DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Duke University Libraries https://archive.org/details/unitedstatesbiog01amer_0 GOVERNOR OFWISCONSIN 1864-65. THE UNITED STATES 'I BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY AND PORTRAIT GALLERY OP Eminent and Self-made Men. WISCONSIN VOLUME. CHICAGO, CINCINNATI AND NEW YORK: AMERICAN BIOGRAPHICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY. 9 ^ 0 , 01 q U, s~g PREFACE. I N undertaking the publication of the Biographical Dictionary the publishers are guided by two business principles : First, the belief that they are supplying a public need ; and second, the con- viction that they will be able to supply the best work on the subject. The belief that the work is needed is founded on the fact that the world worships success, and is glad to learn how it has been brought about. The truth of this is shown in the fact that if a man be poor, though he have the learning of a Blackstone, the genius of a Watt, or the patient persever- ance of a Goodyear, yet, until he has achieved success, mankind has no interest in his history. His aspirations, his anxieties and his heart struggles, may have an interest for beings of higher intelligence, but for the mass of mankind these have no charms. But if by some cunning device, by some daring enterprise, or after long struggles and perseverance, he acquire a fortune, then the reluctant world is lavish in its admiration, his history is full of interest, and every one is anxious to know how he achieved success. To gratify this universal longing, it is proposed to give the history of the lives of six hundred successful men of Wisconsin. The Publishers found the second business principle on the fact that they are determined to spare neither labor nor expense in giving to the world the most authentic information how these men have won fortune, how the world has been benefited by their labors, and what has been the turning-point of their success. These examples are of great interest, may spread good seed, encourage the weary, give new life to the desponding, and energy to the aspiring. In the hearts of the young there are ever hopes and yearnings; and although seldom expressed, and often not even acknowledged to them- selves, they want only the inspiration of example to point the way, to accomplish the full fruition of their hopes. The Publishers believe they are engaged in a laudable enterprise, and trust to a discerning public for a liberal response. It is but just to mention that not one cent has been asked or received from the parties whose biographies have been given in this work; nor is it intended to pander to the vanity of the weak. Eulogy belongs to the dead, not to the living. A record of a man’s life and works constitutes his biography; the praise of his virtues is more appropriate in an obituary. It is our object to seek out merit, and, by a simple narration of the origin, career, and achievements of indi- viduals, show how the country has become great, and who are the men that have helped to do the work. To know how to achieve success is a laudable craving of the human heart, and to teach by- example is the best mode of satisfying that craving. The rapid growth of the United States is unparalleled in the world’s history. If it has been done by human hands, who has done it? Have the heroes of peace no honor? If they have, where is the record? Perhaps it may be found in the dusty files of some daily papers, where lie hidden the records of the worthiest deeds, while acts of rapine fill the pages of history. These may be sensa- tional, but they are not exemplary. There may be yet living some few who took part in the War of Independence; so that it may be 4 /> /,’ E F .1 CE. said that in one life millions of acres of wild lands have been brought under cultivation, cities have m run- up as if by magic, industries have been developed which challenge the world for the vastness, utility and beautv of their productions. The arts have made great progress, and the sons and daugh- ters of America vie with the most eminent of the Old World. To make a record, in an accessible form, of the men who have achieved so much, is a desideratum which has a just claim upon every admirer of his country’s progress. The publication of this work will contribute to the supply of materials for the future historian. The dav has arrived when something more than the memories of the ancestry of the titled few shall usurp the admiration of mankind. A new era, a new civilization, has sprung up, which furnishes a different material for historv. There has been enough written of kings, feudal barons, and the turbu- lence of unbridled power. It is the social condition of the people that makes the history of the United States, which is by far more interesting, by far more useful, and by far more exemplary, than all the feuds and cabals which crowd the pages of European history. The interests of the United States demand that her history should be modeled after her institu- tions, and viewed from that standpoint; honor should be given to those who have made the country _reat. A man is a constituent of a community; so is the history of an individual a constituent of the historv of a country; and that history which best represents the lives of prominent individuals will best represent the social condition of a country. The Biographical Dictionary will furnish this material. It is purely an American idea, and is in the direction of assimilating American literature with American civilization. A sound public opinion is essential to the permanency of a stable government. ’ Opinions formed by a literature written for a people living under a different civilization, which includes monarchy and prerogative, aristocracy and privilege, and an exalted idea of birth and station, is wholly in conflict with republican simplicity. Therefore, however proud we may be of the names which adorn our language, we cannot be blind to the fact that a European literature is not an unalloyed blessing. A national literature must represent the national sentiment; should be in accordance with the principles, and a support to the institutions, of the country. A sound literature is one of the greatest aids to good order, and one of the best supports of the permanency and stability of a government. In making a selection of names for the Biographical Dictionary, the Publishers have aimed to Tve a view of the representatives of the various interests of the State; the Statesmen, the Preachers, the Lawyers, the Merchants, the Manufacturers, the Engineers, and indeed all who take part in the intellectual, social and material progress of the people. If all are not represented, it is because our efforts have failed to reach them, or because the parties themselves were not familiar with the impor- tance of the work, and have failed to furnish the necessary information. There are some who, from vain pride, have refused information; they feared that their names might be associated with names which did not come up to their standard ; others again, who are worthy citizens, have, from a false modesty, refused to give particulars, as they said their lives were not of sufficient importance, thereby accepting the humiliating position of being supernumeraries in society, who have no share in the com- mon interest — forgetting that in a few years their names, without a record, will be lost in oblivion, and their posterity deprived of the gratification and advantage of reference to an honorable ancestry. The Biographical Dictionary will present a galaxy of men whose careers will do honor to any country, exhibiting a variety of enterprise and the best illustration of social life ever published. The -ortraits have the accuracy of photographic art transferred to steel by the ablest engravers of England and America. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. WISCONSIN VOL U ME. HON. JAMES T. LEWIS, COLUMBUS EARCHING the streets of Athens with a lantern, Diogenes illumined a truth of his own discovering, namely, that men are a nation’s rarest as well as most precious jewels; and we have dis- covered that of those who shine in the crown of the Republic, none have a higher worth than the faith- ful administrators of the law. Prominent, on the roll of true and good men, we find the name of James T. Lewis, a native of Clarendon, New York. He was born on the 30th of October, 1819, and is the son of Shubael Lewis and Eleanor Robert- son. His grandfather, Samuel Lewis, lived in Brim- field, Massachusetts. His father, a native of New England, was born on the 27 th of February, 1783, and grew up from a poor boy, with a spirit of self- reliance and strong hope, and by his sterling qualities commanded universal respect. He was a man of sturdy enterprise and acquired large estates both in New York and Wisconsin. He was thrice married : first on the 29th of January, 1815; and the second time on the 15th of April, 1835, to Parna Nichols, who was born on the 10th of April, 1798. She was a lady of the truest womanly qualities, a devoted wife, and all that a mother could be to the children placed under her care. Her pure life was devoted to the welfare of her family, and to the influence of her teachings and example the subject of this sketch, to-day, feels himself largely indebted for the success of his life. His third marriage was to Mai_, Bugbee. He died at thfc advanced age of seventy-eight years. The mother of our subject, a lady of Scotch descent, died on the 8th of October, 1834. Of Mr. Lewis’ brothers and sisters, William L. was born October 19, 1815, and was married October 7, 1842, to Miss Eliza Ann Martin, of Clarendon, New York. Shubael R. was born November 3, 1817 ; was a distinguished soldier in the Mexican war — -the first to scale the walls of Chepultepec, and for his gallant conduct on the field was presented with a sword; married August 18, 183900 Mrs. Sarah Ann (Nichols) Brown, widow of Harvey Brown, M.D. ; died in August, 1856. Hiram W. was born January 13, 1823; married September 2, 1847, to Miss Me- lissa P. Tousley. Mary Jane was born September 6, 1825 ; married Oscar A. Harris. Andrew J. was born May 23, 1828; died January 20, 1840. Lydia A. was born September 22, 1831; died October 12, 1834. James T., the third son, after receiving a common- school education, completed a course of English and classical study in Clarkson Academy and Clin- ton Seminary in New York, and in 1842 began the study of law with Governor Selden, of Clarkson. He afterward removed to Wisconsin, and in 1845 was admitted to the bar of the United States dis- trict court, and subsequently to the supreme court of the State. Declining the gift of an eligible law office offered him by influential friends if he would settle in Clin- ton, New York, he decided more wisely, and estab- lished himself in Columbus, his present home. At the age of twenty-six years he was married to Miss 6 THE EXITED STATES /i/OG/tAP///CAL DICTIONARY. Orlina M. Sturges, daughter of a prominent and successful merchant of Clarendon, New York, and by her had four children: Henry S., deceased at the age of sixteen months; Selden J., named after Governor Selden. of Clarkson, New York ; Charles R., named after Hon. Charles D. Robinson, of Green Bay, Wisconsin ; and Annie L. Mr. Lewis, a man of superior executive ability, rapidlv rose to the successive positions of district attorney, county judge, member of the constitutional convention which formed the organic law of the State, member of the general assembly, state sen- ator, member of the court of impeachment, lieuten- ant-governor. secretary of state, and governor. As secretarv of state it was truly said of him, “he has been prompt, methodical and systematic in all the departments of his office; a true man in every sense of the word, kind and gentlemanly in his deport- ment, and possessing great executive ability.” When elected to this office he received every vote cast in the city of his residence, and when elected gov- ernor in 1863, received a majority of twenty-five thousand, by far the largest ever accorded any can- didate for that office. The nation at this time being engaged in civil war, Governor Lewis felt that for the time political divisions should cease-; that all loyal men, forgetting party strifes, should rally around our country’s flag and save it from dishonor; that rebellion should be crushed by hearty cooperation and earnest sacrifice, and that peace should be restored. Sincerely im- pressed with this belief, he severed party ties and proclaimed, “he who is not a faithful friend to the government of his country in this trying hour is no friend of mine,” and spared neither time, talent nor money in sending troops to save the national capi- tal. Especially was his attention engaged in caring for the needs of the sick. He repeatedly visited camps and hospitals, making long and careful tours, and finally secured a special order from the surgeon general of the United States, for the transfer of all the sick and wounded soldiers from Wisconsin to hospitals within their own State, a privilege never before granted. Under his administration hospitals were estab- lished, a soldiers’ orphans’ home was founded, and families of soldiers provided for. Through his influence multitudes of suffering “boys in blue ” were nursed back to life in hospitals with comforts; blessed by the prayers of mothers and wives at home, the dying hours of brave men were soothed, and men who had risked their lives for a great principle, and bereaved families, were provided with homes. The unmarked, but not for- gotten, graves of our slain heroes dot the hillsides of the South ; but had it not been for the noble work of Governor Lewis, hundreds who are among the living to-day would live only in the desolate, sorrowing hearts of those who loved them. By personal efforts he obtained credit from the govern- ment for soldiers furnished, and reduced the quota of Wisconsin at one time from nineteen thousand and thirty-two to fifteen thousand three hundred and eleven, and was especially successful in secur- ing the claims of his State against the government, amounting in all to more than half a million dollars. In T865, by his wise adjustment of affairs, the State tax was reduced several hundred thousand dollars; and during his entire administration he did not use one dollar of the military contingent fund. At his request the legislature declined to vote the usual appropriation of five thousand dollars as a general contingent fund for the use of the executive. He worked for the good of his State, and was econom- ical, systematic and prompt in all his departments of duty. His large-heartedness and sympathy went out to all; yet in the administration of justice he was inexorable. In 1865, against the wishes of his State, he de- clined a renomination, preferring the retirement of private life to public honors and emoluments. Finding him firm in" his determination, the Union nominating convention expressed in resolutions their regret at his decision, their cordial approba- tion of his administration, and their gratitude for his zeal, fidelity and generous work in behalf of others. As a man and public officer, Governor Lewis possessed the unlimited confidence of the people, and throughout his varied career has maintained a name and character above suspicion or reproach. Figuring little in proclamations, orders and tele- graphic communications, he performed his duties quietly and without ostentation. Unselfish and self-denying in all his action, he labored for the welfare of his State and nation. Standing upon noble principle, he felt that he needed no other platform; the ends which he aimed at were “his country’s, his God’s and truth’s.” A marked fea- ture in the character of Governor Lewis, and one worthy of imitation, is his generous benevolence. Possessed of a liberal competence, he devotes a THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 7 portion of his annual income to the building and support of universities, colleges, academies and educational interests; thus exerting a silent but lasting influence for good, by developing the minds and morals of his country’s youth. He has been a liberal contributor to churches and benevolent enterprises of various kinds, and in all that pertains to the welfare of his city, or the good of his fellow- men, he is ready to lend a cheerful support. In r864 Lawrence University conferred upon him the degree of LL.D., an honor which was justly bestowed and has been worthily worn. He recently received a dispatch from Washing- ton tendering him the office of commissioner of internal revenue. He, however, declined the honor, owing to other duties which require his constant attention. Mr. Lewis has been several times offered similar offices, but has uniformly declined. JAIRUS H. CARPENTER, MADISON. J AIRUS H. CARPENTER, a native of Ashford, Connecticut, was born on the 14th of February, 1822, and is the son of Palmer and Martha Carpen- ter. With the exception of three or four terms spent in Holliston Academy, he received his education in the common schools. After closing his studies he engaged for a time in teaching, and later began the study of law, and completed his preparatory profes- sional studies with Hon. Loren P. Waldo, of Tolland, Connecticut. In March, 1847, he was admitted to the bar, and the same year engaged in the practice of his profession at Willimantic, Connecticut. In 1857 he removed to Wisconsin, and settled at his present home in Madison. Politically, Mr. Carpenter is a republican, though conservative in his views. He exalts the man above the party, and supports for office him whom he deems most worthy of the position. He has here- tofore, and still takes an active part in educational matters. For fourteen years he has been a member of the Madison Board of Education, and for ten years president of the same. In 1868 he was elected professor of law in the University of Wisconsin, a capacity in which he still continues to act. In 1876 he was made dean of the law faculty. The honorary degree of A.M., was confered on him by Yale College in 1874. Mr. Carpenter was married on the 13th of Feb- ruary, 1852, to Miss Martha C. Kendall, of Brook- field, Massachusetts. THEODORE L\ BEL T HE subject of this sketch, a native of East Hampton, Massachusetts, was born on the 6th of October, 1806, the son of Luther Wright and Sarah ne'e Lyman. His ancestors were among the early settlers of the American colonies, and some of them participated in the revolutionary struggle. His parents, farmers by occupation, were highly re- spected in their community, and employed every means in their power to train their children to principles of morality and right. Theodore received a good preparatory education, and afterward entered Yale College, but owing to impaired health, was compelled to abandon his studies before completing his course. The degree of A.M. was, however, afterward conferred upon "MAN WRIGHT, OIT. him as a compliment to his scholarly attainment. His natural literary tastes led him to devote his attention to teaching, and after closing his studies in college, he began fitting young men for college, and continued teaching, mainly in Hartford, Con- necticut, during a period of seventeen years, finding in this employment most agreeable and congenial work. Removing to the West, in 1846, he settled at Beloit, Wisconsin, and during the next twenty years, or longer, was engaged in the insurance business, and in agricultural pursuits. In the meantime, hav- ing accumulated sufficient capital, he erected a paper-mill in Rockton, Illinois; and soon after, another at Beloit, in company with S. T. Merrill s THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. and began that business, with which he is still con- nected, as president of the Northwestern Paper Company. He has not, however, confined his at- tention to any one branch of business. In com- pany with Mr. Newcomb and Mr. Merrill, he estab- lished the first book-store in Beloit, under the firm name of Wright, Merrill and Newcomb. His course, from the first, has been marked by a steady and healthful growth, and has been attended with that prosperity that inevitably follows honest, earnest and continuous effort. As a business man, he is known for his conscientious fair dealing, his prompt- ness and decision, and firm adherence to the highest principles of justice. Politically, Mr. Wright is a republican, and aside from his regular business, has been honored with manv public trusts. He has been for a number of vears superintendent of the public schools of Beloit, and president of the Board of Public Schools; and is at the present time (187b) president of the Library Association. He visited Europe in 1835, in the interests of his business, and has also traveled ex- tensively in the United States, and thus acquired a wide range of practical knowledge and a most valuable experience. His religious training was under the influence of the Congregational church, and he is now a con- sistent member of that body, having united at the age of sixteen years. Mr. Wright has been thrice married : First, on the 23d of September, 1833, to Miss Catherine B. Rynolds, who died on the 25th of April, 1852. His second marriage was on the 25th of November, 1853, to Jane Newcomb, who died on the 6th of October, 1866. On the 21st of August, 1867, he married his present wife, Mrs. Elenor F. Hutchins, whose grandfather, Amasa Clark, was a soldier in the war of independence. Mr. Wright’s personal and social qualities are of a high order, and he lives now in the enjoyment of an ample fortune, surrounded by the comforts of a happy home and hosts of true friends. LEANDER WEST L EANDER F. FRISBY was born June 19, 1825, in Mesopotamia, Trumbull county, Ohio. His father, Lucius Frisby, was a native of Vermont, but removed with his family to Ohio in 1817, where he settled on a farm, and followed the occupation of a farmer for over thirty years. Although of limited early education, yet he possessed strong native talent, and was well posted on all the topics of the day. His grandfather, on both his father’s and mother’s side, were soldiers in the revolutionary war. His mother, whose maiden name was Lavina Gary, was also a native of Vermont. She is still living at the ripe age of eighty-four years, and is at present, and has been for twelve years past, a member of the family of the subject of this sketch. She still retains those indelible traces of pure and intelligent woman- hood which were so characteristic of the American mothers of the last generation, and which have done so much to mould the best phases of American character. Leander, in his early years, worked upon his fa- ther’s farm during the summer months, and attended the neighboring district school for the short space of three months during the winter. At the age of E. FRISBY, BEND. eighteen, with the consent of his parents, he left home and learned the trade of a wagonmaker. From his boyhood he felt and showed a fixed determina- tion to obtain an education, and occupied all of his leisure hours, while learning his trade, in reading and study. After becoming sufficiently skillful in his trade to earn wages, he commenced a course of study at Farmington Academy, in his native county, in Ohio, a school of considerable local fame, where he paid his board and tuition by working at his trade for a neighboring wagonmaker, out of school hours. He remained there for three terms, and, when he left, ranked with the best among some hundred and fifty students. After leaving the academy he taught school one winter, for the purpose of replenishing his wardrobe and obtaining money to go west, where he intended to teach for a time, and return again to his studies. He landed at Sheboygan in September, 1846, and went from thence to the city of Fond du Lac. The fall of 1846 will be remembered by the old settlers of Wisconsin as the “ sickly season,” and within two weeks from his arrival he was taken sick with chill fever, which kept him disabled till far into the win- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 9 ter. When he had so far recovered as to be able to work, the schools were all taken, and, being in des- titute circumstances, he sought work at his trade. He found, however, upon application to the only wagonmakers in his vicinity, that they had not work sufficient for their own employment; and rather than remain idle or to encroach upon the generosity of friends, he entered a cooper shop, as the only place where he could obtain employment, and worked two months, receiving only the munificent wages of his own board (which was the agreement he had made with the proprietors at the time he began work) ; in the meantime seeking work at his trade by cor- respondence with other parts of the surrounding country. Receiving a favorable reply from Beaver Dam in March, 1847, he borrowed fifty cents from a friend and started on foot for that place, paying his borrowed money for his supper and lodging, and arriving there about noon of the second day, with- out having tasted breakfast. Here he commenced work at his trade for a Mr. Craig, and continued in his employ until the latter part of June. This was the first glimmer of sunlight which had dawned upon his pathway since he left his native State. The long, sad, weary days of sickness, hardships, trials and despondency spent during that fall and winter at Fond du Lac cannot be portrayed, and it would be but a sad failure to attempt it. In the summer of 1847 he went from Beaver Dam to Janesville, where he also worked at his trade in the shop of a Mr. Curler. During all of this time he never lost sight of his original object, and spent every moment which could be spared from his labors in hard, earnest study of such books as were at his com- mand. In the fall of 1847, having relieved himself from his embarrassment by hard and incessant toil at the bench, the darkness and gloom which had at first overshadowed his pathway, in the then far west, had been lifted, and the beauties of the prairie-west pre- sented themselves to him in a new light, which in- duced him to abandon his first intent of returning to the East, and he resolved to engage in school teach- ing as the best adapted to enable him to pursue his studies. He first taught, nine months, at Spring Prairie Corners, Walworth county, commencing in the fall of that year. In September, 1848, he opened an academical school at Burlington, Racine county, in what was then known as the old “ Burlington Academy ” building, where he continued to teach until the summer of 1850 — in the meantime pursu- ing the study of law, and spending the summer va- cations of 1849 and 1850 in the law office of Messrs. Blair and Lord, at Port Washington, in (now) Ozaukee county, where he was admitted to the bar in the fall of the latter year. As a teacher, he was eminently successful, and built up a school at Burlington which was largely patronized, and held in high esteem by the people of that place. About the first of October, 1850, he removed to West Bend — where he has ever since resided — in contemplation of its becoming the county seat of the old county of Washington, for which it was then striving. For over two years the county-seat contest raged and the little village of West Bend remained stationary, and but little business found its way into his office. He, however, pursued his studies vigor- ously, teaching the village school during the winters of 1850-1 and 1851-2, and attending to his little law business evenings and Saturdays. Upon the divi- sion of the county in the winter of 1853, and the establishment of the county seat of the new county of Washington at West Bend, a new era dawned upon the young disciple of Blackstone, and from that time his course was onward and upward. In the fall of 1853 he was elected the first district attor- ney of the new county of Washington; in 1854 was one of the secretaries of the first republican State convention held in this State, at Madison; in 1856 was appointed county judge of Washington county, by Governor Bashford ; in i860 was a delegate to the national republican convention, held at Chicago, which nominated Abraham Lincoln, and was one of its acting secretaries; in the fall of i860 was elected to the State legislature in an intensely democratic district, and was a member of that body at the breaking out of the late civil war, and was chairman of the judiciary committee at its special session in June, 1861 ; in 1868 was the republican nominee for congress in the fourth district, against Charles A. Eldridge, and, though defeated, he polled an unusu- ally large vote ; the same year was one of the repub- lican presidential electors; in 1872 was a delegate to the republican national convention, at Philadel- phia, which renominated General Grant; the same year was chosen president of the Wisconsin State convention of Universalists, and was reelected to the same position in 1873; in 1873 he received the republican nomination upon the State ticket for the office of attorney-general, and though he went down in the general disaster which that year overwhelmed the republican party, he made perhaps the most IO THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. remarkable run in the political annals of this State. His home county, Washington, which gave Taylor, the democratic candidate for governor, little less than two thousand majority, and the balance of that ticket, except the candidate for attorney-general, about the same, gave Mr. Frisby something over six hundred majority, which placed him largely ahead of his ticket in the State. In politics, Mr. Frisby has been an ardent, active and steadfast republican ever since the organization of that party. Previous to that time he was a free- soiler. and cast his first vote for President, in 1848, for Martin VanBuren, the candidate of that party. From the day when he first began to take an interest in national affairs, he was an earnest and uncom- promising opponent of human slavery. It has been, however, as a lawyer, that Mr. Frisby has made himself prominent in the history of Wisconsin. In 1854 he formed a law partnership with John E. Mann, the present county judge of Milwaukee county, which continued till Mr. Mann was elected judge of the third judicial circuit in 1859. He soon thereafter formed a copartnership with Hon. Paul A. Weil, and S. S. Barney, Esc]., was taken into the firm May 1, 1874, so that he is now the senior mem- ber of the present law firm of Frisby, Weil and Barney. He has now been in the active practice of his pro- fession for a quarter of a century, and for the last twenty years has enjoyed an extensive and lucrative practice. Industry, energy and hard study, coupled with unimpeachable integrity toward his clients, has ranked him among the lawyers of Wisconsin. He was married to Mrs. Francis FT Rooker, of Burlington, Wisconsin, in 1854. They are comfort- ably situated in a pleasant home in West Bend, sur- rounded by a large and interesting family of children, and the fruits of an industrious and well spent life. Mr. Frisby is just in the prime of manhood, and is remarkably well preserved for his years, owing undoubtedly to his constant temperate habits — tall and commanding in figure, and pleasing and sociable in his manners and address. Many years of useful- ness are evidently before him, full of promise of honor and profit to himself, and the large circle of friends and acquaintances with whom he is sur- sounded. The Madison “State Journal,” August 29, 1873, says : L. F. Frisby, of Washington, nominated for attorney general, we have known for a great many years as a lead- ing lawyer and solid citizen of Washington county. He has fought the good fight of republicanism in that strong- hold of democracy, year after year, with unshaken courage. He helped to organize the republican party, and no man has more zealously upheld its banner and advocated its principles. He has had the hearty good wishes of the party for years, but none of its honors. It was not surprising, therefore, that the convention regarded his claims to recog- nition for past services as very strong; and when to this was added his high character as a man, his great ability as a lawyer, and his popularity with the people, the case was irresistible. We most heartily indorse this nomination, as one eminently fit to be made. The judge is a polished gentleman, and a clear-headed, competent, honest man. He will add great strength to the ticket in that section of the State, where we want more votes, and he will bring to the discharge of the duties of his office a cultivated and vigor- ous mind. We are sure that the republicans of Wisconsin will vote for L. F. Frisby for attorney -general with a feeling of genuine satisfaction that this most deserving republican is to be honored at last. JAMES CODY, M.D., WATERTOWN. J AMES CODY, a gentleman who is practicing the profession of medicine in Watertown, Wis- consin, is the subject of our present brief biograph- ical history. He was born on the 22d day of August, 1820, at St. John’s, the capital of Newfoundland, and was the son of Patrick and Susan Cody. The maiden name of Mrs. Cody was McDonnell. Patrick Cody was engaged as a merchant in the fisheries of New- foundland. When James had reached an age which rendered it practicable and judicious, he was sent from his home to Montreal, in Canada, for the purpose of commencing and laying the foundation of his ed- ucation. Here he stayed for some time at the Jesuit College, giving his attention faithfully to his stud- ies. He then removed to Harvard University, and, by the exercise of diligence, and the fact of his pos- sessing a strong liking to the profession he had cho- sen, graduated in the medical department of the same on the 4th of March, 1844. In 1846 he came to Watertown and commenced the practice of medi- cine, which he has continued with great success until the present time. Mr. Cody is a believer in the Roman Catholic THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. faith, of which church he is an acknowledged and faithful member. Politically, he has always been a supporter of the democratic party. Although Mr. Cody’s time and attention has been almost entirely occupied and absorbed by the practice and study of the profession for which he has such a strong regard, he allowed himself to be nominated for the office of school superintendent in the city of Watertown, and the voters displayed their appreciation of his many good qualities and his adaptability for the position, I I by electing him to it. He is also the health officer of the city, and discharges his duties in a conscien- tious and efficient manner. On the 1 2th of November, 1848, he was united in marriage with Miss Adeline Rogan, by whom he has had four children. James Marion, born July 22, 1850, and died at the age of fifteen; Edward Dwayne, born June 2, 1853, and died June 13, 1869 ; Adaline, born July 28, 1855, and William Gordon, born July 20, 1861. Both the latter are living. EDWARD AND MICHAEL FORRESTER McKEY, JANES V I LLE. E dward and michael f. mckey, of Janesville, Wisconsin, were twin brothers, and were born in Crossmolina, county of Mayo, Ireland, on the 18th of September, 1821; their parents being Thomas McKey and Maria (Forrester) McKey. The brothers received their education mainly at home, and at a private school in the neighborhood, where they obtained a good English education. At school they showed great precocity, and, while ex- celling in their studies generally, evinced a marked aptitude and partiality for history and literature. They left school at the early age of fifteen, and were apprenticed to the dry-goods business, and entered the establishment of the leading merchant in that line of their native town. Although mere boys, they displayed unmistakable business qualifica- tions, and after four years of their apprenticeship had expired, they prevailed upon their employer to release them from their indentures, still, however, remaining in his employment. In 1840 Edward visited the United States, and remained there about six months. At the age of twenty-two they commenced business on their own account, and soon developed a flourishing and ex- tensive trade, which they carried on successfully until 1846, when they were overtaken by the great famine of that year, which involved nearly the whole business community of the island in ruin, and from which they, in common with every one else, suffered very heavy losses. The young broth- ers, however, were full of energy and well directed ambition, and they determined at once to retrieve their fortunes in another land. In the early part of 1847 they carried out this intention, and immi- grated to America, and located themselves at Little Falls, in New York State; and in the autumn of the same year they bought out the business of Mr. N. H. Wood, who removed to Chicago, and who now resides at Portage, Wisconsin. While at Little Falls, the rumors of the wonderful resources and capacities of the great West reached their ears, and, like many others, these marvelous reports at- tracted their serious attention. They resolved to make another change, and accordingly, in 1849, they removed to Wisconsin, opening a mercantile house, first at Racine, and shortly afterward another at Janesville. They continued to conduct both these establishments simultaneously for about three years, when they finally closed the one at Racine, and gave their whole attention to the Janesville house, making it their headquarters. They subsequently established branch houses at several other places, such as Madison, Oshkosh, Beloit and Mineral Point. They were invariably successful in all their undertakings, as a natural consequence of their innate shrewdness and business sagacity, their un- wearied industry and strict integrity; and for a quarter of a century there has been no firm in the State of Wisconsin more widely known to its people than that of the McKey Brothers. In September, 1868, Mr. Michael F. McKey died, and the estate, which had been accumulated by their industry, remained wisely undivided under the direction and control of the surviving brother, Mr. Edward McKey, until his death, which oc- curred somewhat suddenly from paralysis of the vital organs on the 14th of August, 1875. He had about a year previously retired from active partici- pation in the mercantile business, giving his atten- tion solely to his real-estate affairs. THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. Both the brothers were men of unusual capacity and foresight. For many years the surplus profits of the home business had been invested, with rare sagacity, in real estate, when property was low, in nearly every important town from Chicago to Lake Superior; and thus were laid the foundations of a fortune, which, with the development of the country, grew to extremely large proportions. In religious affairs they were attached to the com- munion of the Episcopal church, and in youth took great interest in Sunday-school affairs in connection with that denomination. Politically, they were supporters of the demo- cratic party, but voted for the reelection of Abra- ham Lincoln. Both were often solicited to accept political positions, but neither would ever consent to become a candidate for any office. Mr. Edward Me Key was commissioned, in February, 1856, by Governor Barstow, as aid to the commander-in-chief, with the rank of colonel. In addition to his other multifarious interests Edward McKey, in connection with his son-in- law, Major F. F. Stevens, organized the Wisconsin Savings Bank of the city of Janesville, which was opened for business June 4, 1873, Major Stevens being appointed cashier. This bank was wound up at Mr. Edward McKey ’s death, by the administra- tion, every depositor being paid in full on demand, “without defalcation or discount.” Mr. Edward McKey was twice married : First, in 1843, to Miss Mary Ann Tole, of Crossmolina. She died on the 1st of December, 1851, and he was subsequently united to Miss Harriett Folds, then of Beloit and formerly of Dublin. He left a family of eight children. Mr. M. F. McKey was married on the 12th of July, 1851, to Miss Elizabeth Folds, whose sister was afterward married to his brother. This lady died October 30, 1863, leaving a family of four children. HON. ANDREW G. MILLER, MIL WA UK EE. A NDREW GALBRAITH MILLER, a native . of Carlisle, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania) was born on the 1 8th of September, 1801, and is the son of John Matthew Miller and Jane Miller ne'e Galbraith. His maternal grandfather, whose name he bears, was a major in the Revolutionary war. Andrew, in early life, enjoyed good educational advantages, and later pursued a course of study in Washington College, Pennsylvania, graduating on the 19th of September, 1819. On the 7th of the ensuing October he began the study of law in the office of Mr. Andrew Carruthers, of Carlisle, and three years later (in November, 1822) was admitted to the bar. At once entering upon his profession, he continued to practice in the courts of his native and adjoining counties, and in the supreme court of the State, until the 8th of November, 1838, when he was appointed by President VanBuren associate justice of the su- preme court of Wisconsin, in place of Hon. William C. Frazer, then lately deceased, an office which he continued to fill during the existence of the terri- torial government. Upon the admission of Wisconsin into the Union he was appointed, on the 12th of June, 1848, judge of the district court of the United States for the district of Wisconsin, and continued to perform the duties of that office until the western district of Wisconsin was created in 1870, whereupon he exer- cised the duties of judge of the eastern district until January 1, 1874, when he resigned, having attained the age of seventy-three years, and having been on the bench for thirty-five years. Few men have been longer on the bench, or had a more extensive and varied experience in judicial affairs, than Judge Miller. During a period of ten years he partici- pated in all the cases heard and decided in the supreme court, besides performing a vast amount of labor in the trial of cases in the first district, of which there were a great number in territorial times. But the most important part of his judicial life was during his services as judge of the federal court of Wisconsin. Since the organization of this court it has been burdened with litigations of a diverse and complicated character, involving immense inter- ests, and presenting for solution new and difficult questions, requiring a high order of talent and legal learning, and the most extensive research and care- ful discrimination. In 1854, when the country had become thoroughly excited on the subject of slavery, occurred the noted “Rescue case,” in which Booth THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. was indicted in the federal court under the fugitive slave law of 1850, for forcibly rescuing one Glover, a fugitive slave, from the custody of the United States marshal, to whom he had been delivered for return to his master. It was contended that the act of 1852 was unconstitutional and void; so that the case attracted remarkable popular attention, and involved principles which entered largely into the politics of the State. Upon Judge Miller’s decision that the act was valid, Booth was convicted and sentenced, but subsequently discharged from custody when the supreme court of the State held that the act was unconstitutional. A direct conflict thus arising between the state and federal courts, the course of Judge Miller was bitterly and unjustly denounced; but subsequently, the correctness of his decision in the different phases of tire case was emphatically and fully sustained and vindicated by the decisions of both the state and federal courts. The result, however, excited, and for a long time kept alive, a violent and unjust state of ill feeling and prejudice toward the judge, and that, too, simply because, in all fidelity and obedience to his oath and duty as judge, he declared the validity and enforced the provisions of an odious and unhappy law. The act was but characteristic of the man. He knew full well the storm of popular indignation that his de- cision would bring upon him; but a sense of duty impelled him, and in doing as he did he only evi- denced a loyalty to principle and right. In other cases, involving railroad litigations, and those in- volving the validity of town and county bonds issued in aid of railroad and other enterprises, his decisions became the subject of many complaints, but were in nearly every instance fully affirmed when appealed to the supreme court of the United States. As a judge, he was studious and conscientious, thoroughly conversant with legal principles, prompt in the discharge of duty, quick to detect fraud, and possessed of courage and firmness to expose and rebuke it. Of him it is said: “He is methodical in his habits of study, as in every duty in life. He excelled in the admiralty and equity branches of the law; in the former he acquired great distinction in the region of the great lakes, for his thorough knowledge of that branch of the law, and the equi- table principles upon which he applied it to the difficult cases arising from collisions, and growing out of maritime contracts.” In great equity cases he was faithful in master- ing the mass of detail, and quick to grasp the strong points of the case. He would tolerate no fraud to escape the payment of honest debt, and was not slow to discover and expose the specious mask so often assumed to cloak dishonest design. Politically, Judge Miller was identified with the democratic party. In his religious views he was an Episcopalian, of low-church tendencies. He was married, February, 7, 1827, to Miss Caroline Eliza- beth Kurtz, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, by whom he had four children. He died at Milwaukee, September 30, 1874. GEORGE R. COOKE, GREEN BA T. P ROMINENT among the influential and self- made men of Green Bay stands he whose name heads this sketch. Though in the study of his life history, we find many phases in common with the lives of ordinary men, there is at the same time an undercurrent of enterprise and an individualism peculiarly its own. A native of Drummondsville, Lower Canada, he was born on the 10th of July, 1834, and is the son of John and Mary Cooke. His parents, well-to-do farmers, were upright and enter- prising, and enjoyed the high regard of many true friends. George received a common English edu- cation, and during his early life divided his time between study and farm work. In 1854, at the age 3 of twenty years, he took a contract for cutting cord- wood in Vermont, and during the summer of the following year worked on a farm in Lancaster, New Hampshire. With something of a fondness for ad- venture, and a desire to better his condition, he re- moved to the West during the latter part of this same year, and settled at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Remaining here till 1856, he removed to Green Bay, and during the next nine years was employed, on a salary, in a saw-mill. During this time, by indus- trious and frugal habits, he succeeded in accumu- lating a handsome capital, and in 1865 erecting a saw- mill, began the manufacture of lumber. Since that time he has been actively engaged in the lumber u 77 //:' CXI TED S T. I TES R/OGR. 1 PHICA L DIC TIONAR ) \ trade, doing an extensive and influential business, having been fortunate in possessing the happy tac- ulty of seizing opportunities and turning them to the interests of his enterprise. He has not, however, confined himself exclusively to this line of business, but has employed parts of his capital in a manner that has displayed a most worthy public-spirited- ness. In 1873 he erected one of the finest build- ings in his city, known as “ Cook’s Hotel,” which has contributed not only to his own private interests, but also has been a valuable acquisition to the city. His political sentiments are republican, and al- though his county has a democratic majority, he was, in 1S74, elected county treasurer, and is also one of the school board of Green Bay. His aspirations, however, have not been for political honors ; his legitimate business furnishing for him more congen- ial and satisfactory employment. He is in the truest sense a business man ; coming to Green Bay as he did, with but twenty-five dollars in his pocket, he has gradually risen by his own efforts, to his present business and social standing. Naturally of a gen- erous disposition, he has contributed liberally to the support of benevolent and charitable objects, and by his manly deportment, suave manners and open, fair-dealing, has drawn around himself a host of true and substantial friends. Mr. Cooke was married on the 29th of September, 1857, to Miss Juliette Stearns, and by her has one daughter and one son. SAMUEL J. MARTIN, M.D., RACINE. T HE subject of this biographical sketch, a native of Weston, Windham county, Vermont, was born on the 6th of September, 1830, and is the son of Jefferson and Rhoda Martin ; the former was born at Dublin, Cheshire county, New Hampshire, on the 28th of February, 1805, and the latter, a native of Boston, Massachusetts, born in 1804. His maternal grandfather was a prominent merchant and shipowner; and previous to the embargo of 1807, conducted a large importing business. This act of congress, however, so crippled him, that he retired to private life. When three years of age, Samuel’s parents removed to Mount Holly, Rutland county, Vermont, where he received his early edu- cation, dividing his time between study and farm work. Previous to his seventeenth year his help was much needed at home, and he consequently had limited advantages for study; at this time, however, he entered Black River Academy, at Lud- low, Vermont, and spent two terms each year during two years, and for the next four years studied at the same place, during one term of each. His studies during this time were confined to the English branches; but he afterward spent two terms at the Chester Academy, and there pur- sued the study of Latin, with other higher branches, earning money to defray his expenses by teaching penmanship and day school. After leaving school he engaged in teaching, and continued, with the exception of one year, when he was in poor health, until his twenty-eighth year. He early developed a taste for the medical profession, but in his desire to enter it was opposed by his father, who preferred that he should become a farmer. Accordingly, at the age of twenty-eight, he yielded to his father’s wishes and purchased a farm, with money, a part of which he had earned by teaching. At the end of one year, becoming dissatisfied with farming, he began the study of medicine at home under the direction of A. E. Horton, M.D., of Mount Holly. One year later he sold his farm, and gave his entire attention to his studies, and after taking two full courses of lectures, graduated from the Elective Medical College of Philadelphia, now the University of Philadelphia. He began his practice in 1863, at Marlboro, New Hampshire, and remained there till 1866, doing a successful business, and at this time removed to Walpole, New Hampshire, and there, in addition to his practice, opened a drug store with another gentleman, who managed the latter business while he devoted himself chiefly to his profession. At the end of eighteen months, his partner having lost everything, he closed out his interest in the drug store and gave himself unremittingly to his studies and practice. The force of circumstances induced him to examine the subject of homoeopathy, and at the end of one year’s observation and careful thought, he embraced the principles of that school. Not hav- ing recovered from his failure in the drug business, fytylBBda. S : Sons.eiFullvnJiy'C ■ TIIE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 15 and desiring a larger field of action, he resolved to remove to the West; and accordingly, in 1869, after spending four months looking for a place to settle, established himself at Racine, Wisconsin, where he has since resided, building up an exten- sive practice, and making for himself a most worthy reputation as a skillful and successful practitioner. In his political views, he was formerly a whig, but is now identified with the republican party. AVhile living at Marlboro, New Hampshire, in 1865, he was elected superintendent of public schools. He is now filling his second term of office as vice- president of the Homoeopathic Society of the State of Wisconsin, and is also a member of the Illinois Homoeopathic Medical Association. Dr. Martin has given much attention to self-culture, and by extensive reading and observation has acquired that knowledge of men and things which, with his excellent conversational powers, renders him a most agreeable social companion. Prompt and decided in action, he is yet generous, liberal and courteous. His parents were Methodists, but he holds to the faith of the Presbyterian church. He was married on the nth of May, 1859, to Miss Helen A. Albee, by whom he has one daughter living. Such is a brief outline of the life-history of one who, though having many experiences in common with others, has yet given an example of continued effort and will-power that entitles him to most honorable mention among our prominent self-made men. HENRY PALMER, M.D., JANES VI LLE. H ENRY PALMER was born in New Hartford, Oneida county, New York, July 30, 1827. He is the son of Ephraim Palmer, a substantial farmer, who is still living at Edgerton, Wisconsin ; a prominent and public-spirited citizen, ever held in high repute, and honored by election to several important offices, both in his native State of New York and also in that of Wisconsin. His mother’s maiden name was Abigail Brown. When the lad was quite young, his father’s health failed, and in consequence of this Henry was early compelled to undertake the management of the farm, which duty — very arduous for a youth — he faithfully and ably discharged. His elementary education was obtained by at- tending the district school during the winters; the summer being occupied in working on the farm. He continued thus until he was nineteen years old, when he commenced a regular academical course, which was carried out partly at Whites- town and partly at Cazenovia Seminaries. From early boyhood he had shown a strong predilection for the medical profession, stimu- lated by associating with several relatives who were physicians. In consequence, however, of limited resources, he was unable to gratify this preference, and several years were spent by him in teaching schools, in order to procure sufficient means to prosecute the study. His close applica- tion to teaching and his studious habits impaired his health, and in 1849 he made a trip to the Arctic regions, as a means of its restoration. In 1851 he entered the office of Drs. March and Arrnsby, at Albany, New York, both of whom were distinguished physicians, and professors in the medical college at that place. He applied him- self with intense assiduity to study, and graduated in 1854. Immediately after graduation he was appointed resident surgeon at the Marshall Infirm- ary at Troy, which position he resigned after two years’ occupancy. Finding the ranks of the profession in the East well filled, he determined at length to try his for- tunes in the West, and removed to Janesville, Wis- consin, and established himself in practice there. He found the most able competitors in the city, but succeeded, nevertheless, in securing a large practice, which he has ever since retained and extended. On the outbreak of the war, in 1 86 1 , Dr. Pal- mer offered his services, and was commissioned as surgeon of the 7th Wisconsin regiment. Shortly afterward he was assigned to the position of sur- geon of the “ Iron Brigade,” and discharged the duties of this place so faithfully and well that in the spring of 1862 he was commissioned as surgeon of United States Volunteers, and assigned to the highly important duty of building hospitals at Bal- timore. After getting several hospitals into suc- cessful operation at that place, he was transferred i6 THE VXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. to York. Pennsylvania, where he superintended the construction of what was at that time the largest hospital in t he United States, with a ca- pacity of twenty-five hundred beds. Here he remained in command of the military forces and in charge of the hospital for two years and a half, during which time he treated, with marked success, more than eighteen thousand sick and wounded, many of whom were from the battle-fields of South Mountain. Antietam and Gettysburg. A few days before the battle of Gettysburg, the rebels planned the capture of York, and attacked the place with a large force. Surgeon Palmer, with onlv seven hundred convalescent men in the hos- pital. succeeded in holding the post until all the sick and wounded and government stores were removed beyond their reach. At this time he was taken prisoner, but escaped during the battle of Gettysburg, four days afterward, and immediately reoccupied the hospital, and filled it with the wounded from the battle-field. Dr. Palmer is enthusiastic in the practice of his profession, and especially in the department of surgery, which he has made a specialty. While in the army he held high rank as one of the best operators in the service ; the leading principle of his practice being what may be called conservative surgery — the never having recourse to amputation when it can by any possibility be avoided. During Gilmore’s raid into Maryland and Penn- sylvania, Surgeon Palmer organized a force of con- valescents and citizens, and effectually defeated the rebels in their efforts to destroy the railroads and government property, and was afterward (June 15, 1865) commissioned brevet lieutenant-colonel for faithful and meritorious service. In March, 1864, he was assigned to duty as medical inspector of the eighth army corps, and was engaged in the inspection of hospitals and in the exchange of pris- oners until July, 1865, when he was ordered to Chicago, Illinois, with instructions to close up the medical department of Camp Douglas. This ser- vice finished, he retired from the army, having earned honorable reputation as a soldier, and by his medical skill and ability, a place in the front rank of the profession. On leaving the army, he returned to his practice at Janesville, where he is still (1875) actively engaged, doing a large and lucrative business. In politics, he is a republican, but is too much absorbed in the duties of his profession to engage much in public affairs. The citizens, however, have twice elected him mayor of Janesville, as an evidence of their appreciation of his ability and worth. In religious matters, he is a member of the Baptist denomination. The Doctor takes a deep interest in every enterprise that tends to the pros- perity of the city where he resides, and is a stock- holder and director in several of the largest cor- porations in Janesville. Dr. Palmer has been eminently successful ; but his professional career may be said to have but fairly commenced. He is a man of strong frame, excellent and perfectly temperate habits, and of a good constitution ; with indomitable energy, and naturally a close student and careful observer. He has not always escaped detraction, but he has ever so borne himself that malice and jealousy have fallen harmlessly at his feet. He was married in 1851 to Edna A. Hoyt, a lady of highly respectable parentage. They have had issue six children, four of whom, one son and three daughters, are still living. But few men have risen so rapidly to a position of prominence and usefulness as Dr. Palmer. His life has been busy and eventful, and justifies the confidence that his future career will develop still greater value to the community. george McWilliams, FOND DU LAC. '''P'HE subject of this sketch, a native of Mercer J. county, Pennsylvania, was born on the nth of December, 1800; and is the son of George Mc- Williams, a farmer, and Naomi nSe Mitchell. He passed his early life in his native place, attending school during winters, and spending the summers in farm work, and at the age of sixteen years entered upon an apprenticeship of four and a half years, to learn the carpenter’s trade. At the ex- piration of this time he began work as journeyman, and soon removed to Painesville, Ohio, and there spent eight years working at his trade. In 1830, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 17 going to Wisconsin, he settled at Green Bay, then in Michigan Territory. During the next thirteen years he was actively engaged at his trade, and during that time had the contract for many im- portant buildings in his section of country. He built the first Protestant mission buildings of Green Bay, for the education of half-breed Indians. He also was superintendent or architect for rebuild- ing Fort Howard, and was there engaged for four years. Having become largely interested in the Fond du Eac I. and Company, he removed thither in 1843, and took charge of the business of the company. He has been a large dealer in real estate, and at one time owned a large part of the land where the city of Fond du Lac now stands. He has been very successful in all his operations, and by judicious investments and careful manage- ment has accumulated a large fortune. He has not, however, confined himself to his private af- fairs, but, in all matters pertaining to the growth and welfare of his city and State, has taken an active part. He was a member of the first terri- torial legislature in 1836, and during a period of several years served as justice of the peace, at Green Bay, under an appointment by Governor Dodge. After removing to his present home, he was elected mayor of his city, two years after its incorporation. Mr. McWilliams has traveled ex- tensively over the United States, and being a man of close observation, he has gained, in this manner, a most valuable experience and practical knowl- edge of men and things. Politically, he has been identified with the re- publican party since its organization. Mr. McWilliams has never been identified with any church organization, and has never married; he is, however, a worthy member of the Masonic order. Such is a brief outline of the life-history of one who, beginning life without means, has worked his way up step by step, and stands now a worthy example of that success which may be attained by constant, persevering and honorable effort. GEORGE W. CHITTENDEN, M.D., JANES VILLE. G EORGE W. GHITTENDEN, physician, of Janesville, Wisconsin, was born in the town of Westmoreland, Oneida county, New York, on the 3d of February, 1820. His father, Jared Chittenden, was an extensive farmer, and, for many years, justice of the peace. He served in the Colonial army dur- ing the greater part of the war of the Revolution, as sergeant of artillery, having enlisted in 1775, and at the close of the war settled in Westmoreland about 1790, where he died in 1828. The mother of Dr. Chittenden was Asena Douglas, sister of Professor [. S. Douglas, of Milwaukee. She removed to Oneida county about 1790, when all that district was in its primitive, uncultivated condition, and almost a wil- derness. She was a woman of rare Christian virtues, and her wise and noble life, aided by careful teach- ing, exerted a powerful influence in moulding the characters of her children, of whom there were ten. She died in 185 1. The lad George worked on the farm until he was nineteen years of age, his education being obtained at the district school, and being as good as the circumstances allowed. He had always shown de- cidedly literary tastes, and at about this age began an academic course, with a view of preparing for college. He continued so studying until the sum- mer of 1842, when he was fully prepared to enter college; but the limited means at his command compelled him to relinquish that design. He there- fore entered at once upon a course of professional study at the Albany Medical College, where he graduated in January, 1846. Later in the same year he removed to Chicago, where he practiced for a few months, and devoted considerable attention to the principles of the homoeopathic school of medi- cine. In November, 1846, he settled in Janesville, Wisconsin, where he very rapidly acquired an ex- tensive practice. The next year he was elected vice-president of the Rock River Medical Associa- tion, embracing Wisconsin and northern Illinois, and in this capacity delivered the semi-annual ad- dress. On this occasion he reviewed the various medical systems, urging upon the profession the duty of investigating all systems, and adopting all truth. About this time he commenced a series of prac- tical tests on the subject of homoeopathy, which extended over several months, and at length became 1 8 mi: united states biographical dictionart. fullv convinced of the value of the homoeopathic system, and felt constrained to adopt the practice of it. This involved a conflict between duty and interest. He enjoyed the confidence of the allo- pathic profession, and through their cooperation had acquired a goodly reputation as a surgeon. Thus, to adopt the practice of homoeopathy was to invite ostracism from the association and alienation from the profession. It included also, as a necessary consequence, a severe struggle in order to establish it in the public mind, and to overcome the prevail- ing ignorance of its merits, and the prejudice then existing against it in the community. Notwith- standing this, the doctor, feeling confident of the ultimate success of the system, announced himself as a homoeopatic physician, and entered upon homoeopathic practice, laboring zealously for its propagation. His practice of the new principles was as successful as it had been while a member of the “ old school,” and soon became firmly estab- lished. As a means of still more completely pre- paring himself for the responsibilities of the prac- tice, he attended a course of lectures during the winter of 1849-50 at Philadelphia, and graduated in March, 1850, at the Homoeopathic Medical Col- lege of Pennsylvania. The Doctor has been a member of the American Institute of Homoeopathy since 1857, with the ex- ception of two years, during which his membership unavoidably lapsed. He has contributed quite a number of valuable articles to the medical journals. And he is as able in the department of surgery as in that of medicine, and has performed several capital operations, among them being amputation at the hip-joint and at the shoulder-joint. In political matters, Dr. Chittenden takes sides with the republican party, though being in no sense a politician, and ever avoiding anything like polit- ical preferment. His religious views are' liberal and practical, and he has throughout his career main- tained the highest reputation for strict honor and integrity. In his professional capacity he is one of the oldest and ablest exponents of the science of homoeopathic medicine in southern Wisconsin, and is justly entitled to a prominent place among the best American physicians. Socially, also, he is highly esteemed, and in every relation of life he has well earned the sincere respect and perfect con- fidence of all good men. In 1846 Dr. Chittenden was married to Miss Charlotte A. Wellman, of New York Mills. This estimable lady died at Janesville in 1847. In 1852 he espoused Miss Melissa J. Gillett, of Cortland, New York, a lady of a high order of attainments. He has issue two daughters and a son, the latter of whom is pursuing a course of medical studies. RICHARD MERTZ, JUNE A U. JHILE there are few phases in the lives of ' self-made men, of an emotional or sensa- tional character, there is yet a motive power, of en- ergy. enterprise, continuity and determination, wor- thy of careful stud) ; and often, if we shall look for the secret of men’s success, we find it only in their continuity in following out a cherished purpose. The life-history of Richard Mertz, though present- ing many phases in common with the lives of other men, is yet marked by a rigid firmness and deter- mination to succeed so essential in the accomplish- ment of any purpose. A native of the city of Fulda, Prussia, he was born on the 7th of March, 1833, and is the son of Maxmillian Mertz, and Margret nee Kircher. His father, a lawyer, was a prominent and influential man, and the recipient of many public honors. Richard received his education in the schools of his native city, and after completing his studies, immigrated to America in 1849, and settled in the town of Shields, Dodge county, Wisconsin. During the first year after his arrival, he employed his time in farm work, and for the next three years was engaged in a saw-mill. In 1854, he made the Dodge county abstract, and for eight years thereaf- ter was employed as clerk in different county offices. In 1862 he was elected register of deeds for Dodge county, and held that office during three successive terms, performing its duties in a most satisfactory manner. By strict economy and untiring industry he accumulated a small capital, and in 1869 established himself in the real-estate and insurance business. He continued in this till January 1, 1873, having in the meantime been again elected register of deeds. In 1875, forming a copartnership with Mr. William T. ZRS&V.ltST-.iiiTuJMnS’.y'f THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 1 9 Rambush, he opened an abstract and real-estate office, conducting the business under the firm name of Rambush and Mertz. Beginning life without money, Mr. Mertz has gradually worked his way up to a position of high public regard and social standing, and his honorable i and fair dealing has attained that success that must 1 invariably follow noble effort. His political views are democratic. In religion, he holds to liberal opinions, and is not identified with any church. Mr. Mertz was married September 20, 1855, to Miss Josephine Hebyen, by whom he has three sons and two daughters. MAX FUEGER, MIL IV A UK EE. L WVRENCE AND MARGRET FUEGER were v the parents of Max Fueger; he was born at Kuehleheim on the Tauber, Baden, Germany. He received a thorough common-school education. He had a wish, from boyhood, to become a brewer, and his father assisted him in his inclination. After leaving school he remained at home for nearly two years, working in his father’s shop as cooper. He then went to learn the brewing trade, with Mr. Max Faeth, with whom he remained two years. He then traveled and worked in different breweries for four and a half years, in the various towns of Wertheim, Heidelberg, Miltenburg, Wuerzburg and Bischofsheim. This was in accordance with the Ger- man law requiring three years’ travel and journey- work before beginning any business as proprietor. In July, 1847, Mr. Fueger came to New York, where he found work, and for a year and a half was employed in what was then the largest brewery in the country, on Washington street, in the old State’s Prison building. In August, 1849, he came to Wis- consin and settled in Milwaukee, where he has since resided. He has been engaged in brewing all the time, and has worked in nearly all the large brew- eries in the city. He worked for Best and Co. for eleven years, eight years of which he was foreman. He has a thorough practical knowledge of his trade, careful and watchful of the process. He succeeded in producing a very superior beer, that has given to Best and Co. a more than national name and reputation. They feel and generously acknowledge this fact, and have often expressed their indebted- ness to him. Mr. Fueger left Best and Co. to purchase the in- terest of Benedict Caspari, in Obermann’s brewery, and entered into partnership with Jacob Obermann, with whom he is still associated. The business has increased steadily, and their progress has been great and constant. When Mr. Fueger entered the business, they were occupying a small frame build- ing; they now have a large brick building, eighty feet long and forty feet wide, besides a large malt- house. Their business has become great and their capital has grown with the business. Mr. Fueger was married in 1851, and has had three children — two sons and one daughter. The latter is married to Mr. William Heitmann, of this city; the eldest son died in 1873, at the age of fifteen. Mr. Fueger was brought up a Catholic, but has since become more liberal in his religious views. He attributes his success to his thorough knowl- edge of his trade, to an ever watchful attention, and the cooperation of an excellent wife. JOSEPH A. CLARKE, M.D., WHITEWATER. T OSEPH AMES CFARKE, a native of Stowe, I Vermont, was born on the 23d of September, 1814, and was the son of Jonas Clarke, a farmer, and Sarah nee Fuller. His boyhood, differing little from that of ordinary farmer boys, was passed in his native town, where he received a good English education and assisted his father in his farm work. The narrow routine of farm life, however, was ill adapted to his tastes, and he early decided to de- vote his life to the medical profession. Removing the exited staves biographical dictionary. invigorating influences of relaxation and home ex- ercises, where the cares and anxieties of official responsibility would not intrude. Accordingly, his associates upon the bench, after much persuasion, induced him to retire, as all hoped, for a short season only, in order to recruit his energies for the approaching term, as well as to complete the un- finished former business still remaining. He left the bench, as was supposed, in the confident expec- tation of returning to it again after a short respite at home. Insidious disease, however, had obtained too strong and deep a hold in his system, and about noon on the 12th of April, 1859, he died at his res- idence in Janesville, in the house of his own con- struction, loved and mourned as to few men it has been vouchsafed to be loved and mourned. Among those officially and professionally con- nected with him, as well as among his private circle, his death called forth the deepest expressions of sincere regret and sorrow. At meetings of the bar of the supreme court, and of the Milwaukee bar, as well as at those held at the county seats of the several counties of the State, resolutions were adopted indicative of the great general loss felt by the people, as well as the exalted estimation in which the deceased judge was most deservedly held by bench and bar. The president of the Milwaukee bar, in the course of a touching tribute to his virtues and ability, said of him: “Were I to name any one sphere of action in his life in which he was most eminently distinguished, and for which he had a peculiar adaptation, I should say that it was as a legislator. His varied information, strict integrity, eminent conservatism and finely balanced mind, all combined to make him a ready debater and a high- minded and patriotic legislator. But it is useless to name any one sphere, when all the positions he ever occupied were filled so ably and perfectly.” And another of his intimate associates said: “On this melancholy occasion 1 can hardly trust myself to speak. For years Judge Whiton has been to me as it were an elder brother. Our relations have been so harmonious, so uniformly genial, so entirely fraternal, that we have scarcely thought of official relation. During our long association, in delibera- tion upon matters of the gravest concernment, while discussion has been most free and unrestrained, never an unkind word, nay, not even a petulant expression, has been uttered. All through his of- ficial career he preserved a strictness of propriety which can scarcely be equaled, a conscientiousness which never wavered, a depth of thought and com- prehensiveness of the subject-matter ever present; commanding without force, controlling without in- trusion; clear and unassuming in his high office; great when he least thought of greatness, but great only wherein man can be truly great — because he was wise and good.” RICHARD C. RUSSELL, OSHKOSH. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Sunder- land, Massachusetts, was born on the 21st of April, 1829, and is the son of Alvin Russell and Sarah «/ kindh ottered and unanimously adopted by you, I sin- cerely thank you! M\ aim has been, as my promise was at the commence- ment of the session, to deal fairly with you all, and if at any- time I have seemed to do otherwise, it has been the result of inattention to my duties owing to the state of my health. To me the session has been very pleasant. Acquaintances have been made which to me have been desirable, and have grown into an affection and esteem which I shall fondly cherish through subsequent life. At the close of the legislature he returned to his home, expecting to regain his health. His days, however, were numbered. On Sunday evening, March 23, 1873, h e died, aged forty-seven years, five months and one day. The suddenness of his death was a surprise to all. The State showed its sorrow by placing the flag at half-mast and draping the capitol, and the State offices were closed on the day of the funeral ; obituaries, speaking of him in the highest terms as a legislator and presiding officer, were published throughout the State, while the com- mon council of his own home paid their respect to his ability, virtue and social worth in the most highly complimentary resolutions. In his death the State lost an honest and faithful officer, the business pub- lic a loyal citizen, the social community a genial and courteous member, and his own family an affection- ate husband and fond father. His family alone could duly appreciate his loss; but in the midst of their sorrow they were cheered by the thought, “ he still lives,” and bowing ’neath the rod could say, “He doeth all things well.” Mr. Pettit was reared under Baptist influences, though he himself was exceedingly liberal in his religious sentiments. He was married in 1847 to Miss Caroline D. Marsh, a farmer’s daughter, of Kenosha county. Their married life was one of constant happiness, and their union was blest with seven children, of whom one son and two daughters still survive. ROWLEY MORRIS, M.D., BRODHEAD. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Warsaw, New York, was born on the 30th of December, r8n, and is the son of Solomon Morris and Olive nee Knapp, the latter being the widow of Mr. Dwight Noble. The early ancestors of the family were among the Puritans of New England, and the family itself is among the oldest in the United States. The father of our subject, a farmer by occupation, had also been engaged as a surveyor in western New York when it was a wilderness. Both parents took great care in the training of their son to habits of industry, integrity and moral- ity, and the influence of their teaching has marked his entire life. He received his early education in the common schools, and early in life developed a love for study, and became an extensive reader, but was, however, undecided as to what business he would devote his life. At the age of twenty, paying his father one hundred dollars for his time, he be- came a partner in a store in Warsaw. After following merchandising about two years, he closed his business and went to Cincinnati, Ohio, whence he returned during the same season, and spent two years in study. He next engaged in west- ern land speculation, but soon abandoned it on account of the financial depression of 1836. In the fall of 1837 he went to New York, and pursued a course of commercial study, intending to go to New Orleans; but, failing to receive money from his lands, as he had expected, he was obliged to relin- quish his purpose, and opened a school in New York and spent a few months in teaching. Thence re- turning home, he staid a short time and then went to Detroit, Michigan, where he passed the winter, spending much of his time in study. In the winter of 1838 he taught school near Akron, Ohio, and in the following spring made an extended tour through the West. During his exposures he contracted the ague, and on his way home in an open conveyance he had chills and fever seven days in succession. LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR OF WISCONSIN 1872-1873 ► THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. Upon arriving at Chicago his funds became ex- hausted, and, borrowing twenty-five dollars of a friend, he took passage on a boat for Buffalo, and reached that city with enough money to pay his stage fare to Warsaw, and twenty-five ’cents over. With this he tried to get his dinner at the hotel, but the price being thirty cents, and the landlord being unrelenting, he left without his dinner. Having decided to enter the medical profession, he in 1840 began his studies with Dr. Peter Caner, of Warsaw. At the end of one year he entered the office of Messrs. Baldwin and Patter, and remained with them until his graduation from Albany Medical College in 1844. After practicing his profession for one year in his native place, he removed to Wiscon- sin; but not meeting with success, he became some- what discouraged, and soon returned to his home, and there resumed his practice, continuing it with varied success, in company with Dr. Baldwin, his former preceptor, till 1848, when he again came to Wisconsin, and settled at his present home. By close application to his work he soon established a worthy reputation; and now, though retired from 3 1 actual practice, and engaged to some extent in agricultural pursuits, enjoys a wide reputation as a skillful and successful physician. His success may be attributed to the fact that he turned his powers into that channel of life for which they were best adapted, and in which he could take delight, and having once found his work, he has applied himself to it with unremitting vigor and zeal. In his political sentiments, Dr. Morris was for- merly a democrat, but is now identified with the republican party, and has been honored by his fellow-citizens with many positions of public trust. His religious views are rationalistic, though he is not connected with any church organization. Naturally of a generous and genial disposition, he makes friends wherever he goes; and with the large fund of practical knowledge gained from his varied experiences, observation and study, combined with his excellent social and conversational powers, is a most agreeable companion. He was married in 1844, to Miss Harriet J. Foster, who died in 1857. In 1863 he was married a second time, to Mrs. Ann Mitchell, and by her has two children. WILLIAM H. DeMOTTE, A.M., DEL A VAN. W ILLIAM H. DeMOTTE, a native of Ken- tucky, was born near Danville on the 17th of July, 1830, the son of Rev. Daniel and Mary, nee Brewer, DeMotte. His parents removed to Indiana soon after his birth, and there he passed his boyhood under such influences as are usually thrown around the family of an itinerant preacher in a new country. Completing the regular course of study, he grad- uated with honor from the literary and scientific department of Asbury University, at Green Castle, Indiana, in 1849. He soon afterward became a teacher in the Indiana Institute for the Deaf and Dumb at Indianapolis, and in that capacity continued during a period of fourteen years. His natural fit- ness, earnest devotion and zealous industry enabled him to acquire exceptional expertness in that most difficult branch of instruction, and a number of prominent, successful teachers of mutes received their first lessons from him. During the war of the rebellion he served with satisfaction, under a commission from Gov. Morton, as State military and sanitary agent at Washington, District of Columbia, affording relief to returning prisoners and to sick, disabled and destitute soldiers in hospitals. At the close of the war he was elected president of the Indiana Female College at Indianapolis, in which capacity he served until 1868, when he ac- cepted an invitation to the presidency of Illinois Female College at Jacksonville. His labors in this institution continued, with marked success, until the 10th of June, 1875, when he was elected superin- tendent of the Wisconsin Deaf and Dumb Institute, a position for which he was most eminently fitted, both by his early experience in teaching mutes, and his later life, in charge of a large boarding school. Mr. DeMotte’s success as a teacher is due not only to his superior scholarship and conscientious devo- tion to his chosen profession, but quite as much to his remarkable skill as a disciplinarian. He has always been noted for his promptness and regularity, and knowing thoroughly all the details of his work, has been able to apply his means and resources to the best possible advantage. No railway time-table THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. is more carefully arranged or promptly followed than his usual programme of school duties. As a speaker, he possesses a fluency and an ease, coupled with apt- ness in illustration and earnestness in appeal, which render him very effective, especially with the young. As a teacher, he excels in mental and moral sciences. In his religious communion he is connected with the Methodist Episcopal church, and is an active, zealous and efficient worker. His personal qualities are of a high order, and the upright, frank and manly demeanor that has charac- terized his life has gained for him the universal con- fidence of business men, and won for him a high standing in all social interests and local enterprises. JUDGE LEVI B. VILAS, MADISON. L EY I B. VILAS was born in Sterling, Lamoille ^ , county, Vermont, on the 25th of February, 1811, and is the fourth son of Moses Vilas, whose character for sound practical sense, strict integrity, firmness of purpose and energy in the accomplish- ment of all laudable pursuits, gave him a command- ing position in the community in which he lived. His mother's maiden name was Mercy Flint, dis- tinguished for all those womanly qualities which adorn the daughter, wife and mother, the counter- part of those manly qualities which adorn her liege lord. Levi received an academic education and pursued a partial collegiate course, but was prevent- ed by ill health from graduating. He is by profes- sion a lawyer, having been admitted to the bar in St. Albans, Vermont, in 1833, but has retired from practice. During his residence in Vermont he was the first postmaster at Morrisville, in 1834, which position he resigned in the fall of that year, on removing to Johnson. He was elected to the State constitutional convention from Johnson in 1835, and represented the town in the legislature in 1836 and 1837, and was elected by it, in the latter year, one of the State commissioners of the deaf and dumb and blind. During the same period he held the office of register of probate. He removed to Chel- sea in 1838, and represented that town in the legis- lature in 1840, 1841, 1842 and 1843. During these four years he served on the judiciary committee, and the last year he was its chairman. He was elected State senator from Orange county in 1845 an( l re ~ elected in 1846. He held the office of judge of probate for three years in Orange county. He was a delegate to the Baltimore convention ; was a mem- ber of the State constitutional convention in 1850, from Chelsea. He came to Wisconsin in 1851, and settled at Madison; represented the Madison district in the assembly in the years 1855, l868 > and 1873. He was mayor of the city of Madison from April, 1861, to April, 1862; was appointed by Governor Solomon and served as draft commissioner during the war for the Union in 1 862 ; was a regent of the Wisconsin State University for twelve years previous to its reorganization. In stature, Judge Vilas is about five feet eleven inches high, has gray hair and beard, bluish gray eyes, florid complexion, and weighs about one hun- dred and ninety pounds. His decided mental abil- ity, his sanguine, bilious temperament, in conjunc- tion with his robust health, strong convictions, iron will and unwavering perseverance in the accomplish- ment of his objects, enabled him, in very early life, to attain remarkable distinction in his profession, and in the various legislative assemblies of which he was a member. The leading principle of his polit- ical life has been and is, that infidelity to public trust was moral treason to the government, and hence his political record is without stain. As the presiding officer of a legislative body he was distinguished for his intimate knowledge of parliamentary rule, for the firmness with which he enforced its observance, and the strict impartiality of his decisions. The same qualities which gave him distinction in legislative halls enabled him to attain, in the prime of manhood, unparalleled success at the bar. Having thus early in the prime of manhood acquired fame and wealth, his first wish was to find a partner who would share his fame and, with him, enjoy his wealth. Such an one he found in Miss Esther G. Srnilie, a lady of rare intelligence and accomplishments, scrupulously exact in the performance of all her domestic duties, and yet with such amiable sweetness of temper and gentleness of manner as to diffuse a cheerful air throughout the household. It is not wonderful that he should retire from the vexatious disputes at the bar, and the bitter contests in the political field. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. SO He has not been idle in his retirement from the busy scenes of public life. He has superintended the education of five sons, graduates of the Wiscon- sin University, four of whom are now valuable mem- bers of society, and are acquiring remarkable dis- tinction in their professions. A shadow has passed over this bright picture by the death of the second son, who illustrated the axiom that death loves a shining mark. According to the Roman law a citi- zen who reared five sons to manhood was supposed to have contributed so largely to the wealth of the empire that he was never afterward allowed to pay any portion of its expenses. This family is peculiarly fortunate in having a daughter to perpetuate the feminine qualities which at present adorn it. CHARLES L). PARKER, PL EA SA NT VA LL E ) \ C HARLES I). PARKER, lieutenant-governor of Wisconsin, was born on the 27th of December, 1827, near Connecticut lake, Coos county, New Hampshire. His father was an early settler, a prom- inent man, on the border between Canada and New Hampshire, a farmer and merchant. In the spring of 1836 moved to Wisconsin and settled in Mus- kego, Waukesha county, making a claim where the village of Muskego Centre now is. There were no white settlers within three miles. An Indian trail was the only passway to Milwaukee. His father came by land with a two-horse team ; his family came by water; all poor financially. He was even then a prominent politician; was a member of the ter- ritorial legislature in 1846; was active and efficient in organizing Waukesha county. Charles worked on the farm in summers and attended the district school in the winter until he was twenty years of age, and then attended the academy at Waukesha ; afterward the academy at New Ipswich, New Hamp- shire. Taught school in New Hampshire and Wis- consin. Married Angeline E. Southworth and went to farming. He was town clerk in Muskego in 1852. In 1856 he was elected chairman of the town board and member of the county board of supervisors of Waukesha county. In 1859 he moved to Pleasant Valley, St. Croix county; was elected town clerk three years, member of the county board five years, one year of which he was chairman of the county- board. He was elected a member of the legislative assembly in 1869 and 1870; was elected lieutenant- governor in 1873, which office he still holds. He has five sons and two daughters. In politics was a free-soiler until the organization of the republi- can party; he is now a reformer. He is liberal and tolerant in his religious views, and believes the prin- ciples of the Christian religion necessary to good government. Governor Parker is a plain, practical, common sense man, with sufficient capacity and learning to discharge the duties of any state office with advantage to the State and honor to himself. His integrity is incorruptible, his conduct beyond reproach. Moral dignity and gentleness are most happily blended in him, which, together with his kind heart and affable manner, render him respected by all, beloved by his friends. ANDREW PROUD FIT, MADISON. A NDREW PROUDFIT was born in Argyle, New York, on the 3d of August, 1820. His father’s name was James Proudfit, and his mother’s, Maria J. Proudfit. His father was a merchant in Troy, and afterward in Washington county, New York. He was a strict disciplinarian. Andrew was educated at Argyle, in a common school. At the age of fourteen he became a clerk in a store at Argyle, and was dependent on his own exertions for a living. He came to Wisconsin in June, 1842, and settled in Milwaukee county on a farm at Brookfield with his mother and the children younger than himself. He cleared up a large timber farm, hired men to work the farm, and engaged in keeping books for Shepard and Bonnell in Milwaukee during two years. He then went to Delafield, Wau- 34 /'///.' CY/TE/) SZ'ATJiS R/OGRA/'/f/CAL DlC/'/ORARl'. kesha county, and built a mill and run it for l'tve \ears. He came to Madison in 1855, and has lived there ever since. He was chairman of the town hoard of Delalield, Wisconsin, for two years, and was then elected commissioner of the Fox and Wis- consin river improvement, and served two years. He was in the State senate during 1856 and 1859; was mayor of the city of Madison in 1869 and 1870. He built the south wing of the State prison in 1854. He built the north wing of the State capital in 1864. He built the two wings of the insane asylum in 1866 and 1867. He has always attended the Episcopal church. He has always been a democrat. He is vice-pres- ident of the First National Bank, and has held the position since 1871. He is one of the directors of the Park Hotel. He was married in September, 1840, to Elizabeth Ford, and has had seven children. The eldest daughter died at the age of twenty. He has five children now living. The eldest son is living in Milwaukee, and is discount clerk in the Milwaukee National Bank. His grandmother was the first white woman born in the town of Salem, Washington county, New York. She went with two horses during the revolu- tionary war out six miles with six bushels of wheat and ied the army. His grandmother’s name was Mary Lytle. Mr. Proudfit’s mental and moral characteristics are those of practical common sense, a clear dis- criminating judgment, a thorough knowledge of men, and indomitable perseverance in the accomplish- ment of the objects of his pursuit. He is patriotic and public-spirited ; is willing at all times to contrib- ute his services and his pecuniary means to pro- mote the general welfare. He is charitable to the poor, generous to his friends, and kindly in his sen- timents to all. He has a high sense of the honor- able feelings which characterize the intercourse of gentlemen, and in his pecuniary transactions is a man of the strictest integrity. If all men resembled him the jails would contain no criminals, and the penitentiaries no convicts. He discharges the du- ties of husband, father and neighbor with scrupulous particularity and affectionate fidelity. ALEXANDER McMILLAN, LA CROSSE. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Finch, Stormont county, Ontario, was born on the 23d of October, 1825, and is the son of Duncan B. and Mary McMillan, both of whom were natives of Inverness-shire, Scotland, whence they immigrated to Canada in 1815. His father, who was a ruling elder of the Presbyterian church at Finch, trained his children strictly in tire doctrines of that faith. Alexander passed his boyhood and youth in his native place, dividing his time between study in the common schools and farm work, and at the age of twenty-one removed to the State of New York, where he spent some time, and in the spring of 1850 settled in Madison, Wisconsin. Here he spent one year < lerking, and at the expiration of that time went to Portage, at which place, also, he passed one year. In 1852, in partnership with his brother John, who died in 1865, he established himself in the lumber trade at La Crosse, which place he has since made his home. The business is more properly what is known as logging, the timber and logs being cut on the Black river and sold to manufacturers on the Mississippi. The business is a very extensive one throughout Wisconsin, and especially in this section of the State, and Mr. McMillan is one of its most prominent representatives, being the oldest logger on the Black river. He is still extensively engaged in this business, although largely interested in other enterprises. He lias always held decided views on the political and municipal affairs of his State and city, and been honored by his fellow-citizens with many positions of public trust. He was for three years a member of the city council, for several years county super- visor, and for two years chairman of the county board, a position to which lie. was reelected in 1875. He was mayor of La Crosse in 1871, and is now (1876) chairman of the directors of the Hoard of Trade. In 1873, he was elected to the State Legis- lature on the republican ticket, receiving twenty-one hundred and forty-five votes; and during the same year, it being the year of the great financial crisis, he was president of the First National Bank of La Crosse. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY'. 35 Aside from his activity in political matters he has always shown a public-spiritedness and been deeply interested in the public enterprises of his city. In 1869 the McMillan brothers became chief owners of the La Crosse Gas Works, which were incorporated in 1863. Alexander McMillan is now president of the same, and Duncan. I). McMillan vice-president. Mr. McMillan is also engaged in the temperance movement; has always been an earnest supporter of the cause, and in 1873 was president of the LaCrosse Temperance League. He was married in 1858 to Miss Sarah L. Parker, daughter of Mr. Herrick Parker, of La Crosse, for- merly a prominent citizen of Elyria, Ohio. Mrs. McMillan is a lady of fine native endowments, high- ly accomplished, and has attained local celebrity for her skill in oil painting, many of her pieces having taken premiums at various county and city exposi- tions. Mr. McMillan possesses excellent personal quali- ties, social and genial. He is a most agreeable com- panion. By promptness and industry he has gained the reputation of being a thorough business man, and as a reward of his honorable and fair dealing has the respect and esteem of all who know him, and lives in the enjoyment of an ample fortune. NAPOLEON B. VANSLYKE, MADISON. APOLEON B. VANSLYKE was born in Saratoga county, New York, December 21, 1822. His father’s name was Daniel Vanslyke, a civil engineer, and his mother’s name was Laura Mears; both of them born, lived, died and were buried in Onondaga county, New York. He was an orphan in very early life, without brother or sister, and dependent solely upon his own exertions for the means of living. He received an academic education at irregular periods and places ; was married to Laura Sheldon, of Cayuga county, New York, daughter of E. W. Sheldon, judge of that county. He was twenty-one years of age at the time of his marriage, and commenced farming, in which occupation he continued seven years, in the meantime acting as superintendent of common schools. Abandoning the farm, he engaged in the manu- facture of salt at Syracuse, whence he removed to Madison, Wisconsin, in the spring of 1853, where he formed a partnership with James Richardson in the business of banking and of buying and selling real estate. In 1854 he organized the Dane County Bank under the State law; was the first cashier, and afterward president during five years. Phe city of Madison organized under its charter in 1856, and he was a member of the first common council; was largely instrumental in making the first substantial improvements in the city, in erect- ing the city hall, in selecting and improving Forest Hill Cemetery, in procuring all of the then fire engine apparatus, and during the same period built several of the best residences now remaining in the city. In 1859, desiring a change of occupation, he abandoned banking, and engaged in the more active pursuit of manufacturing lumber in northern 'W is- consin, and continued it until the outbreak of the rebellion in 1861. He then entered the State service as assistant quartermaster-general. In 1862, when the general government was prepared to fur- nish the troops with the necessary materials for active service, he was placed in charge of the quar- termaster’s department for the United States, and commissioned by the President as assistant quarter- master with the rank of captain, subsequently to that of major, and afterward to that of lieutenant- colonel. During the war till its close he acted chiefly under orders direct from the quartermaster- general of the United States army. He had un- usual discretionary powers, and from the beginning of 1862 to 1865, the close of the war, he furnished all the soldiers that went from Wisconsin with everything pertaining to the quartermaster’s depart- ment. He resigned his position in 1865, and re- turned to his former business of banking. In the summer of that year he became president of the First National Bank of Madison. His business has always been moderately but steadily successful. In religion and politics he is neither a sectarian nor a partisan ; he has no extreme views in any- thing, but is conservative in all things. He is naturally averse to public notoriety. Without having held any very distinguished posi- THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 36 tion, he lias during the last nine years been chair- man of the executive committee of the board of regents of the University of Wisconsin, and has manifested a deep interest in all educational mat- ters. He is earnest and active in all enterprises calculated to promote the general welfare, works from ten to twelve hours a day, seldom taking recre- ation. He is methodical in his habits, and finishes whatever he undertakes. He arrives quickly at conclusions, and is very determined in their accom- plishment. He has traveled much in his own coun- try, and especially from ocean to ocean, as business or pleasure dictated. In all his relations to men he is always willing and ready to say yes or no, an evidence of the very highest order of moral courage, the rarest quality in man. He is a lover of the fine arts, although his opportunities have not allowed him to gratify his taste. SAMUEL D. HASTINGS. Junior, GREEN BA Y. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Philadel- phia, Pennsylvania, was born on the 19th of June, 1841, and is the son of Samuel D. blastings and Margretta nee Shubert. His father, a promi- nent and influential man, was formerly engaged in mercantile pursuits in Philadelphia, and in 1844 removed to Wisconsin and settled in Walworth county. In 1857 he was elected State treasurer, and held that office during a period of eight years. He has been engaged in the interests of the temperance cause for several years, and has been during the past eighteen months traveling in foreign lands advocat- ing the cause which he has espoused. Samuel, the subject of this sketch, was educated at Beloit College, and after his graduation began the study of law in the Albany Law School, from which he graduated in 1865. Returning to Wisconsin, he was admitted to the bar at Madison, to practice in all the courts of the State, and there began his prac- tice, continuing it for two years. At the expiration of this time he removed to Green Bay, his present home, and entering into partnership with Judge Ellis conducted a successful practice till 1871, when the firm was dissolved and he associated himself with his present partner, Mr. Green. Their practice has been general, and they have become well known as careful and successful in the management of their cases. Mr. Hastings has always been republican in his political views, though he has never found time to mingle in political matters. He has found in his professional work ample scope for the exercise of his best talents, and being eminently fitted for it, both by his native inclination and thorough prep- aration, is contented and happy in it. He is charac- terized by a spirit of enterprise, energy and perse- verance ; and though still a young man, has attained to a high degree of success, and gives every promise of a bright and prosperous career. Mr. Hastings has been twice married : first, on the 9th of July, 1863, to Miss Mary C. Ivendell, who died November 24, 1868, leaving two daughters; and secondly, on the 25th of December, 1872, to Miss Hetta Sue Clapp, by whom he has one son. duncan d. McMillan, LA CROSSE. D UNCAN D. McMILLAN, a native of Finch, Ontario, was born on the 20th of June, 1837, and is the son of Duncan B. McMillan and Mary ne'e McMillan. After receiving an ordinary English education in the common schools of his native place, he engaged for a time in lumbering, in Canada West. His natural tastes inclined him toward mechanics, but his circumstances were not such as to allow him to gratify his desire. In 1859, being then twenty- two years of age, he removed to the West and made a permanent settlement in La Crosse, Wisconsin, where his two elder brothers had previously estab- lished themselves in the lumbering and logging trade. At once entering their employ, he continued with them until 1861. Finding the business ill suited to his taste, he abandoned it at this time, and enter- THE UN /TED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. 37 ing the office of another brother, E. H. McMillan, a lawyer of La Crosse, he began the study of law, and applied himself with diligence till his admission to the bar, in the following year. He^did not, how- ever, enter upon the practice of his profession, but a few months later accepted a clerkship in the quar- termaster’s department at Memphis, Tennessee, un- der Colonel A. R. Eddy, a position which he held during portions of 1863 and 1864. Returning to his home, he purchased an interest in the lumber- ing business of his brothers, and has continued in the same up to the present time, 1876. Upon the death of his brother John, in 1865, the firm name changed to A. and D. D. McMillan. His attention, however, has not been wholly confined to the lum- bering trade, but being a man of enterprise and thorough business qualifications, he has employed his capital in other enterprises, not only remunera- tive to himself, but also tending to, and directly connected with, the welfare of his city. He is vice- president and, with his brother, one of the largest stockholders in the La Crosse Gas Light Company. His political sentiments have always been repub- lican. When he first began to be interested in political affairs, slavery was the great issue between the different political parties, and naturally a lover of freedom and equal rights he, from the first, cast his influence on the side of liberty. His first presi- dential ballot was cast for Abraham Lincoln. He is not, however, a partisan, but independent in his habits of thinking, always exalts the man above the party, and supports for office him whom he con- siders most worthy and best qualified. In 1872 he became identified with the reform party, and has continued with it to the present time. His ambition has not been for political honors, finding in his reg- ular business ample scope for the exercise of his best talents. The only official capacity in which he has served was as member of the board of supervi- sors, during 1873 and 1874. Mr. McMillan’s parents were devoted members of the Presbyterian church ; and the principles and doctrines which they instilled in his early life have been strengthened and con- firmed as he has grown older, and he is now an active and worthy member of that body. He was married in 1866, to Miss Mary J. McCrea, daughter of Stephen McCrea, Esq., of Huntingdon county, in the province of Quebec. JAMES B. HEMENWAY, M.D., DEL A VAN. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Shrews- bury, Rutland county, Vermont, was born on the 7th of March, 1820, and is the son of Sewel Hemenway and Polly nee Bullard. His father, a farmer, was killed by the kick of an ox, and left his family in poor circumstances. He was a good pro- vider, but had always been very liberal with his money. His ancestors were among the early settlers of the United States, and his grandfather, John Bullard, served in the war of 1812. James lived with his grandfather until he was thirteen years of age, at which time he went to an uncle’s, where he received thirty dollars per year and two months’ schooling. He continued thus employed, dividing his time between study and farm work, until he attained his twentieth year, when he engaged in teaching. Closing his school at the age of twenty-one, he spent the next two years in work and study, and at the expiration of that time, made an agreement to take care of his grandfather and mother, working their farm, and to 6 receive the same as his own after their decease. At the end of four years he sold his interest in the farm to his youngest uncle, for one thousand five hundred dollars, and purchased a farm at Mount Holly, Vermont, where he spent four years. During this time he turned his attention to the study of medicine, and afterward, renting his farm, accepted a clerkship in the store of his uncle, A. B. Bullard, and employed his spare time in his studies. Later he sold his farm, and moving to Plymouth, Ver- mont, there continued his studies and began the practice of his profession. After three years he removed to Middleton, Vermont, and there opened his practice, and at the same time pursued three courses of lectures under Dr. Middleton Goldsmith, and graduated from the medical college in 1855, with the degree of M.D. Mr. Hemenway was led into the study of medicine by the fact that his family was predisposed to consumption, and he, him- self, had been obliged on several occasions to abandon work on account of ill health. The year i'll E EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. 3 $ following his graduation, he removed to Delavan, Wisconsin, and established himself in the practice of his profession, in partnership with Dr. O. W. Blanchard. At the end of one year the partnership was dissolved, and since that time Dr. Hemenway has built up a large and remunerative practice, and gained a wide reputation as a skillful practitioner. Although he has had a very extensive practice, he is not wealthy, from the fact that he has been a poor collector, making it a rule never to press any one for money. He was brought up under Baptist influences, and is a worthy member of that church. In politics, he was formerly a whig, but is now identified with the republican party. He is one of the township board, though he has never aspired to office, preferring the peace and quiet of his pro- fessional and domestic life to political honors and emoluments. Dr. Hemenway was married on the 26th of Janu- ary, 1843, to Miss Mary Harrington, of Ira, Ver- mont, daughter of Joshua Harrington. Of their two children, the eldest died when two years of age. The other is the wife of Samuel M. Parish, general agent of the Chicago Life Insurance Company. The doctor has given special study to lung diffi- culties, and is known for his skillful management of such cases. Physically, he is five feet seven inches in height, has a light complexion and blue eyes, and weighs one hundred and thirty-eight pounds. He possesses excellent personal and social qualities, and by his generous, upright life has endeared himself to a large circle of warm and true friends. SILUS U. PINNEY, MADISON. S ILUS U. PINNEY, present mayor of Madison, was born in Rockdale, Crawford county, Penn- sylvania, March 3, 1833. His father, Justin C. Pin- ney, was a native of Becket, Berkshire county, Mas- sachusetts, and came from there to Crawford county, Pennsylvania, in 1815. His mother’s maiden name was Polly Ann Miller, and a native of Crawford county, Pennsylvania, and of German descent. His father, with his family, removed to Wisconsin in 1846, and settled in what is now the town of Wind- sor, Dane county, but which was then a part of the town of Madison. The country was then new and sparsely settled, and the subject of this sketch, hav- ing received a good common-school education, found it necessary to give his attention to other subjects than books for a considerable time. He had, how- ever, the advantages which some private instruction could give, and such self-instruction as only leisure moments could afford. He was, however, princi- pally occupied in improving and cultivating his father’s farm. He was pretty well supplied with books, and a great reader, and had a very excellent memory, so that whatever he gained, even in the most general or imperfect manner, he was able to retain and utilize. He taught a district school three winters. When about seventeen years of age, hav- ing acquired a predilection for the legal profession, he began the study of the first text-books, and kept it up, as well as his occupation on the farm and in teaching school would permit, until April of 1853, when he entered the law office of Vilas and Rem- ington, in this city, as a student. From that time to the present he has devoted his time and attention almost exclusively to the law. In. February, 1854, he was admitted to practice in both the circuit and supreme courts of the State, and afterward in the federal courts; and in May, 1854, he entered upon the active duties of his profession in the city of Madison, where he has been so engaged ever since. He has ever been and still is a democrat, and has avoided rather than sought political preferment. In religion he has no sectarian views, but has for many years attended and contributed to the support of the Presbyterian church in this city. He began his career in life single-handed and alone, with no capital but his own industry and such qualifications in point of learning as he had acquired for engaging in the profession of his choice, and hence he very early learned to depend upon himself. Self-reliance has been the source of his success. In 1858 he was city attorney for the city of Mad- ison, and an unsuccessful candidate for district attor- ney of the county. In 1865 he was a member of the common council, and in 1869 an unsuccessful candidate for attorney-general of the State on the democratic ticket. T1IE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. 39 111 April, 1874, lie was elected mayor of the city of Madison, and in November of that year was elected a member of the legislative assembly from the Madison district, and in April, 1875, was re- elected mayor of Madison without opposition. In 1865 he prepared and attended to the publication of the sixteenth volume of Wisconsin “ Reports,” and in 1870 was appointed special reporter by the supreme court to report and publish the decisions of the ter- ritorial supreme court and the first supreme court of the State, extending over a period from 1836 to June, 1853, and which are embraced in three vol- umes, known as “Pinney’s Wisconsin Reports,” the last of which is now in press. In March, 1856, he was married to Mary M. Mul- likin. Mr. Finney, although scarcely arrived at mature manhood, is in some respects a remarkable man, and has acquired distinction in his profession. He has quick perceptions, a subtle power of discrimination, a sound, practical judgment, and a wonderful mem- ory. He is destitute of that power of oratory which appeals to the passions and electrifies the masses. In the discussions of legal principles in the presence of the court he is lucid in his statements, logical in his arguments, and forcible in his conclusions. He speaks without apparent effort, in plain, simple lan- guage, without ornament to divert the mind from the subject matter, and without obscurity to conceal it. It has been his good fortune to be employed in some important cases, involving large amounts of money and property, among them the case of the Amory will, involving about one million of dollars. This case was tried in the United Stales circuit court in Chicago, in 1874, before Judge Davis, of the su- preme court of the United States, and Judge Drum- mond, of the circuit court of the United States for the seventh circuit, in which Mr. Finney displayed such a thorough knowledge of the law, the evidence and the facts as to elicit from the court and the bar very high terms of commendation. He has a bright future before him, and if he continues to be true to himself he will reach a high eminence at the bar and on the bench. CHARLES A. WEISBROD, OSHKOSH. HARLES A. WEISBROD, a native of Prussia, * — was born at Simmern, in the Department of Coblentz, on the 5 th of April, 1824, and is the son of Phillip W. Weisbrod and Catherine nee Mayer. His father, a baker by trade, was an energetic and enter- prising man, and became a well-to-do land-owner. After completing his primary education, Charles attended the Gymnasium at Treves, and afterward the Polytechnic School and University at Berlin for three years and six months. He early developed a taste for professional life, and during the first three years after leaving school employed his time in civil engineering, and also spent three years as lieutenant of engineers in the reserve. In 1849, being then twenty-five years of age, he immigrated to the United States and settled at his present home in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Having de- cided to enter the legal profession, he at once began the study of law, giving himself with vigor to his work till 1852, when he was admitted to the bar. He at once began the practice of his profession, and laid the foundations of his present extensive and influential business. Aside from his professional duties, he has held many positions of responsibility and public trust. In 1854 he was elected clerk of the circuit court for a term of two years. He was also alderman during a period of five years, begin- ning with 1853. In 1867 he was elected school commissioner; was a member of the Baltimore con- vention in 1872, and participated in the nomination of Horace Greeley for president; in 1874 was ap- pointed, and in 1876 reappointed, one of the board of regents of the State Normal Schools. The present firm of Felker and Weisbrod was formed in 1866, and by prompt and energetic action its business has become one of the largest in north- ern Wisconsin, and each year adds largely to its increase. While they do a general law business, they have given special attention to bankrupt cases, in which they have been very successful, and in several instances have paid the creditors in full, with interest. In his religious views Mr. Weisbrod is liberal, and not connected with any church organization. In politics he is identified with the democratic party, 40 THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION Alt)'. but is liberal in his views, and always exalts the man above the party. He was married on the i Sth of April, 1849, to Miss Elizabeth F. Goetz, by whom he has three sons and four daughters. His son Albert \Y r . Weisbrod graduated from Michigan University in 1870, and afterward spent two years in Europe in the study of law, and upon his return home was admitted to the bar at Oshkosh in 1874. On the 1st of January, 1S75 he took an interest in his father’s business, and is at present a member of that successful firm. Mr. Weisbrod, beginning life with little means, has gradually worked his way from comparative obscu- rity to a position of high social standing and public regard; and in the success that has attended him presents an example of integrity, energy and enter- prise well worthy of emulation. He possesses excel- lent personal and social qualities ; and while he is highly respected by all who know him, he is most esteemed by those who know him best. He is sur- rounded with all the comforts of a happy home, and lives in the enjoyment of an ample competence. JOHN WESLEY PIXLEY, MIL WA UK EE. H OW a man uses money — makes it, saves it, and spends it— is perhaps one of the best tests of his practical wisdom and character. The record of John Wesley Pixley’s life, which has been passed in attaining wealth by industry and prudence, and expending the most part of it in secret acts of benevolence and charity, is a truly noble one. Al- though money ought by no means to be regarded as > the chief end of man’s life, neither is it a trifling matter, to be held in philosophic contempt, repre- senting as it does to so large an extent the means of physical comfort and social well-being. Indeed, some of the finest qualities of human nature are intimately associated with the right use of money, such as happiness, generosity, honesty, justice and self-sacrifice. John W. Pixley was born on the 19th of Janu- ary, 1 8 1 1 , at Hillsdale, Columbia county, New York. He was one of the early pioneers of Mil- waukee, having arrived, with his brother Maurice, in May, 1836. Maurice was born on the 15th of October, 1800, and was, therefore, about eleven years older than John. They were the sons of John Pixley, who had held the office of high sheriff of Columbia county, and was a gentleman much re- spected and esteemed in that section of the State for the probity of his character. On arriving at Milwaukee in 1836, the brothers, who possessed sufficient capital for the purpose, at once entered into copartnership and engaged in a mercantile business, under the firm name of M. and J. W. Pixley. Their building was near the corner of East Water and Wisconsin streets, adjoining the old trading-post of Solomon Juneau. They con- tinued thus for some few years, when their father died and John was required at Hillsdale to settle his estate. He did not, however, remain longer than was necessary to transact the business, and then re- turned to Milwaukee. Shortly afterward Maurice removed to his former home in Hillsdale, withdraw- ing from partnership with his brother. In about a year after, John Wesley Pixley closed his mercan- tile business and turned his attention to real-estate speculations and advancing money. By his fore- sight and business capabilities he managed to amass a handsome fortune. He was in many respects a very _ peculiar man. Although holding very firm political views, he would not allow himself to become a prominent politician, and would accept no office. In his habits he was particularly unassuming and quiet, strongly dislik- ing ostentation or assumption in any form whatever. Although his heart overflowed with charity and compassion, in the broadest sense, the world knew very little of it. Only a few very intimate friends became aware of the large amounts he was yearly expending in helping the truly needy and distressed. His gifts did not take the form that would bring his name before the public, but it has been since com- puted that for the last twenty years of his life, he has expended in his unobtrusive manner as much as seventy-five thousand dollars; but it never will be known to any one the large numbers of heavy hearts that have been lightened and the dismal homes that have been made bright and happy by the true benevolence of this one man. Although he rarely gave through the agency of any charitable institution or solicitor, his time and money were ex- THE UNITED STATES BIOdltATl/ICAL DICTIONARY. 41 pended in finding out proper objects on which to shower his bounty. “ He had a tear for pity, and a hand Open as the day for melting charity.” In all business transactions Mr. Pixley was the soul of honor, and his word was always “as good as a bond.” His death, which occurred on the 1 8th of August, 1874, was keenly felt by his many friends whom his good qualities had made for him, and also by those who had been relieved by his kindness. He died unmarried, and his remains were followed to the Forest Home by a great number of the old settlers, who loved him for the good deeds he had done, and admired his quaint, old-fashioned, sterling integrity. JOHN A. BENTLEY, SHEBOYGAN. r I "HE subject of this sketch, a native of Kings- X bury, Washington county, New York, was born on the 27th of January, 1836, and is the son of Cornelius Bentley and Mary nee Brayton. His parents, well-to-do farmers, were highly respected in their community, and took special care in training their children to habits of industry and morality. He passed his boyhood and youth in his native place, dividing his time between farm work and attending the common school. At the close of his preparatory studies he began the study of law with Judges Rosenerans and Ferris, of Glens Falls, teach- ing during a part of the time to defray his expenses. After his admission to the bar, in 1857, he estab- lished' himself in his profession at Glens Falls, and conducted a practice with varied success until March, 1859, when he removed to Wisconsin. Settling in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, he remained one year, and at the end of that time removed to his present home in Sheboygan. Here, forming a copartnership with Judge William K. Gordon, he con- ducted a successful practice during ten months, at the expiration of which time the firm was dissolved and Mr. Bentley began a practice on his own ac- count, which he continued with good success until 1869. At this time associating himself with Mr. William H. Seaman, under the firm name of Bentley and Seaman, he began that practice which has grown in influence and extent year by year up to the pres- ent time (1876), since which time he has given most of his attention to the interests of the Sheboygan and Fond du Lac Railroad, of which he was president for upward of two years. Aside from his regular business, he has shown a public-spiritedness, and been interested in many enterprises tending to the welfare of his State and city, and been honored by his fellow-citizens with positions of public trust. In 1864 he was elected to the State senate on the republican ticket. In 1876 he was appointed commissioner of pensions, in place of Colonel Gill, of Madison, resigned. He was married on the 5th of September, 1861, to Isabella J. Peat, by whom he has one son. Mr. Bentley is eminently a self-made man, begin- ning life without money. His career has been marked by a gradual growth, and at the present time he is widely known as a thorough business man and financial manager, and is a gentleman of high social standing, respected by all, and most highly esteemed by those who know him best. THOMAS H. BROWN, MU AVAL’ NEE. r I ''HE subject of this sketch, a native of Milwau- 1 kee, Wisconsin, was born on the 3d of April, 1839, and is the son of Samuel and Clarissa Brown, both of whom were consistent^ church members, and descended from early settlers of New England. The father, a builder by occupation, erected the first church in Milwaukee, and the mother was the first white woman who came to that place. Thomas' early life was surrounded by good influences, and he then imbibed those habits of industry that have characterized his subsequent career. He received his education mostly at Beloit College, and, although 4 - /•///:' C.Y/T/-:/) S TA YES HIOGHAPH1CAL DICTIONARY. his native tastes inclined him toward mechanical pursuits, at the close of his studies he spent eight months in the study of law. At the expiration of that time, in 1S61. going to the oil regions in Penn- sylvania, he at first engaged as a common laborer, working for his board. His employers, however, soon saw that he was qualified for a higher position, made him superintendent of their operations, placing in him the most implicit confidence, and authorizing him to draw upon them for thirty thousand dollars at a time. At the end of six years he had accumu- lated a large fortune, but lost it in an unfortunate investment. Returning to his home in Milwaukee, he became a member of the firm of Salsman, Brown and Fowler, wholesale hatters, a position which he held for three years. Withdrawing from the busi- ness at the end of that time, he associated himself with his present partners, Messrs. J. P. and Julius Wechselberg, under the firm name of Wechselberg, Brown and Co., and organized the present Novelty Carriage Works. The business was begun by the Wechselberg brothers, on the corner of Milwaukee and Michigan streets, in i860, their only capital being their reputation as thoroughly qualified busi- ness men. Doing most of their work themselves, in a small frame building, their first year’s products amounted only to a good livelihood. In 1864 they removed to Second street, where their trade gradu- ally increased till September, 1871; at that time a new impetus was added to the business by the ad- mission to the firm of Thomas H. Brown, the sub- ject of this sketch. On the 1st of January, 1875, they removed to their present quarters, No. 182 and 184 Third street, where they occupy a four-storied building, fifty by a hundred feet, with a two-storied store room, twenty by forty feet. The business at the present time employs thirty hands, involves a capital of thirty thousand dollars, and has an annual product of fifty thousand dollars. The reputation of the Novelty Carriage Works, although wide, is rapidly growing — a fact which is attributable wholly to the enterprise and careful management of its pro- prietors, combined with the excellent quality of work produced. To their light work, of buggies and sleighs, they have given special attention, and by the superior quality of their goods in this line have made for themselves an enviable reputation. Mr. Brown’s practical experience with business men, united with his native mechanical tastes, has ren- dered him a most valuable acquisition to the firm, and much of its present high standing is due to his enterprise and business ability. Politically, he is identified with the republican party, though he has never found time for, nor has his ambition led him to desire, political distinctions. His religious training was under Congregational influences, and although he is still attached to that denomination he is not a member of any church organization. Mr. Brown has been twice married: first, on the 26th of December, 1866, to Miss Emma J. Fowler, who died in August, 1868; on the 12th of Novem- ber, 1872, he married Miss Alice L, Davis, and by her has one daughter. EDWARD G. RYAN, MADISON. E DWARD G. RYAN, present chief-justice of the supreme court of Wisconsin, was born at New Castle House, in the county of Meath, Ireland, November 13, 1810, the son of Edward Ryan, Esq., of New Castle House, and Abby, his wife, daughter of John Keogh, Esq., of Mount Jerome, near Dub- lin. He was the second son of a second son, born and educated in the full sight of wealth, but inherit- ing no share of it beyond its refining influences and an instinctive pride of character more honorable than rank and more valuable than gold. He was educated at Clongone’s Wood College, where he went in 1820, and where he remained until the com- pletion of the full course, in 1827. Having made some attempt to study law before leaving his native country, he came to the United States in 1830 and resumed his studies in New York, supporting him- self, meantime, by giving lessons in private schools. He was admitted to the bar in that city in 1836; came to Chicago in the fall of the same year; prac- ticed law there until 1842, when, suffering from mi- asmatic disease, he felt compelled to change his residence for the sake of his health; accordingly, in the latter year,, on the occasion of his marriage with the daughter of Captain Hugh Graham, he removed to the city of Racine, in this State. He THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARV. 43 continued in the practice of his profession at Racine until the fall of 1848, when he removed to Milwau- kee, where he now resides. Mr. Ryan was prosecuting attorney for the Chi- cago circuit, in Illinois, in 1840 and 1841; was a member of the first constitutional convention in Wisconsin, in 1846; was city attorney of Milwaukee in 1870, 1871 and 1872, and was appointed to his present position in June, 1874. Praise and censure founded upon personal opinion have no place in these pages. Biography is not only a written history of individual life, it is also a record of human char- acter. Therefore, while I would not flatter Neptune for his trident, nor Jove for his power to thunder, I should be unfaithful to my trust if any record I might make of Mr. Ryan failed to concede to him the rank he holds as one of the most remarkable men of his time. His person is not remarkable; he is five feet ten inches in height, weighs one hundred and eighty pounds, neither of robust nor delicate frame, but muscular, sinewy and capable of long continued labor. His movements are quick and his step elastic ; his head projects forward beyond his body, this gives him the appearance of stooping — only the appearance, however, as his body is erect. His complexion is florid, indicating health ; his hair is light, slightly tinged with red ; his eyes combine the mingled hues of blue, gray and black, they are large, brilliant and expressive, which, together with his complexion, indicate a sanguine, bilious temper- ament, verging upon the atrabilious. When seen at the bar, prosecuting a lawless libertine for the violation of female virtue, you would deem his eyes those of a Basilisk ; when seen, however, in the quiet of a Sabbath afternoon, leading his little daughter by the hand to the Episcopal Church, where he worships, you would deem his eyes blue, beaming with pity and with love. He may not possess the highest order of intuitive genius: he may never have been able to write “ Pil- grim’s Progress,” nor “Paradise Lost,” nor “Ham- let.” Whatever of intellectual excellence he pos- sesses arises from the deep earnestness of his moral nature, which leads to concentrated thought and to that discipline of his mental faculties to which he has subjected them through long years of laborious study — labor necesse est excellentiic. No truly great man was ever flattered by flattery, and Mr. Ryan has no trait of character more positive than his in- stinctive aversion to the language of panegyric as applied to himself. No person ever praised him generously without risking his contempt. With a profound reverence for ability in others, endowed with a clear perception of the just claims of real merit, but abhorring the arts which secure a mere- tricious reputation, he owes his position at the bar and on the bench to none of those adventitious cir- cumstances which usually attend public promotion. But Mr. Ryan, as a whole, is remarkable for no sin- gle peculiarity, but rather for a combination of pe- culiarities. His mind is an aggregation of superior powers, harmonious, and yet diverse. He is a ready and impressive orator, and yet a writer of remarka- ble accuracy and beauty of diction. His prepared lectures are finished models of literary composition, but scarcely less so than his addresses extempor- aneously spoken. At the bar, in the lecture-room and on the bench his speech is always affluent, ex- pressive and precise; while he never hesitates for a phrase, no phrase escapes him which is not of strik- ing import, by reason of the compactness and grace of its .structure. In logical strength and in that mental power of quick and searching discrimination which is the highest manifestation of a purely intel- lectual ability, he is without a superior. In the rhetoric of invective, in the recitation of prosaic fact, or in the analysis of dry details, and in rapid, terse and impressive argument, he possesses a power of apparently exhaustless resources. In the ordinary practice of his profession no flaw of the law, no per- version of the truth, no weakness of the judge es- capes his observation, or evades discovery and expo- sure. With mental faculties thus comprehensive, disciplined and critical is combined a physical tem- perament naturally sensitive, which inspires every mental act with electrical energy. Thus constituted, no question, whether of law or politics, is subject to his investigation which is not illuminated by the light of his genius or solved in the fire of his criticism. Tetigit nihil non ornavit. It has been said that qual- ities like those which distinguish Mr. Ryan rarely comport with the conservative character of the judge; that he is better fitted for the contests at the bar than for the deliberations of the council chamber. This would be true of many men of equal or greater ce- lebrity, but of less varied and comprehensive genius. It might have been partially true of Mr. Ryan before the softening influences of mature age had endued him with that intellectual calmness which best befits and adorns the exercise of strictly judicial duties. But it cannot be truly said of any man that, simply because of his great ability in all departments of 44 THE EXITED STATES BtOOtlAPIlICAL DICTIONARY. mental labor to which he has been. called, he is un- fitted for the particular department to which fortune or his own convictions of duty may summon him. Julius Cresar was the most distinguished warrior of his age. .He was an orator of so high an order that many thought him the rival of Cicero. He was one of the wisest of the senators. He conversed with the magi of the east concerning the sources of the Nile and the mountains of the moon. He was the best historian of his day, and his “Commen- taries" is the text-book of our day. He was withal a passionate lover. No man was ever great without strong passions. They are the winds that drive the vessel ahead. This delineation of Mr. Ryan’s char- acter would be imperfect, and a gross injustice to truth would be done, were I to omit to mention another prominent and most creditable characteris- tic of the man, a quality which has been the guar- dian of his youth, the crown of his manhood and the consolation of his mature years. I refer to his profound reverence for the Deity, and that spirit of humility and devotion to religious duty which have ever characterized the lives of the truly great. In view of Mr. Ryan’s forensic efforts at the bar, the brilliant flashes of his genius and the pitiless sarcasm of Ids wit; in view of his luminous opinions as a judge, in which he reasons with the force of logic and the certainty of demonstration; in view of his varied learning and classic taste, as exhibited in his lectures, and in view of the purity of his personal character, he may say with as much truth as any man can, Excgi monument-urn cere perennius. JAMES B. MARTIN, MIL WA UK EE. TAMES BAYNARD MARTIN, a native of Bal- J timore, Maryland, was born on the ioth of August, 1814, and is the son of John and Maria Martin. His ancestors settled in Maryland at an early day and both his parents were natives of the eastern part of that State. James’ early ambition was to become a merchant, and he never ceased to foster the desire until he saw its realization He was educated at St. Mary’s College, Baltimore, and after closing his studies accepted a position in the commission house of Messrs. Matthews & Hopkins. The following incident, which has had a wonderful effect in molding his character as a business man, occurred a few days after entering upon his work, and is worthy of record. Calling him into the counting-room, Mr. Matthews said, “James, how does thee like the place?” He replied, “I am pleased that I came.” “Then, come here tome,” and looking him steadily in the face, he said: “I want thee to. remember two or three things, without which thee can never be successful. Always give good weight — good measure — and never deceive or take advantage of a customer. I noticed that thee had gloves on yesterday when delivering goods — did thee ever know a muzzled cat to catch a rat?” “No, sir; but I do not understand what you mean.” “ I would advise thee,” said the wise Quaker merchant, “ when at business never to wear gloves.” To these lessons then learned, to the in- structions and advice then received, Mr. Martin at- tributes the success of his life. In 1845, removing to Wisconsin, he settled at Milwaukee, and at once en- gaged in merchandizing and in real estate opera- tions. Later he engaged in the milling business, and during a period of thirty-nine years conducted his various business enterprises with success, and has accumulated an ample fortune. In buying and shipping wheat he has taken the lead. In 1873 he shipped on his own account over four million bush- els, and over five million five hundred thousand in the following year. During all these years of active business he showed a most worthy public-spirited- ness, and his name has been associated with many of the most important interests of his city. By the erection of many fine buildings he has contributed a lasting benefit, both by increasing the beauty of Milwaukee and enhancing the value of real estate. Mr. Martin is preeminently a business man, and if we rvere to seek for the secret of his remarkable success, we should find it in the manner in which he has always conducted his affairs. He has always given his business his personal supervision, arid by his thorough knowledge of all its minor details has fteen able to grasp opportunities and turn them to his interest. When asked by one, inquisitive to learn the secret of his success, how much he v'as worth and how he had made his money, to the first inquiry he replied, “ None of your business; ” to the THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DIC TIONART. 45 second, “ I made one-half of what I am worth by minding my own business, and the other half by letting other people attend to theirs.” Eccentric as it may seem, the incident unfolds the true secret of business success and is worthy of remembrance. In political matters, Mr. Martin holds very de- cided views, and though a democrat from early life, has never been a partisan, but always supports for office him whom he regards most worthy and best fitted, regardless of party distinctions or prejudices. He has never, however, taken any official positions, his business having wholly engaged his attention. In his religious communion, he is connected with the Episcopal church. He was married on the 23d of December, 1835, to Miss Eliza Yates, of Utica, New York. MATT H. CARPENTER, MIL WA UK EE. ATT H. CARPENTER was born at More- town, Washington county, Vermont, on the 22d of December, 1824, the very day Daniel Web- ster delivered his great oration on Plymouth Rock in commemoration of the landing of the Pilgrims. It is not certain that he received any inspiration at his birth from the fact that Webster’s intellect was, at that moment, in full play, but it is certain that his having been born on that day did not inspire him with Puritanism, for no man enjoys a more painful freedom from that gloomy bent. His mother died when he was eleven years of age, and he went to live in the family of Hon. Paul Dil- lingham, at Waterbury, Vermont, and this was his home while he remained in Vermont. In 1843 he was appointed a cadet at West Point, on the recom- mendation of Hon. John Mattocks, then member of congress from that district. In 1845 he went on furlough with his class, and, in consequence of ill health, resigned and resumed his studies in the office of Mr. Dillingham. He was admitted to the bar in Montpelier, Vermont, in the spring of 1847, and went immediately to Boston and entered the office of Hon. Rufus Choate, as student, and was admitted to the bar of the supreme judicial court of Massachusetts, in the spring of 1848. No man ever enjoyed a better opportunity to round out a legal education than he enjoyed while with Mr. Choate, who became very fond of him, always treated him as a son, and took great pains to instruct him in the intricate mat- ters of the law. During a part of the time Mr. Choate’s eyes failed him, and Mr. Carpenter acted as amanuensis, and thus enjoyed a rare opportunity not only for legal but literary culture. When Car- penter was admitted Mr. Choate aided him in pro- curing a law library, and gave him money to start West. He removed to Beloit, Wisconsin, and com- menced the practice of his profession with three dollars and fifty cents in his pocket. He claims to have held his own well financially, though he says he has more frequently had less than more. He had been in Beloit about four weeks when he was at- tacked by inflammation of the eyes, and was under medical treatment for three years, the last year in the Eye Infirmary in New York, a patient of Dr. Kearney Rogers, and for about one year of this time" he was very nearly totally blind. During all this time Mr. Choate loaned him the money to pay his bills, and on recovery of his eyesight he returned and resumed practice at Beloit. On one occa- sion while in the asylum he had no money to pay his board, and wrote to Mr. Choate to that effect, as he had been invited to do. But, to his dismay, he received no answer. Some ten days elapsed, and still no answer. The boarding part of the asylum was then kept by an excellent lady, Mrs. Green, who was poor herself and unable to give credit, though her kind heart would have led her to feed all man- kind if she had been able. Receiving no reply from Mr. Choate he frankly stated to his landlady his sit- uation, and advised with Dr. Rogers as to what could be done. The doctor said to him if he had no false pride in the matter, the best thing was to go over to the Bellevue Poor House; that he, the doctor would go with him and commend him to the superintendent, and would come there and continue to treat him. Mr. Carpenter said he would go. This was Saturday ; and Monday morning Doctor Rogers was to call and take him in his carriage over to the poor house. But Sunday morning Mr. Car- penter received a letter from Mr. Choate sending him a plenty of money, saying he had nearly worked himself to death, and his physician had packed him nolens volens on a steamer and sent him to England; 46 THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONArT. that in the hurry of his departure he had entirely forgotten to make provision for Mr. Carpenter, and concluded as follows : “ I sincerely hope my thought- lessness lias not subjected you to any inconvenience, and I beg you will consider my purse absolutely at your disposal until you are healed. We all live for the future, and I have the utmost confidence both in your future and in your integrity, so draw upon me for whatever you want, and repay when you can.” Such generosity could not be forgotten, and Mr. Carpenter has, since his more prosperous days be- gan, continued to practice it toward the needy within his reach and ability. In 1S52 Mr. Carpenter was elected district attorney for Rock county. This in- troduced him into practice, and from that time his practice has continued to increase. In 1858 he removed to Milwaukee, where he has resided ever since. He made his first public speech at Beloit in the fall of 1848, in reply to a free-soil speech made there at that time by Hon. Charles A. Eldridge, since so distinguished as a democratic member of congress. Carpenter remained a democrat until the firing on Fort Sumter, in April, 1861. The night before the election of Lincoln he made a speech at Watertown in favor of the election of Douglas, and predicted that should Lincoln be elected, the recruiting drum beat would be heard in the streets of that city within one year. Lincoln was elected, and the predicted drum beat was heard in half that time. In the fall of 1861, after a draft had been ordered, there was a great effort made to raise a company in Watertown, but with not very great success. The utmost excite- ment prevailed there, and some of the foreign born citizens residing near the town had packed up their traps and actually started for their native country. Several families on their way were stopped at Water- town by Secretary Stanton’s famous “stay at home ” order. The people telegraphed Carpenter to go there and make a speech. He went; arriving there in the evening they put him upon a dry-goods box in the street, and he spoke for two hours to a crowd of from three to five thousand. Before daylight the enlistments had nearly filled the roll of the company, and about half were foreign born, some of those who had started for Europe being among the number. Mr. Carpenter made the first speech in the North- west after the attack upon Fort Sumter. He con- tinued speaking all over the Northwest until the termination of the war; made more war speeches than any other man. At the conclusion of the war when the constitutionality of the congressional plan of reconstruction was brought before the supreme court of the United States, he was selected by the government as counsel. He argued the case, but it never was decided. Reconstruction went on, on the plan Mr. Carpenter attempted to show to be consti- tutional. Mr. Carpenter is a man of distinguished ability, of logical mind, of extensive learning, of fervid eloquence, withal of genius, a quality rarely combined with logical power and statistical research, and these qualties have received the sanction of success. He has been successful in his eloquent appeals to the masses of his countrymen in support of his political views; he has been successful at the bar in the exhibition of his legal lore; he has been successful in the halls of legislation in com- manding respect for his statesmanship, as evidenced by his elevation to the presidency of the Senate of the United States, an honor under the circumstances unparalleled in the annals of that august body. That a legislature of Wisconsin, which he mate- rially aided in creating, could have repudiated her favorite son is an evidence of ignorance so gross as to excite pity rather than contempt, or of ingratitude so base as to affix a lasting stigma upon its deliber- ations. The abiding sense of justice in the public mind is as well the incentive to the noblest actions as their ultimate reward. The days of trial and of trouble may come to Wisconsin, as they have come to other peoples, when she, like Athens of old, will find that she also had a Timon, and that her prayers may prove as fruitless in the latter case as in the former. Mr. Carpenter’s mother died when he was but eleven years of age. She was a devout Christian ; he was her first-born, and until the day of her death her favorite. She held him on her lap as he came to years capable of receiving mental impressions, and instilled into his mind and his heart a love of the Bible, and a woman’s conception of the divinity and loveliness of our Saviour’s character. She read and explained to him the striking events in the gos- pel narrative with eloquent feeling, and then, with the boy, on bended knees, prayed to God that the boy she loved so well might never forget the lessons she had taught him, nor fail to walk in the paths they pointed out. One half of her prayer was an- swered. No one can read the letters, speeches and arguments, or listen to the conversation, of Mr. Car- penter, without observing that the Bible is his classic and that he has studied it thoroughly. The other THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. 47 half of that mother’s prayer has not been so thor- oughly answered. Sensitive, impressible and of poetic temperament, the beauties of scripture taught by a pious and eloquent mother could not fail to make a deep impression on his mind and to color his thoughts and speech. The theory of religion is merely intellectual, and may be correctly compre- hended; the beauties of the gospels may move the emotions, soften the heart and refine the sentiments, and yet the continuous daily walk, the earnest and solemn devotion of Christianity, may not be realized. It is one thing to admire, worship and weep ; it is another and quite severer task to take up the cross and follow faithfully. Peter believed and loved, and yet in an unexpected emergency he denied and cursed. Paul was less emotional but more stead- fast. Peter was an orator, Paul a philosopher. Peter could arrest the attention of the multitude and enlist their sympathies. Paul taught imperishable philos- ophy to be studied in the closet and absorbed by the intellect. The best leaders are not always the best followers; the best teachers are not always the best disciples. The hand that can strike the harp with the most entrancing effect may hold the shep- herd’s crook, but is not fashioned to carry the heavy burden. J. B. PARKINSON, A.M., MADISON. T P>. PARKINSON, A.M., late professor of civil J * polity and international law in the University of Wisconsin, was born near Edwardsville, Madison county, Illinois, April ir, 1834. His parents were of southern birth, but came to Illinois at an early age. His father is a farmer, wedded to his calling. He received only such common school advantages as the newly settled West afforded, but is a man of excellent judgment and strong common sense. His mother was the daughter of a Presbyterian minister. She was a woman of vigorous intellect, of more than ordinary culture, of excellent literary taste, and withal a true Christian. She died when the subject of this sketch was but twelve years old, but not without leaving the impress of her teachings. She was a devoted and self-sacrificing mother. In 1836, just after the close of the Black Hawk war, Professor Parkinson’s parents moved to Wisconsin, and settled upon a farm near Mineral Point, upon which his father still resides, at the ripe old age of seventy. The school privileges there were limited, but of such as could be secured, young Parkinson had the full advantage. The school-house, with its modern paraphernalia, was unknown, and apart- ments in private houses were made to take its place. But there is, after all, for natures suited to receive it, a beneficial educating influence in this pioneer life, in the rough, rude contact, with its stern privations. After having become well grounded in the primary branches of education, young Parkinson, in 1850, at the age of sixteen, entered the preparatory de- partment of Beloit College, and continued his I studies there nearly two years. In the spring of 1852, the California gold fever raged fiercely. His father having fitted out an expedition for an over- land trip to the Pacific coast, young Parkinson was placed in charge of it. After five months spent upon the plains, and three years of varied experi- ence in the mines of California, he returned home, not sadder, but wiser — full of hope — and with savings sufficient to carry him through college. In 1856 he entered the University of Wisconsin, and four years afterward graduated with the highest honors of his class. He was at once tendered a tutorship in the university, which he held for one year, and then resigned to accept the office of superintendent of schools of LaFayette county, to which he had been almost unanimously elected. In 1861 he was married to the daughter of Major Robert Gray, of Mineral Point, a native of Wiscon- sin, a woman of decided character, and one who has proved herself a model wife and mother. The leisure of a few of the first years of married life were spent in improving and beautifying a delightful country home. During those stirring times, Mr. Parkinson took an active part in the discussions of the day, and was regarded as a very forcible and effective speaker. He has always been a democrat in politics, though of a liberal type. After the war began, he took strong grounds in favor of its vigor- ous prosecution, and never saw the time when he thought it wise to entirely abandon the political organ- ization whose great leading principles he thoroughly- subscribed. He was twice the nominee of his party THE EXITED STATES EWER APHICAL DICTIONARY. 48 for the office of State superintendent of public in- struction, making in each case an excellent run against the Hon. John G. MeWvnn, of Racine. In 1S66. under the law reorganizing the State Uni- versity, he was appointed by Governor Fairchild a member of its board of regents. This position he held for one year, when he was elected to the chair of mathematics in the university, which professor- ship he held for six years, though during most of that time he also had charge of the departments of civil polity and political economy. In 1871 he joined with the three young men, with whom he is still associated, in the purchase of the “Madison Demo- crat,” and was for some time upon the editorial staff. The paper at once took rank as one of the ablest journals in the State. During the same year he was chosen chairman of the democratic State central committee, which position, as well as his editorial connection with the “ Democrat,” he resigned at the close of the year. In 1873 he was elected professor of civil polity and international law in the State University, although the subjects pertaining to this chair had already been under his instruction since 1868. He has prepared a complete course of lectures upon the outlines of international law, which has been very highly commended; also par- tial courses in constitutional law and political economy. Questions of civil polity and economic science are those in which Professor Parkinson has always taken the deepest interest, yet his earnest, active nature chafed under the somewhat monot- onous duties of a professorship. In 1874 he re- signed his chair in the university, and resumed his editorial connection with the “ Democrat,” which position he now holds. He is also at the present time president of the Wisconsin State Board of Centennial Managers. The basis of his intellectual character is that of a plain, practical common sense, which, together with his logical arguments and an- alytical acumen, render his conclusions convincing, to which he firmly adheres with the confidence of their truth. His style, as a writer, partakes of the qualities of his mind, simple, lucid and concise. He is a forcible speaker, with a well modulated voice and distinct enunciation. He is an able debater, and enjoys discussions. His power consists in the plainness of his propositions, the closeness of his reasoning and the earnestness of his manner. Op- position brings out his full strength, which it is diffi- cult to resist, and still more so to' defeat. His habits are domestic, social and scrupulously moral. He is strongly attached to home and friends. Home is his sanctuary from the troubles of life, and friend- ship is a holy name. In manner he is dignified without affectation, and affable, without familiarity. In stature he is tall and spare, though strong and active. His temperament is sanguine, nervous, with hope enough to aspire to high position, and nerve enough to reach it. His qualities of mind, natural and acquired, qualify him for the position of teacher of the science of law and of government, or for their administration. He is essentially a legislator. The position in which he would render the most service to his country would be as president of a university, the minds of whose inmates he would- enlighten by his learning, and whose morals he would improve by his example. His greatest use- fulness would appear in the halls of legislation. JOHN W. HOYT, A.M., M.D., MADISON. JOHN W. HOYT, A.M., M.D., of Madison, was J born of New England parents, October 13, 1833, in the vicinity of Worthington, Franklin county, Ohio, to which place his father and mother, Joab and Judith Hoyt, removed from Montreal at the break- ing out of the war of 1812, and where his father still resides upon the farm he first purchased. He at- tended the select schools and academies in the neighboring village. He possessed a rare facility for acquiring knowledge, regularly carrying from nine to eleven studies, with daily recitations, and at fourteen was not only prepared for college but had made proficiency in important branches not em- braced in an ordinary collegiate course of study. Qhis rapid advancement had not been made without injury to his health, however, so that it was found necessary for him to devote the succeeding two years to outdoor labor on the farm, the winters being em- ployed in teaching neighborhood schools, and in study. He finally entered the Ohio Wesleyan Uni- versity, of which the late Bishop Edward Thomson was the president, and from which, notwithstanding THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 49 the continued delicacy of his health and the neces- ity for alternating study with labor, he graduated with honor at the end of the usual course. After leaving college he began the study of law with Hon. William Dennison, of Columbus, afterward gover- nor of Ohio, and postmaster-general of the United States, and a little later was found at Cincinnati at- tending both law and medical lectures. Finding medicine more to his taste than law he gradually gave it more and more of his attention, and gradu- ated as doctor of medicine in 1851. From this time forward until 1857, we find him at first engaged upon a work on materia medica and therapeutics, which he had been commissioned by an invalid professor to prepare for the press; next, a professor of chem- istry and medical jurisprudence, succeeding that distinguished jurist and scientist, Judge J. B. Stalls, of Cincinnati, and lecturing to large classes in two of the medical colleges of that city; then organizing and managing the department of chemistry and nat- ural history in Antioch College, to which he was called by the partiality of Horace Mann, president; continuing all the while his medical lectures, and at the same time managing a considerable estate at Yel- low Springs, including farm, mill, and quarries; also taking an active part in the presidential campaign of 1856. It was also during this period (in 1855) that he made, in a paper read before the American Scientific Association, what he believed to be, and what probably was in fact, so far as this country is concerned, the first promulgation of the doctrine now known as the correlation and conservation of forces, and everywhere recognized as one of the most important advances made by science in this century. Forced by damaged health to seek a differ- ent climate he removed with his wife to Madison, Wis- consin, in 1857, engaging as he then thought tempo- rarily, in the editorial management of the “ Wisconsin Farmer.” The new role of agricultural editor com- manded a large share of his services for the ten years which immediately followed. With his efficient and fruitful labors in this field, and in the kindred work of managing the affairs of the Wisconsin State Agri- cultural Society, which were entrusted to him in 1859, the people of Wisconsin are familiar. Few of his fellow citizens are aware, however, of the great amount of extra labor he also performed during this period as public lecturer, leader in educational and social reforms, as industrial and educational repre- sentative of the State and United States, at interna- tional expositions, and in the writing and publication of numerous books, pamphlets and official reports. And probably a still less number are aware that he was one of the originators and most efficient promo- ters of the national movement, which finally secured grants of land for the founding of colleges in the in- terest of agriculture and the mechanic arts; that he was the originator of the proposition finally approved by congress which enabled each such college to ob- tain from the army a professor of military science and tactics without cost ; or that it was he who orig- inated, drafted and carried through the legislative measure which reorganized the University of Wis- consin, put it upon a proper university basis, and secured to it a gift of forty thousand dollars from Dane county, and the two hundred and forty thous- and acres of land granted to the State by the con- gressional act above mentioned. He was one of the prime movers in organizing the Wisconsin Editorial Association, and at different times has been its sec- retary and president. From the first organization of the United States Agricultural Society until the breaking out of the war of the rebellion, when its work was discontinued, he was vice-president. In the year last mentioned he was appointed by presi- dent Lincoln one of the United States commissioners to make arrangements for the representation of this country at the London International Exhibition of 1862, and was also put forward by the governors and boards of agriculture of the northwestern States, and had the approval of the president, for the posi- tion of chief commissioner. Congress failed to make an appropriation, however, and he finally went to London as commissioner from Wisconsin, in which capacity as well as by his reports upon the exhibi- tion and upon subsequent travels he rendered good service to the country. In 1866 he was commis- sioned by the governor of Wisconsin as one of the State commissioners to the Paris Universal Exposi- tion of 1867, and was chosen by his associates to act as president of the commission. In the per- formance of these duties he entitled himself to the grateful acknowledgment of the State and received as a recognition of his services a medal from the French emperor. Later, he was also appointed a commissioner of the United States to the Paris Ex- position, and entrusted with the preparation of the commission’s report to the government on educa- tion. In order the better to qualify himself for this very important task, he traveled in all the countries of Europe, acquainting himself personally with the various national systems and with all classes of in- 5 ° TIIE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. stitutions. The results of these travels and labors was a large volume printed by order of the govern- ment, abounding in important information and criti- cal discussions which have been pronounced of great value. The distinction gained bv this work and by the addresses and lectures delivered in the interest of education, more especially his advocacy of the claims of university education, and his proposition for the establishment of a great American university, led to his being unanimously called by the National Educational Association, in 1869, to the position of chairman of a national committee on an American university, in which capacity he still continues to labor most zealously and efficiently. In 1870 he was instrumental in organizing the Wisconsin Acad- emy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, an association of investigators which has enlisted the sympathies and active cooperation of the most prominent men of the state, and has since gained an honorable footing in the scientific and literary world. Of this institution Dr. Hoyt has been the president from the beginning. At about the same time he accepted for a time the position of secretary in the Chicago Historical Society, which large and prosperous institution he was instrumental in reorganizing and putting upon a broader and more satisfactory basis. The holding of these three important and laborious positions at one and the same time — head of the National uni- versity movement, and of the Academy of Sciences, and managing officer of the Wisconsin State Agri- cultural Society and of the Chicago Historical So- ciety — sufficiently illustrate the unusual abilities as an organizer and executive officer which have char- acterized his career. Suffering from overwork he resigned his position in the Historical Society in the spring of 1871, and devoted such time as he could spare from his remaining official duties in traveling in the western States and Territories. In 1872 he also resigned the secretaryship of the State Agricul- tural Society, feeling that twelve years of uninter- rupted service as its practical manager entitled him to a release, and having also in view the acceptance of the presidency of the Topeka, Fort Scott and Memphis Railway Company, to which he had been called by its directors, but which he finally declined. In the spring of 1873 he was appointed to represent the United States at Vienna, as honorary commis- sioner, and spent the entire season at Vienna, ren- dering very important service to the country — first, in assisting to organize the American department, then as American juror, then in the distinguished position of president of the International Jury for Education, a jury embracing some of the most learned representatives of all civilized nations; then as one of the three executive commissioners, and finally for a time acting commissioner-in-chief of the Amer- ican department. At the conclusion of these im- portant labors he received the formal thanks of American exhibitors, of the Imperial Commission, and of the Austrian Ministry. The following win- ter was spent, by authority of the United States gov- ernment, in an inspection of the technical schools of Europe, as a means of enriching the report on education, which he had been chosen by the Amer- ican commission to prepare and submit to the gov- ernment. In the discharge of these duties, he made a third general tour of Europe. Upon his return to America, in the spring of 1874, he received from the emperor of Austria the distinguished honor of knighthood, including a decoration with the Com- mander’s Cross of the Imperial Order of Francis Joseph. New and unsolicited honors also awaited him on his return to Wisconsin, including the offer of the presidency of a western college, the position of chief of the geological survey of Wisconsin, and the position of railroad commissioner for Wisconsin. The last named he finally accepted, and it has added to his reputation by the marked ability and fidelity with which he has met its responsibilities. Later in the season of 1874 he was appointed by the governor commissioner of water routes between Wisconsin and the seaboard, and as such officer has been active in promoting the Fox and Wisconsin river improve- ment, and the enterprise of constructing a ship canal between the waters of Georgian Bay and Lake Ontario. Besides these several responsible positions of rail- road commissioner, commissioner of water routes to the seaboard, president of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, chairman of the National LTniversity Committee of the National Educational Association, and vice-president of the American Social Science Association, all of which he holds at present, and each of which has its responsible duties, he main- tains active connection with many more private affairs, each commanding thought and effort, and is also known to be engaged upon some literary plans that involve much difficulty and protracted labor. Doctor Hoyt is in stature five feet ten inches high ; weighs one hundred and sixty-five pounds; is sym- metrical in form, graceful in manners and of agree- able address. Notwithstanding some constitutional THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 51 delicacy he is a person of great physical strength, with a nervous energy and power of endurance found only in rare combinations of organism and intellect. His paternal grandfather was remarkable for these traits as a soldier in the revolution, and his father, notwithstanding the hardships incident to the war of 1812, and a pioneer life succeeding, is still living, at the age of eighty-nine years, in the full enjoyment of physical and intellectual vigor, upon the estate of his first married-life home. Dr. Hoyt’s lectures, speeches, reports, books and plans, are notably sys- tematic. The readiness and clearness of his per- ceptions, with the logical and analytical methods of his procedure, make him an habitual organizer. Labors thus conducted may therefore be not only multiplied, but must of necessity have the elements of strength. Comprehensiveness is a marked trait. He sees broadly, surveying a subject from every available standpoint, and reserving judgment until satisfied that no phase or important element has been overlooked. The State University, the State Acad- emy of Sciences and his plans for a National Uni- versity are evidences of these truths. He cherishes kindly sentiments toward all, and gives a helping hand to whatever has for its aim the good of man- kind. A strong sense of justice, tempered by charity for human frailties, is illustrated by his daily life. His marriage, at the early age of twenty-three, with Miss Elizabeth O. Sampson, of Cincinnati, Ohio, has given to his home the blessing of two beautiful children, sons of such promise as minister to a father’s pride and make the hope of the world ; and whose mother, in all the relations of life, has proved herself worthy of companionship in his in- tellectual attainments, and is the inspiration of all his aims. Broad and penetrating in his views and profound in his sympathies with all real reforms, whether in material, social or political affairs, he is of necessity an untiring worker for the good of his country and the progress of the race. AMOS J. W. PIERCE, MIL IV A UK EE. T HE world’s successful men are those who, with persistent determination, have insisted upon themselves: they are men who, instead of turning their thoughts outward to external helps, have stud- ied carefully their own powers, and by casting them- selves upon their own resources have been enabled to stand erect in the strength of independent man- hood. As a representative of this class, he whose name heads this sketch is worthy of honorable men- tion. A native of New Jersey, he was born near Philadelphia on the 7th of May, 1832, the son of Louis E. Pierce and Maria tufe Jones. His parents, though in humble circumstances, were highly re- spectable people, but both died during his child- hood. His educational advantages were limited to those offered by the common schools, but having an excessive fondness for study and reading, he care- fully improved all his leisure, and in this manner acquired a liberal English education. From the age of nine years until he attained the age of four- teen he attended school ; and at this latter age, going to Philadelphia, engaged to work for a ship chandler. He served in this capacity during a period of two years, engaged in various kinds of employment, and at the expiration of that time accepted a clerkship in a retail grocery store, where he remained until 1856. By fidelity, observation and strict attention to his work he acquired a good business education, and having accumulated of his hard-earned savings one hundred dollars, he deter- mined to try his fortune in the West. Accordingly, removing to Wisconsin in 1856, he settled at Mil- waukee, his present home. During the twenty years of his residence here he has been engaged in busi- ness most of the time on his own account, and in his varied career has been uniformly successful. By fair dealing and careful management he has accu- mulated an ample competence, and lives in the en- joyment of universal esteem. Politically, he has never been a strong partisan, and although he has always supported the republi- can party he is so little hampered by party ties that he can support for office him whom he deems most worthy, regardless of political prejudice. From childhood his religious training has been under the influence of the Methodist church, and uniting with that body at the age of twenty, he has since continued a worthy, active and zealous mem- ber. He was married on the 28th of March, 1859, to Miss Anna Curry, an estimable lady, full of wo- THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. manly virtues, in whom he has found a fond, true and devoted wife. They have two sons and two daughters, all of whom are living at home. Mr. Pierce is preeminently a self-made, business man. Thrown upon the world at an early age, he devel- oped that spirit of self-reliance and those habits of industry, economy and integrity that have so sig- nally marked his career; and with these he has gradually worked his way to his present standing as a thorough business man and an honorable citizen. A. WARREN PHELPS, MILWAUKEE. \ WARREN PHELPS is a son of Daniel and ii« Levica Phelps. His ancestors on both sides were lineal descendants of the Pilgrims who settled in Massachusetts. His grandfather, at the time of the outbreak of the revolutionary war, was a farmer in New Hampshire. He went to Boston when hostil- ities were about to commence, to bring away a can- non. Concealing the cannon in his farmer’s wagon by covering it with straw, he brought it away in safety, and it was afterward used with good effect against the enemy. His mother was a descendant of Gen- eral Warren, who fell at Bunker Hill, and was also a cousin of Daniel Webster. Warren was born August n, 1829, at Fort Cov- ington, New York. He came with his parents to Wisconsin in 1838, and they settled in Johnstown, where they remained one year, and then removed to Milwaukee. Warren received his education chiefly in Milwaukee from private tutors, and finished at Dr. Buck’s private academy. He had always had a desire to be a banker, but this desire has not been gratified. After leaving school he worked for his father, who was a tanner, and he learned that business, and when he was twenty-one years old he hired out to the Graeffenberg Medicine Company, and traveled for them two years, selling their medicines. Not liking that business, he accepted a situation as book-keeper in the hardware store of S. Shepard, where he re- mained one year and a half. Afterward he kept books for J. C. Gridley for six months, and subse- quently he acted in the same capacity for Benjamin Bagnall until 1857, when he was admitted a partner in the lumber business, and continued in this busi- ness until 1870. He then engaged in the coal trade with S. L. Elmore, under the firm name of Elmore and Phelps. This partnership continued until 1875, when it was dissolved, and the business has since been carried on by Mr. Phelps alone. Mr. Phelps has been eminently successful ; has excellent business qualifications, and is guided by prudence and integrity. Although he does not mix much in politics, he has been elected to the city council of Milwaukee in 1871 and 1872; also member of the State legis- lature during the year 1874. As a business man, he bears a high reputation and is very popular. In 1855 Mr. Phelps was married to Miss Delight Bartlett, a lady of excellent womanly qualities, by whom he had four children, two of whom are still living, but bereft of their mother while yet young. In 1869 Mr. Phelps was married to Miss Carrie Sumner, of Southbridge, Massachusetts, by the Rev. Charles Sumner, who is a brother of Mrs. Phelps. FERDINAND KUEHN, MADISON. F ERDINAND KUEHN, State treasurer, was born at Augsburg, Bavaria, in the year 1821, and received in the public schools and colleges of that place a liberal education. In his fifteenth year he entered as an apprentice in a banking house at Augsburg, and received later a situation in a banking house in Switzerland, which he resigned of his own accord after four years, to follow the promptings of his love for liberty. In the year 1844 he emigrated to America, and came without delay to Wisconsin, where he settled in Washington county, a few miles north of Cedarburg, to enjoy the blessings of a country life. He led a laborious though a happy life. In the summer of 1846 Mr. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 53 Kuehn directed his steps to Milwaukee. There he occupied for a short time a position as clerk, but soon learned cigar making, to be independent. For four years he remained in this business, but often during this time served as traveling book-keeper, when he assisted friends in Kenosha and Racine in keeping books, and from whence, after a delay of some days, usually on Saturday evenings returned on foot to his home and family. Then no railroads carried passengers, and not always did a steamboat land at the right time. Mr. Kuehn was taken away from the cigar shop by his friend Geisberg, who was then city treasurer, and gave him a permanent situa- tion in his office, and he thereby entered a sphere more in accordance with his abilities. During the years 1849, 1850 and 1851, he was engaged in this office under the named treasurer; 1852 under Lucas Seaver; 1853 under Alex. H. Johnston; in 1854 he was elected treasurer with a great majority, and in 1855 without opposition. He was accustomed to transact all the business of the office in person> and without the help of deputies. In this situation he had a chance to gain a great number of friends and acquaintances. In 1856 he declined another nomination, but accepted the election as councilor of the sixth ward, and entered at the same time into business relations with the late Senator Charles Quentin. The following two years he served as councilor, and later as school commissioner of the sixth ward, and was elected comptroller in i860 with a great majority. After having spent nearly seventeen years in the service of the city, Mr. Kuehn withdrew himself from public life in 1866, and established a business of his own — later in com- pany with Mr. Ott — consisting chiefly in taking care of the property of non-residents and selling real estate. During the first six years of Mr. Kuehn's residence in America he struggled very hard to obtain a comfortable living for his family and himself. His labors were greatly alleviated by the cheerful aid rendered him by his wife. His success, however, is attributed to his unremitting attention to his business, to his punctuality in com- plying with his engagements, and to his conciliatory and obliging manners, in corroboration of which we quote the following from the valedictory and in- augural address of his Honor John I. Talmadge, mayor of the city of Milwaukee : Of the city comptroller, Mr. Kuehn, who now, after six years’ service in the public interest, retires from the position he has so ably filled, more than common mention should be made. The adjustment of our former financial embar- rassments and the present solid basis of our finances is due to him more than to any other. To the discharge of the important, intricate and perplexing duties of his office he has brought an indefatigable industry, a ripe business ex- perience and an incorruptible integrity. He carries with him in his retirement the universal confidence of the com- munity and the warm personal regard of every good citizen. In 1873 Mr. Kuehn was elected State treasurer on the Reform ticket, receiving a most flattering home indorsement, and entered upon the discharge of the duties of the office on the 5th of January, 1874. His family life has been extremely happy. He has been married thirty years, has five children, four sons and one daughter. Three of his sons are in independent positions — one in Milwaukee, one in Madison and one in Stockton, California. He and his wife enjoy fine health, and bid fair to live many years of usefulness to their country and of happiness to their friends. SAMUEL KLAUBER, MADISON. AMUEL KLAUBER, merchant and capital- I ist, was born December 10, 1823, at Mutters- dorf, Bohemia. His father’s name was Simon Klau- ber; his mother’s, Barbara Klauber. His father brought him up to business. He was a produce merchant in his native town. Samuel had a com- mon-school education. His taste was always to be a merchant. He has always been a very industrious man. After leaving school he went to buying goods for his father. This he followed until he left for Amer- ica, on the 2 2d of August, 1847, and landed at New S York on the 28th of October. He remained in New York one year. He peddled dry goods with a pack to make a living. He came to Wisconsin in 1848, and settled at Lake Mills. There he kept a grocery store, with a man by the name of Brill. He re- mained there until the spring of 1851. He left there with the intention of going to California, but fell in with his former partner, Mr. Michelbacher, who wished him to take a stock of goods to Madi- son, Wisconsin, which he did, and has lived there ever since. He commenced business with a capital 54 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. ot' three hundred dollars, which he made at Lake Mills, occupying a small frame store, sixteen by forty feet, employing two clerks. He sold the first year twenty-three thousand dollars’ worth of goods. His business increased all the time from year to year. The number of hands employed in 1874 were fifty. The amount of capital now employed in this house is seventy thousand dollars. One store is thirty-three by one hundred and twenty feet, and four stories high ; the other is twenty-two by one hundred and thirty-two feet. The amount of sales in 1874 was two hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. In 1872 he formed a partnership in Milwaukee, under the firm name of Levi Klauber, Adler and Co., as dealers in groceries, dry goods, clothing and carpets. He has always been successful in business, and attributes his success to close atten- tion to business and fair dealing. In religion he is a Hebrew of the most liberal kind. He was a whig until the formation of the republican party, and has been a republican ever since. He is one of the directors of the Park Hotel. He has traveled a great deal in Europe. He married, 10th of Sep- tember, 1854, Miss Caroline Springer. They have four children, all living at home. The eldest, a son, Moses Klauber, is acting as cashier for his father. Mr. Klauber is a patriotic citizen — takes a lively interest in all enterprises calculated to promote the general welfare, is a man of strict integrity, of thor- ough business habits, of liberal views and sentiments upon all subjects, and in his social relations a most genial gentleman. LEWIS SILBER, MIL WA UK EE. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Ivalish, Poland, was born on the 28th of March, 1843. and is the son of Joachim and Rebecca Silber. While a mere boy, Lewis left home to avoid being drafted into the Russian army, and emigrated to the United States, landing in the city of New York on the 15th of September, 1859. Having no trade nor profession by which to earn a livelihood he com- menced his business career by purchasing a few Yankee notions and selling them in New York. Here he passed six months in working energetically by day and attending an evening school by night, in order to acquire a knowledge of the English lan- guage. In April, i860, he found employment in Orange county, New York, which he pursued for four years, during which time he succeeded by strict economy in saving from his earnings the sum of four hundred dollars. With this small capital he returned to New York city and joined his oldest brother, Morris Silber, with whom he formed a copartnership, and entered into the dry-goods busi- ness in Paterson, New Jersey, under the firm name of M. Silber and Pro. After continuing in business at this place for the period of one year, and thinking the chances for a young man starting in life were more favorable in the great West, he, in company with his brother Morris, moved to Milwaukee, Wis- consin, where, in June, 1865, he opened a dry-goods store on West Water street, opposite the old La- Crosse depot. He subsequently established a branch store in New London, Wisconsin, but as this enterprise was not as successful as he had anticipated, he discontinued it and moved to Wau- pun, Wisconsin, where, with a general stock, he commenced a business which was from the start successful. His affability, courtesy, and constant readiness to meet the wants of customers gained for him many friends and the patronage of a large extent of surrounding country; and by able man- agement his trade increased continually, until he became the leading merchant of the town. Finally, after nine years of business success, he removed to Milwaukee and entered into partnership with A. W. Rich, the leading fancy-goods dealer in the West, and succeeded in establishing a first-class wholesale store in connection with their large retail establish- ment. Mr. Silber is a worthy member of the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows, having united with the order at New London, Wisconsin. He subsequently be- came a member by card of Telulah Lodge No. 33, of Waupun; also of Waupun Encampment No. 9. Upon joining the order he at once became an active member, and took a deep interest in its wel- fare, and his ability and zeal obtained their reward in his election to the several leading positions of grand junior warden, grand high priest, and grand patriarch of the Grand Encampment of the State. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 55 While holding this latter position he instituted the i following nine new Encampments : Silber Encamp- ment at Hudson, which was named after him; one at Kilbourn City, Plattsville, Waukesha, Hazel Green, Sheboygan Falls, LaCrosse, Watertown, and Plymouth. In these positions he has performed his duties with eminent success; and, in 1872, as a final honor, he was elected to the office of grand repre- sentative to the Grand Lodge of the United States. Mr. Silber was married on the 3d of January, 1872, to Miss Carrie Hyman, and their union has been blessed by a son, who was born on the 31st of January, 1873, and also with a daughter, who was born on the 31st of April, 1875. In all his business and social relations Mr. Silber has borne a high reputation for an agreeable man- ner, and for strict integrity and ability — true char- acteristics of the gentleman and business man. JOHN MITCHELL, MIX, JANES VILLE. T HE life of an ordinary settler on the rough, uncultivated prairie in the early days was con- fessedly a hard one; and when to this the inevitable deprivations and discomforts of a practicing physi- cian’s career are added, the climax of unattractive- ness would seem to have been realized. The part taken by the pioneer physicians of the West in its early settlement, has been a highly important one ; and many of these scattered members of a noble profession have added no small honor to its already brilliant record. Of this class is Dr. John Mitchell, of Janesville, Wisconsin, the subject of this memoir. His ancestors were members of the Society of Friends — the followers of Penn. He was born on Christmas day, 1803, on the Neshaminy, near Attle- borough, Bucks county, Pennsylvania. Here his grandfather, Richard Mitchell, at an early day, had purchased a farm bordering on that stream, and upon which he built flouring and other mills. After many years he conveyed this property to the Doctor’s father, whose name also was Richard, and retired from active life to Attleborough, where he eventually died at an advanced age. The Doctor’s mother was Elizabeth Brown, cousin of General Brown, the commander-in-chief of the army in the war of 1812. Their fathers were broth- ers, and the founders of Brownsville, Jefferson coun- ty, New York. Having taken possession of this property the Doctor’s father was for a time associated in the milling business with a brother of the General — Judge Brown, who previously had married one of his sisters. Subsequently his father purchased milling and farming property at Yardleyville, a few miles above Trenton, New Jersey, on the Pennsylvania side of the 1 )elaware, and to that place he removed with his family in 1812. Here the lad obtained his chief education, with a finishing course at Newtown Acad- emy. In 1819 he commenced the study of medicine under his uncle, Dr. John S. Mitchell, of Humes- ville, with whom he remained about two years. In 1821 his father removed with his family to Rochester, New York, and the son, for an indefinite time, was compelled to give up the study of medi- cine. Here he became a clerk in the dry-goods store of Everingham and Brothers. In the course of some three years the proprietors of the house as- sisted him to establish himself in business at Scotts- ville in the same county. Here he carried on successfully a general country trade. In 1834 he removed to Buffalo, New York, where he commenced a dry-goods and clothing business on an extended scale, having a separate establish- ment of each at the same time in the city. In this business he continued till the general crash of 1837, which terminated his mercantile career. In 1838 he entered, as a student, the office of 'Trowbridge and Winne, eminent physicians of that city; and with energy and perseverance that knew no discouragement, resumed the study of medicine. He continued his studies without interruption, at- tending at the same time the usual courses of lec- tures, till the winter of 1841-2, when he took his degree of M.D. at Geneva College, New York. After graduating he returned to Buffalo and im- mediately entered upon practice. Although meeting with gratifying success, he decided to emigrate to the then far West. In 1844 he removed with his family to Janesville, Wisconsin, then a village of only about three hundred inhabitants. Here he established himself perma- THE EXITED STATES KIOGRAPH1CAL DICTIONARY. 56 nently in his profession; and besides attending to its duties also engaged in farming and dealing in lands. A considerable portion of the city is now situated upon what was originally his farm. In 1S5 1 he established in the interests of his party a weekly newspaper, “The Democratic Standard,” of which for some time he was editor and pro- prietor. The paper was eminently successful, and after the presidential election of 1852. a favorable op- portunity offering, he disposed of the establishment. In 1855 he was elected president of the State Medical Society. Other interests accumulating and claiming his attention he, about this time, retired from active practice ; but still for many years en- gaged in medical consultation. In 1864, and again in 1865, the last two years of the rebellion, he was elected mayor of the city, the second term without a competitor. In 1874, at its annual meeting, he was elected honorary member of the State Medical Society. Dr. Mitchell has for many years been in the habit of writing for the] press, and not a few of his magazine and other articles, together with several poems, are of such merit as to deserve more perma- nent record. Dr. Mitchell has been thrice married ; his wives were sisters, and were the daughters of the Hon. Isaac Lacey, deceased, of Monroe county, New York, who for many years was a distinguished member both of the assembly and senate of that State : Elizabeth and Juliet, the first two, lived but a few years after marriage. He has also lost one child, a son, who died in infancy. Cyrena C., his present wife, with one child of each, two sons and one daughter, and an orphan, a niece of Mrs. Mitchell, constitute his family. HON. BYRON H. KILBOURN, MIL WA UK EE. ON. BYRON H. KILBOURN was born in Granby, Connecticut, September 8, 1801. In the fall of 1803, at the age of two years, he was transplanted from his native State to take his chance in the then almost unbroken wilderness of Ohio. His father, Colonel James Kilbourn, during the year last named, removed, with his own and forty other families, on to a large and fertile tract of land which had been purchased by him, as the general agent of the Sciota Company, during the preceding season. His mother was a daughter of the celebrated John Fitch, Esq., the inventor of the steamboat. The site of their settlement is now known as the village of Worthington, in Franklin county, eight miles from the city of Columbus, and near the center of the State. The scene rapidly changed. The tall forest trees that sheltered the immigrants on their first arrival soon gave place to golden harvests and the pleasant homes of civilization and refine- ment. The central village grew and flourished, and the surrounding farms were rapidly improved, so that in a comparatively short time this settlement became one of the most delightful and attractive places in the State, and was long celebrated, not only for the high moral tone of its society, but was also the seat of learning, and drew to it the youth of the better class of people from all parts of the State. It held this supremacy during the childhood, youth and early manhood of Mr. Kilbourn. Surrounded by such associations and influences, and his father being in easy circumstances, he acquired at an early age as good an education as could at that time be obtained without the advantage of a regular college course of studies. He showed an early aptitude for mathematics, and pursued his studies in that department with much avidity, especially in their practical application to navigation, surveying and engineering. At the age of thirteen he left school for a clerk- ship in his father’s store, and commenced the life of a trader in dry goods and groceries, which he con- tinued for three years, devoting his leisure time (of which he found an abundance), and particularly his evenings, to the study of mathematics and the read- ing of history and law, and also gave considerable attention to music, for which he had a natural fond- ness. The law, however, was peculiarly his favor- ite study, for the practice of which he was well adapted ; but a strong prejudice in the mind of his father against the profession prevented his adopting it as the business of life, and directed his mind and energies into other channels. As he never had any relish for merchandising, and could not bear the confinement necessary to that occupation, at the age THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. of sixteen, with his father’s approbation, he aban- doned it for more congenial pursuits. Having a strong passion for the wild woods, he engaged in surveying, a business at that time deemed quite abstruse; and, as surveyors were scarce, a large de- mand existed, yielding ample employment and good compensation, affording Mr. Kilbourn much time for the prosecution of his favorite studies. During this period his father was a representative in congress, and an ardent supporter of the admin- istration of President Madison ; and during the war of 1812 he became largely engaged in the manufac- ture of woolens. His works, for some years, went on quite prosperously; but by reason of a subse- quent change in the policy of the government the country became flooded with foreign goods, and the establishment of Colonel Kilbourn, in common with others throughout the country, went down, bankrupt- ing him in their failure. Mr. Kilbourn was about seventeen years old when he was thus thrown upon his own resources. But the experience which he had already acquired as a surveyor now furnished him with a convenient resource to commence life upon on his own account. In the year 1823, when the surveys were com- menced by the State of Ohio for the stupendous system of internal improvements which was subse- quently carried out, Mr. Kilbourn entered the ser- vice of the State as an engineer, and continued to occupy a prominent position and act an important part in these measures, until the completion of the Ohio canal from Lake Erie to the Ohio river, and of the Miami canal from Dayton to Cincinnati, in 1832. During the first three years of this period his time was principally spent in exploring the State and locating various lines; and the remaining portion of the time he filled the station of resident engineer in the construction and superintendence of the canal. In the latter part of the year 1832 he retired somewhat from active service, owing to a severe and long continued attack of rheumatism, brought on by frequent exposure, and on being partially restored to health, in the spring of 1833 he undertook the superintendence of the construction of the Milan ship canal, extending from Lake Erie, at the mouth of Huron river, to Milan, an important business point on that river about ten miles in the interior. Here, in an easy employment requiring only a por- tion of his time, during the year 1833, he recovered sufficiently from his rheumatic attack to indulge in his natural desire for some more active enterprise, 57 and he determined on looking into that far-off coun- try to the west of Lake Michigan, which then seemed to be beyond the bounds that civilization would reach during that age. To that distant region he took his course, and landed at Green Bay on the 8th of May, 1834, hav- ing placed himself in the unpretending position of surveyor of public lands, through a contract for that purpose obtained from his warm personal friend, Micajah ' 1 '. Williams, of Cincinnati, then surveyor- general. His main object, however, was to explore the country, and find, if possible, the natural com- mercial point for all that vast extent of country stretching from the lake westward to the Missis- sippi. That whole country, now so well known, was then almost unknown to the world, except Green Bay at the northern and Chicago at the southern extreme of the lake. That part of the lake coast lying within the present State of Wisconsin, and indeed the whole State, then constituted part of the Territory of Mich- igan, and was a vast wilderness, along wdiose borders a steamboat was rarely seen, although at long inter- vals such a phenomenon w r as even then sometimes witnessed by the native sons of the forest. A portion of the spring and summer months Mr. Kilbourn spent in the region adjacent to Green Bay and in the Manitowoc and Sheboygan country, in making government surveys, and the remainder of the season to November in exploring the coast, in which he visited all the natural business localities between Manitowoc and Chicago, as well as the in- terior, and finally settled his opinion in favor of the Milwaukee river as the locality on which the largest amount of business could be concentrated, and con- sequently as the most favorable site to become the commercial metropolis of the State thereafter to be formed. The short time which has since elapsed has fully proved the sagacity of that conclusion. Up to 1834 it was a rare occurrence for a white man to be seen at the Milwaukee river. None but those connected with the army, or fur trade, or an adventurous traveler, ever ventured into this un- known region. But since that time, in the short space of thirty-nine years, a city has sprung into existence, numbering one hundred thousand inhab- itants — the commercial emporium of a State which has been peopled and organized within the same period, containing a population of over one million souls. On Mr. Kilbourn ’s early visits to Wisconsin, in THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. y 8 the years 1S34. 1835, 1836, and including the greater part of 1837. he traveled the country on horseback, carrying his camp, blankets and provisions, and in the winter season his horse-feed, along with him. and wherever he was when night came, there was his home. Sometimes he was entertained in the wigwams of the Indians, but generally the solitary occupant of his own camp, except, as was frequently the case, he had a traveling companion. There were then no roads or highway, but only the devious Indian trail, and frequently this was neglected, and the journey pursued without any guide but the sun or pocket compass. In 1834 and the beginning of 1835 there was no white man’s habitation between Chicago and Green Bay, except that of Mr. Solomon Juneau, on the Milwaukee river, who had been set- tled there many years in the fur trade with the Indi- ans, under John J. Astor’s Company. Mr. Juneau was one of nature’s noblemen, and was the very soul and embodiment of hospitality and good cheer. His house was a home to every straggler in that wild region, and among his pleasantest recollections Mr. Kilbourn often adverts to the cheerful fireside scenes in that wildwood home, after days of travel, toil and privation. Having decided to locate himself at Milwaukee, he made his selections of land, embracing all that part of the city lying on the west side of the Mil- waukee river above the confluence of the Menomo- nee, and became, by subsequent purchase in 1835, the original proprietor of all that part of the city, as Mr. J uneau was, by early settlement and preemp- tion, of the other side of the river, extending to the lake shore. The following extract from the first directory of the city, published in 1848, is interesting in this connection : Milwaukee cannot lay claim to any great antiquity. It is, on the contrary, of very recent origin. The city as such is but tv:o years old. The settlement only commenced here in 1834. ... In May, 1834, Byron Kilbourn, Esq., came to Wisconsin as a government surveyor, and during that year visited Milwaukee, enjoying the hospitality of Mr. Juneau, then the only white man residing between Chicago and Green Bay. Me made a location on the west side of the river, with a view to purchase when the land should come into market. Mr. George II. Walker also visited Milwau- kee in the early part of 1834, opening a trading establishment here, and making a claim upon the tract since known as “Walker’s Point.” At the land sale at Green Bav in July and August, 1835, Mr. Juneau purchased the N.E. of sec. 29, in Town. 7, and Range 22, on which he resided, and Mr. Kilbourn purchased the S.E. J 4 °f die same section. These two tracts, extending along the Milwaukee river, a mile in width, constitute the nucleus of the present city of Milwaukee. The proprietorship was subsequently modified by an arrangement between the two purchasers, in accord- ance with which Mr. Kilbourn conveyed to Mr. Juneau that part of the S.E. of sec. 29 lying east of the river, and Mr. Juneau conveyed to Mr. Kilbourn that part of the N.E. of the same section lying west of the river. Mr. Juneau subsequently added to the original tract by purchase, extending eastwardly and southerly toward the lake, and Mr. Kilbourn, by purchase, extending westwardly and northerly toward the interior ; the entire purchase embrac- ing in the aggregate about six hundred acres, three hundred of which were owned by Mr. Kilbourn, and constituted his plat of Milwaukee on the west side of the river. A town was organized on the west side of Mil- waukee river in 1837. The first officers elected were, Byron Kilbourn, president; James H. Rogers, John. H. Tweedy, William R. Longstreet and Dan- iel H. Richards, trustees. In his first explorations Mr. Kilbourn had an eye to the ways and means of intercourse which were, by the topography of the country, presented for the construction of public works to facilitate trade with the interior, and formed the project of a canal com- munication between the lake at Milwaukee and Rock river, and its extension down that stream by slack water, and up the Catfish to the four lakes, and by canal to the Wisconsin river, thereby opening a wa- ter communication with the Mississippi. During the summer and fall of 1837 he brought this project before the public by a series of articles published in the “Milwaukee Advertiser,” the first newspaper established at Milwaukee. These arti- cles had a wide circulation, and doubtless did their full share in spreading a knowledge of the superior advantages offered by that region to men of business, and for the investment of capital ; and no doubt aided much in producing the vast tide of immigration which for years flowed in an unbroken stream in that direction. In pursuance of the plan thus laid before the public, he drew up and circulated peti- tions, brought the subject before the legislature, and obtained the passage of an act incorporating a com- j pany for the purpose of constructing a canal to Rock river, called the Milwaukee and Rock River Canal Company. That act was passed early in Jan- uary, 1838, and in February the company was duly formed. Mr. Kilbourn was elected president, and dispatched to Washington for the purpose of obtain- ing a grant of land to aid in the construction of the canal. He succeeded in obtaining a very liberal grant, being one half of all the sections along the route of the canal, ten miles wide from one extreme to the other. This grant, had it been faithfully ap- plied to the object, would have been sufficient to have secured the completion of that important work in a few years. If the administration of that land the United states riogrAphicAl dictionary. 59 grant, its sale and application to the object designed, had devolved solely upon Mr. Kilbourn, with his experience in works of that nature, there cannot be a doubt that the canal would have been completed by the close of the year 1843, and that the whole country and the city of Milwaukee would have been vastly benefited. For the purpose of being very sure that the lands would be faithfully applied to the objects of the grant, the act of Congress placed them under the control and at the disposal of the legislature of the Territory of Wisconsin, prescrib- ing that they should be sold under certain regula- tions, and the proceeds applied to the construction of the canal, and for “ no other purpose whatever This act was passed in June, 1838, and the legisla- ture, in pursuance of the trust thus reposed in it, undertook the performance of its duties by passing an act in the early part of 1839, under which the work was successfully begun. But in an evil hour local hostilities arose, and local interests and feel- ings began to exert their baleful influence on the legislature, and finally the subject became mixed up in the political cauldron, and for several sessions formed the battle-ground of contending politicians. In the end the further progress of the work was arrested by the direct action of the legislature, which, in disregard of the injunctions of the act of congress, appropriated the proceeds of the sales of those lands to the payment of the debts of the Ter- ritory, and to the defraying the expense of holding two conventions for the formation of a State govern- ment. The canal grant, therefore, obtained solely through the personal exertions of Mr. Kilbourn, though it failed to produce the results aimed at by him, yielded a fund which furnished the legislature the means of paying over a hundred thousand dol- lars of public indebtedness and expenditures. The canal was prostrated by a repeal, at the ses- sion of 1841-42, of the laws previously passed for its aid, and by the subsequent appropriation of the funds derived from the sale of the lands for other purposes. When it seemed evident that the canal was doomed, Mr. Kilbourn urged upon the legislature to make use of the land granted for that purpose, by authorizing its application to the construction of a railroad. But it was decided that such a project was premature, and, though supported by some of the most enlightened minds, was overruled by the majority. In 1840 Mr. Kilbourn was a candidate for delegate to congress, but his opponent, Governor Doty, was elected by a small majority. The Milwaukee “Cou- rier,” of May 7, 1845, contained an able article re- viewing the claims of the gentlemen who had been proposed as candidates for congress, from which the following extract is taken. After speaking of Messrs. Upham and Darling, the writer continues: Byron Kilbourn is unquestionably a man of superior abilities, the characteristics of his mind being liveliness of perception, acuteness ot understanding, searching penetra- tion, indefatigable perseverance, and withal common sense. Never satisfied with any subject that occupies his attention till it is reduced to a demonstration, he is calculated to sift every word, thought, motive and action to the bottom”. These powers were propagated and extensively exercised by' the practice of his profession of engineering; and it may be thought that his habits of seVere thinking, and of refraining from trivial conversation, have rendered him less popular with the mass than others. He has even been accused of being aristocratic in his feelings; but we venture to affirm that if ever democracy found a genial habitation, it has found it in the breast of Byron Kilbourn. He would as willingly shake the hand of the farmer or mechanic, and grasp it as tightly too, as that of the first man in the nation. His whole soul is absorbed in the welfare of Wisconsin, and the breath of slander would fail to impeach his integrity; falsehood alone could successfully asperse his character. Suffice it to say, the distinction lies here — Upham or Dar- ling would be the most effective candidate before the peo- ple; Kilbourn would be the most efficient representative on the floor of congress. In 1845 Mr. Kilbourn was elected to represent the county of Milwaukee in the territorial legis- lature. In 1846 the city of Milwaukee was char- tered, and he was chosen a member of the first board of aldermen. On the 19th of August of the same year the county convention met to nominate candidates for various offices. On the first ballot for a candidate to represent the county in the terri- torial senate, Mr. Kilbourn received a majority of the votes of the convention ; but as it was stated and understood that his business arrangements for the season would not permit him to accept the sta- tion, the Hon. H. N. Wells was nominated on the next ballot. In 1847 Mr. Kilbourn was reelected to the office of alderman, and was also chosen a delegate to the convention which met at Madison on the 15 th of December of that year, and formed the present State constitution. In that body he was chairman of the committee on the “general provisions ” of the constitution, and as such drew up and reported the preamble and declaration of rights, the article on boundaries, the article on banks and banking, and the article on amendments. In 1848 he was elected mayor of the city of Mil- waukee, then containing about fifteen thousand in- habitants. He was elected a delegate to, and vice- president of, the free democratic national convention, which met at Buffalo in 1848, and nominated Martin 6o THE V X/ I'M) STATES MOTT UW//CA L DICTIONARY. Van Buren for president, and Charles Francis Adams for vice-president of the United States. When the public mind began to comprehend the importance of railroad communication with the in- terior. Mr. Kilbourn was by common consent desig- nated as the most suitable person to lead the first enterprise of that description, and was accordingly elected president of the Milwaukee & Mississippi railroad company by a unanimous vote of the board of directors. This company was organized in the early part of 1849, and he continued to occupy the position of president of the company until the early part of 1852. He also engaged with equal zeal in prosecuting another work of equal merit, the La Crosse & Milwaukee railroad ; and it is mainly attributable to his address and indefatigable enter- prise that the numerous difficulties with which these companies had to contend were overcome, and the roads so successfully carried forward. Mr. Kilbourn was reelected mayor of the city of Milwaukee in 1854, by more than a thousand ma- jority. The “ Wisconsin” remarked in reference to his opponent, Colonel Walker : “ He had been so repeatedly elected mayor, that he was thought to be invincible, but he could not stand before the popular sentiment in favor of Mr. Kilbourn.” In February, 1855, Mr. Kilbourn was the regular democratic candidate before the legislature of Wis- consin for the office of United States senator. After several unsuccessful ballotings, his competitor, the Hon. Chas. Durkee, was chosen by one majority. Mr. Kilbourn was also president of the board of education. It has been said that no man in Wis- consin has made so many railroad speeches, or has so often presided over State and district conventions and other public meetings as Byron Kilbourn. In the fall of 1868 Mr. Kilbourn went to Jack- sonville, Florida, for the benefit of his health, where he died suddenly of apoplexy, on the 16th of De- cember, 1870, in the seventieth year of his age. EDWARD MIL WA E DWARD H. BALL, a native of Ogden, Monroe county, New York, was born on the 29th of May, 1825, and is the son of Joseph and Esther Ball, who settled upon their present homestead in 1824, having removed thither from Lee, Berkshire county, Massachusetts. The father is now eighty- eight years of age, and the mother eighty-six, and they have been married sixty-three years. Edward received a good common school educa- tion, and besides spent one year in a select school. At the age of fifteen years, he accepted a clerkship in the store of Messrs. Church and Ball, of Spencer- port, one of the largest mercantile houses in western New York, and so far enjoyed the confidence of his employers that he remained with them seven years. In 1846 he removed to Wisconsin, and settled at East Troy, Walworth county, and there conducted a large and successful general mercantile trade, doing the most of his business on the credit system of those days. Removing to Milwaukee in 1862, he became a member of the firm of Dutcher, Ball and Goodrich, wholesale grocers. Mr. Dutcher afterward retired, and the firm name changed to Ball and Goodrich. The business has steadily increased, and is now one of the largest in the State, extending H. BALL, UKEE. throughout the Northwest and western Michigan, while the house is known for its good financial stand- ing. During his business career of thirty years, many of which have been years of depression and financial crisis, Mr. Ball has maintained a high standing, and never had a note protested or once failed to discharge an obligation. Blessed with a vigorous constitution, he has been enabled to devote his entire attention to his business, and each year has had an income larger than his disbursements, and has always avoided running in debt. I-n his habits, he is strictly temperate, has never tasted of any alcoholic liquors, or used tobacco in any form. In politics, he was formerly a whig, but has been identified with the republican party since its organization. He was a firm supporter of Presi- dent Lincoln’s administration, and during the war contributed liberally toward furthering the interests of the Union cause. When eleven years of age he united with the Pres- byterian church, and has continued a member of this and the Congregational church ever since, con- tributing liberally to the support of all religious enterprises. For many years he has been identified with Sabbath school work, and of late years has THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ARE. conducted a young men’s Bible-class, and has been the means of great good to those who have been brought under the influence of his teachings. He is now a prominent member and ruling elder of the Immanuel Presbyterian Church of Milwaukee, and in the midst of his active business pursuits, never 61 allows himself to become so absorbed as to forget the claims of his fellow-men or the higher claims of his God. Mr. Ball was married, August 26, 1847, to Sarah E. Cobb, daughter of Dr. John Cobb, of Ogden, New York; they have one son and four daughters. MORITZ VON BAUM BACH, MIL WA UK EE. P ROMINENT among the leading men in the city of Milwaukee is the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this short biographical history. Moritz von Baumbach, a descendant of an an- cient and noble German family, was born on the 13th of January, 1834, at the city of Cassell, in Western Germany, which was the capital of the Electorate of Hesse Cassel, now of the province of Hesse Vassan, Prussia, and of the province of Lower Hesse. His father. Baron Ludwig von Baumbach, held a commission as military officer in the German army, and participated in the battles of his native country against Napoleon the First, from the year 1813 until the year 1816. After that date he, pos- sessing talents that eminently fitted him for the position, became a very prominent and influential politician, and was a member of the first German parliament, at Frankfort. In his early boyhood, Moritz von Baumbach re- ceived the foundation of his education from private tuition, but as he advanced in age he entered col- lege at Rinteln, and also at Cassel. In 1849 he immigrated, with his parents, to the United States of America, and resided with them for several years in Elyria, Ohio, and afterward in the city of New York. He came to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the year 1856, being then twenty-two years old; and his talents and fitness for office being at once recog- nized, he was appointed to the office of deputy city treasurer the year following his arrival, and immedi- ately afterward was elected to the honorable post of city treasurer of Milwaukee. In i860 he engaged in business by establishing a banking-house, under his own name, which he car- ried on successfully for ten years, and then consoli- dated with the Home Savings Bank, and has carried the same on up to the present time as the German Exchange Bank, of which he was president. The official appointments held by this gentleman have been numerous, as he has been consul for Austria and Hungary, and also for Saxony, and many other German governments. In 1874 he was selected to fill the office of vice-consul for the German Empire. In religion Moritz von Baumbach is a believer in the Protestant faith, having been brought up in the Reformed Presbyterian Church. Politically, he has always been a partisan of the democratic party, and during the American war he was a war-democrat. He was united in marriage, in the year 1863, to Anna Lafaulnier. JOHN PEAT DICKSON. JANES I ' ILLE . F OREMOST among the pioneer settlers of Janesville, Wisconsin, stands the name of John Peat Dickson. He is a native of Danville, Vermont, where he was born on the 18th of April, 1808, and is the son of John and Margaret (McCalum) Dick- son. His father was a silk manufacturer in Paisley, 9 Scotland, and immigrated to America toward the end of the last century. On arriving he located himself in Hartford, Connecticut, and thence re- moved to Danville, where he finally settled. He was a strictly religious man, firmly attached to the old Presbyterian communion, and careful of the 62 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. moral training of his children. On coming to America he gradually abandoned the manufacturing interest and devoted his time to farming, which occupation he followed until his death. During his youth John P. Dickson passed his time in the summer months on the farm, and in the winter attending the district school as opportunity offered. From this it will be inferred that his edu- cational advantages were not very great, but the lad lost no opportunity to profit by them. In 1836 he decided to settle in the West, and in May of that year left V ermont for Milwaukee, where he arrived a month later. After casting about for some time in search of a suitable location, he sele&ted the site of Janesville for his permanent residence, and in August, 1838, entered about two hundred acres of land. Part of this he laid out as a farm, and disposed of the remainder in various ways, selling portions of it, and again adding other land as occasion served. Mr. Dickson also acted as land agent for eastern speculators, and gradually developed, in this manner, a business in real estate. Being one of the earliest settlers of the town, he became concerned in the conduct of its municipal affairs. In 1842 he was elected justice of the peace, and from that time held the office for seven years almost continuously. He has also filled the office of town clerk, and several other positions of like nature. In 1859 he was elected to the legislature, and served two terms. In political affairs he has always attached himself to the republican party, and taken a most active interest in its career and management. Mr. Dickson is one of the representative men of the Northwest, an early settler, and one who has identified himself closely with its progress. He has successfully borne all the hardships and privations incident to such a life, and they have developed in him, as a natural result, both physical vigor and the sturdy moral and mental health which are secured by the constant practice of industry and thrift. On the 2 1 st of November, 1832, Mr. Dickson was united in marriage to Lorinda, daughter of Mr. James Stevens, of Danville, a prominent farmer of that place. There have not been any children born to them of this union. HON. MORTIMER M. JACKSON, HALIFAX (NOVA SC OITA). M ORTIMER M. JACKSON, formerly one of the judges of the supreme court of Wiscon- sin., was born in Rensselaerville, Albany county, New York. His father, the late Jeremiah Jackson, was a man of intelligence, probity and influence. The son, who was quite young at the time of his father’s death, was afterward sent to a boarding school on Long Island, and thence to the Collegiate School, in the city of New York. After leaving that institution, he entered the office of the late David Graham, an eminent lawyer and advocate. In 1834 he was a delegate from the city of New York to the Whig Young Men’s State Convention, which nominated William H. Seward for governor; and was the author of the address adopted by the convention to the people of the State. In 1838 he married Miss Catherine Garr, daughter of the late Andrew Garr, formerly a distinguished lawyer of New York. At that time the great North- west was attracting an enterprising population from the old States. Wisconsin was a new territory, ris- ing rapidly in importance, and Mr. Jackson deter- mined to make it his future home. Having made his residence at Mineral Point, he engaged in the practice of his profession, and soon became promi- nent at the bar. He wrote a series of articles over the signature of “ Wisconsin,” calling the attention of the intending emigrants to the West to the natural advantages of AVisconsin, predicting its rapid growth and future greatness. He identified himself with the whig party, and became a leader and distinguished speaker. He was attorney-general of the Territory nearly five years; and upon the organization of the State government, in 1849, was elected a judge of the supreme court and judge of the fifth judicial circuit. As a presiding judge he was dignified and courteous, and faithful and impartial in the discharge of his duties. After retiring from the bench he continued to practice law until appointed by President Lincoln, in 1861, to the office which he now holds, of United States Consul at Halifax, Nova Scotia. Circum- stances connected with the late civil war gave to ^vnbcItib'Ujhiru) £ Engrc&ini) CoTTw '- 1 "' 1 c THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. that consulate an importance second to none under the government, and requiring abilities of a high order; not only tact and vigilance, but firmness, in- tegrity and loyalty. These qualities were in an eminent degree combined in Judge Jackson. At the request of the State department in October, 1870, Judge Jackson submitted a report upon the fisheries and fishery laws of Canada, in which the principal questions involved in the controversy be- tween Great Britain and the United States on the subject were fully examined and discussed. This report was transmitted to congress with the docu- ments accompanying the President’s annual message. Of the many American consuls who have faith- fully and ably served their country abroad, no name in our consular annals exhibits a more honorable record than that of Mortimer M. Jackson. 6 3 On the 16th of August, 1875, at Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia, the wife of Judge Jackson passed from earth to heaven. Thirty-seven years before, with the fidelity of a true woman and the devotion of a loving wife, she turned from the blandishments and the luxuries of a gay city to share the trials, the privations and the hardships of her husband in his western home. Her sympathies nerved his arm in his struggles for fame and fortune ; her smiles brightened his future prospects. Twenty- three years later, when called upon to represent his country abroad, she was still his wise counselor, his faithful friend, his devoted wife. Her intelligence, refinement and accomplishments, which had won so many hearts in her native land, were justly appreci- ated in her foreign home ; and when removed by death the shock was felt alike at home and abroad. HON. THOMAS R. HUDD, GREEN BAY. T HOMAS R. HUDD, a native of Buffalo, New York, was born on the 1st of October, 1835, and is the son of Richard Hudd and Mary nee Har- rison. His father, an ornamental painter and de- signer by occupation, was a man of decided char- acter, and took special care in the training of his only child, giving him all the advantages that his means could afford. Thomas removed from his native place and settled in Chicago, Illinois, with his widowed mother when he was seven years old, and there received his early education in the public and select schools; and also worked three years at the printer’s trade, to earn money with which to complete his education, being engaged on the “ Western Citizen,” a weekly paper, and also on the “ Evening Journal.” With the money thus earned, he attended the Lawrence University, at Appleton, Wisconsin, and after closing his studies there, be- gan the study of law, and in 1856 was admitted to the bar. At once entering upon the practice of his profession in Appleton, he continued it with good success during a period of twelve years, and at the expiration of that time, in 1868, established himself in Green Bay, and there opened that practice in which he is still engaged, and in which he has be- come widely known as an honorable, and a shrewd and successful attorney. At the present time, 1876, he is associated with Mr. Wigman, under the firm name of Hudd and Wigman. Aside from his regular duties he has served in many public capacities, and always with credit to himself and satisfaction to all interested. In 1856 he was elected district attorney for Otogamie county, and reelected in 1858. During the years 1862 and 1863 he represented the twenty- second district in the State senate, and in 1868 was elected a member of the general assembly from Otogamie county, and reelected to the same position in 1875 from Brown county. He was chosen city attorney of Green Bay in 1873, and in 1876 was again elected to the State senate from the second district. In all these varied positions he has shown himself worthy of the trusts that have been reposed in him, and by his able and efficient service has con- tributed largely to the welfare of his State, and gained the highest respect of all with whom he has had to do. His practice is general, he having been admitted to all the courts of Wisconsin and also to the supreme court of the United States. At the present time, he has the largest federal practice o any lawyer in his city. In his political sentiments, Mr. Hudd is identified with the democratic party. In his religious views, though not connected with any church organization, he inclines toward the Unitarian. Unsectarian in his opinions, he makes the rule of his actions that expressed in the words ; 64 THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. “ Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” He possesses most excellent personal and social qualities, and the best estimate of his character and worth may be formed from the high regard with which he is held bv those who know him best. Mr. Hudd was married on the 7th of June, 1857, to Miss Parthenia S. Peak, who died Septem- ber 24, 1870, leaving two sons and three daughters. He was married a second time on the 2d of Oc- tober, 1872, to Mary Kill, and by her has two daughters. CHARLES SPENCER BUNCOMBE, M.D., RACINE. C HARLES S. DUNCOMBE, a native of Mid- dleburgh, Schoharie county, New York, was born on the 18th of November, 1821, and is the son of Elijah E. Buncombe and Catharine Bouch Duncombe. His ancestors have been somewhat noted for their longevity. His great-grandfather, a revolutionary soldier, was killed at the battle of Bunker Hill. His grandfather removed to Canada in 1819, whither his father went three years later. He was a prominent man in his community, highly respected by all, and for more than forty years a practicing physician in Saint Thomas. Two of his uncles, Charles and David Duncombe, also phy- sicians, served in the provincial house of par- liament during a period of twelve years. Charles, therefore, being raised under such influences, natur- ally inclined to the medical profession. During his boyhood he attended the common schools of his adopted home in Canada, whither his parents had moved when he was one year old, and besides had the advantages offered by a seminary in London. At the age of seventeen he engaged in teaching, and two years later began the study of medicine, under the supervision of his father, and soon afterward pursued a course of study in the Medical College, at Geneva, New York, attending two courses of lectures, and graduating on the 23d of January, 1844. In the ensuing spring, drawn by the superior inducements which it offered to young men, he removed to the West, and settled in Wal- worth county, Wisconsin, and there established him- self in his profession. He remained there four years, meeting with good success and building up a fair practice, but at the end of that time returned to Saint Thomas, Ontario, and there resumed his prac- tice, following it for a period of twelve years, attend- ing during that time a course of lectures at the Toronto University and one at Geneva College. Returning to Wisconsin in the spring of i860, he settled at Racine, his present home, and opened an office in partnership with Dr. Rufus B. Clark, a homceopathist. During this year he attended a partial course of lectures at the Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago, and graduated with honor from the same. His practice has been con- stantly growing, and he is now widely known for the care and skill with which he treats his cases; he has made his profession financially successful. His political sentiments are republican, though in the midst of his professional duties he has found no time to devote to political affairs. In his religious communion Dr. Duncombe is identified with the Episcopal church. He was married on the 24th of January, 1844, the day after his first graduation, to Miss Susan A. C. Baker, and by her has one son and two daughters. GENERAL DAVID ATWOOD, MADISON. D AVID ATWOOD was born in Bedford, New Hampshire, December 15, 1815. He belongs to a vigorous and long-lived family. His father, at the age of ninety, was living at the old homestead. Like most New England boys, young Atwood worked on the farm during the summer, and attended the district school in the winter. The summers being short in that latitude, the work was continuous. There was but little time for relaxation — none for idleness, The winters were severely cold, and the THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 65 pathway to school was frequently obstructed by snow-drifts. This course of life, until he was six- teen years of age, developed and strengthened him, and firmly established those habits of industry and frugality which assured him subsequent success. In his sixteenth year, he accompanied an elder brother to Hamilton, Madison county, New York, where he commenced working at a printer’s case. His em- ployers were law-book publishers. He remained there five years, and became master of his craft be- fore visiting home. After this he traveled through Pennsylvania, the South and the West for nearly three years. Stopping but a short time in any one place, he had ample opportunity to see much of the country, and become familiar with its resources and the character of the people. Part of this time he was in the employ of the house where he learned his trade. He visited every place of note in Ken- tucky, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and every organized county in Indiana. Chicago he remembers as a village in a swamp, with a muddy and almost im- passable street, and a little wooden hotel not far from the present Tremont House. He was highly pleased with the West, and had a tempting offer to engage in business in Cincinnati, but declined and returned to Hamilton in 1839, where, with his brother, he undertook the publication of the “ Ham- ilton Palladium,” a weekly newspaper. He worked hard for five years, through the Harrison log-cabin campaign, and until the defeat of Clay, in 1844. He was a zealous supporter of the famous Ken- tuckian, and very earnest in advocating the princi- ples he espoused — a characteristic of New Hamp- shire whigs, who, being in a minority at home, had learned to make up in zeal what they lacked in numbers. Overworked and broken in health, in the political campaign that culminated in the defeat of Clay — a campaign so 'gallantly fought, and so fool- ishly lost — Colonel Atwood again set his face to the westward. The “ Palladium ” had paid expenses, and nothing more. Five years of his life had been given to the advocacy of the cause of his party, and to the duties of a citizen, in urging the interests of the country where he resided. It had been to him not only a pecuniary sacrifice, but had seriously im- paired his health. It had taken some of the best years of his life, and he doubtless felt that- leaving the East was like transplanting a half-grown tree, leaving its best roots in the earth. In the time that had elapsed since his first journey, the West had grown immensely, and though opportunities for es- tablishing himself in his business had increased, he found it necessary to engage in some occupation to recruit his health. The fertility and beauty of the western prairies, so unlike his rugged New England home, had attracted him on his first visit. Deter- mined to abandon the editorial life, he purchased a farm near Freeport, Illinois. At that time it took six weeks of slow and toilsome travel to get from Hamilton to his new home. He started in company with a friend. With a span of horses hitched to a sleigh, surmounted by a wagon, they left Hamilton in February, 1845. In Ohio they found bare ground, and abandoned the runners. They reached the farm in season to put in a crop of wheat, and were very hopeful, but the crop failed. They then bought sheep, but half the flock died the first winter. Mis- fortune followed misfortune, and they were sur- rounded by distress and discouragements on every side. Two years spent on this farm restored the colonel’s health, but exhausted his funds and fur- nished him with all the agricultural experience he deemed it advisable to indulge in. He sold out, and determined to again engage in editorial labors. No place seemed so attractive to him then as the thriving territory of Wisconsin. Population was in- creasing from the flood of immigration setting west- ward, and Wisconsin was soon to be admitted into the Union. In casting about for a good place to settle, he found no spot so inviting as Madison, the capital of the Territory, and on reaching it he im- mediately became connected with the “Madison Express.” The capital was then a small village, and there was but little business, except such as was derived directly or indirectly from the public print- ing. His duties were arduous and varied. He was, to use his own words in a history of the “ Dane County Press,” “editor, reporter, compositor, fore- man, and all hands.” He reported the proceedings of the last two sessions of the territorial legislature, convened at Madison, and the entire proceedings of the constitutional convention. Probably no one is more familiar with the action of that body than he. He was present not only at every ses- sion, but every moment that the convention was in session, and was thus able, without assistance, to write out as complete a report as could be made by one not a stenographer. He here established a reputation for accuracy and dispatch in furnishing matter for a paper. His capacity in this respect is remarkable. He seldom hesitates in writing, and hardly ever interlines. His ideas flow in full, even 66 THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. sentences, and they come with the same readiness when engaged in debate. He is interesting, instruc- tive. practical, but brief and pointed in his method, yet he elaborates readily without ceasing to interest. His ideas are held in solution, and are consequently available without a long solving process. His pen is always ready. His mind is clear, comprehensive, analytical, his observations keen, and his memory retentive. Confident that he had found in Madison and the thriving country tributary to it, a field where the labors of his life would be rewarded, he deter- mined to settle permanently. He assumed control of the " Madison Express,” which was issued tri- weeklv during the session of the constitutional con- vention. The State was admitted into the Union in May, 1848. At this time, three of the twelve or fifteen papers of the State were published in Madison. Two of the three were democratic, conducted by men of ability, aided by capital and patronage. Hard work, judicious judgment, frugality and the unfaltering courage of young Atwood, sustained the “Express” in the face of these difficulties. Of sixteen political papers published in Madison, some have changed hands twelve times, and fourteen have ceased to exist. In September, 1852, General Atwood commenced the publication of the “Daily State Journal,” and still continues it. About a year after the “ Journal ” was established, he associated with him the Hon. Horace Rublee, now minister-resident of the United States to Switzerland — a man of decided intellect- ual power and fine culture. The “Journal” took a leading position, became firmly established, and is increasing in usefulness. It is republican in politics, enterprising, and devoted to the best interests of the State. Its power has always been wielded for the public good. It is the life-work and monument of General Atwood. He was one of the leading spirits in the organization of the republican party in 1854, and was appointed in 1855 clerk of the first repub- lican assembly ever elected. In 1858 he was commissioned major-general of the fifth division of State militia. In i860 he was chosen a member of the legislature. He was ap- pointed United States assessor upon the creation of that office. He was mayor of Madison in 1868. In January, 1870, Hon. B. F. Hopkins, member of congress from the capital district, died, and Mr. Atwood was at once elected to fill the vacancy thus created without any opposing candidate. He took his seat on the 23d of February, 1870, and was placed on the committee on Pacific railroads, one of the most laborious committees in the house. Dur- ing that long session, he devoted himself assiduously to his duties on the floor, in the committee-room, and in the various departments of government, in behalf of those seeking assistance or information. Several important bills for the interest of the North- west were passed during that session, among which may be named, an act to render the land grant avail- able to the Northern Pacific Railway Company; an act providing for the assumption by the general gov- ernment of the improvement of the Fox and Wis- consin rivers, so as to complete a navigable water communication between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi river, and an act dividing Wisconsin into two judicial districts, providing for the appointment of a judge, and for holding terms of court in four places instead of two. He obtained appropriations for completing and furnishing the United States court house and post-office at Madison. Mr. Atwood labored diligently for the passage of those bills. He declined reelection. During his term in congress, an act was passed authorizing the appointment of a commission for making preparations for commemorating the cen- tennial anniversary of American independence, by holding an international exhibition in Philadelphia, in 1876, and he took an active part in urging the passage of this bill, and in favor of locating the ex- hibition at Philadelphia. He was appointed a com- missioner to represent Wisconsin in that commission, and in organizing on the 4th of March, 1873, he was made the first president of that body, and spoke the first official word in it. Since that time he has de- voted much time in promoting the interests of the centennial movement. He has been thirteen years treasurer of the State Agricultural Society, twenty-four years a director, and for five years last past the president of the Madison Mutual Insurance Company; ten years a trustee of the State Hospital for the Insane. In person, he is of medium size, has dark blue eyes, and hair nearly white. His features are regular, attractive and expressive. His private character is above reproach. He is even-tem- pered, hopeful and frank; hospitable, and temper- ate in all things. He has decided abilities, both as a speaker and writer, versatile, far-seeing and cautious. He has been a safe guide to the repub- lican party. He has been sometimes styled “ the THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 67 Ben. Franklin of the Western press,” and to those who know him best he possesses the same character- istics. The maiden name of Mrs. Atwood was Mary Sweeney. Her early years were passed in Canton, Ohio. In 1848, with her father, she removed to Wisconsin, and in 1849 was married to Mr. Atwood. This union was so much in harmony with nature, that her choicest blessings only could flow from it. He is the hero, to protect her from danger; she, the heroine, to encourage him in his struggles. He is the sturdy oak, to breast the storms of life ; she, the loving vine, to twine around its branches. The harmony of nature is preserved in the offspring of their union. There are two sons to sustain the father in the down-hill of life; two daughters to love and cherish the mother. One son is representing the honor of his country abroad, the other is labor- ing in his father’s vocation. One daughter has ripened into womanhood, and is the ornament of the household; the other has yet her sweetest charms unfolded. These parents may, like the mother of the Gracchi when called upon for her jewels, point to their children. A. J. WARD, M.D., MADISON. D R. A. I. WARD was born March 1, 1824, at New Milford, Susquehanna county, Pennsyl- vania, the son of William and Sally Ward. He re- ceived in early life an academic education, after which he commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Case, of Howard Flatts, Steuben county, New York, remaining with him one year; he then went to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and entered the uni- versity, in which he remained four years, where he graduated in the spring of 1846, at the age of twenty- one years. He commenced the practice of his pro- fession at Painted Post, in the State of New York. At the commencement of the war with Mexico he joined the army as a private soldier, and went to California, around Cape Horn. Shortly after his arrival there, he was promoted to the office of as- sistant surgeon, remaining such until the close o,f the war. He remained there one year after the war, when he returned to Pennsylvania. During the winter of 1849-50 he was in Washington city and in North Carolina. In thesucceedingsummer he came to Madison, Wisconsin, and commenced the practice of medicine. He remained at Madison until 1859, when he left for Saint Louis, Missouri, where he opened an office, continuing there one year, when he went to Pike’s Peak, prospecting for gold. He spent the winter of 1860-61 at Santa Fe, New Mexico. Hearing of the attack on Fort Sumter in the April following, he returned to Madison, Wisconsin, whence he was summoned to Washington to take charge of the 2d Wisconsin Regiment as surgeon. This regiment composed a part of what was termed the Iron Brigade, under the command of Colonel Lucius Fairchild, of Wisconsin. This brigade com- posed a part of the first army corps. Dr. Ward was connected with this corps during the three following years, occasionally acting as brigade surgeon, and as surgeon-in-chief of the division; he also was in charge of the wounded of the first army corps after the battles of Fredericksburg and Gettysburg. After the latter battle twenty-two hundred wounded soldiers were placed under his charge. He after- ward accompanied Wadsworth’s division on its march to Richmond. During the first day’s fight in the Wilderness, nine hundred wounded soldiers were dressed and sent to the rear from this division alone. From this time on there was continuous fighting until Richmond was reached. The term for which the 2d Wisconsin Regiment enlisted having expired, it was mustered out of the service and Dr. Ward was mustered into the 43d Wisconsin Regiment. The 43d Regiment of Wisconsin was ordered to Nashville, Tennessee, when Dr. Ward, by a general order from General Thomas, was made inspector of hospitals in and about Nashville, in which capacity he acted until the spring of 1865. After the fall of Richmond and General Lee’s surrender, Dr. Ward resigned and returned to Madison, Wisconsin, re- suming the practice of medicine. Shortly afterward he was breveted lieutenant-colonel on account of meritorious service during the war. Dr. Ward was married in 1846, at Howard, Steu- ben county, New York, to Miss Ellen McConnell. Two children have been the result of this union, one 68 THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. of w hom alone is living, the wife of Charles Atwood, the present vice-consul at Liverpool. She was two years at the Georgetown Convent, in the District of Columbia, and completed her education at Madison, Wisconsin, under the joint instruction of the uni- versity and her mother, who is so admirably quali- fied by nature and by intellectual culture to impress the mind of her daughter with the wise maxims of life, the loveliness of virtue, and the charms of culti- vated society. Dr. Ward’s advantages in acquiring a knowledge of the principles of his profession, together with his experience in the army, have acquired for him high distinction as a physician and an enviable repu- tation as a surgeon, the benefits of which he is now enjoying in an increasing and profitable practice. PROFESSOR JACKSON J. BUSHNELL, BELOIT. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Old Saybrook, Connecticut, was born on the 19th of February, 1S15, and received his name in honor of General Jackson, whose victory at New' Orleans, a month previous, secured to the country the great valley to which the manhood of this man was de- voted. His early life was passed in his native place, where he received his preparatory education and developed that devotedness to principle and that desire to benefit his fellow-men which so signally marked his subsequent career. He early became the subject of religious impressions, whose -influence never lost their hold upon him, but did not unite with the church until he reached his nineteenth year, at which time he was a clerk in the village of Deep River. His mind having turned toward the ministry, he entered Yale College to prepare for his life-work, and although he had had but one years’ preparation he maintained a high standard of schol- arship during his entire course, and besides, paid his expenses by his own earnings, a fact which must be mentioned to his honor, but it is only just to him to say that he would never advise a young man to imitate his course. If it made him economical it never made him close; and if he was independent in his self-reliance, no man was ever more helpful to others; and although business occupied both his hands. and half his mind it never possessed a corner of his soul. After graduating from college, in 1841, he spent a few months in the Theological Seminary at Andover, Massachusetts, and later was for several years connected with the Western Reserve College as instructor and financial agent. In April, 1848, he removed to Beloit, Wisconsin, and from that time to the day of his death was identified with the interests of Beloit College in his sympathies, and for nearly all the time by official position as professor of math- ematics or treasurer of the college. A most thorough business manager, he never allowed secular interests to interfere with his Christian life; overwhelmed with business, he was thoroughly unselfish ; most active among those who were eager for money, he did not seem to care for money; with plans the largest and most sanguine, he never seemed in haste to be rich. Active, energetic and enterprising, he was pure in all his motives, and in all that he did sought to serve some noble purpose. He was pre- eminently a Christian business man. In the build- ing up of Beloit College no one was more active than he. Entering heartily into the enterprise of establishing a Christian institution as a center of blessing for all men, for all time, he said at the beginning of his work, “We can have a college here if we will make one;” a principle which seemed to inspire him in all his efforts. In laboring for the endowment of the college, he always sought to lead the way to which he called others, thinking it easier to earn an endowment than to beg one. In working for the college, however, he did not separate it from the interests of the community; whatever would build up the city, whether a bank, a railroad, a water- power, a Sabbath-school, or a church, would strength- en the college ; and thus sympathizing with and aiding in all ways to build up a Christian community. The city is full of monuments of his energy. For the endowment of the college no resources which his greatest worldly success could have brought would be more than may be brought in as the result of such an example of high aims in business life. His devotion itself was a continual endowment of vigor and soul, and even his presence a constant inspiration to his fellow teachers and pupils. As a teacher he was earnest, clear, faithful and kind ; as a friend, true. What he was in one relation that was T1IE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 69 he in all; and manifold as his life was it was the most simple in its character. Hopeful in adversity, genial, helpful, earnest, full of activity of body, mind and soul, he faithfully illustrated in his life the truth that man is possessed of a divine nature which is but a spark of divinity itself. It was always morning with him, and the darkest clouds were tinged with a golden hue. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy soul, mind, might and strength, and thy neighbor as thyself,” was the great rule of his life, and most faithfully did he carry it out in his works. He was an incessant worker, and although his vivid spirit kept its glow, his manifold labors wore upon his frame, and on Saturday night, the 1st of March, 1873, he went weary to rest. During the night he was attacked with the typhoid pneumonia, and for nearly seven days lay under its power. At four o’clock on Saturday, March 8, he ceased to breathe, and his features, freed from the perpetual urgency of his spirit, assumed in their repose a nobleness which was a new revelation of the grandeur of char- acter which had been forming under that restless activity. His last audible words were, “ How beau- tiful,” and when asked, “Is it Christ?” he replied, “Yes.” His favorite idea of heaven was, “work without weariness.” He has gone! and though dead, he still lives, and the influence of his noble life and example shall continue to grow as the years roll away. At a meeting of the alumni and friends of Beloit College at the Matteson House, Chicago, the follow- ing resolutions were adopted : Resolved , That in the death of Professor Jackson J. Bushnell, we feel that Beloit College has lost an able, faith- ful and successful instructor, to whose self-sacrificing efforts it largely owes its birth amid doubts, and its growth amid many discouragements; that it was his remarkable financial ability which rescued the college from pecuniary embar- rassments, and that not onlv as a man of business, but as a wise counselor and a cheerful, warm-hearted Christian, he commanded the respect and love of all who came in contact with him. Resolved , That while the intelligence of his death has saddened our hearts, it has also brought to our minds a bright example of perseverance under difficulties, faith amid trials, and devotion and self-sacrifice in the cause of education and religion, which should lead us to emulate him and to take a greater personal interest in the college to which he gave his best labors and his greatest sacrifices and his life. Resolved , That we deeply sympathize with the afflicted family in the severe bereavement which they have experi- enced, and with the faculty of the college in the removal of an honored colleague who had been associated with them from the founding of the institution. ROGER H. MILLS, BELOIT. R OGER H. MILLS, a native of New Hartford, in Litchfield county, Connecticut, was born the 1 8th of April, 1813, and is the son of Roger Mills and Harriet ne’e Merrill. His father, a lawyer, was a prominent man in his State. His original paternal ancestor in this country was Simon Mills, who immigrated from Windsor, England, with Cap- tain Newbury, previous to the year 1635, as it is understood. His grandfathers were Joseph Mills and Phinias Merrill, the latter a captain in the revolutionary army. Until his removal to Beloit, his residence was in the town of his birth, with the exception of one year immediately preceding his coming to this State ; was admitted to the bar from Yale College Law School, in 1831, and immediately commenced practice in his native town, entering into business with his father, who, not long after, retired from his professional life, leaving the son to continue the office and business, which he did successfully until the fall of 1853, when he removed to New Britain, Connecticut, where he remained until the 1st of October, 1854, the time of his removal to Wisconsin. In the spring of 1855 he commenced the practice of his profession in Beloit, in which he has since con- tinued. While a resident of Connecticut he was honored by being elected to represent his native town in the general assembly, first in 1839, and one term subse- quently, and in 1848 was elected a member of the senate from his district, and the next year was elected secretary of state. Mr. Mills was, in the succeeding year, a candidate for lieutenant-gov- ernor, put in nomination by the whig party, and defeated by one vote. He held several other offices in the State ; was judge of probate in his district some twelve years; two years chairman of the board of directors of the Connecticut State Prison, and held other appointments, all which shows the estimation in which he was held by his neighbors and the people of the State. It was not so much the way, in that day and lati- 10 THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARV. 7 o tude, to seek appointments to office, as now; and it is said that Mr. Mills had no knowledge or inti- mation of his being placed in the candidacy for senatorial honors, or as secretary of state, until after he had been nominated in the conventions that presented his name for the honors which were tendered to him. In his political views he has always been decided and pronounced — first a whig, then a republican — always according to his neighbors and friends the right to adopt and enforce their political sentiments. In religious sentiments, Mr. Mills is identified with the Congregational denomination and church. July 17, 1859, he married Harriet A. North, of New Britain, Connecticut, and they now have, of living children, Roger Henry Mills, junior, who graduated at Beloit College in 1874; John Ham- mond Mills, who graduated at the same college in 1875, and one daughter, Clara Burnham Mills. The sons are law students, R. H. Mills, junior, in his father’s office, and John H. Mills in Columbian Law School, at Washington, District of Columbia. NICHOLAS M. HARRINGTON, DEL A VAN. T HE personal history of the gentleman whose name and portrait are herewith presented, is worthy of record and a fixed place in the annals of the earlier days of Wisconsin’s emergence from her once barbaric state, when the stalwart Winnebagos occupied — or later, when the wily chieftain, Black- hawk, invaded — her territory to wrest it from the in- truding white man. Mr. Harrington may be ranked with the class called “self-made men,” but his career through life thus far illustrates more than the common meaning of that appellation, in its ordinary application ; for, from his boyhood he has stood aloof and far above what usually are regarded irresistible influencing surroundings. And it is this strongly marked feature of his character, without apparent studied effort or ostentation, as best known to his boyhood acquaint- ances, that renders the history and progress of his life of peculiar value to those of coming generations who would be directed by example, and what has been and what may be achieved, as a rule and guide for life efforts and duties, rather than by the laggard plea and defense of “ destiny ” and “ fixed fate.” Mr. Harrington, therefore, stands before his gen- eration and is an example to those who follow — as from first effort establishing himself on a pedestal of elevated moral principle, and always cultivating order and system in his habits, thus acquiring as a result perfect mastery over inclinations, passion and the directing attributes of organization, physical and mental, until he has been able to subordinate all to a rational control of judgment and really a pleasura- ble direction in the line of duties, that has marked his manhood and career. It is in this light that his history is of special value to the coming man, as strikingly illustrative of what one may do for and of himself when once imbued with a love of being right and an ambition to climb the hill of life among those to be known and valued for their virtues and successes, always assuming as a rule for himself that the “ individual is wholly responsible for the use made of the talents with which he is endowed,” and that the seed of usefulness is in his own hands. Mr. Harrington was born in Rhode Island, at West Greenwich, July 15, 1815, and was the son of David Harrington, and Amy Andrews, the widow of William Corey, a sea-captain. His paternal ances- tors on both sides were fugitives from religious per- secutions under Cromwell, in the seventeenth century, and settled in Smithfield, Rhode Island. They and their descendants participated in the French and Indian wars and the Revolution. Two brothers and a near relative on his father’s side were engaged in the opening fight for independence at Lexington, and two of them were killed, namely, Jonathan and Caleb Harrington. (See “ Lossing’s Field Book of the Revolution,” vol. I, p. 554.) The whole race of emigrants and descendants seem\marked with courage, good strong common sense, sound judg- ment and vigorous intellect. _ In 1817 Mr. Harrington became a resident of the town of Potter, Yates county, New York, by the emigration of his parents in connection with his maternal grandparents and family, Mr. Samuel Andrews. Here he spent his youth and early manhood, cultivating his mind by every means within his limited reach, and achieving a marked character for earnest yet consistent love of duty, i THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 71 and a faithful discharge of it, both to himself and others ; hence he became a man without vicious or demoralizing habits and with principles fixed in heart and habit. His early educational advantages were very limited, his attendance at school not being more than one year previous to his nineteenth birth- day. At this time he began teaching at eleven dol- lars per month, an occupation which he continued during seven winters and two summers. During this time he attended the Yates County Academy, and the Franklin Academy of Prattsburgh, New York, and by close application to his studies in and out of school, acquired a good English education and some knowledge of Greek and Latin. He has through his life been devotedly attached to books of the best authors, and with his first-earned fifty cents invested in a three months subscription to a news- paper. In 1843 he became an inhabitant of the Territory of Wisconsin, making Delavan, then an infantile hamlet, his first stopping place, and soon fixed upon it as his permanent home, and entered into business under the firm name of Harrington and Monell, as merchant, his partner being J. D. Monell, of Hud- son, New York. Subsequently he assumed the en- tire control of the business, and pursued it to a successful issue in the year 1850, when he retired therefrom, and devoted his time and attention to travel, and afterward to banking, insurance and various agencies, and speculative purchase and sale of real estate, in which he has been eminently suc- cessful, and exceptionally free from delinquency and defalcation, never having failed for a single day to meet his business engagements during the whole period of his career, and rendering universal satis- faction to those who committed their trusts into his hands. Yet thus careful and exact in his deal- ings, no fair man will charge him with meanness or oppression, while his neighbors award him universal respect. With regard to ambitious aspirations for public positions, he disclaims any lack of appreciation of the honors, but says that the people can find just as good servants for less pay than he can afford to ab- stract his services and skill from his own affairs, and therefore has occupied comparatively but few public positions, except when constrained to do so from a conscious obligation, and in those only where the emolument was nothing or nominal, and that, too, without regard to the responsibility or labor in- volved. Hence he gave his services to the Deaf and Dumb Institute, located at Delavan, for fourteen years, as trustee, treasurer and corresponding secre- tary, and his best fostering care, without salary, and until this asylum of mercy had gained a hold upon the charities of the State that now carries it along triumphantly. He also accepted the office of post-master under the administration of Franklin Pierce, unsolicited, for the purpose of obtaining additional mail facili- ties for Delavan, at this time, 1853, when there were but three mails each week from the east and three from the west, making a tri-weekly mail. So effect- ual were his efforts and influence with the post-office department, that in one and one-half years after his acceptance of the post-office, Delavan could boast of forty-five mails each week. When these addi- tional weekly, semi-weekly and daily mails were se- cured, he resigned the office of postmaster. In this connection it seems quite proper to say that Mr. Harrington is an admitted attorney-at-law in the courts of the State, which with his other business qualifications eminently fits him for the intelligent discharge of all duties assumed. In politics he is usually associated with the dem- ocracy, but in the late war period he lent his influ- ence earnestly to the preservation of the Union. He holds decided religious opinions, and is a zeal- ous member of the Protestant Episcopal church, and also a Freemason of a high order, to which in- stitution he is strongly and conscientiously attached. Socially, he has few superiors; ever ready to draw from all rational sources knowledge and pleasure, he greatly contributes in return from his exhaustless fund of carefully collected facts and points of his- tory, an interest to the pleasure and profit of those about him. In his domestic relations his treasure of a wife, with him, presides over the household in genial unison, and their home is the seat of domestic peace, plenty and happiness, without excess or stint. For some years they have mutually devoted their first care and attention to the rearing and education of their four children — three sons and one daugh- ter, and for the purpose of training his sons to practical business duties, Mr. Harrington has to some extent resumed merchandising; and now since he has passed his sixth decade is engaged in establish- | ing himself and family permanently at a rural home, one and a half miles distant from the village, which shall embrace the practical facilities of farm life with that of cultivated moral taste and freedom from fancied town-life restraints. To this end he is — / - THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. occupied in the erection of a country residence and outbuildings that shall vie with any in the State for taste, convenience and practical uses, and with other improvements of lawn and soil to correspond and render it a success, both agriculturally and artisti- cally. This he says is to be the climax of his am- bition, and to this end he is sparing neither skill nor money, and when consummated it will favorably compare with any place in the State for its combina- tion of taste, convenience and utility. Another feature of Mr. Harrington’s character is an ardent love of his kindred and friends, never for- getting and never failing to extend an up-lifting aid to their necessities and deficiencies, that seems al- most by intuition to elevate and advance them above the plane of their ordinary personal dependence, and place them where hope and prosperity bear them onward. It is with a most commendable pride that he points to scores of individuals whose lives and fortunes verify this fact, and that, too, without an instance where the ends do not more than justify the means, and affirm the value and blessing of an elevating hand and spirit. His sympathies have always been deeply engaged in the welfare of the weak and those in distress, and for the aid of all such his labors have never been withheld. It is no purpose of the writer to eulogize or flatter the subject of this life sketch beyond the statement of simple" facts, and from them find evidences that confirm and bear out the philosophy of his life rule, “ System in all things that we do, a hearty purpose to attain a higher and better and more perfect plane of human usefulness than from whence we start, and by patient industry and perseverance secure suc- cess.” Such has been his course, his aim, and faith, and the results are before the world. Yet, with all this, I would not claim that he is not without eccen- tricities, peculiarities, and even faults, for who that is human is ? But, in conclusion, I will say, that his is a life and he a sample of what consistent effort, directed by correct principles, may aim at and hope for. Mr. Harrington has been thrice married ; his first two wives died in early wedded life, without chil- dren ; therefore, it is with his present companion, the mother of his children, that his paternal ties have been formed, and by mutual bearing and for- bearing, a most genial unity has been maintained and cemented, and which, doubtless, largely con- tributed to secure results so favorably distinguishing their lives and condition. Mrs. Harrington’s maiden name was Catharine M. Crosby, daughter of Eber Crosby, a descendant of Enoch Crosby, alias “ Harvey Burch,” Cooper’s spy of the revolution. She was born at Patterson, Putnam county, New York, on the 27th of October, 1825, and is a lady of superior culture and sterling qualities, and a most fitting balance and aid to her husband. The writer must say, before concluding, that he knows, and closely observed the subject of this biographical sketch from boyhood to his depart- ure for Wisconsin, and has been in regular corre- spondence from that time, and has visited him at his home at Delavan, where the main facts of his life have been enacted, therefore confidently commits it to the annals of history of his adopted State as a proud and worthy record, and thus most respect- fully submits it. ERASTUS B. WOLCOTT, M.D., MIL WA UI< EE. E RASTUS B. WOLCOTT, M.D., was born at Benton, Yates county, New York, the 18th of October, in the year 1804, son of Elisha Wolcott and Anna Hull Wolcott, who came from Litchfield county, Connecticut, and were among the first set- tlers in that region of country. In 1822 Dr. Wolcott commenced the study of medicine and surgery with Dr. Joshua Lee, an emi- nent physician and surgeon of central New York, and received a diploma from Yates County Medical Society in 1825. He attended the College of Phy- sicians and Surgeons of the Western District of New York from 1830 to 1833, and took his degree in medicine and surgery at that institution. In the spring of 1835, he was examined by a board of army surgeons, and received the appointment of surgeon in the United States army, January 1st, 1836. He resigned in 1839, and came to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1836 he married Elizabeth J. Dousman, who died in i860, leaving a daughter and a son. Dr. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION AR T. Wolcott gave his children a liberal education, the former having graduated at the Milwaukee Female College, and the latter at Yale College. He was connected with some of the earliest enter- prises of the State. He built the first mills at AVest Bend, Washington county, AVisconsin, and, with others, the first mill at Humboldt, near Milwaukee. He was one of the prime movers in building the first railroad in the State, from Milwaukee to the Missis- sippi river, and among the first in the Northwestern Life Insurance Company, and continues to be a trustee to the present time. He was appointed trustee of the AVisconsin Hospital for the Insane, the first year, and reappointed through Governor Ran- dall’s and Governor Lewis’s administrations. He was appointed one of the board of regents of the State University, by Governor Dewey, in 1850. He was appointed surgeon of the State militia, as early as 1842, by Governor Doty. He was commissioned colonel of a regiment of militia in 1846, and in the same year major-general of the first division of Wis- consin militia. He held, through the war of the late rebellion, the position of surgeon-general of AViscon- sin, with the rank of brigadier-general, and still retains it. He was, in 1866, appointed by Governor Fairchild commissioner to represent the State of Wisconsin at the Universal Exposition at Paris, in 1867. He was appointed in the same year (1866), by congress, manager of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, at Milwaukee, which position he retains to the present time, having been reappointed in 1875. He was married, October 12, 1869, to Laura J. Ross, M.D. Her ancestry, during colonial times, were distinguished for patriotism in revolutionary history. Both on the father’s and mother’s side were leading minds in the support of the national cause of independence. She was carefully disciplined and thoroughly educated in the best schools and by the ablest teachers in New England. One of the pio- neer women in the study of the natural sciences, and one among the first women who graduated in medi- cine and received hospital instruction in this country, she spent some time in Europe, to pursue the study of her profession, and has followed it in Milwaukee, with marked success, for eighteen years. She is the counterpart of her husband, differing only to co.mplete the mystic union by which man and wife are one. She has ventured beyond the threshold prescribed to her sex by the lords of crea- tion. She has entered the temple of science, and 73 won honors those lords might envy. Skilled in her profession, she has relieved many a pang of human suffering. Intelligent, cultivated and sympathetic, she is particularly so in the sick-room. Her sympa- thies give hope to the afflicted, and her smile dispels the gloom of despondence. In this sphere, as well as in every other in which the activities of her mind are engaged, or the sympathies of her heart enlisted, she is, in the language of Dante, “a womanly woman.” Dr. AVolcott is a lineal descendant of Henry AA r ol- cott, Esq., a landed gentleman of England, who came to America in 1630. He was the son and heir of John AVolcott, of Golden Manor. The manor house is still standing in England, is of great antiquity, is richly ornamented with carved work, and upon the walls may be seen the motto of the family coat of arms : “ Nullius addictus jin are in verba magistri ” (inclined to swear in the words of no master). This sentiment was in harmony with the spirit of the English gentlemen of the middle ages, and that of the Puritan of a later date, who spurned the dicta- tion of ecclesiastical wisdom. This peculiarity of the family has lost none of its force in the character of Dr. E. B. AVolcott, who derives his knowledge of the Author of all things from the study of His works. Henry AVolcott, of the old English gentry, was the first magistrate in the Connecticut Colony, and his descendants in a direct line, for over one hundred and eighty years, were counselors of war, officers of the army during the revolution, one a signer of the “ Declaration of Independence,” representatives and senators in congress, chief judges of the supreme court, and six governors of Connecticut, three bear- ing the name of AVolcott — Roger, Oliver, and Oliver junior. Roger AVolcott, first governor of Connecticut, was judge of the county court, deputy governor, chief justice of the superior court, and governor of the State. He lived to see his son Oliver governor during fourteen years, and his grandson Oliver four years; and of his descendants bearing the name of AAMlcott, twelve were graduates of Y ale College, two of Harvard University, and two at other New Eng land colleges, previous to the year 1834. The maternal branch of the Hull family were revolutionary patriots, and pioneers of Yates county; were zealously interested in educational matters, and had marked and estimable characteristics, the women of the family being noted for their intellectual pow- ers and womanly graces. 74 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. Science teaches us the laws of order, of fitness, ami of progress in the physical world. Mind teaches us that we have intellectual powers susceptible of indefinite improvement, and consciousness reveals to us our immortality. Observation teaches us there is harmony in all things. Upon this basis philosophy has erected the superstructure of man’s perfectibility. Transcendentalists have dreamed of it ; philosophers have formed theories in regard to it ; religionists have taught it. Who shall say, then, that when the laws of hereditary descent shall be better known, and better obeyed, the greater share, at least, of human imperfections shall not be eliminated, and humanity elevated to a degree of excellence attained now only in individual instances, and that individual instances may not transcend all our present concep- tions ? We have been led into these reflections by the contemplation of those qualities which characterize the ancestors of Dr. E. B. Wolcott, which, whether by hereditary descent, by example, or by instruction, seem to have culminated in him. His form is sym- metrical, his movements graceful, his youthful ener- gies unimpaired. His mind is vigorous and active, embracing a wide field of observation. Always emi- nent in his profession, he keeps a steady step in the march of medical science. Skilled as a surgeon, the knife does not tremble in his hand. Unerring in his diagnosis, he waits with the patience of a nurse. His sensibilities are alive to every object of human suffering. As son, husband, father, and friend, he discharges his duties with scrupulous fidelity. We have been told that Cervantes “smiled the chivalry of Spain away.” If so, she, like Liberty, took her flight to the New World, and found worshipers in its for- ests. If truth, justice, honor, and mercy are her characteristics, they are happily personated in the subject of our sketch. EDWARD BEESON, FOND DU LAC. T HE truth of the old maxim, “Heaven helps those who help themselves,” is peculiarly shown in the career of Edward Begson, of Fond du Lac county, whose great energy, self-reliance and industry, coupled with true innate principles of right, entitle him now to the proud satisfaction of looking back at a well-spent life and a character uprightly sustained. His parents, John and Sarah S. Beeson, lived in Columbiana county, Ohio, where his father carried on business as a miller. Edward was born on the 7th of July, 1815, and educated at New Lisbon in the same State. On leaving school he went to Beaver county, Pennsylvania, to learn the trade of printing, and at nineteen years of age he and his brother commenced the publication of the “ Demo- cratic Watchman,” which they carried on for about eighteen months. It will be observed by this sketch of his life that, from the time he left school until he finally settled at Fond du Lac in 1842, his mercurial temperament was always leading him to strike out for “pastures new.” In the fall of 1835 he was for a short time on the Detroit “Free Press,” but in the following year he came to Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he worked as a carpenter, and in the latter part of the same year he engaged on the Chicago “ Democrat,” which was published at that time by John Calhoun, and shortly afterward edited by John Wentworth. In the spring of 1837 he returned to Green Bay, where he and his two brothers built a saw-mill on the Little Swamico river. In the fall he sold out and went to St. Louis, Louisville (Kentucky), and Cincinnati, at which latter places he worked on the Louisville “Journal ” and the Cincinnati “ Gazette ” during the winter. In 1838 he engaged on the Finlay “Courier,” in Hancock county, Ohio, where he, in partnership with a friend, successfully conducted the paper until the spring of 1841. He then came to Keno- sha, Wisconsin, and remained there one year in the printing business. In 1842 he came to Fond du Lac county, where he turned his attention to farm- ing for about four years. In the winter of 1846 he worked as a compositor in the office of the Fond du Lac “Whig,” and in the spring bought the Fond du Lac “Journal,” which he carried on for several years, until 1854. Since then he has been con- nected with the Fond du Lac “ Union,” the “ Demo- cratic Press,” etc., and in the spring of 1867, revived the publication of the “Journal.” He was married on the 8th of September, 1849, f THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 75 to Miss Susan E. Bell, by whom he had seven children, two sons and five daughters, of whom two died in infancy. His many good qualities have gained for him a large circle of friends, and it is shown by the fact of his being elected repeatedly to town and city offices, and twice as county treasurer, that the citizens look upon him in the light of a trustworthy, honorable gentleman. Although con- siderably advanced in years he is still in vigorous health. He is president of the Star Printing Com- pany and of the Gravel Road Company of Fond du Lac. National progress is the sum of individual indus- try, energy, and uprightness, as national decay is of individual idleness, selfishness and vice. Edward Beeson will leave to his children the best of heri- tages, a good and honest name; happy the son who can say, with Pope, “ I think it enough that my par- ents, such as they were, never cost me a blush, and that their son, such as he is, never cost them a tear.” JAMES LU'I OS HR T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Alton, Belknap county, New Hampshire, was born April 17, 1824, and is the son of Aaron Clark and Marcy ne'e Ham. His father was a farmer, and suc- ceeded by honest toil in making a comfortable living for his family. James received his education at a common school in his native town, after leaving which he learned the carpenter and joiner’s trade. This he followed until 1855, when he came West and located at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Here he pur- sued his trade for two years, subsequent to which he engaged in the lumber business for about three years, and for the two years following held the position of superintendent in the mills of different parties. In 1862 he engaged in making match splints, and after pursuing this occupation for five years, commenced the manufacture of matches, his brand being known as the “Star Match.” The value of the amount produced in 1867 was twenty thousand dollars, but the recognized superiority of the brand soon gained for it a general sale throughout the northern and western States, in consequence of which the business HER CLARK, COSH. has steadily increased until in 1875 it amounted to three hundred and thirty thousand dollars. He has been a republican since the organization of the party, but has never allowed his better judg- ment to be so hampered by party prejudices as to support measures which he believed to be wrong. Desirous of no political office, he has chosen rather to devote to his private business that care and at- tention which cannot but be crowned with success. His religious views are broad and liberal. He was married July 26, 1851, to Miss Sarah Flint, by whom he has had two sons. Mr. Clark, starting in life without means, has suc- ceeded by combining industry, integrity, and perse- verance, in building up a business which has been, at once, a means of great prosperity to himself, and of furnishing employment and support to a large number of hands. His quiet, unassuming manners, and sterling business qualities have gained him the firm friendship of a large circle of acquaintances, and have made him an object of pride and esteem to the city of his adoption. JOHN P. SLIGHT, WATERTOWN. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Laugh- ton, Lincolnshire, England, was born on the 27th of August, 1820, and is the son of William Slight and Ann nee Preston. His father, a farmer in comfortable circumstances, was a man of enterpris- ing spirit, and influential in his community. John passed his boyhood on his father’s farm in his native place, receiving a limited education, and in 1837, being then seventeen years of age, immigrated to America, and settled at LaFayette, Indiana. During the first year after his arrival he was employed on the Wabash and Erie canal. After the completion of the work, at the end of one year, with his brother Joseph he took charge “6 THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. of a steamboat lock at Delphi, thirty miles up the river. Sickness, however, compelled them to leave at the end of two or three months, and they went to Louisville, thence to Cincinnati, and from there to Mansfield, Ohio. At the expiration of three months, having regained their health, they returned to Wabash, and engaged in pork-packing during the winter. In the following spring they took it to New Orleans, intending to ship it to England, but were not able to procure a suitable boat. Returning to Indiana in the ensuing fall, Mr. Slight remained there till the autumn of 1842, when he returned to Ohio, and in the following spring took a drove of horses to New York. During this same year he visited his home in England and remained there till 1844, when he returned to Mansfield, Ohio. In 1845 he removed to Watertown, Wisconsin, and en- gaged in agricultural pursuits, in which occupation he is still engaged, owning and conducting a beauti- ful and extensive farm of five hundred and sixty acres, three miles from the city. Mr. Slight’s life, while it presents few phases in distinction from that of other men, is yet marked by a spirit of enterprise and determination, and rewarded with a degree of success well worthy of emulation. He came to the United States a poor boy, without friends or acquaintances, and by his own industry, energy and perseverance, has made his way, step by step, to his present standing, as a successful business man and an honorable citizen. Throughout his career he has been known for his fair dealing and promptness in meeting his engagements, and by close attention to business has accumulated an ample fortune, and lives now surrounded by the comforts of a happy home, and enjoys the high regard of all who know him. In politics, Mr. Slight has always been identified with the republican party. He has never sought political honors, and has held no office except that of justice of the peace. In his religious views, he holds to the faith of the Church of England. He was married on the 1st of March, 1852, to Mary Ann Russell, by whom he has three sons and one daughter. Possessed of noble personal qualities, generous, genial and social, he is a devoted husband, a fond father, and a true and agreeable friend and companion. EARL P. OS ILK A MONG the prominent men of Oshkosh, Wis- consin, none deserves a more honorable men- tion than he whose name heads this sketch. A native of Jay, Essex county, New York, he was born on the 27th of October, 1828, and is the son of Joshua C. and Eliza A. Finch. His father, a farmer and contractor, was an influential man in his com- munity, and highly esteemed by all. Earl’s boy- hood disclosed few characteristics differing from those of ordinary farmer boys; he had a fondness for study, and early developed a love for professional life. He received his preparatory education in the common schools of his native place, and at the age of fourteen years was engaged in the nail factory, and after one year spent there worked a short time in the rolling-mills. The next three years he was employed in the office of Messrs. J. and J. Rogers, iron manufacturers, and at the expiration of that time removed to the West, and settled at Neemah, Wis- consin, entering a claim for a tract of land. Wish- ing, however, for a more thorough education, he FINCH, OSH. soon sold his claim, and going to Appleton spent a time in school, and afterward entered Beloit College. After closing his studies here he returned to the East and spent two years in college at Middlebury, Vermont, and then went to Union College, New York, and graduated. Returning to the West in 1856, he settled at Menasha, Wisconsin, where, during the first year after his arrival, he was em- ployed in the United States land office. During this year he began the study of law, and removing to Oshkosh, in 1858, spent two years in the office of Judge Wheeler. After his admission to the bar, in i860, he opened an office in Oshkosh, and began that practice in which he has become well-known as a skillful, successful and honorable practitioner, having been admitted to all the courts. At the present time, 1876, he is associated with Mr. Barber, under the firm name of Finch and Barber, and has a satisfactory and lucrative practice. Mr. Finch has taken no active part in matters aside from his profession, and finds here ample THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. 77 scope for his talents and highest ambitions. His political sentiments are democratic, and though frequently solicited to accept public office, he has uniformly declined, except where they were in the line of his profession, preferring the peace and quiet of his practice to political honors and emoluments. He was elected city attorney in 1868, and is at present local attorney for the Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad Company ; also for the Wisconsin Central Railroad Company. Though not a member of any church organization, he is a regular attendant upon the Episcopal service. Personally and socially lie has most excellent qualities, and by his genial disposition and courteous manners he has endeared himself to a large circle of warm and true friends, while his native endowments and professional skill have secured to him that reward which must invari- ably follow continued and honorable effort. He was married, January 22, 1862, to Miss Anna E. Bryan; they have four sons and two daughters. GENERAL T. S. ALLEN. OSHKOSH. T S. ALLEN, a native of Alleghany county, . New York, was born on the 26th of July, 1825, and is the son of Rev. A. S. Allen and Lydia ne'e Kingsbury. His life has been a most eventful one, but we can give only an outline of its most prominent phases. After receiving his primary edu- cation, he learned the printer’s trade, and later, in 1843, entered college, at the same time working at his trade to defray his expenses. At the close of his studies, he was employed in teaching for a short time, and in 1846 removed to Chicago, Illinois. During the first year after his arrival he was engaged as foreman on a daily paper, and at the expiration of that time, by reason of impaired health, relin- quished his trade, and removing to Wisconsin, en- gaged in mining and surveying, at Dodgeville, in which occupations, and in teaching, he spent the following two years. In 1850 he was elected clerk of the board of supervisors for a term of two years, and at the expiration of his term of office, engaged in railroading and real-estate operations, continuing in the same till 1857, when he was elected to the State legislature from the Mineral Point district. In i860 he was employed as assistant chief-clerk in the State land office, at Madison, and on the 13th of April, 1861, enlisted as a private in the Governor’s Guards, but was soon after chosen captain of the Miners’ Guards of Mineral Point, and was duly com- missoned as such by Governor Randall. The com- pany was assigned to the 2d Regiment, and became known as Company I. This regiment participated in the battle of Bull Run, July 2, 1861, his com- pany losing eighteen men in the fight. After coming out in good order, its several captains gathered their men at Centerville, and secured coffee and provi- sions for their exhausted command. Being without superior officers, the regiment placed itself under command of Captain McKee, as senior captain, and Captain T. S. Allen, who brought up the rear, and returned to their old camp at Arlington Heights. Captain Allen was made major of his regiment on the 2 2d of August following, and on the 8th of September, 1862, was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He served in this capacity till the 14th of January, 1863, at which time he was commissioned colonel of the 5th Wisconsin, as suc- cessor to Colonel Amasa Cobb. As major of the 2d Regiment, he was twice wounded in the battle of Gainesville, but did not leave the field, and was again wounded at Antietam, while commanding the regiment in the absence of Colonel Fairchild. In the famous charge of the 3d of May, 1863, on Marys Heights, where General Burnside had lost five thousand men in a former en- gagement, giving it the name of “ Slaughter Pen,” Colonel Allen’s regiment of the eighth division, sixth corps, took the lead. The 6th Maine and the 31st New York were also placed under his orders. When the time arrived for moving on the works he ad- dressed his men : “ Boys, you see those heights ? You must take them ! You think you cannot; but you can — you will doit! When the order ‘for- ward ! ’ is given, you will start on double-quick ; you will not fire a gun ; you will not stop till you get orders to halt, and you will never gel that order ! ” And they did not get it until they stood captors within the enemy’s works, although the 5th Wiscon- sin suffered a loss of one hundred and thirty-six men, killed and wounded, and the other regiments ' in the same proportion. Previous to the charge at THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DIC TIONART. Rappahannock Station, on November 7, 1S63, Gen- eral David Russell, commanding the brigade, re- marked that he had two regiments that could take those works. Having received permission, he ordered out the 6th Maine and 5th Wisconsin. As they were passing over the parapet of the redoubt, Colonel Allen had his hand so badly shattered by a ball that he was rendered unfit for duty, and was complimented for his gallant service in the action in a general order by Major-General H. G. Wright, division commander of the sixth corps. While dis- abled from wounds he was detailed on General Casey’s examining board, on which he served during the summer of 1864. In August he returned to Wisconsin, the time of his regiment having expired, and raised seven new companies to fill up the ranks, two hundred and fifty men organized into three companies having reenlisted for the war. He returned with these men in October, and served until December, in the Shenandoah Valley under General Phil. Sheridan. In December the command was moved to the front of Petersburg. In the attack on the lines on che 2d of April, 1865, he was given the advance in the charge, which proved successful at all points, and again distinguished himself, leading his regiment two miles through the enemy’s advance line, to the South Railroad, its loss being one-tenth of the whole corps, comprising fifty regiments. He was present at the surrender of General Lee, which closed the war. Shortly after the close of the war he was elected secretary of state. He was a delegate at large to the republican national convention in 1868. In 1870 he removed to Oshkosh, his present home, and began the publi- cation of the “ Northwestern,” a daily and weekly paper, with which he is still connected, and is widely known as an able editor. He suffered a severe loss in the great fire of 1875, by the burning of his es- tablishment. In his religious sentiments, Colonel Allen is liberal, and though a regular attendant of the Con- gregational L church, is not connected with any re- ligious body. In politics, he is a republican, having helped to organize that party in Wisconsin. He was married on the nth of August, 1851, to Miss Sarah Bracken, daughter of General Charles Bracken, and by her had one daughter. Mrs. Allen died in 1854, and in April, 1866, he was married to Miss Natilie Weber, by whom he has two sons and three daughters. Colonel Allen lias traveled extensively throughout the United States, and gained a most valuable prac- tical knowledge of men and things. He began life without means, and by his own untiring energy and enterprise has risen step by step to his present high social position and public standing. PHILO ROMYNE HOY, M.D, RACINE. P HILO R. HOY, a native of Mansfield, Ohio, was born on the 3d of November, 1816, and is the son of Captain William Hoy and Sarah Drown Hoy. His father, one of the pioneers of Mansfield, was a prominent man in his community, and the first to erect a house in that place. Philo’s boyhood differed little from that of ordinary boys. Natu- rally of a studious disposition he acquired a fond- ness for books, and in early life decided to enter the medical profession. After completing his education in the common schools and private schools of his native place, he pursued a course of study in the Ohio Medical College, at Cincinnati, and graduated in 1840, with the degree of M.D. During the first six years of his practice, he resided at New Haven, Ohio, and at the expiration of that time (1846) re- moved to Racine, Wisconsin, where he has since fol- lowed his profession. As a medical practitioner, he has made for himself a worthy reputation, and has a flourishing and lucrative practice. Aside from his professional work, Dr. Hoy has devoted much time and study to the subject of natural history, and in all scientific questions has taken a deep interest. In 1853, in company with Professors Kirkland and Spencer F. Baird, he spent the season gathering in- formation respecting fish, and is at the present time (1876) one of the fish commissioners of his State. He is the president of the Academy of Sciences and Letters of Wisconsin ; a member of the Academy of Science of Philadelphia, also that of Buffalo, New York, Saint Louis, Cleveland, etc. Was an organic member of the Academy of Science of Chicago, and a - THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 79 fellow of the American Association for the Advance- ment of Science. Besides these, he belongs to many other medical and scientific associations. Has a large correspondence with most of the scientific savans within the United States, as well as with several distinguished men of Europe. He has now one of the largest collections of animals in the Northwest, all of them natives of Wisconsin, and gathered mostly in the immediate vicinity of his own city. The following is a partial list of his specimens: Three hundred and eighteen different species of birds ; of bird’s eggs, one hun- dred and fifty species; of mammals, thirty-five; reptiles, fifty; beetles, thirteen hundred ; moths, two thousand; spahingedes, thirty-eight; other insects, one thousand ; and besides, a large collection of shells and fossils from the Niagara limestone in the vicinity of Racine. In his political views, Dr. Hoy was formerly a whig, and is now identified with the republican party. During the civil war he took a deep interest in the northern cause. In religion he is not connected with any church organization, but makes the rule of his actions that expressed by our Saviour in the words: “Whatso- ever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so unto them.” Unsectarian, his sympathies are broad enough to gather in their embrace all men. He was married at Ripley, Ohio, on the 26th of October, 1842, to Miss Mary Elizabeth Austin, by whom he has two sons and one daughter. His oldest son, Albert H. Hoy, M.D., a young man of promise, is a practicing physician at Racine. He was appointed a medical cadet in the regular army, and promoted to assistant surgeon. Was in the service for over three years, serving in the hospitals in Keokuk, Iowa, Covington, Kentucky, and at Louisville in several general hospitals. Went to Europe after the close of the war, and studied in Heidelberg, Vienna, Berlin and Paris. GEORGE BREMER, MIL WA UK EE. T HE subject of this sketch was born on the 15th of April, 1813, at Gandersheim, Dukedom Brunswick, Germany, and is the son of Joseph Bremer and Caroline nee Rosenthal. His tastes for mercantile life developed at an early age, and having received a common school education he entered a dry-goods establishment at the age of fifteen years. Here he served an apprenticeship of four years, and then during the term of fifteen years clerked in different mercantile houses, being man- ager of a large dry-goods emporium in Hanover for the last six years. In 1847 he emigrated to the United States, arriving at Milwaukee on the 4th of July. For a short time he engaged in farming, but soon after opened a small country store, which he kept until 1849. Upon his return to Milwaukee, in 1850, he went into partnership with Jakob Mora- wetz under the firm name of G. Bremer and Co., and opened a store at No. 216 East Water street. Their business so increased and their trade became so extensive that they found it necessary to seek more spacious quarters. In 1855 they erected a large four-story brick store on east Water street, near Huron, and relinquishing their retail depart- ment admitted Mr. M. L. Morawetz as a partner. Their business here assumed such dimensions that they were again obliged to look for better accommo- dations, and in 1869 they moved into one of the stores of their brick block, corner of Broadway and Huron street, which is one of the finest and most commodious in the city, and here they are still conducting their very extensive business. The house of G. Bremer and Co. is the oldest grocery house in Milwaukee, and has always met its obliga- tions promptly, even during the hardest business calamities. Generous and public-spirited, Mr. Bremer has always contributed liberally to char- itable and benevolent purposes, as well as to all enterprises connected with the welfare of the city. He was one of the organizers of the Bank of Commerce in 1870, and has been a director of said bank to this day. His friends and acquaintances I are not in business circles alone, but among all classes in the city, and greatly in the whole country. In April, 1863, Mr. Bremer left to visit his native country, where he made a very extensive tour, being absent from home just one year. He was educated in the Hebrew faith, but has been entirely non-sectarian ever since he came to this country. Liberal in all his views, his entire So THE V XI TED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. career has been marked by energy, enterprise and honorable dealing. He has never taken an active part in politics, and although frequently solicited, has always de- clined to accept any office. He was one of the organizers of the first German lodge of F. and A. Masons in Milwaukee, in 1850, and has been thrice elected to its highest office. Mr. Bremer was married on the 23d of November, 1849, to Miss Amalia Morawetz, and has six chil- dren : Josephine (Mrs. Geilfuss), Freddie, Bertha (Mrs. Gugler), Hugo, Agathe, Lillie. WILLIAM H. NORRIS, Junior, GREEN BA Y. T HE life history of William H. Norris, junior, while it has many experiences in common with those of others, yet has an identity peculiarly its own, and is marked by a will-power and an inde- pendent force of character that entitle it to most honorable mention in the list of prominent, self- made men. A native of Hallowed, Maine, he was born on the 24th of July, 1832, and is the son of Rev. William H. Norris and Sarah M. ne'e Mahan. His father was a Methodist minister. William received his education at Yale College, and after completing his studies, spent one year in teaching. His tastes early led him to choose the legal profession, and in 1855 he began the study of law at the Dana Law School of Cambridge, Massachusetts. At the expiration of one year he removed to the West and settled in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and there continued his studies in the office of J. H. Howe, and was admitted to the bar in 1857. After his admission he spent one year with Mr. Howe as clerk, and in 1859 entered into partnership with him, continuing the business under the firm name of J. H. Howe and Norris till 1862, when Mr. Howe withdrew. He then conducted the business in his own name till 1870, and in the following year associated with himself Mr. Thomas B. Chynoweath, his present partner. Their practice has been gen- eral, but they have given special attention to mer- cantile and railroad law. Since 1864 he has been local attorney for the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad, and since 1870, general attorney for the Green Bay and Minnesota Railroad. As an attorney, he stands at the head of the bar in his city, and has a larger practice than any other lawyer, having been admitted to practice in all the courts of the United States, except the United States supreme court. His religious views are Congregational. In politics, he is identified with the republican party. He was elected superintendent of public schools in 1859. Mr. Norris was married on the 31st of January, 1859, to Miss Hannah B. Harriman, by whom he has two daughters and one son. He began life without money, and by persevering and continued effort has made for himself a wide reputation as an able lawyer, and accumulated a moderate competence. He has lived in South America and considerably in the United States, and by careful observation accumulated a large fund of valuable information. Personally and socially he has a high standing, and by his generous manner, pleasing address, and manly bearing, has endeared himself to a large circle of warm friends. JOHN D. INBUSCH, MIL TV A UK EE. I N the far-away kingdom of Hanover, Germany, on the 25th of December, 1820, was born the subject of this sketch, son of Herman and Maria Inbusch. Under the excellent system of public in- struction in that country, which allows no child to go without schooling, he received a thorough com- mon-school education at Badbergen. At an early age young Inbusch, following the example of his elder brothers, left his quiet German home on the sleepy river Haase, and sailing across the Atlantic THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. landed in New York city. Here he served two years as clerk in a grocery store owned by his brothers, afterward entering the firm as a junior partner, where he remained for a period of twelve years. His only capital at beginning was ability, energy and the quiet persistence of his race, in be- coming master of the minutest details of his business. In the spring of 1849 he removed to Milwaukee, and in connection with two brothers, John H. and John Gerhard Inbusch, he instituted a wholesale liquor establishment, under the name and title of Inbusch Brothers. In i860, after a period of eleven years of slow but sure success, they added a stock of groceries to their trade. Nine years later, closing out entirely their liquor interest, they confined them- selves exclusively to the wholesale grocery business. For many years this trade has been steadily on the increase. In 1869 their sales did not exceed in amount a half million per annum. In 1874 it had reached the handsome sum of over a million. Their store has also doubled in size and capacity to meet the demands of their business, and the wholesale grocery house of Inbusch Brothers is well and favor- ably known throughout the State and the entire Northwest. Mr. J. D. Inbusch is now one of the directors of the Milwaukee National Bank. He was married November 8, 1857, to Miss Emily Heuffner, and the fruits of this marriage have been two sons and two daughters. Notwithstanding his business and social relations, Mr. Inbusch has found time for extensive traveling, and in 1853 and 1872 he visited his old Badbergian home on the Haase, Germany, as well as Holland, Italy, France and England. In politics he has always been a democrat ; and from his early youth his religious convictions have been those of the Lutheran creed. FREDERIC C. WINKLER, MIL WA UK EE. F REDERIC C. WINKLER was born in Bre- men, Germany, the 15th of March, 1838. His parents emigrated to the United States when he was six years of age, and located in Milwaukee, where his father, Carl Winkler, established a pharmacy and starch factory. Educated in the public and private schools of that day in Milwaukee, and under private tuition of Prof. Engelmann (q.v.), Mr. Winkler taught a common school, before reaching his eighteenth year, and imme- diately afterward commenced the study of law in the office of Hon. H. L. Palmer, where (teaching school in the winter months) he remained a student until the fall of 1858, when he entered the office of Messrs. Abbott, Gregory and Pinney, at Madison, as clerk. While here he was, on the 19th of April, 1859, ad- mitted to the bar in the circuit court of Dane county after a thorough examination in open court, under a rule then recently established by Judge Dixon. Shortly after this he returned to Milwaukee, and entered on the practice of his profession. He met at once with considerable success. His first part- nership was with Mr. G. Von Deutsch, who, on account of ill health and a trip to Europe, left a large share of the work of the office to him, so that he was brought into court practice more rapidly than is generally the case. From 1856 Mr. Winkler’s sympathies had been strongly enlisted for the anti-slavery principles of the republican party, and in i860 he took an active part in the canvass of Milwaukee county in favor of Lincoln and Hamlin. Immediately after the break- ing out of the war his partner entered the cavalry service, leaving the business to him. In 1862, when the appeal for more men became urgent, Mr. Wink ler gave up his business and recruited a company of infantry — Company B, of the 26th Regiment, Wis- consin Volunteers, of which he was appointed cap- tain. The regiment left the State early in October and was assigned to the eleventh corps of the army of the Potomac, then commanded by General Sigel. During the succeeding winter Captain Winkler was constantly employed as judge advocate in courts martial at corps headquarters. At the opening of the spring campaign he was assigned to the staff of General Schurz, commanding a division of the corps. He participated in the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, in the former of which he had a horse shot under him. The first day of Gettysburg the regiment lost very heavily, only four officers escap- ing unhurt, the lieutenant-colonel and major being among the wounded. Captain Winkler resigned his staff service and temporarily took charge of the reg- iment during the battle. Afterward he remained 82 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONART. with the regiment as second in command, still, how- ever, subject to frequent detail for court-martial service. After the battle of Chickamauga the regi- ment was transferred to the West, as. part of General Hooker's forces that were sent to Rosecranz’s relief. Shortly afterward the colonel resigned, and Captain Winkler thenceforth commanded the regiment, being successively promoted through the several grades to the colonelcy. Under his command the regimentj participated in the battle of Mission Ridge, in 1863; the Atlanta campaign, with its battles and countless skirmishes, in 1864; the march to the sea, and thence north through the Carolinas. It won a high reputation. Of its conduct in the battle of Peach Tree Creek, July 20, 1864, the following mention is made in the official report of Colonel Wood, the brigade com- mander : Where all behaved well, it may be regarded as invidious to call attention to individuals, yet it seems to me that I cannot discharge my whole duty' in this report without pointing out for especial commendation the conduct of the 26th Wisconsin Infantry and its brave and able commander. The position of this regiment was such that the brunt of the attack fell upon it. The brave, skillful and determinate manner in which it met this attack, rolled back the onset, pressed forward in a counter charge, and drove back the enemy, could not be excelled by the troops of this or any other army, and is worthy of the highest commendation and praise. It is to be hoped that such conduct will be held up as an example to others, and will meet its appropriate reward. During the winter quarters of 1864 Colonel Wink- ler returned home to recruit for his regiment, and was married to Miss Frances M. Wightman, of West Bend, Wisconsin. Upon the close of the war he was breveted briga- dier-general of volunteers “for meritorious services.” Returning to Milwaukee, he resumed the practice of his profession, soon taking a prominent position at the bar. In 1867 he became associated with the Hon. A. R. R. Butler. In 1872 he was a member of the assembly in the State legislature, and was the same year nominated for congress by the repub- licans in a largely democratic district. In the spring of 1875 he was tendered the position of United States attorney for the eastern district of Wisconsin, but declined it on account of his large private practice. He is now a member of the firm of Jenkins, Elliott and Winkler, one of the leading law firms of the State. DARWIN CLARK, MADISON. D ARWIN CLARK was born at Otsego, Otsego county, New York, May 12, 1812. His father’s name was Isaac, his mother’s, Eunice Clark. They were intelligent, respectable and pious. Mrs. Clark was a member of the Presbyterian church. The character of their son, Darwin, was formed under the influence of those qualities of his parents, and hence his success in business, his exemplary moral character, and his religious sentiments. He had a common school education in his native town, and after leaving school taught during three successive winters. Before he attained the age of twenty-one he learned the trade of cabinet making. He immigrated to Wisconsin in May, 1837, and arrived at Madison on the 10th of June, at which place he made his permanent residence. He worked occasionally on the capitol as carpenter, and occasionally at his trade, and sometimes as clerk in a store, during two years. In the winter of 1840 he circulated a subscription for the purpose of buying books for the first Sabbath school established in Madison. In the spring of 1845 he commenced the furniture business, and has continued it to the present time. He is a religious man in his sentiments and uniformly attends the Episcopal church. In politics he is, and has always been, a Democrat, unwavering in his devotion to the Union. He was the first treasurer of the then village of Madison, and filled the office three different years. He was president of the council and acting mayor of the city in i860. He was alderman four years, commencing in 1858, and again in 1873, 1874 and 1875, in which latter year he was again elected president of the council. He married Sarah L. Goodnow, a noble wife and Christian woman, in September, 1848, and lived with her six years. In 1858 he married Fran- ces A. Adams, by whom he has two children, living with their parents. His grandparents on both sides were revolutionary soldiers; his father was in the war of 1812. Mr. Clark is what is commonly termed a self-made man. Nature makes all men ; circum- stances develop them. Mr. Clark was fortunate in THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 83 having parents to teach him the value of knowledge and the value of morals; hence, when he had the opportunity, he was teaching others, thereby indi- rectly teaching himself. The principles of action which have governed him through life were based upon the morals his parents taught him. He is a remarkable man, having many of the virtues which distinguish good men, and none of their vices. He has by honest toil accumulated a comfortable inde- pendence ; he has discharged the duties of many offices of honor, and some of them of pecuniary responsibility, and yet neither in his public duties nor in his private dealings has a shade of suspicion ever rested upon the escutcheon of his honor. Such men are the salt of the earth, and should be held up as models for all those who come after them. GEORGE WHITE r I ''HE subject of this sketch was born at Charles- X ton, New Hampshire, on the 29th of January, 1836, and is the son of Enoch H. and Lydia West. His father, a farmer by occupation, was highly esteemed for his many excellent qualities. His mother was a woman of estimable character, the influence of whose teachings and example early instilled into her son those principles of morality and uprightness that have marked his whole life. George passed his boyhood on his father’s farm, receiving his education at Ackweth Academy, New Hampshire, where he pursued a full course of academical studies. His natural tastes inclined him toward a mercantile life, and accordingly, after leaving school, he engaged in buying wheat and in merchandizing. He continued in this business during a period of twelve years, and at the expira- tion of that time turned his attention to the produce trade, which he has since continued to follow with good success. In 1857 he removed to Monroe, O. WEST, WA TER Wisconsin, where he was for two years engaged in selling goods. He then resumed the produce busi- ness, and three years later removed to Darlington, Wisconsin, where he resided until 1867, when he settled in Whitewater, his present home. He has dealt extensively in live-stock and wool, and during the last eight years has been the heaviest wool dealer in his State. Politically, Mr. West was, until 1872, a supporter of the republican party ; at that time he became identified with the liberal movement, and supported Horace Greeley for the presidency. He has held several town offices, but has never taken any promi- nent part in politics, finding in his legitimate busi- ness full scope for the exercise of all his powers. His religious training was under Universalist influ- ences, and he still adheres to the doctrines of that church. He was married, March 18, 1857, to Miss Sophia C. Parks; they have one son and one daughter. RICHARD RICHARDS, RACINE. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Marion- ethshire, North Wales, was born on the 6th of August, 1818, and is the son of Griffith and Ann Richards. He received his early education in the common schools of his native place, and later attended an academy in Liverpool. After com- pleting his studies he engaged in farm-work with his father, and spent ten years in this occupation. At the expiration of this time he emigrated to America, arriving in New York city on the 1st of June, 1841, thence he went to Ohio, and in the ensuing August settled at Racine, Wisconsin. Here he purchased five hundred and eighty acres of land, and since that time has devoted himself chiefly to his farming interests. In 1852, he turned his atten- tion to raising fancy stock and has ndw some of the finest horses in the West, the pedigree of three of which we append : “ Swigert,” foaled in the spring of 1866, is a brown stallion, and was bred by the late Robert A. Alexander, of Woodford county, S-+ THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. Kentucky. He was got by Mr. Alexander’s Nor- man dam “Plaudina,” by “ Mambrino Chief,” grand dam. the Burch mare, by “ Brown Pilot,” dam of “ Brown Pilot ” by Cherokee, son of “ Sir Archy.” “ Swigert ” is a brother of “ Blackwood,” who has a record of 2:23 ; also a brother of “ Lulu,” who has a record of 2:14-!-; also a brother of “Nashville Girl,” record 2:20. “Rosalind,” a sister of the dam of “Swigert," has a record of 2:2i|-. “ Alden Goldsmith,” foaled in the spring of 1874, a bay stallion, was bred by Alden Goldsmith, of Blooming Grove, Orange county, New York. He was got by “Volunteer,” and he by Rysdyk’s Hambletonian dam, “Maid of Orange,” by Rys- dyk's Hambletonian grandam; dam by “ Saltram,” he by Webber’s “Whip,” he by Blackburn’s “Whip,” and he by imported “Whip.” He is a brother of “Huntress;” also of “ Gloster,” “ Abdallah,” “ Bo- dine,” “ Wm. H. Allen,” and many others. “Western Chief," foaled in June, 1871, a bay stallion, was bred by Geo. W. Ogden, of Paris, Bourbon county, Kentucky. He was got by Curtis’ “ Hambletonian ; ” he by Rysdyk’s dam, “ Lady Ealenon,” by “Mambrino Chief;” grandam, a thoroughbred mare, bred in Virginia and noted as a trotter. Mr. Richards has also a fine herd of Durham cattle, and the finest lot of Essex and Berkshire hogs in the West. Besides he has a flock of two hundred and fifty sheep, mostly Spanish merinos, and at the exposition of 1867, in France, received a diploma and bronze medal for superior samples of wool. He has been identified with the republican party since its organization, and in 1873 was elected to the State legislature. He was married in February, 1841, to Miss Jane Evans, and they have two sons and three daughters. A. W. RICH, MIL WA UK EE. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Somos, Hungary, was born July 27, 1843, and is the son of Emanuel and Sarah Rich. He received his early education in German, Hebrew and Hungarian at a private school in his native country. When he had reached his tenth year he immigrated to Amer- ica in company with his parents, and arrived at New York October 24, 1853, and after remaining there until 1855, they removed to Cleveland, Ohio. Here he continued his education, attending the public schools for the period of three months. Subse- quently, in 1857, they removed into the wilds of Michigan, settling upon a farm in Saginaw county, where they experienced all the hardships and toil characteristic of pioneer life. Here they remained three years, at the end of which time they again removed and settled at Owasso, Michigan. From this time young Rich, now in his eighteenth year, was obliged to depend upon his own exertions for a livelihood. His father furnished him with about forty dollars’ worth of goods and started him upon a peddling trip; but he considered this business by far too humiliating to his self-respect, and refusing to continue in it, worked his way to Detroit, and obtained a situation in a wrapping-paper house, with a salary of fifteen dollars per month. Becoming dissatisfied in this position, however, he proceeded to Cleveland, his former place of residence, and was advised by his relatives and friends to resume ped- dling ; but being unwilling to pursue a business which was so utterly distasteful to him, he obtained work upon a farm and nursery near the city at a salary of twelve dollars per month and board. In this position he continued for the period of six months, gaining, in the meantime, a superficial knowledge of the science of optics, to which he was greatly assisted by a friend, then engaged in that line of business, and by close study during his spare hours. Having saved enough from his earnings to supply himself with about forty dollars’ worth of spectacles, he set out as a traveling optician, and after meeting with fair success in his travels over different parts of the country, arrived at Milwaukee in June, 1865. Here, in company with a friend, whom he met by accident, he opened an optical es- tablishment with a capital of eight hundred dollars, belonging equally to himself and partner, the firm being styled A. W. Rich and Co. This enterprise not proving as successful as he had anticipated, he abandoned it at the expiration of a year and a half, and saved from his capital, after paying all liabilities, the sum of four hundred and fifty dollars. Subse- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. quently, forming a copartnership with a fellow-coun- tryman, who was at that time a manufacturer of hoop skirts, he continued in that business for six months, at the expiration of which time, finding that his views and those of his partner greatly conflicted as regarded the manner in which the business should be conducted, the partnership was dissolved. A few months later Mr. Rich opened a part of the store now occupied by him for the sale of hoop skirts and corsets, and the manufacture of the former, conduct- ing the business with the assistance of one young lady the first year and two the second. By exten- sive advertising in the principal daily papers of the city, he brought his business prominently before the public, and found that it was steadily increasing. Afterward, in order to supply the demand for other articles of ladies’ apparel, he increased his stock until it embraced a complete line of ladies’ goods. The principles upon which he built up his trade were, to make one class of goods a specialty; to cater to the best class of trade by keeping choice goods and an attractive place of business; to make a fair profit and adhere to one price; to allow no accumulation of old stock : to advertise extensively, and to conduct all business transactions with the strictest integrity. Following these principles, his business increased from thirty-three to fifty per cent yearly, and his place of business increased from fourteen by forty feet to a large, double store, thirty by ninety, his employes in the store from two to twenty, while he employed from eight to twelve per- 85 sons in the manufacturing department. From eight thousand the first year, his sales had amounted to over eighty thousand the sixth, when, feeling that there was still room for improvement, he admitted Mr. I,. Silber as a partner in the business on the 15th of August, r874, the firm being styled A. W. Rich and Co. Since that- time such success has attended their efforts as to necessitate a change in their business quarters in order to accommodate the large stock of goods necessary for their jobbing trade. Mr. Rich’s parents being Jews, lie was nat- urally brought up to a belief in their religion, and is a consistent member of that sect. Having always possessed a natural taste for literary pursuits, he is well read in the English language, and is at present more proficient in that than in his own. He is a correspondent of several newspapers published in Milwaukee and other cities, and has been president of two literary societies; further, he has held leading positions in the Masonic and other organizations, in which he is much esteemed for his intelligence, ex- ecutive ability and liberality. In politics he has always been a thorough repub- lican. Mr. Rich was married February 13, 1871, to Miss Rosa Seidenberg, whose father is a large importer and manufacturer of New York city. Mr. Rich’s business success may be attributed to a laudable ambition, a persistent determination to succeed, a careful attention to the wants of his customers, and energy and integrity in all his transactions. CHRISTIAN OSH C HRISTIAN LINDE, a native of Copenhagen, Denmark, was born on the 19th of February, 1817. He graduated at the Royal University of Copenhagen in 1837, and attended the hospitals there till 1842, when he had to leave on account of political difficulties. He immigrated to the United States, and on the 17th of July arrived in Wisconsin, and purchased two hundred and eighty acres of land, where the Insane Asylum now stands, near Oshkosh. His intention was to engage in farming, hunting and trapping, and not to engage in the practice of his profession. During the next four years he endeav- ored to give his attention to his farming interests, LINDE, M.D., OSH. but was called to Green Bay so often, to attend to professional duties, that, in 1846, he left his farm and established himself at that place, and engaged in his profession. In the following year, having sold his farm, he removed to Oshkosh, his present home, and purchased a tract of land where the city now stands. During the next two years he was engaged in active practice, and at the expiration of that time began hunting, trapping, speculating, and dealing in furs. He employed himself in this manner till 1858, in the meantime attending to his professional work; and, being the only surgeon then in northern Wis- consin, was called upon to perform some most diffi- cult surgical operations. In 1858 he discontinued $6 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. his other business, and resuming his practice at Osh- kosh, has since given it his chief attention. A prominent and enterprising man, he has always taken a leading part, and now stands among the foremost of his profession in Wisconsin. During tire late civil war he was examining surgeon for Winnebago county. Dr. Linde was, at one time, president of the Winnebago County Medical Society, is now an active member of the State Medical So- ciety, and also of the American Medical Association, and has been chosen as a delegate to the medical convention to be held at Philadelphia during the present year (1876). His career throughout has been marked by perse- verance and public-spiritedness; and, settling in Wisconsin at an early day, as he did, his name is coupled with many incidents of interest connected with the history of that State. In 1842 he was the only surgeon in northern Wisconsin, E. B. Wolcott being the only other one in the State. He was, in truth, one of the pioneers, and found, in his new home, ample opportunity to gratify his natural taste for hunting, trapping, and other kindred occupations connected with pioneer life. He helped to cut the first road from Oshkosh to Fond du Lac; and, be- ginning thus when the State was new, he has grown up with it, and in his practice has kept pace with the growth of other improvements. His political views are democratic ; and he is not identified with any church organization. Dr. Linde was married in 1843, to Miss Sarah Dickinson, who died in 1849, leaving one son. This son, a promising physician, is a graduate of Rush Medical College, of Chicago, and is now in partner- ship with his father, the firm being C. and F. H. Linde. On the 15 th of May, 1858, Dr. Linde mar- ried his second wife, Miss Huldah Henning, by whom he has one son and three daughters. Such is a brief outline of the life-history of one who, by his own exertions, has risen from compara- tive obscurity to a position of high social standing and public trust, and made for himself a name that shall live in the memories of all who have known him. HENRY M. MENDEL, MIL WA UK EE. H ENRY M. MENDEL, clothier, of Milwaukee, was born in Breslau, Germany, on the 15th of October, 1839 — son of Moses and Henrietta Mendel. His education was received in the high school of his native city. While yet a boy he was thrown upon his own resources, and at the age of fourteen he sailed for America, landing in New York, where his stay was brief ; from thence he came to Milwaukee, where he arrived on the 24th of August, 1854, and found employment as clerk and book- keeper in a clothing store, which position he retained five years. Leaving the store he entered the office of register of deeds as copying clerk, where he remained two years and a half, the latter part of the time acting as deputy, after which he returned to his former position as book-keeper. In 1865, with a partner, he started in the wholesale hat and cap busi- ness, the firm name being Stein and Mendel, and was very successful in building up a large and profit- able trade. He continued this business five years, when he sold his interest to Mr. Stein, and entered the wholesale clothing house of S. Adler and Brother, as partner, under the firm name of Adler, Mendel and Company. Here his early training in a clothing [ store, together with his ripe experience in the job- bing trade, and a fixed principle as to business hon- esty, enabled him to contribute new energy and influence to an already well-known establishment. Success followed his efforts as before, so that it may be said of Mr. Mendel, though starting at the bottom round of the ladder, beginning with the drudgery of clerkship and working his way up through the various grades rising therefrom, he has enjoyed the smiles of fortune and experienced few of her frowns, but may, in a far greater measure than can be stated here, consider his success as the results of an ener- getic business disposition, coupled with honesty of purpose and principle. He is an excellent musician, and took a lively interest in the Milwaukee Musical Society, holding various official positions therein. While he was president of the society the present Academy of Music was rebuilt, which is a spacious and substantial structure, internally a monument of art and beauty, reflecting great credit upon the man- agement of the society, and especially upon its exec- utive head. While this society was groaning under THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. a crushing burden of stock as well as floating debts in the years 1870 and 1871, a plan was formed by prominent citizens, among whom were Messrs. Jacobs, Fridersdorf and Mendel, as executive com- mittee, whereby this indebtedness might be can- celed, which, by their combined energy and pluck, was entirely successful. Mr. Mendel is still a young man, and has a prom- ising future before him. He has a thorough, semi- 87 classical education, and cultured manners and tastes, which makes him a valued member of the very best society. In religious faith he is a Jew, with broad and liberal views. In politics he is a republican. On the 19th of February, 1869, he was married to Isabella, daughter of David Adler. They have three children, two sons and one daughter. JAMES H. THOMPSON, M.D. MILWAUKEE. T HE biographical sketch of Dr. James H. Thompson, one of our ablest medical officers of the volunteer army during the war, will be best illustrated by official' testimony of his valuable ser-’ vices. His life may be said to have been devoted to public usefulness and duty, and has called forth expressions of appreciation from all the departments in which he served. The incidents of his experi- ences would no doubt be very interesting, but our limits will compel us to confine ourselves to the man. James H. Thompson was born September 4, 1835, at Foxcroft, in the State of Maine, and received his preliminary education at the academy of his native town. For a time he taught school, and then en- tered Bowdoin College ; graduated from the medical department of that institution in 1859, and com- menced the practice of his profession, in copartner- ship with Dr. W. H. Allen, at Orono, Penobscot county, Maine. In i860 he went to New York city, and pursued his studies at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and attended hospital clinics. In 1861 he returned to his native town, and was married to Mary Elizabeth, only daughter of Hon. John G. Mayo, of Dover, Maine. In October, of the same year, he was examined by the medical examining board of the United States army, and so satisfactory was his examination that Dr. John Bradbury, one of the examiners, gave Dr. Thompson the following letter : To Col. Geo. F. Shipley, Portland, Maine. Dr. James II. Thompson, of Orono, has just passed a most satisfactory examination before the examining board. 1 have known him for many years, as student and practi- tioner. lie has always had an unblemished moral reputa- tion, and we have met with no man more eminently quali- fied for a medical officer of your regiment than he. Respectfully, John C. Bradbury. Member of Exam. Board. 1 In November, 1861, Dr. Thompson was commis- sioned assistant surgeon of the 12th Regiment of Maine Volunteers, and full surgeon on the 5th of December of the same year. He served with his regiment and in hospital at New Orleans, Baton Rouge, the first Red River expedition of General Banks, and at Port Hudson, with distinction, until August, 1863, when his health failed and he was compelled to go North on furlough, after having voluntarily given up a furlough, previously granted, in order to participate in the siege or capitulation of Port Hudson. Dr. Thompson was on the steamer at New Orleans, en route for home, on sick leave, when news of the repulse of our forces at Port Hudson reached him. He immediately changed his destination to the front instead of home. On reaching Baton Rouge, he found that all the wounded had been brought there. The hospital accommodations were very limited. Dr. Thompson organized the Church Hospital, the patients of which gave expression of their apprecia- tion of his skill and urbanity, and regretted the necessity of his departure. In a letter from Dr. Reed, medical director of the right wing, United States forces, referring to Dr. Thompson’s services, he says: “ Whether in charge of his regiment upon the field, or in charge of gene- ral hospital, he has always thoroughly performed his work. Entirely capable and reliable, cool, prudent, and highly energetic, I regard Dr. Thompson as one of the ablest men it has been my fortune to meet.” In a letter of Dr. John H. Runcle, medical di- rector, referring to Dr. Thompson, he says : “ After the attack on Port Hudson, of the 27th of May, he rendered valuable service in hospital at Baton Rouge, although at the time he had a leave of absence, dis- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. SS playing great devotion and much self-sacrifice, and greatly aggravating the disease he was suffering from.” We have also before us a letter from Brigadier- General Shepley, military governor of Louisiana, which, speaking of Dr. Thompson’s services, says : “ I cannot speak too highly of his judgment and skill in his profession, and his constant and unre- mitting devotion to every duty. It is not too much to say that he always had the best regimental hos- pital to be found in the command to which his regiment was attached.” In November, 1863, Dr. Thompson’s health still not permitting him to return to the South to his regiment, and being desirous of remaining in the army during the war, on the invitation of the sur- geon-general he appeared before the medical exam- ining board at Washington, and passed a very rigid examination of six days’ duration with honor, and received on the 10th of November, 1863, his appointment as assistant surgeon of the United States Volunteers, and was appointed full surgeon of volunteers on the 5th of December, 1863. His appointment was confirmed by the senate, and he was duly commissioned by President Lincoln. Dr. Thompson reported immediately to Point Lookout, Maryland, and was placed as medical officer in charge of prisoners of war in camp and hospital. In 1864 he was made surgeon-in-chief of district St. Mary’s, on the staff of General James Barnes, and served at Point Lookout during the remainder of the war. At the close of the war Dr. Thompson received many flattering testimonials of his services from heads of departments in which he had served, — our limits only admit of extracts. General Barnes in a letter to Dr. Thompson says : As the advent of peace leads to the breaking up of all the military associations of this command, it gives me a great deal of gratification to be able to say to you in parting that your kind, careful and soldier-like treatment of the prisoners of war who have been here in such large numbers has ever met my approbation, and is highly honorable to your character as a man, while your skillful management of the sick in your charge, and the low average of mortality, as shown by the official records, bear an equally honorable testimony to your professional ability and skill. General Hoffman also pays a high compliment, as follows : At the time you were assigned to duty at the depot, the sanitary condition of the camp and hospital was very un- favorable, but your energy and good judgment, governed by proper humane feelings, soon inaugurated measures which brought about most commendable reforms, and while the camp and hospital were placed in a perfect state of police, and the sick were supplied with everything necessary to their comfort and speedy recovery, the hospi- tal fund was so judiciously managed as to leave a surplus of over twenty-five thousand dollars to be returned to the subsistence department. In August, 1865, Dr. Thompson was breveted lieutenant-colonel United States Volunteers, for faithful and meritorious services, by President Johnson, and was mustered out at his own request on the 15 th of September, 1865. In 1867 -Dr. Thompson was appointed surgeon to the National Soldiers’ Home near Milwaukee, where he remained until 1870, when he removed to the city of Milwaukee and entered at once upon a large and lucrative private practice. On his leaving, E. B. Wolcott, resident manager of the Soldiers’ Home, closes a very complimentary letter in these words : I, therefore, having a full appreciation of his services to this institution, deeplj^ regret his separation from it. I trust, nevertheless, our loss may be his gain, and of this I feel assured, knowing his business capacity to be first rate, and integrity beyond question. With such indorsements eulogy from us would be superfluous, but such a record deserves a place among the eminent and self-made men. JOHN A. BUTCHER, MIL WA UK EE. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Salisbury, Litchfield county, Connecticut, was born No- vember 1, 1829, and is the son of John A. Dutcher and Mary nee Chapin. His father dying when he was a few months old, he was left to the care of his mother, who afterward married again and removed to Kent, Connecticut. At the age of fourteen years, he accepted a clerkship in a store, and in that capa- city served during a period of five years, laying the foundation of his subsequent mercantile career. At the end of this time, in 1849, he removed to Osh- kosh, Wisconsin, where he spent one year, and then entered the wholesale grocery house of P. W. Badg- ley, Milwaukee, as book-keeper. At the end of two years he was admitted as a partner to the business, the firm being known as P. W. Badgley and Co. Upon the death of Mr. Badgley in 1853, Mr. Dutcher con- tinued the business with Kellogg Sexton, and later THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. admitted to the firm Mr. J. R. Goodrich. In 1862 Mr. Sexton retired, and E. H. Ball was admitted to the partnership, the firm name becoming Butcher, Ball and Goodrich. From the time when Mr. Dutcher became connected with the house its growth was marked, each year adding largely to the extent and influence of its trade, and, upon his re- tirement in 1870, it stood among the foremost houses in its line in the Northwest, and was known for its able management and sound financial standing, hav- ing passed safely through the financial crises of the last twenty-five years. In 1870, Mr. Dutcher, asso- ciating himself with Messrs. Vose and Adams, en- gaged in the manufacture of stoves, under the firm name of Dutcher, Vose and Adams. In this, as in his former business, he has been remarkably success- ful, the house having competed successfully with eastern manufacturers, in quality, style and price of its wares. In 1871, owing to the demands of trade, and increased transportation facilities, he established a wholesale tea house, under the firm name of J. A. Dutcher and Co. His wide experience in mercantile affairs at once gave to the enterprise a leading place, and it has built up an extensive and flourishing trade. Though still at the head of the two last named busi- ness houses, Mr. Dutcher finds time, in the midst of his various duties, to devote to self-culture and the interests of those about him. During the last twenty years he has been a most active and zealous Christian worker, taking a promi- nent part in all religious enterprises of his city. He united with the Plymouth Church in 1856. Later, he assisted in organizing the Olivet Church, and be- came one of its most active and devoted members. At the present time (1876) he is a member of Im- manuel Presbyterian Church. While aiding in all enterprises tending to the furtherance of religious interests, Mr. Dutcher has devoted special atten- tion to Sunday school work, and done much to sus- tain and build up the Sunday school cause through- out his State. He has also, for many years, been deeply interested in the welfare of sailors, and has been a liberal supporter of the Wisconsin Seamen’s Friend Society, being president of the society from its establishment in 1868, and aided largely in found- ing the Bethel Home for Sailors, of Milwaukee. He has besides shown a worthy public-spiritedness, and been honored with positions of responsibility and trust, and has always been in sympathy with all movements tending to the welfare of his city. Mr. Dutcher was married, October 11, 1852, to Miss Annette Edwards, of Kent, Connecticut. JOHN BLACK, MILWAUKEE. T OHN BLACK, son of Peter and Magdalena •J Black, was born near the city of Bitche, France, August 16, 1830. His father was by occupation a farmer. John received a common-school education and a partial collegiate course. Is by occupation a liquor dealer. He came to Lockport, New York, in 1846, and remained there several years, and after- ward visited the principal cities in the United States and Canada. He settled in Milwaukee in 1857, where he has since resided. While accumulating his ample fortune he has always avoided outside speculations, confining himself strictly to a legiti- mate mercantile business, yet was ever ready to con- tribute to such industrial enterprises as were calcu- lated to promote the public good. In 1870 a number of the leading business men and capitalists of Milwaukee organized the Bank of Commerce ; in this enterprise he was foremost, and one of the principal stockholders. He was elected vice-president of the bank, a position which he still holds. In addition to the successful management of his large and extensive mercantile business he has occasionally taken a prominent part in public affairs. He was for several years railroad commissioner of the city of Milwaukee. In 1869 he received the democratic nomination for the office of state treas- urer, but the entire ticket was defeated at the elec- tion. In 1870 he was elected a member of the common council. The people of Milwaukee had long and seriously felt the want of a system of water works, the delay in business being caused by a pro- vision in the law relating to the bonded indebted- ness of the city. During his term in the council he succeeded in removing, with other assistance, this difficulty, and getting the necessary legislation which resulted in the building of our present complete sys- tem of water works. In 1871 he was elected a member of the assembly. Among the important go THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. measures introduced and passed by him was one for the punishment of persons found carrying concealed weapons. In the presidential election of 1872 he was one of the electors at large on the democratic electoral ticket for the State of Wisconsin. In 1873 he was elected a member of the State senate. Dur- ing his term as senator he introduced and succeeded in passing two very important measures, one for the punishment of bribery at elections, which was re- ceived with unbounded satisfaction by the people of the entire State, and the other to secure liberty of conscience to inmates of State institutions. This latter bill, though meeting a determined opposition inside and outside the legislature, he carried through the senate, but it failed to pass the assembly. Of his public life it can be truly said that “ the office has always sought the man, and never the man the office.” Mr. Black’s public and private character command equally the admiration and the respect of the com- munity in which he lives. As a public man he is patriotic and enterprising, heartily cooperating in every public work calculated to promote the public good, giving his thoughts, time and means to the promotion of their success. As a private man he is social, generous and hospitable, of exemplary morals, and believes in a religion the cardinal maxim of which is “to do as he would be done by.” Believing that the people are the safest depository of power and the proper authority to exercise it, he is in political sentiment a democrat, and in times of trial and difficulty one of the “unterrified.” His purest affections are manifested in the sacred- ness of his home, in the stations of husband, father, neighbor and friend. TIMOTHY A. CHAPMAN, MIL WA UK EE. T IMOTHY A. CHAPMAN, a merchant of the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the third son and eighth child of Mary Greenwood and Geo. W. Chapman, was born on the 23d of May, 1824, in Gilead, Oxford county, in the State of Maine. His father was a native of Massachusetts, and a farmer; was at one time a member of the legislature, and for thirteen years town clerk and selectman ; such was the confidence of the people with whom he lived that in giving his testimony in court he was not required to take the usual oath. He has just passed away at the age of ninety-five, with every faculty unimpaired except that of sight. He has left to the world th& record of a well-spent life. Timothy A. Chapman during his boyhood assisted his father upon the labors of the farm, and was educated at the district school of his native town, and at the academies of Bethel and Yarmouth, Maine; subse- quently engaged in teaching. At the age of twenty, desiring a wider theater of action, he went to Boston with less than ten dollars in his pocket, where he met with a dry-goods merchant who gave him em- ployment as clerk in his store. He served in that capacity six years, when through the solicitation and encouragement of James M. Beebe, he became one of the firm of T. A. and H. G. Chapman, Hanover street, Boston, and remained there seven years with but little success, except to establish a reputation for capacity and integrity. Observing the power and influence of capital invested in the dry-goods business in the East, he determined to make his future experiments in the West. In the year 1857 he removed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and through the assistance of C. F. Hovey and Co. resumed business on East Water street under the firm of Hassett and Chapman. Mr. Hassett retiring at the end of five years, Mr. Charles Endicott became a partner and remained three years; since that time, a period of twelve years, Mr. Chapman has conducted the business alone. Having goods of the best quality, united with system and good order in his establish- ment, together with the rule of “one price,” his patronage very soon exceeded his expectations. The city grew, and rival houses arose, but he main- tained his supremacy. In 1872 he built one of the largest dry-goods houses in the Northwest, situated on the corner of Wisconsin and Milwaukee streets, which he now occupies. The dimensions of the building are forty-six by two hundred and forty feet, and four stories high. The interior is airy, cheerful and perfect in detail, affording every convenience to employe and patron. Although there are over one hundred clerks in this establishment, the character of its head is felt in every member, and order and system reign supreme. In 1850 Mr, Chapman married Miss Laura Bow- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 9 1 ker, of Boston, a woman of education and culture, of social qualities and of exemplary character as wife and mother. In accumulating his present fortune he has not been unmindful of the comfort and happiness of employes and members of his own family who have been less successful in business ; nor has he been wanting in public spirit. He con- tributes liberally to whatever measures are calcu- lated to promote the general welfare, physical, moral, or intellectual, recognizing no distinction of creed or opinion, being broad and liberal, a lover of nature and scientific pursuits. His life illustrates the success an ambitious man may achieve by self- reliance, sound judgment, and persevering industry. HON. LEVI LIUBBELL, MIL WA UI< EE. L EVI HUBBELL was born in Ballston, New _ j York, April 15, 1808, and was the youngest son of his parents, who were natives of Fairfield, Connecticut. His father, Abijah Hubbell, entered the service as a soldier in May, 1776, and served during the war. He was wounded at the battle of Brandywine and bore the scar during his life. His mother was the daughter of Dr. Fitch, of Reading. Levi commenced his classical studies at an academy in Ballston, and completed his preparation for col- lege at Canandaigua, New York. He graduated at Union College, Schenectady in 1827, where two of his brothers had preceded him. He read law at Schenectady and at Canandaigua. Soon after his admission to the bar, he formed a partnership with his brother, Walter, of Canandaigua, in whose office the subsequently distinguished orator and statesman Stephen A. Douglas was then a student. At this time he was a member of a debating club of which Stephen A. Douglas, George W. Clinton, Henry Morris and others who rose to distinction were members. He regards his connection with that club as one of the most fortunate events of his life. Lie engaged early in politics and was one of the editors of the “ Ontario Messenger,” the organ of the democratic party in that county. Through his influence young Douglas was led into the demo- cratic fold, and became an ardent friend of General Jackson. In January, 1833, he was called by Gov- ernor Marcy to take the office of adjutant-general of New York, succeeding General John A. Dix, which he held until November, 1836, when he re- signed and removed to Ithaca, New York. In 1840 he was elected a member of the State as- sembly from Tompkins county as a conservative dem- ocrat. He took an active part in support of the policy of enlarging the Erie canal, and of opening channels of communication with the growing West. In June, 1844, he removed to Milwaukee, where he has since resided. He formed a partnership with Asahel Finch and William Pitt Lynde, and practiced law under the firm name of Hubbell, Finch and Lynde. In May, 1848, he was a delegate to the national democratic convention at Baltimore, giving his support to General Cass. As a member of the committee on resolutions he acted with Governor McDowell of Virginia, Slidell of Louisiana, and Francis I. Blair of Washington, in opposing the pro- slavery resolutions of William L. Yancey of Georgia. In July, 1848, he was elected one of the judges of the supreme and circuit courts of the State. His circuit embraced the counties of Milwaukee, Waukesha, Jefferson and Dane, the duties of which, together with those of the supreme bench, were very laborious. The terms of the judges were determined by lot, and' he drew the three years term. In 1851 he was reelected for six years. A separate supreme court being established in 1853, he continued to act as circuit judge until June, 1856, when he resigned in consequence of the inadequacy of the salary — fifteen hundred dollars per annum — and resumed the practice of law in the city of Milwaukee. Of his ability, learning and general character as a judge there is but one intelligent opinion, and that places him among the most distinguished of the profession. When the war of the rebellion com- menced he exerted all of his influence on the side of the government, and was denominated a war demo- crat, or republican. In 1863 he was elected a mem- ber of the State legislature from the county of Milwaukee, a body in which his genius, learning and classic taste admirably qualified him for efficien- cy and usefulness. Accordingly his tongue and his pen were devoted to the cause of his country, the one in eloquent appeals to the patriotism of his countrymen and the other in expounding the prin- C)2 THE EXITED STATES BIO GRAPHIC A L DICTIONARY. riples of the government which were being assailed, with a view to their demolition. In 1S70 he was appointed by President Grant dis- trict attorney for the United States for the eastern district of Wisconsin, and retained this office until June, 1S75, discharging its duties with ability and fidelity. It is proper to state not only in reference to Judge Hubbelh but as a part of the history of the times, that an attempt was made in 1853 to impeach him for misconduct as a judge of the circuit and supreme courts of the state. The trial, which has long since been regarded as a political drama instigated by a few envious and malignant parties, ended after a full and searching investigation in his prompt acquittal by the court. The result was received by the State at large with gratification, and by the citizens of Milwaukee (his home) with manifestations of joy, with bands of music, the firing of cannon, guns, etc. Judge Hubbell was twice married to beautiful accomplished women : first, in 1836, to Susan Linn, daughter of Hon. Simeon De Witt of Albany, New York, and after her death, in 1852 to Mary Morris, . daughter of the late Samuel W. Beall of Wisconsin. ANSON W. MIL WA A NSON W. BUTTLES, civil engineer and sur- Ix. veyor, was born at Milton, Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, on the 22d of June, 1821, be- ing the eldest son of Cephas and Nancy Buttles; the former was born at East Granville, Massachu- setts, on the nth of April, 1791 (and now in general good health) and the latter was born at East Wind- sor, Connecticut, on the 23d of February, 1794 (whose maiden name was Stoughton). Mr. Butties' father removed to Pennsylvania from Massachusetts about the year 1817, his intended wife following at a later date. They were married at Milton, Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, on the 25th of May, 1820, and about the year 1831 they removed from Pennsylvania to Clear Spring, Wash- ington county, Maryland, with their family of five sons and one daughter, where they remained until the year 1843, and removed from thence to Colum- bus, Ohio, and resided there for a few months, and finally proceeded to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where they permanently located, in the year 1843, on the 5th of October. Their five. sons and one daughter (who were all born in Pennsylvania) removed with them to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Abijah Buttles and Augustus Stoughton, the grand- fathers of A. W. Buttles, were soldiers in the revo- lutionary war ; the former crossed the Delaware river on the night of December 25, 1776, with Gen- eral Washington’s wing of the army, and assisted in the capture of the Hessians, one of whom he made prisoner and led him up to his captain, when the Hes- sian drew r from his pocket a bottle of New England rum and the three took a sociable drink together. BUTTLES, UKEE. The subject of this memoir began his studies at Northumberland College, Pennsylvania, at a very early age, and received the balance of his education in Washington county, Maryland, partly under select tuition, and prepared himself for the profession of civil engineering and surveying, the practice of which he commenced (very young) on the Chesa- peake and Ohio canal in Maryland, and later, when the Baltimore and Ohio railroad was commenced, he went into camp on the location of that road, under B. H. Latrobe as chief engineer. He commenced at the lowest step of the ladder, and elevated as fast as an opportunity would permit, which were few and far between, being at too young an age (although capable) to repose much responsibility upon in such very important and gigantic work as railroading was considered in those days. However, he remained on the location and construction of said road until the same was completed as far as Cumberland, Maryland, and from that time quit the profession until the Milwaukee and Mississippi railroad in Wis- consin began its career, and upon which road was on the location as far as Madison and upon the con- struction as far as Milton. The chief engineer was the late Hon. Byron Kil- bourn, a very ambitious, competent and accurate officer, and under whose authority Mr. Buttles had charge of the construction of the first division from Milwaukee to Waukesha, twenty and one-half miles, and which distance he has walked both ways in a day many times, with his instrument upon his shoul- der, giving grades, directions, etc., whenever they were needed. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 93 And the first rails ever laid in the State of Wiscon- sin were put down to grades staked by him. After his services were no longer needed there he was removed to the next division from Waukesha west, and remained on said division until the com- pletion of the road to Milton and the branch to Janesville, at which time he left the road and fol- lowed the fortunes of Mr. Kilbourn, who had transferred his services from the Milwaukee and Mississippi road to the Milwaukee and La Crosse as chief engineer, and Mr. Buttles was on the loca- tion and construction of that road as far as Hartford, having charge of all the most difficult work, and re- mained on it until graded thus far. Then quit the profession of civil engineer, for the reason that he had contracted a heavy cold while camping out qn the Mississippi road, which became seated for such a length of time that finally it partly deprived him of his hearing. Since which time he has been county surveyor of Milwaukee county three terms, and held the office of county superintendent of schools second district of Milwaukee county for six years, besides holding the offices of town clerk and justice of the peace for a number of years, the latter two are now in his possession. In the year 1870 he had charge of the first division of the Milwaukee and Manitowoc railroad as the resident engineer, and continued as such until the company became bankrupt, since which time he has turned his attention to farming, where he now re- sides, in the town of Milwaukee, occasionally doing some surveying. In regard to his politics, has always voted with the democracy, yet never was a strict partisan, rather considered the man to be elected. At present his political views are, “ Hard money for the people, a tariff for revenue only, honest payment of the pub- lic debt, free speech and free press, and opposition to a third term.” He was married, January 15, 1850, to Miss Cornelia H. Mullie, who emigrated to Wisconsin from the kingdom of Holland in the year 1848. It was a very common expression of Mr. Buttles when in his teens, to say that he never would marry unless he could bestow his heart with a fine, large Dutch girl' recently from the old country ; yet strange to say such was really the case, as she was a fine, hale, hearty Dutch girl, and a lady above the average weight, and “the bill was filled in all its particulars.” She not speaking the English language and he could not speak her native tongue, notwithstanding the contract was made without any obstacle, and after a time resulted in the raising of a family of eleven children — four sons and seven daughters, and at the present writing all are living, their parents also, and are all without a blemish upon either their per- sons or character, the eldest being now engaged in the public schools of Wisconsin and the next eldest fitting for the dry-goods business. Mr. Butties' wife being the first woman who was propelled by steam on a railroad in Wisconsin, which took place on the Milwaukee and Mississippi railroad when a very short distance of the track was laid from Milwaukee west. His religious views have never been definitely settled, never being connected with any church, but has always when possible attended the Episcopal church, of which his parents were members. WILLIAM E. SMITH, MIL WA UK EE. W ILLIAM E. SMITH, of Milwaukee, mer- chant, was born in 1824, in Scotland, the son of Alexander and Sarah Smith, whose name, previous to her marriage, was Grant. His father was a man of education and culture, belonging to the middle class, and manager of a large landed estate. Mr. William E. Smith was quite young when he came to America. Lived first in New York, then in Michi- gan, and in Wisconsin in 1849 ; was educated in the public schools. He was married to Miss Mary Booth, daughter of »3 Rev. John Booth, of Michigan. He has two sons and two daughters. His oldest son was educated at the State University ; the younger is at the academy in Milwaukee. Both daughters have received a lib- eral education. In 1850 he was elected to the legislature from Dodge county, where he settled in 1849. He was first a whig, then a republican. The questions of the session were the abolition of capital punishment and the submission of the bank question to the peo- ple. In 1851 he was nominated for reelection, and 04 THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. declined. He was elected to the senate in 1857. He attended the convention at Madison in 1854, which org.ini/ed the republican party, taking an active part therein. During the first session in the senate he was a member of the committee on educa- tion. In the second session, in 1858, he was chair- man of the committee on education. In T85S he was appointed one of the regents of normal schools, there being four now in the State. He was elected to the senate in 1863, serving in 1864 and 1865 ; was mem- ber of committee on finance and on banks, and was chairman of committee on benevolent institutions. In 1865 he was elected treasurer of the State, was reelected in 1867, and retired in January, 1870, from that office, enjoying the public confidence. He went to Europe in 1870 for observation and recrea- tion. and traveled through Great Britain and on the Continent. Returning in 1870 to his old home in Dodge count v, he was reelected to the assembly, feel- ing very grateful for this indorsement of his public services after twenty years, and also by the State in electing him speaker of the assembly. He is a trustee of the Milwaukee Female College, and lias been regent of normal schools seventeen years. He has been a trustee of the Wisconsin Female College at Fox Lake twenty years ; he is trustee of Wayland University at Beaver Dam; trustee of the University of Chicago, Illinois; trustee and one of the executive committee of the North- western Life Insurance Company; is State prison commissioner, to which position he was appointed by Governor Taylor; he is vice-president of the Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce; representative of the chamber of commerce in the National Board of Trade, and one of the vice-presidents of the National Board of Trade. But few men in our country have ever been called upon to discharge the duties of as great a variety of offices as Mr. William E. Smith ; none has dis- charged them with more ability or with greater sat- isfaction to his countrymen. The purity of his life has disarmed envy and jeal- ousy of their malice, and the “smell of fire is not upon his garments.’’ HENDERSON HUNT, M.D., BELOIT. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Nichols, New York, was born on the 4th of January, 1X13, of Ebenezer Hunt and Abigail nee Dock His paternal ancestors immigrated with the Pilgrims, and his grandfather Hunt, with five brothers, served dur- ing the war of the revolution. His maternal ances- tors, also, were among the first settlers of the colonies. His mother when quite young removed with her parents from Newark, New Jersey, to Fort Wyoming, soon after it was burnt by the Indians. And from this place the family removed up the Susquehanna river in a large boat propelled by poles to where Nichols now is, in the county of Tioga, New York. Here, on the east bank of the river, the Dod family perma- nently settled in an unbroken forest inhabited only by wild beasts and Indians. At the age of fifteen his mother married Andrew White, by whom she bore three children. The last remaining member of this branch of the family was the late Judge White of Jasper, Texas. After the death of White she married Ebenezer Hunt. The fruit of this alliance was six children, three boys and three girls, Hender- son being the second. Henderson’s early life presented few marked char- acteristics, other than an ardent desire for knowl- edge and fondness of study. He lived with his parents, employing his time in farm work and study at home and at the district schools, and while there imbibed those habits of strict temperance and indus- try that have marked his subsequent career, having never chewed tobacco, or smoked a cigar or pipe, or drank a particle of ardent spirits as a beverage, from childhood to the present time. His retiring disposi- tion and native modesty naturally inclined him toward his books, in which he found most congenial com- pany. The sciences especially were his delight ; and having acquired the mastery of surveying, he left home at the age of twenty-two and went to Michi- gan, intending there to engage in his profession. But not meeting with the success that he had an- ticipated, he soon returned to New York and began the study of medicine with Dr. Terrey of Newark. At the expiration of six months, going to Ohio, he engaged in teaching in the high school of what is now South Cleveland. Five months later he entered the medical college at Worthington, Ohio, where he THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 95 matriculated for a full term of college studies, two winter and two summer courses of lectures, and graduated from the same in 1837. Returning to Cleveland he spent a short time in practice with Dr. Kellogg, and later continued his profession for three years at Chardon, Ohio. In 1841, removing to Wis- consin in his own private conveyance, he settled at Delavan, where, during a period of eight years, he conducted a large and continually growing practice. At the end of this time he matriculated as an M.D. in the University Medical College in the city of New York, where he attended a full course of lec- tures, and in the spring returned home and again took up the practice of medicine in company with Dr. J. R. Bradway, his former pupil, now of Oak- land, California. In 1849, having purchased a large farm, he re- linquished his profession in part and turned his at- tention to agricultural pursuits. Aside from his regular business he has devoted much time to pub- lic enterprises. In 1851 he aided in organizing the Deaf and Dumb Institute, was chairman of the build- ing committee and served as president of the insti- tution during a period of seven years; and in all matters pertaining to the welfare of his city his sym- pathy and support have never been wanting. Politically, he was in early life a democrat, but in 1856 he became identified with the republican party, and has since remained a firm supporter of its principles. His early religious training on the part of his par- ents consisted more of Christian exampl? enforced by positive injunction to do right regardless of con- sequences than by catechism. His parents were both sincere practical Christians, but did not belong to any denomination. Under such influences Hen- derson was left quite free to choose and embrace that form of doctrine he might think most reasona- ble. At the age of twelve he began to learn and receive the doctrines of the New Church, and in this faith lias lived and grown for over fifty years, firmly believing it to be the true doctrine of revela- tion and the only one that is capable of fully har- I monizing the bible with science; and that one, too, which is filling the Christian world and the churches with a higher and purer life and light. He was married in 1838 to Miss Loraine B. Filler, of Newburg, Ohio, who died in 1849, leaving two sons, one daughter having died in early infancy. He was married a second time in 1850 to Miss Sarah A. Barlow, of Delavan, Wisconsin, and by her has had eight sons and one daughter. As a man, Dr. Hunt is widely known as upright and honorable in his dealing, while his social and personal qualities have secured to him a large circle of warm friends. His life has been one of varied experiences, and now, having reached the sundown side, he enjoys the satisfaction of having done what he could to aid his fellow men, and of having de- veloped in himself a true and generous manhood. HON. PETER VICTOR DEUSTER. MIL JVA UK EE. P ETER VICTOR DEUSTER, a native of Prussia, was born near Cologne in that king- dom on the 13th of February, 1831. He is the only son of Mathias and Anna C. (Koenen) Deuster. The groundwork of the lad’s education was laid at the common school, where he pursued his studies until he attained the age of thirteen. He was then removed to an academy, and continued there until his parents immigrated to America, three years later. In the month of May, 1847, they set sail for the United States and landed in Milwaukee in July. Mathias Deuster bought a farm in Milwaukee county, and his son turned his hand to farming until winter set in, when he entered the printing office of the late Hon. Moritz Schoeffler, editor of the “ Wisconsin Banner,” as an apprentice. For three years he remained in this employment, until his indenture expired. He then worked for over a year longer as Mr. Schoeffier’s accountant and col- lector. Peter Y. Deuster then commenced the publi- cation of a literary weekly paper called the “ Haus- freund ” which he edited, printed and carried for about six months, at the end of which time he was engaged as foreman in the “ See Bote ” office and held that position until November, 1854. About this time he was offered the charge of a newspaper published by Judge A. Heidkatnp, at Port Washing- ton, Wisconsin, and accepted the same. He entered at once upon his duties but did not confine himself g6 THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. to the task of superintending the paper. He ran the post-office, was deputy clerk ot the circuit court, notarv public, land agent, did banking business, and at night taught school for young men. In 1 S56, after having made all arrangements for starting a paper at Green Bay, he was offered a third interest in the "See Bote,” and in September of that vear he returned to Milwaukee and entered into partnership with Messrs. Greulich and Rickert as publishers of the said newspaper. A year afterward he purchased Mr. Rickert’s interest, and in i860 he bought out his remaining partner, the Hon. August Greulich, and has ever since published and edited the paper alone. Mr. Deuster was born and educated in the Roman Catholic faith, but although still an adherent to this ancient church, he is also a believer in the doctrine of Frederick the Great, “To let every man attain to salvation according to his own notion.” Ever since he has been old enough to form any opinion on political matters he has been an admirer of the Jeffersonian democracy, and still holds the fundamental principles of the same as the safest for the preservation of liberty. In the year 1862 Mr. Deuster was chosen by the citizens of the south side of Milwaukee to represent them in the legislative assembly, and in 1869 he was elected to the State senate from the sixth senatorial district, which was composed of part of the city of Milwaukee. In addition to the various newspapers that we have before alluded to, we must not omit to men- tion that he was the publisher of the Chicago “ Daily Union ” (a democratic German paper) from 1869 to the outbreak of the great fire. Although Mr. Deuster has led such a busy life he found time to make a trip to Europe in 1865, and visited all the principal parts of Germany. In 1874 he went to California, where he remained for about six months, with the object of seeing all the noted places of that State. He was married, January 10, i860, to Agathe Ger- trude, only daughter of John Stoltz, Esq., one of the earliest settlers of the city of Milwaukee. Mr. Deuster’s record is that of a man who is not satisfied unless actively engaged. His has been a career of industry, and as steady application to work is the healthiest training for every individual, so is it the best discipline of a State. The idle pass through life leaving as little trace of their existence as foam upon the water or smoke upon the air; whereas the industrious stamp their character upon their age, and influence not only their own but all succeeding generations, ALBERT B. GEILFUSS, MIL WA UK EE. A LBERT B. GEILFUSS is a native of Germany, . and was born in Saxony, March 1, 1847, whence at the age of four years he was brought to the United States. His father, who is still living, was a school-teacher, and spared no pains in the educa- tion of his eight children. The family remained in New York until 1854, when they removed to Mil- waukee, where the subject of our notice was at once placed at school in the German and English Acad- emy, under the care of the learned and much lamented Professor Peter Engelmann. Here he was a close student, history, mathematics and the lan- guages being his favorite studies. He remained in the academy until 1861, when he graduated with the highest honors. Immediately after leaving school he was employed in the boot and shoe store of B. Stern, as clerk and assistant. Disliking the business, he soon after entered the banking house of Price, Bros, and Co., as errand-boy, when after a short time he took charge of the books during an illness of their accountant. He rapidly acquired a knowl- edge of banking, and in 1865 was engaged as book-keeper of the Fifth Ward Bank, now South Side Savings Bank, where he also acted in the capac- ity of teller. In the fall of that year, Price, Bros, and Co. recommended him very strongly to Good- rich, Rumsey and Co., their successors in business, where he remained until March, 1867, when he was called to the Merchants’ National Bank of Milwau- kee, by its president, Mr. E. H. Goodrich, as teller and general assistant. Mr. Geilfuss filled this posi- tion until 1870, when the Merchants’ National Bank went into voluntary liquidation, and was succeeded by the Bank of Commerce (Edward O’Neill, presi- dent, John Black, vice-president), in the organization of which Mr, Geilfuss rendered very valuable assist- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 97 ance. The directors of this bank comprised many of the wealthiest and most prominent merchants and capitalists of Milwaukee, and they immediately appointed Mr. Geilfuss cashier. A greater evidence of confidence in character and ability could hardly have been given to so young a man, as Mr. Geilfuss was then but twenty-three years of age — by far the youngest cashier that had ever been appointed in Milwaukee. His close attention to business, to- gether with the careful management of all matters intrusted to him, rendered him exceedingly popular with the customers of the bank, and the directors rewarded him with a reelection every year to the position of cashier. In politics, Mr. Geilfuss may be called independ- ent. He has generally voted the republican ticket. He, however, took an active part in the liberal movement, and in May, 1872, was elected a delegate to the Cincinnati convention, and was chosen secre- tary of the Wisconsin delegation. His religious views are broad and liberal, his aim being “to do right.” He is not only tolerant of others’ views, but gives full credit to all for sincerity, when their works accord with their profession. He is of a very social disposition, and has been elected three times to the presidency of the Germania Lit- erary Society. He has frequently been chosen to official positions in the Milwaukee Musical Society, Milwaukee Msennerchor, and Young Men’s Associ- ation, of which latter institution he has been thrice treasurer; the last term he was elected without op- position. He has been twice elected treasurer of the Milwaukee Musical Society, and is at present one of the five trustees selected for the management of the Academy of Music. In September, 1869, he was married to Josephine A Bremer, eldest daughter of George Bremer, the senior partner of one of the oldest grocery houses in Milwaukee. He has three children, a boy and two girls, living. Mr. Geilfuss has attained not only a great and well deserved popularity, but has been the recipient of many positions of trust, due not alone to a marked and singular business talent, but to an unswerving integrity, and a faithful adherence to the interests of those whom he has always so truly served in the responsible offices he has filled. The fearless, honest and upright manner in which he has at all times discharged his duties has won for him a deep respect and an unlimited confidence, that cannot be but gratifying to so young a man. WILLIAM H. RODWAY, MIL WA UK EE. W ILLIAM H. RODWAY, a native of Wilt- shire, England, was born on the 29th of March, 1823, and is the son of Richard Rod way and Ann ne'e Fisher. His mother was descended from a very old and respectable family, and both her father and grandfather were captains in the British navy. William had a great fondness for study and literary pursuits, and while a pupil in the common schools was noted for his power of declamation and aptness in his studies. At the age of fifteen years he left school and during the next five years served an apprenticeship in a dry-goods house, and there laid the foundation of his subsequent business career. At the close of his term of service he removed to London and there spent several years in the same business with Messrs. Stagg and Mantle, Geo. Hitch- cock and Co., and Swan and Edgar. His stay in London was especially beneficial to him in perfect- ing his knowledge of business and bringing him into more direct contact with the most prominent mer- chants. After filling many positions of trust to the entire satisfaction of his employers,' he left London and spent one year with his uncle, John Fisher, of Bristol, proprietor of a horse and carriage repository. In 1849 he immigrated to the United States, and settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Here for a time he was somewhat unfortunate ; soon after his arrival all his clothes were stolen, and at the end of the first year he had exhausted nearly all his means. He was next engaged for a short time in painting, and soon afterward, in company with Mr. Acheson, purchased the first lithograph press ever brought to Chicago, and under the firm name of Acheson and Rodway began that business which has become so extensively known as the Chicago Lithograph Com- pany. At the same time he began dealing in real estate, and other remunerative occupations, and finally devoted his attention almost wholly to real estate operations. In 1857 he owned about twenty thousand acres of land in different parts of Wiscon- the exited states biographical dictionary. 98 sin. and has continued his extensive dealings up to the present time. besides this lie has an interest of eighty thousand dollars in a sash, door and blind factory, which is conducted under the firm name of Rodway. Conway and Co., and ships largely of his goods to thirteen different States. Their facilities for carrying on their business are unsurpassed by those of any establishment in the State, and they are widely known for their sound financial standing. In his real estate dealings especially, Mr. Rodway has shown himself preeminently a business man; and his strict honesty, undoubted integrity and keen perception have placed him among the fore- most men of his city. He has negotiated some of the largest sales ever made in his State, and was chiefly instrumental in the sale to the United States Government of the property near Milwaukee on which now stands the Soldiers’ National Home. In his political views he is a staunch republican, and has been a warm supporter of General Grant since the battle of Pittsburg Landing. His ambi- tion, however, has not been for political honors or emoluments, he finding in his regular business more satisfactory and congenial work, and ample scope for his best talents. He has traveled extensively, and in visiting the principal cities both in this country and Europe he has gained an invaluable experience and an accurate knowledge of men and things. His religious training was under rigid Episco- palian influences, and he is now a worthy and zealous member of that church. Mr. Rodway has been twice married; first in 1848 to Miss Eliza Jane Fisher, who died on the 3d of January, 1864. His second marriage was on the 27th of June, 1865, to Mrs. Hannah Mary Hathaway, a native of Perth, Scotland, and daughter of Joseph and Mary Smith. Her father, a revenue officer in England, died in her majesty’s service. Mr. Rodway ’s taste and delicacy in all matters of literature and art, his keen wit and fine power of expression, render him a most pleasing man socially to his few near and intimate friends, and only those who have known him thus can appreciate him as the delightful companion, the generous host and friend, as well as the successful business man. COLONEL WILLIAM L. UTLEY, RACINE. ^ILLIAM L. UTLEY, a native of Monson, Massachusetts, was born on the 10th of July, 1814. His father, a graduate of one of the best col- leges of his day, had been a successful business man, but with many others failed in the cotton man- ufacturing business, at the close of the war of 1812. Abandoning the luxuries which had surrounded him, he removed his family to the “ Western Re- serve ” in Ohio, then a dense wilderness, whose still- ness was broken only by the crack of the Indian’s rifle or the tread of wild beasts. At this time, Wil- liam was four years old; and surrounded by such scenes of pioneer life he passed his boyhood, receiv- ing his education in a log school-house, and at the hands of his father and mother. His first ambition was to become a hunter; this, however, was suc- ceeded by a taste for music and painting, and with a view to cultivating his talents in this direction, he left his home in Ohio at the age of twenty-one, and went to New York State. Having little money he struggled hard, sometimes having plenty, and at others being reduced to penury, and thus lived a nomadic life until August, 1844, when he found him- self in Racine, Wisconsin, a portrait painter and fiddler. Up to this time his political views had been democratic, although he had taken no active part in political matters, and could with difficulty define his opinions. His political career began in 1848, when he abandoned his former sentiments, and became identified with the free-soil or republican movement at the first meeting of that body ever held in the United States. LIpon that issue he was elected the first marshal Racine ever had, and growing in zeal and political favor, he was, in 1850, elected to the legislature and reelected in 1851. In the following year he was appointed adjutant-general of the State by Governor Leonard J. Farwell, and from that time till i860 held various positions of public trust, but was most of the time engaged in keeping public- house, in which business he was financially suc- cessful. He was elected to the State senate in i860, and there rendered most efficient service, distin- guishing himself in opposing the demands of the South and in assisting to put the State in readiness THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 99 for war. At the opening of the rebellion in 1 86 1 Governor Alexander Randall appointed him adju- tant-general of the State, and although there was hardly a soldier in the State when he entered upon his duties, within six months he placed thirty thous- and men in the field, and was highly complimented in a private letter from President Lincoln for his prompt and energetic action. Upon the accession of Governor Harvey he left the adjutant-general’s office and again took his seat in the senate. Soon after his return home at the close of the session in 1862, he received a colonel’s commission from Gov- ernor Solomon, with orders to raise a regiment in ten days. At the expiration of that time he reported at Madison with men enough to form two regiments, one of which, the 22d, was assigned to him; and with them, undrilled, he went to the front and as- sisted in driving Kirby Smith and General Bragg out of Kentucky, and was the first to carry the president’s emancipation proclamation through that State, which he did at the point of the bayonet. Leaving Kentucky in February, 1863, he went to Tennessee, and there, at Spring Hill, his regiment, with the entire brigade of General Coburn, were taken prisoners, and confined for several months in Libby Prison. Upon being exchanged, the regi- ment was reorganized at St. Louis, Missouri, and from there went to Franklin, Tennessee. He was soon afterward placed in command of the post regi- ment at Murphysboro, where he remained till Feb- ruary, 1864. Soon after, joining General Sherman’s army in the famous “march to the sea,” he partici- pated in all the battles till the taking of Atlanta, and distinguished himself by his valor on all occasions. On the 5th of July, 1864, by reason of impaired health, he was obliged to resign his commission and return to his home. After regaining his health, in company with his son, the then only survivor of his family, he purchased the “Racine Journal,” which was then a poorly patronized democratic sheet, and changing its politics, made of it a widely circulated and influential paper. At the end of nine years of successful labor as a journalist, he closed his con- nection with the “ Journal ” and devoted his attention to his duties as postmaster, an office to which he had been appointed by General Grant in 1869, and reappointed in 1873. He was chiefly instrumental in securing the erection of the fine post-office building of his city. Mr. Utley has given special attention to the raising of blooded horses for nearly thirty years, and has raised many which have become cel- ebrated, among which is the horse “Billy Utley.” In his religious views he is a Universalist, and believes that God will overrule all things for good. Naturally kind, genial and social, he is a most agree- able companion. Firm, prompt and decided, he never proves untrue to his promise, stands ready to make any sacrifice for a friend, and never turns his back upon an enemy. He has been twice married : first, on the nth of July, 1839, to Miss Louisa Wing, who died April 10, 1864; they had three children, of whom one, a son, is now living. Secondly, on the 22d of February, 1866, to Miss Sarah J. Wooster, by whom he has one son. Naturally domestic in his habits, Mr. Utley finds his chief enjoyment in his own family, and is most highly esteemed and respected by them as a devoted husband and fond father, while by all whom he knows he is admired as an upright and fair dealing gentleman. LEVI BLOSSOM, MIL WA UK EE. L EVI BLOSSOM was born at Canaseraga, Alle- -/ gany county, State of New York, September 23, 1813. His parents, Levi and Cynthia Blos- som, were natives of New England. He was edu- cated in the common schools of the State in which he was born. Self-made man, as it were, he left home at an early age, when quite a boy, remaining in his native State until the year 1836. Thrown upon his own resources when about fourteen, he came west, arriving at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in November, 1836, having been among the earliest settlers, and identified with nearly every public work for years. A few years ago he went south, and was engaged in the raising and cultivation of cotton, but returned again to Milwaukee, and remained there until a few days previous to his death. Mr. Blossom was one of the first to suggest the building of the Lake Shore Railroad from Milwaukee to Chicago. The project was regarded as utterly chimerical, as it was thought impossible for the road to compete with ICO THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. the water route. But he entered upon the work with extraordinary energy, and, by a series of addresses to the people along the proposed line, induced them to subscribe liberally for its construction. Thus the scheme was pushed forward to realization in the road which now constitutes the Milwaukee division of the Chicago and Northwestern system. It shows how abundantly Mr. Blossom's prescience was vin- dicated, that now another road has been built par- allel to this, and that both enjoy remunerative business. And this was by no means the only enter- prise that he conceived with admirable judgment and promoted with resistless energy and fertility of resource. The plank roads leading out of Milwau- kee at an early day, and also the lake avenue, a pop- ular drive leading to what is familiarly known as Whitefish Bay, were projected and completed under his supervision. He was also a large stockholder in the Northwestern Iron Company, and treasurer of said company for several years. Mr. Blossom was an able debater and fluent speaker, and ready to support, by individual effort and on the platform, any interest of trade or reform or enterprise for the public weal. In politics Mr. Blossom was a whig, and acted with the party during its existence ; but when the republican party came into power he acted with and supported the principles of that party until his death. Mr. Blossom was a constant attendant of the Episcopal church, and gave generously of his means for the support of the same. He also made many and liberal donations to the poor of Milwaukee, and many will feel the want of one who was ever ready to assist them in their hour of distress, and they will mourn the loss of a friend who so often contributed to their relief. Mr. Blossom was a man possessed of great energy and foresight in business matters, and had great executive ability in prosecuting any measure or pro- ject which he undertook. He was also a public- spirited man, ever ready to assist others in promot- ing and consummating any great public work or enterprise which would contribute to the prosperity and welfare of his adopted city and State. He was well and favorably known throughout the Northwest, and was generally conceded to have been one of the ablest business-men and financiers during his resi- dence in Wisconsin, a period of thirty-seven years. Levi Blossom died at the Grand Hotel, San Fran- cisco, Friday evening, October 31, 1873, of erysip- . elas, aged sixty years. He arrived in California only two days previous to his death, accompanied by his family, who returned to their former home with the last remains of the husband and father, who had only a few days before, been in the enjoyment of health and every promise of a long life. The funeral ceremonies were from St. Paul’s Church, Milwaukee, on the 7th of December, 1873, where he attended more than thirty years, and were conducted by Rev. Dr. Keene, assisted by Rev. Dr. Cole, of Neshota. Then passed from view Levi Blossom, one of the pioneers of Wisconsin, a man of genial nature, of noble, generous impulses, and one who possessed a large and earnest public spirit. EDWIN H. GALLOWAY, FOND DU LAC. I S a native of Harrisburg, Lewis county, New York, where he was born April 12, 1825. He is the son of Charles Galloway and Ann nee Moore. His father was a farmer by occupation, and ranked high as a neighbor and citizen. Edwin in his younger days was sent to the district school, and afterward finished his studies at the Lowville Academy. At the close of school he entered the employ of a merchant, and passed two years as a clerk and salesman. Then being twenty-three years of age, of a slight physical build, with a money capital hardly equaling his nec- essary traveling expenses, he started westward, and located at Fond du Lac, arriving there in the summer of 1848. The place was then a small village, hardly known on the map, but speedily destined, with such citizens as young Galloway to develop its resources, to spring forth as a champion, in growth and pros- perity, for the leadership of the State. Starting in as an operator in real estate, he touched merchandise incidentally for a short time only, and then took up lumbering, in its various and extended forms. His real-estate and lumbering operations he followed closely and successfully until the year 1866, when by reason of his imperfect health, which for- bade the constant day and night strain necessary in carrying on a business then widely extended, and era- sUsi'T; /// ; THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. IOt bracing various enterprises of magnitude, he began gradually to withdraw from affairs requiring active employment, and arranged and reduced his invest- ments more in keeping with the capacity of his phys- ical strength. For the past ten years he has been a principal stockholder and manager of the Savings Bank of Fonddu Lac, and is now the vice-president of that institution. Although for years ranking as one of the most active and successful business men of the State, he has ever been, and is to-day, devotedly attached to his home and his friends. His domestic nature and genial temperament are never to be destroyed by the excitement and wear of business affairs. He may always be found at his office or with his family. The only exception to this rule in the past has been, when from a sense of duty he has accepted, now and then, some of the many political positions tendered and urged upon him by the community, wherein the per- formance of public duties necessitated his absence from both, a condition requiring the keenest sacri- fice on his part. Another prominent, and perhaps the most promi- nent, characteristic of this man, is his universal be- nevolence, and almost unlimited charity to the poor. This spirit on his part has not found expression by glittering endowments, or other public exhibition of its donations; for although during his every day life, whenever any public enterprise, any religious society, or any laudable project whatever, from a new railroad to a summer-day picnic, needs aid or encouragement, they always find in him a ready and generous friend, yet it is among the individual poor, those in trouble, in distress, the sick or dis- couraged, cases that do not rise to public notice, conditions requiring kind counsel, as well as mate- rial aid, that Mr. Galloway and his family have dis- tributed their unsurpassed kindness and generous aid; until their names and deeds are household words among the poor. Mr. Galloway was married November 5, 1850, to Maria H. Adams, by whom he has had two sons and three daughters, all of whom (except one son who died quite young) are still living. He has recently erected an elegant and conven- ient residence on his farm near the city, where he passes much of his time, surrounded by his family and enjoying those comforts he so richly deserves. WILLIAM H. LATHROP, RACINE. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Man- chester, Bennington county, Vermont, was born on the 13th of July, 1816, and is the son of Hubbel Lathrop and Laura ne'e Brownson. His father, a well-to-do farmer, was much respected in his com- munity. After receiving his primary education, he spent half a year in the Burr Seminary immediately after its opening in 1833, and at the expiration of that time accepted a clerkship in the dry-goods store of William G. Henry, of Bennington, Vermont. He remained here two years, and in 1835 went to North Bennington and clerked for Messrs. Robinson, Blackmer and Co. till 1837. He next formed a copartnership with William E. Hawk, and opened a general store, which he conducted till 1839, when he closed out his business, and in the following year removed to Wisconsin, and settled at Racine. Dur- ing the first year after his arrival he employed his time in the store of Charles S. Wright, and in the post-office under Dr. Elias Smith. In 1842, return- ing to his native place, he spent about a year in set- J 4 tling up his father’s estate, he having died in the meantime; and, upon his return to Racine in the summer of 1844, he purchased a farm of two hun- dred and forty acres, three miles from the city, and engaged in farming and real estate operations. In 1845, forming a partnership with Mr. R. S. King and Mr. J. G. Conroe, he began a forwarding business, under the firm name of King, Conroe and Co., and a lumber trade under the firm name of Lathrop and Conroe. At the end of one year Mr. C. A. Lathrop, a brother, and L. W. Munroe, purchased the interest of Mr. King, and the above first named firm changed to Lathrop, Munroe and Co. In 1852 Mr. Munroe sold his interest to his son, H. B. Monroe, and the firm became known as Lathrop and Monroe. In the following year Mr. Lathrop purchased Mr. Monroe’s interest, and the firm name again changed to W. H. Lathrop and Co., C. A. Lathrop remaining in the business. In 1855 the business was discontinued, Mr. Lathrop selling his elevator, which he had erected in 1848, to the West- 102 THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. ern Union Railroad Company. The next three years were occupied in closing up the business of the firm, and in 1858 he again engaged in the grain and general forwarding and commission business in the elevator known as the Norton and Durand elevator. Running the elevator on a joint interest with the owners till 1865, he then purchased and enlarged it, and continued its operation till 1870, when it was burned, being insured for about two-thirds its value. Since that time Mr. I.athrop, though not actively engaged in business, has dealt to some extent in real estate. Formerly a whig in his political views, he is now a republican, and has been honored by his fellow citi- zens w ith positions of public trust. He has been a director and vice-president of the First National Bank, of Racine since its organization, and was also director and vice-president of the Racine county Bank, organized in 1854, and elected a director of the same in 1855. He was also secretary and treas- urer of the Rock River Plank Road Company dur- ing its existence of thirteen years. In 1856 he was appointed receiver of the Racine and Mississippi Railroad, now known as the Western Union Railroad Company. In his religious sentiments Mr. Lathrop is identi- fied with the Episcopalians, and is a worthy member of St. T, uke’s Church of Racine. He was married on the 22d of June, 1842, to Miss Harriet Ann Munroe, by whom he has had one son and one daughter, neither of whom are now living. Mr. Lathrop, with his wife, has traveled and visited many of the States in the Union and gained a most valuable experience. In 1856 they visited Cuba, and, on their return, visited all the principal cities of the southern States, and were present at the inaugu- ration of President Buchanan. In 1872 thcv'visited California, and spent the winter in the southern part of that State. As a business man he is widely known for his hon- orable dealing, financial ability and untiring enter- prise, while personally and socially he is possessed of those noble and gentlemanly qualities which must always command the respect and esteem of men. MANOAH D. MILLER, MADISON. ANOAH D. MILLER, the subject of this sketch, was born February 15, 1811, in Eliz- abethtown, Essex county, New York, son of Manoah and Elizabeth Miller, whose exemplary lives made a lasting impression upon the future career of their son. His father was a public-spirited man, and held several offices of honor and of trust, among them those of member of the legislative assembly and of judge of Essex county. In his capacity of legislator, in 1813, he was a warm advocate of that system of internal improvements inaugurated by Governor DeWitt Clinton which has made the State of New York, in population, enterprise and wealth, the first in the Union. His social relations with the governor were of the most cordial character, as evidenced by a letter from the governor to him which has been preserved as a sort of heirloom in the family. Manoah D. Miller received a common-school education in his native county and completed it at Madison University, in New York, in which institu- tion he qualified himself as a minister of the gospel. He entered the Baptist church as a clergyman, which position he held with credit to himself and advantage to his church during twenty two years. During the early part of his life he worked on a farm. At the age of thirteen he commenced learn- ing the trade of cabinet making. At the age of nineteen he commenced business for himself, and retired from it at the age of twenty-one. He again resumed his studies for the ministry, and when com- pleted became pastor of the churches at Monkton, Springfield, Danville, Windham, Wilmington and Addison, all in Vermont. He received the honor- ary degree of A.M. from Middlebury College. He was no less distinguished for his ministerial abilities than for his business capacity, and his aid was fre- quently solicited in various sections of the country to build churches. Learning that there were three thousand inhabit- ants in Madison, Wisconsin, and no Baptist church edifice, he could not resist the temptation to exert his talents on this new field of usefulness. He ac- cordingly came to Madison in January, 1853, and commenced the work of erecting a church edifice, in which he succeeded after encountering difficulties that at first seemed insurmountable, there being no THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. railroads, and materials very scarce. But few men have contributed more to building up the city of Madison or to induce immigration, and with that view, besides the business houses he erected several private residences, some of them among the most desirable in the city. Notwithstanding his incessant labors in the erection of his church edifice, he was unremitting in his pastoral duties, and preached every Sabbath in the court-house. These arduous duties so impaired his health that he was unable to speak any longer in public, and by the advice of his physicians retired from the pulpit. Partially recov- ering his health, his aid was again solicited and ren- dered at Beaver Dam in erecting a university. In June, 1857, he organized the Wisconsin Bank of Madison under the State law, and closed it at the commencement of the rebellion. At this period he commenced the business of private banking, in con- nection with life and fire insurance, which terminated in 1870. In politics, he was a whig until the forma- tion of the republican party, but was never a parti- san. He has been chaplain of the Good Templars’ Lodge in Madison a considerable portion of the time during fifteen years; has been president of the Dane county Bible Society for many years ; during all of which time he has led an irreproachable life, commanding the respect of all those with whom business brought him in contact, and winning the esteem and the affection of the virtuous In November, 1831, he married Phoebe Ensign, 103 daughter of Deacon John Ensign, of Essex county. New York. She has been to him what Providence designed all wives to be, a help-meet as well in private as in public business, during the last forty years. Believing it a duty he owed to his Maker, to him- self and to his children, to bring them up in some useful employment, he has taken his eldest son, Charles B. Miller, a married man, to the farm on which he resides, in sight of the city of Madison. The second son, Carlton E. Miller, has learned the trade of a tinner. Mr. Miller’s forefathers were among the early set- tlers of the United States, and participated in the revolutionary war. He was a warm Union man during the late rebellion, and sent his eldest son to the army. He knows the value of a good soldier, having been, and is yet, a soldier of the cross, en- listing at the commencement of his service for life. He is now enjoying in dignified retirement the reward of his labors in the consciousness of a well spent life, and in the hope that in the world to come he will be greeted with the salutation, “ Well done, good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” It is gratifying to the patriot, the philanthropist and the Christian to become acquainted with the character of those individuals whose lives have illus- trated the utility as well as the purity and dignity of manhood. EDWARD O’NEILL, MIL II A UK EE. ^"PHE subject of this sketch, a native of the 1 county of Kilkenny, Ireland, was born March 11, 1820, and is the son of Laurence O’Neill and Margaret nee Swift. Edward received his educa- tion in a parochial school of his native town, after leaving which his ambitious aspirations led him to leave his home and set sail for America, in hope of ameliorating his condition. Upon his arrival in New York in the spring of 1837, he found himself so short of money that he was obliged to seek im- mediate employment, which he gladly found in an opportunity to learn the tailoring business; and after an apprenticeship of two years he followed his trade upon his own account for nine years in the State of Vermont. During this time, by industrious and temperate habits, he succeeded in building up a prosperous business, and saving about three thousand dollars; and, having a natural taste for study, it became his custom, after performing his daily routine of business, to sit up far into the night in order to read historical and other instructive works, for the purpose of storing his mind with use- ful knowledge. In the month of October, 1850, he moved West and settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he continued his former trade for one year, after which he engaged in the clothing business for several years, and then sold out his interest to his partner. He subsequently established himself in the coal trade, but as the demand for coal was not sufficient at that early day to insure success, he 104 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION AR T. closed out his stock and established himself in the wholesale grocery business, in which he continued for five years. Aside from his regular business Mr. O’Neill has been engaged in many important enterprises, and has held many positions of public trust, among which was the organization of the Milwaukee Union Guards, an independent military company, of which he was captain until promoted to the position of lieutenant-colonel of the ist Regiment of Wisconsin State Militia. In 1853 he was elected a member of the Wisconsin legislature, in which he served two vears in the assembly and two in the senate. While here he prepared and introduced many important bills, among which was one for the establishment of the State Reform School at Waukesha, which is at present one of the best institutions of the kind in the United States, and of which he was appointed, by the governor, one of the board of managers, a position which he still holds, having been president of the board for the past nine years. He has also been a member of the board of education of the city of Milwaukee for nine years, during four of which he has held the presidency. He has been mayor of Milwaukee during the years 1863, 1867, 1868 and 1869, receiving his first and last election without an opponent. Among the many measures which received his recommendation or approval while administrator of the municipal government, were the adoption of the American automatic fire alarm telegraph, the procuring of surveys and plans for water-works and sewerage, which were finally adopted by the city ; the creating of the board of public works and board of assessors. He was presi- dent of the board of water commissioners for two years, during which the works were in process of construction. In July, 1870, he was associated with a number of business-men and capitalists in the organization of the Bank of Commerce of Milwaukee, of which he is one of the principal stockholders and president, a position which he has held from the establishment of the bank up to the present time. Mr. O’Neill’s parents being Roman Catholics, he was thoroughly indoctrinated in the principles of that ancient faith, to which he is a firm adherent. His sympathies have always been with the demo- cratic party, but he has never allowed partisan feeling to influence his better judgment. He was married on the 29th of October, 1847, to Clarissa A., daughter of Thomas McLaughlin, Esq., of Bennington county, Vermont, and granddaughter of Captain Thomas McLaughlin, of Bedford, New Hampshire, an officer in the revolutionary war; and that success which he has achieved since his marriage is largely due to the good counsel and prudent economy of his wife. PATRICK ROGAN, WA TER TO WN. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Ross Glass, county Down, Ireland, was born on the 26th of September, 1808, and is the son of Peter and Ellen Rogan. In 1823 his father immigrated to America and settled on a farm in Jefferson county, New York, and soon after died, leaving his son an orphan. Patrick received a very limited common- school education, and until 1837 employed himself in any honorable work which he could make remu- nerative. At this time, having accumulated a small capital and wishing for a wider field of action, he removed to the West and established himself at Watertown, Wisconsin, and there engaged in farming and at the same time opened a lumber trade. His attention, however, has not been confined exclusively to his regular business, but in all matters pertaining to the interests of his community or State he has shown a most worthy pubhc-spiritedness and untir- ing enterprise. His political sentiments have always been demo- cratic. During the administrations of Tyler and Polk he was postmaster of his town. In 1846 he was a member of the State constitutional convention, and during the years 1851, 1853, 1855 and 1866 he represented his county in the State legislature, serv- ing as chairman of the committee on claims during the sessions of 1851 and 1853. He was also, in 1853, an alderman of his city, a position to which he has since been several times elected. He has also on several occasions been elected to the office of chair- man of the board of supervisors, assessor, justice of the peace and commissioner of public schools. He has always taken an active part in the railroad inter- ests of his State, having been at one time a director THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 105 of the Milwaukee and Watertown, also of the Water- town and Madison railroad companies, the charter for both of which he aided in securing. He was also president of the Watertown and Waterloo Plank Road Company, secured the charter for the same, and aided in prosecuting the road to completion. Of a generous nature, sympathizing with all enter- prises and institutions tending to the welfare of his community, he has contributed liberally of his means, and to his untiring energy and noble generosity the city of Watertown is indebted for much of her pres- ent prosperity. In his religious communion Mr. Rogan is identi- fied with the Catholic church. He was married on the 17th of January, 1846, by Right Rev. William Quarter, at St. Mary’s Church, Chicago, to Miss Rose Crangle, and by her had four sons and three daugh- ters, one of whom is dead. Th-us, from comparative obscurity he has gradu- ally worked his way up, and is preeminently a self- made man. His education he gained by his own private study, and early in life developed that spirit of independence that has characterized his entire career. By honorable dealing, industry and frugal- ity he has accumulated an ample fortune, and enjoys the respect of all who know him. SHERBURN S. MERRILL MIL IV A UK EE. S HERBURN SANBORN MERRILL, son of Sally Worthing and Moses Merrill, was born July 28, 1818, at Alexandria, Grafton county, New Hampshire. His father was a farmer, and gave his son the usual advantages of a common-school edu- cation in his native town. Boys in those days grad- uated early, and young Merrill had laid aside his books for the plow and scythe before the age of sixteen. About that time he found employment in a hotel in Concord, where he remained some two years. He then entered the furnishing house of Moses Kimball, Boston. From thence he went to Troy, where he served as clerk in a hotel. His next change was to Bristol, near his native town, where he became partner in a hotel and was also interested in a cloth manufactory. Tired with his lack of success in the overcrowded East, he anticipated Greeley’s advice and deter- mined to go West and make for himself a home and fortune. In November, 1850, he removed to Mil- waukee, where he soon entered upon his life work, commencing his career as a railroad man. His initiatory labor was as foreman of a gang of men grading the Milwaukee and Mississippi railroad, afterward called the Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien, and now known as the Prairie du Chien division of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railway. From the position of foreman he served in the capacities of conductor and paymaster un- til he was appointed by the superintendent, E. H. Brodhead, as his assistant, which position he held three years. He next became superintendent of the Milwaukee and Watertown road, now a division of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railway. He was after this superintendent on the La Crosse and Milwaukee, now the northern division of the same railway. His health failing, it became necessary for him to leave the shores of Lake Michigan for a time. He accepted for one year the management of the Winona and St. Peter’s railroad. At the close of that year he was elected to the position he now holds, of general manager of the line then known as the Mil- waukee and St. Paul Railway. Since that time the building of a line from Milwaukee to Chicago has given the road its present name, Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway. The Milwaukee and Missis- sippi was the pioneer road of Wisconsin ; the growth of its accessories has been rapid, but in most cases healthful, and the lines to-day embrace over fourteen hundred miles of the iron track, with every mile of which Mr. Merrill is identified. He is at present one of the trustees of the North- western Insurance Company, and holds positions of honor and trust in other enterprises. Mr. Merrill has been twice married: in 1849 to Sarah D. Kidder, who died in 1855, leaving two daughters; in 1858 to Mary E. Freeman, by whom he has one daughter and three sons. Mr. Merrill is six feet two inches in height, of fine physique and commanding presence. In principle he is a democrat; but believing in the suppression of the rebellion, during the war his sympathies were with the division of that party known as “ war demo- crats.” io6 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. He is tolerant of all religious creeds founded upon moral principles. His mental characteristics are quickness of perception, decision of purpose and energy of action. He reads the character of men readilv and decides promptly upon their qualifica- tions. Such men seem born to command ; Napoleon and Jackson were remarkable illustrations of this truth ; with them to perceive, to decide and to exe- cute were synonymous terms. Mr. Merrill’s ceaseless vigilance, tireless. exertion and sound judgment have given a high character to 1 the road of which he is general manager, and have made it financially a success. Although he exacts a rigid compliance with his contracts and tolerates no dereliction from duty, he is just in his dealings with all men and kind to his employes. In the sacredness of home, in the society of wife, children and friends, he is the kind husband, the indulgent father and the genial host. The example of such men furnishes incentive to enterprise, encouragement to the hopeful toiler, and reflects honor upon our country. LEVI H. KELLOGG, MIL W A UK EE. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Sheffield, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, was born on the 24th of August, 1817, the son of Amasa Kellogg and Abiah nee Callender. When he was four years of age his parents removed to Oneida county, New York, and here he resided with them until he at- tained his sixteenth year, dividing his time between farm work and study in the common school, and also for a time was engaged in his brother’s store. Independent in his nature, he early manifested a disposition to do something, and gladly anticipated the time when, by his own merit, he could take an honorable position among men. Conscious of his own ability to triumph over difficulties, he was not content to toil for a mere subsistence, and left his home with a firm determination to succeed, inspired with high hopes and incited by a worthy ambition. In 1833, joining the westward tide of immigration, he removed to Monroe, Michigan. Of his journey thither, long and tedious, he gives a most vivid de- scription. The Maumee swamp, of Ohio, was a formidable obstacle in the way of immigrants moving west. Over this dreary waste of mud and water, thirty-one miles in width, the gloomy silence of des- olation reigned supreme, and the joy of our subject may be imagined when, after struggling in the sloughs for nearly three days, he set his foot again on terra-finna. The whole journey occupied three weeks, and was accomplished alone with his team. He resided in Michigan fourteen years, engaged in enterprises of different kinds, but not, however, to the neglect of the cultivation of his mind. Carefully economizing his time, he eagerly employed every means for acquiring knowledge requisite to fit him for any position, public or private, to which he might be called. In 1847, having been financially successful, he closed his affairs in Michigan and removed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, then a mere vil- lage, and employed his capital and energies in con- ducting a large business, comprising an elevator, milling, steamboating and produce commission. His tastes and experiences eminently fitted him for his work, and as a consequence success and prosperity continually attended him. He was always keenly alive to the interests of his city, and with the same zeal which he manifested in his own business, worked for her growth and welfare. His business relations gave to him a wide reputation, and throughout the Northwest he was esteemed as a man of superior business attainments, generous and honorable in the highest sense. In his own city he is remembered by young men whom he assisted and encouraged, and his name and deeds are cherished by hundreds who gladly acknowledge his bounty and advice. Preeminently a business man, he eschewed politics and devoted his life to the furtherance of worthy objects, and this, too, although his fellow-citizens, recognizing his worth, solicited his services for pub- lic trusts. In the spring of 1873, yielding to the wishes of his friends, he was elected mayor of Mil- waukee, but owing to some unimportant technicality, based upon the fact that when elected he was a member of the city council, with characteristic hon- esty and manliness he refused to qualify, believing that any irregularity in his official acts as mayor, at a time when matters vital to the interests of the city were to be passed upon, was sufficient reason for his declining to serve. 'The act was highly honora- THE UNITED STATES RIOGEAPHTCAL DICTIONARY. ble, and typifies a long life upon which there is neither spot or blemish, and indicates the purpose of a man whose name is the synonym of all that is good, honorable, noble and true. As a financier Mr. Kellogg was held in high repute. His extensive business, requiring all the skill and tact of an active brain, was managed with masterly ability, and his career furnishes an example most worthy of emula- tion. Beginning life with less than fifty dollars, he cast himself upon his own powers, and by energy working his way gradually up to his position of afflu- ence and honor, he may justly be called a self-made man and the architect of his own fortune. A distinguishing characteristic of this man was his generous benevolence. It is said of him that no deserving appeal for charity ever passed unheeded ; that he gave bountifully of his riches, and always had a kind word, a “God speed” and substantial aid for the young man embarking in business. In the early days of Milwaukee he became connected with the Odd-Fellows, and soon took a high position 107 in that body. Deeply interested in promulgating the principles of the order, he himself established many lodges in the State, and scarcely a member of the order in Wisconsin is unfamiliar with his name and influence. Especially is he remembered and loved by the older members, for the struggles and difficul- ties attending the establishment of the order in a new State bound these pioneers in a brotherhood that death alone can sever. Mr. Kellogg united with the First Presbyterian Church of Milwaukee in 1858, and until his death, which occurred on the 12th of December, 1873, remained a zealous and faithful member. He was married December 25, 1839, to Miss Helen Barnard, of Monroe, Michigan. Of their, children two sons are now living. Such is the life history of a truly noble man. Standing out ' prominently from corruption, dishon- esty, and all that tends to degrade and demoralize, he may truly be placed upon the roll of self-made men, a worthy example of generous manhood. MORITZ L. MORAWETZ, MIL WA UK EE. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Rand- nitz, Bohemia, a province of Austria, was born on the 15th of June, 1823, and is the son of Abram I. Morawetz and Amelia tide Iserstein. His father, though an unassuming man, was the recipient of many public honors. Moritz received his early education under private tuition at home, and later studied one year in the public high school of Prague. He early decided to follow a mercantile life, and during the first four years after leaving school was engaged in a wholesale grocery house. At the close of this engagement he accepted a prominent position in a wholesale silk, ribbon and notion house of Pesth, Hungary, which he occupied for four years. During this time his usefulness as a citizen gained the public recognition of the municipal authorities, and in 1847, on the occasion of his leaving Pesth for Vienna, he was made the recipient of a flattering testimonial, which bore the signature of the mayor and other officials. His going to Vienna was with the intention of entering into business on his own account, but he was precluded from this by the political revolution between Austria and Hungary which began in 1848. When in the followingautumn Vienna was besieged, with no prospects of an immediate settlement of difficulties, Mr. Morawetz returned to his father, who had won high and honorable distinction among his people, and who, owing to the confused state of affairs and the uncertainty of entering into business, consented to his son’s desire of immigrating to America. Arriving in Baltimore, Maryland, in July, 1849, young Morawetz at once sought a situation where he might learn the language, customs and manners of his new home. His efforts, however, were unsuccessful, and not willing to remain idle he opened a small business on his own account. His nativity and affable manners soon secured to him a high social standing and drew around him a large circle of respectable and pleasant acquaintances and friends. His business prospered and in a few years became remunerative, and he saw before him a bright future. Learning of the superior inducements offered to young men by western cities, he followed the advice of an elderly merchant in whom he had found a true friend, and accepted an offer of an old acquaintance in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to associate with him in his already established business. Removing thither THE I'NITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY 10S in the fall of 1853. he was greatly disappointed at not finding the condition of things what he had anticipated. Accordingly the arrangements with his friend lor entering into business were never con- summated, and he passed the following winter in looking for another engagement and deciding upon what course to pursue. In the spring of 1854 he established himself in the dry-goods trade, and conducted a successful busi- ness, till he received from Messrs. Bremer and Co. overtures to become a partner in their wholesale grocerv house, which had been established in 1850, and was enjoying a high reputation. Closing up his own business he entered into the copartnership, and has since shared in the success that has attended the well known firm of George Bremer and Co. The house is the oldest of the kind in the city, and one of the most successful in the West. It has an unbounded credit, and during all the financial crises through which it has passed never failed to meet an engagement. Public-spirited and enterprising, they have taken an active interest in all enterprises con- nected with the welfare of their city, and contrib- uted liberally to benev'olent and charitable objects. Mr. Morawetz was married in 1856 to Fanny Morawetz, of Rundnitz, Bohemia. JOHN M. KEEP, JANES VILLE. T OHN M. KEEP, the subject of this brief sketch, J who was the second son of General Martin Keep, was born at Homer, Cortland county, in the State of New York, on the 26th of January, 1813. His parents were both from New England and among the first settlers of Cortland county. After obtaining the rudiments of education at the district school, he at an early age entered the Cort- land Academy, at Homer, where he pursued the usual routine of academic studies, and prepared himself for college. He entered Hamilton College in 1832 and graduated in 1836, and was one of the first members of the Alpha Delta Phi Society in that institution. The same year he commenced his legal studies with Augustus Donnelly, a distinguished counselor-at-law, at Homer, New York, and com- pleted them with Horatio Seymour, Esq., at Buffalo. He was duly admitted to the bar and commenced practice at Westfield, New York, and in the year 1845 he removed to Beloit, in the State of Wiscon- sin, then a mere settlement, where he continued to reside until his death. Here he engaged not only in a large law practice but also took a very active part in all the enterprises that promised to promote the growth of the place and enhance the welfare of society. In the purchase and sale of lands, in the erection of buildings, in the promotion of institutions of learning and the construction of railroads he took an important part, and in many of these enterprises was the animating spirit. His mind seemed to grasp every subject and his enterprise embraced every occupation. Though a lawyer by profession, and otherwise engaged in a variety of pursuits, agriculture did not escape his attention or want his fostering care, for he knew that upon it depended the wealth, independence and morality of his adopted State. Whatever was good or useful, whatever tended to elevate human nature or ameliorate the condition of mankind, was sure to find in him cordial support and efficient aid. The value of his labors are to be estimated chiefly by the results flowing from his great and active mind — a mind rich in the profession of every moral and intellectual quality. In the young and growing State and city of which he was a resident no man impressed his name on more enterprises of private munificence or public utility. His chief qualities of natural greatness were moral courage, great energy, ready decision and an indom- itable will. Few men possess these qualities in so remarkable a degree as John M. Keep, because few men are so profusely endowed with the omnipotence of genius. Systematic in the employment of his time, he was capable of doing rapidly and well what most persons could not perforin without much time and great labor. Bred to the bar, his mind was too original and of too broad a cast to be bound by those narrow and confined views which bind the mere lawyer to former precedents and adjudged cases; he combined the more noble properties of justice with legal adjudications, commingling the principles of equity with legal rule, thus mitigating the too oft severity of legal despotism. In the spring of 1856 he was elected, without ^^b'jSBSan JrSev, the United states biographical dictionary. 109 opposition, judge of the first judicial circuit of the State of Wisconsin, but at the end of two and a half years he was compelled to resign this laborious office on account of the loss of health and the press- ure of his private business. It soon became evident that consumption had fastened itself upon him, and from this time the wasting of his bodily powers went on gradually, although he retained to the last mo- ment of his life the full vigor of his mind. Upon the death of Judge Keep, meetings of the bar were held at Beloit, Janesville, and also of the first judicial circuit, and appropriate resolutions passed and eulogies pronounced upon the life and services of the deceased. At the meeting of the bar of the circuit, the Hon. H. S. Conger, the present presiding judge, on taking'* the chair, said, “ Judge Keep, however regarded, was no ordinary man. As a citizen he was generous) benevolent and public-spirited. Of great firmness of character, untiring resolution and indomitable energy, he was bold, fearless and independent in thought and action, more resolute in the accomplish- ment of whatever he regarded his duty than solicit- ous to win praise or favor at any sacrifice of princi- ple, however small.” As a lawyer appreciating the responsibilities and duties of the profession, no man had a higher regard for its honor or reprobated more earnestly its pros- titution to base purposes. Elected circuit judge in 1856, and holding the office for two years until impelled to resign on ac- count of the pressure of his own private business, he carried to the discharge of the important duties of that office great ability, unwearied industry, and honesty and integrity never assailed. In the lan- guage of another who knew him well, “ he dignified the bench rather than received dignity from it.” The death of Judge Keep will be a great loss, not only to the profession but to the community at large. Calm, courageous, hopeful and trustful, he died as he had lived, confiding in a faith that had never for- saken him, resigned to that Providence in whom was his trust, in the full possession of all his mental faculties, vigorous even in death, and meeting the great change with the courage of a philosopher and the hope of a Christian. As much as there was in his life to emulate, there is in his death found in- struction equally valuable. In religion Mr. Keep was a Congregationalist, having united with that denomination at the age of sixteen years, and like it, he was liberal and tolerant respecting the tenets of other denominations; he would tolerate every class of sincere professors and protect them in their ideas of divine- worship. In all the relations of life and the connections which he formed with various classes of people, he pre- served unblemished his Christian character. His charities more than kept pace with his ability, and his pecuniary aid and legal advice were ever at the service of the poor and unfortunate. Perhaps no better perspective of his life and char- acter can be given than is contained in the following extract from a letter of recent date from the pen of the Hon. S. J. Todd, of Beloit, a long and intimate friend of Judge Keep. As long as his health would permit, his life was a very busy one, and unlike most men of active habits and whose mental processes are rapid, he had - the faculty of steady, untiring perseverance. When he began to do anything he never relinquished it until he had completed it or until it became impossible. This faculty I have usually found to exist only in slow men, which John M. Keep was not. When I first knew him he had been a resident of Beloit for six years. During this time he was engaged in the practice of the law and in the purchase and sale of real estate; con- sequently a very large number of men in Rock county, and the adjoining counties of Boone and Winnebago, Illinois, were living upon lands which they held under contract of purchase from him, and very many of these men — I think a majority of them — were always in arrears in the payment of principal and interest. He never declared a contract for- feited and never brought a suit against one of these pur- chasers so long as they stayed upon the land and exhibited a willingness to pay; but on the other hand, whenever they had been unfortunate, from the loss of crops or sickness, they were sure of substantial sympathy, which did not con- sist wholly of kind words, and he had the rare faculty of being charitable without assuming the air of patronage. These charities were large and manifold, vet they were given with so little ostentation that no one, however proud or sensitive he might be, was ever embarrassed or humili- ated by receiving aid at his hands, and more than this, he never spoke of these things. And this reminds me of another peculiarity in his char- acter. He was the most reticent, self-reliant, self-controlled and the bravest man I ever met, without a single element of fear or diffidence, and at the same time he was the most truly modest man I have ever known, never exhibiting vanity or egotism, and consequently no man ever heard him exalt or speak boastingly of himself or what he had done or intended to do. In this regard he came fully up to Curran’s description of Grattan, in his reply to Lord Ers- kine’s question, “What does Ilenrv Grattan say of himself, my lord ? ” Says Curran, “ Henry Grattan never speaks of himself. You could not draw an opinion out of him on that subject with a six horse team.” .Further, as a rule he never spoke of his enemies nor of his controversies with them. No matter what the gravity or magnitude of their charges or accusations might be, he was too indifferent to them, or too proud, to condescend to make any reply or explanation. The consequence was that he sometimes suf- fered in the public estimation, and his best friends were often embarrassed by the contemptuous silence with which he treated the ground of these accusations. It is hardly necessary to speak of him as judge, a position he filled with such eminent ability. As I remember him he nearly realized my ideal of a circuit judge. There as elsewhere he was composed, patient and impartial, always easy of approach by every one ; quick in his perception of I IO THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. I'verv c.im' presented lor his decision, and never too proud to reconsider his own decisions when lie found that he was in the wrong. He died with the same steady composure that character- ized him through life, thoughtful and considerate of those about him until his last moment of life, when he closed his eves in death. *• Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.” That Mr. Keep had enemies no one is asked to doubt. All public men must have them, and the greater the man the more bitter and powerful his enemies, as a rule. The collision of claims and the collision of interests, an ardent zeal on one side or the other of a question, political antagonisms — all conspire to create opposition, denunciation and ill will. He was not one of those who feared to do anything lest he might do something wrong. He acted from principle, and when fully persuaded of the correctness of his position never wavered or faltered in his course. If difficulties increased, his energy and resolution increased with them. If the circle of his confidential friends was contracted it was not because he discarded friendships when thev ceased to be profitable, but because he was reticent and self-engaged. He was never very com- promising or conciliatory in his deportment. There was austerity as well as frankness in his manner that sometimes made him bitter opponents, but he had the happy faculty of retaining through life a host of warm friends whose ardent love was proof of his private worth more honorable to his character than even the prominence of his great abilities. As a writer he was clear, terse and didactic. His great endowments of disciplined thought imparted to his hastiest compositions elaborate force, and the grace of perfection. Bold in his propositions, clear in his statements, rapid in execution, complete in demonstration, he was inexorable in his conclusions. Grant him his premises and the result was as inevi- table as fate. He did not fatigue himself with deli- cate metaphysical abstractions nor bewilder his mind with speculative theories, but like an arrow impelled by a vigorous power he shot directly to the mark. In all his qualifications as a judge it may be said without questioning that he had few equals and no superiors in this State. The dignity of the circuit court while he presided over it is still spoken of as a model of excellence, and his judicial opinions have established for him the reputation of an able lawyer. As a public speaker he was direct and logical, addressing himself to the reason and understanding rather than to the passions and prejudices of men, and his conversational powers when interested were of the highest order. Before a deliberative body he was a man of great influence, but he was too much a matter-of-fact man to indulge in popular harangues. His early political preferences and party associa- tions were with the whig, and later, with the repub- lican party, but he displayed at all times great independence and high-mindedness, never yielding his own deliberate judgment to popular applause or sacrificed his own convictions to the prevailing sen- timents of the day, nor was he ever a candidate for any political office. During his last days the excitement growing out of the disloyal and belligerent position of the south- ern States became more and more intense, yet not- withstanding his enfeebled condition, he watched with unusual interest all the proceedings in congress until his feelings were roused with all the ardor of an intense patriotism, and he frequently expressed a great desire to be restored to health that he might participate in the impending struggle on the part of the Union. In person Mr. Keep was tall, erect and rather slender, his manner dignified and graceful, his eye large, black and penetrating, and bis whole counte- nance expressive of great energy and determination. His speech was pleasant and all his motions seemed to partake of the unceasing activity of his mind, and the most casual glance upon him in action, or repose, never failed to impress the beholder with an instinct- ive sense of bis superiority. He was married in 1839 to Cornelia A. Reynolds, daughter of John A. Reynolds of Westfield, New York, a lady of rare culture and Christian virtues, who still survives him. In the family circle, the place of all others to test the value of genuine worth, Mr. Keep was tender and affectionate, very anxious for the welfare of his children and particularly solicitous about their edu- cation. He left four children, two sons and two daughters. He died on the 2d of March, 1861, aged forty- eight years, and although but in middle life few men have left such a record of private worth and public usefulness. His death was a very remarkable one. In fact death in its usual form never came near him. As said by Judge Conger, bis end was indeed that of a philosopher, and his death the death of a Christian. For two years his strength wasted gradually until THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. I I I he had not sufficient left to draw a breath, and so he ceased to breathe. The morning on which he died he was dressed and occupied his easy chair, on which he had reposed during his sickness, looked over papers from his safe, gave directions in regard to their disposition, conversed with his friends and neighbors, and the several members of his family separately, taking affectionate leave of each, but still, though his pulse had long ceased to beat, he was not ready to go, for he was waiting the expected arrival of his sister from Janesville, Mrs. Graham, who had been summoned to his side, and looking at his watch and noting the time of the arrival of the cars he remarked, “ I fear she has not come but watch- ing the window, in a moment he said, “ Indeed she has come.” After a few minutes’ conversation with his sister he said, “ I am now ready to depart,” and “ Death broke at once the vital chain And freed his soul the nearest way.” This brief sketch of John M. Keep will be barely sufficient to give the reader a bird’s-eye view of the excellency of his life, but the more secret and minute peculiarities which most endear him to his friends can never be known save to those whose personal relations to him were such as to enable them to form adequate estimates of his private virtues. HUGO MACK, MIL WA UK EE. T HE subject of this sketch was born in Alten- kundstadt, Bavaria, on the 25th of August, 1840, the son of Solomon Mack and Henrietta ne'e Lowenthal. He attended the common schools of his native town, and later attended college at Bay- reuth and Bamberg, Bavaria. In July, 1854, induced by an elder brother, who was then visiting his old home, he immigrated to the United States, and settled in Milwaukee, Wiscon- sin. During the next three years he remained clerking in the employ of his brother, and at the same time attended the academy and Lincoln’s College. After closing his studies he associated himself with Mr. P. Delahunt under the firm name of Mack and Delahunt, and opened a dry-goods store in La Crosse, Wisconsin, where he built up a substantial and prosperous trade, and became exten- sively known as an energetic and thoroughly quali- fied business man. Closing his affairs in i860 he visited his old home, and remained in his native country during the next two years, but at the expi- ration of that time returned to the United States, and going again to Milwaukee opened a wholesale fancy dry-goods and Yankee notion store. Owing to limited means he began on a small scale, but by constant energy, industry, economy and honorable dealing, gradually established a large and thriving business. Associating himself with his brother, Herman S., in 1867, he has since conducted a lucrative trade under the firm name of H. S. Mack and Co. In 1870 he traveled through France, England, Germany and Switzerland, and gained a most valu- able experience and knowledge of men and things. He is a worthy member of the Masonic order, and in 1871 was elected high priest of Milwaukee Chap- ter No. 32, of F. and A. M., a position to which he has since been annually reelected. Mr. Mack was married on the 28th of June, 1871, to Miss Bertha Herman, daughter of A. S. Herman, one of the oldest and most respected business men of New York city. O. W. WIGHT, M.D., MIL WA UK EE. D R. O. W. WIGHT was born on the 19th of February, 1824, in the town of Centerville, Allegany county, New York. His parental ances- tor, Thomas Wight, emigrated from the famous Isle of Wight in 1637, and settled first at Dedham, Massachusetts. His father was, therefore, a native New Englander, but moved to New York at an early day. He married a lady whose maiden name was Van Buren, a member of that family so famous, not only in the political annals of New York, but of the 1 I 2 THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. nation. The subject of this sketch was the first fruit of that marriage. At the time of lais birth his father was a farmer, and from infancy up to boyhood his home was upon the larm, and with the toils and tasks incident to that condition in life he was made familiar. His education was begun in the district school, to which he was sent at such odd times as his manual services were not needed at home on the farm. He was apt to learn, and even with these limited opportunities, before he was ten years of age he had acquired all the knowledge the district school teacher was able to impart. He had a natural taste for mathematics, and among the few books which his father possessed he one day discovered a trea- tise on algebra, and with no instructor but his own genius, he had made himself thoroughly familiar with its contents before he was eleven. At the age of twelve he was sent away to a distant village to attend what was called a select school. At this institution his opportunities for study were greatly 'enlarged by the assistance of a liberally educated teacher, and he made such rapid progress that in a term of six months he had added the entire West Point series to his stock of mathematical acquisitions. From this time until he was fifteen he continued his stud- ies at home, without the aid of a teacher, at which period he removed with his father to Westfield, in the county of Chautauqua, where he was employed as a teacher for a short term. In the village of Westfield, four miles distant from his father’s house, there was an academy of some considerable note, and to this institution he walked daily during a period of several months for the purpose of taking his first lessons in Latin and Greek. Having thus laid the foundation for his knowledge of the ancient languages, he continued the interesting pursuit alone until he had finished more than a university course of reading. Being still employed upon the farm he made the study of the classics his recreation, often spending half the night in delightful converse with them. Indeed he was seldom without either one or the other of his favorite authors; they were required to take turns in accompanying him to the field, and instead of whistling for want of thought as he fol- lowed the plow, his active mind was busily employed in contemplations upon the warlike scenes before the walls of Troy, or occupied with the more sooth- ing reflections inspired by the peaceful songs of Horace. In 1844, when he was twenty years of age, the subject of our sketch graduated at the collegiate institution in Rochester, New York, and soon after this he became connected with Genoa Academy, in Cayuga county. New York, as a teacher of Latin and Greek. This position he held for one year, and then resigned it for the purpose of accepting the profes- sorship of mathematics and languages in Cayuga Academy, located at Aurora, in the same county. In 1847 he relinquished his professorship for the purpose of accepting the presidency of Auburn Female Seminary, to which he had been elected by the board of trustees. That he should be selected to fill a position of such delicate responsibility at the age of twenty-three sufficiently shows the high es- teem in which he was then held as a man of worth, ability and learning. He did not, however, retain the situation, in consequence of a difference in relig- ious sentiments between him and the trustees of the institution. Finding that he could not retain his position consistently with his own ideas of liberty of thought, and knowing full well that religious differ- ences admitted of no compromises, he sent in his resignation to the trustees of the seminary, and soon after went to New York city, with a view of entering upon a literary career. He did not remain long in the metropolis of the nation before he found work to do. He was employed in the literary department of the “ Democratic Review,” and subsequently held a similar position on the editorial staff of the “Whig Review.” His contributions to both periodicals at- tracted marked attention, and soon won for their author a high reputation as a scholar and a vigorous writer. At about this period in his life he began a serious and thoughtful investigation of the religious question, first reading Leibnitz, and never pausing in his inquiries until he had completed a thorough and systematic course in theology. Beginning his inves- tigations with liberal sentiments, reading, reflection and study into the great mystery served but to con- firm his impressions and deepen his convictions, and the final result was that he arose from his theolog- ical task with many doubts removed, but wholly emancipated from the shackles of creeds, sects and dogmas, and at the same time settled in the logical conclusion that the best religion was that which taught the philosophical doctrine that everything was ordered for the best. After having completed his theological studies he was ordained a minister by the Rev. Dr. E. H. Chapin, but true to his opti- mistic views, he declined to unite with any church or subscribe to any creed. During the three subse- quent years he followed his new vocation, having accepted the position of religious instructor to a THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. society in Newark, New Jersey, which was composed of a mixed congregation of Universalists, Unitarians and Swedenborgians. Dr. Wight’s discourses, which were more like philosophical essays than sermons, attracted the attention of the intellectual classes. At the end of three years he terminated his engagement at Newark, and went to the city of Boston, where he remained for two years, occupying his time in read- ing, writing and lecturing on a variety of topics. As he had from boyhood up been governed by system in his literary pursuits, he now devoted his reading hours to the subject of metaphysics. During these two years he also wrote the lives of Abelard and Heloise, translated and published M. Cousin’s “ His- tory of Philosophy,” collected and published in book form Sir William Hamilton’s philosophical papers, with an introduction and explanatory notes. His edition of the last-named work is still used as a text- book in several of our colleges. In the spring of 1853 Dr. Wight crossed the At- lantic for the first time, on a literary visit to the old world. He divided the summer months between the three kingdoms of Scotland, England and Ireland, reaching London in the early part of the autumn, where he remained until the last of December. While there he was employed by a British publish- ing house to translate “The True, the Beautiful and the Good,” a work written by M. Cousin. The ex- cellent manner in which he accomplished his literary task showed his perfect familiarity with the French language, and gave him a high reputation at once as a translator. His employers expressed their satis- faction in flattering terms, as the work commanded a rapid and very extensive sale. He crossed the channel early in January to winter in Paris. Having letters of introduction from distinguished sources in England, he had no difficulty in gaining admission into the best society of the Fubourg Saint Germain, where are to be found the most polished circles in the politest city of the world. It is rare that stran- gers meet with such opportunities for social enjoy- ment, cultivation and observation. Having spent an exceedingly profitable and pleasant winter in the French capital, he returned to America in the spring of 1854, where he remained but a short time before he recrossed the ocean for the purpose of a more extended tour on the continent of Europe. He was absent this time four years; although occupied in traveling in France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, England, etc., they were years of labor, study, thought and reflection. He strove not only to perfect him- I 13 self in the languages of the countries he visited, but to make himself familiar with their history, laws and customs, and the characteristics of the people. Dur- ing these four years he wrote a book in two volumes, which was published anonymously in London. Hav- ing completed his European tour, he once more re- turned to his native shore, settled in the vicinity of New York and resumed his literary labors, which he continued steadily to pursue for several subsequent years. He became a regular contributor to the “ New Englander,” the “ North American,” and other periodical publications. Original articles were not the only fruits of his literary efforts; several translations from the French fell from his active and easy pen. Among those was a splendid edition of “ Montaigne,” “ Pascal’s Thoughts and Provincial Letters,” “Germany,” by Madame de Stael, “Cha- teaubriand’s Martyrs,” “ Selections from Balzac,” etc. In 1861 he had an opportunity to return to Europe as a diplomate, the mission 'to Switzerland having been tendered to him by Mr. Seward, a position which he however declined. Soon after his first return from Europe Dr. Wight was married. Somewhat late in life Dr. Wight began the study of medicine, and having once turned his attention to the subject, his habit of investigation and tenacity of purpose forced him onward until he had added a full medical course to the sum of his mental acqui- sitions, and taken his regular degree as an M.I). The two years immediately preceding the close of the war Dr. Wight resided in the State of Pennsyl- vania upon an estate which he had purchased. Dur- ing this time he took quite an active part in politics. Soon after the war ended he came to Wisconsin ; settled first at Oconomowoc, and for four years prac- ticed medicine in that locality. In 1871 he removed to Milwaukee, where he still resides. Notwithstand- ing his extensive literary labors, his study of lan- guages, his thorough investigations into the subjects of theology, metaphysics, philosophy and medicine, he has still found leisure to read through a regular course of legal studies and gain admission to the bar, although he has never made any practical use of it except in the management of his business. In the fall of 1873 Dr. Wight took an earnest and lead- ing part in organizing the elements of opposition to the republican party in Wisconsin, a movement which resulted in the nomination and election of Governor Taylor and his associates on the ticket. In the midst of the great variety of his other literary pur- suits he has not neglected the subject of politics, and THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 114 his contributions to the political literature of the day, both on the stump and through the press, have been numerous and able. His life has been active and laborious, and very few men of his age have accom- plished more in results. His reading has been sys- tematic and thorough, and has familiarized him with almost everv conceivable branch of knowledge and system of philosophy. His writings have been extensive, and some of his works have received favorable notice from transatlantic critics, and have been republished in England. At home his literary fame has won him honorary degrees from Yale Col- lege and other first-class institutions. He has also been offered the chair of modern languages in one New England College, the chair of history in another, and the chair of metaphysics in a third. Dr. Wight is a man of strong convictions, ardent temperament, and he always fulfills to the letter the scriptural in- junction, whatever he finds to do, to do it with all his might. But his title to honorable distinction does not rest solely upon the foundation of mere learning. In no sense can he be regarded as a book-worm, for nature has endowed him with the faculty of common sense in a large degree. Inherit- ing a strong and healthy constitution, which he has never impaired by intemperance or excess, he is capable of great endurance, both physical and men- tal. His retentive memory enables him to repeat long passages from ancient authors which he has not read for many years. Physically, Dr. Wight presents a fine specimen of mature manhood. He is six feet high, perfectly erect, and weighs one hundred and sixty-five pounds; is quick in his movements, graceful, pleasing and social in his manners. The generosity of his nature not unfrequently leads him to acts of liberality which his means would hardly justify. In private life, and especially in the social circle when sur- rounded by a few chosen friends, his colloquial tal- ents make him a very interesting companion. Dr. Wight is now surgeon-general and State geologist of Wisconsin. His life has been one of unremitting activity, and if a man’s actions are the unerring criteria of his character, and which, if in- spired by pure principles, are also the best commen- tary upon his life, then Dr. Wight’s position in the literary and scientific world is as definite and fixed as any man’s can be. WILLIAM C. E. THOMAS, GREEN BAT. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Muncy, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, was born on the 2 1 st of November, 1818, and is the son of Arthur Thomas, a merchant, and Susan nle Gillespie. His boyhood, very like that of others, presented no marked characteristics. He received a good Eng- lish education in the public schools, and in an acad- emy at Milton, Pennsylvania, and after closing his studies, served an apprenticeship of four years, learn- ing the printer’s trade. In 1839, being then twen- ty-one years of age, he left his home, and removing to the West, settled at Galena, Illinois, where, four years later, he engaged in the publication of the “ Galena Gazette.” At the expiration of six years of successful work, he was forced by impaired health to close out his interests here, and removing to Green Bay, Wisconsin, erected a large tannery, and built up an extensive business. In 1831, having accumulated sufficient capital, he established himself in the mer- cantile trade, opening a store of general merchan- dise, and continued thus employed during a period of six years, in which time he became widely known as a thorough, reliable business man. Selling his mercantile interests in 1857, he spent the next two years as a forwarding and commission merchant, and at the same time engaged in the steamboat business. He was next employed as express agent, and in this, as in all other capacities in which he had acted, showed himself most worthy of the trust reposed in him. Aside from his regular busi- ness, he has been honored by his fellow-citizens with many responsible positions, and in no single instance has he failed to acquit himself with credit. Mr. Thomas, thus beginning life with no capital other than his own native powers, has so turned the circumstances into which he was thrown, that ■ he has accumulated a competence, and by strict adherence to principle, has gained the reputation wherever he is known, of being a conscientious, prompt and true man. Coming to Wisconsin at an early day he has grown up with the State, and in all matters pertaining to its growth, and especially THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY \ to the development of his own city, he has heartily lent his influence and support. He has traveled extensively throughout the United States, and gained an experience and a fund of knowledge which, com- bined with his excellent social qualities, render him a most agreeable companion. In 1854 he was elected the first mayor that Green Bay ever had ; five years later he was chosen city 1 1 5 clerk and justice of the peace, and was reelected to the office of clerk for each year till 1872. In 1871 he was appointed postmaster by President Grant, and still holds that office. His political sentiments are republican. He was married on the 8th of March, 1846, to Miss Jane Eames, and by her has one son and one daughter. HON. LLEWELLYN BREESE, PORTAGE. L lewellyn breese was bom May 13, 1833, ^ at Abermynach, in the parish of Mallwyd, Meirionwethshire, North Wales. The name of his father, who is still living, is Edward Breese, and that of his mother, who died in April, 1873, was Mary Breese. He immigrated with his parents to this country in the month of May, 1846, and the family, consisting of father, mother, brother and himself, settled during the following summer on a farm in the town of Randolph, Columbia county, in this State. This was when Wisconsin was a territory and before the town was organized. His education was academic. LTp to the age of twenty-five he was engaged most of the time with his parents in culti- vating the farm. In the fall of 1858, owing to im- paired health, which was brought on by severe ill- ness, he accepted the position of under sheriff of Columbia county, which was tendered him by Ben- jamin Williams, Esq., hoping thereby to improve his health and to extend his knowledge of business and the circle of his acquaintance. Previous to this he had held the offices of school district clerk, town supervisor, justice of the peace and town treasurer. When he removed to Portage to take the position of under sheriff, it was his intention at the expiration of his term, provided his health was restored, to return to the farm and devote the remainder of his life to the pursuit of agriculture ; but at the close of the term, in the fall of i860, he received from the republican county convention the nomination for county treasurer, and was elected the following No- vember. He held this position for three consecutive terms, in all six years, having no competitor for the office except in the first instance. In January, 1867, at the close of his third term as treasurer, he entered as a partner the dry-goods firm of N. H. Wood and Co., which was the most extensive business estab- lishment in the city. The firm was then composed of N. H. Wood, R. O. Loomis, C. R. Gallett and himself. This connection was continued until Jan- uary, 1869, when Mr. Wood disposed of his interest to the other partners and retired from the firm, which thereafter stood and was styled Loomis, Gal- lett and Breese. The firm as then constituted has never changed, and is still doing a large and suc- cessful business. In the summer of 1869, at the urgent solicitation of friends, especially those of his countrymen, he became a candidate for the office of state treasurer at the State convention held that fall. On the first informal ballot he received a plurality of the votes, but owing to local combinations the nomination fell to his competitor. In about a month after this convention, Hon. E. A. Spencer, the nom- inee for secretary of state, resigning the position upon the ticket, made it necessary for the State central committee to fill the vacancy by appoint- ment. Without solicitation on his part, or even knowledge of the vacancy, the committee tendered him the nomination for that place, communicating their action by telegraph. Had it not been for the persistent entreaty of a few intimate friends, promi- nent in the party, the appointment would have been declined. He was elected the following November. binder the organization of the State government of Wisconsin, the office of secretary of state is by far the most important of the State offices; besides involving the duties of secretary of state proper, this officer is also ex-officio auditor of state, and school land commissioner, and also ex-officio commissioner of insurance. The last position was created by the legislature in 1870, soon after the commencement of his first term. In a majority of the other States these positions are distinct and separate offices, filled by persons elected or appointed for that purpose. 1 10 THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. In Maw 1S70, he represented Wisconsin as com- missioner of insurance at the national insurance convention, held in the city of New \ork. This convention was composed ot those officers in the different States who had charge of the insurance departments therein. He was elected vice-president of the convention for the term of one year, and was ..Iso appointed chairman of the important standing committee on taxes, fees and deposits. This con- vention held its second session at the same place in the following October, when he was reelected to the same position for the year 1S72. At its third session, held this year, he was elected president, and pre- sided at its fourth session, held in the city of Boston in September of the following year. After the ex- piration of his second term as secretary of state, he returned to his former residence at Portage and resumed his former occupation as a merchant. In addition to this he also held the positions of presi- dent of the City Bank of Portage, president of the Portage Iron Works and president of the board of education. He has been engaged in farming more or less extensively throughout his life. Religiously, he is a member and an elder of the Presbyterian church. His parents were members of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist church, a denom- ination holding the same doctrines and having very nearly the same form of government. It was in this church that he was baptized in infancy and brought up; he became a full member of it at the age of fourteen, maintaining this relation until he came to Portage in January, 1859, when, taking his letter of membership with him, he connected himself at once with the Presbyterian church of that city, with which he is now united. He received during his minority a very faithful and strict moral and religious training and education, both from his devoted parents and from the church, of which he was chosen superin- tendent of the Sabbath school at the age of twenty- one years, and labored in every department of relig- ious work in which it was proper for a layman to engage. Soon after removing to Portage he was elected deacon, and was shortly afterward elected an elder, holding the position until he removed to Madison. Shortly after taking up his residence in Madison he was elected by the Presbyterian church of that city as one of its elders, which position he held while he remained with them, and after return- ing to his former residence at Portage he was re- elected to the same position in the Presbyterian church of that city. From an early age he has always been engaged either as a superintendent of a Sabbath school or as teacher of a class therein. The character of Mr. Breese very happily illus- trates the truth of the maxim that character is formed by circumstances. The most efficient agen- cies in the formation of character are the teachings by precept and example of parents to their children. Natural affection inspires the child not only with confidence in the ability of the parents, but with reverence for their virtues and faith in their religion. Mr. Breese’s character for honor, integrity and piety are but the outgrowth of those qualities which dis- tinguish his parents, whereas men less favored in their birth and education have, lured by the beauty of virtue and the life of holiness, attained high moral excellence, but it has been a life-long struggle. The characters may be alike in moral beauty, yet the man who has struggled is the superior in mental strength. There is a majesty in the lives of the virtuous which awes the licentious into reverence. Pure morals are the basis of all true greatness. GEORGE W. OGDEN, MIL WA UK EE. FORGE WHITFIELD OGDEN, a native of V J Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was born on the 28th of October, 1844, and is the son of John Ogden and Jane E. nde Gray. His parents were among the pioneers of Wisconsin, having settled there in 1835, and much esteemed by all who knew them. George’s boyhood, presenting few marked charac- teristics, was very like that of other boys. Indus- trious, enterprising and energetic, he early laid the foundation of his subsequent success as a business man. After the close of his studies in the public schools of Milwaukee, at the age of sixteen, he was five years a clerk in the clothing store of P. G. Ogden, and afterward for one year in the same capacity with a Mr. J . F. Wage. Subsequently he spent some time traveling in the West, with a view of settling, but finally returned, and engaged in clerking at Chicago, and there remained eight THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 117 months. At the expiration of this time, his father, who had been engaged in a carriage manufacturing establishment since 1849, was about to retire from the concern, and the son, seeing in the enterprise a fine opening, at once assumed the business, which at that time was very much run down, and by bringing to it his best energies, soon established a most flourishing trade, — to give a full history of which would require more space than we have at our disposal, hence the following brief outline. The business was established by his father, who had purchased a small concern on West Water street, in 1849. Remaining there till 1852, he removed to the present premises on Spring street, and in con- nection with his own manufacture of carriages and wagons, introduced eastern made carriages. After several years a partner was admitted, and the man- ufacturing confined to carriages, buggies and sleighs. The firm was dissolved in 1857, and during the suc- ceeding ten years his father conducted it in his own name, and at the end of that time turned it over to its present proprietor. Without any practical knowledge of the business, but with fine executive ability, and a capital of four thousand dollars, he started out in his new enterprise. The number of hands employed has, in the nine years during which he has been in charge of the establishment, increased from ten to over thirty, and the amount of work in like proportion. The present annual product from the sale of his own work is fifty thousand dollars. The extent of the premises is two hundred by fifty feet, and the quality of the work unsurpassed by any in the East or West, having in all of its several lines been awarded the first pre- miums at various State fairs. Mr. Ogden owes his success entirely to his own effort. When entering upon his enterprise his first object was to establish a reputation, which he did by producing a superior quality of work, and thus meeting the highest de- mands of the trade. He has given his personal at- tention to the management of his business, and by industry and untiring effort has become known, far and near, for the beauty, utility and durability of his work. In political affairs Mr. Ogden has never taken any active part, finding in his vocation ample scope for the employment of all his time and talents. His views, however, coincide in the main with the repub- lican party. His religious sentiments are orthodox. He was married on the 28th of October, 1873, to Miss M. Elizabeth Noxon, daughter of Judge James Noxon, and granddaughter of Judge B. Davis Noxon, of Syracuse, New York. EUGENE F. WARREN, ALBANY. T HF 1 subject of this sketch, a native of Fort Covington, New York, was born June 30, 1833, and is the son of Lemuel Warren, Montpelier, Vermont, and .Betsy R. nee Richardson, of Washing- ton county, New York. When Eugene was but five years of age his family started for the West to regain the fortune which the father had unfortunately lost through speculation and sickness. Landing at Mil- waukee, Wisconsin, on July 5, 1838, they proceeded thence to Janesville, Wisconsin, a small town situ- ated upon Rock river. Here, although “ times were hard," his father and mother, with the assistance of his three eldest brothers and eldest sister, succeeded in making a living. Three years subsequent to their arrival at Janesville they settled upon a farm in the town of Union, now known as Center, situated on the Madison road at a distance of twelve miles from Janesville. Here Eugene first commenced those 16 minor duties of farm life which his extreme youth could compass, and in which he displayed great energy and facility. When he had attained the age of thirteen, his three elder brothers, William, Zeb- iner and John, having left home to battle with the world on their own account, great grief and affliction came upon the family in the death, first of the father and subsequently of the three sisters, Maria, Louisa and Elizabeth. Those of the family who remained could scarce recover from such a blow, but putting their trust in God they struggled on and finally suc- ceeded in paying for their farm by hard work and prudent economy. As the care of the farm naturally devolved upon Eugene, he found little time or op- portunity to devote to school, spending but three months each winter in this manner; but, thanks to the fact that his mother had formerly been a teacher, he received from her the most important elements the exited states biographical dictionary. 1 1 8 <>f earlv instruction. At the age ot twenty-one, with c apital of five hundred dollars, he went to Albany, Wisconsin. and there entered into a copartnership with his brothers. John and Lemuel, in the mercan- tile business, which he pursued for sixteen years in their company, when he bought out their interest and continued in the business alone for five years. Meanwhile, in 1S61, it had been thought advisable for either himself or one ot his brothers to enlist in the service of their country, which was at that time so much in need of men; and as he had always had military aspirations and had commanded an inde- pendent company of artillery for three years, he thought that he was naturally the one to go, and accordingly, on the 28th of August, enlisted in Com- pany B, 13th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers, of which he was soon appointed first lieutenant. In the year 1862 he was in the army of Kansas, where there was no fighting, but long and tedious marches to be accomplished over the ice and snow-clad prai- ries, and the following year, being sent to the army of the Tennessee, was engaged in fighting “ bush- whackers,” and scouting, most of the time, at Forts Henry and Donelson. While here he was detailed as judge advocate of a general court martial which continued in session for three months, fifty-two cas£s being tried and five men receiving the sentence of death. In the fall of 1863 he was ordered to Hunts- ville. Alabama, and thence to Stephenson, Alabama, where, after a long and weary march on short rations, he remained until November, when he pro- ceeded to and encamped in the village of Edgefilla, opposite Nashville, Tennessee; here he remained until the summer of 1864, and then returned to his family and business. He had been at home but one week, however, when he received from the secretary of war an appointment to a captaincy in Major-Gen- eral Hancock's corps, but as one of his brothers had accepted an appointment to the position of United States revenue collector, and the other was in very poor health, and his business was, in consequence, left entirely in the hands of employes, he was obliged to decline the appointment. In the year 1869 he built a large flouring mill on the site formerly occupied by one which his brother Zebiner had built, but which had been carried away by high water. This has proved to be a fine invest- ment, as it produces a thousand barrels of flour, together with tons of feed, yearly. He has also been engaged with his brothers in the mail and stage bus- iness; running from eight to fifteen routes in 1871, they increased their business until 1874, when he sold out his mercantile business, and at present gives his entire time to the management of his mail lines, employing hundreds of men and horses. Mr. Warren’s religious views are broad and lib- eral, and he still holds to that belief in universal salvation which he early imbibed from the teachings and precepts of his mother. He was married at Oregon, Wisconsin, September 9, 1855, to Miss Sarah S. Gleason, whose father and mother removed to Wisconsin from Oswego, New York, when she was but a little girl. Her father died shortly after, leaving his wife with very limited means to support and rear seven children. In the year 1863 Mrs. Warren shared equally with her husband the hardships and privations of camp life, thus showing that constancy and affection which have rendered their union one of happiness. They have been blessed with five children; Mary, Nelly, Willie, Grace and Charles, all of whom are still liv- ing, save Willie, who died in 1867 at the age of three. Mr. Warren’s business success is thus attributable to no advantages of education and wealth, but rather to honesty, industry, perseverance and the good advice early given him by his parents. HON. HORATIO N. DAVIS, BELOIT. r I A H K parents of H. N. Davis were Boswell and JL Llarissa Davis, descendants of families of early '.cutlers in New England, but had been long residents of the town of Henderson, Jefferson county, New York, where Horatio was born, June 17, r 812. He was brought up on a farm, and inherited a good con- - Miction which was strengthened by healthful occu- pations. His educational advantages were quite lim- ited, such only as were then afforded in a common school and a period of three months at the age of fifteen at academic studies. At this age, finding himself entirely unfitted to commence the battle of life on an equal footing with many of his associates who were more favorably circumstanced by reason T1IE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. of their educational advantages, he sought to make up, by appropriating such time as could be spared from domestic duties, in acquiring a knowledge of such branches as would qualify him for business pursuits only. Believing that the West afforded better opportuni- ties than the East for a successful career, he came to Wisconsin in 1838, bought a farm in Waukesha county, and cultivated it for fifteen years with good success. During this time he filled many public offices. For several years lie was chairman of the board of supervisors of the town and village where he resided, and was frequently elected chairman of the county board. In 1847 he was elected county treasurer of Waukesha county, which position he held by subsequent elections for six years. In poli- tics, he had been a whig until the formation of the republican party, which organization he joined with a conscientious zeal. In 1862 he was commissioned captain in the commissary and subsistence depart- ment by President Lincoln. Was subsequently bre- veted major by President Johnson for faithful and efficient service, and remained in the army until the close of the war. Returning home, he moved to the city of Beloit, Wisconsin, the same year being elected president of 119 the Beloit National Bank, which position he held by subsequent elections for eight years. For three successive years he was elected mayor of the city of Beloit, and for four years he has represented the county of Rock in the State senate. In fact Mr. Davis has built up an honorable name in his locality, which commands respect. His public spirit, liberal disposition, and genial manners, have won for him the regard and esteem of a large circle of friends, and the faithful discharge of the duties in his many offices of trust, has given him an enviable reputa- tion. Mr. Davis was married in 1837 to Miss Clarissa F. Cushman, a lady of excellent characteristics, refine- ment and intelligence ; they have had eight chil- dren, five still living, two sons and three daughters. The eldest son, Cushman K. Davis, is now gov- ernor of Minnesota. The second son, Francis N. Davis, is at the head of the large paper house of F. N. Davis and Co., Beloit. Two daughters are married, and the youngest is still living with her parents. Mr. Davis is one of the many men in the State who from humble beginnings, by force of character, untiring energy, and good understanding, has raised himself and family to distinction. FRANCIS N. DAVIS, BELOIT. RANCIS NEWCOMB DAVIS, a native of Waukesha, Wisconsin, was born on the 5th of October, 1840, and is the son of Horatio N. Davis and Clarissa ne'e Cushman. After completing his preparatory education he entered Carroll College, at Waukesha, pursuing a thorough business course. His taste for a business life developed at an early age, and after closing his studies in the above place, in order the more perfectly to fit himself for a successful business career he pursued a course of study in the Lincoln Commercial College, of Milwaukee. After his graduation he spent six months as clerk in the post-office, and was also for some time engaged in the railroad and express offices, and at the close of his engagement accepted a position in the Kenosha County Bank. At the end of four years’ successful work, owing to impaired health, he spent six months in traveling, visiting Central America and Califor- nia. Upon his return to the North he accepted a position as cashier in the wholesale house of Web- ster and Sage, of Chicago, where he remained, how- ever, but a few months, before he was called to the position of cashier in the bank at Kenosha, Wiscon- sin. Accepting the situation he remained in it till January, 1865, and during that year removed to Beloit, and organized the Beloit National Bank. He also became largely interested in the building- paper business, and in 1873 this branch of enterprise had become so extensive and claimed so much of his attention that he was obliged to discontinue his banking interests, and devote himself. entirely to it. The enterprise is one that is wholly due to his own inventive genius and energy, he having invented not only the aluminous and ornamental building paper and the figured carpeting paper, but also the machinery for manufacturing it. He is also engaged in the manufacture of paper barrels and the McPherson steam vacuum pump. Mr. Davis has I 20 THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. tin happv faculty of seizing opportunities and turn- ing them to the interests of his business ; and though lie is known as a shrewd manager and careful finan- i ier. lie has made for himself a most worthy reputa- tion for honorable, open and fair dealing. His i areer has been prosperous from the beginning, and as a reward of his industry and enterprise he is now in the enjovment of an ample fortune and public esteem. He has always been a practical, close- observing man, and in his extensive travels through- out the United States and Canada he has gained a most valuable experience and thorough knowledge of men and things. In his religious communion Mr. Davis is identified with the Episcopal church. In political matters he has never taken any active part, and is in no sense a partisan. Independent in his opinions, he supports for office him whom lie considers best fitted for the place. He was married on the ist of February, 1864 to Miss Helen Dunlap, by whom he has two children, namely, Walter Dunlap and Genevieve. EDWARD FERGUSON, MIL WA UKEE. E DWARD FERGUSON was born January 9, i 1S43, in Hannibal, Oswego county, New York, son of Mary and George Lester Ferguson. His family removed within two or three years after his birth to Oswego, New York, where the mother died when he was but eight years old ; and until the age of twelve he was kept at the ward schools of that city, when he began work in a store. After two w ars of such employment, his health failing by rea- son of close confinement, he was entered as student in the Fulton Academy, New York, which he at- tended but one term. This ended his scholastic advantages, as he was constantly employed there- after in contributing to his own maintenance. His eldest brother was at that time proprietor and pub- lisher of the “Oswego Daily Times,” and Edward was employed by him as collector for a short time after leaving school; after which he served as clerk for about two years, first in a book-store and after- ward in a drug-store. This eldest brother having by this time married and settled in Milwaukee, Ed- ward was induced to remove there also, which he did in May, 1 860. Soon after his arrival he was employed as book-keeper in the office of L. Cutler and Son, < ommission merchants, where he remained until the first news of the firing upon Sumter was received, when he immediately enlisted in the Milwaukee Fight Guards, which were then being organized for :i' tive service, and which were assigned as Company A of the ist Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers. After serving through this three months term, and passing safely through that dreaded ordeal — the first time under fire — in the engagement with Stonewall Jack- on’s brigade at Falling Waters, Virginia, he re- turned to office work, but not to remain. The pre- parations for reorganizing the “Old First” rekindled his desire to assist in suppressing the rebellion, and he reenlisted in Company A, of the ist Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers, for three years or during the war. Feeling too young and inexperienced to as- sume the responsibilities of a commissioned officer — being not yet nineteen — he accepted the appoint- ment of first sergeant of his company, and served in that capacity about a year, frequently taking the place, however, of officers temporarily absent from command, acting part of the time as sergeant-major of his regiment in the army of the Cumberland, and during the march of four companies with a division in a feint movement on Chattanooga (across the Cumberland mountains) was appointed as acting adjutant and quartermaster of the battalion. The ist Regiment, though constantly in pursuit of the enemy, performing most honorably the duty assigned to it by being almost continuously on the march, took part in no general engagement until the latter part of 1862. Their record was therefore unevent- ful until, in pursuit of Bragg’s army through Ken- tucky the engagement known as the battle of Chap- lin Hills was brought on by McCook’s corps attack- ing the enemy near the village of Perryville. 'Hie details of this fight are well known, as well as the part borne by the ist Wisconsin. Its record upon that field was written in the blood of about one half its effective force ; and though the sacrifice seems out of proportion to the results secured, yet all was gained that could have been, under the circum- stances. In that battle Mr. Ferguson received a buckshot wound through the cheek and a musket THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. I 2 I ball through his left shoulder which paralyzed his arm. While lying on the field between the fires of his own regiment and the enemy’s, he received an- other gunshot wound through the right foot. He was carried to the field hospital, and from thence to the village of Perryville, where he was given a room in a private house, and nursed with the greatest care for two months by his brother Thomas, who secured permission to take him home as soon as he could be removed on a cot. With this permission came his commission as second lieutenant of Com- pany C, in his own regiment. After reaching Mil- waukee Lieutenant Ferguson spent nearly two years in confinement to bed and room, suffering the am- putation of his right leg mid way between knee and ankle, eight months after the wound was inflicted. For the first year it was scarcely thought possible that he could survive from week to week ; but a naturally strong constitution, which the hardships of service had strengthened, added to a cheerful anci abiding trust in the future, carried him safely through the trying period, and restored him to as full a degree of health as can be hoped for in view of his severe wounds. Being unable to return to duty he was honorably discharged by reason of “ wounds received in action,” June 17, 1864. As soon as health would permit he was appointed clerk in the general land office at Washington, which position he resigned in 1866 to return to Milwaukee. Upon the death of his old employer, General Lysander Cutler, he was appointed by Governor Fairchild to the office of State Fish Inspector, this office being rendered vacant by the death of General Cutler. In November, 1868, he was appointed secretary of the National Asylum for Disabled Volunteers, north- western branch, located near Milwaukee, which posi- tion he held till January 1, J869. On the 28th of December, the same year, the appointment of pen- sion agent at Milwaukee was conferred upon him by President Grant, which was confirmed by the senate, and renewed January 17, 1874, which posi- tion he still holds. He was also ^secretary of the Forest Home Cemetery for one year, and aid-de- camp, with the rank of colonel, on the military staff of Governor Washburn during his term of office. Was a member of the board of directors of the Young Men’s Library Association of Milwaukee for two years, vice-president for one year, and is now president. In May, 1873, he was elected at New Haven, Connecticut, junior vice-commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, and was treas- urer of the Young Men’s Republican Club, which was organized and did efficient work during the campaign of 1872. In politics he is a republican, and as such attended the soldiers’ convention held in Pittsburgh in 1866, to give expression to the sol- diers’ views of reconstruction as proposed by Presi- dent Johnson ; and in November of that year, as a candidate for the position of clerk of the circuit court received forty-four hundred and twenty-five votes, his competitor being elected by about nine hundred and seventy-five majority. Mr. Ferguson is a member of the Episcopal church, having been confirmed at an early age, and now holds the office of vestryman in St. Paul’s Church, of Milwaukee. He was married at this church, August 14, 1867, to Marcia B. Brocan, and is the father of three children. The second child, a daughter, died in October, 1871, at the age of eight- een months. The eldest, a son, now living, was born May 17, 1868, and the youngest, also a son, still living, was born May 3, 1875. WILLIAM M. TALLMAN, JANES VILLE. /TLLIAM MORRISON TALLMAN, of Janesville, lawyer and real-estate owner, was born in Lee, Oneida county, New York, June 13, 1 808, and is the son of David and Eunice Tallman, both of whom were natives of Woodbury, Litchfield county, Connecticut. The family immigrated from Litchfield county to Oneida county in 1806, and resided there until 1816, when they removed to Brooklyn, Kings county, New York. In 182 r Mr. Tallman began the study of law in the office of the late Hon. F. A. Talmadge, in Vesey street, New York, then on the site of the Astor House. After studying law one year, he determined upon a more complete preliminary education, and in 1822 began to prepare for college at the academy in Norwalk, Connecticut. He remained here four years, and then, in September, 1826, entered the freshman class of Yffile college, where he continued I 4 2 THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. four Year* more, going through the entire collegiate course, and graduating with his class in September, 1S30. Immediately after graduation he entered the law school connected with Vale, and was there two vears. completing the full course of legal studies. He was admitted to the bar in New Haven in the fall of 1832. Never intending to remain or practice in Connec- ticut, although his family had meanwhile become residents of New Haven, he at once returned to the citv of New York and commenced anew there the studv of law, and the practice then peculiar to the courts of that State, in the office of Hon. James Talmadge and W. H. Bulkley, in Wall street. He was admitted to the bar of New York State in Albany in October, 1 833. Immediately thereafter he entered upon the practice of law in his native county, at Rome, New York, and continued so engaged until 1850, when he removed with his family to Janesville, Rock county, Wisconsin, where he has ever since (1875) resided. He resumed practice at Janesville, and continued it until 1854, when he relinquished the profession entirely — having been in the practice twenty-one years — and has not since transacted business for others. In October, 1848, he purchased at public auction, at the Philadelphia Exchange, of the trustees of the old 1 ‘nited States Bank, numerous tracts of rich, pro- ductive, agricultural and mineral land, situated in the counties of Green, Lafayette, Grant and Iowa, in the State of Wisconsin, and during the four or five subsequent years he added other large purchases of lands in those counties, and also in Rock county, Wisconsin, exceeding altogether ten thousand acres. These lands rapidly rose in value, and he disposed of many of them within a few years at a very large advance, seldom less than quadruple their cost, and generally much more than that. In 1849 he laid out an addition to Monroe upon land purchased from said trustees and others, and lands which cost him six dollars and fifty cents per acre at the sale, produced as much as fifteen hundred dollars per acre when sold in town lots. Thus a purchase which was regarded by many at the time of the auc- tion as extremely improvident and reckless, became one of extraordinary profit, as he foresaw it would be. He had acquired, as early as 1854, a sufficient competency, and did not therefore deem it desirable to pursue the practice of law, but he has notwith- standing been always actively employed. He is the possessor of a valuable landed estate, and has devoted most of his time during the past twenty-five years to the developing, improving, and disposing of the same. He has also expended much of his means and time in building and making improvements in the city of Janesville. Always strictly temperate in his habits, exemplary, conscientious, economical and industrious, he has prospered in most of his en- deavors, and in view of the objects and purposes with which he set out in business in early life, he has been reasonably successful. Very early in his professional life he concluded that neither political distinction nor official position, even if attainable by him, were desirable objects of pursuit or congenial to his tastes, and he has uni- formly declined such distinctions. Notwithstanding which, during a considerable portion of ten or fifteen years, without solicitation on his part, and really against his wishes, at the urgent request of his fellow citizens of both political parties, he has oc- cupied the position of alderman of Janesville, and has also been one of five county commissioners for Rock county, in which he had in common with other citizens large pecuniary interests to be cared for and protected. In politics, he was a whig from 1833 to 1838; ever afterward an active and zealous abolitionist. He has acted and voted with the liberty party, the free- soil party, and has acted with the republican party since its organization in Wisconsin, in July, 1854. He ever, for more than twenty years, performed his share in preparing the popular mind for the conflict which at length ensued. The dominant principle of his political creed has always been “equality of human rights for all men,” and he has conscien- tiously endeavored to discharge the duties which as a patriot and a Christian he owed to his country and fellow-men. Having witnessed the triumph of the great principle of his political creed, he feels that he has been a successful politician without the vex- ations and disappointments of office. In 1831 he married, at New Haven, Emeline, second daughter of Norman and Ruth Uexter, of Hartford county, Connecticut, by whom he has had two sons and one daughter, named respectively, William Henry, Edgar Dexter, and Cornelia Au- gusta. His sons are both married and successfully engaged in business in Janesville. His eldest son, William Henry, early established at Janesville, and has carried on during ten or fifteen years the first and most extensive manufactory of per- fumery and fancy goods in the Northwest. The THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. 123 goods manufactured by him have become staple goods in that line, and are extensively sold by all the leading wholesale and jobbing drug-houses in ten or twelve States of the North, as well as in New York, Boston and San Francisco, and in some fabrics he has no successful competitor either in the United States or abroad. This industry is the product of his individual mind and personal labor and indefatigable persever- ance, and entitles him to the distinction of having created, in a new country, a new and unusual manu- facture, which had hitherto been confined to the old and more highly civilized communities of Europe. His only daughter was married to John P. Beach, in 1865, and settled in Chicago, where she died with- out issue in 1866, aged twenty-eight years. She was a Christian, a model woman, and an ornament to her sex. In 1837, Mr. Tallman, with his wife, joined the Congregational church, at Rome, on profession of their faith in Christ, and are members of the church of that denomination in Janesville. In private life they have endeavored to be exemplary in a quiet way without ostentation; and they have neither sought nor acquired any distinction outside of their home circle. OTTO ZWIETUSCH, MIL IV A UK EE. I N tracing the history of successful self-made men, nothing can interest us more than to discover the secret of their success; and while many may attribute this to the working of native genius or the favors of fortune, study and observation teach us that in the great majority of cases success is the result of continued and persevering effort, applied in the direction of one’s natural tastes. This fact is fully illustrated in the life of him whose name heads this sketch. A native of Quedlinburg, Prussia, he was born on the 30th of 'March, 1832, and is the son of Frederick William Zwietusch and Johanna nde Fielitz. His father spent eleven years in the mili- tary service, including the war of 1813-15, under the King of Prussia. Until his fourteenth year Otto attended the public schools at Magdeburg, and at that time turned his attention to mechanics, learning all the various branches of blacksmithing, mould- ing, pattern making, locksmithing, turning and finish- ing. During the years of his apprenticeship, being of a studious disposition and ambitious for the acquisition of knowledge, he spent his evenings and Sundays in the school of polytechnics, and in 1850 received from the King of Prussia the silver medal award of merit. At the age of nineteen years he left home and traveled through Germany, working in several southern cities, and in 1854 sailed for the United States. For sixteen weeks after his arrival in New York he was without a dollar in his pocket and unable to get employment. Removing to She- boygan, Wisconsin, in 1855, he was employed in the machine shops for one year, and in 1856 settled in Milwaukee. After following his trade for two years, having accumulated a small capital, he established the white beer brewery, a branch of business not represented in the city at that time. Beginning in a small, one-story frame building, employing one boy to assist him, his product for the first year was be- tween four and five hundred dollars, while at the same time he continued his work in the machine shop of Messrs. Menzel and Stone. Soon afterward he began the manufacture of soda water and fount- ains, and in 1869 commenced manufacturing Amer- ican champagnes. By aid of his mechanical genius he has made some valuable inventions connected with his business, among which may be mentioned the glass faucet, the first in the United States, the patent generator, double stream draught tubes, the self-regulating beer preservers, and at last the com- bined soda water apparatus, beer preserver and chem- ical fire extinguisher, the result of three years of study and experimenting. He holds twelve patents for his own inventions, all of which are applied to his immediate business. His trade has been prosperous from the first, and has gradually grown to its present dimensions. In 1875, in place of one boy, it employed over twenty men ; the small frame building had given place to extensive brick structures, while the original capital of three hundred dollars had increased to thirty thousand dollars, producing annually nearly fifty thousand dollars. The nature of his goods has been such as to meet a popular demand, while their quality has secured to him an enviable reputation. 124 THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. Politically. Mr. Xwietusch was formerly a repub- lican, easting his first presidential ballot tor Fremont in 1S56. In 1S72 he became identified with the liberal movement, supporting Horace Greeley for the presidency, and is at the present time independ- ent in his views. He was married in June, 1857, to Miss Louisa Ehlert, of Hagen, Westphalia. Mr. Zwietusch is the only member of his family and the only person of this name in the United States. He began life with no capital other than his own native abilities, and by steady application has at- tained to financial success and reached an honorable standing among his fellow-men. GENERAL FRANCIS H. WEST, MIL WA UKEE. 1 "FRANCIS H. WEST was born at Charlestown, New Hampshire, October 25, 1825. His father was in easy circumstances, and lived upon his estate. His paternal grandfather was a soldier in the revo- lutionary war, and was a cousin of Benjamin West, the great artist. The family were among the first settlers of Boston. The maiden name of his mother was Lydia C. Fitch. She was born on Nantucket Island, and was a lineal descendant of Peter Folgar, the first male born on that island, and who was grandfather of Benjamin Franklin. Mr. West’s father was a man of strong prejudices, had a great antipathy to educational institutions, and conse- quently his son, Francis, received only a common school education, at Charlestown. Young West, being of an adventurous spirit, left home at the age of twenty years, and came to Wis- consin. His first winter in this State was spent at the lead mines near Platteville. In the spring fol- lowing he went to Monroe, and there he entered into mercantile pursuits, dealing in general merchan- dise and lumber. His lumber trade led him to the Upper Wisconsin river, where he spent most of the three succeeding years. At that time the region of the Upper Wisconsin was a dense wilderness, where civilized man had but little penetrated. But this was not exciting enough for our adventurer. In the year 1859 he organized a large emigrant party, which he conducted across the plains to Cali- fornia, returning by way of Panama and New York. During the spring of i860 he organized a second party to make the same perilous journey,, this being the year of the Indian war. They were much harassed by the savages, and on several occasions had skirmishes with them. He succeeded, however, in conducting his party in safety to their destination, and he in the following autumn returned, as before, by way of the isthmus, to New York. In the year 1862 he began his military career as lieutenant-colonel of the 31st Regiment of Wisconsin Volunteers. His regiment was sent down the Mis- sissippi river, and in 1863 he was promoted to col- onel. After the battle of Chickamauga they were sent to reinforce the army of the Tennessee. Before going to the front they were stationed for a time at Nashville, and afterward at Murfreesboro. While the regiment was stationed at this point Colonel West was appointed president of a commission for the examination of officers with regard to their qual- ifications. At the battle of Peach Tree Creek he, with his command, joined Sherman’s army at the front, and remained with him during the siege of Atlanta, and was with him on his march to the sea, and also on his subsequent march through the Carolinas and Virginia to Washington, participating in all the en- gagements of that campaign. When the left wing of the army of Georgia had advanced within nine miles of Savannah they were delayed nearly a day by two redoubts, erected on the opposite side of a nearly impassable swamp or lagoon, the redoubts being strongly manned with artillery. After various ineffectual attempts by dif- ferent brigades to dislodge the enemy, Colonel West was directed to take the 31st Wisconsin and 81st Ohio regiments, ford the lagoon, and make a flank movement and charge the redoubts. This was done with great gallantry, the men plunging through the swamp, often waist deep. The movement was quickly executed, the assault was vigorous, and after a brief resistance the garrison fled, leaving all their camp equipage, which fell into the hands of the vic- tors. For this daring assault Colonel West and his little band were publicly thanked, in presence of the officers of the division, by General Slocum, commander of the left wing. byJoimCM'Saeksr THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 125 At the battle of Bentonville, March 19, 1865, the last engagement of General Sherman's command, Colonel West’s brigade was stationed across a road which was the key to the whole position. This they persistently held through the day, repulsing five fierce assaults of the enemy, made en colonne. For his gallantry in defending this position Colonel West was promoted to brigadier-general by brevet. General West remained in the army to the close of the war, and was mustered out at Madison in July, 1865, having never, since he entered the army, been off duty a single day, except a short leave of absence while his command was in garrison at At- lanta. At the close of the war he became a resident of Milwaukee, entered into the grain trade, and was a member of the Chamber of Commerce, was vice-pres- ident for two terms and was then elected president, and was a second time elected to that office. General West has never been a zealous partisan in politics; was originally a whig, but acted with the republican party from the time of its organiza- tion until the nomination of Horace Greeley for the presidency, since which time his sympathies have been with the liberal reform party. In 1874 he was member of the State assembly, and has also been a member of the State senate. He is opposed to the excessive power of aggre- gated capital, and has by both pen and speech labored l to aid the working people, with whom he has always been in sympathy. His motto is, “The greatest good to the greatest number.” General West was married in 1848, to Miss Emma M. Rettenhouse, daughter of William Rettenhouse, one of the earliest settlers of Green county, and at one time State senator. Her mother was sister to Eli Moore, formerly member of congress from New York city, and subsequently collector of that port. They have nine children living, three sons and six daughters. LEWIS B. ROCK, MIL IV A UK EE. 1 EWIS B. ROCK was born in Drummondsville, Canada East, August 13, 1825, son of Lewis and Mary Rock. His father was by trade a carpen- ter, and soon after the birth of this son removed his family to the town of Durham, Canada East, into a very sparsely settled region. Living in the midst of vast forests almost primeval in their solitude, this pioneer family had no other means of obtaining money than by the manufacture of black salts from the ashes of the trees cut down and burnt ; for although their produce was abundant, there was no market for it only to exchange it for labor. Lewis was kept at school until nine y r ears old. This, with the exception of three months after he was nineteen, comprised all the instruction he ever received. He learned to write by copying, with patient perseverance, the addresses of letters which he carried to and from the post-office for his em- ployers, and at last became a good penman. At the age of eleven he left home, and for the four subsequent years worked for Captain John Plogart as chore boy. On the 4th of March, 1844, being then nineteen years old, he left the Dominion with only two dollars and fifty cents in his pocket, and carrying all his earthly possessions in a small 17 bundle, he walked to Bristol, New Hampshire, a distance of two hundred miles. Here he was en- gaged by S. S. Merrill, proprietor of a hotel and also of a wholesale cloth store, to make himself generally useful, for the sum of one hundred dollars per year, with the privilege of attending school three months out of the twelve, of which, however, he never availed himself. He remained in the employ of Mr. Merrill four years; part of the time serving as clerk in the wholesale house, and after- ward having charge of a branch store in the adjacent village of Bridgewater. I’hence he went to Lowell, Massachusetts, where for one year he remained as clerk and barkeeper at the Merrimack House. On the Toth of January, 1850, he sailed from Boston to San Francisco, and was two hundred and one days in making the voyage. After four years of varied fortunes on the shores of the Pacific, during which he engaged in mining, dam building, mer- chandising and various other pursuits, he returned to Lowell. After some months spent in visiting old friends, he came to Milwaukee in July, 1854, where he was employed as baggage master by his old friend, Mr. S. S. Merrill, who was now conductor on the Milwaukee and Mississippi railroad. He re- THE VXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. \ 2 6 mined this position two years, until promoted to that of conductor on a mixed train, and afterward on a passenger train, where he remained thirteen years. In i Son l ames Spencer, manager of the road, appointed conductor Rock assistant superintendent of the same line, the name of which has since been changed to the Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien railroad. After tilling that position for one year to the entire satisfaction of all concerned, he was promoted to that of superintendent of the northern division of the Milwaukee and St. Paul railroad (of which the Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien became a division), where he remains to this day. About six months after his arrival in Milwaukee — December 3, 1854 — he married Miss Hannah W. Sanborn, by whom he has had three sons. In politics, he is a liberal democrat; and is also liberal in his religious views. EDMUND L. RUNALS, RIP ON. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Arcade, Wyoming county, New York, was born on the aSth of December, 1826, and is the son of Ezekiel D. Runals and Rebecca nee Parker. His father, a farmer by occupation, was an influential man in his community, and highly respected by all who knew him. Edmond received a common school educa- tion in his native town, and later attended the acad- eme in Bethany and Strykersville, and after closing his studies spent two years on his father’s farm. In 1846, being then twenty years of age, he left his home in the East, and removing to the West, settled near Ripon, Wisconsin, and for five years engaged in agricultural pursuits, and in the meantime began the study of law, practicing in the justice courts. Upon leaving the farm in 1851 he removed into Ripon, and in 1855 was admitted to the bar at Fond du Lac. During this same year he began the publica- tion of the “ Ripon Home,” and continued it with good success till 1857, when he sold his interest and devoted his entire attention to the practice of his profession. He soon became known as a skillful attorney, and by constant and close application to study and careful and judicious management of his business, made it both professionally and financially successful. In 1864 he was elected judge of the municipal court and served in that capacity for four years. Aside from his professional duties, he has been a large operator in real estate, and by careful investments has amassed an ample fortune, and lives in the enjoyment of a pleasant home and enjoys the high regard of a host of friends, being most esteemed by those who know him best. Beginning life with- out means, his present standing is wholly the result of his own effort, and he may most appropriately be called a self-made man. In his political sentiments he is identified with the republican party, and has been honored with many positions of public trust. In 1857 and 1858 he represented his county in the State legislature, and has also been elected alderman of his city for several terms. Among other local positions he has held the offices of commissioner of schools, town superintendent of schools, assessor, and city attorney. He is not a member of any church, but in his religious opinions holds to the principles laid down in the golden rule. He was married on the 10th of July, 1847, to Miss Dorlesca R. Avery, and by her has one son, AV. T. Runals, now engaged in manufacturing carriages at Ripon, and of the firm of Goodall and Runals. HEMAN B. JACKSON, OSHKOSH. TEMAN B. JACKSON is a native of Naper- JL JL ville, Illinois, which place at the time of his birth consisted of a “handful of huts,” and was a mere settlement among the savages who then roamed through that country, watered by the Dupage river. He was born on the 24th of July, 1837, and is the son of William Jackson and Lucy nee Babbitt. His father, a blacksmith by trade, was a man of moder- ate means, and his mother was an earnest Christian; both were much respected in their community. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 127 While Heman’s boyhood presents few phases in distinction from that of other boys, it was yet marked by an earnestness and determination that were very notable, and which have characterized his maturer life and deeds. In his boyhood at school he became early noted for his declamatory powers, and seemed to be a natural and forcible speaker, and to possess that quality and manner of speech and action which stirs the emotions of the listener. He generally came to the front on what was then called “exhibition day ’’ at school. As a boy he had many warm friends whom he always stood ready to befriend, ardently and forcibly, if necessary, when he believed them to be right — and it was not difficult to convince him that they were right. Of these qualities in the boy many of his school- fellows, — including the author of this sketch, — have a painful remembrance ; in fact they always preferred to be on his side when the matter was to be fought out. He never knew when he was whipped, and would never cry “enough.” This spirit which so signally marked him as a boy has become characteristic in his legal practice. The more difficult the case the more it claims his atten- tion, until victory usually crowns his work. Oppo- sition is only the signal for greater effort. The subject of this sketch was educated in the seminaries at Warrenville and Elgin, Illinois, and later he attended the Western Reserve College at Hiram, Ohio. He states, with pride, that he suc- ceeded in attending college by means of his own personal efforts and the practice of the most rigid economy. While at college he boarded himself at an expense not exceeding seventy-five cents per week. At the close of his studies there he engaged in teaching two terms of district school, and then began the study of law with Messrs. Joslin and Gifford at Elgin, Illinois. At the early age of twenty years he was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1 85 7 . Going from Elgin to Crystal Lake, Illinois, he first “ hung out his shingle ” there. That field proving too limited for his ener- gies and ability, he removed in the spring of 1859 to his present home in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and entered upon a practice of his profession which lias since become very extensive and remunerative, and in which he has gained a wide reputation as a success- ful and skillful attorney. The present firm of Jack- son and Halsey was formed in 1865, and is widely and worthily known. Mr. Jackson was admitted to practice in all the courts of record in Illinois while a resident of that State. In 1863 his practice first called him to the bar of the supreme court of Wis- consin, and in the same year he was admitted to the United States circuit and district courts. His prac- tice is general, and largely in the supreme court. A reference to the court reports shows that in a large majority of his cases he has been successful. He is an ardent and earnest advocate, and zealously makes his client’s cause his own. He presses the salient point of his case in an impassioned and forcible manner that can only come from the heart and an honest purpose. His manner as an advocate is that of a man who means what he says. Before attempting to induce others to think his client’s cause is just, he first convinces himself and then speaks forcibly what he really believes. At the opening of the war he was deeply interested in the Union cause, and, prompted by his ardent nature, and a disposition which always induced him to make the cause he espoused his own, he was among the very first to enlist for the war. On the 21st of April, 1861, he enlisted at Oshkosh, and entered the army as second lieutenant of Company E, 2d Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. Afterward he was promoted to a position on the staff of General W. T. Sherman. He acted in the capacity of staff-officer at the battle of Bull Run, and continued on General Sherman’s staff until on account of a serious and permanent injury he was compelled to quit the service during the same year. This was regretted the more by himself and his friends for the reason that he had already attained a position in the line of promotion which afterward placed his chief on the very pinnacle of military fame. Nothing re- mained for him on leaving the army but to resume his legal practice, which he did at the same place from which he entered the service. In politics he was reared a democrat, but since attaining his majority he has been identified with the republican party. Mr. Jackson never held any public office, with the exception of such as was connected with the practice of the law. He was twice elected city attorney of Oshkosh. In 1864 he became district attorney, and was reelected to that office in 1868. In 1S75 he was nominated by the republican party of his dis- trict as its candidate for member of the State legis- lature, but through local causes was defeated. He has always identified himself with movements tend- ing to promote the welfare of this city. THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 128 Previous to the great fire of Oshkosh in 1875 lie had creeled several large blocks, which, together with millions of property of his neighbors, were dcstroved. He suffered then a severe loss in prop- ertv, but none in energy or native pluck. Since that time he has continued his building operations to some extent, still having great faith in the future growth and prosperity of his city. He has always joined heartily with his fellow- citi/ens in public enterprises inaugurated for the benefit of Oshkosh. He was one of the original incorporators of the Wisconsin and Lake Superior Railroad Company, organized for the purpose of building a railroad north from Oshkosh. His public spirit has ever kept him foremost among those who sought to promote the public good by supplying public libraries, establishing lecture courses, etc. He is now in the prime and vigor of life, and emphatically a man of action, and those who best know him have reason to believe that his record will become brighter, and his life one of more marked success in the future than in the past. Mr. Jackson was married on the 14th of June, 1862, to Miss Annett L. Harwood, by whom he has three daughters. Such is a brief outline of the early life history of one who, beginning without means, educating him- self by his own work, relying upon his own re- sources, has established himself among strangers in the practice of the law, and worked his way up step by step, until he has already achieved an en- viable reputation as a lawyer, and reached a posi- tion of high public regard and social standing, and is living in the enjoyment of an ample fortune, sur- rounded by all the comforts of a happy home, but who, still believing that life is action and that work is the normal condition of all, is pressing on to new achievements. THOMAS H. LITTLE, M.A., JANES VILLE. '^pilOMAS HENRY LITTLE, a native of Au- J. gusta, Maine, was born on the 15th of Decem- ber, 1832, and was the son of Thomas Little and Elizabeth P. nee Howard. He traced his ancestry back to the Plymouth Colony, when one Thomas Little married the daughter of Richard Warren, who came over in the Mayflower. Always of a quiet, studious disposition, he graduated from Bowdoin College in 1855 with honors, and sq,on after accepted a position as teacher in the high school at Gardiner, Maine. One year later, turning his steps westward, he was providentially drawn into a work which, though he then regarded it as only temporary, so engaged him that he afterward resolved to devote his life to it. Arriving at Columbus, Ohio, he engaged to teach in the Institution for the Blind. Remaining till 1859, he accepted a similar situation in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but owing to the trou- bles in the South he remained but one year, and returning to Columbus, he taught there till August, 1861, at which time he received a call to the super- intendency of the Institution for the Education of the Blind at Janesville, Wisconsin, a position which he accepted and filled till his death, which occurred on the 4th of February, 1875. He was married in 1862 to Miss Sarah F. Cowles, daughter of Rev. Henry Cowles, D.D., of Oberlin, Ohio, and became the father of four daughters. Mr. Little was thoroughly and conscientiously devoted to his work. By close study and careful observation of institutions for the education of the blind, in our own and other countries, he became master of the most advanced theories of his profes- sion, and gained such a reputation that when the institution for the blind in Batavia, New York, was opened, in 1868, he was invited to its superintend- ency. He declined the offer, however, feeling that he could accomplish more where he was. By con- stant work and close application to study he so over- taxed himself that in 1873, by the advice of his physicians, he took a sea voyage, and spent several months in Europe, visiting different institutions, and conferring with the most experienced educators of the age. The relief from care and labor so im- proved his health that he returned with renewed vigor and enthusiasm, and an added experience of great value to his work. Upon the destruction of the main building of the institution by fire, in April, 1874, in his forgetfulness of self, and devotion to his pupils and the interests of the State, he periled his own life, receiving in- juries from which he never recovered, and which THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. I 29 probably hastened the termination of his life. An intimate friend has written of him as follows : As a private citizen he was quiet, unassuming and up- right; as a public officer he was thorough, untiring, efficient, and jealously watchful of the interests committed to his care; as an instructor, he was a recognized leader in his profession, a disciplinarian who knew how to govern with- out seeming to govern at all, and who was to his pupils far more like a kind and wise father than like a superintendent ; and as a Christian, he was manly, generous, humble, full of faith, given alike to prayer and good works, seeking to know and to do the Master’s will, and trusting for salvation onlv in the merits of a crucified and personal Saviour. In his death the community has lost an upright and useful citizen, the State has lost a faithful, honest and valued serv- ant, the church has lost an exemplary, prayerful member and an efficient officer. The following tribute was paid to his memory by the trustees of the institution : The board of trustees, desiring to place upon the record a simple and affectionate testimonial of their appreciation of Thomas U. Little, M.A., do unanimously adopt the fol- lowing resolution: Resolved , That in the death of Superintendent Little our institution has lost its best friend, the State an eminent Christian citizen, and the cause to which his life was dedicated one of its foremost men. He was a man of varied and extensive learning, of great executive ability, of inde- fatigable industry; and his daily life was a continued testimonial of the faith that was in him and the motives that governed him. REV. MILO P. JEWETT, LL.D., MILWAUKEE. M ILO P. JEWETT, a native of St. Johnsbury, Vermont, was born on the 27th of April, 1 808, and is the son of Calvin Jewett and Sally ndc Parker. His father, an eminent physician, was a man of lite- rary tastes, and possessed a valuable collection of books, the reading of which had a great influence in moulding the tastes of the son. His mother, a highly endowed and accomplished lady, was educated at the Female Academy in Canterbury, Connecticut, under the direction of her relative, Mr. John Adams, afterwards the distinguished principal of Phillips Academy at Andover, Massachusetts. Milo received his preparatory education at the Bradford, Vermont, Academy, and in the year 1828 was graduated from Dartmouth College. He spent the next year as principal of Holmes Academy at Plymouth, New Hampshire, and also employed a part of that and the following year as a student at law, in the office of the Hon. Josiah Quincy of Rumney, New Hamp- shire. Abandoning the law in the summer of 1830, he entered the theological seminary at Andover, Massachusetts, remaining three years. Having spent his winter vacations during his college course, in teaching school, he had gained considerable reputa- tion as a successful educator, and upon the invitation of Josiah Holbrook of Boston, founder of the lyceum system, he spent his vacations during his theological course in lecturing on common schools in parts of New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut. His work produced the happiest results. His ad- dresses on these subjects are believed to have been the first of a popular character delivered in the United States, and such was the interest taken in them by the people wherever he went, that parents, children and teachers alike flocked to hear them. Through J. Orville Taylor, a fellow-student of Pro- fessor Jewett’s, who became interested in the matter, a movement was inaugurated in New York city that resulted in the establishment of the present common school system of the Empire State. Such had been Mr. Jewett’s success in teaching that he resolved to devote himself to it as a profession instead of enter- ing the ministry, and accordingly before graduating from the theological seminary, he accepted an ap- pointment as one of the first professors in Marietta College, Ohio. Before entering upon his duties, however, he spent several months among the Con- gregational churches of New England, soliciting funds for the college, basing his plea for aid on “ the perils which threaten our civil and religious liberties from the progress of Roman Catholicism in the val- ley of the Mississippi;” being the first to sound the alarm on this subject in a series of popular addresses. Professor Jewett entered upon his work in Marietta College in 1834. In the autumn of 1835 or 1836, at the first State educational convention of Ohio, held at Cincinnati, he, with Professor Calvin E. Stowe and William Lewis, was appointed a committee to urge upon the State legislature the establishment of a new common school system. They were not only successful in their undertaking, but also procured an appropriation to send Professor Stowe to Europe to investigate the Prussian school system. His report awakened universal interest, and led to Horace Mann’s famous mission, with its grand results. Wil- liam Lewis became the first State superintendent of public schools in Ohio. A change of views on bap- tism led Professor Jewett to resign his position in 1 30 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONART. Marietta College, and in January, 1839, lie estab- lished the Judson Female Institute, in Marion, Ala- bama. I'h is soon became the most flourishing insti- tution for young ladies in the Southwest, comprising among its pupils many daughters of wealthy planters in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida and I'evis. In connection with his school he established the “Alabama Baptist,” a paper which was adopted as the organ of the denomination in that State, and which is still published. In the summer of 1855, leaving his school in a prosperous condition, and taking such of his servants as were willing to accept their freedom, he returned to the North, receiving from his pupils and patrons the most flattering tokens of confidence and affection. I11 the following autumn he purchased the Cottage Hill Seminary at Poughkeepsie, New York, and at that time entered mi the most intimate and confidential relations with Matthew Yassar, senior, the well known brewer. Finding him wealthy, childless and ambitious to per- petuate his name, Professor Jewett suggested to him the idea of a college that should be for young women what Yale, Harvard and Brown are to young men. As the result of this suggestion, Mr. Vassar revoked his will, in which he had left the bulk of his estate to create a hospital at Poughkeepsie, and re- solved to build and endow the proposed institution for young ladies during his life-time. Thus “ Vassar College ” came into existence, being incorporated in the year 1861, and was then the only endowed insti- tution for young ladies in the world. Professor Jewett, who had been the trusted counselor and the constant inspirer of Mr. Vassar in this noble enter- prise, planned and organized the college, and was chosen its first president. In April, 1862, at the re- quest of the trustees, he visited Europe, spending eight months inspecting the universities, libraries, art galleries, etc., in all the principal cities of Great Britain and the continent. Two years later he re- signed the presidency of the college, and in 1867 removed to his present home in Milwaukee, Wiscon- sin. Here he has found congenial occupation in devoting himself to the interests of education, phi- lanthropy and religion, as commissioner of public schools; trustee of the Milwaukee Female College; chairman of the board of visitors of the University of Wisconsin ; president of the Milwaukee board of health ; president of the Wisconsin State Temperance Society ; president of the Milwaukee County Bible Society; member of the Western Advisory Commit- tee of the American Baptist Educational Commission, and chairman of the State Baptist Centennial Com- mittee. In the midst of his active duties, Professor Jewett has not neglected self-culture, and aside from his contributions to papers and magazines, has issued several publications, and has a wide and worthy reputation as a scholar and reformer. In 1840 he issued “Jewett on Baptism;” in 1863, “Report of the President’s Visit to Europe,” and “ Report on the Organization of Vassar College;” in 1874, “Re- lations of Boards of Health to Intemperance,” and “A Plea for Academies;” in 1875, “The Baptist Centennial,” an address to the Baptist churches of Wisconsin, and “The Model Academy.” Politically he was formerly a whig, and is now identified with the republican party. He was married in 1833 to Miss Jane Augusta Russell, daughter of Hon. Moor Russell of Plymouth, New Hampshire, the founder of what is now the oldest mercantile house in the northern part of that State, which still flourishes under the family name. HON. EPHRAIM BOWEN, BRODHEAD. E 'PHRAIM BOWEN, a native of Evans, Erie j county, New York, was born on the 14th of January, 1824, and is the son of Pardon and Maria Bowen. His father, who was of Rhode Island stock, cleared a farm on the “Holland Purchase,” in western New York, and there reared a large family, giving them such educational advantages as could be afforded by the common schools. When eight years of age, Ephraim was bereft of his mother, and of his father at the age of fifteen, and being thus early thrown upon his own resources, he developed that spirit of self-reliance, independence and deter- mination that have marked his entire career. After conducting the farm for one year after his father's death, he engaged to work as a farm hand for three years at ten dollars per month. At the expiration of this time he spent one year traveling as a dealer in patentrights, for eighteen dollars per month. He V THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. had long cherished a desire for mercantile life, and at the ageof twenty-one years, with a capital of three hundred dollars from his hard-earned savings, he removed to Wisconsin and settled at Exeter, Green county, and there accepted a clerkship in a store at fifteen dollars per month. Later he became a part- ner in the business, and after six years of successful trade found himself in possession of three thousand dollars. With this then large sum he removed to Albany, Wisconsin, in 1853, erected a building and established himself in the mercantile and produce business, and also engaged in real-estate operations. Here he conducted his business with uniform good success till 1867, at which time he removed to Green Bay and there purchased two thousand acres of pine land in connection with a mill, and with that energy that had characterized his mercantile career con- ducted a successful lumber trade for a number of years, and added largely to his already ample for- tune. Returning to Green county, he established the First National Bank of Brodhead, of which he is both president and principal stockholder. He also erected a fine residence, surrounded it with comforts and luxuries, and lives now in the quiet enjoyment of the fruit of his industry, economy and honorable dealing. As a business man, Mr. Bowen possesses remarkable financial ability, and is widely known for his shrewdness, cautiousness, and his decided, vigor- ous and confident action. In political affairs he holds decided views, and !3I though an earnest worker, has no desire for official honors; formerly a whig, but now a republican. His early religious training was under Baptist influences, but he is now liberal in his theological sentiments. Sympathizing with all enterprises cal- culated to better the condition of men, he liberally contributes of his means, regardless of sect. He has traveled extensively with his family throughout the southern and Pacific States, and is thoroughly con- versant with all matters of public interest. Mr. Bowen was married on the 8th of June, 1853, to Miss Mary Ann Pearsons, of Sheldon, Wyoming county, New York, a lady of excellent family, amia- ble and refined, and possessing in an eminent degree those delicate sensibilities and noble impulses that combine with fidelity and devotion to make the true wife and mother. She has contributed largely to her husband’s success in business, while for moral and intellectual improvement he is no less indebted to the air of purity and intelligence that has daily surrounded his home, inspiring all the diviner attri- butes of his nature. They have had three child- ren, two daughters and one son. The eldest, Ella Amanda, a most amiable and beautiful girl, died in September, 1864, at the age of ten years. The other daughter, seventeen years of age, is now a student of high promise in the University at Madison. The son, Myron Pardon, a bright and promising boy of fifteen years, is now attending school, and bids fair to become a worthy representative of his parents. JAMES McGEE, OCONTO. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of St. An- drews, Charlotte county, New Brunswick, was born on the 18th of June, 1845, and is the son of Charles McGee and Ann Jane nee Rodgers, both of whom were of estimable character, devoted piety, and careful in the training of their children to habits of honesty and uprightness. James received his education in the common schools of his native place, and after closing his studies, in accordance with the desire of his father, entered a printing office ; finding, however, that the work was impairing his health he closed his engage- ment at the end of seven months, and resumed his studies and spent the next six years in school. At the expiration of that time he went to sea, making an eight months’ voyage ; but it being against his father’s wishes that he should follow this life, he ac- cepted a clerkship in a store of general merchandise and held it for three years. Wishing for a wider field of action, and drawn by its superior induce- ments to young men, he removed to the West in 1866, and settled at Oconto, where he has since con- tinued to reside. Not being able to find employ- ment suited to his tastes, upon his arrival, he spent the first winter in felling trees in the Oconto woods. In the ensuing spring he obtained a clerkship with the “ Oconto Company,” a lumber-dealing firm, and remained in that position four years, and then be- came a clerk in the hardware store of a Mr. Barlow. Remaining here till the spring of 1874, he then THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. opened the drug trade in which he is at present occupied. Public-spirited and enterprising, he has taken a deep interest in all matters pertaining to the growth and welfare of his town and State, and has been honored by his fellow-citizens by positions of responsibility and public trust. In 1872 he was elected citv clerk of Oconto, and reelected in the following vear, and in 1874 was chosen treasurer of his countv. receiving a majority of four hundred and fortv-two votes. In his political sentiments he is identified with the republican party. His religious training was under Episcopalian influences, and he is now a worthy member of that church. He has been a careful, observing man, and in his travels, which have extended over most of the States in the Union, he has gained a most valuable experience, and is well versed in many interesting and important topics. Mr. McGee was married in May, 1872, to Miss Anna J. Juneau, daughter of the late Paul Juneau, a prominent citizen of Juneau, Dodge county, Wis- consin, and grand-daughter of Solomon Juneau, the founder of Milwaukee. Their happy union has been blessed by one son and one daughter. Though still a young man, Mr. McGee has estab- lished a worthy reputation as a business man of worth, integrity and principle. From a comparative- ly obscure beginning he has rapidly advanced to his present high social and business standing, and is still growing in wealth and popularity. IRVING M. BEAN, MIL IV A UIC EE. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Willsboro, Essex county, New York, was born on the 27 th of April, 1838, and is the son of J. L. Bean and Jane E. nee McCollough. His maternal grandfather was a commissioned officer in the revolutionary war. His mother was a cousin of the poet, J. G. Saxe. His father, an influential business man, after remov- ing to the West, was connected with many public enterprises in Wisconsin. He took an active part in railroad affairs and was the first president of the Milwaukee and LaCrosse Railroad Company. His remarkable executive ability secured to him tbe highest respect of the public, while his excellent per- sonal qualities made him the center of a large social circle. He died at the early age of forty-six years, leaving to his family the legacy of a true character and spotless reputation. Irving received his early education in Milwaukee, and in 1857 graduated from Carroll College, having pursued a regular classical course. Soon after leaving college he began the study of law, and in the summer of 1868 entered the law school at Poughkeepsie, New York, and there, in addition to his regular studies, he gave especial attention to elocution and literary culture. Leaving the law school, he entered the office of Messrs. Jack- son and Wilkinson, of Poughkeepsie, and in 1869, after a rigid and prolonged examination, was admit- ted to the bar from a class of twenty, of whom twelve were rejected. Returning to his home, he became a partner of Mr. Calvert C. White, and began the prac- tice of his profession. In the fall of i860, associat- ing himself with Mr. Totten, under the firm name of Bean and Totten, he continued his practice a few months and was doing a successful business, when, by reason of both he and his partner entering the army, the firm was dissolved. Enlisting as a private in the 5th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers, he was soon transferred to the army of the Potomac. In November, 1861, he was promoted to a captaincy, and, serving in General Franklin’s corps, participated in all the battles in which it was engaged up to April, 1863, when he resigned. He was soon after- ward appointed provost marshal for the first district of Wisconsin and held that office till October, 1865, when he was mustered out. As a soldier and officer he made for himself a most worthy record, and while in the discharge of his duties in the last-named posi- tion had the satisfaction of knowing that his services were appreciated and approved by the government and the people. In the summer of 1863 he was elected president of the Forest City Bank, and acted in that capacity for over two years. Visiting the South in 1866, his intention was to resume his pro- fession, but the unsettled condition of both political and business affairs caused him to abandon his pur- pose, and returning to Milwaukee, he turned his attention to business pursuits. In the spring of 1867 he was elected president of the Northwestern Iron Company, and still continues to act in that capacity. On the 1 st of July, 1875, he was appointed collector THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 133 of internal revenue for the first district of Wisconsin, a capacity in which he has rendered most efficient service. He is at the present time president of the Young Men’s Library Association. His career, though varied, has been marked by upright and fair dealing, and he has become known as a careful manager and a man of fine executive and financial abilities. In his political sentiments Mr. Bean is identified with the republican party. Though orthodox in his religious principles in all essential points, he is liberal in his views and not connected with any church organization. Personally and socially he possesses excellent qualities, and by his polite fnanners, gentlemanly demeanor and generous actions, does not fail to im- press all with whom he has to do with a sense of his genuine worth. He was married in November, 1868, to Miss Alice H. Blossom, and lives in the enjoyment of a happy home, surrounded by a host of true and substantial friends. SAMUEL JOHNSON GOODWIN, BELOIT. T HE ancestors of Samuel Johnson Goodwin were of old New England stock, and were early settlers of Hartford, Connecticut. His grandfather took part in the revolutionary war. His parents were Samuel and Abigail Goodwin, both born in Hartford, Connecticut, from where they removed in the year 1810 to Madison, Madison county, New York, where his father was engaged in business as hotel keeper, mail contractor, stage proprietor and merchant, for over twenty years, a thorough business man, and to his example and teachings his son Sam- uel attributes much of his success. Samuel Johnson Goodwin was born at Madison, Madison county, New York, August 19, 1812. He received a common school education in his native town, and when he was fifteen years old he entered the store of E. F. Gaylord, in Madison, as a clerk, where he remained for two years, and then went to Utica, Oneida county, New York, where he was en- gaged in a dry-goods store for about four years when he returned to his native town and bought out his former employer, and remained in trade there for five years. He then sold out, and in the fall of 1838 he landed in St. Louis with a stock of cloths, prints, etc. He there purchased a pair of horses, wagon, etc., loaded his goods upon the same, and started for Galena, stopping at all intermediate set- tlements to dispose of his goods. He continued in that business until May, 1840, when at the urgent solicitation of his father and brother he returned to Waterville, Oneida county, New York, where his father and brother had removed, where he became connected with the firm of Bacon, 'Power and Co., woolen manufacturers and merchants. He was soon 18 placed in charge of the woolen mill, which was then manufacturing about two hundred and ten yards per day, which was a losing business. He at once com- menced an increase of speed to every part of the machinery, and in less than six months the same machinery was turning out four hundred and fifty yards of the same cloth daily, and he so continued for sixteen years. He then sold out, and in 1858, in connection with Dean Richmond, Hamilton White, John Wilkinson and Charles B. Sedgwick, formed a company called the Moline Water Power and Manu- facturing Company, of which he was elected secretary and treasurer. The company purchased the entire water power at Moline, Illinois, and erected the first stone dam and other improvements, costing some one hundred thousand dollars. He sold out his in- terest in that enterprise in the fall of i860; then came to Rochester, and soon after purchased the farm of three hundred and twenty-five acres which he now owns, and commenced the growing of hops and the manufacture of butter, having the most com- plete arranged creamery in the Northwest. In the fall of 1868 he purchased at Beloit, of Professor J. J. Bushnell, the hotel property then known as the Bush- nell House, now known as the Goodwin House. The property was then in a bad state of repair and in poor reputation as a hotel. He at once com- menced putting the place in a perfect state of repair, adding all the modern improvements to make it a first class hotel in all its appointments, and it so remains to this time. In 1869 he erected, adjoining the hotel on the north, a beautiful opera house, mod- ern and complete in all its appointments, and in 1875 he added on the east of the hotel a block of 1 54 THE [ T XI TED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. tli roe very handsome brick front stores, and lie iden- tified himself fully with the best interests and. growth of the city, and in 1S70 was elected its mayor. He has been a stockholder in the American l Apress Company since its organization, also of the Western Union Telegraph Company. Mr. Goodwin has always been found read} to take part in all that tends to the improvement of the city, and although not a member of any church, he has helped liberally for their support; in fact he is distinguished for his liberality and excellent business capacity. In poli- tics he has been a republican since the organization of the party. In 1840 he was married at Waterville, Oneida county, to Miss Margaret Bacon, daughter of Reuben Bacon, Esq., in whom he has found a good and faithful wife, whom he has ever consulted in his different enterprises. She has been to him a good counselor and always a cheerful companion. They have had two sons, one of whom, the younger, survives. OTIS HARVEY WALDO, MIL WA UKEE. O 'l'lS HARVEY WALDO was born in Pratts- burgh, New York, April 1, 1822. His father, Otis Waldo, was one of eight children whose parents verv early emigrated from Connecticut, and settled in Prattsburgh, where their children were brought up, and where most of them remained during their lives. Otis, the second son, grew to be an honest, industrious, strong-minded, clear-headed man. Plis occupation was that of farmer, his faith that of a Christian of the old New England type. Two sons were born to the earnest Christian parents, the eldest of whom is the subject of this memoir. Otis Harvey lived to the age of seventeen on his father’s farm, his time being divided between labor on the farm and in an old fashioned saw-mill, and attendance at the neighboring district school and academy. He very early showed a decided incli- nation for study, and for studies of the severer kind, the classics and mathematics. This tendency was perhaps intensified by the circumstances of his youth. His mother was for nearly all her life, after the birth of her children, an invalid, his father was a quiet and very sedate man, and his brother eight years his junior. Of course he had little com- panionship or amusement in his home, which he seldom left. To know, to understand, to do, to per- severe, whatever the difficulties, thus became the characteristics of his youth, proving the boy father of the man. Through their earnest desire to consecrate their son to the most useful life, it is probable, he was designed by his parents for the ministry, and hence every facility their circumstances allowed was afforded for his education, and he was prepared for college at the early age of seventeen. Previous to this, a circumstance of sufficient importance to have, in some serious manner, affected his character, occurred. Under powerful excitement from the preaching of the revivalist Boyle, at the susceptible age of eleven, he was persuaded that he had met with a change of heart, and was induced to unite with the Presbyterian church. Afterward, having abandoned the hope or belief that he had been the subject of a radical change, he requested to be allowed silently to withdraw from the communion of which he deemed himself an unworthy member. This, from the rules of the church, was denied him, and with no charge against him except that he con- scientiously absented himself from the communion services of the church, he was publicly excommuni- cated on the first Sabbath of May, 1839. The same week he left home and entered Pinion College in the middle of the freshman year, for both the clas- sical and the literary course. A class-mate writes of his college life : “ He was an untiring student, cor- rect in his deportment and in his morals, and was what we termed in college a max scholar in all respects during the whole of his course. His marks for scholarship, attendance and deportment were the highest then given in college. Mr. Waldo often talked with me in admiring terms of Dr. Nott, then the president of the college, and of Dr. Alonzo Pot- ter, professor of moral philosophy and rhetoric.” Later friends know that he continued to admire these instructors of his youth, to whom he was doubtless indebted for some valuable and graceful modifications of his earlier character. During his last year in college the eyes of the zealous young student failed, and, unable to read himself, he learned his lessons from the reading of Ei tf 3 lyJobiiCM'IUe.lfY THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. *35 his room-mate. He graduated in both courses with honor in 1842, and returned to his father’s house an invalid, suffering much for two years from weak eyes and feeble health. During this time he did some light work on the farm and interested himself in organizing a literary society, which became quite noted; and he was also very active, for so young a man, in the elections of 1844. With the hope of benefit to his health, and of making a start in the world, in the fall of that year Mr. Waldo a second time left home. . A gentleman, whose acquaintance he made on the way, induced him to go to Natchez, where he arrived well nigh destitute of funds. He soon became a member of the family of General John A. Quitman, on whose premises he taught a small school with much suc- cess, at the same time employing his leisure hours in reading law with General Quitman, and in “dis- cussing with him, in the most thorough manner, not only the elementary principles of law, but also the principles of government.” He was admitted to the bar in Natchez in the spring of 1849, and had many inducements set before him either to remain with General Quitman or open an office in New Orleans. Had it not been for slavery, to which he was conscientiously opposed, and whose evil fruits were the more apparent to him from his near observation of its workings, he would doubtless have heeded the southern call, but as it was, he took a map and studied the western States which he believed offered the best promises to an energetic and aspiring young man. He very soon decided upon Wisconsin, and at once came to Mil- waukee, but before regarding himself settled made a tour of the State. From this he was satisfied, and returned to make Milwaukee his permanent home in the autumn of the same year which had witnessed his admission to the bar. He came a stranger, but his industry and ability soon brought him friends and clients. In the spring of 1850 he married the daughter of the Hon. J. Van Valkenburgh, of Pontiac, Michigan, and henceforth labored with the clearly defined plan, first, of securing a competency which as a citi- zen and a man with a family he regarded a solemn obligation ; second, in the struggle for this compe- tency, and as a distinct aim, to secure the highest excellence in his profession. Beyond these imme- diate objects, he had high ambitions for place and power, that he might do more and better work for his country and his race. For seven years he went on prosperously, according to the programme marked out by himself. Then the financial crisis of 1857 threw him into serious embarrassment. With the aim already alluded to, he had bought ground on the principal street of the city, and commenced building a block of stores in the best manner. Real estate was solid and permanent; he had faith in it and in the future of Wisconsin and Milwaukee. Mr. Waldo borrowed considerable money at a high rate of interest to build the stores. The strug- gle to finish the work and pay his debts, although not the noblest of his life, yet shows very forcibly some of his best characteristics — integrity, courage, perseverance. Nothing of his plan and purpose would he yield; every dollar of his indebtedness would he pay, and that by his own honest exertions. Through the future he still saw financial victory, and though at the cost of retrenchment and un- wearied labor for ten years, he bravely fought the battle, and won. Meantime he was gaining excel- lence, his other aim, and was proving himself one of the most public-spirited and useful citizens in his adopted city and State. Far and wide he was known as the well read, the clear-headed, sound- judging, industrious and persistent lawyer. The most difficult cases were confided to him, and seldom did he lose a case. A brother lawyer writes : “ Shortly after Mr. Waldo’s coming here a great humbug spread over the land like a cloud, known as the ‘land limitation measure ’; on that subject he made, I think, his first speech, but it was a speech that electrified us all, and he actually burst the bubble so far as Milwaukee was concerned.” Another writes as follows : “ He was always interested, and inter- ested in an intelligent way, in public affairs.” A citizen writes thus: “There has been scarcely any prominent enterprise for the public good during the past twenty years which Mr. Waldo has not aided. After the break-down of 1858, when the credit of Milwaukee was all shattered and torn, he, in con- nection with James T. Brown, then mayor, acted as attorney for the city in adjusting our then pressing indebtedness. By representing to the creditors the true facts in the case, and what equity demanded on both sides, Mr. Waldo succeeded in adjusting that indebtedness on long bonds at four per cent per annum, and that wise adjustment was the foundation of the present good credit of Milwaukee.” His labors in behalf of the Northern Railroad were marked by the same energy, good sense and practical foresight, and though not a capitalist him- THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. U I * * * * 6 self, he succeeded in interesting others largely in that project, and it is no exaggeration to say that the construction of that important road was as much due to Otis H. Waldo as to any other man. But his life was really that of a lawyer, and we consid- ered him. beyond a doubt, one of the greatest law- yers in the northwestern States. In educational affairs he was always specially in- terested, and labored unweariedly for some of the schools of his own city. As a politician, Mr. Waldo was first a whig. He was always opposed to slavery, yet never identified himself with the abolitionists, because he regarded them as extremists and men of one idea. Since its formation he has been identified with the republican partv, and when the great rebellion came he was found decidedly and heroically on the side of the Union and freedom. His fortune, time, strength and talents were consecrated to his country. He penned some of the ablest papers upon the questions in dispute that exist in the literature of that stirring period. Among these may be mentioned a “ Letter addressed to Governor Salomon on the Conduct of the War,” also several letters addressed to Senator Doolittle upon “ equal suffrage,” and a speech, de- livered at Burlington, entitled “ The Legal Conse- quences of the Rebellion.” Mr. Waldo was a student, a man of careful and wise discrimination, and thus intellectually and con- scientiously tended to the wise middle course on most subjects. He possessed the excellences, and to some extent the severities, of the Puritans, and for these reasons was not qualified to be a popular man with the crowd, although he was always their staunchest friend. He was, in the strictest sense, democratic in poli- tics, a believer in universal education and universal suffrage, but his carefully drawn arguments and guarded statements, though lucid, were tedious to the many who jump at conclusions; his fairness and charity, even, wearied them, and so, though a gen- eral conviction of his intellectual and moral fitness and the obligations the community were under to him forced that community to regard his claim to public honors, yet he was not a successful candidate for office. Weaker and less honorable men were more successful; but a change was coming, for the people have grown weary of selfish greed and reck- less extravagance and unfaithfulness, and doubtless, had Mr. Waldo’s life been spared, the honor which six years ago he sought — a seat in the LTnited States senate — would have been his, and he would have been one of the most capable and faithful members of that august body. In private, Mr. Waldo’s life was spotless. He was devoted to his home and family, and interested in the education of his children as though these were his only obligation. He was Congregational in his idea of church, as he was democratic in his idea of state, but never, after his youthful experience before recorded, united with the church ; yet was he through life reverent and earnest in his regard for the Christian religion. Through manifold labor, manifold thought, mani- fold affections, the subject of this memoir, overtax- ing his life force, passed the years 1873 and 1874 in great feebleness and weakness, yet, till overpowered, would not yield the struggle. Worn out in the prime of his life, he fell asleep October 30, 1874, in the fifty-third year of his age. JOHN H. WARREN, M.D., ALBANY. I OHM MALDEN WARREN, a native of Hogans- J burg, Franklin county, New York, was born on the 23d of August, 1825, and is the son of Lemuel Warren and Betsey ntfe Richardson. His grand- father served in the revolutionary war, and his father, a descendant of the New England Warren of very early date, was a soldier in the war of 1812. John attended the common schools of his native place until thirteen years of age, and after removing to Wisconsin attended the first school taught in Janesville; later he was a pupil in a school which was kept in a log cabin in the town of Centre, and there completed his early education. Having decided to enter the medical profession, he began his studies at the age of twenty in the office of Dr. Nichols, of Janesville, and afterward studied with Dr. Dyer, of Chicago, and at the same time attended a course of lectures at Rush Medical College, from which he graduated in 1849. Immediately after graduation he established himself in his profession THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 137 at Lodi, Columbia county, but in 1851, at the urgent request of a brother, relinquished his practice, and removing to Albany engaged in milling and mercan- tile business, continuing in the same with uniform success till 1870. Aside from his regular business he has been honored with many public trusts, and in all his active career has been a leading and influential man. In 1857 he was elected to the State senate, and was afterward chief clerk of the same. He was appointed collector of internal revenue in 1862 by President Lincoln, and held the office during a period of seven years, and was also appointed by Secretary Stanton receiver of commutation during the rebellion. He was also at one time a director of the Sugar Valley Railroad and a stockholder in the same. At the present time he is the largest mail contractor in the United States, having over one hundred mail routes. His business has caused him to travel extensively over the different States and Territories, by reason of which he has become well acquainted with the character of the Indians, and heartily favors every movement that tends to further the interests of the peace policy. In the discharge of all his public trusts his conduct has been marked by that energy and spirit of enterprise that ever characterized him in his private affairs, and by an honorable and up- right course in all his dealings he has become known as one of the leading and prominent men of his State. In his political sentiments he was formerly a whig but is now identified with the republican party. Dr. Warren was reared under Presbyterian influ- ences, and although not connected with any church organization is a firm believer in the principles of Christianity, and still adheres to the doctrines taught him by his mother. Lie was married on the r8th of December, 1854, to Miss Louisa M. Nichols, daughter of his old pre- ceptor, the pioneer of Albany, Wisconsin, and by her has two sons and five daughters, Herbert N., Julia, Lissie, Gertrude, Lulu, Benjamin, and Fannie. The eldest son is now a student at Rush Medical College. Domestic in his habits, Dr. Warren finds his chief enjoyment in his own home, surrounded by his happy family, by whom he is respected and esteemed as a devoted husband and indulgent father. HERMAN MIL UL H ERMAN S. MACK was born in Altenkund- stadt, Bavaria, June 7, 1835. He was a son of Solomon Mack. His father was a merchant and manufacturer of broadcloth. Herman received his early education in the schools of his native town, until he attained his thirteenth year. During the revolution of 1848 and 1849 in Ger- many, his parents, seeing no prospects for him, ad- vised him to leave his native place, and go to the United States. In March, 1849, he came to this country, and went to Cincinnati, at which place he commenced his business career as errand boy in a wholesale dry-goods house; at the same time he attended Gundy’s Commercial College in the even- ings. In October, 1850, he came to Milwaukee, where he was clerk until 1854, when he entered into part- nership with his brothers, under the firm name of Mack Brothers, who were widely known throughout the Northwest, and were for many years at the head of the retail dry-goods business of the State S. MACK, A UK EE. In 1867 he associated himself with his brother Hugo, under the firm name of H. S. Mack and Co., for the purpose of carrying on the wholesale fancy dry-goods, yankee notions and furnishing goods busi- ness, and the firm, through unceasing efforts, energy and enterprise, have succeeded in building up an immense business, now occupying the large and commodious building, Nos. 369 and 371 East Water street, and enjoy a high reputation, equal to any in the State. In 1872 he imported knitting looms from Europe, and started the Northwestern Knitting Works, for tire purpose of manufacturing scarfs, sashes, jackets, mittens and fancy knit woolens. The manufacture of these goods has increased from year to year, and sales and shipments have been made to nearly all the States of the Union. In the early days of Milwaukee he was an active member of the fire department, and belonged to staunch old “No. 1.” In 1867 he was appointed by Governor Fairchild to represent the State of Wis- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 138 cousin at the Universal Exposition at Paris, and in 1S73 Governor YYashburne appointed him commis- sioner to the World’s Exposition at Vienna. He has lately traveled quite extensively through the con- tinent of Europe. He is now, and has been since he was twenty-one years of age, a zealous member of the order of Odd- fellows, and has been honored by the State grand bodies with the highest offices, having been grand patriarch of the grand encampment, and he repre- sented the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin in the Grand Lodge of the United States, at New York in 1867, and at Baltimore in 1868. Mr. Mack was married on the 3d of June, 1868, to Jennie Wolf, daughter of Hon. Daniel Wolf, coun- selor and member of the board of public improve- ments in Cincinnati, Ohio, and one of the most prominent and influential men of that city. WILLIAM ME AC HER, M.D., PORTAGE. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Bungay, Suffolk county, England, was born on the 27th of May, 1833, and is the son of William Meacher, senior, and Sarah Ann Brown, the former born on the 28th of August, 1808, at No. 9 Page’s Walk, Grange road, Bermondsey, London, and the latter on the Grampian Hills in Scotland. At the age of ten years William attended a part of a winter school of three months and one summer term of the same length in Monroe county, New York. Later he spent a little less than two years in school in Wis- consin, whither he moved with his father in the summer of 1844, and settled in the town of Lake. At the age of twenty-two years he conceived a desire for literary culture, and giving himself with avidity to the work, at once began the arduous task of edu- cating himself. Beginning with grammar, arith- metic and spelling, he spent the forenoons in study and devoted the afternoon to work on the farm or carpentering during the summers, and in the winter employed his evenings and Sundays with his books. After one year’s diligent study he spent two months in a select school in Portage city, and in the follow- ing winter taught the school of his district, receiving a compensation of eighteen dollars, per month, and boarding himself. In early life his desire had been to become a physician, but it seemed beyond his reach. During this winter, however, he determined to accomplish his purpose and gratify his desire. Accordingly in the ensuing spring, with the encour- agement of Dr. O. D. Colman, of whom he borrowed books, he began his studies at home, dividing his time between them and his work to support his family. At the expiration of two years thus spent he mortgaged his farm of forty acres for two hun- dred and fifty dollars, and with this money pursued a course of study at Rush Medical College of Chi- cago, and in the following summer began practice in Washara county, Wisconsin. Meeting with little success he sold his land in the fall for five hundred dollars, paid his former loan, and with the balance attended another term at the medical college and graduated in the spring of 1862, six years from the time when he first began his private study of grammar and spelling. It had been a long and tedious work, but as he compared his condition now, the master of a noble profession, with his former state, when, as a boy, he was obliged to toil as a day laborer, or when a sailor upon the lakes he was thrown into the company of those whose influence tended only to degrade, he did not regret his course, and felt that he had made a noble sacrifice, and that what he had gained repaid him a thousand fold for all that it had cost him. It is worthy of mention that during all his former varied career, though at times associated with reckless and abandoned characters, he had never contracted any of the habits of drinking, gambling or using tobacco. After his graduation, without means, Dr. Meacher began his practice in the village of Pardeeville, and by the aid of his friend and benefactor, Dr. Colman, managed to make a living. He engaged in this work because it was his natural preference, and he considered it the noblest of all professions. Begin- ning at the bottom his career has marked a gradual growth, and each year has added to his practice and reputation. Thoroughness in his professional work has always been his motto, and to this may be attributed his remarkable success. He has been a constant and diligent student, and when not engaged with his patients has found most agreeable employ- ment with his books, finding little time for games or THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. ordinary amusements. Of late years he has devoted himself especially to surgery, and in all his surgical operations his constant practice is to make a careful study of his case, both by reading and observation, before beginning it. During the war Dr. Meacher was commissioned assistant surgeon of the 16th Regiment of Wisconsin Volunteers, and later served for four months as contract surgeon. He was at the siege of Atlanta, and participated in the famous march to the sea. Aside from his professional duties he has shown a public-spiritedness and been honored by his fellow- citizens with positions of trust. About his first office was that of school superintendent of Marcel- low in i860; in 1870 he was elected president of the board of trustees for the village of Randolph, Dodge county, Wisconsin; and in 1872 declined a nomination as candidate for the State legislature. He was elected supervisor for the second ward of Portage city in 1874, and reelected in 1875. His ambition, however, has never led him to desire political honors, he finding in his profession ample scope for his best talents. *39 His political views are democratic, though he is not a partisan. In his religious sentiments, Dr. Meacher has always been a “ free thinker.” A disciple of Dar- win, Huxley, Tyndal, and Draper, he looks with the deepest interest upon the impending conflict between science and religion. He believes in the nebulous origin of the earth, and firmly holds to the teachings of geology in reference to its formation and develop- ment. In regard to God, he believes in an intelli- gence pervading the universe “as the great unknown and unknowable.” As to the future existence he holds no opinion, further than that it is unknown now, but may in the order of progress be found out. He is a prominent member of the Masonic fra- ternity, having taken thirty-two degrees, and makes the principles that underlie this brotherhood his religion. Dr. Meacher was married in the winter of 1854 to Miss Jane E. Clayton, an orphan, of Oak Creek, Milwaukee county, and by her has had two sons and three daughters, of whom the eldest, a son, died in infancy. DANIEL A. OLIN, RACINE. D ANIEL A. OLIN, was born June 3, 1826, at Canton, St. Lawrence county, New York. His grandfather, Caleb Olin, settled in Addison, Ver- mont, at an early day, and was a captain in the revo- lutionary war. His father, Joseph Olin, was married in Vermont, to Huldah Smith. Soon after they removed to Canton, at that time almost an unbroken wilderness. He was a captain in the war of 1812, and took part in the battle of Plattsburg. After the war he divided his time between farming and operating in real estate. Daniel A., the subject of this sketch, was the youngest of ten children. His mother died when he was three years of age. In 1831, his father married Hepsebeth 15 . Andrews, who bore to him two children, making twelve in the family. She was in the best sense of the term a true woman, intelligent, just and affectionate, and making no distinction between her husband’s chil- dren, but treated them all with a mother’s solicitude and kindness. To her influence Daniel ascribes whatever is praiseworthy in his own character. Such was his appreciation of her character, that she has been heard to say that Daniel never spoke an unkind word to her. Daniel received his education at the public school of his own town, and at Canton Acad- emy, which was at that time a flourishing institution of its kind. He remained with his father on the farm, teaching school during the winter, until 1849, when he was married to Sarah S. Sweet, who died in May, 1852, leaving one daughter. In June, 1854, he was again married to Mariette Teall. One daughter was born of this union. In 1851, he re- moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, entering immedi- ately into the service of the Milwaukee and Missis- sippi Railroad Company, which road was not then completed to Waukesha, in the capacity of foreman of the men employed in the construction of the road. After the completion of the road to Eagle, in 1852, he took the position of conductor of a pas- senger train, and continued in that capacity until the spring of i860. He was conductor of the first passenger train that ran from Milwaukee to the Mississippi river. In i860 he was appointed 140 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONART. assistant superintendent of the same road, which was then called the Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien railroad. He held this position until the spring of 1S65, when he was appointed to the posi- tion of assistant superintendent of the Milwaukee and La Crosse railroad. In 1866, at the consoli- dation of this road with the Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien road, he was appointed superintendent of the La Crosse division of the Milwaukee and St. Paul railway, which position he held until July, 1869, when he was appointed general superintendent of the Western Union railroad, which position he now holds. Mr. Olin’s religious views are liberal, although he was educated in a strictly puritanical school. During the war he was a war democrat, and used his influence for the suppression of the rebellion. He was a member of the common council of Milwaukee five years, three years of which time he was president of the board. Mr. Olin is a man of unquestioned natural and acquired ability, of prac- tical common sense — the basis of all genuine merit — of sound judgment, of accurate knowledge of men, and of their capabilities of usefulness. He is firm in his convictions of duty, and thorough in execu- tion. His firmness does not amount to obstinacy, for he is always open to conviction. He is cautious in all his relations to others, obsequious and syco- phantic to none. He pays no homage to wealth and power. He sympathizes with the poor and the weak. He observes in his daily life the golden rule of doing unto others as he would have others do unto him. He has great reverence for deity, and contributes liberally to religious and benevolent institutions. An incident in the life of Mr. Olin equally honorable to his head and his heart was exhibited in his affectionate tenderness to his wife’s mother, who spent the last years of her life in his family, and the tears he shed over her grave were an eloquent tribute to the characters of both. Mrs. Olin, his wife, is a woman of genius, learning and literary taste. Her contributions to the press have been much admired for their originality of thought, their freshness of sentiment, and especially for their naturalness and simplicity. Her transla- tions from the German authors are critical and just. Her literary pursuits do not conflict with her domestic duties. They are relaxations from the labor of life ; order and economy prevail in her household. She is a loving wife, kind mother and genial companion. Such qualities of head and heart as characterize Mr. Olin and wife are rarely found in any of the relations of life. They are especially interesting when they characterize hus- band and wife, between whom there should be har- mony of opinions and congeniality of sentiment. JAMES SPENSLEY, MINERAL POINT. r I ''HE life-history of him whose name heads this _L sketch presents many varied and interesting experiences, and well deserves a place among the number of Wisconsin’s self-made men. A native of Yorkshire, England, he was born on the 17th of April, 1833, and is the son of Richard and Alice Spensley. When he was six years old his parents immigrated to America and settled at Dubuque, Iowa, where he passed his early life, receiving a common flnglish education and assisting in his father’s work. Being of an adventurous turn of mind he left home at the age of seventeen, and with an ox team started across the plains for California. Owing to the large immigration of that year (1850) the feed of every kind on the way was consumed, and when within six hundred miles of Placerville, his point of destination, he was obliged to abandon his team and walk the remainder of the way. Having only about four pounds of flour and one and a half pounds of bacon to subsist upon, he endured the severest perils, but with a stout heart, and finally at ten o’clock on Thursday, the 24th of August, reached the end of his long journey. He worked for his board until Saturday night, and dur- ing the next week engaged in mining, having met with some friends who supplied him with an outfit of tools. Continuing thus employed for nearly three years with varied success, he, in April, 1863, left the mines and went to San Francisco, intending to em- bark for Australia. He, however, changed his purpose, and took passage for New York via Panama, and arrived at his home in Dubuque in July. About this time his father moved to Galena, Illinois, and engaged in the smelting business at that THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. place. His health having become greatly impaired by exposure, he was unable to attend to any regular business during the following three years, more than to assist in keeping his father’s accounts. At the expiration of this time, having recovered his health, he removed to Mineral Point, Wisconsin, and form- ing a copartnership with his father and brother, established himself in the smelting business under the firm name of James Spensley and Co. In 1861 the partnership was dissolved by mutual consent, and from that time till the present (1876) he has con- ducted the business in his own name; and by care- ful and judicious management and close application has made it a financial success. He is, besides, largely engaged in farming interests. His political sentiments are republican, and although he has no ambition for political emolu- ments he was elected to the State legislature in 1866, and there rendered good service. All worthy matters of public interest readily enlist his sympa- 141 thies, and he heartily supports any enterprise tending to the welfare of his State or town. He is a leading member of the Methodist Episco- pal Church, and has always lent a willing hand in furthering the cause of religion in his community. Mr. Spensley was first married on the 24th of September, 1856, to Miss Elizabeth Ann Todd, daughter of George and Isabella Todd, of Jo Daviess county, Illinois. Mrs. Spensley died on the nth of June, 1873, leaving a family of eight children. Visiting England in 1874 he married his second wife, Elizabeth Ann Spensley, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Spensley, of Reeth, Yorkshire, on the 1 2th of May. Mr. Spensley ’s many excellent personal qualities have secured to him many warm friends, and he lives in the enjoyment of an ample competence, commanding by his upright life the highest respect of all with whom he has to do. JAMES B. BOWEN, M.D., MADISON. TAMES B. BOWEN, the son of Jabez Bowen, J was born at Killingly, Connecticut, August 19, 1816. His father died in 1822, having lost all of his property shortly before his death. The widow and ten children were left to their own resources for a living. James was kept at school until his eleventh year, when he entered into a contract with a cotton manufacturer to work for four years, during the usual hours and until ten o’clock at night, re- serving four hours a 'day for study in school. After another engagement for one year, he was placed in charge as superintendent, with the control of one hundred hands. In his eighteenth year he entered an academy at Pleasant Valley, New York, defray- ing his expenses by performing manual labor at night. He returned to Connecticut, walked thirty miles to Stafford to rent a cotton mill, thence to Hartford, thirty miles further, to procure a stock of cotton on credit (for he was without money), and succeeded also in hiring hands to perform the labor without money for the first six weeks. Afterward the hands were paid monthly. He ran the mill night and day for eight months, and derived large profits. At Warren, Massachusetts, he purchased a mill for ten thousand dollars, and commenced an i9 independent business. He was now accumulating a handsome fortune, when by the failure of his agents in New York, he lost everything he had made. Previous to his failure he had married Miss Susan Tucker, whose womanly qualities and excellent counsels have contributed materially to his pros- perity and personal happiness. He removed to Auburn, New York, and com- menced the study of medicine. Without relinquish- ing his studies he Moved to Rochester, New York, and with a partner purchased a cotton mill, running it day and night for two years, clearing thirty thou- sand dollars, when he sold out, devoting his entire attention to the study of medicine. Becoming secu- rity for others, he again lost all the money he had accumulated, and was indebted for large amounts over and above his resources. In 1848 he gradu- ated at Central College as M.D., and commenced practice in Providence, Rhode Island. In 1852 he moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where his career has been in all respects successful. He practices the homoeopathic system, and is considered the father of that system in Madison. If success is evidence of merit, Dr.' Bowen has rare skill in his profession. As a business man he has few equals — clear in his THE EXITED S TA TBS BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 142 perceptions, of sound judgment, prompt in reaching his conclusions, and decisive in action. His views in relation to public matters are broad and liberal. In 1872 he was elected mayor of the city by a hand- some majority, during his absence at the East. In 1874 he was elected president of the Park Savings Bank, and still holds that position. Dr. Bowen has been scarcely less fortunate in his daughters than in his wife. Susan, the eldest, edu- cated at Troy, New York, is married to Wayne Ram- say, cashier of the First National Bank ; Sarah, the younger, educated at Elmira, New York, is married to Dr. Ingman, the partner of Dr. Bowen. Both ladies are exemplary wives and admirable women. PATRICK CONNOLLY, Junior, MIL WA UK EE. A S an example of patient industry under difficul- . ties, and an exemplification of the axiom that every life must find its own level in spite of untoward surroundings, the record of Patrick Connolly, junior, is unsurpassed. He was born of poor but honest parents, in Ireland, county of Leitrim, February 14, 1836, and attended the common school of his native village until ten years old. At the early age of eleven he bade adieu to the “Emerald Isle,” and crossing the ocean, came to seek his fortune in the new world. By chance he located first in Montreal, Canada, where he served as cash boy in a commis- sion house, attending school during the winter months. Becoming impressed with the idea that the republic of the United States was the El Dorado for the advancement of ambitious youth, he aban- doned the Dominion in the autumn of 1850 and settled in Greenfield, Milwaukee county, Wisconsin. His insatiable thirst for knowledge had always im- pelled him to read much and improve every oppor- tunity for study, and in his new home he applied his mind with renewed energy, spending the winters of 1850 and 1851 at school. His education at this time, though gained by his own efforts, was far in advance of many more favored students. Being thrown entirely upon his own re- sources, he determined to prepare himself for the vocation of a teacher. Before the close of 1851, when only fifteen years old, we find him engaged in teaching one of the public schools of Milwaukee county. As an instance of his filial devotion and early habits of prudence we will mention that before the age of nineteen, he had bought with the savings of his limited salary a homestead, which he presented to his parents. In 1859 Mr. Connolly received the appointment of principal in the intermediate depart- ment of a school in Milwaukee city, and in 1863 was principal in full of all the departments of the same school, which position he retained till called by the voice of the people to serve in a more important public office. He became early identified with the interests of the democratic party, but was never in favor of human slavery. In 1872 he was elected clerk of the circuit court, and subsequently reelected by the flattering majority of forty-five hundred votes. Mr. Connolly was married in 1862 to Miss Julia A. Vanghey, and is the father of six children, four of whom are now living. He was brought up a Roman Catholic, and has conscientiously adhered to the faith of his ancestors. He is still under forty years of age, and is eminently worthy of imitation by the youth of his native and of his adopted country. H. STONE RICHARDSON, MADISON. H STONE RICHARDSON was born in 1829, . in the town of Nelson, Madison county, New York. His father, Asa Richardson, was an active, prominent citizen, known far and near as the “old honest cattle buyer; ” a democrat after the straight- est sect, prominent as a politician, supervisor of his town, a justice of the peace for nearly thirty succes- sive years. He was a poor man, and being the father of nine children, six girls and three boys, was only able to give them a home and a common-school education. At the age of eleven years, H. Stone Richardson had the use of a neighbor’s library, but THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. H3 before he had read half the books he determined to leave home and work his way through Union Col- lege. That resolution was never abandoned. His father doubted its practicability, but his mother laid her thin white hand on his boyish head, and said, “Go, my boy; and in answer to your mother’s pray- ers God will bless you.” His mother tied up his wardrobe in a handkerchief, and on foot and alone he walked to the little village of De Ruyter, and secured the position of bell-ringer in the De Ruyter Academy, for which service he received tuition in the school, the use of a room in the building, and school books. He paid his board and earned money enough to buy his clothing by sawing wood for the students and citizens in the town. In this manner he paid his way until the winter of his sixteenth year, at which time he engaged a district school, and met with great success as a teacher. From this date his pursuit of knowledge was less difficult, and at the age of eighteen he was prepared for Union College. At this time he fell into the hands of unwise friends, who advised him to give up his college course and go to Albany and study practical surveying, civil engineering, etc. After finishing his studies at Al- bany he immediately proceeded to carry out the determination of his boyhood to see the world. Nearly four years were spent in travel, visiting in the meantime nearly every State and every noted local- ity in the United States, and spent thirteen months in a trip to Italy and among the islands of the Atlan- tic. He crossed the continent, going from San Antonio, in Texas, through upper Mexico to Pueblo, Los Angeles, to San Francisco, and finally, in 1850, found himself in Mariposa county, on the tract of land then owned by J. C. Fremont, and his near neighbor. In the fall of this year he was nomi- nated for the assembly, and was elected by a very large majority. When the legislature convened at San Jose, he took his seat and served the State with great acceptability. Near the close of the session he received a letter from his father, informing him that his mother was not expected to live. He at once asked the legislature for leave of absence. In grant- ing his request, the members of the house and sen- ate, together with the officers of the State, took the occasion to express to him their very high respect for his ability and integrity as a member of the assembly, and their esteem for him as a gentleman and friend. His constituents at this time invited him to return to the State and represent them in congress. He came home. His mother was gone; home was desolate; the rapidity of his long journey and its consequent severity upon his physical system threw him into a severe illness. During that illness he experienced the change through which Paul passed on his way to Damascus, and upon his re- covery to health, instead of going back to California and the life of a politician, he received from the lips of the Divine Master this command : “ Go, preach my gospel.” He immediately united with the Meth- odist Episcopal church, and in four years from that time was ordained elder by Bishop Simpson, with authority to “preach the word.” His fifth appoint- ment was to the pastorate of the church at New York Mills, a church which was considered of the first importance in the interior of the State, thus show ing his standing as a young man. At this time (1861) the first notes of the rebellion were heard, and ob- taining leave of absence from his church, he gave his life for four years to the preservation of the country, not as a partisan. He was instrumental in raising the 76th New York Volunteers, and enlisted by his own personal effort four hundred and fifteen men for the 2d Harris Light Cavalry. He was chaplain of the 76th New York Volunteers; was breveted major and finally appointed by Governor Fenton military agent for New York. As chaplain he did most unexceptionable service, and was alike loved by the boys in blue and the sick boys in gray, to whom he gave loving ministry as he found them wounded on the field or dying in the hospital. As military agent he handled hundreds of thousands of dollars, and received from the governor a letter say- ing that he had served the State with faithfulness and perfect integrity. On his return from the army he was solicited by friends in Wisconsin to commence again his ministry in that State in the Methodist Episcopal church. He is now pastor of the church at Madison, the leading church in the conference, a church demand- ing talent of the best order. Mr. Richardson is a lover of nature, and loves with an intense and absorbing passion a pebble, a mountain, a bee gathering honey and the flower from which he gathers it, the bird building her nest and the eagle cleaving the upper air. He is a painter, and has always in his heart and the halls of his memory ten thousand pictures. He is a poet when the thunder is abroad in the sky and the blue lightning is tangled and caught on the edges of the clouds. He is a poet and a child when the summer wind is south and all the future is full of flowers THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DIC TIONAR T. and hope and millennial light. He has been for twenty years a hard student of history, biography and general literature, and also of man in all his sameness and in all his variety. He prepares his sermons thoroughly, and preaches to make men better, broader, more loving, more charitable, more like Jesus the Christ, and means that his life shall be his most convincing sermon. He loves the study of oratory, and has struggled to become master of the art. His sermons are highly spiritual, and he is able at times to move an audience as only they can who have the gift divine. He is no bigot, no sec- tarian. no miser. His knowledge of the world and of man, obtained by. extensive travel, has taught him to regard all men as his brethren. Believing himself commissioned from above to proclaim the glad tidings of salvation to a perishing world, imbued with fervent piety, endowed with zeal, learning and eloquence, he can scarcely fail to fulfill the ends of his mission here and to receive a crown of glory hereafter. Mr. Richardson was united in marriage to Miss Lottie L. Curtis, of Madison, New York. She was an accomplished and beautiful girl and is now an honored and beloved wife, the mother of two sons, and a woman of wide influence in the church. FRANK GAULT. MIDDLETON. F RANK GAULT was born January 31, 1826, in the county of Down, near the city of Belfast, Ireland. He is the eldest son of Francis Gault and Debarah McCall. His father was the youngest son of Francis Gault, senior, a stern and uncompromis- ing Presbyterian, and one of the united Irishmen who engaged in the rebellion of 1798, and to show his zeal in the cause carried a pike against the almost invincible armies of England in several bat- tles. The family, including the above named Frank, immigrated to the United States in the year 1839, and settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when he was immediately sent as an apprentice to learn the business of an engineer and machinist. In the year 1848 he removed to Wisconsin, the pioneer of the family, and was followed by them in the following spring. He landed in Milwaukee on November 21, and the following morning set out on foot and walked to Madison, arriving there on the 23d. After a short survey of Madison and vicinity, he concluded to make Middleton his future home. In the latter town he engaged in the manufacture of lumber for about three years, and in the year 1851, in company with W. A. Wheeler, he built the flouring mill in the village of Pheasant Branch, and continued to run the same until the year 1861, when they sold their interest in the mill to Hon. T. T. Whittlesey. He then engaged in farming, in which business he has remained up to this time, with the exception of an interval of three years’ residence in Kentucky. On the 30th of November, 1850, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ann Eyre Gyles, a daugh- ter of Robert Ross Gyles, Esq., of Carlingford, county Lauth, Ireland, the result of this marriage being a daughter, now married to Robert L. Win- tersmith, junior, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and a son, Frank Gault, now living with his parents. In politics, as might be expected from the grand- son of a man who had the courage to face the united armies of England with a pike, he is an uncompro- mising democrat. If he has a strong point in his character it is opposition to oppression in all things, particularly in politics and religion. In religion he inclines to Presbyterianism, his father being of the same persuasion, and his mother, to whom he was tenderly attached, was a consistent member of the Episcopal church. He is willing to accord to all others the enjoyment of their opinions as he is determined in maintaining his own. He was elected to represent his district in the legislature in the fall of 1857, and in the fall of 1858 he was elected treasurer of the county by a very large majority. In 1863 he was the democratic candidate for senator in his district, and was de- feated by the all-powerful administration party. In 1867-8 he represented his district in the legislature; and has at various other times held the office of chairman of the town board, justice of the peace, supervisor, and other offices. He is still to be found doing service in the ranks of the democracy or reform party, and intends to continue to do so while there is despotism or corruption to root out. Mr. Gault in person is about five feet ten inches in height, of well developed form, muscular, active, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. and is capable of enduring long continued labor. His temperament is sanguine bilious. He is ardent in his attachments, and but for a controlling judg- ment would be equally so in his animosities. Nature endowed him with rare mental faculties, and if they had been disciplined by education and study, he would have been distinguished in literature or the mechanic arts, especially the latter, as his knowl- edge of them seems to be intuitive. He is one of the best historians of the day, and occasionally in his fanciful moods coquets with the poetic muse. *45 He has been peculiarly fortunate in securing a good deal more than his better half in the choice of a wife, who in all the relations of daughter, wife, mother and neighbor, has but few equals and no superior. She is highly intelligent, hospitable, kind, charitable and pious; these qualities she has trans- mitted to her daughter, who possesses also that loveliest of all female qualities, gentleness. The son, Frank Gault, junior, has natural capacity equal to that of his father, has received a better educa- tion, and bids fair to be a useful citizen. J. C. DUN DAS, M.D., CAMBRIDGE. H IGH up in the northern part of Norway, in the district of Helgeland, Dr. J. C. Dundas, of Cambridge, was born in 1815, the last of eleven children then living. His father, Isaac George Dundas, was a lineal descendant of the renowned poet and bishop, Peter Dundas, and he was a son of the Scotlander, Robert Dundas, who in the sixteenth century went over from Scotland with his sister, Maria Dundas, to the district of Helgeland, in Nor- way. The Doctor’s father was a man of large means, including islands, vessels and a great variety of per- sonal property. He was a man of liberal educa- tion and social and literary tastes. He was gener- ous to the poor, but careless of his property, and lost the greater portion of it. The Doctor's mother, Connelia Strom Dundas, was a woman of exem- plary character, and strong mental qualities. She was careful, economical and affectionate, inspir- ing her children with filial reverence. The dis- trict of Helgeland is celebrated in the old Nor- wegian sagas as the original home of the first settlers of Norway. The common occupation of the inhabitants was that of farming, but the Doctor having but little taste for agriculture, went to the city of Bergen to study medicine and surgery. He remained there three years, thence to Christiania, continuing the same studies during the years 1837-8-9, thence he went to Copenhagen, remain- ing two years, thence to Vienna one year. He was examined by the different medical faculties in the University of Helsingfors, in 1844. Studied in Berne, Switzerland, in 1845, also in Dorput, in 1844, and thence to Holland to be examined as surgeon for the Dutch East India service. After returning from Java and other East India islands, he attended the St. Bartholomew’s, the London, and the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospitals in the year 1849. Afterward he traveled through Europe, visiting many medical institutions and others of a scientific and literary character. In 1850 or 1851 he sailed from Rotterdam, Holland, in the English emi- grant ship Northumberland, as surgeon, for New York. But the ship foundered on the coast of France and went to pieces. He lost all of his med- icines and the greater part of his instruments. He subsequently came to New York, visited the hospi- tals, made the acquaintance of several eminent phy- sicians, and finally concluded to travel west, and by the advice of the Norwegian consul in New York, he visited Wisconsin, thence to St. Louis, Missouri, thence to New Orleans, and returning from the South he visited Chicago, Buffalo and New York city. He remained in America over two years, and then returned to Rotterdam in Holland. He ob- tained a desirable position on board a vessel bound for Canton, China, and made the voyage, remaining absent from Europe two years, after which he again returned to America and to Wisconsin, where he now resides, practicing medicine and surgery with great success. He married his present wife, Malinda Tracy Dun- das, some years ago, and has two promising daugh- ters. The Doctor has had rare opportunities for acquir- ing a knowledge of science and of the world, and he has improved these opportunities in such a man- ner as to give him an extended fame and a lucrative practice. 146 THE UXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONART. The Doctor’s political sentiments are in harmony with the genius and character of the American gov- ernment. and hence he prefers it to the European governments. He believes in the equality of all men before the law, and their unrestricted right to the pursuit of liberty and happiness. He believes that America can proudly claim that she is the home of the immigrant and the asylum of the exile. In her ample philanthropy she embraces all nations and kindred and tongues, and knows no distinctions except those which do equal honor to the head and to the heart. HON. E. C. LEWIS, JUNE A U. E LI C. LEWIS, a native of Greenfield, Huron county, Ohio, was born on the 24th of August, 1S22, and is the son of Philip and Louisa Lewis. His father, a well-to-do farmer, was a man of good standing in his community and much respected by all who knew him. Eli passed his boyhood and youth on his father’s farm, receiving a good English education at Norwalk in his native county. He early developed a taste for professional life, and after leaving school began the study of law, and in 1844 was admitted to the bar at Tiffin, Ohio. Removing to Rising Sun, Indiana, he spent a short time in the practice of his profession, and in 1847, drawn by the superior inducements which it offered to young men, removed to Wisconsin and established himself in his profession at Oak Grove, in Dodge county. In 1850, after three years of varied success, he re- moved to Juneau, and continued that practice in which he has become so widely known as a suc- cessful attorney. His habit has always been to ac- quaint himself thoroughly with all the various phases of his case in hand, and to his thoroughness may be attributed much of his success. Shrewd and enter- prising, and possessing the happy faculty of seizing opportunities and turning them to the interests of his business, he has made it a success, not only pro- fessionally, but also financially, and is now one of the wealthiest men in Dodge county. Politically, he is a democrat, and on this ticket was elected district attorney in 1848, and held the office during a period of twelve years. He was appointed circuit judge in 1873, and for twenty years has held the office of court commissioner. During eight years past he has been a member of the board of supervisors. His career from the first has been marked by a gradual growth, and from comparative obscurity he has risen by his own effort to his present high social and professional standing. Judge Lewis is not connected with any church organization, but, unsectarian in his views, cherishes a spirit of charity and goodwill toward all men, and governs his life by principles of honorable, upright and open dealing. He was married on the 9th of June, 1856, to Miss Jerusha L. Grover, by whom he has two sons. His large and varied experience, gained from travel, and his thorough acquaintance with all ques- tions of public interest, combined with his excellent personal and social qualities, render Judge Lewis a most agreeable companion, and gain for him the highest regard of all who know him. JARED C. GREGORY, MADISON. T ARE!) COMSTOCK GREGORY was born Jan- J uary 13, 1823, in the town of Butternut, Otsego county, New York. His parents were natives of New England, and descended from highly respecta- ble families. He was educated at Gilbertsville Academy, read law with Judge Noble of Unadilla, was admitted to the bar in Cortland county, New York, in 1848, was married the same year to Miss Charlotte C. Camp, his present wife. A daughter and two sons are the blessings of this union. In ancient Rome they would be styled jewels. He was elected a justice of the peace when quite young, was a candidate for congress in 1856, and removed to Wisconsin in January, 1858, settled in Madison Z -T 7 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 147 and formed a partnership in the practice of the law with S. U. Pinney, which still continues. Ability and learning in his profession, industry in his habits, punctuality in his engagements, have commanded the respect and secured the confidence of the com- munity; hence his continued success. In religion he is an Episcopalian, and his family are members of the church. In politics he is a democrat in the sense in which Jefferson and Madison were demo- crats — as much removed from radicalism as from centralism. Mr. Gregory’s intellectual and moral character is very manifest to a close observer of men, and is equally honorable to his head and to his heart ; the basis is that of plain, practical “ common sense,” honesty of purpose, and sympathy with his fellow men. These qualities are illustrated in his daily life, whether in his public or private capacity. The obligations of government and society rest lightly upon him, and he discharges the duties they impose with cheerfulness. In his social and family relations his qualities are most estimable as neigh- bor, friend, husband and father. No one with cul- tivated taste ever entered that family circle without perceiving its moral beauty or being impressed with its sacred influence. His perceptive powers are very marked ; he not only perceives the subject under consideration in its essential elements, but he per- ceives it in all its kindred relations to other subjects. He discriminates carefully previous to forming his opinions, which, together with his accurate knowl- edge of men, render his conclusions almost unan- swerable. When his opinion is thus formed, and presented to the jury at the bar of the court in his usual respectful, frank and kind manner, the im- pression is deep and lasting ; but when the subject matter involves human rights or human sufferings, his zeal, always conspicuous in his client’s cause, is kindled into enthusiasm, which occasionally rises to the highest order of eloquence, that of the heart. No man was ever truly eloquent with a bad heart ; he may excite envy, jealousy and hate with such in- tensity as to exclude every virtuous emotion, he may stimulate ambition until the desire to rule or ruin absorbs every other, his imagination may paint the loveliness of virtue, but his soul cannot breathe into it the breath of life. GUSTAVUS STONE, BELOIT. T HE subject of this sketch is preeminently a self-made man, and affords a most worthy ex ample of that class of men who make their lives a success by sturdy industry and untiring persever- ance. A native of Canton, Norfolk county, Massa- chusetts, he was born on the 27th of August, 1821, of Jonathan and Elizabeth Stone. His ancestors, among the early settlers of New England, participated in the revolutionary struggle, and his father was a soldier in the war of 1812. He was a man of very decided character, a physician by profession, and for thirty-four years conducted a practice in Canton, Massachusetts. A rigid temper- ance man, he was so conscientious in carrying out his principles that he even cut down his apple trees, that the fruit might not be made into cider. With the advantage of such home influences and a thor- ough English education, Gustavus left his native State, and began life on his own account. With three other young men, and with seven dollars in his pocket, he went south, and engaged in teaching, em- ploying his spare time in study and self-culture. In 1850, wishing for a wider field of action, he removed to the West, and settled at Beloit, Wiscon- sin, and, associating himself with Mr. Parker, began the manufacture of reapers and mowers, under the firm name of Parker and Stone. The business prov- ing very successful, has continued up to the present time, 1876, and is still prosperous and growing. If we seek for the secret of Mr. Stone’s success, w r e shall find it not alone in his native abilities, but rather in the continuity of action that has charac- terized his life. The principles of honorable deal- ing instilled into his early life have had their influ- ence on all his subsequent career, and in all his varied intercourse with men he has maintained that frankness that has never failed to gain for him the esteem and confidence of the business public. Politically, Mr. Stone was formerly identified with the whig party, and is now republican in his senti- ments. His love of party, however, never blinds him to the higher interests of the State or nation, and in every political contest, waiving party preju- dices, he supports for office him whom he regards I-+S THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. most worthy of the position. He has never sought notoriety in the political world, or even solicited of the public any political favor; and although promi- nent positions have frequently been tendered him, he has uniformly declined them, preferring the en- jovment and exclusiveness of his business life to political fame or emoluments. In religion, as in politics, he entertains the most liberal views. Purely unsectarian, his sympathies are broad enough to gather in their embrace all men. His charities extend to all. It is only necessary that the needs of the distressed be known to him, and without questioning as to their personal beliefs if they are worthy, his heart and purse are ever open to supply their wants. He has also been a generous supporter of public charities and enterprises. He was married in 1853, to Miss Sarah A. Bart- lett, in whom he has found a true and devoted wife. Their family, consisting of three sons and two daughters, are all living at home, where, with their parents, they enjoy the society of a large circle of acquaintances and many warm personal friends. DANIEL S. DURRIE, MADISON. ANIEL STEELE DURRIE was born at Albany, New York, January 2, 1819. He is a son of Horace Durrie, a native of Hartford, Con- necticut, and a grandson of John Durrie, of Stony Stratford, Buckingham county, England, who came to America in 1781. His mother was Johannah Steele, daughter of Daniel Steele, a bookseller and stationer of Albany, to which place his father re- moved about 1817. Mr. Durrie was educated at the Albany Academy and at a select school at South Hadley, Massachu- setts, after which he entered the store of his uncle and learned the bookselling business, and succeeded him in the same in 1844. In 1848 he lost his prop- erty in the great fire which occurred that year at Albany, and in 1850 removed to Madison, Wiscon- sin, at which place he has remained to the present time, being engaged in the same business from 1854 to 1857. This the commercial revulsions of the last year broke and he accepted a position in the office of Hon. L. C. Draper, the superintendent of public instruction in 1858 and 1859. He was elected a member of the State Historical Society in 1854, was elected a member of the execu- tive committee in 1855, and librarian in 1856, which office he has retained to this date, entering on the twentieth year of his reelection to that office Jan- uary, 1875. The society at that time was in its infancy, with a library of only a few volumes. He was associated with Lyman C. Draper, LL.D., the corresponding secretary, to whom the society is in- debted largely for its present prosperity, and is enti- tled to a part of the credit of building up the society, which ranks among the first in the United States. Mr. Durrie published his first work, “A Genea- logical History of John and George Steele, Settlers of Hartford, Connecticut, 1635-6, and their De- scendants,” in 1859, and an enlarged edition of one hundred and sixty-one pages in 1862. It was pub- lished at Albany by Joel Munsel, and was the first of this class of works issued by that gentleman, and since that time he has brought out a large number of similar volumes. In 1864 Mr. Durrie published “A Genealogical History of the Holt Family in the United States, More Particularly the Descendants of Nicholas Holt, of Newbury and Andover, Massachusetts, 1634 to 1644, and of Wil- liam Holt, of New Haven.” This volume, of three hundred and sixty-seven pages, was printed by Mr. Munsel. In 1868 he published his “ Bibliographia Genealogica Americana : an Alphabetical Index to Pedigrees and Genealogies Contained in State County and Town Histories, Printed Genealogies and Kindred Works,” a volume of three hundred pages, also printed by Munsel. In 1869 he prepared and published in the “ Historical Magazine” a “Bib- liography of the State of Wisconsin,” giving the title and reference to all publications that have been issued on the State, a volume of great service to all persons interested in Wisconsin and her history and resources. In 1872 he prepared two papers on the “ Early Outposts of Wisconsin ; Green Bay for Two Hundred Years, 1639 to 1839, and Annals of Prairie du Chien,” which appeared in pamphlet form, twenty-eight pages, double col- umns; and also an article on Captain Jonathan Carver, in volume six of the collections of the His- torical Society. In 1874 he published a “History of THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DIC T I ON A R T. 149 Madison and the Four Lake Country of Wisconsin ; with Notes on Dane County and its Towns,” printed at Madison, making a volume of four hundred and twenty pages. In 1861 and 1862 he collected material for the publication of a gazetteer of the State of Wis- consin. The work was completed, but owing to the civil war the publication was suspended and it has never been published. Mr. Durrie is a member of the Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Buffalo and Western Re- serve Historical Societies, of the New England His- torical and Genealogical Society, New York Bio- graphical and Genealogical Society, and the Phila- delphia Numismatic and Antiquarian Society. Mr. Durrie’s fitting place is in a public library. Among books from his boyhood, his memory of them and of their contents is very extensive and tenacious; and this knowledge, so valuable in the custodian of a large public library, is daily and hourly called into requisition. Thus he quietly ren- ders unceasing aid to others, which, in the aggregate, can never be adequately estimated. A taste for antiquarian pursuits, long cultivated, is probably the most striking trait in Mr. Durrie’s character, and is the one exemplified in his produc- tions that will serve to perpetuate his name among lovers of that department of literature. His writings evince a strong love of truth; he “nothing extenu- ates nor aught sets down in malice.” He is plod- ding and pains-taking rather than brilliant, and he thus ranks with that large class of utilitarians who leave behind them evidences that they have not lived in vain. Mr. Durrie is a member of the Presbyterian church, and was one of the members that composed the church at Madison at its organization in 1851, and has held many offices therein. He married, at Albany, New York, October 15, 1844, Anna, daughter of David and Elizabeth (Hempstead) Holt, and has a family of six children. His eldest daughter is a graduate of the LTniversity of Wisconsin and is assistant librarian of the State Historical Society, a lady of cultivated mind and manners, and marked for her gentleness of character. Whoever looks upon Mr. Durrie’s massive form can readily discover in his benignant eye and genial countenance the truest test of the kindness of his heart — his genuine bonhomie for all. CHANCY C. ROBINSON, M.D., MIL WA UK EE. HANCEY CLARK ROBINSON was born January 14, 1821, at Bath, Steuben county, New York, son of Clark and Cylindia Robinson. His father was a farmer and local Methodist minis- ter, and one of the leading men in that section of the State. The Doctor was educated partly at the common schools, and partly at the high schools. At the age of seventeen, while assisting his father in the erection of a barn, he ruptured a blood-vessel, which incapacitated him for continuous manual la- bor, and having acquired a love of books he deter- mined to study medicine. Having very limited means he was compelled to alternate his studies with teaching school in the winter and working on the farm in summer during harvest. He continued this course of life three years under the instruction of Abijah B. Case, and graduated at Geneva Medical College in the class with Elizabeth Blackwell. In 1842 he married Miss Mary E. Alexander, by whom he has had two children, both dying quite young. His grandfather on the father’s side was a soldier of 30 I the revolution, and his father a soldier in the war of j 1812. The family generally live to a great age. His grandmother on the mother’s side lived to nine- ty-three, and his father is still living at the age of eighty-three. After his marriage in 1842 he went to Angola, in the State of Indiana, and practiced the profession of medicine five years, whence returning to New York he attended two full courses of medical lectures. In 1849 he came to Chicago and traveled through Wisconsin in company with Professor Spencer, the founder of Geneva Medical College, and being pleased with Milwaukee they formed a copartner- ship, and locating there engaged in the successful practice of medicine, which Dr. Robinson continued until 1870, when he retired as far as practicable. Some old patrons, his tenants and the poor, still assert their claims to his services, which he renders free of charge. During the last few years he has been engaged in buying and selling real estate, in which he has ex- * 5 ° THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. hibited foresight, sagacity and judgment. In 1863 he purchased fourteen acres of land on the Kinni- kinnick river at one hundred dollars per acre, and in 1S69 sold it at one thousand dollars per acre. In 1873 he purchased other lands at a little less than two thousand dollars per acre, and sold the same within one vear at eight thousand five hundred dol- lars per acre. Again he purchased fourteen acres on the Kinnikinnick, upon which he proposed to build two thousand two hundred feet of dock, thirteen hundred feet of which have been completed in a substantial manner; the remainder is in process of completion. The Doctor commenced his business career with- out pecuniary means of his own or aid from others. He is now rich, with the prospect of large wealth, which his industry, economy and present facilities can scarcely fail to accomplish. His religious senti- ments are free from all sectarian bias. He is moral in his habits and just in his dealings. During the rebellion he went into the army as assistant surgeon and received the commendation of his superior officers. In his political opinions he is a republican, though liberal and conservative ; supe- rior merit will always command his support. His physique is the personification of health, vigor and activity, and he bids fair to attain as great age as any of his ancestors. His great work on the Kinnikinnick river which bears his name, will remain a lasting monument of the genius of its owner who conceived it, and of his public spirit which executed it. HON. GEORGE E. BRYANT, MADISON. EORGE E. BRYANT was born February n, X 1832, at Templeton, Worcester county, Massa- chusetts. His father was George W. Bryant, his mother Eunice Norcross. He was educated at Nor- wich University in the same class with General Dodge and General Ransom, and went through the full course of studies. He preferred the profession of the law, and after leaving the University he read law with the Hon. Amasa Norcross at Fitchburg, Massachusetts, and was admitted to the bar in 1856 at Worcester, Massachusetts, and shortly after moved to Madison, Wisconsin, and formed a partnership in the practice of his profession with Myron H. Orton, which he continued until 1861. In religion he is a Unitarian ; in politics .first a whig, afterwards a re- publican. He was captain of the Madison Guards in i860 — the first company to offer their services to the government at the commencement of the re- bellion. This company served five months in the First Wisconsin Regiment, at the termination of which the company was mustered out of service and Captain Bryant returned home, and was shortly afterward commissioned colonel of the 12th Wis- consin Regiment, with which he went to the Indian Territory, marching across the plains west of Fort Riley. Returning they descended the Mississippi river to Columbus; thence by railroad to Corinth, where they joined General Grant’s army. From this place they marched to Memphis; thence below Hol- ly .Springs, thence to Vicksburg, where they engaged in the siege of that place. After the siege they marched to Jackson and engaged in a fight with Joe Johnson; thence they marched to Natchez, thence to Harrisonburg, Louis- iana; thence back to Vicksburg. During the ensu- ing winter the regiment reenlisted as veterans and returned home on furlough. The furlough having expired they returned to Cairo, ascended the Ten- nessee river to Ashton, Alabama, crossed the moun- tains to Rome, Georgia, and joined Sherman’s army in the mountains. This regiment was in all of the engagements pre- ceding the battle of Atlanta on the 22d of July. Colonel Bryant commanded the rst brigade of the 3d division of the 17th army corps at the battle of Bald Hill, one of the severest engagements during the war. General Sherman gave to this brigade the credit of saving the army from destruction. This regiment was on the celebrated Meridian march and went with Sherman to the sea. Upon their return to Louisville, Kentucky, they were discharged from the service. Upon Colonel Bryant’s return to Wisconsin he re- tired to his farm near Madison and is engaged in raising fine blooded stock, especially horses and cat- tle. He was elected county judge in 1866 — again in 1870, and again in 1874. In the latter year he was also elected State senator, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. He was married on the 27th day of September. 1858, to Miss Susie A. Gibson, whose ancestors were the first settlers in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. They were participants in the war of the revolution, and had previously fought the Indians. His ancestors were Irish, and came to this country shortly after the landing of the Pilgrims. They also were en- gaged in the revolutionary struggle. Some of them lived on the road between Lexington and Concord, I 51 and were exposed to great annoyance from the British soldiery. While Judge Bryant has not been distinguished as a warrior, a statesman, or an orator, he has been in- telligent and efficient as a legislator, a judge and a citizen. He is a kind neighbor, an affectionate father and a loving husband; the result, doubtless, of a devoted wife whose hallowing influence over the do- mestic circle is perceived and felt by all who enter it. WILLIAM S. WARNER, APPLETON. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Hector, Tompkins county, New York, was born on the i st of February, 1817, and is the son of Seth A. L. Warner and Sally nfe Wixom. His father, a native of Saybrook, Connecticut, and educated in Oneida county, New York, was a lawyer by profession, and later in life combined farming with his profession. He was an influential man, of decided character, and enjoyed the high regard and confidence of all who knew him. William removed to Michigan with his parents when he was eight years of age, and settled in Farmington, Oakland county, receiving there a common school education — the only education at- tainable in the State at that early day. After closing his school days he spent a short time in teaching, then entering mercantile pursuits, and later engaged in milling at Northville, eight miles from his adopted home, and in 1844, selling his interests, removed to Watertown, Wisconsin. During the next year and a half he was engaged in the mercantile trade, and at the expiration of that time removed to Sheboy- gan, where he resumed the same line of business, continuing it till 1849. Removing to Appleton at this time he opened a stock of general merchandise, first at Kaukauna, eight miles from Appleton, where he remained during 1851 and 1852, afterwards at Appleton, conducting a successful trade until 1857. His early desire had been to enter the legal pro- fession, and with this purpose in view he had spent three years in the study of law (1841-4), but finally abandoned it on his arrival in Wisconsin, fearing that he could not make it an immediate success in a so sparsely settled country as the State then was. His love for the profession, however, never left him, and after closing his mercantile affairs, in 1857 he was admitted to the bar at Appleton, and has since been admitted to all the courts of Wisconsin, as well as the circuit and district courts of the United States. He is at present (1876) senior member of the firm of Warner and Ryan, and conducts a large, influen- tial and successful practice, giving his personal at- tention to the largest and most important cases. Aside from his legal practice, Mr. Warner has been a large operator in real estate, and has been actively interested in various other public and private enter- prises. In 1852 he was appointed postmaster of Kaukauna by President Fillmore, at which place he was chosen supervisor, justice of the peace, and town superintendent of schools. Since that time he has held the offices of town clerk, police justice, justice of the peace, city attorney, circuit court and United States commissioner for the eastern district of Wisconsin. With all enterprises connected with the welfare of his city he has been in hearty sym- pathy, and to his public-spiritedness she owes much of her present prosperity. He is a director of the First National Bank of Appleton, and president of the Northern Mineral Iron Company. He has erect- ed several large blocks and business places in Apple- ton, and is one of ten who have taken stock to the amount of seven thousand five hundred dollars each to build a large cotton factory. In business he has had a varied experience, losing all of his property in Michigan during the crisis of 1836-40, and again, in 1848, losing most of his property through his (then) partner in Sheboygan. He commenced in Appleton with three hundred dollars, and from that small beginning, by indomi- table courage, economy, business tact and “push,” has built up an extensive and remunerative business, and now lives in the enjoyment of an ample fortune. He is truly a self-developed type of the true Western THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. 152 man with the inherited large New England brain, and is still actively prosecuting with all diligence his profession and a large measure of varied busi- ness, and, while absent for recreation in the South during the spring of 1876, was chosen an alderman to represent the business ward of his city, without his knowledge until his return. His success may be attributed not alone to energy, enterprise and perseverance, but more to the fact that he turned them into the channel of his native inclinations and abilities, and to his strict integ- ritv. Mr. Warner has a high social standing, and the practical knowledge he has gained from his studies, travels and observation renders him a most agreeable companion. His political views are inde- pendent democratic — holding that good measures without good men to enforce them are antagonistic elements. Though not a member of any church, he is a regular attendant upon the Congregational ser- vice, and a firm believer in the practical truths of Christianity, though not an admirer of creeds. He was married, April 11, 1837, to Miss Polly Coomer (still living), and by her has one daughter, the wife of Henry D. Ryan, his law partner. He is a man of quick perceptions, sympathetic feelings, prompt to resent an injury, ready to forgive a wrong carelessly committed, earnest in advocacy — making his client’s cause paramount to all con- siderations — has no patience with laziness, but always has a considerate regard for involuntary suffering, is keenly methodical in everything, with wonderful executive ability, and insists on “ making things move rapidly ” around him. “ Business first,” is his motto. RICHARD F. WILSON, EAU CLAIRE. R ICHARD F. WILSON was born at Port Re- public, Maryland, on the 14th of May, 1825, the son of George W. Wilson and Mary Ann Wilson. His father was a merchant; his mother’s family were planters. His parents moved to Rushville, Illinois, in 1832; thence in 1844 to Dane county, Wisconsin. In consequence of the difficulties incident to so new a country, his' parents were unable to give him a liberal education; hence, at a very early period, he was thrown upon his own resources for such success in life as his natural ability would enable him to achieve. He received from nature the elements of character which if developed by education, observa- tion, or experience, would impress himself very sensibly upon the public mind, and, in a marked degree, give direction to public thought. The consciousness of these powers has never failed to animate and sustain him in all his various enter- prises, and he has rarely known such a word as fail. During his residence of twelve years at Madison he was by turn sergeant-at-arms to the legislature, assistant sergeant, transcribing clerk, agent of the State to select lands for the university and for the common schools, superintendent of locks on the Fox and Wisconsin river improvement, agent to select lands for the capital of the State, and to appraise those lands as well as those of the sixteenth section. He subsequently moved to Eau Claire, he being one of the original proprietors of the land on which the city is built. The population of Eau Claire at the present time exceeds ten thousand inhabitants. The manufacture of lumber amounts to a hundred and sixty millions of feet annually, besides laths and shingles. There are two flouring- mills of large capacity, two foundries, machine shops, four district graded schools, eleven churches of the various Christian denominations, a court house which cost seventy-five thousand dollars, city hall twenty thousand dollars, post-office forty thousand dollars. The growth of this city is almost un- paralleled in the West, and if any one man can, while pointing to it with exulting pride and joy, say, “this is my work,” that man is Richard F. Wilson. Mr. Wilson was married at De Pere, AVisconsin, on the 29th of August, 1853, to Miss Martha Newton, the daughter of A. D. Newton, a missionary to the Indians of Lake Superior, his first location being at Mackinac. He was subsequently in the employment of the American Fur Company at La Pointe on Lake Superior. Mrs. Wilson was born at La Pointe and educated at Green Bay. She is a member of the Episcopal church, is a lady of rare personal attractions, of cultivated intellect, of amiable dispo- sition, and well qualified to wield a beneficent influence over not only her husband but over all others who come within the circle of her womanly -% '* by John C UcRi*$* THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 153 charms. She has materially aided her husband in the accomplishment of his enterprises by her wise counsels, derived not so much from the deductions of reason as from that intuitive knowledge peculiar to her sex. If there are any truly self-made men, Mr. Wilson is entitled to that appellation. “Self- made ” is an indefinite term, and conveys an inade- quate idea of the means, natural or acquired, by which men achieve success. The term is well calculated to flatter the vanity of men, already too vain for efficiency in themselves or pleasure to others. Nature gives men their capacities, circum- stances develop them. As their capacities vary, so must the means of their education. A college edu- cation may dwarf the giant proportions of some intellects, while it expands others. The world’s criterion of merit is success, and with this ad- measurement Mr. Wilson has reached a high stand- ard. If he had lived in the classic days of Greece and Rome he would have been as much honored as the founder of a city as Romulus was of Rome, Cadmus of Thebes, or Queen Dido of Carthage. J. S. DOUGLASS, A.M., M.D., Ph.D., MIL WA UK EE. D R. J. S. DOUGLASS was born in the town of Westmoreland, Oneida county, New York, July 4, 1801. His father was a pioneer farmer, and dea- con of the Baptist church, and a man of considerable moral influence. His mother was a woman of rare mental and moral qualities ; her government, though strictly moral, was absolute ; disobedience on the part of her children was unknown, and yet a blow from her was never inflicted. The Doctor in early life was feeble and delicate, and unable to work on the farm. He was fond of books and acquired learning enough at fifteen to teach a district school, in the meantime pursuing a course of collegiate studies with such success as to receive from the Madison University the honorary degree of A.M., and in 1870 the degree of Ph.D. After finishing his preliminary studies he commenced the study of medicine and graduated at the Fairfield Medical College, in 1824. He commenced practice in Oswego and soon had a large business. He mar- ried Miss Martha Pierson, who lived three years and died without issue. He changed his location to Vernon, and afterwards to Hamilton, New York Here he married Miss Frances M. Boardman, daugh- ter of Captain George Boardman, of Schenectady, and sister to the wife of the Rev. George W. Eaton, president of the university. At this time his theory and practice of medicine underwent a radical change in favor of the homoeo- pathic system, and soon after locating in Milwaukee, in 1848, he published for one year a monthly journal advocating that system, and a few years later a sim- ilar journal for one year. Since then he has published two books, one of which is a standard work, having reached its thirteenth edition. He has also con- tributed annually many articles to the medical jour- nals. In 1855 the Doctor accepted the chairs of materia medica and of special pathology and diag- nosis in the Homoeopathic Medical College at Cleve- land, Ohio, which he held three years. He has been a member of the American Institute of Homoeopathy since 1847, for one year its president, and once its annual orator. In political sentiment he is a repub- lican of the abolition school. In religion he is what is termed orthodox, and a member of the Baptist church. He has had six children ; all living except the eldest daughter. His wife, but a few years younger than himself, is a lady of culture, accustomed to lit- erary society, an amateur artist, and preserves her youthful and artistic tastes in a remarkable degree. Dr. Douglass is in the first rank in his profession in the State. He is a perpetual student, both of books and of nature. He is never so busy that he has not time to investigate the last idea, and appre- ciate the last discovery in medicine. He is no less skillful in using remedies than industrious in learn- ing them. He has good sense, rare discrimination, with strong powers of comparison and reasoning which distinguish the successful physician. He is a botanist, and is known to the learned in that department of science, while in his own pro- fession the preparations brought to the notice of the profession, of our indigenous plants, have become important remedies to the profession. He is as radical in the pursuit of improvements as the youngest enthusiast, yet he is prudent and con- servative, and insists on the proof furnished by ex- 154 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. periment. He rejects no suggestion on account of its humble origin. Neither prejudice nor disgust stand in the way of inquiry, nor can aught but gen- uine merit command his assent. He is simple and unpretending in his private life, and seeks no place for himself. He does nothing to be seen of men. He is amiable, cheerful, and an agreeable compan- ion. He has strong convictions, yet charitable to others’ opinions. No one for the want of money was ever refused his aid, nor was any appeal made to his sympathy in vain. With the wisdom of expe- rience and the prudence of age he unites the zeal, the benevolence, and the interest in daily things which age is apt to lose. He is fresh in mind and warm in heart; of all men of his age in this section of the country he is the youngest. So unassuming a man will not be fully appreciated until his patients shall be compelled to look for another to fill his place. ORRIN W. BLANCHARD, M.D., DEL A VAN. O RRIN W. BLANCHARD, a native of Claren- don, Vermont, was born on the 2 2d of Octo- ber, 1808, and is the son of Willard Blanchard and Sarah nee Platt. The family is of French origin, descended from a count of same name, and settled in Rhode Island five generations ago. His paternal grandfather was a soldier in the revolutionary war, and a pensioner until his death. His father, a far- mer by occupation, was a leading man in his town. He served in the war of 1812 as captain of a com- pany of “Green Mountain Boys.” While at home on a furlough, before the battle of Plattsburgh, he received word to raise more volunteers and come as soon as he could, for a battle was expected. In obedience to the order he enlisted one hundred men, and returned to his company just in time for the battle. He was a prominent member of the Baptist church, and died in Wisconsin in i860, at the age of seventy-eight years. Orrin’s early tastes were to become a mechanic, but after closing his studies in the academy at Au- burn, New York, not being able to gratify his desire, he began the study of medicine under Dr. Daniel D. Wait, of Cayuga county, and later continued it with Dr. Cady, of the town of Senate, near Auburn, and afterward attended a course of lectures at Castleton, Vermont. Beginning his practice near Auburn, in 1828, under a diploma from the State of New York, he continued with good success till 1841, when he took his second course of lectures, and graduated from the medical college at Pittsfield, Massachusetts. His studious habits, his love for the profession he had chosen, his clear and compre- hensive rnind, his early mastery of the fundamental principles, his conscientious devotion to the interests of those entrusted to his care, had at the time of his graduation marked him as a man of more than ordi- nary ability, and he was at that early stage regarded as one of the few alumni who was destined to achieve distinction in his profession. In the latter part of 1842 he removed to Wiscon- sin and established himself in practice at the city of Racine with Dr. B. B. Cary. Two years later his partner, having received an appointment from the government, withdrew, and Dr. Blanchard continued his practice at Racine for the next three years, dur- ing which time his business was very prosperous, and he became widely known as a careful, com- petent and successful physician and surgeon. Owing, however, to the delicate condition of his wife’s health he was obliged to leave the lake shore, and abandoning his large practice removed to Delavan and opened a new field. During the twenty-nine years of practice in this place he has met with that success as a physician, — but more especially as a surgeon, — which follows as the result of thorough qualification, and constant, honorable effort. His devotion to his profession has absorbed his entire attention, almost to the entire exclusion of every other interest. Though he has annually earned from six to eight thousand dollars he has seldom made any effort to collect or secure his pay ; many who owe their lives to his tender, watchful care and his professional skill have never paid him a dollar for his services. While this characteristic has been at times seriously embarrassing to him financially, yet it has tended to exhibit in a stronger light his concentrated attention to the one grand object of his life. Dr. Blanchard has been especially noted, during the last twenty-five years, as a surgeon. He gave especial attention during his academic course THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 155 to physiology and anatomy, and early familiarized himself, both by experiments and the study of the leading authors, with every part of the human sys- tem. Not content with a superficial knowledge of the principles of his profession nor with moderate success, he has from time to time purchased the leading works and consulted the best authors, and has consequently continually advanced in the sci- ence of his profession. His reputation as a surgeon has for many years extended beyond the bounds of his adopted county. Had he settled in Chicago he would probably have ranked in reputation among the best surgeons of the West. His thorough knowledge of medical jurisprudence has brought him into prominence in important, trials as a witness, where he has ever commanded the respect and con- fidence of the court, counsel and jury. In the year 1851 Dr. Blanchard was appointed assistant surgeon in the regular army, and spent three years in New Mexico in that capacity. While there, at the instance of the commander-in-chief, he performed a very difficult operation on the Spanish governor Armijo, for which he received a present of one thousand two hundred dollars in gold. During the late civil war he was appointed surgeon of the 40th Regiment of Wisconsin Volun- teers (one-hundred-days men), and at the expiration of their term was presented by his regiment with a beautiful gold-headed cane for meritorious conduct. It was his regular custom to go with his lantern at two o’clock in the morning and visit the sick and care for their wants; and by his constant kindness won the love and gratitude of all under his charge. He was afterward commissioned surgeon of the 49th Regiment of Wisconsin Volunteers, and re- mained with it till the close of the war. In this regiment also he won the affections of the men, and they presented him, at the expiration of their term, with a valuable gold watch. After the close of the war the Doctor resumed his regular practice, devoting much of his time, how- ever, to important surgical operations, and other cases that demanded special medical skill ; and his opinion is generally sought and almost uniformly respected by other physicians in important cases. Shortly after the close of the war his son, C. C. Blanchard, graduated from the medical college and entered into partnership with his father under the name of Blanchard and Son. They now do the leading business of the county, and it is not im- probable, judging from his success thus far, that the son will fully maintain, with the same experience, the reputation of his father. Politically, Dr. O. W. Blanchard was a democrat until the breaking out of the recent civil war, when he identified himself with the war party; manifested his patriotism by inducing his three sons to enlist in the volunteer army, and by contributing his own services and skill as above stated. Since the war he has acted with the republican party. His religious training was under Baptist influence, and he is now a consistent member of that church. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity, and for seven years was master of the lodge in Delavan. He was married on the 27th of March, 1831, to Miss Nancy Foster, of Arcadia, Wayne county, New York. There are three sons, the issue of said marriage, all residing in the county of Walworth. Only those who have known Dr. Blanchard inti- mately for many years can fully appreciate his mer- its; modest and retiring in manner, yet firm and self-reliant in his opinions when formed aftercareful investigation and mature reflection. Ever charitable and courteous to his professional brothers, never indulging in the petty scandals and insinuations too common among the members of his profession — when he shall have finished his labors here it will be truly said of him that he has not lived in vain. FRED BERTSCHY, F RED BERTSCHY was born in Ingolsherm, France, on the 14th of November, 1836. He was the son of Jacob and Margaret Bertschy, who were people of sterling and upright principles, and took great pains to instill into the mind of their son correct ideas of morality and honesty in all things. Jacob Bertschy came with his family to America in May, 1845, and settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he became proprietor of the Mansion House, a hotel situated in that part of the city known as Kilburn Town. He was a very benevolent gentle- man, and took great pains in assisting immigrants MIL WA UK EE. THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. I 56 from his own “sunny France” in purchasing lands in the United States, for which labor he received no remuneration. He still occupies an honored posi- tion among the pioneers of Milwaukee. Fred Bertschy was but nine years of age when he crossed the Atlantic with his parents, and his edu- cation was acquired at the common schools of' Mil- waukee. From his boyhood he had always desired to become a miller, and on leaving school he was put to work in a mill, where he thoroughly learned the business. Subsequently leaving the mill he entered the Second Ward Bank of Milwaukee as teller, where he remained two years; then went to Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and worked in a mill about one year, when he returned to Milwaukee, and has ever since been a resident of that city. Soon after his return he erected a mill of his own, and began business for himself. At this time he had but very little capital, but by honest industry and attention to business he steadily progressed until 1868, when he met with some financial difficulties; these his native energy and perseverance soon overcame, and he is now doing a large business. Beginning with comparatively nothing, at the age of twenty-four he had accumulated the sum of eighty thousand dollars. During the year 1874 he shipped to Europe one hundred and sixty-five thousand barrels of flour, and has made arrangements to manufacture during the year 1875 one hundred and eighty thousand barrels. His brand of flour brings the highest market price in New York for the foreign market. He is the only mill-owner in Milwaukee who is also a practical miller. To him beloiTgs the credit of building the first steam mill in Milwaukee. His religious views are those of the Protestant faith. He is a good citizen — as so earnest, indus- trious and honest a man must necessarily be — and enjoys the respect and confidence of the community. On the 26th of July, 1863, he married Miss Johannah Spangenberg, a most estimable lady, who has proven herself a “helpmate” to her husband in all respects. Her father, Mr. Spangenberg, is still a young man, who has much influence and con- siderable -wealth, although he has lost large sums of money at different times through various specula- j tions. Since the above was written we have received the sad intelligence of the death of Mr. Bertschy. His actively useful life closed, after a severe illness, on 1 the 10th of June, 1876. TERAH J. PATCHEN, M.D., FOND DU LAC. T ERAH J. PATCHEN, a native of Butternuts, Otsego county, New York, was born on the nth of November, 1818, and is the son of George Patchen, a farmer, and Phoebe nee Rockwell. He passed his early life on his father’s farm, but finding the narrow routine of farm life ill suited to his tastes, he early inclined to professional life. After receiv- ing a common English education in the schools of Painted Post, Steuben county, New York, he spent five years in teaching vocal music, his object being to procure means wherewith to prosecute his studies. During this time he gave his spare hours to the study of medicine, it being most suited to his taste. In 1845 he began the practice of his profession as a licentiate, under the laws of his State, and in 1852 graduated from the Ohio Homoeopathic Medical College, at Cleveland, with the degree of M.J). During the next three years, he engaged in prac- tice at Bath, Steuben county, New York, and at the end of that time removed to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and established a practice, which though small, gradually increased in extent and influence, until it has now (1876) become large and remunera- tive, and Dr. Patchen is widely known as a careful, skillful and successful physician. He was for a number of years president of the State Homoeo- pathic Medical Society; also holds an honorary degree from Hahnemann Medical College, of Chi- cago; is an honorary member of the Illinois State Homoeopathic Medical Society, and also a member of the American Institute of Homoeopathy. Aside from his professional duties, he has always shown a most worthy public-spiritedness, and his name has been associated with many of the most important enterprises of his city. In 1870, his fellow-citizens honored him with the office of mayor, and in this capacity he rendered efficient service for the welfare of Fond du Lac. He has always taken a deep interest in the temperance cause, and during one year was grand worthy chief templar of his State THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. and represented the State organization at the national convention held in Indianapolis and Nashville. In his religious sentiments he is a Universalist, and heartily sympathizes with and supports all public and private charities, and works in every way in his power for the good of his fellow-men. In his political views he is untrameled by party prejudices; and supports for office him whom he considers most worthy and best fitted for the place. Naturally of a social, generous and genial dispo- sition, he makes friends wherever he goes, and by his many gentlemanly qualities and expressions of 157 noble manhood, leaves upon all with whom he has to do, the impress of a true character. Dr. Patchen was first married on the 18th of October, 1843, to Miss Cynthia A. Coates, who died in January 1844. He was married again on the 19th of March, 1845, to Miss Sophronia Sutton, by whom he has two daughters, both now married and settled in Fond du Lac. His course throughout has been marked by strict integrity, and the high standing to which it has led him is wholly due to his personal, zealous and con- scientious effort. JOSEPH HOBBINS, M.D., MADISON. JOSEPH HOlBBINS, member of the Royal Col- J lege of Surgeons, London ; fellow of the Geo- logical Society, England; corresponding member of the Royal Horticultural Society, England, etc., was born December 28, 1816, at Wednesbury, Staf- fordshire, England. He is descended from an old Herefordshire family, the recumbent effigy of Sir Richard Hobbins (who lived in Elizabeth’s reign) being still to be found in the church of Red Marsley, in that county. Both his father and mother were possessed of excellent minds and hearts, and were greatly loved and honored by their child- ren. The Doctor was educated chiefly at Colton Hall, Rugeley, by Daniel Sheridan, EstJ., a relative of the celebrated Richard Brinsley Sheridan. His school life was distinguished by a faculty for versifi- cation, some of his youthful effusions finding their way into the periodicals of the day, and by an ar- dent and uncontrollable love of nature, which led him to absent himself for days together from school, to find “ books in the running streams,” and pleasure and self-forgetfulness in the beauty of that perfectly beautiful part of the country. Upon leaving school he commenced his medical studies with a physician of the same county, a gentleman of the highest standing in that part of England, with whom he re- mained five years, leaving only to enter Queen’s College, Birmingham, where at the end of the ses- sion he was awarded the gold medal for a prize essay, and received other flattering testimonials. From Queen’s College he entered at Guy’s, London, this institution then ranking for advantages in study the highest in the country, having at its head the great Sir Astley Cooper, and among its professors such men as Sir R. Bright, Addison Golding Boid, Hey, Ashwell, Hinton, A. S. Taylor, etc. Here he remained for two years, passing his classical examin- ation as a licentiate in medicine, and obtaining his diploma from the college. Having, while a student, visited the hospitals of Dublin and Edinburgh, he then took advantage of a journey through Belgium and France, to visit those of Brussels and Paris, and made his first visit to the United States. It was on this voyage that he became acquainted with the lady who afterwards became his wife, Miss Sarah Russell Jackson, of Newton, Massachu- setts, by whom he had six children, three of them still living. On her mother’s side she was a relative of Jonathan Russell, one of the United States com- missioners of the the treaty of Ghent ; on her father’s side the grand-daughter of General Michael Jackson, of the army of independence. This mar- riage, solemnized at St. George’s Church, Liverpool, England, on October n, 1841, led to the Doctor’s return to this country, when he settled in Brookline, Massachusetts, became a fellow of the Massachu- setts Medical Society, and lived there for three years, and then on account of ill health crossed the Atlan- tic again. After another visit to the continent and several pedestrian tours in Wales, Scotland, and England (letters descriptive of these last being pub- lished in the Boston “ Star”), he resumed practice in his native town, always, however, being determined to return to the West. After an absence of eight years, he once more (this time in concert with his family, numbering with relatives and servants forty- THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. I5S two persons) set out for the United States, and hav- ing made choice of Madison, Wisconsin, for his future home, arrived there in the spring of 1854. Here he soon began to manifest an interest in the things about him, and at the suggestion of Chancel- lor T.athrop, of the State University, undertook to organize its medical department. As the result of his labors this department was organized in 1855, and the Doctor was elected one of its professors in 1856. Being a member of the city council he was able to procure an appropriation of six thousand dollars for the purpose of a city hospital, and pur- chased the lots, still called the hospital lots. But the whole enterprise fell through, owing to the mis- application of the university appropriation by the treasurer of the medical department. The Doctor was a member of the first city coun- cil, and represented his ward for four years, and until he resigned. His attention was now directed to the horticultural wants of the State, and he com- menced experimenting in his garden, in order to discover the varieties of fruits, plants, etc., suitable to the climate. His efforts were at once recognized by his being elected an officer of the City Horticul- tural Society, serving as secretary, and afterward as president for some twelve years, and holding at the same time for five years the office of president of the State Horticultural Society, justly earning the title given him, “the father of horticulture in the northwest.” Upon the breaking out of the war he at once took a decided stand for the Union. Soon after Camp Randall was established, the Doctor, acting for the State, took charge of the sick left be- hind by the different regiments going to the field, and upon the rebel prisoners being sent to Madison was appointed surgeon-in-charge. He was also ap- pointed pension examining surgeon. In politics he has always been independent, but during the war acted with the war democrats. In 1870, December 13, he lost his wife. His second marriage occurred at Baltimore, Maryland, April 16, 1872, with Mary, the youngest daughter of the late Louis McLane, of Delaware, by whom he has one son. The character of Louis McLane, as a statesman, a scholar, and a gentleman, is duly appre- ciated by those who admire talents, and respect honor. His public services at home and abroad have reflected honor upon his country, and given him a lasting fame. The suspicion of selfishness, still less that of corruption, was never connected with his name. His private life is the beautiful counterpart of his public character ; the shafts of calumny never penetrated either. . His daughter, the wife of Dr. Joseph Bobbins, differs from her father only in her sex. She is his softened image. Dr. Bobbin's life has been one of honorable use- fulness. Learned in his profession, skillful in his practice, honorable in his dealings, he commands the admiration of the intelligent, and the homage of the virtuous. The society of himself, wife and daughter, renders his home an interesting retreat to the student of science, the devotee to literature, and the lover of art. Upon entering the domicil, hospi- tality, urbanity, classic association, like so many in- mates of the dwelling, cling around the heart, and bid it welcome. No one visits that retreat but with anticipations of pleasure. No one leaves it but with the consciousness of mental improvement. LEWIS SHERMAN, M.D., MIL WA UK EE. L EWIS SHERMAN was born November 25, -j 1843, at West Rupert, Vermont. He is the son of William and Hannah Sherman. His parents were religious people, and gave him careful moral training. His father, having a great fondness for mathematics, gave him a rigid course in that science from his early boyhood. He attended a common school until he was thirteen years of age, when he entered an academy. After an academic course of five years he entered Union College, Schenectady, New York, as a sophomore; he graduated in the class of 1865, and in 1868 received the degree ot M.A. After leaving college he engaged for one year in teaching a band of soldiers’ children at Deposit, New York. He then went to New York city and entered the Union Thelogical Seminary, where he remained two years. He left the seminary and took a regular course in the medical department of the University of New York, graduating in 1870. He came to Wisconsin in May of the year 1870 and set- tled in Milwaukee, where he commenced the prac- tice of his profession. After practising a year in the a- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 159 regular school he became convinced that homoe- opathy was the better practice. In 1872 he went into partnership with I. S. Douglas, M.D., his present partner. They have built and are at present pro- prietors of the only homoeopathic pharmacy in the State. Dr. Sherman has grown into a large and suc- cessful practice. He does not belong to any church, and is liberal in his religious views. Dr. Sherman is secretary of the State Medical Society, elected at the session of 1874. He has traveled over the greater part of the United States. His ancestors settled in Connecticut at an early day and some of them were soldiers in the war of the revolution. In 1861 Dr. Sherman invented and constructed with his own hands a gnomon, or sun-dial, capable of giving at one observation sidereal or clock time, solar time, the latitude of the place of observation and the declination of the sun. In 1870 he invented a spi- rometer, in which the errors of varying temperature of the atmosphere are estimated; also an instrument for measuring the force of expiration in pounds per square inch. He has spent a considerable portion of his leisure hours in the study of practical botany, and has one of the finest herbariums in the State. His work is thoroughly methodical. In politics he has always been a republican. WILLIAM W. TREDWAY, MADISON. W ILLIAM WISE TREDWAY descended in a direct line from Nathaniel Tredway, who settled at Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1650, and was one of the selectmen of that town in 1653 to 1666. He was born at Ashford, Connecticut, on the 1st of July, 1804. His father and family re- moved thence to Montgomery county, New York, in 1807. His education was limited to the acquisition of the mere rudiments, though he had stood steadily at the head of the highest spelling class for several months prior to leaving school, which happened in his twelfth year, at which time (1816) he entered a store in Schenectady, New York, as an apprentice. In 1823, on the completion of the Erie canal, at nineteen years of age, he became master of a canal packet boat, and continued three years. At that period these boats were popular and largely patron- ized by the traveling public. He was married in 1826 at Schenectady to Mary Brown, who was born and reared in that city. Was engaged in merchandising there from .1826 to 1839, during which time he filled various civil offices, as school commissioner, and now has in his possession his commission as major of a separate battalion of flying artillery, dated January, 1834, and signed by Governor W. L. Marcey, of New York, and Levi Hubbell, adjutant-general ; the latter, now United States district attorney for the eastern district of Wisconsin, was in command for six years. Was county clerk of Schenectady county in 1837 and 1838, and appointed deputy comptroller of the State under the whig administration of W. H. Seward, governor, on the 4th of March, 1839, and held the office three years. Came to Wisconsin in 1842, purchased and settled on a farm in Eagle (now Waukesha) county; in 1848 sold his farm and com- menced merchandising in the adjoining town of Genessee, where he resided for two years, during most of which time he held the office of justice of the peace, though he made his court a court of con- ciliation as far as practicable in civil cases, discour- aging litigation to his utmost ability, and generally with success. In very many cases parties living miles distant and having unsettled claims against each other, met at his office by mutual arrangement and agreed to abide- by his judgment in the matter, and in all cases were perfectly satisfied; no docket entry nor taxing of cost. In this connection candor compelled him to acknowledge the commission of a great error. While his attention was required to drafting a contract which he was in the act of doing, a man came near and said : “ Squire, what am I to do with Fry? He has been to my house drunk in my absence, and abused my family, and thrown down my fences, and turned my cattle into the high- way.” Without considering the fact that his reply would be regarded as a judicial decision in the case, he said: “Why don’t you lick him?” and straight- way forgot the matter. That evening the drunken, quarrelsome Fry was handled very severely, and consequently kept his bed for a week under the doctor’s care, but recovered both his health and i6o THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONAR T. good nature. The evilspirit was effectually cast out. and he, “clothed, and in his right mind,” became a model neighbor and peaceable citizen, and so continued. He removed with his family to Madison - in June, 1858, where he has since resided. Earlv in May. 1S61, he was invited to accept the office of quartermaster-general of the State, and was commissioned by Governor Randall, and for the succeeding sixteen months was actively employed, with a number of assistants, in discharging his official duties, having within that period purchased on his own judgment army clothing, camp and garrison equipage amounting to a million and a quarter of dollars. In 1865 he was appointed by the governor State agent for obtaining the allowance at the United States treasury of Wisconsin’s war claims, which had been previously disallowed or suspended, and obtained the allowance of about two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars after a suspension of about four years. The few offices which he has held have been conferred unsought by CHARLES H. MIL ML C HARLES HADLEY HAMILTON, born at Rochester, New York, August 5, 1850, was the son of Charles S. and Sophia J. Hamilton. His father was a graduate of West Point, a classmate of President Grant, and a soldier of the Mexican war, and the war of the rebellion ; was severely wounded at the battle of Molino del Rey, and breveted cap- tain for gallant and meritorious conduct. Resigned in 1852, and removed to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, where he entered into business, and remained until 1861. He was appointed colonel of the 3d Wiscon- sin by Governor Randall, and in about six months, brigadier-general, by President Lincoln. Afterward he was made major-general by Lincoln for winning the battle of Iuka with twenty-eight hundred men against eighteen regiments of confederates under Price and Van Dorn. He resigned in 1863, and in 1869 was appointed United States marshal for the district of Wisconsin, by President Grant, which position he has since held. Charles H. was educated at the Fond du Lac public high school, and the university of Michigan. The natural sciences, especially chemistry, metal- lurgy and mineralogy were favorite studies, and those him in all cases. Under wills, as executor, and by appointment as administrator, and as assignee, he has settled numerous estates, and at this time is the legal guardian of several families of minor children. Politically, was a Henry Clay whig and republi- can, and voted for Grant under protest at his first election. Was a delegate to the Cincinnati conven- tion of disaffected republicans in 1872, and sought to effect the nomination of Charles Francis Adams for president, but Greeley was unfortunately nomi- nated. He has always held it to be a duty to protest against party wrongs, and when they become unendurable to bolt. He holds that political parties continuously in power always become corrupt and require an occasional defeat. He has been a member of the Presbyterian church nearly forty-five years. Having passed threescore and ten years, he is now in a green old age, enjoying the reward of his labors in the consciousness of having discharged all the duties imposed on him with strict integrity. HAMILTON, UKEE. in which especial proficiency was attained. After leaving the high school, he spent one year in sur- veying, principally on the United States survey of Lake Superior. Entered the junior class of Michi- gan University in 1868, and graduated as a mining engineer in 1869. After graduating, came to Mil- waukee. Came to this State when a child, in 1852. After graduating, was appointed deputy United States marshal for Wisconsin, which office he held until 1873. During this time he studied law, and was admitted to the Milwaukee county bar in 1872. He intended to become a lawyer, but constant inter- mingling with lawyers caused a distaste to both the profession and its professors, and seeing a business opening which promised favorably, entered the house of Sylus Van Buren and Co., as junior part- ner. One partner having died and the other sold out, he became sole proprietor of the present firm and business, and at the age of twenty-four, after two years’ business experience, now controlling the largest paper business in the State, and one of the largest and most prosperous in the West. Orthodox- ically liberal. A strict republican in the spirit of republicanism, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 1 6 1 but not the letter. Took an active part in the pres- idential campaign of 1872, but not since then. He was married, April 16, 1873, to Carrie A. Nichols, daughter of the late esteemed Henry A. Nichols. The first ancestor of the name who came to this country, was William Hamilton, son of Gallatru Hamilton, of Glasgow, Scotland, who was of the family of the dukes of Hamilton, and marquises of Abercorn. Came to this country in 1641. De- scendants since then have lived in Connecticut and New York principally, and have nearly always at- tained great longevity. C. H. Hamilton was started in business in 1847 by Josiah Noonan and Peter Mc- Nab, in East Water street, in one-half of a twenty- foot store. Business has changed hands six or seven times, and has had many ups and downs, a great deal of money having been made out of it, and much lost, but under the present management its success has been constant and increasing. Amount of capital employed is upward of forty thousand dollars. Extent of premises, forty feet front by one hundred and forty feet deep. Location 354 and 356 Broadway, Milwaukee. Amount of annual sales, three hundred thousand dollars. Special fea- ture to which they attribute success, strictly adher- ing to business rules ; yet always treating all custom- ers with courtesy, and trying to bind them to the concern by ties of personal friendship and good- will. Their trade extends from Pennsylvania to Utah, but principally in Wisconsin, Iowa and Min- nesota. MAJOR GEORGE ANDERSON, MADISON. G EORGE ANDERSON was born in Somer- set county, New Jersey, on the banks of the Raritan river, two miles above the city of New Brunswick, on the 8th of March, 1784. His father’s name was Simon, and his mother’s maiden name was Mary Van Angren. His father was a respectable farmer, whose ancestors came from Scotland. George was brought up on the farm under the general man- agement of his mother, his father having died when he was ten years of age. He attended the common schools of the county, and commenced business for himself by keeping a hotel in the town of Piscataway and the village of New Market, at the same time carrying on the business of farming in the neighbor- hood. Moved from New Jersey to Staten Island, New York, keeping a hotel and farming there. Thence moved to Philadelphia county, Pennsylvania, to the farm of John C. Craig, the brother-in-law of Nicholas Biddle, and took charge of the blooded stock of Mr. Craig and of W. R. Johnson ofVirginia, the Napoleon of the turf. Continued in that occu- pation five years, and until the death of Mr. Craig, who died in Italy. Upon Mrs. Craig’s return after the death of her husband, this property was sold, and Mr. Anderson removed to Fulton county, Illi- nois; thence to Wisconsin in the spring of 1839, settling on a farm of Colonel W. B. Slaughter, at what was then termed the City of the Four Lakes, and remaining there several years, in the meantime owning some fine blooded horses, descendants of the celebrated stock of Craig and Johnson. Thence he moved to Sun Prairie in the spring of 1842 and opened a farm of four hundred acres and continued to cultivate it until 1867, when he sold his farm and removed to Baraboo, thence to Madison, where he now resides. He was married three times. His first wife was a daughter of Captain Tennick, of the revolutionary war. His second wife was the widow Duncomb. His third and present was a Miss St. Clair. He had no children by the last two wives, and seven by the first, five sons and two daughters; four only are living. Major Anderson has held sev- eral offices, the duties of which he has faithfully and honestly discharged. He was for several years supervisor of the town of Sun Prairie, chairman of the county board, under-sheriff three years, collector of taxes of Dane and Sauk counties, and settling his accounts without making a mistake. He was also deputy United States marshal. He is now living in comfortable retirement upon the interest of the money his industry and economy have enabled him to accumulate. Major Anderson’s natural capabili- ties enabled him to enjoy the full benefit of the so- ciety of such cultivated gentlemen as Nicholas Biddle, John C. Craig and W. R. Johnson ofVirginia, with whom he was intimately connected in business for five years, and his retentive memory enables him to narrate many interesting incidents characteristic of 162 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. those gentlemen. In illustration of the ready wit and imperturbable self-possession of Colonel Johnson he relates that on his return to Philadelphia from New Jersey, when the great race between Mr. John- son's horse Boston and Mr. Gibbon’s mare Fashion had just been run, and while still on the crowded ferry-boat, Colonel Johnson felt some one’s hand in his pocket, and instantly clasping and holding it, turned his head and said, “My friend Mr. Gibbon won the race to-day.” Although Major Anderson is in his ninety-second year, his bodily health is good, his mind cheerful, his manners easy and dig- nified, and looks very like, as he is, a gentleman of the olden time. His present vigor of mind and body is an eloquent commentary upon temperance, industry, and cheerfulness, that badge of a gentle- man. If the prayers of his friends avail he will complete a century. HENRY S. DURAND, RACINE. H ENRY S. DURAND was born in Cheshire, i Connecticut, February 13, 1817. Is a son of Samuel and Eloise Durand. He received a com- mon-school education at Berlin, Hartford county, and at the age of thirteen entered as clerk in a store at Hartford, and was there two years. He then returned to Berlin, and was apprenticed to Mr. E. Brandegee until he became of age. His compensa- tion was simply his board and clothes, and although at eighteen years of age he was offered eighteen hundred dollars a year by another firm, he declined and served out his time. When seventeen years old he was sent to New York to purchase goods and transact other business, which indicated great confi- dence in him, and was regarded as an honor in those days. From that time he purchased all the goods, kept the books, had the chief management of the store and two cotton mills. When he was of age he became agent for the Hartford and New Haven Railway, in whose interest he acted for several years. In the spring of 1843 he removed to Wisconsin, and settled at Racine, where he has ever since resided. He commenced a mercantile business, and then added that of produce and commission, then lumber and coal; also the manufacture of lumber in Michi- gan, in connection with which he had a fleet of five first-class vessels on the lakes, and was uniformly successful in his various enterprises. In connection with three others he purchased the land and laid out the city of La Crosse. He opened a store, built a hotel, school house, church, court house, jail, steam saw-mill, and a large number of dwellings. The town grew rapidly, and is to-day one of the most prosperous cities of the Northwest. Mr. Durand was vice-president of the Racine County Bank, and afterward president of the Commercial Bank of Ra- cine ; was also president for thirteen years of the Racine and Mississippi Railway Company. His connection with that enterprise brought him in bus- iness relations with many banking, manufacturing and mercantile firms, which gave him a great repu- tation for his business talents, energy and industry. In 1844 he commenced the insurance business as agent of the FEtna Insurance Company, and issued the first policy ever written in Wisconsin. This Racine office is still in existence, and is the oldest insurance agency in the State. In i860 he estab- lished an insurance agency in Milwaukee, which was successful. In 1845 he commenced the adjust- ment of losses, his first effort being for the /Etna, in Milwaukee, after the memorable fire of that year, and during the thirty-one years that have elapsed since, he has probably adjusted upward of ten thou- sand claims. In May, 1859, he became the special agent and adjuster of the Home, of New York, for the States of Wisconsin and Minnesota, but in 1867 he was appointed general adjuster for that company for the northwestern States. It may be said that Mr. Durand initiated the special agency system, and has had under his supervision upward of one hun- dred agencies, more than ninety of these agencies showing profitable results. Fie is familiar with the law of insurance, and, it is said, can cite any adjudi- cation that lnjs ever been made on the subject in this country. His library contains all the books on the subject of insurance that have been printed since 1800, and is probably the most extensive in the world on that subject. Notwithstanding the multiplicity of his occupations, he has found time for much mental culture. Has great admiration for works of art, and his home abounds in gems in this department. He has also a fondness for live stock, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. and on his farm may be found some of the best blooded cattle in the country. His sympathies are humane and generous; the churches, the colleges, the public institutions, as well as the poor of the city, bear grateful testimony to his kindness and generosity. Mr. Durand has a well developed physical organi- zation, indicating activity and endurance. He has a large brain, without idiosyncrasies, which would have distinguished him in any profession to which he would have directed its energies. His mind is far-reaching, all-embracing, and while it delights in the investigation of elementary principles, the details are never so minute as to escape its observations. His self-knowledge, acquired by long and patient study, has given him accurate knowledge of others. His calm judgment, unclouded by passion and un- warped by prejudice, enables him to perceive the truth, which is the source of all true greatness, as well as of happiness. To have given full occupation to his large brain, his profession should have been that of a statesman whose business it is to make laws for the government of men, success in which is the most difficult thing in the universe, for man him- self is the universe in miniature. Circumstances turned Mr. Durand’s mind in a different direction, and no one subject being found sufficient to occupy all of his thoughts and energies, they have been directed in a variety of channels, and happy results have followed. His life thus far has been one of endless toil and beneficent influences, social, moral and religious. His example is calculated to inspire 163 the idle boy with the love of industry, and the strug- gling boy with the hope of distinction. Nature never intended that such powers as she gave to Mr. Durand should be wasted upon the desert air, but that upon whatever theater these powers may have been exerted, her purposes should not be dis- appointed. Mr. Durand was married in 1838, to Caroline B. Cowles, of Meriden, Connecticut. Has three daugh- ters, all of whom are members of Vassar College. His wife died, and he married the daughter of the late Dr. V. White, of Stockbridge, Massachusetts. She was educated at the Troy Seminary of the late Madame Emma Willard, and for some time a suc- cessful teacher in Brooklyn, New York. Nature endowed her with capabilities of a high order, and her mental faculties have been cultivated with great care. She is not only familiar with the philosophies as taught in the ancient classics, but has kept pace with the modern writers upon science, art, literature and taste. She has been a close student, is an accu- rate thinker, a skillful painter, an accomplished reader. With her mind thus stored with ancient and modern lore, with her cultivated taste and retentive memory, she is, as a conversationalist, brilliant, fas- cinating and instructive. Her domestic qualities are equally remarkable. She presides over her house- hold with womanly tact and grace; is a loving wife, an affectionate stepmother, that “ rara avis in tcrris;" a hospitable hostess and a genial companion. Her deep sense of Christian piety and her devotion to re- ligious duty are her crowning characteristics. THOMPSON M. WARREN, BARABOO. T hompson m. warren was bom May io, 1812, at Buckfield, Oxford county, Maine. His father’s name was Andrew Warren, and his mother’s Polly Alden. They were of the old New England stock. His mother was a descendant of the Miller family, who were active patriots during the revolutionary war. He was educated at the Clinton Institute in New York, his studies being con- fined to the English branches. His father being in humble circumstances, he started for New York city at the age of seventeen, where he arrived with one dollar and fifty cents in his pocket, with which he commenced the book trade. He remained there about five years, then removed to the city of Albany, where he engaged in mercantile business and where he remained about the same length of time. He sold out there and removed to Herkimer, Herkimer county. He staid there about two years. In 1840 he went to Chicago, and from there to Dixon, Illi- nois, where he remained six months, then removed to Mineral Point, Wisconsin. Here he did a large and paying business in general merchandise, in com- pany with his brothers, Marcus and A. Warren, junior. He sold out there in 1845, and went to Sauk City. In the spring of 1846 he settled upon a farm in the town of Roxbury, Dane county, and 164 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. went into the business of buying and selling land and loaning money, which he still follows. Finding that his surroundings in Roxbury were not what he could wish, and as there were no educational advan- tages, he removed to Baraboo, where he now lives, in a large stone house, situated on a slight rise of ground just north of the town, and surrounded by large forest trees. He visited Chicago in 1872, and with his brother bought four hundred acres of land, seven miles south of the court-house, near Oak Park, and adjacent to the Pacific railroad, which he still possesses. He paid about four hundred thousand dollars for it. He was raised a Baptist, but finding the doctrines too rigid, he became a Universalist, but has held Unitarian views since he came to Wisconsin. He was a whig until the organization of the repub- lican party ; since then has been a republican. He was married in October, 1855, to Katherine McKennan, of Herkimer county, New York. He has five children, three boys and two girls. Mr. Warren has a large library of well selected books. .Is a great admirer of Dr. Franklin, and has a work written by him in 1793, called the “ Prompter,” which he talks of having republished at his own expense. HON. ARTHUR B. BRALEY, MADISON. A RTHUR B. BRALEY was born at Perry, . Wyoming county, New York, on the nth of February, 1822. He was the only son of Rufus and Hepzee Braley. His father was born in the town of Adams, Massachusetts, and was among the early settlers of Weston, New York. His mother’s maiden name was Foster, and her father, Daniel Foster, was a soldier in the revolutionary army, and was at the battle of Monmouth Church. Arthur B. Braley had the misfortune to lose an excellent father when he was fifteen years of age. This great bereavement practically threw him upon his own resources. His education at that time was limited, with the exception of some two or three terms in what might be called a select or private school. His habits in early life were formed under the influence of a most excellent mother, and were consequently good. His mother was a member of the Society of Friends, commonly called Quakers. In the pure faith of that sect she lived and died; her life exemplified its purity, and her death its power. After the death of his father he went to live with a wealthy relative The generosity of a friend supplied him with the means, and he occu- pied many a leisure hour in perusing the works of the immortal bard of Avon, whilst hidden from the eye of his watchful guardian. His stay, however, in the house of his relative was short, and once more he returned to his home, where, at least, his mind was free to read the plays of Shakspeare, the poems of Burns and Byron, the novels of Scott, or history, as he might choose. In the spring of 1843 he ventured out into the world in search of fortune, and his first landing place was Erie, Pennsylvania, where he spent some weeks among friends; thence to Cleveland, Colum- bus, Cincinnati, and to the blue-grass region of Kentucky. In the fall of 1844 he returned once more to New York. In the ensuing spring he began the study of law, making use of borrowed books for that purpose. The next winter was spent in the beautiful Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania, famous in history and in song. After teaching three months in this charming valley he returned to his native place, and in the spring of 1846 immigrated to Wis- consin ; settled first at Delavan, where he completed his legal studies, and in 1848 visited Madison, where he was admitted to the bar by the presiding judge. He came to Madison to reside in the fall of 1852. Upon the organization of the capital city in 1856, Mr. Braley was elected to the office of police justice, which place he held for three successive terms of two years each. In 1864 he was chosen alderman of the first ward, an office which he held for three years. At the opening of the presidential campaign of 1864 he took editorial charge of the Wisconsin “ Daily Patriot,” a position which he retained until after the election. As a political editor he took a high position in the ranks of the fraternity; his articles were admired for their vigor and power. At the close of the presidential campaign he vacated the editorial chair and returned to the duties of his profession. In the spring of 1868 he was elected city attorney of Madison, and in the summer and THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. fall of the same year he became principal political editor of the Madison “ Daily Democrat,” which position he resigned at the close of the presidential election. In the spring of 1869 he removed to the village of Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he remained until the fall of 1870. While here he had the mis- fortune to lose his only remaining child, a bright and promising boy of six years. Saddened beyond expression by this terrible blow, he returned to Madison, where he still resides. In the spring of 1872 he was elected police justice without oppo- sition, and this court having been reorganized and converted into a municipal court for the city and county in the spring of 1874, he was chosen judge of this court without opposition by the electors of Dane county for the term of six years. He was married on the nth of February, 1855, at Madison, to Miss Philida Stevens. The fruits of this union have been three children, none of whom 165 survive. The first, a daughter, lived to be a year old; the second, a son, died at six; and the third only lived three months. These sad bereavements have cast a gloom over the lives of both father and mother which no earthly light can dispel. In the midst of his professional and official duties he has found leisure to write a good deal for the press. His efforts in the editorial line have already been alluded to, but in addition to these labors his in- dustrious pen has been almost continuously em- ployed for twenty-five years in furnishing articles of either a political or literary character for various newspapers through the West. His criticisms upon Shakspeare have attracted especial attention. As a judge he is distinguished for the clearness of his views of the law, as well as for the strict impartiality of his decisions; as a citizen he is patriotic; as a politician, uncompromising in his principles; and as a man, sincere and devoted in his friendships. HIRAM H. GILES, MADISON. H IRAM H. GILES was born in New Salem, Franklin county, Massachusetts, March 22, 1820. His parents were Hon. Samuel Giles and Hannah Foster Giles. He was reared on a farm. His father was in fair circumstances for a New England yeoman, and was at one time a member of the Massachusetts State senate. Hiram was educated at New Salem Academy, and was preparing for college in 1837, when his health failed, and he was compelled to relinquish the purpose which he had in view. He then went to Chautauqua county, New York, where he joined a brother who was lecturing on electricity, traveling in Ohio and spending the winter in Kentucky and Tennessee. He returned to Fredonia, New York, in the spring of 1839, and soon afterward began a more extended lecturing tour, traveling two years over parts of the States of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and the pro- vince of Upper Canada. He was successful in his undertaking, and although but twenty years of age won for himself many laurels in the field of the lecturer. He became tired of travel, and entered Fredonia Academy with health restored. Confine- ment to study so affected him that he abandoned its 22 pursuit, and came to Wisconsin Territory in 1844, traveling on foot over much of the southern portion. He returned to New York State, and was married in the autumn of 1844 to Rebecca S. Watson. He again returned to Fredonia, and taught the village school during the winter. In the spring of 1845 he removed to Harbor Creek, Pennsylvania, where he resided for two years; thence to Wisconsin Territory in 1847. He settled in Dunkirk, Dane county, and engaged in the occupation of a farmer. Shaken by the ague too much to have farming prove successful, he removed to Stoughton in 1853, where he was known for many years as an eminent and upright business man, advancing the improvements of that village in various ways, and taking an active part in the Uni- versalist Society and Sabbath school. Two daughters and a loving wife have made his home a happy and peaceful one. He was educated an Orthodox Unitarian of the style of that denomination from 1830 to 1840; but he relinquished all of the orthodox, and became a firm believer in the final restoration of all men to holiness and happiness. He has been prominently connected with the Universalists of Wisconsin for a number of years. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. I 66 He was a democrat in boyhood, but cast his first vote for the whig candidate for President in 1840. He joined the republican party at its first organiza- tion, and has remained with it. He was elected to the assembly from the south- east district of Dane county in 1852, carrying a strong democratic district upon the bank issue. He took a prominent and independent part in the per- fecting and passage of the first banking law, as shown by the reported debates in the papers of that session. He was the whig candidate for Dane county for the senate in 1853, and was defeated. He was again a candidate in 1855, and was elected; then reelected in 1857. He was president of the senate in 1859. He took a prominent and influ- ential part in the legislature during his senatorial terms. He opposed the bestowing th6 land grant upon the old La Crosse company in 1856, and was one of the few who took no bonds. He signed the total abstinence pledge when fifteen years of age, and has ever since been an earnest advocate of temperance at all times and in all places. He was for six years the head of the Independent Order of Good Templars in Wisconsin, and built up the order in its membership from six thousand to twenty-four thousand. He has full faith in the power of persuasion to reform men, and of conviction to redeem them. He does not believe in law as a reformatory measure. His public addresses and his writings have been philosophical and practical, seek- ing at all times to convince the judgment rather than to excite passion. He was assistant assessor of internal revenue under General Atwood for four years from Septem- ber, 1862. He was appointed by Governor Randall one of the trustees of the insane hospital at its first organization in i860, and acted until appointed by Governor Fairchild on the State Board of Charities and Reform in 1870. He removed to Madison in the autumn of 1869. He was reappointed on the State Board of Chari- ties and Reform by Governor Taylor, and in that sphere has greatly aided in the accomplishment of a noble work. He carries a record of diligence, per- severance and philanthropy that is worthy the com- mendation of the aged and the imitation of the youth of Wisconsin. Mr. Giles has much more ability than is generally ascribed to him. He is self-reliant, self-taught and self-supporting. He has a large fund of knowledge, acquired by observation and experience. It is not theoretical, it is not metaphysical, but practical and philosophical. The writer of this sketch had the pleasure of listening to one of his lectures profess- edly on the subject of temperance; it was, however, an essay on the philosophy of physical, moral and intellectual life, the most interesting of all subjects to a rational mind. No intelligent person could have listened to it without instruction, no lover of morals without improvement. REV. STEPHEN PEET, BELOIT. A S an illustration of the truth that men’s deeds live after them, no worthier can be found than that presented in the case of him whose name heads this sketch. Stephen Peet, a native of Sandgate, Vermont, was born on the 20th of February, 1797. During the following year his parents removed to Lee, Massachusetts, where he passed his boyhood and at the age of sixteen united with the church. Soon afterward he went with his family to Ohio, and there, by the death of his father, was at the age of seventeen thrown upon his own resources, and thus early in life developed that independence of charac- ter which so signally marked his subsequent career. Although dependent upon his own exertions for means he resolved to enter the ministry, and after his primary education completed his preparatory course of study at Norfolk, Connecticut, under the tuition of Rev. Ralph Emerson. He entered Yale College in 1819, and graduated with honor in 1823. His theological studies were pursued partly under the direction of Mr. Emerson and partly at Prince- ton, New Haven and Auburn theological seminaries, and on the 22d of February, 1826, he was ordained pastor at Euclid, Ohio. During the seven years of his ministry in this place his work was greatly blessed, and one sermon especially is said to have been the means of numerous conversions, including five prominent lawyers. While here he became deeply interested in the sailors on the western waters, and the work so grew upon him that he THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 167 resigned his pastorate and devoted himself exclu- sively to it. While engaged in the Bethel cause, between 1835 and 1837, he resided at Buffalo, New York, and in addition to his other duties edited the “ Bethel Magazine and the Buffalo Spectator,” a religious paper, afterward merged in the New York “ Evangelist.” In October, 1837, he removed to Green Bay, Wis- consin, and became pastor of the only Presbyterian church then existing within the present limits of the State. Two years later he secured the erection of a house of worship at a cost of three thousand dollars, and heard the tones of the first church bell in the State, it being the gift of John Jacob Astor, and val- ued at five hundred dollars. In 1839 he made a tour through the Territory in the interests of the American Home Mission Society, seeking out its moral destitutions and wants preparatory to estab- lishing churches. In this tour he traveled five hun- dred and seventy-five miles; visited sixty-four fami- lies and thirty-one different places; preached four- teen sermons; delivered one temperance address; attended one funeral ; organized one church ; ad- ministered the communion three times and baptism twice; attended the meeting of the Presbytery and distributed many testaments, tracts and children’s books. In 1839 he accepted a call to the pastorate of the First Presbyterian Church, in Milwaukee, and there labored faithfully till 1841, when he was ap- pointed general agent for the American Home Mis- sion Society for Wisconsin. The good resulting from his work in this capacity can never be estimated. Possessed of energy and decision, connected with business tact, zeal, indomitable perseverance and devoted piety, he was preeminently suited to the work, and prosecuted it with an ardor most credita- ble to himself and with a success which entitled him to be regarded as one of the greatest benefactors of the State. He aided in organizing a large proportion of the Congregational and Presbyterian churches, and was influential in forming the convention in which the churches of these two denominations were harmoniously united. In his repeated journeys across the prairies and through the forests he was often subjected to perils and self-denials, yet he was cheerful and happy in the work of preaching the gospel to the scattered sheep of Christ's flock, of comforting the lonely, rejoicing with the strong and helping the weak. Though the full results of his work can never be known here, enough have ap- peared to attest his eminent usefulness as a faithful servant of God, destined to be crowned with honor in the great day of the Lord's appearing. Not only was his heart engaged in the work of spreading the gospel and establishing churches, but he was always deeply interested in institutions for Christian educa- tion. He was an early supporter of Western Reserve College, and furnished from his church one of the three members of its first graduating class, who is now (1876) a minister of the gospel. More fitly than any one else he may be called the father of Beloit College. Resigning his agency for the American Home Mission Society after some eight years’ ser- vice, he labored nearly three years as financial agent for the college, and was successful in securing a large portion of its early endowments. The first subscrip- tion of one thousand dollars, from Rev. Henry Bar- ber, came through his agency, and was followed by seven thousand dollars from the citizens of Beloit, ten thousand dollars from Hon. T. W. Williams, a relative of his family, and ten thousand dollars from the self-denying missionaries of the Northwest. On the foundation thus laid in faith and prayer and self-denial has been built up and made a blessing to both church and state. In 1850, from overwork, he was prostrated by an illness that seemed his last. His physicians de- spaired of his recovery and he had even given direc- tions for his funeral. At his request he was left alone, and prayed till he became impressed with the conviction that he should recover. Calling his phy- sicians, he said, “ Gentlemen, I have all confidence in your judgment, but I am assured that the Lord has yet four or five years’ work for me to do,” and to the surprise of all he at once began to mend. His next field of labor was at Batavia, Illinois, where he preached for nearly three years to the Congrega- tional church, and during that time initiated and carried to success a plan for an academical institu- tion as a tributary to Beloit College. The crowning effort of his life was yet to be undertaken. He had long cherished a desire to establish a theological seminary, through whose graduates he should con- tinue to preach the gospel after his death. With his characteristic energy he entered upon the work. Within one year the plan of the Chicago Theological Seminary had been matured, the board of trustees appointed, the charter secured, and subscriptions raised to the amount of fifty thousand dollars. But he was not permitted to see the accomplishment of his purpose. Returning March 14, 1855, from the East, where he had been laboring in the interests of i6S THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. the institution, he called a meeting of the directors for the 27th, to organize, elect professors, and trans- act any necessary business. On the following day he was attacked with chills and fever, which resulted in inflammation of the lungs, of which he died at three o'clock on Wednesday morning, the 21st. His work was done, and peacefully and gently he entered into Ids rest. His funeral, which occurred on Friday, the 23d, was conducted by the Rev. J. C. Holbrook, who preached from John xvii, 4 : “I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” His body I found its last resting place in the cemetery at Beloit, within sight of the college he had loved and labored for. Thus ended the life of a true man. He is gone, but his work still lives. The train of those who perpetuate his work is still moving on; the churches which he planted in the wilderness, the sermons which he preached, the schools established, the acts of charity and deeds of love, all live to commemorate his name, and their influence will be ever expanding with the lapse of time. MOSES M. STRONG, MINERAL POINT. M OSES M. STRONG is of Puritan stock. His paternal ancestor, Elder John Strong, immigrated to America in 1629, and settled at Dorchester, Massachusetts. He died at the age of ninety-four years, at Northampton. The father of Mr. Strong was educated as a lawyer, and became distinguished at the bar. In 1825 he was called to the bench, whence he retired to private life. Moses McCure Strong was born at Rutland, Ver- mont, May 20, 1810. He derived his earliest edu- cational instruction from his mother. He was five years at the village school, thence went to the grammar school at Castleton, Vermont. In 1825 he entered the freshman class of Middlebury College, Vermont. Three years after, he joined the senior class of Dartmouth College, where he graduated in 1829. Having graduated, he entered the law office of Rodney C. Royce, and at the expiration of one year he entered the law school at Litchfield, Con- necticut, where he remained one year, when, after a thorough examination in open court by the judges and members of the bar, he was admitted to practice in all the courts of Connecticut. In 1836 he re- moved to Wisconsin. In July, 1832, Mr. Strong was married to Miss Caroline Frances Green, daughter of Dr. Isaac Green, of Windsor, Vermont. In 1833 he received the appointment of deputy surveyor-general of the State of Vermont. In 1835, when the democratic and whig parties were being organized for the approaching presidential election, although Mr. Strong’s father and numerous relatives were all whigs, yet the leading measures of Jackson’s administration met his approval, and he cut loose from his political associations and supported Mr. Van Buren for the presidency. In 1836, while at Washington City, he was engaged by Governor Hubbard and others to invest large sums of money in government lands, and under their directions he went directly to Mineral Point, in Wisconsin, and invested the funds intrusted to him. Upon his arrival he opened a law and land agency office, and has made that place his home ever since. In 1837 Mr. Strong received an appointment from General Lytle for surveying government lands on the west side of the Mississippi river, in what is now Jackson and Dubuque counties. In 1838 he was appointed United States attorney for the Territory of Wiscon- sin, which office he held three years, discharging its duties with punctuality and ability, and acquiring high professional distinction. In 1841 Mr. Strong was elected a member of the legislative council to fill a vacancy, and in 1842 was reelected for the full term of four years, in which he took a prominent and active part in all questions brought before it, and was twice elected as its presi- dent. He was elected as one of the delegates to the convention which assembled in Madison in 1846, and took a leading part in framing the first constitu- tion. This constitution was submitted to the people for adoption, and, after very exciting discussions throughout the State, was rejected. Another con- stitution was adopted in February, 1848, and ratified by the people in March of that year. In November, 1849, Mr. Strong was elected to the assembly, and at the meeting of the legislature in 1850 was chosen speaker. The session lasted thirty-four days, being the shortest ever held in the State. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 169 In 1852 he devoted much of his time in aiding the construction of the La Crosse and Milwaukee' railroad, and afterward in constructing the Mineral Point railroad. He drew up the charter of the La Crosse railroad, and its adoption was due chiefly to his efforts. He was elected its first president, and continued in its management until the financial dis- aster of 1857. He was also president of the Mineral Point railroad, which he materially benefited by successful arrangements with the Illinois Central and Galena and Chicago railroads. Mr. Strong spent six years in promoting the success of these enterprises, which withdrew him from his profession of the law, and it required years of laborious effort to regain what he had lost. Mr. Strong, from early education and habit of thought, is a firm believer in the Christian religion, and being attracted by the beautiful and classic liturgy of the Episcopal church, he took an active part in organizing a church in Vermont, and was a member of the vestry. On removing to Mineral Point he, with a few other churchmen, organized Trinity Church in that parish, of which he has ever since been a vestryman, and in which he received the rite of confirmation at the hands of Bishop Kemper. Since then he has been a regular commu- nicant, and frequently a delegate to the diocesan convention. His religious character has nothing of asceticism in it. He has always indulged in the innocent amusements of life. Since 1858 he has avoided public life, and con- fined himself chiefly to his professional duties in the practice of the law. His chief care for the last few years has been to provide for the education of his son and daughter. In 1863 the two children went with their mother to New Haven, Connecticut, she remaining with them four years, when his son com- pleted his collegiate course at Yale College, gradu- ating in 1867, at the age of twenty-one. His daugh- ter during the same time was educated at the ladies’ school in charge of the Misses Edwards. Mr. Strong’s son remained one year longer in the Sheffield Scientific School connected with Yale, with the view of qualifying himself for the pro- fession of a mining engineer. He was then sent to Germany, where he spent two years in the best mining schools of the country. Since his return to America in 1870 he has been engaged in railroad engineering until, in 1873, he was appointed assist- ant State geologist. Mr. Strong is gratified with the success of his efforts in the education of his children. Nature has endowed Mr. Strong with some rare gifts, among them a vigorous physical constitution, an intellectual ability of a high order, logical, dis- criminating and comprehensive. He is an able debater, a close reasoner, an impressive and occa- sionally eloquent speaker. He has acquired an enviable reputation at the bar and in the legislative councils, in which bodies as a parliamentarian and presiding officer he has no superior in the State. But his knowledge of the principles of law, his calm deliberation, his logical power and his analytical acumen better fit him for the bench than the bar. If elevated to that position, his ability, learning and experience will enable him to reflect as much honor on that exalted station as its sanctity and dignity would reflect upon him. GENERAL HENRY HARNDEN, MADISON. H ENRY HARNDEN, the son of Jonathan and Rhoda Harnden, was born March 4, 1823, at Wilmington, Massachusetts. His ancestors were of the Puritan stock, and came to America in 1640, and settled in Andover, Massachusetts. He had a com- mon-school education. Many of his ancestors on the mother’s side were seafaring men, and he, from often hearing his uncles relate their wild adventures and hair-breadth escapes by sea, early inherited a passion for the briny deep. After leaving school, at the age of eighteen years, he sailed on a voyage, and visited the coast of Africa, also doubled Cape Horn, and visited many of the islands of the Pacific ocean, as also the entire west coast of South Amer- ica from Cape Horn to Mexico, returning after an absence of five years to his father’s house in Wil- mington. Afterward he made several voyages to the West Indies and the southern ports; was in Mex- ico the fiff summer of the Mexican war, and wit- nessed the Fere, Wisconsin, and a director in several other manufacturing institutions, and presi- dent of the Hampton Coal Mining Company. He also takes an active part in the Centennial work, as is shown in the following appointment : June 14, 187s. Office of the Wisconsin State Board of Centennial Managers. R. II. Baker was appointed sub-committee to supervise and arrange for the Centennial Exposition of 1876, the products or interests specified in class 16 of the classifica- tions herewith inclosed, to wit: Agricultural machinery and implements. (Signed) J. B. Parkinson, President. W. W. Field, Secretary. Personally and socially Mr. Baker possesses most excellent qualities, and having traveled extensively throughout the United States he has gained a fund of information that renders him a most agreeable companion. Though not a member of any church, he believes in the truth of Christianity, and is a regular attend- ant upon the Episcopal service. He was married on the 20th of December, 1859, to Miss Emily M. Carswell, by whom he has one daughter and four sons. WILLIAM GOODELL, JANES VILLE. O NE of the pioneers of the anti-slavery, temper- ance and kindred reforms, and for half a cen- tury a zealous and laborious promoter of them as a public speaker, writer and executive office-bearer of voluntary associations, was a son of Frederick and Rhoda Goodell, and was born in Coventry, Che- nango county, New York, October 25, 1792 — prob- ably the first white child born in that vicinity. He was descended on his father’s side from Robert Goodell, who came from England in 1634 and set- tled in Salem, Massachusetts. Of the same ancestry are A. C. Goodell, Esq., clerk of the court of Salem, Massachusetts, a man of rare antiquarian learning; the late William Goodell, D.l)., missionary of the American Board, and one of the translators of the scriptures, at Constantinople ; and Captain Silas Goodell, of the revolutionary war. His mother was Rhoda Guernsey, a daughter of John Guernsey, of Amenia, Dutchess county, New York. She was one of fifteen children, who all lived to have families, so that the grandchildren of John and Azubah Guern- sey numbered ninety-one. Of the brothers of Rhoda was Peter B. Guernsey, one of the pioneer settlers of Norwich, Chenango county, New York. When the subject of this sketch was five years old his parents removed to Windsor, Broome county (then Chenango, Tiogo county), New York. In his early childhood William suffered a severe sickness, which left him for some time lame, so that he was confined first to his bed and afterward to his chair, and it was some years before he recovered the use of his limbs. This long confinement fostered habits of thought and study which doubtless contributed largely to mould his character and shape his future: Debarred from childish sports, his mind was occu- pied with the study of such themes as the limited library to which he had access suggested to him. His mother, a woman of rare qualities of mind and heart, was his almost constant companion, and made an impress on his character that future years could never efface. Religious thought and feeling were stimulated, and aspirations and hopes inspired which found expression only in the life of earnest activity which followed. His principal reading at this time 194 TIIE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. consisted of the Bible, Watts’ Psalms and Hymns, | Hart’s Hymns, Methodist Pocket Hymn Book, Pil- grim’s Progress, writings of Mrs. Elizabeth Rowe, Wesley's sermons, Fletcher’s Appeal, and some odd volumes of the “Spectator” and “Guardian.” Re- ligious services in those primitive days were a rare luxury, and families frequently trudged through the woods on foot or rode with ox teams for miles to hear a Methodist circuit preacher in a log school-house. Rhoda Goodell died in 1803, at the early age of thirty-seven, leaving five sons, of whom William was the second. With the breaking up of the little fam- ily of motherless boys, William was transferred to the old Guernsey homestead in Amenia, where he attended the common school and assisted in light labors on the farm. A year later he was sent to the Goodell homestead in Pomfret, Connecticut, where his widowed grandmother and her sons and daughters were living. His father died in 1806. At Pomfret he remained five years, attending the common school and working off the farm in vacation. Two good public libraries afforded him reading during the long- winter evenings, but perhaps his highest educational advantage was the society of his grandmother, Han- nah Goodell, a woman of unusual mental ability and rare culture. She had been educated in Boston, was a convert of Whitefield, and a hearer of Revs. Nehemiah Walter, of Roxbury, and Thomas Prince, of the “Old South of Byles, Davenport and Ed- wards. In matters of history and general literature she was a living and speaking library, with an ex- haustless fund of original anecdotes, particularly of the revolutionary times in which she lived, and with some of the prominent actors of which she had been personally acquainted. She had decided opinions on all theological, ethical and political topics, and indeed was one of the strong-minded women of her times. Being unable to obtain a collegiate education, William, in 1812, went to Providence, Rhode Isl- and, where he entered mercantile life as a clerk, and, rising rapidly in his new employment, he re- ceived and accepted, a few years later, an offer from a prominent firm to sail as assistant supercargo in one of their ships, bound for India, China and Eu- ropean markets. He set sail January 1, 1817, and in the two years and a half of voyages and of busi- ness transactions in foreign countries learned much of mercantile life in foreign lands. On returning, in 1819, he engaged in mercantile enterprises at Wilmington, North Carolina; at Providence, Rhode | Island; and at Alexandria, Virginia; sometimes by himself and sometimes, on a larger scale, in partner- ship with a capitalist of abundant means. At the South he had ample opportunity to study the work- ings of the slavery system. He was married, in 1823, to Miss Clarissa C. Cady, daughter of Deacon Josiah Cadv, of Provi- dence, Rhode Island. He first commenced writing for the press in 1820, in the “ Providence Gazette,” in a series of articles against the then pending Missouri compromise, which attracted general attention. From that time onward he wrote for various periodicals, as he felt constrained to do, on the living issues of the day, religious, moral and political. A residence in New York city two years, from 1825 to 1827, com- pelled him to witness the controlling prevalence of vice, lawlessness, crime, and commercial and bank- ing frauds, sustained by bribery and corrupt political “rings” — as in later times — until, under judicial authority, it was decided that “ a conspiracy to de- fraud is no indictable offense.” Lottery gambling (under legislative charters, to build bridges, erect meeting-houses, endow colleges, establish schools, etc.) was everywhere popular and unquestioned. Then it was that he discovered his heaven- appointed life work to be an uncompromising war- fare with such gigantic public evils. He commenced to edit the weekly “Investigator,” at Providence, in 1827. Two years later he removed to Boston, connecting his “Investigator” with the “National Philanthropist.” In June, 1830, he re- moved to New York, where he continued his paper, under the name of the “Genius of Temperance.” Here, also, he afterward edited the “ Emancipator.” At Utica and Whitesboro, New York, he edited the “Friend of Man ” from 1836 to 1842. Here, also, he issued his monthly “Anti-Slavery Lectures ” for one year, and commenced his “Christian Investiga- tor.” Continuing the latter publication, he removed in 1843 to Honeoye, Ontario county, New York, where he acted as pastor of an independent reform church for several years. In connection with these different periodicals he spent much time traveling, lecturing and holding conventions, sometimes on his own responsibility, at other times in the employ of some organization. Returning to New York in 1853, he successively edited the “American- Jubilee,” “ Radical Abolition- ist,” and “ Principia,” the latter of which was contin- ued in connection with Rev. George B. Cheever, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. J 95 D.D., during the war of the rebellion, and until after the death of Lincoln. After the abolition of slavery he resumed his temperance labors, writing for dif- ferent journals, to the present time, March io, 1875. After residing in Lebanon, Connecticut, five years, he removed to Janesville, Wisconsin, his present res- idence, June, 1870. Besides writing pamphlets, essays, and tracts too numerous to mention, he has written several vol- umes, as the “ Democracy of Christianity,” in two volumes ; “ Slavery and Anti-Slavery,” a history of the struggle; “American Slave Code,” and “Our National Charters,” showing the illegality and un- constitutionality of slavery, and the power of the national government over it ; besides several volumes on religious and ethical subjects still in manuscript. He assisted in organizing the American Anti-Slavery Society, at Philadelphia, in December, 1833 ; the Lib- erty party, at Albany, New York, in 1840 ; the Amer- ican Missionary Association, at Albany, in 1846; the National Prohibition party, in Chicago, in 1869, and participated in the reunion of abolitionists at Chi- cago, June, 1874; also assisted in preparations for organizing a Wisconsin State Prohibition party at Ripon, in October, 1874. The wife of his youth is still living. They cele- brated their golden wedding, July 4, 1873, their two children and three of their grandchildren being present. Their children are Maria (f., wife of Rev. L. P. Frost, now of Raymond, Racine county, Wis- consin, and I.avinia Goodell, attorney-at-law, of Janesville. One daughter died in infancy. They have four grandsons, of whom the eldest is being educated in Oberlin, Ohio. Mr. Goodell’s views on reformatory subjects are perhaps sufficiently indicated in this sketch. It may be well, however, to add that he is, like most of the surviving abolitionists, in hearty sympathy with the “Woman Suffrage” movement. His religious views are those commonly known as Evangelical, and he is now a member of the Congregational church in Janesville. The good old-fashioned doctrine of the millennium is one of the articles of his creed, has been largely the inspiration of his labors, and is the source of much of his present cheerfulness and hope- fulness for the future. ANSON P. WATERMAN, BELOIT. A NSON P. WATERMAN, a native of Ballston, . Saratoga county, New York, was born on the 15th of January, 1819, and is the son of David Waterman and Phebe W. nee Hollister, both of whom were devoted Christians, and much beloved by a large circle of friends. The father, a farmer by oc- cupation, had command of an artillery company during the war of 1812. His paternal grandfather, a soldier of the revolution, was commissioned lieu- tenant-colonel by Governor George Clinton, of New York, June 16, 1778. Anson spent his early boyhood on his father's farm, receiving his education in the common schools, and at the age of twelve years accepted a clerkship in a store and laid the foundation of his subsequent business career. Having spent about five years in a country store, and a few months in school, he became a clerk in a hardware store at Schenectady. After four years, having then attained his majority, he engaged in business on his own account at Phelps, Ontario county, New York, and remained there until his removal to Beloit, Wisconsin, in 1854; soon after which he took the entire charge of the hardware business in which he had been associated with his brother for several years, and has continued it with uniform success up to the present time, 1876. Aside from his regular business, he has held many promi- nent and trustworthy positions. He has been one of the trustees of the Northwestern Life Insurance Company during nearly its entire history, having been elected to that position in the year i860, and for a number of years one of the board of trustees of the State asylum for the insane. In his political sentiments he was formerly a democrat, but upon the organization of the republican party, in 1856, be- came identified with that body. During the year 1857 and 1858 he was mayor of his city, and for the last twenty years has been connected with the board of education of the city, and a member of the board of trustees of Beloit College. In all his official ca- pacities he has worked faithfully and effectively for the interests of his city and those whom he has rep- resented. His religious training was under Presby- terian influences, and he is now, and has been for THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. I 96 many years, a leading member and prominent officer of the First Presbyterian Church of Beloit, in con- nection with the Presbytery of Milwaukee. Mr. Waterman was married on the 31st of Decem- ber. 1S40, to Miss Jennie A. HubbeJl. Of their three daughters two are married and living in St. Louis, and the other is still at home. Such is a brief outline of the life-history which has been marked by many and varied experiences, and in all a gradual growth. Beginning life with no means other than his own native powers, he has, by his own effort, built up a successful business, attained a worthy place in public esteem and drawn around himself a large circle of true and devoted friends. JACOB OBERMANN, MIL WA UK EE. T HE life of Jacob Obermann is remarkable for persevering industry, and an energy which has overcome many obstacles, and, after struggling against adverse circumstances, has achieved success. Such experience is exemplary, as it serves to give encouragement to those who have yet to fight the battle of life. Jacob was the son of John Peter and Magdelena Obermann, and was born at Selzen, Province Reihn, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, March 23, 1819. He received an education at the schools of his native place, but it was limited, and as soon as he was able to work he went to Mayence to learn the shoemak- ing trade, where he remained nine years, making but little money, although he exercised both indus- try and economy. He returned home and started business for himself in his father’s house, and in a short time had four men at work ; but at the end of the year, not finding it sufficiently remunerative, he determined to try America, of which he had heard so much. He embarked April 29, 1843, and after a long and tedious passage arrived in New York, July 14, and thirteen days later reached Milwaukee, where he has since made his home. He sought employ- ment in the boot and shoe trade without success. He offered to work for a month without wages, that he might learn some of the customs of a new country, but everyone was full-handed. The pros- pects were, indeed, discouraging; he had left his fatherland, his friends and home, spent more than two months on stormy seas, escaped the perils of the ocean, was in a strange land among strangers, of whom a few seemed to be doing well, but there was nothing for Jacob. He did not despair, and although he possessed but a few dollars he had courage and self-reliance, and started a shop for himself. Business grew upon him, and he continued I with good success ; before long he employed five hands, and had enough for all to do, and so he continued for six years steadily increasing his busi- ness, and making warm friends besides. But all his energies and his time were not given to his business, he had time to think of those in misfortune. The winters were cold; he sought the poor of his countrymen and organized relief. His deeds to this day are gratefully remembered. His hard work, his patient industry was too con- fining, and although he was saving money, his health failed and a change of occupation became necessary. He sold out his stock of boots and shoes, and opened a general store. Here he re- mained five years, when he was burned out. All his savings gone, except an insurance of six hundred dollars. His loss was heavy; but he had won a good name. After awhile he bought three building lots on the corner of Fifth and Cherry streets, upon which he built a brewery. It was only a small concern, a frame building twenty by forty feet, his business increased, and he employed five men. In 1864 he associated himself in business with Max Fueger, and two years, later they built a brick brewery, forty by eighty feet, with malt house attached. These buildings have also since received additions and have been supplied with newer and larger utensils and machinery, and from the humble beginning has sprung a large well-regulated and complete establishment, embracing brewery, malt houses, ice houses, and large vaults for storing beer. His business continued to increase and he has grown and is steadily growing in wealth and repu- tation. In i860 he was elected member of the city council and in 1862 was reelected; was a member of the legislature in 1865 : one of the founders and presi- dent of the Milwaukee Mechanics Mutual Fire In- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. 197 surance Company, subsequently, and to the present time, its treasurer; was made president of the Brew- ers Fire Insurance Company of America ; was school commissioner, and has held other offices. Mr. Obermann was married September 2, 1843, to Mary Schmitt, who died September 12, 1852, leav- ing five children, one having died previous to her death. In January, 1853, he married Barbara Schmitt. His eldest son, George, has finished a law course, and is now in a mercantile business in New York city. Two of his sons are at the present time employed in the brewery. It is Mr. Ober- niann’s view that every child — boys as well as girls — should be taught how to support themselves in case of need. Mr. Obermann takes a deep interest in the public schools, and has been unremitting in his efforts to establish free German schools. In the year 1846 he, with others, established a society to aid the poor of Milwaukee, and during the severity of the next two winters he spent a great deal of his time in searching out and relieving want. No man is more alive to the interests of Milwaukee, and none receives or merits greater praise from his countrymen, as a true friend and counselor, than Mr. Jacob Obermann. WILLIAM P. MERRILL, MIL IV A UK EE. W ILLIAM P. MERRILL, son of David and Eunice Lord Merrill, was one of the first settlers in the eastern portion of Wisconsin. He was born on the 12th of March, 1817, in South Berwick, Maine, where he spent the first three years of his childhood. In the autumn of 1820 David Merrill removed with his family to Adams, Jefferson county, New York, where for about twelve years he was occupied with the multifarious duties of a country merchant. In 1832 he disposed of his business, and again removed his family to Massena Springs, St. Law- rence county, New York. Being self-reliant, and possessing an adventurous spirit, William was anx- ious to quit the humdrum life in which he moved, and to carve his own fortune abroad. Accordingly, having gained the consent of his parents, he left home soon after arriving at Massena Springs, and went to Prescott, Canada East, hoping to find some congenial employment, but sickness prevented the consummation of his plans. Returning home, he speedily regained his health, and again set forth in search of fortune. This time he went to Cleveland, Ohio, which was then “ the Far West.” The only practicable route thither was hy the way of Ogdensburg up the St. Lawrence river, to the mouth of the Glencoe, thence to Roch- ester, and by the “ raging canal ” to Buffalo, where a rickety steamboat was found which conveyed him to his destination, consuming as much time as it now requires to cross the continent. Finding but little at Cleveland to engage his atten- 26 tion, and still seeking the excitement of travel, an opportunity was soon afforded him to make a trip to the Ohio river. From this excursion he derived but little pleasure or satisfaction, as he speedily fell a victim to the disease of the climate, from which he suffered for nearly a year. Recovering, he vis- ited the more important towns in the State, giving his attention particularly to acquiring the carpenter trade, but could not make up his mind to settle per- manently in Ohio. The fall of 1835 found him at Ohio city, where he remained until the following spring, when, hearing much of the opening up of the vast territories of the great West, he was not long in determining to follow the track of the setting sun. Securing a passage on the schooner A. C. Baldwin, Captain Ben Sweet, master, he left for the port of Milwaukee early in March, in company with several other passengers, among whom were William Longstreet, part owner of cargo, S. R. Freeman and Onslow Brown. The passage was long and very tedious, owing to the ice which impeded their prog- ress. At the foot of an island below Mackinac ! they were compelled to lay by for several days. Longstreet, desirous of visiting the nearest settle- ment, persuaded Merrill to accompany him. They ; supposed from information gained from the captain that they would have to travel only about ten miles ; but the captain had purposely deceived them, to punish Longstreet, with whom he had had some difficulty, as it proved that the settlement was about twenty-five nnles distant. Starting out without sup- plies for a long tramp over the ice and slush, they THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. I98 certainly would have perished had they not met some friendly Indians, who, for a nominal reward, assisted them in reaching their destination. A sud- den change of weather occurred before night, and they reached Mackinac in a half-frozen condition. They were conveyed to a tavern, where they were confined to their beds for three days. Meanwhile the schooner came up, and they reembarked, and arrived at Milwaukee without further trouble, the passage having consumed nearly a month’s time. Going ashore Mr. Merrill proceeded to the house of Sol Juneau, where the principal attraction seemed to be dogs and Indian squaws and papooses. His first impression was that this would be a good place to “get away from,” and was about to return by the boat and proceed to Chicago, when he fell in with J. B. Miller and Samuel Brown, who set forth the desirableness of this location for the founding of a large commercial town in such glowing terms that he was induced to remain. Shortly after this the tide of emigration set strongly westward, and this Territory received its share of the new-comers, many of whom settled permanently in the embryo city, which ere long gave tokens of its future great- ness. Land was secured by many all around the city, at the government price of one dollar and twenty-five cents an acre, by those who had been farmers and who wished to continue their vocation Many of these farmers are still living on the original claims, and are among the most prominent and wealthy of our citizens. Their farms are now of great value, especially those which subsequently were brought within the city limits. Among these may be mentioned the estate of Samuel Brown, and those of Hon. Horace and Dr. E. Chase. Mr. Merrill’s fortune on landing at Milwaukee amounted to one hundred dollars, a chest of carpen- ter’s tools, and a good gun. Although he was a skillful workman in those days, he did not follow the calling he had chosen to any extent, but chose in subsequent years to speculate in land — or rather city lots — by which he amassed, in time, an inde- pendent fortune. In the spring of 1838, having a strong desire to see more of the great West, Mr. Merrill set out upon a journey which proved longer than he had at first contemplated. He visited Chicago, and then pro- ceeded to Rockford, Illinois. At this place, in March, 1838, he, with two others, bought a canoe, provisioned it with pork and meal, and with a blanket for a sail they set forth down the river, with no well defined idea whither they were going or where they would stop. At night they camped on the river banks, and spent their evenings around the cheerful camp fires telling stories and relating their experiences. About the 20th of March they reached the Mis- sissippi, and concluded to take the first boat that came along, whether up or down. After a halt of nearly two days they embarked on a boat going- north to Galena. Here Mr. Merrill remained until July 4, on which day he left on the steamboat Bra- zil, Owen Smith, for Fort Snelling. Boats ran day and night as far as Prairie du Chien, but as the pilot’s acquaintance with the river extended no far- ther, they ran only by day above that place, tying up at night. This made the trip necessarily slow. The principal points of interest were Indian villages. At the point where Lalc£ City now stands Mr. Merrill went ashore, in company with the captain and some others, and visited the bluffs, where he planted some white beans which he had provided for that purpose before leaving the boat. This was doubtless the first planting ever done by a white man on the shores of Lake Pepin. Mr. Merrill’s experience of Indian life and man- ners was by no means of an agreeable nature. He found them lazy and filthy, the squaws doing the drudgery and hard work. Arriving at Fort Snelling they found the post garrisoned by about twenty-five men. The fort itself was delightfully situated on an eminence which commanded an extensive view of the river and surrounding country. Mr. Merrill and other travelers from the boat helped themselves to Indian ponies, which they found grazing near the fort, and explored the country, visiting the Falls of St. Anthony and Falls of Little St. Peter, now known as Minnehaha, and other points of interest, all then in the wild, natural state. Twenty years after he again visited the same places with his friend J. M. Stowell, whose biographical sketch appears in this book.- The changes were wonderful. Where before all was in repose, as it were, there was now life and activity; towns and cities now were speedily cover- ing the land where before was a wilderness, peopled only with Indians. He returned, by the same boat that carried him to the fort, to Galena, where, how- eve'r, he remained but a short time. He then went to Comanche, a small town in Iowa, then numbering but five or six houses. Here he entered a claim adjoining the village plat. In the spring a man by the name of Clayborn, who had come from I ennes- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 199 see, proposed joining him in building a boat, and establish a ferry to be propelled by horse-power. He closed with the proposition, and established the first permanent crossing of the Mississippi north of Davenport, and the only ferry-boat at that time run by horse-power and wheels north of St. Louis. Emigration was at that time very active, and as the boat was in constant demand they were making money. But in July Mr. Merrill was taken sick, and as he was unable to attend to business for sev- eral months affairs were left to his partner, who proved incompetent, and by whose carelessness the boat was wrecked. In the fall of 1839 he returned to Milwaukee, where he purchased a stock of dry goods and groceries, and took them to Summit, where he opened a store, the first one established between Prairieville (now Waukesha) and Watertown. He built the first frame house in four townships, including Oconomowoc (then known as Baxter’s Prairie). The following- summer he sold his stock of goods, being convinced by the experience of eight or nine months that a mercantile life was not his forte. Subsequently, ex- changing his property at Summit for eighty acres in town of Lake, he settled permanently in Milwaukee county. To this he added another eighty, bought of the government in 1849 at one dollar and twenty- five cents per acre, making in all a quarter of section six. Of this property he still owns forty acres, which is very valuable, being within city limits. Recently he has divided this property and laid it out in lots and streets, about twenty acres of which he has offered for sale. From this record it will be seen that Mr. Merrill has done much to improve the city of Milwaukee by building stores, residences, etc. He is endowed with a very social nature, and is liberal almost to a fault. He has been twice elected alderman for the fifth ward, and always takes great interest in char- itable objects. He was among the most active in starting and endowing the Home for the Aged, now one of the permanent charitable institutions of Mil- waukee. He was married in Milwaukee county, on the 26th of August, 1841, to S. Elizabeth Harris, of Halifax, Vermont, by whom he has two sons : David L., who is married, and resides in Michigan, engaged in the lumber business ; and Zachary T., of the firm of Kendrick, Merrill and Brand, law and real-estate business, in Milwaukee. THEODORE L. BAKER, MIL WA UK EE. T HEODORE L. BAKER, cashier of the Mil- waukee National Bank of Wisconsin, was born in New York city June 6, 1824; son of William F. and Maria E. Baker. Mr. Baker comes of good old Knickerbocker stock, his mother first seeing light on his grandfather’s farm, or Bowerie as it was called in those days, situated where the Astor Library buildings now stand. Mr. Baker received a liberal education at the Columbia College Schools, New York. Upon leav- ing he was placed in the counting house of a dry- goods establishment, doing a large southern busi- ness, where he remained five years. At the age of twenty-two he decided to try his fortune in the West, and in the year 1847 came to Milwaukee, where, in connection with Henry P. Peck, he opened a dry-goods store, under the firm name of Peck and Baker. This partnership existed for six years, when the firm dissolved, Mr. Peck con- tinuing the business. Mr. Baker entered the State Bank as teller. In 1863 he was appointed cashier and has remained in that position since that time, and has always been esteemed as an honorable, faithful bank officer and director. The State Bank was organized in 1853, and reorganized in 1865 as the Milwaukee National Bank, with a capital of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. It has paid yearly dividends of from ten to twelve per cent, and now holds a surplus of something like one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. In religion Mr. Baker has always been an Episco- palian. In politics, a conservative republican. He is one of the vice-presidents of the North- western National Bank Association, and secretary of the Wisconsin National Bank Association. He has held the responsible position of manager of the Milwaukee Clearing House almost from its organization in 1868; after the breaking out of the rebellion he was mainly instrumental in giving to the State of his adoption a sound circulating 200 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. medium, hy compelling the banks to receive only 1873, the banks of Milwaukee braved the storm with- on deposit legal tender notes, and such bank notes out suspending currency payments ; the Milwaukee as were redeemed at par in Milwaukee. During 1 National not even losing its legal reserve, or calling the panic that swept over the land in the fall of upon its New York correspondents for currency. SOLON MARKS, M.D., MIL WA UK EE. S OLON MARKS was born in Stockbridge, Ver- mont, July 14, 1827. Availing himself of the opportunities for obtaining instruction in the ele- mentary branches of education, which the district and private schools of his native town afforded until he was sixteen years of age, he then entered the Royalton Academy for a full course of instruction. In 1848 he turned his face westward, finding a home in Wisconsin. Having decided upon the med- ical profession as that best suited to his tastes, he at once set himself to the task of providing the means for the accomplishment of his wishes in this direc- tion ; and, by his own unaided effort and persistent will, earned a sufficiency to carry him through a full course in the Rush Medical College of Chicago, Illinois, where he graduated in the year 1853. Im- mediately thereafter he commenced the practice of medicine in Jefferson, Wisconsin, removing thence to Stevens Point, in 1856, where he had established himself in a large and successful practice when the war of the rebellion broke out. Full of patriotism he at once tendered his services to the government, and was commissioned surgeon of the 10th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers, September 27, 1861. This regiment left the State November 9, 1861, and he had been with it but one month when he was de- tailed upon the staff of General Sill as brigade sur- geon, which position he held until the capture of Huntsville, Alabama, April n, 1862, when he was placed in charge of the military hospitals established at that point. Remaining here till about the time that Buell’s division commenced falling back toward the Ohio river, he was then ordered into the field, and on 8th of October, 1862, assigned to duty as medical director of General Rosseau’s division, which position he retained until the organization of the army of the Cumberland, when he was appointed surgeon-in-chief of the 1st division of the 14th army corps, with which command he remained until the expiration of his term of enlistment. Being with the army in nearly every engagement, he gained thereby extensive practice and large experience in that de- partment of his profession, to which by natural incli- nation he was especially adapted — that of surgery — and to which, in the subsequent years, he has de- voted himself with unceasing assiduity, making it a specialty. On the closing up of the war Dr. Marks returned to Wisconsin and settled in Milwaukee, resuming his practice. In 1873 he made a trip to Europe with the three- fold object of rest, relaxation, and the pursuit of his favorite study in the hospitals of London, Paris, and elsewhere. Returning, he again resumed his prac- tice in Milwaukee. As a practitioner the Doctor has unbounded success and unlimited popularity. Never sparing himself, he is always “on duty,” and this ceaseless strain must sooner or later compel him to take another season of rest. As a man he is upright and honorable, full of tender and helpful sympathy toward the suffering and unfortunate, and generous to a fault. GENERAL GEORGE B. SMITH, MADISON. C " 1 EORGE B. SMITH was born at Parma Cor- X ners, Monroe county, New York, May 22, 1823. His father, Reuben Smith, was a native of Rhode Island, but immigrated from that State to Western New York. In 1825 he removed to Cleveland, Ohio- where for some two years he carried on an extensive business in pork packing. In 1827 he took up his residence in the village of Medina, Ohio, as mer- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHIC A L DICTIONARY. 201 chant, where he was appointed one of the judges of the court of common pleas of Medina county, the only office he ever held. In 1843 he immigrated with his family to Southport, now Kenosha, Wiscon- sin. He died at Madison, Wisconsin, in February, 1874, at the age of eighty years. Judge Smith was a man of much ability, and of great enterprise of character. General Smith is the only child of Judge Smith's first wife, who died when he was but ten weeks old. Her maiden name was Betsy Page ; she was a woman of great strength of character and of uncommon intelligence ; a graduate of a female academy at Hamilton, New York, and previous to her marriage was for several years a teacher, in which vocation she was very successful. When his father removed to Medina, in Ohio, he was but four years of age, and the sixteen years spent in this locality afforded him all the opportunities he ever enjoyed for attending school. In 1841 he began the study of law with H. W. Floyd, Esq., in the village of Medina, with whom he remained about a year, spending the next succeeding year in Cleveland in the law office of Messrs. Andrews, Foot and Hoyt, when he accompanied his father to Kenosha, Wis- consin, where he continued his legal studies in the office of the late O. S. Head, with whom he remained until admitted to the bar, on the 4th of July, 1843, at Racine, Wisconsin, in the United States district court, presided over by Judge Andrew G. Miller. On the 29th of August, 1844, a little over one year after his admission to the bar, Mr. Smith was married to Miss Eugenia Weed, at Medina, Ohio. The fruits of this union were five children, only two of whom are now living, a son and a daughter; the latter, Anna, is married to Robert J. McConnell. James S. Smith, the son, and Mr. McConnell, compose the firm of McConnell and Smith, booksellers and stationers, at Madison. Returning to Wisconsin after his marriage, he be- gan the practice of his profession at Madison in the fall of 1845. In January, 1846, he was appointed district attorney of Dane county, an office which he held by appointment and election over six years, the duties of which he discharged with marked ability and unquestioned fidelity. In October, 1846, he was chosen a member of tire first constitutional con- vention, and was the youngest member of that body. He held no other office except that of court com- missioner of Dane county until 1853, when he was elected attorney-general of the State, which position he held during the years 1854 and 1855, and declined a renomination. In the spring of 1858 he was elected mayor of the city of Madison, and in the fall of the same year was chosen a member of the popular branch of the legislature. He held the position of mayor for three successive terms. In 1863, and again in 1869, he was elected to represent the peo- ple of his district in the legislature of the State. During the several times in which he occupied a seat in the assembly, his party was in the minority. By common consent they assigned to him the position of leader on all party questions, a position for which he was well qualified, not only by reason of his talents as a debater, but for his skill as a parliamen- tarian and legislator. He was never a great talker, but some of his elaborate speeches in the legislature commanded admiration at home and abroad. In 1864, and again in 1872, General Smith was the democratic candidate for congress in his district; in both instances he stumped the State in advocacy of the principles of the party to which he belonged, but his party being in a hopeless minority the result was a defeat, although in each instance he ran consider- ably ahead of his ticket. In 1869 he received the unanimous vote of his party as a candidate before the legislature for the United States senate in oppo- sition to the Hon. Matt H. Carpenter, the successful republican candidate. He was nominated as presi- dential elector in 1868, and again in 1872. Since the memorable campaign of 1872, when General Smith took such a prominent and active part for the election of Horace Greeley to the presidency, he i has taken less interest in politics, in every public position which he has been called upon to fill, he has discharged the trust confided to him with ability | and unshaken fidelity to principle. In his profession | he occupies a high position among the ablest lawyers of the northwest. His practice has been extensive, not only in the State but in the United States courts, in which tribunals he has had to deal with a great variety of important cases, both civil and criminal. He has reached the summit of mature manhood with an enviable reputation and a private character on which rests no blemish. As an orator, as an advo- cate, and as a political speaker, he has but few equals in the country. In many of the character- istics of successful oratory he is peculiarly gifted. To the attractions of a fine presence, an easy, grace- ful and dignified mien, is added that of a rich, full, clear voice, that can be distinctly heard at a long distance. His masterly self-reliance is of inestima- ble value to him when he rises to address an audi- 202 THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. enee, or pleads the cause of his client before a jury. His oratory is characterized by subtle discrimina- tion, bv logical argument, and by forcible illustration. Notwithstanding the fact that he is always calm and collected when he rises to speak, he frequently be- comes impassioned in his utterances, speaking with great energy and rapidity, but without losing control of himself. In this as well as in many other respects his style of oratory bears a striking resemblance to that of the late Stephen A. Douglas. The power of an orator to command himself enables him to con- trol others. By its exercise he is enabled to lash the rowdy element of his audience into silence by a few pointed remarks, accompanied by an expressive look and gesture. General Smith’s mind is also enriched with a vein of humor of which he some- times makes a very happy use in his public speeches. His perception of the ludicrous is quick and keen, and by a well-timed joke or repartee he excites the applause of an unwilling audience. In power of in- vective he has few equals; it is a talent which, how- ever, he uses sparingly, and never unless strong provocation calls it forth. He has made many polit- ical speeches ; they embrace a large variety of topics, and discuss all the issues which have agitated the public mind during the last twenty-five years. He may be deemed in the strict sense of the term a self- made man. He commenced his business life with a limited knowledge of elementary literature and science, and was dependent upon his individual ex- ertions for the means of subsistence. He had but little leisure for study or reflection, and yet he has been a close student and deep thinker. Self-reliance is the ground work upon which has been erected an intellectual temple of Gothic proportions, although not decorated with Corinthian capitals. He has a large library of well-selected books, and it has en- riched his mind with its treasures. It is the fruit of many years of discriminating purchases, and of large expense. As a conversationalist he is instructive and entertaining, and his social qualities endear him to a select circle of friends. Like other men gifted with extraordinary mental power, he has also strong passions, subject, however, to his stronger will. If the greatest conqueror is he who conquers himself, then he may aspire to that title. “ Not his the fortitude that mocks at pains, But his who feels them most and most sustains.” A. P. DICKEY RACINE. N OTHING has added more to the renown of American industrial productions than the ingenuity displayed in the manufacture of articles of utility and labor-saving machines; and among these stand preeminently the fanning mills and separators now so universally used, and which effect with such precision the separating grain and seeds, and preparing them for market. One of the foremost manufacturers of these ingenious devices is A. P. Dickey, of Racine, Wisconsin. These machines were much needed. Mr. Dickey has devised an excellent machine, and hence his success; he has manufactured thousands, received prizes in all the principal exhibitions, and the sales are still increasing. A. P. Dickey was born in Londonderry, New Hampshire, March 24, 1818; is a son of John and Rhoda Dickey. His father was a merchant. Young Dickey was educated at Geneseo, New York. He worked on a farm, and received a common school education, until he was sixteen years of age, and then went to work in a fanning mill manufactory at Vienna, Ontario county, New York. Pie was one of seven brothers, who were all employed in the manufacture of fanning mills. He remained at Vienna two years, then moved to Sandusky, and after a year went to Pine Hill, Geneseo county, where he remained twelve years. Pie made many experiments, and the result of his labor and genius is the fanning mill, which is now known as the Dickey Fanning Mill, and has gained a world-wide reputation. He was colonel of the 164th regiment, 6th brigade and 27 th division of the National Guards of the State of New York, at Batavia. He held his commission under Governor W. H. Seward. In 1846 he located at Racine, Wisconsin, where lie has continued the same business up to the pres- ent time. In 1840 he was married to Miss Sarah Babcock, by whom he had three children, all of whom are now married and residing at Racine. In 1854 his / THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 203 wife died. In 1855 he married Miss Lucy Ann Patterson : they have had two children — a daughter and a son. The history of the fanning mills would be the history of Mr. Dickey, for these have been his life work, and he has accomplished much, and adapted his work to all the multifarious uses that can require the winnowing and separation of grain and seeds, whether on a small or large scale. The capacities of these mills are from forty to four hundred bushels an hour. The fans excel in the simplicity with which they separate the pure grain from every mixture, and the ease with which they deliver the several grades of wheat by themselves, as well as the rapidity of the work. His extensive business has called into practice facilities for transportation. His fan- ning mills are sold by all the dealers in the West ; he has filled orders from New York, Massachusetts, and even from Germany and Japan. To accommo- 1 date this distant trade, they are made in such a manner as to be readily taken to pieces, and can be set up again in a few minutes by anyone competent to use them, so that the freight is reduced at least one half. No wonder that with such completeness and such facilities Mr. Dickey’s trade has assumed large proportions. But Mr. Dickey’s enterprise does 1 not stop here, he has added a foundry business, also a machine shop. He manufactures steam engines and everything connected with farming implements ; his trade has become great and is still growing, and does honor to American genius and industry. Mr. Dickey, in politics, has been a whig, but has voted with the republicans since that party has been organized. In religion, he belongs to the Congrega- tional denomination. HON. ALEXANDER H. MAIN, MADISON. A lexander Hamilton main, a native of Plainfield, Otsego county, New York, was born on the 22d of June, 1824, the son of Alfred Main and Semantha Main ne'e Stillman. His father, a native of Connecticut, removed to New York in his youth ; thence, in 1846, to Dane county, Wiscon- sin, where he still resides, and has been elected sheriff of- his county. Mr. Main received his edu- cation in the common schools and academies of his native State, and at the age of nineteen years ac- cepted a clerkship in a store in Cuba, New York, and subsequently in Little Genesee, New York, where he continued as clerk until 1850, when he became a partner in the mercantile business, under the firm name of Main, Ennis and Co., in the same place, conducting the business with reasonable suc- cess until 1856, when he removed to his present home, Madison, Wisconsin, where, in partnership with his brother, W. S. Main, he resumed his merchandising, and continued it with varied success until i860. In September of that year he became cashier of the Sun Prairie bank, in which capacity he served until he closed its business in the spring 6f 1863. In the autumn of 1862 he was appointed deputy assessor of internal revenue in the second district of Wisconsin, and about the same time established himself in the insurance business. From that time until the present (1876), except during a period of six months of President Johnson’s admin- istration, he has served as deputy assessor and deputy collector. In conducting his insurance he was alone until the spring of 1867, at which time he associated himself with Mr. John P. Williams, under the firm naifie and style of Williams and Main. In the fall of 1868 the firm name became Main and Spooner, Mr. P. L. Spooner, junior, becoming suc- cessor to Mr. Williams, who withdrew from the business. In February, 1874, Captain W. K. Barney purchased the interest of Mr. Spooner, and Messrs. Main and Barney continued the business until the death of Captain Barney in February, 1875, at which time Mr. Spooner resuming his interest, the old firm of Main and Spooner was reestablished. They now represent over twenty of the leading and most reli- able fire and life insurance companies in the United States and Great Britain, and do, probably, three- fourths of the fire insurance business for the city of Madison and surrounding country. Politically Mr. Main is, and always has been since its organization, identified with the republican party, and in 1855, prior to his removal to the West, represented Allegany county in the New York legis- lature. He is a thorough business man, possessing many 204 THE UNITED STATES B/OGRAPHICAE DICTION ART. superior personal and social qualities, and in his varied career has maintained an upright character and spotless reputation. Mr. Main has been twice married; first, in 1852, to Miss Mary Cottrell, of Allegany county, New York, who died in February, 1862. He subse- quently wedded his present wife, Miss Emma Cot- trell, a sister of his former wife. FREDERICK WILD, RACINE. F REDERICK WILD was born in Kinderhook, Columbia county, New York State, on the 22d of December, 1831. His parents were Nathan and Sarah Wild, who, as he grew up, placed him at Col- lege Hill, Poughkeepsie, where he went through a general course of ordinary English studies in a per- fectly satisfactory manner, as may be surmised from the fact of his graduating at the early age of eight- een. At this time his father, who was a cotton man- ufacturer at Kinderhook, placed Frederick AVild there for the purpose of learning the business in a thoroughly practical style. He accordingly spent about three years in the mill working under instruc- tions, when he was seized with an attack of the AA’estern fever, an epidemic very prevalent at the time, and shifted his quarters in 1852 to Kenosha, AA'isconsin, where he worked in a general hardware store as clerk for about eighteen months, giving every satisfaction by the faithful performance of his duties in that capacity. He then came to Freeport, Illinois, where he got an engagement in the same business and remained there for the period of two years. In 1856 he began his career as a railway man by being appointed to the position of general western freight solicitor by the agent of the New York and Erie Railway Company, which post he filled for two years, and since that he has been engaged on several other railways in different positions, namely : On the Detroit and Milwaukee Railway, the Milwaukee and Lacrosse (now a branch of the Chicago, Mil- waukee and St. Paul), the Ohio and Mississippi, and also on the AATstern Union, where he first engaged in the year 1869 as general freight and ticket agent, which position he now occupies. He attends the Episcopal church. In politics he is a republican, and has been so ever since the organization of that party. He was married on the rst of January, 1854, to Miss Eliza M. Ames, and has five children — three male and two female — who are all living at the present time. Mr. AVild’s geniality of temper, great social virtues and liberality have gathered for him a host of friends, not only in domestic and private life, but indeed wherever it has been his lot to meet persons in business. He has had great experience in rail- way matters, and it is well known that wherever he has occupied a position his general good business qualifications as well as his civility and kindness to those working under him have made him par excel- lence the right man in the right place. JAMES G. KNIGHT, MADISON. TAMES G. KNIGHT was born at Rexford Flats, J Saratoga county, New York, August 12, 1832, third son of James Knight and Margaret Godfrey. His father was a prominent local politician. His father died in 1855 ; his mother died in 1846. He was educated at Albany, New York. His reading was various and extensive; his habits were exem- plary, and his occupation that of merchant. He moved west in 1856, and located in Darlington, Lafayette county, then a town of three hundred inhabitants. He pursued a general mercantile busi- ness until the war. He married in 1854, in Clifton Park, New York. His progress in business was satisfactory. He is liberal in all religious matters, and a generous sup- porter in money of churches. He has always been a democrat of the Horatio Seymour school in New York, and through the war the same, supporting THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 205 McClellan for president. While in the army he was elected to all the local town offices repeatedly; chairman of the town of Darlington for 1871, 1872 and 1873, and chairman of the county board of supervisors the same years; elected superintendent of schools of Lafayette county in the fall of 1873, and always running far ahead of his party tickets. He was a member of the State central committee for ten years, and an active reform chairman of congressional and county committees for years. In 1865 he assumed control of the “Lafayette County Democrat,” published at Darlington, and has since managed the same, the most prominent paper in the third congressional district, and recog- nized as the leading reform paper in the southwest- ern part of the State. Present political views in accord with the reform or new democratic party of Wisconsin. He was appointed by Governor Taylor superintendent of the public property of Wisconsin, January 1, 1875. When the rebellion was inaugu- rated he took the position of Douglas, and assisted in organizing the first company from southwest Wis- consin, which rendezvoused at Fond du Lac. Join- ing the 3d Wisconsin Infantry, he served as lieuten- ant until 1862, and was then commissioned by President Lincoln, for meritorious services, captain and C. S., and assigned to duty with the army of the Potomac. He served under McClellan, Meade, Hooker, Slocum, Williams, Geary and Ruger, until the winter of 1865. He then resigned his commis- sion, leaving the army at Atlanta, Georgia. He was in the battles of Winchester, Antietam, Chan- cellorsville, Gettysburg (as volunteer aid to General Slocum), Dallas, Atlanta, and all minor engage- ments. He was married December 14, 1854,10 Minerva Knowlton. His grandfather, James Knight, was a soldier of the revolution under Gates, at Saratoga, where he was wounded. His grandfather, James Godfrey, was also a revolutionary soldier, both being originally from England. He was first president of the village of Darlington, delegate to the democratic national convention of 1868, at New York city. Mr. Knight’s moral and social qualities have com- manded for him the respect and esteem of the peo- ple with whom he has lived, and is most esteemed where he is best known. GRIN G. SELDEN, M.D., TOM All. O RIN G. SELDEN is a*native of Scotland, and was born in the city of Perth, April 3, 1817. His parents were Robert B. and Louisa (Balfour) Selden, the latter being a lineal descendant of John Balfour, of Burley, whom Sir Walter Scott immor- talizes in “Old Mortality.” The Selden is an old English family of Kent and Sussex counties, whence they (led to Scotland soon after the Restoration. When Orin was ten years of age the family immi- grated to this country, settling on a farm in the town of Bristol, Middlesex county, Massachusetts, where the father still lives; he is ninety-seven years of age, and justice of the peace, an office which he has held for more than forty years. Orin had an early and insatiable thirst for knowl- edge, and from twelve to nineteen years of age attended the seminary at Haverhill, Essex county. When about seventeen he accompanied his father to his native land, visited the home of Robert Burns, and had the honor of taking the hand of Sir Walter Scott, incidents in his boyhood which he has’ never forgotten and never recalls except with pleasure. In 1836 he entered the office of Dr. Francis Batchelder, of Boston, where he remained, studying medicine and attending lectures, until March 9, 1840, when he graduated from what is now the medical department of Harvard University. The following June he opened an office in Dover, Tuscarawas county, Ohio, and there during the next thirty-three years was steadily engaged in the practice of his i profession. In November, 1873, Dr. Selden removed to Reeds- burg, Sauk county, Wisconsin, continuing his med- ical practice for three years, and in November, 1876, settled in Tomah. His fame had preceded him, and he was never more busily employed than at present. Indeed it seems impossible for him to retire from business, and although just rounding up his three-score years he has all the elasticity and activity, seemingly, of middle life. Though a reg- ular medical practitioner, he pays especial attention 206 THE EXITED STATES RIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. to surgical cases, of which he has a great many, and in which his army experience has essentially aided him. In 1846 Dr. Selden went into the Mexican war as assistant surgeon of the 3d Ohio Infantry, serving till the conflict ended. In 1861 he was appointed surgeon of the 16th Ohio Regiment three-months men, and immediately after the expiration of that period was appointed surgeon of the 51st Ohio Regiment, with which he served until August, 1862, when, by reason of failing health, he resigned. Early in 1876, when the State board of health was created, he was appointed by the governor as one of its members. In September of the same cear he was appointed a delegate from the Wiscon- sin State Medical Society to the International Med- ical Congress, which met in Philadelphia on the 4th of that month, and took quite an active part in its discussions. Though before the world as a medical man, Dr. Seldon pays considerable attention to various branches of science; geology and natural history being among his favorite studies. He is also well read in literature, and especially the English classics. Though a Scotchman, and having a natural partial- ity for home authors, he can quote Chaucer, Spen- cer and Shakspeare quite as freely and fully as he can Burns and Scott. His great familiarity with standard authors is almost wonderful, considering the close attention which he has paid to medical science and the collateral branches, and the amount of medical literature of which he is the author. He has had the ad eundem degrees of Doctor of Medicine conferred on him by Starling Medical College, Columbus, Ohio ; Miami Medical College, Cincinnati ; the Ohio Medical College, of the same city, and the medical department of Wooster Uni- versity, Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Selden is a Knight Templar in the masonic order and a member of the Odd-fellows fraternity. In religious sentiment he is a Presbyterian ; in pol- itics, a democrat. He was married to Miss Catherine Hall, of Tus- carawas county, Ohio, on the 15th of August, 1845. Mrs. Selden died October, 1876, leaving two chil- dren : Robert, a practicing physician at Dover, Ohio, the town in which he was born, and Mary, who keeps house for her father. HON. WILLIAM R. TAYLOR, MADISON. W ILLIAM R. TAYLOR was born in the State of Connecticut, July 10, 1820. His mother, who was a native of Scotland, died when the subject of this sketch was three weeks old. His father, a sea captain, was lost at sea with his vessel when the son was about six years of age. Thus totally bereft of parental care and affection at this tender age, he was consigned to the guardianship of strangers, who resided in Jefferson county, in the State of New York, where he remained during his boyhood, sub- ject to all hardships which characterized pioneer life, and the still greater hardships incident to the absence of natural care and sympathy. During these years he traveled on foot three miles to a country school, receiving but little instruction. Falling into severe hands, before he was sixteen years of age, without money, patrons or friends, he sought a bet- ter fortune. 1'he chosen pathway was rugged and cheerless, but the spirit which gave force to his efforts was undaunted. His immediate object at this time was an education, and for many years he continued the struggle, alternately chopping cord- wood, working in the harvest field, or any other manual labor, in the meantime attending school, and finally teaching. The result was a good academic education, and a certificate of admission to the third term of the sophomore year at Union College, in Schenectady, New York. But it was not destined for him to reap the full benefit of this enterprise. On the very day that the class of which he was a member left for Schenectady to complete their col- legiate course he went into the sugar bush, and with his own hands, and a team to haul the wood and sap, made eleven hundred pounds of sugar and two bar- rels of molasses with which to pay tuition and board bills already contracted. Soon after, however, we find him engaged in conducting a select school, and then an academy. In 1840 he moved to Elyria, Lorain county, Ohio, where he joined a class of forty-five young men preparing for teaching. About this time the school authorities at Laporte, in that State, were THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 207 offering an extra price for any teacher who would assume the charge of their public school, which had become a terror to all candidates for the place be- cause of the reputation of the pupils for disorder and violence. The previous winter no less than three excellent teachers had undertaken the task of teaching there and failed, so that the school was entirely broken up. It was an opportunity young Taylor coveted. During the third winter under his management it became the premium school of the country. We next find him running a grist mill, saw mill and cupola furnace, and regarded as the best moulder in the factory; but failing in health from overwork he devoted his spare time to reading medicine, and in the winter of 1845-6 attended a five months course of lectures and clinical instruction in the medical college at Cleveland, Ohio. During his residence in Ohio he was elected a captain, receiving every vote in the company, and then a colonel, in the Ohio militia. During the fall of 1848 he came to Wisconsin and settled on the farm at Cottage Grove, in Dane county, where he now resides. His life for many years was one of great activity and unceasing toil. Not content with the ordinary labors of the farm, he resorted to the pineries in the winter months and became identified with the hardships of the enter- prising class of our population who have contributed so much to the wealth of the State. The result of the severe experience we have narrated is manifest in the whole character of the. man. In every respect the architect of his own fortunes, he is necessarily self-reliant, independent, energetic, practical, honest in purpose, kind in heart, methodical and thoroughly systematic in business. During his boyhood and early manhood a pupil, teacher, miller, foundryman, raftsman and lumberman by turns, and for twenty years a practical farmer, his sympathy for self- dependent laboring men and his interest in the prosperity of the industrial classes are intuitive and sincere. Full six feet in height, with every muscle of his frame educated to its natural power, he is in person the embodiment of physical energy and strength, and a noble representative of the royal class of pioneer workingmen to which he belongs. In manner, as in mental disposition, though consti- tutionally diffident and reserved, he is plain, digni- fied and sincere. Hypocrisy, affectation and deceit, in all their phases, whether social, financial or politi- cal, are to him extremely obnoxious. Honest and unaffected himself, he cannot tolerate others devoid of those qualities. His hard experience in life has taught him to be mistrustful of others, yet he is naturally confiding in those he deems worthy of his confidence and respect. Though practical and economical in the expenditure of money, he is liberal to the poor and unfortunate. No one in distress ever appealed to him in vain. Conciliatory and forgiving to enemies, he never forgets acts of kind- ness to himself. Dike Franklin, he has aided many young men in the commencement of their business career, and has been gratified with their success. He is an acute observer of things and of passing events; with broad and comprehensive views he has accurate knowledge of men, has sound judgment, comes slowly to conclusions, but is firm in his con- victions, and energetic and thorough in execution. He is reticent, thoughtful and conscientious, hence rarely disappointed in results. Honest, he naturally exacts honesty in others; kind to the weak and the good, but bold and daring in opposition to the vicious and to whatever he believes to be wrong. Retiring and diffident in deportment, he yet seems to have a reserved force equal to all emergencies. It is no mystery that this man has become the leader of the masses of the people in their struggle for political and financial reform in the administration of the affairs of government. He entered upon his present position with a large experience in public affairs. In fact, he has never been permitted to remain long in private life. He has been called to fill various town, county and State offices; has re- peatedly received every vote cast for chairman of the board of his town ; has been superintendent of schools; has been twice chairman of the Dane county board of supervisors, consisting of forty-one members; has been county superintendent of the poor seventeen years; was trustee and many years vice-president and member of the executive com- mittee of the State hospital for the insane at Madi- son, from its reorganization in i860 until 1874. In these various positions, in connection with his asso- ciates, he has handled hundreds of thousands of dollars of public funds, without suspicion of ever having abused the confidence reposed in him. He has been a member of both branches of the State legislature; served seven years as president of the Dane County Agricultural Society; was chief mar- shal of the State Agricultural Society seven or eight years, and twice its president. During the war of the rebellion he was the first man in Dane county to offer a public bounty for volunteers, which action 20S THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. led to the offer of other bounties and induced many enlistments. Gov. Taylor was married in 1842 to Catharine Hurd, a most excellent and intelligent lady, by whom he has had three children, all daughters. One of these died at the age of four years, the others are both married, and live with or near their parents in Dane county. One of these graduated at our State University with high honors. In 1873 William R. Taylor was by acclamation placed at the head of the reform ticket and elected governor of the State, receiving 81,635 votes against 66,224 for his opponent in Gov. C. C. Washburn. His career in the executive chair has been marked bv the same practical ability and integrity that have characterized all the acts of his earnest and business life. He has enforced economy, honesty and effi- ciency in the administration of State affairs. That there have been rumors and complaints by disap- pointed aspirants to office excites no surprise or dis- affection on the part of the liberal and the just. On the contrary, his official conduct thus far has com- manded the respect of the good men of all parties, and contributed to the contentment of the people and the prosperity of the State. If popular govern- ments in the American Union are to be preserved to the people in their original purity, that end will be best attained by elevating to high official positions self-made men, whose lives, like that of Governor Taylor, furnish a noble example of honorable enter- prise and unselfish devotion to every public and pri- vate duty. EDMUND BARTLETT, MONROE. F EW men have had a more varied and adven- turous experience than the subject of this sketch, and the necessarily condensed and incom- plete record of the leading events of his life read more like fiction than a chapter from real life. Aside from the thrilling character of its personal narrative, the sketch possesses peculiar interest and value, as furnishing, incidentally, an authentic history of the rapid rise, the reckless and depraved charac- ter of the class of men and women who throng to the frontier settlements of the West. The moralist and future historian may herein find much material on which to employ their respective vocations. Edmund Bartlett was born in Northampton, Massachusetts, October 4, 1822, and is the son of Edmund Morris and Laura (Randall) Bartlett, the former a native of the same town, the latter of Worthington, Berkshire county, Massachusetts. His father was born July 25, 1795; ' vas a soldier of the war of 1812, entering as private and passing through the intermediate grades to the rank of first sergeant. He subsequently took much interest in military matters, became an enthusiastic student of military tactics, and was afterward colonel of a regiment of Massachusetts Light Infantry, at the head of which he escorted General Lafayette into Northampton in the last visit of the distinguished nobleman to the United States (1824). He was a very active, con- sistent and useful member of the Congregational church from boyhood till his death, and was recognized by all classes as a leader in every good work. He was a diligent reader of history, and, with a tenacious memory, acquired an extensive knowledge of its general details. He was also a man of remarkable industry and enterprise, and generous and noble in all his impulses. In 1832 he removed with his family to Ohio, and settled in the township of Brecksville, Cuyahoga county, some twelve miles south of Cleveland — at that time a wilderness — and known as the “ Western Reserve ; ” but Colonel Bartlett was a strong and resolute man, and with his ax he soon subdued the forest, and made his farm of one hundred and eighty acres one of the best and most highly cultivated in that section of the country, with an orchard of over one thousand of the choicest varieties of apple trees, besides smaller fruits in abundance. He was for several years president of the County Agricultural Society, and was well known throughout the region for his valuable efforts to advance the agricultural and horticultural interests of his neighborhood. His intimate friends and associates included such men as Hon. Louis P. Harvey, late governor of Wiscon- sin; Professor E. H. Nevin; Hon. E. S. Hamlin; Hon. John C. Vaughan, editor of the “Cleveland Leader;” Professor Jared P. Kirtland, Cleveland Medical College, celebrated as a lecturer on agri- cultural chemistry and as a scientist; and others. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 209 In politics he was raised a whig, but on the dissolution of that organization affiliated with the free-soilers ; and later became identified with the republican party. On the 6th day of December, 1821, he married Miss Laura Randall, a lady of superior education and many accomplishments, who was born July 2, 1795. Before her marriage she moved in the society of which William Cullen Bryant was a member, and was well acquainted with that distinguished poet; many of whose youthful sayings and doings she well remembers, and can at this period (December, 1876) relate in the most intelligent and interesting manner. The fruit of this marriage was two children — Edmund, the subject of this sketch, and Lucy B., wife of W. W. Wright, Esq., of Monroe, Wisconsin. Colonel E. M. Bartlett and wife followed their children to Wisconsin, where the former died at Monroe, April 24, 1868; the latter, at the age of over eighty-one years, is in good health and in full possession of all her mental faculties. Mr. Bartlett claims lineal descent from Adam Bartlett, a Norman gentleman and an officer in the army of William the Conqueror, who accompanied that monarch to England, fought under him at Hastings, and was subsequently granted a large tract of land (entailed estate) in Stopham, Sussex county, England, which remains in the possession of his descendants to this day, having passed to them in the regular order of primogeniture; the present head of the family being Col. Walter Bartlett, a member of the British parliament. Robert Bartlett, a younger scion of that family, sailed from England in the ship Ann, in the year 1623, and landed at Plymouth, Mas- sachusetts, in July of that year. He subsequently married Mary Warren, daughter of Richard Warren, and from that union our subject is descended. John Bartlett, a member of the Sus- sex family, received distinguishing honors from the “Black Prince,” for his capture of the castle of Fontenoy in France at the head of the Sussex troops. Josiah Bartlett, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, was from the same ancestry, as was also Richard Bartlett of Newburyport, Massa- chusetts, a representative in the Colonial legislature 1679-80-1-4. The grandfather of our subject was Preserved Bartlett, also a native of Northampton, Massachusetts, who married Mary Parsons, from whose family sprung Theophilus Parsons, LL.I)., the author of “ Parsons on Contracts,” and other valu- able standard law books. Until ten years of age Edmund Bartlett enjoyed all the educational advantages of his native New England village, was a good reader and declaimer, and had made considerable proficiency in Murray’s grammar and other studies ; but for several years after his removal to the wilds of the then “ Far West,” he had very few educational advantages. The schools of that day in the “backwoods” were generally presided over by incompetent teachers, while their terms were limited to three months in the winter. During one of those terms the “ master ” each day detailed a squad of the boys to practice the manly art of “ self defense,” wrestling and other physical exercises, which, rude and barbarous though they may seem to the present generation, were not with- out beneficial results to the muscular system. The other exercises consisted of reading, spelling and declamation. The schools, however, improved with the country, and subsequent teachers were generally more competent ; but the only academic advantages our subject enjoyed were about six months’ attend- ance at an institution presided over by the Rev. Samuel Bissell at Twinsburg, in Summit county, Ohio. But he was a diligent student and delighted in literary pursuits, and studied at home, aided by his parents, especially his mother. At the age of sixteen he procured elementary works in the Greek and Latin languages, which he studied with great avidity under the direction of the Rev. Newton Bar- rett, a learned Congregational minister of his town. He studied in the field and in the forest; wherever he went, or in whatever labor engaged, a book was his constant companion. At the age of eighteen he commenced teaching school, and for twelve consec- utive years taught not less than three months each year, and became one of the most thorough and ac- complished scholars of his day, whose talents would have shed luster upon any profession or avocation upon which they might have been concentrated. On May 23, 1844, he married Miss Catherine A. Righter, and turned his attention to farming, an oc- cupation at which he continued for ten years. In the spring of 1854 he removed with his family to Monroe, Wisconsin, where he still resides, ex- pecting to continue farming, but being governed by circumstances, he clerked for a time in the office of the registrar of deeds, and in the year following be- came deputy clerk of the circuit court, and in the fall of 1856 was elected to the position of clerk of the circuit court, which office he filled till the end ( of 1858. He next served two years as cashier of 2 10 /'HE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. the Monroe Banking Company, and in 1861 was ap- pointed postmaster of Monroe by Abraham Lincoln, his commission, which was signed by Montgomery Blair, bearing date April 15 of that year. Having devoted his spare time to professional reading while clerk of the circuit court he was, on March 6, i860, admitted to the bar of the State and subsequently licensed to practice in the Llnited States courts. In January, 1861, Governor A. W. Randall, in anticipation of the threatened rebellion, commenced organizing the militia of the State, and presented to Mr. Bartlett a colonel’s commission ; and in the latter part of that year, and during nearly all of 1862, he canvassed the counties of southern Wisconsin, mak- ing patriotic speeches, and under a recruiting com- mission enlisting men in the service, until the work of obtaining recruits became difficult, and men ex- pressed a strong repugnance to the being asked to enter the service by those who were themselves staying at home. Colonel Bartlett then pledged himself to enlist as a private soldier, and at once wrote the following patriotic and self-sacrificing let- ter to the postmaster-general : Sir: I have long chafed under the restraints of home and official responsibilities, and desired to be among the number of those who are plucking' honors from the points of rebel bayonets. 1 can endure it no longer. I therefore respectfully tender to you my resignation of the office of postmaster at Monroe, and recommend the appointment of 1). W. Ball as mv successor. His resignation was accepted and the appointment made as recommended, and on February 17, 1863, he enlisted as a private soldier in Company B, 31st Wisconsin Volunteers, and on March 1, 1863, marched with his regiment into Dixie’s land. He served faithfully and well to the close of the war and was honorably mustered out of the service in May, 1865, never having been home during the entire period. He was appointed and served for several months as captain of Company L, 3d United States Heavy Artillery. After his return from the war he was employed as bookkeeper for a large commission house in Chicago, which position he had held but a short time when he was induced “to take the stump” in behalf of General Fid. W. Salomon, republican candidate for the office of clerk of Cook county, and addressed the people on the political issues of the day in every ward and precinct of the city of Chicago. General Salomon was elected and our subject became his chief clerk. About the same time, however, he re- ceived overtures from the quartermaster and com manding officer of the troops stationed at Julesburg in Colorado, to accept the position of chief clerk of the quartermaster’s department at that post, and being fond of adventure, and desirous of seeing the country, he accepted the flattering offer, and in November, 1865, removed to Fort Sedgwick, a mili- tary post just established on the south bank of the Platte and adjacent to the “ ranch ” of Jules Bernard, in Colorado, and named Julesburg. The original town consisted of only three or four sod houses, used as telegraph offices and stables of the Overland Stage Company. He entered at once upon his du- ties in the quartermaster’s department, where he continued for about a year and a half ; and during that time he traveled more than two thousand miles on horseback,— his only companion being a scout in the employ of the government — through a country swarming with hostile Indians, visiting nearly every military post between Idaho and the Missouri river, and collecting material for reports required by the government. These journeys were full of wild ad- venture and hairbreadth escapes from the Indians. ! He traveled nearly all the summer of 1866 with his single companion, stopping occasionally at ranches or military posts over night, but generally camping out. It had been customary to accompany such expeditions by a military escort of twenty-five men, but his experienced scout considering that they would be safer alone, dispensed with the escort. In July, 1867, when the Union Pacific railroad had arrived within four miles of Fort Sedgwick, Mr. Bartlett left the quartermaster’s department for the purpose of embarking in trade in the new and noto- rious city of Julesburg — where in the preceding April he had killed the timid antelope, and where no signs of human habitation appeared — now a city of over twelve hundred houses, with a popula- tion of six thousand inhabitants. It was the ter- minus of the Union Pacific railroad, and there all goods in transit for the Pacific States and territo- ries, military posts and mining points west of that place, must be unloaded from the train and trans- ported to destination by mule and ox teams. The business transacted was immense. Hundreds of portable buildings were brought from Omaha; many were of adobe, many of sod, and scores of people carried on an extensive and profitable business under canvas tents. There were no family resi- dences, as few men would dare to take a family to such a place. There were many high-minded, hon- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 2 I T orable men engaged in legitimate business, but the city was crowded with saloons, gambling-houses and bagnios and pickpockets, thieves, murderers and des- peradoes of the worst kind flocked there from every part of America. The original ranch of Jules Ber- nard was known to be in Colorado, but near the line separating that territory from the State of Nebraska, but it was not at this time known to any one in which territory the present Julesburg was located. It was at first a city without a government, laws or officers to protect those engaged in business, and it was found absolutely necessary to adopt some meas- ures of safety and protection. The business men of the town therefore held a meeting and adopted ordinances for the government of the city and reso- lutions pledging themselves to submit to such taxa- tion as should be necessary to sustain an efficient city government. They elected a mayor and a council of five members, a clerk and treasurer. A vigilance committee of one hundred and fifty mem- bers was also organized. The mayor was empow- ered to appoint such number of policemen as he might deem necessary and draw ad libitum upon the treasurer for their payment, amenable only to the people for an abuse of his power and punishable by removal. He was also declared ex-officio judge of the police court. The first mayor was a gentleman named Cook, but he soon retired from the office, and Mr. Bartlett, who had become conspicuous among the “ Vigilants,” was appointed his successor. An arrangement was effected with the command- ing officer at Fort Sedgwick by which, in the event of resistance to the constituted authorities, the aid of troops could be procured. But the military authorities, while sustaining the city government in the protection of business and in maintaining order, would permit the exercise of no civil function by that organization : hence there were no means of enforcing contracts or collecting debts if the parties concerned refused to pay. Mr Bartlett at once entered upon the duties of his office, increased the police force to twenty-five — agreeing to pay each man one hundred and twenty- five dollars per month, and otherwise improved the apparatus of government. He caused a log jail to be erected, and kept a well-armed guard around it day and night. Rioting and murder were of daily occurrence, and he was compelled to hold court seven days of the week. The punishment of all but capital offenses was by fine and imprisonment, but in cases of murder the culprit was ordered to be imprisoned till the United States marshal at Denver or Omaha could be notified; the “Vigi- lants,” however, generally disposed of him the first night, so that the marshal was in a great measure relieved. By fines the mayor collected money enough to defray nearly all the expenses of the city government, so that resort to taxation was sel- dom necessary. A single case will suffice as an illustration of the character of those brought before him for trial and his manner of administering jus- tice. His’ court-room was a rough board building fifty by twenty feet. Behind a rough table sat the judge upon a rough bench. Around his waist was a belt, hanging from which were two heavy Colt's revolvers. Two desperadoes, named Jack Hayes and “ Shorty,” arrived in the city from Cheyenne, and soon made their presence known by rioting among the saloons and gambling-houses-, destroying prop- and assaulting and maltreating several persons, and swearing that they would kill any man who at- j tempted to arrest them. The two roughs were soon brought before the mayor, however, in charge of half a dozen stout policemen; they had a large number of friends and sympathizers in the city, over fifty of whom were in the court-room, each heavily armed with knives and revolvers; threats were freely made that the prisoners should never pay a fine nor go to jail. The “Vigilants” were also present in considerable force and well armed. The judge summoned a jury of business men, permitted the defendants to be heard by counsel, examined a large number of witnesses, and gave them a fair trial. The jury returned a verdict of guilty, where- upon the judge arose, with a cocked revolver in each hand, and proceeded to render the judgment of the court, which was that each pay a fine of two hundred and fifty dollars, and be imprisoned until the fine and costs were paid. Revolvers were drawn all over the room, but the judge coolly added : “ I have heard your threats and understand your intentions, and if you are disposed to resist the execution of the sentence the best time for you to commence is now, and the best place is here, and I give you notice that there is room enough in the sand-hills to bury every man of you. Police, remove these prisoners to the jail.” Over two hun- dred revolvers were in the hands of those present, but not a shot was fired, and the prisoners were removed to jail. In less than two hours they had paid their fines and were at large again. In a 2 I 2 THE U.V/TED ST A TES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. short time they returned to Cheyenne, and were soon after hung by the “ Yigilants ” for murder. The mayor did not often find it necessary to telegraph to the fort for troops. On one occasion a detachment of cavalry dashed into the city and reported to him for orders within half an hour from the time he dispatched for them. At another time a company of infantry in army wagons drawn by mules reported within an hour. In November, 1867, Mr. Bartlett, having received intelligence of the dangerous illness of his father, hastily returned to Monroe, and in the following spring opened a law office, and continued in the successful practice of his profession until the autumn of 1869, when he received a flattering offer to edit a republican newspaper at Thibodeaux, the capital of Lafourche Parish, in the State of Louisiana, which he accepted, repaired to the place and entered upon his labors. A Republican Press Association was organized at New Orleans, while he was editing the “ Lafourche Republican” — the first organization of the kind in Louisiana — of which he was made secretary. In April, 1870, he resigned the editorial chair to accept a situation in the New Orleans Custom House, but during the summer, his health failing, he resigned his position, returned to Monroe, and after a season of sickness, resumed the practice of his profession. In 1874 he was again elected clerk of the circuit court of Green county, and reelected in 1876, and now holds that office. In January, 1857, he received the first degrees in Masonry, by dispensation, and soon after took all the chapter degrees. He has several times been elected master of Smith Lodge, No. 31, F. and A. M., located at Monroe. He is also an Odd-Fellow. Received the degrees of the subordinate lodge in 1855, and has passed all the chairs in Monroe Lodge, No. 72. He also received the encampment degrees in Odd- fellowship. He is not a member of any church organization, but holds to the orthodox faith, and is generous in his contributions to religious and benev- olent objects. In personal appearance Mr. Bartlett is what may be called a fine looking man. Fair complexion, sanguine countenance, with brown hair and hazel eyes, five feet nine inches in height, good breadth of shoulders, measuring forty-two inches around the chest, and weighing one hundred and eighty-five pounds. Reared, as he was, in the backwoods, he excelled in all athletic sports; he was swift of foot, and found but few equals at wrestling, and all the various muscular efforts to which youth is addicted- He is a superb horseman, and most fearless and daring rider; an unerring marksman with rifle and pistol. His skill with the former weapon was well known to many of the hostile Indians of the plains, not a few of whom he sent to the happy hunting grounds of their fathers. He killed more than fifty buffaloes from the saddle during the season he remained on the plains. As a writer and public speaker he has few supe- riors. His pen is trenchant and graphic. His letters from the seat of war during the rebellion were of the most thrilling and vivid character — his descriptive powers being of the highest order, while his style is scholarly and ornate. He is also favorably known in the regions of fictitious literature, and as a poet has produced a volume of verse, which, for brilli- ancy of conception, beauty of language, depth of thought, and fineness of fancy, is excelled by few of the laureates of these days, and which is destined to perpetuate his name for all time. As a fluent and ready speaker, graceful, complacent, and command- ing an exhaustless flow of language, he is the peer of any “ stump ” orator in the country. His marriage with Miss Righter — still in the prime and grace of womanhood — was blessed with a family of four children, two of whom, Edmund Morgan, born April 8, 1849, and Ellen L., born October 16, 1846, survive. The sun studied law in the office of Judge Dunwiddie, of Monroe, was admitted to the bar of the State at the age of twenty-one, and three years later to that of the United States courts. He subsequently attended the law school at Albany, New York, one year, and graduated from that institution. On September 14, 1875, he married Miss Lida L. Filkins, a beautiful and accomplished lady of that city, and entered into partnership with the Hon. A. J. Colvin, one of the oldest and best lawyers of Albany. Miss Bartlett, the only daughter, is a young lady of rare beauty of person, amiable and engaging manners, of the high- est mental endowments, and superior culture and refinement. A volume of one hundred and fourteen pages just issued by Dr. Levi Bartlett, of Warner, New Hamp- shire, contains the pedigree of the Bartlett family for the last eight hundred years, down to 1875. The Bartlett “arms,” which are now in some of the families in America, is a device consisting of three open gloved hands on a shield, gold tassels pendant from the wrists, a swan couched, with wings THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DIC T/ONA RY. 21 3 extended. In the English branch of the family , in the male line — the female representatives of these “arms” have been “quartered” with some whom have intermarried with male members of the eight other noble families who have become extinct i Bartlett family. HENRY SOUTHARD HOWELL, H A TERTO H N. H ENRY S. HOWELL was born in Sussex county, New Jersey, November 6, 1819, his parents being Walter and Sarah C. (Lewis) Howell. During his boyhood and youth he enjoyed good ed- ucational facilities, and passed the greater part of his time in school, and during his fifteenth and six- teenth years gave special attention to the study of surveying and civil engineering. At the age of sev- enteen he joined a surveying party, and, going to Mississippi, spent a winter in the cane brakes on a branch of the Yazoo river. In May, 1837, going up the Mississippi river, he stopped at Davenport, Iowa, and was there for a time engaged in government surveys. Two years later, returning to New Jersey, he studied law with an elder brother, George Howell, and was afterward admitted to the bar, although he never engaged in actual practice, but instead went immediately to Carthage, Tennessee, and there taught in an academy for about three years. He next went again to Davenport, Iowa, and after spending two years there, in 1848 removed to Wisconsin and set- tled at Milford, Jefferson county. Here he engaged once more in his early and favorite pursuit, and sur- veyed the famous Dalles of the Wisconsin river, a most delightful task, which employed his attention for about six months. Subsequently we find Mr. Howell a third time in Davenport, where he was engaged two or three years in the banking house of Cook and Sargent. In 1855 he returned to Milford, and engaged in mercantile business, and soon afterward spent a winter at St. Anthony, Minnesota. Settling in Watertown in 1858, he resumed the mercantile business, to which he has given his constant attention for nearly twenty years. He has built up an extensive and prosperous trade, which is now (1877) conducted under the firm name of H. S. Howell and Co., and recognized as one of the leading and most successful mercantile enter- prises of the city. In 1868 Mr. Howell was a member of the legisla- ture. representing the first assembly district in Jeffer- son county. He has always been a democrat, but never has allowed political matters to interfere with his legitimate business. He is a royal-arch mason, and belongs to Water- town Chapter, No. n, and in his religious commun- ion is identified with the Episcopal church. In March, 1 86 1 , Mr. Howell was married to Miss Ann Jennette Nute, of Milford, Wisconsin, and by her has one child, Helen Nute, now thirteen years of age. Like most of the early settlers of Watertown, Mr. Howell has shown a public-spiritedness and an en- terprise to which the prosperity of the city is largely due. He is, however, unostentatious and unassuming in his manner, and while engaging heartily in what- ever pertains to the welfare of his city and com- munity, takes no honor to himself, feeling that in thus doing he has done simply his duty as a true citizen. AM ASA WILSON, NEW LISBON. A BLESSING on the bold frontiersman, who, . with ax on his shoulders, plunges into the for- est, among savage beasts and red men, and prepares the way for the hand of husbandry and the arts of civilized life. Amasa Wilson made the first improve- ment on the present site of New Lisbon, Juneau 2S county, Wisconsin. Reared on a farm among the mountains of Vermont, in a section of country where the hardest labor was required to make the land fruitful, and being early taught the strictest habits of industry and economy, the influence of his train- ing has had its effect upon all his subsequent life. 2 r 4 THE UNITED STATES BIOUHATHICAL DICTIONARY. He was born in Windsor, April 16, 1817. His father, Hiram Wilson, moved to the West with his family, in 1837, and settled near Galena, Illinois. There Amasa worked on a farm for a time, and in 1S39 removed northward into W isconsin, to the spot where the city of Portage now stands. A year later he pushed a little farther into the wilderness and spent the winter at the Halles, engaged in the pine ries. In 1842 we find him in Juneau county, ten miles northwest of the site of New' Lisbon, on the Lemonweir river, where he was engaged in the lum- ber business for one year; at the expiration of which time he built a saw-mill where New Lisbon now stands, platted the town, and broke the first ground in the county. This section of country at that time presented no marks of civilization — not even a log hut. Deer, wolves and bears were abundant. The Winnebagoes had sold their lands but had not va- cated them. They were, how'ever, very peaceable, rarely even pilfering from Mr. Wilson. Once an ax disappeared; he informed the chief, who said it shojild be returned, and the next morning lie found it standing near his log cabin. After operating his saw-mill for three years he rented it, and in 1846 returned to Portage, where he remained until 1851. During this year he fixed upon New Lisbon as his permanent home, and upon returning hither erected a new saw-mill on the site of the old one, and operated it for about twelve years. About 1850 he built a mill on Yellow river. During the last few years he has divided his at- tention between the lumber trade and real-estate operations, and met with a fair degree of success, and lives now in the enjoyment of a liberal com- petence. About the year 1871 Mr. Wilson became very much afflicted in his eyes, and lost the entire sight of one of them, and it is with great difficulty that he can see to read with the other. In his political opinions Mr. Wilson was formerly a whig, but since the organization of the republican party, in 1856, has been identified with that body. Although tendered official honors, he has steadily declined them, and taken no active interest in polit- ical affairs more than to perform his duties as a faithful citizen. On the 6th of October, 1871, he was married to Miss Harriet Colvin, then of New Lisbon, but formerly of Brookfield, Madison county, New York. Mr. Wilson is a stout-built man, weighing two hundred pounds. He has a robust, healthy appear- ance, and, considering the inevitable hardships of a frontier life, we must say that time has, on the whole, dealt gently with him. As the oldest land- mark of civilization in New Lisbon, he is held in the highest esteem by its citizens. ADOLPH MEINECKE, MIL WA UK EE. ADOLPH MEINECKE, the eldest son of Dr. Ferdinand Meinecke and his wife Sophia, was born August 15, 1830, in Burhave, a small country town on the border of the German Sea, in the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg. He lost his mother at the time of his birth, and his little twin brother followed the mother in the first year of his life. His father was married again to Miss Meta Bollenhagen when Adolph was in his fourth year. Up to his thirteenth year he had as good an education as a small country place could afford, besides the lessons of his learned father. In his boys’ days he already had his eyes toward the New World, and his heartiest wish was to be once a citizen in the great Republic. His father was also fond of America, and he spoke of emigrating every year, but could only accomplish his heart’s wish in later years. In his thirteenth year his father sent him to the high school in Oldenburg, and in the following year he was confirmed in the Protestant church. After he had studied the higher classes, he went to the commercial college at Osnabruck. In the spring of 1848, when the whole of France and Germany were in revolutionary war, Adolph sailed in the good Irish ship Belinda, Captain Kelly, to America, and landed in New York on the 10th of June. What a sight for a young boy! what enchanted scenes! — the beautiful Narrows at Staten Island at the finest season of the year, and in front of the gigantic metropolis, surrounded by a forest of shipmasts ! — then the landing and entrance into the gotham of New York! This all made the boy’s heart beat, who, with twenty-six old- fashioned Mexican dollars in his pocket, stood alone ; THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 215 but what cares the young, strong and hopeful ? The twenty-six dollars were a burden, and twenty-five of them were lent to a friend in the first week, and gone forever. Next thing was to get a situation and earn money. After many disappointments he succeeded in getting a place as an errand boy at the worsted and fancy store of J. M. Peyser and Co., on Broadway. It was a hot summer, and not used to the climate his health gave out, and Adolph had to stay at home; being restored to health he had the lucky chance to get a situation at the store of Mr. Edward Hen, r8 Liberty street, at that early day one of the largest importers of German and French fancy goods, although his whole store consisted of two ordinary rooms in the third story. Adolph was clerk, boy and porter, all in one person. He had a chance to learn, because being next to the chief he was intrusted with a good deal of business which in a large house would have been transacted by older clerks. Adolph had ambition enough not to stand back of any work, and he did aid he could for the interest of his employer. After a couple of years the rooms and locality were too small, and Mr. Hen rented a regular store, the whole building, at No. 23 Liberty street, and of course wanted more h elp. Adolph kept his place next to the chief. In 1850 Mr. Hen went to Europe for seven months, and business and power of attorney were intrusted to Adolph, although he was a minor for the first three months of his absence. Mr. Hen returned; business doubled since that time. Adolph received higher wages. He slept in the store, and by great economy saved as much from his salary as he could, depositing his money at the Merchants’ Clerks’ Saving Institution. When he deposited the first five dollars he thought himself equal to Jacob Astor. In 1850 he got acquainted with a newly emi- grated family from Heilbronn, in Wurtemberg. The head of the family, George Krafft, Esq., was one of the leading revolutionists of southern Germany in 1848, and when the whole movement proved to be a failure, nothing was left further than to go into exile, like so many others, first to Paris, then to New York. He was lucky to escape the sentence of his trial, which was twenty years’ imprisonment. The youngest daughter of this gentleman, Maria Louisa, enchanted Adolph’s innocent heart so much that they had their first love and the only one, for they kept the engagement for about four years, and on February 25, 1854, they were married. Their resi- dence was a nice little house on DeGraw street, Brooklyn. Adolph, of course, having now his own home, wanted his own business, and in the Far West he thought to find it. In traveling for Mr. Hen’s business he took a great fancy for the growing, thriving place Milwaukee, which at that time numbered twenty-five thousand inhabitants. Mr. Hen, who had real paternal love for Adolph, promised his help. In the spring of 1855 the household was broken up, and the young married couple separated, Maria following an invitation of Adolph’s father to Ger- many, and the steamer Herman took the dear love east across the big ocean; while Adolph traveled west to find his Eureka, and he found it. With about one thousand dollars, which he had saved, and the personal credit and good will of Mr. Hen, he started his business on the 12th day of July, 1855. He opened with a small stock of toys and fancy goods, a store twenty by sixty feet, on East Water street, Market square. Late in the fall his wife returned home from Germany, and found the little nest built. The first year the whole business did not amount to twelve thousand dollars, but great economy and constant attention to business, and his frank and upright dealing with everybody, made him friends. September 11, 1856, his eldest son Ferdinand was born; and on the 9th of June, 1858, the second son, named after his father. In 1856 his parents emigrated and made their home in Milwaukee, The old gentleman followed his profession for twelve years; he died October 28, 1868, mourned by many friends. His brother Edward was clerk in his store for a number of years, until he started in the produce and commission business for himself. Things went on well until 1857, when the panic came. His business was too small at that time to be much affected by direct losses, but it threw him back, and only in 1859 he began to feel better times. His store became too small ; he rented the old post-office in Prentiss block; his business grew larger, and in i860 he imported the first German goods direct. As busi- ness kept on growing he was obliged to rent all the upper rooms in Prentiss block, and the frame build- ing opposite. In the yard of this store he com- menced his factory, in 1864, of willow and wooden ware in a small shanty, fourteen by forty, which he built himself. In 1866 he went with his wife to Europe, the first time leaving their two boys, Ferdinand and THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 2 I 6 Adolph, on their farm live miles from the city, in care of Professor Walther, an old gentleman, as their teacher. On his trip to Europe he made profitable engagements, and his localities became too small for the business; so he rented in 1867 the large warehouse, No. 93 Huron street, and from that time his business was strictly wholesale. In 1867 he took in his house and family Charles Penshorn, an orphan from his native village. Charley went to school with his boys and proved to be of very good character ; was kept as a son in the family. He is at present his first hand in business. The factory was removed into the old Horning mill on Front street, which was bought with forty feet front in 1866. In 1869 the adjoining sixty feet were purchased and the present large factory was erected in 1870, being eighty by one hundred and forty feet in size. In 1871 business being in two different places, became too large for one head to control. Mr. Meinecke took a partner in his whole- sale fancy goods business, his cousin, Mr. Theodore Luebben, who had served for him as clerk a number of years. In 1871 he sent his two boys to a high school in Germany. They returned in 1874. Ferdinand, the eldest, having studied the higher classes in the Polytechnical College in Hanover, took his place in the factory ; being acquainted with all parts of machinery, and to make drawings for new patterns, etc. Adolph is serving his apprenticeship in a wholesale fancy goods house, Ramin, Pro. and Co. Mr. Meinecke never meddled with politics; before the war he was a strong democrat, but became a republican. He was not a soldier, but did all he could for the army; sent ten men from his shops. He was appointed by Gov. Taylor one of the Centen- nial commissioners for the State of Wisconsin. ELI P. MAY, FORT ATKINSON. E LI P. MAY was born May 26, 1825, at Oneida, Oneida county, New York, his parents being Chester May and Hannah Damuth May. His ma- ternal grandmother was captured by the Indians during the war for independence, and taken to Can- ada, and subsequently rescued. His father was a soldier in the war of 1812. He cleared a farm in Oneida, and subsequently had contracts on the Erie canal and the Croton water-works. In 1839 he removed to Wisconsin, reaching Milwaukee on the 3d of July, and the next day broke the ground for the Rock River canal, of which he had the contract, but which was never completed. Prior to coming west Eli had received a common-school education, and soon after reaching Wisconsin attended an acad- emy at Beloit for a short time. In his sixteenth year he began teaching school, which vocation he followed during the winter months for about four years, work- ing the rest of the time on a farm one and a half miles south of Fort Atkinson, which his father had purchased and settled upon in 1839. In 1847 Ches- ter May built a mill in Dodge county, seven miles from any house, on the west branch of Rock river. Here, one mile from Mayville- — which place was named in honor of him — he discovered iron ore; some of which Eli, at his request, took to a blast furnace in Indiana, tested and had a stove cast from it. It was the first stove ever made of Wisconsin iron, and is still in the possession of the subject of this sketch. At the age of twenty-three he began the study of law with Emmons and Van Dyke, of Milwaukee; but upon the death of his father, which occurred February 18, 1849, his elder brother being away from home, he was compelled to abandon his studies and take charge of the farm. About three years later he moved into Fort Atkinson, and with his brothers, George W. and Chester, built a saw-mill on Rock river. He soon afterward opened a store, and continued in trade about ten years, his brother Chester being in partnership with him part of the time. After discontinuing the mercantile business Mr. May spent some time dealing in stock and wool and in real-estate operations, usually with good success, and during the last three or four years has been engaged in the manufacture of flour, as a member of the firm of May, Waterbury and Co. Besides, he is interested in various other enterprises, in Fort Atkinson. He is a stockholder in the Northwestern Furniture. Company, also in the Foundry and Ma- chine Company, and likewise a director and stock- holder of the First National Bank. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. Just prior to the close of the civil war Mr. May received a commissary’s commission from President Lincoln, with the title of captain. Going to St. Louis he arrived just before the President’s death, and immediately resigned and returned home. Dur- ing the whole period of the war he was active in the cause of the Union, and very generous to the families of those who had enlisted and gone to the field. In politics he has been a republican since the party was organized. In 1870 he was a candidate for State representative, and although his district was democratic lacked but five votes of being elected. Mr. May is a Universalist in religious sentiment, and one of the pillars of the Fort Atkinson society. Generous and charitable, he gives liberally to the support of all worthy objects. He has been twice married : on September 1, 1853, to Miss Harriet E. Vosburg, of Fort Atkinson, who died May 24, 1855 ; on December 23, 1856, he mar- ried Miss Ann Curtis, daughter of Cyrus Curtis, an early settler in Jefferson county, and an enterprising man. Mr. May had one child by his first wife, and has four children by the second. He lives in one of the finest brick houses in the village, its location being on the site of the old fort. Mr. May is one of the foremost men in all local enterprises, and important responsibilities in this respect have been put upon him. When the Chicago and Northwestern railroad — Green Bay and Lake Superior line — was built through Fort Atkinson he was chairman of the board of supervisors, and signed the bonds given by the town to that company, and did his full share in encouraging this great enterprise ; and to a few such men as he the town is largely indebted for its manufacturing interests, its growth and its prosperity. MILO JONES, FORT ATKINSON. A MONG the early settlers in Jefferson county, . Wisconsin, was Milo Jones, a man of great courage, coolness, and decision of character. He came of good fighting stock, more than one of his kinsmen having aided in gaining the independ- ence of the colonies. His parents, Edward Jones and Lucy iNe Farnsworth, were industrious farmers, living at the time of his birth, February 16, 1809, at Richmond, Chittenden county, Vermont. Milo re- mained at home until 1828, receiving such education as a farmer’s son could gain at the common school. At that time, entering the surveyor-general’s office at Burlington, he spent about four years in study, paying particular attention to surveying and civil engineering. At the expiration of this time he started for the growing West, where much govern- ment surveying had to be done, and many towns platted, and reached Michigan in June, 1832, when the Black Hawk war was at its height; there he spent the winter shaking with ague, and in the fol- lowing year returned to Vermont, and again worked his way to Michigan, passing through Ohio early in 1834. Spending that summer and autumn in sur- veying, he, just before winter set in, fitted out a party and started for the then territory of Wisconsin, where, in company with another gentleman, he had a contract for government surveys extending over several counties. He was employed in this work about two years, and in 1837 took a government contract in what is now the State of Iowa. In 1838 Mr. Jones, having selected the beautiful spot where Fort Atkinson, a village of twenty-five hundred inhabitants, now stands as his future home, there built him a log cabin, and on that identical spot we find him to-day. There were then only two families on the present site of the village, though Charles Rockwell, a pioneer, was only a short dis- tance away. Without any legal rights here, Indians had entire possession of the country, and called the place Koshkonong, because of the lake of that name in this township, a name which some of the early settlers were disposed to adopt. The post-office, however, had always been named Fort Atkinson, in honor of General Atkinson. Here Mr. J ones opened a farm, and from time to time, as occasion required, engaged in surveying. In 1839 he started a dairy on what would now be regarded a small scale, and considers himself as the pioneer cheese manufacturer of the State. Among the experiences of those early times might be men- tioned the following : Early in the spring of 1840 or 1841, some of the THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 2 iS families near Mr. Jones had a terrible fright caused by the Indians. A fur trader had given them some diluted whisky, and in a half intoxicated state they entered two or three cabins of the whites in the night, hooted and danced, and pillaged and fled. Some of the old women in great fear found shelter at Mr. Jones’, where they said they should be safe. Mr. J ones, who subsequently received a colonel’s commission from General Dodge, wrote to the Gen- eral the particulars in regard to the Indians, and received orders to remove them from the locality alive or dead. He summoned thirty or forty men from the surrounding country, who all came with guns and ammunition. Having interviewed the chief, on the shore of the lake, Mr. Jones gave him fifteen minutes in which to fold up his tents and depart, and before that time had expired every red man was making rapid strides in a westward direc- tion. On the same day, and at the same hour, an Indian trader came along in a canoe to negotiate for pelts, having whisky in his trunks. This Mr. Jones destroyed, talked seriously of an extemporaneous gallows, upon which the fur dealer paddled his canoe away as though racing with death himself. On another occasion Mr. Jones met a large body of Indians returning from Milwaukee, where they had been to receive their government supplies. Seeing that they were partially intoxicated, he gath- ered from their looks, their movements, and their language, that they meant mischief, and when he started to leave them made quick steps for twenty or thirty feet, then turning suddenly, he saw half a dozen guns about to be pointed at him, and in a moment more was among the Indians cuffing their ears, and showing them that he understood them. He started off a second time, keeping an eye on them until he had passed over a knoll, and then disappeared at a rapid pace. On July 4, 1849, Mr. Jones opened the Green Mountain House, and continued its proprietor for several years, and during the administration of President Pierce, was postmaster, having his office in the hotel. In 1848 he was a member of the constitutional convention, and had the satisfaction of seeing carried through that body nearly every measure which he advocated. In politics he was a democrat until 1861, since which time he has voted with the repub- lican party. In April, 1832, Mr. Jones was married to Miss Sarah Crane, of Richmond, Vermont, who died in 1872. Of the eight children born to them, five are now living, of whom four are married. Milo C. Jones, one of the sons, manages the home farm, consisting of five or six hundred acres, and has one of the largest private dairies in this part of the State. G@V. JOHN E. HOLMES, JEFFERSON. T OHN EDWIN HOLMES, the first lieutenant- J governor of the State of Wisconsin, was born December 28, 1809, near Hartford, Connecticut, his parents being Solomon and Ann (McKee) Holmes. The family moved to the State of New York when he was in his fourth year, and both parents dying before he was nine he went to live with his grand- father in the same State. He early exhibited a strong love for books, in which, however, his grand- father did not encourage him. At twelve years of age he left home, and going to Hamilton, Madison county, there partially learned a trade. During his leisure hours he applied himself to study, and thus gained an education sufficient to enable him to teach a common school. Later he attended an academy in the place where he resided, and event- ually prepared himself for the Universalist ministry. After preaching for a time in Chautauqua county, New York, and adjacent parts of Pennsylvania, he, in 1836, settled at Ann Arbor, Michigan. Plere he was engaged in preaching for nearly a year, and upon his removal, which was before the close of that year, settled at Roscoe, Illinois, and began the study of law. At the end of two years he went to Lock- port, in the same State, exchanged his theological for a law library, and was there admitted to the bar. Removing to Savanna, in Carroll county, he was there engaged in the practice of law for about two years, and in 1843 pushed northward into Wiscon- sin, and settled at his present home in Jefferson, where he practiced law in the State and United States courts until his death. When Wisconsin became a State, in 1848, Mr. Holmes was chosen lieutenant governor, and served THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. in that capacity for two years. In 1832 we find him in the State legislature, in which body he rendered valuable, efficient and lasting service. In August, 1862, Mr. Holmes went into the army as quartermaster of the 22d Regiment of Wiscon- sin Infantry. He remained with the regiment un- til March 25, 1863, when he was taken prisoner, at Brentwood, Tenn., and sent to Libby prison. He was there confined until the 5th of the following May, when he was exchanged. Two days later he was sent to Annapolis, where he died the next 219 day. His remains were brought to Jefferson, and there buried according to the rites of the Masonic order. In early life Mr. Holmes .was a democrat, but acted with the republican party after its organiza- tion in 1856. In 1836 he married Miss Ruth A. Hawley, of Milan, Ohio, by whom he had four sons, who are still living. Mrs. Holmes and three of her sons are living in Nebraska, while the other son, Edwin F. Holmes, is a merchant in Jefferson, Wisconsin. CHARLES ROCKWELL, FORT ATKINSON. E MIGRATION, it is said, tends to barbarism. If this be true, the rule has it exceptions. There are men who have taken their Christian vir- tues and their consciences with them into the wil- derness, and there strengthened both. Charles Rockwell was the second man to pitch his tent on the present site of Fort Atkinson ; and whether liv- ing among savages or civilized men, whether deal- ing with red men or white men, his dealings and actions have always been those of an honorable, upright business man. He is a native of Oneida county, New York, and was born May n, 1810. His parents, Thomas B. Rockwell and Mary ne'e Dunham, were from New England. His father moved from Oneida county to Stockbridge, Mad- ison county, when the son was seven years old. Here Charles lived during the next twenty years, dividing his time between farm-work and study in the district school until he was seventeen, when he learned and worked at the joiner’s trade. In 1837 Mr. Rockwell removed to the West, reaching Fort Atkinson in June of that year, and for a short time occupied a stable owned by Mr. Dwight Foster, the original settler of the place. There were few other families in the vicinity, but Indians, by the leniency of the government, were still very numerous. The land had not yet come into market, but Mr. Rockwell made a claim of one section and three fourths, upon which he performed a certain amount of work to prevent its being “jumped,” and at the same time built him a log cabin one and a half miles east of the Fort, on Bark river. Soon afterward he built a free ferry at what was known as Rockwell’s Crossing, keeping a scow for teams and two or three canoes for footmen, every man doing his own paddling. In 1838, hav- ing made an addition to his cabin, Mr. Rockwell opened a store, a brother living in New York State furnishing the goods, which he shipped by water to Milwaukee, whence they were taken by ox teams — the journey of fifty miles occupying a week for the round trip. About 1841, not having the means to enter the land when it came into market, Mr. Rock- well resigned his claims to his brother, and, moving to Fort Atkinson, erected a house, and during the next thirty years was engaged at his trade. At first he used to lumber in the winter and fill con- tracts for building during the rest of the year. He built the first store in the place, which is still stand- ing on the northeast corner of Main and Milwaukee streets. He also built the first school house, a sub- stantial and well-finished frame building, twenty- three by thirty feet, at a cost of one hundred dollars — a building which could not now be built for three hundred dollars. The house, for a time, was used for both school and church purposes. Mr. Rock- well was anxious to have some respectable place in the little village for Sunday worship, and, for the sake of securing the job and hurrying the work, took the contract at a low figure. He has been a member of the Congregational church since seventeen years of age, and is now the only surviving constituent male member of the Fort Atkinson body. He has always maintained a con- sistent Christian character. He is also a member of the Royal Blue in the Odd-fellows order. In politics Mr. Rockwell was a democrat until 2 20 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 1856, since which time he has voted with the repub- lican party. He lias been married three times: first, in 1833, to Miss Ann Maria Farrington, of Augusta, New York, who died one year later; July 4, 1835, he was married to - Miss Caroline L. More, of Augusta, by whom he had three children, and who died in 1873; April 2, 1S74, he was married to Miss Maggie Tel- ler, of Fort Atkinson. \Y. Adelbert Rockwell, the only surviving child by his second wife, is a joiner ; he is married, and resides near his father. When Mr. Rockwell settled at Fort Atkinson he purchased land, which he still works. As showing the patriotism of Mr. Rockwell, the following incident may be related. Most of the cit- izens of Fort Atkinson made arrangements to ob- serve the “ Centennial Fourth ” at larger towns in the vicinity, but Mr. Rockwell thought some notice should be taken of so important a day at home. Since the local band had an engagement to leave town during the forenoon of the fourth, he sent out an invitation to all its members and to several families in the village to take breakfast with him. He built a large bower the night before, after the neighbors had retired, and prepared a sumptuous feast. The band came early and marched through the streets summoning the guests, and at a season- able hour all sat down to breakfast, while over their beads waved a flag made years before by Mr. Rock- well’s second wife, the faithful Caroline, who accom- panied him to his wilderness home nearly fifty years ago, and who was foremost in every patriotic and benevolent movement. No man in the village has struggled harder or done more for the educational, moral, religious and general interests of the place, or is held in higher esteem by his neighbors. He was one of the first justices of the peace in the place, and tried the first case ; was a supervisor for several years, and during one term chairman of the board, and has, in short, been honored by his townsmen with every office within their gift. JOSEPH DORR CLAPP, FORT ATKINSON. A MONG the prudent business men and success- . ful financiers of Jefferson county, Wisconsin, is Joseph D. Clapp, a native of Westminster, Wir.d- ham county, Vermont. He is a son of Caleb and Nancy (Dorr) Clapp, and was born on the 31st of December, 1811. His father, a carpenter and builder, and later in life a woolen manufacturer, owned a small farm, on which the son worked until his seventeenth year, at which time he became a salesman in a AATst India goods store in Boston, Massachusetts, where he remained until he attained his majority. About two years later, in connection with an elder brother, Mark R. Clapp, he bought a part of the old homestead, and remained upon it a year or two. Selling his interest, he removed to the West, and settled at the place which he afterward named Milford, in Jefferson county, Wisconsin, in the autumn of 1839. Here he entered lands and bought claims in connection with his elder brother; built a log dwelling-house and a frame barn, and opened a farm, which he cultivated until 1857, when he sold out, removed to Fort Atkinson, and engaged in the banking bu'siness with his brother-in-law, Hon. 1 ,. B. Caswell, member of congress from this district. The institution was called the Koshkonong Bank, and was organized under the State law. In 1864 Messrs. Clapp and Caswell sold their interest in this institution, and organized the First National Bank of Fort Atkinson, Mr. Clapp taking the posi- tion of president, which he still holds. By upright dealing and careful management he has attained a good degree of success, and lives in the enjoyment of a liberal competence. Public spirited and generous, he takes an active interest in all that pertains to the welfare of his village, and with wise planning, in an unostentatious manner, aids from time to time in carrying forward important local improvements. In 1863 he was elected to the State senate for a term of two years, and during that time rendered valuable and efficient service on several important committees, and was known as one of the working members. (His brother Mark, who still lives at Milford, has also been a member of the legislature.) Mr. Clapp has always been identified with the democratic party, and during the civil war was known as a “war democrat,” and contributing liber- ally of his means in putting down the rebellion. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 22 I Mr. Clapp has been twice married : first to Zida Ann May, of Fort Atkinson, August 21, 1841, and the second time to Mrs. S. C. Weld, of Freeport, Illinois, September 23, 1869. The first wife died February 14, 1867. He has no children by either marriage. In his religious views he is a Universalist. Mr. Clapp is of a ruddy complexion ; is five feet seven and a half inches high, and weighs one hun- dred and sixty pounds. He has always been a man of temperate and in all respects excellent habits, and although sixty-five years old would pass for a much younger man, and gives every evidence of further years of usefulness. PATRICK H. O'ROURK, LL.LX, MIL WA UK EE. P ATRICK HENRY O’ROURK, son of Michael and Elizabeth O’Rourk, was born in Granville, Milwaukee county, Wisconsin, August 28, 1847. When but two years of age his parents removed to Lyndon, Sheboygan county, where he grew up on a farm, working hard for his father until he reached the age of sixteen, meanwhile improving every op- portunity for education that offered itself in the inter- vals of his labor. This routine of farm life, though hard and homely in its details, was productive of most beneficial results, and — as is usually the case — he acquired “a sound mind in a sound body,” invaluable to his future advancement. He after- ward read law with Stephens and Flowers, at Madi- son, Wisconsin, and subsequently pursued a course of study in the law department of the University of Wisconsin, from which he graduated with the mer- ited degree of LL.D. He was admitted to the bar in 1869, by Hon. Alva Stewart, presiding judge of the circuit, and afterward of the supreme court of Wisconsin and the United States circuit court. In 1871 he was elected to the assembly from Sheboygan county, having an unprecedented majority, nearly equal to the full vote cast for his opponent, and found him- self, at the age of twenty-four, the youngest member of the house. In 1872 he was elected to the State senate from the first district by a handsome majority. In 1874 he settled in Milwaukee, and opened there an office for the practice of his profession. In the same year he was married to Miss Frances A. Titus, of Wisconsin, an educated and highly accomplished lady, who as a wife is eminently fitted to exercise an influence for good over the fortunes of the rising young lawyer. Mr. O’Rourk is yet in the morning of his career, but has already distanced many older competitors on the upward road to renown, and seems destined to rival the fame of the illustrious statesman after whom he was named. HON. DANIEL HALL, WATERTOWN. D ANIEL HALL, a native of Greenwich, Wash- ington county, New York, was born November 20, 18(9, and is the son of Titus Hall and Sarah rice Sybrandt. His parents were farmers by occupation, a class from whom spring three-fourths of our dis- tinguished men. The subject of this sketch aided his father on the farm until he was eighteen years of age. at which time he entered the seminary at Lima, Livingston county, New York, and prepared for col- lege. In 1842 he entered the sophomore class of Union College, from which he graduated in 1845. Later he studied law at Lockport, Niagara county, 29 in the offices of Woods and Bowen, and of Judge Gardner. He afterward removed to Wisconsin and was admitted to the bar in Milwaukee in August, 1851. During the next month he settled in Water- town, Jefferson county, where he has since been steadily engaged in the practice of his profession, and is known as a wise counselor and skillful attor- ney, and where his legal services and ability are thoroughly appreciated by his fellow-citizens. Although in politics he was formerly a whig and is now (1877) a republican, and although living in a district four-fifths democratic, he has been THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. repeatedly elected to office — not, however, of his own seeking. Mr. Hall was elected district attorney of Jefferson county for 1857 and 1858, and was a member of the legislature in 1870, 1871 and 1872, and speaker of the house during the last-named year. His record as a legislator is one of marked success and useful- ness. He was usually chosen to further some im- portant measure, and always accomplished the pur- pose of his constituents. Mr. Hall attends the Congregational church. He is a liberal supporter of the gospel, and of all worthy benevolent enterprises. He has been twice married: first, in June, 1846, to Miss Elizabeth T. Flagler, of Lockport, New York, who died, May 24, J847. On September 1, 1852, he was married to Miss Lucy B. Newhall, also of Lockport, and by her has had two children, one of whom, Arthur D. Hall, is now living. He is in the junior class of the Wisconsin State University, and is a promising young man. Mr. Hall started life to become a lawyer and noth- ing else, and to this end has employed all his time and energies. At the urgent solicitation of his fellow- citizens, as is seen in this sketch, he has stepped aside on two or three occasions, for a short time, to attend to some important legislative matters, but when such labors have terminated he has gladly re- turned to his chosen profession, in which he is an eminent success. GEORGE B. MINER, M.D., D.D.S. MIL WA UK EE. C A EORGE BARBER MINER was born in Og- X den, near Rochester, New York, March 10, 1818. He was the son of Dr. Amos and Alcy Case Miner. His father was a physician, as were many of his ancestors, and owned and resided upon a fine farm near Toledo, Ohio, to which he removed when George was fourteen years old, which his sons were trained to till while they lived at home. George Barber was selected as the son who should study his father’s profession and succeed him in his practice. Accordingly, ere he had concluded his common school education, he was taught to compound medi- cines, and commenced the study of the theory and practice of medicine at the age of seventeen. While thus engaged in study, he for a year and a half had charge of the farm work, when he was sent to Ober- lin, Ohio, to pursue the regular collegiate classical course of study, but more especially to take advan- tage of the facilities afforded in the well appointed laboratory of Professor Doscone, the eminent sur- geon, for the study of practical surgery. He remained at Oberlin three years and a half, completing his studies at the age of twenty-three. Suffering from impaired health, instead of entering upon the practice of medicine he turned his attention to the subject of dentistry and joined Dr. Meacham, a skillful dentist, in a tour through the South ; while with him he perfected his knowledge in practical den- tistry, graduated regularly and received a diploma at the Cincinnati Dental College. He traveled in the South in all about two years. In 1844 Dr. Miner removed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he entered upon the practice of his profession, opening an office on the northeast corner of Main, now Broad- way and Wisconsin streets, where now stands the North-Western Insurance Company’s building, with Dr. Fanies as partner, which partnership continued until 1850. He soon became known extensively as a skillful dentist, and his business steadily increased, receiving no inconsiderable patronage from distant towns. His increasing business demanding more commodious offices, he erected the building formerly occupied by the First National Bank, on the site now occupied by that bank. In i860, having sold his building on Wisconsin street, he removed to East Water street, and continued there until 1870, when he gave up his offices and partially retired from practice, other interests demanding his attention. Yet his many friends and patrons, unwilling to re- linquish their claims upon his professional services, he consented to continue his practice on a limited scale at his private residence on Wisconsin street. From 1851 to 1859 he was a director of the North Western Life Insurance Company, was one of its charter members, and a prime mover in presenting the advantages and claims of this now great corpo- ration before the public. His religious views are those of the Congregational church, in which he was raised. In politics he was an old-line whig, and subsequently a republican. He assisted in raising r THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 225 men for the army of the rebellion and in equipping them for the field. He married in Milwaukee, July 3, 1848, Marinda Seymour, a native of Batavia, New York. He has one daughter, wife of F. T. Day, Esq. From ancient records we find that the first one who bore the name of Miner was Henry, who lived in the age of one of the Edwards of England, at Mendip Hills, in Somersetshire. The name of the armorial bearings was given by king Edward in acknowledgment of his services in providing an escort for the king on his way to embark for France. The king in giving him a coat-of-arms honored Ids vocation by bestowing upon him the name of his trade as a sirname. His ancestors in this country were among the first settlers in Connecticut, one of whom became governor of the colony, and many of whom were active in the early Indian war, and sub- sequently in the great war of the revolution. Dr. Miner’s grandmother was the sister of the celebrated John Brown. Dr. Miner is a gentleman of highly respectable abilities in his profession, of exemplary morals and habits, and scrupulously exact in the discharge of his public and private duties. His virtues are most conspicuous in his social and domestic relations REV. SAM UE MON S AMUEL ELBERT MINER, whose name will be connected in history with the “ electrical hypothesis of creation” — of which he claims to be the discoverer — was born in Halifax, Windham county, Vermont, December 13, 1815, and is the son of Samuel Holman and Anna (Avery) Miner, of pure New England Puritanic stock. He is descended from an ancestry of singular probity of character and remarkable vitality — living to great age, and transmitting family traits of character through a long line of descendants, commencing with Henry Miner, who came from England and settled in New London, Connecticut, upon a farm that has remained in the family name for some eight generations. 1'hey were all men of singular purity of character; not one„of them ever having been accused of crime. Their honorable English ancestry is attested by a coat of arms preserved in the family. The father of our subject was remarkable for his breadth of character, great judgment and extensive information, and held a most honorable rank among the fathers of New England society, and was the trusted counselor and adviser of his neighbors and townsmen in all important matters. He was one of the pillars of the church, and was born in 1776 and died in 1862, in Smithfield, Pennsylvania. His mother was the daughter of Captain Samuel Avery, a revolutionary hero, justly proud of his fam- ily name and of his honorable wounds in the cause of his country. She lived to the age of ninety years, and was wont, in her age, to tell the story of her father's wounds in battle, and of her thirteen other E E. MINER, ROE. relatives who were killed at the storming of Fort Griswold by the British under Arnold in 1781. She was a mother worthy of her noble parentage, and protested against the usage requiring women to “keep silence in the church,” by leaving the Con- gregational and uniting with the Methodist church, where she could express her views in class and prayer meetings. The ancestorsof the Miner family for many generations have belonged to the Congre- gational church, and the titles of Deacon and Rev- erend seem to be hereditary in the family. The early life of S. E. Miner was spent upon a farm, where he learned by experience to eat bread “by the sweat of his face,” and employed his leisure hours in picking up stones, hoeing in the garden, or killing Canada thistles. At the age of seventeen he went to Troy, New York, to learn the carpenter trade with a brother-in- law. Prior to the expiration of his apprenticeship he united with the Presbyterian church, and under a sense of duty, began a course of preparatory study for the ministry; entered the Oneida Institute, YVhitestown, Oneida county, New York. Here he entered upon the great moral battle-ground of his life. The institution was established as a protest against American slavery, and the curriculum of studies was arranged with a view to qualifying its students for fighting Christian battles with bible weapons. Hebrew and Greek were made the prom- inent classic studies, and the Old and New Testaments were its text books. An institution so much at variance with the animus of the times, could hardly THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHIC. AT. DICTION ART. 2 26 expect exemption from opposition nnd obloquy. 1 'he American Education Society withdrew its aid from the students, while the State refused a college charter. Hundreds of young men were thus made to feel more intensely the curse of slavery, and be- came the life-long persistent enemies of that institu- tion. After quitting Oneida College he supplemented its course by a year at the Burr Seminary at Man- chester, Vermont, which was devoted to the study of Latin. He entered the Auburn Theological Semi- nary in 1840, from which he graduated in 1843. During his entire course of study he found his trade a resource of great value, being often under the necessity of paying his way in school by the labor of his hands. He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Cayuga in the spring of 1843, and in the employment of the Home Missionary Society, commenced his labors at Madison, Wisconsin, in October of the same year, and was ordained to the Congregational ministry by the Presbyterian and Congregational con- vention of Wisconsin in 1844. The capital of the Territory of Wisconsin was then a village of three hundred inhabitants — but with surroundings of wild and varied beauty. Here he labored earnestly for three years, and under his ministry the first ecclesiastical edifice of the place was erected at a cost of two thousand dollars — a sum equal to the entire wealth of the membership of the congrega- tion. In 1844 he was elected chaplain of the terri- torial legislature, and in 1846 was elected, with Rev. Thomas M’Hugh, of the Episcopal church, chaplain of the first constitutional convention of Wisconsin. At the adjournment of the convention he accepted a call from the Congregational Church of Elkhorn, Walworth county, where he labored with marked success for six years. During this period the slave- holding power in both church and state reached the apogee of its arrogance, and threatened to subordi- nate the whole nation to its influence. Our subject’s training had fitted him for this emergency. He en- tered with all his strength and soul into the struggle, and wielded an influence second to none in the State, and to few in the country in crystallizing the then rapidly forming anti-slavery sentiment, which in i860 swept the nation. He exchanged frequently with brother ministers, and in every pflpit and on every platform he earnestly preached an anti-slavery gospel. He had also some memorable encounters with temporizing and timid brethren of the ministry. These were by far the most important, though not the most popular, years of his ministry. He next labored for six years as a missionary in Wyocena, Columbia county, rvliere he gathered a congregation, erected a church of fine appearance at a cost of two thousand dollars, and also built a select school-house at his own expense — for which he secured an excel- lent eastern teacher — and was a member of the school board of the district and town superintendent of schools, and by his energy infused life and vigor into the people, which told powerfully on their insti- tutions ; so that on retiring he left the schools and churches of the village comfortably housed and firmly established. In 1858 he became pastor of the Congregational church of Monroe, where he labored one year with great success, erected a house of worship and strengthened the congregation. This closed his labors in the active ministry. During the preceding four years of his life his re- ligious views had been gradually lapsing from the severe orthodoxy of the Presbyterian and Congrega- tional churches to broader conceptions of the divine love and of human duty. The fatherhood of God and the sonship of Christ seemed to him to include the whole human family, and he felt that he could not set bounds to the grace of God. If Moodys and Sankeys can bring the love of Christ to the out- casts of our cities and save them by hundreds, there is strength enough in that same love to envelop the world in its snowy robe of redemption, — the hem of the garment that can by a touch heal one diseased, has a virtue equal to the healing of all diseased ones. To refer this infinite power and love to the arbitrament of human wills and human opportunities i seemed to him at variance with reason and revela- tion. The how of the great consummation of hu- man redemption he could not fathom, and feeling that he was no longer in sympathy with the leading tenets of his church, he retired from the ministry, and has since been devoting himself to business. H e is a finished scholar, a profound thinker, and an in- exorable reasoner. For some years past his studies have been devoted to the subject of “ Primary Forces,” and have resulted in the promulgation of the “ Elec- trical Hypothesis of Creation,” of which he claims to be the discoverer, which is based upon the principle of evolution, commencing with the primary electrical currents of space. His views were brought out with great clearness and demonstration in a course of lectures delivered in Monroe in the winter of 1876. His theories are adequately set forth in the follow- ing extract from his introductory lecture which his THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY 227 subsequent discourses, supported by such an array of facts and illustrations, as remove them altogether from the range of the improbable : The first step in the Evolutionary process is the produc- tion of light, which is simply the magnetization of Elec- trical currents, and furnishes the basis of all aggregations and all control of matter. Polarized light is simply the Electrical Currents of Space prepared to enter into combi- nations of material structure. The primary molecules of matter are here revealed in their perfection, possessed of the two governing forces of all material change and all me- chanical motion — viz., aft ruction and repulsion. Of these molecules science teaches that they are perfect magnets, having ends, sides and an equatorial center, and that they pass into the combinations of matter, under the control of their polar attractions. In such molecules there must be a metallic basis, with a treasured-up Electrical force. This is the Creative energy that Jehovah called to his aid in the beginning, when lie “created the Heavens and the Earth;” and it is adequate to produce all the evolutionary forms of matter and of life, and all orders of growth are carried for- ward by the guiding presence of the attractions and repul- sions of magnetization. Thus we find currents of electricity compassing all space, and currents of magnetism filling all body, and light — the great agency that carries molecule and power over from the metallic force currents of space and building them into matter. Across this line — between body and space — which the light traverses, magnetic and electrical forces work as the balancing line of their diverse and yet correlate forces. When we carefully note the dif- ference between electricity and magnetism we shall find that electricity represents the currents of force that move through space, and that magnetism represents the currents of force that move through body. Electricity may be gath- ered upon the surface of body, while Magnetism takes pos- session of every molecule of matter in body. Another property of magnetism is that it always imparts polarity to matter, by means of which it becomes a great working power, revealing its attractions and repulsion at the most distant and opposite leverage points of the body, and that its attractions and repulsions are an exact balance that fix an equator of rest, from which currents move with equal resistance toward the opposite poles; and hence a bodv of matter constantly encircled with passing electrical currents, and thereby saturated with a constant supply of magnetic strength, that is delivered in polar attractions and repulsions , fulfills the true idea of a planetary body. Sun and planets are conceded by astronomers to be vast revolving magnets. By referring to the law of magnetic control we learn that every magnet establishes around it a magnetic field commensurate with its size and strength. Such a body as the sun, revolving at the rate of four thousand miles per hour, with its polar forces discharging their oppositely mov- ing force currents into space eight hundred and eighty thousand miles apart, furnish a conception of mechanical power and motion that is adequate to the control of the mechanical order of the entire solar system. Add to this the conception of all the planets of the system with their poles in reverse order to that of the sun, also surrounded with their electrical circles commensurate with their mag- netic strength, with pivotal centers of motion, resting within the equatorial plane of the sun’s oppositely revolving posi- tive and negative fields of circles, all moving in systematic order, and there is revealed to the mind a system of worlds and world-forces, mutually sustaining and controlling each other, that furnish a perfect ideal of perpetual mechanical power and order ol motion. With such an arrangement of living globes and living forces the work of creation must go forward from its beginning so long as attractions and repulsions are supplied with their life throbs from the elec- trical strength of universal power. The mutual relations ot sun and planet, together with their wonderful upholding power and sublime velocities, all find an explanation in the electrical currents of space and the magnetic three currents of bodv. This hypothesis represents light as a purely electrical illumination of magnetic bodies and as the active agency of magnetization. It regards all growing organizations of bodv as evolved under the play of electrical and magnetic forces, constituting each growing body a magnet. It also furnishes the passing step between the microscopic cells and the bioplasm (?) of the scientists and the true beginning of life. Positive and negative magnetic forces seek an attractive unity in matter that generates life. And in all this there is no rejection of the higher conceptions of Crea- tive energy that rest in such power. Magnetism is the working agency and the obedient servant of will-power. Neither Scientist nor Religionist can measure a soul or weigh a thought; and yet the human organism is a soul ometer that gives to us constant exhibitions of magnitude of soul and weight of thought. Both Divine and human will are exalted to a throne of dominion where the swiftly mov- ing magnetic currents of body' become their plodding ser- vants and their swift-winged angels. The political views of our subject are governed by his religion; hence he has always acted with the republican party, except in 1874-5, when he sup- ported the reform ticket. In July, 1843, he married Miss Maria C. Kelley, of Oneida county, New York, by whom he had four sons and four daughters. One son died in infancy. His eldest son, Charles E., born June 4, 1844, was a student of Oberlin College, Ohio, in 1862, a youth of great promise, and enthusiastically devoted to the cause of freedom. Entered the army after the proclamation of emancipation, as a private in the 7th Michigan Cavalry, in which he was soon after promoted to the rank of sergeant and charged with important military trusts by his colonel. At the battle of Gettysburg, on the last day of that fearful struggle, in leading a cavalry charge to dislodge some sharpshooters, he was shot from his horse, his last act being a wave of his sword, emphasizing the command, “ Forward, boys ! ” Thus gloriously fell one of the bravest soldiers and noblest patriots of the army. His body was identified and buried in the soldiers’ cemetery at Gettysburg. His second son, Edgar S., at the age of sixteen, enlisted, in the spring of 1873, in the 7th Wisconsin Battery of Artillery; was captured by the enemy at Humboldt, on the Mississippi, paroled, and soon after discharged from the service, being under age. He subsequently enlisted in the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry, in which he served honorably till the close of the war. He is now married and settled in Monroe. His eldest daughter, Ellen M., a young lady of excellent edu- action and great promise, died at the age of seven- teen years. The three remaining daughters, Fanny M ., Anna Mary and Elbe Alice, and the youngest son, William Avery, are still living at home. 2:S THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTTONART. In July, 1861, Mrs. Miner died. She was highly esteemed and loved by all who knew her; possessed great fortitude, mingled with a remarkable gentle- ness of character; always hopeful, never repining, she made home happy and attractive, and her chil- dren were controlled without any ostentatious dis- plav of parental authority. Since her death Mr. Miner has been twice married, his second wife being Miss Lucy Evans, of Halifax, Vermont, who died September 17, 1869. She was an amiable and gentle step-mother, and left behind her a memory fragrant of good deeds and loving words. His third wife is Miss Olive Electe Haven, also a native of Halifax, Vermont, of whom it is sufficient to say that she makes home pleasant, and is held in the highest esteem by all who know her. DAN IE I. B. DEVENDORF, M.D., DEL A VAN. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Colum- bia, Herkimer county, New York, was born on the 17th of March, 1820, and is the son of Henry S. Devendorf and Elizabeth nee Bellinger. His ma- ternal grandfather was a general in the war of 1812, and his paternal grandfather, too young to enter the revolutionary army, remained in and about Fort Plain, New York. His father, an influential man, was one of the first merchants of Mohawk, New York, known at that time as Bennett’s Corners. Daniel was educated at Clinton Liberal Institute, Oneida county, New York, where he pursued a full course of study. His tastes, when young, were to become a mechanic and engineer, and to accomplish this he sold for seventy dollars a colt which his grandfather had given him, and worked until he had earned money enough to buy a trunk, and with this capital went to Ohio, intending to engage with a Mr. Shoemaker, to learn the civil engineering busi- ness. He was, however, disappointed in his purpose, the company with whom he expected to engage hav- ing suspended work. His whole plan was opposed to his father’s wishes, who desired him to take the management of his farm, and accordingly he refused him any assistance. Failing to find employment, young Devendorf exhausted all his money, and while in this condition became acquainted with a man named Frank Wright, who had some capital, to whom he described an instrument which he had seen for producing daguerreotypes. Mr. Wright became interested in him, and offered to furnish him money if he would go to New York and purchase one of the instruments. The offer was accepted, and Mr. Devendorf soon found himself in possession of the second instrument that was taken west of New York. Going to Churchville, Monroe county, New York, where lived an uncle, a physician, he experi- mented about three months, and finally succeeded in producing a passable picture, which he sold for one cord of wood to warm his office. Finding that he could not succeed as an artist, he abandoned his project, without a cent of money or a decent suit of clothes. For several months he remained unem- ployed, and had no money except what he earned by doing chores. Meanwhile his uncle had per- suaded him to study medicine and take care of his office. After reading here and with Dr. Wm. H. Fox for eight months, he entered Geneva Medical College, took three courses of lectures, and gradu- ated on the 25th of January, 1844, his father having supplied him with some means, finding that he was willing to assist himself. After graduation, he was ordered to Washington, to be examined as assistant surgeon for the navy, but was prevented from doing so by an injury received from a vicious horse, and upon his recovery, following the advice of friends, he established himself in his profession at F'rankfort, six miles from his old home. During the next nine years he conducted a successful practice. At the expiration of this time he sold his interest to Dr. Perrin A. Skiff for one thousand dollars, agreeing not to open an office again in that place, and re- moved to Mohawk. Here he formed a partnership with Dr. C. A. Griffith, with whom he remained two years. He next practiced two years in Tonawanda, New York, and during this time organized a steam towing company for towing boats from Buffalo to the mouth of the Tonawanda creek. Owing to im- paired health he left the East in December, 1855, and settled at Delavan, Wisconsin, in the mercantile business. Finding this ill suited to his tastes, he closed it at the end of two years and resumed his profession, continuing in it till 186 r, when he was commissioned assistant surgeon of the 1st Regiment THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. Wisconsin Volunteers. After the battle of Stone River, he was commissioned surgeon of the igth Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers, then stationed at Norfolk, Virginia. With this regiment he lay before Petersburg!! four months, and there was made med- ical inspector of the 18th Army Corps, and ordered to the office headquarters at Fortress Monroe, where he remained till 1864. He was also medical pur- veyor of the 1 8th and 19th Army Corps, stationed at Deep Bottom, Virginia. On the morning of the taking of Richmond, his regiment was on picket duty, and was one of the first to enter the city, and witnessed the great conflagration. At the close of the war he returned to his home in Delavan, and resumed his practice, and has continued it up to the present time (1876) with marked success. In his political views Dr. Devendorf was formerly democratic ; but while stationed before Petersburgh, upon hearing the rebels cheering for McClellan, the democratic candidate for President, he became a republican and still supports that party. Before coming west he was secretary of the Utica and Mohawk Valley Plank Road and a large stock- holder in the same. He was also an owner in the addition to the village of Elkhorn, Wisconsin, known as the “ Devendorf, Spencer and Malory Addition,’' and a partner in the first banking house established in that place. Dr. Devendorf was married on the 20th of Octo- ber, 1852, to Miss Helena Dygent, of Frankfort, New York. Her father was superintendent of the canals, and also held a prominent position in the Custom House in New York city. Of their three children, one is a student at the Michigan University and the other two are living at home. In his early life the Doctor was under Universalist influences, but he is not at the present time connected with any church organization. HON. HENRY F. C. NICHOLS NEW LISBON. H ENRY F. C. NICHOLS, a native of New Hampshire, was born at Kingston, Rocking- ham county, February 9, 1833. His father, Nicho- las Nichols, a leather manufacturer, died in Febru- ary, 1876, aged seventy-four years. His mother, Mary J. (Bristow) Nichols, who is still living, is related to the Bristows, so prominent in New Hamp- shire, Rhode Island and other New England States. When Henry was about eight years old, his family moved to Manchester, Hillsboro county, where he spent his boyhood in attending school, working in a cotton mill, and acting as clerk in a store. He pre- pared for college at Pembroke Academy and other schools, and in 1835 entered Williams College, from which he graduated in 1859. He was next engaged in teaching for two years at Canton, New York, and at the expiration of that time, with a view to enter- ing the ministry, entered Andover Theological Sem- inary, from which he graduated in 1864. During a part of this time he was engaged in the service of the Sanitary Commission in the South, and in the winter of 1864-5 in that of the Christian Commis- sion. Mr. Nichols was by nature peculiarly fitted tor this work, and entered upon it with a zeal and devotion that resulted in great good to the noble cause. He left Andover with greatly impaired 1 health, by reason of which he soon afterward abandoned his purpose of being ordained to the ministry. With a view to engaging in the lumber business he removed to Wisconsin, and settled at New Lis- bon, in Juneau county, on January 1, 1868. Since that time until the present (1877) he has devoted himself steadily to this business, and attained that success which invariably follows honest, persistent and faithful effort. Aside from his regular business his fellow-citizens have honored him with positions of honor and trust. In 1872 he was elected to the general assembly of his State, and during the sessions of that and the following year did valuable and lasting service, being at the head of several committees, and recog- nized as one of the active, working members of the legislature. In politics he has always been a republican. On the 12th of May, 1868, Mr. Nichols was mar- ried to Miss Nettie Williams, of Concord, New Hampshire, by whom he has four children. Mrs. Nichols is a descendant of the celebrated Ayer family, and niece of ex-Governor Isaac Hill. Public spirited, generous and charitable, Mr. Nichols heartily sympathizes with every movement THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. tending to the welfare of his. community and of his fellow-men, and cheerfully does all in his power to further the interests of his town. He has been president of the village board, chairman of the county board of supervisors, and is now a very active member of the local school board. A man of noble impulse and high aims, his influence has ever been on the side of right, and he enjoys the esteem and confidence of a large circle of true friends. JONATHAN G. CALLAHAN, EAU CLAIRE. T HE subject of this biography belongs to a long- lived race. His paternal grandmother died at about ninety-five years; his father, Robert Callahan, lived beyond the age of ninety, and his mother, whose maiden name was Pettengill, lived to be nearly as old. Some of both his paternal and ma- ternal ancestors were engaged in the revolutionary war, and their descendants are an intensely patriotic class. J. G. Callahan, the youngest of eleven chil- dren, was born in Andover, Massachusetts, Septem- ber 2, 1823. He spent his younger years in obtaining an education at the common school in his native town and in Phillips’ Academy. From sixteen to twenty years of age he was educating himself for a mer- cantile life in a local business house. About the year 1843 I> e 'vent to Niagara Falls and took charge of the store of Mr. S. DeVeaux, and soon afterward became a partner of that gentleman, and finally pur- chased his business interest. At the expiration of about ten years he removed to Oxford, Chenango county, and became a clerk in the mercantile house of N. C. Chapman and J. G. Thorp, who removed to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, in 1857, and whom Mr. Callahan accompanied to this new country, after spending a short time in their employ at Clinton, Iowa. He is still doing business for the same par- ties, who are now (1877) operating under the name of the Eau Claire Lumber Company. Mr. Callahan’s business is that of purchasing clerk in the mercan- tile department, the purchases of which amount to about three hundred thousand dollars per annum. His position is a very responsible one, and he gives unqualified satisfaction. In politics, Mr. Callahan is an unwavering repub- lican, but is greatly averse to holding office. He was the first president of the village of Eau Claire, being nominated and elected during his absence and without his knowledge, and received every vote cast. Three years ago he was nominated for the general assembly in his absence and was elected by a large majority, and consented to serve one term. The next year he was renominated, but declined the honor. While in the legislature he aided in securing the passage of the Dallas Improvement bill, and gave entire satisfaction to his constituents. Mr. Callahan is a member of the Presbyterian church, and a liberal supporter of religious and other worthy benevolent enterprises, and a true friend of suffering humanity in all its phases. He was married on the 19th of April, 1849, to Miss Maria S. Jones, of Erie, Pennsylvania, by whom he has two children. WILLIAM NEWTON, EAU W r ILLIAM NEWTON, a man who has fol- lowed various callings, has attained success in all. He has been a carpenter and builder, a cabinet maker and furniture dealer, a merchant, and a boarding-house and a hotel keeper. He was one of the early settlers of Wisconsin, is widely known and as widely esteemed. He is a son of Charles and Jane (Burnett) Newton, CLAIRE. both of whose families were of English descent, and was born at Croydon, in Surrey, October 1, T822. His father, formerly a grain and seed merchant, was after- ward postmaster at Croydon for several years, and his eldest son, Charles, has been postmaster at the same place for the last thirty years. At fifteen years of age William closed his studies in school, and apprenticed himself to learn the joiner and builder’s THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY 2 33 trade. At the age of twenty-one he started in busi- ness for himself as a master builder and undertaker, continuing this business in his native town until the summer of 1847. He then started for the New World and the West, reaching Milwaukee on the first day of September of that year. When the chol- era made its appearance in Milwaukee in 1849 Mr. Newton pushed northward, and settled in Fond du Lac, then a village of less than two thousand inhab- itants. There he remained nine years, engaged in the manufacture and sale of cabinet ware, and meet- ing with good success, becoming disabled through injuries received in the machinery, he was obliged to relinquish this vocation, and being attracted by the prospects at Eau Claire, then in its infancy, he settled there on the first day of June, 1858. At the first he engaged in the clothing business, later kept a boarding-house, and since December 20, 1865, has been proprietor of a hotel, making a model landlord. He is a man of fine conversational powers, polished and refined in manners, polished in conversation, polite and courteous to strangers, and obliging to everybody, and acts the part of a Christian gentle- man at all times. His influence in a public house and in the avenues of public life is wholesome — restraining to the rude and encouraging to the best disposed and more refined. Mr. Newton was reared under Episcopal influ- ences, and for many years has been senior warden in the Episcopal Church at Eau Claire. His older brother is warden in his native town, and his father and both grandfathers were wardens in the Estab- lished Church. Two years before he left the old country, Mr. Newton was joined in wedlock with Miss Mary F. Barnett, of Merton, in Surrey, a daughter of Joseph Barnett, a railroad contractor, who followed two of his children to this country in 1848, and settled at Fond du Lac. He was justice of the peace at that place for many years, and just after his demise a notice of his reelection to that office was found under his door. He was a man of exalted Christian character and a true friend of the people. Mrs. Newton, who has, as she deserves, a wide circle of warm friends, is the mother of six children, four of whom — one son and three daughters — are living. The son, Charles B., is married, and engaged with his father in the Eau Claire House, and the daughters, Elizabeth, Sarah and Hattie, all well educated, are also with their parents. HON. MARSENA TEMPLE, M A US TON. M ARSENA TEMPLE, son of Barnard and Sarah Close Temple, was born in Middle field, Otsego county, New York, December 11, 1812. His ancestors were among the ardent whigs in the “times which tried men’s souls,” and some of them were participants in the struggle for independence. His father was a farmer by occupation, and he him- self worked steadily on the homestead until he was eighteen years of age, except during the winter months, when he went to tire district school. Subse- quently he attended the Hartwick Academy and the Clinton Institute, in all about three years, teaching during the winter months. In 1836 Mr. Temple began the study of law with Judge Morehouse, of Cooperstown, and was admitted to the bar at Albany in 1840. The next year he opened an office at Munnsville, Madison county, and continued in the law practice there, when not holding office, until 1855. I' 1 January of the follow- ing year, after visiting and traveling through the 30 State of Wisconsin, he settled at Newport, Sauk county, then a town of greater expectations than have been realized. While practicing his profession there he purchased an interest in a drug store, which he sold in i860, and during the next five years was engaged in the management of a farm. In 1865 Mr. Temple removed to Mauston, where, in company with other parties, he built an elevator, and engaged in the produce business during the next three years; at the expiration of that time he sold his interest in the elevator for a farm, which he has since supervised, at the same time furnishing wood and ties for a railroad company. While residing in the State of New York, Mr. Temple was, in 1842 and 1843, superintendent of public schools for Madison county, and was also justice of the peace at Munnsville for eight years. In 1850 he was a member of the New York legisla- ture, where he served one regular and one extra session. Since removing to Wisconsin, and while a THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONART. o ■> I -o4 resident of Newport, he was justice of the peace, about four years, and chairman of the board of supervisors for six years. Since he settled in Maus- ton he was one of the commissioners, when three men did the whole business of the county. In i860 he was elected a member of the assembly, and the next winter was on the committee which reported the bill for organizing the Wisconsin regiments which were furnished at the commencement of the war. He also attended the extra session of the legislature which met in the summer of 1861, and took an active and prominent part in furthering all war measures, and is a man whose patriotism was never questioned. Public-spirited and generous, Mr. Temple takes an active interest in all local matters, and has been honored by his fellow-citizens with the highest office of the village corporation. He is a Royal Arch Mason, and has held the principal offices in that order. In religious senti- ment, Mr. Temple is a Universalist. He was a democrat of free-soil proclivities until 1856, when he became identified with the republican party, with which he heartily cooperates. In April, 1840, Mr. Temple was married to Miss Caroline P. Stillman, of Otsego county, New York, and by her has had seven children, six of whom are still living. In all his business relations Mr. Temple’s course has been that of a conscientious, honorable and upright man ; and in the discharge of all the trusts and duties that have been imposed upon him he has gained the confidence of all, and lives in the enjoyment of the highest respect of a very large circle of friends. HORACE CHASE, MIL WA UIC EE. ORACE CHASE was born in the town of Derby, in the county of Orleans, in the State of Vermont, December 25, 1810. He comes of pio- neer and revolutionary stock, and is one of ten children of his father. His ancestors on the father’s side came from England to America in 1629, and settled in New Hampshire. His grandfather on the mother’s side was in the battle of Lexington. His father moved to the town of Derby in 1807. At that time it was a comparative wilderness, and no grist mill within thirty miles; even at that distance grain was carried on horseback to be ground. He lived with his father, working on the farm in the summer and going to school in the winter. In his seventeenth year, while unloading hay in his father’s barn, he became overheated, injuring his health in such a manner as to incapacitate him for manual labor for two years. Afterward he obtained employ- ment as clerk in several different mercantile firms in succession in Vermont, Canada, Boston, and the city of New York, at which latter place he formed the acquaintance of Mr. P. F. W. Peck, of Chicago, Illi- nois, by whom he was prevailed upon to go with him to Chicago, which he reached in May, 1834. He was employed here by several different firms as clerk or bookkeeper, until he formed a partnership with Mr. Archibald Clybourn in the mercantile busi- ness, which was to continue three years. In the meantime he made a claim at the mouth of the Milwaukee river, and another where the Wisconsin Leather Company is now located. In 1836 he and Mr. Clybourn opened a large store, and transacted all the forwarding and commission business of the then village of Milwaukee. In October, 1837, Mr. Chase married Miss Sarah Ann Gray, sister of Charles and George M. Gray, of Chicago. Mr. Chase was elected a member of the first constitutional conven- tion, which assembled at Madison in the winter of 1846-7 ; afterward elected to the first legislative assembly, which convened in June, 1848. In 1852 Mr. Chase met with a severe affliction in the death of his wife. In 1858 he was again married to Miss Mary H. Davis, of Mount Holly, Vermont, who is still the partner of his joys and his sorrows. In 1861 he was elected alderman and supervisor of the fifth ward of the city of Milwaukee, and in 1862 elected mayor, the duties of which office he discharged sat- isfactorily to the people. In 1869 Mr. Chase was elected first president of the Old Settlers Club. In 1873 the fifth ward was divided, and the twelfth ward established, in which he was elected counselor for one year. He was afterward, in 1874, elected aider- man for two years, his term expiring in 1876. He is a self-made man, characterized by his accurate knowledge of men, clear perceptions of business relations, sound judgment and persevering energy. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 237 The accumulation of his large fortune is the legit- imate result of the exercise of those faculties, and he enjoys it rationally and usefully. It is an agree- able source of pleasure to Mr. Chase that he can remember the time when Milwaukee had but three inhabitants, including himself, and that he has materially aided in building it up to its present highly prosperous condition with its hundred thou- sand inhabitants. He has a distinct recollection, too, of the Indian trail from Chicago to Milwaukee, as furnishing the only mode of access to and from those two places. FERNANDO WINSOR, M A US TON. A MONG the early and most respected citizens of . Juneau county is Fernando Winsor, a native of the Empire State. He was born at Franklinville, Cattaraugus county, on the 15th of April, 1831, his parents being Mathewson and Nancy Potter Winsor. His father was a tanner, shoemaker and farmer, and died when the son was about ten years old. Fernando had previously spent two years in Ohio, and at this time was sent to a sister’s, with whom he lived until he was sixteen, working on the farm, attending school, and making a brief attempt to learn the shoemaker’s trade. At the age of sixteen he removed to Elkhorn, Wisconsin, and with the aid of an elder brother, Horatio S. Winsor, was enabled to attend school two years at Janesville and Beloit. He was next engaged in teaching during the winter months, and employed the summers in farm work, and improved his leisure hours in reading law. Having finished his studies at Elkhorn, he was admitted to the bar in the spring of 1853. A year later he settled at Portage, where he was engaged one year in the law practice, and at the expiration of that time removed to Mauston, at that time part of Adams county, and now the seat of justice of Juneau. Here he has practiced for twenty-one years, and has always had a good reputation as an able lawyer and conscientious man, and is now a member of the firm of Winsor and Veeder. He has also a dry-goods store, and is operating largely in this line of business. In 1855 Mr. Winsor was appointed county judge, an office to which he afterward was elected by the people, and which he held in all about four years. Between these two terms, in 1857, when Juneau county was organized, he was elected district attor- ney, and held that position four years In politics, Mr. Winsor has been a republican since the organization of the party, though formerly he was a democrat. He is a member of the Episcopal church, and has served as warden of the same. In November, 1854, he married Miss Mary Helen Munsel, of Delavan, Wisconsin. They have had four children, of whom three are now living. Mr. Winsor was one of the three commissioners who built the public road from Mauston to Dexter- ville, Wood county, and is one of the leaders in all local enterprises. He has much public spirit, and no man takes greater delight in the progress of the village and county. In fairness of dealing he has few peers, knows no such word as compromise, but pays all dues to the last cent, and answers to Pope’s portrait and panegyric : “An honest man ’s the noblest work of God.” RUSSELL BROUGHTON, M.D., BRODHEAD. r HE subject of this sketch, a native of Albany, Green county, Wisconsin, was born May 16, 1842, and is the son of John Broughton and Amanda Griffin, who were married in Rensselaer county, New York. He is from a sturdy, rugged and industrious race of English descent, three brothers having immigrated from that country to America about the year 1700, and settled in Connecticut ; two of them afterward returned to their native country, and from the third have descended all of the Broughtons in the United States. Russell received his early education in his THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. native place and afterward entered Milton College in Rock county, Wisconsin, intending to take a full course of study, but was diverted from his purpose by joining the army in 1863. He afterward pur- sued a course of study at Bryant and Stratton’s Commercial College of Milwaukee, and, having de- cided to enter the medical profession, pursued a course of study in Rush Medical College of Chicago, and graduated from the same in February, 1869. His taste for this profession developed at an early age, and he was greatly encouraged in his purpose of fitting himself for it by Dr. H. F. Persons, of Albany, Wisconsin, in whom he found a true friend. He first began his practice five miles from his birth- place among his acquaintances in 1869, and from the very beginning has conducted a steadily increasing business, each year having added largely to its in- crease, and is now widely known as a skillful surgeon and careful physician. During one year he has rid- den with horses twelve thousand miles in attending to his professional duties, and is at the present time (1876) employed by sixteen hundred families. Dr. Broughton has made it a rule of his life never to put off his work, and to be prompt in all his duties and engagements. His entire career has been marked by industry and frugality. He began without means, and even while receiving his education paid the most of his expenses by hard work. When eighteen years of age he taught school for seventeen dollars per month, boarding at home and walking four miles and building his own fires; yet he was never tardy. At the age of twenty-one he had never taken a meal at a hotel, never been inside of a saloon, never used tobacco and never spent a half day in town ; and during his last summer at home was not off the farm a week-day from the first of April to the first of Octo- ber. In these habits of industry, formed in early life, we find the secret of Dr. Broughton’s success. Promptness and strict attention to business is his rule, and by adhering to this in all his dealing he has made his work a success, both professionally and financially. He has accumulated an ample fortune, and lives in the enjoyment of all the comforts of a happy home. He has never held public office, except that of superintendent of public schools from 1872 to 1873, preferring the quiet of his profession to political emoluments and honors, but in his political senti- ments is a rigid democrat. Dr. Broughton was married, February 1, 1869, to Miss Julia A. Smiley, third daughter of Hon. David Smiley, of Albany, Wisconsin. Mrs. Broughton is a lady of fine native endowments, is highly accom- plished, and besides is a most devoted wife and fond mother. Their union has been blessed by one son. HON. WILLIAM T. PRICE, BLACK RIVER FALLS. W ILLIAM THOMPSON PRICE, a native of Barre township, Huntington county, Penn- sylvania, was born June 17, 1824, the son of William and Mary (Leonard) Price. He left home before he had reached his teens, and attained most of his education while a salesman and bookkeeper in a store in Hollidaysburg. In April, 1845, he removed to Mt. Pleasant, Henry county, Iowa, and in No- vember of the same year settled at his present home in Black River Falls, Wisconsin. At that time the Black River valley was an unbroken wilderness, with no postoffice within a hundred miles. The few inhabitants of the place were lumbermen, and at once joining himself to this class he has continued in the lumber business until the present time (1877), and is now the owner of large tracts of land in the valleys of the Black and Chippewa rivers. In his early life he had an ardent desire for study, and among the works which he digested were Black- stone’s and Kent’s Commentaries. Subsequently he continued his law studies, and in 1852 was admitted to the bar, and was engaged in legal practice more or less until 1857, when he abandoned the law, and has since confined himself to his lumber business, except when discharging some official duty. In 1850 Mr. Price was elected to the general assembly of Wisconsin, and in 1856 to the senate, serving two or three years during the interim as judge of Jackson county. He was appointed col- lector of internal revenue for the sixth district in 1862, a position which he resigned two years later. He was a presidential elector in 1868, and in 1870 was elected a second time to the State senate, where he rendered efficient and valuable service. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 2 39 In his political principles Mr. Price was a demo- crat until 1854. Upon the organization of the re- publican party he united with that body. Latterly, being more independent in his views, has not de- fined his politics. On July 10, 1851, he was married to Miss Julia Campbell, of Grant county, Wisconsin, by whom he has had four children, two of whom are now living. Mr. Price was the originator and first president of the West Wisconsin Railroad, originally known as the Tomah and Lake St. Croix road, and was chiefly instrumental in bringing this road to Black River Falls. He is at the head of more enterprises, insti- tutions and corporations than all other men in Jack- son county; being president of the Black River Improvement Company, the Jackson County Agri- cultural Society, the village corporation, the Jackson County Bank, which was opened at Black River Falls January 2, 1877, and chairman of the county board of supervisors. During his early days in Wisconsin Mr. Price saw the sad effects of intemperance, particularly among lumbermen, and was himself more or less addicted to the habit until twenty years ago, when he wholly abandoned it. He is now its open, avowed and un- compromising enemy, and the temperance cause has few stronger or more influential advocates. He heartily sympathizes with every cause which tends to better the condition of his fellow-men; and al- though not a member of any church, has contributed thousands of dollars to aid in building houses of worship and sustaining preaching in Black River Falls and throughout the Chippewa and Black river valleys. Mr. Price has a farm of eighteen hundred acres, about fourteen miles from town, mostly improved, and employs twenty-five hands continually, and at times (including choppers and teamsters) has four hundred at work. Possessed of vast executive ability and a wonder- ful power of will, and a warm, generous heart, he engages with untiring zeal in every enterprise which he undertakes; and has left the impress of his char- acter on monuments that shall live when the mind and hand that wrought them has passed away ; and in a literal sense has contributed his full share in transforming a wilderness, that it “blossoms as the rose.” GEORGE RUNKEL, TOM All. T HE Runkel family, of which the subject of this sketch is a member, is of French descent. Upon the promulgation of the Edict of Nantes the father of our subject fled to Prussia. George Runkel was born October 7, 1839, at Neuwied, France. His parents were William and Julia (Moore) Runkel. An uncle on his father’s side fought in the battle of Waterloo, June 18, 1815. George attended school from five to fourteen years of age, at which time, in 1853, the whole family immigrated to this country and settled at Mansfield, Ohio, where the son was initiated into business by becoming a clerk in a grocery store. About two years afterward the family removed to Portage, Wis- consin, where George resumed clerking, at first for other parties, and afterward for his father, who went into business for himself after being in Portage about three years. In 1856, when the Milwaukee and St. Paul railroad was completed to Greenfield, Monroe county, he went thither and opened a store, contin- uing in trade for three years, when he removed to Tomah, in the same county. Here he was joined by his father, and they went into business together. About this time he spent one year in Pike’s Peak, with fair success as a miner and trader, and soon after returning went to New Lisbon and opened a store, still retaining his connection with the house at Tomah, his brother, Frederick, having an interest in the latter house. Fie spent about six years at New Lisbon, and while there built a saw-mill, which he operated in connection with his mercantile business; and also built, in 1866, the Tomah flouring mills, now oper- ated by Runkel and Freemen. In 1868 Mr. Runkel returned to Tomah, and after conducting the flouring mill for a time erected a building and opened the Bank of Tomah, in part- nership with Mr. J. T. Freeman, who is president, while Mr. Runkel is cashier. They are also engaged largely in real estate. Mr. Runkle makes land operations his specialty, and has been very success- ful. Monroe county is dotted all over with lands 240 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. which he has sold, while he has large quantities still in the market. He advertises very extensively, holding out great inducements to purchasers; he sells small farms on easy terms to poor people, and has been the means of bringing hundreds of settlers to Monroe county. Probably no other man of his age has done as much to settle and improve the county. Nor are his operations limited to any one county. In 1S75 he built a saw-mill at Runkel’s Mills, Port- age county, on the Wisconsin Valley railroad, which is operated by the Eau Pliene Lumber Company, of which he is the principal member. In 1876 he aided in building another saw-mill on the same rail- road line, in Juneau county, known as Smith’s Mill, that being the name of the postoffice. Mr. Runkel is a Knight Templar in the Masonic order, belonging to the La Crosse commandery. He is democratic in his political opinions, but never allows politics to interfere with his legitimate business. On the 20th of January, i860, he was married to Miss Eliza J. Lockwood, of Greenfield, Wisconsin. Ot six children that they have had five are now living. At fourteen years of age Mr. Runkel started out to fit himself for business. From the first he gave careful attention to all the details, and has never attempted work of any kind without doing it thor- oughly and well. He has always been kind to the poor, and liberal in every humane cause. Especially is he accommodating to people of restricted means who want a home on a strip of land; and in aiming to help others has helped himself. Although but in middle life, he has acquired a competency, and has earned by honorable dealings every dollar which he possesses. His father, who brought him to this country twenty-four years ago, and from whom he imbibed his correct business habits, died in Tomah, January 12, 1876. His mother is still living. REUBEN DOUD, RACINE. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of McGraw- ville, Cortland county, New York, was born on the 20th of January, 1830, and is the son of Reuben G. Doud and Betsey nee McGraw. He passed his boyhood in his native place, at- tending the common school; and in 1849, being then nineteen years of age, removed to Racine, Wis- consin. Remaining there but a short time he went to Delavan, and thence to Green Bay. Later he en- gaged in the transportation business at Kankanna, in connection with the boats on Fox river, and con- tinued thus employed during a period of five years. At the expiration of this time he went to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, purchased a steamer and went thence down the Ohio river, up the Mississippi, to the Wisconsin, and was the first to pass with a steam- boat through the locks on the Fox river, after the improvements on the Wisconsin in 1856. Returning to Pittsburgh in 1857, he built the steamer Appleton Belle, and taking her by the same route to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, there sold her. In the winter of this same year he built a steamer at Berlin. Wisconsin, which plied between that place, Oshkosh, Fond du Lac and Green Bay, until i860. During this year he built the steamers Fountain City and Bay City, and ran them on the same route. In 1861 he closed out his steamboat interest on this route, and engaged in the warehouse business at Gill’s Landing; and during the same season ran the steamer Berlin City from Green Bay to New London, in connection with the Wolf river boats. In 1863 and 1864 he built the steamers North- western and Tigress, and several others ; and continued thus employed doing a prosperous busi- ness until 1866, when he closed his affairs at Gill’s Landing and removed to Racine, his present home. Associating himself with Mr. Martin E. Trem- ble, under the firm name of Tremble and Doud, he engaged in the lumber business, which has proved eminently successful. The business of the firm is very extensive, their annual sales amounting to twelve million feet of lumber and twelve million shingles, besides a large amount of lath, pickets, posts, etc., most of which is cut from their own lands, which are located with their mills on the Big Suamico river near Green Bay. Mr. Doud is also largely interested in vessel property, hav- ing built the Reuben Doud at a cost of thirty- three thousand dollars, the schooner M. E. Trem- ble at a cost of sixty-five thousand dollars, and THE UNITED ST A TES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 243 also acquired by purchase the schooner Rainbow. His career from the beginning has been one of constant energy, activity and of entire success in all his undertakings ; consequently he has amassed an ample fortune. He has also been honored with positions of public responsibility and trust, all of which he has filled with great credit to himself. In 1864 he was elected to the State legislature on the republican ticket; in 1872 became mayor of Racine, was reelected in 1873, and again elected to the same position in 1875. He was married on the 15th of September, 1864, to Miss Katharine Reynolds, of Cortland, New York, by whom he has one daughter. He is now mak- ing preparations to start on an extended tour in Europe with his family, and after a few years he will return to make his permanent residence in the city of Racine, where, among the many elegant and costly residences which adorn the “Belle City of the Lakes,” the home which he has designed and built stands preeminent for its elegance and tastefulness. HON. ROMANZO BUNN, SPARTA. R OMANZO BUNN is a native of Otsego county, New York, and was born September 24, 1829. His father, Peter Bunn, was a farmer, and moved to Cattaraugus county in 1832. At the age of sixteen Romanzo entered Spring- ville Academy, in Erie county, and prepared for college, teaching in the winters, and entered Oberlin in 1849. At the expiration of one term he went to Elyria, and studied law for a time with Messrs. McAcheren and Myers. Later he returned to Cat- taraugus county, and finished his legal studies with Hon. W. H. Wood, of Ellicottville, and in 1853 was admitted to the bar. After practicing one year in that place, in partnership with Mr. Wood, Mr. Bunn removed to the West. He at first stopped for a few months at Sparta, and in the spring of 1855 settled at Galesville, the county seat of Trempealeau county. At the end of six years, during which time he built up a good practice, he removed to Sparta, in 1861, where he continued the practice of his profession until the spring of 1868, at which time he was elected judge of the sixth district for a term of six years. In 1874 he was reelected, and is now serving on his second term. As a jurist, Judge Bunn possesses eminent qualifi- cations, and with each year grows more and more in public favor. The year before leaving Trempealeau county he was elected to the State legislature, to represent that and two other counties. Judge Bunn cherished free-soil sentiments before he was old enough to vote, and has voted the repub- lican ticket since the party was organized. He was married, 5th of August, 1854, to Miss Sarah Purdy, of Mansfield, Cattaraugus county, New York. They have five children living, and have lost one child. Judge Bunn is preeminently a self-made man. He earned by his own exertions the money which was expended in obtaining his education, and thus early in life he learned to depend upon his own resources, a characteristic that has marked his en- tire career. He is still a close student and a grow- ing man. IRA B. BRADFORD, AUGUSTA. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Fulton, Rock county, Wisconsin, was born June 24, 1 85 1 , and is the son of Elbridge Bradford and Lovina A. nte Burnham, both of whom are natives of New Hampshire. Four weeks after his birth, his parents, by reason of homesickness, returned to their native State, and are at present (1877) residing at Washing- ton, in Sullivan county. Both his paternal and ma- ternal ancestors were hearty and patriotic supporters of the revolution, and some among them carried their flint-lock muskets during the seven years’ war. His father, a carpenter and joiner by occupation, is a 244 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. man of small means and industrious habits, and early- taught his son to work at the bench, and kept him there when not in school until lie reached his fif- teenth year. Ira showed an early and peculiar pre- dilection for books, and in his love of study was greatly encouraged by his parents. He began at- tending school at three years of age, and was never happier than when reveling in his a-b-c, abe, abs, and words of one, two and three syllables. At fifteen years of age Ira began teaching, and taught and attended school during the next three years, the latter part of which time was spent at the seminary at Sanbornton Bridge. When about seventeen years of age, he purposed to take a full collegiate course. To save time in preparing for college he doubled his studies, and as a result, at the age of eighteen, completely broke down in health and became almost blind, and for nearly two years scarcely looked at a book. During this period of nervous debility and mental relaxation he went to Edinboro, Erie county, Pennsylvania, where he en- gaged, more or less, in out-of-door manual labor. About a year before leaving New England young Bradford had conceived the idea of being a lawyer, and making the necessary registry at Erie, began his legal studies, but made slow progress on account of his eyesight, which was not fully restored. In the autumn of 187 1 lie returned to New Hamp- shire and taught school at Newport the following winter, and in the succeeding spring resumed his law studies there. Three months afterward he returned to Edinboro and finished his law course. In Feb- ruary, 1873, he removed to Janesville, Wisconsin, and on the third of the next month was admitted to the bar at Monroe, Green county. Settling at once at Augusta he began the practice of his profession ; and although two experienced attorneys had pre- ceded him, before he was twenty-five years old he was at the head of his profession in the place. In addition to his legal duties he has the supervision of a bank, and also operates in real estate. Mr. Bradford is connected with the Masonic and Odd-Fellows fraternities, but does not give attention enough to them to interfere with his business. In politics he is identified with the republican party. He is a Christian man and a Sunday-school superin- tendent. On August 20, 1872, he was married to Miss Allie M. Burnham, of Edinboro, Pennsylvania, and by her has one child. As a business man and lawyer Mr. Bradford is industrious, conscientious, prompt and reliable, and has the unlimited confidence of the people, and his ability, integrity, dispatch and tho- roughness cause business to pour in upon him with great rapidity. Should his life be prolonged he has before him a bright and prosperous career. JAMES W. COOK, M.D., NECEDAH. T AMES WELLS COOK, a native of England, J was born at Reach, Cambridgeshire, July 15, 1841, his parents being George and Ann (Wells) Cook. His father was a merchant James early cultivated a love for books, and was especially fond of medical works ; and when a mere lad found pleasure in going among the sick, and trying to relieve and comfort them, and thus in early life resolved that he would some day become a physician. He attended school from seven to fourteen years of age, then went on board a sail vessel, and in the spring of 1856 took passage for America. He did not know a person on the ship, and his first voyage on the salt water was a hard one. The craft caught fire twice, much of the provisions were destroyed, and during the last ten days his rations were one sea biscuit and half a pint of water per day. Landing at New York city, he found his way to Rochester, in the western part of the State, and there went to live with a physician, Dr. H. Hammond, doing chores for his board and attending school. Thus he continued to do for four years, then taught school for two winters, in the meantime commencing the study of medicine, which, however, he did not complete until after the close of the civil war. In 1861 young Cook enlisted in Company G of the 108th Regiment of New York Infantry, and went into the field; but on account of ill health was obliged to leave the army in a few months. He went to Chicago in the autumn of 1863, and connected himself with St. Luke’s Hospital, where he remained three years, and at the same time con- tinued his medical studies. He attended lectures THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 245 at Rush College, and graduated in February, 1873, practically at the head of the class. Dr. Cook was immediately appointed house surgeon in St. Luke’s Hospital, in which position he continued one year, and at the expiration of that time removed to Nece- dah, where in two years he has built up a medical practice extending from twelve to sixteen miles in all directions. His surgical practice extends much farther. A few times he has attended cases from seventy-five to one hundred and twenty miles dis- tant. Probably no man of his age in the State has a better reputation as a surgeon. He has given to the study his closest attention, and having had excellent opportunities for progress has made the best use of them. Dr. Cook is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and belongs to Home Lodge, No. 508, Chicago. He is also a member of Grace Episcopal Church of the same city, there being no organization of that denomination in Necedah. On January 1, 1865, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Smith, of Chicago, who lived only a few months. Dr. Cook has since had other deep afflictions. During the latter half of the year 1876 he lost three sisters, all dying of different diseases, and in less than three months. The first two deaths occurred in Rochester, New York; the last one in Necedah. Phoebe, the youngest of the family, the only un- married sister, was physically very frail for many years. She was living in the Doptor’s family at the time of her demise, and was an affectionate sister, most tenderly loved, and her loss was deeply mourned by all. DUDLEY J. SPAULDING, BLACK RIVER FALLS. D udley j. Spaulding, son of Jacob Spaul- ding and Nancy Jane ne'e Sticking, is of strictly New England pedigree, both branches of his ancestry having been early Massachusetts families. They were whigs in the days of the revolution, and members of both families were engaged in the rev- olutionary struggle. Jacob Spaulding, a wheelwright and machinist by occupation, was living near Balls- ton, Saratoga county, New York, when Dudley was born, July 13, 1834, and two years afterward immi- grated to Illinois, settling near the city of Quincy. He was a skillful mechanic, and before leaving the East built a number of bridges in New York State and Canada. In 1839 he removed to Jackson county, Wisconsin, and there erected the first saw- mill ever built in the valley of the Black river — the same being the first improvement made on the pres- ent site of Black River Falls, except an apology for a mill built by the French twenty years before. At that time Indians were abundant, but there were no whites nearer than Prairie du Chien and Fort Snelling. At eleven years of age Dudley attended school for a few months at Prairie du Chien, and again when he was fourteen. A year later he attended a home school during one season, which completed his school privileges. Possessed of an inquiring mind, he embraced every opportunity for acquiring knowledge, and qualified himself for every branch of the lumber trade and for the many important trusts that have been imposed upon him aside from his life pursuits. Jacob Spaulding not only took the initiative in starting Black River Falls, but was the prime mover in its earlier improvements, adding a grist-mill and other industries from time to time. Dudley was with him from his fifteenth to his twenty-first year, acting in various capacities — working in the woods, clerking in the store or boating on the river. Hy was a well-built, robust youth, and at fourteen could do an average man’s work with the ax ; and the ex- periences of his early days have had their influence upon all his subsequent life. At the age of twenty-one, having accumulated a small capital, he opened several farms in the Trem- pealeau valley, in Jackson county, which, a few year’s later, he traded for lands nearer town. When about twenty-three years of age he was elected to the office of county clerk, and served in that capac- ity and also as clerk of the court for a period of two years. At the expiration of his term of office he, in company with William T. Price, leased a mill property, which at the end of one year he purchased, of Andrew Wood and others. Since that time he has been engaged in a general lumber business, ex- I tending his operations and adding to his premises THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 246 from year to year. He now has, at Black River Falls, a store 40 X 100 feet, with three floors; a saw- mill and flouring-mill ; a sash, door and blind fac- tory; also a wagon and a blacksmith shop. Besides, he owns a saw-mill and fixtures at Unity, Wiscon- sin, and a three-fourths interest in saw-mills and lumber yards in Dubuque and Montrose, Iowa. He owns forty thousand acres of pine and farm lands, and has about three thousand acres under cultiva- tion in different farms. Mr. Spaulding is a member of the Blue Lodge in the Masonic fraternity. In his political opinions he is a firm republican, but not an active politician. He has been connected with the Methodist Epis- copal church more than twenty years. On the nth of July, 1857, he was married to Miss Margaret J. Campbell, of Platte ville, Grant county, Wisconsin, and by her has had seven children, five of whom are now living. Mr. Spaulding’s father died January 23, 1876, in his sixty-seventh year. He was a man of great energy and much kindness of heart; had a liberal share of public spirit, and took pride in witnessing the growth and prosperity of the town which he helped to lo- cate and with whose history and growth both he and his son have been so intimately connected. The boy who at the age of seven accompanied his parents into this then wilderness and saw the foundations of this romantic village soon after they were laid, now looking around sees a thriving town of three thousand inhabitants, with half a dozen churches, a school house, which is an architectural adornment to the hill on which it stands, and all the indices of social culture and refinement. In closing this brief outline of his life, it is but just to state that no man now living, or who ever has lived, in Black River Falls has done more to advance the interests of the place than Dudley J. Spaulding. ALEXANDER McDONALD, FOND DU LAC. T HE subject of this sketch is a gentleman of fine business qualities, active, energetic, and remarkably successful in whatever he undertakes. Mr. McDonald was born in Lancaster, Glengarry county, Canada. He is a son of Donald and Marion McDonald. His father was engaged in farming and also in the lumber business. Alexander received his early education at the common school of his native town, and after leaving school he went to Montreal; engaged as a clerk in a grocery store, and remained there three years. He then returned home and engaged as clerk to Mr. Archibald McBean, a merchant and lumberman; young McDonald took charge of the store. After being there a year and a half Mr. McBean estab- lished a branch store, and Mr. McDonald took charge of this and was admitted as partner. After two years and a half he sold out his interest and went to Montreal, and spent the winter there, revolving in his mind what he should next do. In 1848 he engaged as clerk to a railway con- tractor, continuing one year, and then took charge of a gang of men ; and, after a year, was made super- intendent of a division. He held this position until 1855, when he returned home and spent the winter. In 1856 he removed to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and engaged in the lumber business in association with his brother, and some others. After five years he purchased the interest of all his associates, except that of his brother, and carried on the business under the firm name of A. and J. S. McDonald until 1869, when he sold his interest to his brother. Mr. A. McDonald now examined the pine lands which he owned, with a view of turning them to account. He bought a saw-mill in 1871, and en- gaged in the manufacture of lumber, and dealt in pine lands. In 1874 he became interested in the manufacture of threshing machines, and also in the seeder works. The business qualifications of Mr. McDonald became so appreciated, that he is now connected with many successful enterprises. In 1872 he was elected alderman of the city of Fond du Lac, and in 1873 he was elected mayor. Mr. McDonald is president of the Fountain City Paper Mill; president of the Fond du Lac Thresh- ing Machine Co. ; president of the Wheel and Seeder Co. ; he is one of the owners of McDonald and Stewart Sash, Door and Blind Manufactory; director of the Log Harbor Co. ; a director of the German-American Savings Bank; director of the THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 249 Fond du Lac Gravel Road Co. ; president of the St. Andrew’s Society. His activity is untiring, and he is held in high esteem. Mr. McDonald is a member of the Presbyterian church; and has been thrice married. In 1859 he was married to Miss Annie Cameron, by whom he had one daughter; and on the 12th of December, 1863, his wife died. In February, 1868, he married Christina McLennan, who only survived one year after marriage; and in 1872 he married Sarah E. Vaughan, by whom he has one son. In politics, Mr. McDonald has been a republican since the organization of the party. The career of Mr. McDonald has been remarkably successful, and he is never found wanting when any- thing is to be done to benefit the city. He is of temperate habits, a supporter of the temperate cause, and is sociable, agreeable and much respected. NATHANIEL TREAT AND SONS, MONROE. T HE history of Nathaniel Treat presents one of the best instances of rugged and enduring humanity, untiring energy, indomitable perseverance and invincible courage to be met with in modern history. He has never, since his boyhood, been a day out of employment, and during the greater part of his life has worked not less than sixteen hours daily ; and although he is now bordering on four- score years, he scorns inactivity and refuses to retire, and still supplies the place of book-keeper for the large establishment of his sons, Treat and Co., besides attending to other varied and important interests. He reads and writes without artificial aid to his sight, is quick and accurate at figures, and, in short, still possesses all the vivacity and much of the vigor of youth. He was born, December 29, 1798, at Frankfort, Waldo county, Maine, and is the son of Joseph Treat, and the grandson of the celebrated Lieuten- ant Joshua Treat, who, in 1759, came down the Penobscot waters with Gov. Pownal, and was em- ployed as a gunsmith at Fort Point, and also as interpreter of the Indian language, which he had acquired in his youth. He ascended the Penobscot river the same month and year in a canoe with Gov. Pownal, and landed on the bank of the Sourdeback stream, in what is now the town of Hampden, and there introduced Gov. Pownal to Madocawanda, chief of the Tarratine Indians. He subsequently settled in Connecticut, and was governor of that State, and his name has become historical in con- nection with a celebrated transaction of which the “Charter Oak” was witness. The sister of Gov. Treat married Mr. Robert Paine, and was the mother of Robert Treat Paine, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Gov. Treat was the first actual white settler on the Penobscot waters, and was the son of Joseph Treat, who was the son of the Rev. Samuel Treat, who came from England and settled at Eastham, Cape Cod, in the latter part of the seventeenth century — whose half- brother, Major Robert Treat, settled at Treat’s Falls at the same time. An English family Bible, printed during the rule of Cromwell, for many years the property of Gov. Joshua Treat, and for the last seventy years in the possession of Mrs. Lydia Park, of Searlsport, who married the youngest son of the governor, has just been (December, 1876) presented to the Antiquarian Society of the city of Bangor, Maine, as a relic of very great value. Nathaniel Treat received a common-school edu- cation in his native town of Frankfort, and com- menced life at the age of seventeen as a school teacher in a log school house, 20 x 24 feet, conspic- uous for its large brick chimneys and huge fire-place. In those early days there were no churches, and the school-houses were used as places of worship. He taught school in the winters, farmed and clerked in the summers until the year 1828, when he built a saw-mill at Orono, on the Penobscot river, which was the first mill ever erected on that stream, and began the manufacture of lumber. This business he carried on successfully for nearly forty years, enlarging his operations as his means increased until he was the owner of some eighteen mills on the Penobscot river, and besides proprietor of large tracts of timber-land and other property. He was, in 1836, one of the wealthiest men of the State. In the last named year he built the famous dam across the Penobscot river, still standing and known as Treat’s dam. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. 25O In 1S34 lie was elected to represent in the State legislature a constituency composed largely of his own tenants and employes, and was among the wisest members and most indefatigable workers in that body. The first interruption to his hitherto successful career occurred during the memorable monetary revulsion of 1837. He was president of the Stillwater Exchange Bank, which in that year failed in the general crash, involving him in heavy losses. In 1846 the high water carried off the largest of his mills at Orono and seriously damaged the others, inflicting enormous losses, from the effects , of which he was never afterward able fully to recover. In 1849 he was one of the foremost among the pioneers in the great California movement, which brought that State so prominently into notice, and tended in so remarkable a degree to develop its resources. He organized a company on the Kenebee river, purchased a sailing vessel, which was laden with an assorted cargo of such wares and merchan- dise as was then in demand on the Pacific Coast, and sent his son, Ezra Parker — hereinafter referred to — then in his eighteenth year, as supercargo to take care of his interests in the venture, which, how- ever, owing to mismanagement on the part of some of the other members of the company failed to realize the expectations of the originators of the enterprise. The affair led to the organization of the mining company, which subsequently owned and operated the celebrated Marysville ranch. Mr. Treat was also drawn into other business entangle- ments, and lost heavily by indorsing for friends, though he never failed or repudiated a claim for which he was in any way responsible. He was a man of strong nervous organism, of extraordinary brain power and magnetism ; medium in size, weighing about one hundred and sixty pounds, compactly built, sinewy and muscular; with an iron constitution he was a stranger to fatigue, and never suffered from pains or aches. He usually worked sixteen hours a day, always led his employes to work in the morning and was the last to close his labor at night. He was not, however, one of those indefatigable drudges who rise early, late take rest, and eat the bread of carefulness; not to make pro- vision for any reasonable necessity, but only to amass wealth. On the contrary, he was noted for his noble and whole-souled generosity. He desired to accumulate wealth for the good he could do with it. The widow and the fatherless were his care ; he dealt his bread to the hungry and never turned away from any poor man. If any of his employes lost life or limb in his service, their families were pensioned till fully able to take care of themselves, while every benevolent object within reach of him felt the touch of his generous hand. He was an earnest student of the Bible, and its holy precepts were a law unto him. Whatsoever he would that men should do to him, even so did he to them. He was brought up in the Universalist faith and adheres to it, believing that as in Adam all die, even so in Christ will all be made alive — spiritually and corporeally, and has through life enjoyed an equanimity of temper and calmness of mind born only of his steadfast trust in the all-wise Parent of Good. During the later years of his sojourn in Maine his attention was mainly directed to the care and improvement of his landed property, though he still conducted the lumber manufacturing business on a more limited scale. In 1866 he sold his property and business interest in the East and moved to Monroe, Wisconsin, whither his sons had preceded him. On the 25th of February, 1827, he married Miss Mary Parker, daughter of Oliver Parker, of Frank- fort, Maine, whose father was a soldier during the last years of the revolutionary war. She is still in the enjoyment of good health, and they expect soon to celebrate their golden wedding, which will be graced by such a family gathering as rarely assem- bles to do honor to a virtuous pair, who for half a century have trod together the thorny path of life sharing each other’s burdens and lightening each other’s cares. The fruit of their union has been eleven children, five of whom died in infancy and six of whom survive, viz. : Hariott, wife of H. W. Whitney, Esq.; Ezra Parker, Joseph Bradford, Nathaniel Byron, Susan Alice, wife of S. C. Chand- ler, Esq., and Mary B., wife of Wm. S. Bloom, Esq. ; all wealthy merchants in the city of Monroe. Ezra P., already referred to, after spending four years in the Marysville ranch, California, with very fair success, returned to Maine and remained with his father till 1864, when he removed to Monroe, Wisconsin, built a magnificent brick block on the west side of the square, and commenced business under the style of Treat and Co. (the youngest brother, Nathaniel B., being his partner). This is now (1877) one of the wealthiest firms in the State. On the 1st of January, 1858, E. P. Treat was married to Miss Ann Gilman, of Orono, Maine, a THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 2 5 r scion of one of the early colonial settlers of the State. Joseph B. had preceded his brother to Monroe in i860, and in company with his brother-in-law, H. W. Whitney, erected a magnificent brick store on the east side of the square, which for a number of years was conducted under the style of Whitney and Treat, but since the retirement of the former to take control of the Monroe Manufacturing Company the business has been conducted by J. B. Treat alone. He is a gentleman of fine culture, and, like his father, of great energy and industry. Since his settlement in Monroe he has taken a lively interest in everything pertaining to the improvement of the city and the well-being of the citizens. He has been a member of the school board and city gov- ernment, and is a promoter of whatever is designed to contribute to the intellectual or social advance- ment of the community. He has also been a zealous worker, from principle, in the republican party, and in 1874 was elected to the State senate to represent Lafayette and Green counties. Although still in the prime of life he has accumu- lated a competence. He is enterprising, generous and public-spirited, and one of the most courteous and popular gentlemen of the State. Next to Mr. Whitney he is the largest stockholder in the Monroe Manufacturing Company. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and has been intrusted with the settlement of several large estates of deceased citi- zens of Monroe. On the 1 8th of January, 1859, he married Miss P. J. Gould, daughter of Nia Gould, of Orono, Maine, descended of colonial stock. Nathaniel B., the youngest son, came to Wisconsin in 1858, in company with his brother-in-law, H. W. Whitney, with whom he was associated in business for some years after. In 1862 he went into the army as second lieutenant of Co. B, 31st Regi- ment Wisconsin Volunteers, served gallantly through the war, and was promoted to the rank of captain. He was one of the most popular and chivalric offi- cers in the service, sharing his quarters and rations with his men. He knew their several names, and sympathized with them in their trials, and was selected by his colonel to execute the death sentence upon seven rebel bushwhackers who had been con- victed by court-martial of numerous murders and out- rages upon peaceable Union citizens. Since the war he has been a member of the firm of Treat and Co. On the 17th day of July, 1866, he married Miss Eva Read, of Orono; she died July 23, 1874, leav- ing two children, one son and one daughter. Octo- ber 12, 1876, he married Miss Helen Gilman, of Orono, Maine, sister to the wife of his elder brother. ELIAS W. STEVENS, M.D., PORTAGE. R EV. ELIAS WYCKOFF STEVENS, son of Daniel and Sarah (Hanmer) Stevens, was born in Tompkins county, New York, September 2, 1832. His father, a farmer, and later in life a merchant, moved to Bradford county, Pennsylvania, when Elias was one year old. When he was fifteen the family removed to the West, and settled in Mayville, Dodge county, Wisconsin. Upon the death of the father, two years later, Elias left the farm and apprenticed himself to learn the cabinet maker’s trade, at which he worked in all, though not consecutively, five years. About the time he began learning this trade he was converted, and joined the Methodist church. At the age of eighteen he was licensed by the quarterly conference, and preached more or less before he was out of his apprenticeship. In 1852 I the presiding elder appointed him to the Marcellon circuit, in Columbia county, and two years later he joined the annual conference, and was appointed to Lowell, Dodge county. After preaching about three years, he withdrew from the Methodist Episcopal church, and joined the Wesleyan Methodists, on account of the slavery question ; he being a strong, outspoken abolitionist. He was a preacher in this denomination about twelve years, most of the time in central Wisconsin; and during three-fourths of this time was either secretary or president of the annual conference. As early as 1852 Mr. Stevens began to study medicine, giving to it whatever leisure time was at his command, and continued the same while preach- ing for the Wesleyan people. Later he attended a course of lectures at Bennett Medical College, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. Chicago, and graduated as valedictorian of the first class that graduated from that institution. Previous to receiving his diploma he had practiced medicine about five years, and abandoned it after practicing about as much longer. His location at this time was at Shawano. In April, 1872, Mr. Stevens founded, at Shawano, the “ Western Advance,” a paper of high moral tone, devoted to general news and temperance; and during the following year removed to Portage, where he still acts as its editor and proprietor. Although he has met with strong opposition and even losses because of his temperance sentiments, he is fearless in their promulgation, and is willing to suffer persecution if necessary, rather than lay down his pen or close his mouth. He has lectured on temperance, more or less every year, since he was seventeen years old; and at the present time, 1877, is in the lecture field. In the autumn of 1864 Mr. Stevens enlisted as a private in the 44th Regiment Wisconsin Infantry, and at the end of four months was commissioned its chaplain. During the last four months that he was in the service he was detailed at Paducah, Kentucky, as superintendent of refugees and freedmen,and was mustered out of the service at the close of the war. Mr. Stevens joined the republican party as soon as it was formed, and voted with it until 1875, when he joined the prohibitionists. In 1853 he united with the West Wisconsin con- ference of the Methodist Episcopal church, and was located, and at present is local elder in that body. He preaches frequently, and sometimes acts as substitute for the presiding elder. On the 20th of January, 1853, Mr. Stevens was married to Miss Mary R. Clark, of Randolph, Wis- consin. They have had seven children, of whom six are now living. The eldest child, Sarah A., is the wife of Allen H. Fosdick, of Shawano, Wis- consin ; Arthur C., George A. and Elbert E. work with their father in the printing office. Arthur is foreman and local editor. The names of the two youngest are Lura May and Elina Amanda. Although Mr. Stevens had limited opportunities for accumulating knowledge in his younger years, he made a good use of spare time ; mastered all the elementary branches before he had arrived at age, after which he gave considerable attention to higher branches, and long before middle life had obtained a large fund of general as well as theological and medical knowledge. He has always been a student and an independent thinker, and few men in the community in which he resides are as well posted on current events and the questions which agitate the public mind. He makes a good use of his attainments and talents, and the great purpose of his life is to promote the highest interests of his fellow-men. DON A. RAYMOND, M.D., FOND DU LAC. I T is remarkable that most of our eminent physi- cians are not men raised in the lap of luxury, and favored by the advantage of opportunities of early training, but are men of extraordinary energy of character, who, from the bent of inclination, have made choice of the profession, and have acquired learning despite many obstacles, earning the means to defray the expenses of their education by their own industry and perseverance. The career of the subject of this sketch is a good example of this fact. The parents of Don A. Raymond were Ebenezer and Rebecca Raymond. His father was a farmer and manufacturer of woodenware. Don was born at Warren, Washington county, Vermont, September 8, 1818. He received his preliminary education in his native town, and subsequently at the academy at Montpelier, Vermont. After leaving school he studied medicine, and taught school to defray the expenses of his medical tuition. The necessities of his cir- cumstances caused some delay in the prosecution of his studies, but in 1845 he graduated at Castleton Medical College. He returned to his native town and practiced medicine there for two years. In 1847 he removed to Canton, St. Lawrence county, New York, and followed his profession in that place. At the expiration of three years he was appointed surgeon of the State Prison at Clinton, New York, where he remained three years. In 1853 he re- moved to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, where he made his home and established a large practice. In 1861, at the outbreak of the war, he entered THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 255 the service of the United States, and was surgeon of the 3d regiment of Wisconsin volunteers. After one and a half years’ service his health failed, and he was compelled to resign. He returned home, and, after recruiting his health, resumed practice, which so grew upon him that he was obliged to de- cline much of his business on account of overwork. He has gained considerable reputation, has been very successful in his practice, as many of his patients gratefully acknowledge, and his pecuniary success has been satisfactory. Dr. Raymond is a member of the Fond du Lac Medical Society, as also of the State Medical Soci- ety. On the 1 5 tli day of May, 1850, he was married to Miss Maria Foote, by whom he has two daughters. His wife died September 28, 1874, much regretted by a large circle of friends. Dr. Raymond is not a member of any church, but is highly respected for his moral worth. In politics he has voted with the republican party ever since its organization, and has always been active in benevo- lent and charitable work. HENRI B. COLE, M.D., BLACK RIVER FALLS. T HE subject of this sketch, the son of Alfred Cole, a farmer of Putnam county, New York, was born at Carmel, July 6, 1838. His mother’s maiden name was Calista J. Wilson. His paternal grandfather was a soldier in the second war with England. Henri attended the district school and worked on the farm until eighteen years of age, his school life including about fourteen or fifteen weeks each year. Though thus restricted in his facilities for gaining an education, he embraced every oppor- tunity for reading, both in the field and at home during the evenings (history being one of his fa- vorite branches of study), and by economizing his time read the works of Josephus, “ Rollin’s Ancient History,” and other standard authors, during spare hours and moments which many lads would have allowed to pass unimproved. In 1856 he began the study of medicine with Dr. John Quincy Adams, of Carmel, New York, and af- terward attended lectures at the medical depart- ment of the University of New York, from which he graduated in the spring of i860. He began to practice two years before graduating, during which time he was on the staff of Professor Gunning S. Bedford and in the New York City and Bellevue Hospitals, and thus enjoyed superior facilities for preparing himself for medical and surgical practice. In the autumn of i860 Dr. Cole removed to Minnesota, and settled at Faribault, where he con- tinued the practice of his profession until the spring of 1862, when he was commissioned assistant sur- geon of the 5th Minnesota Infantry, which position he resigned before going into the field, in order to accept the same position in the 128th Regiment New York Infantry, of which one of his old medical professors was surgeon. With this regiment he was ordered to New Orleans, and was detailed to do duty at quarantine near that city, remaining there until the spring of 1863. He was then detailed to St. James Hospital, New Orleans, and during the sum- mer was sent to Cairo, Illinois, with a large number of wounded soldiers ; thence he returned to Louisi- ana in the following autumn, and was ordered to the Barracks, “ U. S. A. General Hospital,” New Or- leans, where he remained as executive officer until mustered out of the service in July, 1865. In the fall of 1865 Dr. Cole settled at his present home, and, resuming his profession, has become the leading medical practitioner in Jackson county. As a surgeon he is eminently successful, and has at- tained an enviable reputation throughout his part of the State. Aside from his professional duties, Dr. Cole has represented the village of Black River Falls as county supervisor for five or six years, and is one of the most active and influential members of the board. He was also clerk of the school district for several years, and was one of the originators of an educational enterprise which resulted in the erection of a thirty thousand dollar school house, and one of the best systems of instruction in the interior of the State; the course of study in the graded school be- ing sufficient to prepare a student for college. Dr. Cole is a Knight Templar in the Masonic order. In his political sentiments he is a republican, and for two years was a member of the Republican State Central Committee. On July 15, 1866, he was married to Miss Clara 256 THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. A. Baxter, daughter of Dr. J. B. G. Baxter, surgeon of U. S. volunteers, of I,a Crosse, Wis. They have one child. Although not yet forty years of age, Dr. Cole has made a most honorable record. An ardent stu- dent, and largely self-taught, except in his profes- sion, he has laid a firm foundation of knowledge, and also of character, and is steadily building up the superstructure. He is a man of noble instincts, of rare personal and social qualities, and is highly respected as a citizen, as well as a physician and surgeon. CHARLES R. GLEASON, EAU CLAIRE. C HARLES R. GLEASON was born in the town of Caroline, Tompkins county, New York, on the 8th of September. 1831. His father, a farmer, tanner, and manufacturer of gloves and mittens, moved to Richford, Tioga county, when the son was one year old. There Charles attended school as soon as he was old enough; until he attained his fourteenth year, at which time he became a clerk in a store in Hartford, Cortland county. He re- mained there three years, and employed his leisure time in reviewing his studies and mastering new branches, and at seventeen engaged in teaching at Speedsville, Tompkins county. At the age of eighteen he accompanied his father’s family to Wisconsin, and settled at Kingston, Green Lake county, where he spent nearly three years in the office of the register of deeds. In 1856 he re- moved to Madison, and devoted nearly two years to a clerkship in the State land department, and after- ward was chief clerk of the same between two and three years. In i860 Mr. Gleason removed to Eau Claire, and was a forwarding and commission mer- chant and grain operator during the next nine years. At the expiration of that time he engaged in a general merchandise and lumber trade, which he continued about three years ; and in the spring of 1872 was elected the first clerk of the city, an office which he still holds. In 1870 Mr. Gleason was elected to the general assembly as representative from Eau Claire and Pepin counties, being sent to the legislature for the express purpose of securing the passage of an act for the improvement of the Dallas. Although he suc- ceeded in getting such a bill through the house, it was defeated in the senate. It has since passed both branches of the legislature, and the improve- ment is progressing. Mr. Gleason is a strong man in debate, and did good service for his constituents in the legislature. He was a member of the board of county supervisors for several years, and chair- man of the original town of Eau Claire more than half the time ; and besides held other positions of responsibility and trust. In politics he has always acted with the demo- cratic party, and is one of its leaders in Eau Claire county. He is a Knight Templar in the Masonic fraternity. He was married on the 2d day of April, 1852, to Frances I. Miller, of St. Marie, Wisconsin, and by her has two children. Throughout his career Mr. Gleason’s conduct has been marked by uprightness, promptness and energy; he is a man of public spirit, and, since becoming a resident of Eau Claire, has taken a most active in- terest in all local improvements, and matters pertain- ing to the prosperity and development of the city, and by his genuine manly course has gained the high esteem of his fellow-citizens. ALBERT E. POUND, CHIPPEWA FALLS. O NE of the prominent builders of the thriving city of Chippewa Falls is Albert E. Pound, a native of Warren county, Pennsylvania. He was born June 2, 1831. His parents, Elijah and Judith Pound, were Quakers, and had moved from Roch- ester, New York, a short time prior to Albert’s birth. In 1838 the family returned to western New York, and after experimenting a short time in Fourierism THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 257 at Clarkson, in Orleans county, removed to the city of Rochester, where the father and sons were em- ployed in a woolen factory. Not meeting with that degree of success which he had hoped, he resolved to try the West, and accordingly, in 1847, moved with his family to Rock county, Wisconsin, and rented a farm ten miles from Janesville. Here Albert’s time was so fully occupied in assisting in the farm work that he had little opportunity for mental improve- ment, although he made good use of such as he had in the district schools. Being possessed of an in- quisitive turn of mind, he improved his spare hours, out of school, in examining into the various sciences and other branches of study. About 1850 he made a lecturing tour with his younger brother, Thaddeus, speaking on psychology, animal magnetism and other kindred topics, and exposing the tricks of apostles of the pseudo sciences. About 1851, in company with his brother, he re- turned to New York, and attended school several terms in the Rushford, Alleghany county, Academy, teaching occasionally; and on the 31st of October, 1855, the two married two sisters, Albert choosing Sarah E. and Thaddeus Susan A. Loomis, daughters of Nathan S. Loomis, of Oneida county. During that same year our subject returned to Wisconsin and settled at Chippewa Falls, and, having decided to make it his permanent home, removed his family hither in 1857. He was at the first employed there as time-keeper in the saw-mill of H. S. Allen. At the end of one year he took charge of Mr. Allen’s manufacturing and merchandising interests at Yellow River Mills, five miles east of the Falls, and in 1862 became a member of the firm of Pound, Halbert and Co., at the Falls, and continued a member of the same until 1869, when he became secretary of the Union Lumbering Company, a capacity in which he acted until March, 1875. Since that date he has been a member of the firm of A. F. Pound and Co., his partners being Messrs. H. S. Allen and Thomas L. Halbert, two of the oldest and most substantial business men in the place. They have the largest mercantile house in the city, are lessees of the Union Lumbering Company’s mills and river works, and in all departments combined are doing an annual bus- iness of nine hundred thousand dollars. In 1876 they cut thirty-two million feet of lumber, eight million of shingles, seven million of lath and six hundred and fifty thousand of pickets. Mr. Pound belongs to the Masonic fraternity, and has taken the thirty-second degree. In politics he has always been a republican, and in 1871 was elected to the State legislature, the only important political office for which he would ever consent to run. He was known as a working mem- ber of the general assembly of the State. He was mayor of Chippewa Falls about 1871, and has been a member of the school board several years, and is still its leading spirit in all public enterprises; there is no warmer friend of education in the Chippewa valley than he. He has six children, and uses every means for their mental culture and improve- ment. Mr. Pound is not a time server; he is bold and outspoken, freely, fearlessly and fully expressing his views on any question under consideration. He is clear, concise and ready in debate, a perfect master of the details of business, and forward in all schemes looking to local improvements in any respect. He is a man of generous and liberal nature, aiid in an unostentatious manner contributes freely of his means to all worthy charities. HON. JAMES M. BINGHAM, CHIP PE 11 'A FA LLS. TAMES MONROE BINGHAM, son of Horace J and Rachel (Howard) Bingham, was born in the town of Perry, Wyoming county, New York, Febru- ary 3, 1828. His father, a well-to-do farmer, was a soldier in the war of 1812. James remained at home until his twentieth year, aiding his father, and received his education at the common schools and the Perry Center Academy. After leaving home he was engaged in teaching some twelve terms, and 32 during that time continued his mathematical, class- ical and other studies. During the latter years of his teaching in New York State he was principal of the Perry Center Academy and the Leroy High School. In the autumn of 1853 he removed to the West, and passed the following winter in Michigan, teach- ing, near Detroit. In the ensuing spring he pro- ceeded to Chicago, and thence during the summer THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. 258 to Palmyra, Jefferson county, Wisconsin. While in l.erov lie began the study of law with F. H. Bissell ; afterward resumed the same in Chicago, and finally completed them at Palmyra. After being admitted to the bar in 1S56 he began the practice of his pro- fession at Palmyra, and continued there until 1871, when he removed to Chippewa Falls, and there still continues his practice in partnership with Mr. W. I,. Pierce, under the firm name of Bingham and Pierce. Mr. Bingham stands at the head of the Chippewa countv bar, and in the front ranks of the legal fra- ternity of the eleventh circuit. He was a member of the general assembly of Wis- consin during the years 1863, 1864, 1870, 1871 and 1874, and was speaker in 1870. During all these sessions of the legislature he was a member of the judiciary committee, and chairman of the same in 1863 and 1869. These positions as speaker and as chairman of the most important committee in- dicate his standing in the lower house of the legis- lature. In the summer of 1864 Mr. Bingham entered the military service as major of the 40th Infantry, a hundred-days regiment, and was stationed at or near Memphis. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and has been high priest of the chapter at Chippewa Falls since its organization. In poli tics he has always been a republican, and, as his history indicates, has been a favorite of the party. In religious sentiment he is a Congregationalist, and is a trustee of the Presbyterian society, there being no Congregational organization in the place. Mrs. Bingham is a daughter of the late Dr. W. C. Dwight, of Moscow, New York. She has three children. She is a woman of culture and refine- ment, and is active and benevolent in all charitable measures. Mr. Bingham stands high both as a court and jury lawyer. He is thoroughly posted on legal questions, and polished both in manners and lan- guage. He speaks slowly, sometimes wittily, more often eloquently, and all his sentences exhibit the training of a scholar and a complete mastery of the English language. HON. JOHN E. MANN, MIL WA UK EE. JUDGE JOHN E. MANN, of Milwaukee, Wis- J consin, was born in Schoharie county, New York, March 4, 1821. His parents were George W. and Elizabeth Mann. His father was a farmer. His parents were upright people and gave him excellent moral precepts and example. He entered the sophomore class in Williams Col- lege in 1840, but after remaining two terms he left Wilhams and entered Union College, Schenectady, where he graduated in the classical course in 1843. After graduating he entered the law office of Jacob Houck, junior. He was admitted to the bar in 1847 at Utica, New York, at the general term. He commenced practice in Schoharie county, where he followed his profession for seven and a half years. In May of the year 1854 he came to Wisconsin and located at West Bend, Washington county. Here he formed a copartnership with Hon. L. F. Frisbee, which existed until April, 1859, when he was elected judge of the third circuit to fill a vacancy occasioned by fudge Larabee’s resignation. In i860 he was reelected for a term of six years, and discharged the duties of that office until January, 1867, when he removed to Milwaukee. On his arrival at Mil- waukee he formed a copartnership with F. W. Cutzhansen, which continued until the 5th of Feb- ruary, 1874, when he was appointed by Governor Taylor judge of the county court, of Milwaukee county, Hon. H. L. Palmer resigned. This office he still holds. The judge of Milwaukee county has concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit court of said county to the amount of five millions of dollars, and also jurisdiction in the probate court of said county. fudge Mann was raised a Protestant, and still holds that faith. His present political views are democratic, though he has never been an extreme partisan. He is a warm patriot, and believes in this country first and last. Before coming to Wis- consin he was judge-advocate of the Militia of New York. On October 22, 1845, he married Catharine Dietz, granddaughter of Hon. William Dietz, member of congress in the days of Martin Van Buren. Judge Mann and his wife were raised on adjoining farms TIIE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARV. 26l from infancy. His father gave him his education; when that was finished he was thrown upon his own resources. Judge Mann’s characteristics are those of strong common sense, stern integrity, unremitting industry. His views of general subjects are broad and com- prehensive, and being a student from inclination and from habit, lie arrives at his conclusions care- fully. His knowledge of the principles of the law is almost perfect, and he applies them with discre- tion and rigid impartiality. He is brief in speech, reserved and unobtrusive in manner, benevolent in all his impulses, strong in his friendships, and firm in all his convictions of duty. He personates to those who know him the honest man, who is “ the noblest work of God.” JOSEPH M. MORROW, SPARTA. OSEPH McKEEN MORROW is the son of Henry Morrow, cabinet maker, and was born January 1, 1832, in Aurora, Erie county, New York. His mother’s maiden name was Mary McKeen, whose father was a soldier in the war of 1812. Some of her elder relatives were engaged in the struggle for independence. Joseph was educated at the academy in his native village, a popular institution thirty years ago, and still in a prosperous condition. In 1848 he went to Buffalo, where for a time he was employed as sales- man in a grocery store. Later he learned the trade of reed-making in the melodeon factory of George A. Prince and Co., and in 1854 went to Boston, Massachusetts, and worked two years in the organ factory of Mason and Hamlin. While in Buffalo Mr. Morrow spent a few months in a law office, and while in Boston continued the same line of study as he had opportunity. Near the close of the year 1856 he removed to the West, arriving in Sparta, Monroe county, Wisconsin, on the 17th of December. Here he at once resumed his law studies in the office of L. W. Graves, Esq., with whom, after being admitted to the bar in the autumn of 1858, he formed a partnership, which continued until the spring of 1864. At that time, by reason of impaired health, Mr. Morrow went to Montana Territory, where he spent about three years. Returning, much benefited by the trip, he resumed his profession, practicing alone for several years. During the last three years he has been in partnership with Chas. M. Masters, under the firm name of Morrow and Masters. In 1862 Mr. Morrow was a member of the lower branch of the Wisconsin legislature, being elected to fill a vacancy. In 1870 he was elected district attorney, an office to which he was twice reelected, serving, in all, six years in succession. He is now president of the village of Sparta; and in whatever position he has been placed by the suffrages of the people he has shown himself competent, prompt and faithful. Mr. Morrow early imbibed the principles of the democratic party, and having never changed his political opinions, is now a strong man in his party. On the 9th of May, i860, he was married to Miss Olive Graves, of Sparta, daughter of Rev. Nathaniel Graves, an early settler in Monroe county. They have had one child, a daughter. Mr. Morrow is a very public-spirited man, and was one of the foremost in bringing the Chicago and Northwestern railroad to Sparta, and has promptly lent a hand in every enterprise tending to further the interests of his adopted home. HON. MARK RUMP. BLACK RIVER FALLS. T HE subject of this sketch is a native of New York, and was born at Scipio, February 26, 1811. His father, Bethuel Bump, was a soldier in the war of 1812, from which he never returned — though during what year, where, or how he died, the son never knew. At six years of age Mark went to live with a maternal uncle, Peter Tibbies, three miles from Attica, Wyoming county, New York, in the so 2 62 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. called "Holland Purchase.” Three years afterward, upon the death of his uncle, he returned to his mother and spent most of the next four or five years in school. At the age of fourteen he cast himself upon his own resources, and during the next three years spent the summers in farm work, and attended school winters. In 1S2S, at the age of seventeen, he went to Au- burn, and there contracted for a forty-mile mail route for the term of two years, at the end of which time he engaged as clerk in a hotel at Skaneateles. Leaving this place at the end of one year, he engaged in the same vocation in an Auburn hotel, where he remained until June, 1833, and then removed to Buffalo, and spent a few months in the Mansion House. We next find him conducting a hotel for other parties, at Huron, Ohio; then, in 1836, speculating in wild lands and village property, in Shiawasse, Michigan, and in 1839 and 1840 steamboating on the lakes. In December of the last-named year he settled at Lower Sandusky, now Fremont, Ohio, and during the next three years was engaged as an inn-keeper. In March, 1843, Mr. Bump settled at Racine, Wis- consin, and opened a farm six miles from town. In 1845 he leased the Racine House, but abandoned it at the end of two years and returned to his farm. In 1851, in connection with another gentleman, he built a saw-mill at Omro, Winnebago county, Wis- consin, which he operated for two years; he then sold his mill and removing to Portage, there dealt in real estate and lumber, and later, in merchandise. In August, 1855, he removed to Black River Falls, with a stock of merchandise. In 1859 he discon- tinued the mercantile trade, and for three years confined himself exclusively to the lumber business, which had from the start occupied more or less of his time and energies. In 1862 Mr. Bump again opened a store and continued in trade until 1871, when he again turned his attention entirely to the lumber trade. In November, 1875, he was appointed county judge by Governor Taylor, a position which he still holds, making an efficient and popular officer. Judge Bump has been twice married: first, to Eliza Chesebrough, of Auburn, New York, on the 31st of December, 1832. Mrs. Bump died in Buf- falo, of cholera, in 1834. His second marriage was on the 1st of December, 1836, to Laura Pierson Colt, of Huron, Ohio, who died August 8, 1876. He has no children living — had one child by his first wife, which died in infancy. He never had a brother and has no sisters living. About two years ago he joined the Episcopal church, of which his second wife was an influential and active member, and is cheerfully awaiting the time when he shall join the loved ones who have gone before to the realms of bliss. Personally Judge Bump is sociable, affable and companionable. He always greets one with a smile and seems on the best of terms with all men, and at peace with God. LEVI M. VILAS, EAU CLAIRE. AMONG the prominent men of Wisconsin none is il more deserving of an honorable mention than Levi Madison Vilas. His father, Judge Vilas, held high positions before leaving Vermont, his native commonwealth, and has been a member of the Wis- consin legislature three or four times. He was mayor of the city of Madison, and during the war was draft commissioner, and for twelve years was a regent of the State University. Well educated him- self, and a thorough appreciator of the value of learning, he gave his five sons the advantage of a college education, and thus aided them in laying good foundations on which to build. Two or three of them are lawyers, and, at middle life, are leading men in their profession. William F. Vilas, of Mad- ison, has few equals in the legal profession in Wis- consin, and the subject of this sketch is among the foremost attorneys in the Chippewa valley. Levi Madison Vilas, son of Levi B. and Esther Green (Smilie) Vilas, was born in Chelsea, Vermont, February 17, 1844. His parents moved to Madison, Wisconsin, when he was seven years old. He was kept at school during all his younger years, pre- pared for college at Madison, and graduated from the State University in June, 1863, and from the Albany, New York, Law School in May, 1864. After spending a year with his brother William, at Madi- son, he, in 1865, went into the quartermasters de- THE UNITED STATES BI OGRA PHI CAL DICTIONARY. partment of the United States army as chief clerk, and spent two years in that position at Alexandria, Washington, St. Louis, Fort Laramie, Wyoming Ter- ritory, and Fort Sedgwick, Colorado. At the expi- ration of that time he returned to Madison, and in |une, 1868, settled in Eau Claire, where he has since attended closely to his legal profession. In 1872, when Eau Claire became a city, he was appointed the city attorney, in \vhich capacity he served one year. In 1876 he was elected mayor of the city, both political parties giving him a hearty support, and the manner in which he has discharged his duties shows the wisdom of their choice. The office sought him, not he the office. A lawyer by profession and from choice, it is with reluctance that he steps aside to occupy any official position. In politics he is a democrat, though both in this 263 and in religion he is a man of broad and liberal views. He was married on the 25th of August, 1869, to Miss Ella C. Slingluffi of Eau Claire, and by her has two children. Few men reared in the State laid a better founda- tion than Levi M. Vilas. His literary education was thorough ; his opportunities for legal instruction the very best, and he is making good use of the advantages early secured. He is still a close and enthusiastic student. As a lawyer he is thoroughly posted ; he is especially powerful before a jury, and has no superior in Eau Claire county before the court. Mr. Vilas is a man of fine physique, being five feet and ten and a half inches in height, and weighing two hundred and five pounds. OTIS HOYT, M.D., HUDSON. O NE of the oldest and best known citizens of St. Croix county, Wisconsin, is Dr. Otis Hoyt, a native of New Hampshire. He was born at Sand- wich, December 3, 1810, and is the son of George and Mary Hoyt. Both of his grandfathers (Hoyt by name) served in the revolutionary war. His father was a farmer by occupation. During his early life George attended the common school and aided his father on the farm, and at the age of four- teen entered the academy at Fryburg, Maine, where he prepared for college. In 1829 he entered Dart- mouth, from which he graduated in 1833. He then studied medicine there for a time with Professor Massey, and afterward completed his course of study at Philadelphia, graduating from Jefferson Medical College in 1836. After two years’ practice at Mason, New Hamp- shire, he removed to Framingham, Massachusetts, and practiced there until 1846, at which time he entered the Mexican war as a surgeon in the regu- lar army, and remained until the war closed. In April, 1849, visited Hudson, Wisconsin, but there being no house there in which to live, he went to St. Croix Falls and spent one year, and at the end ot that time settled at Hudson. At that time there were more half-breed families than pure whites in the place, and more log cabins than frame houses. 1 he white men with families were, P. Aldrich, Am- asa Andrew, Moses Perrin, W. R. Anderson, John O. Henning and Joseph Tyler. In 1851 Dr. Hoyt was elected to the legislature, and Hudson was so crowded at that time that he removed his family to Stillwater for shelter during his absence. When the Doctor opened an office in Hudson, in 1850, there was no physician in the State within a hundred and fifty miles, the nearest one being at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. He often went from fifty to seventy miles to visit patients, and once went more than a hundred. Sometimes he rode a mule, and sometimes went on foot. He has walked sixty miles to see a patient, often thirty and forty ; and on one occasion, being compelled to remain out over night, near Snake river, with the thermometer thirty degrees below zero, he dug a hole in the snow, wrapped his blankets around him, and rested as well as he could. Having on two pairs of mocca- sins he took off one pair because they hurt his feet, and lost them by the wolves carrying them off while he slept. In those early days the Chippewa Indians were very numerous in this part of the country, and the Doctor was often called to administer to them in his professional character. He was never a respecter of persons, and obeyed every professional summons, whether it was to an Indian wigwam near at hand THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONART. 264 or a white man's cabin a hundred miles away. He lias always had a good reputation both as a medical practitioner and surgeon. In September, 1862, Ur. Hoyt went into the United States army as surgeon of the 30th Wis- consin Volunteer Infantry, but was on detached service most of the time, at different points. For a time he had charge of the hospital at Camp Ran- dall. Madison, and was examining surgeon sometime in the winter of 1863, and examined over eleven thousand recruits. He was medical director at Bowling Green and Louisville, Kentucky, and from July to November, 1864, was at Fort Rice, on the Missouri river. His experience in surgery during the civil war was of the greatest value to him, and fitted him for still greater usefulness in this line in his practice at home. He is known as one of the most successful surgeons in the State. In politics he has been a life-long democrat, and was once a candidate for Congress, running against C. C. Washburne, in one of the strongest republican districts in the State. He did not expect to be elected, and was not. Dr. Hoyt has been twice married, his wives being sisters, namely, Mary R. King and Eliza B. King, of Ipswich, New Hampshire. By the first he had two children, a son and a daughter, who are still living. By the second wife" he has had seven children, five of whom, daughters, are now living. Dr. Hoyt is a Knight Templar in the Masonic fraternity. He is a little above the average height, slightly corpulent, and weighs two hundred and ten pounds; has a ruddy face and pleasant expression. He has a jovial disposition, and possesses a happy faculty of relating anecdotes and stories, a good supply of which he always has at hand. He is a true speci- men of the weather-beaten, robust and rosy pioneer. WILLIAM W. FIELD, MADISON. 7 ILLIAM W. FIELD was born at Lancaster, New Hampshire, October 31, 1824; his parents’ names were Abel W. and Sally Field. His father was a common farmer, never owning a farm but living upon rented land upward of twenty-five years; and raising a family consisting of five sons and one daughter, giving each of them a good com- mon-school education. William W. attended the common school in his native town, finishing his school education with two terms in the Lancaster Academy. At the age of seventeen he taught school in winter for three suc- cessive years, giving the proceeds to his father, and worked on the farm the balance of the year. At the age of twenty his father gave him his time, as he did each of his brothers, saying he would give him a year’s time, but money or property he could not give. In the spring of 1845 he left home with a portion of the thirty dollars in gold in his pocket, earned in teaching a three-months school the winter previous, and went to Medford, Massachusetts; worked on a small farm there for two years, then moved to Bel- fast, Maine, and engaged in the marble business with William H. Lane, a former schoolmate; remained there until September, 1852, when he moved to Fen- nimore, Grant county, Wisconsin ; purchased land, moved into a log cabin, containing one room, painted it up with his own hands, plastered it with mud upon the outside, and lime mortar on the inside, and there went to keeping house and to farming. In 1865 he rented his farm and moved to Boscobel, Grant county, to enjoy better facilities for educating his children. He owned and worked a small farm near that village. In January, 1873, he moved to Madi- son, Wisconsin, where he has since lived. He is very liberal in his religious views, belonging to no church or sect. He was a whig until the organization of the re- publican party, and has ever acted with that party. He was a strong Union man during the war, and while he did not enlist and “ step to the front," he did what he could at home to uphold the soldier in the field and suppress the rebellion. He was elected to the office of chairman of the board of supervisors, and town clerk of Fennimore several times; chairman of the county board of su- pervisors of Grant county in 1861 ; and was elected member of the legislature from Grant county in 1855, *862, 1863, 1864 and 1865 ; and tire last two years was speaker of the assembly. He was elected one of the presidential electors at large on the repub- f THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 267 lican ticket in 1864. He was appointed member of the board of regents of the University of Wisconsin in 1871, and served on the board until the expira- tion of his term in 1873. He was elected a member of the executive committee of the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society in 1867; has been a member ever since, and at the meeting of the executive board in February, 1873, upon the resignation of Prof. John W. Hoyt, was elected secretary of the society, to which position he has been annually elected since, and which office he now holds. In April, 1875, was elected secretary of the Wisconsin State Board of Centennial Managers. Mr. Field was married October 31, 1850, to Mahala J. Howe, by whom he has three daughters, namely, Jennie, Ella J. and Cora L. ; the eldest, Jennie, graduated in 1874 at the University of Wis- consin, and the other two are attending the same college. While Mr. Field’s life has not attracted 11s by its brilliancy, nor astonished us by extraordinary dis- plays of power, it has interested us in its adaptability to circumstances by which he has been surrounded, in the earnestness of its purpose to be useful to the present generation, and to leave a praiseworthy example to those which follow. HIRAM S. ALLEN, CHIPPEWA FALLS. T HE first permanent settler in Chippewa county, Wisconsin, and now one of the most venerable and venerated citizens of Chippewa Falls, is Hiram Storrs Allen, a native of the Green Mountain State. He was born in Chelsea, Orange county, New Hamp- shire, September 18, 1806, and has recently rounded up his threescore years and ten. He is the son of Sluman and Hannah (Storrs) Allen. His father, who was old enough to enter the military service before the close of the revolutionary war, was a distant rel- ative of Gen. Ethan Allen. In early life he was a tanner and currier, and later, a farmer and miller. Hiram worked on the farm and operated a small saw-mill until he was twenty-six years of age, enjoy- ing but very limited advantages in the common school during his boyhood. In 1832 he turned his steps westward. He spent one year near Springfield, Illinois, another in the mines near Galena, and in 1834 plunged into the wilderness among the Chippewas, on the Red Cedar or Menomonee river, an affluent of the Chippewa river. There he purchased, of Street and Lock- wood, the first saw-mill erected on that stream, and engaged in the lumber trade and operated the Me- nomonee Mills until 1846, when he removed to Chippewa Falls. For thirty years he has been one of the leading lumbermen in the Chippewa valley, and has operated more or less in real estate. He also owns a flouring mill, and has been manufacturing flour as well as lumber during most of the time since he became a resident of Chippewa Falls. In the lumber department of his business he has usually been connected with other parties, and is now a member of the firm of A. E. Pound and Co., lessees of the Union Lumbering Company’s saw-mill and river works. This firm has the largest mercantile store in Chippewa Falls. In politics, Mr. Allen was formerly a whig, and since 1856 has voted the republican ticket, but has uniformly declined to hold office even in the mu- nicipality of the city. By strict adherence to principle and attention to business he has gained a liberal competency, and has few cares. Mr. Allen attends the services of the Presbyterian church, but is not a member. He gives liberally for the support of the gospel and of all benevolent causes. Mr. Allen was married in September, 1838, and has had eleven children, seven of whom are now living. His wife, a Demarie, is of French descent. Prior to the time when Mr. Allen located in the Chippewa valley, parties had been there cutting square timber and shingles, but, having left, he was at that time the only white man in the valley. Indians owned the land, but were peaceable and friendly. In all the early enterprises and improvements in this part of Wisconsin he was a leader. He aided in building small steamboats to navigate the Chip- pewa river, in surveying and opening public roads to the Mississippi and prominent points in other directions, and in establishing stage and mail routes. Later he has taken part in other grand enterprises. 268 the united states biographical dictionary. The railway from Chippewa Falls to connect with the West Wisconsin road at Eau Claire, which was completed in 1874, is largely owing to his influence and capital. The lumbermen of Wisconsin are the princely men of the commonwealth, and its noblest builders. The pioneers in particular were bold and persever- ing, and although they had their drawbacks by flood and fire they overcame all obstacles which disheart- en men of less stamina, and finally have been re- warded with that success which invariably follows honest, persistent effort. WILLIAM T. GALLOWAY, M.D., EAU CLAIRE. T HE parents of the subject of this sketch, Duty and Martha Galloway, though having the same surname, were not related to each other. Duty Galloway was a Scotchman, and came to America when a young man, settling at Maitland, Canada, where he married, and afterward removed to Sack- ett's Harbor, New York (where William Tibbetts was born April 24, 1824). He was a tanner by trade, and moved to Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence county, when the son was two years old. William was a self-reliant youth, and took care of himself after he was nine years of age, alternating between work and attending school, using all his surplus funds in gaining an education. He pursued a preparatory course of study at Pottsdam and Gouveneur, but did not enter college. At the age of nineteen he began the study of medicine with Dr. F. Cole, of Pottsdam, and attended a course of lectures at Castleton, Vermont, and graduated in 1845. After practicing about three years at Potts- dam he traveled through the South and West, and finally settled at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, where he practiced from 1850 to 1857. At that time he re- moved to Eau Claire, having been appointed regis- ter of the United States land office at that place by President Buchanan. During the four years that he served in that capacity he practiced medicine more or less, and has continued the practice, with a grow- ing reputation, to the present time (1877). Though a general practitioner, he makes a specialty of dis- eases of women, and has eminent success. He also has a good reputation as a surgeon, and has traveled a hundred, and even a hundred and fifty miles to attend to difficult cases. Dr. Galloway is a member of the Masonic frater- nity, and has taken the thirty-third degree. In religious sentiment he accords with the Epis- copalians. In politics, he has-been a life-long democrat, and an active and influential man in the party. He was a delegate to the national convention held at Charleston in i860, also to that in Chicago in 1864, and to that at Baltimore in 1872, and has attended nearly all the democratic State conventions held during the last twenty years. He was postmaster at West Pottsdam under President Polk. Mrs. Galloway was a daughter of Hon. N. P. Talmadge, United States senator from New York, and first territorial governor of Wisconsin. She was married to Dr. Galloway in 1854, and has one child, a son, now seventeen years old. The Doctor has a light complexion, blue eyes, and a sanguine bilious temperament. He is a man of large physique, being six feet and half an inch in height, and weighing two hundred and thirty pounds. CHARLES W. FOSBINDER, M A US TON. C HARLES WESLEY FOSBINDER, of German descent, is the son of Flnoch and Mary (Craw- ford) Fosbinder. His parents were industrious peo- ple of limited means, and at the time of Charles’ birth, August 18, 1840, were living at Lakeville, Oakland county, Michigan. The father was a farm- er by occupation, and in 1846 he removed to Ogle county, Illinois, and four years later to Adams, now Juneau county, Wisconsin, Charles remaining with his parents until he had attained his majority, and THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. during each winter after his seventeenth year taught a district school. He was endowed with a nat- ural and strong love for books, and fitted himself for an instructor, largely by private study at home, and in teaching he experienced the highest enjoy- ment, since he thus not only aided in expanding the minds of others, but also cultivated and im- proved his own. Soon after the opening of the war of the rebellion, on September 24, 1861, he enlisted in the 12th Wis- consin Infantry, and went out as corporal, serving three years, though not all the time on the “ tented field.” In the skirmish at Coldwater, Mississippi, April 19, 1863, he received a serious wound (being the first man wounded in his regiment), a bullet passing through his left arm, breaking it and entering his left lung, lodging, it is supposed, near the heart, where it still remains, causing him great pain at times, and a trouble that increases from year to year. Having partially recovered he entered the hospital at Madison, Wisconsin, as overseer of a ward, and acted in that capacity during five or six months. Mr. Fosbinder is a true patriot, and was a brave soldier; and has always regretted being 269 wounded in the heroic iath’s first engagement with the rebels. After retiring from the military service he engaged in farming for five years, employing the winter months in teaching. In November, 1870, he was elected clerk of the circuit court, and has been reelected three times, being now in his fourth term, of two years each. He is especially qualified for this office, and not- withstanding his wound, is able to discharge its duties fully and satisfactorily. In politics he has always acted with the republican party. In early life Mr. Fosbinder united with the Wes- leyan Methodist church, and now belongs to the Episcopal Methodist body. On September 14, r 865 , he was married to Miss Phoebe A. Fluno, of Juneau county, by whom he has had four children, three of whom are now living. In his personal character Mr. Fosbinder presents most excellent qualities ; quiet and unassuming in manner, he carefully, conscientiously and cheerfully performs the duties of his daily life, and enjoys the respect and confidence of all who know him, as being a true and upright Christian gentleman. CHARLES ALEXANDER, M.D., EAU CLAIRE. C HARLES ALEXANDER, who was born at Pittston, Maine, April 28, 1824, was deprived of both his father and mother before he was five years old, and placed in the family of Rufus Allen, of Farmington, where he remained, well cared for, until seventeen years of age, farming and attending a common school. The next few years he devoted exclusively to his education, attending the North Yarmouth and Farmington academies, and, depend- ing entirely upon his own resources, taught a part of each year to defray his expenses. He prepared for the sophomore class of Bowdoin College, but instead of continuing his literary course, began the study of medicine with Dr. W. H. Allen, of Orono, Penob- scott county, in 1845. He attended medical lectures at the medical department of Harvard College, Jef- ferson Medical College, Philadelphia, and the med- ical department of the University of New York, and received his diploma at the last-named institution on the 8th of March, 1850. Dr. Alexander passed the first eight years of his 33 professional life at Orono, and from 1858 until the opening of the civil war, in i86r, was engaged in his profession at Farmington. He entered the army as surgeon of the 16th Reg- iment of Maine Volunteers, and remained steadily at his post until he received a serious, though not a severe, wound at Gettysburg, where he was taken prisoner, and from an attack of lock-jaw narrowly- escaped death. Being exchanged, he returned to Maine, and in about seventy days was again with his regiment, and continued in the service until March, 1865, when ill health compelled him to re- sign. While in the army he was twice promoted, the second time to the position of surgeon-in-chief. After leaving the army Dr. Alexander returned again to Farmington, but soon removed to Old Town, in his native State ; he next went to Malden, Massachusetts, and in September, 1866, removed to Wisconsin and settled at Eau Claire. Since his set- tlement there his practice has been marked by a gradual growth, until it has become quite extensive THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 2 70 while he has established a good reputation, both as 1 medical practitioner and surgeon. Before going into the army his surgical practice was extensive ; in the army he had a good opportunity to extend his practical knowledge of this branch of science, and now surgery may be regarded as his specialty. The Doctor has given considerable attention to geology and chemistry, on which subjects, as well as on anatomy and physiology, he has often lectured. He has a good collection of geological charts, and makes his lectures on the “ stony science ” popular as well as instructive. He also speaks, occasionally, on the subject of temperance, always treating it sci- entifically. In his studies, however, his profession takes the precedence over every branch, and he is constantly enriching his medical library and his mind with the fresh fruits of the best minds. Dr. Alexander has been twice married. First to Miss Achsah E. Allen, daughter of Hon. N. T. Al- len, of Industry, Franklin county, Maine, who died November 13, 1856, in the eighth year of her mar- ried life. They had one child that died at the age of fourteen months. His second wife was Miss Charlotte Augusta Bullen, to whom he was married in January, 1861, and who died March 27, 1875, leaving one child, a son, now in his seventh year. Both wives were well educated and especially active Christian women. The latter was the daughter of Mrs. Joseph Bullen, a sister of Rev. George D. Boardman, the pioneer Baptist missionary to the Karens of Burmah, who is now living with Dr. Al- exander. She is in her seventieth year, and is pa- tiently awaiting the call of the Master, when she shall join her glorified brother. Though Dr. Alexander had a hard struggle in early life, with a firm trust in God and a manly self- reliance, he overcame every obstacle and has at- tained that success which invariably follows honest effort. He is a prominent member of the Baptist church, and superintendent of the Sunday school. He is also greatly interested in secular education, and very active on the school board in the west-side district of Eau Claire. The Doctor has a fine physique, being five feet nine inches in height, and weighing one hundred and ninety-five pounds. He has a full, round and cheerful face, looking as though he had just made himself happy by. relieving physical suffering, or by- administering comfort to weak and diseased human- ity in some other way. NICHOLAS D. FRATT, RACINE. A MONG the successful men of Wisconsin may be placed the name of Nicholas D. Fratt, of Racine. Mr. Fratt, after a successful business ca- reer, retired from business, and sought retirement ' in a rural home, but his talents were too well known to be allowed to rust, and he has been called upon to fill offices of trust and honor. Mr. Fratt was born January 25, 1825, in the town of Watervliet, Albany county, New York; is a son of Jacob and Catharine Fratt. He received a com- mon-school education at Troy, New York, and then assisted his father in the provision and packing trade, West Troy, where he remained until he was eighteen years old. He then went to Albany and worked for his uncle in the grocery business, re- mained with him one year, then turned his steps westward to begin his career. Arriving at Racine in 1843, he engaged in the provision and packing business, which he continued with good success until 1868. The latter years, from 1852, he did not devote all his time to business, but bought a two- hundred-acre farm, two miles from Racine, and has superintended its improvement, which was more congenial to his tastes. Here, Cincinnatus-like, he enjoys that quietude which he values higher than, renown. Mr. Fratt has been member of the State senate from Racine county ; was elected president of the Racine County Agricultural Society in 1858; was again elected to the same position in 1870, and has been reelected each year to the present time. He served as school district clerk for sixteen years; is a member of the executive committee of the State Agricultural Society ; was a director of the Racine County Bank from 1852, at which time the bank was organized, until 1858, when he was elected president of the same, and continued its presiding officer until the bank was changed to the First National Bank of Racine, when he was again elected presi- dent of the bank, and still holds that position. Mr. 7 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. 2 73 Fratt is very much respected among a large circle of acquaintances. He was nominated for Congress by the democratic reform party in 1874, but was de- feated by Chas. G. Williams, republican. Mr. Fratt was married in 1845 to Miss Elsie Duffes; has three sons and three daughters, and en- joys the happiness of harmonious domestic relations. He is a gentleman of pleasant address, plain and unassuming in his manners, and has a host of friends. JOHN M. CHADWICK, MONROE. TOHN MONROE CHADWICK was born in J Fayette county, Pennsylvania, October 7, 1822, and is the second living son of John and Polly (Scudder) Chadwick, of the same State. This branch of the Chadwick family is descended from French Huguenot ancestors, who took refuge in England from the persecution of the sixteenth century, whence the great-grandfather of our sub- ject immigrated to New Jersey prior to the revolu- tion. His son John moved to Fayette county, Pennsylvania, where he died in 1793. John Chad- wick, the father of our subject, was born November 4, 1789, and was a manufacturer of edged tools. In 1837 he immigrated to the West, settled in Green county, Wisconsin, where he bought large tracts of land, and became an extensive real-estate speculator and farmer, accumulating a handsome fortune. In 1857 he retired from active life, and settled in the city of Monroe, where he died, August 19, 1866, in the seventy-seventh year of his age, leaving a family of three sons and four daughters, namely, Jotham C., John M., William W., Sarah, Elizabeth, I.ydia T. and Amanda L. The mother of our subject was of German descent, her grandfather being a native of that country. He immigrated to New Jersey prior to the revolution. His descendants are now numerous in the middle States, and are among the most distinguished literary and professional men of the country. The juvenile years of John M. Chadwick were spent in his native State, working on a farm or in his father’s factory, varied by a few weeks’ attend- ance at the district school during the winter season, until his fifteenth year, when he moved with the family to Wisconsin, and settled upon the present site of the village of Juda, Green county. Here John assisted in opening a farm, upon which he worked till he attained his majority. During the first six years of his residence in his western home there were no public schools; but in the year 1840 a log school-house was built, where he attended school for three months. This, with what he had received previous to the age of fifteen, constituted the sum total of his schooling. He was, however, a man of fine natural gifts, and by close observation and study has made the most of his advantages. At the age of twenty-one years he rented one of his father’s farms, which he conducted for three years with fair success, leaving a margin of savings, after rent and expenses, sufficient .to buy a farm of two hundred acres, and build a comfortable house. At the age of twenty-four he married Miss Eliza- beth Bridge, daughter of Jeremiah Bridge, one of the first settlers of Wisconsin, and began to lay the foundation of that ample fortune which has since crowned his well directed industry. His savings were invested in adjoining farming lands, from year to year, till his possessions were wide and his flocks numerous. Milwaukee, on the lake, afforded a market and shipping point for his cattle, which were sold in droves of five hundred to one thousand. His- operations were increased until his sales amounted to nearly a million dollars annually, and he now takes the lead in this branch of commerce in Wisconsin. In early life his desire was to be a comfortable farmer, and to that end his calculations were made and his plans laid. He thought that if he were only master of ten thousand dollars he would be contented and rest on his oars; but this accom- plished he was as far from rest as at the first, and although his fortune has many times exceeded this figure he is still accumulating. His success is the result of a combination of favorable circumstances. His habits have always been temperate ; he has never drunk a glass of beer or any intoxicating beverage, nor used tobacco in any shape during his whole life, while all his trans- actions and intercourse with his fellow-men have been governed by probity and scrupulous upright- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY, 274 ness, until his word has everywhere become an equivalent for his bond. He scorned to take advan- tage of his neighbor’s ignorance, or to overreach him in any transaction. His fortune has been made honorably, and his children inherit no taint of re- proach from their father. He is a wise and saga- cious business man, of sound judgment, and an intuitive perception of men’s motives and character. He is prompt, decisive and energetic. He possesses a genial and affable temperament, and is a devoted and true friend. He has always evaded public office, is a man of one pursuit, and has never varied his occupation; he trades with the same men to- day that he did twenty-five years ago. He was raised in the Baptist church, and adheres to the faith of his fathers, and contributes liberally toward the support of the institutions of religion. He is generous and kind hearted, always ready to lend a helping hand to the children of misfortune, or those struggling to gain a position in the world. He holds his wealth in trust for the good of others, and is only concerned to know how it can be used to the best advantage. He was reared in the whig school of politics, and naturally drifted into the republican party, and during the late war was one of the most patriotic citizens of the republic, giving largely of his means, not only to influence enlistments, but also toward agencies for the care of sick and wounded soldiers, and the maintenance of their widows and orphans. The fruit of his marriage with Miss Bridge was eight children, four of whom survive, namely, Mar- tha, Jehu, Kate and Frank. Jehu is a graduate of Madison University, and a young man of much promise. Kate is a graduate of the Northwestern University at Evanston, Illinois; a lady of much personal beauty, high intellectual development and superior social qualities. She is a leading member of the Young Ladies’ Literary Association of Mon- roe, and is among the first in every enterprise for the mental, moral and physical improvement of the people. Frank is attending the Monroe High School. Martha is the wife of Charles Fisher, Esq., an extensive farmer of Green county. Mrs. Chad- wick died on the 29th of December, 1873, and on the 25th of February, T875, Mr. Chadwick married Miss Elizabeth L. Start, daughter of Robert Start, formerly of New York State, now a resident of Green county. JOHN A. BINGHAM, MONROE. T OHN AUGUSTINE BINGHAM was born at J Morristown, Vermont, February 27, 1819, the son of John and Lydia (Thompson) Bingham. His parents were descended from early Puritan stock, and farmers by occupation, industrious, energetic, practical, and sternly religious, as only New England Puritans have been or can be. His father was a man of unusual size, strength and endurance, and enjoyed the reputation of being able to do more work than any other man in his part of the country. His grandfather — also named John — was likewise a large, powerful man, even larger than his son, and was not less noted for the virtues. The mother of our subject, a most exemplary woman, is remem- bered for her remarkably happy and hopeful dispo- sition. To her the worst disaster appeared “better than it might have been.'’ Under the most adverse circumstances “health, peace and prosperity ” — the three blessings she was wont formally to invoke on Iter friends — were always near at hand. Though descended from a shorter-lived, less vigorous and less practical family than her husband, she held with him the New England idea of work. The subject of this sketch taught school the win- ter he was fifteen years of age, having among his pupils young men five years his senior, but, so far as he could judge, not one of them ever suspected their teacher of being their junior. Before he taught his first school he urged his father to send him to the Montpelier Academy; but the father, confidently believing that the boy had learning enough — that more would only make him lazy — refused. But finally, weary of his importunities, he replied to the oft-repeated request: “ II you get the potatoes dug and housed before school begins you may go.” To the father’s surprise, the potatoes were safely stored in the cellar before the day appointed, having been dug and carried to the house at the rate of fifty bushels per day. The father, who had supposed the fulfillment of the conditions impossible, reluctantly THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 2 75 granted his son's request. But the first appeal of the boy for money to defray his expenses overcame the conscientious scruples in deference to which he had permitted him to go, and his reply was, “ Come home.” In this instance John disobeyed, not return- ing to the parental roof till the end of the first quar- ter, but paying his own expenses by sawing fire-wood for the institution. Subsequently, when he earned money by teaching, he attended for a short time an academy at Johnson, Vermont. He assisted his father during the farming season, until he attained his majority; during the intervals of farm labor he studied surveying and read law in the office of an attorney at Stowe, Vermont. From the age of fif- teen he earned, by teaching, surveying, selling books on subscription, or by some manual labor, the means to purchase his own clothing and books. To pro- cure the books he needed he was often obliged to sell those he already possessed. This necessity he regarded as a great misfortune, and so impressed him that in after years he insisted that his own chil- dren should retain every book studied by them, from the primer to the science of government; nor would he consent, under any circumstances, to a deviation from this rule. In the summer of 1841 Mr. Bingham removed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He afterward traveled on foot over southeastern Wisconsin and northeastern Illinois; taught school one term at Rochester, Ra- cine county, Wisconsin, and in February, 1842, set- tled in Monroe, Green county, where he opened a law office and resided during the remainder of his days. On the 25th of November, 1843, be married Miss Caroline E. Churchill, a woman of fine intellect and strong character, in whom he found a faithful and loving wife. She was born at Ridge Prairie, Illinois, June 26, 1824, and still lives at Monroe. During the years 1846 and 1847 Mr. Bingham was district attorney of Green county, and afterward held for eight years the office of probate judge of the county, the duties of which he discharged with rigid and characteristic exactness, and won for him- self the respect and unlimited confidence of all who knew him. In 1854 he opened a broker’s office, which subsequently grew into the Bank of Monroe — the first bank organized in the county. A few years later he was conspicuously active in connec- tion with the building of the Monroe branch of the Milwaukee and St. Paul railroad. Judge Bingham was one of the most gifted men of the State. His intellect was of that broad and comprehensive character which grasped the true relation of circumstances in every aspect in which they might be presented to him. As a lawyer he was full of resources, and his opponents at the bar never felt sure that he was beaten until a judgment in their favor had been actually executed. As a business man and an administrator of affairs his accuracy of judgment was remarkable, and this, united with a profound knowledge of human nature, was a great secret of his success. His mind was clear and vigorous, as well as broad and capacious. On questions of State and national policy he never failed to perceive and defend with signal ability the foundation principles which should govern the pub- lic mind. He looked upon shams of every kind with contempt, and was rarely, if ever, deceived by them. In politics he was formerly a whig, and always anti-slavery in principles. He was an earnest sup- porter of Fremont in 1856, and of Lincoln in i860, and was a member of the national convention that renominated the latter in 1864. To his influence is largely due the revolution in the politics of his county, which, formerly largely democratic, is now overwhelmingly republican. He was an ardent sup- porter of the government during the civil war, and it was a source of great sorrow to him that failing health prevented his entering more actively into the service of his county. Judge Bingham took an active interest in all mat- ters of public improvement, contributing freely both time and money to the success of enterprises which met his approval. Above everything else he was the friend of education, and no other man ever did so much for the schools of Monroe. For months at a time he visited them daily, watching the progress of favorite classes, counseling teachers, and study- ing methods of instruction. He possessed a natural love of teaching, and was peculiarly happy in his mode of imparting information. This disposition, sharpened and intensified by the difficulties he had encountered in procuring an education, led him to take great pleasure in assisting all young men, and especially poor and ambitious youths who were struggling to gain an education. Having helped himself he understood the value ! of self-help, and never squandered money in any ; enterprise because it was labeled “benevolence.” Every effort calculated to better qualify men to help themselves, or to render them temporary relief from pressing difficulties, commanded his cordial support; THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 276 and during the last years of his life a large constitu- ency, whom he counseled gratuitously, regularly sought his advice in regard to the conduct of all their more important affairs. The community also leaned upon and trusted his judgment as it had never trusted that of any other man, and when he was pre- maturely stricken down his acquaintances felt that their strongest and ablest man was gone. He had six children, three sons and three daugh- ters, five of whom survive. The eldest son, Horace, died in infancy ; Homer, the second son, was edu- cated at Cornell University, New York, and is at present (1876) attending the law department of the Wisconsin University, with a view to the profession of his father, and is a youth of fine presence and large promise ; Herbert, still in his teens, is attend- ing the Monroe High School ; the daughters, Helen M., Alice and Ada, all graduates of the Lombard University, Galesburg, Illinois. Alice is the widow of the late Professor Herbert E. Copeland, for some years professor of natural science in the Whitewater, Wisconsin, Normal School, and latterly in a similar institution in Indianapolis, Indiana. He died on the 1 2th of December, 1876. Helen is a well known contributor to the current literature of the day, and has been for some time past engaged in writing a history of Green county, a task for the successful accomplishment of which her tastes and talents emi- nently fit her. Ada is a medical student at the Bos- ton LTniversity, and gives promise of a bright and successful career. Judge Bingham died at Johnson, Vermont, July 24, 1865, having been stricken down by paralysis while on a visit to his native State. JOHN G. MEACHEM, M.D., RACINE. T OHN G. MEACHEM, a native of Axbridge, J county of Somerset, England, was born on the 27th of May, 1823, and is the son of Thomas Meachem, whose wife was Elizabeth Goldesbrough. His parents were from aristocratic families, and at one time very wealthy; his father, however, not being a business man, lost both his own and his wife’s property, and afterward became principal of a large school. In 1829 he received an appointment from the Duke of Wellington which would have proved very lucrative, but which he declined after going up to London to qualify. His attention was then directed to the sacred ministry, and he resolved that America should be the field of his labors. He j immigrated to this country in 1830, and was ordained in the Protestant Episcopal church in the city of New York, by the late Bishop Benjamin T. Onder- donk. He ministered with great earnestness and success in different parishes in the State of New York until his death, which occurred in 1849. Four of his sons became practicing physicians ; the eldest studied law, and afterward medicine, which he practiced ten years, and then entered the ministry of the Episcopal church, and was chaplain during a part of the late rebellion to General Mead’s staff. John, the third son, after receiving his academic education at Canandaigua and Richmond Academy, from which latter institution he graduated, turned his attention, together with a brother next older than himself, to the study of medicine, and entered the medical department of Hobart College. After re- maining there during the years 1841-2 he left, and entered Castleton Medical College, Vermont, from which he was graduated in 1843, at the a g e °f 20 > and though the youngest in a class of 150, took the highest honors. In 1844 he settled at Weathersfield Springs, New York, where he remained about one year, and then removed to Bethany. During the five years that he remained here, he had charge of the insane asylum of that place, and conducted a successful and satisfac- tory practice, and performed the very delicate and difficult surgical operation of ovariotomy. In 1850 he sold his residence and good name to another prac- titioner, who has since figured largely as an army surgeon from the State of Iowa, and removed to Warsaw, about fourteen miles distant from Bethany, and during the next twelve years built up an exten- sive medical and surgical practice. Almost every surgical case of importance occurring for many miles around fell into his hands. While here he received from the trustees of the Buffalo University the ap- pointment as one of the board of examiners of that institution. He was three times president of the Wyoming Medical Society, and for ten years its THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONART. secretary. In 1861 he reviewed his medical studies at the Bellevue Hospital Medical College in the city of New York, and in 1862 received its ad eundem degree of M.D. In 1862 he secured the appoint- ment from the adjutant-general’s office at Albany, of enrollment surgeon for the Wyoming district, and from the governor the appointment of assistant sur- geon to the 61st Regiment, 29th Brigade, New York troops. In the fall of 1862 Dr. Meachem removed to Ra- cine, Wisconsin, where some years before he had become interested in real estate. Here, as at the East, he has given his undivided attention to his profession, and visited the poor as readily as the rich, and earned a reputation second to no one in southern Wisconsin. He was for six years a director of the Taylor Orphan Asylum, and one of the build- ing committee to erect that magnificent structure at Raqine, which will keep fresh the memory of Mr. and Mrs. Taylor. He is a trustee of Racine College, and one of the founders of St. Luke’s Hospital, and together with his son has had charge of the medical and surgical department since its organization. He 279 is the present mayor of Racine, having been elected in April by a very large majority. In the midst of his large professional and other duties he has found time for self-culture, and has contributed many valuable written articles to the medical journals of the country, and read some able papers at the meet- ings of his State Medical Society. He is a member of Racine Medical Association, the Wisconsin Med- ical Society and the American Medical Association. Dr. Meachem is an enthusiastic member of the Episcopal church, and has for many years been senior warden of St. Luke’s parish, Racine. During the rebellion he was an active war demo- crat, and exerted his utmost influence in favor of the Union cause. In 1844 Ire was married to Myraette Doolittle, daughter of the late Reuben Doolittle, Esq., of Western New York, and sister of ex-Senator J. R. Doolittle. They have but one surviving child, a son, who studied medicine, and graduated from Rush Medical College, Chicago, in 1865, and who is a partner in business with his father and doing an ex- tensive practice. HON. DAVID NOGGLE, JANES VILLE. D AVID NOGGLE was born in Franklin, Franklin county, Pennsylvania, October 9, 1809; was the son of Joseph and Mary (Duncan) Noggle, natives of the same place. His father be- longed to that class known as Pennsylvania Dutch, while his mother was of Scotch-Irish descent. The ancestors of the family had resided in Pennsylvania for several generations, and were among the thrifty and industrious farming population of that common- wealth. At the age of sixteen David removed with his parents to Greenfield, Ohio, where they continued the business of husbandry, and the hardships and privations of frontier life which he experienced at this period disciplined him for the struggles and successes of after life. His educational advantages had been limited to a few weeks of each winter spent at the district schools of his native State be- fore the age of sixteen, where, however, he devel- oped a taste for literary pursuits, and a controlling desire to become a lawyer; but owing to the limited means of his parents received from them no encour- agement. At the age of nineteen he left home in quest of more remunerative employment, and was for four years employed in a manufacturing estab- lishment at Madison, New York. Meantime, his father having become embarrassed in his financial matters, he returned to Ohio, and with a younger brother, Jacob, took the farm, assumed the father’s liabilities, and relieved him from further anxiety. In 1834 the brothers improved a water-power on the farm by building a sawmill, which proved a financial success, and furnished them with means for carrying out other plans. On the 15th of October, 1834, he married Miss Anna M. Lewis, daughter of Benjamin Lewis, Esq., of Milan, Ohio. Two years later he removed with his young wife to Winnebago county, Illinois, mak- ing the journey with an ox team. Here they made a home in the wilderness, which under his strong and industrious hands soon assumed the habili- ments of civilization. At this period Mr. Noggle began in real earnest to prepare for the profession which had been the THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 280 dream of his life. During three years he carried Blackstone with him to his daily toil, reading it while driving his ox team and during the intervals of relaxation, and became so well versed in the principles of jurisprudence that in the year 1838, after a rigid examination by the Supreme Court of Illinois, he was admitted to the bar of that State, without having spent an hour in a law office, or having received direction in his studies from any member of the profession. In 1839 he sold his farm in Illinois and removed to Beloit, Wisconsin, where he opened a law office, and at once entered upon the practice of his pro- fession, and enjoyed from the outset the patronage of a large clientage in Winnebago and Boone coun- ties, Illinois, and in Rock, Walworth, Green and Iowa counties, in the then Territory of Wisconsin. From this time he devoted himself exclusively to the work of his profession, giving to it his best ener- gies, and as a result demonstrated that he had not mistaken his calling. His efforts in court proved him to be a man of power, endowed with no ordi- nary intellectual gifts. From an early period in his professional career he took a considerable interest in politics, and in 1840 was appointed postmaster of Beloit, a position which he retained some five years. In 1846 he was elected a member of the convention that framed the constitution of Wisconsin, and though inexperienced and comparatively unlettered, was soon recognized as among the leaders of that body. He stood with the progressive element of the convention in favor of homestead exemption, an elective judiciary and the rights of married women, and opposed, on the other hand, to the centralization of power and mon- opolies, whether of banks or corporations. In 1854 he was elected to the State legislature from the Janesville district — having some years previously removed to that city, — and at once took a leading position in that body. He was again elected in 1856, and was tendered the speakership of the assembly; but being at that time suffering from a temporary physical infirmity, which he feared would in a measure interfere with the discharge of the duties of that position, he declined the offer. He was, however, emphatically the leader of the house during that session, and in the contest over the election of United States senator, in which the Hon. J. R. Doolittle was chosen, exercised a controlling influence. In 1858 he was elected judge of the first judicial district of Wisconsin, composed of the counties of Kenosha, Racine, Walworth, Rock and Green, and held the office for eight years, discharging its duties with the utmost acceptability, and establishing for himself an enviable reputation as a sound jurist and an impartial administrator of the law. He retired from the bench in 1866, and for a time resided in Iowa, where he was engaged as attorney for the Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad Company. He afterward returned to Beloit, where he purchased an elegant home, and built up a lucrative practice. In 1869 he was appointed by President Grant to the office of chief justice of the Territory of Idaho, a position which he retained till 1874, when failing- health obliged him to resign. After this he resided for some months in San Francisco, California, for the benefit of his health, and returned to Wisconsin in the autumn of 1875, since which time he has lived in retirement at Janesville, Rock county. In politics, Judge Noggle had been identified with the deipocratic party (believing in the principles of Jefferson by which it was governed at that time) until the organization of the republican party. In 1848 he was a delegate to the national convention which nominated President Polk, and in 1852 to the convention which nominated President Pierce. He was likewise a delegate to the convention that nom- inated Abraham Lincoln in i860, and since then has been an uncompromising republican. In religious belief he has always been governed by the faith of the Universalist creed, though his wife and all the members of his family long since united with the Protestant Episcopal church. The name of Judge Noggle is indissolubly con- nected with the history and progress of Wisconsin. He is a gentleman of fine presence and command- ing appearance, earnest and impressive as a public speaker, possessed of great natural force and mental power, and had he enjoyed the advantages of an early training would undoubtedly have attained to a national reputation. He is kind-hearted and gener- ous, a man of the people, brave in their defense, regardless of consequences to himself. He is ten- derly loved by his family, and in the hearts of his old neighbors in southern Wisconsin there linger for him feelings of fondness and regard which years will not efface. His loving and faithful wife, who shared with him his trials, and subsequent successes with equal grace and cheerfulness, still lives to minister to him the kindly offices of affection which he loves so well to THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 28l receive at her hands, and which she loves so well to bestow. She is a lady of rare personal beauty, of high mental endowments, of amiable temper and engaging manners, and to her influence and efforts are largely due, not only the high social and intel- lectual distinction to which her children have at- tained, but also the success of her husband. It is worthy of note here that Mrs. Noggle is the young- est of a family of fifteen children, all of whom lived to old age, and eight of whom are still living. They have seven children, two sons and five daughters, all living. The sons, Charles Levitt and Dorman Lewis, were educated at Appleton College, Wisconsin, and Lombard LTniversity, Illinois, and both served in the army throughout the late rebel- lion, the former in the 8th Wisconsin Infantry, which he entered as sergeant, but was afterward promoted to the rank of lieutenant in the regular army. He served through the campaigns of the army of the Potomac, was captured by the rebels at Appomatox, and held a prisoner of war for nine months, during which time he suffered all the rigors which have made the slave-holders’ rebellion infamous and dia- bolical. After being frequently removed from one bastile to another, he was finally placed with the six hundred federal prisoners in front of the Union guns at Charlestown, South Carolina. After being exchanged he returned to his regiment, and re- mained in the service till 1867, when he resigned his commission, and has since been engaged in rail- roading in Canada. The latter enlisted in the 12th battery of Wisconsin Artillery, of which he was afterward commissioned second lieutenant, and served in the western army under General Grant, after which he was detailed to parol the rebel pris- oners. He was subsequently transferred to the 4th Wisconsin Battery. He participated in the siege and capture of Vicksburg, and was present at the overthrow of Richmond, Virginia, his battery having the honor of throwing the first shell into the rebel capital. He retired from the army with the rank of captain, and was subsequently breveted major for gallantry in the last named siege. He is now chief clerk in the United States Mint at San Francisco, California. Mary Anna, the eldest daughter, is the wife of Hon. C. G. Williams, present member of congress for the first district of Wisconsin. Helen Rebecca is the wife of P. W. Puffer, Esq., agent of the St. Paul and Milwaukee Railroad at Monroe. Martha M. is the wife of Norman S. Brumley, Esq., cashier of the Canajoharie Bank, New York State. Mary Eunice is the widow of the late Major James H. Alvord, of San Francisco, California, and Kate Florence is the wife of Charles H. Rich, Esq., who is engaged in railroading in Evanston, Wyoming Territory. HORACE A. TAYLOR, HUDSON. H orace adolphus taylor, the son of Rev. Adolphus Taylor and Orra Copeland Taylor, was born at Norfolk, St. Lawrence county, New York, May 24, 1838. His father, a Congrega- tional clergyman, died when Horace was five years old, leaving him to the care of a brother-in-law at Madrid in the same State, with whom he remained five years. At ten years of age Horace came as far west as Illinois, and spent three years in Hancock county, working on a farm and attending school. In 1851, being then thirteen years of age, he removed to Wisconsin and settled in Pierce county, on the present site of River Falls, and there assisted in making a claim for preemption to the quarter section of land on which the business portion of that village is located. He afterward returned to the East, where he spent four years in farming, and 34 also during that time attended, first a common school and later an academy. Returning to River Falls at the expiration of that time, he, three months afterward, established the first stage line between Hudson and Prescott. Closing his studies in school in June, 1857, he then, in company with an elder brother, Lute A. Taylor, established the “River Falls Journal.” In i86o he sold his interest to his brother, and pur- chased the “ Hudson Chronicle,” changing the name to “Hudson Times,” and four years later consolidated it and a paper known as “The North Star,” giving to the new paper the name of “ The Star and Times,” which name it still retains. In August, 1869, in company with his brother, he organized the “ La Crosse Morning Leader,” but retired from its active management two years later, THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 282 and in August, 1875, purchased, with a partner, S. A. Clewell, the “Stillwater Lumberman,” which he still owns and controls. He also remains joint pro- prietor with Mr. Clewell of “The Star and Times,” which paper he has conducted from its incipiency. In January, 1876, Mr. Taylor was appointed by Gov. I.udington State agent of the railroad lands, and now (1877) holds that office. He has been largely interested in real estate for many years, and now owns several thousand acres in northwestern Wisconsin. He is an earnest republican in politics, and has been honored by his fellow-citizens with positions of public trust, which were conferred wholly with- out his seeking them. Mr. Taylor was married November 8, i860, to Miss Lizzie Maddew, of Chicago, and by her has three children. He is a man of extraordinary industry, and does thoroughly all that he attempts. In all his various business enterprises he has met with good success. As a writer, his style is easy, graceful and vigorous, and his paper is read with interest by all. He has excellent personal qualities, being possessed of a genial, kind and courteous manner, that both wins and retains friends. HENRY P. STRONG, M.D., BELOIT. T HE family of Strong is one of the oldest in j Massachusetts; has authentic records for two hundred years. Henry Partridge Strong is a lineal descendant of Elder John Strong, of Northampton. It is a very numerous family. His grandfather was one of the pioneers of that section, and bought of the State a township of land. His father also was a leading citizen both in church and state, particu- larly in matters pertaining to education. Henry, whose name is at the head of this sketch, was born February 8, 1832, in Brownington, Orleans county, Vermont, and was a son of Elijah G. and Sarah P. Strong. He received a thorough academ- ical education in his native town, and then went to Montpelier, Vermont, and studied medicine under Dr. C. M. Rublee for three years, and then graduated with honors at the medical college at Castleton, Vermont. The medical profession has ever been congenial to his tastes and genius, therefore he has been very successful in its practice. In July, 1853, he came to Wisconsin, and located at Beloit, since which time he has made it his home. Immediately after his arrival he commenced the practice of medicine, and has attained considerable business. In 1861 Dr. Strong accepted an appointment of surgeon of the nth Wisconsin Volunteers, and was for the first year engaged in Missouri and Arkansas in guerrilla warfare, a service hated by all true sol- diers. Then followed the “ starvation stampede ” toward Helena, never to be forgotten by those who took part. For several weeks they were not heard | from in the North, and none knew of their situation or welfare. Early in the spring of 1863 the regi- ment joined General Grant’s army, ran the blockade of Vicksburg and Grand Gulf, and entered in ear- nest on the Mississippi campaign. Such professional ability had Dr. Strong shown that, by special or- der, he was advanced over several that outranked him, and made surgeon-in-chief of the fourteenth division thirteenth army corps. This place he held during the remainder of his service. Upon landing below Grand Gulf at Brainsburg, Mississippi, Dr. Strong’s division was given the ad- vance, and they entered their first battle at Port Gib- son. Then rapidly followed the battles of Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hills and Black River Bridge, which preceded their arrival in the rear of Vicks- burg. In these battles the fourteenth division ex- perienced much hard service. During the siege it held the center, and at the assaults of the 2 2d of May was badly cut up. So constantly during the whole campaign was this division kept in the thick- est of danger that its losses were fearful. The number of wounded coming under Dr. Strong’s care was necessarily very large, and his professional labors incessant. Possessing a kind and sympathetic nature, he could not rest while any of his “boys” were need- ing medical care. But for this self-sacrifice some who still gladden northern homes would now be sleeping beneath southern soil. He yet receives gratifying evidences of the grateful remembrance in which he is held by many who came under his THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 285 medical care. So severe had been his two years’ service that his constitution, naturally very strong, seemed completely broken down, and it was doubt- ful whether he could reach the North alive. At the expiration of his brief furlough it was evident that he could not return, and reluctantly, in August, [863, he resigned his commission. His resignation papers received most complimentary indorsements from regimental, brigade, division and corps commanders. No surgeon could leave the service more regretted. His campaign experiences have, however, left their mark ; he can never regain his former robust vigor and power of endurance. Since leaving the army his professional life has been one of uniform prosperity; his practice is extensive, and his reputation such as may well grat- ify his pride. In June, 1870, he was elected presi- dent of the State Medical Association, a compliment as handsome as it was well deserved. In 1869 he was elected an alderman of Beloit. Dr. Strong is a man of a decided character, keen in his perceptions, quick in his conclusions, and firm in his convictions. Nothing can induce him to be untrue to a friend, and in his antagonisms he is equally consistent. As a writer Dr. Strong wields a ready pen, which ought to be more frequently used. He was special correspondent for the Chicago “ Tribune ” during the Vicksburg campaign. He has contributed to the medical journals, and his address as president of the State Association was a model of its kind. In politics lie lias been republican since the organ- ization of the party. He is chairman of the repub- lican committee of his congressional district. He has been five times elected mayor of Beloit, is pop- ular and much esteemed, and is now serving his second term as postmaster of his adopted city. Dr. Strong was married in September, 1857, to Miss Sarah Clary, only daughter of the Rev. Dexter Clary, a lady who inherits the excellent character of her father, who is well known throughout the West. He was superintendent of home missions for southern Wisconsin. By this union they have three children. WILLIAM F. NICHOLS, M.D., MENOMONEE. T HE subject of this sketch is the son of Peter | Nichols and Elizabeth nee Dawson, farmers, of Henderson county, Illinois, and was born on the 15th of June, 1837. His father was a non-commis- sioned officer in the war of 1812, and among the early settlers of western Illinois. William remained on the farm until about fifteen years old, enjoying very few educational advantages, the schools of that time being poor, and the nearest one being three miles distant. He usually attended during one term of from ten to thirteen weeks during the year, but severe weather and the great distance often pre- vented regularity. Subsequently he attended the North Illinois Institute, at Henry, about two years, and at the age of nineteen began the study of med- icine with an uncle, Dr. Shaw, at Dallas City, in his native State, and continued the same, with some in- terruptions, until the second year of the civil war. In 1862 he became a soldier in the 1 1 8th Regiment Illinois Infantry, and served until 1863, when he was appointed, by the secretary of war, hospital steward in the United States army. He served between two and three years, most of the time as assistant sin’’ geon in the general hospitals at Port Hudson and Baton Rouge, and while acting in that capacity had excellent opportunities for medical practice and sur- gery. He made the best use of these opportunities, and on returning from the South resumed his med- ical studies. He attended a course of lectures at the Michigan University and afterward at Rush Medical College, Chicago, and graduated from the latter in- stitution in 1868. Dr. Nichols practiced his profession for a short time at Ottawa, Illinois, but believing that a wider field was open to young practitioners in a newer town, removed to Menomonee, Wisconsin, in April, 1870, and soon built up a prosperous and lucrative practice. Few men of his age in the State have had better advantages for practice and growth in surgi- cal knowledge, and none have made better use of them. He is a growing man. Aside from his pro- fession he owns a drug store, and in all his business relations meets with good success. Dr. Nichols is a member of the Odd-Fellow fra- ternity, and has passed all the degrees in the subor- I dinate lodges, and all the chairs, 2 86 THE UXTTED STATES R f OGR APHTC A L DTCTT ON A R V. In politics he is a firm republican. Soon after settling in Menomonee Dr. Nichols was appointed examining surgeon for the pension bureau, and still holds that office. He was married on the 19th of November, 1859, to Miss Harriet M. Oben, of Burlington, Iowa. They have had five children, three of whom are now living. JOSEPH T. DODGE, A.M., Ph.D., MONROE. OSEPH THOMPSON DODGE was born at Barre, Vermont, May 16, 1823, and is the son of Joseph and Azubah (Thompson) Dodge, both natives of the same place. The “ Dodge” family in the United States is now very numerous, but be- lieved to have a common ancestor. A large branch of it has descended in a direct line from Richard Dodge, a native of England, who became a citizen of Salem, Massachusetts, August 29, 1638. A well authenticated family register, in possession of our sub- subject, shows him to be a lineal descendant of the said Richard in the seventh generation, the interme- diate links in the genealogical chain being : Joseph, a younger son (of Richard), born 1651 ; Joseph, junior, born 1676; Elijah, born April 18, 1709. Thus far the family had continued to reside in Beverly, Mas- sachusetts, originally a part of Salem. Elijah mar- ried Dorcas Brown and removed to Winchester, New Hampshire, where he died at a ripe old age, and where his wife also died, October, 1809, aged one hundred years and six months. He had three sons — Elijah, Joseph and Nathaniel Brown. The last named married Lydia Barber, in 1761, and removed to Barre, Vermont, where he raised a large family, and died in 1823. One of his sons, Asa, born in 1770, married Abigail Blodgett, and became the father of Joseph, who was born in 1795, and who married Azubah Thompson, in 18x8, and became the father of our subject, who perpetuates his name (which seems to have been a favorite patronymic with the family), affixing to it, however, the maiden name of his mother. Thus far the successive generations had been tillers of the soil and had by the sweat of their brows wrung a frugal subsistence from the rocky hill-sides of their native New England. Their habits were simple; their lives blameless and con- tented ; they were a hardy and long-lived race, blessed with physical vigor and vital force, and were not disobedient to the divine injunction regarding the perpetuation and multiplication of their kind. On the maternal side our subject is descended from James Thompson, a native of the north of Ire- land, of Scotch Covenanter stock, born 1671, who emigrated to America in 1712, in company with his son Samuel, born 1698, and settled in Holden, Mas- sachusetts. The latter was the father of Captain Samuel Thompson, born 1735, who served in the revolutionary war, four of whose sons and two of whose daughters afterward settled in Barre, Ver- mont. The Thompsons also belong to the agricul- tural classes, and were mainly long-lived. The mother of our subject, however, was an exception to the rule; she died at the age of thirty-three, and bequeathed to her son a slender frame but an active nervous organization. Joseph Thompson Dodge attended the common district school till the age of sixteen. In 1839 he entered Newberry Seminary, where he was prepared for Dartmouth College, which he entered in 1841, but not enjoying the atmosphere of the institution, he was honorably dismissed by letter at the end of one year and admitted to Vermont University, from which he graduated with honors in 1845, ranking the first in his class in mathematics. During the latter part of his college experience he determined to devote his life to the profession of civil engineering, the va- rious lines of railroad then in course of construction and in contemplation seeming to offer an inviting field in this department. The Vermont Central Railroad Company, then being organized, afforded the desired opening, and he served an apprentice- ship of three years as assistant engineer of this road, and until the completion of the work. The build- ing of a railroad through this part of Vermont was perhaps the best school of discipline that an incipi- ent in the art of enginery could have enjoyed, and proved to be an excellent recommendation to him in after life. In 1849 he was employed to make the pre- liminary survey for a projected railroad from Mont- pellier to Bradford, Vermont, via his native town of Barre. Having completed this, he, in the following autumn, removed to the West, and after visiting the THE UNITED STATES RIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 287 principal cities of Illinois and Missouri, accepted a subordinate position on the macadamized roads of St. Louis county, in the last-named State, his prin- cipal being J. B. Moulton, Esq., who has since played a conspicuous part in developing that city and the State of Missouri, and for nine months had charge of the work on the St. Charles road. In 1850 he engineered the Illinois Coal Company’s railroad, from East St. Louis to Caseyville, Illinois. Soon after the completion of the track, however, all the bridges and embankments were swept away by the high flood of the Mississippi, which occurred in 1851. The disaster proved to be a serious loss to the company, and for a time laid an embargo on the work. In 1852 he obtained a contract on the Mis- souri Pacific railroad, and spent that year in direct- ing the work, but the climate proving injurious to his health, he resolved to move farther northward, and in the spring of 1853 settled in Milwaukee, Wiscon- sin, and during the five years following was engaged in engineering on the Milwaukee and St. Paul rail- road, having control of the work, first from Stoughton to Madison, and afterward from Janesville to Monroe. During this period he invested largely in real estate in the county of Green and in the city of Monroe, and thereby laid the foundation of the large estate that has so amply rewarded his industry and wisdom. The money panic which prevailed in 1857 and following years laid a temporary embargo on railroad construction, and Mr. Dodge retired to the then vil- lage of Monroe., and was employed by the corpora- tion to take the oversight of the improvements pro- vided for in the new charter, which he carried to successful completion. In 1860-1 he published a very complete map of Green county and the State of Wisconsin, which has since been the standard authority on matters of geography within its scope. During the last-named year he also served several months as clerk of the mustering and disbursing officer of the United States army at Madison. From January, 1862, to July, 1863, he was principal of the high schools of Monroe, a position for which his thorough education and large experience eminently fitted him. In the autumn of 1863 he was employed on the Minnesota Central railroad and placed in charge of the work between Minneapolis and St. Paul. He also engineered the Winona and St. Peter railroad, from Rochester to Kasson, and made its location through Dodge and Steel counties. In 1 866 he made the location of the La Crosse, Trem- pealeau and Prescott railroad, but owing to a dif- ference of opinion which arose between himself and the officers of the company, he resigned his po- sition and for a time retired with his family to his early home in Vermont. Returning to Monroe in April, 1867, he bought a three-fourths interest in the Monroe Planing Mill Company, of which he intended to take the management, but receiving an overture from the general government, he spent the following year in making a survey of the battlefields of the Atlanta campaign. For the next three years, ending March, 1871, he was resident engineer of the Winona division of the St. Paul and Chicago rail- road, and during the two succeeding years held the position of chief engineer of the line, completing the work to La Crescent. It is worthy of note here, as illustrating the accuracy of Mr. Dodge as an account- ant, that although during the last named period over a million dollars had been disbursed by him, yet a rigid audit of the accounts failed to reveal an error of even one cent. Subsequently he was chief engineer of the Hastings and Dakota railroad, and directed its construction from Carver to Glencoe. He also engineered the McGregor and Missouri River railroad, from Algona to Spencer, Iowa. At this point we will make a slight digression, in order to place on record a matter of history, which cannot be otherwise than gratifying to our subject. In the fall of 1871 he had made the location of the St. Paul and Chicago railroad from Winona to La Crescent, and after a careful survey of the river — its banks, channels, islands and bottom lands — for two miles, he made a location of the bridge that was to span its channel at La Crosse and connect that line with the La Crosse division of the Milwaukee and St. Paul railroad, which was immediately staked out and has since become celebrated as the location of the La Crosse bridge. The citizens of La Crosse, however, interposed objections to the proposed site, because it did not terminate in the heart of their city, and much local feeling was engendered by the circumstance. The late secretary of war. General Belknap, lent himself to the citizens of La Crosse, and appointed a commission of three government engineers, who twice reported against the location in question. An injunction was obtained from the United States circuit court to restrain the company from proceeding with the construction of the bridge, but the court in rendering the opinion commented so severely upon the injustice of the proceeding, that the opinion itself became one of the strongest grounds for contesting the decision. In the trial of 2 88 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. the case six of the most eminent civil engineers of the Northwest had given their testimony in the most emphatic manner in favor of Mr. Dodge’s location, and their report ultimately proved the turning point in the case. After a flight of years all obstacles were finally removed, and now a magnificent triumph of engineering skill spans the “ Father of Waters ” at La Crosse, having been completed and put in op- eration during the centennial year of the republic, and the wisdom and skill of our subject have re- ceived the most flattering indorsements and com- mendation from the most eminent engineers of the county. The name of Mr. Dodge is indissolubly connected with that magnificent enterprise. The panic of 1873 being followed by a persist- ent “ granger crusade ” against railroads, nearly all public works were in that year suspended, and the year following our subject made an extensive tour in Europe, visiting many of the cities and monuments of art and science in that distinguished quarter of the globe. In November, 1875, he removed his fam- ily to Monroe, from Madison, where he had resided for some years, and took charge of his interest in the planing mill, which he had owned since 1867, and which has since furnished him with sufficient employment. He has been for many years a distinguished mem- ber of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and of the Academy of Science, in Wisconsin. In 1862 his Alma Mater conferred upon him the degree of M.A., and in 1875 the still more complimentary distinction of Ph.D., an honor worthily bestowed. He was raised in the communion of the Meth- odist church, to which his ancestors for several generations belonged, but his theological opinions having undergone a change, he now attends a Uni- versalist church. He was reared a democrat, but early in life be- came indoctrinated with anti-slavery principles, and soon after its organization joined the republican party, with which he is still identified. On the 24th of October, 1850, he married Miss Melissa J. Marble, of North Hartland, Vermont, a member of a family of excellent physical develop- ment and of remarkable longevity. This union has been blessed with a family of one son and three daughters. Their eldest daughter, Marion, is a grad- uate, and their second, Miss Florence, is a member, of the Madison University. They have both spent a year in Germany, returning to America in July, 1876, and also visited and sojourned for short pe- riods in several of the principal cities of Europe. They are young ladies of high literary attainments, as well as of the most amiable and engaging man- ners. The youngest daughter, Miss Mattie, and the only son, Joseph, are at present attending the high school of Monroe Mr. Dodge’s course of life has been marked by an unswerving fidelity to the soundest principles of morality and economy. His transactions and business relations have ever been marked by scru- pulous integrity and the highest sense of honor. His property, which is principally in real estate, is ample, and he occupies a leading position, not only in the city of his adoption but throughout the Northwest. HON. HIRAM BARBER, HORICON. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Hebron, Washington county, New York, was born January 25, 1800, and is the son of David Barber and Hannah nee Baker. His father, a farmer of Hebron, took part in the war of the revolution, and received a pension from the government in compen- sation for his services. As his place of residence was convenient to no school, Hiram was obliged to pursue his studies at home, with the exception of one year’s attendance at Fort Ann. When he had reached his nineteenth year, having become fully competent to teach school, he devoted the winters of the four following years to this employment, the summers being occupied with farming. Subsequent to this he became one of a firm engaged in a general mercantile business in Queensburg, New York, and continued in this business for the period of twelve years. Meanwhile he had become interested in the lumber trade, and, upon his withdrawal from the mercantile business, gave it his exclusive attention for the period of eight years. On the 10th ot Octo- ber, 1843, he went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and subsequently traveled over several of the Western States for the purpose of examining lands, since THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. 29I he had resolved to follow the real-estate business. While thus engaged he located a farm in the vicinity of Juneau, and afterward settled upon it, making it his home for eighteen years. Upon the marriage of his eldest son, however, he gave it to him to take charge of, and, in 1863, removed to Horicon, Wis- consin, to engage in speculations, for which he had quite a taste. Here he became a member of the firm of Van Brunt and Co., manufacturers of agri- cultural implements, and after continuing in the firm for seven years, conducted the business alone for three years, after which he sold it to his son. In his religious views Mr. Barber sympathizes with the Pantheists, believing as he does that the universe, taken as a whole, is God. He was formerly a mem- ber of the democratic party, with which he acted until 1856, having voted for General Jackson, but since that time he has been a republican, casting his first vote in this party for General Fremont. Among the many important positions of public trust which he has held is that of justice of the peace, to which he was elected in 1826; county judge of the courts of Warren county, New York, to which he was appointed by Governor Van Buren in 1829, and which he held until 1844, when, wishing to re- move to Wisconsin, he resigned it. In 1846 he was a member of the constitutional convention, and as- sisted in framing the constitution of Wisconsin. Two years later he was appointed by Governor Dewey one of the board of regents to organize the State university, a position which he held for six years. In 1849 he was a member of the State assembly, and in 1874 was republican candidate for Congress in the fifth congressional district. Judge Barber was also a member of the first board of directors of the Milwaukee and LaCrosse railroad, a position which he held for three years and then resigned. He was married on April 8, 1824, to Miss Salome Seelye, by whom he has had three sons and three daughters, — the eldest son being a farmer, the second a successor to his father in his manufactory, and the third a lawyer in the city of Chicago. The various positions of trust to which Mr. Barber has been called, only serve to give us additional proofs of the many social, business and moral qualities of which his character is made up. JAMES M. BRACKETT, EAU CLAIRE. T HE history of James Miller Brackett furnishes another illustration of the service of journal- ism as an educator. He is a native of Ohio, and the son of Joseph Warren Brackett and Lydia Mil- ler Brackett, and was born at Huntsburg, Geauga county, July 16, 1831. Some of both his paternal and maternal ancestors were engaged in the revolu- tionary struggle. His father, formerly a farmer, was later in life a lawyer. He moved with his family to Wisconsin in 1842, and settled near Milwaukee, where he opened a farm. He was a member of the first Wisconsin State legislature, and was one of the three democrats who, in 1848, protested against the political doctrines advanced in Lewis Cass’ Nichol- son letter, and left the party at that time. He was an original, independent thinker, and a prominent man in Wisconsin during its early history as a State. He died while on a visit in Lau Claire, in 1873. James worked on the farm and attended school three or four months in a year until he was nine- teen, when he attended an academy a short time at Waukesha. He then taught during one winter, and afterward spent one term in a college at Davenport, Iowa. His father had a small, well selected library — large, for those days, in a new country — of which, when not engaged in teaching or attending school, James made free and liberal use, having from an early age a passion for books. Happily, his taste was for solid works, historical, scientific and legal, and he read with considerable care Blackstone, Kent, Chitty, and other law books. During the seven years next following his return from Davenport he was engaged in farming during the summer months, and in teaching during the win- ters, and at the expiration of that time for about three years he gave his entire attention to farming. In March, 1861, he removed to Alma, and there organized the “Buffalo County Journal,” and after conducted it for nearly two years, and sold out and went into the army as second lieutenant of Com- pany A, 20th Regiment Volunteer Infantry. At the end of one year, by reason of impaired health, he resigned, and returning to Alma again took charge of the “ Journal,” and conducted it until April, 1865, -Q- THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. when he went to Chippewa Falls, purchased the “Chippewa Valley Union” and “Times;” consoli- dating the two papers under the name of “ Union and Times,” he continued its publication until De- cember, 1869. At that time he bought the “ Eau Claire Free Press,” in company with Rodman Palmer, since deceased, and on the first day of Jan- uary, 1873, began issuing it as a daily, and still edits it. The paper is published by a stock company, of which Mr. Brackett is president. It was the first daily started in that part of the State, is republican in politics, and edited with care and ability. After returning from the South and while at Alma Mr. Brackett was appointed deputy provost marshal, and served in that capacity for two years. While at Chippewa Falls he held the office of assistant assessor for about four years. In June, 1873, he was appointed receiver of the United States land office, and still holds that position. He was married on the 19th of March, 1854, to Miss Lucina A. Hamilton, daughter of Elisha C. Hamilton, of Joe Daviess county, Illinois, an early settler in that county, and for years one of its lead- ing men. The fruits of this union have been ten children, eight of whom are living. Mr. Brackett is justly regarded as the leading- journalist in his part of the State. He is an inde- fatigable worker and thinker, and through his paper exerts a powerful influence throughout the Chip- pewa valley. HON. WILLIAM P. BARTLETT, EAU CLAIRE. A BOUT the year 1635 there came from England . two brothers, John and Richard Bartlett, who settled at Newbury, Massachusetts. They came from a family of high standing, some of their relatives about that time being members of par- liament, and some of their ancestors long before having shared the same distinction. The Bartletts in England held other responsible positions also, and were men of learning and wealth. They were a leading family, at an early day, in this country, and did much to mold and elevate society and shape the government of New' England, where the descendants of John and Richard Bartlett, for three or four generations, settled. At the opening of the revolutionary war the family had scattered all over the New' England States, and without excep- tion w'ere found arrayed on the side of the colonies. John Bartlett, called “ John the tanner,” being of the fourth generation from Richard Bartlett, settled at Eliot, Maine. Of his descendants was John H. Bartlett, the father of William Pitt Bartlett. He was born at Eliot, January 9, 1789, and at about the age of twenty-five married Phebe Burbank, of PTeeport, Maine, and in 1833 moved to North New Portland, Somerset county. The northern part of Maine, at that time, was sparsely settled, and presented few educational advantages. Mr. Bartlett w'as a clothier by occupation, and proceeded to erect, at his new home, a clothing and carding mill, a saw-mill, a grist mill and a clover mill. Some of these mills, built more than forty years ago, are still standing, and are owned and operated by his sons. William Pitt Bartlett was born at Minot, Septem- ber 13, 1829, and was next to the youngest of twelve children (seven boys and five girls), eight of whom are still living. His educational privileges in early life were limited to the winter months in the district school, but being of a studious turn of mind he improved his spare hours while out of school in study, and at fifteen years of age obtained a certifi- cate and began teaching. At nineteen he entered Waterville College and graduated four years later. He at once thereafter began reading law, supporting himself, meantime, by teaching, first as principal of an academy at Anson, and then of the Hallov'ell Academy, the oldest in the State. In 1855 Mr. Bartlett removed to Wisconsin, and spent nearly two years at Watertown, and in May, 1857, settled permanently at Eau Claire. He imme- diately began the practice of his profession, to which he has closely devoted himself until the present time (1877), practicing not only in the courts of the State but more or less in the United States circuit and supreme courts. He is now a member of the firm of Bartlett and Hayden, and has a wide reputation for his legal attainments, sound learning and eminent success, and lives in the enjoyment of a liberal com- petency. When Mr. Bartlett came to Eau Claire there was no lawyer in the county, and he is properly regarded THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 2 93 there as the pioneer in the profession. His wise counsel and assistance are often sought outside his profession. In educational matters he has always been a leader, and is the Nestor of the school board. He had been in Eau Claire scarcely two weeks when he was placed on that board, in district number two, and has not been off the board or off duty a day since. The school then numbered about twenty scholars; now it has six hundred, and is among the best in the State, and owes its high standing largely to the untiring vigilance of Mr. Bartlett. His labors in this department alone will entitle him to the grateful remembrance of the citizens of Eau Claire in coming generations as well as the present. Aside from his professional duties Mr. Bartlett has held many positions of honor and trust. He was six years district attorney of Eau Claire county, two years county judge, a member of the legislature in i860 and 1873, and in April, 1875, was appointed by President Grant Registrar of the United States Land Office, a position which he still holds. In connection with every office which he has held he has an unblemished record. Mrs. Bartlett is a daughter of Edward W. Hart, of Baraboo, Wisconsin, formerly of Akron, Ohio. She is a woman of fine accomplishments, both of mind and manners, and in full sympathy with her husband in his educational and other laudable work. They were married August 15, 1861, and have four children — a daughter fourteen years old and three younger sons. Mr. Bartlett is of whig antecedents. He aided in organizing the republican party in Wisconsin, and has been one of its steady and influential sup- porters. He has always been a man of industrious and excellent moral habits. He has taken the best of care of himself — of his person as well as character — and as a result is in the full vigor and strength of manhood, and his days of usefulness, it is to be hoped, are far from ended. Such men cannot well be spared from any community. DANIEL SHAW, EAU CLAIRE. D ANIEL SHAW is the son of Daniel and Mehitable (Gilman) Shaw, and was born at Industry, Franklin county, Maine, March 30, 1813. His parents were natives of Tamworth, New Hamp- shire. They were as firm in character as the granite of their native State, and it is no exaggeration to say that the son inherited their best qualities. A neighbor of his in Eau Claire, one who knew the whole family forty years ago in their eastern home, states that “the Shaw family were and are an indus- trious, plucky race, with no word like failure in their vocabulary.” Daniel Shaw, senior, was a farmer. The subject of this sketch grew up under the parental roof, with very few school privileges, his school days ending when he was about seventeen. In the autumn of 1 833, in his twenty-first year, he began lumbering during the winters in his native State, and in 1851 went to Alleghany county, New York, and there continued the business for five years, with fair suc- cess. The field of operations, however, was too narrow, and with a view to finding a wider scope for the exercise of his powers he removed to Wisconsin in 1855, and having thoroughly explored the Chip- 35 pewa valley, selected it as the field for his future operations. One year later we find him at Eau Claire, the half owner of a large tract of pine land on the Chippewa river and its tributaries, and here we still find him in the lumber, merchandise and milling business, other parties being in company with him. For many years the firm was Daniel Shaw and Co. January 1, 1875, the firm name was changed to the Daniel Shaw Lumber Company, Mr. Shaw being president, and his son, George B., secretary. The company is one of the largest of its kind, and most enterprising in the Chippewa valley, and cuts about twenty-five million feet of lumber annually. The gross amount of its sales of all kinds exceeds five hundred thousand dollars. Mr. Shaw has voted the republican ticket since there was such a party ; prior to that time was a whig; has often been urged to accept office, but uniformly declines nomination. In a private way, no man living in Eau Claire has done more for the place than he. When he first looked upon the site of this city, in 1855, the sound of the axe had hardly disturbed the solitude of the forest, and in twenty years he has seen the place THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 2 94 expand on both sides of the Eau Claire and Chip- pewa rivers until it numbers ten thousand inhab- itants, with four school houses and nine or ten churches. Not a house of worship has been erected without his aid, and his generous nature has shown itself in many other ways. He has had his own reverses, both by flood and fire, and some of them would have overpowered less indomitable spirits; but, gaining strength of resolution by his losses, he has pressed bravely on until he has attained to in- dependence. He is, in his seventh decade, as erect as ever, and in good health, and few men enjoy with more zest the accumluations of a busy life. He was married in 1841, to Ann F. Hutchinson, of Industry, Maine. She is a woman of great ability and magnetic power; of rare mental, moral and so- cial qualities, and a model mother; happy in making her husband and others happy and in scattering the sunshine in the little circle of her own family and in the larger circles of society in which she moves. She has had three sons, one of whom, Charles, a young man of great promise, died in 1863. The remaining two, Eugene and George B., are first- class business men, with all their father’s industry and public spirit, and much of the mother’s refining and polishing influence. DAVID ADLER, MIL WA UK EE. D AVID ADLER, clothing merchant, of Milwau- kee, was born in Neustadt, Austria, October 9, 1821, son of Isaac and Bertie Adler. After receiv- ing the education common to Austrian youth of his position in life, he was apprenticed to a baker in Neustadt, with whom he remained three years. He subsequently traveled, according to custom, through different parts of Europe, visiting many towns and cities in order to acquire a more complete knowl- edge of his business. This object' accomplished he returned to Neustadt, where he remained two years. August 15, 1846, he left his native land and sailed for America, landing in New York city, where he soon became established in the bakery business and continued therein for a period of about five years. The many attractions of the rapidly growing West induced Mr. Adler to close out his New York busi- ness, and the year 1853 found him settled in Mil- waukee, where he has remained until the present time. He soon decided not to resume his old trade in the West, but to invest his money in the business which promised the speediest return, and there- fore opened a retail clothing store on East Water street, with a capital of only twelve hundred dol- lars. This store was of extremely small dimen- sions, and although he had no previous experience in this branch of merchandising he was very success- ful, owing undoubtedly to his untiring industry, business tact and strict integrity, which are the con- trolling principles underlying success in any direc- tion where the interests of men are involved. Soon the narrow limits of his store could not accommodate his increasing business, and in 1857 he commenced the wholesale clothing trade, receiving his nephew as partner, the firm name being changed to D. and G. Adler. Their first twelvemonth sales amounted to seventy- five thousand dollars. The nephew re- mained two years, when he was succeeded by a brother of David Adler, Solomon Adler, who retired from the firm in 1870. H. M. Mendel and Mr. David Adler’s eldest son were then received into partnership, and the name of the firm was again changed to Adler, Mendel and Co. Each change brought a new impetus; increasing trade demanded increased facilities; the old store, outgrown by the former firm, was remodeled and enlarged to suit the new. Their establishment is now one of the largest in the State, four stories high and covering an area of forty by one hundred and twenty feet fronting on East Water street and forty by sixty feet fronting on Pluron street. Besides the clothing which they man- ufacture they handle heavy lines of piece goods; the extent of the business is immense, their sales in 1874 reaching the amount of nearly a million dol- lars. The success of this house and its high stand- ing, both financially and morally, throughout the country are attributable to the careful management and fair dealing of its partners, not only in its early history, but throughout its changes and rising for- tunes. Mr. Adler has held various positions of trust in several- benevolent societies, having been sought as treasurer of the same, which as a mark of confidence in his purity is a compliment of high order. TIIE UNITED ST A TES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 297 In religion Mr. Adler is of the Jewish faith, and holds a prominent position in the society of El Emanuel. He was married, May 10, 1848, to Miss Fannie Newboeur, by whom he has six sons and two daughters. The eldest son is partner in his father’s business and two others are clerks in the same store. The second son is in Europe studying law at Berlin. The eldest daughter is wife of Henry M. Mendel, second partner in the house of Adler, Mendel and Co. MASON A. THAYER, SPARTA. T HE subject of this biography, a native of Ohio, is the son of Andrew and Millura (Mason) Thayer, and was born at Conneaut, November 17, 1839. The family removed to Kingsville in 1849, and to Austinburg in 1851. At the latter place Mason attended the Grand River Institution five years, when, in March, 1856, his family removed to Sparta, Wisconsin. Here the son spent three years as deputy register of deeds, and then two years in teaching writing in different parts of Wisconsin and Iowa. Returning to Sparta he was elected register of deeds for Monroe county, and was afterward twice reelected, serving in all three full terms; and. during that time opened an abstract-of-title and real-estate office, and continued both branches of business together until the term of his county office had expired. In December, 1868, Mr. Thayer established a savings bank, of which he is cashier and R. S. King is president. Under their management the institu- tion has become very popular and one of the safest in the town. From the day he began the real-estate business Mr. Thayer has continued it with a gradual j expansion, until it now extends widely through dif- ferent parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota, and also to some extent into Iowa ; and wherever known he is recognized as one of the foremost and most-suc cessful men in this line of business in western Wis- consin. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, of the royal-arch degree. In religious sentiment he is \ liberal, and in politics is identified with the repub- lican party. He was married December 31, 1861, to Miss Mary A. Munn, of Sparta, and by her has two children. Mr. Thayer’s father, who removed to Sparta in 1856 and settled on a farm, died March 31, 1872. His mother is still living, in independent and very comfortable circumstances. Mr. Thayer has always been a prudent manager of his affairs ; has never made a miscalculation or a misstep in his business, and has uniformly succeeded in whatever he has attempted. He is a man of kind feelings, and has both the means and the disposition to help the destitute, and is held in highest esteem by his neighbors and a wide circle of acquaintances. HORATIO N. BRADSHAW, M.D., MONROE. ORATIO NELSON BRADSHAW was born at Farmersville, Canada West, January 29, 1833, the son of Horatio and Rachel (La Rue) Bradshaw, both of whom were natives of the State of New York. The Bradshaw family, which is now quite numerous in America, claim descent from the celebrated Judge Bradshaw who presided at the trial of King Charles I and pronounced the sentence of execution against that unfortunate monarch. He died during the administration of the Protector, on the first anniversary of the king’s death succeeding the “ Restoration.” The body of Bradshaw, together with those of Cromwell and Ireton, were disinterred, hanged on the gallows, then decapitated and their heads fixed on Westminster Hall. The Judge had three sons, one of whom removed to Ireland, an- other to America, while the third remained in Eng- land. In England and Ireland the families have both since been ennobled. The grandfather of our subject, James Bradshaw, who was a resident of New York, was a man of considerable wealth, and owned a large number of THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 2q8 slaves. His son, Horatio Bradshaw, father of our subject, was born at Sandy Hill village, Washington county. New York, and lost his mother in infancy, after which he was taken in charge by Lemuel Cas- tle, an uncle by marriage, who removed to Canada at the close of the revolutionary war, where he lived and died, Horatio Bradshaw inheriting a share of his property. The latter was drafted into the British army in the war of 1812, and, greatly against his will, was compelled to bear arms against his native country. Fortunately he was taken prisoner, by Colonel Forsythe, of the United States army, at Prescott, and paroled — a circumstance which he afterward often referred to as one of the pleasantest reminiscences of his life. After the close of the war he left New York and returned to Canada, where his property was located, and there remained some twenty years. In 1835 he.sold his possessions and removed with his family to Jefferson county, New York, and in the disastrous monetary revulsion of the following year lost nearly all his property, and lived the remainder of his life in comparative poverty. He died in 1853, at the age of seventy- seven, leaving nine children. He was a man of remarkably even temper and quiet habits, though of great firmness and tenacity of purpose. He was moreover conscientious and upright, and was wont to judge others by his own standard of morals, a characteristic which induced him to place confi- dence in unworthy objects, and which led to his financial embarrassment. The mother of our sub- ject was of French and German ancestry. Her father was a soldier in the revolutionary war, and fought under General Marion, and afterward settled in southwestern New York. She was a woman of much vigor of mind and body, but staid and sedate in her habits and manners — characteristics inher- ited by her son. From the foregoing narrative it will be readily inferred that Horatio was thrown upon his own resources at an early age. He had been an apt and diligent student from his childhood, and attended the district schools during the winters till he attained the age of fourteen, when he was considered com- petent to teach. He accordingly went to Canada, where, by the aid of friends, he procured a school; but before he could enter upon his work he must obtain a certificate of fitness from the township superintendent, who in this instance proved to be an illiterate Irishman. In the examination he asked him to state the number of continents into which the globe was divided. He replied : “Two, if Aus- tralia, which is an island, be not included in the list.” The Hibernian promptly informed him that his answer was incorrect; that he was not fit to teach school, and therefore could not have a certifi- cate, at the same time informing him that there were no less than five continents. Our subject, who was incorrigible in his ignorance, determined to appeal the question to a higher authority, and accordingly made a journey of forty miles on foot, and entered an appeal to the Provincial superintendent of instruc- tion, who, on a hearing of the case, reversed the pre- vious decision as to the number of continents, and issued the required certificate. He returned the following day in high glee, and at once entered upon his duties as village schoolmaster. He taught that winter in Canada, and the succeeding five winters in Jefferson county, New York, while in the summers he worked on the farm, and in the autumns attend- ed select schools, studying the higher mathematics and Latin. At the age of eighteen he commenced the study of medicine, having been advised to that course by a medical friend, who offered him facili- ties — though, had he been in circumstances to choose for himself, he would have adopted the law as a profession. He manifested a taste and aptness, however, for the study of medicine and surgery, but was never an enthusiast in his profession for its own sake. In 1852 he entered the Western Reserve Medical College, Ohio, from which he was graduated in 1854, and entered upon the practice of his profession in Philadelphia, New York, where he remained a year, with moderate success; then crossed again to Can- ada, and taught a village school at Rupertville for one year. He next removed to Meaford, and, hav- ing received a license, after due examination, from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Upper Canada, successfully practiced his profession for two years at that point. Thence, in 1858, he removed to Dayton, Green county, Wisconsin, where he prac- ticed for one year in partnership with Dr. Ormsby, of that place. He next removed to Monticello, same county, where he remained ten years and built up a large practice, becoming the leading physician of the place. Meantime he attended a course of lec- tures at Rush Medical College, Chicago, from which he graduated in 1867. In 1868 he removed to Mon- roe, the county seat of Green county, which has since been his home. At this period, his health being somewhat impaired, and the practice of med- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 2 99 icine not being altogether in harmony with his tastes, he resolved to abandon it, and accordingly opened a large wholesale and retail drug eatablish- ment, to which he has since devoted his chief atten- tion, having accumulated a competency and attained an enviable position among his fellow-citizens and in the county and State of his adoption. He pos- sesses a large amount of brain power, and is a man of great vigor, force of will and determination, and holds in lofty contempt all shams and pretenses. He possesses a high order of literary talents, and is especially gifted as a poet. His fugitive pieces — dashed off with great rapidity during the intervals of work — which are voluminous, and on all classes of subjects, have found their way into the current literature of the day and will soon be collected in a volume, and are of a very high order of merit and destined to perpetuate his name. He is a man of quick perceptions, a clear, logical thinker and rea- soner, a fluent and pleasant public speaker; of strong prejudices — originating mainly on the bet- ter side of his nature — with an intuitive sense of right; of correct habits and of unquestioned integ- rity and uprightness, whatever he does, he does with all his might. He is close and economical in his business transactions, yet generous and whole souled to his friends. His heart is always sympa- thetic and warm, and his affections toward his family are exuberant. In politics, he was a staunch republican during the war and until 1872, when he joined the reform movement, to which he has since adhered. During the greater part of his residence in Wis- consin he has taken a deep interest in the progress of public schools, and has seldom been without an official relationship to the same. He is a Master Mason, and has taken all the degrees in Odd-Fellowship. He was raised under Methodist influence, but is not now connected with any church; though he respects Christianity, and honors the sincere professor of evangelical religion. He has been twice married : First, December 14, 1854, to Miss Achsah L. Terpening, of Jefferson county, New York, a member of an old family of that State. She died July 12, 1859, leaving one son surviving, namely, John Franklin, born May 26, 1856; now a student of Rush Medical College, and a young man of much promise. His second mar- riage was on the 14th of August, 1862, to Miss Eliza J. Noble, who is a lineal descendant of Thomas Noble, who came over in the Mayflower; a lady in every respect, and well worthy of her paternity and her husband. They have three children, namely, Lillian G., Christy M. and Willie Nelson. HON. EGBERT B. BUNDY, MENOMONEE. E GBERT BIRD BUNDY, a native of New York, was born at Windsor, Broome county, February 8, 1833. His parents, Oliver T. Bundy, and Lydia nee Smith, were natives of Connecticut. Egbert attended a common school and the Windsor Academy until about eighteen years of age, and then began the study of law in the office of Wheeler and More, at Deposit. He was admitted to the bar in Cortlandville, Cortland county, in 1856, and in the following spring removed to Menomonee, Wisconsin, where for twenty years he has been engaged in legal practice. At first he was in partnership with an elder brother, Charles S. Bundy, now of Washington, District of Columbia. Later he conducted his busi- ness with Mr. E. B. Manwearing, under the firm name of Bundy and Manwearing. Mr. Bundy started out in his professional life firmly determined to make the law his exclusive business, and has never deviated from that purpose. His few real-estate operations have been incidental to his profession, and have required v^ry little of his time. His undeviating attention to legal business, his studious habits and his large experience, have given him thoroughness in his attainments and a prominence among the foremost lawyers in the eighth circuit. Mr. Bundy was county judge at an early day, but after serving about four years, resigned, since he did not wish to have anything to interfere with his legal pursuits. He has always been a democrat, but never allows politics to interfere with his profes- sional duties. At a meeting of the bar of the eighth judicial circuit, held in February, 1877, he was the unanimous choice of that body for judge, there being a vacancy created by the resignation of Judge Humphrey. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. 300 Judge Bundy attends the Episcopal church, but is not a communicant. On the 23d of May. 1861, he was married to Miss Reubena Macauley, of Dunn county, and by her has seven children. Judge Bundy has a mind of great activity, and is noted for his keenness in unraveling complicated questions of law. He has one of the largest and best law libraries in his part of the State. FI is business has been of a general character, and about equally divided before court and jury. In either position he is strong, and a pronounced success. CHARLES A. BOOTH, MONROE. C HARLES ASA BOOTH was born in Covington, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, February 15, 1839, and is the son of George W. and Artemisia (Cran- dall) Booth, both of whom were of English descent, the former a native of Rhode Island and the latter of Pennsylvania. His father was a master builder by occupation, and erected many of the depots on the New York Central railroad and large blocks in various towns in the central and western States. They had a family of eight boys and two girls, of whom five boys and one girl are living, Charles A. being the second child. At the age of six he was taken by his parents to western New York, where the family remained about eight years. Meantime he learned a variety of “ trades,” beginning with “watching crows,” on a cornfield stump, from sun- rise till sunset, for a compensation of two shillings per day ; he also worked one season in a wool-card- ing and cloth-dressing establishment; for a time was assistant for a brick-mason, but soon found the work more than he could endure. He was a precocious youth, and when not otherwise engaged, attended the district school, and, like other boys of his sta- tion in life, learned the three R’s — readin’, ’ritin’, 'rithmetic — but, as the sequel proves, his forte lay in the middle R, and he has since become great in the use of the pen. He always sought the company of those who were able to give information and help him in his intellectual growth. Fond of antiquities, he read Rollins’ Ancient History, Josephus, Plu- tarch and Macaulay, Emerson’s prose works, Lowell, Holmes, and other distinguished authors, before he reached the age of sixteen years. The family removed to Beloit, Wisconsin, in 1853, and he has a very distinct recollection of the Free- mont-Buchanan campaign of 1856, in which he vig- orously espoused the cause of the former, and though he was not in a position to give his favorite a vote, yet he derived strength and political nourishment from the campaign that told in future times, and since then his candidates have always been success- ful. He attended school one or two seasons in Wisconsin and became a fair English scholar, and in the spring of 1858 he came to Monroe, and in August of the same year entered into an apprentice- ship in the “ Monroe Sentinel ” printing office, which was then owned by the late G. W. Tenny, and of which he has since become sole proprietor and editor. He served three years as an apprentice, and at the end of his first year as a “jour.” printer he was made foreman of the office ; but the war was raging in the South, his country needed his services, patriotism triumphed over the tears of a mother and her younger children, of whom he was the support, and in July, 1862, he enlisted in the 22d Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Col- onel Utley. At the organization of Company G, to which he belonged, and which was commanded by James Bintliff, then one of the proprietors of the “Sentinel,” he was appointed, by a unanimous vote, to the position of second sergeant; from this he was promoted to the rank of orderly, and thence to that of second lieutenant — all within a year. The 22d Regiment was the first fully equipped and one of the best equipped and disciplined regiments that ever left Wisconsin. It was known during the earlier part of the war as the “ nigger ” regiment, being the first that absolutely refused to give up “contrabands ” who came into the Union lines. At the battle of Thompson Station, near Franklin, Tennessee, which occurred March 5, 1863, our subject received a severe wound by a rifle ball, and had his clothes riddled by bullets, but did not desert his post for several hours, and while going to the rear narrowly escaped capture by the rebels. The enemy in this engagement outnumbered the Union forces ten to one. The lines of the latter were broken and scat- tered, many prisoners were made, and many others, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 3° i alas! were left on the field. Nearly four months intervened before he was again fit for duty. In the autumn of 1863 he was commissioned first lieutenant of his company, and was subsequently appointed on the brigade staff (2d Brigade, 3d Div., 20th A. C.) as assistant aid-de-camp and provost marshal, and was with his brigade and regiment in all its subsequent battles. He participated in the famous Sherman campaign on Atlanta, and commanded in person the right flank of the line of skirmishers which first en- tered that city after the battle of Jonesborough. He was also at the battles of Resaca, Peach Tree Creek, Golgotha, Kenesaw, Culp’s Farm and the siege of Atlanta, besides numerous skirmishes, experiencing many narrow escapes but never receiving a scratch after the first fight. He participated in Sherman’s famous march to the sea and in the “ fire and smoke ” campaign through the Carolinas, took part in the battle of Averysborough, fought by a part of Sher- man’s men with the army of Joe Johnston, which had confronted the Union troops, having disputed the march of the Western army for more than two years. Thence the victors marched by way of Rich- mond, Virginia, to Washington, participating in the “grand review” by the President, and was mustered out in June, 1865. In July of the same year he bought of his former employer a half interest in the “ Monroe Sentinel,” the other half being bought by A. J. High, and for five years the business was conducted under the firm name of High and Booth. In December, 1870, Mr. High sold to S. E. Gardner, who, in 1872, leased his interest to Mr. Booth, and since then the “Sen- tinel ” has been under his sole charge. It is one of the most ably conducted weeklies in the West. Its articles are spicy and readable, while it discusses questions of national and state policy with an ability and pungency that makes it either a powerful ally or a formidable opponent. It is the organ of the people, to whom its columns are always open. It is further- more conducted on the highest moral principles, strenuously opposed to all shams or humbugs, and excluding from its columns all advertisements of an immoral or dishonorable character. Mr. Booth has participated in every political cam- paign since 1865, stumped the county every fall for the republican party, and is one of the most inde- fatigable and successful workers in the State. During the rebellion he was a frequent corre- spondent of the “Wisconsin State Journal ” and the “ Monroe Sentinel.” He is not a member of any church, but is on good terms with all Protestant Christians, and contributes his full share to religious and benevolent organiza- tions. He is a “total abstainer,” and has been “ W. C.” of the Good Templar organization of Monroe. He was also “ N. G.” of the order of Odd-Fellows, and has been representative in the Grand Lodge of the order. On the 10th of September, 1862, he married Miss Elizabeth Gardner, daughter of Elijah T. Gardner, who was born in the first frame building erected in the village of Monroe, which now has a population of about four thousand. Mrs. Booth is a lady of genuine good sense and superior cultivation, to whose advice and influence her husband is indebted for much of his success in life. They have four children, namely, Nettie, Rayburn, Charline and Maxwell, all having the middle name of Gardner, out of compliment to their mother. EZEKIEL S. HOTCHKISS, ARCADIA. T HE subject of this sketch was born in Cairo, Green county, New York, March 27, 1837. His father, Henry E. Hotchkiss, was a farmer and undertaker. His mother’s maiden name was Alice Smith. Ezekiel attended school and aided his father until nineteen years old, when he removed to Richland county, Wisconsin. He was there engaged in farming about four years, and at the expiration of that time removed to Osseo, in the town of Sumner, 1 rempealeau county, where he purchased land and opened a farm. This he has continued to cul- tivate, engaging, at times, also, in other business. In 1870, in company with another gentleman, he built a flouring mill in Sumner, which, after operat- ing a few years, he sold. For several years he had a store in the village of Osseo, which he disposed of about 1874, but during this time, while engaged with other interests, he has never ceased to give his farm due attention. He possesses a fine taste for horti- culture, and has an orchard of several hundred trees. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. X02 Aside from his regular business, he lias been hon- ored by his fellow -citizens with positions of respon- sibility and trust. He was clerk of the town of Sumner for twelve years, notary public seven or eight years, deputy United States marshal in 1S70, and aided in taking the census of the north half of Trempealeau county, and in November, 1876, was elected sheriff, an office whose duties he is at present (1877) faithfully discharging. Although Mr. Hotchkiss was reared by a demo- cratic father and among democratic brothers, he has never voted any other than the republican ticket. He holds his political sentiments from thorough con- viction of their correctness, and cherishes them with the utmost sacredness. In religious matters he is “liberal.” On the 16th of December, 1862, he was married to Miss Hattie A. Field, daughter of the late Sena- tor Field, one of the most prominent men in Trem- pealeau county. They have two children. HON. ROBERT C. FIELD, OSSEO. R OBERT CURTIS FIELD, who died on the 1 6th of June, 1876, of heart disease, settled in Wisconsin the year after it became a State, and for several years was a leading man in Trempealeau county. He was born at Cairo, Greene county, New York, on the 6th of May, 1804, and was the only son of Robert Bates Field, a native of Connecticut. His mother’s maiden name was Sally Austin. Robert received a common-school education, and afterward studied law; but finding that profession unsuited to his tastes, he abandoned the study and turned his attention to mercantile pursuits, which he followed for several years in his native town. In 1849 he removed to Wisconsin, and settled in Rich- land county ; ten years later he removed to the town of Sumner, in Trempealeau county, and there labored hard to develop the agricultural and other interests of that part of the county, till laid to rest in the cemetery at Osseo, a village in that town. Both before leaving his native State, and after becoming a resident of Wisconsin, Mr. Field held important offices. In 1844 he represented Greene county in the New York legislature, and in 1857 represented Richmond county in the general assem- bly of Wisconsin. He was a member of the State senate in 1874 and 1875, and proved himself a wise legislator. He often did good service in the Trem- pealeau county board of supervisors. In politics Mr. Field was originally a Jackson democrat, but acted with the republican party from the date of its origin. He was twice married : first, to Miss Harriet Gra- ham, who died several years before he left New York ; and second, to Mary Stoddard, April 1, 1838 ; she has six children now living. The “Arcadia Leader” of June 22, 1876, paid the following trib- ute to the memory and worth of Mr. Field : As a man he was noted for his honesty, intelligence, and the care with which he examined every subject. . . . Of strictly temperate habits, industrious and enterprising", he accumulated a fine property. Ever ready to assist the unfortunate, always cheerful, frank and hospitable, he made hundreds of warm friends in this part of the State. During his active life his aim was the welfare and improve- ment of mankind, a practical endeavor to make the world better for his having lived in it. HON. JOHN S. MOFFAT, HUDSON. JOHN SHAW MOFFAT was born on the 25th J of November, 1814, in the town of Lansing, Tompkins county, New York. His grandfather, Rev. John Moffat, immigrated from Ireland with a colony with which also came the Clintons, who set- tled in New York State and made his home at Little Britain, in Orange county. He was a Presbyterian clergyman of fine classical as well as theological attainments, and instructed De Witt Clinton in his first lessons in the dead languages. His parents, Samuel and Ann (Shaw) Moffat, were industrious people, and early instilled into the minds of their eight children the strictest principles of rec- titude and virtue. His father, a merchant and lum- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY 303 berman, operated a saw-mill, in which John was employed during his boyhood at times when not in school. At eighteen years of age he became a mer- chant’s clerk at Dryden village, in Tompkins county, where he remained three years. At the age of twenty- one he entered the academy at Homer, and studied three years, except during the winters, when he taught. He next devoted about two years steadily to study in the Groton Academy, and, although pre- pared for college, never entered. In 1840 Mr. Moffat began the study of law with Coryden Tyler, of Dryden, and prepared himself for admission to the bar; but the profession seem- ing to be already full, he abandoned the idea of opening an office at that time. Resuming teaching, he continued it for a few years, and afterward ac- cepted a clerkship in a store at Painted Post. He next engaged in the mercantile business on his own account, at Bath, in Steuben county. In 1854 Mr. Moffat removed to Hudson, Wiscon- sin, and engaged as clerk in the land office, and at the same time filled the office of police justice, which latter position he held by repeated elections for about twelve years, the business increasing as the town grew, until it finally absorbed nearly all his time. Since January 1, 1870, he has held the office of county judge (which in Wisconsin includes pro- bate jurisdiction), and has discharged its duties with unqualified satisfaction. He also practices more or less in the courts, and is a constant worker and punctilious in all his appointments and obligations. In politics Judge Moffat is a republican, of New York “ barn-burner” or free-soil democratic pedigree. He is a Master Mason. He is a thorough Chris- tian gentleman, and holds the office of deacon in the Baptist church. Mrs. Moffat’s maiden name was Nancy Ann Ben- net. She is a daughter of Phineas Bennet, an inventor of Dryden, New York, and is also, with their one child, Mrs. Thomas Hughes, a member of the Baptist church. They were married January 24, 1844. Judge Moffat is a man of great influence, which is all given to the furtherance of the best phases of society — temperance, virtue, morality and religion. He is a man of strong will, and when once his rea- son is convinced he is firm and immovable in his position. With him right is right, and he knows no compromise in such matters. He bears a very cheerful expression and cordial address, and in his everyday life exemplifies the power and beauty of a pure religion. Robert MACAU ley, MENOMONEE. T HE subject of this sketch, a Scotchman by birth, was reared in this country, having crossed the ocean in his infancy. His parents, Robert and Margaret (Cavanaugh) Macuuley, were living in Glasgow at the time of his birth, February 1 8, 1838, and came to the United States in 1841, settling near La Harpe, Hancock county, Illinois. His father was a weaver, but abandoned his trade on coming to this country, and purchasing a par- tially improved farm, cultivated it until his death in 1847. Young Robert spent his time on the farm and in school until his fifteenth year, when, in the autumn of 1852, his mother and six of her children (two having immigrated to Oregon) removed to Dunnville, Wisconsin, fifteen miles south of Me- nomonee. There Robert was engaged in farming until 1864, when he began the study of law with Judge E. B. Bundy, of Menomonee; he was ad- 36 mitted to the bar in January, 1866, and since that time, except when absent on business, has been engaged in his profession. In October, 1864, Mr. Macauley entered the United States service, enlisting in Company G, 1 6th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers; he was with Gen- eral Sherman in his two famous marches to the sea, and to Richmond, and served till the close of the war. Mr. Macauley was district attorney from 1869 to 1873, and in the spring of the last named year was elected county judge, a position which he holds at the present time (1877), making a model officer His strict honesty — a good Scotch inheritance — gives him great favor with the people. In politics he has always acted with the republi- can party, most cordially indorsing all its principles. He is a member of the Episcopal church and senior warden of the Menomonee body. 304 THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. On May 9. 1869 he was married to Miss Cora Olson, by whom he has had two children. Judge Macauley is known for his activity, not only in probate and other matters pertaining to his office, and in the church to which he belongs, but also in benevolent objects generally, and in what- ever tends to benefit the people socially, intellect- ually or morally. He is a man of generous nature and broad humanity, kind to the poor, and attentive to suffering in its various phases. LEMUEL ELLSWORTH, MIL JVA UK EE. L EMUEL ELLSWORTH was born in the town -/ of Esopus, Ulster county. New York, Decem- ber 27, 1836 ; received a common-school education ; was brought up on his father’s farm until eighteen vears old; came to the State of Wisconsin in 1857 ; settled in Milwaukee, then about thirty thousand inhabitants; soon after married Miss Nellie L. Jones, daughter of B. B. Jones, a noted shipbuilder; engaged soon after marriage in shipbuilding busi- ness, under the firm name of Ellsworth and David- son ; built several large lake vessels, among them the bark Nelson, bark Tanner (the latter wrecked at Milwaukee September 10, 1875), schooner C. G. Breed, schooner Waucoma, brig Hanover and several other smaller class vessels, all of which were mod- eled and drafted by said Ellsworth. In connection with the shipyard the firm had several large sec- tional floating dry-docks, used for lifting vessels of any tonnage so as to repair the bottoms if needed. He invented machinery so as to pump the said sec- tional docks out by steam power — a great saving in time and money over the old system of pumping by man power. He sold out his interest in shipyard and dry-docks in 1857 to W. H. Wolf, now under name and firm of Wolf and Davidson. After retir- ing from shipbuilding business he engaged in wrecking and contractor’s business, making a spe- cial business that of rescuing disabled vessels when beached or sunk ; has rescued many valuable ves- sels from destruction which would have been lost. Was elected to represent the seventh district in Wisconsin legislature in 1874 as republican; re- ceived large majority of all the votes cast ; was again elected in 1875 by an increased majority. His father, Theophilus Ellsworth, was born at Esopus, Ulster county, New York, March 17, 1788; died at same place, aged seventy-five years; lived in one house fifty-five years; his occupation was that of house builder and fanner. A Christian man, very industrious, always doing good. His mother, Rachel Hotaling, was born May 14, 1795 ; died December 1, 1866, at Esopus. Mr. and Mrs. Lemuel Ellsworth were married January 2, i860, at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Lem. Ellsworth, as he is called, is a pleasant man in conversation, yet he seems a better listener than talker. His manners are kindly and courteous to all, the rich and poor alike; that, added to a cer- tain magnetism, has made for him a large circle of warm friends and admirers. Mr. Ellsworth is ap- parently in the prime of his manhood; he has achieved great success in life ; he has been thus far the architect of his fortunes, public and private, and is eminently a self-made man. REV. JAMES EVANS, MONROE. TAMES EVANS was born at St. Agnes, Cornwall, J England, June 26, 1828, and is the son of John and Sophia (Martin) Evans, both natives of the same place. His father had been for forty years a miner in the tin mines of Cornwall. He came to the United States in 1848 and settled at Mineral Point, Wisconsin, and for fifteen years operated in the lead mines at that place. In personal appear- ance he was somewhat below middle height, robust, and strongly built, having an iron constitution and extraordinary powers of endurance. He was also endowed with high social qualities and was loved and reverenced by all who knew him. Above all, he was an eminent Christian. He had given his heart THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 30 7 to the Lord in his youth, and for sixty years had been a local preacher in the Methodist church. He preached from house to house, in school-houses, and wherever he could get an ear to hear there he de- livered the message of dying love and mercy. He was indefatigable — instant in season and out of season. He was, moreover, a man of much intelli- gence, an incessant reader of all good books, but especially the Bible, which was his vade-mecum — his encyclopedia of knowledge. He died at the resi- dence of his sons, in Baraboo, Wisconsin, April 20, 1873, in the eighty-first year of his age. His mother had also been a Christian from her girlhood, and was in the truest sense “ a mother in Israel ” — kind, affectionate, devoted, prayerful. She left the impress of her lovely character and deep religious experience upon all who knew her. She died April 17, 1875, ' n the seventy-fifth year of her age. She was the sister of Rev. Thomas Martin, a distinguished Methodist minister of Cornwall, whose name is still a keepsake in the church. He was the friend of Dr. Adam Clarke, Richard Watson, Robert Newton, and the leading men of that day. They had a family of seven children, three sons and four daughters, of whom our subject is the old- est. The other sons are still living — John, the sec- ond, at La Salle, Illinois, and Charles in Darlington, Wisconsin. Two of the sisters are deceased, and the remaining two are married and comfortably settled. The grandfather of our subject, Charles Evans, was also a Cornwall miner, as had been his ancestors for many generations, being originally of Welsh stock. His great-grandfather, Charles Evans, was converted under the preaching of John Wesley, during his first visit to the south of England in com- pany with John Nelson, the famous stone-mason of Yorkshire, at the very time when that eminent and now world-revered divine was by ruffian hands dragged through the horse ponds and pelted with rotten eggs. He was refused entertainment in the public hostelry, and so great was the popular indig- nation that no private family dare receive him into their house, so that he was obliged to lodge in the open air, rest on his saddle-bags for a pillow, and subsist on blackberries from the hedges. Since then what hath God wrought? The Wesleyan division of the Lord’s army is among the largest and most prosperous in the world, and growing at a ratio of increase more than ten times as large as that of any other denomination in Christendom. Since the memorable day when Wesley was thus mobbed in Cornwall, every member of the Evans family, root and branch, have been Methodists. James received a fair English education, in his youth, in one of the Lancasterian schools of his native Cornwall, and later in life, under private tutors, studied the Latin language. He was dili- gent student and close observer, and is now a man of large attainments and general information. He immigrated to the United States in 1846, two years before his father and the rest of the family came, he being the means of inducing them to come. Engag- ing in the clothing business, to which he had de- voted some attention in England, he continued it till 1855. In 1849, at the age of nineteen years, he was licensed to preach the gospel, in connection with the Primitive Wesleyan branch of the Methodist church, and continued to exercise his gifts in that capacity and connection for seven years, when he was regularly ordained to the ministry, and during the next five years preached at Mineral Point, Platteville and Shullsburgh, Wisconsin. In i860 he changed his ecclesiastical relations to the Methodist Episcopal church, and was received into the West Wisconsin Conference, with which he has since remained, having meantime filled the following ap- pointments, namely, Fayette, two years; Providence, three years; Linden, two years; Darlington, one year; Portage City, two years; Baraboo, two years, and Monroe, his present appointment, three years. He is an earnest preacher and a fluent and ready speaker. His presentation of gospel truth is clear, simple and forcible, and his ministry has been greatly blessed. Revivals of religion have invariably resulted from his labors, and the membership of the various churches to which he has ministered have been largely increased through his instrumentality. He was married October 28, 1850, to Miss Louisa Cheynaweth, daughter of James Cheynaweth, a na- tive of Cornwall, England, who also descended from original Methodist stock. He came to the United States in the same year with the late Mr. Evans. In her physique and general appearance Mrs. Evans is a fine sample of the average Englishwoman — robust, stout and rosy-cheeked, affectionate, loving and de- voted to her family. Like her connections, she, too, is a devout Methodist, and well qualified to fill a wife’s place in the sphere in which her husband moves. They have eight children, all handsome, healthy and promising, named in the order of their birth : Thomas Martin, Richard De Lacy, Horace James, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. ;>oS Edith, Ida Louisa, Mary Bell, Walter Howard and ('lara Agness. The eldest son, a graduate of Lawrence Lniversity, Appleton, Wisconsin, has adopted the profession of his father, and is now a minister of the gospel, preaching to the Methodist congregation at North Freedom, Wisconsin, having been ordained to the ministry in September, 1876. He is a youth of fine talents, noble aspirations, and destined to a career of usefulness and honor. Richard De Lacy is a student of the Lawrence University, from which he will graduate in 1878, and Horace is a sophomore in the same institution. Edith, who is a handsome likeness of her mother, is attending the Monroe High School, and is a young lady of much promise. CALVIN R. BLACK RI T HE subject of this sketch was born at Fox- borough, Norfolk county, Massachusetts, May 22, 1825, being the second son of Calvin and Nancy Johnson, whose permanent residence was at Hollis- ton, Middlesex county, in the same State, but who resided temporarily at other points in the two coun- ties named, while carrying out the business engage- ments of the father (he was and architect and mill- wright). The paternal ancestors of our subject were among the first settlers of Holliston, and were, and are to this date, known as a representative family in that town. On the maternal side his grandfather, John Rogers, was a non-commissioned officer in Washington’s life guards during the entire period of the revolutionary war. His father volunteered as a soldier in the war with England of 1812-15, an d died in 1829, when young Calvin was but four years of age, leaving his family in reduced circumstances. Our subject had but very ordinary educational advantages during his youth, having annually but a two-months’ term at a common school between the ages of eight and sixteen, while the remainder of his time was spent in constant and unremitting labor; but early acquiring a taste for reading, he indulged it to the limited extent of time and means at his command, so that at the age of sixteen his scholarship would compare very favorably with oth- ers of his age enjoying greater advantages for acquiring an education. At the age last mentioned he was turned loose in the world, with the injunction to “paddle his own canoe ” down the flood of time, and to rely upon himself alone for a successful voyage. The following two years were spent in Holliston, a small portion of the time at school ; and by read- JOHNSON, ■ER FALLS. ing everything within his reach he acquired a store of information that served an excellent purpose in later years. Naturally of an adventurous nature, he at the age of eighteen embarked for a whaling voyage front New Bedford, and was absent some twenty-two months. In that time he doubled Cape of Good Hope going out and Cape Horn in returning, spend- ing the first season in the neighborhood of the Crozet Islands, in 50° to 55 0 south latitude, and the second season in Bay Whaling on the southwest coast of New Holland, and at intervals visiting sev- eral ports in Australia, New Zealand and South America. The voyage was successful pecuniarily, and our subject, from a somewhat puny boy before, devel- oped into a rugged, healthy young man under his somewhat rough experience while on board a whale ship. In 1844 Mr. Johnson removed to the West, and for a short time was employed as clerk in his uncle’s store at Waterloo, Illinois. He spent the summer of 1845 in surveying lands in Iowa, between the Wapsipinicon, the Cedar and the Iowa rivers, and in the autumn of that year visited the Black River country, and in the following spring settled at Black River Falls. For a short time he was engaged in the saw-mill of Jacob Spaulding, and during the winter taught the first school ever opened at that place or in the Black River valley. His school comprised fifteen pupils, never more than seventeen, and he received a compensation of twelve dollars per month, and “boarded around.” In the following spring Mr. Johnson enlisted in the 12th Regiment United States Volunteers, and served in the Mexican war until peace was declared. Returning to Illinois in 1848, he was engaged for nearly two years in his uncle’s store at Waterloo, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DIC T ION AR1~. 309 and in the spring of 1850 settled again at Black River Falls, where he resumed teaching, and em- ployed his leisure hours in the study of law. He was admitted to the bar in 1853, and since that time has devoted himself to his professional work, except when acting in some official capacity. He was elected justice of the peace at an early day, and served three years. Later, was register of deeds for 'two terms, and clerk of the court for one term. He was postmaster during a part of President Fil- more’s administration, and during the same time served as town clerk. In 1856 he was county judge, and at the opening of the civil war a member. of the general assembly. Being deeply in sympathy with the Union cause he went into the army, as captain of Company I, 14th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and served between two and three years, when, by reason of being again elected to the State legislature, he resigned his commission and returned home to participate in the session of 1864. In 1865 he was elected district attorney, and by reelections held that office for ten consecutive years. In all these various positions of honor and trust to which he has been called he has performed his duties faithfully and to the satisfaction of all concerned. Politically Mr. Johnson was formerly a whig; he afterward became a free-soiler; later, identified him- self with the republican party, and at the present time (1877) is liberal in his views. He was married in February, 1852, to Miss Lucy A. Marsh, of Black River Falls. Of the six children that have been born to them four are now living. Among the many interesting experiences of Mr. Johnson’s early life in Black River Falls may be mentioned the following : Ministers were at that time few, and while justice of the peace he some- times went fifty and sixty, and once eighty, miles to perform the marriage ceremony, and at one time he joined in wedlock a couple who had been living together seven years under a solemn pledge that they would be married as soon as an opportunity should present itself. WILLIAM MONROE, M.D., MONROE. W ILLIAM MONROE, the oldest practitioner of Green county, Wisconsin, was born in Circleville, Ohio, July 30, 1818, and is the son of William Monroe and Harriot Thurston, both natives of New York. His father was a thoroughly educated physician, and after obtaining his diploma, moved to Ohio, married a wife, settled down to his profes- sion and gave promise of a long and brilliant career, but he was suddenly stricken down by disease con- tracted from exposure in his professional duties and died at the age of thirty-two years, when our sub- ject was but two months old. Left comparatively unprovided for, his early years were embittered with toil and privations, and yet the discipline thus acquired trained him to a vigorous exertion of his laculties, while perhaps a more easy situation would have released the generous springs of his soul and left them dissolved in indolence. He received a very limited common-school educa- tion in his native town and worked at whatever came to hand for the support of himself and his widowed mother, till he attained his twelfth year, when she married Dr. John Loofbourow, of Dela- ware county, Ohio; after which the family moved to Mineral Point, Wisconsin, where our subject en- gaged as a miner, which occupation he followed for a period of six years with reasonable success, and saved a small sum of money. His mind had been for years turned toward the profession of his father, and to attain this was now the highest object of his ambition. He had been a^diligent student of such books as he could procure, was a close observer of men and things, and at the age of twenty-four was a fair English scholar and had read some medical works. At this time he abandoned mining and entered the office of Dr. O. E. Strong, of Mineral Point, as a student, where he continued some five years. Meantime he attended the usual courses of lectures at Rush Medical College, Chicago, from which he graduated with credit in 1844, and soon after began the practice of his profession in La- fayette county, Wisconsin, where he continued six years, establishing for himself an enviable reputa- tion as a skillful and successful practitioner. In the year 1850 he was drawn into the overland tide which was then flowing toward the Golden State, his intention being to resume for a time his former business of mining ; but on arriving there he THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 3 10 found much sickness prevailing, the cholera com- j mitting fearful ravages. His profession, therefore, J seemed to offer the most urgent, if not the most ' profitable, field for his labors, and he accordingly devoted two years of unremitting toil to the practice of medicine among the miners. Meantime his own health became impaired, making a return to his former home imperative. In 1853 he resumed his practice in Lafayette county, Wisconsin, which he continued with increased success and popularity until the year 1868, when his country practice becoming too laborious for his physical powers, he removed into the city of Monroe, Green county, where he has since been the leading physician, enjoying the confidence and esteem of all who know him. In politics, Dr. Monroe was early identified with the whig party, and on its dissolution naturally became a republican, and has been a firm supporter of the principles of that body during the last twenty years, having been an abolitionist of the most radical type. In 1862 he was appointed examining surgeon, preparatory to the draft in southern Wisconsin, and in 1863 he made a visit to the 31st Regiment Wis- consin Infantry, quartered at Columbus, Kentucky, giving his professional services gratuitously for a month to his old friends and neighbors of that regi- ment. In 1866 he was elected to represent his county (Lafayette) in the State legislature, where he figured conspicuously as the opponent of a meas- ure intended to confer on county judges a similar jurisdiction to that exercised by circuit judges, the effect of which would have been to keep court and jury in session the year round, which would have entailed an enormous burden upon the tax-payers. The defeat of this bill was largely due to the efforts and influence of Dr. Monroe. Since the close of the war he has held the office of pension surgeon for his district. He is a member of the State Medical Society and of several county medical societies; he is also a distinguished member of the Masonic fra- ternity, having attained to the royal-arch degree. When young he was admitted to membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, but later in life he united with the Christian church, of which he is now a member. He is a gentleman of noble and generous impulses, original and perhaps eccentric in some of his habits and manners, but a most genial and entertaining companion. His character is irre- proachable and his influence wide and powerful. On the 10th of November, 1841, he was married to Miss Mary Jane Beebe, a native of Vermont, of early colonial stock, whose ancestors are noted for great longevity. Her uncle, Colvin Beebe, died at Troy, New York, November, 1876, at the advanced age of ninety-nine years and nine months. They have two sons and two daughters. The elder daughter, Hattie L., is the wife of the Rev. M. B. Balch, of Saratoga, New York, and the younger, Metta J., is the wife of James Harvey Eaton, an attorney-at-law in Monroe. The sons, William B. and Zera W., are still young. The paternal grandfather of Dr. Monroe was a native Scotchman, who emigrated to New York soon after the revolution and served in the war of 1812, while his mother is descended of New England co- lonial stock, General Green, of revolutionary fame, having been closely related to her father, Daniel Green Thurston. ALSON ATWOOD, M.D., TREMPEALEA U. T HE subject of this sketch, for thirty years a practicing physician in Wisconsin, is a native of Brandon, Vermont, where he was born July 5, 1821, of Isaac and Betsy (Farr) Atwood, farmers by occupation. His paternal grandfather, Isaac At- wood, served five years in the continental army. Alson lived at home until eighteen years of age, receiving an ordinary common-school education, and afterward spent three years in study at the Castleton Seminary and prepared for college. After spending one term at Middlebury, he abandoned his college course on account of ill health, and in 1843 began the study of medicine with Dr. Perkins, president of the Castleton Medical College, he at- tended six courses of lectures there, held semi- annually, and received his diploma in June, 1846. Thus thoroughly prepared for beginning his med- ical practice, Dr. Atwood entered on his profession at Bristol in his native State, where he spent one year. Shortly afterward he removed to Juneau, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONTARY. Dodge county, Wisconsin, and practiced nine years. He was the first physician to settle there, and built the third house in the place. He witnessed the growth of a pleasant little village, saw the county well settled, and his practice extending over half of its territory. He had excellent success. He became very prominent among the physicians in that vicinity, and had a fine reputation as a skillful practitioner. His health, however, again becoming impaired, he deemed a change necessary, and ac- cordingly removed to Trempealeau in September, 1857, but with no intention of resuming practice. Here his health began to amend, and requests for professional visits began to multiply, and for nearly twenty years he has been steadily employed in his profession. His rides sometimes extend fifteen miles or more away, but most of his business is nearer home. He has an excellent practice on the Minne- sota side of the Mississippi river, as well as in Wis- consin, and is popular in both States. He has a kindly disposition, visits the rich and the poor with the same ready heart and cheerful face, and has probably ridden as many miles as any physician in his part of the State, without any hope of reward except the satisfaction of relieving pain or prolonging life. 3 1 1 Dr. Atwood is of whig antecedents. He has acted with the republican party since its existence, but would never accept any but town offices. He was at the head of the school interests while at Juneau, and has been on the school board at Trempealeau half of the time since settling there. In educational matters, and in other important local enterprises, he is one of the leaders, and there are few more valuable citizens in Trempealeau county. He attends the services of the Congregational church, but is not a member. On the 15th of September, 1847, he was married to Miss Arvilla Doud, of Bristol, Vermont, and of seven children, the fruit of their union, six are living, five daughters and one son. Aristine, the eldest child, is the wife of Albert F. Booth, edit- or and proprietor of the Houston County, Minn., “Journal”; Ella is the wife of Henry F. Pond, a merchant of Trempealeau; Cora is the wife of Adelbert Batchelder, who is with Sprague, Warner and Co., of Chicago; Ada is the wife of Edward C. Nettleton, a merchant of Trempealeau; Stella, the youngest daughter, is unmarried, and Carroll, a graduate of Ripon College, is studying law with Judge Newman, of Trempealeau. REV. GEORGE W. ELLIOTT, MIL WA UKEE. C A EORGE W. ELLIOTT is a native of Grafton X county, New Hampshire, and was born Sep- tember 18, 1796, and is the youngest son and only surviving member of a family of thirteen chil- dren. His parents, Lt. Ezekiel and Sarah Elliott, were among the first settlers of Grafton county; and prior to the revolution his father was employed in surveying the northern part of the State of New Hampshire. It was while thus engaged that his attention was directed to a beautiful valley on one of the branches of the Merrimac river, five miles in width and thirty-five miles in length. With a rich and fertile soil, and almost entirely surrounded by high mountains, it is not strange that he selected it as his future home. At the opening of the war of independence he entered the service, and continued as militia officer until its close. George W. passed his boyhood on his father’s farm, engaged in agri- cultural pursuits. In 1815, when nineteen years of age, he united with the Congregational Church of Campton, New Hampshire, and soon after began a course of clas- sical study, preparatory to his entering the gospel ministry. Graduating at Auburn Theological Sem- inary, he was commissioned to the sacred office by the Presbytery of Geneva, New York, and soon after temporarily filled the pulpit of one who a short time before had zealously aided in clothing him with the sacred badge of the gospel ministry. Here Mr. Elliott labored a few months, when he accepted a call from a church in Onondaga county, New York. His labors in this church were crowned with gratify- ing success. Within the first two years of his pas- torate more than eighty members were added to the church upon profession. Mr. Elliott labored in New York seventeen years, the first five of which was marked by that wonderful and wide-spread work of grace, still remembered by many. Soon after entering the ministry he was married to Miss Nancy Fitch, of Auburn, New York, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 3 1 2 a most estimable and devoted lady. The union was a happy one, but was severed at the end of eight years by the death of Mrs. Elliott, which occurred September 20, 1S34. She died at Brockport, and is entombed in the cemetery of that city. Of their three children, but one, Georgia, is now living. Rowena M. died July 19, 1849, and Edward Payson, March 18, 1838. Mr. Elliott afterward married Mrs. S. Caroline Cowen, widow of Dr. Cowen, and daughter of Hon. David S. Bates, of Rochester, New York. This happy union continued twenty-three years, when, on November 21, 1858, she, too, was called to her last home. They had three children. S. Caroline died in 1839, in infancy; the others, Theodore Bates and Eugene S., are now engaged in business in Milwaukee, the former a member of the well-known law firm of Jenkins, Elliott and Winkler, and the latter a practicing attorney at the city of Milwaukee. After closing his labors in central New York, Mr. Elliott was, during the next thirteen years, pastor of a church in La Salle county, Illinois. In 1851 he was appointed to take charge of a mission agency in Wisconsin, a work in which he was engaged in plant- ing churches, and supplying and obtaining supplies for churches destitute of pastors. He acted in this capacity until he was invited to the general agency of the American Bible Society, in the State. After devoting five years to this work, at a time when the distant portions of the State could be reached only by private conveyance or public stage, he was com- pelled, by reason of failing health, to retire from pro- fessional labors, though his whole subsequent life has been devoted to the service of the church. He has always been identified with the Presbyterian denom- ination (New School). When Mr. Elliott took up his residence in Milwaukee, he found but one pres- bytery of this connection. This was recently organ- ized, and comprised four ministers and two churches, namely, the First Presbyterian and a new mission recently gathered on Walker’s Point, and called the Second Church. The ministers were Rev. E. S. Hunter, D.D., and Rev. Wm. H. Spencer, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Rev. — . Steel, act- ing pastor of the Second and pastor of a church in Racine. At an early date a presbytery had been gathered from different parts of the State, and ab- sorbed in a body called the Presbyterian and Con- gregational Convention, and an Old School Presby- tery about this time organized. At once identifying himself with this new presbytery, Mr. Elliott began working for its extension. During the first year eight churches were collected, seven of which were newly organized. Other presbyteries were speedily gathered, and at the end of three years a large and strong synod spread its influence over the entire State. This was soon followed by the uniting of the Old and New School bodies which at the present time (1876) harmoniously occupy the entire field. The subject of this sketch has now attained the ripe age of eighty years, of which more than sixty years have been passed in active and highly success- ful work in the service of the Master. ' The life of a faithful minister of the gospel pre- sents few salient points of interest to those outside his immediate circle of friends and acquaintances. It is quiet, unobtrusive, modest. The peaceful victories won against the foes of religion and of human pro- gress are heralded neither by the ringing of bells nor booming of cannon. They pass unnoticed save by a few, and rarely furnish a subject for the historian’s pen. But they have ample reward in the inefface- able impress which a life of devoted and self-sacri- ficing labor leaves upon society, in the remem- brance of good work well done, and in the well founded hope of receiving, when all is over, the divine welcome, “ Well done, good and faithful ser- vant.” FRANK L. LEWIS, M.D., ARCADIA. F RANK LORIN LEWIS, a native of Vermont, was born in Hardwick, Caledonia county, Sep- tember 22, 1840, and is the son of John B. and Betsy (Mason) Lewis. His grandfather Lewis died a prisoner at Quebec during the war of 1812, and his paternal great-grandfather died a prisoner during the war of the revolution. Until sixteen years of age Frank divided his time between study and farm work, and both before and after this age attended the Hardwick Academy, and completed his literary education with two terms at a high school in Mont- pelier. He spent eight months in the study of THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONART. 313 medicine with Dr. W. H. H. Richardson, of Mont- pelier, and at the end of which time, the war of the rebellion having begun, enlisted as a private in the 6th Regiment Vermont Volunteers, but before going to the front was appointed hospital steward. He was in the field two and a half years, part of the time with General U. S. Grant’s army, and part with General Sheridan in the Shenandoah valley, serving in the same position through the whole time. His experience in hospitals was an excellent school preparatory to the further prosecution of his med- ical studies. Upon his return from the South, by reason of impaired health, he did but little studying for two years, but later attended lectures at Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Rush Medical College, Chicago, and graduated from the latter institution in March, 1869. He first established himself in practice at Eureka, Winnebago county, Wisconsin, where, however, he remained but a short time. On the 18th of August, 1870, he settled at Arcadia, Trempealeau county, where he has built up a very large and lucrative practice, both in medicine and surgery — the largest of any practitioner in his vicinity. For a physician of his age his diagnoses are remarkable. He studies a disease very carefully, and reads its nature almost by intuition. Few men in the State, with the same amount of experience, have been so successful. His rides are extensive, reaching, in difficult cases of fracture, etc., into other adjoining counties. The Doctor is very careful in all his practice, and withal is a close student and a rapidly growing man. He is preeminently a self-made man. All his attain- ments, scientific and medical, have been obtained by his own exertions, without a dollar of aid from any source. He is now in partnership with Dr. J. R. Brandt, the firm being Lewis and Brandt. Dr. Lewis is a Master Mason, and in politics he is a firm republican, but lets neither secret society nor politics interfere with his chosen life-profes- sion. He was married in May, 1867, to Miss Jennie J. Brandt, of Eureka, Wisconsin, and by her has two children. Dr. Lewis has attained his present standing by constant study and work ; he has no vacation — no respite from labor ; and as a reward of his efforts, enjoys the confidence, respect and high esteem of his fellow-citizens. A. CLARKE DODGE, MONROE. A CLARKE DODGE was born in Barre, Ver- • mont, November 6, 1834, and is the son of Joseph and Lorenda (Thompson) Dodge. He is half-brother to J. T. Dodge, whose biography ap- pears in another part of this volume, and whose lin- eal descent from Richard Dodge, an Englishman, who became an inhabitant of Salem, Massachusetts, August 29, 1636, is established by authentic records in the possession of the family. Lorenda Thomp- son was the sister of Azubah Thompson, the de- ceased wife of Joseph Thompson. She was a woman of quiet disposition and unostentatious man- ners, deeply religious, yet unsectarian and charita- ble, caring little for the “ pomp and circumstance ” of fashion. She died May 15, 1844, leaving the impress of her kindly character and unselfish traits upon her son. Our subject was reared on a New England farm, by strictly religious and exemplary parents, whose influence gave tone and color to his principles, hab- its and manners in after life. He received an aca- 37 demic education at the seminary of his native town? whose principal, J. S. Spaulding, LL.D., was one of the foremost educators of his day, and under whose guidance he became an excellent English and Latin scholar, as well as an accurate mathematician. He was a prominent member of the public lyceum of the institution, and counted among its ablest debators, giving unmistakable indications of the possession of rare talents and fair promise of an honorable and successful career. He was early im- bued with the New England idea of industry, and excepting the time spent at the academy, his em- ployment upon the farm was constant and unremit- ting, until his nineteenth year, when his father disposed of his farm and left his son free to follow the oft-repeated advice of the distinguished journal- ist, H. G., and “ go west.” In 1854 he arrived at Chicago, and remained there during the winter, and in the spring of 1855 removed to Wisconsin. The first five years of his western life were mainly de- voted to teaching, varied in the summers by clerk- 3H THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. ing and such other employment as he could obtain. During the last eleven years he has been engaged in the lumber business, with eminent success. He was one of the organizers of the Monroe Manufac- turing Company, one of the largest and most suc- cessful agricultural implement manufactories of the W est, and during the first two years of its existence was its president. His career has been marked by energy, intelligence and public-spirited enter- prise. He is especially noted as the friend and promoter of education, and for the last eight years has been a member, and, for three years past, presi- dent of the Monroe Board of Education, whose school system, as evinced by the character of its teachers and the attainments of the pupils, is infe- rior to none, and superior to most, in the State, a result which is largely due to the influence of Mr. Dodge. He has also been honored with other local offices of trust, by his fellow-citizens of the county, and every interest and public enterprise with which he has been connected has in turn shown the im- press of his energy and judgment. He has been an active Odd-Fellow for more than ten years past, having successively occupied the chairs of both the lodge and encampment. He was also a member of the grand lodge and grand en- campment of the State. He was brought up under strict Methodist influ- ence, but in later years a review of the questions separating between the orthodox and more liberal believers led him to assimilate with the views of Wm. E. Channing and Robert Collyer, rather than with those of Jonathan Edwards and Dr. Patton. He was raised in the hot-bed of Abolitionism, and early imbued with anti-slavery sentiments, his father being one of the founders of the Abolition Society of 1844. Hatred of slavery grew with his growth and strengthened with his strength, until that stain upon our nation’s honor was wiped out — that deep disgrace to our humanity abolished. Since the formation of the republican party he has been one of its staunchest supporters. He has been frequently a member of and chairman of republi- can county conventions ; often a delegate to con- gressional and State conventions, and is at present chairman of the republican central committee of the county. In 1873 h e was nominated by his party for the State senate, but was defeated by seven votes. In private life he is genial, benevolent, kind- hearted and generous. It has come to be a proverb in Monroe, that if A. C. Dodge can grant a favor or do a service to any human being, it is sure to be done. His ear is always open to the cries of the poor, and his hand ever ready to relieve the wants of the needy. Nor is his beneficence of that cheap and heartless character which costs no sacrifice or inconvenience to the giver. He is, moreover, a gentleman of high mental endowments, having a clear, analytical and discriminating mind, and as a consequence is quick in his deductions and de- cided in his opinions, but void of all uncharita- bleness. On the 4th of November, i860, he married Miss Sarah E. Kidder, daughter of Joseph B. Kidder, Esq., of Fulton, Wisconsin, and in the year follow- ing moved to Monroe, Green county, where he has since resided. The fruit of his marriage with Miss Kidder is two children, one son and one daughter, — Charles Sumner, born July 31, 1861, and Flora Elizabeth, born February 25, 1874. CAPTAIN FRED PABST, MIL WA UK EE. F RED PABST, president of the Phillip Best Brewing Company, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was born at Nickolausrieth, Prussia, March 28, 1836, and is the son of Gotlieb and Frederica Pabst. He was brought up on a farm and edu- cated in a common school at the place of his nativ- ity until he arrived at the age of thirteen years. Upon his arrival in America he attended the com- mercial college for a few months for the purpose of j acquiring a knowledge of book-keeping. He came to Wisconsin in 1848, and resided at Milwaukee a short time, thence removing to Chicago, where he found employment in the National Hotel, working one year for his board. The next year he was em- ployed at the Mansion House at five dollars per month. His next occupation was that of cabin-boy on the steamer Sam Ward on the lakes, and then captain and part owner of the steamer Comet. In by B.Dudensing.KY. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 317 1864 he sold his interest in the boat and invested his funds in the business of the Best Brewing Com- pany, and four years afterward he purchased a half interest, and Captain Pabst became its president and general manager. Success has attended all of his enterprises until he has become one of the wealthy men of Milwaukee. In his religious sentiments Captain Pabst is a Lutheran, although not a very strict attendant upon the services of the church. He is essentially a self- made man, of well-developed physique, capable of undergoing much manual labor, practical in his views, ardent in his temperament, self-reliant and energetic; he could scarcely fail of success in any enterprise he would undertake. He is a man of warm friendships and of social habits, is happy himself and endeavors to diffuse happiness around him. As a politician he is neutral, always voting for the man best qualified to discharge the duties of the office. During the rebellion he used his influence and also his money in its suppression. He was one of the directors of the Brewers’ Insurance Company for some time and is now a stockholder. He made a trip in 1873 with his wife to Europe for her health, and traveled over a considerable portion of the con- tinent. He was married March 25, 1862, to Miss Maria Best, the eldest daughter of Major General Philip Best. They have six children, and all are at home. SAMUEL T. SMITH LA CROSSE. S AMUEL TINKER SMITH, the first man to run a temperance and anti-gambling steamboat on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, was born in Delaware county, New York, May 9, 1801. His maternal grandfather was a revolutionary soldier. His father, Noah Smith, was a native of Long Island, and his mother of Lyme, Connecticut. His father lived in Delaware county until 1812, when, with six other families, he moved to Ohio. Reach- ing Wheeling, West Virginia, they built a fiatboat and floated down to Cincinnati, reaching there in October. The next year he moved to a tract of land three miles from the city, and opened a farm, Samuel at the same time becoming a clerk in a store, remaining in and near the city, merchandising and farming, until 1828. In April of that year he visited the Galena lead mines, and during the next month went into Wisconsin — at that time part of the Northwestern Territory. Stopping about half way between the present sites of Potosi and Platte- ville, he built a cabin and engaged in mining for one year. He afterward went to Galena and taught school two years, and there, in 1831, organized the first Sunday school in that part of the country. Retu rning to Cincinnati in 1832, he farmed a short trade in that city, and continued it until 1840. He then built his “ Sunday keeping ” steamboat, and ran it and others for nine years on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and the tributaries of the latter. In 1849, while his steamboat was at the St. Louis landing, it was burnt, with twenty-two other steam- ers and seven blocks of city buildings. Immediately after this calamity he opened a dry-goods store in that city. In July, 1851, he removed to La Crosse, then a village of about fifty genuine settlers. Here he continued the mercantile trade between two and three years, and in 1853 opened the land agency, which he has continued ever since, at the same time engaging more or less in farming. Mr. Smith was early taught that riches take to themselves wings, and he was impressed with the truthfulness of the scriptural statement when, in the crash of 1837, he lost a round hundred thousand dollars, and half that sum in a similar visitation in 1857, to say nothing of the sudden reduction of his steamboat to ashes just as he had repainted it and was about to sell it, and minor losses in La Crosse by fires. Pecuniarily, Mr. Smith is in comfortable circumstances. His wealth, however, is not all of this world — he is “rich toward God.” Few Chris- tian lives have been more consistent or more note- worthy. When he landed in what is now the State of Wisconsin, in 1828, he knelt down alone, in the solitude of the forest, under a large oak tree, and took possession of the land in the name of his Mas ter. Shortly after reaching La Crosse, on the 22d of January, 1852, he gathered the few Baptist peo- ple (fourteen in all) and a church was organized at his house. He brought with him to La Crosse three THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 318 or four families, seven members of which were Bap- tists. He was chosen the first deacon, and has held that office for twenty-five years. The Congrega- tionalists met at his house on the same day and at the same hour, and the ministers present assisted each other in organizing the two churches. On the 2’d of January, 1877, the two Christian bodies again met, and observed their quarter centennial, upon which occasion Deacon Smith read an intensely interesting history of the Baptist church. He has had two wives, the first being Miss Martha Ellen Longley, of Cheviot, Ohio, to whom he was married in 1827. She died in 1834, leaving two children, one of whom is now living. To his second wife, Miss Sarah Hildreth, of Cincinnati, he was married in 1835. They have had eleven children, of whom five are living. Orren L., the only child by his first wife now living, is married, and residing in La Crosse. The eldest daughter, widow of the late Jacob P. Whelpley, with her three children, is living with her father; another daughter is the wife of W. L. Card, of Moberly, Missouri ; and a third is the wife of Spencer Way, of Rockford, Illinois. The other children are unmarried. Of the many interesting anecdotes connected with Deacon Smith’s nine years of steamboat life we mention the following: As he was starting on his first trip from Cincinnati to Pittsburgh, two fast young Southerners came on board, and before the boat was fairly under way began to inquire for the card table and the bar. Captain Smith politely informed them that there was nothing of the kind on board ; that neither drinking nor gambling was allowed on his boat ; that he had a good library and he hoped they would make free use of it, and that when they reached Pittsburgh, if they were not sat- isfied with the accommodations, he would refund the money. They used his books very liberally, one of them reading through Knowles’s life of Ann H. Judson, and both becoming thoroughly absorbed in literary recreations. When near Pittsburgh they went on the hurricane deck and reminded the cap- tain that they were near the end of the voyage, and he asked them if they wanted their fare refunded. They told him frankly that when they -came on board and found no bar, they made up their minds to jump off at the first wood-pile landing; that on the whole, however, they had been greatly pleased, actually delighted, with the trip, and that if they ever had occasion to make the same trip again, if necessary they would wait three days for the sake of getting his boat. ANDREW TAINTER, MENOMONEE. T HE subject of this sketch was born at Salina, New York, July 6, 1823. Both of his grand- fathers participated in the revolutionary struggle of the colonies. His father, Ezekiel 'Painter, was, in early life, a salt manufacturer ; later he had charge of copper mines in New Jersey, and in 1828 re- moved to the West, and after spending about two years at Galena, Illinois, settled at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, whither he moved his family in 1832. At first he furnished the garrison with wood, then beef, and subsequently engaged in merchandising and hotel keeping. In his early days at Prairie du Chien, Andrew attended school when opportunity afforded, and when not thus engaged assisted his father in bus- iness, and for about three years prior to 1845, worked for a merchant. - During this last named year he left Prairie du Chien ; went to the Chippewa Val- ley, where he worked in a saw-mill and in the hay- field, and in 1846 settled upon the present site of Menomonee, on the Red Cedar river. There he at first operated a lath-mill on shares, in company with Blois Hurd, with whom he afterward purchased a saw-mill. This mill he operated until the winter of 1849-50, when he engaged in making shingles and logging. In the ensuing August he became a member of the firm of J. H. Knapp and Co., since changed to Knapp, Stout and Co., and now the lead- ing lumber firm in the United States. His acces- sion to the enterprise gave it a new impetus, which contributed largely to its present prosperous con- dition. He was ready for any work, and knew how to dispatch it. During the first four or five years he gave most of his time to looking after the logs, running the lumber to the mouth of the Chippewa river, and boating supplies thence back to the mill. Afterward his business became still more diversified. For about three seasons he was captain of a steam- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY 319 boat, running in connection with the lumber bus- iness. Of late he has been looking after the log- ging interests of the company, also the farms and mills, more especially those in Barren county. The company owns half a dozen large and well culti- vated farms and several smaller ones. The amount of its lumbering business is recorded in the sketch of Mr. Knapp, found in another part of this work. Thirty-two years ago Andrew Tainter began with no capital other than his willing hands, a courageous heart, a robust body and a will-power that yielded to no difficulty. Above his pecuniary obligations, he had not a dollar in the world ; to-day he owns the finest residence with the most spacious and beau- tiful surroundings of any man in northwestern Wis- consin, and still possesses a perfectly sound constitu- tion, a rich flow of animal spirits, a cheerful heart, and, in short, the full capacity to enjoy his vast accumulations. He can dispense hospitalities with a royal whole-heartedness which a king might copy, if not envy. Mr. Tainter’s taste and talent is shown in the methods which he has invented for the comfort of his family, his guests, and his domestic animals, including more than thirty deer, which he has in a park a few rods from his house. All that he pos- sesses he has earned by his own hands and by strictly honorable business transactions, and no man knows better than he how to dispense of his wealth. Mr. Tainter is a republican in politics, but has uniformly declined to hold office. On May 9, 1861, he was married to Miss Bertha Lucas, a native of Smyrna, New York. They have had four children, three of whom are now living. Mr. Tainter has a fine physique, being five feet and eleven inches in height; he stands firm and per- fectly erect and weighs two hundred and ten pounds ; and although for many years he was one of the hard- est working men in the whole range of the Wisconsin pineries, his shoulders look as though the burdens of life had rested lightly upon them. Few men are more active, or capable of performing more labor. The several farms which lie has aided in opening show that while accumulating wealth for himself he has, in connection with the company of which he is a member, added greatly to the wealth of the State. ANDREW S. DOUGLASS, MONROE. ANDREW STARRING DOUGLASS was born 1 \_ in Oswegatchie, St. Lawrence county, New York, June 17, 1840, and is the son of Adam B. Douglass and Mary Ann Starring. His father, a native Scotchman, was born in Kelso, Roxboro’ county, Scotland, a lineal descendant of the “ ban- ished earl,” and a member of the famous clan known as the “ Douglasses of Hume.” He came to America in 1836, landed at Quebec, and participated in the insurrection in Lower Canada in the following year, known as “the Patriot War.” After tranquillity was restored, Mr. Douglass moved to New York State, where he remained till 1852, pursuing the avocation of husbandry, and also, during this period, developed a taste for fine stock, especially blooded horses, in the raising of which he took a deep interest. In the last named year he removed to Portage City, Columbia county, Wisconsin, where for five years he kept a hotel and continued to “patronize” fine horses. He was for several years owner of the famous racer, “ Pinery Boy,” and had under his charge “ Medoc,” “ Highland Mary,” “Amanda,” and several other not less celebrated of the turf stock, besides a number of others designated “quarter horses.” His taste and enthusiasm in this direction did much to improve the breed of horses in southern Wisconsin. In 1858 he moved to Mil- waukee and leased the “ Cold Spring ” race track, in the suburbs of that city, and engaged extensively in training horses. Thence, in the spring of 1859, he moved to Janesville, where he leased a farm and race track, and continued the business of horse training till 1867 with very considerable success, when he retired to a large farm in Rock county, near Brodhead, where he at present resides, doing an extensive granger business generally, making fine horses, however, a specialty. His mother was a native of central New York, descended from the “ Mohawk ” Dutch settlers of that State, and a woman of considerable force of character. She died when our subject, her only son, was but nine years old. The father subsequently married Miss Julia A. Jay, of Chatauqua county, New York. 3 20 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY During boyhood Andrew attended the district schools of his native State, and after Iris removal to Wisconsin, the Classical Institute of Portage City, where he studied the ordinary branches — including algebra, Latin and natural philosophy. He was a bright boy and a diligent student, being especially proficient in mathematics. He subsequently at- tended the high school of Milwaukee, under Profes- sor Larkin, formerly of Alfred University, New York, a very able teacher, and still later the high school of Janesville, from which he graduated in 1863. He afterward taught school one term at Indian Ford, in Rock county, and in the spring of 1864 enlisted in the 40th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and participated in the famous skirmish resultant on the ‘‘Forest raid” on Memphis. He was discharged from the service during the same fall. In May, 1865, he began the study of law in the office of H. A. Patterson, of Janesville, and was admitted to the bar in February, 1866, and at once formed a partnership with his old preceptor, which continued till October, 1867, when he removed to Brodhead and resumed his profession on his own account. In 1868 he was elected to the position of district attorney for Green county, an office which he has held for four consecutive terms, being elected in 1870 without opposition. Mr. Douglass is one of the coming men of his profession. He is endowed with fine sociaF qualities, which, added to his other accomplishments, give him great influence and con- stitute important elements of his success. As a law- yer he is especially able in the drafting of pleadings and legal papers, and is noted for his dexterity in the examination and cross-examination of witnesses ; but his stronghold is his great earnestness before a jury — few men excel him in this respect. His careful dis- crimination and close reasoning rarely fail to dis- cover the strong points in his own case and the weak ones in that of his opponent, and ignoring all minor details he devotes his entire strength to these, often forcing a verdict in his favor when the weight of testimony seemed against him. These qualities, together with great force and purity of diction, and manifest rectitude of principle, have placed him in the front ranks of the profession, and render his success certain. In politics he has always been republican. Dur- ing the late campaign he was secretary of the Hayes and Wheeler club of Monroe, and he has stumped his county and congressional district in every cam- paign since 1868. He has been clerk of the city of Monroe for the past three years, and is also secre- tary of the Green County Agricultural Society, and was among the organizers of the Janesville Young Men’s Association, a literary society still in existence and doing an excellent work. He is also a popular member of the Masonic fraternity. He was raised in the Universalist faith, but has now no pronounced religious views. He was married on the 10th of November, 1868, to Miss Laura E. Welsh, daughter of John B. Welsh, Esq., of Vineland, New Jersey, a lady of preposses- sing appearance, tall and graceful, and endowed with a high order of mental talents, well developed by culture, and especially gifted as a linguist. They have three children, namely, Arthur Gordon, Mal- colm Campbell and Helen — all perpetuating good “ auld ” Scottish names. ROMANZO SHARON KINGMAN, SPARTA. T HE subject of this biography is the son of Sharon Kingman and Abigail Thayer King- man, and was born at Madison, Lake county, Ohio, May 19, 1829. Some of both his paternal and ma- ternal ancestors participated in the bloody struggle which resulted in the independence of the colonies. His father was a joiner and builder, and removed to Chester, Geduga county, when Romanzo was two years old. Upon his death, which occurred when Romanzo was fourteen years old, the mother re- moved to Kingsville, Ashtabula county, where young Kingman attended the academy till he was twenty- two years of age, teaching school during the win- ter, commencing at seventeen. During the last two years that he taught he gave considerable attention to medical studies, intending to enter that profes- sion ; but after removing to Sparta, Wisconsin, in 1851, he abandoned the idea of completing his medical studies. When Mr. Kingman settled in Sparta, twenty-five years ago, Monroe county contained six families, and the country was almost an unbroken wilderness. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 3 2 1 He at once entered a piece of land, portions of which he cleared and cultivated, and for three years employed the winter months in teaching. In 1854 he was elected register of deeds, and held the office two terms of two years each, and was also during most of that period deputy clerk of the court and of the board of supervisors, doing, in fact, most of the writing for the county. At the close of his term of office he embarked in the real-estate and lumber business, and with the exception of one season, which he spent in the mines in Colorado, followed it steadily until 1862. In 1863 Mr. Kingman went to Maine, and, in connection with other gentlemen, built, on the Pen- obscott river, sixty miles above Bangor, two of the largest tanneries in the United States. They con- sumed fifteen thousand cords of bark per annum. At the end of ten years he returned to Sparta, hav- ing been very successful in his Eastern enterprise. Here, in 1873, he engaged in the banking and real- estate business with Mr. M. A. Thayer, and is now president of the bank for savings, a private and very prosperous institution. Mr. Kingman is a republican in political senti- ment, but never allows politics to interfere with his business affairs. He manages all his matters with prudence, and few men in Monroe county have been more suc- cessful. In religious sentiment he is liberal. On November 2, 1862, he was married to Mrs. Sillinda Packard, of Sparta. Mr. Kingman’s ancestors are noted for their great longevity. His paternal grandfather died in his ninety-seventh and his grandmother in her ninety- eighth year, and his maternal great-grandfather was one hundred years and twelve days old when he died. His mother is still living, being in her sev- enty-seventh year. Her mother died at eighty-five, and her father at ninety years of age. HIRAM MEDBERY, MONROE. T HE subject of this biography was born at Sar- atoga, New York, January 30, 1832, and is the son of Hiram and Nancy S. (Chambers) Medbery, natives of the same State. In early life his father was engaged in mercantile pursuits, but later became a farmer, since this occu- pation was more in harmony with his tastes and dis- position. He was a man of unblemished moral character, of large intelligence, sound judgment, and considerable influence in his neighborhood. He was a distinguished Royal Arch Mason, and held many local offices, and was especially noted as an arbitrator. He was a genial and warm- hearted man, generous and liberal, ready to divide his last dollar with the needy. He died in 1864, regretted by all who knew him. The family is descended from English ancestors, who settled in Rhode Island about the beginning of the seventeenth century. His mother was of Scotch descent, her father being a native Scott, claiming lineage, on his mother’s side, from Robert Bruce, the hero of Bannockburn. She exemplified in her person most of the characteristics of that remarka- ble people, and has transmitted to her son some of the same. Hiram attended the district school in Broad- Alvin, a Scotch village in New York, till the age of sixteen years, when he moved, with his father and family, consisting of mother and nine children, to Walworth county, Wisconsin, where for four years he worked on the farm in summer and attended school in winter, and became an excellent mathe- matician and an expert in the Latin language. At the age of twenty he taught a district school four months, for which he received the round sum of sixty dollars, with which he started for Saratoga Springs, New York. On his way he stopped at Mil- waukee, and there invested twelve dollars of his savings in a new suit of clothes. Having completed his journey, he entered the law office of Augustus Backes, of that city, now chief justice of the su- preme court of New York. Here he was a diligent student for twelve months, clerking occasionally in an insurance office to aid in paying expenses, and after a rigid examination by Judges Cady, Allen, Hand and James, of the supreme court, in open session, he was admitted to the bar, at Fonda, in that State, in 1852, and began his career as a lawyer in the village of Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin. In three months he realized sixteen dollars over and THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. above his expenses. He subsequently taught school three months in Troy, Wisconsin, and in the spring of 1854 went to California, where he operated for eighteen months as a civil engineer on the Middle Uba canal, Nevada county, civil engineering hav- ing been included in his school curriculum. For this service he received one hundred and fifty dol- lars per month, most of which he saved. In 1856 he returned to Wisconsin and opened a law office in East Troy, where he practiced for a year, with fair success. During this period he was offered the attorneyship of the Sugar River Valley railroad, which he accepted, and removed to Albany, Wis- consin, where the headquarters of the company were located. The enterprise, however, proved a failure, but he remained in that city till 1864. In 1859 he was elected district attorney of Green county, a po- sition which he retained three years. In 1862 he was appointed assistant assessor of the United States revenue department for the northern district of Green county, which was afterward enlarged to include the whole of Green and La Fayette counties. This position he retained till 1871, and until the district was consolidated with the second. In 1864 he moved to Monroe, the county seat of Green county, and in connection with his official duties continued his professional work. In 1867 he in- vested his surplus savings in real estate in the city of Chicago, and spent the year 1873 in that city, looking after his property, which, notwithstanding the fire and other casualties, has become quite re- munerative. In 1874 he returned to Monroe, where he has since resided, giving exclusive attention to his profession, with the most satisfactory results. He is now the leading attorney at the bar of Green county, and the peer of any in the State. His prac- tice does not drift in any especial direction. He is able in all departments of the profession. In the cross-examination of refractory or equivocal wit- nesses he is inexorable; one trial of his skill in this direction is generally sufficient. He is an acute thinker of the subjective school, possessing a deep and varied knowledge of men and things, quick perceptions, keen analytical mind, with irresistible powers of logic ; to which may be added a lively appreciation of the ludicrous. He is a clear-minded thinker, and rarely at a loss for words in which to express his ideas. As an advocate he is among the foremost speakers at the bar. Above all, he is a man of sterling integrity and thorough independ- ence of character, and his fame has spread far be- yond the limits of his acquaintance. Although somewhat reserved to strangers, among his friends and acquaintances he is genial, open-hearted and generous. A warm sympathizer with those in dis- tress, and ever ready, with heart, hand and voice, to aid- the unfortunate. In politics he has always been a republican of the most radical type, and has hitherto thrown his whole weight and influence into the scale in favor of his principles, though he has never been a candidate for any office before the people. He has been a Mason for the past twenty-five years. He was married on the 4th of January, i860, to Miss Lucy A. Royce, daughter of Newton B. Royce, Esq., of Janesville, a lady of much per- sonal beauty, tall, graceful and elegant, intelligent, cultivated, practical and pious. They have two children, namely, Jesse, thirteen, and Paul, seven years of age. The daughter, although still a child, has already developed rare powers as a writer of fiction. JEFFERY A. FARNHAM, WA USA U. T HE subject of this biography is the son of Jeffery A. Farnham, a farmer, and Mary nee Tracy, and was born at Scipio, New York, October 27, 1817. His grandfather was an English officer, who came to America during the French and Eng- lish war and aided in wresting Canada from France, and remaining in this country, settled at New Lon- don, Connecticut. The subject of this sketch attended classical schools from twelve to seventeen years of age at Farmington, Connecticut, and South Hadley, Mas- sachusetts, and then joined a civil engineer corps operating on the western division of the Erie canal enlargement, where he was engaged from 1838 to 1842. Two years later he came west, and during two years was engaged in prospecting and teaching, his school being at Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. In the autumn of 1846 he settled at Watertown, and sur- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. veyed lands in that vicinity and at points farther north. He laid out and constructed the plank road from Watertown to Milwaukee, and in 1851 went to Illinois and spent three years as a civil engineer on the Chicago branch of the Illinois Central railroad, erecting the first dwelling house at Champaign. Returning to Watertown, he assisted in constructing the Watertown and Madison railroad, and for a time acted in the capacity of city engineer, and in June, 1858, removed to Wausau. Here Mr. Farnham engaged in real-estate opera- tions, and became a pioneer in banking in Mara- thon county, opening, at first, a State institution, called the Hank of the Interior. He put up, for banking purposes, the first solid brick building in Wausau. Latterly he has conducted a private bank, known all over the State and the Northwest as J. A. Farnham’s banking house — a carefully managed and popular institution. Years ago Mr. Farnham, with ten thousand other good business men, had his financial reverses, but, nothing daunted, he has pushed forward, and latterly, with prudent manage- ment, has been quite prosperous. He attends very carefully to his private business and has rarely been turned aside from it. In 1859 he accepted the office of county treasurer, to fill a vacancy, and held that position one year. The county is strongly democratic, and he has always been a republican, so that, were he an aspir- ant for office, his chances of success would be doubt- ful. He is quite contented with success in private business life. Mr. Farnham is a Royal Arch Mason, an Odd- Fellow and a Good Templar. He is a strong tem- perance man, and his heart is in sympathy with every cause tending to improve the morals of society. He is a member of the Episcopal church at Wau- sau, and was for several years senior warden. In 1864 he was married to Mrs. Emily S. John- son, of Jefferson, Wisconsin, daughter of the late William Sanborn, founder of that town. Since seventeen years of age Mr. Farnham has been wholly dependent upon his own resources, having no capital other than a good education, a sound body and a resolute heart. He escaped the snares into which many young men fall, sought good company when it could be found, and in every way sought to build up a sound, true and healthful moral character. He has always been industrious and frugal, and his accumulations are the result of close application and wise management. His life is a fair illustration of what may be attained by upright, honorable and persevering effort. Mr. Farnham’s mother died about 1872, having attained the advanced age of ninety-eight years, and retaining her faculties till the last hour. She had fourteen grandchildren in the Union army, and two of whom were starved to death at Andersonville. The father of Mr. Farnham died in 1844, at Scipio, New York. HON. CHARLES M. WEBB, GRAND RAPIDS. C HARLES MORTON WEBB, a native of Tow- anda, Pennsylvania, was born on the 30th of December, 1833. His father, John L. Webb, was, in his later years, a merchant and prominent poli- tician, and, at the time of his death, which occurred in 1846, was a member of the Pennsylvania legis- lature. His mother’s maiden name was Annis Ham- mond. She died about 1875. Charles closed his studies in school at the age of twelve years, and entered a printing office at Troy, Pennsylvania. Subsequently he worked at the printer’s trade at Wellsboro, in the same State. In 1850 he entered the military academy, West Point, and there spent a year and a half. He worked in a printing office at Washington, District of Columbia, about three years, 38 and in 1855 began the study of law with Ulysses Mercur, of 'l'owanda, Pennsylvania, and was admit- ted to the bar, at the same place, in September, 1857. After spending a short time looking for an opening, he, in April 1858, settled at Grand Rapids, Wisconsin, at that time a village of eight hundred inhabitants. During the first year of his residence there he was elected district attorney, and held that position at the opening of the rebellion, in 1861. Resigning his office in September of that year he entered the army as first lieutenant of Company G, 12th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers, and after eight months’ service resigned. Returning to Grand Rap- ids, he resumed his legal practice, and in 1864 was elected clerk of the board of supervisors, in which THE UNITED STATES B/OGRAPIJ/CAL DICTIONARY. 3-4 capacity he served during two terms. He was elected to the State senate in 1868, and was an influential member of that body during the two sessions. He has been United States district attor- ney for the western district of Wisconsin since the creation of that district in 1870. He lias always acted with the republican party. On the 2d of January, 1857, he was married to Miss Jane Pierce, of .Smithfield, Pennsylvania, and by her has three children. Mr. Webb is a close student, his studies being mainly in the line of his profession. He is a good court lawyer, but his strength is best shown before a jury, where he is logical, clear and very persuasive. He is one of the ablest lawyers in his part of the State, and is alive to all important local interests. HON. HARRISON LUDINGTON, MIL JVA UK EE. H ARRISON LUDINGTON, governor of Wis- consin for the term commencing in January, 1876, was born in Putnam county, State of New York, on the 31st of July, 1812. Like many of our best and most eminent men, his early advantages were limited, and he received only the common- school education of the time. In November, 1838, he came to Milwaukee and commenced life for him- self, by engaging in the business of general merchan- dise, in which he successfully continued for a period of about thirteen years. In 1851 he commenced the manufacture of lumber, and is now one of the firm of Ludington, Wells and Van Schaick, well known as among the largest manufacturers of lumber in the West; the amount of lumber handled by this firm is over forty millions of feet annually. In early life Mr. Ludington was a whig, but at the dissolution of that party he became a republican. Since his residence in Milwaukee he has been twice elected on the republican ticket to the office of alderman; and although that city is almost uniform- ly democratic by very iarge majorities, he was elect- ed mayor of the city in 1871, and again in 1873, and still again in 1874; on each occasion in opposition to popular candidates of the opposing party, and on the last occasion for a full term of two years, to ex- pire in April, 1876. Mr. Ludington was not per- mitted, however, to serve the people of the city of his residence to the full extent of the last term for which he had been chosen. The repeated indorse- ments he had received from the strongly democratic city of mihvaukee, and the broad reputation his local administration had acquired for efficiency, had unerringly indicated him as the most eligible man to head the republican State ticket, to unite the then divided strength of the republican party and restore to it its previous prestige and power in the State. In this the leaders of that organization had not mis- calculated. At the republican State convention held at Madison for that year, Mr. Ludington was nominated for the high position of governor by ac- clamation, and in the succeeding month of Novem- ber he was elected to that office by the people, he being the only successful candidate on the ticket of his party. His exceptional success at this election was but a repetition of the remarkable fortune which had attended him as a candidate for public favor on all previous occasions, and was mainly due to similar causes, — the strong support of his fellow- citizens of the city in which he lives, the highest personal compliment which could have been ac- corded him. In obedience to the decrees of the people, Mr. Ludington accordingly resigned the office of mayor of that city on the 1st of January, 1876, and proceeded to the State capital to assume the duties of governor of the State, which he has thus far discharged to the eminent satisfaction of all his political supporters and personal friends. The secret of Gov. Ludington’s wonderful personal and public success cannot be found in those qual- ities which ordinarily distinguish men of prominence in business or politics. He neither possesses nor professes to possess the adventitious arts on which men, and especially politicians, necessarily depend for personal advancement and popular favor. It is the palpable and emphatic absence of these obnox- ious qualities which most particularly distinguish his personal and public character, and which have most especially won for him popular confidence and support. He is positive in his convictions, and earnest in expressing and executing them, and men are in- stinctively prone to discover in these tacts the evi- dence of a personal honesty in which they can THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. confide, and of a sincerity of purpose more praise- worthy and more trustworthy than the conventional professions of patriotism which distinguish ordinary candidates for public support, however gracefully promulgated; and, indeed, ought not the sad ex- perience of the past to teach the American people that the virtues of public wisdom and fidelity are quite as likely to be found in men of plain ex- terior and of unaffected manners, as beneath the cultivated disguise of the trained and polished pol- itician ? Whatever little of prejudice of feeling or error of judgment may be ascribed to Gov. Luding- ton, no one can justly charge him with any disposi- tion to dissemble in the expression of his opinions, or to hesitate in the execution of them. If blunt and bluff in manner, like a man uneducated to indirection, he is also blunt and bluff in action, like a man who continues indirection by instinct, and whose only purpose is to achieve the greatest results by the shortest and most practicable methods. It is this frank and practical quality of mind in Gov. Ludington which has always insured him so large a measure of personal success in his busi- ness relations, and it is the same quality of mind which has won for him so large a measure of the faith and confidence of the mass of the people, and especially of the poorer classes, of his own city and State. They trust him not so much for his capacity to rule political parties, and to solve difficult polit- ical problems, as for his incapacity to deal other- wise than plainly, frankly and in a practical way with all men and with all questions, without dis- semblance or equivocation. In his place as the chief executive officer of the State, he thus pos- sesses a peculiar capacity for representing the people and for comprehending and executing their will, with a mind impulsively independent and contin- uously active, with a will of iron, with a physical constitution so instinct with energy and strength that it permits him no contentment in rest. His administration is likely to prove unusually efficient, economical and popular, and to furnish him the basis of a future influence and strength with the people to which he has not yet aspired, and of which the support of no political party alone could afford him a certain and reliable assurance. The executive capacity which we have attributed to Gov. Ludington cannot be better illustrated than by a reference, in this place, to his prompt, and benevolent action, while mayor of Milwaukee, in rendering aid to Chicago during the calamity of its great fire, and to the wonderful energy as well as the benevolent spirit with which, through his in- strumentality, relief was so promptly forwarded to the suffering people of that city. By means of his energetic action, the people of Milwaukee were not only enabled to furnish valuable aid in subjugating the destroying flames which enveloped that unfor- tunate city, but were also enabled to send succes- sive car-loads of clothing and provisions to the fly- ing population, even before the full extent of their calamity had been realized. Such was the prompti- tude of this action by Mayor Ludington, that it won for him a special acknowledgment of personal gratitude from the authorities of Chicago, and also the unanimous adoption of the complimentary res- olutions by the common council of the city of Mil- waukee. N. H. WOOD PORTAGE. ' I ''HE subject of this sketch was born in Ashfield, A Massachusetts, February 21, 1820. His fath- er’s farm included Goshen mountain, third in height in Massachusetts, Monadanock and Greylock loom- ing up in the distance. A superior district school, from which, a few years before, Alvin Clark, the world-renowned astronomer and manufacturer of telescopes, had graduated, furnished his education. The generation of 1800 were upon the stage in his boyhood, of whom Mr. Wood, on a Kourth-of- July occasion in his native town, testified that for all the sterling worth which makes men practicable and self-governing he had never found their superiors, either in the mass of population of other States or in the immigration from European countries, and a life of large observation, travel and intercourse with many people had enabled him to correctly judge. His father, Nathan Wood, was born in Phillipston, Massachusetts. He was an orphan at twelve years of age, with only one brother, William, who was engaged in the South American trade, and died in THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. London in 1820, with quite a fortune. The father I immigrated to Ashfield in 1 800 and married Lucy, daughter of Francis Rouney, fifth descendant of Thomas Rouney, who settled in Middletown, Con- necticut, 1869. He was a Scotchman, with all the I independence of character peculiar to the race, and transmitted it to the entire Rouney posterity, as all of the name are traced by an untiring family biog- rapher to his loins. From the hopeful spirit of his mother the subject of this sketch inherited much. To his surroundings in boyhood, where industry and i rigid economy were practiced, he attributes much. 1 That iron age enabled him to practice all the self- denial and providential characteristics which were strongest in early manhood, and which he trusts still adhere to him. If any changes have taken place in New England since, they have not added i to the desire of the population to own and trans- 1 mit to posterity the soil, which desire alone enables a race of men to maintain their hold upon a coun- try where property is not entailed, and where “ he 1 that tills the soil must own the soil.” From 1838 till 1844, when he married Harriet J. Luke, of Hamilton, New York, and opened a store in Little Falls, New York, Mr. Wood was a whole- sale peddler, supplying the stores with small wares. I His route was from Troy, New York, via Syracuse, to Watertown, generally journeying through the Mohawk valley westward, and returning through Courtland, Madison, and the counties along the Cherry valley turnpike. He here made the ac- quaintance of every business man, and a large por- tion of the population, a school for the study of human nature, which has really aggravated his thirst for studying physiognomy, vainly or meritoriously believing that his perceptions of character at sight would not only enable him to give wise counsels in selecting government officials, but that his estimate of the inhabitants of the various countries of the world, their ability to progress or their lack of prac- ticability and capacity for advancement and self- government, would be valuable in settling human problems of national destiny and providential fore- ordination. Those six years of schooling by free intercourse with the world he has ever reflected upon with pleasure, for while they never contami- nated his morals nor influenced his appetites, they have enabled him to give counsel and encourage- ment to the young and to discover merit by intui- tion in others, as well as to read their weaknesses and follies as from an open book. In 1848 Mr. Wood visited Wisconsin, and with a bundle of land warrants located lands about Portage City, then Fort Winnebago. His estimate of the value of lands was the estimate of a dairyman and stockraiser, consequently land subject to overflow along the Fox and Wisconsin rivers were chosen. It seems that Providence designed that he should be schooled in adversity, and learn by paying taxes upon unproductive lands for thirty years that good government is always an economical government. Perhaps he has reflected more upon the subject of taxation, and the willingness of various races to pay taxes and the unwillingness of other nation- alities to be heavily taxed, than any other man of his time. In the spring of 1849 he shipped a considerable stock of goods to Chicago as a ven- ture. He arrived there about June r, with the cholera raging and the population very quiet. Most of his merchandise arrived in a single vessel, a per- fect avalanche of goods, which obstructed the side- walk, resulting in a fine imposed by a petty magis- trate, complaint having been made by a jealous competitor in trade. The fine was placarded on the door, and brought him both sympathy and notoriety. Having only two younger brothers with him, and disliking to employ those who would offer services most readily, he adopted from necessity the novel plan of handing out goods to the customer who first reached up his money. The plan took like wild fire, and in this manner he disposed of his whole stock of general dry goods, fancy goods, and many articles in the grocery line, which included one hundred chests of tea and three hundred boxes of raisins. The next arrival brought an immense stock of books, stationery and engravings, bought at the New York trade sales, obliging him to close his store for three days to examine. The opening hour of ten o’clock, which had been placarded, brought a throng of people which filled both side- walk and street for a block. The openings of the counters were barricaded, and the merchandise placed beyond reach. “On opening the doors the rush of the crowd was like a stampede of ‘Texan steers’; jumping upon the counters we commenced handing out books to the first man who got the money up. Lawyers and business men came in by scores; book after book accumulated in their arms, till loaded they would journey home, to return again. A clearance of the room for dinner was facilitated by the sale of thirty medium-sized mirrors, which reflected the suggestion of the propriety of improv- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 329 ing the appearance by journeying home for ablu- tions and dinner. The afternoon so far exceeded the morning that we lost all knowledge of time, for- got our tea, sold thicker and faster, till we observed the room was thinning. They were easily dismissed. It was past eleven o’clock. We had sold that day stationery in small parcels and books in single vol- umes mostly, fourteen hundred and sixty-one dol- lars, a feat which retailers of books and stationery, the slowest of all merchandise, will appreciate.” The stock was soon exhausted, and Mr. Wood must replenish at the seaboard. No one could keep up the system he had introduced, nor did he ever attempt it himself again. He sent to Little Falls for George S. and Chauncy T. Bowen, aged sixteen and eighteen years. They succeeded him in 1853, and as the firm of Bowen and Brothers were for many years one of the leading wholesale firms of Chicago, and known throughout the United States. They are both to-day eminent men, Chauncy T. Bowen being one of the city fathers of Chicago, and intrusted with its financial arrangements. George S. Bowen is the celebrated dairyman and railroad president, of Elgin, Illinois Their wisdom and ability have increased with years, but they were “beautiful in their youth” — so thought Mr. Wood when C. T. Bowen, at sixteen, took his books in charge. In a week he knew the cost and price of every article in the store; in three weeks he knew the amount of credit each customer was entitled to, and in a month he was authority on the amount of credit every Jew in the clothing trade in Chicago might have, and the management of collections, and so wisely and well did he do all these things that he maintained his position. Mr. Wood never had the least idea of failing in business. His bark was alvvavs near shore. He would never owe or suffer others to owe him more than he was worth. With his caution, he would never enter the lists for a large and hazardous wholesale trade. The miasma of Chicago in those days was disagreeable to him. He determined upon the economical life of a tax-payer upon unproductive property in Wisconsin. Perhaps thirty years of this experience has tried his ever hopeful nature, but the future of Portage City is assured, and his last days may brighten. Mr. Wood is no agrarian, but has positive views of all questions agitated — is really in advance of most reforms, as his forecast is powerful, and his desire to prevent evils and calamities somewhat providential. Interviewers might have been posted up six years ago upon the financial and currency questions of to-day; also upon the alarming feature of Asiatic immigration, which is to be a vital ques- tion, and that soon. His opinions of the necessity of limiting taxation by providing in the constitutions of States, and the charters of cities, and organiza- tions of corporations, etc., for all the necessities of the body politic to be supplied by taxation, and after such ample provisions by general laws to take from the mobs of cities the power to further tax and appropriate moneys. He holds that all men, and women, too, should vote for public offices upon the principle that they would desire good men in power; but as we do not permit our private purses to be controlled by the thriftless, the idle and the vicious, so the popular purse should not be reached, directly or indirectly, by such people or their representa- tives. But Mr. Wood is so mixed up with all the interests of the city of Portage, and the community about it, that they are likely at least to hear from him early and often upon these and many other subjects, which the limits of these pages do not permit the mention of. RUFUS I\ MAN SON, WAUSA U. F 'EW men in Marathon county, Wisconsin, have been more honored with public trusts by their fellow-citizens than Rufus P. Manson, and no one has more conscientiously and faithfully discharged his duties. A native of New Hampshire, he is the son of Mark Manson, a farmer, and Zoa (Pinkham) Manson, and was born at Eaton. Carroll county, February 15, 1830. His parents moved to the town of Jackson, New Hampshire, when Rufus was about a year old. During his early life, until he attained his majority, he was engaged in farm work and en- joyed ordinary common-school privileges, and at- tended two terms at the South Conway Academy. I In 1851, having decided to try his fortune in the growing West, he sought the wilds of Wisconsin ; lie worked in a saw-mill one season at Jenny, eighteen THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. miles above Wausau, on the Wisconsin liver, and the next year settled at Wausau, the county seat, his present home. Here lie engaged in the lumber trade, and lias steadily pursued the same business, when not holding office. He is now (1877) of the firm of Manson and Co., extensive dealers, both in lumber and merchandise. In the autumn of 1858 Mr. Manson was elected clerk of the court and of the board of supervisors, and served three terms of two years each. He was a member of the board of supervisors several years, of the board of education four years, a member of the lower house of the legislature in 1871, and sheriff of his county in 1875 and 1876. Mr. Manson aided in organizing the Masonic lodge in Wausau, and is a Knight Templar. His religious sentiments are liberal. In politics he is a democrat. Mr. Manson was married to Miss Catherine Nicoll, of Drummond, Canada, November 13, 1854. They have had eleven children, nine of whom are now living. Since settling in Wausau, Mr. Manson has made its interests and those of the county his own ; he has been prominent in all movements tending to develop the wealth of the country, or to enhance the material or educational interests of the city. He spent much time and money in getting the Wiscon- sin Valley railroad completed to Wausau, and is now, with scores of other enterprising men, reaping the rich reward of energies well expended and capi- tal well invested. When he settled in Wausau the place did not contain twenty families; now it is a city of four thousand inhabitants, with stately brick blocks for commercial purposes, half a dozen churches, and excellent school accommodations for seven hundred pupils. Wausau is one of the best business points, and one of the largest towns on the Upper Wisconsin, and owes its growth and prosper- ity mainly to a few such men as Rufus P. Manson. THEODORE RODOLE, LA CROSSE. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Switzer- land, was born in the canton of Argovia, October 17, 1815. He devoted his earlier years entirely to educational pursuits, and later graduated from a college of Aarau, the capital of his native canton, and from the University of Zurich. When he was about seventeen years of age his father im- migrated with his family to the United States, and afterward died in New Orleans, of the yellow fever. In 1834 the mother and her children removed to southern Wisconsin, and settled on a farm near VViota, Lafayette county. In 1840 we find Theo- dore Rodolf at Mineral Point, keeping store, em- ploying miners, and trafficking in lead. Thirteen years later he settled in La Crosse, and there assumed the duties of receiver in the land office, under ap- pointment of President Pierce, a position which he held bv reappointment of President Buchanan until 1861. Since that time he has been engaged largely in insurance and in real-estate operations. Aside from this, Mr. Rodolf has held many other offices — has in fact been in some official position most of the time for thirty years. He was captain of the Min- eral Point Ouards from 1848 to 1851, and of the La Crosse Rifles from 1856 to i860. He was president of the village of Mineral Point two years, a member of the board of supervisors of La Crosse county about four years, and chairman of the same one year. He was mayor of his city in 1868 and 1870, and a member of the assembly during the same years, and while in the legislature did good service on the committees on railroads, lumber and manu- factures, etc. He received the democratic vote for speaker the second time he was in the legislature, but the republicans being in the majority, he was defeated. He was the democratic candidate for presidential elector-at-large in 1864, and the same party’s candidate for elector in the sixth district in 1868, the republicans in both instances being in the ascendant. He was the democratic candidate for State senator in 1876. He has always been a dem- ocrat, and for a long time one of the leaders in west- ern Wisconsin, and is well known throughout the State. During the administration of Governor Fairchild he was appointed by him a member of the visiting committee to the State institutions. He has been for several years secretary of the La Crosse Board of Trade. In many ways he has made and is still making himself a very useful man, and is an esteemed and most worthy citizen. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. Mr. Rodolf is a prominent member of the Odd- Fellows fraternity, and in 1875 was grand master of the State. He is now grand representative, and at- tended the meeting of the Grand Lodge of the United States held in Philadelphia in September, 1876. He was reared in the Reformed church of Swit- zerland, but having found no organized society of that people since coming to Wisconsin, although holding Christian people in high respect, has identi- fied himself with no religious body. His mother, who died at Mineral Point in 1856, was a member of the Episcopal church, and his sisters belong to the same body in La Crosse. The wife of Mr. Rodolf was Miss Marie Thomas, of New Orleans. They have had twelve children, six of whom are now living. Tour died within as many weeks, of diphtheria. The eldest son, Theo- dore F., who is a partner of his father in the insur- ance business, married a granddaughter of Henry Dodge, first territorial governor of Wisconsin, and daughter of Governor Clark, of Iowa, when it was a territory. She died in September, 1875, leaving two small children, who live with their grandfather. Mr. Rodolf has two daughters married and living in La Crosse, the wives of William Servis and F. A. Copeland. DANIEL B. WYLIE, M.D., IV A USA U. B IOGRAPHICAL history abounds in illustra- tions of the eminent success of self-made men, men whose early struggles have developed the best elements of their natures and laid the foundation of health and true grit, which became mighty helps in subsequent years. The subject of this sketch, in early life, experienced the efficacy of hard work, and learned that his only chance for acquiring knowl- edge was by casting himself upon his own resources. He is the son of Daniel Buck and Elizabeth Jarvis Wylie, and was born in Susquehanna county, Penn- sylvania, July 14, 1827. His grandfather, Simeon Wylie, participated in the whole of the American revolution, and his father was engaged in the second war with the mother country. At fifteen years of age he was working in the timber of Tioga county, Pennsylvania, receiving six dollars per month. He continued to lumber at the east most of the time until 1845, when he removed to the then Territory of Wisconsin. After spending a short time in Wal- worth county he went to Boone county, Illinois, where he was engaged in farming until the spring of 1846, when he returned to Wisconsin. Going into the pineries of Portage, now Marathon county, he spent the autumn and winter in making shingles; and in April, 1847, started on a raft down the Wis- consin river and reached St. Louis about the middle ot July, having slept on the raft or out-of-doors nearly every night during the trip. With some funds in his pocket, a laudable ambition in his soul and a consciousness of his great want of education, Mr. Wylie now returned to his native State, and, after reviewing rudimentary branches of science, studied medicine three years with Dr. H. A. Humphrey, of Tioga village. His funds now being exhausted, in order to replenish them he spent another year in the pineries of Wisconsin, near the scene of his earlier toils, and afterward went to Ann Arbor, Michigan, and attended a course of medical lec- tures. He spent the first three years of his profes- sional life at Mansfield and Kennyville, in his native State, and at the expiration of that time returned to Wisconsin and practiced three years in Eau Pleine, Portage county, and Grand Rapids, Wood county, and in January, 1856, made a permanent settlement at Wausau, where he has practiced most of the time since that date. Once or twice, however, he has turned aside from his profession and spent a time in the business which furnished the means for his medical attainments. Not satisfied with these attain- ments, he, in 1870, took a full course of lectures in the Long Island College Hospital, and received the highest honors of the class. Dr. Wylie is not only the oldest physician, reckoning the years in practice here, but the head man in the profession in Mara- thon county. For the last six years he has allowed nothing to turn him aside from his professional work, and is known as a reading, thinking, growing man. Of late he has paid special attention to surgery, and has become quite eminent in that department of the healing art. He has been exam- ining surgeon for pensions since the county has had demands for such an officer. He is a fifth degree member of the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. In politics lie is a republican. He, however, never allows any outside matters to interfere with his legitimate business. His ambition is to be known as a physician, a surgeon and a private citi- zen, and nothing more. Hr. Wylie has been twice married: the first time in July, 1854, to Miss Harriet S. Amsbry, of Gaines, Tioga county, Pennsylvania; the second time Decem- ber 2. 1872, to Mrs. Josephine Martin, of Wausau. By his first wife he had four children, three of whom are still living; by his second wife he has one child. The eldest son, Winfred, graduated from Rush Med- ical College, Chicago, in February, 1877, and is practicing with his father. The rest of the children, Daniel B., Myrtle and Genevieve, are at home. Winfred was educated at Lawrence University, Ap- pleton, Wisconsin; hardened his constitution by working for a while, from choice, in the pineries and rafting on the rivers ; and now, with a good foundation of theoretical knowledge on which to build, he has commenced in earnest its practical application ; and being a young man of fine taste and studious habits, will be likely to grow and attain eminence in the healing art. HON. BARTHOLOMEW RINGLE, WAUSAU. B ARTHOLOMEW RINGLE, a native of Ger- many, was born in Ingweiler, Landcomisariat, Zweibriicken, Rhein-Bairen, October 16, 1814. His father lost his life in the French Revolution, when the son was still quite young. Bartholomew received a common-school education; and in 1846 immi- grated to America, and settled at first at German- town, in Washington county, Wisconsin ; two years later he removed to Herman, in Dodge county, and in 1859 settled permanently at Wausau, the county seat of Marathon county. Mr. Ringle is by profes- sion a lawyer, but by reason of official duties con- ferred upon him by his fellow-citizens, he has little time for legal practice. While residing at Herman he was postmaster, town clerk, chairman of the board and justice of the peace, holding all these offices for six years. Since settling in Marathon county, he has been county clerk six years; county judge, fourteen years; clerk of the board of supervisors, six years ; also president of the village, police justice, justice of the peace, etc. He was a member of the general assembly of Wisconsin in 1864, 1872 and 1875, and at the present time (1877) is serving his fifth term in the popular branch of the legislature. He is a member of the judiciary committee, as well as of committees of minor consideration, and his long experience and practical business tact render his services of great value in that branch of the State government. Before leaving his native country, Mr. Ringle was married to Miss Magdalena Pick, of his native town. They have had ten children, of whom eight are now living. His son Valentine publishes the Wisconsin River “Pilot” and Wausau “ Wochenblatt,” both demo- cratic weeklies, the last named being published in the German language. In politics Mr. Ringle has always been identified with the democratic party, and is the leader of the German element of that body in his district. NOAH L). COMSTOCK, ARCADIA. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Lewis county, New York, was born at Lowville, No- vember 22, 1832, the son of Adam Comstock and Electa Durrin. He is of truly patriotic stock, three of his great-grandfathers having fought valiantly for the separation of the colonies from the mother country. His great-grandfather Comstock was lieutenant-colonel of a Rhode Island regiment. His father, a soldier in the war of 1812, was a farmer by occupation. Noah attended school at Lowville and worked on the farm until he was seventeen years old, at which time he removed to Athens, Calhoun county, Michigan. There he taught school and worked on a farm, and at the THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. expiration of one year went to West Point, Indiana, and taught, most of the time, until March, 1853, when he started for Washington Territory, by the overland route. Changing his plans he stopped in California, and there engaged in mining until the summer of 1855, when he returned to Indiana, and the next September removed to Trempealeau coun- ty, and entered land where the village of Arcadia now stands. He was the second person to make such entry, and there was not a person living on the present site of the county seat. For several months he made his home near Fountain City, split- ting rails in the winter of 1855-56. Before spring opened he found a shelter at Arcadia, then called the Bishop settlement (the town receiving its present name a year or two later). Here Mr. Comstock engaged in improving his land. In December, 1859, he froze his right foot, by reason of which he was compelled to have his limb amputated. In i860 he aided in building a saw-mill in Jackson JOHN W. \\ MIL WA TOHN W. WOODHULL, a native of Batavia, J Genesee county, New York, was born on the 5th of September, 1836, the son of Joseph Wood- hull, a descendant of the Woodhull family, of Fong Island. His father was a successful business man, and while still young had accumulated a large amount of property. This, however, during the financial revulsion of 1836 and 1837, was swept away, and he was left a poor man, largely in debt. Undaunted by his misfortunes, he boldly met his difficulties, and prior to 1840 succeeded in paying his indebtedness to the last cent. His great desire was to gain a competence sufficient to insure his family against want, but failing health prevented the realization of many of his hopes, and upon his death, at the age of seventy years, he had barely enough of property to insure a living for his wife. Mrs. W oodhull, the mother of our subject, was the daughter of Sylvester Whitney, Esq., of Batavia, New York. Inheriting a strong physical constitu- tion, she still survives, at the age of sixty-four years, strong and vigorous both in mind and body. The subject of this sketch also inherited a rugged con- stitution, and until his seventeenth year knew noth- ing ot sickness. lie first attended the common 39 county, which he sold four years later; has con- tinued to cultivate his farm in connection with vari- ous offices which he has held, and in the spring of 1876 assumed the proprietorship and editorial charge of the Arcadia ‘“Leader,” a position which lie still (1877) holds, furnishing a good county newspaper. Mr. Comstock was the first town superintendent of schools in Arcadia; he was county treasurer six consecutive years, commencing in January, 1861 ; was elected town clerk and a member of the board of supervisors in 1868; and a member of the general assembly in 1871, 1873, 1874 and 1875. In the legislature he was an industrious, hard-working and influential member. The political views of Mr. Comstock are thorough- ly republican; his religious views, atheistic. Mrs. Comstock, whose maiden name also was Comstock, was from West Wrentham, Massachusetts. They were married July 4, 1868, and have had four children, three of whom are now living. r OODHULL, UKEE. school at “ Daw’s Corners,” three miles north from Batavia, and later studied at Lewiston. At the latter school, however, he remained but a short time, owing to unpleasantness with the young Canadians, who persisted in calling him a “Yankee.” The greater part of his boyhood was spent with his grandfather, to whom he was most strongly attached. In the summer of 1852, being then sixteen years of age, he removed to Michigan with his parents, with the hope of bettering their financial condition. Set- tling in Hillsdale county they were soon afterward prostrated with the fever, then prevalent, and when again the father was able to be about he was a mere wreck of his former self. John partially recovered in the fall, and during the ensuing winter engaged in teaching, receiving a compensation of sixteen dol- lars per month and board. With returning health came again his longing desire for an education, and to gratify t his ambition he carefully improved every spare moment in study, and by faithful application succeeded in mastering all the branches essential to a successful business career. Continuing teaching during the winter months, and employing his sum- mers in other kinds of work, until 1856, he at that time entered the employ of Messrs. Waring and THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 334 Drake, merchants, of Fremont, Indiana. One year later, forming a partnership with his cousin, J. A. Woodhull. he engaged in the mercantile business in the same place. This partnership continued until 1858, at which time his brother-in-law, G. D. War- ing, purchased the interest of J. A. Woodhull, and he established a store at Waukau, Wisconsin. After one year’s residence in this place he removed his stock to Berlin and engaged in business with G. D. Waring, under the firm name of | . W. Woodhull and Co. The enterprise, however, proved unsuccessful, and they were obliged to close out their stock, hav- ing barely enough to pay their debts. With char- acteristic decision. Mr. Woodhull bravely faced his misfortune, and at once turned his attention to teaching, an occupation which he followed until he received the appointment of mail route agent on the northern division of the St. Paul railroad. From early life Mr. Woodhull has been character- ized by firmness and decision of character, inflexible integrity and an indomitable perseverance and power of will. To these may justly be attributed his suc- cess. Whatever he has undertaken, with a remark- able concentration he has given himself with undi- vided attention to its accomplishment. He was married in the fall of 1857 to Miss Sarah H. Waring, of Greenwich, Connecticut. They have had two children, a son and daughter, the former of whom died at the age of seven years. Politically he is independent in his views, sup- porting only such men and measures as in his opinion will further the interests of his State and nation. While his religious convictions and sympathies wholly accord with orthodox beliefs, he is not, nor ever has been, connected with any religious organ- ization. He early became predisposed in favor of the Masonic fraternity, and when old enough con- nected himself with that order, and since has taken the deepest interest in promulgating the glorious principles of truth, love and charity inculcated by its ritual. Gradually advancing through the differ- ent grades, he now' holds the honorable positions of grand secretary of the Grand Lodge, grand secre- tary of the Grand Chapter, and grand recorder of the Grand Council and Conunandery. Such are some of the leading points in the life history of one who has risen by his own ability and exertion, and who now stands, a worthy example to those who may come after him who would develop a generous, noble manhood. JERE D. GRAND T HE subject of this biography was born in Brookfield, Madison county. New 7 York, on the 1 8th of February, 1835, an d is the son of Josiah and Calista (Langworthy) Witter. His family moved to the West when he was about fifteen years old, and settled at Dakota, Waushara county, Wisconsin. One year later he engaged in farming at Berlin, and con- tinued that vocation during two seasons, attending school in the winters. He spent a short time at the Milton Academy, but by reason of ill health was compelled to abandon his studies, and, returning to the farm, there spent another year. At the age of twenty he began the study of law in the office of W. C. Webb, of Wautoma, Waushara county, and soon afterward became deputy clerk of the board of supervisors, and held that office for two years, at the same time continuing, as much as other duties would allow, his legal studies, and was admitted to the bar in 1859. He first formed a partnership with Mr. Webb, which continued for nearly two years, at the WITTER, RAPIDS. end of which time, in 1861, he removed to Grand Rapids, and was in partnership with Hon. C. M. Webb until 1867. During the year of his settlement in Grand Rap- ids he was appointed district attorney, and held the office, by reelection, nearly six years. He was elected county judge in 1869, and held the office one term of four years. Abandoning the law practice in 1867 he has since devoted his time to banking, real-estate operations and insurance. He organized the First National Bank of Grand Rapids in 1872, and has managed it ever since, he being its vice-president, and always having had a controlling interest. It is a well con- ducted, prosperous institution. Mr. Witter was elected president of the First National Bank of Golden, Colorado, in 1874, and closed the same at the end of one year. In politics Mr. Witter is identified with the re- publican party. In his religious views he is liberal. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. 335 On the 1 6th of February, i860, he was married to Miss Emily L. Phelps, of Friendship, New York. They have had four children, two of whom are living. Since Mr. Witter selected Grand Rapids as his home, his career has been one of marked success. No man in Wood countv has attended more faith- i fully to his duties; no one has done business on higher principles of rectitude and honor, and few have been more fortunate in financial operations. His accumulations are the result of untiring indus- try, coupled with shrewdness, watchfulness and economy. He is one of the foremost men in local enterprises. HON. ALFRED TREMPL T HE subject of this biography is a native of Green county, New York, and was born at Durham, April 5, 1834, his parents being William and Patty (Rogers) Newman, farmers by occupa- tion. Alfred remained on the farm until seventeen years of age, attending the district school during the winters, and afterward prepared for college at the Delaware Literary Institute, at Franklin. He entered the sophomore class of Hamilton College in 1854, and graduated from the same three years later. While in college he pursued extra law stud- ies with Professor T. W. Dwight, and afterward continued his legal studies a short time in Green county, and was admitted to the bar at Albany in December, 1857. During the next month he re- moved to the West, and settled at Trempealeau, on the Mississippi river, in March, 1858. He has since been actively engaged in the practice of the law, having been for years one of the leading attorneys of Trempealeau county. Though not an office- seeker he has had many positions of honor and trust thrust upon him. He was by the governor appointed county judge in i860, to fill a vacancy; was twice reelected by the people, and resigned in W. NEWMAN, HATE A U. 1866. He was a member of the general assembly in 1863; was elected district attorney in 1866, and reelected three times, serving in all eight years. He was a member of the State senate in 1868 and 1869, and elected judge of the thirteenth circuit in April, 1876, an office which he now (1877) fills, with honor to himself and satisfaction to his fellow- citizens. Judge Newman is ready in points of law, considerate and cool, fair and impartial in his rul- ings, and gives promise of rising to eminence on the bench. On national questions and in national issues Judge Newman has always voted the republican ticket, and though active and influential in a canvass, is not a bitter partisan. He is a member of the Congregational church, and a man of irreproachable character. He was married, August 15, i860, to Miss Celia E. Humphrey, of Binghamton, New York. They have had four children, one of whom is now living. In stature Judge Newman is about medium height, heavy set, and weighs two hundred and twenty-five pounds. He has a light complexion, a round, full face and an open and pleasant expression. GEORGE Y. FREEMAN, OATES I TTTE. I ''HE subject of this sketch, a native of Sche- nectady county, New York, was born on the 1 3th of August, 1827, of Lewis B. Freeman and Mary nee Young. His maternal grandfather was captain of a cavalry company during the war of 1812. George passed the greater part of his early life in school. He attended the Carlisle Academy, and prepared for college at the academy at Princeton, closing his studies there in 1844. Later he con- tinued his studies and graduated from Galesville University in i860, while Judge Gale was president of that institution, receiving the degree of LL.D. Prior to this, when he first became a resident of Wisconsin, he was for a time engaged in the study of law with Judge Gale, of Elkhorn ; and afterward, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. returning to the East, finished his law studies with Judge Dwight Waterman, of New York city, and was there admitted to the bar in September, 1S5S. In the following year he returned to Trempealeau county, Wisconsin, and settling at Galesville estab- lished himself in his profession, and by persistent, honest effort has built up an extensive and a lucra- tive practice, and is recognized as one of the leading lawyers in his judicial circuit. His practice extends not only through his own, but also through several adjoining counties. He has for the most part con- ducted his business alone, but is now a member of the firm of Freeman and Mulligan, his partner being Mr. M. Mull igan, a promising young attorney. As a speaker Mr. Freeman is fluent and impressive, and is both a fair court lawyer and especially powerful before a jury. In 1864 he was elected district attor- ney, and afterward reelected for a second term. He is a man of close observation, and has gathered a large fund of valuable information on various sub- jects, which, together with other gentlemanly qual- ities, give to him a high standing in the social circle. Although now rounding up his fifty years, time seems to have dealt gently with him, and his gen- eral appearance would indicate him to be a much younger man. Mr. Freeman is a member of the Masonic fraternity. In religious sentiment he is a Presbyterian. In politics he was formerly a whig, later a repub- lican, but at present (1877) is identified with the democratic party. He sometimes takes an active part in political canvasses, and is known as a strong reasoner and eloquent speaker. Mr. Freeman was married on the 1st of January, 1850, to Miss Ann S. Hollingshead, of Walworth county, Wisconsin, and by her has three children. Such is a brief outline of his life-history. He is preeminently a self-made man. After the age of sixteen he was almost wholly dependent upon him- self for his means of gaining an education. Through all he has maintained a fair degree of health, good spirits and a worthy ambition, and by patient effort has attained his present high standing at the bar and as a citizen. SAMUEL W. HUNT, MENOMONE-E. I N the seven years’ struggle for American inde- pendence were three brothers by the name of Hunt. All served through the entire war, and all had families, and from them as far as known and their immediate ancestors have sprung all the Hunts in this country. Among their descendants are Washington Hunt, ex-governor of New York ; Ward Hunt, of the supreme bench of the Ignited States; Dr. Sanford P>. Hunt, a cousin of Washington Hunt, and an eminent medical and political writer, besides several other distinguished men. One of the three patriots above referred to was the grandfather of Samuel W. Hunt, the subject of this biographical sketch. His parents were Harvey and Mary (Frown) Hunt, and he was born at Nichols, Tioga county, New York, November 6, 1835. His father, who was formerly a farmer and stock dealer, is still liv- ing, being in his seventy-sixth year. Samuel spent most of his time until twenty-two years of age in acquiring an education, his later school years being spent in an academy at Owego, New V'ork, and the Lawrence University, at Appleton, Wisconsin, he having removed to the West in 1858. In 1861 he returned to the State of New York; entering a law office at Owego, studied until September, 1864. He then entered upon a course of study at the Al- bany Law School, and graduated from the same. He returned to Wisconsin in the autumn of 1865, and during the next March settled at Menomonee, his present home. During the twelve years that he has practiced there, a part of the time in partner- ship with F. J. McLean, Esq., and later, with C. K. Freeman, Esq., he has built up a prosperous and remunerative practice, and made for himself a good name and a spotless reputation for candor and hon- esty. The business of the firm of Hunt and Free- man extends not only throughout Dunn county, but also into adjoining counties; and wherever the firm name is known it is the synonym for business dispatch and integrity. Aside from his professional duties, Mr. Hunt has been honored by his fellow-citizens with positions of honor and trust. In 1869 he was a member of the popular branch of the State legislature, and served on the committees on railroads, State lands THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. and education. He was district attorney in 1867 and 1868, and in 1874 was a candidate on the republican ticket for State senator, but was de- feated by reason of the “reform movement,” which that year carried the State. He has always been identified with the republican party. In religion he is liberal. 'j ■'y *7 He was married on the 25th of June, 1866, to Miss Gelina Campbell, of Owego, New York. In person, Mr. Hunt is of medium height, of good proportions, with fair complexion and light blue eyes. He has a kindly look, polished manners, and the marks of a gentleman in his conversation and all his bearing. CHARLES B. SOLBERG, LA CROSSE. I N and near La Crosse, Wisconsin, is a very large number of Norwegians, and they are among the most industrious and thrifty class of people. This is true, whether they be farmers, mechanics, profes- sional men or merchants. Among the last named class of business men in the city of La Crosse the two most successful are Norwegians, and one of them is the subject of this sketch. A native of Lillehammer, he was born August 20, 1835. His parents were Ole N. and Mary (Andersen) Solberg. His father was a merchant in his younger years, but on immigrating to this country with his family, in 1853, purchased land near La Crosse and opened a farm, which he still cultivates. Both he and his wife are living, and are hale, industrious, well-to-do people. On reaching La Crosse the son accepted a clerk- ship in a store, which he held until 1861, when he rented a store, and with about two thousand dollars capital opened a grocery trade, a business which he has steadily followed for sixteen years with marked success. He early secured a large amount of the Scandinavian trade, and always doing business in a prompt and strictly honorable manner, he retained his old customers. Their indorsement of his character brought him new ones, and his business has gradually increased until it has assumed very large proportions. In 1876 it amounted to three hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and having just doubled the capacity of his mercantile building he expects to do at least four hundred thousand dollars the present year. He who sixteen years ago began business for himself in a two-story store, twenty by sixty feet, now has a store three stories above the basement, averaging fifty by one hundred and fifty feet, and usually containing from forty thousand to sixty thousand dollars’ worth of merchandise. This growth in business is purely the result of close attention and care, and prudence and honesty in all its details. There is not a more thoroughgoing business man in La Crosse. Mr. Solberg is an ardent republican. He dis- charges his duties faithfully as a citizen, but does not covet office. He has held some useful positions in the municipality of La Crosse, has been on the republican State central committee, and was a presi- dential elector in 1876. He, however, allows neither politics nor anything else to interfere with his legiti- mate business. On the 2 1 st of September, 1861, he was married to Miss Alice Johnson, of La Crosse. They have had six children, five of whom are still living. GEN. JOHN A. KELLOGG WAUSAU. JOHN AZOR KELLOGG, son of Nathan and was about twelve years old, and settled at Prairie du J Sarah (Quidor) Kellogg, was born at Bethany, \ Sac, in Sauk county. There the son aided in clear- Wayne county, Pennsylvania, March 16, 1828. His ing and working land for about six seasons, spending paternal grandfather was a revolutionary soldier. the first three winters at a private school, taught by His father, a hotel keeper, stage proprietor and con- Quinton Smith, a Scotchman. At the age of eigh- tractor, removed to Wisconsin territory when John teen he commenced reading law, under instruction, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. by correspondence, with Hon. George W. Wood- ward, late Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, and fin- ished his legal studies with S. S. Wilkinson, of Prai- rie du Sac. In 1857 he began the practice of his profession at Mauston, in Juneau county. He was elected prosecuting attorney three years later, and resigned that office in April, 1861, and entered the military service. He was first lieutenant of the Lemonweir “minute men,” afterward company K, 6th Regiment Wisconsin Infantry. He was mus- tered into the service on the 6th of July, and became captain of Company I, in December, 1861. He par- ticipated in the battles of Gainesville, Virginia, sec- ond Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fred- -ericksburg, and Chancellorsville. He was taken prisoner during the great fight in the Wilderness, on Max 5, 1864, and spent five months in Lynchburgh, Danville, Macon and Charleston, and escaped on the 5 th of October, by jumping off the cars near Branch- ville, while being transported to Columbia. While a prisoner he had been promoted to major and lieu- tenant-colonel of the “ Iron Brigade.” He came into the federal lines at Calhoun, Georgia, and was soon after promoted to the position of colonel. The famous “ Iron Brigade ” was composed of the 2d, 6th and 7th Wisconsin, 19th Indiana, and 24th Michigan. This brigade Colonel Kellogg led in the battles of Boydston Plank Road, Gravel Run, Five Forks, High Bridge, and Appomatox. He was bre- veted brigadier-general for highly meritorious • ser- vices during the campaign ending with the sur- render of Lee. He richly merited every honor, and commendatory word which he received. He was engaged in twenty-two battles and skirmishes, and was known as among the bravest and most daring officers who went from the Badger State. He was mustered out of the service, August 17, 1865, and being appointed pension agent at La Crosse, he set- tled there in the spring of 1866, and remained there until 1875. Resigning his office in April of that year, he, in the following July, removing to Wausau. Here he resumed the legal profession, and is build- ing up a good business. General Kellogg aided in organizing the repub- lican party at Madison, Wisconsin, June 5, 1855, and has since been one of its earnest supporters. In earlier life his sentiments were strongly opposed to the institution of human slavery. General Kellogg is a member of the Presbyterian church, and an elder of the same. On October 5, 1852, he was married to Miss Adelaide Worthington, Prairie du Sac, a native of Luzerne county, Pennsyl- vania. Of the five children which have been born to them, three are now General Kellogg has a 1,^ uicrary taste, and can wield the pen as well as the sword. Two serials of his, “ The Capture and Escape”- — his personal ex- periences — and “ Pioneer Reminiscences,” are racy reading; and the same may be said of several of his shorter articles. CEPHAS A. BUTTLES, MIL. JVA UK EE. C EPHAS AUGUSTUS BUTTLES, Milwau- kee, was born at Northumberland, Northum- berland county, Pennsylvania, May 6, 1829; was the fifth child of Cephas and Nancy Buttles. The former born at East Granville, Massachusetts, April 11, 1791, and the latter at East Windsor, Connec- ticut, February 23, 1794, whose maiden name was Stoughton. His father removed to Pennsylvania from Massachusetts about the year 1817, and Miss Stoughton, to whom he was engaged, following with her family at a later date; were married at Milton, Pennsylvania, May 25, 1820. About the year 1831 they removed from Milton, Pennsylvania, to Clear Spring, Washington county, Maryland, with their family of five sons and one daughter. The grandeur of the mountain scenery surround- ing Clear Spring made impressions upon the mind of young Cephas which time has failed to erase. Living on the great highway from the East to the West, he had frequent opportunities of seeing and listening to the conversation of such men as Gen- eral Jackson, General Harrison, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster and others, which inspired him with the desire for distinction. General Gaines, placing his hand on his head, said to his father: “This boy has a Webster head, give him a good education and he will make a statesman.” He was then nine years of age. He progressed rapidly in his studies in the village school, and shortly after this time his father sent him to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to /I THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 341 the university, intending to have him pass through I a regular academic course of study. He was very ambitious to learn, and worked so steadily and per- sistently to be the first in bis classes that he over- taxed his nervous system, and at the end of one year he was obliged to return home. After a few months’ rest he commenced attending the high school in Clear Spring again, but his nervous system was so unstrung that he could not bear close appli- cation. Thus at the age of twelve years his dreams of scholastic education were abandoned. In 1843 his father moved to Milwaukee, Wiscon- sin, and became landlord of the “ Mansion House,” then in the heart of the city. Cephas A. Buttles and his two younger brothers commenced clearing up a farm of eighty acres, eight miles above the city, and when prepared for the reception of the family they occupied it as their home. The family was subjected to many privations and hardships; which, however, were blessings in disguise, as they qualified the boys for their successful struggles with the world in after life. On one occasion their mother said : “ 1 am sorry, my boys, I have noth- ing for a Thanksgiving dinner.” Cephas A. But- tles said : “ Mother, T will bring you a Thanksgiving dinner in less than two hours.” Accordingly he took down his gun, and with three loads of ammunition he shot five partridges, and the family enjoyed the Thanksgiving dinner; but for the game the woods afforded, the family would have suffered for the necessaries of life. Having spent four years on the farm, laboring for the support of the family, and finding them now supplied with the comforts of life, Cephas A. Buttles determined to enter upon a new theater, and upon his own responsibility. Ac- cordingly he proceeded to Milwaukee, barefooted, with twenty-five cents in his pocket. He soon suc- ceeded in binding himself as an apprentice to 1,. Comstock and Co.; engaged in the manufacture of tin, copper and sheet-iron. At the expiration of his term of service he was employed as journeyman. As soon as he had accumulated enough money to build a frame cottage on the farm for the accom- modation of his parents, he expended it in that truly honorable manner. In the spring of 1852 he made up his mind, if possible, to start in a small way for himself. Since building the house for his father, he had only been able to save one hundred and fifty dollars. He heard incidentally that Mr. John Na/ro had spoken lavorably of the young man in Mr. Hewett’s employ as being steady and industrious. He went to Mr. Nazro, introduced himself to him and laid his plans before him, and told him he had only one hundred and fifty dollars in money. Efe replied: “Young man, that will not half buy your tools.” After talk- ing awhile longer he requested him to come the next morning at nine o’clock, when he would have more leisure. He presented himself promptly the next morning, and had a long business conversation. He told him his father had given him permission to mortgage forty acres of his land to assist him if necessary, and that he had a chance to rent a small store in a good location, where he thought he could build up a nice little trade. After talking some time, Mr. Nazro said: “Mr. Buttles, I like your spirit of independence, and I know your habits of temperance and industry. I do not want your land, give me your one hundred and fifty dollars and go and pick out your tools and a small stock, and pay me as fast as you gain it over your necessary ex- penses.” His tools amounted to two hundred and thirty-seven dollars, and they and the stock came to over nine hundred dollars. So to Mr. Nazro he owes his first start in life. In July, 1852, he opened his little store on West Water street, near Spring street, and commenced his career as a mer- chant. By economy and close application to busi- ness, he managed to clear enough money in 1853 to purchase the city lots where he now resides. On the 3d of August. 1854, he married Miss Camilla Mggatt, daughter of Hr. E. G. Mggatt, of Richmond, Illinois. His wife is a direct descend- ant from Joseph Mggatt and his wife Ann Mggatt, who sailed from E’.ngland in the ship Griffin, July 15, 1633. and arrived at Boston harbor September 4, 1633. On her mother’s side she is related to the Spragues and Seymours, of New York; and was born at Hannibal, New York, April 17, 1839. In tjie year 1855, by close economy, he managed to build a house on his property, into which he moved early in 1856, and where he now lives. The panic of 1857 compelled him to give up his goods to his creditors, and for a time closed his mercantile business. Through the aid of kind friends he suc- ceeded in 1862 in paying his debts, and commenced business anew. On the 26th day of July, 1862, he had the misfortune to lose by death his only child, Frank Augustus, a promising boy then in his seventh year. The death of his son had such a depressing effect upon his wife, that she desired some occupation to relieve her mind, and proposed THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 34 ? to him to let her keep his books at the store. He at first opposed her wish, but she persisted in the request, and although she had been thoroughly ed- ucated at the Female College in this city, she pro- posed to take a course at the Commercial College to refresh her mathematics and get a more thorough knowledge of book-keeping; which she did, and May 1. 1863, she commenced taking charge of his books and finances; a position which she has occu- pied for twelve years, from choice and a love of making herself useful; and to her he attributes in a great measure his present success as a merchant. In the spring of 1868 he removed to 194 West Water street, and again entered into a regular retail hardware business. May 1, 1870, he removed to his present location, and extended his business into everything in the hardware house furnishing line. He was brought up and has always been an Epis- copalian. He was prepared for confirmation by the Rev. I. P. T. Ingreham, and confirmed by the late venerable Bishop Kemper. He has been a vestry- man in St. James Church eight years, and was one of four delegates chosen from that parish to the convention in June, 1874, when Rev. Jas. DeKoven was defeated, and Rev. Dr. Welles elected bishop of the diocese of Wisconsin. In politics he has always been a republican, and readv to vote for Grant for the third term and for specie payments also. He was one of six gentle- men who originated the idea of a military company in Milwaukee, called the Light Guards; electing as the first captain Dr. E. B. Wolcott, who declined, when they elected Gen. Rufus King, who accepted. This company furnished many noble officers and men to the late war of the rebellion. He has been quite an inventor, having patented several useful articles; prominent among which are a stove pipe thimble, tinner’s stove, lawn sprinkler and fountain, cornice break and steam heater. He is a direct descendant on his father’s side from Thomas Buttolph and his wife Anna, who came to this country from England in 1635. The surname was changed, for some unexplained reason, from Buttolph to Buttles, about the year 1715. His grandfather, Abijah Buttles, was born in Granby, Connecticut, and served in the revolutionary war. He was at the battle of Trenton and crossed the Delaware on the memorable night of December 25, 1776, in Washington’s command. He secured one of the Hessians personally and brought him to deliver him to his captain, when the Hessian drew a bottle of rum from his pocket and they took a social drink together. He lived to be ninety years old and received a pension from the government until his death. On his mother’s side he is descended from Thomas Stoughton, who settled in Dorchester, Mas- sachusetts, in 1630. He was called Ensign Stough- ton, having made himself conspicuous in fighting the Pequod Indians. Mr. Buttles is remarkable for his large fund of practical common sense, for his accurate knowledge of men, for strict integrity in all of his business transactions, for his exemplary moral conduct, and for his kindness of heart in all of his social relations. His wife is a lady of cul- ture, of refinement and of gentleness, that loveliest of all female qualities. JOHN M. LEVY, LA CROSSE. T OHN MEYER LEVY, one of the first settlers J in La Crosse, was born in London, England, about 1819, his parents, Meyer and Eve (Worms) Levy, being natives of Germany. His father was a reader in the synagogue, though not a regular rabbi. John spent his younger days largely at^ school, part of the time in Amsterdam, Holland. After living about six years with an elder sister in Paris, he in 1837 immigrated to America. After spending a short time in traveling he settled in St. Louis, and there was engaged as a clerk in a mercantile house about four years. Early in 1844 he went up the Mississippi river as far as Prairie du Chien, and in the autumn of that year settled permanently at what was then called Prairie la Crosse, having with him his wife, whom he had taken at St. Louis. Winnebago Indians were abundant, but white people, were scarce. Nathan Myrick, H. J. B. Miller, Asa White, and two or three others, were all the white men with families living there at that time. At first Mr. Levy’s business was trading with the Indians, buying furs, and paying for them in various articles of merchandise. He opened a hotel after a 1 year or two, and thus became the pioneer innkeeper THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY'. 343 of La Crosse, though one other settler about the same time began to entertain strangers. In 1849 Mr. Levy built a store, which he con- ducted for some years, buying all his merchandise in those days at Galena, Illinois, of Benjamin Camp- hell and Captain Orrin Smith, who were then the leading wholesale merchants in that place. About 1853 he built a warehouse, and becoming agent for the steamboat companies, conducted a large forwarding business. This he continued until 1857, when he opened a bank, and in a few months, with thousands of other business men that year, failed, paying, however, every dollar which he owed depositors. In 1858 lie engaged in the grocery trade, but afterward sold his interest to Charles B. Solberg. Engaging in real-estate operations he continued the same until the autumn of 1876, when he again be- came a forwarding and commission merchant. At sundry times during these years Mr. Levy had many buildings erected, some for his own use and some to rent. He built the Augusta House in 1857, and was receiving the rent of it when, in March, 1862, it was destroyed by fire, together with a dozen other buildings owned by himself and three times as many owned by other parties. Although he has met with frequent reverses he has never become disheartened. No man in La Crosse is more plucky or full of business. He saw the last wigwam disappear long since, and where thirty-three years ago he found half a dozen families he now sees a city of twelve thousand inhabitants, who seem to reverence him as one of the fathers of La Crosse. He has been elected mayor three times ; has been an alderman about eight years, and has always looked well to the interests of the city. In politics he has always acted with the demo- cratic party. Mr. Levy is a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity; was grand treasurer of the Grand Chap- ter of the Royal Arch Masons eleven years; is now treasurer of both the lodge and chapter of La Crosse, and the oldest member in point* of time of joining them. He is also one of the trustees of the Independent Order of Benai Brith, a Jewish secret society. PROF. NATHAN C. TWINING, MONROE. N ATHAN CROOK rvv 1 N I NG, A.M., was born in Boston, Erie county, New York, September 27, 1834, and is the son of John and Sarah (Hamp- ton) Twining, natives of New Jersey, the former born December 2, 1784, and the latter \ugust 2, 1807. They were Quakers of the Elias lli(ks school, and like the majority of that sect were quiet, industrious and simple-hearted, and free from guile, their code of morals being embraced in the Golden Ride. Che ancestors on both sides came to Americ a with \\ illia.m Penn, the father being of Welsh and the mother of Scotch -1 rish origin. His father, not- withstanding his Quaker scruples on the subject of bearing “carnal weapons,” was a gallant soldier of the war of 1812, and his great-uncle, Nathan Crook — whose name he bears — was a midshipman on board the Lawrence, Commodore Pern 's flag-ship, and was killed at the battle of Lake Erie, about ten minutes before the Commodore abandoned his ves- sel. His mother was a niece of General Wade Hampton, not less famous in the struggle of 1812. < hir subject was reared on a farm, and was earl\ 40 taught all the mysteries of husbandry, and in child- hood became an ardent lover of books and music. He never, however, developed a taste for fictitious literature — historic, scientific and linguistic works being his chosen companions even in childhood, while the exact sciences were his favorite studies. He moved with his parents to the West in the year 1844, and settled in Waterloo, Jefferson county, Wisconsin. He was educated at Milton College, Milton, Wisconsin, taking the full course of study, comprising mathematics, ancient classics, metaphys- ics and the natural sciences, and became one of the best Greek and Latin scholars, as well as the most accomplished mathematician, of the day, and was honored by his Alma Mater with the honorary- degree of A.M. After graduating he was appointed to the chair of mathematics in the same institution, a position which he retained for eight years, discharging the duties with eminent credit to himself and the ut- most satisfaction to all concerned. He resigned his professorship in 1868, and from 544 THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. motives of the highest consideration resolved to devote the remainder of his life to public-school teaching, a profession which he has followed to the present date with the utmost success. He has taught in the higher branches of the public schools of Chi- cago and Batavia, Illinois. Boscobel and Waterloo, Wisconsin, and for four years past has been princi- pal of the high school of Monroe. The success which has attended his labors in this field, and the esteem in which he is held by all who know him, attest his ability as a teacher and his eminent fitness for the responsible position which he occupies. It is not too much to say that as an educator he has few. if any, superiors in the State or in the West. The schools of Monroe rank with the foremost in Wisconsin. He is a leading member of the State Teachers' Association, and at the last annual meet- ing of that organization was appointed by his asso- ciates to prepare a curriculum of studies for the public schools, to be submitted to the legislature with a view to being embodied in the school laws of the State. He is, moreover, a gentleman of the highest moral character, an incessant student and an untiring worker. His literary and scientific at- tainments are of the highest order, while he excels in mathematics and astronomy. In politics he has always been republican, and like the sect from which he sprang, an uncompro- mising opponent of slavery. During the late rebellion be served one year in the army, as captain of Company C, 40th Regiment Wisconsin Infantry. Fought at the second battle of Memphis in 1864, and in various other engage- ments and skirmishes. He was also a leading mem- ber of the Union League during the existence of that organization. He held the office of town clerk of Milton, Wis- consin, during the years 1861 and 1862, and has been a promoter of circulating libraries and other means of disseminating knowledge among the peo- ple. After arriving at years of discretion he embraced the orthodox faith and united with the Congrega- tional church, to which he still adheres. On the r 8th of November, 1861, he married Miss Phebe Ann Barber, daughter of Lillibri dge Barber, of Hopkinson, Rhode Island. She died January 16, 1866, leaving three sons surviving, namely, Harry be Verne, Clarence Walter and Nathan C., junior. On the 1 8th of June, 1873, he married Miss Mar- garet Rockwell, daughter of James Rockwell, Esq., one of the first settlers of Chicago. JOHN BENTLEY MILWAUKEE. T HE subject of this biography, an eminently self-made man, was born March 23, 1822, at Newtown, Montgomeryshire, Wales, the son of Thomas Bentley and Jane nee Jones. He obtained the greater part of his education from reading, observation and intercourse with men, his school- days having been confined to a very limited time in his early boyhood. At the age of ten years he entered a seed-store connected with a nursery, and while there employed his spare time in studying those branches requisite in the business. Five years later, leaving this position, he was employed during one year in a flannel manufactory, and at the expi- ration of that time, in 1838, immigrated to the United States. Arriving in New York, he apprenticed him- self to a plumber and brass w'orker, with whom he remained about two years. Leaving his employer bv reason of ill treatment, he went to the northern part of New' York State, and engaged in farm work and in lumbering; and after two seasons returned on a raft dowm the Hudson river to-New York. His next engagement was Middleton, Orange county, New York, where he became apprenticed to a mason builder, remaining with him three years. Subse- quently he was employed as a journeyman in New' York city and at Haverstraw, and at the latter place engaged in business on his owm account. Removing to the West in 1848, he settled at Mil- waukee, Wisconsin, and for the first few years worked as a journeyman, his first engagement being upon Mr. Alexander Mitchell’s old residence on Spring street. His desire, however, was to become a builder; and with that will and determination which had charac- terized his former life, he entered his bids among the older builders, and secured contracts for himself. By faithful, constant work he pressed his way in the face of every opposition, and boldly meeting all the vicissitudes and reversions of business life has grad- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION Alt T. 345 ually risen, until he now holds a first rank among the builders and contractors of the Northwest of wide and established reputations. His first impor- tant contract was for the mason-work of the Mil- waukee Female College ; next followed the North Presbyterian and St. John’s Episcopalian churches, Newhall House, and Music Hall. He also erected the Grand Opera House, Olivet Church, several pub- lic school buildings in Milwaukee, Burnham’s Block, the State Reform School buildings at Waukesha, the south wings for the Northern Asylum for the Insane, besides many residences, stores and business blocks in his city and throughout the State. He is at the present time (1876) engaged on the Court House at Racine. He has been for many years a prominent and an active member of the Independent Order of Odd- Fellows, and has passed the chairs in both branches of the order. Politically Mr. Bentley is a democrat, and in 1863 represented his district in the State legislature. In 1868 he was elected alderman tor two terms of one year each, and again elected in 1873. In 1870)10 was chairman of the board of supervisors, and in 1876 was appointed on the board of school commis- sioners. Mr. Bentley was married May 17, 1845, to Miss Sarah Ann Roberts, of Orange county, New York, and by her has had eight children, namely, Anna Maria, born September 14, 1846, now w ife of Stephen R. Smith; Thomas Roberts, born November 14, 1848; Sarah Catherine, now the wife of George Fund, born December 14, 1850; Mary Elizabeth, born I >ecem- ber 28, 1852; John Franklin, born June 14, 1855; Clara Minnie, born January 5, 1858; Nellie Amelia, born April 12, i860; and Jennie Jones, born Decem- ber 7, 1866. The oldest son, Thomas R., became associated in business with his father. He has proved a successful business manager, and now has charge of many heavy contracts. He was married November 14, 1871, to Miss Emily H. King, daugh- ter of Walter King, Escp, of Milwaukee. GEORGE F. GRAND EORGE FRANK FIN WITTER, son of V J Squire P. Witter and Mary Ann ne'e Bowler, is a native pf Alleghany county, New' York, and was born on the 6th of June, 1831. The members of the Witter family in this country are descendants of William Witter, who came from England about 1640, and settled in Massachusetts. In 1651 he was per- secuted for harboring and for inviting to preach in his house the Baptist ministers, Clark, Crandall and Holmes. l he subject of this sketch* cherished in youth a strong desire for knowledge, but had no means for procuring it aside from his own resources. At thir- teen years of age he attended an academy at Alfred Center, in his native county, and continued there for nearly four years, paying his way by doing vari- ous kinds of manual labor, one season rising at lour o’clock in order to gel through with his chores before school time. At sixteen he commenced teach- ing, a vocation which he pursued for about eight years, attending the academy meanwhile a portion of each year, except the last three, when he devoted his spare time to the study of medicine. He com- pleted his medical studies with Drs. Babcock and WITTER, M .LX, RAPIDS. Jones, of Wellsville, ami attended let-lures in the medical department of the University of Michigan, graduating from that institution in March, 1856. He commenced practice at Wautoma, Waushara county, Wisconsin, where he remained until Feb- ruary, 1859, and then removed to Grand Rapids, where he is still actively engaged in a remunerative and extensive practice. In 1862 Dr. Witter was appointed assistant sur- geon of the nth Regiment Wisconsin Infantry, but did not go to the front, because the regiment was then in a malarious district, and he was in poor health. Soon after settling in Wood county he was elected its first superintendent of schools, and held that office eight years. He w'as also examining sur- geon for pensions nearly the same length of time. He was appointed postmaster in June, 1869, and still holds that office, his deputy performing its du- ties, since his professional labors occupy most of his time. A portion of the leisure at his command he gives to the preparation of papers for medical peri- odicals, and in this manner has rendered valuable service to the profession. He is a member of the Wisconsin State Medical Society, and some ol the 77 //:' UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 34 ° excellent essays read at its meetings are from his pen. He is also a member of the National Medical Association. Hr. Witter is a regular attendant upon church ser- \ ice, but is not a communicant in any religious body, although lie inclines toward the Baptists in his sym- pathies. His wife, who was Miss Frances L. Phelps, is of Friendship, New York. They were married in May, i860, and have three children. In all his busy career Dr. Witter has never lost his love of literary and scientific studies, nor his interest in educational matters. He is a member of the local school board, and the thirty thousand dol- lar school-house which overlooks and adorns Grand Rapids owes its origin to a few such enterprising men as he. He, however, takes no honor to himself in this work, but history would be falsified did lie not have the credit of being one of the leaders in the noble system of instruction in his adopted home. Public-spirited and generous, Dr. Witter is highly esteemed in the community as a citizen, and also enjoys an enviable reputation as a physician and surgeon. In the latter line of his profession he is especially noted, often being called to go fifty and even a hundred miles to attend to difficult cases. CHARLES A. SINGLE, H A USA U. O NE of the early lumbermen in northern Wis- consin, a pioneer hotel keeper and one of the best known men in that part of the State, is Charles Alexander Single, a native of London, England. His parents were Benjamin and Mary (Tyler) Single, and he w'as born June 6, 1819. His father, a Scotch- man, was mail agent, and subsequently a hotel keep- er, in the Old World. His mother was an Flnglish- woman. The family immigrated to America near the close of 1835, landing in New York city while the great fire of December 16 was still raging. In April the family started for the West via the Hudson riser and Erie canal; took the schooner Sandusky at Buffalo and landed at Milwaukee, then in Michi- gan Territory, on the 15th of May, 1836 (the name was changed to Wisconsin Territory a few months later). The next year young Single started out for him- self with a full determination to succeed. He went to the lead mines at Galena, which had been brought into wide notice as the Golconda of the Far West, and in that vicinity, part of the time in what is now Grant county, Wisconsin, he spent about five years in the mines, with fair success. With a few solid “mint drops" in his pocket, in 1841, Mr. Single steered for the pineries of Wiscon- sin, stopping at Grand Rapids, now the county seat of Wood county. He lumbered there for five years, with moderate success, and at the end of that time moved to Big Bull Falls, now Wausau, and assisted his brother Benjamin in building a saw-mill on the Rib river, a tributary of the Wisconsin. He oper- 1 ated with him there about two years, and then set- tled permanently in Wausau (the place took that name in 1850, which means, in the Indian language, “faraway”). Here Mr. Single built and operated a hotel, which he has enlarged from time to time until he can accommodate two hundred guests. At the same time he continued to operate in lumber, having been an extensive dealer. He has conducted this hotel for nearly thirty years, and, money or no money, has rarely turned empty away one who sought shelter or entertainment. In the early days of his inn-keeping all the freighting of provisions, when the river was open, was done by canoes from Stevens Point, a distance by the Wisconsin river of sixty miles. In the winter the ice was used as a highway, no roads being open through the forests. When Mr. Single settled in Wausau the country was full of Indians, mainly the friendly Chippewas, who made less trouble than some of the whites. Here and there one of the latter, when intoxicated, was troublesome, but, upon the whole, the settle- ment was moderately quiet and peaceful. Most of the frontiersmen went there to earn an honest liveli- hood, and some of them remained to accumulate, and, like Mr. Single, are among the most substantial and sterling men of the place. Mr. Single was a member of the county board ol supervisors for several years; is now (1877) in the council and on that board. During the rebellion he was deputy provost marshal. In politics, he was formerly a whig, and has been a republican since the organization of that party. THE UNITED STATES HI OGRAPHICA /, DICTION AN I '. 347 He is a member of the Blue Lodge, in the Ma- sonic order, and is an attendant on Episcopal wor- ship. On April n, 1844, he was married to Miss Eliza- beth Taylor, a native of England. They were mar- ried in Milwaukee, and have seven children — three sons and lour daughters. The eldest, Benjamin, is married, and lives on a farm three miles west of Wausau. The other two sons, Henry and Charles, are single. The eldest daughter, Mary, is the wife of Robert E. Parcher, a merchant of Wausau. Alice I is the wife of Alvin Fitzer, a lumberman ol Wausau. Letetia is the wife of Charles K. I hmbar, a jeweler ot Wausau, and Josephine is unmarried. Mr. Single has always been one of the most pub- lic-spirited citizens of Wausau. No local enterprise has been originated and completed without his hav- ing a hand in it. He was one of the foremost men in bringing the Wisconsin Valley railroad to this point, and no man rejoices more than he in the growth and prosperity of his early adopted and fondly cherished home. DOUGLAS ARNOLD, ARCADIA. D ouglas Arnold is a native of New York, and was born at Clifton Park, Saratoga county, February 23, 1833. He is the son of Bena- jah 1 ). and Maria (Wilbur) Arnold. He remained at home until about nineteen years of age, assisting his father on the farm and attending school three or four months of each year. He early developed a taste for study, and though having but limited op- portunities, prepared himself for teaching, begin- ning at the age of nineteen. He continued this occupation for about six years, during the winters, and during the rest of the time attended an acad- emy at Charlotteville, and worked on the farm. In the spring of 1857 he removed to Winnebago county, Wisconsin, near Winneconne, and there resumed both teaching and farming; and after about two years cultivated land of his own. In the spring of 1864 Mr. Arnold removed to Trempealeau county, and settled on a farm near Arcadia, the present county seat, and continued farming until 1871. The year 1875 he devoted to mercantile business in the town and village of Dodge, Trempealeau county, but returned at the end of the year to his old home near Arcadia. He was a member of the general assembly of the State in 1869, and during his term of office rendered valuable and efficient service. He was known as a working member, and one who was always at his post, ready to answer to the roll call. During the autumn of 1870 he was elected county treasurer, and assumed the duties of that office on the 1st of the following January. He was afterward reelected and held the office, in all, foui years, performing his labors in a manner most satisfactory to his con- stituents. He is now (1877) deputy sheriff of the county, making a vigilant and efficient officer. Mr. Arnold is a Master Mason. In politics he is a thorough and leading republican. In religion he is liberal in his sentiments. He. was married on the 1st of May, 1859, to Miss Elizabeth Densmore, of Winneconne. They have two children. HON. JOSEPH WOOD, GRAND RAPIDS. J OSEPH WOOD, in honor of whom Wood county, Wisconsin, was named, was born at Camden, New Vork, October 16, 1811. His father, Daniel Wood, a mechanic, lived to the age of ninety-three years. His mother was a Sheldon, some of whose ancestors toughl for the independence of the colonies. He was raised in a farming community, in Ontario county, with very poor educational privileges. By a careful use of what time he could command he mastered the rudimental branches, and by the time he had reached his majority he had acquired a fair amount of knowledge. About this period he went on the Erie canal, and ran a boat on the New York and Seneca Lake line six seasons. Starting for the THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION AR)\ 348 W est at the t lose of navigation in 1836 lie reached Chicago in Januarv following, and going thence into what is now Lake county. Illinois, near the Wiscon- sin line, he located a claim and there engaged in fanning for eleven years. Removing to Grand Rapids in March, 1848, lie farmed, dealt in mer- i handise or kept a hotel until 1856, and for the last t went) years has been operating mainly in real estate, with varied success. Wood county, of which Grand Rapids is the county seat, was organized in 1856, at which time Mr. Wood was in the lower branch of the legislature, representing Portage and Marathon counties, and drew the bill. He called it Greemvood county, but the senate amended the bill by striking off the first half of the name. Prior to this act of the legislature Portage and Marathon counties extended north- ward to the Michigan line. Mr. Wood has probably held more official posi- tions than any other man in Wood county, though not all of them in Wisconsin. He was postmaster at Fort Hill, McHenry (now Lake) county, Illinois, being appointed by Amos Rendall, April 9, 1838; w'as appointed to the same office at Little Fort, now Waukegan, by C. A. Wicklife, in 1841 ; again at Grand Rapids, under appointment of N. K. Hall, in 1851, and still again, under appointment of A. W . Randall, in 1868. He was clerk of the court in McHenry county two years. In 1840, just after Lake county was set off from Cook, Mr. Wood was appointed coroner. At one time, in 1838, while living at Little Fort and conducting the postoffice at Fort Hill, by a deputy, he had a preemption right to the present site of Waukegan, and waived it in favor of the county. Mr. Wood was the first judge of Wood county, receiving his appointment from Governor Pashford, January 19, 1856. He was two years a commissioner of State lands, receiving his appointment during the administration of Governor Dewey, and probable knows more about section corners, town ranges and the quality of quarter-sections than any other man in his section of country. Mr. Wood has served as justice of the peace, chairman of the board of supervisors and mayor of the city, and, in short, has been a much honored man. In politics he is a republican, and is lineally descended from old whig stock. He is a strong partisan, and outside of county offices always votes the straight ticket. When Stephen A. Douglas was first nominated for Congress he came into Lake county on horseback. Mr. Wood gave him his dinner, fed his horse and traveled with him three days, having a jolly time, but all the while election- eering against “the coming man.” judge Wood has had two wives. The first, Miss Hester J. Kirtland, of Seneca Falls, New York, to whom he was united in 1833, died in November, 1842, leaving one child. He was married a second time in December, 1843, to Miss Matilda Compton, of Lake county, Illinois, by whom he has had five children, three of whom are now living. The child by his first wife, Janett, is married to William Bal- derston, of Grand Rapids. Franklin J ., the eldest son, holds the office of county clerk, and is a man of much promise. He is married. George N. and Walter are single and live at home. Since Judge Wood passed through Detroit and Chicago, in the winter of 1836-37, he has seen a wonderful development in the West. Forty years ago those two cities were villages, hardly as large as Grand Rapids is now; to-day Detroit has its hun- dred thousand inhabitants, and Chicago its four hundred thousand. Wisconsin was then the Terri- tory of Wisconsin, hardly a year old, and now it ha's a million and a quarter of people. To such enter- prising men as Judge Wood the W est owes its unex- ampled growth, and the country much of its wealth. NICHOLAS S E N N , M.U., Mil. II AUKEE. ''pHK subject of this biography was born in the X canton of St. Gaul, Switzerland, on the 24th of October, 1844, the son of John and Magdalena Senn, and traces his ancestry from one of the oldest families in Switzerland. When Nicholas was seven years old his family immigrated to the United States. Here lie passed through the usual common-school routine, and entered the grammar school at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. He early developed a fondness for study, and one of his highest ambitions was to enter a profession. To gratify this desire he studi- ously employed every opportunity for learning. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. 349 Later he engaged in teaching, with eminent suc- cess. and having finally decided to enter the medical profession, accepted a clerkship in the drug store of Mr. T- C. Huber, of Fond du Lac. Remaining there one year, during which time he pursued the study of medicine with Dr. E. Munk, he at the expiration of that time, in 1865, entered the Chicago Medical College, from which he graduated in 1 868. During his course of study he maintained a high standing, and upon graduating was awarded the first prize, the subject of his thesis being, “ The Modus ( )pe- randi and Therapeutical Uses of Digitalis Purpurea.'' J In the winter of his graduation he was appointed house physician of Cook County Hospital, after a most rigid examination, and served in that capacity for eighteen months. He next removed to Ashford, Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, and there established himself in the prac- tice of his profession. He soon built up a large country practice, and became well known as a relia- ble physician. In 1874 Dr. Senn removed to Mil- waukee, and in the following year was elected county physician. Soon after settling in Milwaukee he was appointed physician of the Milwaukee Hospital, and continues to act in that capacity at the present time (1876). His practice has been remarkably success- ful, and he is widely known as a careful and skillful practitioner. He has always taken a leading part in the various interests of the medical fraternity, who early recognized his merits. He was elected president of Rock River Medical Society, and vice- president of the State Medical Society, and was one of the delegates to the Medical Congress of the United States, held in the summer of 1876. Dr. Senn has been successful, not only in his profession, but also financially, and in the year 1876 erected a fine business block on the corner of Chestnut and Third streets. I’he building is four stories high, forty-six by fifty-five feet, and is occupied by stores and offices. Dr. Senn has a high social standing, and as a man is most highly esteemed for his many estimable per- sonal qualities. In his religious views he is identified with the old German Reformed church. He was married on the 22c! of February, 1869, to Miss Amelia Muehlhauser, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. GEORGE M. EVERHART, D.D., KENOSHA. C ' EORGE M. EVERHART, a native of Lou- 7 doun county, Virginia, was born February 9, 1826, the son of William and Susan F'.verhart, His father was a farmer by occupation. ( leorge received his primary education in the private school of a Dr. Hagerty, near his home, and later entered Dickin- son College, Carlyle, Pennsylvania, with a view of fitting himself for a professional life. By the death ol his father, while he was yet a boy, he was com- pelled to abandon his studies, and was left to the care and home-teaching of his mother, whom he reverently remembers as “ an unusually devoted woman,” whose pure life influenced him to grow up to be a God-fearing man, and ultimately to enter the gospel ministry. His first great trouble was his mother’s death, which occurred when he was fifteen years old. All hope of gaining a collegiate educa- tion at this time was gone ; but having a fixed deter- mination and a power of will, and relying upon the education which he had already acquired, he en- gaged in teaching, and during the next four years. besides supporting himself, saved money sufficient to complete his college course. He graduated from Emory and Henry College, Virginia, with honor, and was appointed, by the faculty of the college, tutor of Greek — a position which he filled with credit and satisfaction for about three years. In 1854 Professor Everhart was called to the presidency of Huntsville Female College, Alabama; and six years later, enlarg- ing his field of action, was, by the Right Rev. N. H. C obbs, S. I .D., the Bishop of Alabama, ordained a deacon in the Protestant Episcopal church, and in the following year, 1861, was admitted to priest's orders by the Right Rev. J. H. Otey, D.D., Bishop ot I ennessee. About t^is time he was called to the pastorate of Calvary Church, Louisville, Kentucky. During the civil war, claims ot a peculiar character necessitated his^ resignation and removal to Xorth Carolina, and tor the next five years he labored as rector of St. Peter's Church, of Charlotte, in that State. On April 23, 1865, Mr. Everhart preached before Jefferson Davis, his cabinet, and many of the THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. 35 ° t hief officers of the confederate army, who at that time sought refuge in Charlotte. The occasion was an impressive one. Taking for his text the words “ And thus it must he,” he earnestly endeavored to impress the lessons taught by the “ Lost Cause." It was the last sermon heard by the confederate presi- dent previous to his capture and incarceration. Aside from his pastoral labors, which were unusu- .1 1 1 \ great at that time, owing to the afflictions of his people, and the attendance at hospitals and on refu- gees. Mr. Everhart conducted a publishing house, editing and publishing a weekly called “ The Church Intelligencer,” and also millions of pages of religious tracts, which were distributed through the army. In 1867 he was recalled to Louisville to become the pastor of St. John's Church, and while here, in 1870, was. in recognition of his worth and attainments', honored by Columbia College, of New York, with the degree of I ).I ). In 1871 Dr. Everhart removed to his present home in Kenosha, whither he had been called to establish a young ladies' college, known as Kemper Hall. Inaugurating the school under the auspices of the Protestant Episcopal church, his energetic HART B. GRAND ART BENTON PHILLIO. son of Buona- parte and Eliza (Benchley) Phillio, was born at Cedarville, Herkimer county, New York, May 16, 1834. His father, a physician by profession, became identified with the anti-slavery party at an early day. when to belong to that organization was to be “despised and rejected of men.” He was a co- worker with Oerrit Smith, Samuel |. May, Arthur Tappan and other prominent men of that period, and was once a candidate for congress on the aboli- tion ticket. I he mother of Hart was a woman of marked < haracter, described by one who knew her as “ wholly excellent and supremely good." His grandfather, Enoch Phillio, a descendant of the Huguenots, was in the continental army at Valley Forge and participated in several engagements. He was a true patriot and a man of strong intellect. Calvin Phillio, an uncle of Hart’s, and a Baptist • lergvman, married for his second wife Miss Pru- dence Crandall, the originator of frec-ncgro schools in Rhode Island, and who was prosecuted before administration of its affairs has insured its success, and rendered it second to no young ladies' college in the country. Its location and surroundings are most beautiful and picturesque. Fronting on Lake Michigan, its elegant grounds, its lawns, and shrub- bery, render it a most attractive school-home for young ladies. The building of the beautiful chapel, music house and cloister, and the rebuilding of the residence for pupils and teachers, and also a break- water protecting the lake front, and costing three thousand five hundred dollars, have been under the personal direction and supervision of Dr. Everhart. He was married in 1853, to Miss Banner, of an old southern family in North Carolina. Of their six living children, the eldest son, who is a graduate of Racine College, and also the eldest daughter of Kemper Hall, are in Europe completing their edu- cation. Of a commanding but withal courtly presence, with a decided but suave manner, Dr. Everhart is eminently fitted for the position which he fills. Al- though past the prime of life, he still possesses a vigorous and healthy physique that betokens a pro- longed career of usefulness. PHILLIO, RADIUS. Chief Justice Doggett for teaching colored persons to read. The subject of this sketch received a common- school education, mainly at Newport, Herkimer county, where his father practiced his profession for some time. After leaving school he removed with the family to Utica, where his father added the drug business to his professional practice, and where the son remained until October, 1856, when he settled in Grand Rapids. There he was engaged in the mercantile and lumber trade until the financial crash of 1857, when, with thousands of other busi- ness men, he was compelled to close his business. In boyhood Mr. Phillio had a great fondness for study, but poor health prevented his taking a regular college course. His fondness for study, however, never left him. He often felt a desire to engage in editorial life, and in the spring of 1858 became local editor erf the “ Wood County Reporter," continuing the drug trade at the same time in partnership with J. E. Ingraham, who, in 1873, became a partner THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 351 with him in conducting his paper. One year later their store and stock of goods were burned, involv- ing them in heavy losses. For the last four years Mr. Phillio has been the political editor of the “ Reporter,” and for a year or more has been acting as deputy collector of internal revenue in the sixth district. He was appointed postmaster by Mr. Lincoln in 1861, and held that office for nearly eight years. During the latter part of that time he was clerk of the court for Wood county. His best work, how- ever, has been done in connection with journalism. He has rendered hearty and powerful support to every enterprise tending to promote the welfare of both the city and county. He has been president of the school board for several years and was one of the visitors to the State University in 1875. Mr. Phillio became a member of the Congrega- tional church in 1871, and takes a deep interest in the general welfare of religion, as well as to that of the body with which he is connected. In politics, he was formally an abolitionist, but upon the organization of the republican party be- came identified with that body, to which he still adheres, believing that it embodies the only political ethics which can result in the highest good of the nation. On the 1 st of September, 1858, he was married to Miss Isabella Ingraham, a niece of the author of the “ House of David,” “ Pillar of Fire,” etc. They have seven children living and lost one in infancy. Mrs. Phillio is an amiable Christian lady, possessing most excellent judgment and all the womanly virtues. Mr. Phillio is five feet nine inches in height, and weighs one hundred and sixty-five pounds. He is a man of social disposition, frank and open-hearted. In dealing with his fellow-men he places confidence in all, regarding all as honest and well-meaning as himself. He is kind to everybody and loves his home and family with an intensity not often wit- nessed. It will be a long time before the world will have a surplus of such men as Hart B. Phillio. LEVI E. OBER, M.D., LA CROSSE. D R. OBER, a native of Vermont, was born at Rockingham, Windham county, July 31, 1819, and is the son of William and Fanny (Fairbanks) Ober. In 1830 the family removed to Ohio and settled on a farm at Claridon, Geauga county, Levi remaining constantly at home until eighteen years of age, assisting in tilling the soil and attending school, a part of the time at an academy near by. Having an ingenious turn of mind, he was naturally led into mechanical pursuits; for some years he worked more or less at different trades in order to procure means for prosecuting his studies, and con- tinued his literary studies, interspersed with manual labor, until about 1843. Mr. Ober began to study medicine with Dr. Storm Rosa, of Painesville, about 1845. He continued the same with Dr. Richmond, of Chardon, and attended lectures in the medical department of Western Reserve College, Cleveland, and at the Eclectic Medical College, Cincinnati; and in March, 1850, he took the first diploma issued by the last-named institution. Subsequently he re- ceived a homoeopathic diploma from the same col- lege. Afterward he attended a course of lectures at the Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. 4 > During the year 1850 Dr. Ober began the practice of homoeopathy at Moline, Illinois, and continued there for seven years. He removed to La Crosse, Wisconsin, in 1857, and has there been constantly engaged in practice until the present time (1877), except when attending medical lectures or traveling to recruit his health, impaired by overwork. Twice he has been obliged to retire for a season to recu- perate. In 1872 he went to Europe, traveling through England, Belgium, parts of Germany, Swit- zerland and spending the winter of 1872-73 in Italy. While abroad he visited hospitals, and in various ways largely extended his researches in medical science. Dr. Ober has spared no pains in cultivat- ing himself and in increasing his skill in the healing art, and spent some time in attending clinical lectures and in the Eye and Ear Infirmary of New York. He was one of the original organizers of the Illi- nois Homoeopathic Medical Association, and aided in forming the present Homoeopathic Medical So- ciety of Wisconsin, and has been president of both organizations, and also presided over the National Medical Society. He has an honorary degree from the Hahnemann Medical College, Chicago. TIIE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONART. Dr. Ober is a very active member of the Baptist church, a deacon of the same, and one of its most liberal supporters. In all religious and benevolent matters he takes a deep interest, and is in every respect a kind, sympathizing and true man. In politics he is a republican of whig antecedents, but takes little interest in political matters more than to perform his duties as a citizen. Dr. Ober has had two wives : the first was Abi- gail Carr, of Jefferson, Ohio, to whom he was married in November, 1843, and who died in August, 18715, leaving two children ; the second was Mrs. Helen M. Burbank Whitney, of St. Paul, Minnesota; they were married in September, 1876. Dr. Ober is a good surgeon, a skillful aurist, and an eminent and successful general practitioner. HON. SIMEON MILLS, MADISON. S IMEON MILLS was born in Norfolk, Litch- field county, Connecticut, February 14, 1810. His father, Martin Mills, was the son of Constantine Mills, a revolutionary soldier. His mother was the daughter of Clement Tuttle, also a soldier of the revolution. In 1811 his father was one of the pio- neer settlers in the dense forests of northern Ohio, where the subject of this sketch was brought up to the active labor of farming in a new country, receiv- ing at the same time a good common-school educa- tion. At the age of twenty he engaged for a short time in teaching a district school, but soon procur- ing a situation in a store, abandoned teaching, and was engaged in mercantile pursuits for several years thereafter. In May, 1834, he was married to Maria Louisa Smith, daughter of Church Smith, a native of Berk- shire county, Massachusetts. In the spring of 1835 he made his first journey west, going around the upper lakes on the steamer Thomas Jefferson, on her first trip to Chicago. In 1836 he visited Wis- consin, and upon the location of the seat of govern- ment at the Four Lakes, determined to make that his future home. In pursuance of such determina- tion, on the 10th of June, 1837, he located at Mad- ison, erected a small building of hewed logs, sixteen by eighteen feet ; purchased a small stock of goods at Galena, and opened the first store at the capital city of Wisconsin. At this time there was no mail route or mail between Madison and Milwaukee, but in the fall of that year he made a contract with the United States for carrying the mail between those points until the 1st of July, 1842. The difficulties of getting the mail through twice a week, with no houses between Madison and Aztalan, and at rare intervals the re- mainder of the route, with streams and marshes un- bridged and roads unbuilt, cannot be easily under- stood or appreciated by the present generation, as they fly over the country with the speed of the wind, and talk with the antipodes as to next-door neigh- bors. The task was accomplished, however, with- out the loss of a single trip during the life of the contract — a feat rarely performed at the present time, though the distance is spanned with iron and traversed by powerful locomotives. On the 12th of August, 1837, he was appointed the first justice of the peace in Dane county, and probably the only one at that time between Dodge- ville and Milwaukee. In 1839 Dane county was organized, and he was elected one of the county commissioners, and appointed clerk of the court, which latter office he held about nine years. He held the office of territorial treasurer when the State government was organized, and was elected the first senator from Dane county, afterward re-nominated and declined. In 1848 he was appointed one of the regents of the University of Wisconsin, and took an active part in the organization and commencement of the institution, purchasing its site and superin- tending the erection of its first buildings. In i860 he was appointed one of the trustees of the State Hospital for the Insane, and has been an active member of that board for fifteen years, taking a deep interest in the erection of buildings and the general management of affairs in and about the in- stitution. He has been identified with public im- provements, and contributed largely to the early prosperity of the city. He invested all his gains in lands and the erection of buildings, making their care the business of his life. Mr. Mills is remarkable for quick perception, sound judgment, thorough self-reliance, great ener- gy, and unwavering perseverance. His knowledge THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 355 is practical, and his habits industrious and econom- ical. He has aided in building schools, colleges and churches, and in developing the resources of a new country has encouraged his fellow-man, by pre- cept and example, to attain a higher civilization. In religion he always claimed to be orthodox , having been early taught to believe “that God fore- ordained whatsoever comes to pass.” He believes that the Creator and ruler of all things would pro- vide and care for the future as for the past, and having an abiding faith in the wisdom and benevo- lence of God, was satisfied to trust the hereafter entirely in his hands. He did not believe that Providence ever helped those that failed to help themselves, or that the intercessions of the creature with the Creator ever lifted the weight of a feather from the burdens we bear, or added a single grain to the product of the land. He often expressed the desire that he might leave the world no worse than he found it. ISAAC LACY MOSHER, GRAND RAPIDS. F EW men in Wood county, Wisconsin, are better known or more highly respected than the sub- ject of this sketch. He has repeatedly held positions of honor and trust, and has never betrayed the con- fidence placed in him. A native of New York, he was born in the town of White Creek, Washington county, January 24, 1819, his parents being Jabez and Elizabeth (Doane) Mosher. His early home was among agriculturists, and to that class he be- longed until about twenty-six years of age, receiving only three months’ schooling after he was fourteen. In the autumn of 1844 he removed to ^the West, settling at first at Prairie du Sac, Sauk county, Wis- consin. There he entered land, designing to improve it, but by reason of a protracted illness he removed, in December, 1848, to Grand Rapids, then only the nucleus of a village. The whites consisted of about a dozen men, real settlers, and four or five women. Menomonee and Chippewa Indians were abundant. On reaching Grand Rapids he became a clerk in a store, and held that position six years. At the expi- ration of that time he engaged in the mercantile trade on his own account, and continuing it until the spring of 1876, when by reason of business re- verses, he was compelled to retire. In looking around for a faithful man with whom to intrust its funds, the county selected Mr. Mosher and elected him in November, 1876. He had been tried before and found to be true and trustworthy, and was, in fact, the first treasurer the county ever had, serving in the years 1857 and 1858. At an earlier day he was justice of the peace one or two terms, and subse- quently was county commissioner for two years, and county judge three, resigning the latter office in 1876 to take that of treasurer. In politics he was formerly a whig, but since the organization of the republican party became identi- fied with that party. In November, 1852, he was married to Miss Olive Moore, of Grand Rapids, and by her has five chil- dren. As a business man Mr. Mosher is careful and con- scientious, perfectly reliable, and always at his post. It is doubtful if he has an enemy in Wood county. SHERBURN BRYANT, MIL W A UK EE. T HE subject of this sketch was born in Thetford, Vermont, June 20, 1826, the eldest child of Lester and Anna Bryant. His earlier life was passed on a farm, where he assisted his father during the summer months, and in the winters attended the district schools. Possessing an enterprising and en- ergetic spirit, the narrow routine of farm life was ill suited to satisfy his ambition; and at the age of eighteen, leaving his home, he went to Boston, and entered the employ of a Mr. Snow, a builder and contractor, with whom he remained one year. At the expiration of this time he went to Portland, and later was engaged in his chosen occupation in many of the eastern cities, giving close attention to his 35 6 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DIC T ION A R T. business and making it a success. After leaving home he returned two winters and attended the Thetford Academy, and during the four succeeding seasons engaged in teaching in adjoining towns, meeting with eminent success. In the spring of 1S51 Mr. Bryant removed to Milwaukee, and with- out capital, save his business abilities and firm deter- mination to succeed, laid the foundation of his future success. By careful industry and economy he grad- ually accumulated property ; and although subjected to many hardships, endured cheerfully all the vicis- situdes of his lot. Each year added to the amount of his hard-earned savings, and by judicious invest- ments, he became possessor of many valuable lots, and now owns some of the finest residences and building places in the city. In 1869, turning aside from his regular business, Mr. Bryant invested in a milling enterprise. The movement, however, was far from being successful ; and after a year of mis- fortunes he withdrew from the firm, and with a new vigor resumed his legitimate occupation. He has recently turned his attention toward the lumber trade, and has built up a flourishing business in con- nection with his building. Mr. Bryant’s habits from early life have been exceedingly simple. Modest and retiring in his disposition, he abhors all pretense and display, and by the genuineness of his frank, open manhood, has endeared himself to all who know him. Politically, he is a firm supporter of the republican party, although he takes no active part in political matters, more than to perform his duties as a true and upright citizen. A member of no re- ligious organization, he adheres to no creed, the constant rule of his life having been, “to do by others as he would have them do by him,” and in all his business and social relations, he has never willfully forgotten his duties to others, in seeking his own selfish pleasure. An ardent lover of every principle of right, he has a moral record free from stain, and a name unsullied. Mr. Bryant was married January 9, 1851, to Miss Clara Henry, of Troy, Ver- mont, a lady of rare prudence and womanly judg- ment. Although for many years a great sufferer from ill health, she never neglected her home duties. With a true devotion she cheerfully and patiently endured all the ills and hardships of their early life in the West ; and to her is due much of the pros- perity of her husb.and. They have had eight children, three of whom died in infancy. Hattie E., the eldest, now living, was born September 2, 1853, and is a young lady of rare culture and accomplishments. She is a gradu- ate of the Milwaukee Female College, and a fine musician, and by her various accomplishments is rendered a favorite of her many friends. Flora Belle, the second daughter, possessed of equal abili- ties, has been unable to enjoy her advantages, by reason of physical ailments. Her cheerfulness has made her the light of the household, and the patience with which she has borne her sufferings has doubly endeared her to the hearts of all. These, with two younger daughters and one son, comprise the family, who with their parents live in the enjoyment of a most happy and delightful home. While his business talents place Mr. Bryant among the foremost men of his city, he is no less worthy in his domestic relations. His delight in home com- forts, his sympathy with the pleasures of the young, with his other qualities, complete a character at once earnest, genial, generous and true. GENERAL ALBERT G. ELLIS, STEVENS POINT. ALBERT GALLATIN ELLIS was born at Ve- Ix. rona, Oneida county, New York, August 24, 1800. William H. Ellis, his grandfather, came from Scotland, and his father, Eleazer Ellis, was born at Dedham, Massachusetts, April 25, 1766. When the subject of this sketch was born, his father (a teacher in earlier life) was opening a farm, on which Albert spent the first fifteen years of his life, with very lim- ited opportunities for mental culture. At the age mentioned his father died, and his mother, with her two children, disposed of her small property and moved to Litchfield, Herkimer county. Thus, thrown upon his own resources, with neither money nor acquaintance with the ways of the world, but with a resolute will, Albert, in the spring of 1816, went to the village of Herkimer, and entered the office of the “ Herkimer American,” as an appren- tice (the office where William L. Stone and Ihur- low Weed had recently learned the printing business). There he remained for several years, and learned THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 35 7 the art of printing; and by having his time to him- self on Saturday afternoons, he managed, by taking in job work, to accumulate small sums, most of which he sent in weekly remittances to his mother and younger sister. He thus learned to be frugal and generous, as well as self-reliant and industrious. He also sought good associates, and followed their counsels. He attended church and laid the founda- tion of a solid Christian character. There, also, by associating with young men better educated than himself — notably Francis E. Spinner, his junior in years, but his superior in knowledge, — he had his ambition for higher mental attainments kindled, and he was led to make the best use of any spare moments which he could possibly command. At the close of his apprenticeship he returned to his native village, and spent six months in a gram- mar school, taught by Thomas T. Loomis. At the solicitation of Rev. Eleazer Williams — the imagi- nary “Dauphin ” once supposed to be among us — he became a teacher of the Oneida Indians at Oneida Castle, commencing in November, 1819, and contin- uing nearly three years, and becoming so familiar with the Mohawk language as to be able to read the church prayers and homilies to the Indians on Sun- days when Mr. Williams was absent. In May, 1822, Mr. Ellis was appointed by the Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal church, catechist and lay-reader to the Indians at Green Bay, and that position he held nearly five years, Mr. Williams being at the head of the Mis- sion the first year or two. In 1827, by appointment of Lewis Cass, then gov- ernor of Michigan Territory, he was made inspector of provisions for the district of Green Bay ; the next year he was appointed deputy surveyor of govern- ment lands by Surveyor-general Edward Tiffin, and executed several surveys under his direction. In the autumn of 1830 he was designated to construct a map fora delegation of Menomonee Indians, visit- ing Washington under charge of the Indian agent, Colonel S. C. Stambaugh, and spent the following winter at the national capital as secretary of the delegation. In August, 1832, he was commissioned to survey and establish a boundary line between the Menomonee and New York Indians, and the next year was directed to survey a large district of pub- lic lands near Green Bay, which, by renewed ap- pointments the next two years, was extended to adjoining districts. In 1836 he was elected to the legislature to represent Brown county, then compris- ing nearly one-half of Wisconsin, and in 1837 was appointed surveyor-general of Wisconsin and Iowa, a position which he held during Mr. Van Buren’s administration, and resigned in 1841. He has since been known as General Ellis, he disowning any mil- itary record. “General” George W. Jones, since United States senator from Iowa, succeeded him as surveyor-general. In 1842 and 1843 we again find Mr. Ellis in the territorial legislature, and soon afterward he became sub-Indian agent of the district of Green Bay, serv- ing in that capacity till he resigned in 1848. In 1853 he was appointed receiver of the land office at Stevens Point, having left his old home at Green Bay in 1852, after thirty long years’ residence there, and where he had started the “ Green Bay Intelligencer ” just twenty years before becoming receiver. There he held the office of receiver until 1862, when, the republicans being in power, another was appointed in his place, he having always been, and still being, a democrat. In December, 1852, he established “The Pinery,” a political paper now conducted by Caleb Swayze. General Ellis has been a liberal contributor to the volumes of the Wisconsin Historical Society, and his writings are among its rich treasures. His “ Fifty- four Years’ Recollections of Men and Events in Wis- consin ” are full of interest and of great value. He joined the Protestant Episcopal church in his native town in 1820, and has always been a consist- ent member of the same. In 1853, at Stevens Point, one of his first steps was to see that a church of his order was erected, and he is now senior warden of this religious body. General Ellis has had two wives. The first was Miss Pamela Holmes, of Winfield, Herkimer coun- ty, New York, to whom he was married in 1824. She lived at Green Bay from 1824 to 1847, when she died, leaving four sons and one daughter; one son and the daughter have since died. Hon. E. H. Ellis, the eldest son, is judge of the tenth judicial circuit, and resides at Green Bay; Fred. S. Ellis, late mayor of Green Bay, is now treasurer of Brown county, and R. F. C. Ellis is a citizen of Rochester, New York ; Orange R. Ellis died at Milwaukee three years ago. The second wife of General Ellis was Eliza C. J. C. Breuninger, a native of Stuttgard, Germany. Their marriage occurred in 1848. She died in November, 1872, leaving eight children, all girls, and all living with their venerated father. Her only son, Theodore, died two years before her demise. 353 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. It will be seen that General Ellis has held many positions of trust and honor in what is now the State of Wisconsin, and he left every one of them with an untarnished record. No person could be more faithful than he was in the discharge of his obliga- tions to the public. He has lived a pure, remark- ably industrious and eminently praiseworthy life, and has left the impress of a character that shall always shine brightly in the history of his adopted State. SANFORD A. HUDSON, JANES VILLE. T HE subject of this sketch was born at Oxford, Worcester county, Massachusetts, May 16, 1817, and is the son of Amos Hudson and Mary nee Fisk. The genealogy of his father’s family has not been carefully preserved, but it is claimed that he is descended from the same ancestry as the great navigator and explorer, Hendrick Hudson ; while on the mother’s side he is descended from Richard Haven, who immigrated from England and settled in Lynn, Massachusetts, about the year 1644. His maternal grandfather, Dr. Daniel Fisk, was one of the leading physicians of his county and a man of considerable prominence. From a published gene- alogy of the descendants of the above-named Rich- ard Haven, and embracing some eight or nine degrees of consanguinity and upward of thirty thousand persons, the descent of our subject from this common ancestor is thus traced : “ Sanford A. Hudson, son of Mary Fisk, daughter of Daniel Fisk, son of Isaac Fisk, son of Hannah Haven, daughter of Richard Haven, son of Moses Haven, son of (the original) Richard Haven.” In the first edition of the work referred to, which was published in 1843, there occur the names of some twenty-five gradu- ates by the name of Haven, from this ancestor, from Cambridge, Dartmouth, Providence and Amherst colleges, and twenty-nine in the same line of other names from Cambridge, Dartmouth, Providence, Amherst, Yale, Union and Middlebury colleges, while the descendants of this distinguished patri- arch under various names embrace many prominent citizens in every department of industry, science and art in every State in the Union and of Canada. The consideration of the above facts leads us to indulge in a line of thought but little, in proportion to its interesting and important nature, pursued or carried out. The Arabians are much more practi- cal about the genealogical tables of their horses than man, the heir of immortality, is about the names of the sires from whom he has sprung. Be it remem- bered that every man must have two grandfathers, four great-grandfathers, eight great-great-grandfath- ers, and that not less than sixteen in the male line had a share in his paternity in the fourth generation. Thus paternity involves increase according to the laws of geometrical progression, and the ancestors of the humblest in the land twenty generations up would outnumber the population of a large-sized kingdom. But how few are there who know or care anything about these things? We believe, however, that the century upon which we are now entering will witness a marked change in this respect, and that in the coming time every birth will be made matter of record, and men will see as clearly as in the genealogy of the Saviour how many heroes, like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the good King Hezekiah, had a share in leading to the birth of the great and good — the leaders of the world. There never was in this world a great, good man that could not have traced his name and his fame to worth in the ancestral line. “The seed of evil- doers shall never be renowned,” is a Scriptural oracle, and never was there a truly good man that did not found a dynasty, though he may not have lived to see it glorified. In the people of this great nation the virtues and powers of the whole earth seem to be represented ; hence there may be en- tailed upon this magnificent continent of ours bless- ings derived from confluent streams of worth that shall change this earth into a paradise. To return to the subject before us. The father of our subject inherited a small fortune, which he invested in a cotton manufactory at Oxford, which proved unprofitable. He afterward immigrated with his family (our subject being then but three years old) to Jefferson county, New York, which was at that day considered “ the far West,” and though al- most entirely without capital he engaged in the manu- facture of scythes, and built up in the woods what was named the “ Sandy Creek Factory.” 1 his he THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 359 conducted with moderate success for nine years, when he died, leaving a widow and seven children — two older and three younger than our subject, who was then twelve years of age. The business had become embarrassed, and the losses incident to the settling up of the estate left nothing for the family. His eldest brother, then twenty years of age, continued the business, and Sanford worked with him, and learned the trade of edged-tool mak- ing, and ultimately that of general blacksmith ing. The former married early and soon had a family of his own to maintain. Hence the support of the mother and younger children mainly devolved upon our subject, so that but few educational advantages were enjoyed by him. Prior to the death of his father he attended the common schools during the winter months, and after that event, when about six- teen years of age, spent two terms at Union Acad- emy, Belleville. This constituted the sum total of his schooling. By the study of such books as he could procure, however, he was able, at the age of twenty, to pass a competitive examination for the position of school teacher, and for several years taught a district school numbering about one hun- dred pupils with considerable credit. The disci- pline which this occupation afforded was of the greatest benefit to his own mind, while it afforded a much coveted opportunity of aiding in the educa- tion of his twin-brothers, two years younger than himself. After aiding them to the best of his ability, he defrayed their expenses to New York city, where they were apprenticed to the steel engraving busi- ness, in which they made considerable progress ; but their career in this line was interrupted by the mon- etary revulsions which made the year 1837 memor- able. Thrown out of employment they again looked to their brother, who now resolved to aid them in the study of medicine. He continued to work at his trade and to teach school occasionally, and by this means was enabled also to support his mother, who resided with him till her death in 1856. His brothers graduated with honor at Albany Medical College in 1847, and have since become distin- guished in their profession. One of them, Abishu S., was at one time a professor in the Keokuk (Iowa) Medical College, and afterward, about the year 1852, filled the chair of obstetrics and diseases of women in Rush Medical College, Chicago, Illinois. They were both surgeons in the army during the late war, and are now residing on the Pacific slope. Thus absorbed in the interests of others he had no time to plan or make calculations for his own future, and probably never would have bethought him of a profession for himself but for an accident which happened to him in 1846, while working at his trade in Sacket’s Harbor, New York, by which one of his hands became permanently injured. Un- able further to pursue his trade or to perform any manual labor, he followed the advice of friends, who rightly judged of the instincts of his mind, and be- gan the study of law, entering the law office of Dyer N. Burnham, Esq., at Sacket’s Harbor. He was admitted to the bar in 1848, after being examined with a class of sixteen, half of whom were rejected. It was with much hesitancy and embarrassment that he entered upon the practice of his profession, for although his attainments in the science of jurispru- dence were not inferior to the average of incipient attorneys, yet he felt keenly his lack of education, and regarded it as little less than presumption and folly on his part to attempt to compete with learned and cunning members of the profession. He formed a partnership with John R. Bennett, Esq., now a res- ident of Janesville, who had been a fellow-student with him in the office of Mr. Burnham, and who had been admitted to the bar a few months previously, and to whom he cheerfully acknowledges a debt of gratitude for valuable assistance willingly rendered in his studies. In the autumn of the same year (1848) they re- solved to remove to the West. They had never heard of Janesville before leaving New York, but during the journey they heard it highly spoken of as a promising village in the interior of Wisconsin. The place fully met their expectations, and has since been their home. They arrived in time to participate in the presidential canvass which was then at its height, and in a number of able speeches Mr. Hudson supported the whig candidate — Gen- eral Taylor — for the Presidency, and his old friend, Orsumus Cole, formerly of New York, then the whig candidate for congress in southern Wisconsin. After the campaign was ended the partners commenced to practice, and continued together, enjoying a large and increasing clientage, until 1852, when they dis- solved, Mr. Hudson purchasing the interest of his partner in their library. He has since continued the practice alone; and, notwithstanding the diffi- culties referred to above, he has achieved a success and popularity in his profession which has fallen to the lot of but few men. As a lawyer he is sound and conscientious, laborious and painstaking, ex- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 36° hausting every resource in the interest of his clients ; while in every relation of life his integrity and hon- esty are conspicuous. Amiable in disposition, social in manners, kind and courteous to everybody, he is, in every respect, such a citizen as any community may well delight to honor. From an early period of his life Mr. Hudson took a lively interest in political matters. As early as 1844, when Henry Clay was the whig candidate for President, he engaged actively in his support in New York State, and on several occasions, in com- pany with Hon. Orsumus Cole — now of the su- preme court of Wisconsin — addressed large public meetings. In 1845, when the legislature of New York submitted to a vote of the people the question of licensing the sale of intoxicating liquors, he took an earnest and active part on the negative side of the question, and with very considerable effect. Since then he has been a staunch and uncompro- mising advocate of total abstinence. In 1853 the town of Janesville obtained a city charter, and our subject was elected the first attor- ney of the new corporation. In the preceding year he had been nominated by the whig party for the position of prosecuting attorney for the county of Rock, but was not elected. In 1856 the city obtained an amendment to its charter establishing a city court having jurisdiction over all criminal and city prosecutions; over this Mr. Hudson was elected to preside. In 1858 he was elected mayor of Janesville, and held that office two years. In 1863 he was again elected presiding magistrate of the city court, and held the office seven years consecutively and two years at a subse- quent period, in all nine years. Since then he has devoted himself exclusively to his profession, prac- ticing before the State and United States courts, being also a United States court commissioner. In politics he was originally a whig, and subse- quently a republican. His first vote was cast for General Harrison in 1840, and his last was for Gen- eral Hayes in 1876. He was one of the organizers of the republican party in Wisconsin, and has acted with it ever since. He was raised in the communion of the Presbyte- rian church, of which his parents were members, but in 1853 he became a member of the Trinity Prot- estant Episcopal Church of Janesville, and has been one of its wardens for the last twenty-two years. On the 13th of October, 1847, he was married to Miss Sarah D., daughter of John M. Canfield, Esq., of Sacket’s Harbor, New York. They have five children. The eldest son, Theodore C., graduated at Racine College in the class of 1873, and is now receiving a theological education with a view to the ministry of the Protestant Episcopal church, in which he expects to take orders during the current year (1877). The others are Frances S., Harriet J., Sanford H. and Sarah C. In reviewing his life, Mr. Hudson’s main cause of regret is that he had not early given himself to study and secured a thorough education; for although he has, in a great measure, overcome this disadvantage and attained to a most enviable eminence in his profession, yet his lack of a classical education has often been to him a cause of much mortification and embarrassment. JOHN CHRISTOPHER CLARKE, WA USA U. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of North Wales, was born on the Isle of Anglesea, Febru- ary 17, 1831. His parents were William Clarke and Mary Ann nee Burwell. The Burwells are an ancient and highly respectable family, and trace their history back to the invasion of England by the Normans in the eleventh century. The name originated thus : A Sir John, having encamped with his followers near a well where was an abundance of burrs, was called “John the burr well.” The mother of our subject, a true and noble woman, lost her husband in North Wales in 1838, and hence had the early and almost exclusive training of her children, nine in number. His grandfather came to this country in 1820, and sleeps in Trinity Churchyard, New York city. John C. came to the United States with a brother- in-law and sister, Mrs. Davey, when he was fourteen years old, having prior to that time enjoyed good educational advantages, closing with six months attendance at a mechanics’ institute in Liverpool, England. He accompanied his relatives to Blue Mound, Dane county, Wisconsin, in June, 1845; THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. but not being pleased with his situation, in Septem- ber following, went to what is now Cross Plains, and worked three months as a chore-boy for Colonel George R. C. Floyd, at that time secretary of Wis- consin Territory, receiving a compensation of three dollars per month. At the end of this time, without a dollar in his pocket, he went northward into Por- tage, now Marathon county, to Big Ball Falls, now Wausau. There he was for a short time engaged as cook in a logging shanty, at advanced wages; he subsequently worked in saw-mills, and running on the river; and finally as a hired man became a pilot, sometimes receiving as high as fifty dollars a day — a handsome advance on his wages at the start, with the government official at Cross Plains. In 1855 Mr. Clarke began to operate on his own responsibility, buying lumber and shipping it to St. Louis. In the spring of i860, he rented Mr. Wal- rod’s mill property, and four years later purchased the same, and still owns it, with numerous and large accessions. In 1874 he sold his whole property for a large sum, but the bargain was finally revoked and he still operates his mills. He has large tracts of pine and other timbered and farm lands, besides a fine farm one mile from Wausau, and other property, all of which he has accumulated by careful, enter- prising, honorable and energetic effort. Soon after Marathon county was organized Mr. Clarke was elected county clerk, but declined to act ; 361 he held the office of sheriff in i860 and 1861 ; was chairman of the board of supervisors five years, and has been a member of the council most of the time since Wausau had a city charter. He is a prompt and very efficient man, whether acting officially or in his private capacity. In politics he has always been a democrat, and is among the leaders of that party in his county. He was a delegate to the national con- vention which met at St. Louis in June, 1876. Mr. Clarke is an attendant of the Episcopal church, and a liberal supporter of the gospel. He is very kind to the poor, and takes special delight in help- ing those who would help themselves. He has had two wives. The first was Miss Ann M. Gibson, of England, to whom he was married in September, 1853, and who died that same year. The second was Miss Rhoda J. Putnam, of Sycamore, Illinois. She has had eleven children, four of whom are now living. Having been for more than thirty years a resident of Wausau, Mr. Clarke has seen it grow up from the rough beginnings of a village to a city of four thousand inhabitants, with fine churches and school-houses, elegant and almost imposing man- sions, and all the indications of wealth, civilization and refinement; and few men have done more than he to make Wausau what it is. The deep impress of his hand is on all public improvements. He him- self has one of the finest residences and most at- tractive homes in Wausau. GEORGE H. MYERS, APPLETON. T HE subject of this biography is a native of Middletown, Delaware county, New York. His father, Samuel Myers, was a farmer. The maiden name of his mother was Rachel Austin. His pater- nal grandfather, a Hessian, came to this country in the British army. He was captured with General Burgoyne, but made his escape while the prisoners were on their way to Boston. Going into New York State he worked awhile, intending to return to the old world when the captured army should be released and sent home, but finally settled on a farm in 1 )el- aware county, where he remained until his demise. Samuel Myers moved to Erie county, Pennsylva- nia, in 1828, and settled on a farm four miles from Waterford. George Henry, our subject, worked on the farm 4 2 until about his twentieth year, and then spent about three years at academies in Waterford and Erie. He afterward studied law with Hon. John H. Gal- braith (afterward district judge in northwestern Pennsylvania), and was admitted to the bar at Erie in May, 1849. On the nth of the next October he opened a law office in Appleton, Wisconsin, then a village of about three hundred inhabitants. He was the first lawyer who settled in Outagamie county, and when it was organized, in the spring of 1852, he was elected district attorney for the short term of nine months. Subsequently, he held the office two years more. In April, 1861, he was elected county judge, and resigned the office in February, 1865 ; and going into the army as adjutant of the 50th Regiment Wisconsin Infantry, served six months, and then re- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 362 signed. Prior to enlisting he was draft commissioner a short time, under appointment of Governor Solo- mon. He was postmaster for eight years, commenc- ing in August, 1868. In politics he was formerly a whig, and later a republican. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and one of the trustees of that society, in Appleton. His Christian integrity is above suspicion. August 25, 1852, Judge Myers was married to Miss Betsey Ann Hawley, of Liberty, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania. They have had two children, one of whom, a daughter, eight years old, is now living. The offices which Judge Myers has held, only part of which have been named, were mostly in the line of his profession, and were urged upon him. He is a lawyer, and wishes to be known as such, and such only. He has a large and very valuable law library, and is a diligent student, and a growing man in the legal fraternity, and stands in the front rank in his county and circuit. Those who have long and intimately known him, say that he never encour- ages a person to go to law unless that person, in his judgment, has a clear case. The Judge is modest, unassuming, courteous — in every respect a Christian gentleman, and is highly esteemed for his many good qualities. SAMUEL BROWN, MIL TVA UK EE. S AMUEL BROWN was born at Belchertown, Hampshire county, Massachusetts, on the 8th of January, 1804. His father died when he, the eldest son, was but eight years old. An older sister and two children younger than himself were thus thrown largely upon him for support and care. The same uncomplaining readiness to assume burdens which marked all his later life was characteristic of his boyhood. He was “a boy who took responsi- bility,” says of him one who was acquainted with his years of boyhood. From the time of his father’s death, until at the age of eighteen he left the early homestead to learn a trade, he worked much with an uncle who, in return for the boy’s labor, helped largely to carry on the widowed mother’s farm. At the age of fifteen, Samuel Brown became a Christian, and by so early a conversion there was secured to him nearly sixty years of activity in Christ’s service. He and his sister older than him- self, after being propounded for two months, as was then the custom, united with the church at the com- munion in May, 1819. Since the father’s death it had been the custom of the godly mother to gather her children every day and read the Bible and pray with them in family devotion. One morning, soon after his conversion, when the mother, having read as usual, closed the book and kneeled down to pray, the son said : “ Mother, shall I not take the lead now?” After that time the boy Samuel took the lead in the family devotions. The same unassum- ing readiness to speak in any proper place and time for Christ remained with him till his death. At the age of twenty-two he was married to Miss Dougherty, who some two years subsequently died, leaving her husband with a daughter for his care and love. At the time of his wife’s funeral he was himself too ill to attend, the same fever which car- ried her away having brought him, after running a course of more than forty days, into the very mouth of the grave. In 1831 he united with a colony and a colony church at Northampton, intending with them to set- tle himself at Bureau Grove, now Princeton, Illinois, But God had marked with his eye a more important place for him, where afterward a northern city was to grow up, and therefore turned aside the steps of his migratory child. Mr. Brown arrived in northern Ohio too late to take the canal, now frozen up for the winter, and so from Toledo he moved further north and west to St. Joseph, Michigan. Here he buried his wife, whom as Miss Lyman he had mar- ried in South Hadley, and with her her only child. After nearly two years of stay in Michigan he re- moved in August, 1833, to Chicago and began work as builder. The first Tremont House in that city was erected by him. The same spirit of fidelity which characterized his Christian living made excel- lent his work with plane, hammer and saw. His good workmanship secured for him the title of Cap- tain Brown. It was about January 1, 1835, that a letter from Mr. Brown reached Troy, New York. In this letter he wrote that he had been up to see a place called Milwaukee, liked it, and should go there to settle. fm XZ<7 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 365 It was a new place, he added, and he intended to stay and grow up with the place. That place, then new, grew to a city of a hundred thousand, while the man, then in the vigor of thirty, was grow- ing to the gray hairs and ripened manhood of a Christian at seventy. Of no other man in the city can it be so truly said, “ he has grown up with the city.” A short time previous to the sending of this letter Mr. Brown, in company with Mr. Chase, had come to Milwaukee, they two thus being the oldest settlers, and neither knowing who was the first to step off the gang-plank of the steamer. In order to locate his claim, he built upon the land he intended to preempt, on the hill above Vliet street, between Second and Third streets, a house eleven feet by thirteen in dimensions, with one room, made of logs and covered with “ shake ” shingles — oak shingles, four feet long, bound down with poles, which were withed to the logs of the house. In this house lived for a time the first American family among the set- tlers of this city. Into this house he brought the wife whom he had married in Chicago, who with him has seen all these vast changes, and who now survives to mourn her husband. In those early years of his residence here Mr. Brown engaged actively in work as a master builder, sometimes employing as many as twenty men. When, in the summer of 1837, at a meeting held in the court-house, a church was formed by the Rev. Mr. Ordway, and it was decided by vote that the church should be Presbyterian, Deacon Brown, though by conviction and training a Congregation- alist, was chosen one of its first elders. His long experience as a master builder made him a man of affairs, and led him to take a lively interest in all that tended to advance the prosperity of the place. He has been the friend of education in this city, having served long and well as school commissioner. He has been the friend of the poor, especially of that little circle of tenants which in later years has been gathered upon his land about his own door. He was the friend of the slave. He was a man of marked Christian simplicity. In all the best meaning of those words, he had the heart of a child. When he spoke he meant just as he spoke it, and for Christ’s sake. He was a man of marked fidelity as a Christian, and his was a fidelity which went through the entire life. This city, though comparatively few of its thousands knew him per- sonally, has good reason to deplore his loss, for his hand planted many of the first seeds that have ripened into the fruits of these score of Christian churches. He gave some ten years of his life to the con- struction of the La Crosse railroad, and was one of the directors. He was a member of the city coun- cil of Milwaukee some four years, and was a mem- ber of the legislative assembly of Wisconsin one year. In whatever capacity he acted he brought industry and zeal to accomplish the end in view, and was generally successful. In all the relations of life, as citizen, husband, father and friend, he commanded the respect and won the esteem of all who knew him. He died full of years and of hon- ors, after a well-spent life here and in full faith of the life to come. REV. THEOPHILU: JANES T HE subject of this sketch was born at Lynn, Massachusetts, January 14, 1841. His father, the Rev. T. P. Sawin, a minister in the same com- munion, is now preaching in the “ Church on the Green ” in Middleboro’, Massachusetts, and is one of the most distinguished and useful divines of the period. His mother, Martha McIntyre Mason, a woman of culture, yet especially domestic in her nature, is the daughter of a revolutionary soldier, — Frederick Mason, — who was a participant in the battle of Saratoga and a witness of the surrender of Burgoyne at Yorktown. Mr. Sawin is a scion of S P. SAWIN, Junior, ville. one of the oldest families in Massachusetts, his ances- tors having come over from Lancashire, England, in 1632, and settled in Boston. He received a good elementary education from his father, and prepared for college at Meriden, New Hampshire. Like many of the sons of New England ministers, he was early thrown upon his own re- sources, and was obliged to work his own way to an education. Prior to entering college he served as a clerk for two years in the counting room of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, in Manchester, New Hampshire. In i860 he entered Yale College, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DIC TIONART. 366 where he remained two years, being amongst the most advanced of his class, and developing rare traits as a student. At the end of this period, how- ever, his college career was prematurely brought to a close by want of means to proceed ; and when this difficulty was met, a serious attack of illness, followed by nervous prostration, prevented the completion of his course. On his recovery he accepted a position in the Mount Washington Collegiate Institute, New York city, where for two years he taught Belles-Let- tres and history. In the winter of r 864-5 h e was engaged in literary labor which brought him to the West. He located at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and after some time spent in literary and reportorial work, he accepted a situation in the Milwaukee Classical Academy, where for six years he taught Latin and the higher mathematics. During the last named period he employed his spare time in the study of theology, paying attention also to philoso- phy, literature and criticism. He was active in the Young Men’s Library Association, and served at various times on the board of directors of that or- ganization. In 1871 he determined to follow the bent of his inclinations, and, without ever having attended a theological seminary or receiving any private direc- tion in his studies, applied to the Milwaukee district convention of Congregational ministers for examina- tion and license to preach the gospel. He passed a successful examination and was granted an unlim- ited approbation to preach. In October of that year he accepted a call to the pastorate of the First Con- gregational Church in Racine, Wisconsin, and was ordained to the ministry December 1, 1871. Here he served four years with great acceptance and suc- cess, when he accepted a call to the pastorate of the First Congregational Church of Janesville, one of the largest congregations of that denomination in the Sftate, and was installed in June, 1876. His religious views are such as are usually held by the Congregationalists, although he confines himself to no set system, but walks freely on a “broad gauge.” As an orator his style is marked by elocutionary exactness, not strainedly so, but pleasing. His ideas are of the same model, — well considered and grace- ful ; his expression and his argument are appre- hended at once, for the vigor of his mind and the culture of his mode are both akin and sympathetic. He takes hold of ministerial labor with the hearty relish and abandon of a boy at a game of foot-ball, but systematizes his work like an experienced man of business — his previous occupation having done more to fit him for the duties of a pastor than a reg- ular course of theological study could have done. It has given him a practical knowledge of human nature and of the world with which he has to deal, which could not have been otherwise obtained, and which are invaluable to the Christian worker. He is well read in modern science and general literature, and while his mind is impartially open for the recep- tion of every new truth, even though it may conflict with preconceived opinions. In style he is clear, terse and vigorous, thinking more of the matter than of the manner of his re- marks. Rhetoric is his servant, rather than his mas- ter. How best to express the thought so as to carry conviction, is his great aim. He wastes no time on exordiums or perorations, but goes at once to the lesson to be enforced, and stops when he has done. He is intensely individual; has never been run in a mould, and never will be. He has sufficient masculine combativeness to contend valiantly for truth, freedom and righteousness; and yet too much geniality to be disagreeably pugnacious. He is a perfect illustration of a sound mind in a sound body His physical development is now so strong and vig- orous that it is difficult to believe that he could ever have been a sufferer from nervous prostration, so full of fresh, hearty, cheerful vitality is he. A man of warm sympathies, genial nature, broad charity, and independent vigorous thought, he is well calculated to meet the wants of the congregation of to-day, which cares more for duty than dogma, for common sense than for abstruse metaphysical polemics. He is eminently practical, believing that “faith without works is dead,” and preferring works to faith where he cannot have both. He has no place in his con- gregation for lazy Christians. He possesses large magnetic powers, a quality which is due to his super- abundant vitality, ready sympathy and breadth of thought, by which he is able to enter into the feel- ings of people of widely different character and habits. He is social alike with old and young, and possesses in a high degree the rare capacity of adapt- ing himself to different natures, and winning the affections and confidence of all. He is still in the full vigor and freshness of youthful enthusiasm; phys- ically and mentally developing a strong, healthy manhood, his spiritual nature as yet less fully devel- oped than his intellectual, the discipline of sorrow having not yet been experienced by him; but his heart is so sunny that when it comes it will ripen, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 3 6 7 mellow and sweeten, rather than embitter and blight its rich fruitage. With abundant ready resources and a solid educational basis, together with that moral fibre that is begotten of a Pilgrim strain, — -all stimulated by that energy which onty a western life can give, right energetically is he proving and estab- lishing the validity of his calling. He takes radical grounds in politics, being a firm republican, having inherited an abhorrence of the institution of human slavery. He is also very much interested in the work of education. Has been appointed lecturer before the normal institutions of the State, and is at present (1877) one of the board of visitors of the Normal School at Whitewater. On September 28, 1864, he was married to Miss Emeline Theresa Ferroll, a native of England, and a descendant of Christopher K. Ferroll, who traces her lineage to Spanish origin. They have one child, a daughter, named Cara Angenette, born February 19, 1876. SAMUEL S. JUDD, M.D., JANES VILLE. S AMUEL S. JUDD was born in Bethel, Fair- field county, Connecticut, March 14, 1828, and is the son of Samuel Judd and Anna nee Barnum, a cousin of P. T. Barnum, the celebrated showman of Bridgeport, Connecticut. This branch of the Judd family is descended from the original Thomas Judd, who came from England in 1634, and settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he became a very influential gentleman, and for twenty-two years held a seat in the colonial chamber of deputies. The father of our subject, Samuel Judd, was a carpenter and joiner by trade, but in middle life turned his attention to farming, at which he was quite success- ful. He was a man of sterling worth and great amiability of character, and gave all his children the best education which the district schools and neighboring academies afforded. He was a mem- ber and an active worker in the Protestant Episcopal church, and brought up his family in that faith. He filled many local offices of honor and trust, and was highly respected as a citizen. Samuel S. Judd attended the district school until he was twelve years of age, after which he was sent to an academy at Coldspring, near West Point, New York, where he remained two years, boarding with his maternal uncle Starr Barnum. After this he re- moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he spent several years at an academy and collegiate institute, clerking in his cousin’s store mornings and evenings to pay for his board and lodging. On the 1 st of September, 1846, he removed to West Greenville, Pennsylvania, and entered the office of an elder brother, Dr. F. H. Judd, as a student of medicine. He remained there until the winter of 1848, when he entered the medical college of Cincinnati, Ohio, and attended a course of lec- tures. In the spring following he removed to Wells- ville, Virginia, where he taught writing and arith- metic for some time, to earn money with which to continue his medical studies. In October of the same year (1849) he placed himself under the in- struction of Dr. Wm. Payne, of Warren, Ohio, enter- ing into partnership with him in the practice of medicine. He remained with Dr. Payne until August, 1852, being by this time well versed in the science of medicine. Thence he returned to West Greenville, Mercer county, Pennsylvania, and formed a partnership with his brother, Dr. F. H. Judd, both in the drug business and in the practice of medicine, the latter having at that time an exten- sive practice. Here he remained for two years, attaining to great popularity and usefulness in his profession ; but as yet he was neither a graduate of a medical college nor authorized to practice medi- cine by any constituted authority. Feeling the anomaly of his position he sold out his interests in Greenville, removed to Gustavus, Ohio, where he opened an office, and during the winter of 1856-7 attended lectures at the Cincinnati Medical College, from which he graduated with the degree of M.D. on the 7th of February, 1857, being the first of a class of one hundred and thirty students. He con- tinued his practice in Gustavus and soon gained a leading rank in the profession throughout the coun- ty, being often called to consultations as far as fifty miles distant. He enjoyed the reputation of being the most skillful and active practitioner of the coun- try. His practice, however, became so extensive and laborious that his health became impaired, and after some efforts at recuperation he finally resolved THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 368 to settle in Janesville, Wisconsin, where he had stopped on one occasion and became charmed with the salubrity and beauty of the climate and country. Accordingly on the ist of September, 1864, he re- moved his family to the Badger State and located in the town which has since been his home. He had been quite successful in his previous ten years’ prac- tice, and therefore did not come empty-handed to Janesville. He purchased for himself one of the most pleasant and commodious homes in the city, and in the spring of 1865 opened an office and at once entered upon a large and lucrative practice amongst the best families of the city and surround- ing country. Dr. Judd is a man of medium size, open and frank countenance, of very refined manners and pre- possessing appearance. His social qualities are of the highest order, he has an easy and graceful bearing, and ready and entertaining conversational powers, and is always an agreeable and welcome guest. He possesses not only the faculty of making friends, but the still rarer one of retaining them. Although somewhat positive and fixed in his opin- ions, he is generous and tolerant of the views of others, and what is remarkable in a leading physi- cian, he is held in the highest esteem by the rest of the profession. Notwithstanding his flattering suc- cess and great popularity, he is yet modest and unassuming, acknowledging and appreciating the talents of others. He is a keen observer, a close analyzer, a logical and incisive reasoner ; in short, a success in his profession. Since his settlement in Janesville he has taken a deep interest in everything pertaining to the material prosperity of the place, and has sometimes been honored by his fellow-citizens with positions of trust and responsibility. He is at present a member of the board of aldermen, having been nominated on the republican ticket and returned by the largest majority ever given by the party to any candidate in his ward. He was an original stockholder and a charter member of the Janesville Cotton-Mill Com- pany. He is a Master Mason, and has passed through the chairs of Odd-Fellowship. In ecclesiastical relationship he conforms to the Protestant Episcopal church, of which he is a mem- ber. He was elected and commissioned surgeon of the 2d Ohio Cavalry soon after the outbreak of the late war, but owing to ill-health was unable to follow his regiment to the field. He has been twice married : On the 6th of August, 1850, to Miss Juliett C. Young, daughter of Warren Young, Esq., of Warren, Ohio, a gentleman who has held for many years a prominent position in the pension bureau at Washington, District of Columbia. By this lady he has had three children, two of whom survive, namely : William Henry, born November 29, 1853, and Clara Ann, born October 1, 1858. The son is a jeweler and doing business in Clinton, Wisconsin, and is a young man of much promise, while the daughter is being carefully edu- cated for future usefulness and honor. He was again married on the ist of February, 1870, to Miss Helen M. Doland, of Rushford, New York, a lady of very superior accomplishments, and es- pecially noted as an artist, her paintings having often been awarded first prizes at State fairs. She was for several years a professor of drawing and painting in an eastern academy. LUCIEN S. HANKS, MADISON. L UCIEN S. HANKS, cashier of the State Bank at Madison, was born at Hartford, Connecticut, May 8, 1838. His father is Lucien B. and his mother Mary D. Hanks. His great-grandfather, Colonel Benjamin Hanks, born at Mansfield, Con- necticut, September, 1755, established himself in the clock and watch business at Litchfield, Connecticut, in 1778, and while carrying on his business there contracted for and put up the first town-clock in the city of New York, on the old Dutch Church, Nassau and Liberty street, now the New York city post- office. The clock was unique, having a wind-mill attachment for winding itself up. In 1785 he re- turned to Mansfield and established the bell and bronze cannon founding business, where he cast the first church bells and bronze cannon in this country. This business, so happily inaugurated by Colonel Benjamin Hanks, has been continued by his sons, grandsons and nephews, with continued success to the present time. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 369 Lucien S. Hanks receiving a common-school edu- cation entered the Mount Washington Institute in 1850, and graduated in 1854. His education was chiefly of a practical and business character. How well it was adapted to its ultimate end, is best illus- trated by the uniform success he has achieved. He came to Wisconsin in 1854 and accepted a clerkship in the Bank at Janesville, which he held until i860, when he removed to Madison and became teller in the State Bank of Madison. In 1864 he was elected cashier, which position he now holds. His business transactions, methodical habits, general intelligence, strict integrity and urbane manners prove him to be no degenerate son of his highly respectable and hon- orable forefathers. He married on the 19th of June, 1867, Sybil Per- kins, niece of the late Mrs. Samuel Marshall. She was educated at the convent of the Sacred Heart, Montreal, Canada, and is a Roman Catholic in re- ligion. He is an Episcopalian in religion, republican in politics, respectable in all things. WADSWORTH G. WHEELOCK, JANES VILLE. T HE subject of this biography, a native of Hinesburgh, Chittenden county, Vermont, was born February 12, 1835, and is the son of John and Lucrecia (Washburn) Wheelock, and traces his de- scent in a direct line from Ralph Wheelock, who immigrated from England to America in the year 1637, and settled in Watertown, Massachusetts. Peter Wheelock, one of the intermediate links of the chain of lineage, was one of the first settlers of Vermont, and drew his baggage thither on a hand- sled. Since then the family has become numerous and influential, and some of its members distin- guished. They have been noted as devout and exemplary members of the church of the Pilgrim Fathers, to which many of them still adhere, having carried branches of it from the granite hills of New England which have taken root and flourished in the more genial soil of the western*prairies. Our subject received a fair academic education at the literary institutions of Hinesburgh, Jericho and Morrisville, Vermont, but, like many another New England youth, was dependent upon his own efforts for support while pursuing his studies. This he did by working on a farm a few months in the summer and teaching a district school (boarding around) during the winter months. At the age of fifteen he taught his first school at Elmore, Vermont, and the year following taught in Walden in the same State, where he had a school of sixty pupils, some of them quite large, and many pursuing the study of the higher mathematics. At the age of seventeen years he left his native State and settled in Boston, Massachusetts, where he obtained a situation in the establishment of Elisha Preston and Co., No. 6 Longwharf, wholesale dealers in West Indian goods, where he remained some three years, becoming not only an apt and accomplished business man, but earning for himself an enviable reputation as an honest, upright and efficient em- ploye. During his residence in the New England metropolis he was witness to some stirring events which made a lasting impression on his mind. Among these were the ovation given to the dis- tinguished Hungarian exile Kossuth, on Boston Common; the lectures of the world-renowned Ital- ian reformer and patriot, Father Gavatzi, on his first visit to America; several speeches of Daniel Webster in Faneuil Hall ; the ovation given to the latter by the city of Boston after his failure to receive the whig nomination for the Presidency by the Baltimore con- vention in 1852, to which Boston had sent a thou- sand men to urge his claims upon the convention ; also the funeral of Webster at Marshfield in 1852; the capture and return of the fugitive slave, Anthony Burns, which was accomplished by the aid of several regiments of Massachusetts militia and a company of marines. The injustice and cruelty of this act not only intensified the abolition sentiment in the mind of our subject, but hastened the crisis in the history of this institution, which came upon the na- tion in less than ten years subsequently. While the gorgeous but humiliating pageant was passing down State street to the vessel, with the unfortunate victim of the then arrogant slave power in the center of a hollow square formed by marines with drawn cut- lasses, preceded and followed by artillery, frequent attempts were made by the enraged populace to res- cue the fugitive, which, though unavailing, showed THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY 3/0 clearly enough the light in which the transaction was viewed by the people of Boston. So demon- strative did they become that an order was given to charge with fixed bayonets and clear the streets, which was executed in front of the store of Mr. Wheelock’s employers, then No. 6 Longwharf, now a continuation of State street. In the melee that followed many of the windows of the houses were broken and much property destroyed. In 1S54 our subject followed the tide of immigra- tion to the West, and settled in Janesville, Wiscon- sin, where for a short time he clerked in the store of an elder brother, who had preceded him to the Badger State, and in 1855 he became the sole pro- prietor of the establishment, and has carried on the business with a faithfulness and skill which has found its reward in ample success. He has accumu- lated a liberal competence and possesses a comfort- able and happy home, and cherishes for himself and his family all the feelings and moral associations that belong to that blessed word. On the 10th of July, 1853, he was married to Miss Martha A. Trott, a charming and accomplished young lady of Boston. The union proved happy and they have grown up leaning upon each other, like the olive and the vine, bearing each other’s bur- dens, and thus fulfilling the law of love. They have a family of four boys, named in the order of their birth: Charles Edward, George Henry, Arthur * Washburn and Frank Wadsworth. The eldest is a graduate of the Janesville high school, and intends pursuing the business of merchandising; the others are now attending school. hi religious faith and connection Mr. Wheelock adheres to the church of his fathers, and is an active member of the Congregational Church of Janesville, contributing liberally of his means toward the sup- port of the gospel ministry and all the charitable and benevolent institutions of Christianity. He is a deacon of the church, and has been trustee and superintendent of the Sunday-school, a zealous member of the Young Men’s Christian Association, and an office-bearer in that most worthy order, the Sons of Temperance. In every relation of life his bearing and conversation are blameless and exem- plary. While he is unswerving in his loyalty to the church of his choice, lie is, nevertheless, charitable to all denominations of Christians. While his character is marked by a manly frank- ness and honesty on the one hand, it is not less dis- tinguished on the other by modesty and delicacy. In his gifts for religion or charity he lets not his left hand know his right hand’s doings; but his deeds are seen in the fruit which they bring to per- fection. His manners are quiet, dignified and courteous ; his heart is always warm, though he is rarely demonstrative. He is noted as a peace- maker, his word being generally an end of all con- troversy, and he is esteemed as one of the best and most useful citizens of Janesville. HON. AUGUSTUS L. SMITH, APPLETON. A ugustus ledyard smith, son of Au- . gustus W. Smith, LL.D., and Catharine R. nee Childs, is a native of Middletown, Connecticut, and was born April 5, 1833. His father was at one time president of the Wesleyan University of Mid- dletown, from which Augustus graduated in July, 1854. In the autumn of that year he removed to Madison, Wisconsin, and became a tutor of mathe- matics and the ancient languages in the State Uni- versity. He entered heartily into the work of teaching, for which he was admirably qualified, but at the end of two years, upon urgent solicitations, accepted the office of secretary and land commis- sioner of the Fox and Wisconsin River Improve- ment Company, and moved to Fond du Lac, and while in this position published the Fond du Lac “ Union.” In 1861 Mr. Smith went east, and being an ex- pert in mathematics his services were secured for about two years during the civil war in that depart- ment of the United States Naval Academy located at Newport, Rhode Island. In 1863 he returned to Wisconsin and settled permanently at Appleton, resuming his former position in the improvement company, which was reorganized in 1866, and took the name of the Green Bay and Mississippi Land Company. Mr. Smith retained his position as secre- tary, and also became treasurer of the corporation; and when, in 1866, its lands were sold to private parties he became their commissioner and agent. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 37 1 He is still (1877) acting in that capacity, and ex- hibits a degree of business tact, energy and enter- prise which have done much toward the success of the institution, and gained for him an enviable repu- tation. In 1870 Mr. Smith established the First National Bank of Appleton, and, becoming its president, still holds that position. It is a well-managed, strong and popular institution. In 1876 he erected the two-story brick post-office building as his “ Centennial ” contribution to the growth of Appleton. In 1866 he was elected State senator, and in the legislature, as in private matters, showed his great business capacities. Among the important measures in which he took a leading part was the reorganiza- tion of the State University, which was effected dur- ing the session of 1867. The committees on which he did the most and best work were education and incorporations. While still a member of the senate, in 1867, Gov. Fairchild appointed him regent of the State University, a position which he held for six years. He was mayor of Appleton in 1870, and has held other positions in the municipality of the city. He has fine executive capacities, and his services are highly appreciated in this adopted home ; hence, when in 1875 a Chamber of Commerce was organ- ized, he was placed at its head. He is one of the foremost men to suggest local public improvements, and a leader in starting and consummating them. The Appleton Iron Company was reorganized in 1876, and he was made its president. He takes equal pleasure in aiding to enrich and beautify the city, and in making his own home comfortable and inviting. He has a stately and elegant residence on the high bank of the Fox river, seventy feet above low water mark, with a verandah facing the stream which may be readily converted into a conserva- tory in the winter, with grounds tastily platted and adorned, and one of the finest views which the Fox River valley presents. He has fine literary tastes, and possesses a large, well-selected library and also many fine pictures, indices of culture, refinement and wealth. On October 30, i860, Mr. Smith was married to Miss Edna J. Taylor, then of Chicago, but previ- ously of Madison, Wisconsin. They have two sons, aged respectively fourteen and twelve years old, whom they are educating with great care. Mrs. Smith is a lady of much refinement, and in full sympathy with her husband in all his tastes and interests. Mr. Smith is a democrat in politics, but has many more personal friends than are included in party affiliations. He has great magnetic power, and when he runs for office runs to win, and never fails. In stature he is about five feet seven inches high, solidly built, and weighs one hundred and sixty-five pounds; he has dark brown eyes, a countenance expressive of firmness, very cordial manners, a gentlemanly deportment, a nervous, sanguine tem- perament, and all the bearing of an earnest, self- reliant business man. He is a regular attendant at the Congregational church, a trustee of the Lawrence University, a liberal contributor to religious societies and literary institutions, and warmly interested in every organ- ization or enterprise calculated to enhance the social, moral and intellectual, as well as material interests of the city of Appleton and the State of Wisconsin. LINUS B. BRAIN ARD, M.D., WAUPACA. T HE subject of this biography is the son of Sol- omon and Charity (Jaqua) Brainard, and was born in Boardman, Mahoning county, Ohio, October 30, 1805. Although past seventy years of age, he still conducts an extensive medical practice. His father enlisted in the war of 1812, and acted as a scout in Ohio, along the southern shore of Lake Erie, and served until disabled. Linus was raised on a farm, with very poor school privileges, until twenty years old. He then entered an academy at 43 Worthington, Ohio, but was compelled after a short time, by reason of illness, to leave. His father died soon afterward, and he being the eldest of ten chil- dren, the whole oversight of the farm fell on him, with very restricted means with which to operate. He had a difficult task, but performed it faithfully, until other members of the family were old enough to take upon themselves the responsibility. At the age of twenty-seven he began the study of medicine under private instruction, at Windham, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION AR T. O / - Portage county, and continued the same three years. After practicing awhile at Bedford, lie attended two courses of lectures at the medical college in Cleve- land, and took his degree about 1838. Continuing- in practice in Cleveland until 1845, he then removed to Wisconsin Territory. He tried the Fourierite sys- tem at Ceresco a short time, at the urgent request of President Parsons. After a few months he removed to Fox Lake, where he practiced six months and then went to Sheboygan and practiced three years. Having received the appointment of deputy collector of customs he removed to Green Bay, and acted in that capacity during President Fillmore’s adminis- tration, but being rotated out of office by President Pierce in 1853, he removed to Waupaca, where he still resides. In June, 1862, Dr. Brainard was appointed assist- ant surgeon to fill a vacancy in the 7th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers ; operated in the field until April, 1864, when, being unable to .follow the regi- ment in its marches, he was put on duty in the City Point Hospital, Virginia, where he remained until the close of the rebellion ; and after sojourning awhile in the eastern part of Maryland, returned to Waupaca. Dr. Brainard makes no specialty of any branch of the healing art, but has an excellent repu- tation, both as a medical practitioner and surgeon. In politics, he was a whig in early and middle life, with strong free-soil proclivities, and naturally grav- itated into the republican ranks, where he has been for twenty years. He is master of the Waupaca Union Grange, No. 332, and an earnest worker in the interests of that order. He lives on a farm one mile from the center of the city, but within the cor- poration limits. Mrs. Brainard was Miss Huldah R. Bradley, of Ravenna, Ohio. They were married November 13, 1839, and have had five children, of whom three, two sons and one daughter, are living. The eldest child, Charles Rollin, is married and is a lawyer, living in Boston, Massachusetts ; the other son, Linus Henry, lives at home ; the daughter, Alice Elvina, is the wife of David Odam, of Springfield, Illinois. Both physically and intellectually Dr. Brainard is a man of excellent parts. He is five feet ten and a half inches in height, and weighs two hundred and thirty pounds; his eyes are light blue; his hair is as white as the newly fallen snow ; his complexion is very ruddy, and the expression of his face indi- cates a well-wisher to his fellow-men. HENRY MIL WA H ENRY FRIEND, deceased, late of Milwaukee, was a native of Autenhousen, Bavaria. He was born December 13, 1821, the son of Louis and Helen Friend. His father was a man of rare busi- ness capacity, and his example exercised an impor- tant and beneficial influence upon the character and lives of his sons. His sons and daughters were Henry, Mayer, Elias, Isaac, Michael, Samuel, Eman- uel, Lewis, Eva, Regina — seven sons and two daugh- ters. Henry received a common-school education in his native country, and in 1840, accompanied by his brother Elias, sailed to America to seek his for- tune in the new world. They landed in New York, remaining there but six weeks, proceeded to Penn- sylvania, where, with varied and doubtful success, they remained three years and then proceeded to Alabama, remaining there also three years, when the climate affected the health of Henry so seriously as to compel their removal to a healthier region. The two brothers came to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, FRIEND, l UIC EE. engaged in the dry-goods and clothing business on East Water street. In 1848 their brother Mayer was received into the firm, which received the name of H. Friend and Brothers. Industry, integrity and gentle- manly deportment characterized the members of the firm and success crowned their efforts. Finding in 1868 that their increasing business required more ex- tensive accommodations, they removed to the present building on Broadway, now occupied by the firm. The business of the firm until 1854 was exclusively retail, but now a wholesale trade was commenced, still, however, continuing the merchant tailoring business. The number of hands then employed was one hundred. The amount of sales the first year was fifty thousand dollars. Their business increased steadily till 1869, when the number of employes reached four hundred, with a capital of four hundred thousand dollars. In 1874 the capital exceeded half a million of dollars. Thus has industry, integrity and gentlemanly de- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 375 portment been rewarded with wealth, honor and the esteem of the community in which the members of this firm reside. In political sentiment Henry Friend was a democrat until the war of 1861, since then an independent, never a zealous partisan. In 1850 he was married to Miss Frances Samuels of New York, and is the father of eleven children. In May, 1875, he, with his wife, went on a pleasure trip to Europe, and were lost on the ill-fated ship Schiller, near the Scilly Islands. Their bodies were found, embalmed, and sent to America. They were buried on the 2d of June, 1875, i’ 1 Greenwood Cemetery. Mr. Friend was a member of the Reformed Jewish church, believing in the common fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man. In him “death has loved a shining mark.” Ten of their surviving children reside in Milwaukee ; the eleventh, a daughter, is married to Mr. Solomon Friend, of New York. SYLVESTER MORGAN, JANES VILLE. S ylvester Morgan, one of the self-made men whose energy, talents and sterling princi- ples have done so much to develop the resources of the West and stamp a character upon her institu- tions, was born in the town of Scott, Courtland coun- ty, New York, January 10, 1828, and is the son of Horatio N. and Minerva (Hardy) Morgan, both of whom were natives of New York State, and of Eng- lish descent. He was early thrown upon his own resources by the death of his father, which occurred when Sylvester was three years old. His mother inherited but little means, and with three small chil- dren to provide for (the eldest a boy two years old, and the youngest a boy two years younger than our subject), was barely able to find bread for them. At the age of four years he commenced attending the district school, which he continued during the win- ter seasons until the age of seventeen, working in the summers to aid in support of the family. At this period he entered the Courtland Academy, a private educational establishment of a high grade, in which he remained for one year. In the autumn of 1846 he obtained a certificate authorizing him to teach a common school, and during the winter of 1846-7 taught the Homer School in Courtland county, New York. With the money he thus earned he continued his studies at Courtland Academy, and again taught in the winter of 1848-9. By earnest effort he be- came a fair English scholar and an expert mathema- tician, being a deep student of the exact sciences, algebra, geometry and trigonometry; to which was added a practical knowledge of chemistry. In 1849 he was elected superintendent of schools for the town of Scott, a position which he held for two years, also teaching during the winter months. His original intention was to prepare for the bar, a pro- fession for which he entertained a strong admiration, but his mother disapproving of his purpose, he aban- doned it, and devoted himself to agricultural pur- suits. In the month of April, 1852, he was married to Miss Sarah M., daughter of Rev. Henry Anthony, a Baptist clergyman of his neighborhood, and soon afterward settled upon a farm, to which he devoted his undivided attention for three years, with encour- aging results. Induced by the greater possibilities of the West, however, he made a prospecting visit to Wisconsin in the spring of 1854, and purchased a quarter-section of land in the town of Lema, Rock county, to which he removed his family in the au- tumn of the same year, and which has since been his home, “the wilderness and solitary place,” under the transforming power of his strong hand, guided by an artistic taste, having been made “ to rejoice and blossom as the rose.” In 1857 he was elected by his fellow-citizens to the position of justice of the peace, and since then he has never been a day with- out office; not that he was ambitious for public employment, but being a gentleman of more than ordinary capacity and education he was selected by his fellow-citizens to fill positions of trust and honor, the duties of which he always discharged in a manner that not only justified the wisdom of those who made the selection, but brought credit and honor to himself. In 1859 he was elected superin- tendent of schools for the town of Lema, a position which he held for two years. In 1865 he was elected chairman of the supervisors of his town. He was again elected to the same position in 1870, and re- elected five times in succession, holding that office six consecutive years, and in all seven years. He was elected president of the Lema Mutual Fire In- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 3/6 surance Company, at its organization in 1872, and held the office till January 1, 1877. In the autumn of 1876 he was elected clerk of the county of Rock for a period of two years, and is now the incumbent of that office, bringing to the discharge of the respon- sible duties a ripe experience, sound judgment and fine executive abilities. He is a gentleman of re- fined tastes, which are displayed in the adornment and embellishment of his home; social in his habits, courteous and affable in his manners, making for himself many and devoted friends ; upright and hon- orable as a citizen, thorough and enterprising in business; open-handed and generous, he has by his industry and practical wisdom attained to an envia- ble position of influence and competence. Although not a member of any church, he is a believer in the doctrines of Christianity, of the Prot- estant faith, and a liberal contributor toward the institutions of religion and benevolence. In politics, he was originally a whig; has been a republican since the organization of that party, and has frequently served as delegate to the different conventions of his party, in which he wielded con- siderable influence. His union with Miss Anthony was blessed with two children, sons, the eldest of whom, W i 1 1 i s Benton, born April, 1853, graduated at Milton Col- lege (classical course), and is now (1877) attending lectures in St. Louis, Missouri, with a view to enter- ing the medical profession ; while the youngest, Harold, born in April, 1856, is conducting the farm in the absence of his father; both are young gentlemen of fine abilities, high moral character and much promise. ELIAS FRIEND, MIL WA UKEE. E LIAS FRIEND, one of the partners in the house of Henry Friend Brothers, came to the United States in 1840 with his brother Henry, and, engaging with him in business, shared with him as well his difficulties, his privations and his hardships, as his successes and his enjoyments. Receiving from their common father wise counsels and a noble example of a useful and honorable life, he could scarcely fail to follow in his parental footsteps, and be a worthy associate and companion of his brother Henry. His connection with the firm rendered it necessary that he should travel extensively in the United States, which furnished him a wide field for observation and study of the manners and customs of the people with whom it was his destiny to live. He has traveled also extensively in Europe, being enabled thereby to compare the national character- istics, and to form a more just estimate of each. He was married, in 1855, to Miss Rosa Stern, of Albany, New York, and has one son, now eighteen years old. The sad fate of his brother Henry, in consequence of their long, intimate and affectionate relationship, fell upon him with crushing severity, and will doubt- less cast a shade of melancholy sadness over his future life. PHILIP BEST, MIL WA UKEE. P HILIP BEST, late of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was born September 26, 1814, at Mettenheim, Germany, son of Jacob and Eva Best. He received a common-school education in his native town. After leaving school he learned the business of brewing, and traveled through Germany and France, working at the business. He came to America in 1844 and located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where, together with his father and three brothers, he engaged in brewing, deriving considerable profit from this occu- pation, and laying the foundation of the large wealth the company have since accumulated. It is known as the Best Brewing Company. He was taught the doctrines of Luther in his youth and retained them during his life. His polit- ical opinions were democratic, and he sympathized with the masses of the people. He was appointed major-general of the Wisconsin State militia, and THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 377 retained the office many years after his appointment in 1857. He was one of the stockholders of the Second Ward Bank. He was president of the South Side Savings Bank in 1865. He made a trip of pleas- ure to Europe in 1859, and again in 1869 he visited Europe for his health, where he died July 16, 1869. He was married in 1842 to Miss Anna Maria Muth, by whom he had seven children, three of them are now living. The eldest is the wife of Captain Frederick Pabst ; the second is the wife of Emil Schandein. The youngest son, named Henry, is connected with the brewing company, and has charge of several of its departments. Charles, the nephew of Philip Best, is the secretary of the company, is an able and efficient business man and an agreeable gentleman. ANSON : JANES A MONG the emphatically self-made men of Wis- consin few deserve a more honorable mention than the subject of this sketch. Raised literally in the “backwoods” or pine regions of northern New York, before the advent of public schools, so that his opportunities for study were exceedingly brief and extremely rare ; but possessing a vigorous un- derstanding, he supplied his deficiencies of instruc- tion by an assiduous and persevering devotion to the acquisition of knowledge, and has so educated and disciplined himself as to be one of the best informed men of his day. Nor has his success in a business point of view been less remarkable ; start- ing in the world with absolutely nothing, he has attained to a degree of wealth and affluence which falls to the lot of but few men under the most favor- able circumstances. Anson Rogers was born in Jefferson county, New York, August 14, 1821, and is the son of Daniel and Fanny (Taylor) Rogers. His father was born jn the same place January 22, 1793, and still lives on the old homestead. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, in which he was conspicuous for gallantry and the finest soldierly qualities. After his mar- riage he settled on a pine tract bordering on the Black river, on which he erected a saw-mill which did a large business and kept a number of hands in steady employment. He also gave some attention to farming, and at one time kept a country hotel, and was, at various times, honored by his fellow-cit- izens with local positions of trust and profit. He served for some years as sheriff and collector of his county; he was a man of liberal natural endow- ments, a great reader, and was particularly well versed in the common law of the land, and although not a professional advocate, has often defended his neighbors in the local courts, where he demon- ROGERS, VILLE. strated such talents as made him anything but easy to deal with. He was a man of great benevolence; hospitable, generous and kind to the needy — shar- ing, to the last cent, with the unfortunate. He was, moreover, a man of fine business qualifications and of the highest type of moral character ; he was never known to utter a profane word or to drink a drop of intoxicating liquor. He was reasonably successful in a worldly point of view, but with a family of eight children to provide for, and all the poor and unfor- tunate of his neighborhood as “wards,” he had but little to distribute among his sons at their majority. The grandfather of our subject, William Rogers, was a native of the north of Ireland, of Covenanter stock, who immigrated to America prior to the rev- olution, and took part in the struggle for independ- ence. His mother was the daughter of Jonathan Taylor, Esq., of Connecticut, of English ancestry. She was a woman of fine natural gifts and great force of character — a lady of the “olden time.” She was a devout member of the Baptist church, and set a good example and gave good advice to her chil- dren and household. She died, in the hope of a blessed immortality, in the year 1872. Our subject was reared on the homestead and worked for his father at his various industries till the age of twenty-two. There were no public schools or facilities for teaching in his day, and the only education which he received was imparted by his excellent mother. He has, through life, how- ever, been a great reader of newspapers and books, and also a close student of men and things, and in this way has come to be one of the most intelligent and successful men of Wisconsin. In 1835 he commenced boating on the North river and Erie canal, carrying wheat and produce THE UNITED ST A TES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. -Q O/ ^ to New York city. This he continued for ten sea- sons, occupying his winters in lumbering in his father’s woods, and giving the proceeds of his labor into the common fund for the support of the house- hold. Leaving home in 1845, he started for the West via the lakes, and landed in Milwaukee, Wis- consin. in the autumn of that year, with two dollars and fifty cents in his pocket, with which to begin life. After spending the night at a hotel and pay- ing his bill in the morning he was the owner of one dollar and fifty cents. Proceeding to Janesville on foot, he was there employed in a hotel at ten dollars per month, and remained one year. He worked in various capacities — for he could turn his hand to anything — until 1848, when the Illinois and Michi- gan canal was opened. He was then employed by Gurnsey, Hayden and Co. to command a boat run- ning between Chicago and Peru, at one hundred dol- lars per month, with a commission to purchase grain along the Illinois river. His transaction in this line during the summer netted his employers the hand- some sum of seventeen thousand dollars over and above his own compensation. Finding the climate injurious to his health he returned to Janesville after the first summer, and clerked in the “ Stevens House ” during the winter of 1849-50, then the best hotel in the State. In the following year he formed a partnership with Charles Stevens, his employer, in a saw-mill, and continued in that business until 1853, with very considerable success. He was also the lessee of the American House for one year. Mean- time he had entered and broken a farm of one hun- dred and sixty acres of land in Rock county, on which he had built a house and barn. He lived on this farm till 1856, when he moved into Janesville and commenced operations in real estate, a business which he carried on exclusively till the spring of 1861 with very great success. In that year he be- came half owner of an extensive brewery, which he conducted in partnership with a man named Buob until 1868, when he became sole proprietor. He is now (1877) the owner of a large amount of real property in Janesville, and is still an active and prosperous business man, one of the largest tax- payers in the county and a recognized capitalist of the State. Although he has not traveled beyond the limits of the continent of his.birth, he has visited and so- journed in every State of the Union and throughout the British American possessions, and is thoroughly posted on all questions of local government as well as the peculiar manners and characteristics of the people of the several States. He held the office of mayor of Janesville during the year 1871, and was a member of the city coun- cil for ten years ending in 1876. In politics, he was raised in the democratic faith, and has never varied his political creed. Although not in communion he is an attendant on the services of the Congregational church, and is very generous in his contributions to religious and benevolent objects. He is a Master Mason, of West- ern Star Lodge, Janesville, No. 14. During the reconstruction of the Wisconsin Insti- tute for the Education of the Blind, he was a mem- ber of the board of trustees, and in that capacity labored with characteristic zeal to promote the in- terests of the State and the welfare of the inmates. On the 10th of October, 1854, he was married to Miss Mary J., daughter of Job Barker, Esq., a farmer of Rock county. She was a very amiable and gifted lady, of delicate constitution, however, who became the mother of four children, one of whom died in infancy and two at the ages of four and six years respectively. The eldest daughter, Miss Lilia, a very lovely and promising girl, died at Jacksonville, Florida, in 1872, at the age of seventeen years, of consumption, induced by a cold. Mrs. Rogers died in Denver, Colorado, January 8, 1875. On the 24th of October, 1876, he was married in Boston, Massachusetts, to Mrs. Caroline A., widow of the late Samuel Whitney, of Boston, and daugh- ter of Samuel Puffer, late of Westminster, Massachu- setts. Mrs. Rogers is a lady of refinement and high social position, of Puritan ancestry and strong re- ligious convictions. She adheres to the church of her fathers. In personal appearance Mr. Rogers is striking, having a lithe, wiry frame and an intense individu- ality, which cannot fail to attract attention ; and while he has little of the learning that is taught in the schools, he has educated himself, till few men are better posted in the political and commercial history of the times. He has been a man of cease- less activity of body and mind, pushing for his ob- jective point with a vigor and perseverance which rarely fails to achieve success. His demeanor is largely dependent upon circumstances. In repose he is calm, dignified and graceful, entering into con- versation with the easy affability of a man who has seen much of the world. When aroused he speaks with great fervency, and, if confronted with opposi- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. tion which he deems unwarranted, his ever-charged battery of “ sinewy Saxon ” is plied with a vigor and precision not to be trifled with. Few men not in constant public life are more widely known throughout the State than he, and yet comparatively few know of the gentleness of the man in his domes- tic relations. His home is the abode of an elegant and generous hospitality, and no gentleman passes 379 his threshold without being made to feel himself welcome. In this respect he fully sustains the char- acter of his Irish ancestors, whose distinguishing characteristic is hospitality. His untiring vigilance and business sagacity have brought him wealth, and he is thus enabled to “ sit under his own vine and fig-tree,” and enjoy, in cpiiet and affluence, the afternoon of life. PROF. ALBERT WHITFORD, A.M., MIL TON. A LBERT WHITFORD is the third son of Sam- . uel and Sophia (Clarke) Whitford and brother of W. C. Whitford, president of Milton College, else- where sketched in this volume. He was born in Plainfield, New York, May 28, 1832. His father gave him such opportunities for education as he could afford, by sending him to the public schools and to Brookfield Academy in a neighboring town ; but his death, which occurred in the fall of 1848, left the son at the age of sixteen years almost en- tirely dependent upon his own resources for educa- tion and support. Choosing the occupation of a teacher, he taught his first school in the winter fol- lowing his father’s death. He received his college preparatory education in De Ruyter Institute, He Ruyter, New York, and at Alfred Academy, Alfred Centre, New York, which he attended at intervals during a period of six years, teaching generally in some district school the remainder of the time for a support. He graduated in the classical course at Union College, Schenectady, New York, in the class of 1857, into which he was admitted the previous year. Since then his life* has been devoted to teaching. While preparing for his profession he always stood among the very best, if not at the head of his classes. Immediately after graduating from college he be- came an assistant teacher in Milton Academy, Mil- ton, Wisconsin, which position he retained until the winter of 1863, when he entered upon his duties as superintendent of schools of Rock county, Wiscon- sin, to which office he had been elected the preced- ing autumn. He resigned this position, however, in the autumn of 1865 to resume his labors as a teacher by accepting the principalship of De Ruyter Insti- tute, which position he retained two years. He afterward filled the chair of mathematics of Alfred University, New York, for four years; and for the last five years has filled the chair of mathematics in Milton College, Wisconsin. He was educated in the religious faith of the Seventh-day Baptists, was received in childhood into one of their churches, and is still a member of that body of Christians. He is by inheritance and conviction an opponent of slavery, and therefore a staunch and uncompro- mising republican. In all the great controversies of the last twenty years he has been found on the side of freedom and equality to all men. He possesses a mind of very great quickness and strength. At the age of five years he began to learn to read, and in a few months had read several diffi- cult books, one of them being the New Testament. For twelve years thereafter he diligently occupied his time, when not working on a farm, in reading standard works in our language. Endowed with a most active memory, he could recall the substance, and in many cases the minutiae, of the many works which he perused. He thus acquired a large fund of information, which he still holds for ready use. This habit of reading he has never abandoned, and is one of the best posted men on all the principal topics of discussion.* Though filling the chair of mathematics in the college to the highest satisfac- tion of the institution, he is as fully qualified to teach the Latin or the Greek languages. He is perfectly at home before the students in the recita- tion-room, and never fails to win the good will and esteem of those under his instruction. They often speak of him as the model teacher. He excites a healthful and earnest interest in the studies which he teaches, and excels in the investigation of intri- cate questions, having the faculty of looking at a subject in all its parts and right through it to the THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 3 So very bottom. He confines his work principally to the class-room, but occasionally delivers lectures. These productions are characterized by a perfect mastery of his theme, by clearness and force of statement, and by an elevated and logical order of thought. His views on any question introduced in the recitation-room or among his more intimate acquaintances are always received as entitled to great weight, if not absolutely conclusive. In personal appearance Professor Whitford is tall, of light complexion, spare in form, and apparently frail. He has great nervous energy, which he hus- bands and uses with the utmost care. He dresses in the plainest style, and gives little attention to the superficial graces of manner or speech. Naturally of a quiet, reflective turn of mind, his life-work has tended to confirm those traits, until now at the age of forty-four he is a very synonym in the community for a quiet, unassuming gentleman ; unambitious for public preferment or the acquisition of wealth and fame. He finds happiness at his home, in his gar- den, with his books and his family, and in ample fulfillment of duty in a sincere devotion to his pro- fession, in an earnest effort to awaken in the minds of his pupils a desire to be men of culture and integrity. In general demeanor he is somewhat reserved, yet he has a genial sympathetic disposition and is as kind at heart as a child. He enjoys a good joke and good humor. Flashes of wit always find a hearty response from him. He is well grounded in the faith of his church, and whoever enters into a contest with him, thinking to gain a logical victory over him, finds that this quiet, unassuming man, when aroused, is capable of doing valiant service in defense of his creed. He has facts and history at hand and uses them with a zeal and pungency that is refreshing and convincing. Nor is he less valiant in defense of his politics, or any other principles which he espouses. He is not only fully persuaded in his own mind, but ready and able to give a reason for the faith that is in him. His example is a benefit to his fellow-men, and his influence upon the young with whom he has been associated will be felt for many years to come. He was married on the 31st of May, 1857, to Miss Chloe E. Curtiss, of East Troy, Wisconsin, who was also a teacher, and has since followed that occupa- tion as closely as the care of her children and other household duties would permit. She is a woman of superior mental endowments, to which she has added the most thorough culture. She has received the deserved honor of the second degree from Milton College. She excels as a teacher of mathematics. In personal appearance she is attractive, tall and graceful, and fills a high position in the community where she resides. They have four children, three sons and one daughter, named in the order of their birth : Anna Sophia, Albert Curtiss, William Henry and Alfred Edward, all of whom are being carefully educated for stations of honor and usefulness. JEROME L. MARSH, SHEBOYGAN. T HE subject of this biography, a son of Luther and Laura (Frisbee) Marsh, was born in Eliz- abethtown, Essex county, New York, January 20, about 1820. His father died when the son was about one year old. Soon afterward the family moved to Chautauqua county, in the western part of the State, and at seven years of age Jerome went into the office of the “ Fredonia Censor,” then con- ducted by his uncle, Henry Frisbee ; after remaining there about seven years he entered a job office in Rochester for a short time, and afterward worked in the office of Weed and Sprague, publishers of the “Anti-masonic Enquirer,” in that city. Removing to Michigan City, Indiana, he spent one season there, setting up, as a journeyman printer, the first number of the first newspaper printed in that place. Later he spent about three years in Peoria, Illinois, printing the “Champion.” Removing to Ottawa, Illinois, he established a democratic paper; because he was pledged to support the regular nominees the leaders of the party withdrew their support, and he was soon stripped of all he had. He removed to Platteville, Wisconsin, in 1841, and spent several years there and at Lancaster engaged in the news- paper business, except during two or three years which he spent on a farm in Grant county. He afterward went to Madison and worked about two years as. a printer in the office of the “ State Jour- nal.” In January, 187 r, Mr. Marsh settled in Sheboy- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. gan county, purchased the “ Sheboygan Falls Her- ald,” moved it to the city of Sheboygan, and there, with his only son, continues to publish the paper under the firm name and style of J. L. and Geo. Marsh, the son having most of the editorial manage- ment. December 26, 1873, the subject of this sketch received the appointment of postmaster, and still holds the office (1877). In politics, he was formerly a democrat, but with- drew from that party about 1856, and for twenty years past has acted heartily with the republicans. In 1847 Mr. Marsh was married to Miss Melissa Moore, of Platteville, Grant county, Wisconsin. They have three daughters, and one son already mentioned. One of the daughters, Dora, is the wife of George T. Sumner, a rising attorney of She- boygan ; another, Laura B., assists her brother in writing for the “ Herald,” and also corresponds 381 for some of the Chicago dailies; and the youngest, Nellie M., is a clerk in the postoffice. While residing in Grant county Mr. Marsh held the office of county treasurer two years — the only political office of any consequence, except his present one, that he has ever held. As is seen, from early boyhood he has passed nearly all his years in a printing-office, entering fifty years ago, and his experience has been very like that of most publishers of country newspapers. Mr. Marsh is now in comfortable circumstances, surrounded by all the members of his family. He is assiduous in the discharge of his official duties, courteous and obliging, and is highly esteemed by all. His son George, who was educated at the State University at Madison, though not a graduate, is, like his father, a hard worker and an excellent jour- nalist. GEORGE W. EAY, M.D., MEN AS HA. T HE subject of this sketch, a son of Jonas and Mary (Barnes) Fay, is the youngest of a family of twelve children, and was born at Royalton, Ver- mont, February 22, 1823. His father, a farmer by occupation, died when George was six years old. He remained at home, steadily working on the farm, until his eighteenth year, gaining what knowledge he could in the district school during the winters, and at brief intervals of leisure during the other seasons. His mother, who died when he was sev- enteen, was an excellent manager of affairs, an affec- tionate and considerate woman, and did all in her power to encourage and assist him in his endeavors to gain an education. At the age of eighteen he began teaching in the school in which he had been edu- cated, and continued there and in other districts six seasons. During this period he prepared for college, but finally abandoned the idea of entering, and com- menced reading medicine when about twenty years old. He attended lectures in the medical depart- ment of Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hamp- shire, and graduated in 1847. Beginning his professional practice at Hardwick, Caledonia county, Vermont, he remained there about three years, and in 1851 removed to Wisconsin. After prospecting for some time he settled for one year at Fond du Lac, and on the 4th of July, 1852, 44 first cast his eye on Menasha, then a village of about four hundred inhabitants. Determining upon this as his future home, he at once opened an office, and during the last twenty-five years has continued actively in practice, except, during the war of the rebellion, when he was engaged in his country’s service. In the autumn of 1862 Dr. Fay went into the army as assistant surgeon of the 32d Regiment Wis- consin Volunteers. He had full charge of the regi- ment in his sphere a little more than two years, and was then detailed to take charge of the post hospital at Dalton, Georgia, and in that position, and a simi- lar one in other hospitals, he served until he left the service in April, 1865. Returning to Menasha he again resumed his prac- tice, and has made for himself an excellent reputa- tion, alike as a surgeon and general practitioner. February r, 1875, Dr. Fay was appointed register of the land office, and is discharging its duties with the utmost fidelity, at the same time keeping up, to a large extent, his professional visits, being aided in the register’s office by his eldest son, George A. Fay. In politics he is of whig antecedents. He aided in organizing the republican party in Winnebago county, and has cordially acted with it to the present time (1877). He cherishes his politics with the same THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION Alt T. 382 sincerity that he does his religion. He is a commu- nicant in the Methodist Episcopal church, and a man of very pure character. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity. The wife of Dr. Fay is a daughter of Amos Rob- inson, who was, in his day, a leading man in Royal- ton, Vermont. They were married on the 14th of April, 1847, and have four children. The only daughter, Ida M., is the wife of Lorenzo H. Jones, station agent at Amherst, Wisconsin. Dr. Fay attributes much of his success to the in- fluence, example and teachings of his mother, whose memory he cherishes very tenderly. She encouraged him in his studies, instilled into his young heart cor- rect moral and religious principles, and aided him in laying a good foundation for a noble character. JOSEPH SCHLITZ, MIL JVA U K EE. T OSEPH SCHLITZ was born at Mayence, on the J Rhine, May 15, 1831. He was the son of John and Louisa Schlitz. His father was a speculator in wine. Joseph was educated in his native city. After attending school for four years he studied book- keeping, and subsequently kept the books of one house for four years. He did this from choice, as he had a desire to understand book-keeping thoroughly. In the year 1855 he came to Milwaukee and en- gaged in the business of brewing, and in the year 1858 he purchased a brewery of August Krug, of which he has since been the proprietor, and has conducted the business with marked success. Mr. Schlitz was a man of great business capacity, and has, by his energy and foresight, amassed a large fortune. He was a gentleman much beloved and very popular. On the 27th of April, 1875, Mr. Schlitz sailed on the steamship Schiller, for the purpose of visiting his brothers in Mayence, his native city. On the 7th of May the ill-fated steamer was wrecked off the Scilly Islands, and Mr. Schlitz was lost. Proper steps have been taken to recover the body, but unsuccessfully. At the time of his death Mr. Schlitz was president of the Schlitz Brewing Company, vice-president of the Second Ward Savings P>ank, secretary of the Brewers’ Fire Insurance Company of America, of which he was one of the founders. He was an active member of the PInited States Brewers’ Asso- ciation, secretary of the Milwaukee Brewers’ Associ- ation, member of the Merchants’ Exchange; was also a Mason and member of various other lodges and societies. From each of these bodies letters of con- dolence, speaking in the highest terms of the de- ceased, and lamenting his untimely death, were addressed to his widow. His loss was felt as a gen- eral calamity. Such was the business exactness of Mr. Schlitz that before his departure for Europe he made a last will, in which he provides that the extensive brewery shall be carried on under the same firm name — Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company — and under the management of August, Henry, Edward and Alfred IJihlein, who have been associated with the deceased and possessed his entire confidence. In 1858 he was married to Miss Anna Maria Weis- mann. He was brought up a Catholic, and was a member of that church. In politics he was a demo- crat, but was never a strong partisan. He was a man of general information, had traveled much in the United States and in Europe. The universal sympathy so widely felt is a tribute honor- able to the memory of the deceased and gratifying to surviving friends. SAMUEL GALENTINE, M.D., NEEN A/I. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Monroe county, New York, was born February 13, 1817, and is the son of Jacob and Kezia (Bergen) Galen- tine. His maternal grandfather served under Gen- eral Washington during the revolutionary war, and had a brother who was captain of a New Jersey company. Bergen Heights, New Jersey, was named in honor of this family. His father, a tailor by trade, ' Sri ^*S)rJU)uaravsi»& :5 ^ THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 385 served in the war of 1812, and was held a prisoner of war ten months, in the hands of the British, at Halifax. Samuel attended school during the greater part of his boyhood and youth, and commenced teaching at the age of nineteen, an occupation which he fol- lowed for several winters, continuing his literary studies during the rest of the year. He began the study of medicine about 1839, and attended medical lectures at Castleton, Vermont, where he graduated in June, 1842. After practicing about seven years in Livingston county, New York — first at Mount Morris and later at Nunda — he in October, 1849, removed to Neenah, Wisconsin. There he practiced four years, after which he returned to Nunda and remained until i860, when he again settled in his former western home, where he has since continued to reside, performing the labors of a large practice. He enjoys the highest confidence and respect of his neighbors for his skill in the healing art, and for the elevated tone of his character. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, and an elder of the same. In politics, he was formerly a whig; latterly he has been identified with the repub- lican party, but does not let politics interfere with professional business. About 1870, at the urgent request of his fellow- citizens, he consented to accept the presidency of the village, and served in that capacity two years. He belongs to the Odd-Fellows fraternity, but rarely attends its meetings. Mrs Galentine was Miss Ann M. Alden, a native of Caldwell, on Lake George, but residing at the time of their marriage, May 22, 1844, at Tuscarora, Livingston county, New York. They have had four children, one of whom, Alice S., is now living. Dr. Galentine is the oldest medical resident of Neenah, and, although he has passed his sixtieth birthday, is still engaged in active practice. He enjoys good health, is erect and sprightly, and gives promise of years of usefulness in his profession. MOSES MEEKER, M.D., MINERAL POINT. M OSES MEEKER, who figured more conspic- uously than any other person in the early history of the lead mining region of southern Wis- consin, was born in New Jersey, June 17, 1790. He received an academic education in his native State, and in 1817 settled in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he engaged in the manufacture of white lead. In the spring of 1822 it became necessary for him to visit St. Louis, Missouri, for the purpose of purchasing a stock of pig lead, as the supply at Cincinnati had been exhausted. While there he became acquainted with Colonel James Johnson, of Kentucky, who took an active part in the war of 1812 and afterward served a term in Congress. This gentleman informed Dr. Meeker that he was about fitting out an expedition to the lead mines on Fever river, where Galena, Illinois, now stands. Becoming interested in the enterprise Dr. Meeker determined to close out his business in Cincinnati and join the expedition. About that time there appeared an advertisement in the papers that President Monroe proposed to lease to individuals each a half-section of land on the Upper Mississippi river for mining purposes, the lessees to give a bond and security in ten thousand dollars to the government that they would pay into the United States treasury ten per cent of all the lead which they mined and smelted. He disposed of his lead works in Cincinnati, and in company with Colonel Cole started from that city for the mines, making the journey on horseback via St. Louis. The trip was a long, trying and dangerous one, as Indians infested the country all along the route and the rivers were without bridges. After enduring many hardships the site of the Indian vil- lage, now the city of Galena, was reached on the 1 2th of November, 1822. There were then about thirty white persons in the settlement and several hundred Indians. Dr. Meeker at once explored the region, examined the lead which had been found and determined to engage in the enterprise of min- ing. After arriving at this decision and making some necessary preliminary arrangements, he mounted his horse and returned to Cincinnati, arriving there on the 8th of January, 1823. He then entered into correspondence with John C. Calhoun (at that time secretary of war), gave him his opinion of the lead mines and suggested what he considered the proper course to be pursued in working them. The corre- spondence was submitted to President Monroe, and resulted in the issuance of an order to Colonel Bom- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 3S6 ford, head of the ordnance department, to allow Dr. Meeker to build furnaces, make other improvements and operate the mines; and that he should not be interfered with until some action of Congress had been had on the subject. The required bond of ten thousand dollars was executed and approved. Dr. Meeker next purchased a substantial keel-boat, with an outfit costing seven thousand dollars, en- listed several families in Cincinnati (forty-three per- sons in all), and on the 5th of April, 1823, started for the scene of his future operations via the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, a distance of about six hun- dred miles. Among the passengers on the keel- boat were two young men named respectively Cap- tain Orin Smith and Captain Smith Harris, who afterward became distinguished and wealthy steam- boat owners and commanders on the Mississippi river. The company arrived at Galena on the 1st day of June, 1823, having made the trip in eighty- nine days. His first year in Galena was devoted to building houses and furnaces. In the month of August of the same year he had the census of the village taken, and the population amounted to sev- enty-four whites and five hundred Indians. In the spring of 1824 the furnaces were completed and smelting commenced. The product of smelted ore during the first year was four hundred and twenty- five thousand pounds. In the autumn of 1824 Dr. Meeker returned to Cincinnati for his family and a year’s supply of provisions for the settlement, return- ing in the latter part of the year. His efforts were attended with remarkable success, and through his advice the government adopted new plans in leas- ing the mines and in collecting rents, and many sub- stantial improvements were made in the manner of operating the works. At the breaking out of the Blackhawk war, in 1832, the works were temporarily suspended, and a general prostration of business followed. Dr. Meeker took an active part in the war against the Indians, and held the position of captain during that struggle. After the close of the war he removed to Iowa county, Wisconsin, and in 1837 began the erection of his large four-blast furnace on the Blue river. This was one of the first smelting furnaces in the territory, and was the largest then in existence, hav- ing cost its proprietor twenty-five thousand dollars. In 1842 he was elected to the territorial legislature, and reelected in 1843. In 1846 he was chosen a delegate from Iowa county to the convention to frame a State constitution, which assembled in Mad- ison on the 5 th day of October of that year, and was one of the leaders of that organization, whose work, although in many respects wise and statesmanlike, was nevertheless rejected by the people. During the early part of his sojourn in Cincinnati he had given attention to the study of medicine, and attended medical lectures, though he had never practiced the profession. The scarcity of phy- sicians in the new settlement in a manner forced him into the practice in Galena, and for a number of years his services in this line were in very large de- mand, and he attained a reputation as a most skill- ful and successful physician. He continued his residence in Iowa county until 1854 (having for eight years previous to this time resided at Mineral Point), when he removed to his farm at Meeker’s Grove in Lafayette county, and retired from active life. In the spring of 1865 he removed, with his son- in-law, Nicholas Smith, Esq. (then the law partner of Hon. John K. Williams, and now (1877) associate editor of the “ Janesville Gazette ”), to Shullsburg, where he suddenly died of paralysis on the 7th day of July, 1865. His remains were taken for inter- ment to Galena, where a handsome monument marks their resting-place. Dr. Meeker was in many respects a most remark- able man, of high moral and religious character ; his benevolence and liberality were only bounded by his means, while his disposition and domestic habits were of the most amiable and blameless char- acter. His crowning virtue was his patriotism. All those acquainted with his career during the dark days of the Indian troubles in his neighborhood can bear testimony to the fact that no man worked with a more noble spirit for the welfare of the country than did Dr. Meeker. His hospitalities, also, were bestowed liberally, and his house was ever a welcome resort for the stranger and the homeless. He took a deep interest in the State Historical Society, of which he was chosen a corre- sponding member in 1855. At the instance of this society he commenced a history of the early settle- ment of the lead regions, regretting that his journal, in which he had kept his records, had, unfortu- nately, been burned, thus rendering it necessary for him to draw on his memory, adding, with peculiar emphasis: “The great object with me is to give it correct.” Though his paper covers but a brief pe- riod, yet it is of great value and interest. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 38 / He was a prominent member of the Masonic fra- ternity, and for several years was an officer of the Grand Lodge of the State of Wisconsin. He was twice married: first, in 1818, to Miss Mary R. Henry, who died in Galena in 1829, and again in 1837, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Miss Eliza P. Shackelton, who is still living. Mrs. Meeker has borne her part nobly as one of the pioneers of the State. She was a faithful and devoted wife, and was never heard to express a murmur, even in times that tried the souls of strong men. She is a lady of high Christian development, and was the ready and ear- nest coadjutor of her husband in all his acts of benev- olence and self-sacrifice, and lives in the enjoyment of the profound respect of a wide circle of friends. Dr. Meeker had a large family of children, some of whom died in infancy and some in early life — four sons and two daughters survive. His eldest son, Warner Meeker, resides in California; the sec- ond, J. D. Meeker, lives in Nebraska; John A. is in business in Richland county, Wisconsin, while the fourth living son, Captain E. J. Meeker, is en- gaged in mercantile pursuits in Kansas. Moses P., his youngest son, died in the army in March, 1865. His eldest daughter, Emma, married Dr. Rumbold, of St. Louis, Missouri, and died November 5, 1863; Lida R. is married to George W. Snow, of Milton Junction, and J. Clara is the wife of Captain Nicho- las Smith, associate editor of the “ Janesville Daily Gazette.” Captain Smith was born in England in 1837; came to this country in 1842 and settled in Lafayette county, Wisconsin ; from the age of eleven to twenty-three worked in the lead mines and on the farm, and never attended school ; at eighteen began to learn to read and write, and afterward taught school in i860; began the study of law in 1861 ; was admitted to the bar of the Lafayette county circuit in the spring of 1862; entered the army in August of the same year as a private in the 33d Wisconsin Volunteers, and a month later was commissioned second lieutenant; and after the siege of Vicksburg was promoted to the rank of captain of Company H, same regiment. He was mustered out of service in January, 1865, having been actively engaged during the entire interval, participating in some twenty-two encounters with the enemy, among which were the siege of Vicksburg and the battles incident to the Red River expedition under General A. J. Smith. He also participated in the memor- able march from Little Rock, through Arkansas and Missouri, in pursuit of the rebel General Mar- maduke, marching in all four hundred and fifty miles in twenty-five days. After quitting the army he practiced his profession (law), one year in partner- ship with Hon. John K. Williams, of Shullsburg, with whom he studied for two years, and with Hon. O. B. Thomas at Prairie du Chien, during which period he also held the office of deputy United States revenue collector for Crawford and Richland counties. During 1868-9 he edited the “Waukesha Freeman,” and afterward purchased the “ Prairie du Chien Union.” During the spring of 1874 he was the Washington correspondent of the “Milwaukee Sentinel,” and in the following autumn became asso- ciate editor of the “ Janesville Gazette,” which posi- tion he still fills with credit and acceptance. ASA H EL SHEBi A SAHEL PHELPS LYMAN, a native of the Empire State, was born at Brookfield, Madi- son county, January 23, 1814, and is the son of Asahel Lyman, a merchant, and Dolly nc'c Blair. When he was two years old the family moved to Cortlandville, Cortland county, New York. He was educated in the district school and Homer Acad- emy, and from about sixteen to twenty-two years of age was a clerk in his father’s store. Subsequently he was in the mercantile trade with his younger brother, George N. Lyman, in the village of Cort- landville. 3 . LYMAN, or; an In September, 1846, Mr. Lyman moved to She- boygan, where, in company with his brother, he continued the mercantile trade for several years, the firm being A. P. and G. N. Lyman. For some time they had branch stores at Sheboygan Falls, Fond du Lac, Berlin and Calumet, and conducted a very heavy business. During the time they were in partnership they built a flouring-mill and saw-mill at Sheboygan Falls; the former, known as Rock Mills, is still running. About 1855 they dissolved partnership, George N. going to Ripon. Asahel, remaining in Sheboy- 388 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. gan, continued in trade until about 1865, when he engaged in ship-building, launching several of the finest vessels that ever sailed on our inland seas. In this enterprise, however, he was unfortunate. One or two vessels were lost in storms ; the Cortland was sunk on Lake Erie by colliding with the steamer Morning Star, and still remains at the bottom of that lake, and the Sailor Boy was lost at sea between New York and New Orleans. Meeting with so many losses Mr. Lyman con- cluded that his fortune did not lie in that direction, and accordingly discontinued ship-building about 1867. and turned his attention to farming. At one time he owned several farms, but has disposed of all but one, which is only a mile from the city. On the 25th of October, 1837, he was married to Miss Cynthia Higbee, of Otsego county, New York. They have one child, Sylvester Blair Lyman, who has a family and lives in Milwaukee. In local improvements Mr. Lyman has been one of the leading men in Sheboygan. Years ago he erected several fine dwelling-houses; also two or three large stores and other buildings. He contrib- uted liberally toward building the Sheboygan and Fond du Lac plank road and the railroad connect- ing the two points, and for a short time was a di- rector of the latter road. He was one of the first harbor commissioners, and one of the foremost men in getting the Sheboygan harbor built. His fellow- citizens hold him in high esteem. JOHN PHILLIPS, M.D., STEVENS POINT. T HE oldest physician in professional practice, if not in years, in Portage county, Wisconsin, and one of the most respected citizens of Stevens Point, is John Phillips, son of Stephen and Mary (Austin) Phillips, members of the farming class of Vermont. He was born at Richmond, Chittenden county, November 4, 1823, and until about eighteen years of age aided his father and attended school, one or two terms, at the Johnson Academy. He then devoted about four years to teaching in his native State, and prosecuting his own scientific studies in private and at the academy mentioned. In 1843 he made a trip westward, passing round the lakes, through Milwaukee, to Boone county, Illinois. He taught school one winter near Belvidere ; after- ward went to Wyota, Fayette county, Wisconsin, and there resumed teaching, taking up, meanwhile, the study of medicine. He attended a course of lectures at Rush Medical College, Chicago ; came to Stevens Point, and in the autumn of 1848 settled at Stevens Point, and immediately opened an office. Four years later he attended another course of lec- tures at the Rush College, and after receiving his diploma returned to his home, where he has con- tinued in steady and successful practice to this date, except when temporarily absent on some official duties. Dr. Phillips was a member of the general assem- bly in i860 and 1864, the first time representing Portage, Marathon and Wood counties; the second, Portage county alone. Prior to this date, for about four years, he was town superintendent of schools, Stevens Point then being about one fourth as large as Portage county now is. In 1864 he was on the board appointed to attend the annual examination at West Point Academy, and in 1876 was a member of the State board of regents of the normal schools. In politics, he was formerly a whig, but since the organization of the republican party he has been identified with that body. He was married at Brownington, Orleans county, Vermont, on the 5th of October, 1854, to Miss Ellen E. Hall, a daughter of Rev. Samuel Read Hall, A. M., LL.D., who founded the first teacher's seminary in this country, at Concord, Vermont, in March, 1823. Subsequently he went to Andover, Massachusetts, and took charge of the teacher’s department in Phillips Academy. He was the author of some of our earliest and best writings on the art and science of teaching. Mrs. Phillips has inherited, in no small measure, his literary taste and talents, and has devoted considerable time to writing, both of prose and poetry, her nom de plume for metrical composi- tions being Ada J. Moore. In 1875 she compiled and published a selection from her numerous poems, the book being entitled “ Under the Pines.” The neat little volume is dedicated to her venerated father, “ in the hope that it may brighten, with a new pleasure, the eightieth year of a life of rare beauty and usefulness.” The rhythm of these THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION A B V. 389 poems is almost perfect, and there is a striking sweetness and tenderness running through nearly every one of them. Some of the finest specimens of pathos and genuine poetic feeling are found in such domestic and elegiac poems as “ My Graves,” “Baby Florence,” “My Lost Jewels,” “ La Petite,” etc. The heart must be dead which feels no touch of sympathy and tender emotion while reading these pure gushings of a mother’s heart. The poems written during the late rebellion have the genuine glow of patriotic fire. Mrs. Phillips has more strength of mind than body, her health having for several years been very poor. She is thoroughly domestic, and gives what physical strength and mental activity she possesses to the brightening of her home and to making happy whatever part of the outside world she can reach in person or by pen. She is a Christian mother of the noblest type. Of the ten children that have been born to them only three are now living; the eldest a daughter of sev- enteen years. Dr. Phillips is a reading, growing man, growing both in medical knowledge and in professional rep- utation. He is an earnest friend of education and of culture in the broadest sense, and outside of his practice, as well as in it, is a very useful man. CAPTAIN IRA MILTIMORE JANES I RA MILTIMORE was born in the town of Windham, Windham county, Vermont, Septem- ber 28, 1813, and is the son of James Miltimore and Nabby Fitz. His father was a native of London- derry, New Hampshire, and his mother was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts. His grandfather was a na- tive of Londonderry (Ireland), and emigrated from that country with the colony that founded London- derry, New Hampshire. Our subject is the youngest and only surviving son of a family of eight children, comprising six sons and two daughters. His sisters, Mrs. Fanny Ingalls and Mrs. Mary P’ord, are resid- ing, the former in Waukegan, Illinois, and the latter in Elsie, Clinton county, Michigan. Ira attended the district schools until the age of eleven years, at which period his father died and the family were separated. At this early age he resolved to support himself, and accordingly turned his steps westward, stopping the first season at Coxsackie, near the C.ats- kill Mountains, New York; there he was employed for several months in the manufacture of brick. Thence he went to Floyd’s Corner, Oneida county, New York, where he entered a cabinet shop, in which he remained about two years, attending the village school one winter. Thence he removed to Oswego, where he apprenticed himself for a term of five years to the millwright and machinist’s trade, and at the expiration of his apprenticeship attended a district school one winter in Martville, Cayuga county, New York. Although his school days ended here, his education was only commenced. From that time onward he was a close observer and an indus- VILLE. trious reader of men and books; and inheriting from his sturdy ancestry those “no surrender” principles that have raised so many of the race to high position and to great and deserved eminence, he resolved to hew out success with his own strong hands and in- domitable perseverance. In 1836 he settled in Chicago, Illinois, where he soon established himself as a millwright and machin- ist of the highest order, and identified himself with all the business interests of the city. In 1838 he was elected to a seat in the city council from the third ward, and returned yearly to the same position till 1845, at t ' ie same time carrying on an extensive and increasing business. He erected all the princi- pal machinery and public buildings in the city, among which were the first flouring mill; the first sash, door and blind factory; the first set of grain elevators ; the first bridge across the river at Clark street; and in 1840 commenced the first city water- works, which were located at the foot of Lake street. In the following year the greater part of the city was supplied with water from the lake, conducted through wooden pipes. But his career in Chicago and the estimation in which he was held by the citizens of that city is so clearly and cogently set forth in an article in the Chicago “ Inter-Ocean,” October 9, 1872, that we transfer it to our pages entire. It is headed “ Some Early Chicago Reminiscences,” and reads as follows : We see again in our streets, after an absence of a quarter of a century, a very old and respected citizen of Chicago, the lion. Ira Miltimore. Mr. Miltimore, during his absence has passed through some trying scenes, and for that matter, 390 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. ordeals, lie fought in the war as captain in a Wisconsin regiment; was at the siege of Vicksburg, where he superin- tended the mounting of the siege guns for General Grant, which the latter captured from the rebels at Grand Gulf, and performed other important services. While he has been through the fiery ordeal of battle, the city with which his earlier life and fortunes were connected has been through the terrible ordeal of a fire, such as the world never previ- ously witnessed. He comes back to do what is in his power to help rebuild her waste places. Mr. Miltimore is still in the prime of life — a hale, heartl- and energetic man, apparently but little the worse for the wear and tear of twenty-five years of an industrious, active and exciting life. It is not, however, so much with Mr. Miltimore we propose to deal in this notice of his return among us, as with the fact that his name is associated with some of the most important improvements in our city as respects its moral, intellectual and material advancement. In 1S44, being then an abolitionist, this gentleman was elected alderman of the old third ward by a majority of one, being the first man elected to any office on the Liberty ticket in the State of Illinois. His democratic opponent, however, contested his right to a seat in the board of aider- men on the ground that one of the judges or clerks of the election was not a citizen of the State. The council decided the election invalid, and another was ordered. At this second election Mr. Miltimore was returned by a majority of twenty -two. It subsequently turned out that upon this comparatively unimportant election, to a considerable ex- tent, hinged the great future which was subsequently opened up to our present system of common schools. Upon taking his seat in the council Mr. Miltimore moved to ad- vertise and receive proposals for the erection of what since then has been known as the old Dearborn brick school- house, previously to the fire located on Madison street, between State and Dearborn. This was the first school building erected in the city. The magnitude of the under- taking alarmed the old fogies of the period, and they opposed the proposition by every possible means. But the council being evenly divided between the w-higs and democrats, Mr. Miltimore had virtually the casting vote on all selec- tions of city officers to be elected by the council. He used the power he thus possessed by making it tell in every case in favor of his new schoolhouse. No alderman could get the vote of the abolition alderman for his particular candi- date for any office unless said alderman promised to vote for the Dearborn school building. Mr. Miltimore also stipu- lated that the vote on the schoolhouse question should be taken before going into the election of officers. Augustus Garrett, who was subsequently elected mayor, proposed to use the new school building as an insane asylum, and others offered amendments proposing that Mr. Miltimore be the first patient confined therein. But this latter gentleman had firm supporters who stood by him from first to last. Among these were Hons. William H. Brown (since de- ceased), J.Y oung Scammon, John P. Chapin (since deceased) and other leading citizens. The schoolhouse was finally erected, and served for years the purposes of educating thousands who are now among our first and most enter- prising and prosperous citizens. Mr. Miltimore brought the first teacher in the school — a Mr. Ingalls — at his own expense, from Cleveland to this city, and that gentleman taught in the building until his demise, literally dying in the harness. He was a good man, and dearly loved and respected by his pupils, many of whom speak of him witli moistened eyes. Another monument to Mr. Miltimore’s genius, as well as perseverance, is the steam pumping works of the Illinois and Michigan canal. The canal was originally designed to be constructed on the deep cut plan, which has since been carried out. But in 1843, the appropriation having previously failed to complete the canal, the work came to a dead stop. It was then that Mr. Miltimore came to the front with a plan and specifications for the construction of the pumping works. After a great deal of opposition from Governor Ford and others, this plan was adopted, and but for it the canal could not have been completed for many years subsequently. To Captain Swift — one of the com- missioners — is due the credit of having finally forced Mr. Miltimore’s plan upon the board. A committee of the Me- chanics’ Institute, consisting of John Gage, Ira Miltimore and H. L. Fulton, all of whom are now living, presented Mr. Miltimore’s plan to the canal commissioners. Gov- ernor Davis, of Massachusetts (Honest John), and Captain Swift, voted to accept it. Governor Ford stood out reso- lutely against it. Mr. Miltimore erected the first steam engine ever put up in this city. It was used to run a saw-mill, and located on the north branch of the river, near the late Mr. Claybourn’s residence; the owner was a Mr. Muntoon. On Christmas day, 1845, he entered into a con- tract to build what was subsequently known as the “Big Mill,” in Janesville, Wisconsin, which was owned by a stock company, in which A. Hyatt Smith, James McClurg and Martin O. Walker were principal owners, and which was the first flouring mill erected in Janesville. In the autumn of 1846, being induced by the superior opportunities for trade and business which Janesville seemed to offer, he moved his family to that city, purchased consid- erable property on the east side of the river, built a very tasty and commodious residence, platted “ Milti- more’s addition to Janesville,” and subsequently “Monterey addition,” and in conjunction with A. Hyatt Smith, Esq., constructed the “Monterey Dam,” and improved what is known as the “Lower Water Power.” In the autumn of 1862, his patriotism and love of freedom nothing abated, he raised a company of volunteers for the Union army, which were mus- tered into the 33d Regiment Wisconsin Infantry, and which he led into the field. He participated in the siege of Vicksburg, where he superintended the mounting of the siege guns for General Grant, which the latter captured at Grand Gulf. He also participated in the capture of Jackson, Mississippi, and in the march back from Jackson to Vicksburg received a sun-stroke, from the effects of which he was soon after prostrated for a time and obliged to leave the service. He served as alderman of the city of Janesville for nine years, and was fully identified with every enterprise for the material, moral and intellectual advancement of the city of his adoption. He was one of the directors of the old “ Rock River Valley Railroad Company,” which is now a part of the Chi- cago and Northwestern. Always deeply interested in educational matters, he was the first to move in an effort to secure the location of the State Institution for the Education ol THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 39 1 the Blind, in Janesville, and donated to the State the picturesque site of ten acres on which the build- in" now stands. He was appointed by Governor Dewey one of the commissioners to locate the in- stitution, of which he was subsequently one of the board of trustees for fifteen years. On October 22, 1839, he was married, at Port By- ron, New York, to Miss Margaret B., daughter of Jeremiah B. King and Hannah nee McNaughton, the former of English Puritan and the latter of Scotch Covenanter descent. The McNaughton coat of arms of her ancestors bears the inscription “/ hope in God.” While in her character are blended the sober gravity, the genuine piety and the world- renouncing self-sacrifice of the Puritans, and the stern persistence of the Scottish Covenanters of the hillsides, she is a lady of the highest intellectual and educational attainment, and occupies a place in the family, the church and the community which few women could fill. While she is a most exem- plary wife and devoted mother, a sincere and earnest friend, a wise and prudent counselor, yet it is in her exalted piety, in her untiring efforts for the spiritual welfare of all about her, that her true greatness is discovered. She is in the truest sense a “ mother in Israel.” Early in life the love of God was shed abroad in her heart by the holy spirit which was given unto her, and since then her daily life has been a “ living epistle, known and read of all ” with whom she has been brought in contact. She was baptized into the communion of the Baptist church, and has since been a Sunday-school teacher, and a zealous worker for Christ. Since her settlement in Janesville, more than thirty years ago, she has taught a large Bible-class on Sunday afternoons, and for her own use compiled questions upon the entire book of St. Matthew, writing out both questions and answers, the study of which, in class, covered a period of four years; then adopted the “National ” lessons with the same programme, and the Lord has been pleased to bless her labors abundantly, giving her many “ souls for her hire,” so that her spiritual chil- dren, who acknowledge her as the instrument em- ployed by God in the conversion of their souls, are scattered all over the West and Northwest, some in the ministry and others as Sunday-school teachers, and workers in the temperance cause, winning souls and serving God wherever they go. “ The day ” only will declare the amount of good which this excellent Christian lady has been the means of accomplishing for her Master. Then she will realize the full sig- nificance of the oracle, “ They that be wise shall shine as the sun in the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars forever and ever.” She has been the mother of five children, three of whom are living, and have risen up “ to call her blessed.” The eldest son, Claron I. Miltimore, en- tered the Union army as a private in the 22d Wis- consin Volunteers in 1862, and with a part of his regiment was captured^by the rebels at Brentwood, Tennessee, confined in Libby Prison, exchanged and returned to his regiment. In the autumn of 1863 he was appointed adjutant of the 37th Wiscon- sin Regiment, and being transferred to the Army of the Potomac, participated in the siege of Petersburg and in all the campaigns and engagements of his regiment till the close of the war, making a proud and honorable record as a soldier and patriot. The second son, Chancy K. Miltimore, is a resident of Chicago, and the only daughter, Mary F., is the wife of Captain F. P. Dobson, a resident of Sioux Falls, Dakota Territory. In religious sentiment Captain Miltimore is a Bap- tist, and has been, since early manhood, also a mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity. DE WITT C. VAN OSTRAND, NEE NAIL I N the young cities of Wisconsin are found many eminently successful men, who, beginning in obscurity, have worked their way slowly but stead- ily up to a competency, if not to independence, and to a high and commanding position in society, lo- cating in a town, in many cases, when it was in an embryotie state, and having no capital other than a 45 good character, a sound constitution, a resolute heart, and a willingness to do any kind of respect- able work which should offer itself. Of this class are three fourths of the leading men, the merchants and manufacturers of Neenah. De Witt Clinton Van Ostrand, of the firm of Smith, Van Ostrand and Leavens, the great stove manufacturers, is a son of 39 2 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. Aaron Van Ostrand, a trader, and Elizabeth nee Collins. He was born at Liverpool, near Syracuse, New York, October 4, 1827, and is therefore just approaching his fiftieth birthday. He lost his father when four or five years old. He lived on a farm until he was about seventeen years old and then at- tended an academy at Evans’ Mills a few terms, and afterward went to Hinsdale, New Hampshire, and worked about three years in a woolen factory. In May, 1850, he removed to Neenah and started a small chair factory, which he conducted one year. He afterward worked in a storehouse a few months; ran a Durham boat a short time between Grand Chute (now Appleton) and Neenah, with Indians and half-breeds to propel it; the next season, in company with A. H. Cronkite, had the contract for portaging goods from Kaukauna, through Neenah, to Oshkosh and Fond du Lac, all merchandise for those points in those days being thus transported. He acted two years as chief clerk in a hardware store owned by Mr. Cronkite. In September, 1855, in company with Hiram Smith, he commenced mer- chandizing, and continued it nearly three years ; he was engaged in the manufacture of flour three years, in company with Mr. Cronkite ; and later, spent about seven years at El Dorado, Fond du Lac county, milling and merchandizing, in partnership with James K. Scribner; returning to Neenah, he, with Hiram Smith, purchased the Neenah paper mills, the first manufactory of the kind built there, and operated them for seven years. During that time they bought an interest in the Neenah stove works, in connection with Mr. H. P. Leavens, and these three gentlemen now own the foundry and are manufacturing between five and six thousand stoves annually. Messrs. Smith and Van Ostrand have also an office on Cedar street, and are engaged to some extent in the loan business. In 1865, while residing in Fond du Lac county, Mr. Van Ostrand represented that county in the lower house of the legislature. He was afterward renominated, but declined to run. At an early day in Neenah, before it became a city, he was presi- dent of the village two years. He was on the school board about three years, and acted as its clerk. He heartily sympathizes with every enterprise calcu- lated to advance the educational, moral or material interests of the city. He is a member of the Presbyterian church. On the 4th of March, 1856, he was married to Miss Eliza Wheeler, of Neenah. They have four children. Mr. Van Ostrand has a dark hazel eye ; an open, frank expression of the face; his hair quite a gray, the only indication of fifty winters. He is five feet eight inches in height, weighs one hundred and sixty five pounds, and has a symmetrical, well-propor- tioned physique. MORGAN L. MARTIN, GREEN BAY. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Martins- burg, Lewis county, New York, was born on the 31st of March, 1805, and is the son of Walter Martin and Sarah ne'e Turner. His native place was named in honor of his father, who had bought the tract of land on whi-ch the town stands. Mor- gan’s boyhood presented few phases in distinction from that of other boys ; he early developed a fond- ness for study, and after completing his preparatory education, pursued a regular course and graduated at Hamilton College in 1824, and later, spent two and a half years in the study of law at Lowville, Lewis county, New York. At the expiration of this time he removed to Detroit, Michigan, and there completed his studies, and was admitted to the bar in 1827. Thus equipped with a thorough educa- tion, untiring energy, enterprise and a determination to succeed, he removed to Green Bay, Wisconsin, and began the practice of his profession, the courts which he attended being held at Prairie du Chien, Green Bay and Mackinaw. He soon built up a re- munerative practice and became known as a success- ful and skillful advocate, and during a period of twenty-five years gave himself unremittingly to his work. In 1851, he became interested in the Fox River improvement, being the originator of the project, and gave to it his attention till 1858. Previous to this movement he had accumulated a small capital which he had invested in lands, and which had grown to a handsome .fortune ; most of it, however, was lost in this enterprise. At the open- ing of the war in 1861 he entered the United States THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTI ON A R V. 395 service as paymaster, and held that position till 1865, when he resigned, and, returning to his home in Green Bay, resumed his practice, in which he has for the most part been engaged until the present time (1876). Aside from the regular duties of his profession Mr. Martin has been called to fill many positions of responsibility and public trust. In 1831 he was elected to the legislature of Michigan, and served in that capacity as long as Michigan remained a territory. After the organization of Wisconsin he represented his district in the legislature from 1838 till 1844, when he resigned the position. In the following year he was elected a delegate to congress from Wisconsin and served one term. He was pres- ident of the constitutional convention of Wisconsin in 1848, and a member of the State legislature during the sessions of 1855, 1858-9 and 1874. He is now county judge of Brown county, having been elected in 1875. Beginning thus with the early history of Wisconsin, Judge Martin has grown up with the State, and his name is coupled with many of its important and interesting events. As an attorney he is a man of recognized ability, while as a judge he is popular and respected by all for the clearness and justness of his decisions. He has been a close observer and profound student, and has gained a knowledge of men and things which, with his fine conversational powers and genial dispo- sition, renders him an agreeable social companion. His political views are democratic, though not affiliating with any party, as now constituted ; and in religion he is identified with the Episcopal church. Judge Martin was married on the 25th of July, 1837, to Miss Elizabeth Smith, daughter of Colonel Melancthon Smith, of Plattsburgh, New York, and sister of Rear Admiral Smith, United States Navy, by whom he has two sons and two daughters. HON. ALMARINE M. CARTER, JOHNSTOWN. T HE subject of the following sketch, descended from a long line of distinguished ancestors, all tillers of the soil, realizes in his own life, perhaps as much as any other man now living, the fulfillment of the prophecy so beautifully paraphrased by Mrs. Hale, regarding those who cultivate the soil : ‘“Go till the soil,’ said God to man, ‘Subdue the earth, it shall be thine’; How grand, how glorious was the plan! How wise the law divine! And none of Adam’s race can draw A title, save beneath this law, To hold the world in trust; Earth is the Lord’s, and he hath sworn That ere Old Time has reached his bourne It shall reward the just.” Mr. Carter has spent nearly the whole of his active life as a farmer, and now enjoys that respect, con- fidence and affection of his fellow-citizens which a useful and upright life alone can permanently secure. He was born in Litchfield county, Connecticut, October 4, 1814, and is the son of Guy and Serepta (Marshall) Carter, of the same State. The Carters claim descent from English ancestors who settled at Litchfield, Connecticut, about the year 1690. Their descendants, who are now cpiite numerous, are found in most of the States of the Union, have generally been husbandmen, imbued with Puritanic princi- ples, and mostly connected with the old Presby- terian and Baptist churches. His grandfather, Adonijah Carter, a man of high moral character and sterling religious principles, died at Litchfield, Connecticut, in 1820, in the seventy-ninth year of his age. His father moved to the State of New York in 1815 and settled at Paris, Oneida county, where he purchased a large farm and followed the occupation of husbandry all his life. In 1855 he removed to Johnstown, Wisconsin, where he died in 1857. He was a man of more than ordinary intelli- gence and considerable local influence, and was for a number of years a trustee of the Madison Uni- versity of New York, a Baptist educational institute of some eminence. The mother of our subject was a woman of most exemplary character, intelligent, hospitable and self-sacrificing, always studying the interests and welfare of those around her. She was also noted as a musician and sweet singer, a quality which she transmitted to her posterity, and espe- cially to our subject. She died in 1855, leaving be- hind a memory fragrant with good deeds and holy precepts. Our subject was the eldest of a family of five children, three boys and two girls, and was named i after his maternal grandfather, who was a wealthy 3 9 6 TIIE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. merchant in Pennsylvania, and who lost his life at the burning of the theatre in the city of Richmond, Virginia, in iSn, the governor of Virginia and some forty or fifty others perishing in the same catastro- phe. He was educated at the Hamilton Academy, New York, from which he graduated in 1832. De- termining to pursue the business of husbandry, he purchased a large farm in Oneida county, New York, on which he remained till 1843, when, fol- lowing the tide of empire, he removed to the Terri- tory of Wisconsin and settled in Johnstown, Rock county, which has since been his home. He entered a farm of government land, the deed to which was signed by President John Tyler, and in real earnest set about the business of taming the wilderness, which under his strong hand, guided by his con- summate skill and taste, has long since been made to “ rejoice and blossom as the rose.” He was one of the most successful and dexterous farmers of the West. He was never ambitious for office ; but being a gentleman of more than ordinary capacity, of high education and refined manners, he has been fre- quently selected by his fellow-citizens to fill posi- tions of trust and honor, upon which he has always reflected the highest credit. He was one of the first commissioners of Rock county, and has held various town offices and other positions from his fellow-citizens. He was elected a member of the constitutional convention of 1847-8, which framed the constitution now in force in the State, serving on the committee of fifteen, of which the late Byron Kilburn was chairman, which mapped out the busi- ness for the various other committees, and was facetiously designated “the breaking team,” being one of its most practical members. He has recent- ly written a history of that convention, which is quite an elaborate and racy document, containing some finely drawn pen-pictures of prominent members of that body. Mr. Carter is the only one of six col- leagues from Rock county now a resident of Wis- consin ; four are deceased and one is a citizen of another State. From the document referred to we make the following extracts, which are mainly in the line of our work : We were then a sparsely settled territory, numbering only r two hundred and ten thousand souls. Now we are a large and prosperous State. Then Wisconsin was the “far west.” Minnesota was not known. Now the western boundary of population, enterprise and wealth of the nation is the Pacific ocean. Then our people were poor; now there is great wealth among us. Then no railroad had reached Lake Michigan; now the whole country is marked into squares by the iron band, and the steam-horse snorts in every locality'. . . . The convention was composed of sixty-nine members, mostly young men and men of energy, who had left luxuriant homes in the East to seek fame and fortune in the West. They were proud of their adopted State, and had met to frame a fundamental law under which their children should live happily. There was earnestness and determination depicted upon each countenance as they took their respective seats. To trace the after career of some of- these men may not be uninteresting. The presi- dent was Morgan L. Martin, who served in the legislature of 1876. Two of the members have been governors of the State, Harvey and Lewis, while the judiciary of the State has been largely and honorably represented by others. Whiton graced the bench from the organization of the State until his death. Orsanius Cole first represented his district, ably and well, in congress, and has for the last nineteen years done the State distinguished service upon the supreme bench ; Larabee has been on the judicial bench, a member of congress, and is at present a distinguished citizen of Oregon. Gale has been upon the bench, and scarcely has there been a legislature since in which one or more of them have not occupied seats. Twelve have left the State; of these Reed has been governor of Florida; Reymert, a man of wealth in New York city; Easterbrook is a prominent citizen of Nebraska, and all are occupying distinguished positions. Eighteen have died. Such is a brief extract from a document brimfull of most important historic matter, and destined to an honored place among the records of the State Historical Society. In 1868, just twenty years after the constitution was framed, Mr. Carter was elected to the State legislature, and served much of the session as chair- man of the house committee on corporations. Since then he has declined all overtures to office, and has resided in ease and quietness at his home in Johns- town. He is a member of the Johnstown Fire Insurance Company. Has gone through the chairs of the Odd-Fellows fraternity, and is a member of the Granger organization, having been the presiding officer in his district since the society originated. He has been for twenty years a member and secre- tary of the society for the suppression of horse stealing, an organization which has done more toward the abatement of this species of plunder than all the laws and law-officers of the State. In a word Mr. Carter is an honest, truthful and capable man, both in public and private life. Ardently at- tached to those things which are true, good and just; hating oppression in all its forms; ever ready to rebuke meanness wherever it showed its head. In politics he is a consistent, intelligent and active republican. He ever held that all men should be unfettered in running the race of life, hence the system of human slavery ever found in him an honorable but unrelenting foe; and when that ac- cursed system organized a rebellion against our government, too old himself to undergo the priva- tions and hardships of camp life, he sent an only THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 397 son to uphold and sustain the just cause of Ids country. But the crowning excellence of his character is his quiet, unostentatious religious life. The sweet- ness and fragrance of his daily walk is a constant blessing to the community in which he resides, and when he shall be finally called to his long home it shall be justly said of him, “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace.” He was one of the organizers of the Johns- town Congregational Society in 1844, and has ever since led the psalmody in the congregation, being rarely absent from his post on the Sabbath. He is, moreover, one of the most generous contributors to the support of the organization. He has been twice married : first, September 26, 1836, in Goshen, Connecticut, to Miss Holly A., daughter of Timothy Wadham, of that place; she died in 1847, leaving two children surviving her, namely, Ellen, wife of E. S. Carter, a merchant in Mendota, Illinois, and Charles, who served his coun- try throughout the late war, and is now a successful merchant in Johnstown. Mr. Carter’s second mar- riage was to Miss Sarah Wedge, daughter of Asah Wedge, Esq., of Warren, Connecticut. She is the mother of one daughter, Frances W., a young lady of superior education and accomplishments, espe- cially noted as a musician. The deceased Mrs. Carter was a lady of rare beauty of person, of the most amiable temper and engaging manners, of high intellectual and social attainments, and an exemplary member of the Bap- tist church, beloved and revered by all who knew her. JOSEPH BODWELL DOE, JANES VII. LE. A MONG the many substantial and enterprising business-men who have contributed to the material prosperity of Janesville, no one stands higher or has a stronger claim upon the respect and gratitude of his fellow-citizens than the subject of this sketch. He was born in Sommersworth, now Rolinsford, New Hampshire, April 20, 1818, his parents being Joseph and Mary B. (Ricker) Doe, of English descent. His father was a well-known and highly respected farmer, and was for many years a member of the New Hampshire legislature, and in all respects a man of acknowledged probity, influ- ence and usefulness. His maternal grandfather was Captain Ricker, of the American merchant marine service. Our subject was brought up on the old farm at Rolinsford, with such educational advantages as the common schools of the place and period afford- ed, until the age of fourteen, when, actuated by a spirit of enterprise and independence, he went to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and became a clerk in a dry-goods store, in which he remained one year. In the following year (1833) he removed to Boston, where he obtained a similar situation, and at the end of one year removed to New York city, where for three years he served in the same capacity. Being then nineteen years of age, and having ac- quired a pretty thorough knowledge of the princi- ples of trade, he, in company with two partners, embarked in the wholesale silk-goods business on his own account in the city of New York, under the firm name of Doe, Mason and Co. The business was conducted with success till the year 1842, when our subject dissolved the partnership and resolved to seek his fortune in the West. He went to Wis- consin during that year and settled in Janesville, which has since been his home. In 1845 he pur- chased two acres of heavily wooded land, on which he built the house in which he has since resided and which is now in the midst of the busiest part of the city. On settling in Janesville he opened a store with a general assortment of goods, which he carried on with fair success till 1852, when he opened a private banking house, there being until then no institution of the kind in the village, and the need of one being urgently felt ; and before he had any adequate facilities for doing business, or any organ- ization, so unbounded was the confidence in his integrity that he received deposits to a large amount from the citizens, with no security but his personal honor. From this nucleus sprung the Central Bank of Wisconsin, which was incorporated in 1855, and which became in 1863 the First National Bank of Janesville; and although his nominal position has been that of cashier, yet he has ever been the soul and spirit of the institution. Under his skillful THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DIC. TIONAR T. 39 8 management it has come to be, in the words of the bank inspector, “the best managed bank in the State." As a business man Mr. Doe is one of the most able and accomplished of the profession ; far- seeing and prudent, just and upright, but firm and decided in all his dealings, and of unquestioned and unquestionable integrity. Although essentially a financier, he is far from being a sordid or avaricious man ; on the contrary, he is exceptionally generous and benevolent ; imbued with a sincere love for his fellow-men, sympathizing with and aiding those in misfortune, and this not as a mere sentiment but as a practical every-day experience, his unselfishness and tenderness of heart have prevented him from being what many others would have been in his circumstances, a rich man. Although he has been somewhat unfortunately associated in business on some occasions, yet no man ever lost a dollar by him. In society he is genial and companionable, always fond of a joke, and a firm believer in the doctrine that mirth is better than medicine. Although a strong party man, he was never a poli- tician and never sought an office, although the office has several times sought him. He was elected mayor of Janesville four different times, to wit, in 1854, 1861, 1862 and 1870, and in each case not only discharged his duties with credit to himself, but reflected honor upon the office. He has always been an earnest promoter of pub- lic enterprises and institutions for the moral and intellectual improvement of his kind. He was one of the incorporators of Racine College in the city of Racine, and also of Kemper Hall in the city of Kenosha, and was for some years a trustee of the State Institution for the Education of the Blind, and is foremost in every good work in his city or com- munity. In religion he has been not less faithful and reli- able than in business. He has been from an early age a member of the Protestant Episcopal church, and was one of the prime movers in the organiza- tion of Trinity parish in Janesville, and has been to that body what he has to the First National Bank; it owes its very existence to his efforts. He is not only one of the most energetic and faithful support- ers of the organization in his own neighborhood, but his influence is felt in the diocesan conventions and educational institutions of the body. He is firm in his religious convictions, but charitable and tolerant of the views of others whose faith differs from his. Politically he has always been a democrat. It is a favorite remark of his that he “has never belonged to any society, secret or political, except the Episco- pal church and the democratic party.” He was married September 3, 1838, to Miss Anna J. Marcher, daughter of Wm. Marcher, a captain in the English merchant marine service. Both her parents were English. She was a most industrious and energetic woman, with strongly developed re- ligious instincts, and a member of the Baptist church. Mr. and Mrs. Doe have had twelve chil- dren, of whom three sons and one daughter are now living. The eldest son, Chas. Ricker, born August 17, 1849, was educated at Racine College, and is now holding a responsible position in the employment of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad in the State of Iowa. The second son, Joseph B., junior, bom March 8, 1855, graduated from Racine College in 1874; read law in the office of John Winans, Esq., of Janesville ; was admitted to the bar in 1876, and is now (1877) practicing his profession in Janesville. He inherits his father’s qualities of head and heart, and is a youth of great nobility of character and much promise. The third son, Wilson H., born February 2, 1858, occupies a position in the bank with his father. Martha W. is the widow of the late W. E. Ferslew, of Janesville. HON. LUTHER HANCHETT PLO r I ''HE late Luther Hanchett, an early settler at X Plover, Portage county, a native of Ohio, was a son of Luther and Martha Ann (Rent) Hanchett, and was born at Middlebury, November 25, 1825. He received an academic education at Fremont, and immediately after leaving school began the study of VER. law in that place, with his half-brother, General Ralph P. Buckland. He was admitted to the bar at Plover in 1850, and devoting the remainder of his life to his chosen work reflected the highest honor upon his profession. Mr. Hanchett was elected district attorney of THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 399 Portage county in 1852, and held that office two years. He was elected to the State senate in 1856, and reelected in 1858. In i860 he was elected to congress from the second district, then comprising more than one half of the territory of the State. Two years later, the State being redistricted, he was elected to congress from the sixth district, but did not long survive, dying at his home in Plover on the 24th of November, 1862. On November 1 1, 1853, Mr. Hanchett was married to Miss Lucinda Alban, eldest daughter of Colonel James Alban, who was afterward commander of the 18th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers, and was killed at the head of his regiment in the battle of Shiloh. They had two children, a son and a daughter, both of whom are still living. Mrs. Hanchett is now the wife of James O. Raymond, Esq., a prominent at- torney residing at Stevens Point. PERRY F MANIT F EW men in Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, have seen more of frontier life than Perry P. Smith. He settled there with a brother-in-law, Benjamin Jones, and a company of speculators, in the summer of 1837, when everybody was expecting to be rich in a very short time. Manitowoc was then a town which looked well on paper, but its great lack was people. About forty workmen, day laborers and mechanics, came with the speculators, to clear up the town plat and put up buildings. During the monetary depression of 1837 the float- ing population disappeared, and only five families were left. The heads of these families were : Ben- jamin Jones (who is still there), D. S. Munger, Joseph Edwards, Oliver Hubbard and E. L. Abbott. Members of the Edwards and Hubbard families are still there, and a son of Mr. Jones is mayor of the city. In order to keep themselves alive, the parties re- maining converted the site of the town — a small part of which had been cleared of timber — into potato patches and corn fields. The verities of his- tory require us to state that the first wheat field in Manitowoc county was part of the present city of Manitowoc, supplying the crop of 1841. Perry P. Smith, who has seen the old fishing- grounds of the Chippewas, at the mouth of Manito- woc river, spread out on either side of the stream into a city of eight thousand inhabitants, is a native of New York, and a son of Ira and Mahala (Redway) Smith, and was born in the town of Vic- tor, Ontario county, February 15, 1823. His father, a soldier in the war of 1812, and a prisoner nine months at Halifax, was a farmer and jobber, an honest, hard-working man, in moderate circum- stances. Nicholas Smith, the grandfather of Perry, \ SMITH, owoc. carried a musket during the seven years’ struggle for American independence. At the age of fourteen Perry bade farewell to his native State, and, wending his way westward, reached Chicago, at that time a village of between four and five thousand inhabitants, in February, 1836. After remaining in Chicago eighteen months he removed to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and gave his youthful vigor and muscle to solid work, and has seen, first the village, and then the city, in all the stages of its growth. About 1842 the place began to recover from the effects of the financial revulsion of 1837. Families, one after another, came in, and it soon began to have the appearance of a village, particularly on the north side of the river. The first frame house built there, located on the corner of Seventh and York streets, is still standing (1877), looking quite decent in a fresh coat of paint. From about 1843 to 1847 or 1848 Mr. Smith, with other settlers, devoted his time largely to making shingles, which were sent to Milwaukee and Chicago, and exchanged for provisions. About this time settlers began to clear up farms by cutting off the timber. In 1853 Mr. Smith, after having kept a store some time alone, went into the lumbering and mercantile business with his brother-in-law, Mr. Jones, the firm being B. Jones and Co. He con- tinued in business until 1872, when, by reason of failing sight, he retired. He is now almost blin^l with cataract, though otherwise in perfect bodily health. Several years ago Mr. Smith was county collector for about three years, and subsequently served as clerk of the circuit court four years. In politics, he has been a republican since there 4 °° THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. was such a party, and has always lived in a strongly democratic county; yet, in 1861, he was nominated for the assembly, and came within twenty-three votes of securing an election, the assembly district having a democratic majority of four hundred. Though having a very ordinary school education in his boyhood, Mr. Smith has always had an inquir- ing mind, and fitted himself in early manhood to attend to the routine of business in all its details. On the 8th of January, 1849, he was married to Miss Esther A. Champlin, of Manitowoc, and by her has three sons, all now living and doing well. The eldest, Hiram C., is married, and lives in California. The other two, Alonzo R. and Ira P., are in St. Louis. Though he has been for forty years a resident of Manitowoc, Mr. Smith is but little past the prime of life, and, but for the trouble with his eyes, would be an efficient business man. He attends the services of the Methodist church, and has always borne an excellent moral character. Note. — Benjamin’ Jones, spoken of several times in this sketch, is still living in Manitowoc, now in his eightv- third year, he being horn July 26, 1795. lie is a native of Berkshire county, Massachusetts. 1 1 is father, William Jones, moved to Saratoga county, New York, when Benja- min was four years old, and, several years later, to Chau- tauqua county. Benjamin farmed until twenty-five years of age. Subsequently he aided in building a canal between Kingston and Ottawa, Canada. At the land sale in 1S35 he and his brother William purchased property in Manito- woc, and hither Benjamin moved in 1S37 from Chicago, where he had been living a few years. His brother William remained in Chicago, became quite wealthy, and was one of the founders of the University of Chicago. The south wing of the University building was named for him. Ben- jamin Jones was a lumberman and merchant in Manitowoc about thirty years, retiring from business about ten years ago. He was succeeded by A. D. Jones and Brother — his two sons. Mr. A. D. Jones is one of the leading men in Manitowoc, and is mayor of the city. The eldest^ daughter married Mr. E. J. Colby, of Manitowoc, and is ctbad. Adelia, the other daughter, is the wife of Dr. Black, of Chicago. The Jones family has always been one of the most respected in Manitowoc. REV. WILLIAM C. MIL ILLIAM CLARKE WHITFORD was born in the town of West Edmeston, Otsego county, New York, May 5, 1828. His father, Cap- tain Samuel Whitford, of English lineage, belonged to the branch of the family which has resided in Mas- sachusetts more than one hundred and fifty years, some members at Salem and others near Narragan- sett Bay. His mother, Sophia Clarke, was connected on both her father’s and her mother’s side with the numerous families of that name which originated in Rhode Island, and which are now among the lead- ing men of that State in all the learned professions. Both his parents were reared in the newly-settled region of central New York, and enjoyed but meager educational advantages ; but, endowed with strong minds and rare good sense, they were among the most intelligent and highly respected people in the community in which they lived. The grandfather of our' subject, David Whitford, died when his son Samuel was but sixteen years of age, leaving in care of the latter a family of eleven children, all of whom, except one sister, Avere younger than himself, and two of whom were cripples from birth, and all of whom he brought to maturity. He worked at the potash business, managed the patrimonial farm, and for fourteen years devoted all his earnings to the WHITLORD, A.M., TON. maintenance and education of his brothers and sis- ters. In later years he became a man of consider- able influence, and held various positions of trust and honor in both civil and military life. He died at the age of fifty-one, when his son, our subject, was twenty years old, leaving his widow, who still survives, and four sons, one of whom, Professor Al- bert Whitford, is a member of the faculty of Milton College. The most watchful care was given to the instruction and religious training of these children by their widowed mother during their minority. William C. Whitford usually worked on the farm in summer and attended either a district or select school in winter until he was seventeen years of age. At the age of twelve he had developed a great fond- ness for reading, and for several years thereafter ap- plied himself assiduously to reading all works of biography, history, travel and of a didactic nature which came within his reach. Finding farm-work ill suited to his tastes he resolved to make prepara- tion for some literary or professional calling, and accordingly entered Brookfield Academy, Madison county, New York, where he remained the greater part of three years. After this, in the twenty-first year of his age, he became a student in De Ruyter Institute, New York, and there completed his prep- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. aration to enter the senior class at Union College in 1850, from which he was graduated in 1853. In the meantime he assisted in teaching in Milton Academy, Wisconsin, one term, and was the princi- pal of Union Academy, at Shiloh, New Jersey, for two terms. He also spent a summer in Madison county, New York, in making an elaborate map of portions of the county, and in this and various other ways met a part of his expenses in obtaining an education. Although he had evinced a decided aptness for instructing pupils and managing schools, yet he decided, during his last year in college, to engage in the work of the gospel ministry. He had made a profession of faith in Christ some nine years prior to this, and united with the Seventh-day Bap- tist denomination of Christians. Soon after his graduation therefore, he began a three years’ course of study in Union Theological Seminary, New York city, immediately after the completion of which he was called to the pastorate of the Milton, Wiscon- sin, Seventh-day Baptist Church, to which he was ordained in 1856, and which he held for three years. Under his labors the church, though previously quite large, more than doubled its membership and working power. During the last year of his pastor- ate he was induced to take charge of the academy in the place. The institution had then been in op- eration as a select school and an academy for four- teen years and had gained a good standing in the country round about ; but under the administration of Mr. Whitford it acquired great vigor and a wide popularity, the attendance of students some years reaching to four hundred and fifty. During the late civil war the academy took an active part in raising troops for the service, and not less than three hundred and eleven of its students joined the Union army; and many of them were aided by our subject in procuring responsible positions in various regi- ments of the State. For nine years the school, as an academy, was under his charge, and in 1867 was converted, mainly by his efforts, into a college, of which he has since been the president, serving not only at the head of the faculty but also of the board of trustees. The institution has, under its new powers, steadily advanced in influence. The num- ber of students in the regular college classes has not been less than seventy in any year; while those in the academic classes have been thrice that number. The graduates of the college, though not numerous, are among the most successful teachers in the high and normal schools of the State. 46 JOI In 1868 President Whitford served one term in the lower house of the State legislature, and did eminent service as chairman of the committee on education. He was president of the State Teach- ers’ Association of Wisconsin for the year 1865, and has often presented highly important papers on ed- ucational topics before that body. In 1867 he was appointed by the governor of the State a member of the board of normal regents, and held this position for nearly nine years. He has frequently acted on the committees for the examination of the graduat- ing classes of these schools, and has otherwise been largely identified with the educational affairs of the State. He has been twice selected as one of the visitors at the State University, and has been re- peatedly called to lecture before teachers’ institutes and lyceums. For the centennial year of our coun- try he prepared, at the request of the State superin- tendent of public instruction, a work containing a succinct history of education in Wisconsin — a most thorough and exhaustive treatise, containing two hundred and fifty pages, the result of much labor and research on his part, which, with other contri- butions from the State, was placed on exhibition at Philadelphia. In addition to his labors in the institution and in behalf of education elsewhere, President Whitford has often preached in the churches both near his home and in localities in the East when serving on agencies for the college and for the denomination of Christians with which he is connected. He has also delivered a number of addresses at political gatherings and at Fourth-of-July celebrations of a very high order of scholarly patriotism. Of the thousands of young men and women who have gone out from Milton Academy and College, there is probably not one who does not cherish sen- timents of respect and affection for President Whit- ford. To them he has been not only an instructor of facts as set forth in the class-books, but their lives have been influenced and shaped by his char- acter, so full of cordial sympathy with all progress. He has such a firm belief in the higher life, such faith in the power of men to improve themselves, and is such an earnest, untiring worker in all that he undertakes, such deep interest in the success of those about him, especially his students, such anx- iety for their future welfare, such enthusiasm and faith in his college, that he inspires those about him with a desire to realize all the possibilities of their nature. 402 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHIC. AL DICTION ART. Although belonging to a peculiar sect, he is void of all cant or bigotry. Out of the abundance of his heart, his mouth is continually uttering words of encouragement, not only to his students, whether in the class-room or the play-ground, but to all with whom he comes in contact. His religious convic- tions are very firm and ardent, and his influence in leading young people to Christ has been marked and salutary. He is a most agreeable companion, abounding in good nature, friendly, sympathetic and generous. Possessed of strong convictions and firm will, he is not easily turned aside after once taking hold of an enterprise, and his power over the minds and actions of others is very great. His works will live in the memories of the thousands whom he has educated, and will be transmitted through them to other generations. He has been twice married. His first wife, Miss Elmina E. Coon, a graduate of De Ruyter Institute, was a most amiable and accomplished lady. She died six months after marriage. His second wife, Miss Ruth Hemphill, is a graduate of Alfred Uni- versity, New York, and has taught in the schools with him a portion of the time for twenty-five years. Mr. Whitford is a strong-built man, with dark hair, full beard, ruddy cheeks and sparkling blue eyes. He has a full voice in speaking, and mani- fests great earnestness of manner. HON. THADDEUS C. POUND, CHIPPEWA FALLS. HADDEUS COLEMAN POUND was born in the town of Elk, Warren county, Pennsyl- vania, December 6, 1832. His ancestors on both sides were Quakers, deeply imbued with the sterling principles taught by the wise and sagacious Penn ; and they sought to ingraft upon their children these cherished sentiments of love, honesty and goodwill toward man, preeminent among the sect. His par- ents, Elijah and Judith Pound, could only give to their family a home of the most primitive style, scarcely containing the necessaries of life. In 1838 the family removed to Monroe county, New York, where, in the following year, the mother died, leav- ing to her sons all that she had to give, the sacred memory of a mother’s prayers and a loving heart, with the teaching of one conscious that “Who gives to posterity an illustrious son Confers an honor upon the State.” Four or five years later we find the family in Rochester, the father and sons working in a woolen factory, Thaddeus at first receiving one shilling a day, his business being the assorting of wool, the initiatory step to “ sorting ” on a larger scale in other branches of business. In the spring of 1847 the family immigrated to Wisconsin, and shortly afterward located in Rock county, renting a farm on Catfish Prairie ; and here, even amidst the drudgery of farm and house- hold duties, the boy felt the glowing inspiration of Western life, and improved the fragments of time snatched from labor, having an eager love of learn- ing, until at the age of fifteen he was installed as teacher in the home district. This experience, so often a stepping-stone to American fame and for- tune, brought the subject of our sketch to Milton Academy, in Rock county, where, between working in harvest-fields and teaching during vacation, he continued several terms. For the purpose of secur- ing better opportunities in his pursuit of a liberal education, he taught, for a time, a high school at Caledonia, Livingston county, New York, and availed himself of the superior facilities for instruction to be had at the Rushford Academy in Alleghany county, of the same State. In the spring of 1856 he removed to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Here, starting on the first round of the ladder, as a book-keeper, he has risen by virtue of his inherent powers and persever- ance to be the acknowledged leader in the public enterprises and improvements of the Chippewa Val- ley. For twenty years in this his chosen home, while engaged constantly in lumbering and the at- tendant mercantile and agricultural pursuits, he has found time and means to forward many public measures which will ever stand in north Wisconsin as monuments to his sagacity, zeal, perseverance and liberal hand. From 1862 to 1869 Thaddeus C. Pound was the senior partner and manager of the firm of Pound, Halbert and Co. He is now president of the Union Lumbering Company, organized seven years ago. Thus far the life of Governor Pound has been an unbroken series of triumphs. Every move he makes THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 405 he makes to win, and he does it. Few men of his age in the State of Wisconsin have had so many “ blushing honors ” conferred upon them. He was a member of the popular branch of the legislature in 1864, 1866, 1867 and 1869; was elected lieutenant- governor in 1869, and a member of congress from the eighth district in 1876, being at this time a mem- ber of the Forty-fifth Congress. In the legislature Governor Pound was distinguished for his good judg- ment and commanding influence in the committee room; for his coolness, clearness and resource in debate on the floor, and his success in carrying through measures of the greatest importance to the State, and especially his part of it. In 1864, while a member, he placed on record an opinion, in which he asserted “ that congress was the rightful guardian of all streams open to inter- state commerce and navigation.” This became the key-note of the most exciting contests ever intro- duced into Wisconsin legislation, and, under the name of the “Dells bill,” it has for years continued to be the all-absorbing question. As the presiding officer of the Wisconsin senate, Mr. Pound’s fine personal appearance, self-preserved and courteous manner, made him a favorite presid- ing officer, and his impartial rulings and marked executive ability drew from all persons and parties honorable recognition. It is safe to predict that the same traits of character by which he is dis- tinguished at home will make him a useful and influential member of congress. As a public benefactor, he is endeared to every citizen of his city and county. Lavish of his own means for the public good, he has devoted his whole energies to increase the prosperity of his locality. He conceived, organized, pushed to completion and put in operation the Chippewa Falls and Western Railway, of which he is president, without a dollar of foreign aid. He is also president of the Chip- pewa Falls Northern and Eastern Railway Com- pany, recently organized. In summing up the character of Governor Pound, we may say that he has a cool, cautious and saga- cious mind, is genial in disposition, possessing the magnetic presence; warranting the prediction that his public career will continue to be commanding and successful. This light sketch conveys but an imperfect idea of the “Thad. Pound” — as he is familiarly ad- dressed — known to those who come in daily con- tact with him, and experience his warm friendship, noble impulses, great kindness of heart, exceeding charity, and witness that honesty of purpose that never wavers, no matter what the consideration. DR. GEORGE JANES EORGE H. McCAUSEY was born, in Mar- cellus, Onondaga county, New York, August 28, 1843, his parents being Charles and Mary (Watts) McCausey. His father was descended from Scotch ancestors, who were among the first settlers of New York city, and was a man possessed of forethought, sagacity and a stern persistence — characteristics so peculiar to the Scotch people. His mother was pos- sessed of exquisite tastes, being an enthusiastic lover of the fine arts and an incessant reader, and showed more than ordinary interest in the education of her son. She kept him in some of the best institutions of learning in New York State until her death, which occurred in i860, when his studies were temporarily interrupted. He had been an ardent student of the different branches of natural science, having a spe- cial partiality for the study of chemistry and the modern languages, his early intention being intended H. McCAUSEY, VILLE. to prepare himself for teaching. The next four years of his life, however, were devoted to farm labor, an industry for which his previous course of life had totally unfitted him, and which was wholly contrary to his natural tastes. Accordingly, at the age of twenty-one years, being free to follow the bent of his inclinations, he bid farewell to the home of his youth, divorced himself forever from a business with which he could have no affinity, and entered upon the study of the profession of which he is now one of the foremost members. His education in the art of dentistry, which was acquired under the direc- tion of private instructors, extending over a period of nearly nine years, was thorough and complete. He removed to Janesville, Wisconsin, in the fall of 1872, and at once resolved to make himself a home in that city. With small means, but full of youthful vigor, he procured an office and commenced 406 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. work. Dependent entirely on his profession, with his kind and gentlemanly deportment and superior skill, he soon made numerous friends and established a profitable business. His aim was to gain an honor- able position in his profession, which he felt must be done by diligent study, superior workmanship, and constant intercourse with his professional confreres. Now, after four years' effort, he finds himself enjoy- ing a lucrative practice, with the growing respect and esteem of a constantly widening circle of friends and patrons. He is a member of the Janesville Chapter, No. 5, R. A. M.; Western Star Lodge, No. 14, A. F. and A. M. ; Memorial Lodge Knights of Honor, No. 318; Wisconsin Lodge I. O. O. F., No. 14, and a member of the Crystal Temple of Honor, No. 32, an advanced temperance organization. He is also incumbent of the chair of junior warden of Western Star Lodge, A. F. and A. M. On the 25th of June, 1872, he married Miss Estelle A. Reynolds, at Auburn, New York, she being a native of Lowell, Massachusetts. He resided at Auburn, being connected with the office of Dr. G. W. Tripp (one of the most prominent dentists of central New York) prior to removing to Janesville in the autumn of that year. JOHN D. MARKHAM MANITO JVOC. T HE subject of this biography, a native of Es- sex county, New York, was born in the town of Wilmington, April 23, 1828. His parents were Nathan B. Markham, a lumberman and iron manu- facturer, and Susan nee McLeod, the former being of English and the latter of Scotch descent, though both of his parents were natives of New England. His paternal great-grandfather was a captain in the navy during the war for independence; his grand- father was a private soldier in the same war, and his maternal great-grandfather was a prisoner in the Bastile, France, during the French war. Our sub- ject is the eldest of a family of six sons and four daughters. Four of the sons are lawyers in Wiscon- sin, two of them living at Milwaukee and one at Neenah. During his youth John worked at the iron manu- facturing trade in Wilmington, attending school during the winter months, until he attained his ma- jority. At the age of twenty-two he began to study law with Kellogg and Hale in Elizabethtown, Essex county, New York, both of them since members of congress, and was admitted to the bar at Elizabeth- town, July 2, 1855. Settling in Manitowoc in May of the following year, he has had for twenty-one years a steadily growing legal practice, extending into all the courts of the State and to the supreme court of the United States, he having been admitted to practice in the last named court at Washington, District of Columbia, in 1867. As a lawyer he has much professional courtesy, and is popular at the bar. He works up his cases I with the greatest care, and is faithful to his client. He is strong before a jury, and a well-posted, clear- headed court lawyer, and an honor to the legal pro- fession. Though an ardent republican, Mr. Markham has not been very active in politics, and has held but few offices. He was district attorney two terms, from 1859 to 1863; a member of the board of su- pervisors about three years, and has held one or two minor offices. He has been urged to accept a nomination for congress, and on one occasion, when Mr. Sawyer was the successful man, Mr. Markham came within three votes of being nominated. He is, however, more of a lawyer than politician, and may well- be satisfied with his position in the tenth judicial circuit. Mr. Markham was very influential in getting the Milwaukee, Lake Shore and Western railroad to Manitowoc. He was a director of the road at the start and for several years thereafter, and is a leader in all local projects for the improvement of the city. He has spent two or three winters at Washington, District of Columbia, and has been instrumental in securing large appropriations for the improvement of the Manitowoc harbor. He was married in October, 1856, to Miss Mary Burt, of Jay, Essex county, New York. They have two sons and one daughter. Mrs. Markham is a well-educated lady, and a member of the Presbyte- rian church, and her husband is a trustee of the same society. Mr. Markham has a very large law library, of THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 407 which he has made and is making the best of use. Five attorneys now living in Manitowoc read with him, and most of them are doing well. Being the oldest legal practitioner in his city, Mr. Markham has a warm solicitude for the local profession. F'or all his neighbors he has a kindly regard, and he is a man of pleasant address and of excellent social qualities. DAVID W. CARTWRIGHT, MIL TON. D avid warren Cartwright, a native of Berlin, Rensselaer county, New York, was born March n, 1814, and is the son of David Cart- wright and Abigail nee Warren, and a cousin of the late Rev. Peter Cartwright, the celebrated pioneer missionary of Illinois. His father was the youngest in a family of nine children (seven boys and two girls), all of whom lived to maturity. The Cartwright family is of English descent, the ancestors having settled in America some four generations ago. The grandfather of our subject, who had for several years prior to the revolution been the captain of a whaling vessel, was pressed on board an English man-of-war, from which, after three years, while in the West Indies, he succeeded in making his escape, and took passage in an American vessel bound for Rhode Island. There he married and made for himself a home, and uniting with the colonists of that State served faithfully throughout the long struggle for independence. David’s early education was quite limited, his at- tendance at the district schools of the period being confined to a few months. He was, however, en- dowed with rare mental gifts, which he has culti- vated by study and observation, becoming one of the most acute and remarkable men of his day. From his earliest recollection he has been a close observer of animal nature, especially of the wild ani- mals inhabiting the forests and prairies of the West; and to discover their habits and modes of living, and to arrange for their capture, has always been his delight. In the year 1833 he moved from Rensselaer to Alleghany county, in his native State, and while residing in the latter place first followed hunting with the idea of pecuniary gain, his success exceed- ing his most sanguine expectations. He seemed to possess an intuitive adaptation to the chase, and determined thereafter to make hunting the specialty of his life. In 1834 he was united in marriage to Elcy Mapes, of New York State, and in 1842 removed to Jeffer- son county, Wisconsin, and settled in the midst of a heavy timbered section known as Bark Woods. At that time there was no settlement and no roads, but Indians and game were plenty, so that he ’was at no loss for occupation ; swarms of bees were numerous and their honey was abundant. During the summer months, therefore, he frequently engaged in honey gathering with good success. As soon as the weather became too cold for this business he commenced to hunt deer, and was again successful. During the first winter spent in Wisconsin, he and an associate together killed upward of seventy-five deer, besides a number of wolves and wild-cats. His honey, deerskins, etc., he sent to New York, where they found a ready market, and with the proceeds he paid for his western home. Since that time it has been his custom to hunt some five or six months during each autumn and winter. In the early spring of 1852 he started, in company with two others, from his home in southern Wiscon- sin to conduct a party of adventurers across the plains to California. In these days of palace cars, fast-mail trains and luxurious living, when after bid- ding an Atlantic home good night one can soon say good morning at the Golden Gate, we can scarcely realize what a formidable undertaking this journey was a little over twenty years ago. After a wearisome march of nearly five months, much of the time through a country infested by hostile Indians, and separated from the refining influence'of civili- zation, they reached their destination in safety. Mr. Cartwright bought a gold-claim some three miles from Yreka, from which some two hundred dollars’ worth of ore was taken the first day of working; but the gold soon became exhausted, and not being in sympathy with the business he returned to his favor- ite pursuit, which he found not only more agreeable but more profitable, as venison then and there sold readily for twenty-two cents per pound. One day while in search of deer he came very unexpectedly 408 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. upon three huge grizzly bears, who showed fight. He succeeded in killing one of them after a some- what exciting and protracted combat, but the others made good their escape. He remained in California about four months, when failing health rendered his return to Wisconsin necessary. Passing through the Golden Gate he came by way of Aspinwall, and has remained east of the Rocky Mountains every since, pursuing his chosen avocation. In 1868 he removed to Milton, Wisconsin. Since that time it has been his custom to spend the sum- mer months on the peninsula of northern Michigan in the region of Lake Superior; and he has become so familiar with the country as to offer himself as a guide for visiting or exploring parties to those regions. Besides the places already mentioned he has also hunted in Iowa, Minnesota and northern Wisconsin. Mr. Cartwright had often been requested to put in book form the result of his observations of the habits and customs of the many wild animals which inhabit this western country, and with which he was so familiar, his knowledge of woodcraft, and also to give some account of his experience as a hunter. Accordingly in 1875 he published a “ Natural His- tory of Western Wild Animals,” a work which con- tains about three hundred pages, nineteen full-page 'illustrations, and which embraces two parts, namely, “ The Hunter’s Art and His Game,” and “ Narratives of Personal Adventure.” In the first part he de- scribes the modes which he has employed for find- ing and capturing the various wild animals of the northern and western States. Some of these modes he learned from other hunters and trappers, but most of them he discovered himself. They show the most intimate acquaintance with these animals, and superior skill in what he calls “outwitting them.” The description of the game is especially valuable to the student of natural history. It is taken very largely from his knowledge of their homes and their habits, and from his personal scru- tiny of their physical structure, and partakes, there- fore, of the nature of an original contribution to the subject. Under “Narratives of Personal Adven- ture ” he gives accounts of some of the most inter- esting events in his combats with the wild animals in the course of his varied experience. To the general reader this is the most acceptable portion of the work, and exhibits very fully the courage, the endurance and the remarkable shrewdness of the author. Mr. Cartwright is a member of the religious de- nomination known as Seventh-day Baptists, and a blameless and exemplary member of society. In politics he is strongly republican, and a wise, useful and patriotic citizen. He is thoroughly temperate in all his habits, and has, during most of his life, used neither whisky nor tobacco. His transactions with his fellow-men have been uniformly governed by the strictest principles of rectitude, and there is not a single blemish upon his reputation. He enjoys the fullest confidence of his old neighbors and the many hunters with whom he has been associated for forty-five years. He is a very companionable man and enjoys an evening with his friends relating accounts of his adventures with the animals through his long career. His union with Miss Mapes was blessed with a family of eight children, five sons and three daugh- ters, five of whom survive, namely: Jonathan, Charles, Paul, Darius and Eva De Ette. The other three died in infancy. HON. THEODORE PRENTISS, WATERTOWN. T HEODORE PRENTISS was born September 10, 1818, at Montpelier, Vermont. He is the eighth son of Samuel Prentiss, who was at one time chief justice of the supreme court of Vermont; United States senator for about ten years, and sub- sequently judge of the United States district court. The maiden name of Theodore’s mother was Lucre - tia Houghton. Both of his grandparents and his paternal great-grandfather participated in the revo- lutionary war, and the latter, Colonel Samuel Pren- tiss, was commander of a regiment in that sanguinary struggle. The subject of this sketch pursued a course of study in the academy in his native town preparatory for college, and in 1838 entered the University of Vermont, but left during the same year by reason of ill health, and went south. Re- turning in 1842, he studied law in his father’s office at Montpelier, and was admitted to the bar in 1844. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION AR T. Attracted by the superior inducements to young attorneys at the West, he removed to Wisconsin in October of the same year, and in February, 1845, settled at Watertown. Here, for more than thirty years, he has continued in the practice of his pro- fession, and has long stood among the leaders of the Jefferson county bar. He has recently devoted considerable attention to real-estate operations, and has been very successful, and lives now in the en- joyment of a liberal competence. Mr. Prentiss was a member of both conventions which met to form a State constitution. He was a 409 member of the legislature in 1861, and during the same year was elected a member of the board of regents of the university, and has been three times elected mayor of Watertown. In all his official ca- pacities he acted with uprightness and fairness, and left them with an untarnished name and a spotless record. On the 4th of December, 1855, Mr. Prentiss was married to Miss Martha J. Perry, of Montpelier, Vermont. They have had three sons. They are members of the Episcopal church, and are promi- nent in Watertown in all benevolent operations. GEORGE M. STEELE, D.D., APPLETON . T HE subject of this biography is of Puritan stock. His paternal ancestors immigrated from the Old World about 1635, an d settled in Dor- chester, Massachusetts, and afterward joined the Hartford Colony. His mother was Jerusha Rich Higgins, whose ancestors were among the early settlers on Cape Cod. He was born in the town of Strafford, Orange county, Vermont, April 13, 1823. His father, Rev. Joel Steele, a Methodist minister, and an itinerant for nearly forty years, died in Gloucester, Massachusetts, in 1846. George left home when about ten years old, and lived on a farm in Vermont until of age, with not more than twelve weeks of schooling each year. He resolved at that late period in life to have, if possible, a liberal education; and entering Newbury (Vermont) Academy, prepared for college, teaching and doing various kinds of work to aid in defraying his ex- penses. He entered the freshman class of the Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, in September, 1846, and graduated in course. He afterward taught three years in Wilbraham Acad- emy, Massachusetts, employing his leisure, mean- while, in the study of theology. Entering the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church in 1853, he preached in Fitchbury, Lowell, Lynn, Boston, and other places in Massachusetts, until 1865, when he accepted the presidency of Lawrence University, and moved to Appleton, Wisconsin. This institution was founded in 1847, and took its name from Hon. Ames A. Lawrence, of Boston, Massachusetts, he having, a year or two earlier, pledged ten thousand dollars toward endowing a school in the Lower Fox Valley, provided the Methodists of Wisconsin would raise an additional ten thousand dollars for the same purpose. They did so; the preliminary steps were taken; a building was erected, one of the first on the site of the present city of Appleton, and the school opened November 12, 1847, with Rev. W. H. Sampson as principal, and three assistants. Rev. Edward Cooke, D.D., of Boston, became president in 1852. The next year the corner-stone of the present three-story stone structure, sixty by one hundred and twenty feet, was laid ; the first college class was graduated in 1857, and the whole number of graduates is now about two hundred. R. Z. Mason became president in 1861, and was succeed- ed, four years later, by Dr. Steele. Connected with the university are a good collection of apparatus, a valuable cabinet and museum, and a library of about eight thousand volumes. Before removing to the West, Dr. Steele had writ- ten more or less for the “ Methodist Quarterly Re- view,” the “North American Review,” the “Christian Examiner,” and other eastern periodicals of a high order; also for the “ Northwestern Christian Advo- cate," of Chicago; and the scholarly tone, vigor of thought and critical ability displayed in his writings undoubtedly aided in securing to him the presidency of this institution. His department is ethics and political economy. On the latter branch he has a work ready for the press. His class recitations in- spire, among the students of Lawrence University, a deep interest in the science of wealth, and his writings published upon it attract considerable at- tention from abroad. 4io THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. Dr. Steele, whose honorary title came from the Northwestern University at Evanston, Illinois, in 1S66, has had charge of the financial department of the college most of the time since he settled in Appleton, and has done a vast amount of work out- side his duties indicated by the curriculum. In him are combined, in an eminent degree, what we do not always find in college-bred theologians — profound scholarship and excellent business talents. As a college president he is popular and successful, and has already passed beyond the average term. In 1873 Dr. Steele spent about four months in Europe, visiting England, Belgium, Germany, Aus- tria, Switzerland, Italy and France, enriching his mind with the fruits of careful observation, keeping a diary by which he is enabled to refresh his own memory in reference to sights and scenes in the old world, and which he may some day publish in book form. President Steele has represented the Wisconsin conference three times in the quadrennial general conference of the Methodist Episcopal church. On the 1st of July, 1852, he was married to Miss Susan J. Swift, of Prophetstown, Massachusetts. They have had three children, one of whom is now living. Mrs. Steele is a well-educated woman, of great executive abilities. She is president of the Woman’s State Temperance Union of Wisconsin; corresponding secretary of the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church for Wisconsin ; and usually does a great deal of public work. At the present time (April, 1877) she is en route to Europe, expecting to remain abroad about five months. An intimate friend, an associate teacher, of Presi- dent Steele’s states that he is a scholar of the sound and strong, rather than ornamental class. “ His learning is of a wide range, embracing not only the usual classics of a college course, but some knowl- edge of oriental and modern European languages.” The direction of his post-graduate researches has been largely theological, ethical and philosophical ; though for the last few years he has made a spe- cialty of political economy. His mind is logical and strong, and he has taken high rank as a writer upon some of the most difficult themes of modern thought. In personal character he possesses the most sterling and genial qualities. He estimates his own merit very modestly, and even disguises his learning by the simplicity of the speech of his social life, though his pulpit oratory is often stately and eloquent, as well as original and convincing. PROF. CHRISTOPHER BACH, MIL WA UK EE. T HE subject of this biography, a native of Nie- derhone, province of Hesse-Cassel, Prussia, was born on the 24th of March, 1835, the son of George Bach and Catarina Wollenhaupt. His father, a fresco-painter by profession, attained a considerable degree of celebrity in his locality ; and it was his desire that his son should adopt the same occupa- tion. For a time Christopher worked with his father, but finding the business ill suited to his tastes, abandoned it. While still a youth he devel- oped fine musical talents, and after the death of his father, which occurred when he was about sixteen years old, he was enabled to devote himself to the cultivation of his musical powers. His favorite in- strument was the violin. Going to Eschwege, he placed himself under the charge of the celebrated Philip Muscat, musical director at that place, with whom he studied during the next four years. At the age of twenty years he left his native land, and in company with his mother, two brothers and three sisters, sailed for America, arriving in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, his present home, on the 3d day of July, 1855. Though but a young man he at once under- took the task of organizing a military and string band. Selecting from those whom he could find six whom he deemed suitable to his purpose, he put them under a course of training, and gradually added to this number as he found talent suited to his need, and now has an orchestra of thirty and a military band of twenty-five pieces. This band has attained an enviable celebrity, and has no superior in the United States, aside from those of Thomas’ and Gilmore’s. His attention, however, has not been wholly devoted to the training of his band. Becoming a pupil of the celebrated Eduard Sobo- lewsky (a pupil of C. M. von Weber), lie applied him- self with vigor, and completed his studies in thor- ough-base and musical composition. During his THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. earlier life, while studying in Hesse-Cassel, he be- gan the composition of music for military bands, and after his arrival in Milwaukee continued com- posing and arranging operatic overtures. Later he engaged in a more general work of composition, and besides his band music and lighter pieces has com- posed and published works of a higher order, and become widely known for his superior musical tal- ent. During the first ten years of his residence in Milwaukee he gave lessons on the violin and piano, but owing to his other manifold duties was com- pelled to abandon it. His success as a musical director was duly recognized, and he was sought to take charge of the orchestras in the theaters of the city, and is now leader of the orchestras of the two 41 I German theaters, and of that of the Grand Opera House in Milwaukee, and also leader of one of the most successful singing societies in his State. In 1874 Professor Bach visited Germany, and was there welcomed and most highly entertained by masters of music and celebrated composers. Dur- ing a recent trip to the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia, he experienced a most happy surprise when he was complimented by his hosts of friends and admirers with serenade and supper. He was married on the 21st of October, 1856, to Miss Maria Riemann, of Bishausen, Germany, by whom he has four sons and two daughters. The two eldest sons have developed marked musical abilities, and will follow the profession of their father. EDWARD H. G. TREACHEM, M.D., MIL WA UK EE. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Wells, Somersetshire, England, was born October 18, 1821. His father, Thomas Treachem, was formerly an extensive silk and woolen manufacturer. By reason of business reverses he was for some years occupied in the management of aft academy, and during that time acquired great notoriety as a news- paper correspondent. About 1830, without his knowledge, his friends secured for him a lucrative appointment under the English government, which, however, his self-denying determination to enter the church forced him to decline. Being censured by his friends for the course which he had chosen, he was too proud to submit to what he considered an insult to his conscience and manhood, and accord- ingly embarked with his family and property for the United States, settling, in 1831, in Onondaga county, New York. After one year of theological study under Rev. Joseph Clark, he was ordained by Bishop Onderdonk, of New York. He was a man of thorough education, and labored with zeal and energy in his Master’s work until 1849, when he died, mourned by all who knew him. His last words to those who stood by his bedside were : “And now, brethren, I commit you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among them that are sanctified.” His devoted wife, Elizabeth, survived him a number of years, but never recovered from the loss of her husband, and passed away in the same peace of a 47 living faith that had ever marked her life. Their example has been a potent influence in moulding the characters of their children. Edward H. was early instructed in the English branches by his father, and after his arrival in this country studied in the academy at Skaneateles until the removal of the family to Nunda, Livingston county, New York. Later, he studied at the academies of Canandaigua, East Bloomfield and Richmond, and received a liberal education. Upon closing his studies, in 1839, his purpose was to enter the legal profession, an ambition, however, which he abandoned, and fol- lowing the advice of a prominent physician and his father’s desire, entered the office of Dr. Harvey Jewett, of Canandaigua, New York, and after three years of hard study graduated, in 1843, from Hobart Medical College, of Geneva, New York, and there began the practice of his profession. In 1844 he formed a partnership with Josiah Clark at Livonia, which, however, was soon dissolved, and he con- tinued his practice alone in the same place until 1855, when he removed to Warsaw, Wyoming coun- ty, New York. Not satisfied with having abandoned his purpose of studying law, he entered the office of Judge Tinus W. Thayer, formerly a partner of ex- Senator Doolittle, and during his first year made most satisfactory progress. He was, however, again doomed to disappointment, being compelled by the illness of his wife to relinquish his purpose. Leav- ing Warsaw he, in 1858, established himself in 412 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. medical practice at Olean, New York, where he re- mained until 1865, when he returned to Warsaw and opened a drug store in connection with his profes- sion. In 1867 he suffered the entire loss of his store and office by fire. One year later he settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, his present home, and be- came identified with the interests of the south side. He has since entered heartily into many charitable and religious projects, being an earnest, consistent and leading member of the Protestant Episcopal church. Politically, he was formerly a Henry Clay whig, but upon the dismemberment of that body became identified with the democratic party. In i860 he strongly advocated the nomination of Stephen A. Douglas, and rendered good service during the can- vass in his behalf. At the opening of the rebellion he espoused the Union cause, and canvassed his district for recruits, never allowing party spirit to blind him to the interests of his country. He be- lieved that the South had brought the calamity upon herself. His course in advocating the prosecution of the war was duly appreciated, and he was nomi- nated on the democratic ticket for the State legis- lature. His opponent, Hon. W. P. Angel, at one time a prominent lawyer and politician, was a good man to poll his party’s vote, and yet the popularity of Dr. Treachem, although he was defeated by two hundred votes, was so great that Mr. Angel ran eight hundred votes behind his ticket. He has held several political positions, although in no sense a politician. During the war he was commissioned surgeon several times, but was prevented from entering the army by the severe and protracted ill- ness of his wife. He has been twice married: first, in 1845, to Miss Elizabeth Wright, eldest daughter of Samuel Wright, late of East Bloomfield, New York. They had two children, Samuel Edward and Charlotte Elizabeth. Mrs. Treachem died of typhoid fever in 1854. In January, 1856, he was married to his present wife, Mary Isabella McElwain, eldest daughter of Hon. John A. McElwain, of Warsaw, New York. They have one child, John McElwain Treachem. Although Dr. Treachem has suffered several financial reverses in the practice of his profession, he has been eminently successful. His great aim is to use his professional skill for the good of his fel- lows, and,to this end he has labored among the poor without compensation, as faithfully as among the more highly favored of his patients. The same qualities that have gained for him the love of the poor and afflicted have marked him in his private character of husband, father and friend, and have won for him the esteem of all who know him. He has two brothers living, Drs. J. G. and William Treachem, of Racine, Wisconsin. His eldest broth- er, Dr. Thomas M. Treachem, of Auburn, New York, recently died in that city in the triumph of an ever-living Christian faith. EDWARD D. HOLTON, MIL WA UK EE. E DWARD DWIGHT HOLTON, son of Joseph and Mary (Fisk) Holton, was born at Lancaster, New Hampshire, April 28, 1815. In his earlier years he worked upon the farm where he was bom. Left to the care of his mother when very young, she, when he was fourteen years old, indentured him as merchant’s clerk to D. Smith, of Bath, New Hamp- shire, for a term of four years, for which he was to receive the salary of thirty-five dollars per year. His education was what the common school af- forded: but, fond of books and anxious to acquire knowledge, he diligently applied himself to study during his spare hours, and gathered sufficient knowledge to qualify himself for teaching. At the close of his indenture he returned to his native vil- lage, where he taught school a year; after which he resumed his position as clerk, and entered a store in the town of Lisbon, New Hampshire. But his former employer, who had important mercantile interests in Buffalo, New York, desirous of securing the services of a trusty agent to look after them, remembered the faithful and intelligent boy whom he had trained to business, and offered the place to young Holton, who gladly accepted it. Accordingly, in the spring of 1837, Mr. Holton proceeded to Buffalo and as- sumed the responsible position of book-keeper and cashier in the shipping and forwarding house of M. Kingman and Co., and continued to act in that capa- city, to the complete satisfaction of his employers, nearly four years. At the end of that period, in the THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 415 fall of 1840, having determined to become a mer- chant, and believing himself qualified for a more independent place, he resigned his position, pur- chased goods on his own account, and proceeded to Milwaukee, then a frontier town with scarcely more than one thousand inhabitants, where he opened a store and carried on a prosperous and constantly increasing business until 1850. In 1849 Mr. Holton, believing that something should be done to open up the rich prairies of the interior and develop the latent resources of the State, interested himself in the organization of a railroad company, that should traverse the State westward from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi, and labored unceasingly and successfully in raising stock for the proposed road. He became its active manager and financial agent, and remained con- nected with the great enterprise until it was com- pleted to Prairie du Chien. Before the completion of the road the management fell into difficulty, and defaulted upon the payment of the interest of the bonds, and the bondholders were clamorous for a foreclosure, and demanded possession of the road. This was resisted by the management on the ground of injustice to the stockholders and other creditors, because, as they believed, there was abundant value in the property for a fair return to each and all of the creditors and owners. In this view Mr. Holton earnestly participated, and, as a member of the legis- lature of the State in i860 and 1861, carried through a law called a readjustment law, by which the bond- holders were permitted to take possession of the road, with a new. bond or preferred stock as they might elect, having a first lien, and the subsequent liens and ownerships to be preserved intact, and deriving dividends in their order as first, second, third and fourth classes, and the revenues of the property being employed for the payment of divi- dends on these classes; and in the event of no revenue to either of the classes in any one year, there should be no loss of ownership or position, but it simply waited until revenue enough should accrue, when it should draw its dividend or interest. The ownership of the road, then reaching to nearly eight million dollars, embraced citizens widely scat- tered over this country and Europe, and involved the assent, especially of first-mortgage holders, to carry this scheme into successful operation. It was a novel scheme, and to most persons seemed impracticable. Mr. Holton, who thoroughly be- lieved in its feasibility, and had the satisfaction of witnessing its accomplishment, and of bearing an important part in its consummation, and, further- more, at an early day after the adoption of the plan, of seeing the increase of the property to be fully adequate to the payment of the interest, and full dividends paid upon each and all of the several classes, so that the common stock at length reached as high a figure as two hundred per cent, in the New York market, thus more than fulfilling all of his promises touching the pioneer railroad of the State. In 1852 Mr. Holton became the president of the Farmers and Millers’ Bank of Milwaukee, a small institution of fifty thousand dollars capital, then re- cently organized, and in operation under the new banking law of the State. In this, as in all the enter- prises that engaged his attention, he bent his ener- gies, and speedily carried the stock of this bank from fifty thousand dollars to half a million, and continued in its successful management for ten years. During this period very considerable dis- turbances arose in Wisconsin banking, owing to grave defects in the law regulating banking, in this, that there was no central redemption ; and banks were started in great numbers throughout the State and in inaccessible portions of it. Currency at this period came from Georgia and other States careless of their legislation, and threatened to flood the coun- try with irredeemable paper. Mr. Holton was among the first to point out this threatened danger, and was fearless in attacking through the press, in public addresses, and in pamphlets, this great evil, and at the same time in demanding that the banks of the State should fix upon some place or places to re- deem their issue. The greatest excitement pre- vailed, and this war raged high and called down upon his head the loudest imprecations of all those engaged in this species of wild-cat banking, and finally ended in a bank riot and mob in the city of Milwaukee. Fortunately, justice triumphed, and Mr. Holton is believed to have been instrumental in heading off large amounts of this irresponsible currency from entering the State, and this saved the people from loss to the extent of millions. Early in 1862 President Lincoln conferred upon Mr. Holton the appointment of allotment commis- sioner, Congress having authorized the appointment of three for each State; the object of which was to secure to the soldiers an allotment of their pay, or a part thereof, to their families or friends, and thus save from waste in the camp vast sums that would be valuable if sent home. Quitting his large and 416 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. varied business, he gave himself personally to this work, following the Wisconsin regiments from State to State, traversing many of the western and south- ern States, and, with his associates, was instrumental in securing large allotments from the regiments vis- ited. In devoting himself to his duties as commis- sioner, together with the change of climate and exposure, he contracted disease, and was compelled to return north. After many months’ illness, finding himself weak and prostrate, his health greatly im- paired, he returned his commission to the President, unable further to execute it. He also resigned the presidency of his bank, first, however, having taken steps to bring it under the new national law as a national bank, and in the summer of 1863, with his family, sailed for Europe, bearing influential letters from Secretary Seward and others. While in Europe, he imparted much information to the inhabitants concerning American affairs, and removed many prejudices. During this absence he wrote letters, which were published in the Milwaukee “Sentinel,” and were read with interest by the public. At the expiration of a year Mr. Plolton and family safely returned from their European journey, and retired to his farm in the suburbs of Milwaukee, and, seeking the best Devon cattle, the best Southdown sheep, and the best Morgan horses, made a practi- cal demonstration of what he knew about farming. After the great Chicago fire he was called from his retirement to take the management of the North- western National Insurance Company, with a paid- up capital of only one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and he has brought it, within the three years, to one of the strongest and soundest companies in the country, its assets in this brief period increasing to a million of dollars. In connection with his ser- vices as manager of the Northwestern National In- surance Company, he has taken an important part in organizing and maintaining the International Board of Lake Underwriters, of which he has been presi- dent from its organization to the present time, whose field of operations embraces all the great lakes and connecting rivers, and the ports of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Mr. Holton is a prominent member of the National Board of Trade, having been its president, and often appointed upon important committees. In the an- nual conventions of that body he has ever been fearless in the expression of his views, and taken bold and advanced ground as the public weal seemed to require. Being a fluent and eloquent speaker, a ready and able debater, he never fails to hold the attention of any assembly he addresses. Having a large experience, and endowed with rare penetra- tion, he seldom hesitates to discuss any important matter of public interest. In 1869, for instance, he made an able and telling speech before the National Board of Trade at Richmond, Virginia, on the sub- ject of our national finances, in favor of returning to a specie basis, which subject was referred to a spe- cial committee, of which Mr. Holton was a member, who reported resolutions recommending the restora- tion of the specie standard of value at the earliest practicable period. During the same session he also spoke on the question of government subsidies to internal improvement, taking strong ground in oppo- sition thereto. On questions of improvements and extension of our great rail and water highways he has manifested the same interest, and has been very active in forwarding all such improvements, but conservative in respect to methods, especially when interfering with the powers of the State. In politics, Mr. Holton, in his early advent to the then Territory of Wisconsin, was elected, without any solicitation on his part, high sheriff of the county of Milwaukee, embracing at that time what are now the counties of Ozaukee, Washington, Waukesha and Milwaukee. This was in 1843. In the year 1844 the anti-slavery question had a wide and thor- ough examination in the city of Milwaukee, and out of it grew the organization of the liberty party of the State of Wisconsin. In this Mr. Holton became deeply interested, and from that time acted with unabated zeal and fidelity with the political abo- litionists of the country, carrying the discussion into church as well as state. He was frequently a can- didate of this party, and was run for congress in the infant days of this organization. In 1853 he became the nominee of the free-soil party of Wisconsin for governor against William A. Barstow, democrat, and J. C. Baird, whig, concentrating, for the first time in the history of the State, a large free-soil vote. In 1856, without any seeking of his own, on the ground not only of his anti-slavery sentiments but of his advanced opinions respecting State rights, he was nominated as one of the prominent candidates for United States senator, the other two being J. R. Doolittle and T. O. Howe. He however withdrew from the field, leaving Mr. Doolittle, who held simi- lar opinions, to be made United States senator. He is a staunch republican, but no partisan, and is not a politician in the modern acceptation of that term. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 417 In religion Mr. Holton is a Congregationalism He embraced religion at the early age of seventeen. In this, as in business matters, he has given much time and attention, entering earnestly in furthering any measure for the extension of Christ’s kingdom, the erection of churches, and the strengthening of the various missionary and benevolent organizations connected therewith. He has been president of the Home Missionary Society, and vice-president of the American Missionary Association. He became a total abstainer from all intoxicating drinks early in life, and has ever maintained these principles. In his active business life he has not forgotten the claims of the public, and heartily indorsed and assisted in forwarding all public enterprises. Mr. Holton married Lucinda C. Willard, cousin of the late Millard Fillmore, on the 14th of October, 1845. They have three daughters — Mrs. O. W. Robertson, Mrs. Robertson James, and Mrs. Cap- tain James Wayne Cuyler, U. S. A. His ancestors came to this country in 1638, and settled in Massachusetts. Judge Holton, of Dan- vers, Massachusetts, was a leading character in the colonial and revolutionary period. Mr. Holton’s paternal grandmother was niece of General Israel Putnam. HON. JAMES D. DOTY, MEN ASH A. TAMES DOANE DOTY, who died at Salt Lake J in June, 1865, while governor of Utah Territory, was a very early settler in Wisconsin, when it formed a part of Michigan Territory, and deserves an honor- able mention among the prominent men of the State. He was a native of New York, and was born at Salem, Washington county, in 1799. In 1818 he settled in Detroit, Michigan, where he opened a law office, and was soon after appointed secretary of the legislative council and clerk of the court. In 1820 Gov. Cass made a tour of the upper lakes in five bark canoes, and selected Mr. Doty to act as secre- tary of the expedition, and to command one of the frail crafts; and it was on this trip that Gov. Cass, in the presence of the then unfriendly Chippewas, pulled down the British flag which the savages had run up on the American side of the straits of Mack- inac, and hoisted the “stars and stripes,” much to the indignation of the red men. In the winter of 1822-23, Congress passed an act “ to provide for the appointment of an additional judge for the Michigan Territory,” and to estab- lish courts in the three counties of Michillimacinac, Brown and Crawford, which then included what is now Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota, and President Monroe selected the young Detroit attorney. At that time the only settlements west of Lake Michi- gan were at Green Bay and Prairie du Chien. Judge Doty hastened to the latter place, organized the judiciary of Crawford county, and held court as best he could with half-breeds among the jurors and crude material from which to select clerks, a sheriff,. etc. He removed to Green Bay in 1824 and organ- ized courts in Michillimacinac and Brown counties, and continued to discharge his duties as judge until superseded by Judge Irwin. Soon afterward he made those famous tours through the southern half of Wisconsin, crossing and recrossing the territory until he was enabled to complete a map, which was afterward used in the war department at Washington. About the time he had completed these long, tedious and perilous journeys through the unbroken wilderness he was sent to the territorial legislature from the upper dis- trict of Michigan, and served two years. In 1831 he acted as one of the commissioners to survey a wagon road from Green Bay to Chicago. In 1836, when Wisconsin became a territory separate from Michigan, and the legislature met at Belmont, Judge Doty appeared there as a lobby member, and it is said to have been through his influence that Madi- son was selected for the capital. Subsequently, when the Indians in Minnesota (the Dakotas, Sioux, etc.) became troublesome, Judge Doty was sent out as a commissioner, and made treaties with them, which, however, the senate for some reason did not accept. He succeeded Hon. Geo. W. Jones in congress in 1839, serving one session, and in 1841 was appoint- ed governor of Wisconsin by President Tyler, and served in that capacity nearly three years. He was elected to congress in 1848, and served one term, when he again retired to private life, and there re- mained until President Lincoln appointed him, first 41S THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONART. as superintendent of Indian affairs, and then as governor of Utah Territory. From 1846 to the time of this appointment, he lived at Menasha and was engaged in improvements on the then so-called Doty’s Island. The wife of Gov. Doty was a daughter of General Gollins, of New York, commander of the State militia at Sackett’s Harbor in the war of 1812, and a sister of Judge Collins, now of Appleton, Wiscon- sin. They were married at Detroit in 1823, and had three children. The eldest son, Charles, was re- cently a paymaster in the United States army; James died in Oregon several years ago, and Mary is the widow of the late Hon. John Fitzgerald, of Oshkosh. She is a woman of fine accomplishments. Mrs. Doty was inured to the hardships of frontier life. On her wedding tour, early in 1823, she was twenty-one days in going on a schooner from Buffalo, New York, to Green Bay. During that year she went with her husband and some Indians from Green Bay to Prairie du Chien, in a bark canoe, up the Fox river and down the Wisconsin, subsequently returning by the same conveyance. In those days at Green Bay there was little more than Fort How- ard ; at Prairie du Chien, simply Fort Crawford and a few huts; and the country between them was in all its primitive wildness. On the death of Gov. Doty at Salt Lake, his widow returned to Wisconsin, and died at the residence of her daughter at Osh- kosh in February, 1871. General Ellis, the oldest journalist in AVisconsin, who knew Gov. Doty both at Detroit and Green Bay, and who furnished some of the material for ; this sketch, says he was a self-made man, vigorous in mind, eminently practical, possessed of a com- manding figure, an open and pleasing countenance, and a winning address. “ He was true to his friends and peaceable and courteous to his enemies. As a public man he was equally approachable and digni- fied, neither sycophantic to the influential in power, nor repulsive to the humble. He had in a most eminent degree the good will of the masses.” PETER VAN VECHTEN, Junior, MIL WA UK EE. P ETER VAN VECHTEN, a native of Cats- kill, Green county, New York, was born on the 15th of April, 1827, the third son of John Van Vech- ten. His father, a farmer and surveyor, was at one time associate judge of Green county, New York, cir- cuit court, and is still living, at the advanced age of ninety-two years, in the enjoyment of good health and all his faculties. Peter attended the common school of Leeds, New York, until fourteen years of age, when he became a clerk in his brother’s store at Catskill. He early formed a desire to go west, and in October, 1845, removed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which has since been his home. At the solicitation of his brother he engaged in the mercantile business, a move which he has always had occasion to regret. On the 2 1 st of September, 1849, he entered the wholesale and retail hat, cap and fur house of Throop and Bailey, and remained with the same through all its changes, as book-keeper and manager, until May, 1861. During this time he was an active member of the Milwaukee volunteer fire department, com- posed of some of the best business men of the city, and originated and drew up many laws for the man- agement of this branch of the city government. In 1852 he joined the Independent Order of Odd-Fel- lows, and having passed all the chairs of honor on merit, was, in January, 1861, elected deputy grand master by the Grand Lodge of the State of Wiscon- sin. At the session of the Grand Lodge in 1862 he declined to accept any office, by reason of the pressure of other business (being then special mail agent of the post-office department). In 1867, how- ever, he again entered the Grand Lodge, and in 1871-2 was chosen grand warden. In 1873 he was chosen deputy grand master, and in the following year, by an almost unanimous vote, grand master. In 1875 he was elected grand representative to the Grand Lodge of the United States for two years. In April, 186 1, he was appointed special mail agent of the post-office department for Michigan and Wisconsin, and in the following May, by reason of impaired health, withdrew from the firm of B. Throop and Co., and entered upon the duties of that position. The change of occupation proved very beneficial to his health, and he had a very suc- cessful term, and displayed great skill in the man- agement of his duties; however, not being in sympathy with President Johnson’s administration, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 419 he resigned his position in October, 1866, much to the regret of the postmaster-general and many others in that branch of the government. So high, indeed, was his record that in May, 1866, he was promoted to the position of chief of the postal detective service for the Northwest. Notwith- standing his resignation the postmaster-general, in 1868, called his services into requisition to inves- tigate some difficult cases in Denver City and Cheyenne. In politics, Mr. Van Vechten was formerly a whig of the Webster and Clay school, and cast his first ballot for President Taylor. Since the organization of the republican party he has been identified with that body; and while he sees in it many things that might be improved, he believes that it embodies the principles calculated to purify and perpetuate our government. He was reared under the influence of the Dutch Reformed church ; and although not a member of any religious body, he believes in God and the punishment of sin and the reward of the just, and accepts as his rule of action the principle involved in the golden rule. He was married in Cleveland, Ohio, June 22, 1854, to Miss Arvilla M. Bancroft. In all matters pertaining to the welfare of his city Mr. Van Vechten has taken an active interest. Since the organization of the Northwestern Life Insurance Company he has been identified with it, and is now one of the trustees of that institution. As a man, he is firm in his convictions, just in his purposes, faithful to his friends, and forgiving to his enemies. Although li is financial plans have not in every re- spect been successful, he has yet accumulated a considerable property. Never having fixed upon wealth as the great source of happiness, he has found enjoyment in doing for others, and to his generosity and open-heartedness may be in a meas- ure attributed the fact that he is not possessed of a larger share of this world’s goods. GENERAL JAMES BINTLIFF, JANES VILLE. TAMES BINTLIFF, the son of Gersham and J Maria (Hanson) Bintliff, was born at Salter- habble, near Halifax, Yorkshire, England, on the 1st of November, 1824. Both his paternal and ma- ternal ancestors always evinced a strong military instinct, and at various times distinguished them- selves as soldiers ; one of them, his maternal grand- father, fought under Wellington at Seringapatam. Our subject is eminently self-made, having re- ceived but little school education other than such as could be obtained at the parochial schools of his native place, and even this ceased when he was twelve years of age. His mind, however, was lib- erally endowed by nature, and gifted with a robust frame and rugged constitution, he has made the most of his talents and opportunities. At the age of fifteen years he became a clerk in a lawyer’s office at Halifax, and subsequently served as book-keeper for the Halifax and Wakefield Canal Company. He remained in this employment until the year 1842, when, with a younger brother and sister, he immigrated to America; his father, mother and four other children having preceded him by one year. The family were again united in New York State, where our subject worked for some time as a day laborer. He was next employed in a woolen factory, first as wool-sorter and afterward in various departments of the establishment, where he gained a general knowledge of the manufacturing business, and became so proficient in the art that he was afterward intrusted with the superintendence of a like establishment at Skaneateles, where he con- tinued until the year 1847, when he then married Miss Harriet, daughter of John Snook, Esq., a native of Somersetshire, England, and from that time until 1851 was a partner in his father-in-law’s business, which was that of raising teazles for cloth manufacturers, and farming. In the latter part of the last named year he re- moved to Green county, Wisconsin, and purchased a farm in the neighborhood of Monroe, and pur- sued the business of husbandry for about two years. Not liking the occupation, he relinquished it and en- gaged as book-keeper in a dry-goods store, in the city of Monroe, and afterward as cashier of the Bank of Monroe, which was then organized. In 1856 he was elected registrar of deeds of Green county for a term of two years; after this he occu- pied himself with the preparation of an abstract of title to all the lands in the county, a work of consid- 420 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARV. erable magnitude, which has since been adopted as a standard authority on the subject of land titles. In 1859 he was admitted to the bar of Green county, having been engaged in the study of law during the two preceding years, though he never engaged in the active duties of the profession. In i860 he purchased an interest in the Monroe “ Sentinel,” the leading newspaper of the county, and two years later became the sole proprietor of the same ; soon afterward, however, he sold an in- terest in the business to Mr. E. E. Carr, and in July of the same year (1862) he recruited a company, which was assigned to the 22d Regiment of Wiscon- sin Volunteers, then organizing at Racine, under command of Colonel Utley, and was commissioned as captain. In September following, the regiment was ordered to Cincinnati, Ohio, that city being under martial law, and threatened by the rebel Gen- eral Kirby Smith. On the expulsion of the rebels from the neighborhood, the regiment followed into Kentucky, where, during the ensuing winter ( 1862-3), it constituted a part of the army of Kentucky under command of General Q. A. Gilmore, United States Army. In March, 1863, he participated in the bat- tle of Thompson’s Station, where a large portion of the regiment was captured by the rebel General Vandorn. A few days later, while guarding the railroad at Brentford, our subject and a handful of his men were surprised and “ bagged ” by the rebel General N. B. Forrest. He was consigned to Libby prison, where he was held until the month of May following, when he was exchanged. He then joined his command at St. Louis, Missouri, where the regi- ment was reorganized, and whence it was sent to Franklin, Tennessee, and from thence to the forti- fications of Murfreesboro’. In December, 1863, Captain Bintliff was appointed by President Lincoln a commissioner on the board of enrollment for the third congressional district of Wisconsin, in which capacity he served for three months. In March, 1864, he was commissioned by Gov- ernor Lewis as colonel of the 38th Regiment Wis- consin Volunteers, then recruiting at Madison. In July he sent five companies of his regiment to the army of the Potomac, and followed, himself, in Sep- tember, with the other five. Upon his arrival he found the army engaged in pushing back the rebel forces from the Weldon railroad to Poplar Grove Church, in which his command participated. After the completion of this movement the Union lines were considerably extended. In November follow- ing Colonel Bintliff succeeded General Hartranft in command of the first brigade, first division, ninth army corps, and continued in front of Petersburg, being under continual fire, both from artillery and musketry, through the entire winter. During the last days of March, 1865, General Grant commenced his operations in front of Peters- burg, Virginia, which resulted in the evacuation of the whole line by the rebel army, from Richmond to Hatcher’s Run. Sheridan’s cavalry was directed to turn the right flank of Lee’s army. For several days he was manoeuvering for a position. Grant had in reserve near Fort Fisher the sixth army corps pre- pared for attack, and in the immediate front of Petersburg a portion of the ninth army corps. On the 1 st of April General Sheridan had secured his position and was ready ; orders were accordingly issued for the attack to commence at four o’clock on the morning of the 2d of April at the three points: Sheridan on the flank, the sixth corps on the rebel lines near the center, and the ninth corps on the right, near the town of Petersburg. The attack was successfully made ; Sheridan routed the enemy at Five Forks; the sixth corps carried the width of its front of the enemy’s lines, opposite Fort Fisher, and the third division and first brigade, first division, of the ninth army corps' carried the enemy’s lines op- posite its front under the immediate command of General Hartranft. In this attack General Bintliff was given the command of three regiments and ordered to take a fort of five guns, known as “ Reeves’ Salient.” He accomplished the capture gallantly, but his own regiment which led the col- umn suffered heavily. On the evening of the same day General Bintliff was placed in command of the third brigade. During the succeeding night Lee’s army evacuated the lines, and next morning General Grant commenced the pursuit which ended in the surrender at Appomattox. F"or his gallant services on this occasion he was commissioned brigadier- general by brevet, the terms of the document being, “for conspicuous gallantry in the assault on Peters- . burg, Virginia.” He continued to take part in all the movements of the troops till the close of the war, and was finally mustered out of the service in June, 1865, having achieved a record for valor, skill and assiduity not less brilliant and honorable than the most distin- guished of his cohorts. At the close of the war he returned to Monroe, and having sold his interest in the “ Sentinel ” there, THE t UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. \2\ established himself in mercantile business, which he carried on successfully until July, 1870, when he purchased an interest in the Janesville “ Gazette,” and removed thither with his family. He still con- tinues his editorial work in that city, and holds a prominent and influential position, being highly re- spected for his genial social qualities, his eminent abilities as a writer, and his strict integrity and uprightness as a citizen. As intimated at the open- ing of this sketch, the General is eminently self- made, and has worked his own way entirely unaided to his present enviable position among the worthies of his adopted State. He is an untiring student and has contributed largely to the elevation of the stand- 1 ard of literature in his adopted city, being one of the leading members of two flourishing literary societies in Janesville, “ The Round Table ” and “ The Mu- tual Improvement Club.” He has always taken an active interest in political affairs, and was a delegate from the State of Wiscon- sin to the national republican convention in Chicago in 1868, which nominated General Grant for the Presidency, and also to the national convention of 1872, which renominated him at Philadelphia, and to the national convention which nominated Governor Hayes, at Cincinnati. During the past six years he has been a member of the board of trustees of the Wisconsin Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home, and for the past three years presi- dent of the same. In the spring of 1877 the State of Wisconsin organized a State board of health, of which he was commissioned a member, being the only lay member on the board. In religion he adheres to the Unitarian faith. He has been for many years an Odd-Fellow, and was for some time deputy grand master of one of the districts in southern Wisconsin. The fruit of his marriage with Miss Snook is four children, two sons and two daughters. The eldest son, Edward Hawkins, is foreman in his father’s printing office ; the second, James Wilkins, is book-keeper in the Merchants and Mechanics’ Bank of Janesville. The daughters, Ida and Helen, are very promising young ladies, the eldest being an accomplished musician — a trait of the entire family. The family, of which General Bintliff is the oldest member, consisted of three brothers besides himself and three sisters. Each of the brothers entered the Union army immediately after the opening of the re- bellion. Alfred joined the 5th Wisconsin Battery; served in the Western army through the entire war, closing with “ the march to the sea,” and thence to Washington and Louisville. Gersham was a mem- ber of the 38th Wisconsin Infantry, and served till the close of the war. Thomas was first lieutenant in the 20th Wisconsin Infantry, and was killed at the first battle in which he was engaged, that of Prairie Grove, Arkansas, in the autumn of 1863. JOHN B. COLE, SHEBOYGAN. O NE of the oldest railroad conductors in the United States, now living, is John Beekman Cole, who for thirty-two years past has been a resi- dent of Sheboygan county, Wisconsin. He is a son of Nathan and Chloe (Rowley) Cole, and was born in Schenectady, New York, November 27, 1817. Both of his grandfathers participated in the war for American independence. John spent his boyhood, till fourteen years of age, in Schenectady, receiving an ordinary common- school education. Later, he lived three years in New York city, with an uncle, who was a steamboat agent. At the age of seventeen he returned to his home, and acted as steward on a packet plying between Schenectady and Utica, until August, 1836, when, the railroad having been completed as far as 48 Utica, he commenced running as a conductor be- tween Schenectady and that point, and on the 3d of July, 1839, ran the first passenger train into Syra- cuse. In 1842 he was conductor from Auburn to Rochester. In 1844, 1845 and 1846 he ran a packet from Syracuse to Rochester, moving his family, meantime, to Sheboygan, in 1845. At the close of navigation in 1846, he himself made a permanent settlement near Sheboygan. On reaching his new home he immediately built a saw-mill at Pigeon River, two and a half miles northwest of Sheboygan, and, about three years later, erected a grist-mill at the same place. He remained at that place, engaged in the milling and lumber business, until 1861, when he moved into Sheboygan. During the next three or four years he was engaged in buying and selling 422 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DIC TIONART. wheat, and at the expiration of that time started a boot and shoe store, and operated in that line until June, 1S6S. when he opened the Beekman House, which he conducted for seven years. At an early day Mr. Cole was chairman of the Sheboygan town board for a year or two, but has evaded office holding as much as possible. In polit- ical sentiment he is a republican, and formerly was a Seward whig. He is a member of the blue lodge in the Masonic fraternity. On the 5th of November, 1838, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Trow, of New Hampshire. They have had five children, three of whom, a son and two daughters, are now living. The son is unmarried, and lives in Sheboygan. The elder daughter, Alice E., is the wife of James L. Mallory, a native of Niagara county, New York, but a resident of She- boygan for thirty-two years. He is express agent, telegrapher, and deputy collector of customs, and in business circles is known as a young man of marked ability. The second daughter, Mary L., is the wife of Edgar A. Hill, merchant, of Chicago. As a man, Mr. Cole is energetic and public spir- ited, and has taken part in most of the enterprises which have made Sheboygan what it is — a thriving city of eight thousand inhabitants. JAMES COLEMAN, FOND DU LAC. T AMES COLEMAN was born in the county of O Schoharie, in the State of New York, on the 29th of June, 1836. His father is the Rev. Seymour Coleman, a Methodist preacher, formerly of Troy conference in that State. The subject of this sketch received an academic education, read law for three years in Troy and Albany, and graduated at the Albany Law School in the spring of 1856. He was admitted to the bar in the same year, and in 1857 commenced the prac- tice of the law at Fond du Lac, where he has since resided. Mr. Coleman was elected district attorney for Fond du Lac county, in i860, and reelected in 1862. He has twice represented the city in the legislature, was register in bankruptcy in 1868, which position he resigned, and was appointed postmaster in 1869. He has acquired distinction as a lawyer, and has discharged the duties of the several positions of honor and trust held by him faithfully and well. HON. SAMUEL RYAN, APPLETON. T HE subject of this biography, Samuel Ryan, son of Samuel and Martha (Johnston) Ryan, is a native of Sackett’s Llarbor, New York, where he was born, March 13, 1824. His parents were natives of Ireland and members of the Methodist church. His father, who was a soldier in the war of 1812, re- moved with his family to Green Bay in 1827. He was United States receiver at the land office in Menasha for several years, and died there, in his eighty-seventh year, in April, 1876. Young Samuel received the rudiments of his education in an ordi- nary common school, and afterward turned his at- tention to printing. At .seventeen he commenced at the case in Green Bay, where he remained till 1847. Later, he worked three years in Fond du Lac; next engaged in Milwaukee, and there set up the first number of the “Sentinel.” In January, 1853, he settled in Appleton, and on the 24th of the following February started the Appleton “ Crescent,” and has been its editor ever since that date, except during short intervals when absent on military or official duties. On the 4th of January, 1862, Mr. Ryan was mustered into the service as a private in the 3d Regiment Wisconsin Cavalry; soon became quarter- master-sergeant, and remained in the field until January, 1864. Returning to Appleton he resumed his editorial duties on the “Crescent," wielding his pen with unabated vigor. As a writer he is quick, pungent and forcible, and is widely known and highly respected among the journalists of Wisconsin. Mr. Ryan has diversified talents, and has held THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 425 several important offices since he settled in Outa- gamie county. He has been clerk of the court two terms, county judge two terms, member of the gen- eral assembly one term (1865). During the last four years he has been justice of the peace, and be- sides is engaged to some extent in other enterprises. As a business man he is prompt, energetic and up- right, and has attained an enviable success. In politics, Mr. Ryan was formerly a whig. On the dissolution of that party he became a democrat, and was a presidential elector on the democratic ticket in j868 and 1876, and is a very influential man in the party. In Odd-Fellowship he is also prominent. Has been grand master of the State, and for four years represented the order in the Grand Lodge of the United States. He attends the services of the Con- gregational church. He has had three wives and two children, one by his first wife, who was Laura E. Knappen, of l’latts- burg, New York, and one by his second wife, who was Calista M. Crane, of Appleton. His third wife, who is still living, was Martha S. Driggs, of Fond du Lac. In stature Mr. Ryan is a little below the average height, and compactly built, with a large head, de- cidedly silvered on the top. He has a round, full face, a pleasant expression of the countenance, and a good deal of bonhommie, making him very genial and companionable. His younger brother, James Ryan, who has been with him in the publishing business for twenty-three years, and who is local editor of the “ Crescent,” and general superintendent of the printing office, is a little taller, of scarcely less solid build, of pleasant address, and, like his brother, an indefatigable work- er. He is not only a practical printer, but a practi- cal business man, and is held in high esteem. He has been city treasurer of Appleton, and has just vacated the office of State senator. COLONEL GEORGE B. GOODWIN, MIL WA UK EE. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Living- ston county, New York, was born on the 1 8th of December, 1834, the son of Simeon S. Goodwin and Elizabeth nec Albright. His father, a black- smith by occupation, was a hard-working man who, by constant toil, accumulated capital sufficient to enable him in the latter part of his life to engage in carriage-making on a large scale. His mother, a woman of great physical endurance, was possessed of fine mental endowments; she reared nine chil- dren, George R. being the second. After closing his studies in the common school at Mount Morris, Livingston county, New York, our subject prepared for college under Mr. H. G. Winston, now of Racine, Wisconsin, to whose careful training he is largely indebted for his success in college and in his subse- quent life. He entered Genessee College in the winter of 1851, and remained until 1854, main- taining a high standing in all his studies and tak- ing a special interest in the work of the literary societies. In 1854, owing to a dissension among members of the faculty, through which a partisan feeling arose among the students, he, with several fellow-students, withdrew and entered the senior class at Williams College, Massachusetts, then under the charge of Mark Hopkins. At the end of one term, the trouble at Genessee College having been adjusted, he, with some others, returned and gradu- ated in the fall of 1854. Having decided to enter the legal profession, in order to secure the necessary funds to pursue his studies, he engaged to teach a district school at Cuylerville, New York, on the con- dition that if he kept the school during the entire term he should receive fifty dollars per month, otherwise forty dollars per month, for the time. He taught the full term. In 1855 Mr. Goodwin entered the Albany Law School, and in the winter of that year was admitted to practice in all the courts of the State. In the spring of 1856 he married Miss Har- riet C. Decker, of Lyma, New York, and with money barely sufficient to defray his traveling expenses, removed to the West, settling in May, 1856, in Menasha, Wisconsin. On the following 4th of July he delivered an oration on Doty’s Island to a large concourse of people, and thus became widely known. He engaged in his profession with great zeal. He tried his first case at Oshkosh, whither he walked, a distance of sixteen miles, carrying his lunch in his pocket. After winning his case he returned home in the same manner. During the first few years his 426 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. practice was largely in the United States Land Of- fice and in justices’ courts throughout the western counties. He took an active part in the campaign of 1S56, stumping for Fremont. He also wrote for the press, and with Hon. S. A. Harrison, of Mil- waukee, organized the first republican club of Men- asha. In 1 85 2 he was elected to represent the North Assembly district of Winnebago county in the State legislature, and during the session introduced a bill providing for the resumption of the land grants which had suffered through speculations of the Chi- cago and Northwestern Railway Company, as shown in the report of the legislative committee of 1858. The measure, however, was defeated, although it passed in the committee of the whole. He also took an active part in behalf of the people in all matters of retrenchment. He was chairman of the commit- tee on printing, and as a compliment to his judg- ment displayed while fulfilling his duties, he was elected an honorary member of the Wisconsin Edi- torial Association. Mr. Goodwin took a prominent part in the political discussions of i860, and, at the opening of the war, actively engaged in raising re- cruits. In 1862, together with Colonel C. K. Pier, of Fond du Lac, and Major J. D. Wheelock, of Hartford, he organized the 2d Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers, and offered it to the State, without pay, except expenses of rations, etc. The project, how- ever, failed, and in 1863 he was sent to Washington with authority to offer the services of the regiment to the general government through Secretary Stan- ton, who took the matter under advisement, and finally decided that an independent organization could not be accepted until the thinned ranks of the old regiments were filled. Mr. Goodwin re- turned with the promise that the regiment would be among the first that would be thereafter ac- cepted. Accordingly, in the spring of 1864, the adjutant-general of the State ordered the regiment into camp within ten days to await further orders. Colonel Goodwin promptly responding, at once pro- ceeded to fill up the ranks, and by the 1st of June was in camp at Milwaukee. It became the 41st Regiment Wisconsin V olunteer Infantry, and ren- dered faithful service until mustered out. In the spring of 1865 Colonel Goodwin removed to Mil- waukee, his present home. There he became attor- ney for the United States Express Company, and continued to act in that capacity until it was merged into the American. In 1870 he was appointed United States assessor of internal revenue, and held that office until it was abolished by act of congress. Under his management the office was honestly and ably administered, and the revenues largely increased. In 1867 he, after much labor, succeeded in reorganizing the old Milwaukee Light Guards. During two terms of Governor Fairchild’s administration Colonel Goodwin was on his staff. He aided materially in organizing the Wisconsin Central Railroad, of which he is now attorney. During the fall and winter of 1875-6, Colonel Good- win was associated with Hon. Mat. H. Carpenter on the defense of the celebrated crooked whisky trials, which occurred during that time in Milwau- kee. After retiring from the office of United States assessor he associated with himself Mr. R. K. Adams, their practice being conducted under the firm name of Goodwin and Adams. In the spring of 1876 Mr. Goodwin withdrew from this firm and became associated with Hon. N. T. Murphey, under the firm name of Murphey and Goodwin. HON. JOHN T. KINGSTON, NEC ED All. P ROMINENT among the worthy self-made and influential men of Juneau county, Wisconsin, is John Tabor Kingston. A native of Illinois, he is a son of Paul and Isabella (Garrison) Kingston, and was born in St.Clair county, January 31, 1819. His father and his uncle, John Kingston, were the per- sons who supplied General Jackson with lead from Missouri, to be used on the 8th of January, 1815. His maternal grandfather, James Garrison, was a member of the first colony which settled in Illinois, known as Emancipation Baptists, and was a man of great influence. He represented Illinois in the Ter- ritorial council, when the whole of the Northwest was included in it. Paul Kingston moved with his family to Lewiston, Fulton county, in 1829, and three years later settled at Plainfield, in Will county. In 1834 John went to Racine, Wisconsin, and located a claim and lived there for a time. He TIIE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 427 then spent a year at St. Charles College, Missouri, and returned to Wisconsin in 1842, located at Grand Rapids, and engaged in the lumber business. Sub- sequently he spent two years at Plover, and in 1848 settled permanently at Necedah, on the Yellow river (Necedah being the Indian name for yellow). Here Mr. Kingston has steadily pursued his business, extending it from time to time, until the firm of T. Weston and Co., of which he is a member, has become the leading firm of the kind in his sec- tion of the State. It conducts a large store in connection with the lumber business, and does a mercantile business of about seventy-five thousand dollars annually. While living at Plover Mr. Kingston was clerk of the board of supervisors, register of deeds and sur- veyor of Portage county, clerk of the court, and postmaster. In 1856 and i860 he was elected to the State senate, serving four years in that body. In 1870 he was appointed trustee of the Hospital for the Insane; two years later, for the Northern Hospi- tal, of the same kind, and in 1874 was elected to the general assembly. There, as in the upper branch of the legislature, he was a very active and service- able member, being a member of the committee of ways and means ; of a joint committee on charitable and penal institutions, and other important commit- tees. His services to the State, rendered in various capacities, have been eminent, and are highly appre- ciated. At home he has been president of the vil- lage board for many years, and has held all the more important local offices. In politics he voted the whig ticket until that party dissolved, since which time he has acted with the republican party. In June, 1850, he was married to Miss Hannah Dawes, then of Grand Rapids, Wisconsin, and formerly of the State of Maine. They have had eleven children, six of whom are now living (1877). Mr. Kingston is a leader in the noblest sense, not only in business and among local politicians, but in many benevolent and moral enterprises. LUTHER A. COLE, WATERTOWN. T HE second man to settle in Watertown, Wis- consin, was Luther Anderson Cole, a native of Orleans county, Vermont. He is the son of Ebe- nezer and Martha (West) Cole, and was born in Charleston on the 1st of November, 1812. His father was a farmer and carpenter, and Luther worked at both kinds of. business with him until his twentieth year, when he spent a few months in a brickyard. He never had any education ex- cept what he gained at the common school, and that was quite limited. Soon after attaining his majority he became enamored of the West, and in December, 1834, removed to Detroit, Michigan, where he worked at his trade one season. Going in a sailing vessel and via the lakes to Grand Haven in the same State, he remained there until May 10, 1836, when he settled in Milwaukee, and immediately commenced work at his trade. On the 27th of the following December Mr. Cole removed to Johnson’s Rapids, now Watertown. There was then one log house in the place, occu- pied by Timothy Johnson and family. The Win- nebago Indians were on the west side of Rock river, and the Pottawatomies and Menomonees on the east side, but they did no mischief, except to pilfer when they had an opportunity. Soon after settling here Mr. Cole whipped one of the Indians for stealing, and that put a stop to the business for some time. John West Cole settled at Water- town a month after his brother, and Ebenezer W., the eldest son in the family, came a few years later. Another brother, Zenas Cobb Cole, has lived there at times, and they are all enterprising men. On reaching this place, his future home, our sub- ject built a log house and entered a claim of a quarter-section of land, which is now in the sixth ward of Watertown, in Dodge county, yet in the city limits. He continued to clear land until it came into market. He proved his preemption in 1838, and in March of the following year, when the sales occurred, he bought lands not only here, but in Dodge county twenty miles northward. As early as 1837 a dam and saw-mill were built here on the east side of the river; Mr. Cole aided on both, working at one dollar per day and board; and in 1842 he and E. S. Bailey purchased this mill property on the east side, consisting of seven hundred and fifty acres. They soon erected a 423 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. grist-mill, and added other mills from time to time. Luther Cole and his brother John were the pioneer merchants in Watertown, building a small frame store in 1841, and stocking it with about one thou- sand dollars’ worth of merchandise. Milling, how- ever, has been Mr. Cole’s main business, he having followed it for twenty-eight years. Some years ago he built a saw-mill and grist-mill in Nebraska, and a flouring-mill a little later, in Colorado. He has since sold all his mill property, both here and else- where, and is now (1877) living at his ease and in independence. Mr. Cole has held several town offices. He was sheriff of Jefferson county in 1844 and 1846, and member of the lower branch of the legislature in 1859. In politics, he was a whig until the dissolution of the party, but since that time has been a re- publican. In 1842 he returned to his native town in Ver- mont, and married Miss Mary Jane Brackett, by whom he has had four children, two of whom are now living. The elder, Uranah, is the wife of F. L. Clark, of Port Huron, Michigan ; the other, Guy L., is a student in the State University. HON. GEORGE GALE, GALES VILLE. r I "HE late Judge Gale, in honor of whom the JL town of Galesville was named, was born at Bur- lington, Vermont, on the 30th November, 1816. His grandfather, Peter Gale, also a native of Vermont, served in the continental army during one or two campaigns, and his father, whose name also was Peter Gale, was one of the “minute-men ” of Barre, Vermont, in the second war with Great Britain. His mother, Hannah Tottingham, was of genuine Puri- tan stock. George’s father moved to Waterbury, in his native State, in 1824, and there opened a farm; and the son, after arriving at a suitable age, divided his time between farm work and attending school. At the age of sixteen he had developed a remark- able thirst for knowledge, and thenceforth found his recreation in study rather than in field and forest sports; and, with little assistance from a teacher, in the course of three or four years fa- miliarized himself with several branches of the physical sciences, and made great progress in the higher mathematics and natural history. In March, 1839, Mr. Gale commenced reading law at Waterbury Center. He was admitted to the bar in 1841, and during the same year removed to Wisconsin, and settled at Elkhorn, in Walworth county, and there at once entered upon the practice of his profession. Ten years later he removed to LaCrosse, continuing his legal practice and serving in different honorable positions connected with his profession. In 1853 he purchased two thousand acres of land on the present site of Galesville, and secured, during the next January, the organization of the county of Trempealeau, with the county seat at Galesville. He founded the Galesville University, endowing it to the amount of ten thousand dollars, platted the town, and in 1-857 settled on a farm of four hun- dred acres one mile west, building on it a large and beautiful house. Owing to failing health he, in 1862, went to the South, and there spent three win- ters, but, receiving no permanent relief, died of con- sumption in April, 1868. During his eventful career he filled many offices, and all to his credit. In 1848 he was a member of the convention which formed the present State con- stitution ; he was district attorney and State senator while in Walworth county, and in 1851 was ap- pointed brigadier-general of the militia. He was judge of LaCrosse county for four years, and circuit judge for six years, commencing January 1, 1857. During his busy life Judge Gale performed no inconsiderable amount of literary labor. He con- ducted the “Western Star” one year at Elkhorn; edited the “Wisconsin Farm Book ” in 1846, a work which was revised and republished in 1848, 1850, and 1856; wrote and published a valuable work on “ The Upper Mississippi,” and also spent consider- able time on the Gale family records, and wrote a great deal for the county papers. The wife of Judge Gale was Gertrude Young, of Elkhorn, Wisconsin. They were married December 5, 1844, and had three children, all surviving him. George and William are lawyers in Winona, Min- nesota-; Helen, the youngest, is the wife of Hamilton J. Arnold, of Poughkeepsie, New York. As a citizen,' Judge Gale was a projector of noble THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 429 enterprises, and a leader in prosecuting them. In developing the educational interests of Galesville and Trempealeau county, he did far more than any other man. As a jurist, he was fearless and fair, clear in his perceptions, and impartial in his judg- ment and decisions, always doing what he thought was right without regard to its effect on himself or any public interest. Such men are an honor to the State, and their pure-minded, upright and candid efforts will be cherished with fond remembrance. AH IRA B. GRAND O F the present citizens of Grand Rapids, Wis- consin, the first to see the place was Ahira Beach Sampson. He was at one time the only white man within ten miles of the site of the town, and, within the domains of the Menomonees, he lived in peace with the red men. He was born at Wilmington, Clinton county, New York, November 18, 1813, his parents being Philemon and Nabba (Dilno) Sampson. The Sampsons came from Ver- mont, and some of Ahira’s ancestors participated in the revolutionary war. His father, a Methodist preacher, remained on the circuit in New York State till well advanced in years, and died about the year 1862. His mother died when he was about twelve years old. Ahira attended school more or less until the age of seventeen, when he apprenticed himself to a car- penter in Keesville, Essex county. Following the carpenter and joiner’s trade at the East until 1834, he during that year removed to Helena, Iowa county, Wisconsin, and there continued his trade two years. At the expiration of that time he settled upon the present site of Grand Rapids. Ten miles below, at Whitney’s Rapids, on the Wisconsin river, were two or three families, who had built a log shanty in Grand Rapids, on what is now Water street, nearly opposite to where the Congregational Church now stands. Here for a short time Mr. Sampson found shelter, and employed himself in hewing timber. SAMPSON, RAPIDS. Shortly afterward he leased the Whitney mills, owned by Daniel Whitney, of Green Bay, and oper- ated them for seven years. He then returned to Grand Rapids, and during the next two years kept a hotel. Having built a mill two miles below the town, on the west bank of the Wisconsin river, he operated it for six years. Selling his interest, he engaged in the lumber trade, and bought and sold lumber, running it to the Mississippi river, and thence to St. Louis, and retired from business about 1870. He has a wide and established reputation of always being a fair dealer, with exalted notions of probity. In all business matters he is very candid and conscientious, and would under no considera- tion intentionally wrong a man. Mr. Sampson is a member of the Methodist church, and a district steward. His Christian rec- titude and sincerity are marked features of his char- acter. He usually votes the republican ticket, but not unless the nominees are good men. He has held some town and county offices, but has always preferred his legitimate business to political honors. On the 4th of February, 1838, he was married to Miss Jane Teal, of Ohio. They have one son, Henry A., living at home. Personally Mr. Sampson is a quiet, domestic man. He is happy in the home circle, and more ambitious to have the good will of his neighbors than the ap- plause of the world. CHARLES ESSLINGER, MANITO WOC. C HARLES ESSLINGER, a native of Bavaria, Germany, was born in Amorbach, Unterfranken, November 1, r8og. His father, Adam Esslinger, a carpenter by trade, and his mother, Catharine ne'e Bopp, were both of Amorbach. Charles received his education at a German gymnasium, and, after closing his studies, became a jeweler and watch- maker, and, with that trade well learned, left his country on the 26th of June, 1837, and arrived at New York on the 7th of September following. After 450 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. carrying on his business about two years in that city lie, in April, 1S39, removed to Buffalo, and remained there eleven years. A [ r. Esslinger came to this country an enthusiastic lover of pure democracy and universal freedom. He joined the democratic party in good faith, and, while aiding to raise a hickory pole in Buffalo during the Polk campaign of 1844, came very near losing his life by the pole falling and fearfully bruising his head and left leg. But when, in 1848, the demo- cratic party bowed down to the slave power of the South, he withdrew from that party, adopted the Buffalo platform, “free soil, free speech and free men;” and the day after the nomination of Van Buren and Adams on that platform, he issued the first number of the “Free Democrat,” a German paper, which he conducted with marked ability dur- ing that campaign. The writer of this sketch was then a resident of Buffalo, and well recollects hearing Mr. Esslinger speak more than once in public meet- ings, and with what a storm of applause he was often greeted. He made a gallant fight for freedom, and has never abandoned its cause. In the spring of 1850 Mr. Esslinger moved to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, where he still resides (1877). His business capacities and executive abilities were soon discovered, and he had not long been a resi- dent of the place before he was called to positions of trust. Three times he was elected president of the village, three years he was alderman; and after serving sixteen years as postmaster, under appoint- ments of President Lincoln and General Grant, he has just been reappointed under the new civil ser- vice reform rules by President Hayes — a well merited compliment to Mr. Esslinger’s honesty and efficiency. While a resident of New York city, on the 26th of July, 1838, Mr. Esslinger was married to Miss Sophie Johanna Schlick, of Sachsen, Altenburgh. They have had eleven children, five of whom are now living; two of them, a son and a daughter, are in the post-office with their father, where they are highly esteemed for their fidelity and business tact. Mr. Esslinger is a man of versatile talents. He can not only make a good political speech, which he continues to do in exciting campaigns, but a good literary speech at a festival, or a stirring oration on the fourth of July. At the “Centennial Fourth” he not only did the talking in German, but arranged the programme, which was truly a novelty — a full- rigged ship, with Indians throwing the tea overboard; Washington and his generals, with band of music; Kosciusko and his guard of Polish infantry in their uniform of the last century; Pulaski and his guard of Polish uhlaners, eighty in number; Washington, Baron Steuben, Lafayette, De Kalb, and the five committeemen appointed to draft the Declaration of Independence, all in proper costume; and other original and striking features. So pleased were the citizens with his programme that they serenaded him twice in a single evening. No man in Manito- woc has a stronger hold on the affections of the people, or is more thoroughly awake to the interests of the place. REUBEN D. SMART, MANITOWOC. R EUBEN DUVAL SMART, the present dep- uty collector of customs for Calumet, Manito- woc, Kewaunee and Door counties, is a native of St. Patrick, New Brunswick. He was born December 24, 1832, of William Smart and Ann nee Brockway. His father, a farmer by occupation, was a native of Glasgow, Scotland. His maternal grandfather served in the war of 1812, on the American side, the Brock- ways being residents of Bath, Maine. Reuben remained in his native province, farming most of the time, until 1854, when he removed to Wisconsin. Stopping one year in Oshkosh, he en- gaged in lumbering, then settled in Manitowoc, and, with the exception of one year spent in the grocery trade, was for fifteen years a lumberman. In 1873 and 1874 Mr. Smart served as sheriff of Manitowoc county, and in 1875 was a member of the general assembly, doing most of his work in that body on the railroad committee, being faithful in every trust confided to him. He assumed the office of deputy collector on the 1st of February, 1876, and is performing his duties with entire satisfaction. Though having only a common-school education, he possesses fine natural talents, and continued his studies after he was of age. He has always been a diligent reader, and keeps himself well posted on THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. the news of the day, paying special attention to cer- tain branches, and, intellectually, is a growing man. In politics, he has been a republican since he had a vote. Although he has always lived in a demo- cratic county and district, he has been twice elected to political offices, a fact which well indicates his popularity among the people. Mr. Smart is an Odd-Fellow, and has taken the scarlet degree. He attends the Presbyterian church. He has had two wives. The first was Myra Whit- ney, of Oshkosh, their union taking place in 1855. 4 3i They had three children, one of whom is now living. She died in March, 1859. His present wife was Nancy Bacon, of Manitowoc. They were married November 3, 1862, and have had two children, one of whom is now living. The daughter, Estella, by his first wife, is a graduate of the high school of Manitowoc, and a member of the freshman class in the State University. Mr. Smart is a warm friend of education, and an encourager of every enterprise that will advance the interests of the people. JAMES T. REEVE, M.D., APPLETON. TAMES THEODORE REEVE, son of Daniel J and Mary (Valentine) Reeve, was born in the town of Walkill, Orange county, New York, April 26, 1834. His father was a farmer and died when James was about six years old. His mother soon afterward moved to the village of Goshen, in the same county, and there he was educated at Farmers’ Hall Academy, and there also commenced the study of medicine with Dr. G. P. Reeve. He took his first course of lectures at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a second course at Castleton, Ver- mont, where he graduated. Subsequently he took a third course at Jefferson Medical College, Phila- delphia, where he again, in 1855, received the degree of M.D. Thus fitted for his profession, Dr. Reeve removed to Wisconsin. He spent four years at De Pere, Brown county, and afterward removed to Green Bay, in the same county, and there practiced until the opening of the rebellion. He joined the army in 1861 as second assistant surgeon of the 10th Regiment Wisconsin Infantry; became surgeon of the 2 1 st Regiment in 1862; subsequently was bri- gade surgeon, and at the close of the war was act- ing medical director of the first division fourteenth army corps, from which position he was discharged, June 8, 1865, to be mustered out with his regiment in the following complimentary special order : Surgeon Reeve, 21st Wisconsin Volunteers, .acting chiet surgeon of first division fourteenth army corps, is hereby relieved from duty at these headquarters, with the full assur- ance that he has discharged his every duty honestly, faith- lully and industriously. At the battle of Chiekamauga, Dr. Reeve was in charge of the hospital of his division, which fell into the hands of the enemy, but not until after the 49 wounded had all been removed to a place of safety through his exertions; but he, finding many wound- ed men without surgical attendance, voluntarily and humanely remained with them, and was captured and held a prisoner for nine weeks, seven of which he spent in Libby prison. On being mustered out of the service Dr. Reeve returned to Wisconsin, choosing the picturesque and thriving city of Appleton for his future home. His thorough education at the start, and his four years’ experience as a surgeon in the army, enabled him to take a high position among the profession, not only locally but in the State. He is a member of the Wisconsin State Medical Society ; has been one of its officers during the last seven years, and was offi- cially at its head in 1875. He is also a member of the State board of health, and its secretary, an office which requires a great amount of work and no in- considerable degree of responsibility. Dr. Reeve has been examining surgeon for the United States pension agency for about eight years past; was a member of the International Medical Congress, which met in Philadelphia in September, 1876; and has several times been elected a delegate to the American Medical Association, of which he became a member in 1872. One of the most promi- nent physicians in Wisconsin, an associate of Dr. Reeve during the last fifteen years, both in the army and in the State Medical Society, in a private letter thus speaks of him : The medical and social standing of Dr. Reeve in this State is excellent. He possesses, in a great degree, those qualities of mind and heart which help to make the good physician. Conscientious, modest and unassuming in every walk of life; courteous and kind in his manner toward all, 43 2 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. he endears himself to his patients, and by honorable and upright conduct toward his professional associates, has their confidence and high esteem. During the several years that he was secretary and the one year that he was president of the State Medical Society, he discharged the duties of those offices to the entire satisfaction of the society. As secretary of tire Wisconsin State board of health, which office he now holds, his usual energy and good judgment are displayed, making his services almost invaluable to that board and to the State. Dr. Reeve is a republican in political sentiment. In religious belief lie is a Congregationalist. On November 26, 1S57, he was married to Miss Laura Spofford, of Essex, Essex county, Massachu- setts. They have had six children, three of whom are now living. Dr. Reeve has an exalted idea of the mission of the medical fraternity. He believes, with Dr. Willis, that the servant of religion hath not more of true sanctity about him than the good physician.” His estimate of the worth of medical science and the importance of popularizing it, may be gathered from the following extract, taken from the concluding part of an address which he delivered before the Wisconsin State Medical Society on leaving the presidential chair, June 1, 1875 : To popularize medical knowledge is one of the pressing duties of the day. The field for legitimate medicine in this direction is broad, and too largely uncultivated, vet we rejoice that here and there the good work has been begun. Tire interests of humanity, the interests of scientific medi- cine, the thirst of the people for knowledge, all speak to us a lesson — that we give to the people in suitable language pure and healthful medical literature: thus may we save them from many a snare, and from many a destructive pit- fall. If we believe our science to be true, let us so present it to the public mind that its truthfulness will be appreci- ated, and its practice honored and trusted. If there is aught in it incapable of bearing the closest scrutiny, let that part of it fall, however venerable its usage or however largely supported bv authority. Legitimate medicine claims for itself no exclusive privileges ; it seeks to conceal nothing, as it needs to conceal nothing; it shrinks from no scrutiny, but ever courts an investigation of its principles and its practice, of its science and its art. In all ages it has been “the hope of the diseased throughout the world.” Chiefly through its instrumentality have its great hospitals, insane asylums and other charitable institutions of every kind been founded, and to-day it is the custodian of the chief of them throughout the world. So active has it ever been in these works of practical benevolence, breathing the spirit of the Divine Master, himself the great Physician, that one has termed it Clinical Christianity, and another has spoken of it as Christ’s Physical Gospel. Who can estimate its services to the world? Who can compute the value of the discovery of jenner which has robbed the world of the terror of one of its greatest pestilences? Who can put a price upon the relief from pain secured by chlo- roform? How will you estimate the value of life pro- longed and sickness prevented? The health of the people is both the wealth and the safety of the nation, and in the preservation and prolongation of this are being achieved, and in the future are yet more to be achieved, some of the “surest and most glorious triumphs” of medicine. EMIL SCHANDEIN, MIL WA UK EE. E MIL SCHANDEIN, of Milwaukee, was born April 16, 1840, at Obermoschel, Rhenish Palat- inate, in the kingdom of Bavaria, Germany. He is the son of Joseph William and Louisa Schandien. Joseph William was in the royal service as collector of the revenue of the department of the Palatinate. Emil was in early life educated in the place of his nativity, in private and select schools; afterward graduated at the academy and commercial college at Kaiserslantern. He desired to qualify himself as civil engineer, but was prevented by the reaction in the times following the revolution of 1848. After closing his studies he remained in his father’s office about one year, when he emigrated to America, landing at New York in 1856. From thence he went to Philadelphia, and was employed as a book- keeper in a large importing house, where he remained two years. After that time he traveled to sell goods for the same house and continued one year, at the expiration of which he was employed by several houses to sell goods throughout the United States, which he continued for several years, principally with the view of learning the customs of the country. At the termination of this engagement he settled at Belleville, Illinois, still engaged in commercial busi- ness. In 1863 he went to Wisconsin to accept a situation offered to him by a firm at AVatertown ; after which, in 1866, he went to Milwaukee and became a member of the firm of Philip Best and Co. Uniform success has attended all of his busi- ness enterprises. He has been not less successful in his social relations. In May, 1866, he married Lizette, the daughter of the late Major General Philip Best, a woman of edu- cation, of refinement, of graceful manners and of personal beauty. From this union have resulted three daughters and one son, the pride of their parents' and the ornaments of the household. He is free from bigotry in his religious sentiments and liberal and tolerant in his political views. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 435 He was a director of the Northwestern Life Insur- ance Company for four years. Is a stockholder in the Brewers Insurance Company, and is interested in the Second Ward Savings Bank. He is the presi- dent of a brewing company styled the Milwau- kee Brewing Association, and the secretary of the Brewers’ Association of Milwaukee. In 1869 he went to Europe for the purpose of taking care of Philip Best, who was an invalid seek- ing health from the mineral waters and baths of the old country. He was disappointed in his hopes of Mr. Best’s recovery and of accompanying him to his home in America. A few days after his arrival in Europe Mr. Best died, and was buried near his father’s grave. Nature gave Mr. Schandien a very perfect phy- sique, a vigorous mind, which he has cultivated by study, by reading and by thought, a love of plants and flowers, and under proper influences might have become distinguished as a botanist. He has been almost wholly occupied in practical matters of busi- ness, and has reaped large rewards from his labors. He commands the respect and the esteem of all with whom business or pleasure brings him in contact. CARL ZILLIER, SHEBOYGAN. T HE subject of this biography, a native of Prus- sia, was born in Halberstadt, April 18, 1838, his parents being Andrew and Julia (Franke) Zil- lier. His father, formerly a miller by occupation, immigrated to America in 1849, when Carl was eleven years old, and bought and settled on a farm two miles from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, where he died in 1859. The son attended school most of the time until fifteen years of age, and then spent one year as clerk in a store in Sheboygan Falls; at six- teen went into a printing-office at Carlinville, Illi- nois, and afterward aided in starting the first news- papers published at Petersburg in the same State. Returning to Wisconsin in 1857 he purchased the “Wisconsin Republikaner,” changed its name to the “ National Demokrat,” and has continued to con- duct it to the present time (1877), making it an in- fluential journal among his countrymen. During the years 1863-4 Mr. Zillier was a mem- ber of the general assembly, and there served on the committees on printing, the State prison, and one or two others, making himself especially serviceable on the first named committee. He served as county clerk for six years, his term of office expiring De- cember 31, 1876, since which time he has served as school commissioner. He is a faithful worker for the interests of his adopted home, the beautiful city of Sheboygan. Mr. Zillier is a member of the Odd-Fellows frater- nity, and has been district deputy grand master. In politics he has always been identified with the dem- ocratic party. On the 23d of November, 1859, he was married to Miss Julia Freeman, of Sheboygan. They have had seven children, six of whom are now living. In stature Mr. Zillier is a man of solid propor- tions, being five feet eleven inches tall, and weighing two hundred and twenty-five pounds. He has a full, round face, with a kindly expression and the appear- ance of a man who is on good terms with the world. HENRY C. MEAD, WAUPACA. ENRY CLARK MEAD is the son of Shadrach Mead, a farmer, of Chester, Warren county, New York, and was born in that town on the 2d of May, 1827. His mother’s maiden name was Phebe Lake, and her father was a soldier in the revolution- ary war. She is still living. Shadrach Mead died at the old homestead in Chester two years ago. Henry was raised on the farm, attending an ordi- nary district school each winter until about eigh- teen ; he then spent two or three terms at a private school, and taught four winters in Warren county. In 1846 he removed to Michigan, and taught a school at Branch, in Branch county, during the winter of that year, boarding around, to his great en r 43 6 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. joyment of frontier literary life. He visited Chicago and Milwaukee the next spring, and stopping at Sheboygan worked awhile at the joiner’s trade, which he had picked up on rainy days and during leisure intervals while living in his native State. After prospecting somewhat for lands he concluded not to invest, and returned to New York State and aided his father on the farm and taught another winter. He returned to Michigan in 1849 and taught the school which he had taught three years before, and afterward went again to Wisconsin, set- tling in Sheboygan in the spring of 1850. He solic- ited for insurance, and appointed agents for the same business, and engaged in merchandising during 1851 and 1852, and then returned to Chester, New York, to visit a dying sister. In the spring of 1853 he went to Buffalo, and acted as clerk in the insurance and agency office of his uncle, Samuel Lake, doing also something for himself as a pension and bounty agent. In the autumn of 1854 he returned to Wis- consin and settled some old pension claims, and during the next two years conducted a successful notion and jobbing trade, driving a wagon through the country from Sheboygan as his radiating point. In the autumn of 1856 he explored the States of Iowa and Minnesota, looking after lands and land claims, and in the next spring went to New York and worked one year in a jobbing house. He set- tled in Waupaca in the autumn of 1857, and has since made it his home. At first he acted as agent for Mr. Lake, who had large investments, principally in Waupaca county lands, and gradually worked into a business of his own. At the opening of the rebellion Mr. Mead had most of his means in the Waupaca County Bank, a State institution with southern securities, and it failed, leaving him to resort to a lawsuit to recover his funds. In 1863 he organized the exchange and savings bank of H. C. Mead and Co., a thriving and popular institution, of which he has the sole man- agement. Mr. Mead attends the Methodist church, and is a liberal contributor to the support of the gospel. In politics he is a strong republican, but has uniformly declined to accept nomination for any office, prefer- ring the quiet of his legitimate business to the turmoil of political strife. He has thus far remained single. Mr. Mead has always been prudent, carefully hus- banding his means, and owes his success and com- petency to industrious and economical habits early formed and steadily practiced. During the rebel- lion he was an active home-worker, aiding to fill up the quota of soldiers. He lent a willing hand in bringing the railroad to Waupaca, and in other en- terprises tending to benefit the city has been heart- ily enlisted. He is a man of fine business qualifica- tions, and with his intimate friends is very sociable and companionable. THOMAS M. BLACKSTOCK, SHEBOYGAN. T HE subject of this biography, a native of Ar- magh county, Ireland, is the son of Thomas and Sarah (Martin) Blackstock, and was born in 1834. His father died when the son was three years old, and he received no education in his na- tive country other than that obtained in a Presby- terian Sunday-school. In 1848 he came to the United States in company with an aunt and three sisters, his mother having preceded. He spent one year as an errand boy in a Sheboygan hotel, and at fifteen years of age went into the drug store of Dr. J. J. Brown, who not only taught him how to sell drugs and mix medicines, but encouraged him to study during his leisure time, and sent him, during one term, to the seminary at Lima, Livingston county, New York, where he improved his time. After being with Dr. Brown about six years, on account of failing health he was compelled to seek out-of-door employment. He superintended the plank road between Sheboygan and Rosendale for a few years ; was in the employ of A. L. McCrea about four years, managing his wood and brick business, three miles north of Sheboygan. In 1863 he purchased Dr. Brown’s interest in drugs and medicines, and has continued the business since that date. Aside from his regular business, he is president of the Merchants’ AVheat Association and of the Phoenix Chair Company, and to the latter or- ganization gives a large share of his time. Mr. Blackstock is one of the leading men in en- couraging home manufactures and everything which, in any way, will advance local interests. As a bust- TllE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. ness man he is thorough-going, eminently practical, and untiring in whatever industrial pursuit engages his attention. He was a member of the general assembly in 1869, and later was mayor of the city for three consecutive years. In political sentiments he is a republican. His practical good sense, his unquestioned integ- rity, and his watchfulness in looking after the inter- 437 ests of the place, make him very popular with his fellow-citizens. Mr. Blackstock was religiously educated a Pres- byterian, and attends the church of that name in Sheboygan. He is, however, quite liberal in his views, and is inclined toward Unitarianism. His wife was Bridget Denn, of Sheboygan. They were married in i860, and have no children. EMORY STANSBURY, M.D., APPLETON. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Mary- land, was born in the city of Baltimore, Au- gust 29, 1839. and is the son of Daniel and Gertrude R. (Milliman) Stansbury. His father was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, and removed to Wisconsin in 1850, holding his first pastorate at Sheboygan. He was subsequently stationed at Por- tage, Janesville and other points, and at the time of his death, in October, i860, was presiding elder of the Janesville district. During this last named year Emory graduated from the high school at Janes- ville, and in the following winter taught a district school. In August, 1861, he entered the army in the ca- pacity of a hospital steward, and after thirteen months of service, spent mostly in hospitals at St. Louis and Bloomfield, he was discharged on account of disability. That autumn he resumed the study of medicine, which he had begun shortly before the opening of the rebellion, with Dr. A. M. Dodson, of Berlin, Wisconsin. He attended lectures at the Long Island Medical College, Brooklyn, and after- ward returned to Berlin and practiced two years with his preceptor. He then attended a course of lectures at the Bellevue ' Hospital Medical College, New York city, and received his diploma March 1, 1867. Dr. Stansbury practiced a short time in Berlin and Winneconne, and in February, 1868, settled in Appleton, his present home. There he has built up a wide and remunerative practice, and stands among the leading physicians of Outagamie county. He is a constant reader, a rapidly growing man, and a member of the State Medical Society, with few peers in the State under forty years of age. Dr. Stansbury is a member of the Methodist Epis- copal church, and president of the board of trustees of that body in Appleton. He is a Freemason, but finds but little time, aside from his professional du- ties, to attend to the claims of the Order. He votes the republican ticket, but is not strongly partisan. On the 13th of June, 1872, he was united in mar- riage with Mrs. Mary A. P. Humphrey nee Phinney. She has a son by her former and a daughter by her present husband. Mrs. Stansbury is a graduate of Lawrence University, and has received, in course, the degree of A.M. In stature Dr. Stansbury is nearly six feet tall, weighs two hundred and ten pounds, and is solid, without being corpulent. He has bluish-gray eyes, a ruddy complexion, an open, frank expression of countenance, and an appearance of good living, good cheer, and perfect freedom from the ills to 1 which flesh is heir. JOHN PROCTOR, NEENAII. T HE subject of this sketch sprang from good New England patriotic stock. His grand- father, Elisha Proctor, commanded a company in the Concord fight, April 19, 1775. Mr. Proctor has in his possession the sword used on that day; it was made in England in 1745. In form it is per- fectly straight, and runs almost to a point, and is an odd-looking implement of death, compared with 43§ THE UNITED ST A TES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONART. swords of modern manufacture. The maternal great-grandfather of our subject, Colonel Gage, was a prominent officer in the French and Indian war. John, the son of Benjamin and Anna (Lambert) Proctor, was born in Rowley, Massachusetts, March 30, 1S18. His father, a student of the celebrated Dr. Waterhouse, of Cambridge, was an eminent phy- sician of Rowley, and was succeeded in the medical practice by his son Charles, the two practicing in that town for eighty-five consecutive years. John was educated at Dummer Academy, New- bury, the oldest institution of the kind in the State, being incorporated in 1756. He commenced teach- ing in his eighteenth year, following that profession for twenty years. During the last five, he was at the head of the old West Honesdale Academy, Pennsyl- vania, an institution which he found in an attenuated state, and which he raised to a high degree of popu- larity. By reason of impaired health he was obliged to leave it, and in December, 1856, removed to Wis- consin, purposing to go upon a farm; but in Febru- ary following he settled at Neenah, forming a part- nership with Edward Smith in the manufacture of flour. For twenty years they have been operating the Winnebago Mills— -there being six other mills of the same kind in the same city — and have done a steady, reliable and remunerative business, no firm in Neenah having a more honorable reputation. In his younger days Mr. Proctor was a very active politician. In sentiment he was a conscientious and ardent whig, and for three consecutive years, 1847, 1S48 and 1849, represented the town of Rowley in the State legislature. In 1866 and 1867 he was in the assembly of Wisconsin, being sent there by his republican friends. He made a wise and prudent legislator, and, during the latter session, was one of the most influential members in the lower house. Mr. Proctor is a member of the Presbyterian church, the superintendent of its Sunday-school, and a very active man in different branches of Christian and benevolent work. The poor have no better friend in Neenah than he. In his Christian and charitable labors he has a thorough sympathizer and cooperator in his wife, who was a daughter of Myron Phelps, of Lewiston, Illinois, and to whom he was married June 10, 1858. They have had seven chil- dren and lost two. Mrs. Proctor is a well educated woman, and is ardently devoted to the interests of her home, and is a thoroughly devoted Christian wife and mother. Mr. Proctor has often been urged to accept other offices besides those which he has held, but of late years has uniformly declined everything of the kind. He prefers the quiet and peace of domestic life to the excitement of public positions, and is quite will- ing to leave such places to men more ambitious of such honors. In his private sphere, probably no man in Neenah is more useful, and none is more highly esteemed by his fellow-citizens than John Proctor. HON. ELIPHALET S. MINER, NEC ED AH. T HE family of which the subject of this sketch is a member is one of the oldest in this coun- try. Their coat-of-arms is in the Hartford, Connec- ticut, Museum. The line of ancestry is traced back in England to 1339, through nine generations. Thomas Miner, who was born in England in 1608, immigrated to America in 1630, and is believed to be the ancestor of all the Miners in this country. It is a family embracing a large number of ministers and eminent scholars. The father of Eliphalet S. Miner, Rev. Jesse Miner, was a Presbyterian preacher, who lived at Madison, New York, where the son was born, March 20, 1818, and in 1828 removed to Green Bay as a missionary, under ap- pointment of the American board, to labor among the Stockbridge Indians. He died one year after- ward, when the widow and children returned to New York, and settled at Paris Hill. Eliphalet was soon sent to live with an uncle in western New York, remaining there until 1834; he then removed to Illinois, and lived on a farm twenty miles south of Chicago about six years. In 1840 he went to Joliet, where for two years he was the proprietor of a pub- lic house. He next pushed northward into the Wis- consin pineries, settling at Grand Rapids in 1843, and there followed the mercantile business until 1851, when he settled in Necedah, his present home. During the past twenty-five years he has been a prominent lumberman and merchant, and is now a member of the well-known firm of T. Weston and THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 439 Co. He is a superior business man, and has been eminently successful. Since he came to Wisconsin his services have often been called into requisition by the people, and he has always discharged his duties with the utmost fidelity. He was the first postmaster at Grand Rapids, and while residing there was for some time a county commissioner; was also the first postmaster at Ne- cedah, which position he has held, with the exception of about two years, since he settled in the place. In 1864 he was elected to the general assembly, and reelected the following year. In 1870 he was sent to the State senate, and there served as chair- man of the committee on claims, a position which calls for the hardest work in that body. During the same year he was appointed by Governor Wash- burne to visit all the State institutions. He was county judge when Adams and Juneau formed one county, and in that office, as in every other, was prompt and efficient. He is a Knight Templar in the Masonic order, and also grand senior warden and trustee. In re- ligious matters he is liberal in his views. In politics, he has been a prominent member of the republican party since the whigs disbanded. In November, 1845, he was united in marriage with Miss Serena Elliott, of Hazel Green, Grant county, Wisconsin, and by her has had seven children, six of whom are still living. As already intimated, Mr. Miner belongs to a venerable and distinguished family, and his life- record, here briefly outlined, shows that he has really and highly honored the name. He was early left an orphan, with only a common-school edu- cation, and was therefore, in a great measure, thrown upon his own resources. He is emphatic- ally a self-made man. With him, pedigree counts for nothing; the measure of his worth to the world must be estimated solely by his own endeavors and deeds. HON. JOSEPH B. HAMILTON, NEENAII. P ROMINENT among the leading and influential men of Neenah is the subject of this biography, a native of Lansing, Thompkins county, New York. He was born on the 10th of June, 1817, his parents being William and Elizabeth (Bower) Hamilton. His father was a farmer by occupation. This branch of the Hamilton family is of Scotch-lrish descent, the great-grandfather of Joseph immigrating from the north of Ireland sometime prior to the revolutionary war, and settling in one of the middle States. His grandfather served in that war, and his father in the second war with England, being sta- tioned at Fort Erie, near Buffalo. Joseph was reared on his father’s farm, and at- tended the common schools, and at the age of eighteen spent one term at the Aurora, Cayuga county, Academy. He engaged in teaching during j the following winter, and then for about seven years t alternated between teaching and attending the Caze- j ! novia Seminary; at twenty-five commenced reading j law with Smith and Walker, of Genoa, still teaching during the winters; and completing his law studies with Rathbun and Walker, of Auburn, was admitted ; to the bar in New York city in April, 1845. He practiced in Mecklenburgh, Schuyler county, until 1849, and in October of that year opened an office in Neenah, Wisconsin, at that time a village of less than three hundred inhabitants. He was elected district attorney for Winnebago county two years afterward, and served in that capacity through 1852 and 1853. He was chairman of the board of super- visors in 1856, president of the village in 1857 and 1858, and State senator in 1863 and 1864. While in the senate he was a member of the judiciary com- mittee, and chairman of the committee on federal relations and internal improvements ; he was also on the committees on militia and education. His ser- vice in the senate being during the war of the rebellion, he gave enthusiastic support to all war measures. His patriotism was never doubted, and in every way he honored his position in that body. At the close of his last session, March, 1864, he re- ceived from the hands of Gov. Lewis an appoint- ment as county judge, to fill a vacancy, and served out the unexpired term of Judge Washburne. At its close the people elected him for four years more, his residence during most of this time being at Osh- kosh, the county seat. Since his return to Neenah Judge Hamilton has served two years as city attorney, the only officer of 440 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. the kind the city ever had, the office being abolished at the end of his term. He is now giving his entire time to legal practice, and has a remunerative and prosperous business. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, and has been senior warden of the blue lodge in Neenah, and king of the royal arch. In politics, Judge Hamilton was formerly a free- soil democrat; he has acted with the republican party since 1856, and is one of its influential mem- bers in his city and county. In religious sentiment he is a Methodist, and has sometimes superintended the Sunday-school. In various ways he has made and is making himself a very useful citizen. Judge Hamilton is now living with his second wife. The first, Mary C. ne’e Jaycox, of Mechlen- burg, New York, to whom he was married in 1847, died in 1854. They had two children, one preced- ing, the other following her to the land of spirits. His second wife was Mary A. ne'e Kimberly, of Neenah. Their union occurred in November, 1867. They have had three children, only one of whom is now living. COLONEL THEODORE CONKEY, APPLETON. HEODORE CONKEY has been a resident of Wisconsin for more than thirty-five years, and was one of the original surveyors of the land on which Appleton now stands. He is a native of New York and was born in Canton, St. Lawrence county, December n, 1819. His father, Asa Conkey, a farmer, was a soldier in the second war with Eng- land; his mother was Mary Nash. He received an academic education, and remained on the farm until 1841. Removing to the West at that time he stopped a few months at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. In the spring of 1842 he went to Madison, where he taught a school for nearly two years. He then engaged in civil engineering, and followed it steadily for about seven years, making United States government sur- veys, mainly in Wisconsin, and largely from Apple- ton northward and eastward to the Michigan line ; his home during this time being at Fond du Lac. At first he worked under General Ellis, an older man and more experienced surveyor, carrying the chain. Being slender in form at that time General Ellis expressed doubts about his being able to en- dure the hardships and mosquitoes of the Wisconsin swamps, but in a short time the General was quite willing to surrender the compass into the hands of Mr. Conkey at least half the time. His settlement in Appleton dates from July, 1849, when the place contained only seven or eight fam- ilies. It needed not much of a prophetic vision to see, at that time, that enterprising men would gather around the Grand Chute, utilize the water-power, and build a city. Here Mr. Conkey built a saw-mill for himself, and then, from 1852 to 1857, was inter- ested in the construction of the Fox and Wisconsin river improvements, operating in connection with Morgan L. Martin, now of Green Bay. In 1859 and i860 he was engaged alone in filling a contract to build a lock and improvement at Rapid de Croche. Prior to taking this contract he had built a flouring- mill at Appleton with three sets of burrs. This property he disposed of in 1861, at the opening of the rebellion, and raising a company joined the 3d Wisconsin Cavalry (commanded by Colonel Barstow) as captain of company I. He served with his regi- ment in the southwest and on the plains nearly four years, and was mustered out of the service at the close of the war as lieutenant-colonel of the regi- ment. He was a bold, dashing officer, and richly merited his promotions. Returning to Appleton in November, 1865, Colonel Conkey repurchased his old mill property, added four more sets of burrs, and has now (1877) one of the best mills in his part of the State, and is produc- ing from fifty thousand to sixty thousand barrels per annum. Colonel Conkey was in the State senate in 1851 and 1852, and in the general assembly in 1857. In politics he has always been identified with the demo- cratic party. He attends the Episcopal church. Mrs. Conkey was Cynthia F. Foote, of St. Law- rence county, New York. They were married in June, 1848, and have had four children, three of whom are now living. The eldest child, Alice F., is the wife of A. J. Reid, of the Appleton “Post.” Colonel Conkey has from the start been thorough- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 441 lv identified with all local projects which he consid- ered would be for the benefit of the place. He takes great pride in the prosperity and beauty of his early adopted home. In stature he is five feet ten inches high and weighs fully two hundred pounds; he has a ruddy complexion, a very healthy look, and although much exposed in middle life in surveying through swamps during almost all kinds of weather, and in building dams, often in the water from morning till night, he hardly knows what illness is. As a business man he is cautious, shrewd and plucky, and has been very successful. He owns a large frame dwelling which stands on the high bank of the Fox river, and has a commanding view of one of the most picturesque valleys in northeastern Wisconsin. He has a little deer park adjoining his premises, and surroundings comfortable enough for a prince. ABIJAH W. JANES I T HE subject of this sketch was born on the 3d of i December, 1828, in Otselic, Chenango county, j New York, and is the only child of Lewis Gassett and Nancy (Colt) Baldwin, and is descended from Eng- lish ancestors who settled in New England before the revolution. His grandfather, Levi Baldwin, par- ticipated in the struggle for independence in his na- tive State, Vermont. His father was a very indus- trious and intelligent man, scrupulously honest and , exact in all his dealings. This line of the Baldwin family has produced a number of distinguished Bap- tist ministers and other professional men who are scattered over the eastern and middle States. The family is also noted for great longevity, many of its members attaining to great age. The Rev. Levi Baldwin, an uncle of our subject, died a few years since in Pennsylvania, past the age of ninety years. The name of Baldwin ranks with the proudest in the Green Mountain State. His mother was the daughter of Amos Colt, of New York, a relative of the manufacturer of the cele- brated Colt’s revolvers. His maternal grandmother was a Webster, a branch of the family to which the celebrated Daniel Webster belonged. From this ancestor he inherits his middle name. He was raised in his native State, where he at- tended the district schools during a portion of each year, spending his summers in farm labor, thus acquiring a taste and fondness for agricultural pur- suits which has clung to him through life. In 1844, at the age of fifteen, he removed to Wis- consin with his parents and settled at Milton, where his father carried on the business of a mechanic, which he has since pursued at times. He entered the Milton Academy at its opening in 1844, under the tutelage of Rev. B. C. Church, afterward under 50 BALDWIN, ■ II. LE. that of Rev.- S. S. Bicknell, and remained under the care of this institution some four years, teaching junior classes a part of the time during the last two years in mathematics and the Latin language. After passing through the full course of study of the insti- tution and receiving a diploma, he taught district schools in the same neighborhood for three years, and at the same time read law privately under the direction of the late Chief Justice Whiton, spending one summer in the office of Judge Noggle, of Janes- ville, and was admitted to the bar in June, 1856. He afterward opened an office in Milton, where he practiced his profession for five years with very flat- tering success. His preferences, however, were for agricultural pursuits, for which in early life he had acquired an unconquerable fondness, and accord- ingly in 1861 he purchased a very desirable farm in the neighborhood of Milton Junction and has since devoted himself mainly to husbandry. In 1868 he was elected to the office of circuit clerk of Rock county, and is still (1877) the incum- bent of that office, having since been three times unanimously nominated and elected by his party, there appearing no other candidate against him, a circumstance which demonstrates his popularity and efficiency as a public officer more conclusively than any other species of indorsement could do. Twice was he urged by the nominating committees of his party to accept a nomination for the lower branch of the legislature and once for the senate, but pos- itively declined to allow the use of his name on either occasion. He served one term as superintendent of the schools of Milton, was town clerk for eight consec- utive years, assessor for one term, chairman of the board of supervisors of the county for three years, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL D/CT/ONART. 442 a trustee and secretary of the board of trustees of Milton College for the past twelve years, and is one of the most influential and useful men of the county. He has always been republican in politics, his first vote having been cast for John C. Fremont for Pres- ident and his last for R. B. Hayes for the same office. In religious belief he affiliates with the Unitarian denomination of Christians, and is an officer of All Souls Church, Janesville. He is a distinguished member of the Masonic fra- ternity; was initiated in Janesville Lodge, No. 55, in 1861. He demitted from Janesville Lodge and was instrumental in the organization of a lodge at Milton, being one of the charter members of that organization. He subsequently served as master of Milton Lodge, No. 161, for three years. Is a mem- ber of the Janesville Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of which he has occupied the position of high priest for the last seven years, having been annually elected thereto. He has been for the past two years emi- nent commander of Janesville Commandery, No. 2, Knights Templar, and is now grand treasurer of the Grand Commandery of Wisconsin. He is also pre- siding officer or dictator of Memorial Lodge, Knights of Honor, Janesville; also a member of the Temple of Honor, and fills one of the offices in the higher degrees of that order. In stature Mr. Baldwin is of medium size, with blue eyes, light hair and a full face. He has the carriage of a polished, dignified and courteous gen- tleman. His appearance and his conversation are winning and inspire confidence at once. He has a mind of unusual clearness and steadiness; always calm, self-possessed and self-reliant. His knowl- edge on the subjects which he has studied is practi- cal and always, ready. He succeeded excellently as a teacher, but his influence in the public positions which he has held, and for which he has special qualifications, is most marked and satisfactory. He has peculiar insight into the necessities and intrica- cies of his work, and shapes his statements in the clearest and most accurate forms. As a public offi- cer he is bland, courteous and accommodating, and deservedly popular, and nowhere more so than in the town where he has resided the longest and filled so many positions. He has the faculty of attaching most firmly to himself friends who remain constant and trusting in their esteem and affection. While ambitious for public preferment, he never sacrifices his honor or integrity to gain office ; he would sooner lose his position than injure a friend in seek- ing after place or power. He has a keen compre- hension of the needs and motives of men, and while planning most successfully, his movements in secur- ing their support has sustained a character of the most undoubted uprightness. He is genial and companionable at home, and is now in the full strength of his powers. He was married October 15, 1856, to Miss Morcie, daughter of Holmes Hammond, formerly a farmer of considerable standing in Vermont, now a resident of Clinton, Rock county, Wisconsin, a very esti- mable and highly accomplished lady, who received her education at Milton College. They have had three children, one of whom died in infancy, and two survive, Carrie May and Emma E. The eld- est is developing considerable talent in oil painting. A. HYATT SMITH, JANES VI LEE. T HE history of A. Hyatt’ Smith is, in a large measure, the history of the State of Wisconsin, and more especially of its incipient railroad system, with which he has been largely connected. He was a man of remarkable energy and tenacity of pur- pose, though of varied talents and endless resources. One of the first settlers of Janesville, where he owns much valuable property, he is still among the most enterprising and useful citizens of the place. The following is but a sketchy outline of his most versa- tile and eventful life. He was born in New York city February 5, 1814, and is the son of Maurice and May (Reynolds) Smith, natives of Westchester county, New York. His father was born among the bloody scenes of the revolution, near what was known as the “neutral ground,” inside the American lines. His grand- father was one of the unfortunate “Sugar House” prisoners, as was also his maternal grandfather. The greatest pleasure of his early life was to listen to these old patriarchs fighting their battles over again, and relating the history of their sufferings as THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 445 prisoners of war. The impression left in his youth- ful mind was so vivid that for many years after he never could pass the old “ Sugar House ” without a shudder of horror and a chilling of the blood. On the breaking out of the terrible yellow-fever scourge in New York in 1822, his father fled from the city, settled in Ulster county, New York, and purchased a saw and flouring mill on the Wallkill, some fifteen miles northwest of Newburg, where he resided a few years. As compared with mills of the present day, these were very simple and prim- itive structures, but they made a lasting impression upon the mind of young Smith, and gave him a taste for milling that he has never lost. During the same period his father also served as justice of the peace, and his mind was much exercised with the mysteries of the law; so that the old mill and the justice’s office perhaps exercised as great an influence as any other agency in forming the plans of his career, as machinery and the law have been his hobbies through life. He has often been heard to say that he would rather own a flouring-mill than a gold mine and would rather practice law than preach the gospel. The ancestors of our subject were among the first settlers of Long Island. Two brothers named Smith, from England, arrived in Boston about the year 1650, and five years later removed to the island, where they became possessed of large grants of land, and were known respectively as the “Tangiers Smith” and the “ Bull Smith,” one having been governor of Tangiers, and the other the owner of the only bull on the island, or at least on the section of it in which the latter resided. There were also two other families of Smiths residing on Long Island, known as the “ Rock Smiths ” and the “ Blue Smiths.” Many anecdotes and reminiscences are related of the “ Bull ” and his owner. It is recorded of him that on one occasion, desiring to extend his borders, and destroy the Indian title to a consider- able tract of land, he laid many devices, and, among others, addressed himself to the stomach of the old Nesaquake chief. His good wife was celebrated, among other things, for her apple dumplings, and the old chief not being well skilled in the use of the fork attempted to help himself to one of them with his hand, but the delicate pastry crumbled through his fingers and fell on the table. A bright idea flashed through the mind of the Indian. He was familiar with Smith’s bull, who was the terror of all the papooses in the surrounding forest, and he re- plied to his next application for a land grant by offering him all the land he could ride around on that wild bull, with a string of Mrs. Smith’s famous dumplings around his neck without breaking. Smith and his good wife were equal to the emergency. He trained the bull, she made the dumplings, and he quietly rode around the desired tract, which the old chief, as good as his word, relinquished in his favor. That land to this day is known as Smithtown. This was about the year 1663. Smith was a mem- ber of the colonial legislature known as the King’s Council, and rode his bull frequently, after this memorable event, to New York to attend the meet- ings of the council. Benjamin Thompson, in his “ History of Long Island,” speaking of Richard (“ Bull ”) Smith says : It is probable that horses were very scarce during the first settlement of this town, or that they had not as yet been introduced, which accounts for Mr. Smith having made use of a large bull for many 'purposes for which horses were afterward used, which caused him to be desig- nated as the “ Bull-rider,” and his posterity to this day to be designated as the “ Bull Smiths,” while the descendants of William Smith, of Brookhaven, are as familiarly known as the ‘ Tangiers Smiths,” he having once filled the office of governor of Tangiers. This family seems to have been early in the struggle for independence. Thompson copies from the records of the town the following resolution : At a town meeting held in Smithtown, August the gth, 1774, it was resolved that we declare ourselves ready to enter into any public measures that shall be agreed upon by a general congress, and that Solomon Smith, David Smith and Thos. Treadwell be a committee for said town to act in conjunction with committees of other towns in this count}', to correspond with the committee of New York, and the said committee is fully empowered to choose a del- egate to represent this county at the general congress, and that said committee do all that shall be necessary in defense of our just rights and liberties against the unconstitutional acts of the British ministry and parliament. After the death of “ Bull ” Smith, which occurred at the close of the seventeenth century, and the division of the family estate, one of his sons located in New Jersey, near the falls of Passaic. This part of the family was again divided, when part of it re- moved to Westchester county, New York, and only as far back as forty years ago a very large part of the population of that county were connected by blood and marriage with this branch of the Smith family. It was a prolific race, every marriage resulting in the birth of from six to twelve young Smiths. From this branch of the “ Bull ” Smith family our subject claims descent. In 1826 his father found his way back to New York, and resumed his old business of merchandis- 446 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. mg, but died suddenly on the anniversary of Wash- ington’s birthday in 1828, in the fifty-eighth year of his age, leaving a family of six children (a seventh was born about a month after his decease). He died young, though the family were proverbially long-lived, his father having died in his eighty-ninth year. On the death of her husband Mrs. Smith removed to the neighborhood of Auburn, where her father’s familv resided, while our subject remained in the city with his guardian, James Smith, a relative and a lawyer of eminence, who, having settled the ques- tion of his ward’s profession, held to the theory that the place to make a lawyer was in a lawyer’s office; and at the age of fourteen, under the old rules of the supreme court, the name of A. Hyatt Smith was registered with the clerk of the supreme court as a student-at-law. For seven years thereafter he pur- sued the study of this profession in the office of his j guardian. Simultaneously with this he carried on his literary studies in the private academy of Bore- land and Forest, then the first classical school in New York city, and completed his education at the Mount Pleasant Seminary, then under the manage- ment of the Rev. Samuel J. Prime, father of the present editor of the “New York Observer.” His recollections of this, excellent institution and its re- vered principal are of the most agreeable character. Mr. Prime was one of the few educators who knew how to combine firm and unyielding discipline with such kindness and gentleness as brought the most stubborn temper into amicable subjection. Under him study was no task, but a pleasure. He im- parted knowledge without any of the pomposity pe- culiar to the pedagogue of more modern times. Our subject was admitted to practice in the city courts in the summer of 1835, and to the supreme court of the State in 1836. The rules of the supreme court, under which he was admitted, required that the applicant should produce the certificate of an attorney and counselor-at-law attesting his charac- acter, and that he had regularly pursued the study of law for the term of seven years in his office pre- vious to the age of twenty-one, with other very stringent requirements long since relaxed or alto- gether abolished. Under these rigid rules he was examined and admitted, and immediately entered upon a large and lucrative practice in partnership with his former preceptors, one of whom, James Smith, at that time retired from the firm on account of failing health, and for six years he worked unre- mittingly, without sufficient time for sleep or rest, which so impaired his health that he was advised by the best physicians that the only way to save his life was to move away from the seacoast. Accordingly in 1842 he resolved to abandon his business and move to Wisconsin, which he had previously visited on business, and on the 2 2d of November arrived in Janesville during a tremendous snow-storm, and being informed that the land on the west side of the river was for sale, purchased it, with a view to the improvement of the water-power, taking several other parties into the transaction to gain monetary aid in making the improvement. On the 1st of April, 1843, the territorial legislature granted a char- ter to A. Hyatt Smith, William H. H. Bailey and Charles Stevens, conferring the right to dam the Rock river and utilize the power thus derived. Both of the last named gentlemen, however, with- drew, and he was left the sole owner of the fran- chise. He subsequently associated with himself James McClurg, of western New York, Martin 0 . Walker, of Chicago, and J. B. Doe, of Janesville, and on the 6th of January, 1846, commenced the construction of a mill, the largest then west of the lakes, and on the 4th of March the founda- tion was above high-water mark, about fifty men having worked in water during that period. The mill commenced operating in the following summer, and gave Janesville, which had then a population of but four hundred, its first substantial impetus. The young city soon shot ahead of all its rivals, and has maintained its advantage to this day, a fact greatly owing to its water-power. In the summer of 1847 Mr. Smith, although a democrat, was elected to the first convention to frame a State constitution, to represent a constitu- ency which up to that time had been largely whig. . One of the chief difficulties of the convention was the dividing of the State into assembly districts so as to do justice to the voters without favoring par- ties. After several failures to accomplish this deli- cate task, a special committee for the purpose was appointed, of which Mr. Smith was made chairman, and succeeded in preparing a report which was unanimously recommended by the committee and adopted by the convention. The constitution pre- pared by this convention (which was, in many re- gards, a most excellent one, but in some of its pro- visions rather in advance of the times) encountered the most strenuous opposition from the moneyed classes of the people and from corporations gener- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 447 ally, and was defeated by the voters; the clauses most obnoxious to this class being those exempting the property of married women from distraint for the debts of their husbands, securing to the debtor a homestead exemption, and prohibiting the char- tering of banks of issue — a clause which would have withdrawn from circulation a large amount of paper put afloat by an insurance company in the similitude of bank bills. This one institution at that time held the money power in the States of Il- linois, Wisconsin and Iowa. This immense power, combined with the aggregate influence of embryo corporations all over the State, defeated the consti- tution, but such of the people as lived to witness the crash of these institutions in the panic of 1857, and the consequent ruin that followed, saw their folly and the wisdom of the rejected instrument. Mr. Smith made the opening speech in defense of the submitted fundamental law at Waukesha, and for more than sixty consecutive days spoke from four to eight hours daily in defense of it. But although the measure was not carried at that time, the re- jected provisions, except the last named, became part of the laws of Wisconsin in less than four years subsequently. The following are among the public offices which he has held at intervals during his long and eventful career : In 1836 he was appointed to the office of com- missioner of deeds in the city of New York, by nom- ination of Governor Marcy and confirmation of the senate. The recommendation of Mr. Smith, who was known to be in favor of the scheme, was made a test to ascertain the governor’s true position on the sub-treasury deposit system as recommended by President Van Buren ; from this office he was re- moved by Governor Seward, who succeeded Gov- ernor Marcy. As above related, he was a member of the first constitutional convention of Wisconsin. In 1847 ' ie was appointed by Governor Dodge, and confirmed by the legislative council, attorney-general of the Territory, and held the office till after the State was admitted into the Union. During his term of office he tried several suits against a former territorial governor, Doty, and other officers, brought for the misapplication of funds appropriated and granted to the Territory by congress to build a cap- itol, and obtained a judgment against the governor for thirty-five thousand dollars and upward. In 1848 he was appointed United States attorney by President Polk, and held the office until the acces- sion of the Taylor administration. On the organi- zation of the city of Janesville in 1853 he was elected its first mayor, and again in 1857 he was elected to the same position against his will. In 1851, while absent from the country, in England, he came Within two votes of receiving the democratic nomination for governor, without his knowledge or consent; and again in 1853 he stood for a long time within two votes of a nomination for the same office, but withdrew in favor of Barstow, who was elected. He was for many years regent of the State Univer- sity at Madison, having been elected from year to year by the legislature without regard to party. (See Miss Fredreka Bremer’s “ Homes in America,” page 636.) The following are among the public enterprises with which he has been connected : In 1847 he organized a company to build a plank road from Milwaukee to Janesville, but by reason of disagree- ment between the Milwaukee stockholders of the enterprise it was discontinued after the building of twenty miles. Failing in the effort to secure some- thing better than a mud road to the lake shore, he endeavored to induce the people of Milwaukee to unite with hiin in organizing under a railroad char- ter which he then controlled, with the hope of build- ing a road from that city to Rock river, and thence to the Mississippi river, intending it as a base line to carry all the products. of the north to Milwaukee; but the scheme then met with only derision from all save two or three gentlemen, who were powerless of themselves; hence he turned his attention elsewhere. The Galena and Chicago railroad was at that time graded some twenty miles out of the latter city, making slow progress, and being ironed with old strap rails taken from New York roads. According- ly he procured a charter from the Wisconsin legisla- ture (approved April 19, 1848) and organized a company to construct a road from Madison via Beloit to connect with the Galena and Chicago railroad, and obtained a promise from the officers of the latter company to build a branch line to Beloit as soon as their line reached Rock river, pro- vided his company had a road ready to run as far as the mouth of the Catfish. He accordingly applied to the people of Beloit for aid in the enterprise, but they rejected the proposition with scorn. The legis- lature being then in session at Madison he obtained an amendment to his charter, authorizing his com- pany to vary the location of its line to any point on the State line it deemed best, east of Beloit ; but the THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 448 Chicago company absolutely refused any connection except at Beloit; this stubbornness on their part being explained by the fact that they were largely interested in town lots in the last named city. The situation was peculiar. He was then building a rail- road in Wisconsin pointing to Chicago, wlfich on reaching the State line would find a blank of seventy miles of prairie. There was no time to be lost. He accordingly applied to the Illinois legislature then in session, and obtained authority to construct a road from Chicago to the State line, with liberty to consolidate with any Wisconsin company ; but when even this threatening attitude failed to move the obdurate board of the Chicago and Galena company, he determined to build an air line from Janesville to Chicago. He found in Chicago and along the line men of high standing ready to act as directors for the Illinois company, provided they were not asked to supply any money. Our subject furnished the money and they held the stock. This put on his shoulders the management of two companies, and the raising of the money to carry on the work. The recital of the expedients to which he was driven in this emergency would fill a large sized volume, and be the source of much amusement besides; but his hands were not yet full. The line he was then controlling commenced at Chicago and branched at Janesville, one branch running to Lake Superior via Fond du Lac, the other to the falls of St. Croix via Madison ; but his plans contemplated a scheme much more vast than seemed to be involved in these limits, and he accordingly procured from the Minne- sota legislature, then in session at St. Paul, a charter authorizing the construction of a road from the falls of St. Croix, then called Taylor Falls, to St. Paul, thence to the Red River of the North, thence to Fond du Lac of Lake Superior, and from the junc- tion of these two roads at the Red river to the west- ern boundary of Minnesota. This charter contained a conveyance of all the lands that might be there- after granted by congress to the State for the con- struction of a road on or near the line indicated therein. In the present day a scheme of this mag- nitude would not excite any comment; but, as above remarked, Mr. Smith was ahead of the times. Then the enterprise was regarded as Utopian; besides there were other objections nearer home. The fact that he was building a great interior highway to carry the products of the Northwest to the Atlantic sea-board, without paying tribute to the lake towns, created such an excitement and such violent oppo- sition to the project as has been seldom encountered, and for several years both he and his scheme were the objects of such ridicule and abuse as has rarely fallen to the share of one man. He entered into politics and was obliged to “ run ” the State govern- ment to prevent unfriendly legislation, and for five years no railway legislation of any kind was had without his approval. In 1851 he went to England and made a considerable purchase of iron, for bonds, at such favorable rates as have never since been equaled. His iron delivered at New York cost thirty-seven dollars and fifty cents per ton, freight and duties included. It was bought on speculation, and as a means of raising money for the road, and sold in New York for a large profit, and the proceeds used in construction. This purchase of iron made the completion of the road a fixed fact. Mr. Smith had not, however, been in England fifteen days before he was handed a file of American newspapers, overflowing with attacks and libels on himself and the whole scheme of which he was the promoter, denouncing it as a swindle. The hostility became so bitter, personal and local, as to be absolutely in- tolerable ; and after about six years of hard work, the best years of his life, given to the public without any profit, but at a sacrifice of several hundred thou- sand dollars of his own private fortune, he did, what he has not since ceased to regret, resigned , and let his franchises fall into the hands of Wall-street specu- lators. Charles Butler, of New York, became his suc- cessor, and he and his associates and successors made large fortunes for themselves and their friends, where- as he spent more money than any of them had ever previously owned. They made money ; he lost. The part of the road built under his administration cost twenty-two thousand five hundred dollars per mile; that built by his successors cost ninety thousand per mile. The stock of the road is of no value, because it pays no dividends, while at the cost he turned it over to his successors, or even with fifty per cent added, it would have been a good paying investment. Among his early associates, to whom he cheer- fully acknowledges his deep obligations for unwav- ering friendship and invaluable aid and comfort in his great and well planned schemes, were Robert J. Walker, John B. Macy, Wm. A. Lawrence, Wm. Ward, junior, Joseph B. Doe and Isaac Wooden, the last named being a gentleman of brilliant talents, great breadth of intellect and executive ability. As intimated above, the history of his six years’ struggle with the insurmountable difficulties with THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 449 which he contended, the opposition which he en- countered from open and covert enemies and false friends in disguise, would fill a large sized volume, and may yet be given to the public, but its recital here would swell this sketch far beyond the limits which our space would allow ; hence we must con- tent ourselves with a bare reference to them. The flourishing roads which have been built upon his franchises, and to a considerable extent with his money, are the Chicago and Northwestern, or that part of it running northwesterly to and through the State of Wisconsin, originally known as the Rock River Valley Union Railroad, also the road running west from Janesville, now known as the Milwaukee and St. Paul road, and also the North Pacific through Minnesota. Being, however, wearied with the perpetual strife in which he found himself compelled to mingle, and feeling also that the contest had become per- sonal, on the promise that he should be protected from his indorsements of the railroad paper , he resigned, as before stated. After a time the company was re- organized, but the pledges made to him were vio- lated, and he was compelled, out of his own private fortune, to pay large amounts of corporation notes to which his name was indorsed. He was the owner of landed property in Janesville and Chicago, valued at over a million dollars, most of which was sacri- ficed in the payment of these and other complica- tions growing out of his railroad transactions. It is not, therefore, to be wondered at that he should become strongly impressed with the idea that the ] man who undertakes a public improvement from : pure public spirit and enterprise is a fit subject for a lunatic asylum . Mr. Smith, however, is still in the enjoyment of his mental faculties, and has great cause for thank- fulness, in one direction at least : he has never been tempted to relieve himself of any of his obligations by the aid of a bankrupt law; he has paid every claim to the uttermost for which he became officially responsible, — in this particular contrasting strikingly with men who are now rolling in wealth, and es- teemed by the community as respectable. After the end of his railroad building, he took upon himself, with his wife’s estate, which was also quite large, the erection of a hotel in Janesville. A company had been organized for this purpose, with a capital of fifty thousand dollars, and had laid the foundation of a hotel that would cost three times that sum. The company dissolved, and disposed of the property to him. He completed and furnished the building at a cost of one hundred and seventy- four thousand dollars, which was one of the finest structures of the kind outside of Chicago; but the entire establishment was destroyed by fire a few years after its completion, the fire, as was supposed, being the work of an incendiary. He had received through the post-office an intimation that it would be fired, and hence was debarred from effecting any insurance on it. The fire occurred in January, 1866. In 1871 the largest of his mills was also destroyed by fire by the hand of an incendiary, as was mani- fest from after developments. But the greatest dis- aster of his life occurred in the great Chicago fire of the same year. He had opened an office in that city, intending to practice his profession there, being induced to this course by parties who had purchased land§ in that city and neighborhood worth several millions of dollars, that had been sold on trust deeds in most cases for less than ten per cent, of their actual value. The land had been conveyed regard- less of the requirements of law, and the object of Mr. Smith was to file bills to redeem them, and pay back the money with interest. He had also bought an undivided half of a law-library, one of the best in Chicago (original cost, sixteen thousand dollars), and, on making this purchase, sold one worth one thousand five hundred dollars for half its value. He had prepared bills for redemption of land worth millions of dollars; but his office, with all its contents, perished in the general conflagration in October, 1871, his safe, in which were all his deeds and valuable papers, being reduced to a shapeless mass of old iron. His loss in this catastrophe was greater than all his previous losses combined. Added to this came sickness and distress in his family, until it seemed as if the afflictions of the patriarch Job were trifling as compared with his. Under such an accumulation of woes most men would have given up in despair, or been so far para- lyzed as to have yielded to what fatalists would have called the inevitable. But, notwithstanding the avalanche of misfortunes which lighted upon his head, and the waves of trouble that rolled over him, he was never even tempted to consider the advice of Job’s wife, “curse God and die,” and is to-day as hopeful and happy a man as lives in Janesville, and, with an energy peculiar to men of real ability, he has set himself the task of retrieving his fortune, in which, it is superfluous to say, we wish him the utmost success. 450 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARE. He was made a Mason in Janesville in 1847, and in 1848 served as master of his lodge. In [S49 he was chosen and installed senior grand warder. He helped to organize the chapter of Royal Arch Ma- sons at Janesville, acting as king. Several years ago he was elected to the order of Knights Templar, but has not yet found time for installation. While in London and Liverpool he visited several Masonic lodges, and from his own experience of the utility of the institution — though he hardly considers it ac- cording to the rules to say so — would advise every young man who conveniently can to become a Ma- son. He considers Masonry beyond all question the most ancient of orders, reaching back at least a thousand years beyond the Christian era, and as having done much during the dark ages to preserve and pass down whatever was transmitted to us of ancient civilization. In 1876 he aided in the organization of a strictly temperance society in Janesville, known as the Temple of Honor, an institution which has been i successful beyond the most sanguine hopes of its founders. The organization is destined at no dis- tant day to sweep the traffic from the city altogether. In religious belief, he was early indoctrinated into the principles of the Protestant Episcopal church, receiving his first religious bias from the Rev. Man- ton Eastburn, afterward Bishop of Massachusetts, while rector of the Church of the Ascension, which, in its incipiency, worshiped in a little ivy-covered structure known as the Church of Du Santa Esprit, on Pine street, near Nassau, New York, which has long since yielded to the demands of business, and of which the guardian of our subject, James Smith, was one of the wardens. He has been for many years a leading member of the congregation of Trinity church, Janesville. In politics he has always been democratic. His first vote was cast for Martin Van Buren, and he was an earnest politician long before he was a voter. In 1835 he was a member of the fifth ward (New York) committee, with Fernando Wood. In 1848 he was nominated for congress on the same ticket with Cass and Butler, his district including the west half of Wisconsin, from the State line to Lake Superior. During that campaign he made a speech in every village in his district, advocating free trade, in which he has ever been a firm believer; and, although defeated by the Hon. Orsemus Cole, the present chief justice of the State, for whom he has fre- quently voted since, yet he ran over five hundred votes ahead of his ticket. Only once in his life did he swerve in fidelity to his party, and that was in 1864, when he voted for Mr. Lincoln’s reelection. On the 4th of April, DI38, he was married in St. Paul’s Church, New York, by the Rev. Manton Eastburn, to Miss Ann Margaret Cooper Kelly, a native of Philadelphia, and daughter of Philip Kelly, Esq., who, in company with his brother Thomas, opened, if not the first, one of the first wholesale shoe houses in that city. It dates back to the close of the revolutionary war. In 1815 the firm was dissolved, when Philip Kelly invested a part of his capital in building a hotel, in its day the largest in the city, and so much beyond what it was supposed the business of Philadelphia would sup- port that it was for many years known as “ Kelly’s Folly.” He also built a large woolen mill at Ger- mantown, and carried on the manufacture of woolen goods until his decease in the year 1826. Philip and Thomas Kelly bore a singular relation to each other. Thomas, the younger, was the father- in-law of Philip, the elder. Thomas Kelly married the widow Cooper, who had several daughters, and Philip, the elder brother, married the eldest of her daughters; so that Thomas Kelly bore the double relationship of uncle and grandfather to Mrs. Smith. Thomas died a few years since at the age of nearly a hundred years, leaving an estate valued at over a million dollars. He was a contemporary of Mr. Girard, and he and the latter were designated as the two rich men of the city in their day. About four years after marriage they removed to Wisconsin; and though Mrs. Smith had been raised amidst the luxuries of wealth and refinement, she submitted without a murmur to all the privations of frontier life, rebelling against one feature only of western civilization. On learning from the woman who kept the house where they first stopped that there were no churches in Janesville, she gave utterance to a slight expression of disappointment. The good hostess, in order to heal the wound she had made, added: “Oh, you will soon forget all about churches here. Why, the only way we have to distinguish Sunday from any other day of the week is by the crack of the rifle” — -which was literally true, this being the day on which the marksmen of the neighborhood assembled to shoot for money. An incident, related by our subject as occurring in Janesville in 1843, will serve to illustrate the moral state of society at that day. At this date a THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 451 poor barber, who had been ailing for some time, died in Tanesville, and left his neighbors (he had no relatives) to dispose of his clay as they saw fit. This was the first death in the town. There was neither a cemetery nor an undertaker in the village. A rough coffin was constructed by a wagonmaker and the body was prepared for burial, and a messenger dispatched to a village about twelve miles distant for a clergyman to give solemnity to the occasion; but the messenger reported that he had failed to procure any such functionary. The people were thus in a dilemma, and the town was canvassed to find a person who could fill the office of parson, but without avail. At this juncture a team entered the town, driven by a man seated on top of a pile of bags, whose clothes were white with flour; he had been away in Illinois to mill, and was returning home with his grist. As he reached the door from which the funeral was about to start he was accosted by the owner of the house with the inquiry, “I say, stranger, can you pray ? ” The man sat for a mo- ment in blank astonishment, when A. Hyatt Smith stepped up and explained the difficulty, when he made answer: “Well, stranger, you put a difficult question to me. When I lived in Rochester, New York State, I could pray, and was a member of a church, and often led in prayer meetings, but since I have been out here in Wisconsin I have lost the habit, and I don’t know what kind of a fist I would make of it just now, but if you can do no better I will try.” He tied his horses, put himself in ad- vance of the procession, which wound its way up the hill to a half-acre lot devoted by the county to the burial of the dead, where the poor barber was con- signed to the grave. The fruit of his union with Miss Kelly was eight children — four sons and four daughters — five of whom died in infancy, and three survive: James Maurice, May C. and Ann Kate. The last named is the wife of Charles A. Patterson, of Janesville. ANDREW J. WEBSTER, MEN ASH A. T HE subject of this sketch was born at Cabot, Washington county, Vermont, January 24, 1829, a few weeks before the first inauguration of Presi- dent Jackson. His father, Alpha Webster, being a great admirer of “Old Hickory,” named his son after the incoming President. The grandfather of Andrew was a revolutionary patriot and soldier, and his widow lived and drew a pension until her hun- dredth year. When she settled in Washington county she not only went thither on foot, but on snow-shoes, drawing a child on a hand-sled. The log cabin which her husband put up was one of the earliest built in the town of Cabot. Andrew passed his boyhood and youth on his father’s farm, and at the age of twenty-one began life for himself. Going to St. Johnsbury he worked one year for E. and T. Fairbanks, but abandoning his purpose of becoming a scale manufacturer, he made up his mind to be- come a machinist. He worked at that trade about five years in Manchester and Nashua, New Hamp- shire, and Burlington, Vermont. In 1855 he removed to Wisconsin, and worked another year at his trade in Racine, and the next March began a small though safe business in the little village of Menasha. He started a spoke factory in a shop about twenty-four • 5 1 by thirty-six feet, he being at first not only sole pro- prietor, but the only workman. In a short time, however, he began to extend his business by manu- facturing wagon and carriage material in general, and thus required greater facilities and more help. Beginning with a capital of less than five hundred dollars, and more than half of that borrowed money, he could not expect to rush business the first few years. Business, however, gradually multiplied on his hands ; his industry and energies began to be more and more liberally rewarded; and in 1861. in order to increase the capital and again enlarge his premises, and be able to meet the increasing demand for his wares, he took a partner, Mr. P. V. Lawson, an excellent mechanic, who, like Mr. Webster, had accumulated some means by the closest application to his trade. Their business has gradually extended and exhib- ited a growth which reflects the highest credit upon the energy, enterprise and business ability of its proprietors. Their shops and yards in Menasha cover about ten acres of ground, and their business employs usually from one hundred and sixty to one hundred and eighty men, and yields an annual prod- uct of about two hundred thousand dollars, includ- 45 2 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. ing a half interest in a spoke factory at Depere, which employs about twenty-five additional work- men. In their Menasha shops is the most improved machinery to be found in the world. Two com- peting railroads run a side-track under the eaves of their shops; they have a United States canal within sixty feet of their buildings, and a thousand feet of dock, with every facility for shipping at all seasons. In politics Mr. Webster is a republican, but has no ambition for official honors, preferring the quiet of his legitimate business. In his religious senti- ment he is a Universalist ; is a man of warm and benevolent feelings, and a kind neighbor. On the 6th of November, 1855, he was married to Miss Helen F. Vance, of Cabot, an acquaintance of his youth. They have an adopted son, Edward M. Webster, a bright lad of twelve years. Mr. Webster is closely approaching his fiftieth year, yet would be taken for a man under forty-five. Though a very hard worker he is a man who has done a great deal of hard work, both mental and physical, but has always taken good care of himself and maintained excellent habits. His aim has been to make the most of his powers and build up a noble manhood, an ambition which has been crowned with abundant success. A. R. R. BUTLER, MIL WA UK EE. M R. A. R. R. BUTLER, of Milwaukee, was b'orn in Vermont, September 4, i82r, and was the first son of Dr. A. R. R. Butler, a practicing physician and surgeon of high standing, and a gen- tleman of education and literary tastes and accom- plishments. In 1822 Dr. Butler removed with his family to Alexander, Genesee county, New York, where his son, the subject of this sketch, received an academ- ical education preparatory to the study of law. After completing his law studies Mr. Butler re- moved to Milwaukee, and commenced the practice of his profession in the autumn of 1846. At the commencement of his practice he was obliged to compete with men of great ability, learning and ex- perience. He rose rapidly to a high position, and soon won his way to the front rank of his profession, and for a quarter of a century has devoted himself exclusively to the practice of law, in which his success has been uniform and great. He has been repeatedly urged to accept judicial and other offices, but has always declined. During his absence in Europe in the summer of 1874 his name was presented, without his knowl- edge, by the bar of Milwaukee and other counties, with flattering unanimity, for appointment to the office of chief justice of the supreme court, on the resignation of Judge Dixon, but as the court could not transact business without a chief justice, and it was not known that Mr. Butler would accept the place, his appointment was not pressed, and the Hon. E. G. Ryan, the present able and learned chief justice, was appointed. Mr. Butler is a man of ability, of learning and of eloquence; his mind is discriminating, logical and comprehensive ; he perceives clearly, he reasons log- ically, he illustrates with the pencil of the painter. His ability is conspicuous at the bar in his discus- sion of legal principles and of their adaptation to the diversified business of life, and in the forum in his elucidation of the principles of civil liberty and of the philosophy of government. His learning is manifested in his familiarity with the opinions and adjudications of those jurists whose names and fame adorn the pages of history, in his philosophical spec- ulations and in his literary tastes. His eloquence does not come from the lurid light of the midnight lamp, nor from his brilliant imagination, nor from artificial arrangement for dramatic effect, but from the heart. It is heartfelt and heart-respondent; it is the omnipotence of truth in defiance of false- hood; it is the voice of God incarnate in man; and whether heard in withering denunciations of cor- ruption and vice, or in thrilling appeals to patriot- ism and honor, or in the melting tones of tenderness and pity, it is nature that stirs to action- — it is the spirit of God within. Talent and genius, the constructive and creative powers of the intellect, are happily blended in Mr. But- ler’s mental character. Without the eccentricities of genius or the idiosyncrasies of temperament, his mind is stored with the axioms of science, the maxims of law, the learning of philosophy and the gems of literature. - 4*2 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 455 This portrait would be incomplete if it failed to recognize another trait in the character of Mr. But- ler, which gives to it its highest charm. It is that of modesty, manifesting itself in his unconsciousness of the possession of superior powers, and in his rec- ognition of them in others. His dignified deportment commands the respect of his fellow-men, his courteous civilities enlist their sympathies. He is, in the fullest sense of the term, a well-bred gentleman — the highest type of charac- ter known to modern civilization. Thus endowed he avoids the common paths of notoriety and seeks no plaudits from the multitude, yet his merits are so manifest that he commands equally the respect and the esteem of all classes. He has an only son, who recently completed his education in a German university, now studying law in the city of Milwaukee, upon whose shoulders will fall the mantle of his father’s fame. May he wear it worthily. T. FLOYD WOODWORTH, JANES VILLE. T homas floyd woodworth, bom at Napanock, Ulster county, New York, Octo- ber 20, 1832, is the son of Theodore and Sarah (Wadsworth) Woodworth, both natives of New York. His grandfather, Luther Woodworth, was the son of a revolutionary soldier of some local distinction. His father was born in Jefferson county, New York, June 21, 1801, and at the age of twenty was ap- prenticed to a cabinet-maker at Cleveland, Ohio. After acquiring his trade he returned to New York and settled at Watertown; and on the 16th of April, 1828, married Miss Sarah Wadsworth, a scion of the family to which belongs Major-General Wadsworth, United States Army. Three years later he moved to Napanock (where our subject was born). He sub- sequently resided several years at Ellensville in the same State, and in the year 1839 removed to Cleve- land, Ohio, and in 1850 settled in Bristol. Kenosha county, Wisconsin, where he resided the remainder of his life. The Woodworth family is descended of Plymouth Rock stock, who came from England more than two hundred years ago. Luther Woodworth, who was a twin brother of Darius Woodworth, was born in New York State in 1774, and early in life married a Miss Murray, a New England lady, by whom he had a family of thirteen children, eight boys and five girls, all of whom lived to maturity, and most of them raised families of their own. The father of Luther was a revolutionary soldier, and the latter, though only a lad, had a distinct recollection of assisting his elder brother to mold bullets for his father, who was one of the minute-men of the revolution. Luther, after his marriage, settled in Watertown, New York. He served in the State militia during our second war with England, and was greatly mortified at the pol- troonery of our men in connection with the capture and burning of Buffalo, and always said that if the Americans had stood fast they could easily have re- pulsed the English. After the sacking of Buffalo and the rout of the Americans, he was taken on board the gunboat Caledonia, with his family, and afterward had the satisfaction of witnessing Perry’s victory on Lake Erie, which, in a measure, wiped out the disgrace of Buffalo. After a stormy and dangerous passage he and his young family were landed in a wild wilderness, thirty miles northeast of Cleveland, with nothing to eat except what game he could shoot in the woods. After constructing a hut for his family, he rejoined his regiment and served till the close of the war, after which he settled in Cleveland, and being a stone-mason by trade, built the old light-house on the hill north of the city, which is, or until within a year or two was, standing, and serving as a beacon to guide mariners into the harbor. He subsequently settled on a farm some five and a half miles east of the city, which until four years ago remained in possession of the family ; at that date it was sold for city lots at five hundred dollars per acre. On this farm the celebrated Colonel George Davenport, who had been a fellow- soldier and intimate acquaintance of Luther Law- rence during the siege of Fort Erie, Black Rock, etc., was frequently a guest, and was for many years on the most intimate terms with the family. Until fifteen years of age our subject attended the common schools during a portion of each winter, and employed his summers in farm work. He sub- sequently pursued a course of study at Shaw’s Acad- emy at Euclid, Ohio, and in the month of June, 1849 456 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. being then in his seventeenth year, he moved to Wis- consin, where he attended school at Bristol, then in Racine, now Kenosha county; and subsequently, in rS6o, attended commercial college in Racine City. He afterward made a trip to California, and there first conceived the idea of studying medicine, and perused the elementary works on this science for some time in the office of a physician, but failing health impelled him to return to Wisconsin, where he continued his professional studies at intervals, clerking and doing such business as came to hand for his support. The winter of 1864-5 was spent in St. Louis, and his health being now fully restored he removed to Cleveland, Ohio, where he entered the office of Dr. Wm. B. Rezner, and after two years’ study was appointed house physician and surgeon in the United States Marine Hospital, of that city. While holding this position he attended two courses of lectures at the Charity Hospital Medical College, and graduated with honor on the 25th of February, 1869. This institution was afterward amalgamated with the University of Wooster, Ohio, and is now known as the medical department of the University of W'ooster, located at Cleveland, which institution, in 1871, conferred upon him the ad eundem degree. In the summer of 1869 he returned to Wisconsin and joined the State Medical Association, located at Oshkosh, where he practiced his profession until the occurrence of the disastrous fire in that city in 1875, when he moved to Janesville, Wisconsin, where he has since resided. Dr. Woodworth is a skillful and experienced phy- sician, diseases of the lungs and heart being his specialty. As a surgeon he is expert and success- ful. In all his operations he is cool, cautious and deliberate, always making sure of his ground before advancing, and while he has the most tender heart and sympathetic feelings, he is possessed of great nerve and force of will. His social traits are court- esy, candor and great benevolence. He is an exemplary member of the Protestant Episcopal church, having been received into that communion by the late Rev. Dr. Washburn, of Cleve- land, who lost his life in the Ashtabula, Ohio, disas- ter, on the last night of the year 1876. He is a member of the vestry of Trinity Church, Janesville. In politics he is a republican. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity (a Knight Templar) and an Odd-Fellow (a past grand); also a member of Memorial Lodge, Knights of Honor, No. 318. On the 27th September, 1870, he was married to Miss Delia J. Schermerhorn, daughter of Walter Schermerhorn, of Albany, New York, of Holland origin, her grandfather being Philip Schermerhorn, who for many years resided on the patrimonial estate at Muitzeskill (the cap in the creek), at which point there stood, until a couple of years since, a very ancient church of the Dutch Reformed denomina- tion, in which Schuyler Colfax was baptized. He was an extensive land-owner and slave-owner. The original ancestor of the family, which has since be- come numerous and distinguished, settled on the Hudson about two hundred years ago. Her father still resides on the old homestead, while a broth- er, John Schermerhorn, is a large manufacturer at Bloomington, Illinois. Mrs. Woodworth, who was born December 19, 1837, is a lady of prepossessing appearance, intellectual and highly accomplished, of most amiable and benevolent disposition, and an exemplary member of the Episcopal church WILLIAM A. PRENTISS, MIL WA UIC EE. A S shown by early records, Valentine Prentiss, _ the first person of that name in this country, immigrated from England with a wife and two sons, in 1631, and settled at Newtown, near Boston, Massa- chusetts. From this original stock sprang the three branches that in after years settled at Stonington and at Norwich, Connecticut, and in the State of Maine. Sargeant L. Prentiss, the celebrated orator of Mississippi, was from the Maine branch, and George D. Prentiss, editor of the Louisville “Jour- nal,” was descended from the Norwich branch, while from the Stonington branch came Judge Samuel Prentiss, a member of the United States senate from Vermont for twelve years. Captain Thomas Prentiss, of Cambridge, Massa- chusetts, in 1650, commanded a troop of horse, and served with great distinction with King Philip, throughout the Indian wars. The subject of this sketch, a native of Northfield, Franklin county, Massachusetts, was born on the THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 45 7 24th of March, 1800, the son of Dr. Samuel Prentiss and Lucretia nee Holmes. They formerly lived in Thorington, Connecticut; later, resided three years at Worcester, Massachusetts, and in the early part of 1786, settled in Northfield. His grandfather was colonel of a regiment of Connecticut volunteers, and his father served as surgeon in that regiment throughout the revolutionary war. At the age of fourteen, having received a common- school education, his father proposed that he pre- pare for Hanover College. Upon inquiry, however, he found that the expense of pursuing a college course would be greater than his father could meet in justice to other members of the family, and he accordingly abandoned the project. His brother, John H. Prentiss, of Cooperstown, New York, hear- ing of his decision, proposed that he enter a large mercantile house of that village. The proposition was accepted, and in December, 1815, he made the journey by stage from Brattleboro’, over the Green Mountains, to Bennington, thence to Albany and Cooperstown, and entered upon his duties as clerk. In the following year the proprietors of that estab- lishment removed to Albany, and after one year, an only sister having died, his father called him home. He soon afterward entered the mercantile establish- ment of Pomeroy, Prior and Brown, of Northfield, and there remained five years. At the age of twen- ty-two, four years after the death of his father, he determined to remove to Greensboro’ on the high- lands of North Carolina. Preparatory to this he, in September, 1822, visited his brother Samuel Prentiss, of Montpelier, Vermont, who dissuaded him from settling in a southern climate. He now decided to settle in Vermont, and forming a partnership, estab- lished himself in mercantile business at Montpelier. In the spring of 1824 the firm removed to Chitten- den county, and there continued in trade for seven years. Mr. Prentiss, however, desired a wider field of action, and accordingly in June, 1836, removed to the West and settled at Milwaukee. There were then less than fifty families of permanent settlers in the town and in the country within a radius of fifty miles, while the numerous Indians between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi river made frequent visits to Milwaukee, it having been for eighteen years previous their trading-post, under the super- vision of Solomon Juneau, agent of the American Fur Company. In July, 1836, in partnership with Dr. L. W. Weeks, he opened a mercantile business in a rough board building twenty by forty feet, situated on Block 2, East Water street, dealing in general merchandise, and continuing about two years. His career has been one of constant activity, and he has been called to many positions of honor and responsibility. While a resident of Vermont he was elected chairman of the board of selectmen and overseer of the poor for eight successive years; was justice of the peace for several years and a member of the Vermont legisla- ture in 1829. In February, 1837, about eight months after the Territory of Wisconsin was or- ganized, Governor Dodge sent Mr. Prentiss, without solicitation on his part, a commission as justice of the peace, with civil and criminal jurisdiction over a district of country, then Milwaukee county, which now comprises Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington, Jefferson, and a part of Dodge, coun- ties, and acted in that capacity until the organization of the State in 1848. In March, 1837, he was elected chairman of a board of county commission- ers, whose terms of office were one, two and three years, the chairman’s being for three years. One of his colleagues resided at Summit, now in Waukesha county, and the other at Johnson’s Rapids, now Wa- tertown, in Jefferson county. He was also elected a member of the first board of trustees, organized under a village charter for the district east of the Milwaukee river, and was chairman of the board for several years. In August, 1838, he was elected to the upper branch of the Territorial legislature for a term of four years, the first session being held at Madison in the winter of 1838-9. Soon after settling in Milwaukee he was elected a member of the com- mon council, and has been a representative in that body, in all, about fifteen years. In 1858 he was elected mayor of the city by a majority of nearly twelve hundred. In 1866 he was elected a member of the general assembly, and reelected the following year Although Mr. Prentiss has held many public positions he has never sought office, and has taken them only upon the solicitations of friends; but once, having accepted a nomination, he used all honorable and reasonable means of securing an election. In politics, he was formerly a whig, but upon the organization of the republican party in 1856 he be- came identified with that body and still continues a member of the same, believing that its principles are best calculated to preserve and perpetuate our gov- ernment. In religion, he has always entertained a liberal faith, believing that a pure, unspotted life, as de- 458 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. scribed in the Epistle of St. James, embodies the essence of true religion. Such a faith he deems as in keeping with reason, the guiding star of man, and a proper interpretation of the Bible. In September, 1833, Mr. Prentiss was married to Miss Eli/a Sands, of Saco, Maine, who died Febru- ary 6, 1837. They had three sons and three daugh- ters, all of whom reached adult age. The eldest son, who lived in New York city, and the third daughter, who lived at Milwaukee, died within a few days of each other in 1872, and their remains now rest by the side of those of their mother in Forest Home cemetery. Mr. Prentiss has had in his possession since the death of his father, in 1818, an order from General George Washington to his grandfather, Colonel Sam- uel Prentiss, of Thorington, Connecticut. It is writ- ten in a bold, dashing and legible hand, and reads as follows : To the officer commanding the party at Burdett’s Ferry. Sir, — Y ou will receive and obey all orders given you by Brigadier-General Mifflin. G. Washington. 9TH August, 1776. Another relic of revolutionary days is a pocket- case of instruments (morocco cover), consisting of sixteen pieces, with tortoise-shell handle, tipped with solid silver, which his father carried through the war for surgical purposes, and which the son now has in his possession. Mr. Prentiss has retired from public life, and is now resting in his old age with an ample compe- tence, quietly awaiting the time when he shall pass over the boundaries into the world of the unseen. HENRY HEWITT, Senior, MEN ASH A. T HE subject of this notice, a native of England, was born in Yorkshire, July 12, 1814, his par- ents being Henry and Millicent (Lancaster) Hewitt. By occupation his father was a farmer; in religious sentiment he was a Quaker. Henry was brought up on a farm, to the strictest principles of industry and virtue, with not more than three months’ school instruction during his life. By dint of close applica- tion during spare moments he picked up some edu- cation, and, having read more or less about the New World, the rising West, early in the year 1842 em- barked for the United States, arriving at New York in March. Pushing westward, he, three months later, reached Racine, Wisconsin. There he took a contract for excavating the bluffs, and spent three years in filling that and other contracts. In 1845 lie prospected a short time, and then aided in building the Watertown and Milwaukee plank road. In 1848 we find Mr. Hewitt engaged on a con- tract on the Fox and Wisconsin river improvements, with headquarters part of the time at Appleton, part at Kaukauna, and at other times at Menasha and Neenah, the last two places being only one mile apart. He operated on these improvements most of the time for nearly twenty years, gradually investing in various manufacturing and other en- terprises. He is at present (1877) part owner of a flouring mill, a woolen mill, a pail factory and some other manufactories, and has been president of the National Bank of Neenah from the time of its estab- lishment in 1866. In politics Mr. Hewitt is an ardent republican, but has always given preference to his business rather than politics, and has held no offices except in the municipality of Menasha, which has been his home since 1855. His residence is on the island between the two towns, while his manufacturing interests are in Menasha. Mr. Hewitt has been twice married: first, to Mary Proctor (of Yorkshire, England), upon attaining his majority, and by whom he had eight children, four of whom are now living; Mrs. Hewitt died in 1854. His second wife was Mrs. Mary C. Mathewson, widow of Bernard Mathewson, of Connecticut, of which State she also is a native. He has had no children by his second wife. His eldest child, Mary, is the wife of Alexander Syme, a manufacturer in Menasha; Henry, the eldest son, has a family, and is cashier of the First National Bank of Menasha; William is married, and is a manufacturer, and lives in Neenah; Frances Jenette, the youngest, is single, and lives at home. One of the deceased daughters, Nancy, was the wife of E. L. Mathewson, of Men- asha, and died January 28, 1876. Henry Hewitt, junior, though only thirty-six years old, is one of the best business men in Winnebago county. He has been a lumber dealer since seventeen years of age, and owns eighty-four thousand acres of pine and THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 459 other lands, all timber but about twelve thousand acres. A small part of it is in Michigan. He has an interest in a paper mill, a pail factory and barrel factory in Menasha, and five other barrel factories in other towns. Henry Hewitt, senior, has been one of the most hard-working men in the Fox River valley, and his success is largely due to his untiring application to business, and the strictest habits of economy. The lessons received from his parents in youth have been of incalculable benefit to him. He has been a town builder as well as government contractor, and the impress of his hand is on works which, after he has gone, will long survive as monuments to his memory. JOSEPH E. HARRIMAN, APPLETON. T HE present mayor of Appleton, Wisconsin, and judge of Outagamie county, is probably as well known in the county as any resident. That he is very popular may be inferred from the fact that, while a republican, and living in a county which usually gives from fifteen hundred to two thousand democratic majority, the people elected him judge by a handsome majority. In stature he is small, weighing not to exceed one hundred and ten pounds. He possesses an active mind, and is a man of great energy, strict integrity and thorough business tact, and in every way a man such as the people delight to honor. Joseph E. Harriman, son of Joseph and Lydia (Stearns) Harriman, was born in Louisville, St. Law- rence county, New York, August 1 6, 1834, and lived on a farm until he was seventeen years of age. When about twelve he had a disease of the hip, which shortened his right limb six inches, disabling him for some time. He came to Wisconsin in 1851, and attended the Milton Academy about two years, and then spent a year in the preparatory depart- ment of Lawrence University, at Appleton. He studied law in 1858 and 1859 with Messrs. Jewett and Hudd, of Appleton, and later was a joint pro- prietor of a hotel at Green Bay for two years, and in 1864 resumed his law studies with Judge Cotton, of that place. He engaged in mercantile business at Appleton, and continued it for seven years, and in 1873 was elected county judge, the duties of which office he is at present (1877) discharging with great acceptance to his constituents. Judge Harriman was elected mayor of Appleton in April, 1876, and still holds that office, and acts as president ex-officio of the school board. He was city treasurer in i860, justice of the peace for several years, and has held other official positions of minor importance. He has passed all the chairs in the subordinate lodge of the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows, and is a member of the grand lodge in Wisconsin. In October, i860, Judge Harriman was married to Miss Celia A. Pratt, of Milton, Wisconsin. Of their seven children, four only are now living. HON. GEORGE W. CATE, STEVENS POINT. J UDGE CATE sprang from good patriotic stock; his grandfather serving seven years in the strug- 1 gle for American independence, and his father, Isaac Cate, being a non-commissioned officer in the second war with the mother country. The Cate family be- longed to the yeomanry of Vermont, and the subject of this sketch was born at Montpelier, September ■ 17, 1825. The maiden name of his mother was Clarissa McKnight. He aided his father on the farm, and attended a common school until his seven- teenth year, when he commenced studying law with Luther B. Peck, of Montpelier, teaching school, meanwhile, during the winters. He was admitted to the bar at twenty-one years of age, and in the autumn of 1848 removed to Wisconsin and began the practice of law at Plover, Portage county, re- maining there about two years; he then removed to Stevens Point, his present home. He was elected district attorney about 1850, and served two years; was a member of the general assembly in 1851 and 460 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 1S52. and one of the managers of the impeachment trial of Judge Hubbell. On the 4th of January, 1S54, he went upon the bench of the seventh judicial circuit, and occupied it constantly until the 4th of March, 1S75, when he resigned to take a seat in congress, representing the eighth district, and serv- ing one term. While in the house of representatives he occupied a prominent position among the new members, and was strongly opposed to the appoint- ment of an electoral commission, for the reason that he considered that the power to count the votes was delegated to the two houses, and that the appoint- ment of such a commission was unwise and impolitic. Judge Cate was a democrat until the opening of the rebellion, and believed in a united North until the Union was restored. He voted for Mr. Lincoln in 1864, and for General Grant in 1868, but has since acted with the opposition to the administration. He is a believer in the Christian religion, and a member of the Episcopal church. On the 24th of October, 1850, he was married to Miss Levara S. Brown, of Stevens Point. They have had seven children, six of whom are still living. Judge Cate has been one of the foremost men in Portage county, in encouraging enterprises tending to develop its resources. He canvassed the county in favor of the Wisconsin Central railroad, before it came to Stevens Point, and has spent much time and some money in pushing forward other local projects. As a lawyer, Judge Cate has stood for many years in the front rank in his judicial district, and during his twenty-one years on the bench has showed emi- nent fitness for that position, being thoroughly posted on legal questions, courteous to the bar, candid and fair in his rulings, and rarely having his decisions overruled by a higher court. HON. WALTER D. McINDOE, WA USA U. W ALTER DUNCAN McINDOE, a native of Scotland, is the son of Hugh and Catharine (McCrae) Mclndoe. He was born in Dunbarton- shire, March 28, 1819, and after arriving at a suit- able age, attended school steadily until seventeen years old, when he immigrated to the United States. Landing in New York city, thoroughly fitted for a book-keeper, he there spent about four years in that business. He pursued the same calling in Virginia and South Carolina a short time, and in St. Louis, Missouri, about three years. Near that city, at Florisant, in St. Louis county, he courted and mar- ried Miss Catharine H. Taylor, the marriage cere- mony being performed by the Rev. Father Butler, S. J., on the 20th of February, 1845. In the autumn of the same year Mr. Mclndoe removed northward into the pineries of Wisconsin, leaving his young wife to follow him a year or two later. He settled at Wausau, Marathon county, then little more than a howling wilderness, and there engaged in lumbering, and followed it steadily until his demise, which occurred August 22, 1872. He was one of the most competent and successful busi- ness men that ever settled in his part of the State. His tact and talents were fully appreciated by his fellow-citizens, who frequently honored him with positions of trust and responsibility. He was a member of the legislature during the sessions of 1850, 1854 and 1855, and was among the practical, wise and diligent workers in that body, though being a whig, a party in those days in the minority in the assembly, he could not occupy a high position on committees. In 1857 Mr. Mclndoe was a promi- nent candidate before the republican State conven- tion for governor, but the nomination finally fell to the lot of Alexander W. Randall, who was elected. In 1862 Hon. Luther Hanchett, member of congress from the second district, died, and in December of that year Mr. Mclndoe was elected to fill the va- cancy in the Thirty-seventh Congress. It was soon seen that the selection was a good one. He grew rapidly in popularity with his republican constitu- ents, and by reelections was kept in congress five years. He rendered especially valuable service on the committee on Indian affairs. He was chairman of the committee on revolutionary pensions, and besides acted on other committees. He rarely oc- cupied the floor, his great strength being in the committee-rooms. He was an indefatigable worker and very influential, often carrying his point by sheer perseverance. Mr. Mclndoe was a presidential elector in 1856, i860 and 1872, casting his vote on those several occasions for John C. Fremont, Abra- ham Lincoln and U. S. Grant respectively. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 46 I On leaving congress, in 1867, he applied himself very closely to his business, which had suffered some- what during his absence in public service. He had the finest saw-mills on the Wisconsin river; owned large tracts of land in Marathon, now part of it in Lincoln county ; and was, for many years, the lead- ing lumberman in Wausau. In i860 he lost his right hand in a saw-mill. He soon, however, learned to write with his left hand, and seemed not the least crippled by his misfortune. When he was not able to do a thing in one way he would do it in another. He was a man of great intellectual as well as physical resources, and rarely failed in ac- complishing his ends. Mr. Mclndoe was six feet and one inch in height, weighed about two hundred pounds, was graceful and symmetrical in his proportions, had a more commanding figure than one often sees, and was a marked, attractive man in any gathering. He was genial, liberal and companionable ; a good converser, and richly endowed with the elements which go to make up the popular as well as useful man. His death was a loss to the city, the county and the State. He left his widow in comfortable circum- stances; she resides at the old homestead in the cen- tral part of Wausau. Though deprived of the society of her early-chosen companion, she has sources of comfort not known to the careless world. REV. JOEL W. FISH, FOX LAKE. J OEL W. FISH is a native of Berkshire county, Massachusetts, and was born at Cheshire, Febru- ary 1, 1817. His parents were Jonathan and Har- riet (Hull) P'ish. His grandfather was a revolution- ary soldier and pensioner. His father was a farmer, and also a licensed Baptist preacher. His pulpit efforts were attended with great success, and he was often urged to be ordained, but declined to do so, continuing to work a farm nearly up to the time of his death, which occurred March 24, 1853. He moved to Jefferson county, New York, while our subject was yet a child, and settled in the town of Ellisburg. There Joel joined the Baptist church at the age of fourteen years. He worked very hard on the farm until the age of eighteen, when he went to an academy at Belleville, Jefferson county, and af- terward finished his preparatory studies at Hamil- ton, teaching meanwhile during the winters. In 1839 he entered Madison University, and graduated in course. In 1843 he entered the theological sem- inary at the same place, and received his diploma in August, 1845. He was ordained in the church which he had joined in boyhood, and came directly to Wisconsin, where, in the autumn of 1845, he be- came pastor of the Baptist Church at Geneva. He preached there nearly seven years, acting also, most ot the time, as town superintendent of schools. He was pastor at Racine two years, at Fox Lake eleven years, and general superintendent of missions for the Home Mission Society, in all, more than twelve years. Resigning this office in October, 1876, he is 52 now (1877) serving the Baptist church at Waupaca, and also doing voluntary mission work in other parts of Waupaca county. He resided at Fox Lake for twenty-one years, and still owns his home there, expecting some day to retire from his labors and re- turn thither. Mr. Fish has been a trustee of the Wayland Insti- tute at Beaver Dam from its origin, and is one of the foremost men in the State in all denominational enterprises. He is also a member of the board of the Baptist Theological Seminary in Chicago, and is an ardent friend of education in its widest range. He is himself a good classical scholar, including the Hebrew language, and withal a fine critic. Al- though sixty years of age, he is very active both in mind and body, and few young clergyman in Wis- consin exhibit more energy or agility. He is thor- oughly devoted to his Master’s service, and it is worthy of note that, since he entered the ministry, he has spent every birthday in the midst of revival work. He is a clear and cogent reasoner, a strong and very earnest preacher, and, it is safe to say, has been the means of leading thousands of people into the new life. The sympathies of Mr. Fish have always been with the oppressed. In middle life he was an anti- slavery whig, then an out-and-out free-soiler, and still later has acted with the republican party. During the rebellion he gave strong moral support to the government, made speeches and aided di- rectly in recruiting soldiers. He also spent a short 462 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. time in the service of the Christian Commission in Virginia and Washington, District of Columbia. Mrs. Fish was Miss Rachel W. Stone, of Pulaski, New York. They were married September 1, 1846, and have had five children, but one of whom, a son, is now living; he is at present reading law with Hon. E. L. Browne, of Waupaca. Mrs. Fish is a woman of fine culture, of noble Christian character, and in hearty sympathy with her husband in his religious sentiments and in his arduous labors. Mr. Fish has done a great deal of work outside the duties of the pastorate and his agency. Nearly half the time that he has been in Wisconsin he has acted as corresponding secretary of the Baptist State Convention, doing a great amount of letter writing, besides furnishing the annual report, which he has sometimes done in the main, even when not in office. In short he has been in “labors abundant,” always cheerfully and well performed. The character of such men is the glory of a commonwealth. EDWARD P. ALLIS, MIL WA UIC EE. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Cazeno- via, Madison county, New York, was born in 1824, a son of Jere and Mary Allis. His father was a hatter by occupation. His mother, a woman of fine education, belonged to one of the best fam- ilies of Massachusetts. Edward graduated from Union College, Schenectady, in 1845, and during the following year removed to Milwaukee, Wiscon- sin, where, with a Mr. Allen, under the firm name of Allis and Allen, he established himself in the leather trade. This firm continued a few years, during which time it established a large tannery at Two Rivers, Wisconsin. In 1856 he sold his interest to his partners, and during the next three years was out of business. In i860 he established the firm of E. P. Allis and Co., and engaged in the iron busi- ness, which has grown to be the most extensive in the Northwest, and a brief description of which we include herewith. About 1861 Mr. Allis purchased on credit a small foundry and machine shop situated on West Water, near Wells street. The business then employed about thirty hands, and the first year yielded a product of about thirty thousand dollars. On the expiration of the ground lease in 1867 the business was removed to its present location on the corner of Clinton and Florida streets, and necessary build- ings were erected. These have been extended to meet the demands of the annually increasing busi- ness until they now cover an area of nearly six acres of ground. Some of them are of a very costly char- acter, the shop for casting iron pipe alone costing over one hundred thousand dollars. The entire business employs a capital of five hundred thousand dollars. The enterprise has marked a steady and healthful growth, and is a brilliant example of far- sightedness, energy, industry and persevering deter- mination. Originally the “ Reliance Works ” made a specialty of building and furnishing flouring mills. The business of this department is still very exten- sive, reaching over many States and Territories. It also furnished the model flouring mill for the Jap- anese government. At present, however, saw-mill machinery is now manufactured in large quantities, and steam engines and cast-iron pipe are furnished to the satisfaction of a wide range of customers. The large pumping engines of the Milwaukee water- works are from these shops. Such are the general- ities of the business: It employs about four hundred men and boys (apprentices), paying them every Sat- urday night, when running full, from four thousand to four thousand five hundred dollars. Of the ma- terials consumed annually may be mentioned five thousand tons of coke, three thousand tons of coal, ten thousand to twelve thousand tons of pig iron, six thousand to eight thousand bushels of charcoal, two hundred and fifty tons of millstones, One hun- dred and fifty tons of hay, besides thirty to forty car-loads of fire-brick, clay and fine sand, and two thousand loads of lake sand, and some thousands of loads of foundry loam and clay. What the “ Reli- ance Works ” may become remains to be seen, but its progress under its present ownership renders it well worthy of a place among the leading manufact- uring interests of the Northwest. Mr. Allis was married in 1848 to Miss Margaret M. Watson, of Geneva, New York. Mrs. Allis, a woman, of superior natural endowments, is possessed of fine attainments, remarkable energy, practical views and strictly just sentiments. She is manager C M'Rae.H f THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 465 of the Industrial School of Milwaukee, whose object j is the education of vagrant children, and there ex- erts a most healthful influence. Her characteristic influence, however, is more especially shown in her own family of children, consisting of eight sons and three daughters living. She has taught them obe- dience to their parents, respect for others, and love for each other. The eldest son is twenty-six years of age, and was educated at Antioch College in Ohio; the second at the Institute of Technology in Boston, Massachusetts. The eldest daughter is being educated at Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York. The others are being educated in Mil- waukee. Mr. Allis is in politics a republican; in religion a Unitarian. He is a member of the board of trus- tees of the Northwestern Life Insurance Company, and director of the National Bank Exchange. With- out having devoted his mind to the study of the learned professions, he has been a general reader, and is intelligently informed upon all subjects em- braced in a liberal education. In his business rela- tions his integrity is unimpeached, while in his social relations he is generous, hospitable and charitable. HON. GILBERT L. PARK, STEVENS POINT. T HE subject of this biography was born in Scipio, Cayuga county, New York, August 31, 1825, and is the son of Elisha and Sarah (McDowell) Park. His grandfather, Joel Parke, was a soldier in the revolutionary war, and aided in the capture of General Burgoyne and his army. His father, a farmer by occupation, was highly esteemed in his community. Gilbert passed his boyhood on his father’s farm, and attended school about half of the time during each year. At the age of fifteen he con- ceived the idea of seeing some of the hyperborean world, and running away from school enlisted in the Hudson Bay Company’s service, and went up the Ottawa river, Canada, to Hudson Bay, and as far northward as Fort Churchill, on the Severn river. Returning to Georgian Bay he there left the com- pany, at the end of one year, and took passage on a steamer to Detroit, and went thence to Port Dover, now in the province of Ontario, where his father’s family had recently settled. Young Park next spent three years at an acad- emy in Millville, Orleans count}', New York. At the end of that time he returned to Canada (then Can- ada West) and engaged in business for himself as a lumberman, and continued the same for two years with excellent success; but losing a large raft in a storm on Lake Erie in 1848, it passing in a dis- rupted state over the cataract of Niagara, he closed out the business, and going to Kalamazoo, Michigan, studied law with Hon. N. A. Balch, and was admit- ted to the bar of Kalamazoo county in September, 1851. He removed to Wisconsin in the following November, and after exhausting his funds in pro- specting, went to work cutting saw-logs on the Wis- consin river. He continued in that business until September, 1852, when he formed a law-partnership with James S. Alban, at Plover. This firm con- tinued in business nearly four years, when, in June, 1855, Mr. Park removed to Stevens Point, then a rising town five miles north, where he still continues his practice, and is making for himself an honorable name in his profession. Aside from his professional work he has been honored with positions of respon- sibility and trust. He was district attorney of Portage county for about four consecutive years, commenc- ing in 1854; was mayor of Stevens Point at the opening of the civil war, and resigned and went into the army as adjutant of the 18th Regiment Wiscon- sin Infantry, Colonel Alban commanding. He after- ward became captain of company G of the same regiment, and accompanied it through all its fortunes and misfortunes nearly three and a half years, and returned to Stevens Point in the spring of 1865, and resumed his legal practice, at the same time apply- ing himself very assiduously to a review of his studies. In a short time he became a strong man, both as a jury and a court lawyer, excelling in the last named. His readings are very thorough, and he still pursues them with unabated avidity. Judge Park received his appointment to the bench from Governor 'Baylor, on the 1st of March, 1875, to fill a vacancy, and in April following was. elected by the people. As a jurist he is discrimi- nating, cool, clear-headed, candid and logical. He presides with easy dignity, is fair and impartial, and sound in judgment, and is growing in popularity. 466 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. In politics, he has been a democrat since the dis- solution of the whig party; during the rebellion he was a strong war democrat, and without his knowl- edge was nominated while in the field, and run by his party for the State senate two or three times. He has also been a candidate for lieutenant-gover- nor and member of congress, but in a strongly re- publican district, or at a time when the State was decidedly republican. He owes his present position to the great confidence which all parties have in his integrity, and in his especial fitness for the bench. Judge Park found his wife in Kalamazoo, Michi- gan, her maiden name being Mary D. Beach. They were joined in wedlock February 27, 1857, and have three children, Byron, the eldest, being a student in the State University. AMBROSE B. GILCHRIST, STEVENS POINT. A mbrose brown gilchrist, son of James and Polly (Sherwood) Gilchrist, is a native of Otsego county, New York, and was born at East Springfield, February 19, 1815. His father was a farmer and lumberman, and owned a sawmill. Ambrose remained at home until of age, attending the district school, and assisting on the farm and in the mill. In 1837, with a view to bettering his con- dition, he removed to La Porte, Indiana. There he spent two years; one cultivating a farm in company with another young man. In the spring of 1839 he pushed westward to Galena, Illinois, ready for hon- orable work of any kind. There he met parties from Grand Rapids, Wisconsin, in search of lumber- men, and engaged to work for them, and in the fol- lowing June went to the Wisconsin valley. He worked at first as a logger and teamster, and after- ward in a sawmill; and at the end of one year com- menced operations for himself, buying lumber and rafting it down the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers, and jobbing in various ways. About 1848 he moved up the Wisconsin river to Stevens Point, at that time a village of about three hundred inhabitants. There he has continued the lumber business for nearly thirty years. He has also, at times, dealt to a considerable extent in land, and in all his business operations has met with good success. When Mr. Gilchrist first saw the Upper Wisconsin valley, thirty-eight years ago, it was a barren wil- derness; to-day it is dotted with thriving villages and cities, and bears all the marks of enterprise, wealth and intelligence. Grand Rapids in 1839 had but few white families, and a score or two of single men, comprising Americans, Englishmen, Irishmen, Frenchmen, half-breeds, etc., two sawmills and a few shanties in which to shelter the pioneer families and floating raftsmen, loggers, etc. ; now it is a place of two thousand inhabitants, with fine dwell- ings, several large sawmills, shingle factories, flour- ing mills, foundries and other kinds of manufacto- ries. In the growth and development of Stevens Point Mr. Gilchrist has done his full share, and holds him- self ever ready to advance all enterprises tending to its prosperity. Personally he is a quiet, unobtrusive man, always attending carefully to his business. He votes the democratic ticket when the best men are put on it, but sedulously refuses to accept of any office. He has a kind disposition, good habits, an irreproach- able character, and is universally respected. DAVID R. CLEMENTS, STEVENS POINT. D avid robbins Clements, son of Peter and Lydia (McBridge) Clements, was born in Pinkney, Lewis county, New York, December 14, 1819. Both his parents were natives of Saratoga county, New York. His paternal grandfather was a native of Germany, while his maternal grandfather was born in the north of Ireland. His mother was an active member of the Baptist church, and took especial care to instill wholesome moral sentiments into the minds of her children, she having six sons THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 46 7 (of whom David was the fourth) and two daughters. The father of our subject was a farmer, but David early found farm work ill suited to his tastes, and at fourteen years of age, after receiving a fair common- school education, entered a store at South Rutland, Jefferson county. He remained in that situation a little less than two years, and at the expiration of that time accepted a similar position at Belleville, in the same county, having the charge of a store, after a few months, and remaining there between three and four years. He afterward spent about a year in Portage county, Ohio, teaching a part of the time ; also one season at Fawn River, Michigan, buying grain for another party; and after a brief trip to Middletown, Connecticut, in the interests of the same party, he went to Chicago, in 1845, and dealt in goods for two years in the firm of Miller and Clements. On the 6th of December, 1847, Mr. Clements pitched his tent in Wausau, at that time in Portage, now in-Marathon county, Wisconsin. There he was engaged in lumbering for three years with only mod- erate success, money in those days being very scarce in the upper Wisconsin Valley. In 1851 he moved down the river to Stevens Point, his present home, where, together with his lumber trade, he has com- bined merchandising, and recently has engaged to some extent in farming. He has twenty-three forties in one farm, seven miles east of Stevens Point, and sixteen miles of as good fence as the State can ex- hibit, and thirty acres of hops, being the leading hop grower in those parts. He is still extensively engaged in lumbering, "however, and in that business has had his greatest success. As a citizen he is very active, public-spirited and enterprising, and withal a splendid financier. Mr. Clements was chairman of the Portage county board of supervisors at an early day; he was sheriff in 1858 and 1859, and a member of the general assembly in 1872 and 1873. As a legislator his busi- ness tact and practical common sense were' of great service. On the 29th of December, 1862, he was united in marriage with Miss Eva Harvey, of Compton, Can- ada, then Canada East. They have lost one child, and have two bright and promising daughters, aged respectively thirteen and eleven. Mrs. Clements is a woman of much refinement of taste and manners, and a true Christian, and is thoroughly devoted to the interests of her little family. GALEN ROOD, M.D., STEVENS POINT. C ' ALEN ROOD, son of Orlin Rood and Au- J gusta L. nee Drakeley, was born at Jericho, Chittenden county, Vermont, January 14, 1830. His great-grandfather was a revolutionary soldier, and his grandfather, Thomas Rood, was a soldier in the second war with the mother country. His father was a farmer while living in Vermont, but came to Chicago, Illinois, about 1838, and took a contract on the Illinois and Michigan canal. About two years later he sent for his family, and in 1842 moved to Madison, in what was then Wisconsin Territory. At that date, we are told, there was only one house be- tween Madison and Janesville, and none between Madison and Portage. Here he engaged in the lumber business, but later removed to Missouri, and is still (1877) a resident of that State. Galen attended school at Madison until his nine- teenth or twentieth year, reading medicine the latter part of the time with Dr. C. B. Chapman. He after- ward went to Cincinnati and spent nearly four years in medical studies and in attending lectures at the Ohio Medical College, from which he graduated in April, 1856. Returning at once to Wisconsin, he opened an office at Stevens Point in June, and has never closed it since. For twenty-one years he has had a steady, and, much of the time, large and lucrative practice. He is extensively known as a skillful and successful physician and surgeon, and as a man of unimpeach- able character. He has a good medical library, a variety of fresh medical periodicals, and evidently believes that every man should make his profession his life study as well as his life business. “ Reading maketh the full man ; ” so Bacon declared ; so the doctor believes ; and with good opportunities to ap- ply his knowledge he continues to grow. He pays considerable attention to physiology and chemistry, and takes some interest in the collateral sciences; and although a man of varied culture, is wholly un- ostentatious in his manners. 468 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DIC TIONA R Y. Dr. Rood voted the whig ticket in 1852, and has since acted with the republican party, never, how- ever. allowing himself to be a candidate for office. He attends the Presbyterian Church, of which his wife, to whom he was married in November, 1857, is a member. Mrs. Rood’s maiden name was Jane Sylvester, formerly of Portage, Wisconsin, though they were married in Stevens Point. They have four children, the eldest, Myron, being a sophomore in the State University, and a student of good stand- ing. Mrs: Rood is heartily devoted to the interests of the domestic circle, and the Doctor furthers every cause that tends to the sanitary, social or intellectual benefit of his adopted home. EDWARD L. DIMOCK, JANES VILLE. E DWARD LOTHROP DIMOCK, one of the oldest citizens of Janesville, Wisconsin, was born in Genesee county, New York, October 13, 1819, and is the son of Horatio Dimock and Teresa Maria nee Hinkley, both natives of Tolland county, Connecticut. Horatio Dimock, who was an honest man and devoted Christian, died in March, 1844, in the fiftieth year of his age, in the town of Elba, New York, to which State he had immigrated in 1816. The mother of our subject, who is still living, re- sides with her daughter, Mrs. Dr. J. B. Whiting, of Janesville, and is a most lovely and exemplary Christian woman. The grandfather of our subject, Captain Edward Dimock, of Connecticut, was a soldier in the revolutionary war, and subsequently held several positions of trust and honor from his fellow-citizens, among them that of high sheriff of his native county. The family is of Scotch descent, some five or six generations since. Edward lived on a farm till the age of thirteen, attending the district school regularly during the winter months, and became an expert mathemati- cian and fair English scholar. In his fourteenth year he moved to Rochester, New York, and clerked for ten years in a dry-goods store in that city. Thence he removed to Buffalo, New York, where he was engaged one year in a like capacity, and, having saved a little money, he resolved to try his fortune in the West. Accordingly, in June, 1845, he re- moved to Janesville, Wisconsin, where he engaged in mercantile business, which he carried on success- fully for six years, when he turned his attention to banking, and was elected cashier and afterward president of the Badger State Bank, a position which he held until September, 1857, when the institution shared the fate of so many others in the memorable monetary revulsion of that year. In this disaster Mr. Dimock lost all his previous accumulations. In 1858 he turned his attention to the business of insurance, and became local, special and State agent for various companies, and is still (1877) conduct- ing the business with success. In the spring of 1854 he was elected alderman of the second ward of the city of Janesville, and in the spring of 1855 was elected mayor, serving one term, and subsequently held other city offices. He was for five years a director in the Milwaukee and Missouri (now the Milwaukee and St. Paul) Railroad Company. He was also a stockholder, and for four years, ending with 186 r, lessee of the Janesville GasAVorks, in con- nection with the late Timothy Jackman. He was a charter member and first secretary of the North- western Mutual Life Insurance Company, of Mil- waukee, now one of the largest and most successful companies of the AVest. He was for many years an Odd-Fellow in connection with Wisconsin Lodge, No. 14, Janesville, and for thirty years past has been a member of Western Star Lodge, F. and A. M.; also a Worthy Chief Templar of the Temple of Honor, and chief officer of that organization. In religious opinion he is Protestant, and pre- fers the Episcopal church, and is a vestryman of Trinity Parish, Janesville, but is not in communion. In politics he has always been a republican, but is not a strong partisan. In stature Mr. Dimock is slightly below the av- erage height, with compact and well developed frame, capable of great endurance. His mental characteristics are well marked, having a clear per- ception and an analytic mind ; his mental processes are so rapid that his conclusions often seem intui- tive, rather than the natural result of ratiocination. He is a public-spirited man, and being one of the early settlers of Janesville, has taken a deep interest and contributed in no small degree to its growth and development. At the twenty-fifth anniversary THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 469 of his marriage, which was celebrated some five months ago, a friend who made the formal presenta- tion of the gifts bestowed said: “In the upbuilding of this beautiful little city of the prairie, it is not too much to say that you have done your full share; and when its history is written your name will oc- cupy an honorable and conspicuous place upon its pages.” He is a man of clear convictions and posi- tive opinions, and when his views are called for they are given in a manner so definite and emphatic as to leave room for no doubtful construction. He was one of the organizers of the Temple of Honor in janesville, having for its object the reclaiming of inebriates, and is at the present time its principal officer. He is an earnest worker in this most wor- thy cause, and many an unfortunate who was being hurried to ruin has been restored to self-respect and good citizenship by his efforts and kindly sympathies. Mr. Dimock was married on the 30th of October, 1851, to Miss Emma C. Hanks, daughter of Colonel E. B. Hanks, for many years a prominent business man (still living, but retired,) of Hartford, Connecti- cut, and sister of L. S. Hanks, cashier of the State Bank at Madison. She is a lady of much beauty of mind and person, cultivated and refined, and the center of a large circle of the best society in Janes- ville, but, withal, modest and unassuming. She is an exemplary member of the Protestant Episcopal church, and is in sympathy with all that is chari- table, lovely and of good report. They have had five children, four of whom died in infancy, leaving an only daughter surviving, Mary Emma, a young lady of much promise, who was educated at St. Mary’s Episcopal College, Faribault, Minnesota, under the charge of Bishop Whipple. Handsome, graceful and accomplished, she is destined to a career of usefulness and honor. She also is a mem- ber of Trinity Episcopal church. AUGUSTUS G. RUGGLES, FOND DU LAC. T HE city of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, owes its rise, growth and present high standing among the great business points in the State largely to a few men, who early saw the importance of the site for a town, and, locating there more than thirty years ago, bent all their energies toward building up a thriving inland city. Among these early settlers was the subject of this biography, a man who, at the first, heartily enlisted efforts in the interests of Fond du Lac, and has never ceased to work for its growth. He has lived to see a village of two hun- dred inhabitants expand into a city of sixteen thou- sand, and has been among the leaders in making Fond du Lac what it is. He furnished the funds and aided in building the first saw-mill ever erected there. Augustus Graham Ruggles is a native of New York, and was born at Montgomery, Orange county, August 25, 1822, his parents being David and Sarah (Colden) Ruggles. His father was a lawyer, and at the early inception of the New York and Erie rail- road was its attorney, and one of its staunch sup- porters. His mother was a descendant of Cadwal- lader Colden, colonial governor of New York at the time of the revolution. His father moved from Montgomery to Newburg, in the same county, be- fore Augustus was a year old, and there the latter spent his childhood in attending a common school. His father dying when he was fourteen years of age, he was taken under the care of his uncle, Charles H. Ruggles, subsequently chief justice of the court of appeals of the State of New York. He was sent to school two years by that uncle, and spent one year on the old homestead, and at eighteen became clerk in the Bank of Poughkeepsie, where he re- mained about four years. Later, he clerked a few months in a store in New York city, but not liking the business went into Alleghany county, and was there engaged in looking after and managing a large tract of land which his uncle owned, and which he finally sold, when the nephew started for Wisconsin, reaching F'ond du Lac on the 26th of July, 1846. He was attracted hither by the fine agricultural surroundings, the lumber on Wolf river, and the apparently bright prospects of F'ond du Lac — a forecast of judgment in which he was not deceived. After dealing in lumber a few years Mr. Ruggles began operating in land, and dealt in it with good success until 1854, when, in company with B. F. Moore, John Bannister, Fid ward Pier and John H. Martin, he organized the Bank of the Northwest, which was finally (about 1863) merged into the THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 4/0 Third National Bank of Fond du Lac. With this popular institution Mr. Ruggles has been constantly connected, serving as cashier a long time, and finally becoming its president, which office he now holds. In addition to his interest in the bank, he owns a considerable amount of real estate within the city limits and elsewhere, and has acquired what may be designated a fair competency. Throughout his career he has been known and esteemed for his strictly honorable dealings and the prompt attention to business. Industry with him, like virtue, has been its own reward. As already intimated, Mr. Ruggles has looked after the interests of the city as well as his own, rightly regarding them as mutual. While acting as cashier of the First National Bank some years ago, he took a deep interest in the Sheboygan and Fond du Lac railroad, and it was mainly through his exertions that the road was extended from Glen- beulah to Fond du Lac, furnishing a direct outlet to Lake Michigan. He was also a leading man in securing the extension of this road westward to Princeton. Mr. Ruggles is a member of the Episcopal church, and is worthy of the indorsement of his fellow-citi- zens for probity and uprightness. His wife was Julia nee Tallmadge, a daughter of Governor Tallmadge, of Fond du Lac. They were married October 31, 1855, and have had seven chil- dren, of whom two are now living. GEORGE R. TAYLOR, M.D., WAUPACA. H E who is familiar with Samuel Smiles’ “ Self- Help ” will remember that many of the per- sonages mentioned in that interesting work educated themselves and made with their own hands every round of the ladder on which they climbed. The list of such illustrations of self-educated men is not exhausted ; unwritten history abounds in them. The subject of this brief sketch, an eminent surgeon in Waupaca county, Wisconsin, never went to school after he was nine years old, and yet is master of all the common branches of the English language, a thorough adept in medical science, and familiar with some of the collateral sciences. He is the son of Robert and Hannah (Hopkins) Taylor, and was born in Bristol, England, October 28, 1822. His father, a builder and contractor in later life, at the opening of the war of 1812-15 be- longed to the British marine. He was at the battle of New Orleans, January 8, 1815. A short time prior to that battle, while engaged in an assault, he had his hat shot off his head by a six-pound ball, through the effects of which the left side of his head became partially paralyzed, and so affecting his left eye that he finally lost its sight. Strange to say, the Doctor seems to have inherited this defect of vision, and expects to finally lose altogether the sight of his left eye. His father, a man of more than ordinary abilities, came to this country in May, 1843, and the son, who had worked for six years as an apprentice at the tinsmith business, accompanied him. The family settled in Jefferson county, Wisconsin, and engaged in farming near Palmyra about two years. They then removed to the town of Concord, in the same county, and at the end of another year George went to Madison, and began the study of medicine with Dr. C. B. Chapman. He took two courses of lec- tures in the Cincinnati Marine Hospital and Inva- lids’ Retreat, and graduated from that institution in March, 1854. After practicing eighteen months in Jefferson county, Wisconsin, commencing in April, 1855, he removed to Waupaca, where he is still con- ducting a flourishing practice, and where he has gained an enviable reputation in his profession. In 1863 Dr. Taylor was appointed assistant sur- geon for the provost-marshal at Green Bay, and sub- sequently acted as assistant surgeon in the United States General Hospital at Little Rock, Arkansas, and remained there until dismissed by general or- ders at the close of the rebellion. His experience during the war was a good school for him, and made him still more eminent in his profession, especially in surgery. Since the war closed he has been United States examining surgeon for pensions. • Dr. Taylor is a member of the Congregational church. In politics, he was formerly a whig, but has been identified with the republican party since its organization in 1856. Mrs. Taylor, who was Eliza Herron, of Concord, Wisconsin, and to whom he was maVried March 22, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 4/i 1856, died July 8, 1873, leaving six children, five daughters and one son. All of the daughters but the eldest and youngest are attending the local graded school, while the son is working at the print- er’s trade at Berlin, Wisconsin. Dr. Taylor is a warm friend of education, and has been a member of the school board several years, and is behind no man in Waupaca in work- ing for the sanitary, literary and other interests of the place. G. W. HAZLETON, MIL WA UK EE. T HE subject of this biography was born at Chester, New Hampshire, in 1829, the son of William and Mercy J. Hazleton. His ancestors among the early settlers of New Hampshire were, on his father’s side, of English, and on his mother’s, of Scotch, origin. After closing his studies in the common school, he entered Pinkerton Academy in Derry, New Hampshire, and also attended a school in Nashua, conducted by a Mr. Crosby, supporting himself in part by teaching. While preparing him- self for college in 1848, at the urgent request of his kinsman, the late Clark B. Cochrane, he went to Amsterdam, New York, and entered upon the study of law in his office, at the same time continuing his other studies under a private tutor. In 1852 he was admitted to the bar, and soon afterward formed a partnership with Hon. S. P. Heath, which contin- ued until 1856. At this time, with a view to select- ing a home, he visited the West, and while traveling through southern Wisconsin was so charmed with the country around Columbus that he chose it as his place of residence and removed thither in the latter part of September of that year, during the excitement of the memorable Fremont campaign, and was introduced to the people of Columbus in the following manner : A mass-meeting had been called which was to be addressed by the late Hon. Charles L. Billinghurst, then a candidate for con- gress. He failing to appear, the audience grew im- patient, and in the emergency Mr. Hazleton was waited upon at his office and invited to address the meeting. From that time to the present he has been an active participant in every important polit- ical canvass, visiting all parts of his State. In i860 he was elected to the State senate from the twenty- fifth district, and during his term served as chairman of the committee on State affairs; also a member of the judiciary committee, and afterward chairman of the committee on federal relations. Upon the death of Governor Harvey and the promotion of Lieuten- 53 ant-Governor Solomon, he was elected president of the senate, and reelected to the same position at the following session. He also served on a special committee to whom was referred the proposition to repeal the so-called State-rights resolutions of 1859, and on a special committee to whom was referred a bill to repeal certain sections of the revised statutes deemed incompatible with the functions of the na- tional government. At the close of his term of office, having attended two extra sessions, he re- sumed his profession, declining a reelection. In 1864 he was elected prosecuting attorney for Colum- bia county, and before the expiration of his term of office, in February, 1866, was tendered and accepted the position of collector of internal revenue for the second district. But not being in sympathy with President Johnson’s administration, he was removed in the ensuing October. In April, 1869, he was ap- pointed United States attorney for the district of Wisconsin, a capacity in which he acted until Janu- ary 1, 1870; though in November previous he was elected a member of the Forty-second Congress from the second district. While in congress he served as a member of the committee on elections and on expenditures in the navy department. In the appor- tionment of 1872 the second district was changed, but Mr. Hazleton was nominated for a second term by acclamation and without opposition. Referring to this, the “State Journal” on the following day said : “ No convention of its size ever presented a larger number of experienced and able men. A unanimous nomination from such a body of men is a compliment that but few men receive in a life- time.” In the Forty-third Congress Mr. Hazleton was promoted to the third place on the elections committee, and appointed to the second place on the committee of war claims, and also appointed one of the regents of the Smithsonian University, a com- pliment highly appreciated. Fully appreciating the importance of the Fox and Wisconsin improvement, 4/2 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. which had long been an object of interest to a por- tion of his district, he in March, 1872, presented the measure to the house in a carefully prepared speech, which was widely published in the newspapers inter- ested in that enterprise. He also interested himself in an attempted repeal of the bankrupt law, believ- ing the same, as administered, prejudicial to both the creditor and debtor classes. Although he se- cured the passage through the house of a bill repeal- ing the law, it was defeated in the senate, but resulted in a modification of the law, and a large reduction of the fees and costs. He also took an active interest in the subject of importation between the East and West, supporting his views in a speech on the floor of the house, which was produced and commended by the press of his State, and by prominent papers outside of the State. It was during the first session of this congress that he came prominently into notice in connection with two contested election cases from West Virginia. The question involved being which of two elections held in that State was legal, Mr. Hazleton prepared a minority report, supported by only one member of the committee, maintaining the legality of what was known as the August election. The discussion of the question occupied two days, and his report was finally sustained by a large major- ity. During the second session of this congress he made a strenuous effort to get the so-called “iron- clad claims,” amounting to a million and a half of dollars, out of the lobby of congress, and have them sent to the court of claims, where the government could make a proper investigation and present coun- ter proofs, which could not be done by a committee of the house. He, however, failed in his purpose. At the close of his second term, when about to resume his profession in Milwaukee, he was tendered the office of United States attorney for the eastern district of Wisconsin, which, though unexpected, he accepted, and holds at the present time (1876). Mr. Hazleton was married on the 24th of May, 1855, to Miss Martha L. Squire, a native of Berk- sir ire county, Massachusetts, then residing at Amster- dam, New York. They have one daughter, now a member of the senior class in the Milwaukee Female College. During his entire residence in Wisconsin, Mr. Hazleton "has been identified with public interests, and has responded to various calls from all parts of his State for addresses and lectures. As a speaker, he is easy, eloquent and effective, and has the happy faculty of impressing his auditors with the thoughts that inspire his own mind, and is justly esteemed by all who know him as an upright, honorable and in- fluential man. HON. ALEXANDER GRAHAM, JANES VILLE. O F the great mass of the human family, few names are known outside the particular fam- ily or neighborhood to which they belong. It is therefore fit and proper that the record of those who emerge from this general obscurity and by their talents and virtues render peculiar service to mankind, should be preserved, because the record of their lives and their example may prove useful to those who come after them. Alexander Graham was born in the city of Utica, in the State of New York, on the 6th of April, 1816. He was descended on his father’s side from an ancient family of Scotch extraction, and on his mother’s from German ancestry. His father’s name was Alexander McClintock Graham, and his moth- er’s maiden name was Dollie Richter, and who is still living at the venerable age of eighty-nine. During his childhood his parents removed to Homer, Cortland county, New York, and engaged in farming. Here he received a common-school and academic education, his studies being chiefly confined to the English branches, but the greater part of his education was obtained by his own pri- vate exertions. His father being a farmer of very limited means, with a large family (thirteen chil- dren) to support and educate, he could do little more for his son than to impress indelibly upon his mind the great value of a good education as an essential element to honorable success in life. Rarely without a book in his pocket, oftentimes while following the plow upon his father’s farm, and when stopping his team to rest, he would take the book and read a few sentences, and then pass on again reflecting upon the subject-matter therein contained. It will be an encouragement to every young man THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 475 to know that Mr. Graham began life without aid or means, except his own energies, and that he has pursued many of his studies while employed in his daily avocations, and that his early struggles with poverty were so great as at times to cause him great anxiety. On leaving the paternal home he labored for a few months upon a farm, and then engaged in teach- ing school, which employment was chosen because it was more favorable to his cherished object, a good education. He pursued the occupation of teaching for about four years, meanwhile employing his spare time in reading law, a habit that he has always since continued, not with a view' to its practice as a pro- fession, but to qualify himself for the duties of a citizen. All his life engaged in business, he has at the same time been a constant student, pursuing many of the sciences unaided, so that in a great measure he is emphatically a self-made man. He was married in September, 1841, to Abigail M. Keep, daughter of General Martin Keep, of Homer, New York, a lady of high intellectual en- dowments, but of retiring habits, finding her chief enjoyments in her own family and home, over which she presides with equanimity, grace and dignity. About this time the death of an elder brother occurred, who was engaged largely in milling, lum- bering and farming, and Mr. Graham purchased the interest of the heirs in the brother’s estate, in which business he continued with good success for several years, adding in the meantime to it a valuable farm near the east shore of Seneca lake; and in the pursuit of agriculture, as in all else that he under- took, he brought this farm to such a state of culture that in the fall of 1856 he took the first premium for the best cultured and best managed farm in the county of Schuyler; and among all the trophies of his life there is no one to which he points with more pride or pleasure than to this carefully treasured premium. In the spring of 1857 he disposed of all his inter- ests in the State of New York, and gave the follow- ing year to travel, and in the spring of 1858 he removed with his family to Janesville, Wisconsin, where he still resides. Here his principal business has been real estate, though he has been interested in other enterprises, and is a stockholder in the First National Bank, the Harris Reaper Manufacturing Company, and the Janesville Cotton Manufacturing Company. When the civil war commenced Mr. Graham was past age and not liable to military duty, but feeling a great interest in the impending struggle, he fur- nished at his own expense a “ representative recruit,” for which he holds the following testimonial: To all w ho shall see these presents, greeting : Whereas, Alexander Graham, of the city of Janesville in the State of Wisconsin, a citizen of the United States, not being required by law to do military service, has volun- tarily, and at his own expense, furnished- David J. Dann, in the Slate of Wisconsin, as a representative recruit to serve in his stead in the military forces of the Union, he is, in accordance with the foregoing order, entitled to this officia. acknowledgment of his disinterested patriotism and public spirit. James B. Fray, Brigadier General and Provost Marshal General. S. J. M. Putnam, Provost Marshal 2d District, State of Wisconsin. A sketch of his life would be imperfect without reference to his political principles. He is a repub- lican in the widest sense of the term. His early political associations were with the whig party, his first vote being cast for General Harrison, then Clay, Taylor and Scott; but as early as 1848 he sympathized with the anti-slavery element, and in 1852 was one of those who voted for General Scott, but “spat on the platform” of the party that placed him in nomination. He participated in the convention at Saratoga on the 4th of July, 1854, that organized the republican party in the State of New York, and from that time down to the present has most firmly adhered to its principles; but during its later history, when some of its chosen leaders engaged in dishonorable public practices, he was not slow to declare his want of confidence, not in the tenets but in some of the standard-bearers of the party, and estimating in- tegrity in public life as of greater value than party success, he, in 1872 (as a protest) voted for Horace Greeley for President. For this he was severely criticised by his old political associates. It is always the case that the man who dares to openly challenge and expose the wrongs of his partisans brings upon himself, for the time being, an unnatural warfare which assumes a personal ferociousness of character unparalleled in the conflicts between general ene- mies. I, ike all men who dare to step in advance, or question party “ infallibility,” Mr. Graham may not seek the justification of his course among the fossils of the present time, but may implicitly rely on the good sense of the people to ultimately vindicate his course. The first public office held by Mr. Graham was superintendent of schools for the years 1843 and 4/6 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL D/C TIONAR T. 1844. In the year 1845 lie was elected supervisor of his town, and in the fall of 1850 he was elected member of the assembly from the county of Tomp- kins, in the State of New York, for the session of 1851. This session is memorable on account of the great struggle to defeat the bill providing for the enlargement of the Erie canal, commonly called the “ Nine Million Bill.” The canals of the State of New York at that time had cost about eighty million dollars, but were en- tirely inadequate to meet the growing wants of com- merce. Mr. Graham was placed on the committee on canals, and it so happened that the year previ- ously he had traveled extensively in the West and Northwest, which at that time was being developed with a rapidity unparalleled in the history of this country, and he became impressed with the growing power and increasing productiveness of this vast region, and that the means of transportation to the seaboard would soon become entirely inadequate to meet the wants of the country. He therefore took deep interest in the question of increased facilities for transportation to meet this growing want. To this end a carefully prepared statistical report was drawn, showing the annual revenue derived from the canals, accompanied by a bill providing for the en- largement of the Erie canal, and by the committee presented to the assembly. This bill passed the assembly and was sent to the senate for its concur- rence ; and now for the first time in the history of this country was manifested the power of the rail- road interest to control legislation. Great excite- ment prevailed throughout the State, and failing in all other means to defeat this all-important measure eleven senators resigned, leaving the senate without a quorum, thus by revolutionary means defeating the bill. An appeal was taken to the country. The gover- nor called an extra session to meet the following J line, and ordered a special election to fill the vacancies occasioned by the resigning senators, and the result was the defeat of the factious members and the final passage of a measure the wisdom of which time and necessity have fully demonstrated. Removing to Wisconsin in the year 1858, Mr. Graham was, in the fall of i860, chosen to represent the city of Janesville in the assembly in the session of 1861. At that time great excitement prevailed throughout the country; the Southern States refusing to recognize the election of Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency, and general fear and financial distress pervaded all ranks of society and all sections of the country. At this session Mr. Graham was made chairman of the committee on banks and banking. Never before had the people of this State suffered so severely financially. Scattered about over the State were over one hundred banks, many of them without local habitation, and all of which, in com- mon with the banks of the whole country, had sus- pended specie payments, their bills greatly depreci- ated, exchange at fabulous rates, and all kinds of business suffering immensely in consequence. This was indeed a perilous time. If the banks were destroyed the State would be without any cir- culating medium whatever. If they were retained in their unsound condition it was only a question of time as to the destruction of all kinds of business. The general impression prevailed that it was only a choice whether financial death should be sudden or lingering. But at the head of this committee Mr. Graham exhibited his cool calculating ability in the management of the finances, and in due time made his celebrated report, accompanied by a bill provid- ing for “central redemption,” which passed into a law, the operation of which saved the State from financial disaster. This report was published and republished until five thousand extra copies had been issued. As a general rule, when disaster comes, when the ship goes down, the good and the bad perish alike together; but in this instance, by skillful manage- ment the good institutions were saved and the bad ones perished. During this entire session the whole country was fearfully agitated by the threatening and belligerent attitude of the Southern States, and a feeling of gloom and despondency everywhere pervaded the public mind, and many and various were the pro- jects devised and the plans suggested to avert the coming storm, and prominent among these was the celebrated Virginia convention, to which all the States were invited to send delegates; and notwith- standing the prime movers of this convention were rabid secessionists, and the basis upon which they proposed a settlement of pending difficulties such as no Northern man could accept without dishonor, still there were many very good men who strongly favored sending delegates to represent Wisconsin in that convention, and to this end a joint resolution was introduced into the assembly for this purpose. To this resolution Mr. Graham made most detei- mined opposition, and in conjunction with Judge THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DIC T IONA R T. 477 Spooner and others, succeeded in defeating it on the ground that the terms of settlement were fixed in advance and were such as no Northern State could accept. During the closing hours of this session came the startling news of the attack on Fort Sumter by the rebels. The President and Congress now called upon the loyal States for aid to put down the rebellion, and Wisconsin was not slow in responding to this call. Her patriotic governor, Hon. Alexander Randall, convened an extra session of the legislature, the ob- ject of which was to provide men and money to meet this great emergency. This was the sole and only object of the session, and Mr. Graham was appoint- ed chairman on the part of the assembly of the joint select committee of thirteen, and the late Attorney- General Gill, who was then a member of the senate, on the part of that body, to draft the necessary bills for this purpose. This committee was subdivided, General Gill taking the principal charge of the pre- paration of the military bill and Mr. Graham of the financial bill, both of which became laws of the State. Mr. Graham also prepared the bill, introduced by a democratic member, providing for aid by the State tb families of volunteers. In the fall of 1869 he was again chosen to repre- sent the city of Janesville in the assembly in the session of 1870. At this session he was chairman of the committee on railroads, and in all the impor- tant legislation of the session took an active part. He was again chosen a member of the session of 1872. At this session he added new luster to his reputation by the introduction and advocacy of a measure that caused great public interest. He was chairman of the committee on claims, member of the committee of ways and means, and chairman of the special committee on the “ Dells ” investigation, as also of the special committee on assembly bill No. 7, “A bill to provide against the evils resulting from the sale of intoxicating drinks,” commonly called the “Graham Liquor Law,” and of which he was the author. Perhaps no question was ever brought before the legislature of the State that created a profounder interest, none ever more fully and ably discussed, none that aroused the people more thoroughly, there being more than thirty thousand names of petition- ers and remonstrants presented for or against the passage of the bill. The bill finally passed into a law. This was not a prohibitory law. The object sought to be attained by it was to do away with the abuse and not the entire use of intoxicating liquors. In principle it was based upon that rule of law that every man shall be holden for the consequences of his own acts; that he who has been the means of producing evil and has enjoyed all the pecuniary benefits of selling intoxicating drinks shall be re- sponsible for the damage done by such sale. It was upon this bill and in this contest, perhaps more than any other, that the latent powers of his mind were brought into active exercise, and his cool determination and parliamentary tact and legislative ability fully manifested. At times during the pend- ency of this measure the excitement was at fever heat, but throughout the entire discussion he met successfully the arguments and the tactics of his opponents at every point, and when the debate finally closed and the bill passed, his course had been such that the strongest opponents of the bill were personally his warmest friends. Mr. Graham has always taken a great interest in public schools, and an active part in all that per- tained to the growth and prosperity of his city. He was elected school commissioner of the city of Janesville in 1859, alderman in 1864, and was three times reelected, serving eight years. He is exem- plary in private life, of industrious habits, a kind neighbor and firm friend, always entering with great zeal into every project that promises to promote the welfare of society, and especially those plans that are most likely to provide remunerative employment for the laboring classes. Rising from among the toiling millions, he has never ceased to sympathize with and interest him- self in the education and elevation of the masses. As a debater before a deliberative body his lan- guage is direct and concise, his manner sincere and earnest, being more logical than rhetorical, address- ing himself to the sense and judgment of his hear- ers rather than to their passions or prejudices, though he sometimes indulges in repartee, if the time and occasion permit. Judged by the best of all tests, the effect upon his hearers, few public speakers wield a greater influence. As a writer he is clear and forcible, always pre- senting his subject in the best light possible. There is a tinge of self-conceit and self-reliance in his character, born of a life-long dependence upon his own exertions to obtain for himself a com- petence and an honorable position among men. 473 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONART. Starting in life with nothing but his own exertions, his success in business- has been such that he has come to believe in and trust himself entirely. But the very faults in his character in this respect tend in some degree to render him more successful, be- cause relying on his own exertions his powers are not weakened or impaired by any expectation of aid or assistance from others. As a public man his consistent decorous deport- ment, his untiring industry and attention to busi- ness, his manly independence, his steady and per- fectly temperate habits, his candor and sincerity, and above all the feeling generally entertained of his unquestionable personal integrity, inspire a con- fidence that has never been impaired or disappointed. Taking part in public life at a time remarkable for the good principles and bad conduct of public men, when virtue is preached and not generally practiced, when free-thinking consists in allowing party to think for you, when the profession of principle by party leaders consists in having no principle, it is refreshing to find a public man who can rise above these influences and act for the right, regardless of personal interests. LUCIUS A. WHEELER, MIL WA U1C EE. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Chitten- den county, Vermont, was born on the 9th of March, 1828, and is the son of Orrin Wheeler and Sarah nee Hickok. His father, a farmer in moder- ate circumstances, removed to western New York in 1833. Here Lucius attended the public schools and early manifested a great aptness in study, and was uniformly at the head of his class. While still a boy he became a great student of historical and scientific works, and read all books that he could obtain. After closing his studies in the public schools, at the age of thirteen he entered a colle- giate institute to prepare himself for college. Ow- ing, however, to impaired health and a delicate con- stitution, he was obliged to abandon his purpose at the end of one year, and took a position in a country store. At the expiration of six years of faithful ser- vice he became a partner in the business, and dur- ing the next two years was unremitting in his efforts to build up his trade, frequently rising at three or four o’clock in the morning and working till twelve o’clock at night. At the age of twenty-two, desir- ing a change and recreation, he spent some time at Avon Springs and in visiting various places^ and finally, with his former firm, established a flourish- ing branch business at Dunkirk, it being then the terminus of the Erie railroad, with fine prospects of becoming a place of considerable importance. After four years the parent house failed, involving him in liabilities to the amount of sixty-five thousand dol- lars. The misfortune was a severe one to him, but he bravely faced it, and turning all his property over to his creditors, in the summer of 1856 started west- ward, visiting all the important places as far as the interior of Iowa, and finally settled at Milwaukee, his present home, having upon his arrival one hun- dred dollars. After a search of one week he se- cured a situation in a clothing house, which he filled one year, and then spent one year in the dry-goods establishment of Bradford Brothers. At the expira- tion of this time, returning to New York, he secured a release from the claims against the old house, an'd with the aid of an uncle purchased a small stock of dry goods, and opened a store on East Water street, Milwaukee, where he was soon joined by his brother- in law. The business was prosperous from the be- ginning, and gradually grew in extent and influence. His brother-in-law soon returned to Dunkirk, and the business was left entirely in his hands. He opened a wholesale department, and in 1866 re- moved to more commodious quarters. In 1872, to meet the constantly increasing demands of his trade, he removed to his present stand, at 133 and 135 Wisconsin street, and devoted his special attention to the retail business. Mr. Wheeler’s success is wholly the result of his determined effort, and fur- nishes a most worthy example of what may be at- tained by will and constant work. Politically he is identified with the republican party, but in the midst of his active business career he has found no time, nor has he had any ambition, to take part in political matters more than to per- form his duties as a citizen. His . early religious training, at the hands of a pious mother, led him to reverence God and re- ligion, though from a want of understanding the THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 479 simplicity of the gospel he was kept from making a public profession until he attained the age of twenty-eight years, when he united with the Presby- terian church at Dunkirk, and was soon elected an elder in the same. He has held all the important offices of the Plymouth Congregational Church at Milwaukee, and is at the present time identified with the Immanuel Presbyterian Church of that city. In all religious enterprises he has taken an active interest, and was at one time secretary of the State Sunday-school Union. In all his career his dealing has been open, frank and fair, and by a strict adherence to principle he secured the respect and esteem of many personal friends and a wide reputation as an honorable and true man. Mr. Wheeler was married on the 17 th of May, 1855, to Miss Helen C. Van Buren, daughter of Henry B. Van Buren, of Dunkirk, New York, who belonged to a branch of the Kinderhook family. Their union has been blessed with one son and two daughters. GEORGE H. CALKINS, M.D., WAUPACA. T HE subject of this biography is the son of Varanes and Elizabeth ( U tter) Calkins, and was born at Castile, New York, April 21, 1830. His father was a farmer by occupation ; his grand- father was a soldier in the war of the revolution. George attended a common school and assisted on his father’s farm until eighteen years of age, when he went to Ellicotts ville, Cattaraugus county, and began the study of medicine with Dr. J. B. Staun- ton. He attended lectures at the Buffalo Medical College, and practiced two years in the State of Maryland before he graduated. He afterward re- turned to Buffalo, and attended another course of lectures, and received his diploma in February, 1856. Settling the next year at Waupaca, Wiscon- sin, he at once established himself in his profession, and has been in the steady practice of the same for twenty years, growing all the while in knowledge as well as experience. He is a general practitioner, and stands high among the medical fraternity as well as in the community. For about ten years past he has been president of the Waupaca County Medical Society. In the latter part of 1863 Dr. Calkins was com- missioned assistant surgeon of the 37th Regiment of Wisconsin Volunteers, and was immediately detailed to take charge of the branch Harvey Hospital at Camp Randall, Madison, and served in that capac- ity until the close of the rebellion, being discharged in June, 1865. On his leaving the hospital the pa- tients presented him with an elegant gold watch as a token of their appreciation of his services. Dr. Calkins has always been a decided republi- can, but has not allowed his politics to interfere in the least degree with his medical studies and prac- tice, except in a single instance. In 1874 he yielded to the wishes of his fellow-citizens and became a candidate for the general assembly, and was elected by a handsome majority, and served in the session of 1875, being on the committee on medical socie- ties and one or two other committees. Dr. Calkins is a Royal Arch Mason, and also an Odd-Fellow, and has taken all the degrees in the Temple of Honor. He has been a member of the Presbyterian church for more than twenty years. On the 1 8th of March, 1852, he was married to Miss Caroline L. Jenkins, of Ellicottsville, New York. Of their ten children, seven are now living. MORRIS C. SMITH, JANES VILLE. A MONG the pioneer merchants of Janesville ness men have done, he adopted the principle of . none is more distinguished and none has been “ square dealing,” and this, with his business tact and more successful in business than the subject of this energy, and sound judgment in the selection of his sketch. Settling in the West at an early day, and stock, has raised him to the position of one of the commencing business on a small scale, as most busi- solid business-men of southern Wisconsin. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 4S0 Morris Clarke Smith was born at Riga, Monroe county, New York, December 4, 1S20, and is the son of Lyman and Eunice (Clarke) Smith, both natives of Berkshire county, Massachusetts, and of early New England stock, descended of Puritan ances- tors. They belonged to the well-to-do farming class, and were industrious, frugal and upright, wielding an influence for good in the neighborhood where they resided. In early life they settled in New \ ork State, where our subject was born, and reared upon the farm till the age of sixteen, attend- ing first the district schools and completing a thor- ough English and mathematical education at Church- ville Academy, New York. Beginning life for himself at the age of sixteen, he entered the counting-house of a maternal uncle named E. M. Clarke, in Royal- ton, Niagara county, New York, where he remained for two years, giving promise of becoming the thorough and accomplished business man into which he has since so fully developed. Thence he removed to Batavia, New York, where in a like capacity he remained seven years. But becoming enamored of the larger facilities offered by the great West for enterprise and success, he turned his face toward the setting sun, and in the autumn of 1847 settled in Janesville, Wisconsin, carrying with him a small capital, which was augmented by indorsements from his uncle, E. M. Clarke, who became a partner in his business. In the spring of 1848 he opened a small store on South Main street, his stock being of the old pioneer “ country store ” description, not very extensive in size, and consisting of a “little of every- thing.” It was the day of “small things” with Janesville. There were but few business houses in the place, and all of them small. What became of his early contemporaries in trade we know not, but Mr. Smith is the only one of the merchants of 1848 who still remain in Janesville. In 1849, business having increased by the utilization of the water- power of Rock river, he built a new store and en- larged his stock of goods, using the old store exclu- sively for ready-made clothing, and the new one for a miscellaneous stock of dry goods, hardware, etc. The year following he added to his establishment a merchant tailoring department, being the first to engage in that enterprise. He continued in this line with uninterrupted success till 1861, when he remodeled his business, moved into new and still more commodious quarters, taking into partnership with himself J. M. Bostwick, who has since been an active member of the firm, and discontinued the grocery and hardware business, confining his trade to clothing and dry goods. Prosperity was con- tinued under the new name, and Smith and Bost- wick are now household words throughout south- ern Wisconsin. Meantime, Janesville having been spreading in all directions, manufacturing establish- ments and many pretentious public buildings being- erected, in 1871-2 he built the beautiful and sub- stantial brick block on the northeast corner of North Main and East Milwaukee streets, which is an orna- ment to the city and a fitting monument to his in- dustry and public spirit. The corner store of this block is used as a salesroom for ready-made clothing and gentlemen’s wear generally. The stock of goods in this establishment is immense, and not excelled by any house in the West, outside of Chicago. In addition to his Janesville concerns he is also a part- ner in the firm of Cheney, Bostwick and Co., of Monroe, Wisconsin. The success of Mr. Smith in his several branches of business, which he has so ably managed for the past thirty years, is in the main attributable to his strict adherence to the highest morals of trade. He began when the city was in its infancy, and has grown with its growth and strengthened with its strength, until his annual sales amount to nearly half a million dollars. In stature Mr. Smith is five feet ten inches high, and weighs about one hundred and fifty pounds. He has a fine presence, and moves with a vigorous and elastic step. He gives little attention to the mere formalities of salutation on the street, his “good morning” bearing about it the inevitable commercial air which has become a part of the man. He is a gentleman of ardent temperament, and any cause which he espouses is sure to feel the full force of his character. He possesses too much independence of thought and action to wish to con- ceal his opinions, and hence when asked for they are expressed without much regard to consequences, or whether they will harmonize with the popular ideas or not. As a business man he is everywhere recognized as of unswerving integrity, 'never stoop- ing to questionable acts for the purposes of tempo- rary gain, and his reputation for uprightness and nobility of character will be the richest legacy he can leave to his family. In politics he is identified with the democratic party, but is not a politician. He has held some city offices. In religion he leans toward the Protestant Episcopal church, though not in communion. He THE UN FT ED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 481 is a member of the vestry of Christ Church, Janes- ville, and one of the most liberal contributors to the support of the parish and the charitable and benev- olent institutions of the city. He is also a member of the Masonic and Odd-Fellows fraternities. He was married in September, 1843, to Miss Bianca J. Allen, daughter of Orange Allen, Esq., of Batavia, New York, and niece of Judge Dibble, of that city, a very distinguished member of the judiciary, and an “old-time gentleman” of wealth and influence. Mrs. Smith was raised in the fam- ily of the judge, receiving the highest education and culture which wealth and social position could bestow. She is a lady of purely domestic habits, who keeps herself “ unspotted from the world,” of sweet and tender disposition ; always ready to apologize for rather than condemn the faults of others. They have had five children, four of whom survive. The eldest son, Edgar M., a finely culti- vated and promising youth and a general favorite, died in 1871, at the age of twenty-two. The re- maining children are Frank I,., who has been for some time a member of his father’s firm; Frederick A., George W. and Anna B. The sons have all been educated to business, and give promise of fol- lowing in the footsteps of their father, while the daughter is very like her mother. The domestic life of this family is proverbially happy. Their in- clinations are nicely-tuned unison, and all their conversation, harmony. A loud or angry word has ! never been heard in their dwelling. Love and high moral suasion are the governing forces in this house- hold. The same is also true to a large extent in regard to Mr. Smith’s employes and domestic ser- vants. They are so kindly and honorably dealt 1 with that misunderstandings are impossible. DAN NEWCOMB, M.D., KENOSHA. T HE subject of this biography, a native of Fays- ton, Vermont, was born August 25, 1829, the son of Hosea Newcomb and Harriet nee Bixby, both of whom are still living. He is a direct descendant of Captain Francis Newcomb, who immigrated from England to America in 1635. His parents, steady, industrious and decided in all their habits, are prac- tical exponents of blameless Christian lives, whose influence and example have left an impress that marks the life of the son. His mind was early turned toward the medical profession, and after com- pleting his elementary studies at Montpelier Acad- emy and Newberry Seminary, Vermont, he took his first course of medical studies at the Vermont Med- ical College, of Woodstock. He afterward attended the New .York College of Physicians and Surgeons, and also attended the clinique of the celebrated Bellvue Hospital, and finally completed his course and received his diploma from the old Berkshire Medical College of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. In 1870 he was honored with the ad eundenr degree of M.D. by the Northwestern University. Remov- I ing to Bangor, New York, in 1852, I)r. Newcomb there began his practice. Three years later he estab- |i lished himself in Cabor, Vermont, and after two . years removed to the West and settled at Atchison, Kansas. Here his popularity secured his election 54 as register of deeds, an honorable and responsible office ; and afterward, against his own wishes, he was nominated for county judge, and lacked but fifteen votes of securing an election. While the Pike’s Peak country was yet a part of the Territory of Kansas, he, with A. D. Richardson, of the New York “ Tribune,” and a Mr. King, were by the legis- lature appointed commissioners to locate the coun- ties and county seats. In the face of a strong opposition on the part of the citizens of Denver they proceeded to enter upon their duties, but were relieved from their task by the congress of the United States declaring the formation of the Terri- tory of Colorado. In i860 he established himself in his profession at Palatine, Cook county, Illinois, whence he afterward removed to Park Ridge, a sub- urban village of Chicago. Here he became largely interested in the University Publishing Company, and was one of the founders of that short-lived period- ical known as the “Lakeside Monthly Magazine.” That a magazine of such a character should prove a failure surprised many, and can be accounted for only with the probable reason that the West was then tpo new for such a literary undertaking. Although not prominent in the enterprise, Dr. Newcomb suf- fered a considerable loss. He has but recently re- moved to Kenosha, Wisconsin, which he has decided 482 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. upon as his future home, but during his brief resi- dence has made many warm friends, and begun a practice already prosperous and lucrative. He makes a specialty of the diseases of children, and has met with remarkable success in this branch of his pro- fession. A thorough scholar, clear thinker and ready writer, he has made valuable contributions to medi- cal literature. In a popular book on “ Hygiene for Children,” he takes a high position as a Christian scientist and philosopher. In “ When and How,” he teaches that nature has laws, and that if we would work in harmony with those laws, we must interpret the teachings that come to us instinctively, and then follow all the lessons of the Infinite Creator, as far above the teachings of the finite creature. The work was a practical attempt to “look thro’ nature up to nature’s God,” and as such was accepted by Christian circles in this country, and won for its author a wide and worthy reputation. Politically Dr. Newcomb is identified with the republican party. Not a partisan, however, he care- fully weighs the honest motives of men and politics, and gives his support to the right as he understands it. Personally he is tall, well proportioned and robust in appearance, and has an expression of thoughtfulness and intelligence. Wherever he has lived there are many who attest his worth as a phy- sician and surgeon, and all who know him recognize him as a gentleman, kind and courteous in manners, prompt in business, thoroughly reliable, and strictly temperate in his habits. In 1851 he was married to Miss C. Helen Smith, a lady of attractive appearance and fine intellectual endowments. Similar in their tastes, both members of the Methodist Episcopal church, their home has been one of happiness, and if not affluent, at least prosperous. They have had but one child, a son, who died in 1865. TIMOTHY F. STRONG, FOND DU LAC. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Brown- ington, Vermont, was born on the 6th of April, 1805, and is the son of Asahel Strong and Susan Eollett. His father, a prominent merchant, although unfortunate, was much respected by all who knew him. Timothy resided in Bennington, whither his parents removed in 1806, till twelve years old, at- tending the common school; and at that time ac- cepted a clerkship in a general store at Glens Falls, New York, and at odd times while there' gained a knowledge of the tinner’s trade. At the expiration of five years he went to Burlington, Vermont, and there spent two years as a journeyman in a tin shop. He next formed a partnership with a friend, and going to Keeseville, New York, established himself in the tin and stove business, and conducted a suc- cessful trade for nearly two years. After closing out his interests here he went to Danville, Vermont, and there resumed the same line of business, continuing it during a period of six years; and at the expiration of that time associated himself with his brother, Will iam L. Strong, at Burlington, in a general hard- ware, iron and grocery trade, where he remained till 1848. During the year previous to this he had con- tracted, with others, to build the Burlington and Rutland railroad, and a portion of the road on to Bellows Falls. He was at the same time largely in- terested in building the railroad from Ogdensburg to Rouse’s Point, New York. In July, 1851, he re- moved to the West, and settled at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and at once began building what is now known as the Chicago and Northwestern railroad, whose owners form one of the largest railroad cor- porations in the world. In this enterprise Mr. Strong worked under most adverse circumstances, many of his associates giving up all hopes of suc- cess. With that determination, however, which has ever characterized him, he held on persistently to the end, and in one instance built some miles of the road at his own expense and risk. Previous to his coming west he had gained the reputation of being a successful railroad man, having carried to a suc- cessful completion large railroad enterprises in the East ; and it was largely due to his untiring energy and influence that the Wisconsin division, being the northern portions of the Northwestern railroads, were constructed. Mr. Strong retired from active business in 1868, and since that time, except as stated below, has been living' in the enjoyment of the rewards of his active life. He was assistant superintendent of the North- western railroad for several years. In 1870 he was THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 4^5 elected president and superintendent of the Fond du Lac and Sheboygan railroad, resigning in 1872. In his political sentiments he is independent, sup- porting for office the man whom he considers best fitted for the place, regardless of party prejudices or distinctions. In his religious belief he is identified with the Episcopal church. He was married on the 3d of May, 1827, to Miss Olivia Clark, daughter of Dr. Nathan S. Clark, of Chesterfield, New York, and by her has now living one son and two daughters. He married his present wife, Susanna Jones, on the 27th of March, 1873. Mr. Strong has traveled extensively over the United States and Europe, and is well informed on all questions of the day. Beginning life for himself at the age of twelve years, with his worldly posses- sions tied up in a handkerchief, he has risen step by step until he has accumulated an ample fortune, and in all his business career never contracted a debt that he did not pay. ALFRED A. JACKSON, A.M., JANES VILLE. A I, FRED AUGUSTUS JACKSON was born | in Verona, Oneida county, New York, August 8, 1831, and is the second son of Truman and Polly (Lawton) Jackson. His father was a substantial farmer, a gentleman of intelligence, and an honest, industrious, upright citizen, independent and self- reliant, who was descended from early New Eng- land ancestry. His grandfather, Samuel Jackson, was a soldier in the revolutionary war ; his maternal grandfather, Joseph Lawton, a native of Rhode Isl- and, was of English ancestry, and participated in the war of 1812. His mother, a pious and conscientious woman, of remarkably even temper and amiable dis- position, still lives, in the seventieth year of her age, enjoying the well-merited esteem and love of a large circle of friends and kindred. Alfred spent his boyhood on his father’s farm, and received his elementary education in the common schools of his neighborhood. He entered the Acad- emy at Rome, New York, in 1848, and after remain- ing two years was obliged to discontinue his studies by reason of ill health. After teaching one season he removed to Oneida, New York, where he resided until the spring of 1855, when he removed to Janes- ville, Wisconsin, and entered the office of Hon. I. C. Sloan and L. F. Patton, Esq., as a law-student. Remaining there until the autumn of 1855, he then entered the office of Messrs. Sleeper and Norton, where he completed his professional studies. He was admitted to the bar of Rock county on the 7th of November, 1856; to the supreme court of the State of Wisconsin on the 29th of January, 1857, and to the supreme court of the United States on the 17th of January, 1868. From the commence- ment of his career he took a leading rank in his profession, while his sterling moral qualities soon gave him an influential position as a citizen. On the 1st of June, 1858, he formed a law partnership with Hon. James H. Knowlton and Hon. Moses S. Pritchard, which continued until June 1, 1862, when Mr. Pritchard retired. The business was then con- ducted under the firm name of Knowlton and Jack- son until the autumn of 1862, when Mr. Knowlton removed to Chicago. Mr. Jackson has since been without a partner, except during a short time when Hon. Pliny Norcross was associated with him. His practice is confined mostly to civil business. He is the local attorney for the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad Company, and from 1864 to 1872 was one of the local attorneys for the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad Company. He served as alderman of his city from April, 1864, to April, 1866; was mayor in 1868 and 1869, and a mem- ber of the board of supervisors of the county for one term. He has been a member and president of the board of trustees of the Wisconsin Insti- tution for the Education of the Blind since 1871, and is vice-president of the Merchants and Me- chanics’ Saving Bank of Janesville. He is a mem- ber of the Temple of Honor, an advanced temper- ance society in Janesville. In his religious communion he is identified with the Congregational church, and is a deacon in the same ; and was for several years president of the board of trustees of the society. He was the first president of the Young Men’s Christian Association of Janesville. In politics he has always been a radical republi- can, and for a number of years was secretary of the republican club of his city. In 1872 the faculty of 486 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. Beloit College conferred upon him the honorary de- gree of A.M. Mr. Jackson is a gentleman of excellent social qualities, and enjoys the intimacy and confidence of a large circle of friends. He is devotedly attached to his family, emphatically seeking his comforts and enjoyments around his own fireside. He is a man of sound judgment, and is governed in his actions by his own convictions of right. He is much given to miscellaneous reading, and has collected a large and valuable library. As a lawyer he ranks with the best of his competitors, while as a citizen he enjoys the esteem of his fellow-citizens. He is a public benefactor to the extent of his means, while as a public officer he devotes to the business of others the same labor and care that he does to his own. JOHN S JANES T OHN SPOOR BLISS was born at Rochester, J New York, January 3, 1832, and is the son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Spoor) Bliss. He is de- scended in a direct line from the second son of Thomas Bliss, who died in Hartford, Connecticut, the intermediate links in the genealogical chain being as follows: Nathaniel Bliss, the father of our subject, born January 13, 1781; who was the son of Thomas Bliss, born November 25, 1747; who was the son of Nathaniel Bliss, born October 26, 1704; who was the son of Nathaniel Bliss, born Septem- ber 8, 1679; who was the son of Samuel Bliss, born November 7, 1647 ; who was the son of Nathaniel Bliss, born about 1620; who was the son of the original Thomas Bliss, who died in 1640. Nathaniel, the father of John S., was born at Wil- braham, Massachusetts, January 13, 1781, and led quite an active life. After his majority he went to sea, and braved the dangers of the deep with Cap- tain Phillip Cook, a nephew of the famous Captain James Cook, who was murdered by the Sandwich Islanders in 1779. Subsequently, he and a brother became contractors, and erected many of the most costly private residences in Boston. Still later he turned his attention to machinery, and built and put in operation the first spinning-machine west of the Hudson river. He married Miss Elizabeth Spoor, by whom he had three sons and five daughters; all of the sons and two daughters are still living (1877). Soon after the birth of our subject the family moved to Orleans county, New York, where, when old enough, he attended the district school. He was said by his teachers to be an attentive and apt stu- dent, never behind the class in the studies adapted to his years. He was a favorite with his playmates, and was considered an adventurous youth. In 1844 he was asked by one of the leading politicians of his . BLISS, VILLE. village to climb to the top of the hickory pole and release the “ Polk and Dallas ” flag, about ninety feet above the ground, that had become entangled and torn by a recent gale of wind. He made the ascent in sight of an immense crowd, but when within a few feet of the top he heard his mother's voice calling him to come down, and having been taught obedience from early childhood, he instantly descended and alighted on the sidewalk. In this act of self-denial he showed greater moral courage than he would had he accomplished his purpose and received the thanks and plaudits of the multi- tude. On another occasion he climbed the lightning- rod of the Presbyterian Church, intending to enter the belfry from the outside (with others, “just for fun ”), but the rod ran under the projecting eaves so far, that it was impossible to climb around the ends of the shingles, and this expedition had to be abandoned also, but he came down all right. In sports of agility and gymnastics he was with- out a rival among the boys of his own age. Much of his time, however, was occupied in reading sub- stantial works of history, steam, machinery and in- ventions, while books of travel were favorites with him. As an indication of his studiousness it may be stated that the winter he was nine years old he misspelled only one word in his class during a term of four months’ school. In 1847 he moved with his parents to Dane county, Wisconsin, where he continued his studies, and for a few seasons taught district schools. His delight was in reading Dick, Rollin, Humboldt, and works on the science of astronomy. He was for some time a student in actual service, in the tele- graph office at Madison, and after completing his apprenticeship, and receiving a certificate from the telegraph company, complimenting his capabilities THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 487 and a general knowledge of magneto-electricity, he was, for a season, placed in charge of the office. While serving in this capacity he made the acquaint- ance of Chancellor Lathrop, of the State Univer- sity, who especially urged him, as soon as duties then engrossing his attention should release him, to enter the University, with the view to a full course, but circumstances did not prove favorable and was not carried out, much to the regret of our subject. After this he turned his attention to the business of fire insurance, in which for some time he did a large and profitable work as agent for several East- ern companies; also bought and sold bonds on com- mission, made loans, and located wild lands for those living in other States. He finally turned his attention to literary pursuits, which will probably prove to be his life-long work. While acting as newspaper correspondent he in- terviewed Abraham Lincoln at his home in Spring- field, soon after his nomination to the Presidency, and from his report of the conference, which was extensively copied by the press, we make the follow- ing extracts : . . . This being a prairie State, rail fences are not very plenty; yet there may be seen flying from the lofty height of a ten -foot rail our good old flag, with the talismanic words, Abraham Lincoln, appended to it, from which one can discover that our candidate was once a “rail split- ter.” . . . One bright morning, amidst the clatter of hoofs and the rumbling of wheels, I was at the door and soon ushered into the parlor of our nominee, and, in response to my card, Mr. Lincoln glided down the stairs with the sprightliness of a boy of sixteen, and we were soon im- mersed in lively conversation as to the prospects, he re- marking, in answer to my inquiry, that the chances were somewhat against us, but at present very evenly balanced. . . . We stepped to look at some pictures hanging on the walls, among which was a fine large photograph of himself, and as he stood in front of it, said, smilingly: “That picture gives a very fair representation of my homely face.” This incident I give to show that Mr. Lincoln does not flatter himself that he is a handsome man; but for all this, his nobleness and goodness of heart glowed in his countenance like the glory from the fountain of the Just. In reference to a picture of the candidate for vice-president he remarked : “I have not yet seen Mr. Hamlin; that one was sent me from Maine.” Your correspondent suggested that they would get together in Washington ere long. He talked freely of the Black Hawk war, in which he participated. ... At the close of the interview he accompanied me to the sidewalk, and shook hands across the low gate in front ot his door, saying, as he did so, “As you cannot get out of this town until about noon, suppose you come over to the State House.” The offer was too tempting to be resisted ; so, thanking him, I promised to call. While there, his little boy came in and asked for twenty-five cents with which to buy toys. Mr. Lincoln said: “My son, I shall not give you twenty-five cents, but will give you five;” and, with his thumb and finger, drew from his vest-pocket the stated sum and dropped it on the desk before the boy, who, scorn- ing so small a bank account, turned away and disappeared. Mr. Lincoln said: “He will return for it as soon as he is satisfied that I will not give him any more.” He did so in fifteen minutes, but said not a word. The equality of the races had been a subject of conversation. Presently he said: “If the man comes with the key, I want to give you a book.” He soon after excused himself, and returned in a moment with a copy of the debates betw r een himself and Stephen A. Douglas. He leaned back in his chair until it rested on two legs, placed the book on his knee, drew from his vest-pocket a stub of lead-pencil two inches long, and wrote on the fly-leaf: “J. S. Bliss, Esq., from A. Lincoln;” then turning the leaves to page 136, said : “I will just mark a paragraph referring to my views on the subject,” and lightly touched his pencil to the place, marking also a para- graph on page 240. . . . It is needless to add that the book referred to in the above extract is still a treasured keepsake in the family of Mr. Bliss. In 1861-2 Mr. Bliss superintended personally the details of the great lecture tour of Bayard Taylor, over several States, with marked success. In 1867 he arranged to go to Europe for health, culture, business and pleasure, and contracted with four respectable newspapers (two dailies and two weeklies), for a moneyed consideration, to furnish a certain number of descriptive letters from foreign lands; and about eighty such letters were published. He sailed for London in the steamship William Penn, and after a pleasant Atlantic voyage arrived in the English capital. From an elaborate journal of his travels we gather the following items : “ Visited parliament, the courts, Greenwich Observatory, the British Museum; heard Spurgeon,” etc. He next visited the continent, and halted for a season at Paris; was present at the grand review' of eighty thousand French troops by the Emperor Napoleon III, Bismarck, William of Prussia, and the Czar of Russia, which occurred in the Bois de Bou- logne, a few miles outside of Paris, on the 6th of June. This w ; as the day when spiked helmets blazed in the sun, and the day and place that Zow- beski, the Polander, attempted to assassinate the Czar by shooting at him, our subject being about thirty rods distant at the time. The great Paris Exposition also came in for its share of attention. Leaving the French capital, he passed through the Burgundy district to Dijon and to Geneva; thence up the lake of Geneva to Villeneuve, near which place is Byron’s “ Castle of Chillon.” From Martigny he took passage on the back of that “un- certain ” animal the mule, to the foot of Mont Blanc, thirty miles distant. The narrative adds: It was the 13th of June. The mule was slumping to his knees and to the saddle-girth in the snow that w T as melting under the direct rays of a blazing sun that shot down between the terrific gorges. Ere long the Vale of Chamouny was under my feet, and, yonder, the venerable crown of Mont Blanc. Delight took possession of me, and I was lost in admiration, but was restored to consciousness by the treacherous beast, who left the ground on “all-fours” 4 88 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. at once, and caused his rider to perform a parabola that J would have made the reputation of any circus rider, could he have repeated it. However, I alighted square in the saddle again. He slept that night at Chamouny, under the bald and frosty brow of Mont Blanc, and further on, in relation to crossing the great glacier the following day. he says: Every rod of the treacherous pathway was sounded with the alpenstock. We came to other crevasses, and near to one was a loose rock as large as a parlor stove, which I slid along on the ice, and sent it whirling into the yawning gulch, down, dozen, down, causing a shudder to creep over me as the reverberations came up from that frozen, crys- tallized cavern six hundred feet below. It was his intention to have made the ascent of Mont Blanc with two other travelers, but, it being so early in the season, the three guides'then in the valley would not undertake it. On crossing the rocky boundary via the great Simplon Pass of the Alps into Italy, his first experience in that sunny land was to ride in a scow-boat directly over the top of a small town, which just eleven weeks previously had sunk under the waters of the lake, with some of the inhabitants and all their earthly treasures. This was the small hamlet of Feriolo, situated on Lago Maggiore, a portion of which disappeared, and the cruel waters closed over it to the depth of eighty feet in some places. Thence to Milan and the plains of Lombardy, Allessandria, and through the Ligurian Apennines to Genoa, Leghorn, and to the Leaning Tower, Pisa, and Florence. Returning to Leghorn, sailed down the Italian coast to Naples; thence to the ill-fated cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii, that were swal- lowed up by the eruption of Vesuvius some eighteen centuries ago; thence to the volcano to see whence came so much misery, and descended with three traveling friends and a guide into the crater, which was well explored, as it was then in a dormant state. But the evidences, both above their heads and be- neath their feet, and the smoldering embers all around, made it uncomfortably warm. He says: I took a leaf from my note-book and placed it in a cre- vasse, and it was soon destroyed by fire. Here we cooked a dinner by volcanic fires, and dined in the crater. One of the party lighted his pipe by dipping it into the hot embers. Though inactive, Vesuvius is just preparing for one of her grandest pvrotechnic displays. We heard the mutterings of the coming storm, and an explosion, far down in the depths of this awful Tartarean mystery, the sound of which gradually died away, while a sensation of dread crept over us, and we left in silence. A few weeks later these predic- tions were verified; and Bayard Taylor said “seven distinct streams of lava flowed down the sides of the mountain, deluging four hundred acres of land. In the “ Eternal City ” he was so fortunate as to witness the eighteenth centennial commemoration of | the martyrdom of St. Peter. This great festival had been omitted one hundred years before, and sixteen popes had passed away since it was observed in Rome. Forty-six cardinals, four hundred and ninety bishops, and about twenty-five thousand delegated priests and ecclesiastics from every known country and every island of the sea were present. In speak- ing of the illumination of St. Peter’s Cathedral lie says : From the castle of St. Angelo two deep-mouthed can- nons belched forth the signal to change the lights, and in two minutes twenty thousand burners were transformed from a golden to a silver illumination by eight hundred Romans in charge. Then it was that the great ball glit- tered and scintillated like a diamond in the world’s crown, and the ponderous dome seemed like a swinging globe pierced by a thousand miniature volcanoes, and St Peter’s looked, at the distance of half a mile, like a flickering tem- ple of vast proportions leaning against the Roman skv. He explored some of the wonderful catacombs and the dark labyrinthian vaults of dead genera- tions, where the King of Terrors seemed to have taken up his abode. Also visited- the islands at the head of the Adriatic, and was in Venice on the oc- casion of the visit of the Portuguese queen, and, with his comrades, participated in the gondola promenade on the Grand canal in the evening, that was given in her honor, the city of Venice being brilliantly illuminated at the time. His European tour, which was quite thorough, and planned with consummate judgment, embraced also a visit to Vienna, which was then in mourning, as was all central and southern Europe, for the exe- cution of Maximilian in Mexico, the sad news of which had just been received; and as Francis Joseph, the Emperor, -was absent mourning the death of his brother, permission was granted to visit the palace, which was all hung in emblems of mourning. We- quote from another letter, dated Vienna, 1867: “His room (Maximilian’s) seems like silence mourning the absence of the Prince or Archduke at noon-day.” Leaving Austria via Linz and Salzburg into Ba- varia to Munich, Augsburg, crossing the Danube at Ulm into Wirtemberg, to Heidelberg, Frankfort-on- the-Maine, and Homburg, he tarried for a time and partook of the mineral waters for which the place is famous; thence to Castel, and down the “Winding Rhine ” to Cologne, in Rhenish Prussia ; thence to the battle-field of Waterloo, in Belgium; — his tour being brought to a close by way of Paris, London, Edinburgh, and the Scottish Highlands, crossing the “gathering-ground of the Clan Alpine ” to Glasgow. On his return voyage he came near slipping over- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 489 board into the sea, while watching a Portuguese brig that was rolling at a dangerous rate during a wild gale of wind that was blowing at the time. For a while after his return from Europe he de- livered some very interesting descriptive lectures on what he had witnessed while abroad; was also associate editor of the “ Northwestern Advance,” a paper then published at Janesville, devoted to the cause of temperance, being the official organ of the Good Templars of Wisconsin. He also contributed occasional sketches to “Silliman’s American Journal of Science,” New Haven, and reminiscences of for- eign travel to the “ Inland Monthly Magazine,” the “Schoolday Magazine,” Philadelphia, and others. He is manager of the Northwestern Lyceum Bureau, editor and compiler of the “ Lyceum Maga- zine,” published in the interests of lecturers, readers, concerts and literary societies; and has arranged lecture appointments for the greatest platform talent in the country, such as Wendell Phillips, Bayard Taylor, Dr. Holland, Schuyler Colfax, and many_ others. He superintended personally the great route of Horace Greeley in 1871, and was with the philos- opher every day. It was Mr. Bliss who first offered the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon, of London, nine hundred dollars per lecture for one hundred lectures to be delivered in America, and he received an autograph letter from Mr. Spurgeon, of which the following is a correct copy : Clai'Ham, London, May io, 1873. J. S. Bliss, — My Dear- Sir. [ am unable to visit the United States; and, moreover, 1 am no lecturer. To preach Jesus Christ simply, in a plain manner, is all my ambition. Eloquence I leave to others. May you and your great country prosper under the blessing of God. Yours very truly, C. H. Spurgeon. Our subject is also a distinguished member of the various temperance organizations of Wisconsin, and represented the Grand Division Sons of Temperance at the Seventh National Temperance Convention at Chicago, in June, 1875. This Chicago convention elected Mr. Bliss as the representative from Wiscon- sin (there being one from each State in the Union) to the International Temperance Conference, to meet a year later (1876) in Philadelphia; was also a delegate to the National Division Sons of Temper- ance, which convened in Philadelphia, June, 1876, and held its session in Independence Hall. He is also a Good Templar, and an Odd-Fellow, holding a respectable rank in that organization. In 1874 he was unanimously elected Grand Worthy Associate of the Grand Division of Wisconsin Sons of Temperance ; and after the expiration of this term of office he was commissioned, the following year (1875), district deputy Grand Worthy Patriarch. He is an honored member of the National Division of North America and the World, same organization, having been initiated into this, the highest branch of the order, at Providence, Rhode Island, July, 1875. He is a prominent member of the Temple of Honor and Temperance, and has been commissioned twice deputy Grand Templar; and is an officer in the Council of Select Templars, a higher branch of that order; is a member of the Round Table and honorary member of the Orophilian Lyceum of Mil- ton College. Again in March, 1877, he was commis- sioned district deputy grand worthy patriarch Sons of Temperance, and is one of the most active, use- ful and exemplary citizens of the State. In politics, he believes in true republicanism, if its principles are carried out, but revolts at the un- principled intrigues of any party, and is somewhat inclined to a third party. He did eminent service to his country during the dark period of the rebel- lion by organizing LTnion leagues, promoting loyalty, and filling the military ranks with recruits. He favors the Methodist Episcopal church, though not a member. He was married in 1856, and has three daughters of promise, namely, Lizzie Jane, Myra Asenath, and Cora Elmina, born in the order named. HON. IRA W. FISHER, MEN AS II A. I RA WILLMARTH FISHER, son of Austin Fisher, a farmer, and Luanna nee Willmarth, is a native of Vermont, and was born October 15, 1833. He attended district school during the summers and winters until fifteen years old, and being of a studi- ous disposition he learned rapidly and commenced teaching when sixteen. He followed that occupa- tion during winters, and worked at the carpenter and joiner’s trade the rest of the year. After attain- ing his majority he worked on the home farm about THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHIC A/. D/C TfONARV. 4QO three years, and in the summer of 1S58 settled in Menasha, Wisconsin. There he has been engaged in various kinds of business. He spent two years in the mercantile trade, then was engaged three vears in the milling and grain-dealing business, and for seven years manufactured a general line of wagon stock, in company with Daniel Jones. At the expiration of that time he resumed merchandis- ing, in connection with the forwarding and commis- sion business, in company with H. H. Plummer. They continued thus until the spring of 1873, when Mr. Fisher became a manufacturer of and dealer in masons’ building material, and at the same time conducted a boating business. He has the happy faculty of turning his hand to almost any calling, and having good business tact has been successful in most of his enterprises. Since he settled in Menasha Mr. Fisher has been a very useful citizen. He was town superintendent of schools for about three years. He was at one time a member of the board of supervisors, the school board, and the town and village board, and has al- ways been willing to give the time necessary to attend to local interests and advance local enterprises. In the autumn of 1868 he was elected to the State senate, and in the sessions of the legislature held in 1869 and 1870 was among the most diligent mem- bers. During the last session his labors were espe- cially hard, he being chairman of two committees, the joint committee on charitable and benevolent institutions and State’s prison, and also a member of the committee on banks and banking. In politics Mr. Fisher has always acted with the republican party. He is a communicant in the Bap- tist church, and his character stands high both as a business man and a Christian. Mrs. Fisher was Clarissa Celia nee Brown, of Ad- dison, Vermont. They were united September 15, 1856, and have had four children, two of whom, a son and daughter, are now living. In her early life Mrs. Fisher had quite a taste for painting, portrait and landscape, and has cultivated it more or less to the present time (1877). Some of her portrait painting is eminently praiseworthy ; her wax-work, too, is fine. But her indulgence in these branches of art serves only for recreation ; she is thoroughly domestic, and gives her personal attention to house- hold matters. EDWARD N. FOSTER, FOND DU LAC. E dward Newell foster, who for more than forty years has been a resident of Wis- consin, was born at Springfield, Massachusetts, July 9, 1810, the son of Edward and Rebecca (Strong) Foster. His paternal grandfather was in the conti- nental army, and bought his land in the town of Union, Connecticut, with continental money. His father moved to Augusta, Oneida county, New York, when Edward was one year old, and about twelve years later removed to Smithfield (now Stockbridge), Madison county. There the son worked on a farm and in a mill for twelve years, having meanwhile, during his earlier residence there, the educational privileges of a common school and a year’s attend- ance at a local academy. In the autumn of 1836 he arrived at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and in the follow- ing spring settled at Fort Atkinson, in Jefferson county, being accompanied by an elder brother, Alvin. Dwight Foster, his eldest brother, had set- tled there during the previous autumn, being the first white man to build a house in that place. \ There Edward remained cultivating land and keep- ing a public house until 1848, when he went to May- ville, in Dodge county, and in company with his brother Alvin and others engaged in the milling business until 1864, when he removed to Fond du Lac. There, in company with General Hamilton, he was engaged in the manufacture of linseed oil until 1875, when he retired from business. Although Mr. Foster has never "been an office seeker, he has held several positions of trust and honor. His brother Alvin was the first sheriff of Jefferson county, being appointed by the governor; I and afterward served as deputy. Our subject was afterward elected by the people, and was the first person who held the office by their gift. He took the first census of Jefferson and Dodge counties preparatory to the Territory becoming a State. While living at Mayville he was a member of the general assembly during two terms, and has since been mayor of Fond du Lac for the same length of time. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. In politics, Mr. Foster was in early life a whig, and has acted with the republican party since it was originated. He is both a Freemason and an Odd- Fellow, belonging to the subordinate lodges. Al- though not a church member he has great reverence for sacred things, and takes the teaching of Christ for his guide in life. His wife was Marietta ne’e Rankin, of Mannsville, Madison county, New York, their union dating July 17,1834. They have had five children, four of whom are living. The eldest son, Edward J., is a station 491 agent at Sheboygan. The two daughters are at home, and the other son is a railroad man at Reeds- burg, Sauk county. Although in his sixty-seventh year, Mr. Foster, having always been of temperate habits, and taken the best of care of himself, stands perfectly erect, with all the dignity of matured manhood. He is not an old citizen of Fond du Lac, but has lived there long enough to acquire, by his correct busi- ness habits and exemplary life, the high esteem of his fellow-citizens. HON. PH I LEXUS SAWYER, OSHKOSH. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Vermont, was born in Rutland, September 22, 1816. He is the son of Ephraim and Polly (Parks) Sawyer, who moved to Essex county, New York, when Philetus was only one year old. There his early youth was spent on his father’s farm, in his father’s blacksmith shop and in a neighboring saw-mill, with about three months’ annual attendance at a district school, in which the simplest rudiments of learning were taught. At the age of seventeen he pledged his father one hundred dollars for the remainder of his minority, and from his wages in a saw-mill, in about two years, canceled this obligation, spending at the same time two more winters in the district school. After a short time he operated the mill on contract with good success, and in the autumn of 1847, with about two thousand dollars in his pocket, the fruit of his own industry, he removed to Wisconsin and settled on a farm in Fond du Lac county. Two years of half crops satisfied him that his fortune did not lie in farming. The Wolf River pinery, twenty miles north, was at that time attracting considerable attention, and in December, 1849, Mr. Sawyer re- moved to Algoma, then the nucleus of a village and now a part of the city of Oshkosh. The next spring he took a saw-mill, which he operated on a contract for a time, and not long afterward rented it, and in 1853 purchased it, in company with Messrs. Brand and Orcott, of Fond du Lac. Three years after- ward Mr. Orcott retired from the firm, and in 1862 Mr. Sawyer became sole proprietor of the property and business, paying Mr. Brand seventy thousand dollars and the amount he put in for his interest. The business had been carefully managed, and had 55 proved a marked success. About two years after- ward Mr. Sawyer took his only son, Edgar P. Saw- yer, into partnership with him, and during the thir- teen years they have been together they have accu- mulated a fortune of more than half a million dollars. This has all been done by careful attention to busi- ness conducted on the strictest rules of honor and integrity. He has always made his contracts defi- nite and clear; hence has had few misunderstand- ings and no lawsuits. He has always been lenient toward debtors, careful to oppress no one, and among business men has a reputation for correct practices as well as principles. He has a large in- terest in the First National Bank of Oshkosh. Mr. Sawyer has been a favorite with the people in the municipality of the city, and in both the as- sembly and congressional districts. He was mem- ber of the legislature in 1857 and 1861 ; mayor of the city in 1863 and 1864; a member of congress from 1865 to 1875, when he peremptorily declined a sixth nomination. Nearly all those ten years in congress he was on the committee on commerce, and, though not the chairman, did the leading work. By his untiring efforts large appropriations were se- cured for the improvement of harbors in his district. For six years he had charge of all the appropria- tions for rivers and harbors in the United States. He was always very attentive to the wants of his constituents. During all the time he was in con- gress Mr. Sawyer was noted as a worker rather than speaker, and probably no member was more diligent than he. In politics, Mr. Sawyer was originally a “barn- burner” or free-soil democrat, but since 1856 has THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 49 2 acted with the republican party. During the rebel- lion no man in Oshkosh gave more time or money to aid in carrying on the war than he. He labored with untiring zeal and patriotism, and his earnest pleas and generous contributions swelled the volun- teer bounty funds. In promoting religious and be- nevolent causes his donations are always generous. In many ways he has contributed and is contribut- ing to the prosperity of this city. Mr. Sawyer and his son have a heavy interest in tire Sawyer Manufacturing Company, which is en- gaged in the manufacture of threshing machines, his son having full charge of their interests in the enterprise. He uses his money freely for the de- velopment of local interests, and no man here is more public-spirited. He has an interest in the Menomonee River Lumber Company, which has a yard and office in Chicago. In 1842 Mr. Sawyer was married to Miss Malvina M. Hadley, of Essex county, New York. They have had five children, three of whom, the son al- ready mentioned and two daughters, are now living. The elder daughter, twenty-one years of age, was educated at Vassar College. HON. JOSEPH GOODRICH, MILTON. H ON. JOSEPH GOODRICH, the founder of the village of Milton, and of Milton College, was born in Goodrich Hollow, near the town of Hancock, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, May 12, 1800. His father, Uriah Goodrich, was a lineal descendant of John Goodrich, who emigrated from Gloucester, England, and settled in Weathersfield, Connecticut. He was related to the Gillette family, which resided in the same State, and from which several distinguished men have sprung. The cele- brated “ Peter Parley,” a writer for the youth, was a member of this Goodrich family ; and Professor C. A. Goodrich, another member, was long engaged as a teacher in Yale College, and assisted his father- in-law, Noah Webster, in the preparation of his dictionaries of the English language. The mother of Joseph Goodrich was Mary Car- penter, descended from English ancestors, who were members of the Seventh-day Baptist churches of London city, nearly two hundred years ago. A mem- ber of the family came to this country and settled at an early day in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. The Rev. Solomon Carpenter, D.D., who has labored many years as a missionary in Shanghai, China, is a nephew of Mr. Goodrich’s mother. Through both parents he was connected with a very wide circle of relatives in the New England States and in New York. One of his sisters, Mrs. Deborah Carr, was the mother of the Hon. Solomon C. Carr, a promi- nent citizen of Milton, and of Professor Ezra S. Carr, formerly in the State University of Wisconsin, and now superintendent of public instruction in California. At the age of twelve our subject went to live with his maternal uncle, Deacon Sylvester Carpenter, at Stephentown, Rensselaer county, New York. Here he was trained in the avocation of husbandry, and received a limited education in a district school. During a residence of six years with this uncle he developed a vigorous physical constitution, an act- ive, self-reliant and enterprising character, and very industrious, honest and religious habits. At sixteen years of age he experienced a change of heart under the operation of the Holy Spirit, and united with the denomination of Christians called Seventh-day Bap- tists, in the faith of which he remained until his death, exemplifying his religious profession in a con- sistent and useful life. He manifested those other traits which made him a trusted leader in after life — a practical sense, a sprightly and happy nature, great courage, and an indomitable will. At the age of seventeen, he launched out in sup- port of himself, and early in the spring of the year, with a small pack on his back which contained his scanty wardrobe and a new axe, he arrived at Alfred, Alleghany county, New York. He at once made a selection for a future home, and began operations (with only fifty cents in his pocket) toward clearing away the forest and breaking up the new ground. He afterward chose another farm in the same vi- cinity, and brought it also under cultivation. On the 2 2 d of December, 1821, he was married in Petersburg, Rensselaer county, New York, to Miss Nancy Maxson, daughter of Luke and Lydia Max- son, a young woman of great industry, close economy, and sterling Christian culture, who proved a help- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 495 meet in the fullest sense of the word. A few days after their marriage they settled in their humble home in Alfred, and commenced house-keeping in a small log-cabin. Here they struggled under the privations of poverty and a pioneer life, laying the foundations for a most successful career and an abundant competence. In the autumn of 1823 with the assistance of his father, he erected a saw-mill on the Vandermark creek in his neighborhood, and in this he commenced work the following winter. In the succeeding year he began the erection of a two-storied frame house on his farm, but was not able to finish it until 1827. This house, when completed, was the largest in that section, and was employed for town elections, school district meetings, and religious worship on the Sab- bath. He aided largely in the erection of the first school-house in his neighborhood and in .starting a school in it. In addition to his other labors, he kept a small store and a temperance hotel; manufactured potash, and purchased lumber and rafted it down the Susquehanna river to market. He had some military instincts, and was honored by his fellow- citizens with the position of major in the militia. In the summer of 1838, he again removed still farther westward, with the view of making a home somewhere in the prairie country, having become weary of living in the midst of the steep hills and surrounding forests. He had met with some re- verses in his business, and had listened to glowing accounts of the beautiful and fertile lands in southern Wisconsin ; and, in company with a few friends, he made a tour of observation to the West, and landing in Milwaukee, then a small village, proceeded at once to the valley of the Rock river, with a pack on his back, taking this time a spade, instead of an axe, to test the soil. After traveling a few days, he de- cided to settle permanently upon a small prairie then known as Du Lac. The quiet beauty of the scenery, the rich alluvial soil and the superior loca- tion determined his choice; he was delighted in the highest degree with the location. Thus, contrary to the practice of the earliest set- tlers, he located on the open prairie, not even near a lake or any water-course, nor in the timber. The spot was selected with rare foresight. He drew on a map straight lines from Chicago to Madison, the capital of the Territory, and between two eastern bends in the Rock river at the points where Fort Atkinson and Janesville are now located ; and at the place where these lines crossed each other on the prairie he erected his house — a frame structure, the first of the kind in the section. This was the beginning of Milton. The public roads between the cities above named, when subsequently laid out, intersected at a point not more than ten rods dis- tant from his home. On the prairie where he settled, and within a short distance of his residence, have been constructed three lines of railway. He occupied the summer in preparing a home for his family, and in laying plans to induce his friends to settle in the vicinity with him. Those who accom- panied him settled near him. Many of his relatives found homes subsequently in his neighborhood. He attracted from societies in the East many prominent men and women who were characterized by indus- try, intelligence, enterprise and piety. Some of them have since acquired large fortunes and attained to prominent positions in the country. A large church of his own denomination grew out of the efforts of himself and his noble wife; and a most thorough temperance sentiment, controlling for a long time th e whole town, was created by him. Every genuine reform in our government, in society, or in the church, has had his most hearty cooperation and aid. Excellent public schools have been fostered, and a flourishing college has been established, in the town which he started. But we anticipate. Having made all the preparations possible for the reception of his family, he returned to his New York home, disposed of his property and came back with his family to his Wisconsin home in the following spring. The journey was made by land and with four teams, one being a single-horse. He was accompanied by several of his neighbors, some of them with their families. The difficulties of the journey tested in the fullest degree his courage and sagacity. During the first day’s travel, the vehicle in which his family were riding tipped over, and the collar-bone of his wife was broken ; and the con- sequent pain and discomfort which this devoted woman experienced in this long journey can hardly be realized by those acquainted only with the mod- ern mode of easy travel. This route lay through snow and mud, the country sometimes being over- flowed with water. The weather was stormy, and the route was generally through a sparsely settled country. The family arrived at their small home on the bleak prairie during the cold winds of early March. They settled down, twelve persons in all, without a chair, table or bedstead. On the Sabbath day following their arrival they, together with their 49 6 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONART. friends from the East, met for worship in their humble abode, and after divine service organized themselves into a religious society. During the summer after their arrival Mr. Good- rich erected another house, and also a frame barn, the first one, it is believed, in the county. He began at once, with great energy, to lay the foun- dation of a village. He gave twenty acres for a public square, on which are now located the rail- road depot and the graded school building; he do- nated building-lots to mechanics, and assisted them in the erection of their houses and shops; he kept an open house of welcome to very many of the early settlers, and gave the use of lands to the district school, to the church of which he was a member, to the cemetery of the village, to the Academy when it was first erected, and to the railroad which passed through his village. His home was used for religious worship on the Sabbath, and a public school was taught in it a portion of the time. He started a hotel, a store, and the post-office of the place; he aided many of his neighbors to secure good loca- tions of land and to begin life, and assisted largely all the public enterprises of his section, and among them the railroad from Milwaukee to Prairie du Chien. He invented the mode of building houses with gravel cemented together with lime, — a method which became quite common in the county after- ward. He built, at his own expense, an edifice in which he started the Academy, from which has grown the magnificent college of the place. This institution was the especial object of his life. His donations to it were constant and munificent, and he had the satisfaction of seeing it grow to the proud distinction of a leading institution in the State. He erected other buildings, which have been used as a hotel, stores, and private residences, now known as the “Goodrich block.” He received many marks of the esteem and con- fidence of the people. He held for some time most of the local offices of trust and responsibility in the town; was president, a long time, of the trustees of the Academy; director in the company which con- structed the railroad through the place, and a mem- ber of the State legislature in 1855 ; and to the last named position he was chosen by the unanimous vote of the district. He was consulted in almost every enterprise of any value in his section of the country. On the 30th of October, 1857, he lost his faithful and devoted wife, her death, which was quite unex- pected, resulting from heart disease. The loss was an irreparable one to the family, to the church of which she was a “ mother in Israel,” and to the entire community. Two children were the fruit of their marriage, a son and a daughter; the former, Ezra Goodrich, resides on the patrimonial estate, and the latter, Jane G., is the wife of the Hon. Jeremiah Davis, of Davis Junction, Illinois, a lady of great moral worth and superior social qualities. Mr. Goodrich was married again on the 24th of February, 1859, to Mrs. Susan H. Rogers, widow of the Rev. L. T. Rogers, and a native of Rhode Island. She proved a valuable aid to him on account of her large experience, her intelligence and her Christian worth. He died October 9, 1867, after a three days’ ill- ness, of congestion of the brain. His funeral was attended by a large concourse of people drawn from great distances. The old pioneers came from the surrounding country, and carried his body to its final resting-place amid expressions of the most pro- found sorrow, the universal refrain being: “How greatly he will be missed ! ” In personal appearance he was large sized, with a heavy head, small grayish eyes, broad shoulders, and rugged constitution. His step was very elastic, and all the actions of his body were quick and vigorous. He was endowed with a remarkable trait of humor, and his narratives of personal adventure, his ready and witty repartee, and his own rousing laughter, made his company the most genial and entertaining; to this he added a warm and generous heart, which attached to him hosts of friends. He executed all his plans with great promptness and uncommon energy, and hence he seldom failed in his enterprises. He was positive and fixed in his views, political and religious. He was for many years a decided anti-slavery man, a member of the old whig party, and, after it, a consistent member of the republican party. His home was a refuge for the fugitive slave. He labored constantly to promote the temperance reform, and to aid the inebriate to abandon his cup. He held, as has already been stated, the peculiar views of the Seventh-day Baptists, and he embraced all proper occasions to propagate those views. He was a man of great hospitality; thousands have “cut their notch at his table.” His large soul welcomed every new truth, every discovery in science, every practi- cal invention, as something added to the general stock of wisdom and usefulness. His apt sayings THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONART. 497 would pass from mouth to mouth, and be quoted in sermons and public addresses. He lived emphat- ically in the present, using all his powers and the outward means at his command to promote what he considered the best interests. He was a man of the sternest integrity, and of the most hearty devotion to the Christian religion. The fruits of his labors survive him in the morality of the place, in the reformatory tendencies of the people, in the busi- ness enterprises which he carried to completion, in the church which he organized and fostered, and in the college which was the hope and pride of his life. REV. JENKIN L. JONES, JANES VILLE. T HE subject of this sketch was born at Blaen- cathal, Llandysul, Cardiganshire, South Wales, November 14, 1843, and is the seventh child of Richard Lloyd Jones and Mary nee Thomas, both descended from sturdy Welsh families, whose tend- encies were to independence of thought in matters of politics and religion. The first Unitarian church, known in the parlance of the times as Socinian, was built in South Wales in 1780, under the direction of Rev. Jenkin Jones, from whom our subject receives his name. His father, Richard Lloyd Jones, was a hatter by trade, conducting a prosperous business in that line; but the larger possibilities of the land across the sea induced him, more for the sake of his family than his Own, to leave his native shore, and in 1844, with the entire family (our subject a boy in his mother’s arms), made the journey to America, and in the following spring settLed in Jefferson county, Wisconsin, in the midst of a dense wood, where they had to cut down a tree to make an opening skyward. Here the family settled on one hundred and twenty acres of government land, and after purchasing a yoke of oxen and a cow, had remaining a solitary gold sovereign as their stock- in-trade. Here they remained for twelve years, then moved into Sauk county, where they sojourned five years; thence they removed into Iowa county, where the father still resides with most of his chil- dren, being now in his seventy-sixth year. The mother, a most excellent and exemplary woman, to whom our subject owes many of his best traits of character, lived to see her youngest and eleventh child attain to his seventeenth year, when she died, in August, 1870, in the sixty-fourth year of her age, and is buried in Spring Green, Sauk county, one of her children only having preceded her to the “ farther shore.” Our subject grew up on the farm. He commenced attending the log school at the age of five years, and continued to alternate between school in winter and farm work in summer till the age of eighteen. In the last named year he spent nearly two terms in the Spring Green Academy, and at the end of that time was well grounded in all the English branches, was somewhat advanced in algebra and geometry, had some acquaintance with the Latin language, and was contemplating a course in the State Uni- versity when the war of the rebellion broke out. After a severe mental struggle, in which the various self-interests and aspirations of youth were opposed to patriotism and love of country, finally the scale turned in favor of the latter, and on the 14th of August, 1862, in his nineteenth year, he enlisted as a private in the 6th Wisconsin Battery of Light Artillery, and served in the western army till the -close of the war. He participated in the battles of Corinth, the Holly Springs campaign, the Yazoo Pass expedition; took part in the campaign against Vicks- burg, the battles of Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hill, Black River ; forty-seven days in the advance line of artillery in the siege, and in the autumn of 1863 marched to the relief of Chattanooga, took part in Sherman’s assault on Mission Ridge and in the advance on Atlanta, and in the defense of Nashville in the winter of 1864-5, serving through- out. in the ranks. Having neither sought promotion nor furlough, he never fell back from the front. During the winter of 1865-6 he taught the public school at the village of Arena, Iowa county, and spent part of the following summer on the farm. But the hungry religious isolation of his home, and the voice of conscience crying in his blood, impelled him toward the liberal ministry. The influence of his home had always been of a deeply religious character; and accordingly, in September, 1866, he entered the theological school at Meadville, Penn- sylvania, where he heard the first Unitarian sermon of his life. In this institution he remained four THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 498 years, devoting the first year to the preparatory study of Greek, Latin and Philosophy. In the summer vacation of 1868 lie preached his first sermon in the school house near his country home, where his parents and family had the privi- lege of listening to the first Unitarian sermon ever heard by them in America, preached by him whom they had brought hither a babe in arms twenty-four years previously; and it was to them a season of peculiar joy and gladness. He graduated in 1870, and was married on the following day to Miss Susan C. Barber, who for several years had been the amanuensis of Professor F. Huidekofer, of the Divinity School, and for three years she had been associated with him in the superintendency of the Unitarian Sunday-school. She is a lady not only of very high literary attain- ments and social accomplishments, but has proved herself a helpmeet in the truest sense. She shares with him the burdens of the study, conducting much of his correspondence, transferring most of his thoughts to paper by dictation, and is almost as widely known in the denomination as her husband, whose good work she so ably seconds. She has been secretary of the Wisconsin Unitarian Confer- ence for three years; and as a parochial worker she is an indispensable adjunct and coadjutor of her husband. Previous to graduating he had received invitations for settlement from two western congregations and one eastern, but accepted a call to the pastorate of the Unitarian Church at Winnetka, a small sub- urban village near Chicago, Illinois, the smallest place and the lowest salary that had been offered him. Here he remained one year, when, feeling the need of more room and more work, he removed to Wisconsin, and for one year operated as State mis- sionary under the auspices of the State Unitarian Conference, with headquarters at Janesville, when he accepted a call to the pastorate of All Souls Church, of that city, which position he now occupies. In May, 1875, he was elected corresponding sec- retary of the Western Unitarian Conference (then in session in Chicago), with an arrangement with the parish in Janesville that he was to spend a fourth of his time in the field. In the discharge of the duties of this position he has traveled during the last two years about twenty thousand miles, having visited a very large number of the families of that faith in the valley of the Mississippi, and spoken in Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Massa- chusetts and Wisconsin. For three years he pub- lished a series of Sunday-school lessons, the first ever published, in the Unitarian denomination, and were widely used. He has also been secretary of the Western Unitarian Sunday-school Society from its inception to the present time, in the organization of which he was mainly instrumental in 1873. Mr. Jones belongs to the radical type of Unitarian thinkers, of the school of which Rev. O. B. Froth- ingham, perhaps, is a leading light, but with more warmth and glow of emotive religion than many of that class possess. He is full of the roseate glow of tender, enthusiastic feeling, and a greater sense of the nearness and reality of Divine love. He is sympathetic and tender as a woman, and every idea distills through his heart before it reaches the out- side world. He is emotional rather than logical, and, while he possesses unusual breadth of thought, he could never elaborate a system of theology or philosophy. His system is so broad that he would, if he could, accept the creed of every human being as his own; but in default of this, contents himself with accepting all he can of each, and remaining open to conviction as regards the remainder. He is enthusiastic, energetic and hard-working, a man who will be more likely to wear out than rust out, and yet a thoroughly healthy man. He has great faith in and hope for humanity, believing that man contains within himself the germ of a far greater development than he has yet attained. He is intent upon giving him plenty of air, sunshine and growing room, with no fears of the result. He cares more for generosity than formal justice, insisting that justice is only found in the former. In a conflict between his heart and his judgment he would give the looser reign to heart, and let it drive ahead, while the judgment meekly followed behind with excuses. He has a hearty love of freedom, born of the bold hills and rugged fastnesses of his native Wales; and his love for humanity prompts him to demand the same rights for all others which he claims for himself; hence he is an ardent advocate of the equal rights of women. He is also an active, pronounced and radical advocate of temperance principles, enlisting boldly in favor of total absti- nence and prohibition. He goes to the roots of subjects, and spends but little time on the branches. In style he is fervid, eloquent and enthusiastic, but rarely systematic. He throws out ideas as they come to him, and leaves his auditors to arrange and THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. 499 reconcile them as best they can. Although well read, he is more practical than distinctively scholarly. He has much of what phrenologists call ideality, and yet a sufficient amount of every-day common sense to relieve him of the charge of being visionary. It is difficult to conceive of his having fought in the army, or of his ever feeling inclined to fight any- body, or being able to imagine the existence of an enemy. If he feels a grudge toward anything in this mortal world it is toward what he characterizes as “that gloomy Calvinistic theology,” at which he never loses an opportunity to deal a sturdy blow. His union with Miss Barber has been blessed with two very promising children : the elder, a daughter, Mary Lloyd; the younger, a son, Richard Lloyd. STEPHEN EREEMAN, RACINE. S TEPHEN FREEMAN was born in the parish of Llanarchmedd, Island of Anglaise, North Wales, December 26, 1834, and is the son of John and Elizabeth (Owens) Freeman, natives of the same island. They both died within a few days of each other, in July, 1835, leaving Stephen and two elder brothers orphans, without any provision for their support. One of the brothers died soon after the parents; the other, Charles Freeman, is carrying on a mercantile and shipping business at Bangor, North Wales. The only school which Stephen ever attended was a Sunday-school, nor did he receive any book education except what he picked up almost by in- tuition and observation, and yet he is one of the most intelligent and generally informed men of the day. His early experiences were fraught with ex- treme hardship. At the age of ten years he left the family with whom he had lived since the death of his parents and moved to Hollyhead, where he apprenticed himself to learn the boiler-making trade at the yards of the Chester and Hollyhead Railroad Works. After remaining there three years he re- moved to Crew, and entered the locomotive shops at that place, so as to gain better advantages in finishing his trade. Having completed his appren- ticeship he went to Liverpool, and was employed for some time in the ship-yards of Laird and Sons, at Birkenhead. At an early stage in the Crimean war he shipped on board the steam transport Emelia as a mechanic, to serve in case of emergency, and remained in this service nine months, when he again resumed his position in the works of Laird and Sons, where he continued till 1856. Having heard much of the advantages which the great country across the Atlantic afforded to aspiring young men, especially mechanics, he resolved that as soon as he had accumulated sufficient means he would emigrate to America. Accordingly on the 10th of May, 1856, he left in a sailing vessel for New York city, and arrived there on the 5th of July following; remained several months on the Atlantic coast, principally at Rome, New York, and on the 5th of January, 1857, arrived at Chicago, Illinois. Times were dull generally during that year, and Chicago was no exception. Thence lie removed to St. Louis, Missouri, which was not more promising; and after making a tour through several of the southern States, finding no encouragement to settle at any of the points visited, he retraced his steps as far as Centralia, Illinois, where he found employment at his trade in the machine shops of the Illinois Central Railroad Works, where he remained a short time. Having been induced to try his hand at farming in that neighborhood, he took the man- agement of a farm, which he conducted “on shares” for three years with reasonable success. But soon after the opening of the rebellion he entered the service of the United States navy as a boiler-maker in the Mississippi squadron, and remained in the service till the spring of 1864, when failing health compelled him to retire. He next started a “repair shop” at Cairo, Illinois, which, after running four months, he was obliged to abandon on account of his health, which again broke down; and by the advice of physicians he removed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the autumn of 1864, where he ob- tained employment in the shops of the Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad Company. He remained in this situation until the month of February, 1867, moving with the company’s shops to Watertown, Wisconsin, in January, 1866. Having accumulated a handsome sum of money, he now resolved to go into business on his own account, and formed a 500 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. copartnership with a gentleman named John Kirt- land, to carry on the boiler-making and repairing business, and settled at Racine. In May of the same year ( i S6 7 ) he purchased the interest of his partner, and conducted the business alone until August, 1868, when he formed a partnership with William E. Davis, which continued until 1869. In the last named year he added to his former busi- ness an iron foundry and machine shop, which con- tinued under his own management for five years with very decided success. In October, 1874, he still further extended his operations by adding a department for the manufacture of florists’ orna- mental work, — aquaria, ferneries, brackets, etc. The products of this department have received the highest awards wherever they have been exhibited. They carried off the first premium at the Wiscon- sin State Fair in 1875 ; a gold medal at New Orleans, February, 1876; an award by the New York Horticultural Society in the same year; and two awards at the great Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, — one on aquaria, flower stands, etc., and one on brackets, window boxes, etc. In 1876 he yet further enlarged his establishment by add- ing a department for the manufacture of the cele- brated “ Centennial Fanning Mill,” a winnowing ma- chine coming into very general use among farmers. This branch of the business is under the manage- ALLEN P. JANES ALLEN P. LOVEJOY was bom at Wayne, Maine, /i March 21, 1825, and is the son of Nathan Love- joy, a pioneer of that State, and Temperance Wing, daughter of Allen Wing, Esq., who is chiefly remem- bered in connection with the building of the first church in the town of Wayne, in which enterprise he was the chief instrument. Like the race from which he sprung, his father was a man of sterling integrity, strong religious convictions and largely developed reasoning faculties — a distinguished and influential man in his day and generation. He was the son of Captain John Lovejoy, a conspicuous and valiant soldier of the revolutionary war. The family is of English Puritan origin, and has produced some of the most noted men in American history. The distinguished Elijah and Owen Lovejoy, of Illinois, were of the same lineage, and educated in the same ment of Mr. Greville E. Clarke, who has become a partner in this department. Mr. Freeman is perhaps as distinguished an illus- tration of a self-made man as the State affords. Left an orphan in infancy, without means, influ- ence, education or aid, he has, by his own innate powers, indomitable perseverance, industry, wisdom and high moral principles, raised himself to a position of independence and influence. He com- menced business in 1867 with a capital of fifteen hundred dollars, and in less than ten years his stock-in-trade has increased to over fifty-five thou- sand dollars, with a well-established business and annual sales amounting to one hundred thousand dollars. This history has but few parallels. Mr. Freeman was elected a member of the board of supervisors of Racine county in 1873. He has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd- Fellows since 1871. He is an adherent of the Epis- copal church ; and although not a politician, is in sympathy with the democratic party. On the 4th of July, 1857, he married Miss Elizabeth Willich, of Pennsylvania, daughter of John and Catherine Willich, natives of Germany. They have had nine children, two of whom died in infancy. The survivors are : Charles, Michael, Margaret, Mary, John, Stephen and Hattie. All strong, healthy and promising. LOVEJOY, VILLE. academy with our subject. The whole race is noted for courage, perseverance and unswerving fidelity to those principles of liberty and truth, for the main- tenance of which the Pilgrim Fathers were forced from their native land to seek a home in the wilds of New England, because Old England had not as yet learned the lesson of tolerant indulgence to re- ligious opinions that now distinguishes the English mind, and which in a great measure has traveled back from the descendants of these same fathers, now settled on this western continent. Our subject received his education in the Wes- leyan Seminary of Readfield, Maine, where lie be- came a fair English scholar, and a preeminent mathematician, having few equals in the exact sci- ences. He was raised on a farm and early imbued with habits of industry and self-reliance which have THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. been among the leading characteristics of his life. At the age of eighteen he taught a public school in his native State, and in the year following was ap- prenticed to learn the carpenter and builders’ trade, at which he subsequently worked in his native State for some years with reasonable success; but the larger possibilities of the undeveloped country west of the great lakes induced him, in 1850, to break away from his eastern home and cast in his lot with the young but promising State of Wisconsin. In 1850, being then twenty-five years of age, he landed in Janesville with a very small stock of this world’s goods as his capital in trade, having made the jour- ney from Milwaukee to Janesville on foot. For nine years after his arrival he was engaged in building, and being a superior mechanic, as well as a man of stern integrity and high business qualifications, his success was in proportion to his merits. In 1859 he added to his business a lumber yard, which proved so successful that he resolved to discontinue build- ing, and devote himself exclusively to the sale of lumber. In 1863 he enlarged his business and took into partnership with him Mr. D. S. Treat. This alliance lasted for two years, and in 1865 Mr. J. A. Blount became his partner, and the business has since been conducted under the firm name of Love- joy and Blount. In 1870 he again enlarged his business by establishing a branch house at Oregon, Wisconsin, under the name of Lovejoy and Richards. In 1874 the business was still farther enlarged by adding another branch house at Brooklyn, Wis- consin, which is known by the firm name of Love- joy and Richards, Mr. Lovejoy being the principal owner of the three establishments. In 1868 he pur- chased some twenty-five thousand acres of pine land in northern Wisconsin, which has proved to be a most valuable speculation and a source of untold wealth. He is also connected with various other industries and enterprises in Janesville. He is a large stock- holder in the Harris Manufacturing Company, of which he was elected a director in 1870, and presi- dent in 1875, which position he now holds. This is one of the most extensive and successful establish- ments in the West for the manufacture of agricultural machinery, and makes a specialty of the celebrated “Leader” and “Little Chieftain” reapers and mowers and “Prairie City” broadcast seeder, which are favor- ite implements with the farmers of the Northwest. 1 he institution was organized in 1859 by the former president of the company, James Harris, Esq., and 56 501 several other gentlemen ; after which Mr. Harris con- ducted it alone until 1869, when it had become too large a concern to be conveniently managed by one man. It was then chartered under the general in- corporation law of the State, and has since borne the name of the Harris Manufacturing Company. The capital stock of this extensive concern is over one hundred and fifty-two thousand dollars, with a sur- plus of one hundred and five thousand dollars. The buildings of the company, most of which are sub- stantial brick structures, occupy nearly two blocks, and employ about two hundred hands, besides a large number of agents engaged in the sale of their products. The annual business transacted by the company foots up nearly half a million dollars. In addition to the articles specified above, the company does a general foundry and machine-shop business, manufacturing and repairing, mill work of all kinds, and agricultural implements generally. The officers and directors of the company are as follows: A. P. Lovejoy, president; A. H. Sheldon, secretary; L. L. Robinson, treasurer; S. C. Cobb, superintendent; A. P. Lovejoy, J. B. Crosby, E. G. Fifield, A. H. Sheldon, L. L. Robinson, S. C. Cobb and M. H. Curtis, directors. Mr. Lovejoy is also a stockholder in the Janes- ville Cotton Mill Company, the owner of a large amount of real property in Janesville and in other parts of Wisconsin, and one of the largest taxpayers in the State. He would be recognized in any community as a man of great strength and power. He is tall, well- proportioned, muscular, and capable of much endur- ance. The mould of his countenance and shape of his head clearly indicate self-reliance, an unyielding will and a fixedness of purpose not easily disturbed. His movements are slow but with precision and fore- thought. He is logical in all his methods, and has no convictions which have not been reached by a process of reasoning. His mind is comprehensive, and he rarely troubles himself about details. With proper discipline he would do well at the head of an army, but would make a poor corporal or even a captain. He is thoroughly methodical, and has great confidence in the signs plus and minus, with a margin to cover accidents. He has great respect for the honest convictions of others, but has no faith in things unseen or incapable of demonstration. He values men according to their present worth, and not their own estimate of what they expect to be. He is decidedly practical, always insisting upon 502 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DIC TIONAR T. tacts and figures, but has a natural contempt for all theories which have not been proved by an actual test. He is thoroughly analytical, and when a con- clusion is reached he has no doubt of its correct- ness, and it at once becomes incorporated into his character and controls his actions. He has a keen sense of the ludicrous, and is naturally social and full of fun, but his peculiar habits of thought have induced him to become generally reticent and almost wholly absorbed with the men and things which have a place in his active brain. The workings of his mind and heart are mainly discernible by the re- sults of his conduct, as he seldom reveals himself even to his most intimate friends. He is kind and humane, but prefers to dispense with middle-men in the distribution of his bounties. With a different experience his heart would have been very much softened, his sympathies deepened, and his natural social qualities greatly developed. Like a good mariner, he bears in his mind an objective point, which he never forsakes or turns from; but just where or what it is those who know him best are yet unable to tell. Mr. Lovejoy is unmarried. In early life his mind was much exercised on the sulpject of religion, considering a religious life the chief blessing and duty of man. But not satisfied with any of the current theories or standards of au- thority on this subject, he strove hard and long for a rule or creed on which to lean and follow, and finally adopted one peculiar to himself, more after the Unitarian model than any other. He attends the Congregational Church, however. In politics he is a republican, but not a strong partisan. MILO J. ALTHOUSE, WA VE UN. T HE subject of this sketch, the inventor of the celebrated Althouse wind-mill, is an eminently self-made man. Like many other inventors, he had a hard struggle, especially in early life. He was, however, persevering, and pressed on steadily until success crowned his efforts. He is a native of Pennsylvania, and the son of Nicholas and Sarah (Hill) Althouse, and was born August io, 1828. In the family were three sons, and a daughter who died quite young. His father had no trade and was very poor, and at nine years of age, when they were liv- ing in New York State, Milo, ragged but resolute, went away from home to work. The first three years he worked for a farmer for his food and cloth- ing, and three months’ schooling annually. At the age of twelve his school days ended and the labor of his hands increased. Sometimes he was on a farm, sometimes in a saw-mill, and never idle. At times he worked all day in the field, and operated the mill half the night, and, in a few instances, all night. At one time he worked out-of-doors during the daytime, and spent his evenings in making bas- kets. In boyhood he knew but little of its sports; in later youth, none of its recreations save what came from the earning of a few extra shillings by extra work. In 1849 he had, by his untiring industry, accumu- lated one hundred dollars, and although he was of age he did not forsake his parents. At his sugges- tion, with the hundred dollars, the whole family removed to Wisconsin, and settled three miles from Waupun. When he reached this place he had just fifty cents left, and he resolved that that fifty cents should never leave his pocket until the last payment on land which he intended to purchase should be made. It never did. During the first winter in Wisconsin, he and the two younger brothers chopped wood, at thirty-one cents a cord, three miles from home ; and, short as the days were, it was not an uncommon thing, when there was a moon, to work thirteen or fourteen hours. Their mother would prepare their breakfast, as far as she could, the night before ; they would rise, finish preparing and eat their breakfast, take their lunch, be in the woods often before they could see to chop; eating their cold lunch at noon, they would chop till evening, and cord the wood by moonlight, and at eight o’clock start for home. Thus they continued through the winter, often reaching their log shanty nearer nine than eight o’clock. On first reaching Wisconsin, Milo worked on a farm several months at fifty cents a day; then worked land on shares, and spent the evenings in making baskets, and thus getting a little ahead, so that he made a payment on land. The second autumn after coming to this State, he cut marsh hay THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 505 at one dollar per ton, and continued that employ- ment until the early part of November, sometimes working all day in the water, which was crusted over with thin ice. In this way he finally made his last payment on land ; the lone fifty-cent piece, with which he had squatted down in the Badger State two years before, disappeared, and the real estate, unincumbered, was his. In 1851 Mr. Althouse commenced digging wells, working not only all the day but frequently half the night. A year later he began to build the “ Wau- pun pump,” which has since become so popular, and of which fifty thousand are now in use. It is known all over the country as the “Waupun Premium Pump.” His first load of pumps Mr. Althouse peddled himself with an ox team. About 1873 he invented the famous Althouse wind-mill, of which a thousand a year are manu- factured. Like the pump which he makes, they are a premium mill, bearing off the highest prize at every State fair at which they have been exhibited for the last three or four years. The mills are built in two styles, the vane and the vaneless, both as near perfection, probably, as any mill of the kind built in the country. These mills are used for sup- plying water for houses and cattle-yards, for railroad stations, and geared ones for running machinery requiring a rotary motion. Until about 1874 Mr. Althouse was alone. Now, however, other parties are with him, the firm being Althouse, Wheeler and Co., the persons with him being George F. Wheeler, D. Hinckley and P. M. Pryor. These wind-mills go to the Pacific Slope, and to nearly every State in the West and South. Mr. Althouse has been president of the village, and held one or two other small offices, but as much as possible has avoided responsibilities in that direc- tion. In politics he is a thorough republican, and is well posted on public matters. He has long been a member of the Methodist church, and has been superintendent of its Sunday- school many years, and has also held the office of steward. When eleven years old, while in the habit of swearing, one day, while working alone in the field, he asked himself why he should use profane language ; at the same time resolved to break off the vicious habit, and did it there and then. Two or three years ago, after an absence of thirty-five years, he visited the field in the State of New York where he made that resolution, picked up a little cobble-stone, put it in his pocket and carries it still as a reminder of the timely resolution. Mr. Alt- house early left off all bad habits, and has lived not only a remarkably industrious, but an unblemished Christian life. It has its rich moral, which a dullard can understand. Even now, although he has secured an ample competency for himself and family, Mr. Althouse leads his workmen in labor. He is very pleasant and sociable with them, and they stick to him like a brother. His language is “come” rather than “go.” Work with him is no punishment; he loves it for the reward it brings. In fact he realizes the truth of the poet’s saying, “ Labor is worship.” Mr. Althouse has a wife and four children, and has^ lost two. Mrs. Althouse was Miss Mary Jane Wood, of Waupun ; they were married May 20, 1853, he having a good frame house for her, finished the day before their marriage. He is happy in his family, happy in his success, and happy in his “hope,” that “anchor to the soul.” N. M. DODSON, M.D., BERLIN. D R. N. MONROE DODSON, who has long been a medical practitioner in Wisconsin, is a native of Pennsylvania, and was born in the town of Huntington, Luzerne county, July 26, 1826. His parents were John and Sephrona (Monroe) Dodson, well-to-do-farmers. He worked at farming until about eighteen years old, and then attended the Berwick Academy a few terms, teaching during the winter months. In 1846 he commenced studying medicine in his native county, and after moving to Madison, Wisconsin, in 1849, there continued the same. He attended lectures in the medical depart- ment of the Iowa University, from which he grad- uated in June, 1850. He practiced one year in Madison, Wisconsin, and in 1851 settled perma- nently in Berlin. Here, for more than a quarter of a century, Dr. Dodson has been in the general prac- tice, and has gradually built up a most enviable reputation for professional care, skill and success. ! Desirous of keeping pace with the progress of med- 506 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. ical and surgical science, he has absented himself from home for a short period of time on two occa- sions, attending lectures in the Cincinnati Medical College and the Bellevue Hospital College. No one is more conscious than he of the importance and benefits of such episodes in medical and surgi- cal practice. During the last fifteen years Dr. Dod- son has sold drugs in connection with his profession, and has one of the largest stores in Berlin. He is both a Mason and Odd-Fellow, but not active in either order. The same is true of him in politics. He votes the republican ticket, but never allows political matters to interrupt his professional duties. He did, however, at one time accept of the office of city superintendent of schools when it was urged upon him, and discharged its duties faithfully for a few years, the only civil office of any impor- tance that he would ever consent to hold. Medical practice he has long aimed to make his sole pursuit; hence his success and high standing. The wife of Dr. Dodson was Elizabeth Abbott, of Cayuga county, New York. They were married September i, 1857, and have two children. Dr. Dodson has fine literary tastes and an inves- tigating mind. He does all he can to encourage mental culture and scientific research on the part of his neighbors, and is the leading man in Berlin in securing literary lecturers from season to season. His heart is in all educational enterprises, and his public-spiritedness and generous support of all mat- ters pertaining to the public welfare have won for him universal respect and esteem. HON. GEORGE D. WARING, BERLIN. G EORGE DWIGHT WARING is an eminently self-made man. By the loss of his mother, when he was five years old, he was early thrown upon his own resources. At the age of ten he arranged with a gentleman to keep him until he attained his majority, so that his career from the first has been one of self-dependence. Though thrown upon his own resources while his hands were quite small, he was enabled to “paddle his own canoe,” shunned all cataracts, and has had, on the whole, a smooth as well as successful voyage. He is the son of Ephraim Waring, a shoemaker, and Sally nee Brown; they resided at Masonville, Delaware county, New York, where he was born October 14, 1819. His paternal grandfather parti- cipated in the revolutionary war, but it is not known in what capacity or how long. Ephraim Waring moved to Bainbridge, Chenango county, when George was an infant, and there his mother died. The period from five to ten years of age he spent in the families of friends. The man with whom he made arrangements to reside until of age was Avery Farnham, a Masonville farmer and lumber dealer, who moved to Steuben county, Indiana, in 1836. Up to about eighteen or nineteen, young Waring had had only common-school privileges, and those somewhat limited ; but being fond of study he made some progress out of school. He taught a winter school at the age of twenty, hav- ing previously spent a short time at a select school. At twenty-one he went to Kentucky, and taught both summers and winters for two years, and then returned to Indiana, and read law with R. L. Doug- lass, of Angola, Steuben county. He was admitted to the bar of that county, and removed thence to Berlin in November, 1855. The next year he com- menced legal practice, and still follows it, being one of the leading attorneys in the third judicial circuit. He is well-read, shrewd and skillful. He discusses points with the judge with great per- tinacity and with unusual success, and in every respect is a first-class lawyer. With his professional labors Mr. Waring has united land operations with a good degree of suc- cess. While reading law in Indiana, he was elected sheriff of Steuben county, serving two years. He was the first mayor of Berlin, elected in the spring of 1857, and occupied that position four years; has served three terms as district attorney, at one time for four consecutive years, and, a little later, for two ; was deputy provost-marshal during the rebellion; was in the State senate in 1869 and 1870, being on the judiciary committee during both terms, and chairman of the committee on town and county organizations one term, occupying a high position in the Upper House, particularly during the second session. In politics Mr, Waring is a republican, of whig THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 507 antecedents, and a prominent man in the party in his part of the State. He is a member of the Congregational church, and a man of exalted moral standing. He was first married in 1843, his wife being Harriet A. Hopkins, of Angola, Indiana. They had two children, neither of whom are now living. Mrs. Waring’s death occurred February 15, 1873. His present wife was Miss L. White, of Berlin; they were married June 11, 1874. They have one child. Mr. Waring is about the average height, solidly built, and weighs two hundred pounds. His habits are excellent; he has taken superb care of himself, and would be taken for a younger man than he is. REV. THOMAS JANES R EV. THOMAS J. RUGER is one of the most respected clergymen of the Protestant Episco- pal church in Wisconsin. He was born in the town of Northumberland, Saratoga county, New York, February 25, 1802. In early life he worked on his father’s farm, receiving the benefits of good public and private schools, and was, when quite a young man, a school-teacher for a year or more. Entering Union College, Schenectady, New York, at the age of twenty-two, he graduated, after pursuing its full course of study, with high honors. Soon after leav- ing college he was married to Miss Maria Hutchins, of Lenox, Madison county, New York. In 1830 he became successor of Rev. Dr. Wilbur Fiske, as principal of Wilbraham Academy, in Mas- sachusetts, and two years later was appointed presi- dent of the Wesleyan Seminary at Lima, New York, which position he filled for a period of four years, when he resigned. In 1836 he was ordained a priest of the Protestant Episcopal church, and accepted the rectorship of Christ Church parish, of Sherburne, New York, the duties of which office he discharged to the approval of his parishioners. In 1839 he was called to the rectorship of St. John’s Church, Marcellus, in the diocese of Western New York. In addition to his pastoral labors he undertook the charge of the academy there, and satisfactorily conducted the institution for a period of five years. In 1844, while in attendance at the general council of the Protest- ant Episcopal church in the city of New York, he was introduced to Bishop Kemper, whose diocese then included the States of Indiana and Missouri and the Territories (now States) of Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. The good bishop urged Mr. Ruger to remove into his diocese and become a helper in the Master’s work of caring for the souls of the few people scattered over the great field under his J. RUGER, A.M., VILLE. charge. Accepting this invitation lie removed that same year to Janesville, Wisconsin, then a place of about two hundred inhabitants. Trinity Church parish of Janesville was organized in September, 1844, Mr. Ruger being its first rector. He officiated also at Beloit and Milton, holding mis- sionary services at those points for a year or more; at the same time the regular services at Trinity were not intermitted. In this field he labored faithfully, and with a great degree of success, for more than ten years, and built up a large parish. Commencing with not to exceed ten members of his church, it grew to the number of about two hundred commu- nicants within a period of about ten years. In 1855 he resigned the rectorship of Trinity parish, and retired from the active ministry. Soon after his arrival in Janesville he organized a school of a high grade, called the Janesville Acad- emy, which afforded opportunities for acquiring a thorough education in English, the classics and mathematics. This school was well patronized and sustained by the citizens of Janesville and the Ter- ritory of Wisconsin at large, and did in its day a large amount of good. After relinquishing the charge of Trinity parish he engaged actively in the work of cultivating and improving his farm. He enjoys the life of a farmer, feels the inspiration of the sunrise and the freshness of the morning, sleeping soundly after a day in the field. He has continued in this occupation of his youth to the present time (1877), with the exception of four years, during which he was postmaster at Janesville. As a farmer he has had fair success. Mr. Ruger is a man of medium size, and has been physically strong and active, and, when in his prime, was slightly corpulent. He has been a great walker, and has been and is fond of out-door exercise and employment. His home and farm are a mile from 50S THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. town, and it has been his daily habit to walk back and forth, rarely if ever accepting the seat proffered him by his neighbors, who are accustomed to ride over the same road. His sons, however, are not “farmer boys,” and have not helped him much in ploughing and plant- ing. For one or another reason they strayed away from the farm, became soldiers, and engaged in the “learned professions.” Nevertheless, in his four sons, as well as in his three daughters, he has been and is greatly blessed. All his domestic relations have been and are exceedingly and uninterruptedly happy. His social relations have also been pleasant. His life and manners are without ostentation, but the “ daily beauty of his life ” has been such that he has drawn around him, from the ranks of the high and the low, the rich and the poor, the simple and the wise, men, women and children who love and reverence him now, and who will honor and cherish his memory. Mr. Ruger was endowed by nature with a mind of much vigor, and became proficient in the exact sciences and in literature, and gave much study and reflection to the immediate subject of his profession. As an orator, many of his clerical compeers were superior to him ; but as a writer and a reasoner, few, if any of them, surpassed him. His sermons were practical rather than doctrinal; and while he be- lieved in the creed of his church, and was ready to maintain it on every proper occasion, and to give a reason for his belief, yet he chose rather, as a means of greater good, to lay before his hearers those truths and principles which were delivered by the Master during the period of His ministry, and which, by the generations of men who have since lived, have been regarded as divine. Mr. Ruger spent little time in recreation, rarely wearied, and never rested. During the active period of his clerical life the “ summer vacation ” had not come to be an incident of the clerical office, and he wrought on, through summer and winter, heat and cold, seeking to perform the trust of his high office - acceptably to Him whom he served, and to the spiritual welfare and advancement of the people. That he has performed that trust acceptably to Him whom he served many believe; that his minis- trations have been acceptable to the people is mani- fest. He continues to be a member of the diocese of Wisconsin, and has often been called upon by the wardens of Trinity parish and the wardens of Christ Church parish (Janesville) to officiate when either ! rectory was vacant, or the rector was absent or ill. To these calls he has always responded. But perhaps the respect and affection cherished for him and his kindly ways have been most pleas- antly and delicately shown by the frecpient requests made to him by “contracting parties” to join them in marriage; by the desire of many parents that he should baptize their children; by the many requests of the sick and the afflicted that he should visit them, and by the many invitations he has received to come to the liouse of mourning, and help to bury the dead. These things have been of frequent occurrence; and while they have been gratifying to Mr. Ruger, in that they have manifested the love of the people for their old friend and pastor, yet they have never been in anywise unpleasant or even suggestive of the thought that he was doing the proper work of the rector of either parish. Father Ruger fills a place in the hearts of his children in the church so properly, so acceptably, and so deservedly, that all regard his ministrations with favor and his benedic- tions as blessings. Thus, for many years, he has lived and worked in Janesville, beloved and re- spected as a man among men, and as a minister in the church, and has led a blameless life. If his life has not been faultless also, few of his fellow-citizens have noticed his faults, and none now remember hem or speak of them. That branch of the Ruger family in America from which the subject of our sketch sprung, came, in the seventeenth century, from Holland to New York, then New Netherland. The ancestors of Mr. Ruger for three generations back were born in Dutchess county, New York. His father, Francis Ruger, was a son of John Ruger, who was a son of Phillip Ruger. His mother was Jane (Jewell) Ruger; she was of a Puritan family of Connecticut, of English ancestry. His grandmother, Katharine (Le Roy) Ruger, was of a French Huguenot family. John Ruger above named served in the army of the revo- lution, fought in the battle of Saratoga, and con- tinued in the army till the surrender of General Burgoyne, with the British army, to General Gates. Maria (Hutchins) Ruger, wife of Rev. Mr. Ruger, is a daughter of Benjamin Hutchins and Jerusha (Bradley) Hutchins, both natives of Connecticut. Her paternal grandfather, Colonel Benjamin Hutch- ins, was a captain in a Connecticut regiment in the war of the revolution, was wounded in battle, and never recovered from the effects of his wound. Her THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 509 grandfather, Bradley, also served in the continental army, was taken by the British, and died while a prisoner of war. Thomas H Ruger, the eldest son of our subject, is a colonel in the United States army, and rose to the rank of major-general in the volunteer army. He was born at Lima, New York, April 2, 1833, and entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1850; was graduated, standing third in his class, and assigned to the corps of engineers in the United States army. He remained in the army a year, then resigned, and- read law in the office of Eldredge and Pease, of Janesville. He was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice as a member of the firm of Eldredge, Pease and Ruger, and con- tinued in practice until April, 1861. When the late war began he forthwith tendered his services to the government; was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the 3d Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers, sent to the field, and promoted to the command of his regi- ment. He served through the war as commander of his regiment, his brigade or division, and was actively engaged in many of the most important battles of the war. At the close of the war he was retained in the volunteer military service for over a year, and intrusted with the command of the dis- trict of North Carolina. In 1866 he received the commission of colonel in the United States army, and has been five years superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point, and is now (1877) i n command of the military department of the South, with headquarters at Atlanta, Georgia. Edward, the second son, by profession a civil engineer, volunteered and was commissioned cap- tain in the 13th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers, in September, 1861, and served with distinction in the army through the war, and until 1869; was, with the rank of colonel, assigned to the charge of the Topo- graphical Engineers of the Army of the Cumberland, under General Thomas, and also served on the staff of General Rousseau. William, the third son, a lawyer, volunteered in 1861, and entered the army as lieutenant in his brother Edward’s company in the 13th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers; was appointed adjutant of the regiment before taking the field, and served with distinction through the war in the capacity of adjutant of his regiment at first, and soon after as assistant adjutant-general on the general staff; was seriously wounded in battle at New Hope Church, Georgia; afterward served on general staff in the Veteran Reserve Corps until October, 1865. Henry H., the youngest son, also served in the army from the fall of 1862 to the end of the war. He is a physician and surgeon in practice, and resides in Dakota Territory. Cornelia M. is the wife of J. J. R. Pease, a leading lawyer of Janesville, Wisconsin. Addie, the second daughter, is the wife of Rev. George W. Dunbar, a chaplain in the United States army Augusta, the youngest daughter, is unmarried, and resides with her parents, who are now (March, 1877) both in good health. EDWARD BAIN, KENOSHA. E DWARD BAIN, a native of Kinderhook, Co- lumbia county, New York, was born on the 9th of March, 1823, and is the son of Bastian and Moyca (Burgher) Bain. His father, who was of Scotch ancestry, was a frugal and well-to-do j farmer, an influential man in his community, and much respected by all who knew him. His mother was of German lineage, and noted for the best qualities that distinguish her race. Edward re- [1 ceived a good common-school education in his native place, and at Lenox, Berkshire county, Mas- sachusetts. After leaving school, at the age of sixteen, he spent a season in farm work, and in 1839 went to Albany and apprenticed himself to learn the hardware business, and remained in this situation until he attained his majority. In 1844 he removed to the West and settled at what was then known as Southport (now Kenosha), Wiscon- sin, his present home, and at once established himself in the hardware business, at which he continued with uninterrupted success for a period of twenty years, building up an extensive and prosperous trade. In 1852 his brother, Lewis Bain, became associated with him in business, the firm being known as “Bain Brothers.” Meantime he commenced the manufacture of farm wagons, a 5 JO THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. business which proved so successful that he de- termined to make it his life work. Accordingly, in 1864 he sold out his interest in the hardware trade to his brother, by whom it is still conducted (1877), and since then has devoted his entire at- tention to the wagon manufacturing business. His wagons have become largely known and celebrated for their superior workmanship, durability, neatness and finish. Throughout his entire career Mr. Bain has shown remarkable talent and business capacity, and is widely known and eminently distinguished for his honest and upright dealing, his promptness in meeting his engagements, and for many noble and generous qualities of head and heart, some of which may be inferred from the fact that he has never been sued for a debt nor had a note protested. His business has assumed very large proportions. Its magnitude may be inferred from the fact that he gives steady employment to over two hundred men, while his annual transactions amount to over six hundred thousand dollars. In 1876, notwithstand- ing the stringent times, his establishment made and sold over seven thousand wagons. In religious sentiment he affiliates with the Con- gregational church, of which both he and his fam- ily are worthy members. To his generosity and liberality are mainly due the construction of the beautiful and costly edifice of the Congregational church of Kenosha, — one of the finest ecclesias- tical structures in the State, and which will lorw remain a standing monument of his magnanimity and moral worth. In political sentiments he has been identified with the republican party since its organization, but has never held nor had any desire to hold office. He was married on the 20th September, 1 847 , to Miss Harriet M. Brockett, of Waterford, Sara- toga county, New York, a most excellent and unassuming lady, whose life has been largely de- voted to the welfare of others. They have three children, — one son named Charles, and two daugh- ters named respectively Frances and Carrie, — all of whom give promise of future worth and usefulness. By his excellent personal qualities Mr. Bain has won to himself many true and valuable friends. Generous to an unusual degree, genial and social, he is a most agreeable companion, being most admired by those who know him best. In his own home he is loved as a devoted husband and a kind, i indulgent father. DAVID GREENWAY, DARTFORD. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of War- wickshire, England, and a son of Thomas and Hannah (Padbury) Greenway, was born March rq, 1825. His father, a brewer, baker and inn-keeper, in the old country, came to the United States in 1835, and resided about fifteen years in Syracuse and Palmyra, New York, engaged in farming most of the time. David received a common-school education, and lived with his father several years after coming to this country. In 1850 he removed to Wisconsin, and settled at Ripon. The place had then only four dwelling houses, and they were poor shanties, and he built one of the first good houses there. He was engaged in the drug business about twelve years, and acted a long time as agent for an express com- pany. In 1866 he built the Oakwood House at Dartford, six miles west of Ripon, and the next season opened it as a summer resort. It was a bold venture, as there was no railroad to that place then, and his friends thought he was chimerical, and prophesied a failure. Nothing daunted, however, he pushed forward ; patronage increased from year to year, and every season he enlarged his premises, adding one-fourth to his accommodations in the spring of 1877, and now has one building one hun- dred and sixty feet long, connected bv balconies with other buildings used for dormitories, and four double cottages, with accommodations in all for three hundred guests. The Oakwood is one of the most attractive resorts for tourists in Wisconsin. A great many families from the South as well as from the large Northern cities, come here annually to spend months. The Oakwood House is only a few rods from Green Lake, which is one of the loveliest sheets of water found in the State. One of the Eastern newspapers thus speaks of the hotel, the scenery around it, and the lake : Green Lake is situated on a station of the Sheboygan and Fond du Lac railway, the most of the distance to it being traversed, however, by the Chicago and Northwestern or Milwaukee and St. Paid roads. It is so secluded that you THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. 51 I mjtrht imagine yourself lost in a romantic wilderness, until you have finished the lovely ride of over a mile, which brings you to the Oakwood House, and the whole lovely scene lies spread before you — a splendid hotel with verandas, walks and ornamental pleasure-grounds, a body of clear, green, translucent water, stretching away between beauti- fully wooded shores, and landscape pictures of,surpassing beauty, greeting you at every turn, while over all broods the ineffable peace of Nature. There is no other lake in Wisconsin that possesses the cool, deep, green water that Green Lake has; there is no other lake possessing finer fish or more delightful scenes to charm the artistic soul — every dav brings a new view from some different point of interest. Tbe lazy tourist who wants rest can lie on the bank and watch the shadows through his half closed eyes, and note the silvery gleam of a fish as it “flops” under his gaze; or he can hold a rod, and only exert himself to land the big fish that catch at his bait; or he can float softly on the rocking wave, trolling leisurely as he goes. All along the banks of Green Lake stands the forest primeval, and here and there a smoke curls lazily from some camp and defines a picturesque outline against the sky. The air is full of delicious odors of earth and sky, and the cool, sea-like fragrance of the water is balsam to the weary lungs. Fash- ion worn and sickly women come here to rest and recu- perate, and the bloom of health glows on their cheeks before the season is over. Blase men, tired of business and pleasure, find fresh interest in Nature, and take a new lease of life; and little, puny, town-reared children gain color and muscle, and do their parents credit. All this is gained from the resources of Nature. Art has given us the comfortable and luxurious Oakwood Hotel, with its cool, stately halls and piazzas, its pleasant parlors and family suites, and its spacious dining hall, where every luxury is cooked to please the appetite, and served up by competent hands. The great number of tourists attracted thither from New Orleans, Memphis, Vicksburg, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Chicago, New York and other cities, presents nothing like loneliness, and there are amusements in which all are free to partake — croquet, lawn parties, picnics, bowling alleys, billiards, walks, rides, boating, camping out, excursions and card parties, and charades within doors, when it rains, to say nothing of the brilliant hops. The family of the proprietor make it especially pleasant by their kind attention to guests. Green Lake is ten miles long and from two to four miles wide, with a diversity of beau- tiful scenery that makes it forever new. Numerous elegant homes line its banks, and pleasure-grounds and picnic resorts are conveniently near. Lying back from its shores are fine farms in a high state of cultivation, and pedestrians will find themselves well repaid for a tramp of ten miles in any direction. There is something in the bracing air sug- gestive of such exercise ; for after a few weeks of lazy resting, all the veins and sinews tingle with health and new life, and the exercise of the fields is a pleasant change.” Invalids, and health and pleasure seekers gen- erally, may well “thank their stars” that such an enterprising, kind and obliging man as Mr. Green- way ever cast his eye on this Eden-like spot, and has made it what it is. The wife of Mr. Greenway was Miss Caroline Chadburn, daughter of an English optician. They were married in Syracuse, New York, February 19, 1849, and have had five children, three of whom, one daughter and two sons, are still living. Nellie, the widow of the late Henry Mowry, of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, lives with her parents; the elder son, William, is married, and is clerk of the Oakwood ; and George is also at home. Mrs. Green way is a woman of fine social and lady-like qualities, and admirably adapted to preside in the parlors of a popular public resort. The family are Episcopal in religious sentiment, and during the summer services are usually held once a day on Sunday, in the parlors. Perfect de- corum prevails in and around the house on that day. The family spend their winters in Ripon. JABEZ N. ROGERS, BERLIN. T AREZ NELSON ROGERS is the son of Jabez J Rogers, junior, and Sarah ne'e Chipman, and was born in Middlebury, Addison county, Vermont, February 16, 1807. Roth of his grandfathers par- ticipated in the revolutionary war. Jabez Rogers, ; senior, was a commissary officer; and Colonel John Chipman was a volunteer with General Ethan Allen, ; in the spring of 1775, to take Ticonderoga and Crown Point. He was at the capture of St. John’s and Montreal, and participated in the battles of , Hubbardton and Bennington. He was at Saratoga at the capture of General Burgoyne, in October, 1777; and afterward had the command of Forts , Edward and George, successively. He was taken prisoner at the latter fort in 1780; was exchanged 57 in the summer of 1781, and remained a super- numerary until the close of the war. The Rogers family were among the early settlers in Addison county, and Jabez Rogers, junior, a merchant during most of his life, opened the first store in that county. Jabez Nelson was educated in the common school and in Middlebury Academy, and at one time was intending to go through college, but abandoned his purpose. He went into a store while in his minority, and becoming attached to the mercantile business, followed it as long as he was a resident of Vermont. Leaving that State in 1833 he settled at St. Joseph, then in the Terri- tory of Michigan, and just coming into promi- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 5 1 2 nence as a lake port town. There he read law and practiced until June, 1848, when he crossed the lake to Milwaukee. There he practiced until the autumn of 1849, when he removed to Strong’s Landing, now the city of Berlin, in Green Lake county. Here for nearly thirty years he has been in legal practice, but has been called to fill so many positions of trust and responsibility, outside his profession, as to be able, of late years, to pay but little attention to it, except indirectly. In 1852 Mr. Rogers was elected justice of the peace, and held the office twenty consecutive years. He was appointed municipal judge in May, 1870, and served five years. He was elected mayor in the spring of 1875, for the term of two years; reelected in 1877, and now, in his seventy-first year, is at the head of the municipality. He is a true and competent man, and the citizens of Berlin delight to honor him. Few men have lived a more active life, and few of his age are as sprightly and in all respects so well preserved. In early and middle life Mr. Rogers was an anti- slavery whig, and naturally drifted into the repub- lican ranks when that party was organized. He had long been a great admirer of Horace Greeley, and voted for him for President in 1872. Mr Rogers is a conscientious and unselfish politician. While a resident of Michigan, after it had become a State, he was nominated against his wishes for member of the legislature, and took the stump against himself, aiding to elect his opponent, whom he considered a more competent man. On the 29th of October, 1832, he was married to Miss Ether E. Hagar, daughter of Jonathan Hagar, enquire, v of Middlebury, Vermont. They had six children, all born in Michigan, and five of them are still living, three sons and two daughters. The sons, Edward G., Josias N. and Frederic I,., are lawyers, and living in St. Paul, Minnesota. Both daughters are invalids. The elder, Sarah !,., is at home; and Harriet H. is in the St. Mary’s Hospital, Milwaukee. Mr. Rogers has seen a great deal of frontier life, but “roughing it ” has neither broken his spine nor his spirits, nor injured his morals or manners. He is a courteous and kind old gentleman, standing as erect as in middle life, preserving the dignity of true manhood, and shrinking from no responsi- bility which his fellow-citizens deem proper to put upon him. CHARLES J. L. MEYER, FOND DU LAC. T HE rapid development of the Northwest has been prolific in the development of men of talent. The great industries of the country have brought forth a brilliant display of genius, which proves that the victories of peace are greater than those of war. Prominent among those who have contributed to this progress is Charles J. L. Meyer, of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Mr. Meyer was born in Minden, west Prussia, in May, 1831. His father was a joiner and manu- facturer of sash and doors. Up to the age of four- teen his life was spent in school. As a boy, he was remarkably fond of study, and had an aptness for acquiring knowledge. He was of a retiring dispo- sition, and often preferred seclusion to companion- ship. In all his undertakings he displayed intensity of application. This characteristic has distinguished him through life. During the last year of his attendance at school the Governor of the Province made a visit of in- spection. Young Meyer, being the first scholar of the institution, was called before the governor and put under a rigid examination. The ready and in- telligent replies from so youthful a student interested the governor, and he immediately proposed to qualify him for the service of the State, with the assurance of his protection and favor. The youth, however, had determined to follow the calling of his father; and though fully aware that he was declining an offer which would have been gladly embraced by those whose worldly prospects were greater than his, he had resolved to win or lose in the struggle of life by his own efforts. On leaving school he entered his father’s work- shop, and spent three years in acquiring the trade. The business, as conducted in a small Prussian town, was not sufficient for the ambition of the young mechanic, and he resolved to seek a new field for his labor. Bidding adieu to his home and country, he left for America with a few friends and THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 515 only sufficient means to reach the shores of the western continent. Arriving at New York, and finding the great city was not suited to his tastes, he resolved to go west, and took passage on an Erie canal boat bound for Buffalo. After a successful ocean voyage, Mr. Meyer encountered the first perils of navigation at Syracuse. The canal had suffered a break, and farther west- ward progress was blocked. Our traveler, being without means to defray the expenses of detention, sought employment in Syracuse, then only a small place, but failed. Nothing discouraged, he took the highway eastward in search of employment, deter- mined to accept the first that offered. His first suc- cess was an offer from David Collins, junior, a farmer at the little village of Fayetteville, about twelve miles from Syracuse, to work on a farm, at five dollars a month. It was accepted ; and here the young German’s talents were soon discovered, and at the end of the term of his agreement the satisfied farmer voluntarily gave him six dollars, instead of five, as was agreed. The succeeding winter was occupied in cutting cordwood, splitting rails, making saw-logs, and in doing any available work. In the spring the father of farmer Collins erected a saw-mill, and Mr. Meyer assisted the millwright, who was so pleased with his dexterity in the use of tools that he persuaded him to remain and learn the trade of millwright. After one year at this business he found the exposure too great in the severe winters, and he abandoned it. He then re- turned to Syracuse, and spent a year in learning the wagon-making trade. In 1855 he concluded to go farther west; came to the city of Chicago, where he worked six months at the wheelwright business, and then moved to Fond du Lac, at that time a small city of four or five thousand inhabitants, since grown to about sixteen thousand. Here Mr. Meyer, in a very small shop, commenced business on his own account. He made sleighs, filed saws, carried on general joiner work, and made sashes, doors and blinds. His work was all per- formed by hand, and at first chiefly by himself. But his business grew, and in 1859 he spent five months at the East, making himself acquainted with the best kinds of machinery applicable to his trade. On his return the work of enlarging and expanding his business began. He first rented steam-power, as his means were yet insufficient to build a factory. In 1 86 1 he erected his first shop, the work of building being performed by himself and brother. He put in a small steam-engine, and this was the real starting point from which the colossal business now carried on by Mr. Meyer has grown. From the first start his shops have been crowded with work ; every venture has been crowned with success; and the resolve of the boy, that he would one day distinguish himself, has been amply fulfilled. He now ranks as one of the largest manufacturers of sash, doors and blinds in the world, and the pro- ducts of his workshops may be found in every direc- tion. His business career has been one of marvelous prosperity, and the short period of time in which his immense trade has been created tells the story of the exhaustless energy, tact and skill of the man who has accomplished such great results. In 1866 Mr. Meyer built two large factories, one being one hundred by two hundred feet, three sto- ries high; the other fifty by one hundred and eighty feet, two stories high. The great consumption of lumber induced him to cut the material for the sup- ply of his factories; and in 1868 he erected a saw- mill, with a capacity for cutting one hundred thou- sand feet a day, and in connection with it a shingle mill. He established a depot in Chicago for the sale of his goods, through which an immense trade has been acquired ; and subsequently he erected in the same city a branch factory, sixty by one hundred and twenty feet, five stories high, with an addition, thirty by sixty feet, two stories high, at the foot of North Water street, on the North Pier. The Chicago factory is devoted to the manufacture of stairs, stair railing, balusters, etc. In connection with this is an extensive lumber yard, the trade in dressed lumber being a principal feature. The ground covered by his buildings, lumber yards, etc., in Fond du Lac, comprises over fifty acres, and the floor room of his various factories, mills and warehouses, contains over two thousand two hundred and twenty square feet. To operate his various machinery six large steam-engines are used, and employment is given to nearly one thou- sand hands. This grand success is not the work of chance, but of a superior intellect, keen perceptions, ready dis- cernment, and great executive ability. Personally, Mr. Meyer is most courteous and genial, and is dis- tinguished by his large-heartedness and liberality. Notwithstanding the multiplicity of his engage- ments, he has filled the offices of alderman and mayor of the city; was delegate for the State at large to the National Republican Convention held at Phila- THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 516 delphia; was the organizer of the Northwestern I'nion railroad, of which he was president for three years, and is still a director. Mr. Meyer was married in August, 1852, to Miss Elizabeth Ha\, a lady of excellent womanly quali- ties, by whom he has had five children. The eldest son is now a valuable assistant in -the management and conduct of this vast business, and although yet young, has developed business qualifications of a very high order. HON. WILLIAM STARR, RIPON. HLLIAM STARR was one of the pioneer educators of Wisconsin, and his name has become identified with the school system of that State. He is more especially known as one of the originators and promoters of the normal schools of Wisconsin. His efforts in this direction greatly aided in instituting the present mode of instructing teachers for their work, raising it from the desultory and fragmentary efforts in public schools and acad- emies to that of professional teaching in organized normal schools. This gentleman is descended from the good old Puritan stock of Connecticut. He derives his Chris- tian name from his maternal grandfather, Captain William Starr, who was a resident of New London when Arnold made his dastardly raid upon that place, his house being swept away with the rest. His maternal grandfather was a farmer, residing at Westfield at the time of the revolutionary war. His ancestors were among the first settlers of the Con- necticut valley. His father was Samuel Starr, and his mother was Lydia Adkins. They had eleven children, William being the youngest. He was born at Middletown, Connecticut, March 3, 1821. He never had the advantages of a father’s care, as that parent died three months before he was born, his death being caused by over-exertion and exposure while saving property during a freshet in the Connecticut river. He left a wife, with a large family, in straightened circumstances, but her native ability and energy en- abled her to provide for the support of her family. When quite young William was taken to northern New York by his mother, who had a sister living there. Here she subsequently married a thrifty farmer. Early in life Mr. Starr developed a de- sire for more knowledge than the customary three months’ school during the winter season afforded, and at the early age of fourteen he started out for himself with the determination to earn an educa- tion commensurate with his youthful aspirations. He engaged to work on a farm at three and a quar- ter dollars per month. With this sum he had to purchase his clothing and books. He sought the best schools and academies. While attending these he worked for his board a portion of the time. As soon as of sufficient age to be trusted with a school he commenced teaching, and followed that occupa- tion during winters, keeping along with his studies at the same time, and attending academies in the summers, until he was twenty-two years of age. When pursuing his studies in winter he often had to walk daily two miles, a portion of the time on snow-shoes. Plis favorite study was mathematical branches, but heeding judicious advice he subse- quently devoted time to the languages; not be- coming a regular graduate, yet achieving more than the usual college course. During the two latter years of his student life he found that it was not necessary to attend a school, and that by habits of application he could accomplish fully as much at home, adding the advantage in this of following the bent of his inclination in choice of studies. Hav- ing acquired a solid scientific and literary educa- tion, he buckled on his armor for the battle of life. As a consequence of the enterprise already devel- oped in his early career, he forestalled the cele- brated advice of Horace Greeley and went west, landing at Southport in 1843. He soon after trav- eled on foot through a portion of northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, ending his explorations by returning to Southport. Here his education en- abled him to commence a private school in the spring of 1843. He began with eight scholars, in- creasing his classes and closing at the end of two years with gratifying results. He then went to Ripon, Wisconsin, where he was married in 1857, and where he has since continued to reside. His wife’s maiden name was Annie Strong. They have an only son, named William James, born in 1861. TIIE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 517 Mr. Starr has been closely identified with the business interests ,and general enterprises of his section of the State. His fortune has chiefly been realized from operations in real estate, while at the same time he has been engaged in dealing in gen- eral merchandise, lumber, grain and farming. He has also performed his portion of the duties of offi- cial position, having held various town and city offices, acting as chairman of county supervisors two successive years, and being a member of the general assembly two terms during the exciting years of the war. Having been a leading spirit in bringing about the establishment of the normal schools of the State, he was appointed a member of the first board of regents, and has held that office continually since that time, and at the death of C. C. Sholes, the president, he was chosen to the posi- tion to which he has been since that event annually elected. He has also been a member of the board of trustees of Ripon College since its organization. President Starr has distinguished himself as a pro- moter of the cause of education, making the per- fecting of the normal-school system a work of love in order to elevate the standard of common-school teaching in the State. His efforts, together with those of his associates on the board of regents and other co-laborers, have resulted in bringing the workings of these schools to a high state of perfec- tion. As concerns his religious views, he is a member of the Episcopal church, and of low-church pro- clivities. Mr. Starr has never made politics a prominent feature of his life. He was originally a democrat, and continued such until compelled to leave that organization in obedience to the demands of his more progressive views on the slavery question. He became identified with the republican party at its formation, and although not a partisan, has since consistently acted with that organization. The career of Mr. Starr is a model for the com- ing youth. From an early age he has, unaided by helping hands or encouraging words, achieved a success in both public and business life that many have failed to attain with every advantage placed at their disposal. At the same time he is approaching the declivity of life with a public and private char- acter free from spot and blemish, having run a ca- reer of probity and honor, esteemed and respected by the many who know him. ALBERT KENDRICK, M.D., WAUKESHA. ALBERT KENDRICK, a native of Vermont, is 1 \. a son of Adin Kendrick, for many years a physician at Poultney, where Albert was born August 1, 1813. His mother was Ruth nee Mar- shall, and her mother was one of the brave women who lived in the times which “ tried the souls of men.” During the early part of the struggle for independence, hearing that the British were march- ing in the direction of her house, she took her two little children with her on horseback and fled toward Bennington. Before reaching that place the children became very hungry, and she stopped at a house which proved to be that of a tory, and asked for a loaf of bread, at the same time taking out her money in order to pay for it. The woman of the house said she had no bread. As Mrs. Mar- shall passed out of the house in the dusk of eve- ning, she espied a table set for the “ red coats,” and laden with bread and other provisions. She seized a loaf of bread, put her children on the horse, mounted the beast herself and made tracks for Bennington, feeding her little ones while under full gallop. The grandfather of our subject, Samuel Kendrick, was for a time in the military service. When seven years old, Albert suffered the mis- fortune of having his right hand cut nearly off, and was so maimed as to unfit him for most kinds of manual labor. He was, therefore, kept at school through all his younger years, and finished his literary education at the Hamilton Seminary (now Madison University), New York. At seventeen he began to read medicine. He attended three courses of lectures at Castleton and Woodstock, Vermont, and graduated from the latter place when twenty years of age. After practicing about three years at Poultney, Vermont, and the same length of time at Ticonderoga, New York, and about sixteen years at Granville, in the same State, he, in June, 1855, settled in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Dr. Kendrick is a modest, unassuming, quiet 5iB THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONART. man, and, refusing all political preferment, is con- tented with a good standing among those of his pro- fession, a good reputation for medical skill among the people of Waukesha village and Waukesha county, and a .worthy name on the church records. He has been a member of a Baptist church since about sixteen years of age. He is a nephew of Nathaniel Kendrick, D.D., once president of Ham- ilton Theological Seminary; a cousin of Asahel C. Kendrick, D.D., the eminent Greek scholar, of the University of Rochester, and father of A. A. Ken- drick, D.D., president of Shurtleff College, Upper Alton, Illinois. The Kendricks are a prominent family among the Baptists in the United States. Dr. Kendrick is a liberal contributor to religious, benevolent and literary institutions. He has a fourth wife. His first two wives were sisters, Orpha and Martha Smith, of Ticonderoga, New York; he living with the former five, and with the latter twenty-five years. His third wife was Millicent Olin, of Waukesha. His present, Mary Tyler, of the same place. He had three children by the first wife, two of them still living, — the son, already mentioned, and a daughter; two sons by the second wife, both living; and one child by the third wife, not living. JOHN TAPLEY, RACINE. T OHN TAPLEY was born in the parish of Pad- J dlesworth, county of Kent, England, August 13, 1824, being the youngest of a family of ten children born to Daniel and Elizabeth Tapley, natives of the same place, where the ancestors of the family had resided from the dawn of history. For generations they had been engaged in ocean trading, principally in the East Indian tropic. The name is well known in heraldry, and the motto on the family crest or coat-of-arms, which has been handed down from time immemorial, speaks a truth borne witness to by all who have lived long enough to observe the transitory nature of created things — “All things change.” His father began a seafaring life at the age of ten years on one of his father’s ships, and at the age of twenty-one commanded a fourteen-gun sloop, well manned, with a letter of marque, commissioned to take all the French vessels she could capture on the high seas. He took several prizes during the Pen- insular war, and was slightly wounded in one en- gagement, but never made prisoner. Retiring from the sea at the close of the war with a handsome for- tune, he purchased an estate upon which JohnTvas born. His birth occurred in the days when the church collected its tithes of the increase of the land, flocks, herds, etc., and being the tenth child the babe was offered to the parson as his share of the increase of the family, who laughingly replied, “Send him over, and I’ll take him.” The father, however, decided that, large as the family was, he could not spare him, and reconsidered the proposal. In 1825 a lease expired to an estate belonging to the Earl of Radnor, which had for many years been in the family of Mr. Mark Sanford, Mrs. Tapley’s father, and upon which he had amassed a fortune. John’s father decided to sell his freehold and rent Walton Farm, as the estate referred to was called; a step which, owing to the prostration of busi- ness following the war with France and the burdens of taxation incident thereto, swallowed up his entire fortune, and induced him in April, 1835, to leave England for America, taking with him four of his children, and Old Mollie,'* a faithful family servant. He settled at Lairdsville, Oneida county, New York, where, purchasing a small farm, he was enabled to live comfortably with the aid of a small annuity se- cured to him by Mrs. Tapley’s father. Our subject was now eleven years of age, and for two years' thereafter remained at home, working for the neighboring farmers during the summer, and during the winter months attending the country district schools. These two winters comprised all the school advantages he ever enjoyed in America. But he was endowed with good natural gifts, which he assiduously cultivated by reading and observation. When thirteen years old his father hired him to Mr. * The history of Mollie is told in the following epitaph upon her tomb, over which was erected a handsome marble slab in Mound Cemetery by Mr. Tapley in 1861 : “The Grave of Mollie. — To the memory of one who humbly, affectionately, faithfully, did the duties of her sta- tion in the service of Mr. Daniel Tapley, England, and his son John, of this city, for nearly half a century — Mary Ambrose, born at Fo'lkstone, England, July 4, 1785. Died at Racine, May 24, 1861, aged seventy-six years. ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant.’” THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 519 Jacob Hunt, at Andover, Oneida county, New York, for two years, where, in assisting in the duties per- taining to a country store and post-office, adjuncts to which were a doctor’s office and a farm, with cows to milk night and morning, books to post, mails to make up, medicines to mix, and dry goods and groceries to be sold in barter with country cus- tomers, his opportunities for the attainment of hab- its of industry, as well as economy, on a salary of one dollar per week, out of which he was expected to clothe himself and pay incidental expenses, were ample. When fifteen years of age his father decided to have him learn a trade, and accordingly apprenticed him to a cabinet-maker in Clinton, New York, for a term of three years. During his apprenticeship a cousin was attending Hamilton College, close to the village, through whom John obtained access to the college library, a privilege which he improved by extensive reading, and which proved to be the most important educational advantage of his life. Just at the close of his apprenticeship his mother died. This was the first great sorrow that fell athwart his pathway. She was a noble, Christian woman, whose example and advice to her children had a controlling effect upon them while she lived, and is still remembered and cherished as a treas- ured keepsake. Saddened and disheartened at the loss of his wife Mr. Tapley returned to England, taking with him two of his sons, our subject and an elder brother named Edward. The latter soon re- turned to America, but John remained for a time in England, and was soon after appointed to a position in the custom-house at London, a life office, bring- ing him in contact with business men of every com- mercial country in the world. He had already be- come known as “the Yankee,” on account of his open advocacy and preference for America and its institutions. Marrying, in 1848, Miss Charlotte Scott, daughter of Robert Scott, Esq., of Addington, Ivent, Eng- land, he announced his determination to leave the service of the Queen so soon as he could make his arrangements to do so, which being consummated he sailed with his family for the United States in April, 1850. The two preceding years, 1848 and 1849, were those in which the cholera scourge vis- ited London, when so many were prostrated by the epidemic that the duties of those not on the sick- list were increased tenfold. Mr. Tapley was spared the scourge, but the strain on his physical and nerv- ous system had been so great that an entire change of occupation and circumstance were deemed essen- tial to his restoration. Accordingly on arriving in America he moved to what was then the western frontier and settled on a farm in Kane county, Illi- nois, where he remained till 1856, entirely regaining his health. At the last named date he disposed of his farm, moved to Racine, Wisconsin, and became one of the proprietors and editor of the “ Racine Advo- cate,” one of the oldest papers in the State. This was the memorable year of the Fremont campaign, during which Mr. Tapley began his editorial efforts, furnishing weekly his full share of pungent and tell- ing reading-matter for the paper. He continued to wield a trenchant pen in the cause of freedom dur- ing the ensuing four years, contributing in no small degree to the success of the republican party in i860. His services were recognized by Abraham Lincoln, who appointed him postmaster of Racine, a position which he retained during the following eight years, serving the second term rather at the earnest solicitation of his fellow-citizens without re- gard to party than as the result of his own personal inclinations. He sold his interest in the newspaper in 1863, and during the continuance of the war divided his at- tention between his official duties and the Soldiers’ Relief Society, of which he was always an active member and for a long time president. During the early part of the war he was appointed, by Governor Harvey, State agent to visit the Wisconsin sick and wounded at Vicksburg, when an order from the war department prohibited the entrance of civilians within the military lines other than those authorized by the secretary of war. Retiring from the post-office in 1869, he was ten- dered by Messrs. J. I. Case & Co., of Racine, the largest manufacturers of threshing machines in the world, an appointment to travel for them, making collections a specialty. During a period of four years following he visited, in the interest of his em- ployers, nearly all of the Western States, extending his trips from the Red River of the North to the Gulf of Mexico. The arduous duties incident to this department of the business so taxed his ener- gies as to make a change desirable, and he was ac- cordingly, in 1873, tendered by the same firm the position of superintendent of agents, together with the oversight of the printing, a line of duty for which his previous connection with the press emb 520 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. nently fitted him, to which was added, on the retire- ment of Colonel John G. McMynn from the position, the supervision of the annual sales. In 1858 Mr. Tapley was commissioned by Governor Randall as captain of the 13th Regiment of State Militia. He was an active instrument in the formation of the Racine County Agricultural Society, of which he was twice president. In his religious views he is of the Baptist faith, and was for many years a trustee of the First Bap- tist Church of Racine. In politics, he was formerly an anti-slavery demo- crat, but his connection with that party terminated with the repeal of the Missouri compromise, from which period until the close of the rebellion he was an active an earnest republican. The reconstruc- tion measures of the radical wing of the party, including the immediate enfranchisement of the blacks and the remanding of the conquered States to a territorial condition, with other extreme meas- ures, were at variance with his views, and he was obliged, from conscientious convictions of duty, to sever himself from such leadership. He now calls himself a conservative democrat republican, and votes for those whom he considers the best men, re- gardless of party ties. Possessing much business energy, unswerving in his personal attachments to friends, unyielding in his convictions of right, public-spirited and very generous, he is classed among the most influential, popular and useful citizens of Racine. Eminently self-made, his example cannot fail to have an inspir- ing influence upon some poor but aspiring youth on whose ears may fall the life-story herein portrayed. GEORGE MURRAY, RACINE. EORGE MURRAY was born at Old Deer, V T Aberdeenshire, Scotland, July 27, 1823, and is the son of John and Ann (Pirie) Murray, natives of the same place. The ancestors of the family from time immemorial had belonged to the cele- brated “ Clan-Athol,” the present head of which is the “ Duke of Athol,” a very amiable and courteous gentleman, greatly beloved and respected by his tenantry and retainers. The Murrays were among the oldest and most distinguished members of this clan. The father of our subject, like his ancestors, was a tiller of the soil, a man of sterling principles, unflinching integrity and unswerving loyalty to his country. He was, moreover, a pious and zealous member of the old “ Kirk,” and a man of much in- fluence in his community. He died in 1859 in the seventieth year of his age. His mother, who is still living in her native Scotland, is a woman of superior gifts and attainments, an earnest, humble Christian, awaiting patiently the call of her Master. They had a family of ten children, eight of whom survive, namely, two sons and six daughters, of whom our subject is the eldest. His only brother, John, is settled in Africa, some five hundred miles distant from Port Natal, where for sixteen years past he has carried on an extensive farming business, and where he is likely to found a dynasty. The sisters reside in the mother country and are comfortably settled. George received a very thorough English and mathematical education, together with a fair knowl- edge of the Latin language, at the parochial schools of his native village, and from the age of fifteen to twenty-five years devoted his attention to farming. The glowing reports, however, that were constantly reaching him from America, of the larger possibil- ities of the land beyond the ocean, made him dis- contented with his monotonous and unpromising Scottish life, and wish for the wider and more fertile fields of the western continent. Accordingly, in 1850, he immigrated hither and settled in Racine, Wisconsin, then a very small village, where he has since resided. His first employment on reaching his new home was a clerkship in the establishment of Hill and Durand, wholesale grocers and general merchants. Here he remained eighteen months, when he transferred his services to Pendleton and Taylor, lumber merchants, with whose establishment he has since been connected, the firm meantime changing to Taylor and Slauson, and afterward to Taylor and Co. In this last organization Mr. Mur- ray became a partner. The business, which had now become quite extensive, was conducted under tli is name for a few years, when a new organization was effected under the style of Murray and Kelly, which has since been changed to that of Murray, Slauson and Co., the present name of the firm, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 52i The firm have also a manufacturing branch at Ke- waunee, Wisconsin. The success of Mr. Murray amply attests his business capacity. He is perhaps as fine an ex- ample as may be found of the sagacious prescience, the careful prudence and the stern persistence of his race, which has raised numbers of them to high positions and to great and deserved eminence in America. In addition to his lumber business he also carries on an extensive farm in the neighbor- hood of Racine, where his finely cultured taste is displayed in his magnificent residence, his beautiful and ornate grounds, and in his unsurpassed herd of short-horns, the pride of'the neighborhood. Mr. Murray is a gentleman of the highest moral integrity and business uprightness. In general and business conversation his words are few but pointed. He keeps his own counsel, and yet is frank and free, leaving no impression of a disposition to overreach or defraud. He is ingenious, sincere and honor- able, and is, besides, a man of great generosity, gives liberally and cheerfully to the needy. As a citizen he is public-spirited and foremost in enter- prises that have reference to the general good. In society he his genial and companionable. He loves company and entertains admirably. He is a man of excellent judgment and large common sense, but modest and simple in word and manner; his counsel is often sought and his advice generally followed. Above all he is a Christian man whose daily walk attests the genuineness of his faith. He is a deacon in the First Presbyterian Church, of which he has been for many years a valuable and active member, regular and prompt in his attendance at church. Indeed, these two words maybe said to characterize his whole life — regularity and promptness. In politics he is a republican. He was married in March, 1855, to Miss May Slauson, only daughter of Daniel Slauson, Escp, and sister to I. R. and Geo. W. Slauson, lumber merchants of Racine, a lady of great energy and force of character, possessing many excellent traits and a leader in many good works. They have no living issue. JOHN S. ROWELL, BE A VER DAM. T OHN S. ROWELL, a native of Livingston county, J New York, is the son of John and Sarah (Moore) Rowell, and was born in the town of Springwater, April 1, 1827. Five of his paternal uncles, all mu- sicians, were drummers and fifers in the second war with England. The subject of this sketch spent the first fifteen years of his life on his father’s farm. Later he worked two years in his native town in the moulding-room and wood-shop of a plow factory, and when about seventeen years old removed as far west as Goshen, Indiana, where his older brothers were living, and there spent several years in manu- facturing plows. In 1855 he made a permanent settlement at Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. He started in business in a little old foundry, in which two or three parties had made a failure, and manufactured during the first year or two a few plows to supply the local demand. As his business gradually increased he enlarged and multiplied his shops as necessity required, and finally began to build threshers; and 1 since 1862 has manufactured his famous broad-cast seeders, all the while furnishing plows and thresh- ers, and latterly a few fanning-mills, for the local 58 trade. He now (1877) has two sons and a nephew in business with him, the firm being J. S. Rowell, Sons and Co. Their business usually employs from sixty to seventy workmen, and yields an annual product of from one hundred thousand to one hun- dred and twenty-five thousand dollars. Mr. Rowell has a liberal supply of mechanical talent, and has invented several parts of the broad- cast seeder, some of which are used by other par- ties, who pay a royalty on them. He has taken out no less than fifteen patents on different machines which the company is now manufacturing. Mr. Rowell has had nearly thirty years’ experience in manufacturing agricultural implements and ma- chines, and is well known among the farmers of Wisconsin and adjoining States. His “ I’iger ” sep- arator especially is a favorite among them. It is the result of many years of careful study, and works with unqualified satisfaction, and is very durable. Some of his threshers have been in use eighteen seasons and are not worn out. The Rowell seeder, with its slip-tooth, has had an immense sale. Mr. Rowell exercises careful oversight of the 522 THE UNI TED S TA TES B I OUR A PHICA L DIG TIONAR Y. work in his shops, and builds all his machines with a view to durability as well as utility, and has se- cured for himself an enviable reputation for the ex- cellence of his handiwork. He is thoroughly ab- sorbed in his business during about eleven months in the year, and gives little attention ordinarily to outside matters, except what good citizenship re- quires of him He has served in the council and been at the head of the municipality of Beaver Dam, carrying into office the practical good sense shown in his own private matters Since he settled in Wisconsin he has acted with the republican party, but was a democrat prior to that time. He is an Odd-Fellow, and has been through the encampment. He attends the Congre- gational Church. The wife of Mr. Rowell was Mary M. Ball, of Goshen, Indiana. They have had six children, five of whom are living. The two sons, Theodore B. and Samuel W., are members of their father’s firm. Two of the daughters are married; the other is at school in Milwaukee. Mr. Rowell has quite a taste for blooded stock, particularly horses. He and his nephew, Ira Row- ell, who constitute the Company in the firm, own the celebrated mare “Badger Girl,” for which they have been offered thirteen thousand dollars. For many years Mr. Rowell has been a noted hunter. Long before Wisconsin became a State, and while he was a resident of Indiana, he used to have his annual deer-hunt, and this sport made him familiar with the territory and finally brought him to the State to settle. He has long been known as one of the best shots in his part of the country, and without his annual excursion into the populous do- mains of the deer and the fox life would become stale enough to him. To such amusement he de- votes the least hurried season, when he can best be spared, and thinks he is thus prolonging his life as well as multiplying its charms. He has a ruddy face, a healthy countenance, a light-blue eye, a solid build, and is five feet nine and a half inches in height and weighs two hundred and ten pounds. DR. WILLIAM M. ORMOND, V.S., MIL WA UK EE. W ILLIAM M. ORMOND, a native of South Wales, was born on the 1 6th of March, 1829, and is the son of John and Elizabeth (Codd) Or- mond. His father was a small farmer in Pembroke- shire, in humble circumstances, but a man of great moral worth, influential and highly respected in his community. He still lives in his native Wales, being now in his eighty-third year. He is a distant rela- tive of the distinguished family of that name, the present head of which is the Duke of Ormond, one of the most wealthy and influential nobles of Eng- land. Our subject received such education as was im- parted by the parochial schools of his native shire, until the age of twelve years, when he was thrown upon his own resources, and since then has earned his own support. He was taken into the office of Dr. Fields, at Milford Haven, where for three years he served in various capacities, his attention being divided mainly between the office and the stable. He was a bright and active lad, and the Doctor found him useful in compounding and putting up prescriptions, and he sometimes accompanied him in his visits to patients, and often witnessed the per- formance of surgical operations. In this way he acquired a strong desire to become a physician, which was encouraged by his master. He next found a position as surgeon’s boy with a Dr. Davis, at Merthyr Tydvil, Glamorganshire, where he re- mained some two years, increasing his stock of knowledge and becoming more deeply interested in the study of surgery. He was next received as a student in the office of his former master, Dr. Fields, where he acted as assistant for nearly two years more. Meantime he had devoted considerable at- tention to the study of the diseases of horses, and had gained much insight into the veterinary science. At this period an unaccountable freak entered his head and he enlisted in the 36th Infantry Regiment under command of Colonel Trollop. He soon at- tracted the attention of his commander, who found his skill in the treatment of his horses of great im- portance. So great was the interest which this excellent gentleman took in young Ormond, that after three years he procured his discharge from the army, and sent him to the Royal College of Veter- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY . 525 inary Surgeons, London, providing for the expense of his education. After passing through the regular course of study at this celebrated institution, he graduated with the highest honors in 1849. He then retired to his native village in Wales, where he established himself in business, and for two 'years carried on a farriery, bought and sold horses, etc. Meantime, however, he had been hearing and read- ing much of the great country west of the Atlantic ocean, and for some years had yearned for the wider field and larger possibilities which the United States offered to aspiring young men. Accordingly, in 1853, he sold out his business in Wales and emi- grated to America. He first stopped at Manchester, New Hampshire, where his reception was not as flattering as a fond fancy had anticipated. After seeking employment in his profession for some time without success, and being reduced to great ex- tremities, he was at length offered a job to cut wood at the rate of forty-eight cents per cord. This was a new field of industry to him. He had never been accustomed to the use of the ax, and after three of the most laborious days of his life he found that he had earned about twelve cents. At this juncture his heart was made glad by an intimation that a valuable horse belonging to one of the neighbors was taken suddenly ill. He was called to treat the animal ; brought all his skill to bear on the case, and in three days restored him to perfect soundness. He received a fee of ten dollars for this service, which was the first money he earned in America (he never called for the twelve cents he had earned at wood-cutting). From this beginning he gained a reputation, and practice soon followed. In 1854 he became associated with the celebrated Dr. George H. Dadd, that noted farrier, in the preparation of his work, since widely and favorably known as “The Modern Horse Doctor.” In this connection he not only established a professional reputation, but accumulated some property. At this period, however, he wisely decided that the West, which was then in its infancy, offered a more promising field for his professional skill, and accordingly,, in 1855, removed to Wisconsin and settled in Milwau- kee, where, with the exception of two years spent in St. Louis, Missouri, and three years in the army, he has since resided. Soon after the opening of the late rehellion he went to Washington and offered his professional services to the government, but was in- formed that, notwithstanding the importance of the matter, no provision had as yet been made for any such functionary in the army, and was advised by Secretary Cameron and General McClellan that the only way to compass the result desired was to enlist in some of the regiments from his own State, from which lie could be detailed as a veterinary surgeon. Accordingly in the spring of 1862 he entered in the 24th Wisconsin Volunteers, and was detailed as wag- on-master by Colonel Lorabee, and afterward placed on duty at Nashville, Tennessee, as veterinary sur- geon, where he remained about one year. During this time he had over fifteen thousand horses under his charge, the greater number of which he success- fully treated, and in that way saved to the govern- ment many thousands of dollars. In July, 1863, he was transferred to the command of General Stanley, who commanded the cavalry of the army of the Cumberland. In this connection he participated in the battles of Chicamauga and Resaca, being severely wounded at the latter engagement. He was sent to Madison, Wisconsin, to be treated for his wounds, and, after sufficient recovery, was ap- pointed dispensary physician of the Harvey Soldiers’ Hospital at the State capital, which position he re- tained until the close of the war. He was honor- ably discharged on the 10th of May, 1865. Returning to Milwaukee he resumed his practice as veterinary surgeon, which he has followed ever since, with eminent success. During the prevalence of the “epizootic” he, at one time, treated as many as seventeen hundred horses within three weeks, with extraordinary results. He has long since taken rank at the head of the profession, and his skill has brought the most substantial reward — an ample fortune. He is, what all professional men should be, an enthusiast in his profession. A profound thinker, a diligent student, an accomplished and successful practitioner. He is, moreover, a regular and able contributor to several periodicals devoted to the interests of the horse, and especially to the “ Spirit of the Turf,” where his articles always attract attention. He is a smooth and easy writer, erudite and practical, often throwing a vein of humor into his articles which tends to render them amusing as well as instructive. His reputation has gone far beyond the bounds of his adopted State, and he is frequently called upon to make professional visits in adjoining and distant States. The Doctor is also conceded to be the discoverer of chloroform as an antidote for strychnine in animals generally, a fact which should be more widely known. Besides his regular professional business he has THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 526 for a number of years past conducted an extensive stock farm in the neighborhood of Milwaukee, and is the owner of some of the finest samples of blood- ed stock in the West, among which may be named the celebrated stallion “ Jackson,” of the “Bashaw” breed, with a record of 2.2734 on the turf, besides several verv fine brood mares not less distinguished. He has also a very fine herd of “ Short-horns,” of the families known as the “Duchesses,” “Airdries,” “Gwynnes,” “Frantics” and “Mazurkas,” not a few of which are valued at ten thousand dollars each, and some of which have been sold for that figure. He has also given attention to the raising of .Berk- shire pigs and Cotswold sheep with very great suc- cess, his herds of these animals being among the best in the Northwest. Mr. Ormond was married on the 2d of August, 1856, to Miss Ann Kilroy, by whom he has had three -children, namely, William, Charles and Ellen. He was legally separated from his wife in 1868, and on the 2d of October, 1875, was married to Miss Mary Dewey, a native of Milwaukee, by whom he has had one child, a son, named Frederick FitzClarence, after Lord Fitz-Clarence, late commander-in-chief of the Bombay army, from whom our subject received im- portant favors while in the British military service. JOHN S. VAN JANES A LTHOUGH the subject of the following sketch . has not yet arisen above the horizon into the firmament of literary fame, yet in the scope and brilliancy of his intellectual powers and attainments he is indeed a marvel, and shows in many essential points a very striking resemblance to the sublimest of England’s poets — Milton; and every augury from the achievements of his first twenty-five years warrants the expectation of many great and endur- ing works from his pen, if his life is prolonged and health support the enormous overweight of his brain work. He was born on the 30th of October, 1851, at Maysville, Mason county, Kentucky, and is the son of Rev. Lafayette V an Cleve (who has been for thirty years a clergyman of the Methodist Episco- pal church, and is at present in connection with the Cincinnati, Ohio, conference, in which he holds a high rank), and grandson of John Van Cleve, a small farmer near Cincinnati, Ohio. His mother, Elizabeth Smith, who was a woman of remarkable force of character and high intellectual and religious attainments, was the daughter of Reuben Smith, a man of much natural intelligence and large read- ing, though a stone-mason by trade. The paternal ancestors of our subject were Hollanders, while those on his mother’s side were from England. During all his childhood he was frail and sickly, and an attack of whooping-cough determined an inherited taint of scrofula to his eyes, which, after eighteen months of excruciating torture, left him en- tirely blind ; his health soon after began to amend, CLEVE, A.M., VILLE. and at the age of eight years he began to attend school in company with seeing boys, studying his lessons by having them read aloud to him, and soon developed a great fondness for language, re- ceiving at nine years a prize for excellence in spell- ing. At the age of eleven he was sent to the Institute for the Blind, at Columbus, Ohio, then presided over by Dr. Lord, a man of most exalted Christian character, and a most excellent instructor. From this gentleman he received his first impulse toward the memorizing of poems and fine passages of prose literature, an exercise which has since proved a source of never-failing delight to him. He developed a quick grasp of abstract studies, and took an elementary course of psychology and ethics in his thirteenth year. He completed the curric- ulum of the school before sixteen, and then spent five years at various schools, — one at Udbana; two at Woodward High School, Cincinnati; one at the Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio, and one at the Divinity School of the Boston University. He graduated at Woodward High School in 1870, with the prize for general scholarship, and the vale- dictory oration. He took the degree of A.B. at Delavan, Ohio, in 1871, and A.M. in 1874. In 1872 his studies were interrupted by his ap- pointment to the position of assistant music teacher at the Institute for the Blind, Columbus, Ohio, where he spent three years; after which he accepted a like position as principal teacher of music at the Wis- consin Institute, Janesville, which position he now holds (1877). THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 527 He is a devoted member of the Methodist Epis- copal church, in which he holds a local preacher’s license. At the age of eleven he began to play the piano under the direction of a very learned German gen- tleman, Prof. Nothnagle, of Columbus, of a taste severely loftv and somewhat conservative, who im- parted a very distinct mould to his taste and aspira- tions. His first acquaintance with Beethoven was at the age of thirteen ; and so deeply did the spirit of this greatest of tone-masters sink into his mind, that an ambition to do the noblest things in art, both as a pianist and composer, was enkindled in his soul. For seven years thereafter he continued to give but a small fraction of his time to the pur- suit of music, while the larger part of his energy was constantly strained to the utmost in gathering the choicest treasures from all the realms of im- aginative literature, especially English. At the age of twenty, while pursuing the study of theology at Boston, he became so fascinated by the multiform beauties of the musical art works which he there heard rendered, that for three years the diligent practice of the piano, and intense study of the theory and history of music, well-nigh absorbed his whole power; but about this time, feeling the need of some final decision as to which of the two arts (music or poetry) should be enthroned in his life, he was perplexed with the almost impossible de- cision which must in either way cut off what seemed as dear and indispensable as the right or left arm to him. But the matter was finally brought to a poise by his resolve to divide strictly and impar- tially his time and energy between the two, hoping by patient continuance, through years and slow ac- cretions, to reach the size and strength of artistic maturity, which in either art seemed indispensable to life itself. As a practical artist upon the piano he has attained to a full, rounded and completely balanced development, so that no one-sidedness of taste or art learning exists to draw him especially to the performance of any master or school. Hence, in his “ Repertoire,” Mendelssohn and Schuman, Beethoven and Chopin, Bach and Liszt, are equally represented, and many of the lesser works filling the wide spaces between these mountain tops have also a place in his study and veneration. The aggre- gate amount of his present memorized “ Repertoire ” is more than twelve thousand measures, which would consume above eight hours in performance. He has written a large number of pieces in various modes and forms, from the simple “ nocturn ” to the complex and elaborate “sonata;” but none of them have as yet been given to the public, though many of them have drawn out warm praise from musicians of the finest taste. He has also, during the past twelve years, since his first perusal of “ Paradise Lost ” (which he always calls an intellectual creation), ranged over the entire field of English polite literature, from Chaucer to Tennyson; from Richardson and Fielding to Dick- ens and George Eliot, and from Addison to Lowell. In these studies he has always brought a sun-glass intensity of concentrated attention, which has kindled almost every dry stick into a flame, and his faggots of mental fuel have been collected from every quar- ter ; not alone from Shakspeare or Wordsworth, but from Donne, Quarls, Clair and Clough. He early began to fix in memory all phrases, words, lines, pas- sages or whole poems, which seemed to him worthy of being kept; and the same searching process has been applied to every form of prose reading, and these passages have all been interwoven and inter- laced with each other by numberless associations, so that every minute fragment is ready at an instant’s call. The amount of memorized literature which he at present carries is upward of thirty thousand lines, and he is now adding to his stock at the rate of twelve thousand lines per year. His first attempt in verse was a descriptive poem on “Evening,” composed at the age of thirteen, and shortly afterward another entitled the “Song of the Brook,” which so pleased his circle of friends that it was put into print for their benefit. Another one, produced at a somewhat later period, entitled “ The Pool by the Sea,” is embodied in this sketch as a specimen of his mode of thought and versification. “ I stood where ocean Had laid a floor of hard, wet sand; Forever to and fro across the strand, With ceaseless motion, The chafing waves now climb the gentle plain, Now back recoil again. “ Resplendent o’er me The night had hung her azure bell, With sparkling gems encrusted like a shell. And wide before me I saw' the stars all tremble in the brine, In prisons crystalline. “ The act unheeding I pressed my heel upon the strand And made a little hollow in the sand; The w'ave receding Left in it crystal water, brimming o’er, Yet prisoned on the shore. 5-8 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. “ Beside the ocean, Yet parted from the tierce turmoil Of angrv waves that ever hiss and boil, Un vexed with motion, It held within its breast, reflected far, One bright eternal star. “ No longer flowing Before the bidding of the wind, The water lav in sandy wall confined, But calmly glowing, Fix’d in its bosom, central and serene, Its star-lit heart was seen. “ Oh, thus entrammeled With feeble senses o’er and o’er Our souls are pent upon this mortal shore, Yet deep enameled Within our hearts, by light from heaven’s far cope, Burns bright eternal hope.” At the age of fourteen he began to devote all his hours of composition to the building up of a larger work, the outlines of which at first were vague, but grew, both in size and distinctiveness till they formed a philosophic poem entitled “The Vale of Poesy,” on which work he is at present engaged, and will probably consume at least five years more in its completion. It is cast in the form of a vision some- thing after the manner of Dante’s “ Divine Comedy,” and paints the aspirations of the soul of man, tracing its progress from the root in this world to the flower in the next. It is designed to be in six books, aggregating six thousand lines of blank verse, heroic measure. It follows a disembodied spirit through the various scenes by which it is fitted to enter into the highest life of the future, and this tutelage is conducted by angelic instructors. He does not in- tend to give this poem to the world for ten years yet, in 'this emulating the patience of Wordsworth, who kept some of his works by him for twenty years. He has sedulously cultivated the critical as well as the creative faculty, and has delved so deep into the very soul and spirit of all the great schools of thought and writing, that he holds a microcosm of the whole system of imaginative literature, and de- lights much in unfolding the interdependencies and mutual reactions of the great forces which have moulded human development, especially as revealed through letters. Whenever he attacks an author he vivisects his whole mental anatomy, laying bare at once his strength and his weakness, and always aims at the severest and most exact truth of judgment, not sparing the faults of his idols, nor treating with indifference the graces of those for whom his admi- ration is less glowing. Whether Byron or Cowper, Shakspeare or Burns, Goethe or Dante, Homer or Tennyson, he is equally at home, and at once adapts the scale of his critical judgment to the size of the genius to be measured. He strenuously seeks to realize a catholicity of taste which excludes no plant having the true sap of genius from his all- embracing herbary. He has at his command an analysis of all the standard poets, is familiar with their classification, understands the relation of their thought to that of their times, and its effects upon life and manners, and the relation of each to the progress of civilization. Parallel with these strictly aesthetic studies, he has carried on a general ac- quaintance with polkics, art, metaphysics and sci- ence, and though not an adept in experimental research, is conversant with its most striking results, and from this region frequently draws objects of comparison to serve as mirrors for centering the light upon the special topic before him. But with all this discursiveness of range, dealing with vague abstractions and general laws, he fills his memory with particulars, facts, names, dates, thoughts, images and anecdotes, which come showering down on all occasions at the slightest touch, like water-drops from a spreading tree after a copious rain. His system of working is eminently methodical and accurately distributed over the various subjects embraced in the circle of his thinking, and he makes constant review, brushing off the dust of forgetful- ness, that every mental treasure may lose none of its brightness from the effects of time. His method is to hire persons to read aloud such books as he se- lects, in which he marks out every passage from a word or phrase to hundreds of lines, which seem to him worth a second reading. These again are re- read and re-classified into four ranks, according to their importance, and the best, whether prose or verse, are then carefully and patiently worked into his memory, which, he says, in every man should be a polished and fadeless mosaic in which a thousand fragments, varying in size and color, together make one significant whole. He is always ready to give the year and day of every event, for he considers dates the pegs on which every fact should be hung. The same earnest labor which he has bestowed upon English, he has also bestowed upon other languages, — especially German, Greek and Latin, besides Italian, French and Hebrew. With the leading authors in these languages he is only less familiar. than with the English. All his discussions, whether formal or spontaneous, whether gushing out as casual talks or as set speeches, are characterized THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION AR T. 5 2 9 by a volcanic glow of enthusiasm and constant scin- tillation of metaphor and simile, and many of his images have a brilliancy and fitness that fixes the thought indelibly in the mind of the hearer, and an exquisite enjoyment of the ideas of color tinges every remark, and he sometimes says that the only thing which has saved him from a triple perplexity, from the desire to study painting in addition to the art of poetry and the art of music, is the lack of sight. Mr. Van Cleve has, from the first, participated largely in the exercises of the two literary societies of the city, “The Mutual Improvement Club” and the “ Round Table,” and has always been ready to do any amount of labor that might be needed to round out and fill up the study, or is ready to retire into the background and allow others full scope to exercise their powers and develop their information, and at each meeting has served as general gleaner of the entire field over which the various reapers have gathered their sheaves. These qualities present at once, without collision, the power of cultured talent and the inspiration of genius. REV. JOHN J. ELMENDORF, S.T.D., RACINE. JOHN JAY ELMENDORF, S.T.D., university J professor of intellectual philosophy and English literature in Racine College, Wisconsin, represents one of the old Dutch families who immigrated to the “New Netherlands,” now the “Empire State,” in the beginning of the seventeenth century, although the family name indicates rather a “ Platt Teuton ” origin. He was born in the city of New York, in 1827, and the first forty years of his life were en- tirely identified with that metropolis. His school- days were spent there, and where Union square now stands he collected geological specimens, and skated on the flats which then lay eastward of the Bowery, in that section of the city. He graduated at Columbia College, New York, at the early age of eighteen, standing second in a class of twenty-four. He devoted two years to the study of the natural sciences, attending two courses of lectures at the College o( Physicians and Surgeons. Immediately after his graduation at Columbia College, by reason of the illness of the professor of * mathematics, young Elmendorf was appointed to take his place pro tempore, but this did not interfere with his own work, which he pursued with the ut- most vigor and persistence. Having resolved to prepare himself for the work of the Christian min- istry, he entered the General Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal church, from which he graduated in 1849, to his work having been added a second time the duties of the mathematical pro- fessor at his Alma Mater. After an additional year of private study he received holy orders in the Epis- copal church in 1850, and having gained some brief experience in missionary work in the city, he warmly took up the cause of “free churches;” and, aided by friends of the movement, he, in 1852, organized a “ free church ” in what was then the suburbs of the city — near the intersection of Broadway and Thirty- fourth streets. Of this parish he continued rector some sixteen years, building up a large congrega- tion, and developing a principle which has be- come popular, at least in theory, amongst Christian churches generally. Education in accordance with the faith of the Episcopal church was an essential element of his plan, and accordingly a large parish school soon sprang up under the shadow of his church, which was eventually modified and became “ Hobart Hall,” a suitable building having been erected for its use. Out of this institution sprang up. the now (1877) flourishing school of the Protestant Sisters of St. Mary, New York. Dr. Elmendorf has always earnestly advocated the principles then gradually finding acceptance in the Episcopal church, concerning a higher standard of practice and a warmer and more popular mode of worship, and he was the first, we believe, to intro- duce to New York a surpliced choir and regular choral worship. Of course his little chapel became an object of wide-spread attention, for such novelties were signs of a movement about which there was considerable difference of opinion, — a reform, some considered it, which lay deeper than ritual, while others had much to say in the public prints in derision of the “poor Puseyites” in Thirty-seventh street, New York. 53 ° THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. In 1868 Dr. Elmendorf published a small twelve- mo volume, entitled “ Rites and Ritual,” tracing the history and meaning of the ceremonial of Christian worship. A \ ear or two previously Columbia Col- lege had conferred upon him the degree of S.T.D. In 1869 it became known that he was prepared to withdraw from the excessive labors of mission work in a parish chiefly composed of the poor; and it was also known that he had devoted considerable attention to the principal languages and literature of modern Europe — French, German, Italian and Spanish ; he was invited to a position in the faculty of Racine College, Wisconsin. After some delay (his mission work having been taken in charge by Trinity Church, New York), he accepted an ap- pointment to a professorship by the trustees, and removed, in the latter part of that year, with his family, to Racine, where he has since labored. In 1876, the college having been put under an enlarged board of trustees with reference to the founding of a “church university for the Northwest,” Dr. Elmendorf was elected university professor of intellectual philosophy and English literature. He published, the next year, his “Outlines of the His- tory of Philosophy,” a syllabus of his lectures, with copious reference to original sources, for the benefit of students and the convenience of professors pur- suing the historical course. Dr. Elmendorf is a somewhat reserved student, avoiding general society, and devoting himself al- most exclusively to the unlimited fields of studies involved in the range of his work as professor of philosophy, although he occasionally reads a course of lectures before a popular audience, some of which have appeared in our quarterlies and other periodi- cals. He is recognized as a “ high churchman,” and affiliates with the so-called ritualistic party of the denomination. He preaches in the college chapel occasionally, and his sermons, when not philosophi- cal, are strictly practical, rarely dogmatic. He is a man of rare intellectual powers, clear, logical and quick. He considers the study of intellectual phi- losophy as the best means of training the mind, and succeeds in impressing the students with his ideas, so that they generally excel in that department, and leave the college with a bias in the direction of such studies. He is quite popular with his students, and sometimes gives direction to their amusements and recreations. He is fond of fishing, and of sports peculiar to the “backwoods,” and usually spends a few weeks of the summer vacation in camping out in some northern recess. With his intimates in the social circle he is quite companionable; his chief amusement being a “rubber” of chess, a game at which he is quite an expert. On October 21, 1850, he married Miss Henri- Anna Green, daughter of Henry Green, Esq., a scion of a well-known New England family, connected with the Jeffries, Amorys and Lawrences of Massa- chusetts, and the English Marryats. Her only brother, Edward Green, is a capitalist well known in Chicago. Mrs. Elmendorf is a very highly cul- tured, amiable and popular lady. They have a fam- ily of nine children living, namely : Mary, Agnese, Grace, Edward Green, Elizabeth, Lawrence, Caro- line Dickerson, Emily Keene and Augustine. Mary is the wife of Henry Babcock, Esq., of New Jersey; the others are unmarried. HON. WILLIAM BLAIR WAUKESHA. W ILLIAM BLAIR, a native of Ayrshire, Scot- land, was born in the town of Dundonald, July 31, 1820, his parents being Bryce and Ann (Dunlop) Blair, industrious farming people. At the age of sixteen, with only an ordinary com- mon-school education, William immigrated to Amer- ica, in company with an elder brother, and settled in the village of Mumford, Wheatland township, Monroe county, New York. There he learned the machinist’s trade, at which he worked for about ten years. In the autumn of 1845 he closed his affairs in the East and settled permanently in Wau- kesha, Wisconsin. There he commenced the manu- facture of threshing machines, in company with A. McLachlen, who sold out his interest to Amos Smith at the end of about eleven years. Six years later Mr. Blair bought out Mr. Smith, and since then has conducted the business in his own name. He still manufactures threshers, but on a very limited scale, paying more particular attention to the repairing of agricultural implements and ma- chines, doing an extensive business in this line. He THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONART. 531 is also engaged in the manufacture of woolen fab- rics, being president of the Waukesha County Manufacturing Company, which consumes about one hundred and fifty thousand pounds of wool annually. He has been president of the Waukesha National Bank since 1865, and a director since its organization, more than twenty years ago. Mr. Blair has a farm of about six hundred acres, one mile from the village of Waukesha, on which he lives, and of which he has had the care until the present year, his second son, George B., now having charge of it. His eldest son, Frank C., takes the principal charge of the manufacturing and repairing shops. Mr. Blair was president of the village for six or eight years, chairman of the town board nearly as long, and a member of the senate in 1864, 1865, 1872, 1873, 1876 and 1877. He was chairman of the committees on banks and banking and public lands during most of the sessions, and while in this capacity did his most valuable work on the first- named committee. Few men more practical, or of better judgment have recently been found in that body. Mr. Blair has acted with the republican party since it had a name, and has long been a leader in political matters in his part of the State. He has been twice married : First, to Miss Nancy M. Emmons, of Le Roy, New York, who died in May, 1859; to his present wife, Miss Henriette A. Emmons, a sister of the first wife, he was married in June, i860. He had three children by the first wife and has two by the second. Pecuniarily Mr. Blair is perfectly independent, and having sons old enough to manage certain branches of his business, he is gradually shifting responsibilities off his own shoulders and learning to lessen his cares. VERNON TICHENOR, W A UK ESII A. T HE father of the legal fraternity in Waukesha, | Wisconsin, is Vernon Tichenor, who has been for thirty-eight years a practicing attorney there. In the summer of 1839, when he entered the Terri- tory of Wisconsin, Milwaukee had less than two thousand inhabitants, and Waukesha less than two hundred. Nine years later the Territory became a State. Mr. Tichenor, still in prime health and only a little past the prime of life, has seen Milwaukee grow up to a city of nearly one hundred thousand inhabitants, and Waukesha develop into one of the most beautiful villages in the State, and, with its health-giving fountains, become the “Saratoga of the West.” He is the son of Moses and Abby (Paul) Tiche- nor, and was born at Amsterdam, New York, August 28, 1815. His maternal grandfather served through the seven years’ struggle for American freedom, and was taken prisoner and put on board a prison-ship about six weeks before the close of the war. Moses Tichenor fought in the second war with England. Vernon prepared for college at the Amsterdam Academy, and graduated from Union College in the summer of 1835, just before entering on his twenty-first year. He studied law with David P. Corey, of Amsterdam, and was admitted to the bar 59 I at Albany in October, 1838, and in August of the following year opened a law office in Waukesha, his being the first “ shingle ” to appear on these old fishing and hunting grounds of the Pottawatomies and other tribes of savages, whose mounds are still seen. These lands were then in possession of the United States government, but traveling red men were as numerous then as traveling white men are now. The shingle hung out thirty-eight years ago by Mr. Tichenor has never been taken down, though during the first year or two, on account of poor health and a dearth of business, he paid little atten- tion to the law. Gradually demands for his legal services increased with the increase of settlers, and for more than thirty years he has been a very busy man. Pie is known as one of the best office lawyers in his part of the State. The people have the ut- most confidence in his accuracy and faithfulness in doing business, and his integrity is unquestioned. He is the local attorney for the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Company, and has been court commissioner for more than twenty years. Mr. Tichenor was the first town clerk of Wauke- sha, serving several years. He was magistrate a long time, doing all kinds of business. He was a 5 THE U XI TED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY member of the village school board a long time, president of the village three or four times, draft commissioner in 1862, and a member of the assem- bly in 1869. He is a wise counselor, but very mod- est, never pushing himself forward. In politics, Mr. Tichenor was in early life a lib- erty-party man, and naturally drifted into the repub- lican ranks, where he has been found since 1855. He is a member of the Congregational church, and finds nothing in the legal to conflict with his Christian profession. August 19, 1838, just after receiving his college diploma, Mr. Tichenor was . married to Miss Char- lotte Sears, of New Scotland, Albany county, New York. They have a son and daughter. Willis V. is married and lives at Mason City, Iowa. He was a captain in the 28th Wisconsin Infantry, and went to the front in 1862, and was a brave officer, serving- three years and three months. The daughter, Mary C., a well-educated lady, unmarried, lives at home. Mr. Tichenor is a warm friend of education, and has, for many years, done all he could to advance the cause in Waukesha. He is president of the board of trustees of Carroll College, located in his village, and is faithful in this as in every other trust confided to him. JOHN VAUGHAN, RACINE. I N that beautiful, mountainous region of North Wales bordering on St. George’s channel, in Merionethshire, was born the subject of this sketch on the 24th of March, 1820. His father, a respect- able farmer, was a man of much force of character and sturdy independence — characteristics strongly developed in the son. John received a fair common-school education, and worked on his father’s farm until he was twenty- four years old. He then immigrated to America, landing in New York city in the spring of 1849, and in the month of July following settled in. southern Wisconsin. He worked by the month at such occu- pation as he could find until 1850, when he entered a grocery store in Racine as clerk, and after four years of industry and thrift purchased the stock of his employers and commenced business on his own account. He formed a partnership with Mr. T. L. Williams, which continued with increasing success for twenty years, and at the close of 1873 Mr. Vaughan purchased the interest of his partner, and continued the business alone till his decease. By his own industry and business tact he raised him- self to wealth and influence, and at the time of his death was the owner of several of the largest build- ings in the city. He was a member of the common council of Racine for eight years, and was elected a member of the general assembly of the State in 1864. He was a director of the Racine Dredge Company, a director of the Manufacturers’ Nation- al Bank, and also a stockholder in the silver-plat- ing company. He was part owner of the largest lime-kiln in his section of country, and was one of the originators of the fire department of Racine, and the first steam fire engine was named the “ John Vaughan ” in honor of him. The city, at the time of its purchase, being unable to pay for the engine, he gave his note to the manufacturers. He was a man of great public spirit, and was the prime mover in every enterprise for the benefit of the citizens or the prosperity of the city, and was looked up to by the community as one of the most enterprising and respected citizens of Racine, being popular with all classes. He was married on the 24th of May, 1858, to Martha Thomas, a very amiable and worthy lady, who survives him. Their two children, John and Martha, are still living. Mr. Vaughan was not a member of any church, but was a regular attendant on the Methodist ser- vice. He was a distinguished Mason, and also an Odd-Fellow, and was regarded as the patron and patriarch of all the Welsh people in town, a large colony of whom settled in Racine mainly through his influence. He was a republican in politics, and organized some seventy of his countrymen into a military company and sent them to the war, taking care of many of their families during their absence. As a politician he wielded considerable local influence. He was a most generous and kind-hearted man, willing to help every one in need to the extent of his ability. He was uniformly on the bail-bond of every city or county treasurer, and indorsed nearly THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. all that asked him, not having the heart to refuse. In many cases he suffered heavily by his suretyship. His career was one of very remarkable success. Starting in life without capital, or any of the advan- tages of education or influence, which, often fall to the lot of others, by his own force of character and honest purpose he not only achieved a fortune, but became an eminently useful citizen, possessing till the day of his death the respect and esteem of a wide circle of acquaintances. He died on Sunday, January 28, 1877. At a special meeting of the city council held on the following day, the mayor, Hon. John J. Mecham, M.D., submitted the following official communica- tion : Gentlemen of the Common Council : John Vaughan died yesterday afternoon at his late residence on the corner of Chippewa and Seventh streets. He was long one of our most prominent business men, and eight years a member of the city council, acting with energy and ability upon two of its most important committees, lire and harbor. He was most emphatically a Racine man, having been conspicu- ously identified with all of our improvements for the last twenty-five years. Not a church has been erected in the city during that time that has not received aid from his treasury. The college and St. Luke’s Hospital owe him thanks for his liberality toward them. Once he has repre- sented our city in the State legislature. During the rebel- lion he was active, liberal and patriotic. To the poor he was always kind and generous, and many a bountiful gift has his right hand made that his left knew not of. I would 535 recommend that the members of the council attend his funeral. Resolutions of respect to his memory and condo- lence to his family were passed by the Masonic Lodge, No. 18, of which he was a member. From an obituary notice of him published in the “ Racine Journal ” on the 31st of January, 1877, we make the following extracts : By the death of Mr. Vaughan, Racine loses one of her oldest and most enterprising citizens. No man ever lived in our city who was more identified with its interests or more earnest and faithful in advancing them. By attention to business and hard work he had succeeded in amassing a reasonable amount of this world’s goods; of a most useful nature and having the interests of the city at heart, he invested his earnings in permanent improvements, and many fine buildings now stand as monuments to his memory. The article enters at some length into the details of his public career and private virtues, as set forth above, and concludes by stating: The funeral took place on Tuesday afternoon from the Presbyterian Church, and was one of the largest ever seen in the city. His honor the mayor and the members of the council, the masonic lodge of which he was a member, and the fire department, were in attendance. The church was densely packed, extra seats having been put in the aisles. The services commenced by singing the hvinn — u How still and peaceful is the grave, Where life’s vain tumults past. The appointed house, by heaven’s decree. Receives us all at last.” ISAAC W A UK T he Lain family emigrated from England at I an early period in the settlement of the colo- nies, and settled on Long Island. The father of Isaac Lain was living in Orange county, New York, when the son was born (December 18, 1820), his occupation being that of a farmer. The maiden name of his mother was Deborah Alger. Isaac, the youngest of a family of nine children, aided his father until 1833, when the father died. He con- tinued to work at farming until seventeen years old, usually attending a district school during the winter months. At that age he went to Chemung county, and worked five years with two older brothers at the carpenter’s trade. In June, 1842, he settled in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and there continued to operate as a house-builder and contractor for about ten years, doing, at times, quite an extensive business, and employing a large number of men. LAIN, ESHA. In 1852 he engaged in the real-estate and insur- ance business, adding manufacturing a f6w years later. He is now (1877) a stockholder in the Wau- kesha County Manufacturing Company, and is sec- retary of the same. He still does something in the insurance line. For about three years he has been in poor health, and was entirely disabled for a while, but is improving and able to oversee his business. Mr. Lain was a member of the general assembly in i86r, at the opening of the rebellion. Monday, April 18. had been set for the day of adjournment. The Sunday before the news of the firing on Sum- ter came. It was proposed to continue the session, and a few anti-war democrats tried to get out of town, but Governor Randall had seen the railroad officials, and no train left on Sunday night. The session continued another week or more ; war meas- ures were introduced, and before adjournment Mr. Lain was appointed one of the commissioners to go 536 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. to New York and purchase arms. During the re- bellion he was very active in encouraging enlist- ments and in various ways helping on the cause. He has held various local offices, and has been very faithful in discharging his duties; has been president of the village several times, and for a short time was one of the commissioners of the Industrial School, located at Waukesha. He was chairman of the county board of supervisors from 1S66 to 1S70, and now holds that position. Mr. Lain was a democrat until the republican party was organized. He is a Royal Arch Mason, and has been a Bap- tist communicant more than forty years, and is now clerk of the Waukesha Church. He is a warm friend of temperance, and active in all enterprises which have the best interests of man in view. He favors manufactures and everything that will build up the village of Waukesha. Mr. Lain has a second wife. His first, Miss Sarah C. Van Vechten, died in 1850, after being married a year and a half. To her sister, Rebecca J. Van Vechten, he was married in 1858; they have three children, two daughters and a son. JACOB BODDEN, THERESA. P ROBABLY no farmer in Dodge county, AVis- consin, has been honored with more positions of trust and responsibility than Jacob Bodden. A native of Prussia, he is the son of Adam Bodden and Margaretta nee Grath, and was born September 21, 1831. His father, a soldier under Napoleon Bonaparte, came to this country in 1847, when Jacob was sixteen years old, and settled at first in Washington county, Wisconsin, where he spent four years in farming. In 1851 he removed to Theresa, in Dodge county, where he still resides, his farm consisting of about one hundred and forty acres under excellent cultivation. Agriculture has been his life-pursuit, and he loves it; but the people have seen fit to call him away from the plow many times. Mr. Bodden has held an office of some kind most of the time since he has been in Dodge county, and has been faithful in the discharge of his duties. He was chairman of the town board of Theresa in 1858, and several times afterward was chosen for that po- sition. He was a member of the general assembly in 1861, 1866 and 1874. He was county treasurer from 1867 to 1871, chairman of the county board of supervisors in 1874 and 1875, and was elected sheriff in 1876, and now holds that office (1877). Mr. Bodden has always been a democrat, and is a strong partisan. In politics, as in everything else, he acts from conviction, and is firm in his adhesion to what he regards as right. In religious belief he is a Catholic, holding to the faith of both his paternal and maternal ancestry. Mr. Bodden has had two wives. To his first wife, Miss Agnes Schafer, of Theresa, he was married in 1856. Mrs. Bodden died in the following year, leav- ing one child. His present wife was Miss Gertrude Schiefer, of Theresa. They were married in i860, and have eight sons and two daughters. Mr. Bodden has done good service to his con- stituents in Dodge county, and is held in warm esteem, particularly among his political confreres. Public-spirited and generous, he has looked well to the interests of the county, and hence his excellent standing. He never had much public-school educa- tion, is largely self-taught, and is to be commended for having fitted himself to hold such a variety of public offices. RICHARD STREET, WA VICES HA. / HT''HE subject of this sketch is a native of Stirling- X shire, Scotland, and was born September 5, 1825, in Bannockburn, a town immortalized by the deeds of Bruce and the song of Burns. He is the son of William and Lucy (Anderson) Street, his father being, for about fifty years, a manufacturer, and an overseer of woolen mills. At eleven years of age, with an ordinary common-school education, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 537 Richard went to the trade of his father, working under his charge until of age, adding, meantime, slightly to his stock of knowledge, now and then, by attending a night school. At twenty-one he moved to the town of Stirling, a few miles from Bannockburn, and became overseer of a woolen factory. After holding that situation several years he removed to Alva, Stirlingshire, where he held a similar position in a larger factory until 1855, when he immigrated to the United States. Settling at Lancaster, Grant county, Wisconsin, he remained there until i860, when he went to Utica, New York, and became overseer of the Globe Mills. He returned to Wisconsin in 1868, and was superin- tendent in Blake and Co.’s factory at Racine until 1871, and there introduced the manufacture of the celebrated Badger State shawl. In January of that year he settled in Waukesha, and became superin- tendent of the mills of the Waukesha County Manu- facturing Company, which consume from one hun- dred and fifty to two hundred thousand pounds of wool annually, and turn out as fine woolen cloths and shawls as are manufactured in the Northwest. The company does on an average about one hun- dred and fifty thousand dollars per annum, which is intrusted entirely to the hands and oversight of Mr. Street, who, as a business man of competency, effi- ciency and trustworthiness, has few equals and no superior in the village of Waukesha. He is always at his post, vigilant, untiring, and everything about the great factory moves like clock-work. The repu- tation of many of the brands of cloth, and of the famous Wisconsin shawls, manufactured under his charge, is so good that they are made to order. He is thoroughly wedded to his business. He be- lieves in doing one thing at a time and doing it well. He is a firm republican in politics, but rarely ac- cepts an office, and never any outside the village corporation. He is a member of the Temple of Honor, and an ardent and influential advocate of the temperance cause ; a member of the Baptist church, the super- intendent of its Sunday-school, and a tireless worker for the advancement of Christ’s kingdom. He is one of those active Christians who are always in their place and completely fill it. The wife of Mr. Street was Miss Elizabeth Robert- son, of Stirling, Scotland, whose father is now resid- ing at Platteville, Wisconsin. They have had ten children, nine of whom are living. CAPTAIN GILBERT KNAP I RACINE. G ILBERT KNAPP, the first white settler and founder of the city of Racine, was born at Chatham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, December 3, 1798, and is the son of John and Sarah (Smith) Knapp, both descended from English ancestors, who settled at Horseneck, Connecticut, early in the eighteenth century. His father was a captain in the revolutionary war, and at the close of that struggle became a seafaring man, and for many years commanded a merchant vessel trading with European ports. In later life he was a successful merchant in Poughkeepsie, New York. His mother was the daughter of Elijah Sririth, a substantial merchant at Barnstable, Massachusetts, and a na- tive Englishman. Gilbert was educated at the schools then in ex- istence at his native place; he studied English, mathematics and navigation, giving special atten- tion to the last named science. At the age of fif- teen he went to sea before the mast in a vessel commanded by his uncle, by marriage, Captain Childs. His first voyage was to Davis Straits, thence to Cadiz in Spain, and occupied a period of nine months. Soon after the declaration of war with England (1812) he shipped as masters’ mate on board the Leo, a private armed vessel, letter of marque, with seventeen guns and one hundred and fifty men, Captain Be Sonne, of French de- scent, which was chartered by the American gov- ernment to carry dispatches to France, and run the blockade, which England had then established over the French ports, into Natches. He made three voyages in this service with success, though with very great risk. During one of those voy- ages, while cruising off the Western Islands, they fell in with a British ship, letter of marque, of six guns, with which they had a sharp engagement, and afterward took her by boarding. Her crew consisted chiefly of Portuguese and Spaniards, and she was laden with a cargo of Chinese silks and cochineal, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. valued at half a million dollars, and had in her safe some forty thousand dollars in gold, which was trans- ferred to the Leo and distributed among the officers and crew. They took the prize in custody, manned her with thirty men and ordered her to France; had her in possession some nine days, when an English frigate retook her, and thus they lost their prize. On a subsequent voyage they had an en- gagement with two British letter-of-marque vessels. This encounter occurred in the night. The Leo oc- cupied a central position midway between the frig- ates, and was for a time in a very critical situation. She received several broadsides, and made the best response possible, but her escape was due to her su- superior sailing facilities. Her loss was one man killed and several wounded. During the third voy- age to France with dispatches they fell in with a British man-of-war fleet, — two frigates, a sloop of war and tender, with six guns. They were chased into Brest; had a sharp engagement and cut up the tender pretty severely, but were obliged to flee from the frigates. During the war he had made the acquaintance of several naval officers, persons who had been in Perry’s fleet on Lake Erie, who prevailed on him to come to the lakes to learn the geography of their coasts, with a view to a position in the marine service. He accordingly went on board a lake cutter in 1818, and after spending nearly two years in tutelage, visiting every harbor and tribu- tary river on these inland oceans, he was, in 1819, commissioned as captain in the United States rev- enue marine service, and placed in command of the A. J. Dallas, then in commission at Detroit, where he remained some ten months. At this time the celebrated John Jacob Astor was at the head of a great fur trading company on the west- ern lakes, and had complained to the government that a large illicit trade was being carried on be- tween the English and the Indians to the injury of the government and the detriment of licensed traders. Captain Knapp, with his vessel, was accordingly ordered to Mackinaw to look after this business. In the discharge of his duties he captured large quantities of contraband goods, which were con- fiscated by the revenue department, and the illicit traffic was in this way completely suppressed, to the no small benefit of Mr. Astor. He remained at this station for eight years, and in 1828 left the service and retired to private life. During one of his cruises on Lake Michigan he had halted at the mouth of the Racine river and gone ashore to “spy out the land,” — being, as he believes, the first white man who had ever pressed the soil at this point. He was greatly charmed with the beauty of the situation and made a secret resolve to visit the place again with a view to settlement. After quitting the revenue service he located tem- porarily at a point on Lake Erie, in Chatauqua county, New York, where he was the owner of some property, and where for two years he was engaged as a forwarding and commission merchant, being part owner of the vessels engaged in the transportation. In 1834, however, he sold out his Lake Erie property and resolved to see Racine river once more. Stopping at Chicago, he pro- cured the services of a trusty Indian guide and proceeded overland by an Indian trail as far as “ Skunk Grove,” five miles west of Racine, where was an Indian encampment, and thence, under the direction of a fresh guide, proceeded to the mouth of the river, passing by the rapids on his way. He spent two days in investigating the adaptabil- ity of the mouth of the river for the purposes of a harbor, the probabilities of the situation gen- erally, and resolved to settle. He accordingly re- turned to Chicago, reported the result of his ex- plorations to his friend Gordon S. Hubbard, now of Chicago, who became his partner in the new enterprise; hired mechanics and purchased some building materials, which were shipped to the new settlement, where a shanty was soon erected on the edge of the lake south of the river, at the point now occupied by the lumber yard of George Mur- ray. He next erected a log warehouse and estab- lished a trading post; sold flour and provisions to emigrants and traffickers passing up and down between Green Bay and Chicago. Other settlers soon followed and in a short time the place be- gan to be known. He and his partner, Mr. Hub- bard, took the necessary steps toward preempting a half section on the south side of the river (the land had not yet come into market, hence it could not be bought), surveyed some lots and laid the foundation of a town, and would have secured a title under the preemption laws, but during the winter preceding the date when the claim would have matured, congress enacted a law interdicting the preemption of land on which towns had been laid out, and restricting this privilege to actual settlers for homestead purposes. This was a seri- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 539 ous obstacle to the pioneer town enterprise, and much trouble was experienced by them in securing a title, they being obliged to build a court-house and jail as a precedent condition. They also pur- chased a tract on the north side of the river ad- joining the lake, on which a large portion of the city now stands, for which a dollar and twenty- five cents per acre was paid. A third gentleman, Mr. Benjamin F. Barker, was now taken into the partnership. A saw-mill was erected at the rapids aforenamed and other improvements added. In the year following (1835) the territory of Wiscon- sin was separated from that of Michigan, which was admitted to the Union, and Captain Knapp was elected to represent the county of Racine in the senatorial council of the first territorial legislature. This county then included the present counties of Racine, Kenosha, Walworth, Rock and Milwaukee. The new territory then included all the present State of Wisconsin, a part of Iowa, all of Minne- sota and part of Dakota. The legislature met at Green Bay, but owing to some difficulty touching the boundary of Ohio the new State of Michigan was not admitted until the following year ; conse- quently the legislature of Wisconsin was not recog- nized and could therefore transact no business until the succeeding year, when Governor Dodge was ap- pointed by the President, and the legislature met at Belmont, in the present county of Lafayette. Of the twenty-one members from the counties east of the Mississippi river, which constituted this body, it is believed that only five survive at this date (1877), namely, our subject, Alenson Sweet and J. B. Terry, of the council, and General A. G. Ellis and Thomas Shanley, of the house. Few persons can now realize the condition of things as they were in 1836. During this session the State cap- ital was located at Madison, and appropriations made for commencing the erection of the build- ings. Captain Knapp was also a member of the council of the succeeding two legislatures, which met at Burlington, Iowa, in 1837 and 1838, and was one of the most industrious, influential and intel- ligent of the members. He was offered the nom- ination to congress from the territory, but declined in favor of George W. Jones, who was elected and subsequently made United States senator. In 1840 Captain Knapp returned to the revenue marine service, resuming his former rank, and re- mained in the service until 1845, when he again retired to private life for a period of four years. From 1849 till 1853 he was again in the revenue service, retiring in the latter year and giving at- tention to his private business until the opening of the rebellion, when his services were again brought into requisition by the government. In i860 he was elected to the Wisconsin legis- lature, and served a term in the lower house, but resigned three days before the adjournment of the session to take command of the “ Dobbins,” in which he served on coast and blockade duty on the capes- for some time, and afterward in com- mand of the Morris at Boston harbor. Since the close of the war he has been stationed on the lakes. He superintended the building of the rev- enue steam cutters Sherman and Fessenden at Cleveland, and was afterward in command of the latter for twelve years. Since 1874 he has been off duty — “awaiting orders,” as the situation is tech- nically phrased, and expecting “retirement.” He was raised under Presbyterian influence, and still prefers that form of religion, though he some- times attends the Episcopal church, but is not in union with either. He was married in April, 1821, to Miss Maria Annan, daughter of Robert J. Annan, Esq., a na- tive of Annandale, Scotland; she died in 1828, at Erie, Pennsylvania, leaving four children surviv- ing her, one of whom, an infant, named Harriet M., died soon after the mother. The eldest son, Robert Annan, born March 3, 1822, was a mid- shipman in the United States navy, and made a three years’ cruise in the Mediterranean and other eastern waters, and resigned on account of failing health at the age of twenty-one. He afterward commanded a vessel on the lakes for several years. In 1852 he became connected with the Racine and Mississippi railroad — afterward the Western Union road — filling the various positions from sta- tion agent to division superintendent. This posi- tion he resigned in 1867. During the war, however, he served a short period as lieutenant in the navy under Commodore Foote, but owing to ill health was obliged to resign, and his place on the rail- road being still vacant he resumed it on regaining his health. He was subsequently connected with the Hannibal and St. Joseph line for a period of four years, but having been weakly the greater part of his life, died in August, 1876. The next son, Gilbert, studied law in Racine, and was ad- mitted to the bar, but disliking the profession he turned his attention to farming, and is now a planter 5-10 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONAPT. at l.ittle Rock, Arkansas. Mary Annan, the only daughter, is the widow of tire late Mr. A. McClurg, for many years a banker in Racine. He died in March, 1877. Some two and a half years after the death of his wife Captain Knapp married the sister of his deceased wife, Hannah, who survived her marriage but one year,- leaving no issue. On the 25th of October, 1837, he married Almira Meach, at Clinton, New York, a very highly cultivated lady, esteemed and respected by all who knew her. She was in her day the leader of society, and enter- tained with great hospitality. She died in Decem- ber, 1876, lamented by all who knew her. As a man, Captain Knapp has always been very generous, noble-hearted, patriotic, public-spirited, and first in every enterprise for the public good, or the benefit of the city of which he was the parent. He was generous to the needy and unfortunate, and always willing to lend a helping hand to those struggling to gain a position; in this way he has sacrificed thousands of dollars. He was eminently social and hospitable, and, for many years after the settlement of the town, entertained all who visited Racine. The only sister of Captain Knapp, Mrs. Sarah Milligan, some four years his senior, is still living at Shawano, Wisconsin. She was the first white woman that settled at Racine in 1835, and resided here until 1869. She is the mother of Mrs. Caroline A. Knapp, widow of the eldest son of the captain. JOHN WILDER PERRY, JUNEAU. T HE subject of this brief biography is a native of Vermont, and the son of William Perry, a physician, and Lury nee Wilder, of Fayetteville, the county seat of Windham county. There the son was born April 13, 1822. This branch of the Perry family is distantly related to Commodore Perry. Dr. Perry was a farmer as well as practicing phy- sician, though he did very little himself in the line of land-tilling. He believed, however, in teaching children to be industrious, and John Wilder early learned to work. He remained on the farm until eighteen years of age, after becoming large enough to drop corn and spread hay, and received about three months of schooling annually. At the age just mentioned he went to Boston and spent three years in a book store, where he had a good oppor- tunity to improve his mind by reading. Returning to his native town he operated a sash factory from 1844 to 1849, shortly afterward changing his occu- pation to that of a hotel-keeper in the same town, and thus busying himself until 1855, when he settled in Oak Grove township, Dodge county, Wisconsin. This township includes the village of Juneau. His place of settlement was but a few rods from where the county poor-house now stands. He selected a rich piece of land, the fertility of which strikingly contrasted with the soil on which he had expended the energies of his youth. After spending the first ten or twelve years of his residence in Wisconsin in farming, he opened a lum- ber yard at Minnesota Junction in the same town- ship, continuing in that business seven years. Since January 1, 1876, he has been superintendent of the Dodge County Poor House. As a man Mr. Perry enjoys the confidence and esteem of his fellow-citizens, which is well attested by the fact that he has .been in office nearly three- fourths of the time since he settled in Wisconsin. He was chairman of the town board of supervisors about five years, town treasurer about two years, and justice of the peace about ten years. He has always acted with the democratic party, but is not a strong partisan, nor a very active politician. Dur- ing the progress of the civil war the federal govern- ment had no stronger supporter of its war measures than Mr. Perry. His religious sentiments he denominates “ liberal.” He and his family are regular attendants at the Presbyterian Church. The wife of Mr. Perry was Miss Eva Campbell, of New Ipswich, New Hampshire. They were mar- ried August 24, 1844, and have had three children, two of whom are now living — a son and a daughter. John H. Perry, thirty years of age, is married, and lives with his father. Lunette, eighteen years old, is also at home. It was fortunate for the poor of Dodge county that Mr. Perry was placed at the head of the insti- tution. In its last report the State Board of Chari- ties stated that “ Dodge county has one of the best THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 541 managed and most liberally provided for poor- houses in the State ; ” and from a careful exami- nation of the premises, external and internal, it must be said that the board has done Mr. Perry simple justice. In the indoor arrangements and management, much credit is due Mrs. Perry, who is a model housekeeper and a very kind-hearted, sym- pathetic woman — an angel of mercy to the unfortu- nate paupers and the still more unfortunate lunatics. Her kind words addressed to them are the sweetest music to their souls. The writer has visited a great many poor-houses and asylums in different States, and never saw an institution of the kind which pre- sented a more neat and wholesome appearance. polydore s. McArthur, m.d., LA CROSSE. OLYDORE S. McARTHUR was born at Wales, Erie county, New York, October 30, 1822. His parents, Moses and Mary (Salisbury) McArthur, farmers by occupation, were plain, indus- trious people. The son aided his father until about eighteen years of age, and during the next three years attended the Aurora Academy, in an adjoin- ing town, teaching school meanwhile during two winters. He studied medicine with Dr. Paul, of Honeoye Flats, Ontario county; and after attending lectures two terms at Geneva Medical College he graduated in February, 1847. He practiced medi- cine at Holland, Erie county, three years, and at Caledonia, Livingston county, six years, and on Oc- tober 22, 1855, settled in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Here, as in western New York, Dr. McArthur has attended very closely to his profession, except dur- ing two seasons when he was absent from home. In 1861 he went to New York city, and attended a full four-months’ course of lectures at the Long Island Hospital and two 'months at the Eye and Ear In- firmary, and repeated exactly the same course in 1866. Few physicians in western Wisconsin have had better opportunities for obtaining a knowledge of medical science, or have been more entirely and successfully devoted to the application of that knowledge. Dr. McArthur is a thorough devotee of the science of medicine. He obtains all the new and most valuable works pertaining to his profes- sion ; and being partially deaf, and in a measure shut out from the socialities of life, he devotes all the leisure time at his command to reading and hard study. Pathology and the news of the day essen- tially monopolize the odd moments and half hours. Dr. McArthur calls himself a “ hard-shell ” dem- ocrat. He always votes the democratic ticket, but has no political aspirations, and makes everything subordinate to his medical studies and medical pur- suits; hence his eminent success. He was married on the 1st of January, 1852, to Miss Mary Dean, of Caledonia, New York, and by her has two children. Dr. McArthur’s life furnishes a brilliant example of what may be accomplished by choosing a voca- tion suited to one’s tastes, and following it faithfully to the exclusion of all others. He has clung to his profession, and by persistence and perseverance has reached an exalted position in La Crosse county. HON. EDWARD ELWELL, BE A VER DAM. T HE subject of this sketch, a native New Eng- lander, is the son of Dan Elwell, a house builder of Massachusetts. His mother, Nancy Pren- tice, was a native of Connecticut. His maternal grandfather was a surgeon in the revolutionary army, and was present at New London, Connecticut, when the fort there was taken by the British, September 6, 1781. Edward Elwell is a native of Pennsylvania, 60 and was born at Athens, Bradford county, August 7, 1816. He attended a common school until fourteen years of age, then gave four years to the cloth man- ufacturing business, and spent about the same length of time in attending school at the Athens Academy and in teaching in different districts. At the age of twenty-two he commenced reading law at Towanda, with his brother William Elwell, now a district judge 54 - TIIE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DIC IT ON Alt T. in Pennsylvania, and was admitted to the bar at Towanda in May, 1840. He practiced there until 1843; in Wyoming county, in the same State, until 1S47; and then removed to Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and practiced there until the summer of 1855, when he made a permanent settlement in Beaver Dam, Dodge county. Here he has followed his profession with fair success for twenty-two years, doing consid- erable collecting in connection with it, and at times dealing a little in real estate. He is known as a reliable, straightforward man, true to the interests of every man with whom he has business relations. He has held various official positions and filled them with credit to himself and to the general satisfaction of his constituents. Soon after settling in Sheboy- gan county he was elected chairman of the board of supervisors, and aided in laying out many roads when that section of country was very sparsely settled. He was district attorney of that county one .term, and left Sheboygan at its expiration ; was post- master in Beaver Dam from the spring of 1857 to August, 1861. He has been district attorney of Dodge county two terms, and is now serving his fourth year as county judge. In politics Judge Elwell is known as a conserva- tive democrat, and has been one of the leaders of the party in his county for several years. He has passed the chairs in Odd-fellowship ; is a regular at- tendant at the Presbyterian church, and a man of high moral character. Judge Elwell was married to Mary Ellen Fowler, of Bradford county, Pennsylvania, January 31, 1844. They have one son, Edward F. Elwell, who is in the book and stationery business in Milwaukee. ROBERT W. PIERCE, MIL W A UK EE. T HE subject of this sketch, a son of Richard and Sarah (Rudd) Pierce, was born in Buck- land, Franklin county, Massachusetts, February 14, 1821. His father owned a small farm in the Bay State, and was barely able to extract a subsistence for his family from the rocky hillsides, and was al- ways poor ; consequently the educational advantages of his children, eleven in number, were limited to the common schools, then only in their infancy. Robert worked upon the farm most of the time during the summer season and attended school in the winter until he attained the age of fourteen. This, with one term at an academy after he attained the age of twenty-one constituted his schooling. By subsequent study and observation, however, he has become one of the wisest and best informed men of his day. He is descended from English an- cestors, who came to America about the year 1725 and settled in Taunton, Massachusetts, where many of the descendants still reside. The grandfather of our subject, Josiah Pierce, was a soldier in the revo- lutionary war, and fought at the battle of Bunker Hill and many other hard-fought fields of that memorable struggle. In after life he settled in Buckland, where he was known as a man of great moral worth, and exercised considerable influence in his neighborhood. The family were noted for integrity, intelligence and the principles that dis- tinguished many of the early settlers of New Eng- land. I11 1844 our subject removed to the West and settled in Milwaukee, which has since been his home. He engaged in the manufacture of matches, first on a small scale, selling his merchandise in small packages to the storekeepers, but enlarged his operations gradually as the demands of tradg in- creased until he built up quite an extensive busi- ness, of which he retained the entire control and management until the year 1855, when he took his brother, Albert L. Pierce, into partnership with him. He subsequently sold fractions of his interest to others, retaining for several years only one fourth of the business. This he disposed of entirely in i860. He had previously embarked in the lumber business, to which his time and attention have since been mainly devoted. By prudence and industry he has built up one of the largest establishments in this line in the city of Milwaukee. In 1872, in com- pany with three others, he built the “ Minerva Iron Furnace,” of Milwaukee. This establishment was afterward organized into a joint stock company un- der a charter from the State, and called the Minerva Iron Company, Mr. Pierce being treasurer of the same. The institution is in a flourishing condition, making money for its owners and giving employ- ment to a large number of hands. From 1856 to THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 545 1862 Mr. Pierce was one of the directors of the old Farmers and Millers’ Bank of Milwaukee, an insti- tution noted for its high standing and honorable dealing under the presidency of the Hon. E. D. Holton. It was subsequently organized into the First National Bank of Milwaukee, of which E. H. Broadhead is now president. Mr. Pierce has never held any political office, though often solicited by his fellow-citizens to allow the use of his name in that connection, preferring to attend strictly to his own private business, in which he has given employment to a large number of hands, thereby benefiting himself and others more than he could have done in any other way. Mr. Pierce is a plain, generous-hearted man ; uniform in temper and manners, not given to moods nor governed by spasmodic impulses, but always the same — friendly, cordial and kind to every one with whom he is brought in contact ; a thorough, pru- dent and safe business man, upright in all his deal- ings, benevolent and charitable not only to the poor and unfortunate, but willing to lend a helping hand to those struggling to gain a position, and this with- out ostentation or display. To his friends and inti- mates he is genial and cordial. He is emphatically a home man, and seldom mingles in general society. Although not in communion with the church, he takes a great interest in matters pertaining to relig- ious institutions, contributing liberally to the support of church organizations in general and to those of the Congregational church in particular. In political sentiment he is identified with the re- publican party, and during the war was heart and soul in the cause of the Union. He gave liberally of his means toward the support of the families of those who were fighting the battles of their country, and toward organizations for the care of the sick and wounded soldiers. He is, moreover, a self-reliant man ; does his own thinking, acts upon his convic- tions of duty, and rarely makes a mistake. He was married on the 24th of June, 1846, to Miss Elizabeth M., daughter of Paul Burdick, Esq., one of the first settlers of Milwaukee. Mrs. Pierce is a noble and excellent woman, to whose aid and counsel is largely due the success of her husband in business. In social life she is amiable, frank and unassuming, eminently charitable and kind-hearted, much of her time being spent in visiting the poor and sorrowing and in ministering to their necessi- ties. They have four children, all boys : Edgar F., who is a member of the firm of R. W. Pierce and Co. ; Lewis W., who is at present attending the State University at Madison: R. W., junior, and Chester Burdick. JAMES O. RAYMOND, STEVENS POINT. TAMES OLIVER RAYMOND, for twenty-one J years an attorney-at-law in Portage county, Wis- consin, and one of the leading men at its bar, is a native of the Empire State. He was born in the town of McDonough, Chenango county, on the 31st of May, 1831, the son of Edward Raymond, a farmer by occupation. His mother was an Osborn, whose grandfather was killed in the battle of Bennington. James attended school most of the time until he was eighteen, and taught two seasons. He began study- ing law in the office of John M. Parker, of Owego, New York, in 1853 ; then taught one more term, and in the summer of 1855 removed to Plover, Portage county, Wisconsin, and opened a law office in the following May, in partnership with Hon. Luther Hanchett, once member of congress, and since de- ceased. He practiced his profession at Plover with good success until July, 1873, when he removed to Stevens Point, and here continues the practice, with a rising reputation. Mr. Raymond was elected district attorney in 1856, 1858 and 1866, serving, in all. six years. In February, 1865, he went into the army as order- ly sergeant of Company C, 5 2d Wisconsin Infantry, and served until the following August, when the regiment was mustered out of the service. In the autumn of that year he was elected a member of the general assembly, representing Portage county. Mr. Raymond is a member of the blue lodge and chapter in the Masonic order, and was master of the lodge at Plover several years. He began his political life as a whig, voting that ticket in 1852, and has since acted with the republi- can party, being one of its leaders in Portage county. He has been twice married : the first time in Octo- ber, 1857, to Miss Mary E. Harris, of Canton, Ohio. 5 - 1-6 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. She had three children, one of whom is now living. I She died in October, 1864. His second marriage, in April, 1S67, was to Mrs. Lucinda Hanchett, the widow of his former law partner. Mr. Raymond is a man of studious habits, and attends very strictly to his profession and has an unimpeachable character, both in a legal and in a moral sense. PATRICK G. CHEVES, NORWAY. P ATRICK GRAY CHEVES, son of James and Elizabeth (Morrison) Cheves, was born in the town of Frasersburg, county of Aberdeen, Scotland, May 20, 1820. His father was a stone-mason, and wages being low and employment unsteady, he re- mained poor all his lifetime. He was a man of the strictest principles of morality, upright and honor- able in all his dealings, frugal and temperate in his habits, and, moreover, an exemplary member of the Episcopal Church of Scotland. His mother was a meek and gentle Christian, of delicate constitution, and a great sufferer during a large portion of her lifetime, but bore her afflictions with fortitude and resignation. Owing to the indigence of his father and the ill-health of his mother, Patrick was sent at an early age to live with his grandmother, Mrs. Christian Cheves, with whom he remained till the age of eight years. From this excellent old lady, then over eighty years old and almost blind, he re- ceived the greater part of the education which fell to his lot. He stood by her side while she turned her spinning wheel and read to her from the Bible, so that before quitting the care of this good woman he had read the Old and New Testaments over many times, and committed to memory large portions of them, which he was required to repeat at Sunday- school, of which he was a regular attendant. From the home of this good grandmother he was removed to that of an uncle, with whom he remained till the age of fourteen, attending school occasion- ally and working on the farm, or serving as a herd- boy. Although his uncle was a kind and indulgent man, yet the experience of young Cheves under his government seemed rigorous, when contrasted with the loose rein and comparative freedom which he had enjoyed in the house of his grandmother. His services were next transferred to another uncle, who carried on the business of farming and merchandis- ing on a small scale, and with whom he remained for two years. Here he was governed by a still tighter rein, and the restraints of the family chafed and fretted his young heart, so that he considered his burden intolerable, and resolved to quit the home of his relative and seek employment in the city of Aberdeen. Accordingly, gathering together his scanty wardrobe, which comprised a small bundle, he stealthily left in the night, and started on foot for his destination — some thirty miles distant — with only one half-sovereign (two dollars and a half) in his pocket. After traveling all night he arrived at Aberdeen in the morning, and as the sun arose and gilded the tops of the lofty spires of the city he thought he had reached the goal of his ambition, and that henceforth his course would be smooth and free from trial ; but alas, he soon found that his troubles had only commenced, and that in fleeing from the ills he knew, he had but flown to others he knew not of. He went from shop to shop in the city trying to find employment as a merchant’s clerk; but every one to whom he applied seemed to cast a suspicious look at him, and coldly informed him that they needed no help just then. Wearied out and almost heartbroken, he at last found a house that seemed to promise employment. The master asked him some questions as to his proficiency as a clerk, where he had been employed, and then in- quired if he had a letter of recommendation from his last master, to which he was obliged to answer “No.” The next question was, “What church do you belong to?” “To the Episcopal.” “I pre- sume,” added the interrogator, “you have your minister’s certificate ? ” Being again answered in the negative, he turned his back on the would-be clerk, saying, “I do not need your services.” At this crisis his fortitude well nigh forsook him, and bitterly did he rue his flight from the house of his uncle, but he was not yet ready to return. He still had five shillings left, and resolved that he would seek employment lower down in the social scale, where “.recommendations ” and “certificates ” were not considered essential. The following day was what was known as the “Hallowe’en Fair,” at which THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONART. 547 the farmers of the neighborhood would “ hire ” their hands for the next six months. He accordingly placed himself in the position of a candidate for employment in this capacity, but his youthful look and very delicate frame were but poor recommen- dations in this direction. No one accosted him during the day. Toward evening he saw a farmer trying to hire a man ; but noticing that they did not agree, he approached the former, offering his ser- vices. Eyeing the stripling, he remarked : “ You are not just the kind of person I want, but if you can thrash grain with the flail I will give you a job at a shilling a quarter,” about eight bushels. The terms were accepted, for the poor lad was glad to find anything to do, if only to feed swine. The home of the farmer was some thirty miles from Aberdeen on the river Dee. He worked very hard all winter, often when the blood ran down the handle of the flail, realizing not more than a shilling a day (twenty-five cents). Thus his early experience in the home of the stranger, that at first seemed so promising, was fraught with bitterness, and deeply did he repent the step which, in an evil hour, had taken him from his uncle’s home, which, contrasted with later experiences, seemed a paradise. For some time after completing this engagement he was un- able to procure other employment. He had neither money nor friends; his clothes were worn out; his case was desperate. He had been away six months; to return to his uncle in that plight was not to be thought of; he had not entirely “come to himself” yet. Returning to Aberdeen he again sought em- ployment in vain. He practiced the utmost econ- omy ; bought his loaf daily, which he ate dry, and hired a bed at night. At last he was employed to drive a coal cart, for which he was to receive a shilling a day ; but his employer, who was a worth- less villain, not only did not pay him for his services, but borrowed from him the few shillings he had left on entering his service, which he spent in a drink- ing-house. Driven to desperation, utterly dispirited and sick of life, he determined to cast himself into the river, and thus be rid of an intolerable burden. Going under the bridge to carry this design into execution, he was suddenly startled by a rough voice commanding him to get out of there. It was that of a policeman, whose duty it was to prevent persons from trespassing on those premises. Young Cheves made an humble apology, and was allowed to go free. Thus saved, in the providence of God, from self-destruction, he resolved to make another effort to find work. He met an elderly gentleman, to whom he made known his situation, who spoke encouragingly and gave him introductions that led to his being employed at larger wages than he had previously received. His industry, good conduct, and previous experience soon gained for him the confidence and esteem of his new employers, who increased his wages and promoted him to greater responsibilities. But the close confinement of the counting-room soon began to tell on his health, and a vacation became necessary. Well clothed and provided with money, he now sought the house of his uncle, where he was received, as indeed, a re- turned “ prodigal.” His ingratitude and folly were forgiven, and he was prevailed upon to remain at Longside, the home of his friends, where he soon regained his health and found remunerative employ- ment, and began to save money. But he had been reading of America, and of the wonderful oppor- tunities which that great country offered to industri- ous young men to become rich, and became im- patient of the slow process of accumulation peculiar to his native Scotland. While in this transition state he met with a Mr. Wm. Smith, a native Scotch- man, who for a number of years past had been a resident of Pike Grove, Kenosha county, Wiscon- sin, who was then home on a visit to his friends. This gentleman offered to aid young Cheves with money to pay his passage to America, and to give him employment when he reached there. The offer was accepted, and in company with three others — namely, Miss Margaret, a sister of Mr. Smith; Mr. James Smith, a nephew, and James Duguid, a rela- tive of our subject — he started for the western world. They sailed from Liverpool in April, 1840, and after a passage of thirty-five days landed in New York. Thence they traveled by land and lake to Southport, now Kenosha, Wisconsin, which point they reached on the 1st of June of the same year. On landing here he was possessed of a single dollar bill, which he had obtained in trade from the colored barber on the lake-boat, but which proved to be worthless, the bank by which it was issued hav- ing failed several years previously. He now went to work for his benefactor, and remained with him until his claim was fully met. He subsequently worked for a short period on the Illinois and Michi- gan canal, where he earned fair wages. In 1842 he went to the lead mines then opened at Mineral Point, Wisconsin. Here he was employed in a brewery during the winter, while the summer THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. 543 was mainly spent in washing copper ore. During the last-named season there occurred an incident which made a lasting impression on his mind, and gave shape and tone, in a large measure, to his after career, and which is well worthy of record. Up to this time he had taken no interest in politics, nor had he formed any political opinions. Slavery was then in the ascendant and was ruling the country with a rod of iron, and to be even suspected of abo- litionism was little less than infamy. A Baptist clergyman, of English nativity, named Mathew, vis- ited the place, and announced that he would deliver a discourse on the subject of slavery in the log court-house on Sunday afternoon. The announce- ment excited the indignation of the villagers, and a mob was organized to resist the lecturer. Cheves and a few companions were drawn to the place from curiosity. The mob were clamorous. The sheriff was obliged to refuse the use of the court-house. Whereupon the abolitionist resolved to speak out-of- doors at his own risk, the sheriff having withdrawn his protection. The speaker was accompanied by an old gentleman named John Martin, also an Eng- lishman, an ardent disciple of the great AVilberforce, who had lived to see the end of slavery through- out the British dominions and had come to devote the remainder of his days to the cause of freedom in America. The speaker had scarcely opened his discourse when he was encountered by a storm of yells and a volley of rotten eggs. He stopped for a moment and again proceeded, but was soon silenced by another yell, while rotten eggs and missiles fell thick and fast. In the crowd, however, there hap- pened to be quite a number of English and Scotch miners, to whom the condition of the slave had hitherto been a matter of indifference; but the speaker was their countryman, he had violated no law, had only exercised his constitutional right of free speech, and yet he had been outraged by a mob. This element of the meeting solidified in a few minutes, and resolved that the speaker should be heard. Five of them, of whom our subject was one, took positions beside him on the platform, while the others formed in solid phalanx in the crowd. On discovering the situation of affairs the speaker addressed those on the platform, saying : “ Friends, risk nothing for me, my life is devoted to this cause.” This speech, though short, was telling, ft appealed to their manhood, and they resolved to die with him if need be. He proceeded with his speech. One more missile was thrown, but the coward who threw it was soon collared, dragged to the outside, and by a vigorous application of sole leather was admonished to better behavior in fu- ture. This silenced the opposition and the lecturer was permitted to finish without further interruption. The good old man left the place, and from that time to the present has not been seen or heard of by our subject. He has probably gone to his “reward above ” long since, but the words which he spoke sunk deep into the heart and bore fruit in the life of Patrick Gray Cheves, who from that day for- ward was an uncompromising enemy of slavery. During the following winter he worked in a saw- mill in the neighborhood of Racine. In the spring of 1845 he purchased some eighty acres of land in what was then the town of Yorkville, now Norway, where he has since mainly resided. He began in a very humble way and struggled along for years, as many others have done, being barely able to make a living. There was no money in the country, and storekeepers bartered clothing and groceries for country produce. A circumstance that occurred in the year 1847 will serve to illustrate the condition of matters in this respect at that date. Mr. Cheves was informed that a Scotch letter was in the post- office addressed to him, on which there was due twenty-five cents. He was anxious to get the mis- sive, but that was more money than he could raise. After two weeks’ saving of eggs and butter he started to the village in the hope of being able to realize as much as would release his dearly-prized letter, only to learn that no cash could be given for eggs or butter. This was a terrible disappointment, and he was reluctantly obliged to return without his letter. After two weeks more he set out for Racine with an ox-team laden with produce, which he was able to barter for some goods and one single dollar in money. On his way home he released his letter, which had lain just one month in the office, and felt as proud and happy at the result as when afterward he was elected to represent his county in the State legislature. He sat down and wrote back to his friends in Scotland that America was a fine country to live in, he had eighty acres of land, two cows and an ox-team, with which to farm. In 1847 the township of Yorkville, in which he resided, was divided, and the town of Norway was cut off from it (so called from the circumstance that a number of Norwegians resided in it). This made the elec- tion of new officers a necessity. The town con- tained at the time just nine legal voters, none of THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 549 whom had ever held office of any kind; but officers were indispensable, and a ticket was accordingly made up, Jacob Jacobia being elected chairman of the board, and our subject secretary or town clerk. This office he held for three years, and was after- ward elected to the chairmanship of the town board, and as such represented his town in the county board. At that time the Norwegian character was not as well known as now, and his constituency, which was principally of that nationality, was often made the subject of sneer and innuendo, but they are now known as men of sterling worth and strict integrity. Prior to the nomination of John C. Fremont for the Presidency in 1856, Mr. Cheves acted with the free-soil democratic party, and was elected on that ticket to the legislature in the fall of 1855, and served one term. Since then he has supported the principles of the republican party. In the autumn of 1856 he was elected by the new party as clerk of the board of supervisors of Racine county, which position he retained two years. During his term of office he did considerable business in the way of discounting notes, and by this and other means in- creased his capital ; but there were still misfortunes in store for him. In the summer of 1859 he was compelled to pay a note for fifteen hundred dollars which he had been induced to sign some years pre- viously; and in the autumn of the same year his barn, which contained all his crops and farming im- plements, was consumed by fire, with all its contents. This was a serious loss and hard to repair. Still later a flaw in the title to some of his land brought upon him a lawsuit which involved him in thou- sands of dollars of expense, besides several years of vexatious litigation. This, however, was his first and only lawsuit. In 1863 he was again elected clerk of the board of supervisors of Racine county, a position which he held four years. He subsequently purchased the soap and candle factory of Isaac Burback, of Racine, which he conducted successfully for sev- eral years. He also gave attention to some other branches of business, and notwithstanding the diffi- culties and obstacles of his early life, and the trials and misfortunes of maturer years, he has accumu- lated a competence, and is spending the autumn of his days in ease and quiet at his beautiful home in Norway, Racine county. He is a man of the strictest integrity, simple and affable in manners, buoyant and cheerful in conver- sation, wise and prudent in counsel, generous and benevolent to the needy, and respected and es- teemed by all who know him. In June, 1845, he married Miss Elizabeth Smith, a resident of Pike Grove, Kenosha county, Wiscon- sin, who has since shared with him the burdens and successes of life. They have had six children, two of whom, William and Robert, died in infancy. The survivors are Mary, E valine, Anne and John. JAMES E. HOSMER, BEAVER DAM. TAMES ELIJAH HOSMER, son of Perley Hos- a mer and Elrnina nee Kingsbury, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, May 29, 1822. His great-grand- father, James Hosmer, was killed at Sudbury, Mas- sachusetts, during the French and Indian war. His grandfather, Elijah Hosmer, aided in hurrying the British from Concord back to Boston, April 19, 1775, and his father, a farmer, served two years in the war of 1812-15. James worked at home until fifteen years old. He spent two years at Whipple’s Acad- emy in Newburgh, now in the city of Cleveland. At seventeen he began to teach during the winters, following that vocation, however, only two seasons. He spent a year or two as a clerk in stores at Cleve- land and Pittsburgh, and was in a law office for a short time with A. L. Collins, of Cleveland, and re- moved with him to Madison, Wisconsin, in May, 1842. There he continued his legal studies, acting meanwhile as assistant librarian of the old Territo- rial Library, doing some work also in the supreme court clerk’s office. He went to Milwaukee in 1843 and spent three years there, part of the time in mer- cantile business with a brother-in-law, D. F. Has- kell, and part as bookkeeper in a hotel. He was in a public house at Watertown from February to July, 1846, and during that summer settled in Beaver Dam, then a village of about fifty inhabitants. Here he owned a harness shop during the first ten years, acting, also, as justice of the peace during most of that period ; subsequently he farmed five or six 550 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. years on land of his own near town, and since 1862 lias been in the collecting business and serving as justice of the peace. In 1856, when Beaver Dam became a city, Mr. Hosmer was elected alderman of the third ward. He was mayor of the city in 1S69 and 1875, and his practical turn of mind and liberal experience in business matters made him an excel- lent executive officer. He has a liberal supply of unassumed, easy dignity, and is very gentlemanly in his manner. In politics Mr. Hosmer is a democrat of liberal views. He is a Master Mason and member of the Fort Winnebago Commandery of Portage. He attends the Baptist Church, with which his wife is connected, but his own religious, like his political sentiments, he designates as liberal. The purity of his motives and of his life is unquestioned. Mrs. Hosmer’s maiden name was Uretta W. Stafford, and her home was in Cleveland, Ohio. They were married May 12, 1844, and have had seven children, five of whom, three sons and two daughters, are now living (1877). The eldest son, Lewis F., is a writer on the “ New York Daily Times the second son, Charles P., is in trade at Belle Plaine, Iowa ; the third, Willie J., is a newspaper reporter. The elder daughter, Camilla L., is a teacher in the graded schools of Beaver Dam, and the other daughter, Sarah D., is a student in the Wayland Institute. Mr. Hosmer is a warm friend of education, and has given his children, in this respect, a good outfit for life. A mother’s influence has been strongly felt in the rearing of the children and in their promising start. Mrs. Hosmer is a true wife, a kind-hearted mother and an active Christian woman. JOHN C. SHERWOOD, . DARTFORD. O NE of the earliest settlers in Green Lake county, Wisconsin, was John Chassell Sher- wood, who has been a resident for thirty-one years, and who has done his full share in developing that section of the State, he being a man of unusual en- terprise and public spirit. He is the son of Amos and Mary (Faville) Sherwood, and was born in Sal- isbury, Herkimer county, New York, September 24, 1822. He spent his minority in procuring an edu- cation, and prepared for college at Cazenovia and Fairfield, in his native State. He entered Wesleyan University, at Middletown, Connecticut, but left college in the junior year and went to Bowling Green, Kentucky, and taught two years. In 1845 he removed to Wisconsin with his brother William C., and entered sixteen hundred acres of land on the north side of Green Lake, at and near the pres- ent site of Dartford, and the next year made a per- manent settlement. There was not a building of any kind in that region in 1845. The next spring Anson Dart, who became his partner, built a shanty, and, in honor of him, Mr. Sherwood named this place Dartford. They put up a saw-mill in 1846, a grist-mill the next year, and about three years later Mr. Dart left the State. Mr. Sherwood continued milling until 1873, when a fire destroyed his mill. Soon afterward he commenced the “ Sherwood For- est” improvement, putting up a watering-place hotel of that name, and making one of the most retired and lovely resorts for tourists and pleasure-seekers in the Badger State. The lodge is a large and in- viting structure, capable of accommodating more than a hundred guests, with every appointment usu- ally found at a summer resort, — a billiard-house, bowling-alleys, and grounds for lawn games. The whole forest is a woodland lawn, gently sloping to the pebbly shore ; and while the proprietor has opened some special avenues, nature has furnished uninterrupted drives and promenades everywhere. The scenery partakes of the beautiful and pictur- esque, rather than the sublime. Nature here speaks in dulcet whisperings, where one might almost ex- pect to greet nymphs, satyrs and fauns. Here and there rustic seats, and swings pendant from the high, far-reaching branches, invite rest. The out- look from the grounds, as well as the piazza, is truly charming, a perfect kaleidoscope, taking in extensive prairies, woodlands and cultivated fields, as well as the lake, with its indentations and exquisite settings of bluffs and evergreens, grassy slopes and perpen- dicular ledges. One journalist calls Green Lake the Lake George of Wisconsin : A modest world of land and water beauties — too little cultivated by hunters after charming scenery and healthful air. It is a fairy-land of wonderful fascinations, and the weary of body and mind, or the despondent and languid in- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 551 valid, and no less the strong and healthful, will find both mind and bodv invigorated and the soul elevated by a sojourn among the picturesque beauties of that lovely lake. Another says : The most beautiful sheet of cold spring water in the world, a perpetual cool breeze, fine fishing, good shooting, shady groves and free from mosquitoes; in fact we pro- nounce it one of the most healthy spots in all America. Mr. Sherwood is increasing the attractions of the “ Forest ” every year, adding pavilions, sail and fish- ing boats, etc. Here one finds every facility for innocent amusement. It is one mile west of Hart- ford post-office, and directly on the northern shore of the lake. The aim is to make this retreat pleas- ant and home-like. Mr. Sherwood is a practical business man; an in- dependent politician, and an ardent “greenback” advocate. He was once a trustee of the Insane Asylum at Madison — all of office that he has ever held. He courts and adheres to private life. He was married, June 28, 1848, to Miss Jane C. Rich, of Penfield, Monroe county, New York. They have five children, and have lost two. One son is in a bank in Lafayette, Indiana; the other children are at home. HON. SAMUEL BE A VE. S AMUEL DICKINSON BURCHARD, a na- tive of New York, was born in Leyden, Lewis county, July 17, 1836; his parents being Charles A. Burchard and Martha B. ne'e Pitcher. His ma- ternal great-grandfather participated in the struggle for independence. Charles A. Burchard removed with his family to Wisconsin in 1845, and settled at Waukesha, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits. There, at a suitable age, Samuel pre- pared himself for college in the Carroll Institute; and entered the freshman class of Madison Univer- sity, Hamilton, New York, in 1853; before the close of the second year, however, he was com- pelled to leave college by reason of ill health. He went to Moniteau county, Missouri, in 1856, and commenced stock raising and general farming, and was thus engaged at the opening of the rebellion in the spring of 1861. At first Mr. Burchard acted as a guide to General Lyon. When a regiment of Missouri State militia was raised he was elected first-lieutenant of one of the companies ; and was detached and had charge of transportation of the central department of Missouri from September 1861 to March 24, 1862. At that time he went South with General McKean as master of transpor- tation ; and in September, 1862, was ordered to Washington, and there had charge of the receipting and distribution of forage, under General Rucker. In the winter following he was ordered to New York to take charge of the purchasing of regular supplies, forage especially, for the armies operating on the sea-board as far south as Mobile. He was at that time assistant quartermaster of volunteers, and while 61 D. BURCHARD, 7? DAM. holding that position was mustered out of the ser- vice, October 13, 1865. He then returned to Missouri and engaged in the coal business, continuing it until the autumn of 1866, when he settled in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, to which place his father had removed as early as 1855. Here Mr. Burchard engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods, and is now (1877) a member of the firm of McFatridge, Burchard and Co., who are consuming about one hundred and twenty thousand pounds of wool annually. Mr. Burchard was a member of the State senate in 1870, 1871, 1873 and 1874, and did his principal work on the committees on charitable and benevo- lent institutions, claims, and the special committee appointed by the governor in 1870, to inspect the benevolent institutions of the State. He was a mem- ber of the Forty-fourth Congress, and served on the committees on banking and currency, and manufact- ures. In politics he has always been a democrat, and, as his history shows, was a strong and very active “ war ” democrat. He is a believer in the general doctrines of the Christian religion; attends the Baptist church, and is a liberal contributor to benevolent and educa- tional enterprises. He is one of the trustees of Wayland Institute, located at Beaver Dam, and is active in every meas- ure that tends to build up this city. He is a stock- holder in the National Bank of Beaver Dam, and has been quite successful in business operations. Mr. Burchard was married to Miss Mary J. Sim- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 552 mons, of Moniteau county, Missouri, May 9, 1859. They have had ten children, seven of whom are now living. The father of Mr. Burchard, who is still living in Beaver Dam. now in his sixty-eighth year, is quite an active old gentleman. He was in the first Terri- torial convention which met in 1846 to form a State constitution ; has been a member of the assembly one session since a resident of Dodge county ; and during the civil war was an enrollment commissioner for his district, with headquarters at Fond du Lac. He is a strong republican in political sentiment. In religion a Baptist, and is a worthy member of the Beaver Dam church. GENERAL EDWARD S. BRAGG, FOND DU LAC. A MONG the prominent men of Wisconsin, few . deserve a more honorable mention than Ed- ward Stuyvesant Bragg, of Fond du Lac. A native of Otsego county, New York, he was born at Una- dilla on the 20th of February, 1827, the son of Joel and Margaretta (Kohl) Bragg. He passed his earlier years on his father’s farm, and prepared for college at the Delaware Academy in Delhi. Later he spent three years in the college at Geneva, but was obliged to discontinue his studies before graduating because of a scarcity of funds. He began the study of law in 1848, and being admitted to the bar at Norwich, Chenango county, returned to his native town and entered the office of his old preceptor, Charles C. Noble, and remained there until 1850, when he settled in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. This place was then a rapidly growing village, and Mr. Bragg soon established a good legal practice, the increase of which kept pace with the growth of the town. Mr. Bragg gave himself unremittingly to profes- sional work until the opening of the civil war, when he entered the army as captain of Company E, 6 th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. On the 6th of September, 1861, he was made major, and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in 1862. In the following year he was made colonel, and in 1864 was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general. Throughout his army service General Bragg dis- played much coolness, courage, and other qualities which entitle one to military leadership, and his honorable military record will long perpetuate his memory. He was mustered out of the service in October, 1865, and returned to his home, bearing with him the good will and warm friendship of bis comrades in arms, and receiving a most hearty wel- come by his friends, among whom he still continues the practice of law, being recognized as among the leading men in the profession. In 1854 General Bragg was elected district attor- ney; in 1867 he was sent to the State senate; and during the same year was appointed postmaster by Andrew Johnson. In November, 1876, he was elected to congress, receiving a majority of over five thousand votes. His politics have always been democratic. General Bragg has many excellent traits of char- acter. He is modest, unassuming and destitute of egotism. He is cordial in disposition, easy and affable in manners, and the life of the social circle, while his moral character is above reproach. His religious views are Episcopalian. His wife was Miss Cornelia Coleman, to whom he was married January 2, 1855, and by whom he has three daughters and one son. ADIN RANDALL, EAU CLAIRE. T HE subject of this biography, a son of Elisha Randall and Betsy ?ide Brown, was born in the town of Brookfield, Madison county, New York, October 12, 1829. In the family were nine sons and two daughters, Adin being the eighth child. The father died when Adin was sixteen years old, and thus thrown upon his own resources, with only a common-school education, he left school and learned the carpenter’s trade, at which he worked until his twenty-second year, when he went to Phillipsville, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 555 Allegany county, New York, in company with his eldest brother, Elisha, and engaged in manufacturing sash, doors and blinds, until 1854. He next re- moved to Madison, Wisconsin, and operated as a contractor and builder for two years, and in 1856 settled in Eau Claire. He was the original proprie- tor of the West Side, known as West Eau Claire, where he was engaged as a lumberman, merchant and manufacturer until his death, which occurred on the 26th of April, 1868. His widow, whose maiden name was Clamenzia E. Babcock, and to whom he was united in marriage on the 10th of March, 1852, is still living in Eau Claire. She was left with six children. A true type of Christian women, although in only moderate circumstances, she is noted for her good deeds. Mr. Randall was the first treasurer of Eau Claire county, and was true to every trust ever confided to him. His character and standing are well portrayed in an obituary notice published in a local paper at the time of his demise, which we append slightly condensed : Kind feelings toward his fellow-men, and liberality in mind and purse, were prominent characters of his life. 1 1 is enemies — if, indeed, any persons could be so termed — were very few, and they never seemed to entertain a bitter feel- ing toward him, tor the reason that his sentiments, though often harshly expressed, were generally interpreted as the candor and frankness of his mind honestly entertained. Mr. Randall was one of the oldest and most prominent settlers in this county. Industry, energy and enterprise un- excelled were elements of his prosperity, which stimulated many of our citizens to noble effort. For many years the village of West Eau Claire was called Randalltown, simply from the interest taken in its growth and development by Mr. Randall. His contributions were always at the head of the list of appropriations for public expenditures, lie would share his last dollar with an un- fortunate fellow-being, and his whole aim in life seemed to be to work for the benefit of others as well as himself. He was a man of strong and inflexible mind. His career was one of incessant toil, apparently made easy by the gratify- ing knowledge that in helping himself he was aiding his fellow-men. Though his earthly career has come to an end, he will long be remembered as a good and true man, — one whose life, while among us, was one of inestimable benefit to the thrift and enterprise of Eau Claire and the Chippewa valley. GENERAL HENRY G. BERTRAM, JUNE A U. H ENRY G. BERTRAM, a native of Prussia, is the son of Frederic William Bertram and Emily nee Nickse, and was born October 5, 1825. He immigrated to America when about fifteen years old, and served in the regular army, United States artillery, five years, and participated in the Mexican war. At its close he returned to New York city, and there kept a hotel ; and later went to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and spent three years in the same business. He removed to Wisconsin in 1858 and settled at Watertown, and was engaged as a mer- chant there at the opening of the civil war. He was appointed lieutenant of the Watertown Rifles, Wis- consin active militia, May 13, 1861; first lieutenant company A, 3d Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers, on the 30th of September following; lieutenant-colonel of the 20th Regiment, July 1, 1862; colonel of the same regiment December 6, 1862; and brigadier general, by brevet, on the 13th of March, 1865. These several promotions were made for meritori- ous services. While with the 3d Regiment he assist- ed in capturing the disloyal legislature of Maryland at- Frederic city, in July, 1861. On. the 24th of the following September he was promoted to the cap- taincy of his company; and had command of three companies, October 16, at Boliver Heights, and par- ticipated in both engagements at Winchester, March 23 and May 25, 1862. After joining the 20th Regi- ment he commanded a brigade at the battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas, December 7, 1862, and was slightly wounded. He assisted, on the 28th of the same month, in the capture of Van Buren, Arkansas, and arrived with the brigade June 13, 1863, before Vicksburg, and entered that city on the 4th of July. On the nth of the same month he was at the cap- ture of Yazoo City, Mississippi. He was post com- mander at Brownsville, Texas, from November 4, 1863, until its evacuation. He aided in the siege and capture of Fort Morgan, Alabama, and had several engagements with the enemy near Pasca- goula, while in command of the district of South Alabama. He commanded a brigade at the capture of Spanish Fort, Alabama, April 3, 1865, and entered Mobile three days afterward. It was for such gal- lant services as are here epitomized that he was breveted brigadier-general. Few men during the rebellion were more deserving of the honors be- stowed upon them than was he. General Bertram received two commissions from Governor Randall, two from Governor Solomon, and two from President 55 6 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. Johnson. The last one from the President was for postmaster of Watertown, he being appointed Sep- tember 19, 1866. He has also a commission from Governor Washburn, dated June 3, 1873, appoint- ing him notary public for Dodge county. He was mayor of Watertown in 1870, and was elected sheriff of Dodge county in the autumn of the same year, the ward in which he lived in Watertown being in that county. On January r, 1871, he moved to J uneau, the county seat. The winter before leaving Watertown he was a member of the assembly. Since the expiration of his term of office as sheriff he has been a merchant, and is now a hotel-keeper (1877). October 1, 1853, while keeping a hotel in Rio de Janeiro, he was married to Miss Matilda Bart liman, a native of Germany. They had five children, of whom three are now living. Mrs. Bertram died at Watertown in 1865. In 1868 General Bertram went to Germany, and on the 4th of July was married to Miss Laura Westphal, a native of Prussia. They have had three children, only one of whom is now living. General Bertram has seen more of the world than most hotel-keepers. When thirteen or fourteen he went to China as cabin-boy on a Prussian vessel, and visited Hong Kong and other Chinese ports. When on the coast of Sumatra, the vessel lying at anchor, he was sent ashore with two natives of Hin- doostan, to obtain chickens, ducks, bananas, etc. On their return toward the vessel a sudden squall upset their craft, and, leaving the other two persons clinging to it, he swam ashore, a mile and a half, through the outward-beating surf. The next morn- ing he learned that the other two persons had been picked up by a fishing-boat. General Bertram is very talkative, and his remi- niscences of early days in Asia and South America, and during the civil war, are full of interest. ROBERT BOYD, D.D., W A U KESHA. T HE subject of this brief biography, the pastor of a church whose house of worship he has not been able to enter for nearly ten years, and who has written and had published nine distinct works while lying on his bed paralyzed in his lower limbs, is a native of Scotland, and was born at Ayrshire, on the 24th of August, 1816. His parents were John Boyd, a woolen manufacturer, and Elizabeth nee Mc- Lean. The Boyd family is descended from Earl Boyd, who was beheaded during the rebellion under the Stuart dynasty. Robert spent his early years at school, and lost his father when about half through his educational course; being thus thrown upon his own resources, he resorted to temperance lecturing in order to acquire means for continuing his studies. He was the first person in the west of Scotland to publicly advocate teetotalism. He was then about twenty years of age, and being quite young in ap- pearance, and speaking occasionally from the pulpit .on Sundays, was called the “Boy Preacher,” curios- ity drawing crowds to hear him. He finished his literary education at the Glasgow College. Later, he studied theology with different clergymen, there being no seminaries for such a purpose in those days, and was ordained as a Baptist minister in the city of Stirling, Scotland, in the autumn of 1840. There he preached until 1843, when he crossed the ocean and became a pastor at Brockville, Canada, continuing there about seven years, and then remov- ing to London in the western part of the Dominion. There he was pastor of the Baptist Church about seven years, when, being partially out of health, he removed to Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he had a home left to his wife, and where he rested a few months. While in Canada he labored very hard. Aside from the cares and responsibilities of filling the pulpit and supplying the pastorate, he had the oversight of the building of a house of worship in each place where he was settled, and did considera- ble lecturing on temperance and other subjects. In the summer of 1856 Dr. Boyd was invited to become pastor of the Edina Place Baptist Church, of Chicago (the present name of the street is Third avenue). The church was afterward known as the Wabash Avenue, and is now the Michigan Avenue Baptist Church. When he began his pastorate the church numbered fourteen members, and when he resigned in 1863, it then being on Wabash avenue, it numbered about three hundred. Before leaving Chicago his lower limbs became partially paralyzed, so that he was obliged to sit while preaching. Re- turning to his home in Waukesha, he preached in THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 557 the Baptist Church for four years in a sitting pos- ture, being carried to and from his pulpit. Finally, in 1867, he took his bed, and has had his clothes on but once in more than nine years. His disease is very gradually working upward, having reached with- in two or three inches of his heart and lungs. His head is not in the least affected, and he retains all his original vigor and clearness of thought, and men- tally, few people are more active. Before taking his bed Dr. Boyd had published one volume called “ Glad Tidings,” an eminently re- ligious work, which has passed through about thirty editions. During the last nine years he has aver- aged one volume a year ; his works in the order of publication being, “ None but Christ,” “ Young Con- verts,” “Food for Lambs,” “Grace and Truth,” “Wee Willie,” “The Good Shepherd,” and “My Inquiry Meeting.” A tenth work recently prepared, “Comfort for the Afflicted,” is now in press. Dur- ing these years of bodily affliction Dr. Boyd has been a frequent contributor to the religious press, and was never more busy in that direction than at this time (the spring of 1877). Most of his writings are eminently instructive, and have a highly devo- tional tendency. They are fragrant with the aroma of a sanctified spirit patiently and cheerfully waiting the call from on high to come home. A sweeter ex- ample of Christian resignation is rarely seen. The wife of Dr. Boyd was Miss Christina Forbes, of Stirling. Their union occurred April 6, 1840. They have had nine children, all daughters, and have lost three of them. Mary, the eldest of the living, is the wife of the Rev. Dr. C. L. Thompson, of Chicago; Lizzie is the widow of the late Somer- ville Thompson, of Chicago; Christina is the wife of Professor Bastian, of the University of Chicago ; Jessie is the wife of Floyd C. Babcock, an attorney of Milwaukee ; Ida is the wife of Harvey C. Olin, a bookkeeper at the Chicago Stock-yards, and Lilly is unmarried and lives at home, being about to grad- uate from Carroll College, Waukesha. Mrs. Boyd is a model Christian mother, and a helpmeet in the noblest sense to her afflicted husband. Dr. Boyd received his title of Doctor of Divinity from Shurtleff College, in June, 1859. He is still associate pastor of the Baptist Church in Waukesha, his people refusing to accept his resignation. Their frequent and liberal benefactions are a token of the high esteem in which he is held. All the people of Waukesha are very kind to him, and he has tho- roughly tested the rich benefits of living in a warm- hearted Christian community. LAWRENCE T. FRIBERT, JUNE A U. L AWRENCE T. FRIBERT was born on the 10th v of February, 1816, and is the son of Christian and Ulricca Fribert. His father at that time held an official appointment in the city of Copenhagen, Denmark, where he then resided. Lawrence received a thorough and most liberal education from his parents, and profited by the opportunity. He seems to have borne in mind that “Opportunity has hair in front, behind she is bald ; if you seize her by the forelock you may hold her; but if suffered to escape, not Jupiter himself can catch her again.” At school, then, we find that he applied himself assiduously to his tasks. On leaving school he resolved to commence the study of the law, which he accordingly did, making rapid prog- ress and quickly becoming proficient, as is shown by the fact that he began practicing his profession at the early age of twenty, and continued to do so for a period of eighteen years, with every success. In the year 1855 he immigrated to America and settled at Juneau, Wisconsin, where, without loss of time, he proceeded to study the laws of the United States. He was not overburdened with wealth, and besides, labored under the great difficulty of know- ing nothing of the English language; but by dint of steady application and indomitable perseverance he mastered it, and two years later entered into copart- nership with Messrs. Gill and Barber, of Watertown, with whom he remained until the autumn of 1863. when he resumed his practice at Juneau, at which place he is at present professionally engaged (1877). Mr. Fribert possesses that quality which is essen- tial to any one who would succeed, namely, “ the gift of continuance.” His has not been a mere sur- face study, but one long, protracted application to his profession ; and it is this which has enabled him to build up his very lucrative practice. In religion, he belongs to the Lutheran church. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DIC TIONAR V. 58 In politics, he was a supporter of the republican party until 1872. He is now a reformer. On the 4th of July, 1866, he espoused a lady of many graces and accomplishments, Miss Mary Brand, bv whom he has had two children. It has been said that “ the worth of a State, in the long run, is the worth of the individuals composing it,” and Mr. Fribert’s many and sincere friends at- test the sterling value of the man, and his professional success is a warranty of his value as a lawyer. WALLACE MYGATT, KENOSHA. O NE of the public parks in the city of Hart- ford, Connecticut, contains a monument upon which is engraved the names of the first settlers of that place. Among the list is that of Sylvester Mygatt. All that is recorded of him is that he came from England, and that he was one of the deacons of the Presbyterian Church of Hartford. Wallace Mygatt is a lineal descendant of him whose name adorns the Hartford monument, and was born near Clinton, Oneida county, New York, September 18, 1818. He is the son of Sylvester Mygatt, who was born and raised in Connecticut, but soon after his marriage to Miss Abi Booth, the mother of our subject, moved to the State of New York, where he purchased a farm which he afterward cultivated. He was ambitious to give his children the very best education possible, and to this end withheld neither means nor endeavors of any kind in the tuition of his older sons ; but experience soon taught him that educational ac- quirements caused them to desert the homestead and engage in professional or mercantile pursuits as soon as they came of age. Not wishing to exile from home the last of his sons — our sub- ject — he varied his practice somewhat in his case and tried to restrain him from too intimate an ac- quaintance with the schools. There was a large farm to cultivate, and after arriving at a suitable age for work, Wallace usually labored seven months of the year in the fields, and devoted the remain- der of the time to attendance at a country school- When about fifteen years of age he attended what was termed the “ High School,” situated at Paris Hill, in his native county, during two terms, ag- gregating six months; and thus, with the cultiva- tion of his natural gifts, which were of a very high order, he became one of the most accomplished men of his day, possessing a talent well qualified for the production of fictitious literature. He was raised under peculiar influences. De- scended from Puritanic ancestors, his parents in- herited many of the peculiar views of that excel- lent but austere people. His father conceived it best to withhold from his children all books except the Bible, commentaries upon the same, and works upon agriculture and husbandry. His mother con- sidered that the story of the farmer pelting the fruit-stealing boy from his apple-tree, first with grass and afterward with stones, should be elimi- nated from the school-books as manifestly un- truthful. Whether she thought the farmer would not be so great a fool as to try the experiment of driving a “ rude boy ” from his fruit-tree with “tufts of grass,” or that the boy was too virtuous to steal his neighbor’s apples, is not known ; but she regarded the story as improbable, and therefore calculated to mislead, and consequently of a vicious character. There was, however, a tendency on the part of the families of both parents toward “ word- painting," which caused an “irrepressible conflict” on his mother’s part between duty and inclination, she believing that all intensifications or variations, verbal or written, of the words “ yea ” and “ nay,” were sinful, and should be evaded; but in spite of all educational bias to the contrary, the trait of character alluded to took effect in and is largely in- herited by our subject, who, from an early period, indulged the natural bent of his mind in writing stories for his own amusement and that of others; the discipline under which he was held, however, was so exact that he was obliged to restrict this indulgence to times “ when the moon lit her watch- tower in the clouds,” and some of his best stories were written by the pale light of the aforesaid luminary. On reaching his majority Wallace followed the example of his older brothers, and quit the pater- nal roof, striking at once for the broad prairies of the West, where his fancies would have ample scope for indulgence, arriving at Kenosha, Wiscon- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 559 sin, on the 29th of October, 1839. He was fol- lowed by his father and the rest of the family in the month of June succeeding. They “ squatted ” upon a section of government land some three miles west of Racine, since known as “ Mygatt’s Corner.” Our subject again united with the fam- ily, and assisted his father in making the neces- sary improvements, and in the cultivation of the “new land” upon which he had located, until the year 1842, at which time he commenced the pub- lication and editorial management of a newspaper at Kenosha, Wisconsin. After devoting two years to this enterprise he leased his paper to Lewis P. Harvey, who was afterward governor of the State. Six years later he was again the editor and pub- lisher of the paper, which he finally disposed of in 1849. Since that date he has been engaged in merchandising as a chief employment, devoting a considerable portion of his time, however, to the writing of articles for newspapers in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan, and also, at times, giving to fancy freedom in the production of a romance or a verse of poetry. Not a few of the products of his pen, in both prose and verse, have attained to great popularity and wide circulation. He has held the office of deputy United States marshal since the 20th May, 1850, and is still the incumbent of that office, and likely to be during the remainder of his lifetime. He also acted as foreman of the United States engineer corps in the improvement of the harbor of Kenosha during the years 1870, 1871 and 1872, and is the author of an authentic chart of the harbor, of which the marine editor of the “ Inter-Ocean ” says : “ It is beautifully gotten up, and what is better, is as accurate as any government chart could be, re- flecting the greatest credit upon Mr. Mygatt. The most important figures as to depth of water were taken from it and printed in the ‘ Inter-Ocean ’* a day or two since.” In politics he has always acted with the repub- lican party, exercising considerable influence in his locality. He has likewise for many years been an uncompromising enemy of intoxicating drinks, and a staunch supporter of the cause of total ab- stinence. Most of his pen-productions are designed to point a moral in this direction, and it cannot be denied that in this cause lie wields a trench- ant pen. In reviewing his life, however, he says that the only praiseworthy things he has ever accomplished were the saving of two men from drowning, and doing all in his power to save a third, — also, the saving of a child from a like untimely end, which he did in the years 1835 and 1843. In February, 1846, he was married to Miss Mary J. Gibson, a native of New Hampshire. The result of this union was four children, all sons, named in the order of their birth, Theodore, Frederick, William, and Beauregard. Brought up in the Calvinistic faith, he still holds to the belief of his fathers, with some slight modi- fications. He believes the Bible accounts of the creation to be literally true, and that those geol- ogists who imagine the formations on the earth’s surface to be antagonistic thereto are mere super- ficial investigators, or, in other words, they are pre- tenders and empirics. HENRY MITCHELL, RACINE. H ENRY MITCHELL was born in Fifeshire, Scotland, March 11, 1810, and is the son of William and Elizabeth (Jackson) Mitchell, whose ancestors had been inhabitants of the “land of brown heath and shaggy wood ” back to a period lost in antiquity ; a stern and sturdy race, self-reliant and liberty-loving ; all natural born republicans. His father was a farmer, and, in addition to his agricul- tural pursuits, carried on a limited traffic between the capital and some of the smaller adjacent towns of Scotland, somewhat similar to that now transacted by the great express companies of America. He was descended of Covenanter stock, a man of ster- ling principles, unswervingly honest and upright, pious and devoted to the principles of his ancestors. In 1845 he followed his son to America and died in Racine in 1857. His mother was a sturdy, energetic woman, a devoted member of the Scotch Presby- terian church, ambitious for the education and ad- vancement of her children. She died in Kenosha in the year 1847. William and Elizabeth Mitchell had a family of THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONART. 560 eleven children, seven of whom lived to maturity, four sons and three daughters. Of the sons, Janies and William are farmers in Lake county, Illinois. Agnes, the eldest daughter, is the wife of Janies Elder, a farmer in Minnesota. Catherine is the wife of George Yule, of Kenosha, Wisconsin. Eliza is the widow of the late Peter McCambridge, a wealthy merchant of Princes street, Edinburgh, while the youngest son, Thomas, is a seed merchant in San Jose, California. Our subject, Henry Mitchell, received his educa- tion in his native shire, mainly at an evening private school, where he gave special attention to the art of drawing. He was an apt scholar; persistent and painstaking, and generally excelled at whatever he set his mind on. At the age of fifteen he was ap- prenticed to learn the wheelwright business, at which he served faithfully for a period of seven years, be- coming one of the most accomplished mechanics in his line, being specially expert in the manufacture of wheels. After completing his apprenticeship he was employed as foreman of a large shop in Edinboro, where he remained for eighteen months. In the year 1834 he immigrated to America and settled in Chicago, where he remained for five years, working in various shops at his trade. He also had a con- tract for constructing a portion of the Illinois and Michigan canal. In 1839 he removed to Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he commenced business on his own account, built up a large trade, and remained until 1855, when he sold out his establishment to Edward Bain, who has since carried on the busi- ness with success. In the last named year Mr. Mitchell settled in Racine, his present home, where he purchased property, erected shops and com- menced the manufacture of farm wagons and plows; at first on a limited scale, but steadily extending his operations as the demands of trade increased until at the present time his establishment is one of the largest and most perfectly equipped in the nation, being rivaled by but two others. The ma- chinery, which is in many instances peculiar to the establishment, is perhaps the most complete and thoroughly adapted to the purposes for which it is designed to be found in the world. A stranger visiting this immense workshop for the first time and witnessing the operation of the vast and compli- cated machinery, the perfect adaptation of the vari- ous appliances to the designed end, the ease with which the several departments are carried on, — all designed to ameliorate, if not to remove, the orig- inal “ curse,” — can hardly resist the conclusion that the long expected millennium is at hand. The cash capital employed in the buildings and machinery is over half a million dollars, number of hands stead- ily employed over two hundred, while from eight to ten thousand farm and spring wagons are annually manufactured and sold ; and these are among the most elegantly constructed, light and easy running vehicles of their kind in the world. It is needless to add that Mr. Mitchell has become wealthy and influential, and has surrounded himself with the lux- uries and elegancies which adorn and refine human life. He has no taste for the responsibilities or distinc- tion of public office, but at the solicitation of his fellow-citizens he has consented to fill the position of alderman of his ward for the past seven years. He is also a member of the Artesian A'Vell Company of Racine, by means of which the city is supplied with water. He is likewise a stockholder in the Manufacturers’ National Bank of Racine, and is a promoter of every enterprise for the material or moral benefit of the community. He is a Master Mason, and has traveled extensively both in Europe and America, and is one of the best informed men of his day. He was raised in the Scotch Presbyterian church, but on more fully considering the ground of his faith in maturer years, he united with the Baptist church in 1839, and has since been a member of that body. Pie is an officer and one of the largest beneficiaries of the church of Racine, and largely owing to his liberality is due the erection of the present magnificent and commodious edifice of the denomination ; nor is he less liberal in his contribu- tions to Christian and benevolent objects generally. In politics he has been generally claimed as a den\ocrat, though he votes for men rather than party. He supported Mr. Lincoln for the presidency, and heartily espoused the cause of the North during the late rebellion. His career has been marked throughout by indus- try, close and unremitting attention to business, promptness, liberality in his dealings, courteous and gentlemanly manners, and by a scrupulous adher- ence to the strictest principles of integrity in all his transactions. His reputation in all the relations of life is unblemished. In social life he is character- ized by a noble-heartedness and cordiality that ren- der him at once both popular and influential. He was married on the 1st of January, 1832, to THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 561 Miss Margaret Mitchell, daughter of James Mitchell, his father’s brother, a pious, amiable and benevo- lent lady, a devoted member of the Baptist church, whose life has been spent in doing good to all about her. They have had eight children, two of whom died in infancy and six survive : ' William, Eliza, Mary, Martha, Henry, and Frank. William is an extensive saw-mill owner and lumber merchant in Olympia, Washington Territory; Mary is the wife of William F. Lewis, a member of the firm known as Mitchell, Lewis and Co. ; Martha is the wife of C. L). St. Clair, also a member of the firm ; Henry is overseer of the works, and Frank, the youngest, is bookkeeper of the establishment. HON. DAVID W. SMALL, OCONOMOWOC. D AVID W. SMALL, a native of Philadelphia county, Pennsylvania, was born at Frankfort, December 18, 1827. His father was a farmer, and both parents were members of the Society of Friends. He was reared on his father’s farm in a very exem- plary manner, being early taught the virtues as well as the industries of life. Prior to his sixteenth year he had received only the literary instruction afforded by a common school during the winters. He then spent two years at the Moravian College at Nazareth, and at the age of eighteen began to teach and to read law, alternating between these two pur- suits for about five years, and in April, 1850, was admitted to the bar at Doylstown in his native State. Thinking that the West furnished a better field for young attorneys than the older States, he immedi- ately started for Wisconsin, reaching Oconomowoc in May. Twenty-seven years ago this place was a very small village; legal business was not pressing, and as he was not disposed to be idle, he spent part of his time in surveying, for a year or more. At the end of that time he had enough to do in his profes- sion, and since then has never suffered from a want of briefs. Indeed, his has been a busy as well as a successful professional life. Mr. Small held some offices of minor importance soon after coming to Oconomowoc. In 1862 he was elected district attorney for Waukesha county, and subsequently reelected. He was chosen judge of the second judicial circuit in 1869, and reelected in 1875, and still holds the office, discharging its duties with credit to himself and the satisfaction of all. In politics, Judge Small was a whig, with “silver gray ” proclivities, until about 1855, when, the name of his favorite party having disappeared from the political calendar, he became a democrat, and to this party owes his elevation to the bench. His wife, who was Miss Susannah Ely, is an ac- complished lady, the mother of three children, one son and two daughters. The son is now studying in Europe. Judge Small has a small farm adjoining the city, and bounded on one side by La Belle lake, near the shore of which sheet of water stands his large farm house. The house is in a little grove, and Pan, the heathen divinity, might covet its delightful situation. JOHN R. BRANDT, A.M., M.D., ARCADIA. D R. BRANDT, a native of Troy, New York, was born June 7, 1838, and is the son of William Andreas Brandt, of Holland Dutch extrac- tion, and Mary nee Gillespie, of Scotch descent. She is noted for great force of character. Both parents were born in Rensselaer county, New York. They moved to Winnebago county, Wisconsin, in 1850, and settled near Eureka, where the mother became quite noted for her skill in handling various 6 2 diseases, she being a great advocate of hydropathy. As early as 1851 she was accustomed to use the thermometer in fevers. The father was a compe- tent linguist, and was generally well educated. John remained on the Indian reservation in Winnebago county under his instruction until 1853, when he spent one season at school in Omro, but wanted better opportunities for an education. He had heard of Oberlin College and its manual labor feature, 562 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONART. and on the 3d of February, 1854, started on foot, nearly penniless and alone, and on the 3d of May entered that town, having walked the entire distance of more than eight hundred miles ! He stopped at several places and worked a short time in order to replenish his wardrobe. He started with five cents in his pocket and reached Oberlin with two of them. There he found a home with Hiram Pease, one of the founders of the institution. In a short time he was fitted to teach, and accordingly in lune, 1856, he went to Mason county, Kentucky, and opened a select school near Maysville. He completed his course of studies at the Maysville Literary Institute in 1862. He spent two years in Bourbon county, teaching in private families and a select school; and in 1864 became professor of languages and music in the Cloverport Presbyter- ian Institute, in Breckenridge county; and the next year president of the Harrisburg Institute. He is a fine Oriental scholar, and at the age of twenty- four years delivered a course of lectures on the Jewish and other Oriental religions. In 1868 he attended lectures in the medical de- partment of the Louisville University, having previ- ously read with Dr. A. G. Stitt, of Millersburg. He also studied aural and ophthalmic surgery with Dr. Cheatham, of that city. In 1871 he began the prac- tice of medicine at Milford, Kentucky; three years later he went to Cincinnati, and made a special study of diseases of the. eye, and also attended lectures at the Miami Medical College and the Medical Col- lege of Ohio, graduating from the latter in 1874. Thus thoroughly prepared for medical practice in its widest range, he, in 1876, returned to AVisconsin and settled at Arcadia, in Trempealeau county. Though a general practitioner, Dr. Brandt makes the treatment of the eye and ear a specialty, and has become widely known for his skill and success. He is a Council Mason. In politics he is a demo- crat, and in religious sentiment, a Presbyterian with Catholic tendencies. He was county school commissioner in Kentucky for several years, and in 1862 proposed, at a far- mers’ convention, an institution similar to the pres- ent Grangers’ Society, and was perhaps the first person to propose such an organization. He is an original thinker, and is polished in manners as well as in education. CHARLES W. FELKER, OSHKOSH. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Penn Yan, Yates county, New York, was born on the 25th of November, 1834, and is the son of An- drew and Maria (Pixley) Felker. His father, an enterprising man, was a farmer in good circum- stances. Charles’ early life presents few phases in distinction from that of ordinary farmer boys. He first attended school at Brockport, New York, and later pursued a course of study at Charlotteville, Schoharie county. In 1855, being twenty-one years of age, having determined to enter the legal profession, he removed to the West, and settled at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, his present home, and there began the study of law with Judge Wheeler. At the expira- tion of one year he took the editorship of the Osh- kosh “Democrat,” a republican paper then advocating the election of John C. Fremont to the Presidency. He held this position for one and a half years and then resumed his studies with Judge AVheeler, con- tinuing them till April, 1858, when he was admitted to the bar at Oshkosh. He at once commenced practice and soon became well known as a skillful and successful attorney. In 1864, his sympathies having been deeply aroused in the Union cause, he enlisted in the army as captain of Company A, 48th Regiment of AVisconsin Volunteer Infantry. Serving till the close of the war, he was mustered out in Jan- uary, 18.66, and returning to his home, resumed his legal practice, associating himself with Charles A. Weisbrod, whose sketch appears in another part of this work, under the firm name of Felker and Weis- brod. During that year he was appointed post- master at Oshkosh, by President Johnson, and held that office until 1867. From the beginning of his practice he has been growing in influence, and each year has added largely to his business. He makes his profession his study, and spares no pains in the preparation of his cases. In 1863 he was admitted to the Supreme Court of AVisconsin, and in 1875, to the Supreme Court of the United States. He is now (1877) attorney for the Chicago and Northwestern Railway Company. In 1873 he was THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 565 elected school commissioner, and, in 1875, superin- tendent of schools. Mr. Felker’s career has been marked by a gradual growth. When he began the practice of law he had in his pocket a single York shilling, and this he paid for having his books removed to his office. Success has attended him in all his work, and he stands to- day among the first advocates of his State, with a large and remunerative practice, and lives in the en- joyment of a pleasant home and ample competence. As a speaker he ranks among the best; cool, delib- erate and with clear-cut thoughts, he has a remark- able power of argument. He has excellent social qualities, and exerts a strong influence over a large circle of warm friends. His political views are democratic. Though not a member of any church or organiza- tion, he believes in Christianity, and is an attendant upon the Episcopal service. Mr. Felker was married on the 5th of January, 1862, to Miss Sarah Douty, and by her has two daughters and three sons. MARTIN T. DRAPER, OCONOMOWOC. M ARTIN THAYER DRAPER, son of Frost Draper, a farmer, and Mary ne’e Thayer, was born at Uxbridge, Massachusetts, on the 2 2d of Aug- ust, 1814. His grandfather, David Draper, was one of the first patriots to enlist in defense of the rights of the Colonies, and fought at Bunker Hill and in subsequent battles. His mother had ten brothers, most of whom were educated at Amherst College. But few of them, however, followed professional life. Martin received only a common-school education. He had a taste for mercantile pursuits, and became a general trader, sometimes in AVest India goods and dry goods, and at other times in lumber and coal, in different parts of Massachusetts. In 1843 he came to the West, reaching Milwaukee on the 5th of November; there he acted as an agent, entering and disposing of lands and collecting for eastern houses. He remained in Milwaukee nine years and then removed to Portage, where he lived about the same length of time, selling goods and act- ing as trustee and assignee for different parties; doing, at times, an extensive business in the latter line. In February, 1862, Mr. Draper removed to Ocon- omowoc and purchased what is now known as the Draper Hall property, though he did not open it as a hotel until 1869. The site is one of the loveliest for a public house in the State, being on a narrow neck of land, with Fowler lake on one side within a hundred feet of the house, and La Belle lake on the other only two hundred feet away, the waters of both being as clear as crystal. AVhen Mr. Draper first opened the house to the public it had accom- modations for lodging about twenty-five persons; he has enlarged it from time to time and erected several neat cottages only a few steps from the main building, and can now entertain comfortably more than a hundred guests. Oconomowoc has become a popular summer resort, and Draper Hall, open during the whole year, is usually crowded during four or five of the warmest months. The natural attractions of Oconomowoc it is difficult to match in Wisconsin, and Mr. Draper has done more than any other man to make it a favorite resort durihg the hot season. Families come here from the South- ern States and spend four or five months. If Mr. Draper is popular as a landlord he is no less so as a citizen, having served a second term as mayor of the city. In politics, he has always been democratic. He rarely runs for office, but when he does, draws more than the party vote. He has very seldom, however, allowed his name to be used in connection with any office. He is contented to be a faithful private citi- zen and a first-class inn-keeper. Mr. Draper was first married in 1835, to Miss Car- oline AVatson, of Leicester, Massachusetts. They had two children, a son and a daughter, both still living. Mrs. Draper died in 1841. Edward F. is married and is a merchant in New York city; Cor- nelia M. is unmarried, and lives in AVorcester, Mas- sachusetts. Mr. Draper was united with his present wife in July, 1844, and by her has a son and daugh- ter, both of whom are at home. The present Mrs. Draper was Caroline Calkins, of Milwaukee, a wo- man of highly cultivated manners, good social qual- ities and very pleasant address. Her mother, now in her ninety-second year, is living with her, with 566 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONAR2'. mental faculties but slightly impaired, and still amusing herself with the knitting needles, which she learned how to use more than eighty years ago. Her maiden name was Bill; she is a descendant of John and Dorothy Bill, who came to Massachusetts about 1633. The Bill family in England has been traced back more than five hundred years. Some of them in the old country, as well as in this, were noted scholars and doctors of divinity. From the history of the Bill family, published in New York in 1 867 , we learn that on the 20th of November, 1558, the Sunday following Queen Elizabeth’s ascension to the throne, Dr. William Bill preached at St. Paul’s Cross; that he was soon afterward made Her Maj- esty’s chief almoner, and in 1559 was elected provost of Eton College. He held at one time the posi- tions of master of Trinity, provost of Eton, and dean of Westminster, — a distinction, it is said, which no other person ever held. Mr. Draper has been a resident of Wisconsin for thirty-four years, and has contributed his quota of energy and enterprise in the development of the State, and has had his full share of satisfaction and pleasure in its growth and prosperity. GENERAL LEVI GRANT, KENOSHA. L EVI GRANT was born in New Berlin, Chenango county, New York, April 25, 1810, and is the only child of Joshua and Esther (Naramore) Grant, both of whom were natives of Stonington, Connecti- cut. The great-grandfather of our subject was a native Scotchman, who immigrated to America pre- vious to the revolution, and was a near relative of the ancestor of the ex-President. Joshua Grant fallowed the business of farming during his entire life. He moved from Connecticut to New York about the beginning of the present century, and there ended his days. Physically he was a man of massive framework and uncommon energy ; in boy- hood a great wrestler, and noted for feats of strength and agility. He was, moreover, a man of sterling qualities of head and heart, — plain, honest, upright, and although not a member of any church, was a firm believer in Christianity and its institutions; habitually read the Bible in his family and set a good example to his children. The mother of our subject was descended of English ancestors, a robust, active and energetic woman, industrious, intelligent and conscientious, of strong sympathies and deep feelings. Her name is associated in the memory of her son with the most happy and hallowed recollections. She was, through life, an exemplary member of the Methodist Episco- pal church. Both had been previously married and the parents of families who survive them, but our subject was the only fruit of this union. The father died, when the son was young, in the sixty-ninth year of his age, but the mother survived her hus- band many years, dying at the age of seventy-five. Levi Grant received a fair English and mathe- matical education at the district schools of his native town, and at the age of fifteen was apprenticed to learn the art of paper manufacturing, at which busi- ness he served till the age of twenty-one. He sub- sequently pursued the same craft as foreman of a paper-mill in Green county, New York, for a period of five years. But like many other young men of his day, possessed of the spirit of adventure, and the West offering a wider and more promising field for its development, he removed to Wisconsin in 1836, at the age of twenty-six, and settled on a three-hun- dred-acre tract of land in Kenosha county, some twelve miles west of the present city, which under his strong and industrious hands soon put on the habiliments of civilization, and became one of the most beautiful and highly cultivated farms in the West, the most exquisite taste being displayed in the style and arrangement of the dwelling and in the gardens, orchards, fences and general features of the surroundings. As a fanner he was eminently suc- cessful, and accumulated considerable capital. In 1856, however, becoming weary of agricultural pur- suits, which required constant care and unremitting attention, he sold out his beautiful homestead and removed to Kenosha, his present home, and em- barked extensively in the lumber trade, to which his attention has since been mainly devoted, with very satisfactory results. He has not only been success- ful as a business man, but patriotic and public- spirited as a citizen. “ The Grant House,” one of the finest and most elegant hotels in the West, which he built, not so much as a speculative investment as THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. a source of benefit to the city, is a monument to his exquisite taste and public beneficence. His industry, prudent business qualities and high moral character have made him one of the most substantial as well as one of the most highly esteemed citizens of the State. In his youth and early manhood he developed a taste for military tactics and gave some attention to the science of arms. Accordingly, in 1855, he was commissioned by Governor Barstow to the rank of brigadier-general of the State militia, and from this circumstance derived the title of “ general,” which has since clung to him, and by which he was known long before his more distinguished kinsman and namesake was heard of beyond the confines of West Point or the environs of Galena. Like his father, he is a man of great physical development, of ma- jestic mien and fine stature, being six feet four inches in height, with a framework and muscle development in proportion; and had he devoted his life to the profession of arms, would undoubtedly have become a distinguished soldier. In politics, Mr. Grant was always a republican; and though naturally of a modest and retiring na- ture, he has been several times elected to offices of trust and responsibility by his fellow-citizens. In 1843 he served one session in the lower branch of the State legislature, and in 1853 was elected to serve for a period of two years in the State senate ; besides which he has held numerous local offices, always discharging the duties with consummate abil- ity and the most rigid integrity. He has carried through life a spotless character and an unblemished 5 6 7 reputation, which will be the richest legacy he can bequeath to his children. He was married on the 25 th of April, 1832, to Miss Frances E., daughter of the late Nathaniel Etheridge, Esq., of Green county, New York, an extensive farmer and a soldier of the war of 1812. He died at Sacket’s Harbor before the end of that struggle. He was the son of a native Englishman. Mrs. Grant is a lady of superior mental endowments and liberal culture, of refined tastes and high moral aspirations; of an amiable and kindly spirit, and much beloved by her neighbors and all who know her. Both she and her husband have been exem- plary members of the Methodist Episcopal church for forty-seven years, and have been for twenty years past among the leading members of the con- gregation of that denomination in Kenosha. Their union has been blessed with two children, one son and one daughter. The son, Emory Grant, was educated at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, from which he graduated with honor in the class of 1856. After leaving college he engaged with his father in the lumber trade, of which he has since had the chief management. He is a gentle- man of fine business talents and high moral princi- ples. On the 29th of November, 1870, he married Miss Mary A., daughter of Walden Thomas, Esq., a distinguished citizen of Chicago. The only daugh- ter, Julia, a lady of fine accomplishments and most amiable character, is the widow of the late Julius A. Durkee, Esq., of New York city. She resides at present with her parents in Kenosha. RUFUS C. HATHAWAY OCONOMOWOC. A MONG the citizens of Oconomowoc who have witnessed its growth from a town of one hun- dred inhabitants to a little city of three thousand, is Rufus Corey Hathaway, the present city clerk and county surveyor. He is the son of Wilbur Hatha- way, a millwright, and Mercy nfo Goodrich, and was born at Homer, New York, May 24, 1816. His pa- ternal grandfather was a soldier of 1776. Hon. Milo Goodrich, member of the Forty-second Congress from New York State, is a brother of his mother’s. At seventeen years of age Rufus began to learn the carriage makers’ trade, and at twenty began to at- tend the academy at Homer, alternating between working at his trade, teaching and attending school, for about five years. Being of a studious turn of mind he developed a fondness for reading and study, and in this manner employed all his leisure time. While working at his trade in Homer, when about twenty-five, he began to study law, but having to defray his own expenses, was much retarded in his studies. In August, 1842, he removed to Beloit, Wisconsin, and read law a short time with his uncle, Milo Good- rich. He taught a school in Janesville the following winter; in 1843 returned to New York with his uncle and worked at his trade more or less, at the same 5 68 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARV. time continuing the study of law at intervals. He paid special attention to music for several years, and learned to compose it. In 1S4S Mr. Hathaway returned to Wisconsin and bought two hundred acres of wild land in Dodge county. He worked at his trade a short time in Milwaukee, and in the spring of 1849 made a per- manent settlement at Oconomowoc. Here he built him a house, and shortly afterward engaged in sur- veying, a branch of science to which he had devoted considerable attention while in the academy. For some years that branch of business largely occupied his time, he being elected surveyor of Waukesha county several times, and now, as already stated, holding that office. Mr. Hathaway continued his study of law at odd intervals, and about 1862 was admitted to the bar of Waukesha county. He practices in the circuit court and in the supreme court of the State. Prior to 1862 he had done business in the justice court. Much against his disposition he has had several of- fices thrust upon him — offices, most of which he did not want. He has been supervisor several times and was chairman of the board one or two years. Was town clerk several times ; district attorney in 1869 and 1870. in order to take which he resigned the office of justice of the peace ; and is now city clerk. Other offices he has been urged to accept, but peremptorily declined them. Those which he has accepted he has filled in a very satisfactory manner. As a business man he is practical, prompt, accu- rate, reliable ; and though a democrat, the votes which he receives when a candidate are limited to no one party. Miss Flavilla Jane Hobert, of Homer, New York, became his wife in August, 1845. They have had seven children, four of whom are now living, two sons and two daughters, the last two being married. Emma, the elder, is the wife of Wallace Hastings, and lives near Oconomowoc; Lizzie is the wife of Horace Hastings, and lives in Iowa. Mr. Hathaway is a plain appearing man, frank and cordial, genial-hearted, public-spirited, and an excellent citizen. During the first ten or fifteen years of his residence in Oconomowoc he continued to pay much attention to music, and was at one time the leader of a brass band, and while teaching the members, arranged all the music for the several parts. Latterly he has paid little attention to this branch of science, though he has a fine ear for the “concord of sweet sounds.” COLONEL CHARLES WOLCOTT, osiiKosii. A MONG the early settlers and enterprising citi- zens of Oshkosh, none deserves a more honor- able mention than the subject of this sketch, known throughout Winnebago county, Wisconsin, as Colo- nel Wolcott. He is descended from the celebrated Wolcott family of Connecticut. From a reference to the early history of the United States we find that one member of this family was a signer of the Dec- laration of Independence ; another was secretary of the United States Treasury, and two others were governors of the State of Connecticut. His mother, whose maiden name was Loomis, also belonged to a highly honorable family. Professor Loomis, of Yale College, has published a large genea- logical work on the Loomis family, from which we learn that several of its members were officers in the revolutionary army, and that some of our leading scholars bear that name. Talcott Wolcott, the father of our subject, was one of the principal ship-merchants of Hartford, Connecticut, being engaged in the AVest India and South American trade. Charles was born February 17, 1811, in Hartford, and was educated in the excellent graded schools of his native city. He moved to Ohio in 1834, and read law with Governor Tod, of Warren, and was admitted to the bar in that place in 1836. Settling at Wooster, AVayne county, he practiced there until 1850, when he removed to Oshkosh, Wisconsin. While in Ohio, Colonel Wolcott had the command of a regiment of cavalry for twelve years, and from 1841 to 1846 was a member of the house of repre- sentatives and senate of Ohio. On settling in the little village of Oshkosh, twenty- seven years ago, Colonel Wolcott resumed his legal practice., and continued it until about 1864, dealing also, during this time, largely and successfully in real estate. He owns the beautiful brick and stone THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 571 block on the southeast corner of Main and Algoma streets, one of the best business localities in the city, and besides has other property in Oshkosh. Public- spirited and generous he has always been among the foremost in all public interests and improvements. Colonel Wolcott was one of the founders of the Episcopal Church in Oshkosh, and drew up its arti- cles of association, and is the only living member of the church who signed those articles. He is one of the vestrymen, and is highly esteemed by all. As a citizen, he is upright and exemplary, and is well known as a gentleman of refined tastes and polished manners. In politics Colonel Wolcott has always been a democrat, but for many years has not been an active politician. His wife was Miss Ellen Edwards Plummer, daughter of Dr. Nathaniel Plummer, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a prominent man of the State. They were married August 19, 1836, and have no children. Mrs. Wolcott is an accomplished lady, on whose face time lias shrunk from making any but the slight- est furrows. Like her husband, she has much of the vivacity of youth. She carefully cultivates the Christian virtues, and no lady in Oshkosh is more highly esteemed. ALANSON H. LEE, RACINE. A LANSON HENRY LEE, son of Brewster Lee, l is descended from a family who settled in New Hampshire near the close of the seventeenth cen- tury. Members of this family are now distributed through New England and many of the Northwest- ern States. On his mother’s side he comes of Puri- tan stock, his maternal grandfather being a lineal descendant of Elder Brewster, of the Mayflower. He was born at Pomfret, Connecticut, October 10, 1810, and spent the principal part of his early years in one of the large factories, so numerous in that part of the country, en joying but limited educational facilities. He acquired his rudimental knowledge by night study, reading by the light of the fireplace such books as came to hand. But being an apt learner he made the most of his opportunities, and by cultivating his large natural gifts, became one of the best informed men of his day. At an early age he removed to Chautauqua coun- ty, New York, and was there engaged in mercan- tile pursuits with his uncle, Oliver Lee, one of the pioneers of that part of the State, who afterward accumulated a large fortune. He was for many years president of the large banking house of Oliver Lee and Co., Buffalo, and was also largely interested in lake shipping, and was a conspicuous and well- known business man for half a century. Alanson H. Lee resided at Silver Creek, a village about thirty miles southwest from Buffalo, for some years prior to 1841, when he formed a partnership with Mr. John Dickson, elsewhere sketched in this volume, and came to Racine, where, in the autumn of that year, they opened a country store. The career of this firm, its early struggles, its ultimate triumphs, and the important part which it played in developing the resources of Racine, are more fully set forth in the sketch of Mr. Dickson above alluded to. The partnership under the style of Lee and Dick- son continued until the death of the former in 1861. The firm did an extensive business, had an unusu- ally wide-spread reputation, and was foremost in all enterprises which were designed to contribute to the growth and prosperity of the young city. They were among the founders of Racine College, and in a history of the institution, published by Professor Homer Wheeler in 1876, they are mentioned as among the largest contributors of money toward the erection of the building, and, consequently, to whom the college owes a great debt of gratitude. They were largely instrumental in the building of a plank- road from Racine to Delavan, an enterprise of great magnitude and importance at that day. To their efforts was largely due the improvement of the har- bor of Racine, by which it became a safe retreat for vessels, to which circumstance is due, in no small degree, the prosperity of the city. They were also the prime movers in the building of the Racine and Mississippi railroad, now Western Union, and of the Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien railroad. Most of these enterprises proved unremunerative at the time, and the accumulations of the firm were largely absorbed in public works and improvements, of which the present generation are the beneficiaries. Their commercial standing, however, was never im- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 57 2 paired, and their engagements were always met with promptness and exactness. Mr. Lee's health, never robust, was severely taxed by his unremitting industry and devotion to busi- ness, and in the fall of 1861 failed entirely. His death occurred on the 27th of December of that year, after an illness of two months. The relations of Mr. Lee with his business partner, Mr. Dickson, which lasted through a period of twenty years, were always of the most cordial and amicable character, and their memory is cherished with the most pro- found respect by the surviving member of the firm, whose estimate of him is summed up in the words, “he was ‘An honest man — the noblest work of God.’” In personal appearance Mr. Lee was tall and of spare but well-knit frame. In manner somewhat retiring, but always carrying an air of truthfulness and sterling integrity that never failed to impress those with whom he associated. These were, in short, the salient features of his character — his name in the community where he lived, and wher- ever he was known, being still a synonym for honesty and fidelity. His charities were numerous but un- ostentatious, and no religious or benevolent enter- prise ever sought his aid in vain. Although a frequent attendant upon the public worship of God in the Protestant Episcopal church, he was not a member of any religious denomination; nor was he ever connected with any secret society. He never held nor sought an office, but always refused to allow the use of his name in connection with any candidacy. He was not a politician, but in early life had affiliated with the democratic party, and in after years supported its candidates. He sup- ported the administration of Abraham Lincoln, and was known as a war democrat at the time of his death. Mr. Lee was twice married : First, to Miss Per- melia A. Gaylord, at Chautauqua, New York, shortly before he came to Racine. By her he had three children, only one of whom survives, namely, Mr. Chas. H. Lee, of the law firm of Fish and Lee, Ra- cine, a young gentleman of fine education, brilliant intellect and large promise. Mrs. Lee died in 1853, and three years later he married her sister, Miss Sarah M. Gaylord, who survives. REESE T. REESE, BERLIN. W r ITH a single exception, the subject of this notice has been in the mercantile trade in Berlin longer than any other parties. He began on a moderate scale, doing business from the start on strictly honorable principles, and increased his busi- ness from time to time as the growing demands of trade would warrant, and now has the largest prem- ises and the largest stock of general merchandise in Berlin. All this has been done by strict adherence to business and careful attention to all its details. Reese T. Reese is a native of Wales, but has spent all but the first ten or eleven years of his life in this country and in Wisconsin. His parents were Thomas Reese and Anna nee Shelby, both natives of Wales. In the old country Thomas Reese was a joiner by trade, but on coming to AVisconsin, about 1842, he decided to get his living out of the soil, and to this end opened a farm in Waukesha county. About four years later he removed to AAhnnebago county, and a short time afterward to Waushara county, where he still resides, having passed his three-score years and ten, and still remaining quite healthy. His wife died in that county about five years ago. Young Reese remained with his parents until of age, when he began life for himself. He spent about five years in hotels in Waukesha county and in Milwaukee, and on May 1, 1857, settled in Ber- lin. At first, in company with H. A. Williams, now of St. Louis, he opened a small grocery store ; two years later he put in a general stock, and continued in this partnership until 1862, when Mr. Williams sold out to Pliney F. Whiting, and the firm of Reese and Whiting has been in business steadily from that date. They have a double brick store, eighty by one hundred feet, and three stories high above the basement, standing on ground which they own; usually carry about forty thousand dollars’ worth of stock, and do on an average a business of one hun- dred and twenty-five -thousand dollars annually. It is the leading house of the kind in the county, and has stood firm as a rock through all the financial crises of the last twenty years. In politics Mr. Reese is a republican, but would THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 573 never accept an office of any kind, except that of alderman for a term or two. He is a Royal Arch Mason. In 1862 he was married to Miss Matilda Troxell, of Winnebago county, Wisconsin, a woman of great excellence of character. The fruit of this union has been seven children, four of whom are now living. In appearance Mr. Reese is a man of light com- plexion and blue eyes. He is five feet and eleven inches tall, and weighs two hundred and fifteen pounds. He usually wears a cheerful face. He is very social in his disposition ; pleasant to his em- ployes as well as customers; has warm, generous feelings toward all classes, and is especially kind to the poor. As a man he is known and esteemed for his real worth, and by his industrious and upright life has endeared himself to all who have been brought under his influence. ELI HOOKER, WAUPUN. T HE Hooker family, from which the subject of this sketch is descended, were among the earliest settlers in New England. The great-grand- father of Eli, Hezekiah Hooker, was born at Med- bury, Connecticut, about 1720; his grandfather, (esse Hooker, about 1743 ; his father, May 19, 1778. The maiden name of his mother was Lovice Roe, who belonged to a numerous New England family. Hezekiah Hooker, the father of Eli, was a farmer many years in Dryden, Tompkins county, New York, where the son was born September 17, 1820. His younger years were devoted largely to educa- tional pursuits. He attended the Ithaca Academy at sundry times, — in all about four years, teaching school several winters. He prepared for college at Ithaca, but having an offer to remove to the West and start a newspaper, did not enter college, but went from the academy directly to Fond du Lac, in September, 1846, and with J. O. Henning started the “Journal,” which was the first paper in Fond du Lac county; six months later he sold out his in- terest and bought a half-interest in the “Whig,” then just started by J. M. Gillett. He wrote for that paper until January, 1848, when he removed to Waupun, and read law with J. J. Brown. After practicing in the county court for a time, he was, on the 17th of April, 1854, admitted to the bar of the circuit court at Fond du Lac. He was afterward admitted to practice in the supreme court of the State, and in all the courts of Wisconsin for twenty years or more he has had a large and re- munerative business. He is a first-class court and jury lawyer, excelling in both departments of the profession. He has an unusually large law library, and is replenishing it from year to year. He is thoroughly wedded to his profession and has all the 6 3 avidity for study of his younger years, and never applied himself more closely. Law, the chosen pur- suit of his later years, has completely absorbed his time; with the exception of fourteen months, from August, 1866, to October, 1867, when he published the Waupun “Times,” a republican newspaper, for which he is still acting as corresponding editor, as a means of literary recreation. He is a vigorous and strong writer, as well as an able advocate. With the exception of a membership in the local school board, which he has held many years, he has kept clear of political offices. He owes his success to having stuck to one thing. Mr. Hooker is a member of the Temple of Honor; a strong advocate of temperance, and has lectured more or less on the subject, being an effective speaker. He has been a member of the Method- ist Episcopal church for twenty-five years, and a steward and trustee of the same. All his influence is on the side of good morals and a pure type of Christianity. In early days, and until slavery was abolished, he was a strong anti-slavery man, his sympathies being always on the side of the op- pressed. He is a man of kindly disposition ; is a valuable neighbor and citizen ; is independent in his cir- cumstances ; delightfully situated ; very hospitable, and a sumptuous entertainer. All his wealth is the honest proceeds of energies and talents well ex- pended. Persons best acquainted with Mr. Hooker during his professional life state that he never ad- vises persons to go to law who have not, in his judgment, a good case; invariably declines to be an advocate of a bad cause ; never makes a pro- position of law to a court or jury that he does not believe to be correct, and is always very careful 574 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DIC T I ON A R T. not to be mistaken ; never misquotes testimony knowingly, nor does he misapply it to the issues in action. This course, which he has strictly followed, gives the people great confidence in him, and to it he attributes his success in legal practice and in life. The wife of Mr. Hooker was Miss Catherine R. Sharp, daughter of Rev. John Sharp, nearly sixty years a Baptist preacher, and now living in Waupun, in his eighty-fourth year. His wife is also living, and they celebrated their golden wedding at Mr. Hooker’s about seven years ago. Mrs. Sharp was a descendant of the Townly family, whose property was largely confiscated at the time of the restora- tion, when Charles II came to the throne of Eng- land. Mr. and Mrs. Hooker were married February 19, 1851. They have had four children, three of whom are now living. Viola A., the eldest child, was educated at Lawrence University, Appleton, Wis- consin. Culver E., the only son, is in the senior class of the State University; and Lillie Kate, the youngest, is being educated in the Waupun graded schools. Mrs. Hooker is one of the leaders in humane and benevolent enterprises conducted by the women of Waupun, and is the president of the Ladies’ Temperance League of this place, and treas- urer of the State Alliance. HON. EDWIN HURLBUT, OCONOMO WOC. E DWIN HURLBUT is a son of Philander Hurlbut, an attorney and farmer, and Julia nee Thomas, and was born in Newtown, Connecti- cut, October xo, 1817. Both of his grandfathers fought for American liberty, and his father partic- ipated in the war of 1812-15. The family moved to Bradford county, Pennsylvania, when Edwin was about seven years old. There he remained about eight years, and enjoyed the literary advantages of a common school. At the end of that time he started for New Jersey, walking all the way to Newark, where he had an uncle, with whom he lived a year, and soon afterward started westward. He stopped a short time in Eaton county, Michigan, and after- ward returned to the East and studied law at Lodi, Seneca county, New York. Removing to Towanda, Pennsylvania, in 1842, he resumed the study of law, and was admitted to the bar in 1847. He returned to Michigan the same year, settled at Mason, Ing- ham county, and commenced his practice. He was appointed postmaster at that place in 1848; district attorney the same year, and a little later received from Governor Ransen the appointment of judge advocate in the State militia, with the rank of colonel. In April, 1850, Colonel Hurlbut settled at Ocon- ornowoc, where he has been in the steady and suc- cessful practice of the law for twenty-seven years, most of the time in the United States court, as well as the circuit and supreme courts of the State. During the first year of his practice in Wisconsin he was appointed attorney of the Milwaukee, Water- town and Madison plank-road ; was elected district attorney in 1856, holding the office two years, and in 1858 was appointed attorney for what was then known as the Milwaukee, Beaver Dam and Baraboo railroad, now a branch of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul road, and held that position several years. At the opening of the rebellion, in the spring of 1861, Colonel Hurlbut was appointed colonel on Governor Randall’s staff. He was very active in recruiting soldiers for the Union army, and cori- tributed liberally to the war fund, and afterward gave his services gratuitously in procuring pensions and bounties. He went to Washington with the 4th Wisconsin Infantry, and had a position in the State commissary department. He had the inspection of troops, and before the close of the year was ap- pointed by the governor aide as commander-in- chief with the rank of colonel. In 1862 he was appointed deputy LTnited States marshal with pro- vost-marshal’s powers. He was tendered the colo- nelcy of one of the Wisconsin regiments, but de- clined, the historian says, “ because the army was being officered by politicians rather than by sol- diers.” Colonel Hurlbut was a member of the general assembly in the session of 1869. He was chairman of the committee on federal relations, and on two or three other committees, and was one of the hard- working and influential members of the legislature. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY 577 The next year Governor Fairchild appointed him to represent himself at the International Congress on penitentiary and reformatory discipline, of which congress Rutherford B. Hayes was president. Colonel Hurlbut is known as a humanitarian, and in 1872 was appointed a delegate to the Interna- tional Penitentiary Congress, which met in London. Two years later he was a member of the National Prison Congress, held in St. Louis, and was made one of its trustees and put on the committee on criminal law reform. In 1875 he became a trustee of the National Prison Association of New York, and was placed on the committee on discharged convicts. Colonel Hurlbut has held various offices in the village and city of Oconomowoc, one of them being that of clerk of the school board, which he had about twelve years, and during that time was the prime originator of the excellent school system of the city. He was a member of the board of man- agers of the State Industrial School, located at Wau- kesha, and did good service while acting in that capacity. In politics Colonel Hurlbut was a democrat until 1854, when he aided in forming the republican party at Madison. He acted with this party until 1872, when he supported Horace Greeley for the Presidency; since that time he has been known as a reformer. It was by the reform party that he was elected district attorney of .Waukesha county in 1873. He is editor and proprietor of the “ Wiscon- sin Free Press,” a weekly newspaper published in Oconomowoc, and devoted to the interests of the reform party. It is a large and ably-conducted journal. He is a member of Waukesha Chapter, No. 37, of the Masonic fraternity; is a Baptist in religious sentiment, and has long been an active and strong advocate of temperance, and was grand worthy patriarch of the State in the Order of Sons of Tem- perance in 1853; and is usually a leader in move- ments tending to improve the condition of the unfortunate or raise the fallen. As a citizen he has few peers in usefulness, while as a lawyer he is, in every sense of the word, a success. He has prob- ably the largest and best law library in Waukesha county. Colonel Hurlbut was married in October, 1840, to Miss Chandler, of Seneca county, New York, and by her has three daughters. She died April 6, 1864. THOMAS P. RUSSELL, M.D., OSHKOSH. T HE subject of this biography, a native of Wind- sor county, Vermont, was born in the town of Bethel, April 19, 1827. His parents, Thomas P. and Martha (Cotton) Russell, were of patriotic stock, both his paternal and maternal grandparents having fought bravely in the struggle for independ- ence. Young Russell worked on a farm and at- tended a district school until he was about sixteen, when he spent two or three terms at the Royalton Academy. He was in the employ of the Vermont Central Railroad Company about four years, survey- ing at first, and afterward acting in the capacity of conductor. He commenced reading medicine in 1848 at East Randolph, with Dr. Walter Carpenter; later attended lectures at Woodstock, and graduated in 1852. After practicing at Weston, in his native county, two years, he removed to Wisconsin, and settled in Oshkosh, where he has been in practice ever since, except when serving his country on the tented field. In May, 1861, he became assistant surgeon of the 2d Regiment Wisconsin Infantry, but resigned in about four months and returned to Osh- kosh. In May, 1862, he went out as surgeon of the 1 st Wisconsin Cavalry, but, by reason of severe ill- ness in the winter of 1862-3, he left the army again and returned home, with no expectation of living a year. He, however, recovered, and has continued the medical practice with unabated zeal. He makes a specialty of surgery, and has a wide circuit and a very extensive practice. Dr. Russell is a close student, and pays consider- able attention to sciences collateral to medicine and surgery. The microscope is now one of his favorite studies, and as a microscopist it is doubtful if he has more than one or two equals in the State. Dr. Russell is a member of the Wisconsin State Medical Society, and of the United States Medical Association. He was a delegate to the World’s Medical Congress, which met in Philadelphia in the autumn of 1876. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART. In politics he was a democrat until the opening of tire rebellion in iS6r; since then he has acted with the republicans. He accepts no political offices, but steadily and closely adheres to his pro- fessional studies and practice. He attends the Epis- copal church. Dr. Russell has a second wife. His first was Miss Myra Francis Egerton, of East Randolph, Vermont, whom he married in 1853; she died without issue two years later. His present wife was Miss Sophia Edgarton, of Oshkosh ; their union occurred in 1 86 13 . They have one child living, and have lost two. HON. MARTIN L. KIMBALL, BERLIN. M ARTIN LUTHER KIMBALL, son of Reuel Kimball, a Presbyterian clergyman, and Han- nah nee Mather, is a native of Leyden, Lewis county, New York, the date of his birth being Sep- tember 4, 1826. His father was a paymaster in the war of 1812-15, stationed at Sacket’s Harbor, New York. Later in life he owned a farm, which he cultivated, and at the time preached, Martin aiding on the farm until seventeen years of age, and then prepared for college at Williston Seminary, East Hampton, Massachusetts, teaching meantime during one winter. He entered Hamilton College, Clinton, New York, in September, 1845, and graduated four years later. Removing to Wisconsin during the same year, he read law a short time with Judge Keep, of Beloit, but finished his legal studies with Finch and Synde, of Milwaukee, and was admitted to the bar in that city in 1851. He thereupon set- tled in Berlin, and has there been in the legal prac- tice since that date. He does business in all the courts of the State, and is a member of the United States district court. He is well read, and is a good jury as well as court lawyer, excelling, however, as a counselor. In legal standing and general char- acter he honors the profession. Aside from his professional duties, he has been the recipient of honors and trusts at the hands of his fellow- citizens. He was a member of the State senate in 1857 and 1858; and although the youngest member of that body, yet he was placed on the judiciary committee, also on that of privileges and elections. He was district attorney in 1854 and 1855, and, after a lapse of years, was again elected in 1874, and reelected in 1876, and still holds that office. He has been chair- man of the county board of supervisors for twelve or fifteen years. Mr. Kimball was known in New York State as a free-soiler, that being the ticket which he voted in 1848. With a single exception, for the last twenty- one years, he has voted with the republicans. He was a delegate, in 1864, to the national convention which renominated Mr. Lincoln. He is a member of the Temple of Honor, and for nearly two years was at the head of the local lodge, and is an influential man among the advocates of temperance, and an earnest promoter of the moral, literary and general interests of society. He attends the Congregational church. Mr. Kimball has a second wife : his first, Miss Buttrick, of Clinton, New York, to whom he was married in 1852, died without issue in 1862. His present wife was Miss Richards, daughter of Rev. W. M. Richards, of Berlin, their marriage occurring in 1863, and they have six children. EDWARD PIER, FOND DU LAC. T HE subject of this biography is a son of Calvin Pier, a tanner and currier, and later in life a farmer, and was born in New Haven, Addison coun- ty, Vermont, March 31, 1807. The maiden name of his mother was Esther Evarts, and her father was a soldier a short time in the revolutionary war. Ed- ward attended school during the winter months after his seventh year, until he attained the age of twelve, when he terminated his school-days. He was early and thoroughly trained to work, and prob- ably no young Vermonter ever applied himself with more diligence to any and every task assigned him, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONART. 579 or was more faithful in the discharge of filial obliga- tions. When he was twelve years old his family moved to the town of Ripon, in his native county, and there Edward passed his youth and early man- hood, the whole household living in rustic simplicity. The house was built in the woods, overspread by forest trees, and its chimney was made of boards, and up through it the children could look and see the birds which came to sing their morning songs. In addition to farming Mr. Pier learned to make and mend shoes, being his own teacher; for in those days on the Green Mountains, one of the great stud- ies was how to save the hard-earned money. Hoping to find land easier to cultivate than the soil of Vermont, but without intending to slacken his industrious habits, Mr. Pier, on the 25th of August, 1834, started for that part of Michigan Ter- ritory which is now the State of Wisconsin. Five years before, June 2, 1829, he had been married to Miss Harriet N. Kendall, of Rochester, Vermont, who, with courage and a cheerful spirit, went with him to the land of the Menomonies and the Potta- watomies. Two brothers, Colwert E. and Oscar, also accompanied him. They arrived at Green Bay in just four weeks, a remarkably quick trip in those days. In the autumn of that year, Colwert, the eldest of the three Piers, made a prospecting trip, extending into Illinois; and in the summer of 1835 Edward made a still longer trip, extending into southern Illinois, where he purchased a herd of cows and young cattle for Charles D. Nash and drove them to Green Bay, a dista’nce of four hundred miles, much of the way through a country of bridge- less streams. In February, 1836, Edward Pier and his brother Colwert visited the present site of Fond du Lac, then without a white settler. Having heard favorable reports from the Indians, of the richness of the soil and the rank growth of corn, they returned to Green Bay, and in June following Colwert pitched his tent there, being the first permanent white settler in Fond du Lac county. A few days later his wife joined him. The next December, Edward, learning that Colwert was nearly out of provisions, started with a load from Green Bay, and came very near losing his life. The historian of Fond du Lac county states that soon after starting, on the 20th, a fearful storm of rain and sleet and driving and blinding snow set in; the next day was intensely cold, and Mr. Pier had to keep up the greatest activity to avoid freez- ing. While crossing Lake Winnebago, about two miles from Taycheedah, the horse stumbled into an open crack in the ice, both hind legs going down. Mr. Pier detached the horse as soon as possible, but the ice broke, opening a space wide enough to let the animal into the lake. It was now so cold that water froze the moment it touched his person ; yet the horse would perish if left there, and in his efforts to get the animal out, the ice broke again, and he fell in ! Both were now struggling for life. By almost superhuman efforts Mr. Pier got out of the water, but the poor animal was freezing. Placing a shaft under its head he started for dear life for the only house in what is now Fond du Lac county, constant- ly and violently whipping his hands to keep them from freezing. Darkness came on ; the wind and storm abated not ; he became bewildered ; at times supposed he was lost, but at length discovered a newly made cow-track in the snow, which he fol- lowed, and came to his brother’s house, — more pleased than was Robinson Crusoe when he discov- ered human tracks on his island home. The brother that day had taken the same trail for Green Bay, and the two had passed in the blinding storm with- out seeing each other. In March, 1837, Edward Pier settled near Fond du Lac, and on the 21st of the next month he and his brother turned the first furrows in the county, one mile south of where the court-house now stands, and six days later sowed wheat, oats and peas. The next year Mr. Pier had occasion to get a plowshare repaired ; the nearest blacksmith shop was twenty miles away, and he had to make three round trips, walking one hundred and twenty miles, before he could get the job completed. Where Mr. Pier stuck down his stakes forty years ago, he is found to-day. The city has expanded over part of his original farm, but he has a delightful homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, and a fine farm house. He has al- ways been a hard-working man and has been emi- nently successful. Although a farmer, he has also, at times, been engaged in manufacturing, merchan- dizing and banking. Mr. Pier has held many trustworthy positions. He was one of the first county commissioners (super- visors) of Fond du Lac county, and was president of the board ten years. He was county treasurer one term many years ago; State senator four years, from 1856 to i860; a trustee of the Insane Asylum at Madison for some time; superintendent of the poor of the county for ten years, and has been pres- ident of two banks in Fond du Lac city, and has 580 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONART. discharged the duties of every office with conscien- tiousness and fidelity. In politics he was originally a democrat, but since 1855 has usually voted the republican ticket. On the 2 1 st of August, 1864, Mrs. Pier, his early- chosen wife, true, confidmg and faithful, breathed her last. She was a noble pioneer wife, — cheerful under deprivations, and hopeful when clouds seemed to gather. She was left an orphan when a young girl, and after living in different families, at length fell into the hands of one of the best of women, who, though lowly and poor in this world’s goods, sur- rounded the young girl with such influences as made her, in after life, a model woman. Mr. Pier claims that whatever he has been to the community or otherwise is directly attributable to his excellent companion, the wife of his affections, the mother of his children, of whom he has four, three daughters and one son, the youngest daughter and son being twins. All are married and living in or near Fond du Lac. The eldest daughter, Ann P., the only one born in Vermont, is the wife of J. W. Carpenter, a merchant; the second, Ruth R., is the wife of L. J. Harvey, a contractor, and Carrie S. is the wife of Hamilton R. Skinner, a grain dealer. Mrs. Harvey was the widow of Captain Edwin A. Brown, who was killed in the battle of Antietam. Cobvert K , the son, is cashier of the Savings Bank of Fond du Lac. He was born half a mile from this, city; has grown up, was educated and married here. He has four little daughters. He inherits his father’s industry, and is one of the best business men among the younger class in the city. At the opening of the rebellion, in 1861, he enlisted in the 1st Regiment Wisconsin Infantry; subsequently he was appointed colonel of the 38th Regiment, and though one of the youngest commanders of a regiment sent from the Badger State, he was among the most dashing, dar- ing and efficient. His regiment was mustered out of the service in August, 1865. Colonel Pier was one of the most active men in the State in estab- lishing a Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home, and has been one of the trustees since its origin. Edward Pier has just rounded up his three-score years and ten ; yet, having always been a man of temperate habits, he enjoys good health and is quite active. He has but few cares, and is surrounded with the comforts of a competency ; he is happy in being surrounded by his children, and is the embodi- ment of cheerfulness and sociality, and warms up with laudable enthusiasm as he entertains his visit- ors with reminiscences of frontier life. Probably no man in the county is more heartily esteemed by his fellow-citizens. HENRY SH ANFIELD, MIL WA UIC EE. T HE subject of this biography is a native of Syracuse, New York, and was born on the 4th of April, 1853; the son of Adolphus and Clara Shanfield. His father died when the son was but three years old. Henry early developed a great fondness for literary pursuits, and while yet a youth had a strong desire to fit himself for the legal profession. He enjoyed good educational advantages, and at the age of thir- teen years closed his studies in the common schools of his native place. In 1866 he removed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, his present home, and entering upon a course of study in Spencer’s Business College, graduated and re- ceived a diploma from the same, and subsequently turned his attention to the study of law. Later, however, having developed marked business capaci- ties, he abandoned his purpose of entering the law. He first engaged in the insurance business, and met with good success, but relinquished it to accept a position as book-keeper in the wholesale dry-goods establishment of I. A. Levy and Co., where he re- mained about one year. At the expiration of that time, wishing to begin business on his own account, he leased first Hillbery Distillery, and shortly after- ward that known as the Pfril Distillery. During his first year in business he distilled five thousand two hundred barrels of liquor, and in the year 1874, nine thousand three hundred and sixty barrels. As a business man Mr. Shanfield has been emi- nently successful, being endowed with the happy faculty of seizing current events and turning them to the interest of his business. He now (1877) owns an interest in a rectifying establishment, and also an interest in the Menomonee Distillery, the largest distillery in Wisconsin, having facilities for distilling THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 583 eighteen thousand seven hundred and twenty barrels per annum. He began life with a capital of three thousand dollars, and by careful investments and judicious management, has gradually built up his business, and his name is now well and honorably known to the trade throughout the country. Though still a young man, he has attained a success reached by few, and gives fair promise of becoming one of the most eminent business men of our country. In politics Mr. Shanfield is identified with the democratic party, but is in no way a partisan. In his religious views he is liberal. SAMUEL Y. BRANDE, KENOSHA. S AMUEL YATES BRANDE was born in Cas- tle Dorrington, Leicestershire, England, Octo- ber 1, 1818, and is the son of Rev. William Brande and Sarah nee Yates. His father, a Baptist clergy- man, was born near Cambridge, and was descended of distinguished ancestors, whose history and pre- served genealogy dates back to the Norman con- quest, at which period they settled in England, being originally of French or Norman lineage. His mother was the second daughter of Samuel Yates, of Leicester, England, a noted stage proprietor. When he was two years old his father removed with his family from the church at Castle Dorrington to take the oversight of a new charge at the flourishing naval station of Portsmouth, where the boyhood of Samuel was spent amid naval and military specta- cles, — the immense dock-yard, with its celebrated machinery designed by Brunei, the engineer of the Thames tunnel; the ship-yards, forts and fortifica- tions, furnishing food for his youthful imagination. Here he attended a juvenile academy and was in- structed in the elementary branches of learning. An incident which occurred at this period, and which came near cutting short his career, making such an impression upon his childish mind that it is still as fresh and vivid in his memory as the day it occurred, is worthy of mention. He was one day playing with his school-mates in the mast-ponds at- tached to the yards, when he and another boy mounted a huge round mast to sail across the pond ; they reached the other side in safety, when his companion, accidentally or purposely, in getting off made the immense log roll, when plump went young Brande into the water. On reaching the surface, by a superhuman effort he managed to lay hold on the round and slippery timber, but how to get on board of it while it continued in motion, was the problem; before he could do so his little remaining strength was all but exhausted. It was a moment of awful uncertainty. He felt that his life hung by a thread. No one in sight; the cowardly boy, as soon as he saw his predicament ran away, leaving him to his fate. How he emerged from his peril is still shrouded in mystery. It was especially notice- able to his companions that he evaded the pond and eschewed mast-riding for years afterward. At the age of ten years he attended a drawing-school, taught by an artist of the town, an excellent draughtsman, where he pursued that study as well as the art of writing, — occupations of which he was always fond, and in which he attained to a very high degree of proficiency, — his manuscripts at this day outrivaling the very finest specimens of typog- raphy. At the age of twelve he was sent to an academy of a high class, kept by an elder brother at the ancient town of Northampton, where he re- mained two years, giving some attention to the study of the Latin language and the higher mathematics. But his father’s increasing family and limited for- tune at this time led him to look across the sea to America as the place where his children could have room to develop, and where he could find more cer- tain provision for them than in over-crowded Eng- land. One of the elder brothers of our subject, an adventurous boy of fifteen, had previously crossed the ocean alone, to become an apprentice to an uncle at Lansingburg, New York. Accordingly the whole family took passage in the good ship Colum- bia, Captain Delano, from Portsmouth, and arrived safely in New York in May, 1832, Samuel being then scarcely fourteen years of age. The family made a temporary sojourn at Lansingburg, while the father made a tour through northern Pennsyl- vania and attended the triennial convention of the Baptist Church in New York city. He finally re- solved to settle in Susquehanna county, Pennsylva- nia, whither he removed his family in the autumn of the same year, settling near the village of Montrose. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 584 Our subject remained in the family for four years and worked upon a farm, of which his father had become the owner, and became noted for the skill which he displayed in laying sloping stone-wall fences, which was and still is, the best farm fence in that part of the country. During the winters he taught the district school, often having for his pupils young men and women not only much larger but much older than himself. Soon tiring of farming on the rocky hillsides he induced his father to allow him to learn a trade, or business. He had a strong predilection for orna- mental painting, of which his father could not quite approve, but the matter was finally compromised by his being bound an apprentice for the term of three years to a cabinet-maker at Montrose, Pennsylvania, and as the cabinet-maker was also the village house- painter, his predilection was in a manner gratified. At the close of his apprenticeship he was induced to settle in "Waterford, Saratoga county, New York. Although quite juvenile in appearance, just of age, he was a good workman, and was possessed of con- siderable confidence. He purchased an establish- ment there in 1839, which he carried on successfully for two years, and until the memorable fire of 1841, which destroyed the business portion of the village, in which he lost all his stock in trade. He remained another year in the vain attempt of restoring the business, but the town was damaged past immediate recovery ; hence he determined to go west, and ac- cordingly, in the autumn of 1842, he took passage on the line boat on the Erie canal, with his tools and personal effects, as far as Buffalo ; thence on the steamer DeWitt Clinton, and after a week’s passage landed at Southport (now Kenosha), in the then Ter- ritory of Wisconsin, which has since been his home. He immediately erected a shop and commenced business in a small way, which he continued with success till 1850, when a combination of disasters visited the town and determined him to abandon the business of cabinet-making, as one at which he was not destined to succeed. For the next two years he was not engaged in any business, but in the autumn of 1852 he was elected registrar of deeds of Kenosha county on the liberty ticket, there being then three candidates in the field. Mr. Brande was one of the founders of the liberty party of Wisconsin, attended the convention that gave it birth in the Territory, and acted with it through its various stages until it was fully merged in the republican party. During his incumbency of this office his tastes had led him to examine the land system of the United States, and to study its requirements, and he concluded that with his education and accomplishments as a penman, and the knowledge thus attained, he might be able to do a profitable business in the tracing of titles and in facilitating the work of transferring land. He immediately purchased an abstract of titles of that part of Racine county which had been made into the new county of Kenosha, spending six months at Racine in revising and correcting it. He commenced the work in June, 1855, and was thirteen years in completing the records to date, so as to be absolutely sure of his ground. His records, ab- stracts and indexes are, perhaps, the most complete and artistic of any to be found in the nation. The work is mainly in his own handwriting, and in uni- formity of style and beauty of workmanship rivals the finest products of the printing press, and will be an enduring monument to his skill and accomplish- ments as a penman, for they are preserved in a fire- proof building. With this enterprise he has also connected the business of administering estates, land conveyancing and the practice of law, — the latter he found to be an essential prerequisite to success in his business. Its study was therefore entered upon and he was admitted to the bar on the 23d November, 1866. In 1875 he associated with himself H. M. Thiers, and the business is now con- ducted by Brande and Thiers. In the year 1857, with Jason Lathrop, he pub- lished a map of the city of Kenosha, which has since been the standard authority on questions within its scope. Among his many other accomplishments is a de- cided taste for horticulture and matters related thereto, such as landscape gardening, the designing of exquisite patterns in flower beds, etc. In 1862 he designed the addition to the Kenosha cemetery, which has resulted in giving the city a place of sep- ulture beautiful and convenient. He has been pres- ident of the Kenosha Horticultural Society, and has done much by precept and example to promote the culture of .flowering plants in his neighborhood. He has always tended his own garden and conservatory, which is a crowning testimonial to his skill and taste in that direction. In the year 1847 he served as city assessor of Kenosha, and in the year following, as alderman of the first’ ward of the city. His political views have always been republican, except during the second candidacy of President THE UNITED STATES' BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 585 Grant, with whose views on reconstruction and civil service reform he was at variance; hence lie sup- ported Horace Greeley. On the nomination of Mr. Hayes, however, he renewed his devotion to the old party, and is now a warm friend of the administra- tion. He was among the active patriotic citizens of Wisconsin during the late war, and w r as a leader in his locality in measures for filling the ranks with re- cruits, and in raising means for the relief of sick soldiers and their families. In 1862 he was ap- pointed assistant United States assessor for the first district of Wisconsin, and held the office till 1871, when he resigned it because he could not conscien- tiously support the administration. In religious opinions he was educated a Baptist, but about the year 1840 began to examine more critically the foundations of his belief, and the result was a considerable modification of his old straight- lactfd faith, and, although not entirely in harmony with the views of the Unitarian creed, yet he can worship more comfortably with that denomination than any other. On the 15th of November, 1844, he married Miss Elizabeth M. Holmes, a native of Courtland county, New York; born in 1822. Her father, Samuel Holmes, was a soldier in the war of 1812, and her grandfather, Raswell H. Holmes, was a soldier of the revolution. On the mother’s side she is con- nected with the Sprague family, of Rhode Island. They have had four children, three of whom are liv- ing. Flora A. is the wife of George W. Hoyt, of Chicago, and Hattie lives at home with her parents. HON. ALEXANDER L. COLLINS, APPLETON. A lexander lynn coffins, son of Oliver . and Catharine (Kellogg) Collins, was born in Whitestown, Oneida county, New York, March 17, 1812. His father, a farmer, joined the continental army when only sixteen years old, and served dur- ing the last five years of the war. He was also in the second war with England, and was a brigadier- general in command two years at Sacket’s Harbor. Immediately after the first war with the mother country he settled on land in Whitestown, and reared and educated respectably twelve children, of whom Alexander was the tenth. General Collins died at the old homestead in 1838. At sixteen years of age, with a common-school education, and a year’s instruction at a grammar school, the subject of this brief memoir commenced teaching. At nineteen he entered the law office of Storrs and White, of Whitesboro; Mr. Storrs, an eminent statesman, being then a member of con- gress. In 1833 he went to Cleveland, Ohio, and completed his legal studies, and was admitted to the bar by the supreme court of Ohio in 1835. He practiced in Cleveland until 1842, when he removed to Madison, Wisconsin, where he practiced for thir- teen years, most of the time in the well-known firm of Collins, Smith and Keyes, and ranked as one of the foremost lawyers in Wisconsin. He was also very highly respected for his high moral qualities as well as legal attainments. 64 In 1846 Mr. Collins was elected a member of the territorial council, and remained in that -body until 1848, when the Territory became a State. He was a member of the first board of regents of the State University. In 1848 he was the whig candi- date for congress against Mason C. 1 )arling, the whig candidate for governor in 1849 against Governor Dewey, and was twice supported by his party in the legislature for United States senator against Governor Dodge. He was chairman of the whig State central committee from 1852 until the party became disorganized. He was delegate to the national convention which met at Baltimore in 1852, and voted for Daniel Webster for three full days, and when General Scott was nominated on the fifty- fourth ballot, left in disgust, declaring that the dis- solution of the old whig party, so endeared to his heart, was drawing near. In 1855 Mr. Collins, aided largely by democratic .friends, was elected judge of the ninth judicial circuit; after serving four years, by reason of impaired health, he was obliged to resign. As a jurist he was noted for his candor and impartiality, and for the easy dignity with which he wore the ermine. He was very much esteemed by the bar of the circuit. On leaving the bench in 1859, Judge Collins joined Governor Doty in his land operations at Manasha, on what was then known as “Doty’s Island.” Two years later (1861), at the opening of 5S6 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. the rebellion, business languished, and in 1864 the Judge went to California, and traveled over the Pacific slope for his health, information and recrea- tion. He returned to Wisconsin in 1867, greatly improved in physical strength, and began farming- in Winnebago county; being soon seized with the rheumatism he was crippled for five years. Not meeting with success in farming, he, in August, 1874, removed to Appleton and resumed the practice of law, in order to improve his finances; and in com- pany with Humphrey Pierce is now (1877) doing a remunerative business. Judge Collins is a firm believer in Christianity, has a profound reverence for sacred things, believes that “ All nature is a glass reflecting God,” and that mind is infinitely superior to matter and indestruc- tible, hence immortal. Mrs. Collins was Sarah Heaton Huggins, of New Haven, Connecticut. She is an intelligent woman, of polished manners, dignified deportment and ad- mirable domestic qualities. They have had six children, three sons and three daughters, all still living. Alexander W. has a family and is a farmer, living at Neenah, Wisconsin ; the other two sons are single. Jessie Wingate is the wife of Samuel McCord, a banker of Milwaukee; Charlotte Aber- nathy is the widow of Edward D. Ilsley, late of St. Paul, Minnesota, who died March 31, 1877; and Caroline 13. is the wife of Thomas H. Brooks, a mer- chant of San Francisco, California. ALEXANDER MITCHELL, MIL WA UK EE. A LEXANDER MITCHELL, who has been long recognized as the most conspicuous represent- ative of the commercial interests, not only of Wis- consin, but of the Northwest, was born in the parish of Ellon, Scotland, some twenty-four miles north of the city of Aberdeen, and about twelve miles west of the town of Peterhead, the most easterly point in Great Britain, and named after Peter the Great of Russia, on the 18th day of October, 1817. His father, John Mitchell, was a well-to-do farmer in Aberdeenshire, a man of large natural endow- ments, great force of character, and of very consid- erable influence in his community. He was well posted in the common law, and served as a kind of legal adviser for the whole district. He generally acted as arbitrator in all disputes in the neighbor- hood, his word being usually an end of all contro- versy. He died at the ripe age of eighty years in the year 1848. His mother, whose maiden name was Margaret Lendrum, died when Alexander was but a few years old, and he was brought up by his eldest sister, Margaret, afterward Mrs. Johnston — a most excellent woman, who nobly filled the double relation of sister and mother. The family are of English origin, the grandfather having moved to Aberdeen from Northumberland about the middle of the eighteenth century. The educational career of Alexander Mitchell was bounded by the parish schools of his native place, which, however, implies more than might at first be supposed, for he there learned not only the three “ R’s,” but also the higher branches of mathematics. Pie subsequently spent about two years in a lawyer’s office in Aberdeen, with a view to the legal profes- sion, during which period he studied the Latin lan- guage and other branches. Abandoning this idea, however, he became a clerk in a bank at Peterhead, where he received his first insight into the business of which he has since become one of the most illus- trious representatives. At an early age he began to manifest that ambition to succeed which has borne its fruits in later years, and when his brothers were selecting their professions for life, he always insisted that he would be a laird. He was one of the many Scotchmen who in 1839, and about that period, decided to try their fortunes in America. He came to Milwaukee in the employ- ment of a Scottish joint stock company, which had organized under the name of the Wisconsin Marine and Fire Insurance Company, of which he was secre- tary, George Smith being then president. At that time the population of the city numbered only twelve hundred, and the Indian war-whoop was still heard in the ears of its few inhabitants. He at once took the lead of the banking business of the West, and after a few years succeeded Mr. Smith in the presi- dency of the institution, and it will not be disputed that he has done more to raise the city of his adop- tion to its present influential position than any other man. The Wisconsin Marine and Fire Insurance THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 589 Company did not long confine itself to the business of insurance. The crisis of 1837 had left the North- west without any medium of exchange. Some cur- rency was absolutely necessary. Certificates of deposit of the above named company, bearing the signatures of George Smith, president, and Alexander Mitchell, secretary, were issued, and served the pur- poses of currency from St. Louis to Detroit. More than two millions of dollars of these certificates were in circulation at one time, secured only by the per- sonal responsibility of the two gentlemen whose names they bore ; and though often “ run,” their bank never failed to pay its bills in gold on presentation throughout all the panics under which the coun- try has suffered for the last thirty-seven years. This famous bank, mention of the organization of which occurs in the history of 1839, was first opened in the month of May of that year, in a small frame building standing upon Broadway, between Wisconsin and Mason streets, about the center of the block; Mr. Mitchell giving his personal atten- tion to the business, and acting not only as its secretary, but as cashier and teller also. Here he remained till the spring of 1840, when he was joined by Mr. David Ferguson, his present able cashier, and the office was removed to the north side of Wisconsin street, near the alley, in a small one-story frame, built by Mr. Solomon Juneau. Here it re- mained till the spring of 1842, when the increasing business made a second removal necessary, which was made to what is known as the old Loury Man- sion, on the northwest corner of Broadway and Wis- consin streets, where the Northwestern Life Insur- ance building now stands. Here a new and more commodious office was fitted up, where the institu- tion remained till 1846, when the still increasing business necessitated a third removal, the lot upon the southeast corner of East Water and Michigan streets — the old Juneau homestead — was now pur- chased, upon which a suitable building was erected, into which the office was removed. Soon after this Mr. Smith withdrew his interest, and Mr. Mitchell became president and sole proprietor. The busi- ness remained on this stand until August, 1853, when the whole square was burned — the flames making such rapid headway that the clerks had barely time to place the money and effects of the bank in its securely built vaults before they reached the build- ing. The fire was scarcely extinguished before the ground was alive with men clearing away the debris, such was the energy of Mr. Mitchell, and a new structure quickly took the place of the burned one, of vastly increased dimensions, in which the busi- ness was conducted until the year 1876, when it was pulled down to make way for perhaps one of the most magnificent buildings of the kind in the North- west, if not in the country, now in process of erec- tion and drawing near to completion. It was de- signed by Mr. E. Townsend Mix, and in dimensions is eighty by one hundred and twenty feet, and is seven stories in height, including the basement. The style of architecture is that known as renais- sance, highly ornamental. The basement is of granite from the St. Cloud quarries, and the upper stories of Haldeman (Ohio) blue sandstone. The columns supporting the pediment over the main entrance are of Scotch granite of the quality known as “blue-gray,” highly polished. The interior con- struction is fire-proof, the iron columns, girders and floor beams being overlaid with terra-cotta plating. The cost of the entire structure when completed and furnished will be about half a million dollars. Such is, in brief, the history of this famous bank and banker. But it is not alone as a banker that Alexander Mitchell has become prominent. During recent years his personal attention has been directed more to railroads than to his original business of banking, though he still owns the largest bank in Wisconsin. Seventeen years ago there were three railroads en- tering Milwaukee, running west. These were the Milwaukee and La Crosse, Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien, and Milwaukee and Watertown. The managers of these roads were at total variance. A few months more and one after another would have been “ gobbled up ” by the Chicago and Northwest- ern, and all the trade of the vast country to the west taken around Milwaukee to Chicago. Mr. Mitchell, with the interest of Milwaukee at heart, and without the fear of Chicago before his eyes, consolidated all these roads into the Milwaukee and St. Paul rail- road. With the extensions since built through Iowa and Minnesota, this road has become one of the ' most important in the United States, being about fourteen hundred miles in length. To this masterly scheme of Mr. Mitchell is due the fact that Milwau- kee has become the great wheat granary she now is. As above stated, Mr. Mitchell became president of the Wisconsin Fire and Marine Insurance Com- pany Bank on the resignation of Mr. Smith. He is besides president of the Chicago, Milwaukee and | St. Paul railroad, and of the Western Union rail- 59 ° THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. road. He is also a director of the reorganized Northern Pacific railroad, and president of the Northwestern Fire Insurance Company, with a paid- in capital of seven hundred and fifty thousand dol- lars. He is also commissioner of the public debt of the city of Milwaukee, director in the gas company and one of the trustees of the Milwaukee Hospital, besides many other offices of honor and trust too numerous to mention. In politics, Mr. Mitchell was for many years a republican, though in early life he took but little interest in political matters. During the late war he was a warm supporter of the government, and not only gave his influence on the side of the Union but gave liberally of his means toward every object connected with the war, or the welfare of the Union soldiers and their families. Subsequently, however, he favored more prompt and conciliatory measures of reconstruction than those adopted by the govern- ment, and in consequence separated from the then dominant party and acted with the democratic party. His views on the subject of reconstruction are lu- cidly set forth in the following letter to Senator Doolittle, of Wisconsin, published in the Milwau- kee “Daily News” of July 29, 1866, which, on ac- count of the uncommon prescience which it dis- plays in forecasting the future, we insert entire. It will be seen that the principles set forth in this re- markable document, over eleven years since, are substantially the same as those adopted by Presi- dent Hayes as the basis of his southern policy. Milwaukee, July 23, 1866. Hon. J. R. Doolittle, Washington. D. C. Dear Sir, — I duly received the call of the executive committee of the National Union Club for a convention to be held in the city ol Philadelphia on the 14th of next month, and absence from home alone prevented me from sooner expressing my cordial approval of the principles therein set forth, and my intention to support the adminis- tration in maintaining unbroken the union of the States under the constitution which our fathers established. It is a strange and melancholy fact, that although over a year has elapsed since every rebel laid down his arms and yielded submission to the federal constitution and laws; although the sword has long been sheathed, and those who met in fratricidal strife are now rivals only in the arts of peaceful industry; although Nature has covered with her verdure and golden harvests the blood-stained battle-fields, and the whole land rests once more in peace, yet the wounds of the nation remain unhealed, and the results for which so much blood and treasure were spent have failed to be fully realized. The reason is that our statesmen have not met the prob- lems of peace so ably as our soldiers did the stern duties of war. They have failed to exhibit those enlarged views of public policy and that lofty patriotism which the diffi- culties of the hour demanded. They seem to have forgotten that the question was not how to execute vengeance or inflict punishment and political disgrace, but how the seeds of loyalty could best be planted and fostered throughout the recently rebellious South; how we could best over- come the estrangement that existed between the two sec- tions of our common country; and how best cultivate a spirit of reconciliation and encourage mutual affection sympathy and respect. It seems that the smallest possible knowledge of human nature and the slightest acquaintance with the teachings of history should have been sufficient to show that a policy toward the South of implacable resentment for the past and unconquerable distrust for the future, a policy dividing the people into victors and vanquished, ever evincing a desire to punish, disgrace and humiliate, however grateful it might be to partisan malignity, would not be likely to bring the two sections into harmony, or restore the devotion of the South to the old government. Neither can it be honestly supposed that the exclusion of the southern States from a voice in the councils of the Union is calculated to increase their love for that Union; nor will spurning from the doors of congress of even their loyal representatives be deemed the best method of encouraging loyalty. If we of the North really desire the people of the South to become once more true to the government of their fathers, let us give them some interest in its concerns; if we wish them cheer- fully to obey our laws, let us establish some claim upon their obedience by giving them a voice in their enactment, and welcoming the loyal men whom they send to represent them in the councils of the nation. The policy of exclusion and alienation so far pursued has, to some extent, destroyed the feelings of kindness and trust manifested by the rebel armies at the time of their surrender, and must eventually debase the character of the southern people and greatly deteriorate their capacity for self government — a result fraught with untold calamity to the whole Republic. How antagonistic this policy of ven- geance and alienation is to the principles of popular govern- ment; how it must weaken our power in case of a foreign war; how the doubt, uncertainty and distrust it engenders injures our financial position and retard the material pros- perity and development of the South, must be evident to every candid, thinking mind, and its speedy and complete abandonment must be the devout wish and earnest endeavor of every enlightened patriot. The approaching convention has my warmest approba- tion, because I think its influence will be to hasten on this desirable end, and to obliterate all traces of intersectional hatred, to bring the North and South into relations more friendly than they have been for many years, and to lead to the representation in congress by loyal men of every State from the Potomac to the Rio Grande. I cannot close without expressing my confidence in the sincerity, honesty and patriotism of our President. The self-forgetfulness which he displayed in burying in oblivion all the wrongs and insults he has suffered at rebel hands, when his responsibilities as chief magistrate of the nation called him to sink his personal feelings in his duty to his misguided countrymen, must ever mark him as the worthy successor of him who showed “malice toward none, charity to all.” I cannot, in “a brief letter,” write all that I could desire on these important questions, but I feel constrained to add that I believe it to be every man’s duty to take his place with those whose views are right on the momentous issue ol the present hour, and not be carried into supporting a hurtful policy merely because it may be advanced by those who were right on an issue now dead and gone; neither are we to despise the cooperation of any merely because they may have held erroneous views on questions now settled forever. Our present duty must dictate our present position, and we owe it to ourselves and to our country to work with all who are right now , however mistaken they may have been before, rather than with those who are wrong notv, however sound they may have been years ago. By the hearty cooperation of all liberal-minded patriots, the administration can be sustained and the foundations ol the Union reestablished in the affections of the whole THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 591 people. So shall the great Republic prolong its unparal- lelled career of progress, and maintain its place^in the van of the advancing nations. I remain jours truly, Alf.x. Mitchell. This letter went the rounds of the conservative press at the time, and received the very highest commendation from the New York “Tribune.” In 1870 lie was elected to congress from the fourth district of Wisconsin, including the city of Milwau- kee ; and again in 1872 by the same constituency, serving in all four years. He declined a third elec- tion, to the great regret of his district. He was not noted for much speaking while in congress, but dur- ing that period he made two memorable speeches — one in favor of abolishing our present navigation laws, and the other in favor of a return to specie pay- ments — which received much attention at the time of their delivery, and were widely quoted and favor- ably commented on by the New York and Chicago press. Like his fathers, for several generations, he was raised in the communion of the Presbyterian church, and was for some years a trustee of the first Pres- byterian church built in Milwaukee ; but on remov- ing his residence to the west side of the city he united with other gentlemen in organizing the St. James’ Episcopal Church, with which he has since acted. He is not a communicant, but serves upon the vestry, and is prominent in the councils of the congregation and in the deliberative assemblies of the church. He is, moreover, one of the most liberal contributors of his means toward the insti- tutions of the church generally, while he bears a large share of the expenses of his own congregation. He is a diligent reader and keeps abreast of the times on all important questions, especially those relating to the finances of the country, and is credited with entertaining the clearest and most practical views on this subject of any other man in the Northwest. He is withal a true Scotchman. His countrymen take a laudable pride in speaking of him as a repre- sentative of Scotland in many of the good and noble characteristics of her sons. Although some thirty- eight years absorbed in the active business of the busy West, he has still all the marks of a genuine Aberdonian, and finds time for fostering whatever tends to strengthen and perpetuate the memories of his native land, which he visits once in every two or three years. He was the first president of the Milwaukee St. Andrew’s Society, which was or- ganized in 1859, the annual picnics and games of which are held every year in a beautiful grove on his farm in the eighth ward of Milwaukee. Here it may be also stated that his residence on Grand avenue is not only the finest in the State, but his conservatories cover a larger area than those of any other private establishment west of New York. Al- though he is rather shy and reticent with strangers, yet he is possessed of fine social qualities; and with his intimates is quite genial and jovial, — good at story telling over a dinner-table. He has a few “chums” or “boon companions” in whose com- pany he spends most of his evenings, alternating from house to house. These assemblages are some- times facetiously styled “ vestry meetings.” He is also a member of the Old Settlers Club, and takes a deep interest in its affairs; and has a just pride in belonging to that early band who did the pioneer work in this Queen City of the Lakes. In all the public positions of honor and trust which he has held, and in his varied dealings with his fellow-men, in the endless details of his exten- sive private business, not a word can be said truth- fully but in his praise, even by his bitterest ene- mies — if he have any. His success has been truly wonderful. He is to- day, without doubt, the wealthiest man west of New York city. He is also one of the most active men in the city, — never idle, but always keeping his vast wealth in motion, and has done more to ornament and beautify Milwaukee than any other man in if; and his name in commercial circles is a tower of strength, neither is there with him any such word as “fail.” In person he is of medium height, stoutly built, of ruddy and fair complexion; a keen, expressive eye; a voice clear and musical, strongly tinctured with the Scotch accent; sees at a glance all that is being enacted around him; decides quickly ; reads a man through like a book, and is never deceived. Such is Alexander Mitchell. He was married October 7, 1841, to Miss Martha Reed, daughter of Seth Reed, of New England an- cestry, but one of the earliest settlers of Milwaukee. She is a lady of considerable energy and force of character, who has for many years managed all the affairs of the family and home property, and is, moreover, an earnest patron of the fine arts. She distinguished herself highly as vice-regent from Wisconsin of the Mount Vernon Association for the purpose of purchasing the home of Washington at Mount Vernon from the heirs of “the father of his 592 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRArHICAL DICTIONARY. country,” and making it the property of the na- | tion. Last year, under her management, the public schools of Milwaukee contributed in pennies a suf- ficient amount to build two lodges at the land en- trance to the mansion, while at her own expense she furnished the room in which Martha Washington died, in the style of the period of the revolution. She was also one of the original founders of the Milwaukee Protestant Orphan Asylum, also the In- dustrial School for Girls, and her name is associated with all the charitable institutions of the city, while she is invariably the largest contributor to every enterprise, whether religious or benevolent, for the benefit of the city, or the welfare of any class of its inhabitants. She is an exemplary member of the Episcopal church — one of the most ornate and costly edifices in the State, to the building of which she was a liberal contributor. For some years past she has been accustomed to spend her winters in a beautiful villa on the St. John’s river, Florida, which was named the “ Villa Alexandria,” by Governor Seymour, of New York. They have had six children, all of whom died in- infancy, except one son, John Lendrum, who was born October 19, 1842 ; was' educated in England and Germany, and is a gentleman of large talents and high culture. He represented the south sena- torial district of tire city of Milwaukee two terms in the State legislature. His time, however, is chiefly spent in rural pursuits on his beautiful farm south- west of the city, where he raises some of the finest blooded horses in the State. INCREASE , MIL WA NCREASE ALLEN LAPHAM was named after his maternal grandfather, and was born March 7, 1811. His father was Seneca Lapham, who mar- ried Rachael Allen. According to the family record, Increase was born in Palmyra, Ontario county, New York, on the 7th of March, 1811. His father, as a contractor, was engaged in the construction of the Grand Erie canal. In 1818 the family moved to Pennsylvania, where his father had a contract with the Schuylkill Navigation Company; but soon after returned to Galen, Wayne county, New York, where he was employed in the construction of the locks of the Erie canal. In 1822 the family moved to Roch- ester, while Increase remained at work on the farm. One of the arches in the first aqueduct at Rochester was built by his father, on a sub-contract. In 1824 he moved to Lockport, where his father had charge of the construction of the combined and double locks. Here young Lapham earned some money by cutting stone to be used on the locks. Soon after this he engaged in the engineer service as rod- man for his brother Darius, who had already ob- tained the position of assistant engineer. In June, 1826, he was employed for a short time on the Wel- land canal, Canada. While at Lockport he made and sold a number of plans of the locks to persons traveling in search of information. He was present when La Fayette passed through Lockport on his tour of welcome, June, 1825, and when the canal A. LAPHAM, UKEE. was completed, in 1825. The celebration was tele- graphed by means of cannon at convenient dis- tances, from Buffalo to New York, October, 1825. The beautiful specimens of organic remains he found in the deep rocks gave him his first idea of geology, and initiated a habit of observation which has continued through life. He found amusement in the study of nature; and as he knew none of a similar taste his long walks were made alone. In 1826 his father had procured a place for him as rodman on the works of the Miami canal, Ohio. He went per steamer to Cleveland and Sandusky. His father a few years before had made a similar voyage in the steamer Walk-in-the-Water, which had so little power that oxen were employed to pull the boat up the rapids between Black Rock and Buffalo. Proceeding by stage to Middletown, he commenced work under Byron Kilbourn, assistant engineer. In December of the same year he went to Louis- ville, Kentucky, secured a better position on the canal around the falls, and attended the school of Mr. Mann Butler, the historian, of Kentucky. At Louisville he saw General Jackson, on his way to Washington to be installed as President; and met with Captain Basil Hall, who showed him his astro- nomical instruments. At Louisville he commenced a collection of native plants. This collection has grown to the extent of eight thousand specimens, many received from Eu- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 595 rope and other countries in exchange. He also made a collection of shells, and sent them by T. H. Taylor to Isaac Lea, of Philadelphia, who gave the credit to Mr. Taylor for the new species. His first scientific paper was published in “ Silli- man’s American Journal of Science,” in 1828 : notice of the Louisville and Shipping-port Canal, and of the Geology of the Vicinity. This was before the silurian and Devonian rocks were named ; and the occurrence of petroleum or rock oil in cavities in the limestone was there first published. In the catalogue of the Wisconsin historical libra- ry, twenty or more papers, prepared by him, are mentioned ; but there are many others not there enumerated. These papers were founded on orig- inal observations made by Mr. Lapharn, at intervals snatched from business duties, as a recreation, with- out the hope of reward. As Mr. I.apham had received only a common- school education, his acquirements are the result of self-culture. Under these circumstances he was greatly surprised to receive a parchment from Am- herst College conferring upon him the honorary title of LL.D. in August, i860. Dr. Lapham’s studies have been not only pro- fessional, as an engineer, but embrace geology, min- eralogy, botany, meteorology, antiquities, etc. In 1833 he was appointed secretary of the Board of Canal Commissioners; and in the performance of duties in the office of the State treasury was intrusted with large sums of money. In 1835-36 he was ap- pointed one of the commissioners to report on the best mode of carrying out the law authorizing a geo- logical survey of the State of Ohio. In 1836 he came to Milwaukee, where he has re- sided ever since. He has had charge of large amounts of real estate, and has pursued a steady business career; but has devoted a portion of his time to other subjects of importance and interest. He has studied and made known by various publi- cations the physical features, topography, geology, natural history, meteorology, antiquities, etc., of the State. In 1852 Dr. Asa Gray, of Cambridge, in the “Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, "entitled “ Plantce Wrightianre,” named a new genus of plants, Laphamia, with the remark: “I dedicate this genus to I. A. Lapharn, Esq., of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, author of a catalogue of the plants of that State, and a zealous explorer of its botany.” Dr. Lapham’s examination of several masses of meteoric iron, found near Milwaukee, detected pe- culiar markings, which Dr. James Lawrence Smith thought worthy of being named “ I.aphamite mark- ings.” (American Journal of Science, March, 1869.) The animal-shaped mounds of Wisconsin early at- tracted his attention. He made an extended survey of the most noted of these mounds, an account of which was published in the “ Smithsonian Contribu- tions ” in 1855. In the early history of Wisconsin he held several important offices, as alderman, school commissioner, etc. He took an active part in securing the organi- zation of the public schools on the basis of free tuition for all. He assisted in the organization of the Young Men’s Association and in the Female College, of which he was many years president. In 1846 he made a donation of thirteen acres of land in the second (now sixth) ward to the city for a high school. Dr. Lapharn made very numerous observations on the rise and fall of water in Lake Michigan, by which the highest and lowest and the mean or aver- age stage was determined. These are important in various ways, and were used by the engineers of Chicago and Milwaukee in establishing their system of sewerage, foundation of works and in the water supply. They were also used in the lake survey, while in charge of Captain George G., late General Meade, in fixing the zero for soundings, etc. In 1849 he made a series of very careful observa- tions, by which he discovered a slight lunar tide exactly like that of the ocean. This important fact was announced in the papers at the time, and the observations were communicated to the Smithsonian Institution. Many years later Colonel I. D. Graham, of Chicago, made a like discovery at that city, the tide there being much larger than at Milwaukee. The irregular fluctuations of the water level is shown by these observations. Since 1859 he has had charge of the self-registering tide-gauge at Milwaukee for the lake survey. This fully confirms his previous discoveries. He has made no discovery of a tide on Lake Huron, as is erroneously stated in “Apple- ton’s Cyclopedia.” In 1869 he sent to Hon. Halbert E. Paine, mem- ber of congress, a memorial representing the duty and necessity of some effort to prevent the loss of life and property on the great lakes; showing the practicability of predicting the occurrence of great storms. The memorial was accompanied by a long list of disasters that had occurred on the lakes in that year, and was the means of securing the adop- 59 6 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. tion of those measures for weather predictions which have grown to be of so much importance, and will become more important when the people shall have adopted the habit of consulting them. Dr. Lapham assisted in the organization of the signal service, having his office first in Chicago, and in making up the results of observations, on which the first storm predictions or probabilities were based. All those who have availed themselves of the advantages of the daily weather probabilities as a guide to their action owe this advantage to Dr. Lapham. In 1873 he was appointed State geologist, and organized and conducted the survey for two years, during which time much valuable work was done and reported to the governor. From his first arrival in Wisconsin Dr. Lapham has given much of his time and attention to its geology, examining its quarries, rocks and cliffs. He published many papers on the subject, and also geological maps of the State. His observations have been quoted in the scientific works of this country as well as in Europe, and thus have been brought into notice the physical features, geology, mineralogy, botany, antiquities and natural history of the State. Dr. Lapham was born among the Society of Friends, and has never seen good reasons for changing his views. He was married in October, 1838, to Miss Ann M. Alcott, who died in Milwaukee, February 25, 1863, since which he has remained unmarried. He has five children still living. Dr. Lapham’s works are numerous; a list of the titles and a list of the names of the societies, literary and scientific, of which he is a member, fills six folio pages, to enumerate which would far exceed our limits. Sufficient has been said to show that Dr. Lapham occupies a very distinguished position; that his life has been spent in a career of usefulness, and that knowledge and honor have been more highly valued by him than gain ; and his life pre- sents a wonderful example of how much may be done by self-culture. Dr. Lapham’s family record has been carefully kept for two hundred and fifty years. His ancestors were of English origin, but settled in this country in the early part of the seventeenth century. The rec- ord is too long for insertion here. Since the above was written the tidings of the death of Dr. Lapham has reached us. He died suddenly on Oconomowoc Lake, Wisconsin, Septem- ber 14, 1875, at the age of sixty-four years and six months. The death of Dr. Lapham is a loss to science. He has been a laborious worker, and all his studies and researches have been directed to some useful end. The bent of his inquiries was eminently prac- tical, as the storm signal system, of which he is no doubt the father, bears record. Dr. Lapham has left a name that will have rank among the illustrious dead, and share their honors. He was a man of rare integrity; his whole life ex- emplifying the saying, “An honest man is the noblest work of God.” JOHN J. BROWN, M.D., SHEBOYGAN. J OHN J. BROWN was born in Toronto, Canada, January 24, 1819; and is the son of John Brown, a native of New Hampshire, and Mary Skeldon, of England. The family went to Buffalo, New York, when John was an infant, and there he spent his early boyhood. Later they settled on a farm in the town of Darien, in Genesee county ; and the son received an academic education at the Alex- ander Seminary, in the same county. He began the study of medicine with Dr. Long, of Corfu, near Darien, in 1841 ; later, attended lectures at the Geneva Medical College, and gradu- ated in 1845. After practicing one year at Clarence, in Erie county, New York, he, in 1846, removed to Sheboygan, Wisconsin, where he practiced his profession until the opening of the rebellion. In 1862 he was appointed examining surgeon, but preferring to go into the field, he enlisted as a private soldier ; he was afterward promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel of the 27th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers. He remained in the service until the spring of 1864, when, by reason of a severe illness and general debility, he was honorably dis- charged, The year before going into the war Dr. Brown was appointed postmaster by President Lincoln, and resigned while in the service. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 597 After leaving the army he assisted Professor Blaney two years in the laboratory of Rush Medical College, Chicago ; was chosen professor of natural sciences in the Slate Normal School at Whitewater, Wisconsin, in 1868, and held that position one year. He spent the following year in Florida, in the study of botany and other branches of natural history. In 1872 he visited St. Thomas, St. Croix and other West India islands. He was sent out by the Chicago Academy of Sciences, with Dr. Velie and W. W. Calkins, on a scientific expedition to Florida, in the winter of 1874-75 ; and spent the winter of 1876-77 on the Bahamas, engaged mainly in the study of conchology and botany. He has a fine collection in natural history, and in conchology has probably the best collection in the State. Dr. Brown was married to Miss Hadley, of Darien, New York, in 1845 ; who died in 1868, leaving five children. In 1871 he was married to Miss Gallup, of Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is a thorough student, and is passionately fond of scientific studies in certain branches, and his collections already made are very valuable. Since the close of the war he has never resumed his profession, but devoting his chief attention to scientific study and investigation, has contributed in no small degree to the dissemination of scientific knowledge. HON. HUGH CAMERON, LA CROSSE. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Living- ston county, New York, was born at Caledonia, June 29, 1815. His parents, Duncan A. Cameron and Sarah (McColl) Cameron, were from Scotland; the father coming to this country in 1802, and the mother a few years later. The Camerons are of the Lochiel branch, Lochiel, the chief, being, according to custom, of the Queen’s household. Hugh spent his youth on his father’s farm. He prepared for college in the institutions at Middlebury and Lima, in his native State, and entered the University of Vermont in 1854, and graduated with honor four years later, excelling particularly in German meta- physics, then taught by Professor James Marsh. Returning to western New York, Mr. Cameron taught in the Avon Academy in 1838 and 1839, reading law at the same time with Amos Dann. He finished his law studies with Hastings and Hus- bands, of Rochester, and was admitted to the bar in October, 1841, at the first term of the supreme court ever held in that city. After practicing a few years in Livingston county, he removed to Buffalo in the spring of 1847, and there built up an excel- lent law business as a member of the firm of Wads- worth and Cameron, but seeing openings of great promise farther west, in the spring of 1858 he re- moved to La Crosse, Wisconsin, his present home, and has there become widely known as a skillful and successful attorney. During the first six years in Wisconsin, Mr. Cam- eron was in partnership with his brother Alexander, 65 who went into the army as first lieutenant 1st Wis- consin battery, in 1861, and died in 1864. He was district attorney at the opening of the war, having been elected two years prior to that time, when only about twenty-two years old. Alexander Cameron was a young man of much promise. In 1865 Hugh Cameron was elected county judge, and held that office four years and declined a re- election. The law has been his life study, his life pursuit, and he has no higher ambition than that of excelling in his profession. A prominent journalist, and neighbor of his for the last twenty years, in a private note says of him : Few men have such complete mastery of literature in all its departments as Judge Cameron. His mental grasp, acquisitions, acumen and discrimination, invest his utter- ances, in genial conversation or legal arguments, with strength and richness of thought and language, which are best appreciated by those who have the greatest opportunity to test and verify his powers and counsel, in which capacity he is employed by many professional confreres in western Winconsin and southern Minnesota, such persons consider- ing their cases not only thoroughly prepared, but fairly tried, after having undergone his scrutiny and investiga- tion, as the court seldom “overrules his decisions.” Judge Cameron has not only a very fine literary taste, but — what is not generally known — has written many able criticpies and other articles for the periodical press. But such intellectual labor he does simply for recreation after more severe studies connected with his profession. He is of whig antecedents, and for the last twenty years he has usually voted the republican ticket. So thoroughly has Judge Cameron been wedded 598 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. to the law, that for many years it seemed doubtful if he would ever form a more tender alliance ; but, on the ad of December, 1875, he was joined in wed- lock with Miss Caroline D. Starr, daughter of W. H. Starr, an early settler and prominent citizen of Burlington, Iowa, and a graduate of Yale College. Mrs. Cameron is a well educated and highly accom- plished lady. GERRIT T. THORN, APPLETON. subject of this biography, a native of On- X ondaga county, New York, was born at Lafay- ette, July 20, 1832. His parents were Jehiel and Sarah (Houghtaiing) Thorn. His paternal grand- parents were Quakers, and hence were neutral dur- ing the struggle for American independence, but his father and also air uncle were soldiers in the war of 1812. After attending public and private schools, giving especial attention to mathematics and civil engineering, Gerrit, at the age of eighteen, went to Rome, in Bradford county, Pennsylvania, and be- came a clerk and book-keeper in the employ of Hon. Henry W. Tracy and Judson Holcomb. In November, 1851, he commenced teaching a select school in the village of Town Hill, Luzerne county. In the spring of 1852 he went to Towanda, and soon afterward, hearing of the illness of his father, re- turned to New York, and was present at the death of that parent, which occurred on the 8th of May. He next spent one year at Yates Polytechnic Insti- tute, at Chittenango, Madison county, under the charge of Professor William Velaskow, and soon afterward commenced the study of law. During the winter of 1853-4 he taught the public school in the same district in which he had received the first rudiments of his education. Being in poor health he resolved to abandon the law for a time, and early in the spring of 1854 removed to Wisconsin, reach- ing Watertown during the latter part of April. He spent the summer following on a farm in Dodge county, and taught during the next winter in the village of Columbus, and a ward school in the city of Watertown the next summer. Resuming the study of law with Hon. Samuel Baird, of that place. He continued the same a few months later with Hon. Charles Billinghurst, of Juneau, Dodge county, then a member of congress. In 1857 went to Beaver Dam, and completed his legal studies; fin- ished reading with Smith and Ordway, and was ad- mitted to the bar at Juneau, September 27, 1858. In January following Mr. Thorn opened an office at the last-named place, and four months later, May, 1859, went to Jefferson, Jefferson county, and prac- ticed law there for ten years, making for himself a good reputation. During the time of his residence there he aided in founding the “ Jefferson Banner,’’ a democratic paper, and continued its political ed- itor for about three years. This he did purely for mental recreation, and did not allow it to interfere with his legal pursuits. August 30, 1862, after spending a short time in recruiting soldiers, Mr. Thorn enlisted, and went into the army as lieutenant-colonel of the 29th Reg- iment Wisconsin Infantry, which was stationed the next winter at Helena, Arkansas. During that time his wife was on her death-bed, his only child was dangerously ill, and he himself being in poor health, and unable to obtain a furlough, resigned on the 3d of February, reaching Jefferson two weeks after his wife’s demise. Colonel Thorn was one of the leaders in founding the Jefferson Liberal Institute, he drawing up its charter, delivering an address at the laying of the corner-stone of the Institute building, and serving during the first two years as president of the board of trustees. In 1867 and 1868 he represented Jefferson county in the upper branch of the State legislature, and was an industrious member, doing most of his work on the committees on federal relations, railroads and claims. In January, 1869, he removed to Fond du Lac, and entered into the law practice with General E. S. Bragg, and while a resident of that city was sent to the general assembly, and was on the judiciary committee and the joint committee on charitable and penal institutions. In August, 1874, he settled in Appleton, where he is devoting his attention exclusively to the law, having an extensive practice in the several courts. He is a close student, is thoroughly posted on legal questions, has splendid logical powers, is a strong THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 601 man before a jury, and has few peers as a court law- yer in the tenth judicial circuit. Colonel Thorn was a presidential elector on the democratic ticket in 1864, and voted for General McClellan, and was a delegate to the national con- vention in 1868, which nominated Horatio Seymour. He has been twice married: his first wife, whose death is mentioned above, was Miss Maria Bicknell, of Chittenden county, Vermont. She was a teacher in the Fox Lake High School and a lady of rare acquirements. They were married in May, 1859, and had one child, a son, who soon followed his mother to the spirit-land. March 7, 1864, he was married to Elizabeth Clark, of Prince George county, Maryland, who was then visiting an aunt in Madison, Wisconsin. The wedding was celebrated at the house of Hon. Harlen S. Orton. They have had seven children, six of whom are living at the present time (1877). Colonel Thorn has fine literary tastes and talents in that line of no mean order. His address deliv- ered in Jefferson, at the laying of the corner-stone already alluded to, was published at the time, and is full of wholesome thoughts on what a literary insti- tution designed for all classes of people should be. His address given on Decoration-day at Fond du Lac in 1871, and which was published, is marked with striking pathos and rhetorical beauties, and an oration which he delivered on the Centennial Fourth at Chilton, Calumet county, was an elaborate pro- duction, eloquently portraying the beauty of free institutions, showing that Christianity is the founda- tion of true liberty; that it introduced into out- world the seed of genuine democracy, and that on the promulgation by Christ of the doctrine of equal- ity before God, it became only a question of time when man’s equality before the law should be uni- versally acknowledged. HON. WINFIELD SMITH, MIL WA UK EE. W INFIELD SMITH, attorney and counselor, was born at Fort Howard, Wisconsin, August 16, 1827, and is the son of Henry Smith and Elvina nee Foster. His father was a captain in the United States infantry; born at Stillwater, New York, in 1798, and graduated at the United States Military Academy, Westpoint, in the year 1816. He was for five years aide to General Winfield Scott, for whom our subject was named ; fought in the Blackhawk war in 1831-2; was afterward placed in charge of the United States government works at the harbor of Monroe, Michigan, and subsequently placed in charge of all the government works on Lake Erie, in which he continued until the veto of the River and Harbor Appropriation Bills by President Polk. Meantime he resigned his position in the regular army, though he was still retained as engineer of the works and improvements alluded to. At the out- break of the Mexican war he reentered the army as captain in one of the new regiments organized by President Polk, and was soon afterward promoted to the rank of major on the general staff, and at Vera Cruz was placed at the head of the quarter- master’s department, where, in the midst of his ardu- ous and responsible labors, he was smitten down by an attack of yellow fever, from which he died, after a week’s illness, on the 22d of July, 1847. He was an able and accomplished officer, understood thoroughly the details of his profession, was gov- erned by a high sense of honor, frank, generous and upright. A gentleman of fine talents and varied information, agreeable in society, and had many warm friends among the leading men of the nation. He was ardent in his family attachments, constant and devoted in his friendships, an exemplary mem- ber of the Protestant Episcopal church, of spotless reputation, esteemed and respected by all who knew him. He was the elder brother of Colonel Joseph R. Smith of the 2d Infantry, who was twice wounded in the battle of Churubusco, Mexico, by which he was permanently deprived of the use of his left arm. His son, Dr. Joseph R. Smith, was acting surgeon- general for several years during the late war, and is now United States post-surgeon at Fortress Monroe, Virginia. In politics he was a Jeffersonian democrat, and during his interval of civil life served two terms in the Michigan legislature, namely, in 1838 and 1841. In July, 1826, Captain Henry Smith married Miss Elvina Foster, eldest daughter of Jabez Foster, then 602 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. a resident of Watertown, New York ; a lady of su- perior education and excellent judgment, of ami- able disposition and engaging manners, accustomed to mingle much in the best society, and loved and admired by all who knew her. She was born in September, 1S04, and still lives in the enjoyment of moderate health, at Watertown, New York, in the familv of her eldest daughter, and frequently visited by her other children. 'They had a family of eight children born to them, of whom our subject was the eldest ; one of whom died in infancy, and seven lived to maturity. The infancy and juvenile years of Winfield Smith were passed in the various military headquarters and encampments at which his father happened to be on duty, but chiefly at Jefferson Barracks, Mis- souri, and at Monroe, Michigan. At the latter point he pursued his academic studies and was fitted for college, being well up in Greek, Latin and the higher mathematics. He entered the University of Michi- gan in the spring of 1844, from which he was gradu- ated in the spring of 1846 with honor, being facile princeps in mathematics, and in Greek, Latin and other studies, equal to the best. He had, in 1839 and 1840, attained a thorough knowledge of the French language in a private school in Watertown, New York, and afterward in Milwaukee studied German, both of which he still speaks with con- siderable fluency. After leaving college he taught for a year a private school at Monroe, and then gave private lessons in Greek and Latin, at the same time pursuing the study of Blackstone, Kent and other works on the principles of jurisprudence. In 1848 he entered the office of the Hon 1 . P. Christiancy, afterward judge of the supreme court of Michigan, and pres- ently United States senator from that State, where he was a diligent student for some months. From this he removed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in Oc- tober, 1849; entered the law office of Emmons and Vandyke, of that city, where he remained a year in study and practice. He was admitted to the bar of the supreme court of Wisconsin in 1850. In 1851 he commenced practice on his own responsibility, and continued till 1855, when he became associated with the Hon. Edward Salomon, afterward governor of Wisconsin, and now practicing law in New York city. This partnership continued some fifteen years, and terminated in December, 1869. Early in the year 1870 he became associated with Joshua Starr, Esq., of Milwaukee, which continued until No- vember. 1875, when his present copartnership with the Hon. Matt. H. Carpenter, ex United States senator, and A. A. L. Smith, Esq., was formed; the terms of agreement allowing Mr. Carpenter to keep an office and to practice in Washington during the winters. In 1850 he was appointed United States commis- sioner and master in chancery, and retained the offices till 1863, when he resigned. He did much business in both capacities. In 1862 he was ap- pointed by Governor Salomon to the position of attorney-general for Wisconsin, to fill an unexpired term, and in 1863 he was elected to the same office by the people, which he held till January, 1866. In 1871 he was elected to represent a district of the city of Milwaukee in the general assembly of the State, and served as chairman of the judiciary com- mittee, with very great credit to himself, being one of the ablest members of that body. While acting as United States commissioner in 1S54, he brought upon himself much censure and considerable notice by holding to bail Sherman M. Booth and others implicated in the rescue of the fugitive slave Glover, of Missouri — a case which attained to a national fame at the time. Mr. Smith being then a democrat, his action in the matter was supposed to be prompted by his political prin- ciples, but he never was in sympathy with slavery. While acting as attorney-general of the State he secured the payment to the State school fund of a claim against the United States government amounting to three hundred thousand dollars, which had been long held back on the ground of a claim of the Rock River Canal Company up- on the same fund, and against the State. Since his retirement from office, he, with Mr. Carpenter, defended Governor Salomon in a suit brought against him on the part of certain rioters who op- posed the “draft” in 1863, and who had been im- prisoned by Governor Salomon in the camp at Madison, the question at issue involving the consti- tutionality of the conscription law of congress, and other points of high importance. The case was afterward appealed to the supreme court of the State, and occasioned strong party feeling at the time. The argument of Mr. Smith in defense of his client was one of the ablest forensic efforts of the period. He was also attorney for the complainants, or stockholders of the Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien Railroad Company, in a suit brought by them against THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. the directors of the company, and numerous other defendants, for an injunction to restrain further pro- ceedings claimed to have been illegally taken on their part for the purpose of bringing about a con- solidation of that company with the Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad Company, to the detriment of plaintiffs. The bills were drawn and the principal argument in the case was made by Mr. Smith for the complainants, and secured the desired injunc- tion, in spite of able and strenuous opposition, and this decision of the court resulted in a compromise satisfactory to his clients. The decision was among the most important ever rendered in a railroad suit. Mr. Smith was selected by the bar association of Milwaukee to deliver the eulogy on the late Judge Payne, in 1871, which is published in full in the twenty-seventh volume of the “Wisconsin Reports,” and is a masterpiece of oratory and wisdom. Without being a politician, he has always taken a deep interest in public affairs. He acted with the democratic party until 1854, when, becoming dis- satisfied with the so-called “ Kansas-Nebraska ” measure, which was afterward indorsed by that party, he united with the republican party and sup- ported the candidacy of Fremont. Since then he has advocated the election of every republican can- didate for the Presidency, and last autumn (1876) delivered a number of most able and telling speeches in favor of Hayes and Wheeler in different cities of the State. During the late war he supported the cause of the North with all zeal, and would have entered the army if he had not been assured by those in whose judgment he relied that he could do and was doing more at home for the cause of the Union than he could do in the field. Although one of the ablest and most active lawyers in the State, yet he finds time to devote to industrial and other enterprises for the public benefit. He is president of the Cream City Street Railroad Com- pany, the Forest Home Railroad Company, and the Milwaukee District Telegraph Company, — all enter- prises of considerable local importance. He is also a member of the college society of the University of Michigan known as the “ Peninsular Chapter,” so named by himself. He was for many years a mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity, but has not acted with the order for some time. He is a member of the Protestant Episcopal church, of temperate and liberal views, a member of the standing committee of the diocese, and a gener- ous contributor to benevolent and religious organ- 603 izations of the church in the State, and in private and social life he enjoys the highest respect and esteem of all who know him. Winfield Smith has given his life to his profession with but little devia- tion, and justly ranks among the foremost lawyers of the State. Thoroughly taught and accomplished as an aca- demical scholar, he brought to his profession habits of patience and toil which have borne their legiti- mate fruits. He is a man of clear, incisive mind, of quick perception, logical in his deductions, always ready with a perspicacious analysis, separating the sound from the unsound, making correct and accu- rate application of principles to facts. He has the unlimited respect and confidence of those who know him for the candor, truthfulness and frankness which characterize his acts and deeds. A good judge of men, quick in discernment, self-reliant and prompt in decision, he has a vigorous energy and will, allied with rare judgment and remarkable powers of mem- ory, which make the man conspicuous in emer- gencies, and successful where others hesitate or fail. His conduct is always consistent. As he never dis- simulates, his sentiments spoken at one time are a sure indication of what his practice and conduct will be when action shall be necessary; nor will it be affected by the course others may take, unless their conduct is grounded in better judgment. Numerous exhibitions of this trait of character have been publicly observed during his life, in many of which it has been remarked that those whose con- duct has been most opposed to his have afterward commended his independent course and approved his better judgment. In whatever he undertakes he is patient, painstaking and thorough in his investi- gation both of the facts and principles to be applied. As an equity jurisprudence lawyer he has hardly a superior, even among much older members of the Milwaukee bar; but his success is not confined to any single branch of the profession ; he is eminent in all. We do not think it too much to say of him that he never comes to the trial or argument of a case without the fullest preparation and the most exhaustive acquaintance with the facts, and the de- cisions and precedents bearing upon them. He is a fluent and effective speaker, rich in language and irresistible in argument. He is of ardent tempera- ment, and engages in almost every cause he under- takes, and indeed every cause that interests him, with extraordinary, almost vehement, zeal. The same enthusiasm which marks him in the service of 604 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. his clients characterizes him also in the discharge of his public duties. During his term of service as attorney-general of the State he became widely and favorably known, and it is the concurrent testimony of those who had the best means of judging, that his services in that office were of the highest impor- tance to the people of the State ; while in the gen- eral assembly, as chairman of the judiciary commit- tee, his marked ability, both as a lawyer and debater, and his unwearied watchfulness of every public in- terest, were especially conspicuous. Although not remarkably self-asserting, he at all times reposes a confidence in his own judgment naturally begotten of his complete mastery of the subject; hence his counsel is never evasive or equivocal, so that his clients are never in doubt as to his opinions. In addition to his professional studies, he keeps well-read in the current literature, maintains his acquaintanceship with the classics, is a proficient in several modern languages, and takes much pleasure in literary pursuits generally, aside from his daily duties. He is social in his tastes, believes in using the innocent enjoyments of life as we go along, and has tried to act on that theory. He was formerly reputed one of the best chess-players in the State. He is fond of music, and is a good amateur player on the Boehm flute, and often plays in concert with his wife or daughter on the piano, and his son Henry on the violin, producing a most exquisite harmony of sound. He also gives considerable time and personal attention to the growth and culture of flowers, of which he is very fond, and always con- trives to have a supply on hand, both in winter and summer, raised by his own hands. On the ist of September, 1853, he married' Miss Sarah M. Fellows, daughter of the late Lothrop Fel- lows, of Lockport, New York, a lady of high cul- ture and accomplishments; domestic in her tastes and habits, an excellent housekeeper, bringing to her aid rare talents in the adornment and beautifying of her home, and in making it attractive and pleas- ant to her family. She is held in the highest esteem by all who know her. They have six children, all living, namely, Anna Elvina, Henry Lothrop, Eva Louise, Winfield Robert, Mabel Foster and Grace Elizabeth. Anna Elvina is the wife of Edward C. Hopkins, Esq., of the firm of H. Bosworth and Sons, wholesale druggists in Milwaukee. Henry Lothrop has just concluded his university course at Madison, and is intended for the profession of his father; he is a young gentleman of considerable versatility of character and much promise, — all the children are noted for brightness and vivacity. In his domestic life Mr. Smith is exemplary, and studies to make his home delightful. He is happiest among his children and his friends. This branch of the Smith family is of Scotch- Irish origin, and descended from John Smith, a native of Londonderry, Ireland; his father being one of the gallant “apprentice-boys ” who heroically closed the gates of the “Maiden City’’ against the approach of the traitorous James II. He immi- grated to America early in the eighteenth century, and settled in East Hampton, New Jersey, where he married Martha A. Waite. His son, Robert Smith, was an officer in the revolutionary war, and after- ward settled at Litchfield, Connecticut, where he married Mary Hicks. He was the father of Dr. Warren Smith, who married Barbara Rowe, and died at Litchfield, Connecticut, in the thirty-fifth year of his age. He was the father of Henry Smith, who was the father of Winfield Smith. DANIEL K. TENNEY, CHICAGO. D ANIEL KENT TENNEY was born at Platts- burg, New York, December 31, 1834. He is the tenth child of Daniel Tenney (a native of New Hampshire), and of his wife, Sylvia Kent (a native of Vermont, having the ancestry of Chancellor Kent). Mr. Tenney spent his boyhood in the woods of northern Ohio, whither his parents removed with the family when he was about one year old, and where his father recently died at the age of eighty-one. His mother, at a still more advanced age, now re- sides in Kansas with a daughter. Two brothers and two sisters of the ten now survive. Reared in poverty, at the age of eight he was ap- prenticed to a printer and served four years out of the following seven, attending common schools the remaining three. At the age of fifteen he removed to Madison, /V THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONART. 607 Wisconsin, and engaged as a journeyman printer in the office of the “ Wisconsin Argus,” working, how- ever, only during vacations and Saturdays, but often eighteen hours a day, this being a necessity for rais- ing funds to pay his way while attending the Uni- versity of Wisconsin, then in its infancy. While in this institution he was one of the founders of the Athenaeum Society, and its early records bear testi- mony to his efficient work in its behalf. He at- tended the university about four years, boarding himself most of the time, being poorly fed and poorly clad ; but his condition in this respect was scarcely exceptional in that day, as most of the students were in indigent circumstances and not ashamed of their poverty. In scholarship he was second to none. He learned with the readiness of intuition. In the latter part of the sophomore year he was expelled for contumacy, in refusing to dis- close the name of a companion engaged with him in some innocent but provoking mischief. This ac- tion, and the rule it implied, caused a rebellion of all the students, who signed a solemn covenant to quit the institution unless the rule was abrogated and young Tenney restored. The faculty unani- mously yielded the point, and he was on the follow- ing day restored to full and honorable standing. He, however, regarded his expulsion as a personal insult, and refused to return. This feeling toward the university, however, has long since faded away, and he now regards the institution with as much pride as any of its graduates. Being at this time (1854) penniless, he accepted a position as foreman in the “ State Journal ” office at Madison, having some twenty or more printers em- ployed, which position he held until he had accu- mulated a few hundred dollars, when he determined to prepare for a higher field of labor, and com- menced the study of law. His finances while thus engaged were supplemented by work as a reporter in the Wisconsin senate one session, and subse- quently by employment as deputy clerk of the cir- cuit court at Madison. By careful reading at all spare hours, and by studying all the papers filed in court in the various current cases, and listening to the arguments of counsel, this trilling clerkship proved a valuable school to him, and he soon be- came really an adept in all matters of pleading and practice, and continues to be quite eminent in those important branches of law. During his continu- ance in this office was developed to himself and his triends a strong indication of what has proved in after-life to be his genius or stronghold. It was his duty to collect monthly the bills of costs from the lawyers. Some of the profession are said to be the most difficult people in the world to get money from. In such cases young Tenney would patient- ly and persistently insist upon payment, dexterously evading all excuses and never allowing his temper to get ruffled under abuse; and though often round- ly cursed for his obstinacy, never gave up until he got the money, and was eager for a fresh lot of bills the next month. His principal regarded him as a remarkable collector, and the lawyers dreaded his monthly visitations. On the nth of December, 1855, he was admitted to the bar as an attorney and counselor, being at the time a few days less than twenty-one years old. On the following day, much to his surprise and grati- fication, a partnership was offered him by Judge Thomas Hood, then in active practice at Madison, and the new firm was at once introduced by the shingle of Hood and Tenney. The junior labored assiduously, early and late, reading and attending carefully to all the details of the business, and was not long in securing a large number of permanent clients and friends, and in earning and deserving his reputation as one of the most watchful, bold, ener- getic, thorough and successful commercial lawyers in that region. He developed, withal, a thrift some- what exceptional with the profession. While always free-hearted and liberal in contributions or sub- scriptions for public purposes, and not behind in private charities, he was enabled by his extensive business, aided by some tact at speculations, to ac- cumulate a handsome competence, to which he has added every year since the commencement of his career as a lawyer. His methods of reaching and surrounding unwilling debtors must have been unique and peculiar to himself, if we may judge by the many amusing incidents often related by his brethren of the bar throughout Wisconsin. Mr. Tenney was married on the 14th of Septem- ber, 1857, at Madison, to Mary Jane Marston, daughter of Hon. J. ' 1 '. Marston, a substantial cit- izen there, formerly of Montpelier, Vermont. The children of this marriage are: John, born in i860; and Mary, born in 1866. In 1858 Mr. Tenney became president of the Sauk City Bank, located some twenty-five miles from Madison, and so continued until the retire- ment of State banks under the regime of the na- tional currency. In the same year lie was elected 6o8 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. to the office of alderman at Madison, which lie held for several successive terms; and to his untiring efforts were due many important reforms in the management of the city finances, in restoring the shattered credit of the city, and placing upon a sound basis its dishonored bonded indebtedness. In 1867 he was appointed by the governor upon a commission to revise and simplify the laws relating to the assessment and collection of taxes; to which subject he had previously paid considerable atten- tion. The bills reported by the commission, which were pretty much the result of his labors, have since been substantially enacted into laws, and probably present the most simple, concise and effective sys- tem of taxation to be found in any of the States. He has never sought political preferment, though an active partisan ; and, aside from the two minor positions named, he has never held a public office, and has no desire to do so. In 1870 he sought a larger field of action, and re- moved to Chicago. His removal was much regretted by his friends, but proved fortunate for himself. He soon achieved a prominent position, which he still holds, in the department of commercial law, and the firm of which he is a member, founded by him, stands second to none in the great western metrop- olis. Their immense business is conducted on strict business principles. He has able partners and as- sistants; but all are under his supervision and direc- tion, each having his appropriate department or line of duty, and all working together to accomplish the desired results. They have among their clients a large number of the leading commercial houses throughout the country. Nature has been bountiful to Mr. Tenney, and endowed him with some of her choicest gifts; among them a durable physical constitution, a vig- orous and discriminating intellect, and a generous heart. These have been nurtured to maturity by habits of physical and mental industry and culture. His generous impulses are instinctive and sponta- neous; they characterize his personal and social relations with his fellow-men, and make him the welcome companion, the faithful counselor and the true friend. A more calculating judgment might conduct him to that higher eminence in the public estimation to which good men aspire, and for which ambitious men dare to die ; but, content with the honorable accumulation of wealth in the legitimate pursuits of his profession, his nature is likely to re- main free from the delusions of a false ambition and the corroding influences of avarice. Few men so readily discern the parallel between the absorbing vice of avarice, which at present pervades the moral world, and the famous Upas tree, whose shadow is the symbol of death. The love of truth, frankness in the expression of his opinions, and indomitable perseverance in the accomplishment of his objects, are striking traits in Mr. Tenney’s character ; prin- ciple led to their adoption, and policy to their prac- tice. His literary compositions are characteristic of the man — full, free and humorous, with a keen sense of the ludicrous. He is devoid of all bitter- ness, and the subject of his humor is frequently as well pleased with the picture as with the writer. The life of Mr. Tenney, thus far, has been one of ceaseless and beneficent activity. It does not re- semble in any degree the dull monotony of that fabled stream of which it may be truly said that no frosts overshadow its fountains, no windings diver- sify its progress, no flowers adorn its borders, no rapids precipitate its waters. Neither by example nor by sympathy is he allied to that class of men, of respectable mediocrity, whose virtues excite no praise, and whose vices provoke no censure. In early life Mr. Tenney’s mind was much exer- cised on the subject of religion, but upon careful study and reflection he came to the conclusion that to pay a hundred cents on the dollar and deal hon- orably with all men, — in short, to observe the golden rule of “ doing unto others as he would have others do unto him,”- — was religion enough for him. JEREMIAH DOBBS, RIP ON. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Saugerties, Ulster county, New York, was born in March, 1832, the son of Jeremiah and Mary Dobbs. His father, a real-estate operator by occupation, was a man of good standing and wide influence in his community. Our subject received his education at Williamson, New York, and after closing his studies in school, accepted a clerkship in a general store at THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 609 Rochester, New York, where he remained two years. Later he began the study of law at Newark, and in 1851 was admitted to the bar at Jefferson, Wis- consin, having removed to the West and settled at Lake Mills, Wisconsin, in 1849. Engaging in his profession at Lake Mills, he remained there till 1854, during which year he settled at Ripon, his present home, and established himself in that legal practice which, though small at first, has kept pace with the growth of business interests, until he has become extensively known as a successful and skill- ful attorney. Aside from his regular legal practice, Mr. Dobbs has filled several offices of honor and trust. In 1850 he was appointed district attorney of Jefferson county, Wisconsin; was elected a mem- ber of the State legislature in 1869, and for several years has been chairman of the county board ; is now chairman of his ward He was once a director of the Oshkosh and Mississippi Railroad Company. In political sentiment he is a democrat. He was married on the 21st of February, 1854, to Miss Mary A. Lampson, and by her has one son and two daughters. Mr. Dobbs is preeminently a self-made man. Be- ginning life without means, he has, by untiring effort, made his way step by step up to a high place in his profession and in society. He has accumulated a handsome fortune, and being possessed of excellent personal and social qualities, lives in the enjoyment of a happy home, surrounded by many warm friends. BENJAMIN M. REYNOLDS, A.M., LA CROSSE. B enjamin miles Reynolds was bom at Barnard, Vermont, July 12, 1825, his parents being Ezekiel and Lydia (Barnes) Reynolds. He lived on a farm, more or less, until twenty-one years of age. At the age of nineteen he began preparing for college, attending, at first, the Royalton Acad- emy, and finishing his preparatory studies at the Thetford Academy, under Professor Hiram Orcutt, then at its head. He entered Dartmouth College in 1848, and graduated in course, paying his entire ex- penses by teaching and different kinds of manual labor. Since graduating in 1852, Professor Reynolds lias been engaged steadily in educational work. He was principal of the Windsor, Vermont, high school, and of the Bradford, Vermont, Academy two years; of the high school at Barre, Massachusetts, a still longer period ; of the Pinion school at Moline, Illi- nois, one year; superintendent of schools in Rock Island, and principal of its high school nearly four years, being the first superintendent in that city ; principal of the Union school in Lockport, New York, more than five years; superintendent of schools at Madison, Wisconsin, six years; principal of the graded school at Monroe, Wisconsin, one year; and in 1873 became principal of the high school in LaCrosse, having at the same time charge of the second ward school. He has raised the grade of these schools more than one hundred per cent. One of the leading citizens of LaCrosse thus speaks of Mr. Reynolds’ work here : 66 Professor Reynolds’ efficiency as an educator is notice- able in the noble purpose and diligent efforts of his scholars in attainments of knowledge, and in the completeness of preparation with which his advanced students have entered various colleges, whose acknowledgments of his success in this respect are highly complimentary to LaCrosse schools, whose enviable excellence dates from and is largely attribut- able to his connection with them. Since he has been in Wisconsin Professor Reynolds has held a prominent position among its educators. He has been president of the State Teachers’ Asso- ciation ; has been on the committees appointed at different times to visit the normal schools; also on the committee to visit the State University; and in meetings of the State Teachers’ Association and in other convocations of teachers he has been one of the leading men. The Professor is preeminently a self-made man, and may truly be called the “ architect of his own fortune.” In his early years lie had good teachers who gave him wholesome advice, which he has not failed to profit by. He has an exalted idea of the mission of a teacher, and strives to be a model in the pro- fession. Professor Reynolds is a Master Mason. In his religious sentiments he is a Congregationalist. He was reared in the Webster school of whigs, was strong in the faith, and voted with that party till its dissolution, since which time he has been identified with the republican party. His wife was Mary Ann Morey, daughter of Mitchell C. Morey, a prominent citizen of Windsor, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 6 IO Vermont, and for twenty-one years deputy warden of the State prison. They have lost one child, and have two sons and two daughters living. Since Professor Reynolds took charge of the La Crosse high school, he has sent to the universities at Madison and Chicago, and also to Beloit College, some of the best students who have entered these institutions. Physically Professor Reynolds is about five feet seven inches in height, rather heavy set, and weighs one hundred and eighty-five pounds. He has gray eyes and a full, round face. He possesses most ex- cellent social qualities, being generous, genial, viva- cious. He is a man of thorough culture, and his influence over his pupils is in all respects healthful and refining. GEORGE A. BEL G eorge a. Houston was bom on the 24th 1 of October, 1829, at Bedford, New Hampshire, and is the son of John P. and Eunice C. Houston. H is father, a millwright by occupation, was con- stantly employed in mechanical pursuits, and enjoyed a fine reputation for his mechanical genius. In 1837 he removed to Wisconsin with his family and settled at Beloit. Here George received his education, studying first in the common schools, and later at- tending Beloit College. Impaired health, however, prevented him from graduating. He was especially fond of mathematics, and in school stood at the head of his class. His early desire had been to become a mechan- ical engineer, and upon leaving college he engaged in building railroad bridges, and continued thus em- ployed with good success for six years. He next engaged in the lumber and milling business, and although he became greatly embarrassed in his finan- cial matters, managed to pay all his debts with ten per cent interest. In 1868 Mr. Houston invented the celebrated “Turbine Water Wheel,” to which was awarded the prize medal at the test of water-wheels held in Bos- ton in 1869. These wheels have become so popular HOUSTON, OUT. \ that the demand for them is greater than he can supply. He has shipped them to all parts of the world, and realized a large fortune from the enter- prise. As a business man Mr. Houston is prompt, upright and energetic. He comes of a good family. His ancestors were among the early settlers of the United States. His great-grandfather was a Presby- terian clergyman. His grandfather was a slave- owner, and Mr. Houston has now in his possession bills of sale of slaves in Massachusetts, which he found among old papers belonging to his grandfather. In politics he is a republican, and has served as an alderman in the city of Beloit for twelve years. His religious training was under orthodox influ- ences, and he always attends the Congregational church, though he is not a member of any religious organization. He has always been a man of tem- perate habits, and in all his dealings has maintained the respect and high esteem of all with whom he has had to do. His personal and social qualities are of a high order, and his generous, hospitable, open-hearted manner has won for him many warm friends. Mr. Houston was married in i860 to Miss Elizabeth R. Keeler, and by her has one child. GEORGE PERKINS, FOND DU LAC. C A EORGE PERKINS, a native of Montrose, T Pennsylvania, is a son of Francis and Rebec- ca C. Sherman Perkins, and was born May 8, 1820. He is descended from good, patriotic ancestry, his maternal grandfather having been a revolutionary soldier, and six members of the Perkins family having died for their country on a single occasion, in the battle of Groton Heights. George passed his boyhood on his father’s farm, except when attending the Susquehanna Academy, and during one season, when twelve years of age, he did chores for a gentleman, to defray expenses THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 613 for board while attending this school. At the age of sixteen he entered a printing office, where much of his literary education was obtained, and where he remained most of the time until he attained his majority. He then commenced reading law with Benjamin T. Case, of Montrose, and having previ- ously engaged in teaching, continued the same while pursuing his legal studies. Being admitted to the bar about 1843, he practiced a short time at Mont- rose, and went thence to Dundaff, in the same county; subsequently he removed to Carbondale, Luzerne county, and still later to Pittston. In 1856 Mr. Perkins immigrated to Wisconsin, and settled at Ripon in the autumn of that year, and there resumed his legal practice. Early in 1864 he enlisted in the 41st Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers, one of the hundred-days regiments. While in the army he was elected district attorney of Fond du Lac county, and, upon returning from the war, moved to Fond du Lac, the county seat. He had been elected to a similar office while residing in Carbondale, and there served two terms. Here he held the office three terms, making a very acceptable officer. Since he became a resident of Fond du Lac, he has also held the office of city comptroller one or two years. In April, 1877, he was elected county judge, for a term of four years, in which position he has proved himself faithful and efficient. In politics he acted with the republicans several years. In 1872 he supported Horace Greeley for the Presidency, and now affiliates with the demo- cratic party. Mr. Perkins has had two wives, the first being Miss Abby Perkins, of Gales Ferry, Connecticut, their union taking place about 1855. She died on the 19th of March, 1868. They had three children, of whom one is now living. His second wife was Fmeline Larrabee, of Windham, Connecticut, to whom he was married in June, 1870, and by whom he has two children. REV. JOHN P. HAIRE, A.M., JANES VILLE. T HE subject of this sketch was born at Eliza- bethtown, Hamilton county, Ohio, April 25, 1831, and is the son of Jacob and Susan (Hunt) Haire, — the former a native of Jefferson county, Virginia, and the latter of Essex county, New Jersey. His paternal grandfather was a native Englishman. His father removed in early life to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was for a number of years a successful shipping and commission merchant, largely engaged in the New Orleans trade. He was a man of great firmness and integrity of character, possessed of su- perior business talents, and occupied a first rank as a man of probity and honor. He died quite sud- denly, of cholera, while on business to New Orleans in 1852. His mother was a woman of a meek and virtuous spirit, a sincere Christian, whose every day walk and conversation illustrated the genuineness of her faith in Christ. Her influence upon her son was controlling, and to her he acknowledges his indebtedness not only for the early bias of his mind toward education and the work of the Gospel min- istry, but for whatever of success in life he has achieved. This excellent lady died at the old home- stead in Ohio in 1873. His maternal great-great-grandfather, Thos. Hunt, was born in Wales, and came to America early in the eighteenth century, settling on Long Island ; he subsequently removed to a village near what is now New Brunswick, New Jersey, where his great-grand- father, Edward Hunt, was born. Lie married Miss Mary Shual. They had eight children, three sons and five daughters. He removed to the western part of New Jersey, bought a farm on the east bank of the Delaware, at the mouth of the Musconet- kong creek, where both he and his wife died, and where his grandfather, Edward Hunt, junior, was born. He married Miss Charlotte Shank in 1784, whose parents were natives of one of the Rhine pro- vinces of Germany, and emigrating to this country had settled in Pennsylvania near the Delaware. In the autumn of 1805 Edward Hunt made a tour to the West on horseback in quest of a suitable loca- tion. He traveled through Pennsylvania and Ohio, as far as the great Miami river, and purchased a house and section of land in Whitewater township, to which in July following (1806) he brought his family — in wagons as far as Wheeling, Virginia, thence in flat boats down the Ohio to what is now Lawrenceburg — being a full month in making the journey. This was less than twenty years after the THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 614 first white settlement had been made northwest of the Ohio, and the primeval forests still stood invio- late by the woodman’s axe. The early life of our subject was passed in one of the most beautiful valleys of southwest Ohio, a few miles west of Cincinnati. His elementary edu- cation was conducted at home, where not only the English branches were mastered, but .also algebra, both elementary and advanced. He commenced the study of Latin at ten years of age, and was always an ardent and ambitious student. When he was seven years of age an elder brother (Thomas Haire) entered college, and his influence and assist- ance during vacations incited the aspirations of his vounger brother to the pursuit of a course of liberal study, and his days and a large proportion of his nights were devoted to the pursuit of knowledge — partly self-directed. Even at this early period the conscious purpose of “ going to college ” was formed, though the attainment of his plan involved no little struggle on the part of the boy. The death of his eldest brother, above alluded to, (who had by ten years of continuous labor completed his academical, collegiate and professional studies, and had just been admitted to the Cincinnati bar, contracted a violent cold, resulting in consumption, from which, after two years of suffering, he died in 1846,) de- layed his hopes of entering college through the hesitancy of his father to consent to his pursuing a full course of study, fearing the effects upon his health. His studies were therefore graduated to his physical capacity, and were for some years con- fined to the autumn and winter months. This plan, however, was not altogether unmixed with evil, for during the seasons of study he was am- bitious to make up for the time lost by absence, by doing as much in the brief periods as was usually accomplished in the whole year. Quite an extensive course of reading was completed during the summers, the studies being often pushed far into the night. At last he reached the goal of his hopes and was fully entered at Miami College, and gave himself to the work of acquiring knowl- edge with an untiring enthusiasm; working to the utmost limit of his physical strength, neglecting to take exercise and disregarding all admonitions on the subject, so intense was his thirst for learning. About the middle of the second year, however, he was brought to a realization of his folly by the failure of his physical powers, and was reluctantly compelled to remit his studies for some months. Wisely thinking that a change of climate would prove as beneficial as a cessation of labor, he left Miami College and removed to Williams College, Massachusetts; being drawn there partly by the fame of the president, Rev. Mark Hopkins, whose valuable course of instruction in mental and moral science afforded a greater attraction than the greater names of Harvard or Yale. Here he completed his college course and took his B.A. degree in 1855. In the autumn of the same year he commenced the study of theology, with a view of entering the min- istry of the Presbyterian church; but turned aside for a year to teach Latin and Greek in the college at College Hill, Ohio. The three following years, however, were spent in the study of theology, — one year at Lane Seminary, Cincinnati; a second at Andover, Massachusetts; and the third at Union Theological Seminary, New York. On graduating from the last named institution, he was called to the pastorate of the Presbyterian Church of his native town and was ordained to the ministry in 1861, and supplied the pulpits of Elizabethtown and Cleves (North Bend) for two years. He subse- quently supplied the Presbyterian Church of Aurora, Indiana, for a period of two years, during the ab- sence of the pastor in Europe and Asia'. At this period his health again failed, and compelled a sus- pension of labor for several years; during which time, free from stated and expected tasks, much reading and study was accomplished with abundant exercise out-of-doors. Not yet confident of suffi- cient strength to resume the active duties of the ministry, he spent one year in teaching in Ohio; but not finding much gain in health he sought the benefit of a change of climate, and accordingly re- moved to Janesville, Wisconsin, where he resided one year (1869-70). He next assumed the pastorate of the Congre- gational Church at Fox Lake, remaining there for three years, 1870 to 1873, — as pastor one year, to his pastoral duties superadding the principalship of the Wisconsin Female Seminary two years. In August, 1873, he accepted the Latin chair in Ripon College, which he retained for two years; and, in September, 1875, established at Janesville the Janesville Classical Academy, over which he has since presided with much success. It is one of the most prosperous private institutions of learning in the We.st, and is doing a grand work in fostering the desire of literary culture, affording to the sons and daughters of the wealthy citizens of Janesville THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 6l5 and southern Wisconsin the advantages of an aca- demical training that will fit them to enter the best eastern colleges. He has been a member of the board of trustees of the Wisconsin Female Seminary at Fox Lake for several years. During the period of his comparative inactivity at Cincinnati, owing to impaired health, he busied himself somewhat in gathering facts of pioneer history, by personal interviews with old settlers of that vicinity, and has material for a large volume already in manuscript, which may one day be given to the public; and was instrumental in or- ganizing the Whitewater and Miami Valley Pioneer Association (which still exists), and which, since its organization, has met annually and gathered much material for future use. His life so far has been diligent and studious, and chiefly devoted to literary, pursuits. He is a man characterized by sincere devotion to the highest forms of culture, looking rather at the spirit and essence than at the forms and plausible exterior of things. His pulpit efforts show a marked predominance of clear, sharp, logical thinking, over the more showy and taking embroid- eries of rhetoric. He seldom fails to manifest, in his discourses,* a very positive contempt for all “namby-pamby” surfaceness in either religion or morality. He is a zealous maintainer, at all times, of the intrinsic importance of linguistic studies and the subtle theories of metaphysics, besides having a ready sympathy for all the genuine works of high imagination, and very rightly considers thought, spirit and purpose to be the roots and hidden sources of all artistic works. He shows an earnest desire to have his children and his pupils, his friends and all who come within the range of his influence, seek the purest and highest culture, and never al- lows an opportunity to slip for giving impulses to their thoughts toward high theories. He reads the Latin and Greek classics with ready fluency, is well versed in Hebrew, possesses a fair knowledge of the German, and a considerable insight into the science of comparative philology. But his mind is charac- terized by logical acuteness, a keen scent for falla- cies, so that chains of argument have need to be firmly welded to endure the strain which he brings to bear upon them. Possessing a large library, ranging over a great variety of subjects, he has hit upon an ingenious method of indexing the whole, and making a chart of all the subjects embraced in their pages. His plan is to place an author’s name at the head of the page, and underneath it to indi- cate the treatise, miscellaneous articles, and even paragraphs, in which he is alluded to, arranged in convenient form — the book, the page and the line being denoted. By this means a glance reveals the whole contents of his library upon any given topic. Another peculiar and very interesting feature of this index is an appendix, in which passages of poetry descriptive of external nature, etc., are denoted un- der various topics, as “ morning,” “ evening,” “ night,” “ sky,” “ clouds,” “ mountains,” “ gardens,” “ flowers,” “ocean,” “animals,” and the like. He recently established as an adjunct of his school, which he aims to make a fountain of the purest cul- ture, a literary club, under the name of the “ Round Table,” which lias drawn into its ranks a large num- ber of the most intellectual people of the city, em- bracing all the ministers, some of the lawyers and doctors, the newspaper-men, teachers, and a large number of students of both sexes, who have been in constant attendance upon the fortnightly meetings of this very valuable and decidedly unique source of entertainment. During the first six months these studies wandered at will over the field of recent literature, but latterly a series of consecutive topics have been strictly followed out without break or change, — beginning with the Elizabethian era, and following down the current of English history to the present period. The programme embraces some sixteen varieties of studies, and though each takes in a large scope, the members have worked with such zeal, and the papers presented have shown so much research, that a very adequate notion of each subject has been presented within the allotted two hours. In manners, our subject is quiet and unassuming, but he never speaks without effect. His mind, though far from having any show of bigoted nar- rowness, is clearly and thoroughly Christian, and his actions, words and bearing are all in perfect har- mony with his ideal principle. On the 2 1 st of July, 1859, he was married to Miss Ellen Gilley Bartlett, daughter of Israel Bart- lett, Esq., a distinguished lawyer, of Nottingham, New Hampshire, and granddaughter of the distin- guished Thomas Bartlett, and also of General Joseph Cilley — both distinguished for their services during the revolutionary war. The latter was with Wash- ington at the surrender of Cornwallis, and figures in the celebrated group of “Washington and his Gen- erals,” painted by Trumbull, now the property of bib THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DIC T I ON A Rl~. Vale College. Her father held a commission from John Adams in the army organized when war was threatened with France in 1799, and was intimately acquainted with Alexander Hamilton, the highest officer in the field. He also was the friend, and often the opponent, of Daniel Webster, while the latter was practicing law at Portsmouth, New Hamp- shire. Mrs. Haire is a lady of more than average strength of mind, high culture and refinement, a good I.atin and French scholar, an earnest stu- dent. and the principal assistant of her husband in his academy. She is characterized by great practical energy, and always aims to infuse a high tone of moral and religious earnestness into the principles and lives of those over whom her in- fluence extends. While possessing a catholic taste for all the highest and purest in letters, she has a very decided bias toward mathematical studies, and no small skill in unraveling Algebraic per- plexities. She has always been a zealous worker for the moral elevation of the community in which she has lived, especially in the direction of temper- ance. Socially she is a very attractive, winning and affable lady, and the strong positiveness of her con- victions, sentiments and actions at once places her among the leaders in whatever cause she may espouse. They have four children living, named, in the order of their birth : Mary Stella, Anna Roberta, Nellie Bartlett and Emma Florence, all of whom show remarkable mental powers, — all being pro- ficients in the academic studies far beyond their years. They have severally developed very con- siderable talent for the art of music. The second, though barely thirteen years old, and rather fra- gile of her age, has shown an almost dangerous precocity in language and mathematics, having read several of the standard Greek authors, and daily employing herself on such works as Livy and Horace in Latin, and sailing with bird-like velocity in and out among the tangled thickets of algebra and geometry. She is an indefatigable reader, and already has acquired quite an extensive and accu- rate knowledge of history and literature. DAVID W. CARHART, BERLIN. M EN are known by their works, — the poet by his, and the artist and the manufacturer by theirs. The same is true of David W. Carhart. The “ Golden Sheaf,” the name of his mill and of the common brand of his flower, has made his name a household world among the flour dealers of the New England and Middle States. He is a native of New York city, the son of John W. and Mar- garet Ann (Reynold) Carhart, and was born June 22, 1828. He attended the graded school of New York city until fifteen years of age, at which time he went into a wholesale dry-goods house and sold goods three years. Removing to Chicago with his father in 1846, he continued merchandizing two years, and removed to Waupun and sold goods un- til 1851, when he settled in Berlin. There he built a saw-mill with his brother-in-law, Nathan H. Strong, and operated it with him until Mr. Strong died, in 1853. He afterward continued the manufacture of lumber with other parties until 1859, and then bought an interest with Mr. E. Reed in a general variety store. After two years he suffered a loss of his business by fire, and next built a flouring mill on the site of the old saw-mill, and is still doing business on the same spot, though in a larger and finer mill, rebuilt with brick a few years ago. This mill has all the latest improvements for renovating and purifying, and makes a brand of flour second in quality to none manufactured in the State. Mr. Carhart is a perfect master of the art of making flour, the result of years of study and careful ex- perimenting. The firm name of the parties owning the “Golden Sheaf” Mills, is Carhart, Wright and Co., Mr. Carhart having a two-thirds interest. Hi.s partner is Stillman Wright. They manufacture about forty thousand barrels annually, a large part of which is sold by telegraphic orders. Their cor- respondence is simply enormous, and it is safe to say that no flour manufacturers in the AVest are better known or have a better reputation than this firm. Mr. Carhart is strictly a business man; he has dealt somewhat in real estate, but is best and everywhere known as a manufacturer. In politics he is a republican, though in 1872 he supported Horace Greeley for the Presidency. He is not, however, a politician, and gives little atten- THE UNITED ST A TES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY tion to politics, more than to perform his duties as a citizen. He has been a very efficient member of the school board for several years, but avoids taking office when he can, consistently with duty to the public. As a business man he has no superior in Berlin. Mr. Carhart is a member of the Congregational church, and' casts his influence all on the side of good morals. 61 7 His wife was Miss Harriet Wright, of Berlin, their marriage dating September 6, 1853. They have lost one child, and have two daughters living who are members of the Berlin High School. Mr. Carhart has erected a number of buildings in Berlin, and is thoroughly enterprising and public- spirited ; and probably the services of no man in building up the city are more heartily appreciated than are his. MARTIN N. BARBER, M.D., WA TER TO WN. r I "'HE subject of this biography, a native of Mon- X roe county, New York, was born on the nth of March, 1821, the son of Ira and Hannah Bar- ber. His father was a blacksmith by occupation, and both he and his wife were highly respected in their community for their upright, industrious lives. Martin received his education at Rochester, New York, and afterward engaged in teaching, thereby accumulating means wherewith to defray his ex- penses while studying for his profession. In 1840 he settled in La Porte, Indiana, and there began the study of medicine, and four years later graduated from the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati, Ohio. Returning to La Porte he continued there in the practice of his profession one year, and in 1846 removed to Racine, Wisconsin. Engaging in his profession he continued it with varying success for two years, and in 1848 removed to Watertown, and there established himself in that medical prac- tice which has since extended with the rapid in- crease of population, and for many years Dr. Barber has been extensively known as a skillful and suc- cessful practitioner. Socially he is a man of most excellent qualities, and has made many warm friends. In political sentiment he has been identified with the republican party since its organization in 1856. He is a member of the Illinois Eclectic Medical Institute, and also a member of the Wisconsin Ec- lectic Medical Institute. He is a consistent member of the Baptist' church. Dr. Barber is a man of much practical knowledge, and in his travels over most of the eastern and west- ern States has, by careful observation, acquired much valuable information concerning men and things. He was married in November, 1847, to Miss Jane L. Hartwell, and by her has one son and one daugh- ter. Mrs. Barber died in 1859, and in 1867 he mar- ried Eliza S. Young, and by her also has one son and one daughter. Such is a brief outline of one who, by honest ef- fort, has made his way from comparative obscurity to a position of respectability and social worth, and his life history is worthy a place among the self- made men of Wisconsin. HIRAM P. CAREY, M.D., BELOIT. ^HE subject of this biography, a native of Kingston, New York, was born on the lotli of March, 1849, and is the son of James and Eliza- beth Carey. His father was a farmer by occupa- tion, and a man of frugal, industrious habits. Hiram passed his early life upon his father’s farm, receiv- ing his primary education at Kingston, and later taking a regular academic course of study. He early developed a great fondness for books and an ardent desire to become a physician. In this de- sire, however, he met with little sympathy from his father, whose wish was that he should remain upon the farm, and in order that he might induce him to remain at home he gave to him a deed of the farm. 6 1 8 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. Hiram remained about two years, but with the feel- ing. however, that it was not such work as was suited to his tastes, and finally the impulse to realize the hope which from early life he had cherished became so strong that he resolved to abandon the farm. Leaving the plow in the field he made known to his father his intention, and going to town with a load of wood bought two books, “Gray’s Anatomy” and “ Dalton’s Practice,” and at once began studying them. In the fall of 1862 he went to Buffalo. Later he entered the office of D. W. Hazeltine in Jamestown, New York. He attended medical lectures at Ann Arbor, Michigan, and at Buffalo, and graduated from the latter place in 1867. Returning to Kings- ton, his native place, he there established himself in the practice of his profession. Wishing for a wider field, he, one year later, removed to the West and resumed his profession at Freeport, Illinois, in partnership with a Dr. Hines. In February, 1873, Dr. Carey removed to his present home in Beloit, Wisconsin, and began that practice which has grown from a small beginning until he has become extensively known as a skillful and successful practitioner. Dr. Carey’s religious training was under Presby- terian influences, and from his youth he has been identified with that denomination. In politics he is a republican. He was married on the 30th of September, 1868, to Miss Matilda Rosenstiel, by whom he has one child. Though still a young man, Dr. Carey has met with a degree of success that indicates the wisdom of his choice of a profession. He is a man of great energy and industry, and professionally gives prom- ise of a bright future. JOHN H. KNAPP, MENOMONEE. T OHN HOLLY KNAPP was born in Elmira, New J York, March 29, 1825. His ancestors immi- grated from England in 1646, twenty-six years later than the Plymouth Colony, and settled in Connecti- cut. Both of his grandfathers participated in the revolutionary war. His mother, Harriet nee Seely, is still living, being in her eighty-sixth year; she makes her home with the subject of this sketch. His father, John Holly Knapp, a merchant in early life, was a very active, enterprising man, with large mental resources. It was through his individual exertions that the charter for the Blossburg and Corning railroad was secured, during Governor Throop’s administration. That gentleman after- ward sent Mr. Knapp a brigadier-general’s com- mission, assigning to him the command of a certain portion of the State militia. He removed to Bloss- burg, Pennsylvania, when our subject was five years old, and engaged in developing the coal interests of that place for a short time; and, in 1835, with his family, removed to west of the Mississippi, settling on the “ Black Hawk Purchase,” at that time a part of Michigan Territory, now in the State of Iowa, the location being at Fort Madison, in the present county of Lee. Young Knapp often saw the famous Sac warrior Black Hawk, and, by communicating with members of his tribe, learned to speak the Sac language. His father was present at the treaty made at Rock Island with that chief in 1832. Three years later, he looked over the Iowa lands, and pre- pared to move his family thither. His business in Iowa was farming, merchandising and real estate, the son assisting on the farm and attending school, when there was any, until twenty years of age, and then passed one season in a collegiate institute at New Haven, Connecticut, and at twenty-one was again in Iowa, preparing for what has proved to be a life venture among the pineries of Wisconsin. William Wilson, then a lumberman of considerable experience, had visited the country in and near what is now Menomonee, in Dunn county, and learning that there was a mill for sale, returned to Fort Madi- son and reported; and thereupon, in June, 1846, he and Mr. Knapp (our subject) — the latter with one thousand dollars in his pocket, and two or three thousand more as a “reserve fund,” which he soon used — -started for their future home. They pur- chased, of David Black, a half interest in a saw-mill and fixtures, and he dying a few weeks afterward, they bought the other half; and in July of that year the firm of J. H. Knapp and Co. began operations. About six years later, Andrew Tainter and Henry L. Stout, and a few years later still, J. H. Douglas, had joined the company, and for twenty-five years THE UNITED ST A TES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. the firm of Knapp, Stout and Co. has been a house- hold word among the lumbermen of the Northwest. No parties in this line of business have a wider or better reputation. The capital of one thousand dollars, with which the enterprise started, has in- creased to many hundred thousand dollars. In 1876 the company cut sixty-seven million feet of lumber, thirty-one million and ninety-five thousand of shingles, eight million and ninety thousand of lath, and two hundred and ninety-three thousand of pickets. It owns at least one hundred and fifty thousand acres of pine lands, a dozen farms, large and small, and a vast amount of other property. The sons of some of the members of the firm are enterprising young men, and bid fair to perpetuate and maintain the good name of the firm when the original members shall have passed away. The company has always had a mercantile store in connection with its lumbering business, and for twenty years Mr. ICnapp did the purchasing for this branch of the business, the selling of the lumber and attended to the finances of the firm. Of late, by reason of impaired health, he has assumed compara- tively light responsibilities. 619 Mr. Knapp is a Royal Arch Mason. In politics he has been a republican since the whig party dis- solved ; and in religion is identified with the Con- gregationalists. He is a liberal supporter of the gospel and of most of the benevolent enterprises of the day. He has been twice married : first, in 1849, to Miss Caroline M. Field, of Ware, Massachusetts. They had one child, Henry E. Knapp, who is still living. Mrs. Knapp died in January, 1854. On the 31st of October, 1855, he was married to Miss Valeria Adams, of Reading, Pennsylvania, a daughter of Judge Williams Adams, who was a member of con- gress about the time of President Jackson’s admin- istration. Of seven children, six are now living. The lumbermen of Wisconsin are among its heavi- est capitalists, and its leading men in great enter- prises, the strength of their muscular arms being put forth in developing its forest resources. They are the grand creators of wealth, both for themselves and the State, — the creators of towns and railroads, and of immense stores for human comfort, and fur- nishing employment to a hundred thousand willing hands, they send gladness to as many hearts. HON. EDWARD L. BROWNE, WA UP AC A. r I ''HE subject of this sketch was born on the 27th X of June, 1830, at Granville, Washington coun- ty, New York, the son of Jonathan Browne, a farmer, and Abby tide Everts.' His father was a captain in the second war with England, and commanded a company at the battle of Plattsburg. Edward worked on his father’s farm and attended a district school until fifteen years old, when his father moved to Milwaukee county, Wisconsin, and there opened a farm. After the first year of his residence there, Edward spent much of his time for three years at a select school in Milwaukee, conducted by Professor Amasa Buck. At nineteen he commenced reading law, and was admitted to the bar at Fond du Lac in November, 1851. He first began his practice in Dubuque, Iowa ; afterward spent about one year in Milwaukee, and in November, 1852, settled at Wau- paca, the county seat of Waupaca county, and has risen step by step until he has attained a high posi- tion at the bar. Mr. Browne has been State senator two terms: 67 the first term in 1861 and 1862, the second in 1867 and 1868. Although a new member in 1861, he took a very active part in all matters in which the State was interested pertaining to the war, no man in that body showing more patriotic enthusiasm in this regard. During the four sessions he was on the judiciary committee, and its chairman in 1868. He was also on the committees on claims, printing, and one or two others, and did valuable service for the State. He was nominated in 1876, during his ab- sence, for a third term in the senate, but could not accept. Mr. Browne was a democrat until 1855, but has been a republican since the party was organized. He was nominated for congress in 1862, but was defeated, from the fact that some three thousand republicans from his district were in the army, other- wise he would have received a handsome majority. In 1868 he was a delegate to the republican national convention. Mr. Browne is a Royal Arch Mason, and has been 620 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. master of Waupaca Lodge, No. 123. He is a member of the Episcopal church, and a warden of the same. His wife is a daughter of Judge Parish, of Ran- dolph, Vermont. They were married March 4, 1S56, and have four children. Mrs. Browne was educated at the Mount Holyoke Seminary, and is a woman of refined manners and cultured mind. A brother attorney in an adjoining county thus speaks of Mr. Browne as a professional man : He is a close, logical reasoncr; has a sound, discriminat- ing-judgment on legal points, and, as an advocate, is always strong with a jury. His style of address is very earnest, his appeals are often eloquent; while his clear, candid state- ments of facts, and his deductions from them, are always convincing, as his almost invariable success in jury trials will attest. AARON SCHOENFELD, MIL WA UK EE. T HE subject of this sketch is preeminently a self-made man. A native of Syracuse, New York, he was born July 31, 1846, the eldest son of Adolphus and Clara Schoenfeld. His father, a butcher by occupation, was a man of excellent char- acter, esteemed by all who knew him. Aaron en- joyed very limited educational advantages, being simply those offered by the common schools, which he attended prior to his twelfth year. At that age he closed his studies in school and accepted a situ- ation as errand-boy in a millinery store, where he remained two years. During the two years next following he worked in a butcher-shop, and in the month of April, 1863, removed to the West and settled at Mayfield, Wisconsin. He remained there, however, but a short time. In the following July he returned to Syracuse, but soon afterward made a second trip to the West and settled in Chicago. There he remained three years, engaged in shipping cattle to the East, and at the expiration of that time again went to Syracuse, and remained there one year, engaged in the business of selling meats. Re- turning to Wisconsin, he was for six months engaged as a clerk in a dry-goods store at Port Washington, and after leaving his position there settled in Mil- waukee, where he has since made his home. Dur- ing the following three years he traded in horses and cattle, and next began work for Messrs. L. Worth and Co., rectifiers of spirits. After being engaged as an employe for one year he purchased a one-third interest in the business, and continued a partner for two years. The investment proved a very successful one, and at the end of the two years he purchased the remainder of the business, and has since that time conducted it in his own name. As a business man he possesses a shrewdness and tact which enable him to seize opportunities and turn them to good account; and it is to this and his un- tiring energy and continuity that he owes his suc- cess. Throughout his career his dealings have been marked by uprightness, and he holds the esteem of all with whom he has to do. He was left an orphan at the age of ten, and being thus early thrown upon his own resources, he has developed a remarkable independence and strength of character. Mr. Schoenfeld is still single, and has one brother and five sisters living. His father died in 1856. HEZEKIAH W. WORTH, DELA VAN. H EZEKIAH WILBUR WORTH was born on the 31st of July, 1836, at Redfield, Oswego county, New York, and is the son of Reuben and Mary Ann Worth, both of whom are prominent members of the Baptist church. The ancestors of the family were among the early settlers of Rhode Island. Hezekiah passed his early life on his father’s farm, receiving a common-school education, and at the age of twenty left his native State and settled at Delavan, Wisconsin. One year later, in 1857, he removed to Palatine, in Cook county, Illinois, and there spent three years in farming. In 1862 he enlisted in the 113th Regiment Illinois Volunteers, for three years or during the war, but by reason of impaired health he was unable to con- tinue in the army, and after one year was discharged THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 623 from the service, and returned to his home in Dela- van. During the next three years he employed his time in various ways, doing whatever opportunity offered whereby he might earn an honest living for his family, and at the expiration of that time began traveling as a commercial agent, an occupation which has since continued to occupy his attention. In 1873 Mr. Worth purchased six acres of land ad- joining the village of Delavan, and soon afterward discovered that it contained several fine springs, one of which possessed superior medical qualities. This is known as the “Ghion Spring.” The others he used for trout-raising purposes, and has now about fifty thousand brook trout growing, and al- most large enough for market. The business is one which has deeply engaged his attention, and there is every indication that it must prove a success. In June, 1875, Mr. Worth opened a hotel on his estate, which is known as the Ghion Spring House. This has become a popular resort, his trout pond and beautiful spring water drawing immense throngs of people. In religious sentiment Mr. Worth is not identified with any church organization ; he was reared in the Christian denomination, and contributes liberally to the support of religious and benevolent enterprises. In politics he is wholly unpartisan, supporting for office men whom he esteems most worthy and fitting, regardless of party prejudices. He was married on the 31st of March, 1856, to Miss Parnal M. Mosher, in whom he has found a true and faithful life companion. They have had two children, both of whom died in infancy. Personally and socially he is a man of sterling qualities. His travels have given him a wide range of knowledge, and being of a generous and genial nature, he is a most agreeable social companion. In stature he is five feet ten inches, and weighs two hundred and sixty pounds. Although his life history has many phases in com- mon with that of others, it is yet marked by an under-current of enterprise and determination that cannot but call forth admiration, while the success which has attended him must prove an incentive to ambitious youth to make the most of their powers and opportunities. PARKER McCOBB REED, MIL WA UK EE. T HE branch of the universal Reed family, to which the subject of this sketch belongs, is of Scotch and English descent, coming down from a line of ancient border nobility. In this country his lineage extends back to his paternal grandfather, Captain Paul Reed, who, coming from England at an early day, landed at Weymouth, Massachusetts, and lived and died at Boothbay Harbor, Maine, where he was a shipmaster and prominent citizen, dying, as did his wife, of extreme old age. His maternal descent was from the notable family of Denny, who lived in Derry, Ireland, at the time of the historic siege of that ancient city. His great-grandfather, Major Samuel Denny, was the ruling magistrate and commander of the military at Georgetown, Maine, which, at that early day, com- prised a large extent of territory on both sides of the Kennebec river. His grandfather, General Thomas McCobb, of English origin, lived at George- town, and commanded a company that joined Gen- eral Arnold’s expedition as it passed up the Ken- nebec river, during the war of the revolution, on its route through the wilderness to Quebec. His grand- mother, Rachel McCobb, was notable for her piety and her literary attainments. His father was Colonel Andrew Reed, and his mother Beatrice McCobb. They married at George- town and lived in Phippsburgh, Maine, where both died, the latter in 1835, when sixty-three years of age, and the former in 1848, aged eighty-three. They were alike eminent in Christian character. The father was long in the military service, and commanded a regiment stationed near the mouth of the Kennebec river for a time during the war of 1812; subsequently held an office in the United States customs service thirty-two years; and was senior deacon of a Congregational church twenty- three years, till his death. He had eleven children, of which our subject was the youngest of eight sons, and was born April 6, 1813, at Phippsburgh, Maine. His early education was largely from the public and private teaching of his eldest brother John, after- ward attending academy at Bath, Maine, to which he added assiduous self-culture, his tastes being 624 THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. literary, and his ambition to perfect himself in the use of the English language. His brother Thomas kept a large store at the Center " village, and he went into this at a very early age, remaining, when not at school, until he was eighteen. The “nabob” of the town was his uncle, Parker McCobb, for whom he was named, and through whose advice he obtained and accepted the offer of a situation in the wholesale and retail book- store of Pendelton and Hill, 94 Broadway, New York city. To retain him in his store his brother Thomas proposed to increase his salary and take him into partnership the next year, which was a magnificent offer, the brother since becoming a millionaire. But to go to New York to live before the days of steamboats and railroads in that eastern country, made a young man a hero, and the impulse to go was irresistible. Accordingly on June 1, 1831, lie left his father’s house and embarked on the great world and a clipper sloop for the great city, taking a week’s voyage to reach his destination, which, to him, was like unto a world of its own. The store he entered was the habitual resort of the literati of that city. He remained in this employ to the close of his year’s engagement, when the firm dissolved. He then spent a year in the grocery store of Ayers and Halliday, the firm closing out their business at the end of his year’s employment. The junior partner is now the Rev. S. B. Halliday, assistant pastor to Henry Ward Beecher, Plymouth Church, Brooklyn. At the earnest solicitation of his employers lie remained at his post when half the city had fled, during the terrific cholera sea- son of 1832. Becoming acquainted with Captain John Martin, of the ship Attica, he accepted an invitation to a voyage with him to Havanna and return. On arriving there he was tendered employ- ment by the largest commercial house in that city. But this fine offer he declined, not liking the people nor their slavery of the blacks. On arriving back to New York he returned to Maine, reaching his father’s house in the fall of 1833. He taught a pub- lic school during the succeeding winter in his native town, and private schools and classes in penmanship subsequent years. In 1834 he adopted the vegeta- rian and hygienic system of living, which he strictly continued ten years, laying thereby the solid basis of sound health lasting to this day. Designing in the spring of 1839 to mount his horse and proceed to the “Ear West” in search of fortune, his father persuaded him to remain on the old homestead dur- ing his old age, as the last child left with him; and, as in duty bound, he relinquished ardently cherished pioneer inclinations, and settled down to conduct his father’s business, and has never regretted acqui- escence in this filial duty. Engaging at times in other business besides overseeing the farm, which was a hay and stock farm, he remained at the home- stead until 1846. In April of this year he married Miss Harriet Susan Elliott, of the same town. Soon after, with the acquiescence of his father, he sold to his brother Thomas his personal property and a tract of land of considerable value, and removed to Mas- sachusetts, pursuing temporary business and medical study in Boston and vicinity. Finally, in the fall of 1848, he came around to the fruition of his early ambition of “going west,” and with his wife, a hun- dred dollars, and ardent hopes, he proceeded to fol- low in the direction of the “star of empire.” Leav- ing railroad conveyance at its then terminus at Niles, Michigan, he went in a little steamer down the St. Joseph river, crossing Lake Michigan in the steamer E. B. Ward, and landing at Chicago in No- vember. Proceeding by canal and then by steam- boat on the Illinois river, prospecting the country, he passed the winter at Groveland and Pekin, teach- ing penmanship to pass off the time, delivering in the meantime some lectures on temperance, with success. Early the next season he purchased a horse and carriage, and, with his wife, took a long trip to “see the country passing through northern Illinois, Chicago, southern Wisconsin, crossing the Mississippi for the first time at Dubuque, thence through northern Iowa, recrossing into Wisconsin at McGregor, passing through Madison, and ending the journey at Sheboygan. He spent the winter in Buffalo, New York. He traveled through the West the next season, going as far south as St. Louis, when, having been attacked with inflammation of the eyes, and fever and ague, he returned to his na- tive climate in Maine for recovery, which was speedily effected. In the fall of 1850 he settled down temporarily in Westbrook, a suburb of the city of Portland, Maine, to practice medicine, intending to return again to the West. At this place his only daughter, Emma Beatrice, was born November 13, 1850. The next year he removed to East Boston, taking a house and office, and entering into the practice of his profession, remaining there until 1857, his family residing a portion of the time in the country, at Georgetown, Essex county. In the fall of that year he again came West, and after con- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 625 siderable travel, during which he was corresponding with Eastern newspapers, practiced his profession in northern Illinois. A fire in January, 1861, con- sumed nearly his entire effects, saving little besides his medical books and his horses and carriage. The next April, the day Fort Sumter was fired on, he moved to Delavan, Wisconsin, and practiced his profession, to which he had added that of den- tistry. At this pleasant village his only son, Albert, was born July 7, 1863. In December, 1863, he re- moved to Madison; the next spring to Columbus; in May, 1867, to Racine, and September, 1870, to Milwaukee, residing to this day on Prospect avenue, on the lake shore. During his earlier life he had devoted his spare time to the study of medicine, entered as a student with Dr. Winslow Lewis, an eminent surgeon of Boston, in 1847, and subsequently attended lectures at the Buffalo Medical College. From youth he had a strong predilection for newspaper reading, wrote some juvenile articles, and in the winter of 1846 commenced his newspaper career as an amateur writer and correspondent. In this capacity he wrote constantly for weekly papers in Maine and Massa- chusetts, and eight years for the Boston “ Daily Traveller.” On coming west for final stay he transferred his contributions to western papers, and engaged at the same time in the practice of his regular profession. In 1865 he commenced writing for the “Evening Wisconsin,” of Milwaukee, which resulted in a lucra- tive offer of permanent employment by its proprie- tors, Cramer, Aikens and Cramer, as traveling cor- respondent and general agent, which, after some days’ hesitation, he accepted on his own terms, entering upon his new field of duty September 6, 1866. He immediately inaugurated the system of “ writing up ” towns, which soon became immensely popular, and has been in practice to this day, more or less, by nearly all the papers of the Northwest. At the same time he conceived and put in practice the idea of writing, for publication, “pay notices” of various kinds of business interests, and individuals as well, which has been extensively followed by the best papers all over the country to this time. In the spring of 1868 the Chicago “Evening Post,” having become a leading republican paper under a newly organized company, with W. H. Schuyler as business manager, he received a more lucrative offer for like service on that paper, which, after long hesitation, he accepted on May 1, 1868. On leaving their employ the proprietors of the “ Wisconsin ” said to him, “You can come back to us at any time you choose.” In the winter of 1869 he was requested to proceed to Salt Lake and Col- orado, to write up the business interests of those then far off and little known regions, and made a very acceptable trip to Colorado, which consuming so much time, Salt Lake was, at his own option, left unvisited. In the fall of 1870 three friends of his having purchased the Milwaukee “Sentinel,” the then leading republican paper of Wisconsin, they in- duced him to accept employment on that paper November 1, 1870 ; A. M. Thompson, was editor. He reported for that paper at the State legislatures of 1871 and 1872. At the former session he aided in the successful passage of the famous Dell’s improve- ment bill, and at the latter the celebrated temper- ance Graham bill, also acting as clerk of the com- mittee on the judiciary of the assembly. In March, 1872, John Y. Scammon commenced the publication of the “ Daily Inter-Ocean,” Chica- go, as an organ for the Northwest of the republican party, and our subject immediately received an in- vitation to work for it in his usual capacity, and at an advanced salary became connected with it April 8, 1872, and has continued its special correspondent and general agent to the present writing. Repre- senting this paper, he has been once to Utah and twice to Colorado, writing up the mining interests of those territories, and, on the route, the agricultural progress of Nebraska. He also reported for that paper at the session of the Wisconsin legislature of 1877. While engaged on all these newspapers, he has been eminently successful in aiding in the extension of their circulation, placing that of the “ Inter- Ocean ” within the States of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and northern portions of Illinois, Iowa and Michi- gan, on a permanent basis, outnumbering by large odds contemporary publications. All the papers with which he has been connected have been strong- ly republican, which coincided with his political views. He came on the stage of action an “Adams- ite ” of that day, always a high-tariff advocate, an ardent whig during the existence of that party, par- ticipating actively in the celebrated campaign of 1840, becoming a republican in 1856, entering warmly into the notable presidential contest of that year. In 1844 he became a member of Lincoln Lodge 6:6 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. Independent Order of Odd-Fellows, Bath, Maine, and is now a member of Excelsior Lodge, Milwau- kee ; was admitted a Free and Accepted Mason in Bell City Lodge, Racine, Wisconsin, in 1868, and demitted to Independence Lodge, Milwaukee, in 1876, to which he now belongs. Xot always belonging to temperance organi- zations, yet has been a member of many of them ; he has never ceased to favor that cause, and now recounts with gratification having become, in his early youth, a believer in the first temperance re- form movement led by Lyman Beecher, and has peculiar pleasure in remembering that while dealing out liquor to customers at his brother’s store — all stores keeping it then — he slyly done up temper- ance tracts in the parcels of other goods sold to drinking men. Although having a taste for the military, he re- fused repeated elections to military office while liv- ing in Maine, until the year 1869, when, the Aroos- took war breaking out, he was drafted into service as a private; was promoted a sergeant on the spot; was soon after advanced to the office of sergeant- major of the regiment, and was ambitious to go to the front, until General Scott came down to Maine and settled the border difficulties, to his great dis- gust. Military matters having, by this “speck of war,” become revived in that State, he served sev- eral years at annual musters at Bath with consid- erable distinction, and in 1843 was elected captain of one of the military companies of Phippsburgh, which persistent persuasion induced him reluctantly to accept, leading his company on the muster-field of that season in a style that elicited general com- mendation. The subject of this sketch has always been blessed with remarkably good health, and is not, at advanced age, showing the weight of years; lithe in action and active in mind, of medium height, fair complexion, erect in mien ; hopeful and content with the comforts of life, and wife and children around him; temperate in all things; of literary tastes and fond of books, friends and the society of refined and cultivated people ; and satisfied with having attained prominence as a newspaper man and honorable standing as a citizen. CYRUS L. HALL, HUDSON. C YRUS LYMAN HALL, son of Daniel and Philena (Lyman) Hall, was born in Perry, Wyoming county, New York, September 17, 1824. His father, a farmer by occupation, moved to Ben- nington, near Attica, in the spring of 1833. There Cyrus spent his summers on the farm and his winters in school, mostly in the village of Attica, until he attained the age of seventeen, when he began to teach. At eighteen he was prepared for college, but did not enter until September, 1849, at which time he became a member of the sophomore class at Yale College, from which he graduated in 1852. On leaving college he became principal of the acad- emy at Woodbury, Connecticut, where he remained for two years, studying law meanwhile privately. He then spent part of a year in a law office in New York city, and in October, 1854, was admitted to the bar in Brooklyn. He commenced practice early in 1855, in Batavia, Genesee county, but after the ensuing autumn became principal of the public school in that village. In the fall of 1856 Mr. Hall removed to Hudson, Wisconsin, and opened a law and land office in com- pany with his youngest brother, T. W. Hall, with whom he was also associated in founding the “ Hud- son Chronicle.” The next spring he was elected city attorney, and was district attorney in 1859 and i860; in 1861 he was appointed by Governor Harvey judge of the county court, to fill a vacancy for a full term. He was afterward reelected, hold- ing the office, in all, eight years, his term expiring December 31, 1869. Since that time he has given his attention to real estate, and especially the nego- tiating of loans, and to probate matters, more than to a regular law practice. In politics Judge Hall is of whig antecedents; he was a more active politician in his younger than he has been in his later years, and is in no sense a partisan. He now votes the republican ticket, but never allows political matters to interfere with his legitimate business. Mrs. Hall, whose maiden name was Josephine Bacon Walker, of Woodbury, Connecticut, is a woman of more than ordinary education and cul- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 627 ture, but, both from inclination and the force of circumstances, has found her sphere at home. She is the mother of three children, two of them now living. The elder of the two, Mary Frances, is a member of the junior class in the State University, while the younger, Charles Marshall, is a student with his father. Judge Hall has a great taste for literary and sci- entific pursuits, and reviews the mathematical and other branches con amove , and is greatly interested in the growth of the physical sciences. He is a man of strong, active mind, and by acting up to the convictions of an honest heart, has gained the confi- dence and respect of a wide range of acquaintances. WILLIAM WILEY, M.D., FOND DU LAC. W ILLIAM WILEY is a native of Armagh, Ireland, and was born on the nth of Febru- ary, 1823, the son of Adam and Martha Wiley. His father was a farmer by occupation, and in 1828 im- migrated to America with his family, and engaged in farming at Randolph, Vermont. William received his education at Randolph Academy, and after dos- ing his studies in school, employed his time during the summers in farm work, and taught school during the winters. Later he turned his attention to the study of medicine, defraying his expenses with the money earned by teaching, and in 1848 graduated from Castleton Medical College, Vermont. After graduating he opened an office in Northfield, Ver- mont, where he remained until 1849, when he re- moved to the West and settled in Fond du Lac, and there established himself in the practice of his pro- fession. After ten years of successful practice he sold his interests at Fond du Lac, agreeing not to practice medicine in that place for five years, and spent a short time in the South. Returning to Wis- consin, he, in 1861, established himself in his pro- fession, and in 1864 returned to Fond du Lac, where he has since been actively and successfully engaged. Dr. Wiley is a member of the Wisconsin State Medical Society, and also of the Fond du Lac County Medical Society. In 1873 he was appoint- ed examiner of pensions. In political sentiment Dr. Wiley has been identi- fied with the republican party since its organization in 1856. He is not a member of any church organization, but -makes it his rule of action to do unto others as he would have them do unto him. He was married on the 1st of March, 1855, to Miss Sarah A. Henning, and by her has two sons. Personally and socially Dr. Wiley is a man of ex- cellent qualities, and from his travels throughout the different parts of the United States he has gained an experience and a knowledge of men which are in- valuable to him in his profession, and that renders him a most esteemed companion among his hosts of friends. His success is wholly due to his own un- tiring energy. When he first arrived in Fond du Lac he had but fifty cents in his pocket, and it has been by constant effort and unremitting zeal that he has worked his way gradually up to his present high social and professional standing. SAMUEL C O A D, MINERAL POINT. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Peran- zabuloe, Cornwall, England, was born on the 2 1 st of September, 1823, the eldest son of William and Ann Coad. The father died leaving a large family in poor circumstances, and at the early age of eight years Samuel was deprived of his school privileges, and put to work in the copper mines of Cornwall. He lived with his mother until his fifteenth year, contributing liberally to her support. In 1837 she married a second husband, and by reason of un- pleasant relations which grew up between Samuel and his step-father, the former left home and went to live with his uncle, James Coad, of St. Austel, where he spent three years as a common miner in the Polyooth mines. Returning to Peranzabuloe at THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 628 the expiration of that time, lie worked seven years in the copper mines at that place, and in 1848 im- migrated to the United States and settled at Mineral Point, Iowa county, Wisconsin, and there engaged in mining for three years. In the spring of 1851 he went to California, and there spent two years in gold mining with good success. Returning to Min- eral Point, he remained two years with his family, but business being dull, and the prospects for money-making in California being very flattering, he went thither again, and arrived in San Francisco in August, 1855. Going thence to Grass Valley, he there engaged in mining for about one month, when, becoming dissatisfied, he went to Weaver, in Trinity county, and spent three years in successful mining operations. In 1858 he again returned to his family at Mineral Point, Wisconsin, and in the fall of the following year engaged in the produce business. At the expiration of five years he abandoned this occupation, and during the next two years devoted his attention to building. Having at the end of that time completed his buildings, he again resumed the produce trade, and has continued it with good suc- cess until the present time (1877). His life career, though varied, has been one of marked industry and energy, and by his many-colored experiences he has acquired a knowledge of men and things, and a business tact, that enable him to lay hold of oppor- tunities and turn them to good account. In religious sentiment Mr. Goad is a Methodist. He joined the Wesleyan Methodist church when he was twenty-three years of age, and continued a com- municant of that body until he left England. Upon his arrival at Mineral Point he united with the Methodist Episcopal church. Withdrawing from that body in 1848, he joined the Primitive Method- ists, and for nearly thirty years has been a zealous and consistent member of that denomination. Mr. Goad was married, July 24, 1847, t0 Miss Fannie Truscott, eldest daughter of Andrew and Grace Truscott, and by her had two sons and one daughter. Mrs. Coad died on the 23d of July, 1863, and three years later he was married to Miss Mary Wallace of Mineral Point. HON. HENRY D. BARRON, ST. CROIN FALLS. ENRY DANFORTH BARRON is a native of Wilton, Saratoga county, New York, and was born April 10, 1833. After closing his studies in the common schools he turned his attention to the study of law, and graduated from the law school at Ballston Spa, New York, and in August, 1855, was admitted to the bar at Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he had set- tled in August, 1851. Upon settling in Wisconsin he became editor of the “ Waukesha Democrat,” subsequently known as the “ Waukesha Chronotype,” a democratic weekly. During the administration of President Pierce he was appointed postmaster at Waukesha. He entered upon the practice of his profession at Pepin in 1857, and continued with good success until July, i860, when he was appointed judge of the eighth judicial circuit, to fill an unexpired term. The circuit comprised the northwestern counties of the State, including Pepin and Polk. In September, 1861, he removed to St. Croix Falls, his present home, and in the following year was elected to the general assembly of the State, as the representative of Ashland, La Point (now Bayfield), Bennett, Dallas (now Barron), Douglass and Polk counties. He was reelected in 1863, 1865, 1866, 1867, 1868, 1871 and 1872, and speaker of the assembly during the sessions of 1866 and 1873. He was one of the presidential electors-at-large in 1868, and president of the Electoral College of that year, and held the same position in the Electoral College of 1872. In February, 1863, Mr. Barron was elected by a joint ballot of the legislature a regent of the Wisconsin State University, an office which he has continued to hold until the present time (1877). He is also vice-president of the State Historical Society. In March, 1869, Mr. Barron was nominated by President Grant, for chief justice of Dakota Territory, but declined the honor, and in April following was appointed by the President fifth auditor of the United States Treasury. Resigning this position on the 1st of January, 1872, he took his seat in the State assembly, to which he had been elected in the fall of 1871. In May, 1871, he was appointed a trustee, for his State, of the Antietam Cemetery, by Governor Fairchild. After the expira- tion of his term in the assembly, in 1873, he was THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. elected to the State senate, and served as president pro tern, during the session of 1875. In the fall of 1875 he was reelected to the senate for a term of two years, and in the spring of 1876 was elected circuit judge of the eleventh judicial circuit, com- prising the counties of Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Bennett, Chippewa, Douglass and Pope, for a term of six years. Resigning his position in the State 629 senate he entered upon his judicial duties July 1, 1876. Such is an imperfect outline of the life-history of one who may most fittingly be called a self-made man. His career has been marked throughout by earnest endeavor and an honest purpose, and he now lives in the enjoyment of that reward which inevitably follows continued noble effort. HENRY MULBERGER, WATERTOWN. ENRY MULBERGER was born on the 10th of June, 1824, in the city of Spires, Germany, and is the son of John D. and Elizabeth Mulberger. His father was engaged in manufacturing. Henry attended the common schools of his native place, and later studied in the gymnasium, and still later spent two years at the academy in Darmstadt. After closing his studies he accepted a clerkship in a woolen mill, and afterward engaged with his father in the manufacture of wool. In 1847 he immigrated to America, landing in New York city, where he intended to engage in the importation of fine cloths, having brought thither a stock. He found, however, that the business would not warrant him in engaging in it, and accordingly abandoned it and went to Ohio, where he remained a short time. In 1848 he removed to Wisconsin and settled at Watertown, and engaged in the grocery business. Later he kept a stock of general merchandise. He sold his business interests in 1852, and two years later began the study of law. He was admitted to the bar in 1856, and during the following two years served as clerk for the law firm of Enos and Hall. In 1858 he became a partner in this firm, and con- tinued in that relation for two years, when he with- drew and engaged in practice in his own name. He afterward formed a partnership with Mr. Harlow S. Orton, which continued until i860. In 1861 he engaged extensively in farming. Aside from his legal practice Mr. Mulberger has been honored by his fellow-citizens with many po- sitions of honor and trust. In 1853 and 1854 he was elected justice of the peace, and during the last- named year was city clerk and clerk of the munici- pal court. In 1856, 1857 and 1858 he was city attorney. In 1865 he was elected an alderman of his city, and two years later was chosen to the office of mayor. He is also a director of the Wisconsin National Bank. In political sentiment Mr. Mulberger is a demo- crat. . He was married on the 12th of October, 1857, to Miss Matilda Wolf, and by her has two sons and three daughters. As a lawyer Mr. Mulberger has been very suc- cessful. He has built up an extensive practice, and is regarded wherever he is known as an upright, honorable and skillful practitioner. He has admirable personal and social qualities, and has won the respect and esteem of a large circle of true friends. MILES MI X, M.D., BERLIN. O NE of the oldest medical practitioners in Green Lake county, Wisconsin, is Miles Mix, who for twenty-seven years past has been a resident of Berlin. He began to study medicine somewhat late in life, but fitted himself thoroughly before 68 starting in the profession ; and has since been a studious, growing man, and bears a good name wherever known. A native of New York, he was born in Ripley, Chautauqua county, near the Penn- sylvania line, October 17, 18x9, and is the son of 'I'll E UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTION ART . 630 Stephen Mix, a farmer, and Patience ncc Risdon. His parents moved to Mina, in the same county, when Miles was only four years old, and in 1836 removed to La Porte, Indiana. Miles remained at home until about nineteen, with three months’ sc hool during each year. He commenced the car- penter's trade, and worked at it six years in and near La Porte, attending a select school in that city, in the meantime, nearly a year. In 1S42 he moved westward as far as Beloit, Wisconsin, where he worked for a time at his trade, and spent six months in a select school. He was in Whitewater during the summer of 1843, and in the autumn of that year went to Racine and spent two years there in a threshing-machine shop, and in overseeing a set of hands in building the harbor improvement works. Late in the year 1845 he commenced study- ing medicine with Dr. O. W. Blanchard, of Racine, and returning to La Porte in the spring of 1847, he finished his medical studies with Professor Meeker. He also attended lectures in that city, and there graduated in February, 1850. On the 12th of Au- gust of that year he settled in Berlin, and has since been steadily engaged in practice, except during the winter of 1860-1, which he spent at Rush Medical College, Chicago, brushing up his knowledge of medical science and surgery. He has a general practice, attending to such surgical cases as natu- rally come in his way, and in this branch of his pro- fession is especially skillful. Dr. Mix is a Royal Arch Mason; a republican in politics, and a member of the Baptist church, and the purity of his life has been unquestioned. He was married on the 13th of January, 1849, to Miss Louisa E. Wheeler, of La Porte, Indiana, and by her has seven children. Edwin S., the eldest child, is married, and has a farm near Berlin; Jane Ann, the eldest daughter, is the wife of Allen Ot- terburn, of Berlin. Two of the boys are on their brother's farm, and the rest of the children are at home. Their mother, a woman of great devotion to her family, a very active Christian and a pillar of the Baptist church, always ready for any good work, died March 4, 1877. She was the young people’s friend and counselor, and, a day or two before she died, had them come to her house and sing some of her favorite hymns. By old and young alike she was most warmly esteemed. The Doctor is fully sensible of his great loss, and realizes the truthful- ness of the poet’s lines: “The memory of the just Smells sweet, and blossoms in the dust.” COLONEL JOHN HANCOCK, OSHKOSH. T HE subject of this sketch is a native of Athens, Bradford county, Pennsylvania, and was born on the 1 2th of August, 1830, the son of Jesse and Louisa Hancock. His father was a farmer and manufacturer, carrying on a successful business, and was highly respected in his community. John received his education in his native town, and after closing his studies in school began the study of law at the same place. In 1856 he re- moved to Wisconsin, and during that year was ad- mitted to the bar at Juneau, and at once established himself in the practice of his profession at Horicon. In the following year (1857) he removed to Oshkosh, his present home, and there resumed his profession. In April, 1861, Mr. Hancock entered the army as first lieutenant of Company E, 2d Regiment Wis- consin Volunteers, and in October following was promoted to the rank of major in the 14th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers, In 1862 he became lieuten- ant-colonel, and during the same year was promoted to the rank of colonel. Remaining in the service until 1863, he then, by reason of ill-health, resigned and returned to his home in Oshkosh and again resumed his profession, which he has since con- tinued to conduct with good success. Aside from his professional duties, Colonel Han- cock has been honored by his fellow-citizens with positions of honor and trust. In 1867 he was elect- ed city attorney of Oshkosh. He was also elected deputy provost marshal for Winnebago, Outagamie and Calumet counties. He was chosen city justice in 1873, an d reelected in 1875. He is also presi- dent of the Hancock Cranberry Company. In political sentiment Colonel Hancock is a dem- ocrat. He is a consistent member of the Episcopal church, and heartily supports all enterprises which tend to better the condition of his fellow-men. THE UNITED ST A TES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. He was married, February 12, 1862, to Miss Jennie Reardon ; they have two sons and two daughters. In all local enterprises Colonel Hancock takes an interest, and is always ready to work for the good of his city. He has been somewhat engaged in real- estate operations, and since the city was burned has erected a fine brick block. Colonel Hancock began life with no capital, and by his own untiring efforts has worked his way gradually up to his present high professional and social standing. As a man he possesses most excel- lent qualities, and throughout his career has main- tained an enviable reputation and an unsullied char- acter. HON. SOLON iiuh S OLON HUNTINGTON CLOUGH, a native of Madison county, New York, was born Au- gust 31, 1828. His father, Hamilton Clough, a merchant and public contractor, was a business man of much note in his locality. Solon attended a common school most of the time in his younger years. He prepared for college at the Fulton Acad- emy, and after completing the freshman year at Hamilton College, spent about three years in the South, teaching a part of the time, but never reen- tered college. In 1850 we find him again in the State of New York. He studied law in Syracuse and Fulton, and after being admitted to the bar practiced in Oswego county until 1857, when he re- moved to Hudson, Wisconsin. It was the year of the great financial crash, and Hudson felt the de- pression in legal as well as other business. Mr. Clough formed a partnership with Mr. H. C. Baker, now of the firm of Baker and Spooner, and although forced to “ labor and wait,” he patiently toiled and overcame all obstacles, and after a few years was rewarded with a prosperous practice and a good reputation. H. CLOUGH, SON. In 1864, the eleventh judicial circuit having been created, he was elected as circuit judge, having previ- ously removed at the people’s request to Polk county. The district comprised all the counties north of St. Croix to Lake Superior, and Judge Clough had the most extensive circuit in the State. He remained in Polk county five years, and being reelected in 1869 removed to Superior, at the head of Lake Su- perior, where he remained seven years. He retired from the bench at the end of twelve years, return- ing to Hudson in the autumn of 1876, and is now a member of the law firm of Clough and Hayes. As a jurist he was noted for the fairness and just- ness of his decisions, for his courtesy to the bar, and his clear-headedness and quick discernment of the legal relations and all bearings of every subject presented for his consideration. As a lawyer he is one of the most thoroughly read in St. Croix county. In politics he is identified with the republican party. In religious sentiment he is a Baptist. Mrs. Clough’s maiden name was Kate E. Taylor, of Fulton, New York. They have had three chil- dren, two of whom are now living. JOHN H. HAUSER, FOND DU LAC. 'HP'HE subject of this sketch, a native of Monroe X county, Pennsylvania, was born in the town of Stroudsburg, September 2, 1836, the son of Jacob L. and Frances (Butts) Hauser. In 1850 the family moved to Wisconsin, and settled at Delavan, where John spent ten years aiding his father on a farm, receiving, prior to i860, only a common-school edu- cation. During that year he entered the preparatory department of Lawrence University, and in 1S61 became a member of the freshman class of that institution. In his junior year he raised a company of students, and as captain of the same joined the 40th Regiment of Wisconsin “ hundred-day men.” Returning to Appleton he entered the senior class in college in October, 1864; but in the February following, reenlisted for three years, or till the close of the war. He raised a company in eight days, and as captain of the same joined the 49th Wiscon- 6 34 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. sin Regiment. The members of the faculty were unwilling that he should return to the war, and, although he promised to continue his studies and to faithfully fill out the requirements of the curriculum, they at first voted that they could not graduate him. But after he had gone to the South they reconsidered the matter and decided that he might graduate, pro- vided he wotdd pass an examination in all his studies, and not he a candidate for honors, he being entitled to the valedictory and highest honors of his class. Having his hooks with him, he prepared for examination in seven studies while among the “bush- whackers ” of Missouri. The faculty sent written questions to the colonel of his regiment for him to answer, and he passed a creditable examination, and was graduated in course in June, 1865. In Novem- ber of that year his regiment was mustered out of the service, and he returned north, and spent a term at the law school in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Later he continued his legal studies with J. LI. Car- penter, of Madison, Wisconsin, and was admitted to the bar in November, 1866. After practicing a short time in Independence, Iowa, he, in August, 1867, settled in Fond du Lac. Llere for ten years he has continued the law practice, with a prosperous busi- ness and a growing reputation. Since March 26, 1877, he has held the office of postmaster, and care- fully attends to its duties. With his daily super- vision the post-office is one of the best managed offices of the kind in the State. At the same time his legal practice in connection with Elihu Colman, a rising attorney, is very extensive, and calls for a great amount of time and hard labor. As a business man Mr. Hauser is industrious, enterprising and energetic, and is widely known for his honorable and upright dealing. In politics he is an ardent republican and one of the leaders of that party in F'ond du Lac, and an indefatigable worker for its interests. Mr. Hauser is a Knight Templar in the Masonic fraternity, and has held many high offices in the order. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and usually holds some responsible position in the same. He is one of the editors and proprie- tors of the “ Christian Statesman,” an undenomi- national paper published at Milwaukee. In November, 1868. he was married to Miss Louise Pease, of Milwaukee. They have had four children, three of whom are now living. HON. WILLIAM C. ALLEN, RACINE. \ T 71 1 . LIAM CHENEY ALLEN, for many years V V a leading citizen of southern Wisconsin, was born in the town of Hoosick, Rensselaer county, New York, February 2, 1814, and is the son of Jacob and Lucy (Cheney) Allen. They were both of pure New England (originally English) stock. His father was a farmer, and in early life was in easy circumstances, but unfortunately he entered into speculations which proved disastrous. His mis- fortune preyed upon his health, and the result was that his children at an early age had to struggle for bread and raiment. Both parents were tender, in- dustrious and religious, and discharged their mission in life well. His mother, who was a scion of the old Cheney family of Pomfret, Connecticut, was quite an intellectual woman, and to her training and in- fluence he owes whatever success in life he has achieved. She early imbued his mind with a love of study and an unconquerable desire to obtain an education. To her, also, he owes his first religious impressions. She was from her childhood a mem- ber of the Methodist church, and continued in the faith till the day of her death. Kinder people never lived than the father and mother of William C. Allen. Their heart and their home were ever open to all, and their bread was divided with the hungry to the last morsel. Their pure and unselfish lives are re- membered by their son with the most lively and tender affection ; and although they had no worldly goods with which to endow their children, yet the legacy of a high and holy example, of deep religious and moral culture which they bequeathed to them was a thousand-fold more precious than all the wealth of the Indies, and will endure when “gold and silver” shall be “cankered,” and the most cost- ly garments “moth-eaten.” The ancestry from which our subject is descended settled at an early period in the colony of Massa- chusetts. Many of them became Quakers or Friends, and followed Roger Williams to Rhode Island, in THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 635 order to enjoy religious freedom not accorded them in Massachusetts. From this detachment a branch moved into Dutchess county, New York (to what is since known as “Quaker Hill ”), many years before the revolution. The grandfather of our subject, Samuel Allen, was married on Quaker Hill to a lady named Hammond, born in Dartmouth, New Hamp- shire. He was a soldier in the revolutionary war ; fought at the battles of White Plains, Long Island, and many other hotly contested fields of that mem- orable struggle. In the year 1793 he removed to the neighborhood of Hoosick Falls, where he took up a six-hundred-acre tract of land, then covered with heavy timber, on which he lived during the re- mainder of his life. He died in the year 1819. Our subject was early impressed with a deep sense of morality, the observance of the Lord’s day, a reverence for the Holy Scriptures, ministers of the gospel, and old people, which he has never forgotten. He never went fishing or hunting, or engaged in any of the common sports or amusements, on the Sab- bath. He received the rudiments of his education in the common schools, and remained under the parental roof till the age of seventeen, when, owing to the misfortune above alluded to, he was obliged to launch out in support of himself. He was em- ployed as a “hand ” by a neighboring farmer named Wheeler, at a salary of ten dollars per month. His employer was a college-bred gentleman, of large heart and great benevolence, who proved as kind as a father to the hapless youth thus placed in his care. He took great pains to encourage young Allen in a course of study, and gave him free access to his large and well-selected library. Among the first volumes which he read was Paley’s “ Natural The- ology,” from which he first learned how to frame an argument. Flere he also read Milton’s “ Paradise Lost,” Good’s “ Book of Nature,” Volney’s “ Ruins,” “The Spectator,” “Rambler,” and some volumes of history. He worked nine months for this gentle- man, commencing on the 20th of March, 1831. Lie afterward attended for four months a select school, taught by a graduate of Pinion College, where he commenced the study of the Latin language and the higher mathematics. He also kept up a course of miscellaneous reading, still having access to the library of Mr. Wheeler. When the school closed in the spring he resumed his engagement with his former master at the old figures, ten dollars per month. The latter continued the kindly interest which he had previously manifested, taking special pains to encourage him in his studies, and explain to him things that seemed incongruous. Among the volumes which he placed in his hands was “ Jo- sephus,” explaining at the same time who the author was, and many things relating to Jewish history. He also gave him “ Rollins’ History ” to read. He thus became fascinated with the histories of the Medes, Persians, Babylonians, Greeks, Egyptians and Romans, and when at work he was always thinking or talking of them with some one. The knowledge thus obtained became indelibly fixed upon his memory, and the names, dates, characters and battles are all as fresh in his mind to-day as on the day they were read. Through the influence of his employer he was appointed to teach the district school during four months of the succeeding winter. After this he put himself under the tuition of a learned mathematician, where he rapidly gained an idea of numbers and magnitudes. He next entered an academy at Jefferson, Schoharie county, New York, in which he continued for two and a half years, studying natural and moral philosophy, his- tory, Latin, algebra and the higher mathematics generally. The curriculum, however, did not in- clude Greek, a circumstance which has since been a source of deep regret and disadvantage to our subject, as the want of a knowledge of this ancient tongue, through which the Greeks still preside over human action as its nomenclators, is a serious pri- vation. In the opinion of our subject a thorough knowledge of the old classics cannot be over-esti- mated. During all these years of struggle and adversity his excellent and pious mother was his guardian angel and best counselor. She always encouraged him to persevere, telling him the clouds would sometime break away and a brighter light would shine upon his pathway. She told him of many poor boys who, in spite of more adverse cir- cumstances than those with which he had to con- tend, had attained to learning, wealth, eminence and usefulness. Among the many illustrations which she named was the case of Benjamin Franklin, whose life he read and reread, so that the compositor who brought down fire from heaven became his beau ideal. Her advice and counsel were always wise, as though spoken by an angel of God. The memory of this sainted parent is still cherished with a deep religious affection, and is among his best enjoyments in his declining years. His original purpose was to go through Union College, but having had a great love for the exact THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 636 sc iences, in the study of which he had spent con- I siderable time, and being now twenty-one years of | age, lie was advised to give up the idea, of a univer- sity course and enter at once upon the study of the law, which he had determined to make his life work. He accordingly entered the law office of Cornelius 11 . Putman, Esc]., in Montgomery county, New York, where he remained four years, and was admitted to the bar in 1840. On the 7th of October of the same year he mar- ried Miss Mary A. McConkey, a daughter of John McConkey, of Voorheesville, Montgomery county, New York, who has since been his faithful com- panion, friend and counselor, sharing his trials, no less than his triumphs, throughout his long and eminently happy life. In the following year he moved to Wisconsin and settled at the town of Delavan, Walworth county, where he resided for twenty-nine years. The town then consisted of only a few rude houses partially completed, while the surrounding country lay in its primitive state, as it came from the hand of the Great Architect of the universe, save here and there a rude beginning at the border of some timber patch. The entire coun- try was an open wilde, and yet marvelously beautiful, unmarred by roads or fences. The prairies adorned by a profusion of wild flowers, which perfumed the summer air with their fragrance, while the groves of giant oaks seemed to furnish a suitable dwelling place for the gods. All around was a solemn still- ness, “ sublime, but sad. The loneliness Loaded the heart; the desert tired the eye, And strange and awful fears were wont to press The bosom with a stern solemnity.” But man, civilized man, entered and overturned the fair but hitherto unproductive face of nature, and where the buffalo and the red man ranged uncon- trolled, towns, cities, farm houses, school houses, churches, factories, railroads, fences, etc., are now to be seen, presenting a striking contrast to that which met the gaze of the traveler forty years ago. Our subject has seen the growth of it all, and borne his full share in bringing about the wonderful change. In 1842 he was elected probate judge of Walworth county, and was reelected for three consecutive terms, making six years in succession. During the same period he practiced his profession, and always had his full share of the business of the courts. In the winter of 1849 he was appointed by the legislature as a member of a committee of lawyers to codify the statutes of the State, and bore a conspicuous part in that important work. In the autumn of the' same year lie was elected county judge of Walworth county for a term of four years, the title and dura- tion of the incumbency having been changed in 1848. In 1853 he was elected to a second term of the same office, but after serving two years of the last named period he was induced to resign the office in order that he might devote his whole time and energy to the building of the Western Union railroad, an enterprise of which he was one of the originators, and of which he continued a director and vice-president until the road changed hands in 1869. In 1866 he was elected a member of the lower house of the Wisconsin legislature, and was appointed chairman of the committee on railroads, a very responsible position, in view of the fact that a large land grant was to be disposed of by that legislature, and there was great rivalry among com- peting companies; but Judge Allen was. found equal to the emergency, and so well did he act his part that he was reelected in the following year, and served as chairman of the still more important com- mittee on federal relations. In 1852 he was one of the charter members of the State Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb, and con- tinued a member of its board of trustees for nine- teen years — serving as chairman most of the time — when he resigned. In 1850 he organized the Wal- worth County Bank, of which he continued the president until its dissolution and reorganization under the banking law of 1863. He removed to Racine in 1870, and was soon after appointed a member of the board of State charities and reform, which position, after four years of faithful service, he was obliged to resign on account of failing health. Soon after settling in Racine he became impressed with the necessity for a larger volume of capital to accommodate the business men of the city, and after securing the concurrence of several of the leading citizens, he obtained, through Senator Car- penter, a charter from congress for the organization of the Manufacturers’ National Bank at Racine, of which he was made a director, which position he still retains. This is one of the most substantial and useful monied institutions of the State. He was raised under Methodist training, and in early life was a member of that church, but on settling in Delavan he united with others in the organization of a Congregational society ; aided liberally in building its first church in 1843, and was a member and trustee of the congregation for THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 637 twenty-eight years. On removing to Racine he united with the Presbyterian church, of which he has since been a member and an officer. His political views may be inferred from his rec- ord. He was an abolitionist from the outset, and the first newspaper he ever subscribed for was the “Emancipator.” The sentiments he then imbibed clung to him through life, and he is thankful to God that he has lived to see slavery overthrown ; for while he does not believe that the African is in all respects the equal of the white man, still his inferi- ority is no reason why he should be enslaved. Con- sequently he gave his whole influence and support to the cause of the government during the late slave- holders’ rebellion, and was among the foremost of the loyal citizens in his district in every work for the aid of the government and the benefit of the fight- ing soldiers and their dependent families. He is a strong advocate of a metallic currency as a basis, and paper money only when on par with gold. He is an ardent believer in free trade, low rates of interest for money, and the enactment of such laws as will give every man a full share of the profit of his .toil. He is not a believer in caste, save only such as God has made among men in brains, virtue and the various factors which make up a good character. For many years past he has been a sufferer from a painful malady that has somewhat circumscribed his usefulness and activity. Yet, notwithstanding this very serious disadvantage, he has always been a gentleman of a genial and social spirit, bringing sun- shine into every circle which he enters, and com- municating the same spirit to others. It has been a cause of surprise to his friends how he could gain such mastery over pain, and in spite of it maintain such cheerfulness and equanimity of temper. This characteristic, together with his conversational pow- ers, renders him always a most welcome acquisition to any social circle. He is a man of wide and varied information, which, by constant study, he keeps within practical reach, and is therefore able to make it of value to himself and those with whom he asso- ciates. As a Christian he is thoroughly sincere and ear- nest. Indeed, earnestness and sincerity maybe said to be the leading traits of his character, but they show their greatest development in his religious life. He has been for years, in a marked degree, a growing Christian, putting on the mellowness and flavor of ripeness, a man not living for himself but for others, and evidently striving to imitate his Redeemer in daily life — his Christianity having the breadth which springs from large intelligence, broad charity, and an extensive intercourse with mankind. The even balance and steady onflow of Judge Allen’s character renders it the more difficult to portray, and makes his excellencies less striking. In a word, he is not a man of protuberances of char- acter, but a well-rounded and full-orbed man. BURR ROBBINS, JANES VILLE. A COMPLETE history of the adventures, experi- ments, trials and ultimate triumphs of him whose name heads this article would occupy more space in these columns than we could afford to it ; hence we must content ourselves with a brief out- line. Burr Robbins, the most successful showman in the West, and second only to the redoubtable Bar- num, was born on the picturesque banks of the Susquehanna river, in the village of Union, Broome county, New York, October 13, 1S37. His parents were Isaiah P. and Lavinia (Hay) Robbins, both natives of Wooster county, Massachusetts, and de- scended of English ancestors, who settled in the Bay State several generations ago. They were, moreover, possessed of more than average intelli- gence, and sustained the very highest character for uprightness and moral worth; so that the early training of our subject was of the most exemplary character. Soon after their marriage his parents moved to New York, and founded the village in which he was born, where his father was for many years a successful merchant. In 1848 he gave up merchandising and removed to the neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, where he purchased a large farm and carried on the business of husbandry success- fully during the remainder of his life. Our subject received his elementary education in the village of Brooklyn, Ohio, and spent the years 1S52, 1853 and 1854 in the Baldwin University of the same State, THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 638 becoming a superior English and mathematical scholar, and being also well versed in history and in several of the ancient languages. In the spring of 1855, possessed of a spirit of ad- venture and a desire to hew out his own way in life, he left his home, with no capital or stock in trade aside from his brains and the clothing which he carried on his back, and worked his passage on a steamboat to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and thence went into the country some distance to seek em- ployment on a farm ; but he was so young and frail looking that no one would employ him. He next turned his face toward Racine, which place he reached hungry and penniless, and sawed wood to pay for a supper, which was the only meal he had that day. His next objective point was Chicago, which he reached by “ stowing ” himself on board the old steamer Traveller, and giving his only coat to pay his passage. In Chicago he was taken charge of by a poor sailor, who generously fed him and supplied his wants until he procured employment at a lumber yard, at a compensation barely sufficient to pay his board. He continued at this business several months, and in the autumn of the same year went to Corunna, Michigan, where he had an older brother in business. Here he found employment in the hardware store of Eli Moore and Co., where he remained one year, and accumulated a small capital together with some valuable experience. In the autumn of 1856 he obtained an appointment as civil engineer on the Detroit, Saginaw and Pere Mar- quette railroad, which he held until the enterprise was temporarily abandoned, owing to the financial panic of 1857. He next moved to St. Louis, Mis- souri, where he procured employment in Wood’s museum, which he retained for some months. Here he conceived the idea of entering upon the career in which he has been so signally successful. In 1858 he associated himself with a certain “ Profes- sor ” C. C. Pratt, a Poston singer of some reputation, and invested his little savings in a concert company and commenced a professional tour through the in- terior towns of Illinois. But the times were very stringent, and at one place they failed to pay ex- penses, had no surplus on hand and were yet in debt. The situation was critical, but the young artist was equal to the emergency. Instead of leav- ing in the night and repudiating the debt, as many would have done, he went to work in the harvest- field until he earned money enough to pay his bills; and in the same fall entered upon the business of “showman ’’under more favorable auspices, namely, as manager of a panorama of the revolutionary war, lecturing upon each scene exhibited. He continued this business with satisfactory financial results until the outbreak of the late rebellion, when, on the 19th of April, 1861, he enlisted in a Cleveland regiment, and went with his command to Clarksburg, Virginia. Here his excellent business qualifications and pecu- liar training were soon brought under contribution, and he was accordingly placed in charge of the transportation department at General McClellan’s headquarters. He continued in this capacity until the end of the year 1861, when he was appointed wagonmaster of General Terril's brigade of artillery, then stationed at Mumfordsville, Kentucky, with thirty days’ leave of absence. Meantime he re- turned to Ohio, and on the 20th of January, 1862, married Miss Lizzie C., daughter of the Hon. John A. Ackley, who for many years was superintendent of public works of the State of Ohio. He left for the front two days after his marriage, and was after- ward promoted to the position of master of transpor- tation, twenty third army corps, commanded by Gen- eral Schofield, in which he remained until the close of the war, rendering invaluable service to his coun- try, and earning for himself an enviable reputation as a patriot and soldier. It is worthy of record that he was first a sergeant in the regiment of which President Hayes was colonel, and that he is now among the most enthusiastic admirers of our chief magistrate. At the close of the war he organized a variety theater company, and for a time gave entertainments in the oil regions of Pennsylvania, continuing the same with fair success until 1867, when he settled at Paw Paw, Michigan, and engaged in merchandising, which he continued for about a year, and until the death of his wife, which occurred on the 23d of July, 1868. He then sold out and lived retired until December, 1870, when he again ventured be- fore the public as manager of the National Panorama of Paintings, of the celebrated Bill D. T. Travis. This business he pursued until June, 1871, at which time he purchased a small tent show, which he ex- hibited at towns in Indiana and Michigan for several months with considerable success; and in the spring of 1872 he organized the circus and menagerie with which his name and fame have since been connect- ed, and which has proved a grand financial success, and given him renown second only to that of Bar- num. In 1874 he purchased the beautiful farm and THE UNITED ST A TES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 6 39 buildings formerly owned by the County Agricultu- ral Society, located one mile south of the city of Janesville, Wisconsin, on the Rock river, where he has made a home of rare attractions. Here he has parks for his deer and suitable winter accommoda- tions for his large stud of horses and great variety of wild animals. He has over one hundred thousand dollars invested in wild quadrupeds and birds alone, while his entire stock in trade is not far short of a million dollars. All this Burr Robbins has accumu- lated in a few years by his talents as a caterer to the public appetite for recreation, and by his sterling integrity and uprightness of character. He is known everywhere as a man of his word — whatever he promises he performs. He is a shrewd financier, generous and noble-hearted, a kind and indulgent master, a true and fast friend. When he travels through the country, the thousands flock to greet him, because, as the proverb is, his is the “most respectable” as well as the largest “show ’’which travels in the West. His reputation has been won and his success achieved by honorable means — in- dustry, energy and unflinching integrity. In December, 1871, he was married to Miss Nett Webster, of Lawrence, Michigan, a lady of refined tastes and high culture, who generally spends the summer in traveling with her husband. As an indi- cation of the esteem in which this lady is held by the citizens of Janesville, it is proper to mention here that in June, 1875, she was presented by them with a splendid silver tea set, water pitcher and coffee urn, while Mr. Robbins was himself the re- cipient of a gold-headed cane from the same source. Two children are the fruit of this marriage — a son, born December 14, 1872, and a daughter, born January 18, 1876. JOSIAH W. SEELY, WA UP UN. J ONAS SEELY, from whom a large branch of the Seely family in this country sprung, came from England in 1690, and settled in Stanford, Connecti- cut. Other branches of the family spell their names differently. The parents of Josiah W. Seely, the subject of this brief biography, were Henry and Clarissa (Lyon) Seely, residents of Bainbridge, Che- nango county, New York, at the time of his birth, December 10, 1819. His grandfather, Eli Seely, was a soldier in the revolutionary war. Josiah was kept at school during the first eighteen years of his life, finishing his literary education at the high school in his native village. In 1837 he commenced studying law in the office of Henry A. Clark, of Bainbridge, and finished with Love and Freer, of Ithaca; teaching school, meanwhile, three winters. He was admitted to the bar in 1844, at the January term of the supreme court, held at Albany, and practiced three years at Ithaca. He was at Bainbridge from 1847 to 1858, practicing law and attending to a farm which his father, who died in 1848, left him. He then spent a year in Nebraska, and in 1859 settled at Marquette, Green Lake county, Wisconsin. There he was in legal practice and land speculation until 1863, when he removed to Waupun, his present home. He prac- tices in all the courts of the State, but for years has 69 given his attention largely to collecting and real estate operations. At one time his collections were second to those of scarcely any lawyer in the State. They became so large and so burdensome, that a few years ago he was obliged to throw a part of them off. He now has a partner in the law and collecting business, N. W. Frost, who attends to the collections, which are rapidly growing on their hands. Mr. Seely has two excellent farms, one in, the other near, Waupun, with an aggregate of four hun- dred acres, lying in Dodge and Fond du Lac coun- ties. The one in town is one of the best in the State. He also owns a block in the village of Wau- pun, and other property ; and has large tracts of land in Nebraska, Minnesota and Missouri. As a business man he has been eminently successful, and is known for his skill and tact. On his farms, to which he gives all his leisure time, he has full- blooded stock of various kinds, cattle, sheep and horses. He has three or four spans of carriage horses, all for his own use, some of them difficult to match in the State. They are of his own raising. Mr. Seely has ample means for his comfort, ample facilities for his pleasure, and is living at his ease, as any sensible man, in similar circumstances, can afford to do and will do. 640 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. In politics, lie was formerly a whig, and is now a republican, but has never accepted an office of any kind. He attends the Episcopal church, of which his wife, who was Miss Susan Maria Humphrey, of Hart- ford county, Connecticut, is a member. They were joined in wedlock March 10, 1856, and have had four children, three of whom, Henry A., Clara M. and Amelia H. are living, and receiving the advan- tages of a first-class education. JOHN B. A. KERN, MIL WA UKEE. T HE subject of this sketch, a native of the king- dom of Bavaria, was born on the 29th of Sep- tember, 1829, the son of John B. and Mary Kern. His father, being himself a thorough business man, trained his son to correct business habits, and it was thus early in life that he laid the foundation of that success which has attended him. He received a thorough common-school education in the public schools of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and after closing his studies, desiring to become a tobacco- nist, at once learned the trade and turned his atten- tion to that line of business. He continued in this business during the next eight years, in which time he traveled over the greater part of the United States, selling the goods which he manufactured. The business proved very successful, and yielded him a handsome fortune. He next purchased an interest in the Philadelphia Print Works, an invest- ment which proved unfortunate, and cost him the fortune which he had gained in the tobacco trade, In 1859 Mr. Kern settled at Milwaukee, Wiscon- sin, and began milling in an old frame flouring-mill situated on Poplar street. His business, begun thus on a small scale, gradually increased from year to year, until it has assumed immense proportions. Beginning with a capital of less than two thousand dollars, he employed, during the first year, twelve hands, and produced one hundred and fifty thousand dollars’ worth of flour. To-day he owns a mill with a frontage of one hundred feet, one hundred and forty feet deep, and six stories high, and his busi- ness employs about one hundred hands, and yields an annual product of two hundred thousand barrels of flour. In all his dealings with his customers Mr. Kern is characterized by fairness, frankness and unswerv- ing integrity. In all his business matters he is prompt and energetic, and it is to these qualities, together with the superior quality of his flour, that is due the great success which has attended him in his milling enterprise. His motto through life has been, that success must come through honest, per- sistent, continuous effort; and following this he has, even in times of misfortune and reverses, made the highest use of his powers and opportunities. In politics Mr. Kern is not bound by party ties, but disregarding all prejudices, supports for office him whom he deems most worthy the place. In religious sentiment he is free from all sectarian- ism, and holding to the principle laid down in the golden rule, exercises toward all men that charity and liberality which he claims for himself. In February, 1856, he was married to Miss Lena Bertsehy. Mrs. Kern is a lady of most admirable qualities, and has been to her husband a true helper and adviser, and to her influence is due much of his success. They have an interesting family of three sons and three daughters, all of whom, except the eldest, are now attending school. HENRY L. BARNES, M.D., RIPON. H ENRY LINZEY BARNES, son of Jehiel s. and Sarah Ann (Cole) Barnes, was born at Mexico, Oswego county, New York, April 16, 1835. His father’s family was of English descent, and settled in this country long before the American revolution. His grandfather participated in that struggle. Rev. Albert Barnes, the biblical scholar and annotator, belongs to one branch of this family. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 643 Jehiel S. Barnes, a farmer, moved to Wisconsin in 1846, and settled near Markesan, Green Lake county. There Henry spent five years, employed in farm work ; he was then sent away to school, and finished his literary education at the high school in Ripon. He commenced studying medicine with Dr. A. W. Hewitt, of Ripon, in September, 1854. He attended lectures one term at Rush Medical College, Chicago, and spent a year with Professors Thayer and Webber, of Cleveland, Ohio, giving special attention to surgery. He graduated from the Cleveland Medical College in March, 1858, and thereupon settled in Hartford, Green Lake county, in which place, and in Ripon, his present home, he has since continued to practice with constantly growing success. In January, 1865, Dr. Barnes went into the mili- tary service as assistant surgeon of the 21st Wiscon- sin Regiment, which had just joined in the march from Atlanta to the sea with General Sherman’s grand army through the Carolinas. He remained with the regiment until it was mustered out in the summer of that year. His studies while with Pro- fessors Thayer and Webber were especially adapted to fitting him for an army surgeon, so that he filled the position with marked credit. The amount of practice in this line, in a small city like Ripon and the surrounding country, is limited, though Dr. Barnes has his full share of it, and is gaining in popularity both as a surgeon and as a general prac- titioner; and in medical skill his reputation is an honor both to the profession and to himself. He is a member of the county and State medical societies. Dr. Barnes is a Knight Templar in the Masonic order, and was master of the lodge several years, and is now high priest of the chapter. In politics he was a Douglass democrat in i860, but since that time has usually voted with the re- publicans. Rinding, however, work and study suf- ficient to employ all his powers in connection with his profession, he devotes little attention to politics. Dr. Barnes was married on the 3d of January, 1861, to Miss Nelly Cody, of Hartford, Wisconsin, and by her has had four children. JOHN DICKSON, RACINE. J OHN DICKSON was born in Chautauqua county, New York, in what is now the town of Ripley, on the 8th of September, 1814, and is the son of John and Elizabeth (Sutphen) Dickson. His parents were natives of Somerset county, New Jersey. His father was descended from original Scotch ances- tors, who emigrated to the north of Ireland and set- tled in Londonderry, whence they emigrated to America. His mother was of Holland-Dutch ori- gin, of the same stock that settled New York and Albany. After their marriage in 1796 they moved to Cherry Valley, Otsego county, New York, which was then a wilderness. In 1810 they removed still farther westward and settled at the place where our subject was born, and where his childhood and early youth were passed. He still entertains the most kindly feelings toward the place of his nativ- ity, calling it, in fond remembrance, “Old Chautau- que.” His early education was obtained mainly from private schools, for the district school was not as yet either a regular or permanent institution. While a pupil his great ambition was to “graduate,” as he facetiously termed it, at the head of the first class in spelling, a distinguished honor, in those good old primitive days, at a country school. The geographies in use in the schools at that time had no maps, and it was not easy to locate and describe the boundaries of the different geographical divi- sions of the earth, so that the students of those days labored under very great disadvantages as compared with those of the present day. Our subject com- menced his business life at the age of fourteen as clerk in a “country store” in the village of West- field, Chautauqua county, New York, where he re- mained about six years, when he obtained an ap- pointment as cadet in the Military Academy at West Point, which institution he entered in June, 1834, remaining until December, 1835, when his mind having undergone a change in regard to his purposes in life, he resigned. In after years, how- ever, he deeply regretted this step, and in his dreams has many times been reinstated in the academy, and spent long nights of laborious study to make up for lost time, but awoke only to find that it was but a dream. At that time there was a mania for busi- ness speculations in the country, and as he already 644 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. had some business experience as a clerk lie thought it better to renounce his profession, enter at once into business and get rich, than to “ bone ” those knot tv problems, as the expression was, and, after spending years in study, to live on a lieutenant’s pay of seven hundred dollars a year, with prospects of slow advancement. On resigning and quitting the academy he supposed that his connection with the institution was severed, but a considerable time after he had entered into business he received a remittance of a sum of money for back pay, his res- ignation not having been accepted when tendered, and the place being held open in the expectation that he might wish to return, his pay had been running on. In the spring of 1836 he entered into partnership with an old mercantile establishment, under the firm name of Camp, Dickson and Co., in Mayville, the county seat of Chautauqua county, New York, and remained in business there for five years. He was one of the first, if not the first, to purchase the dairy products of that now famous dairy county for shipment to the New York and Boston markets. But during these years his mind yearned for the great West and its larger possibilities. He had been for a considerable time a reader of the “ St. Louis Republican,” and had become familiar with western business. Accordingly, in the year 1841, Oliver Lee, Esq., a banker of Buffalo, New York, desiring to establish his nephew, the late Alanson H. Lee, in business, requested our subject to unite with him and estab- lish a business somewhere in the West, stipulating at the same time to take a third interest in the con- cern, and if necessary to advance capital ; and as he (Mr. Oliver Lee) was largely interested in vessel trading on the lakes, and as Wisconsin had just commenced to ship her surplus wheat to the east- ern market, and Racine had been the first port to engage in this trade, they chose that city as their location, and soon after established the firm of Lee, Dickson and Co., which during its entire existence was the leading one in Racine; it is no exagger- ation to say that this establishment exercised a most important influence upon the future growth and prosperity of the city. They gave tone and char- acter to its business, while their capital and influ- ence were generously given toward the promotion of every enterprise for the public good. They were the leaders of public sentiment, and their opinion was sought and their example followed generally. What they indorsed was sure to succeed, and what they discountenanced was just as sure to fail, but no worthy object ever sought their aid in vain. The business of Lee and Dickson was continued until the death of the former in 1861, altogether for a period of twenty years of the most happy relations that could be desired; the testimony of Mr. Dick- son in regard to his late partner being that Alanson Henry Lee was “An honest man, the noblest work of God.” In the early days before the advent of railroads, and previous to the establishment of manufactures, towns upon the lake shore were in a great measure dependent for success upon the lake commerce, and this of course was largely contingent upon the char- acter of the harbor accommodations. With a lively appreciation of the importance of this feature in the development of the city, an appropriation had been asked from congress for the purpose of improving the harbor of Racine, but after waiting patiently but con- fidently for several years, the citizens were not only disappointed in their expectations but chagrined to find that their more sturdy rival on the north, Mil- waukee, had been preferred before them and had re- ceived the aid which Racine so much needed. This was a heavy blow and sore discouragement to the cit- izens, whose hopes and aspirations were all centered and exhausted in their city; but though cast down they were not in despair, neither did they waste time in useless regrets. They saw that the time to either “ do or die ” had come, and they accordingly as- sembled in mass meeting and resolved to build a harbor with their own means. To this end they asked the legislature to authorize them to levy taxes on the property of the village for that purpose. This, with subscriptions from some of the more wealthy citizens, was applied under the direction of the board of trustees of the village, and the result is that Racine has a harbor second to none on Lake Michigan, and to this circumstance is due, in no small degree, the success of this beautiful and flour- ishing city. In all the struggles and efforts con- nected with this enterprise and its successful com- pletion, Mr. Dickson bore a leading part. He was a member of the board of village trustees, and an indefatigable worker in the cause both in season and out of season, and he now looks with pride and satisfaction upon one of the most beautiful and prosperous cities of the West. In 1848 he was one of the promoters and a char- ter member of the Racine and Delavan Plank-road THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DIC TION ART. 645 Company, a road about forty miles in length, and costing the company about one hundred and twenty thousand dollars; and although it was soon after, in a great measure, superseded by a railroad, yet it was for several years a very great accommodation to the public trading between the cities which it con- nected. In 1852 he was one of the organizers, a charter member, and for many years after a director and vice-president of the Racine and Mississippi Railroad Company, now the Western Union Rail- road Company. The labor of all these years, to- gether with a large sum of money, was bestowed for the benefit of Racine. He was also a commissioner and charter member of the first railroad company organized in the Territory of Wisconsin, the Lake Michigan and Mississippi Railroad Company, sub- sequently changed to the Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien Railroad Company, but he has never held and never expects to hold an office not accom- panied by hard work and pecuniary loss. He has never associated himself with any religious denomination, but regards religious associations as organizations of great value in connecting and bind- ing society together, and in securing associate ac- tion upon any desired object. He believes that there is a governing intelligence in the universe which he calls God, and with whom he holds direct relation, but he has adopted no creed, nor does he observe any formularies in his worship. He was so deeply absorbed in schemes for the public benefit and the general welfare that for many years he had not time to bestow a thought upon himself. He was, however, one day startled and brought to a realizing sense of his situation by read- ing a carefully-prepared table setting forth the ages at which it was most probable men would marry, and beyond which the probabilities of matrimony diminished at a large percentage. He concluded that the time for action had come, and that he would disarrange the figures in the table referred to by taking to himself a wife. Accordingly, at the age of forty-three, on the 4th of August, 1857, he mar- ried Miss Helen, daughter of the late Seth W. Holmes, formerly of Mayville, Chautauqua county, New York, then a resident of Paw Paw Grove, Lee county, Illinois, a very worthy and accomplished lady, several years his junior. Their union was blessed with a family of three children, all boys. The eldest, a very promising lad, died at the age of six years. The survivors are being carefully edu- cated for lives of usefulness and honor. From an early period Mr. Dickson has taken a deep interest in political matters. At the age of ten he was an enthusiastic admirer and supporter of Andrew Jackson for the Presidency. On coming of age he voted with the democratic party, which in those days had an honorable record. He gathered his political inspiration largely from the New York “Evening Post,” edited by the venerable William Cullen Bryant, and deeply did he sympathize with that noted philanthropist when the arrogant de- mands of the slave power became so exorbitant as to make it necessary for him to break away from former associates and declare for freedom. He joined the free-soil party at its organization, and re- mained with it till it merged into the republican party, with which he has since acted. He is in ac- cord with the policy of President Hayes as devel- oped in his southern measures, and considers it in harmony with the eternal fitness of things that the South should make terms with the republican party rather than regain power under the old Bourbon banner. He considers that the South, in its inner- most heart, must feel thankful that it was not per- mitted to consummate the terrible crime of breaking in pieces this glorious country, and must feel like the prodigal son when he was restored to his father’s house. JOHN LOWTH, JUNE A U. O NE of the early and most respected citizens of Dodge county, Wisconsin, is John Lowth, a native of Ireland. He was born in the county of Meath, June 6, 1822, his parents being James Lowth and Marcella ne'e McGuirk. His parental grand- father was a noted classical teacher in a seminary in that county. His father immigrated to America in 1827 and settled at Pittsford, Rutland county, Ver- mont, and there engaged in farming. At the age of sixteen John went to Castleton and devoted, four years to literary studies, paying special attention, during the latter part of this time, to chemistry and 646 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. physiology. At the age of twenty he returned to Pittsford and married Miss Sarah C. Poring. After reading law a few months lie, in June, 1843, moved to East Troy, Walworth county, Wisconsin, and was greatly encouraged by the opening in this, then new, unsettled country. He taught school for a time and then resumed the study of law. In March, 1845, he settled at Civilian, in Dodge county, and engaged in farming a short time. Soon afterward, however, he disposed of his farm and completed his legal studies, and in 1852 was admitted to the bar at Juneau, the count} - seat, and to the supreme court of the State in 1S55. He practiced at Lowell, in the same coun- ty, for several years, and in 1866 moved to Juneau. During a period of nearly thirty years he has been in office much of the time. He was elected clerk of the board of supervisors in 1847, and held that office four years. He was a member of the general as- sembly in 1850, 1851 and 1859. He was deputy warden of the State’s Prison from January 1, 1854, to January 1, 1858. In 1866 he was elected clerk of the court, and by reelection still holds that posi- tion. As a business man and public officer he is very careful and correct, while as a lawyer he is one of the most successful and popular in his county, and bears an excellent character for probity, effi- ciency and trustworthiness. In politics he has always been a democrat; has attended a great many county and State conven- tions, and may be regarded as one of the local lead- ers of the party. Mr. Lowth is a member of the Temple of Honor; a man of excellent habits himself, and an encourager of good habits in others. He was reared in the Catholic church, and firmly clings to the faith of his forefathers. The fruit of his union with Miss Coring, which occurred August 14, 1842, has been eleven children, eight of whom are now living. Three of them are married : Marcella is the wife of H. H. Bonney, and Martha, of B. F. Wood ; both living in Minnesota. James, who has a family, is a lawyer, practicing at Lowell, a few miles from the county seat. Of the unmarried sons, Edward is a clerk with his father, and Frank is the proprietor of the “Dodge County Democrat,” to which his father is a regular weekly contributor. Mr. Lowth lost his right arm in boy- hood, but early learned to use his left hand with facility. He is the political editor of his son’s paper, and does his work well. COLONEL JOHN G. McMYNN, RACINE. T OHN GIBSON McMYNN, for thirty years past J prominently identified with the educational inter- ests of Wisconsin, was born at Palatine Ridge, Mont- gomery county, New York, July 9, 1824, and is the son of Robert McMynn and Margaret nee Cooke; the former a native of Dumfriesshire, Scotland, and the latter a native of Kingston, Canada, of Scotch- Irish extraction. His father dying in the year 1832, when our sub- ject was but eight years old, he was at that early age thrown upon his own resources, and during boy- hood worked on a farm and earned his own living. His youthful experiences were, therefore, rough and uncongenial, but possessing good health, good hab- its and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, he did not waste time in useless repinings, but resolved to procure a thorough education, if within the bounds of his power. He pursued his preparatory studies at the acad- emies of Union Village and North Granville, New York, working as a farm hand and teaching school at intervals to earn money to defray his expenses. He entered Williams College, Massachusetts, in 1845, and was graduated from that institution in 1848. After leaving college he removed to Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he taught school for five years, and by this means paid off a debt which had accu- mulated during his last years at Williams’. In 1853 he removed to Racine, which has since been his home, where he organized . the public schools, and was principal of the high school until the close of the year 1857. During this period he attained to the highest rank as an educator, while the schools of the city were brought to a state of efficiency unsurpassed, if not unequaled, by those of any other municipality in the State or in the West. He spent the whole of the year 1858 in Europe, and visited England, Scotland (the home of his ancestors and the place of his fathers’ sepulchres), THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY France, Belgium, Holland and Germany, and de- voted much time to the examining of the princi- ples and workings of the educational and charitable institutions, public and private, of those countries. Returning to Racine he resumed his work in the public school of that city, and at the outbreak of the rebellion in 1861 he was among the first to offer his services to the government, and in the summer of that year was commissioned major of the ioth Wis- consin Infantry. In the following year he was pro- moted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and in 1863 to that of colonel. The regiment was, during this period, continually at the front in Tennessee and northern Alabama. The service was arduous and responsible. Colonel McMynn was selected by Gen- eral Buel to take charge of the public property at Huntsville, Alabama, and to transport it by railroad to Stevenson, Tennessee, when that officer retreated to Louisville in the summer of 1862. This very important and perilous duty was successfully accom- plished, with the loss of but two men. The com- mand was constantly under fire, and at the battles of Champlin Hills, in Kentucky, and Stone River, Tennessee, lost heavily. The Colonel was invariably with his regiment, and never absent from duty, either on sick leave or otherwise, during his entire period of service. In the autumn of 1863, his command being reduced to two hundred and fifty men, and private affairs pressing heavily upon him, he was reluctantly compelled to tender his resignation, which, after much delay and considerable hesitancy, was accepted. His high character and accomplishments as a soldier are borne testimony to, not only by those whom he had the honor to command, but by the most distinguished officers in the service. When the raising of a cavalry regiment to be placed un- der his command was contemplated, Major-General Rousseau wrote to him from Nashville, Tennessee, January 6, 1864, in the following terms: My Dear Colonel McMynn, — I am much gratified to learn that \ou are inclined to enter the army again. True men like yourself, possessing the capacity and courage to serve the country, are greatly needed; in tact such men are always needed. When you resigned I felt that the public service had sustained a great loss, and you will recollect I told you how deeply I regretted it. You and I have passed through many trying scenes, in all of which you have deported yourself as an efficient and brave officer, and 1 shall hail your return to the army with unalloyed pleas- ure. In all the gallant army of the Cumberland I know of no man with whom it would give me more pleasure to “soldier it” and stem the tide of battle, when it comes, than yourself, for I know of no braver or better man. Should you return to the army 1 hope fortune may bring us together, and that 1 may again have the pleasure of lead- 647 ing you and your command; but whether or not, you have in all things my best wishes. Very truly, etc., Lovell H. Rousseau. A like testimony to his soldierly qualities is borne by Cieneral L. A. Harris, commander of the brigade in which he served. That officer wrote, under date of January 9, 1864 : From the knowledge thus obtained, I can indorse, to the fullest extent, Colonel McMynn. lie is a brave, active, earnest and accomplished officer, and in the service was an honor to his State. The governor of the State decided not to raise any more cavalry regiments, hence Colonel McMynn did not reenter the service. In 1854 he was appointed regent of the State Uni- versity, a position which he held for fifteen years, during which time the university was developed and placed upon a secure foundation. He was active in securing the organization that has so greatly con- tributed to its present prosperity. He has been identified with the republican party since its organization, and was on the State ticket as a nominee of that party in 1854, 1855, 1857, 1864 and 1866. In April, 1864, he was appointed by President Lincoln and confirmed by the United States senate as superintendent of Indian affairs for Washington Territory, but declined the office on account of pressing private business. In November of the same- year he was elected to the very respon- sible office of State superintendent of public in- struction, which he retained for four years. In 1866 he was a member of the board of visitors to the United States Military Academy at West Point. In r868 he was induced to enter the employment of J. I. Case and Co., of Racine, the largest manu- facturers of steam-power threshing machines in the world, and for six and a half years had charge of their collections. He entered their service on a salary of fifteen hundred dollars a year, which was soon increased to five thousand dollars a year. Much to the regret of his employers, however, he resigned this responsible position, with its very flat- tering emolument, to return to his chosen profession, that which he always intended to make his life-work. In 1875 he built the Racine Academy, under which name he has since conducted a flourishing private school for the purpose of fitting young gentlemen for college, and to give others a general business education, according to their aims and purposes in life. The institution is largely patronized and doing a most excellent work in this direction. Endowed with great intellectual force, possessed 64S THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. of those elements of mind and character which not only secure success to the possessor, but to those who are brought under his immediate influence, Colonel McMynn has always been a man of marked prominence. These qualities, together with his identification with the interests of education, have made him conspicuous not only in the State in which he lives, but throughout the Northwest. Learned in all branches of knowledge, he possesses rare pow- ers for imparting that knowledge to others. His methods of instruction are original, vigorous and thorough. During the time he was at the head of the public schools of Racine it was universally con- ceded that they were unsurpassed for discipline and efficiency in Wisconsin, and in consequence the rep- utation of that city for its educational advantages became widespread. While State superintendent of instruction he impressed upon the public schools of the State the vigor of his own character, and con- tributed most valuable exertions in behalf of the State University, and for the establishment of normal schools, which have since become a part of the edu- cational system of the State, and of which he was to a great extent the organizer. He infused new life, system and energy into every department of edu- cational work, and has long enjoyed a reputation as one of the most accomplished and successful edu- cators in the Northwest. Scattered throughout the West are many men and women, now established in life, and pursuing a useful and honorable career, who attribute their success to the training and disci- pline which, as his pupils, they received from him. His private academy, above alluded to, is already receiving such patronage and accomplishing such results as give assurance of a success worthy of the reputation of its founder and principal. Colonel McMynn is a forcible public speaker, and possesses rare conversational powers. He addresses himself directly to the point under consideration, whether in the presence of a public audience or in private conversation; his thoughts are always full of freshness, and his words terse, crisp and emphatic. Naturally he despises shams, and at once impresses all who come in contact with him with the powers of mind and traits of character above indicated. Education and educational work are with him themes of absorbing importance. His views upon the subject are clear, cogent and comprehensive, and limited only by their relationship to the progress and welfare of the community, the State and the nation. He is a firm believer in the cardinal doctrines of Christianity as taught in the creeds of the Protestant churches, but is not in communion with any church. In private life he is eminently charitable and be- nevolent; a warm and generous friend, a kind and courteous neighbor, a virtuous and honored citizen ; an honest man. On the 27th December, 1852, he married Miss Ella F. Wiley, who died in June, 1858, leaving no children. He was again married in i860, to Miss Marion F. Clarke, daughter of Norman Clarke, Esq., one of the earliest settlers of Racine. She is a lady of rare culture, and noted in the community for her warm and intelligent interest in all that promotes the hap- piness of the community. They have four children, two sons and two daugh- ters, namely, John and Robert, Louise and Nelly; all strong and vigorous, both mentally and phys- ically, giving promise of honor and usefulness in the future. HARMON VAN DUSEN, M.D., MINERAL POINT. A MONG the older class of medical practitioners _ in Iowa county, Wisconsin, is Harmon Van Dusen, who is well known among the profession, he having been twice at the head of the Wisconsin Medical Society. Though seventy years of age, his mind is very active, and when not otherwise engaged he always has a book in his hand, — in the evening his usual custom being to study till midnight. A life-time of such mental industry must necessarily result in the accumulation of a great fund of knowl- edge outside of medical science, — a fund easily dis- cernible by conversing with the Doctor, but of which he makes no ostentatious display. He is as modest and unassuming as he is studious, and reads for his own benefit and pleasure rather than for show. Dr. Van Dusen is the son of Henry Van Dusen, a farmer, and Sally Stoddard, and dates his birth at Salisbury, Connecticut, July 23, 1807. He farmed THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 6q O \ until his eighteenth year, supplementing a common- school education with one year’s attendance at the Middlebury Academy, Wyoming county, New York. He read medicine at Bethany and Delphi, New York; attended one course of lectures at Castleton, Vermont; was admitted to practice under a county license in 182S ; practiced at 'fully, Onondaga coun- ty, until 1834, when he attended a course of lectures at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, receiv- ing his diploma from the same. Returning to 'fully he continued practice there until 1847, when he came as far west as Milwaukee. In December of the following year he removed to Mineral Point, and here made a permanent settlement. He has been in general practice, and had from the start, and has carefully maintained, a good standing in the pro- fession. He has been president of the Iowa County Medical Society from its origin ; is also a member of the State Medical Society, and was its president in 1868 and 1872. While residing in the State of New York, during the administration of Mr. Van Buren, 1837-1841, Dr. Van Dusen was commissioner of the United States deposit fund, a trustworthy position. He was mayor of the city of Mineral Point in 1876, and had previously held one or two minor municipal offices. He h as always acted with the democratic party. Dr. Van Dusen has long been a member of the Masonic fraternity, and is at the present time (the summer of 1877) high priest of Iowa Chapter No. 6. He attends the Episcopal church. He has had three wives : the first was Miss Aurora Hobart, of Delphi, New York, they being united in 1829; she died at 'fully, New York, March 1, 1842, leaving five children, only one of them, Henry M., now living. The second wife was Mrs. Margaret Ann Mann, of Syracuse, New York, they being married in 1843 i she died March 22, 1852, leaving one son, Wilson H., now practicing medicine at Montford, Grant county, twenty miles from Mineral Point. His present wife was Mrs. Jane E. Ackley, a cousin of his second wife, the maiden name of both being Wilson. Mrs. Van Dusen has a daughter, Mrs. Caroline E. Smith, by her first husband, but no children by her present union. She is a Christian woman, and she and her daughter are communicants in the Episcopal church. Dr. Van Dusen has partially retired from business, his rides being limited to the city and to the day- time. A few of his old neighbors, when unwell, will not call anybody else, but he is working out of the practice as rapidly as he can, conveniently. He is held in high esteem by the older citizens of the city and county, and by some of those out of town his retirement from practice is much regretted. JOHN H. VIVIAN, M.D., MINERAL POINT. T HE Vivians are a very old English family with two branches. One branch is represented by Sir Richard Vivian, the other by Lord Hussey Viv- ian, who was created a baron many years ago for brilliant military service, he being a cavalry officer under Lord Wellington, and losing an arm at Water- loo. John Harris Vivian, son of Henry A. Vivian, a mine agent, and Mary Lean, is a native of Cornwall, England, and was born at Camborne, July 27, 1825. All his younger years were spent in literary institu- tions, first in a grammar school in his native town, and then in a commercial school at Trevarth. At sixteen he commenced the study of medicine at the Falmouth public dispensary; received his degree of M.D. in 1846; practiced with his uncle, Dr. John Vivian, as an assistant at Buck’s Head, in the parish 70 of Crown, a short time; left the old country in May, 1847 ; acted as hospital surgeon a few months at Crosse Isle, the Quebec quarantine ground; and in September of that year located at Mineral Point. Here for thirty years he has been in steady prac- tice, except during short intervals, when he was absent in the service of his adopted country. In 1863 and 1864 Dr. Vivian was surgeon of the board of enrollment, and early in 1865 became sur- geon of the 50th Regiment Wisconsin Infantry, in which he served until June, 1866, his being the last Wisconsin regiment mustered out of the service. Its operations were on the western frontier, and it was stationed, during the latter part of its service, at Fort Rice, Dakota Territory. Dr. Vivian was mayor of Mineral Point in 1859, and member of the assembly in 1862 and 1863. In 650 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY-. the legislature he was very active and conspicuous, and was chairman of the committee on State affairs during the latter session. It was while the rebellion was in progress, and no man born in this country acted with more patriotic ardor than he. He has been on the board of supervisors several times, and was chairman one year. He is pension surgeon, and has been since 1865. He is secretary of the Iowa Countv Medical Society, and a member of the State Medical Society. Dr. Vivian was originally a ‘‘ free-soiler,” and sup- ported the ticket, standing on the Buffalo platform, in 1S4S. He has been a republican since there was such an organization ; is quite active as a politician, and attends most of the State conventions of his party. Dr. Vivian belongs to the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows; is grand representative of the order, and has been grand patriarch. He has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Elizabeth Stansmore, a native of Cornwall, England. They were married at Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1849, she dying in 1857, leaving one child, a daughter, still living. His present wife was Miss Amelia Stansmore, a sister of the former, their union occurring in July, 1858. They have had six children, of whom four are living. Dr. Vivian, who had a good literary and medical education at the start, has continued his studies, and has striven to keep pace with the progress of medical science. He has had a fair practice in surgery as well as a heavy one in medicine, and has a good reputation in both departments of the healing art. His rides are quite extensive. He is prompt to obey the calls of suffering humanity ; has a sympathetic disposition, very opportune at the bedside, and is cheerful and cordial alike with the sick and the well. As a citizen, as well as a physician, his ser- vices are highly valuable, and are appreciated by the community in which he resides. He is con- versant with English literature, agreeable in conver- sation, and a very good entertainer. H. M. BENJAMIN, MIL WA UKEE. T HE subject of this brief biography is a native of Plerchen, Prussia, and was born July 30, 1841, the son of Myer and Eva Benjamin. His parents were highly respectable people, and gave to him a good common-school and business educa- tion. His father was a nephew of Rev. Dr. Elias Guttmacher, of Graetz, Prussia. Leaving his home on the 25th of August, 1856, our subject went to Hamburg, and on the 1st of September following, sailed for New York, where he arrived on the 15th of October. After spending ten days in that city he proceeded to Georgetown, South Carolina, and there found employment as a clerk in the mercantile house of Messrs. Link and Brown. Returning to New York in the year 1859, he went thence to La Porte, Indiana, and there began busi- ness on his own account. His first adventure was in the grocery trade, in partnership with a Mr. Win- ched, under the firm name of Winched and Benja- min. After a time, however, he sold his interest to his partner, and forming a partnership with a Mr. Rosenthal, embarked in the dry-goods trade under the firm name of Rosenthal and Benjamin. Removing to St. Joseph, Michigan, in July, 1865, he there continued the same line of business until July, 1868, when he closed out his interests and settled at Milwaukee, where he has since made his home. In March, 1869, the firm of Herbst Broth- ers and Benjamin was formed, and purchasing the wood and coal yard of C. D. Guernsey and Co., these gentlemen have continued in that business until the present, meeting with good success. As a man Mr. Benjamin is active, enterprising and public-spirited, and aside from his regular busi- ness has been called to many positions of honor and trust. In September, 1874, he was elected a direct- or of the Banner and Yolks Friend Printing Com- pany, and in the same year was elected a second time as councilman from the sixth ward, having been first elected in April, 1872. He was also, in 1874, president of the common council and acting mayor of the city, a position to which he was reelected by a unanimous vote, in January, 1875. It was also during this year that he was elected one of the directors and president of the Milwaukee and Du- buque Railroad Company. Mr. Benjamin is also one of the trustees of Greenwood Cemetery. He is of Israelitish parentage, and belongs to the THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 65 3 reformed class of that people, and is a member and one of the trustees of the Temple Emanuel at Mil- waukee. As a business man Mr. Benjamin is known for his promptness and energetic effort, and enjoys the highest confidence of all who know him for his trustworthiness, reliability and fair dealing. On the 1 2th of January, 1868, being at that time twenty-seven years of age, he was married to Miss Carrie Herbst, then in her eighteenth year. Mrs. Benjamin died on the 23d of January, 1873. Of the three children that were born to them (one son and two daughters) the daughters are now living. Though still a young man, Mr. Benjamin has at- tained to a high degree of success as a business man, and gives every promise of a bright future. EDWARD T. MIX, MIL JVA UK EE. E DWARD TOWNSEND MIX, architect, is the eldest of a family of six children born to Edward A. and Emily M. (Townsend) Mix, of New Haven, Connecticut. The Mix family is of Welsh descent, and the Townsend of English ancestry. The families on both sides, for several generations, were noted mariners, being connected with the East India trade. The father and grandfather of our sub- ject are distinguished as having made the most suc- cessful voyages of the times to the Indian seas, as may be learned from the “ Transactions of the New England Historical Society.” His father, at the age of eleven years, following the impulses of an adventurous and daring disposi- tion, left home for a “voyage round the world,” in a ship commanded by his uncle, his avowed pur- pose being to punish the Queen of the Sandwich Islands for the murder of his father some three years previously. On reaching the islands, how- ever, he learned that her majesty had been dead for some months. He was thus left functus officio , so far as this self-imposed duty was concerned. He completed his voyage, however, and returned to his home in safety. At the age of eighteen he was in command of his own ship, and for fifty years he continued to plow the waves, being one of the best known and most successful commanders in the New York, China and East India trade. An accident resulting in the loss of his right hand, at the age of sixty-five years, compelled him to abandon the pro- fession of his heart, and content himself on shore with his family during the remainder of his lifetime. He was characterized by an indomitable will, united to a warm impulsive heart, unswerving integrity and high moral character, together with the true sailor’s open hand to all in distress or trouble. His creed was short and practical — “Do your duty, and trust God for the rest.” He is still living at his home in New Haven, Connecticut. His father being absent most of the time, the care of the family devolved mainly upon the mother of our subject, and nobly did she meet the claims of duty. “ Home ” was always to her children the dearest spot on earth, and their mother the best and loveliest of women. Her predominant characteristic was her pure and undissembled piety. She was an humble follower of Him who “went about doing good.” She was, moreover, a lady of rare intel- lectual attainments, of fine presence and appearance, and endowed with high social and conversational powers, a sympathetic friend and prudent adviser. She was called to her “reward above” in the year 1867, but her memory is still fragrant and dewy in the hearts of all who knew her. Edward T. Mix was born May 13, 1831, and spent his early years on a farm in Andover, Henry county, Illinois, where his father had purchased a large estate, and to which he removed with his family in 1836, and remained till 1845, when he returned to the East and left his family in New York city, while he resumed his old profession of the sea. A tall country boy in those days was as much an object of curiosity to the gamins of New York as at any time since, and Edward’s school life was not altogether free from annoyances of which his rustic appearance was made the occasion. Naturally of an amiable disposition, he was slow to take offense, but when these pleasantries were carried to extremes, he was wont to resent them in a way more striking than sarcastic. After a few months’ training with his more experienced city cousins, his robust country muscles were less taxed to keep up the credit of the family, and all went smoothly. 6 54 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONART. After the change to city life had lost its newness, he began to think of a life business. His studies had been mainly addressed to history, geography and mathematics, but a relative named Henry Howe, a publisher in Cincinnati, Ohio, seeing, as he thought, a taste for art in the youth, gave him a set of drawing cards, which soon fired his genius, and he became quite an adept in sketching. Hitherto, however, he had thought more of the sea and of travel than of any professional life on land. After quitting school he accepted a clerkship in a Wall-street shipping house, where he had oppor- tunities to mingle with ships and sailors to his heart’s content. Not relishing the business, how- ever, he soon transferred his services to a large Broadway dry-goods store, where he remained but a short time; and during the two succeeding years he was a grocer’s clerk, canvasser for a city paper, draftsman in a patent attorney’s office, and clerk in a real-estate office, without developing a taste or fondness for any of the avocations. While on a visit to an uncle in New Haven, Con- necticut, during the summer of 1848, he happened to walk into the architectural rooms of Major Stone, at that time one of the leading architects of New England. Architects in those days were few in number, professional services being required only in erecting very important public works, — less impor- tant structures were planned, if at all, by the builders who erected them, and consequently less scope ex- isted for the display of architectural taste. His curiosity was stimulated by the drawings, and he was at once favorably impressed with the good look- ing and affable major. The interest being mutual, and the latter needing an assistant, young Mix de- cided that he had found his vocation, and settled down to the duties of the profession at once. Seven years of his life were spent in this office, as student and assistant. At the end of this period his em- ployer offered him a partnership, which his friends urged him to accept, but he felt an uncontrollable desire to revisit his early home and see the growing West again. Accordingly, in the autumn of 1855, he removed to Chicago, which was then just begin- ning to come into notice, where, after a careful con- sideration of the ground, he resolved to stop, for a time at least. The winter of 1855-6 was spent as foreman in the office of Win. W. Boyington, with whom, in the ensuing spring, he formed a partner- ship, and in the summer of the same year removed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to superintend some im- portant works of their designing, then in course of construction in that city. Accordingly the firm of “Boyington and Mix” hung out their sign in Lud- ington’s block, then almost the only well-built block in the city. Milwaukee, like Chicago, was then but in its in- fancy. Its immense grain trade and railroad and steamboat communication were only foreseen by such men as Alex. Mitchell, S. S. Merrill and a few others, while its architectural development, for which it is now so distinguished, was all in the womb of the future. The sites now occupied by elegant and costly warehouses, on Wisconsin street, Broadway, Grand avenue and elsewhere, were then cumbered with unsightly and wretchedly-constructed two-and- a-half story frame buildings, standing endwise on the street. In these a miscellaneous business was transacted, though the only apparent activity in trade seemed to be in the auction stores, where all sorts of merchandise was being “ knocked down ” to the highest bidder, for the benefit of creditors, — the hard times of 1857 having cast their shadow before them. Real estate, which had been greatly inflated, began to tumble, and the prudent trimmed their sails to meet the coming storm. In the spring of 1857 the partnership with Mr. Boyington ceased, by mutual consent, and Mr. Mix commenced his business career alone, and has since then so continued. During the first ten years of his residence in Mil- waukee his progress was slow but steady, increasing year by year as his skill and taste in architecture became known. One of the inflexible rules of his profession was to identify himself thoroughly with the interest of his patrons, and to this feature of his character is due not a little of the success with which his career has been crowned. In 1864 he was appointed by Governor Fairchild, without solicitation on his part, to the responsible position of State architect, and had charge of the capitol and other State works then in course of con- struction, till 1867, when he resigned in favor of Colonel Shipman, who had returned from the army minus a leg, which he had left on the battle-field. During the rebellion he was an active supporter of the government in every way in his power, and did much toward providing for the comfort of the soldiers who returned suffering from wounds and sickness. He furnished the designs and superin- tended personally, without charge, the “great fair building” erected by the ladies of Milwaukee, from THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 655 which, after a three weeks fair, the sum of one hundred thousand dollars was netted, which sum secured to Milwaukee the location of the National Asylum for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, — the build- ings for which Mr. Mix was, without his knowledge, appointed by the national board of managers to de- sign and superintend the erection of. Since that time he has been extensively employed in connection with the erection of public and private buildings, both at home and in adjoining States. Among the most important local edifices erected under his professional management are the North- western Mutual Life Insurance block, the Immanuel Presbyterian Church (the finest ecclesiastical struc- ture west of New York city), the Plankinton Plotel, the Grand Avenue Methodist Church, besides not less than three-fourths of the most costly and ornate private residences erected in Milwaukee during the last ten years. He is now (1877) superintending, from designs (furnished by himself in competition), the great banking and insurance (fireproof) building of Alex. Mitchell, probably the most perfectly con- structed edifice in the Northwest, and without doubt one of the most substantial in the whole country. ALFRED P. C JANES ALFRED PATTERSON CORYELL, a native xA. of Nichols, Tioga county, New York, was born April 15, 1815, the son of Charles and Sarah Coryell. His father, a physician by profession, was a prominent man in It is community, and widely known as a successful and skillful practitioner. His mother was a daughter of J udge Patterson, of Broome county, New York. His great-grandfather, a native of Scotland, was captured by the Algerians and taken to Algiers, and there held as a slave for three years. After being liberated he immigrated to the United States and settled in Massachusetts. The paternal grandfather of our subject was a soldier in the revolutionary war, and drew a pension for many years. After the close of the war he was chosen one of the supreme judges of the State of New Jersey, and wherever known was a leading man. His own immediate family attained to a very prominent position in the State of New York. Alfred received a good educa- tion, attending school at Binghamton, New York ; In religious opinion he is a Congregationalist, and has been identified with the Plymouth congregation of that denomination since his residence in Mil- waukee. He is a man of spotless integrity, governed by a high sense of honor, and is held in esteem and respect by all who know him. He is a gentleman of general intelligence, a lover of the fine arts, and an admirer of everything good and beautiful in nature. He is a member of the State Historical Society, and fellow of the American Institute of Architects, an association of the leading men of the profession in all parts of the country. Socially he is genial, kind-hearted, generous and liberal; of quiet and unassuming manners, but free, open and off-hand. On the 7th of May, 1854, he married Miss Mary B. Hayes, a scion of a substantial and well-known New Haven family — now creditably represented by the worthy occupant of the White House, Presi- dent Hayes, to whom Mrs. Mix is second cousin. She is, moreover, a very amiable and highlv-intel- lectual lady, easy in manners, pleasing in conversa- tion, and a favorite in her circle. They have no children. ORYELL, M.D., VILLE. and after completing a thorough course of medical studies, graduated from the Jefferson Medical Col- lege of Philadelphia. To enter the medical pro- fession had been his desire from early life, and after graduating he went to Meadville, Pennsylvania, and established himself in the practice of his profession, remaining there five years. At the end of that time, July, 1846, he removed to Wisconsin and settled at Janesville, where he has since made his home. Opening an office upon his arrival, he has steadily contimjed his practice, which has gradually in- creased, and attained a high degree of success, both professionally and financially. Dr. Coryell acted as examining surgeon of the Pennsylvania militia in 1843, and in 1847 was ap- pointed surgeon of the Wisconsin State militia by his excellency Governor Dodge. He is generous, kind-hearted and benevolent, and held in high es- teem by all who know him. He is especially kind to the poor, being always ready to go at their call, and never charges them for his services when in need. 656 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. Dr. Coryell’s religious training was under Meth- odist influences. He is liberal in his religious opin- ions. and is not identified with any religious body. In politics, he was formerly a whig, but upon the organization of the republican party he became identified with that body, and has since continued a firm supporter of its principles. He has never, how- ever, taken any active interest in politics, more than to perform his duties as a citizen, having found in his profession work better suited to his tastes, and enough of it to employ all his powers. Dr. Coryell was married in 1842 to Miss Nancy A. Bennett, whose father was for many years a mail contractor. They have had three children. Their daughter is the wife of Walter Bennett, a prominent hardware dealer in Janesville. HENRY O. MONTAGUE, WHITEWATER. ENRY OREB MONTAGUE was born in Fabius, Onondaga county, New York, Au- gust 1, 1835, the son of Oreb and Cornelia Mon- tague. He studied in Aurora, Dundee and Ovid, receiving an academical education, and in 1855 re- moved to the West and settled at Whitewater, Wis- consin, where he engaged in the mercantile trade and in teaching until 1858. At that time he began the study of law with Mr. N. S. Murphy, and in i860 was admitted to the bar. At the opening of the civil war in 1861 Mr. Mon- tague enlisted as a private in Company B, 1st Regi- ment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. Serving with distinction during the continuance of the war, he made for himself a most honorable record, and was promoted from time to time to the respective ranks of first sergeant, first lieutenant and captain, and also acted as assistant adjutant-general, ranking as captain, on General Mower’s staff of the first brigade, first division of the fourteenth army corps, partici- pating in all the battles of the army of the Cum- berland, and was wounded at the battle of Chicka- mauga. A most honorable mention of his services is made in Love’s “ History of Wisconsin,” pages 681, 682, 701, 707 and 721. At the battle of Chickamauga, when the color-guard were all killed or wounded, he himself raised the flag of the regiment and rallied the men around him. The following tribute from one of his comrades is worthy of note, coming, as it does, from one who served with him through the war : Captain Montague was honored and respected by all the regiment, and his reputation as a soldier was one of the brightest. Even to this day none of his comrades, when passing near to where he is, would fail to call upon him, deeming it an honor to sit and rehearse with him the trials of their campaigns. In political sentiment Mr. Montague was formerly a republican. Identifying himself with that organ- ization upon attaining his majority, he continued an active and firm supporter of its principles until 1871, when he joined the liberal party. In the following year he supported Horace Greeley for the Presi- dency. His religious training was under Baptist influ- ences, though he himself is not identified with any religious organization. From 1865 to 1868 Mr. Montague was assistant United States assessor. At the end of that time he was appointed postmaster at Whitewater, and held that office until February, 1872. He has also been justice of the peace at Whitewater for five years. He was married on the 14th of May, r86i, to Miss Mary S. Rockwell, of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, a daughter of Anson Rockwell, formerly of Otsego, New York. ERASTUS J. BUCK, M.D., P LA TTE VILLE. D R. BUCK is a native of Heath, Franklin county, Massachusetts, and was born Sep- tember 5, 1828. He is a son of Erastus and Rox- anna (Baldwin) Buck. He received an academic education at Nunda, Livingston county, New York; read medicine with Dr. John Turner, of the same place, and attended lectures at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, where he graduated in March, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 657 1854. He commenced practice at Towlesville, Steu- ben county, New York ; immigrated to Wisconsin in the autumn of 1856, and located at Westfield, Mar- quette county, where he practiced until the rebel- lion commenced. Dr. Buck enlisted as a private in the summer of 1861; was immediately commissioned as first lieu- tenant of the Marquette sharp-shooters, a company which went into the 7th Regiment of Infantry, but the Doctor did not leave the State as a soldier. In January, 1862, he was appointed first assistant sur- geon of the 1 8th Wisconsin; became surgeon the next September, and was with the regiment through the battles of Shiloh and Corinth, and the capture of Vicksburg, thence to the close of the war. Though among the younger class of surgeons, Dr. Buck occupied an honorable position among those of his profession. He was placed on the medical board of operators, a body which determined what operations should be performed, and (as the writer happens to know) performed himself several capital operations, such as the resection of the shoulder and elbow, operations requiring much skill, and in which he was uniformly successful. He was con- sidered one of the best surgeons in the division, and it is not likely his skill was overestimated. On returning from the South in 1865 Dr. Buck located at Platte ville, where he has found his army experience of great service to him. During the last twelve years, while doing a general practice, and making a specialty of nothing, he has had many surgical cases, such as strangulated hernia, fistula and chronic ulcers, and a few of them quite diffi- cult, treating them with marked success. He is United States examining surgeon, and has been for several years. In politics Dr. Buck is a republican, but makes everything secondary to his profession. In 1861, just before going into the army, he yielded to the urgent request of his political friends so far as to serve them a single term in the legislature, he repre- senting Marquette and part of Green Lake counties, and acting on the committee on medical science and medical colleges. Dr. Buck is a firm believer in the general doc- trines of Christianity, with a leaning toward the Presbyterian creed. Miss Sarah E. Trask, of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, became his wife September 5, 1866, and they have four children. Dr. Buck had a hard struggle in early life. In procuring his literary education he sawed wood, took care of a school building and acted as sexton of a church, to aid in defraying his expenses, and while reading medicine took daguerrean pictures to accumulate the means for finishing his studies. His education is thorough, and he learned the value of time andt he worth of money in procuring it. A failure to early learn that lesson has been the cause of many a shipwreck in life. TERRELL THOMAS, BARABOO. T ERRELL THOMAS, a native of Clairsville, Ohio, was born January 10, 1826, and is the son of Benjamin and Johannah Thomas, both of whom were members of the Society of Friends. They were both known for the purity of their lives, and spared no pains in training their children to habits of honesty and integrity. Terrell being the eldest son, his services were brought into early re- quisition. His educational advantages were limited, and at the age of twenty-two he went to Baltimore to learn the dry-goods business. He remained there three years, giving entire satisfaction to his employer, and gaining a fine knowledge of the mercantile trade, and also of collection and banking. In 1854 he removed with his family to the State of Wisconsin, where his father settled on a farm. Soon afterward he went to Madison, and there ac- cepted of Mr. Samuel Maxwell, president of the State Bank, the position of cashier in that institu- tion. At once turning his attention to the study of the science of banking in all of its departments, he became highly competent and remained in the State Bank three years. At the end of that time, in company with Simeon Mills, he organized the Sauk County Bank at Bara- boo, holding the position of cashier. After five years he was elected president, and held that office until he sold the institution to the organizers of the First National Bank. In all the financial panics which occurred during the seventeen years of this THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 658 bank's existence it maintained a high standing, and was considered an institution of first-class responsi- bility and credit. Upon settling in Baraboo Mr. Thomas resolved to make it his future home, and took an active interest in all enterprises pertaining to the development of the place, and early identified himself with its water-power and manufacturing interests. He was one of the projectors of the Bar- aboo Air Line railroad, whose charter extended from Madison to the Mississippi river, and devoted his entire time to the subject of its construction. After the stock was all sold, by a unanimous vote of the stockholders, he was elected president, and re- mained in that capacity until the road was consoli- dated with the Chicago and Northwestern railroad. In the success of this enterprise Mr. Thomas may justly pride himself as being the father of the great work which unites the State capital with the “father of waters.” In enterprise, public-spiritedness and all that helps to make up the true and useful citizen, he is entitled to a first rank. As a man he is noted for his generosity and fair dealing. Especially has he dealt kindly with the poor. In loaning money he never oppressed a debtor; the legal rate of inter- est was asked, and no more, and in collecting no resort has ever been had to sharp practice. In politics Mr. Thomas has made no record. In principle he is a republican, but having no political aspirations he has taken no active part more than to perform his duties as a citizen, finding in his busi- ness more agreeable work, and enough for the em- ployment of all his powers. During the war he was a firm supporter of the Union cause, and gave liber- ally to the aid of soldiers and soldiers’ families. Mr. Thomas’s travels have been confined for the most part to the western States, but being a close observer he has, by his varied intercourse with men, gained a most valuable fund of practical knowledge, and is an admirable social companion. He was married in 1857 to Miss Sarah A. Will- iams, of Cincinnati, Ohio. Her father, Micajah T. Williams, was one of the public-spirited men of his day, and was connected with many of the great en- terprises of his State. Throughout his business career Mr. Thomas has shown an indefatigable spirit, and lives now in the enjoyment of that reward which comes of persistent, honest effort. WALTER L. RANKIN, A.M., WA U KESHA. T HE', subject of this brief sketch, the son of a missionary, is a native of northern India, and was born at Allahabad, May 7, 1841. His father, John C. Rankin, D.D., was sent out to Hindoostan in 1840, and his health failing, he returned to this country when Walter was about six years old, and now resides at Basking Ridge, New Jersey. The maiden name of Mrs. Rankin was Sarah T. Com- fort, she being a daughter of Rev. David Comfort, for nearly fifty years a pastor at Kingston, New Jersey. Walter was educated at Pearl Cottage Seminary, Elizabeth, New Jersey, then under charge of David N. Pearson. He entered the sophomore class of Princeton College in 1857, and graduated in course, standing third in a class of about ninety, and having the English salutatory. Going to Bask- ing Ridge, New Jersey, he there taught a select school, and among other pleasant tasks fitted two younger brothers to enter Princeton College. At the end of three years Mr. Rankin went to Elizabeth, New Jersey, and read law one year with Chancellor Benjamin Williamson. He then resumed teaching, and for two years was at the head of a graded school in Elizabethport, New Jersey. At this time he received a pressing invitation to go to Waukesha and take charge of Carroll College, and in E'ebruary, 1866, he was at the head of that insti- tution. Originally it was called Prairieville Acad- emy, and was chartered by the Territorial legis- lature in February, 1841. In 1846 it received a new charter and took the name of Carroll College, and in 1852 was removed from a building on Wis- consin street, now known as the Seminary building, to a new stone structure standing on a rise of ground half a mile south of the village. It is thirty-six by seventy-four feet, three stories high, with central projections in front and rear, and an observatory in the center of the roof. It stands on a lot of fourteen acres, overlooking the village, a very healthy situa- tion, and in every respect pleasant and inviting. In 1850 the Rev. John A. Savage, D.D., of Ogdensburgh, New York, became president, and held that position THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 6 59 thirteen years, traveling thousands of miles and rais- ing thousands of dollars for its benefit. The first class in the college proper was graduated in 1857, and there were graduates for four successive years, when the rebellion and other causes thinned the ranks, and there were no graduates after i860. Dr. Savage resigned in 1863, the school having been suspended a short time before. Soon after- ward the Rev. William Alexander, pastor of the Presbyterian church, undertook to perform double labor, acting as preacher and conducting the school. His health, however, soon failed, and the school was again suspended. Such was the state of things when Mr. Rankin took hold of the institution and infused new life into it. His excellent abilities as an edu- cator were soon discovered, and the friends of the institution rallied around it, and it has been gradually coming up, having become a first-class preparatory academy and normal institute. Every year it is sending out its students to Madison and Beloit col- leges in Wisconsin; Monmouth, Illinois; Wabash College, Indiana; Princeton, and other colleges. To no higher than preparatory work does it aspire, and that work it does well. Some of the best scholars in the colleges just mentioned have been sent from this institution. Since Professor Rankin came to Waukesha, a debt of three thousand dollars has been paid, and something has been done toward an endowment. He is an active Christian, and exerts a very healthful moral influence over his pupils. He is an elder in the Presbyterian church, and in many respects a very useful man. By his pleasant manner as a teacher, and his great activity as a citizen, he gains the esteem not only of his pupils, but also of all the better class of citizens. Professor Rankin was married to Miss Mary Nickell, of Waukesha, July 9, 1867, and by her has had three children, two of whom are now living. COLONEL CHARLES D. ROBINSON GREEN BAT. P ROMINENT among the leading men of Wis- ! consin is he whose name heads this sketch. A native of Marcellus, New York, he was born on the 2 2d of October, 1822. While yet a child he re- moved with his parents to Brockport, New York, and was soon afterward left an orphan by the death of his father. Prior to his twelfth year he received such school privileges as his circumstances would permit, and from that time until after he attained his majority earned his living by clerking in a store and working at the printer’s trade. He had been employed in a printing-office at Buffalo, New York, prior to 1846, but during that year settled at Green Bay, Wisconsin, and in connection with his brother established the “ Green Bay Advocate,” a paper which has been published continuously under the same firm-name and in the same politics (demo- cratic) for more than twenty-eight years. In 1850 Mr. Robinson was elected to the Wisconsin legis- lature, and in the following year he was elected sec- retary of state for a term of two years, ending December 31, 1853, receiving his election by a ma- jority of twelve thousand. He was afterward can- didate for governor, but was defeated by a majority of eight thousand. He has also been mayor of his city two terms, and during his early residence there 7i was for one or two terms clerk of the court. With these exceptions he has held no official positions, and although he is an active politician, prefers to stand with the “ rank and file ” of his party. At the opening of the rebellion in 1861 he ten- dered his services to Governor Randall in any ca- pacity in which he might be useful, and was at once assigned to the staff of Brigadier-General Rufus King, who was then organizing the 1st Wisconsin Brigade. With General King he participated in the movements of the army of the Potomac during 1861 and 1S62, and having a natural aptitude for engineering operations was assigned to build several military bridges, one of which was the bridge across the Rappahannock, at Fredericksburg, over which marched the first northern army that occupied that city. In the latter part of 1862 his health became so impaired that he was obliged to return north, and obtaining a leave of absence reached his home in a very precarious condition. Finding that his complete recovery was doubtful he resigned his commission. Near the close of the war he was ten- dered by the governor the colonelcy of the 50th Wisconsin Regiment, then organizing at Madison, but hostilities having practically ceased by the sur- render of General Lee, he declined the honor. 66o THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. llis restoration to health came very slowly, and it was several years before he could again engage in active business. In 1S68, with his wife, he crossed the ocean, visiting England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and Holland, the journey occupying one year and completely restoring his health. During his travels he wrote a profuse series of letters to his papers at home, which, for vivid descriptive qualities and pleasant treatment of topics pertaining to those countries, have been widely admired. Although not brought up in the more abstruse branches of education, Colonel Robinson has, in the course of his editorial and practical career, made his way through the most accessible fields of modern culture, and is noted for his interest in edu- cational and charitable institutions of the times. He has had a place on the board of visitors to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, and at different times to the Wisconsin State University at Madison. He has lectured before various college societies in Wisconsin, and since the establishment of the two Wisconsin State hospitals for the insane has been on the board of management of one or the other of them. As an editorial writer he is eminently successful. His paper has been marked with a broad and genial treatment of the topics of the times. Although a democrat in principle, he does not always adhere to the closely-drawn party lines, but exercises a gener- ous liberality. However hot a political campaign may have been, no man’s personal character has ever been assailed by his paper. This doubtless accounts for the long and prosperous career of that sheet, together with the fact that its principle has been to preserve in its columns that courteous and unexceptionable language, self-respect and gentle- manly conduct which are required in the home and parlor. Mr. Robinson was first married in 1847, to Miss Sarah A. Wilcox, who died in 1852; in 1854 he married Abbie C. Ballou, of Rhode Island. RICHARD L. GOVE, WA U KESHA. T HE present popular president of the village of Waukesha belongs to that class of citizens who believe that in building up and beautifying their town they benefit themselves. Hence such men are public-spirited and full of enterprise, and constantly planning to make attractive their village or city, as the case may be, that visitors and per- manent settlers may be drawn thither. Waukesha has a score of such men — men who had foresight to see that this village must become a summer re- sort for pleasure-seekers as well as health-seekers; that with its natural advantages and a little wise expenditure of money it could be made one of the most popular resorts in the State. They therefore set themselves to work and made it such. Of the younger of this class of men none is more deserving of mention than Richard L. Gove. He is a native of Vermont, a son of Elijah Gove, a farmer, and Emeline E. Wright, and was born at Ludlow, June 18, 1833. Both his paternal and ma- ternal great-grandfathers were participants in the long struggle for independence. In 1843 Elijah Gove immigrated to Wisconsin Territory, and settled on a farm at Waukesha. Richard, now ten years old, and having an independent, self-reliant spirit, with his father’s consent resolved to take care of himself. With this in view he became a clerk in a store, with a salary of twenty-five dollars and board for the first year, with the privilege of attending school a certain amount of time. His salary was raised from year to year, and he acted as clerk for several years, attending school four or five months in a year — always a tuition school — and defraying the expenses of the same out of his own funds. Prairieville Academy, now Carroll College, was then in its incipiency, and he attended that institution a few terms. Early in 1852 he spent a short time as clerk in Peoria, Illinois, and going thence to Detroit, Michi- gan, graduated from Gregory’s Commercial College; and at the close of that year went to Port Washing- ton, Wisconsin, and started the “Ozaukee County Advertiser,” a paper which is still published. This he edited and published about eight years, and at the same time acted as postmaster, having received his appointment from President Pierce before he was twenty-one years old. He was holding that office in July, 186 x , when, with a lieutenant’s com- THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. mission, he recruited men for the ist Wisconsin Cavalry, joined the regiment at Ripon, and was made adjutant of the same. He went to the front as a “ war democrat,” and probably no man who fought the rebels despised more heartily their at- tempts to destroy the Union. He was mustered out with the regiment at the expiration of his term of service; but before this time, in 1862, he re- turned to Wisconsin, and with a little aid from ser- geants recruited nearly three hundred men in about ten weeks to fill up its decimated numbers. It is doubtful if any more efficient recruiting was done in the State during that memorable year. On leaving the service in 1864, Mr. Gove re- turned to his first Wisconsin home, and there made a permanent settlement. Opening a boot and shoe and general furnishing store, he has since continued to conduct it with good success. He has also dealt considerably in real estate, in which he has had still greater success. Everything he touches seems to turn to money. He put up the beautiful Gove block, built of stone, in 1871, and has -built and owned some twenty dwelling-houses during the last few years, half a dozen of which he owns and rents. He has an elegant residence on Wisconsin street, with most of the attractive surroundings which taste can suggest and skill execute. Mr. Gove was elected president of the village in 1865, 1867 and 1877, and now holds that position, making a very active and efficient executive. He is thoroughly identified with all local improvements, and no one rejoices more than he in the growing population, wealth and beauty of the home of his adoption. Mr. Gove belongs to the fraternity of Odd-Fel- 663 lows, and has passed all the chairs. He is a mem- ber of the Baptist church, and a liberal supporter of religious, benevolent and educational enterprises. On May 1, 1859, he was married to Miss Jennie A. Stone, a niece of H. O. Stone, of Chicago. They have five children: lone, born October 17, i860; Richard L., December 22, 1865 ; Jennie May, April 26, 1868 ; Fra Belle, March 13, 1870, and Jay, March 23, 1877- Both the parents of Mr. Gove are living in Wau- kesha, his father being in his seventy-seventh year, and his mother in her sixty-seventh. He has two brothers and two sisters ; the brothers, Londus E. and Jesse- M., being engaged in business in Mil- waukee; Frances, the elder sister, is the wife of Hon. E. S. Turner, of Ozaukee county, Wisconsin, and lone is the wife of Col. Daniels, now of Wash- ington, District of Columbia, and formerly Stale geologist of Wisconsin ; the younger sister is an authoress, an elegant performer on musical instru- ments, and one of the most noted singers at the na- tional capital. Mr. Gove has a light complexion, bordering on the florid, and bluish-gray eyes; is five feet and nine inches tall, and weighs one hundred and sev- enty-five pounds. He has a young appearance, and, though born in 1833, would be taken for a man un- der forty years of age. His manners are cordial; his disposition social and lively, and he has the well- merited reputation of being a first-class entertainer. On public occasions, such as a Fourth-of-July cele- bration, or any gathering requiring superior mar- shalship, the headwork and general engineering usually devolves on him, and he is equal to any emergency. JAMES HUTCHINSON, MINERAL TO INI'. r I TIE subject of this sketch, a native of Newton _L Stewart, Tyrone county, Ireland, was born on the ist of March, 1819, the son of Christopher Hutchinson and Sarah nee Hill. James received a common -school education, and after closing his studies worked on his father’s farm until he attained his majority. Leaving his native country about 1840, he emi- grated to the United States and settled at Mineral Point, in Iowa county, Wisconsin, and engaged in mining for six years. Upon the discovery of the Lake Superior copper mines in 1846, he removed thither, and was there engaged in mining for one year, and while thus employed lost his right arm and right eye by an accidental discharge of a blast from a copper mine at Lac La Belle. As soon as he had recovered sufficiently he returned to Mineral Point and began to learn to write with his left hand. 'Phe town having just been incorporated, he, in 1847, was elected clerk of the corporation, and held 664 THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. that office for one year. In the autumn of the fol- lowing year he was elected clerk of the city court on an independent ticket, and held that office dur- ing eight successive years. Close confinement, how- ever. seriously impaired his health, and in 1 85 7 , with a view to regaining his strength, he removed to a farm of five hundred acres, which he owned, five miles from the village. Renting his farm in 1862, he engaged in the grain and stock trade; not liking this business, li£ abandoned it at the end of two years, and in 1864 turned his attention to the lumber trade, which he has continued with good success up to the present time (1877). In 1869 Mr. Hutchinson was elected . mayor of the city, and again elected in the Spring of 1875. In political sentiment he was formerly a whig, but since the organization of the republican party he I has been identified with that body, though he is not a politician. His religious training was under Episcopal influ- ences, his parents being members of that church. Upon settling at Mineral Point he found no Episco- pal church in the place, and his religious views hav- ing materially changed, he, in 1843, united with the Methodist Episcopal church, and has continued a zealous and consistent member. He has held vari- ous offices in the church, and lends hearty sympathy and cooperation to every benevolent and worthy enterprise. Mr. Hutchinson was married on the 17th of No- vember, 1849, to Miss Phillippa J. Cox, of Mineral Point, a daughter of James and Phillippa Cox, of Cornwall, England. They have had eleven children, of whom eight are now living. SATTERLEE WARDEN, DARLINGTON. HE Wardens were among the very early set- tlers in New England, the original family corn- ing to this country in the second or third vessel after the Mayflower. A generation or two later, members of the family found their way into the State of New York. The father of our subject, Allen Warden, was living in Sempronius, Cayuga county, when the son was born, November 12, 1812. The War- dens, though not a very numerous family, are found in most of the States of the Union. Some of them spell the name Worden. Commodore Worden is a descendant of the same ancestor as the subject of this sketch. The mother of Satterlee was Sally Satterlee, and her father was a major in the conti- nental army. Allen Warden, a miller and general contractor, moved to Auburn at an early day, and there the son attended a common school, finishing his education at a high school in Geneseo, Living- ston county. In 1834, having previously had some experience in the business, commenced milling for himself in Auburn. In 1840 he went to Clarksville, Tennessee, and built the first flouring-mill having a smut machine in the State, and manufactured choice merchant flour, and converted wheat into something more than a bartering cereal. He remained there until 1853, and then sold out and spent a year or more in traveling, and in 1856 settled in Darlington, W isconsin. Here he commenced operations by purchasing J. M. Keep’s flouring-mill, which he operated for six years; then built a larger one ten miles below on the Pecatonica, which he still owns. Meantime Mr. Warden has had other enterprises on his hands, the most important one being in Kan- sas. In 1874 he went to Irving, Marshall county, on the Big Blue river, and succeeded in building a dam at that point, an undertaking which skillful engineers had regarded as impracticable. A com- pany from western New York had preceded Mr. Warden, taking a civil engineer with them, and after making a careful examination, abandoned the idea of securing water-power at that point. The dam which Mr. Warden built marked an epoch in the history of Irving which is now regarded as the hand- somest town in the State. Up to a recent date Mr. Warden has lived a very busy life, and has succeeded in his several under- takings. His home in Darlington is very pleasant, — a large brick house, standing near the center of an entire square, with primeval forest trees, transplant- ed evergreens and other sylvan adornments sur- rounding it. In politics Mr. Warden was originally a whig, and of late years has acted with the republicans. While residing in Tennessee, in 1853, he disposed of his property there and returned to the North, because he saw that a civil war was approaching, predicting THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 665 at that early date, eight years before it came, that it was inevitable. While a resident of New York, in 1837, he was appointed by Governor Marcy brig- adier-general of the seventh brigade of infantry, and served about three years. On July 19, 1832, he was married to Miss Harriet Randall, of Cortland, New York, daughter of Gen- eral Roswell Randall, and a sister of Hon. Henry S. Randall, formerly secretary of state of New York. They have had ten children, five of whom are now living. A promising son, Randall, a member of the Wisconsin State University, was drowned in the Pecatonica river while bathing, August 21, 1876. The only son living, James S., is an attorney and banker at Irving, Kansas. One daughter, Elizabeth VV., graduated at New Haven, Connecticut ; another, Harriet, at Ann Arbor, Michigan ; and the other two, Caroline Merriweather and Sally, have not finished their education. Mr. Warden has a dark complexion, gray eyes, and a good head of snow-white hair; is six feet and two inches tall, weighs two hundred and sixty-four pounds, and stands as erect as in early manhood. He has a very robust appearance, a symmetrical form, and strangers would single him out as a man of mark. EUGENE E. WARREN, ALBANY. E UGENE F. WARREN, a native of Fort Cov- ington, New York, was born June 30, 1833, the son of Lemuel Warren, a native of Mount Pulus, Vermont, and Betsey R. nee Richardson, a native of Washington county, New York. The father had been quite wealthy, but through speculations and ill health lost his fortune, and when Eugene was five years old, with his wife and family, consisting of five sons and three daughters, he removed to the west with a view to bettering his condition. Landing at Milwaukee on the 5th of July, 1838, he went thence with ox teams to Janesville, which at that time com- prised about five houses, and there, with the aid of his wife and three eldest sons, and daughter, who taught a small school, managed to eke out a living. Soon afterward he moved on to a farm in the town of Union, now the town of Center, twelve miles from Janesville; and here our subject began farming, his first work being to drive a yoke of oxen. When he was thirteen years old his father died, and his three eldest brothers, William, Zebina and John, having begun work for themselves, and his three sisters, Maria, Louisa and Elizabeth, having all died within six months, he, his mother and brother Lemuel were left alone upon the farm. His opportunities for gaining an education were limited ; he attended school during three months each winter, and also received instruction from his mother, who had formerly been a teacher, and to her our subject feels himself indebted for his early education. At the age of twenty-one he removed to Albany, and with a capital of five hundred dollars, with his brothers Lemuel H. and John Unengaged in the mercantile trade, the partnership continuing for sixteen years. At the end of that time he pur- chased the interest of his brothers and continued the business in his own name for five years. In August, 1861, while in business with his brothers, feeling that one of them should go into the army, and that he was best fitted by reason of previous military experience, he enlisted in Company E, 13th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. He was soon promoted to the rank of first lieutenant, and continued in the service until 1864. In 1862 he was in the army of Kansas. In the following year he was sent to the army of the Tennessee, and was at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, and while here was detailed judge advocate of a general court mar- tial. During the three months that the court was in session fifty-two cases were tried, and five men received the death sentence. Through his military career Mr. Warren maintained an untarnished char- acter, and made a record of which he may justly be proud. One week after he had returned to his home he received from the secretary of war an ap- pointment as captain in Major-General Hancock’s corps, but his brother John having accepted an ap- pointment as United States revenue collector, and his brother Lemuel being in very poor health, he was obliged to decline the appointment and give his attention to his business interests. In 1869 Mr. Warren erected a large flouring mill on the site of a mill built by his brother Zebina. (This brother had died years before and his mill 666 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY had been carried away by high water.) The invest- ment proved a good one, since the mill produced annually thousands of barrels of flour and thousands of tons of feed. Since the close of the war Mr. Warren has been engaged in a limited manner with his brothers in the mail and stage business, con- ducting from eight to fifteen routes in 1871. Since that time the business has been increased, and at present ( 1 S 7 7) they are operating two hundred and twenty routes, employing hundreds of men and horses. In 1S74 he sold his interest in his store, having been in business for more than twenty-one years. The success which has crowned the work of our subject is due to those habits of perseverance, in- dustry and frugality which were early taught him at the hands of his parents, and which have marked his whole life. His mother lived with him until 1871, when she died at the age of seventy-seven years. Mr. Warren was married at Oregon, Wisconsin, on who has cheerfully shared with him all the vicissi- tudes of his life. Mrs. Warren’s parents moved to Wisconsin from Owego, New York, when she was a child. Her father died soon after their arrival, leaving her mother in delicate health with seven children to support. In 1863 Mrs. Warren accompanied her husband through the hardships and privations of his camp- life. They have had five children, namely, Mary, Nellie, William, Grace and Charles. William died in 1867 at the age of three years; the others are liv- ing at home. J EH I EL SMITH, M.D , 1 VA U KESHA. T EHIET SMITH, who for thirty years has been a J practicing physician in Waukesha, Wisconsin, is a son of Stephen Smith, a millwright, and Sally nee Hadley, and was born in Bath, New Hampshire, August 25, 1803. His mother was a native of the town of Hadley, Massachusetts, and some of her near relatives were participants in the war for inde- pendence. Jehiel spent most of his time in school until seventeen years of age; then went to Boston, Massachusetts, and commenced “carving out his own fortune.” He there studied medicine with Elias Smith, a brother of Dr. J. V. C. Smith, and editor of one of the first medical periodicals pub- lished in this country. He attended medical lec- tures at Cambridge, Massachusetts; Hanover, New Hampshire, and Woodstock, Vermont, though not during consecutive years. Being obliged to defray his own expenses, lie progressed slowly, and prac- ticed in the intervals between attending lectures. Dr. Smith followed his profession in various New England towns until 1847, when he settled in Wau- kesha, which has since been his home. He has had an experience of forty-five years in the healing art. A few years ago he went to Cincinnati, and attended a course of lectures in the Ohio Medical College; at the same time, not feeling fully satisfied with the exclusive practice of the allopathic system, he attended a course in the Cincinnati Eclectic Med- ical College, and received his last diploma from that institution. In 1872 Dr. Smith started what is known as the “Lethean Mineral Spring,” located at his own door, in the center of the village. The water has been carefully analyzed, and is shown to have excellent medicinal qualities. One gallon of it contains 19.263 grains of soluble salts, as follows : Chloride of sodi- um, 0.695 grains; sulphate of sodium, 0.881 grains; bicarbonate of soda, 1.286 grains; bicarbonate of lime, 9.498 grains; bicarbonate of magnesia, 5.922 grains; bicarbonate of iron, 0.097 grains; alumina, 0.101 grains; silica, 0.783 grains. The Lethean Spring water is sent to all parts of the United States and the Dominion of Canada, and works as a won- derful remedial agent in curing diseases of the liver, kidneys, bladder, throat and lungs. It is the large percentage of carbonated alkalies and alkaline earths, with a. weak chalybeate, that gives this water its great therapeutic value. Dr. Smith has been a member of the Presbyterian church since he was fifteen years of age, and bears an irreproachable character. He is now living with his fourth wife. His first was Martha H. Sargent, of Boston, Massachusetts; his second, Mary M. Walbridge, of Brookfield, Ver- mont ; and the third, Laura Potter, of Lisbon, Wis- consin. His present wife was Julia L. Willard, of THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 667 Williamsport, Pennsylvania; she is a well educated woman, a good writer, and a valuable assistant to her husband in his profession. Dr. Smith had five children by his first wife, and two by the second, but one of whom, a daughter, is now living; she is the wife of Edwin Hurlbut, an attorney at Ocono- mowoc. Though in his seventy-fifth year, the Doctor stands perfectly erect, enjoys excellent health, and is busy as ever in trying to ease pain and remove disease. SYLVESTER W. OSBORN, DARLINGTON. S ylvester webster osborn, a native of Delaware county, New York, and a son of Samuel and Polly (Webster) Osborn, was born July 1, 1812. His maternal ancestors are noted for their longevity, his grandfather living to be nearly one hundred and two years old, and his mother is now in her ninety-fifth year. She is in good health, writes a steady hand, and her mind is perfectly sound. She resides in Conneaut, Ohio. Sylvester lost his father when six or seven years old, and for several years lived with different families in the beech woods of Ashtabula county, in northern Ohio. When he was fourteen his mother married a second husband and he lived with his step-father on a farm at Jefferson, in the county just named, until of age, receiving only a limited common-school education. In 1835 Mr. Osborn married Miss Julia M. Gard- ner, of Kingsville, Ashtabula county, where he was engaged in the milling business. At the end of five or six years went to Ashtabula village and resumed the same business, and in April, 1851, settled in Darlington, Wisconsin. Here at first he superin- tended the building of a flouring mill for Messrs. Keep and Lynd, — the first mill of the kind erected in the place. He operated the mill for these parties until the autumn of 1862, when he enlisted in the 1 6th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers, and entered the service as captain of company 1. He partici- pated in the battles of Shiloh and Corinth, and after about one year resigned on account of ill health. Returning to Darlington he was engaged in fanning one season, and then resumed the milling business, working four years for Allen Warden. Since that time he had charge of the county poor-house about six years. He spent eight months in Texas in 1876, building iron bridges at Seguin and Helena, and in February, 1877, received, unsolicited, the appoint- ment of postmaster. Mr. Osborn was a member of the general as- sembly in 1865, and served as chairman of the mil- itary committee. He has always been a strong opponent of human oppression, and early became a member of the lib- erty party, voting for James G. Birney for presi- dent in 1844. He attended the first republican State convention held in Wisconsin, and has acted with that party ever since that time. He has long been a member of the Baptist church. He has four children, all married, and all well set- tled in life. Sarah M., the eldest child, is the wife of Judge P. A. Orton, of Darlington; Julia M. is the wife of Dwight W. Hodge, of Buffalo, New York ; Homer S. is a physician, living at Mineral Point, Wisconsin; and Charles Francis is a lawyer, living at Darlington. Mr. Osborn has seen great changes since he settled in Darlington in 1851. Of those who then lived in the place, only one besides himself remains; while the site which was then covered with wheat and oat fields, is now a city of twenty-five hundred inhabitants. CHARLES H. LAMAR, DARLINGTON. T HE subject of this sketch is of Huguenot de- scent, his ancestors coming to this country at an early day. He is the son of Nathan and Marga- ret (Harper) Lamar, and was born in Queen Ann county, Maryland, October 3, 1819. He lost both parents in infancy and lived with a farmer until six- teen years old. In 1835 he went to Louisville, Ken- tucky, and was a clerk there for four years. He o6S THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. started for Wisconsin late in the autumn of 1839, with a stock of goods, hut was frozen in at Warsaw, Illinois, on the Mississippi river, and early the next spring reached White Oak Springs, then in Iowa, now in l.a Fayette county, and opened the first store in the county. He traded several years there and at Cassville, Grant county, conducting other business at the same time. In 1842 he built the first furnace ever put up at Cassville, used for that place and the Beetown diggings. In 1844 he ran the steamer New Haven from St. Louis northward, making a few trips to the point where St. Paul now stands, there being no town then on the river north of Prai- rie du Chien. The next year he opened a store at Shullsburg, continuing the one at White Oak Springs, and operated in trade at these places until 1853, removing his family the year before to Gratiot’s Grove. He had a contract on the Illinois Central railroad with Mr. F. A. Strocky in 1853 and 1854, and in 1856 purchased the steamer Hamburgh, and ran her one season. In 1857 he started in the livery business at St. Paul, and two years later, with two other gentlemen, he had a contract on what was then called the Minneapolis and Cedar Valley rail- road. In i860 Mr. Lamar returned to Gratiot’s Grove and commenced farming and stock-dealing. He went south the following winter as far as Arkansas, and filled a large contract to build levee on the Mississippi river, and in 1871 purchased and en- larged the Russell House at Darlington ; removed hi* family hither, and is still proprietor of the house, making a popular landlord. Mr. Lamar has been engaged in other enterprises besides those enumerated. He solicited stock for the Galena and Chicago Union railroad; had stock in the first telegraph company which ran a line through this part of the State, and has aided in other important enterprises. He has witnessed the development of the upper Mississippi valley, and taken pride in the wonderful progress of the great Northwest. He voted for two State constitutions in Wisconsin and one in Minnesota. During Gov- ernor Dewey’s administration he was on the gover- nor’s staff. Mr. Lamar was postmaster at Gratiot’s Grove about five years, and has held a few municipal of- fices, but has never sought such responsibilities. He was originally a whig, and upon the dissolution of that party joined the democratic. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity. Mr. Lamar has a third wife. His first was Mary Berry, of Gratiot’s Grove ; they were married in 1842, and she died of consumption in 1850; of five children born to them only one is now living. The second wife was Elizabeth Scales, sister of Col- onel S. H. Scales, of White Oak Springs; they were married in 1851 and had two children ; she and both children, and two of the former children, died of cholera in 1854. His present wife is a daughter of Colonel Scales, their union taking place in 1855 ; (hey have had six sons, five of whom are now living. HAMILTON H. GRAY, DARLINGTON. H amilton hunter gray, son of John Gray, a manufacturer and physician, and Clarinda Montrose Thompson, was born at Madison, Madison county, New York, June 29, 1827. His maternal grandfather, Captain Ebenezer Thompson, served in the regular army for eighteen years. His maternal grandmother was a Putnam, a near relative of General Israel Putnam. In 1829 John Gray moved to the site of Factoryville, Oneida county, and started that village by building the first cotton factory in the Mohawk valley. Two years later he removed to Monroe, Michigan, and in 1836 to Boone county, Illinois, where he practiced medicine and built mills. Later he went to California, and with Governor Bigler laid out the town of Crescent City. Hamilton left home at thirteen years of age and went to New Diggings, Lafayette county, Wisconsin, in 1843, when only sixteen years old. Engaging in mining he took out eight hundred dollars’ worth of lead ore, all of which he converted into silver and deposited in a cotton handkerchief, and, to use his own words, “has never felt so rich since.” With this amount of money in his possession he started for Belvidere, Illinois, where he spent three months in a school conducted by Margaret Fuller. He then gave the same length of time to study at Beloit, Wisconsin. In 1846 Mr. Gray received an appointment to THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 669 West Point, but immediately abandoned the idea of having a military education, and commenced read- ing law with John M. Keep, of Beloit, a land dealer and an attorney. At the end of three months Mr. Keep became an invalid, and Mr. Gray took charge of his land operations and conducted them for three years. He then hired out one year to a land com- pany, organized at Beloit and operating in south- western Wisconsin and Iowa. In January, 1850, he purchased the site of Darlington, and in June of that year, with one-fourth interest in it, platted and laid out the village, having the complete manage- ment of the business, with headquarters at Mineral Point, then the seat of the United States land office. At the same time he was conducting two stores at Beloit, and doing a heavy milling business there, sending flour by teams to Racine and Southport (now Kenosha), and thence to England. He con- tinued to deal in lands, horses, cattle and other property, operating with the money of eastern cap- italists, and doing well for all parties. From the time Lafayette county was cut off the southern part of Iowa county Mr. Gray was engaged in locating the county seat for about ten years. At first it was at Shullsburg, but was afterward moved to Darling- ton, and here remains. During part of the time that the county-seat contest was in progress Mr. Gray was editing newspapers. For a short time he conducted two of opposite politics, but both de- voted to the interests of Darlington. He edited a newspaper as late as 1864. He has never aban- doned the land business, and is now dealing in Iowa and Nebraska lands, and is one of the most efficient operators in his part of the country. Mr. Gray was a county supervisor for several years; district attorney one term; member of the assembly in 1856 and 1858, and of the senate in 1869 and 1870; he was one of the regents of the State University two terms; and was the democratic candidate for lieutenant-governor in 1869. He has been a life-long democrat, outspoken and unwavering, and in 1872 attended the national con- vention which nominated Horace Greeley for the Presidency. The wife of Mr. Gray was a daughter of Rev. Stephen Peet, of Beloit; their marriage occurred May 1, 1849; they have had twelve children, eight of whom are now living. The two eldest daughters, Harriet M. and Martha Ann, are married. The former is the wife of William H. Armstrong, of Irv- ing, Kansas, and the latter, of G. S. Montgomery, of Lincoln, Nebraska. PHILO A. ORTON, DARLINGTON. T HE subject of this biography is a son of Philo A Orton, senior, a tanner and currier by occu- pation, and Nancy G. ne'e Gollins. He is a native of the Empire State, and was born at Hamilton, Madi- son county, March 24, 1837. The Orton family, ot which he is a member, were among the early settlers of New England, Thomas Orton, the pioneer, com- ing from England in 1640, and settling in Connecti- cut. He married Mary Pratt, of Windsor, Con- necticut, and they both died at Farmington in that State. The father of our subject in 1839 moved with his family to Eaton, only a few miles from Hamilton. In 1850 he removed to the West and settled at Be- loit, Wisconsin, and five years later removed to Dar- lington, where he died July 12, 1872. His widow is still living with her son in that place. Our subject spent a year in the preparatory department of Beloit College, giving especial attention to the study of mathematics and branches of the physical sciences, supplementing these studies with a year’s attendance at Madison University, New York, there fitting him- self for a civil engineer. This was during the years 1856 and 1857, a period ending in great financial depression, when railroad building came to a halt, and many of the older civil engineers were thrown out of employment. On this account, and also by reason of the fact that he had a partiality for the law, he in the spring of 1858 commenced legal stud- ies, and was admitted to the bar at Shullsburg, then the county seat of Lafayette county, in 1859. He has practiced in Darlington since that date, and has been quite successful, both professionally and finan- cially. His business became so extensive and bur- densome, and he was so overworked, that in 1874, in order to lessen his labors, he established a private bank in connection with George S. Anthony, under the firm name of P. A. Orton and Co., and since THE EXITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 6;o that date lie lias given comparatively little attention to liis profession. His high standing as an attorney may be inferred from the fact that in 1861 he was the candidate, on the democratic ticket, for attorney- general of the Stale. He was prosecuting attorney for Lafavette county in 1863 and 1864, and county judge from 1S70 to 1874. He was a candidate for circuit judge in 1S70, and for member of congress in 1870. but the judicial and congressional districts being strongly republican, lj^ was defeated. Mr. Orton has always been a democrat, and in 1864 attended the national convention which nomi- nated General McClellan for the Presidency. He is a Knight Templar in the Masonic order. A believer in the general doctrines of Christianity, he is a regular attendant of the Baptist church, of which his wife is a member. As a business man he is known for his uprightness and fair dealing, and everywhere maintains an irre- proachable character. On January 27, 1862, he was married to Miss Sarah M. Osborn, daughter of Sylvester W. Osborn, now postmaster at Darlington, and by her has two children. VALENTINE BLATZ, MIL JVA UK EE. \ TALENTINE BLATZ was born October 1, 1826, at Mittenberg-on-tbe-Main, Bavaria, the son of 'Casper and Barbara Blatz. His father, a brewer bv occupation, owned a brewery and was a man of considerable influence in Mittenberg. Val- entine attended the common schools of his native place until fourteen years of age, and at that time entered his father’s brewery with a view to learning the business. After working three years in order that he might acquire a more perfect knowledge of the business, he visited the large brewing establish- ments of Wurtzburg, Augsburg and Munich, and at these different places spent nearly four years. He also spent a short time in other cities. Upon at- taining his majority, in obedience to the mandate of the national law requiring every able-bodied young man to serve a certain length of time in the army, he returned home to report for military duty. His father, however, relieved him from this duty by pro- curing a substitute. Young Blatz being thus at liberty to seek his for- tune, a few months later bade good-bye to his native land, and sailing for America, landed in New York in August, 1848. Going thence to Buffalo, New York, lie was there employed at his trade one year. Having heard of the growing young city of Milwau- kee, and the inducements which it offered to enter- prising young men, he removed thither in 1849 and soon found employment at his trade. During the next two years he was, at different times, foreman of several breweries, but being unsat- isfied, resolved that as soon as he had accumulated sufficient capital he would engage in business on li is own account. Accordingly, in 1851, having by pru- dence and economy saved from his earnings five hundred dollars, he made a start. His brewery at that time was situated on lots one and two of block fifty-nine. It was a small estab- lishment employing only four hands, and during the first year yielded a product of five hundred barrels of beer. Mr. Blatz was the first to manufacture the celebrated Milwaukee beer. From the first his bus- iness prospered, and by his peculiar business tact steadily increased until it has attained to enormous proportions. In 1861 the sales amounted to eight thousand barrels; in 1871 to thirty-four thousand barrels, and in 1875 to sixty-five thousand barrels. He buys yearly about one hundred and seventy-five thousand bushels of barley; one hundred and fifty thousand pounds of hops, and pays a revenue of from sixty thousand to seventy thousand dollars, and taxes on his property of over seven thousand dollars. He has added to his establishment as his business has increased, and now his vaults and ice-cellars have a capacity of over twenty thousand barrels. Agencies are established in New York city, Chicago, Danville, Illinois, St. Paul, Muskegon, Michigan, and Racine, Wisconsin; while the amount of capital employed is six hundred thousand dollars, furnish- ing employment for one hundred and twenty-four men and fifty-two horses. Although Mr. Blatz has met with success in his enterprise, he has by no means been free from misfortune. The brick build- ing which he erected in 1858 he continued to en- large from year to year until 1873, when all his THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 673 buildings, except the brewery proper, were destroyed by fire. The large stock which he had in his vaults, however, prevented any interruption in the supply- ing of his agencies, and with characteristic energy he set about repairing his losses. Within sixty days he began rebuilding, employing from one hundred and fifty to two hundred men, and pushed the work forward until January, 1874, when the structure was completed. The building fronts on Broadway, oc- cupying block number fifty-nine between Division and Johnson streets. Besides he has two ice-houses on lots seven and eight, block F, and cooper-shops on lot one, block sixty, where he manufactures most of his barrels. About this time, also, he met with a heavy loss at Kenosha, by the burning of his malt-houses, which he had rented of Till and Bullen. In April, 1874, he met with another loss, caused bv the breaking of the iron pillars on which rested the floors where malt and barley to the amount of about sixty thou- sand bushels were stored, all of which was precipi- tated to the ground in a mixed mass. Notwith- standing all these various calamities, which would have broken down many men, Mr. Blatz has borne up with courage, making the best of his misfortunes, and to-day is as full of energy and enterprise as when he first began business. As a man, Mr. Blatz is public-spirited and gen- erous, and has attained to a wide popularity, and been honored with positions of honor and trust. He was elected president of the Second Ward Savings Bank in 1868, and since that time has continued to hold that position. In 1872 he was elected aider- man, and performed his duties with satisfaction to his constituents. Mr. Blatz has had a wide experience, having trav- eled both in Europe and in this country, and being a man of observation, has gathered a fund of practi- cal knowledge, which renders him a most agreeable social companion. He was married on the 4th of December, 1851, to Miss Louise Schmidt, a native ofGudengen, Prussia, whose father was mayor of that city. They have four sons and two daughters : the eldest daughter is the wife of John Kremer, of the Milwaukee Oleo- graph Company. The eldest son is first engineer of his father’s brewery; the second son is engaged in one of the largest breweries of Cincinnati; the third son is assistant bookkeeper in the Second Ward Savings Bank, Milwaukee; while the fourth son and younger daughter are attending school. Throughout his entire career Mr. Blatz has main- tained the strictest principles of integrity, and is universally known as a man of fair dealing. If to this fact we add another, namely, that he is a prac- tical brewer and thoroughly acquainted with all the various minutiae of his business, we have the great secret of his success. HON. WILLIAM P. LYNDE, M.C., MIL WA UK EE. W ILLIAM PITT LYNDE was born at Sher- burne, New York, December 16, 1817, and is the son of 'Felly and Elizabeth (Warner) I.ynde, both natives of Massachusetts. In the year 1800 his father removed to New York and settled at Sher- burne, where for many years he was a prosperous merchant and a leading member of the community. He was for thirteen years a member of the State legislature, serving seven years in the lower house and six in the senate. A man noted for wisdom and probity, he was held in honor and esteem by all who knew him. In 1842 he retired from business and settled in Brooklyn, New York, where, after a well- spent life, he died in 1857, leaving his family amply provided for, and bequeathed to them an unsullied name and an irreproachable record. The mother of our subject was a most amiable and exemplary Christian woman, devoted to domes- tic life and habits of industry and virtue, and her influence for good over her children was (fontrol- ling. She was for many years a zealous member of Plymouth Congregational Church, Brooklyn, in the communion of which she died in 1870 at quite an advanced age. They had a family of four sons, of whom William Pitt was the second. Two of them, namely, Charles James, the eldest, and Watts Sher- man, the third, perished on the ill-fated steamer Erie, off the town of Silver Creek on lake Erie, on the 9th of August, 1841. They were returning to Milwaukee, where a year previously they had estab- lished themselves in the profession of the law, to which they had been bred. Charles James had been THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONART. 674 married for some two years, and his wife was on board with him, but miraculously escaped, being the onlv female passenger saved out of three hundred. She still lives, being now the widow of the late Mr. Weeks, of Syracuse, New York. Martins, the fourth son, is a resident of Brooklyn, New York. The l.vnde family is of English origin, the founder of the line in America having, about 1675, settled in Massachusetts, where a large colony of the descend- ants still reside, though many have settled in the middle and western States, where they are found occupying conspicuous stations both in society and in the various learned professions. Judge Benjamin Lvnde, for many years judge of the court of queen’s bench of Massachusetts, in colonial times, was of the same lineage as Cornelius Lynde, who was judge of the supreme court of Vermont in later times, and both were eminent for learning and probity. William Pitt Lynde, who was named after the great English statesman, of whom his father was an enthusiastic admirer, received his academic educa- tion partly at Hamilton Academy, Hamilton, New York, and partly at Homer, Cortland county, New York. He entered the freshman class of Hamilton College in the year 1834, and remained some two terms in the institution. He subsequently entered the sophomore class of Yale College, from which, after passing through the full course of study, he’ graduated with the highest honors in 1838, having been elected by his class to deliver the valedictory. His knowledge of the ancient languages generally was above the average, while he was especially pro- ficient as a Creek scholar. After leaving college he entered the law department of the New York Uni- versity, then presided over by the distinguished Benjamin F. Butler, attorney-general under President Yan Buren — Judges David Graham and Kent being of the faculty. Here he remained about one year, when lie entered the Harvard Law School, then under the direction of Judges Story and Greenleaf. He graduated in the spring of 1841, and was ad- mitted to the bar of New York at the May term of the same year in company with Judge Field, Chief- justice Nelson presiding. During the autumn of 1841 he removed to Mil- waukee, Wisconsin, which has since been his home, and early in the following year formed a law part- nership with Mr. Asahel Finch, which continues to this day. In 1857 Mr. B. K. Miller, son of Judge A. G. Miller, of the United .States district court, and Mr. H. M. Finch, nephew of the senior partner, became members of the firm, which has since been known as Finchs, Lynde and Miller. Since first settling in Milwaukee, the career of Mr. Lynde has been steadily onward and upward. For many years he has been president of the Bar Association of Milwaukee, and at the present time (1877) occupies a position at the bar and in the confidence and regard of his fellow-citizens second to that of no man in the community. In 1844 he was appointed attorney-general of Wis- consin, which position he resigned in 1845 t0 accept the office of United States district attorney for the district of Wisconsin. From the last-named position, on the admission of Wisconsin to the Union, he was elected to represent the first district of the new State in the thirtieth congress, and served from December 6, 1847, to March 3, 1849. In i860 he was elected chief magistrate of his adopted city, which office he held for two years. In 1866 he was elected to represent his district in the legislative assembly of Wisconsin, serving for one term, and in 1868-9 rep- resented the fourth senatorial district in the State senate. In 1874 he was elected to represent the fourth district of Wisconsin in the Forty-fourth Con- gress of the United States, and was a leading mem- ber of the judiciary committee of the house. He was also elected by the house of representatives as one of the seven managers of the Belknap impeach- ment trial before the senate. He was again elected to congress in 1876, by a majority of five thousand six hundred. In politics he has always been a moderate demo- crat, having inherited his political views from his ancestors; but he was instinctively opposed to slav- ery, and fully acquiesced in the abolition of that institution, and in the constitutional amendments enfranchising the negro. Since early manhood he has been an exemplary member of the Presbyterian church, and for twenty years past has been an elder in the Immanuel con- gregation of that denomination of Christians in Milwaukee. In 1867 he made a six months’ tour in Europe, visiting most of the continental cities, as well as those of Great Britain. Mr. Lynde is a man of blameless life and spotless reputation — emphatically “ an honest man.” Asa private gentleman and member of society he is genial, courteous and complaisant, possessing fine conversational powers, always entertaining and often spicy; and while his opinions upon all subjects are THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 675 fixed and firmly held, yet he never intrudes them upon others; and although one of the most finished scholars and linguists of the day, he is proverbially modest and unassuming, always adapting his con- versation to the intellectual status of his auditors; nor has he ever had a misunderstanding with any one during his whole life. He is a man of great generosity in his gifts to religious and benevolent objects, whether public or private, and especially generous in his contributions toward the support of the institutions of the church with which he is in communion. In private life he is a pattern of virtue and morality. As a lawyer he is thoroughly read, perhaps more so than any other practitioner in the Northwest. He is, however, more of a court pleader than an advocate before a jury, that is, more at home in arguing a point of law before a judge than in carrying a case to a jury on a question of facts. His specialty in the profession is admiralty and patent law, and he is, perhaps, more familiar with current decisions on questions of commercial and admiralty law than any other member of the bar west of the Alleghany mountains. His success in this depart- ment of the practice eminently attests his ability. His education is thorough, embracing ancient and modern languages and all the learning of the schools; his judgment is piercing, and able to trace the most intricate difficulties of science; his taste refined and quick to relish all the beauties of sentiment and composition. He is a diligent student and a regular reader of French and German journals and periodi- cals. As a public speaker he is fluent, eloquent, logical and forcible, his manner being solemn and dignified — especially in court — never in his public addresses indulging in wit or drollery. On the 24th of May, 1841, a few days after his admission to the bar, lie married Miss Mary E., daughter of Dr. Azarial Blanchard, of Truxton, Cortland county, New York, a gifted and highly accomplished lady and a graduate of the Albany Female Academy, where she took the first prize in composition, her essay being read before the faculty by the late Hon. Wm. H. Seward. She is a woman of active mind and eminently social qualities, fore- most in every enterprise, whether public or private, for the benefit of the community. She was appointed by Governor Fairchild a member of the first board of directors of the State charities of Wisconsin, and held the office for four years. She was one of the founders of the orphan asylum of Milwaukee, and has been a member of its board of directors since its organization. She was also the prime mover in founding the industrial school for girls of the city, and is president of its board of directors. She has also been for many years a member of the Social Science Association of the United States, to the pub- lications of which she is a frequent and valued con- tributor. She is likewise a conspicuous member of Immanuel congregation of the Presbyterian church, Milwaukee, where her wise counsels and pious example exercise a controlling influence. They have had seven children, one of whom died in infancy, and six survive, namely, Mary Elizabeth, Clara Blanchard, Eliza Warner, Telly, William Pitt and Azarial Blanchard. Mary E. was married in i860 to Mr. John Harper, son of Joseph Harper of Harper Brothers, New York. He died in 1867, and in 1870 she married Mr. Colgate Baker, a retired merchant residing in San Francisco, California. Clara B. is the wife of Henry C. Bradley, Esq., also a retired merchant in San— Francisco. Eliza W. is the wife of John Crocker, Esq., an officer of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad Com- pany. Telly is a merchant in Milwaukee. The two younger sons are graduates of the scientific depart- ment of Yale College, and are preparing for the bar. HON. NOAH H. VIRGIN, PL A TTE VILLE. r I ''HE great-grandfather of Noah Hyatt Virgin X came from Wales and settled in Maryland, and one of his sons, the grandfather of Noah, moved to Virginia, and was prominent in driving the In- dians out of western Pennsylvania and West \ ir- ginia. The parents of Noah, Eli and Nacka Hyatt Virgin were living in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, when he was born, December 6, 1812. He lost his father when the son was only six years old. A few years later his mother married Colonel Henry Heaton, of Fayette county, and Noah worked in his step-father’s flouring mill and woolen mill, receiv- ing meanwhile such education as a winter school afforded. Subsequently he lived with his brother- 6j6 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. in-law, Isaac Hill, of Green county, learning the millwright trade. He worked at that business in the East until 1835, when he found his way to Platteville, there con- tinuing that occupation four or five years. He built the Platteville flouring mill, completing it in 1840 (the first mill of the kind in the place), having in partner- ship with him John H. Rountree and Neely Gray. 1'hese gentlemen he afterward bought out, and he lias run the mill alone to this time. In company with another man, in 1856, he built the Genesee mill, two miles from Platteville, on the Lancaster road, disposing of it four or five years later. In 1874 Mr. Virgin added grain dealing to his business, with his eldest son, Colonel Horatio Hyatt Virgin, as a partner. He was commissioner of Grant county at an early day; has repeatedly held the highest official posi- tions in the village of Platteville; was a member of the last Territorial legislature, held in 1847; was a member of the State assembly in the following year, and again in 1855, and served two consecutive terms in the senate, ending in 1861. During the last term he was chairman of the committee on claims, and held an influential position in the upper house. Mr. Virgin began political life as a whig; was a republican from 1854 until the second election of Mr. Lincoln in 1864, and has since acted with the democrats. In 1866 he was nominated by the dem- ocrats and reformers for congress, in a strong repub- lican district, and ran ahead of his ticket. On the 15th of January, 1839, Mrs. Pamelia E. Adams, daughter of Rev. Bartholomew Weed, of Platteville, became his wife, and she has borne him eight children, only four of whom are living. Besides the son already mentioned there are two daughters, both married, and a son, Eugene W., unmarried. Emma is the wife of George H. Laugh- ton, and Mary, of William R. Laughton, a brother of George, both living in Platteville. Colonel Horatio H. Virgin, his eldest child and partner in business, was born in Platteville, August 18, 1840; was educated in the Platteville Academy and a commercial college at Madison, Wisconsin, where he graduated in December, 1859. He was married January 1, 1874, to Miss Annie E. Kane, of Dodgeville, Wisconsin, she being a rel- ative of ex-Governor Henry Dodge. They have two children. Colonel Virgin has a brilliant mili- tary record. In October, 1 86 1 , Governor Randall appointed him on his staff as aid-de-camp and col- onel ; in December, 1861, he became battalion adju- tant of the 2d Wisconsin Cavalry, Colonel C. C. Washburn, commander; August 31, 1862, he was appointed major of the 33d Infantry ; was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in January, 1865, and returned to Wisconsin at the close of the war in command of the regiment, being breveted colonel just before the regiment was mustered out. He was in forty-two engagements, including skirmishes; had three horses wounded twice each; had his own hair singed, his hat-rim hit, and two or three balls strike his saddle, but received not even a flesh-wound. While major he took command of the regiment in the Meridian expedition, and held the command until mustered out. On the Red River expedition, at the battle of Yellow Bayou, he had command of a brigade. At that time his regiment was in a detachment from the army of the Tennessee, under General A. J. Smith, and they had become so rugged as to be called “Smith’s Guerillas.” At the battle of Cold- water, Mississippi, April 19, 1863, Colonel Virgin was reported among the killed, and his obituary appeared in more than one Wisconsin newspaper, but he is as “live ” a man as Platteville can exhibit, the pet of his father, and, because of his dash and bravery, the pride of the State. GEORGE H. READ, OSHKOSH. E EORGE HOVE READ, a son of William and V T Mary (Hoye) Read, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 13, 1819. Both his paternal and maternal ancestors were from the north of Ire- land. William Read, a bookbinder by trade, moved with his family to New York city in 1824. There George attended a graded school until about seven- teen, when he commenced to learn his father’s trade. He worked at it in New York until about 1835. During that year the family visited Ohio, and in 1837 settled at Buffalo, New York. There George was engaged in bookbinding and in publishing THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 6 77 books and periodicals until June, 1853, when he settled in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Purchasing the Oshkosh “ Courier,” a weekly democratic paper, he published it for ten years, acting in the capacity of political editor. In February, 1854, when the city had only about four thousand inhabitants, a daily edition was started, and kept up for about six years, showing in its columns very commendable industry and editorial ability. It was the first daily started in Oshkosh, and was a bold venture. Though having only a common-school education, Mr. Read has, from early life, been a great reader. He has kept well posted on current events, a fact which has prompted his success as a journalist. Soon after settling in Oshkosh he began to deal in real estate, and in 1863, when he sold out the “Courier,” he engaged in land operations more ex- tensively, and has been quite successful in that line. He has also, for several years, been engaged in in- surance in connection with his other business. Mr. Read is a member of the democratic State central committee, and quite active and prominent in his party. He is not himself an office seeker, and will work untiringly to elect his friends to office. He did consent to run for alderman some years ago, and when once in the council he was kept there eight years. . Mr. Read is a Royal Arch Mason. He is a mem- ber of no church, but is partial to the Episcopal form of worship. His wife was Caroline M. Steward,' of Buffalo, New York. They were married April 20, 1842, and have no children. Mrs. Read has a taste for land- scape painting, and still gratifies that taste to some extent. She has fine literary taste, and makes good use of their fine library of rare and select books. HON. FREDERICK ROBINSON, KENOSHA. F REDERICK ROBINSON was born in Church- Stretton, Shropshire, England, March 11, 1824, and is the ninth and youngest child of John and Elizabeth (Taylor) Robinson, both natives of the same place. His father was a merchant and a man of much force of character, and a leader and reform- er in his day. He advocated the closing of saloons early in the evening, and the keeping of them closed during church service on Sunday. He was also a loyal member of the Church of England and quite influential in his parish. He died at an early age, when our subject was but eighteen months old. His widow, who was a vigorous and gifted woman, assumed the management of the business and house- hold after the death of her husband, and devoted all her energies to the education and moral training of her children. She died in 1857, at the age of seventy-five. Frederick was educated at a private school in all the English branches, mathematics and the Latin language. But in early life he suffered from feeble health, which retarded his progress in learning. He was a steady and conscientious boy, rather retiring in disposition, and selected his companions from youth of similar character. He was always fond of amusements that contributed to the development ot his mental and physical powers, and was willing to pay his full share of the incidental expenses; but he was always noted for prudence in his financial affairs, and never purchased anything until he knew exactly whence the money was to come with which to pay for it, a principle by which he has been governed through life, and which has kept him out of debt and out of trouble. At the age of sixteen he was apprenticed to learn the drug business, to which, for five years, he de- voted his entire time and energies, studying inces- santly to master his business. He early trained himself to punctuality and regularity in ^ is appoint- ments, never broke his word, and was remarkably tenacious of his plans and purposes, never giving up a project while there was the slightest hope of success. After the expiration of his apprenticeship he im- migrated to the United States, landing in New York city in the spring of 1845, where he obtained a clerk- ship in a drug store at eight dollars per month, and afterward in the wholesale drug house of M. Ward, Close and Co., at twenty-four dollars per month. After remaining a short time in that city he resolved to go west, and intimated his purpose to his employ- ers, who were so favorably impressed with his char- acter that they gave him a six-weeks leave of ab- sence, continuing his wages, should he return to THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. their employment, and in the event of his deciding to remain in the West, offered to set him up in busi- ness. Accordingly in the spring of 1S46 he removed to Chicago, .and. after remaining there a short time went to Kenosha, where he passed the winter, and in the spring of the following year started on foot to find a location where he'could commence business. He walked through the lake-shore towns to She- hoygan. thence to Fond du Lac, returning via Water- town, but saw no point he liked as well as Kenosha, and accordingly resolved to make that place his future home. Here he commenced business in the autumn of 1847, and has since continued with good success, his old friends and former employers, Ward, Close and Co., proving quite as good as their prom- ise. It is needless to add that his honest and manly efforts, coupled with his high moral principles, have been rewarded with success, and that Frederick Robinson is now one of the most substantial and influential men of his city. In 1867 he purchased a third interest in the AVhit- aker Engine and Skein Company, of Kenosha. He is also the owner of a farm of one hundred and sixty acres of choice land adjoining the city, which is under a high state of cultivation, and to which he gives considerable personal attention. He has always been a man of public spirit, taking a lively interest in whatever seemed to be for the benefit of the city or community. He served as alderman of the city of Kenosha in 1852, 1858 and 1868; he was chief engineer of the fire department in 1850, i860 and 1872; chairman of the county board in 1868; mayor of the city in 1862-3 and 1869; member of the State legislature in 1872 and 1876; and president of the County Agricultural Society in 1877. He became a member of the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows in 1848, and has held the offices of secretary, treasurer, vice-noble grand, and high priest, in the order. He joined the Masonic order in 1852. and has held several offices in that fraternity. In political opinions he is democratic, though not a partisan. Before immigrating to America he in- formed himself of the resources, political freedom and great prospects of this country, and always held the opinion that men and not property should vote. During the rebellion he was known as a “war dem- ocrat.” Mr. Robinson is a man of active temperament, a good and successful business man, and has filled with ability, zeal and credit the various political offices to which the suffrages of his fellow-citizens elected him, and was one of the most popular chief magistrates the city has had, while as a legislator he gave his support to measures calculated to benefit the city and State of his adoption. As a farmer and gardener he displays exquisite taste and judgment, and his country home is one of the most ornate and elegantly appointed in the county. On the 3d of October, 1852, he was married to Miss Ann Bertholf, a native of Illinois, whose par- ents removed there from New York in 1831. They have had a family of fourteen children, seven of whom are living, namely, Alma Elizabeth, Richard Taylor, Ida Ann, Emma Eliza, Maria Louisa, Fred- erick, junior, and Harry Bertholf. AARON EVERHARD, RIPON. A \RON EVERHARD is a native of Doylestown, Wayne county, Ohio. He was born on the 10th of March, 1824, and is the son of John Jacob and Mary Everhard. His father was a farmer by occupation, and taught school during the winter months. He was a deacon in the Lutheran church, and reared his family accord- ing to the strictest principles of morality. A man of very decided character, he was a firm advocate of temperance, and so adhered to his principles that, on one occasion, when he wanted a barn raised, he was obliged to hire hands to do it, his neighbors refusing to assist him because he would not furnish liquor. Aaron received his education at Wadsworth Academy, Wadsworth, Medina county, Ohio, and after closing his studies there, by the advice of his father, he went to study medicine with Dr. Arm- strong, of Dayton, Ohio. He remained there four years, and during that time attended two courses of lectures at the Western Reserve College, at Cleve- land. After practicing his profession for one year in Medina county, he, in 1849, removed to the West THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 679 and settled at a place on the Fox river now known as Hamilton, it being the only point at which the Fox river was then bridged. The land in this locality, however, proved so poor that the settlers were obliged to leave, and Dr. Everhard with the rest. Removing to Ripon in the summer of 1856, which then comprised about five hundred inhabitants, he at once established himself as a physician and surgeon, and soon built up a flourishing and lucrative practice. Since settling in Ripon he has been constantly employed in his profession, and for more than seven years has been city physician, being paid by the city. Dr. Everhard was formerly a member of the Cleve- land Medical Society; later he belonged to the Medical Society of Northern Wisconsin, and at the present time (1877) is a member of the Fond du Lac Medical Society. In 1871 he was elected mayor of the city, and since that time has been twice re- elected, being the only man who was ever elected mayor of Ripon on the democratic ticket. In pol- itics he was formerly a democrat ; later he was a “ free-soiler,” and upon the organization of the republican party joined that body and continued to support its principles until the close of the civil war, when he again became a democrat. He is now a reformer. Dr. Everhard united with the Lutheran church when he was sixteen years old, and continued a member of that body until he settled in Wisconsin. Since then he has not been identified with any religious denomination, but is still a Lutheran in sentiment. He was married in 1851, to Miss Ann Vennette Marsh. Personally and socially he is a man of sterling qualities, and from his extensive travels through the different parts of the United States has gained a knowledge of men and things that render him a most admirable social companion. D. EDGAR FRENCH, MI L WA UKEE. D EDGAR FRENCH, a native of Barre, Ver- * mont, was born on the 23d of December, 1833, and is the son of David French and Delia nde French. (His parents, though of the same name, were not related.) They had a family of five sons and six daughters. Of the daughters, two died in early life, and one became the wife of E. E. French, Esq., a prominent lawyer of Barre, Vermont ; an- other married Nathaniel Chamberlain, Esq., and a third married A. M. Jackmon, Esq., at present sheriff of Washington county, Vermont, all residents of their native town; while the fourth remains single. Of the sons, one died in youth ; Orvis resides at Evanston, Illinois; Clinton lives at Cleveland, Ohio; and Gilbert L is a resident of New York city. The father of this large family, for many years a prosper- ous merchant in Barre, Vermont, was a well-known and influential man in his community. He died on the 20th of August, 1862, at Saratoga Springs, New York, where he had been accustomed to spend his summers for twenty years previously. Our subject received his primary education in the common schools of his native place. He afterward spent one year at an academy in Montpelier, and still later studied one year at Keene, New York. 73 At the age of fifteen he accepted a clerkship in the store of his brother Clinton, at Plainfield, Ver- mont, but soon afterward transferred his services to the establishment of Messrs. Lyman and King, of Montpelier, Vermont. Here he remained for two years, being a fellow-clerk with Mr. Edson Keith, now of Chicago. Meantime his brother Clinton had established himself in business at Cleveland, Ohio, and at the close of this period he removed thither, and for a year and a half was employed in his brother’s business. Wishing, however, for a larger field of operations, and a more varied experience, he removed to New York city, and was employed in the house of Claflin, Mellen and Co. (now H. B. Claflin and Co.), where he remained until January 1, 1856, when he removed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Here, in company with his brother, Orvis, he estab- lished a business, which was conducted under the firm name of French Brothers and Co. until the year 1861, when he purchased the interest of his partners. Since that time he has continued the trade successfully in his own name; and although still in the full vigor of life, he has accumulated an ample fortune, and contemplates retiring from business at an early day, and spending the remainder of his life 6 So TIIE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. in foreign travel and in the management of his property. In manners lie is off-hand, apparently impulsive; frank, genial and open-hearted. In business he is self-reliant, cool, calculating and prudent. In his relations to the public lie is dignified, manly and independent. He thinks and acts for himself, and rarely makes a mistake. In private life he is kind, generous and obliging; a fast and true friend ; an upright, honorable and worthy gentleman. He was married in October, 1859, to Miss Eliza- beth Pixley, daughter of Maurice and Elizabeth Pixley, and niece of John W. Pixley, elsewhere sketched in this volume. She was bom in Milwau- kee, where the first four years of her life were spent, after which, with her parents, she removed to Hills- dale, Columbia county, New York, their former home, where she remained till the age of eighteen years. She was educated at the Troy Ladies’ Semi- nary, then under the charge of Mrs. Willard, and recognized as the first educational establishment of its kind in the State. She graduated from this insti- tution with the highest honors, and is a lady of superior culture, being especially accomplished as a musician, but like her father — most of whose traits of character she perpetuates — she is extremely modest and unassuming, fond of home and domes- tic pursuits, amiable, gentle, kind-hearted and be- nevolent. She is one of the best and purest of her sex; esteemed and respected by all who know her. They have three children, namely, Maurice Pixley, Alice Virginia and Edgar. HON. JOHN C. HOLLOWAY, LANCASTER. T OHN CHANDLER HOLLOWAY, a son of John J and Lucy Burt Holloway, is a native of Living- ston county, New York, he being born in the town of York, July 7, 1826. The Holloways were early set- tlers in Deerfield, Massachusetts, and the grand- father of John C. was a blacksmith, connected with a cavalry company during the seven years’ fight for freedom from British rule and taxation.- The fam- ily immigrated to western New York at the close of the second war with the mother country, there en- gaging in farming, this being the constant employ- ment of young Holloway until of age, with the exception of a few terms of academical instruction at Geneseo and Lima. At twenty-one he came as far west as Flint, Michigan, where he was engaged in building fanning-mills for two seasons, and re- moved thence, after a short sojourn at his home in western New York, to Marion, Ohio, where he farmed and dealt in stock for four years. In the autumn of 1855 Mr. Holloway settled in Lancaster, Wisconsin, purchasing a farm adjoining the village and working it until 1S70, engaging meantime in other pursuits. Before the rebellion he was a heavy and prosperous stock-dealer; from i860 to 1872 was in the mercantile trade, having excellent success, and running a bank during part of this period with George W. Ryland. He has, also, operated a woolen mill from 1872 until the present year (1877). He owns a farm of sixteen hundred acres in Buchanan county, Iowa, of which he has the oversight. He is full of enterprise, and although he has had many different irons in the fire at the same time, he has managed them with care and success. Mr. Holloway was a member of the lower house of the State legislature in 1871, and of the senate four consecutive years, commencing in 1872. While in the latter body he was chairman of the commit- tee on printing the first year, of the committee on finance the second, president pro tern, the third, and chairman of the committee on claims the fourth, holding a high position among his co-workers in that honorable body. Mr. Holloway was a whig until the demise of that party, since which time he has acted heartily with the republicans, and is one of their leading men in Grant county. March 3, 1853, Miss Mary E. Baldwin, daughter of Rev. Johnson Baldwin, of York, New York, be- came his wife, the fruit of their union being six children, only two of whom are now living. Theo- dore, a promising son, was drowned, June 7, 1876, at Beloit, while a student in the college; John, the elder of the two living children, has been about half through Beloit College, and should his health, which is delicate, permit, he intends to graduate. Addie is at home; she has spent two or three years at the State University, Madison. THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 68 I Mr. Holloway has a delightful home in the north- ern part of the village of Platteville, his elegant house standing in a three-acre lot, embellished by nature and art, and he is living a partially retired and very comfortable life, the health and education of his two children seemingly being his chief concern. His wife, an accomplished woman, is in full sympa- thy with him in all his tastes and family interests. HON. J. ALLEN BARBER, LANCASTER. T GEL ALLEN BARBER, son of Joel and Aseneth J Melvin Barber, is a native of Vermont, and was born at Georgia, Franklin county, January 17, 1809. His father was from England, and settled at Canton, Connecticut. His mother was of Welsh descent, and her father was a captain in the revolutionary army, serving to the end of the war. Receiving his pay in continental money, his first breakfast after being discharged cost him seventy-five dollars in that currency. Young Barber farmed till his eigh- teenth year, when he entered the Georgia Acad- emy, and fitted for college; entered the University of Vermont in- the summer of 1829; left at the end of two and a half years; read law with Hon. George P. Marsh, of Burlington; was admitted to the bar in Prince George’s county, Maryland, in 1834. after teaching school there two years. He returned to Vermont and practiced at Fairfield until 1837, set- tling, in September of that year, at Lancaster, Wis- consin. Here he has been in the practice for forty years, at times mingling land operations with legal business, but not enough to interfere with his pro- fession. His legal knowledge is sound and exten- sive; he has a high standing as a criminal lawyer, and in all respects has long been an honor to the profession. , During the forty years that Mr. Barber has been a resident of Grant county, he has held some official position two-thirds of the time. He was on the county board of supervisors several years, and its chairman five; was county clerk four years; district attorney three terms; three times a member of the lower house of the legislature ; one term in the State senate, and a member of the forty-second and forty- third congresses. In the house of representatives he was on the committees on war claims and revision of the statutes. He seldom spoke, but was an inde- fatigable worker. Originally Mr. Barber was a whig of “ free-soil ” tendencies, and naturally identified himself with the republican party, to which he has steadfastly ad- hered. In 1842 Miss Helen Van Vleck, of Jamestown, Grant county, became his wife, she dying in child- bed the next year, the child also dying. In 1847 he married Miss Elizabeth Banfill, of Lancaster. They have had seven children, only four of whom are now living. Joel A. is in the United States navy; Marsh is a student in Beloit College; Mattie is the wife of Rev. Edward D. Eaton, of Newton, Iowa; and Carrie is unmarried and resides with her parents. Mr. Barber has abilities fitting him for any office in the gift of the people of Wisconsin ; is a man of solid character as well as intellectual qualities, and is one of those statesmen whose record is an honor to a State. LESTER SEXTON, MIL 1 1 '.I UK EIi. I N publishing a history of the prominent influen- tial and self-made men of Wisconsin, we should be remiss in our duty should we omit an honorable mention of him whose name heads this sketch. A native of Somers, Tolland county, Connecticut, he was born, on the 28th of April, 1807, one of a large family of children, and the son of Stephen Sexton, a farmer by occupation. His early life, while it had many things in common with the lives of other youth, was marked by earnestness and decision of character, and he early became accustomed to those habits of industry whose fruits were shown in all his subsequent life. He passed his youth upon his father’s farm, receiving a common-school education, 682 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. and upon attaining his majority went to Hartford, about twenty-three miles from his native place, and entered into the mercantile trade. In [837 he left his native State, and going to Hew Orleans engaged in a general dry-goods business. Ten years later he removed to Wisconsin and settled at Milwaukee, which place he made his home during the remainder of his life; though he at one time seriously entertained the idea of removing to Chicago, but was dissuaded from his purpose by his friends, and especially the business men of Milwau- kee, who felt that his moving away would be a seri- ous loss to the business interests of the city. He was a man possessed of great energy and remarkable business capacity, and by his own untiring efforts and business tact built up an extensive and influen- tial trade. At the time of his decease he was at the head of a firm which stood second to but few in the Northwest. Through his business Mr. Sexton was brought into close relations with many farmers and merchants, and in all his manifold transactions his dealings were char- acterized by strict integrity, justice and generosity. Aside from his regular business, he was called to lill various offices of honor and trust. For some time prior to his death he had been president of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company and vice-president of the Milwaukee National Bank, both of which corporations are largely indebted to his wise management for the prosperity which has attended them. He was also a prominent member of the gas company. Mr. Sexton was a man who never aspired to polit- ical honors, and took no active part in politics more than to perform his duties as a citizen. He rejoiced in the prosperity of his city, and in all enterprises pertaining to its growth and interests manifested a most worthy public-spiritedness. In his religious communion Mr. Sexton was iden- tified with the St'.' Paul’s Episcopal Church of Mil- waukee, and was a liberal contributor to religious and benevolent enterprises. He was married in 1836 to Miss Emma A. New- ton, a daughter of Abner Newton, of Hartford, Con- necticut, who was of English parentage. Of five children who were born to them, four lived to ma- turity, namely, James L., William F., Emma A. and Lucy W. The last named was married to Charles E. Stone, who is now carrying on the business of the old firm, of which Mr. Sexton was a member. WINCH EL D. BACON WA U NESIIA. INCHEL DAILEY BACON was born at Stillwater, Saratoga county, New York, on the banks of the beautiful Hudson river, in the fam- ily residence which was built at so early a day that the nails, including those used for shingling, were wrought iron, made by hand. The house was lined with imported brick. His grandfather, Samuel Ba- con, senior, was one of three brothers who immi- grated from England and settled in Connecticut, and afterward removed to Stillwater, New York, before the revolution, taking up a tract of land which became noted as a part of the battle-ground of General Gates with General Burgoyne in Octo- ber, 1777, where the latter general suffered a signal defeat, losing his favorite officer, General Frazier, a calamity which so dispirited the British army that in a few days it surrendered. His father, Samuel Bacon, junior, inherited a portion of the homestead, including the family residence, and followed the occupation of farm- ing. His mother’s maiden name was Lydia Bar- ber Dailey. He was bom in the same house where his father was, and worked on the farm until nineteen years of age; then went to Troy, New York, twenty-two miles from home, and, ob- taining a situation, served as clerk in a store for two years. In 1837, his father having sold the old homestead and having purchased another farm in Butternuts, Otsego county, Winchel accompanied the family thither and resumed farm labor. On the 4th of July of the next year he was married to Miss Delia Blackwell, of the town of Butternuts, and con- tinued on the farm for four years, teaching a school each winter; and on the 2d of September, 1841, collected his small accumulations, and with his wife started for the West, traveling from Utica to Buffalo by canal, thence by steamer to Milwaukee, and thence by team to Prairieville, now Waukesha. Being captivated with the country he immediately bought a farm, paying three hundred dollars down, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 685 all the money he had, and receiving credit for the balance, and was settled and sowed a field of wheat in September, within thirty days after leaving his eastern home. He taught school during the follow- ing winter, and before' spring sold his farm, which was six miles southwest of Prairieville, and bought another only half as far from town. In the summer of 1842 he worked that farm and taught school in the village, walking to and from his farm daily. His crop of wheat harvested in 1843 yielded from forty to fifty bushels per acre, the crop of that year being the largest, per acre, ever grown in the State, except that of i860, which fully equaled that of 1843, although the earlier crop was winter wheat and the latter spring. In the autumn of 1843 Mr. Bacon moved into the village and united with his brother-in-law, Mr. Charles Blackwell, in conducting the business of wagon-making. They obtained their first spokes and seasoned oak timber from rails of fences where they could be found sufficiently seasoned for that purpose. Mr. Bacon continued to teach school until the spring of 1844, when, at the request of Mr. Edmund Clinton, he formed a partnership with that gentleman in the blacksmithing business, con- | tinning wagon-making also until the autumn of that year. At that date Mr. Clinton purchased an inter- est in the local grist-mill, and Mr. Bacon, not being willing to hazard the risk, dissolved the partnership with Mr. Clinton, and bought a lot at the corner of West Division and Main streets, where the Exchange hotel now stands. On that lot he built a shop, and with Mr. Blackwell still continued the business ot wagon-making and blacksmithing. On this lot was a two-story building, the lower floor of which was used for a store, while the second story, being fitted up by Mr. Bacon, was used for a printing-office, and there Hon. C. C. Slides printed the “American Freeman,” the first liberty-party paper published in the Northwest. In 1846 Mr. Bacon built a stone blacksmith and wagon shop, three stories high, with a cornice, which caused considerable talk, there being not more than two or three buildings of any kind in the place having a cornice. Continuing in this business about six years, he then traded his shops for a steam saw-mill at Brookfield, on the Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien railroad, seven miles east of Waukesha, the road then being in the process of construction. In 1863 Mr. Bacon was appointed by President Lincoln paymaster in the army, and directed by General Andrews, chief paymaster-general, to re- port to Major Brown, stationed at St. Louis. Major Brown detailed Major Bacon to serve at St. Louis, but in due time he resigned, his private business compelling him to return to Wisconsin. In 1865 Mr. Bacon, with other citizens, organized the Farmers’ National Bank of Waukesha, and con- ducted it about four years, when, desiring to retire as much as possible from active business, he closed up the bank. During all these years he had continued his farm- ing operations, and still conducts them, styling him- self a farmer. He was hardly out of one depart- ment of business before another sought him. For several years he was general agent of the North- western National Fire and Marine Insurance Com- pany, of Milwaukee, and held that position until June, 1875. Politically Mr. Bacon was of whig antecedents. He voted for General Harrison in 1840. He after- ward became a liberty-party man, and was active in his sphere for the success of emancipation. He was a member of the assembly in 1853, the session noted for the attempt to impeach Judge Hubbell. He was appointed one of the commissioners to locate a State reform school, which, through his influence, was lo- cated at Waukesha, he being made acting commis- sioner and superintending the erection of the first building. He was appointed several times one of the trustees of the Hospital for the .Insane, and on finally resigning was appointed a trustee of the Asy- lum for the Deaf and Dumb. He was several times president of the Waukesha County Agricultural So- ciety, and has filled several town and village offices, always receiving without seeking office. In religious sentiment Mr. Bacon is a Baptist. He is a member of the board of trustees of the Uni- versity of Chicago, and also a trustee of Carroll Col- lege, located at Waukesha. He is a member of the Temple of Honor, the most popular and prosperous temperance organization of the day, and also of the Masonic fraternity, having taken the degree of Knight Templar. In the days of slavery he was wide awake in aid- ing the fugitive slave, and knew all the blind ways of the underground railroad. No slave, having made his way to Wisconsin, was ever taken back south by the operation of the fugitive slave law or any other. Glover was captured near Racine by United States marshals and other slave hunters, and thrust into the Milwaukee jail, when fifteen thousand sons oS6 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. of freedom surrounded the jail, burst in its doors, and carried Glover away by daylight beyond the reach or knowledge of any of the cringing sycophants of the slave power of that day. Glover stayed, the first night after his rescue, at the house of Mr. Bacon, twentv miles from the jail. So successful was the escape that onlv four or five interested friends knew where he was. The wife of Mr. Bacon was Miss Delia Blackwell, of Butternuts, New York, their union dating July 4, 1S3S. They have three children living, and have lost two. Joshua, tlpe only son, is a physician, of the firm of Kendrick and Bacon, and is one of the most promising young men of his profession in Wauke- sha county; Lydia Delia is the wife of George Bar- ber, of Waukesha; Ida Julia is unmarried and lives at home. Mr. Bacon has always been a stirring, industrious man, courageous and determined, a bitter enemy of oppression and of abuses of every kind. He is a stranger to financial reverses and embarrassments, all kinds of business having prospered in his hands. HON. HENRY S. MAGOON, DARLINGTON. H ENRY STERLING MAGOON, late mem- ber of congress from the third Wisconsin district, and the first man born in the State to ap- pear as a representative at the national capitol, is a native of Lafayette county, and was. born in the township of Monticello, one mile from the Illinois line, January 31, 1832. His parents were Richard II. and Elizabeth (Kinney) Magoon. His paternal great-grandfather was a soldier in General Schuy- ler’s division, and assisted at the capture of General Burgoyne’s army in October, 1777. Richard H. Magoon was born at Salem, Washington county, New York, March 9, 1799. At seventeen years of age he moved to western Illinois, near Belleville, and there studied and practiced law until 1824, when he removed to Missouri. In 1828 he settled in W isconsin, and erected a smelting furnace at Blue Mound, near Madison. He settled at Monti- cello in the autumn of 1829. In 1854 he moved to Scales Mound, Jo Daviess county, Illinois, and died in 1875, aged seventy-seven years. He was a man of great energy, strong will and firm -integrity, and much esteemed by the old settlers in his part of the State. The mother of our subject is living with her son in Darlington. She is the daughter of Hon. Louis Kinney, who for many years was a judge and prominent citizen of central Ohio. At the age of fifteen Henry entered Mount Morris Seminary, Illinois, and prepared for college, and afterward attended the Western Military College at Drennon, Kentucky, graduating with the highest honors of his class June 23, 1853. He subsequently attended the Montrose Law School at Frankfort, Kentucky. He was appointed professor of ancient languages in the Nashville University, Tennessee, in 1855, and two years later returned to Wisconsin and began the practice of law at Shullsburg, build- ing up a good business in a short time. He removed to Darlington in 1864. He is a very close student, and has made all his acquirements, not by intuition, but by earnest and steady application. Being a native of the State, and a man of fine talents, good attainments and an unblemished character, his constituents have taken pride in electing him to offices of responsibility and prominence. He was district attorney in 1859 and i860 ; was a member of the State senate in 187 1 and 1872, and chairman of the joint committee of inves- tigation on the Dalles bill, and chairman of the joint committee on general laws ; and was elected to congress in 1874, being one of the youngest mem- bers from the West of the forty-fourth congress. He served on the committee on education and labor, and on several special committees, being very indus- trious and diligent to represent and attend to the wants of his constituents. Mr. Magoon has been a republican since i860. He was originally a whig, but voted for Stephen A. Douglas in i860. He is a Royal Arch Mason; has been a Good Templar since there was such an organization in the States, and his predilections are toward the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Magoon married Miss Belle L. Smith, at Buck- ingham, Tama county, Iowa, on the 22d of October, 1871. They have two sons and one daughter. Mr. Magoon has a large, well-selected law library, by far the most valuable one in Lafayette county, TIIE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 68 7 and also a choice literary library of about four thousand volumes in all. At no period of his life has his mental activity been greater than it is now. He is a growing man, and should his life be pro- longed, will be likely to make yet more honorable history. It is understood that he is engaged, dur- ing his leisure from professional pursuits, in writing a history of southwestern Wisconsin, which will no doubt prove interesting and valuable to the people of that section, if not to the general reader. He has a fine literary taste, and writes with much care and terseness. HON. HENRY DODGE, IOWA COUNTY. H ENRY DODGE, the first governor of Wis- consin Territory, was a native of Indiana, and was born at Vincennes on the 12th of October, 1782, Indiana at that time being part of the North- western Territory. Quite early in life the family moved to Missouri, where Henry spent his youth and early manhood. He became sheriff of Cape Girardeau county in 1808, and four years later was chosen captain of a mounted rifle "company, there being occasion for such soldiers in those days on the frontiers of Louisiana Territory. In the autumn of the year just mentioned, lie was appointed major of the militia in that Territory; was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in 1814, during which year he had command of an expedition up the Missouri river against the Indians. In 1827, just fifty years ago, he came to south- western Wisconsin, then a part of Michigan Terri- tory, and settled near where Dodgeville now stands — the seat of justice of Iowa county. There he lived for several years (the first six or seven in the most primitive style) with his family, poorly clad and poorly fed. In 1832, while the Black Hawk war was progressing, he acted as colonel of a regiment, and the next spring was placed at the head of the 1st Dragoons. He was quick to act, and full of energy and bravery, — a good man to fight the red- men. In 1836, when the Territory of Wisconsin was formed, President Jackson appointed Colonel Dodge governor, lie holding that office until 1841. That year he was elected delegate to congress; was re- elected in 1843, and on the expiration of his second term, in 1845, he was again appointed governor, this time by President Polk. In June, 1S48, the year Wisconsin became a State, he was elected United States senator; was reelected in 1851, and served in all twelve years. From 1857 until his demise he lived in retirement, part of the time at Mineral Point, six miles from Dodgeville, and part of the time at Burlington, Iowa, the residence of his son, ex United States Senator A. C. Dodge. Governor Dodge was a bold pioneer, enduring great hardships in aiding to found the great State of Wisconsin, and his name is held in grateful remem- brance by its twelve hundred thousand citizens. ISAAC HODGES, PL A TTE VILLE. 'T _ ''HE Hodges were early settlers in Vermont, the Jl grandfather of Isaac Hodges moving thence to Missouri while it was owned by a foreign power. Isaac is the son of Samuel and Keziah Patterson Hodges, and was born in St. Louis county, Missouri, May 14, 1810. He lost his mother when he was quite young. He aided his father on a farm in early youth, receiving such mental discipline as could be had in a country school from teachers illy qualified for their task. He acquired much more knowledge I by the fireside, acting as his own teacher, than in ! the school-room. In the spring of 1826 his father moved to Green county, Illinois, and died that year. Left alone in the world, Isaac started northward on the Mississippi river, paying his way by work on a keel boat, and reaching Galena on the 1st of April, j 1827, a lad of seventeen, without friends or a dollar j in his pocket. He was, however, self-reliant, with a strong will and a strong body, and ready for any I kind of decent work. The first month he lived with THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONART. 688 others in an Indian hut on Small-Pox creek, hauling 1 1 ' _ s used for house-building. The following sum- mer he cut cord-wood for Dr. Meeker, of Galena, at the mouth of Fever, now called Galena, river. The next year he worked for the same person at smelting. After he had been living in Galena about two years young Hodges commenced driving cattle from south- ern Illinois to Wisconsin, with headquarters at Elk Grove, Lafayette county. Two years later he re- moved to Platteville, and for a while was engaged in the smelting business, without any risk of becom- ing giddy from prosperity. In 1841 he embarked in the mercantile trade, and followed it until 1861, with fair success. During the rebellion he gave his time almost entirely to securing from the State the pay due war widows. In 1S66 he started a bank with Mr. Lambert Mc- Carn, the firm being Hodges and McCarn. In 1873 Mr. McCarn died, since which time the firm name has been I. Hodges and Co. It is a prosperous institution. At times Mr. Hodges has dealt more or less in real estate, and now has four or five hundred acres in Grant and Iowa counties. He is public-spirited, lends a hand in such enterprises as will develop the country, and has been for several years a director of the Dubuque, Platteville and Milwaukee railroad. He is a strong, out-spoken and unwavering re- publican, but has no predilections for office-holding. He was chairman of the town board of Platteville four or five years, which is all of civil office that he has ever accepted. He is a Freemason and an Odd-Fellow, and is an attendant on Congregational worship, and a man of excellent character. Mr. Hodges was first married in 1S35, to Miss Mary Ann Cory, a native of Vermont. She had one child that lived but a short time, she herself dying in 1836. He was united to his present wife, Miss Lucetta Crist, of Ohio, in 1839. She has had four children, only one of them, the wife of O. F. Gris- wold, of Platteville, now living. Mr. Hodges knew in early life what it was to stem the tide of poverty and live on the poorest of fare. In Missouri, a motherless boy, he went bare-footed and bare-headed half the year, and wore buckskin clothes the whole year round. When he reached Galena, a green lad just laying the foundation of a physical and moral constitution, he ate sour bread and rusty pork, and slept in a wigwam with older persons, most of them of a rough class, for his night- ly as well as daily associates. The writer once heard Mr. Hodges remark that it was a miracle that he did not become early and thoroughly contaminated, and reduce his life to a cypher. He sees the strong hand of God in leading and preserving the orphan boy amid the temptations of his early years in a frontier settlement. Mr. Hodges has a competency, a pleasant home in one of the loveliest villages in the State, and i§ surrounded by thoughtful neighbors, who can appreciate the worth of such men in build- ing up a town. He has a pleasant disposition, a jovial turn of mind, and js a rich entertainer in the social circle. A disciple of Democritus, he believes in lessening the shadows in the pathway of life as much as possible. HON. CHARLES E. DYER, RACINE. H ARLES E. DYER, judge of the United States district court for the eastern district of Wis- consin, was born at Cicero, Onondaga county, New York, October 5, 1834, and is the son of Dr. Edward G. Dyer and Ann Eliza vee Morse. His father was a physician, and at an early period in the settlement of Wisconsin removed to Burlington, Racine county. He was the first medical man who settled in that locality, and came with his family in 1839. He had first visited the place of his future home in 1836, and had on the night of his first arrival slept in a shanty on the bank of Fox river. He walked most of the distance from Chicago, following Indian trails, guided occasionally by a stray settler, whose hos- pitality he sought and received, thus making his first journey to the State by the traces of obscure foot- paths in the woods and on the prairies. After many years of arduous and successful professional labor he has retired from active practice as a physician. The mother of the subject of our sketch was the daughter of William Morse, who was born in Massa- chusetts in 1780, removed to Ohio in 1834; and died in 1845. Coming to Wisconsin at the early period before mentioned, and sharing with her family the THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY'. 689 vicissitudes and hardships of pioneer life, Mrs. Dyer has lived to see the wilderness of the West trans- formed into a region which now constitutes the cen- ter of American civilization, and with advancing age retains her health and natural buoyancy of spirits. Our subject was educated in a country school, and by himself, with the aid of such private instruc- tion as he from time to time obtained. He studied the common branches, received also some instruc- tion in the higher mathematics and in Latin, and was a diligent student and reader of history and general literature. He left his home in 1850 at the age of sixteen years, and went to Chicago to learn the trade of a printer, engaging as an apprentice in the office of the “ Western Citizen,” an anti-slavery paper then published by Z. Eastman. He continued in this em- ployment about a year, but not developing a fond- ness for the business he abandoned it. Meantime he had commenced the study of short-hand writing, which he afterward pursued, and became able to report speeches. In 1851 he removed to Sandusky, Ohio, where he entered the office of Rice Harper, Esq., who was clerk of the court of common pleas of Erie county, and a family friend, whose kindness and assistance will never be forgotten. Here he fol- lowed up with assiduity a course of reading and study, taking private lessons in the classics and the higher mathematics during spare hours. He had a strong taste for historical reading, and is perhaps as well acquainted as any other man of his years with the events and facts respecting nations and states in the order in which they happened, with their causes and effects, and the lives and actions of distinguished men. He also took a deep interest in the political events then transpiring, and stored his mind with facts pertaining to the issues of the times, which have proved of the utmost importance in later years. While in this office he became acquainted with the Hon. Ebenezer Lane, then a resident of Sandusky, and previously one of the judges of the supreme court of Ohio, who took a deep interest in his wel- fare and prospects, advised him to prepare for the legal profession, and admitted him to the free use of his large and well-selected library. He commenced his legal studies in the office of this excellent gentle- man by copying briefs and other legal instruments, and was soon after received as a student in the office of the firm of Lane, Stone and Lane, of which the judge was the head. He pursued a course of law reading under the special guidance and instruction of Wm. G. Lane, son of the Hon. Ebenezer Lane, 74 then one of the members of the firm, and since judge of the court of common pleas of Erie county, Ohio; and after a thorough course of preparation, covering a period of three years, he was admitted to the bar in 1857. He at once entered into partner- ship with Walter F. Stone, Esq., since one of the judges of the supreme court of Ohio, and began the practice of law at Sandusky, where he remained till December, 1858. But having a desire to move far- ther west and establish himself independently in his profession, he came to Wisconsin in January, 1859, and located at Racine (where he has since resided); he opened an office and was at once admitted to practice in the supreme court of the State. He soon obtained business and continued to practice alone for several years, and until he formed a co- partnership with Henry F. Fuller, Esq., survivor of the firm of Strong and Fuller, which continued until January, 1875. He has held the following public offices, to wit : city attorney of Racine during the years i860 and 1861; member of the State legislature from Racine county, 1867 and 1868, serving through two sessions; and on the 10th of February, 1875, was appointed judge of the United States district court for the eastern district of Wisconsin, which position he now holds. As assistant clerk of the court at Sandusky, Ohio, he early attracted the notice of the judge and bar by his fine taste and talents as a reader, for he not only wrote but read the journals of the court, and from the very outset developed an aptness for the business and an acquaintance with every detail of the records that was considered extraordinary. Judge L. B. Otis (now of Chicago), who was then presiding in the Sandusky court, predicted a bril- liant and honorable future for him, and every step of his after life has tended to prove the correctness of those early portends. As a student he seemed to take in the science of jurisprudence by intuition, and instead of plodding his way to success by years of perseverance, he seemed to ripen into a full-orbed barrister in a day. Nor were his high moral char- acter, good habits and integrity less conspicuous. Everyone who knew him placed implicit confidence in him. His word was beyond question, and no business was considered too momentous or intricate to intrust to his care, even at that early age. As an advocate, during his career at the bar of Wisconsin, he was recognized as both able and ac- complished, familiar with the rules of equity and THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 690 common-law pleading, and in all places and under all circumstances faithful alike to his profession and his clients; and at the time of his promotion to the bench his professional prospects were of the most flattering character. Yielding to the urgent solici- tation of his brethren at the bar, he went upon the bench, with a degree of hesitation as to his fitness for the place which disclosed that conscientiousness in the discharge of duty which is one of his leading- characteristics. Bringing to the discharge of judicial duties the learning, ability and laborious habits to which he was largely indebted for his success at the bar, he has exhibited patience, impartiality and an equable temper, eminently befitting the bench. No man ever held a judicial office in Wisconsin in whose integrity the bar and the people had greater confidence, and we are safe in saying that no man of Judge Dyer’s age ever earned a better reputation in so short a time for judicial fairness and ability. His decisions command respect, for they are always the result of careful study and profound knowledge. Few men can perform more labor, for few have trained their minds to better methods of both read- ing and thinking. He is, moreover, a man of pure mind and purity of taste. His language is always appropriate, ornate and even classic in construction. 1'here is nothing turgid or labored about his style; his logic is clear, pointed and indubitable. On the bench his industry is proverbial ; every question, important or otherwise, receives the most thorough investigation, and is disposed of with an honesty and conscientiousness which command the respect that they deserve. As a citizen he is self-sacrificing and public- spirited, always lending a helping hand to whatever tends to promote temperance, education and pros- perity. He served his fellow-citizens in the legisla- ture so efficiently and ably that they sought to secure his services in other and more prominent public positions, but he felt it necessary .to decline. With little taste for public life he feels that it is not necessary to be conspicuous in order to be useful. His clear perceptions, amiable- temper and extensive information would make him a useful member of either branch of the national legislature ; and those who know him best regret that he has refused to accede to the wishes of his party in this regard. As a neighbor he is esteemed for his kindness and courtesy. His home is a center of refinement and culture. His best characteristics are best known by those who have crossed his threshold as guests or friends. He is a man of superior conversational ability, and is always tolerant and charitable toward those who oppose him, but firm in his convictions and free to express his opinions. Frank, generous and transparent, he despises all trickery and fraud. He is true and lasting in his friendships, always re- cognizing and honoring worth, whether arrayed in the habiliments of wealth or clad in the humble garb of poverty. He was married on the 6th of April, 1859, to Miss Sarah E. Root, daughter of Hon. J. M. Root, of Sandusky, Ohio, a distinguished lawyer and promi- nent citizen of that State. Mr. Root was a member of congress during the Mexican war and subsequent- ly, and has long been known through the country as a leading participant in the anti-slavery agitation which shook the halls of congress in the days of John Quincy Adams, Giddings and others.’ Mrs. Dyer is respected and beloved by all who know her for her estimable qualities, practical Usefulness and her abundant good works. Devoted to her home and the training of her children, she still finds time to help the poor and minister to the afflicted. They have three children — two sons and one daughter — named, in the order of their birth, Will- iam B., Joseph M. and Cornelia, who repay in affec- tion and obedience the solicitude of their parents. TIMOTHY D. HATL, HUDSON. F EW citizens of Hudson, Wisconsin, were more respected while living, or more lamented in death, than T. Dwight Hall, the youngest brother of J udge Hall, of the same place. He was a native of New York, and was born at Perry on the 3d of Sep- tember, 1830. In boyhood he had a passion for books, and early developed a decided tendency to independent thinking. He prepared for college by pursuing his studies at home at such intervals as farm labor afforded, or while engaged in teaching, and after spending six terms at the Alexander and Caryville seminaries (both in Genesee county), in THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 69I 1851, entered, the sophomore class of Yale College, and graduated with the class of 1853, all the time defraying his expenses by teaching and work in other occupations. After graduating he spent near- ly two years in teaching at Natchez, Mississippi, at the same time pursuing the study of law, and in the spring of 1855 removed to Wisconsin, settling at Hudson, on the shore of the beautiful St. Croix lake. There he was soon admitted to the bar and engaged in the practice of law and the real-estate business, his brother Cyrus joining him the next year. In the latter part of 1856 Mr. Hall, with his brother, established the Hudson “Chronicle,” now consolidated with another paper, and called the “Star and Times.” As a writer he showed more than ordinary intellectual acumen and strength. Owing to impaired health, caused by sedentary habits, he, for several years before his demise, en- gaged in farming, hoping thereby to strengthen his physical system. To the business of agriculture, as to everything else which he undertook, he gave his best thoughts, and his habit of carefully distinguish- ing between fact and fancy speedily brought forth its fruits in so marked a manner that he soon became a constantly quoted authority on all matters of farm- ing. He was the first man to successfully cultivate clover on the prairies of St. Croix valley. He was also the first to engage in the raising of flax in these parts, an industry which, owing to his personal ef- forts, has since become important and profitable in this section of country. During the last fifteen years of his life Mr. Hall was an invalid, but attended to his business almost constantly until he had a severe attack of congestion of the liver in March, 1874. With the hope of re- ceiving benefit he spent the summers of 1874 and 1875 in Colorado, but his strength gradually de- clined, and on the 9th of October, of the last named year, “he died sitting in his chair in an attitude of repose, passing away as quietly and peacefully as had the sun a few minutes before, gone to its rest in the glowing haze of an Indian summer horizon.” The same writer, whose words we quote, adds that, “ with his last full inspiration a smile spread over his features, and there he sat — dead; but, beautiful to behold, even as he had not been in life. It seemed a cruel intrusion to disturb such sweet, quiet rest, and we left him sitting there while numerous friends, who came to sympathize with the living, lingered to admire the dead.” His wife, to' whom lie was united in July, 1856, and two daughters, survive him, and have their home in Hudson, though temporarily residing in Minneapolis, Minnesota, because of its school privi- leges. As already intimated, Mr. Hall was a close stu- dent, and possessed a remarkable memory. He was well versed on a great variety of subjects, and on some occasionally lectured. He was an ardent lover and an enthusiastic student of nature, and delighted in the deepest investigations of the natural sciences. He was a bold, original thinker, a clear and instructive writer, and in many respects a true type of noble, independent manhood. GENERAL JOHN B. CALLIS, LANCASTER. JOHN RENTON CALLIS, son of Henry Callis, J a farmer, and Christina Benton, was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, January 3, 1828. The Callises were Huguenots, originally from France ; the Bentons were from Scotland. Henry Callis moved to Tennessee in 1834, and to Lancaster, Grant county, Wisconsin, in 1840. After receiving a very slight common-school education, young Cal- lis commenced reading medicine with Dr. J. H. Higgins, of Lancaster, giving three years to the study, but for want of means to attend lectures, and not feeling satisfied with the profession, he aban- doned it. He went to St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1849, and, with John R. Irvin, built Fort Gaines, now called Fort Ripley, at the mouth of Crow Wing river. In 1851 he went to California, across the plains; became largely interested in diggings at different places, selling goods at the same time. In 1853 he went to Central America, there spending a short time; sailed from Graytown to New York, and thence returned to Lancaster in the autumn of that year. Here he followed merchandising until the old flag was insulted in South Carolina. He raised a company for the 7th Wisconsin Infantry, and became captain of Company F. This regiment, with the 2d and 6th Wisconsin and the 19th Indi- 6q2 THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. ana, composed the famous “Iron Brigade.” At the battle of Gainesville, Virginia, August 28, 1862, all the field officers of the 7th were killed or wounded, and Captain Callis was placed in temporary com- mand of the regiment. In the following March he was promoted to major, and a few months later to lieutenant-colonel, having command of the regiment after that date. At the battle of Gettysburg, July t, 1863, while at the head of his regiment, he was slightlv wounded twice about nine o’clock in the morning; continued to fight on, and was in the charge which resulted in the capture of the entire brigade of General Archer. In the afternoon of the same day he received a ball in his liver and lungs, which still remains in his lungs. He lay on the field forty- three hours, the rebel army in its advance and retreat passing over him. He being unfit to be taken away, General Early placed a guard over him, and he was finally taken to the house of a Mr. Buehler, at Gettysburg, where his wife joined him three weeks later, and within three months, by care- ful nursing, he was able to return to Wisconsin. Colonel Callis bought a flouring-mill at Anaton ) ten miles from Lancaster, and ran it awhile by the aid of an agent, but his heart was all the time with the boys in blue at the South, and in 1864 he joined the veteran army corps. President Lincoln ap- pointed him military superintendent of the war de- partment at Washington, with the rank of major in the regular army. Before he was able to ride on horseback he went out to Fort Sumner in an ambu- lance and fought against Generals Early and Breck- enridge in their raid on Washington, the day being won by the fortunate aid sent out by the army of the Potomac. Subsequently he was promoted to colonel, and a little later to brigadier-general, for meritorious services during the war, and particularly for gal- lantry at the battles of Antietam, Gainesville and Gettysburg. General Callis assisted in carrying out the recon- struction acts in his military district, his headquar- ters, and at length his home, being at Huntsville, Alabama. For his assistance in that line he re- ceived great credit from the departments at Wash- ington. While a resident of Alabama, General Callis was elected to the fortieth congress from the fifth dis- trict. He was on the committee on enrolled bills and on one or two others, and was the father of the original Kuklux bill, which passed the house, but was killed in the senate. At the close of the fortieth congress General Callis returned to Lancaster, where he has since re- sided, and carried on the real-estate and insurance business, still suffering from the ball in his lungs. In politics, he was in early life an old-line whig; then a republican until 1872, and a reformer since that date. He has a wife and five children, having married Miss Mattie Barnett, of Lancaster, in 1855. General Callis has the “Annals of Congress ” com- plete from 1799, and is quite familiar with the legis- lative history of the country. HON. JOHN H. ROUNTREE, PLATTEVILLE. O NE of the earliest settlers and most prominent men of southwestern Wisconsin is John Haw- kins Rountree, a native of Kentucky. He was born March 24, 1805, his parents being John and Rebecca (Hawkins) Rountree. His great-grandfather, Ran- dall Rountree, came from Ireland before the Ameri- can revolution, and settled in Virginia. His grand- father, Thomas Rountree, moved from Virginia to Kentucky in 1795, and died there in 1815. His father, born in 1770, died in Missouri in 1853. He was a large farmer, yet held the office of lower-court judge at one time.; was a person of considerable dis- tinction in the part of the State where he lived, and was an active man until his death in his eighty- fourth year. In February, 1824, the subject of this brief mem- oir made a trip on horseback from his home in Ken- tucky to Montgomery county, Illinois, a distance of three hundred miles ; and two years afterward, when only twenty-one years old, he was elected sheriff of that county. Early in 1827, hearing a great deal about the lead mines at and near Galena, he started northward with an ox team, in company with other persons, and .arriving at the mines on the 24th of May commenced digging for lead near Galena, into which place he was soon after driven by the Indians, THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 6 93 but before the end of the year (1827) made a per- manent settlement where Platteville now stands. Here he built a cabin of logs and sods, two hun- dred yards southeast of his present residence, and had fair success at mining from the start. In 1828 he built a smelting furnace, the first in that part of Michigan Territory now in Grant county, continuing this business several years. In October, 1829, he was appointed by Lewis Cass, then governor of Michigan Territory, justice of the peace for Iowa county, which then embraced Grant, Lafayette, Green, and part of Rock and Dane counties; but his official burdens were not heavy. On the 10th of March of the same year, the postmaster-general, Hon. W. T. Barry, appoint- ed him postmaster of Platteville, the town being named for Platte river, a stream three-fourths of a mile northwest of town. At that time there was only an occasional mail from Galena, brought over in a teamster’s pocket. Two years later (1831) a weekly mail route was established from Galena to Prairie du Chien, via Platteville. When the Black Hawk war broke out, in 1832, mining operations were entirely suspended for a few months; a mount- ed cavalry company was organized, with Mr. Roun- tree as captain, and it composed part of Colonel Dodge’s squadron. In 1834, when the first land sale took place at the United States land office, then located at Mineral Point, Mr. Rountree purchased the site of Platte- ville, and during the same year he was appointed chief justice of the court of Iowa county. Grant county, so named for Grant river, was not organ- ized until 1837, the year after Wisconsin Territory was set off from Michigan. From 1837 to 1867 Mr. Rountree served much of the time in the Territorial council and the State legislature. He was eight years in the council, four years in the State senate, one year a member of the constitutional convention, and one year in the assembly. No man in the State has spent as many years at Madison among the law- makers as Mr. Rountree, and no man connected with the legislative history of Wisconsin has a purer record. In all his labors at the State capital he seems to have striven solely for the good of the commonwealth. He has a farm adjoining the village of Platteville, and of late years has given his attention to it and to his other property. Mr. Rountree is a Freemason; has passed all the chairs, and has been high priest of the chapter and grand high priest of the grand chapter of the State. In politics he was originally a whig, and is one of the “constituent members ” of the republican party. He has been connected with the Methodist Epis- copal church since 1836, and is active in religious, benevolent and literary enterprises. He aided in securing the location of one of the State normal schools at Platteville, and during the fifty years that he has been a resident of Wisconsin he has been among the foremost men in pushing forward enter- prises which would further the interests of the State. Mr. Rountree has been twice married. The first time to Miss Mary G. Mitchell, daughter of Rev. Samuel Mitchell, of St. Clair county, Illinois. They were married in August, 1828, and had five children ; only three now living. She died in October, 1837. His present wife was Miss Lydia H. Southworth, of Platteville, their union taking place September 3, 1839. The fruit of this union is ten children, seven of them living. Hiram S., the eldest son, and Philip S , are farmers; John M. is attorney for Cook coun- ty, Illinois; George H. is a clerk in the Northwest- ern Mutual Life Insurance Company’s office at Mil- waukee ; Harry is a lawyer at Platteville ; and Charles S., the youngest son, is not settled in busi- ness. One of the daughters is the wife of John N. Jewett, an attorney of Chicago; another is the wife of George P. Smith, a merchant of Chicago ; the other two daughters, Lilly T. and Cora S., are single and live at home. Though in his seventy-third year, Mr. Rountree stands perfectly erect, fully six feet tall, and is an exceedingly well preserved man, having always had good habits, and never forgetting the dignity of man- hood. In striking contrast with his humble cabin of fifty years ago, he now owns and occupies an elegant two-story house, standing in a lot of four acres, surrounded by primeval oaks, wild cherries, and other trees of natural growth, transplanted ever- greens and numerous other adornments, indices of wealth and taste. INDEX Adler, David . .. Milwaukee 294 Alexander, Charles, M.D Eau Claire 269 Allen, Hiram S Chippewa Falls. . . 267 Allen, Gen. T. S Oshkosh 77 Allen, Hon. William C Racine 634 Allis, Edward P Milwaukee 462 Althouse, Milo Jackson Waupun 302 Anderson, Maj. George Madison 161 Arnold, Douglas Arcadia 347 Atwood, Alson, M.D Trempeleau 310 Atwood, Gen. David Madison 64 Bach, Christopher Milwaukee 410 Bacon, Winchel D Waukesha 682 Bain, Edward .Kenosha 509 Baker, Robert H Racine 192 Baker, Theodore L Milwaukee 199 Baldwin, Abijah W Janesville 441 Ball, Edward H . . . . Milwaukee 60 Barber, Hon. Hiram Horicon 2S8 Barber, Hon. J. Allen Lancaster 681 Barber, Martin N., M.D Watertown 617 Barnes, Henry L., M.D Ripon 640 Barron, Don. Henry D St. Croix Falls... 628 Bartlett, Edmund .Monroe 208 Bartlett, Hon. William P Eau Claire 292 Bean, Irving M Milwaukee 132 Beck, William Milwaukee 173 Beeson, Edward Fond du Lac 74 Benjamin, II. M Milwaukee 650 Bentley, John A Sheboygan 41 Bentley, John Milwaukee 344 Bertram, Gen. Henry G Juneau 555 Bertschy, Fred Milwaukee 155 Best, Philip Milwaukee 376 Bingham, Hon. James M Chippewa Falls .. 257 Bingham, John A Monroe 274 Bintliff, Gen. James Janesville 419 Black, John Milwaukee 89 Blackstock, Thomas M Sheboygan 436 Blair, Hon. William Waukesha 530 Blake, Lucius J Racine 179 Blanchard, Orrin W., M.D Delavan 154 Blatz, Valentine Milwaukee 670 Bliss, John S Janesville ...... 486 Blossom, Levi Milwaukee 99 Bodden, Jacob Theresa 536 Booth, Charles A Monroe 300 Bowen, Hon. Ephraim Brodhead 130 Bowen, James B., M.D Madison 141 Boyd, Robert, D.D Waukesha 556 Brackett, James M Eau Claire 291 Bradford, Ira B Augusta 243 Bradshaw, Horatio N., M.D Monroe 297 Bragg, Gen. Edward S Fond du Las. 552 Brainard, Linus B., M.D Waupaca 371 Braley, Hon. Arthur B Madison 164 Brande, Samuel Y Kenosha 583 Brandt, John R., A.M., M.D Arcadia. , 561 Breese, Llewellyn Portage 115 Bremer, George Milwaukee 79 Broughton, Russell, M.D Brodhead 237 Brown, John J., M.D. . . Sheboygan 396 Brown, Samuel. Milwaukee 362 Brown, Thomas II Milwaukee 41 Browne, Hon. Edward L Waupaca 619 Bryant, Hon. George E Madison 130 Bryant, Sherburn Milwaukee 335 Buck, Erastus J., M.D Platteville 656 Bull, Stephen Racine 192 Bump, Hon. Mark Black River Falls. 261 Bundy, Hon. Egbert B Menomonee 299 Bunn, Hon. Romanzo Sparta 243 Burchard, Hon. Samuel D Beaver Dam 331 Bushnell, Prof. Jackson J Beloit 68 Butler, A. R. R .. Milwaukee 432 Buttles, Anson W Milwaukee 92 Buttles, Cephas A Milwaukee 338 Calkins, George H., M.D Waupaca 479 Callahan, Jonathan G Eau Claire 232 Callis, Gen. John B Lancaster 691 Cameron, lion. Hugh LaCrosse 397 Carey, Hiram P., M.D . . Beloit 617 Carhart, David W.. . . Berlin 616 Carpenter, J. II Madison 7 Carpenter, Matt. H Milwaukee 43 Carter, Hon. Almerine Marshall . . .Johnstown 395 Cartwright, David W Milton 407 Case, Jerome I Racine 190 Cate, Hon. George W Stevens Point. . . . 439 Chadwick, John M Monroe 273 Chapman, Timothy A Milwaukee 90 Chase, Horace Milwaukee 234 Cheves, Patrick G Noiwvay 346 Chittenden, George W., M.D Janesville 17 Clapp, Joseph Dorr Fort Atkinson ... 220 Clark, Darwin . . Madison 82 Clark, James Luther Oshkosh 75 Clarke, John Christopher Wausau 360 Clarke, Joseph A., M.D Whitewater 19 Clary, Rev. Dexter. . . Beloit 26 Clements, David R. Stevens Point. . . . 466 Clough, Hon. Solon II Hudson 633 Coad, Samuel Mineral Point.... 627 Cody, James, M.D Watertown 10 Cole, Henri B., M.D Black River Falls. 233 Cole, John B Sheboygan 421 Cole, Luther A Watertown 427 Coleman, James Fond du Lac. „.. 422 Collins, lion. Alexander L. Appleton 383 Comstock, Noah D . . .Arcadia 332 Conkey, Col. Theodore Appleton 440 Connolly, Patrick, jr . .Milwaukee 142 Cook, James W., M.D Necedah 244 Cooke, George R Green Bay 13 Coryell, Alfred P., M.D . . . .Janesville ••• 633 ... 18S Davis, Francis N . .. 119 Davis, Hon. Horatio N.. ... 1 18 Deichman, John, M.D ... Whitewater . . . ... 28 De Motte, William II., A.M . . • • 3 ' Deuster, lion. Peter Victor. . . . • • • 95 Devendorf, Daniel B., M.D.... .... Delavan . . 22S Dickev, A. P . . . Racine . . . 202 Dickson, John Peat . . . 6l Dimock, Edward L Dixon, John ... 643 Dobbs, Jeremiah ••• 3*3 4 696 INDEX. Dodge, lion. Ilenrv Iowa County 687 Dodge, Joseph T.. A.M., Ph.D Monroe 2S6 Dodson, N. M., M.D Berlin 505 Doe, Joseph Bodwell Janesville 397 Dotv, Hon. James D Menasha 417 Doud, Reuben Racine 240 Douglass, Andrew S Monroe 319 Douglass, J. S., A.M., M.D., Ph.D. Milwaukee 153 Doric, Hon. Peter Prairie du Chien . 182 Draper, Martin T Oconomowoc .... 565 Duncombe, Charles S., M.D Racine 64 Dundas, J. C., M.D Cambridge 145 Durand, Henry S Durrie, Daniel S Duteher, John A Dyer, Hon. Charles E Elliott, Rev. George W Ellis, Gen. Albert G Ellsworth, Lemuel Elmendorf, Rev. John J., S.T.D El well, Hon. Edward Erskine, Massena B Esslinger, Charles Evans, Rev. James Everhard, Aaron Everhart, George M., D.D Falk, Franz Farnham, Jeffery A Fav, George W., M.D Felker, Charles W Ferguson, Edward Field, Hon. Robert C Field, William W Finch, Earl P Fish, Rev. Joel W Fisher, Hon. Ira W Fosbinder, Charles W Foster, Edward N Fratt, Nicholas D Freeman, George Y Freeman, Stephen French, D. Edgar Fribert, Lawrence T Friend, Elias Friend, 1 ienrv Frisby, Leander F Fueger, Max Gale, Hon. George Galentine, Sainuel, M.D Galloway, Edwin H Galloway, William T., M.D. . . Gault, Frank Geilfuss, Albert B Gilchrist, Ambrose B Giles, Hiram H Gleason, Charles R Goode! 1 , William ...... Goodrich, Hon. Joseph Goodwin, Col. George B Goodwin, Samuel Johnson Gove, Richard L Graham, Hon. Alexander Grant, Gen. Levi Gray, Hamilton H Green way, David Gregory, Jared Comstock Ilaire, Rev. John P., A.M Hall, Cyrus L Hall, Hon. Daniel Hall, T. Dwight Hamilton, Charles II Hamilton, Hon. Joseph B Hanchett, lion. Luther Hancock, Col. John Hanks, Lucien S . Racine . . 162 .Madison . Milwaukee . . 88 . Racine ........ . . 688 .Milwaukee • ■ 3 11 . Stevens Point. . • ■ 356 . Milwaukee • ■ 3°4 . Racine . . ^ 2Q . Beaver Dam . . . • • 54 1 . Racine , Manitowoc • • 429 .Monroe ■ • 304 , Ripon .Kenosha ■ • 349 .Milwaukee ■ • 2 S .Wausau • • 322 .Menasha .. 3 8x . Oshkosh . . 562 . Milwaukee . . 120 Osseo . . 302 . Madison . . 264. . Oshkosh . . 76 F'ox Lake . . 461 Menasha . . 4S9 Mauston . 26s Fond du Lac. . . • ■ 490 Racine . . 270 , Galesville ■ • 335 . Racine ■ ■ 499 Milwaukee , . 679 Juneau •• 557 . Milwaukee • ■ 37 6 . Milwaukee ■ 372 .West Bend .. 8 , Milwaukee . . 19 Galesville . . 428 . Neenah ■ • 382 Fond du Lac. . . , , . IOO Eau Claire . . 268 Middleton • • 144 Milwaukee . . 96 .Stevens Point. . , , . 466 . Madison . . 165 .Eau Claire , . 256 Janesville 193 .Milton • • 492 , Milwaukee ■ • Beloit • • 133 . Waukesha . . 660 . Janesville . . 472 . Kenosha . . ^66 .Darlington . . 668 . Dartford . . 510 .Madison . . 146 . Janesville . . 613 . 11 udson Watertown . . 221 . Hudson . . 690 . Milwaukee . Neenah ■ • 439 . Plover . . 398 . Oshkosh . Madison .. 368 Hamden, Gen. Henry Madison Flarriman, Joseph E Appleton Harrington, Nicholas M Delavan Hastings, Samuel D., jr Green Bav Hathaway, Rufus C Oconomowoc Hauser, John H Fond du Lac Hazleton, lion. G. W Milwaukee Hemenway, J. B., M.D Delavan Hempsted, Henry N Milwaukee Hewitt, Henry, sr Menasha Hobbins, Joseph, M.D Madison Hodges, Isaac Platteville Holloway, Hon. John C.. Lancaster Holmes, Hon. John E Jefferson Holton, Edward D Milwaukee Hooker, Eli Waupun Hosmer, James E Beaver Dam Hotchkiss, Ezekiel S Arcadia Houston, George A Beloit Howell, Henry Southard Watertown Hoy, Philo Romyne, M.D Racine Hoy t, John W., A.M., M.D Madison Hoyt, Otis, M.D. Hudson Hubbell, Levi Milwaukee Hudd, Hon. Thomas R. Green Bay Hudson, Sanford A Janesville ........ Hunt, Henderson, M.D Beloit Hunt, Samuel W Menomonee Hurlbut, Hon. Edwin Oconomowoc Hutchinson, James Mineral Point. . . . Inbusch, John D Milwaukee Jackson, Alfred A., A.M. Janesville Jackson, Heman B Oshkosh Jackson, Hon. Mortimer M Halifax, N. S Jewett, Rev. Milo P., LL.D Milwaukee. Johnson, Calvin R Black River Falls. Jones, Rev. Jenkin L Janesville Jones, Milo Fort Atkinson . . . . Judd, Samuel S., M.D Janesville Keep, John M Janesville Kellogg, Gen. John A Wausau Kellogg, Levi H Milwaukee Kellogg, Rufus B Green Bay Kendrick, Albert, M..D Waukesha Kern, John, B.A Milwaukee Kilbourn, Hon. Byron H Milwaukee Kimball, Hon. Martin L Berlin Kingman, Romanzo S Sparta Kingston, Hon. John T Necedah Klauber, Samuel Madison Knapp, Capt. Gilbert Racine Knapp, John FI ..Menomonee Knight, James G Madison Kuehn, Ferdinand Madison Lain, Isaac Waukesha Lamar, Charles H Darlington Lapham, Increase A Milwaukee Lathrop, William H Racine Lee, Alanson FI ,... Racine Levy, John M La Crosse Lewis, Hon. E. C Juneau Lewis, Frank L., M.D Arcadia Lewis, Hon. James T Columbus Linde, Christian, M.D Oshkosh Little, Thoynas FI., M.A Janesville Lovejoy, Allen P Janesville Lowth, John Juneau Ludington, Hon. Flarrison Milwaukee. Lyman, Asahel P Sheboygan Lynde, Hon. William Pitt Milwaukee McArthur, P. S., M.D La Crosse McCausey, George II Janesville McDonald, Alexander Fond du Lac McGee, James Oconto Mclndoe, Hon. Walter D Wausau 169 459 70 36 567 633 471 37 183 458 i57 687 680 218 412 573 549 301 610 213 78 48 263 9i 63 358 94 336 574 663 80 4S5 126 62 129 308 497 217 367 108 337 106 189 517 56 57s 320 426 53 537 618 204 52 535 667 592 IOI 571 342 146 3 12 5 85 128 500 645 324 3S7 673 54 1 405 246 131 460 T N DE X. McKey, Edward and Michael F. . . .Janesville .... McMillan, Alexander La Crosse. . . . McMillan, Duncan D LaCrosse.... McMynn, Col. John G Racine McWilliams, George Fond du Lac . Macauley, Robert. ... Menomonee. . Mack, Herman S Milwaukee... Mack, Hugo Milwaukee. . . Magoon, Hon. Henry S Darlington .. Main, Hon. Alexander II Madison Mann, Hon. John E Milwaukee... Manson, Rufus P Wausau Markham, Prof. Albert Milwaukee. . . Markham, John D Manitowoc... Marks, Solon Milwaukee. . . Marsh, Jerome L Sheboygan... Marsh, Sanger Whitewater . . Martin, James B Milwaukee... Martin, Morgan L Green Bay... Martin, Samuel J., M.D Racine May, Eli P Fort Atkinson Meachem, John G., M.D Racine Meacher, William. M.D Portage Mead, Henry C Waupaca .... Medbery, Hiram Monroe Meeker, Moses, M.D Mineral Point Meinecke, Adolph . . .Milwaukee. . . Mendel, Henry M Milwaukee... Merrill, IIon.SerenoT Beloit Merrill, Sherburn S Milwaukee. . . Merrill, William P Milwaukee... Mertz, Richard Juneau Meyer, Charles J. L Fond du Lac. Miller, Hon. Andrew G Milwaukee... Miller, Manoah D Madison Mills, Roger H Beloit Mills, Hon. Simeon Madison . ... Miltimore, Capt. Ira Janesville.... Miner, Hon. Eliphalet S. . Necedah Miner, George B., M.D., D.D.S. . . .Milwaukee... Miner, Rev. Samuel E. . Monroe Mitchell, Alexander .Milwaukee... Mitchell, Henry Racine Mitchell, John, M.D Janesville. . . . Mix, Edward T Milwaukee... Mix, Miles, M.D Berlin Moffat, John S Hudson Monroe, William, M.D Monroe Montague, Henry O Whitewater.. Morawetz, Moritz L Milwaukee... Morgan, Sylvester Janesville. . . . Morris, Rowley, M.D Brodhcad .... Morrow, Joseph M Sparta Mosher, Isaac Lacy Grand Rapids Mulberger, Henry Watertown .. Murray, George Racine Myers, George II Appleton .... Mygatt, Wallace Kenosha Newcomb, Dan, M.D Kenosha Newman, Hon. Alfred W Trempeleau . . Newton, William Eau Claire... Nichols, Hon. Henry F. C New Lisbon . Nichols, William F., MI) Menomonee.. Noggle, Hon. David Janesville. .. . Norris, William II., jr Green Bay... O’Neill, Edward Milwaukee. . . O’Rourk, Patrick II., I,L.D Milwaukee... Ober, Levi E., M.D La Crosse. . . . Obermann, Jacob Milwaukee. . . Ogden, George W Milwaukee. . . Olin, Daniel A Racing Ormond, William M., V.S Milwaukee.. . Orton, Philo A Darlington .. Osborn, Sylvester W Darlington .. Pabst, Captain Fred Milwaukee. . . 1 1 34 3 6 646 16 303 1 37 1 1 1 686 203 258 329 189 406 200 3 So 20 44 392 14 216 276 1 3 8 435 321 385 2 ‘4 86 186 105 197 18 512 102 69 352 389 438 22 ^ 586 559 55 653 629 302 309 656 107 375 3° 261 355 629 520 361 558 481 335 232 231 28.5 279 So 103 35 1 196 116 i39 522 669 667 3H 697 Palmer, Henrv, M.D Park, Hon. Gilbert L Barker, Charles D Parkinson, J. B., A.M Patchen, Terah J., M.D Beet, Rev. Stephen Perkins, David W Perkins, George Perry, John Wilder Pettit, Hon. Milton II Phelps, A. Warren Phillio, Hart B Phillips, John, M.D Pier, Edward Pierce, Amos J. W Pierce, Robert W Pinnev, Hon. Silus U Pixley, John Wesley Pound, Albert E Pound, Hon. Thaddeus C Prentiss, Hon. Theodore Prentiss, William A Price, Hon. William T Proctor, John Proudfit, Andrew Randall, Adin Rankin, Walter L., A.M Raymond, Don A Raymond, James O Read, George PI Reed, Parker McCobb Reese, Reese T Reeve, James T., M.D Reynolds, Benjamin M., A.M. . Rich, A. W Richards, Richard Richardson, H. Stone Ringle, Hon. Bartholomew. . . . Robbins, Burr Robinson, Chancey C., M.D. . . Robinson, Col. Charles D Robinson, Hon. Frederick Rock, Lewis B Rockwell, Charles... Rodolph, Theodore Rodway, William II Rogan, Patrick Rogers, Anson Rogers, Jabez N Rood, Galen, M.D Rountree, John H Rowell, John S Ruger, Rev. Thomas J., A.M . . Ruggles, Augustus G Runals, Edmund L Runkel, George Russell, Richard C Russell, Thomas P., M.D Ryan, Edward G Ryan, Hon. Samuel Sampson, Ahira B Sawin, Rev. Theophilus P., jr. Sawyer, Hon. Philetus Schandein, Emil Schlitz, Joseph Schoenfeld, Aaron Seely, Josiah W Selden, Orin G., M.D Senn, Nicholas, M.D Sexton, Lester ... Shanfield, Henry Shaw, Daniel Sherman, Lewis, M.D Sherwood, John C Silber, Lewis .Janesville .Stevens Point. . . . .Pleasant Valley . . .Madison .Fond du Lac .Beloit . Milwaukee .Fond du Lac Juneau . Kenosha . Milwaukee .Grand Rapids. . . . .Stevens Point ... .Fond du Lac .Milwaukee .Milwaukee .Madison .Milwaukee .Chippewa Falls . . .Chippewa Falls . . .Watertown .Milwaukee .Black River Falls. .Neenah .Madison . Eau Claire .Waukesha .Fond du Lac . Stevens Point .... . Oshkosh .Milwaukee . Berlin . Appleton .La Crosse .Milwaukee .Racine .Madison .Wausau .Janesville . Milwaukee . Green Bay , . Kenosha .Milwaukee .Fort Atkinson. . . . . La Crosse . Milwaukee .Watertown .Janesville .Berlin . Stevens Point .... , . Platteville . Beaver Dam .Janesville . Fond du Lac . Ripon .Tomah . Oshkosh . Oshkosh . Madison . Appleton . Grand Rapids. . . . .Janesville .Oshkosh .Milwaukee .Milwaukee , . Milwaukee . . Waupun .Tomah . . Milwaukee , . Milwaukee , . Milwaukee . . Eau Claire . . Milwaukee . . Dartford , . Milwaukee 4 6 5 33 47 L5 6 166 1 7 1 610 54° 29 52 350 388 57S 5 1 542 38 40 256 402 408 45*> 238 437 33 552 658 252 545 676 623 572 43 1 609 84 83 142 332 6 37 149 659 677 125 219 33° 97 104 377 5 1 1 467 692 S 2 1 5 469 126 239 22 577 42 422 429 365 49 1 432 3S2 620 6 39 205 348 681 580 293 >58 55° 54 INDEX. O98 Single, Charles A Wausau Slight, John P Watertown Sloan, H. Scott Heaver Dam Small, lion. David W Oconomowoc Smart, Reuben D Manitowoc Smith, A. Hyatt Janesville Smith, Hon. Augustus L Appleton Smith, Gen. George B Madison Smith, Jehiel, M.D Waukesha Smith, Morris Clarke Janesville Smith, Perrv P Manitowoc Smith, Samuel T La Crosse Smith, William E Milwaukee Smith, Hon. Winfield Milwaukee Sol berg, Charles B LaCrosse Spaulding, Dudley J Black River Falls. Spensley. James Mineral Point Stansburv, Emory, M.D Appleton Starr, Hon. William Ripon Steele, George McKendree, D.D. . .Appleton Stevens, Elias W., M.D Portage Stone, Gustavus Beloit Stoughton, Luke Stoughton Street, Richard Waukesha Strong, Henry P., M.D Beloit Strong, Moses M Mineral Point . . . Strong, Timothy F Fond du Lac Tain ter, Andrew Menomonee Tall man, William Morrison Janesville Taplev, John Racine Taylor, George R., M.D Waupaca Taylor, Horace A Hudson Tavlor, lion. William R Madison Temple, Hon. Marsena Mauston Tenney, Daniel K Chicago Thayer, Mason A Sparta Thomas, Terrell Baraboo Thomas, William C. E Green Bay. ...... Thompson, James II., M.D Milwaukee Thorn, Gerrit T Appleton Tichenor, Vernon. Waukesha Treachem, Edward H. G., M.D Milwaukee Treat, Nathaniel and Sons Monroe Tredway, William W Madison Twining, Prof. Nathan C Monroe Upham, Don A. J Milwaukee Utley, Col. William L. Racine Van Cleve, John S., A.M Janesville Van Dusen, Harmon, M.D Mineral Point.... Vankirk, Nelson Milwaukee Van Ostrand, DeWitt I) Neenah 34 6 75 177 561 430 44 2 37° 200 666 479 399 3i7 93 601 337 2 45 140 437 516 4°9 251 147 178 536 28 2 l68 482 318 121 518 470 281 206 233 604 297 657 n 4 87 598 531 4 11 249 LS9 343 184 98 226 64S 176 39 1 Yanslyke, Napoleon Van Vechten, Peter, Vaughan, John Virgin, Von Baumbach, Moritz. Warner, Warren, John Halden, M.D. Weisbrod, ( West, Gen. Whitford, Wight, O. W., M.D. Wild, Frederick Wiley, William, M.I Wolcott, Col. Charles Wolcott, Erastus B., M.D. . Wolf, Hon. William Henry. Wood, Hon. Joseph Wood, Nathan H Woodhull, John W Woodworth, T. Floyd Madison • 35 Milwaukee . 418 Racine ■ 53 2 Madison • 3 2 Eau Claire . 262 Platteville • 675 Mineral Point. . . • 649 .Milwaukee Milwaukee • L34 Madison • 67 Darlington . Berlin Appleton • I 5 I .Albany • 1 17 .Albany ■ 136 . Baraboo Beloit • 195 .Grand Rapids. . . • 323 . Menasha • 45 1 . Oshkosh • 39 .Milwaukee . Whitewater • 83 . Milwaukee • 1 73 . Milwaukee • 478 .Janesville • 369 .Milton • 379 .Milton , . 4OO .Janesville • 23 .Janesville . Milwaukee . Racine .Fond du Lac. . . . . 627 . New Lisbon . . . . .Eau Claire • i5 2 . Milwaukee 8l . Mauston • 237 . Grand Rapids . . . • 345 . Grand Rapids. . . • 334 . Oshkosh . s68 . Milwaukee • 72 .Milwaukee .Grand Rapids... • 347 . Portage • 327 .Milwaukee . Janesville • 455 . Delavan . 620 .Beloit 7 .Wausau • • 33 1 . Sheboygan •• 435 .Milwaukee . • 123 r