketch), Peter (a farmer of Scott town- 
 ship), Catherine (Mrs. Joseph Lernuzen, 
 of De Pere). all three born in Holland, 
 and Hendrika, born in America, now 
 Mrs. Joseph Allorn, of Door county. 
 Wis.; there were other children, who died 
 when young. At the time of his mar- 
 riage John Corstens was engaged in a 
 prosperous business, but, in 1854, be- 
 lieving that the New World offered bet- 
 ter advantages to himself and family, he 
 disposed of his interests and emigrated. 
 They proceeded to Liverpool, England, 
 in the spring of that year, sailing from 
 that port on a vessel bound for New York, 
 where they arrived after a voyage of si.\ 
 or seven w-eks, and immediately after land- 
 ing came to Wisconsin, passing their first 
 winter in Milwaukee, where the father 
 found employment at his trade. They 
 then came to Green Bay, Brown county, 
 for about a year living on rented property, 
 at the end of which time they removed 
 to Bav Settlement. Scott township, where 
 Mr. Corstens purchased six acres of land, 
 on which there was a small log dwelling. 
 In this house the family resided for some 
 time, and he also engaged in shocmaking 
 there to some extent, in connection con- 
 ducting a small tannery until within a 
 short time before his death. In later 
 years he purchased more land, and with 
 the help of his sons gathered a property 
 of eighty-three acres. He was laid to 
 rest in August, 1876, in Bay Settlement 
 cemetery, where his wife also rests, she 
 followinsr him to the grave December 18, 
 18S9. Both were members of the Cath- 
 olic Church, and in politics he was a 
 Democrat, taking but little active interest, 
 however, in such matters. 
 
 .Vrnold Corstens was born January i, 
 1847, and was but a child when he came 
 
COMMEMORA Tl VK lllOCU. I I'llK A I, liF.VOHl). 
 
 3«/ 
 
 with his parents to Wisconsin. He 
 coinni .Miced f^oinj; to scliool in Scott 
 township, and received ail his education 
 in the primitive institutions of learning in 
 vogue in those pioneer da^s, attending 
 until he reached the age of ahoiit fifteen 
 years, when he began to work on the 
 home farm. In addition to his agricul- 
 tural duties he learned the tr.ide of shoe- 
 maker imder his fatiii'r, and also engaged 
 in tanning in the old \vay. lieing the 
 eldest son, hf hail niiicli to do, and he 
 faithfully assistecl his parents, always re- 
 maiiung on the home farm, the manage- 
 ment of which (levol\-ed Upon him after 
 the ili'atli of his father, and he carried it 
 on for his mother during her liietime. 
 Since her decease he and his brother 
 Peter have been working togrlher, and 
 the present firtile condition oi tlu: jilace, 
 which now comprises 230 broad acres, is 
 princijiallv due to their industry and un- 
 ceasing attention to all the details of 
 their work. 
 
 On June 19, 1876. Mr. C.orstens was 
 marr^e 1 to Miss Cornelia Busch, who was 
 born in Green ]5a\', I'Y'brnarv (>, 1S56, 
 tlaughter of lleiman |. Ihisch, a native 
 of (ierman\. To (his uniou ha\c been 
 horn children as follows: |olm, Her- 
 man, Dora, Rosa, llenry, M,ir\', Lena, 
 ("icorge, and Andrew, .all living, and 
 Peter and Joseph, who <lie(l in infanc\-. 
 In his political jireferences Mr. C'orstens 
 is a member of tlie Democratic party, 
 init gives notiuK- to politics, being fully 
 occupied with his business aff.airs. In 
 religion he and liis wife ;ire members of 
 the l'>av Settlement Catholic Chmcdi. 
 
 R\l\. JACOBUS BOZMACK was 
 born M.iy 1, 1S48, in Austria, son 
 of Valentine and Constantia Boz- 
 mack, who had a family of eight 
 children, all of whom are deceased ex- 
 ce|it our subject. The parents both died 
 in their native country. 
 
 Jacobus Bo;;mack received his early 
 education in the common-schools of the 
 
 land of his birth, and, at the age of 
 twenty-seven years, enteic'd the priest- 
 hood. In iS()3 he came to America, 
 and alter a very rough xoj'age landed in 
 New \'ork Citv, tlu'nee <omiiig diicctly 
 to his charge in Maton township. Blown 
 Coiintv, W'iseoiism. 
 
 J0SI:PH HKBF.KT, vice-president 
 and general manager ol the Creen 
 Bay Carriage Co., is a native of 
 < hiebee, Canada, born in 1850, of 
 I'^reiieh ancestry. His p.iii'nts, Julian 
 and S<iphia ([arard) Ilebert. also natives 
 of ("anada, died in C'ohoes, New ^'ork. 
 
 Our subject first came to Creen Bav, 
 Wis., in I S6<), thenc'e moved to Missouri 
 ,and learned carriage-making; in 1872 
 he v\'ent to New ^'ork, thence to Chicago; 
 then again took np his residence in New 
 York and other eastern cities, where he 
 worked in car shops, etc , until 1877, the 
 year of his comini; to Creen I'>ay, with 
 which city he has been identified ever 
 since — a fieriod now of some eighteen 
 years. In 1877 he commenced work in 
 the repair shops, and in 1 87(1 entered the 
 manufacturing dejiartment ot the lirm of 
 Wagner, Chartrand iS: Co., on Pirn' street; 
 in 1883 the firm style was changed to 
 Wagner, Sn.avelv i\: Co.; in 1886 Mr. 
 Suavely sold his interest to Wagner cS: 
 Hebert, and under this name the business 
 was conducted until the organi;;ation of 
 the C.reen Bay Carriage Co., which took 
 plac(' in i8go, with A. Weise as president, 
 H. B. Baker as secretary and treasiner, 
 and |oseph Hebert as vice-president and 
 managi>r, the object being to manufacture 
 all kinds of carriage work. They have 
 an extraordinarily fine plant, it being a 
 two-story brick building, i JC> feet frontage 
 on Adams street and 160 feet frontage on 
 Cedar street, giving employment to fifty 
 hands. This extensive establishment is 
 considerc^d to be one of the conspicuous 
 indiistri.al plants of the citv, and is looked 
 upon witii much pride. 
 
 Mr. Hebert was married in Cohoes, 
 
3SS 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 X. v.. ill 1S71, to Matilda Maiuille. a 
 native of Oueboc, Canada, and tliis iinii)n 
 has been blessed with six children, viz. : 
 Kosa, Henry, Lydia, Eva, Li/zie and 
 Philemon. [•"ratcrnally Mr. Hebert is a 
 nu'iubcr of Washington Lodge, No. 2i, 
 V. \- .\. M., and of the Moiiern Wood- 
 men; in politics he is a Kepublicaii, but 
 is by no means an office-seeker. Having 
 been for many years a resilient of Green 
 Bay, he has, of course, witnessed its 
 giant strides in the march of improve- 
 ment, and not one of its citizens takes 
 greater delight than ho in its progress. 
 The family is recognized for its refine- 
 ment and gracious manners, and is highly 
 esteemed. 
 
 WILLI.VM Ki:NNi:nV. chief of 
 the Fire Department of Green 
 Bay, was born, in 1862, in 
 Canada. His parents, Henry 
 and Mary (Fitz Gibbons) Kennedy, also 
 natives of the Dominion, came, in 1872, 
 to Wisconsin, and settled on a farm in 
 Forestville townshi]i, Door cmintx', the 
 tract comprising Soo acres, of which, onlv 
 fifteen acres were cleared. (~)n this farm 
 the parents still reside. Thev had born 
 to them nine children, viz.: Ann, de- 
 ceased; Sarah, deceased; Mar\'; Klla; 
 Cornelius; James, deceased; William, our 
 subject; Henry, deceased; and Michael. 
 William Kennedy rendered consider- 
 able assistance to his father in making 
 the Door county farm habitable and 
 profitable, and, at about the time of his 
 majority, went to Sturgeon Bay, Wis., 
 shortly afterward, in 1SS7, moving to 
 Menominee, Mich., where he was con- 
 nected with the Fire Department five 
 years. From that point he came to 
 Green Bav, and here organi/eii the paid 
 Fire Department. From his exhaustive 
 report to the common council for the 
 year ending December 31, 1893, the fol- 
 lowing extracts are made as showing the 
 effective e()ui]iment of the Department : 
 Twelve active members, besides the chief; 
 
 seven horses; one Ainoskeag fire engine; 
 three hose carts, to be drawn by two 
 horses; one hook and ladder truck; two 
 sleighs, for winter use; one set of truck 
 bobs; two hand hose carts; .1,500 feet of 
 two and one-half inch cotton lead hose, 
 in first-class condition; 1,500 feet of two 
 and one-half inch rubber lead hose, in 
 good condition; two exercise wagons; two 
 six-gallon extinguishers; two three-gallon 
 extinguishers. 
 
 In commenting on the service ren- 
 dered by the Department, the chief re- 
 marks: "I take pleasure in congratu- 
 lating the citizens of Green Bay on the 
 fact that they have escaped serious loss 
 by fires during the past year. This goes 
 to show the value of a Paid Department, 
 by their prompt action in respoiuiing to 
 the several alarms, and the successful 
 way in which fires were handled. Al- 
 though the Department has responded to 
 thirty-seven alarms of fire, the total loss 
 paid by insurance companies aggregate 
 only $14,855.65; a fact which shows the 
 great value of a well-equi]iped Depart- 
 ment." It is to be regretted that the 
 scope of this sketch affords no room for 
 further extracts from this valuable re- 
 port. 
 
 The marriage of William Kennedy 
 took place in Menominee, Mich., in 1891, 
 to Miss Eliza Hayes, who was born in 
 Saginaw county. Mich., a daughter of 
 Martin and Mary (Waters) Hayes, natives 
 of Canada. The twc> children' born to 
 William Kenneily and his wife are named 
 Gladdies and Martin Joseph. In his 
 fraternal relations Mr. Kennedy belongs 
 to the Royal Arcanum; in religion he 
 and his wife are members of St. John's 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 JOHN VAN VONDEREN, one of 
 the self-made prosperous agricultur- 
 ists of Rockland township. Brown 
 county, is a native of Holland, born 
 July 9, 1835, son of John \'an V'onderen, 
 a farmer, who died when our subject was 
 
commi:m()i:.\ rivr: iU(>(!i;.\riiirM. nrronn. 
 
 3^9 
 
 nillr 3rars oKI. Ili- \s as 1 \\ icf inavnrd, 
 ami Icll st'\a'n Miiall cliiMrcu. t\M> smishy 
 his first wife, ami Imii sons ami a iiaiii;ii- 
 tcr hy ins sccdml, |iiliii Imiii^ llic cldrst 
 chi (I born to the sccoml iiiairia,L;i'. 
 
 The family lived on a rented farm, ami 
 the eliildreii ((immeneed to work as soon 
 as tlie\' could he ol assistance, so that 
 |ohn had \erylinnted oppoi 1 unit ii'S for 
 ail education, attending; school hut lilth' 
 after his father's deatli. In iSoj he 
 niarrit'd Miss |oanna l>e(iioot, who was 
 hoin |une ^, i'*^.>5. in Holland, and in 
 that coimtr\' three children were horn to 
 them: John, who is now a farmer ol l\ock- 
 land townsliip; Harney, of l)e I'ere, and 
 Catherine, Mrs. I'eter De I hihle, of De- 
 Fere, In 1867 Mi. \'an X'ondert'n sold 
 what property he had in llolland, ;ind 
 sailed with his family from Kotteidam to 
 (ilasj^DW, where tlu'V <'nd)arked on a \essel 
 l)oimd for New ^'ork, in which city they 
 arri\ed after a stormy voyaj;e of twenty- 
 three days. Thiw innnediateiy set out 
 lor Wisconsin, and on May arri\ed at 
 Little ("hute, (^ntai;amie conntw where 
 tlie\' I'enled land and made theii' home 
 for two years. ( )n Nhireh 12, i8()i), tiiey 
 came to Rocklaml township, l-Jrown 
 county, and pine hased (on credit) a tract 
 of eighty acies, tliirt\ of whic h li.id heeti 
 cleari'd. Here the lannK li\cd in a 
 smali loj;' house, and Mr. \'an N'oiideren 
 lahori'd dilij^cMith' to clear and improve 
 his farm, an arduous task, hut one in 
 which he has met with unl)ounded suc- 
 cess, lie has also increased the area of 
 the |)lace, which now (i miprises 1 20 acres 
 ol prime land acipiired h\' \'ears of 
 earnest, unremitt inj; toil, and he has won 
 the res])ect of all who know him for in- 
 dustry and honesty. ()n this farm cJiil- 
 dren as follows ha\c heen horn: Chris- 
 tina, who died youuf;; Christina ( j), Mrs. 
 Ilenry \'er Strateii; Annie, {''rank and 
 Mary, at home; and Hattic. William and 
 William (2), all three deceased. One 
 child was horn at l.ittle Chute. iKimely 
 Andrew, who is now a resilient of l)e- 
 Pere towiishii). Our subject is a Demo- 
 
 ( rat \\\ Ins pnhlual preferences, and h.is 
 sei \ ed as treasurer ol the s( hi>ol boar<l 
 lor tweKc yeais. In relii;ious ccjunei tion 
 the fanuK aie memheis of St. Mary's 
 Clnuih, :it i)e i'er<'. 
 
 H 
 
 .\NS 11.\NS1':N, de;der m taiin 
 implements. New 1 )rnm,irk tow n- 
 ship, Ihdwn count)', is a native 
 of the l\mL;dom of l>enmark, l)orti 
 Antjnst 2S, 1 S40. \\c is a son ol K'.isnms 
 and .Anna C. (Clsoui Hansen, who weie 
 the p:irenls o| ele\en children, \i/. : 
 Catlierine, Hans, Mary, Niels, ji'us, 
 I'eter, Christ and Stine, and three that 
 died in iiifanc\ . The hither w;is a lisln-r- 
 iiian liy occiip.it ion, ,ind. as the lamily 
 was a lart;e one, the children were ohlii.;i'(l 
 to assist as soon as tluw were old enoui;h 
 to work. 
 
 Hans Hansen served as a soldier in 
 liis native country under l'"rederick \li 
 and Christian IX, and subse(iuently was 
 in the g'ONernment enipliw as a sta^e 
 dri\'er. He continued thus until I SC>7, 
 when he decideil to seek his fortune m 
 .\im'ric;i, and leaxin;; Denmark he pro- 
 ceeded to laverjiool, ICnijlaud, and em- 
 barked on an out wiird-bound \a'ssel, land- 
 ing; in niiebec .after a ]Tle:is;int and com- 
 parati\el\ short vo\;i!.;e. lie came 
 
 thence to Creen l^ay, A\'is. , and thence 
 to Oconto, wiiere lie commenced work in 
 a sawanill, ami, after enga'jinj; in that oc- 
 cupation for two years, went to I'ond dii 
 I.ac, where \w was etnplo\i-d (Ui a laiin 
 for about a \'ear. Cominj;' from tliere 
 direct 1\ to Niwv Denmark townsliip. Brown 
 county, he purchased a ti'act of ei^lity 
 acres, totally unimi)roved,and coinmenced 
 at once to clear it and prejiare the land 
 for cultivation, but as he li;i.l little ex- 
 perience in this line, the work at first 
 pro<jressed very slowly. On June \Ci, 
 1870, he was united in marriat^e with 
 Mary ("Van ScRf^ern) Asterloh, and they 
 immediately came to the farm, where they 
 shared all the hardshijis and privations of 
 those early years in the wilderness. Their 
 
390 
 
 C0AIMEMUHAT1\K BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 union has been blessed with eight chil- 
 dren, as follows: Rasmus P., Henry 
 William, Herman H., Anna C, M. C, 
 Fred M., Christ H., and Charles N. T.. 
 who died in infancy. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hansen lived in a log 
 house on the farm for twenty-two j'ears, 
 at the end of which time he disposed of 
 his farm and built a saloon; subsequently 
 he commenced to deal in farm imple- 
 ments, and now carries on both businesses, 
 meeting with gratifying success. In polit- 
 ical connection Mr. Hansen has always 
 been identified with the Republican party, 
 and has served in various official positions 
 in his township and county, as follows: 
 As deputy sheriff, four years; town as- 
 sessor, two years; constable, eight years; 
 and justice of the peace, five years, giving 
 satisfaction to all concerned, and winning 
 the respect of all who have had dealings 
 with him. In religions faith he and his 
 wife arc members of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 JOHN CALMAX. who, during his'life- 
 time, was a well-known farmer of 
 De Pere township. Brown county, 
 was a native of County Cork, Ire- 
 land, born January 7, 1822. His father, 
 Dennis Caiman, was a farmer, and for a 
 number of years rented land in County 
 Cork, but later the family took up their 
 residence in the city of Cork, where John 
 spent a portion of his boyhood da\s. 
 
 When a young man our subject came 
 to the United States, and for some time 
 worked in a type foundry in Boston, 
 Mass. His father had died, and after 
 John secured employment he sent for his 
 widowed mother, who came to the home 
 he had provided, accompanied by his 
 brother, William, and sister, Hannah. 
 In 1S52 John, with his brothers, Denm's 
 and William, came westward to Wiscon- 
 sin, and located on a farm in De Pere 
 township. Brown county, where he passed 
 the remainder of his life. -At that time it 
 was all in the woods, an Indian trail be- 
 ing the only road from De Pere, and here 
 
 ! they built a small log shanty for ihem- 
 I selves, their mother and sister residing, in 
 the meanwhile, in De Pere, which was 
 i then but a small village. After a resi- 
 dence of four years on this farm John 
 Caiman returned to Boston, where he w-as 
 shortly afterward united in marriage with 
 Miss Kate HefTernan, also a native of the 
 Enieral Isle, born in 1828 in the Parish 
 of Glenmore. County Kilkenny, daughter 
 of John Heffernan, who died in Ireland. 
 Kate Heffernan came to the United 
 States in 1850 with her brother-in-law, 
 Thomas Fanning, crossing the Atlantic in 
 four weeks, and locating in Boston, where 
 she was yet living at the time of her mar- 
 riage. 
 
 After their union Mr. and Mrs. Cai- 
 man spent a year and a half in Boston, 
 where he was again employed in a type 
 foundry, and here one child, Mary H., 
 now Mrs. Thomas Connelly, of De Pere 
 township, was born. He then brought 
 his wife and child to De Pere township, 
 Brown Co., Wis., and they took up their 
 home on the farm, where his mother and 
 brother, Dennis, also resided. The other 
 brother, William, had gone to California, 
 where he is yet living, and John and 
 Dennis Caiman farmed together until the 
 latter's death, when John took entire 
 charge of the place. He cleared and 
 improved it, and added thereto, until at 
 the time of his death he had a fertile, 
 highly-cultivated tract of two hundred 
 acres. This was the direct result of years 
 of patient industry and unrelenting toil, 
 for when he purchased the place it was a 
 veritable wilderness. He was a thor- 
 oughly self-made man. having, from a 
 start of nothing but a strong will and de- 
 termination to succeed, become a pros- 
 perous farmer and a highly-respected 
 citizen. He passed from earth October 
 31, 1890, and was buried in De Pere 
 cemeterv. In religious connection he 
 was a member of St. Francis Catholic 
 Church, of which he was trustee for 
 years. Politically he was a strong sup- 
 porter of the principles of the Democratic 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 391 
 
 part\-, and as sucli was elected chairman 
 of the township for two years, discharg- 
 inf; the duties of his office witli ability and 
 credit and to the complete satisfaction of 
 his constituents, l)ut he declined re-elec- 
 tion on account of failing:; health. To 
 Mr. antl Mrs. Caiman were born children 
 as follows; Dennis, now a farmer of 
 South Dakota; Ellen, now a resident of 
 Den\er. Colo. ; Kate, also in Den\er, 
 Colo. ; Esther, William, and John, at 
 home; and Alice, a school teacher, of 
 Seymour, Wis. Since Mr. Caiman's 
 decease his widow has continued to make 
 her home on the farm, which is now 
 conducted by the younger sons, William 
 and John. She is a memlicr of St. 
 Francis Church, De Pere, and is highly 
 respected in the community in which she 
 resides. 
 
 GEORGE W. H.WDEN. farmer 
 and ex-soldier, of Pittstield town- 
 ship. Brown county, was born in 
 Fit/william, N. H., May i, 1839. 
 His parents were Silas and Betsey Hay- 
 den, who reared a family of thirteen chil- 
 dren, of whom, howe\er. our subject is 
 the only one li\ing. 
 
 George W. Hayden was but thirteen 
 years of age when his parents sold their 
 farm in the East and came to Wisconsin, 
 settling on a tract of forty acres of wild 
 woodland in Pittsfield township. Brown 
 county, among the Indians, bears and 
 wolves. They were a hardy couple, and 
 the mother, on one occasion, walked to 
 and returned from Green Bay in one day, 
 after her si.xtieth birthday, bearing a bur- 
 den of twenty pounds. Of their large 
 family only four of the children lived to 
 come \\'est to aid their parents in car\ing 
 out a home from the wilderness. When 
 our subject was but fourteen years old an 
 axe was placed in his hands, and from 
 that time onward he has earned his own 
 living. The first winter he worked in the 
 woods at twelxc dollars per month, but 
 later on his pay was increased to twenty 
 
 dollars, the highest price then paid to 
 woodsmen. The father kept steadily at 
 work clearing up his land, and added si.x 
 acres to his original forty. Mrs. Hajden 
 died in 1869, antl her remains are in- 
 terred in the Rural Cemetery at Flintville. 
 George W^ Hayden remained with his 
 parents until 1861, when he responded to 
 his country's call and enlisted in Company 
 H, Twelfth Wis. \'. I., being assigned to 
 the army of the Tennessee, under Sher- 
 man. He obtained a furlough of thirty 
 days, however, came home and married 
 Alice E. Brown, daughter of James and 
 Abigail (Tillbrook) Brown, of the State of 
 Maine, where the father had been a fish- 
 erman. They came to Wisconsin about 
 the year 1855 and settled at Mills Center, 
 Pittsfield townshij), on land jiurchased by 
 Mr. Brown, on wdiich tiiey lived until 
 1863, when they sold out and moved to 
 the northern part of the township, where 
 the father died, after whicli the mother 
 lived with her daughter, Mrs. Hayden. 
 His thirty-days' furlough having expired, 
 Mr. Hayden rejoined his regiment and 
 took part in all its marches and engage- 
 ments until his discharge, at Louisville, 
 Ky., July 16, 1S65. He had fought at 
 ' the siege of \'icksburg, at Chattanooga 
 and at Atlanta, antl had followed Sher- 
 man to the sea, experiencing hardships 
 and privations that very few could endure, 
 but during all his long service was in hos- 
 pital only two weeks. When he returned 
 home he took possession of a forty-acre 
 tract of land he had purchased from the 
 Fox River Improvement Company, on 
 which no tree had yet been felled. He 
 cleared a space large enough for the frtaiie 
 dwelling, in which he still li\es, and the 
 work of clearing was prosecuted with vigor 
 initil the wilderness was roiujuered. He 
 has increased his possessions to 160 acres, 
 and is altogether prosperous, his elder 
 sons of late vears having assisted him 
 materially. He has had born to him 
 eight children, viz.: Clare (deceased in 
 infancy), William, Charles, George, 
 Frank. Carrie, and Har\(V and Harrv 
 
392 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 (twins). Mr. and .\Ir.s. Hayden are mem- 
 bers of the Congregational Church, and 
 in p(jiitics Mr. Hayden is a KepubHcan, 
 and cast his first vote for Abraham 
 Lincohi. 
 
 PKTEK KOL15, postmaster at Kolb, 
 and one of the well-known citizens 
 of I)e Pere township, Brown 
 county, is a native of the village 
 of Bruttig. Rhenish Prussia, born June 
 24, 1S28. His father, Gottfried Kolb, 
 who was a boatman on the river Moselle, 
 was twice married, and became the father 
 of twenty-one children, of whom our sub- 
 ject was the third son and the si.xth child 
 in order of birth. 
 
 Peter Kolb attended school until he 
 was fourteen years of age, after which he 
 worked with his father as ferryman. 
 Peter's mother died when he was six vears 
 old. Having received some monev from 
 her estate, he, in the spring of 1S52, bade 
 farewell to his home and friends, and set 
 out for the United States. He first pro- 
 ceeded to Antwerp, from which port he 
 sailed, landing, after an ocean voyage of 
 two months, in New York Citv, April 10, 
 1S52. His destination was Green Bav, 
 Wis., where some of his schoolmates had 
 previously located, and thither he jour- 
 neyed, going by rail to Buffalo. N. Y., 
 where, after a delay of two or three weeks, 
 waiting for navigation to open, he took 
 passage on the steamer "Michigan," and 
 arrived in Green Bay about May 10. He 
 immediately went to Peshtigo, Wis., and 
 for four years was employed in the mills at 
 that place. He also spent a winter at 
 Meeme, Manitowoc county, where his 
 sister, Gertrude ''who had come to the 
 United States a short time after him), was 
 residing, and it was here he met the ladv 
 who soon afterward became his wife. Miss 
 I^fargaret Adolff. She was born in 18 v. 
 in Munster Mayfeld, Coblent/, Germany, 
 daughter of Rhinearous Adolff, who came 
 to the United States in i8t;4 The vonn? 
 couple were married March 31, 1857, and 
 
 shortly afterward took up their residence 
 on Main street, in Green Bay, where Mr. 
 Kolb. having saved some mone}', had pur- 
 chased a home of his own. Being a skill- 
 ful mechanic, he erected his own house, 
 and they resided there one year, when he 
 sold the place and moved to Meeme, 
 Manitowoc county, where for si-N years 
 they lived on rented land. During this 
 time he was also engaged in clearing land. 
 In July, 1863, he came to the farm in De- 
 Pere township. Brown county, where he 
 has ever since made his home, situated in 
 Section 33, Township 23, Range 2i- He 
 first purchased forty acres, but half of 
 which was cleared, and an old log house 
 was the only residence the place afforded; 
 but he added to the farm until at one time 
 it comprised 236 acres, and he now has 
 t86 acres. In addition to his agricultural 
 labors he also conducts a saloon on the 
 farm. To Mr. and Mrs. Kolb have been 
 born children as follows: Jacob, a farmer, 
 of De Pere; Peter, residing in Green Bay; 
 Margaret, now Mrs. Michael Coregan, of 
 De Pere township; Elizabeth, living at 
 home; .\nna, Mrs. Nicholas Meyer, of 
 Menasha, Wis. ; Joseph, a farmer of De- 
 Perc township; and Anton, of Seymour, 
 Outagamie county. 
 
 Mr. Kolb's life presents a striking ex- 
 ample of what may be accomplished by 
 industry, prescrvancc and a strong, willing 
 pair of hands. On landing in Green Bay 
 in the spring of 1852, he found himself 
 four dollars in debt ; but not allowing 
 himself to become discouraged, he set to 
 work, engaging at any honest labor he 
 could find, and always working with the de- 
 termination to succeed. He was anxious to 
 have a comfortable home of his own, and 
 after purchasing his land he spent many 
 years of hard, unrelenting toil in its culti- 
 vation and improvement. He is one of 
 the few old settlers in De Pere township, 
 now living, who have endured the trials 
 and hardships of those early times, and, 
 though now over sixty-six 3'ears of age, he 
 is still hale and hearty. He is well known 
 in his community, and is highly respected 
 

 .■"St. 
 
 
 fr;l% 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOURAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 395 
 
 by all who knuw him. In his pulitical 
 affiliations llr. Kolb is a stanch member 
 of the Democratic party, always support- 
 ing its principles in State and National 
 elections, hut in local affairs he votes in- 
 dependently, selecting the best man, re- 
 gardless of politics. He has filled \arious 
 offices in his township; for tweh'e _\ ears 
 he served satisfactorily as chairman, de- 
 clining further re-election; for five years 
 he was supervisor, an office which came to 
 him unsolicited ; and since 1S87 he has 
 been postmaster at Kolb, Brown county, 
 which office was named after him. In 
 religious connection he and his wife are 
 members of the Cathedral Church at 
 Green Bay. 
 
 NICHOLAS WEBER, a well-known 
 resident of the township of De- 
 Pere, Brown Co., was born in 
 1S40, in Luxemburg, Germany. 
 He came with his parents to America, 
 locating with the famil\- in New Denmark 
 township. Brown Co., Wis., where they 
 shared the hardshijis and privations inci- 
 dent to pioneer life. For many winters 
 our subject worked in the lumber re.gions, 
 and he specially remembers one winter 
 spent at Pensaukee, when he e.xperienced 
 trials and dangers that few would be able 
 to withstand. He also worked for sev- 
 eral firms in New Denmark township, 
 and liis work was invariably so satisfactory 
 that he could always find employment 
 with the same ccmpany a second time. 
 In 1865 he enlisted in Company F, Fif- 
 tieth Wis. V. I., and served until the fall 
 of the same year, when he was discharged, 
 returning home at once. 
 
 In 1866 Mr. Weber was married to 
 Miss Catherine Daniels, whose father, 
 Mathias Daniels, and mother died when 
 she was an infant. Our subject purchased 
 eighty acres of new land in De Pere town- 
 ship, which he cleared and improved, re- 
 siding thereon until 1892, when he sold it, 
 and now makes his home with his chil- 
 •dren. To Mr. and Mrs. Webor were 
 
 born nine children, \iz. ; Hubbard, Nich- 
 olas, Mathias, Annie, Catherine, Josie, 
 Joseph, Mary and Ceorge, all of whom 
 have received good educational advan- 
 tages. The mcjther of this family was 
 called from earth February 7, 1891, 
 deeply mourned b\- her family and friends. 
 She was a member of the Catholic Church 
 at Pine Grove, as is also her husband. 
 Politically he is a Democrat, and takes 
 nmch interest in the welfare of his party. 
 
 ABBOTT WILLIAM SLAUGH- 
 TER, M. I)., was born December 
 I, 1S60. at Westport, Mo. (a 
 submb of Kansas City), son of 
 Alfred and Laura (Abbott) Slaughter. 
 
 The Slaughters come of an old Virginia 
 family of English and Scotch ancestry, 
 who came to America during Colonial 
 times. The proverbial three brothers 
 figure in the family, and the progenitor of 
 this present family settled in Virginia, 
 where they became prosperous, well-to-do 
 planters, representing one of the old aris- 
 tocratic families of that State. According 
 to the customs of the country they held 
 slaves, to whose interests they were as de- 
 \-oted as if the\' belonged to the famil\, 
 the slaves being well fed, well clothed, 
 housed andprovided for. Crauilfather Wil- 
 liam Slaughter owned 1,800 acres of land 
 in Culpeper county; his father, William, 
 lived in Rappahannock count)-. The 
 grandfather was a large-hearted man, hav- 
 ing a big, robust frame, and well built. 
 He was a strong believer in Democratic 
 principles and State Sovereignty, a leader 
 in his neighborhood in all matters pertain- 
 ing to literary and political matters and 
 local government, was well educated, and 
 a lawyer bv profession. He was chosen 
 judge of the people, led a noble life, es- 
 teemed and beloved by all, rea(-hed a good 
 old age, and quietly passed awa\- one day 
 while sitting in a chair. He was the 
 father of a large family, of whom on 
 Daniel F. Slaughter, of Virginia, and .\ - 
 fred SlauLfhtc" --f Green Bav, are yet liv- 
 
39^ 
 
 COMMEMORATIVK BtOGIiAPUlCAL RECORD. 
 
 iiij;. The hitter was born in Culpeper 
 county, \'a.. where he received his pri- 
 mary education, and, makinj; teaching his 
 profession, taught about forty-three years, 
 during which time he was principal of 
 Lexington (Mo.) High School about nine 
 years, of the Prairie Home Institute also 
 nine years, and principal of the McCune 
 College, Louisiana, Mo., five years. He 
 also taught as principal in the Glenviile 
 (Ky.) school two years, but receiving a 
 stroke of paralysis was disabled from fol- 
 lowing his chosen profession longer. 
 Chiefly self-educated, he was at the same 
 time well educated, and was a typical gen- 
 tleman of the old Southern school of chiv- 
 alry; he now resides with his son in Green 
 Bay. He married Miss Laura Abbott, 
 of West \'irginia, who is yet living, and 
 their marriage was blessed with three 
 children : Louisa Frances, Laura Slaugh- 
 ter, and Abbott William, our subject. 
 
 Dr. Slaughter received his literary edu- 
 cation principally from his father, and his 
 boyhood dream being to relieve pain and 
 help the sick and afflicted, he entereil the 
 office of Dr. S. B. Ayers, of Louisiana, 
 Mo., a prosperous, prominent physician. 
 In i8Si he entered St. Louis Medical 
 College, where he studied faithfully dur- 
 ing a three-years' term, graduating in 
 1 884. The young Doctor at once located 
 in Silex, Mo., where in three years he 
 built up a large practice; thence moved 
 to Whiteside, where he also practiced 
 three years, and later, in 1888, attend- 
 ed the Louisville (Ky.) Post - Graduate 
 School. That spring he returned to 
 ^^'hitesi(l(^ where he continued practice 
 until 1892 He was then induced to come 
 to Green Bay in order to enter into part- 
 nership with Dr. F. L. Louis, which part- 
 nership continued about one 3-ear. He 
 has built up a good practice and enjoys 
 the confidence and esteem of the people 
 to an eminent degree. 
 
 The Doctor was married in Carson, 
 Mo., at the old homestead of his wife's 
 grandparents, to Ruth Keeds, who was 
 educated at the Montgomery High School. 
 
 She is the mother of three children : Al- 
 fred (who died at the age of six years), 
 Laura Louisa, and Delias. Dr. and Mrs. 
 Slaughter are both active members of the 
 Baptist Church. He is afliliated with the 
 F. & A. M. and K. O. T. M., is a mem- 
 ber of the Fox River Valley Medical So- 
 ciety, and the American Medical Socie- 
 ty, the latter being a national associa- 
 tion. Politically he is identified with the 
 Democratic party. 
 
 J.\MES SMITH, a prominent citizen 
 of Dc Pere township. Brown county, 
 where, in partnership with his 
 brother, Alexander, he is success- 
 fully engaged in general farming, is a 
 native of Banffshire, Scotland, born May 
 I, 1855, son of George and Isabell Smith, 
 who both died in their native lantl. They 
 had nine children, namely: Isabella, 
 John, George, Helen, James, Adam, 
 Margaret, Alexander, and Christina. 
 
 The first of this family to leave Scot- 
 land was the son George, who immi- 
 grated to the United States in 1872. and 
 coming to Wisconsin, settled in Brown 
 county, where he passed the remainder of 
 his life. He followed farming, renting 
 land in tiifferent parts of the county, 
 mostly in Rockland township, and died 
 March 27, 1891, in De Pere township, on 
 the farm now owned by his brothers 
 James and Alexander. George Smith 
 was for many years a sufferer from pa- 
 ralysis, which rendered him helpless, and it 
 was principally on this account that his 
 brother James came to America. 
 
 James Smith was educated in the 
 common schools of his place of birth, 
 and lived with his parents until he reached 
 the age of fifteen, when he commenced to 
 work as a farm hand. When twenty 
 years old he commenced to learn garden- 
 ing, and served a three-years" apprentice- 
 ship at Hatton Castle, at the conclusion 
 of which he became head gardener for a 
 Scotch gentleman Watson, of Blackford, 
 in which position he remained one year. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BWGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 397 
 
 111 June, 1 88 1, Mr. Siiiitli decided to 
 come to the United States to care for his 
 invahd brother, George, and accordingly 
 took passage at Liverpool, England, on 
 the " City of Montreal," for New York, 
 whence he immediatel_y proceeded to his 
 destination, De Pere, Wis., arriving June 
 27. He came here with money he had 
 earned and saved himself, ami soon after his 
 arrival he became interested, in company 
 with his brother, in general agriculture 
 and stock-buying. In 1887 he ])urchased 
 his present farm of seventy-si.\ acres, and 
 shortly afterward moved thereon. In 
 connection with this farm he now owns 
 another tract of eighty acres, and on this 
 land he and his brother Alexander conduct 
 a profitable general farming business. 
 
 Alexander Smith was born July 29, 
 1863, in Banffshire, Scotland, received a 
 public-school education, and was reared 
 to farming. In 1886 he sailed from Cdas- 
 gow on the "State of Nebraska," and 
 came directly to Wisconsin, where he and 
 his brother James are now engaged in ag- 
 ricultural pursuits. For sex'eral years 
 after coming to W^isconsiii the brothers 
 spent the winter months in the lumber 
 camps, and b(jth are thoroughly familiar 
 wqth the hardships and dangers of lum- 
 bering. As agriculturists they are thor- 
 oughly progressive, and, being full of de- 
 termination and energy, have made a 
 complete success. James Smith is a nat- 
 ural mechanic, and has fitted up a black- 
 smith shop on the farm, where he attends 
 to all work in that line needed liy a farmer, 
 shoeing his own horses, etc. He and his 
 brother are self-made in e\'ery respect, 
 and, though they have not resided in the 
 township for any great numlier of years, 
 are highly esteemed for their industrious 
 habits and sterling worth. They lia\-i_' won 
 and kept an enviable reputation for up- 
 rightness and fair dealing, and are ever_v- 
 where regarded as substantial business 
 men and model citizens. The brothers 
 are both members of the Republican 
 party, and ardent advocates of the prin- 
 ciples of Protection; in religious faith 
 
 they are members of the Presbxterian 
 Church. They are both unmarried, Mrs. 
 George Smith, their brother's widow, 
 keeping house for them. 
 
 WILLIAM HOFFMAN. While 
 transmitting to posterity the 
 memory of such men as is the 
 subject of this sketch, it will 
 instill in the minds of our children the im- 
 portant lesson that honor and station are 
 the sure reward of continual I'Xertion; and 
 that, compared to u good educatinu, 
 abundant experience, coupled witli habits 
 of honest industry and judicious econonu', 
 the greatest fortune would l)e but a poor 
 inheritance. 
 
 Mr. Hoffman is a natiw of Germain', 
 born December 14, 1831, in Nenstadt-on- 
 the-Warthe, in the Pro\ince of Posen. 
 In that town, as far back as the history 
 of the family can be traced, the Hoffmans 
 were merchants of high standing. Dr. 
 Wolf Hoffman, grandfatherof (.nir subject, 
 was an educated man and occiiiiied a 
 l)roniinent position among his fellow-citi- 
 zens. He died at an advanced age, leav- 
 ing an honorable record as a useful, con- 
 scientious man and a true Christian .gen- 
 tleman. He had a large family, of whom 
 one son, Louis, learned mercantile busi- 
 ness, but while yet a young man he was 
 pressed into the army of Najioleon I, who 
 had just overrun Prussia on his triumph- 
 ant march on Russia. Young Louis Hoff- 
 man participated in this memorable cam- 
 paign, and marched as far as Moscow, 
 the burning of which magnilicent city, by 
 the Russians themselves, he witnessed; 
 and then, in the depth of a terrible winter, 
 the French commenced that fatal and 
 fearful retreat southward that disorgan- 
 ized and destroyed the grandest army that 
 ever followed the banners of Napoleon. 
 When the Prussian contingent neared 
 their native land, thev deserted the b'rench 
 eagles, uniting with the German troops, 
 and in turn fought against Napoleon. 
 .\t the close of his ser\ice, Lf)iiis Hoffman 
 
39S 
 
 COMMEMOHATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL liECORD. 
 
 returned to liis home in Xeustadt, and 
 became a prosperous j^eneral merchant, 
 well known and hij^hly respected. By 
 his first wife, who was also a native of 
 Neustadt-on-theW'arthe, he had four chil- 
 dren, as follows: Michael, Augusta, Ida, 
 and Minnie. For his second wife he 
 wedded Hannah Neuman, and they had 
 eight children, viz. : Rosalie, Bertha, 
 Rebecca, Fredericka, William, Adolph, 
 Hanchen and Isidor. The father died at 
 the age of seventy-eight years, the mother 
 when eighty-two. 
 
 The ninth in the order of birth of all 
 the children above named is William, the 
 subject of this sketch. He was educated 
 at the public schools of his native town, 
 and, when in his fifteenth year, started out 
 into the world to seek his fortune on his 
 own individual merits. Proceeding to 
 London, England, he there found em- 
 ployment at various kinds of work, and, 
 after a sojourn of one year in the me- 
 tropolis of the world, journeyed to Liver- 
 pool, where he took passage for America. 
 The good ship " West Point" arrived at 
 New York in February, 1848, after a 
 pleasant voyage, and here our subject 
 found employment as clerk in a general 
 store, where he remained till January, 
 1852. At this time he turned his e\es 
 westward, and, determining to try his for- 
 tune in California, set out with bright 
 hopes and stern resolutions, his route 
 being via the Isthmus of Panama direct 
 to San Francisco, where, after clerking 
 about one year, he opened a clothing store 
 on his own account. In this enterprise 
 he met with well-merited success, al- 
 though he had the misfortune to be burned 
 out twice. After the first fire he engaged 
 in mining in the "gold diggings," but 
 this not being so congenial to his nature 
 as merchandising, he soon returned to 
 San Francisco, and again opened a gen- 
 eral store. In 1857 he sold out, and, 
 coming north to Chicago. 111., embarked 
 in the flour and feed business, which in 
 turn he solil out the following year (1858), 
 and, attracted b\' the promising outlook 
 
 in Wisconsin, came "with lousiness in- 
 tent " to the town of Sharon, near where 
 he had some friends living. Here he opened 
 a store, which at the end of about a year 
 he left in charge of his brother-in-law, 
 Henry Mitchell, and for the benefit of his 
 health took a trip to Clayborn, Ala. 
 There he clerked during the first winter 
 and following spring, selling his establish- 
 ment in Sharon, Wis. (whither he re- 
 turned for that purpose), again went south, 
 and for another winter clerked in a store 
 in Alabama. At this time, the Civil war 
 having broken out, he was pressed into 
 the Confederate army, but took the first 
 opportunity to escape, leaving behind all 
 his possessions. Coming north with com- 
 mendable speed, he arrived in Chicago, 
 111., in May, i86i, and here he remained 
 until the following September, when he 
 once more turned his steps in the direc- 
 tion of Wisconsin. 
 
 At Janesville, on the 17th of that 
 month, he was married to Miss Malinet 
 A. Pease, daughter of Enos and Lucy 
 (Finley) Pease, of Marengo, 111. , and 
 shortly afterward the young couple came 
 to Green Bay. Here, in partnership with 
 Mr. Philip I^ewin, Mr. Hoffman opened 
 a clothing store, the firm name being 
 Hoffman & Lewin, which so continued 
 until 1868, when Mr. Lewin sold out his 
 interest to his partner and moved to 
 Philadelphia. Since then our subject has 
 conducted the business in part alone, and 
 in part asssociated with his sons Louis 
 and George, with unbounded success — a 
 success in every sense well merited, as 
 his stock is at all times thoroughly replete 
 in all departments, whilst the proprietor 
 himself, for courteous and gentlemanly 
 bearing, consummate business tact, un- 
 flagging enterprise and tireless energy, 
 has established for himself an enviable 
 and wide popularity. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman have been 
 born six children, to wit : Bertha is the 
 wife of l-'rank Topliff, a merchant of 
 Oshkosh, Wis.; Louis Wolf and George 
 P. are associated with their father in 
 
COMMEMORA TIVE BHiGHAPJIIVA L RECORD. 
 
 599 
 
 business, Louis traveling in the interest 
 of the merchant tailoring department; 
 Ada B. died in infancy ; Elmer A. died 
 in his nineteenth year; Harold \\ . , the 
 youngest, is at home with his parents. 
 Mr. Hoffman, in politics is a Democrat ; 
 he was elected alderman of the First 
 ward, and has served as such, in all, the 
 long period of eighteen years, a fact that 
 in itself testifies to his popularit\' as well 
 as the esteem in which he is held. I^'or 
 about fifteen years he was a nienilier, 
 and for a consideral)le time foreman, of 
 the old (ireen Bay Fire Company, 
 "Guardian No. 2." Socially he is a 
 member of the F. & A. M., I. O. O. F.. 
 and K. of P. , Green Bay, of which latter 
 order he is a charter member. 
 
 M 
 
 AJOR LEVI HOWLAND, real 
 estate and lumber dealer, F"ort 
 Howard, and member of the 
 Vermillion Range Lumber Com- 
 pany of Minnesota, is descended from 
 sturd}' New England ancestry. Heisone 
 of nine children born to Thomas and 
 Elizabeth (Davis) How land, the former 
 of whom was a nati\'e of New Bedford, 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 \Mien si.xteen years of age Thomas 
 Howland came with his parents, John 
 Howland and wife. fr(.)m Massachusetts, 
 and settled on a farm in Brown county, 
 Ohio, which borders on the Ohio river 
 and is also noted as having been for a 
 number of years the home of the Grant 
 family, Gen. Grant himself h;i\ing been 
 appointed to West Point from that county. 
 John Howland died in that locality. His 
 son, Thomas, married a daughter of Vir- 
 ginia, who was at that time a resident of 
 Kentucky, and in 1831 removed to Cook 
 county, 111., then on the border of west- 
 ern settlements. In 1835 he took up a 
 farm in Kenosha county, Wis., and lived 
 in that State for many years. While a 
 resident of Illinois, in 1832, he served as 
 a soldier in the memorable Black Hawk 
 war, a short-lived confiict which terrorized 
 
 tln' few inhabitants then in the region 
 and retarded settlement greath', but which 
 put an eflectual end to Indian dejueda- 
 tions east of the Mississipjii. Mr. How- 
 land died at Fort Howard, Wis., about 
 1S77, liis excellent wife havinj; preceded 
 him to the shadowy land in 1862. Besides 
 our subject. the\' had children as follows; 
 Lewis, who was killed in Kansas in 1856, 
 durini; the liorder ruffian warfare; Mere- 
 dith, whn (hed at Kenosha, Wis., in 1869; 
 Lnriiida S., wife of Thomas Dyke, re- 
 sidiuL^ in Missouri; Scth, a resident of 
 California, whithei he went in 1850; Rtd.iy 
 E., wife of John Sauber, also of Cali- 
 fornia; Wiltshire, who enlistetl in Cali- 
 fornia early in the war of the Rebellion, 
 in Col. Baker's regiment, and, like his 
 lamented commander, was nnssing and 
 supposed to be killed at Ball's Bluff; 
 Icliabod, twin brother of Levi, who en- 
 listed in .\pril, 1861, at Kenosha, Wis., 
 for three months in Company G, First 
 Wis. \'. I., re-enlisted at the expiration of 
 his term of service in the First Wisconsin 
 C^a\alry, ser\ed in the army of the Cum- 
 berland, and was killed at Varnell Station, 
 Ga., May 9. 1864; .Alfred, who enlisted 
 in the same regiment with Icliabod in 
 1 86 1, for three months, re-enlisted in the 
 First Wisconsin Ca\-alry and served three 
 years, and now resides in California. 
 
 Le\-i Howland was born in 1840. in 
 Kenosha county. Wis., and was reared 
 on his father's farm, one mile from Keno- 
 sha, receiving his education in the high 
 school of that city. Like his two brothers, 
 he enlisted, in April, 1861, in Company 
 G, First Wis. V. I , for a period of three 
 months. After a lively term of service 
 in the Shenandoah Valley umler Gen. 
 Patterson, the young soldier, who had 
 been a second lieutenant in the infantry, 
 re-enlisted as a private in Com]:)any A; 
 First \Viscf)nsin Cavalry for three years, 
 on September 2, 1S61, receiving a first 
 lieutenant's commission in that arm of the 
 service. He was subsequently, Novem- 
 ber 20, 1862, commissioned captain of 
 Company C, and major of his regiment 
 
400 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 January 6, 1865. He saw active and 
 arduous service, participating in the bat- 
 tles at Chici<amauga, Dandridge, Tenii. ; 
 Anderson Cross Roaiis, Cape Girardeau. 
 Mo. ; Chalk Bluffs, and later, after trans- 
 fer to the army of the Cumberland, at 
 Resaca, Cassville, Burnt Hickory (Ga.), 
 Barnesville, Kenesaw Moi\iitain, .Atlanta, 
 Campbelltown (Ga. ), Franklin 1 Tenn. j, 
 Hopkinsville, Nashville, Selma (Ala.), 
 the skirmishes between Montgomery and 
 Tuskegee, and West Point (Ga.). The 
 Major was mustered out at Nashville, 
 Tenn., in July, 1865, and returned to 
 Kenosha. He next went west, and passed 
 two years as contractor on the Kansas 
 Pacific railroad, finally, in 1867, locating 
 in Fort Howard, since when he has been 
 a continuous resident of that city. Upon 
 his arrival he entered the lumber trade 
 as a member of the firm of Clinton. Laird 
 & Co., afterward J. P. Laird & Co., 
 which relation continued a number of 
 years, and he is now the only member of 
 this old firm residing in Fort Howard. 
 
 Maj. Howland is a familiar figure in 
 political, educational and society circles. 
 By virtue of his honorable service in de- 
 fense of his countrv. he is a member of 
 T. O. Howe Post. G. A. K.. and holds 
 membership also in the Loyal Legion. 
 Socially he is a member of Washington 
 Lodge, No. 21. F. & A. M. ; Warren 
 Chapter, No. 8, R. A. M. : Palestine 
 Commandery, No. 20, K. T. ; and Wis- 
 consin Consistory. An active Repub- 
 lican in politics, he has served his fellow 
 citizens as county supervisor, and as a 
 member of the school board, and takes a 
 lively interest in all public affairs, exert- 
 ing his influence toward the furtherance 
 of all plans for the benefit of his citv and 
 county. During his twenty-.seven years' 
 residence in Fort Howard he has wit- 
 nessed the accomplishment of great and 
 beneficial changes, to which he has per- 
 sonally contributed in no small degree. 
 
 Recognizing the truth of the adage 
 that "\i is not good for man to live 
 alone," Maj. Howland was married in 
 
 Kenosha, in 1S67. to Edith L. Sykes, a 
 native of New York, and daughter of 
 Byron and .Antoinette (^Torrey) Sykes, 
 early settlers in the county named. Mrs. 
 Howland's mother is deceased, but her 
 father is yet living, and resides with his 
 daughter at Fort Howard. Major and 
 Mrs. Howland have two living children : 
 Eben \\'., a graduate in the class of 1894 
 from the Wisconsin State University at 
 Madison, and Maud A., attending St. 
 Marguerite College at Chicago. 
 
 Rc^BERT JACKSON, merchant, of 
 De Pere, was born P"ebruary 2, 
 1826, in Fifeshire, Scotland. His 
 father, Henry Jackson, who was a 
 blacksmith by trade, was married to An- 
 nie White, who bore him the following 
 children: Margaret; Henry, who died in 
 Marquette in 1S93; Robert, our subject; 
 Elspet, now Mrs. William Michie, of 
 West Superior; Walter, of Buffalo county. 
 Wis.; Thomas, of West De Pere; Alex- 
 ander, of Winona, Minn., and Peter, of 
 Milwaukee. The parents of this family 
 died in Scotland, and later all the chil- 
 dren came to America, Robert being the 
 first to make the voyage. When a lad of 
 fourteen, Robert entered upon an appren- 
 ticeship of four years to a blacksmith in 
 Scotland named David Lyle, and also 
 became a machinist, and later worked as 
 a smith for his father. 
 
 On June i, 1848. bidding farewell to 
 his native land, he sailed from Greenock 
 on the "Charlotte Harrison,'" and, after 
 a voyage of six weeks, landed in New York 
 with but a few dollars in his pocket. 
 From New York he proceeded to Albany, 
 and thence over the old "strap road" 
 to Buffalo, N. Y., thence via the lakes, 
 to Kenosha, Wis., where he found work 
 and remained two years; from there he 
 went to Oconto county (then a part of 
 Brown county\ Wis., where for two years 
 he acted as engineer for a sawmill. In 1852 
 he came to De Pere and bought out a 
 blacksmith shop, which he carried on for 
 
COMMhWURATIVE DIOGHAPlllCA L RECORD. 
 
 401 
 
 several years, and then took charge of a 
 sawniill for Ixitcliie, Iveed cS: Kitcliie, of 
 the same city, with whoiii he reinuiiicil 
 fourteen }'ear.s, or until the lirni ilissolved. 
 About this time the citizens of the East 
 side formed a stock company and erected 
 a furnace, in the construction of which 
 Mr. Jackson acted as master mechanic, 
 putting in all the machinery; he was then 
 sent to Menomonee, where he superin- 
 tended the erection of another furnace and 
 also conducted it for several years. He 
 then engaged with Kirby, Carpenter cN: 
 Co., at that time the most extensive lum- 
 bermen of the Northwest, and for four 
 years was an engineer in one of their large 
 mills at Menomonee. He next contracted 
 for the building of a furnace at Charlevoix, 
 Mich., and after its completion built a fur- 
 nace at Florence, Wis. ; then at Marcel- 
 lone, Mich. , he connnenced to build an- 
 other furnace, but left liefore its comple- 
 tion, returning to I)e Pere, where he was 
 instrumental in ha\ing erected, near by, a 
 large sawmill, known as the Potts mill, 
 the construction of which he superin- 
 tended. In company with Andrew Reed, 
 Mr. lackson built the first tug-boat owned 
 in De Pere, which boat was used in the 
 towing of logs, doing good service for sev- 
 eral years, and was then rebuilt and re- 
 fitted under the superintendency of Mr. 
 Jackson, who was probably without an 
 equal at that time in mechanical skill, and 
 who, even now, though nearing his se\en- 
 tieth year, is often consulted in regard to 
 intricate portions of disabled machinery. 
 Mr. Jackson has been identified, beyoml 
 doubt, with more enterprises than any 
 other individual now living in De Pere, 
 and was especially active in the agitation 
 of the waterworks question. He is a great 
 lover of athletics, and still indulges with 
 great zest in curling, at which he is an 
 expert. 
 
 In the spring of 1849 Mr. Jackson 
 married, in Kenosha, Wis., Miss Elizabeth 
 Heggie, a native of the same part of 
 Scotland whence he came. The result of 
 this union has been the birth of the fol- 
 
 lowing children: Henry, a machinist; 
 and Charles W., Robert, and I'rank (all 
 three menhants), all of De Pere. With 
 his two S(.)ns, Charles and Robert, Mr. 
 Jackson now conducts the most extensive 
 general ston.' in De Pere. Although at 
 one time a Democrat in his political 
 affinities, he is miw a Rejniblican, and 
 cast his first Presidential vote for Abraham 
 Lincoln. He is stmn^ in his belief in the 
 principles of the party, and is one of its 
 most stanch supporters. Under its au- 
 S)iices he has, at different times, been 
 called upon ti> ser\c as alderman, and no 
 one has filled that dftice with greater 
 credit and ability, nor given greater satis- 
 faction to the citizens. He and his wife 
 are conscientious members of the Presby- 
 terian Church, til the support of which he 
 is a most liberal contributor, and of 
 whi(-h he is a trustee and substantial 
 pillar. Although coming to the United 
 States a ])Oor bo\-, Mr. Jackson has 
 reached wealth and prominence through 
 the exercising of those sterling principles 
 of integrity, industry and perseverance, 
 which seem to be inherent in the race to 
 which he belongs. His career is worthy 
 the close study of young men who have 
 yet to make their way in the world, and 
 his nobilitv of character well worthy their 
 emulation. His amiable wife also de- 
 serves great credit for her share in the 
 good work that has been done toward the 
 accumulation of the worldly wealth that is 
 now making their declining years com- 
 paratively days of rest, and assuredly of 
 solid comfort; and the respect in which 
 the familv is held gives evidence that 
 their many virtues are fully appreciated 
 by their fellow citizens. 
 
 AUGUST THIELE, the partner of 
 William Hande\side in the most 
 po]iular livery establishment of 
 the city of De Pere, was born 
 September 29, 1S48, in Brandenburg, 
 near Berlin, Germain', son of Gottlieb 
 
402 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE ISWGliAPHlCAJ. liECORD. 
 
 and Hannah (Pfeiffer) Thiele, who both' 
 died in that countrj'. They were the 
 parents of Karl, August, Hannah, Gusta 
 and William, of whom William and Au- 
 gust are the only ones living in America. 
 August Thiele was reared as a da\- la- 
 borer, beginning at the age of nine as a 
 dri\er of cattle, and afterward working as 
 a farm hand. He was industrious and 
 saving, and by 1872 had accumulated 
 money sufficient to bring him to America. 
 Landing at New York, he at once took his 
 departure for Wisconsin, and here worked 
 at Waukesha, in the lime kilns and at 
 other work, until he had earned money 
 enough to take him to Morrison, Brown 
 Co., Wis., where he worked in all for ton 
 3ears in Morrison town and in the town 
 of Glenmore,in Fenton's sawmill, and also 
 in Evans' sawmill. He then made a trip 
 to Dakota, worked a year, after which he 
 came to De Pere, where he worked a year 
 for his brother-in-law, Mark Snyder, then 
 engaged in the livery business. .\t the 
 end of the year he bought Mr. Snyder 
 out. At that time the barn contained 
 only nine horses; now the stables contain 
 sixteen. Soon after his return from Da- 
 kota Mr. Thiele was married, .April 24, 
 1882, to Mrs. Chri.stine f Snyder), widow 
 of .Adam Kammern (to whom she was 
 married May 11, 1869) and daughter of 
 Frank and Appolonia (Hangan) Snyder, 
 who were the parents of six children : 
 Philip, Christine, Mark, Libbie, \\'illiam 
 and Mary. The father of this family was 
 a mason and also a tanner, and at the age 
 of twenty came to America, and for a 
 while lived in Jackson, Washington Co., 
 Wis.; thence he moved to Town 10. about 
 twenty miles from Milwaukee, where he 
 was married at about the age of thirty, 
 and finally came to Brown county, where 
 he owned a sawmill. Here he died after 
 a residence of thirty years in the township. 
 His widow died in De Pere, while residing 
 with Mr. Thiele. Nfrs. August Thiele 
 had, by her first husband, one daughter 
 named Abbie M. Kammern, born in Mil- 
 waukee, Wis., June 23, 1872, who now 
 
 makes her home with her mother, but at 
 the present time is teaching school. 
 
 For five years after coming to De Pere 
 Mr. Thiele carried on the livery business 
 on his sole account, making, in the inter- 
 val, many improvements in the stock and 
 stable ; then joined Mr. Handeyside, and 
 has since enjoyed a most successful busi- 
 ness. The children born to Mr. Thiele, 
 two in number, are Frank and Philip, who^ 
 arc attending school at De Pere. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Thiele are members of the Ger- 
 man Ivvangelical Church. In politics he 
 is a Republican, and fraternallj' he is an 
 Odd F"ellow. As a business man he is 
 recogni;;ed as one of the foremost in De- 
 Pere, all being conscious of the fact that 
 he has raised himself, by his industry and 
 enterprise, from comparative obscurity to 
 his present prosperity. 
 
 EDW.KRD FLYXX (deceased). 
 This gentleman, who, during his 
 lifetime, was well-known among 
 the farmers of Holland township. 
 Brown count}-, was a native of Ireland, 
 born in March, 1827. 
 
 His parents, Eugene and Alice (Mc- 
 Guren) Flynn, who were farming people 
 of Ireland, lived and died in their native 
 country. They had a family of three 
 childreUi namely: James, Bridget, and 
 Edward, of whom Edward was the only 
 one who came to America. He was 
 reared to farming, which he followed in 
 Ireland until 1848, when he came to the 
 New World, landing at Quebec. He 
 subsequently came to Wisconsin, and in 
 Holland township. Brown county, pur- 
 chased 160 acres of new land, where he 
 made a permanent home. After coming 
 to America he was married, and by this 
 union had two children, John and James. 
 The mother of these died, and on April 
 29, 1872, he wedded, for his second wife. 
 Miss Bridget Finnegan, who was born 
 in May, 1833. in Ireland, daughter of 
 Charles and Bridget (Golden) Finnegan, 
 who were the parents of the following 
 
COMMEMOIiATIVF. BIOGRAniWAL RECORD. 
 
 403 
 
 named nine children: Mary, Patrick, 
 John, Ceha, Sarah, Thomas, Marj,^aret, 
 Bridf^et, and Hannah, of whom but two 
 are now hving, Bridget and Patrick. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Finnegan never came to the 
 United States, but three of their children 
 emigrated at different times. Mrs. Flynn 
 left Ireland in the spring of 1S5.:, and 
 landed in New York City on the sixth of 
 May, after a rough \oyage ol thirt\'-six 
 days. She remained in the city a few 
 days ami then continued her joiuiiey to 
 Schenectad\-. X. Y., where her two 
 sisters, Sarah and Margaret, were living, 
 and after a three-years' residence there 
 she went to Buffalo, N. 'S'. , where she 
 kept house for Bishop Kyau about six- 
 teen years When she came to Holland 
 township the farm was still ]iartly un- 
 cleared, and for a time they lived in a log 
 cabin, which was the first building erected 
 on the place, and it is still stamiing. Mr. 
 FKnu devoted his time exclusively to his 
 farm, and met with encouraging success 
 in his vocation, continuing to follow same 
 up to the time of his death, whicli oc- 
 curred November 7, 1S82, the result of 
 kidney disease; his remains were interred 
 in Holland cemetery. He was a self- 
 made man in the truest sense, for he 
 had amassed a ctunfortable competence 
 by persevering industry, and he was re- 
 spected h\ all \\ho knevv him for his 
 honesty and fair dealing. His widow 
 continues to reside upon the homestead, 
 the management of i,\hirh is now in the 
 hands of the son John. 
 
 JOHN FLYNN was born Novendier 
 25, 1864, in Holland t(n\-nship. Brown 
 Co., Wis., and was reared to farm life on 
 the homestead under the direction of his 
 father. At the latter's death he and his 
 brother James, who now conducts a sa- 
 loon business in Chicago, became owners 
 of the farm, eighty acres of which are 
 highly cultivated. On June 26, i8qi, 
 John Flynn was united in marriage with 
 Miss Catherine Finnegan. daughter of 
 Michael and Sarah Finnegan, natives of 
 Ireland, who immigrated to America in 
 
 1848, and settled in Woodville township, 
 Calumet coimty, where Mrs. Flynn lived 
 until her marriage. To this union has 
 come one child, Angeline, born October 
 II, 1893. Mr. and Mrs. IHynn are de- 
 vout members of the Catholic Church, 
 and they are highly esteemed throughout 
 their section, Mr. b'lynn being regarded 
 as one of the substantial, jirogressive 
 young men in his township. In his po- 
 litical preferences he is a Democrat, but 
 he takes no part in politics except as a 
 regular attendant at the polls. 
 
 CHARLES CLLEKEMANS, gar- 
 dener and farmer, h'ort Howard, 
 came to the place in 1882 and set- 
 tled on a ten-acre tract purchased 
 on the Woll creek road. This he sold 
 later and purehasi'd the t\\ ent\ -;u're prop- 
 ert\ he now owns on the line between 
 b'ort Howar<l ami .\sli\\ aulieuon. He is 
 also owner ol a lot on Wolf creek, and 
 has this year 1 1894) erected a residence. 
 Mr. Cleeremans was horn in 1 841, in 
 Belgium, and came to the Bay Settlement 
 April I. I 867, with his ])arents, Frank and 
 MaryiDeLongl Cleeremans. the family 
 locating uii()n and eleaiing uji a larni in 
 Scott township. The father died in 1877, 
 the mother in 1872. ( 'ur .subject was 
 educated thoroughly in the schools of 
 Belgium, spending twehe years in those 
 educational institutions. He was mar- 
 ried in 1870, and the sanu' year settled 
 upon a farm in Kewaunee county, ^^'is. , 
 selling out and remo\ ing to I'~ort Howard, 
 after clearing forty ai-res. His wife, Miss 
 Caroline Arkins, was born in lU'lgium. 
 and came, in 1856, to Kewaunee county 
 with her parents, John Bertis and Mary 
 E. (Randall) Arkins, both ol whom are 
 now deceased. Twehe children lia\ e been 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Cleeremans: John 
 B., Jennie, Mary, Joe, Frank, Aleck, 
 Peter, Julia, Felix, Rosa, Anton, and 
 Susan. The parents are members of St. 
 Willibrord's Church, at C.reen Bay, Mr. 
 Cleeremans being also a member of the 
 
404 
 
 COMAfE-VORATTT'E BIOGRAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 Catholic Kniglits at that jilace, and i)f tlie 
 Cathohc Order of Foresters. Green Bay 
 and Fort Howard have undergone won- 
 drous changes in the thirt}' years since Mr. 
 Cleerenians came to the locahty, and he 
 has, to a considerable degree, contributed 
 personally to this development. 
 
 BP. SWEENEY. This gentleman 
 ranks amcjng the leading success- 
 ful farmers of Glenmore township, 
 brown county, where he is highly 
 esteemed and well known, having been a | 
 resident of same for almost forty years. 
 
 His father, Peter Sweenev, was born ' 
 in County Kerry, Ireland, and there mar- i 
 ried Ellen Brennan, who bore him three 
 children in Ireland, Patrick, Catherine and 
 Ann. About 1840 they came to the 
 United States, and for a time lived in the 
 Eastern States, where two more children 
 were born to them, B. P. {our subject) 
 and Jeremiah. In 1854 the family came 
 westward to W'isconsin, where, the coun- 
 try being then new, cheap homes could 
 be had. Mr. Sweeney found employ- 
 ment on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
 Paul railroad as a day laborer, his family 
 living along the road near Horicon, Wis., 
 for two years, where they kept boarders. 
 Then, in 1857, they came to Ue Pere, at 
 that time a small \illage, containing but 
 one store, and here the father worked 
 as a laborer until the fall of the year, when 
 he came to Section 14, Glenmore town- 
 ship, purchasing forty acres for one hun- 
 dred and twenty dollars cash. The place 
 was then literally a " howling wilderness," 
 wild animals were numerous, and the only 
 signs of civilization were the trails which 
 led through the forest. Not a tree had 
 been felled, and Mr. Sweeney erected the 
 first house on the place, a log one, and 
 commenced the task of clearing at once. 
 He was hard-working and persevering, and 
 the farm soon began to put on a cultivated 
 appearance and to afford its owner an in- 
 come. Those days of toil and hardship 
 are no more, and, as the old pioneers are 
 
 one by one rapidly passing awa}% the story 
 of their lives is all that is left to coming 
 generations of the trials and hardships 
 which they endured. Mr. Sweeney con- 
 tinued to reside on the farm in Glenmore 
 township until his death, which occurred 
 in August, 1892, when he was at the ad- 
 vanced age of ninety years. His wife 
 preceded him to the grave in March, 
 1882, and they now rest side by side in 
 Glenmore cemetery. Both were members 
 of St. Mar3''s Church, at Glenmore. For 
 several years prior to his decease Mr. 
 Sweeney led a retired life, making his 
 home with our subject. 
 
 B. P. Sweeney, whose name intro- 
 duces this sketch, was born August 23, 
 1849, in Springfield, Mass., came west- 
 ward with his parents to Wisconsin, and 
 is now the only member of the family re- 
 maining in Brown county. Here he was 
 reared to manhood, and at the early age 
 of eight years commenced to assist his 
 father in the clearing up of the farm he 
 now owns and resides upon, where he re- 
 ceived a thorough training to agricultural 
 life. He received his literary education 
 in the common schools of the period 
 the first school he attended being in 
 District No. 2, Glenmore township, and 
 Maurice Casey was his first teacher. 
 At that time lumbering was the most 
 popular pursuit for young men in that 
 region, and he also worked in the lumber 
 camps. 
 
 On July 4, 1872, Mr. Sweeney was 
 married, in Ccdarburg, Wis. , to Miss 
 Johanna Sullivan, who was born in that 
 town, daughter of Michael Sullivan, and 
 the young couple took up their home on 
 their present farm, living with his parents 
 during their lifetime. Shortly after his 
 marriage he purchased eighty acres of the 
 farm, following agriculture thereon, any 
 in later years added the other eightd 
 acres to the place. In 1890 he erected 
 the comfortable dwelling in which the 
 family now live, which is the third resi- 
 dence built on the farm. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Sweeney were born eight children, viz. : 
 
COMMEMORATIYK BIOC UAl'inCAL liECOHD. 
 
 405 
 
 Nellie, John, Mary, Catherine, Julia, 
 William, Celia and Frances, all living'. 
 The mother was called from earth in the 
 [all of 1894. Our subject has f,nven his 
 farming interests the closest attention, 
 and has become one of the foremost agri- 
 culturists in his section, taking a lively 
 interest in every movement for its benefit 
 or improvement. He has held every 
 office in the gift of the township, and is 
 now serving as clerk, to whicli office he 
 was appointed in 1S90, and has been 
 elected each time since; he was treasurer 
 five years, chairman of the township four 
 years, as well as assessor and supervisor, 
 and for years justice of the peace; and in 
 e\'ery capacity he has shown hiinself an 
 earnest, efficient worker. fn his party 
 preferences he is a Democrat, an(i he is 
 a member of St. Mary's Church, as was 
 also his wife. He is highly respected for 
 the part he has taken in the opening up 
 and development of his section, where he 
 is widely known. 
 
 OTTO N. OLDENBURG, of the 
 firm of G. Oldenburg & Co., fur- 
 niture dealers and undertakers, 
 was born in 1.^60, at Fort Howard, 
 where he now lives, and is a son of Ger- 
 hard and Margaret ( Berner) Oldenburg. 
 The former, a native of Schleswig-Hol- 
 stein, Germany, came to Fort Howard 
 when a young man, with the family of his 
 father, Anton Oldenburg, \\-hose wife had 
 died in Germany. Anton Oldenlnu'g died 
 in Madison, Wis., during the war of the 
 Rebellion. 
 
 Gerhard Oldenburg, who was a cabi- 
 net-maker and millwright by trade, was 
 married at Fort Howard, in 1.S53. to Miss 
 Margaret Berner, who was born in Ger- 
 many, and had come in an early day to 
 Green Bay, Wis. Mr. Oldenburg fol- 
 lowed his trade until the breaking out of 
 the war, when he was appointed State 
 carpenter and stationed at Madison, where 
 he remained during the war. Returning 
 to Fort Howard in 1865, he established 
 
 himself in the furniture business. He 
 was a Republican in pulitics, serving as 
 supervisor from the l'"ilth ward. He held 
 membership in \\'ashington Lodge, No. 
 21, \' . & A. M., and was an excellent citi- 
 zen. His death occured June <j, 1890, 
 he having li\ed to see rcniarkable changes 
 and developments in the region he had 
 chosen for his home so many years before. 
 His widow yet resides in l-"ort Howard. 
 Their children were : Sophia, wife of 
 Rev. A. H. Kcipi>lm, West Bend, Wis.; 
 Anton, married and residing in Fort How- 
 ard ; Henry, married and located in the 
 practice of law at Carlton, Minn. ; Otto 
 N. ; Amelia, unmarried; iNhirgaret. de- 
 ceased when hut four years old ; and 
 Lewis. 
 
 Otto N. ( )l(lenbnrg receixed his edu- 
 cation in the ])ul)lic schools of Fort How- 
 ard, and attended tlu' Green Waw lousi- 
 ness College, under Prof. Blackman. He 
 has since been engaged in business as first 
 noted, the firm dating its establishment 
 to 1865. .\s a decendant of a pioneer 
 family, and himself a native of I'ort How- 
 ard, Mr. Oldenburg, although yet a 
 young man. has grown uji with his city 
 and seen its developuKMit. He was 
 married January 3, 1894, to Miss Joseph- 
 ine Anderson, who was born in Sturgeon 
 Bay, Wis., where her father, Charley 
 Anderson, was an early settler ; he is now 
 deceased. Politically Mr. Oldenburg is 
 a. Republican, and in religious connection 
 a member of the Moravian Church. He 
 belongs also to Washington Lod.Lje, No. 
 21, F. & A. M., and to Warren Chapter, 
 No. 8, R. A. M. 
 
 HENRY A. STRAUI'.EL, retired 
 citi/en of Green ISaw was well 
 known in the city eighteen years 
 as the senior member of the firm 
 of Straubel & Eberling, millers. He is a 
 native of Germany, born May 11, 1S41, 
 in the village of lOlankenburg, Schwarz- 
 burg-Rndolstadt. 
 
 His parents, Frederick and Caroline 
 
4o6 
 
 COMMEMORAriVE BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 (Lenke) Straubel, also natives of Ger- 
 many, immigrated with their family to Wis- 
 consin in 1846, settling in Green Bay, 
 where the father followed his trade, 
 blacksmithing. until retiring from active 
 work. He died in 18.S5, the mother in 
 
 1872. They were the parents of six chil- 
 dren, a brief record of whom is as follows: 
 Carl was drowned about the year 1850; 
 Dorothea married Lewis Loher, and re- 
 sides at Calumet, Wis. : Minnie married 
 A. Friedman, moved to New York, and 
 died there in 1872 ; Ernest followed black- 
 smithing for a time in Green Bay, and 
 since 1873 has been engaged in the manu- 
 facture of brick ; Henry A. is the subject 
 of this sketch ; Adoph died in the United 
 States at the age of three and a half years. 
 
 Henry -A. Straubel was five \ears old 
 when the family innnigrated to the Western 
 World and took up their new home in the 
 town of Green Bay. Here, at the com- 
 mon schools, he received a somewhat limit- 
 ed education, and learning the trade of 
 wagon-maker, followed same from the 
 time he was twelve years of age until 
 
 1873, when he embarked in the milling 
 business, continuing therein successfully 
 for eighteen years ; he retired from active 
 business life March i . 1 894. Between 
 the years 1 8 59 and 1861 Mr. Straubel was 
 traveling throughout the South and West, 
 and in the latter year he enlisted in Com- 
 pany H, Ninth Wis., V. I., for three 
 years' service, being mustered in at Mil- 
 waukee. His regiment was attached to 
 the army of the W^est, and participated 
 in the Missouri and Arkansas campaigns, 
 and at the battle of Newtonia our subject 
 was taken prisoner, remaining in the hands 
 of the Confederates, for three months. 
 In 1863 he received an htmorable dis- 
 charge, and returning to Green Bay com- 
 menced the carriage and wagon making 
 business, subsequently, in 1873, embark- 
 ing in the milling business, in wiiich. in 
 1877, he formed a partnership with J. H. 
 Eberling, . The mill is a fine brick build- 
 ing, erected by Straubel & Eberling on 
 the site of the former's wagon shop, and 
 
 On November 
 Straubel and Miss 
 united in marriage. 
 W^isconsin, born in 
 
 is thoroughly equipped, having a capacity 
 of 300 barrels per day. Mr. Straubel also 
 owns a half interest in "Cook's Hotel," 
 a four-story, seventy-room brick building, 
 located on the corner of Washington and 
 Cherry streets, Green Bay ; is a stock- 
 holder in the Columbia Bakery, Green 
 Bay, in the Brown County Fair and Park 
 Association, in the Green Bay Planing- 
 mill. Electric Light Plant, etc., and since 
 I 884 has been a director of the Citizens 
 National Bank, of which he was one of 
 the organizers. 
 
 17, 1868. Henry A. 
 
 Minnie Altman were 
 
 She is a native of 
 
 Manitowoc county, a 
 daughter of early settlers of that section, 
 now deceased. To this union two chil- 
 dren have been born, viz. : Carl, who was 
 bookkeeper for the Citizens National Bank 
 for five years, and Arthur. In politics 
 our subject is a Republican, and has served 
 as a member of the city council some six 
 years. Socially he is a member of Her- 
 man Lodge, No. III. I. O. O. F. (in 
 which he has passed all the chairs), and of 
 T. O. Howe Post, No. 124, G. A. R. 
 Mr. Straubel is the owner of real estate 
 in Green Bay and a productive farm of 
 seventy-eight acres in Allouez township ; 
 he has won his position in the world by 
 his own energy, industry and good man- 
 agement, and is a deservedl)- success- 
 ful man. 
 
 JAMES DRAKE, proprietor of the 
 Green Bay Nursery, and a promi- 
 nent, enterprising citizen, is by birth 
 an Englishman, born September i, 
 1826, in the village of Prelerton, War- 
 wickshire, a son of Isaac and Elizabeth 
 ( Punn ) Drake, also natives of England. 
 In I 840 the family came to the United 
 States, first locating in Monroe county, N. 
 Y., on a farm, but some time later, about 
 1855, moving to W'i.sconsin, opening up a 
 farm in Sheboygan county, where the 
 father died May 4, i 894, the mother about 
 
COMMKMOUA TIVE liH i(i UAl'lIICAr. HICCOHD. 
 
 407 
 
 the year 1859. They were the parents of 
 eight children, of whom the folhiwin;^ is a 
 brief record: Mary is the widow of Simeon 
 Pond, who was a member of Company F, 
 Twenty-seventh Wis. V. I., and died in 
 1 864, at Helena, Ark. , from disease con- 
 tracted in the ser\'ice; James is the subject 
 of this sketch; George, a farmer, resides 
 in Minnesota; John enlisted in Shebojgan 
 county in Company F, Twenty-seventh 
 Wis. V. I. , and died in I S64 at Memphis, 
 Tenn.; Eliza and William both died in 
 Sheboygan county, the former in 1859, 
 the latter in 186S; Jennie died of con- 
 sumption in iS — ; Isaac P. lives in Min- 
 nesota, where he is an e.Ntensi\-e stock 
 raiser. 
 
 James Drake, whose name opens this 
 sketch, was fourteen years old when he 
 left his nati\'e \\'arwickshire — the count\' 
 that gave birth to the greatest of all 
 poets — and consequently received all his 
 education there. In this country he 
 worked on farms till soon after the break- 
 ing out of the Civil war, when, fired with 
 military ardor, he enlisted in August, 
 1862, in Company F, Twent3--seventh 
 W^is. V. I., for three years, and was 
 mustered in at Milwaukee the following 
 October. He participated in the battle of 
 Cape Girardeau, Mo., and the siege of 
 Vicksburg, after which he was taken sick 
 and confined to hospital at Helena, Ark. 
 In May, 1865, he was honorably dis- 
 charged at Memphis, Tenn., for disability, 
 and returned home. In 1866 he com- 
 menced in the nursery business, in which 
 he has since continued with the most sat- 
 isfactory results, having met with un- 
 bounded success; in 1879 he permanently 
 located in Green Bay. In 1855 he was 
 married, in New York, to Miss Roxana 
 Davis, by which union there is one child, 
 James H., now a resident of Milwaukee, 
 Wis., proprietor of a liver}- stable there, 
 and a dealer in horses. This wife dying, 
 Mr. Drake, in 1S70, was married, in 
 Fond du Lac, Wis., to Miss Jennie E. 
 Prink, daughter of Rev. Peter and Eu- 
 retta P. (Collins) Prink, all natives of 
 
 New York City, who came, in 1844, to 
 Oshkosh, Wis., where Mr. I'rink erected 
 the third frame house. He was a Bap- 
 tist missionary, and resided there three 
 years, or until 1847, when he moved to 
 Weyauwega, \\'au]iaca county, where he 
 passed the rest of his useful life, dying in 
 1865; his wife died in Green Bay, Ahirch 
 25, 1885. He was widely known as a 
 zealous and faithful (li\'ine, and he oiL;an- 
 ized churches of the ISajitist (kMioinina- 
 tion in Apjileton, Neenah. etc. Twelve 
 children were born to him, as follows: 
 Laura, who married Matthew Crinell, of 
 Albany, N. Y., and died in 18S6; Edwin, 
 who was one of the first settlers of Med- 
 lo\\\. Wis., and the first judge of Taylor 
 county, died in 1885 (he served during 
 the Civil war in a New York regiment ); 
 Collins, who died in Wisconsin in I'el)- 
 ruar)', 1874 (he ser\ed in the Civil war as 
 a member of the First Wisconsin Cav- 
 alry); Amanda, who married William 
 Graves, of New York City, and died De- 
 cember 20, 1893 (Mr. Graves served in 
 the regular armv); Ruth, wife of Lindall 
 H. Crosb}', of Walnut Grove, Mo.; Sarah 
 Ermetta, residing at Oshkosh; Oscar 
 Henry, who served three years in the 
 First Wisconsin Cavalry, now residing in 
 Gilman, Iowa; fennie E., Mrs. Drake; 
 Eugene, who also served three years in 
 the First W^isconsin Cavalrj-, and now re- 
 sides at Eau Claire, Wis., where he is a 
 gardener and proprietor of a meat market; 
 W'illiam, now a resident of Gilman, Iowa, 
 who served two years in the First Wis- 
 consin Cavalry; Elijah, a lumberman; 
 and Emma H., wife of E. A. Williams, a 
 surveyor, both of Stevens Point, W'is. 
 \\^hen the younge,^ ' these was thirty- 
 two years old, all tn>., members of the 
 family were alive. 
 
 In his political views Mr. Drake is in- 
 dependent, always supporting men and 
 measures that he considers best for the 
 general good; socialh', he is a member of 
 T. O. Howe Post, No. 1 24, G. A. R. He 
 and Mrs. Drake are members of the Pres- 
 bvterian Church. She is identified with 
 
4oS 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 many beneficent works; was one of the 
 organizers of the Woman's Kelief Corps, 
 was president during the first tliree terms, 
 and was an officer of the Department in 
 1892. She is also superintendent of the 
 Children's Home Society of Green Bay. 
 
 AUGUST F. RADOI-: (deceased), 
 for many years a much esteemed 
 citizen of Eaton township. Brown 
 county, was a native of the Father- 
 land, born March 26, 1820, in the village 
 of Arnswalde, Prussia. His parents, Daniel 
 and Sophia (Leipsite) Radoe, had a family 
 of five children, as follows: August F., 
 the subject of this sketch; Christian F., 
 who lives in Africa, where he owns 1,020 
 acres of land; John, who died leaving a 
 wife and several children; Ernest, who 
 lives in Russia; and Henrietta, Mrs. V'clse, 
 who resides in Germany. The parents 
 were f)nly in moderate circumstances, and 
 consequently the children commenced to 
 earn a living early in life. 
 
 When our subject was fifteen years 
 old he hired out as a shepherd boy, and 
 continued in that occupation two years, 
 receiving ten dollars a year for his services. 
 For the next two years he served as 
 coachman to a private family, and then 
 commenced to learn the trade of wagon- 
 maker, at which he served an a|ii)rentice- 
 ship of three years, and for which his 
 parents paid twenty-five dollars. After 
 completing his apprenticeship he worked 
 as journeyman at various places in Ger- 
 many until 1S43, when he married Miss 
 Henrietta Coldeme, who died eight years 
 after, leaving five children. In 1854 Mr. 
 Radoe wedded Miss Augusta Harder, and 
 the following year they emigrated to Amer- 
 ica, landing in Ouebec after an eight-weeks' 
 voyage, thence coming directly to Mil- 
 waukee by boat, and from there to Water- 
 town, Wis., where Mr. Radoe entered the 
 employ of a wagonmaker. After w(jrking 
 for his employer two months, our subject 
 rented tiie shop and conducted it on his own 
 account two years, at the end of which 
 
 time he came to Eaton township, and 
 purchased eight)' acres of land, where he 
 passed the rest of his days. At that early 
 date there were but four or five other set- 
 tlers in the town, and their nearest trading 
 point was Green Bay, a trip to the mill and 
 back occupying three days; and, as there 
 was but one o.\-team in the town, all the 
 neighbors would arrange to send their grist 
 at the same time. Mr. Radoe cleared and 
 cultivated his land, converting it into a 
 highly improved tract, where he and his son 
 conducted a profitable farming business. 
 He died July 2, 1894, universally respected 
 in Eaton township, where he was recog- 
 nized as a kind-hearted neighbor and loyal 
 citizen. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Radoe had a family of 
 nine children, their names and dates of 
 birth being as follows: Maria P., August 
 31, 1 85 5; Albertina A., December 28, 
 1857; William D., January 19, i860; Carl 
 R., February 9, 1862; Gustave A., March 
 6, 1864 fdeceased July 28, 1865); Ann 
 R. and Herman T. (twins), April 13, 
 1866; Augusta L., December 9, 1869: and 
 Louis M., December 22, 1873. The 
 mother of this family passed from earth 
 November 22, 1888. Mr. Radoe was a 
 Methodist in religious belief, and, though 
 there is no church of that denomination 
 in Eaton township, he was much inter- 
 ested in all church work; he donated the 
 land for the cemetery in Eaton township, 
 and gave a ready support to all beneficial 
 movements of interest to the community 
 in general. In 1891 he made a trij) to 
 his native country, returning after a pleas- 
 ant visit of about four months. 
 
 JOHN MEEHAN, a well-known agri- 
 culturist of New Denmark township. 
 Brown county, is a native of Ire- 
 land, born July 19, 1836, .son of 
 Thomas and Mary (Jordan) Meehan, who 
 were farming people of that country. 
 They had children as follows; John, 
 Ellen, Kate. Aim. Mary, and Christopher, 
 of whom John is the subject of this sketch; 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOOnAPUlCAL RECORD. 
 
 409 
 
 Ellen becanic Mrs. John Moore, of Den- 
 mark, Brown Co., Wis.; Kate is the wife 
 of P. Faj^an, of Denmark; Ann died in 
 infancy, and Mary keeps house ft)r her 
 brother John. 
 
 In 1849 the parents disposed of their 
 belonf,'ings in Ireland, and, proceeding to 
 Liverpiool, embarked on an American- 
 bound \'essel, landing in New York City. 
 Going at once to Troy, N. Y., they lived 
 in that city one year, and then removed 
 to Lanesboro, Mass., where they made 
 their home about three years, Mr. Meehan 
 finding employment at the inm works. 
 From there the family removed westward 
 to Brown county, \\"is., and settled on 
 t6o acres of wild land which they had 
 purchased in New Denmark township 
 (the farm now occupied by our subject), 
 making their home for several years in a 
 log house, which is still standing. The 
 surrounding country was still unimproved, 
 and wild beasts and Indians were yet 
 numerous in the neighborhood. They 
 lived here about a year before they could 
 afford to buy a team, in the meantime 
 borrowing the o.\-team that btdongcd to 
 their neighbor. Mr. Bradley paying for 
 its use in work. Their trading was gen- 
 erally done in Manitowoc. On this farm 
 the parents passed the remaintlcr of their 
 days, the father dying in 1870, the 
 mother in 1892, at the ripe old age of 
 ninety-two years. 
 
 J<ilm Meehan, being the eldest in the 
 family, commenced to work at an earl\- 
 age, and he had his full share of the pri- 
 vations and hardships of pioneer farm 
 life. He and his brother gave valuable 
 assistance to their father in the clearing 
 of the farm, which was no small task, as 
 the land had to be literally taken from the 
 forest. Work being so abundant at home, 
 he had but little opportunity to attend 
 even the schools that flourished in the 
 neighborhood in those early days, but he 
 has acquired a practical business training. 
 In 1862 he went to Coles county. 111., 
 where he entered the service of the gov- 
 ernment, being employed to care for 
 
 horses for the army; and alter remaining 
 there three years came home. Six 
 months later he went to Winona, .Minn., 
 where he conunenced railroading and 
 continued in that incupation six mniiths, 
 since which time he has lixcd on the 
 homestead in .New I )i.Munark township. 
 His sister Mary has also remained on the 
 farm, and, as abo\e mentioned, keejis 
 house for him. Mr. Meehan is an mdus- 
 trious, ])rogressi\'e farmer, and is profit- 
 abh' engaged in general agru nhuic. Po- 
 litically he is a Republican, and takes 
 great interest in the affairs of his I'arty; 
 he has tilled several niiiior oitices, such as 
 super\isor and school director ol his 
 townshiji, with credit to hinisell and sat- 
 isfaction to all <-oncerned, and is a di- 
 rt'ctor in the I'armers Insurance Com- 
 jianj', of which he also served one year 
 as president. 
 
 ClII^lSTl.VN KUNTZ, who, lor the 
 jnist ten years, has been li\ ing re- 
 tired m ( deimiore ti iwnsliiji. Brown 
 count}', was born No\eiiiber 14, 
 1 8 1 3, m the \illage of Ottweiler, Rhine 
 Prcnince, Prussia, son of Christian and 
 Sophia (\\'alsinger) Kuntz. They had 
 four sons — Christian, Jacob, Lewis and 
 Conrad — all of whom ,ire now deceased, 
 except our subject. The mother died 
 when Christian was six years old, and his 
 father subse(]uently remarried. fie died 
 in Ciermanw where he was a lile-long 
 farmer. 
 
 Christian Knntz attended tlu- schools 
 of the I*"atherland, was reared to farming, 
 which he continued to follow, and in his 
 earl\- manhood, as is the custoni in Cer- 
 man\-, served three years in the arm}', 
 from 1833 to 1837. In the latti-r \car, 
 his father ha\-ing provided him with 
 m(_)nev to come to the United Statt-s, he 
 proceeded to Havre, there emliarkint; on 
 a vessel bound for New 'N'ork, where he 
 landed after a vovage of t went) -eight 
 days. For two years he vvoiki'd lor a 
 farmer near Rochester, N. Y., and while 
 
4IO 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ill that State was iiiarried, in 1S38, to 
 Miss Caruliiio Conrad, also a native of 
 Germany. In the spring of 1843 they 
 came by water to Wisconsin, huuiing at 
 Milwaukee, whence Mr. Kunt/ went to 
 Washington (now Ozaukee) county, and 
 ]>urchased a piece of new land. The 
 County had not yet been di\ided intt) town- 
 ships, and he was the first settler in his 
 section. Clearing u]i his farm he resided 
 thereon until 185.S, when he came to 
 Brown county, anri here purchased 320 
 acres of wild land in Section 9, Morrison 
 township, on which tract he built the first 
 house and made the first improvements, 
 having his ht)me there until 1884, when 
 he came to Glenmore township. Here 
 he has since li\ed, retired from acti\e 
 work, residing with his son-in-law, Adolph 
 Cilawe. He was \ery successful in his 
 farming operations, being an industrious 
 worker and a good manager, and has also 
 been fortunate in his real estate invest- 
 ments. 
 
 Mrs. Caroline Kunt/ died in 1857, in 
 O/aukee coimty, where she was buried, and 
 Mr. Kuntz subsequently married in that 
 coimty Miss Elizabeth Klugg, a native of 
 Germany, to which union have come three 
 rhildreu : Henrietta, now Mrs. .-Xdolph 
 Glawe, of Glenmore townsliip ; Albert, a 
 farmer of Clark count\'. Wis.; and Emma, 
 Mrs. Joseph Rank, of Ciiippewa county. 
 Wis. Hy his first wife there were chil- 
 dren as follows : Phili]i, who died young ; 
 Charles, who died in Brown county (he 
 served in the Civil war) ; Louis, who died 
 in New York State at the age of twenty 
 three : Caroline, Mrs. Powell Probstfcld, 
 of Missouri ; Henry, of Chippewa Falls, 
 Wis. ; Christian, of Marshfield, Wis. ; 
 Sophia. Mrs. Ernest Hafer, of Superior, 
 Wis.; William, of Grand Rapids, Wis.; 
 and .\nna, also of Grand Rapids. 
 
 Mr. Kimtz has, until recent years, been 
 one of the most active men in his local- 
 ity, public-spiritetl. enterprising and ever 
 ready to encourage any measure of benefit 
 or interest to the community. He is an 
 ailherent of the principles of the Demo- 
 
 cratic part}-, but uses his own judgment 
 in voting, alwa\s supporting the best 
 man. He was seven times elected chair- 
 man of Morrison township, and also 
 served as supervisor, and for three terms 
 as assessor. In religious faith he is a 
 member of the E\angelical Church. He 
 has traveled more than the average 
 farmer. In 1841 he paid a visit to his 
 native land, spending a month there, and 
 again went to Europe in 1884, this time 
 remaining four months in France, Hol- 
 land and Germany ; he has also journeyed 
 extensively over Canada and the United 
 States, visiting almost every State in the 
 Union, and in all has tra\eled over twen- 
 ty-five thousand miles, some seventeen 
 thousand by water. Mr. Kuntz is well 
 preserved, has a good memory, and was 
 e.\tremely robust until 1892, when an 
 attack of "la grijipe " somewhat im- 
 paired his health. [Since the above was 
 written we have received intimation of the 
 death of Mr. Christian Kuntz. — Eoitok. 
 
 JOHN B. HI:YRMAN, senior mem- 
 bor of the popular printing firm of 
 Heyrman .S; Kuypers, proprietors of 
 the Brown County Difnocrat, and 
 the A- ]'o/ksstiiii. is one of the most 
 prominent of all the pioneers who came 
 to northern Wisconsin, conspicuous not 
 onl\' as such, but as one of the best-known 
 and most widely respected citizens in this 
 portion of the State. 
 
 Mr. Heyrman is a native of Belgium, 
 born in the town of Bornhein, Province 
 of .Vntwerpen, a son of John and Anna 
 Catherine (De Jonghe) Heyrman, also of 
 Belgian nativity, born respectively at 
 Basele. Province of East Flanders, and 
 at Bornhem, Province of .\ntworpen. In 
 1856 the parents, accompanied by tiicir 
 eldest son, Charles Louis, took second- 
 class passage on a sailing vessel for 
 .America, and after an uneventful voyage 
 landed at New York— that is, the father 
 and son did, for the mother was fated 
 never to see land again, having, after a 
 
fe-^y (^ y^^^j^-t^^ ^ 
 
COMMM.tfOIlA TIVK BIOGIiAPniCAL UECORD. 
 
 4 '3 
 
 brief illness, died on inid-Dccan, ruidiii.L; a 
 grave ill llic deep bosom of tlu' Atlantic 
 Ocean. I'roni New Yoik the biTiN'U'ed 
 fatlier and inotluM'less son proi'i'cdcd by 
 rail to Detroit, Mich., where two other 
 sons, John B. and Jose[)h, joiiKuJ them, 
 they having arrived in the country tlie 
 previous year, as will l)e presently related. 
 The ciuartettc then at once cann- to Wis- 
 consin, landing- in (ireen l^ay in 1S56. 
 Here, in the town of Preble, they l)ouL;lit 
 a half section of timberland whicli they 
 imniediately began clc'ariiif; with a view 
 to making a pcrii-ianent stay. 'I'lie father 
 died on this farm in 1 S74. The son. 
 Charles Louis, continued to reside there- 
 on, and culti\-ated it, until his decease in 
 1891, after a jirosperous career as an 
 agricnltnrist ; he marrieil, and had a family 
 of three sons and three daughters; and 
 when he died he left a widow and two 
 sons and two daughters. 
 
 John H. Hej'rinan, the subject ])roper 
 ■of this sketch, received a liberal education 
 at the common schools of his birthplace, 
 his instruction being in both the Flemish 
 and French languages, and in 1H55, ac- 
 ■companied by his brother, Joseph, board- 
 ed a sailing shi]) as passenger for the 
 United States, laiuling at New York. 
 From there they tra\eled to l^hiladelphia, 
 at which city they made an arrangement 
 with an American firm, owners of a large 
 tract of land in Ln/eriu! county, Penn.,to 
 begin the clearing up of a portion of this 
 land for a Belgian colony, our subject be- 
 ing ai)iK)iiited siiiierintendent of the work. 
 Accordingly, he and his brother, [oseph, 
 assisted by two other Belgians, com- 
 menced tlu' work of clearing u|) a passage 
 to said land through a <lenscl\-tiinbered 
 wilderness. Arrived at their destination, 
 the first thing the part\' did was to ])ut 
 lip a log shanty, which, thanks to the 
 kindly assistance of the far-distant neigh- 
 bors, was ready to shelter them in a few 
 weeks. The nearest neighbor, an Amer- 
 ican. was a true friend to the little |)ioneer 
 party of foreigners, and would willingly 
 have given his last crust of bread and 
 
 23 
 
 sacrificed his life in their deleiise; but 
 there was no danger, lor theii' was plenty 
 of game to be had for the killing, and 
 nothing wortlu' ol a])|)reliensioii more 
 dangerous than an occasional visit from a 
 \-agahond bear or wolf, themseh'es hunt- 
 ing for the necessaries of lifi', 'i"lu: near- 
 est ta\ern to tiiis embryo colony was sit- 
 uated somewhere at the foot ol the ,\lle- 
 ghany Mountains, on the Blooinsbiirg and 
 Towaiula pike, the most popular hostelry 
 belwei'ii these two ])oints, and was kept 
 by a (iermaii named Kei/er; while the 
 nearest store, at which they could j)ro- 
 cure their provisions, etc., was no less 
 than thirty-five miles distant, a good day's 
 journey for a few pounds of tea or tobac- 
 co. On this wild piece of l.ind these 
 four iiitri'|iid I telgians continued 1.1 live, 
 keeping a s<nt of • • liai lielor's Hall," 
 hewing down the trees and eleaniig away 
 the brush, until the following s|iriiig. when 
 tlie\- "broke cam])." 'idle brothers Heyr- 
 man, having learned of the arrival of their 
 l)arents in the country, then set out for 
 Detroit, Mi(di., where they awaited tluun; 
 and, oil the' leuiuou of the laiiiily. the 
 parts' came direct to Wisconsin, as above 
 related. 
 
 During the first tweKf years of his 
 residence in Wisconsin. lohii \\. Heyr- 
 maii lived on the farm \\ith Ins lather and 
 brothers, aiu! then, having married, he 
 kept a general store at ]?ay Settlenumt, 
 iJrowii county, but at the laid ol two 
 \'ears. owing to failures and fire, he lost 
 his all. At this time he hired (uit as a log 
 scaler to a lumberman [nr one winter, and 
 during the ensuing summer worked as 
 filer in the sawmill at New I'r.-uikeii. in 
 the town of Scott. Brown county. In 
 the fall of 1S71, having removed with his 
 famiU to Di' I'ere, he reronnneiieed mer- 
 cantile business, opening a general store 
 in that city, wliiidi he successfully con- 
 ducted 'seven years; then selling (uit in 
 order to be better at liberty to give his 
 attentioti to journalism, for whi(di be had 
 a natural penchant. The jiajier lie estab- 
 lished was the De Pert' Stam/niuf, at that 
 
4'4 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 time the only Catholic newspaper in the 
 United States published in the Holland 
 language, and (or twelve years he and his 
 associate conducted it with eminent abil- 
 ity and careful management. Mr. Heyr- 
 man then sold out his interest in the 
 Sttj>i(/tm/ to his partner, and in January, 
 1890, in company with John Anton Kuy- 
 pers, purchased the Brown County Dem- 
 ocrat (established in 1877), a weekly 
 paper printed in the English language, 
 and shortly afterward they commenced 
 the publication of a new Holland weekly, 
 Dc I'olksstciii, in connection with which 
 they conduct a general printing estab- 
 lishment, equipped with all modern im- 
 provements and facilities to be found in a 
 first-class office. The business is carried 
 on under the firm name of He\rman iv 
 Kuypers, and is steadily expanding. 
 
 On May 6, 1867, Mr. Heyrman was 
 united in marriage with Miss Barbara 
 Isabella De Both, also a native of Belgium, 
 born at Ottenburg, Province of Brabant, 
 and ten children — five sons and five 
 daughters — were born to them, of whom 
 two sons and two daughters died in in- 
 fancy; the survivors are Henry, -Anna 
 Catherine, Marv Magdeline, Peter, Julia, 
 and Ale.xander, all grown to manhood 
 and womanhood. In his political sympa- 
 thies Mr. Heyrman has been a consistent 
 Democrat from the day he cast his first 
 vote, in 1S56, to the present time; in 
 1 875 he was elected a justice of the peace, 
 but resigned the office before the close of 
 two jears. For two successive years 
 he served as alderman of De Pere, since 
 when, in 1894, he was elected a member 
 of the county board of supervisors for 
 three j'cars. Since 1872 he has been a 
 member of St. Joseph's Catholic Society 
 in De Pere. 
 
 Daily engaged in the details of his 
 prosperous business, faithful in the dis- 
 charge of all social and other obligations, 
 Mr. Heyrman yet finds time to make a 
 cordial and practical response to the calls 
 of |)hilanthropy, and to join with his fel- 
 low citi/ens in measures that tend to pro- 
 
 mote good government. He is honored 
 and respected by all who know him. and 
 enjoys a reputation for unflinching adher- 
 ence to the principles of right, justice and 
 freedom, which any man might covet. 
 
 JOHN (.. C.KOSS. farmer, dairyman 
 and himberman of Morrison town- 
 sliip. Brown county, was born in 
 iS2y, in Bavaria, Germany, whore 
 he was reared and received his education. 
 He immigrated to America at the age of 
 twenty-one, and after remaining three 
 years in \ew York came to Wisconsin, 
 first to Germantown, Washington county, 
 and thence to Morrison township, Brown 
 county, where he ownsabout 320 acres of 
 land, a portion of which has been cleared 
 and developed by his indiviiiual labor. In 
 1867 he commenced lumbering, a busi- 
 ness in which he met with such success that 
 in 1875 he purchased the mill which he now 
 manages. He also became a stockholder 
 in the first cheese factory established in 
 the town, an enterprise which proved 
 very profitable to the people. F"or twenty- 
 iive years lie has assisted in the local civil 
 government, serving in various county and 
 town offices, representing his town on the 
 county board for eight years, and has also 
 taken a lively interest in educational af- 
 fairs. In 1853 Mr. Gross married Nfar- 
 garet Moschel, and to their union have 
 come nine children — four sons and five 
 daughters. 
 
 Cli.\KLi:S I'RUST, of .Morrison 
 township. Brown county, was 
 born March 8, 1846, in Germany, 
 a son of John and Charlotte 
 (Combis) Prust, who were the parents of 
 nine children, viz. : Frederick, .Austiiie, 
 William, Charles, August, Johanna, and 
 Henry, all living; and .Mary and .\nna, 
 deceased. Charles Prust served a three 
 years' apprenticeship at wagonmaking in 
 Germany, receiving for his last year's labor 
 fifteen dollars. The faiuiiv then came to- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPEICAL RECORD. 
 
 4>S 
 
 America, sailing; from Hamburt; and land- 
 ing ill Ouebec, whence they came to 
 A\'rightstown, Brown Co., Wis., where 
 the father bought a tract of forty acres of 
 cleared land. They remained at Wrights- 
 town until 1888, then removed to Marsh- 
 field, Wis., where the father also bought 
 forty acres of land, and there lived until 
 his death, May 12, 1890. 
 
 .\fter his arrival in Brown county our 
 subject went to Glenmore, and worked at 
 carpentering for two years, continuing to 
 work at that trade, for the most part, until 
 1887, when he started in the machine 
 business in De Pere, moving thence to 
 Morrison, where he engaged in the same 
 line of business until May, 1893; he had 
 bought eighty acres of land, mostly wild, 
 but in May, 1893, he sold his farm 
 and businesss and started a saloon. Mr. 
 Prust was united in marriage, December 
 5, 1869, with Augusta Conrad, daughter 
 of Ludwig and Caroline (Prust) Conrad, 
 and they have had nine children, as follows : 
 Minnie, Mary, Augusta, Ann, William, 
 
 Bertha, John, Harrison, and . 
 
 In religious connection they are members 
 of the Evangelical Association, of which 
 Mr. Prust has been a trustee fifteen years, 
 treasurer thirteen years, and iot four years 
 he was preacher. In politics he is a Re- 
 publican, and has served as supervisor, 
 assessor, and for two \ears as chairman. 
 Mr. Prust has made many friends in Mor- 
 rison, is popular in his business as well as 
 in his political relationship, and his family 
 are all highly respected as honest and 
 peaceable neighbors. 
 
 JH. TAYLER, cashier of the McCart- 
 ney National Bank at Fort Howard, 
 Brown county, was born here in 
 1859, and is a descendant of a very 
 ancient English family. He is a son of 
 Joseph and M. V. ( Kennanj Tayler, the 
 former of whom came from England to 
 Neenah, Wis., in 1852, soon after remov- 
 ing to ("ireen ]>a\-. wliere he ens:a<'ed in 
 
 the commission business imtil 1S57, the 
 year of his removal to I~ort Howard ; 
 here he was engaged in mercantile busi- 
 ness for some years, but is now acting as 
 insurance agent. For about twenty years 
 he was postmaster at Fort Ht)ward, and 
 for a number of years has been city treas- 
 urer, being always recognized as a first- 
 class business man and a model gentleman. 
 
 J. H. Tayler was reared and educated 
 in Fort Howard, and after leaving school 
 began his business life as assistant post- 
 master, holding the position with credit 
 for ten years ; he was city treasurer two 
 years, and since his connection with the 
 McCartney National Bank has also held 
 the office of mayor of Fort Howard. His 
 banking experience began with the or- 
 ganization of the Exchange Bank in 1881, 
 of which David McCartney was the presi- 
 dent and Mr. Tayler the cashier ; in 1892 
 the McCartney National Bank was organ- 
 ized, with the same officials. During 
 this period of fourteen years Mr. Tayler 
 has maintained his position as cashier to 
 the entire satisfaction of the business pub- 
 lic, and his uniformly pleasant method of 
 performing his duties has made him a 
 favorite with the bank's customers and the 
 citizens generally. He is also a director 
 of the Green Bay and Fort Howard Water 
 Works Company. 
 
 Mr. Tayler was married, in 1889, to 
 Miss Eleanor J. Richardson, who was 
 born in Wisconsin, daughter of George 
 and Susan Richardson, the former a na- 
 tive of England who settled in Fort How- 
 ard about the year 1865. The only child 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Tayler, named 
 George R., was taken from them in his 
 earliest childhood, causing a void in their 
 otherwise happy home that is felt most 
 keenly. Mr. Tayler is in politics a Re- 
 publican, believing that the principles pro- 
 mulgated by that party are the best adapt- 
 ed to the good of the ]ieo]ile of the State 
 and Nation. In tin- social circk's of Fort 
 Howard he and his wife are shining lights 
 and recognized ornaments, and in the 
 sterner and more serious conduct of local 
 
4i6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 progress Mr. Tajlor's advice is eagerly 
 sought and is freely given, while he him- 
 self never fails to bear his full share of the 
 labor and cost of public improvements 
 — material, religious and educational. 
 
 M 
 
 J. CORBETT, wholesale and 
 retail grocer. Fort Howard, 
 Brown county. This gentle- 
 man, who is one of the promi- 
 nent business men and stanch citizens of 
 Fort Howard, has had an interesting and 
 varied experience. He was born in Ot- 
 tawa City, Canada, son of Lawrence 
 Corbett, a native of Ennis, County Clare, 
 Ireland, who died in Ottawa, Canada; 
 the mother of our subject died when he 
 was an infant. 
 
 M. J. Corbett was educated in a pri- 
 vate school in his native city. At the 
 age of fifteen years he went to Buffalo, 
 N. Y. , where he worked in a stone-yard 
 one season, and in the fall of i 866 shipped 
 as a boat hand and came to Fort How- 
 ard, Wis., here engaging in boating on 
 Green Bay, first on the • ' Sarah Van 
 Epps. " when she ran on the east shore, 
 later on the steamer "Ozaukee," and 
 afterward on the "Katie Reed." After a 
 few years' service on the Bay he entered 
 the boiler works of I). M. l^urns, and 
 after remaining there some time served a 
 three or four years' apprenticeship as a 
 machinist in the Monitor Iron Works. 
 He next worked as a journeyman in the 
 Green Bay & Winona shojis until 1877, 
 going thence to Lake City, Colo., on a 
 prosjiecting tour, and later to Texas and 
 Alabama, where he followed his trade. 
 He was in the employ of the I. & G. N. 
 R. R. at Houston, Texas, as a machinist, 
 and later worked in the same cajiacity in 
 the H. & T. C. shops at Galveston, re- 
 maining in the South until about 1880, 
 when he returned to Fort Howard and 
 commenced business for himself in a small 
 building now occupied as a boot and shoe 
 store, buying and shipping potatoes. He 
 purchased and improved his present two- 
 
 story brick veneered building in 1 884. 
 and, from the small beginning made in 
 1 880, has grown the extensive business 
 which he now enjoys. Mr. Corbett is at 
 this time the leading merchant of Fort 
 Howard, carrying a complete line of 
 groceries, crockery and glassware, flour 
 and feed, giving employment to six clerks 
 and enjoying an extensive custom in 
 northeastern \\'isconsin and northern 
 Michigan. The wholesale branch of this 
 business was established about 1890, 
 and his large double store on Main street, 
 80x60 feet in dimensions, is a busy center 
 of trade. 
 
 In addition to his mercantile affairs, 
 Mr. Corbett finds time also to devote 
 to social and public matters, and is a 
 thoroughly public-spirited citizen. Po- 
 litically he votes with the Republican 
 party, and has served as alderman at large 
 for his city. He is a member of Poche- 
 quette Lodge. K. of P., of the A. O. U. 
 W. at Fort Howard, and is a director and 
 manager of the Fort Howard Building 
 and Loan Association. He is full)' identi- 
 fied with the interests of the city, and in 
 all respects is a valuable citizen. 
 
 E 
 
 PHKAI.M CROCKER, ex-sheriff 
 of Brown connt\. Wis., farmer 
 and liveryman, was born July 16, 
 1 8 19, in Colerain, Mass.. a son of 
 William Crocker, who was a native of 
 Washington county, N. Y.-, born near 
 Crocker's Falls, named after the grand- 
 father of our subject. 
 
 William Crocker, who was a farmer, 
 settled in 1833 in Ohio, where he died at 
 the age of forty-eight years. He had 
 married Miss Elizabeth Potter, also a 
 native of Washington county, N. Y., who 
 became the mother of ten children, all 
 but two of whom grew to maturity, She 
 died in Ashtabula, Ohio, at the age of 
 about seventy \ears. As far as Mr. 
 Crocker knows, he has one brother. W'ill- 
 iam H., living in Australia: another, 
 Charles, in Arizona; and one. Levi, in 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 417 
 
 Wisconsin, ail engaged in mercantile trade. 
 Old-time war reminiscences are plen- 
 tiful in the Crocker family, and, among 
 others, it is related that Ephraim's father 
 was on Lake Champlain, September 11, 
 1 814, when the famous battle was raging, 
 and could distinctly hear the roar of the 
 cannon. Both grandfathers were officers 
 under Washington in the Revolution; a 
 granduncle, in the same struggle, was 
 taken prisoner and consigned to Canada, 
 and while crossing a riter was set to row- 
 ing a boat; but, pretending he could not 
 row, he fell behind, and, by (li\crging 
 from the proper course, escaped; after 
 reaching the shore he applieil to a house 
 for something to eat; the lady tnld him 
 her husband was a Tory, but she w as true 
 blue, and concealed him under the Hoor 
 in the cellar until an opptjrtunity offered 
 for his escape, thus saving his life. 
 
 Ephraim Crocker lived on the home 
 farm until the death of his father, which 
 occurred when he was about si.xteen years 
 of age. Times being hard and his mother 
 poor, he then started out in life for him- 
 self, and his meanderings were \aried and 
 long. He made a start for Columbus, 
 Ohio, but before reaching his destination 
 found emploxnient in a hotel; he next 
 drove team at Zanesville, w here he re- 
 mained awhile, and then went back again 
 to his last employer and cared for horses 
 two years. Going next to \\''heeling, W. 
 Va. , he engaged in teaming, and for about 
 three years was a driver on the National 
 road for Stockton, Falls & Co., after 
 W'hich he l)ound himself as an apprentice 
 to a millwright in Cumberland, Md. Ac- 
 companying his employer to Harrisburg, 
 Penn., he helped to build a sawmill, and 
 worked six moths in same, thence going 
 to Smithland, Ky., where he built a 
 steam tannery and a gristmill. His ap- 
 prenticeship expired there eighteen months 
 later, and he returned to Ashtabula, Ohio. 
 After working for a time on a vessel he 
 went to Buffalo, and then to New York 
 City, where for three years he worked at 
 shipbuilding for W^illiam Webb; then went 
 
 to St. Louis, Mo., and worked one winter 
 on a large steamer; then reached Chicago, 
 where he worked in a shipyard, and while 
 there helped to build the first boat that 
 passed through the Illinois canal. 
 
 Mr. Crocker now returned t<i Ohio, 
 and November 20, 1S4S, \\;is married tt> 
 Miss Hannah S. Hewitt, who was born in 
 New York State, a ilaiighter of David and 
 Sally Hewitt, natives of New York, who 
 early settled in Ohio, dying in Ashta- 
 bula. To this marriage were Ixnn seven 
 children, two cif whom are yet living", 
 viz.: Sarah C, who is the wife (jf Rob- 
 ert Henderson, and has three sons; and 
 Frank G., who married Miss Irwin, and 
 has a son and a daughter (he is a resident 
 of Iron Mountain, Mich., and is register 
 of deeds there). .-\fter his marriage Mr. 
 Crocker returned to Chicago fcjr a year, 
 and in 1850 came to Fort Howard, where 
 he has ever since remained, with the ex- 
 ception of the time occupied in making a 
 trip to California. Here he first engaged 
 in general building, which he followed 
 until 1854, when he started a livery stable 
 which he has condutteil, with the excep- 
 tion of two years, until the present time, 
 owning, besides, a large tract of \aluable 
 land quite near the cit\'. In 1873 and 
 1874 he was sheriff of BriAvn county, and 
 his career was a most exciting one in that 
 capacit\'; three-card montc men infested 
 the region and helil officers, attorneys and 
 the populace under intimitlation; but 
 Sheriff Crocker proved to be a match for 
 them. The great trouble was that indi- 
 viduals who were swindled by them were 
 terrorized and dare not appear against 
 them when arrested. But Sheriff Crock- 
 er, as it were, took the law in his own 
 hands, and on one occasion entcrt'd the 
 courtroom, took out the thief, and forced 
 him to disgorge $40 of his ill-gotten gains, 
 and on another occasion comjielled the 
 culprit to surrender over $200. The 
 sheriff's name became a terror to the 
 desperadoes, and, despite all threats of 
 personal violence against himself, he 
 tenaciously clung to his duty and extermi- 
 
4i8 
 
 COMMKMORATIVi: BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 nated the evil-doers from the region. 
 Sheriff Crocker was possessed of fjreat 
 nerve, and at one time captured four 
 desperadoes single-handed, his only 
 weapon being a revolver that was utterl)' 
 unfit for use. He is a man of strict 
 honor, and one the people lia\e always 
 iniplicitl}- relied upon for uprightness. In 
 politics he was formerly an Old-line 
 Whig, and cast his first vote for Gen. Will- 
 iam Henry Harrison; he now affiliates 
 with the Republicans, and was chairman 
 of the first Republican caucus held in 
 Fort Howard, which met in 1856 in the 
 office of his present livery barn. He and 
 his family are members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, of which for seven 
 years he was Sunday-school superintend- 
 ent. His standing socially is very high, 
 and as a business man he is without 
 reproach. 
 
 WH. PETERSON, liveryman, 
 Main street, l-'ort Howard, was 
 born at Stowe, Lamoille Co., 
 \'t . ill 1850, and is a son of A. 
 and Mary .\im (Somers) Peterson, na- 
 ti\es of the same State, in which the}' 
 lived and died. The senior Peterson was 
 a farmer by occupation, and died in 1885, 
 his wife preceding him in 1866 to the 
 mysterious beyond. Their four children 
 were : Edward, who resides in Green 
 Bay, and is engaged in the milling busi- 
 ness at Cooperstown, Wis. ; Gustie, who 
 is married, and resides at Nashua, Iowa ; 
 W. H., of Fort Howard, and Alfred, who 
 died in Stowe, \'t., about 1890. The 
 grandfather of Mr. Peterson was also a 
 native of the Green Mountain State, born 
 of Scotch ancestry, and was a soldier in 
 the Revolutionary war. 
 
 W. H. Peterson, who was reared and 
 educated among the rugged mountains of 
 his native State, early became interested 
 in the trotting-horse business in eastern 
 Vermont, and continued until his removal 
 to Fort Howard in 1870. He had mar- 
 ried, the previous year. Eunice Kimball, 
 
 daughter of Luke Kimball, both \'er- 
 monters. Death parted the youthful 
 couple in 1872, and the wife's remains 
 now rest beneath the soil of her native 
 State. Mr. Peterson was again married, 
 in 1874, at Milwaukee, this time to Mrs. 
 Anna Rice, a widow with one daughter, 
 who is now Mrs. Nellie Wheeler, of Mil- 
 waukee. Upon coming to Fort Howard 
 Mr. Peterson engaged in teaming for some 
 time. When the Milwaukee & Northern 
 railroad was constructed to this point he 
 became its transfer agent, continuing un- 
 til 1876, when he became interested in 
 milling in Eaton township. Fire destroyed 
 the property in 1880, and he again turned 
 to his first love, trotting horses, finally 
 establishing himself in the livery business. 
 He has taken pride in handling fine stock, 
 getting fancy prices when making sales. 
 In politics Mr. Peterson is a Republican ; 
 socially he is a member of the K. O. T. 
 M., and was one of the originators of the 
 Fair and Park Association, at whose fairs 
 he has always served as marshal. He 
 has witnessed verj' many changes since 
 coming to Fort Howard, and has always 
 been interested, as a true American citi- 
 zen should be, in all that would enhance 
 the prosperity of his home, city and county. 
 
 PH. CARLIN, one of the prosper- 
 ous business men of Green Bay, 
 Brown county, where he conducts 
 a flourishing livery establishment, 
 is a native of Kingston, Canada, born 
 January 6, 1856. 
 
 William Carlin, father of subject, was 
 a native of Ireland, and by trade a mill- 
 wright, also engaging in lumbering. He 
 married Ann Nefcy, and their union was 
 blessed with fourteen children — eight sons 
 and six daughters — eleven of whom are 
 yet living. In 1867 William Carlin came 
 to Green Bay, bringing his wife and 
 family, which then consisted of seven 
 children, and after a short residence here 
 removed to Oconto, Wis., living in that 
 vicinitv the remainder of his life. He 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 419 
 
 was a man of means, aiul owned a '^aod 
 farm, beiiij; alst) engaged In a cdnsider- 
 id)le extent in lumber dealing. During 
 his youth he had recei\ed hut a limited 
 edueation, but he acquired a practical 
 business training, and was altogether a 
 self-made man. He |)assed from earth 
 October j, i'^77, and was bmied at 
 Oconto, at which [ilace his widow, now 
 aged sixty-two j-ears, still makes her 
 home. In politics he was a Democrat, 
 and in religious faith a member of the 
 Catholic C'hurch. 
 
 P. H. Carlin attended the common 
 schools in Canada until his twelfth year, 
 when he came with his parents to Wis- 
 consin, and here finished his education in 
 the schools of the time. When eighteen 
 years of age he went out with a surveying 
 corps as helper and compassman, prior to 
 which he had assisted his father, at the 
 age of sixteen having charge of a camp of 
 eighty-tive men in the lumber regions. 
 He continued as helper to surveyors until 
 he became competent to work for him- 
 self, and in following this business he has 
 been over a considerable portion of Lower 
 Canada, Nfichigan, W'isconsin, and ^^in- 
 nesota, having continued in the ))ursuit of 
 the prt)fession more or less for the last 
 twenty years. He has also engaged in 
 the lumber business for his own account, 
 and for five or six years was superin- 
 tendent for the Murphy Lumber Co. He 
 has also bought lumber for othei's, his 
 competence! and sound judgment being 
 everj'where recognized anil fulh a])preci- 
 ated, and in this capacity has probably 
 purchased over ten million dollars' worth 
 of lumber. On July 6, 1S92, Mr. Carlin 
 purchased from J. A. Cusick the profit- 
 able livery business, in the conducting of 
 which he is now engaged, having one of 
 the largest and best establishments in that 
 line in Green Bay, where he is well known 
 as a substantial business man; he also 
 owns two farms in Oconto county, and 
 several tracts of timber land in northern 
 Wisconsin, which are carefully looked 
 after. He has been a self-made man in 
 
 e\ery way. and besides making his own 
 wa\" in the world has faithfulK' assisted 
 his [larents. and lor se\eral years after 
 the death of Ins father was tlu' head of 
 the lamily. 
 
 On l~ebruary 4, i''^94. Mr. Carlin and 
 Miss Margaret Runnel weri' umted in 
 marriagt' in Cireeii ixiy, in which city she 
 was born, daughter ol .\dani Runnel. 
 Our subject cast his lirst vote for James 
 .\. Ciarfield. ami has always been a stanch 
 i\epid)lican and Protectionist ; though tak- 
 ing a li\el\ interest in the success ol his 
 part\. he is no asjiirant tor offua' and 
 has declined nomination o\\ x'arious occa- 
 sions. In religions f.iith he and his wife 
 are both meiidK-rs of the Catholic Church. 
 
 THOMAS LAWLOR, a retired 
 farmer, now residing in De Pere, 
 iiniwn county, was born in No- 
 \ ember, iSjj, in County KeiTy, 
 Ireland, son of John and Lllen ( Hahan) 
 i^awior. He- lost his father in 1832, 
 anil his mother being thus rendered un- 
 able to kee|) her famih' together, our sufi- 
 ject commenced work at the agt' of fif- 
 teen. His first place was with Kew 
 leather Thomas Fitzgerald, with whom 
 he remained two years, afterward iinding 
 emploNUK'nt with the farmers of his 
 county, where he worked h.ird and saved 
 all the mone\- he earned. 
 
 In 1845 Mr. Lawlor married Mary 
 Connor, who was born in iSj8 in County 
 Kerry, daughter of Timothy and Mary 
 (Murphyl Connor, and for two years 
 thereafter worked as a farm hand, at low 
 wages. To this marriage one chihi was 
 born in Ireland, named Patrick, who 
 died in Clenmore township. P)rown Co., 
 Wis., at the age of eighteen. Mr. Lawlor 
 having decided to come to America, he 
 set sail from Liverpool, l-'ebruary 12, 
 1847, embarking with his family on the 
 sailing ves.scl "Siddons," and arriving 
 .April I, of the same year, in New York, 
 went thence to Creenfield, Franklin, 
 Co., Mass., and for (wc years worked for 
 
420 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 
 
 thf farmers of the neighborhood. Here 
 were born two daughters, Ellen and 
 Mary, the former of whom is married to 
 Robert Wilson, and the latter to William 
 Patten, a fanner. By this time our sub- 
 ject had saved $600, and in the fall of 
 1852 he came with his little family to 
 Wisconsin. Reaching Green Bay in 
 September, he located his family in West 
 De Pere and went to work on the canal 
 at Kaukauna, Outagamie county, for a 
 month or more, after which he returned 
 to Brown county and bought eighty acres 
 of wild land in Glenmore township. Not 
 a road was on or near the place, and he 
 blazed the trees to mark his path. He 
 found shelter for his family in a neighbor's 
 cabin until he could clear a space for 
 building a cabin of his own, a task which 
 was soon accomplished, and here the 
 family lived very happil)'. Wolves were 
 numerous, their howling being heard at all 
 hours in the night, and game was also 
 plentiful, -Mr. Lawlor on one occasion 
 killing a bear on his own farm, and the 
 animal served for many good meals. But 
 what was then a wilderness is now a broad 
 expanse of w^ell-tilled fields, occupied by 
 well-to-do farmers .Kfter many years of 
 labor devoted to clearing up and develop- 
 ing his farm — now one of the finest in 
 Glenmore township — Mr. Lawlor built a 
 hewn log house and, later, a substantial 
 brick dwelling, which still stands and is 
 likely to stand for many years yet to 
 come; he also erected three fine barns. 
 After thirty-si.\ years of good hard work 
 on this farm, he sold all his real estate, 
 and in August, 1888, came to De Pere, 
 where he has since passed his days in re- 
 tirement, respected for his many virtues 
 by all who know him. 
 
 The children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Lawlor in Wisconsin were named John, 
 Sarah, Thomas and Maggie (twins), Fan- 
 nie, Michael and William, of whom two 
 sons and three daughters yet survive. In 
 politics Mr. Lawlor is a stanch Democrat, 
 but has never sought office. His dealings 
 with his fellow men have always been 
 
 -Straightforward and honest; he owes no 
 man anything, neither has he ever bor- 
 rowed m<jney from an\' man. In religious 
 connection he and his faithful wife are 
 members of St. Francis Church, De Pere, 
 and they are most sincere in their faith. 
 l*"ew people have lived together as hap- 
 pily and contentedly as this honored 
 couple, and there are few in Brown county 
 who have made more friends. They are 
 esteemed by all who know them for their 
 many good cjualities of head and heart, 
 and their lives have been an example 
 worthy of imitation by the young people 
 of the Fox River Vallev. 
 
 J.VSPER STEPHEN CHASE, the ex- 
 tensive lumberer and flour-mill pro- 
 prietor, of De Pere, Brown county, 
 was born at Port Huron, Mich., Sep- 
 tember 17, 1853, a son of Nathan B. and 
 Ann M. fMcClure) Chase, who were of 
 luiglish and Scotch ancestry, respectively. 
 The paternal grandfather. Stephen Chase, 
 came from England to Woodstock, Can- 
 ada, about the year 1 800. and by vocation 
 was a farmer. His son, Nathan B. 
 Chase, became a prosperous lumber 
 dealer and proprietor of two sawmills at 
 Port Huron, which he sold out in 1S54, 
 and next engaged in mercantile trade at 
 Green Bay, W'is. , where, through the 
 trickery of a partner, he lost over forty 
 thousand dollars. In 1 856 he re-engaged 
 in the milling business, which, for eight 
 years he carried on at Wrightstown, and 
 then moved his mill to Oconto county, 
 where he continued the business until 
 1870, when his son, Jasper S., in com- 
 pany with Isaac Dickey, purchased the 
 mill property, and Nathan B. Chase re- 
 turned to his farm in the vicinity of Green 
 Bay, where he passed the remainder of 
 his days, dying in F"ebruary, 1884. 
 
 Jasper S. Chase ac(]uired a very good 
 education in the schools of De Pere and at 
 the Green Bay Business College; he next 
 clerked for L. Day, a wholesale grocer at 
 Green Bay, for three years, then bought 
 
COMMEMORATIVK BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 421 
 
 his interest in the nuUin^ business in 
 Oconto county, in whicli he continued 
 seventeen years, during which time he 
 cut from sixty million to seventy million 
 feet of lumber. Mr. Chase became 
 very influential in the rcj;ion of the mill, 
 and the township in which it was located 
 was named "Chase, " in his honor. For 
 eight years he was a member of the 
 county board of commissioners, and for 
 an equal length of time was chairman of 
 of the township board of trustees. Since 
 settling in De Pere, in icSSg, he has served 
 as supervisor one year, also as count}' 
 treasurer one year, and is now serving as 
 city alderman. His social anil business 
 relations are extensi\e and complex. He 
 is president of the De Pere Lumber lv: I'uel 
 Compan}-, which handles all kinds of lum- 
 ber that grows in this climate, as 
 well as pine and other lumber indi- 
 genous to the south, and dot-s a busi- 
 ness averaging fifty thousand dollars per 
 annum; he is secretary of the John I-". 
 Dousman Milling Company; secretary of 
 of the De l\'re flight i.S: Power Company, 
 all of which companies he took an active 
 part in organizing, and is also a meml)er 
 of the board of directors of the Artesian 
 Water Supply Companw His business 
 activity and enterprise are universally rec- 
 ognized, and his interest in the material 
 advancement of De Pere is equally well 
 conceded. Socially he is a member of 
 the Knights of Pythias. The marriage of 
 Mr. Chase took place, in [879, to Flora 
 Call, daughter of W. P. Call, a retired 
 business man, the result of the union 
 being three children, named Rena, M(jr- 
 ris and Hazel. 
 
 THEODORE COLBURN, a well- 
 known and highly-respected citi- 
 zen of De Pere, Brown county, 
 was born December 9, 1830, near 
 the city of Quebec, Canada, son of Fran- 
 cis and Angeline fThomas) Colburn. 
 
 Francis Colburn was a son of ]ean 
 Colburn, who was a nati\e of l-'rance. 
 
 Francis was a farmer in Canada, also near 
 Plattsburgh, N. Y., and of his fifteen chil- 
 dren ten were sons. He lost his wife in 
 New York State, and later moved to 
 Michigan, thence coming to De Pere, 
 where he passed tiie remainder of his 
 days. Theodore Colburn received but 
 one week's schooling, and was reared to 
 hard labor on the farm. He was married 
 at Plattsburgh, N. Y. , February 3, 1851, 
 to Miss Celia Deniro, who was born April 
 3, 1835, in Canada. He was at that time 
 a poor young man, but self-reliant and 
 strong. He rented a farm eighteen miles 
 from Plattsburgh, worked hard for nearly 
 two and a half years, made some money, 
 and in the fall of 1S53 disposed of his 
 jiersonal effects and started f(_)r Wisconsin 
 with his wife and sur\iving child, Mar- 
 shall (now of Stiles, Wis. j, having lost 
 one child in New York State. In Novem- 
 ber, 1853, he landed in Creen Bay, and 
 shortly afterward came to De Pere, 
 where he rented a house, and for three 
 years worked in the woods for James 
 Ritchie. In 1854 he went in debt for 
 h\e acres of land at that time in the 
 woods, but now a part of the city, 
 and built the first house erected on 
 the tract, the whole costing $150. 
 He lived on this place until a short time 
 before the breaking out of the Ivebellion, 
 and then bought sixty acres on the East 
 river, in De Pere township. This was 
 also a wilderness, in which he built the 
 first house. He next moved to Rockland 
 township, where he burned charcoal 
 for a time, then lived in the cityof De Pere 
 for a while, returning thence to his 
 East river farm, which he soon sold, 
 going to Black Creek, Outagamie county, 
 where he bought a steam sawmill, but 
 within a year and a half lost $10,000; 
 then bought forty acres near De Pere; 
 next removed to Dakota, and for three 
 3'ears and a half lived near Big Stone 
 City, where he owned 700 acres; tln^n 
 returned to \\'isconsin and built a hotel 
 at Marinette ('then known as "Pound"), 
 whiidi he conducted, and also kept a saloon ; 
 
422 
 
 COMMEMORATirE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ■then moved to Green Bay, and about 
 1882 settled in De Pere, where he has 
 since made his home. 
 
 Mr. Colburn had a short war e.xperi- 
 •ence. In March, 1865, he enlisted at 
 ■Green Bay in a Wisconsin infantry regi- 
 ment, his avoirdupois being then 204 
 pounds; he served in Missouri, doing pa- 
 trol and guard duty until July, 1865, 
 when he was discharged on account of 
 sickness, his weight being at that time 
 I 60 pounds, and he has been an invalid 
 ever since. The children born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Colburn were named as follows: 
 Louis, now of De Pere: Cclia, now Mrs. 
 J. H. Kosell, of Plaintield, Wis.; John, 
 of Ingalls, Mich. ; Sophia, at home with 
 her parents; Frank, who died at the age 
 of five years; Mary, who died at the age 
 of two and one half-years; \'irginia, who 
 also died young; Ida, now Mrs. Michael 
 Lawlor, of De Pere; and Xavier and 
 Clara, who both died young. Mr. Col- 
 burn is a Democrat, and has always 
 voted with that party; he and his wife are 
 members of St. Joseph's Catholic Church. 
 
 CHARLES L. D.WIS, farmer and 
 stock raiser, and one of the pro- 
 gressive, public-spirited citizens 
 of Lawrence township. Brown 
 county, was born July 25, 1848, in the 
 town of Koyalton, Niagara county. New 
 York. 
 
 His father, E. B. Davis, was a native 
 of Schenectady county, N. Y. , where he 
 married Polly Schadd, and while living in 
 New York they had children as follows: 
 John, a member of Company I. Third 
 Wisconsin Cavalry, who died at Madison, 
 Wis.; George, who died in Elyria, Ohio; 
 and Charles L. , whose name introduces 
 this sketch. Mr. Davis was a farmer in 
 New York State, and in 1 849 he removed 
 to Lorian county, Ohio, and purchased a 
 farm in Carlisle township, where he con- 
 tinued to follow agricultural pursuits, and 
 here he also dealt extensively in lumber, 
 principally the purchasing of staves for a 
 
 Buffalo firm. In Lorian countv was born 
 another child, Jane C, who married 
 Bruce Lindsley, and died in Flintville, 
 Brown Co., Wis. Mrs. Polly Davis died 
 in Lorian county, January 17, 1857, and 
 was buried in Elyria, same county, and 
 Mr. Davis then married Miss Susan Oak- 
 ley, who died in Lorian county July, 11, 
 1858. In 1859 he wedded, in Lockport, 
 N. Y. , for his third wife. Miss Mary Bar- 
 rett. In i860, the lumber business hav- 
 ing gradually declined with the clearing 
 away of the forests, Mr. Davis concluded 
 to remove farther west, and brought his 
 family to Brown county. Wis., traveling 
 by rail to Oshkosh, and from there by 
 stage to Wrightstown, Brown county, 
 where they located. Mr. Davis again 
 engaged in the stave business, buying 
 timber from farmers, and he put consider- 
 able money into circulation here, as his 
 trade was an extensive one. He invested 
 in a large amount of land in Brown 
 county, and pre-empted over 300 acres 
 of government land. He was a well-built 
 man, of splendid physique, and was well 
 known and highly respected in his com- 
 munity. At the time of his death, which 
 occurred March 11, 1878, he was com- 
 fortably situated. In his political belief 
 he was a Democrat, and a stanch sup- 
 porter of the party, but was not an active 
 politician. He lies buried in Wrights- 
 town cemetery. 
 
 Charles L. Davis received his first 
 school training in Carlisle township, 
 Lorain Co., Ohio. After the death of 
 his mother he returned to Niagara county, 
 N. Y., and for two years made his home 
 with his grandfather, then, in i860, com- 
 ing to Wisconsin. In October, 1864, 
 then but a little over sixteen years of 
 age, he enlisted at Green Bay, Wis., in 
 Company H, Twelfth Wisconsin In- 
 fantrVj was sent South, and, joining the 
 regiment at Marietta, Ga. , participated 
 in the entire campaign through the Caro- 
 linas. He took part in the Grand Review 
 at Washington, D. C, was mustered out 
 at Louisville, Ky. ; and received an hon- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 423 
 
 orable discharge at Madistjn, Wis. 
 When he first came to Wisconsin, the 
 schools were very poor and he did not 
 attend much, as he assisted his father in 
 the latter's extensive lumber business, 
 becoming familiar with the details of 
 same when yet a mere boy. After the 
 war he became partner with his father in 
 the business and continued to hold an in- 
 terest in same tnitil 1879. 
 
 On April 9, 1877, at Wrightstown, 
 Wis., by Rev. Father De Wilt, Mr. 
 Davis was united in marriage with Miss 
 Ellen Sullivan, who was born Januar}' 
 22, 1857. in Winchendon, Worcester 
 Co., Mass., eldest child of John and 
 Ellen (Harris) Sulli\-an. For five years 
 previous to her marriage she followed the 
 profession of school teaching, in the 
 meantime having her residence in Law- 
 rence. In 1882 Mr. Davis purchased 
 his present farm in Lawrence township, 
 and moved thereon, at the same time 
 severing completely his connection with 
 the lumber business. Since that time he 
 has been exclusively engaged in general 
 farming and stock-raising, and he now 
 has a fertile, well-improved farm of 
 ninety-nine acres. In politics he is one 
 of the leaders of the Democratic party in 
 his section, and for three years has been 
 chairman of the Democratic committee. 
 He is always among the foremost men in 
 the township in any enterprise tending to 
 benefit the cummunity in general. To 
 him and his wife have come children as 
 follows: Jennie E., born August 2, 
 1879; Mamie L. . born February 4, 1S81, 
 died February 7, 1882; John E., born 
 June 18, 1882; Harriet C. , born May 24, 
 1886, died May 7, 18S7; and Charles F. , 
 born April i, i88g. 
 
 JOHN G. GROSS, chief of the Fort 
 Howard Fire Department since Janu- 
 ary, 1 894, and for three years a 
 member of that organization, takes 
 pride in the fact that he is at the head of 
 a thoroughly equipped volunteer depart- 
 
 ment, having one engine and all the neces- 
 sary auxiliaries. There is but one paid 
 man in the department. 
 
 John G. Gross, father of our subject, 
 was born in Bavaria, and came to New 
 York in 1850. Pushing westward in 1852 
 to Milwaukee, Wis. , he there married Mar- 
 garet Moschel, and settled, six months after 
 arriving in Milwaukee, on a farm in Mor- 
 rison township. Brown Co., Wis., which 
 he cleared and improved. Later he en- 
 gaged in the lumber and milling business, 
 and he and his wife still reside on the 
 farm on which they originally settled. 
 Their children were nine in number: 
 August resides in Morrison township, 
 where he is engaged in sawmilling and 
 conducts a cheese factory; Caroline, wife 
 of Frank Falck, resides in Seymour, Wis. ; 
 John G. is the subject of this sketch; 
 Louisa is ihe wife of Joseph Leonard, of 
 Medford, Taylor Co., Wis.; Fred P. re- 
 sides in Fort Howard; Maggie, wife of 
 Daniel Schunk, resides on the old farm; 
 Sophia is the wife of William Peters, of 
 Brillion, Calmuet Co. , Wis. ; Christina is 
 the wife of Charley Furstenburg, of Bril- 
 lion; Gottfried, unmarried, resides with 
 his brother, John. 
 
 Our subject was born January 21, 1858, 
 on the home farm in Morrison town- 
 ship. Brown Co., Wis., and when he was 
 fourteen years of age went to work at 
 teaming, milling and farming, continuing 
 until his removal to Fort Howard in 1883. 
 In the latter year he established a saloon 
 and billiard parlor at the corner of Main 
 and Pearl streets, which he still conducts. 
 In 1882 he was married, in Morrison 
 township, to Miss Bertha Schultz, who 
 came to the township in 1 866 from Prussia, 
 with her parents, Ferdinand and Anna 
 (Tinnn) Schultz, the family locating upon 
 a new farm, which the\' improved. Mr. 
 Schultz died in 1890; his widow still re- 
 sides on the old homestead. Their other 
 children are: August, married and re- 
 siding on the old farm; Albert, married 
 and living in Morrison township; Hannah, 
 wife of Albert Sorwald, of Brillion, Wis. 
 
424 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Gross are the parents of 
 two children. William and Clarence. Mr. 
 Gross was reared in the Lutheran faith. 
 He is a member of Green Bay Lodge, No. 
 119, L O. O. F., and of the American 
 Legion of Honor at Fort Howard. For- 
 merly a Democrat in politics, he has found 
 reason to change his political belief, and 
 now casts his vote with the Republican 
 party. Since his boyhood, although that 
 period is not remote, he has witnessed 
 great changes in the region around 
 his home. 
 
 M 
 
 KS. OLIVE L SHERWOOD, 
 (if Howard township, Brown 
 county, was born April J, 1.S22, 
 in Oneida county, N. Y. , and 
 is the widow of the lamented Edison 
 Sherwood, who was born May 21, 1813, 
 in Fairfield, ("onn., a son of Wakeman 
 Sherwood. 
 
 Edison Sherwood was a gentleman of 
 considerable prominence in the early da}s 
 of Green Bay, having migrated hither as 
 early as 1835. He had been reared a 
 farmer, and on coming here went to the 
 Mission building in ihe capacity of an 
 agriculturist. In 1843 '^e married Miss 
 Olive I. Holmes, and then engaged in 
 general stock business in partnership with 
 her brother, A. G. E. Holmes, conduc-t- 
 ing same for almost forty years with un- 
 varying success, and with unswerving 
 adherence to the principles of mercantile 
 integrity. His death took place January 
 25, 1880, in Green Bay, and was most 
 deeply mourned by all who had ever been 
 associated with him in any of the trans- 
 actions of life- -domestic, social or com- 
 mercial. After his decease his widow 
 lived with her brother, A. G. E. Holmes, 
 until thirteen years ago, when she moved 
 to the home of her sister, Mrs. A. B. 
 Oatley, with whom she has ever since re- 
 sided. Mrs. Sherwood adopted two chil- 
 dren, whom she reared with affectionate 
 attention and care, viz.: Carrie L. , who 
 
 was l)orn October 9, 1858, and died in 
 Milwaukee, F'ebruary 17. 1893, leaving a 
 daughter thirteen jears old; and Fannie 
 E., who was born December 1, 1873, 
 married Dr. Gilbert, and is now a resi- 
 dent of Fond du Lac (she has one daugh- 
 ter). Mrs. Sherwood was always promi- 
 nent in social circles until her husband's 
 death, and has always been an active 
 member of Christ's Episcopal Church, 
 Green Bay, of which he was also a 
 member. Of the seven children born 
 to her parents, .-^Ivah and Sophronia 
 (Ellis) Holmes, four sons and two daugh- 
 ters still survive. [Since the above was 
 written Mrs. Olive I. Sherwood was taken 
 sick, which sickness terminated in her 
 death, September 10, 1894, at the age of 
 seventy-two years; her remains were laid 
 to rest in W'oodlawn Cemetery, beside 
 those of her beloved husband]. 
 
 Ai.HERT B. O.^TLKV was born Octo- 
 ber 12, 1832, in Burlington, N. Y.. a son 
 of Benedict and Kosanna (Green) Oat- 
 ley, the former of whom was a native of 
 Rhode Island. 
 
 His father, Benedict Oatley, Sr. , was 
 also a native of Rhode Island, and died 
 in Onedia county, N. Y. , at the age 
 of seventy, his wife at the age of sixty; 
 he had been a soldier in the Revolution- 
 ary war. Benedict Oatley, Jr., who was 
 the eldest in a family of eight children — 
 five sons and three daughters — was reared 
 to farm life in Oneida county, N. Y. , and 
 there died at the age of si.\ty-two. His 
 wife, Rosanna. who was born in New 
 York, was a daughter of Simeon and 
 Rosanna fBudlong) Green, natives of 
 Connecticut, the former of whom was a 
 soldier in the Revolution, at the close of 
 which struggle he settled in Bridgewater, 
 Oneida county, N. Y. , and built a hotel 
 or tavern, which is still standing, and 
 which he conducted many years, after- 
 ward purchasing a farm which he culti- 
 vated about five years and then retiring to 
 Bridgewater, where he died at the age of 
 eighty, his wife at about the same age. 
 They were the parents of eleven chil- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 425 
 
 dren — six sons and lixe daugliters — of 
 whom one son and one tianghter are yet 
 living. Mrs. Rosanna fGreeii) Oatiej' 
 died in Utica, N. Y. , at the age of fifty- 
 fi\e. 
 
 Albert 1:5. Oatley is a member of a 
 famil}' of ten children, seven of whom 
 are still living — farmers and business men. 
 He was reared a farmer, and has practi- 
 cally followed that vocation until the 
 present time. On January 27, 1S50, he 
 married Lavantia C. Holmes, who was 
 born April i", 1832, in Bridgewater, N. 
 Y., a daughter of Ahah and Sophronia 
 Holmes, and to this union have come 
 fi\'e children, as follows: Ella S., born 
 March 12, 185 i, who is married to Wil- 
 liam Finnegan ; Alva H., born February 
 14, 1853, deceased when two and a half 
 years of age ; Nettie H., born September 
 6, 1859, and married to H. B. Haxland, 
 now of Horton, Kans., engaged in rail- 
 roading (they have had five sons and one 
 daughter, the latter of whom died at the 
 age of two and a half years); Edison S., 
 born November 20, i 864, married to Nel- 
 lie Mead, and has charge of the old home- 
 stead; and Olive R., born September 10, 
 1869, wife of Robert Delaney. After his 
 m arriage Mr. Oatley bought a farm 
 of 120 acres in the town of Suamico, 
 Brown county, Wis. , and erected a block 
 or hewed-log house, 16 x 20 feet, in which 
 he li\'ed twelve years, after which he 
 came to the town of Howard, Brown 
 county, Wis. , and bought the farm where 
 he now resides, in the winter of 1874 
 erecting his present dwelling. In politics 
 Mr. Oatley is a Democrat, and voted for 
 James Buchanan. He has served as jus- 
 tice of the peace several years, and is 
 regarded with great respect in the com- 
 munity. Several members of his family 
 served through the Civil war, including 
 three brothers, one of whom was wounded 
 in battle and died in Washington. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Oatley are members of the 
 Presbyterian Church, and are among 
 the most respected people of the town- 
 ship. 
 
 Ri:\-. ELSEAK i)K WILT is a na- 
 tive of Holland, born July 8, 1827, 
 at Uden, North Brabant, in which 
 province the name of de Wilt is 
 an old one, the family having resided 
 there for many generations, some being 
 farmers, others business men. 
 
 Grandfather Francis de Wilt was a 
 man of considerable ability, also a fine 
 hunter and a very courageous man. Dur- 
 ing the French revolution a party of 
 French soldiers and sympathi;^ers at- 
 tempted to tear down a large statue of St. 
 Peter in the gable of the church at Uden, 
 and he was just returning from hunting, 
 accompanied by his dogs, when he dis- 
 covered their designs. To these vandals 
 he announced that if they persisted a 
 Frenchman would come to ground sooner 
 than St. Peter, and it is needless to say 
 the statue remained standing. At another 
 time he saved the same church from being 
 burned down. The steeple had been 
 struck by lightning, and, the sacristan re- 
 fusing to give up the keys, Mr. de Wilt 
 pitched him out of the window, took the 
 keys from him, and climbed the tower, 
 where already the rafters were on fire. 
 He stamped out the fire, and thus saved 
 the church, although himself badly burned. 
 The sacristan sued him for damages, but 
 lost the suit, and Grandfather de Wilt was 
 rewarded for his braver}' by a permanent 
 seat in the church which descended to his 
 children. He was a man of commanding 
 appearance, and of great influence in his 
 town. He reached the great age of four- 
 score years, and at the age of seventy was 
 still a great hunter. He reared a family 
 of seven children, of whom the second 
 son, Martinns, afterward inherited the old 
 homestead and resided there till his death. 
 He was more of a business man, became 
 one of considerable consequence, took an 
 interest in church matters, and lived a 
 good Christian life. He was born May 
 -9' 1797. and died January 28, i860. In 
 the prime of life he married Maria Anna 
 \'an Den Broek, born at Uden, Holland, 
 May 9, 1804, who became the mother of 
 
426 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 six children, of \shom our subject is the 
 eldest child. 
 
 Rev. Father de Wilt received his 
 primary education in his native town, 
 and later on studied in Bruges, West 
 Flanders, Belgium, where he made his 
 noviciate in the Order of St. Francis, and 
 afterward was ordained a priest by the 
 bishop of Tournay. He soon after be- 
 came professor of philosophy, and later 
 professor of theology at Enghien; taught 
 for about eight years, and was then sent 
 to England to assist the bishop of 
 Shrewsbury, where he presided as pastor 
 of the parish at the city of Flint, Flint- 
 shire, Wales. After two and a half years 
 he was recalled to Antwerp, where a 
 monastery was erected, and from there 
 served as a missionary through Belgium, 
 Holland and France. Finally he was 
 placed in Brussels, his work remaining 
 the same, until he got permission from 
 Rome to proceed to America, which he 
 did in 1868, when the diocese of Green 
 Bay was organized by Bishop Melcher. 
 He first took charge at Duck Creek, 
 where he brought the congregation to- 
 gether, and where they have had a priest 
 ever since. In 1869 he moved to Little 
 Chute, and here resided about five years; 
 then was placed at Montello, where he 
 remained till he came to Wrightstown, in 
 1876, and began the erection of a resi- 
 dence. He changed the church into a 
 parochial school, and in 1885, with his 
 own money, began a new church edifice 
 in the name of the congregation. It is a 
 large brick structure, and is as fine a 
 church building as can be found in the 
 Fox River Valley; the interior of it was 
 recently (1894) finely painted and decor- 
 ated at an expense of about six hundred 
 dollars. 
 
 AL" G U ST H OC 11 G K i: \" E, 
 (deceased), was born October i 5, 
 1832, in Herzberg, Hanover, Ger- 
 many, the eldest in a family of 
 eight children — three sons and five daugh- 
 
 ters— -and, like his father, who bore the 
 same name, became in his younger years 
 a proficient brewer and cooper, trades 
 which he learned in his father's establish- 
 ment in Germany. 
 
 Having received an excellent educa- 
 tion, learned his trades, and fitted him- 
 self for the struggles of life, Mr. Hoch- 
 greve left his German home at the age of 
 twenty years, and, sailing from Hamburg, 
 arrived at length at New York City. Af- 
 ter remaining there for one j'ear, w(jrking 
 as a cooper, he removed to Manitowoc, 
 Wis. , and engaged in the same business. 
 In the summer of 1861 he located in 
 Allouez township. Brown county, and in 
 company with Henry Rahr, who had 
 worked in the same establishment with 
 him at Manitowoc, founded the brewery 
 which is now conducted by his famil}-, 
 and which has become one of the princi- 
 pal institutions of Brown county. After 
 eight or nine years, the firm having 
 greatly prospered, they built another 
 plant, now the H. Rahr's Sons' Brewery, 
 and for some time conducted both estab- 
 lishments; but the partnership was finally 
 dissolved, Mr. Hochgreve taking the orig- 
 inal plant and Mr. Rahr the one on East 
 River, Green Bay. The former's business 
 increased to such proportions that in 1874 
 he built the present substantial brick 
 structure, where the business is now car- 
 ried on by Mrs. Hochgreve and her sons. 
 A new and handsome dwelling has also 
 been erected, and prosperity continues to 
 smile upon the family. 
 
 On October 20, 1862, Mr. Hochgreve 
 was married at Manitowoc, to Caroline 
 Kiel, who was born June 18. 1842, in 
 Lippe-Detmold, Germany. Her father. 
 Christian Kiel, was a farmer, who came 
 with his family to the United States in 
 the spring of 1851, landing at New York 
 at the end of a seven-weeks' voyage from 
 Bremen, and removing thence to Manito- 
 woc. The children of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hochgreve are: August, residing in Green 
 Bay, Wis. ; Lena, widow of Henry Freck- 
 man, now residing in Milwaukee; Augusta, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 4-7 
 
 Adolph, Louisa, Etta, Christian ami 
 Mamie, at home; of these, Adoljih is 
 superintendent of the brewery, Christian 
 being bookkeeper. Mr. Hochgreve died 
 February 23, 1877, and his remains rest 
 in Woodland cemetery. During life he 
 was an upright citizen, a stanch Republi- 
 can in politics, and a prominent Odd 
 Fellow. His widow is a member of the 
 Lutheran Church. The family is num- 
 bered among the leading ones of Brown 
 county, and the memory of its founder is 
 respected by all who knew him. 
 
 ANDREW C. MAILER, M. D., 
 one of the leading practitioners of 
 medicine of Brown county. Wis., 
 was born April 4, 1853, at De- 
 Pere. His parents, Andrew and Barbara 
 (Caldwellj Mailer, were natives, respect- 
 ively, of Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scot- 
 land, and in 1849, came to the United 
 States, locating first in Milwaukee, Wis., 
 whence they shortly afterward removed to 
 De Pere, same State. The father engaged 
 in various business enterprises in the city 
 up to the time of his death, which occurred 
 in 1878; Mrs. Barbara Mailer now resides 
 with a daughter in Portland, Oregon. 
 
 Dr. A. C. Mailer was educated in the 
 public schools of his native city, at Law- 
 rence University, Appleton, Wis., and in 
 the University of Michigan, after which 
 he taught school for a few terms and then 
 engaged in the drug business at De Pere 
 for four or five jears, reading medicine 
 while thus employed. He ne.xt attended 
 medical lectures at the University of 
 Michigan at Ann Arbor during the ses- 
 sions of 1874 and 1875. In 1877 and 
 1878 he took a course at Rush Medical 
 College, Chicago, from which he gradu- 
 ated in the spring of 1878, and soon after 
 began practice at De Pere in partnership 
 with his former preceptor. Dr. Fisk, a 
 connection which lasted eleven years, 
 since the expiration of which time he has 
 been in business on his own account. 
 After his first three years' practice the 
 
 Doctor supplemented his studies by a 
 course at Bellevue Hospital Metlical Col- 
 lege, New York, receiving an ad iiindnir 
 degree from this institution in the spring 
 of 1882. 
 
 In politics Dr. Mailer is an ardi'Ut Re- 
 publican, and has served hi different ca- 
 pacities under the auspices of that party. 
 He has been for six years a member of 
 the boaril of education, of which he acted 
 as president for two years. He has twice 
 been elected mayor of the city, a jiosition 
 he still holds. The Doctor is a member 
 of the American Medical Association, 
 State Medical Society, and Fox River 
 Valley Medical Societ\', and is surgeon to 
 the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul rail- 
 road. He is associated with se\eral fra- 
 ternal and social societies, among which 
 are the Masons, Knights i)f Pythias, etc. 
 His professional standing is of the high- 
 est. 
 
 Dr. Mailer was united in matriiuonj', 
 at De Pere. on [une 1, 1887, In Miss 
 Alice Belle Wincgard, a nati\'e ot De- 
 Pere and a daughtt'r of a Union soldier 
 who died in the arni\- during the war lor 
 the jjreservation of the Union. One child, 
 Katharine, adds sunshine to their pleasant 
 home. The Doctor is by birthright a 
 Presbyterian, and Mrs. Mailer is an Epis- 
 copalian, and their walk through life has 
 won for them the respect of all their neigh- 
 bors and the citizens in general. 
 
 REV. FATHER CHARLES J.C.AL- 
 LAGHER, of St. Francis" Xavier 
 Church, De Pere, Brown county, 
 was born July 8, 1851, at No. 74 
 Sands street, Brookl\-n, N. Y. , within two 
 blocks of the site of the present rtMiowned 
 Brooklyn bridge. His parents weri' Mi- 
 chael and Jane (.Stejihens) Gallaglu-i", and 
 were natives, respectively, of Sligo and 
 Ballyshannon, Ireland. Michael Galla- 
 gher was a journalist, and sonu- ol his 
 sons followed the same profession — one, 
 especially, Barclay Gallagher, ha\ingbeen 
 city editor of the New ^'ork l'ri/)!iii< iiii- 
 
428 
 
 COMMEifORATIVK lilOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 der Horace Greeley, and being connected 
 with the Associated Press down to the 
 present time. 
 
 Father Gallagher received his prepar- 
 atorj- education at the Jesuit College, 
 of Fordhain, N. Y., from which he 
 graduated in 1870. taking a collegiate 
 course at that institution, and afterward 
 taking a theological course at Mount St. 
 Mary's, Emmittsburg, Md. In 1S75 he 
 was ordained priest at St. James' Cathe- 
 dral. Brookhn. N. Y.. by Bishop Laugh- 
 lin, and for twcKe years was assistant to 
 the \icar general of the diocese of Brook- 
 lyn. In 1888 he was given charge of St. 
 Thomas Church at Poygan, Wis., the 
 church pr(jperty at which place was much 
 improved under his earnest efforts; at 
 Omro, Wis., he entirely rebuilt St. Mary's 
 Church, and also rebuilt the church at 
 Winnecomic, Wis. In June, 1893, Father 
 Gallagher was given charge of St. Francis 
 Xavier Church at De Fere — the first 
 Catholic Church erected in the place. The 
 congregation of this Church comprised 
 175 families, and its jiarish school has 
 acconnnodation for 200 scholars. Father 
 Gallagher is very popular with and is 
 greatly beloved by his people, and his 
 well-known energy and wisdom will doubt- 
 less soon result in greater improvement to 
 his flock and to the parish. 
 
 JOHN ANTON KUYFEKS. It would 
 be hard to find a better illustration 
 of the facility with which, under the 
 liberal institutions of this great coun- 
 try — be they Rej)ublican or be they Dem- 
 ocratic — a man of ability and integrity, 
 whether native-born or of foreign birth 
 and impressions, may rise to any station, 
 perhaps among the most exalted, than 
 is afforded in the history of the gentle- 
 man whose name here appears, a^^d who 
 is fast ascending the ladder of i)nblic 
 fame. 
 
 Mr. Ku\pers is a native i>f Hnlland, 
 born in the village of Oeffelt, Nmlli Bra- 
 
 bant, March 2, 1869, a son of Michael 
 and Joanna (Emons) Kuypers, both also 
 of North Brabant nativity, the father 
 born in Oeffelt, the mother in St. Hubert. 
 Until the age of eleven years he attended 
 the common school of his native village, 
 and then took a regular high-school course 
 at Bo.xmeer. at the same time studying 
 French and German, as well as. for a 
 few months, the English language. At 
 the age of fourteen he entered the Nor- 
 mal School in the same town, in order to 
 lirepare himself for the profession of 
 teacher; but his plans in this regard were 
 interrupted, before he had finished his 
 course, by the emigration of the famih' — 
 his parents and their children (two broth- 
 ers and three sisters — Theodore, Arnold, 
 Algonda, Antonia and Bertha, the latter 
 now dead) — to the United States. Land- 
 ing, after an ocean \(nage of three weeks, 
 at New York, January 25, 1886, they at 
 once proceeded westward to Wisconsin, 
 settling in the thriving city of De Fere, 
 Brown county, and here stoicallj' com- 
 menced a new home in a new country, 
 with but little knowledge, if any, of its 
 language, laws and customs. 
 
 On the first day of February. 1886, the 
 subject of these lines, with a determinntion 
 to succeed, a determination not to be ob- 
 structed by any obstacle, precipitated him- 
 self into the arena of journalism by 
 entering the employ of the Standard 
 Printing Co., in the role of "devil." 
 From this Arcadian, though somewhat 
 nondescript position, he soon rose to the 
 more dignified one of "typo." his natural 
 al)ility and perseverance soon manifesting 
 itself, (juickly observed by his employers 
 and his associates. With this firm our 
 subject remained till December, 1889; 
 and so rapidly had he mastered the de- 
 tails of the jirofession and fathomed its 
 mysteries, that, during the last two years 
 he was in the employ of the Standard 
 Printing Co., he acted in the capacity of 
 one of the editors of the De Pcre S/niiii- 
 ani. a newspaper published by them in 
 the Holland language. In January. 1890, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 431 
 
 in compan)' with John 1!. Hcyrtnan, lu' 
 purchased tlie Brown C*( unity Dcuiocrat 
 (estabhshed in 1S77), a weekl}- paper 
 printed in the En,L;h'sh hm.t;iiaf,'e, and 
 shortly afterward they commenced the 
 pubhcation of a new Holland weekly, 
 De Volkssteiii, conducting, in connection, 
 a general printing establishment, equipped 
 with all modern impro\ements and facili- 
 ties for turning out good work. The 
 business is carried on under the firm 
 name of Heyrman & Kuypers. The 
 Democrat has a circulation of 1,300, the 
 Vo/ksstci/i, of 1,250, and both are influ- 
 ential papers. The Democrat, true to its 
 name, is an able exponent of Democratic 
 principles, while the \'olksstcm is more of 
 a newspaper in the literal sense of the 
 word, being confined to religious and 
 secular matters of interest, and is read Ijy 
 Holland and Flemish Catholics in every 
 State of the Union. Both are eight-page 
 papers, I5.\22, and are both edited by 
 Mr. Kuypers, whose untiring efforts and 
 harci work have largely contributed to the 
 bringing of them to their present standard 
 of excellence. He is a charter member 
 of Columbus Court, No. 315, Catholic 
 Order of Foresters, and its recording sec- 
 retary; is also a member of Branch No. 
 46, Catholic Knights of Wisconsin; direc- 
 tor of the De Pere Business Men's Asso- 
 ciation; member of the city council; and 
 secretary of the Fire Department. 
 
 When Mr. Kuypers came to this coun- 
 try nine years ago, a rosy-cheeked lad of 
 seventeen summers, he knew but little of 
 the English language — merely the rudi- 
 ments — and never attended school here; 
 yet, by assiduous and most persevering 
 home study, he has succeeded in making 
 himself master of it in a comparati\ely 
 short time. By attending strictly to 
 business, and using all his leisure time to 
 advantage, he has succeeded in attaining 
 his present position, and securing a well- 
 earned popularity with all classes. He 
 takes an active part in public matters, 
 and is recognized as one of De Pere's 
 most enterprising young men. 
 
 24 
 
 PHILIP SHERLOCK. This gen- 
 tleman, an iuHuential well-to-do 
 farmer citizen of De Pere town- 
 shi[). Brown comity, is a member 
 of one of the oldest i)ioneer families of 
 same. 
 
 Andrew Sherlock (father of Philip) 
 was a native of County Wexford, Ireland, 
 where he was born in 1S13, s<in of Philip 
 Sherlock. Andrew learned the carpen- 
 ter's trade, and also engaged in merchan- 
 dising, dealing in coal, etc. He was mar- 
 ried in 1843 to Anne Sinnot, who was 
 born in County Wexford in December, 
 1816, daughter of James and Catherine 
 (Brown) Sinnot, and two children were 
 born to this union in Ireland, namely: 
 Margaret, who died unmarried in De Pere 
 townshi[i, when aged twenty-nine; and 
 Anne, who died in De Pere at the age of 
 eighteen years. In iiS49, Mr. Sherlock 
 having managed to sa\'e a small sum of 
 money, the family left Ireland, sailing 
 from New Ross in "The Jane, "and after 
 a voyage of ten weeks and three days 
 landing at Quebec, where they were de- 
 tained ten days in (luarantine, as cholera 
 had broken out on board the vessel and 
 many died. From Ouebec they pro- 
 ceeded westward, coming via Buffalo and 
 Detroit to Milwaukee, Wis., where they 
 resided for about a tvvehemonth, during 
 which time Mr. Sherlock followed his 
 trade, carpentry. Here one child, Philip 
 (subject proper of this sketch), was born 
 to them December 15, 1850. In May, 
 1851, they came to De Pere, Brown 
 county, at that time but a small \-illage, 
 making the trip from Milwaukee by water, 
 via Sturgeon Bay to (ueen Bay, thence 
 by wagon to their destination, and shortly- 
 after his arrival here Mr. Sherlock pur- 
 chased a house and lot. In the summer 
 of 1S50 he took up a tract o[ 200 acres 
 in De Pere township, along the liast river 
 (the tract whereon his sons Phili]) and 
 James now reside), removing his family 
 thither in the fall of 1852. The previous 
 spring he had erected a temporary abode, 
 which later was replaced b\- a frame 
 
432 
 
 COMMEMORATirE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 house. The land was all in the woods, 
 and although some of the timber was cut, 
 no clearing had been done, and the stumps 
 and brush remained. Here the following 
 children were added to the family: An- 
 drew, a farmer of Dakota; James, a farmer 
 of De Pere township; Catherine, who died 
 when ten years, two months and eleven days 
 old; John, residing in the State of Wash- 
 ington; Ambrose, who died at the age of 
 thirty-one years in Colorado; and Raphael, 
 of Dakota. After locating on this land 
 Mr. Sherlock labored diligently to clear 
 and improve it, and by the time of his 
 death had transformed it into a fertile 
 farm. He was a self-made man in every 
 way, and was much respected for his in- 
 dustry and sterling worth. On January 
 27, 1885, he passed from earth, and was 
 buried in De Pere cemetery. After his 
 decease his widow resided on the home 
 farm with her son Philip until December, 
 1893, when she took up her residence at 
 the Home of the Si.sters of the Good 
 Shepherd, in Green Bay, where she yet 
 remains. 
 
 Philip Sherlock received his elemen- 
 tary education in the early schools of De- 
 Pere township, and afterward attended 
 the "Old Stone School" in De Pere a 
 short time, the first school in that city. 
 He was reared to farm life, and being the 
 eldest son was put to work as soon as he 
 was old enough, remaining on the farm 
 altogether until he was about seventeen 
 years old. He then commenced to fol- 
 low lumbering in the winter seasons in 
 the lumber regions of northern Wisconsin 
 and Michigan, and continued therein for 
 si.xteen or seventeen winters, enduring all 
 the vicissitudes and hardships of camp 
 life. He was engaged during the spring 
 for fifteen years in the hazardous work of 
 driving logs. In thorc days lumbering, 
 though arduous and dangerous work, was 
 very profitable, and during his long ex- 
 perience in the business our subject be- 
 came familiar with all its details. 
 
 On July 7. 1892, Mr. Sherlock was 
 united in marriage with Miss Mary Ann 
 
 Hughes, daughter of Hugh and Margaret 
 (Dalton) Hughes, who came to the United 
 States when Mary A. was an infant. Mr. 
 Sherlock has resided on his present farm 
 ever since coming to Brown county, with 
 the exception of the time he was away 
 lumbering. He has taken several pleasure 
 trips, and in 1891 made a tour of the 
 Northwest, going over the Canadian 
 Pacific railroad and returning over the 
 Northern Pacific railroad, and during his 
 trip he visited the leading cities in the 
 Northwest along the Pacific coast and in 
 the State of Washington, and also \'ic- 
 toria, British Columbia. Mr. Sherlock, 
 having come here when the country was 
 almost entirely new, has seen his entire 
 neighborhood transformed from its primi- 
 tive condition into productive farms. His 
 own place now consists of 145 acres of 
 fertile land, on which he conducts a profit- 
 able farming business. In local political 
 affairs our subject votes independently, 
 caring more for the fitness of a candidate 
 than for party lines, but in state and na- 
 tional elections he supports the principles 
 of the Democratic party. He is no 
 aspirant for office, his time being fully 
 occupied in looking after his private in- 
 terests. In religious connection he and 
 his wife are members of St. Francis 
 Catholic Church at De Pere. 
 
 FLORENTINE FRISOl'E. the 
 well-known enterprising merchant 
 tailor of Green Bay, is a native 
 of Belgium, born August 27, 1849, 
 in the town of Grez-Doiccau, Province of 
 Brabant. 
 
 He comes of a long line of talented 
 musicians, performers upon various in- 
 struments, including the church organ, his 
 grandfather being an especially highly 
 educated musician, and excelling as a 
 teacher. He, the grandfather, led an 
 honorable, temperate life to a good old 
 age, dying in his ninety-third year, and 
 retaining his faculties to the last. In 
 Belgium, his native countrv, he married 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Miss Marie Dclvaux, a lady of education 
 and culture, who lived to be seventy-five 
 years old, and their family numbered five 
 sons and three daughters, of whom one 
 daughter, Mrs. Bernardine Maireese, is 
 yet living, her age being eighty-nine 
 years. 
 
 One of the sons, by name Florentine, 
 father of our subject, was a graduate of 
 the Conservatory of Af usic at Brussels, on 
 church organ, and was an exceptionally 
 able musician, master of several instru- 
 ments. He died in Belgium of typhoid 
 fever at the age of thirty-seven years, and 
 his early taking awaj' with all the brilliant 
 prospects before him was a source of the 
 very deepest regret to his many relatives, 
 friends and admirers. His wife was Miss 
 Rosalie Van Drisse, a Belgian lady, daugh- 
 ter of Joseph Van Drisse, a well-known 
 surgeon who had a diploma from Napo- 
 leon Bonaparte for valuable services ren- 
 dered on the field of Waterloo. After 
 the death of Mr. Frisque she married, in 
 1856, George La Marre, of Grez-Doi- 
 ceau, farmer at Bay Settlement, Brown 
 county, by whom she has four children, 
 as follows: Jule, Desire, Matilda and Afary. 
 By her first husband, Mr. Frisque, Mrs. 
 La Marre had also four children, viz. : 
 Rosalie, Florentine (our subject), Leo- 
 cadie and Zelia. They are all living ex- 
 cept Zelia (the youngest of the first fami- 
 ly), are all married, and have families. 
 
 Florentine Frisque, whose name in- 
 troduces this sketch, received his educa- 
 tion in his native land, and learned the 
 trade of tailor, which he followed there 
 till February, 1871, when, in company 
 with his mother and the rest of the family, 
 he emigrated to the United States, and 
 made a settlement in Brown county. Wis. 
 In 1S76 he came to Green Bay, 
 and established his present prosperous 
 business. In 1S73 Mr. Frisque was mar- 
 ried in Brown county to Miss Josephine 
 Grossell, daughter of Louis Grossell, a 
 native of Belgium, and seven children 
 have been born to them, viz. : Zelie, John, 
 George, William, Mary, Louis and Charles. 
 
 In his political preferences our subject has 
 been identified with the Republican party. 
 In social affairs he is a member of the I. 
 O. O. F., Order of Tnnti, and Knightsof 
 Honor. In 1889 he took an extended 
 trip to Europe, visiting England, Scot- 
 land, Ireland, Belgium, Germany and 
 France, visiting the Paris Exposition of 
 that year. In 1893, along with his family, 
 he visited the World's Fair at Chicago. 
 Painstaking, and honorable in all his deal- 
 ings, Mr. Frisque well merits the esteem 
 in which he is held by the community at 
 large. 
 
 DANIEL H. MARTIN, the genial 
 and courteous county clerk of 
 Brown county, is a nj^tive of 
 Waukesha count}'. Wis., born 
 June 10, 1846. 
 
 Patrick and Bridget (Cain) Martin, 
 parents of our subject, were natives of 
 Ireland, born in County Meath, whence 
 in 1844 they migrated to this country and 
 to Wisconsin, making their first home, in 
 the Western World, in Milwaukee. From 
 there shortly afterward they proceeded to 
 Waukesha county, where the father, who 
 was an agriculturist, conducted a farm 
 during the remainder of his days. He 
 died there in 1845; his widow now resides 
 in. Fond du Lac county, Wis. Their 
 family numbered two children: T. C, 
 county judge of Waukesha county. Wis., 
 and Daniel H., the subject proper of this 
 sketch. 
 
 Daniel H. Martin received his educa- 
 tion at the schools of Waukesha county 
 and Carroll College. In 1868 he came 
 to Brown county, locating in Morrison 
 township, where he was engaged in the 
 dual vocations of farming and teaching, 
 in which he continued until January, 1 893, 
 when he took office as cotinty clerk, hav- 
 ing been elected in 1892. In 1873 he was 
 married in Morrison township. Brown 
 county, to Miss Mary Josephine Gibbons, 
 a native of the county, daughter of Pat- 
 rick and Hannah (Clancy) Gibbons, early 
 
434 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 settlers of Morrison township, where they 
 3-et reside. Three children have been 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Martin, viz. : Mary, 
 Tessie and John. The family are mem- 
 bers of St. John's Catholic Church, 
 Green Bay. 
 
 In his political predilections our sub- 
 ject is a Democrat. In 1878 he was 
 elected a member of the county board, 
 and was a member of same at the time of 
 his election to the county clerkship. He 
 served as a justice of the peace many 
 years, and, taking him all in all he is one 
 of the most popular and useful of Brown 
 county's much esteemed citizens. 
 
 WE. FAIRFIELD. M. D., has 
 been identitiod with Brown 
 county for the past seven years, 
 as one of the ablest and most 
 successful physicians and surgeons in 
 northern Wisconsin, though one of the 
 youngest. 
 
 The Doctor is a native of Clarence- 
 ville. Province of Quebec, Canada, born 
 in 1 861, a son of David and Eliza 
 (Mosher) Fairfield, also natives of Can- 
 ada. James Fairfield, grandfather of 
 subject, was a native of England, whence 
 in an early day he emigrated to Canada, 
 being among the first settlers in Missisquoi 
 county, Lower Canada ("Canada Bas"), 
 now known as the Province of Quebec. 
 The subject of these lines received his 
 elementar\' education at the public schools 
 of the neighborhood of his place of birth, 
 and in 1882, having matriculated in arts 
 in Ontario, commenced reading medicine 
 at M(jntreal, Canada. In the same year 
 he entered the University of Bishop's 
 College, Faculty of Medicine, where he 
 graduated with the class of '86. He was 
 then appointed house surgeon to the 
 Woman's Hospital in Montreal, serving 
 in that capacity some eighteen months. 
 At the end of that time, in 1887, he came 
 to Wisconsin, taking up his residence in 
 Scott township, Brown county, where he 
 commenced the practice of his profession. 
 
 In July, 1893, he moved to Green Bay, 
 and here has since continued in the prac- 
 tice of medicine and surgery, having met 
 with eminent success. 
 
 In 1889 Dr. Fairfield was married in 
 Noyan, Canada, to Miss Winifred Der- 
 rick, a native of that country, and a mem- 
 ber of the Episcopal Church. The Doctor 
 is a "gold medalist" of the Universitj- of 
 Bishop's College, Montreal, having re- 
 ceived two medals — one for having passed 
 the best examination in surgerj', the other 
 for having passed the highest e.xamination 
 in all the subjects of examination. He is 
 a licentiate of the College of Physicians 
 and Surgeons of the Province of Quebec; 
 a member of the Fox River Valley Medi- 
 cal Society, and of the Brown County Medi- 
 cal Society; also a member of the Board 
 of Pension Examiners. Socially he is a 
 member and noble grand of Green Bay 
 Lodge No. 19, I. O. O. P". ; politically he 
 is a Democrat. 
 
 ALBERT WEISE is a son of Mar- 
 tin and Caroline (Lincke) Weise, 
 natives of Blankenburg, Schwarz- 
 burg-Rudoistadt, Germany. Mar- 
 tin Weise, who was a cooper by occupa- 
 tion, died of typhoid fever October 15, 
 1822, in Blankenburg, when his son, John 
 Henry William Albert Weise, our subject, 
 was not quite two jears old. His widow 
 subsequentl}- married Christoph Frederick 
 Straubel, of Blankenburg. ;l blacksmith, 
 and in September, 1846, they came to 
 Green Bay, Wis., where Mr. Straubel 
 followed his trade till his death; Mrs. 
 Straubel also died in Green Bay. She 
 was the mother of se\en children by her 
 last husband, viz. : Dorothea, Wilhel- 
 mina and Charley (deceased), a son that 
 died in Germany. Ernest, Adolph (de- 
 ceased), and August H., who is a wide- 
 awake business man of Green Bay, a 
 miller b}' occupation. 
 
 .Mbert Weise, our subject, received a 
 good common-school education in his 
 native country. Before reaching the age 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 435 
 
 of fourteen he was apprenticed to learn 
 wagonniaking, and after servinj; a three- 
 years' apprenticeship traveled three years 
 in Germany, perfecting himself in his 
 trade, and visiting the cities of Dresden, 
 Leipsic, Hamburg and Bremen. Return- 
 ing to his native town in i S40, he was 
 sent to the army, and the next year, on 
 June 3, 1 841, left his German home and 
 embarked on a sailing vessel fiir New 
 York, where he arrived August 9. He 
 tried to get work in New York Cit\', but, 
 failing, went t(.) Newark, N. J., where he 
 obtained employment in a carriage fac- 
 tory, making carriage wheels, and was 
 paid six shillings per day (a "shilling" 
 being twelve-and-a-half cents in the East 
 in those days), two-thirds of which 
 amount he was obliged to spend in the 
 company's store, and his board cost 
 him eighteen shillings per week. The 
 foreman ol the factory received but eight 
 shillings a tiay. However, small as these 
 wages may seem, they were nnich bet- 
 ter than what was paid in Germany, where 
 he received but forty cents a week and 
 his board, the best wages he could earn 
 there, working fourteen hours a day. 
 What a lesson this is to the wurkingmen 
 of to-day, with their eight hours a day 
 and good wages! But these stern exper- 
 iences only served to bring out the better 
 qualities of the young German lad, who 
 steadily worked on, and saved money from 
 his meager earnings. In the spring of 
 1842, a machine for making s]iokes hav- 
 ing been manufactured, he and five others 
 were thrown out of employment. Later 
 he made a dollar a day, and saved money 
 enough to come to Green Bay (also giving 
 ten dollars to another man to come here), 
 arriving October 4, 1S42. In that spring 
 the citizens of the town had raised one 
 thousand dollars, with which, and another 
 thousand contributed by the Astor Com- 
 pany of New York, they sent Hamil- 
 ton Arndt to New York to secure emi- 
 grants for Green Bay. He advertised 
 in the fierman papers of that city, 
 one of which fell into Mr. Weise's 
 
 hands, and being promised ten to 
 twelve shillings a day and a shop to go to 
 work in, he was persuaded to come hither. 
 He found neither, but was induced by John 
 B. Arndt to commence for himself, and 
 Mr. .Arndt furnishing the shop and lumber 
 Mr. W'eise, having his own tools, went to 
 work. He paid $2.25 for board and shop 
 rent, which was taken out in work. Mon- 
 ey was not to be seen every day, but 
 ne\ertheless Mr. Weise prospered, taking 
 his pay in store goods and lumber. Part 
 of the time he worked as ship and house 
 carpenter at ten shillings a day, store pay or 
 trade, working twelve hours a day. He also 
 made cradles and other implements, and 
 was in all respects a useful man to the 
 new community. He was connected with 
 railroad enterprises, the first being the 
 Lake Shore from Manitowoc to Green 
 Bay. The sum of three hundred thousand 
 dollars was voted, and grants for tiepot 
 secured. In addition to this enterprise, 
 he always took an active part in getting 
 a railroad to Green Bay. He assisted in 
 starting the Green Bay & Madison rail- 
 road, for which the city voted seventy- 
 five thousand dollars. The citizens of 
 Green Bay held a "working bee" to as- 
 sist in the building of the road between 
 that city and De Pere, and he became a 
 ilirector of the road, taking two thousand 
 dollars worth of stock; and his enthusiasm 
 in the scheme was so great that he was 
 very nearly induced to morgage his farm, 
 but did not. He worked hard for the 
 Green Bay and Minnesota road. 
 
 On July 9, I.S44, Mr. Weise married 
 Maria Holtzknecht, a native of Hilar, 
 Prussia, on the Mosel, born August 12, 
 1823. She was a true type of the thrifty 
 German housewife, who couKI turn her 
 attention to almost any kind of housework 
 successfully, and the young couple com- 
 menced keeping house immediately. 
 Green Bay being the land office, they 
 concluded to keep boarders, charging a 
 shilling a meal, and one-half a shilling for 
 lodging, thus making some money. Mr. 
 Weise, who had his wagon shop and a 
 
436 
 
 COMiTEMORATIVE BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 number of men working (or him, soon be- 
 gan to niaiuifacture finer grades of work, 
 and called his shop "Weise's Carriage 
 Factory." He conducted the business un- 
 til 1 S76, meeting with great success, and 
 then gave it over to his son, George 
 Albert W'eise. Much of his work he 
 traded for lumber, brick and stone. In 
 1S46 he built a house, which is still stand- 
 ing, on which a half dozen carpenters 
 labored, each working out a score they 
 owed Mr. Weise for work done. Since 
 then he has put up many buildings in 
 Green Bay. He also owns a table fact- 
 ory in Green Bay, which gives employ- 
 ment to fifty hands. To Albert and 
 Maria Weise were born children as fol- 
 lows: Peter E. ; George A.; Mary, wife 
 of Rev. G. C. Keim, of La Crosse, Wis. ; 
 Carrie, wife of William Snelflohn, of 
 Marinette. Wis. : Herman F. ; Charles 
 W. ; Augusta, wife of F. .\. Hollman; 
 Dorothea, who died at the age of two 
 years; Lena, wife of F. K. JefTrex, of 
 Leadville, Colo. ; and .Amanda, wife of 
 F. H. Straubel; all yet living except Doro- 
 thea. The mother of these died Decem- 
 ber 3, 1S87. at the age of sixty-three 
 years, four months, and for his second 
 wife Mr. Weise married, February 16, 
 iSSS, .Mrs. Amelia Miller, mother of 
 Frank Miller. 
 
 Mr. Weise got his first good start in 
 
 1545, at which time he inherited three 
 hundred dollars whicii was sent him from 
 Germany. He bought a lot on Cherry 
 street on which he built a shop, ant.! from 
 this small beginning his large business 
 grew. In 1S49 he bought another lot, on 
 which he moved his old shop, adding 
 thereto a blacksmith and paint shop. His 
 stepfather, who came to Green Bay in 
 
 1546, carried on the blacksmithing until 
 1 S49, when he too engaged in the wagon 
 business. In 1S70 our subject, in part- 
 nership with James Poole, embarked in 
 the china and crockery business, after one 
 year becoming sole proprietor of same, 
 which he and his son, Herman F. con- 
 ducted for many years, or until the latter 
 
 moved to ^^'inona, Minn., where he also 
 carried on a crockery store; he is now in 
 the State of Washington. At present Mr. 
 Weise's partners are his two sons-in-law, 
 F. A. Hollman and Frederick H. Strau- 
 bel, the firm, which is known as Weise, 
 Hollman (."v: Co. .doing an extensive whole- 
 sale and retail business through the north- 
 ern part of Wisconsin and Michigan. Mr. 
 Weise is president of the Green Bay Carri- 
 age Company. He was formerly president 
 of the Green Ba\' Savings Bank, and he has 
 identified himself with almost every in- 
 terest tending to benefit the town; has 
 been one of the leading spirits in various 
 enterprises, some disastrous to him finan- 
 cially, but many of which benefited the 
 town, as they furnished employment for 
 several men and brought comfort to not a 
 few homes. He has been interested in 
 starting a furnace, was in the oil business 
 in Pennsylvania, and in the iron-mining 
 business in northern Micliii^an. He has 
 always been enterprising, and even at the 
 opening of the Kaukauna plank road, poor 
 as he then was, he donated a new wagon, 
 thereby showing his public spirit. 
 
 In religious faith he is a member of 
 the German Lutiieran Church, in which 
 he has always taken an active interest. 
 He assisted in the organization of the 
 Moravian Society, and helped to erect the 
 church building; later on. when a Luth- 
 eran missionary came to Green Bay, he 
 assisted in the building of the German 
 Lutheran Church, and has ' ever since 
 contributed liberall}' toward its support. 
 He was also actively interested in the or- 
 ganization, January i, 1850, of the Ger- 
 man Benevolent Society of Green Bay, 
 he being one of the original thirteen char- 
 ter members, and to-day. with the ex- 
 ception of one other, is the only survivor. 
 This society, which has been of vast ben- 
 efit in German circles, wasstarteil by Mr. 
 '. \\'eise and George Oldenburg, the latter 
 I of whom was its first treasurer, Mr. Weise 
 \ being its president for twenty years from 
 ' its incipiency. In his political pi;efer- 
 I ments he has always been a strong pro- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE DIOORAPUIC'AL RECOlll). 
 
 437 
 
 tectivc-tarilT Ki'pnhliraii in natii)iial af- 
 fairs, l>iit in civic matters he- iisualls' casts 
 liis ballot for the man he considers best 
 ada])ted to the offlce, whatever it may be. 
 He has served on the city conncil boartl, 
 and as chairman of the same, as well as 
 alderman, havinj,' been elected a^;aiiist his 
 will. In fact, there is no more nsefiil 
 citizen in (Irc'cn Hay than /Mbert WiMse, 
 and he is held in the highest estetMii by all 
 wIk) know him. 
 
 DH. CKICNON, jnstice of the 
 peace al Green Hay, is a native 
 of that city, born February 17, 
 1843, a son of i'elei- 1 Bernard aini 
 Rachel (Lawe) Grignon. 
 
 Peter Grif,nion was born in Gieen 
 Hay, Wis., June 12, 1806, a son of Pierre 
 Antoine Cirif^iujn, also a native of Wis- 
 consin. He was a son of Pierre Grij^non, 
 in the long ago a merchant in Montreal, 
 Canada, wlio marrit;d a daughtc^r of 
 Charles I)(;Langlade. Together they — 
 Mr. and Mrs. (irignon and Mr. DeLang- 
 lade — came in an early day to Green Hay, 
 being among the lirst settlers of the place. 
 Pierre Grignon was engaged in the (ireen 
 Bay fur trade, as well as in merchandis- 
 ing, and passed tlie rest of his da\s in 
 that place. Pierre Antoini' Grignon, 
 grandfather of our snbjrct, and the eldest 
 son of Pierre Grignon, by his marriage 
 with Domitille DeLanglade, continued 
 the store business, established by his 
 father, for twenty-eight years, that being 
 the only store at Green Hay prior to the 
 war of 18 1 2. Peter l^ernard Grignon, 
 son f)f Pierre Antoine, received his edu- 
 cation in Green Hay, and in after life 
 filled various public ])ositions of trust, such 
 as clerk of the district court; first sheriff of 
 Brown coimty; deputy United States mar- 
 shal; contractor for carrying the mail 
 both on foot and on horseback to Mani- 
 towoc, Sheboygan, Milwaukee, Chicago 
 and Fort Snclling. Politically he was a 
 Democrat. He married Miss Rachel 
 Lawe, a daughter of Judge John La we, 
 
 an early pioneer nl Hrown count\, who 
 with his wife died in Gieen Hay. To 
 this union were born lour children, as 
 follows: D. H., subject of this sketch; 
 Maria Jane, who died single; Cynthia 
 Anna, wife of Jerome; G. \'ieau; and 
 Martin L. , who died in 1 S;(i. The 
 father was called from earth in |nue, 1888, 
 the' mother I'eljruary 16, 1870. Pierre 
 A. Grignon owned a considerable amount 
 of real estate in Wisconsin, a portion of 
 it being whereon the cityol Green liay 
 now staiuis. 
 
 I). H. Grignon, the subject projier of 
 these lines, received a liberal education 
 at the schools of Green Hay. /\fter leav- 
 ing school he read law. and in 1866 was 
 admitted to the bar. In 1875 he was in- 
 stalk.'d in his present position as justice of 
 the peace. 
 
 On Octol)er 15, 1870, Mr. (irignon 
 was unitc'd in mariiage with Miss Louise 
 C. Hamilton, a native of Green Hay, 
 daughter of P'inley Fisher and Catherine 
 fHoyd) Hamilton, early settlers of Cirecn 
 Hay (both now deceased), the latter of 
 whom was the daughter of Col. (ieorge 
 Hoyd, Indian agent. To tiiis imion have 
 l)een born three children, viz. : Rachel 
 Maria and Catlu^rine A. (twins), and 
 Ouincy, who die<l \ovember I v 1893. 
 Rachel M. is a tt'acher in b'reedom. Wis. 
 Political!)' Mr. Grignon is ii I)c;inocral; in 
 religious faith he is a member of the 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 WILLIAM GOW, one of the re- 
 spected citizens of I)e Pere, 
 Wis., was liorn at Cairney Hill, 
 h'ifeshire, Scotland, Septeml>er 
 10, 1819. 
 
 His father, William Gow, Sr. , was a 
 native of the city of Perth, and his mother, 
 Martha (Hrough) Gow, was born in the 
 village of Pittencrief, Fifesjiire. William 
 Gow, Sr. , was a plasterer by trade, and 
 e.xjiired in the city of Glasgow. William 
 Gow, the subject proper of this sketch, 
 was educated in the parochial schools of 
 
43S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPEICAL liECOHD. 
 
 his native place, and at the age of sixteen 
 began an apprenticeship at wagon mak- 
 ing, which apprenticeship was completed 
 after a service of four years. The fol- 
 lowing three years he acted as foreman of 
 the shop, and then for three and a half 
 years was employed in a foundry at Ren- 
 frew in the manufacture of derricks and 
 their erection through Scotland and En- 
 gland. On March 12, 1847, at Dumbar- 
 ton, near Glasgow, Mr. Gow married Miss 
 Mary McKinlej', daughter of Duncan and 
 Agnes (Irving) McKinley. The McKin- 
 leys were an ancient clan of Highlanders 
 from Argyleshire, and the Irvings were of 
 an equally ancient family from near Car- 
 lisle, on the border of England, where 
 numerous members of the family still re- 
 side. Three years, three months and 
 three days after marriage Mr. Gow set 
 sail on the "Three Bells" for Canada, 
 and after a voyage, of nine weeks arrived 
 at Quebec, whence he soon after went 
 about two hundred miles southwest, to the 
 village of Metis, Canada, where he pur- 
 chased eighty acres of wild land and en- 
 gaged in farming: but the farm not 
 proving to be a profitable investment, he 
 relimiuished its cultivation at the end of 
 that period and came to De Pere, Wis., 
 arriving the Satunlay before the T'ourth 
 of July, 1853. The first work in which 
 he here engaged was on a dam across the 
 Fo.\ river, but subsequently was emploNcd 
 at wagon making by O. W. Kingsley. On 
 October 1, 1S55. Mr. Gow bought out 
 the business of Mr. Kingsley, and the 
 same day his wife, Mrs. Mary (McKinley) 
 Gow, reached De Pere from Scotland, 
 having landed at New York after a pass- 
 age of six weeks from I^i\erpool on a 
 sailing vessel. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Gow have been devout 
 members of the First Presbyterian Church 
 of De Pere for the past twenty-live years, 
 and enjoy the respect of the entire com- 
 munity. ^[rs. Gow has been a faithful 
 member of the denomination for fifty-five 
 years, having originally united with the 
 Wall Park Presbyterian Church, on Lady 
 
 Well street, Glasgow, Scotland, in Oc- 
 tober, 1839. Mrs. Gow has always taken 
 an active part in Church work and Church 
 societies. In politics, Mr. Gow is a Re- 
 publican, and has served as member of 
 the city council of De Pere for two terms 
 and as city assessor for two j'ears. He 
 is a member of Lodge No. 85, F. & A. M. 
 at De Pere, and also of Brown County 
 St. Andrew's Society. .Mthough Mr. 
 Gow did not bear arms in the Civil war 
 for the integrit}' of the Union, his sympa- 
 thies were strongly in favor of the govern- 
 ment, which he aided by every means in 
 his power, being particularly active in rais- 
 ing supplies for the sanitary commission 
 and for the support of the army hospitals. 
 
 CHARLES A. COTTON, engineer 
 of the Chicago & North Western 
 railway, and stationed at Fort 
 Howard, was born in Green Bay, 
 Wis. (then known as Astoria), in 1845, a 
 son of John Winslow and Mary B. (Arndt) 
 Cotton, who were among the early set- 
 tlers of ISrown county. 
 
 John Winslow Cotton was born in 
 iSoo, in Plymouth, Mass., of old Puritan 
 stock. He was graduated from the 
 United States Military Academy at West 
 Point, N. Y., July 4, 1823; commissioned 
 second lieutenant Third Infantry, July 
 I, 1823, commission signed by James 
 Monroe; ]5romoted to first lieutenant 
 same regiment, October 4, 1827, signed 
 by J- Kl- Adams; promoted to captain 
 November 15, 1836, signed by Andrew 
 Jack.son. As early as 1824 he was 
 stationed at Fort Howard, being after- 
 ward transferred to Jefferson Barracks, 
 Mo. He was married in Green Bay, in 
 1825, to Mary B. Arndt, and on his 
 resignation from the regular service lo- 
 cated on a farm in .-Mlouez township. 
 Brown count}', where he became a promi- 
 nent citi/en, serving as town clerk and 
 school superintendent of the township. 
 He was a Mason, and for a number of 
 vears was a leader of the choir in the 
 
COMMKMORAriVK BIOGHAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 439 
 
 Episcopal Church. On the loth ilaj- of 
 September, iX/I"-, he passed Iroin Hie, 
 leaviiif^ l)eliiiul an hnnoreti and respected 
 name. 
 
 Mrs. Mary 1>. Cotton was born in the 
 Wyoming N'aile)' tjf Pennsyl\-ania,and was 
 a dauf^hter of John P. and Eiizalietli (Car- 
 penter) Arndt. The father was a native 
 of tlie Keystone State, of Cerman descent, 
 was a ship carpenter by trade, and early 
 came to Green Bay, where lie iiuiit the 
 first vessel on I'^ox ri\er. Ik- was a uiiuli 
 respiected gentleman, .and tursonie time 
 filled the j)ositioii of judge. He lost his 
 wife in i860, and fnllowed lier to the 
 grave in 1861. 'l"he ihildrm bcirn to 
 John P. and Elizabeth .-\nidt weri'i Mary 
 B. (Mrs. Cotton); John Wallace, i>f l)e- 
 Pere; Mrs. Elizabeth Eastman, of Benton 
 Harbor, Mich. ; Charles, whi> was shot 
 and killed l)y James l-i. N'ineyard, o{ 
 Grant county, in the Senate chamber at 
 Madison, Wis., I'elirnary 11, 1.S42, and 
 Hannlton. To [olm Winslow and Mary 
 B. Cotton were born fi\e children, as fol- 
 lows: John 1\., a native of PK'mouth, 
 Mass., and now a resident of Chicago, 
 111. ; Elizabeth, wife of Charles 1\. Tyler, 
 died in 1 888; Priscilla, the wife of Hon. 
 J. H. Howe, died in Allouez township. 
 Brown Co., Wis., July 4, 1857; Mary 
 Gordon, also marrieti to Hon. J. H. Howe, 
 died in Kenosha, W'is., in September 1887, 
 and Charles A., our subject. On |uly 6, 
 1861, Mrs. Mary 15. Cotton was mustered 
 into the service as nurse, at Ivacine, Wis., 
 and served one >ear, during which time 
 she was stationed in Baltimore, Md. (the 
 old " Relay House" ), and Newport News, 
 Va. , until the regiment was ordered to 
 New Orleans. 
 
 Charles A. Cotton was educated in 
 the public schools of Green l^ay, and at 
 the early age of sixteen, July d, 1S61, en- 
 listed in Company H, Fourth Wis. \'. C,, 
 for three years or during the war. He 
 was mustered into the service at Kacine, 
 Wis., and assigned to duty, at lirst, in 
 the Army of the Potomac, and later saw 
 active service at New Orleans, Baton 
 
 I'Jougc^ and Port Hudson. La., Vicksburg, 
 Miss., and in tlu' \\vi\ l\i\er campaign. 
 On L~ebruary y, 18(15. he received an 
 honorable discharge at l^aton Kougc, and 
 on his return to Green Bay was employed 
 by the Chicago cV North Western Railway 
 Comjiany, with wliirh he has been ever 
 since. At Chicago, December 25, 1867, 
 he was married to Miss Mary |. \\'hit- 
 lield; his Seconal marriage in 1877, also 
 at Chicago, was tn Miss .\lline Kennedy, 
 a nati\e of Ireland, wlm bore him four 
 children, to wit. : Elizabeth S. ; John 
 Ivossiter and |ames \\., both of whom 
 weri' drownecl No\cniber 25, 1892, at the 
 respective agi-s of twelve and ten years, 
 and Priscilla ,\ngus1a. In politics Mr. 
 C"otton is a stanch Keiiublicaii, and soci- 
 ally he is a member of Washington Eodge, 
 No. 21, V. ts. A. M., ,it Green Bay. Mrs. 
 Cotton is a ))ioiis lady, a f;iitlifiil .adher- 
 ent of the Church of Rome, and is a 
 member of St. lolm's Congri.'gation of 
 Green Ba\-. 
 
 J.\M1'3S KICRK, editor and |>roprietor 
 of tlu' I'ort Howard A'crvVre, was 
 born in Montrose, l'"t)rfarshire, Scot- 
 land, November 4, 1830, and when 
 fi\e years of age came to this country 
 with his parents and two brothers, ]\ob- 
 ert and .AiKlrew, arrixing in Charleston, 
 S. C. The family remained only ;ilH)iit 
 two years in that city, whc-n they returned 
 to Montrose, Scollan<l. 
 
 Tfie subject of this sketch received a 
 common education. During many of his 
 spare hours he was fond of visiting one of 
 the printing offices in the city of his birth, 
 and gained the esteem of the foreman. 
 He was a studious lad, and a great reader, 
 an<l his ambition was to be a jirinter. To 
 this his father was a littU' opposed, but 
 found favor with his mother, coiise(piently, 
 on Eebruarv 8, 1844, he entered the 
 S/d//f/iiri/ printing oftice as an appren- 
 tice. He proved to be such an excellent 
 "devil" that he was promoted over two 
 apprentices who were in the office before 
 
440 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 him, and ' ' got a case " on the newspaper. 
 He became a good compositor, not a fast 
 one. but accurate, and always iiad a 
 "clean proof." Not having a great 
 liking for newspaper work at setting t\pe, 
 he during spare hours would be in the 
 border case, and even changing lines in 
 standing jobs and advertisements. This 
 attracted the attention of the foreman, 
 and he was promoted to hold the ' ' Adv. 
 Case " — or rather he got all the adver- 
 tisements to "set up." From this he 
 was placed in the job-room, and long be- 
 fore his seven-years' apprenticeship was 
 finished had charge of the job depart- 
 ment. 
 
 During the term of his apprenticeship 
 he attended night school, and was also a 
 pupil of Isaac Pitman, who was then 
 traveling through Scotland, giving lessons 
 in /lis "Shorthand." Although not in 
 love with newspaper work at the case, he 
 nevertheless was local correspondent for 
 two outside newspapers, as well as doing 
 a little home work, and ultimately be- 
 came connected in the management of the 
 Montrose Citizen. 
 
 After entering on the last year of his 
 apprenticeship, he was offered a position, 
 to take charge of a new printing office to 
 be started in the city by a Mr. Rodgers. 
 The position to a j'oung man not out of 
 his apprenticeship was a flattering one, 
 as well as a lucrative one, compared to 
 the wages of an apprentice in the last 
 year of his "time," and as a matter of 
 course James accepted the position. 
 From Mr. Rodger's office was issued The 
 Montrose Citizen, previously spoken of, 
 and Mr. Kerr held his position in that 
 office up til the time he left for the United 
 States. 
 
 The writer of this sketch obtained his 
 information from Mr. Kerr, in conversa- 
 tion, he nf)t dreaming that it would ever 
 appear in "cold type" or printed. He 
 also gave some facts in regard to " patent 
 insides " now in so general use by news- 
 papers in this country. "They talk 
 about these 'patent insides' being first 
 
 used in this country; they were in use in 
 the old country many years before they 
 appeared here. Why, the Montrose Citi- 
 zen, with which I was connected," said 
 Mr. Kerr, "was printed on so-called 
 ' patent insides,' and fully illustrated, too; 
 and what is more, news plates were fur- 
 nished, similar to those now in use — but 
 not to such perfection, I allow. I have a 
 file of the Montrose Citizen, and proofs 
 of the plates in my possession, so you see 
 that the bottom is knocked out of the 
 claim that the so-called 'patent insides' 
 and plates were first used in this coun- 
 try." Speaking, also, of all-brass galleys, 
 on which Hoe, of New York, claimed a 
 patent, Mr. Kerr says: " All-brass galleys 
 were in use when I was a boy serving my 
 apprenticeship. " 
 
 Mr. Kerr left the "land of heather" 
 August 26, 1854, leaving Montrose on 
 the sailing vessel "Helen," bound for 
 Quebec, Canada. Two days before his 
 departure, August 24, he was married by 
 Rev. Colin McCulloch, of the Estab- 
 li.shed Church of Scotland, to Miss Eliza- 
 beth Birnie Dickie, daughter of George 
 Dickie, shipbuilder, Mrmtrose, and before 
 leaving they were the recipients of valua- 
 ble gifts from their many friends. The 
 voyage was a tedious and stormy one, 
 and their travel by rail was greatly de- 
 layed, so that it was the 20th of October 
 before they reached the point of their 
 destination — Milwaukee, Wis. Here they 
 met Andrew Murison, formerly of Mont- 
 rose, a schoolmate and a "chum" 
 printer of Mr. Kerr's, and who had left 
 Scotland some few years before. Mr. 
 Kerr's youngest brother, Andrew Brand 
 Kerr, was also one of the party which 
 left with them August 26, 1854. He 
 died (at Milwaukee) April 23, 18S6. He 
 was married to Miss Harriet Travcrs, 
 daughter of an early partner of the late 
 John Plankinton, of Milwaukee. He 
 left a widow, two sons and a daughter. 
 Robert, the eldest son, is a widower 
 with one daughter, who resides with her 
 grandmother in New York City; Andrew, 
 
COMMEMORA Tl VK DWG HA PIIICA L RECORD. 
 
 441 
 
 the other son, is unmarried; the daugliter, 
 Henrietta, is married, and resides in Aber- 
 deen, Washington. 
 
 Mr. Murison, then in Milwaukee, was 
 a member of the firm of Chajiman & 
 Murison, job printers. Mr. Chapman, 
 the well-known map publisher, being de- 
 sirous of selling out his interest in the 
 printing office, an arrangement was made 
 by which James Kerr purchased his inter- 
 est on November 4, his anniversary birth- 
 day, and the business firm became Muri- 
 son & Kerr. On the following year they 
 sold out their printing office, and both 
 entered the Daily Ncics office in the job 
 department. A short time after Mr. Kerr 
 had taken a position in the ^Vcii'.v office, 
 he was offered a situation in Port Wash- 
 ington, Ozaukee Co., Wis., to take charge 
 of the Ozaithcc County Advertiser office, 
 which he accepted. C. F. Huntsman, 
 who was superintendent of the Xcivs, 
 greatly regretted the step he had taken, 
 as he desired his services in the job de- 
 partment; but Mr. Huntsman informed 
 Mr. Kerr that if the position did not suit 
 him, or if he desired to return to Mil- 
 waukee at any time, he would find a situ- 
 ation open for him in the Xcivs office — 
 which was ver_v flattering to Mr. Kerr, as 
 well as evidence of Mr. Huntsman's ap- 
 preciation of his services. 
 
 Tlic Ozankcc County Advii-tiscr was 
 owned by R. L. Gove, who was post- 
 master, and Mr. Kerr attended to the 
 management of the office. During that 
 year Seymour G. Wait and Mr. I\err pur- 
 chased the office, and enlarged and other- 
 wise improved the paper, greatly to the 
 satisfaction of the business community. 
 But Mr. Gove was ill at ease; the paper 
 was not run according to his political 
 standard; his editorials were rejected; and 
 he found his influence fading. He held 
 a chattel mortgage on the office, with an 
 "iron-clad" condition, which he ulti- 
 mateh' foreclosed without an hour's warn- 
 ing. This as a matter of course led to a 
 lawsuit. Sheriff Luetfring took possession, 
 and Kerr & Wait employed Mr. Blair, an 
 
 able attorney, to look after their interest. 
 Many of the business men were indignant 
 at the course Mr. Gove had taken, and 
 agreed to secure funds enough to start a 
 new office and newspaper; but as Mr. 
 Wait preferred to go East and Mr. Kerr 
 returning to Milwaukee, nothing was done 
 toward starting a new paper. Suit was 
 commenced in the circuit court, but a 
 change of venue was taken to Racine 
 county. About one year afterward the 
 case of Kerr & Wait vs. Iv. L, Gove came 
 for trial at the city of Racine, and it was 
 settled by Mr. Gove pa_ying a certain 
 amount of damages. 
 
 After leaving Port Washington Mr. 
 Kerr again held a position in the Mil- 
 leaukcc Nczk.<s office, and remained on that 
 paper nearly seven years. During these 
 years many were the changes which took 
 place in the business and editorial man- 
 agement of that paper — Benton, Clason, 
 Huntsman, Hon. Beriah Brown, Joseph 
 Lathrop, Hon. Jiihn R. Sharpstein, Dr. 
 Orton, J. Lyon, Hon. George H. Paul, 
 etc. "I must relate to \'ou. Sir," said 
 Mr. Kerr, as the writer was making his 
 notes, "a circumstance which occurred, 
 and which elevated me considerably. It 
 was during the Buchanan campaign. Mil- 
 waukee was the headquarters, and the 
 election tickets were printed in the .\'(Ti'.s- 
 office, from where the different points 
 were supplied, especially north. These 
 tickets were being printed in several dif- 
 ferent laui;iiax-es. and there was a small 
 room almost filled with tickets, all cut 
 and packed ready for shipment. I spoke 
 to Mr. Huntsman one day about them, 
 stating that they would be worthless, and 
 that only tickets printed in the English 
 language could be used, no matter where 
 the election was held. He said I was a 
 good job printer, but a "greenhorn" in 
 these matters. However, Mr. Huntsman 
 spoke to one or two of the committee 
 about what the " green " Scotchman had 
 said in a sort of derision; the matter to 
 them had a more serious aspect; a com- 
 mittee meeting was called at once, and 
 
442 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the result was that all the ' ' foreign " 
 tickets were consigned to the ilames and 
 the presses had to run night and day on 
 ' Buck and Breck ' tickets in order to 
 get them out in time for election. " •' To 
 this circumstance," continued Mr. Kerr, 
 " I owe my elevation — in the iWic'.v office ; 
 for, a few weeks afterward, I was given 
 the position of foreman of the office and 
 my wages considerably increased." 
 
 In the spring of 1856 Mr. Iverr's 
 brother, Robert Laing Kerr, and wife 
 came to Milwaukee from Montrose, Scot- 
 land, and in the fall of the same year his 
 parents with three sisters also arrived 
 from Scotland in Milwaukee. Robert L. 
 Kerr now resides in Monmouth, 111. He 
 married Elizabeth Reoch at Brechin, 
 Scotland, and has a family of sons and 
 daughters — one son and daughter mar- 
 ried — Mrs. Frank Foster, of Beloit, Wis., 
 and Andrew Kerr, of Duiuth, Minnesota. 
 
 On August 9, 1857, George Dickie 
 Kerr, a son of James Kerr, died; and on 
 December 25, same year, his sister, Mary, 
 died; in the following year, on February 
 21, his infant daughter, Margaret Jane 
 Kerr, died; and on May 26, i860, his 
 mother, Margaret Taylor-Kerr. died. All 
 these deaths ocoirred in Milwaukee, and 
 the remains interred in the family grounds 
 in Forest Home Cemetery. 
 
 In 1863 Mr. Kerr's father and his two 
 sisters, Georgianna Allardice Kerr and 
 Elizabeth Clark Kerr, returned to Scot- 
 land and their native home. 
 
 In the same year Mr. Kerr left the 
 Ncivs office, and for a time was in the 
 Wisconsin office. In the fall he made 
 his mind up to enlist in the army, with 
 which intent he went to the mustering and 
 disbursing office, desiring, however, to 
 enlist in the Twenty-fourth Wis. V. I., 
 as manv of his friends were members of 
 that regiment, and they were at that time 
 filling up the old regiments with new men 
 to keep the companies full. The Twenty- 
 fourth had lieen tilled up; Mr. Kerr had a 
 friend in the mustering office, a Mr. Leach, 
 who was chief clerk, and he gave him a 
 
 position in the office. In the fall of the 
 following year Gen. Grant issued an order 
 for all men who had "soft snaps" at 
 home offices to get to the front, and Mr. 
 Kerr had "to get." The Forty-sixth 
 Wisconsin Regiment was then being 
 formed, and a recruiting officer was get- 
 ting up a companj- in Milwaukee. This 
 company — Company F — Mr. Kerr joined, 
 and was appointed first sergeant. The 
 regiment rendezvoused at Camp Randall, 
 Madison, and was organized under Col. 
 Fred S. Lovell. Henry B. \\'illiams was 
 captain of Company F. The regiment 
 did not leave the State imtil the begin- 
 ning of March, when it proceeded to 
 Louisville, Ky., and thence to Athens, 
 Ala., where it was assigned to guard duty 
 against bushwhackers and guerrillas. The 
 regiment remained at Athens until called 
 to \Msconsin. being mustered out at 
 Nashville, Tenn., paid off in Madison, 
 and disbanded early in October. 
 
 When the regiment reached Chicago 
 Mr. Kerr received the sad intelligence of 
 the death of his four-year-old son, Albert 
 Edward Kerr, on the 24th of September, 
 but a few days before, and after the regi- 
 ment disbanded at Madison he made all 
 haste to his home of mourning at Milwau- 
 kee, which he had left less than a year 
 before, with hopes of returning joy and 
 happiness. "At the time I enlisted," said 
 Mr. Kerr, "I was robust and hearty, and 
 weighed 198 pounds; but on my return 
 home I only weighed 1 14 pounds! " Dur- 
 ing the time Mr. Kerr was in the army he 
 wrote some very interesting letters for the 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 After remaining at home a short time 
 Mr. Kerr accepted a position in Horton 
 & Leonard's office in Chicago. He re- 
 mained in Chicago about a year, when he 
 returned to Milwaukee to accept the 
 management of the book department in 
 Starr's printing establishment; he also 
 became foreman of the job department. 
 In Starr's office he remained for several 
 years. Mr. Kerr was offered a lucrative 
 position in the fonrnal of Commerce 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPIIIVAL RECORD. 
 
 443 
 
 printing establishment, which he ac- 
 cepted. This was a new office, and he 
 had the entire management of the con- 
 cern until it changed hands in 1^74. Mr. 
 Kerr was interested with Mr. Bailej- in 
 the publishing of directories in Milwau- 
 kee, as well as engaged in publishing sev- 
 eral meritorious advertising literature, 
 etc. During his long residence in Mil- 
 waukee — from 1854 to 1874 — he was 
 considered a first-class printer in all de- 
 tails, and authority in the settlement of 
 any disputes among the craft. He was a 
 valuable member of the Typographical 
 Union, and for man\' years president of 
 the organization, is a member of the In- 
 ternational T}'pographical Union, and 
 represented Milwaukee at its convention 
 in the city of Albany, N. Y. ; was a mein- 
 of the I. O. O. F., No. 20; was a charter 
 member of Sheridan Post No. 6, G. A. 
 R., and was adjutant of the post for sev- 
 eral terms and also vice-commander. 
 
 In 1874 the proprietors of the fountai 
 of Coiiniicrcc sold out their establishment 
 to practical printers, and Mr. Kerr being 
 offered a position in Green Bay, to take 
 charge of the job department of the State 
 Gazette, he at once accepted, and the 
 early days of the month of March, i S74, 
 found him on duty with Hoskinson 
 & Follett, the then proprietors. 
 Shortly afterward he assumed the 
 duties of local editor, and held that 
 position until April, 1S84. During the 
 time he was "localizing" on the Daily 
 Gazette, he published and managed the 
 Fort Howard Review. The history of the 
 ups and do\\ns of the lives of newspapers 
 in Fort Howard is so remarkable that the 
 city was named, by neighboring contem- 
 poraries, as the "newspaper cemetery," 
 and from an article published on ' ' The 
 Press of Brown County — past and pres- 
 ent," which appeared in August, 18S6, 
 we glean the following facts: 
 
 The first paper published was the Era, 
 on 20th April, 1855; the second number 
 was never published; the Fort Howard 
 Times was the next paper, but the office 
 
 was destroyed by fire October 22, 1872, 
 and publication was never resumed. In 
 the same year the Fort Howard Monitor 
 was started, and after going through many 
 changes in its management suspended in 
 March, 1877. The J/c////!'/- liad the con- 
 tract for city printing, and the proprietor 
 turned over the contract to the Revie-w. 
 The Review was then printed in Green 
 Bay, and ordinances, etc. , had to be pub- 
 lished in a paper printed in the city. The 
 Fort Howard Herald was then printed in 
 Fort Howard, and the proprietor claimed 
 the contract ; but Mr. Kerr was sufficient 
 for the emergency. ]. H. Tayler had an 
 amateur press, and Mr. Kerr had the or- 
 dinances ami other official matter "set 
 up " in Green Bay and printed the matter 
 on tlie small press in Fort Howard, which 
 covered the provision of the city charter, 
 and satisfied the city council, much to the 
 chagrin of the proprietor of the Herald. 
 The Herald was established in 1872, but 
 had a checkered life; it passed into other 
 hands in 1 877, and changed hands in i S78, 
 when the name was also changed to the 
 Brown County Herald, and published but 
 a short time. In 1879 the Fort Howard 
 Journal appeared, but lived only a short 
 time; then followed the J/c/v/Zw^ Journal, 
 and after its demise came the Brown 
 County Denioerat. which f(_)llowed the 
 /('///•//(//after a short life. In lunc, 1882, 
 the Fort Howard Sentinel made its ap- 
 pearance, and continued publication until 
 February, 1 890, when it followed the fate 
 of those gone before. The Fort Howard 
 Review was started by David M. Burns 
 as an advertising sheet for his own busi- 
 ness in September, 1S75, and published 
 monthly. It was a small three-column 
 four-page publication. In November, 
 1876, Mr. Burns turned over the Review 
 to James Kerr, who enlarged the paper to 
 a five-column folio, and gave attention to 
 local matters. It was received by the 
 public with so much favor that on the 
 following January he commenced publish- 
 ing the Review weekly, and enlarged it to 
 a si.x-column folio. 
 
444 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BJOGIiAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 When Mr. Kerr left the Green Bay 
 Gazette to commence business in Fort 
 Howard, his son, Charles Stuart, became 
 partner, and shortly afterward the Re- 
 vieiv was enlarged to a six-column quarto 
 - — the standard size — and has been printed 
 and published continuously under their 
 management up to the present day. The 
 article on "The Press of Brown County," 
 previously mentioned, in speaking of the 
 Review and its proprietors, says: "Con- 
 sidering the sad fate of so many attempts 
 at journalism in Fort Howard, and the 
 many disadvantages the Revieii) has had 
 to contend with, its present position is 
 both a matter of pride and gratification to 
 its proprietors and originators." 
 
 In September, 1880, Mr. Kerr's 
 mother-in-law, Mrs. George Dickie, died, 
 and was consigned to the grave on the 
 memorable day of the Great Fire in Green 
 Bay. After her husband's death in Mil- 
 waukee, in i860, Mrs. Dickie became one 
 of the family circle, and resided at Mr. 
 Kerr's home for nearly twenty years. She 
 was a kind-hearted, cheerful and affec- 
 tionate woman, and her loss was keenly 
 felt by the entire family. 
 
 Mr. Kerr's father died on March 18, 
 1 88 1, at Montrose, in his native land, 
 after a long illness, where he was attended 
 with constant care and devotion, which 
 only two loving daughters could give. 
 After his death, all tender ties being 
 broken — //(■ being the last of the family 
 race in Scotland — they left for America, 
 coming to Fort Howard in the fall of 
 1 88 1, and resided with their brother, 
 James Kerr, for over a year, when they 
 removed to Milwaukee to make that city 
 their home. 
 
 In the same year, and but little over 
 three months after the death of Mr. 
 Kerr's father, he lost a son. James Tay- 
 lor Kerr was aged about seventeen years 
 at the time of his death. He was a 
 bright and intelligent yoimglad, far above ! 
 his years, and gave promise of a brilliant 
 and useful life. His death was a heavy 
 blow to the parents, and a .'Sorrowful one 
 
 to all his acquaintances and those who 
 came in close contact with him. The 
 Green Bay Globe of July 13, 1881, in 
 speaking of his death, said: 
 
 The unlooked-for death of Jiuiniie Kerr is 
 the occasion of profound .sorrow in the printing' 
 offices, where he was well known, as it is among- 
 all who knew him. He was one of the most gen- 
 tlemanly unobtrusive and intelliffent little fel- 
 lows we ever met with. It seemed to us, when- 
 ever he came to our sanctum, that his kind, 
 earnest, serious face was itself a prophecy of a 
 life that would expand to yreatness and useful- 
 ness as the j'ears grew. But God plucks his 
 choicest flowers first. The prophecy may not 
 reach its fulfillment, unless the influence of his 
 life and aspirations shall inspire his compan- 
 ions with higher aims and better purposes. Jim- 
 mie was in his seventeenth year. He had been 
 suffering since the Fourth with an attack of 
 cholera morbus, which was not considered dan- 
 gerous; but it took an unfavorable turn on Mon- 
 day evening, and he died before midnight. 
 
 On the evening of October 21, 1884, 
 Death seemed for a time to hover o'er the 
 the family circle, but through the mercy 
 of Divine Providence took wings, and the 
 threshhold was not passed. But that 
 night was a sad and melancholy one with- 
 in their home, as well as a dark and dreary 
 one outside; the parents frantic with grief 
 and sorrowing and kind friends bestowing 
 all assistance and sympathy that bleeding 
 hearts could offer^ — when the almost life- 
 less body of their son, William Lowe 
 Kerr, of but fourteen years of age, was 
 carried to his home; and as Dr. Brett 
 stated to a friend — "it was one of the 
 most pitiful sights he ever saw." The 
 boy had met with an accident, and been 
 run over by the cars on the North West- 
 ern road. The accident was one which 
 aroused the sympathy of every one, for 
 the lad was well known, and was a favor- 
 ite with all who knew him. Of the sad 
 accident the local papers spoke in the 
 most feeling terms, and we make an ex- 
 tract from an extended account which ap- 
 peared in the Fort Howard Sentinel. 
 
 The unfortunate lad was the carrier of the 
 Milirniikti .A(i/;/(</i' for this city. He had gone to 
 the Milwaukee & Northern station, in Green 
 Bay, as was his custom, and returning boarded 
 the C. & N. W. incoming train to ride to the 
 lf>wer part of the city, which was not customary 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGHAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 445 
 
 with him. It is supposed that he jumped from 
 the traiu when opposite the fire en,!,^ine house, 
 as liis hat and bundle of papers were subse- 
 quently found at that point, and had fallen in 
 such a manner as to cause one arm and one 
 hand to cross the track, and it is probable that 
 several wheels passed over them. He bore his 
 injuries with remarkable fortitude; after re- 
 ceiving- them, he rose and walked to the spot 
 where he was afterward discovered lying;, and 
 where it is evident he tripped over a projecting: 
 board and fell to the ground, he seeniing-ly 
 unconscious of the terrible character of his 
 injuries. 
 
 Doctors Bartran and Brett were summoned, 
 and it was found that it would be necessary to 
 amputate the rig-ht ;irm near the shoulder, and 
 tlie whole of the left hand, save the upper por- 
 tion and the thumb, and the operation was suc- 
 cessfully performed. The unfortunate lad is 
 doing- as well as possible under the circum- 
 stances, but lie will, of course, be helpless for 
 life, which is more particularly regretful since 
 he was a boy of much energy and activity, and 
 gave good promise of a life of much usefulness. 
 
 Contrary to expectation, and not- 
 withstandinj,' the severity of his injuries, 
 the young man rapidly recovered, and in 
 the course of a few weeks was out again 
 and attending school as usual, the rapid- 
 ity of his recovery from such fearful injur- 
 ies being a matter of wonder to the com- 
 munity and the medical fraternity. He 
 soon learned to hold a pen or pencil with 
 his thumb and mutilated left hand, and 
 in a short time was enabled to write leg- 
 ibly in a flowing hack-handed style of pen- 
 manship, which admitted of his keeping 
 books, and attending to ordinary matters 
 of business apparently without trouble or 
 inconvenience. He continued his studies 
 until he graduated from the High School, 
 with honors heaped upon him, and at the 
 " Commencement " was the recipient of 
 many valuable gifts from friends. Since 
 his graduation he has taught in the public 
 schools with satisfactory results to the 
 school board and pupils. He has twice 
 been elected city clerk, at present hold- 
 ing that position; is also secretary-treas- 
 urer of the local lodge of the K. O. T. M. 
 He is now twenty-four years of age, in 
 full and perfect enjoyment of health, and 
 every indication points to many years of 
 usefulness to the comnuinitv and prosper- 
 ity for himself. 
 
 Again the (irim Reaper enters the 
 family, and cuts off Mr. Kerr's youngest 
 sister. Just as the city bells in Milwau- 
 kee were ringing out the hour of noon on 
 the 5th day of January, 1895, with a soft 
 and almost silent sigh, life tleparted — her 
 soul went out to meet the Maker — a ling- 
 ering and painful illness of nearly three 
 j'ears was ended, endured with true Chris- 
 tian patience and fortitude, often deceiving 
 her friends by her cheery smile and jocular 
 remarks which were assumed to hide her 
 intense suffering. Elizabeth Clark Kerr at 
 the time of her death was lifty-two years 
 of age. She was a true tender-hearted wo- 
 man, naturally of a cheerful disposition, 
 which served her well during her long sick- 
 ness. Her remains were laid to rest along- 
 side the grave of her mother, in the family 
 grounds at Forest Home. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. James Kerr reside in a'n 
 unpretentious residence on the corner of 
 Broadway and Hubbard streets, one of 
 the most prominent and pleasant street 
 corners in the city; he also owns some 
 valuable residence and business property, 
 has the most extensive private library in 
 the city, and is the possessor of many 
 rare and valuable articles of virtu. Their 
 surviving family consists of two sons and 
 one daughter. 
 
 Charles Stuart, their eldest son, is as- 
 sociated with his father in the steam job- 
 printing business, and the publishing of the 
 Fort Howard A'crv'fTi'. He is a member 
 of the Sons of Veterans, Modern Wood- 
 men of America, the Knights of the Mac- 
 cabees, the Green Lake Quartette — a lo- 
 cal musical organization of considerable 
 note — besides several social clubs in Fort 
 Howard and Green Bay. He is a young 
 man of good principle, and a hustler in 
 a business way. Socially, he is very 
 popular. 
 
 Their daughter, Harriet Ann Taylor, 
 is married to D. M. Hagerty, district 
 illuminating oil inspector, and an influen- 
 tial and prominent citizen of Green Bay. 
 She is an accomplished lady and a favorite 
 in society. She can set type or take 
 
446 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 charp;e of the editorial department of a 
 newspaper, botli of which she has done in 
 her father's office. They have one child, 
 Mildred. 
 
 William Lowe, the youngest son of 
 the family, I have already spoken of in 
 detail. 
 
 Mrs. Kerr is a model wife and mother, 
 and possesses an exemplars- Christian 
 character. She is a member of the Pres- 
 byterian Church, taking an active interest 
 in all that pertains to that society. In 
 appearance she is petite, of a pleasant 
 disposition, extremely social, making 
 friends easily, and holding their regard 
 and esteem. Slie has three sisters — Mrs. 
 Martin Durward (Isabella, twin sister), of 
 Milwaukee; Mrs. William S. Lowe (Mary), 
 of Spottsylvania, \'a. ; and Mrs. David 
 Dickie (Ann), of Dunedin, New Zealand. 
 Mrs. Lowe and Miss Isabella Dickie were 
 of the party that accompanied Mr. and 
 Mrs. Kerr to this countrv in August, 
 
 1854. 
 
 James Kerr is in his si.xty-fifth \ear, 
 and though the frosts of many winters have 
 limned his head as with a halo, he is still 
 as hale and hearty, genial and pleasant, 
 as when, forty _\ears ago, he Hrst left the 
 land of brown heath and shaggj- woods. 
 Time has dealt gently with him, his portly 
 form and jovial, expressive face indicat- 
 ing a life well spent and the possession of 
 a contented mind. He has during his 
 residence in Fort Howard been a member 
 of the county board of supervisors, and 
 an officer in Green Bay Lodge, I. O. O. 
 F. , No. 19; is an active and \aluablc 
 member of Howard Lodge, A. O. U. W., 
 No. 72; and a member of the Grand Lodge 
 of the State, having been elected for three 
 terms to represent No. 72 in that body, 
 and is D. G. M. W. for the district. He 
 is also a member of T. O. Howe Post, G. 
 A. R. , an inHnential citizen and highly 
 respected in the community. He has one 
 brother and one sister li\ing, namely: 
 Robert Laing Kerr, of Monmouth, 111., 
 and Georgianna AUardice Kerr, of Mil- 
 waukee. 
 
 Mr. Kerr has resided in Fort Howard 
 since the first day of his arrival, and T/ie 
 A'lTvVri' has been continuousl}' printed and 
 published under his charge. The paper 
 is Republican in politics, and being al- 
 1 ways watchful for the best interests of the 
 ' city, and enjoying a large circulation, it 
 has naturally a wide influence. The office 
 is well equipped with power presses run 
 by steam, and all modern material, 
 being one of the best appointed in north- 
 eastern Wisconsin. — J. W. S. 
 
 Wi:llington b. coffeen, 
 M. D. Every profession has its 
 prominent men, some made such 
 by long membership, others by 
 their proticiency in their calling. The 
 subject of this sketch is made conspicuous 
 among the physicians of Brown county, 
 not so much by the length of time he has 
 devoted to the calling — for he is as yet a 
 young man — as by the eminent success 
 he has already made of it. 
 
 He is a native of Wisconsin, born 
 August 26, 1858, in Taycheedah, Fond 
 du Lac county. The progenitor of the 
 family of which he is a member was a 
 young Irish lad who boarded a vessel in 
 Ireland and worked his passage across the 
 ocean, his labor being subsequently sold 
 out in Boston to pa\' the rest of his pass- 
 age. He prospered, married, and had 
 several sons who settled ' in different 
 States, one in New York State, probably 
 in Watertown, Jefferson county, where 
 his dccendants became well-to-do farmers. 
 Grandfather David Coffeen, who was a 
 farmer of Watertown, N. Y. , was a very 
 active man, and in middle life removed 
 with his family to Calumet county. Wis., 
 where he resided till he was seventy-two 
 years of age, when, having always ex- 
 pressed a desire to die in his old home at 
 Watertown, he removed thither and died 
 a few weeks afterward. He was a stanch 
 Republican, taking a deep interest in 
 local and State politics, was a man of the 
 
* 
 
 OiA^/B. J&-(r. 
 
 Q//.jO 
 
COMMEMOIiATJl'E BlOORAl'UtCAJ, RECORD. 
 
 447 
 
 most positive character, and possessed of 
 great will power. He married in Water- 
 town, and had a family of children named 
 respectixely: Curtis, David, Louis, Por- 
 ter and Emma. Of these, Louis was born 
 in Watertown, and was a young man 
 of about sixteen when he came to Wis- 
 consin, where he worked for eight dol- 
 lars per month until he was enabled to 
 buy a piece of land in Fond tlu Lac 
 county, afterward accumulating there con- 
 siderable property, including several fine 
 farms. He now resides in Vassar, Mirh. 
 His wife, Lucy (Abneri, died at the 
 age of forty-nine years, the mother of 
 five children, of whom our subject is the 
 second. 
 
 Dr. Coffeen is principally a self-made 
 and self-educated man, his earlier educa- 
 tion having been limited to the district 
 schools of Fond dn Lac county. Wis. At 
 the age of eighteen years he entered the 
 State Normal School at Oshkosh, paying 
 his own way there, and also through the 
 medical course, later on. After a two- 
 years' course at the Normal, he entered 
 the office of Dr. Louis Grasmuck, a well- 
 known and successful physician of Men- 
 asha, who subsequently removed to Colo- 
 rado. At an earl}' age, even in childhood, 
 our subject had a great desire to become 
 a physician, which desire was probably 
 inherited from his mother, who was a 
 splendid nurse and a great blessing to the 
 sick in her family and neighborhood. She 
 had the gentle wa}'s of the Sister of 
 Charity, and the hope that springs from 
 affection. After studying in the office for 
 two years he proceeded to Ann Arbor, 
 Mich., and entered the Homeopathic 
 Medical Department of the University of 
 Michigan, where he labored diligently at 
 his books, and took his F'reshman and 
 Junior studies in one year. From there 
 he went to the Homeopathic Medical 
 College, Chicago, III., from which insti- 
 tution he graduated Marcii 4. 1884, and 
 immediately located at Fort Howard and 
 Green Bay, where he has continued to 
 practice ever since. In i88y he removed 
 
 25 
 
 his residence to Green Bay, and has built 
 up a good practice. 
 
 Dr. Coffeen was married, in Fort 
 Howard. September 29, 1886, to Miss 
 Nellie Camm, a native of that place, 
 daughter of Capt. James M. Camm and 
 Dr. Mary Bass Camm, the former of 
 whom was an officer in the Florida war, 
 Mexican war and the war of the Rebellion. 
 In the Mexican war Capt. Camm was 
 shot through the neck, the vocal cords 
 being severed, but is a hale and hearty 
 man to-day, now residing in \'alentine, 
 Neb. The mother of Mrs. Dr. Coffeen 
 was a well-known Homeojiathic physician, 
 with a lucrative practice in Fort Howard 
 and Green Bay, where she is held in 
 loving and kindly remembrance for her 
 many acts of charity and devcjtion to the 
 sick and afflicted. She died of pneumonia, 
 in March, 1889, at the house of her 
 daughter, at the age of fifty-five years. 
 Dr. Coi^een has two sons: James How- 
 ard and Lew Wallace. The Doctor has 
 been a member of the Koyal Arcanum for 
 nine \'ears, and was examining physician 
 of same for many years; is a past Regent, 
 having filled all the offices, and is a mem- 
 ber of the Grand Council of the State of 
 Wisconsin. He is also a member of the 
 Modern Woodmen of America, Green Bay 
 Lodge, and is its examining physician; is 
 also a member of the Knights of the Mac- 
 cabees of the World, is its examining 
 physician, and is now its commander. At 
 the last biennial session of the State con- 
 vention, held in Green Bay, April 3, 1895, 
 he was also elected representative to the 
 Supreme Tent from this State. He is a 
 member of the Brown County Medical 
 Association, the State Homeopathic Medi- 
 cal Association, and the American Insti- 
 tute of Homeopathy. 
 
 Dr. Coffeen is one of those men who 
 may be said to have chosen well. Pos- 
 sessed of a kind, sympathetic nature, a 
 keen sense of discrimitiation, a natural 
 taste for the various branches of the medi- 
 cal profession, he has made a signal 
 success. 
 
448 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 CA. NEWELL. This gentleman 
 lias been a resident of Green Bay 
 tor the past quarter of a century, 
 during which time he has earned 
 the respect of the community, both as a 
 private citizen and as a tradesman. 
 
 He is a native of New York State, 
 born in Delaware county, in 1825, a son 
 of Harry and Jerusha (Foot) Newell, both 
 of New York birth. The father was a 
 farmer in Delaware county, and on re- 
 tiring from active work made his home in 
 New York, dying there in 18 — ; his wife 
 passed away in 1848. Grandfather Rob- 
 ert Newell was a native of New York, a 
 sea captain by occupation, and partici- 
 pated in the war of the Revolution. 
 
 After his school days were over, 
 which were passed in his native count) , 
 our subject commenced to learn the trade 
 of carpenter, completing same in Wiscon- 
 sin, whither he came in 1845, arriving in 
 Milwaukee, and locating first in Dodge 
 county. After remaining there some 
 years engaged closely at his trade, he 
 moved to Waupun, Fond du Lac county, 
 and from there came in 1 869 to Green Bay 
 which has since been his home. This 
 was not his first visit, however, to the 
 town, for in 1854 we find him working here 
 in the shipyards. He was also engaged 
 in shipbuilding in Pensaukee and Little 
 Sturgeon, and among the vessels he 
 helped to build may be mentioned the 
 schooner "Fannie Gardner," steamer 
 "Union," brig " F. B. Gardner." and 
 others, A. Gilson, of Oshkosh, Wis. , his 
 brother-in-law, being the master ship- 
 builder. Our subject is now engaged chiefly 
 in contracting for residence buildings, and 
 in Green Bay, alone, there are to be seen 
 many evidences of his skill, such as the 
 " Kellogg House," the Orphan Asylum, 
 the "Albright House," the Pierce resi- 
 dence and many others, besides the Court 
 House f<ir Ontonagon county, Mich. He 
 also owns three lots in Green Bay, and 
 has built thereon two residences. In ad- 
 dition to his other interests, he carries on 
 a cabinet shop, doing desk and fine cabi- 
 
 net work of all kinds, chiefly expert 
 work. 
 
 On November 11, 1851, Mr. Newell 
 was married in Winneconne, Winnebago 
 Co., Wis , to Miss Isabella Hall, daugh- 
 ter of Thomas and Isabella Hall, all na- 
 tives of Canada, whence they came to 
 Wisconsin in 1849. One child, a daugh- 
 ter, Imogene, was the result of this union, 
 born October 11, 1854, died November 
 7, 1855. O" February 26, 1S58, Mr. 
 Newell was married in Door county, 
 Wis., to Miss Mary Hewlett, a school 
 teacher of Sturgeon Bay, daughter of 
 James and Alice (Finch) Howlett, all na- 
 tives of England, who about the year 1 848 
 came to Wisconsin, settling on a farm in 
 Fond du Lac county, where the mother 
 died, the father subsequently removing 
 into the town of Waupaca, where he died 
 in 1888. In his political preferences Mr. 
 Newell is a Republican, a zealous sup- 
 porter of the principles of the party. He 
 and his amiable life partner enjoy the 
 highest esteem on the part of their many 
 friends, and they are useful members of 
 societv. 
 
 REV. C H K I S T 1 A N A X T O N 
 FREDERICK POPP. Among 
 the pioneer ministers of Wi.scon- 
 sin, who faithf\illy represented the 
 German Lutheran Church, we must men- 
 tion Rev. Popp, who was born August 5, 
 1825, in Bayreuth, Bavaria, Germany. 
 
 He comes from an old German family 
 who, in the time of the Duchess of Bran- 
 denburg, resided in Bayreuth, Anspach, 
 which was the home of his ancestors for 
 many generations. A great many of the 
 progenitors of Rev. Popp were teachers. 
 His grandfather, Stephen Popp, was a 
 soldier in Germany, and musical director 
 of the regimental band. In June, 1/77, 
 he and three thousand fellow soldiers 
 were sold by the Markgrave Casiinir of 
 Brandenburg, and when preparations were 
 made to ship them to America the regi- 
 ment rose in mutiny, at Marktbreit-on- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGIIAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 449, 
 
 the-Main. Markgrave Casiniir, however, 
 had received an enormous sum for the 
 use of the troops, and he was bound to 
 fulfill his contract. He surrounded the 
 regiment with his body-guard, disarmed 
 the soldiers and put them in chains, nine 
 of the leaders being hanged. This inhu- 
 man act was witnessed by the remaining 
 soldiers of the regiment, who were then 
 taken to boats and shipped to Rotterdam, 
 Holland, where English frigates were in 
 readiness to receive them and bear them to 
 America, to swell the army of Lord Corn- 
 wallis. Stephen Popp participated in the 
 Revolutionary war, and was taken pris- 
 oner at Vorktown. After peace was de- 
 clared he settled in York, Penn., where 
 he married the daughter of a German 
 farmer by the name of Baumann, and by 
 her had six children, all of whom they 
 lost by death. After the war he turned 
 his musical talents to account, and, l^ie- 
 coming quite a prosperous man, in course 
 of time set out to return to Germany 
 with a small fortune, but the ship in 
 which he tocjk passage was lost together 
 with all his valuables, he and his wife 
 barely escaping with their lives; and thus 
 they reached their home, poor in worldly 
 possessions, but rich in faith in God. 
 Soon after they settled in Neustadt-on- 
 the-Aesch, where a son, Johann George, 
 was born November 27, 1796. Thus, 
 after many adventures and much tribula- 
 tion, a life as varied as a romance, a 
 blessing in the birth of a son came to 
 them in the evening of life. The mother, 
 however, gave up her life in giving birth 
 to the son. The father of this child was 
 afflicted with blindness during the last 
 twenty years of his life, and died in 
 Neustadt in 1.S21, at the age of si.\ty-two. 
 The son, Johann George Popp, was 
 educated in Neustadt, and become a 
 teacher in the public schools in Bayreuth, 
 where he taught about twenty-five years. 
 He died. May 28, 1845, of grief at the 
 loss of his beloved wife, Johanna Kather- 
 ine (Kroher), whose death occurred Jan- 
 uary 22, 1838; she was born April 27, 
 
 1804. The couple were much devoted to 
 one another, and lived an ideal married 
 life. The marriage was blessed with si.\ 
 children, \\z: Christian Anton Frederick 
 Popp (our subject); a brother, now super- 
 intendent of the Lutheran church at 
 Wiesenbroun, Germany; Henrietta, who 
 died of croup at the age of four years; 
 Franz, deceased, who was procurist (con- 
 fidential clerk) in the Rothschild Bank at 
 Vienna; Carl, who became a wanderer, 
 led an adventurous life, and fought with 
 Kossuth in the Turkish service against 
 Russia (after peace was declared, he went 
 to England, where he married a banker's 
 daughter in Birmingham; he served a 
 number of years as Imperial German 
 Consul); and Elenore, married to a teacher 
 named Lindner. 
 
 Rev. C. A. F. Popp studied first in 
 Bayreuth, and later in the University of 
 Erlangen, where he made a specialty of 
 theology from 1841 to 1845. He after- 
 ward became a private teacher in the 
 family of Baron Reinhardt, of Bavaria, 
 in which capacity he served for a year 
 and a half, at the end of which time he 
 received a call from the Consistory to the 
 ministry, which he obeyed. He was or- 
 dained May 5, 1S48, and took charge as 
 administrator of the church Parochy at 
 Marktbenten, at the end of one year be- 
 coming assistant pastor at Mistlegau, 
 near Bayreuth. Later in the year 1849, 
 he emigrated to America (where many of 
 his friends and fellow students had pre- 
 ceded him), taking with him letters of 
 recommendation to the Lutheran Synod 
 of Pennsylvania, of which he became a 
 member, his membership continuing from 
 1850 to i860, during which time he had 
 charge of the Lutheran Church at Bir- 
 mingham, Penn. In 1855 he moNcd to 
 Ouincy, 111., where he preachefl six years, 
 and then went to Warsaw, 111., remain- 
 ing six years as pastor of a Lutheran 
 Church of that place, and his next pas- 
 torage was in Bethlehem, 111., where he 
 served two years. As a means of build- 
 ing up his health which, bj' reason of his- 
 
450 
 
 COMMEMOHATIVE BIOGEAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 man}- \ears hard work had become im- 
 paired, he in 1868 left Bethlehem for 
 Oshkosh, Wis., and in 1870 removed to 
 Kenosha. In 1881 he took up his abode 
 in Wrightstown, where he assumed charge 
 of the Lutheran Church. He has be- 
 come well known as an earnest and valu- 
 able worker, both in the Church and in 
 the parochial schools, which latter, under 
 his supervision, are scattered over four 
 townships and thirteen school districts, 
 and are limited to children from thirteen 
 to si.xteen years of age. He is held in 
 high esteem by his people, who value him 
 as a friend, and where\er he has been he 
 is remembered as a pastor who has the 
 welfare of his parishioners at heart. He 
 is a preacher of the old school, and has 
 the mien of a patriarch, his influence over 
 the people of his congregation being 
 abundantly felt throughout life. Rev. 
 Popp was married in Mistlegau. Germany, 
 June 16, 1849, to Miss Emeline Wilhel- 
 mina Christiana Hagen, who was born 
 May 18, 1830, in Neudrossenfeld, daugh- 
 ter of Rev. Christian Hagen, a Lutheran 
 minister, and fourteen children were born 
 to this union, of whom the following are 
 now living: Anna Margaretha, Franz 
 Johannes, Sophia Maria E., Fred Peter 
 August, Godfrey George Ludwig, Rosa- 
 linda F. J. A. and Carl Jacob F. A. Of 
 these, 
 
 Godfrey G. L. Porr was born May 
 28. 1868. in Bethlehem, 111., was edu- 
 cated in Kenosha and W'rightstown. stud- 
 ied pharmacy at Racine and Baraboo. 
 Wis., and in September, 1890, received a 
 license from the State of Wisconsin. He 
 opened a drug store in \\'rightstovvn in 
 the fall of 1889, and has continued in 
 same ever since with eminent success. 
 He was married November 20, 1890, to 
 Miss Emma Rather, a native of Wrights- 
 town, daughter nf Albert Rather, a hard- 
 ware merchant. Two children have 
 blessed this union, Viola Caroline E. and 
 Ida Nellie. Mr. and Mrs. Popp are mem- 
 bers of the Lutheran Church; politically he 
 is identified with the Democratic part\ . 
 
 APTAIN H. W. WEBSTER, ply- 
 ing on the lakes between Green 
 
 r 
 
 V ^ Bay and Chicago and intervening 
 ports, was born in De Pere, Wis. . 
 in 1847, and is a son of Levi and Mary 
 P. (Smith) Webster. 
 
 Levi Webster was a nati\e of \'er- 
 niont, and in 1833 or 1834 came to Wis- 
 consin, locating in Green Bay, and then 
 settled at De Pere. and assisted in putting 
 in the locks. He later purchased and 
 moved to a farm near the city, and made 
 it his home till his death, which occurred 
 in October, 1862, being followed by his 
 wife in February, 1863; both were mem- 
 bers of the Presbyterian Church at De- 
 Pere, of which she was a charter member. 
 They reared a family of four sons, viz. : 
 Lewis B., who resides in Rutland, \'t., 
 was a three-years' \olunteer in the Fifty- 
 eighth 111. V. I., but was discharged on 
 account of disability in 1862, probably 
 within a year after enlisting; he is now 
 employed at the Howe Scale Works. 
 Levi H., the second son, enlisted in the 
 Twentieth \\'is. \". I. for three years; 
 took part in the battle of Pittsburg Land- 
 
 inir, and in the 
 
 fights 
 
 on the 
 
 Gulf; he is 
 now a farmer in Minnesota. Edgar E. , 
 the third son. served his full three years, 
 in the Civil war. in the Fourteenth Wis- 
 consin Infantry. 
 
 Capt. H. W. Webster, the fourth son, 
 was reared on his father's farm, and edu- 
 cated in Lawrence township. Brown 
 county. In 1869 he entered on his lake 
 life as a fireman on a steamer, and in 1871 
 reached a captaincy. He was married, 
 at Green Bay, to Miss Sarah N. Lewis, a 
 native of Montello, Marquette Co., Wis., 
 and a daughter of Thomas and Asenath 
 (Buck) Lewis, natives of Ohio. This 
 union has been blessed with one child, 
 Herbert Lewis \\'ebster. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Webster are conscientious members of 
 the M'jthodist Episcopal Church ; in poli- 
 tics the Captain is a Prohibitionist; social- 
 ly he is a member of the Royal Arcanum, 
 Lodge No. 546. Grandfather Smith was 
 a native of \'ermont, and one of the pio- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BKJdKAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 451 
 
 neers of Green Bay. Of Green Bay the 
 Captain has witnessed nnich of the re- 
 markable development, as well as of the 
 complete growth of Lawrence township. 
 His temperate and upright life has won 
 for him many sincere friends, as well as 
 the respect of his fellow citizens of Brown 
 county. 
 
 CHARLES L. DAVIS, farmer and 
 stock raiser, and one of the pro- 
 gressive, public-spirited citizens 
 of Lawrence township. Brown 
 county, was born |uly 25, 1S48, in the 
 town (.)f I\o\alton, Niagara ci)unt\'. New 
 York. 
 
 His father, E. B. Davis, was a native 
 of Schenectady county, N. 'S'., where he 
 married Polly Schadd, and \\hile living in 
 New York they had children as follows: 
 John, a member of Company L Third 
 Wisconsin Cavalry, who died at Madison, 
 Wis.; George, who died in Elyria, Ohio; 
 and Charles L. , whose name introduces 
 this sketch. Mr. Davis was a farmer in 
 New York State, and, in 1849, he removed 
 to Lorain county, Ohio, and purchased a 
 farm in Carlisle townshij), where he con- 
 tinued to follow agricultural pursuits, and 
 here he also dealt extensively in lumber, 
 principally the purchasing of staves for a 
 Buffalo firm. In Lorain county was born 
 another child, Jane C, who married 
 Bruce Lindsley, and died in Flintville, 
 Brown Co., Wis. Mrs. Polly Davis died 
 in Lorain county January 17, 1857, and 
 was buried in Elyria, same county, and 
 Mr. Davis then married Miss Susan Oak- 
 ley, who died in Lorain county July 11, 
 1858. In 1859 he wedded, in Lockport, 
 N. Y. , for his third wife. Miss Mary Bar- 
 rett. In r86o, the lumber business hav- 
 ing gradually declined with the clearing 
 away of the forests, Mr. Davis concluded 
 to remove farther west, and brought his 
 family to Brown county. Wis., traveling 
 by rail to Oshkosh, and from there by 
 stage to Wrightstown, Brown count\', 
 where they located. Mr. Davis again 
 
 engaged in the stave business, buying 
 timber from farmers, and he put consid- 
 erable money into circulation here, as his 
 trade was an extensive one. He invested 
 in a large anmunt of laud in Brown c<junty, 
 and pre-empted over three hundred 
 acres of government land. He was a 
 well-built man, of splendid physitjue, and 
 was well-known and highly respected in 
 his commimity. At the time of his 
 death, which occurred March 11, 1878, 
 he was comfortably situated. In his polit- 
 ical belief he was a Democrat, and a 
 stanch supporter of the party, but was 
 not an active politician. He lies buried 
 in Wrightstown cemetery. 
 
 Charles L. Davis received his first 
 school training in Carlisle township, Lo- 
 rain Co.. Ohio. After the death of his 
 mother he returned to Niagara county, 
 N. Y., and for two years made his home 
 with his grandfather, then, in i860, com- 
 ing to W'isconsin. In October, 1864, 
 then but little over sixteen years of age, 
 he enlisted, at Green Bay, Wis. , in Com- 
 pany H, Twelfth W'isconsin Infantry, 
 was sent South, and, joining the regiment 
 at Marietta, Ga., participated in the en- 
 tire campaign through the Carolinas. He 
 took part in the Grand Review at Wash- 
 ington, D. C, was mustered out at 
 Louis\ille, Ky. , and received an honorable 
 discharge at Madison, Wis. When he 
 first came to W^isconsin, the schools were 
 very poor, and he did not attend much, 
 as he assisted his father in the latter's 
 extensive lumber business, becoming 
 familiar with the details of same when 
 3'et a mere boy. After the war he be- 
 came partner with his father in the 
 business, and continued to hold an inter- 
 est in same until 1879. 
 
 On April 9, 1877, at Wrightstown, 
 Wis., by Rev. Father De Wilt, Mr. Davis 
 was united in marriage to Miss Ellen 
 Sullivan, who was born January 22, 1857, 
 in W'inchendon, Worcester Co., Mass., 
 eldest child of John and Ellen (Harris) 
 Sullivan. For five years previous to her 
 marriage, she followed the profession of 
 
45- 
 
 COM-VKMORATIVE BIOOIiAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 school teaching, in the meantime having 
 her residence in Lawrence. In 1882 Mr. 
 Davis purchased his present farm, in 
 Lawrence township, and moved thereon, 
 at the same time severing completely his 
 connection with the lumber business. 
 Since that time he has been exclusively 
 engaged in general farming and stock 
 raising, and he now has a fertile, well- 
 improved farm of ninety-nine acres. In 
 politics he is one of the leaders of the 
 Ueiuocratic party in his section, and for 
 three years has been chairman of the 
 Democratic committee. He is always 
 among the foremost men in the township 
 in any enterprise tending to benefit the 
 community in general. To him and his 
 wife have come children as follows: Jen- 
 nie E.. born August 2, 1879; Mamie L., 
 born February 4, 1881, died February 7, 
 1882; John E", born June 18, 1882; Har- 
 riet C, born May 24, 1886, died May 7, 
 1887; and Charles F.. born April i, 1889. 
 
 01. B. BKICK. The Kingdom of 
 iSelgium has given to the United 
 States man\- of her industrious, 
 lujal and prosperous citizens, 
 among whom may be justly numbered the 
 gentleman whose name here appears — a 
 name in northern Wisconsin as "familiar 
 as household words." 
 
 Mr. Brice has the distinguished honor 
 of representing his native land as consul 
 for Wisconsin, Minnesota and the two 
 Dakotas, his appointment, over the sign- 
 manual of the King of the Belgians, dating 
 June iG, 1880, the United States being 
 at the time under the administration of 
 Cicn. K. B. Hayes. In addition to his 
 consular duties Mr. Brice carries on e.\ten- 
 sive real-estate and insurance businesses, 
 and is ticket agent for Ocean steamship 
 lines. He was born April 6, 1837, in the 
 city of Jodoigne, Pro\ince of Brabant, 
 Belgium, a son of John Louis and Mary 
 J. (Straele) Brice, also of Belgian nativ- 
 ity. They had a family of nine children, 
 
 of whom five died in infancy, and the 
 others (four brothers; came to Brown 
 county. Wis., viz.: Joseph, who settled 
 in the town of Scott, Brown county, in 
 1856; Louis and Albert, both house and 
 sign painters, and residing in Green Bay; 
 and our subject. The father died in Bel- 
 gium in 1849; the mother came to Green 
 Bay in 1859, and died here in 1861. 
 
 The subject proper of this memoir was 
 reared and educated in his native country 
 up to the age of eighteen years, at which 
 time, in the spring of 1855, he immi- 
 grated to the United States, locating at 
 first in Milwaukee, where he worked at 
 the trade of house and sign painter (which 
 he had learned in Belgium). In the fall 
 of the same year, he moved to West Troy, 
 Walworth Co., Wis., where he worked as 
 wagon and carriage painter, and whence, 
 in the earlj' part of 1856, he moved to 
 Green Bay. His first work, after arriv- 
 ing at Green Bay, was on a farm in the 
 town of Green Bay, in said county, but 
 at the end of nine months he aban- 
 doned the plough (the axe and hoe, 
 rather) for the counter, engaging as 
 clerk in a grocery and provision store in 
 Green Bay. For some years thereafter 
 he followed his trade of house and sign 
 painter. In 1863 he was appointed dep- 
 uty sheriff under George Longton; in 1868 
 he was elected sheriff, and served in that 
 capacity till 1871. In 1871-72 he was 
 jailer, and in the fall of 1872 he engaged 
 in mercantile business, but on account of 
 ill-health sold out the same in 1874. In 
 1875 he was elected chief of police. In 
 1877 he was elected justice of the peace 
 for the term of two years; in 1879 he 
 was elected police justice, serving two 
 years, at the end of which time he was 
 again elected police justice, and again in 
 1883. an incumbency he filled up to the 
 spring of 1885. The capabilities of Mr. 
 Brice were now further substantially rec- 
 ognized by his election to the office of 
 city clerk, in which he served two years, 
 and was immediately re-elected to his old 
 position of police justice, holding same 
 
COMMEMOllATIVE BrOGUAPinCAL liECOliD. 
 
 453 
 
 this time for four years, or up to the spring 
 of 1893. 
 
 In 1857 Mr. Brice was united in mar- 
 riage in Green Bay with Miss Odile Fon- 
 taine, a nati\-e of Belgium, daughter of 
 John Remy and Ehzabeth Fontaine, who 
 came to Brown county in 1855, where 
 they died. To Mr. and Mrs. Brice were 
 born four children, of whom one died in 
 infancy; the following is a brief record of 
 the other three: Jules R. is married, 
 and is a stenographer and typewriter in 
 the general freight offices of the Chicago, 
 Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad at Chi- 
 cago; Alfred L. , married, is an attorney- 
 at-law'in Minneapolis, Minn. ; Ella D. is 
 the wife of Louis Schimel, of Chicago, 
 111. The mother of these died in 1876, 
 and in 1S79 Mr. Brice married Miss Mar)' 
 Rebecca Gray, a Philadelphia lady. They 
 attend the services of the Presbyterian 
 Church, in the choir of which Mr. Brice's 
 fine bass voice is heard each Sabbath of 
 the jear. Socially he is a member and 
 past chancellor of Pochequette Lodge No. 
 26, Knights of Pythias; politically he is a 
 pronounced Republican. 
 
 H PORTER CAMPBELL, the well- 
 known nurseryman, and the pres- 
 ent cit_\- treasurer of Green Bay, 
 was born in Scott township. Bay 
 Settlement, Brown county. Wis., in 1840, 
 and is the son of John and Elizabeth 
 (Davenport) Campludl, 
 
 John Campbell, the father, was born 
 and reared in Scotland, whence when a 
 young man he emigrated to America, lo- 
 cating at Mackinac, Mich., later coming 
 to Brown county. Wis., where he settled 
 on a farm. About the year 1842 he re- 
 cei\ed the appointment of government 
 blacksmith at Grande Traverse, remain- 
 ing there about nineteen years, and then 
 returning to Brown county, where his 
 death occurred in July, 1864, his wife 
 surviving him imtil 1871. The\' were the 
 parents of eleven children, as follows: 
 Hiram, drowned at Green Bay; Robert, 
 
 died on the old homestead in Scott town- 
 ship in 1869; John, still living at Bay 
 Settlement, Wis. ; Samuel, died in Michi- 
 gan; Sylvester, died at the age of seven; 
 \\'illiani, who enlisted, in 1864, in the 
 Thirteenth Wis. \' . I., and died in a hos- 
 pital in Te.xas; Hannah, died in Michigan; 
 Elizabeth and an infant unnamed, also 
 died in Michigan; Henry, of Two Rivers, 
 Wis., and H. Porter, the subject of this 
 sketch. 
 
 H. Porter Campbell was reared among 
 the Indians at Grande Traverse, and 
 learned the language of the Ottawa tribe, 
 living with them when there was only one 
 other white family among them, until 
 1845. In i860 he returned to Scott 
 township. Brown county, and settled on 
 a farm. In August, 18G4, he enlisted in 
 Company B, Forty-fourth Wis. V. I., and 
 was assigned to the Western army. He 
 took part in the battle of Nashville, Tenn., 
 and was then placed on garrison duty at 
 Paducah, Ky. ; served as acting sergeant 
 until July 4, 1865, when he was promoted 
 to orderly sergeant and was honorably 
 discharged at Paducah in September of 
 the same year. Returning home, he re- 
 sumed farming, which he followed until 
 1880, when he removed to Green Bay 
 and engaged in the dairy business; later 
 opened a restaurant, and finally engageii 
 in handling nursery stock. 
 
 Mr. Campbell was married in 1866, in 
 \^'innebago county, Wis., to Miss Eliza- 
 beth Townsend, a native of that county, 
 and a daughter of Lucius B. and Lucy 
 (Bowker) Townsend, who came from Ver- 
 mont to Racine, Wis., at an earl)' day, 
 and in 1846 to Winnebago county. The 
 father was a farmer, and 1867 removeti 
 to Minnesota, then came to Bay Settle- 
 ment, Brown county. Wis., but again 
 went to Minnesota, and there died in 
 1892; the mother passed away in \\''inne- 
 bago county. Wis., in 1874. To the mar- 
 riage of H. P. Campbell and wife have 
 been born eight children, viz. : Lucius 
 T. , of Fort Howard; Maud, living in 
 Green Bay; John, of Chicago; Nora, who 
 
454 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 (lied in infancy; Samuel, in Chicago; 
 Frank, in Green Bay; Charles, died at 
 the age of one year, and Harry, attend- 
 ing school. In politics Mr. Campbell is 
 a Republican; while on his. farm he was 
 school district clerk in 187X; was also 
 elected chairman of the town of Scott, 
 and in the spring of 1894 was elected to 
 his present po.sition of city trea.surer of 
 Green Bay. F"raternally. he is a mem- 
 ber of F. O. Howe Post Xo. 124, C A. 
 R., being its adjutant. 
 
 F 
 
 j. B. DUCHATEAU. This gen- 
 tleman, who is one of the most 
 enterprising business men of 
 Green Bay, is a native of that 
 city, born, in 1867, of French and Belgian 
 ancestry. 
 
 His father. .Abelard Uuchateau, by 
 birth a typical son of " La Belle France," 
 came to the United States in 1856, and 
 for some years was engaged in the wine 
 and liquor trade as a traveling salesman. 
 About 1867 he came to Green Bay, and 
 at Shoemaker's Point established a grocery 
 and trading business, which he carried on 
 until 1870, when he opened in Green Bay 
 a wholesale liquor concern. In 1874 he 
 and his brother, L. A. K. Duchateau, 
 built a commodious business block, two 
 st(jries high with basement. In 1888 
 the father died, and his widow and son, 
 F. J. B., have since conducted the busi- 
 ness. Abelard Duchateau was married 
 in Green Bay to Miss Felicite Delwiche, 
 a lady of Belgian birth, and fi\e children 
 have blessed their union, viz. : Heloise, 
 wife of W. E. Duncan, of Westboro, 
 Wis. ; Arthur H. ; Lizzie, wife of C. D. 
 Brower, of Milwaukee, Wis.; F. J. B., 
 subject of sketch; and Rose, wife of 
 William Hope, with her mother, who is 
 still living in Green Bay. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared 
 and educated in his native town, and was 
 brought u]i to the business he is engaged 
 in. In 1890 he was married in Green 
 Bay to Miss Mary Beaiipre. who was born 
 
 in that city, a daughter of Dr. William 
 Beaupre, who now resides at Merrill, 
 Wis. To this union were born two chil- 
 dren, one of whom, Olive Felicite, is liv- 
 ing. The mother of these died in 1892, 
 and in 1893 Mr. Duchateau wedded Mrs. 
 Julia (Lucas) 0'Lcar_\-, daughter of Abe 
 Lucas, an early settler of Green Bay. 
 In politics our subject is a Republican; 
 has served as a member of the council 
 two years, and has been elected for two 
 more terms. He is associated with the 
 K. of P., Vigilant Lodge No. 120, Kewau- 
 nee, Wisconsin. 
 
 M 
 
 J. McCORMICK,agent at Green 
 Bay for the Lackawanna and the 
 Goodrich Transportation lines, 
 is a native of Brown county, 
 Wis., born in 1854. 
 
 His parents, John and Mary ^Earley) 
 McCormick, who were born in Ireland, 
 came in 1850 to the United States, first 
 locating in New Jersey, but in 1852 moved 
 to Wisconsin and settled in Suamico 
 township). Brown county, where they 
 hewed a farm out of the wilderness. 
 John McCormick died in 1865 on the 
 home place, and his widow now resides 
 in Green Bay. They had born to their 
 marriage three children, viz. : Sarah, 
 Amelia and M. |.. the two sisters now 
 making their home with our subject. 
 
 M. J. McCormick was reared in his 
 native township until 1870, when became 
 to live in Green Bay. The two years of 
 1872 and 1873, however, he passed in 
 Escanjiba, in the employ of Daj' & Mc- 
 Kenna, a grocery firm, and at the close 
 of 1873 returned to Green Bay, where he 
 became bookkeeper for the Monitor Iron 
 Works, of Fort Howard; later was book- 
 keeper with Pres. N. C. Foster, in a lum- 
 ber yard until 1 876, when he engaged in 
 the grain and feed business, which in 
 1885 he relinquished. In 1878 he be- 
 came the agent for the Goodrich Trans- 
 portation Co., and in 1886 the agent for 
 the Lackawanna Co. In the winter of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 455 
 
 1892 he erected the large warehouse, 
 84 X 140 feet, at the foot of Pine street, 
 and here he conducts his present business. 
 Since 1885 he has also been agent for the 
 Northwestern Fuel Company. 
 
 In politics Mr. McCormick is a Demo- 
 crat, in religion he is a Catholic. He is 
 secretary of the Business Men's Associa- 
 tion, and has always been ali\e to and 
 identified with the promotion of the best 
 interests of Green Ba}', of which he has 
 so long been a resident, and in which he 
 has seen so many changes for the better. 
 
 P.^TRicK Mccormick, ..f the 
 firm of McCormick i,\: b'latle}', 
 dealers in haj', oats, wood and 
 coal. Green Baj-, was born April 3, 
 1848, in Ireland, and is a son of John and 
 Ann (Dunn) McCormick, who came to 
 America aljout 1851, and located in Fond 
 du Lac county. Wis. , where the_\- opened 
 up a farm in the woods, on which the 
 father still resides, and where the mother 
 died in 1863. They reared a family of 
 eight children, of whom. the following si.\ 
 still survive: Patrick, whose name opens 
 this sketch; Thomas, of Oregon, Wis.; 
 William, of Wausau, Wis. ; Bridget, wife 
 of John Mullin, of Fond du Lac county; 
 Anna, now Mrs. McCullen, of the same 
 county, and Jane, married to Milton Kerr, 
 of St. Paul, Minnesota. 
 
 Patrick McCormick was reared in 
 Fond du Lac county until sixteen jears 
 old, at which early age he enlisted, in 
 May, 1864, at Madison, W^is., in Com- 
 pany K, Thirty-seventh Wis. \'. I., for 
 three years or during the war. He was 
 assigned to the army of \'irginia, first met 
 the enemy at the battle of Mine Run, 
 and from that time on was with his regi- 
 ment in all its marches and engagements 
 until the close of the war; after passing 
 through the Grand Review at \\'ashing- 
 ton, D. C, May 23-24, 1S65, he was 
 honorably discharged at Madison, Wis., 
 in September, 1865, and returned to 
 Fond du Lac county. In 1867 he came 
 
 to Green Bay and worked for P. Flatley, 
 for four years. His marriage took place 
 in Green Bay, in 1872, to Mary Harram, 
 a native of Livt'r[)ool, England, and 
 daughter of John and Sarah (Flatley) 
 Harram, natives of Ireland and pioneers 
 of Green Ba\'. To this union have been 
 born eleven children, viz; John, William 
 (clerk in the Citizens Bank), Mary, Anna, 
 Sadie, Edward, Thomas, Jeimie, James, 
 Charley and Rosaline. Nlr. McCormick 
 started his present business in 1886 — first 
 in Paul Fox's block, Washington street, 
 Green Bay; in 1890 he bought the 
 George Cook dock, and in 1891 f)uilt an 
 elevator with a capacity of I 5,000 bushels, 
 besides se\eral storage sheds, and has 
 been successful from the start. Mr. and 
 Mrs. McCormick are de\out members 
 of the Catholic Church. In his politics 
 he is independent, and gi\es his \ote to 
 the best men and for the best measures, 
 as his judgment may dictate. He was 
 one of the promoters of the Brown 
 County Fair & Park Association, and is 
 one of the board of directors. 
 
 C.\PT. (^.EOKGE A. GAYLORD, 
 keeper of the Tail Point Light- 
 house, distant Some se\en miles 
 from Green Ba}', Wisconsin, is a 
 shrewd, careful, weather-beaten, life-long 
 sea-faring man, having commenced sail- 
 ing the lakes in boyhood. 
 
 He is a nati\e of Ohio, born in Dela- 
 ware county in 1821), a son of Eleazer 
 and Anna (Earl) (jaylord, the mother 
 born in Clinton county, N. \.. but reared 
 in Ohio. The father was born, in 1790, 
 in Luzerne county, Penn., a son of 
 Eleazer Gaylord, of Connecticut birth, 
 who came to Pennsylvania, and in 1800 
 moved to Delaware county, Ohio, where 
 he passed the rest of his days. Our sub- 
 ject's father was h\ trade a miller, which 
 he followed in Delaware county, in later 
 life moving to Sandusky, Erie coimtv, 
 where he died in 1890, his wife in 1887. 
 They had a family of seven children. 
 
45 
 
 6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 namely: George A., subject of sketch; 
 Earl, a resident of Livingston county, 
 III. (he was a sailor, spending four years 
 of his life at sea); William, drowned at 
 the age of three jears; James, who died 
 in Delaware county, Ohio, when six 
 years old; Edwin; William, a physician 
 and surgeon, and Catherine, wife of Solon 
 Stanley, all three residents of Sandusky, 
 Ohio. 
 
 The subject of these lines was reared 
 and educated in Delaware county, Ohio, 
 and attheageof sixteen jears commenced 
 the life of a sailor, making his first trips 
 between Sandusky and Buffalo. By close 
 application to his duties, and rapidly 
 making himself acquainted with the 
 science of navigation, he found speedy 
 promotion through the various grades up 
 to captain in 1852, from which time for- 
 ward he had command of vessels till re- 
 tiring from the vocation. In 1 866 he 
 brought his family to Green Bay, between 
 which port and Buffalo he had captained 
 the steamer " Rocket" since 1862. In 
 1878 he made his last trip, retiring into 
 private life after a successful career of 
 thirty-five years on the lakes. In the 
 spring of 1880 he was appointed to his 
 present position, in which, it is almost un- 
 necessary to say, he exercises the same 
 care and vigilance as he did while a 
 mariner, whose motto might well be 
 "eternal vigilance is the price of safrtv-" 
 
 In 1855 Capt. Gaylord was married 
 to Miss Deborah Landsdowne, who was 
 born in Sandusky, Ohio, a daughter of 
 Samuel Landsdowne, a native of En- 
 gland, who with his wife Rachel emi- 
 grated to this country, settling in 
 Sandusky, Ohio, where they died. To 
 our subject and wife were born four chil- 
 dren, viz. : George, single, in the cattle 
 busine.ss at Folsom, N. Mex. ; Catherine, 
 a teacher in the public schools of Green 
 Bay; Marion, at home with her parents: 
 and Edith, who died at the ago of twenty- 
 three jears. In his political preferences 
 Capt. Gaylord is a stanch Republican; 
 socially he is a member of W'ashington 
 
 Lodge No. 21, F. & A. M., and of War- 
 ren Chapter No. 50; he received his 
 initiation in Science Lodge No. 30, San- 
 dusky. During the thirty-two years from 
 the first day he set foot in Green Bay he 
 has seen some marvelous changes in the 
 place, and has been identified with it as 
 an honored, upright citizen, well-known 
 and highly respected. 
 
 WILLI.\M PERRY WAGNER. 
 This well-known gentleman, the 
 popular and esteemed cashier 
 of the Citizens National Bank 
 of Green Bay, by virtue of his prominent 
 position in the commercial as well as 
 social world of northern Wisconsin, is de- 
 serving of more than a passing notice in 
 the pages of this volume. 
 
 He was born March 5, 1859, in Mount 
 Morris, Ogle Co., 111., a son of Reuben 
 and Leah (Brubaker) Wagner, natives 
 respectively of Washington county, Md., 
 and Huntington county, Penn., and de- 
 scendants of the early German settlers of 
 those States. Reuben Wagner is at pres- 
 ent in the stock business in Chicago, a 
 member of the firm of Wagner Bros. & 
 Co. The mother of our subject died in 
 Ogle county. 111., in 1876, aged forty- 
 three years. 
 
 William P. W^agner received his edu- 
 cation at the schools of Polo, Ogle Co., 
 111., and having completed his studies, it 
 became necessary for him to select a pro- 
 fession, or to decide what occupation he 
 would pursue in future life. He was suc- 
 cessful in securing employment in the 
 Exchange National Bank of Polo, and 
 from that time pursued the even tenor of 
 his way, confidently anticipating the ar- 
 rival of the turning point which always 
 attends the promotion due to industry 
 and integritj'. In this and other banking 
 institutions in that county he remained 
 until 1 886, when he went to Chicago, and 
 for a short time was employed in the pri- 
 vate bank of S. A. Kean & Co., of that 
 city. In the summer of the same year, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 457 
 
 his services being sought by R. 1^). Kel- 
 logg, he came to Green Bay, and fur the 
 following two years was employed in the 
 Kellogg National Bank, at the end of 
 which time he organized the Citizens 
 National Bank of Green Bay with a capi- 
 tal of $100,000. That this institution 
 has proven a financial success goes with- 
 out saying, and the deposit accounts now 
 average from $350,000 to -$500, 000. rep- 
 resenting about half of the business de- 
 posits of the city. A dividend of si.x per 
 cent, was declared in 1890, and seven per 
 cent, annual dividends have been de- 
 clared each year since then, besides accu- 
 mulating a surplus of over $20,000, which 
 in itself speaks more than well of the 
 financial management of the concern. 
 
 In January, 1881, Mr. Wagner was 
 married to Miss Emma Whitcomb. of 
 Minneapolis, who died in December of 
 the same year in Ogle county, 111., leav- 
 ing an infant son, named Paul W. On 
 October 17, 1888, Mr. Wagner, for his 
 second wife, was married in Polo, 111., to 
 Miss Anna Shumway, a daughter of R. G. 
 Shumwa}', a banker at that place, and to 
 this union have come two children; Perry, 
 born April 5, 1890. and Eugenia, born 
 August 9, 1894. Mr. and Mrs. Wagner 
 are members of the Presbyterian Church, 
 and of the choir. In social organizations 
 he is a member of the Knights of Pythias. 
 Still young, and with all the l)uoyancy of 
 youth, a host of friends and deserved 
 prosperity, he is certainly a man to be 
 contented — and to be envied. Politicall}' 
 he is a Republican. 
 
 M 
 
 AGNUS JOHNSON. The 
 Scandinavian peninsula has sent 
 thousands of its sons and 
 daughters to the United States, 
 where they have become substantial, 
 thrifty and public-spirited citizens. The 
 gentleman for whom this sketch has been 
 prepared was born in 1837 in Gotten- 
 borg, Sweden, being one of a family of 
 four children reared by Johan Magnuson 
 
 and Angeline (Nelson), both natives of 
 the same country. The father died in 
 1868, the mother in 1872. Of their chil- 
 dren, Andrew yet resides in Sweden; John 
 lives in Colorado, and Loue in Minne- 
 sota. 
 
 Magnus Johnson was educated in the 
 schools of his native countr\', relying up- 
 on his own efforts to store his mind with 
 practical knowledge, of usefulness to a 
 man battling with the grave problems of 
 life. He early learned the trade of ship 
 carpenter, and was so proficient as to be 
 made foreman at the age of nineteen. 
 For twelve years he sailed the Atlantic, 
 between Sweden and the West Indies, 
 the Cape of Good Hope, Brazil and the 
 principal European ports, his knowledge 
 of ship carpentry more than once being 
 the means of saving his vessel. In 
 1858 his fortunes were united with those 
 of Miss Anna Helen Johnson, also of 
 Swedish parentage and nativit}'. Her 
 parents, John Bergenson and wife, lived 
 and died among the scenes of their nativ- 
 ity. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are the par- 
 ents of children as follows: Angeline, 
 who died at Green Bay aged twenty 
 years; Charlotte, residing in Green Bay; 
 Maly, who married Allie Britton, and 
 died in Green Bay when but nineteen 
 years of age; John, a resident also of 
 Green Bay; Tene, now Mrs. Williams, of 
 Milwaukee; Henry, Laura and Jennie, at 
 home; another child, named Charlotte, 
 died young. 
 
 In 1866 Mr. Johnson immigrated with 
 his family to Green Bay, and for about 
 sixteen years was employed at the blast 
 furnace, working also for some years at 
 his old trade of ship carpenter. For the 
 past eight years he has been engaged in 
 the line of contracting and building, and 
 at the present time emplo\s about twenty 
 men. Many of the city's residences and 
 business houses have been erected under 
 his supervision. He holds the position of 
 city plumber and inspector, and is super- 
 visor of the Fourth ward, which he also 
 represented one term in the city council. 
 
458 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 In politics Mr. Johnson is a Repnblican. 
 Both he and his wife are members of 
 Christ Church. He is a prominent Odd 
 Fellow, having passed through the chairs 
 of both the Subordinate Lodge and En- 
 campiment. For several years he has 
 been chairman of the board of trustees of 
 Green Bay Lodge, No. 19, I. O. O. F., 
 and has also served the local branch of 
 the Royal Arcanum as a trustee. That 
 such a man should be ranked among the 
 stanch citi^tens of Green Bay is but just 
 in the light of his honorable record. 
 
 H.\. \V OTTER, M. D. This 
 L;cntleman, one of the leading 
 physicians and surgeons of north- 
 ern Wisconsin, is a native of the 
 State, born August 21, 1S55, in Green- 
 ville township, Outagamie county. 
 
 Frederick and Helen (Schaefer) Wot- 
 ter. parents of our subject, natives of 
 Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany, immi- 
 grated to the United States in 1855, set- 
 ling on a farm in Greenville township, 
 Outagamie Co., Wis. Here the father 
 died in 1891; he was a Democrat in his 
 political associations, and held various 
 township offices. The mother is now a 
 resident of Appleton, Wis. Their family 
 numbered eight children, all residents of 
 Appleton except the Doctor, as follows: 
 B. C. is a dealer in farm machinery, 
 hardware, etc. ; H. A. is the subject of 
 this sketch; Frederick: Henry is a cigar 
 manufacturer; Otto; Dora is the wife of 
 J. L. Pringle; Lotta is the wife of Julius 
 Waite, and Helen is the wife of George 
 Hanchett. 
 
 H. A. Wotter was reared on his fath- 
 er's farm tip to the age of si.xteen, receiv- 
 ing his earlier education at the common 
 schools of the neighborhood, after which 
 he attended the high school at Appleton. 
 He then for a time taught school in Outa- 
 gamie county, in the evenings reading 
 medicine with Dr. Charles \'on Hiddeson, 
 of Appleton, after which, in 1878, he en- 
 tered Rush Medical College, Chicago, 
 
 where he graduated in the class of 'Si. 
 Dr. Wotter commenced the practice of his 
 profession in Fountain City, Wis. ; from 
 there moved to Oconto, same State, thence 
 in 1 89 1 coming to Green Bay, where he 
 has since been engaged in regular practice, 
 meeting with the most gratifying success. 
 In 1S84 he took a post-graduate course at 
 the College of Physicians and Surgeons, 
 New York. 
 
 Dr. Wotter is a member of the Fox 
 River Medical Society ; socially he is 
 affiliated with the I. O" O. F., and of the 
 Iron Gate Council, Royal Arcanum. He 
 is interested in the G. B. Hess Co. flour- 
 ing-mill, built in 1893. having a capacity 
 of 200 barrels per day, and he is recog- 
 nized as a useful, wide-awake, loyal 
 citizen. 
 
 Ri:V. W ILLIAM FRANCIS VAN- 
 ROOS.MALEN, pastor of St. Wil- 
 librord's Catholic Church at Green 
 Bay, is a native of Holland, born 
 February 13, 1857, in 's Hertogenbosch, 
 where his paternal ancestry had resided 
 for many generations. 
 
 The city of 's Hertogenbosch was 
 built in 1 1 13, and the old house erected 
 by the Duke of Brabant is still standing. 
 As far bdfck as 1600 mention is made in 
 the Church records of the \'an Roosmalen 
 family, who were then residents of that 
 city; they were descendants of a noble 
 house, and held offices of trust in 's 
 Hertogenbosch. Christianus \"an Roos- 
 malen. paternal great-grandfather of the 
 subject of this sketch, was a merchant, 
 as was also the grandfather, whose busi- 
 ness is known to have been that of a 
 grocer. James Van Roosmalen, son of 
 the latter, and who still resides in Hol- 
 land, is an architect and contractor, 
 highly esteemed and beloved by many. 
 He married Miss .Adriana Van de \'en. 
 who was born at Cromvoirt. Holland, 
 and is still living, the mother of two chil- 
 dren, William Francis (our subject), and 
 Mary 1 wife of Henry Kitzlaar). 
 
COMMEMiUlA Tl \'E BIOUHAI'HICAL llHCOlil). 
 
 459 
 
 The subject proper of these hues at- 
 tended the schools of his native town, 
 later the g\ninasiutn at Geniert, whence 
 after two years he proceeded to Hrufj;es, 
 Belgium, where for four years he read in 
 the classical course; the main object of 
 his going there, however, being to be- 
 come more familiar with the French lan- 
 guage, which the citizens of Belgium 
 speak almost exclusively. On linishiiig 
 his course he returned to Holland, and 
 from there, after a sojourn of ten months, 
 emigrated to the United States with the 
 view of preparing himself for the priest- 
 hood in this countr}-. Arriving in New- 
 York Decend)iM- i, iSSi, he proceeded to 
 Notre Dame, Ind., where he studied 
 philosophy under lve\'. b'ather Fitt until 
 June l6, 1883, during which time he also 
 acted as assistant professor of tlic Latin 
 and I'-fench languages in the university. 
 On September ", 1883, he moved to Mil- 
 waukee, and at St. Francis Theological 
 Seminary completed his course in 
 theology. ( )ii |ime _'4, I 886, he was or- 
 dained a jnicst li\- the late Archbishop 
 Michael Heiss, and innnediately after- 
 ward was ap|)ointed pastor of the Holy 
 Cross Church in Mishicot, Manitowoc 
 Co., \\'is., of which he had charge three 
 years and five months. The congrega- 
 tion being composed of Cermans and 
 French, and the children having no o]:)- 
 portunity to learn those languages, be 
 found himself obliged to preach in three 
 different languages — German, French and 
 English. On February 12, 1890, be was 
 appointed, b}' Bishop Katzer, to his pres- 
 ent charge of St. Willibrord's Church, 
 Green Bay, where he has ever since been 
 a faithful and earnest pastor, all his tem- 
 p!)ral as well as spiritual relations having 
 been conducted in a meritorious maimer. 
 The old church was presided over by the 
 Ke\'. Father Bongers, who laid the 
 foundation stone of the new church 
 building, the completion of which Bishop 
 Katzer entrusted to Father Van Roos- 
 malen. On May i, 1891, the first brick 
 was laid, and the church was completed 
 
 December 12, 1893; its dimensions are 
 136x50 feet, the steeple being 240 feet 
 high antl containing one of the Howard 
 clocks and bell wt'ighing 4,000 pounds. 
 The entire building will forex'er be a 
 inoiunnent to I'"atlier Roosmalen's in- 
 tegrity, and will speak of him when he is 
 no longer numbered amcjng the living. 
 His people have come to understand bis 
 good intentions, anil are aiding him in 
 every way possible. His life is like a 
 poem in its far-rc-acbing benelits. He 
 has a spmpathy for all afflictions and a 
 kind and encouraging word for those who 
 are downcast and careworn — in a word, 
 he represents the true she|)herd that 
 guards well liis Hock. 
 
 DR. COLONliL ORMAN GAGF, 
 who is successfully engaged in the 
 ])ractice of dentistry in Green Bay, 
 is one of the native sons of Wis- 
 consin, ha\ing been born near b'onil du 
 Lac, June 11, 1861. 
 
 The Gage family is one of English 
 origin. The Doctor's father, Capt. 
 Nathaniel Gage, wlio was a native of 
 Rome, N. Y., was one of a fanulyof nine 
 children. He there obtained his educa- 
 tion, and afterward owned a packet and 
 passenger boat on the Erie canal, con- 
 tinuing bis residenct! in the Empire State 
 until 1840, when with his family he emi- 
 grated westward, taking uj) his residence 
 in Dodge county. Wis. There he en- 
 gaged in dealing in real estate, also buy- 
 ing and selling line horses. He became 
 a well-known and prominent citizen of 
 Dodge county, a leader in jiolitical circles, 
 and was frequently called to positions of 
 honor and trust, serving for many years 
 as chairman of the board of supervisors 
 and in various other (offices. He was an 
 active and earnest Repul)lican, and dur- 
 ing the Rebellion strongly supported all 
 war measures; but on account of impaired 
 health was unable to enter service in the 
 field, so had to content himself with his 
 
460 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 labors at home in behalf of the army. He 
 induced many to enter the service, acted 
 as enrolling master in Dodge county, and 
 helped to raise the quota of troops. 
 He became well and favorably known 
 throughout this part of the State, and 
 wherever he went won friends who held 
 him in high regard. His death occurred 
 in October, 1 866. Capt. Gage was mar- 
 ried in Utica, N. Y., to Miss Lodoska 
 Rose, daughter of Elisha Rose, and she 
 still survives her husband. In the family 
 were twelve children, five of whom are 
 yet living: Walter M., who is now a 
 resident of California; Jasper D., a dental 
 surgeon; Colonel Onnan, subject of this 
 sketch; Mrs. Hattie Jones, of Seattle, 
 Wash. ; and Mrs. Nellie Gage, of De- 
 Pere, Wisconsin. 
 
 Dr. C. O. Gage, whose name opens 
 this sketch, obtained his primary ed- 
 ucation in the schools of his native 
 city, later pursuing his studies in De- 
 lavan. Wis., and subsequently in the 
 Episcopal Parish School of Fond du Lac. 
 His first independent effort in life was in 
 the line of railroad work, he entering the 
 employ of the Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail- 
 road Company; but his active mind soon 
 tiring of tliis, he sought a wider field of 
 usefulness. At the age of twenty he took 
 up the study of medicine in the office of 
 Dr. R. L. Moore, of Spring \'alley, Minn., 
 and after a year's preparation, went to 
 Austin, Minn., where he began the study 
 of dentistry in the office of Dr. H. A. 
 Avery, a well-known dentist of that place. 
 Having fitted himself for practice, he then 
 opened an office in Waupun, Wis., in the 
 .spring of 1.S83, and soon had all the busi- 
 ness that he could well attend to, for his 
 merit and ability were recognized. Com- 
 ing to Green Bay, he was alike successful 
 in this place, in a very short period build- 
 ing up a fine business. He is especially 
 <iua]ified to take up the constitutional 
 treatment of his patients, and has been 
 very successful in that line. The fine 
 quality of his work is indicated by his 
 constantly increasing patronage, and in 
 
 the hieh reputation which he bears among 
 his professional brethren. 
 
 On the 1 6th of June, 1886, at Oak- 
 field, Wis., Dr. Gage was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Hattie R. Smith, daugh- 
 ter of L. S. Smith, and their union has 
 been blessed with one child, Bessie Ruth. 
 The Doctor and his wife are members of 
 the First Presbyterian Church; fraternally 
 he is connected with the Knights of Pyth- 
 ias, in politics, with the Republican party, 
 the principles of which he warmly advo- 
 cates. In social circles he and his wife 
 hold an enviable position, and their home 
 is noted for its hospitality. 
 
 PJ. VAN DEUREN, engaged as a 
 general merchant at Green Bay, 
 Wis. , w as born in the Province of 
 Brabant, Belgium, in 1850, a son 
 of G. J. and Mary i Avant) \'an Deuren, 
 also natives of Belgium, who left that 
 country in 1857, locating for a year in 
 Bellevue township. Brown county, and 
 then settled in Green Bay. 
 
 Here the father followed his trade of 
 tailoring until 1865, when he engaged in 
 the clothing business in partnership with 
 H. J. Bush until 1869, at which time the 
 latter sold his interest to H. Watermolen, 
 the style of the firm being changed to 
 \'an Deuren & Watermolen, the firm 
 name so continuing until 1871, when Mr. 
 Van Deuren bought the entire interest, 
 and conducted the establishment under 
 his exclusive name until 1880, in which 
 year his son, P. J., was admitted to a part- 
 nership. Van Deuren & Son carried on 
 the business until January i, 1894, when 
 the son assumed the entire charge, the 
 father retiring in comfort. G. J. Van- 
 Deuren was twice married, first time to 
 Miss Mary Avant, by whom he had chil- 
 dren as follows: Elizabeth, widow of 
 Joseph Heyrman; P. J., our subject; 
 Henry, city treasurer; John B., a cigar 
 manufacturer, and August. The mother 
 of these died in 1866, and in 1868 Mr. 
 \'an Deuren married Miss Caroline De- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE niOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 461 
 
 Graff, a native of Belgium (daughter of 
 Anton DeGraff), who came to Brown 
 county, Wis., in 1852, and died some 
 years ago. 
 
 P. J. Van Ueuren, who was but seven 
 years of age when he came to America, 
 received his education in Green Bay, and 
 his first employment was one year at the 
 tailoring business. He then carried a 
 general stock of goods on Adams street, 
 in 1873 erecting a two-story brick build- 
 ing, 22 X 80 feet, which he carried on until 
 he united in business with his father; in ad- 
 dition to this he also carries on an insur- 
 ance business. He was married in Green 
 Bay in 1875, to Adeline Motto, a native 
 of France, whose father was a pioneer of 
 Brown county, Wis., and an early hard- 
 ware merchant. The union of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Van Deuren has been blessed with 
 seven children, viz.: W. L. , Caroline, 
 Emma, Mary, Lizzie, Mark and Lenore. 
 The family are devout members of St. 
 Willibrord's Catholic Church, and their 
 position in society is a most enviable one. 
 In politics Mr. Van Deuren is a thorough- 
 going Democrat, and has three times 
 served as alderman from the Third ward; 
 fraternally he is a member of the Modern 
 Woodmen. He is one of the old-time 
 business men of Green Bay, one worthy 
 of being intrusted with the management 
 of the city's public affairs 
 
 EDWARD ENGELS, of the firm 
 of Engels & Mohr, boot and shoe 
 dealers of Green Bay, was born 
 in the Province of Liege, Belgium, 
 September 28, 1839, a son of John B. 
 and Gertrude (Serron) Engels. 
 
 John B. Engels, who was a tailor, 
 brought his family to America in 1856, 
 sailing from Antwerp, and after a voyage 
 of forty-six days landed at Quebec, from 
 which point they reached Green Bay, 
 having in their possession only eighteen 
 Belgian francs. In the fall of 1856 Mr. 
 Engels purchased 120 acres in Humboldt 
 township, Brown county, of which twenty 
 
 acres were cleared, and began the manu- 
 facture of .shingles. Here the mother 
 died April 26, 1878, and the husband in 
 
 1887, having cleared sixty acres of the 
 original one hundred and twenty, and 
 left a well-improved farm to his heirs. 
 The parents were pious Catholics, and 
 contributed to the erection of four differ- 
 ent church edifices in Brown county. 
 They reared a family of seven children, 
 viz.: Edward, subject of sketch; Peter, 
 who was in the lumber liusiness in Brown 
 and Oconto counties, but went to W'ash- 
 ington in 1874; Henry, on the homestead 
 in Humboldt township; William, proprie- 
 tor of the " Champion Hotel," Green Bay; 
 Rosa, who was married to a Mr. Koenen 
 in Belgium, but became a widow and re- 
 married, coming to i\\c United States in 
 1882, the wife of Gcrhart Schuurmans, 
 and now residing in Oconto county. Wis. ; 
 Julius, still in Belgium, on the maternal 
 homestead; and Nicholas, born in the 
 town of Humboldt, in 1859, and now re- 
 siding in Fort Howard, Wisconsin. 
 
 Edward Engels was educated in r>el- 
 gium, and on coming to Wisconsin assist- 
 ed in clearing up the fartn, etc.. until 
 1867, and in cutting timber in IJrown and 
 Oconto counties. In 1867 he married, 
 in Brown county, Mary V. \'incent, a 
 native of Belgium and daughter of John 
 B. and Anna (Bredaal) Vincent, who set- 
 tled in Humboldt township. Brown 
 county, in 1856, on a farm, but in 1869 
 moved to Green Bay and engaged in the 
 furniture business — owning two stores on 
 Main street. His death occurred in 
 
 1888. In 1867 Mr. Engels came to 
 Green Bay, erected a brick building on 
 Main street, carried on a grocery and 
 saloon business until 1889, and then en- 
 gaged in the boot and shoe trade on 
 Washington street, in which he has be- 
 come most popular and prosperous. In 
 politics he is a stanch Democrat, and in 
 1882 was a member of the city council; 
 he was city weighmaster for five or six 
 years, and in 1890 was city treasurer. 
 
 In 1885 Mr. Engels was deprived by 
 
462 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 death of his wife, who had borne him ten 
 children, viz.: John B. ; Henry; Wilhain, 
 a tailor of Ashland, Wis., of the firm of 
 Welch & Engels; Louis, a clerk: Edward 
 and August, attending school: Louis J., 
 who died in 1S74: Angeline, who died in 
 1S.S4; Rosa, who died in 1883; and Anna, 
 who died in 1885 at the age of ten 
 months. Mr. Engels is a member of St. 
 Willibrord's Church, of which he was 
 treasurer nine years. He is a member of 
 the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin, and 
 in 1894 a delegate to the State conven- 
 tion of that Order; he is also a member 
 of the St. Joseph Society. He is a self- 
 made man, having begun business on aver}' 
 small capital, but he has never ceased his 
 contributions to the worthy public aid of 
 Green Bay and Brown county. 
 
 FRANK B. SEYMOUR, superin- 
 tendent of the Green Bay, Winona 
 & St. Paul, and the Kewaunee, 
 Green Bay & Western railroads, 
 has a reputation second to none as a care- 
 ful, painstaking and vigilant railroad of- 
 ficial. He came to Green Bay in 1872, 
 and was engaged as brakeman on the 
 Green Bay & Lake Pepin railroad, first 
 on freights, later on passenger trains, and 
 from May, 1874, to August, 1878, as 
 freight conductor. At the latter date he 
 was promoted to passenger conductor, run- 
 ning passenger trains till January 18, 1887, 
 when he was appointed assistant superin- 
 tendent of the roads of which he has been 
 superintendent since November i, 1890. 
 Born in Jefferson county, N. '\'. , in 
 1856, Mr. Seymour is yet young, and has 
 in all human probability the best and 
 most important j'ears of his life yet to 
 come. He is a son of Gilbert and Mary 
 (McDonald) Seymour, natives, the father 
 of France, the mother of Comity Clare, 
 Ireland, (albert Seymour immigrated to 
 this country with his father, who was also 
 of French birth, and about 1832 they 
 located in Plattsburg, N. Y., where grand- 
 father Seymour died. Gilbert there mar- 
 
 ried Miss Mary McDonald, and in the fall 
 of 1863 they came to New London, Outa- 
 gamie Co., W'is. In August, 1864. he 
 joined Company A, Fort\'-second Regi- 
 ment Wis. v. I., and after the close of 
 the war worked at the carpenter trade 
 until 1S83, when the family moved to 
 Green Bay to make their home with their 
 son, Frank B. Here the father died 
 July 23, 1892, and here the mother yet 
 resides. They had a family of five child- 
 ren, of whom the following is a brief 
 record: Frederick is a clerk in a railroad 
 freight office at Ft. Howard; Frank B. is 
 the subject of this sketch; William H. 
 and Albert were both killed while in the 
 employ of the Chicago & Northwestern 
 railroad, William in December, 1879, at 
 St. Peter, Minn., and Albert in August, 
 1883, at Utica, Minn.; John J. is a pass- 
 enger conductor on the Green Bay, Win- 
 ona & St. Paul railroad, with residence 
 at Ft. Howard. 
 
 Frank B. Seymour, the subject proper 
 of these lines, was about seven years of 
 age when the family moved to New Lon- 
 don, and he here received his education. 
 In May, 1871, he commenced work, as a 
 day laborer, grading on the Green Bay. 
 Winona & St. Paul railroad, then laying 
 iron, after which he was a brakeman on 
 a construction train, e.xtra conductor on 
 freight, and finallj' as conductor on way 
 freight and passenger train until January 
 18, 1887, the date of promotion, as al- 
 ready related. Mr. Seymour was mar- 
 ried at La Crosse, Wis., to Miss Delia 
 M. Vincent, a native of that town, daugh- 
 ter of James Vincent, an early pioneer of 
 La Crosse and well-known lumber dealer. 
 By this union there is one child, Ida M. 
 A Republican in politics, our subject is 
 active in the interests of that party. He 
 is a member of Washington Lodge No. 
 21, F. & A. M., of Warren Chapter No. 
 8, of Palestine Commandery No. 20, and 
 of the Wisconsin Consistory; is also a 
 member of the K. of P., No. 26, Green 
 Bay, and is a charter member of the 
 Lodge at La Crosse. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RKCOUD. 
 
 463 
 
 'OODMAN CLARK HAMIL- 
 
 TON. To a student of biog- 
 
 « W raphy there is nothing more in- 
 teresting than to examine the 
 life history of a self-made man, and dis- 
 cover the reasons that enable one man in 
 the battle of life to surpass man)' of his 
 boyhood friends who were more ad\'an- 
 tageously endowed at the outset of their 
 career. The subject of this biography has 
 reached an honorable position among the 
 representative men of the Northwest 
 through his own exertions, and justly de- 
 ser\'es that nuicJi abused title — ' ' self-made 
 man. " 
 
 He was born in Lyme, N. H., Febru- 
 ary 22, 1834. His father, Irenus Hamil- 
 ton, was a miller and farmer, a man of 
 prominence in the community, and served 
 his fellow citizens in the Senate of his 
 State. His ancestors, of Scottish origin, 
 were among the early settlers of Connecti- 
 cut. He died in Lyme, N. H., in 1876, 
 aged sixty-eight years. The mother of 
 our subject, Mary Esther Hamilton {lu-c 
 Kittridge), was a memberof a family prom- 
 inent in matters of jurisprudence, her 
 brothers occupying high positions on the 
 bench or at the bar of New Hampshire and 
 Massachusetts. She died in 1849. 
 
 After obtaining a preliminary educa- 
 tion in the district school, joung Hamil- 
 ton attended an academy at Thetford, V't., 
 and completed his education at the cele- 
 brated St. Johnsbury Academy. At nine- 
 teen he entered upon his business career 
 becoming an emploj'e of the firm of Fair- 
 banks & Company, scale manufacturers, 
 of New York City. For two years he 
 acted as bookkeeper and salesman in the 
 establishment of that firm, making him- 
 self a valuable employe and deserving and 
 receiving promotion. Reaching man's 
 estate, he became desirous of entering busi- 
 ness on his own account and decided to 
 come West. Arriving in Wisconsin in 
 1855, and perceiving the future value of 
 the great tracts of timber land and the con- 
 sequent prosperity of the lumber business 
 in the State, he determined to enter busi- 
 
 26 
 
 ness here. In association with his brother, 
 Irenus K. Hamilton, he began business 
 in Fond du Lac under the lirm name of 
 I. K. & W. C. Hamilton. They pur- 
 chased pine lands, built a sawmill and 
 began to manufacture lumber, taking the 
 timber from the stump. They conducted 
 their affairs upon sound business princi- 
 ples, devoting their time and ability to 
 assure success to their enterprise, and 
 their efforts were fittingly rewarded. In 
 1866 Mr. Haniilton and his brother, I. 
 K., formed a [lartnership with A. C. Mer- 
 rjinan, under the name of Hamilton, Mer- 
 ryman & Co., fur the purpose of purchas- 
 ing pine lands and establishing a lumber 
 manufacturing plant at the mouth of 
 the Menominee river. They purchased 
 sixty odd thousand acres of timber land 
 in northern Wisconsin and Michigan, 
 tributary to the Menominee river and its 
 branches, and began operating a mill at 
 Marinette. They have from time to time 
 increased their holdings of timber lands, 
 and have since been constantly nianufac- 
 turing lumber. As the business increased 
 in magnitude, thev deemed it advisable 
 to incorporate themselves as a stock com- 
 pany, and accordingly the Hamilton & 
 Merryman Company was organized with 
 a capital stock of three hundred and fifty 
 thousand dollars. Its officers are: I. K. 
 Hamilton, president; W. C. Hamilton, 
 vice-president; audi A. C. Merryman, sec- 
 retary. The company is one of the 
 largest and most successful of the im- 
 mense lumber manufacturing establish- 
 ments along the Menominee river. From 
 thirty to forty millions of pine is annually 
 turned from timber (jn the stump to finished 
 lumber at its mills. The product is car- 
 ried b\- the c(.>m[)any's vessels to Chicas^o, 
 where its large distributing yards are lo- 
 cated. 
 
 In 1 891 Mr. Hamilton became inter- 
 ested in the Marinette and Menominee 
 Paper Company. He was elected presi- 
 dent of the corporation, and immediately 
 laid plans to enlarge its business. The 
 capital stock was increased from $175,000 
 
464 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to $750,000, and a new and modern mill, 
 known as the " Park Mill," was erected. 
 The plant has a capacit}' of sixty tons a 
 day, including print, book and manilla 
 papers, and ground wood and sulphite 
 pulp, manufactured from spruce wood 
 tioated down the Menominee river. Mr. 
 Hamilton devotes himself almost entirely 
 to the management of this business, and 
 its success is largely due to the care with 
 which he supervises its affairs. 
 
 In addition to the business connections 
 cited above, he is president of the Hamil- 
 ton & Mcrryman Mining Company, which 
 owns the Hamilton mine, located at Iron 
 Mountain, Mich., and has interests in 
 pine lands in Louisiana. He is also a 
 director in the Milwaukee Harvester Com- 
 pany, and holds a like position in a Chi- 
 cago Bank. Politically, he affiliates with 
 the Republican party, and, although in no 
 sense a politician, lends his aid as a citi- 
 zen to advance the success of Republican 
 principles. He has always taken a deep 
 interest in educational matters, and has 
 served as president of the board of Educa- 
 tion in Fond du Lac, and as president of 
 the board of Public Works, also acted 
 as a member of the board of Aldermen of 
 that city. He is a member of the Con- 
 gregational Church, and has always been 
 active in Church matters. For the past 
 twelve years he has served as president of 
 the board of Trustees of his Church, and 
 is now vice-president of Ripon College. 
 He is also a director of the Chicago Theo- 
 logical Seminary. In i8gi he was a dele- 
 gate from Wisconsin to the International 
 Council of Congregational Churches, 
 held in London, England. After the 
 council adjourned, he visited F"rance, 
 Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, 
 Austria and Holland, and returning to 
 Great Britain traveled over England, Scot- 
 land, Ireland and Wales. He has also 
 visited most sections of the United States, 
 excepting the extreme western portions. 
 In 1 858 he married Mary Taylor Weed, 
 daughter of William H. Weed, a New 
 York merchant. Six sons have blessed 
 
 this marriage: William Irenus is engaged 
 in farming in Fond du Lac county; Charles 
 Woodman is secretary and treasurer of the 
 Milwaukee Harvester Company; Stephen 
 Dolson died, aged four and a half years, 
 in Januar}', 1S68; Herbert Weed is em- 
 ployed by the Marinette & Menominee Pa- 
 per Company at Park Mills; Edgar Lock- 
 wood is secretary of the Marinette & Me- 
 nominee Paper Company; and Arthur Lit- 
 tle is a student in Phillips Acadamy at 
 Andover, Mass. Mrs. Hamilton is active 
 in Church affairs, and is interested in char- 
 itable and benevolent work. 
 
 Mr. Hamilton's career illustrates most 
 forcibly what can be accomplished by 
 steady application to business, sobriety 
 and integrity. He has devoted his time 
 to business without stint, and has always 
 endeavored to lead a consistent Christian 
 life. His success proves most forcibly that 
 constant effort in one direction will suc- 
 ceed if combined with steady habits and 
 economy, and to the young man entering 
 upon the highway of life a perusal of his 
 biography should serve as an inspiration, 
 and should direct him to the straight path 
 which alone leads to success in life. 
 
 EDGAR LOCKWOOD HAMIL- 
 TON, secretary of the Marinette 
 I.S: Menominee Paper Company, 
 and one of the prominent young 
 business men of Marinette, is a native of 
 Wisconsin, born in P'ond du Lac, Decem- 
 ber 15, 1867, of distinguished Scottish 
 ancestry. 
 
 Woodman Clark Hamilton, his father, 
 was born at Lyme, N. H., whence, in 
 1855, he came west to Wisconsin, settling 
 in Fond du Lac, where, in partnership 
 with his brother I. K., under the firm 
 name of I. K. & W. C. Hamilton, he en- 
 gaged in the lumber business, in which 
 line he has ever since continued, being at 
 present a member of the firm of Hamil- 
 ton & Merryman, of Marinette, though 
 he is still a resident of Fond du Lac. In 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 465 
 
 1858 he married Miss Mary Taylor, a na- 
 tive of Darien, Conn., and tliey had a 
 family of six sons, a brief record of whom 
 is as follows: William I. is engaged in 
 farming near Fond du Lac; Charles W. 
 is secretary and treasurer of the Milwau- 
 kee Harvester Co. , of Milwaukee ; 
 Stephen Dolson died in early boyhood; 
 Herbert W. resides in Marinette, and is 
 connected with the paper mills; Edgar L. 
 is the subject proper of this sketch, and 
 Arthur L. is attending college at An- 
 dover, Massachusetts. 
 
 Edgar L. Hamilton received his ele- 
 mentary education at the public schools 
 of his native place, in 1884 entered col- 
 lege, at Andover, Mass., where he re- 
 mained until t886, and then attended the 
 Massachusetts Institute of Technolog}', of 
 Boston, Mass., graduating from there 
 with the class of '91. Immediately after- 
 ward he came to Marinette, Wis., where 
 he has since continued to reside. Here, 
 in 1893, he was married to Miss Ellen 
 Siddall Payne, who was born in Mari- 
 nette, a daughter of Theodore S. and 
 Elizabeth (Siddall) Payne, of that city, 
 wliere the father is editor of the Moioiiii- 
 iicf Enterprise. To Mr. and Mrs. Ham- 
 ilton has been born one child, Woodman 
 Clark. In his political relations our sub- 
 ject is a Republican ; in religious faith he 
 and his wife are members of the Pioneer 
 Presbyterian Church. 
 
 The Marinette & Menominee Paper 
 Company, of which Mr. Hamilton is sec- 
 retary, was organized in 1S78 as the Mari- 
 nette Paper Company, and was incorpor- 
 ated October 23, 1882, as the Marinette 
 & Menominee Paper Company, with C. 
 M. Smith, president; J. W. French, vice- 
 president; N. H. Brokaw. secretary, and 
 C. M. Smith, treasurer. The first mill was 
 a pulp mill, which was erected on the 
 Michigan side of Green Bay. What is 
 now known as No. 2 Paper-mill was then 
 built; in 1882 the No. i Paper-mill was 
 erected, and in 1891 the Park mill was 
 built. Including paper-mills, sulphite and 
 pulp mills, the entire plant includes three 
 
 paper and three pulp mills, and gives em- 
 ployment in all to 240 hands. The pres- 
 ent officers are i^ugust Spies, president; A. 
 C. Merryman, vice-president; F. A. Sill- 
 man, treasurer; and E. L. Hamilton, sec- 
 re tar}'. 
 
 The mills are among the most noted 
 in the State. At present the product is 
 confined to manilla paper, but it is con- 
 templated to introduce the manufacture 
 of book paper and news paper, the mills 
 being specially fitted for that purpose. 
 The manufactured product will compare 
 very favorably with any other make. The 
 present capacity is seventy tons daily, and 
 two shifts of men are emplo3'ed day and 
 night. The manufacture of ground wood 
 pulp and sulphite is extensive, eight tons 
 of sulphite and twenty-two tons of ground 
 wood pulp being produced daily. The 
 plant is located on the Menominee river, 
 and its railroad facilities, which include the 
 Chicago & North Western, Chicago, Mil- 
 waukee & St. Paul, Toledo, Ann Arbor, 
 & Northern Michigan, and the Wisconsin 
 & Michigan railroads, are unequalled by 
 any mills in the State. They have water 
 connection east by water and canal to the 
 seaboard. For securing of raw material, 
 their facilities are also unequaled. By 
 the river route they secure spruce timber 
 for the manufacture of pulp. With such 
 unrivalled shipping facilities and means 
 of securing raw material, it is not to be 
 wondered that the mills have been suc- 
 cessful. Although a young man, Mr. 
 Hamilton has developed superior business 
 ability, which has been recognized by the 
 corporation with which he is connected, 
 and, as secretary of the company, much of 
 the credit is due to him for its prosperity. 
 
 GEORGE W. T.WLOR, present 
 member of the Wisconsin State 
 Assembly, representing Marinette 
 and Marinette comity, is in that 
 capacity looking after the interests of his 
 constituency in a manner most satisfactory 
 
466 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to them and most creditable to himsclt. 
 He is a public-spirited citizen, possessed of 
 strong convictions on all questions of pub- 
 lic moment, and who tempers the expres- 
 sion of his opinions and the exercise of his 
 legislative franchise by a ripe judgment 
 ripened from a trained business education 
 of flattering success. In other words, he 
 possesses great energy of character, well 
 directed through proper control. 
 
 Mr. Taylor was born in Wenham, 
 Mass., March 31, 1855, and is the son of 
 Rev. Jeremiah and Elizabeth (Pride) Tay- 
 lor. Rev. Taylor was also of Massachu- 
 setts birth, and a descendant of an early 
 Colonial family. He is a prominent New 
 England Congregational clergyman, who 
 has earnestly devoted a lifetime to minis- 
 terial labors in Massachusetts, Connecti- 
 cut and Rhode Island. He now resides 
 in Boston, Mass. , and is secretary of the 
 American Tract Society. His wife, Eliz- 
 abeth Pride, was born in the Choctaw Na- 
 tion, Miss., and is the daughter of Rev. 
 Dr. William W. Pride, who was born in 
 Penns}lvania, and was sent in 1807 as a 
 missionary to the Choctaw Nation. He 
 labored there for many years, and then 
 returned to Connecticut, where he died. 
 His father, William W. Pride, Sr. , was 
 an ensign in the American Revolution, his 
 commission, bearing date March 4, 1775, 
 being signed by John Hancock. Mr. Tay- 
 lor is a direct descendant of John Alden, 
 and is the only member of the family in 
 whom the name has not been preserved. 
 The family of Rev. Jeremiah and Elizabeth 
 Taylor consisted of five children, three of 
 whom survive, viz. : Mary Cleveland (now 
 Mrs. Floyd), of Boston, Mass. ; George 
 W., and Mrs. Burbank, of Providence, 
 Rhode Island. 
 
 George W. Taylor received his educa- 
 tion in the schools of Connecticut, and 
 early in life gave evidence of a strong busi- 
 ness aptitude. He was but seventeen 
 years of age when, in 1872, he embarked 
 in the lumber business at Providence, R. 
 I. He was actively so engaged for four 
 3ears. The West seeming to offer great- 
 
 er opportunities in the lumbering world, 
 Mr. Taylor m 1876, then scarcely of age, 
 removed to Chicago and at once became 
 prominently identified with its great lum- 
 ber industry. He remained in Chicago 
 until 1890, and his interests then drew 
 him to Wisconsin, the source of produc- 
 tion. For a year Mr. Taylor lived at 
 Oconto, then in 1891 he located perma- 
 nently in Marinette. He is a member of 
 the firm of Case & Taylor, which is 
 largely engaged in buying pine logs, in 
 contract sawing, and in doing an extensive 
 and flourishing jobbing business. 
 
 In 1 882 Mr. Taylor was united in mar- 
 riage, at Chicago, to Miss Ella Frances 
 Case, and to them have been born two 
 children, George Irving Taylor, who died 
 at the age of eight months, and John Case 
 Taylor, living. In politics Mr. Taylor is 
 an active Republican, and on the ticket 
 of that party he was elected, in 1894, to 
 the Assembly. He has the honor of be- 
 ing, in duration of residence in Wisconsin, 
 the youngest member of the Assembly. 
 In his legislative capacity Mr. Taylor is 
 a member of the committees on Railroads, 
 Lumber and Mining. In the social world 
 he is a member of a Masonic Lodge, at 
 Chicago, and is a charter member and 
 prominent in Oconto Lodge, K. of P. 
 Mr. Taylor is a thoroughly represent- 
 ative citizen of Marinette, and of Mar- 
 inette county, active in all things that per- 
 tain to their welfare. Through the pub- 
 lic spirit which he has thus demonstrated, 
 he has become even during his brief resi- 
 dence in the State one of its most popu- 
 lar and honored business men. 
 
 HON. ISAAC STEPHENSON. In 
 the first half of the nineteenth 
 century the conditions of life 
 among the people of the northern 
 States of this vast country were ver\' dif- 
 ferent from those now existing. Daily 
 toil, bread earneil by the sweat of their 
 brow by unflinching application of the 
 
^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 467 
 
 phj'sical or mental faculties, or both, 
 from youth to age, has always been the 
 lot of the great majority. But the toilers 
 in shops, on farms, or factories of to-day 
 live in the daily enjoyment of comforts 
 which were unattainable luxuries or en- 
 tirely unknown to their predecessors of a 
 half a century ago. Yet to them, in their 
 generation, the conditions which would 
 seem to us hard, caused no more discon- 
 tent than attends the lot of men any- 
 where, who can see a hope of prospective 
 opportunities for bettering their condi- 
 tion, and are spurred on by such discon- 
 tent as they do feel to make the best they 
 may of the opportunities they have. 
 
 Everywhere, in our own land, are 
 found men who have worked their own 
 way from lowly and humble beginnings 
 to places of leadership in the commerce, 
 the great productive industries, and man- 
 agement of the veins and arteries of the 
 traffic and exchanges of the country. 
 Not infrecpiently they are found among 
 the trusted leaders and representatives in 
 the councils of the State and Nation. 
 
 It is one of the glories of our country 
 that this is so. It should be the strong- 
 est incentive and encouragement to the 
 youth of the country that it is so. Prom- 
 inent, and in some respects exceptional, 
 among the self-made representative men 
 of Wisconsin is the subject of this sketch 
 — a man honored, respected and esteemed 
 wherever known, and most of all where 
 he is best known. The biography of 
 such a man, however briefly told, should 
 trace the causes of his successful career. 
 
 Isaac Stephenson was born in York 
 county, near Fredericton, N. B., June 
 18, 1829. His father, Isaac Stephen- 
 son, was of Scotch-Irish extraction; his 
 mother, Elizabeth («(r Watson) was a na- 
 tive of London, England. His father was 
 a lumberman and farmer, and the boy 
 passed his early boyhood on the farm, as- 
 sisting his father to the best of his ability. 
 He attended the public schools for a short 
 time, but most of his education has been 
 obtained by observation and in the school 
 
 of experience. When fourteen }ears of 
 age he moved to Bangor, Maine; but about 
 a year and a half later accompanied Jef- 
 ferson Sinclair, as a member of his family, 
 westward, and located at Milwaukee, Wis., 
 where he arrived November 15, 1845. 
 There the boy resumed his studies in the 
 common schools; but about the first of 
 April, 1846, he accompanied Mr. Sinclair 
 to an undeveloped farm, located fi\'e miles 
 south of Janesville, Wis., where, during 
 that spring and summer, he broke 1 30 
 acres of land, and helped to put in 400 
 acres of wheat. The following year they 
 also put the same numl)er of acres in 
 wheat, but both crops were failures — the 
 first being winter killed and the next ru- 
 ined by rust. 
 
 Mr. Sinclair, having become financially 
 interested with Daniel Wells, Jr. , in lands 
 in northern Michigan, around Escanaba, 
 the youth transferred the scene of his la- 
 bors to that section. He early in life dis- 
 played executive ability, and even at this 
 early age, reliance was placed upon his 
 sound judgment and sterling integrity. 
 He worked hard and faithfully, and dur- 
 ing the first season drove a six-ox team 
 Yankee fashion, with a goad-stick; hauled 
 whole trees, and. incidentally, i 50 spars 
 that were shipped to Chicago and Milwau- 
 kee. At that time there were no boats 
 large enough to load these spars, and they 
 were lashed to the sides of tfie vessels. 
 In 1847-49 lie was placet! in charge of the 
 lumber camps, and in 1850 began taking 
 contracts, on his own account, for putting 
 in logs. His life at this time was full of 
 hard and perilous work. E\'en at the 
 present time logging is far from a pleasant 
 occupation, but in those earls' days, when 
 facilities were poor, it was far more diffi- 
 cult and hazardous. Frequently has our 
 subject been up to his armpits in an icy 
 stream, and, with water rushing about 
 him, dashing spray over his head and 
 beard, forming ice wherever it lighted, di- 
 rected the course of logs to the boom. 
 The summer months, at this time, he oc- 
 cupied by sailing on Lake Michigan, and, 
 
468 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 during the warm seasons of 1849, 1830 
 and 1 85 1, he sailed on vessels carrying 
 freight from Chicago and Milwaukee to 
 Escanaba; and. before he was twenty-one 
 years of age, he owned the controlling in- 
 terest in the schooner • ' Cleopatra, " which, 
 in 1853, was lost about a mile south of 
 Chicago. During the summer of 1848 he 
 attended school in Milwaukee. 
 
 He naturally became a good judge of 
 the value of timber lands, and explored 
 large sections in the upper peninsula of 
 Michigan, locating the more valuable 
 tracts. In July, 1848, the first land 
 office was opened in northern Michigan, at 
 Sault de Ste. Marie, and, accompanied 
 by Daniel Wells, Jr., and Jefferson Sin- 
 clair, he attended the first sale, and as- 
 sisted in purchasing large tracts of valu- 
 able timber land on the Escanaba, Ford 
 river and Sturgeon river on Big Bay de 
 Noquet. In 1852 it was decided to build 
 breakwaters along the shore of Lake 
 Michigan in Chicago, and Mr. Stephen- 
 son, associated with N. Ludington & 
 Company, cut and delivered, during the 
 years 1852-53 54-55, the timber that 
 was used in constructing the first break- 
 waters built. In 1857 Mr. Stephenson 
 discontinued contracting logs, and in 1858 
 purchased a quarter interest in the pro- 
 perty and mill owned by N. Ludington & 
 Company. Of this business he at once 
 became the managerial head and control- 
 ling spirit, and succeeded in placing it up- 
 on a prosperous footing. In 1868 it was 
 decided to incorporate the busine.ss as a 
 stock company, and, being desirous of re- 
 taining the prestige of the old firm name, 
 Mr. Stephenson decided to call the cor- 
 poration the N. Ludington Company. 
 This is the first instance that a firm name 
 was continued in a succeeding corpora- 
 tion. The N. Ludington Company is 
 capitalized for $700,000, of which Mr. 
 Stcjihenson owns a controlling interest. 
 He acted as vice-president from the time 
 of its incorporation until 1883. Since 
 then he has served continuously as presi- 
 dent. In 1867 he became interested in 
 
 the Peshtigo Company, of which W. B. 
 Ogden, Chicago's first mayor, was the 
 largest stockholder. Of this corporation, 
 capitalized for $1,500,000, Mr. Stephen- 
 son became vice-president. The com- 
 pany built the largest woodenware factory 
 in the world, and conducted a large and 
 satisfactory business in lumber and wood- 
 enware, until October 8, 1871, when its 
 plant in Peshtigo was destroyed by fire, 
 on the same day that the great conflagra- 
 tion in Chicago devoured its retail yards. 
 A loss of nearly two million dollars was 
 entailed by these disastrous fires. The 
 mill and village were immediatel\' recon- 
 structed. At the time Mr. Stephenson 
 became interested in the Peshtigo Com- 
 pany he became convinced that it was 
 feasible to tow barges on Lake Michigan, 
 although most of the men who under- 
 stood the condition of that treacherous 
 body of water deemed it impracticable. 
 Mr. Stephenson proved that his theory 
 was correct, and started the first tugs on 
 the upper lakes. The Stephenson Trans- 
 portation Company, operating thesteam- 
 I er " Boscobel " and six barges, resulted 
 from his experiments in that direction. 
 Mr. Stephenson was also instrumental in 
 organizing the Sturgeon Bay & Lake 
 Michigan Ship Canal & Harbor Company, 
 which constructed a canal from Sturgeon 
 bay to lake Michigan. The construction 
 of this canal was immediately under the 
 supervision of Mr. Stephenson, Jesse 
 Spalding and the late William E. Strong. 
 The canal was sold to the government, 
 and has been of material advantage to 
 all of the Green Bay section. 
 
 Mr. Stephenson is the parent of the 
 Menominee River & Boom Company. 
 This corporation handles more logs than 
 any other boom company in the world. 
 In 1867 Mr. Stephenson was requested 
 by the lumbermen of the Menominee 
 river to devise plans for a main boom on 
 the Menominee river. This he did, and 
 superintended its design and construction 
 from start to finish, improving it yearly. 
 He is president of the company, which is 
 
COMMEMORA TI VE BIO OR A PUICA L 11 E CORD. 
 
 469 
 
 capitalized at one and a quarter million 
 dollars. It controls some forty dams on 
 the river and its tributaries, and drives 
 all logs on the main river with its sj'stem 
 of dams. An idea of the immense quan- 
 tity of logs handled by the company can 
 be obtained from the fact that in one year 
 six hundred and seventy-live millions of 
 feet of logs were divided through the 
 boom, ^''ery few men ha\e as many 
 large business interests as Mr. Stephen- 
 son posesses. He has, in addition to 
 those mentioned above, large financial 
 investments in the following: The I. 
 Stephenson Company, of Escanaba, 
 Mich., organized about 1886, is capital- 
 ized for $600,000, and claims him as 
 president and manager. This company 
 owns one of the largest, if not the larg- 
 est, of the retail yards in Chicago. In 
 1873 he organized the Stephenson Bank- 
 ing Company as a State bank, and in 
 1888 merged that into the Stephenson 
 National Bank, which he then organized 
 with $100,000 capital, and now acts as 
 its president. Associated with Daniel 
 Wells, Jr., and Charles Ray, of Milwau- 
 kee, he purchased for $700,000 the plant 
 and property of the Peshtigo Company, 
 and reorganized as the Peshtigo Lumber 
 Company. Of this he is also president. 
 He was also one of the organizers of the 
 Marinette & Menominee Paper Company, 
 which is capitalized for $750,000. and of 
 which he owns a one-seventh interest. 
 This company's plant consists of three 
 mills, and is one of the finest in the West. 
 Mr. Stephenson is also president of the 
 Stephenson Manufacturing Company, 
 which cuts about fifteen million feet of 
 lumber yearly, and is capitalized for $50,- 
 000. He has large interests in pine land 
 in the Northwest and in Louisiana. The 
 Peshtigo Lumber Company, of which he 
 is president, and has one-third interest 
 in, owns one hundred and thirty-si.x thou- 
 sand acres of land. The N. Ludington 
 Company, of which he has a controlling 
 interest, and is also president, owns one 
 hundred and thirty thousand acres; and 
 
 in Louisiana he and his associates own one 
 hundred and twenty-five thousand acres of 
 pine land. Mr. Stephenson is interested in 
 farming on a large scale. He owns a farm 
 of nine hundred acres five miles west of 
 Kenosha, Wis. On this farm he has one 
 hundred horses, twelve hundred sheep, 
 one hundred and twenty-five cows, be- 
 sides other cattle. This is considered one 
 of the best-equipped farms in the State. 
 He is interested in a creamery near there 
 that makes three hundred pounds of but- 
 ter per day. He also owns a farm in the 
 city of Marinette, where he is raising fast- 
 trotting horses. Mr. Stephenson has 
 been enterprising in every direction, and 
 in a great many instances was the pioneer 
 of certain industries. He placed the first 
 steamboats on the Menominee and its 
 tributaries. The tug " Morgan L. Martin" 
 was placed on the Menominee river by 
 him. He took the first steamboat into 
 Cedar river; the first into Ford river; 
 the first into White P^ish river, at the 
 head of the Little Bay de Noquet. and 
 the second steamiioat into the Escanaba 
 river. 
 
 Politically. Mr. Stephenson was for- 
 merly a Whig, but upon the organization 
 of the Republican party, in 1856. joined 
 its ranks, and has since then been one of 
 the stanchest advocates of the doctrines 
 of true Republicanism. In 1856 he stood 
 on the courthouse steps in Chicago, and 
 peddled tickets for John C. Fremont and 
 other Republican candidates. He has 
 been honored by his fellow citizens, with 
 their political preference, and in 1 866 
 and 1868 served in the Wisconsin Gen- 
 eral Assembly. In 1882 he was elected 
 to Congress, and. after serving three 
 terms of two years each, declined a re- 
 nomination, owing to the stress of 
 his business affairs. In Congress he 
 served on the committees on Agri- 
 culture, Public Lands and River and 
 Harbors, in addition to other minor com- 
 mittees. In 1 880 he was a delegate to the 
 Republican National Convention, which 
 nominated Garfield. For thirty-three bal- 
 
47': 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lots he cast his vote for Blaine, then, 
 believing that the old commander was the 
 strongest candidate, he twice voted for 
 Grant, but on the final ballot cast his 
 vote for Garfield. In 1892 he was a del- 
 egate-at-large to the Minneapolis conven- 
 tion, that renominated Harrison. Prob- 
 abl\- no man in the Northwest is more 
 thoroughly conversant with the affairs of 
 state, or is more intimate!)' acquainted 
 with the acknowledged political leaders 
 than Mr. Stephenson. Reed, McKinle)' 
 and others of prominence are honored 
 with his friendship. The hero of Win- 
 chester, "Little Phil," as his soldiers 
 delighted to call him, passed many de- 
 lightful hours in the society of Mr. Ste- 
 phenson, and, to the day of his death, 
 valued his friendship ver}' highly. 
 
 Mr. Stephenson has been married 
 thrice, first time in 1852, to Margaret 
 Stephenson, and four children, now living, 
 resulted from this union. In 1873 he 
 was joined in wedlock to Augusta Ander- 
 son; three children survived their mother. 
 In 1884 he wedded Elizabeth Burns; one 
 son is the issue of this marriage. 
 
 Mr. Stephenson stands as the perfect 
 t\pe of generous, symmetrical manhood. 
 AH his life has been an exemplification of 
 of all that is best, in the human heart and 
 soul. To the thoughtful stuilent there is 
 much to inspire with the lire of emulation. 
 He is courteous and unostentatious in a 
 marked degree. None is so poor as to be 
 refused a kindly word from him. He is 
 proud of his earl)' labors, and delights to 
 recall the days when, with a broad-axe. 
 he, shoulder to shoulder with his men, 
 attacked the virgin forests. He has now 
 in his possession an axe-handle made by 
 him in 1S48, and which he used occasion- 
 all)' until 1877. Although possessed of 
 great wealth, he never has indulged in 
 outside show, but has preferred to live as 
 "a man amongst men." As an illustra- 
 tion of his (]uiet, unostentatious manner, 
 the following extract from a letter written 
 to a friend by Hon. John D. Long, three 
 times elected governor of Massachusetts, 
 
 is quoted. Governor Long refutes an as- 
 sertion that congressmen were spending 
 money with prodigality and lived only for 
 ostentatious show, cites instances that 
 proved the assertion false, and, continuing, 
 writes: " Walking out with Mrs. Long 
 at sundown last evening, we passed a 
 modest doorstep, on which, with his 
 young children playing about him, sat a 
 member ■who pointed to a plain suite of 
 rooms as his lodging, and whose dress and 
 manner of living are as unostentatious as 
 those of a Plymouth county farmer, and 
 yet he is a Western lumberman, wise and 
 broad-headed, and not ashamed, but 
 proud of the goad-stick which he wielded 
 in his youth, and with which he pricked 
 his way to fortune." 
 
 Such is the biography of one of the 
 most successful men of the Northwest. 
 He carved his way to fame and fortune 
 unaided and alone, by constant applica- 
 tion and hardwork. Gifted by nature 
 with a strong and rugged constitution, he 
 led his men into icy streams and through 
 unexplored forests, without injury. Blessed 
 with a logical mind, and possessing a most 
 remarkable memory, he was enabled to 
 conduct large enterprises successfully, and 
 his success is entirely attributable to hard 
 and i^aticnt work, combined with a natu- 
 rallv well-balanced mind. 
 
 ANDREW CURTIS MERRVMAN. 
 A citizen of whom any State may 
 be proud, a man whose presence 
 would benefit any community, 
 and whose name would reflect honor 
 upon any office or station, there is none 
 more worth)' whose memory should be 
 preserved in this volume than the gentle- 
 man of whom we now write. 
 
 Mr. Merr\'man is a native of Maine, 
 born December 22, 1831, at Bowdoin, a 
 son of Bailey and Mary (Wilson) Merry- 
 man, both also natives of the Pine Tree 
 State, and who had a family of seven 
 children, our subject being second in the 
 

 -■.S2= 
 
 ■iMK^ 
 
 /) ^ .{/J 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAFUICAL RECORD. 
 
 471 
 
 order of birth. They were typical New 
 England people, industrious and frugal, 
 bringing their children \i\> in the paths 
 they themselves were trcatling. The 
 father was a fanner b\' occupation, and 
 it was natural that the son should be 
 reared to the same pursuits, while at the 
 same time he attended the public schools 
 of the neighborhood of his home. His 
 school days, however, ended with his 
 early boyho(jd, the bent of the lad's mind 
 being more in the direction of mechanics 
 than book lore. In those dajs, half a 
 century ago, shipbuilding was one of the 
 leading industries in the State of Maine, 
 her rugged coast being studded with busy 
 shipyards, the timber of her almost inex- 
 haustible forests being converted by the 
 skill of man into noble ships. Attracted 
 at the age of seventeen from the farm to 
 the shipyard, and possessed of a desire to 
 rise by industry and diligence above the 
 conditions which surrounded his boyhood, 
 young Merrj'inan apprenticed himself to 
 a shij) l)uilder at Middle Bay, near Port- 
 land, feeing intelligent and energetic 
 above the average, he soon became a 
 competent, practical shipwright. In 1855, 
 at Pittston, Maine, he built and launched 
 the brig " A. C. Merryman"; but a sud- 
 den depression in the shipbuilding indus- 
 try along the Atlantic coast caused him 
 to abandon that line of business and seek 
 " some pastures new." 
 
 Turning his eyes in the direction of 
 the then "Far West," Mr. Merryman 
 came to Wisconsin, to engage in the busi- 
 ness of supplying material for the homes 
 of the settlers who were then pouring into 
 the State and other portions of the North- 
 west. The wonderful timber resources, 
 and the consequent prosperity of the lum- 
 ber business, in Wisconsin, so impressed 
 him that he was not long in arriving at 
 the decision to remain here and embark 
 in business. Associating himself with 
 Haynes Hunter, and his brother, R. W. 
 Merryman, the firm being known as 
 Merryman & Co., he established a saw- 
 mill at Fond du Lac, and in the winter 
 
 of 1855-56 took a trip to Maine in order 
 to dispose of his interests in that State. 
 Returning to Wisconsin in the following 
 spring, he and his partners invested all 
 their available means in pine lands, and 
 not long thereafter our subject and his 
 brother became associated in business 
 with John S. and Ale.xander McDonald 
 (both also Eastern men, and conspicuous 
 among the pioneer lumbermen of Wis- 
 consin), and, under the firm name of Mc- 
 Donald, Merryman & Co., a prosperous 
 lumber manufacturing business was carried 
 on. Later, in 1866, in company with 
 Irenus K. and Woodman C. Hamilton, 
 Mr. Merryman moved something over a 
 hundred miles northwest tcj the mouth of 
 the Menominee river, where they estab- 
 lished the mills which were operated un- 
 der the firm name of Hamilton, Merry- 
 man & Co., the firm having purchased at 
 an opportune moment some 62,000 acres 
 of government land. From time tcj time 
 they have added to this purchase, and 
 have constantly been engaged in the 
 manufacture of lumber. For many years 
 they have turned out from thirty million 
 to fifty million feet of luuiber annually, 
 shipping liy their own vessels this vast 
 quantity of lumber from the mills to their 
 distributing yards at Chicago. Some 
 years since the original partnership was 
 for prudential reasons converted into a 
 joint-stock company, known as the Ham- 
 ilton & Merryman Co., with a capital of 
 three hundred and fifty thousand dollars. 
 The management of the manufactur- 
 ing branch of this vast concern has, ever 
 since it was established, been under the 
 immediate personal supervision of Mr. 
 Merryman himself, and that its success, 
 which has brought both fame and fortune 
 to its owners, is due to his sagacity and 
 business ability, goes without saying. In 
 addition to his interests in the Hamilton 
 & Merryman Co., Mr. Merryman is a 
 large shareholder in the Marinette & 
 Menominee Paper Co., the Menominee 
 River Boom Co., of which he is treas- 
 urer; the Kaukauna Fibre Co.; the Falls 
 
472 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 
 
 Manufacturing Co., of Oconto Falls, and 
 the Hamilton Iron Co., of Iron Mount- 
 ain. He is also a director of the Steph- 
 enson National Bank, of Marinette, antl 
 a stockholder in the American Exchange 
 National Bank of Chicago, and the First 
 National Bank of Englewood. Some 
 years since his attention was attracted to 
 the rich and productive Salt River Val- 
 ley of Arizona, and becoming to some ex- 
 tent interested in the development of 
 that region, he became a stockholder in 
 the Maricopa Loan & Trust Co., of 
 Phoenix, Arizona, as well as owner of 
 Arizona lands, so well adapted to fruit 
 growing. 
 
 Mr. Merrynian in liis political predi- 
 lections is a pronounced Prohibitionist, 
 and has been nominated by that part}' 
 for high positions of honor and trust. In 
 1892 he was the candidate of that party 
 for the State treasurership, and previ- 
 ously was their candidate for Congress- 
 man for the District. In his abhorrence 
 of intemperance he is fearless and out- 
 spoken, and unceasingly wars against the 
 evil by raising his voice and using his 
 ballot for its suppression and extinction. 
 He is a zealous member of the Good 
 Templars and Temple of Honor, and by 
 precept and example has always sought 
 to promote temperance and sobriety 
 among all classes, especially among the 
 young. 
 
 Mr. Merry man has been a resilient of 
 Marinette for some thirty years, and has 
 been closely identified with its growth 
 and development, and materially aided 
 in its transformation from a mere lumber 
 camp into a thrifty and prosperous city. 
 He has been twice married, first time to 
 Miss Frances Colbourn, ami one son, R. 
 C. Mcrryman, a prominent business man 
 of Marinette, is the surviving issue of 
 that marriage. In 1870, for his second 
 wife, he married Miss Louise Brown, a 
 native of Fort Ann, N. Y., by which 
 union three daughters — Bertha, Amy 
 and Louise — and one son — Andrew C. — 
 were born. 
 
 ROBERT W. MERRYMAN (de- 
 ceased), an elder brother of An- 
 drew C. Merrjinan, was for many 
 \ears prominentlj' identified with 
 the lumber manufacturing interests of 
 northern Wisconsin. 
 
 He was a native of Maine, born May 
 2, 1829, at Bowdoin, a son of Bailey and 
 Mary (Wilson) Merryman, respectable 
 and well-to-do farming people of that 
 State. He was reared to agricultural 
 pursuits, and attended the connnon schools 
 of Bowdoin a few weeks during the win- 
 ter seasons; but at an early age he laid 
 aside his books and commenced the active 
 business of life. His brother Andrew C. 
 and himself having taken np the ship- 
 building industry, our subject learned the 
 trade, and worked in the shipyards at 
 Pittston, on the Kennebec river. This 
 was in 1855. at which time Eastern lum- 
 bermen were being strongly attracted to 
 the pine forests of Wisconsin, and Mr. 
 Merryman came to the State, first locat- 
 ing at Fond du Lac, where he became 
 associated with his brother and Haynes 
 Hunter, under the firm name of Merry- 
 man & Co. , lumber manufacturers. Later, 
 also at Fond du Lac, the two brothers 
 associated themselves with John S. and 
 Alexander McDonald, also Maine lumber- 
 men, and pioneer manufacturers of Wis- 
 consin. At Fond du Lac our subject con- 
 tinued until 1873, in which year he came 
 to Marinette and founded the R. W. Mer- 
 ryman Lumber Co., with which he was 
 connected as its official head up to his 
 death, April 21, 1894. For several years 
 prior to that event, however, the manage- 
 ment thereof was intrusted for the most 
 part to his nephew, R. C. Merryman, 
 who has since continued its conduct and 
 management. 
 
 In 1858, Robert W. Merryman was 
 married to Miss Carrie A. Colbourn, 
 daughter of Capt. Reuben Colbourn. for 
 many years a seafaring man of Pittston, 
 Maine, but no children blessed their 
 union. Mr. Merrynian, however, enter- 
 tained a paternal fondness for his nephew. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPIIKJAL RECORD. 
 
 473 
 
 R. C. Merryiiian, the early days of whose 
 hfe, much of the time, were passed at 
 the home of his uncle where he was 
 treated as a member of the family. For 
 some years prior to his death our subject 
 and his wife traveled considerably, not 
 infret]uently accompanied by friends in 
 the capacity of guests, and it was while 
 returning from a trip through Florida and 
 other Southern States that Mr. Merry- 
 man was seized with an illness that ter- 
 minated fatally at Lookout Nhnmtain, 
 Tenti. His remains were brought back 
 to Marinette, and his widcnv is still mak- 
 ing her home in that city, where she is 
 held in the highest respect. He was a 
 shrewd and thrifty man. kind-hearted 
 and generous to a fault, greatly beloveii 
 by his family and employes, and widely 
 esteemed for his unswerving integrity, 
 strict honesty and admirable business 
 methods. 
 
 During his long and successful liusi- 
 ness career in Nhirinette, in the building 
 up of which city he so substantially aidi;d, 
 he accumulated a comfortable compe- 
 tence, mainly by extensive investments 
 in timber lauds, and ]")nilitHble luiiiiufac- 
 turing operations. In religious views he 
 was originrdly a Baptist, but with ad- 
 vancing years his ideas in this regard 
 trended in their course intn I'niversalism, 
 in which faith he died. In jiolitical affil- 
 iations he was always a Republican, ever 
 loyal to the party, but never at any time 
 an office-seeker. 
 
 RFUBEN C. MERKYMAN, manu- 
 facturer, was born in Fond dii 
 l,ac, Wis., October S, 1.S64. son 
 of Antlrew (". and Francis (('ol- 
 bourn) Merryman. Both of his parents 
 were born in Maine, the father in Bowdoin, 
 the mother in Pittston; the latter died in 
 Fond du Lac in 1866. Andrew C. Merr\'- 
 man, of whom an extended mention has 
 just been given in these ])ages, has long 
 been widely known throughout the North- 
 west as one of the large lumber manufac- 
 
 turers of northern Wisconsin, and the son 
 was lirought \\\> to the business in which 
 he has engaged successfully in later years. 
 
 After the dt>ath of his mother, Mr. 
 Merryman spent a portion of bis early boy- 
 hood at the home of his grandparents in 
 Pittston, Maine, and while there worked 
 on the old farm on which his mother had 
 been l)rought up, and attended the village 
 schools. He was also educated in part 
 in the public schools of h'ond du Lac, and 
 completeii the course of study, which was 
 to lit him for a business career, in the 
 Marinette High School, from which insti- 
 tution he wasgraduated in the class of '83. 
 When he left the high school, his father 
 said to him that he could either enter upon 
 a collegiate course or g(j to work, leaving 
 iiim free to decide which he would do. 
 While he was not without an ambition to 
 obtain a (inishecl education, the bent of 
 his mind was toward business jiin'suits, 
 and he decided to turn his attention in that 
 direction, regretting somewhat, at a later 
 date, his haste to engage in the active busi- 
 ness of life. Ha\ing mai.le this decision, 
 he was given an o|i]iortunit v to familiari/c 
 himself with the details of the business 
 which he expected to follow, and spent the 
 winter of 1884 85 in the ])ine woods, 
 working for the Hamilton & Merryman 
 Lumber Com|)any as a "scaler". The 
 following spring he associate'd himself with 
 his uncle, R. W. Merryman, and organ- 
 ized the lumber company now known as 
 the R. W. Mi-rryman c\: C'ompany. in 
 1886 the elder Merryman retire<l from the 
 numagement of the compan\', and since 
 that time \\. (-. Merryman has had full 
 charge of all its business operations, suc- 
 ! ceeding his uncle as official head of the 
 com])any, after the hitter's death, and be- 
 coming also the administrator of his estate. 
 
 Natural cajxicity for the conduct of 
 affairs, sagacity and good judgment came 
 to Mr. Merryman as a legitimate iniierit- 
 ance, and the energy and thrift of indus- 
 trious and hard-working ancestors have 
 been transmitted to him unimpaired. 
 His economic ami industrial training was 
 
474 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHWAL RECORD. 
 
 in line with that which his father had re- 
 ceived in New England, broadened to cor- 
 respond with the spirit of progress and 
 enterprise which has pervaded the West, 
 and contributed so largely to its marvel- 
 ous development. At the outset of his 
 business career he became prominent 
 among the younger business men of Mari- 
 nette, and has ever since continued to 
 strengthen his hold upon the confidence 
 and esteem of those brought into contact 
 with him in business affairs, and to com- 
 mend himself to the general public as a 
 man of high character, warmly interested 
 in the general welfare of the community. 
 Projects for the improvement of the city 
 have received his hearty support, and as 
 a member of the Board of Supervisors of 
 Marinette county he has been an active 
 promoter of public improvements in all 
 parts of the county. He first served as 
 a member of the county board in 1S89, 
 and again in 1893, '^^94 3-nd 1895, being 
 made chairman of the board in 1894. 
 
 With other enterprising citizens of 
 Marinette, he organized the Marinette 
 Hotel Company, which in 1895 erected a 
 well-equipped modern hotel building, an 
 improvement which adds greatly to the 
 attractiveness of the city, and places it 
 on a level with other leading cities of 
 Wisconsin in the matter of hotel accom- 
 modations. 
 
 A Presbyterian in his Church affilia- 
 tions, Mr. NIerryman has interested him- 
 self especially in the work of the Young 
 Men's Christian Association, recognized 
 by all right-thinking men as one of the 
 most potent agencies for the improvement 
 of public morals and the de\elopment of 
 worthy manhood. He was one of the or- 
 ganizers of the Marinette branch of the 
 association, now domiciled in a handsome 
 building, of which a complete gymnasium, 
 and library, lecture and club-rootns, are 
 conspicuous features. He is a I'iepublican 
 in his political faith, and has been active 
 and influential in local party manage- 
 ment. 
 
 Mr. Merryman was married, in 1894, 
 
 to Miss Phcebe A. Woodhull — daughter of 
 Rev. George E. Woodhull, of East Sagi- 
 naw, Mich. — who died in 1S89. He was 
 married again, in 1891, to Miss Agnes 
 Hathaway, daughter of Mr. O. C. Hath- 
 away, of Green Ba}', Wisconsin. 
 
 M 
 
 .\jOR EDWARD SCOFIELD. 
 \\ hose name, in connection with 
 the lumbering interests and pro- 
 gressive enterprises of northern 
 Wisconsin, is "familiar as household 
 words," is a native of Pennsylvania, born 
 March 28, 1842, at Clearfield, Clearfield 
 county. 
 
 Isaac Scofield. his father, was a native 
 of Virginia, descended of English colon- 
 ists, and in early life moved to Clearfield, 
 Penn., where he combined the occupa- 
 tions of lumbering and farming. He mar- 
 ried Miss Jane Collins, a lady of Pennsyl- 
 vania birth, and nine children were born 
 to them, five of whom are yet living: 
 Julia, wife of J. R. Arnold, of Colorado 
 Springs, Colo. : James, Henry C. and F. 
 Iv. , all three in Clearfield, Penn.; and 
 Edward. The father died in 1873. the 
 mother in 1885. 
 
 Our subject passed his boyhood days 
 on his fathers farm, during the winter 
 months attending the district school, later 
 taking a course at an academy at Clear- 
 field. In 1855. at the age of thirteen, he 
 entered the ofiice of the Democrat news- 
 paper, at Indiana, Indiana Co., Penn., 
 in the capacity of printer's "devil," and 
 here not only learned the "art preserva- 
 tive of all arts, "but had ample opportu- 
 nit)' of familiarizing himself with a consid- 
 erable amount of general knowledge he 
 failed to imbibe in his limited school ex- 
 perience. For three years he remained 
 in the office of the Indiana Doiioiial, in 
 return for his labor receiving his board 
 and clothing. In 1858 he secured a posi- 
 tion on the Jifftisoiiian, a journal pub- 
 lished at Brookville, Penn., his salary 
 being one hundred dollars per annum and 
 his board. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE DIOORAPHIC'AL RECORD. 
 
 475 
 
 On that paper he worked until April, 
 1 86 1, when in response to President Lin- 
 coln's call (or 75,000 men he patriotically 
 tendered his services for the preservation 
 of the Union, and enlisted in the Eleventh 
 Regiment Pennsylvania Reserves, which 
 at that time was encamped at Pittsburg. 
 As soon as the battle of Bull l\ini was 
 fought the regiment was ordereil to Wash- 
 ington, arriving in time to assist in checking 
 the advance of the Confederates on the cap- 
 ital. Here the members of the Eleventh P. 
 R. were svviirn into service for three years, 
 or during the war, immediately becoming 
 a part of the army of the Potomac, and 
 young Scofield participated in all the en- 
 gagements of that army up to and includ- 
 ing the battle of the Wilderness. The 
 same traits of character that have made 
 Mr. Scofield a successful man of business 
 were displayed in him as a private in the 
 ranks, and he soon earned and received 
 promotion. After the battle of F"reder- 
 icksburg he was promoted to first lieu- 
 tenant; upon the field of Gettysburg he 
 distinguished himself, and shortly there- 
 after was commissioned cajitain of Com- 
 pany K, Eleventh P. R. "for meritorious 
 conduct upon the field." At the battle of 
 the Wilderness, May 5, 1864, within a 
 few days of the expiration of his term of 
 enlistment, he was captured by the enemy, 
 and was held a prisoner of war some ten 
 months, during which time he was incar- 
 cerated in twelve prisons, to wit: Lynch- 
 burg, Danville, Goldsboro, Columbia, 
 Andersonville, Macon, Savannah, Charles- 
 ton, then back to Columbia and Goldsboro, 
 thence to Raleigh, whence he was paroled 
 and liberated March 5, 1S65, about nine 
 miles north of Wilmington, N. C, a few 
 days after the capture of that city by 
 Gen. Schofield. During his ten-months' 
 prison experience Major Scofield suffered 
 terribly, and his life tcnvard the last hung 
 almost on a thread, for when paroled he 
 resembled a parchment-bound skeleton 
 more than a living being. In Wilmington 
 he joined Gen. Schofield, and was at once 
 sent to hospital at Annapolis, Md., where 
 
 he remained until sufficiently recuperated 
 to return to his home, at Brookville, 
 Penn. On his arrival there he was 
 pleasantly surprised liy being handed a 
 commission from the government pro- 
 moting him to the rank of major '• for 
 gallant conduct at the battle of the Wil- 
 derness." 
 
 The close of the war found .Major 
 Scofield a young man of twenty-three 
 sunnners, and, through his ability and 
 worth, risen to the rank of major. After 
 his return to Clearfield he re-enlisted, in 
 response to the last call, reporting for 
 duty, but the regiment was not called into 
 further actix'e service. Truly his army 
 record is one of which he may lie, and is, 
 justly proud. On resuming the voca- 
 tions of peace, he first engaged himself 
 as an assistant to a corps of civil engin- 
 eers, who were surveying for the low- 
 grade division of the Allegheny \'alle3- 
 railroad between Pittsburg and Drift- 
 wood, Penn., and after remaining with 
 them in various capacities — from chain- 
 man to transit-man — for a couple of 
 years, he came west, in the fall of 1868, 
 to Chicago. There he formed the ac- 
 quaintance of Finn Hall, who had lum- 
 ber interests in Oconto, Wis. , and ac- 
 cepted the position o{ foreman in his 
 mill there, in which capacity he con- 
 tinued to act for eight years, during 
 which time he mastered all the details of 
 the lumber-manufacturing business. In- 
 dustrious, shrewd and economical, he 
 saved enough of his earnings to enable 
 him to commence business on his own 
 account, and leasing a mill on contract, 
 at Oconto, he operated it from 1876 to 
 1881. 
 
 Major Scofield first came to Mari- 
 nette as superintendent of the lumber 
 business of William McCartney, which 
 industry after two years was incorporated 
 under the name of the Marinette Sawmill 
 Co. In 1890 he and George R. Arnold 
 formed a partnership under the firm name 
 of Edward Scofield & Co., which busi- 
 ness was, in 1894, incorporated as the 
 
476 
 
 COMMEMORATTVE BIOGRAPnWAL RECORD. 
 
 Scofield & Arnold Lumber Co., of Mari- 
 nette, with Major Scotield as president; 
 George I. Scolield (his son), as vice- 
 president; and George R. Arnold, as sec- 
 retary and treasurer. The mills furnish 
 employment to about 140 men, and, 
 manufacture from twenty-five million to 
 thirty million feet of finished lumber an- 
 nually. The Major is also interested in 
 the lumber firm of McElwer & Co., and, 
 having been connected with the lumber 
 business from his youth, he is one of the 
 best informed men on all matters per- 
 taining to that industry anywhere. 
 
 In Oconto, Wis., in 1870, Major Sco- 
 field was married to Miss Agnes Potter, a 
 native of Pennsylvania, daughter of John 
 Potter, who died in Clarion county, Penn. , 
 some years ago. To this union have been 
 born three children — George I., vice- 
 president of the Scofield & .Arnold Lumber 
 Co., married and residing in Oconto; 
 Paul D.. a student at Amherst College; 
 and Julia A., who died at the age of five 
 years. Mrs. Scofield is a member of the 
 Presbyterian Cluirch at Oconto. 
 
 Politically, the Major is a stanch ad- 
 herent of the Republican party, and a 
 zealous advocate of the principles embod- 
 ied in its platform. He has never sought 
 political preferment, nevertheless in 1 887 
 he was elecied to the State Senate from 
 the First District of Wisconsin, serving 
 in that incumbency from 1888 to 1892. 
 In 1894 he was the choice of a great 
 many Republicans for the position of 
 governor, another evidence of his popu- 
 larity as a man of executive ability. For 
 several years he was a member of the 
 board of supervisors of Oconto, in that as 
 in all other capacities proving himself to 
 be a hard and honest worker for the good 
 of his city, county, and State. Socially, 
 he is affiliated with E. A. Ramsey Post, 
 G. A. R., at Oconto, and of Wisconsin 
 Commandery of the military order. Loyal 
 Legion. In business matters he is a man 
 of sound judgment and uncjuestioncd in- 
 tegrity, and in the discharge of his duties of 
 citizenship he has been as prompt and true 
 
 as when he followed the old flag on South- 
 
 ern battlefields, while his private 
 public life are alike above reproach. 
 
 and 
 
 EF. PARAMORE, M. D., the old- 
 est phjsician in Oconto county, 
 has been actively identified with 
 its interests since 1857, and has 
 witnessed its development and the won- 
 derful changes which have been wrought 
 during that period. 
 
 Dr. William C. Paramore, father of 
 our subject, was born in Leicestershire, 
 England, was reared in his native coun- 
 try, and received his education in medi- 
 cine and surgery at the University of 
 Edinburgh. He became connected, in 
 his professional capacity, with the British 
 army, and was stationed at Fort George, 
 Scotland. Here he married Margaret 
 Tovey, who was born in Fort George, 
 and the couple subsequently crossed the 
 Atlantic, landing at Quebec, Canada, 
 whence they removed to Kno.x county, 
 Ohio. Here Mrs. Paramore died in 1845, 
 and the Doctor afterward wedded Eliza 
 Ellis, a native of New York State, who 
 passed away in \'alparaiso, Ind., whither 
 they had removed ; the Doctor also died 
 in Valparaiso, in 1882. He was contin- 
 uously engaged in the active practice of 
 his profession. By the first marriage 
 there were three children : E. F. , whose 
 name introduces this sketch ; John Wes- 
 ley, who was accidentally killed in 1892 
 in Fort Wayne, Ind., and Charles Will- 
 iam H. H., residing in Muskingum county, 
 Ohio. To the second union were also 
 born three children — one son and two 
 daughters — namely : Mrs. Patrick, of 
 Valparaiso, Ind. ; William, a resident of 
 Zanesvillc, Ohio, and Mrs. Doyle, of 
 Valparaiso, Indiana. 
 
 Dr. E. F. Paramore was born in 1830 
 in Kno.K county, Ohio, was reared in his 
 native State, and acquired his education 
 in her conmion schools. He commenced 
 the study of medicine under his father, 
 in 1854 entering the Medical College of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 477 
 
 Ohio. Cincinnati, from which he was 
 graduated with the class of 1856. The 
 year of his graduation he removed to Val- 
 paraiso, Ind., thence in the spring of 
 1857 migrating to the then new region of 
 Oconto county, Wis., where he has made 
 his home almost continuously since. On 
 coming here Dr. Paramore engaged in 
 lumbering, in which he continued until 
 the outbreak of the Civil war. On May 
 16, 1 86 1, he enlisted in the Union army 
 for three years, becoming a member of 
 Company H, Fourth Wis. V. I., bet- 
 ter known as the " Oconto County River 
 Drivers." The command, which was as- 
 signed to service with the army of the 
 East, took part in the Peninsular cam- 
 paign, and in i8Gj reported at Newport 
 News, under Gen. Butler, subsequently 
 going to Ship Island, where they remained 
 until the advance on New Orleans. From 
 that cit}' they came up to Young's Point 
 with Gen. Williams. In 1862 they were 
 six weeks before Vicksburg, going thence 
 to Baton Rouge, where they fought in 
 the battle of Baton Rouge, after the l)at- 
 tle leaving that city for New Orleans, 
 where they passed the winter of 1862-;;. 
 In the spring of 1863 they again went to 
 Baton Rouge, and, joining the army of 
 the Gulf, were sent to Brazier City and 
 thence to Bayou Tesche. They next par- 
 ticipated in the battle of Fort Bisland, 
 La., after which they were engaged in 
 the capture of Opelousas, La., from which 
 point they proceeded to Alexandria. Fol- 
 lowing this was the Red River campaign, 
 after which the regiment went to Sims- 
 port, La., and down the Mississippi. 
 Marching to Port Hudson, where, during 
 the siege, it was under fire for forty-eight 
 days, and from there to Clinton, they 
 were engaged in the battle at the last 
 named place, and thence down to Baton 
 Rouge. They were actively engaged in 
 scouting and skirmishing throughout Ala- 
 bama, Louisiana, Mississippi and part of 
 Georgia until the summer of 1864, at 
 which time our subject was sent to Mor- 
 ganza Bend, La., where he did various 
 
 kinds of service until his discharge there 
 in August, 1864. He was paid off at 
 New Orleans, returning thence to his 
 home in Oconto county, which he reached 
 in September, 1864. During that winter 
 he went to Valparaiso, Ind., and there 
 remained two years in the practice of his 
 profession, in which he also engaged on 
 his return to Oconto county. In 1881 he 
 received the commission of physician and 
 surgeon at the Menominee Agency fGreen 
 Bay Agency), and remained there over 
 three years, again returning to Oconto 
 and resuming practice here. 
 
 In i860, at Oconto, Wis , Dr. Para- 
 more wedded Miss Frances E. Patterson, 
 who was born in Jefferson county, N. Y., 
 daughter of M. W. and Lucinda M. 
 ( Hubbard ) Patterson, who came to 
 Oconto, Wis., in 1856, when it was a 
 mere hamlet. Mr. Patterson was one of 
 the early merchants of Oconto, where he 
 made a permanent home, dying there in 
 1887. Mrs. Patterson died in 1864. Our 
 subject is a charter member of E. A. 
 Ramsey Post, No. 74, G. A. R., in the 
 affairs of which he has been both promi- 
 nent and active, at piresent serving as 
 post commander ; he also for two terms 
 tilled the office of aide-de-camp to the 
 department commander. In social con- 
 nection he affiliates with the F. & A. M. ; 
 politically he is a Republican. Dr. Para- 
 more has served a number of years as 
 health officer of Oconto. 
 
 LESLIE C. HARVEY, register of 
 deeds, for Oconto county, is a na- 
 tive of this section of Wisconsin, 
 born in 1869 in Wrightstown, 
 Brown count)-. His parents, John S. and 
 Martha (Dickeyj Harvey, were born in 
 Belchertown, Mass., and Malone, N. Y. 
 respectively, the , father being a son of 
 Nathaniel Harvey. Nathaniel Harvey 
 came to Wisconsin in an early day, farm- 
 ing for some years in Weyauwega, W^au- 
 paca county, and thence removing to Mar- 
 tin county, Minn., where he now resides. 
 
47 S 
 
 COMMEMORA TIVE BIOGRAPIIIVAL RECORD. 
 
 John S. Harvey came with his parents 
 to W'aiipaca countj', Wis. He was mar- 
 ried in Berlin, Green Lake county, and was 
 for a time employed in the mills of that 
 place. In 1S64 he enlisted at Berlin in 
 Company I, Forty-third Wis. V. I., served 
 under Gen. Thomas, and was honor- 
 ably discharged in June, 1865. After bis 
 return from the armj' he returned to 
 Wrightstown, Brown county, where he 
 opened up a farm, living there until 1873, 
 when he came to what is now Chase 
 township, Oconto county, and there 
 opened up another farm. He also assisted 
 in opening up the first road, also erect- 
 ing the first sawmill in the locality, and he 
 and his faithful wife still make their home 
 on their farm. They reared a family of 
 three children: Leslie C. ; W^ilterA., who 
 resides on the farm; and Bessie May, who 
 is still at home. 
 
 Leslie C. Harvey was reared in Chase 
 township, and received his primarj' edu- 
 cation in the public schools there, attend- 
 ing up to the age of fourteen. From that 
 time until he was nineteen j'ears old he 
 assisted his father on the farm, but by 
 diligent private study he added to his 
 school learning, and securing a teacher's 
 certificate took up that vocation, teach- 
 ing the home school several terms. Prior 
 to this, however, he had met with an ac- 
 cident, being injured by a log rolling over 
 him, and while yet on crutches he began 
 teaching his first school. After teaching 
 this same school a little more than a year, 
 he entered the Indiana Normal School at 
 Valparaiso, Ind. Here he graduated from 
 the connnercial course of study. In April, 
 1893, he became a Columbian Guard, 
 continuing as such during the World's 
 Fair, or until December 5, after which he 
 returned t(j the school above mentioned, 
 and took up shorthand, as well as differ- 
 ent studies in the scientific course, remain- 
 ing in Valparaiso until August, 1894. Re- 
 turning to Chase township, Oconto county, 
 he was engaged as principal of the Abrams 
 School, remaining in that capacity from 
 September, 1894, to Januar}', 1895, when 
 
 he entered upon the duties of his pres- 
 ent incumbency, having been elected to 
 the office in November, 1894. 
 
 In political connection, Mr. Harvey 
 is a Republican. He is well known in 
 fraternal circles here, being a member of 
 Oconto Camp, Modern Woodmen of 
 America; of Oconto Lodge, Knights of 
 Pythias;of Pine Lodge, No. 188, F.&A.M. 
 Oconto, Wis. ; of Warren Chapter, No. 8, 
 Warren Council, No. 13, and Palestine 
 Commandery, No. 20, of Green Ba\'; and 
 of the Milwaukee Consistory, 32d degree. 
 
 Mr. Harve\' is a young man of excel- 
 lent habits, full of energy and ambition. 
 He has made himself what he is. Like 
 a good many other farmer boys, his par- 
 ents were unable to furnish him the nec- 
 essary means to give him an education, 
 but by hard work and perseverance he has 
 brought himself to the front, and at the 
 present time he is one of the most active 
 of the younger men in public life, in 
 Oconto county, and bids fair to win a 
 prominent place for himself in the ranks 
 of her energetic public-spirited citizens. 
 
 BEN K. HALL, surveyor, Mari- 
 nette, was born in what was then 
 known as Menominee City, now 
 Marinette, in 1848, and is the son 
 of Dr. J. C. and Lydia A. (.Andrus) Hall, 
 the former a native of Tioga county, N. 
 Y. , the latter of Orange county, in the 
 same State. 
 
 In his boyhood Dr. J. C. Hall re- 
 moved from Tioga county to Orange 
 county, N. Y., where he grew to man- 
 hood and received his literary educa- 
 tion. After graduating in medicine he 
 married, and in 1843 came west, settling 
 in what is now Marinette, Wis., which 
 had at that time one small water mill, 
 owned by S. H. Farnsworth. He pur- 
 chased the mill and operated it for some 
 years, and then took up his chosen pro- 
 fession. For some time he was the only 
 physician on the west shore of Green 
 Bay. in Wisconsin, and consequently his 
 
COMMEMOHA TIVB BIOORAPIIICAL IlKCOHD. 
 
 479 
 
 services were in demand for many miles in 
 every direction. No man in all this re- 
 gion was better known than Dr. Hall. 
 For some years he was a member of the 
 board of supervisors of the county, which 
 was then known as Oconto county; he 
 was also a member of the General Assem- 
 bly for several terms. In i860 he took 
 the census of Oconto county, which duty 
 he faithfully performed in addition to his 
 regular duties as a physician. He was 
 also a justice of tiie peace of Marinette. 
 His death occurred in 1S73, when he was 
 aged si.xty-three years. His excellent 
 wife survived him one year. 
 
 Dr. Hall was a Master Mascjn, and 
 to(_)k a great interest in Masonic matters. 
 In his political views he was a War Dem- 
 ocrat and subsequontlj' was a Republican. 
 In his religious views he was a I'resl)y- 
 terian, and for many.years was a member 
 of that church in Marinette. His wife 
 was also a memlierof the same body, and 
 both took an active interest in church work. 
 His acquaintance throughout the State was 
 very extensive, being active not onlj' in his 
 profession, but in political affairs as well. 
 Dr. and Mrs. Mall were actixe in every 
 good word ami work, and were held in 
 the highest estc;em. Their family con- 
 sisted of the following: K. L. , who mar- 
 ried and located in Oconto, where he en- 
 gaged in surveying until his death in 1 S92 ; 
 he left a widow and fcmr suns, who }'et 
 reside in that city. .Mary, born in New 
 York, became the wife of Henry Bentley, 
 and died in 1S77, her husband passing 
 away in 1890, at Marinette; he came to 
 Peshtigo in an early day, and had charge 
 of a mill, but lati.r mo\ed to Marinette, 
 where he engaged in the lumber and log- 
 ging business; they left five chiliiren - 
 Nellie, Jessie, Charley, Anna (wife of G. 
 W. Holmes, of Marinette, who is likewise 
 engaged in the lunil)er business), and 
 Hattie, their last born. Charley is with 
 Dr. Sherman as ck-rk. lsad(jre died in 
 1 S46, at Marinette. Ben K. is the subject 
 of these lines. 
 
 Ben K. Hall was reared in Marinette, 
 
 27 
 
 and attended its pidilic schools. Later 
 he attended school ;it N(jrmal, III., and 
 Chicago. After leaving school he engaged 
 in surveying, which occupation he has 
 followed all his life. No man is i)etter 
 acfjuainted with the northern part of Wis- 
 consin and that part of Michig.-m adjoin- 
 ing. He has sur\eyed pine land and 
 worked for Ludington, Wells iS: \'an- 
 Schaick Company for ten ^ears, and has 
 been in the employ of all the luiid>er com- 
 panies operating in this region. He has 
 always made his home in Marimitte. and 
 is the only one of the name now residing 
 here. He was married at Oshkosh, 
 W"is. , in I 880, ti) Miss Ma I.illii', born in 
 Ohio. 
 
 In politics Mr. Hall is a Kepuhlican, 
 and has voted the party ticket since at- 
 taining his majority. ]!orn in this place 
 when it was but a \'illage of three or four 
 hundred inhabitants,^li(.' has witnessed its 
 growth until it now has a population td 
 17,000 inhabitants, and all parts of the 
 county well des'eloped. His mother was, 
 one (jf the tirst public-school teachers in 
 Marinette, the school being held in the 
 home of Ins j^arents. Mr. Hall has been 
 prosperous, and he is greatly respected 
 throughout the entire county. 
 
 J 
 
 OHN JETHKO SHERMAN, M. D , 
 
 is a medical practitioner of consider- 
 ;ible ])ronuni-nci' in Marinette ami 
 surrounding countrv, one wIki. out- 
 side of the esteem in which he is held for 
 his professional attaimnents, enjoys the 
 admiration and respect of all for his kind- 
 liness of disposition and amiability of 
 he'art. He may also hi; truly calleil a pio- 
 ne-er of .Marinette, forover forty years ago. 
 in 1833, he settled at the i)lace when there 
 was not so mucli as a wagon road to be 
 seen. 
 
 Dr. Sherman is a iiatixe of Dutchess 
 county. N. ^'., born March \^. i8j;o. in 
 the town of l^eeknian, a son of Henry 
 Sherman, who was a son of |ethro Sher- 
 man, of the same count\'. formerlv of 
 
4So 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Connecticut. Henry, father of our sub- 
 ject, was a blacksmith by trade, at which 
 he worked in Beekman till moving, in 1833. 
 to Steuben county, N. Y. . where, in the 
 city of Hammondsport, he continued the 
 trade till 1836, in which year he com- 
 menced farming at Tyre, Seneca county, 
 same State. After ten years passed there 
 in agricultural pursuits he, in 1846, 
 moved to Wayne, Dupage county. 111., 
 and there made his home till [852, when 
 he went to California, from which State 
 he kept up a correspondence with friends 
 until 1838, his last letter stating that he 
 had accumulated some eight thousand dol- 
 lars, and was coming home. Since then 
 he has never been heard from, and from 
 subsequent information it is supposed that 
 he was robbed and murdered. His wife, 
 Elizabeth (Bentley), also a native of 
 Dutchess county, N. Y., died in that State 
 when our subject was fourteen years old. 
 John J. Sherman, whose name intro- 
 duces this sketch, received a liberal com- 
 mon-school education in New York State, 
 and in 1848 came to Winnebago county, 
 Wis., where he also attended winter 
 school, working on the farm during the 
 summer of 1851, in the following year be- 
 coming assistant teacher of mathematics 
 in a seminary in Dupage county, 111., in 
 the meantime studying other branches. 
 In the fall of 1853 he returned to Wiscon- 
 sin, and since then has been a permanent 
 resident of what is now the thriving city of 
 Marinette, Marinette county. Here until 
 1856 he worked in the woods, in the 
 summer of that year proceeding to Chica- 
 go, where he attended Digby V. Bell's 
 (now Bryant & Strattoii's) Commercial 
 College, in the fall of the same year re- 
 turning to Marinette, where he became 
 connected with the lumbering business and 
 land-office work, making abstracts, etc. 
 Ill 1857, in association with his uncle, 
 Henry Bentley, he took a contract to get 
 out three million feet of lumber, but this 
 deal becoming in a measure unsuccessful 
 our subject turned his interest over to his 
 uncle, and, at the solicitation of the peo- 
 
 ple of the place, opened a private school, 
 it being the first educational institution 
 Marinette e\'er saw, and it had an attend- 
 ance of thirty-five scholars at one dollar 
 each. Subsequently, and prior to 1861, 
 he taught district school some six or seven 
 terms. At the suggestion of Dr. J. Cory 
 Hall, he commenced the study of medicine 
 in his office, and in 1863-64 was a student 
 at Rush Medical College, Chicago, from 
 which institution he graduated M. D., in 
 1 88 1. In 1864 he had commenced the 
 practice of his profession in partnership 
 with Dr. Hall, which arrangement contin- 
 ued until 1868, since when Dr. Sherman 
 has practiced alone to the present time, 
 and has been uniformly successful. He 
 also conducts a flour and feed store in 
 Marinette. 
 
 In 1857 our subject was married at 
 Chicago, 111., to Mise Emeline A. Porter, 
 a native of Kennebec county. Me. , daugh- 
 ter of James and Ruby Porter, and four 
 children were the result of this union, a 
 brief record of whom is as follows: Carrie 
 F., born June 17, 1859, was married to 
 Edgerton B. Williams, of Ironwood, 
 Mich.; Major F., born July 28, 1862, died 
 in 1878; Kathryn L., born November 5, 
 1869, is now a teacher in the schools of 
 Marinette; Annie, born January 16, 1873, 
 died January 25, 1879. 
 
 Dr. Sherman has been an elder of the 
 Presbyterian Church of Marinette for the 
 past thirty-two years, and his wife a mem- 
 ber for thirty years. He took an active 
 part in the organization of the county, 
 township and city; served as township 
 clerk, assessor, treasurer and in many other 
 offices, such as member of the school 
 board for sixteen years, and he may be 
 said to have been the organizer of the 
 school system of both township and city. 
 In political affairs he has always been act- 
 ive and outspoken, formerly, and until 
 1S89, as a Whig and Republican, since 
 which date he has been a zealous adher- 
 ent and pronounced champion of the Pro- 
 hibition party, who in 1895 nominated 
 him as a candidate for representative, con- 
 
C0MMEM0UA7 IVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 
 
 4S1 
 
 gressman and mayor of Marinette, in run- 
 ning for wfiich latter office became in 600 
 ahead of his ticket, and within 69 votes of 
 success. In matters of rehgion he has 
 also all his life exhibited much zeal and in- 
 terest, and on three different occasions he 
 was a member of the General Assembly 
 of the Presbyterian Church of the United 
 States. In early times, when there was 
 no minister at hand. Dr. Sherman fre- 
 quently conducted funerals, giving out the 
 hymn and offering up prayer. In 1864 
 he took a ten-weeks' trip south, visiting 
 Natchez, Miss., and had a rather un- 
 pleasant experience, being taken for and 
 arrested as Lycurgus Sherman, who was 
 " wanted " by the government. He was 
 held in custody some twelve hours, when, 
 his papers having been examined, he was 
 discharged, and afterward treated with 
 many marks of respect at the hands of both 
 the general in command and the provost- 
 marshal. The Doctor had gone to Natchez 
 for the purpose of taking charge of a con- 
 fiscated plantation for Dr. Hall, of Marin- 
 ette, and while there practiced medicine. 
 At the end of about four weeks he was 
 taken sick, which necessitated his return 
 north. 
 
 In connection with his general prac- 
 tice the Doctor has attended several hun- 
 dred cases of smallpox, in which he had 
 some experience in his student days in Chi- 
 cago, and has met with remarkable suc- 
 cess in combatting that loathsome disease. 
 During the war of the Rebellion he was a 
 firm adherent of the Union cause, giving 
 patrioticall}' of both his means and influ- 
 ence, and his entire life has been one of 
 beneficence, loyalty and honor. 
 
 JOHN J. ANDREW, Mayor of Marin- 
 ette, has resided in that cit}' since 
 1879, at which time he entered the 
 employ of the Marinette Iron Works 
 as bookkeeper and cashier, which position 
 he still occupies. 
 
 Mr. Andrew was born in Quebec, 
 Canada, February 20, 1850. Four years 
 
 later Mr. Andrew's father and mother 
 removed to Montreal, where the latter, 
 now a widow, still resides. His father. 
 Mr. Joseph Andrew, was a government 
 contractor and builder. Several public 
 buildings still remain in Montreal as testi- 
 monies of his work. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was brought 
 up and received his education in Mon- 
 treal. In 1875 he was married to Miss 
 Christina Blair. After his father's death 
 in 1879, as already stated, he removed to 
 Marinette, where he entered the employ 
 of the Marinette Iron W'orks Co. 
 
 In his political affiliations Mr. Andrew 
 is a stanch Republican, and has co-op- 
 erated with that part}' ever since coming 
 to the States. In 1S90 he was elected 
 alderman from the Third ward, and in 
 1893 chairman of the Board of County 
 Supervisors. In 1894 he was elected 
 Mayor, and again in 1895 ^^'^^ returned 
 to the same office, whose duties, his re- 
 election shows, he discharged in a most 
 acceptable manner. 
 
 Mr. Andrew is a member of Marinette 
 Lodge No. 182, F. & A. M., and Chapter 
 No. 57, R. A. M., the Royal Arcanum and 
 Modern Woodmen. FJoth Mr. Andrew 
 and his wife are members ol the Episcopal 
 Church. 
 
 CW. STOELTING, M. D., who 
 for the past several years has en- 
 gaged in the practice of his pro- 
 fession in Oconto, Oconto count}', 
 is a native of Indianapolis, Ind., born in 
 1853, and is a member of a pioneer family 
 of Sheboygan count}', Wisconsin. 
 
 Christian William Stoelting, father of 
 our subject, was born in German}' in 
 1823, and came to this countr}' about the 
 year 1840, first locating in Indianapolis, 
 Ind., where he married Franciska Louisa 
 Schmidt, who was born in 1S35, also in 
 the Fatherland, coming to the United 
 States in 1837. About the year i854the 
 family came to Wisconsin, settling in the 
 woods of Sheboygan count}', which was 
 
4S2 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 then thinly settled, and here the father 
 opened up a farm which had been partly 
 cleared. They made a permanent home 
 on this tract, and here both parents still 
 reside, having lived to witness many re- 
 markable changes in the country around 
 them. They had a large famil)-, consist- 
 ing of sixteen children, as follows: Dr. 
 C. W. ; Ferdinand L. , a tinner and hard- 
 ware merchant at Storm Lake, Iowa; 
 Paulina, who married Herman Martin, 
 and died in 1888, at Storm Lake, Iowa; 
 Edward, a carpenter, residing at Schaller, 
 Iowa; Conrad, who died, in 1879, at She- 
 boygan, W'is. ; Dina Louisa (who married 
 Herman Martin, the husband of her sister 
 Paulina, deceased), of Storm Lake, Iowa; 
 Anna Margaretha (Mrs. Adolph Rehm), 
 who resides in Sheboygan county. Wis. ; 
 Christian (twin of Anna Margaretha), 
 deceased in infancy; Matilda (Mrs. John 
 Kuttercr), of St. Louis, Mo.; Amelia 
 Barbara, of St. Louis, Mo. ; Meta Char- 
 lotte, also of St. Louis, Mo. ; August 
 Theodor Albert, married and has his 
 home in Sheboygan. Wis. ; Lydia Helena, 
 of Storm Lake, Iowa; Sarah (Mrs. John 
 Hemiingi. of Sheboygan, Wis. ; Benjamin, 
 studying for the ministr\- at the " Missions 
 Haus," a German Seminary in that coun- 
 ty; and Otto Walter, living with his 
 brother, Ur. C. W. 
 
 C. W. Stoelting was reared to agricul- 
 tural life in Sheboygan count}', where he 
 received his primary education. For two 
 years he attcndetl the Germany Seminary 
 in that county, after which he took up 
 teaching, following that profession in 
 Shcbojgan and Manitowoc counties for 
 some years, and then commenced the 
 studv nf medicine, .\fter reading for a 
 time in the office of Dr. Carl Muth, of 
 Sheboygan, he in 1877 entered the Med- 
 ical Department of Wooster University, 
 Cleveland, Ohio, where he remained one 
 year. Reading medicine and teaching for 
 another year, he then, in 1879, entered 
 Rush Medical College, Chicago, and at- 
 tended the medical courses until the spring 
 of 18.S1, when he graduated, and in the 
 
 same year commenced the practice of his 
 profession, in ' Centerville, Sheboygan 
 county. Here he continued to practice 
 nearly two years, spending the ne.xt three 
 years in practice at Kiel, Manitowoc 
 countj', after which he took a trip to 
 Europe, devoting a year to study in 
 \'ienna and Berlin. On his return he 
 located at Appleton, Outagamie county, 
 where he engaged in active professional 
 work until 1889, since which time he has 
 resided at Oconto. Here by his skill he 
 has succeeded in building up a good gen- 
 eral practice, his personal worth being no 
 less a factor in his popularity than his pro- 
 fessional ability. He is thoroughly de- 
 voted to his profession, and has as fine a 
 library as can be found in his section. 
 
 In 18S3 Dr. Stoelting was married, in 
 Manitowoc. Wis., to Miss Emma Teitgen, 
 a native of that county, and two sons 
 have blessed this union — Roland and 
 Hugo. Mrs. Stocking's parents, August 
 and Rosalia Teitgen, were born in Ger- 
 many, and coming to this countrj' settled 
 in Manitowoc county. Wis., in pioneer 
 days, opening up a farm there. The 
 father passed from earth some years ago, 
 at the age of sixtj'-five years; the mother 
 still makes her home in Manitowoc county. 
 Dr. Stoelting is a member of the Fox 
 River \'alley Medical Society, of the 
 Marinette and Menominee Medical So- 
 ciety, and of the American Medical Asso- 
 ciation. In fraternal affiliation he is 
 connected with Pine Lodge No. 118, F. 
 & A. M., Oconto Lodge No. 94, K. of P., 
 and with the Royal Arcanum, in which 
 latter he is medical examiner for the local 
 lodge. In political faith he is a Repub- 
 lican. 
 
 DLANE R. HOCKRIDGE, a lead- 
 ing representative citizen of Mar- 
 inette, was born in Madison 
 county, N. Y. , March 2, 1S45, 
 and is a son of John D. and Hester A. 
 (Rogers; Hockridge. who were also natives 
 of that countv. 
 
COMMEMOIIA rrVE niOCrI!Al'IIICAL RECORD. 
 
 483 
 
 By occupation John D. Hockridgewas 
 a farmer, and carried on agricultural pur- 
 suits in New York State until called to 
 the home beyond, Januar}' 5, 1S67, at the 
 age of sixty-five 3'ears. His wife died in 
 Morrisville. Madison Co., N. V., Febru- 
 ary 13, 1S78, aged si.\t_\--ninc j'ears. 
 They had a family of six children, who 
 reached mature years, as follows: Charles 
 T. , who died in Madison, N. Y., Septem- 
 ber I, 1S89, aged sixty years; James M., 
 who enlisted in Madison comity as a 
 member of the One Hundred and Seven- 
 t3'-sixtli N. Y. V. I., served for more than 
 a year, and is now living in Oneida county, 
 N. Y. ; George W., who was a member of 
 the same regiment lor the same length of 
 time, has large real-estate mterests near 
 and in Morrisville, ^fadison Co., N. Y., 
 where he now resides; Sarah 1)., wife of 
 Joseph \V. Sladc (they were married in 
 Marinette, and now reside in I'ostoria, 
 Ohio); Wesley N., who for more than a 
 year served in the One Hundred and Sev- 
 enty-sixth X. Y. \'. I., and dietl in Mor- 
 risville. Madison county, N. Y., Decem- 
 ber 9, 1895, aged fifty-two years (he had 
 long been a faithful member of the G. A. 
 R.); and our subji;ct. 
 
 Duane R. Hockridge was reared in che 
 county of his nativity, acciuired his liter- 
 ary education in the puldic schools, and 
 at the old Oneida (now Central) M. \i. 
 Conference Seminar}', located at Caze- 
 novia, N. Y., and from earl\' life was 
 familiar with farm labor, beginning work 
 in the fields as soon as old enough to han- 
 dle the plow. But not wishing to carry 
 on that lousiness throughout his career, he 
 learned the carpenter's trade. In June, 
 1 88 1, he arrived in Marinette, where he 
 followed his chosen calling for about three 
 years, and then engaged in contracting 
 and building until 1890. In the spring of 
 1882 he was appointed agent of the Bangs 
 Estate, then owned by Celestia B. Gil- 
 bert, of Washington count}', Minn., a 
 cousin of Mrs. Hockridge, and daughter 
 of Reuben H. Bangs, of Onondaga county, 
 N. Y., which included a valuable property 
 
 in the city of Marinette, portions of which 
 ha\e from time to time, as the growth of 
 the city has required, been laid out into 
 city lots, there ha\'ing been added thereto 
 five additions and three sub-di\-isions. 
 Since 1882 he has had the entire hand- 
 ling of this large estate in Marinette 
 count}'. On the death of Mrs. Gilbert, 
 which occurred December 31, 1892, he 
 was appointed administrator and settled 
 the estate to the entire satisfaction of all 
 concerned, and is now acting as agent for 
 the two daughters, Alice G. Jackso?i and 
 Caroline G. Currie, of St. Paul, Minn., 
 \vho are the sole heirs to the estate. His 
 fourteen-years' connectiim with this busi- 
 ness indicates in no uncertain manner his 
 fidelity to the trust reposed in him (as he 
 has never been asked to give any security), 
 and his sujierior biisiness and executive 
 ability. 
 
 Mr. Hockridge in the sjiring of 1S95, 
 thinking the time had come to put into 
 operation a plan that he long had on his 
 mind, the introducing of a s\stem of 
 walks in Marinette that would supercede 
 and excell in man}' ways the old system 
 of plank, spent se\'eral weeks in travel 
 for the purpose oi obtaining information 
 from experts in thai line in the larger 
 cities of Wisconsin and Illinois, and in 
 correspondence with large manufacturers 
 in the East. Several weeks were also 
 spent by him in experimenting and put- 
 ting the knowledge, thus obtained, into 
 practical use. and he then ccjinpleted 
 what is known as "concrete comj)Osi- 
 tion" or " as|)halt walks," and in the fall 
 of 1895 he laid in the cit}' of Marinette, 
 over seven thousand feet, nearl}' one-half 
 of which was for Marinette count}' on the 
 court-house propert}'. It is genc;rally 
 believeci that in the near future there will 
 be a large amoimt of this walk laid in 
 Marinette. In the smnmer of 1881 Mr. 
 Hockridge erected a good residence at 
 No. 617 South Raymond street, corner 
 of Marinette avenue and Gilbert street, 
 which was destroved by fire Januar}' 26, 
 1882, but rebuilt the following spring, 
 
4S4 
 
 COyritEilORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and here he has since resided. He also 
 has a fine two-story residence at No. 
 2615 Hall avenue, which was erected in 
 1 89 1. Presiding over his home with 
 grace and hospitality is his estimable 
 wife, whom he married in Minneapolis, 
 Minn., in iSSi, and who in her maiden- 
 hood was Miss Hattie E. Lowell, a native 
 of Oneida county, N. Y. Their union 
 has been blessed with one daughter, 
 Gertie R. The parents are faithful and 
 devout members of the Methodist Epi- 
 pal Church, in which Mr. Hockridge was 
 serving as steward at the time of the 
 erection of the present house of worship. 
 He has always, when favorable oppor- 
 tunity afforded, exercised his right of 
 franchise in support of the temperance 
 cause, and is deeply interested in its 
 success. Socially he is affiliated with 
 the Temple of Honor. His daughter is a 
 member of and an earnest worker in the 
 Junior Epvvorth League. Mr. Hockridge 
 has made three trips to his old home in 
 New York since coming west, first time 
 in 1885; second time in the fall of 1889, 
 accompanied by his family, soon after 
 the death of his brother Charles T. ; the 
 third time in December, 1895, to attend 
 the funeral of his brother Wesley N. 
 The family occupy an enviable position 
 in social circles. 
 
 JOHN BIGELOW FAIKCHILD. 
 This gentleman, who is distinguished 
 as one of the ablest members of the 
 legal profession in Marinette county, 
 as a thorough scholar and close student, 
 as well as a jurist of unblemished integ- 
 rity, is a native of the State of Indiana, 
 born March 30, 1841. in Newtown. Foun- 
 tain county. 
 
 John Fairchild. his father, was a min- 
 ister of the Presbyterian Church, and an 
 organi/er of the pioneer congregation at 
 Marinette, where he preached from 1 863 
 to 1S82. He died there April 29, 1885, 
 aged eight-one years, leaving a widow, 
 whose maiden name was Laura P. Bige- 
 
 low, who died December 15, 1895, at 
 the ripe old age of eighty-five years. 
 
 Our subject received his primary edu- 
 cation at a private school, and was pre- 
 pared for college chiefly under the tuition 
 of his father and aunt. Catherine Fair- 
 child, a maiden lady, the former of whom 
 was a fine mathematician and good lin- 
 guist. In September, 1858, John B. 
 Fairchild entered Wabash College, an edu- 
 cational institution at Crawfordsville.Ind., 
 'iiducted under the auspices of the 
 I'resbvterian Church, and there con- 
 tinued his studies until 1863, when he 
 was graduated A. B., a few years la- 
 ter receiving his degree of M. A. at his 
 Alma Mater. After leaving college he 
 entered the employ of R. L. Hall, of 
 Oconto, Wis., the county treasurer and 
 county surveyor of Oconto county, as- 
 sisting him in his work in both offices, 
 chiefly in surveying and looking after the 
 lands of non-residents, also, during the 
 winter of 1864-65, taught school in Mari- 
 nette, one term. About this time he 
 commenced the study of law in private, 
 and afterward continued the study in the 
 officeof Judge Levi Hubbell.at Milwaukee, 
 assisting occasionally in the office of Fran- 
 cis Bloodgood, who for many years has 
 been a commissioner in the United States 
 Court at Milwaukee. On July 17, 1866, 
 he was admitted to the bar of Milwaukee 
 county, and a short time thereafter he 
 commenced practice at Oconto, Wis., in 
 partnership with R. W. Hubbell, son of 
 Levi Hubbell, under the firm name of 
 HubbelliN; Fairchild, which copartnership 
 existed about one year. Mr. Fairchild 
 then commenced for his own account at 
 the same place, and subsequently, early 
 in 1872, formed a partnership with W. 
 V. .-Mien, now United States Senator from 
 Nebraska, which arrangement continued 
 some eighteen months, at the end of 
 which time he resumed practice alone. 
 On March 9, 1874, he moved to Mari- 
 nette and entered into a copartnership 
 with his brother Hiram O. Fairchild, 
 which was dissolved about December 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 4S5 
 
 10, 1894, since when he has once more 
 continued the business alone. Prior to 
 this last partnership Mr. Fairchild con- 
 ducted a general practice, but shortly 
 after its formation drew out of the trial 
 of litigated suits, and gave more than 
 usual attention to probate and corpora- 
 tion law, and for years he has been the 
 consulting lawyer for various corpora- 
 tions and leading business firms of his 
 section. 
 
 On March 6, 1S69, Mr. Fairchild was 
 married, in Oconto, Wis., to Miss Nancy 
 J. Turner, daughter of Anson and Susan 
 H. Turner, and five children were born 
 to them, a brief record of them being as 
 follows: Albert T., born in 1S73, gradu- 
 ated at the Wisconsin State University at 
 Madison, summer of i S95 ; Fanny \'., born 
 in 1875, graduated at La Salle Seminary, 
 Auburndale, Mass., about the same time; 
 Jessie A., born in 1879; Martha E., born 
 in 1882, and John M., born in 1888; the 
 children are all at home. The family at- 
 tend the services of the Presbyterian 
 Church, of which Mrs. Fairchild is an act- 
 ive member. Independent in politics, 
 our subject has occasionally held public 
 positions of honor and trust, but has never 
 been an office-seeker. While a resident 
 of Oconto, he was district attorney two 
 terms, or four years — from 1868 till 1872 — 
 and gave eminent satisfaction. At the 
 head of his profession as an able and safe 
 counsellor, with the reputation of being 
 second to none in all the make-up of a first- 
 class jurist, Mr. Fairchild enjoys the con- 
 fidence of a wide and respectable clientele, 
 and the respect and esteem of the com- 
 munity at large. 
 
 CR. JOHNSTON, vice-president 
 of the Stephenson National 
 l>ank, and one of the most prom- 
 inent business men of Marinette, 
 has been a resident of the county since 
 1 868, when he located at Peshtigo, 
 where he was employed as assistant 
 bookkeeper of the Peshtigo Company. 
 
 At that time Marinette county was a 
 part of Oconto county. He remained 
 with the Peshtigo Company until August, 
 1 87 1, when he engaged in the mercan- 
 tile business at that place. He was 
 there during the great fire of 1871, and 
 remained in the city during the night, 
 saving his life l)y going into the river. 
 After the Peshtigo fire he removed to 
 Marinette, where in May, 1872, he again 
 engaged in nierchantlising. Since that 
 time he has been actively engaged in 
 business, and success has crowned his 
 efforts. He continued in the store until 
 July, 1 891, when he entered the bank 
 with which he has since been connected. 
 
 Mr. Johnston is a native of Leeds 
 County, Canada, born in 1846 f)f Irish 
 ancestry, and is a son of Samuel and 
 Jane (Rath) Johnston. The Johnston 
 family were early settlers of Leeds 
 county, Canada, Henry Johnston, the 
 grandfather of our subject, being a jiio- 
 neer of that locality. Samuel Johnston, 
 the father, always resided in his native 
 country, and in early manhood was con- 
 nected with the militia. His death oc- 
 curred in 1847. His wife, who survived 
 him, subsefjuently married Edward Web- 
 ster and removed to New York, later 
 to \'ermont, where she died in 1890, at 
 the age of seventy-si.\ years. By the 
 first union were two children: C. R. and 
 S. H., the latter being the junior mem- 
 ber of the firm of Johnston Brothers. By 
 the second union there were two children: 
 Edward, who resides in Morrisville, \'t., 
 and Mrs. Elmer Wade, of the same place. 
 
 The subject of this sketch grew to 
 manhood in Leeds county, Canada, and 
 was there educated in the public schools. 
 On leaving school he was employed as a 
 clerk until his removal to Wisconsin in 
 I 868. As already stated, since coming to 
 this State, he has been actively engaged 
 in business, and has been (]uite successful. 
 In 1876 he returned to his native coun- 
 try and there married Mary Rogers, of 
 Gananoque, Leeds county, daughter of 
 Samuel and Agnes (Nelson) Rogers, who 
 
4S6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 were numbered among the pioneers of that 
 place. Her father was engaged in mer- 
 chandising, and it was at his store that 
 our subject first began his business 
 career. Both Mr. and Mrs. Rogers are 
 now deceased. By this union three chil- 
 dren were born: Agnes Louise, Belle and 
 Gertrude. Mrs. Johnston died in Jan- 
 uary, iS86, and Mr. Johnston remained a 
 widower until October, 1 894, when he 
 wedded Mary Boyd, of Brockville, Leeds 
 Co., Canada, daughter of John and Jane 
 (Redmond) Boyd, the former of whom 
 was one of the earl\- merchants of Brock- 
 ville; he died in 1889; Mrs. Boyd is still 
 living. 
 
 ■ Notwithstanding his extensive busi- 
 ness, Mr. Johnston takes an active interest 
 in the political affairs of the State and 
 Nation, and his views coincide with those 
 of the Republican party. He was the 
 first treasurer of Marinette county, ap- 
 pointed in 1879. and served three years. 
 He has been town clerk, a member of the 
 school board, and has filled other local 
 positions. Fraternall)' he is a member 
 of Olive Branch Lodge. A. F. & A. M.; 
 he is also a member of the Business Men's 
 Association of Marinette, and of the Mar- 
 inette Land Company. As a business 
 man he is progressive, aud has ever taken 
 an active part in everything that would 
 advance the interests of his adopted city 
 and country. He is one of the oldest 
 merchants in the city of Marinette, and 
 his word is as good as his bond. In the 
 development of the count)' no man has 
 been more actively engaged, and none 
 have contributed more largely to its suc- 
 cess. Genial and courteous in his man- 
 ner, he wins the co.nfidence and the good 
 will of all with whom he is brought in 
 contact. 
 
 ORACK KDWIN MANN, M. D., 
 one of the most enterprising and 
 
 M 
 
 I I useful citizens of Marinette, Mari- 
 nette county, by virtue of his 
 prominent position as a successful and 
 
 popular physician, is deserving of special 
 notice in the pages of this \'olume. 
 
 He is a native of \'crmont, born April 
 23, 1844, son of Elisha Mann, Jr.. of 
 Braintree, Orange county, descended from 
 Richard Mann, whose name appears in the 
 Colonial records as one of the thirty-two 
 persons who'took the "oath of fidelity" 
 at Scituate, Mass., in 1644, and as one of 
 twentj'-six persons who received from 
 Timothy Hatherly, the Conihasset grant 
 of land in 1646. The Doctor belongs to 
 the eighth generation of the decendants 
 of Richard. Representatives of the fam- 
 ily are found in all parts of the United 
 States, many of them distinguished, and 
 holding honorable positions of trust and 
 responsibility — Dr. James Mann, a sur- 
 geon in the Revolutionary army; Hon. 
 Horace Mann, who succeeded John Ouincy 
 Adams in Congress, and later President of 
 Antioch College; Cyrus Mann, eminent 
 as a New England clergyman; and Hon. 
 Abijah Mann, member of Congress dur- 
 ing Andrew Jackson's term as Presi- 
 dent, have been among the most dis- 
 tinguished members of the family. The 
 first mention of the Manns in English 
 history is of Sir Horace Mann, as Em- 
 bassador to the Court of France, un- 
 der Oueen Elizabeth. The father of 
 the Doctor died when Horace was ten 
 years old, leaving his mother and only 
 brother, two years \ounger, in ver}' desti- 
 tute circumstances. Having two brothers 
 of his father in W'isconsin, she, with her 
 two boys, left her old home in \'ermont, 
 and came to the then " Far West," where 
 her late husband's brothers had already 
 settled, and located at Fonddu Lac in 1856. 
 Here she struggled and worked to give her 
 boys an education, which she did until our 
 subject was sixteen years of age. She is 
 now living with her son at Marinette, en- 
 joying a well-earned and beautiful home, 
 and a blissful old age which she so richly 
 earned by her heroic struggles of earlier 
 life. 
 
 The subject of this sketch is one of 
 the typical self-made men of the great 
 
/ 
 
 A 
 
COMMEMOBA TIVE BIOORAPJUCAL llECOBD. 
 
 4S7 
 
 Northwest, he having by his own unaided 
 efforts gained a commanding position in 
 life. He received a Hberal education up 
 to the age of sixteen, as above stated, at 
 which time he received the appointment 
 of cleri'; in the Fond dii Lac post office, 
 and there remained until 1862. In that 
 year the spirit of patriotism being para- 
 mount with the young man to all other 
 sentiments, and, the war of the Rebellion 
 demanding fresh troops, he enlisted in 
 Company H, Thirty-second Wis. \'. I., 
 with which regiment he saw a considera- 
 ble amount of active service. His first 
 campaign was in Mississippi under Gen. 
 Grant, after which the regiment was de- 
 tached on provost duty, our subject 
 being assigned to the proN-ost-marshal's 
 office at Memphis, Teun., there remain- 
 ing till after the capture of Atlanta, when 
 he rejoined his regiment and took part in 
 Sherman's march to the sea. On the ar- 
 ri\al of the " Thirty-secnnd " at Beaufort, 
 S. C"., in December. i.S()4, Private Mann 
 was conmiissioned adjutant, with rank of 
 first lieutenant, of the First Mississippi 
 Mounted Rifles, by special order of the 
 Secretary of War, in which position he 
 served till the close of the war, and was 
 mustered out in July, 1S65, having served 
 some three years, during which period he 
 encountered many hardships, and parti- 
 cipated in all the engagements around 
 Savannah. During his entire service he 
 enjoyed fair health, being incapacitated 
 for duty only two weeks, and for discipline 
 in the discharge of his duty no soldier 
 of the Union army l)ore a better record. 
 After receix'ing an honorable discharge 
 Lieut. Mann returned to Fond du Lac, 
 and during part of the years 1865-66 
 found employment under an uncle in the 
 hmiber woods; then conducted a hotel, 
 "The Angier House," at New London 
 on behalf of the owner, a Mrs. Lutsey. 
 This was in 1S66, and same year he 
 bought and operated a meat market, 
 which he continued until some time in the 
 following }ear, when he was again offered 
 and accepted a position in the Fond du 
 
 Lac post office. It was about this time 
 (1868) that he C(jnnnenced the study of 
 medicine in tlie office of Dr. T. F. May- 
 ham, in Fond du Lac, umler whose pre- 
 ceptorshi]:) he remained fi\e years, at the 
 end of which time he entered Rush Med- 
 ical College, Chicago, graduating; in 1874 
 at Long Island Hospital Medical College, 
 same }'ear connnencing regular practice 
 in Marinette, Wis., where he has since 
 remained. In 1883 the Doctor estab- 
 lished the Menominee River Hospital, 
 Drs. Stuart and Mariner becoming his 
 })artners in the enterprise; in 18S9 the 
 institution was reorganized an<j a st^ck 
 comjiany formed. The hospital, which is 
 situated on Main street, has thirt}- beds, 
 and the average number of [latieiits is 
 ;il)out eighteen. 
 
 In |une, i86y. Dr. Mann was mar- 
 ried to Miss Flora A. Tracy, of Fond du 
 Lac, and four children were born to them, 
 \\'/.. : Fred Fugene, now in the employ of 
 the Chicago Street Railway .\d\'ertising 
 Co., Chicago: \N'illiam H., at present a 
 student at the \\'isconsin State Uni\er- 
 sily, Madison W'is. ; a son that died when 
 fdiM' months old; and Ida I'lura, who 
 died at the age of five 3'ears. In his po- 
 litical preferences the Doctor is a Repub- 
 lic.'in. casting his first \(_>te in 1864 for 
 Abraham Lincoln in Atlanta, Ga., and 
 at the time of the orgamzation of Mari- 
 nette county he served as county superin- 
 tendent of schools three years; was ald- 
 erman of the city three years, and was 
 president of the common council during 
 his term of office; lu; has also been a 
 member of the Republican State Central 
 Committee two years. Socially the 
 Doctor has been affiliated with the F. & 
 A. M. since 1886, and is a Knight Temp- 
 lar; was master of his Lodge three \ears, 
 high priest of the Royal Arch Cliapter 
 three _\ears, and grand high priest of the 
 Grand Chapter one ^ear; he is also a 
 member of the Knights of Pythias, and 
 was first chancellor commander of the 
 Lodge, one year; he is identified with the 
 i G. A. R., and member of the Loj'al Le- 
 
4SS 
 
 COMMEMORA TfVK BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 gion and with various insurance organiza- 
 tions. In religious faith he is affiHated 
 with the Episcopal Church at Marinette, 
 and since taking up his residence in the 
 city ho has always taken a decided stand 
 in favor of education, as well as all enter- 
 prises tending to the advancement and 
 prosperity of the community at large of a 
 city that, at the time of his coming here, 
 numbered but fifteen hundred souls, and 
 has now a population of sixteen thousand. 
 Dr. Mann has not only seen the rise and 
 progress of Marinette, but has also ma- 
 terially assisted it in its phenomenal 
 growth; and, individually, has built him- 
 self up an enviable record not only as a 
 physician, but also as a useful, loyal and 
 highly-esteemed citizen. 
 
 CH.MvLES D. POST. Among the 
 county officials of Oconto county 
 none are more faithful in the per- 
 formance of duty, or more worthy 
 of the trust reposed in them, than this 
 gentleman, who is serving as clerk of the 
 court and register of probate. He is one 
 of Wisconsin's native sons, his birth 
 having occurred in Rock county in 1.S56. 
 His father, Isaiah Post, was a native 
 of New York, and on leaving that State 
 took up his residence in Ohio, whence he 
 came to Wisconsin. Taking up his resi- 
 dence in Kock county, he there married 
 Miss Susan Cheflings. a native of Eng- 
 land. He gave his attention to the 
 milling business until 1S55, when became 
 to Oconto, and here entered the lumber 
 trade. In the following year he was 
 joined by his family, and he continued 
 his residence in Oconto until 1S63, when 
 he located in Appleton, and purchased a 
 farm, upon which he lived until 1871. 
 He then began the develo|iment of a 
 farm in Maple X'alley township, Oconto 
 county, whereon he continueti his resi- 
 dence until his death in 1891. He took 
 quite an active interest in politics, sup- 
 porting the Democracy, and during the 
 Civil war he joined a Wisconsin regiment. 
 
 in 1 864, for the one-hundred-days' service. 
 His wife passed away on the homstead 
 farm in 1887. In their family were the 
 following children: Charles D. ; George 
 W., who resides in Duluth, Minn., and 
 Mrs. Etta A. Mills, of Maple Valley 
 township. 
 
 Mr. Post, the subject proper of this 
 review, was reared in Oconto and Apple- 
 ton, and obtained his education in the 
 public schools of those places. With the 
 family he located in Maple \'alley town- 
 ship among its early settlers, and aided 
 in the development of a good farm. He 
 has always been connected more or less 
 with agricultural interests, and is now 
 the owner of a highly-improved tract of 
 lanti in that te>wnship. He also carried 
 on lumbering, and his carefully managed 
 interests have brought to him a comfort- 
 able competence, which he justly merits. 
 He has witnessed almost the entire 
 growth of his section of the State, and 
 takes a commendable pride in its ad- 
 vancement and progress, while in the 
 work he has been an important factor. 
 
 Mr. Post was married in Maple X'alley 
 township, in 1880, to Mi.ss Hattie John- 
 son, a native of Oconto county, and a 
 daughter of Richard and Ellen Johnson. 
 Her father was born in Ohio, and cast 
 his lot with the pioneer settlers of Oconto 
 county at an early da\'. During the Civil 
 war he served as a member of the Union 
 army; his death occurred in 1882. His 
 wife was a resident of Oconto Falls. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Post have a family of seven 
 children, namely: Florence, Clarence, 
 Mertic, Everett, Clinton, Nellie and 
 Harry. 
 
 In his social relations, Mr. Post is 
 connected with (~)conto Lodge, No. 94, 
 K. P., and with the Modern Woodmen 
 of .America. His political support is un- 
 swervingly given to the Republican party, 
 and for five years he served as a member 
 of the school board, the cause of educa- 
 tion finding in him a warm friend. In 
 1893 and 1894 he was elected chairman 
 of Maple \'ailey township, but resigned 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAriUCAL ni-X'OHD. 
 
 489 
 
 to enter upon his duties as clerk of the 
 court of Oconto county, in January. 1895. 
 In Aufjust, following, he was ap[)ointed 
 register of probeite, and has most accept- 
 ably filled these positions. 
 
 P.ATKICK CIJFFORl), deputy col- 
 lector (if internal revenue at Mar- 
 inette, has acceptably tilk'd that 
 jiosition since July, 1893, and is a 
 valued citi/en, ever true to a trust, 
 whether public or private. He was horn 
 in Columbus, Ohio, December |i), 1854, 
 and is a son of Martin and Margaret 
 (McNutley) C'lil'ford, both natives of the 
 l''.nierald Isle. When a j-oung man the 
 father located in ()iiiii .in<l was married 
 in Chillicothe, that State. In 1857 he 
 arrived in Wisconsin, locating in Dodge 
 county, near W'atertown, and secured 
 employment with the Chicago, Milwau- 
 kee & St. Paul Railroad Co. H(> was 
 not long permitted toenjov his new home 
 for his death occurred in 1S58. His 
 widow still resides in |uneau. Dodge 
 counts . 
 
 Mr. Clifford of this review was only 
 three j'ears of age when brought by his 
 parents to the l^adger State. He was 
 reared in Dodge county, and became 
 familiar with the conniion h'nglish 
 branches of learning in the schools of 
 Clymore. lie came to Marmette in 1872 
 when a \'oung man of cightecMi years, and 
 entered the employ of the II. Whitbeck 
 Lumber Company, with which he was 
 connected for niui- years. A long con- 
 tinued service well indicates fidelity to 
 duty and faithful work, and this Mr. 
 Clifford rendered his employers. On 
 leaving that comjjany he secured a posi- 
 tion with the Milwaukee cS: Northern 
 railroad as foreman, and abandoned his 
 work in that tlirection on his election to 
 the office of sheriff of Marinette county. 
 His political support is stanch, living to 
 the Democracy, and by that party he was 
 elected in the fall of 1888 to the Cieneral 
 Asseuibly for a term of two years. He 
 
 was afterward elected chief of police for 
 one year and is now devoting his time 
 and energies to the labors that devolve 
 upon him as internal revenue collector. 
 In 1879 in Dodge county, was con- 
 sunnnated the marriage of Mr. Clifford and 
 Mary Ann O'Coimor, a native of that 
 county, and a daughter of James and 
 Ellen (Duffy) O'Connor, who were na- 
 tives of Ireland, and pioneers of Dodge 
 comity, where they opened up a farm. 
 There the mother still makes her home, 
 but the father has departed this lifi'. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Clifford have four idiildren — 
 Martin, Pat. l)a\id and Mar}-. The par- 
 ents are members of the Roman Catholic 
 Church, and Mr. Clifford belongs to the 
 Catholic Knights, I'lranch N(j. 5. He 
 has been prtiminenlly connected with the 
 political history of Marinette county, and 
 now i)residcs over a district that includes 
 Door, Brown, Kewaunee, Oconto, Mar- 
 inette ,uid h'lorencc. He is one t)f the 
 well-known men of this section of the 
 State, and \ery popular with all. 
 
 DJ. Me.XLLISTER, superintend- 
 ent of the N. Ludington Wood 
 business, ;nul president of the 
 1 Wown-George Lumber Co. (or- 
 gani/e<! in 1892), is a gentleman of great 
 piomineuce in lumber circles in Wiscon- 
 sin. He came to Marinette in 1868, and 
 commenced work in the woods for the 
 N. Ludington Co. Part of the first two 
 years he drcne a team, but, his employers 
 being (piick to note and reward merit and 
 abilit}', he was made a foreman in the 
 woods before the two years had expired, a 
 position he held for several years. He 
 then took charge of similar work for the 
 T. W. Harver Lumber Co., for ti\e jears, 
 leaving that concern to accept the general 
 superintendency of the work in the woods 
 for his first employers, the N. Ludington 
 Co. He has from one hundred to three 
 hundred men under his charge. 
 
 Mr. McAllister came to Marinette 
 from New Brunswick, Canada. He was 
 
49° 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 born in 1847, in Kilmarnock, Scotland, 
 son of Donald and Flora (McKilvj) Mc- 
 Allister, who were natives of the Island 
 of Arran. The father was reared and 
 married in Scotland, and in an earh" day 
 •emigrated to New Brunswick, settling on 
 and developing a farm. After a residence 
 in that province for a number of years 
 both parents came to Marinette, Wis., 
 where the father died February 12, 1892, 
 and the mother May 20, 1S88. They 
 reared a family of six children, as follows: 
 Archibald, residing in Marinette; John, in 
 Tacoma, Wash.; D. J., subject of this 
 sketch; Willie, Peter (a merchant) and 
 Mary, all three residents of Marinette. 
 
 D. J. McAllister was reared and edu- 
 cated in New Brunswick. At the age of 
 twenty-two he came to Wisconsin, and 
 with the exception of the five years noted 
 above has been with the Ludington Co. 
 ever since. At the time he came to the 
 West there were no railroads in operation, 
 and towns of 500 or 1,000 inhabitants 
 were regarded as large and llourishing 
 places. Telegraphs and electricity, as 
 necessary adjuncts to civilisation and mod- 
 ern progress, were entirely unknown. In 
 1878 he was married, at Marinette, to 
 Miss Elizabeth Stitt, who was born in 
 Ottawa, Canada, daughter of James and 
 Catherine (Oakcsj Stitt. Grandfather 
 and Grandmother Oakes were both born 
 in England, whence they emigrated to 
 Canada, where he died in 1868. In 1871 
 Mrs. Stitt came to Marinette, in 1880 
 moving to Portland, Oregon. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. D. J. McAllister four children 
 were born — Flora, Catherine Eva, James 
 Archibald and John. 
 
 .-\s might be reasonably expected from 
 a man of his character and "push," Mr. 
 McAllister takes a lively interest in all po- 
 litical matters, and is an active worker for 
 the success of the Republican party. He 
 is a member of Marinette Lodge No. 182, 
 F. & A. M., and of Marinette Command- 
 ery No. 26. Both he and his wife are 
 members of the Presbjterian Church. In 
 ■connection with the superintendency of 
 
 theN. Ludington Co., Mr. McAllister 
 does an extensive logging business for him- 
 self. He is a bright and genial self-made 
 man, whom every one likes, and has been 
 prosperous in his business career, having 
 amassed a comfortable competency. 
 
 ILLIAM A. ELLIS, superin- 
 
 tendent and general manager of 
 
 y V the Peshtigo Lumber Co., es- 
 tablished in Peshtigo, Marinette 
 county, in 1856, as the " Peshtigo Co. ," 
 has been a resident of that cit)' fornearh' 
 forty years. 
 
 Mr. Ellis is a native of the Stale of 
 Maine, where it is said they "raise men" 
 in preference to other crops, he having 
 been born April 23, 1828, in Topsham, 
 Sagadahoc county, a son of William and 
 Miranda (Pattee) Ellis, also natives of the 
 " Pine Tree State." In 1875 the parents 
 came to Peshtigo — some eighteen years 
 after the son-;— where the father, who was 
 a blacksmith by trade, died in 1884, the 
 mother following him to the grave nine 
 years later. They reared a family of five 
 children, to wit: James T. , residing in 
 Canada; William A., our subject; Robert, 
 who died in Oconto, Wis.; Charles J., a 
 resident of Marinette; and Oakman, who 
 is in the emplo)' of the Oconto Lumber Co., 
 at Oconto. 
 
 Our subject received a liberal educa- 
 tion in the public schools of Maine, and 
 prior to coming to the then "Far West" 
 was engaged principally in mercantile 
 business in the village of Stillwater (Old- 
 town township), Maine, whither his parents 
 had removed. In 1S57 he came to Wis- 
 consin (the journey from Chicago to Pesh- 
 tigo occupying thirteen days), and at once 
 took up his home in Peshtigo, being given 
 charge of the store and books of the Pesh- 
 tigo Co., m which connection he continued 
 up to 1868, in that year being entrusted 
 with the general management of the en- 
 tire business. When Mr. Ellis first be- 
 came connected with the concern Thomas 
 H. Beebe, of Chicago, was president, and 
 
"^.MlA 
 
 4 
 
COMMEMOUATIVK niOQUAPUICAL llECOUD. 
 
 ■+9'' 
 
 a large sawmill had been built during the 
 winter of 1H57-58, operations tluu'ein 
 being coinnicnced in 1S5S. In the winter 
 of I iSf)" this mill was destroycil liy tire, 
 and the same season the eompany bmlt a 
 steam-mill at Peshtigo Harbor, the largest 
 mill of any kind in that section. This 
 was started np in |S()8, and is still cutting , 
 lumber; a small mill was also erected at 
 Peshtigo, which was burned in the liie ol 
 1 87 1, as was also the store and e\cry 
 other building in Peshtigo \illaL;e, The 
 company's jiresent store v\'as at onct- built 
 on the foundation of tlii' old one. and 
 the ])resent mill was erected without 
 an\' delay — in fact the same year. With 
 an enterprise wortlu' of the coni|)aii\' 
 and their tnanager, and a]t(i;;ellu'r un- 
 aided b}' the ("lovernment. the)' built a 
 harbor aiul wharves for the loading and 
 unloading of vessels, and were the lirst tn 
 adopt the barge system of transportation, 
 e\-entually becoming owners of a ]iower- 
 ful steam-tug and six barges, tin; ax'erage 
 "tow" being one million feet of lumber, 
 and The Peshtigo Co. sold its entire 
 " cut " in their own vard at Chicago. An 
 average of ti\'e hundred nu'n arc employed 
 In' the Pesliti,L;o I^umber Co. , a lact in 
 itself testifying to the e.xtent of the in- 
 dustry. 
 
 In addition to his responsible duties as 
 general manager of a concern of such 
 magnitude, Mr. lillis also deals ami has 
 considerable interest in jiine lands; and 
 taken all in all he is one of the busiest of 
 business leaders in his part of the State. 
 Like most of the substantial men of this 
 section, he came early and has renuained 
 to see his former home in the wilderness 
 converted into a hi\'e of industry; to wit- 
 ness also the swee[>ing away of the then 
 village by the merciless fury of lire, and 
 Phftnix-like to rise triumphant from its 
 ashes. As one of the oldest businessmen 
 of Peshtigo, no oni' is more widely known 
 in northeastern Wisconsin, and no <-)ne is 
 more highly esteemed and respected. 
 
 In 1852 William A. Ellis was united in 
 marriage with Miss Helen Keyncjlds, also 
 
 a native of Maine, daughter of Stejihen 
 Ke\-nolds, who lirst saw the light in that 
 State, where he died and where his 
 widow, Amelia 1'. (l)a\is) l\e\iuilds, is 
 yet li\ing. To this union were born two 
 <diildren, lioth sons: ICdward, who died 
 in Peshtigo, in i88.|, and William A., 
 Jr., cashier <if the Peshtigo Lmnber Co. 
 Politically a Republican, our subject 
 takes an active interest in tln' affairs ni 
 the party. In addition to his business 
 engagemcmts, lie has been i^alled to many 
 positions of trust, among which ma\' be 
 mentionetl those of ti'easurer of Peshtigo 
 to\\nship (which be held some ten \earsi, 
 and chairman of the townshi]) e\er since 
 the organization nl Mai'iiiette count)-, 
 b'rom 1837 to 1S73 he sei-\-e(l as jiost- 
 master at Peshtigo, tilling all the incum- 
 bencies entrusted to him with e.xcc-iitional 
 cai'e and acknowledged al>ility. In 18S0 
 he was nominated and elected to repre- 
 sent Marinette county in the Senate 
 during the years 1881 82. As a business 
 man his rc'coni is without stain, and 
 whether in jn'i ispi;rity or adxersitv Mr. 
 r.llis lias e\'er been uprii;lit, conscientious 
 and hou'.irable, ami that lie has held his 
 share of ].)ublic and pri\ate conlidence 
 and esteem the ri'cord of his life alone 
 makes manifest. 
 
 STAFFORD P. JONICS, M. I)., one 
 of the leading and enu'nentl\' siic- 
 cessliil phj'sicians of Marinett<:, 
 county, has been a respected and 
 exemplary resident of lliecit\- of Marinette. 
 Marinette county, f'lr the |)ast twent\- 
 se\'en years, and ha^ built up a rejiiit.at ii hi 
 Second to none in his jirofi^ssiou. 
 
 .\ natixeiif the Stati' of \ew ^'(lrk. \\c 
 was born May 10. 18,44, 'i' Onecnta. Ot- 
 sego county, a son i>f .S.imiiel |iines, a 
 blacksmith by trade, whu, in 1845. came 
 with his wife and iwn children — StalToid 
 P. and Marv hum ( )iieonta to Wiscon- 
 sin, locatiu.gin Ta\(lieeilah, I'oud du L.ic 
 county. Here he lolloweil his tr.ide 
 twelve 3'ears, and then remo\'ed to Chilton. 
 
492 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOOIiAPHTCAL RECORD. 
 
 Calumet county, where he continued 
 blacksniithing until February, 1862, the 
 time of his enlistment in Company G, 
 Fourteenth Wis. \'. I., in which he ser- 
 ved nearly three years, durinjj that time 
 participatinj; in the battles of Pittsburg 
 Landing and C'orinth. In October, 1864, 
 on account of sickness contracted while in 
 the discharge of his duties, he returned to 
 his home, and died the following month; 
 while in the army he was detailed as 
 hospital steward. His widow, whose 
 maiden name was Laura Potter, and who 
 was a native of Oneonta, N. V. , died at 
 Chilton, Calumet Co., Wis., in March, 
 1889. 
 
 The subject proper of this memoir re- 
 ceived his litcrar}' education at the schools 
 of Taycheedah and Chilton, Wis., in 
 which latter city he commenced the studj' 
 of medicine under the preceptorship of 
 Dr. David LaCount, with whom he con- 
 tinued until October, 1866, in that year 
 entcringChicago Medical College, Chicago, 
 where he remained as a student until March 
 7, 1868, and graduated March 7, 186S. At 
 once coming to Marinette, W'is., he com- 
 menced the practice of his chosen pro- 
 fession in that thriving city, and has since 
 met with well-merited success. At one 
 time he was attached, as medical attend- 
 ant, to two hospitals — the " Wisconsin " 
 and " Michigan " and what is now the 
 "St. Joseph," formerly tlie " Provident 
 Hospital," and since retiring from those 
 incumbencies he has devoted himself ex- 
 clusively to his wide and successful labors 
 in the medical field as a general practi- 
 tioner. 
 
 On March 15, 1868, Dr. Stafford P. 
 Jones and Miss Mar)" Brabant were united 
 in marriage at Chilton, Wis., and two 
 children, both daughters, have come to 
 brighten their home: Mae B. and Maude 
 D. , both at home. Politically our subject 
 is a Republican; socially he is a member 
 of the F. & A. M., Blue Lodge No. 182, 
 Chapter No. 57. and Commandery No. 
 26; he has officiated as scribe in the Chap- 
 ter and as generalissimo in the Command- 
 
 ery, and now is Eminent Commander. The 
 Doctor and his amiable family enjoy in an 
 eminent degree the respect and esteem of 
 a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. 
 
 LG. WALKER, M. D.. a well and 
 fa\-orably known physician and 
 surgeon, of Marinette county, has 
 been engaged in active practice 
 there since 1883, havmg his residence m 
 the village of Pound of which he was one of 
 theh rst permanent residents. The Doctor 
 was born July 19. 1843, in Pensacola, 
 Florida, son of the once noted Jonathan 
 Walker, author of the book known as 
 " The Branded Hand," and a native of 
 Massachusetts; the mother, Jane (Gage) 
 W'alker, was also a native of that State. 
 Jonathan Walker was by trade a ship 
 builder, and a sea captain for many years, 
 cruising principally along the Atlantic 
 coast, though he also sailed to European 
 ports. He was an ardent .Abolitionist, a 
 disciple of the principles promulgated and 
 upheld by the famous William Lloyd Gar- 
 rison. For a few years the family re- 
 sided in\'crmont, in 1852 migrated thence 
 to the new State of Wisconsin, locating 
 in Fond du Lac. Captain Walker fol- 
 lowed his trade for some time, later for a 
 few years living on a farm in Sheboygan 
 county. Wis., but he finally removed to 
 Lake Harbor, Mich., where he opened up 
 a small fruit farm and resided up to his 
 death which occurred April i, 1887; his 
 wife died in the year 1881. They raised 
 a famil)- of children, of whom we give a 
 brief record: John, the eldest, who fol- 
 lowed his father's vocation, that of a sea 
 captain, resides in Plymouth, Mass. ; Al- 
 tornea (Mrs. Chase) has her home in 
 Plymouth, Mass. ; Nancy (Mrs. Elisha 
 Cha.se) lives in Fairhaven, Mass. ; Sophia 
 (Mrs. Zedock Chase) resides at Cape Cod, 
 Mass. ; Mrs. Mary Lucas is a resident of 
 Iowa; Maria C. (Mrs. Underbill) lives in 
 the town of Lyndon, Sheboygan Co., 
 Wis. ; George resides in Milwaukee, Wis. ; 
 William lives in North Crandon, F'orest 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOOEAPIHCAL RECORD. 
 
 493 
 
 Co., Wis.; is also engaged in the practice 
 of medicine and is a very noted and skill- 
 ful surgeon. 
 
 Dr. L. G. Walker, the subject proper 
 of this biography, was reared in Vermont 
 up to his ninth year, and received his 
 early education in the common schools 
 therein and also in Fond du Lac and 
 Sheboygan counties, Wis. During his 
 youth and early manhood he was en- 
 gaged in farming and lumbering, con- 
 tinuing to follow those pursuits un- 
 til he commenced the study of med- 
 icine, with the exception of the time 
 he was in the service of his country 
 during the Civil war. He enlisted De- 
 cember 19, 1862, at Grand Haven, Mich., 
 for three years, and was mustered into 
 the service at Kalamazoo, Mich., as second 
 sergeant of Company B, F"irst Michigan 
 Sharpshooters, which was attached to the 
 Ninth Army Corps, and assigned to the 
 Army of the Potomac. He was engaged 
 in the battles of the Wilderness, Cold 
 Harbor, Spottsylvania and Petersburg, and 
 all the battles before Richmond. Va. ; at 
 Spottsylvania he was wounded by a shell 
 while charging the Rebel works. He par- 
 ticipated in the grand review at Washing- 
 ton, D. C, and was honorably discharged 
 as second lieutenant at [ackson, Mich., in 
 1865, returning to Grand Haven, Mich., 
 remaining there for a short time, thence 
 to Black Creek, Outagamie Co., Wis. In 
 1873 he took up the study of medicine 
 under a preceptor by the name of Adolph 
 Rheinhart, being with him up to 1875; 
 then was under another preceptor by the 
 name of Dr. William Daniels, for another 
 year. He then graduated from the Med- 
 ical School at Ann Arbor (Mich.) Univer- 
 sity, and in the year 1880 took a post- 
 graduate course at the Bennett Medical 
 College, Chicago. In 1881 the Doctor 
 located at Pound, Wis., his present home. 
 The railroad had not yet been extended 
 to that point, and his dwelling was one of 
 the first erected there, the site being first 
 cleared of timber, which at that time 
 covered it. 
 
 In 1866 Dr. Walker was married, in 
 Sheboygan county. Wis., to Miss Sarah 
 H. Pierce, who was born in the State of 
 Massachusetts, daughter of John T. 
 Pierce, a native of the same State. In 
 an early day he came to Wisconsin and 
 opened up a farm in Sheboygan county, 
 whereon he resided for a number of years. 
 He is now a member of the Soldiers' 
 Home at Waupaca, Wis., in a very feeble 
 state of health; his wife died some eight 
 years ago; during the Civil war he was a 
 member of the Fourth Wisconsin Cavalry. 
 To Dr. and Mrs. Walker were born seven 
 children, viz. : Franklin, the eldest, died 
 at the age of two years; George, living; 
 Frances (now Mrs. Ketchum) resides, at 
 present, at Pound, Wis. ; Warren died at 
 the age of five years; Emma, living; 
 Harry, also died at the age of five years; 
 and Freda, the youngest, is living. 
 
 Politically, Dr. Walker is a stanch 
 Republican, and has served as a member 
 of the Board of Education for a number 
 of years; has also held many positions of 
 honor and trust. Socially, he is a mem- 
 ber of A. H. SizerPostNo. 207, G. A. R. , 
 of Maiinette, Wis. Although his resi- 
 dence in Wisconsin has not yet been a 
 long one, comparatively speaking, yet the 
 Doctor has made many friends and gained 
 the good will and respect of all with 
 whom he has come in contact, being 
 thoroughly respected and honored wher- 
 ever known. 
 
 IVl 
 
 ILTON D. BRYCE, city attor- 
 ney of Marinette, is one of the 
 younger members of the bar 
 of Marinette county, but has 
 already manifested an ability that has 
 won him recognition among leading at- 
 torneys, and indicates a bright future. 
 He was born in St. Clair county, Mich., 
 September 30, 1863, and is a son of C. D. 
 and Addie M. (Draper) Bryce, the former a 
 native of Canada, the latter of Macomb 
 county, Mich. The father was reared in 
 the Wolverine State, has for many years 
 
494 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 followed farming in St. Clair county, and 
 has served as postmaster at Lynn. Both 
 he and his wife are still living, and are 
 held in high esteem in the community in 
 which they have so long made their home. 
 
 Under the parental roof our subject 
 was reared to manhood, and in the inter- 
 vals of farm work attended the district 
 schools of the neighborhood. At the age 
 of eighteen he entered the Romeo High 
 School, and was graduated in the class of 
 1886, after which he took up the profes- 
 sion of teaching, which he successfully 
 followed in St. Clair and Macomb counties 
 for two and a half years. Desirous of 
 gaining a more advanced education, he 
 next entered the Northwestern University 
 of Evanston, where he pursued a one-year 
 literary course. Choosing the law as a 
 profession which he wished to make his 
 life work, he began his preparatory studies 
 in Romeo, Mich., and later entered the 
 law department of the University of Michi- 
 gan, where he was graduated in the class 
 of 1894. He was admitted to practice 
 in the supreme court the same year, and 
 in July established himself in an office in 
 ^farinette. 
 
 Mr. Bryce now practices in all the 
 courts of Wisconsin and Michigan. He 
 located here with a reputation to make, 
 but his natural abilities and acquirements 
 have well fitted him for his chosen work, 
 and he is rapidly forcing his way to success, 
 having already gained a practice which 
 many an older lawyer might well envy. 
 In February, 1895, he vva3 appointed city 
 attorney of Marinette, to fill out the un- 
 e.xpiredterm of A. E. Mountain, deceased, 
 and re-elected the following .\pril. In 
 politics he is a Republican, in religious 
 faith a Methodist. 
 
 E\]-:RETT CLARK EASTMAN, 
 who stands in the front rank of 
 the legal profession in northern 
 Wisconsin, was born at Lisbon, St. 
 Lawrence Co., N. Y. , February 19, 1S59. 
 Morgan L. Eastman, father of our 
 
 subject, was also a native of St. Lawrence 
 county, and for twent)'-one years was a 
 Congregational minister at Lisbon; he 
 might be called "the old man eloquent" 
 of his day, for he was an orator of supe- 
 rior ability, an evangelist of great force of 
 character, and was known far and wide. 
 He is still living at the advanced age of 
 eighty years, retaining the vitality of many 
 men of fifty. He resides in Royalton, 
 \\'is. , where for twentj'-two years he was 
 pastor of a Congregational Church, but 
 has lived retired since 1892. His wife, 
 who bore the maiden name of Evaline 
 Thorpe, died in Rovalton, in August, 
 1886. 
 
 Our subject is the youngest in their 
 family of nine children, of whom one died 
 in infancy, the others being: Mary, wife 
 of j. H. Leonard, a merchant of Royal- 
 ton; Miriam, wife of George H. Clark, a 
 jeweler of Daytona, Fla. ; Samuel E., 
 who married Bertha A. Ford, and is now 
 acting as assistant pastor of Dr. H. K. 
 Beecher's Church at Elmira, N. Y. ; Lucy, 
 wife of Dr. John Russell, of Atlanta, Ga. ; 
 Luna B., wife of William Edmundson, a 
 fruit grower of Daytona, Fla. : Lewis D., 
 who wedded Mary Scoville, and resides at 
 Menominee, Mich.; and Marcia H.. wife 
 of M. C. Phillips, an attorney of Osh- 
 kosh. Wis. The Eastman family was 
 founded in New England at an early day, 
 and was probabl)- of English lineage, 
 while the Thorpes were of German ex- 
 traction, and belonged to an old New 
 York family. 
 
 E. C. Eastman was educated in the 
 schools of Royalton, and in Ripon College, 
 where he pursued a two-years' course. 
 He then continued his studies privately 
 for three years, spending the last two 
 years in law study with the firm of Howe 
 & Tourtellotte, of La Crosse, Wis. He 
 was admitted to the bar March 12. 1S79, 
 by Judge .A. W. Newman, of La Crosse, now 
 one of the justices of the supreme court 
 of Wisconsin. Mr. Eastman soon after 
 began the practice of his profession in 
 New London, Wis., where he remained 
 
/ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BTOORAPmCAL RFAJORD. 
 
 495 
 
 until November, 1879, removing then to 
 Kaukauna, where he continued until 
 March, 1S83, the date of his arrival in 
 Marinette. Here he has built up an ex- 
 tensive and successful practice, gaining a 
 place with the foremost at the bar in 
 northern Wisconsin. As an advocate he 
 is earnest and painstaking, and his argu- 
 ments are often eloquent, always telling, 
 and seldom failing to convince. In Jan- 
 uary, 1887, and again in 1888, he was 
 elected on the Republican ticket as city 
 attorney, and on November 6, 1894, he 
 was elected district attorney of Marinette 
 county, in which position he is now capa- 
 bly serving. His law office, comprising 
 three rooms, is elegantly fitted up with 
 electrical appliances and steam heat, and 
 is the front suite on the second floor of 
 the new Stephenson block. For nine 
 years Mr. Eastman was associated in busi- 
 ness with Arthur E. Mountain, the part- 
 nership of Eastman & Mountain having 
 been formed January i, 1886, and con- 
 tinuing with mutual pleasure and profit 
 until January 19, 1895, when Mr. Moun- 
 tain died of typhoid fever. He was a 
 native of Quebec, Canada, and a brilliant, 
 able lawyer, serving as city attorney at 
 the time of his death; he was also very 
 prominent in social circles. At his death 
 he left a widow and four-year-old son. 
 
 Mr. Eastman was married September 
 I, 1 88 I, in Pierrepont, St. Lawrence Co. , 
 N. v., to Anna L. Leonard, and they 
 have three children: Morgan Leonard, 
 born in 1884; Luna Katherine, born in 
 1889; and Stanley Everett, born in 1S91. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Eastman are members of 
 the Presbyterian Church, and are held in 
 
 the highest esteem and regat 
 
 the 
 
 community of which they art: worthy 
 members. 
 
 GEORGE H. WESTMON has for 
 almost a third of a century been 
 identified with the history of 
 Marinette, and his name is in- 
 separably connected witli the commer- 
 
 28 
 
 cial interests of this section of the State. 
 He is a self-made man, who owes his 
 prosperity in life to tireless energy, reso- 
 lute purpose and honorable dealing. 
 Steadily has he worked his way upward, 
 step by step, until to-day he stands 
 among the most eminently successful 
 and most honored business men of north- 
 ern Wisconsin. He has lived in this 
 State since the age of seven years. 
 
 Born in Norway in 1847, he is a son 
 of Nels Anderson and Anna Marie West- 
 mon, who were also natives of the "land 
 of the midnight sun." Reared and mar- 
 ried in that country, they continued 
 their residence there until 1854, when 
 they crossed the Atlantic and located in 
 Door county. Wis., where the father 
 pre-empted a tract of land and developed 
 a good farm. Seven families located in 
 Liberty Grove township. Mr. West- 
 mon, with the exception of two years 
 spent on Chambers Island, continued on 
 his first farm until his removal to Green 
 Bay. In 1861 lie became a resident of 
 Fort Howard, and two years later re- 
 moved his famil}' to Freeborn county, 
 Minn., where he had previously pur- 
 chased land. In 1866, however, he sold 
 that property and returned to Green 
 Bay, making the journey across the 
 country by team. His death occurred 
 the same year; his wife died in Fort 
 Howard, near Green Bay, in May, 1889. 
 This worthy couple had a family of four 
 children: The eldest, Andrew, was a 
 sailor; in 1861, at Buffalo, N. Y. , under 
 the name of Andrew Anderson, he en- 
 listed in Company I, One Hundredth N. 
 Y. V. I. ; his regiment was assigned to 
 the Eastern army, and in an engagement 
 he was captured and sent to Libby 
 prison, where he died in 1S63. Inger 
 Marie is now the wife of John O. Lin- 
 quist, of Menekaunee, Wis. George H. 
 is the next in order of birth. Caroline is 
 now Mrs. M. Clements, and resides in 
 Fort Howard, Wisconsin. 
 
 From the age of seven years George 
 H. Westmon was reared in Door county. 
 
496 
 
 COMyiEMOltATIVE BIOOIlAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 His educational privileges were some- 
 what meagre, and he had to go to school 
 a distance of two and a half miles 
 through the woods. Later, however, he 
 attended the Cedar Valley Seminary, at 
 Osage, Iowa, and, after entering upon his 
 business career, feeling the need of fur- 
 ther education, he pursued a course in 
 the Green Bay Commercial College. In 
 1863 he went with the family to Minne- 
 sota and secured a clerkship in the store 
 of Frank Hall, in Albert Lea, that State. 
 In 1866 he returned to Fort Howard, 
 thence coming to Marinette, and has 
 since been identified with the business 
 interests of that city. He is one of the 
 pioneer merchants thereof, and through 
 his promotion of commercial activity has 
 been an important factor in its upbuild- 
 ing. He had visited Marinette in 1861, 
 drilling in the Home Guards. When he 
 became numbered among its citizens, he 
 secured work in the shingle mill, and 
 later entered the employ of John O. 
 Lindquist, owner of a trading vessel on 
 the bay, which carried a line of general 
 merchandise, including almost every 
 commodity sold, except liquor. For this 
 reason it was known as the "Temper- 
 ance Trader." Living an industrious 
 and frugal life, Mr. Westmon at length 
 acquired the capital which enabled him 
 to buy out his employer, and he contin- 
 ued in the trading business on Green 
 bay for three years. In 1871 he opened 
 a mercantile establishment on Dunlap 
 square, Marinette, which he conducted 
 until 1874 when he sold out. In the 
 fall of 1877 he went to Chicago, w^here 
 he entered the wholesale grocery house 
 of McKendley, Gilchrist & Co., in which 
 he was employed, until 1S84, as 
 traveling salesman, when, the firm re- 
 tiring from business, he went with Gray, 
 Kingman & Collins, of Chicago, as trav- 
 eling salesman with which firm he was 
 connected until embarking in his present 
 line of business. In connection with Mr. 
 Lindquist, under the firm name of Lind- 
 quist & Westmon, he established a mer- 
 
 chant-tailoring and general-clothing store, 
 and on the admission of Mr. Campbell to 
 a partnership, the firm style was changed 
 to Lindquist, Westmon & Campbell, 
 which is still continued. They are the 
 leading merchants in their line in the city, 
 carrying a large and complete stock of 
 gents' furnishing goods and ready-made 
 clothing, also doing a large merchant- 
 tailoring business. Any one conversant 
 with this line of trade would at once de- 
 clare their store to be a credit to the 
 city, and the members of the firm to be 
 representative business men. 
 
 Mr. Westmon has had several other 
 business enterprises; from 1S85 to 1889 
 he was the copartner with J. H. Hanra- 
 han &Co. , of Stephenson, Mich.; with 
 C. E. Bradner & Co., of Powers, Mich.; 
 and with K. Lundberg & Co. , of Mene- 
 kaunee. Wis. , which firms did a large and 
 lucrative business, and made a little money 
 for our subject. About the year 1 889 he 
 drew out cf these and bought out a gen- 
 eral store in Daggett, Mich., which was 
 run in his own name, G. H. Westmon, 
 of Daggett, Mich., until 1892, when it 
 was merged into the G. H. W^estmon 
 Lumber Co., of Daggett, Mich., our sub- 
 ject holding a large share of the capital 
 stock and management. This concern, 
 W'hich comprises a sawmill plant, has con- 
 ducted a general cedar and lumber busi- 
 ness, and furnished employment to a large 
 community about Daggett, Mich., in va- 
 rious forms for years. He is also con- 
 ducting a general store at Daggett, with 
 John Dunham, under the firm name of 
 W^estmon & Dunham. This and the G. 
 H. Westmon Lumber Co. are about the 
 only business enterprises at present, he 
 having withdrawn from L. W. Westmon 
 & Co., Marinette, this fall, by dissolution. 
 In 1889, at Powers, Mich., George 
 H. Westmon was married to Mary Eliza- 
 beth Bradner, a native of Washington 
 Island, Door Co., Wis., and a daughter 
 of Enos and Sarah (Johnson) Bradner, 
 who were pioneer settlers of that Island. 
 The father now makes his home with his 
 
COMMEMOUAriVE BIOailAPinCAL UECORD. 
 
 497 
 
 son, C. E. Bradner, of Powers, Mich., 
 but the mother passed away in that place. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Westmon attend the Pres- 
 byterian Church. He takes an active 
 interest in pohtical affairs, and supports 
 the Repubhcan party. Socially, he is 
 connected with Marinette Lodge, No. 
 182, F. cS; A. M. He is pre-eminently 
 public-spirited, deeply interested in all 
 that pertains to the general welfare and 
 to the development and upbuilding of the 
 community. He is a thorough, practical 
 businessman; one who in his extensive 
 operations has followed an honorable 
 policy, tliat commands the respect and 
 confidence of all. Through the pursuit 
 of a persistent purpose, through indefat- 
 igable energy, guided by sound judgment, 
 he has won a handsome competence. In 
 manner he is pleasant, social and genial, 
 and his love of sports is manifest in his 
 ownership of a fine sailing yacht. He 
 has the reputation of being one of tlie 
 best sailors on the bay, and he takes his 
 greatest enjoyment on the water. He 
 and his amiable wife enjoy the respect 
 and esteem of all, and their own beauti- 
 ful home is the abode of hospitality. 
 
 ANGUS McAllister is the pop- 
 ular and efficient county treasurer 
 of Oconto county, and is one of 
 the leading and influential citizens 
 of the community. His genuine worth 
 and ability have gained him a prominent 
 place in the esteem of his fellow towns- 
 men, and his well-directed efforts in busi- 
 ness life have brought to him a handsome 
 competence. 
 
 A native of New Brunswick, Canada, 
 Mr. McAllister was born in Restigouche 
 county, April 4, 1S46, and is a son of 
 Ronald and Mary (Cook) McAllister, who 
 were born of Scottish parents on the 
 Island of Arran, just off the Scottish 
 coast. Their marriage was celebrated in 
 New Brunswick, where they carried on 
 farming and weaving. In March, i S94, 
 he was called upon to mourn the death 
 
 of his wife, and in December, following, 
 he also passed away. Five of their fam- 
 ily still survive, namely: John, who re- 
 sides in New Brunswick; James, living on 
 the old homestead there; Archibald, a 
 resident of Oconto township, Oc(jnto 
 county; Angus, in Oconto City; and Will- 
 iam, who makes his home in Stiles town- 
 ship, Oconto county. A sister, Mrs. 
 Mary McAllwee, died in Superior, Wis., 
 in 1895. 
 
 In the place of his nativity, Mr. Mc- 
 Allister, the subject of this sketch spent 
 his boyhood days, and in the public 
 schools acquired his education. He was 
 nineteen years of age when he sought a 
 home in Wisconsin, locating in Oconto 
 county in 1865. The city of Oconto was 
 then a small hamlet, the lumber business 
 being about the only industry carried on 
 there. He sought and obtained a position 
 with A. Eldred Lumber Company, they 
 operating a sawmill in Stiles, where he 
 remained for eighteen months. He then 
 engaged in lumber scaling, and followed 
 that vocation until 1884; also engaged in 
 buying and selling logs, ties and posts 
 for the Oconto Co., and for A. Eldred 
 Lumber Co. He is now doing a successful 
 business as a real-estate dealer, handling 
 farming and lumber lands, and is the 
 real-estate agent for the Chicago & North- 
 western Railroad Company, and for the 
 Northern Land Company. He was en- 
 gaged in the fire insurance business, and this 
 enterprise has proved to him quite re- 
 munerative. He possesses sound judg- 
 ment and e.xcellent executive ability, and 
 carries forward to successful completion 
 whatever he undertakes. He bought and 
 improved a fine farm in Stiles township, 
 and followed farming a number of years. 
 
 Mr. McAllister was married in Oconto 
 township, in 1868, to Miss Rachel F. 
 Durgan, a native of Maine, and a daugh- 
 ter of Daniel and Mary Ann (Ross) Dur- 
 gan. Her parents were born in Scotland, 
 and in an early day in the history of this 
 State emigrated from Maine to Wiscon- 
 sin, spending their last days in Oconto 
 
49S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 county. Eight children bless the union 
 of our subject and his wife, namely: 
 Charlie, Alfreda, William, Mary Ann, 
 Hattie, Inez, Edward Ronald and Roy. 
 
 In his political views, Mr. McAllister 
 is a stalwart Republican, and does all in 
 his power to promote the growth and 
 insure the success of his party. He has 
 held the offices of township clerk, 
 assessor, justice of the peace and super- 
 visor in Stiles township, and as a member 
 of the school board has done effective 
 service in the interest of education. In 
 November, 1S84, he was the Republican 
 nominee for the office of county treasurer 
 and elected, and by re-election was con- 
 tinued in that position for si.\ years, when 
 he was nominated for the State Legis- 
 lature. He lost that election, however, 
 and in November, 1894, was again elected 
 county treasurer, entering upon the duties 
 of the office in January, 1895. No more 
 capable official has ever served in that 
 position. True to every trust reposed in 
 him, his honesty is above question, and he 
 has the confidence and high regard of all 
 with whom he has been brought in con- 
 tact. Socially, he is a member of Oconto 
 Lodge, No. 190, I. O. O. F. , and of the 
 Knights of Pythias, No. 94, Oconto 
 Lodge. He attends the Presbyterian 
 Church, and has given of his time and 
 means to all worthy enterprises or move- 
 ments that he believes will benefit his 
 fellow-men and promote the best inter- 
 ests of his adopted county, with which he 
 has long been honorably and closely 
 identified. He came to Oconto a poor 
 boy, and is a self-made man in the high- 
 est sense of the word. 
 
 GARDNER R. BROOKS is one of 
 the most highly-respected citi- 
 zens of Marinette. He is num- 
 bered among the honored pioneers 
 who formed the advance guard in the 
 march of westward civilization, and also 
 took part in another march in which the 
 boys in blue planted the stars and stripes 
 
 in the capital of the Southern Confed- 
 eracy, and made the Union "one and in- 
 separable." 
 
 Mr. Brooks was born near Hanover, 
 N. H., in 1825, and is a son of Jeremiah 
 and Ori (Miner) Brooks, the former born 
 in Marshfield, Mass., the latter in Demp- 
 ster, N. H. The father was a carpenter 
 and farmer, and, having married, located 
 in the Granite State During the war of 
 1812 he served with the "Minute Men." 
 His death occurred in 1872, and his faith- 
 ful wife, with whom he had so long trav- 
 eled life's journey, passed away the fol- 
 lowing year. They reared a family of 
 eight children — si.\ sons and two daugh- 
 ters — of whom five are living. Wilder, 
 an early pioneer, of Door county. Wis., 
 who worked on the harbor of Milwaukee 
 in 1843, and now resides in Jacksonport, 
 Door county. Byron, who enlisted for 
 three years' service, in Company K, 
 Twenty-fourth ^^' is. V. I., and was killed 
 at the battle of Stone River, December 
 31, 1862. Gardner R. is the next younger. 
 Mrs. Emma Eliza Cobb died in New 
 Hampshire in 1871. Mrs. Oris Butler is 
 living in Denver, Col. Luman, who en- 
 listed in the Ninth N. H. V. I. during the 
 Civil war, and was afterward promoted to 
 the rank of captain and then to colonel, 
 now resides in Lebanon, N. H. Orin is 
 living in Brockton, Mass. Buren died at 
 the age of twenty-two. 
 
 Mr. Brooks, the subject of this sketch, 
 was reared in his native State and edu- 
 cated at the schools of Hanover. At the 
 age of seventeen he left home for the Ter- 
 ritory of Wisconsin, working in 1843 and 
 1844 on the Milwaukee harbor. In the 
 following year he came to Peshtigo, Mar- 
 inette county (then a part of Brown 
 county), and for many years was in the 
 employ of the Peshtigo Lumber Com- 
 pany. He located in what is now Grover 
 township, purchasing eighty acres of tim- 
 ber land, which was wholly uncleared, 
 but with characteristic energy he began 
 its improvement, and placed it under a 
 high state of cultivation, continuing to 
 
COMMEMORATIVE DIOGUAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 199 
 
 make it his home until 1S91, when he 
 removed to Marinette. In 1S71, how- 
 ever, he saw the work of years swept 
 away in a few minutes, for in the great 
 Peslitigo lire which occurred in October, 
 his home, his barns, his outbuildings, his 
 fences and in fact everything that he had 
 was destroyed. With a commendable 
 courage he put forth e\'ery effort to re- 
 trieve his lost possessions, and again make 
 his farm a habitable place. 
 
 Mr. Brooks was married in Pcshtigo, 
 in 1850, to Miss Jane Mattis, a native of 
 New York, and they became the parents 
 of si.\ children who are yet living: Henry, 
 a resident of Ouinnesec, Mich. ; Mary, 
 wife of L. A. Morrison, of Menominee, 
 Mich.; Luella, wife of Charles Layden, of 
 Iron Mountain; Charles, a resident of 
 Oshkosh, Wis. ; Maggie, wife of J. C. 
 Eslick, of Iron Mountain, Mich. ; and 
 Arthur, who is living in Ouinnesec. Will- 
 iam died at the age of twenty-eight, and 
 Albert at the age often, and in 1885 Mr. 
 Brooks was called upon to mourn the loss 
 of his wife, who had been to him a faith- 
 ful companion and helpmeet on life's 
 journey for thirty-five years. 
 
 During the Civil war Mr. Brooks man- 
 ifested his loyalty to the Union by enlist- 
 ing at Peshtigo, October 2, 1861, in Com- 
 pany F, Twelfth Wis. V. I., and was 
 mustered in at Madison, Wis., for three 
 years' service. The regiment was assigned 
 to the army of the Tennessee, Seventeenth 
 Army Corps, and he participated in the 
 siege of Vicksburg, went with Sherman on 
 the celebrated March to the Sea, and was 
 in the Carolina campaign, thus partici- 
 pating in some of the most important en- 
 gagements of the war. In January, 1864, 
 he re-enlisted in the same company and 
 regiment, at Natchez, Miss., and con- 
 tinued at the front until the preservation 
 of the Union was an assured fact. He 
 then participated in the most brilliant 
 military pageant ever seen on the West- 
 ern hemisphere — the grand review in 
 W'ashington, D. C. — and was honorably 
 discharged in Louisville, Ky., July 16, 
 
 1865, having served for three years and 
 nine months. Bravely and unfalteringly 
 he followed the old flag, and his war 
 record is one of which he may well be 
 proud. In Jantiary, 1895, he was elected 
 adjutant of Samuel H. Sizer Post, No. 
 207, G. A. R., and was a delegate to the 
 convention at Green Bay. In politics he 
 is a stalwart Republican, takes a deep in- 
 terest in political affairs, and has served 
 as town superintendent of sciiools, town 
 clerk and town supervisor. The duties of 
 civil life have always been as faithfully 
 performed as were those he discharged on 
 Southern battle fields, and during his 
 fifty -years' residence in Marinette county 
 he has ever been a supporter of all inter- 
 ests calculated to promote the general 
 welfare. 
 
 LUTHER B. NOYES was a prom- 
 inent journalist and lawyer of 
 Marinette. He was born in Cin- 
 cinnatus, Cortland Co., N. Y., 
 December 17, 1830, and was a son of 
 Dr. Isaac Noyes, who in 1 842 removed 
 to Michigan, and subsequently located in 
 Milton, Wis., where he died in 1880, at 
 the age of eighty years. The genealogy 
 of this branch of the Noyes family dates 
 back in the history of this country to the 
 year 1620, when the progenitor of the 
 family landed on American shores as a 
 passenger from the "Mayflower." The 
 mother of our subject bore the maiden 
 name of Minerva Osgood, and died dur- 
 ing the infancy of her son. 
 
 Luther B. Noyes when a child of 
 twelve years accompanied his father to 
 Wisconsin, and has long been identified 
 with the interests of this State. He was 
 numbered among the loyal defenders of 
 the Union during the Civil war, having 
 enlisted in November, 1861, at Sparta, 
 Wis., in Company C, Eighteenth Wis. 
 V. I., for three years' service. The reg- 
 iment was organized at Milwaukee, and 
 started for St. Louis, March 30, 1862. 
 
500 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 Its members participated in the battle of 
 Pittsburg Landing, and soon after Mr. 
 Noyes contracted an illness which caused 
 his honorable discharge the following 
 September. He then returned to Mon- 
 roe county, Wis , and was elected clerk 
 of the circuit court, serving until Janu- 
 ary, 1864, when he assisted in raising 
 and enlisting Company D, Thirty-sixth 
 Wis. V. I., of which he was commis- 
 sioned first lieutenant. With his com- 
 mand he took part in the campaigns of 
 the army of the Potomac, including the 
 battles of Fredericksburg, North Ar.na 
 and Cold Harbor. I-Iis regiment was 
 the only one to ad\ance beyond the en- 
 emy's breastwork in the memorable 
 charge at Petersburg. While in the rifle 
 pits of that place, Mr. Noyes was 
 severely wounded in the leg, and sent to 
 the field hospital at City Point. He 
 was then granted a thirty-days' furlough, 
 after which he reported at the hospital at 
 Annapolis, Md., but erysipelas set in, 
 and he was honorably discharged, having 
 faithfully defended the old flag until his 
 wounds compelled him to retire. 
 
 On his return to Monroe county, Mr. 
 Noyes was appointed county judge, and 
 filled out an unexpired term. He after- 
 ward became traveling representative for 
 the Chicago Ri/'iiluicnii (now the Inter 
 Ocean), the Chicago Journal, the Mil- 
 waukee Sentinel and the Evening:; Wis- 
 consin. He later engaged in journalistic 
 labors on his own account, publishing 
 the Sliel>oyo;an Herald for about three 
 years. In June, 1871, he came to Mari- 
 nette and established The Eagle, a 
 weekly newspaper, which he published 
 most of the time until his decease. He, 
 however, sold out in 1875, but re-pur- 
 chased the paper in 1880, and continued 
 as its editor until 1894. Previous to this 
 time it became the property of a stock 
 company, which is now styled the Eagle 
 Printing Company. He retained an in- 
 terest in it until 1894, when he sold out 
 entirely and afterward lived retired, en- 
 joying the rest which should always fol- 
 
 low an active and useful business career. 
 He died April 18, 1895. 
 
 Mr. Noyes was married April 25, 
 1 85 5. in Appleton, Wis., to Miss Isabella 
 Woodward, a native of S\Tacuse, N. Y. , 
 whose father was one of the earliest set- 
 tlers of Appleton, and a prominent mer- 
 chant there. 
 
 FRANK E. NOYES is the manager, 
 editor and principal owner of the 
 Daily and Weekly Eagle, Mari- 
 nette, and is a wide-awake, pro- 
 gressive citizen, whom any community 
 might be proud to claim among its mem- 
 bers. He is numbered among the native 
 sons of Wisconsin, his birth having oc- 
 curred in Appleton, April 2\, 1856. He 
 acquired his elementary education in the 
 public schools, also attended Lawrence 
 University, of Appleton, and later became 
 a student in the State University at Madi- 
 son, being graduated at that institution in 
 the spring of 1878. In 1868 he began 
 learning the printer's trade, which he fol- 
 lowed at irregular intervals until his grad- 
 uation, also acting as one of the editors 
 of the paper published bj' the Lawrence 
 University. 
 
 \\'hen his education was completed 
 Mr. Noyes engaged in teaching school for 
 a year and a half, and in the meantime 
 took up the study of law. In 1 880 he be- 
 came identified with the paper which he 
 now publishes as a member of the firm of 
 L. B. & ¥. E. Noyes. In 1886 tfie busi- 
 ness of the company was purchased by a 
 stock company, and our subject owns a 
 controlling interest of the stock. He has 
 been business manager of the paper since 
 1883 and since 1891 has been the princi- 
 pal owner, the manager and the editor of 
 what is now one of the best and most 
 successful papers published in this section 
 of the State. The Eagle building is fitted 
 with steam heat and electric power, has 
 two large cylinder presses and two job 
 presses, antl tmns out, besides the news- 
 paper work, all kinds of job work and 
 
COMMEMOUA TIVE BfOORAPIIWAL HHCOUn. 
 
 ^oi 
 
 blank and other book work. General 
 binding is also done. The //'(•(■/■/)' Jur irit- 
 is a seven-column quarto, with a circula- 
 tion of about fifteen hundred, while the 
 Daily /{iri;-/i\ which was established in 
 1892 b}' Mr. Noyes, is a seven-column 
 folio with a circulation of 1,200 copies. 
 It is published in the interest of the Re- 
 publican partv, and is a bright newsy sheet, 
 up to date in ever}' particular, itsiniluence 
 being far reaching. 
 
 In September, 1890, Mr. Noyes was 
 married at Ceres, Cal., to Miss Belle Car- 
 ter, a native of the Golden State, and 
 they have two sons — Eugene Carter and 
 Lenwood Irving. Mr. No3'es holds mem- 
 bership with the Masonic fraternity, be- 
 longing to Olive Branch Lodge, No. 250, 
 F. & A. M.; Marinette Chapter, No. 57. 
 R. A. M. ; Commandery, No. 26, K. T. ; 
 and the Wisconsin Consistory, having at- 
 tained the thirty-second-degree. He is 
 identified with the Episcopal Church, and 
 is a broad minded, honorable gentleman, 
 one who keeps abreast with the times in 
 every particular, and has the esteem of 
 many friends. 
 
 HIRAM ORLANDO FAIRCHILD. 
 Standing among the leaders of the 
 bar in his section, where he is said 
 to be one of the best jury and 
 court lawyers, recognized as an orator, 
 and in theory and practice the soul of 
 honor, this gentleman commands and holds 
 a foremost position in his profession in 
 northern Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. Fairchild is yet a comparatively 
 young man, having first seen the light 
 August 14, 1S45, in Newtown, Fountain 
 Co., Ind., a son of John Fairchild, who 
 was a minister of the Presbyterian Church, 
 and an organizer of the pioneer congre- 
 gation at Marinette, Wis., where he 
 preached from iS6,^ to 1S72. He died 
 there April 9, 1885, aged eighty-one 
 years, and his widow, whose maiden name 
 was Laura P. Bigelow, resided in that 
 city, with her son Albert, until her death, 
 
 December 15, 1895, in her eighty-fifth 
 year. Our subject received his education 
 at the public schools of his native place, 
 and also at the high school of Wabash, 
 Ind., after which he attended Wabash 
 College, Crawfordsville, same State, where 
 he graduated in June, 1866. His school 
 days being now completed, he left the 
 parental roof, and proceeding to Ft. 
 Kearney, Neb., was given employment in 
 the sutler store, in that city, belonging to 
 Judge Levi Hubbell, of Milwaukee, where 
 he remained one year, at the end of that 
 time coming to and settling in Wisconsin. 
 We now find him engaged in the abstract 
 office of Richard Hall, Oconto, also in 
 surveying; but in the fall of 1868 he com- 
 menced the study of law in the office of 
 his brother, John B. Fairchild, at Oconto, 
 with whom he remained until admitted to 
 the bar in i 870 by the circuit court of his 
 district. In May, 1870, he "hung out 
 his shingle" at Marinette, and being the 
 first attorney at law to locate in the place 
 he had all the business, though, in his 
 own words, he "found it hard scratching 
 along." At this time Marinette was 
 simply a town organization, and Mr. Fair- 
 child soon took a prominent part in the 
 affairs of the place. In December, 1876, 
 he was admitted to the bar of the Supreme 
 Court of the State; in July, 1884, to the 
 United States Circuit and District Courts, 
 and in 1890 to the Supreme Court of the 
 United States. In 1879, on the organi- 
 zation of the county, he was sent to Madi- 
 son to attend to the necessary legislating, 
 and he was immediately thereafter ap- 
 pointed, by the Republican administra- 
 tion, district attorney, to which position 
 he was re-elected consecutively until Jan- 
 uary, 1891; but was again elected in the 
 fall of 1892, continuing in the office until 
 January, 1895. In 1883 he was elected, 
 on the Republican ticket, to the State 
 Assembly from the District comprising 
 the counties of Marinette and Florence, 
 and was re-elected in 1884. During the 
 first session he served as member on the 
 Judiciary Committee and Cities Commit- 
 
502 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHWAL RECORD. 
 
 tee, and during the session of 1885 — the 
 year in which John C. Spooner was elect- 
 ed to the U. S. Senate, in which election 
 Mr. Fairchild took an influential and 
 prominent part — he officiated as Speaker 
 of the House; same year he was one of 
 five appointed to plan the present License 
 Law of Wisconsin, and he was appointed 
 by the committee to draft same, which 
 law, with the exception of one paraf:;raph, 
 was accepted /// toto. In politics he has 
 always taken an active part, being a re- 
 cognized worker for his party, of which 
 he is one of the wheel-horses. He has 
 also been a potent factor in the growth 
 and prosperity of his city, township and 
 county, most of the public improvements 
 receiving substantial impetusat his hands. 
 In the course of his professional career he 
 has acted as attorney for large corpora- 
 tions, such as the Boom Company, at 
 Marinette, and he is still attorney for that 
 syndicate. From February, 1874, to De- 
 cember, 1894, Mr. Fairchild was asso- 
 ciated in law practice with his brother, 
 the style of tfie firm being Fairchild & 
 Fairchild; but in April, 1895, he associated 
 himself with George G. Greene and 
 Charles Woman, prominent attorneys at 
 Green Bay, Wis., uiider the firm name of 
 Greene, Vroman & Fairchild, at which 
 latter city he is continuing in the practice. 
 He has had and still has an extensive 
 practice in both civil and criminal cases, 
 including some eighteen murder trials. 
 As a pleader of great force, a jurist of 
 sound judgment, and a safe counsellor, he 
 stands second to none at the bar, while in 
 his own district he is the acknowledged 
 head. 
 
 In 1 87 1 Hiram O. Fairchild was united 
 in marriage with Miss Emma Hough, of 
 Crawfordsville, Ind., daughter of George 
 Hough, a real-estate dealer of the same 
 place, and four children have been born 
 to them, viz.: Caroline H., Arthur W. , 
 Bertha W. and Herbert li. Mrs. Fair- 
 child is a member of the Presbyterian 
 Church; and Mr. Fairchild, socially, is 
 affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, a 
 
 charter member of Marinette Lodge No. 
 72, of which he has served as vice-chan- 
 cellor, prelate, etc. When at college he 
 was a member of the Beta 'Theta Pi 
 Society. 
 
 J 
 
 \\. WRIGHT, senior member of the 
 widely-known enterprising firm of 
 Wright Brothers, the name in com- 
 mercial circles being "familiar as 
 household words," is well deserving of 
 prominent mention in this volume. 
 
 The extensive business of Wright 
 I5rothers was established in Marinette in 
 the spring of 1866 by Ely Wright, his 
 brother J. K. buying an interest in the 
 fall of the same j'ear. The firm erected 
 a store building on what is now Main 
 street, it being the first of the kind, out- 
 side company stores, to do business in 
 Marinette, and they are still occupying 
 this store for commercial purposes — a gen- 
 eral mercantile trade. The city was not 
 at that time platted, and consisted of but 
 a few straggling buildings, many of them 
 being but mere shanties. After doing 
 business in that locality some fifteen 
 years, the building was removed to Hall 
 avenue, and an addition made to it, where 
 the business has since been continued. 
 The firm do a general mercantile business, 
 including lumber, etc.. and have five 
 stores in Wisconsin and Michigan, includ- 
 ing a branch business at Green Bay, where 
 they have a cedar and shingle yard, mill, 
 etc., and a sawmill at Granite Bluff, 
 Mich. They do a wholesale and retail 
 business, principally in cedar and lumber, 
 having a large trade with the Milwaukee 
 & St. Paul Railroad Company; they 
 give employment to about five hundred 
 men during the winter season. Ely 
 Wright remained in the firm until 1S72, 
 when he sold out his interest to J. K. and 
 A. F. Wright, who have since carried on 
 the business under the old firm name of 
 Wright lirothers. 
 
 The subject proper of this review, J. 
 K. Wright, was born November 4, 1840, 
 
^ ^r^^ 
 
COMMEMORATim BfOOUAPinCAL RECORD. 
 
 503 
 
 at Athens, Bradford Co., Penn., and is a 
 son of Jason I\. and Maria E. (Ely) 
 Wright, the former a native of Massachu- 
 setts, the latter of Camden, N. Y. The 
 Wrights were early settlers of Bradford 
 county, Penn. , where Foster Wright, the 
 grandfather of our subject, opened up a 
 farm and resided during the remainder of 
 his life. He was a soldier in the war of 
 1812, and ser\'ed his country faithfully 
 and well. Jason K. Wright, the father 
 of our subject, recruited a company at 
 Athens, Penn., in 186:!, was coinmis- 
 sioned captain, and assigned to the One 
 Hundred and Forty-first Pennsylvania 
 Volunteers, at which time he was sixty- 
 five years of age, and in robust health. 
 He served until disabled by sickness, when 
 he resigned and returned to his farm near 
 Athens, Penn., where he subsequently 
 died from the effects of disease contracted 
 in the army. His widow, now aged 
 eighty-six years, resides in Athens. They 
 reared a family of ten children, as follows: 
 Edward, who resides at Athens, Penn. ; 
 Frederick K., now postmaster at Wells- 
 boro, Penn. ; Ely, senior member of the 
 original firm of Wright Brothers, now re- 
 siding at Minneapolis, Minn.; J. K., our 
 subject; Anson F., a member of the firm, 
 having his home at Iron Mountain, Mich., 
 and who was a resident of Marinette for 
 some years; Alfred C, foreman of the 
 Union Bridge Works, Athens, Penn. ; 
 Mary G., now Mrs. E. L. Parmenter, of 
 Menominee, Mich.; Maria E., formerly 
 Mrs. A. M. Fairchild, who died in 1888; 
 Susan H., now Mrs. D.Y. Caswell, of Her- 
 rick, Penn. ; and Estelle, now Mrs. E. P. 
 Ciillett, of Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania. 
 Our subject grew to manhood in his 
 native State, and received his primary 
 education at the public schools of Athens, 
 which was supplemented by a short time 
 at ayoung men'sseminary in Elmira, N. Y. 
 While attending the latter school he 
 enlisted in Company F. Twenty-third New 
 York Volunteers, his brother Ely enlist- 
 ing at the same time, which enlistment 
 was under the first call made for three- 
 
 months' volunteers; at the expiration of 
 their term of service, the brothers re-en- 
 listed for two years in the same company 
 and regiment. They participated in the 
 battles of Antietani, South Mountain, 
 Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Sulphur 
 Springs, Gainesville, Fort Butler, and 
 Bull Run. At the expiration of his term 
 of service, our subject was honorably dis- 
 charged at Elmira, N. Y., returned home 
 and there engaged in mercantile business 
 until his removal to Marinette in 1866. 
 On October \2, 1870, Mr. Wright was 
 married at Athens, Penn., to Miss Louisa D. 
 Hancock, who was born in Athens, Penn., 
 daughter of William and Lucy (Northrop) 
 Hancock, both of whom were natives of 
 Bradford county, Penn. Her mother died 
 in Pennsylvania in 1869, and her father, 
 who was a dealer in stock, removed to 
 Marinette, Wis., in 1880, where he made 
 his home until his death in January, 1890. 
 Mrs. Wright is a second cousin of the late 
 Gen. W. S. Hancock, and a lineal de- 
 scendant of John Hancock. To our sub- 
 ject and wife have been born five children: 
 Clara Louisa, John Frank, Winifred Han- 
 cock, Ely Cleveland and Maria Ely. John 
 F., the eldest son, is a graduate of St. 
 John's Military Acadamy, at Delavan, 
 Wis., and has the medal for deportment 
 and best oration, the subject being " Mc- 
 Clellan";he now has charge of Wright 
 Brothers' yards at Green Bay. The sec- 
 ond daughter, Winifred Hancock, is at 
 present attending St. Mary's school at 
 Knoxville, 111. In politics, Mr. Wright 
 is a stanch Democrat, and has always been 
 a leader in and advisor of the party. He 
 was a member of the State Central Com- 
 mittee, during the years preceding Cleve- 
 land's first election, was the first register 
 of deeds in Marinette county, and the first 
 Democratic postmaster at Marinette. 
 Fraternally he is a member of the Ivnights 
 of Pythias and Royal Arcanum. Mrs. 
 Wright and children are members of the 
 Episcopal Church, and the entire family 
 stand high in the esteem and regard of 
 the community. 
 
504 
 
 COMMKMORAriVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 JOHN LEIGH I : !i. For over 
 
 forty years this name was a familiar 
 one throughout Oconto county, of 
 which Mr. Leigh was one of the 
 earliest settlers, having come here in 
 1852, from which time up to his decease 
 he was prominently identified with its 
 progress and development. 
 
 Mr. Leigh was a native of the Em- 
 erald Isle, born in 1828, and was reared 
 in his native country up to the age of 
 si.xteen, when, in 1844, he emigrated to 
 America with his parents, James and 
 Catherine (Murphy) Leigh, who were ; 
 also natives of Ireland. The family lo- 
 cated in the State of Maine, where Mrs. 
 Leigh passed from earth, Mr. Leigh aft- 
 erward, in 1849, coming to Berlin, \\'is., 
 and here ended his days in 1863. They 
 had a large family, all of whom grew to 
 maturity and all came to Wisconsin, as 
 follows: Margaret (Mrs. McDonald), of 
 Chicago; John, whose name introduces 
 this memoir; James, of Milwaukee; 
 Thomas, who lives in Stiles township; 
 Patrick, who was drowned in Lake 
 Michigan, off Kacine; Mathew, who died 
 in Chicago; Mary Ann (Mrs. Rodney), 
 who makes her home in Iowa; Joseph, 
 who died in Wisconsin; and Peter, a 
 resident of Berlin, Wisconsin. 
 
 In 1849 John Leigh left Maine, and 
 coming westward lived in the city of 
 Chicago about one year. In 1850 he 
 came to Berlin, Wis., and in 1852 to 
 what is now Stiles township, Oconto 
 county, of which he was one of the first 
 permanent settlers. He arrived here 
 long before the railroad had been intro- 
 duced, and his journey hither was made 
 up the river in a canoe. Not long after 
 his arrival he obtained employment in a 
 sawmill at what is now Leighton, work- 
 ing there three years, for George Smitii, 
 and at the end of that time purchasing 
 the mill. Lumbering in those days was 
 a popular and profitable vocation, and 
 Mr. Leigh was successfully engaged in 
 that business until 1878, when the saw- 
 mill was burned. In 1876 he had erected 
 
 a flourmill, and established the business 
 in which he continued up to the time of 
 his death, and which is now conducted 
 by his widow. He was instrumental in 
 having a post office established, which 
 was named, in his honor. Leighton; but 
 the office was discontinued after a nine- 
 years' existence. Mr. Leigh first in- 
 vested in forty acres of land, from time 
 to time adding to his original purchase 
 until he had a farm of 275 acres. He 
 was at one time the owner of about 
 3.500 acres, and was one of the heaviest 
 losers in the great Peshtigo fire of 1871. 
 But it was not only as a business man 
 that he was known in his adopted town- 
 ship and county; he took an active inter- 
 est in ever progressive movement, and 
 was one of the most zealous and go- 
 ahead citizens of the community, be- 
 grudging neither time nor influence to 
 promote the public welfare. He gained 
 the full confidence and esteem of his fel- 
 low citizens, and was honored by them 
 with various positions of trust, the du- 
 ties of which he discharged with the same 
 care which he gave to his private affairs. 
 
 He assisted in organizing Stiles town- 
 ship, of which he served as chairman for 
 fifteen years, and was also active in hav- 
 ing the school district formed. In 1875 
 he was a member of the State Legisla- 
 ture, having been elected bj' the Repub- 
 lican party, to which he gave his political 
 support, and served with his usual ability 
 and conscientious devotion to duty. 
 During his active business and public 
 life he gained the esteem of all with 
 whom he came in contact, and was 
 widely and favorably known through 
 Oconto county, and, in fact, the entire 
 section, never proving unworthy of or in- 
 different to the respect and confidence 
 accorded him. He passed from earth 
 October 5, 1893, on the farm whereon he 
 settled in 1852, and the entire com- 
 numity mourned the departure of one 
 whose long, busy and useful life had 
 been passed in their midst. 
 
 In February, 1850, Mr. Leigh wedded, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BlOOllAPUWAL RECORD. 
 
 505 
 
 in Washington county, Maine, Miss 
 Esther Durgan, and their union was 
 blessed with cliiidren as follows: Joseph, 
 who is married and lives in Stiles town- 
 ship; Kate (Mrs. Hill), of Buckley, 
 Wash. ; Mary Ann (Mrs. Allen), of Ta- 
 coma. Wash. ; Maggie, who died in Stiles 
 township, August i, 1864; John, mar- 
 ried and has his home in Stiles township; 
 Hattie, who died February 22, 1880; 
 Lincoln, married and residing in Stiles; 
 and Edward, married, who lives in the 
 city of Oconto. Mrs. Esther (Durgan) 
 Leigh was born in New Brunswick, Can- 
 ada, of which Province her parents, Dan- 
 iel and Mary Ann (Ross) Durgan, were 
 also natives. The family removed thence 
 to Maine, and in about 1865 came to 
 Oconto county, Wis., the father ofiening 
 up a farm in Oconto township, where he 
 died in 1883; his wife followed him to 
 the grave in 1885. They were the par- 
 ents of twelve children, of whom the fol- 
 lowing named are now living: William, 
 who lives in California; Mrs. Leigh; 
 Phcebe (Mrs. Chase), of California; Ma- 
 ria (Mrs. Mcintosh), of Green Bay, 
 Brown Co., Wis. ; Mary (Mrs. Way), of 
 Portland, Oregon; Alex, who lives in 
 Oconto; Jane (Mrs. Joseph Hall), of 
 Oconto; and Mrs. Angus McAllister, of 
 Oconto. 
 
 NB. BLACK, city treasurer of 
 Marinette, and vice-president of 
 the Eagle Printing Company, was 
 born at Port Hope, Ontario, 
 Canada, September 27, 1865. 
 
 His parents. Ale.x. and Eliza (Bald- 
 win) Black, were natives of Scotland 
 and Canada, respectively. The mother's 
 people were related to the Sherman family, 
 of which the noted General was a member. 
 In 1854 the father came to Canada, be- 
 ing employed for a number of years in the 
 bridge builders' department of the Grand 
 Trunk railroad. He located at Port 
 Hope, there making his home until 1886, 
 when he went to Merrill, Wis., where 
 
 both he and his wife are living retired. 
 His father, James Black, never left his 
 native Scotland, and his death occurred 
 at the very advanced age of one hundred 
 and four years. The parents of our sub- 
 ject have a family of seven children, all 
 living: Alex. L. went to Merrill, Wis., in 
 1882, and is now connected with the 
 Eagle Printing Company, of Marinette; 
 N. B. is the next younger; Mrs. William 
 Hutchinson resides in Merrill; Mrs. Bayne 
 Langill has been a resident of Wausau, 
 Wis., since 1882; Fred D. is foreman of 
 the Herald, published at Menominee, 
 Mich. ; William D. resides in Merrill; Mrs. 
 |. H. Allen is living in Menominee; and 
 Walter is at home. 
 
 The boyhood days of our subject were 
 passed in Port Hope, and he was there 
 educated. In i 879 he entered the office 
 of the Port Hope Times, where he was 
 employed in various capacities until 1882, 
 when he went to Merrill, ami worked for 
 the West Merrill Herald for three years. 
 In 1885, in connection with his brother, 
 Alex. L., he leased the I.iiieolii County 
 . J (/('('(vr/f of ex-Congressman McCord, the 
 oldest paper in the county, and remained 
 in the newspaper business in Merrill until 
 1889, when he arrived in Marinette. He 
 is now vice-president of the Eagle Print- 
 ing Company, whose paper was estab- 
 lished in Marinette in 1870. 
 
 In Merrill, Wis., in 1886, Mr. Black 
 wedded Miss Jennie Christenson, who 
 was born in Oshkosh, Wis., in 1869, a 
 daughter of David and Anna (Hough) 
 Christenson. Her father located in 
 Neenah, Wis., in 1852, and was there 
 married in 1858. He engaged in the 
 manufacture of shingles, as a member of 
 the firm of Christenson & Osborn, in Osh- 
 kosh until 1880, when he removed to 
 Merrill, and established the Merrill Iron 
 Works, of which his son is also a part- 
 ner. He carried on that enterprise 
 until 1 891; but the firm of D. Chris- 
 tenson & Son is now engaged in the saw- 
 mill business at Daggett, Mich., although 
 their home is in Marinette. In the family 
 
5o6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 there are three children: Peter, who is 
 associated with his father; A. G. , who is 
 connected with the Merrill Xc^cs, of 
 Merrill, Wis., and Mrs. Black. Our sub- 
 ject and his wife have three children: Nor- 
 man David, Charlotte and Aletha, at this 
 writing, aged respectiv^ely eight, si.x and 
 four years. 
 
 In politics Mr. Black is a I^epublican; 
 socially he is connected with Olive Branch 
 Lodge, No. 250, F. & A. M. ; of Marinette 
 Chapter, No. 57, R. A. M., and Marinette 
 Commander}' No. 26, K. T. He is also 
 president of Wiswell Lodge, No. 53, Fra- 
 ternal Alliance, and MenekauneeTent, No. 
 2, K. O. T. M. He was elected city treas- 
 urer in the spring of 1894, and re-elected 
 in April, 1895, which position he is now 
 filling in an acceptable manner. He is 
 highly popular in Marinette, and those 
 who know him best are numbered among 
 his warmest friends. 
 
 JOHN SWALWELL, who is now 
 living retired in Marinette, enjoying 
 the fruits of a well-spent life, was 
 born at Arran Yell, Canada, in 1820, 
 and is a son of Anthony and Mary (Beck- 
 withj Swalwcll. In an early day his 
 parents removed to Canada, and his 
 father, who was a civil engineer, was em- 
 ployed on the Rideau canal, near Ottawa. 
 He was a native of London, England, and 
 from early life followed civil engineering 
 in Canada, where his death occurred in 
 1873, when he was aged seventy-three 
 years. His wife died in the same country 
 in 1883, aged eighty-four years. Their 
 family numbered ten children, four now 
 hving, namely: John; George, a resident 
 of the State of Washington; Thomas, 
 who is living in Canada, and Sarah, wife 
 of James Johnston, of Washington. 
 
 We now take up the personal history 
 of our subject, who is both widely and 
 favorably known in Marinette. He was 
 reared and educated in Canada, and on 
 leaving his native land engaged in the 
 lumber business, which he followed until 
 
 his removal to Marinette in November, 
 1869. The journey from Ottawa, Canada, 
 was made by rail to Green Bay. thence 
 on the vessel ''Queen" to Marinette. 
 Here he engaged in logging for the N. 
 Ludington Lumber Company for one win- 
 ter, spent one winter in the employ of 
 Robert Stephenson, and later engaged in 
 logging for the New York Company, now 
 the Menominee River Company, through 
 one winter. He ne.xt entered the employ 
 of the McCartney Milling Compan\', and 
 the succeeding j'ear engaged with the H. 
 Whitbeck Company, with whom he con- 
 tinued for two years. On the e.xpiration 
 of that period he abandoned the lumber 
 trade, and with the capital that he had 
 acquired through his industry and enter- 
 prise embarked in the real-estate busi- 
 ness. He purchased a lot on Main street 
 from Henry Handy, and received the first 
 warranty deed given in Marinette. He 
 built the first two-story frame building on 
 Main street, and after its destruction by 
 fire in 1888 erected a fine two-story brick 
 building with 60 feet frontage on Main 
 street, including three stores that are now 
 occupied by clothing firms. The upper 
 story is used as living rooms and ofhces. 
 In addition to his own residence property 
 he has two dN\ ellings on Wisconsin street, 
 which he rents, and the rental from his 
 stores and houses is a profitable income. 
 
 Mr. Swalwcll was married in Canada 
 in 1844 to Elizabeth Johnston, who was 
 born in 1825 in Scotland, as was also her 
 father, James Johnston, who in an early 
 day emigrated to Canada, making it his 
 home until his death, which occurred 
 man)' years ago. To Mr. and Mrs. Swal- 
 wcll have been born three daughters — 
 Jane, wife of E. L. Williams, of Mari- 
 nette; Elizabeth, wife of Angus Cook, of 
 Marii^ette, and Adelia, wife of David 
 Barclay, of Menominee. Michigan, 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Svvalwell are members 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and 
 are actively interested in its growth and 
 upbuilding. In politics our subject takes 
 a warm interest, and exercises his right 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BWORAPIIWAL RECORD. 
 
 507 
 
 of franchise as a supporter of the Demo- 
 cratic party. Ail tliat he possesses lie 
 has acquired through his own efforts, and 
 from limited circumstances he has steadily 
 worked his way upward to a position of 
 affluence. His life has been well spent, 
 his public and private career are alike 
 above reproach, and he well deserves 
 mention among Marinette's prominent 
 citizens. Socially he is a member of the 
 Temple (.)f Honor. 
 
 GEORGE W. THORXE, the effi- 
 cient county clerk of Marinette 
 county, has been a resident of 
 Marinette since December, 1879, 
 and in the sixteen years that he has re- 
 sided here has made for himself a host of 
 friends. 
 
 A native of Washington county, N.Y. , 
 he was born in 1826, and is a son of 
 Henry and Jerusha (Underbill) Thorne, 
 the former a native of Glencove, Long 
 Island, N. Y. , the latter of Dorset, Vt. 
 They were married in Fort Ann, Wash- 
 ington county, in 1809, and there spent 
 their entire life. The father was a 
 (Hiaker, descended of English ancestry, 
 and for nearly si.xty years was engaged in 
 the practice of law at Fort Ann. He died 
 in November, 1862, in his seventy-ninth 
 year; the mother died in 1877, in her 
 ninety-second year. The old homestead 
 where they so long resided is yet in the 
 family. Of their children, seven in num- 
 ber, William Henry died in 1828 at home; 
 Caroline M. was the wife of David Rice, 
 a wholesale lumber dealer in Troy, N. Y. 
 (she died in Fort Ann, in about 1876, 
 while her husband died at Troy in 1 894, 
 and was buried at Fort Ann); Charles 
 M., who still resides at Fort Ann, in early 
 life carried on mercantile business, and 
 since 1845 has engaged in farming; El- 
 mira is the widow of Samuel Corning, 
 who in his lifetime was a merchant of 
 l""ort Ann (she now resides with her 
 daughter in North Carolina), and George 
 W., the subject of this sketch; Jerusha 
 
 L. , born in 1828, was the wife of John 
 Barron, who was captain of Company D, 
 One Hundred Twenty-third N. Y. V. I.. 
 in the Civil war; at the close of the serv- 
 ice he located in Maryland, where he en- 
 gaged in farming, and later removed to 
 Geneva, N. Y. , where he now resides; 
 she died in 1894. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared 
 at Fort Ann, N. Y., and studied law in 
 the office of his father. He was admitted 
 to the bar at Salem, N. Y., in 1848, at a 
 general term of the supreme court. For 
 seven years succeeding he practiced law 
 in his native town, and in 1855 removed 
 to Lock Haven, Penn., where he was en- 
 gaged in lumbering until the breaking out 
 of the war. Almost at the first tap of the 
 drum he enlistciJ in the service, and was 
 madeipiartermaster of the Eleventh Penn. 
 V. I. His term of enlistment was but for 
 three months, and at its expiration he, 
 with his whole regiment, re-enlisted for 
 three years, or during the war. He was 
 commissioned quartermaster of the regi- 
 ment, and was soon promoted bridge 
 quartermaster, later to the commissary of 
 the division. His regiment and division 
 were a part of McDowell's army, and was 
 first stationed in the vicinity of Washing- 
 ton. Our subject saw service in the sec- 
 ond battle of Bull Run, Antietam, Cul- 
 peper, Va., thence proceeding to the 
 Rapidan, F"redericksburg, on the march 
 to Richmond, and was at Stoneman's 
 Switch. In the latter engagement he had 
 an ankle smashed by the falling of his 
 horse, and for some time was confined in 
 the officers' hospital at Washington. He 
 was honorably discharged in that city, 
 June I, 1863, after which he went to 
 New York City, and engaged in the [irac- 
 ticc of law, but resided across the river, 
 in New Jersey. Subsequently he re- 
 moved to Railway, N. J., and remained 
 there until his removal to Marinette. 
 
 In September, 1854, Mr. Thorne was 
 united in marriage at Corning, Steuben 
 county, N. Y. , with Miss Helen P. Bailey, 
 a nati\'e of that place, and daughter of 
 
5o8 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Col. Denajah P. and Martha (Pierce) 
 Bailey, both of whom were natives of 
 New York. Her father was colonel of 
 the Eighty-sixth X. Y. V. I., entering 
 the service in 1861, at the age of si.xty- 
 three years. He served two years, when, 
 his health failing, he was compelled to re- 
 sign. He was brevetted brigadier general 
 at the second battle of Bull Run. He died 
 in Corning, N. Y., in 1871; his widow 
 passed away at the same place in about 
 1890. To Mr. and Mrs. Thorne have 
 been born seven children, three of whom 
 are now living: Benjamin Franklin, in 
 Kahway, N. J., engaged in the lumber 
 business; Ceorgia E., deputy county clerk 
 of Marinette, and Florence C, wife of H. 
 A. Meade, resides in Milwaukee, Wiscon- 
 sin. 
 
 In carl}- life Mr. Thorne was a Whig 
 in politics, and although but fifteen \ears 
 of age took quite an active part in the 
 campaign of 1840, when Gen. William 
 Henry Harrison was the candidate of that 
 part}- for President. He assisted in the 
 building of a log cabin, which was taken 
 fourteen miles by wagon to a great meet- 
 ing and barbecue dinner, July 4, 1840, 
 where he heard Daniel Webster speak. 
 In 1853 he was elected to the Assembly 
 from Washington county on the Whig 
 ticket. Since the organization of the Re- 
 publican party, he has been an earnest 
 advocate of its principles. For some years I 
 after coming to Marinette county, he 
 served as justice of the peace, which po- 
 sition he resigned to accept his present 
 office. 
 
 Mr. Thorne has been prominently iden- 
 tified with the Grand Army of the Repub- 
 lic from the beginning, and was a charter 
 member of the second Post established in 
 New Jersey. He is at present a member 
 of the S. H. Sizer Post No. 207, G. A. R., 
 of which he is past commander. He was 
 aid-de-camp on Gen. Palmer's staff, and 
 visited many Posts in his State. Since 
 1848 he has been a Master Mason; in 1856, 
 while residing in Pennsylvania, he was 
 made a Royal Arch Mason, and now holds 
 
 membership with the Marinette Chapter, 
 R. A. M. Although a resident of the 
 county but si.xteen years, he has never- 
 theless witnessed many changes in its 
 growth and development. He is an act- 
 ive, enterprising and popular man. 
 
 TF. .MALONEY, assessor of Cole- 
 man township, Marinette county, 
 has been a resident of Wisconsin 
 the greater part of his life, and for 
 the past twenty years of Coleman town- 
 ship, where he has been engaged in farm- 
 ing since 1887. 
 
 Mr. Maloney is a native of New York 
 State, born in 1853 in Niagara county. 
 His father, Mathew Maloney, was born in 
 Ireland, and when a young man emigrated 
 thence to America, locating first in the 
 State of \'ermont, where he married Miss 
 Margaret Kenney, also a native of the 
 Emerald Isle. For several years he fol- 
 lowed agricultural pursuits in New York, 
 removing from that State to Noble county, 
 Ind., and thence, in 1865, to Manitowoc 
 county. Wis., where he opened up a farm. 
 He continued to reside there until 1880, 
 when he came to what is now Coleman 
 township, Marinette count}- (then Peshtigo 
 township, Oconto county), and opening 
 up a new farm here passed the remainder 
 of his days, dying in 1893. His wife fol- 
 lowed him to the grave in 1894. Their 
 family consisted of four children, of whom 
 T. F. is the subject of these lines; M. H. 
 and M. C. both reside in Coleman town- 
 ship; and Bridget died in 1883. 
 
 Our subject accompanied his parents 
 to Noble county, Ind., and in 1865 to 
 Manitowoc county. Wis., in the common 
 schools of which locality he received his 
 primary education, later attending two 
 years at the Oshkosh Normal School. In 
 1875 became to what is now Coleman 
 township. Marinette county, before the 
 days of railroads, and has since been en- 
 gaged in lumbering and farming, working 
 for various lumber companies up to 1887, 
 when lie settled on his present farm. He 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 509 
 
 purchased an eighty-acre timber tract, all 
 in the woods, thirty acres of vviiichhe lias, 
 by constant and unflagging industry, 
 cleared and put under cultivation. 
 
 Mr. Maloney was married July 9, iSSi, 
 in Coleman township, to Miss Catharine 
 H. McMillan, who was born in the State 
 of Michigan, in the Lake Superior region, 
 daughter of L. D. and Anna (McKennon) 
 McMillan. Tlie parents were born in 
 Glengarry county, Canada, of Scotch 
 parentage, and came to Wisconsin many 
 years ago, first locating in Marinette, 
 whence in 1S73 they removed to what is 
 now Coleman township (then Peshtigo 
 township), where they yet reside. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Maloney are the parents of four 
 children: James, Mary, Finnan and Cy- 
 ril 1 us. 
 
 Mr. Maloney takes an active interest 
 in the affairs of the community in which 
 he makes his home, supporting all worthy 
 measures and projects which he considers 
 beneficial to the general welfare. In 1893 
 he was elected to his present incumbency, 
 that of township assessor. He votes in- 
 dependently, as his conscience dictates, 
 and holds no allegiance to any party, 
 giving his aid to the right without refer- 
 ence to party limits. 
 
 Ri:V. GUI DO BOSSARD, pastor 
 of the First Presbyterian Church 
 of Oconto, has had charge of the 
 congregation there since Septem- 
 ber, 1890, beginning his labors on the 
 third Sunday of that month. 
 
 Born in F"ort Wayne, Ind., in i860, 
 he is a son of Rev. James and Catherine 
 (Blouker) Bossard. He was reared in his 
 native city, and in 1878 became a student 
 at the university at Appleton, Wis., from 
 which institution he was graduated with 
 the class of '82. He then went abroad, 
 spending two years in the German uni- 
 versities of Gottingen and Bonn. In 1884 
 he returned to his native land, and en- 
 tered the Union Seminary of New York, 
 from which institution he was graduated 
 
 with the class of i8,S6. He was tlien 
 licensed to preach by the Presbytery of 
 New York, and ordained by the Presby- 
 tery of Milwaukee, Wis., in the same 
 year. He at once began ministerial work 
 at Manitowoc, Wis.,'whenre he was called 
 to the pastorate of the chiuxh in Oconto 
 in 1890. 
 
 This church was organized November 
 15, 1858, at the home of Mrs. S. A. 
 Turner, under the tlirection of the Kev. 
 J. W. Donaldson, a missionary of the 
 American Home Missionary Society. The 
 organization was formed with four mem- 
 bers, and on November 29, four others 
 united. The work of organization was com- 
 pleted, and for some time meetings were 
 held in Hart's Hall, and afterward in the 
 old court house. The first house of wor- 
 ship was erected in 1863, and dedicated 
 in 1863. It w;is destroyed by lire Janu- 
 ary 15, 1S74, and in the same year a new 
 structure was erected. Again the house of 
 worship was burned December 22, 1890, 
 and in 1891 a substantial brick structure 
 stood in its place, being dedicated on the 
 anniversary of the burning of the old 
 church. This is a very handsome struc- 
 ture, modern in style and appointments, 
 altogether one of the finest church edifices 
 in the State. 
 
 The founder of the church was suc- 
 ceeded in the pastorate on November i, 
 1862, by Kev. Jasper N. Ball, a returned 
 missionary from Turkey, who continued 
 his labors there until 1864. He was fol- 
 lowed by Rev. Albert A. Young, who was 
 pastor until June i, 1866. Kev. T. A. 
 Wadsworth filled the pulpit from January 
 6, 1867, until December 8 following, and 
 from January, 1868, until November 8, 
 
 1874, the Kev. George A. Little was pas- 
 tor. His successor was Kev. Charles K. 
 Burdick, who served from September 12, 
 
 1875, until July I, 1882. Rev. John H. 
 Kerr was minister from July 16, 1S82, 
 until April 26, 1887, when iti the summer 
 of that year Rev. George W. Luther ac- 
 cepted a call to the pastorate, and after 
 three j'ears of service was succeeded by 
 
5' 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the Rev. Bossard, the present esteemed 
 and vahied minister. The church is now 
 in e.xceilent working; condition, the vari- 
 ous missionary, benevolent and charitable 
 societies connected with it are doing 
 effective work and there is a large Sun- 
 day-school. The growth of the church 
 has been steady and contimious, and the 
 influence of the First Presbyterian Church 
 on the moral interest of Oconto is impos- 
 sible to estimate. 
 
 JAMES COOK, third son of Daniel 
 and Mary (McDonald) Cook, was 
 born in New Brunswick, Canada, 
 January 15, 1836, and died at Mari- 
 nette, Wisconsin, June i, 1874. 
 
 He received his education at the com- 
 mon schools of the locality of his place of 
 birth, and remained with his parents till 
 he was of age. Coming to Marinette, 
 Wis., along with his brother Daniel, he, 
 like him, became one of the pioneer set- 
 tlers of the place. For many years he 
 carried on a mercantile business, and also 
 lumbered, later, in partnership with his 
 wife's father, John Swallwell, under the 
 firm name of Cook & Swalwell, conduct- 
 ing an extensive lumber business up to the 
 time of his decease. He also dealt to 
 some extent in real estate, at the time of 
 his death owning a considerable amount 
 of property in and about Marinette, in- 
 cluding the ground whereon the First Na- 
 tional Bank building now stands. In fact, 
 he and his brother Daniel were heavily in- 
 terested in real estate, which was divided, 
 together with their other partnership pos- 
 sessions, at the time cf the death of James. 
 On October 19, 1870, James Cook and 
 Miss Mary J. Swalwell were united in 
 marriage, and one child, Elizabeth M., 
 was born to them, but died when nine 
 months old. Mr. Cook was an ardent 
 Republican, but was too busy a man to 
 interest himself much in politics, not to 
 speak of seeking oflice. In church and 
 school matters he was ever liberal, as well 
 as in all things tending to the advance- 
 
 ment and prosperity of his adopted city 
 and county. A typical self-made man, 
 he carved his way by perseverance and 
 honest toil to an honorable and enviable 
 position, both commercial and social. His 
 widow is now the wife of Eber L. Wil- 
 liams, a sketch of whom appears else- 
 where. 
 
 EC. PRESCOTT is the manager 
 of the Marinette Iron Works, the 
 plant of which was established at 
 Marinette in 1867, with Austin 
 Cruver, president: D. Clint Prescott, sec- 
 retary, and R. H. Trumbull, treasurer. 
 It was incorporated with the same officers. 
 The plant is located on Main street, and 
 covers an area of an acre and a half of 
 ground. The approximate cost of the 
 plant is $200,000, and it gives employ- 
 ment to 1 50 men. The company make 
 a specialt}' of saw mill and mining ma- 
 chines. In 1 89 1 they established similar 
 works at West Duluth, Minn., under the 
 same name and with the same officers, 
 but on twice the magnitude of the plant 
 at Marinette, giving employment to about 
 three hundred men. The main office of 
 the company is at Marinette. The Mar- 
 inette Iron Works was the first industry 
 established outside of the lumber in- 
 terests in Marinette. It increased its 
 business from time to time, and is now 
 the largest works of the kind in Wiscon- 
 sin outside of Milwaukee. 
 
 Mr. Prescott is a native of Marinette 
 county, born in Peshtigo in 1866, and is 
 a son of DeWitt Clinton and Sarah (Hol- 
 gate) Prescott, the former a native of 
 New Hampshire and the latter of Eng- 
 land. The father came to Chicago at 
 the age of fifteen years, and subsequent- 
 ly brought the first locomotive to that 
 city for the Chicago & North Western 
 railroad. He was in the employ of that 
 road as passenger engineer on the Rock- 
 ford & Galena division until 1865, when 
 he came to Peshtigo as master mechanic 
 for the Chicago & North Western rail- 
 
^T^-ylu^^ 
 
 ;^^^: 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOOIiAPinC'AL nECOIW. 
 
 S^ 
 
 road at that place. There he remain- 
 ed until the iron works were established 
 at Marinette, of which he was the pro- 
 moter and organizer. At Marinette he 
 remained until the works were estab- 
 lished at West Duluth, Minn., to which 
 place he removed in order that he might 
 take the management of the business. 
 In Chicago, in 1863, he married Sa- 
 rah Holgate, and they have eight liv- 
 ing children: Fred M., who resides in 
 Milwaukee, and is engaged in the manu- 
 facture of steam pumps; E. C, our sub- 
 ject; Lorin L., who resides at Virginia, 
 Minn., engaged as a dealer of mining sup- 
 plies; Edward L. , who resides in West 
 Duluth, Minn., and is a dealer in sawmill 
 and mining supplies; Lillian, wife of N. 
 C. Kingsbury, bookkeeper and cashier of 
 the company at West Duluth; Sumner, 
 attending school at Oberlin, Ohio; Elsie 
 and Sadie, at home. The father of this 
 family has been identified with the growth 
 of Marinette from its infancy. In poli- 
 tics he is a Republican. 
 
 The sul)ject of this sketch grew to 
 manhood at Marinette and was educated 
 in its public schools. At the age of sev- 
 enteen he engaged in the grocery busi- 
 ness, and at the age of nineteen became 
 associated with iron works as superintend- 
 ent of the Menominee Iron Works, now 
 discontinued. In 1890 he became the 
 superintendent and manager of the Mari- 
 nette Iron Works, which position he now 
 occupies. He was married in Milwaukee, 
 in 1888, to Miss Hattie L. Norris, a na- 
 tive of Dayton, Wis., daughter of James 
 and Harriet (Havens) Norris. Her father 
 was a prominent real-estate dealer, and 
 for some j'cars was engaged in a flouring- 
 mill at Milwaukee. His death occurred 
 in 1890; his widow now resides at Mari- 
 nette. By this union there are two chil- 
 dren: Carol and Minnie. 
 
 Fraternally, Mr. Prescott is a member 
 of Olive Branch Lodge No. 250, F. & A. 
 M. ; of Marinette Chapter No. 57, R. A. 
 M. ; of Marinette Commandery No. 26, 
 K. T. , and of Milwaukee Consistory No. 
 
 29 
 
 I, at Milwaukee. In politics he is a thor- 
 ough Republican, and firmly believes in 
 the principles of that party. 
 
 REV. J. L. COUNTERMINE, pas- 
 tor of the Pioneer Presbyterian 
 Church, Marinette, came to that 
 city in December, 1893, from Hia- 
 watha, Brown Co., Kansas. 
 
 The church was organized August 23, 
 1863, and a house of worship erected the 
 same year, at a cost of about three thous- 
 and dollars. It was a frame structure, 
 and was used until the completion of the 
 present handsome edifice, erected at a cost 
 of $22,000. From a small beginning the 
 church has grown until it has a present 
 membership of 378, with the following 
 named officers: Dr. J. J. Sherman, J. F. 
 Boyd, G. W. Thorne, K. Lundberg, A. F. 
 Dodge, W. Horinbrook, F. Grandale, eld- 
 ers; L. A. McAlpine, L. K. McNeill, S. G. 
 Reed, deacons; Caleb Williams, Sunday- 
 school superintendent. The first pastor of 
 the church was Rev. John Fairchild, who 
 remained with it for many years, and was 
 greatly beloved. The church is in a very 
 prosperous condition as is also the Sun- 
 day-school, the latter having a member- 
 ship of over 470. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born in 
 Schenectady, N. Y., in i860, and is a son 
 of J. Paul and Sarah (Morrison) Counter- 
 mine, the former a native of England, the 
 latter of Rhode Island, of Scotch ancestry. 
 The father was seven years of age when 
 he was brought to this country. He grew 
 to manhood, was educated and married 
 in New York. In his early manhood he 
 engaged in stock raising, and then in gen- 
 eral farming; later he engaged in the grain 
 business in Schenectady, N. Y., where his 
 death occurred in 1888. His wife survived 
 him two years, dying in 1890. They 
 reared a family of five sons, of whom, 
 William, who resides at Cleghorn, Iowa, 
 is engaged in stock dealing; Charles T., 
 who resides at Mariaville, N. Y. , was a 
 member of a New York regiment during the 
 
512 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BTOORAPITICAL RECORD. 
 
 war of the Union, and was wounded in 
 the battle of Gettysburg; John D., who 
 resides in Beatrice, Neb., is pastor of the 
 First Presbyterian Church in that city, 
 which is the largest Presbyterian Church 
 in the State, is a graduate of Union Col- 
 lege, N. Y. , and of Princeton Theological 
 Seminary, Princeton, N. J.; Daniel M., 
 pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, 
 Fowler, N.Y. , is also a graduate of Union 
 College and of Princeton Theological Sem- 
 inary. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared 
 in Schenectady, N. Y., and received his 
 primary education in its public schools. 
 In 1882 he entered Hamilton College, 
 from which he graduated with the class of 
 '86, with the degree of A. B. He then 
 taught one year in the schools of New 
 York State, after which he spent one year 
 in the Auburn ( N. Y. ) Seminary, and in 
 the winter of 1889-90, entered McCor- 
 mick Theological School at Chicago, grad- 
 uating with the class of '90. The follow- 
 ing year he spent at Glidden, Iowa, as a 
 supply, from which place he went to Hia- 
 watha, Kans. , and hence to Marinette, as 
 already stated. 
 
 In 1891 Mr. Countermine was married 
 at Vinton, Iowa, to Miss Ida M. Brewer, 
 who was from that city, daughter of Cor- 
 nelius and Susan (Smock) Brewer. Her 
 father subsequently died at Vinton, where 
 her mother yet resides. Bj' this union 
 one child has been born, John Landon. 
 Mr. Countermine is a Republican, and 
 t^kes such intere.st in political matters as 
 every minister of the Gospel should do. 
 He is a fine speaker, a good pastor and is 
 greatly beloved by his church and congre- 
 gation. 
 
 RC. RAMSAY, who is efficiently 
 serving as county superintendent 
 of schools of Marinette count}', is 
 a native of Prince Edward Island, 
 British Provinces, born in December, 
 I 85 5, where his parents, John and Jennet 
 (Craig) Ramsay, were also born. They 
 
 were of Scotch lineage, and the father 
 was a farmer by occupation. In 1S65 
 the family moved to Delta county, Mich. 
 There his father carried on both farming 
 and lumbering. In 1870 he removed to 
 Peshtigo township, Marinette county, 
 where he opened up a farm, upon which 
 he and his estimable wife are still living. 
 They became the parents of a family of 
 six children, four of whom still survive, 
 namely; Margaret, whose home is in 
 Milwaukee; James, who resides in West 
 Superior, Wis. ; William, living on the 
 old farm, and our subject. 
 
 R. C. Ramsay was reared on Prince 
 Edward Island until the age of ten j'ears, 
 and lived on his father's farm in Delta 
 count\', Mich., until coming with the fam- 
 ily to \\'isconsin. His earl}- education, 
 acquired in the district schools of Pesh- 
 tigo township, Marinette county, was sup- 
 plemented by a teacher's course in the 
 State Normal School of Oshkosh, receiv- 
 ing his diploma therefrom in 1S83. Suc- 
 cess comes through following the pursuit 
 by which one is fitted by taste, talent and 
 inclination, and this Mr. Ramsay has 
 done. For two years he was engaged in 
 teaching in Wrightstown, Wis., for four 
 years was principal of the schools of Pesh- 
 tigo, and in the fall of 188S was elected 
 as superintendent of the schools of Mari- 
 nette county, entering upon the duties of 
 the office in January, 1889. At that time 
 the schools of the county numbered some 
 thirty-six, while at the present time they 
 number, outside of the schools in Mari- 
 nette, more than fifty. He has greatly 
 raised the standard of excellence, the 
 schools are now well equipped with appa- 
 ratus, many of them have free text books, 
 and the school buildings are all good 
 frame structures. 
 
 The political support of Mr. Ramsay 
 is given to the Republican party; socially, 
 he is connected with Peshtigo Lodge No. 
 218, F. & A. M., of which he is worthy 
 master; with Marinette Chapter No. 227, 
 R. A. M., and with Marinette Command- 
 ery No. 26, K. T. He also belongs to 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 513 
 
 Ward Tent, Knights of the Maccabees, 
 in which he is record keeper, and to the 
 Modern Woodmen Lodge of Peshtigo. 
 He is specially devoted to his life work, 
 doing all in his power to advance the 
 cause of education, ever freely giving his 
 support to any enterprise calculated to 
 prove of public benefit. 
 
 Mr. Ramsay was happily married in 
 Marinette county, Wis., in December, 
 1 89 1, to Miss Ida C. Rigby, a native of 
 Chicago, and a daughter of John and 
 Margaret (Swazey) Rigby, the former a 
 native of England, the latter of New 
 York. Her father came to Green Bay, 
 Wis., as a machinist, and in 1874 located 
 in Peshtigo, where his death occurred in 
 December, 1887, his remains being laid 
 to rest January i, 1888. His widow still 
 resides in Peshtigo. Mrs. Ramsay is a 
 member of the Congregational Church, 
 and a most estimable lady, who shares 
 with her husband in the high regard in 
 which he is held. 
 
 CHARLES S. SIMPSON, county 
 surveyor of Florence county, was 
 born in 1857 in Buckfield, Oxford 
 Co., Maine, son of D. F. and 
 Sylvira (Shawj Simpson, who were also 
 natives of Maine. 
 
 D. F. Simpson, who early in life was a 
 brick manufacturer of Charlestown, Mass. , 
 is now a farmer, and resides in North 
 Turner, Maine. His wife died in 1873. 
 They had a family of five children, three 
 of whom are living, namel}': Emma (Mrs. 
 A. M. Bonney), of Buckfield, Maine; Ella 
 (Mrs. Allen Phillips), of Shirley, Maine; 
 and Charles S., the subject of these lines. 
 William Simpson, father of D. F. Simp- 
 son, was in the war of 1812, serving in 
 the navy, on board the "Portsmouth." 
 The father of Mrs. D. F. Simpson, Jesse 
 Shaw, was born in Maine, and was a sol- 
 dier in the war of 1S12; he made his 
 home in Maine throughout life. 
 
 Charles S. Simpson was reared in 
 North Turner, Maine, there receiving his 
 
 early education, and, in 1S77, entered the 
 State College of Agriculture and Me- 
 chanic y\rts at Orono, Maine, belonging 
 to the class of '80; he left at the close of 
 the junior year, however, and engaged 
 in surveying, also teaching school part 
 of three years. In i 880 he was in Car- 
 denas, Province of Matanzas, Cuba; in 
 1882 he came from North Turner to P'lor- 
 ence, Wis., and has since been engaged 
 in general surveying and civil engineering. 
 He was assistant locating engineer on the 
 Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie 
 Railroad in 1886; chief draughtsman of 
 the E. I. M. & W. Railroad in 1889^90 
 and '91; locating engineer for Murphy 
 Co. Railroad since 1891, and locating en- 
 gineer for the Quinnesec Narrow Guage 
 Railroad since 1895. 
 
 Mr. Simpson is a member of the I^ake 
 Superior Mining Institute, a member of 
 Fisher Lodge No. 222, F. & A. M., and 
 in politics votes with the Republican party. 
 He has been identified with Florence 
 county since it was organized, has seen 
 many changes since coming here in 1882, 
 was appointed county surveyor in 1884, 
 and has been elected every two years since. 
 
 GEORGE C. YOUNGS, editor and 
 proprietor of the illiiiiiii^ Nezus, 
 Florence, Florence county, was 
 born September 17, 1850, in Un- 
 ion City, Branch Co., Mich., and is a son 
 of M. L. and Charity (Strong) Youngs, 
 who were born in New York State, and 
 came in an early day to Branch county, 
 Michigan. 
 
 M. L. Youngs is a very prominent man. 
 He is Masonic Grand Lecturer for Wis- 
 consin, and has been for thirty years; is 
 Past Grand Master of the Lodge, and is 
 associated in the publication of the JAr- 
 so)iiL Tidings at Milwaukee. He married 
 Charity Strong, and they had four chil- 
 dren, namely: Lina, who was the wife of 
 Capt. Wilson Vance, and died in 1871 at 
 De Pere, Wis. ; Nettie, now Mrs. W. P. 
 Kenny, of Milwaukee, Wis.; Fred M., 
 
SH 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BTOOBAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 who resides in Omaha, and is superintend- 
 ent of the press rooms of the Omalia Bcc, 
 first vice-president of the Pressmen's Na- 
 tional Association, and interested with 
 George C. in the Mining News at Flor- 
 ence; and George C, who was the second 
 child in the family, and is the subject 
 proper of these lines. M. L. Youngs has 
 resided in Milwaukee since 1856. His 
 wife, Charity, died in 1861, and he was 
 married again in Milwaukee, this time to 
 Louise Gordon. 
 
 George C. Youngs was reared in Mil- 
 waukee, educated in the public schools of 
 that city, and after leaving school was a 
 steward on the lakes through the season 
 of navigation, working at the printer's 
 trade in Starr's job office in Milwaukee in 
 the winter, and for some time was em- 
 ployed on the old Mil-watikce Nczvs. On 
 July 5, 1 87 1, he was united in marriage, 
 in Milwaukee, with Jennie Williamson, 
 and they have had four children, all sons, 
 as follows: Melvin P., foreman of the 
 Marquette Mining Journal ; Wilson C., 
 railway mail clerk from Appleton to Anti- 
 go, Wis. ; Merwin W. , attending high 
 school; and Chase O., at school. 
 
 Mr. Youngs commenced as compositor 
 on the Evening Wisconsin in 1872, held 
 cases on that paper for ten years, until 
 1882, was engaged as a reporter until 
 1887, in which year he resigned and came 
 to Florence, Wis. , where he has since 
 been connected with the Mining Neius. 
 This paper was founded in 1880 by J. F. 
 Atkinson, continuing under his manage- 
 ment until 18S3, and then passing into 
 the hands of Osborn & Toner. About 
 1885 Chase S. Osborn became sole pro- 
 prietor, and in 1887 the paper was pur- 
 chased by Campbell & Youngs, the Youngs 
 Brothers becoming proprietors in 1888, 
 since when George C. Youngs has been 
 editor and manager. The Mining Neivs 
 is provided with the latest equipments, 
 is the official paper of the county, inde- 
 pendent in politics, and has an extended 
 circulation. 
 
 Since coming here, in 1887, Mr. Youngs 
 
 has seen quite a change in this part of 
 Wisconsin. He is a member of Fisher 
 Lodge, No. 222, F. & A. M., has been 
 W. M. of the Lodge, and is now Senior 
 Warden; he is also a member of Badger 
 Tent, No. 12, K. O. T. M., and com- 
 mander in 1890 and 1896. 
 
 CA. HALLETT, assessor of Flor- 
 ence, Florence county, was born 
 April 10, 1852, in Hartland, New 
 Brunswick, and is a son of Joseph 
 and Elizabeth (Smith) Hallett, who were 
 also born .in New Brunswick, and were 
 of English ancestry. 
 
 Joseph Hallett was a pilot on the St. 
 John river, also owning a farm. He 
 died in 1865; his widow still resides in 
 New Brunswick. They had a family of 
 eight children — si.\ sons and two daugh- 
 ters — of whom four sons and one daugh- 
 ter are living, as follows: Ephraim, Moses, 
 Thomas, C. A., and Eleanor Jane (Mrs. 
 Rideout), all residing in New Brunswick, 
 except our subject. 
 
 C. A. Hallett was reared in New 
 Brunswick, and educated in the schools 
 of Hartland. In March, 1876, he came 
 thence to Menominee, Wis., and engag- 
 ing with the K. C. Company worked on 
 the Menominee river, and in the woods as 
 foreman in the camp for the company. 
 He assisted in building Ouinnesec, Mich., 
 whence in 1880 he came to Florence, 
 Florence county, and had charge of the 
 New York Iron Company's explorations 
 for two years, after which he settled there 
 permanently, and has been engaged in 
 real estate, lumbering and cruising. On 
 coming here he laid out the village of 
 Commonwealth, and assisted in building 
 the first few log houses. 
 
 On July 4, 1882, at Ripon, Fond du 
 Lac Co., Wis., C. A. Hallett was united 
 in marriage with Miss Imogcne Crawford, 
 who was born in Fond du Lac county, 
 and they have had five children, namely: 
 Clara Eleanor, Charles C. , Hazel Murel, 
 Kay, and Violet Hope. The parents of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPmCAL KECOUD. 
 
 5'5 
 
 Mrs. Hallett, James and Catharine (Ray) 
 Crawford, were born in Scotland, came 
 to Wisconsin in an early day, and now 
 residing at Green Lake, Green Lake Co. , 
 Wis. Mr. Crawford was a soldier in the 
 Nineteenth Wisconsin Volunteers during 
 the war of the Rebellion, serving three 
 years, eight months and seventeen days. 
 Mr. Hallett owns property in the cit)' 
 of Florence, also a farm of forty acres ad- 
 joining. He is a Republican in politics, 
 and in 1895 was elected to his present 
 incumbency, that of assessor. He assisted 
 in organizing Florence county, and takes 
 an active part in her welfare and the de- 
 velopment of her resources. 
 
 WILLL\M P. NEWBERRY, a 
 successful farmer and a substan- 
 tial citizen of Grover township, 
 Marinette county, is a son of 
 Henry and Nancy (Belden) Newberry, 
 and was born in Wethersfield, Conn., in 
 1836. 
 
 Henry Newberry was born'in Connect- 
 icut, as was also his father, and the fam- 
 ily trace back to the settlement in 1630 
 at Dorchester, Mass. Henry Newberry, 
 who was a shoemaker by trade, went to 
 Trumbull county, Ohio, in 1S48, and 
 from there to Menominee, Mich. He 
 bought a timber tract of 400 acres in 1855 
 or 1856. In 1869 he came out on the 
 farm, and was burned to death in the 
 Peshtigo fire on the night of October 8, 
 1 87 1. On the night of the fire his wife 
 was in Menominee. She was born in 
 Connecticut, and her death occurred in 
 Menominee in 188S. They reared a fam- 
 ily of ten children, as follows: Henry 
 went to California in 1859, and died 
 there in 1891; Benjamin went to Califor- 
 nia in January, 1853, remaining there un- 
 til 1873, when he came to Grover town- 
 ship, Marinette county, and he died at 
 Ouinnesec, Mich., in October, 1880; Abi- 
 gail, now Mrs. Richardson, of California, 
 formerly lived in Menominee, Mich.; 
 Walter came from Iowa to Menominee in 
 
 1853, settled on a farm, married, and 
 with his wife and three children was 
 burned on the night of October 8, 1871 
 (the hired man and hired girl were also 
 burned); William P. is the subject of this 
 sketch; Charles O. came to Menominee 
 in 1854, and, with his two children, was 
 burned on the night of October 8, 1871, 
 but his wife was saved (he was a carpen- 
 ter by trade, but lived on a farm); Martha 
 resides in Florida, widow of George F. 
 Coon, who was an engineer and was 
 killed in an accident on the railroad, in 
 Dakota; Mary married Lorenzo Richard- 
 son, and died at Marinette in March, 
 1869; Edward Stoughton came here when 
 a boy, was married in 1871, and with his 
 wife perished in the fire of October 8, 
 that year; Selah French was also burned 
 in that terrible visitation of fire which 
 brought death to so many members of 
 this family and of the community, and 
 mourning and sorrow to surviving rela- 
 tives and friends. 
 
 William P. Newberry received his 
 education in the schools of Connecticut 
 and Ohio, and in Detroit, Mich. , where 
 he attended school one winter. Leaving 
 Ohio in his eighteenth year, he came, on 
 June 17, 1854, to Menominee, Mich., 
 which then had only two or three houses, 
 and there worked for his father. Mr. 
 Newberry taught the first school in Dis- 
 trict No 3, Peshtigo township, in 1857 or 
 1858. He built one of the first business 
 houses in Marinette, where the Porterfield 
 block now stands, and was in business 
 there until he went to farming, in 1 869. 
 In Trumbull county, Ohio, in 1868, Mr. 
 Newberry' was united in marriage with 
 Miss Ellen J. Wolcott, who was born at 
 Farmington, Ohio, and they have had 
 five children, namely: Mary, who is teach- 
 ing at Kimball, Wis. ; Kate, who is at- 
 tending the Oshkosh Normal School; Will- 
 Ham Kay, Alice and Edward. Mrs. New- 
 berry came to Marinette, and was one of 
 the teachers in the Marinette public 
 schools. Her father, Willis Wolcott, was 
 born in Ohio, and died there in 1859. His 
 
5i6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGIIAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 father, Josiah Wolcott, who was a native 
 of Connecticut, was an early pioneer of 
 Trumbull county, Ohio. 
 
 In 1869 Mr. Newberry located on a 
 farm which he bought in Section 30, in 
 what is now Grover township, and he has 
 been a resident here continuously ever 
 since. He aided in organizing the town- 
 ship, and is one of the oldest pioneers in 
 this section of Wisconsin. He has an ex- 
 cellent farm of 206 acres in a good state 
 of cultivation, where he raises small fruit 
 and carries on general farming. He has 
 platted an addition of five acres to Mari- 
 nette, called "Newberry's Addition," 
 which is located on Marinette avenue, 
 between Bangs and Minnesota streets. 
 One of the streets of Marinette bears the 
 name of " Newberry Avenue." He votes 
 with the Ivepublican party, and is one of 
 the justices of the township. Both he and 
 Mrs. Newberry are members of the Con- 
 gregational Church at Peshtigo. He has 
 seen much of the development and pro- 
 gress of Marinette count}-, and is well and 
 favorably known. 
 
 BM. BRIGGS. This gentleman 
 is one of the earliest and most 
 prominent building contractors in 
 .Marinette, having erected most of 
 the principal public and private structures 
 in Menekaunee up to 1871, when all were 
 burned in the fire of that year. 
 
 He was born in Westerly, Rhode Is- 
 land, in 1832, son of Bowen and Hannah 
 (Sheldon) Briggs, both natives of the same 
 State. The family was one of the early 
 New England settlers of English ancestry. 
 His grandfather, Isaac Briggs, also of 
 Rhode Island, served in the navy during 
 the Revolutionary war. His father died 
 in 1884 and his mother in 1854. They 
 reared a family of nine children, six of 
 whom are living in their native State: 
 Bowen, Asa, Isaac, Martha (Mrs. Tefft), 
 Abbie (Mrs. Blivcn), and Elizabeth (Mrs. 
 Collins). 
 
 B. M. Briggs, the gentleman whose 
 
 name introduces this sketch, was reared 
 in the State and educated in the schools 
 of Rhode Island, learned the trade of car- 
 penter and followed it during his residence 
 there. When he came from Cleveland, 
 Ohio, in 1 861, to Marinette, that now fine 
 city was a village of about one thousand 
 inhabitants. In 1880, when he built his 
 residence on Main street (a fine two-story 
 building), it was then in the woods. Be- 
 sides this residence Mr. Briggs owns a 
 fine business building on Main street, 
 2 5 X 60 feet on a 60 X 1 20 foot lot, now oc- 
 cupied by a shoe store. He has erected 
 more of the buildings along the river than 
 any man in Marinette. Among the many 
 prominent buildings of his construction 
 we mention the following: Exchange 
 Hall, New York Cash Store and the Post- 
 office in Menekaunee; the Garfield and 
 Lincoln School buildings, the Catholic 
 Sisters' Academy, known as St. Mary's 
 Institute, the Town Hall and many more 
 of the finest buildings in Marinette. 
 
 Mr. Briggs was married in 1863 to 
 Miss Abbie Sickler, daughter of Phillip 
 and Eliza (Dyer) Sickler, all natives of 
 Pennsylvania, who came to Marinette in 
 1857. Mr. Sickler died in 1885; his 
 widow resides with her son-in-law, Mr. 
 Briggs. 
 
 Politically, Mr. Briggs is a Republican. 
 He is one of the most progressive and 
 energetic business men of Marinette, hav- 
 ing been identified with its growth and 
 improvement ever since he has lived in it, 
 about thirty-five j'ears. In the fire of 
 1 87 1 he lost all he had, some $5,000, and 
 had to commence life over again, he and 
 his family saving nothing but the clothes 
 they wore. 
 
 RO. PHILBROOK, a prosperous, 
 popular and enterprising merchant 
 of Peshtigo. was born in Freeport. 
 Maine, in 1 844. and is a son of Eze- 
 kiel and Martha (Young) Philbrook, who 
 were also natives of the Pine Tree State. 
 On the father's side the ancestry of the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 5'7 
 
 family can be traced back to Thomas 
 Philbrook, who came to this country from 
 England with the Salem Colony that set- 
 tled in Plymouth, Mass. The father was 
 a teacher by profession, and always made 
 his home in his native State, where he 
 died in 1887, at the advanced age of 
 ninety years; his wife passed away in 
 1877. They reared a famil}- of eleven 
 children, ten of whom are now living, as 
 follows: Horace, in Brunswick, Maine; 
 Ezekiel, in Waldoboro, Maine; Mrs. Del- 
 phina Harmon, in Brunswick, Maine; 
 Mrs. Jury, in Freeport, Maine; S. V. D., 
 in Marinette; Mrs. Wilson, in Yarmouth, 
 Maine; Mrs. Austin, in Bath, Maine; D. 
 Y., in Webster, Maine; Mrs. Sylvester 
 Brunswick, also in the Pine Tree State; 
 and K. O., subject of this sketch. 
 
 The last named was reared in the city 
 of his birth, under the parental roof, and 
 acquired his education in the schools of 
 Freeport and Brunswick, Maine. There 
 he learned and followed the trade of a 
 ship builder, and after coming to Pesh- 
 tigo, Wis., in 1866, he again followed the 
 same pursuit. He continued to engage 
 in that occupation up to the time of the 
 memorable fire of 1871. The following 
 year he embarked in mercantile pursuits, 
 and is now the oldest merchant in years 
 of continuous business in Peshtigo. In 
 1S79 he established the first general store 
 in Iron Mountain, Mich., and was there 
 engaged in business for about six years. 
 He also secured the establishment of a 
 post office at that place, and served as 
 postmaster some four years. He was 
 truly one of the founders of that town, 
 and has also been prominently identified 
 with the upbuilding of Peshtigo. He is 
 now conducting a large and well-appointed 
 general store, and possesses the attributes 
 of a successful nature, being progressive, 
 energetic, pleasant in manner, and pos- 
 sessed of the faculty of pleasing all classes 
 of people. 
 
 Mr. Philbrook was married in Maine, 
 in 1868, to Miss Anna Allen, a native of 
 that State, where her parents both died. 
 
 Her death occurred in Peshtigo in 1874, 
 and many friends mourned her loss; she 
 left one daughter, Alice, who still sur- 
 vives. In Peshtigo, in 1890, Mr. Phil- 
 brook was again married, his second union 
 being with Miss Anna Hiller, by whom he 
 has one child, Madge. He is a member 
 of Peshtigo Lodge No. 218, F. & A. M. 
 Politically, he exercises his right of fran- 
 chise in support of the Republican party, 
 assisted in the organization of Marinette 
 county, and has been justice of the peace 
 for the past eighteen years, filling that 
 position in a highly creditable and satis- 
 factory manner. He is stictly impartial 
 in his dealings, meting out justice without 
 favoritism, and all who know him esteem 
 him for his genuine worth and strict in- 
 tegrity. 
 
 J 
 
 OHN E. WILSON is a leading repre- 
 sentative of the lumber interests of 
 the Northwest. He is now engaged 
 in the manufacture of lumber and 
 shingles at Daggett, Mich., as a member 
 of the G. H. Westmon Lumber Company, 
 which was established under the present 
 style in 1891. The company furnishes 
 employment to an average of forty men, 
 and is doing an extensive business. The 
 products of the factory, being of an ex- 
 cellent quality, find a ready sale on the 
 market, and the trade is steadily and 
 constantly increasing. Not a little of the 
 success of the company is due to the en- 
 terprise and well-directed efforts of Mr. 
 Wilson, who is a wide-awake and thor- 
 oughly reliable business man. 
 
 Our subject was born in Menominee, 
 Mich., in 1S50, and is a son of Adolph 
 O. and Margaret (Johnson) Wilson, who 
 were natives of Sweden, and became pio- 
 neer settlers of Marinette, Wis. Plere 
 they both died, the mother first, the 
 father in September, 1895. They reared 
 a family of four children: Mrs. D. Cook, 
 and Mrs. C. E. Shields, both of whom 
 are living in Marinette; J. E., subject of 
 this sketch; and W. C, who is married 
 
5iS 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 and resides in Dagf;;ett, Mich. He was 
 born in Menominee, and resided in Mari- 
 nette until 1894, when he removed to his 
 present home on account of his associa- 
 tion with the lumber company. John E. 
 was reared in Marinette, and acquired his 
 education in its public schools. On leav- 
 ing; the school-room he entered upon his 
 business career, working for the Improve- 
 ment Company, and subsequently with 
 the Boom & Improvement Company, with 
 which he was connected for some years. 
 In 1873, forming a partnership with his 
 brother, he established a general mercan- 
 tile store at the corner of Hall avenue 
 and Main street, and was successfully en- 
 gaged in commercial pursuits until 1884, 
 when he sold out in order to give his en- 
 tire attention to the lumber business. 
 The previous year he embarked in the 
 lumber and logging business, and has 
 since devoted his energies to this under- 
 taking. He has at times furnished em- 
 ployment to as many as sixty men. He 
 now does a strictly milling business, man- 
 ufacturing all kinds of lumber, and is at 
 the head of one of the extensive lumber 
 factories in this section of the State. 
 
 On October 19, 1882, Mr. Wilson was 
 united in marriage in Marinette with Miss 
 Mary L. Horigan, a native of Chicago, 
 and a daughter of James and Ann (Sulli- 
 van) Horigan, who were natives of Ire- 
 land, and in an early day crossed the 
 Atlantic to Canada, going thence to Chi- 
 cago. During the Civil war, Mr. Horigan 
 enlisted in Company E, Eighty-ninth Il- 
 linois Infantry, and for two and a half 
 years was a valiant and courageous de- 
 fender of the Union. In 1 866 he removed 
 to Green Bay, Wis., where he died in 
 1871. His widow now resides in Grand 
 Rapids, Wis. In their family were four 
 daughters: Jennie; Anna, wife of B. B. 
 Pennell, of Milwaukee, Wis. ; Mrs. Delia 
 Frederick, who died in Iron Mountain, 
 Mich., in 1891; and Mrs. Wilson. To 
 our subject and his wife were born one 
 son and one daughtsr — Delia and Floyd. 
 The mother was called to her final rest, 
 
 September 27, 1893, and her death was 
 mourned by her family and many warm 
 friends, to whom her many excellencies 
 of character had greatly endeared her. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Wilson takes quite an 
 active interest, and votes independently 
 of party ties. In 1891 he became deputy 
 register of deeds, serving out an unex- 
 pired term; has also been assistant chief 
 of the Fire Department. Socially, he is a 
 member of Marinette Lodge, No. 182, F. & 
 A. M. He has seen the full and complete 
 growth and development of this section 
 of Wisconsin, and has witnessed the up- 
 building of Marinette from a town of 500 
 inhabitants to its present magnitude. He 
 has always been interested in real estate; 
 in company with his father he built the 
 Wilson Block, and he and his brother 
 have a considerable tract of land in Mari- 
 nette county outside of their milling 
 interests. Mr. Wilson is a representative 
 of one of the earliest pioneer families in 
 his locality. He was in Porterfield town- 
 ship at the time of the fire in 1S71, and 
 was forced to remain out all night. He 
 has ever manifested a deep and com- 
 mendable interest in all that pertains to 
 the welfare of the community, and Mari- 
 nette county recognizes in him a valua- 
 ble citizen. 
 
 DANIEL COOK (deceased) was one 
 of the early settlers of Marinette, 
 locating in that city in the "fif- 
 ties, " and from that time until his 
 death taking an active and commendable 
 interest in everything pertaining to the 
 welfare and upbuilding of the community. 
 He was born at New Mills, New Bruns- 
 wick, Canada, in 1835, and was a son of 
 Daniel and Mary (McDonald) Cook, the 
 former of whom was a native of Scotland, 
 the latter born of Scotch lineage. Both 
 were representatives of early families of 
 New Brunswick, and in that country Dan- 
 iel Cook, Sr. , died. His widow afterward 
 came to Marinette, where her death oc- 
 curred in her seventy-seventh year. They 
 
c 
 
 / 
 
 C^^/t^/ ^r^f\y 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOaUAPniVAL RECORD. 
 
 519 
 
 reared a family of seven sons and three 
 daughters, namely: Alex, who was an 
 early settler of Marinette, served in the 
 Civil war, and died in that city; Daniel, 
 the subject proper of this review; James 
 and Marion (Cook) Graves, both of whom 
 died in Marinette; and Catherine Gold- 
 throp, Mrs. Belle Cook, Angus, Charles, 
 Robert and John, all of whom are resi- 
 dents of Marinette, Wisconsin. 
 
 We now take up the personal history 
 of Daniel Cook, who was long one of the 
 valued citizens of Marinette. He was 
 reared and educated in his native country 
 where he began his acquaintance with the 
 lumber trade, and in which he was inter- 
 ested during the greater part of his busi- 
 ness career. When Wisconsin was a 
 frontier State, and this region was largely 
 undeveloped, he came to Marinette from 
 Flat Rock, Mich., and entered the em- 
 ploy of the N. Ludington Lumber Com- 
 pany, with which he was long connected 
 as one of their most trusted and faithful 
 employes, and his long connection with 
 lumbering interests made him an e.xpert 
 in that line of business. 
 
 Mr. Cook was married in his adopted 
 city, September 28, 1SS2, to Miss Cath- 
 erine Wilson, who was born in Gefle, Swe- 
 den, and is a daughter of Adolph and 
 Martha (Normount) Wilson, of the same 
 nativity. In 1 849 they crossed the ocean, 
 and coming to Wisconsin located in what 
 is now the city of Marinette, where the 
 father died in 1895. ^'Y trade he was a 
 shoemaker, but his time and energies later 
 were devoted to the real-estate business. 
 His wife died in 1889. The four children 
 of their family are Mrs. Cook; Josephine, 
 wifeof Charles Shields, of Marinette; John, 
 married, and living in Marinette; and Will- 
 iam, engaged in the lumber business in 
 the same place. Mr. and Mrs. Cook had 
 three children: Marion, Wallace and Ma- 
 bel, all of whom are now attending school. 
 
 In politics Mr. Cook was a Republi- 
 can; socially he was a member of Mari- 
 nette Lodge, F. & A. M., also of the I. O. 
 O. F. He was devoted to everything cal- 
 
 culated to promote the general welfare 
 and advance the best interests of his adopt- 
 ed town, county and State, and his life 
 was an honorable, upright one, in many 
 respects worthy of the highest emulation. 
 His many excellencies of character furnish 
 an example to his children that may well 
 be followed, and at his death, which oc- 
 curred May 18, 1890, he left to them the 
 priceless heritage of a good name. Mrs. 
 Cook is a member of the Pioneer Presby- 
 terian Church, and an estimable lady, 
 whose many friends in the conununity 
 wish her a plenitude of years of health and 
 happiness. 
 
 HD. WHITCOMB, sheriff of Ocon- 
 to county, has been identified 
 with the public life of his section 
 of the State for a number of years, 
 having served for over two years as chair- 
 man of the county, and for several years 
 as chairman of his township. 
 
 Mr. Wliitcomb is a native of Wiscon- 
 sin, born, in 1850, in Kenosha, where his 
 parents, Edmond and Louisa (Marsh) 
 Whitcomb, located in 1838. They came 
 west from New York, in which State they 
 were born and married, and on their ar- 
 rival in Wisconsin first came to Wal- 
 worth county. On removing from Keno- 
 sha Mr. Whitcomb opened up a farm at 
 Berlin, Wis., from there going, in 1861, 
 to Oconto county, journeying by team. 
 Here he opened up a farm in Pensaukee 
 township, on which he passed the remain- 
 der of his life, dying, in 1893, in Snamico 
 township; Mrs. Whitcomb preceded him 
 to their long home, her death occurring 
 in 1889. Their family consisted of three 
 children, namely: William, who lives in 
 Pensaukee township, on a farm entered in 
 1850 (he enlisted in Oconto county in 
 Company F, Twelfth Wis. V. I., for 
 three years, serving from early in 1 863 
 till the close of the war); Carrie (Mrs. De- 
 Lano), of Pensaukee, and H. D. 
 
 When about eleven years of age H.D. 
 Whitcomb came with his parents from 
 
530 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 Walworth county to Oconto county, and 
 afterward attended school here for a time. 
 He aided in clearing the new land which 
 his father purchased, and has been well 
 trained in agriculture, the greater part of 
 the time living in Suamico township, 
 where he followed farming. In 1873 he 
 was united in marriage with Miss Susan 
 Porter (daughter of Milo Porter, now de- 
 ceased), who was born in New York State 
 and was reared in Portage county. Wis. 
 Six children have blessed this union, 
 namely: Etta, Carrie, Lester, Blanche, 
 Arthur and Harry. 
 
 Mr. \\'hitcomb has been an acti\e, 
 useful citi/en, and no better testimonj" to 
 his worth and ability could be given than 
 his repeated election to office. He was 
 elected to his present incumbencj' in No- 
 vember, 1 894, and entered upon his duties 
 in January, 1895. As before stated, he 
 previously filled the office of chairman in 
 Suamico township, for seven years, and 
 was chairman of Oconto county, serving 
 in the responsible positions with fidelity, 
 and to the complete satisfaction of all con- 
 cerned. Our subject is a Republican in 
 political faith. In social connection he 
 is a member of the Modern Woodmen of 
 America. 
 
 CHARLES W. SUNSTROM, coun- 
 ty treasurer of Marinette county, 
 has been a resident of Marinette 
 since 1881. He is a native of 
 Sweden, born January 4, 1861, and is 
 a son of Erik Peter and Catharina (Nil- 
 son) Sunstrom, both of whom are also 
 natives of Sweden, where they j-et re- 
 side. Their family consisted of ten chil- 
 dren: Emma, now Mrs. Has.sel, of Swe- 
 den; Sophia (Mrs. Nilson), who resides 
 in Minneapolis, Minn. ; Anna (Mrs. An- 
 derson), of Chicago; Matilda, in Mari- 
 nette; Robert, a miller in Sweden; Heda, 
 who yet resides in Sweden; Scigfried, who 
 died in Marinette in 1884; Oscar and Ellen, 
 who yet reside in their native laud; and 
 Charles W. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of our subject 
 were spent in his native land, and he fin- 
 ished his educational course at the college 
 in Carlstad, Sweden. After leaving school 
 he worked in the office of a mining com- 
 pany for one year. Believing his chance 
 for future advancement to be greater in 
 the New World than in the Old, he re- 
 solved on coming to the United States. 
 On his arrival at New York, in May, 1881, 
 he proceeded at once to Chicago, where 
 he remained one summer, and then came 
 to Marinette, Wis., and entered the em- 
 ploy of the N. Ludington Company, spend- 
 ing one winter in the woods. In 1882 he 
 entered the store of the company at Mari- 
 nette, first as clerk, then as timekeeper, and 
 later as bookkeeper, which position he 
 still retains, though he was elected county 
 treasurer in i S94. 
 
 Mr. Sunstrom was married at Mari- 
 nette, in 1889, to Miss Louisa Mathison, a 
 native of Norway and a daughter of Carl 
 Mathison, who resides at Marinette. By 
 this union three children have been born: 
 Lillie Victoria, Eric Peter and Louisa 
 Matilda. Although a native of Sweden, 
 Mr. Sunstrom is thoroughly American in 
 his ideas, and is willing to adaj^t himself 
 to the conditions of this country as he 
 finds it. He is quite popular, not only 
 among his own nationality, with whom he 
 is a leader, but among Americans and those 
 of other nationalities as well. In his po- 
 litical views he is a thorough-going Repub- 
 lican, and has acted with that party since 
 he became a naturalized citizen. He has 
 served as alderman for the Third ward, 
 and, as above stated, was in 1894 elected 
 county treasurer, the duties of which of- 
 fice he is now discharging to the satisfac- 
 tion of all concerned. He is also serving 
 as director in the Marinette Savings& Loan 
 Association, which was organized in the 
 winter of 1895. Fraternally he is a mem- 
 ber of the Scandinavian Benevolent So- 
 ciety, organized in 1887, of which he has 
 been treasurer for five years, and of which 
 he has also served as secretary for a time. 
 He is an active and influential member of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 521 
 
 the Swedish Lutheran Chiircli, and is the 
 present church treasurer. Mrs. Sunstroni 
 is also a member of the Swedish Lutheran 
 Church, and joins with her husband in all 
 church and benevolent work. 
 
 Coming to this country a poor boy and 
 without friends, he has, by his industry 
 and strict integrity, won the confidence 
 of all with whom he is brought in con- 
 tact, and no man stands higher in the es- 
 timation of his fellow citi;!ens. In 1884 
 Mr. Sunstrom paid a visit to his old home 
 in Sweden. 
 
 CHARLES J. SirrXERSTEN, the 
 well-known supervisor from the 
 First ward of Marinette, and a 
 prominent business man, was born 
 in Motala, Sweden, in 1853, his father 
 being G. A. and his mother Caroline 
 (Orburg) Settersten, both of whom are 
 also natives of Sweden. 
 
 His father, who was a blacksmith by- 
 trade, and ran a steam forge for making 
 heavy shaftings for locomotives and steam- 
 boats, left Sweden in 1869 to try his for- 
 tune in America. Coming to Menekau- 
 nee, he worked for the Menominee River 
 Lumber Co. for a number of years. At 
 present he resides in Menekaunee, where 
 his wife died in 1892. To them were 
 born the following children : Augusta 
 (Mrs. P. J. Bowman), of Menekaunee; 
 Carl August, who came to Menekaunee in 
 1 868, and remained until the fall of that 
 year, when he went to Indiana, and from 
 there to Duluth, Minn., where he was 
 killed in a railroad accident in 1870; A. 
 H., a resident of Marinette, Wis. ; Charles 
 J. ; Hilda, now Mrs. Erick Erickson, of 
 Menekaunee; Gust, who died in 1889; 
 Thure, who died in 1879; and Joseph, 
 now living in Menekaunee. 
 
 Charles J. Settersten was reared and 
 educated in Sweden until si.xteen years 
 of age, which was about all the school 
 he ever had, having only attended school 
 two weeks in this countrj'. On coming 
 to Marinette county, he drove a supply 
 
 team for the New York Lumber Co. till 
 1S72, when he engaged in fishing and 
 working before the mast on various sail- 
 ing vessels on the lakes. When Mr. Set- 
 tersten came to Marinette it was a village 
 of about one thousand inhabitants, in- 
 cluding the floating population connected 
 with the mills. He has been in the real- 
 estate business, and besides his residence 
 owns a good business block in Menekau- 
 nee, or East Marinette, and also a fine 
 residence in the Second ward of Mari- 
 nette. He has been county commissioner 
 one term. 
 
 Mr. Settersten was married Novem- 
 ber 14, 1880, in Fish Creek, Door county, 
 to Ruth S. Lundberg, a native of New 
 Berlin, Wis., and daughter of Carl and 
 Caroline Lundberg, natives of Norway, 
 and among the early settlers of Wiscon- 
 sin, who came to Fish Creek in 1867, 
 where they still reside. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Settersten five children were born (four 
 of whom are living): Ula, Carrie, Carl, 
 Norman, and Norma, who died in 1895. 
 
 Politically, Mr. Settersten is a Re- 
 publican. Socially, he is a member of 
 Menekaunee Tent No. 2, K. O. T. M., 
 and of the Swedish Lutheran Church. 
 He is a prominent man in the public af- 
 fairs of Marinette county, a good citizen, 
 greatly respected by all. 
 
 FRANCIS X. MORROW, senior 
 member of the well-known law 
 firm of Morrow & Lynch, Oconto, 
 Oconto county, is a native of the 
 place, born January 30, 1S63. His father, 
 Gilbert Morrow, was a native of Canada, 
 born in St. John, and came in 185 1 to 
 Oconto, where for some time he kept 
 hotel. In 1852 he married Eliza Rouse, 
 and five children came to their union, of 
 whom George, the eldest, died when very 
 young; Emma married Ale.\. Brazeau, and 
 now makes her home in California; 
 George resides at Stockton, Cal., and 
 Gilbert in Oconto. 
 
 Our subject was ten years of age when 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 his mother passed from earth. In the 
 fall of 1 874 he commenced to work with 
 his father in the Oconto Co.'s mill, being 
 emplojcd in taking away box boards from 
 a rip-saw run bj' John K. Davis, for 
 which he received $12 per month. He 
 was in the employ of this company con- 
 tinuously from 1874 to 1879, and after 
 that, until 1882, was employed at Oconto 
 by Chisholm & Burtus, at Comstock's 
 and on Pecor brook in the town of How, 
 being engaged in driving logs, working on 
 the boom, in the mill and in the woods. 
 After the big freshet of 1 880 he sacked 
 the Oconto river from Stiles to Oconto, 
 and in the following year cooked for a 
 crew of men that drove out Little river; 
 in 1882 he drove the North Branch and 
 part of the main river, and in 1883, with 
 James Shea as boss, he drove out Pesh- 
 tigo brook and the Waupee. During 
 some of the winter months he attended 
 the public schools, and, being very am- 
 bitious and industrious, and a hard and 
 constant reader, he gradually accumulated 
 a vast and solid fund of valuable knowl- 
 edge. In 1883 he acted as clerk in the 
 Assembly Chamber at Madison, and in 
 1884 he was in Chicago as delegate to 
 the Democratic convention. During that 
 year Mr. Morrow was in the law office of 
 Vroman & Sale, of Green Bay, and in 
 the latter part of 1884 he became assist- 
 ant bookkeeper for Charles A. Paltzer, a 
 wholesale lumber merchant on Archer 
 avenue, Chicago. In 1887, after three 
 years of hard work in the office of Hon. 
 Francis A. Kiddle, a board of trade law- 
 yer, during which time he was also a 
 student in the law department of the 
 Chicago University, he graduated with 
 distinguished honors. 
 
 When Francis X. Morrow received 
 the nomination for register of deeds in 
 1 892 he was not, as some people supposed, 
 comparatively unknown. He had been 
 special correspondent for the Green Bay 
 Aih'ocatf for several years, and was a fre- 
 (juent contributor of news matter to the 
 Milwaukee and Chicago papers. He had 
 
 never previously run for office, however, 
 and his election was the occasion of much 
 surprise and general comment, for he was 
 elected over his opponents by a plurality 
 of 562 votes. No better evidence could 
 be given of his popularity and excellent 
 standing in the community than his re- 
 nomination at the Democratic county 
 convention in Oconto last fall, and the 
 people are satisfied that the confidence 
 reposed in him is not misplaced. He is 
 a self-made tnan, and deserves the honors 
 he enjoys. 
 
 CHARLi:S C. DAILY, of the firm 
 of Quillan & Daily, attorneys at 
 law. No. 1825 Hall avenue, Mari- 
 nette, came from Fond du Lac, 
 Wis., to that city in May, 1879, and has 
 ever since been engaged in the practice of 
 law there. 
 
 Mr. Daily is, however, a native of 
 Rome, N. Y., born in 1853, and is a son 
 of John and Mary (Curran) Daily, both 
 of whom were natives of Ireland. John 
 Daily came to the United States from Ire- 
 land when a boy, locating in New York, 
 where he married, and subsequently re- 
 moved with his family to Fond du Lac, 
 Wis., where he settled down to farm life 
 and passed the remainder of his days, dy- 
 ing March 15, 1895; his wife died in 1887. 
 They were numbered among the pioneers 
 of Fond du Lac county, and there reared 
 their family of seven children, viz.: 
 Charles C, our subject; Miles, who died 
 in 1889; John, who died in Chicago in 
 1882; Thomas, residing in Eden, Fond du 
 Lac Co. , Wis. , who is a teacher and car- 
 penter; Daniel, who resides at Eden, Fond 
 du Lac county; Dennis, residing at Os- 
 ceola; and Mary, who died in 1885. 
 
 Charles C. Daily was about twelve 
 years of age when the family came to 
 Wisconsin, and he was reared to farm 
 life. He was educated in the schools of 
 I""ond du Lac county, and after complet- 
 ing his literary education taught school 
 and earned money that he might attend 
 
COMMEMOltATIVli: niOOHAI'l/IOAL RRCOllD. 
 
 523 
 
 coiiiiiicicial co11c,l;c ;it I'oiul ilii l,;u-, from 
 which h(; j^radnatcd in 1S73. Ih: contin- 
 ued to teach in the scliools of I'^ond dii 
 Lac county after f,M"aduatinj; from I lie com- 
 mercial colle;;(', and also connni'iiced liic 
 study of the law. In 1S77 he was admit- 
 ted to the bar at l*"ond du I^ac. Previous 
 to this, howcN'er, in i^i/S, he received an 
 ap|K)int inenl as cadet at West I'oinI, and 
 attenilc;d alii uit one month, when it was 
 discovered lie was over at;e and ('ould not 
 reuKiin. After iiis admission to the bar 
 he commenced the practice of his jirofes- 
 sion at I'"onil dn Lac. where lie remained 
 imtil iSjc), and then c.une to Marinette. 
 In iSSi he was electetl justice of the jieace, 
 which position he held for some; tinu'; he 
 was also elecli;d town clerk, and held that 
 ollice si.\ years. .At this lime what is now 
 I'doreiice county and all of Marini;lte, 
 w itli the exception of Peslitigo, comprised 
 one town. For twelve years he was 
 |)olicc! justice of Marinette, at the expira- 
 tion of which tinu; he resumed the prac- 
 tice of law. In I<S9J he was elected to 
 the Legislature and served two years, 
 durin;,' which time he was on the judici- 
 ary conunittee and tin- Town and County 
 conunittee. lie was nominatiMl to the 
 Senate from tiie First district in 1X94, but 
 as his jiarly w'as in the minority he was 
 not elccteil. In politics he is a Democrat, 
 has been prouunent in jiolitical affairs, 
 and is the present court connnissioner for 
 Marinette count}'. In his profession he 
 ranks amonj,' the best attorneys in north- 
 ern Wisconsin, and h.is an extensive jirac- 
 tiee not only in the courts of Wisconsin 
 but also in Michij^an. 
 
 Mr. Daily was married at Marinette;, 
 in I.S91, to Miss Nellie P>radford, a native 
 of Mt. Clemens, Mich., and dauj^hter of 
 Horace and Cynthia (Mann) lii-adford. 
 natives of (ialesbur;;, Mich., and IV;nn- 
 sj'lvania, respectively, who in an (;arly 
 day settled at Mt. Clemens, Mich. Tin; 
 father was a printer, and foUowc-d that 
 occupation throuj^hout his life. I lis death 
 occurred some years af^o, but the mother 
 is still livinf,' at ICaton, Colo. j-iy this 
 
 union two tdiildri;n have been born : I la/id 
 and Inez, tin; last named cKiuu; in Ajiril, 
 
 I'^raternally Mr. Daily is a nu;nd)er of 
 Marinette Lodtje No. 7:2, K. of I'. lie 
 was a cdiarter member of the ^'. M. C. A., 
 at Marinette, and served ei;;hl yi;ars on the 
 board of nianaj;crs, takini; a lively part in 
 the construction of their present line 
 buildin;;. I li; is a member of the llusi- 
 ness Men's y\ssociation, and lakes an .u-t- 
 ive interest in its work of advertisiuf; and 
 dexelopin;.^ the material interests of his 
 ado|i|rd cily. When Mr. D.uly cauu' to 
 Marmelle he found a )oun^ cilv of ^.ooo 
 ndi.ibilanis, and ha;; witnessed its steady 
 .!;rovvlli until it now has a ])opulalinn of 
 about i7,oof). No man has taken a niMic 
 active interest in its advancement ami 
 |irospenly, aiul none b:i\e been more w ill- 
 in^ to do their p.irt lli.in tin; subject of 
 this sketch. 
 
 JOHN SHICLDKlCK, one of ih,. most 
 ])romiiU'nt and best known plaster 
 contractors in Wisconsin, nioi(; 
 especially in the norllu'in purlimi of 
 the Sl.ite, where he has bm 1 1 up fi>i' himself 
 a hij^h and solid rt'putation lor superior 
 work in his line, is well woithy to be rep- 
 resented in llie paj^'i'S of this work. 
 
 A native of the meliopolis of the 
 world, London, Liif.;land, he was born in 
 iS..)7, and is a son of Ldward .md |aiiel 
 (Lnke) Sheldrick, the foi'iiu'r ol whom 
 was also born in London, the lallei in 
 Ldinburf;h, Scotland, rhe\ were marric^l 
 in London, and there reari'd a family of 
 three (diildren ; lulward, who came to Hds- 
 ton, Mass., in 1870, but is now li\in;; in 
 London, JCnj.,dand; |olm, subject of this 
 sketch; and Thomas, who also resides in 
 London, Lnj.;land (Ik; visited Chic.if^'o in 
 187J, returninj,' to ICn/^land the followirif; 
 year; in iS74he \'isited .Mb.niy, N. Y., 
 but once more betook himself to his 
 native city). The father was a seafariuf,' 
 man, chielly in the cajiacity of steward 
 on sailinf,' vessels, and may be said to ha\e 
 
524 
 
 COMMEMORATTVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 sailed all over the world. He died in 
 London, Engknd, in 1859; his wife pass- 
 ing away in the same city in 1S87. 
 
 John Sheldrick, whose name intro- 
 duces this sketch, received his education 
 at the schools of his native place, and 
 learned the trade of plasterer. In 1871 
 he came to the United States, here to 
 make a permanent home, landing at Bos- 
 ton, Mass., whence same year he came 
 to Oconto, Wis., which had just suffered 
 from a conflagration. Here he worked 
 at his trade till moving to Chicago, 111., 
 in 1872, thence proceeding to Marquette, 
 Mich., in 1873. where he followed con- 
 tracting and plastering some fouryears, or 
 till 1877, at which time he came to Mari- 
 nette where he has since had his home. 
 He had the plaster contract on the new 
 hotel, and has done a large amount of 
 contracting ever since coming to the city, 
 having secured nearlj' all the best work 
 in the place. At the present time he 
 employs from three to ten men. 
 
 In December, 1865, Mr. Sheldrick 
 was united in marriage with Miss Sarah 
 Peters, who was born in London, Eng- 
 land, a daughter of Edward and Jane 
 (Cumpcrj Peters, natives of Surrey, Eng- 
 land, where the father died, the mother 
 coming to Marinette in 1890. Mr. Peters 
 was a landowner in Surrey, and a profes- 
 sional man. To Mr. and Mrs. Sheldrick 
 have been born five children, as follows: 
 Edward, born in London, England, a ma- 
 chinist in Beloit, Wis. ; John, born in Chi- 
 cago, assistant to his father; Jennie, born 
 in Marquette, Mich., now in Chicago, be- 
 ing a saleslady in the employ of Marshall 
 Field's millinery department; Thomas and 
 Edith, both born in Marinette, and both 
 still at home. Mr. and Mrs. Sheldrick 
 are members of the Episcopal Church, 
 and, socially, he is affiliated with May 
 Lodge No. 265, I. O. O. F. He has met 
 with well-merited success in his business, 
 and is now owner of two houses on Depot 
 street, Marinette, which he rents, and 
 has an elegant residence on Hall avenue. 
 During the eighteen or more years he has 
 
 been a resident of Marinette, our subject 
 has seen its growth and expansion from a 
 town of 5,000 inhabitants to a line city of 
 16,000, and has himself contributed in no 
 small degree to its progressiveness and 
 advancement, very many of the buildings, 
 both public and private, presenting sub- 
 stantial evidences of his handiwork. 
 
 GEORGE C. RATHBUN, city 
 clerk of Marinette, was first 
 elected to the position in 1894, 
 and re-elected in 1895. He has 
 been a resident of Marinette since 1890. 
 In 1 89 1 he was engaged as clerk at Ellis 
 Junction for Butler Mueller and was sub- 
 sequently in the employ of the Boom 
 Company. 
 
 Mr. Rathbun is a native of Beaver 
 Dam, Wis., born in 1857, and is a son of 
 Duane and Catherine (Post) Rathbun, 
 the former a native of Connecticut, the 
 latter of Pennsylvania. They were both 
 early settlers of Dodge county. Wis., the 
 latter arriving here in 1847, and the for- 
 mer in 1849. They were married at 
 Beaver Dam. Duanc Rathbun was a 
 manufacturer of sash, doors and blinds, 
 and followed that occupation for some 
 years. He also worked in flouring mills 
 at Beaver Dam some time, and was thus 
 engaged when the war for the Union 
 commenced. Almost at the first tap of 
 the drum he enlisted in Company C, 
 Sixteenth Wis. V. I., enlisting for three 
 years. In 1863 the regiment veteranized, 
 and Mr. Rathbun re-enlisted and served 
 until the close of the war. His regiment 
 was with the Western army, and was very 
 actively engaged during his whole term 
 of service. He was honorably discharged 
 at the close of the war, and returned to 
 Beaver Dam, where he remained a short 
 time, and then went to Green Bay, at 
 which place he found employment in the 
 planing mills. In 1 868 the family removed 
 to Fish Creek, Door Co., Wis., but he 
 remained at Green Bay, and finally dis- 
 appeared, nothing being now known of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORB. 
 
 525 
 
 his whereabouts. The mother now re- 
 sides at Marinette, to which place she 
 removed some years ago. They had a 
 family o{ four children: George C, our 
 subject; Emma, who married Henry 
 Graham, and now resides in the State of 
 Washington; Herbert and John, who both 
 reside in Marinette. 
 
 George C. Rathbun, our subject, spent 
 his boyhood and youth in Green Bay and 
 Fish Creek, receiving his education in the 
 common schools of the latter place, which 
 was supplemented with one term at the 
 Normal School in Oshkosh. After leav- 
 ing school, he engaged in teaching for a 
 time, in Door county, and at Sturgeon 
 Bay, in 1883, married Margaret E. Brad- 
 ley, a daughter of D. W. and Mary A. 
 (Mathews) Bradley, who were natives of 
 Ireland, and who at an early day emi- 
 grated from that country to New York, 
 from thence, in 1871, coming to Door 
 county. Wis. ; the father died some years 
 ago; the mother now resides at Marinette. 
 To this union two children have been 
 born: Guy Leslie Walter and Vivian Kate 
 Irene. 
 
 In politics, i\fr. Rathbun is a Repub- 
 lican, with which party he has affiliated 
 since attaining his majority. He has 
 never desired or sought public office, but 
 while residing at Egg Harbor, he was 
 town clerk some five years. Fraternally, 
 he is a member of Marinette Lodge. No. 
 1 82, A. F. & A. M. ; of Marinette Chapter, 
 R. A. M. ; of the Independent Order of 
 Forresters; of Hamilton Camp No. 43, 
 Sons of Veterans, and of Fraternal Alli- 
 ance No. 53. Mr. Rathbun stands well 
 in the community in which he resides, 
 and enjoys the respect and confidence of 
 his fellow citizens. 
 
 AH. SETTERSTEN, city assessor, 
 and junior member of the firm of 
 Wittig & Company, undertakers, 
 came to Marinette July 9, 1869, 
 and has since been a resident of that city. 
 He is a native of Sweden, born in 
 
 1 85 I. and is a son of G. A. and Caroline 
 (Orburg) Settersten, both of whom were 
 also natives of that country, emigrating 
 to this country in 1869, and coming di- 
 rect to Marinette. Here the father, who 
 is a blacksmith by trade, worked in a 
 mill, also in Philbrook's shipyard, and is 
 yet living in East Marinette. His wife, 
 the mother of our subject, died in Mari- 
 nette in March, 189J. They reared a fami- 
 ly of eight children: Augusta, wife of Peter 
 Bonier, of Menekaunee; C. A., who was 
 the first of the family to come to Wiscon- 
 son, arriving here in 1868, and was killed 
 in Minnesota in 1870; A. H., our subject; 
 C. J., who resides in Menekaunee, is su- 
 pervisor for the First ward; Hildah, wife 
 of Erick Erickson, of Menekaunee; Gus, 
 who died in Marinette, W^is., in 1889; 
 Tryon, deceased some years ago; and Jo- 
 seph, a resident of Menekaunee. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of our subject 
 were spent in Sweden, and his educa- 
 tion was obtained in the schools of his 
 native land. He was eighteen years of 
 age when the family came to Mari- 
 nette, where he at once obtained em- 
 ployment in the mills, and also worked 
 in the woods. For twenty years he was in 
 the employ of the Menominee I^iver Lum- 
 ber Company, a part of which time he 
 was engaged as a sawyer, and for about 
 eight or nine years as foreman of the 
 mills, having entire charge of the same. 
 Some years ago he engaged in the livery 
 business in Marinette, in company with 
 Peter Holquist, with whom he remained 
 five years. His present partnership with 
 Mr. Wittig was subsequently formed. 
 
 On coming to this country our sub- 
 ject was a single man, but at Marinette 
 he became acquainted with, and in 1880 
 married, Miss Elizabeth Hanson, a 
 daughter of Tufve Hanson, both of 
 whom were natives of Sweden. Her 
 father died in his native land some years 
 ago, and there her mother continues to 
 reside. Mr. and Mrs. Settersten have 
 six living children: Freddie, Willie, Wal- 
 ter, Elsie, Rudolph and Victor. Ernest 
 
526 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 Oscar died at the age of fourteen months, 
 and Edmund Ephraim at the age of 
 eleven months. 
 
 In his pohtical views Mr. Settersten 
 is a decided Republican. He has filled 
 several local . offices, including that of 
 overseer of highways, which position he 
 occupied for two years, and has also filled 
 the position of city assessor. He is well 
 and favorably known, not only in the city 
 but throughout Marinette county. In re- 
 ligious faith he is a member of the Swed- 
 ish Lutheran Church, and has been for 
 some years secretary and treasurer of 
 same. 
 
 LUTHER K. M.\cNEILL, loan 
 broker and dealer in real estate at 
 Marinette, commenced business 
 here in 1885, and for ten years had 
 the only abstract office in Marinette 
 county. On his arrival here in April, 1879, 
 he found a village of some four thousand 
 inhabitants, and what is now known as 
 Marinette county was formerly a part of 
 Oconto county. On the third day of 
 March, of that year, Marinette was de- 
 tached from Oconto county and became 
 independent. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born 
 in Milwaukee, Wis., July 30, 1850, and 
 is a son of William J. and Lily A. 
 (Mitchell) MacNeill, the former of whom 
 was a native of Ayrshire, Scotland, and 
 the latter of Ireland. The father was 
 reared in Scotland, and at the age of 
 about thirty years came to Boston, in 
 1849 settling in Milwaukee, Wis. He 
 was a painter by trade, and followed that 
 occupation until his death, which occurred 
 in September, i S70. He was originally 
 a mctnber of the Wesleyan Methodist 
 Church, retaining his connection with 
 that body until i860, when he witluirew 
 from their fellowship and united with the 
 Spring Street Congregational Church, now 
 the Grand Avenue Church. He was ever 
 interested in all Church, temperance and 
 benevolent work, and was willing to do 
 
 his share in building up any good cause. 
 In his political views he was first an 
 Abolitionist and later a Republican. His 
 wife survived him two years, dying in 
 1872. Of the familj- of four children, all 
 were born in Wisconsin, as follows: 
 Luther K., our subject; Martha B., wife 
 of C. D. Simonds, connected with the 
 Chauncey-Simonds Clothing Co., of Mil- 
 waukee; Samuel M., a Congregational 
 minister at Lake Mills, W' is. ; and Edward 
 H., a traveling salesman, residing in Mil- 
 waukee. 
 
 \Miile li\ing in Milwaukee our subject 
 attended the public schools, and in his 
 youth learned the painter's trade, which 
 he followed until 1870. He then became 
 clerk in a grocery store, after which he 
 was in the employ of F. W. Ambler & 
 Co., wholesale hat dealers, remaining 
 with this firm about one j'ear, when he 
 became the junior member of the firm of 
 Schuster, Pitts & MacNeill, who were 
 handling the Florence Sewing Machine, 
 as general agents for Wisconsin and Min- 
 nesota. He continued in that about two 
 years, and then retired from business 
 for a brief period, subsequently engaging 
 with the Hansen Fur Company, with 
 whom he remained until a short time 
 previous to his coming to Marinette, in 
 1879. Upon his arrival here he entered 
 into the employ of the N. Ludington 
 Company, with whom he remained until 
 February i, 1883, when he accepted a 
 position in the Stephenson Bank as teller. 
 In January, 1884, he resigned his posi- 
 tion in the bank and accepted the ap- 
 pointment as county clerk, serving that 
 year; in the spring of 1884 he was elected 
 justice of the peace. In the fall of 1885 
 he engaged in the abstract business, buy- 
 ing the books of R. L. Hall, of Oconto, 
 and continued in that business, together 
 with that of real estate and loans, up to 
 November i, 1895, when he sold out to 
 the Marinette Land & Abstract Co., he 
 still retaining his real-estate business. 
 
 Mr. MacNeill was married at Mari- 
 nette, in June, 1SS8, to Miss Harriet M. 
 
^^^^^^?d^^::^^^^^L^^^^Vi^.^^^ 
 
C0MME3I0ItATIYE DIOORAPniOAL RECORD. 
 
 527 
 
 McAlpine, who was born in Lee, Mass., 
 daughter of Robert and Harriet P. 
 (Graves) McAlpine, both of whom are 
 now residing in Marinette. Three chil- 
 dren have been born of this union: Robert 
 William, Helen Virginia, and Milo John. 
 In politics Mr. McNeill is a Republican, 
 and served as city treasurer one term, in 
 1889. In religious faith he is a member 
 of the Pioneer Presbyterian Church, of 
 which he is a deacon and also a trustee. 
 He is a member of the Caledonian Society 
 and of the Modern Woodmen of America. 
 Coming to this county in the year of its 
 organization, and having been actively 
 engaged in business during the interven- 
 ing years, Mr. MacNeill has contributed 
 no small part toward its development. 
 Few men are better known in Marinette 
 county, and none stand higher in the 
 estimation of the people than does the 
 subject of this sketch. 
 
 JOHN GROSSE, the pioneer mer- 
 chant of Little Suamico, and the 
 most prominent citi/en of that 
 place, having done more for its de- 
 velopment and upbuikling than any other 
 individual, located in that locality in 
 March, 1851. 
 
 He is a native of Germany, his birth 
 having occurred in the little village of 
 Seddin, near Potsdam, in 1836. His 
 parents were G. A. and Caroline (Spiseke) 
 Grosse, also natives of the same country, 
 the father born in Potsdam, the mother 
 in Seddin. The father was a merchant 
 and farmer, and carried on business in his 
 native land until 1849, when he bade 
 adieu to that country and sailed from 
 Hamburg to New York, where he arrived 
 after a voyage of six weeks. He at once 
 made his way to Green Bay, Wis., where 
 he remained for two years, when he came 
 to Little Suamico, Oconto county, and 
 was engaged in fishing and farming, 
 making his home here until his death in 
 1872. For many j'ears he served as town 
 clerk, was an intfuential citizen, and a 
 
 30 
 
 supporter of the Democratic party. His 
 wife died in 1877. They reared a family 
 of four sons ; |ohn, our subject; Will- 
 iam H., a resident of Little Suamico 
 township; G. A., who is carrying on 
 farming and fishing, and also serves as 
 postmasterat Little Suamico; and Charlie, 
 who died in that place in 1894. 
 
 The subject proper of these lines spent 
 the first twelve years of his life in the 
 Fatherland, and there began his educa- 
 tion, which was completed in the public 
 schools of Green l>ay after the family 
 came to America. He was a youth of 
 fourteen when he became a resident of 
 Oconto county, and here he engaged in 
 iishing, also in aiding his father in the 
 opening uj) and developing of the farm. 
 He assisted in cutting the road through 
 to Big Suamico, in 1851, for at that time 
 the onl\' road was an Indian trail. There 
 was no bridge across the river, and the en- 
 tire country round about was unimproved, 
 giving little evidence of future develop- 
 ment. The first bridge across the river 
 was built by him, in 1856. Mr. Grosse 
 has been very pr<.)minently connected 
 with the progress and advancement in his 
 locality, and almost all works of public im- 
 provement have recei\-ed from him sub- 
 stantial aid. He has made judicious in- 
 vestments in real estate, and now owns 
 1600 acres of land in Little Suamico 
 township, 200 of which are cleared and 
 under a high state of cultivation. He is 
 the pioneer merchant of Little Suamico, 
 having begun business on a small scale in 
 i86o; his present store he built in 1873, 
 and he here carries a large and complete 
 stock of general merchandise, while from 
 the public he receives a liberal patronage. 
 
 In 1 86 1 Mr. Grosse was married to 
 Miss Mary L. Scheuring, a native of Ger- 
 many, and a daughter of Louie and 
 Matilda (Schmolkej Scheuring, both born 
 near Berlin. In 1849 they sailed from 
 Bremen to New York, and thence pro- 
 ceeded to De Pere, Wis., where they 
 spent their remaining days, the father 
 passing away in 1895, the mother in 
 
528 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1885. Mr. and Mrs. Grosse have five 
 children : John, married and Hving in 
 Little Suamico; Mrs. Matilda Early, of 
 British Columbia; Edward, married and 
 residing in Little Suamico township; 
 Mary, wife of Mr. Wilce. station agent at 
 Little Suamico; and Ella. 
 
 Mr. Grosse exercises his right of fran- 
 chise in support of the Republican party, 
 and has most efficiently served as a mem- 
 ber of the town board of supervisors, as 
 township clerk and as treasurer. He has 
 erected manj- fine buildings in Little 
 Suamico, and may well be said to be the 
 founder of the town. The influence of 
 such a character as that of Mr. Grosse on 
 the business and political life of a com- 
 munity can not be estimated. He is a 
 man of strong determination and unques- 
 tioned integrity, and his honorable rec- 
 ord, commanding the confidence of all, 
 has left its impress for good on the various 
 interests with which he has been con- 
 nected. 
 
 JOHN COOK. Among the worthy 
 citizens that New Brunswick has fur- 
 nished to Marinette is this gentleman, 
 who was born in New Mills, Resti- 
 gouche county, in 1849. His parents, 
 Daniel and Mary (McDonald) Cook, were 
 natives of Scotland, and the Island of 
 Arran, respectively, which latter is near 
 the Scottish coast. Daniel Cook and his 
 brother James crossed the Atlantic to New 
 Brunswick, and the latter afterward went 
 to one of the western Provinces of Canada. 
 The former was married in New Bruns- 
 wick, and there engaged in lumbering for 
 a time, after which he located on a farm, 
 which he made his home until his death 
 in 1863. His wife came to Marinette in 
 1883 and was called to the home bcjond 
 August 8, 1888. They reared a family 
 of ten children, si.\ of whom are yet 
 living. 
 
 Our subject spent the days of his child- 
 hood in his parents' home, and acquired 
 his education at the schools of his native 
 
 town. When about fifteen years of age 
 he came to Marinette and secured a posi- 
 tion as chore boy with the N. I^udington 
 Lumber Company, with whom he re- 
 mained three months, attending the schools 
 of Appleton, Wis., during the following 
 winter. Since that time he has been con- 
 nected with the lumber trade, working in 
 the woods and at lumber cruising, em- 
 ployed most of the time by the H. Whit- 
 beck Company. He is ever faithful to 
 the trust reposed in him. and has the con- 
 fidence of his employers, and the regard 
 of those with whom he is associated. 
 
 In July, 1879, at Marinette, Mr. Cook 
 wedded ^liss Nellie Agnes Halron, a na- 
 tive of Manitowoc, Wis., and a daughter 
 of James and Margaret (Maney) Halron. 
 Her father was a native of Ireland, and 
 on coming to the United States located 
 in Ohio, where he was married. In 1856 
 he brought his family to Manitowoc, Wis., 
 and in the midst of the forest opened up 
 a farm which he continued to cultivate 
 until his death, in 1877. His wife is still 
 living on the old home place. In their 
 family were nine children, as follows: 
 Bridget, wife of Thomas Conley, of Cato, 
 Manitowoc county; Mary Ann, wife of 
 Robert Powers, of Peshtigo; Nellie A., 
 Mrs. Cook; Mrs. Margaret Ditwiller, of 
 Chicago; Katie, who became the wife of 
 James Sommers, of Lisbon, Dak., and 
 died in May, 1884; Cornelius, who died 
 in Marinette in 1881; Elizabeth, of Cato, 
 Wis. ; Sarah, wife of Tom Timlin, of 
 Channing, Mich., agent of the Chicago, 
 Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Co. ; and 
 James, who is living on the old homestead. 
 
 Seven children were born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Cook, five of whom are living, viz. : 
 Tessie Isabelle, born July 10, 1880; Lill- 
 ian May, born March 26, 1882; James D., 
 born May i, 1884; John A., born January 
 10, 1 886, who died on the 5th of August 
 following; Ralph Alex, born February 28, 
 1887; Sarah Ethelyn, born March i, 1890, 
 who died a few days later; and Nellie 
 Vivian, born July 5, 1892. Mr. Cook 
 votes with the Republican party and takes 
 
COMMEMORATTVE BIOGRAPnTCAL RECOTIT). 
 
 529 
 
 a deep interest in political affairs. So- 
 cially he is a member of the Caledonian 
 Society and of the Modern Woodmen of 
 America. His wife holds membership 
 with the Catholic Church. They are both 
 worthy representatives of honored pioneer 
 families of Marinette. 
 
 M 
 
 Iv. WELLINGTON is one of 
 
 the early settlers of Pensaukee 
 township, Oconto count}', hav- 
 ing arrived there in 1857, set- 
 tling on the farm which is still his home. 
 He is a native of Massachusetts, born 
 in March, 1816, in Lexington, son of Mar- 
 shall and Elizabeth (Kimball) Wellington, 
 who were also born in Massachusetts, 
 where they were married. The father 
 was a butcher and a farmer by occupa- 
 tion; he always lived in the State of his 
 birth, dying in Lexington in 1875; the 
 mother survived him. There were four 
 children in their family, three of whom 
 are livng, as follows: M. K., whose 
 name opens this sketch; Elizabeth, who 
 was married to Albert W. Bryant, and 
 died in Massachusetts; Nanc\', who be- 
 came the second wife of Mr. I^ryant, of 
 Lexington, Mass. ; and Walter, who also 
 lives in Lexington, Mass. Grandfather 
 William Wellington was born in England, 
 and in early life came to America. Grand- 
 father Kimball was born in Massachusetts. 
 Our subject was reared in his native 
 State, and received his education in the 
 common schools, also attending private 
 school six weeks; but the grater part of 
 his knowledge has been gained by steady 
 application and observation. In early 
 life he was apprenticed, at Lexington, to 
 learn the shoemaker's trade, which he 
 followed for many years. In 1842 he 
 was married, in Waltham, Mass., to Miss 
 Joanna Caryl, who was born in Vermont, 
 as was also her father, Calvin Caryl, and 
 two children came to this union; Mary 
 (Mrs. E. R. Wilson), of Pensaukee town- 
 ship, and Charles, who resides in Chicago, 
 111. The mother of these died in Decem- 
 
 ber, 1869, on the farm in Pensaukee 
 township. In 1857 Mr. Wellington set 
 out from Lowell, Mass., coming direct 
 to Pensaukee township, Oconto Co., 
 Wis., journeying by rail to Buffalo, thence 
 on the steamer " Michigan, " Capt. Gay- 
 lord, around the lakes to Green Bay, and 
 from there on the "Fannie Fiske " to his 
 destination. He located on the farm 
 which has since been his home, and which 
 consists of 120 acres, all being at that 
 time in the midst of a vast wilderness, un- 
 developed and uncared for by the hand 
 of man, and into which not even ordi- 
 nary roads had yet been made. He and 
 his son-in-law, F. R. Wilson, together 
 cleared and impro\'ed this tract, and have 
 converted it into a fertile, productive 
 farm. Mr. Wellington settled here before 
 the railroad had been introduced into the 
 region, and at a time when other marks 
 and signs of civilization were few and far 
 lietween. During the thirty-eight years 
 of his residence here, however, Oconto 
 county has never once halted in the 
 march of progress, and though still a 
 comparatively new section has reason to 
 be proud of the rapidity with which her 
 resources have been developed and in- 
 creased. Mr. Wellington has been a Re- 
 publican in political faith, and takes a 
 warm interest in the success of his party. 
 
 NELS LINDQUIST, one of the 
 very early pioneers of Menekau- 
 ne, Marinette county, having 
 come here in 1857 from Chicago, 
 in which city he located upon his arrival 
 from Sweden, in 1854, was born October 
 27, 1805. His parents died in their na- 
 tive land, leaving two children, Nels and 
 Augustoph, the latter still residing there. 
 The father was a sailor and followed that 
 calling until his death. 
 
 Mr. Lindquist was reared and edu- 
 cated in Sweden, and was a teacher in the 
 schools of that country for seventeen years. 
 He came to this countrj' in a sailing ves- 
 sel, the "Esmerelda," Capt. Johnson, 
 
53° 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGIiAPHTCAL RECOJIB. 
 
 landing at New York after a voyage of six 
 weeks. On reaching Chicago (in 1854) 
 he engaged in the business of painting, 
 glass cutting, etc., until 1857, when he 
 came to Marinette, then a mere hamlet, 
 and here followed the business of shoe- 
 making for several years. He was mar- 
 ried in the old country to Miss Anna 
 Grainan, who was born in Sweden, and 
 died in Marinette, in 1883. Eight chil- 
 dren were born of this marriage, three of 
 whom died before the parents came to 
 this country. Of the five now living, Carl 
 Gustoph, John O. and Peter August are 
 residing in Menekaunee township, Mari- 
 nette county; William ¥. resides in Iron 
 Mountain, Mich., and A. Victor in E.s- 
 canaba. Michigan. 
 
 Nels Lindquist is one of the oldest 
 settlers in Marinette county; he is said to 
 be the oldest, both as to age and the length 
 of residence, in Marinette city, and not- 
 withstanding his age he is an active, ear- 
 nest Republican, taking great interest in 
 local, State and national political move- 
 ments. He is also a prominent and con- 
 sistent member of the Swedish Methodist 
 Church, and is respected and esteemed 
 by all who know him. 
 
 JOHN O. LINOgUIST, son of Nei- 
 Lindquist, was born in Sweden in 
 1835, came to Chicago, 111., in 1S54, 
 and engaged in the business of paint- 
 ing, in which he continued until his re- 
 moval to Marinette, Wis. Having no 
 settled plans for the future, he entered the 
 woods and was employed as a cook in 
 various lumber camps until about the 
 year 1866, when he began the career of 
 sailor on the lakes. 
 
 In 1869, tiring of a sailor's life, Mr. 
 Lindquist rented premises of Dr. J. 
 J. Sherman and embarked in a general 
 mercantile business, which he conducted 
 until October 8, 1871, one day before 
 the great fire in Chicago, when his estab- 
 lishment was completely burned out. 
 But possessing the courage and tenacity 
 
 I'l [uirpose which so eminently distinguish 
 the business men of the West, he imme- 
 diately set to work to retrieve his losses, 
 and erected the building now occupied by 
 K. Lundberg, where he not only re-es- 
 tablished his former business, but in ad- 
 dition engaged in wholesale and retail fish 
 dealing, giving employment to a number 
 of men. In 1890 he organized the firm 
 of Lindquist, Westmon & Campbell, one 
 of the largest and most successful mercan- 
 tile firms in Marinette, now doing business 
 on Hull avenue. Mr. Lindquist is one of 
 the oldest business men in the city, hav- 
 ing been a resident of Marinette since 
 1857 — for thirty-eight consecutive years. 
 
 In 1862, at Fort Howard, Wis., Mr. 
 Lindquist was married to Miss Maria West- 
 mon, a native of Norway and daughter of 
 Nels and Marie Westmon. The parents 
 were both born ;in Norway, and coming 
 to this country, in 1857, settled in the 
 woods at Sister Bay, Door county, where 
 the father engaged in farming and dealing 
 in stone, etc. , having opened a stone quarry 
 on his land. From Sister Bay they re- 
 moved to Minnesota and settled upon a 
 farm. Mr. Westmon being a ship carpen- 
 ter by trade, he later returned to Wiscon- 
 sin, settling at Fort Howard, where he died 
 her 26, 1866. Mrs. Westmon's death 
 
 II red there. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Lindquist were born 
 twelve children. Of those still living, 
 Naboth E. is secretary of the Marinette 
 Bicycle Club, a member of Olive Branch 
 Lodge No. 250, F. & A. M., Marinette 
 Chapter No. 57, K. A. M., and of Mari- 
 nette Lodge No. 72, K. of P. He is a 
 Republican in politics, and has held the 
 office of city treasurer for two years, 
 1890-91. The other living children are 
 Francis O., Orville A. and Inez S. Mr. 
 Lindcjuist is a member of the M. E. 
 Churcli; in politics he is a Republican, and 
 has served his fellow citizens as supervisor 
 of Marinette township, when it was in- 
 cluded in Oconto county. He may be 
 truthfully said to be one of the pioneers 
 of Marinette, as he has seen its growth 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 5.V 
 
 and development from a population of five 
 persons to its present size. His family 
 are also "old-timers," having resided here 
 before the introduction of railroads, steam 
 and electricity, and all the members are 
 held in high esteem by their neighbors 
 and fellow townsmen. 
 
 J. FKANCAIvT has passed almost 
 his entire life along the west shore 
 
 H 
 
 I I of Green Bay, and now lives on 
 his farm in Pensaukee township, 
 Oconto county, to the clearing of v\'hich 
 he is devoting the greater part of his time. 
 He came to this country in 1856 from 
 Belgium, his native land, where he was 
 born July 18, 1848, son of Ferdinand 
 Joseph and Prudence A. (Moes) Francart, 
 also of Belgium nativity. On leaving 
 ing Moisse for Ameriac, they sailed from 
 Antwerp, landing at New York City after 
 a voj'age of forty-five days, and arrix'ing 
 in Green Bay, Brown Co., Wis., on June 
 2. After a short residence in that city 
 the family located on wild land in the 
 same county, in alocalit}' known as Shan- 
 tytown, opening up a farm and living 
 there four jears. They then bought and 
 removed to a farm in Bay Settlement, 
 same county, where the father kept a 
 tavern ten years, during which time, in the 
 the winter of 1863-64 they moved to the 
 city limits of Green Bay. Thence ttiej' 
 came to Oconto, where the father re- 
 mained until his death, in 1876. His wife 
 survived until 1893, when she passed 
 away in Marinette. Of their family three 
 are hving: H. J., the subject proper of 
 these lines; Flora, Mrs. William Place, 
 of Marinette; and Josie, Mrs. William 
 Hardwick, of Marinette. Ferdinand J. 
 Francart, father of our subject, enlisted 
 on March 16, 1864, in Company G, Sev- 
 enteenth Wis. V. I., wherein he served, 
 in Sherman's army, until the close of the 
 war in 1865. His father, John Joseph 
 Francart, served in Napoleon Bonaparte's 
 first army, for twelve years, and finished 
 
 his campaigns at the battle of Waterloo, 
 June 18, iSi 5. 
 
 H. J. Francart was but eight years of 
 age when the family came to Green Bay, 
 Brown county, and there he received his 
 education. Reared amid the scenes of 
 pioneer life, and in a forest-covered region, 
 his entire life has been devoted to lum- 
 bering, milling, and, latterly, to farming, 
 lumbering having been his chief occupa- 
 tion for the long period of thirty years. 
 By trade he is a sawyer. In 1871 he 
 came to Pensaukee, Oconto county, and 
 on his arrival secured employment with V . 
 B. Gardner, with whom he worked over 
 thirteen years, subsequently engaging with 
 the Oconto Lumber Co. at Big Badenoch, 
 Ba}' de Noquette, for whom he worked in 
 the woods for some time. For eight years 
 after this he was in the employ of Eldred 
 & Son, and since then he has given the 
 greater part of his time and attention to 
 the clearing of his land. His farm fon 
 which he resides) in Pensaukee township, 
 contains 100 acres, tenor twelve of which 
 he has cleared, and he also owned a tim- 
 ber tract of 260 acres in Sections 3 and 4. 
 In 1S92 Mr. Francart lost his residence 
 by fire. 
 
 On October 18, 1880, Mr. Francart 
 was married, in Oconto, Oconto county, 
 to Miss Emma Frappy, who was born in 
 Negaunee, Mich., daughter of Peter and 
 Emma (Roberts) Frappy, the former of 
 whom was born in Canada, the latter in 
 Upper Michigan; they now reside in Her- 
 mansville, Mich. To our subject and wife 
 seven children have been born, viz.: Feli- 
 cite, Joseph, Josephine, Ferdinand, Mary, 
 Prudence and George. In politics Mr. 
 Francart votes with the Republican party, 
 and has served one term as justice of the 
 peace in his townshp. In religious con- 
 nection he is a member of the French 
 Catholic Church. He is one of the oldest 
 settlers of Pensaukee, and has watched 
 with interest the complete change which 
 the past few years have wrought in this 
 count}', taking an active and substantial 
 part in the work himself. 
 
532 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOOliAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 LUDWIG H. I..\KM:N, registn ! 
 deeds of Marinette county, was 
 elected in 1894 by the surprising 
 majority of over 800 votes, and 
 assumed the office in January, 1895. He 
 has resided in Marinette county since 
 1882, when he entered the employ of the 
 Menominee River Lumber Company, re- 
 maining with that well-known corpora- 
 tion for three years. He retired from its 
 employment to engage in business with 
 his brother, I^. N. Larsen, in a store 
 known as the "Star Grocery," of East 
 Marinette, from which business he was 
 promoted to the honorable office which 
 he now occupies. His career in Mari- 
 nette county can be stated succinctly in 
 those few words. 
 
 Mr. Larsen is a native of Winnebago 
 county. Wis., and the light of day first 
 fell on his eyes near Winneconne, August 
 29, 1866. His parents were Onon and 
 Johanna (Onsen) Larsen, and they were 
 both born in Norway, and were educated 
 in that country. Onon Larsen bade his 
 native land good bye in 1852, and started 
 for the New World. After traveling 
 around for some time, looking for a de- 
 sirable place of residence, he picked out 
 Winneconne, Winnebago Co., Wis., and 
 there identified himself with various inter- 
 ests, including the coal business and the 
 management of a steam-boat dock. A 
 year after his arrival at Winneconne, his 
 intended, Johanna Onsen, took the ocean 
 voyage to the land of the stars and stripes, 
 and Cupid made them one in 1853. He 
 then purchased a fine tract of agricultural 
 land near Winneconne, and there retired 
 to the domestic pursuits of the farm. 
 Mrs. Larsen died in December, 1880, at 
 the age of fifty. They had eight children, 
 of whom six are now living: Louis N., 
 who is now running the " Star Grocery" 
 at East Marinette; Frank A., who resides 
 at Tomahawk, has been postmaster of 
 that city, and is now city treasurer; Mary 
 C, wife of William Hronson, a farmer 
 residing in Poygan, Winnebago county; 
 Ludwig H., our subject; Julia B., who 
 
 resides at home, and Nora, living in Iron 
 Mountain. 
 
 The subject of this sketch spent his 
 early days at Winneconne, and his edu- 
 cation was received in its public schools. 
 His boyhood and youth were spent on the 
 farm near there, where the rugged life in- 
 stilled in him the qualities tliat win — 
 energy and perseverance. He came from 
 Winneconne to Marinette, where he at 
 once became a scaler for the Menominee 
 River Lumber Company. Mr. Larsen is 
 a Republican, and proud of the fact that 
 he has cast every vote with that party 
 since attaining his majority. After a hard 
 fight for the office of register of deeds, he 
 was triumphantly elected by an unusual 
 majority on the I\epublican ticket. He 
 displayed rare tact and judgment through- 
 out his entire campaign, which he con- 
 ducted almost single handed, and made 
 his mark as a young politician. Frater- 
 nally, Mr. Larsen is very active. He is 
 a member of Marinette Lodge No. 72, 
 Knights of Pythias; of Marinette Lodge 
 No. 189, Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
 lows; of Menekaunee Tent No. 2, Knights 
 of the Maccabees; of the Norwegian Lit- 
 erary and Benevolent Society; and of the 
 Scandinavian Benevolent Society. He is 
 a fine representative of the American citi- 
 zen of Norwegian descent; thoroughly im- 
 bued with American ideas, he does not 
 hestitate in his advocacy of measures cal- 
 culated to advance the best interests of his 
 adopted cit}' and county. 
 
 GFRED COLTER, M. D., is a 
 native of York county, N. B., 
 Canada, born in 1864, and a son 
 of James and Victoria (Long) 
 Colter, both of whom were also natives 
 of Canada, the former being of Irish de- 
 scent. His father (the grandfather of our 
 subject), Alexander Colter, was a native 
 of County Donegal. Ireland, and in an 
 early day located in St. John, N. H., 
 Canada, from which city he removed to 
 Fredericton, in the same Province. He 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 533 
 
 was a well-known pioneer in that section 
 of the country, and died about 1889. 
 
 James Colter, the father of our sub- 
 ject, was engaged in the lumber and mer- 
 cantile trade at Fredericton, where he and 
 his estimable wife, the mother of our sub- 
 ject, yet reside. They reared a family of 
 six children: G. Fred, the subject of our 
 sketch; Newton, who resides in California; 
 Thomas, residing in Fredericton, N. B., 
 Canada; Samuel, a druggist of Marinette; 
 and Fannie and Roy at home. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared 
 in his native county of York, N. B., 
 Canada, and received his primary educa- 
 tion in the schools of same. He then 
 spent three years in the University of 
 New Brunswick, at Fredericton, gradua- 
 ting with the class of '94, after which he 
 entered the University of Philadelphia, 
 (Penn.), studied medicine, and graduated 
 with the class of '88. On receiving his 
 degree, he returned home, and com- 
 menced practice with an uncle, Newton 
 Ramsay Colter, M. D.,L. R. C. P. London, 
 Eng. , at Woodstock. His uncle is now 
 a member of the House of Commons. Dr. 
 Colter continued in practice with his uncle 
 until the fall of 1889, when he came to 
 Marinette, where he has since continued 
 to reside. Since coming to that city he has 
 been very successful, and has built up an 
 extensive practice. He is at present the 
 health officer of Marinette, receiving his 
 appointment in the spring of 1894. 
 
 In 1893, at Marinette, Wis., Dr. 
 Colter was united in marriage with Miss 
 Marie Louisa Laing, born in Fond du Lac 
 county, Wis., daughter of Alexander 
 Laing, a native of Scotland, who located 
 at Fond du Lac at an early day, and now 
 resides in Marinette. Dr. Colter is recog- 
 nized as a physician of undoubled skill and 
 ability, and as a citizen is enterprising 
 and progressive, one who is willing to do 
 his part in the material advancement of 
 his adopted city. He is popular with all 
 classes, and greatly beloved by his many 
 patients. Dr. and Mrs. Colter are attend- 
 ants of the Methodist Church. 
 
 HON. WILLIAM HENRY 
 Y O U N G, superintendent of the 
 Holt Lumber Co. Mills at Oconto, 
 is a native of Mississippi, born 
 August II, 1845, in the town of Wood- 
 ville, Wilkinson county, son of Uriah and 
 Lucretia (Prewet) Young, the father a 
 native of Louisiana, and a planter and 
 lumberman by vocation, the mother of 
 Mississippi. For several generations the 
 ancestors, both lineal and collateral, were 
 Americans, and on both sides participated 
 in the struggle for independence. 
 
 In 1852 the parents of our subject 
 inox'ed with their family from Mis- 
 sissippi to Greensburg, La., where they 
 passed the rest of their days, both dying 
 there in i860. They reared a family of 
 two sons and one daughter, viz.: Anna, 
 who died in Louisiana in 1S72; W. H., 
 our subject; and George, who came to 
 Oconto in 1867, but returned to Louisiana 
 in 1 87 1, and now resides at Edgerly, in 
 that State. 
 
 Our subject received his primary edu- 
 cation in Mississippi, completing same 
 at the schools of Louisiana, at the same 
 time assisting his father in his labors on 
 the farm and in the sawmill. As will be 
 seen he was about fourteen years old when 
 he became an orphan. At the age of 
 eighteen, in 1SC3, the war of the Rebel- 
 lion being at its height, young William, 
 fired with the spirit of patriotism, enlisted 
 in the Fourth regiment Wis. V. C, at 
 Baton Rouge, La., for three years' service 
 or during the war, and was assigned to 
 the Department of the Gulf, Nineteenth 
 Army Corps. His regiment participated 
 in the battles of Mobile, Ft. Blakely and 
 Spanish Fort, serving in Alabama and 
 Georgia, whence they proceeded to Vicks- 
 burg, after which they took part in the 
 Red River campaign as far as Shreveport, 
 thence marching to Texas where they saw 
 service at Houston and San Antonio. Mr. 
 Young was mustered out at Brownsville, 
 Texas, in May, 1866, having served two 
 years and seven months. The regiment 
 was furnished transportation to Madison, 
 
534 
 
 C0M.VE.VOIl A TIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Wis., and upon his arrival at the capital 
 of Wisconsin, Mr. Yoiinj:; went to Chicago, 
 where, at Bryant & Stratton's commer- 
 cial college he took a seven-months' course 
 of tuition, at the close of which he visited 
 Oconto, where most of his army comrades 
 resided. Arriving there in November, 
 iS66. he secured employment with the 
 lumber firm of Holt & Balcom, at scaling 
 logs in the woods, in which line he con- 
 tinued for some si.\ or seven years in the 
 winter months. During the summer of 
 1867 he was employeil by the same com- 
 pany as night watchman, while the fol- 
 lowing summer he became time-keeper, a 
 position he held nineteen years. In 1887, 
 Mr. Balcom having withdrawn from the 
 firm of Holt & Balcom, the Holt Lumber 
 Co. was organized as its successors, and 
 to continue the business, Mr. Young be- 
 ing promoted to the position of superin- 
 tendent, which incumbency he has since 
 filled. The company cuts about twent}'- 
 five million feet annually, and gives em- 
 ployment to a force of from 450 to 600 
 men — all under the supervision of Mr. 
 Young. In 1866 he was connected with 
 the organization of the Oconto National 
 Bank, of which for some years he has 
 been vice-president. 
 
 On January i, 1S72, Mr. Young was 
 married in Oconto to Miss Ellen Russell, 
 a native of New Brunswick, Canada, and 
 one child was born to them, named Ina, 
 at the present time attending Lake Forest 
 (Illinois) University. Mr. Young has al- 
 ways been progressive and public spirited, 
 ever in sympathy with all movements tend- 
 ing to the prosperity of his adopted city. 
 He was instrumental in organizing the St. 
 Paul & Eastern Grand Trunk Railroad 
 Company, and served as secretary and 
 treasurer of that corporation until it dis- 
 posed of its property to the Chicago & 
 North Western Railroad Campany; was 
 secretary and treasurer of Oconto Division 
 of the Lake Shore road, and was also in- 
 strumental in the building of the Chicago, 
 Milwaukee & St. .Paul line to Oconto 
 Junction. He has been largely interested 
 
 in real-estate ticals, and is associated with 
 the Oconto Land Company. Politically 
 Mr. Young has always been a strong sup- 
 porter of the Republican party, his first 
 vote being cast, in 186S, for Gen. Grant, 
 since when he has lent his aid to assist his 
 party materially, and has served as dele- 
 gate in several State conventions. Early 
 in the seventies he was elected a member 
 of the city council of Oconto, and was 
 continuously re-elected until 1880, when 
 he was elected mayor of the city, and 
 again in 1 88 1 by re-election. In i8S4he 
 was elected to the Wisconsin General As- 
 sembly from Oconto and Langlade coun- 
 ties. In April, 1893, he was again elect- 
 ed to the mayoralty of Oconto, serving 
 two years, this mayoraltj' term ending his 
 twelve consecutive years of membership 
 in the council. He also served on the 
 school board, proving himself, by the 
 measures he supported, to be a true friend 
 of education. Sociallj', he is a member 
 of E. A. Ramsey Post No. 74, G. A. R. , 
 and is commander of Oconto County Vet- 
 erans' Association. Mr. Young is a self- 
 made man in the fullest and truest sense 
 of the term, having begun life a poor boy, 
 and from humble circumstances, by assid- 
 uous conduct, he has risen to his present 
 enviable position in the community. 
 
 He. HIGGINS, president of the 
 Marinette Gas, Electric Light and 
 Railway Compaii)', Marinette, has 
 resided in that city since 1S87. 
 He was born in Ireland in 1847, and is a 
 son of Thomas and Mary (Gannon) Hig- 
 gins, natives of County Roscommon, in 
 that country, where they were married, and 
 in an early day they came to America, lo- 
 cating in New Jersey, from which State 
 they removed, in 1863, to Whiteside coun- 
 ty, 111. Settling at Sterling, Mr. Higgins 
 engaged in farming near that city, and 
 died there in March, 1895. His wife had 
 passed away in 1874. They reared a fam- 
 ily of seven children: Sarah, now Mrs. 
 James Ryan, of Chicago; Michael, who 
 
r^ 
 
 -'?- 
 
 /" 
 
 IV 
 
 « » 
 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 535 
 
 resides in Whiteside county, 111.; H. C, 
 our subject; Thomas, who resides at Nee- 
 nah, Wis. ; Maria, now Mrs. Morris Mc- 
 Corinick, of Whiteside county, 111. ; Cath- 
 erine, now Mrs. John Mosier, of White- 
 side county. 111. ; and Anna, who resides 
 on the old homestead. 
 
 The boyhood and j'outh of our sub- 
 ject were passed in New Jerse}', and his 
 education was received at the common 
 school in the vilkif;e of Freehold, that 
 State. He was sixteen years of age when 
 the family removed tf) Whiteside county, 
 111., where he rcinained assisting in the 
 farm work until twenty-one years of age. 
 He then began his business career as a 
 railroad contractor, contracting first in a 
 small way, and finally developing when he 
 was twenty-three, into one of the big con- 
 tractors of his time. At onetime, in con- 
 nection with his younger brother, Thomas, 
 he had a contract for fifty-two miles of 
 grading on the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, 
 and sixteen miles on the Pittsburg, Ft. 
 Wayne & Chicago railroad. In this line 
 of work he remained some five years, and 
 then in 1876 commenced the building of 
 gas works, first at Dixon, III., later at 
 Waterloo, Iowa, and many other towns. 
 He continued in this business until elec- 
 tricity came into the field as an illumina- 
 tor, when he turned his attention to the 
 building of electric-light plants, in connec- 
 tion with gas works. Mr. Higgins has been 
 a permanent resident of Wisconsin since 
 1878, residing some years at Neenah, 
 from which place he came to Marinette. 
 
 In June, 1890, he returned to Neenah, 
 and there married Miss Helen Gaffney, 
 who was born in Neenah, Wis., daughter 
 of Philip and Anna (McCann) Gaffney, 
 the former a native of Wisconsin, the lat- 
 ter of New York, and both of Irish de- 
 scent; the father was one of the early set- 
 tlers of Neenah, and is there engaged in 
 mercantile business. By this union one 
 son was born, Henry C. , Jr. As soon as 
 the marriage ceremony was performed, 
 Mr. Higgins brought his young bride to 
 Marinette, where they have since contin- 
 
 ued to reside. They are both members 
 of the Roman Catholic Church, and are 
 active in religious and benevolent work. 
 Mr. Higgins takes some interest in ])olit- 
 ical affairs, but has never sought or ac- 
 cepted official position, his business inter- 
 est having always been such as to demand 
 his whole time and attention. At present 
 he is a director in the First National Bank 
 of Marinette, and was one of its incorpo- 
 rators; is a member of the Business Men's 
 Association, and was one of its promot- 
 ers; is also director in the Marinette Hotel 
 Co., which hotel was erected in 1895 '^^'^ 
 cost of nearly one hundred thousand dol- 
 lars. In everything calculated to advance 
 the material interests of Marinette, Mr. 
 Higgins has taken a special interest. He 
 has large holdings of real estate, which it is 
 proposed to sub-divide and place upon the 
 market at the proper time. 
 
 The Marinette Gas, Electric Light and 
 Railway Co., of which Mr. Higgins is 
 president, was incorporated in 1889, at 
 which time the company purchased a fran- 
 chise of a street railway line run by horses, 
 and put in an electric line which now in- 
 cludes seven miles of street railway. The 
 works give employment to about fifty peo- 
 ple, and include the gas and electric light- 
 ing, as well as the railway line. The first 
 electric-light plant was established by C. 
 M. Fairchild and brother, assisted by 
 others, on the lower water power, and in 
 1887 the exchange was made, and the 
 plant located in the city at No. 1511 
 Main street. Its entire cost was in the 
 neighborhood of $250,000. Previous to 
 his coining to Marinette, Mr. Higgins had 
 been connected with the establishment of 
 electric light plants in various cities, in- 
 cluding Ashland, Stevens Point, Ishpern- 
 ing, and Neenah, Wisconsin. 
 
 JE. ABBOTT, prosecuting attorney 
 of Florence, Wis., came to the city 
 of Florence in 1SS5, and for two 
 years was principal of the schools of 
 the city. He is a native of Monroe 
 
536 
 
 '(iMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 county, Wis., born in 1855, and is a son 
 of William P. and Susan C. (Soles) Ab- 
 bott, natives of Tioga county, Penn. , and 
 who in an early day removed to Monroe 
 county. Wis., being among the pioneer 
 settlers of that county; they are yet living. 
 
 Our subject grew to manhood in his 
 native county, and in Vernon county, and 
 was educated in the common schools, 
 subsequently graduating from Gatesville 
 University, in the class of '74, not taking 
 his degree until 1885. He was admitted 
 to the bar at Sparta, Wis., in 1879, be- 
 fore Judge Newman, who is now on the 
 supreme bench of the State. In 1S85, as 
 stated, Mr. Abbott came to Florence, and 
 two years later engaged in the practice of 
 his profession, and also in the insurance 
 business, in which he has been quite suc- 
 cessful. He was first elected prosecuting 
 attorney of the county in i888, was re- 
 elected in 1890, and has held the office 
 ever since, being re-elected every two 
 j'ears. As a prosecutor he has been 
 eminently successful, and he enjoys the 
 respect and confidence of his associates at 
 the bar, the presiding judge, and of all 
 who know him. 
 
 Mr. Abbott was married in \'crnon 
 county. Wis., in 1878, to Miss Clara K. 
 Sloggy, a native of Vernon county. Wis., 
 and daughter of Harrison S. Sloggy, an 
 early settler of Portage county, Wis., 
 but who now resides in St. Paul, Minn. 
 By this union four children have been 
 born: Clarence E., Maud E. , Clarissa 
 Bell, and Harry S. Fraternally, Mr. Ab- 
 bott is a member of Florence Lodge No. 
 31, K. of P., of which he has been chan- 
 cellor commander, and is deputy grand 
 chancellor; he is also a member of Grand 
 Kapids Lodge No. 91, I. O. O. F. 
 
 Mr. Abbott came to Florence from 
 Clinton ville. Wis., where he had been 
 principal of the high school for two years; 
 he has given, in all, some twelve years of 
 his life to teaching in the public schools 
 of the State. For ten years he has been 
 identified with the city of F""lorencc, estab- 
 lishing there the high school, and has 
 
 been instrumental in securing the school 
 library of nearly twelve hundred volumes; 
 has also been instrumental in the securing 
 of a philosophical apparatus. It is said 
 that Florence can justly boast of a high 
 school better than is to be found in any 
 town of its size in the State. Its citizens 
 generally take an active interest in the 
 school, and no one more so than Mr. Ab- 
 bott. He is a member of the high-school 
 board, and is one of the wide-awake and 
 active business men of the city. 
 
 HON. AMOS HOLG.\TE, for over 
 nine years the highly efTicient and 
 estimable county judge of Mari- 
 nette county, is by birth an En- 
 glishman, having been born January 12, 
 1842, at Leeds, Yorkshire. 
 
 Abraham Holgate, his father, who 
 was of the same nativity, and by vocation 
 a merchant, came in 1848 with his wife 
 to the United States, locating near Low- 
 ell, Mass., and four years later our sub- 
 ject, then nine years old, and his sister, 
 both of whom had been left in England, 
 in the care of their grandparents, fol- 
 lowed their father and mother to this 
 country, and rejoined them in Massachu- 
 .setts. In 1 8 52 the entire family moved 
 to Illinois, and after a brief sojourn in 
 Chicago proceeded to Marengo, in the 
 same State, where the father conducted 
 a mercantile business up to his death. 
 The mother is now residing at Tacoma, 
 Wash., the father having died at Ma- 
 rengo, Illinois, in 1856. 
 
 Shortly after coming to Illinois the 
 subject proper of these lines found em- 
 ployment as news agent, etc., on what 
 was then known as the Chicago & Galena 
 Union Railroad, now known as the Ga- 
 lena Division of the Chicago & North 
 \\'estcrn railroad, between Chicago and 
 Rockford, the then tcrmimis, which, later, 
 was at F'reeport, and still later at Galena, 
 at which business he continued till 1858. 
 In the fall of that year he received the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPnWAL RKCOIW. 
 
 537 
 
 appointment of traveling agent for tlie 
 same road, lint in 1859 60 we find him 
 learning the life of a pilot on the Red 
 river and lower Mississiiii)i. Returning 
 to Marengo, 111., about one week before 
 the first gim was fired at Vt. Sumter by 
 the Confederates, he, on April 27, 1861, 
 enlisted in a Marengo volunteer rifie com- 
 pany, which was mustered into the 
 United States service as Company I), 
 Fifteenth 111. V. I., ami went into camp 
 at Freeport (this regiment enjoys the dis- 
 tinction of being the Jlrs/ volunteer regi- 
 ment mustered into the l-niteil States 
 service for three years, which was accom- 
 plished at 10 A. M. of the day on which 
 several other regiments were mustered in 
 later. Mr. Hoigate's first service was in 
 Missouri, under command of Col. Grant 
 and Gen. Fremont, on which occasion 
 they took 1,300 Rebel prisoners, and 
 then, December 26, 1861, went into win- 
 ter quarters at Otterville, Mo. From 
 there they were sent to Fort Donelson, 
 Tenn., and from there the regiment was 
 attached to the "fighting Fourth Divis- 
 ion," and was one of the first to reach 
 Pittsburg Landing; at the battle of Shiloh, 
 on the first day of the engagement, April 
 6, the regiment held its position for over 
 an hour, although both flanks were 
 strongly opposed by a superior number of 
 the enemy; but owing to the lack of sup- 
 port the gallant Fifteenth was compelled 
 to retire. At the second attack the Four- 
 teenth and Fifteenth Regiments received 
 the first shock, and filled the terrible gap 
 for over three hours without giving 
 ground, the enemy in the meantime sacri- 
 ficing over 2,000 men — in fact those two 
 regiments were in the hottest of that ter- 
 rible two - days' fight, the celebrated 
 charge on the second day being led by 
 Gen. U. S. Grant in person. The Fif- 
 teenth Regiment also participated in the 
 battles of Corinth, Grand Junction and 
 Lagrange, in the march to relieve Rose- 
 crans at Corinth, the engagements at 
 Metamora Hill and Hatchie I'.ridge, as 
 
 well as throut 
 
 the stirring scenes 
 
 witnessed by the Western armv dm-ing 
 the years 1862 63 64, our subject l)eing 
 in continued active service and in the 
 midst of the iiottt^st engagements u]) to 
 the connnencement of Sherman's Atlanta 
 campaign, when, his tiMTu of enlistment 
 having expired, lie returned liome. He 
 foimd his river experience, before referred 
 to, |)rove of considerable service to him, 
 for at Vicksbnrg, when rinming the forts, 
 he acted as pilot on the " Transp(.)rt," 
 and he had several offers of promotion, 
 all of which, however, he declineil ; in 
 fact, on one occasion he was appointed, 
 by Gen. Hurlbut, captain of a colored 
 company, an hon<)r he jiositively refused. 
 After his retiu'n from the war Mr. 
 Holgate conducted a hotel at Marengo, 
 Ills., until the fall of 181)5, and for a short 
 time was conductor on the Galena Divis- 
 ion of the Chicago & North Western rail- 
 road. In November, 1865, he went to 
 Vicksbnrg, Miss., where he was connected 
 with the "Washington Hotel" until 
 March, 1866, and then rented a planta- 
 tion of 1,400 acres for cotton raising ; but 
 he did not cultivate it long, owing to 
 failure of crop that season, for we soon 
 again find him in the North, in February, 
 1867, coming to Peshtigo, Wis., where 
 he had a sister residing. Here he found 
 employment with the Peshtigo Co. for 
 a time, and, the following yi;ar, 1S68, 
 he came to Marinette to accept the ]iosi- 
 tion of secretary and cashier for the 
 Marinette Iron Works, in wliich ca])acity 
 he continued until 1875, and tht/n em- 
 barked in his present fire insurance busi- 
 ness. In the meantime lie servtul the 
 city as clerk, three terms ; treasurer, two 
 terms, and justice of the peace, several 
 years. Having for some time been mak- 
 ing a study of law, lie in 1879 was ad- 
 mitted to the bar, and at once commenced 
 practice in Marinette. In 1885 he was 
 elected, on the Independent ticket, county 
 judge of Marinette county, taking his seat 
 on the first Monday of [anuary, 1886, 
 and he has served continuously in that 
 incumbency ever since, by re-election, his 
 
53S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 present (third) term expiring in January, 
 189S. 
 
 On January i. 1865, Judge Amos Hol- 
 gate was married at Marengo, 111., to 
 Miss Laura Chatfield, and three children 
 were born to them, namely : John P., 
 who was drowned October 22, 1893, ^^ 
 the age of twenty-seven years, having 
 been washed overboard on the coast of 
 Central America while on a voyage to 
 Valparaiso, Chili; Clinton P., in the 
 insurance business with his father in 
 Marinette, and Charlotte, at home. The 
 Judge is a prominent member of the G. 
 A. K., and of the F. &.A. M., Blue Lodge 
 and Chapter, and no one in the county 
 stands higher in the esteem and regard of 
 the people, his popularity being un- 
 bounded. 
 
 THOMAS P.\KENT. The State of 
 Wisconsin has ever been famed for 
 her vast lumber industries, and for 
 the number and success of the lum- 
 ber businesses established and carried on 
 within her borders. And among the 
 men who have made reputations in this 
 connection none probabh' is more widely 
 or favorably known throughout northern 
 Wisconsin and Michigan than Thomas 
 Parent, who for over a quarter of a cen- 
 tury has been prominently identified with 
 one of the large and properous lumbering 
 concerns of that region. 
 
 Mr. Parent has been engaged in the 
 lumbering business all his life, having fol- 
 lowed it from earliest boyhood, for as 
 soon as able to drive a team he drove 
 his father, who was also a lumberman, to 
 and from camp. Born May 22, 1S43, in 
 the Province of Quebec, Canada, he 
 was reared and educated there, and after 
 following his vocation in that countr\' for 
 a time moved to the State of Maine, 
 where he was employed by a lumber com- 
 pany one year. In 1866 he migrated to 
 Wisconsin and to Marinette, his first em- 
 ployment here being to assist in the rais- 
 
 ing of the vessel "Lone Star, "off Cham- 
 bers Island. He was next engaged in 
 getting out timber for the first dams in 
 this main river, which he helped to build, 
 and in the winter of 1866-67 he drove 
 teams and was otherwise employed for 
 what was then known as the Menominee 
 River Manufacturing Co., now the Me- 
 nominee Kiver Boom Co. In the sum- 
 mer of 1867 he had twenty-five men un- 
 der his charge, to do all the sorting; in 
 1868 his force had been increased to 
 forty men, and has since grown until he 
 is now superintendent over 500 men. He 
 has been superintendent of the Boom 
 Company ever since its organization, hav- 
 ing, in that capacity, charge of the logs 
 after reaching the Menominee river, and 
 in addition to his labors as superintendent 
 of this department has charge of the Com- 
 pany's farm, situated on the Wisconsin 
 sitle, in Porterfield township, Marinette 
 county. In fact all the responsibilities of 
 the management of this vast concern are 
 upon his shoulders — the repairing and 
 other work connected with the dams, 
 looking after supplies, the tugs, steam 
 scows, etc., needed in the business, the 
 work on the drive, and general improving; 
 and, to his credit be it said, no more 
 faithful, painstaking or trustworthy man 
 for such a responsible position, involving 
 as it does the exercise of a vast amount of 
 bodily energy and mental activity, could 
 well be found. He is a man to whom no 
 labor seems too arduous, no risk too 
 great, no task too difficult, to accomplish; 
 and through all his business he has always 
 remained the pleasant, genial and liberal- 
 minded gentleman, one who is honored, 
 and justly so. by all with whom he has 
 come in contact. In Marinette, where 
 he is best known, he is a most respected, 
 influential citizen, and though he has not 
 hatl much time for public matters he has 
 always taken a deep interest in the wel- 
 fare of the town, which he has seen de- 
 velop from a village of 700 inhabitants to 
 its present flourishing condition. In 
 1 89 1 he served as alderman from the 
 
^. 
 
 '7^:^^~iZJy J^/c:i>'i^-<2.''t^- 
 
 ./ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHWAL RECORD. 
 
 539 
 
 Fiftli ward of Marinette, but aside from 
 that has not been in political life to an\' 
 great extent. 
 
 Mr. Parent was married, November 8, 
 1876, in Marinette, to Miss Maire Lemair, 
 who was born in Fond da Lac county. 
 Wis., daughter of Stephen Lemair, an 
 early pioneer of that county, whence he 
 removed to Marinette, dyingthere in 1890; 
 Mrs. Lemair now makes her home with 
 Mr. and Mrs. Parent. In religious con- 
 nection our subject is a member of St. 
 Joseph's Church, Marinette, and socially 
 he is affiliated with the Elks and the Odd 
 Fellows, in the latter connection being a 
 member of Marinette Lodge No. i8y. 
 
 Joseph and Mary (Selrau) Parent, 
 parents of the subject proper of this 
 sketch, were natives of Canada, where 
 the father followed the lumberman's voca- 
 tion, being superintendent for the Wm. 
 Price Co., of Gilmore, Canada. His 
 wife died in that country in 1861, and in 
 1866 he came to Wisconsin, arriving in 
 Marinette the second day of August; he 
 became the owner of property in Menom- 
 inee, where he passed from earth in 
 October, 1893. This couple reared a 
 family of seven children, of whom five 
 are now living, viz. : Thomas, whose 
 name opens this biography; Charles, who 
 was formerly a merchant, of Menominee, 
 Wis., and is now a merchant at Iron 
 Mountain; William, who also resides at 
 Iron Mountain, formerly having his home 
 in Marinette; Clara, Mrs. Samuel Pelkey, 
 who resides in Menominee, Mich. ; and 
 Angeline, Mrs. Lowry, who has her home 
 in Canada. 
 
 CAPTAIN JAMES TOBIN, now a 
 farmer, residing near Florence, 
 Florence count}', enjoys the dis- 
 tinction of being a pioneer in 
 what is now Florence county, and one of 
 the earliest comers to the iron and lum- 
 ber regions of that portion of Wisconsin 
 and Michigan, with which interests he has 
 
 been closely identified for nearly a third 
 of a century, and in their development he 
 has played a conspicuous part. 
 
 He was born in February, 1842, near 
 Montreal, Canada, a son of Michael and 
 Bridget (Moran) Tobin, natives of Ire- 
 land, who when young emigrated to Can- 
 ada, where the father was a merchant. 
 He died there in 1861, ami the inother 
 subsequently removed to the United 
 States, locating at Florence, Wis. , where 
 she died in 1893. The childreh born to 
 them were John, who was an early settler 
 at Marquette, Mich., and subsequently 
 settled at Florence, Wis, , where his death 
 occurred in 1885; Marian, who became 
 Mrs. Pontbriand, and resides at Florence 
 (her husband died in 1887), and James. 
 The latter was reared in Canada, there 
 receiving a common-school education. 
 Before he was grown he left that coun- 
 try, and for a period was employed on 
 sailing boats that plied between Boston 
 and New Brunswick, and for two years, 
 during the Civil war, he was engaged in 
 transporting troops on the James river, 
 and through the South. In 1863 he went 
 to Marquette county. Mich., where he 
 was engaged in smelting ore, and had 
 charge of a blast furnace until 1873; also 
 at intervals during that period he was en- 
 gaged in locating mineral and timber 
 lands. 
 
 In April, 1869, at Marfjuette, Mich., 
 Mr. Tobin was married to Miss Gertrude 
 Le Claire, who was born in Canada, and 
 a daughter of Michael and Zoe (Proul.x) 
 Le Claire, also natives of Canada, and 
 who became pioneers of Marquette, Mich. , 
 and subsequently residents of Florence, 
 Wis. He died there in 1889, and his 
 wife, who survives, is still a resident of 
 Florence. Our subject and wife have an 
 adopted daughter, I-5elle Tobin. Mr. To- 
 bin, from the year 1873 until 1877, was 
 engaged principally in locating mining 
 and timber lands. In April of the last 
 named year he came to what is now Flor- 
 ence county, which lands were then in 
 in their primitive state, with little or no 
 
540 
 
 COMMl^MORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 evidences of civilization, he having come 
 to take charge of the explorations of the 
 Commonwealth mining property. The 
 mine had been located, and a few tests 
 only had been made. No wagon road 
 had been cut, and the surroundings were 
 most primitive. Nfr. Tobin opened up 
 the mine and became its superintend- 
 ent, which position he held until i8Si. 
 Subsequently he was occupied again in 
 explorations in the mining and timber 
 districts of Michigan and Wisconsin, lo- 
 cating mineral and timber lands, and 
 later was interested in the Merrick Lum- 
 ber Company. 
 
 He is now engaged in dealing in real 
 estate, and has interests in iron mineral 
 lands throughout Michigan and Wiscon- 
 sin. The Captain is now located on a 
 beautiful and well-improved farm, which 
 he himself made out of the wilderness, 
 and is enjoying the fruits of his earlier 
 labors. He has under cultivation i6o 
 acres, and 240 in timber; is engaged in 
 general farming, and raises small fruits — 
 grapes, apples, etc. His is probably the 
 oldest family in Florence county. He 
 made the wagon-road to Twin Falls on 
 the Menominee range, and there was 
 then built the road from Ouinnesec, which 
 gave an outlet — the first wagon-road in 
 Florence county. He has been identified 
 with the growth of Florence county 
 since its organization. In politics he is a 
 Republican. He is a member of Xcgau- 
 nee Lodge, of Negaunee, Mich., of Mar- 
 quette Chapter, K. A. M., and of the K. 
 of P., at Xcgaunee; also a member of 
 Florence Lodge, A. O. U. W. Mrs. 
 Tobin is a member of the Catholic 
 Church. 
 
 Hi:XRY SAKGKNT. In northern 
 Wisconsin the most important in- 
 dustry is the lumber trade, and a 
 worthy representative of this vo- 
 cation is our subject, who is doing an ex- 
 tensive business, and by straightforward 
 
 methods, energy and enterprise is acquir- 
 ing a handsome competence. He was 
 born in New Brunswick, Canada, in 1837, 
 and is a son of Thomas and Johanna 
 (Sullivan) Sargent, natives of Ireland. 
 Crossing the Atlantic, the father engaged 
 in farming and lumbering in New Bruns- 
 wick until his death. His wife survived 
 him five years, but has now also passed 
 away. They reared a family of five sons 
 — Thomas, who came to Oconto in 1857, 
 but is now residing in Santa Cruz, Cal. ; 
 Henry; W'illiam, who is living in New 
 Brunswick; Edward, who came to Oconto 
 in 1 864, but since i 888 has been a resident 
 of \\'ashington; and James, who came to 
 Oconto in 1865, and is now one of its 
 prominent lumber merchants. 
 
 Mr. Sargent, the subject proper of this 
 review, was reared in his native land until 
 nineteen years of age, and obtained his 
 education in its public schools. He then 
 determined to seek a home in this State, 
 journeyed to Chicago, thence coming by 
 water to Pensaukee, Oconto county, 
 where he entered the employ of the F. B. 
 Gardner Lumber Company, and assisted 
 in building a mill at Little Sturgeon, Wis. 
 He afterward engaged in jobbing on the 
 Oconto river. Since i860 he has been 
 doing a jobbing business in lumber in 
 both Marinette and Oconto counties and 
 in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He 
 has succeetled in building up cjuite an ex- 
 tensive trade, and furnishing employment 
 to from fifty to two hundred men. He 
 has also opened up a fine farm, first pur- 
 chasing forty acres of land to which he has 
 added from time to time, and he now has 
 200 acres under a high state of cultiva- 
 tion. 
 
 Mr. Sargent was married in Oconto, in 
 1866, to Miss Victoria Adams, a native 
 of Maine, and a daughter of Samuel and 
 Minerva (Randall) Adams. Her parents 
 were also natives of the Pine Tree State, 
 and in 1857 emigrated to Green Bay, 
 Wis., where the father, who had formerly 
 been a sea captian, engaged in ship build- 
 ing. He there built two vessels, after 
 
COMMEMORATIVE niOORAPIHOAL RECORD. 
 
 5-'l' 
 
 which he removed to Oconto. In 1863 
 he enhsted in the First Wisconsni Cav- 
 alry, and after close of the war he engaged 
 in farming until his death which occurred 
 in 1S84. His widow is still living in 
 Oconto. Two children graced the union 
 of our subject and his wife: Minnie, who 
 was married, in 18SS, to W. A. McDon- 
 ald, of Green Bay, Wis. ; and Bessie, at 
 school. Mrs. Sargent and her family are 
 Christian Scientists. 
 
 In politics, our subject is independent, 
 voting for the man whom he thinks best 
 qualified for office, regardless of party 
 affiliations. He is a member of Pine 
 Lodge, No. 88, F. & A. M. Mr. Sargent is 
 a genial, courteousgentleman, whose name 
 is a synonym for honorable dealing, and 
 who owes his prosperity in life to his self- 
 reliance, sound judgment, and, above all, 
 to his indefatigable energy. 
 
 JOSEPH LEROY, who is promi- 
 nently connected with the political 
 and social interests of Marinette, 
 and, as proprietor of the leading 
 hotel of the place, was a worthy repre- 
 sentative of its business interests, is a pop- 
 ular citizen, well deserving of mention in 
 this volume. 
 
 He was born in Baldwinsville, N. Y., 
 September 8, 1852, and is a son of Joseph 
 and Elizabeth (Rober) Leroy. The father 
 was born in Prescott, Canada, in March, 
 1827, and his parents, John and Adelia 
 fBlonden) Leroy, were also natives of Can- 
 ada, whence in 1835 they removed to Og- 
 densburg, N. Y. The grandfather en- 
 gaged in the lumber business in his native 
 country, and served as a soldier in the 
 patriot war. From Ogdensburg he re- 
 moved to Watertown, N. Y., and snbse- 
 quently went to Baldwinsville, where, after 
 a forty-years' residence, his death occured 
 in 1S85, when he was eighty-three years 
 old. His wife diedsi.xty days previous, at 
 the age of seventy-nine. The}' reared a 
 fainih' of eight children: John, the eldest. 
 
 came to Wisconsin in 1856, and after liv- 
 ing on Beaver Island and in Egg Harbor, 
 Door county, went to the West, his death 
 occurring in Kansas, in 1870; Joseph was 
 second in the family; Mrs. Adelia Kober 
 resides in Baldwinsville, N. Y. ; Lewis, 
 who located in Egg Harbor, in 1859, and 
 later removed to Menominee, Mich., after- 
 ward made his home in Marinette, but 
 since 1888 has li\-ed in Pacific county. 
 Wash. ; William is a resident of Hoboken, 
 N. J. ; Mrs. Mary Smith makes her home 
 in Oswego, N. Y. ; Charlie died in .\1- 
 bany, N. Y., in 1889; hVank resides in 
 Baldwinsville, New York. 
 
 The father of our subject went with 
 his parents to the Empire State, and was 
 there reared and educated. He married 
 Miss Elizabeth Rober, a native of Roches- 
 ter, N. Y. , and a daughter of Joseph and 
 Elizabeth Rober, natives of Canada. The 
 father, who was a business man of Roches- 
 ter for many years, died in Baldwinsville, 
 in i860, at the age of eighty-four. His 
 widow afterward came to Marinette, and 
 died at the home of our subject in 1882, 
 at the advanced age of ninety-three. 
 
 Joseph Leroy, Sr. , was a captain on the 
 Erie canal, owning a line of boats. Dis- 
 posing of his interests in the East, he in 
 1 863 removed to Egg Harbor, Door county. 
 Wis., locating on a farm, which he con- 
 tinued to cultivate until 1867. He then 
 went to Menominee, Mich., and leased 
 the "Menominee Hotel," which he sub- 
 sequently purchased and rebuilt. In 1872 
 he bought the " Dunlap Hotel" in Mari- 
 nette, which he conducted in connection 
 with the "Menominee Hotel," as well as 
 carrying on the real-estate business. He 
 took an active interest in everything per- 
 taining to the welfare of the county, was 
 very liberal and public-spirited, and was 
 numbered among the valued citizens. A 
 man of strong physique and wonderful 
 energy, he carried forward to successful 
 completion whatever he undertook. An 
 ardent Repul)lican, he was nominated for 
 county sheriff, in 1872, while in Menomi- 
 nee, but resigned his office to take charge 
 
542 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 of the " Dunlap Hotel" of Marinette. 
 He died January 20, 1880, respected by 
 all who knew him, and his estimable wife 
 crossed the dark river September 1 8, 1 884. 
 Their family numbered three children: 
 Joseph; Mrs. Lillie Kaiche, of Marinette; 
 and Josephine, who is livinj,' with her 
 brother. 
 
 Mr. Leroy, the subject proper of this 
 review, spent the first eleven jears of his 
 life in the State of his nativity, and then 
 accompanied his parents to Door county. 
 Wis., where he pursued his studies in the 
 schools of Egg Harbor, completing his 
 education there. When his school life 
 was over he engaged in the hotel business 
 with his father, and had charge of the 
 "Dunlap Hotel" for some years, making 
 it a first-class establishment, one that be- 
 came very popular with the traveling 
 public. 
 
 In 1873, in Marinette, Mr. Leroy 
 wedded Miss Laura Biechle, a native of 
 Austria, and a daugiiter of Anton and 
 Barbara Beichle, also natives of that 
 countrj', and crossing the ocean in 1856 
 took up their abode in Menasha, Wis. 
 The father, who was a well-educated man, 
 a teacher by profession, died in Menasha 
 in 1856; his widow passed away in the 
 same city in 1 892. They were the parents 
 of four daughters and one son who are 
 living: Mrs. Snyder, of Menasha; Mrs. 
 Joseph Pyer, of Appleton; .Anton, of Fond 
 du Lac, Wis. ; Mrs. John Obenveiser, of 
 Menasha; and Mrs. Leroy. They also 
 lost two children. To Mr. and Mrs. Le- 
 roy have been born five children: Edward 
 Webster, city editor of the Daily Ea^^lc, 
 of Marinette, apd correspondent for other 
 papers; Lillian, who is employed as a 
 stenographer: and Emma L. , Elizabeth 
 Laura and Benjamin Harrison, who are 
 still under the parental roof. 
 
 In his political afliliations, Mr. Leroy 
 is a Republican, stanchly advocating the 
 principles of that party, is prominent in 
 its councils, and a recognized leader in its 
 circles. In 1879 he was elected justice 
 of the peace, but after serving for a time 
 
 he resigned. In 1885 he was elected as 
 treasurer of Marinette, creditably filling 
 that position for two terms, after which 
 he was elected register of deeds. He filled 
 that office for one term, and was re- 
 nominated, but met with defeat during 
 the campaign of the Bennett law. He 
 has served on various committees of his 
 party, was a member of the State Central 
 Committee for two years, served on the 
 County Central Committee, and was at 
 one time its chairman. He has ever dis- 
 charged his duties in a most satisfactory 
 manner, and his public and private life 
 are alike commendable. He and his fam- 
 ily are members of Our Lady of Lourdes 
 Catholic Church, and he was one of 
 the prime movers in the State organiza- 
 tion of the Order of Catholic Knights. 
 Genial and pleasant, Mr. Leroy is a popu- 
 lar citizen, having many warm friends, 
 and all who know him have a high regard 
 for him. 
 
 HON. D. G. CLASSON, county 
 judge of Oconto county, is one of 
 the most prominent and honored 
 citizens of this section of northern 
 Wisconsin. To his present responsible 
 position he was elected when only twenty- 
 three years of age, a record that but few 
 members of the legal profession can boast 
 of. His administration of justice has prov- 
 en that the confidence reposed in him and 
 his ability is not misplaced, and his course 
 on the bench has given more than general 
 satisfaction. The Judge entered upon the 
 duties of the office in January, 1894, and 
 is now most acceptably serving in that 
 capacity, presiding with a dignity that far 
 exceeds his years, and showing by his able 
 decision of cases that he is a thorough 
 master of the situation. 
 
 Judge Classon is a favorite son of 
 Oconto county. He was born in Oconto 
 township, September 27, 1869, and is a 
 son of W. J. and Adeline (Leger) Classon. 
 The father was born in Vermont, but was 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 543 
 
 reared in Canada, wliich was the native 
 country of the mother. Their inarria,t;e, 
 however, was celebrated in Manitowoc, 
 Wis., whence they removed to Oconto, 
 and Mr. Chisson has since been niimberecJ 
 amonf,'' its leadint;' business men. He 
 served during the Civil war as a member 
 of the Twenty-seventh Wis. V. I. In the 
 family there are six children: Mrs. Abbie 
 Moody, of ]>rookside, Wis. ; George, of 
 Oeout(j; Edmond, a farmer of Oconto 
 count}'; W. (., of Oconto; I), (i. ; and 
 Allen, at home. 
 
 Under the parental roof oiu' subji.-ct 
 spent his childhood days, and he acquired 
 his preliminary education in the public 
 schools of Oconto, graduating from the 
 high scli(.)ol in the class of icSSj. In the 
 fall of 1889 he entered the Wisconsin 
 State University, at Madison, and was 
 graduated from ihc I^aw Department with 
 the class of 'gi. hnmediately thereafter 
 he entered upon the practice of law in 
 Oconto, and became associated with 
 Judge Bailey, tlien county judge. He 
 was afterward alone in business for a 
 time, or until 189.V in which year the 
 present firm of Webster & Classon was 
 formed. The Judge practices in all the 
 courts of Wisconsin and Michigan, and is 
 considered a lawyer of sui)erior ability, a 
 wise counselor and an able ad\ocate. 
 
 On June 14, 189^, Judge I). G. Clas- 
 son was united in marriage with Miss 
 Mabel liurnside, a native of Manitowoc 
 county. Wis., and a daughter of W. 11. 
 and Loviiia (Classon) Burnside, the for- 
 mer born in New York, the latter in Man- 
 itowoc county; they are now residing in 
 Stiles township, Oconto county. In j^oli- 
 tics the Judge takes quite an active inter- 
 est, as a recognized leader in the ranks of 
 the Republican part}'. Socially he is a 
 member of Pine Lodge No. 188, F. & A. 
 M. , of Oconto Lodge No. 94, K. P., and 
 of Oconto Camp No. 1465, M. W. A. 
 He is also district deputy grand chancellor 
 in the Knights of Pythias Fraternity, and 
 is a valued member of all these organi- 
 zations. 
 
 31 
 
 CF. WHITING has resided in 
 Oconto township, Oconto comity, 
 from the agi? of four years, having 
 come hither from Maine with his 
 parents, David E. and b^li/abeth (R}'der) 
 Whiting, both of whom were natives of 
 that State, whore they were married. 
 
 David F.. Whiting was a carpenter by 
 trade. In the fall of 1856 he migrated 
 with his family to (Jconto township, on 
 the Oconto river, where he still makes 
 his home. He purchaseil an eighty-acre 
 tract of school land, which was thcMi all 
 in the woods, but ho lost no time in 
 ccjmmencing the woik of improving it, 
 and contimied until he had the entire 
 tract cleared and under cultivation. Mrs. 
 Whiting passcnl from earth in 1883, and 
 Mr. Whiting subsequent!}- wedded Mrs. 
 Nutt. By his first marriage he was the 
 father of seven sons, of whom those whose 
 names appe;ir on this sketch are living: 
 C. I"., whose name apjiears at the o])en- 
 ing of this sketch; J. A., W. F. , L. IC, 
 and |. 1;., all of whom are married ;md 
 reside in Oconto township, where the 
 Whiting family was the lirst to make a 
 permanent settlement. 
 
 Our suliject was born in October, 
 1852, in hioston, Mass. Coming here at 
 the age of four years, he received all his 
 educaticMi in tlu; district schools, obtain- 
 ing his knowledge of farming, which has 
 been his life pursuit, under the tuition 
 of his father. He is the owner of a line 
 farm of eighty acres, lying in Section if), 
 which is under a good state of cultivation, 
 ami during his earlier years, inaildition to 
 agriculture, he engaged to some extent in 
 lumboi'ing. 
 
 In 1875, in Oconto township, Oconto 
 county, Mr. Whiting wedded Miss Julia 
 C. Ordway, a native of Maine, where her 
 parents, James S. and Mary C. (C'hcney) 
 Ordway, were also born. The Ordway 
 family came to Oconto county in 1856, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ordway subsequently re- 
 moving to Oregon, where he died in F"cb-' 
 ruary, 1891, and wluM'e, in the city of 
 Portland, she is still living. To Mr. and 
 
544 
 
 COMMEMOUATIVE BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 Mrs. W'hitiufj have come two children — 
 J. E. and Jessie Dell. Mr. Whiting has 
 been active in local affairs, and thouj^h 
 not an office-seeker has held various posi- 
 tions of trust in his township, with faith- 
 fulness and ability. He is a member of 
 the school board and clerk of his district, 
 and is also serving as chairman of Oconto 
 township, which important office he was 
 first elected to in 1892, and has held con- 
 tinuously since- — a fact which in itself is 
 sufficient evidence of the efficient manner 
 in which his official duties are discharged. 
 In political sentiment he is a Republican. 
 
 GW. HANLEY, secretary of the 
 Menominee River Boom Com- 
 pany, has occupied that position 
 since January, 1890. The pres- 
 ent officers of the company are Isaac 
 Stephenson, president; S. M. Stephenson, 
 vice-president; A. C. Merryman, treasurer; 
 Thomas Parent, superintendent. The 
 Boom Company was organized in 1867, 
 and incorporated that year, under the 
 name of the Monominee River Manufac- 
 turing Company. Its incorporators were 
 Jesse Spalding, Harrison Ludington, Nel- 
 son Ludington, Daniel Wells, Jr., Abner 
 Kirby, Isaac Stephenson, S. M. Stephen- 
 son, Robert Stephenson, W. A. Carpen- 
 ter, Truman Woodford, Ely Wright, and 
 Richard Hall. In 1887, it was incorpo- 
 rated under the name of the Menominee 
 River Boom Company, and articles filed 
 in both Michigan and Wisconsin. The 
 company has charge of all improvements 
 of the Menominee river and its tributaries. 
 Having established the business in 1867, it 
 is one of the oldest institutions on the Me- 
 nominee river, and one of the essential 
 factors of the development of this section 
 of the country. 
 
 The business of the Boom Company is 
 that of driving logs from the head waters 
 of the Menominee river. From 1868 to 
 1895. inclusive, 8,097,928,479 feet of logs 
 passed down this river. The largest scale 
 was in 1889, when 642,137.318 feet of 
 
 logs were passed. Since then, the scale 
 has decreased, though the number of 
 pieces handled has increased. The com- 
 pany gives employment to an average of 
 five hundred men, from April to Decem- 
 ber in each year. In 1895, the aggregate 
 pay roll was $123,931.85. The earnings 
 for 1 895 were $2 56, 48 1 . 98. The expenses 
 for labor and supplies were $168,911.27, 
 leaving a profit of $87, 570. 7 1 . The com- 
 pany have invested in dams, real estate 
 and buildings and other personal property, 
 to the amount of $1,822,686.07. 
 
 G. W. Hanley is a native of Wisconsin, 
 born in Whitewater, W'alworth county, 
 in 1856, and is the son of M. J. and Ann 
 (Thorpe) Hanley, the former a native of 
 Ireland, the latter of New York. The 
 father emigrated from Ireland with his 
 parents in childhood, grew to manhood 
 in New York, and in an early day re- 
 moved to Milwaukee, Wis., where he 
 engaged in the mercantile business. Later 
 he removed to Whitewater, W'is. , where 
 he remained one year; and then returned 
 to Milwaukee, and there died, in 1867, at 
 the age of thirty-nine years, leaving six 
 children: G. \\'., our subject; J. E., who 
 resides in Colorado; Mrs. F. J. W'hite, of 
 Milwaukee; Arthur R. ; Frank J. and 
 Stephen, all of whom reside in Milwaukee, 
 where the mother yet makes her home. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared 
 in Milwaukee and educated in St. John's 
 Cathedral parochial school. At the age 
 of ten years he went into the law office 
 of Matt H. Carpenter, where he remained 
 two years, and then worked in different 
 capacities in Milwaukee, until he at- 
 tained his majority. For a time he was 
 chief clerk in the land department of the 
 Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad, 
 and resigned that position on his removal 
 to Peshtigo. Previous to his removal to 
 the latter place, he was associated with 
 the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal & Harbor 
 Company, and in this way became ac- 
 quainted with those w'ith whom he has 
 since been associated in business. His 
 removal to Peshtigo was in 1883, the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 545 
 
 place then being the largest in northern 
 Wisconsin. In addition to his connection 
 with the Boom Company, he is also sec- 
 retary of the Marinette Hotel Company; 
 secretary of the Marinette Gas, Electric 
 Light & Street Railway Company; secre- 
 tary of the Marinette Business Men's 
 Association, and secretary of the Mari- 
 nette & Western Railway Company. 
 
 In 1882, Mr. Hanley was united in 
 marriage at Milwaukee, Wis., with Miss 
 Agnes Griffin, a native of Milwaukee, and 
 daughter of Michael Griffin, a pioneer 
 business man of that city, who is now de- 
 ceased. Bj' this union two children have 
 been born: Marie and Gertrude. 
 
 Mr. Hanley is a member of the Roman 
 Catholic Church, and in politics is a 
 stanch Republican; has been chairman of 
 the Marinette County Republican Com- 
 mittee and a member of the Republican 
 State Central Committee of Wisconsin. 
 In the political affairs of State and Na- 
 tion he has ever taken an active interest, 
 and has been an advocate of the princi- 
 ples of the Republican party since attain- 
 ing his majority, but has never allowed 
 his name to be used for political office. 
 He is a thorough business man, and, in 
 addition to what has already been men- 
 tioned, he is interested in the Fenton 
 Clothing Company. He is a man of 
 pleasing address, and one whom it is a 
 pleasure to meet. 
 
 HENRY SCHEFFEN. As a con- 
 tinuous resident of Oconto county 
 for nearly forty years, Mr. Schef- 
 fen has been intimately associated 
 with its growth and advancement, espe- 
 cially in Oconto township, where he has 
 been engaged in farming since 1865. 
 
 Mr. Scheffen is a native of Prussia, 
 Germany, born April 2, 1835, son of John 
 and Mary Scheffen, who were also born 
 in Prussia, where the father, who was a 
 farmer, died in 1838. The mother re- 
 moved to Paris, France, in 1848, and 
 died in that city at the advanced age of 
 
 eighty-nine years. There were seven 
 children in the family — Mary, deceased; 
 Frank and John, both of whom live in 
 Prussia; Henry; Joseph, who died in 
 Paris; Catherine, deceased; and Mar- 
 garet (Mrs. Waggoner), of Paris, France. 
 
 Our subject was educated in Prussia, 
 where he was reared up to the age of 
 thirteen, at which time he removed to 
 Paris, France, remaining in that city up 
 to the time of his emigration to America, 
 in 1857. He set sail from Havre on a 
 sailing vessel, and after a voyage of thirty- 
 six days landed at New York, whence he 
 proceeded westward to Wisconsin, on the 
 way meeting a family on the boat whom 
 he brought to Sheboygan. He located 
 in the then village of Oconto, being an 
 early comer, and remained there, working 
 in the water mills, until 1861, in Novem- 
 ber of which year he enlisted in the Union 
 army. He joined Company F, Twelfth 
 Wis. V. I., for three years, was mus- 
 tered into service at Madison, and served 
 until the close of the war, re-enlisting in 
 January, 1864, at Natchez, Miss. He 
 participated in nearly all the engagements 
 of the Seventeenth Army Corps, was 
 with Sherman on the famous march to 
 the sea, marched through to Washington 
 at the end of the conflict and took part 
 in the Grand Review at that city. In July, 
 1865, he was honorably discharged at 
 Louisville, Ky., and returned to Oconto. 
 
 After his return from the army, in 
 1865, Mr. Scheffen bought a tract of forty 
 acres in the woods of Oconto township, 
 which he cleared, and he now owns eighty 
 acres in Oconto township, where he fol- 
 lows general farming. He has taken an 
 active interest in the affairs of the com- 
 munity, assisted in organizing the school 
 district, and has served as school director 
 and school clerk. In 1883 he was elected 
 to the town board, and has since been a 
 member of same the greater part of the 
 time. Politically he is a member of the 
 Republican party. He was married, in 
 Oconto, October 28, 1865, to Miss Au- 
 gusta Dupee, who was born in Belgium, 
 
546 
 
 COMMEMORATrFE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of which country her parents, John and 
 Angeline Diipee, were also natives. They 
 came in 1857 to Oconto township, where 
 Mr. Dupee now resides, with our subject, 
 Mrs. Dupee having died March 7. 1894. 
 Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Scheffen, five of whom are living, viz. : 
 Charley (who is married and lives in 
 Oconto), Mary (deceased), Joseph, Frank, 
 John and Amelia. In religious faith Mr. 
 Scheffen is a member of the Roman 
 Catholic Church, and socially he is a 
 member of E. A. Ramsey Post No. 74, 
 G. A. R. 
 
 RICHARD LEWIS HALL (de- 
 ceased) was one of the honored 
 pioneer settlers of Oconto count}', 
 and belonged to that class whose 
 earnest efforts toward the upbuilding and 
 development of the locality won them the 
 gratitude of all. To pioneer settlers there 
 falls an arduous work such as the present 
 generation can hardly imagine, and for 
 which they should feel truly thankful, for 
 the influences of civilization, progress and 
 improvement have been placed at their 
 disposal by these first settlers. 
 
 Mr. Hall was born in Ithaca, N. 
 Y. , August 7, 1833, and was a son of 
 Dr. Jonathan Corey and Lydia Ann 
 (Andrus) Hall, both natives of Spencer, 
 N. Y. The father became a prominent 
 physician of Ithaca, and had an extensive 
 practice. Wishing to retire from that 
 field of labor, he came to Wisconsin and 
 purchased a water mill on the Menominee 
 river. He also engaged in practice to 
 some extent, and made Marinette his 
 home. There he died, and his wife 
 passed away a year later in Oconto. 
 They had four children : Richard L. ; 
 Mrs. Mary E. Bentley, who died in 
 Marinette, Wis. ; Isadore, who died at 
 the age of twelve years in Marinette; and 
 Ben R. , living in Marinette. 
 
 Our subject was only twelve years of 
 age when he accompanied his parents to 
 that place. He had previously attended 
 
 the schools of Ithaca, was a verj- apt 
 student, and when locating in Wisconsin 
 was already a good Latin scholar. On 
 June 6, 1853, he graduated from a busi- 
 ness college in Chicago, and was always 
 well informed on current events, pos- 
 sessed of broad general information. He 
 then took up the study of surveying which 
 he mastered, was employed to survey the 
 islands in the Menominee river, and lo- 
 cated a number of tracts of land. In 
 1857 he came to Oconto, where he en- 
 gaged in surveying, following that pursuit 
 for some time. He then entered the ab- 
 stract business, which he continued during 
 the remainder of his life. 
 
 In 1859, at Rosemond, Christian Co., 
 111., Mr. Hall was united in marriage 
 with Miss Abbie J. Hill, a native of New 
 York City, and third in the family of Ed- 
 ward S. and Catherine (Houghton) Hill. 
 By their marriage our subject and his 
 wife have become the parents of eight 
 children: Edward J., a surveyor in Pen- 
 saukee. Wis. ; Richard L. , who is in the 
 abstract office in Oconto; William B. , 
 city engineer; Charles Bancroft, an elec- 
 trician; and four who have passed away 
 — May Frances, the eldest in the family, 
 who died at the age of two years; Kate, 
 the third child, who died in 1884, at the 
 age of nineteen; Ben A., the fifth child, 
 who left home at the age of twenty; and 
 Andrew H., the youngest, who died at 
 the age of two years. 
 
 Mr. Hall voted with the Republican 
 party, and took quite an active interest in 
 political affairs. He served as county 
 treasurer for some years, also as county 
 clerk, and for an extended period was 
 clerk of the court, filling that office at the 
 time of his death, which occurred Feb- 
 ruary 15, 1892. In religious faith Mr. 
 Hall was a Presbyterian, and on the or- 
 ganization of the Church in Oconto he 
 was made elder; he also served as super- 
 intendent of the Sunday-school ; but in 
 his later years, owing to ill health, did 
 not attend Church. His upright, honor- 
 able life was one well worthy of emula- 
 
COMMEMOrxATTVE BTOOnAPniCAL UKCOUD. 
 
 517 
 
 tion. He always took an active interest 
 in everything pertaining to the good of 
 the city or county, and in his death the 
 community lost one of its valued resi- 
 dents. 
 
 JOHN WINDROSS, a prosperous 
 farmer of Pensaukec townsiiip, 
 Oconto county, has resided there for 
 nearly half a century, engaged for 
 the most part in agricultural pursuits on 
 the farm which he still owns and resides 
 upon. 
 
 Mr. Windross is an Englishman" by 
 birth, born May 21, 1821, in Yorkshire, 
 where his parents, John and [emima 
 (Sketton) Windross, were also born. In 
 1833 the family sailed from Hull, Eng- 
 land, landing after a voyage of si.\ weeks 
 and three days at New York City. They 
 first lived in Oneida county, N. Y. , near 
 Utica, where Mr. Windross engaged in 
 gardening, and in 1837 came to W^is- 
 consin, locating on what is now the Kel- 
 logg farm in Brown county, where he 
 followed agriculture. They subsequently 
 came to Oconto county, living on a farm 
 along the Bay Shore at Oak Orchard, 
 Pensaukee township, where they were 
 among the earliest settlers, and here they 
 conducted a tavern. On this farm the 
 father died in 1858, the mother in 1878. 
 There were four children in the famil}-, 
 viz.: William, who li\'eswith Charles and 
 is unmarried; Charles, who is married 
 and resides in Pensaukee township; Anna, 
 (Mrs. Hale), of Peshtigo; and John. 
 
 John Windross received his education 
 in England, and after leaving school con- 
 tinued to apply himself diligently to 
 study, with the result that he now has a 
 good practical education. He remained 
 in his native country up to his twelfth 
 year, when he came with his parents to 
 this country. He lived with them in New 
 York State until he was seventeen, when, 
 in June, 1837, the family migrated west- 
 ward to Wisconsin, locating first, as 
 above recorded, in Brown county. On 
 
 May 18, 1847, John Windross settled in 
 Pensaukee township, on the farm wliich 
 has since been his home, and which lies 
 in Sections 23 and 26. Tiie homestead 
 which he took up e.xtends one and three- 
 (juarters miles along the bay shore, and 
 was then all in the woods. Mr. Windross 
 built a log house, and has since devoted 
 himself to the improvement and cultiva- 
 tion of his place, which comprises 220 
 acres of land, seventy of which are clear- 
 ed; he is engaged in general agriculture 
 and gardening, whicli has been his life 
 vocation. Mr. Windross has had his 
 home in Wisconsin since the days when 
 it was a Territory, and he has lived to 
 witness the almost complete transforma- 
 tion of the northern part of the State. 
 During the early da\'s he experienced, 
 with all those whose lot is cast in a newly 
 settled region, the numerous vicissitudes 
 and hardships of pioneer life. Many 
 privations and inconveniences had to be 
 born, and they were obliged to go to 
 Green Bay, a distance of twenty-five miles, 
 for their provisions. Our subject is prob- 
 ably one of the oldest settlers in Oconto 
 county. 
 
 In 1855 Mr. Windross was married, 
 in Brown county, to Miss Ann Redmond, 
 a native of Ireland, whose parents, Pat- 
 rick and Mary (Stedman) Redmond, were 
 also born in the Emerald Isle, and passed 
 their entire lives there. Mrs. Windross 
 and her brother Patrick came to America, 
 in 1850 locating in Green Bay, Wis., 
 where they married. Patrick Redmond 
 now resides in Poygan, Winnebago county, 
 W'is. Eight children have been born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Windross, as follows: David, 
 who died in 1869, aged thirteen years; 
 Judith (Mrs. Bell), who resides in Pesh- 
 tigo; Afary (Mrs. Powell), wlio died in 
 1893; Ann, who died when three years 
 old; Hannah (Mrs. Snyder), of Pensaukee 
 township; Sarah (Mrs. Anderson), a 
 widow, resitling at home; John, who died 
 in 1892; antl Kate (Mrs. John (irosse), 
 of Suamico, Oconto coinitw Mr. Win- 
 dross' family are Catholics in religious 
 
S4S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 faith. He has been active in local affairs, 
 and assisted in organizing Pensaukee town- 
 ship, on the board of which he has served 
 as a member; he has also filled the office 
 of justice of the peace. In political afiili- 
 ation he is a Republican. 
 
 FA. HANSON, M. D., is success- 
 fully engaged in the practice of 
 medicine in Abrams, Oconto coun- 
 ty, and, though a young man, has 
 gained a reputation which many an older 
 practitioner might well envy. He was 
 born in McKeesport, Penn. , in 1862, and 
 is a son of Gunder and Dora (Wiemann) 
 Hanson, the former a native of Norway, 
 the latter of Germany. Having emi- 
 grated to the United States in early life, 
 they were married in Pennsylvania, and 
 in 1865 came with their family to Two 
 Rivers, Manitowoc Co., Wis., where the 
 father worked in a chair factory until 
 1870. He then removed to Green Bay, 
 
 same State, where he engaged 
 
 the 
 
 milling business for a quarter of a century, 
 when, in 1 895, he came to Oconto county, 
 and is now farming in Pensaukee town- 
 ship. His wife is also living, and their 
 family circle now numbers three sons, all 
 that is left of eight; Theodore is living in 
 Abrams, and Charlie resides in Pensaukee 
 township. 
 
 The Doctor was only three years of 
 age when brought b)' the family to the 
 Badger State, and when a child of nine 
 removed to Green Bay. There he ac- 
 quired his education in the public schools, 
 after which he turned his attention to the 
 milling business, and later worked in the 
 store of Albright & Co. He also was 
 employed in the post office for eight 
 years, acting as assistant to Postmasters 
 Kimball and Bailey. His leisure hours 
 during that time he devoted to the study 
 of medicine, and in 1884 he entered the 
 College of Physicians and Surgeons, at 
 Chicago, from which institution he was 
 graduated with the class of '87. After 
 
 a year spent in practice in Winneconne, 
 Wis., he removed to Amberg in 1889, 
 and served as physician for the Amberg 
 Granite Company until January, 1892, 
 when he established an office in .Abrams, 
 where he has succeeded in building up a 
 large and lucrative practice. He has also 
 for three years served as health officer of 
 Abrams and Pensaukee township, and is 
 a member of the Fox River Medical So- 
 ciety. 
 
 In Oconomowoc, Wis., in September, 
 1846, Dr. Hanson was married to Miss 
 Mar}' W' . Moon, a native of that city, and 
 a daughter of N. P. and Mary (Brown) 
 Moon, the former of whom is deceased, 
 the latter still living in Green Bay. To 
 our subject and his wife have been born 
 two children : Ben Cyrus and Ethel 
 Louise. The Doctor votes with the Re- 
 publican party, and is a progressive and 
 public-spirited citizen, withholding his 
 support from no enterprise calculated to 
 prove of public benefit. 
 
 RR. YE A TON. the founder of 
 Abrams, Oconto county, is a na- 
 tive of New Hampshire, born April 
 2, 1 8 19, in Portsmouth, where his 
 parents, John Marvin and Hannah (Oliver) 
 Yeaton, were also born. 
 
 The father of our subject served in the 
 war of 1 81 2. He was a sea-faring man, 
 and was captain of the brig "Planet," 
 sailing between Portsmouth and the West 
 Indies, and which was owned by Capt. 
 Thomas E. Oliver, his wife's uncle. Capt. 
 Yeaton died in Guilford. N. H., in 1859; 
 his wife had passed away in 1825. The\- 
 had a family of five children, two of whom 
 came to Wisconsin, as follows: Elizabeth, 
 who died in Portsmouth, N. H. ; Robert, 
 who came to Oconto county in an early 
 day, and died there in 1888 (he enlisted 
 from Oconto county during the Civil war); 
 R. B., whose name introduces these lines; 
 Sylvester, who died in Albany, N. Y. (he 
 was engineer on ocean steamers); and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOOIiAPinCAL RECORD. 
 
 549 
 
 Mary, who was married to Daniel Spoke- 
 field, at Lakeport, N. H., where she died 
 in 1858. 
 
 Up to the age of six years R. H. 
 Yeaton was reared in his native town, 
 moving thence to Guilford, N. H., where 
 he attended school. His father had mar- 
 ried again, this time to Miss Deborah 
 Rand, of Guilford. At the early age of 
 nine years he was bound out to serve un- 
 til the age of twenty-one, but when fifteen 
 years old he broke his bonds and started 
 out for himself. He traveled on foot to 
 Cape Ann, Mass., to Daniel Steele, who 
 secured a place for him on Thatcher's Isl- 
 and, with the lighthouse keeper, Capt. 
 Wheeler; for three years he continued to 
 work thus, in the meantime studying un- 
 der a private teacher. Next entering a 
 shop at Plymouth, N. H., he learned the 
 machinist trade, which he also followed 
 at Lowell, Mass., becoming a practical 
 engineer and serving as such on an ocean 
 vessel which plied between Newburyport 
 and Boston. Later, the vessel having 
 been sold, he took her to New Orleans, 
 and sailed between New Orleans and Vera 
 Cruz, carrying supplies to Mexican sol- 
 diers, and remaining south until 1849. 
 On returning to Lowell, Mass., he entered 
 the shop of the Merriman Manufacturing 
 Co., at that place, with whom he re- 
 mained until his migration to Wisconsin, 
 in 1S60. He arrived in Pensaukee town- 
 ship, Oconto county, May i, and pur- 
 chased 120 acres of wild land where the 
 town of Abrams now stands, which was 
 then all in the woods, and which he com- 
 menced to clear. Being a blacksmith, he 
 followed the trade here, those he worked 
 for laboring on his land, in payment of 
 his services. The place was then known 
 as West Pensaukee, but is now called 
 Adrams, and Mr. Yeaton was the first per- 
 manent settler. 
 
 In February, 1863, Mr. Yeaton re- 
 turned to Massachusetts, and on the i8th 
 of that month enlisted, at Chelsea, Mass., 
 in the Sixteenth Massachusetts Light Ar- 
 tiller}', for three years or iluring the war, 
 
 was mustered into the service at Boston, 
 and assigned to the army of the Potomac. 
 He saw active service at the battles of Cold 
 Harbor, South Mountain, the Wilderness, 
 Spottsylvania, and Chancellorsville, and 
 was in many skirmishes. He was also at 
 Harper's Ferry and Chambersburg, Md., 
 where they captured horses, supplies and 
 prisoners. Our subject was twice wound- 
 ed, his first injury being a gunshot wound, 
 in the right hip, which he received at 
 Sjiotts^'lvania, and during the battle of the 
 Wilderness he was wounded by a shell in 
 the right ankle. He dislocated his right 
 hip while helping to lift a gun from the 
 carriage, so the enemy could not capture 
 it. Mr. Yeaton was confined at Lincoln 
 Hospital, Washington, D. C, later at Ar- 
 mory Square, and was then transferred 
 to the hopital at Whitehall, Penn., where 
 he received an honorable discharge June 
 25, 1865, and after participating in the 
 Grand Review at Washington returned 
 home. Soon after the close of his mili- 
 tary service he came again to West Pen- 
 saukee, Oconto Co., Wis., where he has 
 ever since resided, and he is one of the 
 most prominent citizens in this section. 
 He commenced clearing the land, later 
 selling the north side of his propert)' to 
 settlers. Of the south side, known as 
 "Yeaton's addition," he first sold twenty 
 acres, later forty more, and he now has 
 thirty-seven acres of the original j)lat, all 
 of which is cleared. 
 
 Mr. Yeaton was married, November 
 28, 1843, in Campton, N. H., to Miss 
 Eliza Ann Rowe, who was born in An- 
 (iover, N. H., daughter of Daniel and 
 l^etsey (Keyser) Rowe, natives of New 
 Hampshire, who lived and died in that 
 State. One child came to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Yeaton, Charles ¥., who resides in Lena, 
 Wis., where he follows his profession of 
 teaching; he married, but his wife died 
 April I, 1894, leaving three children — one 
 son and two daughters: Zella, Lyle and 
 .Amy. Mr. and Mrs. Yeaton also adopted 
 a daughter, Alice M., who is now the wife 
 of James M. Campbell, of No. 109 
 
55° 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Whitaker street, Portland, Oregon. Mrs. 
 Yeaton died in Abrams, December lo, 
 1890. Mr. Yeaton was originally a Whig 
 in politics, casting his first vote for William 
 H. Harrison, and since the formation of 
 the Republican party he has supported it. 
 He has served as a member of the board 
 of supervisors, also as justice of the peace 
 for nine years, and has always been active 
 in public matters in the township and 
 county. Sociallj' he is a member of T. 
 O. Howe Post No. 124, G. A. R., Green 
 Bay, and while in Massachusetts he be- 
 longed to the I. O. O. F. 
 
 WALLACE P. COOK. There is 
 nothing of more interest to a 
 student of human nature than 
 the examining into the life and 
 character of a self-made man, and an- 
 alyze those principles which may have 
 enabled him to pass many who, perhaps, 
 started out on life's journey with better 
 opportunities. In such a case it is almost 
 invariably found that his prominence and 
 success have been attained through a 
 stead}' application, earnest and conscien- 
 tious effort and unwavering purpose. These 
 qualities are pronounced in the character 
 of Mr. W. P. Cook, Oconto's efficient 
 mayor and prominent business man. 
 
 Osmer Clark Cook, father of our sub- 
 ject, was born in Batavia, N. Y., the 
 youngest in a family of four sons. From 
 1846 to 1849 he taught school at his na- 
 tive place, in the latter year setting out 
 on a trip to California via the Isthmus of 
 Panama, where he was seized with a seri- 
 ous illness. On his recovery he found 
 employment on the construction of the 
 Panama railroad, later traveling about, 
 and for a short time residing on the island 
 of Cuba. Returning to New York State, 
 he was there married to Miss Lucretia 
 Cole, who became the mother of our sub- 
 ject. In an early day the family became 
 residents of Jackson county, Mich., and 
 in i860 removed to Columbia county. 
 Wis., locating on a farm. In May, 1865, 
 
 they came to Oconto, and settled on a 
 tract of land four miles from the city. 
 This was in the midst of the forest, and 
 the country all around was in its primitive 
 condition. As an instance of the many 
 disadvantages pioneers were subject to, 
 it may be mentioned that the window 
 glass for the cabin home of Mr. Cook was 
 brought from Green Bay, and the family 
 endured many of the hardships and trials 
 incident to pioneer life. Here the father 
 was engaged in lumbering until his sons 
 were old enough to take charge of the 
 business, when he confined himself ex- 
 clusively to his farm and nursery up to 
 his death, which will be spoken of pres- 
 ently. In 1878 his wife, Lucretia (Cole), 
 the mother of W. P. Cook, was called 
 from earth, deeply and sincerely mourned, 
 and in 1880 Osmer C. Cook married Miss 
 Dora F. Churchill, by whom there are no 
 children. On March 15, 1894, Mr. Cook 
 was driving in his buggy, and on crossing 
 the railroad track on his way to town his 
 horse took fright from the exhausting of 
 an engine and shied sideways. The buggy 
 struck a telegraph pole, the collision 
 throwing Mr. Cook out with great violence; 
 the horse breaking loose from the buggy, 
 ran about two hundred feet and then re- 
 turned to the place of the accident, and 
 when found he was watching over his 
 master. Some weeks later, on April 12, 
 Mr. Cook succumbed to the injuries he had 
 received. He was a universal favorite, 
 highly respected as a worthy Christian 
 man, and his funeral was the largest ever 
 seen in Oconto. He was a founder of 
 the Pioneer Nursery, and for some years 
 was engaged in the nursery business in 
 Oconto township. He also served as 
 school treasurer of that township, and 
 filled other official positions. In politics 
 he was a Republican, and an active worker 
 in his party's interests. His widow is still 
 living. 
 
 To Osmer C. and Lucretia (Cole) 
 Cook, were born children as follows: 
 Wallace P. and Willard P. (twins); 
 Charles, who was drowned in the Oconto 
 
^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGBAPUWAL UEVOBD. 
 
 551 
 
 river, in 1S7S, while trying to rescue a girl 
 from drowning; George, who resides in 
 Milwaukee; Sheldon, who is living in 
 Oconto township (he had a twin brother' 
 who died very young); Mrs. Alice Cald- 
 well, of the city of Oconto; and William, 
 who died in Michigan in 1855. 
 
 Our subject was born in Jackson 
 county, Mich., in 1857, reared in Oconto 
 township, Oconto Co., Wis., and early 
 became familiar with all the duties that 
 fall to the lot of the agriculturist. He 
 has resided here since the pioneer days, 
 there being no railroads at the time of his 
 arrival, few settlements and fewer busi- 
 ness industries. With the work of pro- 
 gress and development he has been iden- 
 tified, aiding in all matters pertaining to 
 the public welfare. His education was 
 acquired in both the township and city of 
 Oconto, and he began to earn his living 
 by logging and driving logs, and learned 
 to do all the different kinds of work per- 
 taining to the hunber business, also sur- 
 veying and lumbering engineering. He 
 has since been connected with the lumber 
 trade, is to-day a member of the firm of 
 Cook Brothers, his partner being his twin 
 brother, ami they furnish employment to 
 between four and five hundred men. They 
 are also extensive dealers in real estate, 
 handling, largely, farm property. They 
 own over one hundred thousand acres of 
 land in the counties of Oconto, Shawano 
 and Langlade, and have over two thous- 
 and acres under a high state of cultivation. 
 In addition they are also importers of fine 
 stock, and to-day have nearly four hun- 
 dred head of horses and colts. They own 
 considerable interest in the electric light 
 plant of Oconto. 
 
 Mr. Cook is an important factor in the 
 community, a prominent and influential 
 promoter of its agricultural and commer- 
 cial interests. The man who leads forth 
 a company to battle is deserving of glory, 
 but still greater glory is due to him who 
 furnishes employment to others, thus pro- 
 viding the means of livelihood for many 
 families. The commander places before 
 
 his men what may perhaps cause their 
 death, but the business man gives his em- 
 ployes the means of life. 
 
 In 1884, in Oconto, was celebrated 
 the marriage of Mr. W. P. Cook and Miss 
 Lillian Almeda Spies, a native of that 
 city, and a daughter of Jacob Spies, one of 
 the honored pioneers of Oconto county. 
 Three children grace their union — Nora, 
 Kaj' and Osmer. Socially, Mr. Cook is 
 connected with Oconto Lodge, No. 83, 
 K. of P. In politics he is a stalwart Re- 
 publican, and for two years served as 
 alderman from the East ward of Oconto. 
 In the spring of 1 895 he was elected mayor 
 of the cit}', and is now capably serving in 
 that office, bringing to the discharge of 
 his official duties the same progressive 
 spirit that has characterized his business 
 career. He was one of the organizers 
 and builders of the Oconto & Southwest- 
 ern railroad from Oconto to Oconto 
 Junction, and held the title to the entire 
 road in trust for his friends until such 
 time as its sale to the Milwaukee & North- 
 ern Railroad Company was effected, sat- 
 isfactorily to all intesested. Mr. Cook is 
 a great lover of horses, and has met with 
 unqualified success in handling and break- 
 ing them, among those that have passed 
 through his hands being many vicious 
 animals, which he was entirely successful 
 in breaking; and he has never been 
 known to sell a horse of any kind that he 
 could not satisfactorily work himself. 
 The city of Oconto has no more valued 
 citizen, and none more widely or favor- 
 ably known than Wallace P. Cook. 
 
 THOMAS P. GILKEY, a well- 
 known resident of Oconto, is a 
 native of the State of Wisconsin, 
 and a member of one of the pio- 
 neer families of Oconto county, having 
 moved here with his parents in 1S51. 
 
 Samuel D. and Caroline (Packard) 
 Gilkey, parents of Thomas P. Gilkey, 
 were both born in Houlton, Maine, and 
 were reared and married in their native 
 
552 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOOItAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 State. In 1846 they came to what was 
 then the Territory of Wisconsin, locating 
 first in Dane county. In 1848 they re- 
 moved to Green Bay, living there three 
 years, and finally, in 1851, came to Ocon- 
 to, in which place at that time there was 
 but one sawmill, the Jones mill, which 
 was built in 1S49. Mr. Gilkey ran camp 
 for Mr. Jones, working for him two or 
 three years, after which he embarked in 
 the hotel business, first erecting a small 
 house on the State road, in 1853. Addi- 
 tions were afterward made as the patron- 
 age increased, and Mr. Gilkey conducted 
 the hotel up to 1857, when he sold out to 
 R. M. Norton, of Racine; the place is 
 now owned by the Holt Lumber Co. 
 After disposing of this hotel Mr. Gilkey 
 built what was known as the " Empire 
 House," which he carried on some five 
 or si.\ years, eventually selling out to Mr. 
 Wheelock. Mr. Gilkey became promi- 
 nent in local public affairs, and for four 
 years — from 1862 to 1866 — held the im- 
 portant office of sheriff of the county, 
 being elected by the Democratic party, 
 of which he was an active member. On 
 going out of office he retired from business 
 life altogether, and lived comparatively 
 retired up to his death, which occurred in 
 Oconto in 1874; his widow died in 1876. 
 Of their family, Hardin W. resides in 
 Hayes township, Oconto county, now 
 keeping a general supply store, also been 
 superintendent of schools many years; 
 Roscoe W. resides in Duluth, Minn., 
 engaged in the real-estate business; Hen- 
 rietta, married Antoine Links, who was 
 an early settler of Oconto county, of 
 which he served as first treasurer (they 
 reside in Oconto. He was a soldier in 
 the Mexican army); and Thomas P. is the 
 subject of these lines. 
 
 Thomas P. Gilkey was born in 1847 in 
 Dane county. Wis., and was four years 
 of age when his parents settled in Oconto. 
 Here he received his education, and dur- 
 ing his active years he has given his 
 attention to real estate and cruising. 
 Our subject was married in Oconto, in 
 
 1867, to Margaret J. Baldwin, who was 
 born in New Brunswick, Canada, and 
 they became the parents of three chil- 
 dren: Harry and Bell, who reside in 
 Oconto, and Fred. The mother of these 
 passed from earth in 1878, at Oconto, 
 deeply mourned by her family and friends. 
 In politics Mr. Gilkey is an ardent Re- 
 publican. 
 
 J A. CANNON, superintendent of the 
 Marinette Soap Works, is one of the 
 most energetic of Marinette's many 
 wide-awake and progressive citizens, 
 having commenced business with a three- 
 barrel kettle, unlimited faith in himself, and 
 five hundred dollars as working capital. 
 
 Mr. Cannon was born, in 1836, in 
 the Emerald Isle, a son of Patrick and 
 Catherine (O'Toole) Cannon. When 
 thirteen years of age he went to England, 
 and there learned the business of soap- 
 making. In the old country he remained 
 until 1863, when he decided to seek his 
 fortune in that part of the New World 
 which is looked upon by all Irishmen as 
 the " Eldorado of the West " — the United 
 States. In pursuance of this resolution 
 he set sail in 1864, and landed at Boston 
 where he worked for two months at the 
 currying trade. F"rom there he went to 
 Prairie du Chien, Wis., where he engaged 
 in the manufacture of soap until 1885, 
 thence going to St. Louis, Mo., and Chi- 
 cago, Illinois. 
 
 In 1886, on coming to Marinette, Mr. 
 Cannon began the manufacture of soap, 
 as before stated, in a very limited way 
 and with few facilities — one small kettle 
 and hardly any capital — exchanging soap 
 for grease and other supplies. In May of 
 that year he erected a building 1 6 x 20 feet, 
 which he used as a factory for eighteen 
 months, during which time he purchased 
 a 2000-lb. kettle, and in 1888 made ex- 
 tensive additions to his factory, which is 
 now 100 X 50 feet in size, part three stories 
 high, and part two stories high. The 
 Marinette Soap Works, capital stock $25,- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 553 
 
 ooo, manufacture thirteen different brands 
 of laundry soaps, nine brands of toilet 
 soaps, besides a floating tar and other 
 medicated soaps; also soap powder, chips, 
 and an absolutely pure white floating soap 
 for the laundry or toilet use. There are 
 two 1 8-foot boilers, one lo feet and the 
 other 1 8 feet in diameter; one kettle that 
 will turn out one hundred thousand 
 pounds of finished soap — the largest kettle 
 in the State — and tsvo kettles of sixty 
 thousand pounds capacity, besides several 
 smaller ones; they also have an elevator. 
 The factory is the largest of its kind 
 north of Milwaukee, in which city there 
 are but two its e(iual in size. The factory 
 gives employment to thirteen men and 
 seven girls, with six salesmen on the road 
 and two in the office, and two teams, 
 making thirty names on the pay-roll. In 
 1894 thirty thousand boxes of laundry 
 soap were sold, and the business is con- 
 stantly increasing, the factory often being 
 unable to keep up with the orders 
 
 Mr. 
 
 Cannon was married in England, 
 
 in 1S59, to Miss Mary Kearns, a native of 
 Ireland who came with her husband to this 
 country in 1864. They are the parents 
 of thirteen children, of whom Anthony 
 died in England; Michael, married, lives 
 in Chicago; Catherine is a nun, in Duluth, 
 Minn.; E. J., of whom special mention 
 will presently be made; Honora, who 
 was a nun, died in Duluth, Minn. ; James 
 Joseph, who died in Prairie du Chien, 
 Wis.; Mary, living in Duluth; Theresa, 
 at home; Martin, a priest in St. John's 
 College, Minn. ; and Agnes, deceased. Mr. 
 Cannon is a member and trustee of the 
 Catholic Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, 
 and of the Catholic Knights of Wis- 
 consin. He is a well-to-do, prosperous 
 citizen of Marinette, and has great faith 
 in the future of the bright little city, doing 
 all in his power to aid in its advancement. 
 E. J. Cannon, second son of Mr. 
 Cannon, is the only one of the family to 
 follow in his father's footsteps, as far as 
 business is concernet'. He was born 
 March i, 1865, and at the age of fourteen 
 
 begged of his father to be taught the soap 
 business. After many entreaties, con- 
 sent was finally given; so the lad left 
 school and became apprenticed to his 
 father for three years, to learn the busi- 
 ness. Mr. Cannon started his son at 
 the foot of the ladder, teaching him that 
 the key to success was honesty, hard work 
 and perseverance. The young man showed 
 a liking to the business, readily accpring a 
 thorough insight into every detail thereof. 
 At the expiry of his three-3'ears' appren- 
 ticeship E. J. was sent by his father to 
 St. Paul, thence to Minneapolis and then 
 to Chicago, in order that he might secure 
 every advantage, and acquaint himself 
 with the different ideas in that line of 
 business, by seeing and understanding the 
 various kinds of machinery used in the 
 manufacture of soap. He has followed 
 the soap business ever since, and been 
 employed in some of the leading factories, 
 until he has become extensively known 
 and generally recognized as an authority 
 on all matters pertaining to the manufact- 
 ure of soap. He is now connected with 
 the Marinette Soap Co. , being one of its 
 directors, and manager of the manufactur- 
 ing department. 
 
 On October i, 1895, he was united in 
 marriage with Miss Elizabeth May, the 
 charming and accomplished daughter of 
 Joseph and Carolina Bueler, and the 
 young couple are happily settled in their 
 beautiful home on Elizabeth avenue, Mar- 
 inette, and have abundance of faith in the 
 future of that ever-progressive city. 
 
 F 
 
 J. A. LaFRESNIER, M. D., was 
 the first physician to locate at 
 Wausaukee, Marinette county, 
 where he also owns the leading 
 drug store, having located there in 1890. 
 Dr. La Fresnier was born, in 1864, 
 in Lower Canada, near Montreal, son of 
 Alfred B. and Olive (Ducet) La Fresnier, 
 both also natives of Canada, where the 
 father was engaged in farming. Mrs. La- 
 Fresnier passed fro«i «arth in 1S83, and 
 
554 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the father is now residing with his son in 
 Wausaukee. There were six children in 
 the family: F. J. A.; Honorin, who 
 lives in Canada; Oliver, also in Canada; 
 Mary Louisa, a resident of Lowell, Mass.; 
 Clementine, who has her home in Provi- 
 dence, R. L; and Cordelia, in Canada. 
 
 Up to the age of thirteen our subject 
 was reared on a farm, and then entering 
 Nicollet College, Montreal, took a thor- 
 ough classical course, spending eight 
 years in that department, and graduating 
 from the College in the class of '82, with 
 the title of A. B. He then pursued his 
 medical studies in Victoria College, Mon- 
 treal, from which he was graduated M. D. 
 C. M. with the class of '87, and then go- 
 ing directly to Garden Bay, Mich., en- 
 gaged in the active practice of his profes- 
 sion, remaining there until his removal to 
 Wausaukee, ^Iarinette county, in 1890. 
 In the year of his arrivrd there the Doc- 
 tor erected a good residence and drug 
 store, which latter he has since carried on 
 in connection with the duties of his pro- 
 fession, in which he has built up a lucra- 
 tive practice as a competent physician and 
 surgeon. He is engaged in general prac- 
 tice, and in addition to his private clientele 
 is examiner for the Mutual Life Insur- 
 ance Co., of New York, for the North- 
 western Insurance Co., of Milwaukee, 
 surgeon of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
 Paul railroad, and examiner for the K. 
 O. T. M. at Wausaukee, to which latter 
 organization he belongs, holding member- 
 ship with Tent No. 19. He has also 
 served four years as health officer of 
 Wausaukee, and he is well and favorably 
 known, personally as well as profession- 
 ally, throughout the vicinity. 
 
 In 1 889 Dr. La Fresnier was married, 
 at Garden Bay, Mich., to Miss Anna 
 Bourdleis, who was born in Escanaba, 
 Mich., daughter of Oliver Bourdleis, a 
 native of Lanorais, Canada, who in 1S53 
 came to Escanaba, Mich., becoming a 
 pioneer of that place. He now resides in 
 Wausaukee. To this union have conr.c 
 two children — Rudolph and Paul Aniele. 
 
 On March 11, 1895, the Doctor had the 
 misfortune to lose his faithful and ever- 
 loving wife, who died of consumption after 
 an illness of one year. In religious faith 
 our subject, as was also his wife, is a 
 member of the Roman Catholic Church. 
 Politically, he af^liates with the Demo- 
 cratic party. 
 
 OC. DANIDSON, one of the rep- 
 resentative business men of Flor- 
 ence count}', and one who has 
 been actively engaged in develop- 
 ing the great iron mines of that region, is 
 a native of Fort Howard, Wis., born 
 June 22, 1857. His parents were Thomas 
 and Tobina Barent Davidson, natives of 
 Norwa)', who came to Milwaukee, Wis., 
 August 3, 1848, and two years later re- 
 moved to F"ort Howard, Wis. He was a 
 carpenter and cabinet maker by trade, 
 an occupation he followed, also for years 
 running on the river. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Thomas Davidson were born seven chil- 
 dren, of whom the following three are yet 
 living: D. J. and Mary, of Green Bay, 
 Wis., and O. C, the subject of this 
 sketch. The parents are now living re- 
 tired in Green Bay. 
 
 O. C. Davidson grew to manhood at 
 Fort Howard, and in the schools of that 
 place received his education. He en- 
 tered the employ of the First National 
 Bank at Green Bay, Wis., and, there re- 
 mained eight years and six months, after 
 which, about 1882, he went to Norway, 
 Mich., where he engaged in the mining 
 business, in which he has since continued 
 with little exception, having been for two 
 years in the meantime in the Kellogg Na- 
 tional Bank of Green Bay, Wis. He be- 
 came superintendent of the Brier Hill 
 Iron Mine at Norway, Mich., and in 1886 
 removed to Florence, Wis., having been 
 made superintendent of the Florence 
 Mining Co., which position he held until 
 January, 1889, when he was made super- 
 intendent of the Commonwealtli Iron Co. 
 Since the establishment of the State Bank 
 

 r^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 555 
 
 at Florence, in January, 1891, Mr. David- 
 son has served as its president; its cashier 
 is E. E. Wilcox, and vice-president, P. 
 McGovern. 
 
 In 1889 our subject was united in mar- 
 riage, at Bessemer, Mich., with Charlotte 
 S., daughter of William E. and 'EVv/.i- 
 beth (Sargeant) Dickinson, who were na- 
 tives of New York City and Boston, re- 
 spectively; in their family were si.x chil- 
 dren besides Mrs. Davidson, as follows : 
 Edmond E., Harold, Frank, William E., 
 Christine and Lucetta; (William E. was 
 abducted in 1882, when five years of age, 
 and though big rewards have been offered, 
 the family have never received any news 
 of him). Mr. and Mrs. Davidson have 
 had three children, namely: Ward F. , 
 Harold O. and Norman H. Mr. David- 
 son in politics is a Republican. He is 
 chairman of Commonwealth township 
 and chairman of the county board, which 
 latter position he has held for four terms, 
 since 1889, still serving in that capacity. 
 The large enterprise of which he is super- 
 intendent has been in operation for fifteen 
 years, and the total number of gross tons 
 of ore that have been shipped from their 
 mines from 1880 to 1895, inclusive, are 
 i.637i897- They employ at present 300 
 men. The relations that Mr. Davidson 
 sustains in an official capacity to the 
 people of the county and township, and 
 his prominence in the large mining com- 
 pany and banking house of Florence, 
 evidence his standing in business circles 
 and his popularity among his fellow 
 townsmen. Mr. Davidson is a member 
 of Washington Lodge, No. 21, F. & A. 
 M., of Green Bay, and of Pochequette 
 Lodge, No. 26, K. of P., Green Bay. 
 
 HD. FISHER, the founder of the 
 city of Florence, came to this lo- 
 cality from Menasha, Wis., on a 
 prospecting tour, in 1871. He 
 traveled all through the Menominee range, 
 and located the F'lorence mine in 1873, 
 and discovered the Commonwealth mine 
 
 in 1876. He began active mining opera- 
 tions in the Florence mine about the time 
 of the building of the Chicago & North 
 Western railroad, which made its survey 
 in 1 879, and completed the building of the 
 road to what is now the city of Florence, 
 October 14, 1880. On first coming to 
 the place, Mr. Fisher took up 480 acres 
 of government land, mining property, and 
 on the lake 240 acres more. Later he 
 located twenty thousand acres of mining 
 and timber land, between the years 1873 
 and 1S76. From the first he has located 
 in all about fifty thousand acres. In the 
 spring of 1880 he and Menominee Mining 
 Co. had surveyed and platted the present 
 city of Florence, and on March 16. of that 
 year, had the lots put on the market. The 
 village was named in honor of the wife of 
 Dr. N. P. Hulst. Mr. Fisher, it may be 
 said, located permanently in this place in 
 1880, and owned a half interest in the fee 
 of the mine, which he leased to the Me- 
 nominee Mining Co. Since coming here 
 he has built extensively, and some of the 
 best buildings in the place have been 
 erected by him, including the bank build- 
 ing, and Masonic Block, which were 
 erected in 1889. 
 
 Mr. I-^isher is a native of Vermont, 
 born in Vergennes, August 27, 1832, and 
 is a son of Hiram and Hannah (Champion) 
 Fisher, who were also natives of the 
 "Green Mountain State." The father 
 died in Vermont, in January, 1879, in his 
 seventy-seventh year; his wife passed away 
 in 1882, in her seventy-third year. They 
 were the parents of four children: H. D., 
 our subject; Cyrus (drowned in 1873, 
 off Halifax), who was admitted to the bar 
 in the high courts of London, and was a 
 prominent member of the Cobden Club, 
 and an attorney of some note in London; 
 Laura (now Mrs. Silas E. Wright), of 
 Rutland, Vt., and George P., who resides 
 on the old farm in Vermont. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared 
 in Vermont, and spent his boyhood and 
 youth on the home farm. He was edu- 
 cated in the common schools of that State, 
 
556 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and in early life learned the carpenter 
 and joiner trade. At the age of twenty- 
 one he came west to Oshkosh, Wis., but 
 soon afterward went to Menasha, where 
 he was engaged in general merchandise 
 business for some years. In 1861 he sold 
 out his store, and commenced in the in- 
 surance business, in which he continued 
 for a time, or until coming to Florence. 
 While in Oshkosh, however, he was en- 
 gaged as clerk in the old \\'innebago Hotel, 
 winters, and as clerk on a boat on the 
 Fo.\ and \\'o\[ rivers, during the summer 
 season. While residing in Menasha, on 
 January 31, 1 86 1 , Mr. Fisher was united in 
 marriage with Miss Fmily O. Keyes, who 
 was born in Wisconsin, daughter of Capt. 
 Joseph and Olive (Williams) Keyes, who 
 were natives of Northfield, Vt. , and who, 
 in 1837, came to Wisconsin and located at 
 Lake Mills, where Mr. Iveyes built a saw 
 and grist mill, laid out the town, and made 
 it his home until 1853, when he moved to 
 Menasha, built a sawmill, and made that 
 his home until his death about the year 
 1 875. To Mr. and Mrs. Fisher have been 
 born four children: Olive (now Mrs. Oliver 
 Evans), of Iron Mountain; Katie (widow 
 of E. J. Ingram), also of Iron Mountain; 
 Nellie (wife of A. M. Pinto), of Omaha, 
 Nebr. ; and Laura, at home. 
 
 Fraternally, Mr. Fisher is a member 
 of Fisher Lodge, No. 222, F. & A. M.; 
 of Marinette Chapter, No. 57, R. A. M.; 
 and of the United Workmen and Royal 
 Arcanum. In the Masonic Lodge he 
 passed all the chairs, and was senior war- 
 den of the Grand Lodge in 1894-5. '" 
 politics he is a Republican, and served as 
 postmaster at Florence from 1 880 to 1 887. 
 Mr. Fisher is one of the best posted men of 
 the northwest country, and there is hardly 
 a foot of land in all the territory of this 
 section of the country with which he is 
 not familiar. In addition to locating the 
 mines of Florence and Commonwealth, 
 he also discovered the Armenia Iron Mine, 
 east of Crystal Falls, Mich. His busi- 
 ness interests have been very extensive, 
 and, in connection with real estate, he is 
 
 interested in the bank at Florence, and 
 Commercial Bank of Iron Mountain, Mich. 
 In the development of this section he has 
 certainly been a very active man, and the 
 credit for its prosperity is largely due to 
 his efforts. 
 
 JOHN S. MONROE, proprietor of a 
 post mill at Wausaukce, Marinette 
 county, was the first man to settle 
 in that town, built the first house 
 there, which is still in use, though added 
 to. He has seen the development of the 
 town and surrounding country from its 
 most primitive state, for at the time of 
 his coming here it was all a dense forest 
 and deep-tangled wild-wood. 
 
 Mr. Monroe came to Wisconsin from 
 New York State, where, in Jefferson 
 county, he was born November 5, 1822, 
 son of John and Sarah (Chapman) Mon- 
 roe, the former of whom was a native of 
 Cracow, Austria, the latter of the State 
 of Connecticut. Before he emigrated to 
 America John Monroe was a soldier under 
 Napoleon, and he came to New York for 
 Joseph Bonaparte, remaining in his cm- 
 plo}' up to the time of his death, which 
 occurred in 1839. Mrs. Sarah Monroe 
 died in 1873 in De Pere, Wis. They had 
 a family of six children, as follows : 
 Louisa (Mrs. Arnold Munger), of De Pere, 
 Wis. ; John S., the subject of this sketch; 
 Mrs. Julia Earle, who died in De Pere in 
 1892; Mrs. Minerva Thompson, of An- 
 tigo, Wis.; Capt. Joseph A., a sailor, 
 who lives in Seattle, Wash., and Mrs. 
 Elizabeth Blood, of Sioux City, Iowa. 
 
 J. S. Monroe was reared to manhood 
 in Jefferson and Lewis counties, N. Y., 
 receiving his education in Diana, Lewis 
 county, and while in his native State he. 
 at the age of twenty-one, entered a ship- 
 yard at Sacketts Harbor to learn the 
 trade. At the age of twenty-five (in 
 1847) he migrated to Wisconsin, and was 
 here at the time it became a State, cast- 
 ing a vote for the constitution. His first 
 location in Wisconsin was at Southport 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGIiAPITWAL HE CORD. 
 
 557 
 
 (now Kenosha), where he built a vessel, 
 the " Lewis C. Irwin," and in the fol- 
 lowing spring (1848) came on the vessel, 
 on the deck of which he brought a sail- 
 boat, which he launched at the mouth of 
 the Menominee river. He cruised along 
 the bay to Green Bay, and then on to 
 De Pere, Brown county, where he re- 
 mained until his removal to Wausaukce, 
 owning a water-mill there on the Fox 
 river. In 1862 he went to Lake Supe- 
 rior to build a dredge for a private con- 
 cern. He built the first scow for car- 
 rying lumber to the vessels and supplies 
 back to Oconto for Col. Jones, of Oconto, 
 and also the first scows used on the 
 Oconto river for Norton & Co. He 
 blazed out a road from Green Bay to 
 Stiles, and Eldridge & Ladue put on men 
 who cut out the road. He came to 
 Wausaukee with the Chicago, Milwaukee 
 & St. Paul railroad, and as above stated 
 was the first settler of the place, cutting 
 the logs on the spot to build his house. 
 There were no neighbors for him and his 
 family to associate with — there being 
 nothing but woods around them, the 
 nearest sign of civilization being the old 
 Kitson trading post for the Northwestern 
 Fur Co. , on the Menominee river, three 
 and one-half miles distant. On coming 
 here he engaged in getting out cedar 
 posts, getting out the first cedar and 
 timber shipped from Wausaukee, where 
 he now operates a post mill, giving em- 
 ployment to four men. He owns the 
 greater part of the town plat. Additions 
 I, 2 and 3, and is also owner of several 
 buildings, which he rents. In Wausaukee 
 township he owns a tract of 160 acres, 
 and he formerly owned the site of the 
 Bird & Wells' mill, selling to Beach & 
 Bishop, who in turn sold to the present 
 proprietors. He keeps boarders at his 
 place, has a blacksmith shop, and three 
 teams of horses that are kept at work 
 right along. Mr. Monroe has seen the 
 growth of the town of Wausaukee to its 
 present proportions, its population being 
 now about fifteen hundred, and has taken 
 
 an active part in its progress and the ad- 
 vancement of its business and other in- 
 terests. I'or eight years he served as 
 postmaster, having been appointed to 
 that office January 12, 18S5, and was the 
 first man to handle mail at Wausaukee. 
 He votes with the Democratic party, to 
 whose welfare he gives all his political 
 support. 
 
 Mr. iNIonroe was marrieil. in 1S47, in 
 Jefferson county, N. Y., to Miss Jane 
 Belton, a native of that county, daughter 
 of a prosperous farmer, and within a week 
 they left for Southport (now Kenosha), 
 where Mr. Monroe built the "Lewis C. 
 Irwin," as already related. On their re- 
 moval from Kenosha they journeyed by 
 stage from there to Janesville, thence to 
 Fond du Lac, and thence by team for 
 two and one-half days to Green Bay. To 
 their union have come the following 
 named children : Sarah (who died Oc- 
 tober 24, 1890, in Wausaukee), Wallace 
 (who resides in Wausaukee), Elizabeth, 
 Eliza and Harry. 
 
 JACOB H. BERNARDY is the old- 
 est living pioneer of what is now 
 Porterfield township, Marinette 
 county, having been identified with 
 its interests since 1868, the year in which 
 he located on his present farm. 
 
 He is a native of the Netherlands, 
 born in 1836 in Luxemburg, of which 
 province his parents, Jacob and Margaret 
 (Senninger) Bernardy, were also natives. 
 In 1847 the family sailed from Antwerp 
 for the United States, landing on the 
 shores of America after a voyage of 
 fifty-two days. They came west almost 
 immediately, locating in what is now 
 Ozaukee county. Wis., where the father 
 opened up a farm, residing there until 
 1869, when he came to what is now Por- 
 terfield township, Marinette county. 
 Here he died in 1883, at the home of 
 our subject, the mother following him to 
 the grave in 1885. Of their family of 
 five children, Jacob H. is the subject 
 
558 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPITWAL RECORD. 
 
 proper of this biojjraphy; Barbara (Mrs. 
 Junge), lives in Dakota; Nicholas en- 
 listed at Port Washington, \\is. , in 1862, 
 in the Sixteenth Wis. \'. I., and died at 
 Lake Providence, La., in 1863; Anna 
 (Mrs. Conrad), is a resident of Calumet 
 county, Wis. ; Frank, who now resides in 
 Porterfield township, served in the Thirt}- 
 seventh Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. 
 
 Up to the age of ten years our sub- 
 ject was reared and educated in his 
 native province, and then, in 1847, came 
 to the United States, with his parents, 
 for one month after his arrival attending 
 school in Buffalo, N. Y. He aided in 
 clearing the pioneer farm in Ozaukee 
 county. Wis., and in 1858 came north to 
 the Menominee river, here working for 
 what is now the K. C. Lumber Co., and 
 also for the N. Ludington Co. For two 
 years he was engaged, during the autumn, 
 in the pound fishery, and in the fall of 
 1 86 1 he enlisted, at Milwaukee, in the 
 Second Wisconsin Cavalry, for three 
 years. He was mustered in at Milwau- 
 kee, his regiment serving with the army 
 of the West and also with the Gulf army, 
 and he was an active participant in a 
 number of battles and skirmishes. In 
 1864 he veteranized, at Redbone, Miss., 
 in the same company and regiment, and 
 remained in the service until November 1 6, 
 1865, when he was honorabl}' discharged 
 at Austin, Te.xas. During his four-years' 
 service he took part in the siege of Vicks- 
 burg (two battles), the engagements at 
 Jackson and Yazoo City, Miss., the Grier- 
 son raid and the Gen. Price raid; after vet- 
 eranizing he was in the expedition to Alex- 
 andria, La., and subsequently in Texas. 
 
 On leaving the army Mr. Bernardy 
 returned to his home in Ozaukee county. 
 Wis., in 1 866 coming thence to Marinette 
 county, and in 1868, as above stated, 
 settling on his present farm in Porterfield 
 township. This was then called Mari- 
 nette township, Oconto county, and the 
 region was for the most part unimproved 
 and uncultivated, presenting quite a con- 
 trast to its present thrifty appearance. 
 
 He homesteaded 1 20 acres (now lying in 
 Section 10, Porterfield township), to 
 which tract, at that time, there was only 
 a trail, no roads having been laid out, 
 and he has since devoted himself assidu- 
 ously to the clearing and improving of 
 this propert}-, at the present time having 
 100 acres cleared and in a good state of 
 cultivation; he has added to the area of 
 the place until it now includes some 240 
 acres. Mr. Bernardy's home was laid in 
 ashes by the destructive fire of October 8, 
 1 87 1, but he succeeded in saving himself 
 and family by going down to the river 
 and remaining there until 2 o'clock in the 
 morning. 
 
 Mr. Bernardy was married, in 1867, 
 at Belgium, Ozaukee Co., Wis., to Miss 
 Anna Kit^inger, who was born in Ger- 
 many, daughter of Nicholas Kitzinger 
 (now deceased), who settled in Ozaukee 
 county in 1857. To this marriage have 
 come twelve children, rjamely. Frank, 
 Margaret, Anna, Carrie, Jacob, Albert, 
 Katie, Nicholas, Louis, Frances, Mamie 
 and Theresa. Mr. Bernardy takes an 
 active part in the public life of the com- 
 munit}', assisted in organizing Porterfield 
 township, and was its first chairman, 
 holding that office three years, and for 
 six years he was secretary of the school 
 board. He gives his political support to 
 the Republican party. Mr. Bernardy 
 takes a loyal interest in every project 
 which promises to benefit the township 
 and county, the almost complete develop- 
 ment of which he has witnessed and aided 
 in during his residence here, and he is 
 looked upon as a reliable, substantial 
 citizen by all who know him. Socially 
 he is a member of Samuel H. Sizer Post 
 No. 207, G. A. R., and in religious faith 
 he and his wife are both Catholics. 
 
 PFTER McGOVERN is of Irish 
 extraction, his parents, Peter and 
 Rose (McGovern) McGovern, be- 
 ing natives of Ireland, who in an 
 early day emigrated to New Brunswick, 
 
(^^i. ^^'-^x-l..^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 539 
 
 Canada, and the father, who was a farm- 
 er, opened up a farm. Here they reared 
 a family of ten children, namely: Thomas, 
 a resident of New l^rnnswick; Patrick, a 
 resident of Walla Walla, Wash. ; Philip, 
 
 who died in Long Island; 
 
 Maggie, now 
 
 Mrs. Kelley, of Marinette, Wis. ; Peter; 
 Rose Ann (Mrs. I'"enton Hines), living in 
 New Brunswick; Terrence, who died at 
 Oconto, Wis., in 1878; Mary (Mrs. M. 
 Clifford), of Mapleton, INfinn. ; John, liv- 
 ing in New Brunswick; and I^ridget. The 
 parents died in New Brunswick, the 
 father in 1878, the mother in 1887. 
 
 Our subject was born June 29, 1847, 
 in New Brunswick, and was reared on 
 his father's farm, receiving such educa- 
 tional advantages as a farmer's children 
 generally were given in that day and 
 country. While yet in his " 'teens " he 
 went to the State of Maine, and was em- 
 ployed in the lumber districts; in 1868 
 he came to W^isconsin, first locating in 
 the then small town of Oconto, and soon 
 thereafter entered the employ of F. B. 
 Gardner, who was in the lumber business 
 at Pensaukee, with whom he remained 
 five or six years. He then went to 
 Oconto, where he became engaged in the 
 lumber business, logging, locating pine 
 lands, etc., at which place and in which 
 occupation he remained for years. 
 
 In 1883 Mr. McGovern was united in 
 marriage, at Oconto, Wis., with Miss 
 Mary C. Keegan, daughter of John and 
 Alice (Doyle) Keegan, the former of 
 whom was born in Canada, where he 
 still resides. Mr. and Mrs. Keegan had 
 ten children, viz. : Samuel, who is a farm- 
 er in I-ieeganville, Oconto Co., Wis.; 
 Martha, Mrs. Patrick Kinney, of Ontario, 
 Canada; Mary C, Mrs. McGovern; Alice, 
 living in Ontario; John and Robert, 
 farmers in Ontario; Lizzie, also in On- 
 tario; Thomas, who resides in New York 
 State; Rose, making her home with Mrs. 
 McGovern; and Edward, in Dakota. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. McGovern was born one 
 son, Frederick, who is now ten years of 
 age. 
 
 32 
 
 In 1884 our subject settled perma- 
 nently at Florence, where he has since 
 been actively engaged in the lumbering 
 business in its different branches. He 
 still deals heavily in lumber, selling his 
 logs, as he never built any mills. He 
 was one of the pioneer lumbering men in 
 that district, inchuliiig what is now Flor- 
 ence county, anil by his tact, foresight 
 and business ability has accumnlated a 
 large estate, being the jiossessor of from 
 10,000 to 20,000 acres of timberland. 
 Coming to this region when the country 
 was new, he has witnessed the great 
 transformation that has been brought 
 about, and has been an actor in the 
 scene himself. He is now actively en- 
 gaged in real-estate dealing, handling 
 farm and timber lands, as well as city 
 property. Mr. McGovern is vice-presi- 
 dent of the State Bank at Florence, of 
 which place he is one of the leading citi- 
 zens, ever taking an active interest in the 
 growth and prosperity of the town, and 
 is a genial ^nd pleasant gentleman. Po- 
 litically he is a Democrat. 
 
 GEORGE T. PECK, one of the 
 early settlers and prominent men 
 of Grover township, Marinette 
 county, was a Union soldier in 
 the war of the Rebellion. He is a son of 
 Romanta and Polly (Durgin) Peck, and 
 was born in Middlebury, Vt., Se]5tember 
 
 7- 1833- 
 
 Romanta and Polly (Durgin) Peck, 
 who were born in the East, moved in i 835 
 to East Minden, Monroe Co., N. Y. Mrs. 
 Peck died in New York in 1S40. Ro- 
 manta Peck came to Waukesha county, 
 Wis., in an early day— 1S53 or 1855 — 
 and died in 1857. Of their chiklren five 
 are now living, namely: Ilazen, of Elk- 
 horn, Walworth Co., Wis.; Henry, who 
 resides in Waukesha county. Wis.; Oscar 
 F. , of Grover township; George T. , the 
 subject of this sketch; and Lucy, now 
 Mrs. Marvin Munn, of Hamilton county, 
 Nebraska. 
 
560 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE DIOORAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 George T. Peck has lived in Wisconsin 
 from an earl}' age, was educated in the 
 schools of the State of New York, and 
 was reared to farming, which vocation he 
 has since followed, with the exception of 
 his term of service in the army. In 1850 
 and 1855 he worked in the woods for the 
 Peshtigo Lumber Co. In Waukesha coun- 
 ty, in 1 8 54, he was united in marriage 
 with Miss Rose Ann Elliott, who was born 
 in Ireland, daughter of James and Jane 
 (Maitland) Elliott, natives of the same 
 country. In an earU' day they came to the 
 United States, first residing in Rutland, 
 Vt., and thence migrating to Wisconsin 
 became early pioneers of Waukesha coun- 
 ty; later coming to Marinette county they 
 lived eight years with Mr. Peck, Mrs. 
 Elliott dying in 1887, and Mr. Elliott in 
 1890, at the age of ninety j'ears. Mr. 
 and Mrs. George T. Peck have reared 
 three adopted children, as follows: Mrs. 
 Bashford, of Grover township; John R. 
 Bush and Effie Hart Peck, whose father 
 was in the Second Wis. V. I., entering 
 the service at the age of seventeen, and 
 continuing throughout the Civil war. 
 
 In Milwaukee, Wis., on September 
 22, 1864, George T. Peck enlisted in 
 Company F, Forty-fourth \\'is. V. I., for 
 one year. He was mustered into serv- 
 ice at Madison, Wis., and was assigned 
 to the army of the Cumberland, Twenty- 
 third Army Corps, participating in the 
 battles of Nashville and Franklin. He 
 was for the most part on garrison duty in 
 Tennessee, and in 1865 went to Paducah, 
 Ky. , where he was stationed from April 
 till August. On August 11, 1865, he was 
 honorably discharged, and returning to 
 Wisconsin remained in Waukesha county 
 until October, 1866, when he came to 
 Peshtigo and settled on a farm of eighty 
 acres which he bought, in what is now 
 Grover township. Of this twenty acres 
 were cleared. In the fire of 1871 he 
 was burned out, at that time living on 
 the farm where his brother Oscar now 
 resides. Mr. Peck now has a farm in a 
 good state of cultivation. 
 
 In politics our subject is independent, 
 voting for what he considers the best 
 measures. For one 3'ear he was side 
 commissioner of the township. He was 
 commander of Samuel H. Sizer Post No. 
 207, G. A. R. , was a member of the 
 Marinette County Relief Commission, and 
 has been on the board for seven years. 
 Mrs. Peck is a member of the Women's 
 Relief Corps. Mr. Peck is a member of 
 Peshtigo Lodge No. 185, I. O. O. F., also 
 of Peshtigo Lodge No. 218, F. & A. M. 
 
 JOSEPH A. J. LAUERMAN, senior 
 member of the firm of Lauerman 
 Bros., the leading merchants of Mar- 
 inette, also proprietors of the Mar- 
 inette Savings Bank Store, and in all re- 
 spects ranking among the progressive and 
 go-ahead young men of northern Wiscon- 
 sin, is a native of this State, born May 
 28, 1866, in Muscoda, Grant county, of 
 Bohemian ancestry. 
 
 Joseph Lauerman, father of our sub- 
 ject, was born in Bohemia, Austria, 
 whence when a young man he came to 
 the United States and to Wisconsin, 
 settling in Muscoda, where he is yet 
 residing. He was here married to 
 Miss Antoine Kratochwill, also of Bohe- 
 mian nativity, b)' whom he had six 
 children, as follows: two who are de- 
 ceased; Joseph A. J. and Frank J., 
 members of the firm of Lauerman Bros. 
 (Frank came to Marinette in 1892); Anna 
 M., married to H. D. Pfiesterer, and re- 
 siding in Muscoda, Wis. ; Charles A., clerk- 
 ing in a general store at Julietta, Idaho. 
 The mother of these died in 1885 at 
 Muscoda, and Mr. Lauerman subsequently 
 married Mrs. Annie Fuchik, by whom he 
 has one child, named John; by her for- 
 mer husband she had two children — Anna 
 and Frank. Mr. Joseph Lauerman served 
 in a Wisconsin regiment during the Civil 
 war. 
 
 The subject proper of these lines was 
 reared in Muscoda, at the common schools 
 of which place he received his elementary 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPinCAL RECORD. 
 
 561 
 
 education, which was supplemented with 
 an attendance, one season, at the Second 
 Ward Public School, Milwaukee. His 
 first business experience was in a print- 
 ing office at Muscoda, passing his school 
 vacations there from the time he was 
 twelve years old till he was fourteen, 
 when he enteretl the general store of 
 Jacob l.iremmer, in the same town, as 
 clerk. In this line he continued, dili- 
 gently applying himself to business, till 
 1890, in which year he came to Mari- 
 nette, and in April commenced, alone, a 
 general mercantile business on a small 
 scale. In June, same year, Donald Mc- 
 Donald became associated with him in 
 the business, which together they ci in- 
 ducted till January, i<S92, at which time 
 Mr. McDonald sold out his interest to 
 Frank J. Lauerman, and the brothers oc- 
 cupied the lower f^oor of No. I 517 Main 
 street, till November of the same year. 
 Their rapidly-e.xpauding business now de- 
 manding more space, they added the 
 lower floor of No. 1521, and in May, 
 1894, bought out J. 1'". Boyd, adding his 
 stock to their own, thereby having three 
 stores in all. In March, 1895, the firm 
 added the upstairs part of both No. 1517 
 and No. 1521, which gave them an aggre- 
 gate of some 9, 500 square feet (exclusive 
 of basement, which is used for storing); 
 in addition to which they have two sheds 
 (30x20 and 15x20 feet, respectively), 
 also used for storage. The store has a 
 frontage of 75 feet, and runs back 80 
 feet. The stock of Lauerman Bros, com- 
 prises, in part, clothing, general furnish- 
 ing, dry goods o{ all kinds, notions, hard- 
 ware, tinware, crockery and glassware, 
 carpets, rugs, curtains, etc., all in separ- 
 ate departments, emjiloyment being given 
 to from 30 to 60 clerks. Truly a wonder- 
 ful metamorphosis from the modest com- 
 mencement of our subject some five short 
 years ago! 
 
 In 1892, Joseph A. J. Lauerman and 
 Miss Amelia Bezio were united in mar- 
 riage at Marinette, the place of her birth; 
 she is a daughter of John Bezio, an early 
 
 settler of that city, where he is yet living. 
 Two children were born to this union, 
 both of whom are deceased — Oscar dying 
 in March, 1893, and Edward in Septem- 
 ber, 1894. The mother has also departed 
 this life, her death having occurred March 
 19, 1S94. In religious faith Mr. Lauer- 
 man is a member of Our Lady of Lourdes 
 Catholic Church, at Marinette; in his 
 political predilections he is a Democrat, 
 and in 1 884 he served as treasurer of 
 Muscoda; socially he is affiliated with the 
 Catholic Order of Foresters. Still a 
 young man, possessed of superior business 
 energy and cjualifications, Mr. Lauerman 
 has a brilliant future before' him, and he 
 enjoys the respect and esteem of a wide 
 circle of friends and well-wishers. 
 
 Ar.lAL RICHMOND, who is now 
 living a retired life in (iillett, 
 Oconto county, has been con- 
 uectetl with the history of north- 
 ern Wisojusin since the Territorial days 
 of the State, and has been an important 
 factor in the development and progress of 
 this region, his name being inseparably 
 connected with its history. All enter- 
 prises and interests calculated to imjirove 
 the county or State have received his sup- 
 port, and he justly deserves to be num- 
 bered among the valued residents of 
 Oconto county. 
 
 Mr. Kichmon<l was born in Lake 
 comity, Ohio, in December, 18 14, and is 
 a son of Thomas and Margaret (Boyce) 
 Richmond, natives of Canada, who in an 
 early day removed to Ohio. The father 
 followed teaching for a time, but devoted 
 his later years to agricultural pursuits, 
 and both he and his wife spent their last 
 days in Ohio. They had a family of 
 fourteen children, of whom survive the 
 following: Abial; Mrs. Julia Reed, of 
 Lake county, Ohio; Mrs. Nancy Fos- 
 dick, of Shawano, Wis. ; Mrs. Lucy 
 Stewart, of Lake county, Ohio; Mrs. 
 Abigail Westcott, who is living in Bra- 
 zeau, Oconto county; Stephen N., of New 
 
562 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 York; and Danford, of Lake county, Ohio. 
 The others have now departed this life. 
 
 Our subject was reared in the county 
 of his birth, and the public schools af- 
 forded him his educational privileges. 
 His residence in Wisconsin dates from 
 1844, when he located in Spring Prairie, 
 Walworth county, and in the midst of the 
 forest began to hew out a farm. After 
 two years he removed to Oshkosh, then 
 a trading post containing two houses. 
 Indians were still numerous in the neigh- 
 borhood, and the region seemed almost 
 beyond the borders of civilization. In 
 
 1847 he went to Neenah, where he 
 worked in a gristmill for a year, and in 
 
 1848 he purchased eighty acres of land, 
 partially covered with timber, on Bald 
 Prairie, Winnebago county, which was 
 his place of abode until 1849. In that 
 year he secured emplo\-ment in a mill in 
 Shawano, which contained, besides the 
 building in which he worked, a boarding 
 house. After two years he returned to 
 Oshkosh, where he purchased sixteen 
 building lots, and there made his home 
 for two years, buying and selling land, 
 and traveling over the country in search 
 of good land for investment purposes. 
 His ne.xt place of residence was in Wau- 
 kechon township, Shawano count)', where 
 he opened up a farm of 160 acres, and 
 also kept the trading post at that place^ — 
 a general supply store — which he con- 
 ducted until 1 85 5, when he sold out and 
 removed to what is now the city of 
 Shawano. 
 
 Again Mr. Richmond turned his atten- 
 tion to real-estate dealing, and purchased 
 1 128 acres of land surrounding the town. 
 There he platted a portion of his realty 
 and began selling lots, making the first 
 sale — two acres — in 1855, the site on 
 which now stands the " Murdoch House." 
 He certainlj' deserves mention among the 
 founders of Shawano, for no man took a 
 more active part in its early development 
 than he, and the county board of super- 
 visors recognized his valuable service by 
 naming the township of Richmond in his 
 
 honor. He engaged in real-estate deal- 
 ing there until 1863, when he enlisted, in 
 the month of December, as a member of 
 Company I, Thirty-second Wis. V. I., 
 offering his aid for three years if needed. 
 He was mustered in at Madison, Wis., 
 and joined the Seventeenth Army Corps, 
 army of the Tennessee. He was with it 
 in the march from Memphis to Selma, 
 Ala., whence the troops were driven back, 
 destroying bridges as they went. Leav- 
 ing Memphis, they joined Sherman's 
 army, and Mr. Richmond participated in 
 the celebrated march to the sea. He was 
 also in the battles of Missionary Ridge 
 and Lookout Mountain, and at Atlanta 
 sustained an injury which forced him to 
 remain in the hospital for two weeks. He 
 was also in the Carolina campaign, taking 
 part in the engagements at Goldsboro and 
 Raleigh, and was in the grand review in 
 Washington. At Madison, Wis., he was 
 honorably discharged in August, 1865, 
 and at once returned to Shawano. 
 
 In that place, in March, 1856, Mr. 
 Richmond was married, the ceremony 
 being one of the first celebrated there. 
 The lady of his choice was Miss Clarasa 
 Wescott, a native of St. Lawrence 
 county, N. Y., and a daughter of El- 
 dridge and Hannah (Borgardes) Wescott, 
 the former born in Vermont, the latter in 
 Amsterdam, Montgomery Co., N. Y. 
 The father came to the Empire State 
 when a young man, and in 1812 married 
 a daughter of Henry Borgardes, of that 
 State. In 1853 he migrated with his 
 family to Shawano, Wis., where his 
 death occurred in May, 1864. His wife 
 who survived him thirty-two years, al- 
 ways remained true to his memory; her 
 death occurred in Shawano. They were 
 the parents of thirteen children — four 
 sons and nine daughters — of whom three 
 sons and si.x daughters survived them, 
 viz.: Charles D., of Shawano; Hiram 
 T. , also of that place; William E., of 
 Oconto county; Mrs. Eva Swain and C. 
 Winton, both of Michigan; Mrs. A. Col- 
 burn, of St. Lawrence county, N. Y. ; 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGBAPHWAL UECOllD. 
 
 563 
 
 Mrs. Richmond, of Gillett, Oconto coun- 
 ty; Mrs. Fink, of Shawano; and Mrs. 
 Lashay, of Angelica, Shawano county, 
 whose death occurred in 1892. William 
 E. Wescott enlisted, in 1861, in the 
 Sixth Wis. V. I., at Shawano, that being 
 his place of residence at the time. After 
 serving nearly a year he contracted rheu- 
 matism and received his discharge, but in 
 1864 he re-enlisted, this time in the cav- 
 alry, from which he received his dis- 
 charge in 1865. Horace H. Wescott, 
 one of the four sons, was married in St. 
 Lawrence county, in 1856, and came to 
 Shawano in 1859 with his wife and one 
 child. At the time of his death, which 
 occurred in 1882 at his farm in Angelica, 
 Shawano county, he left a widow and 
 five children to mourn his loss. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Richmond had four chil- 
 dren, three of whom are living: Maria, 
 wife of Phineas Morriscjn, a resident of 
 Stratford, Wis. ; Clara, wife of John 
 Borden, of Brazeau township, Oconto 
 county; and Helen M., wife of John Ma- 
 gee, also of Brazeau township. The 
 other daughter, Mary, died at the age of 
 eight months. The family is one of 
 much prominence in the conimunity, and 
 their friends are many. Mr. Richmond 
 in early life voted for William Henry 
 Harrison, also supported James E. Bir- 
 ney, the first Abolition candidate, and 
 has been an ardent Republican since that 
 party was formed to prevent the further 
 e.xtension of slavery. He has served as 
 a member of the town board, and was 
 chairman of Angelica township. Socially 
 he is a member of Shawano Post No. 81, 
 G. A. R., and the Temple of Honor, and 
 he and his estimable wife are consistent 
 members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. 
 
 WILLIAM CROSSE is a worthy 
 representative of one of the hon- 
 ored pioneer families of Oconto 
 county. He has lived in this 
 locality since the early days, has seen its 
 
 forests cleared away and replaced by wav- 
 ing fields of grain, has witnessed the in- 
 troduction of the railroad, and the suc- 
 cessful establishment of many business 
 industries, churches and schools. Of 
 progress he has always been an advocate, 
 and has ever borne his part in the work 
 of advancement. 
 
 Born near Potsdam, Germany, in 
 1838, Mr. Grosse was the second son in 
 a family of four children whose parents 
 were G. A. and Caroline (Spiseke) Grosse. 
 They were also born in that locality, and 
 celebrated their marriage in their native 
 land. In 1849 they bade adieu to the 
 scenes of their childhood and the friends 
 of their early life, and with their little 
 family boarded a sailing vessel which ac- 
 complished in safety the long voyage of 
 three thousand miles, reaching New York 
 after six weeks. Their destination was 
 Green Bay, Wis., and there they lived 
 until 1852, when the father took up land 
 from the Government along the river, in 
 Little Suamico township, Oconto county. 
 He then turned his attention to farming 
 and fishing, which pursuits he carried 
 on until his death, in 1872. His wife 
 passed away in 1877. Their children 
 were John, a prosperous merchant of Lit- 
 tle Suamico; William; G. A., who is a 
 resident of the same place; and Charlie, 
 who died in 1S94. 
 
 The educational privileges which our 
 subject received were those afforded by 
 the public schools of his native land and 
 at Green Baj', Wis. ; but a frontier region 
 does not usually provide excellent oppor- 
 tunities along that line, and his knowl- 
 edge has been largely gained by self-ap- 
 plication and experience. Nevertheless 
 he has become a well-informed man. 
 His life work has been farming, and he is 
 to-day the owner of 750 acres of good 
 land in Little Suamico township, and the 
 200-acre tract which is cleared and im- 
 proved yields to him a good return for his 
 care and cultivation. He also follows 
 fishing, which has been a profitable source 
 of income. 
 
564 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 
 
 In 1862, in Oconto county, Mr. 
 Grosse was joined in wedlock with Miss 
 Ernestine Fisher, a native of Germany, 
 and a daughter of Christian Fisher, who 
 brought his family from that country to 
 America in 1849, locating on a farm in 
 Scott township, Brown Co., Wis., where 
 he carried on agricultural pursuits until 
 his death, in 1867. His wife passed away 
 in 1 888. Three children have been born 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Grosse: Frank and Will- 
 iam, engaged in the fishing business at 
 Green Bay, and Martha. The Demo- 
 cratic part)' claims the political support 
 of our subject, and he has capably served 
 as chairman of the township in which 
 much of his boyhood was passed, and 
 which has witnessed his successful efforts 
 of manhood. 
 
 0\\\ BLOCH, the highly popular 
 and no-less efficient county clerk 
 of Oconto county, is one of those 
 energetic German-Americans who 
 form a no-small portion of the backbone 
 of this country, and so many of whom 
 are entrusted with the guidance of public 
 affairs in some capacity or other. 
 
 Mr. Bloch was born in Saxony, Ger- 
 many, in 1835, a son of John Theodore 
 and Elizabeth (Langkop) Block, the for- 
 mer of whom was a native of Sa.xony, 
 the latter of Hanover, Germany; she died 
 in Sa.xony, in 1889, at the advanced age 
 of eighty-seven years; the father, who was a 
 postmaster in Saxony, died there in 1843. 
 Mr. Bloch was educated in the Fatherland, 
 and reared to mercantile pursuits, till the 
 age of eighteen, when he emigrated to the 
 United States, arriving in Green Bay, 
 Wis., in September, 1853. Here until 
 the following January he was employed 
 in a store, and coming to Oconto county 
 took a position with the A. Eldred Lum- 
 ber Co., at what is now Stiles, in that 
 county; but not long afterward, probably 
 in 1855, he moved into Oconto, and 
 became interested in milling operations, 
 in which he continued till 18C1. In that 
 
 year he enlisted in Company H, known 
 as the " Oconto River Drivers, " of which 
 he was elected lieutenant; but the com- 
 pany not being accepted at that time, 
 Mr. Bloch went to Alton, 111., and en- 
 listed in Company K, Twentj'-fourth 111. 
 V. I., was appointed orderly-sergeant 
 thereof, and served as such till August, 
 1861. He was then promoted to com- 
 missary-sergeant of the regiment, which 
 was now attached to the army of the 
 Ohio; on January i, 1862, he was com- 
 missioned second lieutenant of Company 
 B, same regiment; on July 25, 1862, was 
 commissioned first lieutenant of Com- 
 pany C, in the army of the Cumberland, 
 under Gen. W. S. Rosecrans; and on Janu- 
 ary 21, 1863, Lieutenant Bloch received 
 his commission as captain of Company 
 F. , same regiment. He served with his 
 regiment in Missouri, Alabama, Kentucky, 
 Tennessee and Georgia, and participated 
 in the battles of Perryville, in the Stone 
 River Campaign (while in the F'ourteenth 
 Army Corps), at Tullahoma, Chickamauga 
 (September 19 20, 1863), Chattanooga, 
 Missionary Ridge, Lookout Mountain, 
 and accompanied Sherman as far as Ma- 
 rietta, Ga., when he returned homeward, 
 receiving his discharge at Chicago, 111., 
 August 6, 1864. In that citj' he was em- 
 ployed in the post office until February, 
 1 866, when he returned to Oconto. Here 
 he accepted the position of bookkeeper 
 for the Oconto Co., with whom he re- 
 mained three years, after which he worked 
 (or different lumber companies, in various 
 capacities. He was appointed, by Gov. 
 J. M. Rusk, timber agent, and served for 
 five years; was chairman of the Republic- 
 an County Committee from 1 890 to 1894, 
 four years. In 1894. he was elected, on 
 the Republican ticket, county clerk of 
 Oconto county, taking office on the 
 seventh day of January, 1895. 
 
 On January 8, 186S, Mr. Bloch was 
 united in marriage with Miss Kate M. 
 Slereth, who was born in Chicago, 111., a 
 daughter of Joseph J. and Margaret A. 
 Slereth, natives, the father (who is now 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 565 
 
 deceased) of Frankfurt, Germany, the 
 mother (who now resides in Lake View, 
 Chicago), of Baton Rouge, La. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Bloch have been born eleven 
 children, seven of whom are yet living, 
 viz. : Otto C. (who resides in Oconto), 
 Walter, Lincoln, Bernard, ^famie, Meta 
 and Jennie. Politically, as has already 
 been suggested, our subject is a Republi- 
 can; he served on the county board thir- 
 teen years; was member of the city coun- 
 cil three years, and of the building com- 
 mittee when the court house at Oconto 
 was erected in 1891. Socially, he is 
 affiliated with the L O. O. F., and of E. 
 A. Ramsey Post, G. A. R. Having, with 
 the exception of the time he was in the 
 army, been a resident of Oconto county 
 since 1856, Mr. Bloch has seen much 
 and aided not a httle in the material 
 growth of the county, its wonderful de- 
 velopment and its vast resources, and he 
 has won the esteem and respect of her 
 citizens. 
 
 REV. PETER PELE, pastor of the 
 Church of St. John the Baptist, 
 at Coleman, Marinette county, 
 has, since entering the priesthood, 
 had his field of labor in northern Wiscon- 
 sin, having served various Churches and 
 Missions in Florence, Waupaca and Mari- 
 nette counties. 
 
 Father Pele is a native of " La Belle 
 France," born in 1849 in Brittany, son of 
 August and Ann (Beaudry) Pele, who 
 were born in France and passed their en- 
 tire lives in that country, the mother 
 dying in 1S84. Our subject was reared 
 in Brittany, and there at St. Stanislaus 
 College received his education. Having 
 come to America, he in 1883 entered St. 
 John's College, at Collegeville, Minn., 
 from which he w'as graduated and shortly 
 afterward was ordained by Bishop Katzer 
 in the Cathedral at Green Bay, Wis. In 
 1889 he entered upon the duties of his 
 first charge, at Florence, Florence county, 
 and was next stationed at Lebanon, Wau- 
 
 paca county, where in addition to his 
 regular duties he had charge of the mis- 
 sions at Manawa and Northport. Meeting 
 with an accident there, however, he re- 
 signed his charge, and in 1891 came to 
 Coleman, Marinette county, where he 
 has since been pastor in charge, at first 
 having also all the missions as far north 
 as Amberg. 
 
 The Church of St. John the Baptist, at 
 Coleman, Marinette county, was estab- 
 lished as a mission in 1881, and the Con- 
 gregation, then comprising but ten or 
 twelve families, was served by Rev. John 
 Seubert, of Peshtigo, where they had 
 previously attended. From 1876 Father 
 P. C. Menard, of Menominee, Mich., had 
 also administered to the spiritual needs of 
 the few Catholics here, and for a number 
 of years mass was said in the schoolhouse, 
 two miles east of Coleman. Father Seu- 
 bert was succeeded by Father Renter, 
 and he in turn, in 1882, by Rev. Charles 
 Hoogstoel, from Stiles, Oconto county, 
 who attended to the growing congregation 
 for some years. Application was made 
 to the Right Rev. Bishop Katzer to come 
 and see to the building of a church edi- 
 fice, and he, being unable to come, sent 
 the Very Rev. Norc. Kersten. They 
 were undecided in regard to the location, 
 whether it should be at Coleman or 
 three miles east; but a small church was 
 finally erected between the two places, 
 one mile east of the railroad station, at a 
 cost of $300, under the supervision of 
 Father Hoogstoel. The congregation con- 
 tinued to grow until the old church was 
 found inadequate, and with the question 
 of rebuilding the old question of location 
 again came up. The West side was de- 
 veloping, and the Bishop decided that 
 the church should be erected in the neigh- 
 borhood of the Chicago, Milwaukee & 
 St. Paul railroad station. The first build- 
 ing collapsed while in process of construc- 
 tion, and one man was killed in the acci- 
 dent, but the work was resumed and the 
 building was put up in 1889. At that 
 time Rev. J. A. Sclbach had charge of 
 
566 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the missions of Wausaukee and Coleman, 
 and as far north as Michigan, having his 
 residence at Wausaukee. At the time the 
 present church was built three acres were 
 given by John Baptist Belanger for a 
 priest's house and church, and three acres 
 by August Beaudry for a cemetery. In 
 1 89 1, as above stated, Father Peter Pele 
 became pastor, and on his arrival he 
 found a debt of $1,493; ^"t he has, by 
 his untiring zeal and devotion to the in- 
 terests of his congregation, placed the 
 church in a most flourishing condition. 
 In the year of his arrival he erected the 
 priest's residence, a fine two-story frame 
 dwelling, at a cost of $2,500; a fine main 
 altar and two smaller ones have been 
 added, and an organ has been purchased. 
 He also prosecuted diligently the work of 
 completing the yet unfinished church 
 building at Wausaukee, which at that 
 time was not even plastered; under his 
 efficient management, however, the work 
 was completed, a steeple was erected and 
 provided with a bell, the main altar and 
 two smaller ones have been added, an 
 organ has been purchased, and numerous 
 other improvements made thereto. On 
 June 17, 1895, the church steeple was 
 struck by lightning. In 1890 a church 
 fair was held, by which the sum of $556 
 was added to the treasury, and the con- 
 gregation then agreed to be incorporated 
 under the law of 1883, organizing Decem- 
 ber I with Sinai Brault, secretary, and 
 Louis Dupuis, treasurer. The church 
 now numbers about 125 families, includ- 
 ine those at Pound, and Father Pele's 
 labors are not confined to the people at 
 Coleman and Pound, for he also says 
 mass at Beaver, Ellis Junction and Wau- 
 saukee. He has served various missions, 
 at first having charge as far north as Am- 
 berg, and under his auspices the church 
 at Amberg was erected from the founda- 
 tions in 1893, and the same year was 
 blessed by the Bishop. Father Pele is a 
 member of the Catholic Foresters at 
 Oconto. 
 
 When Father Pele came to the now 
 
 flourishing village of Coleman it contained 
 but threehouses, and though his labors have 
 been directed toward advancing the spirit- 
 ual welfare of the community, he never- 
 theless has watched with interest the 
 development of its material resources and 
 the vast improvements which have been 
 and are being made in this section. — [Since 
 the above was written, Father Pele, ex- 
 hausted by too much work, in October, 
 1895, f^^ll sick, and was obliged to stay 
 three weeks in St. Vincent's Hospital, 
 Green Bay. After that time, his health 
 improving, his Bishop offered him St. 
 Joseph's Church, West De Pere, Brown 
 county, where he is now stationed, having 
 charge there of St. Joseph's congregation. 
 
 REV. THEODORE J. RICHARD, 
 pastor of the Church of Our Lady 
 of Loundes, at Marinette, has 
 during the past twenty years 
 labored unceasingly and untiringly, faith- 
 fully and devotedly, for the spiritual wel- 
 fare of the congregations placed under his 
 charge in Wisconsin. 
 
 He is a native of Switzerland, born 
 December 17, 1851, in Arlesheim, Canton 
 Basel, a son of George and Mary Ann 
 (Gross) Richard, both also born in Basel. 
 The father, who was a well-to-do merchant 
 in Switzerland, came to the United States 
 in 1872, settling in Appleton, Wis., where 
 he lived retired the rest of his days, dying 
 April 7, 1 891; his widow is now passing 
 her declining years with her son, the sub- 
 ject of these lines. George and Mary Ann 
 Richard were the parents of five chil- 
 dren — four sons and one daughter — as 
 follows: Robert, cashier of the First Na- 
 tional Bank of Appleton, Wis. ; Theodore 
 J., subject of sketch; William, book- 
 keeper in the Commercial Bank at Apple- 
 ton; Alfred, in the boot and shoe business 
 at Beaver Dam, Wis. ; and Mary, wife of 
 Charles Mayer, proprietor of a boot and 
 shoe store at Wausau. 
 
 In his native land Rev. Father Rich- 
 ard attended the St. Mary Institute at 
 
I' 
 
 r 
 
 "^k 
 
 VI 
 
 \^ 
 
 <«€^'^<^'X- (_^t<>^^-''^ --^ 
 
 £^'^t<n<y 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 567 
 
 Einsiedeln, Canton Schwytz, until he was 
 prepared to enter the University of Frei- 
 burg, Germany, which he did in 1870, 
 when nineteen years old, graduating there 
 in the theological course in 1871. This 
 completed his education in Europe, for in 
 the latter year he came to the United 
 States, with the rest of the family, and 
 to Wisconsin, entering St. Francis Col- 
 lege near Milwaukee, at the end of a year 
 leaving there and completing his course at 
 the University of Our Lady of Angels, at 
 Suspension Bridge, N. Y. In January, 
 1875, he was ordained a priest by Bishop 
 Foley, at Chicago, and in March, same 
 3'ear, was appointed to the pastorate of 
 St. Mar3''s Church at Wausau, Wis., his 
 first charge. When he took up his work 
 there the congregation numbered some 
 forty families, which, during his incum- 
 bency of some nineteen years, he saw with 
 pleasure grow to about three hundred 
 families, although a large portion of the 
 members had withdrawn to form St. Mi- 
 chael's Polish Church, in order that they 
 might have a pastor to address them in 
 their mother tongue. St. Mary's Church 
 was poor and in debt when Father Rich- 
 ard took the helm of affairs; but this did 
 not daunt the young pastor, and he at 
 once set about placing his charge on 
 a sound financial basis. The Catholic 
 school, opened in 1883, was secured 
 through his efforts. To him is also due 
 in the main the founding and erecting of 
 St. Mary's new Church at Wausau, one 
 of the most beautiful structures of the 
 kind in northern Wisconsin, and by far 
 the handsomest church building in Wau- 
 sau — a monument to the indefatigable 
 zeal and assiduous energy of its founder 
 and late pastor. 
 
 On August 17, 1894, Rev. T. J. Rich- 
 ard assumed pastoral charge of the Church 
 of Our Lady of Lourdes at Marinette, and 
 is continuing here the same good work 
 he accomplished at Wausau. He has 
 ample field for his labors, as the congre- 
 gation is the largest in Marinette, num- 
 bering nearly 400 families — a field for 
 
 which a pastor of Father Richard's activ- 
 ity and ability is well adapted. 
 
 The Congregation is one of the earliest 
 in Marinette. In 1868-69 the first Cath- 
 olic Church building was erected, and in 
 1870 a priest's house and school building 
 were added, but the fire of 1871 swept 
 everything away. In the spring of 1872 
 the present fine edifice was commenced, 
 and completed in 1874, the Sisters' House 
 being in the meantime used as a church, 
 at which time Rev. Father Pernin was in 
 charge of the congregation. The foun- 
 dation of the church was laid by Bishop 
 Melcher in the spring of 1872, and a year 
 later the priest's residence was erected. 
 In 1885 the school building was completed 
 at a cost of $6,000, under the pastoral 
 work of Rev. Joseph J. Fo.\. Exclusive 
 of the Convent, which belongs to the Sis- 
 ters (having been built by them in 1892 
 at a cost of $8,000), the entire church 
 property is now valued at not less than 
 $30,000. 
 
 Although yet a young man. Father 
 Richard has filled a well-rounded career 
 of pastoral life, covering a couple of dec- 
 ades, with honor and dignity, and has 
 well earned the distinction of being pastor 
 of one of the wealthiest congregations of 
 northern Wisconsin. Socially, he is a 
 member of the Catholic Order of Knights, 
 also the Catholic Order of Foresters, and 
 he is honored and respected by all de- 
 nominations. 
 
 LEM J. BOVEE, a well-to-do 
 farmer of Pensaukee township, 
 Oconto county, has lived there 
 for nearly thirty 3'ears, and has 
 seen this section of Wisconsin transformed 
 from a forest, where railroads and other 
 improvements of civilization were yet un- 
 known, to a busy lumbering and agricul- 
 tural district. 
 
 Mr. Bovee came to Wisconsin in 1843 
 with his parents, Philip and Charlotte 
 (Pittman) Bovee, both of whom were na- 
 tives of New York State, where they were 
 
568 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 reared and married. When the family 
 came to Wisconsin it was still a Territory. 
 They remained in Milwaukee three 
 months, after which they went to Eagle, 
 Waukesha county, and settled on a new 
 farm in the woods of that county, where 
 the parents passed the remainder of their 
 lives, the father dying in 1873, the mother 
 in 1879. Mr. Bovee was an energetic, 
 progressive man, and took an active part 
 in the affairs of the county in which he 
 made his home. He practiced law in the 
 justice courts, and for two terms was reg- 
 ister of deeds. In politics he was origin- 
 ally a Democrat, later a Republican, and 
 he was a loyal Union man during the 
 war of the Rebellion, in which he served 
 nine months, enlisting from Waukesha 
 county. Mr. and ^^rs. Bovee were the 
 parents of eight children, \\z.: Eliza, 
 who died in Waushara county. Wis. ; 
 Thomas P., who resides in Waushara 
 county; Sarina, who died in Kansas; 
 Lem J. ; Mary, who died in \\'aukesha 
 county; John I., who resides in Gould 
 City, Mich., engaged in the cedar business 
 (he came to Oconto in 1 867, was a teacher 
 at Brookside, clerked for F. B. Gardner, 
 and was in the mercantile business at 
 Brookside, where he also served as post- 
 master; he was chairman for five years, 
 and treasurer one year); E^ugene C., liv- 
 ing in Denver, Colo.; and Kate (^frs. 
 Parsons), of Eagle, Waukesha county, 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 Our subject was born in 1836 in Am- 
 sterdam, Montgomery Co., N. Y. He 
 was educated in the public schools of the 
 neighborhood of his home in Waukesha 
 county, and after leaving school engaged 
 in agricultural pursuits until after he 
 reached man's estate. In 1858 he jour- 
 neyed to California by water, via the 
 Isthmus, and was engaged in mining in 
 El Dorado county until 1861, when he 
 went to Silver City, Nev., where he also 
 followed mining, returning to Waukesha 
 county. Wis., in 1866. In 1867 he was 
 married, in Waukesha count}', to Miss 
 Susan A. Betts, a native of that county, 
 
 and in the same year came to Oconto 
 county, locating on a partly-improved 
 farm of eighty acres, situated in Section 
 18, Pensaukee township. Here he has 
 since resided, devoting himself principally 
 to the improvement and cultivation of his 
 farm, which he has also added to until it 
 now comprises 120 acres, si.\tj'-five of 
 which are cleared and stumped. When 
 he settled on this place but twenty acres 
 had been cleared, and the present con- 
 dition of the farm is a credit both to the 
 industry and taste of the owner. In ad- 
 dition to his agricultural work Mr. Bovee 
 scaled logs for si.\teen winters on the riv- 
 ers. He is a Republican in politics, and 
 is active in local public affairs, having 
 served as town clerk five years, and as 
 assessor for four consecutive years. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Bovee have been 
 born seven children, five of whom are liv- 
 ing, viz. : Wilbert, married, and residing 
 at Fort Howard, Wis. ; Jonathan, mar- 
 ried, and residing at Gould City, Mich. ; 
 Elmer, Bessie, and Charles. Two 
 daughters are deceased — Amy, who died 
 when four weeks old, and Minnie, who 
 became the wife of Charles Tuttle, and 
 died in 1894, at the earlj- age of nineteen 
 years. Mrs. Bovee is the daughter of 
 Jonathan and Lucina (Ewer) Betts, who 
 were natives of England and New York, 
 respectively. Mr. Betts came to the 
 State of Illinois in 1833, and in 1835 to 
 Wisconsin, settling at Eagle, Waukesha 
 count}'. There he married and passed 
 the remainder of his days, dying in 1891; 
 Mrs. Betts still lives in Waukesha countv. 
 
 ANDREW H. COLBURN has spent 
 the greater part of his active life 
 in Marinette county, having taken 
 up his residence there in 1873, and 
 during those busy years has witnessed 
 many remarkable changes, not onl\- in his 
 adopted county, but in the entire sur- 
 rounding region. 
 
 Born in 1847 in Jefferson count}, N.Y., 
 he was reared to manhood in his native 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 569 
 
 State, receiving his education in the com- 
 mon schools of Jefferson and Oswego 
 counties. He learned the carpenter's 
 trade, and during his early manhood also 
 went before the mast, sailing on the lakes 
 for nine years, between Montreal and 
 Chicago, in the employ of the Northern 
 Transportation Company. On January 
 I, if^73, he arrived in Peshtigo, Mari- 
 nette Co., Wis., here following his trade 
 for a time, after which he worked in the 
 general store of S. D. Newton. He next 
 engaged in business in partnership with 
 R. O. Philbrook, they building the first 
 store in Iron Mountain, where they con- 
 ducted a general mercantile business for 
 sometime, Mr. Colburn eventually dispos- 
 ing of his interest in same to Mr. Philbrook. 
 In 1884 he settled on his farm, which 
 lies in Section 28, Grover township, in 
 the "Lower Sugar Bush," and which, 
 under his faithful and efficient manage- 
 ment, has become a well-improved, pro- 
 ductive tract, Mr. Colburn devoting his 
 time to general farming. 
 
 Our subject was married in 1876, at 
 Peshtigo, to Miss Eliza Bartels, a native 
 of Marinette county, born in the "Sugar 
 Bush," daughter of Henry and Dora 
 (Bakeman) Bartels. Mr. and Mrs. Bartels 
 were both natives of Germany, emigra- 
 ting from that country to the United States 
 and becoming early pioneers of this section 
 of Wisconsin, where they opened up a 
 farm and made a permanent home. The 
 father died in 1892, the mother in 1891, 
 leavingafamily of nine children, viz. : Fred, 
 who resides in Stephenson, Mich. ; Eliza, 
 Mrs. Colburn ;Henry, who lives in Tennes- 
 see;Charles, living in Marinette ;Louisa, re- 
 siding in Tennessee; John, of Marinette; 
 Sophia, (Mrs. Parthy),of Grover township; 
 George, living on his father's farm near 
 his sister's, in Marinette county; and 
 Christ, who is in the employ of Mr. Col- 
 burn. To Mr. and Mrs. Colburn have 
 come two children, both daughters, viz. : 
 Ida (who died in infancy) and Ruby. Mr. 
 Colburn has always taken a lively interest 
 in the public as well as the business wel- 
 
 fare of his section, and has served his 
 township four years as supervisor, and si.K 
 years as member of the school board. 
 In political affiliation he is a Republican. 
 Phineas and Mary Ann (Johnson) 
 Colburn, parents of Andrew H. Col- 
 burn, were natives of New York State, 
 where they passed their entire lives, the 
 father, who was a farmer, passing away 
 there in about the year 1845, the mother 
 in 1S58. They reared a family of three 
 children: Austin, who died in New York; 
 Hiram, who came to Wisconsin, locating 
 first in Peshtigo, and in 1887 in Iron 
 Mountain, where he now resides, holding 
 the position as overseer of the poor there; 
 and Andrew H., whose name introduces 
 these lines. 
 
 ARCHIBALD McAllister is 
 one of the most popular and 
 respected residents of Marinette, 
 and a worthy representative of 
 the lumber interests of the city. His 
 pleasant, social manner has gained him 
 many friends, and we therefore feel as- 
 sured that the record of his life will prove 
 of interest to many of our readers. He 
 has resided in Marinette since 1865, com- 
 ing to the place from New Brunswick. 
 
 Mr. McAllister was born in Kilmar- 
 nock, Ayrshire, Scotland, June 27, 1838, 
 and is a son of Daniel and Flora (Mc- 
 Kelvie) McAllister, also of Scottish birth, 
 having been born on the Island of Arran. 
 They were reared and married in their 
 native country, and there the father 
 learned the trade of shoemaking. He 
 subsequently came to New Brunswick, 
 where he followed farming, and worked at 
 his trade until his removal to Marinette. 
 He died in Marinette February 12, 1S92; 
 his wife passed away May 20, 1888. In 
 their family were six children, Archibald 
 being the eldest. John came from New 
 Brunswick to Marinette, where he spent 
 one winter, and the following spring 
 crossed the Plains; he now resides in 
 Tacoma, Wash. Daniel J. is numbered 
 
57° 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPEICAL RECORD. 
 
 among the early settlers of Marinette. 
 William is living in the same cit_v. Peter 
 is engaged in merchandising here. Mary 
 is also living in Marinette. 
 
 In his native land Archibald McAllis- 
 ter spent the days of his boyhood and 
 youth, and acquired his education. On 
 the emigration of the family to New 
 Brunswick he aided in opening up a farm, 
 and afterward turned his attention to 
 work in the lumber woods, being thus 
 employed in Canada until his removal to 
 Marinette, in the fall of 1865. Here he 
 entered the employ of the N. Ludington 
 Lumber Co., driving a team for a month, 
 after which he went into the woods. He 
 continued in their employ for eight years, 
 and for some time occupied the responsi- 
 ble position of foreman, after which, in 
 1873, he embarked in lumbering in his 
 own interest, building up an e.xtensive 
 jobbing business. He also successfully 
 deals in real estate, and is the owner of 
 a good two-story brick block on Main 
 street, which was erected in 1884. To 
 this he made an addition in 1893, and in 
 dimensions it is now 70 feet front by 66 
 feet deep, and it is one of the substantial 
 business blocks of the city; the lower iloor 
 is occupied by the Bell Clothing Com- 
 pany, and the upper floor is used for office 
 purposes. Mr. McAllister also owns a 
 good farm adjoining Marinette. 
 
 In New Brunswick our subject married 
 Miss Catherine Adams, a native of Can- 
 ada, and to them were born two children: 
 John, who died at the age of twenty-one in 
 Marinette; and Catherine, wife of L. A. 
 McAlpine, of Marinette. The mother 
 died in 1872, and Mr. McAllister was 
 married in Oconto, Wis., to Jane Mc- 
 Millan, a native of New Brunswick, and 
 a daughter of William McMillan, who 
 was born in Scotland, and went to New 
 Brunswick in an early day. Mr. and 
 Mrs. McAllister are members of the Pio- 
 neer Presbyterian Church, and socially 
 he is connected with the Masonic Frater- 
 nity, belonging to the Blue Lodge, Chap- 
 ter and Commandcry of Marinette. In 
 
 politics he is a Republican, and has served 
 as assessor of the city for nine years. He 
 has witnessed the entire development of 
 this section of the State, and has ever 
 borne his part in the work of public pro- 
 gress. The architect of his own fortunes, 
 he has built wisely and well, and a sub- 
 stantial structure in the shape of a hand- 
 some competence now stands as a monu- 
 ment to his enterprise. 
 
 Ri:V. L. A. S. CARON, pastor of 
 the St. Joseph's French Catholic 
 Church, Marinette, has done a 
 wonderful work in the five years in 
 which he has been there engaged. The 
 first church erected by that body was in 
 November, 1890, the organization having 
 been effected in the previous month of 
 May. The first building was a tempo- 
 rary structure, now used for school pur- 
 poses. In May. 1891, the erection of the 
 present imposing church building was 
 commenced, and in due time completed 
 at a cost of $22,000. It is located on 
 the corner of Mcnekaunee and Stanton 
 streets, and attracts the attention of every 
 passer-by. St. Joseph's Church was sepa- 
 rated from that of Our Lady of Lourdes 
 in the spring of 1890, and under the wise 
 ministration of Father Caron has rapidly 
 grown until it has a present membership of 
 three hundred and sixty families. In con- 
 nection there is a good parochial school, 
 which was established in 1893, and has 
 now an average attendance of some one 
 hundred pupils. The church property is 
 valued at about $30,000. 
 
 Father Caron was born near the city 
 of Quebec, Canada, January 5, 1S47, and 
 is the son of L. M. and Appoline (St. 
 Peter) Caron, both of whom were born 
 in the same parish. The father is by 
 occupation a farmer in L' Islet, in the 
 county of L' Islet, which has always been 
 his home. He is still living, now at the 
 advanced age of eighty-three years; the 
 mother died many years ago, when thirty- 
 six years old. Their family consisted of 
 
^i^dC€>-zt^^ JT. 0. '■&, 
 
 e^ ^^^>^_^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 S1^ 
 
 four children: J. E., married and living 
 in L" Islet county, Canada, is the father 
 of seventeen children, thirteen of whom 
 are yet living; L. A. S., our subject; 
 Mary, who married Phineas Aforin, and 
 died in 18S7 in Montniagny county, Can- 
 ada; and Mary Rosa Delima, tiie wife of 
 Elzear Bernier, the first intcndent of the 
 Government prison in the city of Quebec, 
 Canada. 
 
 Our subject was reared in his native 
 country, and educated at St. Ann's Semi- 
 nary, diocese of Quebec, where he spent 
 seven years. After leaving the seminary 
 he read law with an eminent practitioner, 
 and attended a law school in Ouebec one 
 year (1874). In the fall of 1875 he was 
 admitted to the bar at Montreal, Canada, 
 and began practicing at L' Islet, wliere 
 he remained three years as public notary. 
 Having resolved to abandon the profession 
 of law for the priesthood, he entered the 
 college of Chicoutimi, graduating three 
 years and a half later, and was ordained 
 priest. His first work was at St. Prime, 
 Lake St. John, Lake St. John Co., Prov- 
 ince of Quebec, having been sent there 
 as assistant to Rev. Father F. X. Belley, 
 now Vicar General of the Diocese of Chi- 
 coutimi. His presence in that place was 
 more in order to attend three missions 
 farther away — St. Felicien, St. Methode 
 and St. Cyrille — than to work for St. 
 Prime. In the latter part of his second 
 year there he conducted the works of the 
 new Church in the Mission of St. Feli- 
 cien. From that place, at the expiration 
 of two years, he was sent to St. Croi.x, 
 Tadousac, Saguenay Co., Canada, where 
 he spent four years of very great and use- 
 ful labor; he had there to attend two 
 missions farther than his parish — St. 
 Firmin and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 
 In addition to his regular ministerial du- 
 ties, he built a handsome stone church in 
 Tadousac, and a wooden church in the 
 Sacred Heart of Jesus mission. At the 
 end of his four years an accident to his 
 right arm obliged him to take a rest of 
 six months, after which he had charge as 
 
 pastor of the Church of the Sacred Heart 
 of Jesus with the mission of Anse St. 
 Etienne, Saguenay county, for nearly two 
 years. He was then sent to Little River, 
 St. Francis Xavier, Charlevoix Co., 
 Province of Quebec. His I^ishop sent 
 him thither with the hope that he might 
 be there long enough to build a new 
 church; but as the parishioners were not 
 ready to begin the work of the new 
 church during the year, he decided to 
 leave for the States at the end of the year. 
 So, the year being over, and with the con- 
 sent of his Bishop, who saw him leave his 
 Diocese with great regret. Father Caron 
 came to Marinette, where he has accom- 
 plished, as stated, a great work, and is uni- 
 versally esteemed for his good word and 
 works. The parishioners of St. Joseph's 
 Church desire to see him work many 
 years more in the midst of them for the 
 welfare of the Congregation. 
 
 Father Caron is a member of the 
 Catholic Knights of Wisconsin, of the 
 Catholic Foresters, of the Catholic Be- 
 nevolent Association, and of St. John the 
 Baptist Society, all of which are con- 
 nected with his congregation. 
 
 J A. BRIEN, M. D., has been a resi- 
 dent of Marinette for the past four 
 years, and in that short period of 
 time has already built up an exten- 
 sive practice, one of which he may well 
 be proud. He is a native of Montreal, 
 Canada, born in 1869, and is a son of A. 
 L. and Adeline (Masson) Brien, both of 
 whom are also natives of that city, where 
 they yet reside, the father being a notary 
 public there. 
 
 Our subject grew to manhood in Mon- 
 treal, and received his education in the 
 schools of that city, graduating from 
 Montreal College, and also, in 1891, from 
 Laval University, Montreal, with the de- 
 gree of M. D., with great distinction. 
 On graduating from the university he be- 
 came associated with the medical staff of 
 Notre Dame Hospital, Montreal, where 
 
572 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 
 
 he remained until coining to Marinette, 
 in 1S92. In the spring of 1893 the 
 Doctor returned to Montreal, and there 
 married Miss Eveline Giroux, a native of 
 that city, and a daughter of Hercules and 
 Albina (Lamoureux) Giroux, who were 
 also natives of Canada. Her father, who 
 was a wholesale dry-goods merchant in 
 Montreal, died in 1885; her mother is yet 
 residing there. To Dr. and Mrs. Brien 
 two sons have been born — Andre and 
 Paul. 
 
 Dr. Brien is a member of the French 
 Catholic Church of Marinette, in which 
 he has always taken an active interest. 
 Fraternally he is aftiliated with St. Jo- 
 seph's Court No. 301, Catholic Order of 
 Foresters; Court No. 372, of our Lady of 
 Lourdes, C. O. F. ; Branch No. 5, Catho- 
 lic Knights of Wisconsin; Council No. 
 454, Catholic Benevolent Legion, and of 
 St. John the Baptist Society. In each 
 of these he is medical examiner. In 
 politics he is independent. As a physi- 
 cian he ranks among the best in the com- 
 munity, and is frequently called in con- 
 sultation by other phj'sicians of the city 
 and county. He is a member of the 
 Menominee River Medical Socictj', and 
 takes an active interest in the proceed- 
 ings of that body. 
 
 ROBERT M( WILLIAMS, who has 
 been postmaster at Porterfield, 
 Marinette county, since the office 
 was established there, in 1S86, 
 has been identified from early manhood 
 with the interests of the county, both 
 mercantile and agricultural. 
 
 Mr. McW'illiams came to Wisconsin 
 from Prince Edward Island, Canada, 
 where he was born July 21, 1854, son of 
 John and Mary (Hillman) McWilliams, 
 natives of the same place. The father, 
 who has always been a farmer by occu- 
 pation, still resides in Canada; the mother 
 passed from earth in 1868. They reared 
 a family of seven children, all yet living, 
 viz. : Mary Ann, wife of George More- 
 
 side, Louise (Mrs. Robert Harris), and 
 Rose (wife of Robert Harris), all three 
 living in Canada; Maggie (wife of John 
 Nobin), of De Pere, Wis. ; Jane (Mrs. 
 Harris), who lives in Canada; William,- 
 who resides in Marinette, and Robert, 
 whose name introduces this biography. 
 
 Our subject was reared and educated 
 in his native place. When a young man 
 he went before the mast, and engaged in 
 sading in the Gulf of St. Lawrence until 
 1879, the year of his coming to Wis- 
 consin and to Marinette county. For 
 about two years after his arrival in the 
 county Mr. McWilliams was in the em- 
 ploy of I. Stephenson, and in 1 884 he 
 came to Porterfield, where he has since 
 made his home, engaging successfully in 
 the grocery business, and also, up to 
 1895, having charge of a section on the 
 Milwaukee & St. Paul road. He took up 
 land crossed by that railroad, and now 
 owns eighty-one acres, a well-improved 
 and productive tract. Though his pri- 
 vate affairs have never suffered for lack of 
 attention, Mr. McWilliams has also found 
 time to devote to the interests of his 
 township and county, having served faith- 
 fully in the positions of township treas- 
 urer (two years) and postmaster. He as- 
 sisted in forming Porterfield township, 
 and is a loyal, progressive citizen in every 
 sense of the word, furthering the interests 
 of the community in which he resides in 
 every possible way. He is independent, 
 politically, supporting the men and meas- 
 ures which he considers most worthy of 
 his support. Socially he is a member of 
 Marinette Lodge No. 18, F. & A. M., and 
 of Marinette Chapter No. 53. R. A. M. 
 
 In 1884 Mr. McWilliams and Miss 
 Marj' Egan were united in marriage, in 
 Marinette, and their union has been 
 blessed with three children : Jennie, 
 George and Melvin. Mrs. McWilliams 
 was born in Providence, R. I., daughter 
 of F^rank and Ann (Cannon) Egan, also 
 natives of Rhode Island, who now reside 
 in Menominee, Mich., where they came 
 in an early day. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 573 
 
 FRANK WAKING, postmaster at 
 Morcnce, Florence county, was 
 born, in iS6i, in Lebanon, 111., 
 son of Thaddeiis R. and Hester 
 C. fWaterbiiry) Warinj:;-, who were of 
 New York and Connecticut, respectively. 
 Thaddeus R. Waring died in Mobile, 
 Ala., and Mrs. Waring now resides in 
 Noroton, Fairfield Co., Ccnn. They 
 reared a family of five sons, all living, 
 namely: Frederick, of Connecticut; 
 Charles W., of Waltham, Mass.; Henry 
 F., postmaster at Noroton, Conn. ; Frank, 
 whose name opens this sketch; and Will- 
 iam G., who resides at Noroton, Connect- 
 icut. 
 
 Frank Waring, who is the fourth 
 son in his father's family, was reared in 
 Connecticut, receiving his education in 
 the schools of Noroton, and in 1881 came 
 from there to Commonwealth township, 
 Florence Co., Wis. For five years he 
 was in the employ of the Commonwealth 
 mine, and was then elected town clerk of 
 Commonwealth, holding that office two 
 years. In 1887 he located at Florence, 
 Florence county, where in the same year 
 he was united in marriage with Miss 
 Emma Sherman, who was born in Port- 
 age, Columbia Co., Wis., and they have 
 had three children: Eleanor, A. Frances 
 and Winifred. The parents of Mrs. 
 Waring, H. I. and Anna (Fardell) Sher- 
 man, were early pioneers of Wisconsin, 
 and came to Florence, where Mrs. Sher- 
 man now lives. H. I. Sherman resides 
 in Mil.vaukee. 
 
 In 1887 Mr. Waring was appointed 
 clerk of the court, to fill a vacancy, and 
 was subsequently elected three times, con- 
 tinuing in that offlce seven years. For 
 four years he was town clerk of Florence 
 township, and on Marcii 23, 1893, was 
 appointed postmaster at Florence, in con- 
 nection with the duties of which office he 
 also does a small law business. The post 
 office at Florence was established in 1879, 
 H. D. Fisher being the first postmaster. 
 It was a third-class office up to July, 
 1895, since when it has been a fourth- 
 
 class office, in fact, since its inception it 
 has changed from third to fourth grade at 
 various times. Mr. Waring has also held 
 other public positions, having served as 
 circuit clerk, township clerk, etc. In 
 politics he is a Democrat, and socially he 
 is a member of Fisher Lodge No. 222, F. 
 & A. M., having been made a Mason in 
 1885, and has Ijeen secretary for nine 
 years; he is also a member of Badger 
 Tent, No. 12, K. O. T. M., and was 
 commander in 1894. Mr. Waring has 
 been identified with Florence county for 
 years, and has seen many changes in this 
 part of Wisconsin. 
 
 DW. JOHN, druggist. No. 1331, 
 Main street, Marinette, has been 
 in business in that city since No- 
 vember I, 1884. He carries a 
 full and complete line of drugs, paints, 
 oils, and in fact everything comprised in 
 a first-class drug store, together with 
 school books and stationery. 
 
 He is a native of Dayton, Ohio, born 
 in 1849, and is a son of John and Sarah 
 (Van Winkle) John, the former born near 
 Dayton, Ohio, the latter in Preble coun- 
 ty, Ohio. They grew to manhood and 
 womanhood in their native State and 
 there married. The father was a gradu- 
 ate of a medical college at Cincinnati, 
 Ohio, and began the practice of medicine 
 near Dayton, Ohio, where he remained 
 for some years and then removed to Car- 
 roll county, Ind., where he still con- 
 tinued in the practice of his profession. 
 During the war he was quite active in re- 
 cruiting men for the Ninth, Twentieth, 
 Twenty-first and Forty-sixth Regiments 
 I. V. I. In 1863 he returned to Ohio 
 where lie remained until 1867, and in 
 the fall of that year removed to Caldwell 
 county, Mo., locating at Kingston, where 
 he again engaged in practice until a few 
 years ago. He is now living a retired 
 life in that city. His wife, the mother 
 of our subject, died in Kingston in 1893. 
 They reared a family of four children: 
 
574 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 D. W. , our subject; Jennie, who died in 
 1893; Ella, wife of John Borst, residing 
 near Mason City, Iowa; and Anna, wife 
 of W. A. W'ood, an attorney at Kingston, 
 Missouri. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of our sub- 
 ject were spent in Ohio and Indiana, and 
 his education was received in their public 
 schools. When eighteen years of age, 
 he went with his parents to Kingston, 
 Mo., where he engaged in teaching, and 
 later accepted a position in a drug store 
 in Kingston, and also at other points in 
 Missouri. In 1873 he went to Fox Lake, 
 Wis., was there engaged as clerk in a 
 drug store, going from thence to Tomah, 
 Wis., and there remained until his com- 
 ing to Marinette in 1884, where he has 
 since continued to reside, and where he 
 has been actively engaged in business. 
 
 Mr. John was married in Dodge coun- 
 ty, Wis., in 1877, to Miss Fannie K. 
 Handy, born in Dodge county, and 
 daughter of Hale and Laura (Wood) 
 Handy, both of whom were natives of 
 New York, but who were numbered with 
 the pioneers of Dodge county. Wis. Her 
 father, by occupation a farmer, removed 
 from his native State to Dodge county in 
 1844, where he has since continued to 
 reside. To Mr. and Mrs. John have 
 been born si.x children: Morton, Allen, 
 Jesse, William, Laura and Harold. 
 
 In his political views Mr. John is a 
 stanch Republican, and is at present 
 chairman of the Marinette City Republic- 
 an Committee, a position which he has 
 filled since 1892. He has ever taken an 
 active interest in political affairs, and is 
 well posted in the political history of the' 
 country. For some years he has been 
 alderman of the Third ward of the city, 
 and has served with fidelity and credit to 
 himself and his constituents. Frater- 
 nally he is a member of Marinette Lodge, 
 No. 189, I. O. O. F. ; he has been treas- 
 urer of the lodge, and also served as sec- 
 retary. He is a member of Brasted En- 
 campment No. 81, I. O. O. F., and has 
 passed all the principal chairs. In the 
 
 Grand Encampment of the State, he has 
 served as outside sentinel. In matters of 
 religion he is a member of the Baptist 
 Church of Marinette, and is one of its 
 trustees. 
 
 Mr. John is numbered among the 
 most active and enterprising business men 
 of Marinette. He is ever ready to do his 
 part in anything tending to advance the 
 interest of his adopted city. As a busi- 
 ness man, he enjoys the confidence of his 
 business associates, and of the community 
 in which he lives. In everything he en- 
 deavors to live up to the Golden Rule, 
 doing unto others as he would they 
 should do unto him. In connection with 
 his business, he has a branch agency for 
 the American Express Money Order De- 
 partment. When he commenced busi- 
 ness, he had just an even one hundred 
 dollars in gold, and all that he now has 
 is the result of his own efforts, and his 
 success has been equal to his most san- 
 guine expectations. 
 
 GEO. LAYCOCK RI DSD ALE, 
 agent for the "Domestic" and 
 ••Standard" Sewing Machines, 
 has been a resident of Marinette, 
 Marinette county, since December, 1871, 
 but came to the State previous to that 
 date. 
 
 He was born in Wetherby, Yorkshire, 
 England, July 17, 1838, of the marriage 
 of William and Dorothea (Ridsdale) Lay- 
 cock, who were also natives of Yorkshire. 
 The father was a teacher by profession, 
 and in 1856 emigrated to Scott county, 
 Iowa, locating in Le Claire, where he 
 was employed as a ship carpenter. He 
 there held the position of postmaster from 
 1 86 1 until 1892, an honored and faithful 
 official; he is now register of deeds, while 
 for a number of jears he has been pension 
 agent and justice of the peace. He is 
 still living at the advanced age of eighty- 
 two years. His children were (i) George, 
 L. , the subject of this sketch. (2) Thomas 
 F. , who came to Marinette, Wis., in 
 
-^ t^/fe^ 
 
 cX- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 575 
 
 icS73, and here followed the printer's 
 trade; he graduated from the Cooper 
 Institute in New York; durin^; the war he 
 was in the naval service, entering the 
 navy as master's mate January 28, 
 1863, and was honorably discharged 
 at Washington, D. C, December 27, 
 1865, as acting master (relative rank 
 first lieutenant) on board the U. 
 S. Monitor "Tonawanda," and com- 
 manded her after turret; he was on 
 board the U. S. Steam Frigate "Susque- 
 hanna" at the bombardment of Fort Fisher 
 and commanded her quarter-deck division 
 of six quick-firing guns in that battle. (3) 
 Joseph E. came to Marinette in 1869, and 
 after following carpentering for some time 
 engaged in the hardware business in com- 
 pany with the subject of this sketch, un- 
 der the firm name of Ridsdale & Laycock; 
 he was quite a young man at the time of 
 the Civil war, but joined Company H, 
 Twenty-eighth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, 
 and served with the army of the West, 
 participating in the siege of Vicksburg 
 and many other important engagements 
 till the close of the war; in 1875 he 
 moved to what is now the village of Ste- 
 phenson, Mich., of which place he was 
 the founder; since 1892 he has resided in 
 Wichita, Kans. (4) Robert, who enlisted 
 in a Maine regiment, was with the army 
 of the Potomac, and was killed at the 
 battle of the Wilderness. The mother of 
 the above named children died in England 
 in 1852. The father, William Laycock, 
 Sr. , was afterward married in that coun- 
 try to Ellen Longbottom. The children 
 of the second marriage are as follows: (5) 
 Alice, wife of George Tromley, captain of 
 a Mississippi steamer. (6) John Henry, 
 also a river captain, and (7) William, clerk 
 on river steamer. All are living in Le 
 Claire, Iowa. 
 
 Our subject was born, reared and 
 educated in Yorkshire, England, and 
 during his youth shipped before the mast, 
 sailing from Liverpool and London. He 
 was seven years on the ocean, and has 
 
 sailed around the globe, among other 
 33 
 
 countries having visited Japan, China, 
 India, Africa, West Indies, South Ameri- 
 ca, Australia, and many parts of Europe. 
 In 1858 he was shipwrecked off the 
 coast of China, and the vessel was lost 
 (in this shipwreck he sustained an injury 
 to the knee joint, and, although it did 
 not incapacitate him for work, resulted 
 twelve years after in the loss of the right 
 leg above the knee; the operation was 
 performed by the late Dr. Henry Palmer, 
 surgeon-general of Wisconsin, at Janes- 
 ville, Wis., in 1870). He came to 
 America in August, i 860, and after arriv- 
 ing in this country he sailed on the lakes 
 from the port of Chicago for one year. 
 In 1862 he arrived in Wisconsin, locating 
 in Madison, and followed the trade of 
 machinist, after which he removed to 
 Watertown, thence to Jefferson, and sub- 
 secjuently to Janesville, from which city 
 he sent the first bo.x of relief goods that 
 cai/u- tlirough to Marinette after the 
 Peshtigo fire. While residing in Janes- 
 ville he had his name changed, or, more 
 properly, transposed from Geo. Ridsdale 
 Laycock, to Geo. Laycock Ridsdale, by 
 Act of the Board of Supervisors of the 
 County of Rock, State of Wisconsin, 
 passed November 15, 1871. In Decem- 
 ber, 1 87 1, he came to Marinette, and en- 
 tered the employ of the Marinette Iron 
 Works; subsequently, in 1872, engaged in 
 the hardware business in company with 
 his brother, Joseph E. Laycock, carrying 
 on operations along this line for some 
 years. He began busmess on the same 
 lot where his building now stands. In 
 1876 he embarked in the shoe trade, 
 which he continued two years, then 
 turned his attention to the sewing ma- 
 chine business, and being a practical ma- 
 chinist he has continuously followed same 
 with good success since 1878. In 1888 
 he began the erection of the Ridsdale 
 Block, a fine brick building with forty 
 feet frontage on Main street and running 
 back to the depth of sixty feet. In 1893 
 he built an addition, and the building is 
 now a two-story brick front, and from 75 
 
5/6 
 
 COMyiEMORATIYE BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 to 1 20 feet deep. It contains five store 
 rooms below and living rooms above, and 
 the rental is a material source of income 
 to the owner. 
 
 Mr. Ridsdale was married in Milwau- 
 kee, Wis., in 1873, to Mrs. E. L. Wright, 
 a native of Salem, N. J., and a daughter 
 of William L. and Ann (Shepherd) 
 Cleaver, who were also born in New Jer- 
 sey, of English ancestry. Her father 
 came in i860 to Milwaukee, and there 
 served as deputy clerk for a number of 
 years, also engaging in the practice of 
 law. His death occurred there in 1S77, 
 while his wife died in New Jersey in 1850. 
 They had seven children, of whom three 
 are living — John L. , who is engaged in 
 the insurance business in Falls City, Neb. ; 
 T. J., of North Chicago; and .Mrs. Rids- 
 dale. Both the brothers were soldiers in 
 the Civil war, John L. being a member 
 of Company K, Twenty-first Wis. V. I., 
 and Thomas J. of Company A, Twentieth 
 Wis. V. I., and served until the close of 
 the conflict. For his second wife the 
 father married Hannah O. Harris, who 
 died in Milwaukee in 1876, leaving three 
 children — Emma Cleaver, who is a nurse 
 in the Baltimore school; Howard, at Hud- 
 son, Wis. ; and Edward, in Montana. 
 Mrs. Ridsdale first married E. L. Wright, 
 who, at Brodhead, Wis., joined the 
 Eighteenth Wis. V. I., and served until 
 after the battle of Shiloh, when he was 
 discharged. They were married in Mil- 
 waukee, Wis., in 1864, and Mr. Wright 
 died in Faribault, Minn., in 1872. They 
 had two children — Elbert L. , who was 
 married in St. Louis, and has two chil- 
 dren, Ethel and Lawson; and Adelle, wife 
 of R. W. Winton, of Waco, Texas, who 
 has two children, Edith and Willard. 
 
 In politics Mr. Ridsdale is an ardent 
 Republican, and keeps well informed on 
 the issues of the day. He is now serving 
 as alderman of the Fourth ward, and 
 chairman of the Committee on Finance. 
 He and his wife are members of the 
 Pioneer Presbyterian Church, in which he 
 has served as trustee. He is a member 
 
 of the Business Men's Association, and is 
 one of the leading citizens of Marinette. 
 His wife possesses superior musical talent, 
 and for eighteen years has been a mem- 
 ber of the choir of the Presliyterian 
 Church. They are most highly-esteemed 
 people, and in social circles occupy a high 
 position. 
 
 FRED W. BRIGGS, dentist, one of 
 the most active professional men 
 of Oconto Falls, Oconto county, 
 is a native of Wisconsin, born at 
 Markesan, Green Lake county, in 1869. 
 He is the son of Edwin F. and Susan 
 (Miller) Briggs. 
 
 Edwin F. Briggs was born at Earlville, 
 111., in 1843. When but a boy, in 1853, 
 he came to Wisconsin, where he learned 
 the carpenter's trade, also becoming a 
 millwright. In 1861 he enlisted from 
 Princeton, Wis., in Company A, Twenty- 
 first Regiment Wis. V. I., and was to 
 join them at Berlin; but on his arrival 
 there he learned that the Twenty-first was 
 full, and he was consequently transferred 
 to Company C, Thirty-second Wis. V. I., 
 known as the "Truesdell Rangers," with 
 whom he served thirty-two months. He 
 started with Sherman on his famous 
 march to the sea, but was unable to go 
 through to the coast on account of ill 
 health. In 1867 he was married to Su- 
 san Miller, daughter of David and Lura 
 Miller, the former of whom was a pros- 
 perous farmer, residing in Marquette, and 
 owned eighty acres of good farming land. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Edwin F. Briggs have two 
 children: Fred W. , our subject, and 
 I Frank M., unmarried, proprietor of the 
 tonsorial parlors and bath rooms at Wau- 
 toma, Waushara Co., Wisconsin. 
 
 On August 14, 1894. Dr. Briggs was 
 married to Rosa M. Trecartin, daughter 
 of Thomas T. and Elizabeth Trecartin, 
 of Maple \'alley, the former of w hom is 
 a well-to-do farmer, having a farm of 
 eighty acres, forty of which are under 
 cultivation; he was formerly a seafaring 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 577 
 
 man, sailing for many years on both the 
 Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Our sub- 
 ject commenced his studies with Dr. J. S. 
 Mowe, of Berlin, Wis., and finished with 
 Dr. H. R. McComb, of Shawano, on 
 January 29, 1895, passing his examina- 
 tion before the State board. He came 
 directly to Oconto Falls and opened an 
 office, and is meeting with well-deserved 
 success. Politically, he is a Republican, 
 but not an active party man. Socially, 
 he is a member of the K. of P., the I. O. 
 O. F., and the Modern Woodmen of 
 America, in the latter organization hold- 
 ing the office of trustee in Hemlock Camp 
 No. 2 1 Co. 
 
 PETER J. BOMAN is one of the 
 pioneers of Marinette, dating his 
 residence here from the 12th of 
 August, 1865. He has since been 
 deeply interested in its improvement, ever 
 bearing his part in the work of develop- 
 ment, and his devotion to its best interests 
 has numbered him among its leading 
 citizens. He was born in Sweden, in 1849, 
 a son of Peter John and Anna (Johnson) 
 Boman, who were also natives of that 
 country. His father was an iron manu- 
 facturer at Gefle, Sweden, and made that 
 place his home until his death, which oc- 
 curred in 1885. His wife passed away 
 in 1856, and their only daughter, Carrie, 
 died at the age of fifteen years, so that 
 our subject is now the only survivor. 
 
 His early childhood was passed in his 
 native land, and he secured a common- 
 school education by a pursuance of the 
 branches usually taught in public schools. 
 He was a youth of fifteen summers when 
 he left his native land and sailed for New 
 York City. On landing at that port, he 
 proceeded by boat to Albany, by rail to 
 Chicago and Green Bay, thence by boat 
 to Marinette, and has since been a resi- 
 dent of Menekaunee, a period of thirty 
 years. Marinette at that time contained 
 little over 400 inhabitants. Mr. Boman 
 had no capital, but was industrious, and 
 
 resolved to win success. He secured em- 
 ployment with Isaac Stephenson, with 
 whom he remained for a year, and then 
 entered the service of the New York 
 Lumber Company, working in the woods, 
 and continuing in that employ for about 
 eight years. He next engaged in loading 
 vessels through the summer months, while 
 in the winter season, he resumed his labors 
 in the woods and for some time past has 
 been engaged in fishing. 
 
 Mr. Boman was married in Mene- 
 kaunee, in 1872, to Miss Gusta Amelia 
 Settersten, a native of Sweden, and a 
 daughter of Gus Adolph Settersten, a 
 pioneer of Menekaunee, who has resided 
 there since 1 869. Two children graced 
 this union; Charley, who died at the age 
 of two years, and Ella May, still with her 
 parents. Those who know the family 
 have a high regard for them. 
 
 In his political views, Mr. Boman is a 
 stanch Republican, but has never sought 
 or desired the honors and emoluments of 
 public office. He is a member of Mene- 
 kaunee Tent, No. 2, K. O. T. M., and 
 belongs to the Lutheran Church, of which 
 he is now serving as trustee; is an earnest 
 worker in its interest, aud devoted to all 
 that pertains to its welfare. In his busi- 
 ness affairs he has met with success, and 
 his life is an example of what can be ac- 
 complished by steadfast purpose, honor- 
 able dealing and enterprise. To-day there 
 stands as a monument to his well-directed 
 efforts and business ability a pleasant and 
 beautiful home, which was erected in 1893 
 at the corner of Bay and Chestnut streets, 
 and standing in the midst of three lots. 
 
 THOMAS A. DICKIE, owner of a 
 well-improved farm in Porterfield 
 township, Marinette county, is one 
 of the most active and progressive 
 citizens of his locality, where he has 
 gained an enviable standing by his honesty, 
 integrity and thorough worth. 
 
 Mr. Dickie is a Canadian by birth, 
 having first seen the light June 22, 1850, 
 
578 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 in Canada East, now Province of Quebec. 
 James and Elizabeth (Rose) Dickie, his 
 parents, were born, respectively, in Aber- 
 deen, Scotland, and Prince Edward Isl- 
 and, Canada, and made their home in 
 Canada East, where the father followed 
 farming, and also the trades of millwright 
 and cooper. He is now in his eighty- 
 second year; Mrs. Elizabeth Dickie joined 
 "the silent majority" in 1890. They 
 were the parents of ten children — seven 
 sons and three daughters — (of whom si.x 
 sons and two daughters are yet living): 
 Robert, who lives in British Columbia; 
 John and William, both of Canada East; 
 Ann (Mrs. Alexander), also of Canada 
 East; Jabez, who lives in Cumberland 
 Mills, Maine; James, a resident of Boston, 
 Mass.; Thomas A., subject of this 
 sketch; Sarah (Mrs. Carr), of Ashland, 
 Wis.; Sampson, who is in Canada East; 
 and Jane, the third child, who died in 
 Canada East. 
 
 Thomas A. Dickie was reared and 
 educated in the neighborhood of his place 
 of birth, engaging in farming until he 
 reached his majority, when, in the year 
 1 87 1, he migrated to Wisconsin. He 
 arrived in Marinette September 8, 1871, 
 and first entered the employ of the N. 
 Ludington Co., later for two years work- 
 ing for Hamilton & Merryman. He en- 
 gaged in lumbering until 1879, when he 
 settled on his present farm, homesteading 
 160 acres situated in Section 18, Porter- 
 field township. No road led to the tract, 
 which was then included in Peshtigo town- 
 ship, and was a complete wilderness, 
 covered with a dense growth of timber, 
 and the many improvements which beau- 
 tify and enhance the value of the land 
 have all been made by Mr. Dickie. Seventy 
 acres are cleared and under cultivation, 
 and a comfortable residence, one-and-one- 
 half stories in height, 18x26 feet, with a 
 one-story "L" 28x16 feet, adorns the 
 premises. One barn which our subject 
 erected was destroyed by fire, and in 1 894 
 he put up a barn 78 x 40 feet, with i 8-foot 
 posts; the other improvements are on the 
 
 same scale, and the appearance of the 
 property proclaims the owner to be a 
 thrifty, go-ahead man. 
 
 When Porterfield township was formed 
 he assisted in the organization, and was a 
 member of the first board of supervisors, 
 serving three or four years, and he has 
 also served as school treasurer four or 
 five years, ever taking a deep interest in 
 the welfare and progress of his town and 
 county. On June 14, 1876, he was united 
 in marriage, in Marinette, with Miss Mary 
 Coulter, who was born in Philadelphia, 
 Penn., daughter of one of its earliest 
 pioneers, John Coulter, who now resides 
 in Porterfield township. Eleven children 
 have blessed this union, namely: Mary Jane, 
 James Archibald, John Alexander, Eliza- 
 beth, Katie, Robert, William Henry, 
 Anna, Walter Carson, Thomas Arthur 
 and Hugh Raymond. Mr. and Mrs. Dickie 
 are Presbyterians in religious faith; so- 
 cially he is a member of Marinette Lodge 
 No. 182, F. & A. M. ; politically he is an 
 ardent Republican. 
 
 GEORGE W. BAIRD, who is en- 
 gaged in general merchandising at 
 Florence, came to that city in 
 1 88 1 , at which time he was junior 
 partner of McNair & Baird, which part- 
 nership continued until 1888, when Mr. 
 Baird purchased the interest of his part- 
 ner, and for two years occupied the store 
 building of the Iron Company. In 1890, 
 he erected a two-story frame store-build- 
 ing, having a frontage of twenty-five 
 feet, and a depth of sixty-five feet, or, 
 including the warehouse, a depth of one 
 hundred and twenty feet. 
 
 Mr. Baird was born in East Troy, 
 Walworth Co. , Wis. , March 9, 1 848, and 
 is a son of George W. and Ann (Hilton) 
 Baird, the former a native of New York, 
 born of Scotch ancestry, the latter of Lin- 
 colnshire, England. The father came to 
 Wisconsin in 1840 and located at Racine, 
 but later removed to Walworth county, 
 where he opened up a farm, and engaged 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPnWAL RECORD. 
 
 579 
 
 in farming until 1852, when, with an ox- 
 team, he removed to Green Bay, Wis., 
 and settled on a farm of 600 acres, in 
 what is now the town of Rockland, fn 
 1859 he removed to De Pere, where he 
 remained four years, and then went to 
 Neenah, but now resides at Menasha, 
 Wis. 1-fis wife died in the town of Clay- 
 ton, Winnebago Co., Wis., August 6, 
 1S87. Of their family of nine children, 
 eight are yet living: Mrs. Sumerton, of 
 Neenah; George W., our subject; R. L. 
 and Mrs. Howard, both of Neenah; Peter 
 T. , superintendent of a mine at Horton- 
 ville. Wis. ; Mary, a teacher in the public 
 schools at Neenah; Clara, a teacher in 
 the high school at Neenah; and Thad- 
 deus, who is a bookkeeper in Florence. 
 
 Our subject grew to manhood in his 
 native State, and received his educa- 
 tion in the schools of De Pere. In 
 his youth he learned the carpenter trade, 
 working at same for a time, and then 
 learned the wagon-makers' trade, at 
 which occupation he was engaged during 
 the first two years of the war. In 1863 
 he enlisted at Green Bay, Wis., in Com- 
 pany G, Forty-first Wis. V. I., for three 
 years, and was mustered into the service 
 at Camp Washburne, Wis., and soon after 
 was sent to the front. His regiment was 
 assigned to the Third Division, Six- 
 teenth Army Corps, and was engaged in 
 battle at Holly Springs; was on the For- 
 rest raid, and in the battles at La Grange 
 and Memphis, Tenn. ; it was then sta- 
 tioned at Fort Pickering. In the battle 
 of LaGrange, Mr. Baird received a gun- 
 shot wound, and for a time was confined 
 in the Overton Hospital, at Memphis, 
 Tenn. In 1865 he was honorably dis- 
 charged at Camp Washburne, near Mil- 
 waukee, Wis. On receiving his discharge 
 Mr. Baird went to Neenah, Wis., at 
 which place his parents were then resid- 
 ing. He there worked at his trade until 
 his removal to Florence, with the excep- 
 tion of about five years he was engaged in 
 handling sewing machines and farm ma- 
 chinery. On coming to Florence, as 
 
 already stated, he engaged in the mercan- 
 tile business, at which he still continues, 
 and in which he has been very successful. 
 His trade extends for many miles in every 
 direction, and he is known and recog- 
 nized as a thoroughly reliable and honor- 
 able merchant. In 1869, in Winnebago 
 county. Wis., Mr. Baird was united in 
 marriage with Miss Henrietta Bailey, and 
 to their union one child was born, Lulu 
 M. Two years later he was called upon 
 to mourn the death of his wife, who was 
 a lovely, accomplished Christian woman. 
 In 18S4 Mr. Baird again married, taking 
 as his wife Miss Beatrice Tiffay. Her 
 death occurred in 1887, and Mr. Baird 
 was again married, this time, in 1889, at 
 Florence, Wis., to Miss Capitola G. 
 Drake. They have one child, George W. 
 Mr. Baird has ever taken an active 
 interest in political affairs, and since ar- 
 riving at legal age has voted the Repub- 
 lican ticket. He is at present town treas- 
 urer of Florence, which position he has 
 occupied three years; in 1885 he was 
 elected county clerk, and served one term 
 of two years. He is a member of Du- 
 Pont Post No. 268, G. A. R., and was 
 its commander in 1894; is a member of 
 Fisher Lodge No. 222, F. & A. M., of 
 which he has served as junior warden; 
 he was made a Mason in Kane Lodge, at 
 Neenah, Wis., from which he was demit- 
 ted, that he might unite with the lodge at 
 that place. Mr. Baird came to Florence 
 with teams, and was in business before 
 the railroad was built to the place. In 
 all the changes and the developments 
 which have since taken place he has 
 been an active participant. 
 
 JOSEPH POCQUETTE, furniture 
 dealer and undertaker, of Oconto, 
 Oconto county, is a native of Canada, 
 born March 5, 1859, in Alfred town- 
 ship, Ontario, son of Poscal and Julia 
 (Langlois) Pocquette. 
 
 The parents of our subject were also 
 born in Canada, the father in (Quebec, 
 
5 So 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the mother .in the Province of Ontario, 
 of English ancestry. They had a family 
 of nine children (seven of whom are liv- 
 ing), viz.: Joseph; Poscal, of Rockland 
 township, Ontario; Armadus, who lives in 
 Green Baj-, Wis, ; Exelda (Mrs. Leon 
 Thebeau), who died March 24, 1891, at 
 Oconto; Michael and Moses, who live in 
 Oconto; Julia (Mrs. Degarden), who 
 died in August, 1895; Emma (Mrs. C. 
 Pecor), who lives in Oconto; and Xavier, 
 who lives in Oconto township. The 
 mother of these passed from earth April 
 I, 1888, in Canada, and in 1890 the fa- 
 ther came to Oconto, where he now makes 
 his home. 
 
 Joseph Pocquette was reared in Can- 
 ada, received his education in the com- 
 mon schools, and when a young man 
 learned the carpenter's trade there. In 
 1880 he went to Alpena, Mich., and in 
 the fall of that year (1881) came to 
 Oconto county, arriving m Oconto Octo- 
 ber 3, where for seven years he followed 
 his trade, and also worked for the Oconto 
 Lumber Co. In 1888, in partnership with 
 his brother, Armadus Pocquette, he bought 
 a lot and built near the Chicago & North 
 Western railroad depot, the brothers car- 
 rying on a saloon business for two years, 
 at the end of which time Joseph sold out 
 his interest to Armadus. Our subject now 
 rents the building and carries on the 
 saloon. In 1891 he erected the building 
 he now occupies, which is 24 x 70 feet 
 in dimensions, and two stories in height, 
 and the same year embarked in the furni- 
 ture and undertaking business, in which 
 he is meeting with gratifying success. 
 
 On July 3, 1882, Mr. Pocquette was 
 married, at Oconto, to Miss Lucy Be- 
 langce, who was born in the Province of 
 Quebec. Canada, daughter of Joseph and 
 Margaret Belangee, also natives of Can- 
 ada, who came to Oconto in 1881, and 
 still reside there. Three children have 
 been born to Mr. and Mrs. Pocquette, 
 namely. William, Mary Lucy Lulu and 
 N'orcne. Mr. Pocquette has been quite 
 prominent in his community, where he 
 
 has served as justice of the peace, and 
 has taken an active interest in local af- 
 fairs. He and his wife are members of 
 the French Catholic Church, of which he 
 has been one of the trustees, and socially 
 he is a member of the Catholic Order of 
 Foresters. 
 
 THOMAS W. BROWN, who has 
 been a resident of Marinette county 
 for the past twenty years, is a na- 
 tive of New Brunswick, Canada, 
 born in 1861. His parents, John and 
 Jane (Dickie) Brown, were also born in 
 New Brunswick, of Scotch ancestry, and 
 the father was a merchant and farmer. 
 He died in 1871, being accidentally shot, 
 and the widowed mother came with her 
 son Thomas to Marinette, \\'is. , where 
 she still resides. Three children were in 
 the family: Thomas W., Phyllis B. (Mrs. 
 A. M. Fairchild), of Marinette, Wis., and 
 Grace. 
 
 Our subject received his education in 
 the public schools of New Brunswick, 
 where he passed his earlier years, and 
 also attended school in Waupaca county. 
 Wis., whither he came in 1873. In Jan- 
 uary, 1875, he moved from Fremont, 
 Waupaca county, to Marinette, and for 
 some eight or ten years thereafter was in 
 the employ of the Boom Co. there. For 
 some eighteen months he was engaged in 
 the grocery business, as a member of the 
 firm of Clifford & Brown, and for the past 
 three years he has been under sheriff, 
 having served under Mr. Robert Hitchon, 
 and two years with J. L. Murphy. He 
 also served one year on the police force, 
 and he has been an active citizen, ever 
 taking a lively interest in the affairs of 
 the city which has so long been his home. 
 When he came here, over twenty years 
 ago, Marinette was less than half as large 
 as it is to-day, and he takes a loyal pride 
 in the progress which the city and county 
 have made. 
 
 In 1882 Mr. Brown was married, in 
 Marinette, to Miss Ella White, who was 
 
COMMEMORATrVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 5S1 
 
 born in Sturgeon Bay, daughter of Parker 
 and Emily (Crushein) White, early set- 
 tlers, the former of whom was killed in 
 1S80 in the H. Whitbeck mill; Mrs. 
 White resides in Marinette. This union 
 has been blessed with four children: 
 Ethel, Edith, Ralph and Owen. Socially, 
 Mr. Brown affiliates with the Modern 
 Woodmen, as a member of the camp at 
 Marinette. In political faith he is a Re- 
 publican, an ardent believer in the princi- 
 ples of his party. 
 
 EBER L. WILLIAMS. In every 
 community there is a class of 
 wide-awake, enterprising and ener- 
 getic men, to whom is due the 
 progress and advancement of the locality 
 in which they live, and to this class be- 
 longs our subject, who is successfully en- 
 gaged in the insurance business in Mari- 
 nette. 
 
 A native of Somersetshire, England, he 
 was born in 1851, and is a son of Joseph 
 and Sarah N. (Cavell) Williams, who 
 were also natives of that county. In 1855 
 they crossed the Atlantic to America, 
 locating in Palmyra, Jefferson Co., Wis., 
 where the father engaged in merchan- 
 dising. Subsequently he removed to 
 Waterford, Racine county, this State, 
 and still later went to Menominee, Mich. 
 His wife died in 1879, and his own death 
 occurred in Marinette in 1889. They 
 reared a family of four sons and three 
 daughters: Caleb, superintendent of the 
 N. Ludington Company, of Marinette; 
 Minerva, wife of Charles A. Chapman, of 
 Waupaca, Wis.; E. B., of Ironwood, 
 Mich., Eber L. , our subject; E. C, a 
 hardware merchant of Waupaca; Ella, 
 wife of William Erancis, of Minneapolis; 
 and Florence, employed as a type-writer 
 in Minneapolis. 
 
 Our subject, who was four years of 
 age when brought by his parents to the 
 New World, was reared and educated in 
 Palmyra, Wis., and there learned the 
 trade of a tinsmith, which he followed 
 
 for a number of years. He came from 
 Racine county to Marinette in 1870, and 
 here worked at his trade until 1S71, when 
 he embarked in the hardware business at 
 Peshtigo. In October of that year a dis- 
 astrous fire swept over the city in which 
 his store was destroyed, and he then re- 
 turned to Marinette. He afterward went 
 to the Lake Superior country, then to 
 Hannibal, Mo., and in 1876 was again 
 numbered among the citi;?ens of Mari- 
 nette. Once more he established a hard- 
 ware store, which he successfully carried 
 on for fifteen years, lieing one of the pio- 
 neer merchants in his line in the city. 
 He succeeded in building up a good trade, 
 and derived therefrom a comfortable 
 competence. His connection with the 
 insurance business began in 1891, and he 
 is now representing the Security Mutual 
 Company of Binghamton, N. Y. , and 
 Traveler's Life & Accident Company. 
 
 In 1879, in Marinette, Mr. Williams 
 was joined in wedlock with Mrs. Mary 
 Jane Cook, a native of Canada, and a 
 daughter of John Swalwell, a pioneer 
 settler of the city, where he yet resides. 
 To their union were born si.x children, 
 five of whom are living, namely: Eber J., 
 Robert A., Antoinette, Jennie L. and 
 Ralph A. The parents and children are 
 members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and take a prominent and active 
 part in its work, Mr. Williams having 
 served as trustee and steward for many 
 years. He attended the dedication of 
 the first Methodist Church in Marinette, 
 and has always given his support to en- 
 terprises calculated to advance the moral 
 interests of the community. In politics 
 he is a stalwart Republican, is now serv- 
 ing as a member of the board of super- 
 visors from the Fourth ward, and is also 
 justice of the peace. He holds member- 
 ship with Marinette Lodge, No. 189, 
 I. O. O. F., and in all the relations of 
 life has been found true and faithful to 
 every trust, winning and retaining the 
 confidence of both young and old, rich 
 and poor. 
 
5^= 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 CA. LIND, proprietor of one of 
 the leading photograph galleries 
 in this section of the State, is 
 one of the well-known citizens of 
 Marinette, Marinette county. His work 
 will compare favorably with that of any 
 of our larger cities, and he has as fine a 
 studio as can be found anywhere in the 
 northwest, outside of Chicago or Mil- 
 waukee. 
 
 The earliest knowledge wc have of 
 the Linds in Ger^)any dates back to King 
 Gustavus II (Adolphus) of Sweden, who, 
 with an army of 15,000 men, in the 
 year 1630, invaded Germany to aid the 
 Protestants in their struggle against the 
 Emperor. 
 
 Louis Lind, father of our subject, 
 was a native of Frankfort, Germany, a 
 son of John Lind, a collector of inland 
 revenue in the Fatherland, under the 
 German government. He, John, had a 
 family of four children, named respect- 
 ively — Louis, John, Christian and Bertha, 
 of whom, Louis was the father of our 
 subject; John resides in Frankfort, Ger- 
 many; Christian came to America, and 
 died in Fond du Lac, Wis. ; Bertha died 
 in Germany. John Lind, the father of 
 this family, was a son of Louis Lind, who 
 was a lieutenant in the Hessian army, a 
 portion of which, during the American 
 revolution, was sent to this country to 
 serve in the pay of the British govern- 
 ment, Louis Lind being among them. 
 He, however, along with the majority of 
 the Hessian troops, deserted to the Ameri- 
 can lines, and served with Washington at 
 the capture of Trenton. He was the 
 eldest son in his father's family, and was 
 the rightful heir to a large estate near 
 Frankfort; but owing to his deserting his 
 colors in America he was disinherited, 
 the property being given to his next 
 younger brother. Through the influence 
 of this brother, Louis received a free 
 pardon from the German government, 
 and was allowed to return to and again 
 live in his native land. He was appointed 
 a revenue officer, an incumbency that 
 
 remained in the family until the absorp- 
 tion of Hesse-Darmstadt into the King- 
 dom of Prussia. 
 
 Louis Lind, father of C. A., was by 
 profession a designer and engraver on 
 metal, and on coming to this country in 
 about 1850 — about the same time as 
 Carl Schuss — he located in New York, 
 entering the service of the world-famed 
 jewelry firm of Tiffany & Co. In 1859 
 he left New York City and came to W^is- 
 consin, locating at Fond du Lac, where 
 he engaged in farming until 1877, when 
 he went to Chicago and resumed his pro- 
 fession, following same until the close of 
 the World's Columbian E.xposition in 
 that city, where he was awarded a 
 World's Fair medal for superiority in 
 designing work for W. M. Freund & Son. 
 He then retired from active business, and 
 took up his abode in Milwaukee, Wis. 
 His wife (the mother of C. A. Lind) was 
 Miss Sophia Dittmar, a native of the city 
 of Munich, Bavaria, and was a member 
 of a very wealthy and influential family 
 of high standing among the nobility of 
 that country, who lost nearly all their 
 property through the destructive convul- 
 sions of war. Mrs. Sophia Lind's father, 
 Henry Dittmar, after the loss of his 
 estate, came to America with his family, 
 numbering twelve children. To Louis 
 and Sophia Lind were born seven chil- 
 dren, of whom Henry lives in San An- 
 tonio, Texas; Charles, in Milwaukee, 
 Wis. ; John, in Marinette, Wis. ;' Louis, 
 in Milwaukee; Albert, in San Antonio, 
 Texas; Louise, in Milwaukee, with her 
 father; and C. A., in Marinette. 
 
 C. A. Lind, the subject proper of 
 these lines, is a- native of Wisconsin, 
 born March 6, 1S60, in Fond du Lac, at 
 the public schools of which city he re- 
 ceived a liberal education, and upon the 
 completion of his studies he went to She- 
 boygan to learn the art of photography. 
 In 1879 he commenced business in P'ond 
 du Lac, and after carrying it on there 
 eight years moved, in 18S7, to Marinette, 
 where he has since been proprietor of the 
 
CnMMKMORATlVH BIOORAPI/ICAL ItECOHD. 
 
 5«3 
 
 IcailinL; plidtn^iMpliic studio in this sor- 
 tion of the State. In liis business lie has 
 a partner - Mrs. ICstlier ("auiphell Wat- 
 rous — a lady possessed of business <]uali- 
 fications of a high order, and exceptionally 
 well lilted for the position she occupies. 
 At the Artists' Convention held at St. 
 Paul, Mr. IJnd received a diploma, and 
 in 1SS3 ho was awarded a .uolil medal, by 
 tlu> Wisconsin State I'^air, for best ]>or- 
 tiait work. Mr. I.ind is a mend)er of 
 Marinette Lodge No. 1S2, 1'. & A. M., 
 of the I. C) O. F., in wiiich he is noble 
 grau<l, and of the Modern Woodmen. 
 
 In iSS^ C". .\. I.ind was married to 
 Miss Ina |. Marten, daughter of \. W. 
 Marten, an early pioneer of b'ond du 
 Lac. and two children have come to 
 brighten their home — Jennie and Nina. 
 Mr. Linil votes with the Republican parly 
 on all strictly political (piestions. Al- 
 though a comparatively young man, he 
 has seen great changes in this jnirt of 
 Wisconsin, and he has great laith in 
 Marinette, as is well evidenced by the 
 fact of his having built three houses in 
 the city (luring the past season. He is a 
 thoroughly representative business man, 
 possessed of a social iiatine, and ex- 
 tremely i)opular. 
 
 Nil. IMDDLI'.COM, pcjstmaster ,it 
 iMenekaunec, has been a resident 
 of M,iiini;ttt> comity since July, 
 iSjj. He was apiioiiited to his 
 present position in July, 1S93, and took 
 possession of the office May 1, same year. 
 His appointment was the first one made 
 for Wisconsin afliu" the in;iuguration of 
 President Cleveland. 
 
 Mr. Biddlecom is a native of Utica, 
 N. Y., born )aiiuary 17, 1S23, and is a 
 son of Orrin and Harriet (Pratt) Biddle- 
 com, both born and reared in Oneida 
 county, N. Y. The father was a farmer 
 near Deerlield, N. Y., and followed that 
 occupation until his death in iS27or 1S2.S; 
 tlie mother lived to the age of ninetj'-six 
 years. In the war of 1812, Orrin Biddle- 
 
 com servetl as sergeant in a New ^'ork 
 eompaiiv, for wiiich he received a laiicl 
 w.'irranl, and wliicli was located by his 
 youngest son at |acksonville, I'la. To 
 Orrin and Harriet HiddliM-om were born 
 children ;is follows: lulwiu, who died in 
 Oneida county some years ago; Nancy, 
 who married Woodward Warren, and 
 died in Oneida county about iSfiS; N. II., 
 our sufjject; Altliea, who married William 
 HaddiMi, of Oneida, and died abc >ul I SS.| ; 
 ]olin P., who died in I'dorida; Augustine, 
 who di(-d in I'dorida in iS()5; Orrissa, the 
 wife of Ignatius Myers, exchange mer- 
 (li.int, of Utica, N. Y. ; and Lucy, the 
 wife of William Stone, residmg near 
 Utica, N. Y. The paternal grandparents 
 of our subject, Daniel and Caroliiii; l>id- 
 dlecom, weri' born in Tontine, Mass., 
 and migrated to Oiuuda county, N. Y., 
 about 1785; the grandfather was a soldier 
 of the Rcvohitioiiar)' war, and lived and 
 di('d on the farm which he locatiul in 
 ( )neid a county, N.Y. 'Idle malernal grand- 
 parents of our subject, Jonathan and 
 Caroline Pratt, were also natives of Mass- 
 achusetts, and likewise pioneers of Oneida 
 county, N. Y. lonathan Pratt was of 
 ICnglish ancestry, and was also a soldicu" 
 in the Kevolutionary war. I lis death oc- 
 curred on the farm which he located in 
 Oneida count)'. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared 
 in his native county, and there educate(l 
 in the subscription schools. When about 
 eighteen years old, he went to Utica, 
 N. Y., and engaged in staging from that 
 place to Biiighamton, in the same State. 
 On July 5, 1845, he started with WVdch 
 iS: Mann's National Circus at iifleen dol- 
 lars per month, and in the fall received 
 sixty doll.-irs per month. In iS^Ci he 
 drove theband ti;am of ten horses through 
 the ICast, and in 1847 drove for the 
 Crreat Oriental Circus, of which Crane cS: 
 Howe were the pro|nietors, through the 
 West. In 1841; he went South with Rob- 
 inson & ICldred, and located at Charles- 
 ton, S. C., where for ten years he was 
 agent for various stage lines. In 1852 
 
584 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOOKAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 he began dealing in trotting horses, and 
 in 1853 took a hne of coaches and stages 
 to Augusta, F"la. , where he estabhshed a 
 stage line. In 1855 he went to Augusta, 
 Ga., and engaged in the trotting-horse 
 business, until the breaking out of the 
 war. He then went to Utica, N. Y., 
 where he remained until the close of the 
 war and returned to Charleston, S. C, 
 January i, 1866. He subsequently en- 
 gaged in the livery business at Savannah, 
 Ga., and established trotting stables. 
 From Savannah he went to Macon, Ga. , 
 where he remained until 1872, when he 
 came to Marinette, and in 1874 again en- 
 gaged in the trotting business. He 
 erected the first building of note on the 
 fair grounds, and has been associated 
 with the Fair Association since coming to 
 Marinette. 
 
 While residing in Charleston, S. C, 
 Mr. Biddlecom was united in marriage, 
 November 7, 1857, to Dulcina Carven. 
 They have no children. He is numbered 
 among the early settlers of Marinette; 
 has witnessed its steady growth and de- 
 velopment, and takes a special pride in 
 its having attained front rank among the 
 counties of northern \\'isconsin. As may 
 be inferred, he is a great lover of horse- 
 flesh. He has owned and trained many 
 of the most noted horses in this section 
 of the country. " F"urnace Charley," 
 one of his horses, won twenty-one races out 
 of twenty-two. He was also the owner 
 of "Isaac G.," a noted horse, which he 
 purchased from Major Scofield. He has 
 visited many States, and has taken part in 
 many races throughout the Northwest 
 and South. In his political views he is a 
 Jacksonian Democrat. When he came 
 to Marinette, his party polled but se\enty- 
 one votes, and he is proud of the fact 
 that he has lived to see it poll over one 
 thousand votes in Marinette count}'. 
 
 During the war for the Union, Mr. 
 Biddlecom was with the Kighteenth Army 
 Corps, under Gen. P. H. Stannard, as 
 veterinary surgeon, looking after the 
 horses of the staf? officers. He was at 
 
 Bermuda Hundred, Cold Harbor, Peters- 
 burg (V'a.), and remained there until the 
 fall of 1864, when he returned to New 
 York. 
 
 HENRY BAKEMAN. a well-known 
 and prosperous farmer of Grover 
 township, Marinette county, is 
 the oldest living settler of that 
 township, having resided there since 1853, 
 and his home has been in Marinette coun- 
 ty since 1843. 
 
 The parents of our subject, John and 
 Sophia (Wenkstand) Bakeman, were born 
 and reared in Germany, and in 1841 
 emigrated with their family to the United 
 States, for about two years making their 
 home in western New York. In 1843 
 they migrated thence to Wisconsin, 
 where they passed the remainder of their 
 lives, settling in Peshtigo, Marinette 
 county. The father was accidentally 
 killed, in May, 1863, a log rolling on him 
 while he was building a log house; the 
 mother survived until 1891, when she too 
 passed to the home beyond, at the ad- 
 vanced age of eighty-three years. Of 
 their children, Sophia is the wife of Ed. 
 Kittner, of Green Bay, Wis. ; Henry is 
 the subject of these lines; John resides in 
 the State of Washington; Dora became 
 the wife of Henry Bartels, of Grover 
 township, and died in 1892; and Eliza is 
 Mrs. Heidenworth, of Peshtigo. 
 
 Henry Bakeman was born in 1831, in 
 Mecklenburg, Germany, where he re- 
 ceived his early education in the public 
 schools, in 1841 coming with his parents 
 to New York State, where he worked out 
 by the month. In 1843 he came with 
 the family to Wisconsin, and in 1S53 took 
 up eighty acres of government land in 
 Section 2 1 , Peshtigo township, whereon 
 he erected a log house and commenced 
 clearing, making his home on this tract 
 for a long term of years. On the night 
 of October 8, 1871, he was burned out. 
 but succeeded in saving his own family 
 and five of his neighbor's children. Re- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOOUAl'UIC'AL liECORD. 
 
 585 
 
 building, he continued to reside at that 
 place until 1889, when his home was 
 again laid in ashes, and he then removed 
 to his present location in Grover town- 
 ship, then owning an eighty-acre farm in 
 Section 28, where he conducts a general 
 farming business. Having made his 
 home in the immediate vicinity for so 
 long a time, he has witnessed and aided 
 in the almost complete transformation of 
 what was once a wilderness into fertile, 
 well-conducted farms, and has seen the 
 establishment and growth of the two 
 thriving towns of Marinette and Menomi- 
 nee. When Mr. Bakeman commenced 
 to clear his land he had no team, and he 
 brought his first stock — some cows and 
 calves — from Chicago. 
 
 In 1853, at Milwaukee, Mr. Bakeman 
 was married to Magdalena Kratz, who 
 was born in Germany and came to Amer- 
 ica, when twelve years old, with her 
 father, Adam Kratz, who became an 
 early settler of Washington county. Wis. ; 
 he is now deceased. To this union came 
 thirteen children, seven of whom are 
 living, namely: John, who resides in 
 Portland, Oregon; Henry, married, who 
 lives in Marinette; Adolph, at home; 
 August, married, a resident of Marinette; 
 Martha, wife of Charles May, of Grover 
 township; Arthur, and Frank, l^olitically 
 Mr. Bakeman supports the Republican 
 party. Socially he is a member of Pesh- 
 tigo Lodge No. 85, I. O. O. F., and a 
 charter member of the Encampment, 
 while Mrs. Bakeman is a member of the 
 Daughters of Rebekah. Both were reared 
 in the Lutheran faith. 
 
 LEWIS GRAM is one of the esteemed 
 Danish-American citizens of Mari- 
 nette, prominent in business affairs, 
 and one of the most honorable, 
 straightforward business men of this sec- 
 tion of the State. He was born in Den- 
 mark in 1829, and is a son of Christian 
 Peter and Karen Gram, who were also 
 natives of that country. The father was 
 
 reared a sailor, and followed the sea dur- 
 ing the greater part of his life. Both he 
 and his wife always lived in Denmark, and 
 the latter survived her husband six years. 
 Their eldest son, B. Peter Gram, was a 
 wheelwright. Peter (second son) was a 
 sailor, becoming captain of a vessel, and 
 followed that life throughout his business 
 career; he met his death by drowning. 
 Martin, also a sailor, died in a hospital in 
 New York. Andrew came to this coun- 
 try in boyhood, and now resides in Me- 
 nominee; during the Ci\il war he en- 
 listed at Green Bay, and served for three 
 years. Martin resides in Minneapolis, 
 Minn. Nelson is living in Menominee, 
 Michigan. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared 
 in Denmark, acquired his education in 
 the public schools, and learned the trade 
 of blacksmith and machinist. In i 849 he 
 crossed the Atlantic to America, and after 
 about two months spent in New York con- 
 tinued his westward journey to Wiscon- 
 sin, locating in Green Bay. He was there 
 employed for about three years in a boiler 
 factory and foundry, after which he went 
 to Chicago and worked at blacksmithing 
 and boiler making for some time, when he 
 again went to Green Bay, which was his 
 place of abode until 1858. He was ne.xt 
 employed as an engineer in a mill in Mar- 
 quette, and in 1861 he came to Marinette, 
 where he entered the employ of the N. 
 Ludington Company, working in the 
 machine shops as engineer. In 1866 he 
 commenced a partnership business, as a 
 member of the firm of Stephenson & 
 Gram, his partners being Andrew Ste- 
 phenson and Daniel Wells, Jr., of Milwau- 
 kee. A lumber mill was erected on the 
 river, which is now the property of the 
 H. Whitbeck Company, and in 1868 Mr. 
 Gram sold out to Daniel Wells, of Mil- 
 waukee. He is now a member of the 
 firm of N. Ludington cS: Co., and is recog- 
 nized as a wide-awake, enterprising busi- 
 ness man, whose success in life is entirely 
 due to his own efforts. 
 
 Mr. Gram was married in Marinette, 
 
586 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 in 1870, to Miss Hannah Merryman. a na- 
 tive of Maine. Her mother is now residing 
 in Marinette at the advanced age of eighty- 
 seven years. Both Mr. and Mrs. Gram 
 are highly esteemed people, and have 
 many warm friends. They hold member- 
 ship with the Methodist Church, of which 
 Mr. Gram has served as trustee and class 
 leader for some years. In politics he is 
 a Republican, and has been alderman of 
 the Third ward. Socially, he is a mem- 
 ber of the Blue Lodge, Chapter and Com- 
 mandery, of the Masonic fraternity in 
 Marinette, and is a progressive, public- 
 spirited citizen, devoted to all enterprises 
 which he deems worthy of public support. 
 His residence in Marinette, covering more 
 than a third of a century, has made him 
 widely known, and a well-spent life has 
 gained him high respect. 
 
 SAMUEL G. MAY, a prosperous 
 farmer and old resident of Grover 
 township, Marinette county, is a 
 son of Anson and Caroline (Moore) 
 May, and was born in St. Lawrence 
 county, N. Y. , in 1839. 
 
 Anson May was born in Vermont, and 
 was a farmer by occupation. He came to 
 Wisconsin in 1855, locating in Section 21, 
 in what is now Grover township, pre-empt- 
 ing and entering 160 acres of land, which 
 he improved, and there made his home. 
 At the time he came there were no roads. 
 He assisted in forming the school district, 
 and took an interest in what he considered 
 for the good of the county. He died Jan- 
 uary 8, 1887, and his wife, who was born 
 in New York, passed from earth May 22, 
 1894. They reared the following chil- 
 dren (two of whom are now living): Le- 
 nora, widow of James Shaver, residing in 
 Grover township; Samuel G., subject of 
 this sketch; Nathaniel, who was burned 
 in the Peshtigo lire of October 8, 1871, 
 on the farm where Samuel G. now resides, 
 his wife and one child also perishing; 
 Eli/a Jane, who married Franklin Bailey, 
 and died some years ago; Freddie, who 
 
 died before the Civil war; Caroline, de- 
 ceased wife of Harvey England; Olive, 
 who died about 1883, wife of Asa Cass; 
 and Rebecca, who was the wife of Henry 
 Hayes, and who with her child was burned 
 in the fire of October 8, 1871. 
 
 Samuel G. May was reared in St. 
 Lawrence county, N. Y. , and educated in 
 the schools of that county. He came in 
 his sixteenth year to Marinette county, 
 Wis. , and aided in clearing up the home 
 farm. In Marinette county, August 17, 
 1863, he was united in marriage with 
 Miss Helen M. Jacobs, daughter of Will- 
 iam Jacobs, who was an early settler of 
 Marinette county, and now resides in 
 southern Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. May 
 have two children, namely: Charles, who 
 is married and resides in Grover township, 
 and Lacy, also married, residing on the 
 old farm. In 1886 Samuel G. May mar- 
 ried, for his second wife, Mrs. Jennie Mc- 
 Laughlin (widow of Lindsay McLaughlin), 
 born in Canada, and they have had two 
 children — Mabel and Samuel. 
 
 Mr. May is one of the oldest pioneers 
 of what is now Grover township. In Sec- 
 tion 29 he owns a good farm of 227 acres, 
 of which 147 acres are well improved, and 
 carries on general farming, giving some 
 attention to the raising of stock. He has 
 improved his place since 1872, erecting a 
 good residence and barns. In addition to 
 his farm labors he has engaged in lumber 
 jobbing for thirty-two years. Mr. May 
 votes with the Republican party, and has 
 held the office of town treasurer. He has 
 seen much of the growth and develop- 
 ment of the county, and has ever taken 
 an active interest in the general welfare. 
 
 ANDREW PETERSON, who is 
 engaged in general merchandising 
 in Marinette, belongs to that 
 class of worth)' Swedish-American 
 citizens who, in limited circumstances, 
 came to the New World, and have here, 
 through their own exertions, arisen to 
 positions of afHucnce. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPHIGAL RECORD. 
 
 587 
 
 Mr. Peterson was born, in 1S42, in 
 Horby, Sweden, twenty-five miles from the 
 town of Malmo, Mahnohus county, a 
 son of Peter and Christine (Paulsonj Peter- 
 son, who were both also natives of that 
 country. The father was a soldier, for 
 some years as a member of the Swedish 
 army. He now resides in the land of his 
 birth, at the age of eighty-five, but liis 
 wifediedin 1854. They reared five chil- 
 dren: John, Mrs. Carrie Nelson, and 
 Mrs. Nellie Anderson, all living in Sweden; 
 Andrew, subject of this sketch; and Mrs. 
 Anna Anderson, who died in Sweden in 
 1893. 
 
 Our subject was reared and educated 
 in his native land, and after leaving school 
 worked in Colmar, Sweden, for some 
 years. He heard much of the privileges 
 and advantages afforded in the New 
 World, and at the age of twentj'-si.x, with 
 the hope of bettering his financial condi- 
 tion, sailed for New York, where he ar- 
 rived after a voyage of twenty days. 
 From that city he proceeded direct to 
 Chicago, and thence came to Wisconsin, 
 locating in Marinette, July 10, i86g. He 
 was industrious and ambitious, and soon 
 secured a position with the N. Luding- 
 ton Company, working in their employ 
 until 1875, when he engaged in jobbing 
 for himself in the woods. After four 
 years thus passed, he removed to Sister 
 Bay, Door Co., Wis., where in four years 
 he cleared and improved a good farm of 
 forty acres. On selling that property he 
 returned to Marinette, and with the capi- 
 tal he had acquired through his earnest 
 and persistent labors, he established a 
 general mercantile store in 1882, at the 
 corner of Oak and Thomas streets. 
 Three years later he erected a fine two- 
 story frame building, 25x50 feet, at the 
 corner of Pierce avenue and Grant street, 
 and moving his store to that place has 
 since conducted a successful and con- 
 stantly-increasing business as a general 
 merchant. He has a large and well-se- 
 lected stock of goods, and his careful 
 management, courteous treatment of his 
 
 patrons and honorable dealing have se- 
 cured a large trade. 
 
 At Marinette, in 1871, Mr. Peterson 
 was united in marriage with Miss Matilda 
 Watman, a native of Sweden, and a 
 daughter of William Watman, who spent 
 his entire life in tliat country. She has 
 one brother, Fred Watman, a pioneer 
 settler of Marinette. Four children grace 
 this union: Axel, a mail carrier, married 
 and residing in Marinette; Adolph, who is 
 employed in his father's store; Amanda 
 and Oscar. His political support Mr. 
 Peterson gives to the men and measures 
 of the Republican party, and his religious 
 faith is that of the Swedish Lutheran 
 Church. He is one of the pioneers of 
 Marinette, having witnessed its entire de- 
 velopment from a mere village to its pres- 
 ent magnitude. His life demonstrates 
 what can be accomplished through in- 
 domitable perseverance, careful super- 
 vision and a strong determination to suc- 
 ceed, and his career is certainly exem- 
 plary. 
 
 HOR.\TIO G. THOMPSON, Mene- 
 kaunee, Marinette county, is a 
 thoroughly practical druggist, one 
 who understands his business in 
 every department. 
 
 Our subject is a native (jf Derbyshire, 
 England, born in 1S58, and is the son of 
 John and Mary (Nelson) Thompson, who 
 were also natives of " Merrie England," 
 the former, however, being of Scotch an- 
 cestry. In 1 87 1 the father and two sons, 
 J(jhn T. and Horatio G., came to the 
 United States and located in Providence. 
 R. I., where the father worked at his 
 trade of gunsmith for a time, and later 
 went to Minnesota. During ill health he 
 returned to his native land, and there 
 died, in 1880, at the age of fifty-two; the 
 rest of the family never came to America; 
 the mother is yet living. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Thompson were the parents of six chil- 
 dren: Horatio G., our subject; John T., 
 who is engaged in the clothing business 
 
588 
 
 COMMEMORATTVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 at Minneapolis, Minn., where he located 
 in 1877; Charles T., married; Travis B., 
 married and residing in England; and 
 Mary and Clara, at Manchester, England. 
 Horatio G. Thompson was but thirteen 
 years of age when he came to this coun- 
 try with his father. He obtained his 
 primary education in his native land, 
 which was supplemented with a few terms 
 at the schools of Providence, R. I. In 
 1877 he went to St. Paul, Minn., and 
 after a few months spent on a farm near 
 that city entered the office of the St. Paul 
 (jlolu-, as a " galley slave," to learn the 
 art of printing. Later he abandoned 
 that calling and turned his attention to 
 the study of medicine, entering the Med- 
 ical Department of the Minnesota State 
 University and other colleges, and subse- 
 quently received private instruction and 
 practical experience in the practice of 
 medicine under Drs. Brandt and Lewis, 
 at Green Bay, Wis., until 1882, when he 
 was licensed by the Wisconsin State 
 Board of Pharmacy, and at once took 
 charge of Doyen's Pharmacy at Fort 
 Howard, Wis., now owned by James 
 Tiernan. He remained in charge of that 
 establishment until the fall of 1883, when 
 he came to Menekaunee and took charge 
 of Dr. Marriner's drug store. After a 
 few months he was recalled by his pre- 
 ceptors to practice medicine at Kobinson- 
 villc, known as the "Belgium settlement," 
 in Brown county, Wis. .where he remained 
 during the winter of 1883-84; he then 
 entered the Chicago School of Pharmacy, 
 and at the final examination was one of 
 four who averaged ninety-six in chemistry. 
 In the spring of 1886, Mr. Thompson 
 returned to Menekaunee, but remained 
 only a few months, having secured a lu- 
 crative position as prescription clerk for 
 Dr. Vcnnema, in Menominee, Mich., re- 
 maining there until the spring of 1887, 
 when he again returned to Menekaunee 
 and commenced business for himself on a 
 small scale in a frame building on the site 
 of his present brick store building. His 
 business rapidly increasing, its erection 
 
 was rendered necessary in 1 888, especially 
 for Mr. Thompson's own use and accord- 
 ing to his own plans. The building is a 
 neat two-story structure 20 x 70, with fine 
 salesroom 20 x 50, from which you pass 
 into a laboratory fitted with all modern 
 facilities for manufacturing and analyzing, 
 Mr. Thompson making a specialty of this 
 line of business. The store is lighted by 
 electricity, with telephone connection, 
 handsomely fitted up and well adapted to 
 the business. A full line of drugs, drug- 
 gists' sundries, etc. , are kept constantly 
 on hand. 
 
 Mr. Thompson is a well-informed man 
 on the political issues of the day, and 
 afifiliates with the Republican party. He 
 is not an office-seeker in any sense of the 
 term, but he has served three and one- 
 half years as a member of the school 
 board, being greatly interested in educa- 
 tional matters. Under President Harri- 
 son he served four years as postmaster at 
 Menekaunee. Socially, he is a member 
 of Olive Branch Lodge No. 250, F. & 
 A. M. ; of Marinette Chapter No. 59, R. 
 A. M. ; and of Marinette Commandery 
 No. 26, K. T. ; of the first and last he was 
 a charter member. He was the original 
 promoter of the Caledonian Society, of 
 which he was the second chieftain, and 
 of which he is now treasurer. As a busi- 
 ness man he is progressive, liberal and en- 
 terprising; as a citizen he is well esteemed 
 by all who know him. 
 
 ALOIS B. ZOELLER is one of 
 the worthy German citizens, who, 
 leaving his native land with the 
 hope of bettering his financial 
 condition in the New NN'orld, adapted 
 himself to his new conditions and sur- 
 rountiings, and has worked his way up- 
 ward, acquiring a comfortable competence 
 as the reward of his labors. He was born 
 in the Fatherland in 1834, and was a son 
 of Alois and Catherine (Zoeller) Zoeller, 
 who spent their entire lives in Germany. 
 There our subject was reared and educa- 
 
aOMMEMORATTVE BTOORAPHWAL RECORD. 
 
 589 
 
 ted, and in course of time he sailed from 
 Havre, France, for tlie United States, 
 landing at New York after a voyage of 
 seven weeks. 
 
 Mr. Zoeller has been a resident of 
 Oconto county since 1S58, at which time 
 he located on his present farm in Section 
 7, Little Suamico township, purchasing a 
 tract of eighty acres of timber hind. Now 
 began the arduous work of developing 
 a farm. All day long might be heard the 
 ringing blows of his a.xe as tree after tree 
 fell before his sturdy strokes. He now 
 has forty acres all cleared and improved, 
 and has upon his place good buildings. 
 Moreover he has the consciousness of 
 knowing that he has not a dollar which 
 he has not himself honestly earned. 
 
 In December, 1861, Mr. Zoeller re- 
 sponded to the call of his adopted coun- 
 try for aid in crushing out the Rebellion, 
 becoming a member of Company F, Four- 
 teenth Wis. V. I. He was assigned to 
 duty with the Western army, and .partici- 
 pated in the battle of Shiloh and the 
 siege of Vicksburg. He was then de- 
 tailed for service at Gen. Blair's head- 
 quarters, and in 1863 re-enlisted in the 
 same company and regiment, with which 
 he served until the close of the war, 
 when he was honorably discharged at 
 Mobile, Ala., October 9, 1S65. He made 
 for himself an honorable military record, 
 and the country owes its salvation to 
 such valiant soldiers as our subject. 
 
 During a furlough given him in 1863, 
 Mr. Zoeller married Miss Christina Baker, 
 who died in 1880, without issue. In 1881 
 he was again married, his second union be- 
 ing with Miss Delia Durant, a native of 
 Canada, and a daughter of Lewis Durant, 
 one of the early pioneers of Oconto 
 county. Six children grace this union, 
 namely: Katie, Oliver, Lucy, Adeline, 
 Ale.xander and John. Mr. Zoeller gives 
 his political support to the men and meas- 
 ures of the Republican party, and has 
 served as a member of the school board. 
 He belongs to Howe Post, No. 124, G. 
 A. R., of Green Bay, and he and his wife 
 
 are members of the Catholic Church. 
 His long connection with Oconto county, 
 and his honorable life, have made him 
 one of its esteemed citizens. 
 
 PH. MCALLISTER. A leader 
 among the general merchants of 
 Marinette, Mr. McAllister has 
 carried on a general store since 
 June, 1892, and now has a large and 
 complete stock of goods, while from the 
 public he receives a liberal patronage. 
 He is a popular and pleasing merchant, 
 and his earnest desire to satisfy the wants 
 of his customers has brought him a large 
 and well-merited trade. 
 
 Mr. McAllister is a native of Resti- 
 gouche county, New Brunswick, Canada, 
 born October i, 1856, and is the young- 
 est of the six children of Donald and 
 Flora (McKelvie) McAllister, natives of 
 the Isle of Arran, Scotland, who in an 
 early day crossed the Atlantic to New 
 Brunswick. In 1881 they became resi- 
 dents of Marinette, finding a pleasant 
 home with our subject. Here the mother 
 died in 1886, the father in 1889. Their 
 children were Archibald, of Marinette; 
 John, of Tacoma, Wash.; D. J., of Mari- 
 nette; Mary, who is living with our sub- 
 ject ; William, also of Marinette, and P. H. 
 Under the parental roof P. H. McAl- 
 lister spent the days of his boyhood, no 
 event of special importance occurring 
 during that period. He attended the 
 public schools, and afterward engaged in 
 teaching, which profession he followed 
 until his arrival in Marinette, August i, 
 1 88 1. Here he secured a situation as 
 bookkeeper in the store of J. J. McGillis, 
 and remained in his employ for one year, 
 when he engaged with J. D. Smith & Co. , 
 in whose service he remained for a num- 
 ber of years, or until establishing a store 
 of his own. 
 
 Mr. McAllister is an esteemed member 
 of Marinette Lodge, No. 182, F. & A. 
 M., of which he is treasurer, and of the 
 Royal Arch Chapter, of Marinette; is also 
 
590 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 a member of the Caledonia Society, in 
 which he is now serving as secretary. He 
 attends the Presbyterian Church, and is 
 a gentleman of sterling worth, a thor- 
 oughlj' representative business man, whose 
 upright life has gained him high regard, 
 while his pleasant and affable manner 
 have made him most popular. 
 
 OHN W. ^[INER (deceased) was 
 
 one of the leading influential citi- 
 
 ^ I zens of Marinette, and those who 
 knew him esteemed him highly for 
 his genuine worth. He was born in New 
 York City in 1840, and was only eight 
 years old when he lost his parents, of 
 whom he therefore knows but little ex- 
 cepting that they were English people. 
 He had one brother, Harry, who was 
 killed at the battle of Gettysburg, and 
 one sister, Mary, who was married in 
 New York and moved to California, where 
 she died while John was serving in the 
 Civil war. 
 
 Our subject obtained his education 
 in the schools of New York City, where 
 he continued until his enlistment in the 
 service of the Union, at which time he 
 was making his home with his uncle. He 
 first enlisted in a New York regiment, but 
 being rejected on account of his youth 
 went to Connecticut and joined Company 
 E, Si.xth Conn. V. I., serving faithfully 
 for nearly four years in defense of the old 
 flag and the cause it represented. He was 
 wounded at the battle of Gettysburg, and 
 for six weeks was in the hospital. When 
 the war was over Mr. Miner returned to 
 New York, subsequently going to Man- 
 chester, N. H., and later to Boston, 
 Mass., where he worked at the machinist's 
 trade. 
 
 In 1869 he was married, in the last 
 named city, to Miss Adelia M. Ashland, 
 who was a native of Clinton county, 
 N. Y. , and a daughter of Francis and Ade- 
 line (Baker) Ashland; they were also na- 
 tives of New York, and were married in 
 that State, but shortly afterward removed 
 
 to Boston, where the father was engaged 
 in merchandising. Subsequently he re- 
 turned with his family to Clinton county, 
 where his death occurred in 1887. His 
 widow is still living on the old home farm 
 in that county, and like her husband she 
 has the high regard of all who know her. 
 In their family were eleven children, eight 
 of whom are still living, namely: Francis, 
 who is now engaged in the dry-goods 
 business in Manchester, N. H. ; Mrs. Dr. 
 Ed. Carpenter, alsoof Manchester; Joseph, 
 who resides in Essex county, N. Y. ; An- 
 drew, who is living in Champlain county, 
 N. Y. ; Mrs. Miner; Melvina, now the wife 
 of Danford Mott, a resident of Clinton 
 county, N. Y;. Gertrude, wife of E. B. 
 Shut, of Champlain. N. Y. ; and Ezekiel, 
 who resides in St. Albans, Vt. Anna be- 
 came the wife of Frank Judkins, of Bos- 
 ton, and died in September, 1894; Mattie 
 became the wife of J. Henthorn, and 
 died in Boston, Massachusetts. 
 
 For two years after their marriage, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Miner resided in Chicago, 
 and in 1871 came to Marinette, making 
 the journey by boat. Here our subject 
 secured a position with the Marinette Iron 
 Company, working as a machinist, and 
 continuing as a trusted and faithful em- 
 ploye in that establishment some fifteen 
 years. When he severed his connection 
 with the company he embarked in the 
 real-estate and fire-insurance business, 
 which he successfully carried on up to his 
 death, which occurred August 24, 1893, 
 securing a good competence which placed 
 his widow in comfortable circumstances. 
 He was a self-made and self-educated 
 man, and no citizen was more highly re- 
 spected. He was always interested in 
 the welfare of the community in which 
 he made his home, and gave his support 
 and co-operation to worthy enterprises 
 calculated to prove of public benefit, be- 
 ing especially liberal to Churches and 
 Church work. In politics he was a stal- 
 wart Kcpublican. warmly advocating the 
 principles of his party, and for two years 
 served as city assessor. He held mem- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPUICAL UECORD. 
 
 591 
 
 bership with S. H. Sizer Post, G, A. R., 
 and the Roj'al Arcanum, and lived a 
 straightforward, honorable hfe, well worthy 
 of emulation. Mrs. Miner still resides in 
 Marinette, and is a most esteemed lady. 
 She holds membership with the Pioneer 
 Presbyterian Church, and has a host of 
 warm friends. 
 
 NAPOLEON NADEAU, millwright 
 for Scofield, Arnold & Co., the 
 extensive and well-known lumber- 
 men of northern Wisconsin, is a 
 native of Canada, born October 30, 1854, 
 in the Province of Quebec. 
 
 Joseph Nadeau, father of our subject, 
 was born March 22, 1.S25, in Lower Can- 
 ada (Province of Quebec), son of Joseph 
 Nadeau, Sr. , who was the only son of 
 Joseph Nadeau, a native of France, who 
 came to Canada; he was a millwright by 
 trade. Joseph Nadeau, Sr. , had ten 
 children — six sons; of whom Joseph(father 
 of Napoleon Nadeau), William and 
 Wenceslas are living, and John B. and 
 Onesime are deceased; and four daugh- 
 ters: Emelie, Henriette, Florine Adele 
 and Angele, all living but Henriette. 
 Joseph Nadeau was reared in Lower Can- 
 ada, and was there married to Miss Marie 
 Olympe Leboeuf, also a native of that 
 Province, by whom he had eleven chil- 
 dren, ten of whom are living, as follows: 
 Joseph, a resident of Canada; Sophie, a 
 Sister in a convent at Green Bay, Wis. ; 
 Lea, living in the city of Quebec, Canada; 
 John, superintendent in the Box Factory 
 at Marinette, Wis. ; Theodore, in Mon- 
 treal, Canada, president of a Trust and 
 Loan Company; Naixjleon, subject of 
 sketch; Marie Olympe (now Mrs. Bech- 
 ard), a resident of Quebec; Gedeon and 
 Malvina, both in Marinette; and Archil, 
 whose home is in St. Louis, Mo. The 
 father of this fainil}' was a lumberman, 
 and owned two mills in Canada. In 
 1880 he came to Marinette with his son 
 Napoleon (with whom he now resides), 
 
 having first lived a short time at Green 
 34 
 
 Bay. The mother passed from earth at 
 Marinette in 1887, a consistent member 
 of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. 
 
 The subject proper of these lines re- 
 ceived his education at the public schools 
 of his native place, and learned the trade 
 of millwright, which he followed in Can- 
 ada. About the year 1879 he came to 
 Wisconsin, and for some twelve months- 
 had his home in Green Bay, but having 
 accepted the jiosition of millwright for 
 Scofield, Arnold iS: Co., at Alarinette, he 
 moved thither in 1880, and has held that 
 responsible position ever since, with 
 acknowledged care and ability. He built 
 the first mill for that lirm on the bay 
 shore (which mill has since 188S been 
 owned by the Marinette Lumber Co. ), and 
 in 1887 he erected the present mill for 
 Scofield, Arnold & Co., at Marinette, 
 which has a capacity of 150,000 feet 
 every ten hours. 
 
 Mr. Nadeau has prospered well and 
 deservedly, and in 1892 he built on Main 
 street, Marinette, a two-story frame block, 
 wherein there are two stores, in addition 
 to which he owns five residences in the 
 city, which he rents. He takes a lively 
 interest in everything pertaining to the 
 welfare and advancement of the city, 
 county and State of his adoption, and by 
 industry and economy has secured a com- 
 fortable competency. He is a leader in 
 the social affairs of Marinette, a repre- 
 sentative citi;;en, and a prominent mem- 
 ber of St Joseph's Catholic Church, re- 
 spected by all who know hini. In [x.ilitical 
 faith he in a Republican. 
 
 ERICK ERICKSON, one of the 
 earliest settlers of Marinette and 
 Menekaunee, cann' to .Marinette 
 county in fuly, 1869. He was 
 born in Sweden in 1847, the son of Erick 
 and Johanna Christina Erickson, and re- 
 ceived his education in his native land. 
 His father was a ship carpenter by trade, 
 and followed that occupation until his 
 tieath in 1886. The mother of our sub- 
 
592 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ject is still living in Sweden. Mr. Erick- 
 son is the youngest in a family of six 
 children, all living but one: Johanna, 
 Christian, Carrie, Lena, John (deceased), 
 and Erick. 
 
 Mr. Erickson learned the carpenter 
 and pattern-making business in the Old 
 Country, working mainly at the latter 
 branch of his trade until he came to 
 America. On coming to Menekaunee he 
 worked for the New York Lumber Co. 
 for two or three years, then engaged with 
 S. V. D. Philbrook in the shipyards 
 where he was employed until 1895, when 
 he commenced business for himself, build- 
 ing boats and small crafts generally. Mr. 
 Erickson was married in 1S73 to Miss 
 Hilda Scttersten, and four children have 
 been born to them: Agnes, Esther, Gus- 
 toph (deceased), and Irving Grant. 
 
 Mr. Erickson is a Republican, but 
 does not take an active part in political 
 affairs. Socially, he is a member of Mene- 
 kaunee Tent No. 2, K. O. T. M. Being 
 a very early settler the kaleidoscopic 
 changes which are incident to all new 
 countries — "all of which he saw and 
 part of which he was" — have inspired 
 him with great interest in all progressive 
 movements relating to Marinette county 
 and her people. 
 
 R 
 
 EV. CARL O. OLANDER is the 
 popular pastor of the Swedish 
 Zion Lutheran Church at Mari- 
 nette. Said church building is lo- 
 cated on the corner of Terrace avenue 
 and Eighth street, and the society was 
 organized August 22, 1875. with a mem- 
 bership of seventy-five communicants. 
 The parsonage is at No. 732 Terrace 
 avenue. Before that time a church which 
 was composed of Swedish, Norwegian and 
 Danish members, had been organized; 
 but now the Swedes are organized for 
 themselves. The house of worship was 
 burned August 31, 1876, and the present 
 church edifice erected during the same 
 year. It was, however, remodeled and 
 
 made larger in 1893, and now has a seat- 
 ing capacity of nearly eight hundred peo- 
 ple. The first church building cost 
 $2,500, while the additions, made in 
 1893, cost $3,300 more. The member- 
 ship of the church has gradual!}' increased 
 until at present it has 274 communicants 
 and 1 02 children. Those who have offi- 
 ciated as pastors of the church are Revs. 
 C. O. Olander, 1876-79; M. Erykman, 
 1881-82; F. A. Linder, 1883-85; P. M. 
 Lindberg, 1889-90; A. A. Dahlberg, 
 1 891; C. O. Olander, 1S92 to the present 
 time. During the years 1885-89 there 
 was no regular pastor employed, the pul- 
 pit being filled b}- supplies. The officers 
 of the church (1895) "i^e C. W. Sunstrom, 
 O. W. Person, P. J. Bowman, Ola Lar- 
 son, John B. Johnson, Charles A. John- 
 son, trustees; Nels Nelson, secretar}*; 
 George Person, Albert Erickson, Peter 
 Johnson, E. G. Johnson, John B. John- 
 son and N. J. Peterson, deacons. The 
 church is in a highl}' prosperous condi- 
 tion, and is doing a good work in the 
 conununity. 
 
 Rev. C. O. Olander is a native of 
 Sweden, born in Malmhack, February 23, 
 1850, and is a son of Olaus Olander and 
 his wife, Anna Catharina F. Sail, both of 
 whom were natives of that country. The 
 father was a tailor by trade, but later in 
 life became a dairy farmer. He died in 
 1854, the mother dying in 1873. Of 
 their eight children, seven are yet living : 
 Andres Johan and Claes Magnus, farmers, 
 residing in Malmback, Sweden; Rita 
 Christina, wife of Johannes Young, 
 residing at Husgvarna, Sweden; Eva 
 Sophia (widow of S. J. Okerberg), re- 
 siding at Marathon, Iowa; Anna Maria 
 (widow of John Jarl), of North Grosvenor 
 Dale, Conn. ; Johanna Ulerika, wife of 
 A. O. Olander, also of North Grosvenor 
 Dale, Conn. ; and Carl Otto. 
 
 When nineteen years of age, the sub- 
 ject of our sketch resolved to come to 
 America that he might enter college and 
 prepare for the ministry, a calling which 
 he had an irresistible desire to follow. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE UIOaRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 593 
 
 On arriving in this country, June i. 1S69, 
 he at once proceeded to Paxton, Ford 
 Co., 111., and entered Augustana College 
 and Theological Seminary (then at that 
 city, but in 1875 moved to Rock Island, 
 111.). For five years he pursued his studies 
 in that institution in the collegiate de- 
 partment, graduating in the class of '74. 
 Two years later he graduated from 
 the Augustana Theological Seminary at 
 Rock Island, 111., and was ordained at 
 the Synodical Convention at Jamestown, 
 N. Y., June 25, 1876. Prior to his ordi- 
 nation he had spent some time in Mari- 
 nette, and had received a call to the pas- 
 torate of Marinette and Peshtigo. Thither 
 he moved as pastor July 21, 1876. After 
 spending three years here, he resigned, 
 but was recalled in 1892, since which 
 time he has ministered to the church in a 
 very acceptable manner, completing the 
 addition to the church building, and ma- 
 terially increasing its membership. That 
 he is very popular with the church and 
 people is attested not only by his recall, 
 but by the necessity of increasing the 
 seating capacity of the church. 
 
 On July 13, 1876. at Des Moines, 
 Iowa, Rev. Olander was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Mathilda Christina 
 Bengtson, also a native of Malmback, 
 Sweden, and daughter of Abraham 
 Bengtson and his wife, Christina Cath- 
 erine Magnuson, born in the same county 
 and parish in Sweden. Both her parents 
 are now deceased, her mother dying in 
 1872, her father in 1894. By this union 
 sevenchildren have been born: Joshua Ed- 
 win Emanuel, who intends to graduate from 
 the Augustana College at Rock Island, 
 111., 1896; Carl Martin Constantine, Es- 
 ther Mathilda Roselia, Helga Elizabeth 
 Jubilia and Lydia Christina Cecilia now 
 attending the public schools at Marinette, 
 and two infants, deceased. 
 
 When Rev. Olander first came to 
 Marinette his field of operation was cer- 
 tainly a wide one. It included Peshtigo, 
 Oconto and other places, as far north as 
 Escanaba, Mich., for mission work. 
 
 After being here for a time he called for 
 an assistant, the work being too much for 
 one man. Leaving Marinette, he went 
 to Calumet, Mich., and remained three 
 years, when he received a call to Alta, 
 Iowa, where he located, doing mission 
 work. From Alta he was called to Orion, 
 Henry Co., 111., where he remained 
 nearlj' eight years as pastcjr of a very 
 large church. From that place he re- 
 turned to Marinette, where in 1876 he 
 first began his ministry, and where he 
 had many warm friends who earnestly 
 desired his return. That the work ac- 
 complished is satisfactory can not be ques- 
 tioned. Eternity alone, however, will 
 reveal the good done in its entirety. For 
 many years he has been, and still is, 
 president for and the mission's superin- 
 tendent of the Green Bay Swedish Lu- 
 theran Mission District in Wisconsin, and 
 a part of northern Michigan. He has 
 lately been called to other parishes, but 
 has not accepted any of them. He may 
 stay at Marinette for some time yet. 
 
 KESSANDER LUNDBERG, gen- 
 eral merchant at Marinette, came 
 to that place in 1872, and entered 
 the employ of J. O. Lindquist, with 
 whom he remained nine years, and then 
 went to Fish Creek, Door Co., Wis., 
 where he engaged in the mercantile busi- 
 ness, in which he continued until 1886, 
 when he returned to Menekaunee, now 
 city of Marinette, and purchased the stock 
 and building of his old employer, located 
 on the corner of Morgan and Hosmer 
 streets. The building is 24 x 90 feet, two 
 stories in height, filled with general mer- 
 chandise. 
 
 Mr. Lundberg was born in Milwaukee. 
 Wis., in 1858, and is the son of Charles 
 and Catherine (Polsen) Lundberg, the 
 former a native of Sweden, the latter of 
 Norway. They were married in Norway, 
 and about the year 1850 left that country 
 direct for Milwaukee, Wis. The father 
 was a carpenter by trade, and followed 
 
594 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 that occupation in connection with coop- 
 erinj:; on coming to this country. In 1 867 
 the family removed to Fish Creek, Door 
 Co., Wis., where they yet reside, and 
 where the father follows his trade. Of 
 the family of eight children, four are yet 
 living: Charles A., a merchant of P'ish 
 Creek, Wis. ; Theresa, widow of Charles 
 Lund, residing in Marinette, whose eldest 
 daughter is the wife of C. J. Noel, of the 
 Argus Paper Company; Kessander, our 
 subject; Ruth S., who is the wife of 
 Charles Settersten, resides in Marinette. 
 
 Our subject was nine years of age 
 when the family removed to Fish Creek, 
 Wis. His education was received in the 
 public schools of Milwaukee and Fish 
 Creek, and when but fifteen years of age 
 he left home for Menekaunee, where he 
 entered the employ of Mr. Lindquist as 
 already stated. In 1887 he was united 
 in marriage at Marinette, Wis., with Miss 
 Catherine Statin, a native of Sweden, and 
 daughter of Daniel and Dorothea (Obery) 
 Statin, who were also natives of that 
 country, and who came to the United 
 States and located at Marinette about 
 1872. Her father was a tailor by trade, 
 and followed that occupation both before 
 and after coming to this country. His 
 death occurred in 1889, and that of his 
 wife in 1883, both dying at East Mari- 
 nette, Wis. Of their family there are five 
 children yet living: Catherine, now Mrs. 
 Lundberg; John and Anna, who reside in 
 Chicago; Alice and Eddie, who live with 
 our subject. To Mr. and Mrs. Lundberg 
 have been born four children: Julia 
 Marian, William Orlando, Irene Dorothy, 
 and Cassander Catherine. 
 
 In politics Mr. Lundberg is a Repub- 
 lican, and for three years was alderman 
 from the First ward of the city; during 
 the Harrison administration he was col- 
 lector of customs. Fraternally he is a 
 member of Marinette Lodge No. 189, I. 
 O. O. F., and also of the Order of For- 
 resters of Marinette. Religiously he is a 
 member of the Pioneer Presbyterian 
 Church of Marinette, and is one of its 
 
 trustees. In the twenty-eight years in 
 which he has been a resident of this 
 section of the country, he has witnessed 
 many changes, and has taken an active 
 part in its development. 
 
 CHARLES EPARVIER has been 
 a resident of Oconto county for 
 nearly twelve years, and during 
 that time has taken an active 
 part in its affairs, becoming prominent in 
 business, agricultural and political cir- 
 cles. A native of " La Belle France," he 
 was born in July, 1858, at Lyon, in the 
 Department of the Rhone. 
 
 Mr. Eparvier was educated in the 
 schools of his native town, Lyon. When 
 eighteen years of age he volunteered for 
 service in the French army, and for the 
 next five years of his life was a soldier in 
 the cavalry, stationed at Marseilles. At 
 the expiration of his military career, then 
 twenty-three years old, he left his native 
 countrj- for America, coming first to the 
 city of Chicago, and the same year ar- 
 rived in Brussels, Door Co., Wis., soon 
 afterward finding work on a farm in that 
 county. Here he also engaged in news- 
 paper work for J. H. Martin, canvassing 
 and soliciting. In March, 1884, Mr. 
 Eparvier came to Oconto, and for several 
 years afterward was employed by others, 
 and also embarked in the meat business. 
 In 1S89 he opened the Frenchtown 
 market, in 1S90 erecting the building in 
 which the business was carried on, and 
 he himself conducted this market up to 
 July, 1895, when he rented the building. 
 In 1892 our subject invested in a 120- 
 acre tract of land in Oconto county, of 
 which about eighty acres are now cleared, 
 and on which he has made numerous im- 
 provements; he also bought 160 acres of 
 cleared land from the Holt Lumber Co. 
 In 1892 he erected the tine residence in 
 Frenchtown. which he and his family now 
 occupy. During his residence in Oconto 
 he has also been engaged in the grain 
 business, building an elevator at French- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPmC'AL RECORD. 
 
 595 
 
 town, and he is at present giving his at- 
 tention to real-estate dealing, though 
 agriculture claims the greater part of his 
 time. Mr. Eparvier has been alderman 
 from the West ward of Oconto for four 
 years, discharging the duties of his office 
 with his customary efficiency and faith- 
 fulness. In political faith he is a Demo- 
 crat, and he is an acti\'e worker in local 
 public affairs. 
 
 In 1S83 Mr. Epar\'ier was married, in 
 Brussels, Door Co., Wis., to Miss Kate 
 Kirb\', who is a native of Wisconsin, 
 born in Suamico, l^rown county. Her 
 parents, Michael and Mary (DoranJ Kir- 
 b)-, were earlj' pioneers of Brown county, 
 settling there in 1S49; the father is now 
 deceased, and the mother resides in Door 
 county. Six children have blessed the 
 union of Chafles and Kate Eparvier, viz. : 
 Anna Elizabeth, Jane, John, Ernestine, 
 Alphonse and Marius. In religious faith 
 the family are identified with the Erench 
 Catholic Church, of which Mr. Eparvier 
 is trustee. Socially he is a member of 
 the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin. 
 
 ALOXZO Y. HOWE, one of the 
 early settlers of Marinette, came 
 there in 1879 from Hampshire, 
 Kane Co., 111., and entered the 
 service of the Marinette Iron Works, in 
 which he remained for several jears. 
 
 Oursubject was born in Marengo, 111., 
 September 12, 1842, son of Phineas and 
 Mary (Woodford) Howe, both of whom 
 were natives of Randolph, N. Y. His 
 grandfather. Nelson Woodford, was one 
 of the early pioneers of McHenry county, 
 111., and was a soldier in the war of 181 2. 
 Alonzo \. Howe enlisted, in 1S61, in 
 Company D, Fifteenth 111. \'. I., being 
 made corporal, and was raised to the 
 rank of first sergeant. Under the com- 
 mand of Gen. J. C. Fremont he went 
 through the Missouri campaign; was at 
 the engagements at Rolla, Mo., Fort 
 Donelson, Pittsburg Landing (Shiloh), 
 and participated in the battles in and 
 
 around \'icksburg. He was a prisoner 
 of war for about four months at Jackson, 
 Miss. ; was on skirmish duty at Cairo (111.), 
 Clifton (Tenn.), and Huntsville (Ala.), 
 and served his full term of three years. 
 He took part in all the hardships and 
 vicissitudes which his company was called 
 upon to undergo, and was honorably dis- 
 charged, re-enlisting February 9, 1865, 
 and being stationed at Springfield, Illi- 
 nois. 
 
 Mr. Howe was reared in McHenry 
 and Kane counties. 111., educated in Ma- 
 rengo, and was a laborer in the Marinette 
 Iron Works Co.'s shops at Marinette, 
 Wis. He was married at Woodstock, 
 111., August 28, 1865, to Miss Josephine 
 Chatfield, a native of McHenry county, 
 111., and daughter of Oliver and Charlotte 
 (Kimball) Chatfield, natives of New York 
 and Ohio, respectively, who came in an 
 early day to McHenry count}-. The 
 grandfather, Silas Chatfield, was a cap- 
 tain in the war of 1812. The father of 
 Mrs. Howe in an early da}' came to Illi- 
 nois, settling on a farm which he made 
 his home during his life. Mr. Howe's 
 grandparents on both sides settled in the 
 same count}'. Her father died in Mc- 
 Henry county, March 12, 1870, and her 
 mother at Marinette, Wis., Aj)ril 15, 1872. 
 They had twelve children, all of whom 
 are still living: Louisa, Mrs. William 
 Tibbitts, residing in Iowa; Martha, Mrs. 
 Buss, in San Diego, Cal. ; Solon, also 
 living in California; Jane, Mrs. Smith, in 
 Dakota; Nelson, in Missouri; Laura, wife 
 of Judge Amos Holgate, of Marinette ; Silas, 
 of Dakota; Josephine, Mrs. A. V. Howe; 
 Cornelia, Mrs. Morris, of Marengo, 111. ; 
 Oliver, living in Menominee, Mich.; 
 Lowell, in Kansas; and Fremont, in Ne- 
 braska. 
 
 Mr. Howe had been adjutant of Sam- 
 uel H. Sizer Post No. 207, G. A. R., for 
 several years before his death, which oc- 
 curred in Marinette November 16, 1894. 
 He was an active Republican, and took 
 great interest in politics. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. A. V. Howe three children were 
 
596 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 born: Devillo and Charlotte May, both of 
 whom died at two 3ears of age, and John 
 H., who is a traveling salesman for E. 
 C. Prescott, dealer in mill and mining 
 supplies. He is a stenographer by pro- 
 fession, and took court notes when he 
 was but seventeen or eighteen years of 
 age. Mrs. Howe is a member of the 
 Women's Relief Corps, was one of the 
 charter members of same, and has held 
 various ofTices. She has seen many eventful 
 changes in Marinette during the past six- 
 teen years, is a lady of refinement, and 
 much respected in the community. 
 
 HENRY P. CHRIST is the oldest 
 general merchant of Wausaukee, 
 Marinette county, of which flour- 
 ishing little tovvh he is a repre- 
 sentative, wide-awake citizen, and has 
 spent the greater part of liis life in Wis- 
 consin. 
 
 Mr. Christ was born in i8Co in Mar- 
 quette county, Mich., son of Henry Christ, 
 a native of France, who emigrated to 
 America in early manhood, and located in 
 Michigan. There he married Miss Mary 
 Sprecher, a native of Switzerland, and 
 they became the parents of five children, 
 viz. : Frank, who resides in Brown county. 
 Wis.; Henry P., whose name introduces 
 this sketch; John, who resides in New 
 York, near Buffalo; Amos, who is assist- 
 ing his brother in the store at Wausaukee, 
 and Josephine, Mrs. Brochtrup, of Calu- 
 met county. Wis. While in Michigan 
 the father of this family worked in the 
 copper mines, but on his removal to De- 
 Pere, Wis., in 1869, he followed the oc- 
 cupation of a collier until 1882, when he 
 settled on a farm in Rockland township. 
 Brown county, where he and his wife are 
 yet living. 
 
 Henry P. Christ received the greater 
 part of his education in the schools of 
 Rockland township. Brown county, and 
 commenced business life in Calumet 
 county, where he remained until coming 
 to Marinette county. For some time he 
 
 was employed by John Hoff, as clerk, at 
 Hoff's Siding, and in 1889 engaged in 
 business on his own account in Wausau- 
 kee, embarking in general merchandising, 
 in which he has since successfully con- 
 tinued. He carries a full line of all goods 
 usually found in a general store, and does 
 a large business, his careful attention to 
 the wants and wishes of his customers 
 having more than a little to do with the 
 patronage accorded him. In addition to 
 this he handles the greater part of the 
 cedar shipped from this point, and does a 
 general delivery business for the accom- 
 modation of his customers. On coming 
 here he purchased a good one-story frame 
 building, which he has since used for a 
 store-room. 
 
 In 1890 Mr. Christ was married, in 
 Brown county, to Miss Catherine Ryan, 
 who was born in Rockland township, 
 that county, daughter of Thomas Ryan, 
 an early pioneer of Rockland township. 
 To this union have been born four chil- 
 dren: Margaret, Evelyn, Catherine and 
 Harold. In religious faith, the family are 
 members of the Catholic Church. Mr. 
 Christ is a Democrat in politics, and he 
 takes as active an interest in the public 
 welfare of his community as in the develop- 
 ment of her business interests. Though 
 he never neglects his private interests, he 
 takes a loyal pride in the progress and im- 
 provement of his town and county, and is 
 ever ready to support any worthy project 
 to that end. He has served as super- 
 visor of his township. 
 
 SINAI BRAULT, who, since 1S93, 
 has served as commissioner of 
 Coleman township, Marinette 
 county, is one of the oldest settlers 
 of the township, having made the second 
 settlement there. His residence dates 
 from 1875, eight years before the advent 
 of the railroad, and he has always dis- 
 played a lively interest in the improve- 
 ment and progress of his adopted county, 
 taking a leading part in all movements 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 597 
 
 which he had reason to believe were for 
 the good of the community in general. 
 
 Mr. Brault was born in 1S57 in Joliette 
 county, Canada, son of Eli and Marceline 
 (Goudettes) Brault, natives of the same 
 place, where the father was engaged in 
 the lumber business. Later for nine years 
 he was a policeman on the police force 
 of Montreal. He also taught school in 
 Joliette county. In 1875 he and his wife 
 came to Marinette county. Wis., where 
 he passed away in 1887; Mrs. IJrault now 
 makes her home with our subject. Of 
 their famil}- of five children, Ozarie has a 
 tailoring establishment in the city of Mon- 
 treal; Azarene (Mrs. Edmund Richard) 
 lives in Coleman township, Marinette 
 county; Isaac resides in Coleman town- 
 ship, and is a teacher in District No. lO; 
 Octavie is the wife of Joseph Lantern, of 
 Coleman township; Sinai is the subject of 
 this sketch. 
 
 Sinai Brault was reared and educated 
 in the country of his birth, finishing his 
 literary training at a college in Montreal, 
 and at the age of about eighteen came 
 with his parents to Wisconsin, their fam- 
 ily being the second one to settle per- 
 manently in Coleman township, Marinette 
 county. They purchased i 20 acres from 
 the Peshtigo Company, lying in Section 
 13, the farm on which our subject yet 
 makes his home, and of which sixty acres 
 are now cleared. He has devoted him- 
 self almost exclusively to the care and 
 improvement of his land, and conducts a 
 general farming business, which by his 
 industry and superior management yields 
 him a good income. For the past eight 
 years he has also operated a threshing 
 machine, and has recently provided him- 
 self with a steam-threshing outfit, being 
 now well equipped in this respect to do a 
 large business. 
 
 Mr. Brault was married, in iSSi, in 
 Coleman township, to Miss lirmine 
 Granger, also a native of Joliette county, 
 Canada, where her parents, Marc and 
 Julia (Marion) Granger, were also born. 
 The mother died in Montreal, Canada, 
 
 and the father subsequently came to Wis- 
 consin, taking up a homestead in Cole- 
 man township, Marinette county, where 
 he died three years later. Seven chil- 
 dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Brault, namely: Emile, Eugene, Lucien, 
 Octavie, Helbertine, Eva and Fred. The 
 family in religious connection are identi- 
 fied with the Church of St. John the Bap- 
 tist, Coleman, of which Mr. Brault is a 
 trustee. Politically he affiliates with the 
 Republicans, and takes an active interest 
 in politics and public affairs in general, at 
 present serving as connnissioner of Cole- 
 man township and as a director of District 
 No. 2. As a citizen who takes a genuine 
 interest in the general welfare and pros- 
 perity, he is respected and valued through- 
 out the township in which his active life 
 has been passed. 
 
 JE. UTKE is the most extensive con- 
 tractor and builder of Marinette, and 
 on all sides are buildings which stand 
 as monuments to his enterprise, skill 
 and business ability. He is numbered 
 among the most esteemed of Wisconsin's 
 native sons. 
 
 His birth occurred in .Manitowoc coun- 
 ty, December 28, i860, and his parents, 
 William and Ernestine (Zetlow) Utke, 
 were natives of Prussia. Their marriage 
 was celebrated in that land, and in about 
 1853 they em'igrated to the New World, 
 locating in Milwaukee, Wis. In 1855 
 they became residents of Manitowoc coun- 
 ty, their home being in the midst of a 
 forest, where the father erected a brush 
 shanty and began the development of a 
 farm, continuing its cultivation until he 
 now has a valuable property, upon which 
 he and his wife are still living. They 
 have reared four children: Anna, wife of 
 A. Bruce, a resident of Peshtigo, Mari- 
 nette Co., Wis.; Theodore, who is living 
 on the old homstead; J. E., subject of 
 this sketch; and Ernestine, wife of Jacob 
 Brockmann, of Hilbert, Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. Utke, whose name introduces this 
 
598 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BWOBAPJIICAL RECORD. 
 
 review, was reared by an uncle in Rock 
 Island, 111., and acquired his education 
 in its public schools. He learned the 
 trade of carpentering in his native city, 
 and in 1880 went to Menominee, Mich., 
 where he was employed on government 
 work. The following year he went to 
 Florence, and took charge of the carpen- 
 ter work in connection with the Florence 
 mine, where he continued until 1883. In 
 the fall of that year he turned his atten- 
 tion to bridge work, and in 1884 he came 
 to Marinette, where he had charge of the 
 bridge work of the Chicago. Milwaukee 
 & St. Paul railroad, the Chicago & North 
 Western, and the "Soo" road, building 
 the wooden bridges for these roads. His 
 thorough knowledge of the business, his 
 e.xcellent workmanship, and his faithful- 
 ness to the interests cf the companies con- 
 tinued his service in their employ until 
 1 89 1, when he resigned in order to en- 
 gage in general contracting. He now 
 furnishes employment to twenty-five or 
 thirty men, the largest force engaged by 
 any one contractor in the city. He now 
 has the contract for the erection of the 
 new •' Marinette Hotel," on which he be- 
 gan operations January i, 1895. It is a 
 sixty-three room building, erected in a 
 modern style of architecture, at a cost of 
 $75,000. He also had the contract for 
 the Park schoolhouse, $25,000. also an 
 $8,000 addition to the Union school, and 
 he has done all the carpenter work in con- 
 nection with the schools for the past four 
 years. He also erected the McMpine 
 residence valued at $7,000, the McDcr- 
 mott residence ($2,500), the McAllister 
 home ($3,800). the Methodist Episcopal 
 parsonage ($4,000), the Porterfield Block 
 ($12,000). the Kedling flats ($4,000). and 
 many other of the finest buildings of the 
 city. 
 
 Mr. Utke was married in Florence in 
 1883 to Miss Mary V'anAble, a native of 
 Oconto county. Wis., and a daughter of 
 John VanAble, of Oconto City. They now 
 have an interesting family of five chil- 
 dren — Charley, Bertha, Raymond. Min- 
 
 erva and Gracey. Socially, Mr. Utke is 
 a member of Lodge No. 72. K. P., and 
 theTurnverein. He is a reliable, straight- 
 forward business man whose success in 
 life is largely attributable to his faithful- 
 ness to every trust reposed in him. to his 
 energy and to his capable management. 
 He has persevered in the pursuit of a 
 persistent purpose, and gained a most sat- 
 isfactory reward. His life is exemplary 
 in all respects, and he has the esteem of 
 his friends and the confidence of those who 
 have business relations with him. 
 
 HJ. PLACE, of the firm of Place 
 & Smith, is one of the prominent 
 and influential men of Marinette, 
 a leader in business and society 
 circles, very popular in every way. and 
 has an extended acquaintance throughout 
 the county. He is the son of Anson J. 
 and Caroline (Jackson) Place. 
 
 Anson J. Place was born, in 1833, in 
 Hinesburgh, Vt., of English descent. His 
 parents, Anson and Frances Mary (Jack- 
 son) Place, were farming people, and 
 their family consisted of eight children, 
 all sons, viz.: Anson J., Clement, Emer- 
 son, Alonzo. Dr. Sidney. Andrew, and 
 two who died in infancj'. Anson J. 
 Place married Caroline Jackson, who was 
 born, in 1838, in St. Lawrence county, 
 N. Y. , only child of Eliza and Caroline 
 (Kinion) Jackson, the former of whom 
 was a farmer. Mrs. Jackson died when 
 Caroline was six weeks old, and Mr. 
 Jackson subsetiuently married Lorena 
 May, five children being born to the 
 second union, viz. : Ezra, John, George 
 W. , Clamania and Cornelia. In 1855 
 Mr. Place removed with his family to 
 Peshtigo. Wis., obtaining employment 
 with the Peshtigo Lumber Co., and there 
 remained until 1869. 
 
 In 1857 he opened the first hotel in 
 Peshtigo. a log building with a flat roof, 
 and still later he erected a more spacious 
 and stylish frame building, in which he 
 conducted the hotel business for about 
 

 M 
 
 ■■^M^. 
 
 V 
 
 ^HE^ 
 
 i^'"' 
 
 w 
 
 i 
 
 /y/-/^.-e€^ 
 
commemorative: bioorapiiical record. 
 
 599 
 
 nine years. He then disposed of his hos- 
 telry, and undertool-; the development of 
 a farm near Peshtigo, which, in a new 
 and heavily-timbered country, involved 
 much personal hardship and courag;e of 
 no mean order, as all pioneer farmery 
 know (the place is now known as the Con- 
 stine farm). In the great fire of 1871 all 
 his buildings, grain, stock, implements, 
 machinery, etc., were destroyed, and he was 
 compelled to take refuge in the Peshtigo 
 river during the entire night of that terri- 
 ble calamity, the news of which he was 
 the first to send forth to the world. His 
 family were then living in Marinette. In 
 1869 he commenced the butcher business 
 in Marinette, opposite Dunlap Square, 
 near the bridge, continuing there a num- 
 ber of years, when he moved to the cor- 
 ner of Wells and Main streets, and there 
 established himself in what is now known 
 as the Kigsdale property, remaining there 
 nntil his death, November 16, 1S75. He 
 was a Republican, and took great interest 
 in politics. His widow still resides in the 
 city of Marinette. Four children were 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Place, in the order 
 named: Harry J. ; Frances Mary, wife 
 of George T. Johnstone, of Marinette; 
 William H., who is now conducting a 
 boarding stable in Marinette; and Hattie 
 Jeannette. 
 
 Harry J. Place was born JuK i<), 
 1854, in St. Lawrence county, N. Y., 
 and came west with his parents when 
 only about one year old. He was edu- 
 cated in the schools at Peshtigo, and com- 
 menced life on the farm near the city. 
 He was fifteen jears of age when his 
 father moved to Marinette and engaged 
 in the butcher business, buying out Henry 
 Bentley, and he always remained at 
 home, assisting his father. After the lat- 
 ter's death, in 1875, our subject assumed 
 full charge of the business, and in 1876 
 he erected a building on what was then 
 the I. O. O. Y. block, and for some three 
 years conducted two markets. He then 
 moved to the Perkins block, where he re- 
 mained until 1886, and then retiring from 
 
 the firm engaged in shipping stock to the 
 West for two years. In 18S8 he resumed 
 the butcher business in company with his 
 present partner, Mr. Smith, and they 
 have the leading market in the city. 
 Prior to this, from 1S82 to 1885, he and 
 his brother, William H. Place, carried 
 on a market in Peshtigo, William H. 
 taking charge of same. In 1S90 he com- 
 menced handling buggies and carriages, 
 in which he still continues, also dealing 
 in horses and doing a general business in 
 that line. In 1895 he established a wood- 
 yard, of which his brother William has 
 charge. Mr. Place owns a good, im- 
 proved farm in Peshtigo township, ha\-ing 
 300 acres in Marinette county, forty acres 
 adjoining the city of Marinette. 
 
 In 1877 Ml'- I'lace was married to 
 Miss Christina A. Barclay, a native of 
 New Brunswick, and they have had 
 a family of nine children, two of whom 
 are deceased ; those living are : Anson 
 Hugh, Mabel Irene, Sadie Barclay, 
 George Sidney, Margaret Ethel, Harry 
 Royal and Nellie Bloomeretta. The 
 family attend the Presbyterian Church, 
 of which Mrs. Place is a member. Hugh 
 Barclay, father of Mrs. H. J. Place, was 
 born in Bathurst, N. B., in 1817, of 
 Scotch parentage, and he was the young- 
 est of nine children born to Hugh and 
 Jane Barclay. He was a carpenter by 
 trade. In 1846 he married .Ann Mcin- 
 tosh, who was also of Scotch parentage, 
 born in 1824 in New Brunswick, daugh- 
 ter of David and Margaret (Connacher) 
 Mcintosh, both of whom were natives of 
 Scotland; they had twelve children. In 
 1866 Mr. Barclay came with his family 
 to Wisconsin, settling in Menominee, 
 where he followed his trade, carpentering. 
 Here he died in February, 1891 ; his wife 
 survives him. They had nine children, 
 two of whom are deceased — Margaret, 
 who died when twenty-one years old, and 
 James when eighteen years old. Of the 
 livintr, Christina A. is the wife of H. 
 J. Place; David lives in Menominee; Rob- 
 I ert resides at Ford River, Mich.; Hugh, 
 
6oo 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in Berkeley, Cal. ; Jennie is the wife of 
 James Brace, of Mount Carmel, 111. In 
 religious connection the entire family were 
 Presbyterians. 
 
 Mr. Place is a Republican in politics, 
 but neither desires nor aspires to official 
 life. Socially he affiliates with the Tem- 
 ple of Honor and Lodge No. 182, F. & 
 A. M., and he is also a member of the 
 Marinette Business Men's Association, 
 being one of the oldest business men in 
 the city of Marinette. Having passed 
 almost his entire life in this region, he 
 has seen the cities of Peshtigo and Mari- 
 nette grow from obscure lumber villages to 
 busy marts of commerce, and the abode 
 of civilization and refinement. 
 
 CC. OLIN, grocer and meat dealer 
 at Florence, is a native of Me- 
 ilina count}', Ohio, born in 1841, 
 and is a son of Peleg and Mar- 
 garet (Graeff) Olin, the former a native 
 of New York, the latter of Pennsylvania. 
 In an early day Peleg Olin removed to 
 Medina county, Ohio, where he opened 
 up a farm near Liverpool, and where he 
 resided until his death in 1853. His 
 widow is now living in Wood county, 
 Ohio. Of their family of seven children, 
 four are jet living: Elizabeth, now Mrs. 
 E. R. Beach, of Wood count}', Ohio; C. 
 C. , our subject; George, who is married 
 and residing in Petoskey, Mich. ; and 
 Hattie (now Mrs. Hoffman), of Bradner, 
 \\'ood county, Ohio. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared 
 on the home farm, near Liverpool, Ohio, 
 where he remained until the breaking out 
 of the Rebellion, when, in 1861, he en- 
 listed in Company C, One Hundred and 
 Twenty-fourth O. \. I., for three years 
 or during the war. He was mustered into 
 the service at Cleveland, Ohio, and was 
 with his regiment in the W'estcrn arm)'. 
 Among the engagements in which he par- 
 ticipated may be mentioned Franklin, 
 Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, and Look- 
 out Mountain; was also with Sherman on 
 
 his march to the sea. He was wounded 
 at Mission Ridge, but soon recovered and 
 served his time, being discharged at 
 Cleveland, Ohio, in 1865. On being 
 mustered out of the service, and receiv- 
 ing his discharge, Mr. Olin returned to 
 Medina county, Ohio, remaining there 
 until 1866, when he removed to Dane 
 county, W^is., where he engaged in farm- 
 ing, and teaching public school, and also 
 in teaching singing school. He was there 
 three years, and then removed to Eureka, 
 Kans., and later to Shiocton, .Wis., from 
 which place he came to Florence. On 
 his arrival here, he found a place with 
 one saloon and a shanty. He erected a 
 store building and engaged in general 
 merchandise, being the first dealer in the 
 place. From that time to the present he 
 has continued in active business, but at 
 present is running a grocery store in con- 
 nection with the meat market. Mr. 
 Olin was married in Medina county, Ohio, 
 in i860, to Miss Delia A. Terrell, who 
 was born in Medina county, Ohio, a 
 daughter of Mason Terrell, a pioneer of 
 that county, who there lived and died. 
 Three children were born of this union: 
 Enmia, the wife of C. S. Hopkins; 
 Charles, married, and residing in Flor- 
 ence, engaged as bookkeeper in a lumber 
 company; and Fred, also married, and 
 clerking in Florence. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Olin is an uncompromis- 
 ing Republican, and takes an active inter- 
 est in political affairs. He was chairman 
 of Florence in 1884, and has served in the 
 office of town treasurer. Fraternally, he 
 is a member of Fisher Lodge, No. 222, 
 F. & A. M., of which he is worshipful 
 master, and has served in that ofiice for 
 the last ten years; he is also a member of 
 Florence Lodge, No. 31, K. of P., of 
 which he is the present master. In the 
 latter body he has served as a represent- 
 ative to the grand lodge, and has passed 
 all tlie chairs. Mr. Olin is a fine singer, 
 and for some years has been a member 
 of the Presbyterian choir. He has been 
 identified with the county for a period of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BWORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 60 1 
 
 fifteen years, and is one of the oldest 
 settlers in his section. On the organi- 
 zation of the county, he was appointed, 
 by Governor Lewis, treasurer of the coun- 
 ty. He also assisted in the organization 
 of the town, and is the pioneer merchant 
 of the locality. 
 
 FI>:ANK E. SACKETT, who is agent 
 at Marinette for tlie American Ex- 
 press Company, is a native of 
 Wisconsin, born at Appleton June 
 26, 1857. 
 
 His parents, H. C. and Sophia (Post) 
 Sackett, were both born in New York, in 
 which State they were reared and mar- 
 ried, and came to Appleton, \\'is., in 
 about 1849, settling among the early 
 pioneers on what is now College avenue. 
 Mr. Sackett followed carpentering, and 
 engaged in contracting and building, being 
 one of the well-known carpenters and 
 builders in that region, and he had a wide 
 acquaintance throughout Outagamie coun- 
 ty. His death occurred at Appleton in 
 1892; the widow still resides on the same 
 lot where they settled in 1S49. They 
 reared a family of nine children, of whom 
 Charles M., a contractor and builder, re- 
 sides in New London, Wis. ; George is 
 manager of a sawmill and lives in Apple- 
 ton; H. L. is also a resident of Appleton, 
 and is a carpenter by vocation; Mary and 
 Ida are both in Appleton; Clarence is in 
 Fond du Lac, in the employ of the Wis- 
 consin Central Railway Co. ; Lulu (Mrs. 
 Urie) lives in Winslow, 111. ; Fred M. is 
 connected with the Electric Light Co. at 
 Stevens Point, Wis. ; Frank E. is the 
 gentleman whose name opens this sketch. 
 
 Our subject was reared in Appleton, 
 Wis., and received his education in the 
 public schools of that city. In 1876 he 
 commenced life for himself, engaging with 
 the American E.xpress Co., in whose em- 
 ploy he has been ever since. During the 
 first two years he was driver at Appleton, 
 and then went on the road, acting as mes- 
 senger for the greater part of the time for 
 
 several years. For nine months he was 
 employed as temporary agent at Menom- 
 inee, Mich., in 1889 being transferred 
 thence to Marinette, and being employed 
 on the road from Marinette to Crystal 
 Falls. Mich., until March, 1892, when he 
 was appointed to his present position as 
 agent. Mr. Sackett is well-known, in 
 social circles, as a member of Marinette 
 Lodge No. 182, F. & A. M., in which he 
 is at present serving as Worshipful Mas- 
 ter, anil of Marinette Chapter No. 57, R. 
 A. M. 
 
 Mr. Sackett was married in Marinette, 
 Wis., in 1881, to Miss Jennie Van de 
 Bogart, a native of that city, whose par- 
 ents, John and Mary (McBride) Van de 
 Bogart, were born in New York. They 
 came in an early day to Wisconsin, jour- 
 neying by boat from Green Bay, and first 
 settled on the Michigan side, after a short 
 time removing to East Marinette, Wis., 
 where Mr. Van de Bogart was foreman in 
 a sawmill for some years. He and his 
 wife arc now residing in Menekaunee. 
 Four children have been born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Sackett, viz.; Leima, Hattie, Will- 
 ard and Ida. Our subject is a Republican 
 in political sentiment, and is deeply inter- 
 ested in the success of his part}\ 
 
 ERIi; P. LAUGESEN, hardware 
 merchant of I'lorence, I'lorence 
 Co., Wis., was born in 1858, in 
 Denmark, and is a son of L. C. 
 Eriksen, and Mary Eriksen (Sorensen), 
 who were both born in Denmark. The 
 mother died in 1876. L. C. Eriksen was 
 a miller by trade. The family consisted 
 of four children — one son and three daugh- 
 ters, namely: Erik P. is the subject of 
 this sketch: Mariane, the wife of Peter 
 Nielsen, is living in Denmark; Core died 
 in Denmark in her young age; Sorine is 
 yet in that country. L. C. Eriksen, the 
 father of Erik P., came to this country in 
 1890 to live his last days with his son, 
 and is still here. 
 
 Erik P. Laugesen was reared in Den- 
 
6o3 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BTOOEAPEICAL RECORD. 
 
 mark, eilm ;ii( d in the schools of that 
 country, and learned the trade of black- 
 smith, working at that some three and 
 one-half jears. In 1S79 he embarked for 
 the United States, and landed in New 
 York, thence taking the train to Philadel- 
 phia, Penn. P'rom there he journeyed 
 on foot to Chicago, 111., the journey tak- 
 ing seven weeks, from April i to May 18, 
 and came to Rolling Prairie, near Laporte, 
 Ind., got a job, and his first work in this 
 country was farming. He worked at that 
 till October, and then went to Chicago, 
 where he worked some in a lumber-yard. 
 But the lumber business stopped and 
 starvation stared him in the face; how- 
 ever, he met a friend from Denmark, who 
 lent him money enough to take him to 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 The first place in this State he reached 
 was Appleton, Outagamie county, and then 
 went into the employ of the Milwaukee 
 and Lake Shore Railway Co., who were 
 then building the road to Wausau, Wis., 
 to which place Erik P. followed up the 
 job. He then went to New London, 
 Wis., where he followed his trade for 
 nearl}- two \ears, there working for John 
 Friburger. From New London he went 
 to Waupaca, Waupaca Co., Wis., where 
 he also worked at his trade for P. A. 
 House; in 1882 he established his own 
 blacksmith shop at Ogdensburg, Wis., 
 and later moved his whole works to 
 Symco, Waupaca county, where he after- 
 ward went into the hardware business, 
 which he sold out in 1887. 
 
 In September, 1882, Erik P. Lauge- 
 sen was united in marriage at New Lon- 
 don, Wis., with Miss Ane Maggie Nielsen, 
 who was born in Denmark. Her parents, 
 Christian and Cora Nielsen, came to this 
 country in 1872, settling in Wiscon- 
 sin, where, in Deer Creek, Outagamie 
 county, they bought a farm, and have 
 since resided there. The family of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Laugesen consisted of four chil- 
 dren, namely: Mary, Laura, Emme and 
 Christ. On July 25, 1S95, Mr. Lauge- 
 sen lost his beloved wife, who for thirteen 
 
 \i.airi had been his true helper, a loving 
 mother to her four children, and a most 
 kind wife; she was thirty years old when 
 she died. 
 
 In 18S7 Mr. Laugesen engaged in 
 the general mercantile business at Cran- 
 don. Forest Co., Wis., and later, in De- 
 cember, 1890, sold out at that place, and 
 moved to Florence, where he again em- 
 barked in the general hardware trade, 
 with a small capital of not over $500, 
 which he has since increased, so that 
 at this writing he carries a stock to 
 the value of from $5,500 to $6,000; he 
 now bujs for cash, and sells for cash. 
 He handles farm machinery, shelf hard- 
 ware, mining supplies, paints and oil. He 
 devotes his entire time to his business, 
 and speculates in nothing else. When he 
 came to this country our subject borrowed 
 his passage money from the man that 
 learned him his trade in Denmark. 
 
 Our subject is a Republican, polit- 
 ically, but holds no public office, nor seeks 
 any, and he belongs to no secret order of 
 and kind. He goes to the Christian Mis- 
 sionary Church in Florence, and believes 
 in the Bible and in the works of God. He 
 is recognized by all who know him as a 
 thorough, practical, self-made business 
 man, and as such has the respect and 
 esteem of the entire communit}'. During 
 his sixteen-years' residence in Wisconsin 
 he has naturally seen many of the changes 
 and improvements which have taken place 
 in that locality, especially in his own sec- 
 tion. 
 
 D.Wll) B. BAUDER. who is now 
 living a retired life in Abrams, 
 has for many years been identified 
 with Oconto county, and has long 
 been numbered among its valued citizens. 
 He was born in Canada in 1S36, and is a 
 son of Henry H. and W'ealthy (Longj 
 Bauder, the former a native of Herkimer 
 county, N. V., the latter of Massachusetts. 
 The father was a shoemaker by trade, and 
 for some years resided near Kingston, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 603 
 
 Canada, in I1S37 re in ov in,": to Jefferson 
 county, N. Y., where he died in 1869. 
 His wife afterward came to Oconto 
 county, but her death occurred in Oswego 
 county, N. Y., in 1S75. They iiad a 
 family of nine ciiildren — Jerome, who 
 was born in Canada, and served in the 
 Mexican war, afterward went to Cah- 
 fornia, and died in San Francisco about 
 1850; Mrs. Martha Hill, who resides in 
 Chicago, 111. : William, living in Oswego 
 county, N. Y. ; John, a sailor, residing in 
 Cleveland, Ohio; Jane, wife of John Tow- 
 ner, died in Macon, Mo. ; Daviel \'>. is the 
 ne.xt in the family; Mrs. Elizabeth Wil- 
 cox, who resides in Oswego county, 
 N. Y. ; Samantha, living in Massachusetts; 
 George W., who served for three years 
 in the Thirty-fifth N. Y. \' . I., and re- 
 enlisted in Company H, Thirteenth N. Y. 
 C, serving till the close of the war; he is 
 now living in Marinette, Wisconsin. 
 
 Our subject was reared in Jefferson 
 county, N. Y., and educated in the pub- 
 lic schools. At an early age he left home 
 and went out into the world to earn his 
 own living. He drove team on the Erie 
 canal for four years, chen went to New 
 York City, and shipped for a four-N-ear- 
 cruise on whaling ship (the "Jenette") 
 from New Bedford, Alass. They sailed 
 around Cape Horn, made the port of 
 Valparaiso, in South America, then sailed 
 to New Zealand, for supplies; thence 
 sailed for the Society Islands, for wood 
 and water, and have a run on shore. 
 Before sailing north they staid there two 
 weeks, then weighed anchor,' and sailed 
 for the Sea of Ochotsk, where they were 
 caught in the ice for two weeks, but finally 
 succeeded in making their way out to 
 Behring Strait. After the whaling season 
 was over they sailed for the Sandwich 
 Islands, arriving at Honolulu port, fifteen 
 months from the day they sailed from 
 New Bedford. Fifteen of the crew being 
 down with the scurvy, they had to leave 
 eight of their men in the hospital and 
 ship eight of the natives in their places. 
 After staying there two weeks, they sailed 
 
 for the Friendly Islantis to overhaul the 
 ship — scrape, wash and paint her— and 
 get wood and water and tropical fruit. 
 
 On their second voyage north they 
 sailed up the coast of China through the 
 China Sea, the Yellow Sea and the Japan 
 Sea into the Sea of Ochotsk. They 
 captured many whales the second season, 
 then sailed for the Sandwich Islands, 
 where the men were given liberty on 
 shore. Not wishing to go north another 
 season, they ran away from the ship, and 
 stowed away on the vessel "Petrel," 
 homeward bound. On the way home 
 they stopped at New Zealand for supplies, 
 then sailed around Cape Horn, and ar- 
 rived at New Bedford three years and 
 eleven months from the time of first sail- 
 ing. When paid off Mr. I?auder had just 
 !f45 for three years' work, which was for 
 wages on the passage home from the 
 Sandwich Islands. 
 
 He arrived at Albany August 15, and 
 then shipped as steersman on the Erie 
 canal. At the close of the season he vis- 
 ited home, after being away nine years. 
 He had heard from home only once since 
 leaving. His father had no fatted calf to 
 kill, but he killed the biggest hen. The 
 next year our subject tried farming, but 
 it did not pay at $I3 a month. From 
 the spring of 1857 until the spring of 
 1 86 1 he sailed on the lakes between Buf- 
 falo and Chicago, as steward. On the 
 breaking out of the war in 1861 he en- 
 tered military life in Bond county, III, 
 joining Company D, Twenty second 111. 
 V. I., in the State service for the protec- 
 tion of the border, his term lasting thirty 
 days. At the second call of President 
 Lincoln for 300,000 volunteers he joined 
 the United States service at Ijelleville, 
 III., went to Caseyville, 111., and joined 
 the army of the West at Bird's Point, 
 Mo. At the battle of Belmont, Mo., Mr. 
 Bauder was wounded above the eye, and 
 was sent to the hospital where he was 
 discharged on account of disability. He 
 then returned to Chicago, III., and again 
 shipped as steward on the lakes; but his 
 
6o4 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 health was so poor he went east to 
 Watertown, N. Y. , and clerked in a store 
 for one year. His health becoming much 
 better, he went on the lakes again as 
 steward, as wages were \evy high. 
 
 In the following j'car, 1863, he was 
 married at Watertown, N. Y., to Miss 
 Jennie M. Fitzpatrick, a native of that 
 place and a daughter of Mathew and 
 Margaret i Farley) Fitzpatrick, early set- 
 tlers of the Empire State. On October 
 1 5 the vessel he was on was wrecked on 
 Pilot Island, at Death's Door, on Lake 
 Michigan, and our subject was lashed to 
 the mast for twenty-four hours before 
 rescued. That was the last of his sailing. 
 Returning to Watertown, N. Y. , he went 
 into Mr. Hoard's gun factory to help 
 make guns for the government; worked 
 there three months, and then went to 
 Ilion, Herkimer county, and worked in 
 the Remington armory until 1 869, when 
 he came with his wife to Pensaukee, 
 Oconto Co., Wis., where he purchased a 
 farm of 160 acres, which he continued to 
 cultivate until 1874, when he removed to 
 Menominee, Mich. Here he and his wife 
 were successfully engaged in merchan- 
 dising for nine years. While there he 
 invented and patented three valuable in- 
 ventions. He then returned to his farm, 
 and between his farm and his inventions 
 he is a very busy man; but he is now retired 
 from active business life, having, through 
 his enterprise and energy in former years, 
 acquired a handsome competence. Mr. 
 Bander is an illustrious prototype of a 
 self-made man; realizing that success is 
 not a matter of family connection or for- 
 tunate circumstances, but is the reward 
 of earnest labor, he set himself to achieve 
 it, and prospered. 
 
 In politics our subject is a Republican, 
 and he and his wife are members of the 
 M. E. Church. He is acting as notary 
 public. Socially he is a member of the 
 T. O. Howe Post, G. A. R., of Green 
 Bay, while his wife is a member of the 
 Women's Relief Corps, the au.xiliary of 
 Sizer Post, of Marinette, Wis. Their 
 
 friends are many, and they are well 
 worthy of the high regard in which they 
 are held. 
 
 EDG.AR O. THOMAS, a promi- 
 nent citizen of Grover township, 
 Marinette county, is a son of E. 
 S. and Malvina (Beardsley) 
 Thomas, and was born in New York in 
 1851. 
 
 E. S. Thomas and his wife were born 
 in New York, and in 1849 migrated to Ou- 
 tagamie county, Wis., settling in Horton- 
 ville, where Mr. Thomas died September 
 2, 1895; he was a filer by trade. Mrs. 
 Thomas died in Hortonville in 1883. 
 They reared three children, two of whom 
 are now living — Edgar O., the subject of 
 this sketch, and Oscar, who is a plumber, 
 residing in Chicago; Elnora M. (Thomas) 
 Leslie died December 29, 1880, at Hor- 
 tonville. Edgar O. Thomas was reared 
 in Hortonville, Wis., and received his 
 education in the schools of that place. 
 After leaving school he engaged in well- 
 drilling in the surrounding country', in com- 
 pany with C. A. Nye, and in 1872 he went 
 to Sturgeon Bay, Door Co., Wis. , residing 
 in that county until 1883, well-drilling in 
 company with E. Bermingham. 
 
 In Marinette county, in 1878, our 
 subject was united in marriage with Eme- 
 line McDonald, who was born in Mari- 
 nette county, and they had two children: 
 Ray and Jay. Mrs. Thomas died in 1S83. 
 Her parents, John L. and Celina (Mac- 
 Pherson) McDonald, were born in Can- 
 ada, and now reside in Grover township, 
 of which locality they were early pioneers. 
 From Door county Mr. Thomas came, in 
 1883, to Grover township, where he 
 bought the farm on which he now resides, 
 comprising 160 acres, of which forty were 
 partly improved, and he has since erected 
 a good one-and-a-half-story frame resi- 
 dence and other buildings. In 1885, in 
 Peshtigo township, Marinette county, 
 Mr. Thomas married, for his second wife. 
 Miss Linda Jackson, who was born in 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECOBD. 
 
 605 
 
 Oconto county, Wis., and they have had 
 four chilch'en; Virf^il, George, Letha Belle 
 and May. The father of Mrs. Thomas, 
 janies Jackson (now deceased), was an 
 early pioneer of Oconto county. 
 
 Mr. Thomas has 160 acres of land, 
 140 of which are under cultivation. He 
 is also engaged in well-drilling, and has 
 carried on this work all over the northern 
 country. In political affiliation he votes 
 with the Republican party; he is chairman 
 of Grover township, having been elected 
 in the spring of 1895, and has been on 
 the town board three j'ears. He has 
 seen much of the growth and development 
 of Marinette county, and has taken great 
 interest in what would be for the general 
 welfare. 
 
 M 
 
 A. EGGLESTON. This gentle- 
 man, although a native of an 
 Eastern State, has spent almost 
 his entire life in Wisconsin, and 
 has been identified with the interests of 
 Oconto county for over a quarter of a 
 century. 
 
 Mr. Eggleston was born October 25, 
 1845, in Potsdam, St. Lawrence Co.,N.Y., 
 son of James Madison and Louisa M. 
 (Washburn) Eggleston, who were natives 
 of Vermont and Massachusetts, respec- 
 ively. They were married in Franklin 
 county, Vt., thence removing to St. Law- 
 rence county, N. Y., and thence, in 1849, 
 to Milwaukee, Wis. In June, 1850, they 
 came to Appleton, where he erected the 
 first sash, door and blind factory, oper- 
 ating same for eighteen years. In 1868 
 he retired from business and removed to 
 Ripen, Wis., where his death occurred 
 in 1892; Mrs. Eggleston died there in 
 1889. They were the parents of four 
 children, viz. : Mary Jane, who died in 
 Vermont; Seymour, who came to Oconto 
 in 1866, and was employed by Holt & 
 Balcolm (he now resides at Iron River, 
 Mich.); Mrs. H. L. Tuttle, residing in 
 Ripon, Wis. ; and M. A. 
 
 The subject of our sketch was four 
 
 years of age when his parents came to 
 Wisconsin. He received his education in 
 the schools of Appleton, and in 1864 en- 
 listed there in Company E, Fortieth Wis. 
 V. I., for one hundred days, or during the 
 war; was mustered into the service at 
 Madison, and was sent to Memphis, Tenn., 
 where he remained during his entire term 
 of service. He was honorably discharged 
 September 16, 1864, at Madison, and 
 returned to his home in Appleton. Dur- 
 ing the following three years he clerked in 
 a store in Appleton, spent the winter of 
 1868-69 in Ripon, and in April, 1869, he 
 came to Oconto, entering the employ of 
 the Holt & Balcolm Lutnl)er Co., with 
 whom he worked one summer. In 1.S70 
 he was engaged by R. L. Hull, and re- 
 mained with him three years, as deputy 
 count}' survevor, after which lie followed 
 land surveying many years. For over 
 one year Mr. Eggleston was in the railway 
 mail service, and has since been in the 
 employ of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
 Paul Railway Co., being warehouse and 
 baggage man at Oconto. 
 
 In May, 1872, Mr. Eggleston was mar- 
 ried, at Oconto, to Susan A. Bowers, a 
 native of Wisconsin, daughter of George 
 W. Bowers, who came to this State in an 
 early day, locating first in Green Bay and 
 subsequently in Oconto. He now resides 
 in Louisville, Ky. Socially, Mr. Eggles- 
 ton is a member of Pine Lodge No. 188, 
 F. & A. M., and of E. A. Ramsey Post 
 No. 74, G. A. R. In political sentiment 
 he is a Republican. 
 
 ANTON H. LUCKENBACH, one 
 of the most enterprising business 
 men of Oconto, Oconto county, 
 and proprietor of one of the finest 
 and best-equipped drugstores in the State 
 of Wisconsin, was born in Manitowoc, 
 Wis., in 1 86 1. 
 
 Michael Luckenbach, the father of 
 our subject, was born in Prussia, and 
 came to this country in 1852. He was 
 married at Detroit, same year, to Mary 
 
6o6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 Ann Anheiiser, and in 1854 they moved 
 to Wisconsin, settling at Manitowoc. They 
 became the parents of eleven children, 
 nine of whom are living, as follows: Will- 
 iam, Anton H., John (married), Simon, 
 Maggie (married), Katherine (married), 
 Annie, Josephine and Maria. Our sub- 
 ject came to Oconto in 1878, and com- 
 menced work with Underbill & Mott, 
 druggists, and in 1S83 he passed his ex- 
 amination before the State Board of 
 Pharmacy, at Madison. Mr. Luckenbach 
 has been verj- successful in his business 
 career, and he well deserves the prosper- 
 ity which has come to him, for it is the 
 result of perseverance and diligence. 
 
 On August 6, 1882, Mr. Luckenbach 
 was married to Catherine Strack, of 
 Oconto, and they have had four children, 
 three of whom are living: Walter A., 
 Josephine S., and Edith M. One son, 
 William, twin of Walter A., died in in- 
 fancy. Mr. Luckenbach gives his polit- 
 ical support to the Republican party. He 
 has been active in city affairs, having for 
 the past si.x years served as alderman, 
 and he is at present on the school board. 
 
 JH. McLaughlin, superintendent 
 of the Marinette and Menominee 
 Paper Co. , is an experienced paper 
 manufacturer. The company oper- 
 ates three paper mills, No. i at Marinette, 
 No. 2 at Menominee, and the Park Mill 
 at Marinette, in connection with which 
 they operate one sulphite mill and two 
 ground-wood pulp-mills. They give em- 
 ployment to about two hundred and fifty 
 men. The officers of the company are 
 A. Spies, president (Menominee); A. C. 
 Merr3inan, vice-president (Marinette); E. 
 L. Hamilton, secretary; H. J. Brown, 
 treasurer; Frank Silliman, assistant sec- 
 retary and cashier; H. W. Hamilton, as- 
 sistant superintiMident; Albert Spoor, fore- 
 man of No. 2 Mill. 
 
 Mr. Mcl-aughlin is a native of North 
 Lee, Berkshire Co., Mass., born in 1851, 
 and is a son of Miles and Mary (Glennon) 
 
 McLaughlin, both of whom were also na- 
 tives of Massachusetts, the former being 
 of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and the latter of 
 Irish. The father was engaged in the 
 paper business at North Lee, Mass., with 
 which industry he was connected all his 
 life. He died in 1878, the mother in 
 1893. Of their family there are seven 
 living children: Katherine (now Mrs. J. 
 M. Reedy), of Adams, Mass. ; J. H., our 
 subject; Anna (now Mrs. Frank Ferris), 
 of New York City; M. J., who resides at 
 Lee, Mass. ; Mark, also residing there; 
 Lillian, of New York City; and Rose, of 
 North Lee. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared 
 in his native city and educated in its pub- 
 lic schools. In his youth he commenced 
 work in the paper-mills of the Smith Paper 
 Co., with whom he served an apprentice- 
 ship. He then worked at various mills in 
 North Lee, Mass., and other places, and 
 in 1882 came west to Appleton, Wis., in 
 the employ of the Kimberly-Clark Co., 
 and took charge of the Vulcan Mills, mak- 
 ing book paper. He made the first fine 
 book paper in the Fox River Valley. In 
 1883 he left the Kimberly-Clark Co. 
 to build the Ravine Paper Mills for 
 the Fox River Paper Co., in which he 
 had an interest. That company made 
 the first fine writing paper in the 
 West, and were therefore pioneers in that 
 industry. After remaining with this 
 company three and one-half years, Mr. 
 McLaughlin severed his connection to be- 
 come general superintendent of the Van- 
 Nortwick Paper Co. This last company 
 operated mills at Appleton and Kaukauna, 
 Wis. , and Batavia, 111., and Mr. McLaugh- 
 lin divided his time between the several 
 pulp and paper mills. He remained with 
 that company about four years, in 1893 
 coming to Marinette where he took charge 
 of the mills of the Marinette and Menom- 
 inee Paper Co., with whom he yet re- 
 mains. As already stated, he is a practical 
 paper manufacturer, and has had experi- 
 ence in every branch of the business. 
 
 Mr. McLaughlin was married at Holy- 
 
^ 
 
 ^!^Z^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 607 
 
 oke, Mass., in 1873, to Miss Mary Flood, 
 who was born at Troy, N. Y. , and daugh- 
 ter of Joseph and Catherine (Coffey) 
 Flood, natives of Canada, who, in an early 
 day, emigrated to Holyoke, Mass., where 
 the father was engaged in the manufacture 
 of paper, which business he learned in his 
 youth, and which he has followed up to 
 the present time. Both her parents are 
 yet living at Holyoke, Mass., and are in 
 the enjoyment of good health. By this 
 union two children have been born: John 
 Francis, who is attending college in New 
 York City, and Katherine A. who makes 
 her home in Milwaukee, Wis. Mrs. Mc- 
 Laughlm died in July, 18S4. at Appleton, 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 Fraternally, Afr. McLaughlin is a mem- 
 ber of Fo.x River Lodge, K. of P. , at 
 Kaukauna, of which he is one of the char- 
 ter members. He is a pioneer paper 
 manufacturer in Wisconsin, and to him, 
 as much as any one man, is due the de- 
 velopment of that industry in the State. 
 
 NELS OLSON, an enterprising and 
 successful farmer of Gro\'er town- 
 ship, Marinette county, is a son 
 of Ole and Mary (Jacobs) John- 
 son, and was born in Sweden October 
 12, 1S34. 
 
 Mr. Johnson and his wife were born in 
 Sweden, and there remained, the father 
 dying in 1877, the mother many years be- 
 fore. Of their children, five sons came to 
 Wisconsin: John resides in Minnesota; 
 Nels is the subject of this sketch; Swen is 
 married and resides in Grover township; 
 Peter is in Peshtigo, working for a lumber 
 company; and Jacob is also in Peshtigo, 
 working for the Peshtigo Lumber Com- 
 pany. Their sisters are in Sweden: 
 Christina is Mrs. Swen, Anna is Mrs. Nel- 
 son, and Carrie is Mrs. Anderson. 
 
 Nels Olson was reared and educated 
 
 in Sweden, and served in the drill in the 
 
 army. For an occupation he followed 
 
 farming. In Sweden, in 1864, he was 
 
 united in marriage with Miss Anna John- 
 35 
 
 son, who was born in that country and 
 they had four children, namely: Anna 
 (now Mrs. Fried), of Marinette; Ole, who 
 resides in Oshkosh; Christian and Nellie. 
 In 1869 Mr. Olson came from Sweden to 
 the United States, and for eighteen months 
 worked in Marinette county. Wis., for A. 
 C. Merr3-man. In 1870 he settled in 
 Grover township, renting UukI, and in the 
 Peshtigo fire of October 8, 1871, he was 
 completely burned out, his wife and two 
 of his children. Christian and Nellie, also 
 perishing in the ffames. He was in com- 
 pany with thirteen others, and was the 
 only one of the fourteen left alive in the 
 morning. In 1872 he bought forty acres 
 of his present farm in Section 4, Cirover 
 township, made improvements, and erect- 
 ed a good house and barn. He now owns 
 160 acres in a good state of cultivation. 
 In Peshtig(j, Marinette count}', in 1873, 
 Nels Olson again married, taking for his 
 second wife Miss Jennie Jaciibson, who 
 was born in Sweden May 1, 1842. To 
 this union have been born two children: 
 Anna (now Mrs. Frank Peck), who re- 
 sides in Grover township; and Mary (now 
 Mrs. Duncan Taylor). In politics Mr. 
 Olson votes the Republican ticket. He 
 assisted in forming Grover township, and 
 was a member of the board of supervisors 
 for si,\ years. He is a member of Pesh- 
 tigo Lodge No. 185. I. O. O. F. Both 
 he and his wife are members of the 
 Lutheran Church. After the fire he com- 
 menced anew, without a dollar, and has 
 since acquired the property he now pos- 
 sesses. He has e\er taken an active in- 
 terest in the welfare of the conununity 
 and the interests of the count\'. 
 
 SH. JOHNSTON, of the firm of 
 Johnston Brothers, general mer- 
 chants, Marinette, has been en- 
 gaged in business in that city since 
 1872. The firm is one of the oldest and 
 most successful in Marinette. They oc- 
 cupy a portion of the Johnston block, 
 which is a two-story brick structure, fa- 
 
6oS 
 
 COM^ET^ORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 cing on Main street, with a frontage of 
 154 feet, and a depth of 120 feet. The 
 building was erected in 1SS7-S8, the 
 lower floors being occupied for the mer- 
 cantile work and the upper stories for 
 their offices and flats. When the firm 
 established the business, in March, 1S72, 
 Marinette had a population of but two 
 thousand five hundred. It has now a 
 population of seventeen thousand. The 
 firm have kept pace with the growth of 
 the city, until their business is now one 
 of the largest in northern Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. Johnston is a native of Canada, 
 born in 184", and is a son of Samuel and 
 Jane Johnston, both of whom were na- 
 tivs of the same countrj'. Samuel John- 
 ston, the father, was by occupation a 
 farmer, and he followed that calling dur- 
 ing his entire life. He died in Canada 
 in 1S47. His wife, the mother of our 
 subject, died in Vermont in 1890. They 
 were the parents of two children: C. R., 
 vice-president of the Stephenson National 
 Bank, who located in Peshtigo in 1868; 
 and S. H. The boyhood and youth of 
 our subject were spent in Canada, and his 
 education was obtained in the public 
 schools of that country. He was reared 
 to farming, which occupation he only fol- 
 lowed during his youth, in early manhood 
 going to Lowville, N. Y., where he learned 
 the tanner's trade and remained until 
 coming to Wisconsin, in 1S72. On ar- 
 riving here he engaged in general mercan- 
 tile trade, in which he has ever since 
 continued. He has been very successful, 
 and he is numbered among the most en- 
 terprising and prosperous business men of 
 Marinette. 
 
 Mr. Johnston was married at Mari- 
 nette, in 1875, to Miss Hattie Merryman, 
 a native of Maine, and daughter of Hugh 
 and Julia Merryman, both of whom were 
 natives of Maine, but who in an early day 
 migrated to Marinette, Wis. Hoth par- 
 ents are yet living, residing in Marinette, 
 and are honored as pioneers of the local- 
 itv. In politics Mr. Johnston is a pro- 
 
 iting for such 
 
 men and measures as he thinks will best 
 advance the interests of the State and 
 Nation. Fraternally, he is a member of 
 Olive Branch Lodge, No. 250, A. F. & 
 A. M. ; of Marinette Chapter, No. 64, R. 
 A. M. ; of Marinette Commanderj- and 
 also of Marinette Lodge, No. 72, K. of P. 
 In religious faith he and his wife are mem- 
 bers of the Episcopal Church; the}- both 
 take an active interest in Church work 
 and do all in their power to advance the 
 Masters cause. Few men are better 
 known in Marinette county, and none are 
 more highly respected thanMr. Johnston, 
 who has spent more than a quarter of a 
 century in active business life in the beau- 
 tiful city of Marinette. 
 
 nounced Independent, 
 
 THOMAS CALDIE, a representa- 
 tive farmer residing in Section 23, 
 Stiles township, Oconto county, 
 has made his home on his present 
 farm for thirty-one years. The history 
 of frontier life in this locality is familiar 
 to him, and he has ever borne his part in 
 the work of upbuilding and development. 
 There were no roads, no improvements 
 and little indication of the progress of 
 civilization when he located in his neigh-- 
 borhood. He purchased eighty acres of 
 wild timber land, built thereon a log 
 house, i8.\24 feet, and began to clear 
 the land. Slowly but surely he subdued 
 the wild tract, transforming it into richl}' 
 cultivated fields, and in 1879' the cabin 
 home was replaced by a comfortable, 
 two-story frame residence which to-da}- 
 stands in the midst of a well-improved 
 farm. 
 
 Mr. Caldie came to Oconto county in 
 1S63 from Ottawa, Canada, where he 
 had located the year previous. He was 
 born in Ayrshire, Scotland, December 20, 
 1S24, and is a son of James and Agnes 
 (Ross) Caldie. the former born in May- 
 bole, Ayrshire, and the latter in Inver- 
 ness-shire. She, however, was reared in 
 the Highlands, and their marriage was 
 celebrated in Ayrshire. The father there 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BWORArUWAL RECORD. 
 
 609 
 
 engaged in hdtjkkecping for tlic liriii of 
 Campbell & Hunter, ami also followed 
 teaching. In 1840 lie crossed the Atlan- 
 tic to Canada, vvlune he engaged in teacdi- 
 ing in the town of March until his death 
 in 1S57. Mis wife, who survived him 
 eight years, also passed away in Canada. 
 Their family numbered six children: 
 Mary became the wife of .Mr. Fisher, 
 who for twenty-one years was an engineer 
 in Scotland, and died on his engine; she 
 now resides at Low Cross, in her native 
 land. Thomas is the ne.xt younger. An- 
 drew and |ames reside in Canada. Jane 
 was married and died in Canada. 
 
 Our subject spent his boyhood days in 
 his native: land and attended school in 
 Ayrshire. He then followed farming until 
 1862, when, as before stated, lie crossed 
 the Atlantic to America. In the same 
 year he was married in Ottawa, Canada, 
 to Miss Jane McFarland, who was born in 
 Stirlingshire, Scotland, and is a daughter 
 of James Mcl'"arland, also a native of that 
 place. He spent iiis entire life in that 
 country, but his family emigrated to Can- 
 ada, his son Thomas now residing in To- 
 ronto; William died in Ottawa. Shortly 
 after his marriage, Mr. Caldie brought his 
 bride to Oconto county, and they located 
 in the midst of the wilderness. I'^ive chil- 
 dren came to bless their pioneer home: 
 Ed, the eldest, married Margaret Butter- 
 field, by whom he has two children, - 
 George and Theron, — and resides in 
 Oconto. Thomas wedded Mary Duane, 
 and is living in Stiles, in the same house 
 where his father resided thirty years ago; 
 he has tliree children — Thomas, Granville 
 and Claude. Lizzie is the wife Azro 
 Williams, of Oconto, and they have three 
 children — Maude, Thomas and Ruby. 
 James married Anna Hodgins, and they 
 have a daughter — Jane. Andrew com- 
 pletes the family. Mr. Caldie was called 
 upon to mourn the loss of his wife who 
 passed away March 14, 1890. 
 
 In political views, our subject was for- 
 merly a Republican, afterward becoming 
 identified with the Democracy. He has 
 
 served as su]>cr\isor of his township for 
 two years, but has ne\'er been an office- 
 seeker, preferring to elevote his time ami 
 energies to his business. In matters of 
 religion he holds meml)ershi|> with the 
 Presbyterian Church. He l)elongs to that 
 class of self-reliant and energetic men, 
 who realizing the fact that success is the 
 outgrowth of diligence and enterprise de- 
 ]iend upon their own resources for advanc- 
 nient, and work their way upward to a 
 |)ositioii of ailhu'iice. 
 
 CR. KELSEY, one of the earliest 
 settlers of Coleman townshiji, 
 Marinette county, where he is ;i 
 prosjuirous farmer, was born in 
 1846 in Delaware comity, N. Y., where 
 he was reared and educated. 
 
 Dayton L. and Eunice (Walkerj Kel- 
 sey, parents of our subject, were natives 
 of Massachusetts, but passed the greater 
 part of their lives in New York State, 
 where the father followed the vocations 
 of lumberman and farmer. They both 
 ended their days in New York State, the 
 mother in 1881, the father in. February, 
 1888, when aged eighty-three years. 
 They had a family of five childriMi, of 
 whom John W. resides in New York; 
 Olive (Mrs. Weed), resided in Peshtigo, 
 Wis., where she died in 1886; Florelta is 
 the widow of Charles Brooks, and resides 
 at Ellis Junction, Wis. (Mr. Brooks was 
 a homesteader in Marinette county); Mary 
 (Mrs. Dougherty), died in Green Bay; C. 
 R. is the subject of these lines, 
 
 C. R. Kelsey learned the carpenter's 
 trade in his native county, and in 1869, 
 soon after reaching man's estate, migrated 
 westward to Wisconsin, locating first in 
 Peshtigo, Marinette ccnmty, where he fol- 
 lowed his trade several years. In 1876 
 lie came to what is now Coleman town- 
 ship, and taking up an eighty-acre tract 
 in the midst of the forest made a perma- 
 nent settlement thereon, being the first 
 settler in the western part of the town- 
 ship. Of this farm, which lies in Section 
 
6io 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BTOGRAPITTCAL RECORD. 
 
 4, Mr. Kelsey has cleared and improved 
 sixty acres, and carries on a general farm- 
 ing business which yields him a comfort- 
 able income. He has also aided in the 
 improvement and progress of the region 
 in general, and was one of the organizers 
 of Coleman township in 1893. 
 
 In 1869 Mr. Kelsey and Miss Harriet 
 Axteil, also a native of Delaware county, 
 N. Y. , were there united in marriage. Of 
 the children born to their union seven are 
 deceased; the five living are Clarence, 
 who is married and resides in Coleman 
 township; Laura (Mrs. Stapleford), of Cole- 
 man; Claude Duval, Alice and Maude. 
 Mrs. Kelsey's parents, Abraham and Lydia 
 (Baker) Axteil, were born in Delaware 
 county, N. Y. ; the father died many years 
 ago, and the mother, who subsequentlj' 
 married a Martin Kelsey, died in October, 
 1895. At the time of the conflagration 
 of October 8, 1871, which swept Pesh- 
 tigo out of existence, our subject and his 
 little famil}' were living there, and he and 
 his wife succeeded in saving themselves 
 and their two children, Clarence and 
 Charlie, by taking refuge in the Peshtigo 
 river among the logs. Mr. Kelse)-, by 
 virtue of his long residence in the town- 
 ship, is entitled to be classed among its 
 pioneers, and he is honored and respected 
 throughout the community in which he 
 makes his home. 
 
 FIJIAN K LAPAGE. As a citizen 
 who has taken a loyal and sub- 
 stantial interest in the welfare of 
 the community which he has se- 
 lected for his home, and, while attending 
 thoroughly to his own affairs, has also 
 sought to promote the general advance- 
 ment and progress, this gentleman de- 
 serves prominent mention in these pages. 
 Mr. Lapage was born, in 1835, in 
 Quebec, Canada, of which country his 
 parents, Amable and Sophia ('Lacasc) La- 
 page, were also natives, the family being 
 of French descent. The father, who was 
 a carpenter, departed this life in 1891, in 
 
 Quebec, where the mother still resides. 
 C3f their family, Frank is the subject of 
 these lines; Gilbert, who came to Wis- 
 consin, now resides in Iron Mountain, 
 Mich. ; John formerly resided in Oconto, 
 \\'is. ; Felix lives in Marquette, Mich.; 
 Lewis in Montpelier, Vt. ; four are in 
 Canada — Selina (Mrs. Fortier), Mary 
 (Mrs. Tongee), Sophia (Mrs. Leroy), and 
 Sullivan, who is unmarried. 
 
 Frank Lapage passed his youth and 
 early manhood in his native place. In 
 1855 he came to the United States, for a 
 
 year living in Manchester, N. H., and 
 1856, removing westward to 
 n Kewaunee, Ke- 
 Here he was engaged in 
 
 thence, in 
 Wisconsin, locating 
 waunee county 
 fishing for about three years, or until com- 
 ing to Oconto, in 1859. He found em- 
 ployment with what is now the Holt & 
 Balcolm Lumber Co., then Norton, at 
 $12 per month, continuing thus for sev- 
 eral years, since when he has devoted 
 himself to agricultural pursuits. In 1865 
 he purchased, from the State, his present 
 farm, consisting of 140 acres, in Section 
 2, Oconto township, which was then all 
 in the woods. In 1 866 he settled here 
 permanently, in that year building and 
 commencing to clear the land, and the 
 work of improvement has progressed 
 steadily ever since. Eighty acres are 
 now cleared and under cultivation, and 
 though he has been unusually prosperous 
 his success is well merited, for he has 
 worked hard for the comfortableproperty 
 he now possesses. He came to Oconto 
 county before the railroad, and he has 
 witnessed the introduction of that and 
 many other modern improvements and 
 innovations. He has been a most faith- 
 ful, public-spirited citizen, supporting 
 every worthy enterprise intended to bene- 
 fit the public in general. He was most 
 instrumental in having School District No. 
 1 formed, of which he is treasurer, and 
 he has been school director nearly twenty 
 years. He served his township several 
 terms as supervisor. Mr. Lapage is treas- 
 urer of the Creamery Company in Oconto 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 6ii 
 
 township, being a stockholder and director 
 of same. 
 
 In i860 Mr. Lapiage was united in 
 marriage, in Green Bay, Brown Co., 
 Wis., with Miss Celesten Herrio, a native 
 of Belgium, wiiose father, Manuel Herrio, 
 came to Wisconsin in 1856, dying in 
 Green Bay in 1877. Nine children iiave 
 blessed this union, as follows: Celina 
 (Mrs. Alfred Greenwood), of Florence, 
 Wis. ; Frank, who is married and resides 
 in Little River township; Gilbert, also 
 married and residing in Little River town- 
 ship; David; Samuel; James; Martha 
 (Mrs. Jeffer), of Waushara count}-, Wis. ; 
 Sarah, residing in Menominee, Mich., and 
 Louise. In religious connection the fam- 
 ily are Presbyterians, Mr. Lapage being 
 an elder in the church, and he assisted in 
 the erection of the church building. Polit- 
 ically he is a Republican. 
 
 CHARLES w. McDonald, a 
 prosperous farmer of Pensaukee 
 townshi[i, Oconto county, has 
 lived in the county since 1851, 
 coming here when a youth. He is a na- 
 tive of Maine, born in Lubec in 1840, son 
 of William and Love (Ramsdell) McDon- 
 ald, who were also natives of that State, 
 where they passed their earlier lives. 
 The father was a mill man, and also 
 owned a farm. He died in 1852, the 
 mother in 1842. 
 
 Our subject was but a child when his 
 parents died, and he was reared b}- his 
 brother William, who came from Maine 
 in about 1849, locating in Berlin, W'is. 
 William died in 1863, in Michigan. He 
 was the father of the following named 
 children: Catherine (now Mrs. Yenner), 
 who resides in Rhinelander, Wis. ; James, 
 who came to Berlin, thence to Oconto, 
 and now resides in Rhinelander; and 
 William, living in Chicago. In Decem- 
 ber, 1 85 1, when about twelve years of 
 age, our subject came to Oconto county, 
 to work in the mill at Leighton, and also 
 found employment with George Smith, 
 
 doing chores. However, he was soon 
 engaged in wliat was then a very popular 
 vocation among young men, lumbering 
 in the woods, and he continued thus for 
 some years, until he reached the age of 
 eighteen. He then engaged in sailing on 
 Lake Michigan, from Milwaukee to Man- 
 istee, for two years, and in 1865 returned 
 to Oconto county and engaged in lumber- 
 ing for John Leigh, for whom he worked 
 some years. In 1871 he purchased forty 
 acres of his jiresent farm in Section 6, 
 Pensaukee township, which was then all 
 in the woods, and he now has eighty 
 acres all under cultivation, with good 
 buildings and many other substantial im- 
 provements. Mr. McDonald commenced 
 life without capital, for when he came to 
 Oconto from Berlin lie was obliged to 
 walk the entire distance, and he has 
 made the trip a number of times. But 
 by dint of hard labor and perseverance he 
 has succeeded in ac(juiring a comfortable 
 property, which yields him a good income, 
 and he has lived to see the forest-covered 
 region, into which he moved, transformed 
 into a fertile farming country. Though 
 he has been prosperous, he has also had 
 his setbacks, for the great fire which ^•is- 
 ited this region in 1871 left him and his 
 family with nothing but the clothing they 
 wore. 
 
 Mr. McDonald was married, in 
 Oconto, November 21. i86g, to Ellen 
 Glynn, wiio was born in Ireland and 
 reared in Oconto count}'. Her parents, 
 James A. and Susan (Reinhart) GI}'nn, 
 were also natives of the Emerald Isle, and 
 came in an early day to Dodge county, 
 Wis., thence in 1853 moving to Oconto 
 county. Here Mrs. Glynn died in 1855, 
 in Oconto township, and Mr. Glynn now 
 resides in Maple Valley township. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. McDonald four children 
 have been born, viz. : Edward; Lovetta, 
 who is teaching in Pensaukee township; 
 James and Charles. Mr. McDonald in 
 politics votes with the Democratic party, 
 and takes a loyal interest in public affairs; 
 he is clerk of the school district. In re- 
 
6l2 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 ligious connection Mr. and Mrs. McDon- 
 ald are members of the Presbjterian 
 Church at Couillardville. 
 
 w 
 
 W. NOYES, general grocery 
 merchant at Florence, Florence 
 county, was born in Maine, near 
 Hangor, and is a son of Charles 
 C. and Eunice (Annis) Noyes, who were 
 born in New Hampshire. 
 
 Charles C. Noj'es was reared in New 
 Hampshire, where he yet resides, in Lan- 
 caster. B}' occupation he is a miller, 
 and has been engaged in the sawmilling 
 business. Ke married Eunice Annis, and 
 they had four sons, namely: Charles, 
 who resides in Florence, in the lumber 
 business; John, residing in Berlin, N. H. ; 
 Holman, in Lancaster, N. H. ; and W. W. , 
 the subject of this sketch. Mrs. Eunice 
 Noyes died in Lancaster, N. H., in 1892. 
 \V. W. Noyes was reared in New 
 Hampshire, and educated in the schools 
 of Berlin, that State. In 1877 he came 
 from New Hampshire to Shiocton, 
 Outagamie Co., Wis., being at that time 
 twenty-one years of age, and embarked 
 in the grocery business there the same 
 year. In 1 878 he was united in marriage, 
 in Outagamie county, with Miss Clara 
 Rynder, who was born in Outagamie 
 county, and they have had three children: 
 Arthur, Myrtie and William W. Mrs. 
 Noyes' father, John Kynder, was an 
 early pioneer of Outagamie county; he 
 enlisted from that county as a soldier in 
 the war of the Rebellion, and died in the 
 service. 
 
 In 1880 Mr. Noyes came from Shioc- 
 ton to Florence, before the county was 
 organized, built his present residence the 
 same year, and engaged in the grocery 
 business. He was one of the first men 
 here, and is one of the oldest business 
 men of Florence, having been in active 
 trade here continuously since 1880, be- 
 fore the railroad reached the town. In 
 politics he is a Republican. He is chief 
 of the Fire Department of Florence, and 
 
 has served as township treasurer; is senior 
 deacon of Fisher Lodge No. 222, F. & 
 A. M. ; and a member of Florence Tent, 
 K. O. T. M., of which he is past com- 
 mander. Mr. Noyes is one of the oldest 
 merchants of Florence, and has seen the 
 growth and development of the county 
 from its verj' beginning. 
 
 nette 
 
 CHARLES REINKE is a typical 
 representative of that worthy 
 class of Americans who, thrown 
 
 upon their own resources in early 
 life, become self-reliant and enterprising 
 citizens, steadily working their waj' up- 
 ward, and overcoming the obstacles and 
 difficulties in their path by a persever- 
 ance and energy that falters not until 
 they have gained the plains of affluence. 
 Mr. Reinke was born in Prussia, Ger- 
 many, July 28, 1847, a son of Fred and 
 Anna (Funk) Reinke, also natives of that 
 country. Having crossed the Atlantic to 
 the New World, they located in Sheboy- 
 an. Wis., but are now residents of Mari- 
 
 They reared a famii}' of three 
 children, namely: Charles, the subject of 
 this review; and Gustaph and Mrs. Au- 
 gusta Stoltz, both also living in Mari- 
 nette. In the Fatherland our subject 
 spent the days of his childhood and youth 
 attending the common school and acquir- 
 ing a good education. In 1 867 he re- 
 solved to seek a home in America, think- 
 ing thereby to- better his financial condi- 
 tion, and made his first location in the 
 copper-mine region of Michigan, where 
 he remained about eight years. He lived 
 an industrious, frugal life, and in that 
 way acquired the capital with which he 
 was enabled to engage in mercantile pur- 
 suits. In 1874 he went to Sheboygan, 
 Wis., and the following year established a 
 grocery store which he conducted until 
 1 878. He then sold out and came to Mari- 
 nette, where he opened a grocery, being 
 the oldest merchant in his line of trade in 
 the city. Erecting a frame building, he 
 conducted his business therein until it 
 
COMMEMORATIVE DIOGIiAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 613 
 
 was destroyed by fire in 1887. With 
 characteristic energy Mr. Keinl<e sought 
 other quarters, at once recommencing 
 business, and in the autumn of the same 
 year he built a good two-story brick busi- 
 ness block, 25 X 125 feet. Here he now 
 carries on an extensive wlmlesale and re- 
 tail grocery, the upper floor of his build- 
 ing being used as a wareroom. Some- 
 thing of the characteristic executive 
 ability of ^^r. Reinke is apparent in the 
 fact that his buih.ling was destroyed on 
 October, 20, 1S87, and on January i, fol- 
 lowing, he was ready to move into the 
 new building — the first merchant to have 
 a store completed in Marinette. He 
 thoroughly understands his business, has 
 studied the trade carefully, knows what 
 will please his patrons, and his honorable 
 dealing commends him to the confidence 
 of the public. 
 
 Mr. Keinke is a man of no small 
 ability, his efforts being by no means 
 limited to one line of trade, and he has 
 dealt considerably in real estate — both 
 city and country. He has been the pro- 
 moter of various enterprises which have 
 added to the general welfare as well as 
 advanced his individual prosperity. He 
 is a stockholder in the Stephenson Na- 
 tional Bank, and also stockholder in, and 
 director of, the "Hotel Marinette." 
 When the Building and Loan Association 
 was organized, December 2, 1895, he 
 was elected president of saine. 
 
 Mr. Keinke was married in Sheboy- 
 gan, Wis., in 1877, to Miss Lizzie Kay, 
 a native of that city, her father, Christ 
 Kay, being one of its pioneer settlers of 
 1847. Nine children grace their union, 
 viz.: Otto, Gustoph, Fred, Julius, Wal- 
 ter, Anna, Louise, Clara and Meta. 
 Mr. Reinke and his famil}' arc members 
 of the Lutheran Church, and in politics 
 he is a stalwart Republican. He is a 
 representative self-made man, has been 
 the architect of his own fortune, is liberal 
 and progressive, and ranks among the 
 representative and honored citizens of 
 Marinette. 
 
 HENRY B. CONNERS, a pros- 
 perous farmer and one of the 
 best known men in Oconto coun- 
 ty, is a native of Wisconsin, born 
 November 24, 1S58, in the town of Ash- 
 ford, Fond (hi I^ac county. 
 
 Our subject is tiic son of Michael 
 Conners, who was born in Count)' Gal- 
 way, Ireland, and came to this country 
 in 1846. He did not remain in the East, 
 however, but came to Wisconsin, set- 
 tling on a farm near New Cassel, Fond 
 du Lac county. In 1855, the \'ear of his 
 coming to Wisconsin, he was married, at 
 Fond du Lac, to Mrs. Ellen Muloy, and 
 they had four children, three of whom 
 are living : Hannah, the eldest, died 
 young; Henr}' B. was the second in order 
 of birth; Ellen and Mary are both mar- 
 ried. The mother of this family died in 
 1869, and the father passed from earth 
 in 1 89 1. On August 6, 1882, Mr. Henry 
 B. Conners was married to Alice Darling, 
 of Belle Plaine, Shawano Co., Wis., the 
 eldest daughter of Erastus Darling, a 
 well-to-do farmer of Shawano county. 
 They have no children. Mr. Conners 
 owns a farm in the town of Underhill, 
 fifty acres being under the plow. During 
 his younger days, before he settled on the 
 farm, he worked in the woods and on the 
 river, and was known as one of the best 
 workers and strongest men that ever 
 handled a pike pole. Mr. Conners is an 
 ardent supporter of the Republican party, 
 and takes an active part in local politics. 
 He is popular in the community where he 
 lives, and has held various town offices 
 in Underbill and Howe township. At 
 present he is serving as under sheriff. 
 
 CHARLES H. HAHN, commander 
 of A. H. Sizer Post No. 207, 
 G. A. R. , Marinette, was elected 
 to the office in 1894. The Post 
 has seventy-three names on its roll of 
 active membership. 
 
 In September, 1861, in Center coun- 
 ty, Penn., Mr. Hahn enlisted for three 
 
6i4 
 
 COilMEUORATTVE BIOGRAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 jears in the Fifty-sixth P. \'. I., and was 
 mustered into the service of the Union 
 at Harrisburg. His 
 
 was as- 
 
 signed 
 
 to the Second Brigade, First 
 Division, First Army Corps, Army of the 
 Potomac, and took part in tiie battles of 
 Gainesville, second Bull Run, South 
 Mountain, Antietam and Gettysburg. It 
 was the first to fire on the enemy in the 
 last named action. During that fight 
 Mr. Hahn received a gunshot wound in 
 the thigh, and was then transferred to 
 Company H, \'. K. C, Pennsylvania In- 
 valid Corps. He was honorably dis- 
 charged and mustered out of the army at 
 Harrisburg, Penn., February 6, 1865, 
 when he returned to his home in Center 
 county, Pennsylvania. 
 
 Mr. Hahn was born in Franklin, 
 Center Co., Penn., September 2, 1844, 
 and was there reared and educated. His 
 parents were John and Mary E. (Kemp- 
 ster) Hahn, both natives of the Keystone 
 State, the former of whom, a farmer by 
 occupation, lived in Franklin, Center 
 county, until his death, which occurred 
 in .Altoona, Penn., in 1887. The mother 
 died in 1S71. They had four sons and 
 four daughters, only four of whom are 
 now living : Elizabeth, wife of James 
 Rockey, of Altoona, Peim. ; Anna (Mrs. 
 Fo.\), of Omaha, Neb. ; Charles H. ; and 
 William Wesley, of Omaha. 
 
 In 1S69 Charles H. Hahn came to 
 Marinette, and found employment in 
 McCartney's mill (now owned by Scofield | 
 & Arnold) for a short time, when he went 
 to work for the Peshtigo Co., at Peshtigo, 
 remaining in their emploj' for six years. 
 On the night of the fire of 1871 he was i 
 burned out, and like many others was 
 compelled to go to the river for safety, 
 where he lay all night between two logs. 
 In 1875 he returned to Marinette and 
 again worked for Mr. McCartney. After- 
 ward he was with the Menominee River 
 Lumber Co. and H. Whilbeck Co. for 
 thirteen years. In 1894 he embarked in 
 the livery business with a partner, the 
 firm name being Malmsted & Hahn. 
 
 Mr. Hahn was married, in 1S70, at 
 Peshtigo, to Miss Addie Stuart, a Cana- 
 dian by birth, daughter of John Stuart, 
 one of the early arrivals at Peshtigo. now 
 deceased. They had but one child, Lil- 
 lian, who died in infancy, and Mrs. Hahn 
 died June 8, 1872. On January 23, 
 1876, at Big Suamico, Brown county, 
 Mr. Hahn for his second wife married 
 Miss Sarah Witham, who was born in 
 Milford, Maine, daughter of William 
 W'itham, one of the pioneers of Brown 
 county. Wis. Four children blessed this 
 union, Mary Elsie, William \\'aldo, Alice 
 Eva, and Charles Harrison (deceased). 
 Mr. Hahn is a stanch Republican, and 
 takes an active interest in political affairs. 
 As his record shows, he is a man of 
 prominence in G. A R. circles; is also a 
 member of Marinette Lodge No. 181, 
 I. O. O. F., and of Brasted Encamp- 
 ment No. 86. He is one of the old- 
 timers in his section of the State, and has 
 noted its development as the years have 
 fled by, more especially that of the cities 
 of Marinette and Peshtigo, by whose 
 people he is held in high regard. 
 
 JOHN J. McGILLIS. an esteemed 
 citizen of Marinette, holding the 
 office of Justice of the Peace, was 
 born in Cornwall. Canada, August 
 22. 1833, and is a son of John A. and 
 Margaret (Mcintosh) McGillis. The 
 former, a native of Inverness, Scotland, 
 emigrated to Canada when a young man, 
 and there married Miss Mcintosh, who 
 was born in Canada of Scotch parentage. 
 He followed farming, and made Cornwall 
 his home until his death, in 1S69; his wife 
 had died at that place seven years pre- 
 vious. They had a family of eleven chil- 
 dren — four sons and seven daughters — of 
 whom Catherine, the eldest, is now Mrs. 
 McGilnery, of Burdette, Canada; Marga- 
 ret, who was Mrs. McGilnery, of the 
 same place, is now deceased; John J. is 
 the suliject of these lines; A. J. died in 
 Marinette; R. J. resides in Cornwall; A. 
 
^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 615 
 
 F. in an early day located in Menominee, 
 Mich., where he is now engaged in con- 
 tracting and building (he also followed the 
 lumber business there at one time); 
 Anna, his twin sister, is now Mrs. McFee, 
 of Minnesota; Mary resides in Marinette; 
 Mrs. Flora Gillies is living in Fond du 
 Lac, Wisconsin. 
 
 The subject of this review was reared in 
 Canada upon his father's farm, and the 
 public schools of the neighborhood af- 
 forded him his educational privileges. 
 There he learned the carpenter's trade 
 and also engaged in rafting, making three 
 trips to Quebec on rafts. Ere leaving his 
 native land he was married in Toronto, in 
 1862, to Miss Isabel Campbell, a native 
 of Canada, and a daughter of Ale.x and 
 Jennie Campbell, who were born in Scot- 
 land; her father is still living in Canada, 
 but her mother is deceased. In their 
 family was a son who served in the Union 
 army during the Civil war. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. McGillis have been born si.x chil- 
 dren (five of whom are 3'et living), 
 namely: John A., who is manager of 
 the tailoring business for his father; Mrs. 
 Maggie Ross, of Dakota; Frank, who 
 died at Fond du Lac, Wis., when one 
 year and nine months old; Fred, who is 
 employed as traveling man with the Noble 
 Bros. ; and Edmund Orlando, and Ed- 
 M'ard Alex, who are at home. 
 
 Mr. McGillis is one of the early pio- 
 neers of Marinette. He came to Wiscon- 
 sin in the fall of 1864, locating in Pesh- 
 tigo, where for two months he was in the 
 employ of the Peshtigo Lumber Co. In 
 the winter he went to Negaunec, where 
 he helped to build a sawmill for the Cliff 
 Mining Co., but after operating it for four 
 months he removed to Fond du Lac, 
 Wis. He was there engaged in carpenter 
 work for ten months in the employ of the 
 Chicago & North Western Railway Com- 
 pany, after which he engaged in carpen- 
 tering on his own account and as real-es- 
 tate agent for B. F. Moore. On May 5, 
 1869, he made a permanent location in 
 Marinette, then a town of 500 inhabitants. 
 
 and here followed contracting and build- 
 ing, doing a good business along that line 
 for about fi\e j'ears. He then turned his 
 attention to the real-estate business, 
 which he now successfully carries on. In 
 July, 1895, he bought cnit the Marinette 
 Tailoring Co., and his son John A. is 
 managing it for him. Mr. McGillis also 
 carried on the grocery business in Mari- 
 nette from 1876 till his election as sheriff 
 in 1881, when he sold out. 
 
 In politics Mr. McGillis is a Republic- 
 an, and cast his first vote for Gen. Grant 
 on his first election. He always takes 
 an active interest in political affairs, and 
 has been honored with a number of of- 
 fices. He first served as constable, and 
 was appointed deputy sherifi of Oconto 
 county before Marinette county was es- 
 tablished, serving in that position for 
 eighteen months. He was then elected 
 sheriff of Marinette county, and after a 
 term of three years entered u]ion the du- 
 ties of justice of the peace. He is also 
 serving as notary public, and in these 
 various positions has ever been prompt 
 and faithful. He is one of the active 
 members of the Caledonia Society, at 
 present being pipe-major of same, and 
 for two years he served as secretar}' and 
 on the finance committee, and also on the 
 games committee. He is a fine performer 
 on the bagpipes, quite a musician, and 
 also something of a composer. Mr. Mc- 
 Gillis is a valued and progressive citizen, 
 devoted to the best interests of the com- 
 munity, and prominently identified with 
 the political history (if his adopted 
 county. 
 
 W. WHITCOMH has lived on 
 his present farm in Pensaukee 
 township, Oconto county, for 
 thepast thirty-four \-ears, having 
 come here with an ox-team and covered 
 wagon from Walworth county. 
 
 Mr. Whitcomb was born in Erie coun- 
 ty, N. Y. , in 1 84 1, son of Edmond and 
 Louisa (Marsh) Whitcomb, the father a 
 
6i6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 native of New York, the mother of Ver- 
 mont. They were married in New Yori< 
 State. In 1841, when Wisconsin was 
 still a Territory, the family removed west- 
 ward, locating in Kenosha county. Wis., 
 where the father opened up a farm in the 
 woods, this being their home until 1861. 
 In that year they came to northern Wis- 
 consin, settling on a new farm in Pensau- 
 kee township, Oconto county, where our 
 subject now resides. In this region the 
 parents passed the remainder of their 
 lives, both dying on a farm in Suamico 
 township to which they had removed, the 
 father in 1893, the mother in 1882. They 
 were the parents of three children, \'\z.: 
 W. W. ; Caroline (Mrs. Edgar Delano), 
 of Pensaukee; and H. D., sheriff of 
 Oconto county. 
 
 Our subject received his education in 
 the schools of Kenosha county, where he 
 passed his youth and early manhood. He 
 was twenty years old when he came to 
 Oconto county, with whose interests he 
 has ever since been identified, especially 
 in the agricultural development of Pen- 
 saukee township. He opened up a farm, 
 and is now the owner of eighty acres of 
 good land in Section 25, all of which is 
 cleared, sixty acres being under cultiva- 
 tion. In addition to the labor involved 
 in the care and improvement of his farm 
 he has worked in the lumber woods to 
 some extent for the F. B. Gardner Lum- 
 ber Co. Mr. Whitcomb has taken an 
 active interest in the affairs of the com- 
 munity where he has so long made his 
 home, and has aided materially in its 
 improvement and transformation from a 
 forest wild to a condition of cultivated 
 fertility. 
 
 In 1866 Mr. Whitcomb was united in 
 marriage, in Suamico township, with Miss 
 Elizabeth Barker, and five children have 
 been born to this union, as follows; Percy, 
 Joycie (Mrs. Nicholas, residing in Pen- 
 saukee township), Herbert, Leslie and 
 Eric. Mrs. Whitcomb was born in New 
 Hampshire, daughter of James and Lu- 
 cinda (Gouldj Barker, who were also na- 
 
 tives of that State, where Mrs. Barker 
 died. In 1858 Mr. Barker came to Pen- 
 saukee, Oconto county, and here passed 
 the remainder of his life, dying in Oconto 
 in 1870. 
 
 This sketch would be incomplete were 
 mention not made of Mr. Whitcomb's 
 service during the war of the Rebellion. 
 On December 28, 1863, he enlisted for 
 three years or during the war, at Madi- 
 son, Wis., in Company F, Twelfth W'is. 
 V. I., and served in the army of the Ten- 
 nessee, joining his command at Vicks- 
 burg. He participated in the siege of 
 Atlanta, was on the famous march to the 
 sea, went through the Carolina campaign, 
 and saw active service at the battle of 
 Bentonville, N. C. (1865), taking part 
 also in every engagement in 1 864 in which 
 his command was engaged. He partici- 
 pated in the Grand Review at Washing- 
 ton, D. C. , and was discharged July 23, 
 1865, at Madison, after an honorable 
 army career of over a year and a half. In 
 political sentiment Mr. Whitcomb is a 
 Republican. 
 
 ABRAM POLDERMAN, proprietor 
 of the " Polderman House," Flor- 
 ence, came to that city in June, 
 1 88 1, and erected a three-story 
 frame hotel, 30 x 80 feet, with twenty-five 
 sleeping rooms, together with parlor, of- 
 fice and fine sample room for cojnmercial 
 travelers. The hotel has no bar, but is 
 elegantly furnished for the accommodation 
 of guests. The dining room is thirty 
 feet square, and the office 30 x 22, while 
 the entire house is lighted by electricity, 
 and the rooms supplied with hot and cold 
 water. Florence is now recognized as a 
 fine summer resort, and there is no better 
 place in the entire Northwest for those 
 afflicted with hay fever and catarrh, in 
 which to spend a few months. The hunt- 
 ing and fishing are excellent, and the 
 place is surrounded with fine lakes and 
 delightful drives, with good springs of ex- 
 cellent water. The proprietor of the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOOIIAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 6i 7 
 
 " Polderman House " keeps an excellent 
 team for the accommodation of guests, 
 and takes pleasure in showing them around, 
 and catering to their wants. He owns 
 a number of boats on Patten Lake and 
 Half-Mile Lake. In the neighborhood 
 can be found wild game of almost every 
 kind, including deer, while in the waters 
 of the lakes are fine bass and other fish. 
 
 Mr. Polderman is a native of Holland, 
 born at Middleburg, February i8, 1S3S, 
 and is the son of Abraham and Martha 
 (Skulewerf) Polderman, wlio were also 
 natives of that countrx'. The father, who 
 was mate of a merchant .vessel, died on 
 the North Sea, when our subject was 
 about one year old. For twenty-one years 
 and two months he was in the employ of 
 one company. Mrs. Polderman subse- 
 quently married Cornelius Blom, also a 
 native of that country, and, in 1845, the 
 family set sail from Rotterdam, were 
 thirty-five days on the voyage from that 
 place to New York City, and were also 
 thirty-five days cii route- from New York 
 to Sheboygan, Wis., coming through by 
 canal and team. They located on a farm 
 in the town of Holland, Sheboygan Co., 
 Wis., and opened up a farm. Later they 
 moved to Sheboygan F"alls, where Mr. 
 Blom died in 1S64. Mrs. Blom survived 
 him some years, and died at Menasha, 
 Wis., at the home of our subject. By 
 her first marriage she was the mother of 
 three children: Cornelius, who died in Wis- 
 consin; Abram, our subject; and Will- 
 iam, who married, but died at Sheboygan 
 Falls in 1863, of quick consumption. By 
 the second union there were four children: 
 Henry, who resides at Sheboygan, Wis. ; 
 William, who was in the one-hundred- 
 days' service on the Plains, and was acci- 
 dentally killed at Menasha, W'is. , in 1866; 
 Kate, who died in the town of Holland 
 in i860; and Charlie, who owns a music 
 store at Kalkaska, Michigan. 
 
 When coming to this country our sub- 
 ject was seven years of age. He remained 
 at home and was educated in the schools 
 of Sheboygan county, Wisconsin, in the 
 
 meantime assisting in clearing the home 
 farm. In 1858 he went to St. Louis, Mo., 
 where he worked in the brick yards, and 
 then learned the moukler's trade. He 
 next engaged in boating on the Missis- 
 sippi, Ohio and Cumberland rivers, com- 
 mencing as a deck hand, and becoming 
 second mate. On the breaking out of the 
 war, he was in the South, but escaped, 
 walking 408 miles north. He came to 
 Kenosha county, Wis., and first located 
 at Union Grove, but soon after went to 
 Sheboygan county, and worked in a hub 
 and spoke factory at Sheboygan Falls. 
 From the latter place he proceeded to 
 Menasha, Wis., working in different fac- 
 tories, and later, in 1864, he went to 
 Peshtigo, \\'is. He was proprietor oi the 
 Peshtigo Co.'s boarding-house for one 
 year, 1876. 
 
 Mr. Polderman was married at She- 
 boygan Falls. Wis., in 1S63, to Miss Eliza 
 TenDolle, who was born in Holland, 
 daughter of John TenDolle, also a native 
 of that country, who came to the United 
 States and located at New Orleans, where 
 he died. Her mother then came to She- 
 boygan count}'. Wis. , and lived with her 
 son John ; she died there some years ago. 
 There were nine children in the family, of 
 whom four daughters are deceased ; the 
 son and four daughters surviving are: John, 
 who is a farmer in Sheboygan county ; 
 Eliza, Mrs. Polderman ; Jane (widow of 
 Mr. Wedepohl), who lives in Sheboygan, 
 Wis.; Minnie, also living in Sheboygan, 
 who is the widow of Mr. Wilterdinck, 
 who was a large farmer ; and Delia, wife 
 of Mr. Raymaker, a large farmer in She- 
 boN'gan county. 
 
 Mr. Polderman removed from Peshtigo 
 to Menominee, where for three years he 
 conducted a boarding house for the Lud- 
 ington. Wells & Van Schaak Lumber Co. 
 He then opened a restaurant in Marinette, 
 later taking the " Dunlap House;" but 
 after running that one year he sold out 
 his interest and went to Quinnesec, Mich., 
 and for a short time had a private board- 
 ing-house there. But he soon rented the 
 
6iS 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ' ' Commercial Hotel"and later the ' ' Quin- 
 nesec House," running both these hostel- 
 ries some two years, after which he sold his 
 interest there and came to Florence. 
 Here he built the hotel of which he is now 
 proprietor, the " Polderman House." He 
 also owns a fine farm, and has other real- 
 estate interests, having city property in 
 Sheboygan, Wis. In politics Mr. Polder- 
 man is a stanch Republican, but is not 
 an office-seeker. He assisted materiallj- 
 in the organization of Florence count}', 
 and has been prominently identified with 
 its business interests from the time of his 
 arrival in 1880. Fraternally he is a mem- 
 ber of Fisher Lodge No. 222, F. & A. 
 M. ; of Marinette Chapter No. 57, R. A. 
 M., and of Florence Lodge No. 31, K. of 
 P. Few men have been more active, and 
 none are more highly esteemed, than the 
 subject of this sketch. 
 
 SP. SELLLVOLD, a well-known 
 merchant of Marinette and chief 
 of police, was born in Norway in 
 1863, and is the son of Peter 
 Thorkelson and Carrie (Sorenson) Selle- 
 vold, both natives of Norway. His 
 mother died there in 1894, and his father, 
 a farmer, still lives in that country. They 
 have had a family of si.\ children, five of 
 whom are in this country. Thomas has 
 been a resident of Dakota since 1886; S. 
 P. is our subject; Anna resides in Chicago; 
 Charles, a partner with S. P., in a board- 
 ing-house, came here in 18S6; Louise 
 is still in Norway; Andrew lives in Mari- 
 nette. 
 
 Mr. Sellevold was reared and edu- 
 cated in the schools of Norway, and at 
 the age of nineteen years came to Mari- 
 nette, the first of the family to come to 
 America. For two years (1890-91) he 
 served on the police force. In 1883, on 
 coming to Marinette, Mr. Sellevold was 
 employed as cook by the Hamilton-Merry- 
 man Co., and worked for them in that 
 capacity for seven years. He then took 
 charge of their boarding-house which he 
 
 still retains. In 1891 he engaged in the 
 flour and feed business at No. 151 1 Main 
 street, his present location, and in 1894 
 established the boot and shoe house of 
 Sellevold & Hanson in the Cook building 
 on Main street, which firm is taking a 
 prominent place among the merchants of 
 Marinette in that particular line of busi- 
 ness. 
 
 In 1889 Mr. Sellevold was married to 
 Miss Carrie Hanson, a native of Norway 
 and a daughter of Hans Hanson, who 
 still resides in Norway. Mrs. Sellevold 
 died in Marinette in 1891. He then, in 
 1893, married Miss May Thorkelson, who 
 was also born in Norway, a daughter of 
 John Thorkelson. One child, Clara 
 Helen, has blessed this union. Mr. Selle- 
 vold is affiliated with the Republican 
 party; is a member of the Norwegian 
 Lutheran Church, and at present is presi- 
 dent of the Norwegian Literary Society. 
 He takes great interest in the welfare of 
 both the city and county of Marinette, 
 having been here ever since its organiza- 
 tion, aiding in all possible ways, and wit- 
 nessed the various changes both have un- 
 dergone during his residence here. He 
 was appointed chief of police September 
 4, 1895, by the Republican party. 
 
 ST. BEATTIE, superintendent of 
 the Florence mines, has been a 
 resident of Florence, since 1887. 
 The mines were first opened in 
 1880, and the output of ore, with the ex- 
 ception of the years 1884-85, has been 
 very large. The largest shipment was in 
 1880, when something over two hundred 
 and eighteen thousand tons of ore were 
 shipped from this point. The contpany 
 have now on hand some two hundred 
 thousand tons. Mr. Beattie came to 
 Florence as bookkeeper of the company, 
 which position he retained until 1890, 
 when he was made superintendent. The 
 mines have given employment to five 
 hundred men at one time. 
 
 Mr. Beattie was born in Orange 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOOKAPUIVAL RECORD. 
 
 6i< 
 
 county, N. Y. , December 30, 1847, and 
 is a son of Israel O. and Elvira (Scott) 
 Beattie, both of whom were natives of 
 the same county and State. The father 
 was for many years a hardware merchant 
 in Middletown, N. Y., and made that 
 city his home until his death, which 
 occurred in 1885. His widow yet resides 
 in Warwick, N. Y. John Beattie, the 
 grandfather of our subject, was a soldier 
 in the war of 1812. Many of his de- 
 scendants are yet living in Orange county, 
 N. Y. , where the}' are highly respected, 
 and influential people. In the family of 
 Israel O. and Elvira Beattie were seven 
 children, four of whom are now living: 
 S. T. , our subject; John J., who resides 
 in Warwick, N. Y. ; Fred, also residing 
 in the same place, and Mary, a physician 
 of Newburg, New York. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared 
 in his native State, and .educated in the 
 academy of Middletown, N. Y. After 
 leaving school, he engaged with the Ster- 
 ling Iron Works, as general agent, and 
 remained with that company until 1887, 
 when he severed his connection and came 
 to Florence, Wis., as already stated. In 
 1 87 1, at Florida, Orange Co., N. Y. , 
 Mr. Beattie was married to Miss Fannie 
 Round, a native of Orange county, N. Y., 
 and daughter of John Round, a pioneer 
 of Herkimer county, in that State, whose 
 death occurred in Florida, N. Y., some 
 years ago. By this union three children 
 have been born: Charles, who is register 
 of deeds of Florence county. Wis., 
 elected in November, 1894; John and 
 Paul, residing at home. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Beattie is a Repub- 
 lican, and on all national questions votes 
 with that party. In April, 1895, he was 
 elected chairman of Florence township, 
 which position he now holds. He is a 
 member of the Presbyterian Church, and 
 is at present one of the elders of that 
 body. Since coming to the county, he 
 has been actively engaged in business, 
 and has exerted considerable influence in 
 public affairs. He is an enterprising and 
 
 affable business man, one who enjoys the 
 respect and has the confidence not only 
 of his business associates, but of employes 
 as well. While the county is in its in- 
 fancy, there is no reason why it should 
 not come to the front, and such men as 
 S. T. Beattie will hasten that desired 
 end. 
 
 REV. CHARLES VANIER, pastor 
 of the Church i>f the Immaculate 
 Conception at Florence, Florence 
 county, was born, in 1865, in 
 Paris, France, and is the son of Etienne 
 and Melanie ( Vivierj Vanier. 
 
 The Vanier family was originall}- from 
 Burgund}', and settled in Paris in 1702. 
 Etienne \'anier, who was a traveling 
 agent, engaged in selling goods, and was 
 killed in a railroad accident in 1866. He 
 married Melanie Vivier, and they had one 
 child, Charles, the subject proper of this 
 sketch. Mrs. Melanie Vanier was mar- 
 ried again, in 1873, in Paris, France, to 
 J. Muller. a well-known composer of 
 music in that city, and they have two 
 children, namely: Georges, an officer in the 
 French army, stationed in Senegal; and 
 Jeanne, who is studying in the Conserva- 
 tory of Music in Paris, France. 
 
 Rev. Charles Vanier was reared in 
 Paris, received his education in the college 
 of the Immaculate Conception, conducted 
 by the Jesuit Fathers in that city, and 
 graduated in 1882. He then entered the 
 Seminary of the Holy Ghost for the study 
 of theology, and after finishing his course 
 came to New York City, in August, 1887, 
 where he was engaged in teaching for two 
 years. On August 25, 1889, he was 
 ordained by the Right Rev. Bishop Laugh- 
 lin, at Brooklyn, and remained in that 
 city a few weeks. In September, 1889, 
 he came to Delwich, Union town, Door 
 Co., Wis., as pastor of Our Lady of the 
 Snow Church, remaining there until his 
 removal to Florence, his work being in 
 Wisconsin. He came to Florence from 
 Union township October 20, 1893, taking 
 
620 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGliAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 pastoral charge of the Church of tlie Iin- 
 inaciilate Conception. This church orig- 
 inated in a mission there, conducted by 
 Father G. Brady, and later bj* Father 
 Seubert, who was instrumental in secur- 
 ing the construction of the church building, 
 which was erected and dedicated in 1882. 
 Father Leccia came in September, 1883, 
 and remained as pastor until 1889, in Sep- 
 tember of which year Father Pele came, 
 remaining until January, 1S91, when he 
 was succeeded by Father Rogers, who 
 continued as pastor until October 20, 
 1S93, when Kev. Charles \'anier took 
 charge, and has since been pastor. 
 
 Father \'anier has built up an exten- 
 sive interest in church matters, is making 
 additions to the church edifice, has in- 
 augurated repairs, and is building a 
 sacristy. The church now numbers nine- 
 ty-two families, of whom twenty are Irish, 
 ten of mixed nationality, and the remain- 
 der French-Canadian. The property con- 
 sists of the church and parsonage. Father 
 \'anier is a member of the Oconto branch 
 of the Catholic Knights of \\'isconsin, is 
 possessed of a fine education, and is social 
 and pleasant, and a thorough gentleman. 
 [Since the above was written Father \'an- 
 ier was transferred, October 8,1895, to 
 Stiles, Oconto county, to which place two 
 missions are annexed. 
 
 HR. ADAMS, M. D.. of Marinette, 
 office and residence No. 1515, 
 Main street, came to that citj' in 
 November, 1894, and began the 
 practice of medicine. In the short time 
 in which he has been there engaged, he 
 has built up a large and lucrative prac- 
 tice. 
 
 The Doctor is a native of Wisconsin, 
 born in the cit}' of Fond du Lac, in Jan- 
 uary, 1 868, and is a son of T. G. and 
 Ellen (Sawyer) Adams, the former a na- 
 tive of \'ermont, the latter of New York. 
 They were married in the latter State, 
 and about the year 1853 migrated to She- 
 boygan Falls, Wis., where they remained 
 
 one year, and then removed to Fond du 
 Lac. The father was a wagon maker by 
 trade, and for twelve years was foreman 
 in the LaBelle Wagon Works, of that 
 city. From there he went to Mounds- 
 vijle, \\'. \'a. , where he was foreman in 
 the Webster Wagon \\'orks, in which po- 
 sition he continued until his removal to 
 Santa Barbara, Cal., whither he went in 
 August, 1887, on account of the ill health 
 of his wife. They both now reside there, 
 the climate having proved beneficial to 
 Mrs. Adams. In their familj- were four 
 sons: ^^'ill, an artist of more than ordi- 
 nary ability, as a designer with the pen; 
 John Milton, who was a physician and 
 surgeon of Spencer, Wis., died in Mounds- 
 ville, W. Va., in 1887; Park, who was ac- 
 cidentally killed at the age of fourteen 
 }ears; and H. R. 
 
 The boyhood days of the subject of 
 this sketch were spent in Fond du Lac, 
 Wis., and his youth in Moundsville, W. 
 \'a. His primary education he com- 
 menced in the public schools of the former 
 city, and he graduated from the high school 
 of the latter. He then entered Lindsle3''s 
 Institute at Wheeling, W. Va., a mili- 
 tary academj-, from which he gradu- 
 ated in the class of '85, after which 
 he entered the College of Physicians and 
 Surgeons at Keokuk, Iowa, taking one 
 course. With the family, he went to 
 California in 1887, and there remained 
 one year, returning to Keokuk and taking 
 the second course in the winter of 18SS- 
 89. Although not completing his course, 
 the Doctor commenced the practice of 
 his profession at Santa Barbara, Cal., 
 and was quite successful. In the winter 
 of 1892-93 he again attended the College 
 of Physicians and Surgeons, at Keokuk, 
 Iowa, from which he graduated in March, 
 1S93. Returning to his California home, 
 he there remained until his removal to 
 Marinette as already stated. While in 
 Santa Barbara, Cal., he was a member 
 of the Santa Barbara County Medical 
 Association, and took an active part in 
 all of its proceedings. As a physician he 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 621 
 
 stands well ;uiiong the profession, and is 
 greatly esteemed by his many patients. 
 The Doctor is a member of the Pioneer 
 Presbyterian Church, of Marinette and is 
 a member of the choir, being an excellent 
 singer. In politics he is a Kepublican, 
 and takes an active interest in all of the 
 political (luestions of the day. He was 
 married December 30, 1895, to Lena, 
 daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R. M. P.urk, of 
 Charlotte, Michigan. 
 
 EDAHLSTKOM, an energetic, 
 wide-awake citizen of Little River 
 township, Oconto county, is a 
 native of Sweden, born in iiS56, 
 son of John and Anna (Helgren) Dahl- 
 strom. 'J"he parents both dieci in their 
 nati\'e country, the fatlier in 1867, the 
 mother in 1S75. In their family v\ere 
 children as follows: Anna (Mrs. Wern- 
 hohn), of Sweden; Julia (Mrs. Thompson), 
 who resides in Oconto, having come here 
 in 1S92; Hannah (Mrs. Lindgren), of 
 Menominee, Mich; Lena (Mrs. Lindboui), 
 residing in Sweden; E. Sunds\'al], tiie sub- 
 ject proper of this sketch, and August li., 
 in Oconto. 
 
 Mr. Dahlstrom was reared and edu- 
 cated in his native country, where he 
 lived u]i to his twenty-fifth year, there 
 learning the trades of blacksmith and 
 engineer. In 1879 he was married in his 
 native land tcj Miss Anna Lindgren, like 
 himself a native of Sweden, whose par- 
 ents, Louie and Kate Lindgren, came 
 from Sweden to Oconto county. Wis., in 
 1883, her father dying in Little River in 
 1890, her mother in 1893. In the year 
 of their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Dahlstrom 
 came to America, and on their arrival to 
 this country came westward to Wiscon- 
 sin, for one year living in Oconto, Oconto 
 county. In 1 88 1 he purchased forty acres 
 in the woods in Section 29, Little River 
 township, same county, building thereon 
 a one-and-a-half-story residence, where 
 the family have since had their home. 
 Another forty acres has been added to the 
 
 original tract, and Mr. Dahlstrom now 
 has twenty acres under cultivati(5n. He 
 has not devoted himself exclusively to 
 farming, however, ha\ing also engaged in 
 lumbering and blacksmithing, having a 
 shop on his farm; he is also engaged in 
 real-estate dealing, handling pro])erty for 
 Mr. Cook, of Oconto, and doing (]uite an 
 extensive business. For two years he was 
 in the employ of the Chicago & North 
 Western Railway Com[)any. 
 
 Mr. Dahlstrom has taken an active 
 interest in the welfare of his township 
 and county, assisted in organizing the 
 school distric-t, and is serving as township 
 assessor the jiresent year (1895). How- 
 ever, he is no office-seekcM', his interests 
 in public affairs being that of a loyal, 
 progressive citizen. He is a Rejiublican 
 politically, and in religious faith he is a 
 member of the I>aptist Church. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Dahlstrom have had a family of five 
 children, namely: Lsther, Louie, Albert, 
 Gottfried and Freda. 
 
 Bl'.NJA.MIN W. BATCHI'ILDER, 
 the el'ficient fin-eman of the mills 
 of the Haniilton-Merryman Com- 
 pany, is a gentleman whose busi- 
 ness ability and fidelity to duty have con- 
 tinued him in this rcs]:)onsible position for 
 a (juarter of a century, or since his arri\al 
 in Marinette, in 187 i. 
 
 He was born in Washington county, 
 N. Y., March 12, 1839, and is a son of 
 Colby and Betsy (Winshij)) Hatchelder, 
 who were also natives of the Empire 
 State. The father was a farmer, carry- 
 ing on agricultural pursuits in Washington 
 county throughout his entire life. He 
 pas.sed away in 1845, !^">^I li'^ wife, who 
 survived him for many years, was called 
 to the h(.)ine beyond in [869. Tw(j of 
 their children became residents of Mari- 
 nette — Benjamin W. and Erastus G., the 
 latter locating here about 1885. 
 
 Mr. Batchelder spent his childhood 
 days on his father's farm, early becoming 
 familiar with all its labors, and in his 
 
622 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 youth he also learned the carpenter's 
 trade, which he followed for some years. 
 Associated with a partner he subsequently 
 erected a planing and saw mill and a sash 
 and door factory, which he conducted for 
 about seven years; but at length he de- 
 termined to try his fortune in the West, 
 and in 1 87 1 followed • ' the star of empire " 
 until he arrived in Marinette, Wis. Here 
 he located, and soon after secured a posi- 
 tion with the Hamilton-Merryinan Com- 
 pany, with whom he has since continued, 
 being the oldest employe in their service. 
 He was married, in New York, to Miss 
 Lucy Salome Brown, a native of that 
 State, and two children grace their union 
 — Eleanor and B. W. The parents are 
 people of worth, and have manj' friends in 
 the community. In politics Mr. Batch- 
 elder is a stalwart Prohibitionist, and in 
 religious connection he is a member of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church. He 
 identified himself with all interests calcu- 
 lated to benefit and elevate humanity, 
 and his life is in harmony with his pro- 
 fessions. His long continuance with the 
 Hamilton-Merryman Company is some- 
 thing of which he may well be proud, for 
 it indicates his unquestioned honor and 
 integrity, and his well-known capability. 
 
 ROBERT E. STEPHENSON, log- 
 ging superintendent for the Dia- 
 iiKnid .Match Co., Ontonagon, 
 Mich., by virtue of his being one 
 of the early residents of Marinette, as well 
 as a representative businessman and use- 
 ful citizen, is fully deserving of prominent 
 mention in the pages of this work. 
 
 He is a native of New Brunswick, 
 Canada, born May 19, l84[, a son of 
 Matthew and Mary (Porter) Stephenson, 
 the former of whom, a native of Ireland, 
 while yet single emigrated to New Bruns- 
 wick, where he married. He followed the 
 vocation of a lumberman, and in Decem- 
 ber, 1852, at the age of forty-nine years, 
 was killed in Aroostook county, Maine, 
 by a log falling on him. His widow con- 
 
 tinued to live in the East until April, i S79, 
 w-hen she came to Marinette. She died 
 there in 1891 at the advanced age of 
 eighty-four years, the mother of six chil- 
 dren, as follows: Mary Ann, who mar- 
 ried Matthew Stephenson, and died in 
 New Brunswick; Charles, who died at 
 Calais, Maine, in 1880; Eliza Jane (Mrs. 
 Astles), who came west to Wisconsin and 
 died at Menominee in 1893; ^^'iIliam, 
 who resides in Marinette; Matthew, who 
 died in Menominee, Mich., in March, 
 1872; and Robert E. 
 
 The subject proper of these lines re- 
 ceived his education in the common 
 schools of his native place, and afterward 
 followed lumbering pursuits there till 1 864 
 when he came to the then " Far West," 
 making his first home in this section at 
 Menominee, Mich., where he was engaged 
 in the same line of business with Luding- 
 ton. Wells & Co. In their employ he re- 
 mained three years or until 1867, the 
 year of his coming to Marinette and en- 
 tering the employ of Stephenson & Gram 
 (now* the H. Whitbeck Co.); but at the 
 end of one year he joined Andrew Ste- 
 phenson, and with him went into the 
 service of the N. Ludington Co. With 
 this last named firm he remained till the 
 summer of 1872, at which time he re- 
 turned to New Brunswick, and in com- 
 pany with H. A. Sharpe built a sawmill 
 in Aroostook county, Maine, which they 
 operated three years. Mr. Stephenson 
 then sold out his interest in themill, etc., 
 and in September, 1879, returned to Mari- 
 nette, once more entering the employ of 
 the N. Ludington Co., at Flat Rock, 
 Mich., and remaining with them two 
 years, or till 1881, in that year moving to 
 Marinette. For the following three years 
 he was with the H. Whitbeck Co. in the 
 capacity of logging superintendent, and 
 then returned to the N. Ludington Co., 
 with whom he remained till 18S8, in the 
 meantime also doing some lumbering for 
 his own account. In that year he ac- 
 cepted his present position of logging su- 
 perintendent for the Diamond Match Co., 
 
COMMEMOnATIVE DIOORAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 623 
 
 an incumbency he has since filled with his 
 well-known and well-trained capability. 
 In the fall of 1894 and winter of 1895 the 
 company put in one hundred and eighty- 
 three million feet. 
 
 On July 4, 1873, in Aroostook, Maine, 
 Mr. R. E. Stephenson was married to 
 Miss Margaret Lloyd, who was born July 
 20, 1855, in New Brunswick, a daughter 
 of ^^^illiam and Elizabeth (Reardon) 
 Lloyd, natives of London, England, the 
 former of whom died in New Brunswick, 
 where the latter is yet living. Si.x chil- 
 dren were born to this union, only one of 
 whom survi\es, Cieorge A., who graduated 
 in 1S95 at St. John's Military Academy, 
 Delafield, Wis., and at the present time 
 is attending the University of Pennsylva- 
 nia at Philadelphia. 
 
 In his political predilections Mr. Ste- 
 phenson supports the principles of the 
 Republican part)', and, socially, he is a 
 member nf the F. & .\. ^L , Marinette 
 Lodge X<i. iS:!, also of the Chapter and 
 Commandery at Marinette, and Consistory 
 No. I, at Milwaukee; and is affiliated with 
 the K. of P. at Ontonagon, Mich. He is 
 one of the best known and most popular 
 citizens in his section, and withal has the 
 highest reputation as a thoroughly repre- 
 sentative business man, honored and re- 
 spected by all who know him. 
 
 HENRY KOEHNE, wlm follows 
 farming in Section 7, Little Su- 
 ainico township, Oconto county, 
 is a nati\'e of Hanover, Germany, 
 born in 1833. His parents, Henry and 
 Mary (Reddenj Koehne, were also nati\es 
 of Hanover, and there the father died in 
 1872, the mother in 1869. They reared 
 a family of six children: Henry; Chris, 
 who resides on the old homestead in 
 Germany; Minnie, now deceased; Mrs. 
 Sophia Hoehne, of Germany; Fritz, who 
 came to Oconto county in 1868, and is 
 now living in Pensaukee township; and 
 Conrad, of Hanover, Germany. 
 
 Under the parental roof our subject 
 
 30 
 
 spent his childhood days, but on attain- 
 ing his majority resolved to make the 
 New World his home, believing that bet- 
 ter opportunities for young men were 
 here afforded. Accordingly on June 19, 
 1854, he sailed from Bremen, and, on 
 August 7, landed at New York after a 
 voyage of forty-nine days. He at orce 
 proceeded to Ijuffalo, thence to Wiscon- 
 sin, and resided in Wausau, for three 
 years. In 1857 lie came to Oconto 
 county, at which time there were only 
 three settlers in the township, where he 
 now makes his home. He engaged in 
 hunting and fishing for a time, and then 
 worked on the river. In 1861 he located 
 on the farm which is now his place of 
 abode, purchasing eighty acres of timber 
 land, on which he erected a log cabin, 
 beginning life in true pioneer style. From 
 earh' morning until late at night he worked 
 to clear and impnix'c his farm, and now 
 has about sixty-five acres under a high 
 state of cultivation. In 1873 his crdiin 
 home was replaced by a substantial frame 
 residence, and \u- has added other im- 
 pro\'ements from time to time until he 
 now has a very desirable [)roperty. 
 
 In 1864 Mr. Koehne responded to the 
 call of his adopted country for troops, en- 
 listing at Green Bay, Wis., as a member 
 of Company H, I'irst Wisconsin Heavy 
 Artillery. He was mustered in at Madi- 
 son, and was stationed at Alexandria un- 
 til the close of the war, when he was 
 hon(.)rabl\' ilischarged in Milwaukee, Wis., 
 in 1865. He then retiu'ned to his family 
 in Oniiito ciiuntw He was married in 
 Little Suamiio, in 1862, to Ann Taylor, 
 \\hii was horn at Duck Creek, Brow ti 
 Co., Wis., a daughter of G. A. Taylor, a 
 native of New "S'ork, who served as a 
 soldier HI tlu-warof 1812. In 1825. as 
 a member of the Kegidar ,irmy, he went 
 to h'ort .Snelling. on the .Mississi])]ii, 
 and in 1830 was honorably discharged at 
 Fort Howard, Wis. He then turned his 
 attention to farming, successfully follow- 
 ing that pursuit in I'.rown county until his 
 death in 188:^. To Mr. and .Mrs. Koehne 
 
624 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 were born seven children: John H., who 
 is married and resides in Kiel, Wis., 
 where he is acting as railroad agent; Mrs. 
 Elizabeth Kent, of Ironwood, Mich. ; Mrs. 
 Mary Ann DeMaiffe, of Oconto; Fritz, 
 at home; Mrs. Sophia Purcell, of Madi- 
 son, \\'is. ; and Agnes and Minnie. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Koehne is a Demo- 
 crat, and has served as a member of the 
 board of supervisors of his town, and 
 also as a member of the board of educa- 
 tion. He belongs to T. O. Howe Post, 
 No. 124, G. A. R. , of Green Bay, and is 
 a faithful member of the Lutheran Church, 
 in which he is serving as deacon. It was 
 a fortunate day for him when he decided 
 to come to America, for in this countrj- 
 he has secured a comfortable home, a 
 good property and has also won many 
 warm friends. 
 
 WILLIAM JUDGE is one of the 
 representative citizens of the 
 city of Florence, where he has 
 resided since May, 1S80, at 
 which time he came to this locality, and 
 engaged in lumbering, by the month. In 
 1S87 he embarked in the business for 
 himself, and since that time has been 
 remarkably successful. In the logging 
 season he gives employment to from thirty 
 to seventy-five men. He is a native of 
 Milwaukee, Wis., born December 23, 
 1857, and is a son of Dennis and Mar- 
 garet (Dawson) Judge, both of whom 
 were natives of Ireland, and who in an 
 early day left their native land, first lo- 
 cating in Canada, where they were mar- 
 ried. From Canada they came to Wis- 
 consin, and located in Milwaukee, from 
 which place, in 1S59, they went to the 
 town of Franklin, Manitowoc Co. , \^'is., 
 where they settled in the woods, and 
 opened up a farm. They there continued 
 to reside until their death, the father 
 (lying in 1S72, the mother in 1S91. They 
 reared a family of five children: James, 
 who died in Milwaukee, Wis., in 1SS7; 
 John, who resides in the city of Manito- 
 
 woc, Wis.; \\'illiani. our subject; ^far- 
 garet, now Mrs. Dougherty, of Omaha, 
 Neb. ; and Arthur, who resides in Mani- 
 towoc, Wisconsin. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared 
 to farm life, spent his boyhood and youth 
 in Manitowoc county. Wis., and received 
 his education in the schools of the town 
 of Franklin, in that county. While yet 
 in his "'teens," he assisted in chopping 
 out the right of way through the heavy 
 timber, on the Chicago & North Western 
 railroad from Menominee, Mich., to Es- 
 canaba. Mich. In 1880 he permanently 
 located in Florence, being one of the first 
 settlers of the place, has here since con- 
 ' tinned to reside, and has assisted in the 
 organization of the count}'. He was sheriff 
 of the county from 1890 to 1892. 
 
 Mr. Judge was married in 1S83, at 
 Florence, Wis., to Mrs. Margaret Sulli- 
 van, a widow, who is a native of Scot- 
 land. In politics Mr. Judge is thoroughly 
 independent, voting for such men and 
 measures as he thinks will best advance 
 the interests of his city and country. For 
 fifteen jears he has been prominently 
 identified with the interests of Florence 
 county, and to him, as much as any other 
 one man, is due the present thriving city 
 of Florence, and the great improvement 
 made in the county in wealth and popu- 
 lation. He stands well in the communitj", 
 never shrirks duty or responsibilit}', but 
 will give of his money and time to the 
 best interests of his adopted' city and 
 countv. 
 
 DW. ROSS occupies the responsi- 
 ble position of yard foreman with 
 the Hamilton & Merryman Lum- 
 ber Co., of Marinette, and his 
 faithfulness and strict reliability are indi- 
 cated by the fact that he has filled this 
 position for twelve years. 
 
 He was born in Aroostook county, 
 Maine, in i S50, and is a son of James and 
 Jane (McDonald) Ross, both natives of 
 Scotland. They were married in that 
 
COMMEMORA Tl VE niOOUAl'lllCAL RECORD. 
 
 62,- 
 
 country, and in i 849, crossing the Atlan- 
 tic, took up their residence in Aroostook 
 counts', Maine, where the father engaged 
 in lumbering and also developed a farm, 
 upon which he yet resides. His wife 
 died in 1S81, since which time James 
 Ross has been again married. By the 
 first marriage there were ten children, 
 namely: D. W. ; \\'illiam, who came to 
 Marinette, and died in 1871; Roderick, 
 who came to Marinette, and died April i, 
 1882; Mary, deceased; James, who fol- 
 lows farming in Maine; Theodore, a 
 Methodist minister of Woolwich, Maine; 
 Fred, a merchant of Houghton, Maine; 
 Bessie, who is married and lives in Port- 
 land, Maine; Louisa, who died in i8gi; 
 and Herbert, deceased. There are also 
 two children by the second marriage: 
 Jennie and Randolph. 
 
 In the county of his nativity our sub- 
 ject was reared and educated, and when 
 eighteen years of age he left the Pine 
 Tree State for the West, locating in 
 Marinette, which was then a town of 500 
 inhabitants. Since 1S68 he has been 
 connected with the lumber interests. He 
 began work in the em])loy of the X. 
 Ludington Co., which he continued four 
 years, working in the lumber woods and 
 around the mill. In 1875 he began 
 business for himself as a liveryman, but 
 after three years entered the employ of 
 the H. Whitbeck Lumber Co., with 
 which he was connected until entering 
 upon the duties of his present position as 
 \ard boss of the Hamilton & Merryman 
 Co. in June, 1883. He now has charge 
 of si.xty-fu'e men employed in the yards, 
 and also superintends the shipment of the 
 lumber by means of three vessels. 
 
 Mr. Ross was married in Marinette, 
 May 24, 1875, to Mary Gertrude Eggner, 
 a native of that city, and a daughter of 
 Joseph and Lena Eggner, both of whom 
 were born in Germany, and arc now re- 
 siding in Marinette, to which locality 
 they came in an early day. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. Ross have been born twelve children, 
 five of whom are yet living: William, 
 
 Mary, Carrie, Dan and Myron; the other 
 seven children all died in infancy. 
 
 Mr. Ross is a stalwart supporter of 
 the Republican party, and takes a deep 
 interest in its success. His father early 
 espoused its cause, and was also a de- 
 fender of the Union, enlisting in 1861 in 
 Company E, Fifteenth Maine Infantry, 
 serving for three years and two months. 
 He was wt)unded in the Red Ri\er cam- 
 paign, at Alexandria, La., and returned 
 home in 1864, having made an honorable 
 war record. Our snject is also a member of 
 the Caledonia Society. He erected his 
 home on Newberry avenue, one of the 
 first residences in the city; has witnessed 
 almost the entire growth and develop- 
 ment of Marinette, and has borne his part 
 in the work of advancement and public 
 improvement. 
 
 DANIEL HUCK, one of the hon- 
 ored veterans of the Civil war, 
 who faithfully followed the starry 
 banner for three years, and aided 
 in the preservation of the Union, is now 
 numbered am<.)ng the leading agricultur- 
 ists of Chase township, Oconto county. 
 A nati\'e of Union county, Penu., he was 
 born in 1836, and is a son of Jacob and 
 Sarah (Weller) Hnck, who spent their 
 entire lives in the Keystone State, and 
 both died in 1886. They reared a family 
 of eleven s<jns and seven daughters, of 
 whom we have record of the following: 
 George enlisted in the Pennsylvania Re- 
 serve Corps, and died in the army; Mary 
 Ann is deceased; Daniel will be fully 
 spoken of farther on; |acol) was color 
 bearer in the Thirteenth Penns^'lvania 
 Rifles, V. !., throu.t;iu)ut the war, and is 
 now living in the Red Kiver country; 
 Samuel, who was in the same regiment, 
 now resides in Indian Territory; James 
 lives in Chicago; William and John alscj 
 belonged to the Pennsylvania Reserve 
 Corps, and lost their lives; I'-d is a resi- 
 dent of Brown county, Wis. ; Amos re- 
 sides in Chase township, Oconto county; 
 
626 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Harrison is in Lock Haven, Penn.; and 
 Myron also lives in the Keystone State. 
 
 Our subject was reared in Pennsylva- 
 nia and New York, and acquired his edu- 
 cation in the public schools of the former 
 State. At the age of thirteen he started 
 out to fight life's battle, and has since 
 been dependent on his own resources for 
 a livelihood, so that he deserves great 
 credit for his success. The West with its 
 advantages attracted him, and in 1855 he 
 located in Menekaunee, Wis., where he 
 secured a position as second filer for the 
 New York Lumber Co. , now the Menom- 
 inee River Lumber Co. He continued in 
 that service for one year, and in 1857 
 came to Little Suamico, where he secured 
 a situation as filer in the mill owned by 
 George A. Sayler. He was also in the 
 mill of Gardner & Co., and continued this 
 work until the year in which the Civil 
 war was inaugurated. Prompted by a 
 spirit of patriotism, he enlisted at Green 
 Bay, in 1861, in Company H, Twelfth 
 Wis. V. I., for three years. Mustered in 
 at Madison, Wis., his regiment was 
 assigned to the Western army, and after- 
 ward to the army of the Tennessee. He 
 participated in the battle of Hatchie, 
 west of Corinth, and the day on 
 which the battle of Corinth was fought 
 he was at Coldwater; also was pres- 
 ent at the siege of X'icksburg. the bat- 
 tle of Champion Hills, battle and siege 
 of Jackson, and at the capture of Harri- 
 sonburg, La. ; was at the engagements of 
 Padncah, Ky., Big Shanty, Noon Day 
 Creek, Kenesaw, Nickajack Creek, .At- 
 lanta, E^ra Chapel, Jonesboro and Love- 
 joy Station, and in the ever-memorable 
 pursuit of Hood's army north. .At the 
 battle of .Atlanta Mr. Hurk was wounded. 
 He served under Gen. Sherman for a 
 time, and afterward under Gen. Grant, 
 and was under fire 165 days during his 
 term of service. He was honorably dis- 
 chnrgeil at Chattanooga, Tenn., in 1S64. 
 
 Mr. Huck then returned to Oconto 
 county, and was engaged as filer in a mill 
 for four years. In 1S68, in Pittsfield 
 
 township. Brown Co. , Wis. , he was mar- 
 ried to Miss Sarah A. Baker, a native of 
 New York, and a daughter of Peter Baker, 
 who migrated with his family to Big 
 Suamico, Brown county, at an early day; 
 he now resides in Fond du Lac, Wis. 
 To Mr. and ?tlrs. Huck were born four 
 children: Alma (who died in 1886), Cur- 
 tis, Elsie and Josephine. Since 1870 the 
 famil}' have resided upon their present 
 farm, Mr. Huck now owning eighty acres 
 of land in Section 36, Chase township, 
 forty of which are cleared and under a 
 high state of cultivation. His time is 
 largel}' given to his farm work, and 
 through his own enterprising and well- 
 directed efforts he has secured a comfort- 
 able home for his family. He and his 
 wife are members of the .Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church, and in politics he is a sup- 
 porter of the Republican party. 
 
 CS. HART has since Territorial 
 days been connected with the his- 
 tory of Wisconsin. He has there- 
 fore witnessed its entire growth 
 and development as a State, and his deep 
 and patriotic interest in its welfare has 
 led him to take an active part in pro- 
 moting its progress. He is an advocate 
 of all matters pertaining to its further 
 improvement, has labored for its material 
 welfare, it educational interests and its 
 moral advancement. 
 
 Mr. Hart was born in Green Bay, 
 Wis., August 31, 1844, and is a son of 
 Edwin and Eli^a J. (Glass) Hart. The 
 father was born in Norwich, Conn., May 
 5, 1807, and removed to Lorain county, 
 Ohio, afterward locating in Cleveland, 
 where he followed the trade of carpen- 
 ter. In I Sj8 he went to Mackinac Island, 
 and built a lighthouse near there, then in 
 1S32 he located in Green Bay, Wis., 
 where he followed contracting and build- 
 ing. He was the contractor at l""c>rt 
 Howard, and was familiar with all the 
 early history of this section of the conn- 
 try. In the year of his arrival at Green 
 
coMMKMoiiArrvi': uioauAi'iiicM. hkcohd. 
 
 6-'7 
 
 Bay he married Miss Eli/a J. Glass, a 
 native of Pennsylvania. Following his 
 cluisen occnpation at that place until 
 1852, he then came with his famil_\' to 
 Ocont(5, and was eni;a,s;ed in the milling;- 
 business at Oconto Falls with Mr. Haj;er- 
 bone. He was also in tlu- lumlu'r busi- 
 ness for a short time, but subsequently 
 turned his attention to merchandising, 
 and also operated a steamboat on the 
 river until 1870. Since that time he has 
 lived retired, enjoyini; a wi-ll-o:uned ri.;st. 
 He has always taken (piite an acti\e in- 
 terest in politics, and is a l)ou;>las Demo- 
 crat. b"or maii\- years he was justice of 
 the peace in dreen 15. ly, holdinj;' that 
 office for o\er half a century. 'Vhr pre- 
 dominate trait in his character is lidclity 
 to duty, aiul he never allowed anylhint; 
 to interfere with the c\cn-handed admin- 
 istration of justice. Ills life has been an 
 honorable and upright one, and his 
 stroni.;', robust constitution is un<k)ubtedly 
 due in a lari;e measun^ to his abstinence 
 frotn intoxicants. He formerly held mem- 
 bership with the Odd l''ello\vs Society of 
 Green Bay. and both he and his wife are 
 now livinj;' in Menominee, Mich.. h.i\'ing 
 traveled life's journey toi^etluM' lor nearly 
 si.\t_\'-ti\'e N'ears as man and w ifc. 
 
 This worth}' couple had a fannly of 
 eight children : (l) George 1*2. , the eldest, 
 is a resident of California. (2) l.e\i W. 
 enlisted at Chicago in i86j, and fiecame 
 second lieutenant of his company; he 
 served in the conmiaiul o{ Gen. Grant 
 when in the West, and participated in all 
 the battles of his regiment, including that 
 of Pittsburg Landing, where he was 
 wounded; his meritorious sim\ ice there 
 also won Ihm promotion to the rank of 
 captain of Hart's Battery, and he was 
 sent to Mississippi; on account of his 
 wounds, however, he was obliged to re- 
 sign, ami was afterward engaged in busi- 
 ness at Cdevelanil, Ohio; he was killed in 
 the Ashtabula railroad disaster in i87(), 
 and his widow and daughter are now 
 living in Chicago, while his son resides in 
 Green Bay. (3) Mary A. is the wife of 
 
 Dr. S. A. Coleman, of Norfolk, \'a. 
 (4) C. B. lives in Green Piay, Wis. (5) 
 Mrs. B. J. l>rown is living in Menominee. 
 Mich. (6) C. S. is the subject of this 
 sketch; (7) H. \\'. is a resident of Green 
 Bay. Wis. (81 Franklin K. died in Oconto, 
 in 1863, at the age of seventeen years. 
 
 When a chiki of se\'en years our sul)- 
 ject came to Oconto, then an Indian \il- 
 lage of se\eral himdred inhabitants. 
 There were no streets and oidy one mill 
 where the city now is. 15ul tew white 
 families lived in the county, and it seemetl 
 that the work of civilization antl progress 
 had scarcely begun. Mr. Hart attended 
 the i')id)lic schools mUil i8fii, and then 
 entered S(d\ov>l in Cle\eland, where he 
 jiursued his studies for two \ears. Ke- 
 tmaiing to Oconto, he then became con- 
 nected with newspajier work, and pur- 
 chased the i\<>)iii> ri\iiii-ii\ the iirst paper 
 [lublishcd there. In 1863 he sold out in 
 Older to give his attention to the steam- 
 boat business, but lie disposeil of his in- 
 terest in that in 1870, and his next 
 \-euture was in the milling business. He 
 became associated w ith the Oroiilo County 
 A'l/f'/Av, founded by Mr. P>radbury in 
 1871, and liecaine its owner Septendier 
 '.V I'^/.v 11"-' continued its publication 
 until 1881, when he sold, but again [)ur- 
 chased it in 1885, and was its editor and 
 proprietor until Mandi, 1895, when he 
 disposed ol the proju'rly to Mr. Wag- 
 goner, lie made the Kr/'or/rr the prin- 
 cipal pa[ier ol the county, secured a large 
 circidation and established one of the 
 finest plants in the State. He is now 
 ([uite extensively engaged in dealing in 
 cedar posts and shingles, and is doing an 
 extensive busmess in the line of real es- 
 tate, owning and handling considerable 
 property. He is a man of strt)ng energy 
 and determination, of good executive 
 ability, and carries forward to successful 
 completion whatever he undertakes. 
 
 In Oconto, in 1871, ivas celebrated 
 the marriage of Mr. Hart and Miss Katie 
 F., daughter of Theodore F. and Eliza- 
 beth (Naffy) Snover. The daughter and 
 
6-'S 
 
 COMMEMOBATTVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 parents were born in New ji-i~.\. and 
 came to Oconto in 1 868, where all yet 
 reside, the father following the trade of a 
 millwright. Mr. and Mrs. Hart had two 
 children, of whom Harold died at the age 
 of one year; the daughter, Mabel, is now 
 attending high school. Mr. Hart is a 
 stalwart advocate of Republican princi- 
 ples, but has never sought or desired the 
 honors or emoluments of office. Socially, 
 he is connected with the Royal Arcanum. 
 Numbered among the valued citizens of 
 the community he has won this place 
 through his earnest efforts to promote the 
 public welfare. Of a social and genial 
 nature, he easily wins friends, and his 
 genuine worth retains them when once 
 they are gained. 
 
 BENJ.VMIN B. BARKER, who fol- 
 lows farming in Section 34, Pen- 
 saukee township, is numbered 
 among the pioneer settlers of 
 Oconto county of 1857. He has been a 
 continuous resident of that locality for 
 thirtj-eight years, and has not only wit- 
 nessed its transformation and improve- 
 ment, but has taken an active part in its 
 development and progress, and has been 
 an important factor in agricultural and 
 political interests. The record of his life 
 cannot fail to prove of interest to our 
 readers, man}- of whom number him 
 among their friends. 
 
 Mr. Barker was born in Peterboro, 
 Hillsboro Co., N. H., in 1829, and is a 
 son of James and Elizabeth (Diamond) 
 Barker, the former a native of Pelham, 
 N. H., the latter of Lexington, Mass. 
 Their marriage was celebrated in the old 
 Granite State, and there the father fol- 
 lowed carpentering until his death, which 
 occurred in 1845. In 1856 his widow 
 came to Oconto county, and was one of 
 its esteemed residents until called to her 
 final home April 12, 1882. Her father, 
 William Diamond, a native of Massachu- 
 setts, served as a drum majc<r in the Rev- 
 olutionary war. Mr. and Mrs. Barker 
 
 were the parents of children as follows: 
 James M., who came to Oconto county, 
 in 1856, locating at Stiles, was employed 
 as a blacksmith by the Oconto Lumber 
 Company, and died in the city of Oconto 
 in 1873. Darius D., who is now living 
 in Waukegan, 111., located in Pensaukee 
 township, in 1856, and here made his 
 home for thirty-nine years; during the 
 war he served for three years in the Third 
 Wisconsin Cavalry, and then veteranized, 
 continuing at the front with his old com- 
 panj' until hostilities had ceased. Ben- 
 jamin B. is the ne.xt youngest. M. D. 
 came to Stiles in i860, and in 1865 re- 
 moved to Pensaukee, where he made his 
 home until his death in 1876. 
 
 In the State of his nativity Benjamin 
 Barker spent the days of his childhood, 
 and benefited bj' the privileges afforded 
 by the common schools, while to the in- 
 formation there gained he has added 
 the knowledge which comes through e.\- 
 perience until he is now a well-informed 
 man. In 1851 he was united in marriage 
 with Miss Emeline Dutton, a native of 
 New Hampshire. They had one child — 
 Mrs. Emeline Thompson. In 1857 he 
 came with his little family to Oconto 
 county, locating at Stiles, and entered the 
 employ of Eldred & Balcolm, with whom 
 he remained until locating on his present 
 farm in i860. In that year he purchased 
 a tract of timber land of eighty acres, en- 
 tirely destitute of improvement. No road 
 then led to the place, and the entire 
 country round about was in its primitive 
 condition; but he energetically began its 
 development, and acre after acre was 
 placed under the plow until he now has a 
 well-improved farm. 
 
 Mr. Barker continued his labors un- 
 interruptedly until 1864, when, feeling 
 that his country needed his services, he 
 joined Company F, Twelfth Wis. \'. I., 
 for three years, and was mustered in at 
 Madison. The regiment was assigned to 
 the army of the Tennessee, and with it 
 he participated in the battles of .\tlanta 
 and Ezra Church. He went with Sherman 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 on the memorable march to the sea, par- 
 ticipated in the Carolina campaign, the 
 battle of Kaleigh, and the grand review 
 in Washington, D. C, where the victori- 
 ous army that had sa\ed the nation 
 marched through the capital city cheered 
 by grateful thousands. In the charge on 
 Atlanta Mr. Barker was three times 
 wounded by gunshot, a ball striking each 
 arm and his left hip. He was honorably 
 discharged at Louisville, Ky., in Jul}', 
 1865, and at once returned to his home 
 in Oconto county. 
 
 In 1867, not long after his wife died, 
 Mr. Barker wedded Miss Charlotte A. 
 Dexter, a native of Boston, Mass., in 
 which city her father, George J. De.xter, 
 lived and died. They now have a pleas- 
 ant home on their farm, and since the 
 war our subject has devoted the greater 
 part of his time and attention to its care- 
 ful improvement. In politics he is a 
 stalwart Republican, and for eleven years 
 has served as a member of the board of 
 supervisors of Pensaukee township, while 
 from 1889 until 1893, inclusive, he was 
 the efficient chairman. Socially, he is 
 connected with the E. A. Ramsey Post, 
 G. A. R., of Oconto. 
 
 ROBERT McIVER, who lias been 
 prominently identified with the 
 interests of Oconto count}' for over 
 a quarter of a century, is a pros- 
 perous agriculturist of Stiles township, 
 and is at present chairman of the town- 
 ship board, also serving his second term 
 as chairman of the county board. 
 
 Mr. Mclver came to Oconto county 
 in the fall of 1866, from New Brunswick, 
 Canada, in which Province he first saw 
 the light, his birth taking place in 1853. 
 His parents, Kenneth and Jane (Thomp- 
 son) Mclver, were born respectively in 
 Nova Scotia and in Glasgow, Scotland, and 
 were married in New Brunswick. The 
 father was a school-teacher by profession, 
 and held the position of principal of a high 
 school; his wife also taught, in New Bruns- 
 
 wick. They reared a family of five chil- 
 dren — Benjamin, who came from New 
 Brunswick to Oconto, Wis., and now re- 
 sides in St. Paul, Minn. ; John, who came 
 to Oconto count)', and for twenty jears 
 made his home in Stiles, where he died 
 in 1890; Robert, subject proper of these 
 lines; Harris, employed by the Oconto 
 Lumber Co., and Rosana, who was the 
 wife of William Brown, and died in St. 
 Paul, Minn., in 1877. The father of this 
 family passed from earth in i860, after 
 which, in 1873, tlie mother came to 
 Oconto, Wis. ; she subsequent!}' moved 
 to St. Paul, Minn., where she died in 
 1881. 
 
 Robert Mclver was reared and educa- 
 ted in his native place. At the age of 
 fourteen he came to \Msconsin, settling 
 in Oconto county, where he has since had 
 his home, with the exception of the two 
 years he was attending the business col- 
 lege at Green Bay, Wis., under Prof. 
 Blackman. He followed lumbering until 
 he engaged in farming in the township 
 of Stiles, buying an eighty-acre tract in 
 the woods, but later sold this and pur- 
 chased another tract, the same size, of 
 which he has cleared fifty-five acres. In 
 1884 Mr. Mclver embarked in the hotel 
 business, building the hotel at the time 
 the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul rail- 
 road was extended from Green Ba\', north. 
 He has been an active citizen, taking a 
 lively and substantial interest in every en- 
 terprise tending to promote the interests 
 of the community in which he resides. 
 For five years he has been a member of 
 the township board, of which, as above 
 stated, he is now chairman, and his effi- 
 ciency and reliability have been appre- 
 ciated by his fellow citizens, as is shown 
 by his election to the office of ccjunty 
 chairman, in which position he is now 
 serving his second term. In political sen- 
 timent he is a Republican 
 
 Mr. Mclver was married in Oconto, 
 in I 880, to Miss Anna Phinney, who was 
 born in Oconto Falls, Oconto county, of 
 which place her father, Samuel Phinney 
 
630 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 (now deceased), was a very early pioneer; 
 his widow makes her home in Oconto. Six 
 children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Mc her, namely: Jessie, who died at the age 
 of three 3ears; Robert, who died when 
 eighteen inonthsold; and John, Gertrude, 
 Ines and Horace, living. 
 
 JAMES W. LOUGHREY, of Mene- 
 kaunee. Marinette county, who is 
 now living a retired life, came to 
 Wisconsin in the fall of 1855, and 
 in the winter following engaged in log- 
 ging. In 1 8 36 he began clerking in the 
 store of The Peshtigo Co., and was with 
 them about one year when he came to 
 Marinette, where he has since continued 
 to reside. He is a native of New York 
 State, born in St. Lawrence county. May 
 16, 1827, and is a son of Robert and 
 Mary (Willard) Loughrey, both of whom 
 were natives of the same State. 
 
 The father of our subject was a soldier 
 in the war of 1812, and died in New 
 York, in 1872, at an advanced age; his 
 wife survived him some eighteen years, 
 dying, in 1894, at the age of ninety-four 
 jears. They reared a family of si.x chil- 
 dren: Nancy (now Mrs. Underwood), of 
 St. Lawrence county, N. Y. ; Charles, 
 now residing at Florence, Wis., who 
 came to Marinette about 1847, and 
 platted an addition to the city, known as 
 Loughrey 's addition to Marinette; James 
 W., our subject; Mary, who died in 1884; 
 Alexander, a farmer at Millersville, St. 
 Lawrence Co., N. Y. ; and Willard, who 
 is a merchant and postmaster at Millers- 
 ville, St. Lawrence county, New York. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared 
 in his native county, and educated in its 
 public schools. During his youth he 
 clerked for a time in a store at Ogdens- 
 burg, N. ^'., and in 1847 came west to 
 Cleveland, Ohio, where for a short time 
 he served as clerk in a drug store. He 
 then commenced railroading on the Cleve- 
 land, Columbus & Cincinnati railroad, 
 which was the first railroad out of Cleve- 
 
 land, Ohio, and he was the first conductor 
 to run a train out of Cleveland on the 
 line, his first run being to Berea, Ohio. 
 He served that road for two years as con- 
 ductor, and later as civil engineer. He 
 then ran the Transit from Ma\sville, Ky. , 
 to Lexington, same State, on the survey 
 of the road. His next base of operation 
 was up the Ohio river to Catlettsburg, 
 Ky., and then from Maysville to Lexing- 
 ton; later he was at Licking Springs, Ky. , 
 where he served as engineer on the Divis- 
 ion railroad until 1854, when he went to 
 Ogdensburg, N. Y., and from thence to 
 Wisconsin, as already stated, arriving at 
 Peshtigo in the fall of 1855. 
 
 On coming to Marinette. Mr. Lough- 
 rey entered the employ of John Jacobs, 
 and remained with him until the winter 
 of 1860-61. On October 14, 1S61, he 
 enlisted as a private in Company F, 
 Twelfth Wis. V. I., and was mustered in 
 as sergeant. He was promoted to sec- 
 ond lieutenant November 21, 1864, and 
 to first lieutenant January 6, 1865. On 
 the regiment being mustered in at Madi- 
 son, Wis. , it was ordered to Hannibal, Mo., 
 and was then in active service until the 
 close of the war. Mr. Loughrey was in all 
 the battles participated in by the Twelfth 
 Wisconsin Infantry, and was with Sher- 
 man in the march to the sea. He re-en- 
 listed, in 1864, in the same company and 
 regiment, and was in the grand review at 
 Washington. Being mustered out and 
 honorably discharged at Louisville, Ky., 
 July 6, 1865, he then went to Memphis, 
 Tenn., where he remained three months, 
 from thence returning to Marinette, W'is. 
 During the first winter following his re- 
 turn, he went into the woods and engaged 
 in scaling for the Kirby Carpenter Lum- 
 ber Co., and also scaled in the mills. In 
 1867 he scaled for Mr. Hammond, and 
 when the latter left, he operated the 
 camp. In 1868, he had the bar and table 
 on the boat " Queen City " between Mar- 
 inette and Green Bay, and in 1869 started 
 a hotel on the Hawkins ground, which he 
 continued to conduct until burned in the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPIIWAL RECORD. 
 
 631 
 
 fire of 1 87 I, when he lost everything that 
 he had. In the winter of 1 87 1-72 he built 
 the '■ Exchange Hotel, " bringing the lum- 
 ber from Oconto. This hotel is a three- 
 story, fifty-four room house and was oper- 
 ated by our subject until Jul}', 1S94, 
 when he leased it for a term of five years, 
 and has since been livmg a retired life. 
 
 Mr. Loughrey was married in Mari- 
 nette, Wis., in I 87 I, to Miss Helen Drew, 
 who was born in W'interport, Niagara Co., 
 N. Y. . and is the daughter of Samuel P. 
 and Mary (Farwell) Drew, also natives 
 of New York. The father was a light- 
 house keeper on Green Island, in Green 
 Bay, and was the owner of the island; he 
 died in 1883, his wife in 1885. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Loughrey have been born fise 
 children: Mar}-, Charles. Maud, Marion 
 and Minnie. In politics Mr. Loughrey is 
 a Republican, and while not an office 
 seeker has served his town three years as 
 a member of the board of supervisors. 
 Socially, he is affiliated with the Ro\al 
 Arcanum of Marinette. In the forty years 
 of his residence in northern Wisconsin, 
 Mr. Loughrey has indeed witnessed many 
 changes, and is known and recognized as 
 a pioneer and highl} worthy citizen of 
 the county. 
 
 HENRY RABE, a well-to-do farmer 
 of Oconto township, Oconto 
 county, has been a resident of 
 the county for forty-three years, 
 during which time he has witnessed and 
 aided in its wonderful growth and de- 
 velopment. He is one of the substan- 
 tial citizens whom Germany has contrib- 
 uted to Wisconsin, ha\ing been born in 
 that country, in the city of Hamburg, in 
 1829, son of Franz and Eliza (Bruns) 
 Rabe, also natives of the F"atherland, 
 where the former was a merchant. Both 
 parents are now deceased, the mother 
 passing away in 1894. 
 
 Mr. Rabe was educated in the German 
 public schools. At the age of twenty- 
 three years he left his native land for 
 
 America, and on his arrival in this country 
 came at once to Oconto county. Wis., 
 locating first in Little River township, 
 where for four }ears he worked in a lum- 
 ber mill for George Smith. He next 
 worked for Mr. Smith in a mill at Oconto, 
 going thence to Oconto Fails, where he 
 found employment at farm labor by the 
 month. In 1864 he enlisted in the Union 
 arm}-, becciming a member of the Thirty- 
 eighth \^'is. \'. I., which was attached 
 to the army i_)f the Potomac, and was 
 sworn into the ser\-ice at Madison, Wis. 
 He participated in the engagement before 
 Petersburg, marching thence to Rich- 
 mond, \'a., was in the grand review at 
 Washington, D. C, and honorably dis- 
 charged at Madison, Wis., in |une, 1865, 
 returning to Ocontci count}-. Settling in 
 Maple V'alle}-, he bought eighty acres in 
 the woods, totall}- unimproved and in a 
 wild region, and set to w(jrk to improve 
 the farm, which later he sold, locating 
 along the north branch of the Oconto 
 ri\er, where he made his home eight 
 years, and then moved to Oci_)nto town- 
 ship, on a farm two and one-half miles 
 from Oconto. Mr. Rabe has a fine, 
 highl}--improved place of forty acres, 
 adorned with a comfortable residence and 
 good farm buildings. Mr. Rabe has 
 al\va}-s been a public-spirited citizen, 
 favoring progress and ever}- project tend- 
 ing to the advancement of his township 
 and county. 
 
 In 1867 Mr. Rabe was married, in 
 Oconto county, to Miss Clara Phinney, 
 who was born in Illinois, whither her par- 
 ents, Samuel and Melissa ( Kimball j Phin- 
 ney, had removed from New York State, 
 where the}- were born. The father was 
 a blacksmith by trade. They came in 
 1851 to Oconto Falls, Oconto Co., Wis., 
 making a permanent home, where Mr. 
 Phinney died in 1867; Mrs. Phinney is 
 now making her home in Oconto. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Rabe fi\'e children have 
 been born: \\'illiam, Edward, George, 
 Lillian (Mrs. Kenney. of Stiles township), 
 and Nettie. Mr. Rabe votes with the 
 
632 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 Republican party. Socially, he belongs 
 to E. A. Ramsey Post No. 74, G. A. R. , 
 and in religious connection he and his wife 
 are members of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 EDWIN COUILLARD. This gen- 
 tleman is a prominent and popular 
 citizen of Oconto township, Ocon- 
 to count)', and the representative 
 of one of its earliest and best-known fam- 
 ilies, being a son of Jacob W. and Susan 
 B. (Lary) Couiliard. 
 
 Jacob \V. Couiliard was the first per- 
 manent settler of Oconto township. He 
 and his wife were both born in Maine, 
 whence in 1849 they migrated westward 
 to the then new State of \\'isconsin, open- 
 ing up a farm in the woods of Oconto 
 township, Oconto county, and engaging 
 in lumbering and agriculture, in which he 
 was successful, owning a large farm of 
 185 acres. He also pre-empted and 
 owned other tracts in the township. 
 Shortly after his arrival here he em- 
 barked in mercantile business in Oconto, 
 subsequenth- removing his stock to Couil- 
 lardviile, and he continued to conduct 
 this business up to the time of his death, 
 which occurred January 24, 1895, when 
 he was aged si.\ty-nine years. He erected 
 the first frame building in what is now 
 the city of Oconto. As a continuous res- 
 ident and active business man of Oconto 
 township for forty-si.\ years he was nat- 
 urally interested in its progress and devel- 
 opment, and he gave his influence and 
 support to all measures directed to that 
 end. For many years he held the im- 
 portant office of chairman of the town- 
 ship. Jacob W. and Susan B. Couiliard 
 were the parents of four children, of whom 
 Effie is the wife of Joseph Lee, of Stiles 
 township ^she was the first white child 
 born on the Oconto river); Jackson is 
 married, and lives in Oconto township; 
 Amina fMrs. Harrison H. Maine) resides 
 in San Jose, Cal. ; and Edwin is the sub- 
 ject proper of these lines. The mother 
 of these departed this life in 1 861, in 
 
 Oconto township, and in 1863 Mr. Couil- 
 iard wedded Laura Johnson, who survives 
 him. Of the children born to this union 
 two are living -. Etta (Mrs. William 
 Wj'otti), of Oconto, and Mark, who is a 
 resident of Stiles township, Oconto coun- 
 ty. Two died, Emerson at the age of 
 eight years, and Irani at the age of two 
 years. 
 
 Edwin Couiliard was born in Oconto 
 township in 1859, received his education in 
 its public schools, and was trained to agri- 
 culture on the home farm. At the early 
 age of thirteen he commenced teaming, 
 and for some years engaged in lumbering, 
 during the winter time. Farming has, 
 however, been his chief occupation, and 
 he owns si.\ty-si.\ acres of good land in 
 Oconto township, which is in a good state 
 of cultivation and well improved. Like 
 his father before him Mr. Couiliard has 
 been a public-spirited, active citizen, ever 
 taking a keen interest in matters relating 
 to his township and county, and giving 
 his aid and support to its enterprises and 
 progressive movements. In 1892 he was 
 elected town clerk, and has since been 
 continuously re-elected, at present serv- 
 ing his fourth term ; in the same year he 
 was also elected justice of the peace, an 
 incumbency he has since held in a man- 
 ner as highly creditable to himself as it is 
 satisfactory to all concerned, and he is 
 widely and favorably known throughout 
 the section. Mr. Couiliard .gives his 
 political support to the Democratic party. 
 
 In July, 1881, Mr. Couiliard married, 
 in Oconto township. Miss Mary Ann 
 Matravers, who was born in that town- 
 ship, daughter of John and Matilda 
 (Clarke) Matravers, natives of England, 
 who in an early day came to Oconto 
 county, and have since resided there, at 
 present having their home in the town of 
 Oconto. To Mr. and Mrs. Couiliard have 
 come three children — Zora, Nellie and 
 Asa — who attend school in the same dis- 
 trict where their father received his edu- 
 cation. Mr. Couiliard is a member of 
 the Modern Woodmen of America. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPIIIVAL RECORD. 
 
 ^'33 
 
 SAMUEL HENDERSON has for 
 over twenty years been identified 
 with the progress and advance- 
 ment, principally in the agricul- 
 tural line, of Oconto county, especially of 
 Stiles township. 
 
 Mr. Henderson was born, in 1S41, in 
 Watertown, Jefferson Co., N. Y. , son of 
 Joseph and Edna (Fowler) Henderson, 
 farming people, the former of whom was 
 a native of Jefferson county, N. Y. , the 
 latter of Massachusetts. Joseph Hender- 
 son ended his days in Watertown, N. Y., 
 dying in 1863, and his widow afterward 
 came to Oconto county to li\e with our 
 subject, dying at his home in 1882. They 
 had two children: Samuel and Adelia, 
 the latter of whom was born in Water- 
 town in 1S39, was married to George 
 Cobleigh in 1858, ami removed to Mor- 
 rison, 111., where she still lives. 
 
 Samuel Henderson was reared in his 
 native town, receiving his education in 
 the public schools there, and in early life 
 learned the trades of carpenter and 
 wagon maker. In 1863 he enlisted in 
 the Union army, becoming a member of 
 Company M, Fourteenth New York 
 Heavy Artillery, for three years or during 
 the war, and was mustered into the serv- 
 ice at Elmira, N. Y. , serving with the 
 army of the Potomac. He participated 
 in some of the most important engage- 
 ments, doing active duty in the l)attles of 
 the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Chicka- 
 hominy and Cold Harbor, where he was 
 taken prisoner. He w^as held captive for 
 six and one half months, being confined 
 in several of the most noted of the South- 
 ern prison pens, and during that time ex- 
 perienced privations and hardships which 
 would seem almost unendurable. On 
 being captured he was incarcerated in 
 Libby Prison, whence, after ten days' 
 confinement, he was transferred to An- 
 dersonville, being imprisoned there till 
 the following September. On August i 
 he made an unsuccessful attempt to es- 
 cape; he was helping to carry out a dead 
 comrade, and seeing his opportunity 
 
 knocked the guard down and fled, but he 
 was recaptured, when within forty miles of 
 Sherman's arm}', by a planter and four 
 negroes, and as a punishment had to 
 carry a ball and chain thirty days. From 
 Andcrsnnville he was taken to Charleston, 
 and from there to Florence, on the jour- 
 ney making another attempt to escape 
 by jumping off the train, and he succeeded 
 in eluding his pursuers iox ten days, when 
 he was overtaken b\' I^ebel scouts and 
 sent on to Florence. Undismayed by 
 previous failures, however, he once more 
 tried to regain his freedom, lea\'ing the 
 prison by means of a tunnel, and this 
 time it was twelve days before he was re- 
 captured, by some planters, and returned 
 to Florence. The vicissitudes which he 
 underwent during his prison life reduced 
 him in weight to ninet^'-five pounds; on 
 being released he was sent to the parole 
 camp at Annapolis, Md. After the sur- 
 render of Petersburg, he was put on the 
 detective force, on which he served until 
 discharged, in August, 1865, at Roches- 
 ter, N. Y. While at Andersonville he 
 was one of the three judges on the trial 
 of the six raiders who were hung at An 
 dersonville, and was a witness at the trial 
 of the notorious Col. \\'irtz, in Washing- 
 ton, D. C. He was a faithful, loyal 
 soldier, and may be justly proud of his 
 military record. 
 
 After receiving his discharge Mr. Hen- 
 derson returned to Watertown, N. \'.. 
 but after remaining there one year went 
 south, working at his trade in variou-- 
 places. A couple of years later we find 
 him in Cleveland, Ohio, where he worked 
 two years, thence, in i 869, coming west- 
 ward to Chicago, in which city he followed 
 his trade until 1872 — the year of his re- 
 moval to Oconto — having charge of the 
 work on four stores. He was working in 
 Chicago at the time of the great fire there 
 of 1 87 1. On his arrival in Oconto he 
 engaged in carpentering and building, in 
 which he continued for several years, put- 
 ting up some of the best residences in 
 that town, among others those of Thomas 
 
634 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 Porter ami W. H. Young. In 1S79 he 
 concluded to turn his attention to agri- 
 cultural pursuits, and having purchased 
 forty-five acres in Section 12, Stiles town- 
 ship — his present farm — he located there 
 in that jear. The place at that time was 
 all in the woods, but Mr. Henderson has 
 placed the entire tract under cultivation, 
 and has made numerous improvements 
 during his residence there. Though his 
 private interests have never been neg- 
 lected, he still finds time to take the in- 
 terest in public affairs which every loyal 
 citizen should feel, and he has served his 
 fellow citizens faithfully in several capaci- 
 ties, having been township supervisor 
 three or four terms, and also a member of 
 the school board. Politicallw he sup- 
 ports the Republican party. 
 
 In 1873 Mr. Henderson wedded, in 
 Oconto, Miss Jennie Forbes, a native of 
 Canada, whose parents, Janes and Eliza 
 Forbes, were also born in that country, 
 the father dying there; the mother passed 
 awaj' in 1893, in Oconto. To this union 
 have come children as follows: Carrie 
 (deceased), Capitola (Mrs. O'Neil, of 
 Oconto township), I'^red, Hamilton. \'iola, 
 Edna, Milo. Samuel and Nora. Our sub- 
 ject was a charter member of the first G. 
 A. R. Post, McPherson Post No. i, which 
 was organized in Washington, D. C. ; also 
 a charter member of the first G. A. R. 
 Post organized in the city of Ocon- 
 to, E. A. Ramsey Post No. 14, and has 
 been a member of the G. A. R. ever since 
 the first Post was organized in Washing- 
 ton, I). C. 
 
 JAMES LARSEN, dealer in all kinds 
 of fresh, salt and smoked fish, at 
 Menekaunee, Marinette count}-, is 
 one of the leading business men of 
 that city. A native of Denmark, he was 
 born in 1S54, a son of Lars and Hertha 
 (Jensenj Anderson, both of whom are also 
 natives of that country. 
 
 The family came to the United States 
 in 1873, and located at Racine, Wis. 
 
 Lars Anderson, the father of our subject, 
 was a fisherman, and engaged in that oc- 
 cupation both in the old country and after 
 his removal to this country. He now re- 
 sides in Rockford, 111., but his wife died 
 in Racine, Wis., in 1881. Of their fam- 
 ily of eight children, we have mention of 
 tfie following: ^fary Maria is now the 
 wife of C. Frederigsen, an architect at 
 Copenhagen, Denmark; James is our sub- 
 ject; Hans, a twin brother of our subject, 
 died in Denmark, in 1855; Andrew H. 
 resides in Rockford, 111., engaged in the 
 fish business; Anna is the wife of Charles 
 Nelson, a fish dealer of Racine. Wis.; 
 Andrew H. died at the age of eight years, 
 in Denmark. 
 
 The boyhood days of our subject were 
 spent in Denmark, and when about fifteen 
 years of age he came to Racine, Wis., two 
 years before his parents, and there en- 
 gaged in farm labor for one season. He 
 was then employed in the fish business m 
 Racine, until 1873, when he removed to 
 Oconto, and there remained two years. 
 Returning to Racine count)' he lived there 
 until his removal to Door county in 1880, 
 remaining there until 1887, when he re- 
 moved to Menekaunee, wheie he now 
 resides. Mr. Larsen was married in Ra- 
 cine, Wis., in September. 1878, to Miss 
 Anna Dorothea Jensen, also a native of 
 Denmark, and daughter to Hemming and 
 Carrie (Rasmussen) Jensen, who were 
 likewise natives of Denmark, and who 
 emigrated from that country in' 1865, and 
 located in Racine, Wis. The father was 
 a cooper by trade, and followed that pro- 
 fession until his death in Racine, in i S90. 
 His wife yet resides in that city. They 
 reared a famil}- of four children: Chris- 
 tina, now the wife of R. P. Jensen, of 
 Racine, Wis. ; Lizzie, now Mrs. A. An- 
 dersen, also of Racine; Anna Dorothea, 
 the wife of our subject; Hanna. wife of 
 Andrew H. Larsen, of Rockford, 111.; and 
 James Peter, who resides in Kacine, Wis. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Larsen six children have 
 been born: Bertha, Carrie. Louie. Lillie. 
 Hemming and .Andrew. 
 
VOMMEMORATIVB BIOQUAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 635 
 
 In politics, Mr. Larsen is a People's- 
 Party man, and although not an office 
 seeker has served four years as alderman 
 from the First ward, and represented 
 his county one term in the State Legis- 
 lature as a Union-Labor member. Social- 
 ly, he is a member of the United Work- 
 men, and also of the Dannebrog Society, 
 of which he is a trustee. Mr. Larsen has 
 always taken an active interest in every- 
 thing for the giiod of the city and county 
 
 in which he li 
 
 He is a man of un- 
 
 doubted courage, and while residing in 
 Door county, in the big storm, known as 
 the "Alpena storm," which occurred Oc- 
 tober 16, iSSo, wa.^ instrumental in the 
 saving of seven lives, for which he received 
 a life-saving medal, issued by the general 
 government. There had been only two 
 medals of the kind issued before this to 
 anv citizen of Wisconsin. 
 
 WlLLl.V.M N. C.\SSON, engineer 
 inr the H. Whitbeck Lumber 
 Co., (if Marinette, has resided 
 in that place since 1875, and 
 has been numbered with the citizens of 
 Wisconsin since 1S55, coming to the 
 West from New \'oxk — his native State. 
 He was born in Littleville, Ontario 
 county, in i S49, and is a son of Curtis 
 P. and Hannah (Barrington) Casson, the 
 father born in Yorkshire, England, the 
 mother in Oueens county, Ireland. In 
 an early day the father emigrated to Can- 
 ada, and in New York was married. He 
 was a miller by trade, and followed that 
 occupation through his active business 
 life. In 1855 he became a resident of 
 Merton, Wis., the following 3'ear went to 
 Hartland, subsequent!}' to Fall River, in 
 1859 to .Milton, in 1 S62 to Oshkosh, and 
 in 1865 to Indian Ford. In 1869 he re- 
 turned Oshkosh, and in 1S73 became a 
 resident of Oconto, Wis., where he fol- 
 lowed his trade until his removal to Indian 
 Ford in 1875. His death occurred there 
 March 17, 1885, and his estimable wife 
 died at the same place in 1891. This 
 
 worthy couple were the parents of eight 
 children, namely: Marj- J., wife of A. J. 
 Hunting, of Iron Mountain, Mich. ; John 
 P., who was born in New York, April 12, 
 1840, and died September 30, following; 
 Thomas P., who is li\-ing in Alabama; 
 Alfred H., who enlisted at the first call 
 for volunteers, as ;i member of the 
 Seventh Wis. \'. I., and died of typhoid 
 fever in Madison, Wis., in September, 
 1861; John J., of Marinette; William N. ; 
 and Charles F. , who died in New York, 
 j at the age of one year and twenty-eight 
 days. 
 
 Our subject was a child of six sum- 
 mers when brought b\' his parents to 
 Wisconsin. He was educated in the 
 schools of Milton and Oshkosh, and in the 
 latter place learned the machinist's trade, 
 which he has made his life work. He 
 accompanied his parents on their \;irious 
 removals in Wisconsin, and in 1871 be- 
 came a resident of Oconto, where he 
 I worked in a machine and carriage fac- 
 I tory, in which he owned an interest. In 
 1875 he came to Marinette, where he 
 worked for several months for the Mari- 
 nette Iron Company. In 1876 he en- 
 1 tered the employ of the H. \\'hitbeck 
 j Co., with \\'hom he contimii.'d until his 
 removal to Green Bay, in 18S1. There 
 he remained two years, employed in a 
 saw mill of Baptiste & Son. On return- 
 ing to Marinette, he was again emplo\'ed 
 for a few months in the Marinette Iron 
 Works, after which he spent eighteen 
 months with a lumber company, return- 
 ing then to the employ of the H. Whit- 
 beck Co. He is now their efficient and 
 trusted engineer, antl his long continued 
 service in their employ well indicates his 
 fidelity to duty. 
 
 The marriage of Mr, Casson was cele- 
 bratetl in Green Bay, Wis., November 
 -7> 1877, when Miss Minnie Hinsdale 
 Baptist, became his wife. She was born 
 in Little Sturgeon, Door Co., Wis., and 
 is a daughter of William S. and Margaret 
 I'Hurlbert) Baptist. Her father was born 
 on the ocean, and is of English descent. 
 
636 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BTOORAPITTCAL RECORD. 
 
 He was reared in New York and in Bata- 
 via, that State, married Miss Hiirlbert, a 
 native of New York. Emigrating in an 
 early day to Sturgeon Bay, he secured a 
 position as superintendent with the Gard- 
 ner Lumber Co., and subsequently en- 
 gaged in the lumber business in Pensau- 
 kee. Wis., whence he went to Green Bay, 
 in 1S80. being there engaged in the saw- 
 mill business. In 18S3 he went to New 
 Orleans, La., where he and his wife still 
 reside. In their family were eleven chil- 
 dren, of whom seven are living, namely: 
 William H., who resides in Lutcher, La. ; 
 Sylvester; Mrs. Casson; Charles A., of 
 Lutcher, La.; Edward, of New Orleans; 
 Edgar, also of Lutcher; Frances Emma, 
 wife of Dr. \'iolet, of Waukesha, Wis. ; 
 Arthur, who died in infancy; J. \'., of 
 Lutcher, La. ; and Kittie, who died in 
 infancy. The children of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Casson are as follows: Kittie Frances, 
 Clarence Alfred, Frank Baptist, Earle 
 Howard, Gordon Elmer, who died at the 
 age of sixteen months, and Wilfred Neale. 
 In politics, Mr. Casson is a stanch Re- 
 publican, and takes a deep interest in the 
 success of his party. He belongs to the 
 Masonic and Odd Fellows Lodges of Mari- 
 nette, and his wife is a member of the 
 Order of Rebekah, and the Woman's Re- 
 lief Corps, also of the Pioneer Presbyte- 
 rian Church. He is recording secretary 
 of the Marine Engineers, No. 86, and is 
 highly esteemed in social and business 
 circles. A worthy representative of one 
 of the honored pioneer families of this 
 section of the State, his well-spent life 
 well entitles him to the regard in which 
 he is held. 
 
 ROBERT SPICE. If a history were 
 written of the brave "boys in 
 blue" of \N'isconsin, who valiantly 
 went to their country's defense in 
 her hour of peril, the name of tiiis gentle- 
 man would lind an honorable place in the 
 record. All throughout the long struggle 
 for the preservation of the Union, he 
 
 followed the starry banner and continued 
 at the front even after the surrender of 
 Lee, waiting until the countri* had 5id- 
 justed itself to the new surroundings and 
 the rebellious South had once more taken 
 the attitude of good citizenship. The 
 same loyalty that prompted this faithful 
 service has characterized his entire life, 
 and makes him to-day one of the valued 
 citizens of Oconto county. 
 
 Mr. Spice was born in Canada in 1842, 
 and is a son of Thomas and Nancy (Lo- 
 gan) Spice, the former a native of Eng- 
 land, the latter of Ireland. In early life 
 they came with their respective families 
 to the New \\'orld. The father was con- 
 nected with the milling business, and was 
 employed in the mill of Col. Balcolm for 
 a number of years. In 1856 he came to 
 Stiles, Wis., in the employ of that gen- 
 tleman, and continued his work here until 
 after the breaking out of the Civil war, 
 when he enlisted at Chicago, III., in the 
 Si.xteenth Regiment, United States Regu- 
 lars, for five years, and was there mustered 
 into the government service. He partici- 
 pated in the battles of Shiloh and An- 
 tietam, and continued at the front until, 
 on account of wounds, he was honorably 
 discharged. He then returned to Green 
 Bay, Wis., where his death occurred in 
 1 87 1 ; his wife passed away in Stiles, Wis. , 
 in i860. By their marriage there were 
 born seven children, namely: Mrs. Sarah 
 McCurdy, who died in Stiles in 1S62; 
 Robert; Mrs. Elizabeth Temple, of Ne- 
 braska; Mary, wife of Dr. Cone, of In- 
 diana; Louisa, who is living in Oconto; 
 Samuel, also a resident of Oconto; Will- 
 iam, who makes his home in Portage 
 county, \\'isconsin. 
 
 Our subject spent his early boyhood 
 in Canada and New York, and acquired 
 his education in the public schools. At 
 the age of thirteen, he accompanied his 
 parents to Stiles, and therefore may well 
 be numbered among the pioneers of 
 Oconto county. In 1S61 he joined the 
 army as a member of Company H. Fourth 
 Wis. \'. I., which was known as the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RECOliD. 
 
 637 
 
 "Oconto County River Drivers." He 
 enlisted fur tliree years, was mustered 
 into the service at Racine and tlicn went 
 to the front, where he participated in the 
 battles of F(_>rt [ackson, New Orleans, 
 and Baton Rouge, and in the Red River 
 campaign. In 1864 lie re-enlisted at Ba- 
 ton Rouge in the same company and regi- 
 ment, and served with the Department of 
 the Gulf. For five years he wore the 
 iniiform of his adopted land, and was then 
 honorably discharged at Brcnvnsville, 
 Texas, in June, i S66, returning home 
 with a military record of which he may be 
 justly proud. 
 
 When he again reached Oconto coun- 
 ty, Mr. Spice secured emploj'ment with 
 the Holt & Balcohn Lumber Company, 
 afterward operating a shingle mill at 
 Humbolt, Wis., for two years. In 187:! 
 he purchased a partially-improved farm of 
 eighty acres in Section 35, Little River 
 township, and now has si.xty-five acres of 
 the land under a high state of cultivation. 
 He follows progressive methods in farm- 
 ing, and has therefore won success in his 
 undertakings. He was one of the orig- 
 inal promoters of the Little River Cream- 
 ery Company, which h.as a fine plant, and 
 is doing a good business; in June, 1892, 
 he erected Spice's Hall. He is recog- 
 nized as one of the thoroughly reliable 
 business men of Oconto county, as well 
 as one of the honored pioneers. 
 
 Mr. Spice was married in Green Bay, 
 W'is., in October, 1866, to Emily Collins, 
 a native of Oshkosh, this State, and a 
 daughter of Silas and Sarah Collins, pio- 
 neer settlers of Oshkosh, the former of 
 whom was killed in a iriill at that place; 
 the mother is now living at Bear Creek, 
 Outagamie county. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Spice have been born thirteen children, 
 eight of whom are living: Delbert, Clara, 
 Erna, Mamie, Nellie, Emily, Laura and 
 Mollie. In politics Mr. Spice is a stanch 
 Republican, and has served as supervisor 
 of Oconto township; was a member of 
 the school board four years, and assisted 
 in organizing Little River township. He 
 
 was instrumental in organizing the re- 
 union of the coimty, which was held lirst 
 at his home. He is a representative of 
 one of the oldest families of Oconto coun- 
 ty, has witnessed its entire develo])nient, 
 and has ever taken an active interest in 
 its upbuilding, being pre-iMninently a 
 public-spirited man. 
 
 TD. ANDERSON, for the past 
 twent}- years an iMuploye of the 
 Chicago & Northwestern Railroad 
 Company in various cajxicitics, 
 has been a resident of Wisconsin for iiearl\- 
 half a century, and of the rising city of 
 Marinette some fourteen years. 
 
 Mr. Anderson is a native of the State 
 of New Yiirk, born in 1849 in Madison 
 county, a son of Henry and Sarah (Mor- 
 ris) Anderson, also of that county, where 
 they were married in 1839. The father 
 was born July 11, 181 1. In 1849 the 
 family came to Wisconsin, settling in the 
 woods (jf I^ima township. Rock count)', 
 2s pioneers, and opening up a farm. Here 
 they made their home for some years, the 
 parents finally removing into the village 
 of Lima, where they passed the remainder 
 of their honored lives, the father dying 
 September 19, i88(), the mother in 1891. 
 He was a Whig and Republican in his 
 political preferences, and was a prominent 
 well-known citizen in his day, progressive 
 and loyal. The record of their family of 
 children is as follows: Eunice M. (now 
 Mrs. Ensign) resides at F"ergus I'alls, 
 Minn. Franklin B. enlisted, in Rock 
 county. Wis., in the Thirteenth Wis. 
 V. I., and served throughout the Ci\il 
 war, having veteranized; he died in August, 
 1895, at the Soldiers' Home, W'aupaca, 
 Wis. Mary died in Rock count}-. T. D. 
 is the subject of this sketch. Ida (Mrs. 
 Lansing) has her home at Whitewater, 
 Wjs. Kate (Mrs. Kimiey) is at Ft. Atkin- 
 son, Wisconsin. 
 
 The subject proper of these lines was. 
 as will be seen, an infant when his par- 
 ents brought him to Wisconsin, and he 
 
638 
 
 COMMEMORAl'IVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was reared among the scenes and experi- 
 ences of rugged pioneer life, receiving 
 such education as was available at the 
 primitive country schools of the neighbor- 
 hood, and at Milton College, Wisconsin. 
 
 On leaving home at the age of sixteen 
 years, he commenced business life as clerk 
 in the post office at F"ond du Lac, from 
 there going to the State Hospital at Mad- 
 ison, Wis., where he remained some three 
 years in the capacity of attendant and 
 supervisor, at the end of which time he 
 went to Chicago and entered the employ 
 of the Chicago & North Western Railway 
 Company. His first position with the 
 company was as clerk in their offices at 
 West Fortieth street, Chicago, where he 
 remained till 1S76, when he removed to 
 Whitewater, Wis., still in the service of 
 the railwaj' compan\', at the end of a 
 couple of years, or in 1S78, removing to 
 Escanaba, Mich., and there working for 
 the company four years. In 1882 he 
 came to Marinette, since which date he 
 has held the responsible position of loco- 
 motive engineer (there being no better 
 qualified or more careful official to be 
 found on the entire force in the employ 
 of the company). 
 
 On October 7, 1893, Mr. Anderson 
 was married to Miss Rebecca M. Jensen, 
 who was born at Sheboygan, Wis., a 
 daughter of Clement E. and Jennie A. 
 (Blichfeldtj Jensen, Norwegians by birth, 
 who came to Sheboygan county, Wis., in 
 1854. They were married in Sheboygan, 
 Wis., in 1856, and had a most in- 
 teresting family. The father died, in 
 1869, in Green I3ay, Wis., where the 
 mother is yet living. Mrs. Anderson was 
 reared in Green Ba)' from the age of five 
 years, receiving her education at the 
 schools of that city. She studied for the 
 profession of teacher, afterward teaching 
 in the schools of Brown county, and also 
 in the schools of Marinette some eight 
 years. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson attend 
 the services of the Presbyterian Church 
 at Marinette. He is (juite a vocalist, and 
 for eight years had charge of the choir in 
 
 the M. E. Church — in fact he has sung in 
 all the churches in the city. Socially, he 
 is a member of Olive Branch Lodge No. 
 150, F. & A. M., Marinette; of Chapter 
 No. 52, R. A. M., and of Marinette Com- 
 mandery. In the many years he has been 
 a resident of ^^'isconsin he has seen the 
 marvelous growth of the State, and has 
 loyally done his share toward its progress 
 and development, proving himself a thor- 
 oughly representative progressive citizen. 
 
 OSCAR F. PECK, a substantial 
 farmer located in Section 10, 
 Grover township, Marinette coun- 
 ty, is a son of Romante\- and 
 Mar}' (Durgin) Peck, and was born in 
 Monroe county, N. Y., February 25, 
 1829. 
 
 Romantey Peck was from Connecti- 
 cut, his wife from New Hampshire. He 
 was a clockmaker, was a resident for a 
 time of Vermont, and from there moved 
 to New York State, where he engaged in 
 farming. In 1S40 he came to Waukesha 
 count}'. Wis., and made that his home, 
 dying there in 1S57. His wife passed 
 away in New York in 1837. They had 
 eight children, namely: Rufus C, who 
 came to Waukesha county in 1837. and 
 always made that his home; Winthrop, 
 who came to Waukesha county, later 
 removing to Iowa, where he died; Hazen, 
 who lives retired in Elkhorn, Walworth 
 Co., Wis.; Henry M., living retired at 
 Lay ton Park, Milwaukee county; Oscar 
 F., subject of this sketch; George T. , re- 
 siding in Grover township; Lucy, wife of 
 Marvin Munn, of Bromfield. Hamilton 
 Co., Neb.; and Sarah, who died in Wau- 
 kesha county. Mr. Peck remarried in 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 Oscar F. Peck was reared in New- 
 York State up to the age of eleven, and 
 attended school there and in Waukesha 
 county, Wis., whither his father moved 
 in 1840. In Waukesha county he was 
 reared on a farm, beginning life as a farm 
 hand at $4 per month. From there he 
 
O.'^.f^/t 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOQIiAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 639 
 
 came to Marinette or Oconto county in 
 1845, coming by boat from Milwaukee to 
 Peshtigo, under engagement with the 
 Leavensworth & Clark Lumber Co., 
 which later became the Peshtigo Lumber 
 Co. He was occupied driving an ox- 
 team, locating pine timber and on the 
 drive, and was in the employ of the Pesh- 
 tigo Co. for twenty-four and one-half 
 years, till after the fire, as foreman of 
 camps, and helped to locate nearly all 
 their pine lands; was also a stockholder 
 in this company. About 1856 Mr. Peck 
 bought his farm in Grover township, com- 
 prising 320 acres of timberland, which he 
 had cleared and improved. On October 8, 
 1 87 1, his two barns, his residence, fences 
 and all the improvements that could be 
 burned were destro3ed by the fire. Since 
 then he has built a fine residence and 
 good barns, having settled on the place in 
 April, 1872, the year the township was 
 formed, and has since been a continuous 
 resident. Prior to the fire he lived away 
 seventeen and one-half years at Lake 
 Nowelay. 
 
 Mr. Peck was united in marriage, in 
 Peshtigo township, in the fall of 1855, 
 with Miss Tonoce, a native of Wisconsin, 
 and they have had six children, namely : 
 Afar\', now Mrs. William Conant; Jane, 
 Mrs. Lyman Conant; and Julia, Mrs. 
 George Nickerson, all three residing in 
 Grover township; Rosa, Mrs. John Nfc- 
 Gregor, of Peshtigo village; Edward J., 
 who died October 12, 1895, aged thirty- 
 six years and six months; and Franklin 
 B., who is married and conducts the home 
 farin. The family attend the M. E. 
 Church, of which ^^r. Peck is a liberal 
 supporter. 
 
 During the early days Nf r. Peck was a 
 great hunter, averaging about one hun- 
 dred deer during a hunting season, and 
 even now he enjoys a hunting and fishing 
 trip. He is among the early pioneers of 
 Marinette county, and the oldest settler 
 in Sugar Bush, Grover township, which 
 township he assisted in organizing, also 
 
 building the schoolhouse, and in otiier 
 37 
 
 ways aiding in its improvement. He has 
 seen Marinette grow from a place of but 
 three houses to its present magnitude. 
 Mr. Peck votes with the I\epublican party, 
 and cast his first vote for W'inficld Scott. 
 For seven years he served as supervisor 
 of Peshtigo township, has been school 
 treasurer since 1872, taking great interest 
 in educational matters. Socially he is a 
 member of Peshtigo Lodge, f. O. O. F., 
 Subordinate Lodge and Encampment, 
 is now chief patriarch, and has been a 
 member at Peshtigo since 1871. Mr. 
 Peck is and for years has been a banker 
 among the farmers, loaning money, etc. 
 He is the architect of his own fortunes, 
 and is nowthe owner of 360 acres of land. 
 
 
 
 C. MADSEN. Among the citi- 
 zens of foreign birth who have 
 sought homes in America, and lie- 
 come worthy sons of their adopted 
 land, is this gentleman who claims Den- 
 mark as the place of his nativity. He 
 was there born in the island of Moen, in 
 1856, and is a son of Mads and Christina 
 (Madsen) Nelson, also natives of Den- 
 mark; the father died in 1889, the mother 
 in 1891. They had a family of five chil- 
 dren : ^^rs. Catherine Hemingsen, of 
 Waupaca, Wis.; Peter, who is living in 
 Oshkosh, Wis.; O. C, subject of this 
 review; Mrs. Lizzie Frandsen, who died 
 in Oshkosh, in 1890; and Jens, living in 
 Oshkosh. 
 
 O. C. Madsen spent the greater part of 
 his childhood and youth in his native 
 land. In 1S75 he crossed the Atlantic to 
 the New World, and made his way to 
 Oshkosh, Wis., where he supplemented 
 his earlier educational privileges by a 
 course in the Daggett Business College, 
 from which he was graduated. He also 
 attended night school, and pursued his 
 studies in the public school of Angelica, 
 Shawano Co., Wis., whither he removed 
 in 1877. During his residence there he 
 earned his livelihood in the capacity of 
 night watchman. Subsequently he was 
 
640 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 employed in the lumber mills at Pen- 
 saukee, Oconto county, and with the cap- 
 ital he acquired through his diligence and 
 perseverance, combined with careful 
 saving, he returned to Oshkosh, where in 
 1884 he established a grocery store, car- 
 rying on business along that line until 
 1887. 
 
 The latter year witnessed his arrival 
 in Chase township, Oconto county. He 
 was accompanied by his wife, whom he 
 had married in Oshkosh in 1886, and who 
 bore the maiden name of Miss Dora Han- 
 sen. She was born in Denmark, and is 
 a daughter of Hans Olson, a farmer of 
 that country. Two children grace the 
 union of our subject and his wife — Oscar 
 and Anna. Their home is a good farm 
 of 280 acres, which Mr. Madsen pur- 
 chased on his arrival in Chase township. 
 It was then covered by a dense growth of 
 timber, but he at once began to clear 
 and improve it, and now a highly-devel- 
 oped tract of eighty acres yields to him a 
 golden tribute in return for his care and 
 labor. He is a man of excellent business 
 and executive ability, and his name is 
 synonymous with honorable dealing. 
 
 Mr. Madsen exercises his right of 
 franchise in support of the men and 
 measures of the Democracy. In 1890 he 
 was elected a member of the town board 
 of supervisors, and since 1891 has served 
 as chairman. During that period three 
 iron bridges have been erected, and 
 everything is in first-class condition. He 
 has also served as justice of the peace, 
 and his impartial bearing and fidelity to 
 duty have won him high commendation. 
 Mr. Madsen is a self-made man who owes 
 his success in life to his own efforts. 
 
 Hl'GII ERLEY, one of the prac- 
 tical and progressive farmers of 
 Little Suamico township, Oconto 
 county, residing in Section 18, 
 was born in Canada in 1S30, and is a 
 son of Thomas and Mary (Matthews) Er- 
 
 ley, who in his young boyhood days re- 
 moved to New York. In that State he 
 was reared and acquired his education 
 in its public schools. The stories told of 
 the Far West and its privileges attracted 
 him so much that in 1857 he left the Em- 
 pire State for Detroit, Mich., where he 
 spent the succeeding winter. In the 
 spring he removed to Green Bay, Wis., 
 and in November of that year came to 
 Oconto county, arriving in Little Suamico 
 township on the 17th of the month. Here 
 he soon secured employment with J. T. 
 Moore, and was engaged in lumbering, 
 being employed in the woods for some 
 years. 
 
 Mr. Erley had no capital when he ar- 
 rived here, but he was industrious and 
 enterprising, and by frugality and well- 
 directed efforts he accumulated a sufficient 
 capital to purchase a tract of land, in 
 1875 becoming owner of 160 acres in 
 Section 18, Little Suamico township. 
 This he at once began to improve, and he 
 now has a quarter section, one half of 
 which is cleared and under a high state 
 of cultivation, improved with a good resi- 
 dence and substantial barns. 
 
 Mr. Erley was married in Allegany 
 county, N. Y. , to Miss Margaret Chien, a 
 native of Ireland, the wedding being cele- 
 brated April I, 1852, in Canada. Six 
 children have blessed this union: Isadore 
 B., born February 2, 1853. and died in 
 New York; Lewis Sherrell, residing in 
 British Columbia; Mary Isadore, who 
 died in Little Suamico township, in 1866; 
 George Jewett, who died in the same 
 township, in 1868; Margaret Anne (now 
 Mrs. O'Connell), of Quinnesec, Mich.; 
 Nina Ellen (now Mrs. Jermaiin), of 
 Escanaba, Michigan. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Erley is a supporter of 
 the Republican party, and for about eight 
 years has served as the efficient chairman 
 of the town board of supervisors. The 
 county numbers him among its honored 
 pioneers, and he belongs to the sturdy 
 band of frontiersmen who have aided in 
 the development and upbuilding of this 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BTOORAPIIWAL RECORD. 
 
 64, 
 
 region, and have ever faithfully performed 
 their duties of citizenship, thus promoting 
 the puhlic welfare. By his earnest and 
 progressive efforts he has also achieved 
 success. 
 
 SAMUEL DODDS, who devotes his 
 time and energies to farming in 
 Section 7, Pensaukee township, is 
 a representative of one of the hon- 
 ored pioneer families of Oconto county, 
 having made his home here since i860. 
 
 He was born in Canada in 1852, and 
 is a son of John and Rebecca (McMahon) 
 Dodds, who were natives of the Emerald 
 Isle. After their marriage, celebrated in 
 that country, they removed to Canada, 
 and in 18G0 came to Oconto county. 
 Here in the midst of the forest they made 
 a settlement; but the father was not long 
 permitted to enjoy his new home, his 
 death occurring in 1862. His wife still 
 survives him. They had a family of seven 
 children, namely: William, who resides 
 in Pensaukee township; Joseph, who died 
 in March, 1892; John, at home; Mrs. 
 Martha Bibby; and Mrs. Rebecca John- 
 son, both living in Pensaukee townsliip; 
 Samuel, the subject of this sketch; and 
 Mary, who is hving on the old home farm. 
 Being only eight years of age at the 
 time of the arrival of the family here, our 
 subject has therefore spent the greater 
 part of his life in his locality, and has 
 always been engaged in farming. He 
 owns 160 acres of land in Section 7, Pen- 
 saukee township, the greater part of 
 which is improved, and the well-tilled 
 fields yield to him a golden tribute in re- 
 turn for the care and labor he bestows 
 upon them. The place is neatandthrifty in 
 its appearance, and he is recognized as an 
 enterprising and progressive farmer. In 
 his political views he has always been a 
 stalwart Republican, and as a loyal citi- 
 zen he has aided in all matters of public 
 improvement, giving his support to every 
 enterprise calculated to advance the gen- 
 eral welfare. 
 
 JOHN P. SEYMOUR is the oldest 
 living settler of either Marinette or 
 Oconto counties. He came to 
 Peshtigo, in 1S40, and has since 
 been a witness to the growth and devel- 
 opment of this section of the State, hav- 
 ing seen its wild lands transformed into 
 good homes and farms, its lumber and 
 mining interests established, and the work 
 of improvement carried on until the coun- 
 try bears little resemblance to-day to its 
 appearance of half a century ago. 
 
 He was born in l:)Ioomlield, Ontario 
 Co., N. Y. , in 1 8 14, and has tlierefore 
 lived through every Presidential admin- 
 istration from the time of Madison. 
 His parents were Charles and Hannah 
 (Pool) Seymour, the former a native of 
 Connecticut, born of English ancestry, the 
 latter born in Massachusetts of Scotch 
 parentage. The father, who was a cabinet 
 maker, emigrated in 1827 to Dexter, 
 Mich., where he followed that occupa- 
 tion. Both he and his wife spent their 
 remaining days in the Wolverine State, 
 his death occurring at the age of 
 eighty-six, and Mrs. Seymour passing 
 away at the age of eighty-four. 
 They reared a family of four children: 
 Isaac, who came to Peshtigo, Wis., 
 and died some years ago; John P.: Will- 
 iam, who was a physician and surgeon, 
 and died in Virginia; and Mrs. Ellen 
 Johnson, who died in Michigan in 1895. 
 The subject proper of this sketch was 
 reared in the State of his nativity and in 
 Michigan. When he had attained his 
 majority, he came to Wisconsin, locating 
 first in Sheboygan, afterward removing to 
 the Milwaukee river, where he built one 
 of the first mills in the State. In 1840 
 he arrived in Peshtigo, and entered the 
 employ of Bailey, Leavenworth & Jones, 
 owners of a lumber mill which was built 
 in 1S38. For twenty-two years he was 
 there employed, although the mill was 
 owned by several different parties during 
 that period, finall}' becoming the property 
 of the Peshtigo Company. In 1862 Mr. 
 Seymour located in Peshtigo township. 
 
642 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 where he purchased hardwood-timber 
 land, becoming owner of 160 acres, sixty 
 of which he cleared. On that farm he 
 lived from 1862 until locating in Township 
 32, where he opened up a farm that con- 
 tinued his place of abode for fourteen 
 years. His ne.xt home was forty miles 
 up the river, and he devoted his time and 
 energies to hunting and fishing. He also 
 began the development of a tract of land, 
 but being taken ill was brought to Ellis 
 Junction about the year 1888. He is 
 now living retired in Crivitz, enjoying a 
 well-earned rest. 
 
 Mr. Seymour was married in Pesh- 
 tigo. Wis., in 1842, to Miss Polmacoche, 
 and to their union was born a son, John 
 S., married, and residing near Rhine- 
 lander, Wis. The mother died in 1886. 
 The five grandchildren of the family are 
 Arthur, William, John, Georgie(now Mrs. 
 Duket, of Peshtigo, who has one son), 
 and Charlie. 
 
 In early life Mr. Seymour was a sup- 
 porter of the Democracy, but since the 
 Civil war has been a Republican, and 
 though now well advanced in years he 
 takes a deep interest in political affairs. 
 His name is inseparably connected with 
 the history of that locality. P"or twenty 
 years he served as postmaster at Pesh- 
 tigo, and for twenty-one consecutive 
 years was justice of the peace, being ap- 
 pointed to that position during the Terri- 
 torial days of Wisconsin. He aided in 
 the formation of the State, and in the or- 
 ganization of Marinette county. Forfifty- 
 five years he has lived in the same locality, 
 locating there when not a white woman 
 lived in the county. The work c>f pro- 
 gress and civilization seemed hardly be- 
 gun — in fact he was one of the leaders of 
 the honored band of pioneers who made 
 future development possible. In former 
 days he carried the mail from Green Bay 
 to Escanaba, and knew everybody living 
 along the route. At one time he knew 
 every business man from Fond du Lac to 
 Marquette, and scarcely a man in Wiscon- 
 sin has a wider acquaintance than Mr. 
 
 Seymour. Seven times he walked from 
 Peshtigo to Chicago, and on his mail 
 boat he carried passengers to Green Bay. 
 The years passed, and the once unbroken 
 forests have fallen before the woodman's 
 axe, and the wild prairies have been trans- 
 formed into rich and fertile fields. Mr. 
 Seymour has ever taken an active interest 
 in the work of public improvement, has 
 in no small degree identified himself with 
 the progress and advancement, and to- day 
 he stands one of the most esteemed and 
 revered citizens of the State. 
 
 DL. BUSH is the owner of one of 
 the most highl^'-improved farms 
 in Oconto county, and, in con- 
 nection with agricultural pursuits, 
 is extensively engaged in lumbering. He 
 is numbered among the honored pioneers 
 of the locality, and in aiding in the work 
 of opening up the county to civilization 
 has merited the public gratitude, while 
 his well-spent life certainly entitles him 
 to the high regard in which he is held. 
 
 Mr. Bush was born in Sullivan coun- 
 ty, N. Y. , in 1833, and is a son of Benja- 
 min and Ellen (Letts) Bush, also natives 
 of the Empire State. There the father 
 followed farming until his death in March, 
 1888. His wife died in February, of the 
 following year; she was a daughter of one 
 of the Revolutionary heroes who valiantly 
 aided in the struggle for independence, 
 and was also a life-long resident of New 
 York. Mr. and Mrs. Bush had a family 
 of eleven children, namely: D. L. ; Mrs. 
 Harriet Sayres, of Peckville, Penn. ; 
 Frank, who resides in Leavenworth, 
 Wash. ; Isaac, living at Mountain Top, 
 Penn. ; Martha (now Mrs. Foster), of 
 Peckville, Penn. ; Henry, who is living in 
 Ashland, Penn. ; Mrs. Mary Dunn, also 
 of Ashland; John, who resides in Wash- 
 ington; Charley, who is living in Port 
 Jervis, N. Y. ; Augusta, married and resid- 
 ing in New York; and Howard, also liv- 
 ing in Port Jervis. 
 
 Our subject was reareil in Sullivan 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 643 
 
 county, and its public schools supplied 
 his educational facilities. When about 
 twenty-two years of age he sought a home 
 in Wisconsin, believing that he might 
 have better opportunities than in the older 
 and more thickly-settled States of the 
 East. Accordingly he located at Green 
 Bay, and for one season worked in the 
 mill of Judge Arndt. He then came to 
 Pensaukee, Wis., July 5, 1855, and en- 
 tered the service of F. B. Gardner, a 
 well-known hunbernian, with whom he 
 remained for a number of years. The 
 pursuits of civil life were interrupted, in 
 1864, by his enlistment in Company D, 
 Forty-fourth Wis. V. I. He was pro- 
 moted to the rank of captain October 19 
 of that year, and served with the Western 
 army, doing duty at Nashville and Padu- 
 cah. At the latter place he was honor- 
 ably discharged August 28, 1865, and at 
 once returned to his home in Pensaukee 
 township, Oconto county. He resumed 
 lumbering, and for thirty-five years has 
 been engaged in business on his own ac- 
 count. He is now connected with the 
 Diamond Match Company, at Ontonagon, 
 Mich., and has a very extensive trade, 
 having during the winter of 1894-95 fur- 
 nished employment to 200 workmen. He 
 is an excellent judge of lumber, is thor- 
 oughly conversant with everything con- 
 cerning this line of industry, and his capa- 
 ble management, enterprise and honor- 
 able effort has brought to him a well- 
 merited success. He has also been 
 interested in farming. By his first pur- 
 chase of land he became owner of 114 
 acres, which he cleared, and as his finan- 
 cial resources increased he added to this 
 property until he now owns a valuable 
 tract of 300 acres, the greater part of 
 which is under a high state of cultivation. 
 In 1887 he improved his residence, has 
 erected three substantial barns and a 
 large carriage house, and to-day has one 
 of the best improved farms in Oconto 
 county, which is largely superintended by 
 his wife. 
 
 Mr. Bush was married in Green Bay, 
 
 Wis., in 1858, to Miss Genevieve B. Hard- 
 wick, a native of that city, and a daughter 
 of Moses and Charlotte (La Rock) Hard- 
 wick, the former a native of Lexington, 
 Ky. , the latter of Green Bay. The father 
 removed from his native State to Sandus- 
 ky, Ohio, and served in the war of 1812. 
 In 1819 he went to Fort Howard, Wis., 
 with the first soldiers there stationed, and 
 continued there while troops were at that 
 post. He was married in Green Bay to 
 Charlotte, the daughter of John and Mary 
 La Rock, early settlers of Brown county, 
 Wis., who spent a greater part of their 
 lives there. After the troops had been 
 called from Fort Howard Mr. Hardwick 
 acted as guide and mail carrier, carrying 
 the mail from Green Bay to Chicago and 
 Detroit, making the trip on foot. He 
 was one of the prominent men of that 
 early day, and in 1846 he came to Pen- 
 saukee, where he kept the first tavern on 
 the shore. There he made his home un- 
 til 1865, when he removed to Scott town- 
 ship. Brown county. His death occurred 
 there in August, i 880; his wife is still living 
 there at the age of seventy-seven, her 
 birth having occurred at Fort Howard, in 
 1S19. To Mr. and Mrs. Hardwick were 
 born as follows: Moses, who died in 
 Scott township, Brown county; Lewis, 
 living in Menominee, Mich. ; Mrs. Kate 
 Russaul, of Scott township, whose hus- 
 band is a soldier; Mrs. Bush; Henry and 
 Emily, both of whom died at the age of 
 two years; George, who was drowned in 
 Green Bay at the age of eighteen; David, 
 living in Scott township. Brown county; 
 Elizabeth, deceased at the age of eight 
 years; and Mrs. Polly Shane, who died in 
 Oconto in 1880. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Bush have been born 
 seven children: Wilbur, married, and 
 residing in Green Bay; Mrs. Hattie Sar- 
 gent, of Pensaukee, Wis. ; Sherman, mar- 
 ried and making his home in Pensaukee 
 township; Frank, a lumberman; Edgar 
 G., assistant cashier of the First National 
 Bank of Iron Mountain, Mich., having 
 occupied that position since the age of 
 
644 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 fifteen years; Ola, wife of K. J. Mclver, 
 of Stiles, Wis.; and Eugene C, attending 
 school at Valparaiso, Indiana. 
 
 Mr. Bush al\va3S casts his ballot in 
 support of the men and measures of the 
 Republican party, and has served as 
 township supervisor; socially he is affili- 
 ated with the Masonic Lodge of Green 
 Bay. His wife is a member of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church of Abrams. They 
 are numbered among the most highly 
 esteemed people of the community, as well 
 as among the honored pioneer settlers. 
 
 WH. ROBINSON, of Marinette, 
 was born in Canada in i860, 
 and is the son of James and De- 
 lilah (Warner) Robinson. The 
 father was born in Ireland, at an early 
 date emigrating to Canada, whence, after 
 living there for some time, he removed to 
 New York, where his death occurred in 
 St. Lawrence county in 1877. The 
 mother died in 1864. They had four 
 sons : Simeon, the eldest, lives in West 
 Bend, Iowa ; W. H. comes next in the 
 order of birth ; Adam L. , in West Bend ; 
 George resides on Barnhart Island, in the 
 St. Lawrence river. New York. 
 
 The subject of tnis sketch was reared 
 and educated in St. Lawrence county, 
 N. Y. , learned his trade there, and in 
 1 88 1 came to Marinette, Wis., where he 
 worked at same until he began the busi- 
 ness of contracting on his own account, 
 having had some experience in that line 
 before leaving the East. His specialty is 
 the erection of fine residences, in which 
 he has been engaged since 1887, and has 
 built many of the handsomest in the cit}', 
 among which may be mentioned those of 
 Simpson & Scodder, A. R. Loring, W. B. 
 Hogan, William Stephenson, and the 
 Diamond residence. In 1892 he built 
 for his own use, on Pierce avenue, a very 
 fine two-story frame building, 26x52 
 feet, with a double "L" of the same 
 height. He does outside work, and takes 
 special pains to please and satisfy his 
 
 patrons, making his own plans, specifica- 
 tions and architectural drawings. He 
 gives emploj'ment to about eight men, 
 and has been engaged in carpenter work 
 ever since coming to Marinette. 
 
 Mr. Robinson was married February 
 6, 1888, in St. Lawrence county, N. Y. , 
 to Miss Euphemia Thompson, a native of 
 that county, and daughter of William and 
 Barbara (Mowatt) Thompson, the former 
 of whom was a native of England, and one 
 of the pioneers of St. Lawrence county ; 
 he was a farmer of that county, and died 
 in 1875. Mrs. Robinson's mother died in 
 July, 1893, having lived fiftj-four years 
 on the same farm. To our subject and 
 wife have been born children as follows : 
 Homer William, and Mabel Euphemia. 
 Mr. Robinson is a Republican in politics, 
 and takes an interest in all movements 
 tending toward the growth and improve- 
 ment of the city and county. He is one 
 of the best known contractors and build- 
 ers of Marinette. 
 
 GEORGE W. RUGG, well-known 
 as a prosperous agriculturlist of 
 Little River township, Oconto 
 county, is a native of New York 
 State, born in 1840 in Tompkins county. 
 His parents, Lorenzo and Mary (Sim- 
 mons) Rugg, were also born in New York 
 State, where they died, the mother when 
 George was but a child, the father in 1 879. 
 They had two children: Caroline (now 
 Mrs. Robinson), of Kalamazoo, Mich., 
 and George W. Lorenzo Rugg was a 
 shingle manufacturer. George W. Rugg 
 was reared in his native State, where, in 
 Albany county he received his education. 
 In 1861 he enlisted at Albany in Com- 
 pany M, Fifth New York Cavalry, for 
 three j'ears. being assigned to the army of 
 the Potomac, and participated in the en- 
 gagements at Antietam. Chantilly, Gettys- 
 burg and second Bull Run. In Septem- 
 ber, 1863, at Fairfax C. H., Va., he was 
 taken ])risoner and conveyed to Libby 
 Prison, thence shortly afterward to Belle 
 
COMMEMOliAriVE BIOGRAPUWAL RECORD. 
 
 645 
 
 Isle, where he was confined five months, 
 next spending seven months in Anderson- 
 ville, whence he was finally removed to 
 Milan, Ga. After an imprisonment there 
 of two months, he was exchanged and 
 sent to Annapolis, Md., after experiencing 
 fourteen months of confinement in some 
 of the most noted Southern prisons. In 
 1865 he was honorably discharged in New 
 York City, returning to Albany, where he 
 attended school for a time. 
 
 In 1865 Mr. Rugg was married, in 
 Schoharie county, N. Y., to Mary Riden- 
 burgh, who was born in New York State. 
 Her parents, George and Ann (Talliday) 
 Ridenburgh, were also natives of that 
 State, where they passed their entire lives, 
 the father dj-ing in 1887, aged eighty-four 
 years, six months, the mother in March, 
 1892, at the age of eighty-two years, nine 
 months. To Mr. and Mrs. Rugg five 
 children have been born, viz. : Arthur 
 (married), who lives in Talbot, Mich. ; 
 Augusta (Mrs. Anderson), also of Talbot, 
 Mich.; Elmere E., engineer in the mill at 
 Talbot, Mich. ; Jennie, and George. 
 
 In 1870 Mr. Rugg came to Wisconsin, 
 and has since made his home in Oconto 
 county. In the year of his arrival he pur- 
 chased his present farm, which comprises 
 eighty acres of good land, lying in Sections 
 32 and 29, and which was then in the 
 midst of a forest, and without improve- 
 ments of any description. He located 
 here the same year, in 1872 erecting a 
 good frame residence. In 1895 Mr. Rugg 
 built a barn 26 x 50 feet in dimensions, 
 with 16-foot posts, and he has made 
 numerous improvements on his land, 
 sixty acres of which he has cleared and 
 placed under the plow. He is also a 
 stockholder in the creamery of Little River 
 township. Although Mr. Rugg has devo- 
 ted himself assiduously to his agricultural 
 interests, he has found time to serve his 
 fellow citizens, who have called him to 
 various local positions of trust. At pres- 
 ent he is serving his second term as town 
 clerk ; he has been justice of the peace four- 
 teen years; school clerk, thirteen years in 
 
 succession ;and also served as township as- 
 sessor. Politically he is a Republican. Hav- 
 ing been a witness to many of the changes 
 that have been made in his locality in the 
 past quarter of a century, he has taken a 
 loyal interest and pride in everything re- 
 lating to its development, and especially 
 that of the township and county of his 
 adoption. 
 
 ODILON BRAULT, a prosperous 
 farmer and mill-owner of Cole- 
 man township, Marinette county, 
 is a member of the first family 
 who settled in the township, their resi- 
 dence there dating from 1870. 
 
 Mr. Brault's parents, Joseph and 
 Euphemia (Bourgeois) Brault, were na- 
 tives of Joliette county, Province of Que- 
 bec, Canada, where the father was en- 
 gaged in business for years, both as a 
 lumberman and merchant. In the course 
 of his business life there he erected three 
 sawmills and a gristmill. In 1868 he 
 came to Wisconsin, locating in Marinette 
 county in 1869, in March of the same year 
 going to Menominee. In 1870 he home- 
 steaded 160 acres in Coleman township 
 (which, like the entire surrounding region, 
 was then all in the woods), and here 
 erected a good two-story house, which 
 stood until 1S95, when it was destroyed 
 by fire. On this land the family made a 
 permanent settlement, and Mr. Brault 
 spent the rest of his life in its cultivation 
 and improvement. In 18S3 he put up a 
 sawmill and gristmill, 80x44 feet in di- 
 mensions, and two stories in height, and 
 in addition to his farming and milling op- 
 erations conducted a store, becoming a 
 prosperous man. He was active in pub- 
 lic affairs and improvements, as well as 
 an enterprising business man, and the 
 town of Braultville was named in his 
 honor. He passed from earth April 15, 
 1887, aged sixty-three years, four months, 
 seventeen days, and was followed to the 
 grave by his wife May 23, 1890, who was 
 aged sixty-seven years, three months, 
 
646 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 three days. They had a family of nine 
 children — six sons and three daughters — 
 all the living ones, with the exception of 
 Leon, being residents of Coleman town- 
 ship: Joseph (who is married), Lugene, 
 Odilon (of whom this biography more 
 particularl}" relates), Sinai, Edmond, Leon 
 (who lives in Montreal, Canada), Justine 
 (who died February 17, 1895), Julien 
 (Mrs. John Belanger) and Azarean (Mrs. 
 Jebeau). 
 
 Odilon Brault was born, in 1853, in 
 Joliette county. Province of Quebec, 
 Canada, and was there reared and edu- 
 cated up to the age of fourteen, when he 
 came with his parents to Wisconsin. The 
 trip was made from Lake Superior to 
 Green Bay, thence to Peshtigo, Mari- 
 nette count)-, where they first located in 
 1869. In 1870 he came thence to Cole- 
 man township, here for a time working 
 for the Peshtigo Lumber Co. Since 1883 
 he has engaged in milling, his present 
 mill having been erected in 1892, and he 
 owns twelve acres of land besides. The 
 mill gives employment to nine men be- 
 sides the proprietor himself, and during 
 the winters they cut from 400,000 to 
 500,000 feet of timber, principall}' for 
 farmers, in the summer time engaging in 
 the manufacture of shingles, the shingle- 
 mill turning out an average of 20,000 a 
 day. 
 
 Mr. Brault was married, in 1S80, in 
 Menominee, to Miss Lucy Niguett, who 
 was born in Manitowoc county. Wis., 
 daughter of Dclphos Niguett, a native of 
 Canada, who in an early day came to 
 Manitowoc count}'. Wis., where he was 
 married; he now resides in Coleman town- 
 ship, Marinette county, where he owns a 
 240-acre farm. Before her marriage Mrs, 
 Brault taught school in Coleman town- 
 ship. Twelve children have come to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Odilon Brault, namely: Eddie, 
 Andrew, Albert, Clara, Anna, Addie, 
 Lucy, Emma, Olive, Eliza, Elmyra and 
 Mary. As a pioneer and almost life-long 
 resident of the township, Mr. Brault has 
 witnessed most of its development, and 
 
 has noted with interest the rapid strides 
 of advancement which have been made 
 in the past few years. When the family 
 settled on the timber-covered farm they 
 experienced for a time many of the incon- 
 veniences and hardships which necessarily 
 fall to the lot of pioneers, and in the fire 
 of 1 87 1 the improvements which had thus 
 far been made were all wiped out by the 
 destroying element — their barns and 
 crops, everything, in fact, except the 
 house, which was fortunately saved. The 
 large mill erected by the elder Mr. Brault 
 was burned February 13, 1891. Our 
 subject and his wife are Catholics in re- 
 ligious faith, being membersof the Church 
 of St. John the Baptist, at Coleman. 
 Politically, he is an active Republican, 
 one who takes a warm interest in the suc- 
 cess of his party, and ardentlj- supports its 
 principles. He has served as treasurer 
 of the school board. 
 
 HENRY J. PLACE, a leading and 
 progressive agriculturist of Gro- 
 ver township, Marinette county, 
 whose well-kept farm lies in Sec- 
 tion 3, is a native of the county, having 
 been born in Peshtigo township, June 7, 
 
 1853- 
 
 Abrah.\m Pl.\ce, father of our subject, 
 was born January 20, 1818, in Chitten- 
 den county, Vt., and when about twelve 
 years old was taken bj' his parents to St. 
 Lawrence county, N. Y. , where he re- 
 ceived the most of his education. In 
 1837 he came to Wisconsin, at first mak- 
 ing his home at Green Bay, in the spring 
 of the following year moving to Peshtigo, 
 where for six years he was in the employ 
 of the Peshtigo Lumber Co., in Bailey's 
 mill, after which he located on the Pesh- 
 tigo river and opened up a farm. There 
 he did a vast amount of trading with the 
 Indians, and for a long time acted in the 
 capacity of agent for them in paying them 
 and otherwise attending to their wants. 
 In about the 3'ear 1850 he settled in what 
 
ABRAHAM I'LACK. 
 
/^- 
 
 ^c^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 647 
 
 is now Grover township as a pioneer of 
 same, buying a farm in the woods which 
 he improved and added to, findinf^ him- 
 self, at the time of his death, in Novem- 
 ber, 1 891, the owner of 600 acres of well- 
 improved land, with good buildings there- 
 on. In his day he was a well-known 
 representative man in northern Wiscon- 
 sin, prominent in many ways, and an ex- 
 tensive agriculturist, one who had much 
 weight in the then young community. In 
 his political preferences he was a stout 
 Whig, later a no less zealous Republican, 
 and for ten years he was treasurer of the 
 school board. His widow, Mrs. Eliza- 
 beth Place, is now passing her declining 
 years at the home of her son Henry J. 
 
 The subject proper of these lines re- 
 ceived a good education at the public 
 schools of his native township, and was 
 reared to farming pursuits. He now owns 
 a good farm of 400 acres in Grover town- 
 ship (the largest farm in that township), 
 and eighty in Peshtigo, 200 of which are 
 cleared; he also raises a high grade of 
 live stock. At the time of the never-to- 
 be-forgotten conflagration of 1871 he lost 
 his fences, but fortunately the buildings 
 were saved. In 1879, in Peshtigo town- 
 ship, Mr. Place was united in marriage 
 with Miss Nellie Bump, who was born in 
 New York State, an adopted daughter of 
 Charles and Harriet (Peasley) Bump, of 
 the same nativity, who came to Wiscon- 
 sin in 1872, settling in the woods of Pesh- 
 tigo township, where they opened up a 
 farm and are yet residing. To this mar- 
 riage have been born six children, named 
 respectively: Heman, Norman, Edith, 
 William, Winfred and Janet. 
 
 In his political sentiments Mr. Place 
 is a Republican, and takes an active in- 
 terest in the affairs of the party. He has 
 been clerk of the school district, and is 
 now serving his second term as school 
 treasurer. He is a well-read man, keep- 
 ing closely in touch with the times, and is 
 one of those sturdy, practical husbandmen 
 who are of the most useful kind to any 
 country, be it new or old. 
 
 JOB E. PLACE, a substantialfarmer 
 of Grover township, Marinette coun- 
 ty, was born, in 1834, in Chittenden, 
 Vt., and is a son of Lyman and Susan 
 (Jackson) Place, who were born in St. 
 Lawrence county. New York. 
 
 Lyman Place was a farmer in New 
 York State, where he died in St. Law- 
 rence county, in 1859; his wife died in 
 Marinette county, Wis., in 1857. They 
 had the followingchildren: Abraham, who 
 resided in Grover township, and died 
 there; Hannah, wife of A. C. Stearns, 
 of Louisville, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y. ; 
 Guy, who died in New York, in 1824; 
 Henry, in New York; Andrew, in St. Law- 
 rence county, N. Y. ; Catherine, Mrs. 
 Clement Place, residing in Chittenden 
 county, Vt. ; Job E. , subject of this sketch ; 
 and John, residing in Peshtigo township. 
 
 Up to the age of seventeen Job E. 
 Place was reared to farm life in St. Law- 
 rence county, N. Y. In October became 
 to Peshtigo, Marinette Co. , Wis. , entering 
 the employ of the Peshtigo Lumber Co., 
 with whom he remained till 1857. At Bur- 
 lington, Vt., on July 17, 1856, Job E. 
 Place was united in marriage with Sarah 
 Ann Kenyon, who was born in Vermont, 
 and they had four children, namely: Eu- 
 gene, married, and residing in Marinette, 
 Marinette county; Byron, at home; Ered; 
 and Susan, who died in 1892. Mrs. Place 
 died in 1889. Her parents, Gaston and 
 Sarah Ann Kenyon, were born in Ver- 
 mont; the father died in Paw Paw, Mich. , 
 the mother now making her home in Kala- 
 mazoo, that State. 
 
 In 1857 Mr. Place bought a tract of 
 160 acres in Section 21, Grover township, 
 where he now resides. It was then all 
 timber land, and in the midst of a dense 
 forest, with no improvements and no 
 roads, only a trail through the wilderness. 
 He labored diligently, cleared the land, 
 and put up a good residence. By the fire 
 of 1 87 1 he lost house, cattle and nearly 
 everything that could be burned; but he 
 has since put up good buildings, and has 
 nearly all of his 160-acre farm in a good 
 
648 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 state of cultivation. On August 9, 1890, 
 Mr. Place was again married, taking for 
 his second wife Mrs. Rebecca Hale, widow 
 of John Hale, who died in Peshtigo in 
 1886, and they have had two children: 
 Ralph and Leah Bell. Mr. and Mrs. Hale 
 had one child, Lila Hale. Mrs. Place 
 was born in Canada, and her parents were 
 John and Eliza Ann (Bowen) Utter, 
 from Canada and Pembroke, N. Y., re- 
 spectively. They came to Peshtigo in 
 1 88 1, and made their home in Upper Bush, 
 Peshtigo township, where Mrs. Utter now 
 resides, Mr. Utter having died in Feb- 
 ruary, 1890. They reared nine children, 
 as follows: John, residing in Peshtigo; 
 Esther, deceased; David, residing in Pesh- 
 tigo; Lucy, Mrs. Quantz, residing in Michi- 
 gan; Abrani, Jacob and Henry, residing 
 in Peshtigo; Harriet, Mrs. Phillips, of 
 Peshtigo township; and Rebecca, Mrs. 
 Place. 
 
 Mr. Place votes with the Republican 
 party, and has been supervisor of Grover 
 township. He has been a resident of 
 Marinette county for forty-si.\ years, has 
 seen most of its growth and development, 
 and is well and favorably known. 
 
 JAMES McCLURE, a representative 
 farmer of Oconto county, living in 
 Section 25, Chase township, was 
 born in Ireland in 1830, and is a son 
 of Robert and Margaret (Sleath) McClure, 
 also natives of the Emerald Isle. 
 
 In 1835 the father emigrated with his 
 family to Sanilac county, Mich., where he 
 made his home until his death in 1840; 
 his wife passed away several years pre- 
 vious. They were the parents of si.\ chil- 
 dren: John, who came to Brown county, 
 Wis., in 1866, and died in Chase town- 
 ship, Oconto county, in May, 1876; 
 James; George, a resident of Greenlcaf, 
 Brown Co., Wis., who served for one 
 year in the Civil war; Alex, who enlisted 
 in the Si.xth Michigan Cavalry, and was 
 killed in the battle of the Wilderness; 
 Nathan, who was also a member of the 
 
 Sixth Michigan Cavalry, and is now living 
 in the Wolverine State; and Margaret, 
 who died in Michigan. 
 
 Our subject was a child of but five 
 years when he accompanied his father to 
 the New World. He was reared in Mich- 
 igan, educated in its common schools, 
 and in i860 removed to Brown county, 
 \\'is., where for some time he was em- 
 ployed in the lumber woods. In the 
 year of his arrival in this State he wedded 
 Miss Elizabeth Roberts, the ceremony 
 being performed in St. Clair county, 
 Mich. The lady is a native of Halifax, 
 Nova Scotia, and a daughter of George 
 and Agnes fOgleby) Roberts, the former 
 born in Ireland, the latter in England. 
 In early life they became residents of 
 Nova Scotia, whence they removed to St. 
 Clair county, Mich., casting in their lot 
 with its pioneer settlers. There the father 
 died in 1871, and there the mother is 
 still living. 
 
 Mr. McClure continued to follow lum- 
 bering in Brown county until his enlist- 
 ment for service in the Union army. At 
 Green Bay, Wis., he joined Company A, 
 Fifty-second Wis. V. I., for one year or 
 during the war, and was mustered into 
 the United States service at Madison, 
 proceeding thence to St. Louis, to Jeffer- 
 son Barracks, on to Jefferson City, and 
 to Iron Mountain. The command then 
 moved on to Pleasant Hill, next to Kansas 
 Cit}', from there to Fort Leavenworth 
 and to Fort Riley, Kans. Subsequently 
 he returned to Fort Leavenworth, and 
 was there mustered out, while, in Madi- 
 son, Wis., m August, 1865, he was hon- 
 orably discharged. 
 
 Coming to Oconto county, Mr. Mc- 
 Clure purchased eighty acres of timber 
 land in Section 25, Chase township, and 
 began to clear and improve the farm. 
 He now owns 120 acres with seventy 
 acres under cultivation, and is recognized 
 as one of the leading and substantial 
 farmers of the community. Here he and 
 his wife have reared a family of six chil- 
 dren, namely: Mrs. Nettie Laffaw, of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGBAPUWAL RECORD. 
 
 649 
 
 Menominee, Mich. ; Mrs. Agnes Dickey, 
 who resides in Chase township; Mrs. 
 Stella Emery, of Menominee, Mich. ; 
 Isaac, who aids in the operation of the 
 home farm; Mrs. Mabel Thomas, of 
 Oconto Falls, Wis. ; and Sarah. 
 
 Mr. McClure is the oldest living pioneer 
 of Chase township, which he aided in or- 
 ganizing, and has taken a very prominent 
 part in its work and upbuilding. In 
 politics he is a Republican. His life has 
 been well spent, displaying the same 
 fidelity to duty, which prompted his 
 response to his country's call for aid. 
 Enterprise and industry have won him 
 success in his business life, and he is 
 thereby enjoying a comfortable compe- 
 tence. 
 
 HB. SIMCOX is one of the native- 
 born sons of Wisconsin. He first 
 saw the light in Waupaca, Wau- 
 paca county, in 1866, and is a son 
 of Isaac and Mary (Beldon) Simco.x, the 
 former a native of England, and the lat- 
 ter of New York. The father came to 
 Waupaca, Wis., in an early day, and en- 
 gaged in business as a hardware merchant. 
 At the time of the Civil war he responded 
 to the country's call for troops, enlisting 
 March 26, 1864, in Company B, Thirty- 
 eighth Wis. V. I., of which he was made 
 sergeant, and served until the close of 
 the war, receiving an honorable discharge 
 July 26, 1865. He was taken prisoner 
 at the blowing up of the fort in front of 
 Petersburg, Va., July 30, 1864, and was 
 held a prisoner of war until February 22, 
 1865, when he was exchanged. He was 
 confined in Danville prison most of the 
 time, the last two weeks of his prison life 
 being spent in Libby, from which he was 
 exchanged. Returning to his home, he 
 established a hardware store in Amherst, 
 where he and his wife now reside. They 
 have reared a family of two sons: H. B. 
 and T. W., members of the firm of Sim- 
 cox Brothers & Co., of Marinette. 
 
 Our subject was reared in Amherst, 
 
 Wis., and acquired his education in its 
 public schools, after which he learned the 
 trade of a tinner, following that pursuit 
 for some time. He then acted as sales- 
 man in a hardware store, and arriving in 
 Marinette in 1887, secured a situation of 
 that character, in which he continued 
 until 1892, when the present well-known 
 firm of Simcox Brothers & Co. was es- 
 tablished. The brothers have built up an 
 excellent trade, and are recognized as 
 thoroughly reliable business men and en- 
 terprising merchants. They carry a full 
 and complete line of goods, and receive 
 from the public a liberal patronage. 
 
 H. B. Simcox was married in Mari- 
 nette, in 1887, to Hattie B. Soper, who 
 was born in Cato, Manitowoc Co., Wis., 
 a daughter of Z. Soper, a pioneer settler 
 of Cato. They have three children : May, 
 Chaunce}' and Milan. Our subject and 
 his wife hold membership with the Method- 
 ist Episcopal Church, and he is a valued 
 member of Marinette Lodge, No. 182, 
 F. & A. M. ; the Temple of Honor; and 
 Harrison Camp, No. 43, Sons of Veter- 
 ans, being junior vice-commander of the 
 State. In politics he is a stalwart Repub- 
 lican, and in 1894 was elected county 
 supervisor for the Third ward, now serv- 
 ing his second term in that position. He 
 is a member of the committee on the 
 Poor, and Public Grounds, the Building 
 and the Tax committees. He is deeply 
 interested in everything pertaining to the 
 welfare of city and county, and is one of 
 the progressive men of Marinette. 
 
 JOHN H. GODDARD. This gentle- 
 man stands prominent among the 
 well and favorably known men of 
 Pensaukee township, Oconto county, 
 of which his father, John Goddard, was 
 one of the earliest and most active citi- 
 zens. 
 
 John Goddard was born in Massachu- 
 setts, and was a machinist by trade. He 
 was married in Maine, to Ann Libby, a 
 native of that State, and they settled in 
 
650 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 Lowell, Mass., remaining there until their 
 removal to Wisconsin, in 1856. He came 
 to Pensaiikee township, Oconto county, 
 to build a mill, on the Pensaukee river, 
 for Sawtell, Davis & Co., after complet- 
 ing which he located on new land in Sec- 
 tions 34, 27 and 20, Pensaukee township, 
 and opened up a farm, on which they re- 
 sided one jear. Removing thence to a 
 farm in Sections 19, 27 and 21, same 
 township, he made a permanent home 
 there, and he was one of the most ener- 
 getic, active and enterprising men in the 
 community, holding nearly every office in 
 the gift of the township, and also serving 
 as county commissioner of public and 
 State lands in Oconto county. In polit- 
 ical faith he was a Republican. His death 
 occurred in November, 18S3, in Brook- 
 side, where his widow now makes her 
 home. Their familj' consisted of five 
 children: John H. ; Fannie E. (Mrs. E. 
 C. Whitney), of Oconto; Adda M. (Mrs. 
 
 E. A. Cannon), of Ahnapee, Kewaunee 
 Co., Wis.; Adelia, (Mrs. J. S. Gray), of 
 Pensaukee township, and Lauretta (Mrs. 
 Sherman Bush), of Pensaukee. 
 
 Our subject w-as born in 1S47 in Lowell, 
 Mass., and was about nine years old when 
 the family came to Pensaukee township, 
 where he has ever since resided, receiving 
 his primary education in the district 
 schools there. In December, 1863, he 
 enlisted at Madison, Wis., in Company 
 
 F, Twelfth Wis. V. I., for three years or 
 during the war. His regiment was in the 
 Department of the Tennessee, under 
 Gen. Sherman, and he participated in 
 the siege of Atlanta, the march to the 
 sea, the Carolina campaign, and the en- 
 gagement at Raleigh, finally taking part 
 in the grand review at Washington, D. C. 
 He was honorably discharged in July, 
 1865, at Louisville, Ky., and returned to 
 his home in Oconto county, after which 
 he resumed his studies, attending school 
 at Gorham, Maine, and at Lawrence 
 Universitj', Appleton, Wis. During 1873 
 and 1874 Mr. Goddard read medicine 
 with Dr. Pierce, of Green Bay, in which 
 
 city he commenced practice, continuing 
 in this line for some years, in Green Bay 
 and Pensaukee. In 1886 he located on 
 his present farm in Section 19, Pensaukee 
 township, which consists of fifty acres of 
 land, thirty of which are cleared. 
 
 Mr. Goddard was married in Pensau- 
 kee, in 1 868, to Imogene Sutton, who 
 was born in New York State, of which 
 her parents, Hiram and Mahala (Green) 
 Sutton, were also natives. In 1859 thej' 
 came to Brookside, Oconto Co., Wis., 
 locating in Pensaukee township, where 
 he died, and where she still resides; she 
 is now Mrs. Churchill. Mr. Goddard 
 lost his wife and two children in 1872, 
 and in 1876 he was married, in Lacrosse 
 county, Wis., to Ida I. Whitney, who 
 was born in that county and died in 1880. 
 Two children — Inez L. and Ida J. — were 
 born to this union, of whom Inez lived to 
 be three and one-half years old. In 
 1882 Mr. Goddard for his third wife, 
 wedded, in Lacrosse county. Miss Hat- 
 tie L. Whitney, and four children 
 have blessed this marriage: Fannie 
 E., Myrtle I., Johnnie E. and William E. 
 Mr. Goddard, like his father before him, 
 has been a thorough!}' public-spirited citi- 
 zen, and his fellow men have called on 
 him to fill various local offices of trust 
 and responsibility. In 1894 he served as 
 township chairman, for seven years pre- 
 viously had filled the office of clerk, and 
 has been a delegate to different county 
 conventions. Political!}-, he gives his 
 support to the Republican party. So- 
 cially, he is a member of E. A. Ramsey 
 Post, G. A. R. , of Oconto; of Pine Lodge. 
 No. 188. F. & A. M., Oconto, and of 
 the I. O. G. T. In religious connection 
 he is a member of the M. E. Church. 
 
 JOHN MATRAVERS. The life rec- 
 ord of a self-made man contains 
 many valuable lessons, and demon- 
 strates what can be accomplished 
 when perseverance and resolute purpose 
 form the keynote of a man's character. 
 
commemorativf: nioouAPnicAL record. 
 
 65, 
 
 That, to-day, our subject is numbered 
 among the prominent and substantial 
 citizens of the community is due entirely 
 to his own efforts. 
 
 Mr. Matravers is a native of Somer- 
 setshire, England, born in April, 1828, 
 and is a son of Philip and Eliza (Sweet- 
 land) Matravers, also natives of England, 
 in which country they spent their entire 
 lives. Their family numbered seven chil- 
 dren : Sarah, in England; Eliza, de- 
 ceased; Mary Ann and Elizabeth, also 
 living in England; John; Philip and 
 George, who are yet residents of Eng- 
 land. Our subject was reared in the land 
 of his birth, and is indebted to its public- 
 school system for his education. He was 
 married, April 12, 1854, at St. Helier's, 
 Isle of Jersey, one of the Channel Islands, 
 off the coast of France, to Miss Matilda 
 Clarke, who was born in England, and is 
 a daughter of Richard and Mary Ann 
 (Lumbert) Clarke, also natives of that 
 country. There the mother died, after 
 which the father emigrated to Canada, 
 where his death occurred nearly twenty- 
 five years ago. 
 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. 
 Matravers crossed the Atlantic to Amer- 
 ica, and took up their residence in Oconto 
 county. Wis., where they arrived with a 
 cash capital of $1. Our subject was em- 
 ployed at Hubbell's mill, also in the mill 
 of Oconto for several months, and then 
 removed to Leighton, where he worked 
 for George Smith for one winter. In 
 1855 he purchased a tract of timber land 
 of fifty-three acres, built a log cabin, and 
 began clearing the property. For forty 
 years he has lived upon this farm, and has 
 prospered in his undertakings, so that he 
 now has 330 acres of valuable land, two 
 hundred of which are under a high state 
 of cultivation. Upon it stands a good 
 story-and-a-half frame residence, besides 
 other improvements which indicate the 
 thrift and enterprise of the owner. He 
 also owns one hundred acres in another 
 farm, seventy of which are cleared. His 
 energies are devoted to general farming, 
 
 and he is now enjoying the fruits of his 
 former toil. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Matravers have a family 
 of seven children : Edmund, married and 
 residing in Ocontii township; Matilda, 
 wife of Samuel (^niillard, of the same 
 township; Mary Ann, wife of Edward 
 Couillard; Amber, wife of Edmond Clas- 
 son, of Oconto township; Grant; Hugh 
 Yarwood, at home; and Mrs. Porterfield, 
 wife of John W. Porterfield, of Oconto 
 township. Tiic ])arents are members of 
 the Presbyterian Church. Politically, 
 Mr. Matravers is a Republican, and takes 
 quite an active interest in the affairs of 
 the party. During the Civil war he 
 manifested his lojalty to the government 
 by enlisting at Cliicago January 6, 1865, 
 as a member of the Thirty-ninth 111. V. I. , 
 of the Firsi Division, First Brigade, Twen- 
 ty-fourth Army Corps. He was mustered 
 into the service at Springfield, 111., and then 
 went toCamp Distribution, near Washing- 
 ton, D. C, where he remained until the 
 opening of spring. The regiment then 
 marched to Deep Bottom, near Richmond, 
 and participated in the battle of Hatchez 
 Kun, after which they went to Appo- 
 matto.x Court H<juse, being there sta- 
 tioned at the time of Lee's surrender. 
 From that place they proceeded to Nor- 
 folk, Va., and in Chicago Mr. Matravers 
 was honorably discharged in September, 
 1865. He at once returned to Oconto, 
 where he has demonstrated his loyalty as 
 a citizen in times of peace as well as in 
 times of war. 
 
 DONALD J. BELL, who has been 
 numbered among the representa- 
 tive and progressive citizens of 
 Marinette since July, 1871, is now 
 engaged in the real-estate business. Be- 
 ing widely and favorably known in his 
 locality, the record of his life will prove 
 of interest to many of our readers. 
 
 Mr. Bell was born in the town of Belle- 
 ville, Upper Canada (now Province of 
 Ontario), August 18, 1846, and is a son 
 
652 
 
 COlfXEifORATrVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of John and Margaret (Currie) Bell, who 
 were natives of the Highlands of Scot- 
 land. Having married in that country, 
 they emigrated to Canada, and later, in 
 1849, became residents of Fond du Lac 
 county. Wis., settling on a farm in El- 
 dorado township. In i S74 they moved to 
 Cerro Gordo county, Iowa, and after re- 
 turning to Wisconsin lived a part of the 
 time with our subject. The father died 
 in Fond du Lac August 4, 1SS5; the 
 mother passed away in Cerro Gordo 
 county, Iowa, on September 23, follow- 
 ing. The family consisted of the follow- 
 ing children: Malcolm, who is living in 
 Fond du Lac, Wis. ; Archibald, a resi- 
 dent of Fond du Lac county; Margaret, 
 wife of Ezra M. Crary, of Potsdam, N. Y. ; 
 Mary, wife of A. A. McDougal, of Dun- 
 dee, Wis. ; Duncan, of Cerro Gordo 
 count}-, Iowa; Neil, who was twice sherifi 
 of Fond du Lac county, and enlisted there 
 in 1 861 in Company A. Second Wiscon- 
 sin Cavalry, serving through the war; 
 Flora, now Mrs. Rhodes, of Mason City, 
 Iowa; Donald J., subject of this sketch; 
 and Katie, wife of Duncan G. Campbell, 
 of Charles City, Iowa. 
 
 Our subject was reared in Fond du 
 Lac county, and educated in its public 
 schools. In September, 1863, he enlisted 
 in the city of Fond du Lac for service in 
 the Union army, becoming a member of 
 Company A, Second Wisconsin Cavalr}-. 
 He was mustered into the ser\ice at 
 Madison, and was on skirmish duty dur- 
 ing the first winter, as an escort to the 
 mail train between Rolla and Lebanon, 
 Mo. He then went to Memphis. Tenn., 
 as body-guard to Gen. \\'ashburn, and 
 later to \'icksburg as body-guard for Gen. 
 Dana; subsequently he was engaged in 
 raiding under Gen. Grierson, and was 
 honorably discharged at Madison in 1865. 
 
 Mr. Bell then returned to Fond du 
 Lac, Wis., and engaged in farming until 
 July, 1S71, the date of his arrival in Mari- 
 nette. He was here employed as book- 
 keeper by the firm of McCartney & Ham- 
 ilton until October 8, when the town was 
 
 almost swept away by fire. He was then 
 appointed relief agent to handle and dis- 
 tribute goods sent to the sufferers, and 
 after thus serving for six months he en- 
 gaged in the hotel business. Purchasing 
 a lot on Hall avenue, he erected the 
 "Commercial House," a two-story frame 
 building with 75 feet frontage, which he 
 conducted until about 1882, when he 
 leased the hotel, and for some two years 
 was engaged in the lumber trade. His 
 next venture was as a dealer in real estate 
 and tax titles, which business he has suc- 
 cessfully continued since. After his first 
 hotel was destroyed by fire in November, 
 1S85, he erected the Arlington Block, a 
 two-story brick with basement, having 93 
 feet frontage on Hall avenue, and a depth 
 of 80 feet. It contains forty commodious 
 and well ventilated rooms, besidesthe store 
 rooms, and is a thoroughly equipped hotel, 
 a credit to its founder. 
 
 Mr. Bell was married in Marinette, in 
 August, 1875, to Hannah, daughter of 
 James and Abigail (Gugin) Burke, natives 
 of Canada. Her father died in 1S59, but 
 her mother is still living in Canada. In 
 their family were seven children: Eliza- 
 beth, wife of Anthony Cooney, of Menomi- 
 nee, Mich. ; Patrick, who died in Canada, 
 September 9, 18S5; Susan, wife of Dan 
 Gavin, of Canada; Lavine, wife of Rich- 
 ard Bray, of Canada; Jane, wife of Nich- 
 olas Gilman, of Duluth, Minn. ; Margaret, 
 wife of Patrick Durkin, of Port Blakeley, 
 Wash. ; and the honored wife of our sub- 
 ject. Mr. and Mrs. Bell have three chil- 
 dren, viz.: Maggie M. , wife of Albert B. 
 Cripe, who has charge of the Standard 
 Oil Works in Marinette (they have one 
 child, Harold B.); and William R. and 
 Lucy Florence, who are still attending 
 school. 
 
 Mr. Bell takes quite an active interest 
 in politics, stanchly advocating the princi- 
 ples of the Republican party. He has 
 served as under sheriff of the county, and 
 was chief of police of Marinette for two 
 years. He is a member of Sizer Post No. 
 207, G. A. R., of Marinette, and his wife 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 653 
 
 belongs to the Women's Relief Corps. 
 Both are highly esteemed people, and 
 their home is noted for its hospitality, 
 which is shared by a very large circle of 
 frienils. Mr. Bell has been an important 
 factor in the upbuilding of the city, and 
 has given his hearty support and co-oper- 
 ation to all works of public improvement. 
 
 ROBERT B, T.-WLOR, now living 
 in the city of Oconto, has been a 
 resident of Oconto county for 
 twenty-eight years. He is a native 
 of the Dominion of Canada, born in 1843, 
 in Bristol, Pontiac Co., Quebec. 
 
 Alexander and Jessie (Burns) Taylor, 
 parents of our subject, were natives of 
 Scotland, and were married there in 1833. 
 They crossed the ocean to Canada, in 
 1834, the father taking up one hundred 
 acres of government land, si.x miles from 
 the Ottawa river, and thirty miles from 
 the nearest post office. There he lived 
 until his death in 1862; his wife died three 
 years later. They were the parents of 
 five children: Catherine G. (born in Scot- 
 land); Mrs. Croak, of Saginaw, Mich.; 
 Marion M.. Mrs. Jamieson, died in Can- 
 ada in 1877; Helen H., Mrs. McArthur, 
 of Biteley, Mich.; William, who came to 
 Oconto county, in 1 867, dying in the town 
 of Little River in 1885; and Robert B. 
 
 Mr. Taylor was reared in Canada, and 
 received his education at a primitive school 
 of his time, attending, in all, about two 
 years, a log school house, which for desks 
 had unpainted boards fastened to the walls 
 on three sides of the room, and plank 
 benches, to correspond, for seats. He 
 was thirteen years of age, when it — his 
 first school — was built. In August, 1865, 
 he left home, landing in Cleveland, Ohio, 
 where he lived for two years, being fol- 
 lowed by his brother and two sisters. In 
 1867, he came to Oconto county. Wis., 
 locating in Stiles. Being something of a 
 mechanic, he worked for Ansen Eldred, 
 during the winter, at millwright work, 
 and in the spring he went to Fort How- 
 
 ard, where he worked on the cabinof a new 
 vessel. The same sunnner going to Little 
 Suamico, he there worked for three months 
 on a new sawmill being built by Peters, 
 Olsen & Winas, on the Little Suamico 
 river. Going to West Pensaukee (now 
 Abrams) in the fall of 1868, our subject 
 resided there some years, working at 
 carpenter and millwright work. Here he 
 invented an entirely new device for pack- 
 ing and pressing shingles, on which ma- 
 chine he procured three patents. Although 
 the machine proved to be a practical suc- 
 cess, yet it was not a financial one to Mr. 
 Taylor, as he was unable to protect his 
 patents against almost universal infringe- 
 ment all over the country. 
 
 Coming to Oconto, in 1871, he worked 
 on a new sawmill being built by Orr, 
 Newell & Co., also on a new sawmill 
 being built by C. S. Hart, si.x miles north 
 of Oconto. During the winter of 1871-72 
 he erected a sawmill for R. L. Hall, eight 
 miles north of Oconto. In that neigh- 
 borhood he lived for twenty-four years, 
 during eight of which he turned his hand 
 to millwrighting, carpentering, engineer- 
 ing and pattern making — in fact, anything 
 that required to be done, patenting 
 one more of his several useful inventions. 
 In 1881 he located at "Hart's Switch," 
 engaging there in the cedar trade, in which 
 he continued for ten years, in the mean- 
 time purchasing 120 acres of farm land, 
 which he improved by clearing and build- 
 ing in a substantial manner. In 1879 
 Oconto county was divided, creating Mari- 
 nette county, which caused the immedi- 
 ate formation of the town of Little River, 
 with Mr. Taylor as one of its residents. 
 Being a public-spirited citizen, taking an 
 active part in the advancement of the 
 community, he held the important ofifice 
 of chairman for two terms — 1880-81 and 
 1883-84; for several years that of justice 
 of the peace, ami for twelve years he was 
 clerk of School District No. 3. In 1890 
 he was U. S. census enumerator, for the 
 town of Little River (then embracing the 
 town of Lena). Mr. Taylor, politically, 
 
654 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 is identified with the Repubhcan party, 
 and in 1870 cast his first ballot, in the 
 town of Pensaukee, after first becoming a 
 fully naturalized citizen of the United 
 States. 
 
 In 1S76 Mr. Taylor was married to 
 Miss Henrietta Herriman, who was born 
 in Euclid, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio. Her 
 parents, J. \'. and Mary (Foreman) Her- 
 riman, were also natives of Ohio, coming 
 to Oconto county, and settling in what is 
 now Little River, in 1S69. Six children 
 have come to Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, viz.: 
 William A., Marion Adelaide, Robert 
 Clinton, Henrietta M., Kate J. and Ches- 
 ter M. 
 
 JOHN' SIMON, an active and enter- 
 prising citizen of Florence, Wis., 
 where he has resided since the spring 
 of 1882, is a native of Denmark, 
 born in 1853, and is a son of George and 
 Catherine Simon, both of whom were na- 
 tives of that country, where they yet re- 
 side. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the pub- 
 lic schools of his native land, and at the 
 age of sixteen came to the United States, 
 locating at Escanaba, Mich., where he 
 entered the employ of the Chicago & 
 North Western Railway Company. From 
 Escanaba he went to Oconto, and took 
 charge of a flouring-mill at that place 
 until he moved to Florence. On coming 
 to that place he engaged in the hotel 
 business, erecting the "Ludington Hotel," 
 a three-storj' frame building with stone 
 basement under the entire house, and 
 continued in that business until May i, 
 1895, in connection with other enter- 
 prises in which he engaged from time to 
 time. In 1 888 he put up four frame store- 
 buildings adjoining the hotel, and in 1890 
 erected a large brick store-building. In 
 1888 he commenced in the general mer- 
 cantile trade, in which he is still engaged, 
 with Mr. Hillyer, under the firm name of 
 Hillyer & Simon. For five years he was 
 also engaged in the hardware business at 
 
 that place. At present he is the owner 
 of seven store-buildings and fourteen resi- 
 dences in Florence, together with a livery 
 barn, store building, and one dwelling- 
 house in Commonwealth, Wisconsin. 
 
 In 1879 Mr. Simon was married at 
 Oconto, Wis., to Miss Sophia Stein, a 
 daughter of John Stein, who was an early 
 settler of Oconto, and who yet resides in 
 that place. Three years later he removed 
 with his bride to Florence, where, as may 
 be readily inferred from what has already 
 been written, he has been actively engaged. 
 Coming to this country a poor boy of six- 
 teen years, he has by his industry and 
 enterprise placed himself in the front rank 
 of the business men of northern Wis- 
 consin. At the present time he is the 
 largest taxpayer in the county of Flor- 
 ence. He was here at the organization 
 of the county, and assisted in the pre- 
 liminary work. In politics he is an active 
 Republican, and has been chairman of 
 the town of Florence. In addition to his 
 other enterprises, he is now engaged in 
 opening up a farm in the town of Home- 
 stead, one and three-fourths miles from 
 Iron Mountain, to be known as the 
 ' ' Elmhurst Farm " ; the Menominee river 
 runs along its edges for three-fourths of a 
 mile. Besides his interests here, he has a 
 fine property in Menominee, Mich., a 
 brick block, bought in April, 1895, and 
 also owns large tracts of land throughout 
 this part of the State. No man in Flor- 
 ence county is better known than John 
 Simon, who, in the thirteen years of his 
 residence, has done more to advance its 
 interests than any other one man. He 
 is a tireless worker, and is thoroughly 
 interested in everything calculated to 
 build up the country of his adoption, and 
 especially the county of Florence. 
 
 JOHN COULTER, a successful, pros- 
 perous farmer of Porterfield town- 
 ship, Marinette county, is a son of 
 John and Mary Hannah Coulter, and 
 was born in Countv Antrim, Ireland, in 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BlOORAPmOAL RECORD. 
 
 655 
 
 1824. John Coulter, Sr. , was a farmer, 
 and lived in County Antrim, Ireland; he 
 and his wife, Mary Hannah, were both 
 born in Scotland. They reared a family 
 of eleven children, of whom, Alexander 
 emigrated to Philadelphia, and from there 
 went to California; Robert also came to 
 Philadelphia, and is a farmer. 
 
 John Coulter, our subject, was reared 
 in County Antrim, Ireland, educated in 
 the schools of the neighborhood of his 
 home, and was reared to farming. In 
 1845 he left Liverpool for Philadelphia, 
 where for seven and a half years he was 
 engaged in driving for one firm — Morris, 
 Jones & Co., located on Market street. 
 In 1858, at Philadelphia, he was united 
 in marriage with Miss Elizabeth McCurdy, 
 who was born in Scotland, and they have 
 had four children (all living but one) 
 namely: Mary, wife of Thomas Dickey, 
 of Porterfield township; Jennie, now Mrs. 
 Lemare, of Iron Mountain, Ivlich. ; Hugh, 
 living at home; and John, who died in 
 1892. Mrs. Coulter's parents, Daniel 
 and Kittle (Jamison) McCurdy, were born 
 in Scotland, always lived there, and died 
 there. Their daughter Elizabeth was 
 the only one of the family to come to 
 America. 
 
 In 185S Mr. Coulter left Philadelphia, 
 and coming west settled near the Menom- 
 inee river, on the Michigan side, where he 
 remained for two years. At that time 
 there were only two houses in Menom- 
 inee, and two in Marinette. He aided in 
 building the dams on the river, also 
 worked in the woods, then, in i860, 
 bought a tract of 105 acres in the forest 
 in Section 22, Porterfield township, his 
 present farm, which he has since cleared, 
 put up good buildings thereon, and now 
 has his farm in a good state of cultiva- 
 tion. At the time he came Indians were 
 numerous. Mr. Coulter and his wife are 
 among the oldest pioneers of the Menom- 
 inee river country. He has seen the 
 complete growth of the city of Marinette, 
 and the many and great changes that 
 have been wrought in this section since 
 
 38 
 
 they came, and he is a well-known man 
 in his section. In politics he is inde- 
 pendent. 
 
 CS. McKENZIE, who is engaged 
 in farming and lumbering at Gil- 
 lett, is numbered among the 
 early settlers of Oconto county, 
 and has been an important factor in de- 
 veloping the lumber interests in this sec- 
 tion of the State, which is one of the 
 most important industries of Wisconsin. 
 Mr. McKenzie is numbered among 
 the native sons of the Empire State, and 
 comes of a family of considerable promi- 
 nence. His great-uncle, Alex. McKenzie, 
 was one of the early pioneers of Canada, 
 and explored and named the McKenzie 
 river in that country. The grandfather 
 of our subject, William McKenzie, was 
 born in Scotland, and at an early day 
 emigrated to New York, locating in Essex 
 county, on the shores of Lake Champlain, 
 where he spent his remaining days. His 
 son, Thomas McKenzie, was born and 
 reared in that locality and followed lum- 
 bering ; he died in New York in 1844; 
 his widow, whose maiden name was Ida 
 Sheldon, married again. Later she came 
 to Wisconsin, but subsequently moved to 
 Iowa, where her death occurred in April, 
 1894. The parents of our subject had a 
 family of five children : Mary Helen, who 
 died in Wisconsin in KS79; Mrs. Orpha 
 Pritchard, of Chicago, 111. ; C. S., subject 
 of this review ; Thomas, of Howard 
 county, Iowa ; and Christine, who died in 
 Wisconsin in 1875. 
 
 In the State of his nativity our sub- 
 ject spent the days of his boyhood and 
 youth. He had few privileges, and is a 
 self-educated and self-made man. Early 
 thrown upon his own resources, he began 
 to earn his livelihood as a driver on the 
 Erie canal. He worked for three years 
 in a sawmill, and then began work on the 
 rivers, running lumber on the Mississippi 
 and Wisconsin. In 1855 he took up his 
 residence in Columbia countv, Wis., and 
 
656 
 
 COMMEitOBATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was engaged in farming and teaming from 
 Milwaukee. Five years later he came to 
 Gillett. where he embarked in lumbering, 
 doing a jobbing trade, which pursuit he 
 has since followed with good success, fur- 
 nishing employment to a number of men. 
 He has made a thorough study of the busi- 
 ness, which he now understands in ever}- 
 particular, does a good real-estate busi- 
 ness, and his capable management, enter- 
 prise and diligence have brought to him 
 success. His life demonstrates what can 
 be done through self-reliance and inde- 
 fatigable enterprise, and his prosperity is 
 certainly well-merited. 
 
 In 1S57 Mr. McKenzie was joined in 
 wedlock ^^■ith Miss Antha Edwards, a native 
 of New York, and a daughter of Joseph 
 Edwards, one of the early pioneers of 
 Columbia county, who died there in 1S91. 
 Mrs. McKenzie died in Gillett in iSSo, 
 leaving a family of three children : Mrs. 
 Ida Valk, of Gillett : Eugene, married, 
 and living in Underbill townsihip, Oconto 
 county; and Mrs. Helen Kohn, of Gillett. 
 In 1SS4 Mr. McKenzie was united in 
 marriage with Emma Collins, a native of 
 Caribou, Maine. Her father went to 
 California at an early day, and met his 
 death in a hotel fire there. 
 
 During the Civil war Mr. McKenzie 
 enlisted at Oconto as a member of Com- 
 pany F, Forty-fourth Wis. V. I. , and was 
 mustered into the ser\"ice at Madison. 
 The regiment was attached to the army 
 of the Tennessee, and went directly to 
 Nashville, thence to Pulaski, its 5er\ice 
 being in Tennessee and Kentucky. Our 
 subject continued at the front until after 
 the close of the war, when he received 
 an honorable discharge at Madison, Wis., 
 in 1S65. In politics he supports the 
 party which upheld the Union — the Re- 
 publican — and has ser^•ed as chairman of 
 the board of supervisors of Gillett town- 
 ship. He was also lumber commissioner 
 on the Mer. " on, receiving 
 
 the first go. , . tment to that 
 
 position. He has long been identified 
 with the historv' of the county and its up- 
 
 building, and is pre-eminently a public- 
 spirited man, who lends a helping hand to 
 all enterprises calculated to promote the 
 
 general welfare. 
 
 TC. MILLER has been agent at 
 Marinette for the Chicago & North 
 Western Railway Co. since June, 
 1S95, and has been in that com- 
 panys employ since he was sixteen years 
 old, having commenced at Stambaugh, 
 Michigan. 
 
 Mr. Miller was bom February 2S, 
 1S69, in Wenona, Marshall Co., 111., son 
 of Josiah and Elizabeth ('Hamilton) Mil- 
 ler. The parents were both born '\n Union 
 county, Ohio, were married in their na- 
 tive State, and subsequently coming to 
 Wenona, 111. , settled on a farm. In 1871 
 they moved to Washington, Tazewell 
 Co., 111., where Mr. Miller was engaged 
 in the lumber business, in 1873 remo\-ing 
 to Bloomington. 111., and in 1S74 to Pax- 
 ton. 111., where he carried on a lumber 
 yard. In 1S76 they returned to Marshall 
 county, and, at Wenona. he engaged in 
 the iron-bridge business. He is now run- 
 ning a locomotive on the Chicago. Bur- 
 lington & Ouincy railroad, residing in 
 Aurora, III. They reared a family of 
 four children, all of whom are living, as 
 follows: James Elmere, resides at Harts- 
 home. Indian Ty. . being bookkeeper for 
 the Choctaw Coal & Railway Co. ; Samuel 
 Fulton is general agent for the Chicago & 
 North Western Railway Co. , and lives in 
 Green Bay. Wis. ; Thomas Chelsea is the 
 subject proper of this sketch; and Louisa, 
 Mrs. J. A. Kuhn, lives in Chicago. 
 
 Thomas C. Miller was reared in Illi- 
 nois, and received his education in the 
 schools of Wenona and Bloomington, 
 also attending school at Richwood, Ohio, 
 in 1882 and 1883. In 1S84 he went to 
 northern Michigan, and from Septem- 
 ber of at rear until June. 1SS5, studied 
 telegraphy under his brother at Na- 
 deau, Mich., after which he com- 
 menced with the company in whose 
 
Commemorative bioguapiiical record. 
 
 657 
 
 employ he has ever since remained. As 
 before stated, his first position was at 
 Stambaugh, Mich., where he remained 
 from June, 1SS5, until July, 1887, beinj^ 
 cashier and telegraph operator there. On 
 July I, 1887, he went to Mastodon, Mich., 
 opened the station there, and in Septem- 
 ber, 1887, was transferred to Common- 
 wealth, Florence Co., Wis., where he 
 also served as postmaster, continuing there 
 until the following February. On Feb- 
 ruary 1, 1888, he went to Iron River, 
 Mich., in the same capacity, and in April, 
 1890, was removed from there to Flor- 
 ence, Florence Co., Wis., whence, in 
 June, 1890, became to Marinette, Mari- 
 nette county. 
 
 In 1894 Mr. Miller was married in 
 Marinette, to Miss Alberta Norris, who 
 was born in Stoughton, Wis., daughter 
 of James and Harriet (Haven) Norris, 
 who came from the East in an early day, 
 settling in Wisconsin. Mr. Norris died 
 in Milwaukee in 1891, and Mrs. Norris 
 now makes her home in Marinette. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Miller have one child — James 
 Norris. Mr. Miller is a member of the M. 
 
 E. Church, in which he holds the office 
 of trustee, and he is actively interested 
 in all religious movements, being a promi- 
 nent member of the Y. M. C. A. in Wis- 
 consin; he has been president since April, 
 1895, and in the same 3'ear was elected a 
 member of the State Board at the State 
 Convention held at Wausau, Wis. He is 
 also well-known in fraternal circles, being 
 connected with Marinette Lodge No. 182, 
 
 F. & A. M. ; Marinette Chapter No. 52, 
 R. A. M. ; Marinette Lodge No. 72, K. of 
 P., and the Fraternal Alliance. He gives 
 his political support to the Republican 
 party. 
 
 JOHN J. CASSON. Among those 
 gentlemen whose devotion to busi- 
 ness interests has materially ad- 
 vanced the welfare of Marinette is 
 our subject, who since the spring of 1879 
 has faithfully and efficiently served as en- 
 
 gineer for the Hamilton & Merryman 
 Company. He came to Marinette in the 
 winter of 1877 78, and after being em- 
 ployed in the Marinette Iron Works for 
 about a \"eur, entered into an engage- 
 ment with the Hamilton tS; Merrj-man 
 Company, which has contimicil up to the 
 present time, his course fully meriting the 
 confidence which is reposed in him, while 
 his ability well lits liiiii for the position. 
 
 Mr. Casson was born in Ontario 
 county, N. Y., in 1847, and is a son of 
 Curtis P. and Hannah (Harrington) Cas- 
 son, the former a nati\e of Yorkshire, 
 England, the latter of (Jueen's county, 
 Ireland. When a young man of nineteen 
 }'ears the father crossed the Atlantic to 
 America, and in Rochester, N. Y. , he 
 was married. He was a miller by traile, 
 and after coining to Wisconsin, in 1855, 
 was engaged in ilourn)ills at Merton, 
 Hartland, Fall River, afterward at Milton, 
 and later at Oshkosh and Indian Ford. 
 He returned to Rock county. Wis., and 
 his last days were spent at Indian Ford, 
 where he died in 1885; his wife passed 
 away there in 1892. Their family num- 
 bered seven sons and one daughter, name- 
 ly: Mrs. Marv ]■ Hunting, of Ir<.)n 
 Mountain, Mich.; Jnhn P., who died in 
 infancy; Thomas P.. a resident of Ala- 
 bama; Alfred H., who enlist^'d in Colum- 
 bia county, Wis., in 1862, in the Seventh 
 Wis. V. I., and died before leaving the 
 camp at Madison; Edward C, whose 
 home is in Grundy county, Iowa; John 
 J., subject of this sketch; William N., of 
 Marinette, and Charles b'., who died in 
 infanc)'. 
 
 Mr. Casson, whose name connnences 
 this record, was reared in New \'ox\i until 
 eight years of age, when, in 1856, he be- 
 came a resident of Fall River, Wis., ac- 
 companying his i)arents on their migra- 
 tion west. His early education, acquired 
 in the common schools, was supplemented 
 by a course in the academy of Milton, 
 Wis. In 1864 he went to Oshkosh, where 
 he learned the trade of a machinist and 
 engineer. In 1867 he removed to Pesh- 
 
65S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPITICAL RECORD. 
 
 tigo, Wis., and for twenty-seven years 
 was on the west shore of Green Bay. 
 There he secured employment as a ma- 
 chinist with the Peshtigo Lumber Com- 
 pany, and was still a resident of that 
 place at the time of the memorable Pesh- 
 tigo fire. Nine months later, in August, 
 1872, he went to Oconto, \\'is. , where he 
 served as machine boss, and was a part- 
 ner in the Oconto Iron Works for five 
 years. On the e.xpiration of that period 
 he came to Marinette, and his life from 
 that time forward is very familiar to the 
 citizens of the locality. 
 
 At Fulton, Wis., in 1875, Mr. Casson 
 was joined in wedlock with Mary D. Kel- 
 ly, a native of Fulton, Rock Co., Wis., 
 and a daughter of David and Elizabeth 
 (Ward) Kelly, natives of New York, and 
 early settlers of Rock county. In Fulton 
 township, that county, the father devel- 
 oped a farm, continuing his residence in 
 that locality until his death, in 1869. His 
 wife passed away the year previous. Mr. 
 and Sirs. Casson had two children, one of 
 whom is now living, Lois Beatrice, a 
 graduate of the high school, of June, 1895, 
 and now attending Lawrence University. 
 Socially our subject became connected 
 with ^iarinette Lodge No. 182, F. & A. 
 M., in 1870, and in 1874 was dimitted to 
 Oconto Lodge, in which he has tilled all 
 the offices, returning to his mother Lodge 
 in the " eighties." His political support 
 is given the Prohibition party, and favors 
 bimetallism: he served as alderman of 
 Oconto. His duties of citizenship are 
 ever faithfully performed, and he is a 
 public-spirited, progressive man, of lib- 
 eral views, one whose business and pri- 
 vate life are alike above reproach. 
 
 JESSE BIRMINGHAM. To the stu- 
 dent of human nature there is no 
 department of biographical history 
 more interesting than the record of 
 self-made men, who owe their success in 
 life to their own labors — men who realize 
 that prosperity is the reward of earnest 
 
 effort and honorable dealing, and employ 
 those means in securing it. To this class 
 belongs our subject, now one of the sub- 
 stantial agriculturists of Oconto county. 
 
 He was born on Black river, in Jeffer- 
 son county, N. Y. , March 7, 1835, and is 
 a son of Richard and Ploomy (Stone) 
 Birmingham, the father a native of 
 England, the mother of Massachusetts. 
 Their marriage was celebrated in New 
 York, where Mr. Birmingham carried on 
 farming for many years. His death oc- 
 curred in Jefferson county at the age of 
 fifty-si.\, and his wife survived him ten 
 years. They reared a family of nine 
 children, four of whom are now living: 
 Charles went to California, and thence to 
 Wichita, Kans. , c/i route- to Texas, but 
 was never heard of afterward. Andrew 
 located at Oak Orchard, Oconto county, 
 in 1850, but subsequently removed to 
 Door county, and there died in Sebastopol 
 township, in 1894. Sylvia married Mor- 
 timer Delano, and in 1850 removed to 
 Oconto county, her death occurring in 
 Pensaukee township. Nancy became the 
 wife of Mr. Mclntyre, of Brookside, Wis., 
 and died in Marinette, this State, in 1892. 
 George is also living in Brookside. Susan 
 became the wife of Joseph Harris, of 
 Sturgeon Bay. Wis., and died in Mani- 
 tosvoc. Wis., in 1894. Jesse is the next 
 younger. Solon is married, and resides 
 in Sebastopol township. Door Co., Wis. 
 Nelson makes his home in Brown county, 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 Our subject acquired his education in 
 the county of his nativity, being indebted 
 to its public-school system therefor. He 
 came to Oconto county in 1853. locating 
 at Oak Orchard, where he was employed 
 in fishing and lumbering for some time. 
 He afterward engaged in lumber jobbing 
 for the Bradley & Crandall Lumber Co., 
 at Sturgeon Bay, in whose employ he re- 
 mained for two seasons, when he bought 
 a boat, and ran it from Sturgeon Bay to 
 Green Bay. He ran the first boat be- 
 tween these two places, and carried the 
 Door county mail. At that time he could 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAl'llICAL RECORD. 
 
 659 
 
 place all the mail packages in a cigar box, 
 but the second year he was given a mail 
 pouch. His boat was the first that made 
 regular trips between those two points. 
 It was a little sailing vessel called the 
 "Green Dart," which after two years he 
 sold, purchasing an interest in a larger 
 vessel, the brig "Columbia." With this 
 he made four trips to Chicago, and on the 
 fourth trip, while returning, in an attempt 
 to pass through Death's Door, he was 
 wrecked on the rocks. 
 
 In 1857, in company with O. P. Gra- 
 ham, A. W. Lawrence and five others, 
 he took up land in the town of Sebastopol 
 for farms, cleared fifteen acres and after- 
 ward sold it to his brothers. In iSGo he 
 went to Pike's Peak in search of gold, but 
 failing to make a success of it returned to 
 Wisconsin, and located in the town of 
 Pensaukee, Oconto county, where he 
 commenced farming and lumbering. For 
 F. B. Gardner he carried on farms on 
 shares for three years, and then bought 
 of Mr. Gardner the land he now owns, 
 and has cleared and made a nice farm 
 and home where he lives. 
 
 In 1863 Mr. Birmingham enlisted at 
 Appleton in Company L, Third Wiscon- 
 sin Cavalry for three years, and was 
 mustered into the United States service 
 at Madison, Wis. With the army of the 
 West his regiment was sent to Colorado 
 on the Indian warfare, and pursued Gen. 
 Price into the Indian Territory. After- 
 ward the troops were on the plains under 
 Gen. Conkey, of Appleton, Wis. , and 
 though the warfare was irregular, it was 
 nevertheless arduous and severe. When 
 peace was once more restored Mr. Bir- 
 mingham was honorably discharged at 
 Madison in November, 1865. He had 
 served much of his time as orderly ser- 
 geant of his company, and nieritorous 
 conduct won him the rank of first lieu- 
 tenant of his company. His services 
 being no longer needed, Mr. Birmingham 
 at once returned to his home and family. 
 He had married at Sturgeon Bay, Wis., 
 in 1857, the lady of his choice being 
 
 Miss Bessie Harris, a native of England, 
 as was her father, Joseph Harris, who in 
 an early day crossed the Atlantic to New 
 York. His wife died in Rochester, that 
 State, after which he came west and took 
 up his residence at Sturgeon Bay, Wis., 
 where he founded and published the Stur- 
 geon Bay Advorati-. He also worked 
 for twenty years to secure the construc- 
 tion of the canal, and was ever an advo- 
 cate of progress and improvement. His 
 death occurred in Chicago, 111., in [892. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. I)irmingham have been 
 born eight children, of whom we mention 
 the following: J. H., married, and re- 
 siding in Kitchi, Mich.; Nellie, wife of T. 
 
 A. Pomperim, of Oconto; G. C, a postal 
 clerk in the United States mail service, 
 living at home; Edith, who has success- 
 fully taught school, and is now a student 
 in the Normal at Valparaiso, Ind. ; and 
 Irving and Pruce Lindsey, at home. All 
 of the family have been teachers. 
 
 Mr. Birmingham made his purchase 
 of land in 1861, when he bought of F. 
 
 B. Gardner a timber tract of 100 acres 
 which he entered from the government. 
 He at once began clearing this, and now 
 has 2S0 acres in Sections 26 and 23, Pen- 
 saukee township, I 50 of which are under 
 cultivation. He erected his residence in 
 1862, a good one-and-one-half-story 
 frame house, which he has since im- 
 proved. He also built a good barn 80 x 80 
 feet, another 30x40 feet, and a tool 
 house, 16x20 feet. In addition he has 
 a good farm of eighty-eight and one-half 
 acres in Brookside township, fifty of 
 which are under cultivation, and all has 
 been acquired through his own efforts. 
 He now successfully follows general and 
 dairy farming, and keeps on hand a num- 
 ber of fine Durham cows. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Birmingham is a Re- 
 publican, and has served as a member of 
 the town board of supervisors. Socially 
 he is connected with T. O. Howe Post, 
 No. 184, G. A. R., of Green Bay, Wis. 
 For forty-three years he has been a resi- 
 dent of Oconto county, has witnessed its 
 
66o 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BWGRAPRWAL RECORD. 
 
 entire development and progress, and has 
 here discharged his duties of citizenship 
 with the same loyalty which he manifested 
 when following the old flag on Southern 
 battle fields. 
 
 agricultural 
 
 CHARLES QUIRT, who is num- 
 bered among the progressive and 
 highly-esteemed farmers of Little 
 River township, Oconto county, 
 has, since 1872, been identified with the 
 interests of the community. 
 He was born in Ogdensburg, New 
 York State, October 23, 1843, and is a 
 son of John and Elizabeth (Church) Quirt, 
 both of whom were natives of Scotland, 
 the father being of Irish ancestry, his 
 people having removed to the place of his 
 nativity from the North of Ireland. With 
 his father, John Quirt, he crossed the 
 Atlantic to New York City, and in the 
 Empire State was married. He there 
 engaged in operating a sawmill until his 
 removal to Ogdensburg, New York State, 
 whence he went to Arthur, Canada, where 
 he followed milling until his death in 1870; 
 his wife died there in 1886. They had a 
 famil)' of eleven children — si.x sons and 
 five daughters — of whom nine are yet 
 living, namely: Mrs. Eliza Quay, of She- 
 boygan, Wis., whose husband is engaged 
 in the manufacture of shingles there; 
 George, a resident of Canada; Mrs. Mary 
 Ann Burhland, of Arthur, Canada; John, 
 who is engaged in the foundry business 
 in Arthur; Thomas, a farmer of that lo- 
 cality; Mrs. Susan Pyne, of Arthur; Frank, 
 a blacksmith, of Canada; Mrs. Saran 
 Ralston, also of Canada; and Charles. 
 
 The subject of this review, who is 
 eighth in order of birth, was reared to 
 manhood in Arthur, and learned the trade 
 of filing in a mill there. In 1866 he de- 
 termined to seek a home and fortune 
 elsewhere, and went to California. For 
 some time he remained in the West, and 
 in 1869 was engaged in freighting fi n 
 Winnemucca. Nev., to Silver City, Idiiliu. 
 Previously he had engaged in mining at 
 
 Carson, Nev., and in Idaho for a time. 
 In the wild western district he went 
 through experiences such as have been 
 the theme of many a tale of fiction. Be- 
 fore he left for the West, he had married 
 at Arthur, Canada, in 1865, Miss Letitia 
 Ludlow, a native of that country, and a 
 daughter of William and Letitia (Dale) 
 Ludlow. Her father was born in the 
 North of Ireland, of Scotch ancestry, and 
 in an early day emigrated to Canada. His 
 death occurred in Arthur in 1869; his 
 widow is still living on the old family 
 homestead there. To Mr. and Mrs. Quirt 
 have been born seven children, as follows: 
 Mrs. Nettie Elliott, of Oconto; Ethelda, 
 wife of Mr. Sibbett, a farmer of Little 
 River township; Myrtle; Nellie, who died 
 at the age of one year; Harry, Cella, and 
 Charley. 
 
 In 1871 Mr. Quirt came with his 
 family to Oconto county, and the follow- 
 ing year located on a farm in what is now 
 Little River township, but was then 
 Oconto township. His first work here, 
 however, was as a filer in the Holmes 
 mill, at Pensaukee. He afterward held a 
 similar position for R. L. Hall, and later 
 in connection with his farm work he acted 
 as night superintendent for the firm of 
 Holt & Balcolm, occupj'ing that position 
 some thirteen years. He also superin- 
 tended the improvement of his land. After 
 a time he sold one-half of it, but the re- 
 maining eighty acres he has cleared and 
 placed under a high state of cultivation. 
 In 1872 he erected his residence, a good 
 one-and-one-half-Story house, has also 
 built substantial barns, and has now one 
 of the well-improved and valuable farms of 
 the neighborhord. He has also purchased 
 additional land, and to-day has a richly- 
 cultivated tract of 160 acres. He is 
 president of the Little River Creamery 
 Company, and is a progressive, enterpris- 
 ing business man. capable and energetic. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Quirt is a supporter of 
 the Republican party. He aided in or- 
 i;ani/ing Little River township, was chair- 
 man of its board of supervisors seven 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 r.r.i 
 
 years, and for four years was cliairinan of 
 the county board. He was also elected 
 sheriff of Oconto county, and served two 
 years. For eighteen years he has been 
 district clerk of the township, and is now 
 serving in that capacity. He has been a 
 prominent factor in the promotion and 
 upbuilding of his locality, and his official 
 duties have ever been discharged with a 
 promptness and fidelity that have won 
 him high regard. Socially, he is a mem- 
 ber of the Odd Fellows Lodge of Oconto, 
 and of the Modern Woodmen. His well- 
 spent life, his honorable career, and his 
 courteous, genial manner have gained him 
 many friends, and he is botli widely and 
 favorablv known. 
 
 LK. SHORES, a representative 
 farmer of Stiles township, Oconto 
 county, is the owner of a valuable 
 farm of 160 acres in Section 13, 
 where he has made his home since 1866. 
 He now has over 100 acres of the land 
 cleared and under a high state of cultiva- 
 tion. A good residence, barns and out- 
 buildings have been erected, and the neat 
 and thrifty appearance of the place well 
 indicates the careful supervision of the 
 owner. 
 
 Mr. Shores is a native of the Empire 
 State. He was born in Greene county, 
 N. Y., in 1830, and is a son of Elijah 
 and Deborah (Runyon) Shores, both of 
 whom were natives of New Jersey; the 
 former was of English descent, the latter 
 of French. The maternal grandfather 
 was a native of France, and served in the 
 Revolutionary war under Marquis de La- 
 Fayette; he afterward located in New 
 York, where he spent his remaining days. 
 The father of our subject was a mason by 
 trade, and was one of the early settlers of 
 Cairo, N. Y. , where he made his home 
 until his death in 1833. His wife long 
 survived him, and passed away in 1885, 
 at the age of ninety years. In their 
 family were five children : George, who 
 died in Columbiana county, N. Y. , May 
 
 12, 1893; Samuel, who died in Amster- 
 dam, N. Y. , in 1890; L. K., subject of 
 this review; Alonzo, who makes his hoine 
 in Cairo, N. Y. ; and Eleanor, who died 
 in that place in February, 1863. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared 
 in Cairo, N. Y. , and acquired his educa- 
 tion in its public schools, after which he 
 learned the trade of a spinner, and subse- 
 quently that of a cooper. Attracted by 
 the opportunities which he believed the 
 West afforded, he migrated in 1S58 to 
 Platte City, Mo., where he engaged in 
 the coopering business, removing thence 
 to Pike's Peak. For eighteen months he 
 was engaged in mining in that locality, 
 but in 1 86 1 returned to Cairo, N. Y., 
 where he left his family while he went to 
 the defense of his country. He had mar- 
 ried before his migration westward, 
 having, in 1855, in Watertown, Jefferson 
 Co., N. Y., led to the marriage altar 
 Miss Mary Ann Daily, who was born in 
 London, England. Her father died in 
 that country, her mother in Canada, in 
 
 1845- 
 
 Bidding adieu to his wife and children, 
 in 1862, Mr. Shores joined Company C, 
 One Hundred and Fifty-sixth N. Y. V. I., 
 for three years' service, and was mus- 
 tered in at Kingston. The regiment was 
 assigned to the Nineteenth Army Corps 
 and went directly to New Orleans. Our 
 subject proceeded with the Red River 
 expedition to Alexandria, then marched 
 back to Port liudson, participated in the 
 siege there, and was in the Louisiana 
 campaign. On being taken ill he was 
 sent to the University Hospital at New 
 Orleans, and afterward transferred to 
 Jefferson Barracks, of St. Louis, where 
 he remained for some time, when he was 
 transferred to the Sixty-second, Second 
 Battalion, Veteran Reserve Corps, sta- 
 tioned at that place. There he continued 
 until the close of the war, when in 1865 
 he was honorably discharged and returned 
 at once to his home in Greene county. 
 New York. 
 
 The following year Mr. Shores took 
 
662 
 
 COMMEMORATTVE liTOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 up his residence on his present farm, and 
 has since been identified with the inter- 
 ests of Oconto county. He is numbered 
 among its leading agriculturists, and has 
 aided in subduing its wild lands. Here 
 Mr. and Mrs. Shores reared their family. 
 They had six children, only four of whom 
 are now living : Charles L., who is mar- 
 ried and resides on a farm in Stiles town- 
 ship; Eli^a, at home; Mar\', wife of 
 Quincy McQueen, also of Stiles township; 
 and George, at home. The mother of 
 this family passed away March 28, 1892, 
 but her memory remains as a blessed 
 benediction to those who knew her. 
 
 In his political adherency, Mr. Shores 
 is a Republican, and takes quite an active 
 interest in local politics. For many years 
 he has served as justice of the peace, dis- 
 charging his duties with a promptness 
 and fidelity that insured his re-election. 
 He aided in organising the school district 
 in which he is located, has served as a 
 member of the school board, and has 
 done effective service for the cause of 
 education. Socially, he is connected with 
 E. A. Ramsey Post No. 74, G. A. R., 
 of Oconto, Wis., and was a member of 
 Oriental Lodge, in Denver, Col. For 
 twenty-nine years he has been a resident 
 of the community, deeply interested in 
 all that pertains to its advancement, and 
 is both widely and favorably known in his 
 adopted count)'. 
 
 WILLIAM E. DAGGETT. That 
 a review of the life of such an 
 enterprising and successful man, 
 as is the gentleman whose name 
 here appears, should be given promi- 
 nent place in this volume is pecu- 
 liarly proper; because a knowledge of in- 
 dividuals, whose substantial record rests 
 upon their personal character as well as 
 their success, can never fail to e.xert a 
 wholesome influence on the minds of the 
 reader. 
 
 Mr. Daggett is a native of Pennsylva- 
 nia, born in Tioga county October 20, 
 
 1850, and is a son of William and Mary 
 (Cazott) Daggett, the former of whom 
 was born in Massachusetts, the latter in 
 Trenton. N. J. Grandfather Rufus Dag- 
 gett was also a native of the Bay State, 
 and was one of the heroes of the Revolu- 
 tion. In an early day he located in 
 Tioga county, Penn. , where he carried on 
 farming, operated a gristmill and engaged 
 in the lumber business, there making his 
 home until his death. He married Han- 
 nah Sharp. 
 
 William Daggett, the father of our 
 subject, was married in Pennsylvania. 
 He was by trade a miller and stone 
 mason. In connection with the opera- 
 tion of a saw and grist mill, he also car- 
 ried on farming. In 1868 he came to 
 Marinette, and. with E. Parmenter, pur- 
 chased 200 acres of land, now partly 
 
 included in 
 
 Higgins' 
 
 Park. There he 
 
 built a log house, continuing the cultiva- 
 tion of the farm until his removal some 
 years later to Norway, Mich. On Janu- 
 ary 22, 1837, he married Miss Mary 
 Cazott, by whom there were seven chil- 
 dren, as follows: Lyman, who died in 
 Pennsylvania June 6, 1849, aged six 
 years; Mary Jane, wife of Philip Cress, 
 residing near Elmira, N. Y. ; Elmer, who 
 is living near Elmira; Jerome, who met 
 with a railroad accident and died later, 
 July 22, 1888, of Bright's disease, at Min- 
 neapolis, where he was employed as an 
 engineer; William E., our subject; Frank, 
 who is located in Marinette; and Clara, 
 wife of Thomas Faulkner, of Menominee, 
 Mich. Elmer and Jerome were soldiers 
 during the Civil war, serving in the first 
 New York Artillery. The mother of this 
 family died in Tioga county, Penn., No- 
 vember 20, 1856, and in May, 1885, 
 William Daggett married Mrs. Jane 
 Obern, by whom he had no children. 
 The father died in Marinette. Wis., in 
 1887; he also was a soldier in the war of 
 the Rebellion, serving in a Pennsylvania 
 regiment, and had a fine record. 
 
 William E. Daggett, whose name in- 
 troduces this sketch, was reared and edu- 
 
l^M^y^ r^' 0,^^^btt~^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 663 
 
 cated in the county of his nativity, and in 
 1872 — then a young man of twenty-two 
 summers — came to Marinette, locating on 
 his present farm, which was then in tlie 
 midst of the forest. He first purchased 
 forty acres, and has added thereto from 
 time to time until he now has a valuable 
 property of 400 acres, 1 20 of which are 
 within the city limits. The farm is under 
 a high state of cultivation and well im- 
 proved, owing to the persistent labors of 
 the owner, who is a practical and enter- 
 prising business man. In addition to 
 general farming he is now engaged in bus- 
 iness as a milk dealer, and has succeeded 
 in building up an excellent trade. His 
 residence, which for solid comfort and at- 
 tractiveness is not excelled in the locality, 
 stands within the city limits, and is sup- 
 plied with all modern conveniences, in- 
 cluding city water. The commodious 
 out-buildings — barns, etc. — are models in 
 themselves, and the entire property bears 
 evidence of a substantial and prosperous 
 ownership. Mr. Daggett has also dealt 
 e.xtensively in real estate, and is the owner 
 of a large amount of city property, both 
 improved and unimproved. 
 
 On April 29, 1874, William E. Dag- 
 gett was married in Springfield, Bradford 
 Co., Penn., to Miss Sarah A. Parmenter, 
 a native of that county, and daughter of 
 Asel and Abigail (Mattocks) Parmenter, 
 highly respectable people, the former of 
 whom was born in Franklin county, Mass. , 
 and died April 23, 1880; the latter, born 
 in Springfield, Bradford Co., Penn., died 
 June 6, 1888. They were the parents of 
 six children, namely: Ruel, who died 
 December 27, 1861; James M. ; Sarah A. 
 (Mrs. Daggett); Harriet L. (Mrs. John 
 Hagermanj, who died July 18, 1892; 
 Samuel P.; and Charles F., who lives at 
 the old family home. Mr. and Mrs. Dag- 
 gett have had three children, namely: 
 Two daughters that died in infancy, born 
 in 1875 and 1885 respectively, and one 
 son, Charles, born October 18, 1876, liv- 
 ing. In his political preferences our sub- 
 ject is a Republican, and he is a progress- 
 
 ive, public-spirited citizen, one who by 
 his own efforts, assiduous industry and 
 judicious economj' has made his own way 
 in life. Unaided by influential friends, 
 he by perseverance and enterprise has 
 worked his way steadily upward to a 
 position of prominence among the sub- 
 stantial citizens of Marinette. 
 
 G 
 
 FORGE W. SARGENT estab- 
 lished business in Abranis, in 
 1885, and is now enjoying a prof- 
 itable trade as a dealer in agricul- 
 tural implements, machinery, engines and 
 sawmill outfittings. He also handles 
 grain and farm produce, and is the owner 
 of a grain elevator. He has the public 
 confidence, and, therefore, the public 
 patronage, and his business career has 
 been one of success. 
 
 Mr. Sargent has S]ient almost his en- 
 tire life in Oconto county. Descended 
 from an old New England family, he was 
 born in Lowell, Mass., in i860, and is a 
 son of Levi and Nancy (Hardy) Sargent. 
 His father was born and reared in War- 
 ner, N. H., and was by trade a molder. 
 He resided for some years in Lowell, 
 Mass., and afterward removed to Man- 
 chester, N. H., whence, in 1868, became 
 to Wisconsin, locating in the midst of the 
 forest in Pcnsaukee township, Oconto 
 county. Here he performed the arduous 
 task of opening up a farm and established 
 the home wherein our subject now resides. 
 In connection with general farming he 
 carried on gardening, and his death oc- 
 curred May 17, 1890. His wife, who 
 still survives, has reached the age of sev- 
 enty years. Their only child, George W. 
 Sargent, was a youth of only eight sum- 
 mers when the family located here. 
 
 In the public school near his home our 
 subject acquired his education, and sub- 
 sequently engaged in teaching in Oconto 
 county some eight years, displaying con- 
 siderable ability along that line. He then 
 turned his attention to his present busi- 
 ness, and is one of the oldest merchants 
 
664 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in years of continuous trade in Abrams. 
 In connection with his business he also 
 owns a good farm, comprising 1 20 acres 
 of land, twenty of which are under culti- 
 vation. Enterprising and progressive, he 
 is always found on the side of improve- 
 ment and progress, and lends a willing 
 and hearty support to any enterprise 
 which he believes calculated to promote 
 the general welfare. He has witnessed 
 much of the development of the county, 
 has seen its wild lands transformed into 
 good homes and farms, has witnessed the 
 building of railroads, and the introduc- 
 tion of all modern improvements. 
 
 Mr. Sargent was married in Abrams, 
 Wis., in 1 891, to Miss Etta Knowles, who 
 was born at that place (then West Pen- 
 saukee), and is a daughter of S. A. 
 Knowles, an earl}' settler of Pensaukee 
 township. They have one child, Bert K. 
 Mr. Sargent gives his political support to 
 the Republican party; in his social rela- 
 tions he is connected with Pine Lodge 
 No. 184, F. & A. M. 
 
 TC. TULLY, of Florence, who 
 was a Union soldier in the war of 
 the Rebellion, was born in Wayne 
 county, Penn., in 1842, and is a 
 son of James and Mary (Daily) Tully, 
 who were also born in Pennsylvania. 
 
 James Tully has alwajs made his home 
 in Pennsylvania, now residing in Wayne 
 county. His wife died in 1890. They 
 reared three children, namely: T. C, 
 our subject; Frank, on a farm in Penn- 
 sylvania; and Margaret, widow of James 
 McCabe, of Forest City, Penn. T. C. 
 Tully was reared in his native county, and 
 educated in the schools there. In 1861 
 he enlisted, in Wayne county, in Com- 
 pany C, Si.xth P. R. v., for three years or 
 during the war, and was sworn into 
 service at Harrisburg, Penn. He was in 
 the battle of Drancsville, in the seven- 
 days' fight before Richmond, the second 
 battle of Bull Run, at South Mountain, 
 and Antietam; received a shell wound De- 
 
 cember 13, 1862, at the battle of Freder- 
 icksburg, and was taken prisoner, being 
 paroled March 20, 1863, and sent to An- 
 napolis, Md., where he was honorably 
 discharged in the same year, and returned 
 to Wajne county, Penn. After his return 
 from the war Mr. Tullj' learned the trades 
 of carpenter and millwright. 
 
 In 1868, in Pennsylvania, he was 
 united in marriage with Miss Margaret 
 Foote, and they had the following chil- 
 dren: May, who resides at Crystal Falls, 
 Mich. ; Nettie, also a resident of Crystal 
 Falls, teaching in the public schools 
 there; Kate, in Florence; Wayne, in 
 Crystal Falls, and Leonard, in Florence. 
 In 1 87 1 Mr. Tully came from Preston, 
 Wayne Co., Penn., to Oconto, Oconto 
 Co., Wis., and assisted in putting up the 
 Orr mill, as well as the Anson Eldred 
 mill, and the A. C. Coon mill at Little 
 Suamico, Oconto county. He helped 
 build the mill at Stiles, in the same 
 count}', continuing to follow his trade 
 of millwright until he came to Florence, 
 in 18S0, here building a hotel, called the 
 "Avenue House," 30x70 feet in dimen- 
 sions. In 1S82 he built the Tully Opera 
 House, 30x94 feet, at the corner of Main 
 and Cyclops streets, the lower portion of 
 which is used as a drug store and doctor's 
 office, and the total length is 120 feet. 
 
 Mrs. Margaret Tully died in Florence 
 in 1887, and Mr. Tully was again married, 
 this time in Florence, to Miss Eliza 
 Abel, who was born in Wisconsin, and 
 they have had two children: Zella and 
 Aria. The father of Mrs. Eliza Tully, 
 George Abel, was one of the early settlers 
 of Florence, where he now resides. 
 
 The " Avenue House " burned in Sep- 
 tember, 1888, and in that year Mr. Tully 
 built his residence and livery stable. He 
 was in the saloon business from 1880 till 
 1894, is interested in the livery business, 
 owns a fine summer resort at Spread 
 Eagle Lake, in F"lorence county, and has 
 there a two-story frame hotel, known as 
 the "Eagle Island Club House," which 
 was built in 1892, and can accommodate 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 6r,5 
 
 a large number of guests. There are sail 
 and rowboats, fishing is excellent, and 
 game in season is plentiful. Mr. Tully now 
 looks after his summer resort at Spread 
 Eagle Lake and his Opera House. Po- 
 litically, he votes with the Populist party, 
 and, socially, is a member of Dupont 
 Post No. 268, G. A. R., of which he is 
 past commander. He is one of the oldest 
 settlers in the locality, and assisted in the 
 organization of Florence county. 
 
 GEORGE T. JOHNSTONE, son 
 of Thomas and Mary (Halliday) 
 Johnstone, was born in 1848, and 
 grew to young manhood on a 
 farm in the Province of New Brunswick, 
 Canada. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the schools 
 of his native province, and at the age of 
 twenty years left home. Coming to the 
 West from New Brunswick he concluded to 
 cast his lot with and seek his fortune in the 
 State of Wisconsin, and during the fall of 
 1868 he worked in the woods at Oshkosh. 
 Finally, in 1869, he selected the county of 
 Marinette as the scene of his future oper- 
 ations, and since the year 1S75 he has 
 done a large and prosperous business in 
 the city of Marinette, dealing in hay, tiour, 
 feed and grain, being the first exclusive 
 merchant in that line in the city. He 
 was the first man to sell oatmeal to the 
 general trade — the drugstores, only, hand- 
 ling it in filling physicians' prescriptions. 
 
 Mr. Johnstone first located on the cor- 
 ner of Pierce and Main streets, doing 
 business there for a few years; he then 
 removed to Main and Wells streets, re- 
 maining there until his business outgrew 
 his facilities for handling it successfully. 
 About the year 1883 he removed to his 
 present commodious quarters on Main 
 street, having erected the building espe- 
 cially for the accommodation of his large 
 and constantly increasing trade. He also 
 owns two other fine buildings on Main 
 street, one having 20 feet frontage, the 
 other 22, I 35 feet deep. At the time these 
 
 buildings were erected they were the only 
 ones on the South side between his place of 
 business and Jordan's, on the corner of 
 Main and Wells streets. When Mr. John- 
 stone came to Marinette county, in 1869, 
 he entered the service of the N. Ludington 
 Co., and worked in the woods three 
 winters, during two of which he was fore- 
 man of the camp. He then acted as 
 foreman one winter for Archie McAllister, 
 whom he left to go into business on his 
 own account. 
 
 On May 3, 1876, Mr. Johnstone was 
 married to Miss Frankie Mary Place, 
 daughter of Anson and Caroline (Jack- 
 son) Place, pioneers of Marinette county, 
 to which union two daughters were born, 
 Caroline Mary and Nellie May, both now 
 deceased. Mr. Johnstone in politics is 
 independent, voting for the best man. 
 He was deputy sheriff of Marinette coun- 
 ty in 1876, and was a member of the 
 board of supervisors two terms. Both 
 himself and wife were at one time mem- 
 bers of the Presbyterian Church, but 
 since 1889 they have belonged to the 
 Church of Christ Scientists. Mr. John- 
 stone is a member of Olive Branch Lodge 
 No. 250, F. & A. M., and of Marinette 
 Chapter; was at one time a member of 
 Marinette Lodge No. 182. He took the 
 Chapter Degrees in Green Bay Lodge, at 
 Green Bay. Although by no means an 
 old man, he has lived long enough in 
 northern Wisconsin to have witnessed 
 the great changes in that section of the 
 State. He has seen, and aided and par- 
 ticipated in, much of the advancement and 
 progress of both the city and county of 
 Marinette. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Johnstone were 
 both born in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, 
 married there, crossed the Atlantic to 
 settle in New Brunswick, and success- 
 fully engaged in farming for many years. 
 The father died in 1892, the mother in 
 1894, both at the time of their demise 
 being over ninety years of age. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Johnstone were the parents of twelve 
 children, six of whom are now living, 
 
666 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 namely: Barbara (wife of Neil Gordon, 
 of Miramichi, N. B.), Jean, David and 
 Margaret (unmarried), all four residing in 
 Miramichi, N. B. ; John, who resides on 
 and cultivates the old farm, and George T. 
 
 JOHN C. WEZENAAR, gardener and 
 milk dealer, whose residence in Mari- 
 nette county dates from 1855, cov- 
 ering a period of forty consecutive 
 years, was born in the Harlem province 
 of Holland, June 24, 1850, and is a son 
 of William and Mary Catherine ("Van 
 Boonj Wezenaar, both of whom were also 
 natives ot that country, the mother born 
 in Leyden, the father in South Holland. 
 They received academic educations in 
 Leyden, and the father was a botanist in 
 the service of King William II, while he 
 also carried on business as a florist. In 
 1852 he left his native land and sailed for 
 Hackensack, N. J., whence he came to 
 Marinette county, Wis., locating on the 
 bank of the Menominee river. Entering 
 the employ of Dr. J. C. Hall, he remained 
 with him four years, after which he re- 
 moved to Menekaunee, Wis., where he 
 engaged with the New York Lumber Co., 
 continuing in their employ until 1871. In 
 1866 he had purchased and located on a 
 tract of land of eighty acres, and from 
 1 87 1 engaged in the cultivation and de- 
 velopment of his farm. His death oc- 
 curred in I.S85, that of his wife in 1889. 
 Their children were as follows: W^illiam 
 Nicholas, who is living near the old home 
 place; John C. ; Anna, wife of J. S. Wil- 
 son, of Woodstock, Ontario; Nicholas 
 P., a resident of Astoria, Ore.; Mary, 
 wife of Rudolph Hyting, of Washington; 
 Gilmer; Albert, of Marinette; Wilbur R., 
 also of Marinette; and Lydia, wife of 
 Frank Adams, living on Pearce avenue, 
 in the same city. 
 
 Our subject, who was five years of 
 age when brought by his parents to Mari- 
 nette county, attended school in the city 
 for eight months, but is largely self-edu- 
 cated and through his own efforts has be- 
 
 come well informed. He located on his 
 present farm two and a half miles from 
 Marinette, in 1865, and has since been 
 engaged in the cultivation and improve- 
 ment of his property, comprising eighty- 
 five acres of rich land. He is now exten- 
 sively and successfully engaged in garden- 
 ing, and since 1879 has been engaged in 
 the milk business, running one route for 
 thirteen years and eleven months without 
 losing a day. His capable management, 
 industry and steady application have made 
 him a well-to-do citizen. 
 
 In 1873, in Marinette, Mr. Wezenaar 
 was joined in wedlock with Mary Eliza- 
 beth Berner, who was born at St. Charles, 
 111., a daughter of Frederick and Freder- 
 icka (Gotzlaff) Berner, natives of Ger- 
 many, and pioneers of Peshtigo, Wis. 
 Their property was destroyed in the great 
 fire of that place in 1871. The mother 
 died the following year, but Mr. Berner 
 is now living in Minnesota. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. Wezenaar have come children as 
 follows: Catherine (Mrs. Lydia Ham- 
 mond, of Marinette), Ruth, George, Inez, 
 Irene, Jessie and Albert Edward. 
 
 Mr. Wezenaar is a Republican in poli- 
 tics; socially he is connected with the 
 Modern Woodmen of America. He has 
 witnessed the entire development of the 
 city and county of Marinette, and has 
 watched the growth of the former from a 
 mere village to a city of several thousand 
 inhabitants. In the work of public im- 
 provement he has ever borne his part, 
 and well deserves mention 
 valued citizens. 
 
 among the 
 
 ERNEST KUNTZE is the owner of 
 one of the fine farms of Oconto 
 county, and his possessions stand 
 as a monument to his thrift and 
 enterprise, for all that he possesses he 
 has acquirt;d through his own efforts, and 
 self-reliance and indefatigable energy have 
 been the means employed to secure his 
 prosperity. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 667 
 
 Mr. Knntze was born in Saxony, Ger- 
 many, July 28, I 83 I, and is a son of Ern- 
 est A. and Johanna ( Jmigj Kuntze, also 
 natives of that country, where throughout 
 his entire life the father followed the tan- 
 ning business. His death occurred in 
 1870, that of his wife in i S90. They 
 reared a family of five sons: Ernest; 
 Julius, who came to Oconto county in 
 1857, but is now living in Pennsylvania; 
 Gus, who died in Philadelphia, Penn. ; 
 and Emil and Louis, both in Saxony. 
 
 Our subject was reared in his native 
 country and the privileges which the com- 
 mon schools afforded him for securing an 
 education were supplemented with a col- 
 legiate course. When a young man of 
 twenty years he bade adieu to friends and 
 native land, and sailed fi)r America, em- 
 barking at Bremen July 12, 1S52. After 
 a voyage of sixty-three days he landed at 
 New York, and thence proceeded to Mil- 
 waukee, Wis., where he arrived in Sep- 
 tember, 1852. For one year he worked 
 in a tannery, and was afterward employed 
 at his trade in St. Paul, St. Louis and 
 New Orleans, respectivel}'. He then en- 
 gaged in steamboating for three months 
 on the Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee 
 rivers, then returned to Milwaukee, where 
 he once more worked at his trade. In 
 1854 he began working in the lumber 
 woods near Peshtigo, Wis. (at that time 
 in Oconto county), and in 1856 he came 
 to Little Suamico, where he pre-empted 
 forty acres of swamp land in Section 19, 
 Town 26, Range 21. In the same year 
 he built a log cabin and began improving 
 the place. He also engaged in fishing, 
 hunting and lumbering, following any 
 employment that would yield him an hon- 
 est living. He cleared his land as rapidly 
 as possible, and also dealt in bark. Being 
 a tanner by trade, he established a tan- 
 nery in i860, preparing the rough leather, 
 and continued in the business until 1874. 
 Since that time he has devoted his atten- 
 tion exclusively to agricultural pursuits, 
 and now owns 270 acres of valuable land, 
 100 of which are cleared and highly cul- 
 
 tivated. This being marsh land, it is 
 splendidly adapred to the raising of hay, 
 and his hay crops have been a source of 
 considerable income to him. On his place 
 is a good flowing well, and his farm is now 
 one of the most desirable in this section 
 of the county. During the Civil war he 
 was the first man drafted for service, but 
 having a family of little children depend- 
 ing upon him he felt that he could not 
 leave them, so paid $300 for a substitute. 
 
 Mr. Kuntze was married, in 1859, to 
 Miss Christina Hansman, the wedding 
 being the first one celebrated in Little 
 Suamico township. She was born in Ger- 
 many, in 1835, and is a daughter of 
 Christopher and Catherine (Frische) 
 Hansman, also natives of Germany, in 
 which country they spent their entire 
 lives. Mrs. Kuntze came to America in 
 1857 with her sister Elizabeth Blase, now 
 deceased. By her marriage she has be- 
 come the mother of five children — Elvina 
 (now Mrs. De Maiffe), of Little Suamico 
 township; Louie, born in 1861, died in 
 1873; Herman, born in 1863, died in 1873, 
 the two deaths, occasioned b}' typhoid 
 fever, occurring within two weeks of each 
 other; Walter, who was born in 1876, 
 and is a telegraph operator of Norway, 
 Mich.; and Anna, l)orn in 1878, still at 
 home. 
 
 Mr. Kuntze has taken a very active 
 and prominent part in the upbuilding and 
 development of his adopted county. He 
 assisted in organizing his township in 
 1859, served as its treasurer during the 
 next two years; was chairman of the town 
 board in 1862; has been town clerk and 
 school clerk for seventeen years, and in 
 1883 was again elected chairman of 
 the board of supervisors, serving for three 
 years. He has been census enumerator 
 for the State twice, and in 1880 and 1890 
 took the United States census. He is 
 ever ready to extend a helping hand to 
 all enterprises calculated to advance the 
 general welfare, and among the honored 
 pioneers of Oconto county is numbered 
 Ernest Kuntze. 
 
668 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ADOLPH WILSON (deceased), 
 who in his Hfetime was one of the 
 honored pioneers of Marinette, 
 and for nearly half a century a 
 resident of that locality, well deserves 
 honorable mention in the annals of the 
 founders of that now thriving city. 
 
 A native of Sweden, Mr. \\'ilson was 
 born, in 1818, in Sutter Haver, and was 
 a son of Noah and Catherine (Normount) 
 Barry, the former of whom, by trade a 
 shoemaker, passed his entire life in Swe- 
 den. After his death the widowed mother 
 came to the United States, for a time 
 making her home in Marinette, Wis., and 
 from there moving to Indiana, where she 
 died about the year 1870. Two of their 
 children came to Marinette — Adolph, the 
 subject proper of this memoir, and An- 
 drew, who arrived about the year 1870, 
 dying there. 
 
 Adolph Wilson was educated at the 
 public schools of Sweden, and at the age 
 of fifteen, crossing the North Sea to Lon- 
 don, England, there shipped before the 
 mast. For some sixteen years he fol- 
 lowed a seafaring life, sailing the Medi- 
 terranean Sea, and visiting all the prin- 
 cipal ports of the world. He was a ship's 
 carpenter, though he had never learned 
 the trade, taking to it naturally. In 1844 
 Mr. Wilson was married in Sweden to 
 Miss Martha Johnson, a native of that 
 country, and in 1849 the entire family 
 emigrated to America, the then new State 
 of Wisconsin being their destination. 
 They came by way of Chicago, where Mr. 
 Wilson left his wife and children, pro- 
 ceeding from there alone to Marinette, 
 which was then a mere hamlet consisting 
 of but three houses and a small store kept 
 by Dr. Hall. There was no lake traffic, 
 and railroads were unknown in this sec- 
 tion; but with willing heart and hands he 
 set to work at once to aid in the work of 
 progress and improvement. Here he pre- 
 pared a home for his little family, and in 
 1850 brought them from Chicago to the 
 wilds of northern Wisconsin. 
 
 For a month after his arrival in Mari- 
 
 nette Mr. Wilson worked for Dr. Hall, 
 and then took up the trade of shoemaker, 
 which he followed some twenty or thirty 
 years. His first shop was in his house, 
 but in course of time, as business in- 
 creased with the influx of settlers, he 
 opened a place of business on Main street. 
 B}' industry and fair dealing he soon won 
 success, building up an excellent trade, 
 and as his financial resources increased he 
 made judicious investments in real estate. 
 In 1888 he built the "Wilson block," 
 and he became the owner of several lots 
 on Main street which he leased, owning 
 all the ground from Dunlap square to the 
 "Marinette House." The first building 
 he put up in Marinette was the frame one 
 now occupied by Mr. Meyer, the clothier, 
 and his home was the first residence 
 erected in the city. By his investments 
 in real estate he accumulated a comfort- 
 able competence, and for man\- years 
 prior to his death was looked upon as one 
 of the wealthiest of Marinette's well-to-do 
 citizens. All that he acquired was through 
 his own well-directed efforts, and he was 
 known far and wide as a typical repre- 
 sentative self-made man. Mr. Wilson 
 was called from earth September 26, 
 1895, at the age of seventy-seven jears, 
 deeply regretted and sincerely mourned. 
 For many years he was a member of the 
 Pioneer Presbyterian Church of Marinette, 
 and in politics was a stalwart Republican. 
 By his first wife Mr. Wilson- had four 
 children, namely: Catherine (wife of D. 
 Cook), Mrs. Charles Shields and John, all 
 three residents of Marinette, and \\'ill- 
 iam, who lives in Daggett, Menominee 
 Co., Mich. The mother of these passed 
 away in 1889, deeply mourned by all who 
 knew her, and in 1892 Mr. \\'ilson mar- 
 ried Mrs. Mary Wheeler, a native of 
 Canada, daughter of William Cummings, 
 who died in Michigan in 1893. Bj- her 
 first husband Mrs. Wilson had a son, 
 James, who, with true filial devotion, is 
 still living with his mother. From the 
 days when Indians were far moie numer- 
 ous than whites Mr. Wilson was a con- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGUAPIIIVAL RECORD. 
 
 GGc, 
 
 tinuous resident of Marinette, and his 
 name deserves to be perpetuated among 
 the honored pioneers of this section of 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 WILLIAM W. De LANO, whose 
 residence is now at Descanso, 
 San Diego Co., Cal., was one 
 of the best and most favorably 
 known citizens of Oconto connty. Wis., 
 toward whose settlement, growth and up- 
 building he probably did more than any 
 other one man. He migrated thither 
 when a young man, and was actively 
 identified with the interests of this section 
 for over forty years. 
 
 Mr. De Lano is a native of Water- 
 town, Jefferson Co., N. Y. , born in 1831, 
 and is of French descent, his grandfather, 
 Thomas De Lano, having been a native 
 of "La Belle France." He came to this 
 country with LaFayette to serve in the 
 Revolutionary war, and, remaining here, 
 also served as captain in the war of 18 12, 
 in Gen. Scott's regiment, being retired 
 as brevet major; he was a thorough sol- 
 dier. In Jefferson county, N. Y., he 
 married, and he was one of the founders 
 of the city of Watertown. in that county, 
 owning 200 acres of land now included in 
 that corporation. His death occurred in 
 Watertown, in i 833. Leonard and Sylva 
 (Piper) De Lano, parents of our subject, 
 were born in Connecticut and New Hamp- 
 shire, respectively, and the father died in 
 Watertown, N. Y. , in 1868, the mother 
 surviving him two years. Leonard De- 
 Lano was a farmer and lumberman 
 by occupation; like his father, he 
 served in the war of 1812. Tiiere 
 were seven children in the family 
 who grew to maturity — four sons and 
 three daughters — a brief record of whom 
 is as follows: Harriet became the wife of 
 Albert Knight, and located in Jefferson 
 county, Wis.; her death occurred in 1873 
 in St. Peter, Minn. Evelyn married J. 
 C. Burbank, and died in 1894 at Thomas- 
 ville, Ga. ; Mr. Burbank started the first 
 
 express and stage company in the State 
 of Minnesota. Marcus came to Oconto 
 county in 1853, and assisted in building 
 Stiles' mill; he enlisted in the Thirty- 
 eighth Wis. V. I., and served till the close 
 of the war, taking part in the engage- 
 ments at Vicksburg and Petersburg; he 
 died in 1892 at Brookside. Mortimer 
 came to De Pere, Wis., in 1849, -^i"*^! i'l 
 1850 to Oak Orchard, here engaging in 
 fishing and farming; in Oconto county he 
 enlisted in Company F, Twelfth Wis. V. 
 I., was discharged for disability and re- 
 turned to his home; l)Ut recovering his 
 health he re-enlisted, in the same com- 
 pany and regiment, and served till the 
 close of the war, participating in the 
 march to the sea; after his return he set- 
 tled on a farm, where he remained until 
 his death, which occurred in 1872, in 
 Pensaukee township. Laura M. resides 
 in San Diego, Cal. William W. is men- 
 tioned farther on. George W. came to 
 Pensaukee in 1854, and opened up a farm 
 here, whereon he lived until his removal 
 to California, in which State he now re- 
 sides, in San Diego; he enlisted, in Ocon- 
 to county, for the one-hundred-days' 
 service. 
 
 William W. De Lano passed his youth 
 and early manhood in New York State, 
 in his native county, receiving his educa- 
 tion under private teachers, in the semi- 
 nary at Watertown, and in the college at 
 Clinton, N. Y. When about nineteen 
 years of age, in August, 1851, he came 
 westward to Wisconsin, and settling in 
 the section now known as Pensaukee, 
 Oconto county, became a prominent and 
 active citizen of the locality. When he 
 came here Oconto was included in Brown 
 county, and he took an active part in the 
 organization, first of the township of 
 Oconto, and lastly of the county. Dur- 
 ing his residence in this section he was 
 engaged in "cruising" and land-looking 
 for Eastern speculators, and he was the 
 lirst elected county surveyor of Oconto 
 county, serving four years. Up to this 
 time he had lived at Oak Orchard, along 
 
670 
 
 COyndEMORATIVE BroORAPBICAL RECORD. 
 
 the bay shore, engaged in fishing, but he 
 now purchased 160 acres in the woods, 
 which he cleared, the property being the 
 site of the present village of Brookside. 
 Selling out, he opened up the Brookside 
 farm, and then bought from the govern- 
 ment and opened up what is now the 
 Urdman farm. On selling this place he, 
 in 1874, settled a farm in Pensaukee 
 township, buying 320 acres in the woods, 
 1 30 of which he yet retains, his tract 
 lying in Sections 32, 27 and 21, and here 
 he resided until his removal to California 
 with five of his sons and one daughter. 
 In San Diego county he has a ranch of 
 400 acres of land, all fenced. 
 
 Mr. De Lano was married in 1S56, on 
 the steamer "Morgan L. Martin," while 
 that vessel was en route to Green Baj', 
 to Miss Eliza J. Bundy, a native of Ver- 
 mont, whose parents, James C. and Mary 
 (Cummings) Bundy, were born in Vermont 
 and New Hampshire, respectively. They 
 were married in \'ermont, and came to 
 Kenosha county. Wis., before the admis- 
 sion of the State to the Union, subse- 
 quently, in 1852, removing to Pensaukee, 
 where Mr. Bundy worked for F. B. Gard- 
 ner. He died in Nebraska in 1S83; Mrs. 
 Bund}' passed away in Kenosha county, 
 Wis. Of the ten children born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. De Lano nine are yet living, 
 namely: Alice A. (Mrs. H. D. Coole), liv- 
 ing in Pensaukee township; Fred J.; Etta 
 fwife of George H. Russell), residing in 
 Pembine, Wis. ; Lillian (Sirs. \\'illiam 
 M. Jones), of Armstrong Creek, Marinette 
 county; Mark T. ; Thomas P.; Lora E. ; 
 George L. , and Willis R. Marion mar- 
 ried P. Evcrhart, and died in Kansas in 
 1891. 
 
 Like all his brothers Mr. De Lano 
 served in the war of the Rebellion, en- 
 listing in October, 1861, in Company F, 
 Twelfth Wis. V. I., for three years, and 
 was mustered into the service at Madison, 
 being assigned to the army of the West. 
 He was injured on a construction hand 
 car, and came home in the fall of 1862, 
 receiving an honorable discharge at Madi- 
 
 most useful 
 
 zens have 
 
 actuated by 
 
 and competences, and 
 
 or no capital, decided 
 
 son. Our subject is an ardent Republic- 
 an in politics, and served as chairman 
 of Pensaukee township, which he helped 
 to organize. Many of Wisconsin's best, 
 and most progressive citi- 
 been Eastern men, who, 
 the desire to secure homes 
 having little 
 to cast their 
 fortunes in a region where competi- 
 tion and numbers had not yet crowded 
 out the toilers; but we doubt if there are 
 many men who have worked more zeal- 
 ously for the advancement and growth of 
 their adopted homes than Mr. De Lano. 
 He has won his way to an honorable po- 
 sition among his fellow men, and deserves 
 the prosperity and respect which have 
 followed him throughout his career. 
 
 HUFF JONES. There is scarcely 
 a man in Oconto county more 
 popular or widely known than 
 this gentleman, who has lived in 
 this section of Wisconsin for about sixty 
 years, and has been an eye witness to the 
 wonderful development and change which 
 has taken place here during that time. 
 
 Mr. Jones is a son of Col. David 
 Jones, who was born in New York State, 
 and was a soldier in the war of 1812. In 
 18 1 8 he moved to West \'irginia, and in 
 1832 migrated with his family to what 
 was then the " Far West," remaining for 
 three years in Mackinac, where he was a 
 government trader. In 1835 he removed 
 to Green Bay, Wis., and was also a gov- 
 ernment trader at Fort Howard. He 
 died at Green Bay in 1854, survived by 
 his wife and nine children, a brief record 
 of whom is as follows: Henry is now 
 deceased. Eliza married Saterlee Clark, 
 and is now deceased. Tarleton, also de- 
 ceased, was one of the most prominent 
 and successful lumbermen here in the 
 early days, making his headquarters at 
 Chicago. Mary is now deceased. Rob- 
 ert A. died at Oconto in 18S1. Huff is 
 the subject proper of these lines. Kath- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEIOAL RECORD. 
 
 671 
 
 erine is deceased. Agnes B. married 
 Col. Joseph B. Collins, who served in the 
 Civil war; he died in 1890, and Mrs. Col- 
 lins now makes her home in Washington, 
 D. C. Porter resides at Green Bay, 
 where he has been connected with the 
 Advocate, a well-known daily, for many 
 years; he was married, but his wife died 
 in 1893, leaving no children. 
 
 Huff Jones was born in 1823 in Wells- 
 burg, W. Va., and when he came west 
 with the family to what was then an al- 
 most new region was a mere boy. In a 
 few years, together with his father and 
 brother Tarleton, he came to Oconto 
 and engaged in the lumbering business, 
 in which they continued together for 
 some eighteen years. They might in- 
 deed be called the pioneer lumbermen of 
 this section, for they logged and built the 
 first camp on the Oconto river, and cut, 
 hauled, banked and drove the first log 
 that was ever put into the Oconto river 
 for manufacturing purposes. The father 
 and two sons worked together under the 
 firm name of the Jones Lumber Co. At 
 that early day there were few men in the 
 vicinity besides the Indians, and help was 
 brought from Chicago and Green Bay. 
 After the death of Col. David Jones, the 
 business was conducted by Huff, Tarle- 
 ton and Robert A. Jones, and they were 
 widely known as enterprising, successful 
 men. 
 
 On August 14, 1854, Mr. Jones was 
 married, at De Pere, Wis., to Miss Mary 
 Turner, the ceremony being performed 
 by Rev. Jeremiah Porter. Four children 
 blessed this union, two of whom are now 
 living, as follows: Robert, who resides 
 in Chicago, and is engaged in the lumber 
 business (he is married and has two chil- 
 dren — Mary and Paul); Mary Janette, 
 who married E. G. Mullen, of Milwau- 
 kee, and has one child living — Edward 
 Huff; David Huff, who is deceased; and 
 Julia Angeline, also deceased. 
 
 Mr. Jones is well and most favorably 
 known throughout the county, and held 
 the office of register of deeds of the county 
 
 39 
 
 for the long term of twenty-two years, 
 from 1 87 1 to 1893, when the Democratic 
 candidate came into office. It is hardly 
 necessary to say that he is a Republican 
 in political sentiment, and an ardent be- 
 liever in the principles of his party. He 
 now lives a retired life, enjoying a well- 
 deserved rest after his active, useful life. 
 Mr. Jones helped to form the Episcopal 
 Church in Oconto, of which he is an 
 active member, and in 1882 he was ap- 
 pointed senior warden of the Church. 
 He is not a member of any secret society. 
 
 HERBERT F. JONES, justice of 
 the peace, is one of the most 
 acti\'e of the younger citizens of 
 Oconto, and is a member of one 
 of the earliest families of this section of 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 A native of the city of Ociinto, he was 
 born in 1S70, and there received his edu- 
 cation at the public schools. In 1891, 
 he was elected justice of the peace, an 
 office he has since filled with ability. 
 Although yet young, Mr. Jones is admir- 
 ably fitted for the responsible position 
 which he occupies, and by his honesty, 
 energy and legal ability has won the con- 
 fidence and respect of his fellow citizens 
 wherever known. In political sentiment 
 he is a Republican. 
 
 LS. HITCHCOCK is one of the 
 honored veterans of the Civil war, 
 who faithfully served the Union 
 cause until the stars and stripes 
 once more waved over the united na- 
 tion. He is now engaged in the general 
 hardware business as a member of the 
 firm of Watson Brothers & Hitchcock. 
 
 A native of Rochester, Monroe Co., 
 N. Y., Mr. Hitchcock was born in 1845, 
 and is a son of Amos H. and Julia (ReedJ 
 Hitchcock, natives of Connecticut. The 
 father, a millwright by trade, removed in 
 an early day to Rochester, where he 
 built a large water mill, and made his 
 
672 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGliAPEICAL RECORD. 
 
 home for thirtj- years. About 1850 he 
 became a resident of Walworth county, 
 Wis., where he developed a farm. Sub- 
 sequently he put up a mill at Delavan 
 and other places, and his death occurred 
 in that city in 1S85; his wife died in In- 
 dependence, Iowa, in 1882. The Hitch- 
 cock famil}^ is of English origin, and was 
 early established in Connecticut. The 
 grandfather, Leonard Hitchcock, was one 
 of the heroes of the Revolution. Four 
 children survive the parents, namely: 
 Mrs. Charlotte Reeder, of Delavan, Wis. ; 
 Mrs. Julia Sharp, of Beloit, Wis. ; Amos, 
 who served for three years in the Tenth 
 Wis. V. I., and is now living in Walworth 
 tow^nship, Walworth county; and L. S., 
 subject of this sketch. 
 
 The last named was only five years of 
 age when brought bj- his parents to Wis- 
 consin. He was reared amid the wild 
 scenes of frontier life in Walworth county, 
 attended the common schools of the 
 neighborhood, and afterward entered an 
 academy where he pursued his studies 
 until August, 1862, when he responded to 
 the country's call for troops, joining Com- 
 pany K, Twenty-eighth Wis. V. I. He 
 was mustered into service at Milwaukee, 
 and with the Trans-Mississippi army par- 
 ticipated in the battles of Helena, Little 
 Rock, Pine Bluff, Spanish Fort, DuvalTs 
 Bluff and Mobile, after which he went to 
 Louisiana, where he participated in the 
 engagement at Sabine Cross Roads, and 
 then proceeded to Brownsville, Texas. 
 He was honorablj' discharged in Madison, 
 Wis., in September, 1865, and at once 
 returned to his home. 
 
 Mr. Hitchcock soon afterward went to 
 Iowa, locating near Hazelton, and estab- 
 lishing the town site there. For three 
 years he was engaged in agricultural pur- 
 suits, and then left his farm to assume 
 the management of two stores and eleva- 
 tors at that place, of which he continued 
 in charge for five years. He ne.\t dis- 
 posed of his farm and removed to Har- 
 vard, III., but engaged in dealing in lands 
 in northern Wisconsin. In 1879 he re- 
 
 moved from Harvard to Marinette, but 
 after eighteen months went to Quinnesec, 
 Mich., where for five years he carried on 
 mercantile pursuits. In 1887 he came to 
 Marinette, and entered into partnership 
 with Watson Brothers, dealers in general 
 hardware, under the present firm style. 
 Their store is located at the corner of 
 Liberty and Main streets, and is a first- 
 class establishment of the kind, supplied 
 with everything found in their line. The 
 members of the firm are enterprising and 
 energetic business men, and a large trade 
 now crowns their efforts. 
 
 The lady who now bears the name of 
 Mrs. Hitchcock was in her maidenhood 
 Kittie Lake, and the marriage between 
 her and Mr. Hitchcock was celebrated in 
 Harvard, 111. She was born in New 
 York, and is a daughter of Levi Lake, a 
 pioneer of Walworth count}-, \\' is. , who 
 returned to New York, and on again com- 
 ing to the West located in Harvard, 111., 
 where he is engaged in the lumber busi- 
 ness. His wife died in 1892. Socially, Mr. 
 Hitchcock is connected with Samuel H. 
 Sizer Post, G. A. R., and with the 
 Knights of Pythias Lodge, Marinette. He 
 takes quite an active interest in political 
 affairs, and by his ballot supports the Re- 
 publican party. He is a self-made man, 
 one who has w'on prosperitj' through his 
 own resources, and to-day, as the result 
 of his earnest labors, occupies a foremost 
 place among the representative business 
 men of his locality. He discharges his 
 duties of citizenship with the same loyalty 
 that he manifested when on Southern 
 battle fields he followed the old flag to 
 victory. 
 
 CHARLES LASELLE,a prosperous 
 farmer of Florence township, 
 Ilorence county, is one of the 
 early pioneers of northern Wis- 
 consin, and the oldest pioneer of Flor- 
 ence county, having settled where he now 
 resides, at the junction of the Popple and 
 Pine rivers, in the spring of 1S68. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPnWAL KECORI). 
 
 673 
 
 Our subject was born in Swanton, 
 Franklin Co., Vt., July 10, 1S32, and is 
 a son of John P. and Caroline (Gove) 
 Laselle, also natives of Franklin county, 
 Vt., the former of whom was a farmer by 
 occupation. He married Caroline Gove, 
 and they had three children, of whom two 
 are still living — Charles, the subject of 
 this sketch, and Frances, who is married 
 and resides in Wausau, Marathon Co., 
 Wis. Mrs. Caroline Laselle died in Ver- 
 mont in 1 84 1, and Mr. Laselle was again 
 married, in that State, this time to Eliza 
 Flint. In 1849 they came west to Wis- 
 consin, settling in Waushara county, near 
 Hancock, and there John P. Laselle opened 
 up a farm, on which he made a perma- 
 nent home. He died in Plainfield, Wau- 
 shara Co., Wis., in 1889; his wife Eliza 
 had preceded him, having passed away at 
 Hancock, in the same county, in 1884. 
 They had three children, namely: Will- 
 iam, who now resides in Plainfield, Wis. ; 
 Zachariah T. , a farmer on the old home- 
 stead in Hancock township, Waushara 
 county, and Alice, now Mrs. Bardwell, of 
 Plainfield. 
 
 Charles Laselle received his education 
 in the schools of Vermont, residing there 
 until 1847, when he came to Wisconsin, 
 locating in what is now Langlade county, 
 then a part of Oconto county, near Eagle 
 River, and engaged in working in the 
 woods, which vocation he followed three 
 years. The nearest town was Wausau. 
 In 1850 he went to Forest county, then a 
 part of Oconto county, where he engaged 
 in hunting and fishing, and commenced 
 trading with the Indians at Rice Lake. 
 He was the only white man in that local- 
 ity, and remained there until his removal 
 to Florence county, of which he was the 
 first white settler. As above stated, he 
 located on his present farm, at the junc- 
 tion of the Popple and Pine rivers, in 
 1868. A partner, named A. Palmer, ac- 
 companied him to Florence county, en- 
 gaging in trapping, and died here on the 
 Pine river in 1871, having been hurt by 
 falling with a canoe. Mr. Laselle con- 
 
 veyed the remains a hundred miles by 
 dog sleigh and team to Embarrass, Wau- 
 paca Co., Wis., where there were friends 
 of the deceased, and buried him. Left 
 alone by the death of Mr. Palmer, Charles 
 Laselle followed trapping and hunting for 
 years. In 1871, the year of his jiartner's 
 death, he took up a homestead of 160 
 acres, his present farm, on which there 
 were no improvements, and he has since 
 cleared over forty acres of the land, cut- 
 ting the road out from his farm to Flor- 
 ence in the winter (jf 1879. b'irst, he 
 erected a log cabin, in which he lived 
 until, in i88j, he built his residence, a 
 story and a half frame, 18x26 feet. In 
 I 886 he erected a good frame barn, 30 x 40 
 feet. 
 
 In July, 1 88 1, at Marinette, Marinette 
 Co., Wis., Charles Laselle was united in 
 marriage with Mary E. Carpenter, who 
 was born in Winnebago county. Wis., 
 and they have four children, whose names, 
 and whose ages, at this writing (1895), 
 are as follows: John, thirteen; Olive, 
 eleven; Alice, nine; and Jesse, foiu". Mrs. 
 Laselle was first married to Martin Weber. 
 The father of Mrs. Charles Laselle, J. D. 
 Carpenter, was born in New York, and 
 was an early pioneer of Winnebago county, 
 now residing in Clintonville, Waupaca 
 county. He was a Union soldier in the 
 war of the Rebellion, being a member of 
 a Wisconsin regiment. 
 
 Mr. Laselle is engaged in general 
 farming, and to some extent in stock 
 raising. He was in this part of the coun- 
 try before the railrtjad by more than 
 thirty years, came by boat on the Wis- 
 consin river and on the Pine river, brought 
 provisions and supplies to his post winters 
 and summers by dog-team and by boat, 
 and established himself here when Flor- 
 ence was a part of Oconto. No one in 
 northern Wisconsin is better known than 
 Charles Laselle. His name is familiar in 
 every household as the hardy pioneer who 
 for twenty-five years lived in the northern 
 country, only seeing a white man now 
 and then, when some lumbermen called 
 
674 
 
 COifVEMORATTTE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 at his trading post. His companions for 
 many jears were the Indians, and his 
 gun. dog and dog-sleigh. Mr. Laselle 
 votes with the Republican party, takes 
 an interest in politics and in educational 
 matters, and is a member of the school 
 board. 
 
 M 
 
 ICH.\EL COSGROVE. who 
 does a general lumbering and 
 jobbing business in Florence 
 county, was born in 1S48 near 
 Ottawa, Canada, and is a son of Patrick 
 and Mary (McAndrew) Cosgrove, also na- 
 tives of Canada, who were early pioneers 
 in their section. Patrick Cosgrove, who 
 was a farmer, opened up a farm in Canada, 
 and died there in 1S85, his wife surviving 
 until 1S87. They reared a family of nine 
 children, seven of whom are now living, 
 two residing in Wisconsin, namely: P. J., 
 who is engaged in lumbering at Eau Claire, 
 Eau Claire count), and Michael, whose 
 name opens this sketch. 
 
 Our subject was reared and educated 
 in Canada, and in 1864, at the age of 
 sixteen, came from there to Menominee, 
 Mich., engaging in lumbering for the dif- 
 ferent lumber companies. There he was 
 united in marriage, in 1878. with Miss Mary 
 Merton, who was born in New York, and 
 they have had three children, as follows: 
 \'aleria M. and John Walter, living, and 
 Stella, who died in 1893 in Oshkosh, Wis. 
 The parents of Mrs. Cosgrove, Thomas 
 and Mary (Murray) Merton, were very 
 early settlers in Oshkosh, Wis. , where they 
 now reside. 
 
 In February-, 1S80, Mr. Cosgrove came 
 from Menominee, ^fich., to Common- 
 wealth, Florence Co. , Wis., in which vil- 
 lage he built the first house and kept a 
 boarding-house. In 1S81 he moved to 
 Florence, Florence county, and engaged 
 in cruising in timber. In 1882 he was 
 elected assessor, and served two years; 
 was again elected in 1887, and served 
 continuously until 1894. also being en- 
 gaged in lumbering and logging. Mr. 
 
 Cosgrove is a member of Badger Tent 
 No. 12, K. O. T. M. He is a Democrat 
 in politics, and has held township office 
 in Florence longer than any other man. 
 He owns 240 acres of land in Florence 
 township, Florence county, and employs 
 ten or fifteen men in his lumbering and 
 jobbing business and in taking out logs. 
 He is one of the earliest settlers of Com- 
 monwealth township, aud in 18S2 assisted 
 in the organization of Florence county 
 from Marinette county, having ever been 
 actively identified with the progress and 
 interests of his section. 
 
 s 
 
 V. D. PHILBROOK. shipbuilder, 
 with yards located at Menominee, 
 Mich., and Marinette, Wis., has 
 been engaged in that business for 
 many years. He is a native of Cumber- 
 land county, Maine, born October 29, 
 1 83 1, and is a son of Ezekiel and Mar- 
 tha (Young) Philbrook, both of whom 
 were natives of Maine, as was also his 
 grandfather, Jeremiah Philbrook, who 
 lived and died there. Ezekiel Philbrook, 
 the father, was a teacher by profession 
 and was engaged in that calling for many 
 years, devoting the greater part of his life 
 to it, though he also engaged in farming. 
 During the war of 1812, he served his 
 country well and faithfully. He died at 
 the advanced age of ninety-one years. 
 His wife also died at an advanced age. 
 They reared a family of eleven children, 
 ten of whom are living: . Horace, of 
 Brunswick, Maine; Delphina, now Mrs. 
 Harmon, also of Brunswick, Maine; Mi- 
 randa Ann, now Mrs. Jury, of Freeport, 
 Maine; Ezekiel, of Waldoboro. Maine; 
 Martha Jane, now Mrs. Wilson, of Yar- 
 mouth, Maine; Cordelia, now Mrs. Aus- 
 tin, of Bath, Maine; R. D. Y., of Web- 
 ster, Maine; Lydia Sarah, now Mrs. Syl- 
 vester, of Brunswick, Maine; R. O., of 
 Peshtigo, Wis. ; and S. V. D. 
 
 The subject of this sketch traces his 
 ancestry for eight generations in America, 
 the greater number of them being citizens 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 675 
 
 of Maine. He was educated in the 
 schools of his native State, and in }'outh 
 learned the trade of a ship-carpenter. 
 Soon after leaving school he was engaged 
 in the building of a five-hundred-ton ves- 
 sel, the brig" Stella," at I-iichmond, Maine. 
 He followed ship-carpentering in Afaine, 
 and the fishing business along the coast of 
 Labrador and Newfoundland for four 
 seasons, feeing principally engaged in 
 ship- building, which has been his business 
 up to the present time. In 1858 became 
 west to Fort Howard, Wis., where he 
 engaged in ship-building, remaining there 
 about six years, and then removed to 
 Peshtigo, same State, where he continued 
 in the same line of business, and built the 
 "Boscobel." In about 1868 he estab- 
 lished the yards at ^fa^inette, Wis., and 
 Menominee, Mich., giving employment 
 to from ten to forty men, but has usually 
 about twelve regular employes. 
 
 Mr. Philbrook was united in marriage 
 in 1857, at Riclmiond, Maine, with Miss 
 Ellen Fowles, a native of that State, born 
 in Whitefield, and daughter of Samuel 
 and Eleanor (Colsen) Fowles, also natives 
 of Maine. Her father came to Fort How- 
 ard, Wis., where he established a ship- 
 yard and continued in the business for 
 many years. He died at Fort Howard in 
 1892, his wife some years previous. In 
 connection with his father-in-law, Mr. 
 Fowles, our subject, built the ship "Pica- 
 yune," and took her to New Orleans in 
 the fall of i860, there selling it. He has 
 been in the ship-building business ever 
 since coming to Wisconsin, and has 
 usually been very successful. In the 
 great fire of 1871, his residence, shipyard 
 and everything that he had at Marinette 
 were burneil. While his loss was great, 
 he went to work with characteristic en- 
 ergy to retrieve his fortune, and to-day is 
 numbered among the well-to-do men of 
 the county. In politics he was originally 
 a Whig, and since the organization of the 
 Republican party has voted that ticket. 
 
 Mr. Philbrook is one of the pioneers 
 of the west shore of Green Bay. He 
 
 came on foot from Fond du Lac to Green 
 Bay, and has since continued to reside in 
 this section of the country. He was here 
 years before railroads were constructed, 
 and has witnessed its change from a 
 wilderness to a prosperous community 
 now filled with happy and contented peo- 
 ple. In connection with his business of 
 ship-building, Mr. Philbrook deals in lime, 
 brick, plastering hair, stone and wood. 
 He is a thorf)ugh business man, and is 
 well respected thr(jughout this region, in 
 which few men are better known. 
 
 ROBERT HITCHON is the popular 
 sheriff of Marinette county, and is 
 numbered among its pioneers, hav- 
 ing resided there since 1867. He 
 was first elected sheriff in 1890, served 
 his term, and after an interval of two 
 years was again elected, in 1894, and en- 
 tered upon the duties of the office January 
 I, 1895. He is a native of Brantford, 
 Canada, born in 1857, and is a son of 
 Henry and Ann (Marston) Hitchon, both 
 of whom were natives of England, and in 
 early life removed to Canada. 
 
 Henry Hitchon, the father, was a 
 boiler maker by trade, and followed that 
 occupation in Canada. In 1S57 he re- 
 moved with his famil}- to Aurora, 111., 
 and there continued to work at his trade 
 until 1867, when he came to Marinette 
 county, then a part of Oconto, with 
 which it remained until 1879, when it 
 was set off, and duly organized as a 
 separate county. On his arrival in Mari- 
 nette, Mr. Hitchon again took up his 
 trade, at which he continued until 1870, 
 when he built a blacksmith and wagon 
 shop on \\'ells street, and continued in 
 that business until his death, in 1881. 
 Few men in Marinette county were better 
 known, and none more universally es- 
 teemed. A pioneer of the county, he 
 formed many acquaintances, and made 
 many lasting friendships. Politically he 
 was a Republican, an active worker in the 
 party, and before Marinette was set off as 
 
676 
 
 COMMEMORATrVE BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 a separate county, he was deputj' sheriff 
 of Oconto count}'. It has already been 
 stated that he was well-known through- 
 out the couniy, but it can be said that he 
 was also well-known throughout northern 
 Wisconsin. His wife survived him some 
 j'ears, dying in 1892. They reared a family 
 of children as follows : Robert, our sub- 
 ject; Grace, the wife of Burr Catlin, 
 sheriff of Dickinson county, Mich. ; Charles, 
 residing in Marinette; Alice, wife of Gail 
 Allen, bookkeeper for the Marinette Iron 
 Works at Marinette; Anna, an assistant 
 in the Menominee post office; and Nell 
 and Bessie, at home. 
 
 In his infancy our subject was taken 
 by his parents from Brantford, Canada, 
 to Aurora, 111., and in 1867 was brought 
 by them to Marinette, where he has since 
 continued to reside. His educational ad- 
 vantages were only such as could be ob- 
 tained in the common schools. In his 
 )'outh he learned the trade of a molder, 
 and worked in the Marinette Iron \\'orks 
 for about twelve years, being thus en- 
 gaged when first elected sheriff of the 
 county. After serving his first term Mr. 
 Hitchon engaged in lumbering, which 
 business he continued from 1892 to 1894, 
 with good success. 
 
 In 18S0 Mr. Hitchon was united in 
 marriage with Miss Helen Hubbeli, a na- 
 tive of Pensaukee, Wis. , and a daughter 
 of William and Lucy Minerva (Howe) 
 Hubbeli, who were natives of New York, 
 and numbered among the very early set- 
 tlers of Lake county, 111., from where 
 they removed to Oconto county, Wis. 
 They were also pioneers of Pensaukee, 
 where Mr. Hubbeli was engaged in the 
 lumbering business; they now reside in 
 Marinette. To Mr. and Mrs. Hitchon 
 have been born three children : Anna, 
 Lotta and Robert. 
 
 In politics Mr. Hitchon is an uncom- 
 promising Republican, and takes an active 
 interest in the public questions of the day. 
 He is ever ready to do his part in the 
 promotion of the interests of his party, 
 and his popularity is attested by his elec- 
 
 tion to the responsible position which he 
 holds. Fraternally he is a member of 
 Marinette Lodge No. 182, F. & A. M. 
 Coming to this count}' in his boyhood, he 
 has grown with its growth, and has been 
 not only a witness of its growth, but has 
 materially assisted in developing its in- 
 terests. Few men are better known in 
 the county, and none more highly re- 
 spected. 
 
 JOSHUA HODGINS, the highly effi- 
 cient and popular chief of the Fire 
 Department, Marinette, with which 
 he has been associated for the past 
 eighteen years, is a native of Canada, 
 having been born March 18, 1856, in the 
 town of Kincardine, County of Bruce, 
 Ontario. 
 
 Thomas Hodgins, his father, was a 
 native of the North of Ireland, and was 
 there married to Elizabeth McGuire, of 
 the same locality, by whom he had five 
 children, as follows: David resides in Hor- 
 tonville. Wis. ; Ellen is the wife of Her- 
 bert P. Chase, of Marinette; Joseph resides 
 in Tacoma, Wash, (he was the first chief 
 of police in Marinette); Hester Ann is the 
 wife of J. L. Brown, of Marinette; Joshua 
 is the subject proper of this sketch. In 
 an early day the parents came to the New 
 W^orld, for some years, or until 1864, 
 residing in Canada, whence they n)igrated 
 to Lemont, 111., thence after a year re- 
 moving to Escanaba, Mich., and from 
 there, in 1865, to Appleton, Wis. Here 
 the father died in his seventy-second year; 
 the mother passed away at Marinette in 
 1882. 
 
 Joshua Hodgins, of whom these lines 
 chiefly relate, was eight years old when he 
 left his native town, Kincardine, and nine 
 when the family came to Appleton, at the 
 public schools of which city he received 
 the greater part of his education. He 
 there worked at the tinner's trade one 
 year. In 1S73 he came to Marinette, 
 where he worked at the tinner's trade for 
 
COMMEMOliAriVE BIOGIIAPIIICAL UEVORD. 
 
 (>11 
 
 Watson Bros., remaining with them until 
 1 88 1. In the fall of iSSi he entered 
 'Milton College, Wisconsin, where he con- 
 tinued his studies till June, 1S83; then 
 engaged in the hardware business in Mari- 
 nette until 1SS7, the next year commenc- 
 ing to deal in coal, in 1889 establishing an 
 agency for P. S. Hanford (for the sale of 
 coal oil), which later merged into the 
 Standard Oil Co. In 1892 he gave up 
 the Standard Oil Co. agency, and estab- 
 lished one for the Cleveland Oil Co., con- 
 tinuing as their agent until 1894, when he 
 retired from that line of business. In 
 1 891 he was appointed chief of the Mari- 
 nette Fire Department. 
 
 In 1884 Mr. Hodgins was married at 
 Marinette to Miss Maggie Stephenson, 
 daughter of Hon. Isaac Stephenson, a 
 prominent lumberman of Marinette, and 
 to this union has been born one daughter, 
 named Margaret. Mrs. Hodgins is a mem- 
 ber of the M. E. Church. In politics our 
 subject is a Republican, active in the 
 workings of his party. Socially he is a 
 member of Marinette Lodge No. 182, F. 
 & A. M., and of Marinette Chapter No. 
 53, K. A. M. He has seen Marinette grow 
 from a city of 3,000 inhabitants to one of 
 17,000, together with the full growth and 
 development of the country, and has him- 
 self advanced with its spirit of progressive- 
 ness. At Marinette he established the 
 first coal agency and first dock, also the 
 first oil station for P. S. Hanford. 
 
 In 1877 Mr. Hodgins became asso- 
 ciated with the Marinette Fire Depart- 
 ment in the capacity of pipeman, became 
 assistant chief in 1889, and chief in 1891, 
 on full pay, prior to which he had been on 
 half pay. Tne entire Department is now 
 partly on half pay, and partly on full |)ay, 
 there being eight members under the latter 
 status, while the complete equipment at 
 the present time consists of two steam 
 fire engines, four hose wagons, one hose 
 cart, one hook and ladder truck ant! equip- 
 ments, three sleighs and boxes, three sup- 
 ply wagons, two hook and ladder sleighs 
 and racks for ladders complete, besides 
 
 all the other paraphernalia, including sig- 
 nal boxes and telephone stations, essential 
 to a first-class and well-conducted fire de- 
 partment. During the corporate year 
 ending the first Tuesday in April, 1894, 
 according to the official report of Chief 
 Hodgins, the Department responded to 
 129 alarms of lire. Under his manage- 
 ment the Departmtmt has attained a very 
 high efficiency. The loss by fire in the 
 city during the year 1895 was less than 
 nine thousand dollars. 
 
 REV. P. J. LOCHMAN, pastor of 
 St. Joseph's Church, Oconto, is a 
 native of Wisconsin, born in 1857 
 in Green Bay, in which city his 
 parents settled in an early day. 
 
 August Lochman, his father, was born 
 in Holland, and in 1848 came to Green 
 Bay, Wis. Here he married Sophia 
 Bulick, a native of New York State, who 
 came to Green Bay with her parents in 
 1840, and here they still reside. Twelve 
 children were born to them, five of whom 
 are still living, two sons and three daugh- 
 ters, namely: Mrs. Bcier, of Appleton; 
 Leonida, who is a Sister in a convent at 
 St. Paul, Minn.; G. L. , of Baltimore, 
 Md. ; Rev. P. J. ; and S. Fidelia, who is a 
 Sister in a convent at Silver Lake, Wis. 
 During the Civil war August Lochman 
 enlisted in Company F, Twelfth Wiscon- 
 sin Infantry, and served to the close of 
 the struggle. 
 
 P. J. Lochman passed his early life in 
 Green Bay, receiving his primary educa- 
 tion in the common and private schools. 
 He subsequently entered Calvary College, 
 Calvary, Wis., wliere he took the classical 
 course, graduating with the class of 1876, 
 an<l then took a theological course in St. 
 I'rancis Seminary, Milwaukee, Wis. In 
 I 88 I he was ordained by Bishop Kraut- 
 bauer, and was first assigned to St. Rose 
 Congregation, at Clintonville, Wis., of 
 which he was the first regular priest. 
 While there he was also in charge of con- 
 gregations at eleven or twelve different 
 
6yS 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 places, going from place to place, the 
 first year on horseback; and some idea of 
 the magnitude and extent of his labors is 
 gained from the mere statement that his 
 circuit covered about two hundred square 
 miles. And of all the places he visited 
 only two had churches, Clintonville and 
 Bear Creek. He did mission work at 
 Antigo, Rhinelander, Pelican Lake, Eagle 
 River, Tigerton, Aniwa, Norrie, and 
 various other points. He built the first 
 church at Antigo, and also established 
 the Church at Tigerton. Father Loch- 
 man was on this work nearly three years, 
 in 1SS3 being transferred from Clinton- 
 ville to Freedom, Outagamie county, 
 where he was pastor in charge of St. 
 Nicholas Church until November i, 1S91. 
 the date of his removal to Oconto. While 
 there he also had charge of the Church at 
 the Oneida Reservation, which he estab- 
 lished. 
 
 St. Joseph's Church was established 
 from St. Peter's Church, of Oconto, in 
 1870, the first church, a good frame 
 building, being erected in that j'ear. The 
 parish has since continued to grow and 
 prosper, and during the quarter of a cen- 
 tury- of its existence has had but two 
 priests. Father Schwebach — who served 
 the congregation from 1S6S — and Father 
 Lochman. There are now about 400 
 families connected with the Church, and 
 the property is valued at about $30,000. 
 In 1 874 a good two-storj' school building 
 was put up, which in 1 892 was remodeled 
 at an outlay of $3,000, another story be- 
 ing also added. The priest's house, 
 which was erected in 1S72, was moved 
 and remodeled in 1895 at an e.xpense of 
 $1,000. and during the same year the 
 church was also moved and refitted at a 
 cost of $15,000. The parochial school 
 has an attendance of about 350 children. 
 Father Lochman is a member of Oconto 
 Lodge, Catholic Knights of Wisconsin, 
 and of St. William's Court No. 365, 
 Catholic Order of Foresters. He is also 
 spiritual director in the Ancient Order of 
 Hibernians. 
 
 ROBERT O. HUNT, clerk of the 
 court of Marinette county, was 
 elected to his present position No- 
 vember 6. 1894, and assumed the 
 duties of the office in January, 1S95. He 
 is the youngest county official ever elected 
 in Marinette county. 
 
 Our subject was born midway be- 
 tween Peshtigo and Marinette, in 1873, 
 and is a son of David and .\ugusta (Lentz) 
 Hunt. The father, who was a native of 
 Sullivan county, N. Y. , removed when a 
 young man to Minnesota, where he took 
 part in the Indian war which occurred 
 about the time of the breaking out of the 
 Rebellion, and was shot through the leg. 
 Soon after his recovery, in about 1862, 
 he came to Peshtigo, where he engaged in 
 lumbering, and where he met and was 
 united in marriage, in May, 1863, with 
 Augusta Lentz, a daughter of Charles and 
 Augusta Lentz, both of whom were na- 
 tives of Germany, and who are numbered 
 among the pioneers of Marinette county. 
 Her father on his arrival here opened up 
 a farm near Peshtigo, where he still con- 
 tinues to reside. David Hunt, on coming 
 to Marinette county, engaged in the lumber 
 business, and was superintendent of the 
 Peshtigo Lumber Co. mills during the fire 
 of 1871, at the time when the mills and 
 entire manufactured product were burned. 
 His death occurred at Peshtigo in May. 
 1877, when he was forty-four years of 
 age, and his wife yet resides in that place. 
 There their family of five children were 
 reared, viz. : Wilbert D. . who died in 
 September. 1892; Orin, a scaler of logs, 
 residing in Peshtigo; Arthur, who is en- 
 gaged in the same business at the same 
 place; Robert O., our subject; and Nel- 
 lie P. 
 
 Robert O. Hunt grew to manhood in 
 his native village, received his primary 
 education in the public schools, and fin- 
 ished his course in college at Menominee, 
 Mich. On finishing his education, he ac- 
 cepted a position with the Peshtigo Lum- 
 ber Co., as scaler, and was there em- 
 ployed when elected to the office of clerk 
 
COMMEMOHATIVI<: BIOGUAPUWAL liKVOlW. 
 
 679 
 
 of court. As stated, Mr. Hunt is the 
 youngest officer ever elected in Marinette 
 county. He is a man of exceptional 
 ability, and has a bright future before 
 him. In every position held by him \\r 
 has discharged his duties in a faithful 
 manner, and in a way to meet the ap- 
 proval and win the respect of his asso- 
 ciates. The family were among the iirst 
 to settle on the Old State Road, and are 
 well known and universally respected 
 throughout the county. 
 
 M 
 
 KIRKl'ATI^ICK, superintend- 
 ent of the city water works of 
 Marinette, is the son of W. and 
 Maggie Kirkpatrick, natives of 
 New I->runswick, Canada, and was l)orn 
 in Milwaukee, in July, 1864. His parents 
 came to Carlton, Wis., in an early day, 
 and there the father became superintend- 
 ent of a lumber mill, later being foreman 
 at Manistique, Mich., and he is now in 
 the employ of the Ivirby-Carpenter I^um- 
 ber Company. 
 
 M. Kirkpatrick, the only child, was 
 reared in Milvvaukee and educated in the 
 public schools of Manistitpie, Mich., and 
 at the age of fifteen years liegan life in 
 the eiufjloy of O. B. Prime, dealer in 
 general merchandise. In 1S79 he came 
 from Manisticjue to Marinette, and en- 
 gaged in the dry-goods business for five 
 years. He then went into the commis- 
 sion l)usiness, in which he continued until 
 entering the service of the Water Wcjrks 
 Co., in the spring of 1888, his entire time 
 now being devoted to the superintend- 
 ence of their plant. The power house is 
 situated at the corner of Fifth and Water 
 streets. The water works vvi'rc; estab- 
 lished in 1888, at which time J. 11 I'nrdy, 
 of Pittsburg, Penn., was president. The 
 company is incorporated and has eighteen 
 miles of pipe line in service, giving em- 
 ployment to six men. 
 
 In 1892 Mr. Kirkpatrick built on Ella 
 C(jurt a new two-story frame residence 
 for his own use. He was married in 
 
 Marinette, in 1886, to Miss Bertha A. 
 Witting, daughter of Dr. N. Witting, one 
 of the pioneers of Green Hay, Wis., wlu) 
 now resitles in Marinette. Three chil- 
 dren were the fruit of this union, Marvin 
 Clyde, Hazel, and Wayne. In ])olitics 
 Mr. Kirkpatrick is a Democrat, and takes 
 considerable interest in the success of his 
 party. Socially he is a member of the 
 Koyal Arcaiunn. He takes a lively in- 
 terest in the growth and improvement of 
 the city, having been closely identified 
 with it in a business way for over si.\teen 
 years. He is a self-made man, and in; 
 won his way to his present position by 
 the e.xercise of his native ability, for he 
 commenced in the spring of 1888 as time- 
 kee[)er, and rose from that position to the 
 rank of superintendent. He is an up- 
 right, honest man, and is respected ami 
 esteemed by his fellow citizens generally. 
 
 CI'KITIHOF LARSON, M. D., 
 the well-known and popular phy- 
 sician and surgeon, residing at 
 No. 1225 Main street, Marinette, 
 came to that city in May, 1894, but not- 
 withstanding his comparatively short resi- 
 dence here has succeefled in l)uilding up 
 a large and lucrative clientele as a gen- 
 eral practitioner of the healing art. The 
 Doctor came here from Iron Mountain, 
 Mich., where he had located in the fall 
 of 1891. Graduating from Rush Medical 
 College, Chicago, and obtaining three 
 out (jf the six i)ri/es offered by that famous 
 medical institution, he began the practice 
 of his profession in that city in 1888, and 
 continued there until his removal to Iron 
 Moimtaiu. 
 
 Dr. Larson is the son of Frederick 
 and Charlotte (Anderson) Larson, both 
 of whom were natives of Sweden, where 
 they died, the mother in 1880, and the 
 father in 1889. They reared a family of 
 four children, all of whom are still living: 
 Hilda, the eldest, wife of Oscar Anderson, 
 an officer in the Swedish army; C. F., 
 whose name introduces this sketch; Arvid, 
 
6So 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 an agriculturist, who owns and cultivates 
 a large farm in his native country; and 
 Axel, the joungest, who was brought to 
 this country by the Doctor in 1S89, and is 
 now employed by the Story & Clark 
 Organ Company, 
 
 Our subject was born and reared in 
 Sweden, and educated in the schools of 
 Nykoping, graduating in the literary 
 course in iSSo. He then entered the 
 University of Upsala, taking a course 
 preparatory to the study of medicine, and 
 graduated from that celebrated school in 
 iSS:?. Coming direct to Chicago, he en- 
 tered the railway service of the Central 
 Traffic Association as a clerk in 1SS3, 
 and remained with that organization for 
 four years. In 1SS4 (while still in their 
 employ^i he began the study of medicine 
 with Dr. Anderson, and in 1SS7 he severed 
 his connection with the railway associa- 
 tion to enter Rush Medical College, as re- 
 lated above. 
 
 In I S89 the Doctor returned to Swe- 
 den, and spent si.\ months in different 
 hospitals in that country and in Germany, 
 returning to Chicago. He was a mem- 
 ber of the Chicago Medical Society and 
 the Scandinavian .Medical Society, and is 
 at present connected with the Menom- 
 inee River Medical Society, the Fox 
 River Medical Society, and the Wiscon- 
 sin State Medical Society. He is also 
 chief ranger of Marinette Lodge No. 994. 
 I. O. F. ; a member of Marinette Lodge 
 No. 72, K. of P. ; Uniformed Rank, K. of 
 P., at Iron Mountain; Sons of Sweden, 
 of Menominee; Scandinavian Benevolent 
 Society, of Marinette, and of the Mari- 
 nette Gun Club. He is an enthusiastic 
 advocate of gymnastic training, organized 
 the first Swedish Gymnastic Club in Chi- 
 cago, and introduced gymnastic e.xercises 
 in the public schools of Iron Mountain. 
 He is a member of the Bicycle Club and 
 the Y. M. C. A. In politics Dr. Larson 
 is a Republican. He was health officer in 
 Iron Mountain for two years, and mem- 
 ber and secretary of the school board for 
 two years, taking a lively interest in 
 
 everything pertaining to the welfare of 
 the city, more especially so in all educa- 
 tional matters. 
 
 In 1 888 the Doctor was married, in 
 Chicago, to Miss Emma Seaburg, daugh- 
 ter of Carl Seaburg, a native of Sweden, 
 who died in Chicago in 1S83. The Doc- 
 tor and his wife have two children — Her- 
 bert and Bertel. 
 
 AM. FAIRCHILD. Among the 
 many prominent and influential 
 business men of Marinette is the 
 gentleman whose name introduces 
 this sketch. He has been continuously and 
 successfully engaged in the drug business 
 in that city for over a quarter of a century, 
 having opened his establishment in 1869 
 with as full and complete a line of goods 
 , as any similar concern in the State, and 
 this high standard has been maintained 
 throughout his business career. 
 
 Mr. Fairchild was born in Fountain 
 county, Ind., in 1843, and is the son of 
 Rev. John and L. P. (Bigelow) Fairchild, 
 both of whom were natives of \'ermont, 
 where they were married. The father 
 was educated and ordained as a minister 
 of the Presbyterian Church while living 
 in the Green Mountain State, removed to 
 Fountain county. Ind., and officiated in 
 that capacity there until 1863, when he 
 removed to Marinette, then a village of 
 400 inhabitants. He there founded the 
 Pioneer Presbyterian Church, and was 
 pastor in charge for twenty-two years. 
 He also founded the Presbyterian Church 
 at Menominee, and was identified with 
 both organizations, residing in Marinette. 
 He was school commissioner here for a 
 while. He died here in 18S5, in the 
 eighty-fifth year of his age, and his wife, 
 ! who still lives in Marinette, was eighty- 
 five years old in August. 1S95. They had 
 seven children, as follows: Mrs. H. B. 
 Bird, of Menominee. Mich.; Mrs. Ely 
 Wright, of Minneapolis. Minn.; J. B., an 
 attorney at law; A. M. ; H. O.. also an 
 attorney at law; C. M., editor of the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 681 
 
 North Star, and A. A. , casliior fi.ir the 
 N. Liuliiif^ton Company. 
 
 Our subject was reared in Iiuliana, in 
 different localities, and was educated in the 
 schools of Indianapolis. In 1863 he en- 
 listed from Wabash county in Company 
 A, Seventy-fifth Ind. \'. I., forthree years 
 or during the war; was mustered into the 
 service at Indianapolis, Ind., and was as- 
 signed to the Fourteenth Army Corps, 
 taking part in the battles of Chickamauga, 
 Missionary Ridge, Resaca and Kenesaw 
 Mountain, and in all of the engagments 
 from Chattanooga to Savannah. He also 
 took part in the Carolina campaigns, and 
 participated in the Grand Review in 
 Washington, D. C, at the close of the 
 war, where the troops were held for a 
 short time. He was honorablv discharged 
 Jul)- 29, 1865, at Indianapolis, Indiana. 
 
 Upon his discharge from tiic army Mr. 
 Fairchild came direct to Marinette, arriv- 
 ing August 5, 1865, and there entered 
 the employ of the N. Ludington Co. 
 as bookkeeper, in whose service he re- 
 mained until he engaged in the drug busi- 
 ness, in which particular line of trade he 
 is the oldest representative in Marinette. 
 He was married in Marinette to Miss M. 
 E. Wright, daughter of J. K. and Maria E. 
 (Ely) Wright, of Pennsylvania, and to 
 this union two children were born — 
 Richard, local editor of the Nortli Star, 
 and Pauline. Mrs. Fairchild dying in 
 1887, Mr. Fairchild was married, in 
 1891, to Miss Phyllis B. Brown, a native 
 of New Brunswick, and to this marriage 
 one child, Stafford, was born. 
 
 In politics Mr. Fairchild is a Republic- 
 an, and takes an active interest in all 
 jiublic: questions. He is president of the 
 Marinette school board, was here at its 
 organization, and takes a vital interest in 
 all matters pertaining to the welfare of 
 the schools. He was also organizer of 
 the Marinette Fire Department, and its 
 chief for si.xteen years; was for seven 
 years clerk of the court, and one year 
 town clerk. Mr. P'airchild was at one 
 time ofliciating as member of the school 
 
 board, town clerk and chief of the fire de- 
 partment at the same time. Socially he 
 is connected with \arious lodges, and is 
 P. M. of Marinette Lodge No. 182, F. 
 cV- A. M.; P. H. P. Marinette Chapter 
 No. 57; It. C. Marinette (x)nimandery 
 No. 2(r, present Commander of Saladin 
 Temple No. 8, A. A. O. N. M. S., C.rand 
 Rapids. He is also a member and director 
 of the Marinette Business Men's Associa- 
 tion, and of S. II. Si/er Post, G. A. R. 
 One of the "old-timers," he has wit- 
 nessed the growth of the city of Mari- 
 nette from its handful of 400 to its present 
 size, and from both his business and 
 official records it is eN-ident that he is 
 one of the best known, most inlhiential 
 and most popular citizens of Marinette 
 county. 
 
 JW. MOLLOV, slu-riff of Florence 
 county, was born in Russell county, 
 Canada West, January 6, 1858, 
 and is a son of Michael and Sarah 
 (Uowningj MoUoy, who wi're born in 
 Canada, where they now reside. 
 
 The father was a farmer by oc(U[)a- 
 tion. They had a family of six children, 
 three sons and three daughters, as fol- 
 lows: Sarah, now Mrs. James, of Can- 
 ada; Catharine, now Mrs. Frej'niicr, of 
 Toronto, Canada; Nellie, married, who is 
 a resident of Cornwall, Canada; James, 
 residing in Russell county, Canada; 
 Michael, in P'lorence courty. Wis., and 
 J. W., whose name introduces this sketch. 
 J. W. MoUoy was reared in Russell 
 county, Canada, and educated in the 
 schools of that country. In 1876, at the 
 age of eighteen, he came to Marinette, 
 Wis., and drove logs on the river, work- 
 ing in the woods until his removal to 
 (Juinnesec, Mich. In September, 1880, 
 he came from Ouinnesec to Florence, 
 Wis., when there were no roads here, 
 built a livery barn, and was in the livery 
 business one year. In 1882 he conducted 
 a hotel at Crystal I'alls, Mich., then re- 
 turning to Florence kept a restaurant and 
 
682 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 saloon. The barn which he had erected 
 here was burned in i88S, and he then built 
 his present barn. He has a fine stock of 
 rigs, horses, buggies, etc., and has been 
 interested in the livery business in 
 Florence since the town was organized. 
 He also owns eighty acres of land adjoin- 
 ing the city, and, in connection with his 
 other interests, is engaged in lumbering 
 and logging. 
 
 Mr. MoUoy was united in marriage in 
 1885, at Ishpeming, Mich., with Mary 
 Bresnehen, who was born in that place, 
 and they have had four children, namely: 
 Clara, Sarah, Florence and Howard. 
 Mr. Molloy was the first man naturalized 
 in Marinette county, and has seen the 
 progress and growth of Marinette. He 
 is a Republican in politics. For one 
 year he was under sheriff of Florence 
 county, in 1888 was elected sheriff, and 
 was again elected in 1894, coming into 
 office in January, 1895; he has also served 
 two terms as supervisor. Socially he is 
 a member of Fisher Lodge No. 222, F. 
 & A. M., and has held office in the 
 Lodge. 
 
 J.AMES L. MURPHY, ex-sheriff of 
 Marinette county, came to Peshtigo, 
 September 22, 1872, and was in the 
 emplo)' of the Peshtigo Lumber Co. 
 for about twelve years. He has been 
 prominent in public affairs here for a num- 
 ber of years, having served as sheriff three 
 times, as under sheriff one term, and one 
 term as assemblyman, his official record 
 being as follows: Elected sheriff in 1884, 
 serving one term; elected to Assembly in 
 1886, serving 1887-88; sheriff, 1889-90; 
 under sheriff, 1891-92; sheriff, 1893-94. 
 Mr. Murphy came to Marinette, Mari- 
 nette county, from Norfolk, St. Lawrence 
 Co., N. Y. He was born in 1849 in 
 Franklin county, X. Y. , son of John W. 
 and Joanna (Ouinn) Murphy, the former 
 of whom was a native of Ireland, and a 
 very early settler in F"ranklin county; the 
 mother was born in St. Lawrence county. 
 
 Mr. Murphy was reared in New York, 
 married there, and became a farmer in 
 Franklin and St. Lawrence counties, al- 
 ways making his home in that State. He 
 died in 1892 in St. Lawrence county, 
 where his widow still resides. They had 
 seven children, all of whom are living: 
 James L. , our subject; William, residing 
 in the State of Washington; M. L. , of 
 Stillwater, Minn.; P. R., of Red Wing, 
 Minn. ; John; Mrs Mary Lowe, of Lowell, 
 Mass. ; and Lottie, living in New York. 
 
 James L. Murphy was reared in St. 
 Lawrence county on a farm, and received 
 his education in the schools of that county. 
 He followed farming until coming to Pesh- 
 tigo, Wis., where he was employed by 
 the Peshtigo Lumber Co. until elected 
 sheriff of Marinette count}-. In 1S78 he 
 married, in Marinette, Miss Martha Hale, 
 who was born in Peshtigo, daughter of 
 Levi and Hannah (Windross) Hale, na- 
 tives of the East, who were among the 
 pioneers of Marinette county. Mr. Hale 
 now resides in Peshtigo. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Murphy have three children — Edward, 
 Robert and Francis. Mr. Murphy is a 
 Republican, and his record shows him to 
 be a very energetic and popular politician. 
 He has been identified with the political 
 history of Marinette county ever since it 
 was organized, and even while it was still 
 a part of Oconto county. He is now 
 managing the Schick estate at Ellis Junc- 
 tion. 
 
 WA. ANDREW, real-estate dealer 
 and insurance agent at Mari- 
 nette, came to that city in May, 
 I 882. when it was a small strug- 
 gling village. He remained there, how- 
 ever, but a short time, and then went to 
 Menominee, where he filled the office of 
 register of deeds of Menominee county. 
 Subsequently he moved to northern Mich- 
 igan, there remaining for a time, and then 
 returning to Marinette, where he has 
 since continued to reside. His present 
 business was established in 1893. Mr. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOOItAPniGAL RECORD. 
 
 683 
 
 Andrew is a native of New Brunswick, 
 born in 1855, and is a son of James and 
 Mary (Miller) Andrew, both of whom 
 were natives of Scotland, but who emi- 
 grated to New I3runswick in an early day. 
 James Andrew was a ship carpenter by 
 trade, and followed that occupation for 
 many years, later engaging in steamboat- 
 ing. He and his estimable wife yet re- 
 side in New Brunswick. They reared a 
 family of seven children: W. A., our 
 subject; J. Af., who has been in the gro- 
 cery business at Afarinette since 1884; 
 Mary; John, who resides in Marinette, and 
 who is engaged in lumbering; Jane and 
 Maggie, also of Marinette; and I'red, who 
 resides in British Columbia. 
 
 Mr. Andrew grew to manhood in his 
 native land, and was educated in its pub- 
 lic schools. After leaving school he en- 
 gaged in teaching, and for five years 
 taught the public schools of Superior. 
 Health failing him, he came to northern 
 Wisconsin, where he has since continued 
 to reside, with the exception of a short 
 time already mentioned, which he spent 
 in Michigan. Before his removal to the 
 States he was united in marriage in New 
 Brunswick, in 1877, with Miss Hannah 
 Knowles, who was born in New Bruns- 
 wick, daughter of Thomas Knowles; her 
 father was of Scotch and her mother of 
 English ancestry; they were among the 
 pioneers of that section and both died in 
 New Brunswick. To Mr. and Mrs. Andrew 
 have been born four children: Mary Etta, 
 J. Harvey, Veda and Verna. 
 
 In politics Mr. Andrew is a Democrat, 
 and a firm beliver in the principles of that 
 party. Fraternally he is a member of 
 Marinette Lodge, I. O. O. I"., and relig- 
 iously he is a member of the Pioneer Pres- 
 byterian Church. When he first settled 
 in Marinette, and built his house on 
 Pierce avenue, there was only one house 
 beyond. The street now extends a mile 
 farther, and there are many handsome 
 residences on it. Mr. Andrew is one of 
 the successful business men of Marinette, 
 and one of the representative men of the 
 
 county. His acquaintance with the peo- 
 ple of the county is very extensive, and no 
 man in Marinette city is held in higher 
 esteem. In every good word and work 
 he is willing to do his part, and never 
 shirks an opportunity that would advance 
 the material or moral interest of his 
 adopted city. 
 
 JAMES JOHNSTON, the well-known 
 liveryman of Oconto, was born June 
 13, 1859, in Ottawa, Canada, son of 
 Henry and Ann (Ivobinsonj John- 
 ston, both of whom were natives of Scot- 
 land. They were reared and married in 
 their native land, and after crossing the 
 Atlantic settled in Ottawa, Canada, where 
 Mr. Johnston engaged in teaching, which 
 profession he had also followed in Scot- 
 land. He died in Ottawa in 1S73, pre- 
 ceded to the grave by his wife, who passed 
 from earth in 1866. They had a family 
 of three children — James; l-^obert, who 
 died in Canada at the age of fourteen; and 
 Jennie, Mrs. Charles Knox, of Winnipeg. 
 Our subject was reared and educated 
 in Ottawa, Canada, and there learned the 
 trade of lilacksmith, becoming an expert 
 shoer, and also learning to make his own 
 shoes and nails. He continued to follow his 
 trade in Ottawa until 1881, when became 
 to Oconto county. Wis., arriving in 
 Oconto April 9. Here he commenced 
 the blacksmith business, in a shop on Hu- 
 ron street, where he continued for years, 
 finally selling out and renting a shop on 
 Main street, where he remained until he 
 embarked in his present business. On 
 November 12, 1894, he embarked in the 
 livery business as a member of the firm of 
 Johnston cS: Kane, the establishment being 
 the old McGoff stand, on Section street. 
 In 1895 ^Ir. Johnston became sole pro- 
 prietor, and the business has been a suc- 
 cessful one from the start. He has the 
 best stand and patronage in the town, and 
 is well prepared to do a large business, 
 having a full line of carriages, single and 
 
684 
 
 COilMEMORATTVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 double buggies, and cutters, and, in ad- 
 dition, owning a complete funeral equip- 
 ment. 
 
 In 1S83 Mr. Johnston was married in 
 Oconto to Miss Jennie McAllister, a na- 
 tive of Canada, and three children have 
 blessed this union — Mary Jane, Anna 
 Pearl and Angus James. Mrs. Johnston's 
 father, Archie McAllister, was also born 
 in Canada, and now lives in Oconto town- 
 ship. Mr. Johnston is a Republican in 
 political sentiment, and is actively in- 
 terested in local affairs; in 1886 he was 
 alderman from the South ward of Oconto. 
 Socially he is a member of Oconto Lodge 
 No. 190, I. O. O. F., in which he has 
 passed all the chairs. 
 
 BENJAMIN F. SIMPSON, a lead- 
 ing and influential attorney at 
 law, of Marinette, is descended 
 from hardy and plodding Scottish 
 ancestry, intermingled with a strain of 
 gentle Teutonic and English blood, his 
 grandfather Simpson having married, in 
 Pennsylvania, a German lady, by name 
 Rosanna Self, and his grandfather 
 Coombs having been a native of England. 
 Harrison Simpson, father of our sub- 
 ject, carried on farming and stock raising 
 on a large scale in Marshall and Wood- 
 ford counties. 111., later becoming an e.x- 
 tensive buyer of grain, live stock, etc., at 
 Minonk, Woodford county. He was also 
 an operator on the Chicago board of 
 trade, where, in the famous wheat corner 
 of 1 87 1 or '72, he met with serious losses 
 through the failure of John B. Lyon. He 
 died in 1883, while on a trip South, and 
 his remains were interred at Minonk, 111., 
 his later-day home, the coal mines at 
 which place he projected and opened out, 
 and was their leading owner and stock- 
 holder. His widow, whose maiden name 
 was Ntaria Coombs, and who is a native 
 of Wheeling, W. Va., is yet living in Mi- 
 nonk, the possessor of the large undi- 
 vided estate left by her husband. They 
 had a family of si.\ sons and two daugh- 
 
 ters, to wit: William H., a farmer in 
 Iowa; James Allen, a wealthy grain 
 dealer at Minonk (he served three years 
 during the Civil war in Company I, Forty- 
 seventh 111. \. I., and participated in 
 eighteen engagements); Ann C, who 
 married John Hopwood, an extensive 
 farmer and stockraiser of McLean coun- 
 ty, 111.; Woolsey C. , State attorney of 
 Kansas, residing at Emporia, that State; 
 George Marquis, an extensive grain dealer 
 at Woodford, III.; Benjamin F. ; Laura 
 J., wife of Eliakim B. Kipp, a lumberman 
 of Kenosha, Wis., and Charles Thomas, 
 a farmer of Woodford county, Illinois. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born 
 December 12, 1S51, in Belle Plaine town- 
 ship, Marshall Co., 111., at the common 
 schools of which locality he received his 
 elementar}' education, continuing there 
 until he was seventeen years old, when 
 he attended Minonk High School two 
 j'ears. He then commenced a course of 
 study at Shurtliff College, Upper Alton, 
 111., remaining in its Academic depart- 
 ment two years, and in the College proper 
 one year, after which he attended Roch- 
 ester (N. Y.) University, and after a 
 three-years' course there graduated, in 
 July, 1877, taking the degree of B. A. 
 From Rochester Mr. Simpson proceeded 
 to Kingston, Ind., where he was elected 
 superintendent of city schools, in which 
 capacity he served two years, and then 
 for some twelve months traveled through 
 Texas in order to recuperate his impaired 
 health. In the fall of 1879 he became a 
 student in the Law Department of the 
 Wesleyan University, at Bloomington, 
 111., from which institution he graduated 
 in 1 88 1, and in the summer of the same 
 year was admitted to practice before the 
 Supreme Court of Illinois at Springfield; 
 but soon afterward, being proferred the 
 superintendentship of the public schools 
 at Atlanta, 111., he accepted same, and 
 served in that incumbency three years, or 
 until 1885. in the month of June, of that 
 year, moving to Marinette, Wis., where 
 he at once commenced the practice of 
 
Commemorative DioanAPmcAL record. 
 
 685 
 
 law. Since taking up his residence in 
 that city he has attained eminent (hs- 
 tinction as a successful lawyer, and has 
 secured the respect of the community as 
 a thoroughh' enterprising and substantial 
 citizen. 
 
 While pursuing his law studies Mr. 
 Simpson met the lady who afterward be- 
 came his wife — Miss Hattie M. Packer, 
 daughter t)f Joseph Packer, of Blooming- 
 ton, 111. — who was at that time a member 
 of the junior class in the Literary Depart- 
 ment of the W'esleyan University, after- 
 ward coming to Menominee, Mich., 
 where she taught in the city schools. At 
 Menominee they were married, August 25, 
 1885. and the young couple commenced 
 keeping house at Atlanta, 111. Two chil- 
 dren were born to them, Arthur R., now 
 (i890)an interesting little lad of seven 
 summers, and Lawrence Packer. The 
 family have their home in the elegant 
 and commodious dwelling which Mr. 
 Simpson built, at No. 2504 Hall avenue, 
 Marinette, one of the finest residences in 
 the city. Mr. and Mrs. Simpson are 
 members of the Baptist Church, of the 
 board of trustees of which he is chairman; 
 he superintended the building of the First 
 Baptist Church at Marinette, which was 
 erected at a cost of $18,000, and toward 
 which he contributed $1,000 in cash, be- 
 sides his time. Politically he was a Re- 
 publican till 1888, since when he has 
 been a strong upholder of the Prohibition 
 party, by whom he was nominated for 
 representative in 1888; but he is no office- 
 seeker, his extensive business demanding 
 and receiving his close attention and all 
 his time. 
 
 PT. WILLIAMS occupies a promi- 
 nent place among the well-to-do 
 self-made men of Oconto county, 
 where he has lived and labored 
 from the age of seventeen years. Walk- 
 ing from Green Bay, he landed in Oconto 
 without a penny, and the prosperity 
 
 ^vhich he now enjoys has been won by 
 years of toil in various lines of industry. 
 
 Mr. Williams is a native of Belgium, 
 born in 1838, and in 1854 came to Amer- 
 ica with his parents, (ieorgc and Henri- 
 etta (Menardj Williams, who were also 
 born in that country. The voyage on 
 the Atlantic, from Antwerp to New York 
 City, lasted thirty-nine days, and after 
 landing the family proceeded westward, 
 coming to Green Bay, Wis. The father 
 died in 1858, in what is now Robinson- 
 ville. Green Bay township, I >rown county ; 
 the mother survived liini until 1888, 
 reaching the advanced age of eighty- 
 three years, and at the time of her de- 
 cease was making her home with our sub- 
 ject. There were seven children in this 
 family, namely: P. T. ; Joseph, who is 
 married and lives at Bronkside, Oconto 
 county; Clement, who is married and re- 
 sides in Oconto, Wis. ; Angelina, Mrs. 
 Vaes, of Little River township, Oconto 
 county; Victor, Mrs. Vandcrneck, who 
 resides in Pensaukee township, Oconto 
 county; Theresa, Mrs. Depa, who died 
 in Brown county; and Lucy, Mrs. Burton, 
 of Bay Settlement, P>rnwn county, Wis- 
 consin. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the com- 
 mon schools of his native country. When 
 about seventeen years of age he set out 
 from Bay Settlement, Brown county, 
 with two companions, their total capital 
 being twenty- five cents, which was spent 
 for food in Green Bay. From that city 
 they came the entire distance to Oconto 
 on foot, by way of Stiles, following trails 
 through the woods, for at that time there 
 were no roads. Here Mr. Williams com- 
 menced life without a cent, and he re- 
 mained here two years, being employed 
 by a Mr. Hubbell, and also working for 
 Norton. Going to Stiles, he worked 
 there three or four years for Eldred & 
 Balcolm, meanwhile working also in 
 Menominee, Mich., and after leaving 
 Stiles he worked in Pensaukee. In 1865 
 he went to Chicago, obtaining a position 
 there in the " Tremont House," but re- 
 
6S6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 turning to Oconto the same year he was 
 engaged by Holt, Balcolm & King as 
 cook, working in the woods. The next 
 year he conducted their boarding-house, 
 and in 1868 the McDonald boarding- 
 house. In the fall of 1868 he opened a 
 bakery business, building a shop, and in 
 1869 engaged in general mercantile busi- 
 ness, erecting a frame store. This build- 
 ing was burned, and was replaced by a 
 substantial two-story brick edifice, which 
 _Mr. Williams has ever since occupied, 
 carrying a full line of general merchan- 
 dise. This business has grown and pros- 
 pered ever since its establishment, twentj-- 
 eight years ago, and Mr. Williams has 
 not only gained a large patronage, but 
 has acquired that which an honorable 
 man most highly prizes, a reputation for 
 honesty and strict fairness in all his trans- 
 actions. 
 
 However, though he has made a suc- 
 cess of the mercantile business, Mr. Will- 
 iams has not devoted all his time and 
 attention to it. A few years after his 
 arrival in the county he purchased si.xty 
 acres of land, and subsequently added to 
 it until he now owns 120 acres, all of 
 which is now cleared. He has engaged 
 to considerable extent in lumbering and 
 dealing in lands, and has at times had in 
 his employ from twenty to fifty men, car- 
 rying on a general logging business. He 
 has been active in business circles from 
 early manhood, and has done much to 
 promote the welfare and advancement of 
 his adopted county and town. Oconto 
 was but a village when he came, con- 
 taining one steam and two water mills; 
 there were no roads in this section, no 
 bridges, and very few marks of civiliza- 
 tion of any kind. As a public-spirited 
 citizen, interested in everything which 
 would tend to place Oconto county on a 
 level with her sister counties, he has 
 watched with pride the development 
 which has followed the opening up and 
 settlement of the region, and has done 
 his share of the work. 
 
 Mr. Williams was married in 1865, in 
 
 Brown county, to Miss Matilda Hannon, 
 like himself a native of Belgium, whence 
 in 1864 she came with her father, John 
 Philip Hannon, and mother, to America, 
 the family locating in Bay Settlement, 
 Brown Co., Wis. Here they opened up 
 a farm, on which the parents passed the 
 remainder of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Williams have a family of eleven chil- 
 dren, all living, of whom Matilda manages 
 her father's store; Louisa and Jennie 
 clerk in the store; Joseph is in Green 
 Bay, employed by the Cargill Elevator 
 Co., as stenographer. Mr.s. Williams 
 and the family are Roman Catholics in 
 religious connection. Mr. Williams was 
 a charter member of Oconto Lodge. L O. 
 O. F. Politically he is a Democrat, and 
 he served five years as supervisor from 
 Oconto. 
 
 OHN INGRAM, member of the firm 
 
 of Ingram & Archibald, who do a 
 
 ^ f general logging business in Oconto 
 county, has lived here since 1867, 
 and during all these years has been con- 
 nected in some capacity with the lumber- 
 ing industry. 
 
 Mr. Ingram is a native of Canada, 
 born October 3, 1843, in the Province 
 of Quebec. His father, Peter Ingram, 
 was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, and 
 grew up in his native country. Coming 
 to Canada, he was there married to Nancy 
 Murray, a native of that country, and 
 they had a family of seven children, 
 namely: Jane, James and Elspie, all of 
 whom are residents of Canada; Peter, 
 who died in that country; John; Nathan- 
 iel, who lives in Nahma, Mich., and 
 Charles, who came to Oconto in 1880, 
 and still resides here, being in the em- 
 ploy of the Holt Lumber Co. The 
 father of this family was a farmer by oc- 
 cupation. He died in Canada in 1S70, 
 at the age of seventy years, and his widow 
 still resides there. 
 
 John Ingram received his education 
 in his native country, and was there 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 6S7 
 
 reared to agricultural life. When nearly 
 twenty-four years of age he came to 
 Oconto, Wis. , then a most insignificant 
 place, arriving here in September, 1867. 
 Here he commenced work with the 
 Oconto Lumber Co., working in their 
 mill twenty days, after which he went 
 to work in the woods, continuing thus all 
 that winter. The next winter he engaged 
 with G. T. Porter, driving team for two 
 winters, and then ran a camp for one win- 
 ter. The following year he drove team, 
 antl then for eight successive winters had 
 charge of a lumber camp for Chamber- 
 lain. In the winter of 1881 he was em- 
 plojed in that capacity by the Oconto 
 Co., and he has since been in business on 
 his own account. In 1883 the firm of 
 Ingram & Riley was formed, and after its 
 dissolution, two years later, Mr. Ingram 
 continued alone until 1893, when he 
 formed his present partnership. The 
 firm have been engaged in logging for 
 the Menominee River Lumber Company, 
 and are doing an extensive business, in 
 the winter of 1893-94 employing about 
 seventy-five men, in the winter of 
 1894-95 about one hundred men, and the 
 present winter (1895-96) have about 
 seventy-five men. They put in about 
 five million feet of lumber this season. 
 Mr. Ingram has seen man\' desir- 
 able and notable changes in the coun- 
 try since his arrival here, and, in his 
 positicjn of employer alone has aided in 
 no small way in the advancement and 
 opening up of this region. 
 
 In 1872 our subject was married, in 
 Canada, to Miss Mary Chamberlain, 
 daughter of George W. and Robina (Fair) 
 Chamberlain, who were also Canadians 
 by birth. Mrs. Chamberlain died in 
 Oconto, Wis., where Mr. Chamberlain 
 now resides. Ten children have been 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Ingram, namely: 
 William George, Walter R., John, Anna, 
 Dean, Carrie, Georgie, Nathaniel, Lula 
 and Sarah. Mr. Ingram supports the 
 Republican party. Socially he is a mem- 
 ber of Pine Lodge No. 118, F. & A. M. 
 
 40 
 
 LN. LARSEN, proprietor of the 
 Star Grocery, Menekaunee, Mari- 
 nette ccMuit}-, is a native of Wis- 
 consin, born laiHiarj- 4, 1857, in 
 Winneconne, Winnebago county. 
 
 His parents, Onon and Johanna (On- 
 sen) Larsen, were natives of Norway, 
 where they were reared. In 1852 the 
 father lt>ft his native land to seek his for- 
 tune in the New World, and in this country 
 decided on the great Nortiiwest as being 
 the most desirable point of location ("as 
 many of his felknv countrjnien had al- 
 ready done), where he would be among 
 people of his own race, where the fa- 
 miliar and loved language was constantly 
 spoken, and wheri; the traditions, customs, 
 habits, etc., of the native land would not 
 be entirely lost. Accordingly lie settled 
 in Winneconne, Winnebago county, where 
 he went into business as a dealer in coal, 
 and procuring some land engaged in farm- 
 ing to some extent. The family have 
 always made their home here. Nfrs. Lar- 
 sen died in 1880. They had eight chil- 
 dren, six of whom are living, namely: L. 
 N., Frank A., a resident of Tomahawk, 
 Wis., of which city he was postmaster 
 for seven years, and is now city treasurer 
 in that place; Mary, Mrs. William H. 
 ISronson, of Winnebago count}'; Ludwig 
 H., register of deeds at Marinette; Julia 
 B., living at home on the farm; Nora N., 
 a saleslady at Iron Mountain. The two 
 eldest children are dead. 
 
 The gentleman whose name begins 
 this sketch was reared on the farm of his 
 father near Winneconne, was educated in 
 the schools of that ])lace, and on leaving 
 school became an assistant in the general 
 mercantile store of his father. Leaving 
 home, he first went to Neenah, as a clerk, 
 and from there to Menekaunee, where in 
 1885 he began business for himself, in which 
 he is still successfully engaged. In 1891 
 he erected his present two-story brick 
 building, 30 x I 15 feet, in which he car- 
 ries a large and complete stock of gro- 
 ceries, provisions, crockery, glassware, etc. 
 Mr. Larsen was married at Neenah in 
 
68S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECOIit). 
 
 April, 1885, to Miss Mabel M. Whipple, 
 a native of Jefferson, Jefferson Co., Wis., 
 daugfiter of Zebulon \\'hipple, one of the 
 pioneers of that section of the State, who 
 now resides in Chicago. Two children 
 were born to Mr. and Mrs. Larsen — Hazel 
 E. and Louis N., Jr. Mr. Larsen is a 
 Republican, and is interested in politics, 
 in which he takes quite an active part. 
 Socially he is a member of Marinette Lodge 
 No. 181, I. O. O. F., and of the Encamp- 
 ment, is record keeper in Menekaunee 
 Tent No. 2, K. O. T. M., and is also a 
 member of Marinette Lodge, K. of P. 
 Being a native of the part of Wisconsin 
 in which he resides, he has, of course, 
 seen its growth and improvement from 
 year to year, and has participated and as- 
 sisted in no small measure. He is a 
 straightforward and energetic business 
 man, and is greatly respected b\- his fel- 
 low townsmen. 
 
 WM. LEE, the well-known pho- 
 tographer of Oconto, has the 
 oldest business in his line north 
 of Green Bay, and has estab- 
 lished a reputation for satisfactory, artistic 
 work of which he may well be proud. 
 
 Mr. Lee is a native of Wisconsin, born 
 May 29, 1862, at Neosha, Dodge county, 
 son of Rufus v. and Asenith (Angel) 
 Lee, both of whom were born in New 
 York State. The father came to Dodge 
 county. Wis., when a young man, mar- 
 ried there, and subsequently removed 
 to Menasha, Wis. , where he was employed 
 in the mills, he being a saw-filer and mill- 
 wright by trade. From Menasha he went 
 to Saginaw. Mich., then to Flint City, 
 that State, thence to De Pere, Wis., and 
 finally to Green Bay, where he worked for 
 D. W. Britton. All this time he had fol- 
 lowed his trade, but in the fall of 1S82 he 
 came to Oconto and embarked in the gro- 
 cery business, in which he continued two 
 years. He and his wife now reside at 
 Appleton, Wis. They had a family of 
 seven children, four sons and three daugh- 
 
 ters, as follows: Charles, who lives in 
 Menasha, and is foreman of the Menasha 
 Wooden Ware Co. ; W' . M. ; Bert, who 
 was killed in 1891 in the Kimberly-Clark 
 Pulp Mill; Harry, who lives in Appleton, 
 Wis. ; Jessie, who died in 1890, at Apple- 
 ton; Bessie, Mrs. Lockwood, of Appleton, 
 Wis. ; and Alice, who lives with her parents 
 at Appleton. Mr. Lee enlisted in 1861, 
 in Dodge county, in the Tenth \\'is. V. L, 
 and served with his command in the Civil 
 war. 
 
 W. M. I^ee was educated in the schools 
 of Menasha, \\'is. , and Flint city, Mich. 
 On coming to De Pere he commenced 
 work in the lath mill, and was also in the 
 employ of D. W. Britton and Hagen & 
 English, working in the mills. For a time 
 he sailed on the bay, and was on the 
 "Constitution" one season, after which 
 he, in 1881, commenced to learn photog- 
 raphy, to which he has since devoted his 
 entire time and attention. He learned 
 the business under F. W. Schneider, of 
 Green Baj'. In 1882 he came to Oconto, 
 locating at his present stand June 5, and 
 here he has since continued to do busi- 
 ness, practically growing up with the 
 place, for Oconto was but a small village 
 when he settled here. He is thoroughly 
 acquainted with the various branches of 
 the art, enlarging pictures, etc., and has 
 a well-equipped gallery. 
 
 On Januar\' i, 1883, Mr. Lee was 
 united in marriage in Oconto, Wis., with 
 Miss Mary Freeward, a native of Green 
 Bay, and five children have been born to 
 them, namely: Maud, Ora, Lucille, Jessie 
 and \\'ilber, who died at the age of one 
 year. The family are Episcopalians in 
 religious belief. Mrs. Lee's parents, Peter 
 and Mary Freeward, were born in Ger- 
 many, and were early settlers of Green 
 Bay, where they are jet living. Mr. Lee 
 is a Democrat in political sentiment, and 
 is an active worker for any cause which he 
 considers beneficial to his town or county. 
 He has served two years as city treasurer, 
 filling the office with his customary ability 
 and fidelity. Socially he affiliates with 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOOUAPHTCAL RECORD. 
 
 689 
 
 Oconto Lodge No. 94, K. of P., and of 
 Oconto Camp, Modern Woodmen of Amer- 
 ica. He is captain of Company M, Second 
 Regiment Wisconsin National Guard. 
 
 CORNELIUS OLSON, who is en- 
 gaged in business as a wiiolesale 
 and retail dealer in fish and fish- 
 ermen's supplies, in East Mari- 
 nette, is a native of Sweden, born in Got- 
 tenborg, in November, 1844. His parents, 
 Ole and Anna R. (Christianson) Anderson, 
 were also natives of the same country, 
 and there the father followed the occupa- 
 tion of farming throughout his entire life. 
 He was called to the home beyond in 
 1876, and his wife, who survived him 
 several years, passed away in 1884. They 
 reared a family of six children, two of 
 whom came to Wisconsin. Nicholas and 
 Carl still reside in Sweden. John Edward 
 was formerly a resident of Marinette and 
 is now living in Minnesota. Lena is the 
 wife of Mr. Nelson, a merchant of Swe- 
 den. Sophia is married and resides in 
 that country. 
 
 In taking up the personal history of 
 Cornelius Olson we present to our read- 
 ers the life record of one who is widely 
 and favorably known in his locality. He 
 was reared in the land of his birth, and 
 its public schools afforded him his educa- 
 tional privileges. At length he resolved 
 to try his fortune in America, and in 1871 
 bade adieu to home and friends and 
 crossed the broad Atlantic, locating near 
 Toledo, Ohio. For about a year he 
 worked in the mills twelve miles from 
 that city, and in 1S72 went to Chicago, 
 where he made his home for several 
 months. The following year he came to 
 Marinette, and entered the employ of the 
 Menominee River Lumber Company. 
 For the past nine years he has been en- 
 gaged in business as a dealer in fish, sell- 
 ing both to the wholesale and retail trade. 
 He also handles fishermen's supplies, 
 twine, etc., and in the winter time gives 
 
 employment to a number of men both 
 here and at Sturgeon Bay. 
 
 In 1866 Mr. Olson was joined in wetl- 
 lock with Miss Mary Elizabeth Hanson, 
 who was born in Sweden, and died Octo- 
 ber 3, 1872, in Ohio. They had two 
 daughters — Hihna, who became Mrs. 
 Lindgren, formerly resided in Menominee, 
 Mich., but is now a resident of Oconto, 
 Wis. ; and Mrs. Helena Guyde, who is 
 living in Locust Point, Ottawa Co., Ohio. 
 In 1894 Mr. Olson was again married, in 
 Marinette, his seconii union being with 
 Miss Augusta Johnson. In 1S8S he 
 erected a good two-story frame residence, 
 and their pleasant home is noted for its 
 hospitality. Marinette claims them among 
 its highly esteemed citizens, and our sub- 
 ject has lived here since the city contained 
 onlj' 1000 inhabitants. He has been 
 identified with its development for twenty- 
 two years, and whatever is calculated to 
 prove of public benefit, whatever tends to 
 promote the social, educational, moral or 
 material welfare of the community, re- 
 ceives his support. He votes with the 
 Republican party, and holds membership 
 in the Lutheran Church. 
 
 EUGENE FITZPATKICK is one of 
 the prominent and inlluential citi- 
 zens of Oconto county, and is now 
 serving as county surveyor, a po- 
 sition which he has acceptably filled- for 
 si.x years. A native of Watertown, N. Y. , 
 he is nevertheless a typical western man, 
 full of the spirit of progress and enter- 
 prise which characterizes tliis section of 
 the country. He was born in September, 
 1842, and is a son of Matthew and Mar- 
 garet (Farley) Fitzpatrick, who were also 
 natives of the Empire State, and there 
 spent their entire li\cs. Of their family 
 Mrs. Bauder and Eugene are living in 
 Oconto county. One son, Matthew, en- 
 listed at Marquette, Mich., in the First 
 Michigan Cavalry, for service in the Civil 
 war, and died in Andersonville prison. 
 In the schools of his natix'e place our 
 
690 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 subject obtained his education. He was 
 but sixteen years of age when he cast in 
 his lot with the early settlers of Oconto 
 county, locating in Pensaukee township in 
 1858. He worked in the woods, superin- 
 tending lumber camps forD. L. ]3ush, and 
 was also employed for eight years by F. 
 B. Gardner, scaling and sawing lumber. 
 Among the first to respond to the coun- 
 try's call for troops, he enlisted on May 16, 
 
 1 86 1, in Company A, Fourth Wisconsin 
 Cavalry — known as the Oconto River 
 Drivers, and was mustered into service at 
 Racine, Wis. The order then came to 
 report for duty at Baltimore, and he spent 
 the winter at Patterson Park, near that 
 place. In the spring he was sent to Fortress 
 Monroe and Newport News, and in May, 
 
 1862, went to New Orleans, his regiment 
 being attached to the Department of the 
 Gulf. He was at Camp Bisland, and par- 
 ticipated in the engagements there, at 
 Baton Rouge and at Port Hudson. In 
 1864 he veteranized, continuing with the 
 same company, and was made a corporal. 
 He participated in the siege of of Fort 
 Blakely and other engagements at the 
 South, and when the war was over was 
 honorably discharged at Madison, Wis , 
 July 8, 1865. 
 
 Immediately afterward Mr. Fitzpat- 
 rick returned to Oconto, and again en- 
 tered the employ of Mr. Gardner. W'hcther 
 on the field of battle or in private service 
 he has manifested a loyalty to duty that 
 has ever won him high regard and the 
 confidence of all with whom he has been 
 brought in contact. This is demonstrated 
 by his faithful service in the oflice of 
 county surveyor, which he has filled for 
 six years. He was re-elected in 1 894, 
 and prior to entering upon the office for 
 the first term he acted as assistant sur- 
 veyor. His political support is given the 
 Republican party. 
 
 Mr. Fit/patrick was married in 1881, 
 in Pensaukee, to Miss Jennie Peters, who 
 was born in Outagamie, Wis., a daughter 
 of Herman Peters, one of the early set- 
 tlers of northern Wisconsin, now deceased. 
 
 Her death occurred in Pensaukee in 1885, 
 and our subject was married in Chase 
 township, Oconto county, in 1886 to Miss 
 Gracie Ladd, who was born in Fort How- 
 ard, Wis., and is a daughter of Byron K. 
 Ladd, of that township. 
 
 WILLIAM T. SNYDER, a pros- 
 perous farmer and fisherman, is 
 one of the inlluential citizens of 
 Pensaukee township, Oconto 
 county. He is a native of Wisconsin, 
 born on Doty's Island, Winnebago coun- 
 ty, in 1853, son of Joshua and Rachel 
 (Traver) Snyder, both of w horn were born 
 in New York — the father in the Mohawk 
 \'alley, the mother in Albany — and were 
 reared and married in their native State. 
 Joshua Snyder was a millwright, and 
 followed his trade at Jancsville, Rock 
 Co., Wis., whither he came from the east 
 in 1 849, shortly afterward removing to 
 Menasha, where he continued to work at 
 his trade. In 1850 he came to Pensau- 
 kee, Oconto count)', here working in the 
 water mill for F. B. Gardner, where he 
 was steadily employed as millwright for 
 twenty-two years. He then bought an 
 eighty-acre farm at Oak Orchard, partly 
 improved, and made this his home until 
 his death, which occurred in 1889; his 
 wife died on the farm in 1894. In 1856 
 he moved the family to Pensaukee, and 
 they remained here seven years, return- 
 ing to Menasha in order that their son, 
 our subject, who was their only child, 
 should have better educational facilities. 
 Mr. Snyder took an active interest in 
 politics, giving his influence and support 
 to the Republican party. 
 
 William T. Snyder received his edu- 
 cation in the schools of Menasha, and 
 after leaving school, at about the age of 
 twenty, returned to the homestead, where 
 he has been engaged in farming for the 
 past four or five years. At about the age 
 of twenty he went on the lakes, and in 
 1883 received a captain's license. He 
 sailed first on the " John Spry," and then 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOaRAPIIIC'AL RECORD. 
 
 6c 
 
 took command of that boat till the death 
 of F. B. Gardner, in 1885, when he went 
 on the tug "Thomas Spears," which he 
 commanded four years. During this time 
 he was also mate on the "Welcome," 
 but in 1 89 1 he abandoned sailing and en- 
 gaged in fishing and agricultural pursuits. 
 He owns eighty acres of good land, forty 
 acres of which are cleared, and does a 
 profitable general farming business, in the 
 season also devoting his time to fishing, 
 employing three men. 
 
 In 1886 Mr. Snyder was married, in 
 Pensaukee, to Miss Hannah Windross, a 
 native of that township, whose father, 
 John Windross, one of the early pioneers 
 of Pensaukee, resides on the same farm 
 where he settled over forty years ago. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Snyder have been born 
 two children, William and Esther. Mr. 
 Snyder in politics is a Republican, and 
 takes a warm interest in party affairs. 
 While in Forest county he served as 
 justice of the peace. 
 
 JD. SMITH. As long as strains of 
 martial music and tales of heroism 
 awaken the patriotism of hearers, so 
 long will the stories of the boys in 
 blue prove of interest to the nation. Our 
 subject was numbered among those who 
 valiantly responded to the country's call 
 for aid, and for three years followed the 
 starry banner on Southern battlefields, 
 participating in many important engage- 
 ments of the war. 
 
 Mr. Smith was born in Germantown, 
 Penn., in 1839, a son of Joseph and 
 Elizabeth (Klickner) Smith, who were 
 also natives of the Keystone State. The 
 mother died during the early childhood of 
 her son, and the father died in Bradford 
 county, Penn., in 1859. J. D. Smith at- 
 tended the public schools of his native 
 State, acquiring a good practical English 
 education, and there remained until 
 eighteen years of age, in 1857 coming to 
 the West, hoping to secure a good home 
 and comfortable living in this new section 
 
 of the country. He located in Menekau- 
 nee, Wis., and entered the employ of the 
 New York Lumber Co., working in their 
 store for sixteen years, a fact which well 
 indicates his fidelity to the interest of the 
 company and his efficiency. His labors 
 were interrupted during this period, how- 
 ever, by his service in the Civil war. 
 
 In {86 1 Mr. Smith responded to the 
 call for troops, and at Mcnekaunee joineii 
 Company F, Twelfth Wis. V. I., for three 
 years. He was mustered in at Madison, 
 Wis., and went at once to Leavenworth, 
 Kans., thence to Fort Scott, Kans. , and 
 to Fort Riley, remaining on the frontier 
 for some time. He afterward participated 
 in the battle of Natchez, the siege of 
 Vicksburg and the battle of Meridian, 
 Miss., and remained in the South until 
 after the fall of Atlanta, when he was 
 honorably discharged at Chattanooga, in 
 1864, after which he returned home and 
 for some years longer had charge of the 
 store of the New York Lumber Company. 
 
 Mr. Smith continued to reside in 
 Marinette county for many years, and in 
 1872 began merchandising on his own ac- 
 count, following that pursuit in Ouinnesec, 
 Iron Mountain and Florence, as a mem- 
 ber of the firm of Smith & Loughrey. He 
 retired from the trade in 1894, and corn- 
 ing to Oconto county has since followed 
 farming in Section 35, Pensaukee town- 
 ship. He has the finest improved farm 
 in the county, supplied with all the con- 
 veniences and accessories of a model 
 farm of the nineteenth century. 
 
 Mr. Smith was married in Marinette, 
 Wis., in 1874, to Miss Georgiana Morris, 
 who was born in Maine, as were also her 
 parents, F. A. and Hannah (Porter) Mor- 
 ris. Her father was one of the "Argo- 
 nauts of '49," and after some time spent 
 in California went to Butte City, Mont., 
 where his death occurred. The widow 
 is now living with Mrs. Smith. Our sub- 
 ject and his wife have five children — 
 William H., Laura B., Jennie B., May 
 and Stella. The eldest daughter is now 
 teaching school in Pensaukee township. 
 
692 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 In his political views Mr. Smith is a stal- 
 wart Republican, and served as the third 
 mayor of Marinette, holding that office in 
 1892. He also assisted in organising 
 Marinette county, and was chairman of 
 the county board. His duties of citizen- 
 ship are ever faithfully performed, and he 
 is earnestly devoted to the best interests 
 of his adopted State. He maintains his 
 interest in military affairs through his 
 connection with Lyon Post, G. A. R. , of 
 Menominee, Michigan. 
 
 JAMES I. SCOTT, dealer in horses 
 and carriages, Marinette, is a native, 
 of Vermont, born in Alburg, Grand 
 Isle county, in 1852. He is a son of 
 Edward and Margaret (Young) Scott, 
 both of whom were natives of Canada, 
 where they resided until after their mar- 
 riage. The father was a farmer and spec- 
 ulator. Both are now living in Canada. 
 Of their family si.x are living, while one 
 son is deceased; in order of birth they are 
 as follows: Mrs. Eltnira McLean, of Can- 
 ada; Henry, who served for one year in 
 the Sixth Mass. V. I., and after his re-en- 
 listment in a New York regiment was 
 never heard from; James I., subject of 
 this sketch: Adeline, now Mrs. Derrick, 
 of V'ermont; Isaiah and Edward, who are 
 both living in Canada; and Margaret, Mrs. 
 Wright, of Winchendon, Massachusetts. 
 During his early childhood Mr. Scott 
 went with his parents to Canada, where 
 he spent his boyhood and acquired his 
 education. At the age of thirteen he 
 went to Massachusetts, where he worked 
 in a drug store for two years. Subse- 
 quently he went to Williamsport, Penn., 
 where he entered the employ of the 
 Bianchard Lumber Company, operating 
 a lath mill for three months. He after- 
 ward went to the lumber camp, and con- 
 tinued his connection with that business 
 for some time. Returning to his home 
 he there remained until sixteen years of 
 age, when he came to the West, locating 
 in Menasha, Wis., living with an uncle 
 
 and attending school for two years. He 
 was subsequently in the engineering de- 
 partment of the Wisconsin Central rail- 
 road for six months, his uncle being a rail- 
 road contractor, and when he left that 
 line of business engaged in dealing in 
 horses, and in real-estate speculations. 
 
 In 1878 he arrived in Marinette, and 
 has since carried on the same line of bus- 
 iness, in which he has met with a high 
 degree of success. He also deals quite 
 extensively in carriages, and has bought 
 and sold real estate. He owns a large 
 sheep ranch in Wyoming, upon which he 
 has 5,500 sheep, which he purchased in 
 Oregon, driving them across the moun- 
 tains to his ranch near Fort Laramie. He 
 also raises large numbers of horses there. 
 His business interests are varied and ex- 
 tensive, and indicate his broad capabilities 
 and many resources. He is one of the 
 stockholders in the Marinette Hotel, and 
 is part owner of a large tract of timber 
 land in Louisiana. 
 
 Mr. Scott was married in Vermont, in 
 1874, to Miss Ellen Barnes, and they 
 had one daughter, Jessie, who died at the 
 age of three months; the mother died in 
 Marinette in 1884. In March, 1886, 
 Mr. Scott was married in Marinette, his 
 second union being with Julia L. Baker, 
 a native of New York, by whom he had 
 two children — Nellie Baker and Harold 
 Edward. Her death occurred in March, 
 1890, and in 1892 Mr. Scott was joined 
 in wedlock with Miss Johanna Gifford, 
 a native of the Empire State, and a daugh- 
 ter of Aaron Gifford, who came to Wis- 
 consin in 1890. A daughter, Hulda, 
 graces this union. Their home is one of 
 the finest residences of the city, and in ad- 
 dition Mr. Scott owns five other dwellings 
 and about forty unimproved lots in Mari- 
 nette. He also owns several good farms, 
 including one in Canada valued at $6,000. 
 He is a wide-awake, energetic business 
 man, possessed of the true western spirit 
 of enterprise and progress. He is saga- 
 cious and far-sighted, his executive ability 
 is of a superior order, and by his own ex- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGUAPUWAL RECORD. 
 
 693 
 
 ertions lie has worked his waj- steadily up- 
 ward from ail humble position to one of 
 affluence. Socially he is a member of the 
 Business Men's Association, and of the 
 Knights of Pythias fraternity. In manner 
 he is social and genial, and is very popular 
 with all classes of people. 
 
 CHARLES E. PETERSON. — 
 Among the representative citi- 
 zens of Sweden, who have sought 
 homes in the New World and at- 
 tained success through honorable business 
 dealing, is numbered this gentleman. He 
 was the pioneer furniture dealer of Mari- 
 nette, for almost thirty years has been 
 connected with the commercial interests 
 and prosperity of that city, and is to-day 
 the oldest merchant in years of continuous 
 business. 
 
 Born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1843, 
 Mr. Peterson is a son of Peter and Jose- 
 phine (Statein) Peterson, who were natives 
 of the same land. The father was a stone 
 cutter in Stockholm, and continued his 
 residence there until called to his final rest 
 at the age of fifty years; his wife died at 
 the advanced age of eighty-nine. The 
 grandfather, Peter Peterson, lived to the 
 advanced age of one hundred and two 
 years, while his wife passed away in her 
 ninety-sixth year. Our subject was one of 
 a family of five children, of whom Otto, 
 the eldest, died in Sweden; John came 
 with our subject to Marinette, and died in 
 Oakland, Cal., in 1S92; A.xel, who is a 
 blacksmith, is in Oakland; Clara died 
 in Sweden. 
 
 Charles E. Peterson was reared and 
 educated in his native city, but his school 
 privileges were meager, for at the age of 
 eleven years he began learning the cab- 
 inet maker's trade, continuing thus up to 
 the age of eighteen, when he began serv- 
 ice as a journeyman. About the same 
 time he resolved to seek a home and for- 
 tune in the New World, and took passage 
 on a steamer at Stockholm, which, after a 
 long and tedious voyage of thirty days, 
 
 reached the harbor of Oucbec. He went 
 from there to Montreal, Canada, where 
 he secured work in a cabinet shop that 
 gave employment to 600 men. Three 
 weeks later he went with the force to Bos- 
 ton, where, with the exception of ten all 
 joined the army. Mr. Peterson worked at 
 his trade in that city for a Mr. Hickson 
 until 1867, when he migrated to Pesh- 
 tigo. Wis., securing employment in a sash 
 and door factory. He made all the frame 
 work for the residence of William 1>. 
 Ogden, of Chicagij, and was emjiloycd on 
 some fine work for (nni. Strong, making 
 a guncase of native woods. 
 
 In Peshtigo, Wis., in iSjo, our sub- 
 ject married Miss Jennie Church, a native 
 of New York, and a daughter of Rev. Lot 
 and Josephine (Utter) Church, the former 
 of whom was a Congregatif)nal minister, 
 and served here as justice of the peace. 
 He too was born in the Empire State and 
 his death occurred in Marinette in 1882. 
 His wife, who belonge(.l to (jnc of the old 
 Southern families, and was born in the 
 South, died in Marinette in 1877. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Peterson have l)een born five 
 children — Mary Maud, who wasgraduated 
 from the Conservatory of Music in 15oston 
 in 1892; Frank Lot; William W. ; Clara 
 and Otto. In the year of his marriage 
 Mr. Peterson came to Marinette, and en- 
 gaged in the furniture business near the 
 bridge, where the Stephenson sawmill 
 now stands. There he remained for three 
 years, when he purchased a lot on what 
 is now Hall avenue, but was then in the 
 woods, and built a frame building, carry- 
 ing on his store there for some time. He 
 was the pioneer furniture dealer of the 
 city, and was the only undertaker in Mar- 
 inette for fifteen years. In 1879 he 
 erected a two-story brick block with a 30- 
 foot frontage on Hall avenue, 160 feet in 
 depth, and 40 feet in width, except the 
 front. The upper floor was for office 
 purposes. Mr. Peterson continued in the 
 furniture business until [891, when he 
 began the manufacture of spirit levels, one 
 of his own patents. He then engaged in 
 
694 
 
 COMMEMOUATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the grocery business, which he now car- 
 ries on. He is an active, energetic man, 
 who owes his success entirely to his own 
 efforts, and is an illustrious prototype of a 
 self-made American citizen. He belongs 
 to the Business Men's Association, and 
 has been a prominent factor in promoting 
 the material welfare of his adopted city. 
 Socially he is connected with Marinette 
 Lodge No. 82, F. & A. M. , Marinette 
 Chapter, No. 57, K. A. M. ; and Mari- 
 nette Commandery, No. 25, K. T. He 
 takes quite an active interest in politics, 
 although not an office seeker, and votes 
 with the Republican party. He and his 
 wife hold membership with the Swedish 
 Lutheran Church, and are prominent in 
 social circles and highly esteemed by a 
 large number of friends. They have a 
 comfortable two-story frame residence 
 which was erected in 1887, and is one of 
 the fine homes of Marinette. Mr. Peter- 
 son has made two visits to his native land, 
 having crossed the Atlantic in 1881 and 
 again in 1885. 
 
 JOHN McDowell, farmer of Lit- 
 tle River township, who has been 
 a resident of Oconto county for the 
 past thirty years, is a Canadian by 
 birth, having first seen the light Decem- 
 ber 17, 1836, in Pontiac county, about 
 fifty miles from Ottawa. 
 
 Samuel and Mary Jane (Wilson) Mc- 
 Dowell, parents of our subject, were born, 
 reared and married in "the Dominion," 
 where the father followed farming. In 
 1865 they came with their family to 
 Oconto county. Wis., first opening up a 
 farm in Little River township, near Ocon- 
 to, which they afterward sold, buying a 
 place in Marinette county. Here, in 
 Grover township, Mr. and Mrs. McDowell 
 both died, he in February, 1894, she in 
 1893. They had a large family, as fol- 
 lows: William, living; John, whose 
 name opens this sketch; Richard, who 
 lives in Little River township; Mary, Mrs. 
 Smiley, of Grover township, Marinette 
 
 county; Margaret, Mrs. Deacon, of In- 
 galls, Mich. ; Eliza Jane, who died in 
 Oconto county. Wis. ; Samuel, of Little 
 River township; Thomas, also a resident 
 of that township; Robert, a resident of 
 Peshtigo, Wis.; Nancy, deceased; Nancy 
 (2), also deceased; Sarah Ann, deceased; 
 David, who resides in Marinette county; 
 Erastus, of Grover township, Marinette 
 county; and Emma, a resident of the 
 same township. 
 
 John McDowell was reared and edu- 
 cated in the country of his birth. On 
 leaving Canada he first went to New 
 York, thence to Erie, Penn., and thence 
 to Ohio, doing laborer's work at these 
 various places, and also owning and oper- 
 ating a boat on the Erie canal. In the fall 
 of 1865 became from Cleveland, Ohio, to 
 Oconto county. Wis., which was then a 
 wild forest-covered region, lived one year 
 in Oconto, and in 1866 took up an eighty- 
 acre tract of government land in what is 
 now Section 24, Little River township; 
 the farm is in Town 29, Range 21. At 
 the time of his location here the nearest 
 settlement was three miles distant. Mr. 
 McDowell commenced at once to clear 
 and improve his land, and now has forty 
 acres under cultivation, has erected a 
 good barn and residence, and has made 
 numerous other improvements which add 
 to the value and neat appearance of the 
 place. Mr. McDowell certainly deserves 
 a place among the pioneers of his section, 
 for he has experienced many of the vicis- 
 situdes to which early settlers in such a 
 country are subjected. He was here at 
 the time of the great Peshtigo fire of 1871, 
 when he was fortunate enough to save 
 his buildings, but his fences and every- 
 thing else on the place were completely 
 wiped out. 
 
 In 1864 Mr. McDowell was married 
 in Ohio, to Miss Sarah Forman, a native 
 of that State, and three children blessed 
 this union — Ida, Mrs. Lawrence, of Iron 
 River, Mich. ; Samuel, who resides in 
 Lena, Oconto county; and John, who 
 died when four years and six months old. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 695 
 
 The mother of these (hed in 18S1 on the 
 farm in Little River township, and in 
 1887 Mr. McDowell wedded Miss Mary 
 Hall, a native of Canada, by whom he 
 has one child, Nora Irene. Her parents, 
 Robert and Mary Jane (McGee) Hall, 
 who were also born in Canada, came to 
 Oconto county in 1881, and Mr. Hall 
 still resides in Little River township, 
 where Mrs. Hall passed away September 
 16, 1885. Mr. McDowell has been an 
 active worker in the coninumitj' where he 
 resides, taking a loyal interest in local 
 public affairs. He assisted in organizing 
 and forming Little River township, of 
 which he was the first town clerk, being 
 elected to that office in 1888, and he was 
 also active in having the school district 
 formed, and served as member of the 
 school board. During his public service 
 he has proved himself a useful, honorable 
 citizen, one worthy the trust reposed in 
 him by his fellow citizens. In sentiment 
 he is a Republican. 
 
 WA. BROWN, president of the 
 Marinette Soap Company, is 
 one of the young and active 
 business men of Marinette. The 
 company was organized in 1887, and Mr. 
 Brown has been associated with it since 
 June, 1890. The works, located there, 
 give employment to thirty people. 
 
 Mr. Brown was born in Menekaunee, 
 Wis., September 9, 1864, son of A. C. 
 and Parmelia A. (Gould) Brown. The 
 father was born in Fort Ann, N. Y., in 
 1834, grew to manhood in his native 
 State, and was there educated in the pub- 
 lic schools. When about nineteen years 
 of age he removed to Pensaukee, Wis. , 
 thence to Oconto, same State, and com- 
 menced his business career as a day 
 laborer. He remained at Oconto for 
 some years, and then, about 1856, re- 
 moved to Menekaunee, where he engaged 
 as bookkeeper for the New York Lumber 
 Company, and shortly became superin- 
 tendent for them. After being with this 
 
 company for several years, he resigned his 
 position and entered the employ of the N. 
 Ludington Company as manager, remain- 
 ing with that company from 1867 until 
 1872. He then went to Sioux City, Iowa, 
 and engaged in farming, continuing there 
 foroneseason. In 1873 he returned to Wis- 
 consin and located at Marinette, where he 
 engaged in the private-banking business 
 for some years. After the failure of the 
 Milwaukee Mining Company, he re-organ- 
 ized it into the Menominee Mining Com- 
 pany, and developed the Breem mines, 
 which were a failure. He subsequently 
 developed other mines, including the 
 Ouinnesec, at the same time he was 
 president of the Stephenson ]>ank. Mr. 
 Brown was married in Oconto, and to 
 himself and wife were born four children: 
 Hattie L., wife of C. P. Gould, of Arkan- 
 sas City, Kans. ; Charles S. and W. A., 
 twins; and Fred L. , now marrieil and re- 
 siding in Philadelphia. The father of 
 this family was a Mason, and a member 
 of Marinette Lodge No. 182, F. & A. M., 
 and of Marinette Chapter. Politically he 
 was an earnest Republican, and for nine 
 years he served as town treasurer. His 
 death occurred in i 890. His wife survives 
 him, and is now residing in Marinette. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared 
 in Marinette, and began his education in 
 the schools of that city, subsequently 
 attending the university at Lake Forest, 
 111., in the years 1879 to 1S81 inclusive. 
 He left college in his junior year and 
 learned the trade of a machinist, after 
 completing which he worked some years 
 for the Marinette Iron Works, and then 
 engaged as bookkeeper in the Stephenson 
 National Bank. Later he was with the 
 Witbeck Lumber Company for thirteen 
 months as bookkeper, when he accepted 
 a situation with the Marinette Iron Works 
 as shipper and receiver. Since that time 
 he has engaged in various lines of busi- 
 ness, and is at present engaged in the 
 mining business. He is also a director 
 in the Stephenson National Bank at 
 Marinette, Wis., and the First National 
 
696 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Bank at Menominee, and a stockholder in 
 the National Exchange of Milwaukee. 
 
 In 1888, at Necnaii, Wis., Mr. Brown 
 was united in marriage with Miss Mary 
 Grace Wright, a daughter of Dr. Isaac 
 and Rebecca Wright, who are now resi- 
 dents of Neenah. Four children have 
 been born of this union: Florence, A. C, 
 Irene and William Walker. In politics 
 Mr. Brown has been a Republican since 
 attaining his majority. He is one of the 
 Regents of the Normal schools of Wis- 
 consin, having been appointed in 1895. 
 He is chairman of the Marinette county 
 Republican committee, and a member of 
 the State central committee of Wisconsin. 
 He always takes an active interest in all 
 political afTairs, believing it to be bounden 
 to every citizen to do his duty faithfully 
 in connection with the rights of franchise. 
 Fraternally he is a member of Olive 
 Branch Lodge No. 250, E. lS; A. M. ; 
 Marinette Chapter No. 57, R. A. M.; 
 Marinette Commander}', K. T. , and the 
 Wisconsin Consistory; Saladin Temple, 
 A. A. O. N. M. S. ; of Marinette Lodge 
 No. 72, K. of P., and of the Grand Rap- 
 ids (Mich.) Shrine. Socially he is a mem- 
 ber of the Milwaukee Club. 
 
 The family with which our subject is 
 connected is one of the oldest in this sec- 
 tion of the country. His father was at 
 the head of the relief committee during 
 the great fire of 1 87 1 , and took very active 
 measures to assist the sufferers at that 
 time. In all the changes that have taken 
 place in the history of Marinette county, 
 none have been more active participants 
 than this pioneer family. They are well 
 known and universally respected. 
 
 GEORGE E. WHITE, proprietor 
 of the " Dunlap House," Mari- 
 nette, was born in the village of 
 Dunnville, Haldimand county, 
 Ontario, F"ebruary 25, 1850, son of James 
 White, a farmer of that locality. 
 
 Our subject started out in life for 
 himself, when fourteen years of age, when 
 
 he secured a clerkship in a store in Dunn- 
 ville, remaining there four jears. In 
 18C8 he came to Wisconsin, and for four 
 years was employed as clerk in a hotel 
 in Green Bay. In 1872 he opened the 
 "Commercial Hotel," at De Pere. Wis., 
 which he carried on for a year, when he 
 was appointed under sheriff of Brown 
 county, his superior officer being Garrett 
 Bong. He officiated in that position for 
 two years, and on the expiration of that 
 period was appointed a member of the 
 police force in Green Bay, serving for 
 two years. Mr. White next removed to 
 Black Creek, Outagamie Co., Wis., where 
 he engaged in hotel-keeping for about thir- 
 teen months, after which he spent a short 
 time in Appleton, Wis. Since 1882 Mr. 
 White has been identified with the busi- 
 ness interests of Marinette, having at that 
 time opened a hotel called the "Mari- 
 nette House," which he successfully con- 
 ducted for about thirteen years. In the 
 fall of 1894 he opened the "Dunlap 
 House," which he is still conducting, 
 having won the support of the traveling 
 public, and receiving a very liberal pat- 
 ronage. He also had a livery stable for 
 two years. He possesses the genial and 
 social manner necessary for one in his 
 line of business, and the popular host of 
 the "Dunlap Hotel" has many friends. 
 Mr. White has taken quite a prominent 
 part in the work of public improvement 
 in Marinette, and is now serving as one 
 of the aldermen of the city, which posi- 
 tion he has continuously filled since the 
 spring of 1889. For five years he served 
 as chairman of the committee on streets, 
 alleys and bridges, and for three years 
 was president of the council. His polit- 
 ical support is given to the Democratic 
 party, and he is one of its leaders in this 
 locality. Mr. White was married in 
 1882, "at Green Bay. Wis., to Adda 
 Thomas, and they have two children — 
 Lelia and Edward C. 
 
 Mr. White's parents, James and Mary 
 (Connors) White, were born in the North 
 of Ireland, in County Mayo, and the 
 
COMMEMOltATIVI': BIOORAPUICAL liKCOIlD. 
 
 697 
 
 mother died at Dunnville, Canada. The 
 father afterward came to the United 
 States, locating in Pittsfield township, 
 Brown Co., Wis., and is still living on 
 his farm there, at the advanced age of 
 eighty years. 
 
 JOHN S. HARVI£Y. History deals 
 with the lives of those who have 
 been prominent in political, military 
 or literary circles. From the very 
 nature of the work it could not be other- 
 wise; but it leaves unrecorded the careers 
 of men whose importance to the com- 
 munity and to the country at large is 
 even greater. It is the business men, 
 those who remain at home and quietly 
 and faithfully perform each day's duties, 
 that keep in operation the machinery of 
 national existence. Belonging to this 
 quiet, yet useful class, is our subject, and 
 with pleasure we present his life record 
 to our readers. 
 
 Mr. Harvey was born in Belchertown, 
 Mass., ill 1838, and is a son of Nathaniel 
 and Permelia (Snow) Harvey, the former 
 a native of Vermont, and the latter of 
 Massachusetts. Their marriage was 
 celebrated in the Bay State, whence they 
 removed to Vermont, later to Pennsyl- 
 vania, and in 1855 to Lind township, 
 Waupaca Co., Wis., settling on an im- 
 proved farm, where they made their 
 home for fourteen years. They then 
 moved to Minnesota where they are still 
 living. In their family were nine chil- 
 dren, of whom the following survive: 
 Elijah, of Pennsylvania; John S. ; Mrs. 
 Ann Radley, of Waupaca, Wis.; David, a 
 resident of Escanaba, Mich. ; Mrs. Caro- 
 line Plume, of Marinette, Wis. ; Lydia, 
 married, who resides in Minneapolis, 
 Minn.; Mrs. Julia Swandollar, of Sioux 
 City, Iowa; and Scott, who is living with 
 his parents. 
 
 Our subject accompanied the family 
 on their various removals, acquired his 
 education in the schools of Vermont 
 and Pennsylvania, and arrived in W^au- 
 
 paca county, Wis., when about eighteen 
 years of age. He learned the trade of a 
 carpenter, which he followed for some 
 years. In 1.S61 he married Miss Martha 
 Dickey, who is a native of Franklin 
 count}', N. Y., and a daughter of Andrew 
 and Jane (McCombs) Dickey, the father 
 born in the North of Ireland, the mother 
 in Scotland. At the age of fifteen Mr. 
 Dickey arrived in New York, was there 
 married, and there made his home until 
 1850, when he migrated westward and 
 opened up a farm near Berlin, Wis., 
 afterward removing to that town. His 
 death occurred in Oconto county, in 
 1874, and his wife passed away February 
 2, 1877. They reared a family of nine 
 children, eight of whom are now living, 
 viz.: Isaac, living in De Pere, Wis., who 
 was at one time in the hunber business in 
 Chase township, and afterward lived in 
 Little Suamico, Oconto county; Joseph, 
 who is located in East Wrightstown, 
 Brown Co., Wis.; Mary Elizabeth, now 
 Mrs. Raymond, of Whitcomb, Shawano 
 Co., Wis.; Mrs. Martha Harvey; Robert, 
 of Chase township; William, who is living 
 in Wausau, Wis. ; and Seymour, a resi- 
 dent of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 
 
 At the time of the Ci\-il war Mr. 
 Harvey left home in 1864, and at Berlin 
 Wis., joined Company I, Forty-third 
 Wis. V. I., being mustered in at Mil- 
 waukee. The regiment was assigned to 
 the Department of the Tennessee, Twen- 
 tieth Army Corps, and went to Johnson- 
 ville, Tenn., thence to Nashville, and 
 afterward to Decherd Station. He was 
 honorably discharged in Milwaukee, June 
 24, 1865, and returned to his family 
 and his carpenter work in Berlin. The 
 following year he removed to Oconto 
 county, purchased a tract oi 200 acres 
 of timber land, and located thereon in 
 1867. In that year he built the Chase 
 & Dickey mill, and he now owns 160 
 acres of land in Section 25, Chase town- 
 ship, of which fifty acres are cleared. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Harvey have been 
 born three children — Leslie C, register 
 
698 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of deeds of Oconto county; Walter A. 
 and Bessie M. The family is one of 
 prominence in the community. Mr. Har- 
 vey is a member of T. O. Howe Post, No. 
 124, G. A. R., of Green Bay, Wis. In 
 politics he is a stalwart I'Jepublican, 
 served as a member of the side board of 
 Chase township, when it was included in 
 Little Suamico, and for four years was 
 chairman of the board of Chase town- 
 ship, which he assisted in organizing, and 
 has taken an active and commendable in- 
 terest in everything pertaining to its wel- 
 fare. 
 
 EDWARD JOHNSON. In giving 
 a history cjf business interests of 
 Marinette not the least important 
 is the boarding house of the N. 
 Ludington Co., of which Mr. Johnson has 
 been the proprietor since 1875. He has 
 been a resident of Marinette since 1870, 
 and during the first winter of his residence 
 there worked in the lumber woods. The 
 following year he took charge of a board- 
 ing house for the firm of Ludington & 
 \'an Schaick at the mouth of the Me- 
 nominee river, where he continued until 
 becoming proprietor of his present board- 
 ing house. 
 
 Mr. Johnson is a native of the Em- 
 erald Isle, born in County Cork in Ajiril, 
 1843, but was reared in lingland. He is 
 a son of William and Alice (Carey) John- 
 son, natives of Yorkshire, England, and 
 County Cork, Ireland, respectively, the 
 former of whom was an iron merchant 
 and for several years lived in Liverpool. 
 There the mother died, and Mr. Johnson 
 emigrated to America, locating in Chicago, 
 where his remaining days were passed. 
 Seven of their children are yet living: 
 Charles, a resident of Chicago; Alfred and 
 Willie, who are located in California; 
 Mrs. Eleanor Atkinson, also living in Cali- 
 fornia; Alice; Agnes, whose home is in 
 California; and Edward. 
 
 Our subject spent his boyhood days in 
 Liverpool, and the public schools of that 
 
 city afforded him his educational privi- 
 leges. Before the age of fourteen he en- 
 tered upon a sea-faring life, and was thus 
 engaged for four years, sailing along the 
 coast of South America on a schooner 
 which carried supplies to Pernambuco and 
 Monte \'ideo, also securing mail for the 
 mail packets. W'hen about eighteen years 
 of age he went to Chicago, where for a time 
 he worked at any employment that he 
 could secure. Subsequently he went to 
 St. Louis, Mo., and there entered the cm- 
 ploy of the Sanitary Commission, contin- 
 uing thus until the close of the war. In 
 1864 he was sent to Vicksburg, Miss., in 
 charge of supplies for that place, and 
 there remained for a year, after which he 
 leased a plantation from Mrs. Jeff Davis, 
 which he operated for two years. On the 
 expiration of that period he returned to 
 St. Louis, and ran on the steamer 
 " Stewart " until coming to Marinette. 
 
 Mr. Johnson was married in St. Louis, 
 in 1 86 1, to Miss Mary Howe, a native of 
 the Emerald Isle. They have an adopted 
 daughter, Lillie. When they came here 
 Marinette had only about 800 inhabitants, 
 and they have therefore witnessed almost 
 the entire growth and development of this 
 place. Mr. Johnson owns the Rock 
 Block on Hall avenue, a two-story brick 
 building, 55x60 feet, standing on a lot 
 240 feet deep, which is occupied by the 
 " Windsor Hotel " and a grocery store. 
 Both he and his wife are members of Our 
 Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, and in 
 politics he is a stalwart advocate of Repub- 
 lican principles. His pleasant, genial 
 manner has made him very popular, and 
 well fits him for the business in which he 
 is now engaged. 
 
 EW. SEYMOUR has been for 
 o\er forty j'ears a resident of Cole- 
 man township, Marinette county, 
 of which he has been chairman 
 since 1893, riow serving his second term 
 in that important position. 
 
 Mr. Seymour was born October 11, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BlOOIiAPITICAL RECORD. 
 
 699 
 
 1848, in Washtenaw county, Mich. His 
 parents, I. I. and Mary Ann (Warren) 
 Seymour, were married in New York, in 
 which State they were both born, the 
 father in Canandaigua county, the mother 
 in New York City. The paternal grand- 
 parents were born in England and Scot- 
 land, respectively. The Seymour family 
 moved to Michigan in an early day, and 
 thence in iS5 5to Marinette (then Oconto) 
 county. Wis., the father opening up a 
 farm in Sugar Bush, Grover township, 
 near Harmony Corners, where he passed 
 the remainder of his days, his death oc- 
 curring in 1893. Mrs. Seymour passed 
 away the year previously. They had a 
 large family, of whom seven are now liv- 
 ing, as follows: Julia, Mrs. Turtelott, of 
 Kansas; Eliza, Mrs. Jacobs, of Peshtigo; 
 W. T., residing in Peshtigo township; 
 Charles A., of Peshtigo; E. W., whose 
 name ojiens this sketch; Charlotte, who 
 was drowned in the Peshtigo river October 
 8, 1 87 1, at the time of the fire; S. S., liv- 
 ing on the old homestesrd in Grover town- 
 ship; Fred D., who was burned October 
 8, 187 I, the time of the big fire; John H., 
 who died July 6, 1859; Isaac, who died 
 in 1 88 1 in Marinette, having been acci- 
 dentally shot; and W. B., residing in 
 Peshtigo. 
 
 Up to the age of nearly seven years 
 E. W. Seymour remained m his native 
 State, and in May, 1855, came with his 
 father's family to Wisconsin, growing to 
 manhood on the pioneer farm in Mari- 
 nette county, on which they settled. In 
 1882 Mr. Seymour commenced farming 
 on his own account, in that year pur- 
 chasing the eighty-acre tract in Section 3, 
 Coleman township, on which he has since 
 resided. Since taking up his residence 
 here he has been continuously engaged in 
 improving and cultivating his farm, and 
 now has si.xty acres under the plow as a 
 result of his labors. When he first re- 
 moved to Marinette county it was for the 
 most part in the woods, the now thriving 
 city of Marinette was a mere trading- 
 pomt, and settlers were few and far be- 
 
 tween. From this primitive state of af- 
 fairs Mr. Seymour has seen the surround- 
 ing country cleared, the land cultivated, 
 the resources of the region developed, the 
 advent of the railroad and the other great 
 evidences of progress which have bene- 
 fited and improved this section so im- 
 mensely. He has always taken an inter- 
 est in the advancement of his town and 
 county, and as above intimated was elect- 
 ed chairman of Coleman township in 
 1893, and re-elected for a second term — 
 a fact which testifies better than words 
 to his popularity and efficiency. 
 
 Mr. Seymour was married, in 1S79, 
 in Peshtigo, to Miss Mary W. Ramsey, 
 daughter of John and Jane (Craig) Ram- 
 sey, early pioneers of Marinette county, 
 who since 1870 have resided in Peshtigo 
 township, To this union were born five 
 children, namely: Lulu, Edith, Merrill, 
 Howard and Leland. Mrs. Seymour 
 passed from earth June 22, 1895. 
 
 ANGUS COOK is one of the early 
 settlers of Marinette, having for 
 almost a century made his home 
 in that city. He belongs to that 
 class of representative men who have 
 been important factors in the work of 
 public progress and upbuilding, and 
 has aided in many ways in the promotion 
 of the best interests of his locality. 
 
 Mr. Cook was born in New Bruns- 
 wick, in 1843, son of Daniel and Mary 
 (McDonald) Cook, both of whom were 
 natives of Scotland, and in an early day 
 located in New Brunswick, where the 
 father died in 1862. The mother after- 
 ward came to Marinette, and departed 
 this life in 1889. One of their sons, 
 Ale.x, was a soldier in the Civil war, en- 
 listing on the first call for troops at Ban- 
 gor, Maine, in the Eighteenth Maine V. 
 I. ; he afterward enlisted for three years, 
 served as orderly sergeant, and was a 
 loyal defender of the Union cause; he 
 came to Marinette in 1870, and died in 
 1875. Daniel arrived here in 1857 and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 followed the lumber business until his 
 death in 1889. James, who was also one 
 of the early settlers of 1857, died in 1 873. 
 Robert has been a resident of Marinette 
 since pioneer days. Belle is the wife of 
 Archie Cook, of Marinette. Merron 
 came to the city in 1866, and died Sep- 
 tember 28, 1894; she was the wife of 
 Charles Graves. Charles Cook, the ne.xt 
 of the family, is a resident of Ontonagon, 
 Wis., while John has made his home in 
 Marinette since 1865. 
 
 Our subject was reared and educated 
 in New Brunswick, and there followed 
 farming until 1864, when he started for 
 Wisconsin, traveling by boat to Peshtigo, 
 and coming thence to Marinette. Here 
 he secured a position with the N. Lud- 
 dington Co., driving logs, and later en- 
 tered the employ of the firm of Daniel & 
 James Cook, with whom he continued for 
 two years. On the expiration of that 
 period he was made foreman for the N. 
 Ludington Company, in which capacity he 
 served for four years, after which he was 
 foreman with the H. Whitbeck Company, 
 for three years. The succeeding year he 
 passed in California, traveling over the Pa- 
 cific coast, and upon his return he engaged 
 in lumbering and cruising for some years. 
 In 1890 he erected the Cook Block, a 
 two-story brick building with 60 feet 
 frontage on Main street and a depth of 80 
 feet. It contains three stores on the 
 lower floor, and the upper iioor is used 
 for hall and office purposes. 
 
 Mr. Cook came to Marinette a single 
 man, and was married here in 1872 to 
 Miss Elizabeth Swalwell, a native f>f On- 
 tario, Upper Canada, and a daughter of 
 John and Elizabeth (Johnston) Swalwell, 
 the former of whom was born in Canada 
 of English ancestry, and the latter in 
 Scotland. In 1868 Mr. Swalwell came 
 to Marinette, and he and his wife are 
 still living here, on Main street. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Cook have been born four chil- 
 dren — John, Diilie, Edith and Lucile. 
 
 Our subject lakes an active interest in 
 political affairs, and warmly supports the 
 
 Republican party. He is a member of 
 the Caledonia Society, and is a straight- 
 forward, honorable business man, one 
 who well deserves the confidence and 
 high regard in which he is universally 
 held. A well-spent life has made him a 
 valued citizen of his adopted State, and 
 the important part which he has taken in 
 the work of public improvement is widely 
 acknowledged. 
 
 HENRY C. SHIELDS, who for over 
 five years has held the important 
 position of chairman inWausaukee 
 township, Marinette county, has 
 spent the greater part of his active life in 
 the county, having come here from his 
 native State, Maine, shortly after reach- 
 ing his majority. 
 
 Thomas O. and Betsey (Collins) 
 Shields, parents of Henry C. Shields, 
 were also natives of Maine, and have 
 always made their home there, both now 
 living in Aroostook county. The lather 
 was by occupation a lumberman and 
 farmer. Of their family Henry C. is the 
 subject proper of these lines; Theodore 
 came in 1873 to Marinette, thence remov- 
 ing to California, where he now resides; 
 Luther lives in Maine; P. A. resides in 
 Superior, Wis., whither he came in 1888; 
 Alice, Mrs. Sterrett, lives in Maine; Eben 
 resides in Maine; Carrie, Mrs. Hand, lives 
 in Maine; Edward has his home near In- 
 galls, Mich.; James B. is living in Maine; 
 Millie resides in Boston, Mass. ; Sophro- 
 nia lives in Superior, W^isconsin. 
 
 Henry C. Shields was born in 1848 in 
 Aroostook county, Maine, was educated 
 in the schools of the county, and was 
 reared to agricultural pursuits. In 1S69, 
 at the age of twenty-one, he migrated to 
 \\'isconsin, taking up his residence in 
 Marinette county, where he has remained 
 ever since. He first entered the employ 
 of the N. Ludington Co., and subse- 
 quently engaging with the K. C. Lumber 
 Co. has continued in their emploj' ever 
 since. At first he was employed in the 
 
COMMEMORAriVE BWORAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 701 
 
 woods, but he is now foreman on their 
 farm, known as the Pike farm, where 
 he has had charj^^e at times of a 
 large number of men. Up to 1892 he 
 resided" on the farm, but has since had his 
 home in Wausaukee. As Wausaukee and 
 vicinity have been vastly improved during 
 the last quarter of a century, Mr. Shields 
 has during his long residence here been 
 an interested witness of its development. 
 In 1885 Wausaukee township was set oft 
 from Peshtigo, and he has taken an act- 
 ive interest in its welfare, and has been 
 called upon to serve his fellow citizens in 
 different capacities, proving in every po- 
 sition worthy of the confidence reposed in 
 him. In 1889 he was elected chairman 
 of Wausaukee township, and with the 
 exception of one year has since filled that 
 office, to the satisfaction of all concerned; 
 in 1 891 he served as township assessor. 
 In political affiliation Mr. Shields is a 
 Democrat; socially he is a member of the 
 K. O. T. M., at Wausaukee, and in re- 
 ligious connection he and his wife are 
 members of the M. E. Church. 
 
 In 1885 Mr. Shields was united in 
 marriage, at Menominee, Mich., to Miss 
 Catharine Hendges, who was born in 
 Wisconsin, daughter of Mathias Hendges, 
 an early pioneer of Sheboygan county, 
 who is now deceased. Five children have 
 blessed this union: Anna A., William 
 H., Corey, Clarence and Frank. 
 
 JUDGE F. J. BARTELS, superin- 
 tendent and general mianager of the 
 Butler & Mueller Lumber Co., whose 
 mills are located at Ellis Junction, 
 Marinette county, is a native of Germany, 
 born October 31, 1832, at Crivitz, Mcck- 
 lenburg-Schwerin. 
 
 Christof Bartels, father of our subject, 
 was also of Mecklenburg-Schweriii na- 
 tivity, and was married in the Fatherland 
 to Hannah Schuette, who was born in 
 Schleswig, Prussia. They had a family 
 of three sons and two daughters, as fol- 
 lows: Charles, who after leaving college 
 
 came, in 1849, to Chicago, 111., thence to 
 Peshtigo township, Marinette Co., Wis., 
 where he died in 1863; Henry, who came 
 to Wisconsin in 1853, settling on a farm 
 in Peshtigo township, Marinette county, 
 where he died in 1893; ¥. J., subject of 
 sketch; Sophia, widow of Louis Felardo, 
 now making her home in Chicago; and 
 Louisa, now Mrs. Bakinan, of Snohomish, 
 Wash. The mother of these died in 
 Germany, in 1852, and in 1856 the father 
 came to Peshtigo, Wis., where his death 
 occurred in 1887; he was a linen manu- 
 facturer in his native land, giving employ- 
 ment to about eighteen hands. 
 
 F. J. Bartels, the subject proper of 
 these lines, received his education in Ger- 
 many, and at the age of twenty years, in 
 1852, he came to the United States, first 
 locating at Buffalo, N. Y., where for a 
 year and a half he worked in an edge-tool 
 factory. He then moved westward to 
 Wisconsin, settling in Peshtigo (at that 
 time called " Pe-she-tigo"), at which time 
 there were less than 100 people in the 
 village. Here he at once found employ- 
 ment with the J. H. Leavenworth Lumber 
 Co., of that place, working by the month, 
 which company afterward merged into the 
 Beebe-L}'on Co., and still later into the 
 Peshtigo Co., now the Peshtigo Lumber 
 Co., and with them he remained till the 
 fall of 1 86 1. 
 
 In 1858 he purchased, opened out and 
 improved a farm in what is now Gro- 
 ver township, Marinette county, and which 
 at the present time is owned by Amos 
 Colburn. At the breaking out of the 
 Rebellion ludge Bartels enlisted, in Sep- 
 tember, 1861, in Company F, Twelfth 
 Wis. V. I., for three years or during the 
 war, was mustered in on November 7, 
 following, at Madison, Wis., and was at- 
 tached to tiie army of the West. He 
 served with his regiment in Kansas — at 
 Ft. Riley and I'^t. Scott — later partici- 
 pating in the battles of Pittsburg Landing, 
 Vicksburg (siege of), Ferando, Natchez, 
 and Jackson (both battles at the latter 
 place). At Natchez our subject veteran- 
 
702 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ized into the same company and regiment, 
 thereafter engaging in the battles of Chat- 
 tanooga, Resaca, Snake Creek Gap and 
 Atlanta, after which the Twelfth followed 
 the fortunes of Gen. Hood, and then took 
 part in the memorable march to the sea. 
 At Bald Hill, Ga., they defeated Pat Cle- 
 burne. At the close of the war our sub- 
 ject was present with his regiment at the 
 Grand Review, and in August, 1865, he 
 was mustered out at Madison, Wis., with 
 the rank of captain, to which he had been 
 promoted for his soldierly bearing and 
 bravery in action, passing through the sev- 
 eral gradations in his company, from pri- 
 vate upward. 
 
 Returning to Peshtigo, Judge Bartels 
 on May i, 1866, engaged in a general 
 mercantile business there, the style of the 
 firm (for he had a partner) being at first 
 Marshall & Co., which later was changed 
 to Marshall cS: Hartels, the latter finally 
 securing entire control of the busi- 
 ness, managing it alone until the 
 great fire of 1 87 1 , when it was swept out 
 of existence. Mr. Bartels lost everything 
 by this catastrophe, as much as $30,000, 
 for he had put in a new full stock, yet he 
 was found among the foremost in the 
 work of relieving others, serving for a 
 time upon the committee organized for 
 that purpose. The ne.xt year, 1872, he 
 became postmaster at Peshtigo; in 1879 
 was appointed county judge, for a three- 
 years' term; in 1882 was elected to that 
 office, for the term ending January i, 
 1886, filling that incumbency seven years 
 in all. As postmaster at Peshtigo he 
 served from January i, 1872, to January 
 8. 1886, in which latter year he removed 
 to Ellis Junction, locating on a ranche. 
 This village he had platted in 1882. In 
 1876 Judge Bartels commenced in the 
 lumbering business, having secured a 
 tract in Peshtigo township of 2700 acres 
 of pine land, which he lumbered, selling 
 the pine to the present company for 
 $1.50 per thousand feet, they to take out 
 two million feet per annum. At the 
 present time the Judge owns from 28,000 
 
 to 30,000 acres of pine and farm lands in 
 Marinette, Oconto, Florence and Forest 
 counties, being one of the most extensive 
 land owners of northern Wisconsin. In 
 1882 the Butler & Mueller Lumber Co. 
 was established at Ellis Junction, and in 
 1895 Judge Bartels became general super- 
 intendent and manager of same. Em- 
 ployment is given to some eighty-five 
 hands, and in the mills are manufactured 
 shingles, lath, lumber, etc., while the 
 firm deal in cedar posts, railroad ties, 
 etc., and also in land. 
 
 In March, 1856, at Peshtigo, Judge 
 F. J. Bartels was married to Miss Adelia 
 A. Newton, who was born in New York, 
 a daughter of Adnath Newton, an early 
 pioneer of Marinette county, who had his 
 home in Grover township. To this union 
 were born two children : Anna, who died 
 in 1 86 1, and Augusta, burned in the fire 
 of October 8, 1871. The mother of these 
 died in March, 1861, and in 1867, at 
 Oconto, Wis., our subject for his second 
 wife married Miss Louisa Hall, a na- 
 tive of England, born, in London, to 
 Joseph and Louisa (Garrard) Hall, also 
 of English birth, who came to Brown 
 county. Wis., in an early day, in 1855 
 moving to Oconto, where the father at 
 present makes his home, the mother being 
 deceased. By this marriage of Judge 
 Bartels there are seven children, to wit : 
 Lula, wife of B. G. Woodruf?, of Everett. 
 Wash.; Hall H., married and residing at 
 Ellis Junction, Wis.; Mira; Wilbert; 
 George; F. Jay, and Robert. 
 
 In politics Judge Bartels is a pro- 
 nounced Republican, taking a zealous 
 interest in the affairs of the party, and 
 has served in several ofTices of honor and 
 trust. He has been postmaster at Crivitz 
 since February, 1895; has been justice of 
 the peace thirty-six years, and held the 
 position of chairman of the board of 
 supervisors; was chairman of Peshtigo 
 township at one time, and was chairman 
 of the county board when Marinette was 
 part of Oconto county, besides filling the 
 office of town clerk of Peshtigo township. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUTGAL RECOItD. 
 
 703 
 
 As will be seen he has been a resident of 
 the county over forty years, and has been 
 an eye-witness to and closely identified 
 with its development and material growth, 
 the roads and railroads having all been 
 built since he first set foot on its soil. 
 The Judge is a man of ability and deter- 
 mination, and has well retained the con- 
 fidence and esteem of the community at 
 large, evidence in itself of the unusually 
 strong and sincere character of which he 
 is possessed. 
 
 JB. WENSING is one of the most 
 prominent citizens of Pensaukee 
 township, Oconto county, where he 
 
 has been active in agricultural, busi- 
 ness and political circles. 
 
 He was born in Prussia, Germany, in 
 July, 1848, son of Gerhard and Elizabeth 
 (Huerung) Wensing, also natives of Ger- 
 many, who came to the United States in 
 1857, settling in Racine county. Wis., at 
 Waterford, in which city they passed the 
 remainder of their lives, the father dying 
 there in June, 1895, the mother in 1886. 
 They were the parents of thirteen chil- 
 dren, five of whom grew to maturity, as 
 follows: Sophia (Mrs. Charles Alby1, of 
 Waterford, Wis.; J. B., at Pensaukee, 
 Oconto county; J. H., who resides in 
 Menasha, Wis. ; Anna (Mrs. Brooks), of 
 Rochester, Racine Co., Wis.; and Mary 
 (Mrs. Maley), of Waterford, Wis., living 
 in the old home. 
 
 Our subject came to Wisconsin with 
 his parents when nine years old, and in 
 Racine county received a good English 
 and German education. In 1871 he came 
 to Pensaukee township, where he has 
 since resided, and he has proved a most 
 active, public-spirited and valuable citi- 
 zen. For three years after his arrival 
 here he followed farming, and then en- 
 gaged in fishing, an occupation to which 
 he devoted the greater part of his time 
 for eighteen years, or until 1893, giving 
 employment during the season to from 
 four to si.x men. On abandoning the 
 
 41 
 
 lishery industry he embarked in the hotel 
 and saloon business, in 1894 building the 
 "Pensaukee House," a good two-story 
 building, 32 x 60 feet in dimensions, which 
 he conducts, enjoying a very fair share of 
 patronage from the traveling public. He 
 has also been engaged in agriculture, own- 
 ing a good farm of forty acres, and a dwell- 
 ing near the Chicago & North Western 
 railroad depot. He has always taken an 
 active interest in the welfare of his town 
 and county, and has been a wheelhorse 
 of the Democratic party, which had but 
 five supporters in the township when he 
 came there. He has served in various 
 local offices, having been a member of 
 the school board four years, was school 
 treasurer until he resigned the office, and 
 in 1890 he was elected a member of the 
 township board, being re-elected for four 
 years, when, in 1895, he was elected to 
 his present office, that of chairman of 
 Pensaukee township. He has also served 
 a number of times as delegate. He has 
 been a faithful servant of the public, and 
 holds an enviable position in the com- 
 munity, where he is highly respected. 
 
 Mr. Wensing was married, in Pen- 
 saukee township, in 1871, to Miss Mary 
 Plucker, a native of Racine county. Wis., 
 whose parents, Henry and Susanna (Pow- 
 ell) Plucker, were natives of Germany and 
 Oconto county, Wis., respectively. Mr. 
 Plucker came to Pensaukee in 1854, and 
 opened up a farm ; he still resides in the 
 township. To Mr. and Mrs. Wensing 
 was born one child, Susanna E., now 
 Mrs. Kreschefskie, of Pensaukee town- 
 ship. Mrs. Wensing died in Cadot, Wis., 
 in 1888, and on January 2, 1889, Mr. 
 Wensing was married, in Little Suamico, 
 to Miss Elizabeth Christianson, who was 
 born in Denmark, daughter of Andrew 
 Christianson, of Little Suamico. In re- 
 ligious faith Mr. Wensing is a Catholic, 
 being a member of the Church at Oconto, 
 Wis. He has witnessed with interest 
 the progress and improvement of his 
 section, and has done one man's share in 
 that work, having ever lived a busy, in- 
 
704 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 
 
 dustrious life. He witnessed the tornado 
 on July 7, 1877. on which occasion the 
 town was nearly destroyed. 
 
 JOHN PLACE, a substantial farmer 
 of Peshtigo township, Marinette 
 county, is a son of Lyman and Su- 
 san (Jackson) Place, and was born in 
 St. Lawrence county, N. Y. , in 1836. 
 
 Lyman Place was born in New York 
 State, and was a farmer by occupation. 
 He died in St. Lawrence county, N. Y. , 
 in 1859. Mrs. Place was also born in 
 New York State, and died in Peshtigo 
 township, Marinette Co., Wis., in 1877. 
 They reared a family of children as fol- 
 lows: Abraham, now deceased, who came 
 to Marinette, Marinette county, in an 
 early day, and opened up a farm; Hannah, 
 Mrs. Stearns, of Louisville, N. Y. ; An- 
 drew, residing in New York; Kate, Mrs. 
 Place, of Vermont; Job, residing in Gro- 
 ver township, Marinette county; John, 
 subject of these lines; Kasual G., residing 
 in New York; and Ellen, Mrs. Newton, 
 whose husband is an extensive farmer of 
 Peshtigo township. 
 
 John Place grew to manhood in St. 
 Lawrence county, N. Y., receiving his 
 education in the schools of that county, 
 and was reared to farm life. Leaving 
 there in 1857, while yet single, he came 
 to Peshtigo, Wis., and entered the em- 
 ploy of the Peshtigo Lumber Co. After 
 working for that company for a time, he 
 bought eighty acres in the woods of what 
 is now Grover township, Marinette county, 
 cleared and improved the land, and lived 
 there until his removal to his present place 
 of residence. 
 
 In 18C0 John Place was united in 
 marriage, at Peshtigo, with Miss Paulina 
 Shappy, who was born in Marinette 
 county, and they have had the following 
 named children: Lyman; Maria, now Mrs. 
 Phillips, of Peshtigo; Emma Marion;Kate; 
 and John and Elsie, both of whom died 
 in 1893. Mrs, Place's parents were born 
 in Canada, were early pioneers of this 
 
 part of Wisconsin, and lived in Marinette. 
 Mr. Shappy. who was an Indian trader, 
 died in Marinette in 1859. 
 
 Mr. Place owns a fine farm of 300 
 acres, well improved, one hundred of 
 which are under cultivation. During the 
 Peshtigo fire of 1871 he lost all of his 
 buildings and fences, and, with his family, 
 went to his brother's, where, after an heroic 
 fight, they managed to save their lives. 
 Mr. Place takes much interest in politics, 
 and is an active Republican. He has 
 seen much of the development of the 
 county, and the growth of Marinette from 
 a place of only a few families to its pres- 
 ent magnitude. 
 
 LW. FLANNIGAN. This gentle- 
 man is well-known throughout 
 Marinette and surrounding coun- 
 ties as one of the successful self- 
 made men of northern Wisconsin, with 
 the lumber interests of which he is promi- 
 nently identified as a member of the Fence 
 River Logging Company. 
 
 Mr. Flannigan is a native of Wiscon- 
 sin, having been born February i, 1856, 
 in Sheboygan county, son of William 
 Flannigan. who was born in Ireland, and 
 came to the United States while yet a 
 young man. He was married, in Syra- 
 cuse, N. Y. , to Margaret Sheridan, a na- 
 tive of that State, whose father, M. J. 
 Sheridan, was a first cousin of the famous 
 Gen. Phil. Sheridan. In 1855 the family 
 migrated westward to W'isconsin, settling 
 in Mitchell, Sheboygan county, where the 
 father purchased government land at $ 1 . 2 5 
 an acre, and settling on the tract devoted 
 some years to its improvement. Moving 
 thence to Fond du Lac county, he opened 
 up another farm, whereon he passed the 
 remainder of his days, dying in 1879. His 
 widow passed away in 1891. They 
 reared a family of eight children, as fol- 
 lows: Mary, Mrs. McDonald, of Mitch- 
 ell, Sheboygan Co., Wis.; Louisa, Mrs. 
 Beaucage, of Osceola, Fond du Lac Co., 
 Wis.; Alice, Mrs. Alberts, of Milwaukee; 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPIIWAL RECORD. 
 
 705 
 
 L. W. , whose name opens this sketch; 
 Margaret, widow of V. Alberts, of Mil- 
 waukee; W. J., a resident of Oconto, 
 Wis. ; Lena, Mrs. John Alberts, of Chi- 
 cago; and Sarah, Mrs. M. Brown, of 
 Marinette, Wisconsin. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of our subject 
 were passed in Fond du Lac county, 
 where he received his education in the 
 common scfiools. At the age of seven- 
 teen he came to Marinette, Wis., where 
 he commenced to work in the lumber 
 woods, and he has since devoted his time 
 to this industry, meeting with success 
 from the start. Up to 1886 he worked 
 for various firms, logging on the Menomi- 
 nee and Oconto rivers, and then em- 
 barked in the business on his own ac- 
 count, forming a partnership with John 
 E. Nelligan, under the firm name of Nelli- 
 gan & Flannigan. They carried on ope- 
 rations together on the Menominee river 
 until September, 1892, when the Fence 
 River Logging Co. was organized, its 
 members being L. W. Flannigan, John E. 
 Nelligan, of Oconto, and Fred E. Carney, 
 Jr., of Marinette. The company gives 
 employment to from 300 to 400 men, and 
 and as an illustration of the magnitude of 
 their business operations it may be men- 
 tioned that in 1894-95 they cut 34,000,- 
 000 feet of timber on the Fence, Net and 
 Michigami rivers. Four hundreil men 
 men are employed on the drive. In con- 
 nection with their business the firm owns 
 two large farms, comprising some 800 
 acres, both in Menominee county, Mich., 
 one a seven-mile farm along the Menomi- 
 nee river; over twenty men are employed 
 in the improvement and cultivation of this 
 land, some 750 acres of which are under 
 the plow, and in a promising state of fer- 
 tility, this branch of the business proving 
 quite profitable. 
 
 As a continuous resident of the place 
 for almost twentj' years, Mr. Flannigan 
 has naturally witnessed with interest the 
 remarkable growth of Marinette, and in 
 .fact of the entire region. The industry 
 with which he is so prominently connected 
 
 has, with its increasing importance, bene- 
 fited the town and county in proportion, 
 and he has won and retained the respect 
 of his fellow citizens for his enterprise and 
 energy in advancing the business and 
 other interests of this section. Like many 
 of Wisconsin's most worthy citizens, he 
 is a self-made man — what he has acquired 
 in wealth and reputation has been done 
 by his own efforts; and his sociable, genial 
 disposition, and courteous manners, have 
 ever caused him to be liked and respected 
 b}' his business and social friends and ac- 
 quaintances. 
 
 In 1 88/ Mr. Flannigan wedded, at 
 Oconto, Wis., Miss Lucy N. Good, who 
 was born in that city, daughter of George 
 Good, an early settler of Oconto, where 
 he still resides. Two children bless this 
 union — Maricin, now aged five years, and 
 Helen, aged three. Mrs. Flaimigan is an 
 Episcopalian in religious faith, and Mr. 
 Flannigan is a member of Our Lady of 
 Lourdes Church; socially he is affiliated 
 with the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin, 
 Marinette Lodge, and also with Marinette 
 Lodge K. of P. Politically he is a Demo- 
 crat, but not active in public affairs, for 
 though often urged to accept office he has 
 always declined, his business affairs occupy- 
 iner his entire time and attention. 
 
 CHARLES H. NOYES, one of the 
 early settlers of Florence, Flor- 
 ence county, is engaged in the 
 lumber business. He was born 
 in 1845 in Oldtnwn, Maine, and is a son 
 of Charles C. and Eunice Noyes, the 
 former of whom is a member of one of 
 the old families of New England. He 
 was in early life a lumberman, and later 
 engaged in mercantile pursuits. He 
 moved to Berlin Falls, N. H., and now 
 resides at Lancaster, N. H. , where Mrs. 
 Noyes died in 1892. He married Eunice 
 Annis, and they had a family of four chil- 
 dren, as follows: Charles H., the sub- 
 ject of this sketch; John B., who resides 
 in Berlin Falls, N. H. ; W. W., who is 
 
7o6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 a merchant in Florence, Wis. ; and Hol- 
 inan, who resides at Lancaster, New 
 Hampshire. 
 
 Charles H. Noyes was reared in Berlin 
 Falls, N. H., and educated in the schools 
 of that village. He followed lumbering 
 in New Hampshire, and commencing an 
 apprenticeship as a filer, afterward had 
 charge, as head filer, of the Ottawa River 
 Lumber Co. for Cushions & Sons. In 
 1S67 he came from New Hampshire to 
 Shiocton, Outagamie Co., Wis., where 
 he was employed in the woods until 1876, 
 when he engaged in the grocery business. 
 
 In 1S70, at Hortonville, Outagamie 
 county, Charles H. Noyes was united in 
 marriage with Miss Mary True, who was 
 born in Litchfield, Maine, and they have 
 had five children, namely: George, Clay- 
 ton, Frank, Chester, and Ida Jewell. 
 The father of Mrs. Noyes, John A. True, 
 was born in Maine, came to Milwaukee, 
 Wis., in an early day, and later moved 
 with an ox-team to a location near Hor- 
 tonville, where he opened up a farm and 
 had his home for years. Thence he re- 
 moved to Shiocton, where he died in 
 
 1875- 
 
 In 1880 Mr. Noyes came from Shioc- 
 ton to Florence, arriving here on April 
 26, by stage from Ouinnesec, Mich. He 
 erected a store building, hauling the lum- 
 ber from Ouinnesec, and engaged in a 
 general mercantile business under the 
 firm name of Noyes, True & Co., contin- 
 uing thus one year, when, in 1881, the 
 firm became W. W. Noyes & Co. It 
 was conducted under that name until 
 May, 1888, when C. H. Noyes sold out 
 his interest to his brother, W. W. Noyes. 
 This store contained the second grocery 
 stock in Florence. Since then C. H. 
 Noyes has been engaged in the business 
 of lumber jobbing, handling pine lumber. 
 In political affiliation Mr. Noyes is a Re- 
 publican. He assisted in the organiza- 
 tion of Florence county, was the first un- 
 der sheriff of the county, was elected 
 sheriff in 1884, was under sheriff in 1893 
 and 1 894, and has been constable several 
 
 times. Socially he is a member of Badger 
 Lodge, K. O. T. M., Tent No. 12. Mr. 
 Noyes has been identified with Florence 
 county since its organization, has seen its 
 development, and has witnessed many 
 changes in this part of Wisconsin during 
 the past twenty-eight years. 
 
 AUGUST MALMSTADT, of the 
 well-known firm of Malmstadt & 
 Holm, liverymen, Marinette, is a 
 native of Sweden, whence he came 
 to this country in 1854, settling and re- 
 maining inChicago for a number of years. 
 He left the metropolis of the West one 
 year before its great fire, and coming to 
 Marinette by boat in 1870 he commenced 
 work for the N. Ludington Co. He re- 
 mained in the employ of that company 
 for thirteen years altogether, driving a 
 four-horse team for si.x years and a one- 
 horse team for seven years. After leav- 
 ing the Ludington Co. he worked for 
 Hamilton & Merryman, also at teaming 
 for six years. He then formed a partner- 
 ship with Mr. Holm and engaged in his 
 present business. The firm have two 
 establishments — one on Ellis Court, and 
 another at No. 1306 Main street, in Mari- 
 nette, where they conduct a very successful 
 business. 
 
 Mr. Malmstadt is the eldest child of 
 John and Bertha (Terey) Malmstadt, who 
 had a family of seven children, as follows: 
 August; Charles, a grocer in Marinette; 
 Tillie, who died in Marinette; Mary, 
 Mrs. Hanson, of Florence; Augustus, 
 who died in Marinette; Axel, a printer in 
 Marinette; and Adolph. a weaver in 
 Marinette. The father came to Mari- 
 nette in 1S63, worked in the mills for a 
 number of years, and died there in 1880. 
 leaving a widow, who still resides there. 
 August Malmstadt was reared and edu- 
 cated in his native land. When ho came 
 to Marinette it was a very small place, 
 full of Indians, and he attended school 
 there but three days. In 1878 he was 
 married to Miss Mary Olson, who was 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPUWAL KECORD. 
 
 707 
 
 born in Denmark, and whose fatlier served 
 in the army during the war of the Rebel- 
 lion, enlisting from Brown county, Wis., 
 where he at present resides. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Malmstadt have three children, as 
 follows: Lillie, Ainonda and Otto. Mr. 
 Malmstadt is a Republican in politics, a 
 member of the Marinette Lodge No. 189, 
 I. O. O. F., and of the Swedish Bene- 
 ficial Society. He is one of the pioneers 
 of Marinette, and has the esteem and re- 
 spect of his fellow townsmen generally. 
 
 P.ATRICR McGOVERN has been 
 identified with the lumbering in- 
 terests of Oconto county from 
 earliest manhood, having from the 
 time of his arrival here, in i860, been 
 almost continuously employed in some 
 responsible position by one of the leading 
 lumber companies. He took up his home 
 in Pensaukee township in 1862, and is 
 now the oldest living settler there. 
 
 Mr. McGovern came to Wisconsin 
 from New Brunswick, Canada, where he 
 was born in 1841, son of Philip and Ellen 
 (Dolan) McGovern, natives of Ireland, 
 who settled in an early day in New Bruns- 
 wick, where the mother died in i860. In 
 1865 the father came to Oconto, Wis., 
 where he passed his remaining days, 
 dying in 1870. They were the parents of 
 six children, of whom, Thomas lives in 
 New Brunswick; Mary, Mrs. Rourk, has 
 her home in Oconto; Peter lives in Antigo, 
 Wis.; Michael is a resident of Abrams, 
 Pensaukee township, Oconto county; 
 Jt)hn McGovern is in Marinette; Patrick 
 is the subject proper of these lines. He 
 was reared in New Brunswick, receiving 
 his education in the common schools 
 there. In i860, when about nineteen 
 years of age, he came to Stiles, Oconto, 
 Co., Wis., and during the thirty-four 
 years of his residence there has had charge 
 of a camp in the lumber woods, being 
 first employed for two years by the Anson 
 Eldred Lumber Co. Coming then to 
 Pensaukee, he entered the employ of the 
 
 F. B. Gardner Lumber Co., for whom he 
 ran camp twenty- two consecutive years, 
 or until the death of F. B. Gardner, after 
 which he went up to Price county, and for a 
 number of years ran camp for B. M. 
 Holmes. 
 
 Mr. McGovern was married in New 
 Brunswick, in 1871, to Miss Mary Quinn, 
 who was born in that province, of which 
 her father, Garrett Ouinn, was an early 
 pioneer; both her parents are now de- 
 ceased. Seven children have blessed 
 this union, Philip, Anna, Peter, John, 
 Michael, James and Thomas. After his 
 marriage NIr. McGovern had his home for 
 a number of years in Oconto, finally trad- 
 ing property in that city for his present 
 farm in Pensaukee township, which com- 
 prises 120 acres of good land, eighty of 
 which are cleared. Mr. McGovern has 
 led an industrious, busy life, and though 
 he takes a loyal interest in the welfare of 
 the community, he is not active in public 
 or party affairs; he has, however, served 
 as school treasurer of his district fourteen 
 years. In local elections he casts his bal- 
 lot in support of the best men and meas- 
 ures, regardless of party lines. Mr. Mc- 
 Govern and his family are Catholics in 
 religious faith, holding membership with 
 the Church at Oconto. 
 
 JM. ANDREW, general dealer in 
 groceries and crockery, Marinette, 
 began business May i, 1885, at the 
 corner of Wells and Main streets, 
 the firm at that time being Andrew & 
 Gitchell. There he remained until 1887, 
 in that year removing to Hall avenue, and 
 subsequently, in 1891, located on Dunlap 
 Square, where he is now carrying on the 
 second oldest grocery business in Mari- 
 nette. In 1892 he bought Mr. Gitchell's 
 interest, and has been continuously in the 
 grocery trade since 1885, doing an ex- 
 tensive and successful business. 
 
 Mr. Andrew came to Marinette in 
 March, 1882, from Denver, Colo., where 
 he was engaged in 1879 with a lumber 
 
7oS 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 firm. On coming here he was first em- 
 ployed at carpenter work. He went to 
 Denver from New Brunswick, Canada, 
 where he was born in 1857, son of 
 James and Mary (Miller) Andrew, both of 
 whom were born in Ayrshire, Scotland, 
 the mother in Saltcoats. Mr. Andrew's 
 mother came to New Brunswick, May 26, 
 1830, with her father, William Miller, his 
 father having come some years before in 
 company with his father, Allen Andrew, 
 a teacher. They were married in New 
 Brunswick. James Andrew was a ship- 
 builder by trade, and in 1863 built the 
 "Punjab," the fastest sailing vessel 
 known up to that time, and probably the 
 fastest one ever built, she having made 
 the voyage from New Brunswick to Liver- 
 pool, England, in the remarkably quick 
 time of fourteen days. At the present 
 time Mr. Andrew is engaged in steam- 
 boating on Baiede Chaleurs, N. B., in the 
 summer, and resides with his family in 
 Marinette during the winter when navi- 
 gation on the bay is closed. James and 
 Mary Andrew have reared a faniil)- of 
 eight children, all of whom except one 
 reside in Marinette, namely: W. A., 
 J. M., Mary, Jack (married), Jane, Mag- 
 gie, Fred, and Ida, Mrs. Catherine, the 
 last named living in New Brunswick. 
 
 J. M. Andrew received his education 
 in the schools of New Brunswick, where 
 he lived until going to Denver, in 1879. 
 He was married in New Brunswick in 
 1882 to Miss Elsie Jodry, a native of that 
 place, daughter of Jacob Jodry, who was 
 also a native of New Brunswick, and is 
 now deceased. Mr. Andrew has two 
 children, named, respectively, Sommer- 
 ville Davis and Lillias Frances. Mr. 
 Andrew votes with the Republicans, and 
 takes an active interest in politics. He 
 is a member of Marinette Lodge No. 
 182, F. & A. M.; Marinette Chapter No. 
 57, R. A. M. ; is swordbearcr in Marinette 
 Commandery No. 26, and is also a mem- 
 ber of Ahmed Temple, A. A. N. M. S., 
 of Marquette, Mich. ; of Marinette Lodge, 
 K. of P., and of the Modern Woodmen, 
 
 and is First Chieftain in the Caledonian 
 Society of Marinette. 
 
 In 1894 Mr. Andrew bought the 
 " Dunlap Hotel," removed it to its pres- 
 ent location in the fall of that year, re- 
 modeled and repaired it at a cost of 
 $2,500, and opened it for business Jan- 
 uary I, 1895. It is run in first-class 
 style, and has proved a popular and suc- 
 cessful venture. Personally our subject 
 is a social, genial gentleman, one of the 
 thoroughly representative men of Mari- 
 nette, and is held in the highest regard 
 
 DR. H. P. CLUTE, veterinary 
 surgeon, Marinette, is a native of 
 Orleans county, N. Y., born June 
 18, 1866, and is a son of J. P. 
 and A. M. (Jackson) Clute, both of whom 
 are natives of New York, residing near 
 Medina, Orleans county. Of their fam- 
 ily, Charles resides in Orleans county, 
 N. Y. ; H. P. is our subject; John D. 
 and Lorena are in Orleans county. New 
 York. 
 
 The subject of this sketch grew to 
 manhood in his native county and State, 
 and was reared to farm life. He attended 
 the public schools, and also the Lima 
 (New York) Seminary, for two years. 
 Entering the Ontario Veterinary College, 
 at Toronto, Canada, he sjient two years 
 there, graduating with the class of 1S87. 
 On receiving his diploma, he came direct 
 to Milwaukee, \Vis. , where he remained 
 but a short time and then located at Mari- 
 nette. Before settling down to the prac- 
 tice of his profession he took a special 
 course in veterinary dentistry and surgery, 
 and now makes a specialty of that branch 
 of his profession. He located perma- 
 nently in Marinette in 1890, having an 
 office on Stephenson street, and in 1892 
 built the \'eterinary Infirmary, which he 
 now owns. He has been very active in 
 his profession, and has a large and lucra- 
 tive practice. For some time he has 
 been assisted by J. S. Atkinson, of the 
 McPhcrson College. Few men are bet- 
 
COMMEMOBATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 •jog 
 
 ter posted in liis profession, and none f;ive 
 it a more honest and faithful study. The 
 Doctor is a member of the Wisconsin 
 State Veterinary Graduates Association, 
 of which he was president in 1894. 
 Fraternally he is a member of Marinette 
 Lodge, K. of P., of the Fraternal Alliance, 
 and of the K. O. T. M. Politically he 
 is an uncompromising Republican, and 
 although never an office seeker, he is at 
 present a member of the board of alder- 
 men of the Fifth ward of the city, having 
 been elected in 1894 for a term of two 
 years. 
 
 On February 22, 1892, Dr. Clute was 
 united in marriage at Marinette, Wis., 
 with Miss Minnie A. Richter, who was 
 born in Oconto, Wis., daughter of Will- 
 iam and Amma Richter, who were num- 
 bered among the pioneers of Oconto 
 county, where they now reside. They 
 were originally from Germany. While a 
 resident of Marinette, though for a com- 
 paratively short time, the Doctor has wit- 
 nessed much of its growth and develop- 
 ment, and has been active in promoting 
 its welfare. He has traveled all over the 
 Northwest, and has gathered a fund of 
 information. 
 
 HARRY McCALLUM, civil engineer 
 and county surveyor of Marinette 
 county, was first elected county 
 surveyor in 1889, and has twice 
 been re-elected. In 1890 and 1892 he 
 was appointed city engineer of Marinette. 
 He came to the city in 1887, in the em- 
 ploy of the Milwaukee & Northern rail- 
 road in Wisconsin and Michigan, on the 
 extension from Iron Mountain north. He 
 Was also in the survey of the " Soo " line, 
 and on the construction of bridges from 
 Manistique to Trout Lake, and assisted 
 in surveying and constructing the logging 
 lines in northern Wisconsin and Michigan. 
 For some years he was associated with 
 the Grand Trunk railway, was also with 
 the Canadian Pacific railroad from In- 
 gersoll to Detroit; was on the Northern 
 
 Pacific Junction railroad from Brace- 
 bridge to North Bay, on Lake Nipiss- 
 ing, and also on the Erie & Huron rail- 
 road, from Wallaceburg to Rondeau Har- 
 bor, on Lake Erie. 
 
 Mr. McCallum is a native of Toronto, 
 Canada, born January 30, 1862, and is a 
 son of Edward and Harriet (Tamylon) 
 McCallum, both of wliom were born in 
 Canada, and reside at U.xbridge. In 
 early life the father was also an engineer. 
 He was a merchant in Uxbridge for some 
 years, and later removed to Toronto, 
 where our subject was educated, and 
 where he studied civil engineering. After 
 leaving school he entered the employ of 
 the Canadian Pacific railroad, and during 
 his college days was with uncles, sur- 
 veyors on the railroad. As already stated 
 he came to Wisconsin in the employ of 
 the Milwaukee & Northern railroad, since 
 which time he has been a resident of 
 Marinette. Since coming here he has 
 laid out hundreds of lots, and has sur- 
 veyed and platted twenty-five additions 
 to the city, representing hundreds of 
 acres. He also surveyed and platted 
 Amberg, Pembine, Wausaukee and other 
 smaller places. 
 
 Mr. McCallum was married, in 1889, 
 to Miss Ida Cecelia Mack, who was born at 
 
 Milton, Wis., daughter of James and 
 
 (Thurston) Mack, both of whom were 
 natives of Wisconsin. The mother is now 
 deceased, and the father lives in Milton. 
 Fraternally, Mr. McCallum is a member 
 of the I. O. O. F., and of the K. O. T. 
 M. In politics he is a thorough Repub- 
 lican, and an earnest advocate of the 
 principles of the party. Mr. McCallum 
 has been identified with the public life of 
 the county and city of Marinette for eight 
 years. During that time he has been 
 actively engaged in his profession, and, in 
 addition to what has already been said, it 
 may be stated that he surveyed the 
 Marinette & Menominee Park Paper Mills, 
 planning and laying out the canal and 
 waterway, and in fact everything in con- 
 nection with the mill. As a surveyor he 
 
'lO 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOQBAPEICAL RECORD. 
 
 thoroughly understands his business, and 
 the fact that he has located a line is a 
 sufficient guarantee of its correctness. 
 
 FRANK FARLEY, postmaster at 
 Pensaukee, Oconto county, was 
 born, in 1854, in Watertown, Jef- 
 ferson Co., N. Y. , son of O. W. 
 and Elmira (Fuller) Farley, also natives 
 of Jefferson county. 
 
 O. W. Farley came with his parents 
 to Oconto county, Wis., when our sub- 
 ject was but four years of age, and took 
 up government land in the woods of Pen- 
 saukee township, making his home thereon 
 until 1864. In that year became to Pen- 
 saukee village and took charge of F. B. 
 Gardner's boarding house, which he con- 
 ducted some eight years, at the end of 
 that time returning to the farm, on which 
 he remained three years. Again coming 
 to Oconto, he had charge of a boarding 
 house for about eighteen months, or until 
 his death, which occurred in 1S78. Mrs. 
 Farley passed away in Pensaukee. in 1885. 
 There were three children in their family, 
 viz.: Almeda (Mrs. Ellner) who resides in 
 the State of Washington; Mary (Mrs. 
 Powell), of Abrams, Oconto county; and 
 Frank. 
 
 Frank Farley received his primary ed- 
 ucation in the common schools of Pensau- 
 kee, later attending Lawrence University, 
 Appleton, Wis., and the Green Bay Busi- 
 ness College. He was yard foreman and 
 time-keeper for F.B. Gardner up to the time 
 of the lattcr's death, and then had charge 
 till the mill burned, since which time he 
 has been engaged in agricultural pursuits. 
 He owns si.xty-five acres of land, all 
 cleared, in the village of Pensaukee. In 
 Little Chute township, Outagamie Co., 
 Wis., in 1874, he was married to Miss 
 Mary Hermsen, a native of Germany, but 
 reared in Outagamie county, W^is. Her 
 parents, George and Eliza Hermsen, also 
 natives of Germany, came to Little Chute, 
 Outagamie county, in an early day, and 
 Mr. Hermsen died there; Mrs. Hermsen is 
 
 still living. Mr. and Mrs. Farley have 
 four children living: Herby, Owen, Clara 
 and Edgar; one, George, was killed July 
 7, 1877, when twenty-three months old, 
 by the tornado which destroyed the en- 
 tire town on that day. The house and 
 its contents were completeh" ruined. Mr. 
 Farlej' was twisted and badly injured, and 
 Mrs. Farley had her collar bone and right 
 leg broken. 
 
 Mr. F'arley has witnessed the introduc- 
 tion of many modern innovations into his 
 vicinity, and has watched with interest 
 the progress made in the region, taking 
 an active part in the work himself. In 
 1879 he was township clerk, has served as 
 chairman, and as justice of the peace, and 
 for the past four years has been postmas- 
 ter of Pensaukee, filling all these positions 
 with marked fidelity and acceptability. 
 In voting he usually gives his support to 
 the man he considers most worthy and 
 best fitted for office. Mr. and Mrs. Far- 
 ley are members of the Roman Catholic 
 Church. 
 
 DAN J. MAUAGIN is a representa- 
 tive of one of the oldest families 
 of Marinette. He is a native of 
 the city, born in the "Marinette 
 House" August 20, 1864, and is a son of 
 John and Mary (O'Connell ) Madagin, 
 both of whom were born in Ireland. 
 
 John Madagin, the father of our sub- 
 ject, came from Ireland to Canada, and 
 from there to Marinette, Wis., in a very 
 early day. On his arrival here he com- 
 menced working in the woods, and was 
 noted as being one of the best choppers 
 engaged in the business. Mrs. Madagin 
 crossed the ocean alone at the age of four- 
 teen jears, stopped for a time in Ver- 
 mont, went from there to Chicago, and 
 when but eighteen j'earsof age, landed at 
 Marinette. She was first married to Louis 
 Brown, and they built the "Marinette 
 House," the first hotel in the city. For 
 her second husband she was married in 
 Marinette to Dan J. Madagin, and together 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOOUAPUWAL RECORD. 
 
 711 
 
 they continued the hotel business, until 
 the death of Mr. Madagin, which occurred 
 January 12, 1867. Mrs. Madagin yet re- 
 sides in the city, of which she has been a 
 resident since 1845, a period of fifty years. 
 By her first marriage she was the mother 
 of two children: Nora (now the widow of 
 Theodore Lindner), who resides in Mani- 
 towoc, Wis., and J. H., engaged in the 
 tea business at Ishpeming, Mich. By her 
 second marriage Mrs. Madagin was the 
 mother of three children: M. P., who is 
 in the saloon business in Chicago; Mamie, 
 who died in childhood, and Dan J., oar 
 subject. 
 
 The subject of this sketch grew to 
 manhood and has spent his entire h'fe in 
 his native city. After leaving school, and 
 while yet in his 3outh, he worked in the 
 woods for two years. He was then en- 
 gaged in the Temperance Reading Room 
 for one year on Main street, and then 
 purchased a restaurant on I)unlapS(iuare, 
 in partnership with a Mr. Townsend, the 
 business being conducted under the firm 
 name of Madagin & Townsend. After one 
 month's partnership, Mr. Madagin bought 
 the interest of his partner, and conducted 
 the business very successfully for some 
 years. Closing out the establishment, he 
 was for the succeeding two years in the 
 employ of a doctor. He then purchased 
 another restaurant, which he carried on 
 for some time and then engaged in a livery 
 business with James M. Moore, under the 
 firm name of Moore & Madagin. In this 
 business he continued about two years, 
 when he disposed of his interest to Mr. 
 Moore, and went on the road as travel- 
 ing salesman for Lindquist, Westman & 
 Campbell. He continued with this firm 
 for two years, and was then associated 
 with the New York Mercantile Company 
 for a time. His present business, that of 
 real estate and loans, he conunenced in 
 February, 1895, and he has, with charac- 
 teristic energy, built up an excellent trade 
 within a short time. 
 
 In politics Mr. Madagin is a Democrat, 
 and was elected register of deeds on that 
 
 ticket in 1892, serving two years. For 
 eight years he has been a member of the 
 fire department of Marinette, being ap- 
 pointed by A. M. Fairchild. He is a 
 member of our Lad}' of Lourdes Catholic 
 Church, and is county presiilent of the 
 Ancient Order of Hibernians; he is also a 
 member of the Catholic Knights of \Vis- 
 consin. Branch No. 5. A native-born cit- 
 izen, he has witnessed the growth of 
 Marinette from an Indian village to a 
 thriving city, and lias tlone his part in its 
 growth and development. 
 
 JOHN CHATELL, who since 1893 
 has been proprietor of the "Aljrams 
 House," Abrams, Oconto county, has 
 been a resident of this part of Wis- 
 consin since 1869, in which year he set- 
 tled in Marinette county. 
 
 Born in 1847, in Upi^er Canada, he 
 removed thence with his parents, Antoine 
 and Sophia Chatell, who were also na- 
 tives of that country, to St. Lawrence 
 county, N. Y., where the family settled. 
 The parents both died there. Of their 
 family three are yet living: Josei)h, in St. 
 Lawrence county, N. Y. ; John; and 
 Henry, in Norfolk, St. Lawrence Co., 
 N. Y. John Chatell grew to manhood in 
 St. Lawrence county, was educated in 
 the common schools, and on September 
 3, 1864, when about sixteen years of age, 
 enlisted there in the Union army, becom- 
 ing a member of the First New York 
 Light Artillery, for one year. He was 
 sworn into the service at Malone, N. Y. , 
 and for five months was stationed at 
 Hart's Island, going thence to Petersburg, 
 Va., where he remained until the close of 
 the war. He was honorably discharged 
 June 19, 1865, at Elmira, N. Y. , and re- 
 turning to St. Lawrence county engaged 
 for the following four years in farming. 
 In 1869 he concluded to try his fortune 
 in the West, and coming to Marinette 
 county, W'is., located in Marinette, 
 where he entered the employ of the 
 Hamilton & Merryman Co., working in 
 
713 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE DIOORAPHICAL liECOliD. 
 
 their mill fourteen years; during the 
 winter he had charge of a camp for them 
 in the woods, being engaged at filing 
 during the summer. In 1873 he pur- 
 chased a partly-improved farm of eighty 
 acres in Grover township, on which he 
 settled in 1874, and which he cleared and 
 improved, working on it during the sum- 
 mer time, and still continuing to run camp 
 for the lumber compan}' in winter time 
 until his removal to Abrams. He still 
 owns the farm. While in Grover town- 
 ship he served as pathmaster, and he was 
 well and favorably known in that section 
 as a substantial and useful citizen. 
 
 Mr. Chatell was married, in St. Law- 
 rence county, N. Y., to Miss Maggie Cira- 
 vel, who was born in Canada, and her 
 parents were also natives of the Dominion, 
 where they lived and died. Five sons 
 and one daughter have blessed this union, 
 viz. : John (who is married and lives in 
 Abrams, Wis.), Mary (wife of Dr. Gard- 
 ner, of Peshtigo, Wis.), Stephen, James, 
 Joseph and Alfred. Mr. Chatell casts 
 his ballot with the I^cjiublican party. 
 Socially he is a member of T. O. Howe 
 Post No. 124, G. A. R. 
 
 LOUIS REED owns a pleasant farm 
 of 133 acres on the bay shore, in 
 Oconto township, Oconto county, 
 and is engaged in farming and 
 fishing, having several small boats and 
 giving employment during the fishing sea- 
 son to eight or ten men. He has been 
 a resident of the county for forty years, 
 having arrived here in the pioneer daj's 
 of 1856. 
 
 Mr. Reed was born in 1841 in Ham- 
 burg, Germany, and his parents, Moritz 
 and Elizabeth (Krumbacb) Reed, were 
 also natives of the Fatherland. In 1846 
 the family came to this country, making 
 the voyage from Hamburg to New York 
 City in a sailing vessel in forty-two days, 
 and taking up their homes in Chicago, 
 whore the}' lived ten years. In 1856 they 
 came to Oconto county, Wis., settling 
 
 in Oconto, where Mr. Reed died the same 
 year; his wife survived until 1893, when 
 she too passed away, in Oconto, at the 
 ripe old age of ninety-four years. They 
 reared a family of si.\ children: Margaret, 
 Mrs. Hinneman, who has resided in Chi- 
 cago since 1849; George, a resident of 
 Stiles townthip, who came to the county 
 in an early day; John, deceased in Oconto 
 county, who was a drayman by occupa- 
 tion; Louis, our subject; Jerrj', who is 
 living in Oconto; and Dora, Mrs. Follett, 
 also a resident of Oconto. 
 
 Louis Reed was about five years of 
 age when he came with the family to 
 America. He was educated in the public 
 schools of Chicago, and at early age com- 
 menced working by the month. In 1856 
 he came to Wisconsin, to Green Bay, and 
 from there by tug to Oconto, where for 
 three months he was engaged in inside 
 work at the mill. He was also employed 
 at carpenter work and in river driving for 
 thirteen seasons, for five seasons having 
 charge of the drive. In 1863 he located 
 on the farm in Oconto township, on the 
 shore of Green Bay, where he still resides, 
 and during all these years has been en- 
 gaged in fishing and in agricultural pur- 
 suits. He has worked hard, but he has 
 been successful, and is the owner of six 
 lots in the city of Oconto, besides his com- 
 fortable farm property. Ever interested 
 in the welfare and progress of the com- 
 munity in which he chose to make his 
 home, he assisted in organizing the school 
 district, and is treasurer of the school 
 board, an of^ce which he has held for the 
 past twenty years. 
 
 Mr. Reed was married, in 1 868, in 
 Oconto, to Miss Jane Gale, who wasborn 
 in Oshkosh, Wis. Her parents, Rice and 
 Harriet (Cooper) Gale, were born in 
 Pennsylvania and New York State, re- 
 spectively, the father of English and 
 Scotch ancestry, the mother of Mohawk- 
 Dutch ancestry. In an early day they 
 came to Oshkosh, Wis., thence to Ocon- 
 to, settling here over lorty years ago, and 
 they were among the early pioneers. He 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUWAL RECORD. 
 
 7'3 
 
 kept a tavern for many }^ears in the early 
 days. He died in 1880 at the home of 
 our subject, and Mrs. Gale now resides 
 in Gillett.Wis. Seven children have been 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Reed, namely: 
 Libbie (Mrs. Taylor, a widow, living with 
 her parents), Eva, Ira, Lill (Mrs. Runkcl, 
 of Oconto Falls, Wis.), Wesley, Ray- 
 mond and Lewis. Mr. and Mrs. Reed 
 are active members of the M. E. Church 
 at Oconto, of which he is one of the trus- 
 tees, and socially he belongs to Oconto 
 Lodge No. 9, L O. O. F. He gives his 
 politicel support to the Republican party. 
 
 D.\VID TRIPP, general merchant 
 at Brookside, Oconto county, is a 
 native of Wisconsin, born in 1848 
 in Burlington, Racine county, son 
 of William and Deborah (Brown) Tripp, 
 who were natives of New York State. 
 
 The father of our subject was a car- 
 penter and farmer by occupation. He 
 was married in Wisconsin, having come 
 to this State in 1846 with his father, 
 James Tripp, and settling on a farm in 
 Racine county where the latter died. 
 William Tripp passed away in 1S51, in 
 Racine county, and his widow afterward 
 wedded Warren Post, and lived in Du- 
 Page county. 111., three years, thence re- 
 moving to Harrison county. Mo., then to 
 Decatur county, Iowa, and finally to Trem- 
 pealeau county. Wis., locating in Travers 
 Valley. Here Mr. Post died in about 1 879, 
 after which his widow removed to Deca- 
 tur county, Iowa, where she still makes 
 her home. Our subject, David, was the 
 only child of her first marriage; but by 
 her second union she has eight children 
 living — William, James, Israel, John (all 
 four living in Decatur county, Iowa), Eu- 
 genie (Mrs. Harvey), Alfreta (unmarried), 
 Ida and Ella (married). 
 
 David Tripp grew to manhood in Iowa 
 and Wisconsin, and acquired his educa- 
 tion in the common schools. On reach- 
 ing his majorit}' he came from Trempea- 
 leau county to Oconto county, where he 
 
 has ever since resided. In 1S73 he was 
 married, in Pensaukee township, to Miss 
 Katie A. Wilson, who was born in Massa- 
 chusetts, as were also her parents, Joseph 
 A. and Harriet S. (Stone) Wilson, both 
 of whom are now deceased. The family 
 came to Pensaukee in an early day. Five 
 children have been born to them — Marion 
 L. (who is teaching in Little Suamico, 
 Oconto county), William, Howard, Mel- 
 low and Ruby. On coming to Oconto 
 count}-, in 1S69, Mr. Tripp entered the 
 employ of the Oconto Lumber Co., work- 
 ing in the planing-mill and woods, and 
 remained with them two years. For one 
 summer he worked for F. B. Gardner. 
 In 1 87 1 he came t6 Pensaukee township, 
 in 1 87 5 settling on a partly-improved farm 
 of eighty acres in Section 35, which he 
 commenced to improve and prepare for 
 cultivation, and he now has seventy-five 
 acres cleared, and has erected a good resi- 
 dence, at a cost of $2,500. A few years 
 ago Mr. Tripp bought out the general 
 mercantile establishment of C. L. War- 
 ner, the oldest store in Brookside, and 
 has since given a good share of his time and 
 attention to the business. For years he 
 was engaged in the butcher business, fur- 
 nishing meat, to Oconto and other north- 
 ern points. When Mr. Tripp first came 
 to Oconto county it was a wild, unculti- 
 vated region, and he has seen almost its 
 entire improvement and progress during 
 his twenty-si.x years' residence here. Po- 
 litically he is an active member of the Re- 
 publican party, and socially he affiliates 
 with the K. O. T. M. at Amberg. 
 
 HL. BERGSTROM. This gentle- 
 man, who has been associated 
 with the Bird & Wells' mill, 
 Wausaukee, Marinette county, 
 since it was started, is a native of Wis- 
 consin, born in 1859, in Xeenah, Winne- 
 bago county. 
 
 Louis and Louisa Bergstrom, his par- 
 ents, were born in Norway, and in about 
 1857 emigrated to America, coming di- 
 
7>4 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGliAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 recti}' to Neenah, Wis., where the father 
 entered the emplo\- of the Harts Machine 
 Works, Menasha, and remained in the 
 shop some years, thence fjoing to Apple- 
 ton, Wis. He died in 1893 at Neenah, 
 where his widow is now living. They 
 reared a family of children as follows: 
 Augusta, Mrs. Johnson, of Chicago; Jen- 
 nie, who died in 1891 in Green Bay, wife 
 of John L. Sorenson; William, who died 
 in 1885 in Xeenah; Jennie, who was 
 burned in the Peshtigo tire of October 8, 
 1S71; H. L. ; A. W., living in Chicago; 
 Louis, at Neenah, Wis., and John, resid- 
 ing in Chicago. 
 
 Our subject was reared in his native 
 city, and received his education in the 
 public schools there. In 1872 he came 
 to Green Bay, Wis., in the employ of the 
 Weed Lumber Co., of that place, and in 
 lS74went to Little Suamico for Anson 
 Eldred & Son, with whom he remained 
 until his removal to Marinette county. 
 In 1886 he came to Wausaukee and en- 
 tered the Beach & Bishop mill, the first 
 one started in this place, working as filer 
 and foreman. He continued with them 
 until, in November, 1891, they disposed 
 of their interests to the Bird & Wells 
 Co., with whom he has since remained, 
 and he is one of their oldest emploj-es. 
 Beach & Bishop gave employment to 
 about one hundred hands, and the pres- 
 ent company have a still larger force. 
 
 They were formerly known as the ^^'au- 
 saukee Lumber Company. Previously 
 Mr. Bergstrom was employed by L. M. 
 Marshall & Holmes, of Coleman, Mari- 
 nette county, where he resided si.\ years, 
 from 1880 to 1886, and when he came to 
 Wausaukee the place contained but four 
 buildings. He has witnessed its com- 
 plete development, ever taking a loyal 
 interest in the advancement and progress 
 of the community in which he makes his 
 I home. For one year he served as super- 
 visor of his township. 
 
 In 1880 Mr. Bergstrom was married, 
 in Little Suamico, Oconto county, to 
 Miss Mary Cjueran, who was born in Ger- 
 many, daughter of William Queran, who, 
 coming to this country man}' years ago, 
 settled on a farm in Brown county, and 
 was an early pioneer of De Pere; he now 
 resides in Rockland township. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Bergstrom have come four chil- 
 dren: Anna, Clara, Georgie and Maud. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bergstrom are members of 
 the First Presbyterian Church of Wau- 
 saukee, in which he serves as trustee, 
 having held that office ever since the 
 founding of the Church, in which he 
 took an active part. Socially he is a 
 member of De Pere Lodge No. 222, I. 
 O. O. F. , and of Wausaukee Tent No. 
 19, K. O. T. M., in which he is lieuten- 
 ant commander. In political affiliation 
 he is a Republican. 
 
INDBX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Abbott, J.E 535 
 
 Abrams, Hon. W. J 114 
 
 Adams, H. R., M D 620 
 
 Adriaensseii, A. A. L.... 378 
 Aebischer. Charles N.... 176 
 Aebischer, Mr.s. Margaret 175 
 
 Aebisher, Samuel 175 
 
 Aldrich. Chauncy N 121 
 
 Ame.s, Milo 367 
 
 Andersen, Dedrick O 384 
 
 Andersen, Hans P 274 
 
 Anderson, Andrew 346 
 
 Anderson, T. D 637 
 
 Anderson, W H ISl 
 
 Andrew, John J 481 
 
 Andrew, J. M 707 
 
 Andrew, W. A 682 
 
 Ansorg-e, Eugene K 199 
 
 Armstrong, William 119 
 
 Arndt, John P 213 
 
 Arndt, John Wallace 213 
 
 Arveson, Arve 256 
 
 Atkinson, Thomas 118 
 
 Babcock, Augustin H . . . 176 
 
 Bailev, Patrick 341 
 
 Baird', George W 578 
 
 Bakeman, John 584 
 
 Eakeman, Henry 584 
 
 Barker, Benjamin B 628 
 
 Bartelmc. John 343 
 
 Bartels, Judge F. J 701 
 
 Bartels, Henrv 569 
 
 Bartli, Martin 345 
 
 Batchelder, Benjamin W. 621 
 
 Batey,John 159 
 
 Bander, David B 602 
 
 Baumgart, August, Sr. . . 238 
 
 Baumgart, August 236 
 
 Baumgart, Edward 345 
 
 Baumgart, Paul 238 
 
 Beattie, S. T 618 
 
 Beaupre, Dr. Wm 309 
 
 Becher, John 212 
 
 Becher, Joseph 212 
 
 Beck, H. M., M. D 229 
 
 Becker, Peter J 316 
 
 Beissel, Eseius 307 
 
 Bell, Donald J 651 
 
 Bergstrom, H. L 713 
 
 Bernardy, Jacob 557 
 
 Bernardy, Jacob H 5.57 
 
 Beth, John 13 
 
 Biddlecom, N. H 583 
 
 Bingham, Webster A.... 40 
 
 Birmingham, Jesse 658 
 
 Black, N. B 505 
 
 Black, R. J 161 
 
 I'.^GE. 
 
 Ble.sch, Francis 160 
 
 Blesch, Frank T 160 
 
 Bloch,0. W 564 
 
 Boehm, Joseph 344 
 
 Boehm, Sylvester 332 
 
 Boman, Peter J 577 
 
 Bone, Leonard 167 
 
 Bongers, Rev. Matthew. 323 
 
 Borman, Georgie 371 
 
 Borman, Henry 371 
 
 Bo.ssard, Rev. Guido 509 
 
 Bovee, Lem J 567 
 
 Bovee. Philip 567 
 
 Bowring, Thomas D 118 
 
 Boyden, Elbridge (i 24S 
 
 Bozmack, Rev. Jacobus. . 154 
 
 Brault, Joseph i)45 
 
 Brault, Odilon 645 
 
 Brault, Sinai .596 
 
 Brennan, Jeremiah 259 
 
 Brett, B. C, M. D 37 
 
 Brice, O. J. B 4.")2 
 
 Brien. J. A., M. D 571 
 
 Briggs, B. M 516 
 
 Briggs, Edwin F 576 
 
 Briggs, Fred W 576 
 
 Britton, David W 132 
 
 Broeren. John 326 
 
 Brooks, Gardner R 498 
 
 Brown, A. C 695 
 
 Brown, Thomas W 580 
 
 Brown, W. A 695 
 
 Brunette, Dominick 186 
 
 Brunette. Manuel 186 
 
 Bryce, Milton D 493 
 
 Buckmann, Ahrend S. . . . 324 
 
 Buckinann, H. F 324 
 
 Bundv. James C 670 
 
 Burdeau, Willard E 190 
 
 Bush, D. L 642 
 
 Bush, Mrs. D. L 643 
 
 Caldie, Thomas 608 
 
 Callahan, Peter 334 
 
 Caiman, John 3<)0 
 
 Caiman, Mrs. Kate 390 
 
 Camm, Herbert F 297 
 
 Campbell. H. Porter 453 
 
 Cannon, E. J .553 
 
 Cannon, J. A 552 
 
 Carlin, P. H 418 
 
 Caron, Rev. E. A. S 570 
 
 Casey, W. J 179 
 
 Casson, Curtis P 635 
 
 Casson, John J 657 
 
 Casson, William N 635 
 
 Cautereels, Rev. P. J 362 
 
 Champion, Scth W ISO 
 
 PACK. 
 
 Chase, Jasper S 420 
 
 Chatell, John 711 
 
 Christ, Henrv 596 
 
 Christ. Henry P 596 
 
 Christenson, David 505 
 
 Classen, Hon. D. G .542 
 
 Cla.sson. W. J 542 
 
 Cleeremans, Alex 125 
 
 Cleeremans. Charles 403 
 
 Cleeremans. Frank 2ii3 
 
 Cliflford, Patrick 4.S9 
 
 Clute, H. P., V. S 708 
 
 Cody, John 211 
 
 Coenen, John 287 
 
 Coenen, Theodore 2s7 
 
 Coffeen, W. B., M. D 446 
 
 Colburn, Andrew H 5(>8 
 
 Colburn. Theodore 421 
 
 Colter, G. Fred. M. D 532 
 
 Conen, William 368 
 
 Conley. Horace J 145 
 
 Conne'lly, John 127 
 
 Conners, Henry B 613 
 
 Conners, Michael 613 
 
 Cook, Angus 699 
 
 Cook, Daniel 518 
 
 Cook, Mrs. D 519 
 
 Cook, James 510 
 
 Cook, John (Marinette) . . .528 
 
 Cook. John (De Pere) 123 
 
 Cook, John (deceased). . . . 303 
 
 Cook, (Jsmer C .550 
 
 Cook, William .303 
 
 Cook, Wallace P 550 
 
 Corbett. M. J 41(i 
 
 Cormier, David 357 
 
 Cormier, Joseph 357 
 
 Corstens, ,\rnold 386 
 
 Corstens, John 386 
 
 Cosgrove, Michael 674 
 
 Cotton, Charles A 4,?8 
 
 Couillard, Edwin 632 
 
 Couillard, Jacob W 632 
 
 Coulter, John 654 
 
 Countermine, Rev. J. L.. 511 
 
 Craanen, Christian 265 
 
 Craanen, Jacob 265 
 
 Craanen, John 360 
 
 Crabb, Frank 184 
 
 Crabb, Joseph 148 
 
 Crocker, Ephraim 416 
 
 Curran, Martin 279 
 
 Daggett, William 662 
 
 Daggett, William E 662 
 
 Daiiistrom, E 621 
 
 Daily, Charles C 522 
 
 Daily, John 522 
 
7i6 
 
 COMME.VOIiATTVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Davidson, O. C 554 
 
 Davidson, Thomas 554 
 
 Davis, Charles L 451 
 
 Davis, Daniel H 210 
 
 Davis, E. B 451 
 
 Day, Charles W 48 
 
 De Jonffhc, Constant 220 
 
 De Lano, William W 669 
 
 13e Lano, Mrs. W. W 670 
 
 De Loinv, Rev. Father C. 91 
 
 De Wilt. Kev. Elsear 425 
 
 Decker, Edward 42 
 
 Delanev, Georf,'-e A 179 
 
 Delaney, James C 179 
 
 Denis, Charles R 290 
 
 Denis, (Jeorg-ie 88 
 
 Denis, Capt. Joseph 147 
 
 Dickie, Thomas A 577 
 
 Dodds, Satnnel 641 
 
 Dohn, Adam 229 
 
 Dollard. John 373 
 
 Dollard, Patrick E 373 
 
 Doolan. Bartholomew. . . . 240 
 
 Doran. Terrence 250 
 
 Doiifiherty, Cornelius... .324 
 
 Drake, James 406 
 
 Droog-, Feli.x 146 
 
 Duaime, Joseph E 336 
 
 Ducat, Jac(iues 372 
 
 Duchateau, Abclard 454 
 
 Duchatcau, E. J. B 454 
 
 Duffy. .lames 330 
 
 Duffy, Thomas 330 
 
 Dwjer. Antlujny 267 
 
 Dwyer, Patrick 267 
 
 Eastman, Everett C 494 
 
 Eastman, Rev. Morgan L. 494 
 
 Ebeling-, J. H 47 
 
 Ef^'gleston, M. A 605 
 
 Ehle, Herrman 2.39 
 
 Eisenman, Andrew A.... 322 
 Ei.senmati, Mrs.Apollonia 3S1 
 
 Eisenman, John 381 
 
 Eisenman, John C 322 
 
 Ellis, Albert G 55 
 
 Ellis, Eleazer H 55 
 
 Ellis, William A 490 
 
 Ellsworth, Dr. Albert H. . 313 
 Elmore, Hon. James H. . . 21 
 
 Enderbv, .lohn 280 
 
 Endcrby. William R 280 
 
 Engels, Edward 461 
 
 En;;lish, Mark 349 
 
 Eparvier, Charles 594 
 
 Erickson, Erick 591 
 
 Erickson, Niels 249 
 
 Erlcy. Hugh 640 
 
 Esmann, John D 192 
 
 Eairchild. A. M 680 
 
 Fairchild. C. M 680 
 
 Fairchild. Hiram <) 501 
 
 Fairchild. Rev. John 484 
 
 Fairchild, John B 484 
 
 Fairfield, W. E., M. D ... 434 
 
 Falch, Jacob 364 
 
 Falch, Philip 295 
 
 Falch, Philip (deceased).. 294 
 Farlev, Frank 710 
 
 PACE. 
 
 Farley, O. W 710 
 
 Findeisen Bros 364 
 
 Findeisen, John G 363 
 
 Finnegan, Barnard IBS 
 
 Finnegan, Hugh 332 
 
 Finnegan, John C 186 
 
 p'innegan, Patrick 332 
 
 Finnegan, William 96 
 
 Finnerty, Hon. Patrick.. 73 
 
 Fisk, W. J 70 
 
 Fisher, H. D 555 
 
 Fitzpatrick, Eugene 689 
 
 Flannigan, L. W 704 
 
 Flatley, D 321 
 
 Flynn, Edward 402 
 
 Flynn, John 403 
 
 FoUett, Mrs Rosamond. . . 14 
 Francart, Ferdinand J... 531 
 
 Francart, H. J 531 
 
 Frisque, Florentine 432 
 
 Frosch, Frank 277 
 
 Frosch, George 277 
 
 Fuller, F. H 384 
 
 (Jage, Dr. C. 459 
 
 Gallagher, Rev Ch.as J... 427 
 Gauche, Father James... 289 
 
 Gay lord, Capt. G. A 455 
 
 Georgi, Ottoman 221 
 
 Geurts, George 211 
 
 Gilkey, Samuel D 551 
 
 Gilkey, Thomas P 551 
 
 Goddard, John 649 
 
 Goddard . John H 649 
 
 (Joemans, Anthony 168 
 
 Goemans. Mrs Joanna . . . 168 
 Goepfert.Rev. P.,C.S. Sp. 36 
 
 Goffart, Ferdinand 124 
 
 Goffart, Zacharie 142 
 
 Goldsmith. Christoph 252 
 
 Gonion. A. B 383 
 
 Goodell, C. F 174 
 
 Gotfredsen, Mrs. E 261 
 
 Gotfrcdsen, Niels H 261 
 
 Gow, Williatn 437 
 
 Gowey, Archie L 193 
 
 Gram, Lewis 585 
 
 Gratza, Father John 306 
 
 Greiling, August 217 
 
 Grignon. D. H 437 
 
 Gro.ss, Fred. P 122 
 
 Gross, John G., Jr 423 
 
 Gross, John G., Sr 414 
 
 Grosse, G. A 527 
 
 Grossc, John 527 
 
 Grosse, William 563 
 
 Hae.se, August 138 
 
 Hagemeister, Henry F... 106 
 Hagemeistcr, Louis W. . . 106 
 Hagen, Walter T., M. D. . 27 
 
 Hahn. Charles H 613 
 
 Hall. Mrs. A. J 546 
 
 Hall, Ben R 478 
 
 Hall, Dr. Jonathan C 478 
 
 Hall, Richard L 546 
 
 Hallctt. C. A 514 
 
 Hamilton, Edgar L 464 
 
 Hamilton, Woodman C . 463 
 Handevside, William 136 
 
 I'AGE. 
 
 Hanley. G. W 544 
 
 Han.sen, Christ 295 
 
 Hansen, Hans 389 
 
 Han.sen, Niels 130 
 
 Hanson, F, A., M. D .548 
 
 Han.son, Gunder 548 
 
 Hardwick, Moses 643 
 
 Hart, Capt. C. B 65 
 
 Hart, C. S 626 
 
 Hart, Edwin 53 
 
 Hart, Capt. H. W 54 
 
 Harteau, D. M 162 
 
 Harvej-, John S 697 
 
 Harvey, Leslie C 477 
 
 Hastings, Hon. S. D., Jr. 52 
 
 Havden. George W 391 
 
 Hayford. S. W 181 
 
 Hebel, Joseph 180 
 
 Hebert, Joseph 387 
 
 Heim, Lorenz 193 
 
 Henderson, Samuel 633 
 
 Henrigilles, Joseph 163 
 
 Herber, Peter 126 
 
 Hess, (ieorge B % 
 
 Hewitt, Rev. John L 107 
 
 Heyrnian, Charles L 129 
 
 Hey rman, Frank 128 
 
 Heyrnian, John B 410 
 
 Hibberd, Andrew 278 
 
 Higgins, H.C 534 
 
 Hinsdale, William C 110 
 
 Hitchcock. L. S 671 
 
 Hitchon, Henry 675 
 
 Hitchon, Robert 675 
 
 Hittner, H. M., M. D 385 
 
 Hobblns, James 308 
 
 Hobbins, John 309 
 
 Hochgreve, August 426 
 
 Hockridge, Duane R 482 
 
 Hodgins, Joshua 676 
 
 Hoeffel, Joseph 168 
 
 Hoffman. William 397 
 
 Hogan, Hon. John M 49 
 
 Holg^ate, Hon. Amos 536 
 
 Holmes, Albert G.E 105 
 
 Hoskcns, Peter 130 
 
 Howe, Alonzo V 595 
 
 Howe. Mrs. A. V -. . 595 
 
 Howland, Major Levi ... 399 
 
 Howland, Thomas 399 
 
 Hack. Daniel 625 
 
 Hudd. Hon. Thomas R... 109 
 
 Huisenfeldt, (Jeorge 237 
 
 Huisenfeldt, Stephen 237 
 
 Hunt, David 678 
 
 Hunt. Robert 678 
 
 Hunter, Alvin 165 
 
 Hussin, Joseph 362 
 
 Ingr.im, John 686 
 
 Jackson, Robert 400 
 
 Jacobsen , Jacob 292 
 
 Jensen, Lars 315 
 
 Joannes, Charles 76 
 
 Joannes. Mitchell 78 
 
 Joannes, Thomas 81 
 
 Johann, Capt. John W. . . 354 
 
 John, D. W 573 
 
 Johnson. A. W 200 
 
INDEX. 
 
 717 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 1 
 
 •Af.K. 
 
 Johnson, Edward 
 
 698 
 457 
 
 Le Roy, J. H 
 
 Leroy, Josejih 
 
 ()6 
 541 
 
 Matravers, John 
 
 . 650 
 
 Johnson, Mapnus 
 
 Matzke, Fred 
 
 . 218 
 
 Johnston, C. R 
 
 485 
 
 Leroy, Joseph, Sr 
 
 541 
 
 Maj', Anson 
 
 . 586 
 
 Johnston, James 
 
 683 
 
 Ley, Joseph 
 
 Ley, Joseph. Sr 
 
 177 
 
 May, Samuel G 
 
 . S«6 
 
 Johnston, S. H 
 
 6(l7 
 
 177 
 
 Mcehan, John 
 
 . 408 
 
 
 665 
 670 
 671 
 
 Liebmann, Edmund F. . . 
 
 215 
 191 
 
 215 
 
 
 . 408 
 
 
 Meister, Charles 
 
 . 386 
 
 Jones, Herbet t F 
 
 Liebmann, Louis 
 
 Meister, Christopli 
 
 . 158 
 
 Jones, Huff 
 
 670 
 
 Lind, C. A 
 
 582 
 
 Merryman. Andrew C. 
 
 . 470 
 
 Jones, Stafford P., M. D. 
 
 491 
 
 Lind Family 
 
 582 
 
 Merryman, Reuben C. . . 
 
 . 473 
 
 
 385 
 385 
 
 
 530 
 
 Merryman, Robert W. . . 
 Messmcr, Bishop S. G. . . 
 
 472 
 
 Jorgfeiisen, Hans 
 
 Lindqnist, Nels. ......... 
 
 529 
 
 . 242 
 
 Jorgensen, Jolin L 
 
 11 
 
 624 
 82 
 
 Linssen, Matthias 
 
 Lochman, August 
 
 Lochman. Rev. P. J 
 
 236 
 677 
 (>77 
 
 Michelson, John . . 
 
 248 
 
 Miller, Godfrey 
 
 Miller, T. C. . .' 
 
 302 
 
 Kellotfg-, William E 
 
 . 6.S6 
 
 Kelscy, C. R 
 
 609 
 
 Lomas, C. W 
 
 289 
 
 MiUington Family 
 
 . 304 
 
 Kennedv, William 
 
 388 
 
 Loughrey, James W. ... 
 
 630 
 
 Minahan, J. R., M. I). . . 
 
 . 36 
 
 Kerr, James 
 
 439 
 
 Louw. Rev. Father C. de. 
 
 91 
 
 Miner, John W . . 
 
 . 590 
 
 Kersten,AlphonseM.,M.D 2-;i 
 
 Lucia, Charles J 
 
 314 
 
 Miner, Mrs. J. W 
 
 . 590 
 
 Kettenliofen, Jacob 
 
 225 
 
 Luckenbach, Anton H... 
 
 605 
 
 Molloy, J. W 
 
 . 681 
 
 Kimball, Alc^nzo 
 
 24 
 113 
 679 
 
 Lueke, William 
 
 12 
 
 593 
 140 
 
 Monroe, John S 
 
 Moran, James T 
 
 Morau.x, J. D, M. D..,. 
 
 556 
 
 Kimball. N. S. 
 
 Lundberg, Kessander. . . . 
 Lurtpiin. Felix 
 
 378 
 
 Kirkpatrick, M 
 
 . 196 
 
 Kittell, Orin S 
 
 379 
 
 McAllister, Angus 
 
 497 
 
 Morrow, Elislia 
 
 . 104 
 
 Klaus, Henry P 
 
 103 
 
 McAllister, Archibald . . . 
 
 5(,9 
 
 Morrow, Francis X 
 
 . ,521 
 
 Klaus, Philipp 
 
 102 
 2(>9 
 623 
 
 McAllister, D. J 
 
 McAllister, James D 
 
 McAllister, P. H 
 
 489 
 149 
 589 
 
 Mowers, H. E 
 
 Mueller. Carl G 
 
 Mueller, Charles W 
 
 . 355 
 
 
 137 
 
 Koehne, Henrv 
 
 , 138 
 
 Kolb, Peter 
 
 392 
 
 McCallum, Harry 
 
 709 
 
 MuUer, Philip]) 
 
 . 50 
 
 Kozlowskv, Frank 
 
 231 
 
 McCartney, David 
 
 f>0 
 
 Murphy. James L 
 
 . 682 
 
 Kozlowskv, Frank, Jr 
 
 232 
 
 McCartney, William 
 
 60 
 
 Murphy, John 
 
 . 202 
 
 Kuntz, Christian 
 
 409 
 
 McClure, James 
 
 648 
 
 Murphy, Simon J., Jr. . . 
 
 . 204 
 
 Kuntze, Ernest 
 
 666 
 
 McCormick, M. J 
 
 454 
 
 Murphy, Timothy 
 
 . 202 
 
 Kurz. A. G 
 
 361 
 
 McCormick. Patrick 
 
 455 
 
 Nacthwey, Anton 
 
 . 154 
 
 Kustermann, Carl 
 
 23 
 
 McCunn, John N 
 
 270 
 
 Nachtwey, Henry 
 
 . 1.54 
 
 Kustermann, Gustav 
 
 00 
 
 McDonald, Charles W.. . . 
 
 611 
 
 Nadeau, Napoleon 
 
 . .591 
 
 Kuypers, John A 
 
 La Fresnier,F.J.A.,M.D . 
 
 428 
 553 
 
 McDowell. John 
 
 McDowell, Sanuiel 
 
 694 
 (,94 
 
 Nelson, Niels . . . 
 
 . 208 
 
 Newberry, Henry 
 
 . 515 
 
 Lamarre, Alphonse 
 
 246 
 
 McGeehan. Hon. Robert J. 
 
 94 
 
 Newberry, William P. . . 
 
 . 515 
 
 Lamarre, John L 
 
 246 
 
 McGillis, John J 
 
 614 
 
 Newell, C. A 
 
 . 448 
 
 Lancaster, Henry 
 
 370 
 
 McGovern, Patrick 
 
 707 
 
 Newton, Abel D 
 
 . 208 
 
 Lange, Eberhardt A 
 
 176 
 
 McGovern, Peter 
 
 558 
 
 Nolan, M. H 
 
 . 160 
 
 Lapag-e, Frank 
 
 610 
 
 McGrath, Thomas J 
 
 112 
 
 Noyes. Luther B 
 
 . 499 
 
 Larsen, James 
 
 634 
 
 Mclver, Robert 
 
 629 
 
 Noyes, Cliarles H 
 
 Noyes, Frank E 
 
 . 70S 
 
 Larsen, Ludwig- H 
 
 532 
 
 McKenzic, C. S 
 
 655 
 
 . 500 
 
 Larsen, L. N 
 
 687 
 
 McKnight, John 
 
 135 
 
 Norton, Joseph 
 
 . 358 
 
 Larsen, Ouon 
 
 532 
 232 
 
 
 226 
 606 
 
 Noyes, W. W 
 
 Oatley. Albert B 
 
 . 612 
 
 Larsen, William 
 
 McLaughlin, J. H 
 
 . 424 
 
 Larson, C. Frithiof, M. D 
 
 679 
 672 
 
 
 340 
 572 
 
 O'Brien, Rev. M. J 
 
 Olander, Rev. Carl <J. . . 
 
 262 
 
 Laselle, Charles 
 
 McWilliams, Robert 
 
 592 
 
 Last, J. B 
 
 123 
 
 MacNeill, Luther K 
 
 526 
 
 Oldenburg, Gerhard. . . . 
 
 . 405 
 
 Lau. Rey. Clement 
 
 252 
 
 Madagin, Dan J 
 
 710 
 
 Oldenburg, Otto N 
 
 . 405 
 
 Lauernian, Joseph A. J. . 
 
 560 
 
 Madagin, John 
 
 710 
 
 Oiin, C. C 
 
 . 600 
 
 Laugesen , Erik P 
 
 601 
 
 Madsen, O.C 
 
 639 
 
 Olmsted, Aus. F.,M. D.. 
 
 . 18 
 
 Lawlor, Thomas 
 
 419 
 
 Mailer, Andrew C, M. D. 
 
 427 
 
 Olson, Cornelius 
 
 . 689 
 
 Lawrence, G. S .... 
 
 319 
 
 Malmstadt, August 
 
 706 
 
 Olson, Nels 
 
 607 
 
 Lawton Family 
 
 28 
 
 Maloney, T. F 
 
 .=^08 
 
 Paramore, E. F., M. D. 
 
 . 476 
 
 La%yton. Capt. Joseph G. 
 
 28 
 
 Mann, Horace E.,M. D... 
 
 486 
 
 Parent, Thomas 
 
 . 538 
 
 Leary, Cornelius 
 
 310 
 
 247 
 
 Manthey, Carl 
 
 Marcussen, Peter 
 
 197 
 
 352 
 
 Patton, John . . . 
 
 22s 
 
 Lebal, John 
 
 Patton, Michael 
 
 . 227 
 
 Lee, W. M 
 
 588 
 
 Martin, Constant 
 
 39 
 
 Peck, George T 
 
 Peck, O.scar F 
 
 . 559 
 
 Lee, Rufus V 
 
 688 
 
 Martin, Daniel H 
 
 433 
 
 . 638 
 
 Leigh, John 
 
 504 
 
 Martin, Mrs. Mary 
 
 350 
 
 Peck, Romantey 
 
 . 638 
 
 Leigh, Lincoln 
 
 505 
 
 Martin, Michael 
 
 350 
 
 Pele, Rev. Peter 
 
 . 51)5 
 
 Leitermann, Joseph 
 
 Leonard, Bernard A 
 
 331 
 209 
 
 Martin, Hon. Morgan L. 
 Martin, P. H 
 
 / 
 19 
 
 
 586 
 
 Peterson, Charles E. . . . 
 
 . 093 
 
 Leonard, J. H 
 
 296 
 66 
 
 Martin, Xavier 
 
 33 
 361 
 
 Peterson, Niels 
 
 Peterson, W. H 
 
 . 351 
 
 Le Roy, Jonas 
 
 Mason, Jared D 
 
 . 418 
 
7i8 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Phelps, Henrv 321 
 
 Philbrook, R. 516 
 
 Philbrook, S. V. D 674 
 
 Place, Abraham 646 
 
 Place, Anson J 598 
 
 Pkice,HenryJ.(GroverT.) 646 
 Place, H. J. (Marinette).. 598 
 
 Place, Job E 647 
 
 Place, John 704 
 
 Poctiuette, Joseph 579 
 
 Poldernian. Abrani 616 
 
 Popp, Rev. C. A. V 448 
 
 Popp, Godfrey G. L 450 
 
 Post, Charles D 488 
 
 Post, Isaiah 488 
 
 Prescott, E. C 510 
 
 Prust, Charles 414 
 
 Quatsoe, Ferdinand 374 
 
 Qnatsoe, Peter 374 
 
 Quirt. Charles 660 
 
 Rabe, Henry 631 
 
 Radoe, Aufjust F 408 
 
 Ramsay, R. C 512 
 
 Rasmus.sen, Niels 139 
 
 Ratlibiin, Georg-e C 524 
 
 Haymakers, Hermann .. . 369 
 
 Reed, Louis 712 
 
 Reinke, Charles 612 
 
 Keinke, Fred 612 
 
 Revnen. Matthias 74 
 
 Rhode, Henry, M. D 273 
 
 Rice, W. D 228 
 
 Richard, Rev. Theodore J 566 
 
 Richmond, Abial 561 
 
 Ridsdale, Geo. Laycock. . 574 
 
 Ripp, Mathew 331 
 
 Robinson, W. H 644 
 
 Rondou, A 196 
 
 Ross, D. W 624 
 
 Rovvbotham, Rev. Wm.. . 320 
 
 Rugg, George W 644 
 
 Ryan, Thomas 173 
 
 Ryan, Timothy 219 
 
 Sackett, Frank E 601 
 
 Sackett, H. C 601 
 
 Sargent, George W 663 
 
 Sargent, Henry 540 
 
 Sawyer, A. P 285 
 
 Sawyer, Thomas 285 
 
 Scanlan, Thomas H 198 
 
 Schaden, Casper 293 
 
 Schcffen, Henry 545 
 
 Schiller, L. G 183 
 
 Schmidt, Ale.x. P 200 
 
 Schneider, F. W 114 
 
 Schrocder, Charles 158 
 
 Schultz, Peter Hanson. . . 203 
 
 Schwarz, Christian 288 
 
 Scofield, Major Edward. . 474 
 
 Scott, James 1 692 
 
 Sellers, Malcolm 92 
 
 SoUevold, S. P 618 
 
 Sensiba, George W 359 
 
 Settersten, A. H 525 
 
 Settersten, Charles J 521 
 
 Settersten, G. A 521 
 
 Seymour, E. W 698 
 
 Seymour, Frank li 462 
 
 p.\GE. 
 
 Seymour, I. 1 699 
 
 Seymour. John P 641 
 
 Sharp, Thomas E 67 
 
 Shaughnessy, John 312 
 
 Sheldrick, John 523 
 
 Sherlock, Andrew 431 
 
 Sherlock, James 368 
 
 Sherlock, Philip 431 
 
 Sherman, J. J., M. D 479 
 
 Sherwood, Edison 424 
 
 Sherwood, Mrs. Olive I. . 424 
 
 Shields, Henry C 700 
 
 Shores, L. K.' 661 
 
 Simcox, H. B 649 
 
 Simcox, Isaac 649 
 
 Simon, John 654 
 
 Simons, Andrew 313 
 
 Simpson, Benjamin F. .. . 684 
 
 Simpson, Charles S 513 
 
 Slaughter, A. W., M. D. . 395 
 
 Smct, Ferdinand 241 
 
 Smith, Alexander 397 
 
 Smith, Don F 222 
 
 Smith, Frank C 382 
 
 Smith, Frank T 59 
 
 Smith, James 396 
 
 Smith, John 269 
 
 Smith, J. D 691 
 
 Smith, J. M 57 
 
 Smith, Michael B 382 
 
 Smitz, Father Adolph 268 
 
 Snyder, Frank 380 
 
 Snyder. William T 690 
 
 Spice, Robert 636 
 
 Spice, Thomas 636 
 
 Spuhler, Adam 20 
 
 Stephenson, Hon. Isaac. . 466 
 
 Stephenson, Robert E 622 
 
 Stewart. Robert D 68 
 
 Stewart, William M 69 
 
 Stoelting, C. W., M. D... 481 
 
 Stoelting, Christian W. . . 481 
 
 Straubel. Henry A 405 
 
 Streckenbach, C. W 144 
 
 Sullivan, John 347 
 
 Sunstrom, Charles W 520 
 
 Swalwell, John 506 
 
 Sweeney. B. P 404 
 
 Sweeney, Peter 404 
 
 Taylor, George W 465 
 
 Taylor, J. H 415 
 
 Taylor, Robert B 6.=;3 
 
 Thiele, August 401 
 
 Thomas, Edgar 604 
 
 Thompson, Horatio G.... 587 
 
 Thorne, George W 507 
 
 Tobin, Capl. James 539 
 
 Touhev, James 1.^7 
 
 Tremi; Joseph 183 
 
 Tripp, David 713 
 
 TuUy, T. C 664 
 
 Utke, J. E 597 
 
 Van Abel, M.irtin 275 
 
 Van Beek. Martin 41 
 
 V^an Calster, Emile 141 
 
 Vanderheiden. Peter .... 148 
 
 Vanderkinter, Frank . . . 144 
 
 Vanderkinter Peter 143 
 
 P.\GE. 
 
 Van Deuren, P. J 460 
 
 Van De VVyngaard, M 260 
 
 Van Dyke, Anton 339 
 
 Van Hoosmalen,Rev.W.F. 458 
 
 Van Seggern, H. D 264 
 
 Van Vonderen, John.... 388 
 
 Vanier, Rev. Charles 619 
 
 Verberk. Rev. A. J 71 
 
 Verboort, Albert 255 
 
 Verstegen, Rev. John .... 290 
 Ver Straten, Mrs. Anna.. 195 
 
 Ver Straten, John 195 
 
 Ver Straten, Martin 194 
 
 Wagner, William P 456 
 
 Walker, L. G., M. D 492 
 
 Waring, Frank 573 
 
 Watermolen, Henrv 35 
 
 Watermolen, JohnF 220 
 
 Weber, Nicholas 395 
 
 Webster, Capt. H. W 450 
 
 Weise, Albert 434 
 
 Wellens, Lambert 335 
 
 Wellington, M. K 529 
 
 Wensing, J. B 703 
 
 Wescott Family 562 
 
 Westmon, George H 4''5 
 
 Weter, James P 214 
 
 Wezenaar, John C 666 
 
 Wezenaar. William 666 
 
 Whitcomh, Edmond 519 
 
 Whitcomb, H. D 519 
 
 Whitcomb. W. S 372 
 
 Whitcomb, W. W 615 
 
 White, George E 6% 
 
 Whiting, C. F 543 
 
 Whiting, David E 543 
 
 Whitney, Daniel 83 
 
 Whitney, Harriet H 87 
 
 Whitney, Joshua 87 
 
 Wie.se, F. H 266 
 
 Wiese, William 266 
 
 Wilcox, Chester G 298 
 
 Wilcox, Levi S 301 
 
 Williams, Albert 311 
 
 Williams, Eber L 581 
 
 Williams, George 685 
 
 Williams, Joseph 581 
 
 Williams, P. T f>85 
 
 WiLson, Adolph f)«>8 
 
 Wilson, Mrs. Adolph 668 
 
 Wilson, John E 517 
 
 Wilt. Rev. El-sear de 425 
 
 Windross, John 547 
 
 Winton, CM U)<> 
 
 Wirth, Philip M 2=^7 
 
 Wittig, Ferdinand 251 
 
 Woolford. William B 316 
 
 Workman, William 155 
 
 Workman. W. M 216 
 
 Wotter, Frederick 458 
 
 Wotter, H. A., M. D 458 
 
 Wright Brothers .502 
 
 Wright, J. K.... 502 
 
 Yeaton, R. B 548 
 
 Young. Hon. William H. 533 
 
 Youngs, (icorge C 513 
 
 ^inidars, David 201 
 
 Zoeller. Alois B S8S 
 
y\,.